Dead Cold Mysteries Box Set #1: Books 1-4 (A Dead Cold Box Set), Blake Banner [classic children's novels txt] 📗

Emma’s call came at half eight. She was hysterical, sobbing and almost incoherent.

“John, thank God! I didn’t know if you’d found your phone. I am going to pieces, John. What am I going to do. I killed a man! John, do you understand? I shot and killed him!”

“Take it easy.”

“What are you talking about, take it easy? They’ll send me to prison for life! You have to do something!”

“I said take it easy.”

“What am I going to do? I can’t go to prison, John? I can’t! Do you know what they will do to a woman like me in prison?”

“Emma. Shut up.”

I heard her swallow.

“In the first place, it was self-defense…”

“Self-defense…?”

“That’s right. There was you and me and Geronimo. If it ever comes to trial, you and me are telling the same story. He came at you with the gun. You struggled and somehow turned the gun on him.”

“Yes, I see…”

“But it is never going to come to that, because I am the investigating officer, and I am going to pin the whole thing on dos Santos.”

“You are?”

“You bet.”

“Oh, John, how can I ever thank you? All I want is to get away and put this whole nightmare behind me.”

“I know, baby. It’s almost over.”

“What about you?”

“Before you do your disappearing act, we need to talk about the box.”

“Keep it. I’ll put you in touch with a discreet buyer. You can open an account in Belize and have the money paid in there. Then you can live like a king for the rest of your life.”

“When can I see you?”

“May I come over this afternoon? I’d like to collect Tammy’s birthday present and say… not au revoir, but olive oil. I hope, when this is over…”

“Don’t say it, Emma. If it’s real, we’ll do it.”

“Yes. Yes, you’re right.”

“I’ll see you at four. Will you bring Tammy? I’ve heard so much about her, I’d like to meet her at least once before you do your vanishing act.”

“Of course. We’ll be there at four.”

I hung up and sat looking at Dehan. She stared back at me. After a moment I said, “Come on, let’s go and see Geronimo.”

We got to the plaza at shortly after nine thirty. My car was still there, so Dehan dropped me off and headed back to the station to talk to the captain, who was in the midst of an acute anxiety attack. I checked at the desk and Geronimo dos Santos was still in the Royal Suite. I took the elevator and made my way up.

This time, he opened the door himself. He stood staring at me for a long moment, then turned and walked back toward the drawing room. I stepped in and closed the door behind me. I found him in a large armchair sulking among his chins. On the coffee table in front of him, he had a bottle of vodka and an empty shot glass.

“You planning on stopping anytime soon, Geronimo?”

He glowered at me sullenly.

“What?”

“Acting like an asshole. How many people do you plan to get killed before you stop? Is this how you do God’s work, dos Santos? By going around getting people killed? Because let me tell you something, I am going to make it my business to ensure that the next person who gets killed is you.” I stuck out my finger and pointed at him. “You are alive this morning because I jumped on Emma when she was going to pop you. You owe me your life.”

His expression changed to one of calculating cunning. It was an effort to control the urge to smack him.

“We are alone right now, dos Santos. You know? I ought to give you a taste of what you gave me last night.”

He swallowed and looked sick.

“You forced me.”

“Bullshit!”

“You and Emma… I can’t trust either of you…”

“Bullshit!”

He swallowed again. He looked scared.

“Between the two of you, you have fucked up a sweet deal—for no good reason! You because of your stupid obsession with Tamara, and her because she wanted to play it smart. If you had both listened to me, you would have your precious goddamn box by now, and she would have her money and her damned sister.” I approached the table and sat opposite him. “Now I am going to ask you one more time. Are you planning to stop?”

“What are you proposing?”

I’d been in the room thirty seconds and he was already making me mad.

“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear. Next time you try to screw me over, I am going to blow that sick little head of yours clean of your multiple chins. Now I am going to ask you one. Last. Time. And if I don’t get a clear answer, first, I am going to go over there and beat you to a sobbing pulp. Then, I am going to walk out of here and sell that box on the open market. Then I am going to put out a contract on you. So, Geronimo, are you ready to quit?”

He closed his eyes and seemed to shudder all over. Maybe it was the effort of having to make a commitment to not being stupid.

“Yes.”

“We get one last shot at this. We do it my way and everybody wins. You step out of line by one inch, and I will kill you, personally.”

“You have made yourself very clear.”

“You do not get Tamara.”

He opened his eyes and glared at me. His fat, white cheeks flushed red. I reached under my arm, pulled out my revolver, and cocked it. I took aim at his head. I am not honestly sure if I was planning to shoot him or not. His eyes bulged and