A Richard L. Wren Mystery-Adventure Sampler

CHAPTER 19

  The farthest one wagged the muzzle of his gun threateningly at Smitty.

  “Pick him up, we’re going inside.”

  The near one gave Casey a shove and said, “Help him.”

  Between the two of them they were able to get Peterson on his feet and help him stagger toward the door. The gunmen kept a safe distance behind them.

  “Get going asshole” the first one commanded when Casey stumbled. “This parking lot isn’t going to stay empty forever.” He added to his partner.

  “Stop,” the smaller of the two commanded as they approached the door. “Peterson, can you walk by yourself?”

  “Yesh.” He painfully mumbled, blood still leaking from his mouth.

  “Okay, you two, one step to the side and no tricks.”

  Casey and Smitty did as told leaving Peterson standing by himself.

  “Okay. Now go by yourself. Open the door and leave it wide open. Go! Then you two follow him one at a time. Don’t try to get cute, remember there’re two of us and no witnesses around.”

  Casey followed Peterson into the bar. Everything looked normal. The old guy had moved and was sitting at a table under a window still reading the newspaper and nursing a beer. The beer truck driver was gone. Shirl was standing on a chair behind the bar polishing the huge mirror. She saw Peterson’s reflection in the mirror as he entered and immediately jumped to the floor.

  “Carl, what happened? You poor dear, your all over bloody.” She hustled to the end of the bar, trying to come to his aid.

  “Shut the fuck up you fat piece of lard!” he yelled at her. “Give me a clean bar rag and shut up!”

  Shirl was shocked dumb. “Carl?”

  “Do it!” Carl ordered.

  At that moment the two gunmen came in, ostentatiously waving their guns.

  “Do it!” the gunman repeated. “Back behind the bar!” he added.

  Casey noted that one of them was consistently giving the orders. He was alarmed by the fact that neither of the men was hiding his face. Ideas and thoughts raced through his mind. “no masks. Does that mean they intend to kill the two of us? Would they really shoot with Shirl and the old man as witnesses? Does Smitty have a plan of escape?” He wasn’t encouraged by the looks and manners of the two gunmen, particularly the one he deemed to be the leader. Older, small, thin, well dressed in a blue suit, his face was angular with sharp cheek bones and squinty eyes. In his mind Casey started referring to him as Squinty. He caught Smitty’s eyes and Smitty very slightly wagged his head in a negative fashion. He was telling him not to try anything.

  “You two!” he ordered Casey and Smitty. “On a bar stool at opposite ends.”

  They did it. Now seated several stools apart, their captor seemed pleased with the arrangement. Casey noticed that the man reading the newspaper hadn’t seemed to notice anything.

  Squinty, as Casey referred to him, casually walked behind the bar and stood next to Shirl, his arm laid casually around her shoulders bringing his gun next to her right cheek. She flinched.

  He was noticeably shorter than Shirl, maybe only five three or, maybe five four and had to reach up to get his arm around her shoulder.

  “Now.” He announced. “I need some information. You told Carl that you’re working for an attorney on an old murder case. I need to know who the attorney is.”

  Casey stiffened. “Jesus Christ, they were going after Josie?”

  The gunman continued. “Carl said that the three of you were real chummy and all three of you have the info. The question is which one of you would be the easiest to get the information out of. I don’t think it would be either of you two,” he said swinging the gun barrel back and forth between Smitty and Casey.”

  Each time he swung the gun it brushed Shirl’s cheek and lips. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she noticeably flinched each time the gun touched her.

  He continued. “So that leaves Shirl here, don’t it.”

  She shook her head negatively.

  “Are you telling me you don’t know anything?”

  She shook her head up and down.

  With no warning, the gunman reversed his gun and slammed it viciously into the side of her head, splitting the skin over her cheekbone. She screamed and fainted, blood streaming down her face.