Out of Time

  Kit stiffened. Were they referring to her? She turned around and met the one’s gaze. They looked like bikers. The larger one smiled at her. She realized he was missing his two front teeth. He was used to fighting. The smaller one had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. His hair was pulled back in a greasy ponytail, and his baseball cap was so dirty she couldn’t even make out the logo.

  She ignored them and turned her attention back to the stubborn jukebox. She pressed K13. “Hush” by Deep Purple. Nothing.

  “Whatsa matter, Princess?” the bigger one said to Kit. “You too good for us or something?”

  Vanderline had just returned with their beers. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave her alone. She doesn’t work here,” Vanderline informed them as she placed their drinks in front of them. “Can I get you anything else?”

  “How ‘bout something to gnaw on? Got any pretzels or something?” the bigger guy asked. Before Vanderline could answer, he added, “Hey, Princess, my friend was talking to you.”

  “You two must not be from around here.” Vanderline raised her voice. “I’ll say it again. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll shut up. I told you she doesn’t work here. Both of you back the fuck off!”

  “Whatsa matter, slut, jealous we’re moving on? You missed your chance, sweetheart. C’mon, girly, let us see some tit.”

  Almost as if on cue, they both stood at the same time, their chairs scraping the rough floor. They began walking toward Kit. She turned and saw them approaching. This isn’t happening! What was she going to do?

  She backed up against the jukebox and stared at Vanderline. But Vanderline’s eyes were glued to something over Kit’s shoulder, a surprised look on her face. Before Kit could blink, Grunt was on both of them.

  She knew her jaw dropped when she saw how effortlessly he handled the two men. Somewhere between the office and the jukebox, Grunt had managed to grab a pool cue. He cracked it over the bigger one’s head before anyone saw it coming. Then he turned his attention to the smaller one.

  “Go get in the car, Kit,” he yelled over his shoulder as the bigger one started coming at him. The pool cue had stunned him, but it didn’t knock him out like Grunt had hoped.

  Vanderline grabbed Kit by the arm and started steering her toward the front door. “Do what he says, honey. I’ll call the police. Go.”

  Later, Vanderline filled Kit in on the details. Somehow, she’d pushed aside the particulars, tucked them into a neat little place with all the other bad memories she didn’t want to remember.

  But she remembered them now—and remembered the look on Vanderline’s face when she’d told it all.

  Grunt had taken a couple of hits that day, but he gave as good as he got. A few minutes later, both men were on the floor. Grunt had headed for the bar and picked up the phone as Vanderline looked on.

  “Eileen, it’s Michael. I need you to reschedule my meetings. Push them out about two hours.” He paused. “Yeah, I’ll see you then. Thank you.”

  He hung up the phone and addressed Vanderline. “Tell Grizz I decided to drive Kit home. Call the police and see if they’ll clean this up before he gets here.”

  “Will do,” Vanderline said as Grunt headed for the front door.

  She walked to the larger guy and kicked him in his face. “That’s for the slut comment.” Then she walked to the smaller of the two, who was looking up at her and moaning. She stomped on his genitals hard. “And that is for saying nasty things to my girl, Kit.”

  “What nasty things?” came a voice from the rear.

  Vanderline turned to see Grizz standing there. He’d come in the back door right after Grunt went out the front. What was she going to tell him? Grunt had wanted her to call the police.

  But she didn’t have to say anything. The smaller of the two men was curled up in a fetal position. He had puked on the floor and was still moaning from the kick to his groin. The bigger of the two had recovered from Vanderline’s kick to the face and was now trying to sit up. He gave Grizz the once-over, assuming he had an ally.

  “Hey dude, maybe you can help a couple of fellow bikers out. That stupid fuck that just left and his frigid ice queen think they’re better than us. Wanna help us finish what we started? Could use some help from a big motherfucker like you.”

  Vanderline actually snorted. Finish what they started? It was the two of them against Grunt. They couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag. Grunt had literally wiped the floor with their asses. And they were asking Grizz to help them finish the job? They should’ve shut up when she told them to.

  She inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh. She knew she was going to witness something she wouldn’t be able to erase from her memory. The stupid assholes didn’t realize they’d just signed their own death warrants.

  Vanderline walked out quickly to the car then, her tray covering her still-bare chest. A car honked as it drove by. Vanderline gave them the finger.

  “The police are on their way,” Vanderline fibbed to Kit, peering into the car window and giving them both a reassuring smile. She was doing it for Kit’s benefit, and Grunt knew that, even if Kit hadn’t known it then.

  Now, Ginny shook her head at the memory. She had seen how Tommy had handled those two men years ago. He’d handled himself like a badass. Like Grizz.

  What she wouldn’t allow herself to remember was the look she’d seen in Tommy’s eyes in the thick of that fight.

  They were cold, ice cold. And utterly, completely emotionless.

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  1980

  “Come to The Red Crab. Now,” Grizz told Guido and hung up without waiting for a reply.

  Twenty minutes later, Guido found Grizz in his office. He was sitting at Mavis’s old desk and drinking a beer. Guido walked in and shut the door behind him.

  “Tell me everything,” Grizz said.

  “Not a whole lot to tell,” Guido began, perched in one of the little chairs set before the desk. “I started noticing little things a few months back.”

  “What little things?”

  “I used to get pissed because the morons never properly bagged their garbage, and when they’d put it out on the curb, all the beer cans and liquor bottles would spill over onto my driveway.”

  “So you deduced that Kit’s parents were looking for me because of an ongoing garbage dispute you’ve had with them?” Grizz snorted.

  “No, no. There aren’t any more cans or bottles. What I’m trying to tell you is that they’ve sobered up. I see them leaving every Sunday morning all dressed up. I think they’re going to church. Last Wednesday night, there were some cars parked at the house. Some kind of meeting. Noticed when they left that they looked like a bunch of Bible thumpers.”

  Grizz didn’t say anything. He was thinking.

  “But the reason I needed to talk to you is because her mother, Delia, saw me sitting on the porch this morning. She fucking came right over to talk to me, like it was the most natural thing in the world. She asked me if I remembered her daughter.”

  “What’d you tell her?” Grizz sat straight up in the chair now, his body rigid.

  “I acted casual. Told her, yeah, she ran away a few years ago, right? I told her I didn’t remember a whole lot about the kid. Then her mom asked me something else. Asked me if I ever remembered seeing a big, scary-looking guy with a lot of tattoos around their house when they weren’t there.” Guido paused and frowned. “I think she was asking me about you.”

  Grizz was anxious during his drive back to the motel. It was an emotion he wasn’t used to, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. He didn’t know why, but he felt a desperate need to hold Kit in his arms. To smell her, inhale her scent. Breathe her in. Kit. His wife and one true love. His only love. He’d never thought in a million years that he could actually fall in love. But Kit did something to him. He couldn’t explain it. It was like she melted him from the inside out. She was the only woman he made love to. The only woman who ever fell asleep in his ar
ms. And the only one that ever would.

  He smiled when he remembered how happy Kit had been when he’d told her he would be giving up his criminal activities. He honestly didn’t know if he would truly be able to stay away from this life, but he would try. For her. Especially with the baby coming. He didn’t do drugs or drink much, but he didn’t have to. In a sense, Kit was his addiction. He couldn’t get enough of her.

  A horn honked, pulling him back from his thoughts. The light had turned green. He thought about getting out of his car and punching the person in the face who was beeping behind him. When he looked in his rearview mirror, he saw it was just a kid. He could be taught a lesson. But Grizz was too restless to get home to Kit. He waited until the light turned yellow. Several cars had started beeping by now. A split second before it was going to turn red, he gassed his Corvette and sped through the light, leaving the long row of cars behind him stopped.

  That kid didn’t know how damn lucky he was.

  A minute later, he saw flashing lights in his rearview mirror. He took a quick right into a gas station. The police car pulled up behind him. Grizz took his wallet out and had rolled the window down before the policeman walked up to it.

  “May I see your license and registration, sir?” the young cop asked.

  Grizz handed both to him. “You must be new.”

  He allowed his mind to wander while the policeman walked back to his squad car to check him out. So many ties from the past recently. Matthew Rockman showed up at the motel a week ago. Delia and Vince had sobered up and were looking for Kit. Both coincidence?

  Grizz had been watching from number four last week, so he knew Kit had followed Matthew onto State Road 84 after Matthew had asked Chowder for directions. Grizz ran outside as soon as they’d both pulled onto the highway. He ordered two guys in the pit to follow each of them and report back to him immediately.

  Less than an hour later, both guys returned and reported that Kit had gone to the grocery store and the other guy had headed north on University Drive. There hadn’t been any interaction between either vehicle. Kit apparently had stayed behind the other guy until she turned off on Flamingo Road. She never passed him or even pulled up next to him. There was no contact at all.

  He would have to think about this, give it careful consideration. If her mother was indeed nosing around and asking questions, it could interfere with the life he’d made for himself with Kit. That nosy nun didn’t get anywhere when he’d first had Kit taken, and she finally gave up. But with Delia’s renewed sense of sobriety, who knew what kind of trouble she could stir up? He would have someone keep an eye on Delia to make sure she didn’t contact the police. And if she did, he knew who to talk to on the inside to make sure it didn’t go anywhere.

  In the meantime, he would have to think about this and come up with a plan. And for now, he would be happy to go home to his beautiful and sweet wife. She had recently told him the morning sickness was gone. She was feeling better. He would go home and make love to her until she screamed in pleasure.

  Yeah, he was in love with a screamer. He grinned at the thought.

  The cop pulled him back from his thoughts. “Sorry to have bothered you, sir,” he almost squeaked as he handed Grizz his license and registration. The cop’s hand was shaking so hard he almost dropped them.

  Grizz swiped them out of his hand and gave a snort of disgust. He shifted into gear and sped off. He didn’t have to look in the rearview mirror to know he’d covered the rookie in a hailstorm of stones and loose gravel.

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  2000

  Ginny and Tommy had finished their quick dinner and were getting ready to head back to Carter’s house. They had settled on a little diner tucked away in a shopping center. It was the same plaza where Grizz stole her wheel cap all those years ago. They were heading to their car when Ginny said, “Tommy, can you wait for me in the car? I used the last of Carter’s aspirin and I want to replace it.”

  Before Tommy could answer, they heard someone say, “Those are very nice cowboy boots you’re wearing, young lady. My wife had a pair of cowboy boots like those. Met her in Texas. She was the real deal. A real cowgirl.”

  They both turned to see who was talking to them. It was an old man. He was sitting on a bench between the entrance to the little mall they had just exited and the grocery store. He had a cane leaned up against the bench and an oxygen tank sitting next to him. He was ancient. They smiled at him.

  “Keep him company,” Tommy said to Ginny. “I’ll run in for the aspirin.”

  Ginny smiled at her husband as he headed into the store. She made herself comfortable on the bench and listened as her new friend took a stroll down memory lane. They were enjoying their chat when a fancy sports car pulled up. It parked in the handicapped spot right in front of them. An energetic guy in his thirties got out and headed for the doors of the mall. Ginny recognized him as the owner of the hair salon a few businesses down from the little diner where they’d just eaten dinner. Ginny had actually gone to his salon once years ago. They were too snooty for her. And the owner was rumored to be a drug-using womanizer. His name was Jonathan Joyner.

  “Young man,” her elderly companion politely said to him, “you really should save those spots for people who really need them.”

  Jonathan Joyner stopped dead in his tracks and looked at the two of them.

  “Yeah, and you should go fuck yourself,” he said. Then he smiled at the old man—not a warm or kind smile, but a smile that said, “There, what do you think of that?”

  Ginny couldn’t help herself. She was on her feet in two seconds flat. “You don’t have to be so mean or rude, buddy. He wasn’t being nasty to you. He was just pointing out the obvious. You don’t need a handicapped spot. Maybe you should save it for someone who does need it and be grateful that you don’t.”

  Tommy had just come out of the grocery store. He’d seen Ginny stand up and was near enough to hear what she said.

  “Who are you?” Jonathan sneered. “His little whore? Well, fuck you, too, and your sugar daddy and—”

  He never got the rest out. Tommy had him on the ground before he could finish what he was saying. A woman who’d followed Tommy out of the store looked the other way, heading quickly for her car. The old man, however, just watched and grinned.

  “Owww, you’re breaking my arm!” Jonathan screamed.

  “Apologize to the lady.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry! Oh my God, you’re going to snap my arm!”

  Ginny spoke up. “He doesn’t need to apologize to me. He needs to apologize to this nice gentleman here. He was awfully nasty to him,” she said, nodding toward the old man.

  “Don’t break my arm, man. Please don’t. I need to use my hands to make a living. I can’t do it with a broken arm. I’ll tell the old guy I’m sorry. Just let me go. Please.”

  Tommy let go of Jonathan Joyner’s arm and stood up. Jonathan was now on all fours. He looked up at the old man and said with a sneer, “Sorry.”

  “I don’t think you mean it,” Tommy said. Before Jonathan could reply, Tommy came down as hard as he could with the heel of his boot crushing Jonathan’s hand. Jonathan screamed in pain and pulled his hand to his chest as he fell onto his side. He curled up, sobbing, his knees to his chest.

  Tommy bent down to pick up the small grocery bag he’d carelessly tossed aside. He took Ginny’s arm and started to walk her toward their car.

  She looked back at the old man as they went. He was still smiling.

  “Don’t worry, young lady. I didn’t see a thing. Nope, didn’t see a thing.”

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  1980

  Grizz didn’t have to think long about a plan to handle Kit’s mother, Delia, and her newfound sobriety and search for her daughter. It was obvious she was feeling guilty about a lot of things from the past and wanted to make things right with the child she had neglected her entire life.

  Less than a week later, he answered a page fr
om Guido.

  “Gee, boss. You sure work fast,” Guido said to him when he called.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Her parents. I don’t know how you pulled it off, but it was brilliant. No one would ever suspect.”

  “Pulled what off? What are you talking about?”

  “That wasn’t you? Now that I think about it, it would have to be a perfect plan, and I can’t think of how you could actually get someone to do it.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about, Guido?” Grizz roared.

  “Her parents. Your wife’s parents. They’re dead. Killed in a head-on over the weekend. I wouldn’t have even known about it, but some neighbors knocked on the door and said they heard and wanted to know if I knew of any next of kin to contact.”

  Grizz was momentarily speechless. The person who’d been watching Delia hadn’t reported this. He hadn’t seen her in a couple of days and had told Grizz he thought they might’ve gone out of town or something.

  Grizz was still hashing out a plan to get rid of them, but hadn’t pulled the trigger on it yet. He was still working on the details with his contact. Now, it looked like he wouldn’t have to do anything. The forces of nature had intervened and handled a problem for him. Hot damn.

  Then he thought of something.

  “Guido, I need you to do something, and I need you to do it immediately.”

  Guido listened as Grizz told him what to do.

  The next day, Guido was waiting for Grizz in the office of The Red Crab. Grizz went in and shut the door behind him.

  Grizz looked around the office. “Where’s the stuff? In your car?” he asked as he took his seat behind the desk.

  “No, it’s right here.” Guido held up a leather bound book in his right hand.

  Grizz hadn’t been certain how he was going to get rid of Delia and Vince. He knew he wouldn’t have had them killed. He could never do that to Kit. Even if she never found out, he didn’t think he could look her in the eye. But he’d been planning to find a way to persuade them not to look for her. The car accident changed everything. And he realized he didn’t want anything that belonged to Kit to come to the notice of any authorities who would be in that house. He didn’t want a reminder that Delia had had a runaway daughter five years earlier. Bottom line, he didn’t want anyone to start searching for her again. He wasn’t certain that would happen, but he had to make sure it didn’t.