Graves jabbed a finger at me. “You just murdered a woman in cold blood. No way you’re beating that charge.”
“I defended myself against a cold-blooded assassin who was gunning for me. Surveillance will show that clearly, as I’m sure you’ve already seen.”
Graves finally lost it and let me have it with a right cross to the jaw. I wish I could say it was a love tap, but I’d be lying. The room flickered like someone messed with the lights. But it was just my consciousness trying to figure out if I was knocked out or not. Somehow I managed not to topple out of the chair.
Because that would have been embarrassing.
Graves leaned down, breathing coffee and tobacco in my face. “That feel familiar, Mick? Sort of like the shot you gave my man at your door, remember? You assaulted my men tonight. Made fools out of them to boot. You think you can get away with embarrassing the shield? Think again. I don’t care what other charges I have to bring against you. I’ll lock you up until I can create some. But you’re going down. Count on that.”
I shook my head to clear some of the fuzziness. “You really wanna go that route, Graves? The way I see it, the shield would be better off with letting me walk.”
“I’m really not concerned with the way that you see it, Mick. But say that I do. Why would I even consider handing you your walking papers?”
“Call it a favor. You let me walk and I tell all the newsies that are crowding around outside that I was working with you boys on the case. That with your help we were able to put down one of New Haven’s most notorious hitmen. You get to smile and get some positive public relations for a change. This town needs some good news right about now. With decent folks like the Luzzattis being slaughtered and the Mob at the boiling point, this might help cool things down a bit. Tip the scales in your favor, if you catch my drift.”
Graves rubbed his chin. “And I take it that if I stomp on your little con and lock you away that…”
“…I got a few friends around town. People who will make sure to leak the news to the press. Something about how you knew who was behind the Luzzatti’s murder and you did nothing but cool your heels. That might make a few folks scratch their heads a bit. Might be just the incentive for someone to do a little digging and find out why the Captain was personally involved in overseeing the scene. I’m not suggesting any shady business was going on, but you never know how the press might wanna flip a story.”
Graves’ expression was dark as thunderclouds, but the cold gleam in his eye told me all that I needed to know. He looked around. “All right boys, take a hike. Give me a little time alone with Mr. Trubble.”
After they cleared out, he tapped a sequence on his holoband. The cuffs unlocked and levitated back to his waiting hand. “You’re a lot smarter than I took you for, Mick. I don’t know how you pulled this off, but I’ll be watching you a lot closer from now on. You better get out of here before I lose my cool. If I ever clap eyes on you again, you’d best believe it’ll be because you’re behind bars.”
I placed my Bogart on my head and tilted it just the way I like it. “Understood, Captain. I’d say it’s been a pleasure… but it hasn’t.”
“Where’s the girl, Mick?”
“Safe. That’s all I can tell you.”
He nodded. “Good. You may not believe this Mick, but I didn’t have a part in any of what went down. I have a job to do, and that’s to control the damage when something like that happens. And that’s not easy when you have someone throwing a monkey wrench in your plans.”
“You’re right, Cap. I don’t believe it.” I gave him a final nod and turned to the door, where shouting voices and flashing cameras waited.
“Mick.”
I paused, hoping I hadn’t pressed my luck too far. But when I turned, Graves just looked at me somberly.
“How in the hell did you get over on the Red-Eyed Killer? Everyone who’s tried before has ended up catching a case of the New Haven Blues. How’d you get that shot off?”
“Luck of the draw, Captain. Just plain and simple luck of the draw.”
Chapter 11: Case Closed
Once I laid it on thick with the newsies, I finally made it back to my new best friend in the world. Maxine gleamed like polished onyx and opened her door to welcome me. I slid in and exhaled. I was wasted, barely able to lift my legs and pull them into the ride.
“Much obliged, Maxine. You’re a lifesaver, you know that?”
“Just performing my functions as programmed, Mr. Trubble. It is a pleasure.”
“All the same, I’m grateful. Now how’s about taking me over to La Lupanar. I got a very special lady friend that I need to meet up with.”
“As you wish, Mr. Trubble.”
We were only on the road for a few minutes before a call rang in.
“Go ahead, Hunter.”
His expressionless face appeared on the dash screen. “I take it that your mission was successful.”
“Thanks in large part to you. I owe you one for taking out Flacco’s crew. Normally I don’t put out hits like that, but the Black Company are the worst type of animals.” I thought about the Red-Eyed Killer. “Well, close to the worst, anyhow. Multiple rapists, murderers, and psychos. The world’s a better place without ‘em.”
“The justification for the targeting of marks is of no consequence to me. I do the job that I’m programmed for. For that, you owe me nothing.”
“Well, I guess I’ll see you around, Hunter.”
“Yes. You definitely will.” He flickered out.
I didn’t particularly like the ominous tone of his words, but I had to be grateful for him just the same. When it comes to unstable assassin synoids, it’s a lot better to have one on your side instead of the alternative.
It wasn’t more than a few minutes before another call patched through. Frankie Newman’s amused face flickered on the screen.
“Mick Trubble.” He said my name like it was a secret joke between us. “I must say that I underestimated you. You’re just as efficient as… as someone else that I knew once. Anyway, I’m just dying to know how you managed to put her down.”
“You knew the Red-Eyed Killer was a dame?”
“I know a lot of things, Mick. Except how you did it. You owe me that much, at least.”
Well, he was right about that. Without his info I might have still been running around New Haven with the brass on my tail.
“You’re familiar with the remote trigger?”
“Of course. Used by assassins and triggermen everywhere. But it requires that one actually be synched to the trigger in order to activate it. I hacked the Black Dahlia’s surveillance, but from what I saw you didn’t make a move when the Red-Eyed Killer went for her key gun. But your piece under the table fired a perfect shot, even compensating for having to penetrate the table’s surface. Hit her right between the eyes. So how’d you pull that one off?”
“I had the trigger synched to Maxine.”
“Maxine…?”
“My brand new set of wheels, courtesy of the late Mr. Pickens. Say hello to Frankie, Maxine.”
“Hello Mr. Newman.”
“Um… hello.” Frankie grinned as the understanding sank in. “Mick, you sly dog. Maxine is programmed with an auto defense system, isn’t she?”
“You called it right, Newman. With that system synched to the remote trigger, it was duck soup for Maxine to fire the shot when she sensed that I was in danger. I didn’t have to lift a finger. I warned the Red-Eyed Killer. Really didn’t wanna have to put her down, once I found out she was a dame.”
Frankie’s brow furrowed. “You have a problem with killing a woman that would have gladly torn your heart out and handed it to you? I don’t understand.”