Deadly Reunion (The Taci Andrews Deadly Series) (19 page)

I swallowed the fear rising in my throat, willing myself to calmness.

“I think it was Barry, or maybe Gary….No wait! I think it was Jerry. I don’t know, I have so many pick ups these days I get the names mixed up,” I managed to say.

The guy was quiet as he mulled over my words; I fought the urge to turn and run like hell. Finally he gave a slow nod of his head and lowered the gun, much to my relief.

“Sounds like you’re looking for Jerry. Come along with me sugar and I’ll take you to him. He’s inside packing a crate,” he said, motioning towards the closed barn door.

I chewed on my lower lip, mulling over my options. Option number one I could make up an excuse to go to my car and high tail it out of here. Option two would be to play along, go inside and get a better look at their operation. While I knew which one was the saner of the two options, I had a pretty good feeling that by the time I returned with reinforcements they would have packed up shop and been long gone.

Giving an easy shrug I turned towards the door. “Sounds good but I hope this won’t take long. I need to get this shipment to my dealers before the sun comes up or I’m going to be out of business.”

The guy looked amused by that, giving a soft laugh as he opened the door for me. “I gotta hand it to you sugar, I’d never had suspected what kind of business you were in by the looks of you. Looks like you’ve got yourself a pretty good cover.”

I swallowed my revulsion. He had no idea. Careful to avoid touching him I stepped inside the warm barn, taking a quick glance around. Everything seemed to be in full swing, the workers oblivious to the stranger in their midst as they hurried against the clock. My new friend gave a jerk of his chin towards a group at the end of the table.

“That’s Jerry over there wearing the black skull cap. You can head on over, unless you want to stick with me,” he said almost hopefully. In the lit room I could see his eyes had a slightly glazed effect to them; I was pretty sure it wasn’t from a sugar high. Latching on to his mood change I gave my best flirty smile and was rewarded when he smiled in return.

“You know, I really don’t
have
to meet up with Jerry if he’s busy. Maybe you could just get the crate for me and meet me out back at my car,” I said suggestively. The guys smile widened and he gave a quick head bob.

“Go ahead and go on out. I’ll be there in five,” he all but whispered, anticipation shining in his glazed eyes. Trying not to visibly shudder I nodded and whirled to head out the door, only to run into a solid block of chest. The wind knocked out of me I landed in a heap on the floor.

“Well, well Taci Andrews. Guess I should have expected to find you out here sooner or later,” a familiar voice drawled from above me.

Dazed I glanced up at Jason McAllister, somehow managing to keep my mouth from falling open. I’d always had a feeling Jason wasn’t what he appeared to be; funny, I never had him pegged as a drug dealer. It didn’t exactly fit the perfect persona he’d worked so hard to build.

“Well hey there Jason, funny bumping into you here,” I replied cheerfully, scraping myself off the floor. Two men appeared at my sides, making it clear escaping wasn’t going to be an option. Right. Like I had any hope of outrunning them anyway.

“You know Taci, you seem to have an uncanny knack of showing up in places you shouldn’t be. Does anyone want to fill me in how Miss Andrews was able to waltz into our operation?” he asked quietly, eyes narrowed on the silent workers behind me. Well, I guess asking if he was involved in the drug cartel was a little redundant at this point.

“Sorry boss, she said she was here to see Jerry about a pick up. She didn’t look like she’d be much trouble,” my new druggie friend all but whined.

Jason sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger.

“Eric, how many times have you been told how the pick ups work? Alex,” he said, snapping his fingers to a bulky guy across the room, “maybe you can take him out back and reinform him of how things work around here.”

Eric seemed frozen in spot, his expression reminding me of a deer caught in the head lights sort of look. My stomach felt suddenly queasy.

Alex gave a nod and strode forward, catching Eric by his arm and pulling him outside the barn door. I took a steadying breath, trying not to focus on what was happening outside.

“So, looks like you’re running the show around here. You know, I never took you as a drug pushing type of guy,” I said, drawing Jason’s piercing gaze back to me.

“Not a drug pusher, but an entrepreneur. I saw an opportunity to bring in a lot of cash and I took it. It’s nothing personal, just business,” he replied with a shrug.

Anger sizzled low but I reigned it back in. I’d always known there was a drug problem in Riverdale, having seen more than my share of the after effects a drug overdose did to not only the victim but the family left behind. The fact that this prick was standing here making light of it really frosted my cookies.

“So it doesn’t matter to you that your daughter might have gotten caught up in your little money making scheme and is missing because of you?” I asked, arching an eyebrow when he gave a laugh.

“Missing? Funny you should mention that. As I’ve already informed the police Samantha arrived home last evening safe and sound. Apparently Valerie had sent her out of town to her mother’s house in Chicago,” he said lightly but I easily saw the clench of jaw at the mention of Valerie’s name.

I was momentarily stunned to silence, which didn’t happen often. Why would Valerie send Samantha out of town then have her reported as missing? What he said didn’t make any sense and I opened my mouth to say so when the sudden sound of a gun firing beyond the barn doors made me jump backwards. The thug standing on my right caught my arm as I crashed into him, hauling me upright. I winced as his fingers dug into my soft skin.

“Um, can you lighten up there he-man? I don’t think I’m going to be running off anywhere,” I gritted out, glaring at him. The thug waited for a nod from Jason before releasing my arm. I rubbed the spot where his fingers had dug in, sure there were already fingerprint bruises forming. That was the least of my worries. If the gunshots were any indication Eric obviously hadn’t taken to his informative meeting with Alex very well. My only hope at this point was that Annie had heard the gun shot and was now calling the cops.

That hope faltered when Alex returned to the barn, hauling Annie roughly in behind him.

“Hey boss, I found this one hiding out back in a blue civic,” he said, shoving her roughly next to where I was standing. Ok, this just went from bad to worse. I reached out and grabbed Annie’s hand, giving her a reassuring squeeze. Her brown eyes were huge on her oval shaped face and I could only imagine what she was thinking.

“Jesus Christ, what the hell were you doing out here, having a party?,” Jason asked.

Giving my best nonchalant shrug I decided to run with his suggestion. “Actually I was planning on having a pre-reunion party with some old friends from school and thought we’d get a bonfire going. You remember Annie Brown, don’t you?”

Jason flicked Annie a cursory glance, his face blank. I took that as a no.

“Sorry, can’t say that I do. So you’re telling me you decided to host a bonfire party in the middle of the night all the way out here? I find that a little hard to believe,” he said skeptically.

“Actually it makes perfect sense if you think about. Having a bonfire in city limits is against city ordinance but this old farm land is right on the outskirts so we wouldn’t get in trouble. Besides, there’s nobody living around here for miles so we wouldn’t be bothering anybody,” I pointed out. The art of lying had come to me at an early age. Thankfully I’d developed my skills over the years and was able to pretty much fly by the seat of my pants. It came in handy when I landed myself in situations like this.

Jason swore softly under his breath, his face slightly red as my words sank in.

“Great, this is just great. So is there anyone else I should be expecting or does this about sum up your guest list?” he asked, returning his gaze back to mine.

“Actually I invited around thirty people for the party but only seventeen or so RSVP’d so there shouldn’t be too many more coming,” I replied easily.

Jason let out a stream of curses, his eyes furious.

“Finish packing things up and get out of here. I want this order done and sent out now,” he roared, striding across the room to restart the assembly machine. The workers scrambled back to their stations, picking up the pace as they unpacked and repacked the white packages crossing the line.

Thug one and thug two remained flanking Annie and myself, making it clear we would be hanging out awhile. I chanced a glance over at Annie, noting that she was trying to signal me with her eyes. Following their downward direction I watched as she slowly drew the number 9 in the white powder covering the floor beneath our feet before swiping her foot across it to erase the number. I quickly glanced back at her as she flickered her gaze sideways and I looked down at her hand. Ever so slightly her pinky finger moved twice and I knew instantly what she meant. Shifting my gaze forward I somehow managed to keep a smile of relief from creasing my face. I knew it was only a matter of time before Jason called my bluff and I’d have to think of something else, but now that I knew help was on the way that changed my plans a little. Now I needed to go for some stalling time to give them a chance to get here. Thankfully I knew just what would do the trick.

“So Jason, obviously you aren’t planning on turning us loose any time soon so how about if you let me in on your little operation out here. You know, give me the story of a lifetime sort of thing,” I called in Jason’s direction. I saw Annie’s questioning glance from the corner of my eye but I avoided looking at her, keeping my game face on.

Jason turned back towards us, an amused smile on his face. Waving a hand of dismissal to the worker he’d been speaking with he crossed the room to stand in front of us.

“Are you saying you’d like an interview, Miss Andrews?” he asked quietly.

I nodded, giving a wide smile. If there was anything I’d learned about criminals it was that they always liked to brag about how they got away with something. I hoped Jason would be no different. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Unless of course you’re afraid of what sort of write up I might turn out.”

His mocking laugh sent a ripple of irritation down my spine “Sorry to burst your bubble, but I highly doubt
you’d
be able to write something that would invoke any sort of fear from me. But sure, why not? After all it’s only fair of me since you won’t be around long enough to report the story.”

Annie made a strangled sound and I reached over to squeeze her hand reassuringly. Jason was lucky his thugs were around to protect him because I didn’t take too kindly to anyone knocking my writing technique. It was on the tip of my tongue to fill him in on my highly successful career thus far but I held it in check. Now was not the time. The police couldn’t be too far off which meant I needed to keep Jason busy a little bit longer until they arrived.

“Well then you have nothing to worry about, do you? Why don’t we set up over there,” I said with a jerk of my thumb towards a table set up along the side of a wall.

Jason nodded his agreement and the thugs, grabbing both of our arms, hauled us towards the table and tossed us none too gently into chairs.

Annie rubbed her backside, glaring at the thug who’d all but thrown her in her chair. I was pretty sure if he’d been in kicking range she might have considered it.

“Thanks for the help boys. I wasn’t sure if we could make it those ten feet without you. Now why don’t you be good little workers and scamper off so we can do our interview,” I said with a dismissal wave of my hand.

Jason studied me intently, trying to get a read on what I was up to. I kept my face blank, my expression unrevealing. Let him chew on that.

Finally he gave a slow nod of his head. “We’ll be fine. Why don’t you help load up the crates in the truck.”

Thug one glanced at thug two, obviously uneasy with the new plan. “Are you sure boss?”

“Of course I’m sure you idiot! Do you think I’m incapable of handling two women by myself? Go!” Jason all but growled. The thugs nodded and scrambled away; obviously they didn’t want to end up like their buddy Eric.

Now that we were alone I got down to business, reverting into my news reporting role. Annie remained silent next to me; having no clue as to what I was up to she obviously was prepared to let me run the show. Works for me.

“Let’s get down to business. My obvious question is what is all this?” I asked, motioning towards the fine white powder that seemed to be dusted over everything.

“Crystal Meth. We get it shipped in by suppliers from all over the states to be repackaged. After repacking, the finished product is then shipped to our sales representatives to be distributed to our clientele,” Jason said easily as if we were sitting in a fancy board meeting sipping foofoo coffee drinks rather then in a powder filled drug warehouse.

“By sales representatives you mean your drug pushers?” I couldn’t help asking.

Jason shrugged. “This is a business, Miss Andrews, nothing more. I refer to my handlers as sales representatives because that’s what they are. They sell the product to bring in the revenue.”

I fought my irritation, trying to keep calm. It probably wasn’t a wise idea to piss the guy with all the thugs off.

“So it doesn’t bother you that your clientele might consist of teenagers, possibly even younger children than that? That your little ‘business’, as you put it, is destroying the lives of everyone it comes into contact with?” I asked tightly.

“Open your eyes Miss Andrews and see the world for what it really is. It’s not the old sugar coated playground that we grew up in. Life is hard and if I’m able to make it a little more tolerable for some people then so be it,” he replied just as tightly.

I drew in a deep breath, willing myself to calmness. Rule number one when conducting an interview; always stay in control. Flying off the handle never gained good results.