Out of Time (Nine Minutes #2) (38 page)

Blue just looked at her lazily as he asked some more questions. She answered them as best she could. There was a lull in the conversation. The air conditioning unit kicked on, breaking the silence in the hotel room.

“I don’t know what can actually be done about any of it now.” Jan shrugged. “I mean, it’s water under the bridge, Blue. It’s been years. Grizz is supposed to die in, what, two, three days? Why does it matter?”

Blue shot her a scornful look. “If you hated Grunt so much for raping you, why didn’t you turn him in when you turned in the rest of us? Why wasn’t Fess on the list?”

He was just playing with her now. He wanted to watch her squirm.

This caught her off-guard. She didn’t remember who was or wasn’t on the list. The person she’d been working with said he’d take care of it all. She remembered that neither Grunt nor Fess had been questioned or interrogated early on, but she thought it was because they weren’t really hardened criminals like the others. And after Grizz cut that deal, they were left alone, anyway. She wasn’t supposed to know all of this. She had been whisked away long before the trial, but her contact had kept her updated. He, too, must have had an insider. He’d stopped contacting her after Grizz was sentenced to death. She hadn’t heard from him since.

She stuttered then. “Isn’t it obvious that he wasn’t on the list because he was working with someone on the inside? Of course, he would’ve kept himself off the list.”

“And immediately raised our suspicions? I’m telling you, Jan. I know it wasn’t Grunt, and I know it wasn’t Fess who helped you or got you to help them.” He cracked his knuckles and leaned way back in the seat. He was just as big, just as strong as she’d remembered. “Who was it?”

She was really starting to shake now. She was scared, knew she’d backed herself into a corner. “Why don’t you find Froggy?” she blurted. “Why don’t you ask him?”

“I did find Froggy, but I was too late. Drank himself to death about two years ago.” Blue switched tactics. “Look, Jan, you’re telling me my kid brother raped you. I believe you. I knew he always had a crush on you. But I know he didn’t set up Grizz. I know there is a bastard out there who is responsible for taking my boys away from me. If you tell me who it is, maybe we can help each other.”

The words hung between them. She stared at him, eyes wide. She wondered if he knew she’d already spent the large divorce settlement from her second husband. She needed money, and she knew that the man behind Grizz’s arrest was very successful. At least he’d been back then. She knew Blue would kill him, but maybe they could work together to extort some money first.

“Okay, I’ll tell you.” She said quietly as she chanced a glance at his face. “But you have to help me, too. I could use some—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know you’re broke. What’s his name?” Blue already knew, but it had to be played this way.

“I’m not ready to tell you. I’m not sure I completely trust you, Blue.”

“You can trust me, but I understand why you’re afraid. You want to hold on to that until I can show you I mean business. It’s okay. So we work together. We both get revenge on Grunt and the man responsible for breaking up my family.”

“You’re not going to kill your own brother, are you?”

“I don’t have to kill him, but he’ll pay. He’ll pay in a big way. We’ll work it so that he goes to prison and gets a taste of his own medicine. He may be my brother, but he raped you when you were my wife. That won’t go unpunished.”

She smiled thinly now. “So what do you need me to do?”

“I need you to come back to Florida with me. Maybe for just a week. Maybe a little longer. We should be able to get enough money out of the guy, assuming he’s still alive and still lives there.” Blue already knew the guy was alive and living a very comfortable life in Florida. “If not, we can still come up with a plan for Grunt.”

“What if we find him and he’s not successful? I’m just assuming he is.”

“Who do you think has been taking care of Grizz’s money while he’s been in prison?

She frowned. “If you have Grizz’s money, why do we need to extort the guy?”

“It’s not about the money for me. He’ll pay for taking my kids away. If we can get you some money before I deal with him, then it’s just icing on the cake.”

She smiled and actually licked her lips slightly, like a cat stalking a bird.

He looked at her seriously then. “If I find out you’re lying about any of this, I
will
kill you.”

“I have just as much reason to hate them as you do, Blue. Witness Protection wasn’t exactly good to me. I had to scrape by as a receptionist at an advertising agency. They wouldn’t let me work in a law office because it was too close to what I used to do. If I hadn’t met Richard or he hadn’t been able to take care of me, I don’t know what would’ve happened to me or the boys. I was a week away from applying for welfare. No, Witness Protection is not a good place to be. Whatever it is, I’ll help you.”

It was true. She couldn’t care less about the guy who’d convinced her to help him go after Grizz. She wanted some money, and she’d be happy to let Blue do whatever he wanted to the man. But Grunt was a different story. Grunt had rejected her. He would pay for that. She listened to Blue’s plan.

Then she opened her cell phone and made a call.

“I keep the key hidden in the fake rock. Just water them every couple of days. Maybe you could turn a light on at night. I’m in such a hurry I didn’t have time to plan.” Jan waited while the person on the other end of the phone said something. “Oh, you are a gem, Connie. Thank you. I’ll see you in a week or so.”

Jan closed her phone and looked at Blue. “All taken care of. My neighbor will water my plants and make sure the house looks lived in.”

Blue nodded and reached into his pocket, pulling out a wad of cash. He’d convinced her to leave with him without going home to pack. The promise of a new wardrobe was too enticing for Jan to pass up. He knew she was on the brink of losing her house. Instead of getting a job when she divorced, she lived the life of a socialite and believed she would be able to snare another wealthy husband before her money ran out. She was wrong. That’s why she was jumping at this chance, and Blue knew it.

He also knew she hadn’t had any contact with the boys in over a year. She wouldn’t be missed.

“We’ll take my car and leave yours here. I’ll fly you back next week. This hotel is pretty fancy. Why don’t you take yourself downstairs to that boutique I saw in the lobby and buy yourself something nice to celebrate our new partnership.”

She actually squealed when she grabbed the money from his hand. “You want to come with me and help me pick out some expensive lingerie? I know they have it.” She batted her eyelashes.

It was all he could do not to roll his eyes. “I’ll be down in a sec. I have to take a piss.”

She picked up her purse and headed for the lobby. He knew she couldn’t resist the green stuff.

Alone, he looked around the room. Nobody would ever trace her back to this room or this hotel. The credit card he’d used to hold the room was stolen. The room would be cleaned and used over the next week, anyway. He pulled his own cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number.

“It’s a go. You’ll need to get in the house. Key is under a fake rock. The lady next door will be keeping an eye out, so be careful. You need to find some kind of envelope or note she left saying she’s meeting with me. She’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, so it’s probably on the fucking counter.”

He paused then. “No, the keys won’t be in it. I’m sure they’re in her purse. Just get her car away from this hotel. Strip it, dump it, I don’t care what you do with it. As long as it can’t be traced back to her.”

The person on the other end of the line said something else. Blue replied, “I already swiped her phone. She didn’t even notice. I’ll get rid of it.”

He snapped his own phone shut then and went downstairs to find his ex-wife.

Chapter Sixty-Five

1985, Washington, D.C.,

Federal Bureau of Investigation Headquarters

Lester Foreman tossed
the file on his desk and looked at the agent sitting in front of him. “Who is this hotshot attorney that’s screwing with him?”

“Matthew Rockman is a punk.” The agent smirked. “He’s young, slick, and thinks he’s invincible. The only connection we can make is that he went to the same high school as the wife. That’s it. He’s a defense attorney, but is secretly working inside the D.A.’s office to target the gang. Specifically, Talbot. He’s been buddies with Talbot’s attorney. Seems like Lewis took him under his wing a few years ago.”

Foreman nodded. “Carey Lewis. Yeah, he’s another slick piece of shit. Does he know Rockman is working with the state to bring down his best-paying client?”

The agent shook his head. “We don’t think so.”

Foreman wasn’t sure what to do with this new information. He’d taken over as special director a couple of years back after Spiro retired. He knew the case in detail, though truthfully there wasn’t a whole lot to know. Still, he was the best choice to take over. He also knew nothing they’d tried in the past had worked. Talbot had been getting away with shit for years. Nobody seemed to be able to stop his criminal activities. Worse yet, they seemed to let him get away with it because of the occasional help he provided them. Supposedly, he was one of theirs. Foreman knew something was rotten about this particular operation, but he’d never been able to figure out what.

They’d tried. Tried their damndest over the years. Sometimes, it didn’t seem like much was happening. Years would go by, and even though they watched and still had their man on the inside, there was no movement toward a resolution. Then, someone would be promoted, an election would be won, and it was stirred up all over again.

One thing he knew for certain. Talbot had something. Something that somebody with immense power wanted. They’d even thought about using the wife as a pawn, but Talbot was too smart. If they so much as went near her, they knew he’d blow the lid off something that would bring powerful families to their knees. If they killed him, they knew he had something set in place upon his death to do the same thing.

The simple fact was, they were fucked. They’d tried to make deals over the years. He’d never budged. It was a waiting game. They even had to let their inside man go rogue to prove he could be trusted. They didn’t even know if their inside man was still their guy or not.

Foreman did know the FBI had the same experience with Talbot’s predecessor, Donald “Red” Enman. Like one big cat and mouse game. A pissing contest over who had the upper hand. Red and Talbot were both considered agents, yet had to maintain their own criminal activities to be believable. But in Foreman’s opinion, Talbot went too far. Even for an undercover FBI operative with a very long leash.

Foreman stared at his agent hard. “We’ve let him get away with shit for years without interfering. I say we don’t interfere with this, either. Let’s see what Rockman can get done. He must have some powerful friends to take on Talbot without exposing himself. Let them do it. Let them shake up his world and his life. Knowing him, he’ll get out of it, but let’s wait and see.” He made a face. “Shit, who knows, maybe he’ll come to us and we can use it to our advantage.”

Foreman steepled his fingers.
Maybe we can even use it to get back whatever it was he supposedly stole all those years ago
.

Chapter Sixty-Six

2000

“
I can’t breathe
! You’re choking me!” She started to cough and sputter. After she was good and scared, really scared, Tommy relaxed his grip on her throat.

“I did it for all of us, Tommy.” Sarah Jo clutched at her throat and backed away toward the stairway.

Moments ago, he’d practically shoved her inside her front door, kicking it closed behind them and pushing her up against the wall. He controlled his rage now. For the moment.

“Call your office and tell them you can’t come in today,” he said. His voice was calm. Dead calm.

Sarah Jo shivered. “Look, Tommy, I can’t call in sick. You have no idea what I have going on today. We can talk about this tomorrow, the next day, whenever you want.” She tried not to show her fear as she straightened her blouse and retucked her clothing.

But her attitude sent Tommy over the edge.

“Call them now, dammit!” He screamed at her, and she literally jumped back, fear pulsing through her once again. She’d never seen Tommy lose his temper. Never. She didn’t even know if she could trust him right now.

She didn’t think she’d ever been so scared.

Jo fished in her purse for her cell phone, eyes still on Tommy. Then, with her back to him, she dialed a number.

“Hi, it’s me,” she said, affecting a weak voice. “Uh, listen, sorry, but I’m going to need you to cancel all of my appointments today. I was ready to walk out the door and had to run back to the bathroom. I don’t know what hit me, but I am so sick.” There was a pause in the conversation. “No, I think it’s a bug. I threw up my breakfast and now I have a blazing headache. I just have to lay down.” Another pause. “No, I’ll be okay. I just got off the phone with my friend, Tommy. He’s stopping by on his way to work to drop off something for my headache. I don’t have anything in the house.”

She looked back over her shoulder at Tommy then, and he rolled his eyes. She snapped the phone shut, then motioned for him to take a seat on the couch.

He did, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Nice move, Jo. Dropping that little hint that your friend Tommy was stopping by. I guess that’s in case I decide to kill you, so the police will know who to go after. You should write crime novels for a living.”

“Oh, just shut up, Tommy. Just shut up.”

“I am shutting up. And you’re going to spill it.”

She stood on the other side of the coffee table, facing him. And told him everything.

Ten minutes later, Tommy couldn’t take it anymore. He was ready to explode with anger.

“You are going to stand there and tell me you had Willow send Darryl to rape, beat, and almost kill Ginny
for you and me and her
? To be fucking
helpful?
That you somehow convinced poor Moe to assist you? You are delusional, Jo. You are fucking insane if you think I am going to believe that.”

“Yes, Tommy, that’s exactly why I did it. But he wasn’t supposed to hurt Ginny.” Jo’s eyes were red. “He was supposed to just deliver her back to the police. You aren’t listening to me. I didn’t hate Ginny. I loved Ginny! I loved you, too, Tommy. But Grizz? I
hated
Grizz.” Venom laced her words.

“And it never occurred to you that Willow’s hatred of Ginny might have resulted in what actually happened to her? You knew that by getting Willow to help you, you were risking Ginny’s life, Jo. You knew that damn well.”

“No! I didn’t know that! I thought Willow would’ve been just as happy to see her returned and away from Grizz. I didn’t know she hated Ginny enough to have someone almost kill her.”

“That is bullshit, Jo! You knew Willow despised Ginny. I don’t care if it’d been years. Ginny was the reason Grizz tossed her out on her ass. How could you not even suspect it could’ve turned out as bad as it did?”

She didn’t answer him. Her shoulders were shaking now, and she gripped her thighs to control herself.

“Moe said in her journal that someone named Wendy told her that Grizz had taken something from her. So. What did Grizz take from you, Jo?”

“Journal?” She looked genuinely bewildered. “And what did Grizz take from me? Are you serious, Tommy? He took my father. He took my mild mannered, sweet loving father who could never even bring himself to spank his own kids. He paid my father to keep his ledgers or whatever it was Dad did for him. Do you know how many times over the years our home was raided by the police looking for those stupid ledgers?”

Tommy didn’t expect this. He knew there was a certain price to pay for being associated with Grizz, but he hadn’t realized that it had affected Sarah Jo so much.

But he forced himself not to cave. A raid was nothing compared to what had happened to Ginny. And all because of Jo.

“An occasional raid?” Tommy snorted. “I know that’s tough if you’re not used to it, but it couldn’t have been that bad. Especially if they never found anything. They must’ve eventually backed off.”

“Okay, so how about the fact that my father went to the motel to fuck a two-bit, good for nothing, mute whore?” she screamed at him. “And after
she
died, another one started coming around! Trying to act like she was better than a used-up piece of biker shit. Trying to act like she was the lady of
our
house. Chicky had the audacity to come to my home and cook for my father like she could ever replace my mother.”

Jo stood up then and strode to the window. “That’s what Grizz took from me, Tommy,” she said, her voice soft now, so soft he had to strain to hear her. “He took the father that wouldn’t have given Moe or Chicky the time of day because he knew what it was like to be with a real lady. My mother was a class act and because of Grizz my father stooped to eating out of garbage cans.”

She was breathing heavy now, her face turning a dull, deep red. Tommy could only stare in disbelief. He never knew Sarah Jo had so much hostility for Grizz or the group. Especially for Chicky and Moe. He understood her pain. But he couldn’t understand her hatred. Chicky and Moe might not have been ladies, but they weren’t bad people.

Tommy raised an eyebrow. “If it weren’t for Grizz, you and your family would’ve been living out of your car. You do know that your father was on the brink of bankruptcy, right? He was going to lose his house. Your mother’s illness devastated him financially.”

Her face turned even redder now, if that was possible. “How dare you!” she yelled. “How dare you accuse my mother of being the reason my father had to earn extra money to feed us and keep a roof over our heads by rubbing elbows with the lowest form of scum in this city. My mother was perfect! She was perfect in every way!”

Jo was yelling so hard she was losing her voice. A slow thin line of blood trickled from her nose. She used her arm to swipe across her face. Tommy jumped up and ran to the kitchen, quickly returning with a dishtowel. He blotted at her nose, then
roughly guided her back to the couch.

It was obvious to Tommy Sarah Jo had some serious issues. Issues she’d kept bottled up for years. Apparently he’d just witnessed what happens when you try to pretend that a volcano will remain dormant.

He swallowed as he waited for her to regain control of her emotions. He never knew. Never even suspected she resented Fess’s involvement with the gang.

Turning to face her now, he asked, “Why did you have Darryl attack Ginny? Why, Jo?”

Her shoulders slumped. “I already told you, he wasn’t supposed to
hurt
her, Tommy. I love Ginny. I swear on my mother’s grave I had no intention of anyone getting hurt. In a million years I never thought Willow would incite Darryl to do what he did. I really thought she’d be happy to have Ginny dropped off at the police station. And then Grizz would get in trouble, real trouble. Maybe do some time. My intentions were not hate-filled, Tommy.”

She whispered the last part, her eyes filled with tears now, any remaining anger forgotten for the moment.

“Yes, they were, Jo,” he said gently but firmly. “You may not have realized it, but you did hate. You hated Moe because your father cared for her. You hated Grizz. And you may have thought you were getting Grizz back by taking Ginny away, but your hatred went far deeper than you cared to admit.”

They were quiet a moment, then something else dawned on him. “Fuck, Jo. Now that I think about it, you gave Ginny a really hard time about naming Mimi after Moe. You raised a fit over her name, saying it was old fashioned, that the baby would grow up to hate it. It was
you
who hated it. I should have sensed something way back then. I just trusted you too much.”

Sarah Jo ignored the last comment. “She wasn’t supposed to get hurt. It was supposed to be simple: Grizz goes to jail. Ginny goes home. You could have been with her then. Everybody would have been happy. Don’t you see how I was looking at it?”

“I want to see it, but I can’t. You do realize you are responsible for your best friend’s torture, rape, and near death? And you are as guilty of Moe, Willow, and Darryl’s deaths as if you’d killed them yourself.”

She didn’t answer him, but just stared at the wall. He was right. She’d lived with that guilt all these years, masking it as best she could. But it would never go away.

“And the Chicky you accused of caring for your father actually saved you.”

This caught Sarah Jo’s attention. She cast a wary glance.

Tommy looked at her steadily. “You never asked how I found out it was you, Jo. After Moe died, Chicky found her journal and she read it. And she recognized something in it that Grizz might’ve recognized, too. When Moe wrote about being contacted by Wendy, she wrote that Wendy said it would be ‘tit for tat.’
That’s
how I knew it was you. I’ve heard you use that phrase a million times. I guess Chicky heard you say it, too, from those times at your house when she tried to start a relationship with your dad. Moe didn’t recognize the phrase or your voice because you never let yourself anywhere near Moe. She wasn’t good enough for you or your father, so you snubbed her.” Tommy rubbed at his eyes. “I’m ashamed I never noticed it. She was a good person, Jo. She’d been through a lot. God only knows if you’d ever said it around Grizz, but if you had and he read that journal and recognized it, nothing on earth could’ve protected you from him. I don’t care if you are Fess’s daughter or Ginny’s supposed best friend. Grizz would’ve hung you out to dry and Fess wouldn’t have been able to stop him.”

Sarah Jo swallowed audibly. “I was really rude to Chicky when she used to come to our house,” she said in a small voice. “Nobody would’ve blamed her if she’d showed Grizz the journal or told him what she’d figured out. When did she give it to you?”

“She didn’t,” he answered. “Her daughter brought it to our house after Grizz’s execution. Said that she’d been holding onto it since Chicky’s death a few years ago; said her mother specifically told her to wait until after Grizz died to give it to me and Ginny.”

Sarah Jo sat up a little straighter on the couch. “I guess she’s no angel then, is she? She could’ve gotten rid of it, but no. She hung on to it all this time just so she could hurt me.”

“No, Jo.” His voice sounded tired. All those years, throughout their long friendship, he had no idea this was who Sarah Jo was at heart. “Not so she could hurt you. So that Ginny and I would know the truth about what happened back then. To know the real reason behind Moe’s suicide. Moe killed herself because of guilt. She felt that by helping Wendy, you, she had caused Ginny’s near death.”

“Ginny didn’t die,” Jo protested. “I don’t know why Moe felt she had to kill herself.”

“Sarah Jo, who
are
you? Are you even hearing yourself? Maybe it wasn’t the only reason Moe killed herself. Maybe she was lonely and sad, and you sure as shit didn’t help with that.”

“And you did? You were so busy slobbering after Ginny and then moving in with Cindy that you forgot about Moe, too. Admit it. She was nothing to you. Not really. Don’t pretend like she actually meant something. Moe was invisible. At least I’m honest about what I thought about her. You’re hiding behind some kind of self-righteous, superior attitude like you cared. Yeah, you cared so much you left her at the motel with that beast when you moved out. I knew he’d gone too far the day I saw him make that poor drifter eat his own puke in my garage. Believe me, I was doing the right thing when I tried to get Ginny away from him. And I don’t care if you tell Ginny. I’ll tell her myself. She’ll forgive me. She loves me and she’ll understand.” Jo sniffed. “Besides, she lived with Grizz.
She had to forgive him every day of her life.”

When he spoke, his voice was hard. “No, I don’t think she’ll understand this, Jo. Ever. Do you know the mental anguish she has suffered feeling responsible for Moe’s death? For Willow and Darryl’s deaths? She felt indirectly responsible for all of it, and you’re going to sit there and smugly tell me my wife will forgive you? No. That’s not going to happen. For starters, we’ve been through hell since Grizz’s execution, and I’m not piling one more thing on her.”

“Well, then good.” Jo straightened her shoulders again, like she was trying to tuck everything—all the chaos, all the drama, all the anguish—back into one neat little box. “It’s agreed then that she doesn’t have to know. And we can pretend this conversation never happened.”