Gus toasted him from his seat with glass up. “That was one mean ass ending in the park, Muerto. How you do what you do, and make jokes during and after is as you admitted: despicable.”
Nick leaned back on the divan, sipping his drink while looking out at the New York vista. “I came to terms with that part of me a long time ago. The redeeming part is I can see the humor in this sometimes frightful occupation. That should count for something, right?”
Gus drained his double before speaking. “If you say so, Muerto.”
Chapter Twenty-One
One More For The Road
The police were on hand when Nick and Gus exited the limousine. The snowfall continued, but nothing seemed to affect the crowd waiting for the book signing. A long line had formed with no end in sight.
“Uh oh,” Nick said. “I wonder what new Kader complication could herald an actual police presence at our signing today. Maybe Alex committed suicide in custody… you know, a suicide self-bombing.”
“Very funny, Muerto. You still haven’t said a word in regard to your Deke walk in the park this morning with Jean. I was holding out for an answer without prompting. Now I’m asking you straight out.”
“The snow has covered everything, Gus. Snow also works wonders to dissipate blood when it melts. Jean and I walked the entire gauntlet of possible facts and dead bodies. The traitor Deke sniffed the fence surrounding my deposit, but I distracted him easily. There’s no need to get bogged down in the hit, Gus. The weather’s holding, and I’ll bet we’re out of New York before they discover our deceased friends in the park. Let’s go meet and greet, Jed.”
Gus shook his finger at Nick. “One sex change observation, and we’re done! I will take the limo back to the hotel, and get smashed on my own.”
“Oh fine… you big girl. You can be Jed today without any innuendo about what we know lies beneath Jed’s macho exterior.”
“Oh you son-of-a-bitch… don’t play me, Muerto!”
“Calm down or the cops will be taking us in.” Nick took the lead as the police officers approached. They didn’t have their hands on the butts of their weapons, so Nick took that as a good sign. “Hello, officers. I’m Nick McCarty, and this is my partner Gus Nason. Is everything okay?”
The lead officer shook hands with Nick and Gus. “I’m Sergeant Mora, and this is Officer Henschel. We’ve been assigned to monitor the opening of your book signing because of yesterday’s incident. I guess you’ve noticed the media coverage. Between smartphones, tablets, and YouTube, the newspapers play catch up with social media for stories. Your encounter yesterday hit all the outlets. We’re here to make sure you don’t have a repeat story today.”
“Thank you. That is much appreciated. Is it okay if I interact with the folks out here freezing in line? My agent and publishing editor will be here shortly. I’ll go inside then.”
“Sure. Bob and I will keep an eye out for any obvious problems, but you seemed fine handling the problem on your own anyway. As you already suspected, Alex Kader is related to the man who died at your daughter’s school in Pacific Grove. We’ve been in contact with their local police and made them aware of the incident. Alex Kader’s father, Jaun is Naseer Kader’s brother, so Alex is Saif Kader’s cousin. Besides this Alex Kader, Jaun, and mother Aalia, he has two sisters. They of course were shocked at what Alex did. They live in Brooklyn, but are here on green cards. The DA’s not stupid. A kid like that doesn’t suddenly come up with the idea to murder someone in public by himself. He’s working on getting their visas revoked. There’s been substantial outcry from the public after reading about the Kaders.”
“Have you checked to see if anymore of the Kader family is living in the area?”
“None we know of, We haven’t dropped the investigation though. If the DA gets the Kaders’ visas revoked, the whole family will likely be deported. It’s cheaper than a trial.”
“That seems reasonable to me. I feel sorry for his sisters. I guess you know this whole thing started because that Saif Kader was going to do an honor killing on his own cousin.”
Sergeant Mora grinned. “We know, and so does the DA.”
“I’ll say hello to the people then. Thanks again for the update and protection.”
“You bet. Have fun with the signing.”