“Deke’s over there because you scare the crap out of him. I didn’t think anyone could do that. What’d you do before you were body contracting, work as a circus act?”
“I saw a movie when I was a kid with a gunslinger who practiced reeling up a weight on a string with his arms fully extended, and then un-reeling it without letting the weight touch the ground. I made myself one of those. It’s pure torture, but man, does it build strength. I did my first stint in juvenile detention because of it though. After a few months working my weight reel, I pulped a kid’s hand who had been kicking my ass every chance he got.”
Gus shook his head. “You little freak. What did you learn from that first lockup?”
“Not to leave live witnesses. I think Jamal’s ready. Let’s go find out what our courageous news reporter has to do with all this.”
The two men returned to the gurney, where Jamal writhed on the table in pain filled horror. He gasped, seeing Nick and Gus return. “What… what is it you want to know? I will tell… I will tell!”
“Good,” Nick replied. “I didn’t want to touch your dick. Yuck! Okay then. What the hell does Florence Gutierrez have to do with you and your friends?”
“She contacted me after… Saif’s death, claiming you had killed Uncle Naseer too.”
“I did actually, but how could Flo know?”
“Gutierrez is… is on the payroll of a Saudi group working to promote Islam and Sharia Law in this country. She plays down news… that is unfavorable to Islam. Her backers told her you have done things such as make deaths look accidental… or natural. I…I thought she was making it up.”
“So Gutierrez wanted you to report to her after breaking into my house? For what reason… to confirm the kills?”
Jamal began mouthing words, but hesitated for a moment too long. When Nick leaned over him, he began to plead. “Wait… I…I am answering!”
“Best get to it fast, Jamal, or you and I are going to be dancing again.”
“Gutierrez claimed she would handle the fallout from the breakin. Aban and I were to steal many valuables to make it look like a robbery. Anyone trying to link us with the… the-”
“The word you’re looking for is murders. So Flo was to play the Islamophobia card if anyone mentioned my family’s murders were in retaliation for Saif’s death?”
“Yes… but we didn’t trust her or the Saudis.”
“Were you responsible for this idiotic drive-by shooting idea?”
“Gutierrez wanted us to leave the country after our arrest. Her backers paid our bail on the condition Aban and I drove to the border, where we were to be contacted by someone with directions for the next move. Aban and I figured they were going to kill us. We… we thought if you were dead, the charges might be dropped.”
Jamal twisted miserably. “Please… can you give me something for the pain?”
“Sure.” Nick brought over a syringe from the surgical tray near the gurney. He injected it into Jamal’s neck. “There you go.”
Seconds later, Jamal Kader was dead. Nick immediately unstrapped him before he and Gus lifted him to the plastic cover floor. They wrapped him tightly in plastic along with the vomit, finishing the job with duct tape. Placing him back on the gurney, the two men wheeled the corpse into a refrigerated room, where they stacked him on top of the wrapped body of Aban inside a large floor freezer. Deke peeked in the room, but stayed outside. Nick knelt down to pet him.
“Sorry, Deke. I’ll change clothes and wash off the gunpowder residue. Then we’ll head topside. We’ll let you run all over the grounds for a while. I’ll give you your fancy chow when we get home.”
Gus remained quiet until he was standing above ground, watching Nick throw Deke a ball across the open grounds. “What’s the next move?”
“We take their car to my friend. I already called him. Jerry’s going to meet us at his shop once it gets dark enough where we won’t attract attention. You’ll like him.”
“What kind of favor did you do for him that he’d make a car disappear for you?”
“For one thing, it will be profitable for him.”
“What favor?”
“Nothing much, nosey,” Nick replied. “See, this is why I should drop you off at your house. Jerry doesn’t like busybodies. He has a great wife, and a couple of kids a little younger than Jean. He minds his own business, and is an excellent body shop tech.”
“Don’t make this like getting my tooth pulled at the Dentist, Nick. What’s he on the pad for?”