Fat Tuesday(110)

"What are we going to do?"

"I don't know yet. But you need to sit down before you fall down.

You're as nervous as a whore in church. Thirsty? I'll get you a Dr. Pepper."

Gregory gratefully took a chair at the table Dredd indicated. From the corner of his eye Dredd saw him recoil from the baby alligator heads.

A dozen of them had been shellacked and left to dry on the table.

"Here." Dredd passed him an opened can of the cold drink. Gregory clutched it with a shaking hand and gulped it "What's our plan?" he asked between drinks.

"I'll be on the pier, fishing."

"Okay," Gregory agreed."Where will I be?"

Dredd peered deeply into the younger man's eyes."Hmm?"

"I shaid ... I shaid ... Wha'thu hell?"

Going out like a light, Gregory fell forward, his head thumping on the tabletop an inch from one of the gators' gleaming, open maws.

'"The boy just can't hold his Dr. Pepper."

Dredd moved behind Gregory, caught him beneath the arms, and dragged his limp form into the bedroom, where he placed him on the far side of the bed between it and the wall. It wasn't an ideal hiding place, but it would be temporary.

Gregory would wake up with a slight headache from banging his head on the table, but he would suffer no aftereffects from the sleeping potion that Dredd had added to his soft drink. It was a small dosage, just enough to knock him unconscious and keep him out of the way while Dredd dealt with Duvall's goons.

The adrenaline rush he was experiencing was better than any drug Mother Nature or Man had devised. He didn't miss the bullshit politics of his former job, the rules and regulations, the confinement, but he did miss the excitement. Until now, he hadn't realized how badly he'd missed it.

He was looking forward to the next several minutes.

If Gregory was telling the truth, and if his calculations were correct, Dredd figured he had four minutes at the outside until the "fishermen" showed up. Between now and then, he had a lot to do.

"Hey, Mac. What brings you out this way?"

"You scared the shit out of me."

Burke pulled open the screened door and stepped into the cabin.

"Who were you expecting?"

"Nobody. I mean, I was expecting you to be inside here with Mrs. Duvall."

"Really?"

"Yeah, your brother "

"I know all about it. I spoke to Joe this morning. He told me about your frantic phone calls. I don't appreciate the fright tactic you used on him, Mac."

"I had no choice."

"So what's the crisis?"

"Goddamn it, Burke, cut the crap," Mac exclaimed."You've gone round the bend. You've kidnapped Pinkie Duvall's wife and you're hiding her here in your fishing cabin."

"That's only partially true," Burke said blandly."I have gone 'round the bend, and I did kidnap Mrs. Duvall, but I had the good sense not to bring her here."

Dredd had warned him against taking Remy to his fishing cabin, where it was possible someone eventually would come looking for them. Instead, he had suggested that Burke use a shack he owned and sometimes leased out. It was similarly equipped, but located in a more remote spot on a hard-to-find slough off a seldom-navigated bayou. Because he had heeded Dredd's advice, the hideaway was still a secret known only to him and Dredd.

"If you're looking for Mrs. Duvall here, you're cold, Mac. Very cold.

You're also trespassing. Clear out."

"Burke, listen to me, please. I know you've never thought too highly of me. Fine. I know I got on your nerves, and you probably think I'm a lousy cop. That's okay, too. Think what you want, but give me credit for knowing what I'm talking about this one time. He's going to kill you."

"I assume you're referring to Duvall."

"He won't dirty his hands, but he'll have your head on a plate, or he'll die trying."

"That's what I'm counting on. That he'll die trying."

"And you'll spend the rest of your life in prison."

"I'm familiar with the criminal statutes for the state of Louisiana but thanks all the same for the brush-up course and for your advice.

Now, I'm busy. See ya, Mac."

Mac stepped around Burke, placing himself between Burke and the open door."Is she all right?"

"Hell, yes, she's all right," Burke answered angrily."Do you think I would hurt a woman?"

"No, but I didn't think you'd kidnap one either!" Mac shouted.

Then, getting a grip on his temper, he used a more reasonable tone.

"I'm trying to keep you from ruining your life. You're up to your hairline in shit, but it's not too late to reverse the situation.

Return Mrs. Duvall to her husband. Then, with my help, maybe this thing can be worked out."

Burke laughed."Duvall's not going to forgive and forget that I took his wife, Mac. What dreamworld are you living in?"

"Okay then, let me take her off your hands and return her home.

You disappear. End of story."

"The end of the story doesn't come until Duvall's heart stops beating and Bardo is dead. Before they die, I'm going to have them identify the cop who's been selling out our division, and then I'm going to kill him, too."