Seeing Red(25)

“No. Jenks clouted him before he could.”

“And Kerra Bailey didn’t.”

Petey shook his head.

“Leaving only one person who remains a threat to you. To us. Harvey Jenks. Right?”

Petey nodded but looked on the verge of tears.

The other man reached across the table and gripped Petey’s hand hard, like a general commending a volunteer, then motioned him up. “Ask him to come in now.”

“How come?”

“It would look fishy if I didn’t talk to him, too.”

Petey shuffled to the door, opened it, and in a jocular voice that sounded close to normal, said, “Your turn.”

For the next twenty minutes, Harvey Jenks was put through the same drill. His account was almost word for word identical to Petey’s. “When we ran out of time to take care of her, I thought to grab her bag,” he said of the disemboweled Louis Vuitton. “Too bad the fall didn’t kill her.”

“That is too bad. It’s also too bad that The Major’s heart is still beating.”

Jenks reacted with a start, then rubbed the bridge of his nose as he processed it. “Petey shouldn’t have got so trigger happy. Or he should’ve shot him twice. At least.”

“Why didn’t you shoot him as soon as he came to the door?”

“He had a rifle.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“He might’ve got off a shot or two, even if it was recoil. If we’d been hit, it would’ve left blood. Evidence. I disabled him by knocking him out.”

“A shotgun blast to the head would have disabled him.”

Jenks frowned his regret. “Hindsight.”

The man pursed his lips as though thinking it over. “It was Petey’s mistake. He should have made certain his shot was fatal. He didn’t, and now we’re in a fix. This isn’t the first time he’s messed up. He’s excitable and likes to boast. Which makes him a risk we can no longer afford.” He then leaned across the table, crooked his finger, and lowered his voice to a whisper.

Several minutes later, Jenks left the room, having been given the same order as his cohort had been issued a few minutes earlier. It would be interesting to see which of the two returned. Whoever did would have proven himself to be blindly obedient and absolutely ruthless.

The man sat back in his chair, fingered the adorned leather case of Kerra Bailey’s cell phone. She had made that stunning revelation during the interview, no doubt counting on it to further her career.

Rather than to end her life.



Trapper checked into the motel where Kerra had been staying since Tuesday. Once settled into his room, he called Carson.

“These calls are getting old, Trapper,” he growled. “If you need somebody to talk to in the middle of the night, why don’t you get married.”

“The Major’s been shot.”

After several seconds of silence, Carson blurted, “Gunshot?”

“He’s alive, but only by a thread.”

More silence, then, “You’re not kidding.”

“No.”

“Jesus, man. This is unreal. My bride and me took a timeout to watch the interview.”

“Happened a couple of hours after it.”

“We shut off the TV and went to bed early.”

He gave Carson a rundown of the chain of events. “I just left the hospital. She looks like Rocky, and he’s critical.”

“Swear to God, Trapper, I don’t know what to say. You see the interview? They dropped quite a bombshell.” After a beat, he groaned, “Oh hell, bad word choice.”

“It’s okay. It was a bombshell.”

“Are you all right? I mean, you know, he’s your dad and all.”

“I’m all right.”

“You’re compartmentalizing.”

Carson must’ve picked that up from Dr. Phil, but damn if it wasn’t accurate.

“Are you gonna stay up there?”

“Yeah,” Trapper said. “I need to be here. My car’s still not ready, so I had to bring the loaner. If the body shop wants to tack on a few days’ rental, I’ll understand.”

“Okay. I’ll let the guy know. I’m sure he’s cool with you keeping it for a while longer.”

“Thanks.”

“Does anybody know what happened? Any suspects?”

“The Major’s friend is sheriff, remember. His department is investigating, but the Rangers and feds will probably join in.”

“Just as well. You told me this sheriff and The Major are blood brothers. He can’t be objective.”

“What I told him.”

“Especially if The Major doesn’t make it.”

“If he doesn’t, Glenn said he would go caveman on whoever killed him.”

“So would you.”

Trapper didn’t comment on that. “Listen, is the honeymoon over?”

“As of this phone call, yes,” Carson said drily. “She’s had it with you. But both of us are back to work in the morning anyway.”

“It is morning. Almost five thirty. Local TV has already issued bulletins about the shooting, but the story will start getting full coverage on the morning newscasts. Keep an eye out at the office. Anyone comes poking around, you let me know.”