Sunny pulled away with a slight screech of the tires. That’s when I did it. What the hell? The boat was locked. I patted the nine in my pocket. I was fully protected. The moon was full and a light breeze was still blowing out of the northeast. It was the perfect night for a quick jaunt. The series of events was doing its best to crush me. I needed the exercise . . . and the distraction.
I turned right out of the marina parking lot. There was no one on the street and the traffic had died down to the occasional SUV tottering by. It was well lit and I clutched the nine to my side. It was deadly, but small, and no one would detect it unless they were psychic or had x-ray vision.
I hadn’t gone a hundred yards when I head a rustling behind me from the hedges beside the road. A .45 was pointed at my head. The small hand holding it belonged to Elmer. He’d already told me he was going to kill me when he got the okay from The Boss Lady. I guess he had. He gave me that rat-like grin. His teeth were still yellow and his eyes glowed like tiny black diamonds.
“I tol’ ya I’d be back.” A small speck of spittle gleamed from between his lips. “She said do it and I’m gonna, but first I wanna see you squirm . . . maybe even shit in your pants. I wanna remember this like I remember the time I pissed on that Afghani scum. Maybe he was too dead to notice, but I damned sure wasn’t. You wanna beg a little, Perfessor . . . or you jus’ want it quick and clean?”
I needed time. I didn’t know what for. I guess I was just desperate for a few last breaths, maybe a reprieve from whatever gods might be looking down.
“Elmer, Acie. You don’t want to do this. They’ll hunt you down . . . you and Ma. Sooner or later, they’ll get you. And I want to live.”
“So sorry, Doc. I got my orders . . . and I never did like you too much. Bend over and kiss your ass goodbye. At least you die knowing we’ll be visiting your lady real soon.”
He held the .45 tightly, the long barrel focused on my forehead. Just then a Caddy Escalade rolled slowly down the street with his brights on. Elmer glanced, threw up a hand and blinked. I went to one knee and raised the nine. The slug hit him square in the belly. He dropped the pistol and rolled to his side, moaning like a stray and shaking in agony. The blood was pooling quickly. I stood up and took a step toward him. Suddenly 220 lbs. of solid flesh slammed into the small of my back. I heard the words, “My boy, my beautiful boy,” as I huffed and struggled for breath. The Kel-Tec bounced into the gutter. She flipped me onto my back, straddled me, and locked her hands around my throat. I tried to buck her off, but I could hardly breathe and the weight was too much. I grabbed her wrists and tugged frantically, but Ma was about to live up to her nickname. This was her brand of mayhem and I was about to be the next corpse.
Things began to fade. I was waiting for the black . . . the last darkness . . . the one from which I wouldn’t return. I stopped fighting. Let it be done. There was a sense of relief. No more murders, no more Ghostcatcher. But what about Sunny? Elmer as much as said she’d be next. I tried to summon one more burst of strength. I wanted the rage to drive me . . . make me into a superman and a hero. It wouldn’t come.
I was floating. The sun beat on our backs. The wind was from the southwest. The snowy sails held steady in a graceful curve and the rush of the water over the hull was constant and soothing. Her golden hair waltzed in the breeze and muted her smile, and the music of her laughter. I could see the buildings at West End and the entrance to Indian Key channel. Soon we would be on the Bahama banks and headed for Great Sale. We’d anchor in the sweet protection of the basin. Maybe go for a swim and enjoy a cocktail while the orange sun sank on the western horizon. I had some steaks for the grill and a bottle of fine Cabernet. After dinner we’d make love like never before, touching, testing each other with our tongues, bathing in the light sweat and coming together like a thing that was all meant to be.
Then KAMALA slammed into something with a sound like a cannon. I wanted to move, but all I could feel was the concrete at my back. I think I gasped, but I wasn’t sure. I was on the dull side walk. Sunny was riding Ma like a brahma bull. The snot spit from Ma’s nostrils in steady bursts as she snorted and heaved. Sunny tore at the hair and went for the eyes, but Ma had her huge paws on the back of Sunny’s head. Sunny was clawing, but she was losing to the behemoth. Ma flipped her over her head and Sunny flattened onto the solid gray surface. She got up more quickly than I could possibly have imagined and crouched like a fierce lioness protecting her wounded cub.
I managed to roll over. I looked for the .45 or the nine. Either would do, but my eyes danced a crazy rhythm and neither weapon was in sight. I crept, but it was slow and I was barely conscious. Somewhere in the dim light, I realized I might soon be watching Sunny die.
Ma rushed her and got a forearm around her neck. She grinned through the spittle on her lips. This was the death hold. Sunny choked and tried to separate the muscle from her throat, but it was too much. Her eyes rolled back in her head and her knees buckled.
I wouldn’t make it in time. I knew that, but still I tried. Sunny’s eyes rolled back in her head and her chin dropped to her chest. The steel in Ma’s bicep flexed and squeezed the last breath out of the woman I loved. Then I heard the explosion.
Ma’s mouth dropped open and a glob of thick blood instantly appeared at the corner of her lips. The muscle went soft. She eased Sunny’s body to the ground and turned. One more step and the second shot sounded. The monster stood for a moment and stared down at the hole in her chest. It was a creeping mass of crimson. She raised her arms and roared in one final act of defiance, then tumbled onto the cement like a huge sack of something dirty and heavy that had been violently discarded.
Bill approached the body. It was still. He put two fingers to her thick neck. I saw a man in a suit the color of dull chrome, gun drawn and pointed at the motionless Elmer. Bill went for Sunny first. Her chest was heaving slightly. She choked down a couple of breaths as he helped her sit up. My mind began to clear. I coughed up a few hunks of phlegm and shook my head. I was seeing only one of everything. Despite a jack hammer pounding in my brain, my thoughts became crystal. I was alive and so was Sunny. A second man, this one in black, put an arm around my shoulders and lifted me to my feet. Bill and “His Boys” had come through.
Sunny was already up. Bill steadied her, while she threw her arms around me. The sobs were welcome and the tears soaking my shirt were salty and warm.