Dying For LA by Ian Jones (top fiction books of all time .txt) 📕

‘Man, you get stuck in,’ Reed said, impressed.

John shrugged.

‘It was a missing person case. I was looking for somebody’s daughter. MacMillan was just another part of the shitstorm I walked into.’

‘So, can he be involved somehow?’ Judy asked.

‘Not sure, I can’t make that fit, not with what went down at the Metro station. And why kill the major? But maybe Kyle is onto something. I suppose it could all be about Madeline. She lived with Deanna, they were friends, hell they were standing side by side at the Metro,’ Keane looked at everyone.

‘All the more reason to get to Vegas,’ Judy said flatly.

‘Yeah, I got to talk to you guys about that,’ Keane said. ‘Come out to the car lot.’

They filed out, and Keane showed them a big minivan, and slid open the side door.

‘I figured with these two huge motherfuckers travelling in a normal car wouldn’t work,’ he told them nodding at Warner and Reed.

John looked inside, it was a few years old, but a sea of leather and comfort.

‘Smart idea.’

‘I borrowed it, we got things like this falling out of our assholes. But listen up, I got bad news on Vegas, I ain’t gonna be coming with you. All sorts of pain in the ass jurisdiction issues between us and Vegas PD, no way are they gonna let me trample everywhere talking to any of their citizens.’

‘Really? That can’t be right,’ Judy looked confused.

‘I got to follow orders like everyone, and that is from the top. But I figure you probably don’t really need me, you got CIA, FBI, and Tom here is a cop, of sorts, plus you got John, if anyone gets difficult.’

‘Well …’ Warner started, but Keane interrupted him.

‘I’m sorry. I got to sit this one out. But really, you don’t need me.’

They decided to go and eat dinner in the bar, and filed back across the street in silence. John was disappointed that Keane wouldn’t be going with them, but he supposed that they would be OK.

They decided they would leave for Vegas first thing in the morning, concentrate on the south end of the strip, but they would get up to The Stratosphere at some point, and check out the motel that Hayter used to stay in. Hopefully they could find someone who knew something, knew more than they did anyway.

***

Alone in the first-floor office that had become their base, Rico made a what would eventually become an important discovery. Back in the apartment Voorhees would lock himself away in the office and he and Sal would be none the wiser to what was going on, all they could make out was the odd word here and there. But now, he could hear every word that Voorhees said when he was talking on his mobile phone, something he did a great deal of.

Sal had gone out for some dinner and they had eaten, then Voorhees’ phone rang. He got up and went into the office to take the call, closing the door behind him. Sal went downstairs to take a shower, so Rico was left sitting on the sofa. They were trying to make the TV work properly so he was just relishing a few minutes on his own.

He realised he could hear Voorhees talking, and glanced over. Through the glass partition he could see the big man pensively rubbing his head. He was listening intently to whoever had called him, the phone glued to his ear, and trying to speak when he could get a word in.

Voorhees spoke at last.

‘Well OK, I guess it’s your call, but I got to tell you that it’s out of my control if you do that,’

Listening.

‘I don’t know, I was told it was three …’

Listening.

‘Do you need me to …’

Listening.

‘Yes … but …’

Listening.

‘I don’t know him …’

Listening.

‘I still think …’

Listening and looking frustrated, trying to speak.

Then he saw Voorhees stare at the phone and drop it on the desk they had put in there for him. Whoever he was speaking to had hung up the call. Voorhees stood there, static, and Rico could see he was worried. Then he picked up the phone again and dialled.

‘Vegas.’

This was the only thing he said, then hung up the call.

He walked out the office and stood in front of Rico.

‘Where’s Sal?’

‘Shower.’

Voorhees nodded slowly.

‘OK, we got to step up tomorrow, get prepared. Everything will go down this week and we need to be ready.’

‘What we got to do Yann?’

‘We get four new guys, tomorrow, probably late. They’re a team, always work together, so we aren’t just gonna get some lowlife assholes. This time. But we need to make sure we’re squared away, right? I don’t want no problems, no bullshit.’

‘A team?’ this puzzled Rico, he had always thought they were all loners, like he was.

‘Yeah. Coming in from St Louis. Apparently these guys don’t fuck around, so we got to show we are for real.’

‘Got it.’ Rico looked around the tatty, dusty room, wondering how it would look to any newcomers. But he didn’t say anything.

Sal walked in drying his hair with a towel, and Voorhees repeated what he had just said to Rico.

Rico watched Sal nodding and sitting down, knowing he was thinking the same thing he was.

What now?

Chapter Eighteen

They decided to get breakfast on the road so got away early in the morning. Warner drove, as usual, with Reed sitting up front next to him. John and Judy shared the bench seat behind. There was a lot of room, and everyone was comfortable for the long drive ahead. But Judy seemed on edge, constantly chatting about nothing in particular and desperate to make progress.

Reed told them that Louisa Gonzalez had got the financial information on Major Hayter. He was in the army but basically, he had an office job, and as they already knew didn’t work weekends. He lived pretty much hand to mouth, he would get paid, make a big cash withdrawal on a Friday. Maxed-out credit cards, overdrawn at the bank. Until