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

‘So, what are we doing Yann?’ Sal asked.

‘Waiting, I guess. But I do not fucking like this at all. Anything could be said, we don’t know.’

Pinsky was still talking on his mobile, which clearly angered Voorhees.

‘I don’t get it. Why’s he getting all these calls? I ain’t heard a fucking thing,’ he spoke bitterly.

‘Is … does this mean Leo is in charge now Yann?’ Sal asked quietly, saying what they were all thinking and expecting an explosion.

But Voorhees continued staring down at Pinsky below and shrugged.

‘I got no idea Sal, but this shit is fucked up, and nobody is talking to me.’

‘You want me to try and find out? Like, I could kinda casually mention it, you know.’

Voorhees looked pityingly at Sal.

‘What you gonna say Sal? ‘Say, sorry Leo, but we was wondering. You want a coffee? By the way, you the boss now?’

Sal shrugged.

‘No Yann, not like that. I’d ask him straight out what’s the story? How long we gonna be here? I’d tell him, Yann ain’t hearing a fucking thing so’s I’m asking him. I’ll tell him we got no idea what the fuck is going on. He can take it how he wants I guess.’

Voorhees pursed his lips and continued watching Pinsky.

Finally, he spoke without shifting his gaze.

‘Maybe. Yeah, what the hell, yeah you do that Sal. Why don’t you all go. Give it a try.’

***

John and Louisa sat in the officer’s club as Reed’s guests. Reed had changed into his uniform and seemed even bigger somehow. The place was busy, there were over five thousand soldiers at Fort Indigo.

John was enjoying the cheeseburger, which Reed and Louisa were also eating when suddenly they both stood up.

John wondered what was going on and looked around, realising that another officer was standing behind him. He turned and looked, another big man.

‘Sir, this is John Smith, he’s the man we briefed you on,’ Reed said quickly.

John stood up and the two men shook hands.

‘Nice to meet you John, I’m Major Alex Turner,’ the man spoke quietly with a distinct southern twang.

‘Major Turner is MP XO for Indigo,’ Reed explained.

‘Good to meet you too Major, and many thanks for all your help,’ John said.

‘No problem, mind if I sit?’ Turner asked.

‘Not at all,’ John slid the chair out next to him and the big major dropped into it.

He laid his cap down on the table and looked appreciatively at the food.

‘Cheeseburgers are great here ain’t they?’

‘They really are,’ John smiled.

‘So, I got to ask; what’s the plan here?’

‘Yeah, listen I know you’re breaking a lot of rules here. A civilian being locked up and everything, you have gone the extra mile that’s for sure,’ John said earnestly.

The major held up his hand.

‘You don’t need to think about that at all. I told Tom exactly what was said to me; look after the army. If that means we got to be host to someone without a uniform for a while then so be it. Soon as Tom spoke to me it made sense, all I ask is that nothing happens I may be asked to explain later. That’s it. We keep a clean unit here, and I’d like to keep it that way.’

John nodded.

‘I get it. The problem is we can’t risk him making contact now, and we took him by surprise so they can’t know where he is. We aren’t telling anyone, even the LAPD.’

‘Ok, that’s good. Trust nobody. You heard Major Hayter’s billet got searched, right?’

‘Yeah, Tom said.’

‘As you can guess that is a royal pain in the ass, it means that someone here on this base is no good. Lot of people here, and no clue to where to start.’

‘You got cameras anywhere?’

‘Not really. There are some in the stores and the armoury, but none near the billets. All we got is who might have seen something. We are asking, but nothing so far.’

‘Can I take a look?’ John asked, expecting a firm ‘no’ in response.

Turner gave him a long look, then smiled.

‘I don’t see why not,’ he replied.

They finished eating, and then then left the OC. Luisa went back to the MP office, so John followed Reed and Turner down the hill. The camp was huge, almost a small town. Eventually they crossed a side street and up some steps into a long building lined with small windows. They walked down a corridor with rows of identical pale blue doors on both sides and stopped next to number thirty-seven. Reed produced a key and they went inside.

It was just a basic small room, like a budget motel. Toilet with a shower. Single bed, wardrobe right in front of the door, chest of drawers, footlocker and a small desk. John looked around but there wasn’t much to see, all of Hayter’s belongings had been removed.

‘Officer’s quarters?’ John asked.

Reed nodded.

‘Enlisted men don’t have a bathroom. Fact is not many officers above lieutenant use them. Major Hayter seemed happy enough but he had no family,’ Turner told him.

‘Was the door locked?’

‘Yeah, it was. But the truth is the locks in these buildings are really for show only. A six-year-old could open up one of these rooms if they wanted, the same key probably fits about seventy-five percent of the doors in these buildings. But there are never that many expensive possessions in these rooms. Hayter didn’t own a computer or nothing. He did his gambling on his cellphone.’

John looked under the bed and on top of the wardrobe, and then slid the drawers out.

‘We checked everywhere, there really was nothing to miss. Believe me, even the toilet cistern and around the shower. He didn’t seem to own hardly anything that wasn’t given to him by the army. Except for his car, and we searched that too,’ Reed explained.

John looked at his watch then nodded.

‘Ok, you’re right, nothing to see here. Let’s go and talk to Ron.’

They followed the road back up to the MP station, and went inside. The corporal appeared, and they went back downstairs, through