Even sitting there on the ground with her blouse torn and her torso covered in blood spray, Callie was hotter than a habanero. To any other man her invitation would have sounded like a dream come true. But I knew her well enough to know that whatever this was about, it wasn’t about us hooking up. In earlier times I’d taken my best shots to bed her and struck out every time.
Still, a little clarification wouldn’t hurt.
“I’m with Kathleen now,” I said. “I thought you knew.”
Callie laughed and said, “Jesus, Donovan, get a grip!”
“Okay,” I said. “I was just making sure.”
“You have any idea how old you are?”
“I got it, Callie, it’s a platonic trip. I get the picture.”
“Old enough to be my father, you sick degenerate.”
“I’m fourteen years older than you. Period.
“In dog years, maybe.”
I sighed. “When do you want to go?”
“How’s Wednesday sound?”
“I’ve got a meeting in Newark Wednesday morning, eight-thirty. I can meet you at the airport there around ten.”
“Same Fixed Base Operator as last time?”
“Same FBO, different jet.”
“I’ll be waiting in the lobby,” she said, “with bells on.”
“Try getting bells through civilian security these days,” I said.
“I appreciate it, Donovan.”
I nodded.
She stood and said, “Bickham’s in the driver’s seat, Charlie’s under the front wheel, right side, these two you’ve seen. We done here?”
I handed Callie a small flashlight.
“Can you hold this on the dash for me?” I said.
Through the driver’s window, she focused enough light for me to work. I took a small plastic baggie out of my pocket and leaned into the van through the passenger seat door. I took some fingerprint tape out of the baggie and transferred several partials onto the dashboard and a perfect palm print for the side of the seat that Charlie had lowered. Then I took three strands of blond hair from the bag and put one on the seat, one on the floor, and one on the sleeve of Bickham’s shirt, near the cuff .
“You left the shells where they landed, right?” I said, going through my mental checklist.
Callie didn’t bother to answer. She was the consummate pro.
I looked around a bit longer, making sure I didn’t miss anything. I put the plastic baggie back in my pocket and took two gallon-sized plastic bags out of my duffel bag.
“Ready for the guns,” I said.
I wiped mine down and placed it carefully into one of the plastic bags and put it in the duffel. Callie handed me hers and I cleaned and packed it with the other one.
“Crime scene’s okay,” I said.
“What about the video camera?”
“Sal didn’t trust Teddy to remove it, so he put a guy in the bar. He won’t leave without it.”
“You think Sal will try to use it against us someday?”
“Nah. Our people can discredit any type of evidence.”
I took a windbreaker out of the duffel and handed it to her.
“Put this on to cover your arm,” I said. “We’ll drive awhile before removing that tattoo.”
“I’ll do it after you drop me off. I’ve got some polish remover that works pretty well, but a job like this will take some time.”
“You still wearing the brown contacts?” I said.
She turned the flashlight onto her face.
“You like? You saw them earlier.”
“Huge difference,” I said. Callie’s natural pale-gray eyes were hypnotic. These were normal.
“I guess we’re ready,” I said. “Still, I’d feel better if we were doing the body double instead of Sal.”
Callie shrugged. “This is Goober Town, Donovan, not
Part of the plan was to have Teddy Boy take a picture of Callie at the restaurant with his cell phone camera, from a distance, but making sure he got at least a hazy shot of the outrageous tattoo on her right arm. When the local detectives come to the bar to interview people, Teddy Boy would remember taking the picture.
Sal already had a victim lined up that matched the tattoo, a dancer named Shawna. It was Shawna’s hair that I’d placed in the van. Shawna only vaguely resembled Callie, but Sal didn’t intend for much to be identifiable beyond the hair and tattoo. She was a dancer in one of Sal’s clubs in Cleveland, and had recently committed the unpardonable sin of threatening one of Sal’s lieutenants with exposure. Sal’s guy was preparing to kill her when Sal forced him to hide her instead, and keep her alive until he gave the word. I hoped the angry lieutenant would refrain from killing her until I could get Callie’s gun to Sal, so he could get the dancer’s prints on it. I hadn’t intended to use my gun tonight, but I did, so now I’d have to take it apart and scatter it, piece by piece, over a wide area.
“How long will we be in Vegas?” I asked.
Callie smirked at me. “Gotta check in with the ‘ol ball and chain?”
I shrugged. “When you’re in a committed relationship, there are certain rules of protocol.”
“So you’ll tell her we’re going to Vegas, just you and me?”
“Full disclosure is not one of the rules.”
“One night.”
“Excuse me?”
“We’ll be in Vegas one night.”
