Read Online A Stolen Season by Steve Hamilton - Free Book Online Page A

welcome here anymore.”
    “Leave this bar,” Jackie said. “Leave it now.”
    “How much for the beers?”
    “Just. Leave.”
    Cap put the bottle down. He gave his friend a little tilt of his head and then aimed for the door. When he got to Vinnie, he looked him up and down for a moment. “We have to stop meeting like this,” Cap said.
    Vinnie didn’t say anything. He stepped aside slowly and let them pass. They opened the door and left the place. Through the window I could see them getting into one of those big Cadillac Escalades. It was black with silver trim.
    “What did they want?” Vinnie said.
    “They wanted to buy me a drink,” I said. “So Jackie gave them some of my beer.”
    “How the hell was I supposed to know better?” Jackie said, putting the bat away. “You could have said something.”
    “Is that all they wanted?” Vinnie said. “It looked like they were getting ready to tear this place apart.”
    “After they expressed their gratitude, they sort of moved on to another topic. Apparently, there was some kind of floating box in the boat last night. They seemed to think I might know something about it.”
    “Did you?”
    “I honestly never saw it.”
    “A floating box. What the hell could have been in there?”
    “They said it was just their wallets and cash.”
    “Who gets in a boat, takes out their wallet, and puts it in a box?”
    “Yeah, it sounded a little fishy to me, too.”
    Vinnie thought about it for a while. “I’m gonna head out,” he said. “We can get back to work tomorrow, eh?”
    “What are you going to do?”
    “I just want to check on something.”
    “On what? Vinnie, for God’s sake, you’re not gonna do something stupid, are you?”
    “No, I just want to go see somebody, make sure she’s all right. A woman who was working at the casino last night.”
    “You want me to come with you?”
    “No, she might not talk to me if you’re there.”
    “Vinnie, you’re not going after them now, are you? Am I gonna have to bail you out of jail again?”
    “One time, Alex. One time in my whole life. You make it sound like I get put in jail every week.”
    “I’m just saying. If you’re gonna go do something stupid, let me know first. So we can do it together.”
    “Okay, I promise. I’ll see you later.”
    And then he was gone, too. I finished my beer and watched Jackie trying to calm himself down.
    “I would have hit the big guy,” he said. “I swear to God. If he had laid a hand on you, I would have broken that bat right over his head.”
    “Nothing like a wood bat,” I said. “Don’t you hate the sound those aluminum bats make?”
    “What?”
    “When you hit him, it would have been ‘clang!’ I hate that sound.”
    “You’re worse than Vinnie.”
    “No, I think it’s a tie.” I got up, went back to the chair by the fire, and grabbed my coat.
    “Where are you going?”
    “Same deal,” I said. “I’ve gotta go check on somebody, too.”

     
    I thought about what the man had said as I drove. He needs to understand, Brucie. The man needs some enlightenment. Unless it was the most useless bluff in the history of bluffing, this man named Cap knew something important. Maybe he was important himself. Although, hell, I didn’t even know his last name. I had no idea who the hell this man was.
    The rain started. I took Lakeshore Drive, my favorite lonely road in the world, but today the view was nothing but a study in gray. Water. Sky. The whole mood of the day.
    I took the road all the way down to Brimley. I could have stopped at the reservation, tried to find Vinnie, but I let him be. Instead I went to Tyler’s house. I parked in front, happy not to see the black Escalade there. Although from what they had said, it sounded like they had already paid a visit here. I knocked on the front door.
    A woman answered. She was about five foot nothing, and she looked like she came from the same hippie culture as Tyler. She had a wonderful smile, though.