Sting

Chapter 39

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A s Shaw and Wiley walked from the pier back toward the house, Wiley mopped sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. “I was afraid we’d find his body or a grave in one of those buildings.”

“Crossed my mind.”

“Your side hurt?”

“Yeah.”

“There’s blood on your shirt.”

Shaw seemed not have heard that. He was distracted, his brow creased with concentration. “You called this in?”

“They’re on their way. We gotta keep them from trampling those tire tracks. If we get a cast, maybe we can type Josh’s car.”

Without breaking stride, Shaw looked toward the house. “See that it’s done quickly, then let’s get everybody out of sight. We should lay an ambush. Didn’t look like he cleared out for good, did it? He left clothes behind. His glasses.”

“Maybe he didn’t leave of his own volition,” Wiley said. “Maybe he was removed.”

“By Panella, you mean?”

“Exactly.”

“Maybe,” Shaw said thoughtfully. “But nothing indicates that a fight took place.”

“Hard to tell. The place is a shambles.”

“I know, but…”

“What?” Wiley prodded.

“I don’t know. Something keeps bothering me.”

“Heat’s bothering me,” Wiley mumbled, blotting his forehead again. “What’s bothering you?”

“I can’t quite pull it up.” He slowed. Wiley paused with him. Shaw said, “The first time I talked to Panella was on Saturday afternoon. Called him on Mickey’s phone to begin the negotiation of a new deal. That was around two o’clock.”

“Okay.”

“That same afternoon around three thirty, Josh shipped Jordie a cell phone.”

He turned to stare hard at Wiley, but Wiley got the impression that Shaw wasn’t seeing him at all, but rather a puzzle with one vital piece missing.

Suddenly Shaw said, “Those devices are easily obtainable off the Internet.”

“Pardon?”

“That’s what you said. Earlier today.” He whipped his gaze back to the house, then his long strides started eating up the distance back to it. By the time Wiley caught up to him, he was pushing through the back door.

“What are you thinking?” Wiley asked as he followed him through the kitchen and into the dining room.

“Josh wasn’t hedging his bet when he mailed that phone. He knew Jordie was alive. An hour and a half earlier, he’d heard her shout through the speaker of the phone.”

By now they’d reached the porch. Shaw drew up short and, in the instant that Wiley saw the empty driver’s seat, Shaw said, “Oh, fuck me.” He drew his pistol. “Search the house,” he shouted as he leaped over the steps, landed hard on the ground below, and took off running.

Wiley spun around and ran back into the house. The first thing he noticed was the opening in the corner of the dining room. He ran toward it, saw the staircase and bolted up it.

Nearly gagging on the smell, he topped the stairs and saw the open body bag on the attic floor.

Inside was a badly decomposed corpse. The eyelids were held open with toothpicks. The skeletal right hand was holding a pistol. On the left, a diamond ring glittered from the pinkie.

It was Billy Panella.