LITMIR.BIZ

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pried the revolver out of McCloskey’s hand and passed it up to Shorty.

      “You can have the honours.”

      Jigsaw told the driver to pull over. Shorty looked around then jumped out and darted across the street. Railroad tracks were directly below and beyond the tracks was the river. Holding the gun by the barrel, Shorty hurled it towards an ice floe, ran back, and climbed into the car.

      “There’s nothing like a Colt for settling an argument.”

      “Or a blade, eh, Jigsaw?”

      “Wipe your nose, Morand.”

      McCloskey glanced out the window. He was still in shock. Snow squalls blew up from the river and big white flakes swirled in the headlight beams like sparks in a foundry. The car rumbled a little further along the Drive before turning up a side street.

      “Where are we?”

      “A friend’s house,” answered Jigsaw. “Shorty, go to the door and make sure everything’s copasetic.”

      The house looked abandoned. The windows were boarded up and some of the clapboard was falling away. McCloskey watched Shorty ascend to the veranda, knock on the door, and mouth some words into a small opening. Shorty then turned and gave them the signal. McCloskey followed Jigsaw out and the driver disappeared with the car.

      Inside, the place had all the charm of a bus station lavatory and was just this side of derelict with its crumbling plaster and rotten floorboards. McCloskey was led upstairs. Two men stood like sentries outside a closed door. One of them gave a knock and a voice from the other side said to come.

      McCloskey caught his jaw before it dropped. The Lieutenant was sitting behind a mahogany desk, listening to a telephone receiver and nodding. The room was fancier than the office in the pool hall and better outfitted. It reminded McCloskey of those British officers stationed in the far reaches of the empire with their liquor cabinets, phonograph players, and portraits of the king — all the comforts of home. The Lieutenant hung up.

      “It was a drug bust, opium and cocaine. A couple dope runners from Montreal had been operating out of one of the rooms. Two dagos got pinched. There was a Chinese too. He was probably the fence. The mess in the alley was a different kettle of fish, something the cops hadn’t anticipated.”

      The Lieutenant leaned forward and rolled his cigar from one corner of his mouth to the other.

      “You surprise me, Killer. I knew you had the instinct, but this is a little different. Your own brother. Damn.”

      McCloskey just stood there, silent. The last thing he was going to do was spill about having not even fired his revolver. He was trying to think of all the angles. He studied the Lieutenant and could tell that his wheels were turning.

      “This looks good on you, McCloskey. It looks good on all of us. It says we know how to hold a position.”

      The Lieutenant kept shifting his cigar in his mouth. He took only furtive glances at McCloskey now. He made another dramatic pause before continuing.

      “Looks like you’re going to have to disappear for a while. The cops have more witnesses than they can handle and the drug bust complicates things. We’re going to leave the investigators to do their job — unless they get too close, and then we might have to close the file for them.”

      The Lieutenant rose from his chair and started pacing around the room. He finally lit on the edge of his desk and sat there quietly for a moment, arms folded. McCloskey couldn’t read him, though he had a sense that something was wrong.

      “So while the cops are sniffing around, trying to look like they know what they’re doing, you’ll be in Hamilton.”

      “Hamilton?”

      The Lieutenant brushed come ashes off his knee. “Yeah, Hamilton. Brown could use your talents for a while. When things settle down we’ll call you back.”

      McCloskey looked over at Jigsaw, who seemed surprised, perhaps even a little disappointed. Maybe Jigsaw was hoping the Lieutenant would throw him to the cops, make a scapegoat out of him in order to take the heat off. Jigsaw never liked McCloskey; he had made that clear from the beginning. He said McCloskey was only good for providing entertainment for the crew. McCloskey always watched his back when he was alone with him.

      “Our driver will take you part way. He’ll make sure you don’t get into any trouble. You’ll rendezvous with one of Brown’s boys and he’ll take you into Hamilton.”

      When McCloskey finally managed to get the Lieutenant’s undivided attention, he looked into his eyes and saw something he had never seen before. He didn’t recognize it at first. Then he realized what it was. It was fear.

      “They’re expecting you, Killer. Now scram.”

      — Chapter 7 —

      JUST LUCKY, I GUESS

      McCloskey woke from a deep sleep when the engine stopped. He rubbed his eyes and looked out the window. An illuminated sign in the near distance blinked.

      ALL DAY BREAKFAST

      They were parked at a roadhouse. He slid his cuff away from his wristwatch and then attempted some simple math, but his mind was still somewhere back down the road.

      “Where are we?”

      “Brantford.”

      The driver flashed his headlights. Another vehicle parked several car lengths away flashed back.

      “Wait here.”

      McCloskey watched the drivers exchanging words for a minute or two before he was gestured to come forward. The blast of cold air woke him fully.

      “You’re in good hands, Killer. We’ll see you when you’re finished your tour.”

      The other driver told McCloskey to get in and then they pulled away slowly through the drifting snow. He introduced himself as Slip and briefed McCloskey on the situation in Hamilton.

      The story went something like this: not too long ago, Brown got into a routine of absorbing members of rival gangs they had subdued. He envisioned a sort of Grand Army of the local underworld, with himself as its Napoleon. This scheme worked well enough at first, but lately Brown had to question the loyalty of some of these soldiers. There were too many unfortunate coincidences, and a pattern of double-crossing was developing. It had come down to Brown struggling to maintain control of his outfit while simultaneously trying to keep resurgent gangs at bay. Drastic measures had to be taken before the Montreal boss was forced to intervene. A couple of days before, Brown turned to Green for help. After the incident involving the McCloskeys in Windsor, Green was looking for help as well. The lieutenants came to an agreement that was mutually beneficial.

      The driver parked at a warehouse down on the waterfront. He led McCloskey inside and through a maze of massive containers that eventually opened up to an arrangement of crates that seemed to suggest an office. A bare bulb hung in the middle of the space. Either this was all Brown needed to run his operation, or it was all he had left. Brown smiled and extended a hand.

      “Killer McCloskey.”

      McCloskey nodded and gripped the hand firmly. “Lieutenant Brown.”

      Brown was a small man but not insubstantial. There was tension in his body, but he wasn’t nervous or agitated. He was taut, precise, and lean.

      He filled three small glasses then handed one to Slip and one to McCloskey.

      “Slip paint a picture for you?”

      “Yeah.”

      “You’ve got your work cut out.”

      “I can handle it.”

      “That’s all I wanted to hear.”

      They drained their glasses and set them back down on the battered wooded crates in front of them.

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