DevilMayRide

14
Sadie forced the ache in her heart into fury and used that emotion to propel her into cleaning her house at a fevered pitch. She took her gun from the upper shelf of her closet and kept it within arm’s reach, just in case the bikers decided to make another visit. But her mind wasn’t on bikers. As she waded through the debris, her mind continuously drifted to Zack.
Within three hours she had drunk her way through another pot of coffee and managed to sweep and pick up most of what had been dumped from closets and cupboards. She’d used nearly a dozen trash bags to contain the debris.
She turned on her kitchen radio and welcomed the annoying arrogance of a local announcer as she wiped down a smudge of ketchup that Zack missed. The sound of the disc jockey cracking jokes was better than the sound of her own labored breathing as she cleaned. And better than the murderous thoughts inside her own head. Soon the biggest telltale sign that something bad had happened was the fingerprint powder that offered smudged marks, most likely all her own, throughout the house. Fingerprint powder could be difficult to remove, but Sadie had more than enough experience cleaning up worse substances.
Dawn called as she was put away her cleaning supplies.
“Aunt Lynn and I have decided to come and help you clean.”
“You’re too late. I’m all done.”
“There’s no way you could be finished so soon,” Dawn exclaimed.
“Well, I am.”
“Okay, then I guess we’ll go to the mall. Want to come?”
“Why don’t you stay home today? Put your feet up and relax.” Sadie nibbled her bottom lip with concern.
“I don’t want to hang around the house all day,” Dawn protested. “I’ve still got lots of stuff I need to get for the baby.”
Sadie thought about it and realized being surrounded by a throng of shoppers would probably be a safe place for Dawn.
“Okay, but call me later,” Sadie told Dawn.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come?”
“Thanks, but I’ve got my own shopping to do. I’ll probably go and pick up a new computer monitor.”
“I don’t like you hanging around that house. It’s dangerous.”
“I won’t be hanging around here. I’m almost done,” Sadie said.
“Are you okay? You sound kind of, I don’t know . . .> sad.”
“Just tired. Could you make sure you give Hairy some food and fresh water before you go out?”
She said good-bye and then surveyed her surroundings. She’d done good for a woman scorned, but she definitely needed a second shower.
When she emerged dripping and pink from the hot water, the first thing she heard was raucous laughter. Her heart skipped a beat, but then she realized it was only the radio. She shook her head at her own skittishness. She dressed and walked into the kitchen to make toast. The radio morning man was cracking jokes about the heat.
It’s so hot in Seattle this week, the trees are whistling for the dogs.
Sadie rolled her eyes at his lame joke and turned down the radio just a bit before dropping a slice of bread in the toaster. Just as the toast popped, the phone rang and Sadie snatched it up without checking the incoming caller.
“Hi, Sweets,” Scott Reed’s voice smoothed into her ear.
“What do you want?”
“Besides your body next to mine, you mean?”
“Yeah. Besides that,” she snapped.
“The Bellevue meth house is ready to be scrubbed spick-and-span and I’m anxious to do the walk-through with you.”
“Yes, the out-of-town owner called their insurance company and got approval for me to proceed when the cops gave the place a go-ahead. But I haven’t heard the property is ready,” Sadie said. “Sorry if I have to go by more than just your say-so.”
She really did not want to clean another meth lab and she sure as hell didn’t want Scott Reed tagging along.
“Hey, my sources tell me it’s a go.”
“Your sources don’t mean squat to me, Scott. Besides, I’m really not in the mood—”
“Yeah, sorry to hear about your place getting bulldozed, Sweets. Too bad the bikers think you’ve got some of their cash, but, hey, you know sometimes having contacts in the media can be a good thing. . . .”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe I could, you know, talk to a friend at the Seattle Times and hint that the cops believe Jake the Snake hid more cash somewhere else and not in that house, or something.”
“I doubt it would work. Those goons probably don’t even read,” she said, but Sadie couldn’t help but like the idea.
“Don’t underestimate these guys,” he warned. “They’re a lot more educated and business savvy then you give them credit for. You’ve only met the soldiers. The guys on the street with their tattoos, skullcap helmets, and bad teeth straddling Harleys. The Fierce Force leaders are respectable businessmen who wear suits and work in offices. Organized crime is organized for a reason. They’re not amateurs. They’re as good at what they do as you are at what you do.” His tone lightened. “Speaking of what you do, what do you say? I make a couple calls to the Times for you, and you call around and see how quickly you and I can walk through the property for me?”
“Okay, I’ll make a phone call,” Sadie said.
“You’re not calling Zack or Jackie to join us, are you? I’d rather it just be us two.”
“The last person I’d call would be Zack,” Sadie said.
She hung up and dialed David Egan’s number.
She got his voice mail and hung up without leaving a message.
Sadie thought about the situation while eating her toast and washing it down with another cup of coffee. If Egan came back into town, she could happily turn the next meth clean over to him. Of course she could always refer it to another cleanup company, even one of the guys who’d gone solo after leaving Egan. That didn’t seem right considering Egan had stood by her when her own company’s name had been dragged through the mud last year.
She ate the last bite of her toast and redialed David Egan’s cell. She was prepared to leave a detailed message and was really surprised when he picked up.
“Hi, Twisted Sis, how’s it hanging?” he sang into the phone.
“You’re up bright and early,” Sadie replied. “I was preparing to leave you a Dear John message.”
“Dear John?” Egan asked.
“Yeah. I’m breaking up with you.”
“Meaning?”
She could hear a commercial jingle playing in the background and it was loud and annoying, so she spoke up.
“Meaning, I hope you’re about to tell me you’re coming back into town to resume your work as chief cook and meth washer for Scour Power, so that I can get Scene-2-Clean back on track as a blood ’n’ guts cleaning company.”
“Aw, Sadie, I appreciate your holding the fort for me. I know this has been tough on you, but seriously, couldn’t you hang on a few more days?”
“There’s this job that came in and I really don’t want to take it on, Egan, so I was hoping—” She stopped herself short when she realized something.
It’s so hot Seattleites are flocking to Mama’s Mexican for jalapeno chili to cool themselves off.
Sadie reached and turned the power off on her radio, only to hear the same morning DJ cackling over the joke in the background on Egan’s end of the line.
“You’re in Seattle!” Sadie cried.
“What? Why would you think that, Sis?” he babbled quickly. “I’m tied up with a family emergency out of town. Just like I told you.”
“I can hear King County Ken in the background, Egan. I’m listening to the same friggin’ station here!” Sadie growled. “Know what? I’m done covering for you. These last few days have been hell on wheels, so, yeah, I’m just . . . done.”
“Ah, c’mon, please? Just a few more days,” he begged. “I’m in trouble here and I need more time to, um, fix things.” He paused. “You know I’d do it for you.” She could hear the sincerity and emotion behind his pleading tone when he finished. “Please, Sadie? Give me a few more days. I’m in trouble, but I’m just needing space to sort it all out. I’ll make it worth your while. I’ll pay you for the jobs you’ve lost.”
Sadie blew out an exasperated breath.
“Whatever you got going on, I expect you’ll have your act together soon. Real soon. Like in three days. I’m taking on only one more job for you and that’s it.”
She hung up the phone and reluctantly called Reed back.
“I have to wait until I verify clearance,” she told him. “But if the house has been cleared, we can meet there this afternoon.”
“That’s great,” he enthused.
“But afterward, I want to talk with you about everything you’ve got on the Witigo Alliance and Fierce Force, okay? Everything.”
“You got it, Sweets, but can you handle satanic shit without falling apart on me?”
“I mop guts for a living, Scott. I think I can handle a few satanic symbols without totally losing control,” she said sarcastically.
But after Sadie hung up the phone, she closed her eyes and drew in a deep cleansing breath. She felt like she was playing with fire.