Chapter Eighteen
Billy Kramer had an orgasm and collapsed on top of Cynthia Woodruff. Woodruff waited a while. When Billy’s weight got to be too much, she shoved him off and stood up.
“You still got it, Cyn,” Kramer said.
Cynthia was fed up. She wanted to say that all she had was a sore pussy, but she kept that thought to herself. When she was dressed, she weaved her way through a maze of pizza boxes and take-out Thai and headed for the door to their motel room.
“Where are you going?” Kramer asked.
“Out. We’ve been stuck in this room for two days. I’ve got to get some fresh air or I’ll go stir-crazy.”
Kramer stood up and walked over to Woodruff. “You can’t go out, babe. It’s too dangerous.”
“What’s going on, Billy? First you tell me to take that guy to the Jag. Then you tell me we have to leave Oregon. And every time I ask you to explain something, all you tell me is that we’re in trouble. As far as I can see, I’m not in any trouble. If you are, I don’t want any part of it.”
“Well, you are part of it, whether you want to be or not.”
“Part of what? Either you tell me right now or I’m out of here.”
“Terrance is dead, murdered.”
“What?”
“Someone beat his head in.”
“Was it you, Billy? Is that why you’re running?”
“Hey, Cyn, how can you think that?”
“I don’t know, Billy. Maybe it’s because you’re hiding in a fleabag motel in bumfuck Arizona.”
Billy put his hands on Cynthia’s shoulders. Then he looked her in the eyes. “You know me, Cyn. Do you honestly believe I could kill Cogen?”
Cynthia broke eye contact and pulled away. “The way you’re acting, I don’t know what to think.”
“Jesus, Cyn. I love you. You don’t lie to someone you love.”
“You had me lie to that guy to get him to take the Jag. Were you setting him up?”
Billy gave a nervous laugh. “Jack will be fine. If he gets picked up, he’ll just tell the cops what happened.”
“Why would he get picked up? What did you do?”
“I was protecting us.”
“How, Billy?”
Kramer looked down. “I reported the car stolen.”
“You what?!”
“If they think Jack stole the car, they’ll think he killed Cogen, and it will take the heat off of us.”
“That was a rotten thing to do.”
“I won’t let it get too far. I’ll clear his name if I see that he’s in danger of being convicted for something.”
“You think the cops will believe you? If Cogen is dead and you’ve run away, they’ll think you killed him. And they’ll think I’m involved because I ran with you. How could you do this to me?”
“I’m sorry, Cyn. I needed you to set up Jack. I couldn’t think of any other way to do it.”
“That’s the problem, Billy. You never think of anyone but yourself.”
Cynthia walked over to her suitcase and opened it.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going back to Portland. If the cops question me, I’m going to tell them everything I know.”
“You can’t do that.”
“Watch me.”
“There’s another problem. It has nothing to do with the cops.”
Cynthia stopped packing and turned to face Kramer. “What other problem?”
Kramer licked his lips. “You know Cogen was involved in some shady stuff?”
“Yeah. You hinted at that, but you never told me what he was doing.”
“He stole money, Cyn, a lot of money, and he had to clean it so he could use it. I was helping him launder the dough through legit businesses.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Some of the businesses are owned by the Disciples.”
“Oh no, Billy. They’re maniacs. How could you get involved with them?”
“Walt Zegda and I go way back. We’ve been friends since high school. That’s why I told Cogen about his garages.”
“If you’re his friend, why are you worried?”
“It’s his personality, Cyn. It ain’t normal. He can be your best buddy one minute, stab you the next, and eat a plate of spaghetti smothered in tomato sauce while you’re bleeding out.”
“That’s disgusting.”
“It’s also the way he is. If he worries that I’ll tell the cops about laundering Cogen’s cash through his businesses, he’ll see me as a liability, and that will be that.”
“I didn’t have anything to do with money laundering.”
“I know that, but Walt might not want to take any chances.”
Cynthia’s hands curled into fists, and her face turned red with rage. “You thoughtless bastard. You’re telling me that the alternatives to staying in this fucking room are being charged with murder or being killed by your psychopathic buddy?”
“That sums it up, Cyn. We have to stay under the radar until the cops figure out who killed Cogen.”
Cynthia turned away from Billy and paced back and forth. “I don’t believe this,” she said.
“I’m sorry, Cyn.”
“Sorry doesn’t cut it. And I’m serious about getting out of this room. I can’t take it anymore. Can’t we go to that tavern we saw when we pulled in? It’s only half a block away.”
“I don’t know…”
Cynthia put her arms around Billy’s neck and pressed her body against his.
“Please, baby.” She kissed Billy and ground her crotch against his. “I’ll make it worth your while when we get back.”
Whenever he was aroused, Billy’s brain switched off. Moments after a deep kiss, he was getting dressed and following Cynthia into the warm night air.
“Bingo!” Wolf Larson said to Walter Zegda, who was working his Rubik’s Cube while he watched a crew of Disciples packaging heroin from the latest shipment.
Zegda stopped playing with his toy. “What’s got you so excited?”
“Kramer is in a small town in Arizona. One of our guys saw him and a woman eating dinner at a bar and followed them to a motel.”
“I want them picked up pronto and brought here in one piece. Tell our boys I’ll show my appreciation.”
“I’m on it,” Wolf said.
Zegda felt sad. He and Billy went way back. He hoped he wouldn’t have to kill him.