Chapter Twenty-Seven
Billy Kramer thanked Naomi Baker as soon as the judge set his bail. Then he asked her if she wanted to celebrate with him. Kramer thought Baker was hot and he was disappointed when she turned him down, but his good mood returned as soon as he was out of jail.
Billy’s first problem was finding a place to live.
He couldn’t go back to his apartment over the garage, for obvious reasons, and bunking with Cynthia was out.
He’d asked and she told him that she’d been kicked out of her apartment and didn’t ever want to see him again.
Fortunately, Billy had money. He’d pleaded poverty to get a court-appointed lawyer, but he’d been skimming a little off the top of the cash he’d helped Terrance Cogen launder long enough to have amassed a nice nest egg.
Cogen had made it clear that he didn’t want Billy bringing women to his apartment over the garage after one of his pickups caused a loud, drunken scene at the same time Terrance was hosting a dinner party, so Billy had gotten friendly with the owner of a motel the Disciples owned.
That’s where Billy partied, and it was where he paid for a room after getting out of jail, one of the dumbest things Billy had done during a lifetime of making poor decisions.
Walter Zegda had put out the word that he was eager to get in touch with Billy, and the clerk called the Disciples’ clubhouse as soon as Billy finished checking in.
After Billy took a nap, he’d gone to a tavern where he’d hit on a few women.
He hadn’t gotten lucky, but he had gotten very drunk.
When he returned to his motel, Billy staggered into his room and flopped onto his bed without turning on the light.
After a while, the urge to piss forced him to struggle to a sitting position.
He gathered his strength and shuffled toward the bathroom.
He was halfway there when he realized that someone was sitting in the dark in a corner of his room.
“What the fuck!” Billy screamed as he jumped backward. The edge of the bed caught Billy behind his knees, and he tumbled onto the covers, adrenaline bringing him to the edge of sobriety.
There was a lamp next to the armchair where the man was sitting. The light came on and illuminated Wolf Larson, who uncoiled from his chair in a way that reminded Billy of the scene in Godzilla where the monster rises up from the ocean to lay waste to Tokyo.
“Rough night, Billy?” Wolf asked.
Billy struggled to a sitting position and forced a smile so his visitor wouldn’t see how terrified he was.
“It’s great seeing you, Wolf.”
“Same here. Glad you’re out and about.”
“I’d love to have a chat, but I’m pretty wasted, and I need my beauty sleep. Can we get together tomorrow?”
“Getting your forty winks will have to wait. Walt wants to congratulate you on your release from the pokey.”
“Can’t he do that tomorrow?”
“I’m afraid not. I have a chariot waiting below for a short trip across town. But I’m certain Walt will be considerate once he sees the shape you’re in. The faster we go, the sooner you’ll be in dreamland.”
Terror helped Billy sober up during the trip to the garage Walter Zegda used as a torture chamber, and he was wide awake by the time he walked into the cavernous space.
Zegda crossed to the door and enveloped Billy in a hug.
“I’m so glad you’re back in the world, Billy. As we both know, jail is not a happy place.”
“No, it’s not.”
Walter had set up two chairs across from each other near the rear wall of the garage. Billy noticed that there was a large plastic sheet covering the space under and around his chair.
“Have a seat,” Walt said.
Billy sat down, and Wolf walked behind him. Billy turned and looked at Larson. Wolf smiled.
“Hey, Billy, look at me,” Zegda said.
Billy turned. He felt like he might throw up.
“Wolf called ahead and said you’re a little under the weather. Do you need a pharmaceutical to help you sober up?”
“That’s okay, Walt. I’m fine.”
“Good, because I want you sharp so you can clear up what I am sure is a misunderstanding.”
“What is?” Billy asked.
“Were you talking to deputy district attorney Muriel Lujack? Is my information correct?”
Billy started to sweat. “Well, yeah, Walt. You know how plea negotiations work. My lawyer was with me, and we listened to her offer.”
“My information is that you did more than that.”
“Oh. What did you hear?”
“Why don’t you tell me what you said, and I’ll see if it matches what I was told.”
“You got nothing to worry about, Walt. The DA just wanted to know about Cogen. I didn’t kill him, but I found his body. That’s why I split. I thought they’d try to pin his murder on me.”
“It seems they haven’t, because you can’t get bail in a murder case without a hearing, and you’re out and about.”
“Yeah. They admitted that they don’t think I killed Terrance.”
“Could there be another reason the authorities are treating you so well?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you discuss Disciples business with Miss Lujack?”
“Hey, no. I’d never do that.”
“Not even to fend off a charge of murder and get out of jail?”
“Hey, Walt, you and I go way back. We were on the football and wrestling teams in high school. We’re pals. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. You know that. You know me.”
“I do, Billy. That’s the problem. I know that with you, Billy always comes first.”
Zegda looked over Billy’s shoulder. “My oldest and dearest friend seems to be fidgeting, Wolf. Can you help him stay in one spot?”
Wolf stunned Billy with a blackjack. Then he secured his body to the chair. By the time he was through, Billy was starting to revive.
“How are you doing, Billy?” Zegda asked.
“Jeez, that hurts,” Billy managed. “Why did you hit me?”
“You weren’t truthful. Lying has consequences. Wolf is going to torture you now so we can learn everything you told the authorities.”
Three-quarters of an hour later, Zegda was satisfied that he knew everything Kramer had told Muriel Lujack.
“That’s enough, Wolf,” Zegda said.
Wolf had worked up a sweat, and he swigged some water from a plastic bottle. Billy’s eyes were glazed over, and his chin rested on his chest, which was covered in blood and saliva.
“Give our friend some water. I want him alert,” Zegda said.
After a while, Billy was able to focus. Zegda took out his Rubik’s Cube, and Wolf got out his stopwatch.
“Hey, Billy,” Walt said. “I need you to focus, because you might just see history being made.”