When the Night Bird Sings Read online

“You do and I’ll arrest you,” Verves said.

  “What about all of them,” DeMax said, pointing at the runway.

  “They’re gathering up the money for evidence,” Verves said.

  “Bullshit,” DeMax said. “You ain’t going to see any of that damn money again.”

  “Cool it, I’ll get it back,” Verves said. “The media’s going to call this a terrorist attack and be all over it by morning.”

  “Kane, Fritz and Candy were dealing with terrorists,” I said.

  A report started coming in on the car’s computer screen. It stated Cactus was the alias of a former convicted drug pilot. Born in Mexico, real name Jose Eduardo Gomez, 29 years-old. No flight plan filed to New York or to France.

  “Bet you that was Fritz’s doing,” I said.

  “Just be thankful the one’s who you shot were in self-defense,” Verves said.

  “They all were. The game’s over, we win. Drop us off at the Rental Right Car Company, Chief,” I said. “I’ll touch base with you tomorrow after I retrieve my truck.”

  “Okay,” Verves said. “You hear him, Maddox?”

  “Yeah,” Maddox said.

  A big glob of foul-smelling black smoke drifted overhead and disappeared into the night, leaving flames flickering from small scattered pieces of the airplane on the runway – Candy and Cactus on their way to hell.

  Chapter 15

  My bed at the house felt great and Darcie even better next to me. I sat up, slipped on my pants, left my Glock on the nightstand and walked into the other bedroom to check on DeMax; he was asleep. I went back in the living room and turned on the TV.

  Every channel kept repeating the spectacular crash of the jet, raining money as it burned to the ground. There was very little about the participants involved and even less left to find.

  After four or five minutes of television, Darcie and DeMax came in and sat down on the couch with me. We were amazed as the scenes kelp unfolding over and over.

  “I ain’t flying anymore,” I said.

  “Me either,” Darcie said.

  “I never did,” DeMax said.

  My phone rang, it was Verves.

  “Morning, Chief,” I said.

  “I guess you’ve seen the crash on TV,” Verves said.

  “Yeah, like what we saw,” I said.

  “The FBI and CIA have arrested another ten people, including a terrorist by the name of Ali Juror Mohamed, who rigged the explosives on the jet for Landon Fritz.”

  “Figured that,” I said. “Birds of a feather flock together. Fritz knew she would run with Cactus in Kane’s jet.”

  “She had as much of Kane’s money converted to cash as she could and put it on the plane,” Verves said. “Maybe two or three billion. They found video that showed her closing the door to his room at 1:30 the morning he was murdered. And she may have murdered over a dozen around the world when she was hypnotized, according to info from the CIA. Personally, I think the hypnotizing thing is a lot of bullshit.”

  “Not necessarily,” I said. “Doesn’t matter now, though, unless she wasn’t the only one.”

  “That’s a horrible thought,” Verves said. “Don’t want to think about it anymore. Come in and give your statement today and go. They said they dropped all the charges against you three.”

  “The right thing to do,” I said.

  “What are you going to do now,” Verves said.

  “I have to go to Austin and give my daughters their graduation presents pretty soon.”

  “Think I’m going to retire,” Verves said. “Wore down to a nub.”

  “And who’s going to take care of me?”

  “Simon Necessary will take over. He’ll also be bringing my daughter Sunday with him from robbery to homicide.”

  “You and Simon go back a long ways, don’t you,” I said.

  “We broke in together. All his kids are grown and married except for Angela; she has a gourmet restaurant for the rich.”

  “I heard about it but never been there,” I said.

  “Nice place,” Verves said. “Sunday and Angela are good friends. We raised them together. Might be best to talk to Sunday if you need anything when I retire.”

  “Sunday’s a good cop. I’ll do that. Thanks for everything,” I said.

  “You bet. I’ll let you know when I retire so you can buy me something,” he said and was gone.

  I laid the phone on the couch and watched Darcie and DeMax as they stared at the TV.

  “You guys ready to make a statement to the cops so we can move on,” I said. “I’m flabbergasted. Can’t quite figure out how I feel about what happened to Candy.”

  “No words for it,” Darcie said.

  “I thought I had already seen the unbelievable and the impossible with Lisa,” I said. “But Candy took it a step beyond. Her ashes are probably blowing in the wind somewhere.”

  “Yeah, too weird for me,” DeMax said. “Won’t ever let anyone hypnotize me.”

  “You going to Austin with me, Darcie?” I said.

  “No, I’m going house hunting,” she said.

  “House hunting? Are you moving out?” I said.

  “No, I want us to move out of this house and into our house.”

  “Ours?”

  “Yeah and plan a wedding,” she said and smiled.

  “Really?” I said.

  “When you get back from Austin,” she said.

  “Let me get this straight. You don’t care if I spend money on the kids, and we’re going to get married when I get back from Austin?”

  “That’s right, if you still want me,” Darcie said.

  I jumped up, whisked her off the couch and rolled around with her on the floor, groping and kissing her passionately.

  “Stop, you’re embarrassing me in front of DeMax,” Darcie said.

  “Don’t bother me,” DeMax said. “Seen a lot more than that.”

  “You want to go to Austin with me and be my best man DeMax?” I said.

  “You want me to kick that boyfriend’s ass?” DeMax said and grinned.

  “Only if he wants to drive Emily’s new car.”

  “He will,” Darcie said.

  “Maybe I was wrong. Somebody up there does like me.”

  THE END

  About the Author

  John L. Lansdale was born and raised in East Texas. He is married to the love of his life Mary. They have four children. He is a retired Army reserve Psychological Operations Officer and a combat veteran with numerous medals and awards. Past roles include inventor, country music songwriter and performer, and television programmer. He produced and directed the Television Special "Ladies of Country Music." He has also produced several albums in Nashville, hosted his own radio shows and won awards for producing and writing radio and television commercials. He was a writer and editor of a business newspaper. He has worked as a comic book writer for Tales from the Crypt, IDW, Grave Tales, Cemetery Dance and several more. He co-authored the Shadows West and Hell's Bounty novels with his brother Joe R. Lansdale. He is also the author of Horse of a Different Color, Slow Bullet, Zombie Gold, When the Night Bird Sings, Broken Moon, Long Walk Home, The Last Good Day and several other titles.

  THE MECANA SERIES

  by JOHN L. LANSDALE

  01 - Horse of a Different Color

  02 - When the Night Bird Sings

  03 - Twisted Justice

  HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR

  The Mecana Series #1

  by John L. Lansdale

  Someone is murdering and mutilating young women in a Dallas suburb, using the same techniques as a case down in Houston the previous year.

  When the second body is found, it seems the killer has moved his hunting grounds to the Dallas area.

  As the body count rises, Detective Thomas Mecana – a divorced fifteen-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department – is assigned to the case.

  He prides himself on always getting his man, but his tried-and-true methods of the past are not worki
ng.

  To make matters worse, his supervisor assigns him a new partner, Darcie Connors - a young officer working her first murder case.

  With hard work, and some luck, Mecana and his partner discover a most-unusual serial killer case with murder in its very genes.

  They discover some evidence is so strange and unbelievable, it might be best left alone.

  Checkmate.

  “…the author’s innate ability to spin a complex tale painted with vivid characters and intense suspense provides readers with a well-paced book that they may find difficult to set down.” – Ricky L. Brown, Amazing Stories

  When the Night Bird Sings – The Mecana Series #2

  Twisted Justice – The Mecana Series #3 – coming soon from BookVoice Publishing

  SLOW BULLET

  by John L. Lansdale

  In this timely novel, Clark McKay, a retired Army Special Forces Colonel, has developed a drinking problem after losing his wife and son in a car accident, as well as from the nightmares of his Vietnam days. In spite of his problems, he is determined to find out who murdered his best friend.

  A Washington D.C. detective refuses to believe McKay has found the murderer, a former CIA operative and arms dealer who murdered McKay’s friend because he discovered the truth behind the assassination of JFK – preventing President John F. Kennedy from ending the Vietnam War.

  McKay learns there are CIA documents his friend hid that will prove the conspiracy to be true. His search for these documents takes him all over the world. On his journey, McKay is brought to the conclusion that he may have to resort to murder if justice is to be served.

  Truth and fiction make an interesting mixture in this fast-paced and entertaining novel. There are always those who escape justice. One hand washes the other, unless you have someone like Clark McKay who is willing to pay the ultimate price.

  “Mickey Spillane fans will welcome this page-turner... Lansdale effectively delays revealing the novel’s big secret until the end. Those who like their thrillers with a heavy dose of violent action will be satisfied.” - Publishers Weekly

  “Slow Bullet is a straight-ahead thriller…it's about action, and there's plenty of that. Check it out.” – Bill Crider’s Pop Culture Magazine

  Now available from BookVoice Publishing

  Keep your eyes peeled for

  The Last Good Day

  by John L. Lansdale

  and

  Broken Moon

  by John L. Lansdale

  Two new Westerns coming soon from BookVoice Publishing

  And don’t miss

  Twisted Justice

  A Mecana Novella

  by John L. Lansdale

  Detective Thomas Mecana’s story continues in this sequel to Horse of a Different Color and When the Night Bird Sings

  Also coming soon from BookVoice Publishing