The Beautiful Year

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“So the Dominski…” Said Karl, unrolling the money. “The Dominski are up to something.”

“I don’t think they mind that we know,” Aedan said, sitting down. “They don’t want the government to find out.”

“I think it has everything to do with us.” Replied Karl. “We have no love of the Dominski, and they have none of us. And especially since last year…” Karl’s fist clenched around the money, causing the paper to crunch. Though the revenge had been sweet and fair, it was long ago, and the sting of the murder of his son at the hands of the Dominski still remained. He would never recover from the loss of his child; his only son. Though Karl was only second in command, he had been in charge for the past six months, since the Slayer’s leader, Lewis, who was eighty years old, had fallen very ill and had gone to specialist in Charleston. They had expected his return within a week, but that had been six months ago. Apparently, his condition was more serious than anyone had thought. 

Aedan sensed Karl would ask him to leave, so he stood. “I’ll be on my way.”

“Stay here. I need to call Jeff up here and the three of us need to talk about a certain situation.”

Aedan retook his seat, and rubbed his hands over tired eyes.

A minute later, Jeff came into the room, looking like he’d just gotten out of bed.

“Do you know,” Said Karl as Jeff sat down. “That if you presented yourself this way to Mr. Lewis you’d be scolded about it.”

“Aren’t you scolding me now? And besides, you’re not Lewis.”

Karl smiled, as he pulled out the money box from under the desk. “You are definitely my sister’s child.”

“Aedan,” Jeff started. “The Reincot house was robbed. A large sum of money is missing, and the guard was killed.”

“Were there any witnesses?”

“No. We’ve got a team of investigators up there right now, but I think they’re sold.”

“Dominski?”

“No. They’re not nearly that connected or smart. It’ll take a while to find out who it is, but all I know is we need to send them a strong message…so I need you to go up there.”

Aedan nodded. “When?”

“Tomorrow, because I imagine they’ll need you here the day after tomorrow because of the new arrival of pests they’re bringing into this country. Anyway, there are two investigators. They’ll be at that house tomorrow around noon. I have a bus ticket purchased for you for a six a.m. departure, so you can arrive an hour early, and be waiting for them.” He passed Aedan a manila envelope. “Try to keep the scene as clean as possible and keep the evidence as little as possible. There is a piece of paper in there with a phone number on it, call that number when you’re done and wait until he arrives to take care of the bodies. I have a ticket back for you at three that day.”

“Okay.”

Karl sighed. “You can go, I’m sure you’re exhausted.”

Aedan stood, turned, and left for his apartment for some well-deserved sleep.

***************

Aedan opened the cupboard, looking around for something to eat. He had an hour until the investigators were supposed to arrive, and he hadn’t had a chance to eat breakfast. Out of all the cupboards, he’d found a box of stale crackers, outdated cereal, some chips that were still good, and some store-bought oatmeal cookies. He took the chips and the box of cookies and set them on the counter, and then opened the fridge and freezer, which was full of fresh foods. He selected a microwaveable meal of sirloin steak with gravy and mashed potatoes. He set it in the microwave and set it to cook for five minutes. Meanwhile he snacked on the dry foods and helped himself to a glass of water. The microwave beeped and Aedan ate the entire meal with much gusto, afterwards, he threw the carton away. He leaned on the counter, eating the bag of chips, and he waited. At eleven thirty, he heard the front door open. He set the chips down and swallowed his last bite, he moved silently to a position where the investigators wouldn’t be able to see him once they came through the long hall that went into the kitchen. They entered. Both of them were middle-aged, though one was about five years older than the other. They had their private investigator badges hung around their necks, and had a camera clutched in their latex-sheathed hands. Aedan recognized them, they were undercover agents he’d met once before.