Squall

chapter eight

ED BARKED HIS BROTHER'S name into the handset a couple more times—"Dale? Dale!"—but it was clear the dummy was gone.

He cradled the receiver and looked across his desk at the two men Randall Copeland had given him as enforcers, Sanj and Sumit Sengupta, thirty-something East Indian brothers with meticulously coiffed hair and a peculiar skill set that made them ideally suited for the job. And although they always did exactly as they were told, without hesitation or complaint, Ed had never quite gotten used to them. Two Bollywood-handsome dudes in expensive suits and Armani overcoats who had no qualms about torturing a man for hours after they'd gotten what they wanted out of him, and then carving him up into tidy Glad Bag-sized filets for disposal. And while from a businessman's perspective Ed understood the necessity of the process, the fact that these guys clearly relished doing it gave him the willies, pure and simple.

Of the two, though, Sumit, the youngest, creeped Ed out the most. He was the instigator, the one who always took things too far. The man had a genuine taste for the wet work. Ed suspected that Copeland gave his lieutenants crazy fuckers like these to remind them of what lay in store should they ever decide to step out of line. And it was working like a charm today.

Ed got up and stood behind the brothers, knowing it made them nervous. He said, "I know where he is."

One of Trang's men had called him in a panic about an hour ago, describing in broken, rapid-fire English the bloody mess at the take-out joint. Fortunately for the caller, he'd been out doing another buy during the exchange and had come back hours later to find the three men dead, Trang with his balls blown off. And now Ed had to deal with it.

Dale had left him no choice.

He said, "One night when we were kids he decided to take the old man's Caddy out for a joyride, but the dummy ran over the dog backing out of the garage. The old man loved that little mutt. Dale panicked and decided to run away. Drove all the way to our uncle's cottage on Kukagami Lake. Dimes to donuts, that's where he is."

Turning in his chair, Sanj said, "So what now?"

"Now I gotta go see Copeland."

Sumit stood. "I'll get the car."

Ed said, "No, I'll do it. You two take Sumit's Mercedes, it's got four-wheel drive." He took a key out of his vest pocket and handed it to Sanj saying, "Spare key to the Ram; try to bring it back in one piece." Then he returned to his desk and started drawing a map. "It's a long drive, but easy enough to find."

When he was done, he handed the map to Sanj and said, "He's an asshole, no escaping that. So far over the line right now Jesus Christ Himself couldn't save the kid. But he's still my brother." He dug a single .45 caliber round out of his vest pocket, kissed its blunted tip, then handed it to Sanj. "Quick and painless, understood?"

Sanj said, "Yeah, Ed. It's my specialty."

"Good. Call me when it's done."