PROLOGUE JULY 1988
Delvin had gone to the Hargrove Cineplex. He and Geri had seen the Die Hard movie. One of the best action movies ever, with what’s-his-name from Moonlighting. So much action. Until this very evening, he believed he could kill a man in cold blood, just like in the movie, but now Delvin had no idea where he was going to hide the body.
He pushed the gun away from the dead man’s fist with the point of his boot, and the scrunching sound was like the grinding of bones. Delvin flinched, squinting against the grinding. The noise of gravel and wet stones—the creek was full of them—was like nails on a chalkboard or the sound of Styrofoam rubbing together.
You can’t have my boy Victor. You can’t have him.
He didn’t know how long he had before the cops arrived.
He had to make this fast. The distant sounds of a siren made him uneasy, and he wasn’t sure if it was another emergency vehicle on its way to another emergency in the city, or if it was on its way here.
Earlier, as he left the apartment, he told Geri to call the police.
Now he wished he hadn’t told her to call.
It may have sealed his fate. He might never see his son or his wife again. Prison would make sure he couldn’t protect them.
He grabbed Victor by his arms, in the underarm region, careful not to let the blood leaking from the man’s head get on his jeans or on his shirt. He pulled him deeper down into the creek.
Delvin was surprised he hadn’t already been mobbed by the residents of the complex. There was no silencer on the 9mm, and it had made a loud crack when he had snuck up and put the hole in Victor’s head. It hadn’t been in the least quiet. He guessed it was just a sign of the times. In 1988, no one responded to the sound of gunshots quite like they used to do. Now it was like the sound of an airplane overhead or the sound of traffic going by on the main thoroughfare. It was white noise in an overactive world. There was just too much in which to pay attention. In lieu of doing any extra work, people had just become apathetic.
This was serving Del’s purposes for tonight.
Victor was heavier than he expected him to be when he picked him up. He could smell the blood on him, but his skin also emanated a heavy spice, like paprika. Victor was Hungarian, and Delvin had no idea what Hungarians ate, but it was coming off the man’s body, a stench of hot spice.
Delvin took a deep breath and held it. The paprika reek was still deep in his nostrils.
Delvin dragged him closer to the small stream of water gurgling at the bottom of the creek.
You won’t touch my son anymore, son of a bitch. You won’t touch Richie. You can bet on that. I’ll go to jail for this if I get caught, but I’ll do it happily.
When the call had come and it was Victor, Del was sure the call wasn’t going to be good.
That same week, days before, Delvin and Geri had decided not to let Richie go to play at the Free household. Victor was a weird guy. He and his son were part of a church Delvin was pretty sure was a cult. He and his wife had decided, though they lived in the same apartment complex, they didn’t want their son to be part of it all.
Then the phone call came.
It had been pretty straight forward. No pretext.
“Del, your son has to die. I hope you understand, this is for the good of the world.”
Del was shocked.
His mouth literally hung open while the man on the other side, who sounded more like an automaton than a real person, spoke about eliminating his son.
Del’s silence didn’t last for long, though.
“What the hell are you saying?”
“I’m going to kill your son. He has created a situation that would best be described as a ‘dam’.”
“You won’t be touching my son.” Delvin had no idea what Victor was talking about, but he was positive of one thing: he wasn’t going to let him kill Richie. He would take Victor’s life first.
“It’s important. Much more important than the life of one person.”
“Don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, and don’t really care Victor.”
“I’m coming over right now.”
“Don’t.”
“I’m on my way.”
“I’ll meet you before you make it.”
“I hope not, for your sake.”
As it turns out, Delvin told Geri to call the police and went into the night with his 9mm to find Victor. He found him crouched in the creek near the apartment complex. Victor hadn’t come after his son after all. He had hid out.
But he had intended to kill him, just at a more opportune time.
The gun was evidence of it. He’d ducked into the creek, but he’d brought a gun. That was enough.
As Del pulled the body deep into the darkness of the creek, hidden in the night, he pulled tall weeds out of the ground and threw them on top of the man’s body, burying him in the vegetation.
You’ll never get my son, and anyone who comes for him after you will die, too.
I’ll make sure of it.
