He looked down the row of doors facing the highway. The parking lot was empty except for the truck and two rented Dodges parked next to each other in front of rooms five and six. An elderly black woman pushed a cart in front of room four and stopped, then used a passkey to go inside, wedging the door open.
Pelly touched the Beretta tucked into his belt under his loose shirt and started to the open room. As he got there, the maid stepped out into the breezeway.
She gave a visible jump when she saw him. He didn't know if it was just his quiet approach that startled her or his appearance.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for a friend."
The woman eyed him carefully.
He held out a twenty-dollar bill.
She snatched it and said, "Who dat?"
"Excuse?"
"Who you lookin' for?" She kept her eyes on his face like he fascinated her.
"He drive the van?" Pelly pointed.
"Room one. Big white man."
Pelly smiled and nodded.
Then she surprised him by slowly raising her hand and touching the hair on the side of his face. He had not shaved since the night before, and it was grown in almost to his eyeballs.
The maid smiled and slipped back into the room, this time closing the door because she apparently had been through this drill before.
Pelly started down the breezeway to the room.
William "Ike" Floyd had no idea what to do or what Pelly would do when he found him. He had seven rounds of the light.380 ammo in the single clip he had reloaded after he had killed Craig and the girl. He didn't think he'd stand a chance against Pelly.
On the other hand, he had seen the furry assistant to Mr. Ortíz be very reasonable on some issues.
He quickly gathered his few belongings and pulled on his T-shirt. He decided to tell the truth and see what happened.
He pulled open the door like he didn't know Pelly was even in the area.
Before he could step out the door, the scary-looking young man was in front of him.
Ike kept cool. "Hey, Pelly, what are you doing here?"
"I could ask you that, too."
"Too tired to drive. I was just leaving right now."
Pelly looked over Ike's wide shoulder into the room, then back at his face. He seemed to be weighing his options, his hand resting at his belt buckle. Ike knew why.
Finally, Pelly said, "You know the boss would kill you if he found you still here."
"Why? I got three days till they need me in Houston."
Pelly nodded. "I know, I know." He seemed to relax. "You must leave ahora. Uh, now. The boss won't find out."
Ike let out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "Thanks, man. I owe you one."
He hurried up into the cab and let Pelly help direct him from the tight spot. He intended to get right on the road and be in Houston in a few hours. Then he'd worry about food and anything else he needed.
Pelly saw the big Ryder step van drive away and start in the wrong direction until Ike had to pull a U-turn and head up toward I-10. Pelly wasn't sure he'd used the best judgment as far as Colonel Staub's plans went, but he had made a good business decision. There were already too many bodies in this little town, and they had not even delivered the package yet.
His concern now was that the ATF man would return. He knew from the guy's past behavior that he would be back to check the van and probably the registration to the room. Pelly considered his options.
He could wait and shoot it out with him. He had seen Duarte in action and didn't necessarily want to risk that confrontation. He could forget it and head back to New Orleans, but that just put one problem off until later. Then he remembered the old army surplus grenades they had taken from the fat mechanic. He knew he'd find a purpose for the old ordnance. But this would have to work out perfectly.
The door to Ike's room was still open. He looked into the small room with its messy bed and noticed a back door. He walked through and saw that the old, creaky door opened onto a dilapidated tiny patio with thousands of cigarette butts in the grass surrounding the concrete. Pelly looked down the wall and saw that each patio was in the same shape. This was how they considered the room "nonsmoking."
He hustled back to his car and popped the trunk, grabbing two of the old grenades. Inside the apartment, he shut the front door and cut the strings to the curtains. He took another look outside and saw a communal gas grill in the rear of the middle room. He checked the area and then walked quickly to the grill. The tank felt like it was about half full. With a little effort, he had the tank loose and was back in the room. He set the tank a few feet behind the door and tied the grenades to the leg of the bed right behind the tank. He straightened the pins so they would slip out easily and then tied his last length of curtain cord through the grenade rings and to the door handle. When someone opened the door, there would be one hell of a blast.
He knew he couldn't just leave with this trap set. He left through the back door and visited his friend the maid again.
She didn't look surprised when he entered the room she was cleaning.
"What 'chu want now?" asked the old black woman.
"My friend, he left. But I have another hundred dollars for you."
"What I got a do?" She kept her clouded eyes on his face.
"Do not clean room one until I check back with you. Do not go in there."
"Uh-huh. And what else?"
"If anyone asks about the truck, give them a key to room one."
"For how long I gotta wait. They expect me to do the cleaning."
"I will return, if no one shows up in one hour." He handed her the five twenties. "Not bad for an hour of work."
She snatched the money like he might change his mind.
As he backed out of the room, he said, "Remember. No one goes into room one except if they ask who was in there."
"I ain't stupid. I heard you."
He smiled, feeling the hair bunch around his eyes. He slipped back to his car and pulled across the street into a mini-mart lot. Before he had stopped the car, he noticed the old Bronco rumble into the Cajun Inn.
He smiled at his timing.
34
ALICE BRAINARD HAD DONE ENOUGH WORK FOR THREE FORENSIC scientists since she'd arrived early at 6:55. By that time she had already worked out and had breakfast, or at least a protein shake. She was hustling because she didn't want to feel like her work for Alex Duarte had cost the county anything, especially after Scott Mahovich's remark about billing the ATF for his DNA work. What a dick.
As she concentrated on one more form, she heard a deep male voice at her office doorway.
"You look busy this morning."
She looked up and smiled at the tall, blond man in the Palm Beach County firefighter's uniform. "Hey, Jeff, what're you doing down here?"
The man, who had been the January photo for the firefighter's calendar the past three years, gave her one of his copyrighted smiles that melted most women and had a definite effect on Alice. "Doing a demo on unusual instruments we use, and had to pick up some things from the lab."
"What's that one?" She pointed at the small box with what looked like a microphone in his hand.
"An old-style Geiger counter."
"We had radioactive stuff?"
He switched on the instrument. "Here, I'll…" Before he could finish his sentence, the machine started to make a whooping alarmlike sound.
"Damn," he called out over the sound. "Usually the fire alarms have radioactive material, but it's weak. Never had 'em set this off so quick." He looked up and stepped away from her office to the alarm on the ceiling in the other room. As he did, the sound faded, then stopped.