Page 84 of Hart of Darkness
27
Maggie
Iparked in between two cars across the street from the house on Bleven and Third that belonged to Marco Holdings. I’d skipped out of work early so I could check out the house before I had to meet Dillon. My goal was to snoop around the home, but when I arrived, a car sat in the driveway.
The upscale neighborhood looked different in the light. Pear trees lined the sidewalks. The lawns were pristine green with shrubs pruned to round and oblong shapes. A handful of leaves fluttered to the ground in the light summer breeze.
The two-story brick home sat up on a slight incline. Its cement steps that led up to the high-columned porch were embedded in the earth, with colorful perennials lining the edges.
Any evidence of a raid or shootout didn’t exist. The windows were intact. The front door was solid with no signs of anyone having broken it down.
The souped-up black Jeep in the driveway told me someone was inside. I debated whether to go up and ring the bell. I could always use the excuse that I had the wrong house just to see who would answer the door.
Marco Holdings was a mystery. The more I peeled the onion, the more I couldn’t find who was behind the company. The only piece of information I had found was an address in Brazil, which was odd for a home. But it wasn’t odd if the Black Knights were the real owners. Another definition for a shell company was aperson or entity that wants to hide their business from the law.
I suspected the gang owned the home. After all, Dan Silva, the guy Ted’s unit had arrested, was a Black Knight.
I scanned the area once again, not finding any unmarked cars or vans that Ted and his team used, and I didn’t see any police cruisers either.
The longer I sat there, watching and waiting for someone to walk out that door, the more I prayed Cory Calderon was inside.
If he is, then what?
I had no clue. It was idiotic to attempt to poke my nose or poke the bear. Nothing good would come from me investigating the very place Nadine ran from. Yeah, I didn’t want to end up like her. Yet I wanted to put the Black Knights story to bed once and for all.
I checked the time on my watch. I had thirty minutes before my smoking-hot date. While the restaurant wasn’t far, I should get going.
So I lowered my gaze and turned the key in the ignition, when someone banged on the passenger’s window. I squealed as I whipped my head around to see a man I didn’t recognize peering inside my car. He had evil beady blue eyes, a hooknose, and a flat chin. His black hair was thick, with long sideburns that melded into the thin beard hugging his jaw.
My VW Bug was old and didn’t have power windows, so I couldn’t exactly roll down the passenger’s window. I didn’t want to either. For all I knew, the man probably snuck out of the house I was watching.Note to self: Keep your guard up.
“What do you want?” I asked in a raised voice so he could hear me.
“Are you a cop?” Hooknose asked. “You seem to be watching that house pretty intently.”
Gang members had a cocksure attitude dripping off them that saidfuck with me, and I’ll kill you.This man had that MO.
The engine idled, and I sped off, adrenaline pumping through me as if someone had shot me up with a high dose of crack. I glanced in the rearview mirror to find the man with his phone to his ear as he watched me drive away.
Great job, Mags. Now he’ll call the cops. An alert will go out for my car, and then Ted will be all over my ass.
Bruce didn’t want me to clue Ted in if I found anything out about the Black Knights. And no law said I had to either. I considered Ted family, but I had a job to do just like he did.
I blew out a breath as I sailed through the city streets, zipping in and around cars and checking the rearview mirror every second.
Dillon and I agreed to meet at Tapas, a bar in the city where they served my favorite Spanish cuisine. Lou had cooked the best paella in all of Boston. I missed him. We were never an item, but he’d been a big brother to me. He’d been in his twenties when he found me at age fourteen, beaten and a second away from dying.
Fifteen minutes or so later, I found a spot on the street outside the restaurant. I was five minutes early. Maybe Dillon was too. As soon as I walked in, the spicy aromas found their way to my nose, making my stomach growl. I hadn’t had a decent meal in quite some time. Subs from Hank’s and Chinese food didn’t count as decent since I practically ate that all the time.
A line of people waited for the hostess to take down their names. Others sat on benches along both walls near the entrance. Glasses clinked. Voices droned. The double doors straight ahead squeaked as waiters and waitresses shuffled in and out of the kitchen, with trays of food and empty dishes.
I scanned the bar and the eating area for Dillon but didn’t see him. I even asked the hostess with heavy makeup if Dillon Hart had checked in. Once she gave me the headshake that he hadn’t, I gave her my name then found an empty section of wall in the somewhat large waiting area and leaned against it.
Out of habit, I dug out my phone from my messenger bag… or tried. I tore the inside of my bag apart but didn’t find my phone. I hurried out to my car only to find it wasn’t there either. In my head, I retraced my steps before I’d left the newspaper. I’d hung up from talking to Ted. He’d called me to ask if I had contacted my mom, which hadn’t surprised me.
“I will soon,” I had said.
He seemed happy with my answer. Then I asked him questions about his case on the Black Knights. He was still hush-hush about it.
