The Book of Death (Bourbon Kid 4)

‘You
ain’t getting that Eye back. Ain’t no way that Gaius character is gonna let you
anywhere near it.’
    ‘Then we’ll have to kill him,
won’t we?’ said Dante.
    ‘Good luck with that,’ said the
Kid, tugging at the car door to pull it shut. Dante kept a firm grip on it much
to his obvious annoyance. ‘Let go the fucking door, man!’
    ‘Pull it shut,’ Dante challenged
him.
    The Kid pulled hard at the door.
It didn’t budge. Dante was stronger than him and continued to hold it open with
ease.
    ‘See,’ said Dante. ‘You need us
as much as we need you. You ain’t the hardass you once were. Remember using the
Eye of the Moon to make yourself into a regular guy last night?’
    ‘Let go of the door.’
    ‘I’m stronger than you now. And
I’m guessing so is Kacy. You want to get your girlfriend back, you’re gonna
need our help. And in order to kill Rameses Gaius, we’re gonna need yours.’
    The Kid looked somewhat
irritated at the suggestion that he was no longer the hardass he once was. Once
he came to terms with the fact Dante wasn’t going to let him shut the door he
stopped pulling at it. ‘Get in,’ he said.
    Kacy didn’t need a second
invitation. She raced back around to the passenger side of the car. ‘Shotgun on
the front seat,’ she called out.
    The Kid nodded at Dante. ‘Your
chick’s pretty sharp, huh?’
    Kacy stood patiently waiting by the
passenger door, snow settling on her hair as she held the door open for Dante
to climb into the back seat. He climbed in and she slipped into the front seat
closing the door behind her.
    The Kid pulled the car away from
the sidewalk and out into the icy street, then sped off down the middle of the
road. The heavy sleet, snow and some traces of hailstones crashed against the
windscreen, making visibility of the road ahead virtually impossible. Kacy made
a snap decision to put on her seatbelt.
    After they had driven for a
couple of minutes, she made a polite observation. ‘Isn’t the Casa de Ville back
the other way?
    ‘Yeah. We gotta stop off at a
bar first.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘I need a drink.’

 
    Twenty-Two

 
    Police work was proving to be
quite tiresome. Sanchez had spent a further hour in Beth Lansbury’s apartment
explaining to another officer exactly what he believed had happened there. A
camera crew from the local news station had also turned up to report on the
murders. He gave them a quick interview explaining how the Bourbon Kid had
murdered everyone but fled when he had burst in and scared him off. Everyone
seemed quite impressed and Sanchez was looking forward to seeing himself hailed
as a hero on the evening news. It was about time he received some recognition for
his public services.
    It was early evening when he
arrived back at the police station to find Flake still alone in the reception
area. She was sitting behind the reception desk reading a book. She didn’t
notice him arrive and it wasn’t until he was only a few yards from the
reception desk that she looked up.
    ‘Hey Sanchez, how did it go?’
she asked.
    He took his Stetson hat off and
wiped some sweat from his brow. Even though it wasn’t very bright in the
station he kept his sunglasses on because, well, they made him look cool. He
fanned himself with the hat a few times and rolled his tongue around in his
mouth to build up some tension before relaying the tales of his adventures to
Flake. Eventually when he was convinced she was desperate to hear what he had to
say he began to tell her about his action packed afternoon. ‘Well, I lost
Jessica, bumped into the Bourbon Kid and saw a whole load of dead bodies. You
know, the usual shit.’
    Flake looked impressed. ‘Are you
being serious? Who’s dead? And what happened with the Bourbon Kid?’
    Sanchez perched his ample butt
cheeks on the edge of her desk. ‘The ambulance crew and a couple more cops were
dead as well as the guy with the pink hair.’
    ‘Oh God . Really? ’
    ‘Yeah. I had to put in a call
for some more ambulance people. Then I had to give an interview to the press,
y’know, ’cause they think I’m a hero an’ all that.’
    ‘Wow. Are you gonna be on the
news tonight?’
    Sanchez shrugged. ‘Maybe.’
    ‘Cool. I hope you’ve remembered
all the details. And don’t forget you’ll have to file a report for the
Captain.’
    ‘You think?’
    ‘That’s protocol isn’t it?’
    ‘Well, a guy from forensics
turned up eventually and I left him to clear up the mess. He’ll