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Mink Too, All the Riches in the World Can't Buy Love Page 7


  Liz inhaled deeply. “Yeah, it smells like…” She sniffed again. “It’s gas. Hop in, Danny, and let’s go check it out.” She leaned over to open the passenger door, then thought better of it and turned off the ignition. “You know what, just to be on the safe side, let’s walk. We don’t wanna set off gas explosions, do we?”

  Danny grinned at her. “You’re right, Liz. Grab your light and let’s go.”

  “You know the way better than I do, so I’ll follow you.”

  The beam from Liz’s flashlight cut through the darkness in front of Danny’s feet. Meanwhile, Danny’s beam was wandering around the large field. They heard a noise inside one of the construction trailers the company used to store tools and blueprints. The trailer had a phone inside to contact the workers at the main job site, which was farther down the road. They aimed their flashlights at the trailer. They didn’t see anything unusual. Then, something squeaked.

  “What’s that noise?”

  Liz signaled for quiet with a finger across her mouth. “Shush,” she whispered. “Keep your voice low, Danny.” She motioned him to stay where he was with the flashlight. “Is anyone supposed to be in the trailer tonight?”

  “No, not as far as I know. My boss said nobody was supposed to be here but the relief guy,” Danny whispered.

  Liz heard groaning and a woman’s voice cried out.

  “Ooo, Winnie, you’re so big and hard! Open my pussy with your big dick!”

  A man’s voice groaned, “Ooo, that’s right, move with me, baby. Oh fuck me!” He howled his excitement. “Ooo, I’m gonna cum. You bitch, fuck me good.”

  Danny started laughing when he recognized the man’s voice. “Holy shit, that’s Owen Drummond! I wonder who his woman is tonight. He likes them young and fine.”

  Liz sighed. Her godfather’s warning about pestering the Drummond family still rang in her ears. “It looks like we’ll never know, Danny. We don’t need to verify anything. I’ll take your word. Let’s go check out the rest of the site.” She pinched her nostrils closed and frowned. “Damn, that gas stinks! The crew probably hit an old gas line. We’re gonna have to contact the fire department to dig up the line and cap it off,” she remarked, absorbing another lungful of putrid air.

  They walked several hundred yards to the main site to look around.

  Liz spotted a dark figure running away from the foundation. “Hey! Look at that guy, Danny.” She pointed to the figure quickly moving away from them. “Where the hell is he going? Is he supposed to be here, Danny?”

  Danny shook his head. “No. It’s like I said, nobody’s supposed to be here but me.”

  “What?” Liz turned to hear Danny’s response as they drew closer to the foundation. Something made the hair on the back of Liz’s neck stand up. Why was the man running when nobody was chasing him? The smell of gas was stronger here. “Oh shit!” She figured it out. She was about to tell Danny to run like the devil, when a loud explosion knocked her down.

  She hit the ground hard.

  She was nose down in the dirt.

  Grass tickled her face.

  How did I get here?

  She groaned and tried to sit up.

  Where is Danny?

  She remembered the loud noise.

  Her hand fumbled through the grass on the ground, searching for her flashlight.

  She found it and pressed the button.

  It didn’t work.

  She shook the flashlight, then banged it against her palm.

  It still didn’t work.

  Chunky gray bits of debris filled the air.

  She coughed up dust.

  She crawled on hands and knees, then stood up on wobbly legs.

  She couldn’t see her hands.

  She squinted into the dust.

  Her chest hurt to breathe.

  Where was Danny?

  “Danny! Danny?” she called out loudly several times as she tried to feel her way around the area. Large chunks of cement and steel were lying on the ground several feet away. She stumbled over them in a frantic search to find her friend. Bright orange flames suddenly added color to the dusty gray-black night sky and illuminated Danny’s body.

  “Oh God! Run, Danny!” Liz screamed.

  I can’t hear my own voice, she thought, then yelled as loud as she could over the sound of the steady ringing in her ears.

  Danny lay on the ground.

  “Get up, Danny!” she screamed.

  She pushed at him with her foot.

  “We gotta get outta here!”

  He didn’t move.

  She kicked at his side.

  Danny groaned but didn’t move.

  She grabbed his belt to pull at him.

  The glowing light from another explosion lasted long enough for Liz to see Danny’s face. She couldn’t tell if he was hurt. “We gotta get outta here. Which way, Danny?” she shouted, then shook him when he didn’t respond. “Tell me which way to go, Danny!” she screamed as she tried to see through the thick cloud of ash and debris that was settling over them. She knelt down and finally had to slap him hard across the face to get his attention.

  “What?” Danny shouted. “My ears hurt, Lizzie.” He held his hands over his ears to stop the painful buzzing. “I can’t hear so good.” He shook his head, then squinted. Charred metal arms, huge chunks of concrete, and the glowing fires scared him. “What happened?”

  “Come on, Danny, we gotta get out of here!” Liz motioned with her hands and then pulled him upright.

  They’d started running toward the trailer when they heard a second explosion that was louder than the first one. The vibrations were powerful enough to knock them to their knees. It felt like an earthquake under their feet. Fiery bright orange light filled the night sky for a second time.

  Liz looked over her shoulder. She worried they were going to die here tonight. “Get up, Danny. Take me to the trailer,” she gasped, then started coughing up dust and mucus. Her chest hurt. She couldn’t catch a breath either. “Come on, Danny,” she rasped. She hauled him upright and then dragged him to the trailer’s porch.

  The smell of gas was stronger there than at the construction site they’d just left.

  “Shit, Danny! The trailer’s ready to blow! I can smell the gas. Help me get Drummond and the woman out.”

  Dazed now, Danny frowned, then held a hand over his right ear. “I can’t hear you, Lizzie! Are we gonna make out of here?” he shouted.

  “Never mind that now! Come on, Danny!” Liz screamed. She slapped her chest with a flat hand, pointed to Danny, and then the trailer before she raced off. “We gotta get them out of here!”

  Owen and his companion slept through the first two explosions. They were still sleeping when two filthy people smelling of gasoline and fresh fire burst into the trailer and tried to drag them outside.

  Liz shook Owen’s shoulders hard until he opened his eyes.

  He grew alarmed at a dirty, disheveled figure standing over him. “Who the hell are you? What the hell do you want?” he demanded, sitting up on the cot with his arms around a woman who was young enough to be his daughter.

  The woman was hiding her nudity against his chest.

  “Never mind who I am, Drummond,” Liz gasped, trying to suck in air and wheezing when she couldn’t. “Take it from me, this place is about to explode.”

  “Humph! I’m not leaving until I put some pants on.”

  “Didn’t you hear her, Drummond? She just told you this trailer is gonna blow any minute!”

  Owen frowned, then stared hard at Danny. “I know you. You work for me. You’re a guard or something.”

  “Screw this, Drummond! I’m not dying here tonight.” Liz yanked him up by his undershirt, cold-cocked him, and dragged him toward the door like a large sack of potatoes. “Danny, bring the girl!” she shouted, then pantomimed her order. She dragged Drummond quickly through the orange flames that followed them from the first explosion.

  “Let’s go!” Danny managed to get the wom
an to walk calmly to the trailer’s door wearing a sheet like an extra-large robe. Once the woman spotted the flames surrounding the trailer and realized she’d have to jump through the flames to escape, she panicked. “No, I don’t want to die!” she screamed hysterically and ran to the rear of the trailer to hide.

  “Come on out, lady! Let’s go!” Danny sighed when she didn’t appear. He started a quick anxious search of the dark trailer. He looked under the small table and behind the computer equipment. “Look, lady, I don’t wanna die either! I got me a wife and a kid I wanna see tonight.” He spotted her huddled in the corner and motioned her to join him. “I see you. If you don’t come with me, you’re gonna die in here.”

  The extra minutes Danny spent searching for the woman cost him dearly. The trailer exploded as he threw her down the trailer’s stairs and then jumped on top to protect her from the explosion that he knew was coming.

  Liz watched from the ground in horror as the back of Danny’s shirt and pants caught on fire. They’d fallen into gasoline-saturated ground from the first explosion.

  Danny screamed as he struggled to reach behind him and tried to put the flames out. The woman was unconscious but unhurt.

  Liz thought her head was going explode from the pain, but she managed to crawl backwards, feeling dead grass scraping her belly until she reached Danny. She grabbed him and then rolled him onto his back. It put the flames out. When she turned him onto his side, the skin on his back and neck peeled away. “Oh, Danny, Sweet Jesus,” she muttered, kneeling over him with tears in her eyes. She wanted to help him, but what could she do? She felt so helpless. She hugged her sides and rocked on her knees as she waited for him to open his eyes.

  Danny moaned and opened his eyes. “How bad is it?” he rasped. Something in her eyes told him that he was dying. He gripped her hand tightly. “You take of Jen and Danny Jr., Lizzie. Promise me you’ll see to them, please!”

  “Danny, you’re gonna be fine. You’ll see,” Liz lied as she patted his hand.

  “Sure, Lizzie,” Danny said gruffly, then grimaced and closed his eyes in pain.

  Liz held his hand until the ambulances came. She stood up to help them slide Danny into the ambulance and watched it leave the site. Two more ambulances picked up Owen Drummond and his lover. She refused a ride, figuring they needed help more than she did. At least she could see, hear a little, and remain upright. She could drive herself to the hospital if she needed to go. “Ooo!” she murmured and grabbed her head in pain. She crumbled to the ground in a dirty, gasoline-scented heap and passed out.

  In another part of the field, a dark shape pulled off a black ski mask. He breathed deeply. “Man! That was close.” The people running away might have seen him. Good thing the boss told him to wear dark clothes. He was sure he blended into the night. Even if he didn’t, the charges he set off around the old gas lines at the site and near the trailer would kill anybody walking around. It should kill the occupants in the trailer too. That was a shame because the young pussy the old man was screwing was a good-looking little Black bitch.

  He shrugged. That wasn’t important. He turned around to admire his handiwork. He watched the huge red-orange tongue of the flame lick the metal structure. “I bet you can see this baby for miles!” he muttered proudly as the trailer’s gas tank exploded and sent golden-orange flames dancing into the night sky. He grinned, thinking about the money waiting for him. “This is gonna be a nice payday for a job well done.” He couldn’t take his eyes away from the stunning oranges and reds in the darkness.

  “Do you think you’re gonna collect on this thing? You’re even dumber than I thought you were. You stupid little shit!” A familiar figure stepped out of the darkness and stood six feet away from the man.

  The man could see the glint of the gun barrel in the fiery moonlight. “Hey! Boss, I don’t understand. I did everything you told me to do,” he whined. His eyes widened with fear as the dark figure took aim.

  “One thing you shoulda learned about me, I’m neat. I always clean up after myself. You know, tying up all those loose ends. You’re a loose end, Howie. You could try begging for your life,” the boss remarked coldly, waving the gun in the shorter man’s direction.

  The little man couldn’t help it and pissed himself. The strong odor of warm piss permeated the night air and added to the sharp, acrid odor of burning wood and metal.

  “Christ, man! Show a little pride,” the boss stated soothingly as he spoke to the trembling man. “Here; wipe off your pants.”

  The short man took the handkerchief and dabbed the front of his trousers. “Sorry, Boss. You scared…”

  The gun blew a small hole through the front of the man’s head and exited at the back. The bullet made a hole the size of a small fist at the back of his skull. His face looked surprised as he felt the life drain out of him. His lifeless body tumbled to the ground in a blood-n-brains-drenched heap.

  The boss fired into the front of his head a second time just to make sure he was dead. A shiny black boot pushed at the man’s lifeless body. “Alive, you were a stupid little man. Now, you’re a stupid dead little man.” He wrapped up the body in plastic bags, then slung it over his shoulder. He strode back to the truck to dump the dead body in the back. He came back with a flashlight and picked up the first bullet casing but missed the second one. He then attempted to wipe off the bloodied grass. When he heard the sound of fire engines in the far distance, he decided it was time to leave. He took his time driving from the site. Speeding away would call attention to his actions.

  He used one of the back roads. Few people used the old service road anymore. The road had tall weed-like stumps growing all over it. He noticed the large rocks that could rip out the undercarriage of a car as he drove along. The truck he borrowed was the perfect vehicle for the rough terrain. The truck had a higher clearance than a car and if someone saw him, they’d never guess what was in the back of the truck. He smiled confidently. After the first one, they got easier, he mused as he drove through the rough terrain. He could feel the hardness between his legs growing bigger. He liked the feeling. Too bad he couldn’t kill somebody every day, then he’d stay hard all the time. He knew just the right woman who’d appreciate it tonight. His hand crept down and stroked his hardness just to make sure it was still there. He’d hide the body tonight, then bury it in the special place he’d selected.

  CHAPTER FIVE …The Gilmores

  Sergeant Elizabeth Gilmore had no way of knowing how long her brother, her father, and her Uncle Ted maintained a vigil at her bedside. For the next five days, they watched helplessly as she slipped deeper into a coma, but they’d underestimated her will to survive.

  The first noise she heard was a slight buzzing in her head. A fly was whirling around her ear. She tried to swat it, or at least in her mind, she moved an arm.

  “Doctor, the patient just moved her finger.”

  “Squeeze my hand, Miss Gilmore,” the doctor said, leaning over the bed’s railing to study his patient’s hand.

  Liz squeezed it weakly. She swallowed several times before she was successful in wetting her dry throat. “Not a Miss, Doc. It’s Sarge.” She opened her eyes.

  “YES!” The young doctor grinned at her. “All right, Sergeant!” He shook a fist in the air in celebration. His patient was on the road to recovery.

  Liz motioned the doctor to come closer. “Thirsty, need water,” she rasped.

  “Nurse, give the sergeant here all the water she can swallow in a sip, then let her suck on ice chips for the next couple of hours.”

  Liz was officially out of danger, so her doctor transferred her out of ICU to a private room later in the day. It seemed all she did was to sleep, then wake up when the nurse took her vitals, and then sleep some more. She hadn’t tired like this since she was a kid. She yawned and opened her eyes. She’d stretch her arms over her head if she didn’t feel so sore. Her poor body felt as though she’d gone twenty rounds with Ronda Rousey and lost.

  “Jake, wha
t are you doing here?” Liz discovered her brother standing next to her bed with a worried look in his eyes.

  “The old man told me my hardheaded sister was in the hospital. I thought I’d come down here to check on you. I wanted to make sure you followed the doctor’s orders.” Nearly black eyes twinkled as the large man sat on the edge of the bed and studied his kid sister. “How do you feel, Sis? You had us worried for a while.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, we thought you weren’t coming out of this one,” Jake remarked quietly.

  “Why?”

  “You’ve been unconscious for five days, Sis. Didn’t the doctors tell you?”

  Liz frowned. “Five days?”

  Jake nodded.

  “How’s Danny doing, Jake? He was something out there. Did you know he carried Drummond’s secretary out of danger? That makes him a hero. Right, Jake? Jen must be so proud of him. So how is he?” Liz was praying he’d tell her she’d made a mistake out there at the site and Danny was alive. That he’d come through the explosions badly burned but alive.

  Jake sighed heavily, then stared at Liz with sad eyes. The last time he’d had that look was the night he told her their mother died, Liz thought with alarm. He was seven and she was three. She hadn’t ever seen a look like that before that night. It made his face so sad and his eyes sorrowful. At the time, she was just a kid and didn’t know what the look meant, but she remembered it.

  “Danny’s dead, isn’t he?” Her eyes filled with unshed tears.

  “Yeah, Honey. He died on the operating table. The burns were bad. His body just gave out. They tried to revive him, but he…It was peaceful, they tell me. He didn’t feel anything.” Jake put his arm around Liz. He could feel her body shaking as she cried into his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Kid. He was a brave man.” A large hand stroked her locks as she sobbed. His shoulder muffled her voice.

  “Damn it, Jake! I shoulda been there! Who told Jen?”