Free The Hitman: Dirty Rotters by Sean McKenzie

justice and this wasn’t how it should be
happening. Angelo Garboni was the wrong man and I couldn’t sit back
and let this happen to him. My stomach began to churn with anxiety.
I was at the threshold of a bad idea. But I knew the way the system
worked, and I knew no one else was going to step in and do the
right thing. Sally had been right about how it all would unfold.
The more I thought about it, the hotter I felt. I realized then
that my hands were clenched into the blankets like an eagle’s claw
and my eyebrows were slanted down to my nose.
    I stopped myself short of entertaining
the dark clouds of ideas storming my mind then, and I sat upright
and forced myself to think on something else. I put aside my anger
and my lust for vengeance. I would talk to Angelo and find out what
really happened. I would get him to admit that it all was a
mistake. They would have to let him go then. They would have to
continue to search for the real killer.
    The tall grandfather clock facing me
said it was nearly six o’clock. I got out of bed and listened to
the silence engulfing the house. I figured Sally was still out,
maybe at work, maybe in a field bench-pressing a tractor. I stepped
out of the guest room to an empty house.
    On the kitchen table there was a box.
It had my name on it. I opened it. Inside there was a note, a pair
of dark jeans, a pair of white socks, a black T-shirt, and a pair
of boxer-briefs. All my size. The note said for me to shower and
change. She had guessed at the sizes and based on my appearance she
had picked out similar clothes. I was impressed.
    After I showered and changed into the
new clothes, I heard the Hummer pull into the driveway and park
beside the house again. Sally was home. I left her spotless
bathroom to greet her at the door. She entered wearing dark jeans
and a grey sweatshirt. She stopped just inside the door, staring at
me. She smiled slightly.
    “ I took a guess on what you
would like. Hope you don’t mind.”
    “ No. Not at all. Everything
fit. Thank you.” I sat on the sofa.
    “ Want a beer?”
    “ I don’t drink
anymore.”
    She took her shoes off, went to the
kitchen and brought back a beer, sat down next to me this time and
took a long pull from the glass bottle. There was the Sally I had
been expecting.
    “ I know this whole case is
very sensitive. I remember all the time we spent looking for Pamela
together.” She paused in reflection. “But I do have to warn you,
the word is that this will be an open and closed case. The district
attorney is going to be moving ahead quickly. The press is already
having a field day. It’s a circus. Do not read the
newspaper.”
    “ She’s dead, right?” I
forced the words out.
    Sally nodded. “Do you want
details?”
    “ No. I don’t think I could
handle it.” I tried not to think about her dead. “What else can you
tell me?”
    “ Only that Angelo Garboni
was found in the van with five bodies inside it. He confessed right
away to killing all those women. He’ll stand trial, soon I imagine,
and be sentenced to life without parole. No bond. Lawyer wants no
visitors either.”
    I leaned towards her and looked her
dead in the eyes. “I am going to see him.”
    “ I know. I have it set up
already. Frank’s on duty until eight.” She guzzled the rest of her
beer and set the bottle down gently next to the sofa, then stared
back at me. “Do me a favor though. Don’t get your hopes up. The
last time I saw you, you were a complete mess. Understandable. But
I don’t want to see you going down that road. I know that look in
your eyes. I see it every day. And every one of them will tell you
that it’s not worth it.”
    “ Let’s go.”
     
    We sat in silence.
    The Hummer H3 was a smooth ride,
sitting high off the ground. It made me realize how low the El
Camino sat. I liked the view up here better. I felt like I was in
an army tank. I thought that maybe someday I would get something
big and gaudy like this.
    We were at the police