Moonlight Warriors: A Tale of Two Hit Men by Joseph Rogers Read Free Book Online Page B

the matter,” Chuck assured her. 
    “Good.  A couple of days ago I hired another man, but he wimped out on me.  I need your assurance that you will follow this through to completion.”
    “I won’t wimp out,” he said.  “I complete what I begin.”
    She smiled and nodded.  “You seem like a very capable man.  I’m glad that Jenny told me about you.”
    “Thank you.”
    “I suppose that we had better get the matter of payment out of the way,” she said.  “I can pay you five thousand dollars now and ten thousand after the job is completed.  Is that acceptable?”
    “Yes, that will be fine.”
    “I will need this job to be completed as soon as possible,” Elaine said emphatically.  She discreetly handed him a manila envelope that contained the money, David Sandhaven’s photo, and some information about him.  “This envelope has everything that you need.”
    After conversing for another minute, Elaine said good-bye to Chuck and drove away.  He watched her depart, then walked back into the sports complex where the flat-track roller derby bout was underway.
    Jenny’s team, clad in violet and gold, was engaged in a close game against the opposing team, which wore red and black uniforms.  Jenny was currently winning points for her team by serving as the “jammer,” the one scoring position.  The jammer on each team was easy to spot because of the star worn on her helmet.
    Although she had little roller derby experience, Jenny was a good skater.  Over the past few years, she often skated on Grant’s Trail, which ran through the suburbs of South County and eventually connected to the River des Peres bike trail.
    Because the traditional quad roller skates with two wheels in the front and two wheels in the back were very stable, Jenny preferred them to the inline rollerblade skates that were faster.  Jenny was glad that roller derby continued to use the quad skates rather than rollerblades.
    Jenny was such a good skater that her team gave her the jammer position.   In this evening’s game, Jenny made her way through the pack.  Her teammates, serving as blockers, tried to clear a path for her, while the opposing team attempted to knock her out of bounds.
    Chuck was amused by the colorful nicknames selected by the skaters on the two teams.  His friend, Jenny Jawbreaker, was protected by her teammates: Lethal Lauren, Casey Crusher, Julie Juggernaut, and Denise the Menace.   On the opposing team, Sarah Slayer, Vicky Vendetta, Beth the Bruiser, Sue Smasher, and Danielle Destroyer sought to stop Jenny so that their own jammer could begin to win points for their team.
    During the intermission between the second and third periods, one of the referees put on a demonstration of his skating proficiency.  The highlight of the performance was his impressive jump over seven volunteers, all of whom were very glad that the referee’s jump was successful.
    At the conclusion of the game, which Jenny’s team won by a narrow margin, Chuck signaled to Jenny, who skated over toward the bleachers, where the two of them conferred privately about his conversation with Elaine.  After making plans for the next day, Chuck congratulated Jenny on her excellent skating and on her team’s victory.

Chapter 7
    Heroes Unmasked
     
    Shortly after traveling over the Missouri River and entering St. Charles County, Dennis Sandhaven exited Highway 70 at 5 th Street.  Two large signs presented him with the attractive options of either going right toward a riverboat casino or left to the Bass Pro Shops, a huge outdoor recreational products store that included a large aquarium.
    Dennis turned right toward the river, but he drove past the casino entrance and onto the cobblestone streets of downtown St. Charles.
    Chuck’s car was never more than a quarter-mile behind him.  In spite of his line of work, Chuck had not often covertly followed persons, and he did not consider himself especially adept at it.  However, the idea that