Parker 05 - The Darkness by Jason Pinter Read Free Book Online Page A

time."
    "I could say the same thing to you. Hey, got a little
    cream cheese there." I motioned to his beard. He ran his
    hand through it, but all that did was spread it around. I
    laughed, which Jack didn't take kindly to. He took a napkin and wiped himself down thoroughly, finally getting
    it out.
    "Better, Dad?" Jack said.
    "Better, sport."
    "Good. Now that the silliness is over, let's go talk to
    some of these 718 guys."
    "I don't know all of them," I said, "but the ones I did
    meet got pretty vicious. Two of them, Scott Callahan and
    Kyle Evans, are dead. Two others I didn't know, Guardado
    and Tsang, are dead, too."
    "They must have a hell of a life insurance policy,"
    Jack said.
    "I don't get it," I said. "Stephen Gaines worked for
    these people. He ends up dead. Tsang has his bones
    ground to powder, and there are still people dealing for
    these clowns. I mean, if your colleagues are dropping like
    flies, why do you stay on? Why not go to the cops, spill
    on whoever's paying you? Seems like you have a better
    chance of staying alive at least."
    "That's a good question, Henry, and it's one that we're
    going to have to answer because obviously these people
    disagree with your assessment."
    "Survival," I said.
    "Come again?" replied Jack.
    "Human instinct. The number-one priority is survival. If
    someone isn't opening up, it's because they want to survive.
    Ken Tsang, that wasn't just a murder. It was a message."
    The Darkness
    51
    "I think I've seen that kind of message before."
    "Yeah? Where?"
    "Wrote a story once where I had to interview the foreman after an accident at a quarry. The foreman told me the
    victim's body looked like the bad guy after Indiana Jones
    smushed him in that rock crusher. Said he looked like
    something that was squeezed out of a tube of toothpaste."
    "You know, sometimes I feel I'd be better off not
    knowing about all your previous stories."
    "Thought it might be pertinent," Jack sniffed.
    "Come on, the building where 718 operates out of is
    over there."
    We entered the building, and I wasn't shocked to find
    a different security guard on duty than I remember. He was
    an older man, mid-sixties, with a tuft of gray hair parked
    on the top of his head like a wind ornament. He had on
    thick reading glasses and was reading a newspaper. We approached, and I said, "We're here for 718 Enterprises."
    The man looked up. I could see a crossword puzzle on
    the table in front of him. Only three of the words had been
    filled in. And let's just say he wasn't aware the word
    nuclear had an a.
    "Sorry, come again?"
    "718 Enterprises," Jack said. "Can you ring them up?"
    "Just a second." He pushed the newspaper away and
    brought out a large binder. Opening it, he began to flip
    through pages, studying the telephone numbers with his
    index finger. I watched as he scanned, unable to see the
    numbers for myself.
    "I'm sorry, there's no company here by that name.
    718 Enterprises, you said?"
    "That's right. They definitely work here," I added.
    "I've been here before," I lied.
    52
    Jason Pinter
    The guard curled his lip up, flipped through the binder
    again. He looked confused, frustrated. "Sorry, nothing
    here by that name."
    "Hold on a second," I said. I took the logbook from
    the counter, began to look at all the people who'd signed
    in. Last time I was here, Scott Callahan and Kyle Evans
    had signed in when they visited 718 Enterprises. But to
    my surprise, nobody was here to visit the company. Not
    a single name I recognized.
    "Sir, please give that back," he said, his voice growing
    impatient. "If you don't I'll have security down here right
    quick." Figured they'd have security. Old Man River here
    didn't look like he was hired to do much strong-arming.
    "What's your name, friend?" Jack said.
    "Edgar," the guard replied.
    "Edgar, I'm Jack. My friend Henry here is a little impatient, for that I apologize. We were under the impression this company was located at this address.... How
    long have you been working