Vin twisted around so he could sling one arm across the back of his kitchen chair. His other hand toyed with his coffee cup. With a belly full of pancake and what he’d witnessed that morning he was feeling no pain.
Suzie had cleared the breakfast table and Miranda gone off to work leaving Vin and Drew still sitting. Vin tried not to smile, but it was damn hard when he felt so good. Still, he managed to keep from saying anything to Drew until after Suzie finished wiping down a counter, then left the room.
“You aren’t interested in Miranda at all.”
“Hmmm?” Drew raised an eyebrow as he sipped his coffee.
“Before, you made it sound like you might be interested in Miranda, but you aren’t, are you.” It wasn’t a question at all. Vin was quite sure of his assessment.
“What makes you say that?” Though the man’s lips tightened against it, a smile tugged up the corners of his mouth.
“It’s Suzie you want.” Vin couldn’t keep a happy lilt out of his voice.
“I do not.” Drew put his cup down so fast it was a wonder the saucer didn’t crack. He glanced warily at the door.
“You like her, and she likes you. So many sparks fly off the two of you that you could light a match just holding it in the air between you. Even Miranda noticed. Did you see the way she lingered in the doorway, looking at you before she went to work?”
“Suzie?”
“Miranda. She has to know you’re after Suzie now. So she’ll stop chasing you.”
It sounded like Drew muttered, “I hope so,” under his breath as he carried his cup and saucer to the sink.
“I knew you’d like her. She deserves a good man after all she’s been through.” Vin followed him, cup, spoon, and saucer in hand.
“Miranda?”
“No, Suzie!” Vin took a deep breath to calm himself when he realized Drew’s eyes crinkled with suppressed humor. “Quit yanking my chain.”
“And give up one of the foremost pleasures in life? Not a chance.”
“All right, so let’s talk about work instead. Usual deal? We’re so close to the shop now that I don’t need a ride. I’ll just walk from here. I’ve already called Walter and he has a car ready for me.”
“How about I wait for you on West Washington Street. According to the web page for Madison the club is planning on using the area around Vilas Zoo this morning.”
“All right.” Vin shoved off from the counter. “I’ll head out now.” He headed for the central hall that would take him out the front door.
Before he left the kitchen Drew said, “About Miranda. You can’t blame a guy for looking.”
Vin glared at his buddy, then changed his mind. “Sure, just like you can’t blame him for appreciating Suzie.”
Drew’s smile evaporated. Hah! Let him chew on that a while.
#
As Vin came to the intersection of Fairchild and West Washington he noticed the large, lumbering form of Jordan Furguson crossing the street. The one-way street here felt narrow even with two lanes, though Vin’s taxi wasn’t as hard to drive as a van or truck. Maybe it was the height of the buildings, or the fact they were on the crest of a hill. Traffic had bunched up around the library as pedestrians walked out with little regard for their own safety. It was tense driving.
At first Vin hadn’t recognized Jordan. No doubt the man was headed to his clerk’s job in the Capitol building a block away. The two of them had a short, unpleasant history. A couple of weeks ago Furguson had used his connections through the governors office to get Vin’s driver’s license suspended. Straightening the mess out had taken hours and hours. Though his back was already turned, Vin flipped Jordan off as he eased into the broad, open, down-hill lanes of West Washington.
The guy in a silver Jeep Cherokee right behind him honked. Not a friendly “hi there!” toot but the kind of steady horn action of someone who is pissed off. Vin check his rear view. The man, a thin one with bright red hair, waved a fist at him. Vin flipped him off half-heartedly.
The honking became more agitated. They were going down a long incline that ran for four or five blocks. Without realizing it Vin had picked up speed. He hit the breaks at a traffic light that was a little slow going from red to green. The idiot behind him plowed right into him.
Having spent the last month luring people from the taxi attacking club into deeper play, Vin did not immediately pull over. He gunned it between Broom Street and Bassett, and enjoyed weaving in and out of traffic. The idiot stayed right behind him until after they crossed Bassett. Then he clipped the finder of an innocent bystander, sending the poor woman into a spin, and didn’t even slow down.
Hah! A player after all. Vin could handle it, but had to get this guy away from the heavy traffic of West Washington.
He made a tire-eating screech of a left on Proudfit then a right on West Main. The idiot followed close behind. Where was Drew? He should be getting some footage of this. It was some of Vin’s best driving.
West Main folded off to the left onto South Brittingham Place where the street bumped into Monona Bay. Here there was less traffic, but much less room to maneuver as houses and parked cars lined the left side of the street and the water ran along side on the right across the narrow strip of land called Brittingham Park. He was doing 50 mph and the street was barely over a block long.
He hit the breaks and immediately began to fishtail. The idiot in the jeep plowed into him, first shoving him by the bumper, then moving to the left side to cave in the driver’s door of the taxi.
They were going too fast. Alone Vin could have made it around the corner, but not with the additional mass of the Jeep working against him. Though he fought the steering wheel, he couldn’t get any traction and began moving sideways.
Everything blurred together in Vin’s mind. The flickering checkerboard of trees approaching the side of his taxi too quickly, the shudder of the steering wheel under his palms fighting his effort to save himself, the booming crunch of impact all rolled together as the taxi smashed into the trees.
Vin suspected he was going to have a case of whiplash from this. Not to mention Walter would be pissed. The entire right side of the cab was smashed. It would take a tow truck to get this one in.
When the world righted itself Vin tried to open his door, and found it would only go a few inches. The guy in the jeep backed up. Vin conceded defeat. There was no way he was going to drive anywhere else today.
But the red head wasn’t done. He hopped out of his jeep, leaving it running, then walked right up to Vin’s window. Vin didn’t notice that the man had one hand behind his back until he pulled out a gun.
The idiot shot Vin at point blank range.
Pain like nothing he had ever felt before ripped through Vin’s chest. Everything got cold and dark. His last thought was that God had a twisted sense of humor taking him out of the game now when things were going so well with Miranda.
The previous was Suzie’s House 11: Good Morning
This is Suzie’s House 12: All In A Day’s Work
Next is Suzie’s House 13: Of Duty and Honor
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