Blood Out by Dusty Sharp

Author:Dusty Sharp
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dusty Sharp
Published: 2018-11-15T08:54:00+00:00

Twenty-Two

It was just before dusk as Austin descended the Cajon Pass on I-15, and took the split at Devore for I-215 which would take him through San Bernardino to Riverside. A brown layer of smog blanketed the Inland Empire below him, tinged orange by the setting sun.

Once back in Riverside, he exited the freeway and pulled into a Circle K to refill the Camaro’s gas tank and top off the oil. He stepped inside the convenience store to buy a couple more quarts and a few more packs of cigars. Refueled and resupplied, he steered the Camaro toward the Wood Streets neighborhood where he had grown up. As he drove down tree-lined Magnolia Street, he stayed alert, sweeping both sides of the road, and down each cross-street, for anything that looked suspicious. He figured the Rattlers would be watching for him, and his house on Burlwood was the most likely target. If they weren’t watching it, they were fools.

Austin cruised past the intersection for Burlwood Street and continued to Ironwood, one street beyond. Here, he turned left and continued slowly through the quaint neighborhood. His own house was about halfway down the block, on the next street over, separated from the homes on Ironwood by a service alley that ran between the back yards of the houses. Austin watched for real estate signs posted on lawns, and saw what he was looking for about two-thirds of the way down the block. He slowed as he approached, noting that the driveway was empty, there were no lights on inside the house, and a realtor’s key safe was hanging from the front door.

Austin turned into the driveway like he owned the place, got out of the car and strode toward the gate at the side of the house. Reaching over, he found the latch and opened the gate, slipped into the side yard and closed it behind him. In the darkness at the side of the house, he checked his weapons—the chute knife strapped to his boot, the folder in his front pocket, the wallet chain dangling at his side. He had left the pistol he had been carrying with Antonio, to be disposed of. He hadn’t wanted to be carrying a recently-fired gun, with serial numbers filed off, when he had met with Manny on the way down. But he would be taking care of that deficiency soon enough.

The emptiness of the back yard confirmed for Austin that the house was indeed vacant. No children's toys scattered about, no lounge chairs and barbecue grill occupying the small patio behind the place. Austin slipped into his best stealth mode and crept quietly to the fence at the back of the yard, where a set of empty trash bins sat just inside the back gate.

There was a large oleander bush crowding the fence next to the gate, and Austin used it as cover when he peered over the fence into the alley. He checked both directions, seeing nothing but a few garbage cans, a stack of old cardboard boxes, and a broken down lawn mower.

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