Read Death and Taxes for Free Online Page A

runaways—they all think Castillo’s a regular too. He’s spent a month of his life sleeping in shelters, or in the park, or in alleys. He’s eaten in soup kitchens. He’s worn the same stinking clothes for a week at a time. I mean, I could barely stand to talk to him. You can imagine what his wife thought.”
    I didn’t have to imagine. Eve Castillo had been to a party with us. She decreed Castillo celibate until he’d been steam-cleaned.
    “So, everything is set. I’ve cleared and recleared with the campus cops.”
    I nodded. The university owned the land People’s Park occupied; their police patrolled it.
    “I’ve planned this baby down to the minute. Damon Hentry’s convinced Castillo’s the go-between. Hentry’s supposed to be there on the stroke of midnight. Hentry’s the kind of dude midnight in the full moon would appeal to. I’ll tell you, Jill, I could get a research grant for the amount of background I did on Damon Hentry.”
    “You’re an artiste,” I said, giving his hand a squeeze. He’d talked about the sting between azalea runs and consultations with roofers. I’d caught glimpses of the old Howard. “Castillo’s spent the day acting crazy. The park guys are giving him a wide berth, like they do with crazies. At eleven thirty he’s sitting in the wet grass by the garbage cans, waiting. I’m in an unmarked across the street. Everything’s perfect. I can just about feel Damon Hentry’s wrists as I click the cuffs on him. I can smell his shock. I’ve never had a setup go so smoothly.” His eyes softened. A wistful smile creased his cheeks. I could see the sting through his lenses, feel the heady rush of triumph.
    The smile vanished. “And then, Jill, this goddamned jogger comes tooling along. Eleven thirty at night, for godsakes! Out jogging as if she doesn’t have a home to go to.” Howard turned and glared at me. “Everyone knows how the park is. Even the homeless are nervous there. They complain about the dealers.”
    Suddenly the smoke seemed thicker. I breathed in through my mouth. “And there was quite a crowd around there tonight?” Surely we’d gotten the crowd from Drem’s accident dispersed before …
    “Buncha guys, buncha drugs, and one goddamned woman jogging in skintight Day-Glo Lycra like she’s a gift from another planet.”
    “No matter what you’re wearing,” I said, feeling my shoulders tighten and hearing the edge to my voice, “People’s Park’s not a wise spot to run by. You don’t think she was Hentry’s lure, testing the waters?”
    “No. And she didn’t run by. Through. She came from the far corner, and when I spotted her, she was in the middle of the park with five guys on her tail.”
    “Oh shit!”
    “You can believe, Jill, that I did not want to go plowing into the park, advertising Police Presence. I know Damon Hentry too well. He had someone watching the park since sundown. As soon as his man spotted me opening the car door, the deal would be off, and the slime would be a whole lot more slippery the next time we tried to set something up. So I’m sitting tight, pulling for the damned woman to make it through. And she almost does. She’s fifteen yards from the fucking sidewalk when one of the guys grabs her shoulder and knocks her down.” He stopped, took a breath, and stared straight at me with a look so hostile, I barely recognized him. “So I get out and run across the street. Castillo’s slipped back under the trees with the rest of the homeless. No need in both of us blowing our cover. By the time I get there, the woman’s standing up, surrounded by these guys.”
    “Who? Transients?”
    “Three guys I didn’t recognize and a couple of crackheads. I’ve busted these two before. I know what they’re capable of. To them rape would be just the beginning. So I come up and plant myself between her and one of the crackheads. I ask what’s going on. Calm, authoritative, Mr. By-the-book. The crackhead tells me it’s none of