Chaucer Circle Chapter 2

by Leon Rice

Damage Control and Recapitulation: A Lasting Relationship "Just calm your ass down Enzy. What the hell do ya mean ya shot 'em? Who did you shoot?" "The damn drop off people. They pulled a gun on me - Was goin' to shoot me and I shot them first." "DId ya Kill 'em?" "Yea, I'm pretty sure that they're dead. I was really scared ya know Benny. I mean really scared." "Look, You better come over here right now and we need to talk. Where are you right now?" "I'm home." "Just get your ass in the car and come on over here. Yea that's right. Right now. See ya in a little bit." Halerin hung up the phone and tried to come to grips with the complication that this problem might create possibly create for all of his operations, not just here in Illinois. When word got out that one of Halerin's people had killed Santos' people the shit very well might hit the fan. Halerin was pretty sure that it already had, but he hadn't heard anything about it yet so he figured he might have a little time to come up with a plan to cover his ass. Nothing like taking the bull by the horns he thought, so he placed a call to Santos himself. "What's up Santos? How's it going?" "Not too bad, yourself?" "No problems I guess." "How are we doing in the Illinois market this week," asked Halerin, figuring that if Santos knew about he shooting, he would say something about it. He wasn't sure, but he thought Santos may have ordered the hit himself. He'd just play it cool and see how the conversation went .. "We're number one with a bullet, if you know what I mean.? When the dopers start hittin this new shit they're going to be poppin their cork. Snow white and pure as fuck. There's gonna be some flyin in old chi town tonight." "Look Santos, I'm goin to come straight out and ask. Did you know that there was a problem with the local delivery up in Camden last night?" "I heard about it Benny. . . Are you fuckin with me Benny?" "My man said your boys pulled a gun on him and he had no choice but to kill the bastards. Did you do this to me Santos?" "Fuck no, man. It's damn sure that I ain't fuckin with you. We known each other for a long time. My boys must have gotten greedy and decided to take thing in to their own hands, that's all." "Well that's pretty good then, I was afraid I was goin to have to off your ass." There was a long pause and both men laughed hysterically. "We been together too long to let something like this fuck up a good thing. But it's an eye for an eye kind of thing. Do you know what I mean?" "I know, I know. I'll take care of the stupid little prick myself. Don't worry, No body will ever bring us

down." "So it's business as usual then my good friend?" "Definitely. Most definitely. We'll just change the drop-off to Pickneyville in stead of Camden. I'll have my people talk to your people and they can set up a new drop-off location." "Sounds good . . . Talk to you later," said Halerin. "Hello Seth. This is Santos. Listen. We got some new rules about our drops. First of all, Camden has been changed to Pickneyville, so just set it up. OK. And listen, if any of Benny's people give us any shit, kill the fuckers right where they stand. We ain't taking no shit from these bastards . . . That's right . . . You know what to do . . . Later."

Halerin knew that Santos didn't trust him and he could tell by Santos' voice that he was pissed about his people getting killed. He also knew that if he took care of Enzy, (killed him), that the score would be evened and they could continue with business as usual. Halerin wasn't about to let someone like Enzy hamper his distribution here in Andover or in any of his other markets. So he'd just have to kill Enzy. When Halerin came down stairs, he found Enzy sitting in an over stuffed chair in his study, sipping on a brandy. "Ehy, what's up Enzy? Had a little problem up in Camden did ya," asked Halerin as he came into the room. "I was scared shitless, Benny. I ain't never been that scared in my life." "Well, ya made it though. That's what counts. and hey, listen, I'd rather you called me Professor Halerin if you don't mind. It just sounds better. Do you know what I mean" Halerin had four distinct personas: There was the drug dealer persona, the college professor persona, the compassionate father persona, and the latin lover persona. He switched them on and off like turning on and off a light switch, depending who he was talking too. "Sure, no problem professor." There was an awkward pause and Enzy continued. "Ya know Professor, I thought you might be pissed about me killing those guys, but it seems like your not pissed at all." "No. No. Not pissed at all. Say, I wanted to show you the new van that I want you to use in your pick-ups for me. It's in the garage down stairs. Come on I'll show you." Halerin started toward the door and Enzy followed. The two men got in the elevator to go down stairs. Halerin's house had been built in the late 1940's by a, wealthy, local doctor. When the doctor died, the house was converted into a funeral home and functioned that way for many years. It finally went out of business; that is when Halerin bought the house. He refurbished the main part of the house, but left the basement untouched. It was still set up do embalming and there was an oven to do cremations. The elevator door opened and the two men stepped out into a hallway that lead to the embalming room. "Just have a seat for a minute while I find the key for the garage," said Halerin as they entered the room. Enzy sat down and Halerin opened a drawer in a cabinet behind Enzy. He took out a 357 pistol. Enzy couldn't see Halerin and continued to talk. "So anyway, I been thinkin about killin those two guys. That makes me a murderer. A cold blooded killer.

I been worryin about whether God will forgive me for doin that. I mean, you know, I'm a good person. Really I am. It just happened." Enzy turned slightly toward Halerin and was face to face with the gun. Halerin said, "Say hello to God for me will ya mother fucker." Halerin pulled the trigger and the back of Enzy head exploded all over the floor. The deafening sound of the gun shot reverberated in the basement room and echoed off the walls. "Damn! I should have used ear plugs," said Halerin with a sarcasm that only Halerin could deliver. Talk about cold blooded. Now that was cold blooded. Ya just fucked up Enzy, little buddy. Ya just fucked up." Halerin dragged the body into the cremation room, took Enzy's keys out of his pocket, put the body in the furnace, and turned it on. No more Enzy. Enzy just simply no longer exists. Halerin hosed down the floor of the embalming room to eliminate any evidence. He checked himself for any blood on his clothes. "Goddamn it! Look at this shit. I got blood all over my new pants." Halerin changed clothes and put the blood stained pants in the trash compacter in the kitchen. His daughter Maggie was at the hospital for some tests and he had given his housekeeper the day off, so no one heard the gunshot. He got in Enzy's car and drove to the student parking lot and left the car for the authorities to find. He wiped the finger prints off, locked the door and walked away. This was obviously a case of a missing student. The mystery would never be solved. Halerin walked the two blocks to the local restaurant, frequented by mostly students and faculty from the college. He couldn't decide, should he have a burger, a steak, or breakfast. A burger sounded good. The last time he ordered breakfast from this place the eggs were crap, the bacon was charred, and the hash browns were like congealed grease. "Now lets see", he said, I have a budgetary meeting at 1:00 and my first class isn't until 2:00.so I have plenty of time to enjoy my breakfast. Maybe a little handball this evening would be appropriate . Yea, that sounds really good."