Wrecker

By Dave Conifer

Jane thought a loveless marriage was as bad as it could get.

Steve thought life was perfect with a hired man to do his chores. 

They were both wrong.

Jane Havelock is coping a day at a time in a bad marriage when her husband Steve hires handyman Rob Manteo for a never-ending series of odd jobs around the house. At first Jane is repulsed by Manteo, a huge, muscular man with primitive communication skills. But revulsion reluctantly gives way to curiosity and even fascination as loneliness drives her into a precarious friendship with Manteo. He’s morose and mysterious, but there’s definitely more to him than meets the eye. 

As her marriage and her husband’s career crumble around her, Jane digs into Manteo’s past and uncovers a horrible secret. She knows now that it was more than chance that brought Manteo into their world, but it may be too late.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dave Conifer
• Release date: Feb 13, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386410089

Book preview

Wrecker

Dave Conifer

Copyright © 2011 by Dave Conifer

Also by Dave Conifer:

Throwback (2004)

FireHouse (2007)

eBully (2008)

Snodgrass Vacation (2009)

Primary Justice (2011)

Hard Lines (2012)

Cold Cases: Man of Steel (2008)

Cold Cases: Zodiac Rogue (2013)

Cold Cases: Money Down (2014)

Super Pulse: The Grid Goes Black (2016)

Super Pulse: To the Barrens (2017)

Super Pulse: Tabernacle (2017)

Acknowledgment

I’d like to thank author David Dalglish for continually providing motivation, encouragement and insight, and for keeping me moving in the right direction on this story. 

Thanks also to my wife, LA, for giving me courage.  I love you, LA, and thanks for editing.

Chapter 1

Steve Havelock watched the man that had to be Manteo emerge from the filthy white truck.  The dark skin, tattered clothing and dirty work boots signaled that Manteo was somebody that made his living outside.  His face was brown where it wasn’t covered by a bushy beard that tapered to a point four inches below his chin.  The beard rose to the space in front of his ears, where it gave way to his scalp.  His head appeared to be clean-shaven beneath the blue bandana that mostly covered it.  The other sales reps had looked softer and were armed with sprinkler system brochures, friendly smiles and clean hands.  This one had none of those things; just a clipboard and a snarl.

He was as huge as Steve remembered.  At least six foot five, Steve estimated, with a lean, heavily-muscled body thinly veiled by the grubby work clothes.  Building sprinkler systems must be some workout, he thought to himself. 

Manteo looked angry.  He looked mean. While Steve had grown up in the safe suburbs playing rec soccer and having sleepovers, guys like this were already breaking the rules.  He was the kind of guy that Steve had learned to avoid.

Steve Havelock? he grunted when he reached the bottom of the steps.

Are you Mr. Manteo?

Yeah, he said, extending his hand.  Rob Manteo.

I remember from the store.  Steve had seen that hand many times.  He thought of auto mechanics, the guy who drained the septic tank and the carpenter who built the deck at his father’s house the previous summer. There was a strip of blackness beneath each nail that gave way to a brownish tinge that coated the ridges of his fingers and palms.  Steve put his revulsion aside and shook the firm, scratchy hand.  He felt strength, but knew Manteo hadn’t done his worst.

What kind of system are we talkin’ about? Manteo asked after the introduction was complete.  Front and back?

Yeah, front and back, Steve answered.  I want to cover all the gardens, too.  And I’d like to be able to add on to the system later.  All he could think about was washing his hand but he managed to talk sprinkler systems.

Manteo looked around the property and made some sketches and notations.  All right, he said before walking off.  Steve cracked a smile as he watched this giant of a man pace off and record distances using nothing but his dusty boots and a pencil.  While waiting, he mentally compared his own body with Manteo’s.  He was at least half a foot shorter but only a little bit lighter, he acknowledged as he hitched his chinos to where they hugged his love handles.  At least I’ve got more hair than he does, he laughed to himself.  On my head, at least.

"Who’s that?" he heard from behind.  It was Eddie Durham, back from the pizzeria.  He held a flat white box with a brown paper bag balanced on top.

He’s doing an estimate for my sprinkler system.  The guy at Home Depot recommended him when Allie and I were there the other day.  This is the last one before I decide who to hire.

They recommended that guy at Home Depot? Eddie asked.  What’s up with that? 

They must be buddies.  I was walking through and I saw this guy hanging around.  Hard not to notice him.  Next thing I know, I’m about to check out and the cashier asks me if I’m installing sprinklers.  I guess they remembered me from the last time I was in.  Anyway, he recommended this guy.

Eddie disappeared into the house with the pizza, leaving Steve to wait nervously for the contractor to finish sizing up the job.  While he waited he walked a slow lap around his pride and joy, the expensive ice-blue Audi in the driveway.  A few minutes later Manteo returned.  Steve had invited all the others into the house to go over the estimate and make their pitch, but not this one.  Instead, he leaned against the railing and waited.

Manteo didn’t seem to have any expectation of being invited inside.  He sat on a concrete step and scribbled on the clipboard for half a minute before he spoke.  Sixteen-hundred.

Dollars?  I mean, that’s the bottom-line price? Steve stammered.

Yup.

Okay.  Just so I can compare your price, does that hook me up all the way to the pipes in the house and everything?

Yup.

Can you leave a copy of the estimate?

Manteo snorted and shoved his hand-scrawled notes and diagrams at him.  Do you want this?

No, I guess not.  Sixteen hundred, you said?

Yup.

Well, can you tell me about the system we’re talking about?  This isn’t much to go on. 

"You already told me, Manteo snapped.  I’m building the system you said you wanted.  That’s with a sixteen zone controller.  You only got twelve zones.  You can add zones later."

What about the gardens?  The old lady has to have it in the gardens.

Yup.

Steve looked like he had more questions but Manteo’s face made it clear that as far as he was concerned, they’d all been answered already.  A minute later Manteo was pulling away from the curb in his battered truck.  When Steve went inside he was enveloped by the smell of hot pizza.  Where’ve you been? Eddie asked through a mouthful of cheese and pepperoni.  Hanging out with your friend?

Yeah, we’re buddy-buddy now, Steve answered as he folded the diagrams up and dropped them onto the counter before washing his hands.  With soap.

Where’s Jane? Eddie asked.

Yoga.  She has that BS class twice a week now.  She’s probably twisting herself into a pretzel as we speak.  It’s like eighty bucks a pop, I think.  But at least it gives me a couple free nights every week.

Yoga’s actually pretty cool, Eddie told him.  Ever tried it?  There’s a lot more to it than twisting around.  It takes a ton of strength.

Whatever.  Give me a barbell and a bench press anytime.

Yeah, looks like you’re working out just about every day there, stud boy, Eddie said.  When’s the last time you got near a barbell or a bench press?

Get a grip, Steve growled.  Yoga sucks and you know it.

That was some rough looking guy.  Marlboro Man meets Jerry Garcia, Eddie said with a laugh.

Steve flipped open the pizza box and pulled out two slices, which he plopped onto a paper plate.  Throw in some Hulk Hogan.  Yeah, he gave me the creeps.  But he’ll install my system for practically nothing.  I don’t know how he makes any money.  Some of them wanted four times as much.  I don’t think this dude has a clue.  I hope he’s better at building sprinklers than he is at selling them.

The seller and the builder are two different animals, Eddie pointed out.  So you’re going with this one?

Hard to resist the price, but did you see the size of him?  What if he’s some kind of mental patient or a convict or something?  Is it safe for Jane and Allie to be here with him all day when I’m at work? 

Eddie smiled.  What are you going to do if you’re here?  Kick his ass?  He crunched on a pizza crust as he thought it over.  You should just go with him if he’s the cheapest.  So he was a little scary.  Big deal.  You’re not hiring him to do brain surgery.

That’s what I was thinking.  I don’t think I’ll tell Jane about his price, though.  She’ll think I’m being a cheapskate.

~~~

He told his wife about Manteo later without mentioning the bargain basement price.  He’s a little skeevy, he warned.  It’s not like we have to let him in the house or anything.

That bad? Jane asked.  Maybe we should choose somebody else.

Nah.  It’ll be fine.  If you’re worried, just take Allie to the mall until he’s gone.

~~~

Jane saw Manteo for the first time a few days later when she came home from her nursing shift at Peninsula Hospital.  Remembering everything her husband had said, she watched him in the back yard while she removed her multi-colored nursing scrubs and changed into shorts.  He really did look like a crazy killer in a cheesy TV movie.  It didn’t help that he was swinging a mattock wildly over his head.  Funny, she thought.  No tattoos.  These guys usually have tattoos, don’t they?

Like her husband she took note of his body, which looked like it had been chiseled from stone.  He must be one of those guys who could run marathons or win triathlons.  Not that he would ever enter one.  He’s probably never even heard of one. 

He was so different from her.  She didn’t think she could even lift his tools.  Her fair skin burned after just a few minutes in the sun, while he was brown from head to toe without any hint of sunburn.  His jet black beard dominated his appearance; she had to spend five minutes with an eyebrow pencil every day enhancing her delicate strawberry blond eyebrows so they could be seen at all. 

In a way the simplicity that surrounded the man was fascinating.  It didn’t look like life was very difficult to figure out for him.  Dig in the earth, connect the pipes, take the money, move on to the next job.  If it hadn’t been time to pick Allie up at day care she probably would have kept watching.  Sometimes she craved that kind of simplicity.  The man probably had no regrets, very few worries, and never had to wonder about the path not taken.

Regrets were something that she had plenty of.  She’d always thought she’d end up with a loving husband and a houseful of kids.  Until they’d been married for a few years she thought Steve felt the same way.  As a matter fact, she’d been sure of it.  Something happened to turn him into something less than what he was, at least for her.  He wasn’t mean, he wasn’t violent, nor did he gamble or drink.  It was even worse: he was indifferent.  Except for Allie her life was unsatisfying.  And he’d already made it clear that there would be no more Allies.  It took too much time, time that he’d rather spend with his buddies on the golf course or playing fantasy baseball.  She’d recently come across the perfect word for how she felt and had stored it permanently in her head.  Unfulfilled.  Sadly, the most interesting part of her life was trolling for old friends and keeping in touch with current ones on Facebook, something she found herself devoting at least an hour to every day.

 She watched as he paused and dropped the mattock at his feet and went down to a knee.  After a few seconds he rose, only to stagger to the edge of a garden in the corner of the yard.  Then he was back on his knees.  She turned away as he vomited at the base of a rose bush.  By the time she looked back he was back on his feet, wiping his mouth with the front of his shirt.  Two deep breaths were all it took for his recovery.  Must be from the heat, Jane thought. 

He hurried over to a jumble of tools directly under the window and fished out a water jug which he lifted to his lips.  As he gulped, rivulets of water streamed down his neck and shirt before disappearing into the waistband of his dirty work pants, which were already darkened with perspiration.  When he finally he put the jug down and looked at the house she ducked instinctively.  It was time to go, anyway.

~~~

"Looks like the caveman was here, Steve said as he shoveled rice into his mouth at dinner that night.  He got a lot done.  Did you see him?"

He was here when I got home, Jane answered.  She leaned over far enough to slice up a hunk of chicken breast that had so far remained untouched on Allie’s plastic Winnie the Pooh plate.  The cranberry sauce was much more fun.  Take some bites, honey.

He looks like some kind of freak but he works cheap, Steve said.  He’ll be out of here soon enough.

She finished slicing the chicken and pushed the plate back to Allie.  I can’t get over how big he is.

I’ll bet he’s juicing.  Nobody looks like that.

What do you mean? Jane asked.

You know, steroids.  Like the baseball players who go from scrawny to huge one season to the next.

"Come on, she scoffed.  Why would the sprinkler guy risk his health on that?"

"He probably doesn’t even know it’s risky.  You think he’s reading Men’s Health every night?  I’m telling you, he’s on the juice.  Eddie thought so, too."

I’ll just be glad when he’s done, she said.  I don’t like him being here when you’re gone.

It’ll be okay, he assured her.

She spent a few minutes rearranging Allie’s food but it was to no avail.  She wanted to play with it, not eat it.  Come on honey, two more bites, okay? Jane pleaded.  She looked to Steve for help but he had that vacant look on his face.  She knew he’d already tuned her out by then.  Are we still going to the Packer Inn for dinner on Friday? she asked when it looked like he was back from wherever his mind had taken him.  We could drop Allie with Ann.  They invited her to stay over.  We could make a night of it.

I don’t know, Jane, I have a feeling I’ll be beat, he said.  We’re having that internal audit this week, remember?  Can we skip it?  And it seems like we were just there last week.  I’ll just want to stay home and watch the game.

~~~

Get this, Steve said to Eddie as they each carried a bucket of golf balls onto the driving range after dinner the next evening.  I set a record last night.  Jane was all over me after she got Allie to bed.  At ten o’clock she drags me to the bedroom.  Fifteen minutes later I’m back in my chair watching Sports Center with a cold one in my hand!  All I missed was a few commercials and the deed was done, dude!  Sometimes I think I’m living in a man’s paradise.

You’re a romantic devil aren’t you? Eddie asked.  Ever heard of foreplay?  Did she see the stopwatch? 

Steve laughed.  Now you sound like the old lady herself.  Foreplay’s for single people.

I guess I’m old fashioned, then.

Or maybe you’re gay.

Hey, I forgot, Eddie said.  Keep your eyes open for Eric.  He said he would come by and hit a few with us.

Who the hell is Eric?

Eric Griffin.  Remember, he played first base for us last summer?

Oh yeah.  The guy who looks like Ryan Howard except he’s playing in the over-thirty softball league.  He works for Regal?  I thought he was a ringer.

He works with me in the bean-counting department.  He’s a good dude.  I didn’t know he played golf until today.

Whatever.  Bring him on.

So the Neanderthal started work around the house, huh? Eddie asked.

Yeah, he’s got the whole yard dug up.  He’s a strange bastard.  Jane says he’s like a cro-magnon man.  Real simple.  But I don’t care as long he gets his job done.  He can be as weird as he wants.

I’ll bet Jane doesn’t see it that way, Eddie said as he pulled clubs from his bag and wiped the heads off with a cloth.  She’s the one who has to hang around with him.

I don’t think they’ve even talked.  She just looks out the window at him.

"I’ll bet he believes in foreplay."

Steve laughed so hard he had to abort his swing halfway through.  I’ll bet.  He grabs them by the hair and makes them wiggle his club.  Then it was Eddie’s turn to roar.

When they were done laughing they finished off their buckets, packed up their gear and headed for the clubhouse bar.  Steve picked up a pitcher of Coors Lite while Eddie hit the men’s room before joining his friend at a table.  Eric appeared almost immediately after they poured the first round.  Sorry guys, he said.  Couldn’t get away.  Eddie reintroduced the former teammates after pushing a chair out for Eric.

You know, you should treat Jane better, Eddie told Steve after a few sips.  Maybe things wouldn’t suck so bad if you tried harder.

Steve glanced at Eric before answering.  Who says I don’t try?  And who says things suck?  She’s just unrealistic.  She thinks it should always be the same as when we were first together.  When you’re in love and all that.  I get it.  That was awesome.  But it just doesn’t work that way.  Eventually everything gets old.  Then you make do with what you have.

I know what you mean.  It has to settle down some.  But if you put in a little effort you wouldn’t be so miserable.

She’s just got crazy expectations.  If I don’t throw rose petals on the floor in front of her feet I’m an ignorant slob.

I’ve been married longer than you and I’m not miserable, Eddie pointed out.  Because I make an effort.  So does Valerie.  So does Jane.  Let’s see, who am I missing?

Steve finished his beer and immediately poured another, aiming right down the middle of the glass.  This beer sucks.  You can’t get a head on it to save your life, like in the commercials.

I’ve never seen that on a Coors Lite commercial.

So, what, did Jane put you up to this little pep talk? Steve asked bitterly.

No!  I’m just looking out for you, man.  You’re heading for trouble.

Steve took a swallow before bringing his glass back to the table.  Look, Eddie, don’t take this the wrong way, but how about getting off my back about it?  It just hasn’t been the same since that bust up at work.  I was so freaked that I wanted to quit and go manage a donut shop but she couldn’t have cared less.  I couldn’t even talk to her about it.  When the chips were down she wasn’t there for me.  I can’t forget that.

That was a tough time, Eddie agreed.  Doesn’t sound like Jane, though.

You’re in programming, right? Eric asked.

 Yeah.  Barely, though, after all that went down.  For a while there I thought I’d get canned.  I sure as hell wouldn’t be in line for the QC Czar job except we weaseled out of trouble.  Otherwise I’d probably be doing data entry.

I can’t wait to start calling you that, Eddie said.

What, QC Czar?  It’s not the real job title, Steve told him.  But it’s a sweet new position and I think I have the inside track on it.  I don’t know who else applied but it’ll be hard to beat my resume out.  Anybody who’s more senior than me won’t want it because it would be a lateral move, or worse.  And I’m sure I’m ahead of everybody who’s below me.

I think I remember that Narvatex thing from last year.  What actually happened, anyway? Eric asked.

Steve sighed.  It’s Narvatek, not Narvatex.  I’m not supposed to talk about it, but who cares?  We’re all Regal guys.  I was running the programming team for the whole thing.  It’s one of our diabetes drugs but these trials were for atherosclerosis.  After we un-blinded the study the results were awesome, just like we knew they would be.  We packed it up and sent it to the FDA.  Then the whole project blew up.  Their programmers started poking at everything we sent and found all kinds of problems.

Programming problems?

Yeah.  My department.  My responsibility.  Our analysis was complete garbage.  They couldn’t duplicate any of our results.  We looked real bad.  Especially me.  My bosses had been pushing me to get it done so fast that I guess I skimped on validation except for the big pieces.  But we made it look like it wasn’t our programs that screwed up.  We blamed it on this third party reporting software that screwed up.  They were supposed to be the next Oracle, or so all their brochures said.  So much for that.

So it was really your group’s fault? Eric asked.

Yeah, but they had it coming.  They were a little too full of themselves.  It was a few months of hell but in the end it all got dumped on them.  We took two more months and redid everything from scratch and it was a happy ending.  But Jane just didn’t seem to care how hard that was on me.  It’s pissed me off ever since.

What were we talking about again? Eddie asked.

The usual.  I’m complaining about my wife and you’re standing up for her.  Never mind, just forget it. Steve said as he stood up with the empty pitcher.  I need more beer.

~~~

So how are things at home? Kristie asked as they prepared syringes and vials for an inoculation session scheduled for later that morning.  Same old?

Pretty much, Jane told her.  I think it’s me.  Maybe I expect too much.

Kristie smiled.  I wonder how many times we’ve had this exact conversation.

I know.  And how many more times we’ll have it.  Let’s just skip it this time.  What time are the kids coming in for their shots?

One group could be here any minute and the others are coming at eleven.  At least we won’t be bored.  Right on cue a woman in flowery surgical scrubs poked her head in.  The kids are here.  All fifty billion of them.  It’s show time.  Or should I say bottoms up?

Kristie finished preparing the last vial and packed them into a rack with the others.  Then the three women moved the syringes and vials onto a cart and pushed it out into the hall.  For the rest of the shift it was all business as they spent hours sticking syringes into the asses and drying the eyes of at least sixty kids from four day care centers near the hospital.  Jane knew it was only a matter of time before they had the same conversation again.  They always did.

Chapter 2

Jane found herself watching Manteo again two days later as she undressed after arriving home after work.  She had forty-five minutes before it was time to pick up Allie at day care and she spent thirty five of them at the window.  He really was abnormally muscled.  She saw a lot of male bodies at the hospital, some fit and some not.  But there was fit and then there was this.  She remembered what Steve had said about steroids and realized that there was probably something to his accusation.  Even if it wasn’t steroids, he was doing something unnatural.  She’d never seen a physique like that on somebody who was that tall.  It just didn’t happen very often to guys who weren’t playing in the NFL. 

Steve talked a lot about Manteo’s size and strength but it was different for her.  He wasn’t feeling it the way she was; he was just seeing it.  To him it was like admiring a skyscraper or a corvette.  It wasn’t personal.  Not the way it felt for her.  She was becoming fascinated with his