by L C Lang
This has been a productive day. I had given them all of the information I had found, the bag of gemstones and the pink diamond I brought with me. While it won’t help Benton, they will get the illegal importing stopped. I am almost sure either Mike Peters or Nick Hanover shot Benton Williams. Because they had not gotten the last two deliveries, it made sense they were not happy with him. But, why didn’t Benton deliver the last two shipments of raw gemstones? That is a question I may never find the answer to, but I am beginning to wonder if he was threatening them. That may be another reason one of the men shot him. Something else I will probably never find out.
CHAPTER 23
The next morning, I am ready to leave. It is now nine forty-five and I have just enough time to get to the bank. I will be glad to hand over the nineteen bags of rough gemstones to the agents. I am still nervous about the value of the gemstones. Why did Benton ever get involved in participating in the illegal smuggling? Greed maybe. Guess I will never know for sure the reason why. What will happen to the rug import store and his second house is also a mystery. One I am happy I do not have to think about.
I picked up my purse and headed to the door in the kitchen that led to the garage. Just as I was about to open the door, I heard a vehicle pulling into my driveway. Had the agents changed their mind and came here instead of meeting at the bank like I thought they were? If they are, they are early. This wouldn’t surprise me. I am sure they were anxious to get the rough gemstones too, especially after the news I gave them yesterday.
Still, I wanted to see if it really is the agents. Hopefully, it is not Hannah or Detective Donovan. I walked back into the living room and then peeked around the living room curtains. I sucked in my breath. This is not good. Mike Peters and Nick Hanover are sitting in a dark blue SUV, parked in my driveway.
How did they find me? I have no idea, but the fact is they have found where I live. If they have a source, then they would have found the updated address on my driver’s license and vehicle license. Now I wish I hadn’t changed them so soon. Considering the fact that Mike Peters and Nick Hanover lost out of a lot of money when Benton did not deliver the last two shipments, I am not surprised they are here. I can imagine their anger with Benton and their desperation to find the rough gemstones. Now the two men are sitting in my driveway. No question, I am in trouble.
I pulled out my cell phone and dialed the number from the card Agent Danvers gave me before I left the F.B.I. building yesterday. He answered after one ring.
“Danvers.”
“Agent Danvers, this is Sasha Harman. How far away are you?”
“Ten minutes. I was just about to call you.”
“Why?” The tone of his voice worried me, as if seeing the two men behind the smuggling sitting in my driveway wasn’t already doing that.
“We sent agents to both jewelry stores this morning. They weren’t there. The women who worked in the stores both said they told them they had to pick up a delivery of gemstones. Then they checked their residences. They are not there either. So, you may be right. They found where you live and are on their way there. We have lights flashing and will be there soon.”
Great. Wish he had told me that sooner. “They are already here. Right now, they are sitting inside Michael Peters dark blue SUV, which is sitting in my driveway. I suspect they will get out soon. What do you want me to do?”
“Do you have a gun?”
I nodded, knowing he could not see it. “Yes, I do. Do you want me to shoot them when they get out of their SUV?”
“No, I wouldn’t do that. Just don’t open your door if they knock and have your gun ready in case they get desperate and break in.”
“I am sure they do know how to break into a locked door. They broke into Benton Williams’ house here in town. Do I have your permission to shoot if they both come into my house?”
There was a pause. I was sure he had no idea what to tell me, but I already knew it would be my right to protect my home if they do come inside. I have no doubt that is what will happen.
I peeked out the window again and the two men are still sitting in their car. They are talking. Time to get my gun. I rushed into my office, opened my desk drawer, pulled out my gun, and shoved in a loaded clip. I sat my purse in my chair and pushed the chair up to the desk. Then I quickly headed back into the living room, gripping my gun in my hand.
When I peeked out the front window again, I chill went down my spine. Both men are getting out. Guess they were waiting to see if I was at home. I watched as they walked around the side of the garage. No time to wait for Agent Danvers to make up his mind.
I headed for the kitchen. “They are now out of their SUV and are heading for the back yard. They are going to break in the back door. I am ready for them and will do what I have to do to protect my house. Just get here in a hurry.”
Not waiting for his reply, I closed my cell phone and stuck it in my jean’s pocket as I walked into my kitchen. I have locks on both of my doors, but now I wish I’d had a deadbolt put on the doors after Hannah and her friend broke in. The lock on the back door will be easy to break into. Mrs. Helmond had no problem picking the lock. I doubt these two men will either. I leaned back against the wall next to the door and waited. Will they pick the lock or just kick the door in? Either way, I am ready for them. But, should I be in the kitchen if they decide to come in faster?
I jumped when one of the men twisted the door knob. Two seconds later, I heard a scratching sound in the door lock. They are using a lock pick. Which kind, I am not sure. It will not be much longer before they have the door open and walk into my house.
The scratching sound stopped. I didn’t want them to find me right now, so I rushed into the living room and stood by the open door of my office. Then I waited.
I heard the door open and footsteps coming into my kitchen. I gripped my gun tighter. When the footsteps got closer, I moved around the edge of the door frame and hid. I will have to be ready for whatever happens now. My breathing increased and my heart rate went up. The knot in the pit of my stomach told me this is not going to end well. I peeked around the corner.
“Doesn’t look like she is home,” Mike Peters said as he walked into the living room and looked around. He had a gun in his right hand. “We have to find those gemstones.”
“I know, but what did Benton do with the last two shipments?” Nick Hanover said, his voice demanding. He also has a gun in his hand. “They were supposed to be big shipments.”
I had been right. All the jewelry bags of rough gemstone were from two shipments. How did Benton Williams get out of the rug import store with fifteen bags of rough gemstones and his manager did not see him? Maybe he knew they were going to be large shipments and he had brought something to carry the bags in. I may never know the answer to that question. Nevertheless, he had gotten all of them out of his store. And I found them.
“I know. He wouldn’t tell us unless he got a bigger cut into the profits. Maybe you shouldn’t have shot him. We could have beaten it out of him.”
“We tried that, remember?” Hanover said, his voice getting angry. “He still did not tell us where they are. He hid them somewhere. They were not in his wife’s house. Could he have left them at the rug store?”
His wife’s house? I blew out my breath. Maybe they don’t know about his second house and Holly Weaver. At least Hannah was not home when they came. I might not like her very much, but it would not have ended well for her.
Peters shrugged. “That could be. Let’s find the bag the woman showed me. Hopefully, it will be here inside the house. But we had better hurry. We don’t know how long she will be gone. Then we will go to the rug store.”
“Could she have more bags of the gemstones? She brought one pink diamond into my store and no one would have them stashed in their homes.”
Mike Peters nodded. “Yeah, I know. I thought the same thing. The jewelry bag was from the box I gave Benton to put the gemstones in. We have to find them. Let’s get busy.”
The two men began searching the living room; their guns now tucked into the back of their black dress jeans. When Nick Hanover began tossing the couch cushions, I knew this had to stop because the next thing that will happen is he will start slashing. I pulled up my gun, stepped around the corner and stopped.
“Are you two looking for something?” I asked, my gun pointed at them.
Both men stopped and quickly turned towards me. Then they reached back and pulled their guns. Great. Just what I don’t need right now. A showdown. Where are the agents?
“Where are the gemstones?” Peters demanded.
“They aren’t here. I only had one bag, remember.”
“Where is it?” Peters demanded louder. His jaw is clenching. He is getting angry. Or desperate. I am not sure which, although it is probably both.
I shook my head. “Somewhere where you cannot get it.” Now it is time to get some answers. “So, you both were in business with Benton Williams?”
Both men paused. Hanover looked at Peters, with a how does she know that look on his face. Peters looked back at me.
He nodded. “Yes, we were. How did you know that?”
“Because I found information Benton wrote that named both of you. Did not take much for me to figure out that the two of you were involved in the smuggling.” That news did not set well with either man, because they now had scowls on their faces. “Guess Benton missed giving you the two shipments, didn’t he? Let’s see, would those two shipments amount to about fifteen large jewelry bags full of rough gemstones?”
Peters clenched his jaw tighter and narrowed his eyes. He is going to break his teeth if he keeps clenching his jaw like that. Hanover sucked in his breath and glared at me. They both knew I had found the missing shipments. And now this situation is going to go downhill fast. Maybe I should have waited until the agents get here before telling them that news.
“So, you have them too?” Peters asked.
I slowly nodded. “Yes, but they are not here either.”
“Where are they?” he yelled.
I clenched my gun tighter. Then I pulled my left hand up and held the gun with both hands. I have never shot anyone before, but I have had plenty of practice shooting paper targets. Never had a problem shooting them right in the bull’s eye, which would be their heart. But this situation is a different story. No way do I want one of them to bleed on my new rug. But, if I do have to shoot, I will. Shoot to kill if they don’t shoot me first. I can get the rug cleaned if they do bleed on it.
“In a safe deposit box, along with the bag you saw, which is one of five bags Benton had kept hidden. Apparently, he kept some of the rough gemstones for himself. He was probably planning on selling them and making some extra money for himself.” I did not dare to tell them that Benton has probably been keeping some gemstones for himself for quite a while.
Peters sucked in his breath. One more thing they hadn’t known about. Hanover was still glaring at me. I know I will not stand a chance against two men with guns, but I will take one of them down with me. But, which one? Then again, maybe I can disable one and then shoot the other one. Although, right now, that might be a bad plan. If one of them shoots, so will the other one.
Peters blew out his breath. “Then we are going to go get them.”
I shook my head. “No. I am not going to give them to either of you. You illegally imported the gemstones. You have done this for twenty years, but you will not get away with it this time.”
Hanover shook his head. “And how are you going to stop us? There are two of us.”
I nodded. “Yes, but you don’t know how fast I can shoot.” Now I wish I had a semi-automatic, because right now I would set it to continuous shot and I would win this argument. So, I am back to shooting one of them and take my chances with the other one. It is still a question of which one to take down first.
Peters took a step towards me and shook his head. “One way or other, we will be taking those gemstones with us. You don’t know what we can do to you.”
I was sure he was right about that. But, one more step and I will shoot him.
Just then, I heard a voice coming from the kitchen. It sounded like someone said to put your guns down or else. Does this mean the agents are here? I sure hope so. Nick Hanover twisted towards the kitchen and then fired his gun. A second later, there were return shots and Hanover dropped to the floor. Blood began blooming halfway down on his shirt.
I jumped at the sound of the shots and stepped backwards. I stared at Hanover. Then I heard another shot. This one was closer. I felt a burning sensation in my upper right arm. I looked at Mike Peters. He is walking towards me, his gun still aimed at me. I knew what he is planning to do. He would use me as a hostage, we will leave the house and he will force me to get the nineteen jewelry bags. Not going to happen.
My right arm is becoming weaker, so I shifted my left hand finger over the trigger. Mike Peters took one more step and I shot. My arm is beginning to shake from the shock of him shooting me, so the bullet did not go exactly where I aimed. At least it stopped him ten feet from me.
Then I looked to see where I had hit him. The bullet hit the upper part of Mike Peter’s leg. He yelled in pain and lowered his gun as he shifted his weight to his non-injured leg. Then he looked at me again and aimed his gun at me again. I didn’t think I could use my right arm again, so I shifted the gun to my left hand, aimed and shot again, while I began moving backwards, around the doorframe. Mike Peters yelled again as my shot hit his hand; the gun dropped to the floor. Then he grabbed his gun with his left hand and looked at me. He took one more limping step towards me again. I’d had enough.
“Take one more step and I will shoot to kill this time,” I yelled at him, raising my gun to point at his chest. I will not miss this time. He is only six feet from me.
Mike Peters stopped. Just then, four agents rushed into the living room, their guns pointed at Peters. Two rushed towards him. Agent Danvers took the gun away from him, while Agent Mickelson had his gun pressed against Michael Peters head. Then Agent Mickelson cuffed him in front. The other two agents went to Nick Hanover.
I lowered my gun. Then I leaned my back against the doorframe and slid down until I was sitting on the floor. While I would have liked to shoot Peters again, I was glad I did not have to. I blew out my breath. It is over.
A moment later, the front door opened and four Petersburg police officers rushed inside my living room. I watched while Agent Mickelson pulled Mike Peters back and then sat him down on the floor, near Nick Hanover. Two police officers tended to his wounds. One officer radioed for the paramedics and told them where to come and that they have two victims. Obviously, they had not seen what happened to me.
I was surprised to see Detective Donovan is also here. Who called him? I closed my eyes a moment. Of course, Agent Danvers. He called in local back up in case they didn‘t get here in time. I knew I had locked the front door, so one of the officers must have used a lock pick.
Detective Donovan approached the agents, introduced himself, and they shook hands. Then began the discussion of who is getting what. I shook my head. I had always heard various agencies did not like to cooperate with other agencies and I was witnessing this at its fullest.
Then I looked at my right arm. Blood is running down my arm. I moved the rip on my shirt sleeve to look at my wound. The bullet had made a deep graze in the upper part of my arm. The wound is bleeding and is now beginning to burn. The discussion in the living room is getting loud. Between the shock from being shot, the wound burning with excruciating pain, I am beginning to get a headache from all of the loud talking that is going on. Finally, I had enough..
“Hey!” I yelled loudly. They all came to a stop and looked at me. “What about me?”
The looks on their faces changed when I turned slightly and they saw the wound on my arm. Danvers and Detective Donovan came rushing towards me. Agent Danvers knelt down on the floor next to me and looked at my arm. Then he folded t
he sleeve of my shirt and pressed it against my wound.
“Sorry about that,” he said. “Two sets of paramedics are on their way. You have a deep wound and you will need to go to the hospital.”
I nodded. I had figured as much. I looked at him. “My guess is you will have to take Mike Peters and Nick Hanover because of a federal offense?”
Agent Danvers nodded. “Yes.”
I looked at Detective Donovan, who had crouched down next to me. “Both of your agencies are going to have to work together on this. Peters mentioned to Hanover that he shouldn‘t have shot Benton because they could have beaten him to find out where the two large shipments of rough gemstones are. Hanover said they did beat Benton, but he still wouldn’t tell him where the gemstones were. This is why they killed Benton. And they were the ones who broke into Hannah Williams’ house.”
Donovan nodded. I knew this will solve the case, but I knew he was not happy he couldn’t take Peters or Hanover. I wasn’t sure if he knew about the gemstones, but I was sure he would ask me for a full report now that I mentioned them to him.
Danvers looked at Detective Donovan. “We will run ballistics on both guns and then I will fax you the report. If Hanover did shoot Benton Williams, then I guarantee that charge will be added to the charges that we already have on both of them.”
Detective Donovan nodded. “I will notify my chief, but I think he will agree to that.”
Just then, four paramedics, each holding large cases, came in the open front door. They looked at the scene, not knowing who to go to first. Agent Danvers stood up and approached them. He told them to tend to the two men first. Then two more F.B.I. agents walked in the front door. No question, agents would go along with Peters and Hanover to the hospital and would keep close watch on them. No way are they letting either of them get away again.
While the paramedics worked on the two men and arranged to have them transported, Agent Danvers came back to where I was sitting and crouched down in front of me. Detective Donovan stood up and walked away. He pulled out his cell phone and made a call. Probably to report to his chief.