The Sam Prichard Series - Books 9-12 (Sam Prichard Boxed Set 3)

by David Archer

  “Mr. Prichard, if it’s true that Mr. Reed was a trained intelligence agent, how were you able to overcome him?”

  “Michael Reed was actually holding me at gunpoint at the time, but I had a single shot pistol in my possession. I managed to get it out and use it when he took his eyes off me for a split second.”

  There were dozens of other questions, and Sam tried to answer them all, but Embry finally put a hand over the microphone and said that was enough. Sam followed him back into the police station, and they sat down together in Embry’s office.

  “How did I do?” Sam asked. “I hope I didn’t overstep any bounds.”

  Embry chuckled. “Man, you did fine. I have stood in front of that firing squad so many times it’s ridiculous, I was more than happy to let them get you in their sights today. You handled them like an old pro, but I guess that’s pretty much what you are nowadays, right?”

  “You’ll never catch me admitting to back,” Sam said. “Harry Winslow gave me some advice once, and it is probably the best advice I’ve ever received. He told me that all I ever have to do is do the job that’s in front of me, and that’s how I get through these things. I just look at the situation in front of me and do my best with it.”

  Embry nodded his head and grinned. “I don’t think I’ve ever put it into words, but that’s pretty much how I live, too. One day at a time, one step at a time, just deal with whatever the reality is at the moment. Because, sometimes, reality isn’t what you think it is.”

  “Now you sound like the old pro,” Sam said with a grin of his own. “Have you ever had to deal with spies and such before?”

  “Not on the job here,” Embry said, shaking his head. “I know a little more than the average cop, though, because both my father and my uncle were in intelligence in the military. I grew up hearing stories about what it was like to be an agent, and some of the things I’ve heard about you go right hand-in-hand with the stories I heard back then.” He leaned forward suddenly and extended a hand. “Prichard, put ’er there. There aren’t a lot of men whose hand I really want to shake, but yours is definitely one of them.”

  A week later, the charges against Harry were formally dismissed and the investigation was closed. Ken had stuck around through it all, and it was finally time for Sam to go home. Harry was going to be staying in Florida with Kathleen for a while, though she had decided to sell the house and share an apartment with Harry.

  Sam wasn’t finished in Clearwater, though. He had held onto the Challenger until he was ready to leave, so when the police were finally done with him he drove himself to the hospital and managed to convince a nurse to tell him where Detective Lawton’s room was.

  Lawton looked up as Sam walked into the room and scowled. “You come to rub it in? Do the old ‘I told you so’ bit?”

  “No,” Sam said with a chuckle, “but let’s face it, I could. I just wanted to see how you’re doing. I’ve been shot before, myself, and I know it ain’t no fun.”

  Lawton shrugged. “The docs say I’m almost back to normal. Doesn’t look like I’m going to suffer any real problems, even though your boy managed to blow out part of my brains.”

  “Yeah, but you’re a cop. Everybody knows a cop doesn’t need all of his brains.”

  “Up yours,” Lawton said, but there was a bit of a grin on his face. “Listen, Prichard, I owe you an apology. You were right, and I was just too stubborn to see it. If I had actually listened to you, I might have smelled a rat when I got a call that lured me outside.”

  “You don’t owe me anything,” Sam replied. “Just, maybe try to learn something from this experience. You may never have to deal with people like Michael Reed or Harry Winslow again, but don’t be so quick to think things are cut and dried if you do. One thing I’ve learned about government agents is that they are never what they seem to be.”

  “Now, ain’t that the truth. I had a big fuss with the IRS a couple years ago, and those agents? Talk about monsters, I was wishing for stakes and garlic. Vampires, every one of them, I’m telling you.”

  “You think IRS agents are bad? Wait till you have to go into some other country and deal with the CIA and all the other alphabet-soup groups. Then you can talk to me about monsters.”

  Lawton seemed to shudder. “No, thanks,” he said, “I’m planning to leave all that stuff for you. Don’t even bother to call me for help, because I ain’t coming.”

  Sam laughed, and stayed for almost an hour. By the time he left, he felt like he had gained another friend.

  Harry, Kathleen and Ken drove Sam to the airport, where he was treated to a return flight on the private jet. They were able to go with him directly to the tarmac beside the plane, and then it was time to say goodbye.

  “Ken, it’s been good to see you again,” Sam said. “I really appreciate your help through all of this.”

  “What help? Hell, I got here just as you figured it all out. Next time you call, I’m going to wait a couple days. By the time I get here, you’ll be celebrating and I won’t have to do anything at all.”

  Sam laughed and turned to Harry. “Well, Harry, I don’t know what to say. Are you going to be staying in Florida for good?”

  “Oh, it’s definitely good,” Harry said. “Don’t you worry, Sam, boy, you can’t get rid of me that easily. They may think I’m retired, but I’ll guarantee you Uncle Sam isn’t quite done with me yet. Trust me, they’ll call me up for something or other, and I’ll need your help once again.”

  “And I’ll come,” Sam said, “but can you at least try to leave homicidal maniacs out of the equation? I’ve looked down all the gun barrels I ever care to see.”

  “I shall certainly try,” said Harry with a laugh.

  Sam turned it to Kathleen. “Kathy,” he said, “it makes me pretty happy to see Harry having so much. I wish you two all the best, especially with thirty years or more to catch up on. When I get home, I have to catch up on a week or so, and sometimes that takes me months.”

  Kathleen laughed heartily. “I know what you mean,” she said. “That just means Harry has to stick around for another thirty years, so I can enjoy all the time I was supposed to have with him.” She leaned forward quickly and kissed Sam on the cheek. “Thank you, Sam Prichard. Thank you for bringing Harry back to me, and thank you for not letting him be taken away. I will be forever in your debt, so if you ever need anything…”

  “Thank you,” Sam said simply.

  He turned and walked onto the plane, taking a seat at the window so he could wave at them as its copilot closed the hatch and the plane began to move.

  EPILOGUE

  He was back in Denver in an amazingly short time, and it was a relief when he claimed his Corvette from long-term parking and headed for home. Kenzie came squealing toward the door as he entered, and he happily scooped her up into his arms for the hug he had been craving.

  It was early enough when he arrived that they all sat down to dinner together, and then spent a quiet evening—well, fairly quiet, except for Kenzie’s excited shouts—watching one of the latest Disney movies on television. Sam enjoyed every bit of her antics, but by the time the movie was over and Indie carried her up to bed, the quiet was welcome.

  When Indie came back downstairs, she crawled right into his lap in the recliner and simply held him for a while. Sam closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her, He was enjoying the company and comfort of his family so much that he didn’t even bother to unpack until the next day.

  It wasn’t much later that Indie climbed back off of him and took his hand to lead him to bed. Sam didn’t offer any resistance, and even less when they closed the bedroom door and she began removing his clothes. A moment later, he returned the favor by removing hers, and the two of them fell into bed with their arms, legs and lips all entangled.

  The next morning, Sam was awakened by a kiss on his cheek, and he opened his eyes expecting to see Kenzie, but it was Indie who had kissed him. He opened his eyes and smiled, and that’s when he realiz
ed that she was holding something in front of his face. It took him a second to focus, but then he saw the white plastic stick with a plus sign showing in bright blue.

  His eyes went wide and he looked up at his wife. “Baby? Is that…”

  Indie began nodding vigorously, her smile so wide that Sam was sure it must hurt. He threw his arms around her and pulled her down into the bed, and the two of them lay there together, cuddling and kissing, until Kenzie finally opened the door and peeked inside.

  “Guess what, Kenzie,” Sam said. “Mommy’s gonna have another baby. Isn’t that wonderful?”

  Kenzie’s face broke into a smile and she ran and jumped onto the bed, then began bouncing up and down. Sam watched her with a smile on his face, thinking that she was acting out exactly what he was feeling.

  A few minutes later they all got up and got dressed, and Sam noticed his bag on the floor beside the bed. He picked it up and opened it, ready to toss the clothes into the hamper.

  And that’s when he found it. A small package was inside his carry-on bag, wrapped in simple paper and with a note attached. He opened the note with Indie standing beside him and read it.

  I thought you should have this. I probably won’t be needing it in the future, but you never know when you might need an ace in the hole again.

  Harry

  Sam smiled, and unwrapped the package. Inside was the shiny gold lighter that concealed a single-shot gun.

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  Thank you for reading this boxed set. I had a blast writing it, and I hope you had fun reading it.

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  All the best,

  David Archer

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