by David Archer
Its lights flashed once, and Sam pointed the Corvette toward it. He stopped about fifty feet away and got out of the car, leaving the lights on, then walked around and opened the passenger door. He made a show of helping Jackie out, while the young man kept his face down. He had one hand on his bulging, pillow-stuffed belly, and the other was over his face as if he was weeping. Sam was actually a little impressed at the performance.
They stepped out in front of the Corvette, the headlights casting them in silhouette, and then the door of the Lincoln opened. Samara stepped out, and then leaned down and said something to Indie, still inside. The passenger door popped open and she stepped out into the light.
Samara looked up at Sam. “Send her over,” he called out.
“Both at the same time,” Sam called back. “I don’t trust you, you bastard. When my wife starts walking, Melinda does.”
Samara turned and told Indie to go, and Jackie started walking a second later. He made a show of waddling, the way a pregnant woman does, the way Indie was doing at that moment, and Samara kept his eyes focused on him.
Jackie and Indie passed each other, and Indie’s eyes suddenly became very wide. She turned and looked straight at Sam, carefully avoiding any visible reaction. Sam was surprised, but he was absolutely certain Indie had spotted the fact that Jackie was a man.
She was only ten feet from Sam when Jackie suddenly grunted and fell to the ground. Samara rushed toward him, and bent down to grab hold of his arm, and suddenly a dozen Denver Devils erupted from the trees that surrounded the parking lot. Sam saw them, but they didn’t make a sound as they ran straight to Samara. Snake was in the lead, and it was he who made the flying tackle as Samara realized what was happening and turned to face them.
A gun went off and Sam immediately drew his pistol, but the rest of the Devils had landed on top of Samara. Indie hurried over to Sam and threw her arms around him, and Sam wrapped his left arm around her shoulders protectively as he kept the gun aimed at the pile of bodies.
“Sam,” Indie said breathlessly, “who the hell was that? And where is Kenzie?”
“Samara’s worst nightmare, I hope,” Sam replied, keeping his eyes on the fray. “Those are the Devils, and that was one of their guys dressed up like Melinda. Kenzie is safe with our mothers; when you were gone when I got home, I called to make sure they still had her and told them to take her home with them.”
“Let us up,” Sam heard Snake yell out. The men began getting to their feet, and it was only a dozen seconds before Snake and another man slammed Samara over the hood of the Lincoln he had been driving. Sam let go of Indie and hurried over, snatching out the handcuffs he kept on the back of his belt and slapping them on to Samara’s wrists.
“I heard a gunshot,” Sam said. “Is anybody hurt?”
“Damn, man,” Snake said, “mostly just my pride. Son of a bitch managed to punch a hole in me.” He pointed, and Sam saw that there was blood on his lower right abdomen, around the area where his appendix would be. “I’m okay, Dick, don’t worry. I’ve been hurt worse than this before.”
“I don’t care how tough you are,” Sam said, “you need to get to the hospital.” He took out his phone to call the police, but sirens were already screaming toward them. He dialed 911 anyway.
“911, what is your emergency?”
“My name is Sam Prichard, I’m a private investigator. I just apprehended a wanted felon, but he fired a shot at a man who was with me and wounded him. I need an ambulance and police at the Denver Evangelical Assembly as soon as they can get here.”
18
The Devils were vanishing, disappearing into the trees and bushes they had come running out of. Sam looked at Snake, who grinned at him.
“A lot of the boys,” Snake said, “they got their own reasons for avoiding the police. They hear the sirens, they have a tendency to disappear. Might be best if we don’t mention any names, right?”
Sam grinned back. “We were aided by unknown passersby,” he said. “That work?”
“It’ll do. As for me and Jackie, we helped you out because you helped save Freddie, okay? You couldn’t go to the cops, so you came to us and we said we’d help you get your wife back.”
“I can live with that. Here they come.”
Three squad cars came around the building and zeroed in on them, and the officers exited the cars with their hands on their guns. Sam held up his identification, and the officer who seemed to be in charge focused on him.
“You’re Prichard,” he said. “I’m Officer London. You want to tell me what’s going on here?”
Sam pointed at Samara, leaning against the Lincoln with Snake and Jackie holding onto him. “That’s Daniel Samara, he’s wanted for murder and several other crimes. Earlier today, he had abducted his daughter Melinda, and was planning to hold her prisoner until her baby was born. I managed to track him down, and was able to recover her with the help of some other officers, but then he kidnapped my wife and demanded that I bring his daughter to him in order to get her back. I have reason to believe that he has a connection to the DPD, so when he warned me not to go to the police I took them seriously. I approached these two men that I’ve come to know through the course of this investigation and asked for their help, and they came up with the idea of having Jackie, there, dress up as a female in order to trick him into the trade. Before he could see that Jackie was not his daughter, the big guy, Snake, tackled him and took him down, with the help of some people who were passing by. Once he was subdued, I placed him under citizen’s arrest and called 911.”
London’s eyes were wide as he looked around at Snake and Jackie, who both smiled and nodded. He turned back to Sam.
“I’ve gotta call this in,” he said. He picked up a radio that was clipped to his belt and spoke into it. “Dispatch, this is 5 Kilo. I have a private investigator who has apprehended a Daniel Samara, who he says is wanted for murder and other crimes. Please advise.”
“5 Kilo, wait one,” came the reply. There was silence on the radio for a couple of minutes, and then the dispatcher came back again. “5 Kilo, be advised Detective Rivers is en route to your location.”
Sam scowled. When London had acknowledged and put the radio back on his belt, Sam said, “Rivers is exactly who I suspect of aiding and abetting Samara. It’s probably not a good idea to let him take the suspect. I’ve already spoken to the DA about this, if you want to check with Will Burton.”
London narrowed his eyes. “Rivers? I don’t know what I could do. If he’s the detective in charge on this case, I’ve got to do what he tells me.”
“That’s not entirely true,” Sam said. “Remember, I was a cop before I was a PI. You can refuse to turn the suspect over based on my assertion that Rivers cannot be trusted in this matter, and I’m asking you to do so.”
“Mr. Prichard, that’s asking a lot. Going up against a Detective Sergeant can do a lot of damage to my career, and I’m hoping to make detective myself one of these days. Can you get a hold of the DA and get them to back this up?”
Sam sighed. “Let me try,” he said. He took out his phone and dialed Will Burton’s number, but this time it went to voicemail.
“Will, it’s Sam Prichard. I’ve caught Daniel Samara, but Rivers is on his way to take charge of the prisoner. I don’t think that’s a very good idea. Can you call me back as quick as possible?”
He put the phone away and looked back at Officer London. “He didn’t answer, but I left a voicemail. Hopefully he’ll call me back pretty quick. All I’m asking you to do is not release a prisoner to Rivers. You can take him to the jail yourself, that would be best.”
“Let me think about it for a minute,” London said. He walked away and spoke to the other officers, but Sam couldn’t make out what they were saying.
Another siren could be heard, and an ambulance arrived a moment later. Paramedics climbed out and took charge of Snake, ripping his shirt aside to see the wound. Sam saw that the bullet had passed all the way through, an
d though there was quite a bit of blood, it seemed to have already stopped flowing. That was a good sign, for it meant no major blood vessel had been damaged.
“Your biggest risk,” the lead paramedic said to Snake, “is infection. The bullet went through your shirt, and dragged pieces of it all the way through. It was almost certainly not sterile, so some nasty little germs are eating their way into your body right now. We’ve got to get you started on antibiotics immediately, and then the doctors can clean it all out when we get you to the hospital.”
Snake looked at Sam. “Dick, do you have any idea how much I hate hospitals? Do me a favor, would you? Check in on Nikki and let her know what’s going on. Tell her I’ll be home as soon as these Nazis let me go.”
Sam grinned at him. “I’ll do that,” he said. “I’ll be glad to.”
“Come on, we gotta go,” said the paramedic, and the ambulance doors were closed. A moment later it rolled away, and Sam turned to Indie.
“That’s an amazing guy, right there,” Sam said. “He, um, he’s sort of an old friend of Harry’s.”
Indie raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. She looked after the ambulance for a second, then turned back to Sam with a smile.
“That’s a secret, by the way,” Sam said. “Nobody else knows, and he wants to keep it that way.”
“I can understand that,” Indie said. “But that explains a bit about why he came to help.” She glanced over at Jackie, who was sitting on the hood of the Corvette. “What about him?”
“He’s a Devil,” Sam said. “According to Snake, the guy in the ambulance, he occasionally dresses up like that for—let’s just say, for less heroic reasons. When I told Snake the situation, he pitched Jackie on putting on his act to help me get you back. Of course, it might’ve had a little bit to do with the ten thousand dollar reward I offered for helping me catch Samara.”
Indie’s eyes grew wide. “Ten thousand dollars? Yeah, I can see where that might have had a little bit of an impact. I mean, it’ll be worth it if we can clear Karen.”
“I know,” Sam said with a sigh. “I should have discussed it with you first, babe, and I’m sorry.”
She scoffed. “Sam Prichard, I’m not the least bit upset about it. Sure, it’s a big chunk of money, but it’s not going to break us. I trust your judgment, Sam; if you felt it was necessary to offer a reward, then I’m completely behind you on it.” She gave him a mischievous grin. “Besides, it looks like you stumbled into another government operation. Maybe we can find a way to bill Uncle Sam for it.”
Sam wrinkled his face and thought. “Not too sure I’d hold my breath on that,” he said. “We don’t have Harry making sure we get rewards anymore.”
The sound of a car coming around the building at fairly high speed got Sam’s attention, and he turned to see a new Dodge Charger. He groaned, knowing that this would undoubtedly be Detective Rivers, and braced himself for what he knew was coming.
Rivers pulled up beside the police officers and got out of his car, then stalked up to them. Sam watched as they talked quietly for a couple of minutes, then he walked up to the squad car where Samara was locked into the backseat and leaned against it. When Rivers turned around, he scowled at the sight of Sam.
“Prichard,” he said as he walked up to him. “Step away, please, I’d like to speak to my suspect.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Sam said, his eyes locked on the detective’s. “As I told those officers in the District Attorney’s Office, I have reason to believe that you and Mr. Samara have colluded in the past in order for Mr. Samara to evade prosecution. For that reason, I must insist that Samara be transported directly to the jail by the officer who has him in custody, and that you step aside as lead investigator on this case.”
Rivers glared at him for a moment, but then his expression turned into a smile. “You insist, do you? Well, let me tell you something. You can insist your way straight to hell, as far as I’m concerned. Knowing you, I’m frankly surprised that the suspect is even alive. Since he is, I have every intention of interrogating him, and if you get in my way you’ll find out what the inside of our jail looks like, lately. Now, step aside.”
Sam stood his ground for a few seconds, but the truth was that he had no legal authority. Without the assistant DA to back him up, there was nothing he could do. He walked back over to Indie and Jackie.
“Rivers won’t back down,” he said. “Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about it. Only his superiors can actually remove him from the case, and none of them are willing to do that at the moment.” He shook his head. “If they come up with a story they can both stick to, this will not go well for Karen.” He watched as Rivers opened the car door and pulled Samara out, then walked him over and put him in the back of his own unmarked car.
Rivers left him there for a moment as he spoke to the officers again. When he finished, he got back into the Charger and drove away.
“Mr. Prichard,” Officer London said. “Detective Rivers told me to tell you to report to Captain Barnhart tomorrow morning. The captain will fill you in then on what’s happening with the suspect.”
Sam nodded, but said nothing. London walked away and Sam turned to Jackie. “I need to find you a ride,” he began, but Jackie waved a hand to cut him off.
“I’m good,” he said, his voice no longer soft and effeminate but masculine and strong. “Snake tossed me the keys to his car, I’ll take it home.” He got up off the hood of the Corvette and held out a hand. Sam shook it firmly, and was surprised at his grip. The cross-dresser laughed. “Don’t worry, man,” he said. “Ain’t nothing girly about me, except having this baby face. I only dress up like this when it’s time to surprise the snot out of somebody, that’s all.” He turned and walked away, flipping through the trees toward the car Snake had been driving.
Sam took Indie’s hand and walked over toward the Lincoln. Another police officer was standing beside it, writing some information on a clipboard. He looked up at Sam questioningly.
“My wife’s phone is in the car,” Sam said.
“The car was stolen,” the officer said. “I’m really supposed to have it impounded as evidence.” He looked at Sam for a moment, then shrugged. “If you can see it, grab it. Don’t touch anything else inside the car, though, it’s going to be dusted for prints.”
“My wife was a hostage in that car,” Sam said. “Her prints will already be in it, so I’ll let her get it.”
The officer nodded and opened the driver side door. Indie looked inside, then reached in carefully and picked up her phone from where Samara had tossed it on the dashboard. She held it up for the officer to see.
“Ma’am, could you turn it on and show me that it’s your phone?”
“Sure,” Indie said. She powered the phone on and showed him the home screen, which had a picture of herself, Sam and Kenzie with Samson the cat. The officer smiled and nodded, and Sam took her hand and walked back to the Corvette with her. He opened the passenger door and helped her sit down inside, then walked around and got behind the wheel.
“Do you have any idea how scared I was?” Sam asked.
Indie reached over and took his hand into her own. “I can imagine,” she said. “But I wasn’t scared at all. I knew, without the slightest doubt, that you would find a way to get me out of that safely.” She made a wry face. “I’ll confess there might have been a couple of thoughts in there about how that bastard might get killed in the process. Is that bad?”
Sam burst out laughing. “I don’t think so,” he said, “or I’m a lot worse than you. I was entertaining thoughts of personally dismembering the son of a bitch. By hand, for that matter.” They leaned together over the console for a kiss, then Sam started the car. “Let’s go home,” he said. “But we’ve got to make a stop, first.”
“Okay, and I got to make a phone call.” She dialed her mother’s number, and Sam could hear Kim’s squeal of relief and excitement as she answered the phone. Indie explained what had happened, a
nd that she was safe, then asked if Kenzie could just spend the night with her grandmothers. She was a little shaken, she said, and just wanted to relax for the night.
Grace and Kim were happy to agree, and they put Kenzie on the phone to speak with her mother. The child had figured out that something was wrong, even if none of those silly grown-ups would tell her the details. “Mommy, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, sweetheart,” Indie said. “You should know by now that Daddy won’t let anything bad happen to me. Don’t you know that?”
“Yeah,” Kenzie said, “but sometimes things go wrong.”
“And sometimes you are way too smart for a six-year-old. You’re going to stay with your grandmas for the night, and we’ll see you after school tomorrow. Okay, sweetheart?”
Sam drove to Snake’s apartment building and Indie couldn’t help smiling when the ever-present Devils cheered Sam as he got out of the car. She walked with him up the steps, laughing as the street gang patted Sam on the shoulder and congratulated him on catching Samara.
They made it up to the second floor, and Sam knocked on Nikki’s door. She opened it, saw him standing there and her face quickly turned to an expression of panic, but Sam smiled and spoke quickly.
“Snake wanted me to stop and tell you he’s okay, but he got a little scratch and the paramedics insisted on taking him to the hospital to get checked out. He’s fine, and he’ll be home shortly.”
“Really?” Nikki asked. “He’s always sticking his neck out, he drives me crazy.”
Indie looked at Nikki’s bulging belly, then stepped into the room and gave her a hug, which Sam thought was quite an interesting thing to see. “Trust me,” Indie said. “I know exactly how you feel. I’m Indie, Sam’s wife. You’re due pretty soon, too, right?”