“Vince, stop here. They broke a window into what looks like the library.” Mac gestured to the windows on the side of the school.
“Yep, there’s the town car just in the middle of the street with the doors open. They’re scrambling.” Vince pulled to the curb right behind the town car.
“All units, set up a perimeter around the school. I want cars near every exit! They entered the building on the Logan side of the building through a window leading into the library. Let’s make sure they can’t get out.” Vince put the radio speaker down and handed Mac a .38 pistol and a torch flashlight.
“I thought we couldn’t use these things anymore.” Mac pushed the button of his torchlight.
Vince opened the car door. “Not tonight. As long as you don’t beat Jerry with it, we’re fine.”
“Oh, Jerry.” Mac felt rage burn within. These two men murdered a good friend. He wanted them to pay, and soon they would.
“You gonna make it through that window?” Vince hopped over the sidewalk and onto the grass near the broken window.
“Very funny. I have a cane. I am not a blimp.” Mac followed his brother. He left his cane inside the squad though. The adrenaline coursing through his veins would carry him through.
“No cane?” Vince crouched and examined the broken window with his flashlight.
“I will be fine. Watch the glass. Let’s get in there.” Mac gripped the side of the window frame, bent down, and put his good leg in first. He entered the library and used his flashlight.
Vince followed him in. They both aimed their flashlights in one hand with their guns pointed in the other. Mac limped a bit, but with vigor, he examined the shelving and rows of books on the right and Vince the left. They cleared the library. Nothing.
“Okay, so they are definitely not in the library. Luckily, a pink floating ghost shushing us isn’t in here either,” Mac said.
“You are such a nerd, Mac. A movie reference now.” Vince shook his head.
“They could be in so many places in here. So many classrooms to sweep. Why trap yourself in here? Something isn’t adding up.” Mac looked out the window, and a few GPD SUVs were parked on the street with rollers spinning and torchlights aimed at the building. By now, the building had to be surrounded.
Millie made it to the Logan side of the building, her breathing labored. She put her hands on her knees. Her phone rang.
A pause for breath. “Hello.”
“Millie, I forgot to tell you. I think I may have figured out why they went into the school,” Becca said from somewhere high above on a broomstick.
“Okay, Mom. What is it? Just tell me.” Millie took a deep breath.
“There are tunnels underneath that used to lead to the old Coultrap Elementary school the city demolished a few years ago. Now it’s just a field on Peyton and Logan. If they can’t find them in the school, maybe they went down into those?”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot about the tunnels! Thanks, Mom. I’ll tell Mac.”
“Good thing I dressed warm. It is cold up here. Bye!”
Millie continued her jog along the side windows.
A patrolman yelled, “Stop!”
“It’s okay! It’s okay! She’s with me!” Mac yelled as he exited the library.
“Mac! There’s always been an old rumor that there are tunnels underneath the school that lead to a field about a block or two away. They could be in there,” Millie said.
A loud engine roared from behind Mac. Millie pointed to a red pickup truck that emerged from the spot where they’d put the dumpsters on this side of the building. The truck clipped the rear bumper of a GPD SUV and sped down Logan, then jumped the curb into the park that held the tennis courts, softball fields, and football field.
“That could be them!” Millie yelled.
“We should check the tunnels, Millie. Vince, get after that pickup truck!” Mac yelled.
Vince ran to his unmarked squad. Two GPD cars were already in pursuit of the red truck.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Mac and Millie entered the library through the broken window. This time, Mac walked over and turned the lights on.
“Okay, so how do we get to these tunnels?” Mac asked.
Millie walked out into the hall. “This is the older side of the building, hence the musty smell. If we hang a right out of the library and continue down this hallway, the E hallway, we should be able to find a door to a basement and to the tunnels.”
Mac shined the flashlight into the dark hallway. Glints of metal from the students’ locks filled his vision. He limped but kept pace with Millie.
“You sure you are okay without your cane, Mac?”
“I am so jacked up with adrenaline right now, I am feeling no pain.” The light from his torch bobbed up and down. Nothing but linoleum flooring and student lockers lined the hallway. Ahead was another entryway of tinted doors and windows marked 10S. To the left of the entrance, a door lay open to a stairwell that led down.
“This has to be it.” Millie pointed to the open door.
“Be careful, Mills.” Mac reached Millie and opened the door all the way. He noticed a light switch and hit it. The stairwell had one tube light above that blinked to full power. The musty smell grew stronger upon entry. Mac and Millie made their way down a few steps before they noticed a gravel and dirt floor below.
“Gotta be a tunnel,” Mac said.
“This is not at all creepy. Hunting for killers in a creepy underground tunnel from hell.” Millie shrugged her shoulders.
Mac’s phone buzzed in his pants pocket. Vince.
“Hello, did you get the truck? Did you catch them?”
“No. We didn’t get them. They are clever though. They paid the janitor a thousand large in cash to provide a distraction, which means they are probably in those tunnels.”
“Millie said she thought the tunnels lead to a field where Coultrap Elementary used to be? Head there but still keep everyone else on the perimeter of the school.”
“Will do. I’ll head there in case they pop out of the field. I think the Viking ship is there now. Geneva High’s mascot is Vikings and a replica of a Viking ship is on display there but under a tent.”
“A Viking ship?! Cool!” Mac yelled then covered his mouth for fear of Jerry and Gordon in possible close proximity.
“Be careful down there. Bye.” Vince ended the call.
“Well, you aren’t gonna believe this. They are probably in this tunnel. The truck was just a distraction. They paid a janitor to take off and draw us away,” Mac said.
“Wonderful. You first,” Millie said.
“Gee, thanks.” Mac descended the last few steps to the dirt and gravel floor of the tunnel. He shined a light down it. It looked more like a coal mine shaft than a tunnel. The walls were not bored out into a circular shape. Rickety planks and wooden pillars held the weight of the surrounding soil above and around them.
Mac and Millie walked into the tunnel of doom. Every few feet, audible cracking of wood filled the air. Mac’s flashlight still bobbed up and down with his limp. Every so often a rat would scurry about on the ground then find a way into holes within the tunnel walls.
“Oh, gross. That’s not unsettling at all.” Millie shook her head.
“They must have got the key from the janitor they paid off. I can’t believe this is still open. The school is lucky kids haven’t found this.” Mac took a deep breath. The longer they walked, the more his leg hurt. Adrenaline’s effect waned.
“How much longer do you think this tunnel goes, Millie?”
“I don’t think it can be that much longer to the field.”
A loud boom emanated from the direction they walked, followed by a smacking sound next to Mac’s right ear. Splinters of wood showered his head and shoulder. “Get down, Millie! We are being shot at!” Mac hit the ground and turned the flashlight off.
“Oh!” Millie hit the ground next to Mac.
“Cover your ears.” Mac squeezed off two ret
urn shots with the .38 his brother gave him.
“Are they gone?” Millie asked with a muffled tone.
“I don’t know. They must have been just out of the range of the flashlight’s beam. I’m going to crawl about twenty feet or so then turn it back on and shoot if I need to. Just stay put.”
“Be careful.”
Mac army crawled as best he could and dealt with the pain in his leg. Luckily, no rats squeaked around him.
He made considerable distance about twenty-five paces. He raised to one knee. Took a deep breath. Aimed the gun and moved his thumb to power on his torch.
He closed his eyes. Took another deep breath. Eyes opened, he turned the flashlight back on.
An empty tunnel lay ahead, complete with doorway with a stairwell to the surface. Mac turned and signaled to Millie.
Millie ran to him. “Where did they go? End of the line, huh?”
They walked to the doorway and the steps that were caked with dirt and grass. Jerry and Gordon had found the way out. They climbed the stairs. Fresh air filled Mac’s lungs.
“This is it. This is the field. The Viking ship is in there.” Millie pointed to the large half-cylinder tent.
Vince ran over to their position in front of the tent. “Mac! Gordon has decided to hole himself up in the tent and take Jerry hostage.”
“He took a shot at us in the tunnel,” Mac said.
“He saw me and panicked. Grabbed Jerry,” Vince said.
“I will cover the back of the tent. You guys take the front.” Millie ran to the opposite side of the tent.
“Get away or Jerry dies!” Gordon screamed from inside the tent.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Most criminals tend to do stupid things at the risk of possibly getting caught, yet Gordon and Jerry tried to stray from the norm with the pickup truck stunt but ultimately ended up trapped. Vince had already redirected units to the tent in the field where Coultrap Elementary used to be.
“Gordon! Why don’t you just give this up? Come on out!” Vince yelled.
Six squad cars surrounded the tent. Twelve cops shined their spotlights and headlights at it.
“You have nowhere to go!” Mac yelled.
A gunshot rang out from inside the tent.
Vince and Mac took cover behind Vince’s squad car.
Another gunshot. This time, Jerry came running out of the tent with his hands up.
“He’s nuts. He’s lost it!” Jerry yelled.
Another shot hit Jerry. He fell on the outfield grass hard a few feet from Vince’s squad. A shoulder wound, a big and nasty one at that.
“Jerry! Jerry! What kind of gun you got? It sounds big,” Vince said.
Jerry mumbled something.
“Jerry, you need to repeat what you said. Don’t mumble this time,” Mac yelled.
“A .44!”
“Okay so he only has two more shots,” Vince said.
“Gordon! Come out with your hands up. You have two bullets, and we all have a lot more bullets out here. Your odds aren’t great,” Mac yelled.
Snow started to fall. Lots and lots of snow. The wind picked up. It went from zero weather to a blizzard in about five seconds.
“What is happening?” Mac asked.
“I brought your wand just in case.” Becca dropped the magical thin stick into Millie’s palm from above.
“Thanks, Mom.”
Millie used the weather to her advantage. She stood far enough back from the tent and in a resident’s yard across Peyton Street to avoid detection and wielded her wand with confidence. A wind spell did the trick. She swirled the wand with steady repetition. The temporary structure that covered the Viking ship gave way. The ties and rope that fastened the tent to the ground loosened and whipped around. The tent acted as a sail and blew away to the parking lot.
The wind died down. The snow fell gently. Gordon shivered next to the wooden Viking longboat. Circular wooden shields and oars surrounded him as if he were going to use them somehow. He cracked.
“Drop it.” Mac pointed his torch and .38 at the murderer.
“Gordon. Enough. Drop the gun!” Vince followed his brother, gun aimed.
Twelve other police officers aimed their sidearms at the murderer.
The well-dressed criminal dropped the large .44 Magnum hand cannon.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Mac, Millie, and Vince sat at a table in the Geneva Police station.
“In order to make sure his deal to partner with Michael on a possible fast food franchise went through, he murdered his own mother-in-law to prevent her from making the purchase with Lacy’s. Or should I say he had Jerry do the actual dirty work. Jerry had a needle cover in his pocket of the jacket he wore when he tried to intimidate me off the case which explains the bruise on the victim’s neck. Patricia found out from Michael that his intentions for the property was a more upscale fast food restaurant, and she decided to go with the lesser offer from Lacy’s. Lacy’s was going to preserve the building, even the staff, and manage the lucrative property. Yes, there may have been a Lacy’s logo somewhere on the sign, but the building and employees would be safe,” Mac said.
“What about the 40k in Jerry’s bowling bag?” Vince asked.
“Suzy has just confirmed that her mother was planning on getting a property in Naples, Florida to retire. Her courteous son-in-law needed a forty-thousand dollar down payment on a property she wanted. When Gordon realized Patricia valued more things in her life than just the maximum amount of money, like her employees and family-built Tiny Wanderer, he decided not to make that down payment for her and use the cash to pay Jerry for the big hit.”
“That is cheap for a hit. Isn’t it? These days? You said Jerry tried to intimidate you?” Vince said while jotting down more notes.
“Yes, he did. They did not account for a retired, physically limited cop to walk in the house this morning. The timing was carefully maximized to make any possible investigation be put to the wayside, or in this case, no investigation would happen because she was so old and thus, you know, heart attack. Jerry pulled the needle out quickly and never applied any pressure afterwards to prevent bruising on her neck. He gently laid her on the floor. I don’t know, maybe Jerry felt bad after murdering a little old lady as there were no signs of a fall. No bumps. No bruises.”
“Back to the intimidation question, Mac. Focus.”
“Oh, oh, sorry. Yes, about the timing. Gordon works closely with the mayor at times and frequents city hall and Chamber of Commerce meetings as Suzy has also just confirmed. Well, he knew the day of the Christmas Walk that the mayor would want to sweep any tragedy under the rug for the preservation of tradition and economic stability. Gordon was exactly right. The mayor panicked and tried to hush-hush everyone. Even you, Vince. Luckily you snapped out of it and did do some work.”
“Millie, how do you deal with this? He can’t answer the question about intimidation. He can’t focus.” Vince laughed.
“I am getting to that. The doorbell camera. Not only was Jerry still in the house when we first saw the body together, Vince, so he saw me then. But also, again when I entered the house to take some pictures, which I am pretty sure now, Mills, that Jerry was in the house with me when I was taking pictures and was in the reflection on the microwave. They also knew I was in the house again because…”
“Doorbell camera.”
“Yes, Gordon even pretended I wasn’t in the house, but he knew. No need to do anything about me because that would be an admission of guilt. As the day wore on, though, I kept turning up places they didn’t want me like Fanucci’s. Heck, maybe they even knew we went to the Hennington, Millie. Oh, and does the mayor own a town car as well?”
Vince rubbed his temple. “He uses Pick Up Plus Premium to drive him around town. A rideshare service. He is that ridiculous.”
“Oh, so Gordon and the Pick Up Plus Premium driver just have similar tastes in cars because Jerry got into a town car in front of Fanucci’s after he tried to i
ntimidate me off the case. Which again proves how much of an opportunist Gordon is. Use the mayor’s similar car and the mayor himself to get me off the scent.”
“That about cover it? Can I go on vacation now?” Vince asked.
“I think so.” Mac looked at Millie. “Can we go to the Christmas Walk now?”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Mac and Millie walked down Third Street together south from Route 38. The crowds dissipated. A few of the restaurants and bars had people in them, and no one was outside. Too cold. The snow steadily fell and started to leave an accumulation of sparkling perfection on the ground and the branches of the beautiful, bright, and grand Geneva Christmas tree.
“Epic fail on actually enjoying the Christmas Walk this year,” Millie said.
“Yes, what a day. What a crazy day. There are still a couple things that are really bothering me. Inexplicable things.” Mac stopped in front of the tree.
“What are those things?” Millie looked worried.
“How did you get Michael to talk so quickly? Also, how did you follow a speeding car all the way to the high school on foot? I mean, I know you are fast and have all the records but…”
“All the records. I have all the records.” Millie laughed.
“How did you do it? Seriously, tell me.”
“Um.” Millie looked at him and raised her eyebrows.
Mac smiled. “How am I to go on when the person I am madly in love with won’t tell me things?!”
The snow fell. The light from the Christmas tree made her face glow with the spirit of the season, of love, of togetherness, of magic.
“Well, the man I happen to be madly in love with will need to deal with the fact that I am a—”
THE END
The Christmas Walk Caper Page 6