by Jonas Saul
Sarah’s eyes were already watery, mixing with the tears she shed for Vivian.
The sirens stopped outside and a second later the door banged open. Heavy footsteps rushed inside the warehouse.
“Over here,” Russell shouted, then moaned and held his chest.
“Can I keep this?” Sarah asked.
Russell nodded. “I brought it for you.”
Collins ran up their aisle.
“I leave you alone for …” He paused, then asked, “What happened here?”
“Maxwell and his girlfriend had a little chat with us.”
“Detective Collins?” someone shouted a few aisles over. “We have two people down. Appears to be gunshot wounds.”
“A talk, eh?”
Chapter 28
After a brief hospital stay where the doctors set Sarah’s nose and stitched up her leg and face, she spent countless hours giving her statement. In Russell’s statement, they wanted to know how he came to be wearing a bulletproof vest and ketchup packets. Only Detective Collins understood the psychic connection and did his best to help explain it away.
No charges were laid against either Sarah or Russell in the death of Maxwell Ramsey and his girlfriend, Amanda.
They found Sarah’s bike on a trailer at the back of the warehouse. Maxwell’s men had abandoned the area when the police pulled in six cars strong.
Once she retrieved her motorcycle, Sarah parked it beside the police building and entered through the front doors. Collins had called her in to say goodbye before she headed up to Maine.
After asking for Collins, she was directed to his office.
She found Detective Munro and Russell already there.
“Everyone’s here.” She shut the door behind her. “What brings us all together on this lovely afternoon in Vegas?” Her voice still sounded nasally. The bandages wouldn’t be coming off her nose for a while yet. Russell looked normal, but she could imagine the size of the bruises under the collar shirt he wore.
“I’ve discovered something interesting,” Collins said. “I thought I’d tell all of you at the same time. Take a seat.” Collins directed her toward a chair.
“It’s okay. I’ll stand.” Sarah moved to the side and rested an arm on the file cabinet.
“Sarah, you asked me to look into Russell’s history to see what I could find.”
She nodded and looked at Russell. He wasn’t as nervous as he usually looked. Something had changed in him.
“I’ve already talked to Russell about what I found, but I didn’t tell him everything.”
Russell’s head shot up. “What else was there?”
“Well, we know about your daughter, your name change from Michael Mercer, and the family ties to your mother and Sarah’s mother.” Collins looked at Sarah. She nodded back at him.
She still hadn’t called her mother to let her know. She wanted to leave Vegas, endure the wide open road for a few days first to clear her head and then deal with that phone call. It may cause a larger wedge between Amelia and her sister, but the story needed to come out. She also wanted to see where Russell was going next so they could stay in touch.
“Russell, I understand you are searching for someone yourself.” Collins said.
He nodded. “Yes, my real father. My mother claims the man who raised me was my father, but I’ve learned that wasn’t true. She refused to elaborate, so I left years ago, hoping to find him. Are you going to tell me you’ve found him?”
Collins walked around his desk and stared out the office window to the street below. “As I searched for all family ties to you, Russell, I did find your father.” He turned and looked at Russell.
“But how? There’s no public record. I couldn’t find anything. It was Penny, or my intuition that led me to Vegas. I had a feeling that I would find him here. What’s his name? Do you know where he lives?” Russell calmed for a moment. “Is he alive?”
Collins nodded. “He’s alive. He’s very much alive.”
“Who is he? Where is he?”
“When I saw the pictures of your mother … I recognized her.”
Russell frowned. “What?”
Sarah got it instantly and waited for Russell to catch up.
“I’ll be damned,” Mara whispered.
“You?” Russell asked.
“Your mother and I spent four wonderful months together here in Vegas. Then one day she split. No explanation, no call. I found her eight months later and drove up to see how she was doing. She was quite pregnant with you by then. I assumed she had found someone else.”
Collins walked around his desk, moving closer to Russell.
“I called your mother yesterday. It took me a while to get her to admit it, but she finally did. She has known about me here in Vegas all these years and never told me about you, my son.”
Russell stared wide-eyed at Collins. “That’s why Penny got me to send the photos to you. She knew this would happen.”
“That’s why Vivian brought me here,” Sarah added. “It’s all connected. It’s always connected.”
Everyone grew silent for a few moments. The room took on a thickness that could be felt. Sarah breathed in deeply and held it.
Russell moved his butt to the edge of his chair. He grunted and winced in pain as he stood. Russell walked around Collins’ desk and stood before him. They stared at each other, then embraced.
The moment brought a tear to Sarah’s eyes.
“Nice to meet you, Son,” Collins said.
“Nice to meet you, Dad.”
Two men at opposite poles, now holding each other as father and son. The one man had feared the law and lived under the shadow and reminder of being arrested at any time. The other had kept watch and waited for the right moment to pounce. They held tight and wept.
She was an intruder in their moment. Mara got up and moved toward the door. Sarah joined her.
“Wait,” Collins called out. “There’s something else.”
“Do you want me to tell her?” Mara asked.
Collins shook his head. “No, I have to.”
He patted Russell on the shoulder and then walked across the office to stand in front of Sarah.
“There was a man here earlier looking for you.”
“What?” Her stomach knotted. She always hated when someone was looking for her. It was shades of Rod Howley and Hank Frommer. “Who was it? Did they identify themselves?”
Collins closed his eyes and nodded. “FBI.”
“What did he want?”
“He wants to talk to you but he gave me a message in case I saw you first.”
“What’s the message?” she asked, and held her hand out.
“He didn’t write it down.”
She waited.
“He said to tell you that the Sophia Project has been shut down permanently. He said you would know what that meant.”
The Sophia Project was an organization that had hunted Sarah ruthlessly across the ocean to Europe and manipulated foreign governments to capture her.
Rod Howley, their lead agent, commandeered a commercial jet Sarah was on that was bound for Toronto and made them land on American soil in order to capture her. They wanted to study her to see what made her tick. A psychic research group that had too much power. If it were true that they were dismantled, then she had played a part in that and was happy for it. Rod Howley and Hank Frommer were both dead. Maybe that was why the Sophia Project was dismantled.
“What else did he say?” Sarah asked.
“Just that he wanted to talk to you. Something about a deal.”
“A deal?”
Collins nodded.
“You knew I was coming to this meeting. Is he here?”
“No.”
She regarded Collins. “Why not? Are you saying you didn’t cooperate with a federal agent?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because, Sarah Roberts, you’re Russell’s cousi
n. That makes you my family now, too. I protect family. As far as that agent knows, you’re on your way to Vancouver.”
It was rare that someone in law enforcement ever did something nice for her other than Parkman.
“Thank you.”
“Think nothing of it—”
“He’s good,” Russell broke in.
They all turned to Russell who was staring out the office window.
“Who’s good?” Collins asked.
“Your FBI agent visitor.”
“How is he good? Why?” Sarah asked, already dreading the answer.
“He didn’t believe Collins. He decided to wait. I’m hearing that he’s inside the building as we speak.” Russell turned around. “I’m sorry, Sarah. They mean to take you away. There is something they want you to do for them.”
“Can you tell me what it is?”
“All I see is you leaving Vegas in an FBI vehicle if you don’t leave this office in less than one minute.”
Sarah didn’t need any more coaxing. Munro ripped the door open and pushed Sarah out.
“You’re going to help me?” Sarah asked.
Munro grabbed her arm and started her along the hall, Collins and Russell following close behind.
“I know a back way out.”
No one said a word as they hit the stairs and ran down to the main floor. At the back door, Munro looked outside. Then she pushed it all the way open and stepped into the blazing sun.
“Your bike’s over there.”
“Why are you helping me, Munro?” Sarah asked.
“Because you didn’t break any laws here. You helped my partner save his brother’s life and marriage. Maxwell Ramsey, a known criminal is off our roster. All you’ve done is help us. A person like you, Sarah, should not be contained. Go, get out of here. Do what you do best. No one is a better vigilante.”
“No one has ever called me that before. I like it.”
Collins’ phone rang. He answered it, spoke in hushed tones, then ended the call and slipped his phone away.
“That was the FBI at the front counter looking for me. I gotta go.”
“Collins?” Sarah said. He looked back at her. “Thanks.”
“You don’t thank family. It’s what we do. Just take care of yourself and if you ever get back to Vegas, come see me. Bring that Parkman guy. I want to meet him.”
“Consider it a date. I’ll come back.”
Russell stepped forward. They hugged gently.
“You have to leave,” he said. “Now.”
Sarah pulled away. “Where will you go?”
“I’m going to stick around here for a few days, get to know my dad a little better. When my chest heals some more, I want to go up and see someone in Toronto.”
“Toronto? I was just there. Who do you know in Toronto?”
He shrugged. “That’s the thing. I don’t know. It’s what I’m supposed to do. I think a family member is up there.”
“Okay, call me sometime.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be in touch.”
Sarah turned to Munro. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. Now go.”
Sarah ran for her bike. She slipped the helmet over her head gingerly, paying close attention to her broken nose.
Before mounting the bike, she pulled the picture of her sister out of her pocket. When she glanced at the back door of the police station, it was closed. They were back inside.
Wrapped around the picture was a white piece of paper. Sarah unfolded it and read the note. The note Vivian sent her last night. It told her what she had to do and where to go next.
Toronto was her final destination. She smiled to herself. Maybe that was why Russell was heading up there, too.
After slipping the note and the picture away, she started her bike and drove out of the police station parking lot, en route for the freeway.
Vigilante.
She liked that. What Vivian wanted her to do in Toronto worked well with that title.
Sarah Roberts, the Vigilante.
She hit the ramp to the freeway and dipped on the curve until she merged into traffic. Then she opened it up and sped out of Las Vegas.
The FBI car behind her stayed close. She saw it. Vivian told her what to do.
Another chapter was about to unfold for Sarah and she was ready for it.
When she got to Toronto, she would look up Aaron Stevens. For this next job, she needed to learn how to fight better.
Her life hung in the balance. If she picked up anything in Vegas, it was that she needed to learn how to fight like a pro.
That was too serious to approach lightly.
Within ten minutes of zigging and zagging, she lost her tail. They zigged when they should have zagged.
Sarah was free.
Free to be The Vigilante.
The Enigma is dedicated to everyone who loves Sarah Roberts - that means you.
A special mention goes out to an adoring woman who has grown to love Sarah and lets me know it often.
Because of that, Detective Mara Munro was named after this woman.
Thanks for your support, Mara - you know who you are. I’ll always appreciate it.
Be well and happy reading,
Jonas Saul
PUBLISHED BY:
Imagine Press Inc.
ISBN: 978-1-927404-24-9
The Enigma
Copyright © 2013 by Jonas Saul
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Good reviews are important to a novel’s success. If you enjoyed The Sarah Roberts Series Vol. 4-6, please leave a review wherever you purchased the book.
Sincerely,
About Jonas Saul
Jonas Saul is the author of the Sarah Roberts Series and The Mafia Trilogy. Visit his Amazon page for a complete listing of his books.
Visit his website, www.jonassaul.com for upcoming release dates, and to sign up for the newsletter. Jonas lives in Washington, USA.
Contact Jonas Saul
Website: http://www.jonassaul.com
Twitter: @jonassaul
Email: [email protected]
Or send mail to Jonas Saul ℅ Imagine Press Inc.:
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Jonas Saul Titles
The Sarah Roberts Series
1. Dark Visions
2. The Warning
3. The Crypt
4. The Hostage (*Featuring Drake Bellamy from The Threat)
5. The Victim (*Featuring Aaron Stevens from The Specter)
6. The Enigma
7. The Vigilante (*Featuring Aaron Stevens from The Specter)
8. The Rogue (*Featuring Darwin and Rosina Kostas from The Mafia Trilogy)
9. Killing Sarah
10. The Antagonist
11. The Redeemed
12. The Haunted (Coming Soon)
13. The Unlucky (Coming Soon)
The Mafia Trilogy (Starring Darwin and Rosina Kostas)
1. The Kill
2. The Blade
3. The Scythe
Standalone Novels
1. The Threat (Starring Drake Bellamy)
2. The Specter (Starring Aaron Stevens)
3. A Murder in Time (Starring Marcus Johnson)
Compilations
1. Sarah Roberts Series Vol. 1-3
2. Sarah Roberts Series Vol. 4-6
3. Sarah Roberts Series Vol. 7-9
4. Sarah Roberts Series Vol. 10-12 (Coming Soon)