“Papa, where are you? I can’t wait to see you. The plan worked marvelously. I’m on my way to Evansville. I’ll call you soon, if you don’t call me first. See you soon,” said Mike into the receiver after the beep. He hung up. He pushed the V key.
Michel. Ganzo. If you are hearing this message, that means you are out. But it probably also means I didn’t answer the phone when you called me. So the police may have me. If this is the case, I want you to leave the country. Don’t worry about me. I left you money and clothes as well as disguises in the house in Terre Haute. Take everything and leave. Be happy, Ganzo. Have a great life.
The words made Mike’s eyes well up with tears. He drove on. Then he made another call.
“Hi, baby. It’s me, Mike,” he said into the phone. “I escaped, just like I told you I would. Time to begin the next phase of the operation. Did you infiltrate Jack Norris’s office?”
CHAPTER 54
The deserted barn was balmy, the sun’s rays falling on its walls and rooftop. Several small high windows with broken panes allowed beams of light into the structure, proclaiming daytime outside. Here and there were piles of dried-up hay, remembrances of bygone days when the farm building was home to many barn animals. Nowadays, this side of the large farm was deserted, given its location in a floodplain.
On the south side, the land remained uncultivated, allowing for trees of many shapes, heights, and maturity to become home to coyotes, deer, and many other wild animals. The north side, many miles away and with a separate access road, was home to Kate’s grandparents and the barnyard animals to which they attended.
The ride to the deserted barn had been difficult, given the lack of passable roads. Kate’s Honda was parked out of sight underneath several large trees. She and her guest had to walk about two hundred yards to reach the structure. For most of that, Kate had to support Simon Lagrange, his right arm over her shoulder, and his body nearly flaccid. The two stumbled for what seemed to be an eternity but finally reached the barn. Inside, two long thick poles supported the ceiling, which was surprisingly intact.
Next to one of the poles, Lagrange now sat on a chair, his muscle strength still spent from the long walk. A rope securely attached his body and his seat to the pole, preventing his escape.
He felt weak and defeated. Facing the real prospect of his own imminent death so soon after his heart transplantation promised a new life, Lagrange too late realized that maybe all this was for naught. The rage produced by having Mike on death row and Ian in the grave at the hand of Jack Norris had fueled his yearning for revenge. In the midst of the process, his own heart betrayed him. Miraculously, a cardiac donor was secured, and a new pump was implanted in his chest. A new life. A time to put it all behind him. Forgive. Live and let live. But he had not been able to stop. Despite it all, he had followed his inner demons, and now he was about to die.
“How does it feel to be the prisoner?” said Kate angrily, her double-barrel gaze locked on the criminal’s eyes. “How does it feel, huh?” The young woman spoke furiously, pacing back and forth like a caged animal about to strike. “You don’t know how much pain you’ve caused all of us, Lagrange. Or maybe you do and don’t give a shit.”
Kate pulled out the handgun from her pocket. “Maybe that’s the whole appeal. To cause pain.” She raised her right arm, the gun now at Lagrange’s eye level. “Let’s see how you like it, you son of a bitch.” She placed her index finger on the trigger and began to squeeze.
Beads of sweat tracked down their faces, both hot and scared. Kate held her position for several seconds and then put the gun down. She wept. She felt rage. Disgust. Repugnance. She needed to make the monster pay. She would pull the trigger and shoot him dead. Right here. Right now. She raised the gun again and again aimed it at the man’s forehead.
Lagrange had his eyes closed. His parched lips quivered slightly, and he appeared to be praying.
Kate took a deep breath. She held the shooting position and mentally prepared to assassinate the assassin. It would be no different from a Coke bottle or empty aluminum can. She breathed out. Then in. Steadying her hands, Kate prepared to dispatch the monster to the afterlife. Click, click, click. One more click, and it would all be over.
“I can’t do it.” Kate exhaled forcibly, her revolver again pointing to the ground just in front of her. “I can’t do it, Lagrange. I can’t be like you. I can’t,” she sobbed. Deflated. Eyes puffy. Kate deposited the gun back in her pocket and fished out a tissue from her purse. “I’ll let you self-destruct instead.” She blew her nose. She walked to a nearby pile of hay and picked up the paper bag perched on it. “Let’s see how your new heart does without these rejection medications. Without your heart pills.” She looked at the pharmaceutical bottles inside the bag. She tossed the bag back on the hay, and then grinned at Lagrange. “I don’t have to kill you. You’ll kill yourself for me. How long will you last without these little magic pills?”
CHAPTER 55
As Jack entered the building, he first noticed the nothingness of the creepy silence in the waiting room. That there were no patients yet waiting was a surprise. From this location, typically he would hear the noises of the busy outpatient clinic as it accelerated into game-time readiness. There would be nurses and secretaries bustling about, copiers and fax machines rushing to come alive, computers booting up, and phones ringing off the hook. Intrigued by the silence, Jack sauntered deeper into the building toward his office.
“Surprise!” yelled many voices as he entered his space. “Welcome back to work, Dr. Norris.” Smiling faces approached as coworkers hugged him and shook his hand. Behind the crowd and perched on his desk was a large chocolate cake.
“If I knew I was getting this much attention, I would have asked to stay in jail a few more days,” said Jack.
“You’re not fooling anyone, Dr. Norris. We know you love attention,” asserted Shalyn. “And you deserve it. So enjoy.” She smiled. “Now, you have to promise not to eat the cake until lunchtime. This is to share with all of us, you know.”
“I make no such promise.” Jack smiled. “Thank you, everybody, for this wonderful welcome.” Little by little, his office emptied out, and soon he was alone, piles of charts stacked up high in the to-do tray.
“Dr. Norris, do you have a moment?” asked Hanes.
“Sure, Frank. Come in.” Jack pointed to a chair as he made himself comfortable in his own chair behind his desk.
“I haven’t seen Kate in several days. She’s not answering my calls.”
“She’s been through a lot, Frank. You need to give her some time. Give her some room.”
“I’m just worried. This isn’t like her at all,” said Frank, agonized.
Shelley knocked lightly on the door. “I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but I overheard you two talking about Kate. What’s happened to her? I’m worried, too.”
“I wish I knew.” Jack shrugged his shoulders. “Hopefully, she’ll contact one of us when she’s ready. I think she needs some time by herself.”
Frank and Shelley exited the office. Jack felt good to be back to work. The quotidian routines were therapeutic. Of course, just about anything was therapeutic after one is released from being unjustly incarcerated. He coached the residents and fellows as they attended to the patients visiting the cardiology outpatient clinic.
• • •
It was a little past five o’clock, and the bustle of the office had died down considerably. Jack was in his office reviewing charts when his cell phone rang. It was Kate.
“We’re all worried about you,” answered Jack.
Jack heard nothing for a long moment. He looked at the phone, but the call had not been disconnected.
“I have Lagrange.”
“Kate, I don’t want you to—”
“I tried to kill him, but I couldn’t.” He heard her sniffles. “I need your help to figure out what to do.”
“There’s only one thing you can do. You have to give him to the authorities. He’ll pay for his crimes. Tell me where he is, and I’ll take care of everything,” said Jack.
“No, I want him to suffer,” she said, venom punctuating her words. “If I don’t give him his rejection medications, he’ll self-destruct. He’ll suffer like Amelia did. I want him to feel me in control of his life.”
“Don’t do it, Kate. If you allow him to die like that, you will never forgive yourself. You’ll become like him. And you’re not anything like him.”
“I need time to think.”
“Let me help you do that.”
A long moment of silence ensued. Jack heard Kate’s sorrowful whimpers. He knew she was confused and overwhelmed and in dire need of his direction.
“OK,” said Kate, her voice soft.
CHAPTER 56
Jack knocked on the door, on which a sign read Detective Brad Mills.
“Thanks for coming in,” said Mills as Jack entered. “The coordinates you gave us were precise and took us right to the vehicle.”
“What did you find of interest in Lagrange’s car?”
“It was full of evidence. His cell phone was in the car. Our people have done their electronic magic. We have the messages he sent to another mobile device. I’d like for you to listen to the messages and see what you can glean from them.”
“Sure, no problem,” said Jack.
“Then I want you to tell me how you knew where Lagrange’s car was parked,” said Mills. Jack nodded, and Mills pushed a button on his laptop.
Michel. Ganzo. If you are hearing this message, that means you are out. But it probably also means I didn’t answer the phone when you called me. So the police may have me.
Seeing the bewilderment on Jack’s face, Mills paused the recording. “Mike Ganz, alias Michel Lagrange, escaped from prison, whereabouts unknown,” he told Jack.
“Mike Ganz is Ganzo, and he is Simon Lagrange’s son? I didn’t see that coming. When did he escape?”
“Yesterday. He’s probably on the way here to meet Simon Lagrange. We have every cop looking for him.”
“What else does the recording say?” said Jack. Mills resumed it.
If this is the case, I want you to leave the country. Don’t worry about me. I left you money and clothes as well as disguises in the house in Terre Haute. Take everything and leave. Be happy, Ganzo. Have a great life.
“Now you have two mass murderers to catch, in case one wasn’t enough.”
“Here’s another message,” said Mills.
I hope you found the keys, the car, and the notes. And I hope you are well and safe. But if you can’t get a hold of me, it may be that the cops have me in jail. In that case, listen to me carefully, Ganzo. I want you to leave the country. Go back to France and never come back. I left you some money in the house. Use it to change your appearance and leave.
Jack was wild eyed, unsure of what to say. “There’s another one,” said Mills. “Here it is.”
Ganzo, I’ve been found out. The cops searched my houses in Evansville and Indy. I’m on the run, going down to Florida awhile. Call me when you get this message.
“And here’s the last message.”
I’m in Tennessee. I don’t think I’m being followed. I’ll call you in the morning, if I can. If I don’t call, that means I’ve been nabbed.
Mills and Jack locked eyes, a moment of silence percolating. “Here’s a message Lagrange received from Ganz.”
Papa, where are you? I can’t wait to see you. The plan worked marvelously. I’m on my way to Evansville. I’ll call you soon, if you don’t call me first. See you soon.
“And that’s it,” said Mills. “No calls in or out after that.” Mills got up and paced around the small office. “It’s as if Lagrange was apprehended. Except we don’t have him. The police in Nashville don’t have him. The FBI is still looking for him. So, where is he?”
“I know where he is,” said Jack, his words almost nonchalant.
“I figured as much.”
“Kate has him in a deserted barn. She has a lot of rage and wants to kill him. I got her to agree to let me come over. I don’t think she’ll kill him now. But she needs help.”
“Well, you figure this out and quickly,” said Mills, his face now a scowl. “We need to take over the prisoner. Now!”
CHAPTER 57
Susan entered her kitchen. She was sporting a pantsuit, her blond hair up and beautifully arranged.
“I can’t imagine what it’s like not to go to work every day,” said the babysitter, placing the infant back in his crib.
Susan sat down and looked at her sleeping baby. “Thanks for babysitting. Dave has to travel for work and won’t be back until tomorrow.”
“I love to babysit, and I don’t have to be at work until the afternoon today. It worked out well. These meetings are a good way for you to get back to work little by little.”
Susan nodded. “My parents will be home by later this morning. You have directions to their house, right?”
“I’m all set. I’ll take the baby there before going to work later today. What time will you be home?” said Shelley.
“My first meeting will be a couple of hours, so I should be home by one or so. I’ll do some paperwork and go back for the five o’clock meeting. I’ll be home by about six thirty.”
“Are you picking up the baby then?” said Shelley.
“No, I have another meeting at seven in the morning tomorrow. So my parents will keep Sean tonight.” Susan poured a cup of coffee. “Tell Dr. Norris I said hello when you see him at work later today.”
“I sure will,” said Shelley.
Susan bent down and kissed her baby’s forehead, grabbed her purse, and left, waving good-bye to Shelley.
• • •
Shelley looked out the window until she saw Susan’s car drive off. She walked away and entered the laundry room. She first looked out into the backyard. All was quiet, and no one was around. She unlocked the window and opened it all the way up. The window slid up in its track with little effort. She closed the window, making sure she left the latch unlocked. Then she exited the laundry room and shut the door behind her.
She got out her cell phone and made a call. “It’s done!” She smiled. “Third window from the left. It’s the laundry room.”
CHAPTER 58
The two official meetings today began to place Susan back into her groove. But then there was the dreaded homework. The research police work demanded was needed at the time most people relaxed and put it all behind them. She was sitting at her desk at home, in front of her PC, investigating. With no crying baby interrupting every minute and no high-maintenance husband demanding her attention, she was able to submerse herself in her work. She wore comfortable workout clothes and periodically sipped from her teacup. In the background, soft music from Lou Rawls filled the void. All was good.
• • •
A few miles away, the Norris family was watching cartoons, an after-dinner, prebedtime rite. It was gloomy outside, a blanket of moonless darkness awning the area.
“Time to go read books,” stated Jack. Translation—time to go to bed. Nick began his customary whining, hoping to see the conclusion of Dora and Diego, the Explorers. Nick would not be awarded the extra time tonight, and the Norris family trekked upstairs. Jack noticed the news report once the cartoon show was replaced with live TV and signaled for Claire to proceed with Nick while he lingered in the TV room.
A newscaster reported on the escapee, Mike Ganz. As the anchor spoke, the murderer’s picture was displayed prominently on the screen. “No word yet on the whereabouts of the criminal.” Next was something about the Colts’ NFL season, and Jack took the steps two by two to rejoin the evening bedtime ceremony.
A chart of magnets proudly announced Nick’s good d
eeds of the day—he had not whined much, hit, or been disobedient, and he had gotten dressed, brushed his teeth, and consistently used his thank-yous and pleases. All squares of the matrix were filled, proclaiming Nick’s excellent behavior. Swollen with pride, Nick entered his bed already half asleep. Jack turned off the light in the bedroom, and he and Claire tiptoed downstairs. The couple sat on the couch holding hands.
About twenty minutes later, Trinity barked lightly at first and then again with more conviction, her ears up in the air, scanning side to side.
“What is it, girl?” asked Jack, getting up, his interest piqued. Jack assessed the visible space out his front windows. All seemed quiet and still. He returned to Claire’s side.
“False alarm?” said Claire.
Jack shrugged his shoulders.
• • •
Susan’s attention was focused on the paperwork in front of her. Several police-policy documents were strewn on her desk, which she reviewed, making annotations as necessary. She felt exhausted, this being her first day back to business as usual, but more work was required before she could retire for the evening. Her home was quiet. The Lou Rawls CD ended, and she switched gears to Beethoven’s “Symphony no. Three in E-flat Major” now on tap. Occasionally, she sipped from a glass of wine. Outside, a dark figure ambulated unhurriedly, protected by shadows. He viewed the inside of the house through the window. He had remained undetected.
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