Lancaster County Reckoning

by Kit Wilkinson

  Elijah nodded. “Agent Ross said any man smart enough to figure out that address without any cryptography training is welcome on his team anytime. Anyway, he needs you.”

  Thomas gave his friend a doubtful look. “We’re pretty sure Danvers has the address. But we don’t think she has the key. One of us will have to have a trade-off of Darcy for the key.”

  “And what if they do have a key? What if they don’t need us?”

  “Pray that they do,” Elijah said.

  TWENTY-THREE

  Agent Danvers pulled off the interstate and followed a winding single-lane road for about three miles. Darcy was growing more and more worried. This was not how she’d imagined the drive to the secure box. It was much too rural. She’d held out some hope that if they were in a busy area, she might be able to give her captors the slip, or at least call out for help. But out here, no one would hear her.

  They passed a gas station and a cluster of old motels. One had a diner in the front of it named Mickey’s. Danvers pulled into the parking lot.

  “Are we stopping to eat?” Darcy asked.

  “No.”

  “Good. Because it doesn’t look very good.” Darcy’s sarcasm was just a weak outlet for her fear.

  “Shut up.” Danvers pulled Darcy’s red compact car in next to a brand-new luxury sedan—a Mercedes that was sleek, black and loaded. “I’m going to move you to this other car. And I’m going to make a pit stop.”

  Danvers reached over and released her handcuff. “Don’t run. My brothers are right beside us.”

  She wasn’t kidding. The giant twins were pulling in just on the other side of the Mercedes. Darcy reached for her clutch. She got out and walked to the other car. One of the brothers casually got out of his car and waved to her like they were old friends.

  “Susan, it’s so crazy running in to you here.”

  Susan? What was he talking about?

  “Let me get the door for you,” he said. “Oh, look. I think you dropped something.”

  Click!

  Darcy realized he had just come over to lock her in the car, and that the faux casual chitchat was his way of making their interaction look natural in case anyone in the diner was watching. This time she was handcuffed to the seat. Not her hands but her ankle. He shut the door in her face. “So good seeing you.”

  Danvers was busy grabbing a bag from her brothers’ backseat. Then she disappeared into the diner.

  Stay calm, Darcy told herself. She reached into the clutch and felt around the side pocket. Her heart leaped with joy. The phone was there. She pulled it out, careful not to look down at what she was doing. She didn’t want to alert the twins to her discovery and what she hoped would be her rescue.

  * * *

  Thomas could feel his phone buzzing in the seat beside him. He hated that he would have to let go of the armrest to see who was calling. He knew holding on to the armrest gave him a false sense of security, but it was nice to have the assurance all the same.

  He was buckled tightly into a seat on a small helicopter. Agent Ross was across from him, as was Elijah. They were on a quick path to Alexandria, Virginia, and to a secure and private lockbox facility located at the exact coordinates that Jesse had cleverly hidden within the confines of a letter and a Bible.

  The helicopter ride—the first he’d ever taken—was noisy and unsettling to his stomach. But he couldn’t say he didn’t find it intriguing. He imagined being this high up was a little like seeing the world through God’s eyes. Some of it was so beautiful. But some of it not. Most of what they could see now was nothing but highways everywhere, a concrete jungle he’d once heard someone call it.

  Thomas picked up his phone and tried to ignore the ground and sky that flashed by him as he read the display. It was Darcy. He couldn’t believe it.

  “She texted,” Thomas yelled to Agent Ross. “She wrote, ‘It’s Danvers. With her now. Please help.’”

  He held the phone over for Ross to look at. Ross took the phone in his hands. “Hold on while I get a lock on her location.”

  Ross spoke over some sort of radio system that only he could hear. “My team is locating her. They’ve also got an ID on this Danvers. I asked the hospital to send over the security tapes from the other day when you all met in the conference room. Since Darcy is in such immediate danger, I want to find out as much as we can about what we are dealing with. The facial recognition came up fast. The woman’s name is Kelsey Moon. She’s the illegitimate daughter of Wissenberg and Lenore Moon. She changed her name to Danvers so that no one would associate her with her mother or father since they’d both been in prison. When she turned eighteen, she joined the army. She served a term in Afghanistan as a ranger, but was dishonorably discharged for stealing documents from an officer’s computer. She’s a trained killer. And we think she’s teamed up with her twin half brothers on this venture to steal back this stolen art. The license plate you saw last night could very well belong to Remy Wissenberg, who we found lives in Ontario under the name of Rossen. It seems all three of the children changed their name to slow or divert anyone from discovering connections they had to their father and—in Danvers’s case—her mother, too. But all the while they stayed in touch. The other twin moved to Europe. We were able to trace the computer-generated calls to his location in Lublin, Poland, which is the birthplace of Wissenberg’s father.”

  “Nice family,” Elijah said.

  Ross held up a hand as more information was coming through. Then he yelled something to the pilot and the chopper changed directions sharply.

  “Okay. We’re heading in. Five minutes to destination. We’re going to get her.”

  Thomas grabbed at his stomach, as the aircraft pitched and swooped. But the rest of him had hope. They were going to find Darcy. And get her away from this killer.

  * * *

  Darcy spent one second too long getting her phone back into the zippered part of her purse. Danvers caught her red-handed.

  “Idiot!” Danvers yelled, only she looked nothing like the Agent Danvers from before. She’d changed out of the monochromatic pantsuit and replaced it with a stylish pair of black dress slacks and a sexy blue sweater, which clung to her thin body like a wetsuit. The spiky blond hair was gone, revealing her true, long, flaxen locks.

  She grabbed the phone from Darcy and threw it into the street. Then she got into the driver’s seat. She reached into her bag and pulled out her gun. With the gun in one hand and the other hand steering wheel, they pulled out of Mickey’s parking lot and back onto the one-lane highway.

  * * *

  “Thomas, this is going to be okay,” Elijah said. “Darcy is going to be fine.”

  Agent Ross smiled as he tucked a weapon away in a holster under his arm. “He’s right. We’ve got her location and we are one minute to touch down at that diner. We may not even have to use the key as bait. This will be a total ambush if Darcy has been able to conceal her phone from her.”

  Thomas hoped—no, he prayed—that Ross was right. He could let Darcy go back to her Englisch life if that’s what made her happy, but he couldn’t lose her like this. That he just couldn’t live with.

  The chopper passed over a patch of forest, then a river and another patch of forest. They began to descend through an opening in the trees. Thomas saw a group of buildings and a highway running through the middle.

  “There’s her car!” Thomas saw the small red compact in the lot on the other side of the street.

  “He’s gonna set down here,” Ross shouted. “More space.”

  The pilot was busy maneuvering the helicopter. He leveled it out, then they went down almost like they were connected to a rope and bucket in a well. Thomas kept his eyes on the car. Was it empty?

  “I don’t see anyone,” he said. “Maybe they went inside.”

  “
What’s that on the ground next to the sports car?”

  “It’s her phone,” Ross answered. “That’s what the GPS tells us.”

  The chopper landed. People from the diner began to come out and see what all the noise was about. Ross hopped out of the chopper and ran toward Darcy’s car. He was shaking his head. He walked toward the crowd of people at the door and flashed his badge. A second later he was sprinting back to the chopper. He jumped back in and waved his hand in a circle. They lifted up into the air again. Ross took his seat.

  “They are already gone. We need to get to that post office.” Ross clenched his teeth, his face tight. So much for the ambush.

  * * *

  “Put this on.” Danvers handed Darcy a long black winter coat, a pair of sunglasses and a white knit ski cap. Darcy did as she said and about two minutes later they pulled into the mailing facility located on Moses Road. The strange message at the beginning of Jesse’s letter didn’t seem so cryptic anymore. It seemed Moses had been guarding the paintings all along, just like the letter had said.

  Danvers had her pistol on Darcy’s back as they walked inside. The facility was one of the bigger nationwide shipping companies that boxed things for individuals or companies. Only this one was private and offered a second layer of security for their box rentals.

  She had done plenty of business with places like this working for Winnefords. It was sometimes faster than the regular postal service. In the back of the store was the counter where their staff packed, weighed and labeled shipments. In the front of the store were hundreds of PO boxes that people rented, instead of receiving mail at their homes or offices. And to the side was a private locked chamber, where you could secure valuables without going to a bank. Darcy imagined it was frequented by some pretty shady customers.

  Danvers directed Darcy to the checkout desk. “Hand him your ID and tell him you want to open box twenty-four. Here’s the key.”

  Twenty-four. Two and four. That had been a part of the verses, too. Jesse had left every needed clue in his letter. She just hoped that Thomas got her text and that Agent Ross knew where to come. She prayed. Because if they didn’t get there soon, her life was going to be over.

  Danvers pressed the key into her open hand. “And don’t try anything. Even if you get away from me, my brothers are watching.”

  Darcy did as Danvers said. She placed her key on the counter and showed the man her ID. She couldn’t believe it when the man typed some information into her computer, then smiled.

  “Hello, Miss Simmons. It’s been a long time since you’ve been to your box. But you are still paid up through next year.”

  “I’d like to have access today, please.”

  “Of course.” The attendant came out from the cashier stand and escorted them to the private chamber of rental boxes. He pressed a code in the keypad and the electronic door slid open.

  “You have five minutes to exit,” the attendant said and then turned back to the line at the cashier stand.

  Darcy looked around the giant mailing facility. Danvers wasn’t going to try anything here. There were too many people and too many cameras. Still, the phony agent kept the concealed weapon at her back and edged her into the chamber, where there were rows and rows and walls and walls of boxes.

  Darcy knew each one of the walls would have a box 24. They’d have to hurry if they wanted to try them all in five minutes.

  She moved forward toward the first row of boxes, but Danvers steered her roughly in another direction. “It’s this set of boxes.”

  It was numbered 150. “I thought the other verse had the number one hundred in it?”

  Danvers pushed her forward. “So you did understand the message.”

  That realization seemed to make Danvers nervous. She had been pushy before but now she seemed in a downright panic. “Give me the key back,” she growled, ripping it from Darcy’s hands.

  She pulled Darcy along with her to box 24 of aisle 150. She inserted the key and slid out a large cylinder. It was made of a unique type of wood and it was locked. Now what?

  Apparently, Danvers didn’t care about this step. She looked triumphant as she shoved the huge piece at Darcy.

  “Carry it out to the car,” Danvers ordered her. “Time to go.”

  Darcy lugged the huge wooden case in her arms through the mailing store. It was now or never—she had to get away.

  But Danvers still had one hand around her elbow and the other pointing a gun into her side. If Darcy tried to escape, it would be too easy for Danvers to put a bullet in her. But Darcy was hoping that Danvers would hesitate to shoot her in such a public place. It was her only chance. As soon as she got to the front, she’d make a run for it. She didn’t care if the brothers were there. Really, what did she have to lose?

  When she got to the front doors, she stopped. “My hands are kind of full. Can you get it?”

  Danvers gave her a little snarl as she stepped forward to open the heavy glass door for her. Darcy put her foot out in front of Danvers’s ankle, tripping her and throwing her slightly off balance. As she stumbled forward into the opening door, Darcy threw the heavy cylinder container onto her back. Danvers went down. Darcy stepped over her and ran as fast as she could into the parking lot.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Before the chopper landed, Ross handed bulletproof vests to both Elijah and Thomas. They donned them, but refused to carry weapons. Thomas didn’t even want to wear the vest. The only armor he needed was the Lord’s protection. But Elijah gave him a look that said he’d better comply.

  The helicopter landed in the far corner of the parking lot of the mailing facility, which it shared with some other not so prosperous businesses. It was a good hundred yards from the front of the store. Ross, Elijah and the two other agents and pilot ran across the asphalt at lightning speed. Thomas moved as fast as he could. With his injured leg, he could not keep up with Elijah or the trained agents. He also heard sirens wailing not so far away. More help was on the way. He just hoped they’d made it in time. He hoped Danvers was here with Darcy. Maybe they still needed the key.

  Lord, let us get there in time to help Darcy.

  Thomas had prayed over and over. But he feared they would be too late. About thirty seconds after they landed, a large black SUV with its siren blaring pulled into the lot. Another FBI team. It parked much closer to the front of the store. Four men exited. They all carried rifles and wore bulletproof armor.

  The few customers that meandered through the lot hurried to move away.

  Thomas followed at a distance toward the center of the parking lot.

  They were here. Danvers and those twins and Darcy. He could sense it in the air like an evil wind. Ross and his team had not been too late. But where were they? Everything seemed quiet—a little too quiet. No way all of them were inside.

  Thomas stood still for a second, just scanning the lot. He spotted movement on the ground between the cars.

  “Darcy!”

  But then a car engine started behind him. He turned just in time to see a black sedan moving at him at full speed. It was the twins.

  “Thomas!” Darcy stood up from between two nearby cars. He looked toward her voice.

  “Get down! Get down!” Ross’s voice echoed across the parking lot.

  Thomas dove between two cars just in time before the black sedan raced across the lane where he’d just stood. Shots rang out through the parking facility. Glass broke. Tires screeched. More shots fired. People in the periphery let out squeals and shouts of fear.

  Thomas breathed heavily. He looked under the cars to the left and the right. Finally, he saw her. He tuned out all the chaos around them and then he ran hunched down low to where she hid between the cars.

  “Darcy.” He knelt down and hugged her to him. She held on to him, burying her head into his chest. �
��It’s okay. You’re okay now. It’s all over.” He stroked her hair. It hung down loose around her shoulders like it had the first day he’d met her. “Thanks to Gott this is all over.”

  She hugged him tighter. Thomas’s senses were filled with her presence. It was over. And he was happy that she was safe.

  “Danvers,” Darcy said. “She’s getting away with the paintings.”

  “Where?” Thomas said.

  Darcy looked around the lot to where Danvers had parked the black Mercedes, just in time to see her slipping into the car with the stolen goods. “There!”

  Ross must have been watching them because within seconds, the agent was after Danvers and his team closed in on her. A couple of blown tires later and the whole younger generation of Wissenbergs were in handcuffs.

  * * *

  “All clear!” Ross yelled across the lot. His men had Danvers and the twins apprehended. Darcy couldn’t believe it was all over. Thomas had walked her back to a second SUV, which had come to take them home. One of the FBI team had put a blanket around her shoulders and brought her a bottle of water. The others were running damage control in and around the store. A news crew had arrived and was filming in the distance. Agent Ross was escorting Danvers to a police squad car. The helicopter had flown off while an EMS squad had arrived on the scene. It was just like something out of a movie, Darcy thought. One where the good guys actually win.

  She sat down inside the vehicle. She still shook and her heart pounded. But she knew it was over. This time it was really over. Another of the team placed the cylinder box from the mailbox at her feet on the floor of the SUV.

  “Do you know how to open it?” the man asked.

  She shook her head.

  “Well, it stays here for now. Keep an eye on it.” He winked at them and raced off again to finish questioning people and taking statements.

  Darcy looked at the case. The lock was a simple three-digit combination. She ran her hands over the lock. “You think Jesse made this?”