by E. E. Borton
Over the Rainbow
GREY STOPPED BY THE BREAK room in the Atlanta Field Office to fill his coffee mug before making an appearance. He leaned against the counter and thought about what Abby had told him five days earlier in front of Kate’s room. He wanted to hunt down the murderer and make him pay, but he knew that’s not how his world worked. While taking a sip, he struggled to maintain the fine line between revenge and justice. Neither seemed adequate enough.
Abby would never understand his world. He could try to explain why getting involved would hurt the investigation more than it would help; he could try to explain he wasn’t a renegade cop ready to crack heads and kick in doors looking for the killer; he could try to explain there were rules they had to follow that the bad guys didn’t. Any explanation other than agreeing to exact revenge would fall on deaf ears.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” asked Hank Fuller, Grey’s longtime friend and senior agent on his team at the Bureau.
“Good to see you, too,” replied Grey, coming out of his trance.
“Don’t get girly on me,” said Hank. “We weren’t expecting you back so soon. I’ll give you a hug later, but how’s your friend?”
“He’s a fucking zombie,” said Grey. “He just sits in a chair in the waiting room and stares out the window. The only time he talks or moves is to tell us he’s going to the hotel across the street to get cleaned up. He’s a mess, Hank.”
“So why are you back?”
“I need to talk to the boss and get caught up on our caseload,” said Grey. “They haven’t released Caleb’s body, so it may be a week or so before the funeral. I just needed to focus on something else for a few days. It’s not like I can do anything to help down there.”
“Help the investigation?” asked Hank.
“Yeah, but his family is having a tough time with that. They look at me like I’m a piece of shit for not hitting the streets like Dirty Harry.”
“Of course you can’t,” said Hank. “Rules are rules, my man. It’s what separates us from them, and before you tell me that’s bullshit, I already know. What they don’t know is Perkins would have your ass sent to Alaska if you injected yourself in the case. Especially after that asshole sheriff specifically requested we don’t get involved.”
“Nice speech.”
“Don’t be a jackass,” said Hank.
“Is the boss in?” asked Grey.
“When isn’t he in?”
Grey and Hank walked into the “boiler room” where several other agents were busy at their cubicles in the large open space. Everyone stopped what they were doing to greet their supervisor. After a few moments of catching them up to speed on the details, Grey entered his office alone and closed the door behind him. He drew the blinds on the glass walls separating himself from the eyes of his team. He couldn’t remember the last time the blinds were drawn. He took a seat behind his desk and picked up the phone.
“Hey, Evan, it’s Grey.”
“I take it you’re at the office?”
“Yes. How is he?”
“The same.”
“And Kate?”
“They did a few more tests on her this morning. The docs came out and said there’s a slight improvement, but her brain function is minimal. They didn’t come out and say it, but I know they’re trying to prepare Abby and her parents. She’s not going to come out of that coma, Grey. And if she does, she won’t be the Kate we remember anymore.”
“Prepare them for what?”
“Taking her off life support.”
“Jesus Christ, Evan!”
“You’re surprised?”
“Don’t you think it’s a little early to pull the plug on her? Paul hasn’t even buried Caleb yet, and they’re talking about killing his wife? You have to talk to Abby, Evan. I’m not kidding. If they let Kate go, Paul is going with her and you know that.”
“Okay, okay. But I can’t control what the docs say to them.”
“Yes, you can. The next time you see them you tell them that, Evan. You tell them to ease up on the family until after the funeral.”
“Hey, buddy, you’re the one that took off. Don’t talk to me like I’m a child. I’m not an idiot, but I’m also not family. They make the decisions, not me, and you don’t either.”
“I’m sorry. You’re right, but it’s just too much for Paul to handle right now. He needs more time, and we have to figure out a way to give it to him. I’ll be heading back down in a few days. Any word on when they’re moving Caleb?”
“Probably tomorrow, but they won’t have him ready for a few days. Don’t worry; I’ll take care of things here. Can you get back by Friday?”
“Yeah, sure thing,” said Grey, ending the call. A few seconds later there was a knock on his door. Grey opened it to see his boss, Frank Perkins.
“Everything okay?” asked Perkins.
“I wish I could say yes,” answered Grey. “I was about to come up and see you. They don’t think Kate is gonna come out of her coma, and if she does, she’s going to be a vegetable. They’re already talking about taking her off life support.”
“Before they bury their son?”
“I’m glad somebody else understands how screwed up that is. Paul is already on the edge. That’ll send him over in a heartbeat.”
“Listen, Grey. I understand why you wanted to come back, but it isn’t necessary. Hank has been doing a decent job filling your shoes since you left for vacation. I think he likes the idea of being in charge. I’m okay with him doing that for a little while longer. You don’t need to be here. You need to be with your friend.”
Grey rubbed his temples and returned to his chair. He leaned back and stared at the ceiling while Perkins took the chair across from him. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m good,” said Grey, bringing his eyes forward. “We’re never the helpless ones. We solve the problems, but there’s nothing I can do for him. My hands are tied on the case, and I have no idea what to say to him anymore. What do you say to a man who’s experienced what he has? How do you convince him life is worth living anymore? His son was murdered, and his wife will be dead soon. How do you recover from that?”
“You don’t,” said Perkins. “And there isn’t a damn thing you or anyone else can do. You’re a spectator, son. As much as I wish you weren’t, you are. That’s not a familiar place for you, and it’s tearing you up. I can see it in your face. That’s why you need to take some time off and deal with this head on.”
“I’m not sure what you mean, sir.”
“You and I both know there’s an unnatural progression in these types of cases,” said Perkins. “You need to be down there for him when they bury Caleb; you need to be there when Kate slips away; and you need to be there when Paul has to put the pieces back together and go home. After that, you need to get back to your life. And if you’re not there for him when those things happen, you’ll always regret it.”
Grey took a moment before he spoke. “Okay.”
“I’ll go ahead and put you in for a month of leave,” added Perkins. “If you need more time, don’t hesitate to ask. Focus on him and get this place out of your mind for a bit. There will be plenty of bad guys left when you get back – unless Hank puts them all away.”
“He’s too fat to get them all,” said Grey. “Thanks, boss.”
“Don’t mention it. But for my own peace of mind, I’m going to remind you again, no cowboy shit down there. Let the Florida investigators do their job.”
*****
Carol and Joel of the IFS ducked under the yellow tape stretched across three parking spaces. A grey Ford LTD with tinted windows was parked in front of a motel located a few miles north of Homestead. The used police vehicle auctioned to the public still had the spotlight attached to the driver’s door. They walked past the car to the open hotel room with two uniformed officers standing inside.
“Morning, troopers,” greeted Carol. “Smells like you’ve got a ripe one in here.”
“Very,” replied the young trooper. “I’m guessing he’s been dead a week. He’s in the bathroom.”
Carol peeked into the filthy bathroom to see a man slumped over on the toilet. He had a needle sticking out of the underside of his left arm. A thick rubber band was tied around his bicep just above the elbow. The rest of the heroin kit was sitting on the rim of the sink. With her gloved hand, she lifted his head to make a positive ID. She confirmed to Joel it was Gregory Kirsk.
“He must have drove straight here from Sugarloaf,” said Joel.
“More than likely he made a stop or two to sell some of Kate’s jewelry and pick up the heroin,” added Carol. “We need to check every pawn shop between here and the crime scene. Did you guys touch anything?” she asked one of the troopers.
“Not a thing. We had a feeling it was your guy from the picture you put on the wire. His neck tattoo gave him up pretty quick. We didn’t feel it necessary to start CPR.”
“Good call,” laughed Carol. “Although it would’ve been nice to see him fry.”
“Saved the taxpayers a ton of money,” said Joel. “Is the car out front his?”
“Yep,” said the trooper. “Registered to him as of four months ago, but we haven’t looked inside.”
“Great work, you two,” said Carol. “Could you guys knock on a few doors and find out what kind of neighbor our fine Mr. Kirsk was?”
“Yes, ma’am,” said the troopers as they headed out of the room.
Carol and Joel followed them out to take a closer look at the car. She opened the driver side door and saw blood stains on the steering wheel, dashboard, and front seats. Joel opened the rear passenger door and discovered a bloodstained Florida state trooper’s uniform balled up on the floorboard. When he popped the trunk, he found a gun belt, a large knife, and a Taser gun. All the items were smeared with blood.
“Joel,” called out Carol. “Take a look at this.”
He walked from behind the car to see Carol standing by the front passenger’s door. As he stepped closer, he heard the tinny sound of a music box playing “Over the Rainbow.” Carol stepped aside to let Joel lean in and get a better view of the contents of the box. Inside were Kate and Caleb’s missing fingers.
10
Water
GREY TURNED ON HIS CELLPHONE as soon as the plane touched down. He was back in Miami after being home in Atlanta for two days. It beeped, notifying him of several messages in his queue. He checked the first message from Evan while disembarking the plane. He quickened his pace when it ended.
Driving well over the speed limit, he arrived back at the hospital in less than thirty minutes. Evan, Paul, and Kate’s family were assembled in the waiting room when Grey turned the corner. “Are they here?”
“Any minute,” replied Evan.
“What did they tell you?”
“They just said they found their primary suspect and would give us the details when they get here. You didn’t get a call from them?”
“No, I didn’t,” said Grey. “But I had a feeling they’d keep me in the dark as much as possible.”
All talking stopped when the investigators entered the waiting area. “We’ve got some very good news,” said Carol as Kate’s family jumped to their feet. “We got him.”
“Oh, thank God,” said Maggie, clenching onto her husband’s arm.
“His name is, or was, Gregory Kirsk,” said Joel. “We lifted his prints at the scene as well as his DNA from objects in the house. Everything was a match.”
“He ‘was’ Gregory Kirsk?” asked Grey.
“Dead when we caught up with him,” said Carol. “The medical examiner’s preliminary report suggests a heroin overdose. The needle hanging out of his arm when we found him helped our assessment.”
“He was a junkie?”
“He was more than a junkie,” said Carol. “He had a long history of violent crimes, including attempted murder, sexual assault, and armed robbery, to name a few. This guy had a bad temper, but he was also smart. He beat the murder and assault charges by getting to the sole witness. Without her, the case was thrown out.”
“Where did you find him?” asked Grey.
“We can’t go into details until all the evidence is collected,” said Carol. “But I can assure you he’s our guy.”
“Why do you say that?”
Carol pulled Grey away from Kate’s parents to explain. “He had their fingers with him,” she whispered. “There was also a huge amount of blood found on his clothes and in his vehicle. We also recovered what we believe are the murder weapons.”
“What’s the connection to Paul?” asked Grey.
“We don’t know yet. But we’ll find it.”
“Can you take me to where you found him?”
“No,” said Carol. “That’s not a good idea.”
“No?” asked Grey. “Look, I know you’ve been holding back information from me and I get it. But if he did it and he’s now dead, what’s the harm in letting me try to figure out the connection?”
“Sheriff Doyle will be holding a press conference in two hours to let everyone in the Keys know it’s safe to walk the streets again,” said Carol. “He’s going to do everything he can to put this one to bed as fast as possible. He’s not going to let an FBI agent keep knocking on doors, asking questions.”
“He targeted them,” said Grey. “This wasn’t a random act of violence from a drug addict looking to steal valuables. There are still a lot of unanswered questions here.”
“And you won’t be the one finding the answers, Agent Collins,” said Carol, becoming irritated. “We will. We’ve done our jobs so far and found the guy who did this to your friends. Cut us a little slack and let us finish. As soon as we have those answers, so will you.”
“Sure,” said Grey. “You’ll keep me in the loop, right?”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t announce our every move to you,” said Carol. “The fact we even talked to you at all put our jobs in jeopardy. You’re just going to have to be satisfied we’re taking this case seriously.”
Carol walked back to where Joel was talking to Abby and her parents. Evan joined Grey in the hallway. “You don’t look very happy that they caught the fucker.”
“I just want to make sure they caught the right fucker,” said Grey. “The very little they told me doesn’t even begin to explain why this happened. It’s obvious they still don’t want me to be the guy to figure it out.”
“Well, at least Paul and Kate are safe now,” said Evan. “They are safe, right? I mean, it doesn’t matter why he wanted to hurt them as long as he can’t anymore.”
“What if Kirsk was just a trigger man?” asked Grey. “The guy who orchestrated all of this could find another. So my answer is, I don’t know for sure that they’re safe.”
“Is that really the case, or are you just pissed off you weren’t the one who caught him?” asked Evan.
“What?”
“We’ve all had a shitty week and need something, anything, that could be considered good news. And this is good news. But you look like someone just pissed on your shoes.”
“They seem to be satisfied the killer is dead so they can put this behind them and look forward to tourist season,” said Grey. “It’s not that simple, and I’m not trying to be an asshole here, buddy.”
“Okay,” said Evan. “So what needs to happen before you’ll be satisfied?”
“Well, the first thing I need to do is turn his life upside down and get into his head.”
“Into Paul’s?” asked Evan. “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now.”
“No,” replied Grey, “I meant Kirsk. I need to see where he lived and where he died. I need to find that connection and the reason why he wanted to see Paul destroyed. When that happens, I’ll be satisfied.”
Grey and Evan fell silent when Abby approached. She was trembling and tears filled her eyes. She wasn’t crying because she was relieved they caught the murderer; she was crying because she was angry.
“What’s wrong?” asked Evan.
“This is all wrong,” said Abby. “He didn’t pay for what he did to them. He died high on heroin and feeling no pain at all. I wanted the punishment to more than fit the crime, but now he won’t feel a thing. And yes, that pisses me off.”
“I’m sorry, Abby,” said Grey as Evan turned to take a phone call. “I wanted to see him pay, too.”
“I don’t even know why I’m talking to you,” said Abby. “Even after I begged you to get involved, you just packed your bags, went home, and left us here. You know, for a second there I thought you had a backbone.”
“We’re going down this road again?” asked Grey. “There are over 1,000 children under the age of sixteen who are murdered in this country every year. I have a dozen Calebs on my desk who need me just as much as he did. But the difference is, I can do something for them. My hands were tied here, Abby. One of these days you may grow up and figure that out. Until then, go ahead and stay pissed at me.”
“Grow up?” said Abby. “Are you kidding me?”
“I’m gonna go check on Paul,” said Grey, trying to avoid an argument. “Is that okay with you?”
“I think that would be a very good idea,” said Abby as Evan rejoined them.
“You two at it again?” asked Evan as Grey walked away. “Never mind. I don’t wanna know, but I did just get off the phone with the coroner. He’s releasing Caleb’s body for burial. We can have the service as early as Sunday.”
“I don’t know how to feel about that,” said Abby.
“I know what you mean,” said Evan. “It’s never a good thing to bury a child, but I want to see him put to rest.”
“All of this is beyond a nightmare, Evan. Why did he do this to them?”
“That’s what Grey wants to know as well.”
“Oh, please, Evan. I know he’s your boy, but he’s admitted there’s nothing he can do.”
“Abby, you know I love you, but I can’t wait until you’re eating your words.”