by Mark Bentsen
“The Chief is anxious to meet with you. He’s in a meeting with some local church leaders, but will leave as soon as you get there. He’s at Trinity Baptist Church on 23rd.”
Sonny listened as Paul gave Luke directions. When Paul ended the call, he said, “They’re on their way. Just went through Stavely.”
Sonny knew the little town of Stavely was about an hour and a half from Calgary. He looked at his watch. “We need to get moving pretty quick. I’ll tell Rita and Rosemary.”
As Sonny walked to the back bedroom, he felt much better than he had the night before. They finally had a plan to get rid of Bonnie and Luke. Their biggest problem would be solved.
When he opened the bedroom door, Rita and Rosemary were sitting on the floor watching Olivia play with some building blocks.
“We need to leave in twenty minutes. Give Olivia what you need to so she’ll go to sleep,” Sonny said.
***
Thirty minutes later Olivia was nodding off in the car seat between Rita and Rosemary as they drove toward downtown. Rosemary reached across the front seat and handed Paul and Sonny a pair of latex gloves.
She looked through the windshield. “Is that the church?”
In the next block, Sonny saw the tall gray steeple of the gothic structure soaring high into the cloudless sky. “That’s it,” he said.
A row of arched, leaded glass windows came into view down the side of the huge building. They were all dark, showing no color; only the bold lines between the glasswork were apparent. The medieval architecture and mildewed limestone blocks gave it the eerie look of an old English cathedral. As they slowly passed the front of the sanctuary they saw a sign on the front door that said, Church Closed Today for Fumigation. Sonny was relieved. Mrs. Flannigan had done what she had promised.
Paul turned at the next corner, drove around to the back of the church and followed an arrow that pointed to the office.
After they parked, Sonny said to Paul, “As soon as you and Rita get inside the office, I’ll take Rosemary and Olivia to the nursery.”
Paul nodded and looked over his shoulder at Rita.
“Ready?”
She gave a breathless, “Yes,” and grabbed a paper sack off the floor.
They walked up to the building and stopped at the door. Rita pulled two masks out of the bag and handed one to Paul. After they pulled them over their heads, Paul pulled a gun out from under his jacket and held it to his side. He pulled open the door and they stepped inside.
***
As soon as they were out of sight, Sonny got out and slid open the back door of the minivan. While Rosemary lifted the sleeping child from the car seat, he pulled out a black computer case and slung the strap over his shoulder. Rosemary followed him to a wing that connected to the back of the church and entered through an unlocked door. At the end of a long hallway they entered the nursery where Rosemary found a crib where she laid Olivia.
“How long will she be out?” Sonny asked as he set the laptop on a table near the door.
“The dosage I gave her should make her sleep for at least four hours,” Rosemary said. She tucked a blanket around Olivia.
“Good. Get online. Keep an eye on Kim’s blog and the e-mail. Text me if anything comes in. We’ll call you when we’re done.”
Sonny went back to the parking lot and got into the driver’s seat of the minivan. A few minutes later, the office door opened and Rita came out carrying the paper sack.
As she approached Sonny got out and she took his place.
“How’d it go?” he asked.
“Perfect,” Rita said, tossing the sack into the backseat. “When we stepped inside, Mrs. Flannigan saw our masks and thought it was some kind of joke. But when Paul pulled out the gun, she screamed. He tasered her and when she fell, she knocked over a vase of flowers that made a hell of a racket. That brought the preacher and Paul got him as soon as he stepped into the room.”
“Where are they?”
“Mrs. Flannigan is tied up on the toilet in the bathroom. The preacher freaked out, but Paul’s got him under control now.”
Sonny stepped away from the car as it started backing out of the parking space. “Once we’re inside the church we won’t be able to see anything so if you see anyone in any of the parking lots or going to the front door, call me. Bonnie and Luke are in a white Suburban and are supposed to park out front. Call me as soon as you see them. We’ll let you know when we’re finished.”
“Okay.” She gave him a nervous smile and left.
Sonny ran into the office and locked the deadbolt behind him. He saw Paul dragging a heavyset man in gray slacks and a white short-sleeve shirt down the hallway. The man’s hands and legs were wrapped with silver duct tape and there was a pillowcase over his head. Duct tape encircling the pillow case about where the man’s mouth would be. Paul disappeared through an open door and Sonny ran in behind him.
They were in a large supply closet. The man was tossing his head from side to side and making muffled noises. Paul propped him up against a metal pole in the middle of the room. He grabbed the man’s jaw through the pillowcase and squeezed it, pushing his head back against the pole. The man stiffened.
Paul leaned down to his ear and spoke in a voice just above a whisper. “I am not going to hurt you unless you don’t settle down.” The man became still, his chest heaving as he took in deep breaths. “That’s better. We have Mrs. Flannigan tied up, too. She’s okay, but if you try to escape, we’ll kill her first, then you. Do you understand?”
He gave a several exaggerated nods making it clear he would cooperate. Paul grabbed the roll of tape and started to wrap it around the preacher and the metal pole. “Someone will come let you lose in about an hour. Until then, just sit here and be quiet. If you try to escape, I will hurt you, do you understand?”
Again he nodded vigorously.
Sonny grabbed Paul’s arm and mouthed the words, “Get his keys.”
Paul patted the preacher’s pockets and came up with a key ring with about eight keys on it and tossed them to Sonny.
They left the supply room and ran down the hall to the bathroom. Inside Sonny saw a fully clothed woman sitting on the toilet. She had a pillowcase over her head and duct tape encircled her just above the waist and the toilet. Her skin looked soft and wrinkled and her clothes appeared to be that of a woman in her late seventies.
He leaned close to her and spoke softly in her ear. “Are you okay Mrs. Flannigan?”
Startled, she jerked away and her breathing quivered. She nodded with rapid head movements.
“Good. We aren’t going to hurt you, okay?” he hissed. Again, she nodded and took rapid breathes. “But, remember—if you try to escape, we’ll have to kill Reverend Chenault. You don’t want us to do that, do you?”
She shook her head from side to side.
“Good. We don’t want anyone to get hurt. Someone will cut you lose in about an hour,” Paul said and patted her on the shoulder.
They stepped out and closed the bathroom door. Sonny and Paul left the office and walked through the parking lot to the back door of the church and stepped inside.
They were in a wide hallway that went left and right. Neither had been inside the church so Sonny made a random guess and went to the right. Around the corner, they came to a short flight of stairs. He took them two at a time and at the top they had a choice to go straight or to the left. They went straight and came to a door with a sign that said Choir Room. Past it another door said Choir Loft. It was probably the way to get inside the sanctuary. But when he tried it, he found it locked. For a second he considered finding the key on the key ring, but decided that’s not where they wanted to be. They turned around and went back to the Choir Room. It was locked, too.
They retraced their route back to the door where they came in and went the other way. After passing a couple of offices and a storeroom, the hallway turned and they went up another short flight of stairs. They came to a room with a sign over the door i
dentifying it as the Pastor’s Study and beyond it a closed door. Sonny twisted the knob and this time the door was unlocked. Slowly, he pulled it open and stepped inside. They were now at the back of the massive sanctuary.
It was dimly lit by sunlight coming in through the row of stained glass windows along both sides. A couple of spotlights shone on a cross that hung on the back wall. He couldn’t help but look up at the arched ceilings that had to be at least forty feet at the peak.
It was cavernous and creepy. It reminded Sonny of the last time he had been in a church. His mother made him go to his grandfather’s funeral when he was about six years old. It was in a huge Catholic church and the memory of seeing a dead person for the first time was something he couldn’t get out of his mind for years. During the entire service all they talked about was the Ghost, the Holy Ghost. It gave him nightmares for months. His lasting memory of that day was that ghosts haunted all churches.
Sonny and Paul padded across the altar and down the steps to the center aisle that ran between the rows of polished mahogany pews. Sonny’s eyes were drawn to the intricately sculpted stained glass windows that, from inside, glowed brightly with Biblical scenes. In one, Christ’s mournful eyes watched him as he walked toward the back door. Chills ran down his spine and he started to run.
When he burst into the foyer he realized he had been holding his breath. He breathed deeply as Paul came up beside him. Sonny found the key to the front doors and unlocked them. They glanced at each other, knowing that now all they had to do was wait.
Sonny went over and stood by tall narrow windows that looked out on the street in front of the church. Traffic was light and in front of the church all of the parking spaces were empty. That was good. It would make it easy to see the Suburban when they arrived.
Sonny reached under his windbreaker and pulled out his handgun. For the second time today he ejected the clip to confirm it was full. He pushed it back into the butt of the gun and chambered a round. From his back pocket he pulled out the silencer. As he started to screw it on the barrel he could feel Paul’s eyes watching him. He shot him a sideways glance and for a second they locked eyes.
“Before we do anything to them, we need to make sure we have the laptop and Pete’s gun,” Paul instructed.
“I know what I’m doing.” Sonny didn’t like Paul’s condescending tone.
“Good, we can’t afford another fuckup.”
Sonny looked away. Paul had become more difficult to get along with over the last few weeks. Paul was really pissed after Bonnie killed Pete, but Paul hadn’t been there. He wasn’t the one who had to make split second decisions. Bonnie and Luke had turned out to be much more difficult than anyone expected.
Sonny’s phone buzzed. It was Rosemary. She could hardly hold back her excitement. “We just got five e-mails from the bank in the Caymans. They are confirmations of deposits in five different accounts, each in the amount of eight million dollars.”
At first Sonny didn’t know what to say.
“Sonny? Did you hear me? We got the money.”
“Yeah. I heard you. That’s... good.” He ended the call and looked at Paul. He said, “We got it. Forty million. She transferred it to our accounts.”
Slowly, he let a smile creep across his face.
A minute later, Sonny’s phone buzzed again. This time it was Rita.
“They’re here. The Suburban just drove past me.”
Sonny looked out the window and saw it pulling up in front of the church.
Chapter 56
As Lauren drove, Luke rubbed his eyes. He was still tired.
After they left the Cliff House he drove while Bonnie and Lauren tried to sleep. When they got to the outskirts of Calgary they checked into a motel and got a room with two beds. Within minutes they were all asleep on top of the bedspreads. It seemed as if he had just fallen asleep when Bonnie woke him two hours later. That was all the time they had.
After a hot shower and a cup of coffee, he spoke with Paul Simpson, the RCMP officer who had helped him in Cardston. Paul gave him directions to a church just south of downtown and said the Deputy Chief of Major Crimes would meet him there.
Traffic was light as they turned onto Twenty-Third. About a mile down they saw the church. It was huge, reminiscent of some of the old churches in downtown San Antonio, built with huge limestone blocks and stained glass windows.
As Lauren pulled up to the curb, Bonnie said, “I think we should switch laptops. That one’s got all the evidence that will prove our innocence. We can’t risk losing it.”
“Good idea. Take mine instead,” Lauren said.
She made the switch and handed the computer case to Bonnie while Luke got the plastic box that contained the files, pictures and VCR tapes out of the back of the Suburban.
They made their way up the steps and when Bonnie pulled open the door, Luke looked back at the Suburban and gave a slight nod and Lauren drove away.
Now inside the church they were standing in a large foyer that stretched across the back of the sanctuary. And as expected, there was no one there. About thirty feet in front of them, they saw a set of double doors. To the left was another set of doors and on the right side another. Each door had a small window about one foot square.
Bonnie stepped over and peered through one of the windows while Luke looked through another to see inside the huge dark sanctuary. Only one light was on, a spot light that illuminated the cross that hung on the wall behind the pulpit.
“Should we go in or wait out here?” Bonnie asked.
“Go in, I guess. That’s what he said to do.”
Bonnie pulled open the door and held it for Luke, who was holding the plastic box. They stepped inside and the door closed behind them. After their eyes adjusted to the low light, Luke noticed someone sitting near the aisle on the second row.
Luke wondered, Could it be someone had come in to worship?
Bonnie put the laptop on the pew beside the box and walked up and stood beside Luke.
“Hello,” Luke called out.
It was a few seconds before the person in the second row moved. The man turned and looked over his shoulder. In the dim light Luke could barely make his features, but there was something about him that was familiar.
“Hello, Luke,” the man said as he stood.
Bonnie shot a quick glance at Luke, as if to ask, Who is that?
Luke stepped forward cautiously. The man stepped into the center aisle and slowly started to walk toward them. As he neared, Luke recognized him—barrel-chested with a full head of hair.
“Paul?” Luke said, surprised. “I thought you were in Cardston.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry I couldn’t say anything earlier, but I’m on special assignment and no one’s supposed to know I’m here.” He slowly moved closer to them.
“I’m glad you are here. I’d rather work with you than a bunch of strangers.”
As Paul approached he shook his finger at Bonnie and smiled. “And this must be the elusive Bonnie.”
“I am,” she said.
“You had the whole town of Cardston worried. I’m glad you’re okay.” Then he focused his attention on Luke. “Did you bring the evidence you told me about?”
“Right there,” Luke said, pointing to the box in the last pew. “Is Chief Ames here? And didn’t you say there’d be a team of detectives, too.”
“I know that’s what I said, but there’s been a change of plans,” Paul said. He walked over to the box and started sifting through the contents, pulling out several thick files and setting them beside the box. After he pulled out the VCR tapes, the pictures, and the rest of the papers, the box was empty. He gave a frustrated grunt and turned his attention to the computer case. He unzipped it and pulled out Lauren’s IBM laptop. He held it at eye level and turned it from side to side. “And this is the laptop with all the incriminating files on it?”
“That’s it.”
“Hmm,” Paul said. He jutted his lip out and shook his head. “Y
ou said it was a Dell.”
Luke stammered, “I... I don’t remember saying that. I think I just said it was a laptop.”
Paul looked back at the empty box. “You also said you had the gun that was used to kill those people in the hospital. I don’t see it here.” Paul said.
“Oh, I guess we left it in the Suburban,” Luke said and looked at Bonnie.
Paul turned his head toward Luke and tapped his lips. “Where’s that other woman? What’s her name? Lauren.”
“She’s out front in the—”
“Suburban? I don’t think so,” said a booming voice on the other side of the sanctuary. In a dark corner they saw the silhouette of a man. He hadn’t been there half a minute ago, Luke was sure of that. The dark figure stepped into the light and Sonny’s blond hair shimmered. Luke could see he held a pistol down by his side. The long barrel indicated it was equipped with a sound suppresser. “The Suburban drove off before you came into the church.”
“Sonny?” Luke’s head jerked toward Paul. “What’s he doing here?”
“Like I said, the plan has changed.” Paul said.
“What the hell’s going on?” Luke asked. He looked from Sonny to Paul.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this Luke, but—” Paul said before Luke cut him off.
“Is he with you?” Luke asked.
“You might say that,” Paul replied. He reached behind his back and pulled a pistol out of his waistband. It too had a silencer attached to the barrel.
“I trusted you. You’re a Mountie with the RCMP.” Luke scowled as he took a few steps toward Paul with his fist clenched.
Paul pulled up his gun and pointed it at Luke’s face whose chest heaved as he breathed deeply.
“Enough of this bullshit,” Sonny said. He turned to Paul. “So, what are we missing?”
“The gun and my laptop. They brought this one, but it’s not mine,” he said as he angrily hurled the IBM laptop toward Luke and Bonnie. They cowered as it landed a few rows short crashing into the polished wood on the back of a pew. Paul raised his gun and moved the safety into the firing position. “I want the gun and my computer, now. Or I’m going to start shooting.”