by Steve Richer
Ronnie headed for the exit but Mick was standing directly in front of him.
“I’m very disappointed in you.”
“What? Get out the way, I’m leaving.”
Mick turned to the child who was observing the scene. “Cover your eyes, okay, sweetie?”
As soon as she did so, Mick drew his pistol and shot Ronnie in the head. The hollow point .40 caliber bullet exploded through his brain and sent blood and flesh flying through the officer’s mess.
Charlie was stopped dead in her tracks as her face and chest were streaked with the gooey remains of Ronnie.
“Please, no…”
Without hesitating, Mick turned the weapon toward her head and shot her twice.
“I promised that no one was going to prison, didn’t I?” he muttered with a grin.
He hadn’t intended on doing this until later when he could dump the bodies at sea, but he didn’t regret it.
There was only one last thing to take care of, he thought as he glanced at his bank account on his phone. Where the hell was his money?
Bailey had been taking her time, advancing slowly through the passageways. The ship’s crew had told her that the stowaways were supposed to be in the officer’s mess but she didn’t take it for granted. It could be a trap.
But the second she heard the gunshots, she started running!
It was close, it had to be where the captain had said. Security protocol for this stated that she should take her time, assessing the situation to minimize casualties. But a little girl’s life was hanging in the balance and she couldn’t afford to be safe.
She rushed ahead and found the mess door was closed. She had to act quickly while she had the element of surprise.
Steeling her resolve, she turned the knob and opened the door, pushing it in. Her finger was inside the trigger guard, ready to take these people down.
The first thing she saw was the two corpses on the deck, a man and a woman. Then her heart grew lighter when she saw that the child was alive, sitting on a chair. But there was another man.
He was just as shocked as she was but he was faster.
No…
He turned his gun on her and fired.
She couldn’t breathe, all her strength left her body at once. She couldn’t even hold up her own weapon to shoot back. There was a burning sensation in her chest and she could feel thick, warm blood oozing out.
She was faintly aware that Penny was screaming but it was distant. She was only ten feet away but Bailey found herself being dragged out of her body.
She was dying.
She fell against the door and collapsed, dropping her Glock. She had failed. She hadn’t stopped the killer and she hadn’t rescued the child. Her life had been nothing but a big fat waste.
More than anything, the last thought she had before she died was one of puzzlement. How could this be? This man, the one who was evidently in charge of this whole conspiracy, she knew him. But it was impossible, he was supposed to be dead. He was the lawyer, Lawson’s friend.
The man was John Tilley.
Chapter 39
The gunshot felt like a baseball bat to the head for Lawson. It drove home just how much was at stake. It was also the line in the sand he’d never had in his life. Until now, he’d always had the opportunity to back away. He had no training, he had no skill, he had no business being here.
But that gunshot changed everything. Kelsey’s daughter was in there – his own offspring – and he felt he couldn’t play it safe anymore. For the first time ever, there was someone more helpless than he was out there and her life was at stake.
He turned the corner of the passageway and found a door ajar. He rushed toward it and hurled headlong through the opening. He just had to know that the child was alive.
What he found instead was Bailey’s lifeless body on the floor by the entrance. Further away were two more corpses. Relief washed over him when he heard quiet sobbing coming from the back. Sure enough, the little girl from the video feed was curled into a ball on a chair, tears running down her cheeks.
“Don’t move, dude.”
Lawson was agape as he looked at John standing before him. “What… How… You’re dead. I saw you blow up.”
John shrugged and smirked. “A little misdirection, the corpse of a homeless man. It’s hard to disappear when people think you’re alive. But if they think you’re dead, no one’s going to be looking for you, right? Especially when you have a billion dollars of someone else’s money.”
“What the fuck, John? You killed them? You killed Bailey?”
“Casualties of war, that’s all.”
Lawson glanced at Bailey but his attention soon returned to Penny who was observing the scene. It was striking how much she looked like Kelsey. Same round face, same wispy blond hair, same sparkling blue eyes.
If he’d had any doubts, now they were gone. She was her daughter, all right. And that meant she was his as well.
Because of that, against all odds he felt an instant connection with her. If somebody asked him to describe it, he wouldn’t be able to.
He figured it was what people felt for their kids after they were born. One second you were barely aware there was a ball of flesh in your spouse’s belly, but the moment it came out it was a real human and you loved it with every fiber of your being.
It was downright bizarre. He had never met the kid but somehow he loved her. Most of all, he wanted to keep her safe.
“Okay, you got me. Let the girl go, okay? You don’t need her anymore.”
“Of course I do, Lawson,” the blackmailer said as he backed away toward Penny. “Our business isn’t concluded. You were supposed to stay home. You were supposed to play by the rules.”
“And you were supposed to be my friend! What’s this about anyway? What’s going on? Why are you doing this?”
“You’re really that clueless, aren’t you?”
“What are you talking about, John? Listen, just let the kid go and then we can talk, okay? Let her walk out of here and you can do whatever the hell you want to me.”
But John shook his head and again made his way to Penny. When he was next to her, he put a hand on her head, stroking it. On the surface, it was innocent, almost playful, but the aura of menace was unmistakable.
“What I want – what I’ve wanted for the last twenty years – is to destroy the Winslow family.”
“What? Why?”
“You’re oblivious, aren’t you?” John snorted with derision. “Of course you are, you’ve never cared about anything but yourself.”
“That’s not true.”
“That’s bullshit, Lawson! You’re irresponsible, egotistical, and you’ve always been blind to everything around you.”
“I don’t understand,” Lawson said, meaning it. “You’re my best friend.”
“Only because I allowed it to happen. You think any of this was an accident? Do you think I haven’t been planning all that’s happened since I was twelve years old? I’ve been working up to this moment for twenty years.”
“But why?”
John nodded, his eyes glassy as if he was thinking about a long gone memory. As if he wasn’t quite there.
“Everything you know about my family was a story I chose to tell. It wasn’t the complete truth. You see, my mother was a maid, she worked in this beautiful Park Avenue penthouse.”
Lawson frowned, beginning to understand yet not quite believing it. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying my mother was nineteen years old and she got fired from her nice cushy job because your mother wouldn’t let her wear maternity clothes, okay? That’s the story my mother told me anyway. She would say, those Winslows have no heart. Do you know how hard it is for a pregnant Guatemalan immigrant to get another job? She had to live on the streets for months. I was born in a goddamn homeless shelter!”
“And that’s why you want to destroy my family, John? Have you lost your fucking mind?”
“Oh we’
re only getting to the good part, man. You have to pace yourself.”
“You can tell me anything you want,” Lawson said calmly. “Just let her go, okay? Let’s be decent, please.”
“Decent? Yeah because decent runs in the family, doesn’t it? After I was born, my mom turned to drinking, to crack. She overdosed when I was twelve. But before she died, she told me the truth. The real reason why she was fired wasn’t because she was pregnant. No, it was because who the father was.”
“No…”
John nodded. “Yes. David – your dad – he’s my father too. That makes us brothers, how about that? But your mother, that impressive bitch, she had to make sure to preserve her precious reputation, right? My mom tried to get help, she pleaded with your mother. She didn’t want to cause a scene, she didn’t want to sue for paternity. She just wanted an adequate future for her son. But instead, your mother threatened to have my mom deported. And you know the beauty of it? My mother was here legally. But your family has contacts and lawyers and politicians in their pockets. My mom knew all that. She was scared so she kept her mouth shut. She chose to drink herself to death instead.”
What was sad about all this was that Lawson believed him. From everything he knew about his family, it rang true. That was the Winslow family motto: don’t ever settle for a small victory, always annihilate your enemy.
“Your family destroyed mine,” John said with pain in his voice. “So I vowed to destroy yours.”
Chapter 40
Carolyn Munson heard the engine switching gears. She missed driving manual because it sounded like you were actually participating, helping your car go faster. She understood that modern automatic transmissions weren’t half bad but you couldn’t discount the psychological effect.
“Do you have his location?” she said into her phone.
“The GPS is stable now,” the young officer at the monitoring station replied.
“It’s the port?”
“Exactly, Detective. Port Liberty, right at the end.”
“Copy.”
She clicked off and made sure Kwon also knew about the destination. He was half a mile back in his own car. There were also three black-and-whites from the Bayonne Police Department following.
New Jersey State Police was sending a SWAT team but she didn’t have an ETA for them. Nevertheless, everyone was expecting this thing to get ugly so that meant paramedics. They were faster, she saw. An ambulance was closing the convoy.
“Stay alert, partner,” she said.
“Just as long as you don’t distract me by one of your big trademark shirt stains. You know how it is, it can catch the light, blind me, and I’m liable to shoot somebody.”
Munson chuckled. She was grateful for the diversion because this could be her last for a very long time. It was always like this before a takedown.
She veered off the 440 and punched the gas as she turned onto Port Terminal Boulevard.
She had to get there in time.
Lawson was still struggling to understand, the information coming at him like it was launched from a firehose.
“All this, everything that’s been happening this week, you did this, John?”
“Yes. I hired people to help me. They weren’t difficult to find through my firm’s criminal division. I just had to look through files for people who had the skill sets I needed, people who had never been convicted before. But of course, my work started at Harvard. Do you know how hard it was to make sure I got accepted wherever you chose to go to college? Can you imagine the scholarships and debts I had to suffer through just to afford to get close to you?”
“You’re out of your mind…”
“Oh, because it’s crazy to want justice? Of course, you wouldn’t know. You’ve had a silver spoon up your ass since the day you were born. You never had to work for anything in your life. You never suffered for a single second in your privileged fucking existence! You don’t know what it’s like to have what little you have get taken away from you.”
“That’s why you decided to fuck with me this week?”
“It was the appetizer, Lawson. I had to start small and build up. Your architect brother-in-law Joe losing his job, that was me. Your investors being scared away from your project? That was me as well. I knew how much you wanted to produce that movie so taking it away from you was pretty sweet.”
“Jesus…” Lawson said, every piece of the puzzle falling into place.
“Having you smash up a police car seemed pretty random, right?”
“Yeah. What was that about, John?”
“Just a little psychological trick. I wanted to train you to do something small for me so that doing something more important later on wouldn’t be such a big stretch. Like I said, I’ve been planning this for a long time.”
“And the girl that night at the penthouse? How did you manage that?”
“I showed up early at the party. She was my date, nobody noticed. It had to be somebody from your past, of course. I kept tabs on you, whether we were together or not. I was at that party last year and saw you flirting with Sue Parnell. Right away I knew she was a perfect choice.”
“You’re insane,” Lawson said.
“I’m thorough. She had it in her mind that she would meet you again, that you would make her a big star. Once again, you proved to be unreliable. We went upstairs to your room, I choked her, got her into a maid’s uniform, and simulated the sexual assault. Murder wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. I think the trick is to keep your eye on the prize, you know?”
This made Lawson look at his daughter. It must have been terrible for her to hear this. She was no longer crying but she was terrified like never before.
“It was even easier to kill Addie,” John continued. “Using a gun makes it a lot less personal, I guess. I read that somewhere.”
“Why did you kill her?”
“I had you under surveillance, remember? I knew you were suspecting her of being involved so I figured it would be nice to make you the suspect of another murder. And you must’ve secretly thanked me for that, uh? Addie was a Grade A bitch and nobody will miss her. You showed up to her place right after I did. It wasn’t planned although it was a wonderful bonus that you made an appearance at the crime scene. By then you were practically doing my job for me.”
Lawson had trouble believing all of this but according to recent events it made sense. He absentmindedly moved sideways and sat on the edge of a table before his knees buckled.
His eyes scanned the floor and he located Bailey’s small pistol. It was unfortunate it was so damn far. He couldn’t think of a way to grab it before Penny – or him – got killed. Talking was his only option.
“Why do all this, John? I really was your best friend. Maybe it was an act on your part but it was real for me. You could’ve told me. Shit, maybe I could have helped you get back at my parents. You know I always thought they weren’t kind. Maybe I would’ve tried to get you some justice instead of… this.”
“No, it wouldn’t have worked. You’re just like them. You don’t know it but I see it, buddy. You’re no better than they are. You can’t help it, it’s how you people are bred. You think you’re masters of the universe, that it’s your birthright.”
“But she’s not like that,” Lawson said, pointing at his daughter. “Penny has nothing to do with this. So just let her go, okay? We can settle this together, she doesn’t have to be here anymore.”
John started laughing. “She needs to be here more than ever. You have a decision to make. Do you want to keep the status quo or do you want to end all this? If you want to save your daughter, there’s just one simple thing you need to do. Transfer the money to my account as you’ve been instructed. This is the last time I will ask you.”
He pressed the muzzle of his gun against the little girl’s head. She gave a sharp cry and trembled.
It was the most devastating thing Lawson had ever witnessed.
Chapter 41
The decis
ion was a no-brainer. He no longer felt any doubt or thought about options. Everything was crystal clear. His child’s life was at stake.
“Okay, I’m doing it. I’m sending you the money.”
Lawson reached inside his coat for his phone.
“Easy!” John said, pressing the weapon harder against Penny’s temple, making her whimper.
Gently, Lawson produced his phone and lifted his free hand to show that he wasn’t attempting anything. He tapped the screen, browsed to his bank account, and initiated the money transfer.
“There, it’s done.”
“We’ll see about that. Sweetheart, can you reach into my right pocket and get my phone for me?”
The kid did as she was told, her hand shaking. John took the phone from her and lifted it high enough so that he’d be able to use it without his eyes moving too far away from Lawson.
“And?”
“Hold your horses, this is sadly not instantaneous. Unless you screwed me and didn’t actually do it. If that’s the case, you’re both dead. You’re aware of that, right?”
“I did it, John. I swear, look…”
Lawson raised his phone so that the other man could see the confirmation message of the transfer. He was too far away to read the small text but he hoped it would be regarded as a gesture of goodwill.
John glanced at his own phone again and after a moment he smiled. “Good! You did the right thing, Lawson. How does it feel to be penniless?”
“Now let her go, John. You got the money, you got what you wanted. Please just let her go now.”
After a few seconds, John lowered his weapon. The little girl understood this was finally over and she put her feet on the floor as Lawson opened his arms to invite her over to him.
But at the last second, John grabbed her by the collar and yanked her back toward him, placing the pistol against her head again.
“Oh!” she yelped.
“No! What the fuck are you doing, John? I did everything you wanted!”
“You haven’t suffered enough, Lawson. You don’t know what it’s like to lose a family member. That’s about to change.”