Child With No Name

by Franklin Horton

  What she saw in Raylene's eyes was a nervousness beyond what she expected. Raylene was glancing around, hypervigilant. If Karen didn't know better, she'd guess it was a cop look. Before Raylene could climb out of her car, Karen sidled around to her driver's door and tucked the Walther into her waistband, concealing it with her oversized sweatshirt.

  "How are you, Raylene?" Karen said, stepping up to the driver's window of her car. It was a greeting she'd cultivated over the years. It acknowledged the solemnity of the moment, yet was still encouraging and supportive.

  "I'm okay," Raylene said, getting out and shutting the door.

  The sound woke the baby and it started crying. Karen couldn't hold in a groan and Raylene picked up on her frustration.

  "Can I take a look?" Raylene asked.

  "I really need to get on the road," Karen insisted.

  "I'll just be a moment. Do you have the money?"

  "I do."

  While Raylene cooed over the baby like the women in the store, Karen extracted the envelope from the center console. She stepped away from the vehicle, waiting for Raylene to finish looking at the baby. It was then that she noticed the outline of the bulletproof vest beneath Raylene's clothing. There was no reason for her to be wearing that unless this was some undercover sting. Raylene Kidd was a cop.

  Karen drew her Walther and approached Raylene, still distracted by the newborn. She raised the pistol to the back of Raylene's head and pulled the trigger.

  56

  Abingdon, Virginia

  When Ty screeched into the parking lot he immediately spotted Raylene's car sitting in the distance with all of the doors open. To a passerby it probably looked like someone cleaning their car out but Ty knew better. He floored the gas, closing the distance as quickly as he could. When he reached the scene he slammed on his brakes and skidded to a stop. The horror of what had taken place there was evident before he was even out the door.

  Raylene lay face down, still, in a puddle of blood. Ty hopped out of the truck and raced to her side, avoiding stepping in the mess. When he got to her, he knew he was too late. He'd seen a lot of head wounds in his day and this one was practically an execution. Multiple close-range shots to the back of the head. Gore and singed hair. Exposed brain.

  Ty touched a wrist and searched for a pulse. Her body was still warm but her heart was not beating. He stood up and cursed, stomping away from Raylene. He dropped his head into his hand, taking deep breaths. "Get your shit together, Ty Stone. Now!"

  A phone began ringing and it took Ty a moment to realize it wasn't his. It was coming from Raylene's car. He ducked his head inside and saw her phone sitting in the center console. He recognized the number. He picked up a tissue from the floor and wrapped it around the phone before answering.

  "Hello, Lieutenant Whitt."

  There was a pause. "Ty? I'm sorry. I thought I was calling Raylene Kidd."

  "This is Raylene's phone, Lieutenant. I just found her body in an empty parking lot. She's dead."

  "This better not be a joke," the lieutenant snapped.

  "It's not a joke, dammit. She'd been trying to reach you and Baxter all morning. The lady from the clinic called and said she had to do the deal this morning. Raylene didn't want to lose the opportunity. She was going to make the arrest on her own."

  "I was in a training. I couldn't take a call."

  "When she couldn't get anyone else, she called me. I was trying to get to her but I didn't make it. Her kids are gone, Lieutenant. Her fucking kids are gone."

  "Have you called 9-1-1, Ty?"

  "No, I was getting ready to when I heard Raylene's phone ringing. I haven't called anyone."

  "Tell me exactly where you are."

  Ty rattled off the address.

  "Listen, Ty, I'm on my way to you. I'll make the notifications. You wait there on the cops. If you're carrying a weapon, put it in your vehicle and don't touch anything at the scene."

  "You have to get ahold of Baxter. I don't have time to explain now, but they're in North Carolina. The counselor's phone number is in this phone. If she's got it on her, we might be able to track her location."

  "I'll take care of it," the lieutenant promised. "I'll get ahold of his supervisor."

  Ty was disgusted, the same hollow feeling he'd felt when he lost a teammate in the war. "Make it fast. Raylene gave her life for this. Her kids shouldn't have to."

  Ty ended the call. He went to replace Raylene's phone but checked to see what numbers had recently been called. He used his phone to snap a picture of those recent calls just in case he needed them later. When he was done, he returned to his truck and stowed his Glock in the console. He dropped the tailgate and took a seat there to wait on the cops. He wished he hadn't quit smoking because he could really use a cigarette.

  57

  Interstate 40

  Near Knoxville, TN

  If Karen thought hauling the newborn around was irritating, it was nothing compared to the situation she found herself in now. The wailing of the newborn was accompanied by the whining and simpering of Raylene Kidd's three children. Karen had issued threats, warnings, and ultimatums but nothing was working. She understood to some extent. She'd been down this road before. The kids just needed to cry themselves out and then they'd go to sleep. That was how it usually worked. She didn’t know enough about newborns to know if that applied to them as well.

  She checked her GPS and saw she had over eight hours to go. She’d need a serious drunk tonight to erase this day from her soul. She punched Harrison’s contact on her hands-free phone and hummed while it rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Harrison. Just wanted to confirm that I was heading south. This ride is a real shit-show so I don’t know when I’ll get there. GPS is showing eight hours, but who knows how many bathroom stops I’m going to have to make.”

  Harrison laughed. “Sounds utterly miserable, but that’s why you make the big bucks.”

  “Yeah, we’ll need to talk when I get there. There have been some developments at the clinic but nothing I want to talk about on the phone.”

  “Unfortunately, I won’t be at the estate to greet you. I have to fly to Greece to meet with some attorneys. I got an excellent deal on a property and I’m going to take possession of it, maybe spend a few days there to get a feel for the place. No worries. Julie is expecting your delivery and will take the product off your hands as soon as you get there. Take them to the guest house and she should be waiting for you there.”

  Karen screwed up her mouth in a disapproving frown. She needed Harrison to be there. She was certain that the nurse practitioner could handle Dr. Jacoby’s appointments for a few days, but they’d need to bring in a contract physician while they recruited a permanent replacement.

  Karen also wanted to be relocated to a different clinic immediately. After what she’d done with Raylene, she didn’t know if the entire clinic was compromised or just her. Either way, she had to assume she was burned in that small town. She’d half-expected cop cars to come streaming in from all directions when she pulled the trigger on Raylene but they hadn’t. It must have been an undercover operation instead of a sting. Surely if anyone had been monitoring their transaction, Karen would be in jail now, waiting on Harrison’s lawyers to show up.

  “You there, Karen?” Harrison asked.

  “Oh, sorry. Got distracted. Any way you can delay the trip until I get there?”

  “I’m afraid not. The pilots have the jet ready to go and I’ve got appointments to keep. Speak to Julie about this when you reach Mobile. I have an encrypted phone on the jet and she has one that’s compatible with it. Pour yourself a double scotch and give me a call. We can speak freely then.”

  Although that was an improvement Karen still wasn't satisfied. She preferred in-person discussions. She liked to see eyes and gauge responses when making an appeal. "That's fine, Harrison. You have a good trip and we'll speak later."

  "I'd wish you a good trip too, but I don't think that's w
hat you're in for. Sounds like a racket going on in the background."

  The humor in his voice irritated her. "You have no idea. We'll talk later." She lit up a cigarette.

  "You're not supposed to smoke around children," the oldest of Raylene's kids said. "It's bad for us."

  Karen spun in the seat and shot her an angry glance, a dozen nasty responses going through her head. The child started crying again.

  "Great,” Karen groaned. “Just great."

  58

  Mobile, Alabama

  Harrison's luggage was packed and his driver was waiting for him on the Porte-cochère. Julie was also waiting and Harrison pulled her to the side, out of earshot of the waiting driver. "I just got off the phone with Karen. She's on her way down with four children. She's got a day of driving ahead of her, but you'll need to be available to accept the product when she gets here."

  "Is everything okay?"

  Harrison shook his head. "Karen was kind of vague on the phone, but I think things at the clinic have gone hot. I don't know if we're compromised or not, but I'm not taking any chances. I'm heading to Greece for a few days. I can't imagine that any of this will be tracked back to us."

  Julie smiled. "You've paid good money to build a high wall around your operations. It would take years to unravel. I think you're safe."

  Harrison shrugged. "Either way, I'm bugging out for a few days. A little business, a little pleasure."

  "Anything you need me to do on this end while you're gone?"

  "As a matter of fact, there is. Karen is a fan of scotch. I have a case of thirty-year-old Laphroaig. Would you be so kind as to mix her up a special bottle when she arrives? Perhaps you might even have a glass available to offer her while you're getting the product transferred. I'm sure she'd appreciate it."

  "Special as in laced with fentanyl?"

  "Yes, a fatal dose, then take her to the swamp and put a bullet in her head just to be safe. Leave her somewhere the gators will get her, but do that thing you do just in case someone finds her first."

  "Remove the head and hands?" Julie confirmed.

  "Exactly that."

  "Consider it done. I never have liked that woman."

  "I raised her from a pup," Harrison said. "Never was certain I could trust her though. She has a bit of a rebellious streak. Gets a wild look in her eyes sometimes."

  Julie nodded. "I've seen it."

  "After it's done, lay low for a few weeks. Take a vacation, but carry one of the encrypted phones with you. That will give me time to figure out what's up with Karen's clinic and begin damage control. I'll touch base with you once I know what's going on."

  Julie grinned. "Excellent. I see a tropical vacation in my future."

  Harrison patted her on the shoulder. "You have a great time. We'll talk soon."

  59

  Interstate 40

  Contrary to all rules of safe driving, Karen was wearing noise-canceling headphones when her phone rang again. Synced with her phone, the music playing through her headphones dropped in volume so she could hear the annoying ringtone. She looked at the display on her phone and didn't recognize the number. She decided to answer anyway, thinking it might be Harrison calling from the hangar or even from his plane. It could also be one of the staff from the clinic, calling to give her an update on Dr. Jacoby's death.

  She tried to sound casual, relaxed, but her irritation was evident in her clipped tone. "Hello?"

  "Good afternoon, Karen," came an unfamiliar voice. "How are you doing?"

  "I'm fine. Who is this?" Karen snapped, instantly guarded.

  "This is Special Agent Mike Baxter with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I need you to pull your vehicle over onto the shoulder of the road when it's safe to do so."

  Karen felt ice water in her veins. How could she have been so fucking stupid? She'd left Raylene's phone at the scene. She'd been so distracted by the crying baby and the three wailing kids that she'd forgotten to look for it. They must have been able to get her number from it and now they were tracking her. Did that mean they knew what was going on? How much did they know?

  "Karen, are you still with me?"

  Karen's mind was racing at a thousand miles per hour. She screamed an obscenity and her volume woke the baby, who started wailing in the background.

  "I need you to stay calm, Karen. There's no way out of this. We have traffic stopped ahead of you and behind you. All of the vehicles around you on the highway are unmarked law enforcement vehicles. We have two choppers tracking you. There's no escape."

  Then she spotted the first of them in the rearview mirror. Had she not been trying so hard to cancel out of the sounds of the children, she might have spotted them earlier. She considered tossing her phone out of the window but what good would that do now? She was busted. Her one advantage—her only advantage—was that she had four vulnerable hostages.

  "Agent Baxter, I need to see these undercover cars of yours back the fuck off right now!" She whipped out her Walther and pointed it at the child sitting in the passenger seat. The boy let out a terrified cry. "Can your undercover cops see what I'm doing now? If you've tracked me this far you know what I'm capable of. If I kill this one I've still got three more, so please don't make me demonstrate my sincerity."

  Baxter muted the phone and raised his radio. The unit nearest Karen's Escalade confirmed that she was brandishing a firearm. He got on the radio to all units. "She's got a gun on one of the children. I need everyone to hang back. Don't press her."

  Karen saw an immediate, coordinated response as all the cars that had been casually driving around her for the last thirty minutes began to decelerate and fall behind. She spoke into her phone. "That's good, agent. Glad to see you can listen."

  "I did what you asked, Karen. How about you do as I asked now? Pull the vehicle over and toss the gun out the window. Exit the vehicle with your hands above your head."

  Karen laughed. "Are you kidding me? Call it quits when I have four free passes in the car? Not happening, my friend. If you seriously have the road blocked ahead of me, I need you to unblock it right now. If I come upon a roadblock, I'm killing this kid and tossing him out the window. How's that going to look on the evening news?"

  Agent Baxter knew exactly how that would look. Media outlets would play the disturbing clip over and over. There would be no escape from it. He also knew what it would do to his career. Worse yet, he'd have nightmares about it for the rest of his life. He already felt responsible for everything that had happened this morning. They'd convinced Raylene to go undercover, though certainly not under these circumstances. It had cost her life and he couldn't let it cost her children's lives too.

  "Give me one second, Karen." He left his phone unmuted so Karen could hear his instructions to his team. "I need all units at the forward barricade to vacate the highway. Open it up. We're letting her through."

  "Good boy!" Karen crowed.

  Agent Baxter then muted his phone and spoke into his radio again. "Overpass Team One you are cleared for engagement. I repeat, Overpass Team One you are cleared for engagement. Take the shot."

  Two miles ahead of Karen's speeding Escalade, a SWAT sniper from the Knoxville PD lay prone beneath a gray drop cloth on a blocked highway overpass. He had a Desert Tech SRS-A2 in .300 Win Mag with a Steiner scope. The bolt-action rifle was loaded with custom rounds from Maker Bullets.

  The sniper had tested this very shot hundreds of times with junk windshields and ballistic gel. He knew exactly how it ended. The round would penetrate the windshield with a predictable deflection, based on the angle of the glass. Then the round would punch into the target's chest and lose all velocity as the bullet opened, creating a devastating wound channel. The round would not pass through the target and come out the other side. It would stop before exiting the target's back.

  Agent Baxter unmuted the phone and raised it to face. "They're moving, Karen. They're pulling the cars out of the way. We still need to resolve this peacefully. You know I can't let
you keep going with those children forever."

  "You're going to give me a few minutes to process these latest developments, agent. When I have my head together I'll call you back. Until then, leave me the hell alone." She ended the call with a violent punch of her finger.

  How could she have been so stupid? What were her options? She had money and a gun. She had four hostages. She also had information.

  She considered that for a moment. Using her information to negotiate her way to freedom would mean some temporary inconvenience at a minimum. She'd have to undergo the indignity of being arrested. She'd have to be interrogated. She'd have to wear those horrible jail clothes and eat their disgusting jail food.

  She'd also have to hope that Harrison didn't have a long enough reach to have her killed while she was in custody. She was certain she could disappear if she was outside. She had identities and she had cash. She also had bank accounts scattered around the US and the Caribbean. In jail, however, she'd be a sitting duck. She wasn't certain that even solitary confinement would be safe. Harrison had money and money could get you anything.

  She was going to take a moment and calm down, then she'd call the agent. She'd ask for certain assurances in exchange for the information she had. If she got those assurances, she'd pull over and they could move onto the next stage of this unpleasantness. Ahead of her, she saw the cars that had been part of the roadblock. They sat beneath an overpass, pulled clear of the road. She would give them a jaunty wave as she drove by, simply for the sheer satisfaction of it.

  Karen never had the opportunity.

  At precisely one hundred yards from the overpass, the sniper took the shot. The windshield shattered a split second later, blood splattering onto the spiderwebbed glass. The vehicle coasted beneath the overpass, decelerating and skewing slightly toward the median. A Tennessee Highway Patrol Suburban rocketed down the onramp and passed Karen's Escalade. He moved in front of it and tapped his brake. The two vehicles impacted and the trooper gently slowed Karen's SUV.