by David
Lee turned back to Angela and could see her eyes had lost their light, glazing over. "Good-bye, Niece." He eased her body down onto the sand just as Diane ran up, gasping for air.
"You okay? It looks like a massacre," Diane managed. "Sorry I was late." The officers with her began to examine the downed skinwalkers.
Lee could see more officers coming over the hill right now.
"Well, things did get out of hand quicker than I expected," Lee said.
"You tried to save Angela?" she whispered, seeing his wrist, now healing up quickly on its own.
"Yeah. Guess my blood won't work on her kind," he whispered, looking around to make sure the other cops weren't within hearing range. He covered her up with his jacket. "She saved my ass, I owed her one."
"She wasn't completely bad…" Diane reached over and touched his arm.
"Guess not, but I'll never know if she did it for me or for what she wanted." Lee saw flashlights along the bridge and the lights from a squad car, and realized more cavalry was about to arrive. He put his pistol into his pocket, then wiped the blade of his dagger on his pant leg and placed it back in his boot sheath.
"If it makes it any easier, try and remember that she stood with you tonight, Lee." Diane nodded, then turned to look around at the wreckage of humans and the shape-shifted animal forms three had been trapped in as they died. "You get anything on the murdered cops?"
"Enough on audio to show they were responsible." Lee showed her the recorder, then played back a few seconds of speech to verify the device had done the job. "We can close the case now—except for the missing gang members we're going to have to explain away. At least the Silver Eagle pack won't be killing any more cops."
"The international aspects of the smuggling operation will have to fall in someone else's lap now that our cover's blown. Think this'll put the presidential visit on page two tomorrow? The politicians would hate that." Diane waved to the officers coming in their direction. One was Lieutenant Richmond.
"The threat to the President still exists if Elka is still out there somewhere in this community. She can make headlines on her own. I wish I knew what she had in mind. You're no closer than we were earlier tonight to tracking her, right?" Lee asked.
"No, not really. Maybe our houseguest can give us some suggestions," she whispered, seeing Richmond draw closer.
"If she's still there," Lee said softly.
CHAPTER 19
« ^ »
Hours went by at the crime scene beneath the old Corrales bridge on Alameda, with Lee and Diane going over the details for Logan and Richmond. Lee, who did almost all the talking, had to hide his healed-up wounds and introduce some fiction, omitting his attempt to save Angela by turning her into a vampire. At least Diane didn't have to corroborate what had actually happened before she'd arrived, and the recording Lee had made satisfied both of their supervisors.
Angela was identified as the newest member of the gang, and both Lee and Diane reported that Angela had become their informant after they learned she'd witnessed the killing of the first undercover officers on the case.
The wolves were identified as trained wolf-dog hybrids belonging to the Silver Eagle gang. Lee explained that they obviously intended on killing him and ripping off the buy-money. The duffel bag didn't contain any of the smuggled Mexican silver or turquoise, only some dirty laundry.
While Lee and Diane were being debriefed, state police officers and local Bureau agents raided Frank's Automotive and the gang's house in the North Valley. Officers recovered thousands of dollars' worth of smuggled silver, turquoise, and other jewelry-making supplies, along with more weapons and over two hundred thousand dollars in cash.
Word was sent to Las Cruces, and other state police officers and Bureau agents were scheduled to visit the smugglers' base near the Mexican border. Mexican authorities would be informed about the suppliers but what they chose to do after that was strictly up to them.
Lee and Diane believed that ballistics would identify at least some of the weapons on the scene or confiscated on the raids as those used to kill the state police officer and Navajo tribal cop. That evidence, when combined with the recorded confrontation and dialogue Lee provided, would be enough to end his and Diane's involvement in the investigation.
When they finally arrived at her apartment complex, Diane was nearly dead on her feet. Lee was starting to tire as well, but they both kept careful watch as they left the car.
"There's something you need to be aware of," he said. "Leaving Bridget alone in the apartment with a phone could mean that she's already contacted Elka."
"You really didn't have another choice. Do you think this'll draw Elka to us?"
"If Bridget's on the level, we'll be safe. If not…"
As they climbed the stairs to the apartment he made it clear that both of them wouldn't be able to go to sleep around Bridget at the same time. "We need to have eyes in the back of our heads now," Lee said softly.
"The TV is on," Diane whispered as they reached the door. They could see the flickering of colors on the curtain. "Doesn't Blondie ever sleep?"
Lee whispered back, "But there's no sound. Let's play it safe. It's us," he called, loud enough for anyone inside to hear.
"Come on in." It sounded like Bridget's voice. There was the sound of the lock mechanism, and then the door opened from the inside. "I'm still alone." Bridget showed her face in the darkness. "How about you two?"
"We weren't followed," Lee said.
They slipped inside and Diane locked the door behind them. Then she turned on the lamp. "Not everyone can see so well in the dark, people."
Bridget was in Diane's robe, and her hair looked a little damp. "I hope you don't mind, Diane. I borrowed this after taking a shower. My clothes were getting a little funky."
Lee quickly checked the bedroom and the bathroom, his hand on the butt of his gun. As he looked in the kitchen area he noted that Bridget's knife was still on the table where he'd left it. Finally he relaxed. Sensing Bridget's gaze, he glanced at her. "Don't take it too personally. I always check the apartment when I get in."
"Vampires are paranoid. I picked up on that right away once Elka sank her teeth into me and I became part of her family," Bridget said.
Diane looked at her oddly. "That's how you became a vampire then—a bite on the jugular?"
"No, of course not," Bridget said, and chuckled. "It was one of those palm-slicing exchanges. Like young boys becoming blood brothers, except for keeps."
Bridget looked at Lee's clothes, apparently just noting the blood on his jacket, pants, and sleeve. "Yours or somebody else's?" she asked in a shaky voice.
"A little of both, I suppose," Lee mumbled, then turned away and walked toward the kitchen area. "Anybody want coffee?"
"Not me," Diane replied. "Just a shower and a little sleep. We need to be out looking for Elka around the base area by the time the President arrives in town."
"You want your robe back?" Bridget reached for the cloth belt that held it in place and started unfastening the knot.
"No!" Diane said abruptly.
Lee laughed and Bridget smiled broadly.
"I mean, no thanks," Diane said. "I have another old one in the closet that will suit me just fine."
"I was just teasing. How'd I do, Lee?" Bridget turned to see his expression.
Lee shook his head. "I see nothing, I hear nothing."
"Bridget, you're about my size, so you ought to fit into my slacks and blouses. Go ahead and see what you can find to wear while I'm in the shower." Then Diane caught Lee's eye.
"I'll take a shower when you're through, Diane," he said, trying to figure out what was on her mind. "Then we can work out the sleeping arrangements."
Lee lay motionless on the living-room chair, resting but not sleeping, and taking occasional, refreshing sips from a juice glass containing the last of his current supply of pigs blood. Revitalized somewhat, he knew that if someone either moved or tried to enter the room he would he
ar them.
Eyes closed now, he focused his hearing and could detect two separate breathing patterns, one from the sofa just ten feet away where Diane was asleep, and from the bedroom the faint, deep breaths belonging to Bridget.
Diane had made it clear that either she or Lee had to be close to the only entrance to the apartment, and he'd agreed. Elka was out there somewhere, and if she managed to find them the door was the only quick way into or out of the place. One of the chairs from the dining set had been wedged under the knob to slow anyone down, even a vampire. Climbing in the second-story window would require a long ladder or rappelling down from the roof, then breaking through the glass, also a noisy operation.
It was Diane's apartment, so she got the sofa and he settled on the easy chair. Bridget still couldn't be trusted enough for either of them to risk falling asleep beside her, so she occupied the bed.
Bridget said she understood, and offered to keep the bedroom door closed so they'd feel safer. The door hinge squeaked a bit, so Lee knew he'd hear it when she came back out into the living-room area.
Lee opened his eyes, noting that sunlight was beginning to creep in around the sides of the window curtain. The room was just as he'd left it, and the exit door locked and chained, the chair still wedged under the knob.
Bridget was the last to wake up. The young vampire, a pleasant expression on her face, came over to the table where Lee and Diane were having breakfast. She was now wearing eye shadow, blush, and lipstick beneath the sunblock, details that had been missing before.
"How did you sleep, Bridget?" Lee asked, putting down his coffee mug. He'd quit worrying about the rounds Bridget had fired from the pistol he now had tucked under the seat of his car. No bodies had turned up except for those he already knew about, and none that had died by gunfire.
"Very well, I even slept on my back and didn't have to worry if I snored. I feel so free I've decided to wear a little more makeup. Elka has taught me not to attract any more attention than necessary when on a job, but now I'm unemployed, I guess."
"What are your plans now?" Diane asked, her tone more businesslike than friendly.
Bridget looked at Lee, then back to Diane. "So you're really going to let me walk away?"
Diane nodded. "We've had the chance to talk about it while you were in the other room. Just don't give us any reason to believe you've started breaking any laws, okay?"
"But we need you to stay here in the apartment until the issue with Elka is resolved," Lee added. "Which brings up a question we've been trying to answer since last night. Is there anything that Elka said to you that can help confirm her target? Think hard, Bridget. I know she told you it was Rogers, but is it possible she's after the President or someone else in addition to Rogers?"
"Let me try to recall her exact words. May I?" Bridget gestured toward the coffee. "Elka said she was paying me to help her punish Rogers and the others who'd been responsible for the loss of her family."
"And Lee was mentioned specifically?" Diane asked.
"And you, Agent Lopez—if you tried to get in the way. Rogers was the main target because he'd recruited Jochen in the first place, then bailed on him when Jochen got caught."
"'Punish' was the term she used? Not 'stab,' 'shoot,' 'blow up,' 'assassinate,' or anything like that?" Lee pressed.
"No, she said 'punish' two or three times," Bridget said.
"To me that sounds like she meant Rogers, not the President," Diane said.
"And Bridget was supposed to kill me. So Elka's main target is Rogers," Lee said.
"But that logic falls apart when you look at what's happened, Lee," Diane argued. "Elka's attacked Rogers already, and she failed to give him anything more than just a few bruises and scratches. Logan confirmed that again last night when I met with him and the Secret Service. But at the hospital she nearly killed three people, not including us, and broke down two or three steel doors getting away. She's as strong as an ox."
Lee suddenly stood up. "Oh, crap. I get it now."
"You get what?" Diane asked.
"Nobody wants to be scratched by a vampire, or scratch one either. Remember that comment Bridget made last night about blood brothers?" Lee asked.
"Elka wants to punish the CIA man by turning him into a vampire?" Bridget asked. "That would just make him harder to kill."
"No, easier, and he'll die in a particularly horrible way," Diane said, suddenly understanding. "She must have mixed her blood with his when they were wrestling around in that shaded walkway."
"Yes, and he's probably feeling better right now than he has in his entire life—strong, alert, and very hungry. But he doesn't know he's a vampire," Lee said.
"And his security will probably keep him inside until his meeting with the President. But the moment Rogers steps out of the car at the airport he's going to get a faceful of New Mexico sunshine. He'll turn into a ball of fire. Talk about being punished." Diane reached for her cell phone. "We've got to warn him."
"That does sound like Elka." Bridget nodded. "Originally, I think she planned to shoot him while I created some kind of diversion. But what she did makes sense now, in a perverse way, and this way of killing him has given her hours to make her escape. It's like a bomb that no explosives dog can detect. She may already be out of the state—unless she wants to watch Rogers go up in smoke."
"It's a spectacular way to punish someone, and there's no way a forensic team will be able to establish what happened, so she'll get away with murder. It'll go down as another one of those spontaneous-combustion stories you see between the covers of supermarket tabloids."
Diane raised her voice to the person on the phone.
"Have him call me, Special Agent Lopez, before he steps outside. This is absolutely critical and concerns the woman who attacked him yesterday. We know she's going to strike again. He needs to stay indoors and out of view until he speaks to me personally." Diane rolled her eyes, obviously on hold now. "His security people are idiots," she said, glancing at Lee.
"No, I can't wait and have him call me back," Diane insisted. "I'll stay on the line while you get him." Diane waited, getting angrier by the second.
"Shit, shit, shit. He's going to die," Diane said, disconnecting the call. "He's been at some security briefing since six this morning. Maybe we can get over there in time to stop him from going outside." She hurried to find her jacket, placing the holster and pistol on her belt while she moved around the room.
"Where is he now?" Lee asked. His jacket already on, he put on his baseball cap and dark glasses.
"He stayed in base quarters last night, then went to a secure area before dawn," Diane explained. "The security man I spoke to wouldn't even call him to the phone. He said they'd been getting crank calls all morning because of the presidential visit and he'd call me back later once I was 'cleared.' That asshole is going to get Rogers fried."
"We'll never make it there in time. All he has to do is step outside for a minute or two," Lee reminded. "Try and get Logan on the phone. If he can send somebody to detain Rogers, we have a chance. I hope Rogers uses sunblock. At least that would give him a few minutes to save himself."
Diane nodded. Logan was on speed dial, so the call only took a few seconds. Diane started to explain, got interrupted, then motioned to Lee. "Turn on the TV!"
Bridget got there first. The set came on quickly, and they could see a live broadcast from the Albuquerque Sunport. In the background was Air Force One. Stairs attached to a truck were already in place and the main exit door to the giant aircraft was open. Armed guards were stationed by the exit and at the foot of the steps, where a reception area had been roped off and a podium was already in place.
"The President arrived early," Lee said flatly. "The security guy was bullshitting you."
Diane nodded to Lee. She'd moved over where she could see the TV screen. "You have to keep him from stepping out of his vehicle," she nearly yelled into the phone.
The camera remained focused on the entrance to th
e aircraft with the viewing field large enough to include the ramp at the bottom as well. "Turn up the sound a little," Lee whispered, and Bridget reached over to a knob.
"… the local dignitaries scheduled to welcome the President to the Land of Enchantment are now making their way to the reception area," the reporter announced.
"Get Rogers back inside!" Diane yelled.
There was an off-camera shout and the camera suddenly shifted to the left. People were scattering in every direction. A man in a suit was literally burning up, screaming and thrashing around in unimaginable pain. His clothes remained relatively untouched, but his face and hands shot out smokeless flames like blowtorches. A security man in a black jacket tackled him and tried to roll him on the concrete. "My God, my God, a man is on fire!" the announcer yelled.
Men came forward in ones and twos with their jackets and tried to smother the flames, but by then Rogers's body was dissolving away, turning to ashes.
The camera turned quickly again, out of focus for a few seconds before capturing the image of Air Force One. Amid a chorus of shouts the guard at the aircraft door was helping an attendant close up the aircraft's main hatch.
Below on the runway the driver of the truck containing the ramp was already moving away.
There was the roar of aircraft engines starting up and the sound drowned out everything else. The camera shifted back to the spot on the concrete where Rogers had died. All that remained was a pile of men's dark suit jackets, an empty suit, and two shoes lying alone with the socks half in, half out. Someone was spraying them with a small fire extinguisher while guards hustled dignitaries back to the motorcade of black vehicles. Chaos had been replaced with automatic responses based upon training and rehearsal.
The television camera shifted back to Air Force One, which was starting to roll across the concrete toward the runway.
Lee stepped over to Diane, who was shaking her head, unable to look at the TV anymore. "Well, Rogers wasn't using sunblock, that's for sure. I should have guessed what Elka was doing," he said softly.