by Jamie Hill
“We're going to take this nice and slow. You will step out of your vehicle and stand next to it. Do it now. Like I said, nice and slow. Any sudden movements will mean bad luck for my two guests.”
“I’m moving as slowly as I can.” Jack stepped out of the Explorer. He stood next to it and faced the warehouse.
“Very slowly, remove your service revolver and drop it on the ground. Kick it to your left, as far as you can. Keep in mind, detective, that we have guns pointed directly at the heads of our guests. You screw this up, and the boy is the first to go.”
“I won’t screw it up.” Jack pulled his gun out with two fingers and dropped it gently to the ground. He kicked it and it sailed well out of reach.
“Now, do the same with your back-up piece. I know you have one. Don’t even bother to deny it. Just do it.”
“All right.” Jack pulled another gun from the leg holster underneath his jeans and repeated his previous motion.
“So far, so good. Now, where is the money?”
“In a bag in the back seat.”
“Is that the only thing in the back seat?”
“I’m alone,” Jack confirmed.
A black-clad figure stepped from the warehouse. He was wearing a rubber Ronald Reagan mask, the kind sold at Halloween stores all over the city. He carried two black bags, which he tossed on the ground in front of Jack.
Jack spoke into the phone, “I’m a Democrat, I hope that doesn’t matter.”
“Do you think I enjoy clowning around with you, detective?”
“Oh, I hope so. It’s certainly been the highlight of my day.”
“Pick up the bags we provided. Slowly remove the money from your vehicle, and transfer half of it into one bag. Show us the cash bundles as you place them in it. I want to be able to see that it really is the money, and there are no exploding paint devices.”
Jack sighed. “I swiped this money from the department evidence safe. They don’t have fancy gadgets like exploding paint.” Jack opened the back door to the Explorer and removed the bag of money.
“Humor me.”
“I’m going to need to put the phone down. Suppose we can talk face to face from here on out?”
“Agreed.” The line went dead.
Jack flipped his phone shut and shoved it into his pocket. He faced the warehouse. Eyes darting rapidly between the money and the door, he began transferring bundles of cash into one of the black bags.
With about half the money transferred, a voice from the warehouse called out, “That’s enough! Close the bag and toss it to my associate. Once we have it, we'll release the boy.”
“I want to see him, and Crystal too,” Jack called back.
“You will see them.”
“I mean now, before you get anything. I need to make sure they’re okay.”
Jack heard sounds inside the warehouse. Crystal and Devon were shoved in front of the tractor. They were bound at the ankles, wrists secured behind their backs, and each wore tape covering their mouth. But they were alive and seemed to be okay.
“Thank you,” Jack said loudly. “Now when I toss you this first bag, you’ll release Devon?”
“Agreed.”
Jack inhaled and exhaled slowly before he spoke again. “I’ve done everything you asked me to. If this doesn’t go as you’ve suggested, I promise you that I’m going to lose my good humor. And I’m going to get angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”
“Understood. A show of good faith, then.”
Jack saw a black-clad hand reach out and cut the tape that bound Devon’s feet. Jack took a step forward and tossed the first bag to the man in the Reagan mask. The man grabbed the bag, carried it into the warehouse and gave Devon a shove toward Jack.
Jack’s eyes scoured the warehouse as he called, “Come to me Devon! Run!” He held his arms out and the boy was in them in a flash. “Oh, thank God.” Jack hugged the child quickly, then scooted him into the back seat of the Explorer. “Stay on the floor, kiddo. There might be gun shots. Keep low.”
Devon nodded excitedly and Jack took a moment to peel the tape off his mouth. “We knew you’d come for us, Jack!” His gratitude tumbled out in a quick torrent. “We love you!”
“I love you too, champ. And I’m very proud of you.” He tugged off the tape that secured Devon’s hands and repeated, “Stay down.” He shut the door of the Explorer and looked back toward the warehouse. If the second half of this mission went as smoothly, it would be done soon enough. Unfortunately, he knew it would not—make that could not—go as well. He allowed himself one glance at Crystal before he returned to the money and began transferring the rest into the remaining black bag.
“This will all be over soon,” the voice from the warehouse told him.
“I hope so,” Jack replied. He finished transferring the money and took his time straightening up.
The kidnappers were being careful not to show their faces to him. But they'd shown themselves to Crystal and Jack suspected they weren’t going to let her live to identify them. This next part would get hairy.
“I want you to release Crystal before I give you the rest of the money,” he told them.
“Oh, detective, we had established such a fine relationship. Now you don’t trust us?”
“I never really trusted you. I trust you even less now.”
The man from the warehouse pushed the big door open wider and took a step out. He wore a George W. Bush rubber mask, and pointed a gun at Jack. “The money, now, please.”
“First the woman, then the money,” Jack insisted, sounding braver than he felt. He felt totally naked without his weapons.
“Actually, I had something else in mind for the woman.” The masked man with the gun spun around and pointed it at Crystal.
“That wasn’t part of the plan!” The man in the Reagan mask yelled.
At the same time Jack shouted, “No!” A shot rang out, and the air was very still for one heart-stopping moment. Then the gunman fell to the ground.
Brady Marshall peered around the Explorer and said loudly, “No means no, dumbass. Didn’t you learn anything from all those lectures in high school?”
Jack grinned at Brady. They turned to face Crystal, who was hopping up and down and making wild expressions with her eyes. At that moment they saw what she had seen—the kidnapper in the Reagan mask pulling a gun from behind him and pointing it at Jack.
“Jack!” Brady dived across the hood of the Explorer and shoved Jack out of the way. The kidnapper’s bullet hit Brady in the chest. He was thrown to the ground.
“Son-of-a-bitch!” Jack crawled over to Brady.
“I’m okay,” he panted roughly, clutching his chest. “Take this.” He shoved his gun at Jack.
“I’m going to kill that mother-fucker!”
“Do it!” Brady’s eyes held Jack’s as he handed off the gun. “Take him down.”
Jack crawled around to the front of the Explorer and saw the gunman now had Crystal in front of him like a shield. “Let her go!” he called to the man.
“We were just supposed to get the money,” the man replied, sounding nervous and upset. “It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.”
Jack slowly got to his feet. “You can have your money. Just let her go.”
“It’s too late.” He glanced at his partner on the ground. He held his gun to Crystal’s head, hand shaking badly.
Jack knew a nervous gunman was like a loose cannon. He caught a glimpse of Crystal’s eyes. She was blinking furiously, evidently trying to get his attention. He looked at her.
She dipped her head toward the ground almost imperceptibly.
He realized what she wanted to do, and shook his head fiercely. No.
She nodded back at him. Yes. I can do it. You can do it.
Jack looked at her one more time and she nodded yet again.
He gathered his strength and gave a tiny nod back.
She dropped to the ground and Jack fired one shot at the gunman. It went
straight through his chest. The man clutched himself and tumbled backward.
“Crystal!” Jack croaked out the word as he ran to her. He stopped to kick the gunman’s gun away, then reached for Crystal and pulled her up into his arms. He peeled the tape from her mouth gently and murmured, “Are you all right?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
He tugged at the tape around her wrists, but it wouldn’t come loose. “I need a knife. But first I just need to hold you for a minute. Do you mind?” He looked anxiously at her.
She smiled and sunk against him. “As long as I’m in your arms, I don’t care if I’m tied up.”
He wrapped his arms around her tightly and held her. “I’ve been praying for this moment.”
“Me too,” she said softly, speaking into his chest. “We knew you’d rescue us. We never doubted you for a moment.”
He pulled back and smiled. “I doubted myself plenty. That was one crazy stunt you dragged me into there, woman.”
She beamed at him. “We did it, didn’t we? It was almost like we read each other’s minds.”
He touched her cheek. “So, are you going to be pulling crazy stunts like that when we’re married?”
“Absolutely!” She grinned at him. “As long as you’re always around to read my mind.”
Jack smiled at her again and pulled her face to his for a gentle kiss. He barely registered the distinctive click in his ear…the quiet sound of a gun being cocked. He pulled apart from Crystal slowly, their eyes meeting for one terrified second. Then he pivoted toward the sound.
At first, all Jack’s mind could absorb was a virtual sea of plaid. A man wearing a black-and-orange plaid shirt. “Well, this is a surprise,” Jack finally said.
Moe Wilson kept his gun leveled at Jack as he took a step away from him. “I know it is. I never wanted it to come to this. I was always so careful to keep diner business separate from other business.”
Jack kept his body between Moe and Crystal as he faced the man. “What other business would that be, Moe? Meth labs? Cocaine? Heroin?”
Moe shrugged. “I’m a well-rounded individual.”
Crystal moaned softly. “No.”
Moe looked at her. “I’m so sorry, Crystal-ina. I never wanted to involve you in any of this. But I did make sure that you weren’t harmed, neither you nor Devon.”
“Weren’t harmed?” She looked at him with disbelief. “You don’t think it harmed that six-year-old boy to be snatched from his home at gunpoint and held like an animal on a filthy mattress in a dark, musty basement?”
Moe shook his head. “Devon is fine. He’ll be fine. I would never harm a hair on his head. You see, Devon and Mark are my grandchildren.”
Jack and Crystal exchanged surprised glances. “Your grandchildren?” she repeated. “How can that be?”
“Laura Devon was my daughter.”
Crystal looked at him skeptically. “I don’t believe you. The boys never indicated any such thing.”
“They never knew,” Moe said. “Laura wasn't fond of my sideline. She didn’t want the children anywhere near me. It infuriated her when David came to work for me.”
“Dave,” Crystal said softly. “You killed Dave.”
Moe shook his head as if irritated by her assumption. “David was a fool. I gave him everything. You know, I never liked him when Laura first brought him around. But I had no say in the matter. He mistreated her and made her miserable. She wouldn’t let me be there for her when she needed me. She died alone.” He paced a few steps in front of them. “I put up with Dave so I could keep tabs on the children. I introduced the two of you, don't you remember, Crystal-ina? After you came to work for me, and you were looking for a place to live?”
“Oh my God,” Crystal whispered.
“I thought you’d be perfect for him and the boys. But he was too stupid to hold on to you, and that infuriated me. When I discovered he was stealing from me, on top of everything else…” Moe shook his head again. “He had to be dealt with.”
“You killed him!” Crystal cried. “You orphaned your own grandsons!”
“He was a liar and a thief. I gave him everything, and he stabbed me in the back. Where was the family loyalty?” Moe’s eyes glazed over.
Jack was afraid the man was losing contact with reality. He tried to reel him back in. “Crystal was loyal to you, Moe,” he said quietly.
Moe smiled at her. “Crystal-ina was always loyal. I knew she would be the perfect one to take care of the children.” He looked at Jack. “Until you butted in. Things were progressing just fine until you stuck your nose where it didn’t belong.”
Jack gave a small shrug. “I was just trying to investigate a murder. I guess we now know that you killed Manny Hooper and Ralph Prescott.”
Moe waved off the names as if swatting a fly. “Inconsequential. You ruined everything I had planned so carefully. Now I guess I’ll have to raise those boys. The two of you know too much. You should have never tried to be a hero, Jack.”
Jack frowned. “Wrong thing to say, old man.” He bent his head and spoke into the wire attached to his collar and snaking down his sleeve. “Have you heard enough? I certainly have.”
A dozen spotlights burned down upon the parking lot, with twice as many police officers surrounding them. “Drop your weapon!” Hank Reeder’s voice came through a loud speaker. “I have three S.W.A.T. sharpshooters with their rifles pointed at your head. You so much as twitch your nose and you’re out of here.”
Moe looked around carefully before dropping his gun and raising his hands. Jack stepped forward and twisted the older man’s arms behind his back. “You’ll never see the light of day without a row of bars in front of you, and you’ll never come near those boys again. I intend to personally see to that.”
A police officer stepped up and slapped handcuffs on Moe. Another officer cut the tape off of Crystal’s hands and feet. As soon as she was freed, she flung herself into Jack’s arms. “Is it really over this time?”
He clutched her tightly in the glow of the spotlights. “Yeah, it’s really over.”
She glanced to where two emergency medical technicians leaned over Brady. “Detective Marshall!”
Jack put his arm around Crystal’s waist and walked her over to Brady. He was sitting up. One EMT was carefully removing Brady's bulletproof Kevlar vest. “You okay buddy?” Jack smiled at him.
“Sore as hell, but in one piece.”
Crystal looked from Brady to Jack with amazement. Jack smiled and thumped his own chest, which made a hard, knocking sound. “We admit to being crazy, but not stupid. It took a lot of thought to hatch this scheme. I couldn’t have done it without Brady, and his advice to clue the lieutenant in.”
The EMT said, “He’ll have a heck of a bruise, but he’ll be fine. We’re going to run him to the hospital as a precaution.”
Jack smiled. “Sounds good.” To Crystal he said, “We need to take you to the hospital, too, just to be safe.”
“No.” Crystal shook her head. “We’re fine. A little stiff and sore, but we weren’t hurt.” She looked down at herself. “We could probably use baths and something decent to eat.”
“You got it.” Jack kissed the side of her head, and opened the back door to the Explorer. “Hey, buddy boy, it’s all over. Come out here and give me a hug.”
Devon’s scared expression turned to one of joy as he climbed out and into Jack’s arms. “It’s really over?”
“Really and truly. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” He hugged Devon tightly but looked at Crystal as he spoke. “I’m going to do my best to make it up to you every day for the rest of our lives.”
“You don’t have anything to make up to us.” She hugged Jack and Devon both. “You saved us, Jack.” She looked in his eyes. “I love you.”
He smiled and kissed her gently. “I love you, too.” He kissed the side of Devon’s head. “And I love you, my big brave boy.”
Devon grinned wildly and hugged Jack
and Crystal’s necks.
“Crystal! Devon!” Mark escaped Melanie Curtis’s grasp and ran toward his family.
“Hey!” Crystal wiped tears from her eyes as she reached down to hug him. “Oh, my gosh, are we ever happy to see you! We missed you so much!”
“We missed you, too,” he told her somberly. “Jack and I don’t ever want to be apart from you guys again.”
She squeezed his face and grinned at him. “I think that sounds like a very good idea.”
Jack set Devon down and the two boys hugged. “You hid and got away!” Devon looked at his older brother with wonder.
“Yeah, I was sorry to leave you and Crystal, but I thought I could be more help if I went to find Jack. He said he was glad I was there to help him.”
“You were a great help,” Jack agreed as he ruffled Mark’s hair.
“I’m so proud of you both,” Crystal told the boys. “What a terrific family I have!”
“We have,” Jack corrected her.
She smiled and slipped her arms around his waist. “We have.”
Jack heard his lieutenant calling his name. He knew there were reports to be filled out, suspects to be interrogated, and two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to be returned to the department. But he was holding Crystal in his arms, with Mark and Devon clinging to each of their legs, and the only thing he wanted to do at that moment was kiss her. So he did.
Chapter Fourteen
Jack’s last official act as a WPD detective was to cut through the red tape surrounding the adoption of Mark and Devon Erickson. After spending several hours interrogating Moe Wilson, a.k.a. Maurice Devon, birth certificates were uncovered proving Moe had told Jack the truth. The Erickson boys were his grandsons. Once Moe had time to confer with his lawyer and realized the seriousness of his legal predicament, he agreed to sign custody rights over to Crystal.
Jack wanted to be named on the adoption papers as well. After a few rounds with Social Services, it was determined that the only thing missing from the stack of official paperwork was a marriage license.
So in early November Jack, Crystal, Mark, and Devon put on their Sunday finest and went to the courthouse to make things legal.