Dead Lawyers Don't Lie: A Gripping Thriller (Jake Wolfe Book 1)

by Mark Nolan

Perhaps this was a trap and Sarah wasn’t even home. A plainclothes policewoman could be waiting inside Sarah’s apartment right now, walking in front of the window to draw Zhukov closer. And a sharpshooter could be watching her building from a window across the street, hoping to take a shot at him. His instincts told him this target wasn’t worth the risk and he should focus on the higher value target even though that would be far more challenging. Now was the time to go see if he could kidnap, kill or terrorize Katherine Anderson. He tossed the cigar in the street gutter and quietly made his way back to his car.

  Sarah peeked out her window and saw the dark figure leaving the scene. She called Beth Cushman on the phone. “I see him again. He’s leaving now. Walking uphill on the other side of my street.”

  “Okay I’ll swing by again.” Beth turned her Subaru around and headed back toward Sarah’s home. She didn’t mind doing the drive-by to calm her friend’s fears. It was normal for Sarah to be feeling paranoid and afraid right now. And who knows, if the attorney assassin really was here she might capture him. When Beth pulled her car up in front of Sarah’s apartment building, she saw another car driving slowly past on the cross street a block away. The car didn’t have its headlights on, and it was creeping along suspiciously slow. Beth aimed a powerful spotlight at the other driver and turned it on. The man’s surprised face was illuminated by the bright light, and he drove away fast.

  Beth took off in pursuit and roared down the street, taking the turn so fast her tires burned rubber as she drifted sideways around the corner. In the car ahead, Zhukov cursed at his own bold recklessness, and he raced the engine to put some distance between himself and the pursuing car. He opened his black bag and took out a nearly full bottle of vodka. “This city is really starting to get on my nerves.”

  Beth did a two-way call on her phone to police headquarters and to Terrell Hayes simultaneously. She turned on her phone’s speaker and set the device on the passenger seat. The police operator answered, but Terrell didn’t. “Officer Cushman in pursuit of the attorney assassin suspect’s vehicle. Requesting backup, code eight.” Beth described the vehicle and gave the location.

  She saw the car ahead of her turn left and come screeching to a stop. The driver opened his door, stepped out onto the street and threw a flaming object directly at her car. He then began firing a pistol at her windshield. For a split second Beth watched in disbelief as a clear glass bottle with a burning rag in the top flew through the air toward her vehicle. At the same moment, bullets began to punch holes in her windshield’s glass.

  Everything seemed to move in slow motion for Beth then as she instinctively ducked her head to the right, below the level of the dashboard. A rain of bullets took out the windshield. The Molotov cocktail hit the hood of her car. The bottle exploded and sent flaming liquid splattering into her vehicle through the open windshield. The car careened out of control with no one at the wheel. A moment later her car crashed into a parked vehicle, That caused the two front seat airbags to deploy above Beth’s prone body, pinning her down to the seat like a prisoner.

  Flames began to roar inside of her car as the ceiling cloth and the back seats caught on fire. Beth grabbed a ball point pen from her top pocket and used it to stab and puncture the airbags above her torso several times. As the airbags deflated, she crawled across the seat. She went out the passenger door and onto the pavement. The back of her jacket was on fire, and she rolled on the ground as she’d been trained to do. She then tore off her smoldering jacket and patted down her legs which still had some flaming spots of the burning liquid on them.

  Beth moved away from her car as it became engulfed in fire. She kept it between her and the shooter, to obscure her from his sight. She realized that if she’d been sitting up straight when the Molotov cocktail had hit her car hood, she’d be barbecued right now. As it was, most of the burning liquid had sprayed above her prone body and onto the ceiling and back seats. Instead of onto her face and hair and chest.

  The smell of burning plastic and upholstery hit her nostrils, and she vomited in the gutter in relief that it was not her flesh on fire. That had been as close to dying as she’d ever come, And it would have been an ugly, agonizing death. The thought of her child growing up without his mother hit her hard like a fist to her heart, and she felt dizzy.

  A metallic-sounding voice could be heard shouting questions from inside her burning car. Beth realized that her phone was still in there, with the speaker on. The front passenger door was open and she saw the phone on the floor, but flames were pouring out of the car and she couldn’t get closer.

  “This is Cushman. If you can hear me my car is on fire. It’s burning up. I’m not injured, but officer needs assistance. Code twenty.”

  Beth saw the light on her phone go out and then the screen cracked open as plastic parts inside began to sizzle and burn.

  Doors of nearby apartments opened and people looked out at the flaming car and the woman wearing a pistol in a hip holster. After one look, several of them closed their doors and locked them. One young woman who was wearing a tight t-shirt showing off some toned muscular arms, walked straight over to Beth. “I’ve called the police. What’s the situation?”

  Beth flashed her badge. “I am the police.”

  The young woman nodded her head. “I’m in the Navy Reserve. Stationed at the NOSC in Alameda. What can I do to help you officer?”

  “You can let me make a call on your phone.”

  “Roger that. Here’s my phone.”

  “Thank you,” Beth said, grateful that someone was willing to help.

  Beth entered Terrell’s phone number from memory as she heard the sirens of police cars and firetrucks that were racing toward her location.

  Chapter 107

  At the safe house, Jake looked at Easton and said, “I need a ride to the hospital. I can take one of your vehicles but I’d prefer if you’d drive and give me a hand with the mission.”

  Easton said, “I’ll drive and we’ll take that same Suburban. My orders are to assist you, so let me know what you need.”

  “I need weapons and backup shooters.”

  “Greene can get more weapons out of the locker. We can both provide backup for you.”

  “Let’s roll.”

  They all went out the door into the garage. Greene opened a cabinet. Everybody grabbed weapons and duffel bags, then got into the vehicle.

  “Where are my pistols and my knife?” Jake said.

  Greene handed a black case to Jake. “I suggest you carry the same weapons we do. That way you have matching ammo and plenty of extra mags.”

  Jake looked in the case and found his pistols and knife, but not his phone. He took his KA-BAR knife out of the case and strapped the sheath and web belt around his waist so it rode horizontally along the small of his back. “Thanks, that’s good advice about the weapons. I think the Secret Service is equipped with SIG pistols these days, right?”

  Greene nodded and opened a duffel bag. She handed Jake a SIG Sauer pistol and a shoulder holster, along with several extra mags full of ammo. She held up an assault rifle. “I also brought along some suppressed MP5SD submachine guns loaded with frangible bullets. Those are good for indoor close-quarters battle.”

  “Good plan for QCB in a hospital building.”

  Easton pushed the remote control device to open the garage door, and backed the vehicle out. He did a quick U-turn and then drove off while pressing a remote to close the garage door behind them.

  “The FBI didn’t put my phone in this case,” Jake said. “I need a clean phone, two if you have them.”

  Greene dug in the duffel bag and gave two throwaway phones to Jake.

  Jake handed back one of the phones. “Put both of your phone numbers into this one.”

  While Greene entered the numbers, Jake used the other phone to call Sarah Chance.

  “Hello?” Sarah said, uncertain of the number on her phone.

  “Sarah, it's Jake, are you at home?”

  �
�Jake where are you? Did you get out of FBI custody?”

  “Yes I did but listen to me. It’s not safe at your place right now. You have to hide out tonight. Stay with family or friends. Maybe go to a hotel.”

  “Why, what’s going on?”

  “The attorney assassin who impersonated me was overheard threatening my friends and family.”

  “I’m not afraid of him. Besides I want to thank him for shooting Max Vidallen, the attorney that sued me.”

  “Very funny Sarah. I want you to go to a hotel. Right now.”

  “Will you be there too?”

  “No, I'm going to be the bait, to draw this guy into a trap.”

  “I can be bait too. I’ve already been to jail today, so maybe I’ll be jailbait.”

  “This is not a joke Sarah. It’s a dangerous situation.”

  “Sorry but I’m not going to hide. I have a pistol and I’m a good shot.”

  “I don't like this but if you’re going to use your pistol be sure to click off the safety this time.”

  “I will, and you take good care of Cody. Don’t let him get injured again like you did once already.”

  “Touché. Cody is with Terrell. If you get in a fight, keep that left elbow up.”

  “Okay and you do the same.”

  “Why are you so stubborn?”

  “It comes naturally to me,” Sarah said. “I don’t like being told what to do, and besides, I have Officer Beth Cushman patrolling the street outside.”

  “Why is Beth there?”

  “Somebody kept driving past my place several times going really slow, and then I saw a man loitering in a nearby doorway.”

  “Dammit Sarah, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. I’m going to have Secret Service agents go to your home and protect you.”

  “Secret what? Hold on. I see a car on fire, several blocks away.”

  “Is it Beth’s car? Do you have binoculars?”

  “I’m going to look at it through my camera with the zoom lens. It looks like it might be Beth’s car, but it’s hard to tell. I’m going to jog over there.”

  “No Sarah, call 911. If something happens to you… who am I going to spar with in Jeet Kune Do practice?”

  “That’s very touching Jake, but I have to go.”

  “Wait, Sarah, listen to me.”

  Sarah ended the call.

  Jake called Terrell next. “Grinds it’s Jukebox. I think Beth Cushman might need backup.”

  “Beth just called me a minute ago, but the call dropped. When I called her back it went to voicemail.”

  “Call Sarah Chance. She’s jogging toward a car that’s on fire. Beth was following a prowler outside Sarah’s place.” Jake recited Sarah’s phone number to Terrell.

  “What’s her address? I’ll drive toward the location as I call Sarah.”

  “I’ll text the address to your phone. Bring Cody along with you.”

  “Are you going to meet me there?”

  “I can’t, I’m on my way to the hospital to help the Secret Service capture the criminal who impersonated me.” Jake had to lie to his friend about the “capture” part of the plan.

  “The last I heard, you were in FBI custody. When did you make friends with the Secret Service?”

  “There’s no time to explain, and some of it is OPSEC.”

  “Operations security? More secrets and lies? I thought you’d left all of that behind.”

  “Look, I can’t talk about it. Once you know that Beth and Sarah are alright, bring Cody to the hospital. We’ll need his nose to find the target.”

  “Roger that. Make sure you let the feds know to be expecting us.”

  “The feds know, and some of them are on their way to your house.”

  “What? Why are they coming to my house?”

  “That’s the other bad news. This guy threatened everybody I know. Including Alicia and her school, Beth and her kid, My parents, family and friends. But the Secret Service has promised to protect everyone.”

  Terrell cursed. “If he threatened Alicia and her school, I’ll slit his throat.”

  “And I’ll help you do it. I’m sure he’s the one who tried to get to Sarah. It sounds like he might have torched Beth’s car. We need to make sure that Beth is alive, and then make sure this guy is… arrested.”

  “Got to go. I see black SUVs pulling up outside my place.”

  Jake ended the call, and he texted a news story to a friend at the TV station. His text said there was a gas leak near Alicia’s school, and classes were canceled for tomorrow. When that story ran, the kids could stay home and enjoy a day off. It would be inconvenient for the parents, but they’d have to deal with it. The woman at the TV station would definitely run the story, she owed Jake a favor. The reporter had recently been hounded by online stalkers and trolls, threatening her with awful things. It happened to women all the time on the internet. Jake had tracked down the worst troll via his IP address. He paid him a late-night visit and made him sorry for his misdeeds. Jake had never talked about what he’d done to the troll, but the man moved out of the state and never bothered any woman ever again.

  There was a loud knock at the door of Terrell’s home. As he went to answer the door he briefly told Alicia what was happening. Alicia watched in disbelief as serious looking men and women in dark suits entered her house. They spread out to check all of the rooms and windows. A helicopter could be heard flying over the neighborhood.

  The dogs were not happy about having intruders in the house. Boo-Boo started barking and running all around the house. Cody stood still, watching the armed agents and letting out a low growl in his throat.

  Terrell put Boo-Boo in the garage and closed the doggie door. He tried to give some commands to Cody. “Out Cody, be friends.”

  Cody barked twice and appeared to shake his head. He continued watching the agents and sniffing the air for the scents of weapons, gunpowder, gun oil, testosterone, and estrogen. He did not know these people. He was trained to only follow orders from his Alpha.

  “Cody you need to stand down,” Terrell said. “We have to go find Jake. These people are Jake’s friends. They’re here to protect Alicia.”

  Cody gazed at Terrell for a moment with his bright eyes, then barked once and went over and stood by the door, waiting to go. Terrell was again reminded of how smart the dog was. It almost seemed as if Cody understood most of the words you said to him.

  Terrell went over to Alicia. “I want you to wear your pistol in the belt holster.”

  “You know I don’t like that thing.”

  “Like it or not, please carry it on your hip, the way I showed you. This is exactly the kind of situation we talked about. You promised me you’d do it if the day ever came when things got real.”

  “What’s the world coming to when a school teacher has to wear a sidearm in her own house?”

  Terrell didn’t answer; he just held out the black webbed belt with the holster and pistol. He put it around Alicia’s waist and tightened it up.

  The Secret Service agent in charge noted Alicia’s pistol and nodded at Terrell in agreement. Next, Terrell held up a bulletproof Kevlar vest for Alicia to put on.

  “Is this really necessary?”

  “Kevlar was invented by a woman. Come on and show your support for female inventors.”

  Alicia rolled her eyes at his sales pitch, but she put on the vest as requested.

  Terrell hugged and kissed Alicia goodbye, and then went and tried to put a lead on Cody’s collar. Cody snapped at Terrell’s hand and moved away, out of reach.

  “Let’s roll Cody. Jake needs your help, and I don’t have time for your attitude.”

  Cody barked once and ran alongside Terrell to the police vehicle. Terrell opened the door to the back seat of the Police SUV. Cody just stood there and looked at him.

  “Jake is counting on you, but if you can’t follow orders I’ll leave you behind. Are you good to go?”

  Cody barked once.

  “Then
act like a war dog, not a temperamental pussy. Are you a Marine who understands the chain of command or not?”

  Cody growled at Terrell, but he jumped into the vehicle back seat and sat up straight, the way a military dog should.

  “That’s more like it.”

  Terrell got into the driver’s seat, turned on the police lights and siren, and roared off down the street. He used a small handheld device to turn all of the traffic lights green as he drove along.

  His phone buzzed, and he didn’t recognize the number, but he answered it anyway. He always did. It was Beth calling on the phone she’d borrowed at the scene of her burning vehicle.

  At Beth Cushman’s home, there was a loud knock at the front door. Her roommate Zoey was surprised to find several stone-faced government agents on the front step. Two agents came inside without asking permission. Two others stood guard outside. One in front and one in back. After the agent in charge explained the situation, Beth’s son Kyle asked endless questions while Zoey sat wringing her hands. One agent handed a tablet computer to Zoey, and she saw Alicia Hayes on the screen. The tablet was using a program similar to Skype or FaceTime, but it was encrypted and private.

  “Zoey, how are you and Kyle doing?” Alicia asked.

  “We’re okay. There are agents all over the place to protect us, but I’m still really nervous.”

  “Don’t worry. These folks are the best at what they do. You are in safe hands. In fact, you’ve never been this safe in your entire life. Believe me.”

  Kyle came over next to Zoey and looked at the tablet. He saw the image of Alicia Hayes wearing a Kevlar bulletproof vest and a handgun on her hip.

  “Wow Mrs. Hayes,” Kyle said. “You are the most badass teacher ever. I can’t wait to tell all the kids at school.”

  “Oh dear,” Alicia said.

  Chapter 108

  Zhukov hoped that the driver of the car that had been chasing him was barbecued by now from the flaming bottle of vodka. He thought about how that was such a waste of good alcohol, and he smiled at his own wit.

  He drove fast toward the hospital where Katherine Anderson was staying. Going there was ill-advised, but his pride was on the line. The mania aspect of his condition was in full bloom, causing him to do manic things. It all seemed strangely logical to him at the moment.