Shoot to Kill

by James Kipling

  “Oh Lenny, where are you? Or should I say, Nate? I know you’re here you worthless snitch!”

  Once more she ran on her toes to the front and peered through the blinds. She knew better than to look through the peephole; that was a good way to get a bullet in the eye. Her stomach flip-flopped when she saw three men standing in front of her door. One of them was Cecily Ciervo. For a moment she entertained a delicious vision of emptying an entire magazine into the crime boss’s chest, but he had two other goons with him and she wasn’t about to start a war in her apartment complex.

  From somewhere else a voice called back that Nate was outside, and the three men immediately ran off. On a hunch she checked her phone again, and saw her service had been restored. “Bastard had a jammer,” she muttered angrily as she quickly dialed her stepfather and crossed her fingers that he was where he could answer.

  “This better be good, Hazel,” her father said groggily. “I was counting on another hour of sleep.”

  “Dad, Nate is in big trouble. He showed up at my place ten minutes ago, said his cover was blown. Next thing I know I got Ciervo and his goons outside my apartment, and Nate has snuck out the bathroom window.”

  “Did your brother call anyone?”

  “No, he said he didn’t have his phone. I couldn’t even call you until just now. Ciervo must have a jammer on him. I got service back as soon as he left the building.”

  Her stepfather immediately took charge of the situation. “I want you to get to our house right now. Don’t go to the station, don’t go looking for Nate, just come home immediately. Don’t take your usual route, make a few detours and watch your six. I’m on this.”

  The line went dead, and at last the adrenaline surge from earlier gave way. For a moment she thought she was going to be sick as her body began to shake. Her older brother was out there with three goons after him, and there was nothing she could do about it. She kept remembering the look in his eyes when she’d said her phone had no service. He’d known immediately what took her considerably longer to realize: Ciervo had tracked him down like an animal, and intended to kill him like one as well.

  Hazel knew their stepdad would find Nate. She just wished she could be sure it would be while he was still alive. Gritting her teeth, she swallowed back the wave of emotion that threatened to overtake her. Now wasn’t the time for it. Quickly jumping into a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved pullover, she retrieved an extra magazine from the desk drawer and shoved it in her hip pocket. The thirteen-round magazines were illegal in the state of New York, but being a cop had certain advantages. With Ciervo and his thugs out and about, she needed all the advantages she could get.

  Quiet as a mouse, she slipped into the vacant hallway. There were no cameras or security in her building. Her landlord was barely willing to fix the plumbing, let alone waste money on protecting the renters. She stayed tight to the wall as she ran lightly down the steps, on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary but seeing nothing.

  Once out the doors, she quickly cased the street. Other than a few cars calmly passing by, she saw nothing. Everything looked normal. She pushed the unlock button on her key and hurried towards her car as fast as she could without risking drawing attention to herself. Once in the car, she clutched the wheel and desperately scanned her surroundings. Nothing. It was as if the trio of screaming Italians running around the block just fifteen minutes earlier had never happened.

  The trip to her parents’ house seemed to take forever. Following her stepfather’s advice, she took the roads she normally avoided, all the while keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of Nate. For all she knew he had a safe house somewhere… or had been caught. She didn’t want to think about that possibility.

  As she rounded the end of the block and her parents’ house came into view, Hazel saw an unfamiliar car parked in her usual spot. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she drove past the house and pulled into the neighbor’s driveway. She waited in the car for nearly five minutes, watching the house and neighborhood for signs of anything unusual. At last she got out and crossed the yards to the front door. From outside she could see the light was on in her stepfather’s office, and she entered the house and made her way towards his room as silently as she could.

  To her relief she found Owen and her stepfather alone in the office talking in hushed voices. Stepping into the light, she cleared her throat to alert them to her presence. Both men jumped, and she could tell by their faces that the news wasn’t good.

  “I’ve made a few calls, no one has heard from Nate. Without knowing who blew his cover I can’t afford to let the department know, so as of now I only have my most trusted officers looking for him.”

  “You had Nate investigating Cecily Ciervo,” she said angrily.

  “And you better keep that to yourself,” he retorted.

  “I plan to, but I can’t believe you didn’t at least tell ME that you’d sent my brother on a suicide mission!”

  Her stepfather made an annoyed face. “It wasn’t a suicide mission, and this was hardly Nate’s first rodeo. He knew what he was getting into and what he was doing.”

  “I don’t give a damn how many times he’s done this,” she snapped. “Ciervo is seriously bad news. For Pete sake, he’s my brother, YOUR SON! Couldn’t you just once be our father instead of our boss?”

  “Hazel,” Owen warned, “now isn’t the time to be getting emotional.”

  Hazel’s blood was boiling now. “Don’t you even go there Owen, don’t you dare! You care about Nate as much as I do. He was a brother to you so don’t pretend this doesn’t scare the hell out of you as much as it does me. I can’t believe you two acting as if this is nothing. What the hell is wrong with you guys?”

  “It won’t do Nate any good to make this personal, Hazel, you know that. You let emotions come into play and that’s when people really start to get hurt. We have to stay emotionally detached on this.

  “I can’t do that,” she snapped. “Nate is my brother and he is your son. You should be doing more about this than just sitting around here pretending it isn’t personal.”

  Both men looked away from Hazel’s withering glare. At last her stepfather spoke up. “I love you and your brothers very much, Hazel. You should know that. But right now I have to be Chief of Police or I’m no good to Nate or anyone else. The only thing I’m sure of right now is that Nate’s alias was unbreakable. The only way his cover was blown was if another cop blew it. Until I know who that is, I don’t dare bring the department in on this. For now, we have to trust that Nate is smart enough to take care of himself until we can find the rat and then come for him.” He reached out and took Hazel’s hand, holding it tightly between both of his. “Hazel, I need your help. Nate needs your help, but we need you as a cop, not a freaked out sister. Can we count on you?”

  His words had a calming effect on her, and she nodded. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Put all your focus on your Slitter case. I want anyone paying attention to you to think it’s business as usual. And until we have your brother, I don’t want you away from Owen’s side for a minute. Check in with me every hour, both of you, and I’m telling your brothers to do the same. That’s an order. Am I clear?”

  “Crystal,” she replied. “Are you going to tell Mom?”

  “No, and neither are you,” he said firmly. “Not yet. Your mother couldn’t handle this right now.”

  Once her stepfather was finished giving them instructions, she saw her way out of the room and stood in the hallway silently with Owen. There were millions of things swarming through her mind at that moment, none of which she wanted to share aloud. She wanted for him to speak, but he remained uncomfortably silent.

  She watched as Owen moved awkwardly towards her. He put a warm hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. “We both know that Nate will be fine. He is strong and smart. We both know that as well. Believe that he is okay.”

  That was wh
at she wanted to believe, but in the real world it was impossible to believe in something as hopeful as that. Despite his reassuring touch she did not think there was any way she could focus today, but she had to. She had to bury herself in her work to push back the morbid thoughts that entered her mind.

  “Owen, I want to believe that he is fine, but you didn’t see him. He was terrified. I have never in my life seen him so scared before. I just can’t get that image out of my head. Why didn’t he stay with me? I could have helped him.”

  “Nate wanted to protect you, that’s all. Now I need your head in this case with me. We are going to solve this murder, and you will get your brother back. I promise you that.”

  All she could do was nod. There was nothing else that she could do at that moment. She wanted to go to her old room and curl up on her bed and bawl. However, Owen was right. She had to put her head in The Slitter Case. If she didn’t do that, nothing productive would happen. Inhaling deeply, she steeled herself against her emotions and mentally detached from Nate’s predicament. It was the only way she’d be able to get through it all.

  “You want to go in to work now?” he inquired.

  “Yeah, we might as well.”

  As they were walking out of the house, she paused on the front steps to watch parents hurry their children towards the bus stop. She wondered if their lives were always so peaceful and happy, or if they too went through the trials her family had endured.

  She’d forgotten how messy Owen had been until she slid into his car, but refrained from commenting on the mountain of wadded up paper, discarded junk mail and empty takeout containers. At least she hoped they were empty, though the slightly off-putting odor of his car suggested otherwise. He drove slowly through the neighborhood while Hazel kept her eyes peeled, hopefully looking between every parked car and down every alley for signs of her brother.

  The entire trip was made in silence. Hazel really had nothing to say, in fact she barely knew what to think. Everything seemed to go by in a blur, the events of the morning already seeming like just an extension of her earlier nightmare. Hazel did not know what to say – hell, she didn’t even know how to think. Everything was a blur. She was in a daze. She wanted to confide in Owen the way she once did, but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to tell him anything. The Owen she was sitting next to was not the Owen she grew up with. This man was a stranger.

  As they pulled into the station, she took a moment to pull herself together and push her emotions deep inside. To her surprise, Owen reached over and caught her chin with a forefinger, turning her to face him.

  “Hazel, everything is going to be fine. Nate is smart and he knows what he’s doing.”

  He and her stepfather kept saying that to her, and she was beginning to wonder how much of it was to reassure her, and how much was to reassure themselves. She tried to smile but it wouldn’t come, and she settled for simply gazing back at him with a blank expression. Owen let go of her chin and they sat in silence for a few minutes.

  It was Hazel who finally broke the spell. She got out and headed for the building, not looking back to see whether Owen was coming with her. It was only 7:00 a.m. but her lack of sleep and the morning’s events were already beginning to take their toll on her. Owen caught up with her and they headed up the stairs, bypassing the elevators. Hazel had gotten stuck in one when she was twelve, and the panicked feeling had stuck with her all these years. As a result, she avoided elevators whenever possible.

  Once in her office, she quickly unlocked her desk and removed four files, arranging them neatly across the top of her desk. Owen pulled up a chair beside her and waited patiently as she opened the first one. She suspected he knew everything she did, but decided to proceed as if he came to the table with no knowledge of the case.

  “First victim is Kim Barnes – that we know of anyway,” she added, remembering Jacob’s comments from the day before. “Murdered in her home October 28th, 2008 while her husband was at work. His alibi checked out. The victim was beaten, multiple lacerations and stab wounds, her fingerprints removed, and finally her throat slit. Victim had three cracked ribs, and her nose, right eye socket, and both wrists were broken. ME*2 listed death as drowning, resulting from aspirating the blood from her carotid artery. She would have exsanguinated soon after if that hadn’t happened though. Up until that point, the stab wounds were deep enough to cause pain, but not enough to cause death. Bastard wanted to keep her alive while he played. Eight-month old son was asleep in the other room and was not harmed.”

  “Any indication of forced entry?”

  “Nope, nothing. We assumed it was someone she knew because according to her husband, she kept the security system on when she was in the house. Any attempt to gain access through a window or door would have set it off. Whoever it was, she let him in.”

  “You said the husband’s alibi checked out.”

  “He was the first one we looked at, but it’s airtight. There are security cameras all over his office complex, and plenty of tapes showing him exactly where he said he was. Plus, by all accounts he had no reason to kill her. Happily married, no secret life insurance policies, no jealous mistresses hidden in the wings.”

  “So who else would she let in? You talked to friends and family of course.”

  “All of them, and more than once. All the interviews are recorded and we have them stored downstairs. We came up with nothing. Everyone loved her, no motivation anywhere. And since our killer left the crime scene spic and span, we had no evidence of any kind to go on.” Pointing at the other files on her desk she sighed heavily. “Each one reads exactly like this, at least until you get to Mathis and then it deviates only because the sister came home and interrupted things.”

  Owen leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers together under his chin as he replayed the case in his mind. “So the guy comes over and they fix dinner, then sit down and eat. Except instead of an after-dinner mint, he likes to wrap things up with a little torture and murder. Was there any evidence the women fought back?”

  Nodding, she pulled up the document with the stomach contents. “We can’t be sure. Tox screen showed no sign of date rape drugs so you would think there had to be some sort of fight, but the injuries are the same for the most part, which rules out a prolonged struggle. All of the scenes were carefully cleaned up afterwards so it’s difficult to know for certain.”

  “And no signs of sexual assault?”

  “Not any. Given the seemingly romantic aspect of his ‘wine and dine’ ritual, you would expect so, particularly when you factor in that all the victims shared a similar appearance. That’s their only connection so far – their looks. As far as their lives and relationships go, there’s nothing that ties any of them together at any time. ”

  Owen maintained a disinterested expression as he thumbed through the files, but something about the cases kept niggling at him, something familiar. He pretended to be absorbed in the file in his hand, but his mind was elsewhere. Do I tell her? He was under orders to keep Hazel and the rest of her department in the dark, but as the light bulbs began to go off in his head, he set the file down and made a decision.

  Chapter 3

  They hadn’t removed the blindfold before dragging him off to be bound to a chair, but he didn’t need his eyes to know where he was. The freezing cold forced itself into his bones within minutes of entering. He was in a meat locker, and he was screwed.

  Footsteps approached, coming to a stop beside him before ripping his blindfold off. Blinking, he tried to focus on his surroundings as his eyes tried to adjust to the dim light. He spotted Cecily Ciervo standing off in the corner, but instinct told him his real concern was the man standing in front of him studying him with cold, disinterested eyes.

  “You don’t look so good, Lenny,” Cecily gloated as he walked over towards him. “Or should I say, Nathan Gabriel Hanson, undercover cop? I always thought you smelled like a pig. And now look at you, all tied up and nowhere
to run. And for what? Did you honestly think you could do anything about us?” Cecily spat between Nate’s feet. “We’re not like those other clowns you’ve busted in the past. We were ahead of you at every turn.”

  Nate kept his mouth shut. He knew Cecily wanted to see him grovel and beg, but he wasn’t about to go down that road. Getting no response, Cecily pressed further. “It’s over for you, but if you tell me what I want to know I’ll make sure things go a whole lot easier. Just tell me why you went to that apartment building. Who did you meet in there? Might as well tell me now and save yourself a lot of pain. My people will find out anyway.”

  Nate stared steadily at Cecily. He knew it was just a matter of time before the Ciervos found out about Hazel, but he’d be damned if it was going to come from him. His silence didn’t seem to bother Cecily much. If anything, he seemed pleased by Nate’s refusal to cooperate. Motioning to the man in front of Nate, he shrugged apologetically. “You leave me with no choice then.”

  Three times the knife flashed forward. His torturer moved with lightning speed, but as the blade sliced into his abdomen it seemed as if time slowed down to a crawl to allow him to feel every screaming nerve and sliced cell with exquisite clarity. The pain was excruciating, but instinctively he knew none of the cuts were deep enough to do any real damage. Clearly this guy was a pro, and something told him he was in for a long night.

  They went back and forth like this for what felt like hours. Cecily would ask questions, Nate would say nothing, and then came the knife. Ignoring the questions was easy, the hard part was not passing out. His chest and abdomen were covered with skillfully delivered cuts, and his shirt and pants were soaked in his own blood. At last Cecily grew bored with the pointless interrogation. Whispering something to one of the thugs waiting on the side, he waved the man off, then returned to Nate’s side.