by Robin Mahle
“I think so. I can sense something, but I don’t know who or how many.”
“Okay, so tell me what you do see.”
Riley closed her eyes and thought hard on the matter. Her head was clouded with thoughts of Jacob and all that happened in the night. It was hard to see anything, but she had to try. “I see three men. Their faces aren’t clear to me yet, and I don’t see their location. It’s not the plant. They’re in a car, driving.” She shook her head and opened her eyes. “I can’t see anything beyond that.”
“Okay. That’s a start,” Carl said.
“There’s something else you should know,” Ethan began. “Riley, tell him what you did last night. The door and the house.”
“I—I couldn’t control it. I couldn’t pull it back, not immediately anyway.”
“I see,” Carl began. “You did what you had to do, and that won’t be the last time. I can see that too. Riley, you’re going to have to find these men. You’re the only one who can stop them. Ward won’t be able to, not without severe consequences.”
“I won’t let anything happen to him. I tried to protect Jacob, but the captain—no. I’ll do what I have to do to stop that vision from coming true.”
“I know you will, but I think we both know this isn’t going to end well,” Carl added.
Ethan shot a fearful glance to her.
Riley returned a guarded gaze. “No. I don’t think it will.”
Bayliss received the confirmation that he had but a few minutes to do what needed to be done. He pushed through the door to the floor where Jacob was being kept. In the hallway, a nurse turned a corner and a doctor entered a room. Now all was clear.
The door to Jacob’s room was just ahead. Bayliss pushed it open. It wasn’t until Jacob’s eyes widened with fear that he knew now was the time. “Don’t yell. You’ll only make it worse.” Bayliss pulled a gun from his waist and aimed it at Jacob.
Jacob raised his hands to shield himself. “No! Stop!”
The door to the room flew open and Ward rushed inside, his weapon trained on the intruder. And without so much as a word of warning, he fired, striking Bayliss in the head.
Blood splattered on Jacob’s face and arms. “Jesus!”
Bayliss crumpled to the ground, his lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling.
“It’s okay. You’re okay. Calm down, Jacob.”
“How did you…?” He was still out of breath. “I thought he was going to kill me.”
“This was what we were waiting for. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you. Your reaction had to be authentic or Bayliss would’ve realized something was up. We were told he was here. He thought he had a man on the inside, but he didn’t. He didn’t have the reach he thought he did. I saw him enter the hall and followed him.”
“He almost shot me.”
“I know, but you’re okay.”
Moody rushed inside and took in the scene. “Roy Bayliss.”
Ward peered at him. “Yeah, the plant manager in Owensville. Guess he was on the payroll too.” He looked to Jacob. “We’re getting you out of here, kid.”
27
The time had come for Riley to call on her colleagues for help. She was not so arrogant to believe she alone wielded the power to take down these ruthless criminals. Even with her ability, and in fact, despite it, she would not rely on it solely to solve her problems. Because the more she relied on it, the stronger it became. And she feared one day it might engulf her completely and she would no longer recognize herself.
“They’re on their way.” Riley looked to Ethan as they sat in her patrol car keeping watch near the plant. “Time to call the captain.” She made the call on her cell and waited for an answer. “Moody’s guys said they got the okay to get Jacob out of there and bring him here to our hospital, meaning Ward should be on his way back.”
Ward answered the line. “Riley, what’s happening? We’re headed back to town with Jacob.”
“Thank God. He’s okay?”
“He’s shaken up. We all are. Roy Bayliss is dead.”
“Bayliss? I suppose that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Now we just need to find Virgil Howard.”
“He’s not the only one. Pryce is the problem now and the Hammonds are still MIA. Your intuition served us well once again. Moody opened up about his concerns regarding Pryce. He thinks he could be in the mafia’s pocket.”
“It’s possible Pryce succumbed to his wounds. Maybe he’s already dead,” Riley replied.
“I don’t think so. Someone’s still out there calling the shots. In the meantime, Moody’s men there will do as you need them to do, until we can get there.”
“The team’s coming now. I just spoke with Moody’s sergeant,” Riley said.
“Good. I’ll be there after we get Jacob to the hospital. Don’t do anything unless you have to, you understand? Do your best to wait for me. That’s an order, Riley.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll be in touch. Be safe, both of you.”
Riley returned her cell phone to the console. “Once Moody’s team gets here, we’ll put into place a plan of action.”
“Copy that,” Ethan replied.
Riley looked through the windshield, staring at the plant. “I think I’ve come to hate this place now. I hope it burns to the ground.”
“You don’t mean that. It could bring a lot of jobs. Just not from these crooked guys running it now.”
“No. This place holds way too many bad memories for me. And yet here I am again, facing the very thing that frightened me as a kid.”
“Maybe that’s the way it was supposed to be, Riley. Maybe that’s the reason we’re here right now.”
“You might be right.” Riley looked to her friend and colleague. “Thank you, Ethan.”
“For what?”
“For putting up with me, for getting me through some tough times. You’re always there for me, even when I ask you to go against your better judgment.”
“Yeah, well.” He shrugged and looked away awkwardly.
“I know how you feel about Jacob,” she continued.
“The guy’s been shot. He gets a pass from me from now on.”
Riley smiled. “I also know how you feel about me.”
He peered at her. “I figured as much. Sucks working with a mind reader.”
“I can’t read your mind, only sense your feelings.”
“Yeah, well, same thing,” Ethan replied.
“I just want you to know that no matter what happens today, I do care for you. Very much. That will never change.”
Ethan faced her, holding her gaze. “I was hoping for a little more than that, Riley. But I’ll take what I can get.”
Two patrol cars appeared in the distance.
“That’s IMPD.” Riley sat at attention, watching the cars approach.
“Good timing, and guess who else is coming to dinner?” Ethan pointed to the right. “Honey, the mafia’s here…”
Riley picked up her radio. “This is car 1-8-9, our target has arrived.” She started the engine. “Meet me at the rendezvous point. 1-8-9, over.”
The radio buzzed. “Car 1-8-9, be advised, IMPD headed to the rendezvous point.”
“Time to get this party started.” Riley pulled around to the far south end of the property where trees would obscure their vehicles.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this scared.” Ethan turned to her. “Did I say that out loud?”
“You did. And you’re not alone, but we have help. There they are now.” Riley watched the two IMPD patrol cars roll to a stop next to her.
The officer rolled down his window. “Officer Thompson, are we ready to lay this out?”
“Yes, sir.”
After the sound of gunshots from the hospital reached him, Virgil figured either Biggs had been taken out or Bayliss had. “Holy shit.” He was about to take off when his phone rang and he recognized the number. “Yeah Boss?”
“Hammond made contact.”
�
�He did? Shit, I just heard gunshots, Boss. Bayliss went inside to take care of Biggs, like a dumbass. I don’t know who fired, but I need to get the hell out of here.”
“Bayliss is gone. They knew he was coming and took him down before he had the chance to get to Biggs. Things are going tits up and everyone’s turning against us. So here’s the plan. Go to the plant. Hammond will be there. I made clear it was the only way we’d let his kid live. He’s going to confess to the murder of that girl and he’s going to leave sufficient evidence that he was at the plant.”
“But Boss, how are we going to make sure none of this tracks back to you?”
Sirens sounded and an onslaught of patrol cars screamed up to the entrance. “Ah hell, I gotta get out of Dodge, Boss. Cops are swarming the place.”
“Go. I’ll be in touch.”
Virgil ended the call and pulled away. He was going to Owensville. “I sure as shit hope you’re right about Hammond, Boss,” he said to himself.
Virgil stopped the car near the plant entrance and began to step out. He approached
the massive doors. Inside, most of the equipment had been set and the walls enclosed, but it wasn’t completed yet. “Too bad. Money down the damn drain now. Boys?” he called out.
Paul Kearns appeared from the back office along with a few other men Virgil hadn’t known all that well.
“Virgil.” Kearns approached. “Where’s Bayliss?”
“Dead. What’s going on?”
“Shit, man, we’re losing too many people.”
“Look, Boss said Hammond was coming here. They struck a deal and Georgie boy is going to surrender. Our instructions are the same until then. Any trace of our association with the affiliate groups needs to disappear.” Virgil surveyed the area. “I expect our friendly neighborhood police officers will be showing up sometime soon so we’d best finish this shit up quick.”
“We’ll be ready. They won’t get shit on us.”
The team of eight—four Owensville cops, four Indianapolis cops—split up and began to surround the building.
Riley led her crew with Abrams, Decker, and Pruitt. “Okay, we’re going to go inside and announce our presence, just like Moody’s guys said, okay?”
“You said we were supposed to wait for Ward,” Decker replied.
“That was before we saw Virgil Howard roll in.”
“Copy that. What if they don’t go easy on us?” Abrams asked.
“Then we don’t go easy on them.” Riley started toward the back entrance of the plant. As they walked through the yard, she spotted the storm shelter. It looked exactly as she remembered.
“Riley, you okay?” Ethan asked.
“Fine. Let’s go.” She continued toward the loading docks. The large corrugated steel doors were now in place and were open. “We’ll go in through here.” She signaled her team. “Moody’s guys are going in through the front.”
Riley was the first to enter, and when all four were inside, she waited for confirmation the other men had entered and now it was about to get messy. “This is the Owensville Police. Put your hands up and step out into the open. Now!”
Virgil looked at Kearns and the others. “Just do as they say, boys. Boss says he’s coming. He’ll take care of things.”
“IMPD. Put your hands up. Now!” Moody’s officers pushed through the plant toward the office.
Virgil emerged, hands in the air, and eyed Riley. “You must be Jakey’s girl. Or is it, ex-girl? I seen his current squeeze. She is fine.”
“Do as she says, man, or I’ll take you down,” Abrams replied.
“Go ahead. Arrest me. Arrest all of us. You know as well as I do, nothing’s going to stick.”
Riley caught sight of one of the other men with Virgil. She recognized him, but it took a moment to register. And then it came to her. “It was you. You killed Justin and Chloe.”
“How the…?” The man drew his weapon and aimed it at her.
“Whoa, whoa! Let’s calm down now, boys,” Virgil said. “Little lady, you best wait for the big boys to come. They’ll sort this out.”
A burst of adrenaline surged through Riley and she willed the gun from the man’s hands, ripping it away and cast it a good fifty feet.
“Son of a bitch!” The man’s face masked in shock as he looked at Virgil.
“Riley?” Ethan noticed the symptoms. “We got this, Riley. We got this.”
A moment later, the man’s feet floated up from the floor. With a toss of her head, Riley flung the killer from where he stood, slamming him into the wall. “You killed a pregnant girl and a kid just out of high school.”
The thug was pressed up against the wall, terrified and struggling to be freed from her grip. “It was Hammond’s fault. He crossed Pryce and that was the price he had to pay.”
She dropped him to the ground and shot a look to Ethan before returning her attention to the man. “What did you just say?”
Virgil appeared wide-eyed. “He didn’t say nothing. What the fuck is wrong with you, lady?”
“Take a breath, Riley,” Ethan said. “We got them.”
She ignored his comments and began to step toward the killer. “It was Captain Pryce with IMPD? He ordered you to kill Chloe and Justin?”
“Yeah.” The man trembled as she neared. “Hammond double-crossed him. He was talking to the Feds. He’s coming here too and so is the Boss.”
“Shut the hell up, man.” Virgil’s voice cracked as he tried to sound strong.
“That’s why they wanted to find him. That’s why Jacob was involved. They thought he might know where Hammond was.” Riley aimed her weapon on Virgil Howard. “Who do you answer to, Mr. Howard?”
He remained silent, only staring at her in response.
“I can do far worse than throw you across the room, Mr. Howard. You should think about answering my question.”
Ethan turned to her again. “Riley, just be careful. Don’t let it get away from you again.”
She ignored him as though he wasn’t standing next to her. She ignored everyone except for Virgil Howard. “That’s okay. I think I know the story now. The Feds found something on Hammond and so he made a deal to give them Pryce and Pryce didn’t like that. He knew about Chloe Dawson. Maybe he was the one who told Hammond’s wife. And she helped him plan how to take Chloe out to bring Hammond back in line. Stop him from cooperating.”
Virgil smirked at her. “You have quite the imagination, little lady.”
Riley returned a deadly smile. “You have no idea what I can do and what I can see. And I can see everything now.” She cocked her weapon.
“Riley, don’t!”
Ward and Moody pushed inside. Men in suits trailed behind.
“What the hell is going on?” Moody shouted.
“Lieutenant, it’s her.” The officer appeared frightened. “She’s got some kind of power or something.”
Moody creased his brow. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Ward looked at Riley. “Officer Thompson, I need you to stand down. These men here with me are Federal officers. Hammond told them what was going down. They’re here to bring in Pryce and every one of these men here.” He eyed Ethan, who appeared terrified. “Riley, put down your weapon, now.”
“Better do what your daddy says, little girl,” Virgil replied. “I knew that son of bitch Hammond wasn’t coming.”
With a swipe of her arm, Riley flung the man a good ten feet back. He slid to a stop in the middle of the plant.
“Call her off! Call her off!” Virgil demanded.
“Riley!” Ward shouted.
“Pryce ordered the deaths of Chloe Dawson and Justin Rehnquist to get back at George Hammond for cooperating with the FBI.”
If we can get proof of that, this’ll all be over. I knew Pryce was involved but not to this degree. He played all along like it was the Feds who wouldn’t take the case seriously. He was just keeping the heat off him.” Moody appeared calm, but his eyes told a different story. “Ward, whate
ver the hell this is, you have to put an end to it.”
“I got this. Just please, let me handle this. She’ll listen to me.”
“It was all a lie, Lieutenant,” Riley said. “Pryce was making sure none of you got too close, making it seem that he’d been working so hard to bring these men to justice. And all it did was get the people I love involved. That’s where I draw the line.” Riley flicked her leg and Virgil slid another five feet.
“Stop it now, Riley. You have to stop,” Ward said. “You’ve done your job and we can all go home. Jacob is here. He’s at the hospital, waiting for you.”
Her shoulders dropped and she turned her sights to Ward. “He’s here?”
“He’s here. It’s over now, Riley.”
Abrams and Decker had no idea what Riley could do. Only Ethan had known. And this was not something he’d ever seen before. It was worse than the door. Riley was ready to kill Virgil Howard. “Don’t do this, Riley. We’re going to take these men in. They’re going to prison for a long time,” Ethan said.
Riley’s face reddened and her forehead was drenched in sweat. “And what about Pryce? He tried to get Jacob killed. No. He’s going to pay for what he did.” She returned her attention to Virgil. “You know he’s coming here, don’t you?”
“I don’t have a damn clue what you’re talking about.”
“You still don’t get it, do you? I see you. I see everything about you.” She ripped the gun from Virgil’s hands and pushed him against one of the machines. She turned on the conveyor belt and raised him into the air.
“Jesus H. Christ. What the hell is she doing?” Moody said in a panic.
“Ma’am. You need to let us finish this with Hammond and Pryce,” one of the agents began. “You don’t know me and I don’t know you, but I can tell you don’t really want harm to come to anyone here.”
Ward shot a glance to the agent before returning to Riley. “You disarmed these men. No harm can come to any of us now. You need to stop before you hurt him.”
“It’s too late,” Riley said. “The storm’s here.”