by Simply BWWM
“In a perfect world? No. I would run it like a regular business, and there wouldn’t be chair rentals. And if someone was sick or their baby was sick, they would stay home, and someone else would run their chair. They would have sick time and vacation, and they would have medical insurance like a real job. But you have to fill those chairs to get work like that, and ain’t no one getting their hair done enough for all that in Deep Ellum.”
“But they would in Highland Park Village.”
“They’d be lined up and on a damn waiting list there.”
Jake took the road around the airport, then turned left onto Shorecrest Drive. He drove thirty miles per hour down the narrow road, his eyes watching everything around him, always ready to implement a Plan B if something went wrong.
“There’s Frank’s car,” Jake said, pointing to a little blue sportscar.
“That’s a fancy car Frank’s got there.”
“You don’t think he puts his life on the line out of the goodness of his heart now, do you?” Jake laughed.
“I guess not.”
“Frank makes the big bucks, and he likes to flaunt it. But he’s a good guy. I know you’re not going to listen, but I’m going to ask one more time.”
“I’m not staying in the car.”
He pulled up a short distance away and parked the car in the first pull-thru spot, facing the blue sportscar at an angle. The sun glinted off the windshield, making it impossible to see into Frank’s car, and she knew by the way the sun was glaring into the Audi that Frank couldn’t see into their car either. Would he be intimidated when he saw a second person that he wasn’t expecting? Or did he know about her and would he easily put two and two together without missing a beat?
Frank’s driver’s door was open, but he was still sitting in the car, one all-white tennis shoe barely visible on the ground from so many yards away.
“Why didn’t you park closer to him?”
“We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves. If people drive by or they’re walking on the pathway around the lake and see us, two cars side by side with the drivers still inside looks like a drug deal or something else suspicious. It only takes a few seconds for someone to call 911 and report us.
But they look up and see two cars parked in actual spaces, and at a seemingly random distance away, and they think we’re just a couple of unlucky workers stuck here on a Sunday. It looks like nothing more than coworkers chatting before they head home for the day, and we don’t raise any alarm bells. It’s the perfect cover.”
“Do you ever shut it off?” she asked.
“No. But it’s second nature, and I hardly notice that I’m doing it anymore. I don’t think Frank thinks about it either. It’s just something that you always do when you’re used to it.”
He opened his door but left the engine running, and Deena followed suit. When he got out and started walking unhurriedly toward the other car, Deena got out too.
The lake was on their left, with a line of strategically planted trees that hid the water treatment plant from the pathway that encircled the entire length. Deena caught glimpses of the lake through the trees, but it was hard to see with Jake between her and the foliage. She knew what he was doing. The trees weren’t very dense, but they were the only hiding place in the parking lot. He was putting himself in between Deena and possible harm. She wondered if he even realized he was doing it.
Frank was still in the car, fiddling with the glove box or something on the front seat. It was hard to tell with the sun glinting off the windshield. They were still over a dozen yards away, but Frank must have seen them because a hand appeared on the side of the door, pushing it the rest of the way open. The top of a baseball cap appeared, and then Frank stepped out of the car, coming toward them at a leisurely pace, completely relaxed.
Deena froze.
“Frank’s a woman?” she whispered to Jake, who had also stopped.
“That’s not Frank.”
Deena was still watching the woman, and something in her mind clicked. She’d seen this woman before, but she couldn’t place her. She didn’t recognize her face, and she definitely hadn’t met her. But still, something was familiar and-
All at once, it hit Deena, and she realized that the woman who wasn’t Frank was lifting her arm. Deena launched herself at Jake, taking him down with her as a shot rang out and a plume of dust erupted from the ground where he’d just been standing.
“Killer!” she screamed as she fell toward the ground.
Jake grabbed her mid-dive, using their momentum to roll them the rest of the way behind a tree, then stood in one smooth motion, pulling her onto her feet.
“Head for the lake!” he yelled, yanking her forward as he took off.
Another shot rang out, and a tree nearby exploded in a hail of dry, dusty bark. Deena covered her face, but she kept running, almost groaning when she saw the lake ahead. There was a grassy area, then a walkway and another grassy area before they would reach the rocks lining the shore to prevent erosion before it dropped straight into the water.
They were going to be exposed for several seconds before they could reach the water. Hopefully, they had enough of a lead, and the killer wouldn’t be able to get off a good shot unless she stopped and aimed. Deena wasn’t stopping, and even the fleeting thought that there might be alligators in the lake didn’t stop her. The woman chasing them had tried to kill Deena once before, and Deena would rather take her chances with the gators.
They were almost to the walkway when tires squealed, and a car’s engine hummed as the driver tramped down on the accelerator. Deena’s heart sank, but she kept her eyes on the lake and kept running. She was almost there, and she wasn’t going to slow down and let that crazy bitch run her over with a car. She was going to survive this and the short swim across the lake to the other side. Failure wasn’t an option.
Failure was death.
Chapter 17
“Thank you for picking me up,” Agent Reese said from the back seat, chatting up a storm already in the minutes since they’d picked him up from the curb and made their way back toward the city.
They were sitting at the light to turn onto Mockingbird Lane, the after-church traffic already heavy as people made their way home for the day. Tom was sitting in the passenger seat, trying not to laugh as Grace’s hands clenched and unclenched on the steering wheel. Agent Reeves was much more talkative than either of them was used to, and a far cry from the sullen, ultra-professional stereotype FBI agents usually embodied.
Tom turned his attention back toward the cross traffic, then did a doubletake as a silver Audi A3 drove by.
“Was that…?” Grace asked.
“I think so. Follow him, but don’t hit the lights.”
Their light turned green, and a moment later, Grace pulled into the lane behind the Audi, several cars behind them. He turned left on Lemmon Avenue, as did a few other cars. Grace was still at least six cars back, but Tom was able to see the Audi from where he sat.
“He’s turning left on Shorecrest,” Tom said. “There’s an airline employee parking lot on this corner of Shorecrest and Lemmon. Pull in there and wait for a moment so he doesn’t see us.”
Grace did as he asked, and Agent Reeves sat in the back, silent and ready. The same energy he’d had talking nonstop was practically buzzing around him, though he was completely still. Tom didn’t have to tell him who they were following, though even Tom couldn’t believe their luck.
“He can’t access the airport from this road, so I wonder if he’s going to circle around again from Denton Road.”
“I don’t know why he would do that,” Grace said. “Wait, he’s pulling into the parking lot of the water treatment plant. I wonder what he’s doing there.”
Without being prompted, Grace pulled out of the parking lot and headed down the road, driving slowly so Tom could look through the trees.
“They’re on the lake side of the property. You can pull in.”
Grace turned,
eyes darting to take in the scene as she did.
A shot rang out, and Jake and the woman who was with him hit the ground, rolling as they did.
“Shit!” Tom said, grabbing for his gun even though they were too far away to get a good shot.
Without warning, Grace slammed the accelerator down, sliding onto the dirt road that serviced the water tower and circled the treatment plant. The car bounced, and Tom hit his head on the roof of the sedan, seatbelt locking against him.
Grace flew down the narrow dirt road like a bat out of hell, seemingly oblivious to the car as it tossed her around in the seat. Their sedan was clearly not meant for off-roading.
Tom was about to ask her what the plan was when the woman burst out from behind a grouping of trees with Jake hot on her heels. Grace floored it, standing up so the gas pedal was as close to the floor as it could possibly be. Tom held onto the handle as Agent Reese let out a little noise that was half delight and one hundred percent terror.
Another person appeared on their path, ball cap pulled low over her face, but Tom could tell it was a woman. And she had a gun. His mind was racing, everything he knew about the contract killer trying to reconcile with the person in front of them. Grace grabbed the handbrake and executed a perfect slide, side swiping the woman running with the gun. The woman slammed against Tom’s window, then went flying, tumbling into the grass and rolling to a stop. Grace was already opening her door, running toward Jake and the woman, leaving Agent Reeves and Tom to deal with the killer.
Tom ran up to her, kicking the gun out of her reach and kneeling beside her. She was groaning, trying to catch her breath and get up at the same time.
“Lie still,” Tom said, taking out his cell. “I’m calling you an ambulance, but until then, you’re under arrest.”
He dialed the phone and handed it to Reeves.
“Tell them we’re at the water treatment plant behind Love Field,” he said. “And ask for two ambulances.”
Tom turned back to the woman, who had rolled on her back and was trying to reach into her pocket without any luck.
“Oh no, you don’t,” Tom said, slapping a cuff on her wrist and pulling it away from her pocket.
Her other arm was bent at an odd angle and completely lifeless. He left it alone, using the empty cuff to hold her good hand away from him while he checked her pockets. Pulling out a tiny plastic bag with three pills in it, he turned it over in his hand, then handed it to Reeves. Reeves whistled through his teeth.
“This is the good stuff,” he said. “Hard to get even for the mafia guys.”
“What is it?”
“Instant death. It only takes one pill, and since they’re so tiny, they’re easy to hide. Put it under your tongue and it takes a few minutes to start dissolving, but if you bite into it and swallow, the chemical starts bonding to your hemoglobin almost instantaneously. We’ve had a few suspicious deaths come through our offices, and it turns out that this stuff mimics Carbon Monoxide poisoning if you put it in drinks. There are a lot of ways you can give it to someone, and each way has a unique signature in the tox screen. It’s a very versatile compound.”
“I need a pill,” the woman said, her breathing heavy with pain. “I can’t take this pain.”
“What the hell?” Tom said, yanking the ball cap off the woman’s head.
His mouth dropped open in shock.
“This can’t be right,” he said, shaking his head.
“What?” Reeves said.
“Oh my gosh,” Grace said before Tom could answer. “That’s Doctor B.”
“Doctor B?” Reeves said.
“Patricia Barkman, Medical Examiner,” Tom said wryly.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jake said, his clothes covered in dust, a small gash near his brow. “Pat Barkman is the Medical Examiner?”
The woman stood between Grace and Jake, looking really confused. When Tom realized where he’d seen her face, he shook his head in disbelief.
“Don’t tell me. You’re Deena Harris. The missing woman from the Deep Ellum car explosion?” Tom said.
“I am,” Deena said as sirens moaned in the distance. “Is this the woman that tried to kill me?”
“Yes,” Grace said.
“Where’s Frank?” Jake asked.
“Who’s Frank?” Reeves, Grace and Tom asked in unison.
“I shot him in the back of the head as soon as he hung up the phone. He never saw it coming.”
Jake grimaced, and Tom could tell that he wanted to kick the battered woman, but he held his temper. He turned to Tom, taking a deep breath before he spoke.
“Frank is in Carter Oakfield’s office. He’ll have a flash drive in his pocket. Everything you need to convict Oakfield and Barkman will be on that drive.”
“Oakfield?” Grace and Tom asked as one.
“It’s a big story,” Jake said. “One I tried to tell you when my parents died.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t listen,” Tom said. “I should have heard you out.”
“Who are you?” Jake asked the agent.
“Agent Reeves. You and I spoke on the phone. I’m hoping the research I have and whatever is on the flash drive fit together to build a nice, solid case against Oakfield.”
“You were investigating?”
“On my own time, but I couldn’t let it go. I tried to write you off as another nut job calling the FBI when the locals didn’t find the conspiracy you were sure was there, but the more digging I did, the more I was sure you might be onto something. I didn’t have enough to go to my supervisor with it, but when Tom called me, I hopped on the first plane here.”
“This is all so incredible,” Jake said. “I don’t know what to say.”
Tom excused himself, calling another detective he trusted and sending him to Oakfield’s office. He didn’t want Oakfield to be alerted and find a way to get rid of the evidence before they got to it. When he came back to the group, Jake was agreeing to come into the station to interview with Reeves, and Grace was explaining to Deena that they had a few questions and then they would take her home.
Pat was still on the ground, head tilted with pain, though she was laughing. Grace held the empty cuff, keeping Pat from being able to access her pockets without moving the rest of her body. It was obvious that she had a few broken bones, though Grace had saved the woman’s life by sliding into her the way she had. If she’d done that head on, Pat wouldn’t be alive.
They needed her alive.
“Why are you laughing?” Tom asked.
“You’re not going to find a flash drive,” she snickered. “He dropped it when he fell to the floor and I took it and destroyed it. You have nothing.”
“The jokes on you,” Jake said. “Frank always pockets the backup first. They’ll find it in a secret pocket inside his jacket. You lost. You’re going down, and you’re going to rot in prison for what you did to my parents.”
“They won’t be able to prove it. Their official cause of death is CO poisoning. I wasn’t the one who examined them, and they’ve been cremated,” Pat taunted.
Tom was about to correct her, then decided that there were things she didn’t need to know. He didn’t want her figuring out a plausible explanation while she waited for her trial. Besides, the ambulance was pulling up, and they were about to take her.
“I’ll ride with her,” Tom said, then looked at Jake. “Do you want us to tow Frank’s car in?”
“No. She was wearing gloves and a hat, so I’m sure there’s no evidence in there. I’ll drive Frank’s car, and Deena can drive the Audi.”
“Where are we going?”
“To the station for an interview,” Grace answered. “You’re not in trouble, but this is a big puzzle, and we’re going to need help putting it together.”
Deena nodded, and Tom could see the weight of the last thirty-six hours weighing her down. She was tired, and now that the adrenaline was crashing, she was going to start shaking and lose her composure. He’d seen it countless
times before.
The paramedics came, loading Pat up on the stretcher, her cuffed hand affixed to the metal frame. Tom watched the other paramedics cleaning and applying steri-strips to Jake’s head, then talking to Deena before they decided that neither of them needed to go to the hospital. The last thing Tom saw before they closed the doors and the ambulance started driving slowly down the bumpy road was Jake putting his arm around the woman and walking back toward the cars with her.
Tom leaned back in the jumper seat, stretching his legs out and marveling at how lucky they’d gotten. They’d cracked the case and caught Pat Barkman. It had never occurred to him that Doctor B could be the infamous contract killer, but it all made sense. He wondered how many of her own murders she’d worked, and how many innocent people she’d put behind bars to pay for her crime.
Tom had no doubt that the number was high. There would be a rash of prisoners, both innocent and guilty, claiming to be framed by Doctor B. He was getting a headache just thinking about it, and he didn’t envy the prosecutor. She was going to have her hands full for a long time. But Priscilla York was the best there was, and Tom had no doubt that she would find a way to free the innocent without letting murderers loose on the streets of Dallas. And then, she would nail Pat’s ass to the wall, and Tom would do his part to help make that happen.
Pat was going to die in jail. Tom would make sure she never again saw the outside of the prison walls.
Chapter 18
Deena slid the Audi into the parking space next to Jake. She got out of the car, and they walked in together, hand in hand.
“I’m sorry about Frank,” she said, fighting back the tears for the pain he must feel.
“Thank you,” he said quietly. “I’m going to be here for a long time, and I know you’re ready to be done with this. Take the day off tomorrow and rest, please. You’ve been through a lot, and I’m worried about you.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t be an ass.”
She laughed.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”