The Man With N0 Mercy
Page 11
Even before she reached the top of the stairs, she could smell the paint.
Just inside the bathroom, a small group of agents and cops had fanned out around the bathtub.
Pauling was able to get a glimpse.
Julia Lamarr was dead.
Her face frozen, eyes bulging.
In a tub filled with green paint.
44
You did get out of the car. And out of the garage.
The thought occurred to you not to. To let it run, go to sleep, and wake up in a better place with Amy still alive.
But you’d done too much, in the end.
Too much work and planning.
So you decided to see it through.
You thought it might take a few weeks, in your best-case scenario. That would give you time to go back to work and explain how sick you’d been which is why you missed so much time.
Maybe you could even get back into a routine of some sort. Watch the news from afar as the cops tried to figure out what had happened with Julia Lamarr.
In your worst-case scenario, it would only last a few days. There wouldn’t be much time for anything if that happened. It was a possibility, though. It came back to that pesky motive. You’d done your research and knew that if they figured out someone associated with one of Lamarr’s victims wanted revenge, you, Joe Callan, would be at the top of the list.
You were the first victim’s husband.
Your dead wife was pregnant.
And the other victims were single, with no immediate family.
No one to hold a grudge and nurse it into a maniacal rage.
In the end, the result was worse than your worst-case scenario.
Not even twenty-four hours.
The doorbell rings and you glance outside. It’s a man with a clipboard. A small white truck with no visible signs on the side is in the driveway.
Once they settled on Joe Callan, they probably traced your whereabouts. Maybe a camera caught a glimpse of you. Or you left a fingerprint somewhere. The bank would have been able to tell them you’d been AWOL for days at a time.
Despite the elaborate smokescreen, you always knew there would be a chance you wouldn’t fool them.
Just like you aren’t fooled by the guy in the driveway. From an upstairs window, you can see two more cars parked farther down the neighborhood.
Feds.
You get your gun from the case and walk to the front door.
You fill your mind with images of Amy. She’s the last thing you want to see on Earth.
The doorknob turns in your hand.
Before the door can open all the way, you put the muzzle of the gun to your forehead and pull the trigger.
45
“Joe Callan,” Deerfield said. He’d flown in from New York on the company jet, offered to meet Pauling at the hospital where the three women had been brought.
Now, Deerfield, Pauling and Tallon, were standing around the bed of Agent Lisa Harper.
Harper was is in good spirits.
Pauling thought the woman was beautiful, even though she looked like she’d been through hell.
“He was really the only option,” Deerfield said. “Cook was an only child and single. Lamarr’s parents were dead, and her only sister, the one she tried to kill, was still alive but had moved to Mexico after Lamarr’s arrest. Been there the whole time.”
“So Joe Callan was able to get in to see Lamarr in prison,” Pauling said. “How did he do that? The prison should have been able to spot that he was the family of one of her victims.”
“He had very good fake identification. His home computer revealed an obsession with Lamarr. He’d been doing his research on her for a very long time.”
“Still, someone slipped up,” Tallon said. “But once he was in, then she was no match for him?”
Deerfield nodded. “Lamarr suffered some serious damage from Reacher. You remember she was initially declared dead?”
“I remember that,” Harper said. “I was there.”
“Well, she may have actually died briefly, for a minute or two, before the paramedics brought her back. Brain damage, for sure. But Callan was able to see her, and since his wife’s murder, he’d made himself into an expert in hypnosis. He hypnotized Lamarr, and had her work her magic on the prison guard and the doctor.
“Really unbelievable,” Pauling said. “The man was committed, I’ll give that to him.”
And then once Callan got Lamarr out of prison, he knew he could kill her. It was the only way he could get to her.”
“And the rest of it was all a charade,” Tallon said. “All orchestrated so he could get away with it, which means he wasn’t totally batshit crazy. He knew what he was doing.”
“That he did,” Harper offered, her voice low and hoarse. “How are Chang and Vaughan doing?”
Deerfield said, “Fine. They’re going to make it. Vaughan was the worst one off. One of Callan’s gunshots nicked a lung, but she’ll heal and be as good as new. You were all lucky. Very lucky.”
For a brief moment, no one had anything to say.
Finally, Harper broke the silence.
“Still no sign of Jack Reacher?” she asked.
The ensuing silence was their answer.
* * *
THE END
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Also by Dan Ames
The JACK REACHER Cases #1 (A Hard Man To Forget)
The JACK REACHER Cases #2 (The Right Man For Revenge)
The JACK REACHER Cases #3 (A Man Made For Killing)
The JACK REACHER Cases #4 (The Last Man To Murder)
The Jack Reacher Cases #5 (The Man With No Mercy)
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DEAD WOOD (John Rockne Mystery #1)
HARD ROCK (John Rockne Mystery #2)
COLD JADE (John Rockne Mystery #3)
LONG SHOT (John Rockne Mystery #4)
EASY PREY (John Rockne Mystery #5)
BODY BLOW (John Rockne Mystery #6)
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MOLLY (Wade Carver Thriller #1)
SUGAR (Wade Carver Thriller #2)
ANGEL (Wade Carver Thriller #3)
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THE KILLING LEAGUE (Wallace Mack Thriller #1)
THE MURDER STORE (Wallace Mack Thriller #2)
FINDERS KILLERS (Wallace Mack Thriller #3)
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DEATH BY SARCASM (Mary Cooper Mystery #1)
MURDER WITH SARCASTIC INTENT (Mary Cooper Mystery #2)
GROSS SARCASTIC HOMICIDE (Mary Cooper Mystery #3)
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KILLER GROOVE (Rockne & Cooper Mystery #1)
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BEER MONEY (Burr Ashland Mystery #1)
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THE CIRCUIT RIDER (Circuit Rider #1)
KILLER’S DRAW (Circuit Rider #2)
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TO FIND A MOUNTAIN (A WWII Thriller)
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STANDALONE THRILLERS:
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THE RECRUITER
KILLING THE RAT
HEAD SHOT
THE BUTCHER
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BOX SETS:
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AMES TO KILL
GROSSE POINTE PULP
GROSSE POINTE PULP 2
TOTAL SARCASM
WALLACE MACK THRILLER COLLECTION
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SHORT STORIES:
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THE GARBAGE COLLECTOR
BULLET RIVER
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HANGING CURVE
SCALE OF JUSTICE
About the Author
Dan Ames is a USA TODAY Bestselling Author and w
inner of the Independent Book Award for Crime Fiction.
www.authordanames.com
dan@authordanames.com