The Good, The Bad and The Murderous (Sid Chance Myseries Book 2)

by Chester D. Campbell

  Jaz folded her arms. “Which leaves the question, where will he turn up next time?”

  “We need to contact FBI Agent Eggers,” Sid said. “They have a good description of him.”

  “If he’s following his usual MO, he’ll have a rental car,” Bart said. “We’ll check everybody at the airport and see if we can find what he’s driving.”

  Jaz watched Sid as he picked up his bag and gave a deep sigh. “You look like you’re about to drop,” she said. “I’d better get you tucked in.”

  “With all that adrenaline gone, it’s left me bushed. I didn’t sleep much last night, either. Let’s go.”

  The eastern sky had just begun to glow, showing a nebulous break in the clouds as Jaz steered toward I-65. She glanced at Sid slumped in the passenger seat but still a large presence in the semi-darkness.

  “I nearly lost it when Bart called and said you’d been shot,” she said. “I knew the guy had already killed two people with one shot to the head.”

  “It’s funny, when I was there on my knee waiting for him, I had a sudden feeling that I was back on night patrol in Vietnam. I could even smell the jungle. The night sounds weren’t there, but I think that got me keyed up to the point that I reacted instinctively to the threat.”

  “He wasn’t hurt badly enough to slow him down on getting out of there. It would be nice to know what kind of wound he suffered.”

  “He’s not going to a hospital. You can count on that.”

  “Unless it’s superficial, and the amount of blood doesn’t look like that, he’d have to get treatment before he could go through airport security.”

  Sid shifted his left arm, apparently to a more comfortable position. “He’s got to be street smart. I’m sure he could find some sub rosa medical help.”

  “Do you think he’s left town?”

  “I would doubt it.”

  Sid awoke in a strange bed in a strange room. It took only a few moments to orient himself, though. He’d always been a light sleeper, a wake-up-and-jump-out-of-bed type. The pain in his arm brought things back into focus quickly. He sat up on the side of the bed and looked around. The walls were a pastel blue. Paintings with a Hawaiian flavor, lush greenery and tropical blossoms, hung about the room. He recalled hearing Jaz refer to her bedrooms as Hawaiian or Japanese or Alaskan. They were places her family had visited while she was growing up.

  A clock on the bedside stand showed 3:08. He had slept a good eight hours. He felt much better, but he had things to do. He got up and padded to the door, opened it and looked into the hallway, saw no one. Closing the door, he crossed to the chair that held his bag and pulled out fresh underwear and a clean short sleeve shirt. After dressing, he walked into the bathroom and washed his face, then stared into the mirror.

  That fuzzy bear doesn’t look too threatening, he thought. He combed his hair and smoothed his beard and decided he didn’t look too much the worse for wear. He checked around the room for his cell phone but didn’t find it. Heading downstairs, he met Marie walking away from the kitchen.

  “My, look at that arm, Mr. Sidney,” she said, eyes widening. “Miss Jasmine said she hoped the other fella made out worse.”

  Sid grinned. “This bum wing just means I can’t fly quite as fast as before.”

  Marie laughed. “Glad you still have your sense of humor. Can I get you something to eat?”

  He glanced at his watch. “Looks like I missed breakfast and lunch. I could use a cup of coffee, but I’ll hold off on the rest until dinnertime. Is Jaz in her office?”

  “Yessir. I’ll bring your coffee in there.”

  “Thanks, Marie.”

  He found Jaz at her desk, talking on the phone. He sat down until she finished a few moments later.

  “That was Bart,” she said. “The newsies have been looking for you.”

  “I guess they found my phone out of order.”

  “This, too.” She handed him his cell phone. “I brought it down here and turned it off so you wouldn’t be disturbed.”

  He turned the phone on and saw a list of missed calls. “Anything new from Bart?”

  “He thinks the guy bugged out. A rental car company called police when they discovered blood on the seat of a car turned in at the airport this morning. It matched the blood type on your carpet.”

  “Could they tell what part of the body it came from?”

  “Bart said it was apparently from his back, on the right side. Probably the exit wound.”

  “That’s why he didn’t fire more than twice. I wonder if it hit him in the chest or if he was turned and it caught him in the side?”

  “Either way, he’s not a happy camper now. Bart said they’re checking with the TSA folks at the airport to see if they noticed any passengers going through security with that sort of injury.”

  Sid opened his phone again. “I need to call Agent Eggers, and I’ve got to report my phone and electricity outages at home.”

  “The latter are taken care of,” Jaz said. “Your phone and lights should be working by tonight.”

  “Thanks, you’re a doll. Remind me to give you a raise.”

  Jaz tapped a finger against her chin. “Which brings to mind the business of what we are going to do about Djuan Burden?”

  “I plan to bring that up with Baron Eggers.” He punched in the FBI agent’s number.

  “This is Sid Chance,” he said when Eggers answered.

  “I’ve been trying to call you. I heard what happened last night. It sounds like our guy.”

  “Definitely,” Sid said. He gave him a brief rundown on what had transpired around three o’clock this morning.

  “He admitted to Ivey’s murder?”

  “Sure did. While he had me in his sights and knew I couldn’t see him.”

  “He obviously considered you a special case. They aren’t usually that talkative on the job.”

  “What do you know about him?” Sid asked.

  “His name is Carlos Ruiz. He was born and grew up in Arizona. He joined the Army shortly before Nine-Eleven, and volunteered for the Rangers. While serving in Iraq, he was held on suspicion of murdering some civilians, but the charges were dropped for lack of credible evidence. However, the Army shrinks decided he should be separated. Sounds like they made the proper call.”

  “I served in Special Forces in Vietnam,” Sid said. “I had an idea this guy could have been a military man gone bad.”

  “I hate to tell you, Sid, but your problems are just beginning.”

  “With Carlos Ruiz?”

  “Right. The people who follow these cases at Quantico tell me that shootout will churn in his gut until he gets you or gets caught.”

  Sid reached over and took the coffee cup from Marie, who disappeared as quickly as she had come. “I sort of figured that,” he said, a feeling of inevitability settling over him. He took a slow sip of coffee.

  “I’ll talk to Detective Masterson and see if we can help them on this,” Eggers said.

  “You can help Jaz and me by getting Metro off of Djuan Burden’s case.”

  “I talked to my supervisor, but he doesn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize the investigation of Ramsey Kozlov. That’s also why he wants to leave Ruiz to Metro for the moment.”

  “Kozlov is about to be on the hot seat with the Office of Professional Accountability over the gun firing.”

  He told Eggers about the confrontation with Detective Victor Grimm he had engineered with the help of two Metro officers.

  “Tell your supervisor if he doesn’t want to talk to the Davidson County District Attorney and get Djuan out of jail, I’m going downtown to see the U.S. Attorney.”

  Eggers hesitated for a moment. “Look, Sid, you’ve established a good relationship with the office here. I’d suggest you forget about my supervisor. Just go ahead and talk to the U.S. Attorney, explain what happened and get him to intervene. It’ll take us both off the hook.”

  When he shut off the phone, Jaz asked, “Will he talk t
o his supervisor?”

  He told her what Eggers had suggested.

  “Good,” she said. “We need to call Mrs. Ransom and the lawyers at Arnie Bailey’s office. What was this about the shooter? His name is Carlos Ruiz?”

  “Right. And Eggers confirmed what I suspected.”

  “What’s that?”

  He detailed Ruiz’s background and the Quantico analysts’ prediction that the ex-soldier would not rest until he had arranged a final encounter with Sid or was caught.

  “What are the chances he’ll be caught?” Jaz asked.

  “Right now I’d have to say not too good. Eggers said the FBI was leaving it up to Metro for the moment. He said he’d talk to Bart and offer their help.”

  Jaz tapped her fingertips together and eyed him with a somber look. “So what do we do?”

  Sid considered the possibilities. While he still doubted that Ruiz would come after him again at home, there was the office to consider and countless other places he might go during an investigation.

  “If this has become a personal vendetta, he’ll want to catch me somewhere alone,” Sid said.

  “Why don’t you move in here with me for the present? I can bring in a table for you to use and have your office phone temporarily re-routed here. You can access your computer through your laptop.”

  He squinched his eyes and looked around. “I hate to crowd you like that.”

  “No problem. So long as you don’t boss me too much.”

  He smiled. “I’ve never known you to accept much bossing.”

  “Is it a deal?”

  He shrugged. “I guess I don’t have much choice. I’ll have to go back to Madison and get what I need, including my car.”

  “I’ll take you after dinner. Marie will be overjoyed. She’s always said I should have a man in the house besides John.”

  Chapter 37

  Jaz called Rachel Ransom to give her the good news while Sid got on the phone with Hardy Vandenberg and Brainerd Hersholt. He told them he planned to visit the U.S. Attorney in the morning. When they had finished their phone calls, Sid turned to Jaz.

  “I’ve been thinking about what Agent Eggers said to me earlier, that this contract killer could find out a lot about me on the Internet. I haven’t Googled my name in a long time. How about putting it in and see what comes up.”

  “I’ll try it both ways, as Sid and Sidney.” She punched in the names and a list of links and their descriptions flashed on the screen. “Come around here where you can see.”

  Sid moved beside her at the desk. He saw links to various news articles about him, most dealing with the toxic chemical dumping case he had worked a few months ago, his first job with Arnie Bailey. It had resulted in the conviction of a former prison inmate who had gone straight until he started murdering people to cover up a past crime. There were also several old newspaper accounts of his arrest and subsequent exoneration after the drug scam in Lewisville. Then he spotted a feature story one of the local tabloids had done on him following the pollution case last fall.

  “That one probably gave him all he needed,” Sid said, pointing to the feature link.

  Jaz clicked on it and brought up the article. It had Sid’s picture at his desk and the story of how he had opened Sidney Chance Investigations after exonerating an employee of Jaz’s company who had been framed by a crooked manager. It gave the background of the false bribery charges that had disgusted him so thoroughly that he holed up in a hillside sanctuary about fifty miles east of Nashville. Working alone, he had built a one-room cabin, hauling materials up a steep incline. He had lived there in the backwoods for three years, almost completely shut off from the outside world, except for occasional forays into a nearby town for food and other provisions. He worked out daily and built a firing range to maintain his firearms proficiency. The article mentioned that he had called it his Mountain Hideaway.

  Jaz looked up with a grin. “I’ll never forget the day I followed a deputy sheriff up that overgrown hillside and knocked on your door.”

  “I’d made friends with that deputy. Otherwise I might not have opened the door.”

  “I’m thankful I talked you into giving up that monkish lifestyle and coming back here.”

  “Oh? If I hadn’t gotten you involved in this case, you wouldn’t have suffered all the agony you’ve been through the last few days.”

  She cocked her head to the side. “You forget I was the one who insisted you take the case.”

  “Well, I’m glad it’s over, for all intents and purposes.”

  Marie called them to dinner shortly and led them into the dining room, where she had the table set with Sid’s place at the head.

  “You shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble,” he said, knowing they usually ate at the kitchen table.

  “You two deserve a little pampering after what you’ve been through,” Marie said.

  Sid saw there were only two places set. “Aren’t you and John going to join us?”

  “I knew you needed to eat early since you hadn’t had any food all day. We had a big lunch. We’re not hungry yet.”

  Sid and Jaz talked about the Djuan Burden case as they ate. She speculated that Carlos Ruiz had access to the Mexican drug gang by virtue of being Hispanic.

  “He’s probably one of their top enforcers,” Sid said. “Eggers told me that Valdez-Delgado had set up the Medicare scam with money he skimmed off the drug profits.”

  “Just to be safe, we’d better get on over to your place before dark and pick up what you need.”

  Sid found the lights and phone back in working order when they arrived. He checked out the bullet holes in the walls and spots in the carpet that had been cut out by the crime scene crew. He needed to replace it anyway. Jaz worked on his computer so he could remotely check the surveillance cameras from his laptop.

  When he had everything he needed from home, he drove over to RiverGate with Jaz following. There were only a couple of cars parked at the building. Sid checked the office carefully and saw no evidence of tampering. He needed to call the girl down the hall tomorrow and ask her to keep an eye on the place.

  He told Jaz to go ahead and followed her out to Franklin Road. The waiting game would continue.

  Chapter 38

  Up at his usual time on Friday, Sid donned his sweats and quietly made his way downstairs. He was surprised to encounter John Wallace near the front door.

  “I’m off for my morning run,” he said. “What are you doing up this early?”

  “I’m an early riser,” John said. “In recent years I’ve also been early to bed. Marie won’t be up for another hour, at least. You gonna run with that bum arm?”

  “It’ll hurt, I’m sure, but I need the exercise. I don’t think I’ll get out on Franklin Road, though. Maybe just run around the perimeter of Jaz’s property.”

  “Good idea. Lots of crazy drivers on that road.”

  “If Jaz gets up, tell her where I am.”

  “Yessir,” John said. “I will.”

  The cool morning air felt refreshing on his face. The jarring run over uneven ground left his arm feeling somewhat less than pleased, but it was a far cry from his last gunshot wounds. Those had brought an end to his National Park ranger career. It had come on a day not unlike this one. He had been patrolling a remote area on the lookout for wildlife poachers when he spotted fresh tire tracks going into an old service road no longer in use. He drove in a short distance, then set out on foot.

  Like now, it had been early morning. Evidently the intruders hadn’t expected a ranger to be out this time of day. He soon came upon a pickup truck and heard voices back in the trees. He drew his weapon and moved stealthily in their direction. When he reached a cleared area, he froze. Two men were cutting marijuana plants right there in the middle of a national park.

  Sid stepped out and ordered them to put up their hands and turn around. As he approached them, a third man who had been hidden by nearby trees opened fire. Sid got off a shot, but he too
k two bullets in the chest, one of which would have been fatal a fraction of an inch to one side. The only reason he survived was the ability to call for help on his radio. His attackers were caught while trying to push his car out of the narrow road to get their truck free.

  Those wounds resulted in nearly a year’s convalescence. The Park Service higher ups decided he was no longer fit for duty. He had fought bitterly to stay on but lost. He was sure it stemmed from his unorthodox habit of doing things his own way. Something of a loner from an early age, he had nevertheless considered himself a team player, except when the team wasn’t playing by the rules as he interpreted them.

  Reliving that unfortunate chapter of his life kept him from dwelling on the sore left arm. When he decided he’d had enough, he headed back to the mansion and walked toward the kitchen to rehydrate. He smelled bacon frying and found Marie stirring eggs in a bowl.

  “Are you ready for some breakfast?” she asked.

  “Right now I need water,” he said. “Then I’ll need a quick shower.”

  After he drank a tall glass of water, he started out the door and Marie called after him. “Knock on Miss Jasmine’s door and tell her breakfast will be ready in a few minutes.”

  The master suite was at the opposite end of the hall from the Hawaiian Room. Sid stopped at the door and knocked. He heard a rustle inside and then the door opened. Jaz stood there barefoot in her pink nightgown staring through wide blue eyes.

  “Oh, God, I look a fright,” she said, running fingers through her short blonde hair. “I thought you were Marie.”

  Sid smiled. “Sorry, but I disagree. You look fabulous. I like to see women in their natural state, without all the adornments.”

  “Thank you, I think.” She looked down at the rumpled nightie. “At least this covers up most of the natural part.”

  “I’ve seen more in the swimming pool.”

  Jaz laughed. “We’ll have to have a pool party when it gets a little warmer.”

  “You may not like it when you see my bullet hole scars.”