“Chuck,” he repeated the nickname that he had used for their undercover work, an amused expression on his face. “I haven’t been called that in a long time.”
“I’ve always liked the name ‘Chuck.’ There was a nice guy named Chuck in my class in grade school. And, in the Peanuts comics, Peppermint Patty always called Charlie Brown ‘Chuck.’”
He laughed. “Okay. You win. I’ll be ‘Chuck’ for a while.”
“That sounds good to me, Chuck.”
“So, Jenny Jawbreaker, are you enjoying roller derby?”
“It’s fun. In fact, I’ve decided to continue doing it even after this charade is over.”
“Really?” he laughed. “That’s great!”
“Are you sure that your brother and sister-in-law won’t mind me joining all of you for dinner?” Jenny asked.
“No, they won’t mind at all. They’ve been encouraging me to bring you over for dinner. I talk about you so much that they’re anxious to meet you.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting them, too.”
At 6:00 p.m. Charlie parked the blue Chevy in front of the house. As he and Jenny walked up the steps onto the porch, the front door was opened by his cherubic seven-year-old niece, Lauren.
“Hi, Uncle Charlie!” she chirped. “I've been looking out the window, watching for you!”
“We are a bit late. I hope that you didn't have dinner without us.”
“No. Mommy got home late too. Supper isn't ready yet.”
Charlie introduced Lauren to Jenny, then reached into the inner pocket of his jacket. “What's this in here?” he asked in pretend amazement. It was a ritual that he often went through for the amusement of the three Valentine children. “Why, it's a pack of wintergreen Lifesavers! The elves must have placed them in my pocket!”
Lauren giggled as Charlie gave her the candy. “Thanks, Uncle Charlie.”
“And here are two more packs that the little fellows slipped into my pockets. Give those to your brother and sister.”
“Okay. They're at the library. They should be home in a little while.”
Violet came into the living room. "Hi, Charlie.” She hugged Jenny. “It is wonderful to meet you.”
“It is great to meet you, too. Thank you for inviting me to dinner.”
“Well, I hope that both of you like what I prepared. The kids wanted to have spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.”
“It's my favorite meal,” Charlie said.
“But, Uncle Charlie, when you came to dinner last week, we had chili, and you said that was your favorite meal!” Lauren objected.
“Your mother is such a good cook that anything she prepares is my favorite meal.”
“Charlie, when you made that trip to Ireland last year, you must have kissed the Blarney Stone,” Gregory Valentine said as he entered the room.
“Alas, Blarney Castle wasn’t on my itinerary,” Charlie said.
“Your brother is simply an excellent judge of fine cuisine,” Violet said.
“My tremendous powers of deduction tell me that this must be Jenny,” Gregory said, shaking hands with her. “I suppose it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to make that deduction.”
Jenny laughed. “I think you have potential as a detective. We could use you on the police force.”
“I’d better stay at the university,” Gregory said. “My many mistakes cause less harm there.”
Within a few minutes, everyone was seated at the table.
“So how go things at the university these days?” Charlie asked his brother.
“Pretty good. I just developed a new course that I’m going to be teaching every semester. It’s based on the book How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. I want my students to understand that the Church played a key role in the development of law, literature, art, and architecture. Our modern legal system was patterned after canon law. The university was a gift from the Church to the world. The Church invented charitable work. In fact, the charitable spirit, as we know it in the Western world, was developed by the Church. The Church has always been the great defender of the sanctity of human life and also defending individual persons against the state.”
“You are obviously very enthusiastic about that topic!” Charlie declared. “I hope that your students find your enthusiasm to be contagious.”
“I have caught some of his enthusiasm,” Violet said as she passed a bowl of mashed potatoes to Jenny. “I’ve borrowed a couple of his lesson plans to use with my high school science students.”
“ ‘Borrowed’ is a nice word for ‘stolen,’ ” Gregory said with a grin.
“Oh, whatever!” she laughed. “In any case, I was intrigued to learn that the Church played such an important role in the development of science. Many great scientists like Louis Pasteur have been Catholic. Jesuit priests have especially made a great contribution. 35 craters on the moon are named after Jesuit scientists and mathematicians. And seismology, the study of earthquakes, is known as ‘the Jesuit science’ because it has been so dominated by Jesuits.”
“It’s funny that you mention the Jesuits,” Jenny said. “Last week my father went over to the Jesuit Provincial Office and signed up for the Ignatian Volunteer Corps. He read about it in the St. Louis Review. Since he retired from the police force, he’d been getting a bit restless and was looking for some good cause for which he could do some charity work.”
“What does the Ignatian Volunteer Corps do?” Violet asked.
“It mainly consists of retired men and women. They commit two days a week to serve the poor in St. Louis. Then, once a month, they meet for prayer and reflection about their service.”
“It’s wonderful that your father has found a way to keep active,” Violet said. “I have read that elderly persons stay in better health if they find interesting activities in which to participate.”
“Speaking of interesting activities,” Gregory interjected. “Violet and I have four tickets for a play next week. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde is playing at the Repertory Theatre in Webster Groves.”
“I have always liked Oscar Wilde’s plays,” Jenny said. “He is a very good writer.”
“Good,” Violet said. “Gregory and I are hoping that you and Charlie can come with us to the play. It is a week from this Friday at eight o’clock. Are you both off-duty that evening?”
“We should be, unless something unexpected occurs,” Charlie said. “We are involved with a heavy-duty case at the moment, but hopefully it will be resolved before next Friday.”
“Thank you for the invitation,” Jenny said. “I would love to go.”
“Great,” Gregory said. “We will be looking forward to spending the evening with the two of you.”
“We will, too,” Charlie said. “However, unfortunately, Jenny and I are going to have to cut our visit short this evening. We need to get to the airport to pick up two FBI agents. Their plane is scheduled to arrive in about an hour.”
“Well, then I’m glad we will have more time together next Friday,” Violet said.
After saying goodnight to the Valentine family, Charlie and Jenny strolled toward the car.
“I think that your brother and sister-in-law were trying to play the role of matchmakers for us,” Jenny said, grinning at Charlie.
“I noticed that, too. Well, it is a night for romance.” He pointed toward the night sky. “We have a full moon.”
“Perhaps you’ll turn into a werewolf,” Jenny laughed.
“Let’s hope not,” Charlie said. “The moon certainly does have a lot of different meanings to different persons; priests, poets, philosophers, scientists, and storytellers --- the moon is an important image for all their mindsets.”
Jenny reached over and gave him a hug. “You are certainly a smart cowboy.”
Charlie eyebrows raised. He was pleasantly surprised; she had never previously hugged him. A short while ago, Charlie had been amused by Gregory and Violet’s matchmaking efforts. He had not thought
that their efforts had any hope of succeeding. Now, however, as they got into the car, Charlie began to wonder whether someday he and Jenny might be more than partners on the police force.
Chapter 9
A Little Red Dot
Charlie and Jenny walked through Lambert Airport toward the passenger pick-up area where they would meet the two FBI agents. They glanced up at Charles Lindbergh’s original personal monocoupe plane, which was on display, suspended above the lower level of the main terminal.
Because they were a few minutes early, they paused to look at one of the world’s largest airport murals entitled “Aviation … An American Triumph.” The 142-foot painting by Siegfried Reinhardt traced the history of flight.
The mural portrayed the ancient Greek myth showing the wings of Icarus melting when he flew too close to the sun, a giant 600-foot Chinese dragon kite, Leonardo da Vinci’s aviation designs, hot air balloons, the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh’s flight from New York to Paris, and the space program.
“There’s Neil Armstrong walking on the moon,” Jenny pointed at the astronaut in the mural.
“Here’s a pop quiz for you,” Charlie said. “Who was the second man to walk on the moon?”
“Buzz Aldrin,” Jenny replied without hesitation.
“Very good. I actually met Buzz Aldrin some years ago. While he was visiting a local bookstore, I shook hands with him and got his autograph.”
“That’s nice that you got to meet him.” She squinted and looked at the mural very carefully. “Maybe Buzz Aldrin is in here somewhere. Every time I look at this mural, I see something that I never noticed previously,” Jenny said.
“So do I,” Charlie agreed. “That also happens to me at the New Cathedral. There are so many mosaics on the walls and ceiling that I always spot something new every time I go there.”
“Did you know that there is a small Raggedy Andy mosaic included somewhere up there amidst all of the religious mosaics?”
“You’re kidding?” Charlie asked in surprise.
“No, really.”
“Among all of those mosaics of Jesus, the apostles, and saints, there is a mosaic of Raggedy Andy?”
“Yes, really.”
“I recall that there are some pictures of modern saints like Katharine Drexel, Rose Philippine Duchesne, and Elizabeth Ann Seton in which they are depicted along with some orphans and other children that they taught. Is one of the children holding the doll?”
“I’m not telling, Charlie. You’ll have to find the mosaic of the doll yourself the next time that you go there.”
“And everyone tells me that I have such a nice partner.” Charlie tried to glare at her, but he could not keep from laughing.
“No one tells me that about my partner,” Jenny replied with a wide grin.
“Hey!” Charlie said with mock outrage, then glanced down at the time on his cell phone. “We’d better get over there to the gate. They will be here any second.”
“We don’t want to keep the FBI waiting.”
Jenny and Charlie hurried over toward the passenger pick-up area and arrived just as two well-dressed men came through the gate. They introduced themselves to David Hummel and Sam Troutman.
“Is this your first time in St. Louis?” Jenny asked David.
“Yes. I grew up in Virginia. This is my first time here. I think that Sam was here once before. He’s been everywhere.”
“Not quite everywhere,” Sam said. “However, I did make a brief visit to St. Louis about a year ago.”
“So are you two the FBI terrorism experts?” Jenny inquired.
“I’m only an expert on cyber-terrorism,” David said. “I was given this assignment because of my computer knowledge. I’m good with codes and databases. I can hack into almost any system. Sam is the expert on terrorists. He has been working in Europe and the Middle East for several years helping track down terrorists.”
“Well, it sounds like the FBI sent the two right agents to St. Louis. I’m sure that you will be a big help.”
“We will do our best,” David promised.
“I’m anxious to speak with this Fatima Cedars,” Sam said. “She sounds like she could be a goldmine of information.”
“I think that she will be a valuable witness,” Charlie said. “Fatima is also a very intelligent, pleasant person.”
“I assume that you have her in a safe house?” Sam asked.
“Well, our police department budget is not sufficient for the department to have its own safe house for witnesses, so we needed to improvise a bit.”
“We have Fatima in a house, and the house is safe; however, technically, it’s not a safe house.”
“Your riddle eludes me,” Sam said.
Jenny laughed. “Fatima is staying at my father’s house. No one besides us and our supervisor knows that she is there, so she should be safe. My father is a retired police sergeant, and he is capable of defending Fatima if the need arises.”
“Your father’s home should be adequate for tonight, but we will need to get her to a more secure local soon,” Sam said. “David and I can check with the local FBI office to see what they have available.”
“We’re also anxious to speak with Dennis Sandhaven,” David added. “His company’s work on that Intelligent Agency project is vital to national security.”
Charlie and Jenny accompanied the two FBI agents as they picked up their luggage, then drove the two agents to a downtown hotel near Union Station.
Walter was the first to notice the small red dot of light dancing with apparent innocence across the walls of the kitchen. Moving with a speed that belied his years, Walter jumped toward Fatima and dragged her to the floor.
“What’s going on?” she exclaimed in astonishment.
“Stay down!” he cautioned. “Do you see that red light panning around the room? That is the laser sight of a gun.”
“Oh, no!” Fatima declared.
As the dot moved closer to them, they heard glass break in the kitchen windows.
“He’s firing a silenced weapon,” Walter told her.
He reached up onto the counter and grabbed the phone. The hiss of two more muffled shots could be heard in the still night.
Walter did not hear any dial tone, but he tried dialing 9-1-1. The line was dead.
“Darn!” Walter dropped his phone. “He must have cut the phone line. It runs through the common ground into our backyard and then into the house.”
“Don’t you have a cell phone?” Fatima asked anxiously.
“Yes, but it’s in the living room on a lamp table. He’d have too good a shot at us if we tried to get to it now. However, I can get to something else that will help us.” Walter crawled cautiously along the floor, opened a draw in the kitchen counter, and pulled out his old service revolver.
“I’m so glad that you have a gun!”
“It might do the trick. If he decides to come charging in here, he’ll be in for a big surprise.”
“Where is he?”
“My best guess is that he has taken a firing position in the trees on the common ground. Judging by the location of his shots, he’s moving around a bit to try to get a better angle.”
“I think that I could make it to the light switch and turn it off,” Fatima volunteered.
“No, even if you turned off that light, we’d still be silhouetted by the light coming in from the living room.”
A bullet smashed into the wall about a foot over their heads, spraying some plaster onto them.
“He’s moved into a better position. I was hoping to wait him out, but I’ll have to take action before he gets us.” Walter raised himself up onto one knee. “Stay down behind this counter, and I’ll see if I can hit him. You’d better cover your ears, dear. My gun does not have a silencer.”
As Fatima did so, Walker used the counter to brace his arm, estimating the best angle with which to return fire. In rapid succession, he fired six shots, changing the angle slightly with each shot in order to ma
ximize his chances of hitting a target whom he could not see.
The explosion of gunfire resounded through the kitchen. Fatima was glad that she had taken his advice to cover her ears.
Walter lowered himself to a sitting position on the floor. He reloaded his gun.
“The little red dot is no longer panning around the kitchen,” Fatima said. “You might have hit him, Walter.”
“I was very lucky if I did. The odds are that I missed him. I certainly got his attention, though.”
“Why isn’t he still using his laser sight?”
“He’s playing possum out there. He wants us to think that he went away or that he was hit by my shots. As soon as we stand up, he’d take us out.”
“What can we do?”
“I’m going to give him another surprise.” Walter crawled toward the back door.
“Be careful, Walter.”
“Don’t worry. Stay down.”
He opened the door just wide enough for him to crawl outside. Walter left the door ajar in case he had to make a hasty retreat back into the house. Hoping that the shrubbery would keep him concealed, he slowly went forward.
The sniper could have anticipated this move that I’m making, Walter realized as he crept toward the corner of the house. At least I know this yard better than he does.
Walter peered around the corner toward the trees on the common ground beyond his property. He spotted the dark form of a man with a rifle positioned between a split tree trunk.
Walter crouched on one knee and took aim, steadying his gun arm with his other arm. It goes against my grain to shoot a man without shouting a warning, but in this case, I’ll make an exception. I’m outgunned by a professional assassin; normal police procedure would get me killed here.
Just as Walter was about to fire, the laser scope on the assassin’s rifle came on and the red beam swung toward Walter. He’s seen me! In a moment of terror, Walter fired two quick rounds, then fell straight back and rolled against the house.
Mud was kicked up as bullets struck the spot where Walter had been a second earlier. Walter glanced back toward the kitchen door twenty feet away. He calculated that the sniper only needed to move about ten feet to get the angle for a clear shot at him.
Moonlight Warriors: A Tale of Two Hit Men Page 6