Yellow Packard

by Ace Collins

  From his spot leaning on the car, Adams picked up the conversation. “Austin’s right on the mark. If we can get the adults in that house separated from the kid, you should be able to grab her without putting her life in any kind of danger. It’ll be Judy’s job to grab their attention and hold it. By the way, do we know how many adults will be there?”

  “The sheriff told me there were never more than two,” Reese explained. “I had him scope it out yesterday, and he swears it’s only the woman, Clara Hooks, and our guy, Mitchell Burgess, aka several other names with those same initials.”

  The agents nodded. Reese turned his attention to the woman.

  “Miss Asher, do you understand what you need to do?”

  “When we get everyone in position,” she quickly explained, “I walk up to the front door of the house and knock. I’ll be crying. I’ll explain that my car broke down a few hundred yards up the road and I need to make a call. As the house doesn’t have a phone, I’ll try to get the man to come look at the car with me to see if he can fix it.”

  “And if that doesn’t work?” Reese quizzed her. “What do you do then?”

  “I cry even harder and do everything in my power to at least get him to step out on the porch.”

  “Okay.” Reese grinned. “We’ve got about an hour before it’s dark enough to pull this off. Did you see a place anywhere near the house we could hide the cars and ourselves until that time?”

  “Yeah,” Ross replied. “There’s a lane that leads to a farmhouse not too far away. We checked. The house is vacant. No one has lived there for a decade or more. The lane is passable, and the house and barn sit about a half a mile off the road. We can hide the cars behind those buildings. No one should see us.”

  “Lead the way,” Reese said.

  After they’d gotten back into Reese’s FBI-issued car, Meeker remarked, “That’s your big surprise? That’s the master plan you were so tight-lipped about?”

  “Yeah.” He sounded a bit wounded. “What’s wrong with it?”

  “Nothing,” she said with a laugh, “but the way you were hush-hush about it earlier, I was expecting something a bit more dramatic.”

  He shook his head as he eased his Ford behind the other agents’ car. A mile down the road, when they were just beyond the city’s southern limits, Ross tapped his brakes twice. Meeker knew the code.

  Glancing to her left she saw the frame house.

  “There’s the old Dodge,” Reese pointed out. “Looks like she is there.”

  “Yep,” Meeker replied

  It was shabby, its white paint cracked and peeling, the roof patched with three different types of tin. The porch was not level, and the porch’s roof was leaning forward. It looked as if a strong wind might take the whole place down. There was a large dirty window facing the highway. Meeker’s heart stopped as she noted a small figure with blond hair staring through it. A few seconds later, the little girl and the house were out of view.

  Chapter 78

  For the next hour, all Meeker could picture was that face peering through the dirty piece of glass. She had been too far from the child and the window was too dirty for Helen to make out any details, so maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her, creating an impression of a sad, mournful expression. But in her mind the pain was there. And it was that pain that was now eating at her and making time feel as if it were standing still.

  As the minutes slowly passed, as the light gave way to dusk, and then darkness, Meeker felt more apprehension than elation. Even if they did get the child back, would they be returning the same little girl the Halls had known and loved? In Rose’s time away from her family, what kind of damage had been done? Would her wounds heal?

  As those questions shook her soul with questions she couldn’t comprehend much less answer, she forced her thoughts in a new direction. The Halls had no idea what was going on. They didn’t know that Rose has been found. They couldn’t guess as they sat down for supper on this evening that what happened in the next few minutes would impact their rest of their lives. But what if the raid went south and Rose didn’t make it out?

  No, Meeker wouldn’t allow herself to think that. She knew all too well what it meant to not have a child come home. So this case couldn’t end that way. There had to be a happy ending that saw the parents wrapping their arms once more around their little girl.

  “I’d trade my life for hers.”

  Looking over from his seat behind the Ford’s big steering wheel, Reese said, “Hope it doesn’t come to that. I have spent hours planning this out. I don’t want any shots fired. I want Burgess or Burton or whatever his name is to be taken alive. I need to know if he did this on his own or if he had help. After all, this case is more than just a kidnapping; it is a possible murder of an elderly woman and stolen money in the amount of a hundred grand. That makes this case the trifecta.”

  He was right. If they could get proof that Abbi Watling was murdered, then someone was going to go to the chair.

  “Did you ever consider if there was anyone you’d die for?” Meeker asked Reese.

  “That’s a loaded question,” he replied. Glancing her way and smiling, he asked, “Are you wanting to know if I’d die for you?”

  She shook her head. “No, it wasn’t until tonight that I’d ever thought about the question.”

  “And you’ve decided you’d die for the kid.”

  “Yes, I think I would.”

  His expression serious, Reese softly said, “Well there are a lot of preachers and at least one agent I know out there who’d say that you just suddenly understood a bit about what it is like to think like Christ.”

  “I don’t think that’s it,” she answered. “This isn’t biblical. At least not in my mind.”

  “I disagree,” he replied. “I think everything is.”

  “You’d better explain that,” she said.

  “I don’t understand my own faith,” he admitted. “So there is no way I can begin to understand or explain yours. It is pretty personal anyway.”

  Personal was a good word. From the beginning, this case had been personal. For Helen it was about healing old wounds and defining the price of life. And contrary to what a world at war seemed to be saying, life was not cheap. Each life mattered. Maybe that was biblical.

  Reese glanced down to his watch. “It’s time.”

  Chapter 79

  They all piled into Ross’s car for the short trip down the highway to the rickety farmhouse. Ross and Adams were in the front, Meeker sat against the passenger door in the back, Asher in the middle with Reese on the far side. Needing to size this up one final time, they slowly drove by the place. Once they’d rounded the curve and were out of sight, they turned around and did it again.

  “There’s another car there now,” Ross noted.

  “Did you note the make and color?” Meeker asked, as if already knowing the answer.

  Reese beat Ross. “It was a dark Graham Sharknose coupe.”

  “We’ve seen it before,” Meeker noted.

  Snapping his fingers, Reese said, “That was the car that delivered the cash to McGrew.”

  Meeker nodded. “So we were right about the identity of the man Pistolwhip wouldn’t give up.”

  When they were about a quarter mile beyond the home, Ross pulled the sedan off the highway and into the ditch. Popping the hood, he got out and jerked the wire loose from the coil. That way, if Asher could convince Burgess to walk to her car with her, he’d find it not working.

  “Everyone know what they’re doing?” Reese asked, as he stepped out into the cold night air.

  They all grimly nodded as they checked their weapons. Meeker and Reese had FBI-issued handguns. Adams and Ross yanked Thompson submachine guns from the trunk and snapped in the ammo. Trying to lighten the mood, Asher pulled her compact from her purse and dabbed a bit of powder on her cheeks.

  “My weapon is loaded,” she nervously announced.

  “You’ll never be out of sight,” Ross assure
d. “If he makes any kind of move, it will be his last.”

  “Check your watches,” Reese ordered. “Asher, you make your move to the front door in ten minutes. When we see you engage the man, we’ll sneak in the back door.”

  “What if it’s locked?” Adams asked.

  “It’s an old house,” Reese said. “I’ve got the hardware to pick old locks right here in my pocket.”

  “Good luck,” Ross said.

  “Be smart,” Reese added. “A little girl’s life hangs in the balance.”

  The trio from Little Rock headed down the road toward the house while Meeker and Reese cut across the highway and into the woods. The trek through the brush was not easy until they finally stumbled onto an animal path. Following it, they quickly made it to the edge of the woods by the house. Leaning against a large oak, they waited.

  Two minutes later, they spotted Asher. She took a deep breath and then clumsily jogged up to the house. As she was wearing pumps, it wasn’t easy to traverse the rocky ground. Getting to the porch, she noisily clomped up the steps and began to pound on the door. As she knocked, she yelled, “I need some help.” She screamed it four times before the door cracked open.

  “What’s going on?” a woman asked.

  “My car broke down about a hundred yards back up the road,” Asher breathlessly explained. Her performance was first rate. She sounded hysterical, or maybe by this time she actually was.

  “I need to use your phone to call someone,” she begged, her voice ragged.

  The door was still only halfway open, and the woman behind it didn’t seem inclined to open it any wider. In a firm voice, she announced, “We don’t have a phone.”

  “But I need help. Maybe your husband could help me.”

  “I’m not married,” the woman answered. “And Kosh is only a half mile down the road. You can find someone with a phone there.”

  The woman tried to shut the door, but Asher stepped in to block the move. “Isn’t there someone here who could look at it? Or give me a ride to town? I’m scared to walk in the dark. I’m just a helpless woman who needs a friend.”

  “What’s going on here?” a man hollered from inside the house. His voice was edgy and coarse.

  “This woman’s had car trouble,” the woman snapped. “I told her we can’t help, but she won’t leave.”

  Asher made her move. “I need a man. Would you please help me? I’ll make it worth your time and effort.”

  The hint of a reward must have motivated Burgess; a few seconds later, he pulled the door open and stepped out onto the porch. “What’s your problem?”

  “It just quit running,” she explained. “It’s about a hundred yards up the road. Would you take a look at it for me?”

  “Let’s go,” Reese whispered to Meeker. “This is as good a chance as we’ll get.”

  The two stole up the side of the house. Hiding between a bushy cedar and the home, Meeker peeked into the living room window. The woman was standing at the door, looking out to where Burgess and Asher were still talking on the porch.

  “The girl’s not in here,” Meeker whispered.

  Moving to the next window, they looked into a vacant kitchen. There appeared to be another room beyond it, but that window was on the back side of the old house. So she signaled for them to move on. A few steps later they were in a very ill-kept backyard. A few dozen empty tin cans had been thrown out just beyond the back door, and two broken chairs leaned against the wall alongside a barrel spilling over with trash.

  After quickly surveying the scene, Meeker pointed to the window in the nearest wall. Fortunately there was a light on. While Reese kept his gun aimed at the back door, Meeker sneaked up and looked in. The room was tiny, not more than six feet by eight. It contained a small bed and a chair. Sitting on the bed talking to a sad-looking doll was a little girl. From all the times she’d stared at her pictures, studying even the most minute details, Meeker was quickly convinced it was Rose Hall. So this was it. They had to move now!

  Ducking away from the window, she pointed to the room and nodded. Reese’s affirming look was all she needed. Crouching down, she hurried to the back door. With the man at her side, she climbed up the two wooden steps and tried the handle. It was locked. She pulled her gun and stepped out of the way as Reese crouched down and examined the keyhole. Yanking a couple of tools from his pocket, he went to work. It took him sixty seconds to complete his mission.

  “Try it now,” he whispered.

  She twisted it to the right and it clicked. Inch by inch she eased it opened. As she did, she heard the voices of Asher and Burgess coming through the house from the front porch.

  Meeker silently stepped into a room containing a cot and an old wooden chair. There were four dresses hanging in one corner, a few magazines tossed on the lone end table, and some women’s shoes pushed under the cot. This must’ve been where Clara slept. To the left was a door that led to Rose’s room. Halfway up the door was a large bent nail pushed through a hook that held the latch in place. Helen grimaced. When they put Rose to bed, they made sure she stayed there.

  Meeker pointed it out to Reese. He nodded and moved soundlessly in the other direction. Pushing past Meeker, he slid beside the archway leading into the kitchen. He kneeled there, aiming his gun at the lone figure in the living room. Then when he was set, Meeker stole the rest of the way through the back room to Rose’s locked door. Silently she yanked the nail out, dropping it into her pocket. She eased the latch back and pushed the door open. As she stepped into the tiny room, she touched her lips with her left index finger and whispered, “I’m here to take you back to your real parents.”

  “My parents?” Rose whispered back. “Clara said they didn’t want me.”

  “Clara lied,” Meeker said. “She’s a bad woman. Your parents want you more than you can imagine. Now, we have to be very, very quiet.”

  Slipping her gun into her own coat pocket, she found the girl’s shoes and managed to get them on her feet. Just as she did, chaos erupted in the front room.

  “Mitch!” Clara screamed. “Someone’s in the house!”

  The man cursed while slamming the door shut. A second later, gunfire broke out. Three shots sounded, one from close range and the others from the front of the house. Scooping the girl into her arms, Meeker pulled the door open and stepped out. The first thing she saw was her partner face down on the floor. Filling the archway leading to the kitchen was Mitchell Burgess.

  Chapter 80

  Who are you?” Burgess demanded.

  “Federal agents,” Meeker barked back.

  As the man glared, his eyes burning with rage, Meeker placed the girl on the ground and gently pushed her behind her own body. When she was sure Rose was shielded, she turned her gaze back to the man with the menacing and very lethal thirty-two pointed straight at her.

  “I’m taking this girl back to her parents,” she boldly announced. As she spoke, her hands went into her coat pocket where she found her own firearm.

  “No, you won’t,” Burgess said. “I knew we should have killed her.”

  “I’m walking out that door with this child right now,” Meeker hissed. “You aren’t going to stop me.”

  Gripping the gun, she aimed at the man’s gut and pulled the trigger. There was no fire or recoil; the gun had jammed.

  “You’re dead,” Burgess growled. But even as his words hung in the air, he staggered. He suddenly seemed confused and disoriented. The gun in his hand began to tremble as his face filled with a blush of color. Dropping his right arm to his side, he pulled his left up to his chest. A second later he moaned and fell to his knees, the gun falling from his hand to the floor.

  Meeker quickly stepped over the stricken man and retrieved his gun. A second later she grabbed Rose’s hand and led her out of the house. Scooping her up in her arms as her feet hit the grass, Meeker raced around the side the house. When she reached the front, she saw Asher standing in the drive and the two other agents running up.


  “This is Rose,” Meeker barked. “Take her down to the car right now.”

  After pulling the girl to her chest, Asher asked, “What happened?”

  “Reese is down!” Meeker yelled. “Break down that door, and take care of that woman. I don’t know if she’s armed.”

  As Adams leaped up on the porch and kicked in the front door, Meeker raced to the back of the house. With Burgess’s gun in her right hand, she hurried up the steps. Burgess was still on the floor where he’d fallen. Leaning up against the wall, his gun trained on Clara, was Reese. When Helen looked his way, the agent shrugged.

  “I thought you were dead,” she quipped.

  “No real damage,” he said. “When I was ducking out of the way of his shots, I hit my head on the side of the wooden frame of the archway. I must have knocked myself out.”

  “Likely saved your life,” Meeker observed. “If he’d thought you were breathing, he’d have shot you for sure.”

  “I’ll take this one off your hands,” Ross announced, as he made his way into the kitchen. A few seconds later, Ross pushed a sobbing Clara out the door. As he did, Adams joined them in what had been the woman’s room.

  “Who got Burgess?” Adams asked.

  “Not me,” Reese admitted. “Must have been Helen.”

  “Not me, either. I think he had a heart attack.”

  She bent over and touched the man’s neck. He was very dead. She glanced back to the two men and nodded. “Can’t help him. Why don’t we get the woman to the local jail, and I’ll take care of the girl.”

  “Where is she?” Reese asked.

  “She’s with Asher and she’s fine,” Meeker assured him. “But we need to get her back to her parents.”

  “Not so fast,” Reese cut in. “It will only take a couple of hours for us to take this house apart and see if there is any money left. If there is, we need to find it now. For the moment, Miss Asher can take the child into town and take care of her. Ross and Adams will be right back to help us once they get Clara checked in at the local jail.”