Cherry Bomb

by J. A. Konrath

“I’ll find her,” I said.

  I expected her to tell me that’s what she wanted. That I’d better.

  I was wrong.

  “No,” she said. “You should let this go.”

  Bernice drew away from me, teary eyes staring back at her husband.

  “We were talking about you earlier, Jack. The Job is killing you. It has been for years. Herb’s seen it. He’s watched you die, a little each day.” She paused. “You need to quit.”

  “I have to finish this, Bernice.”

  She looked at me sadly. “Oh, Jack, there’s always one more thing you have to finish. One more crime to solve. One more perp to catch. Someone hits, you hit back. You’re always hitting back. Sometimes, the best thing—the sane thing—is to just walk away. That’s what Herb wanted you to do.”

  “He wanted me to quit?”

  “He wanted you to be happy. And you’ll never be happy if you keep heading down this path. Happiness isn’t having complete control, Jack. Happiness is realizing you don’t have any control at all.”

  I stared at my partner, a lump in my throat, and everything everyone had told me over the last few days suddenly made perfect sense.

  And I knew what I had to do.

  I had to let it all go.

  “I have to go, Bernice. But I understand. When he wakes up, tell him…tell him I…just…just give him this.”

  It wasn’t easy fishing it out of my purse with my hands cuffed, but I managed, pressing it into Bernice’s hands. She held it up.

  “Your badge.”

  “Last night…” I took a big breath. “Bernice, last night, I almost…I thought it was the only way, you know, to stop the pain. But I don’t need to die. Only part of me does. The cop part.”

  “You’re resigning?”

  “I’m done. It’s over. Tell Herb I love him, and I quit, and I’ll be over next week for Turduckinlux.”

  Bernice smiled sadly. “He’d be so proud of you right now, Jack.”

  “Take care of our boy, okay? I’ll be back soon.”

  I heard yelling from the hallway. I gave Bernice another hug using just my head and neck, and then walked outside.

  McGlade, pointing his prosthesis up at Mankowski.

  “I told you she’s my sister, and if you don’t let me—Hey, Jackie, tell this very tall piece of shit who I am.”

  “It’s okay,” I said to Tom. He nodded, backed off.

  “Sis, the last cell phone—it’s moving.”

  “I don’t care anymore, Harry.” I turned to Dailey. “I’m ready.”

  “Can I have a private brother/sister moment, Special Agent?”

  Dailey nodded. Harry whispered to me.

  “You don’t get it. If it’s moving, that means Alex has it on her. It’s the last phone. We can track it right to her.”

  “It’s not my problem anymore. I just quit the force.”

  “You…what?”

  I reached into my pocket, took out the cell phone Alex had given me. The leash she’d been using to lead me around.

  “Here. Take it. I don’t care what you do with it.”

  The act was so liberating I actually felt about fifty pounds lighter.

  Special Agent Dailey led me down the hall, away from a bewildered Harry McGlade, and into the parking lot. I got into his car and we drove to the federal lockup for booking. The arrest papers were drawn up, I was printed, mug shots taken, and I was placed in a holding cell, all the while unable to get the serene smile off my face.

  I should have given up years ago.

  CHAPTER 52

  ALEX YAWNS, STRETCHES, AND OPENS HER EYES. The hotel room is dark, but sunlight is peeking in through a crack in the drapes, illuminating the stacks of money laid out on the floor in thousand-dollar piles.

  There are eighty-seven of them.

  Alex smiles her half smile at the sight of it. She’d been hoping for at least forty thousand. That’s the number quoted in the e-mail exchanges. The number she needs to start her new life.

  Truth told, Alex had no idea how much money armored trucks carried around. Long gone are the days of cash payrolls, and bank transfers are made electronically with the press of a button. But she assumed with the constant stocking of ATMs and currency exchanges, and the cash flow generated by the shopping on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, money was probably being hauled every day.

  She assumed right.

  Alex rolls out of bed, uses the washroom, then flips on CNN. The Chicago bombing is still the main story. Alex’s scarred mug shot is shown, her hair shorter and black. They also mention the armored car robbery, but her name isn’t brought up in connection with that, just that the robber is tall, muscular, with dark red hair. The driver’s description. He managed to ID her hair color beneath a hood, but for some reason didn’t realize she was a woman. Fear does funny things to memory.

  Alex changed her hair last night, stopping at a drugstore and buying some bleach. She’s now a perky blonde.

  Eighty-seven grand can make even a stone-cold killer downright perky.

  Now it’s time to get out of town, disappear. Yesterday, things had been too hot. Alex narrowly missed a roadblock before getting back to the hotel. It should be safer to move today. But first, one last thing to deal with.

  Jack.

  Alex dials, ready to offer the lieutenant her condolences. The victims’ names haven’t been released yet, but her fat partner is surely one of them. The roofing nails were a special touch, a nod to one of Jack’s high-profile cases Alex read about while in Heathrow. Icing on the irony cake.

  But Jack doesn’t answer. A man does. A man Alex can’t stand.

  “Hiya, freak show. How’s the psycho business?”

  “Where’s Jack, Harry?”

  “She doesn’t want to talk to you, because you’re crazy and your face looks like a slice of country-style ham. If your nose was a side of hash browns you’d have a line of fat people chasing you with forks.”

  Alex frowns, uncomfortably aware that only half of the muscles are working. “Put Jack on.”

  “That’s a negative, ham-face. She’s done playing with you. But I’m not. I’m coming for your loony ass. In fact, I’m knocking on your door right…about…now.”

  Against all common sense, Alex focuses on her hotel door.

  “Gotcha, sucker.”

  Alex grits her teeth. “If you don’t put Jack on—”

  “Blow me. I’m walking up to your door right now. You ready? Here I come. Almost there. And heeeeeere’s Harry!”

  Again, Alex stares at her door, annoyed that she’s buying into this stupid game.

  “Gotcha again! Die paranoid, you bitch.”

  Harry hangs up. Alex fights the urge to open the door and check the hallway. It’s ludicrous. Harry has no way to find her. She’s in the hotel under a false name. There’s no way to trace the cell phone daisy chain.

  Right?

  But Harry—goddamn Harry—sounded so sure of himself. When Alex first met him, she thought he was dumber than a crate of melons. And while she never really amended that initial impression, she doesn’t want to underestimate the irritating little bastard. Her plan was to lure Jack to a secluded location and grab her. But now Alex just feels the need to get the hell out of Chicago. The sooner, the better.

  She starts stuffing everything into her duffel bag, including the empty canvas money satchels. It’s heavy, unwieldy, the zipper threatening to burst. Alex slings it onto her shoulder, heads for the door, remembers that her face is exposed, and creates a makeshift babushka out of a white pillowcase. It looks ridiculous, but better to be remembered as eccentric than scarred.

  The hallway is clear, the stairwell is clear, the lobby is clear, and the parking lot is clear, except for some idiot in a Winnebago blocking the exit. Alex chucks the duffel bag in back, starts the Prius, and drives up over the curb to get past the RV moron, and wonders where to head next.

  Wisconsin is out of the question. She’s almost as pop u lar with cops there
as she is in Chicago. She also left a trail in Iowa, and going back now would be unwise. Michigan is a possibility. Plenty of privacy in the woods. A secluded farm would work too.

  A farm.

  Actually, for a final showdown, Alex’s old homestead would be a perfect place. Private, out of the way, easy to set up. And she’d get a thrill out of seeing their farm one last time.

  Alex heads for I-90, and Gary, Indiana.

  Soon, this will all be over. Alex isn’t sure what she wants to do next. The possibilities are limitless. Hell, she could even get a regular job, become a respectable citizen. Perhaps even join a police force somewhere. Wearing that cop uniform was a lot of fun.

  It’s cold enough outside for Alex to switch on the heat, but that makes the smell from the backseat more pronounced. She opens the windows to compensate, and wonders if she should stop for deodorizer. Or at least something to cover the corpse, other than the blanket currently performing the task. Alex reaches around, tugs down a corner, and catches a quick glimpse out of her back window.

  That damn Winnebago is following her.

  Adrenaline jolts her. Maybe it isn’t the same one. There have to be dozens of them on the road, and they probably all look similar.

  She glances at her rearview, trying to see the driver. He’s too far back, and his windows have a light tint to them, making it hard to see inside.

  That clinches it. The RV back at the hotel had tinted windows too.

  Could it be the Feds? They’re known for doing stakeouts in vans and trucks. But a Winnebago seems too conspicuous, too elaborate, even for the FBI. This thing is the size of a bus. No one would be stupid enough to use a recreational vehicle for surveillance, except maybe…

  Harry McGlade.

  “Is that you, Harry, you pain in the ass? Let’s find out.”

  Alex turns at the next light, taking Touhy Avenue around the airport, then turning onto South Mount Prospect Road. This is noman’s-land, acres and acres of undesirable property, too close to O’Hare to be habitable. Many have tried, as evidenced by the crumbling and torn-down buildings in these empty lots, but the sound must have been too much for even the factories to endure.

  Alex hangs a sharp, fast right onto Old Higgins Road, the Prius cornering bravely, and then a quick left into an abandoned lot, weeds poking up through the cracked asphalt. She jams the car into park, hops out palming her Cheetah stun gun, and sprints back to the ditch near the entrance to crouch in the tall grass.

  The Winnebago slows down as it nears, crawling by the lot, the driver obviously spotting the Prius. Alex runs up behind the vehicle, grabbing onto the rear ladder, pulling herself up as it rolls past. The rungs are round, sturdy, easy to hold. The RV comes to a stop, and Alex climbs up the back side and onto the roof. As expected, there’s a hatch. She slides over to it on her hands and knees, the slight noise she makes lost in the overhead roar of jet engines. Happily, the hatch is open a few inches, probably for air circulation. Alex lifts it up and slithers forward on her belly.

  The smell is awful, a cross between a zoo and a truck stop toilet. Definitely Harry. Alex swings inside and drops onto the sofa. A scream, to her left, and she spins around, Cheetah poised and ready to strike.

  It’s a monkey, in a cage. And the scream isn’t directed at her. It’s directed at what appears to be a damp sweater, which he’s earnestly humping.

  Yes, this has to be Harry’s RV.

  She creeps forward, to the cab. The door is closed. She can imagine McGlade sitting there, staring at her car, wondering what to do next. But she isn’t sure he’s alone in there. Jack might be with him. Better to know for sure before attacking.

  Alex looks around, finds a Ping-Pong paddle covered in mud. She picks it up.

  Yuck. That isn’t mud.

  She wipes her hand on the carpet, but that’s damp with something even worse. Now seriously grossed out, she frantically searches for a towel. The only thing nearby is that sweater in the monkey cage, and Alex decides she’d rather light herself on fire than touch that splotchy thing. She crinkles her nose, decides to just deal with it for the time being, and then throws the Ping-Pong paddle at the cab door.

  “Dammit, Slappy, how did you get out of your cage?”

  The door opens. McGlade appears. Alex jams the stun gun into his belly, dropping him to his knees, then whacks him alongside the head with her elbow, getting all of her weight and muscle behind it.

  He crumples to the floor, landing on something squishy. Serves the asshole right.

  Alex checks the cab for other passengers. It’s empty. The monkey screeches again. He’s still raping the cardigan, but his eyes are now locked on her, the filthy little pervert. Alex considers giving him a little zap with the Cheetah, but she has more pressing things to do, like restrain Harry.

  But first things first. Alex hurries to the bathroom to wash her hands.

  She really hopes McGlade has soap.

  CHAPTER 53

  I STEPPED ONTO VAN BUREN, walking out of the Metropolitan Correctional Center having just been given back my personal belongings. The night in lockup had flown by—I’d actually slept pretty well—and the morning was taken up by the bond hearing at the Northern District court house. My professional record, ties to the community, and the fact that obstruction of justice isn’t really that big a charge meant I walked with only a ten-thousand-dollar bond.

  The day was cool, almost cold. I walked around the block, checking for tails of the Feebie variety—I got the impression Special Agent Dailey thought I knew more about Phin’s and Alex’s whereabouts than I actually did.

  No Feds were following me. But I did notice a Ford Bronco without a front windshield. I walked up to him. Time to bury this par tic u lar hatchet.

  “Need a ride?” Phin asked.

  “You know that large oppressive building behind me is a federal prison, right?”

  “Yeah. Harry told me you were doing time. Is it like those old Roger Corman movies?”

  “Exactly the same. I took a shower in slow motion, then fought off the advances of a big-breasted lesbian warden.”

  “Sounds hot.”

  “Can you take me home?”

  He nodded, and I climbed in. Phin and I had some unresolved issues, and now that Alex was off my mind I actually had a clear head. We were wrong for each other, for a million different reasons. I was mentally preparing the “let’s still be friends” speech when he launched into a speech of his own.

  “I never said thanks that you covered for me. You could have turned me in. I’m a thief, and an addict, and I don’t deserve your friendship. Especially since I want more than just friendship. So it’s probably best we don’t see each other anymore.”

  I wasn’t sure how to reply to that. While I didn’t want Phin as a boyfriend, I didn’t want him out of my life.

  He pulled into traffic, and I found it hard to talk with the wind blowing straight into my face. I had to wait until we reached a stoplight, ready to argue with him, to make a case for friendship. But my mouth said something else.

  “You’ve always been there for me, Phin. I call, you come. Thank you. It means a lot. And if you think we should go our separate ways, that hurts, but I’ll respect that.”

  Phin nodded. I felt my chest get tight, my eyes well up. But this was for the best. I didn’t love this man. I couldn’t ever love this man.

  Then why did this feel like the totally wrong thing to do?

  My phone rang. I dug it out of my purse, answered.

  No response. I looked at the screen, saw I had a text message.

  THIS IS HARRY. HE’S YOUR BROTHER.

  Oh shit.

  “Phin, when was the last time you talked to Harry?”

  “This morning. Why?”

  “Alex has him.”

  A picture came next, McGlade duct-taped to a chair, his face bleeding, his eyes desperate. Then the phone rang again. I answered.

  “Hello, Jack. Harry just told me some nonsense about you quitting. D
id I give you permission to quit?”

  The wind howled in my face. I put my finger in my ear to drown out the noise.

  “Where is he, Alex?”

  “He’s with me. We’re reliving old times. Right, Harry?”

  A crackling sound, followed by a howl. Every muscle in my body tensed up.

  “What do you want, Alex?”

  “A showdown, Jack. Just you and me. No cops. No Feds. No special forces yahoos swooping in on helicopters. I’ve got enough explosives to level a city block, and if I even suspect that you’re not alone, I press a little button and you get to bury what’s left of your brother in a matchbox.”

  “Don’t come, Jackie!” Harry yelled in the background. “I got this bitch right where I want her!”

  Another crackle, and another howl. I guessed Alex was using a stun gun on him.

  “I’m just west of O’Hare,” Alex said. “Be here in twenty minutes. For every minute you’re late, Harry loses a finger.”

  “I got a finger for you right here!” Harry yelled. The yell became a scream when she juiced him again.

  “Twenty minutes, Jack.”

  “I don’t have a car. You remember what happened to my car.”

  “Where’s your buddy Phin?”

  “He’s out of the picture.”

  “That’s your problem. Twenty minutes.”

  I turned to Phin. “Remember what I just said about going our separate ways?”

  “Where is he?”

  “O’Hare. We have twenty minutes.”

  Phin jammed on the gas. I buckled up. Calling for reinforcements seemed like the right thing to do. If I did, Harry was dead, but he was probably dead anyway. So were Phin and me. The only way to win this was to call in the troops and nuke her.

  I dialed 9 and 1 and then stopped.

  “Do you still have the rifles?” I yelled at Phin over the wind.

  “In back!”

  “The radio?”

  “Yeah!”

  He hit the horn, blowing through a red light, causing a car to swerve and smash into a bus. Alex didn’t know Phin was with me. Maybe Harry had a chance to make it through this after all. A slight chance, but better than none at all. Much as I didn’t like the guy, and much as I hated the thought that there was a remotely small possibility we were related, I had to try to save him. He’d do the same for me.