Road Kill; Puppet Master; Cross Wired

by Jan Coffey

  A lot more information existed regarding Billy Ebbett. He had the same characteristics as all the other teenagers whose files Bryan had read. Just an all-around great kid. He thought of Juan. Billy Ebbett sounded like a carbon copy.

  The problem with Billy was that he and his father and the father’s girlfriend were not in Germany where they should be. Last report was that they had gone off on an extended vacation.

  As the car traveled down the six-lane divided highway, Bryan spotted the large blue and yellow sign for the self storage facility in the distance. He turned to Lexi. “I’d like you to stay in the car until we check the place out.”

  “I seem to remember some threat about a one-foot rule,” she replied quietly.

  He could tell she was in a much better mood since talking to Dexter about Juan this morning. “I might have to ask for an exception in this particular situation.”

  She nodded and looked out the front window.

  “Do the storage facility people know what’s going on?” Bryan asked one of the agents.

  “We’ve informed them that we’re planning on going through a specific storage unit. A Bureau mobile crime lab is on its way. Since the place is a 24/7 facility, the manager wants to keep it open until we tell her otherwise.”

  Bryan thought about that. There couldn’t be too much traffic in-and-out on a Friday morning. Still, he planned to have the manager close the gates while they were on the premises.

  As they drove up to the entrance to the facility, they pulled parallel to a patrol car parked by the white brick walls flanking the sliding gate. Two officers inside greeted them.

  “We’ve counted a total of seven vehicles and a small U-Hall truck that have come and gone since we arrived,” one of the officers told them. “There are no visitors in the facility now.”

  Bryan decided to keep the police officers there at the gate, and he asked them to direct the traffic away until the gates were closed by the facility’s manager.

  They stopped outside the whitewashed cinderblock office. “Stay here while we talk to the manager,” Bryan told Lexi and the driver.

  Bryan looked around as he and the other agent got out of the car. A set of high gates separated the outer lot from the inner acreage, which was filled with seemingly endless rows of corrugated steel storage buildings. Next to the gate, he could see the keypad and a video camera.

  “Do you know what time the FBI mobile lab is supposed to get here?” he asked.

  “I would guess it should be here in another ten minutes or so.”

  A middle-aged woman greeted them at the office.

  “Rather than blocking the street entrance,” she told Bryan after hearing his concern for security, “I’d much rather have you block the gate to the storage yard for a short period of time. At least, you’re not stopping potential customers from coming in to the office.”

  Bryan figured he could live with that. The manager was being very cooperative. He knew they could produce a warrant if it was required, but a delay would not be a good thing, considering the two teenagers still at large.

  Outside, Bryan motioned to the driver to pull up to the sliding gate. He slid the key card through the slot. A light flashed green and the tall metal door started sliding to one side. The car carrying Lexi pulled through and waited for Bryan and the other agent.

  “No one else comes in, with the exception of the FBI mobile lab,” Bryan instructed the local officers before walking into the storage yard and climbing into the car. In a moment, they were rolling slowly between the long rows of units.

  Some people had gone to real trouble to stop Mitch Harvey from communicating with Lexi. Bryan loosened the front of his windbreaker and checked the weapon in the holster. His gaze took in the rows of doors, the keypad locks on each one, the roof tops.

  “How far away is our back up, if we need it?” he asked.

  The agent’s eyes swept the road ahead of them. “Do you think we need it?”

  “It doesn’t hurt,” Bryan said. “I think it would be especially good to have a chopper overhead. I don’t want any surprises.”

  The agent was immediately on the phone, passing on directions. Bryan looked over at Lexi and patted her on the knee with a reassuring smile.

  Mitch Harvey’s storage unit was in the last row, facing a chain link fence. Beyond it, Bryan could see open fields of brush, dotted with mounds of rubble that had been dumped behind the facility. This unit must have offered just the privacy Dr. Harvey was looking for, but right now Bryan was feeling a little bit exposed. The car came to a stop by the blue door of the storage unit, and he got out.

  “How long will it take them to get here?” he asked.

  “Fifteen minutes, tops.”

  He touched the key card in his pocket and decided it might be worth waiting until extra help arrived. Lexi poked her head out the window.

  “Do you think there might be someone hiding in here somewhere?” she asked.

  Bryan turned to her. “Not very likely, but to play it safe—”

  “Seven vehicles and a small U-Hall truck,” she continued, repeating what they’d heard earlier. “Doesn’t that sound like a lot of traffic for a weekday morning?”

  “I don’t know.”

  She looked at him, her eyes rounding “They could have hidden a small army in one of these units, and the police cruiser in front would have never known.”

  Bryan nodded. He should have asked if there were any new unit rentals this morning.

  But it was too late. Twenty yards away, something metallic flashed at the end of the row.

  “Get down,” he shouted, but he was not quick enough. The FBI agent standing by the hood of the car went down like a rock with the first bullet hit him in the back.

  ~~~~

  Chapter 44

  Friday, January 18, 12:10 p.m.

  Manhattan, New York

  “We know you’re a busy man, Mr. Wells.”

  His heart was pounding in his chest like a bass drum. Curtis knew the longer he avoided answering the FBI agent’s question, the more they might think him guilty. He tried to remember the bullshit he’d been feeding Elsa. Perhaps the same thing would work on them.

  “You know, that was a trick question, Agent Geary. You knew who the package was from and yet you asked me the identity of the sender. Why is that?”

  “I said that we suspect the package was from Dr. Harvey,” Geary reminded him. “Now, did you receive something from him yesterday?”

  Curtis looked at the electronic panel next to the elevator door. They were stopping at every goddamn floor. There were seven more floors to go.

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, I did,” Curtis said. “Mitch and I were in touch almost daily, one way or another. We regularly sent each other articles or clippings of interest. Talked on the phone. He was very interested in the company and what we were doing.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us that right away?” Geary asked.

  “Mentioning Reno was what threw me off. If you asked me if I received a package from Dr. Harvey, I would have been able to answer it right away. I don’t check the return addresses on every piece of mail or every overnight packet I get.”

  On the fifth floor, more people stepped in. The elevator was starting to get crowded. Mitch was sandwiched between the two agents in the corner farthest from the door. No one else was talking.

  “Now you tell me something. What the hell makes you think he was in Reno?” Curtis asked. “I’ve spoken several times to his wife Elsa this past week, and I was under the distinct impression that Mitch was in New York.”

  They reached the first floor, and the doors slid open. Curtis wanted to push everyone out of the way and make a run for it. But he maintained his composure.

  “You mentioned a news clipping. Is that what he sent you?”

  Curtis stared at him.

  “Mr. Wells, do you still have the clipping that he sent you?” Geary asked again. “Or the envelope. We’re especially interested in the en
velope.”

  “No, I don’t think I have either. I don’t even remember what it was he sent me.”

  Curtis tried to remember what the hell he’d done with the envelope. These people would search the trash if he told them he threw it out.

  It didn’t matter. Curtis was certain he’d destroyed the contents. No, he kept the list. All of a sudden, he really couldn’t remember. His mind stopped working.

  Everyone had stepped out ahead of them. They were the last three in the elevator, and people waiting were starting to pile in. He pushed out through the crowd into the lobby and then felt Geary’s hand on his arm.

  Curtis turned and looked at the agents. “I might still have it. I don’t really know,” he said hurriedly. “So much has been going on with my company this past month. This week has been especially hectic. We’ll have to continue this discussion at another time, gentlemen. I told you before that I have a lunch date that I cannot miss.”

  He wasn’t lying. They would see his family in a minute. They’d see David. That little boy brought out the best in everyone. With his obvious disabilities, he would be an ace to play in this situation. After all, only a compassionate grandfather could receive such love from this little boy.

  He looked out into the lobby. The place was bustling with the usual lunch hour traffic. He walked toward the security stop point. The two agents were right on his heels.

  “I’ll look forward to speaking with you again,” he said over his shoulder. “Call my secretary and make an appointment. I’ll help you in whatever way I can. I’ll have her look for that envelope, too.”

  Curtis turned around, stuck his hand out, and shook each man’s hand.

  “Have a pleasant day, gentlemen.”

  He didn’t give them a chance to respond, but noted the exchange of looks between them.

  “My family is waiting here somewhere,” he said curtly, turning away.

  Curtis walked away and searched the faces of people beyond the security check point and near the door. He couldn’t spot his daughter, though a tall boy drew his attention. He was young, perhaps fourteen or fifteen, with a thin face and long blond curly hair. He was looking at Curtis, and at nothing else. Caught in the boy’s stare, Curtis slowed his steps. He tried to look away, but the boy’s gaze never wavered. He was wearing an oversized down jacket. The front was hanging open.

  He looked again into the teenager’s face. The boy was pale, the eyes not quite right, but Curtis felt the intensity of the stare all the way to his gut.

  “Mr. Wells,” the security guard called to him.

  Curtis stopped and turned to the uniformed man.

  “Your daughter will be right back, sir. Bathroom call for everyone,” he relayed with a chuckle.

  Curtis nodded and looked back toward the door where he’d seen the teenager standing before. The boy wasn’t there. He was gone. The relief washing through him lasted only a few seconds, though, as he spotted the teen striding toward him across the lobby.

  Triggered early memory. The thought flashed through his brain as clearly as any he’d ever had. The portion of the experiment they’d never tested. The facts rushed back, lining up in Curtis’s mind. He had been a regular visitor at the Nevada clinic where they’d seen some of the surviving subjects. They knew his name, perhaps even developed a fear of him. He never had the patience that Mitch and others displayed. These subjects had cost him a fortune, along with the trust and backing of so many investors.

  That was why, he realized in this moment of utter lucidity, it had been so much easier for him when they started to burn out.

  Curtis took a step back as he saw the boy’s hand come out from under the jacket. He was holding a gun.

  “Grandpa!” David screamed with excitement, running across the lobby toward him.

  Curtis watched in horror as the teen’s hand shifted, pointing the gun at the child.

  ~~~~

  Chapter 45

  Friday, January 18, 9:19 a.m.

  Fullerton, California

  Brian had disappeared from her view, but Lexi could see two men shooting at them from the end of the row.

  She shoved open the back door of the car. She didn’t know where the shots were coming from, but she knew Bryan was exposed out there.

  The windshield shattered into a web of lines as the agent behind the wheel slammed back into his seat with a cry. He gripped his right shoulder. She reached over and yanked him down onto his side so that he wouldn’t be a target for another shot. She gasped as another shot ripped through the side window next to her, showering her with a thousand small pebbles of glass. Someone was shooting at them from the field.

  “Take the key,” Bryan shouted to her, reaching inside the open window and handing it to her. “Open the unit and get inside.”

  Lexi heard the sound of a police siren over the popping noise of the shooting. She tumbled out onto the ground and glanced back briefly as the patrol car that had parked by the gate skidded to a stop behind them. Bullets were raining on them, too. The attackers seemed to be all around.

  She crawled toward the unit door. Bryan crouched by the car, firing back at the assailants. Glass exploded all around her. The officers from the squad car were sandwiched between the building and the car, she could see them firing over the hood and the rear of their vehicle.

  The lock to the storage unit was next to the front bumper. A series of bullets pierced the metal door only inches above, close to the lock. She pulled her hand back just as another pinged through the door, leaving a hole where her wrist had been a second earlier.

  Lexi quickly reached up and slid the key card into the lock. The green light went on and something clicked inside the door. She tried to pull the door up, but it seemed to be stuck.

  “Get inside,” Bryan urged her, shielding her with his body.

  She tried again, yanking the handle upward even harder. The door started inching open.

  Bryan moved slightly to shoot over the roof of the car. Lexi turned and saw the agent who had gone down by the front bumper of the car. She reached over and grabbed his hand.

  “Lexi,” Bryan shouted.

  The man’s fingers tightened around hers.

  “He’s alive,” she cried out.

  She reached behind her and heaved at the door higher. There was a metallic click and then the door opened halfway.

  “Good enough,” she muttered.

  There was no way she could check the extent of the agent’s wound where he was. The gunshot had struck him in the back. Whoever was shooting at them from the end of the building had stopped, and she tugged at Bryan’s windbreaker.

  “We need to get him inside. He could get shot again out where he is.”

  Bryan reached for the agent and began to drag him out of the line of fire. Lexi remembered the driver of their car. She pulled the front door open. The agent was still on his side where Lexi had pushed him down. The bleeding had soaked the front and back of his shirt. He was on the phone. Calling for help.

  “I want to get you out of here,” she told him as soon as he took a breath. “Is there anyway you can help me and come out this way?” she asked.

  He nodded his head. “I’ll try.”

  Behind her, Lexi heard the door of the storage unit open up more. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Bryan hauling the other agent into the unlit space inside. The agent behind the wheel was dragging himself across the seat. In an instant, Bryan was behind Lexi, helping her move him out of the car and into the unit.

  Lexi sat down on the concrete floor of the unit, her back against one wall. Across from her, Bryan knelt down and slid a fresh clip of ammunition into his gun. Where they were, the bullet riddled car offered a little protection. The sound of shooting continued outside, bullets intermittently piercing the steel walls of the building with a series of dull pings. She didn’t know how the two officers with them were faring, or what would happen if they lost this gun battle.

  “Don’t come out, Lexi,” Bryan warned be
fore going out again.

  The wounded agents were lying on the concrete floor next to her. She moved over to them to see if there was anything she could do, wishing she had a first aid kit. The man who’d been shot in the back appeared to have the bullet lodged somewhere in his chest. There was no exit wound. He was in much worse shape than the other, though both of them could possibly die from loss of blood, if not shock.

  Somehow, she realized as she worked on the two men, she’d almost foreseen this happening as they were driving through the gates into the storage yard. So many children and adults…so many innocent people were dead because of what was stored here. For the first time, she glanced at the contents of the room. There were boxes, rows of them, from floor to ceiling.

  Lexi shuddered. This couldn’t simply be the information on only eleven children. The files on what must be a legion of victims surrounded her.

  The roaring beat of a helicopter suddenly moved directly overhead. As it passed, she could hear police sirens getting closer.

  “Please, God.” she murmured. “Let this be over.”

  ~~~~

  Chapter 46

  Friday, January 18, 12:22 p.m.

  Manhattan, New York

  Watching Curtis Wells walk away from him, Geary was certain the businessman was neck deep in something, and he would bet money it was the same shit that his friend Mitch Harvey had been involved with.

  Geary’s team had only scratched the surface in their investigation, but it was already clear that the two men had been tightly linked in their businesses and their research efforts for well over a decade. Geary had an excellent knack for reading people, and any rookie could see that the man was also scared shitless.