by Dan Kelly
“I listened to the same forecast, but they’ve misread this storm once already and I don’t want to take the chance the forecasters are misreading it again. I know this Crusader better than my counterparts in Raleigh and think there will be less chance of a foul up if I’m there from the time Mrs. Aldrich is scheduled to arrive at the train station in Raleigh.”
I’m not surprised that Don has the same concern that I have and it makes perfect sense for him to be doing what he’s doing. I say, “I may see you there. I may not. I think I’ll plan on meeting Janet at Dulles just in case the forecasters are right this time around.”
“Okay. Bye.”
Since there’s now no need for me to rework my agenda for today, I start in on the list. I address the first item on the list and then I get my second unpleasant surprise of the day. The door to my office bursts open and standing in the doorway is the Crusader pointing a gun with a silencer at my head.
I dive for cover behind an empty desk adjacent to mine, reaching for my gun in my ankle holster as I’m heading for the floor. I don’t remember hitting it. The last thing I do remember until now is wondering where in hell my bodyguard was.
Opening my eyes, I see that I’m surrounded by my bodyguard, Felicity, Bob and Shirley, all with looks of deep concern about my well-being on their faces. When I try to sit up, my body guard won’t let me. “It’s best if you lie still until the paramedics get here.”
“What are you talking about? Other than having a headache, I feel fine. I must have cracked my head on the desk or the floor hard enough to knock myself out.”
Felicity says, “Chet, you’ve been shot in the head. It looks like the bullet put a deep crease in your scalp, but it doesn’t look like it did any damage to your skull. I’m no doctor though and there’s a lot of blood.”
Looking down at my shirt I see it’s soaked with blood and suddenly I don’t feel so fine anymore. “Where’s the Crusader? It was him that shot me.”
The bodyguard, Frank something or other says, “I know, Mr. Dawson. I saw him a fraction of a second before he squeezed the trigger. He must have heard me coming down the hall at the same time he was pulling the trigger and the distraction probably spoiled his aim. The man can move and he was in the stairwell before I could get a shot off. I chased after him, but the soles of my shoes were wet and I slipped on the stairs and took a header. By the time I recovered he was gone.
“If it hadn’t been for this damn weather, he never would have made it to your office door. We got separated in the demolition derby outside and I got involved in a minor accident with a numbskull that didn’t look where he was going. I’m sorry, sir.”
“Forget about it. You have nothing to be sorry for except maybe that knot on your forehead. It must be a souvenir from your fall down the stairs.”
At that moment the paramedics arrive and they proceed to check us both out. Frank is told his bump on the head doesn’t look serious enough to warrant a ride to the emergency room and I’m told that I am a lucky fellow to only have to get some stitches. One of them says. “You’ve got a pretty deep gash, so you’ll be parting your hair on the other side of your head for a while until the stitches come out. The doctor is also probably going to recommend that you be checked for any signs of a concussion.”
“I’ll probably pass on the concussion tests. I’ve had my bell rung harder than this and no damage was done.”
“Suit yourself, but an injury like this is nothing to take lightly.”
As the medics are rolling me out of the office on a stretcher I tell Felicity to call Don and Janet and fill them in on what has happened and tell them where these guys are taking me. “They can call me on my cell. I don’t know where this leaves us as far as Raleigh is concerned.”
After I’m stitched up in the emergency room I head for the waiting room to call a cab and get a pleasant surprise for a change. Janet’s waiting for me. “I see Felicity reached you.”
“Yeah, she told me what happened and where you were taken to get patched up and I thought I’d pick you up so you wouldn’t have to ride in a filthy taxi and answer a bunch of questions from a nosy cab driver. Instead, you can sit back and relax in my car while I drive you home or back to your office and you can answer a lot of nosy questions from a reporter.”
I laugh, it hurts and I wince with the pain, but I still feel good because she’s here. “Thanks for coming. Let’s get out of here. I hate hospitals. A lot of people die in them. We have some urgent decisions to make and I think it’s best if we discuss them someplace more private.”
“Where do you want me to take you, home, your office, Disney World, where?”
“Don’t make me laugh. When I do it feels like someone’s hitting me in the head with a hammer. Take me home. I won’t get any work done in the office. Thinking about my close call and my splitting headache will keep distracting me. The doctor gave me some pills for the pain, but I don’t want to take them unless the pain becomes unbearable. Pain killers sometimes mess with your brain.”
“Okay, home it is.”
As we pull into the underground parking garage, I glance at my watch and see it’s a little past noon. If Felicity wasn’t able to reach him, Don’s probably in the air headed for Raleigh. As I open the door and let Janet enter first I see that her face is filled with worry. Hoping to chase some of it away I quip, “Welcome to Dawson’s Den. What happens here stays here as is evident by the empty Chinese food containers on the counter in the kitchen and the empty pizza box on the coffee table. It’s a little messy right now, but I give you my unconditional guarantee that there’s nothing in here that will bite you except maybe for me if you let your guard down.”
This gets a smile, but the worry is still plastered all over her face. “Chet, why would Aldrich go to the trouble of thinking up a way for him and his wife to flee somewhere, get his wife to go along with his plan and then not follow through? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I’ve been thinking about that and I don’t believe he’d do that to his wife. I’ve been trying to put myself in Aldrich’s place and this is what I think is going on. Aldrich’s killing frenzy has been abated somewhat lately due to the spotlight we’ve put on him through the mass media. There’s a good chance he thought that this development might cause us to lower our guards a little which might give him an opening big enough to settle some more scores, me being one of them, despite what he said in the letter he sent to his wife about being satisfied with what he’s accomplished to date. He zeroed in on me and when he didn’t see anyone watching my back he figured it was his chance to make me pay for my part in making his vendetta more difficult and he took it. He’d still have enough time to drive to Raleigh if he left immediately after he shot me. One thing I’m very grateful for is the weather prevented my staff from being there when he showed up. He probably would have shot them all.”
“So you’re thinking that Aldrich is sticking with his plan and is on his way to Raleigh now.”
“I do. I don’t think he’d leave his wife in the lurch.”
“So, does this mean you’ll be flying with me to Raleigh?”
Looking out the window I see that it is just lightly drizzling out and the wind has died down considerably. “Well, well. The weathermen finally got one right. Yeah, I’ll tag along. I can enjoy this headache anywhere and I’ll be praying all the way that I’ll get the chance to settle the score with this loony.”
“Have you got anything in the fridge that’s still safe to eat?
“Hey, I’m a little messy, but I am house broken and don’t leave food to rot in the fridge. If you rummage around in there you should find sandwich fixings, some prepackaged salads, frozen pot pies and TV dinners, some eggs and there might still be some frozen veggies, hotdogs and hamburger meat in there somewhere as well. There’s also water, soda, juice and beer in there. I maintain the typical bachelor’s larder because if I’m in the mood for anything fancy I go out to eat. Help yourself.”
“Do you w
ant me to fix you anything?”
“No thanks. I’m not hungry, but I’ll have a bottle of water.”
While she’s in the kitchen, Don calls me on my cell. “Felicity called me while I was boarding and told me what happened. This is the first chance I’ve had to see how you are doing. I’m thirty thousand feet up in the air and the sun is shining up here. What’s the weather like down there?”
“Good enough for Janet to get her rental bird in the air.”
“Are you feeling well enough to join her?”
“I’m ambulatory and that’s all that matters. I owe this sucker, Don, and if I get the chance I’m going to put him out of his misery for good.”
“Hey, wait a minute, Chet. I’m letting you be a part of all this only as an observer because of how instrumental you’ve been in helping us put an end to the Crusader’s vendetta. I don’t need another vigilante, you hear me.”
“I hear you. I’m just saying if I’m in the right place at the right time and he tries to takes a shot at me, he’s going down for the count and he isn’t going to get up.”
Letting out a soft groan he says, “I’ll meet you at the FBI office in Raleigh. Do you know where that is?”
“Felicity got the address for me.”
“Okay, bye.” Click.
When Janet returns from the kitchen she asks, “I heard you talking to Don. Did he catch his flight or did he cancel it when he heard about Aldrich still being here from Felicity?”
“He called me from the plane. He wanted to know how I was doing and what the weather was like here. I told him we’d be flying down like we planned from the start and he said he’d meet us at the FBI office in Raleigh. Since he’s on the plane, I’m guessing he also thinks Aldrich will show. He didn’t bring the subject up though and neither did I.”
Janet has made a sandwich for herself and garnished it with some bread and butter pickles that I forgot I had and brought two bottles of water for us to drink. Looking at her watch she says, “We have twenty-five minutes to bask in this domestic bliss and then we have to head out. I found some peanuts in your pantry. You want some?”
“I’ll pass. It’ll probably hurt like hell if I try to chew something like that. It even hurts when I blink.”
“You wouldn’t by any chance be looking for sympathy and some motherly caresses are you?”
“Well, motherly wasn’t what I had in mind.”
“Dawson, your timing sucks. Drink up if it doesn’t hurt too much to swallow so we can head out. I don’t know what the traffic will be like going to the airport.”
I’d have laughed but it hurt too much and it would have been a waste of pain because there would be no sympathy and soothing caresses forthcoming. I’ve definitely got to work on my timing.
Chapter 39
When we get to Dulles, all Janet has to do is sign some paperwork as she reserved a plane by phone yesterday. As we’re lifting off the runway the sun breaks through the clouds and I’m hoping that it’s a good sign for whatever is going to happen in Raleigh later today.
The flight is uneventful and we don’t talk much as my head is killing me. I’m trying to tough it out and not take one of the pain killer pills the emergency room doctor gave me because I don’t want to take the chance I won’t be firing on all cylinders if and when I’m face-to-face with
Aldrich again.
By the time we get to the FBI office in Raleigh it’s almost four o’clock. I call Ericson to let him know we’re in the lobby and a few minutes later he’s leading us to a conference room at the end of a long hallway. When we enter there are about a dozen agents staring at us.
“You two got here just in time. We were about to head out to the airport. People, listen up. I want you to meet a couple of key players in this hide and seek game we’ve been playing with the Crusader. Bandage Man here is Chet Dawson a PI I’ve been working with on the Crusader case. The bandage around his head is the result of a recent encounter with the man. The lady is Janet Vanderhill a reporter with the Washington Times who is primarily responsible for turning the heat up on the Crusader. They’ve been with me from the beginning of this nightmare and it’s only fitting that they be here when it ends.
“Chet, please don’t forget that you two are here as observers, not participants. I know you’re carrying and have a very good reason for payback, but please refrain from giving in to the urge. There will be enough guns around to keep you two safe, especially if you stay out of sight until it’s all over. Am I making myself clear?”
“As clear as a new window.”
“Good. You two will ride with me. Okay everybody let’s move out.”
When we arrive at the airport, the team of agents disburses to take up predetermined positions near the United Airlines ticket counter. Don takes up a position in an office behind the ticket counter that has a one way window in its door thanks to a cooperative ticket agent. He can see out, but no one can see in.
Janet and I have given some thought to how we can remain out in the open but still blend into the crowd enough that we won’t attract anyone’s attention, especially Aldrich’s. I’m wearing a gray London Fog all weather overcoat and a gray fedora to cover the bandage on my head along with some ordinary shades. Janet is wearing a Burberry fawn colored overcoat that buttons down the front and a pale yellow scarf to hide her gorgeous head of hair and she’s also sporting sunglasses. There’s nothing about our outward appearance that will cause anyone to zero in on us.
I find one of those revolving sightseeing brochure stands to situate myself alongside of, pretending to leaf through the brochures. Janet finds a seat about thirty feet away where she can look like she’s reading an article in a magazine she just picked up at a newsstand.
It’s a little after five now and Mrs. Aldrich’s train should have just pulled into the station. It won’t be long now for the fireworks to begin. I hope that’s just a poor choice of words and not somehow prophetic.
Mrs. Aldrich shows up at a quarter to six looking all tuckered out and scared to death. She’s pulling behind her one suitcase and a carry-on is resting on top of it. Unbelievably, she sits down in a vacant seat four seats away from Janet. She doesn’t even look at Janet, apparently not recognizing her. She’s just staring at the ticket counter.
Six o’clock comes and goes. Likewise for six-thirty. I’m beginning to wonder if something has gone wrong when I spot a man coming down the concourse in one of those motorized wheel chairs. He’s very fat, he’s wearing glasses that magnify his eyeballs so much they distort them and he has bushy light brown hair which is partially covered with a dark blue seaman’s cap. I wouldn’t have given him a second thought, but he was furtively looking around for something or someone and this got my attention.
When he gets to the United Airlines ticket area, he stops to look at the arrival/departure monitor mounted on the wall just above where Mrs. Aldrich and Janet are seated and a minute later rolls over to position himself in front of but a couple of seats down from Mrs. Aldrich. Nothing happens for five minutes or more and I’m about to lose interest in the man when his lips start moving. He’s not on a cell or looking at anybody which has me wondering if the guy has all his marbles.
The man’s face remains blank, but Mrs. Aldrich’s shows shock and perhaps a little fear. I’ll be damned. It’s Aldrich. Bingo! Here we go! I hope the FBI guys have seen what I just saw and are ready to pounce. As my adrenaline starts flowing, I forget all about my headache and focus on not doing anything to alert Aldrich that things are not as they seem.
As I’m standing there waiting for something to happen, I experience my third surprise of the day. The doors leading out to the street slide open and three Greyhound buses disgorge their Boy Scout passengers into the terminal and soon mayhem follows as the kids start doing what most kids do when a bunch of them are assembled in a confined place, kid around and make a lot of noise doing it. A minute or so after the kids arrive, the area is filled with smoke and when it clears there’s no sign o
f the Crusader or his wife.
I don’t believe this. This guy would put the Boy Scouts to shame in the always be prepared department. There are three empty canisters of what probably contained the smoke lying in front of the now empty wheel chair. What happened at Walter Reed probably put the idea in his head.