by Rick Murcer
“You really need to get to the point. I’m going a bit crazy here. You make this sound like some top-secret, double-probation mission or something.”
There was another glance at the large man standing by the door. He still hadn’t moved and seemed to have no desire to speak to Alex.
“Something like that. Let me explain. Last year, when you two were on your way to Las Vegas, Josh did do what you saw and gave me an address and something to do.”
“So I was right. And I remember that you were smiling like you were doing a toothpaste commercial.”
“I was, but that was a show for you. Where I had to go and what I had to do were far away from anything fun. That kind of thing never is.”
Watching her body language and the calm demeanor of her voice, Alex felt as if he had slipped into another world. Although this was his loving wife of twelve years sitting in that chair, she wasn’t just that anymore. There was more to her than even he had realized.
“What does that mean, Barb?”
“It means there are some people out there who want to do more harm than good, especially to you after your surgery, and Josh and I couldn’t let that happen.”
“Me? Why? Wait, don’t answer that. You’ve been a stay-at-home wife since we’ve been married. Why would Josh tell you something that he didn’t tell me? I don’t get this connection.”
Barb exhaled. “I don’t expect you to understand, honey, but it’s a little more complicated than that.”
There was a knock on the door; the man in the black suit moved to the side as the door swung open.
An even larger black man entered the door, hair in dreadlocks, sporting an island shirt that exposed a sample of his massive chest and arms.
Alex felt his jaw drop to his chest. He recognized the man from their trip to Puerto Rico.
What was he doing out of prison? He shouldn’t be here. He should still be rotting away for the shit he pulled on Manny and the rest of them regarding Argyle’s little experiment on mind control.
“What she’s tryin’ to tell you mon is that she works for the government, and I don’t mean in da IRS office,” said Braxton Smythe.
CHAPTER-35
The smallish bungalow stood dark, inside and out. The bluish sedan was the only object near the house to indicate someone actually lived there.
The street lights, and the glow of the waxing full moon, offered them a measure of light. It was enough for what they needed to do.
They had discussed how to approach the home so there was no need for last-minute adjustments. Watching each other’s asses was always a given. They were ready.
Manny winked at Marie. She winked back and smiled, something he hadn’t seen her do often. She wore it well. He and three blues went to work and began the regimen of circling to the back of the house while Marie, Duane, and two other officers staked out the front.
Approaching the car, Manny put his hand on the hood. It wasn’t hot by any means, like it had just been running, just warm to the touch. He wouldn’t have expected less in the Miami climate. He motioned for the others to continue.
After they had worked their way around both sides of the house, finding no one inside of the small blue Ford parked in the driveway, he motioned for the three to form a semicircle some fifteen feet from the screened backdoor that led to the small cement lanai.
There were potted bougainvillea trees guarding each side of the door on the inside of the screened area. They were accompanied by two padded wicker chairs that were placed neatly on each side of the small glass table, but that was all Manny could see.
It appeared that Valentino lived a simple life away from the hell and destruction he’d caused.
“I don’t see anything on this end,” said Marie, her voice cascading through the earpieces they had all been equipped with before they arrived.
Reaching for the small mic fastened to the lapel of his Kevlar vest, he pulled it closer.
“We don’t see any movement from the back. There wasn’t anything or anyone suspicious or out of the ordinary as we made our way back along the sides of the house either.”
“Should we go then?”
The butterflies of excitement and paradoxical anxiety fluttered with purpose inside Manny’s gut. Maybe they’d get lucky. Maybe this dickhead was fast asleep in his bed, believing he had escaped the obvious by being obvious.
One could dream.
Yet, the killer had to know law enforcement would come to this house—to forensically process Eric Tovant’s domicile and try to piece together a reason for his killing. Those would be normal procedures he would expect.
Was Valentino counting on the cops showing up? If so, why?
“I think it’s your call, Marie. I don’t like how this feels though.”
“Yeah, I hear you. Then again, we say that every time we do this, right?”
“I know, but this man is not a fool and he had to know we would come a knocking.”
“Yes. But like we talked about, setting a trap or placing a bomb or some shit doesn’t appear to be his style.”
Manny thought about what she said, and she was right.
Even though he’d almost trapped them at the warehouse, Valentino had wanted to explain his nobility and his method, not kill them. Was that the extent of his purpose? Probably, but who could tell for sure if Dean’s kidnap was just an unfortunate circumstance or something else?
He decided that the owner of this house wasn’t that clever.
“Okay. Just watch your butts. I still don’t like this.”
“All right. Ready? On three. One-two-three.”
Pulling on the back door, Manny swung it open. The three blues rushed in front of him, leading to what looked like the kitchen.
“Clear,” yelled the first blue.
The second officer found the light switch on the wall just as Manny heard the front door burst open.
The kitchen light broke the semi-darkness, revealing a tiny, clean kitchen. He took one more step when shouting escalated from the front of the house.
At first, he didn’t understand what was happening, then he did.
“Get out, now, dammit. I said—” yelled Marie.
The rapid fire of what Manny recognized as an AK-47 exploded from somewhere in the front of the house, blotting out Marie Swifton’s next words.
CHAPTER-36
“Did you both have a great time?” asked Chloe.
She’d been sitting at the table going over arrest reports from the Lansing Police Department after she’d put Ian down for the count when Haley Rose and Jen came through the door carrying more than the usual bags filled with mall merchandise.
“Oh yeah,” said Jen. “I’m going to get chewed out for going over my allowance on Dad’s credit card, but the summer outfits were so cute. I couldn’t help myself.”
“Aye, I can vouch for that. The lass does look fine in all of those outfits, don’t you know,” said Haley Rose, grinning.
The trouble these two had endured over the last couple of months seemed to have vanished for the moment, and Chloe’s heart was lifted to see it.
She’d bet her next check that the last thing Manny would be worried about was a little overspending from his daughter.
He had other things on his mind, including the text after they’d talked this afternoon with a picture of what she wasn’t wearing. Then again, when he was deep in a case, nothing seemed to distract him much for very long.
Shoving aside the files, she motioned for Jen to put her bags on the table.
“Let’s take a look. But I want to see the prom dress first.”
Jen looked at Haley Rose, who nodded at her.
“Well. I didn’t buy one,” Jen said.
“You didn’t? Why not? I thought that was the big ticket item.”
“Well. I talked it over with Granny and decided that I wanted you to go with me and pick it out, if you’re good with that, okay?”
The sudden rush of emotion took Chloe by surpris
e.
She’d loved Jen since the first time they’d sat down to talk about Chloe being her stepmom and Manny’s second wife.
They’d talked honestly, directly, and with caring respect concerning Louise’s place in Jen’s heart and Chloe’s place in her new life. Chloe would be there for her whenever she needed her, but understood she could never replace Louise and would never try to force the issue.
At times, she felt as if they’d grown closer, especially since Ian had been born, and it was wonderful to journey there, but often she didn’t truly know where she stood with Jen.
Now she felt she knew.
Jen’s eyes were shining, and Chloe knew her own eyes were a match. She stood and hugged Manny’s daughter.
“I would be honored to help you with that,” she whispered.
“Cool. That’s really cool.”
Then Jen gave her an extra tight squeeze before stepping back.
“We can go tomorrow morning, if you like. Granny said she’ll watch the munchkin.”
“That’s a date.”
“Okay then. I’m going to take my haul into my room, and I’ll try on the stuff so you can see.”
“Ahh. I told you lass, you look fine in all of it, but it won’t hurt to have another eye, now will it. Get along now.”
Gathering her packages and bags, Jen went to her room to change. Sampson, who had been quiet until he saw her leaving for her room, padded behind her.
“She’s quite a young’un,” said Haley Rose.
Immediately, Chloe turned to face her mother. Haley Rose’s tone had made Chloe’s heart jump.
Her mum was distraught suddenly.
“Mum? Are ya all right?”
Haley Rose turned to her, tears in her eyes, but her jaw set at the same time. Chloe had seen that look more than once while growing up in Galway. Her mum’s stubborn, determined mindset had resurfaced. She felt herself cringe inside.
“No. I’m not all right. I’m tired of the way I feel. I’m tired of not getting m’self balanced out.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I have some unfinished business, and after Jen’s prom next week, I’ll be heading back to Ireland.”
Chloe was shocked. “What? Why are you doing that, Mum? I thought you loved it here.”
“I do. It’ll be hard on me, don’t ya know. I love both of these babies. But I ain’t doing what I’ve been trying to do anymore.”
Chloe stepped closer, but her mum backed away a step.
“Mum. Whatever that is, we can help.”
Haley Rose’s eyes narrowed. “Can ya now? You can take what’s left of my sanity and patch that up along with the pieces of my broken heart? Ya can work those kind of miracles?”
“No. I can’t, but there are ways to make it better. I know what you’ve gone through. I’ll do whatever it takes to see you feel better.”
“Whatever? Whatever darling?” Haley Rose asked softly.
Chloe frowned. For the first time in years, she felt unsettled speaking with her mum.
“Yes. I said that.”
Exhaling, Haley Rose smiled a humorless smile.
“Yes, ya did. But I don’t need your help anymore. I’ll do this my way. Stay out of it, darlin’. Do ya hear me?”
Before Chloe could answer, Jen’s door opened and she paraded down the hallway in one of her new outfits.
Her mother turned away and followed Jen as she entered the kitchen.
“My, don’t ya look like an angel,” said Haley Rose.
Her mum shifted from witch to loving grandmother so fast Chloe almost wondered if she’d heard correctly.
That wasn’t all she was wondering. She would talk to Manny tonight or tomorrow when he checked in, but if she didn’t know better, she thought Haley Rose might be standing on the precipice of a nervous breakdown.
Watching her with Jen, she shook it off. Her mum was tired and still stinging from some of life’s haymakers. She’d be better tomorrow, right?
CHAPTER-37
The second roar from the AK-47 sent Manny scurrying to his knees.
“Down. Get down!” he yelled.
The stream of bullets that ripped through the thin walls sprayed drywall and wood on top of Manny and two of the other officers who had hit the deck with him.
The third cop wasn’t so fortunate. He’d stared at Manny with puzzlement and was too slow in reacting to his warning.
A moment later, that man was a mess, blood pouring on the hardwood floor, his body virtually ripped in half by the burst from the assault rifle.
The two blues stared blankly at their fallen comrade. Their expressions were almost identical in their disbelief.
His heart broke for the officer, but there was no time for anything but trying to save the rest of their lives. They might need some help with that.
“We can’t help him now. You two need to keep your heads, got it?”
Slowly, one then the other nodded. Manny prayed they did. They had other problems.
“Marie! Marie, can you hear me?” he said.
Only the sound of unanswered static met his desperate plea.
Good God, were they all dead?
Before he could call her again, another deafening burst of hot metal ripped through the wall, striking about two feet lower than the previous volley, bullets ripping the table legs apart and lodging into the stove and refrigerator just inches above his head.
There was a time to analyze and a time to act.
If they wanted to live, they had to act.
He pointed at the two cops and motioned for them to raise their weapons, one at a lower level than the other.
They didn’t have the luxury of trying to flank the shooter, so this would have to do.
Raising up, praying that the shooter would not fire again for another second or two, he aimed above the other two and began firing.
The two blues joined him as they raked the wall at three different levels before following his lead and diving back to the floor, already making every effort to reload their weapons.
An eerie, uncomfortable silence followed as he hugged the floor.
Had they hit him? Had they done better than that and taken the shooter out? Or was he waiting for them?
More silence.
As the silence lingered, Manny fixed his gaze on the dead young cop a few feet away. So young and so hopeful.
What the hell is wrong with this picture? Why is this senseless killing all he seemed to see anymore?
Gathering shaken wits, he didn’t see any other choices left to him. There were five other officers on the other side of that wall somewhere, maybe still alive and possibly injured. He had to find out. There was no more time to waste.
Turning to the other two, he motioned for them to go out the back door and circle to the front of the house, one on each side of the house.
“What are you going to do?” mouthed one of the blues, his eye still wide.
Manny pointed to the door leading from the kitchen and motioned he was going through the door.
The second cop began to raise an objection; Manny waved it off.
“Go. One minute, then I’m in,” he mouthed.
The two cops looked at each other and shrugged as if saying, “It’s his ass.” They checked their watches, and then hurried through the back door.
They could be right, Manny thought. But I always knew I’d die being a cop.
The faces of Jen and Ian rose up in his mind, then Chloe . . . then Louise.
He didn’t want to die tonight, hardly. He wanted to grow old with Chloe and bounce a grandkid or two on his lap, watch them grow into fine young men and women. But what else could he do here?
People needed him to do what he had sworn he would do; protect the people from assholes like this one. There was no time to get angry or have doubts.
Glancing at his watch, he exhaled, rose to a crouch, and rushed the door.
He grabbed the knob, swung it open, and dove through, Gloc
k poised and eyes wide open.
Two quick bursts of gunfire greeted his entrance.
The killer stood with his back to Manny, blood running down his left shoulder, pointing his automatic weapon at the front door, apparently shooting at the two cops Manny had sent out the back door.
That wasn’t the whole scene.
There were four bloodied bodies of the Miami-Dade cops who had entered the front door scattered around the lit living room. His eyes searched for Marie.
He found her.
Marie Swifton’s dark eyes were open, but her focus was on another world. The bullet that had taken away part of her forehead was the same culprit that sent her to the afterlife. Her hand rested on Duane James’s back, their blood pooling together beneath them.
Without hesitation, Manny squeezed off three quick rounds.
He didn’t need the last two.
The first bullet struck the shooter in the back of the head, dropping him to the floor, his rifle landing as he pitched forward into the flat-screen TV and then bounced back to the hardwood, facing Manny.
Rising quickly, Manny kept his gun leveled on the shooter until he realized the man had breathed his last. He stared at the face and, through the distorted features caused by his slug, recognized Eric Tovant.
In the next instance, the screen door burst open and the two cops entered, both yelling for the unsub to drop his weapon. It took a second for them to focus, but when they did, their pained revulsion seemed to embrace the entire room.
The first officer who had entered the door slowly dropped his weapon to his side then knelt beside one of the slain cops, tears rolling uncontrollable down to his chin.
“I’m sorry, Jake. We didn’t know either, man. We didn’t know, brother. I’m so sorry. Partners are supposed to have each other’s backs. I’m so . . .”
The young man quit speaking then sat down cross-legged, putting his hand on his partner’s chest, patting it slowly. The second officer swore, then hurried out the front door. The cop’s dinner welled and splattered on the stoop while he petitioned God for help.
Manny shifted his attention to the four dead cops, blood covering half of the room. His mind had gown past the anger and dipped into the hopeless.