The Greatest Good

by Craig N Hooper

  “Most powerful handgun in production.”

  “Heard it has three times the muzzle velocity of a .44 Magnum.”

  “It’s a beast.”

  Kowalski dug into his pocket and handed me five rounds. “It was loaded, and I didn’t want to accidentally blow my foot off.”

  I took the bullets. “You’re a fine officer, Kowalski. I mean it.”

  His face got redder, if that was possible. “Ah, no worries. It’s the least I can do to help. That Agent Gates is really out to get you.”

  I scratched my head. “Any idea why?”

  “Wish I knew, but I’m in the dark on most things.”

  “Did Gates happen to come by your station today?”

  Kowalski shook his head.

  “Did you find out who he works for?”

  “Actually,” Kowalski said, leaning in, “rumor has it he works for the CIA.”

  “The Company?” I scratched at my stubbly chin. “No, he can’t work for The Company.”

  Kowalski leaned back. “I know, CIA agents don’t operate on domestic soil. That’s why I said rumor has it he works for them. I didn’t hear that info from my CO. It’s just the rumor that’s floating around headquarters.”

  I eyeballed Kowalski. “Just a rumor then.”

  “Maybe, maybe not.” Kowalski shrugged.

  I changed subjects. No way was Gates CIA. The Company operates almost exclusively on foreign soil. “This is a crazy question, Kowalski, I know: You wouldn’t have a way to contact him, would you?”

  He shook his head. “Sorry, Chase.”

  We made small talk for another minute, then I patted Kowalski on the shoulder and watched him leave. After closing the door, I slid the Weatherby case under the bed and took the 500 to the kitchen table. Just when I’d finished reloading, a hard knock rattled the entire room. Since I held a loaded gun, I didn’t bother getting up to see who was at the door. I clicked off the safety. “Who’s there?” I said.

  “Karla.”

  I clicked on the safety and put the revolver on the table. “Come in.”

  Karla walked in. Her eyes looked glassy, and I noticed the spring was gone from her step. She took a seat at the chrome table.

  “Nice gun,” she said. “Where’d you get that?”

  “Tooth fairy.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “What’s up?” I asked. “I didn’t expect to see you back here so soon.”

  “So I tried to meet with Stanley—”

  “What do you mean, tried?”

  “His father put him in protective custody, in WITSEC, can you believe that?”

  I ran my hand over my head. WITSEC stood for the Witness Security Program, a solid operation run by the US Marshals. “But you’re the lead investigator on this,” I said. “How can you not meet with Stanley?”

  “Apparently it’s temporary, until Stanley is settled. Once they’re done processing and relocating him, I’ll be able to speak with him on the phone. Hornsby doesn’t even know where the kid is right now.”

  “On the phone? Not in person?”

  “Yeah, no FBI agents are to be physically near Stanley, ever.”

  “Courtesy of his father, I suppose.”

  “The governor’s pissed.”

  I nodded. “And that’s probably an understatement.”

  “Then again,” Karla said, “parents do crazy stuff for their kids, almost anything to protect them.”

  I eyed her. “They sure do.” I walked over to my tiny kitchen. “Want some water? It’s all I have.”

  She shook her head. I filled a cup for myself. Just as I finished, another knock nearly broke down the door.

  “Expecting anyone?” Karla asked.

  I shook my head and went to the window, thinking maybe Kowalski forgot something. I peeled back the drapes.

  It wasn’t Kowalski, not even close.

  Eva O’Connor stood in front of the motel door. She wore a tight velour track suit. The suit was jet black and had a small zip top that accentuated her upper body. The pants hugged all the right places, too. I stared, not because she looked great, but because I’d figured I wouldn’t see her so soon after the restaurant incident. How did she know I was staying here?

  Another hard knock.

  “Uh,” Karla said, “Are you going to get that before the wall collapses?”

  “Gimme a second.”

  I slipped out and smiled at Eva. “This is a surprise.”

  She gave a wary look, but didn’t say anything.

  “A pleasant one,” I added. “I wanted to apologize about the restaurant. I had a ton of bad coffee earlier in the day—”

  “Far enough.” Eva held up her hand. “Spare me the details.”

  “How’d you know I was staying here?”

  “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

  “Place is a mess.” I faked a smile.

  “Already? You just checked in, didn’t you?”

  “Seriously, how’d you know I was staying here?”

  “Garrison.“ She sighed. “I work for the government.” She said it straight-faced, so I didn’t know if it was a joke or not.

  “Right,” I said. “Come on in. Another federal agent is here. We’re working on a case.”

  Eva stepped into the motel room. When she saw Karla, her eyes narrowed. “Oh, sorry to interrupt.”

  “You’re not interrupting anything,” Karla was quick to say.

  Eva backed out of the room. “I’ll come back later, Garrison, when you aren’t working.”

  “No, it’s not like that,” I said. “We truly are working.”

  “Here in a motel room?” Eva tilted her head. “It’s fine, Garrison, it’s not like we had an exclusive thing going. It’s not like we’ve even been intimate yet.”

  She said it loud enough to ensure Karla heard.

  “Eva,” I said. “Nothing is going on here.”

  She spun and walked toward her car. I followed her.

  She turned around about halfway to her car. “Just wanted to hear about the shooting at Stanley’s place this morning, that’s all. Saw you on TV so I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  The words seemed nice, but her tone wasn’t convincing.

  “Eva, wait. Let me explain.”

  Before I could smooth things over with her, she hopped into her Toyota Prius and stuck her head out the window.

  “Have a wonderful night,” she said.

  The Prius silently zipped away.

  I watched her go, then walked back to the room.

  “Ouch,” Karla said. “Sorry about that.”

  “No worries, seriously. That’s twice in two days she’s stormed out on me.”

  “Going that well, huh?”

  “Yup.” I took a seat in one of the chrome kitchen chairs.

  There were a few moments of awkwardness. Karla was quick to change subjects. She asked, “So what did you learn about Gates?”

  I cleared my throat. “A crazy rumor that can’t be true. I won’t even bother you with that. My connection hasn’t come through yet. What did you find out?”

  “That the WBC employs a bunch of upstanding citizens.”

  “Really? Nothing?”

  “Not even a hint of criminal activity. A few parking tickets, that’s all. I tried upper, mid and lower management, nobody had a record. So I met with Pepperstein. He was still shaken up, but I grilled him anyway. Like you said, those two don’t have the brainpower to figure out much. They didn’t have any leads.”

  “How’s Labonte? Did you hear?”

  “Touch-and-go for now. He’s in the critical care unit. By the way, when I met with Pepperstein this afternoon he kept referring to you as ‘Mag’. What’s that about?”

  I wasn’t prepared for that question, so I didn’t respond right away.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I’m prying again. It’s a problem for me.”

  “No, it’s fine, you’re not prying. It’s an honest question. It’s just that y
ou already have a tainted picture of me from the whole YouTube thing. So I don’t want you refusing to work with me.”

  “That bad, huh? Now I really want to hear it.”

  “I’ll tell the story on one condition.”

  “That is?”

  “No matter what, you keep working with me.”

  She nodded. “Talk to me.”

  “The ‘Mag’ nickname comes from a story about two years old now—”

  Just then Karla’s cellphone chirped. She dug it out of her pocket, held out a finger, and apologized.

  Figuring it was her husband, I went to the kitchen, turned on the tap, and poured another glass of water. Even with the water running, I could still hear Karla’s voice.

  “Just calm down,” she was saying.

  To drown out the conversation, I turned the faucet on full, but Karla’s voice grew louder, so loud that I finally looked over and realized she was yelling at me. I turned off the faucet.

  “It’s Stanley,” Karla said, holding out the phone, “and he’s freaking out.”

  CHAPTER 14

  Igrabbed the phone. All I heard was heavy breathing.

  “What’s happening, Stanley?” I said.

  “Nobody’s here, Agent Chase. Everybody’s gone. I can’t. I don’t—”

  “Take a breath, Stanley.”

  “I’m walking around and can’t find anybody. There are supposed to be people here. Where is everyone? I have no clue what’s going on.”

  “Breathe, Stanley.”

  He took a huge breath, like he was drawing oxygen from his feet. It was so loud in my ear that I actually had to pull the phone away for a second. After that, I put the phone back. I could hear Stanley moving about the house.

  “Stop walking around, Stanley. Take a seat and fill me in.”

  A moment later I heard him pull out a chair and sit.

  “Now tell me what happened,” I said.

  “An hour ago two US Marshals were in the safe house with me, along with my nurse. But now I can’t find anyone. What the hell’s going on, Agent Chase.”

  “It’s okay. Just keep calm and focus. Tell me everything that happened in the last hour.”

  He took a quick breath, then launched into his story. “I was in the bedroom working on my computer. The marshals had been checking up on me every half hour. No one had come back for a full hour, so I was getting thirsty and went to the kitchen for a Diet Coke, but I didn’t see or hear anyone, and I couldn’t find anyone in the house. All I could think to do was call Karla. She gave me her cell number yesterday.”

  He paused to breathe.

  “Are you sure you’re alone?”

  “I’m all alone?” I heard him get up. “Am I really? Is this for real, Agent Chase?”

  I scratched my head. What kind of question was that?

  “Listen, Stanley, sit back down. You need to be calm.”

  I waited for him to sit. No chance he was going to calm down anytime soon, however. I knew the situation was bad. Marshals would never leave a safe house unless there was an imminent threat outside.

  “Are you sitting, Stanley?”

  A brief pause. “I am now.”

  “Good,” I said. “Now did you look outside? Maybe the marshals are doing a perimeter sweep.”

  “No, I didn’t check outside.” He breathed heavy into the phone. “Of course they’re doing a perimeter sweep. That must be what they’re doing. I’ll check—”

  “Stanley,” I interrupted. “Don’t go outside. I repeat, do not go outside.”

  “Why? What do I do then? And why are you raising your voice?”

  His breathing picked up.

  “Go to the front of the house,” I said. “Stand by the front door, but not directly behind it. Do it now.”

  “Got it.” I heard Stanley scurry to the front. “Okay, I’m there.”

  “Is the living room to the right or left?”

  “Right.”

  “Is there a window in the room, maybe overlooking the front yard?”

  “Yeah, a big bay window, and the curtains are drawn.”

  “Good, don’t go over to the window, though. Stand to the right of the door and the left of the window, with your back against the wall.”

  A brief pause. “Okay, I’m in position.”

  “Get down low, on your hands and knees, then peek out the bottom edge of the curtains.”

  “One second, Agent Chase.”

  He must’ve put the phone against his pants. I heard a muffled sound and some scratching. When the sounds stopped, I asked, “Can you see anything? Or is it too dark?”

  “I can see; the streetlights turned on not long ago.”

  “Anyone there? Any movement? Anything out of the ordinary?”

  Silence for a few seconds. “No. Nothing out of the ordinary, as far as I can tell.”

  “Any cars parked across the street?”

  “No.”

  “Anything weird or unusual or out of place? Anything at all?”

  “Everything looks normal, Agent Chase. Of course, this is the first time I’ve been in this house, so I really don’t know what normal is.”

  “Sure, I understand. Just looking for something obvious, Stanley.”

  What I really wanted to know was whether there were any people lurking around outside or any bodies scattered on the front yard. I didn’t want to ask Stanley those questions directly. He’d freak out if I did, and I needed him as calm as he could be. Since he didn’t mention anything unusual like a dead body on the yard, I figured the front of the house was secure for the time being.

  “Stanley, I need you to check around the front of the house, on the inside.”

  “For what?”

  I paused and debated going down this road.

  “I said, for what, Agent Chase?”

  In the end, I had to bring up the obvious. “For any signs of struggle, of a fight, or a break-in.”

  “A break-in? A fight?” He took a big breath. “You’re freaking me out. What the hell’s going on?”

  “Focus, Stanley, check around.”

  He immediately responded. “I can’t see any signs of struggle.”

  “Stanley, you didn’t move. I would have heard you move. Now I need you to move. Go back to the front door and see if the lock has been tampered with. Check the doorframe around the lock, too.”

  I heard him get up slowly, probably the slowest the kid had ever moved.

  “Nothing, Agent Chase. The lock’s fine and the door’s intact.”

  “Get a good look around, take your time. It’s important.”

  Stanley didn’t say anything for fifteen seconds. He didn’t pull the phone away either, so I waited and listened to his strained breathing.

  “Nothing,” he said. “I don’t see anything. Wait a minute.”

  He paused.

  “Wait a minute what?” I said.

  “There’s something here, above the doorframe. A little piece of electrical wire, and something’s stuck into it. It’s a loop. It looks like an electrical circuit.”

  My heart raced. It couldn’t be. “Stuck into what, Stanley? What does it look like?”

  He didn’t answer right away. I almost didn’t want him to answer. I was afraid of his answer.

  “Like putty, Agent Chase. Grey in color and it’s flattened in a circle, about the size of a quarter. It’s—”

  “Get out,” I snapped.

  “What?”

  “Get out NOW,” I shouted. “Get the hell out of the house.”

  “You said not to go outside.”

  “GET OUT,” I yelled. I couldn’t remember the last time I yelled like that.

  Stanley fumbled with the lock. I could hear the safety chain jiggling and the dead bolt releasing. A second later I heard the doorknob turn, then the door suck open. Footsteps raced away. The patter of Stanley’s feet and his labored breathing overwhelmed any other sound.

  Suddenly a huge explosion rang in my ear; so loud I instinctive
ly pulled the phone away, then I quickly put it back.

  And heard nothing but static on the other end.

  CHAPTER 15

  Ikept listening to the static, hoping Stanley’s voice would magically return.

  Karla put her hand on my shoulder. “What happened?”

  I looked at her and blinked. “A big explosion. I’m assuming the safe house blew up.”

  “Blew up? What about Stanley? Is he okay?”

  I swallowed. “I’m not sure.”

  Karla pried the phone from my ear and listened, then snapped it shut. “Did he get out in time?”

  “I think. I mean, I hope. I know he got out of the safe house, but I’m not sure he’s okay. It depends on how big the blast was.”

  I ran my left hand over my head. Maybe the shooter/arsonist meant to spare Stanley again. I thought deeper, eventually shaking my head. No, that can’t be. The shooter/arsonist couldn’t have known I would tip Stanley off about the Semtex. I blew out a breath. The kid was meant to die this time.

  “What do we do now?” Karla asked. “We don’t even know where Stanley is.”

  I pointed at the cell. “This is going to show my ignorance, but can’t we just call him back? Doesn’t that thing show the incoming call number?”

  “Usually, but whatever number Stanley called from was blocked. All it said was private. I’m calling Hornsby.”

  “Wait.” I held up my hand.

  She kept dialing.

  “Karla, this is an inside job. Think about it. It has to be.”

  She shook her head. “For Stanley’s sake, we have to get someone over there now.”

  “Fire trucks and cops are on their way. Semtex was used in the explosion, so it was huge. The whole neighborhood heard it. A dozen people probably called 911 by now.”

  Karla eyed me. “We need to grab the kid and protect him if he’s alive. We need to send a team, or at least someone.”

  “The shooter/arsonist is probably on the inside, Karla. If that’s true, and if Stanley’s still alive, the inside man could finish him off. Right?”

  She looked at the phone, then back at me. A second later she closed the cell. “This is crazy, you understand?”

  “I do.”

  “I mean, you’re saying this inside man works for the federal government and is trying to kill the governor’s son. Why? Why would a fed be after Stanley?”