by K C Gillis
“Don’t leave town. If Mr. Vitali can’t find you when he needs you, it won’t be good for you.”
“I won’t.”
Jordan thought the look on the chief’s face said otherwise.
The volume of multiple sirens was now overpowering. They had to be only seconds away.
“Get her, Tony,” Nicky said. “We’ve got to get out of here now.”
The big man grabbed Jordan’s arm. He pushed her toward the Escalade at what passed for a run for a large man with a limp.
“Jordan,” a voice called out. It was Rachel. Jordan looked over her left shoulder and saw Rachel and Travis. Rachel immediately started running toward her.
“Rachel, stay back,” Jordan yelled.
Travis caught Rachel and grabbed her arm, stopping her in the middle of the parking lot.
Nicky reached the Escalade and opened the driver’s side door. “Move it,” he yelled at Tony.
When Jordan was no more than ten steps from the Escalade, a caravan of emergency vehicles invaded the parking lot. The multitude of flashing lights momentarily froze everyone in their tracks. Three fire trucks entered the parking lot first, the lead truck slamming on its brakes at the sight of the group of people standing around.
Jordan barely had time to register the other four emergency vehicles as Tony shoved her into the back seat of the Escalade. He then got into the passenger seat while Nicky got in the driver’s seat. To her surprise, there was no one else in the vehicle. Specifically, no Robbie Vitali. The engine of the Escalade was running, and Nicky slowly started to nudge it around the emergency vehicles, heading for the exit.
As Nicky tried to sneak through the maze of vehicles, Jordan saw Travis and Rachel race for the three state police cars that had come in behind the fire trucks.
Rachel got to the lead police car first. “You’ve got to stop that Escalade,” she said to the first officer who got out of his car. “They have my sister.”
The chief came up beside Rachel, the state police officer immediately recognizing the uniform. “What the hell’s going on here? I thought we came for a fire?”
“You did. This woman’s confused. I’ll get her out of the way.”
The chief put his hands on Rachel’s shoulders to direct her away, but she would have none of it. “Get your hands off me.” Rachel shrugged herself free and turned back to the officer. “I’m not confused. Two men grabbed my sister, and they’re in that Escalade,” she said, pointing.
“Do you want me to stop the vehicle, Sarge?” another officer said.
The sergeant looked from the chief to Rachel. “You’re sure about this?”
“Yes, yes,” Rachel said. “She’s in the back. Help her.” Tears started to well in her eyes.
“I told you, there’s nothing going on here,” the chief said.
“Ah, shit. John, Dev, stop that vehicle and take a look inside,” the sergeant said.
Jordan couldn’t really hear what was being said in the parking lot, but she saw two state police officers approach the Escalade. The officer to the rear had a hand on her weapon. Nicky had momentarily stopped driving when Travis put himself in front of the Escalade. But the approaching officers forced his hand.
He gave a quick pump of gas to the engine, and the Escalade shot forward, hitting Travis and punting him backward a good ten yards. This created the space Nicky needed to head for the exit. He accelerated.
In the instant it took for Nicky to hit Travis and accelerate, three of the state police officers had drawn their weapons, pointed them at the vehicle, and ordered the driver to stop. The sergeant must have realized the driver of the vehicle wasn’t going to stop. He aimed at the right front tire and fired four rounds. The tire exploded.
The Escalade had been lined up with the exit, but the exploding tire sent it skidding to the right. Instead of driving through the gate, the Escalade crashed into the stone wall that bordered the parking lot entrance.
Within seconds, the Escalade was surrounded by six state police officers, guns drawn.
Jordan heard the sergeant yell, “Come out slowly, with your hands in the air.”
She tried to open her door, but it was locked, as were the windows.
“It’s over, Nicky,” she said. “Let me out.”
Nicky turned and looked at her. “Only for now.”
Jordan heard her door unlock and wasted no time pushing it open and getting out. The screams of “hands in the air” reminded her that the police had no idea if she was good or bad in this situation. She threw her arms up and said, “I don’t have a gun.” Despite her statement, one officer grabbed Jordan and turned her around to be searched.
While Jordan was being patted down, two police officers took up a position facing the open door Jordan had just exited, aiming their weapons at Nicky and Tony. They were instructed to get out of the vehicle, where they were each greeted by a pair of police officers and handcuffed.
Jordan heard Rachel say, “That’s my sister,” and a moment later, Jordan was wrapped in her sister’s arms.
“Hey, sis,” Jordan said, hugging her back. “I’m OK. Where’s Travis?”
“He’s at that ambulance,” Rachel said, pointing to the ambulance thirty feet away.
The sisters walked over. Jordan saw Travis sitting in the back of the ambulance, cradling his arm. “I think your shoulder’s dislocated,” Jordan said.
“I’m pretty sure you’re right,” Travis said. “But it broke my fall and kept my head from smashing into the ground.”
“Serves you right for being so stupid.”
“I have a good role model,” Travis said with a big smile.
Jordan resisted the strong urge to hug Travis. She told herself it would hurt his shoulder.
While the firefighters had mostly moved to the marina grounds to deal with the fire, the state police put Nicky and Tony in a car while they began to sort out what the hell had happened.
Mike and Kasey arrived on the scene, the confusion on their faces reflecting that the commotion in the parking lot was just as strange as the exploding fireworks.
“What happened here?” Mike said to Jordan.
“I’ll give you the short version. The chief tried to bring me to Vitali, but Derek jumped in and freed me. Nicky and that big guy with Vitali put me in that Escalade over there. Then out of the blue, the state police showed up. I don’t know how, but they stopped the Escalade. I think this shit is almost over.”
“Almost?”
Jordan jerked her head toward the chief. “He’s acting like he’s not one of the bad guys.”
“Who’s in charge here?” Mike said.
“That officer over there,” Rachel said, pointing. “I think he’s a sergeant.”
“Come on.”
Jordan followed Mike as he walked over.
“Sergeant, you’re missing one,” Mike said.
“Really? Who?”
“The local police chief.”
“Are you shitting me?”
“Not at all. He’s been working with the Vitali family, same as those two guys you handcuffed.”
“Do you have any evidence?”
Mike looked at Jordan. “Do we have anything?”
“Hell yeah. He just held me at gunpoint and handed me over to the two guys you have in handcuffs. Ask them. Or ask that guy over there,” Jordan said, pointing to Derek.
“Isn’t he the chief’s son?”
“Yes. And he tackled his dad to try to free me.”
“This is messed up,” the sergeant said. “Give me a minute.” He walked toward Derek.
Jordan saw the chief start to move toward his Explorer, which was parked about halfway down the row of cars in the lot. He must have seen Jordan and Mike talking to the sergeant, who was facing away from him.
“Keep on the sergeant,” Jordan told Mike. “I’m getting my car.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Block the exit, of course.” Jordan moved toward her car, which was
equidistant from her as the chief’s but parked closer to the exit.
Mike followed the sergeant to Derek. “Sorry to interrupt, Sergeant, but the chief’s going to try to leave.”
The sergeant turned and saw the situation. The chief was almost to his car.
“Hey,” the sergeant yelled toward the chief. “You’re not cleared to leave.”
The chief sprinted the last few steps, climbed into his Explorer, and started the engine. Seconds later, the Explorer’s wheels were spinning on the parking lot gravel as the chief reversed the vehicle before turning for the exit.
Jordan saw the sergeant and two other state troopers draw their weapons and aim at the Explorer at the same time as she started her car and accelerated toward the exit. Several shots were fired, all contacting with the Explorer but not stopping it.
Jordan had her car pointed at the exit. She could see the Explorer accelerating. She tried unsuccessfully to make her old Subaru match the Explorer’s pace.
Shit, he’s going to get there before me.
Jordan abandoned the notion of blocking the exit, altering course slightly to the right. An instant before the chief reached the exit, Jordan’s Subaru smashed broadside into Vitali’s Escalade. The impact didn’t move the bigger vehicle much, but the two feet it did move was enough to cause the Explorer to clip the rear end of the Escalade, spinning it into the same stone wall that had ended the Escalade’s escape attempt.
State troopers swarmed the scene and put the chief in handcuffs. Rachel went to check on Jordan. She was shaken up and had some burns on her forearms from her airbag, but was otherwise no worse for wear.
“You are truly crazy,” Rachel said. “You must have been adopted. You really should let the police do their job.”
Jordan looked at the scene of a cop being marched off in handcuffs by other cops. “Sometimes it’s better if I handle things myself.”
“Whatever you say. Let’s go sit down.”
“Good idea. By the way, has anyone seen Robbie Vitali?”
52
Jordan slept in to ten a.m., a rare occurrence. When she opened her eyes and sat up, she saw Rachel sitting on the only chair in the hotel room, drinking tea.
“I thought you were going to go for noon,” Rachel said. “Travis has already been by twice to see if you were up.”
Jordan yawned and stretched her arms wide, further deepening her yawn. “I might have another couple of hours in me. Can we spare it?”
“Probably not. Checkout is at noon, and we should swing by the marina. Mike is expecting to see us before we head out.”
“Right. Let me take a quick shower, and then we can get out of here.”
Forty minutes later, they reached the marina, Jordan driving Travis’s car because of his injured shoulder and Rachel driving hers.
The gate was closed and unattended. Several signs indicated the marina was closed but hoped to be open by Monday. Jordan pushed the intercom button and waited. She told the person who answered that Mike was expecting them. The gate opened a moment later, and she pulled into the parking lot, followed by Rachel.
There were a handful of cars, including one state police cruiser and the three damaged vehicles: Vitali’s Escalade, the chief’s Explorer, and Jordan’s Subaru. They had all been pushed back away from the gate. Mike had offered to take care of the repairs for Jordan’s car and to even have one of his staff bring it to Boston for her.
The trio got out of their cars and entered the marina grounds.
If one looked quickly, they might have thought nothing had happened other than a Fourth of July celebration. There was a bit of garbage here and there, and the furniture on the patio was askew, some chairs knocked over. But nothing too shocking at first glance.
As Jordan surveyed the grounds and docks, the truth of the previous day’s fires became clear.
The northern end of the docks was completely blackened, as were many boats. Some slips that would normally be occupied were empty. Jordan remembered hearing explosions the day before that had definitely not been fireworks. The missing boats confirmed that a few of their gas tanks must have exploded. Most of the staff in sight was working on the docks, likely trying to remove the damaged sections.
There was other fire damage visible around the marina. Some burnt grass patches, a few holes on the canopy of the bar, some boats with black spots and holes. Even a few trees had caught fire.
Mike and Kasey approached the group as they took in the damage.
“Quite a sight, isn’t it?” Mike said.
“I’m so sorry this happened, Mike,” Jordan said. “How bad is it?”
“Worst I’ve ever seen. Most importantly, though, there were no serious injuries. Some burns, cuts, and scrapes, and a few broken bones. The marina didn’t fare as well. About a third of the docks need replacing. A handful of boats were completely destroyed, and a couple dozen were badly damaged and may need to be scrapped. There’s probably another twenty that have minor damage.”
“Your gas pump looks intact,” Travis said.
“Yeah, that was lucky. When the fire department got here, they focused on preventing secondary explosions. If the gas storage tank had exploded, we wouldn’t be standing here. We still have to inspect it before we use it again, so people will have to gas up somewhere else on the lake for a while.”
“I see the state police are still here,” Jordan said. “What have they told you?”
“Not much. It was more us telling them. Really, they’re basing everything on the statement you gave them last night.”
“Do you know what happened to those Vitali guys they arrested?” Rachel said.
“The cops told me they took them to the state police headquarters, where they’d be questioned and charged. They obviously tried to kidnap Jordan, which is a serious crime. But they said it would be hard to pin the accidents on them.”
“So they weren’t able to recover the video of the meeting? When Vitali made the threats?” Jordan asked.
“So far, they’ve had no luck. Travis’s hard drive was unreadable, and the portable camera wasn’t recovered. The video appeared not to have been backed up before Vitali’s guys damaged the hardware. It looks like testimony is all they’ve got.”
“Where’s Punch Malone?” Jordan said. “His confession should help.”
“No one knows. The cops found his car, but no one’s seen him in two days.”
Jordan recalled Robbie Vitali’s confident attitude. She thought she now knew why. That would make Malone the second person who’d died after helping her. She filed the thought away for a time when she could better deal with it.
“I don’t think he’ll be found,” Jordan said. “At least not alive.”
“I shouldn’t be surprised if he ended up dead,” Mike said. “But without him, Vitali has a chance to escape at least some or all of the charges.”
“Speaking of Vitali, did the cops find him?” Jordan asked. “He just disappeared.”
“They won’t say a thing about him. That makes me think they don’t have him. If he went to his father’s place in Jersey City, the cops here will need to convince the New Jersey State Police to help bring him in. That won’t be easy.”
“Did they take the chief as well?” Travis asked.
“Oh yeah. Regardless of what they charge him with, his days as police chief are over.”
“And the senator,” Jordan said. “What about him?”
“Probably back in Boston. He didn’t stay long enough to give a statement. If I know Chris, he’ll have a team of lawyers working on how to stop your story.”
“He might not have to work that hard. The chief took the chemical samples of what killed the fish and destroyed them. I’ve got nothing to tie the senator’s company to the dead fish.”
“Shit, Jordan. I’m sorry to hear that,” Mike said. “Do you think there’s a chance the police can get into the site to get more?”
“I doubt it. By the time I convince anyone that a crime was com
mitted, there won’t be any evidence left. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve already gotten rid of everything incriminating.”
The conversation reached a natural pause.
“So, Jordan,” Kasey said. “Will you be doing one story on all of this?”
Jordan had given her approach some thought.
“It could be three. Obviously, the whole fireworks explosion bit will be first. My editor wants a first draft by tonight. I came here because of the fish kill, so I can at least write the story on what killed the fish. I’ll have to leave the questions about who was responsible unanswered. I also thought of doing a third story on Senator Chisholm. We learned a lot about him that the voters should know since he’s up for reelection.”
“I never expected all this when you showed up,” Mike said. “I guess it was a bit more than you bargained for.”
“Maybe a bit.”
Jordan had wanted to ask about Derek, but she didn’t quite know how to bring him up. He had been helping Vitali behind the scenes, but when it had mattered most, he’d acted to help her. Kasey must have guessed what she was thinking.
“Derek’s not here,” Kasey said. “After what happened, he’s going to leave Copper Lake. He’s got one year of school left, and he’ll probably end up in Stamford or New York.”
Jordan could see Kasey holding back tears. “I’m sorry. That must be hard.”
“It is.” She looked at her dad. “But he lost our trust. I don’t see us moving on from that.”
Jordan knew that feeling all too well. “I get it.”
An awkward silence settled over the group, the kind that came when there wasn’t anything more to say. Travis took it upon himself to transition. “We should hit the road. Jordan’s got a lot of writing to do when we get back.”
The trio said goodbye to Mike and Kasey and walked back to the parking lot.
Rachel hugged Jordan and Travis. “Take care of yourself, sis. Travis, keep an eye on her. Don’t let her do anything too stupid.”
“I’ll try, but she doesn’t really listen to me.”
“I’ll talk to you soon, Rachel. Take care of my nephew or niece.”