[Lady Justice 25] - Lady Justice and the Spy Read online

  Four hours later, I received a call from Mark.

  “Walt, the agency is willing to deal, but if there is a rogue agent, they want him taken alive. They’ve been getting a lot of flak about these missing doctors and want some answers. If we can get this guy to talk in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table, maybe we can identify who’s behind all these senseless murders.”

  “I don’t see a problem with that. What are they offering?”

  As soon as I hung up from Mark, I called Kevin and Sarah.

  An hour later, we were together in my office.

  “Sarah, my brother came through for us. We have a deal with Con Ops that will take away some of your ‘ifs.’”

  “Really? What kind of deal?”

  “First, they’re recalling the agents who have been after you since you arrived in Kansas City. According to Mark, the agency has no one else anywhere close to here. Second, they’ve put a fifty thousand dollar bounty on you, dead or alive. If there is a rogue agent in the area, that should get his attention.”

  “Fifty thousand! They must want me real bad.”

  “Actually, they don’t, and this is the best part. If we pull this off, they’ll take you off their most wanted list.”

  I saw the look of surprise on her face. “You’ve got to be kidding. Please tell me you’re not kidding!”

  “Nope, that’s the deal. When this is all over, they’ll retire you from the agency, but you’ll have to change your name and identity. You still know too much to fall into enemy hands.”

  She threw her arms around my neck. “I’ll actually be free. No more looking over my shoulder. I don’t know how you pulled this off, but thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. We still have to catch this guy, and the agency wants him alive so they can get to the bottom of these doc murders.”

  “Hmmm, that does complicate things. I had hoped to just ice the guy. Now I’ll have to rethink my strategy. The first thing I’d like to do is move back into the Three Trails if it’s all right with you.”

  “Sure, but why?”

  “First, I don’t want to put Maxine in danger, and second, I want to be sure he can find me. The Three Trails is perfect. It’s public, but there are enough people around that he probably wouldn’t try to hit me there.”

  “I’ll let Mary know you’re moving back. Last I heard, your old room was still empty. So, how can Kevin and I help?”

  “You can’t. You would only be in my way. I can’t spend my time worrying about the two of you getting killed. Veronica would never forgive me. You’ve done enough. This is between me and the guy out there.”

  CHAPTER 22

  Fifty thousand, he thought. Whatever she’s done, it must have really pissed off someone in the agency. The doc can wait a few days. He’s not going anywhere. A sixty-three year old broad. Thor versus Nightshade. It should be a piece of cake.

  Using the skills he had honed over the years, the agent, code name Thor, began his search for the woman with the generous bounty on her head, and found her holing up in a dumpy rooming house on Linwood.

  For several days he watched, making note of her daily activities, planning his assault.

  Finally, he was ready.

  Sarah knew if an agent was after her, he would observe her for a few days, planning the optimal time and place to make his move.

  That’s what she would do.

  With that in mind, she developed a routine that she followed every day without fail. A routine that would seem ideal to her assailant, but was in fact, a part of her plan to lure him into a trap.

  The first few days after moving back into the hotel were uneventful, but one day, something was different. A sixth sense she had developed over four decades in the service, told her she was being watched. It was time to put her plan in motion.

  Every morning she had driven to Loose Park, south of the Plaza on Wornall Road, where she spent an hour jogging along the paved path that circled the seventy-five acre park. There were benches along the path and she had selected one that was in the least traveled area of the park.

  The night before, under cover of darkness, she had hidden a mannequin torso dressed the same as her, in shrubbery close to the bench.

  As she approached the bench, she looked left, right and behind her. Seeing no one, she retrieved the mannequin from the bushes, propped it up on the bench, then crawled on her belly to a shallow ravine fifty yards away.

  She would wait. If her attacker didn’t show, she would hide the mannequin and repeat the sequence of events the next day.

  Fifteen minutes after crawling into the ravine, she heard a ‘pop,’ and the mannequin’s head exploded like a ripe cantaloupe. Her attacker was using a suppressor to muffle the sound.

  She knew he would be coming. He needed a hand or at least a finger to take to the agency to collect his bounty.

  She saw him strolling along the path like any other hiker, his weapon hidden in a bag slung over his shoulder.

  Quietly, she took aim with her Beretta. One shot to the kneecap should bring him down and immobilize him long enough for her to get him in cuffs.

  She was about to squeeze the trigger when he stopped short. He had seen the dummy and instinctively knew it was a trap. He dropped to the ground and rolled before Sarah could fire.

  Back on his feet, the attacker turned and ran in the direction from which he had come. Sarah leaped from the ravine, knelt, and was about to take a shot at the fleeing figure, when another figure caught her eye. It was a young woman pushing a stroller. She couldn’t take the shot.

  Dismayed, she watched the man disappear in the distance.

  Round one was over. It had ended in a tie.

  She’s good, Thor thought. Really good.

  Somehow, Nightshade knew he was coming and lured him into a trap. He would have to be more cautious.

  He thought the ambush in the park would do the trick because he had the element of surprise, but now that she knew he was coming for her, his next attempt would be from a distance. He could not risk exposing himself again. If it hadn’t been for the woman with the stroller, he would probably have taken a shot in the back, if she was any marksman at all. He had to assume that she was.

  He had just the thing. The only problem would be finding a piece of her big enough to collect his bounty.

  Sarah knew her attacker would not be so careless the next time. He would not risk another close encounter.

  Once again, she put herself in his shoes. If she was pursuing another skilled agent, what would be her next move?

  After careful reflection, she climbed into her Jeep and headed to National Auto Sound and Security on 40 Highway. An hour later, for two hundred bucks, her Jeep was equipped with a Compustar Remote Start System.

  Satisfied, she headed back to the Three Trails, stopping at Mel’s Diner along the way for a tasty burger.

  The next morning, she looked out her window to the street and sidewalk below.

  She had parked the Jeep a half block from the hotel entrance in front of a vacant lot. She watched the flow of traffic, and when no cars were coming and no pedestrians were close by, she pushed the button on the remote start.

  BOOOM! The explosion shook the building and rattled the windows of the old hotel, and the Jeep erupted in a ball of flames. She heard commotion in the hall as tenants rushed to the street to gawk at the burning hulk.

  She heard one of the tenants exclaim, “What the hell was that? Hey, Feeney, you look kinda pale. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m still in one piece --- but I think I wet myself.”

  Sarah smiled as she looked out the window. She had guessed right. She watched the traffic creep by, slowing to take a look at the devastation.

  Then she saw him. He slowed, no doubt looking for a charred corpse. Seeing none, he sped away.

  Round two. Another tie.

  CHAPTER 23

  I had decided on pancakes for a change, and was just screwing the lid off of Aunt Jemima sy
rup when the phone rang.

  It was a breathless Mary Murphy. “Mr. Walt! Come quick! Someone just tried to blow up the hotel!”

  Visions of rubble, a massive crater, and dead bodies filled my mind. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, I guess so, but I’m pretty shaky.”

  “I’ll be right over.”

  Aunt Jemima would have to wait.

  When I arrived at the Three Trails, I was relieved to see that it was still standing. A fire truck was pouring water on the hulk of a burned-out Jeep.

  Oh no! I thought. Sarah!

  I rushed to the nearest fireman. “Was there a body in there?”

  “No, thank heavens,” he replied. “Just the Jeep.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief.

  The front lawn of the hotel and the sidewalk were filled with curious onlookers. I spotted Mr. Feeney huddled with several of my other tenants. There was a dark stain on the front of his trousers.

  “Mr. Feeney, what happened?”

  “Damned if I know. I was jus’ sittin’ on my bed eatin’ a pop tart an’ all hell broke loose. Shook the bed, rattled the windows, an’ scared the pee-waddin’ out o’ me. Dropped my pop tart too.”

  “Yes, I noticed. Glad you’re okay.”

  Then I saw Mary on the front porch.

  She waved. “Mr. Walt! Thank goodness you’re here. My heart’s still pounding.”

  “Looks like there’s no major damage and all the tenants seem to be safe.”

  “Hell of a way to start the day,” she muttered.

  Then I remembered Sarah. “I need to check upstairs. I’ll be right back.”

  I knocked on the door of #8.

  “Come on in, Walt. I saw you drive up.”

  She was staring out the window at the spectacle below.

  “I’m guessing this was the work of our guy?” I ventured.

  “It was, and thankfully I anticipated his latest move. He wired an explosive to my ignition system, but I had a remote start installed. I figured he would try something like this. That’s why I parked in front of that vacant lot. I hope the hotel wasn’t damaged too much.”

  “Doesn’t seem to be. Any idea what he might do next?”

  “My guess, since he’s failed twice, is that he’ll back off and reassess the situation.”

  “Twice! When was the first time?”

  She told me about her run in with the assassin in Loose Park.

  “Jesus, Sarah! We’ve got to get this guy. If you guess wrong just once, it’s all over.”

  “There’s no ‘we,’ Walt. Just me and him. There’s no way I’d put any of you in danger. I’ll be fine.”

  “I hope so. After all, you’re part of our family.”

  “You’re sweet,” she replied, patting me on the back. “Now get out of here. I have to think.”

  Thor was livid.

  He sped away from the burning Jeep, hoping she hadn’t seen him.

  One step ahead of me again, he thought.

  He realized this wasn’t just a routine kill. He was up against an experienced agent who, thus far, had anticipated his every move.

  If he was to collect his bounty and not find his name on her kill list, he’d have to be more careful, more precise.

  The situation definitely demanded more study and a deeper look into the life of Sarah Savage.

  It had been a week since the Jeep bombing and things had been relatively quiet.

  I knew Sarah had purchased another vehicle, but I hadn’t actually talked to her since she kindly invited me to skedaddle so she could think.

  Mary had phoned and asked me to bring Willie over for some minor maintenance work. The explosion had fractured the ancient putty securing several panes of glass. The tenants were already jumpy because of the bombing, and glass shattering certainly didn’t help calm their nerves or Mr. Feeney’s incontinence.

  When we arrived, I noticed Sarah’s new car was there, so after getting Willie situated, I knocked on her door.

  “Door’s unlocked.”

  “I haven’t heard from you since the Jeep incident. Anything cooking with your stalker?”

  “No, and that worries me. I’ve tried to put myself in his shoes and anticipate what his next move would be, but I’m drawing blanks. After failing twice, he’s obviously backed off and reassessing his position.”

  “Any chance he’s given up? Maybe I should start watching Doctor Briles again.”

  “No, he hasn’t given up. It’s an ego thing now. There’s no way he’ll admit to being beaten by a woman --- especially a sixty-three year old woman.”

  At that moment, her burner cell rang.

  I was surprised. “I thought only Pandora and I had that number.”

  “That’s true. No one else does,” she replied, perplexed. “Where is your phone, by the way?”

  “In my car in the glove box.”

  I saw the look of frustration on her face. “Not any more! It’s him! Somehow he’s figured out our connection. I have a bad feeling about this.”

  She punched the button and hit ‘speaker phone.’ “Who is this?”

  “You know very well who it is, Sarah. You’ve been a worthy adversary, but now it’s about over. Thor versus Nightshade, an epic battle, but you’re going to lose.”

  “It’s not over till the fat lady sings, and I’m not hearing any tunes.”

  “You will soon enough, and they’ll be coming from the mouth of that beautiful daughter of yours.”

  Sarah gasped.

  “That’s right, Sarah. Your worst nightmare, a threat to someone you care about more than yourself. Veronica, say ‘hi’ to mommy dearest.”

  A shaky voice came on the line. “Sarah, he’s ---!”

  We heard a slap and a moan. “That’s enough, bitch!”

  Sarah grimaced. “You’ve crossed the line Thor, or whatever your name is. Now you’re a dead man.”

  “Oh, yeah?” he replied, laughing. “We’ll see about that. Now let’s get down to business. I assume you want to see your little girl get out of this in one piece, and I want that fifty grand, so let’s make a trade, you for your kid.”

  “I figured that’s where this was going. Where and when?”

  “There’s an abandoned school on 70th Terrace, Blenheim. One hour. We’ll be waiting for you in the gymnasium --- and come alone!”

  “I’ll be there, but I won’t be alone. After we trade, I have to have someone who will get Veronica safely away.”

  “Sure, bring the old fart. The one who left his cell phone in the glove box. I understand you’ve been pretty cozy with him.”

  “We’ll be there, but if you touch my daughter again, I’ll cut your heart out and stuff it down your throat.”

  “Don’t get your panties in a wad. She’ll be fine.”

  The line went dead.

  I felt terrible. “Sarah, I’m so sorry about the phone.”

  “That’s not important. I’ve got to hand it to him. He found my weak spot. Do you know this Blenheim school?”

  “Yes, it’s been closed going on ten years. What are you going to do?”

  “Do? I’m going to get my daughter of course, and you’re going to make sure she’s safe before he takes me away.”

  “That’s it? You’re going to let him win?”

  “You got a better idea?”

  Just then my cell phone rang.

  “Walt, it’s Kevin. Have you seen or heard from Veronica? She left the apartment to run to the Quick Trip for a quart of milk. That was two hours ago. She’s not back and her cell goes straight to voice mail.”

  “Better sit down, Kevin. I have some bad news.”

  I told him about the phone call from Thor.

  “Let’s get that son-of-a-bitch,” he muttered.

  “My thoughts exactly,” I replied. “Meet us at Blenheim and bring an extra gun for Willie. I have an idea.”

  Forty-five minutes later, Sarah and my crew were outside the old school.

  “Everybody know
what to do?” I asked.

  Nods all around.

  “Good! Let’s go get Veronica.”

  As I hoped, the gymnasium was like most all of the gyms of that era. There were four doors, one at each corner.

  Sarah and I entered through one. Thor and Veronica were in the middle of the gym. He had a gun to her head.

  “Right on time,” he said. “I like that. Let’s get this over with. Come on over Sarah, and I’ll let your little girl go.”

  “Not so fast, Thor. Veronica, are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. Don’t do this Sarah.”

  “It’s the least I can do for the child I abandoned years ago.”

  “How touching!” Thor said. “Now get over here!”

  “No! You release Veronica and we’ll exchange. I’m not going to move until she’s moving.”

  “Have it your way,” he replied, giving Veronica a shove.

  As they passed, Sarah whispered, “I love you.”

  When Sarah reached Thor, she turned. “Walt, get her out of here.”

  I grabbed Veronica and led her into the hall.

  When I returned, Thor’s gun was pointed at Sarah’s head.

  “What are you doing back here? Take the girl and beat it before I change my mind.”

  “I don’t think so,” I replied, pulling my gun.

  “Oh, tough guy, huh,” he said, moving toward another exit.

  At that moment, Kevin appeared with his gun.

  “Ahh, reinforcements! Looks like I underestimated you again, Sarah.”

  He moved toward the third exit and Willie appeared. “Come on ova’ so I can shoot yo’ ass!”

  As he moved toward the last remaining exit, Sarah screamed, “Take the shot! Take the shot!”

  Thor inched backwards keeping Sarah in front of him, twisting from side to side to block a clear shot.

  Concentrating on the three of us, he backed through the last door.

  He saw it coming, but it was too late. There was a ‘crunch’ as Mary’s bat slammed into his hand, sending the gun flying across the floor. Her second swing caught him on the temple and he crumpled to the floor.