The Brothers

by Michael Bronte

  Chapter 23… Use Precaution

  Pruitt said, “I’ve been ordered back to Northampton.”

  Lopez lowered the passenger side window and poured the rest of his coffee into the gutter. “What are you gonna do about the case?”

  Behind the wheel, Pruitt yawned and stretched as best she could within the confines of the unmarked cruiser. After two and a half days and nights in basically the same position, she was starting to become part of the seat. “There’s not much I can do. My CO gave me two days on this and I’ve already stretched it past three. I don’t think he can cut me anymore slack than he already has.” She gave Lopez a pleading look that needed no words.

  “I know what you’re thinking, but I can’t,” he said. “You had me for the weekend but I’ve got to start back on my own shift at noon today. I can hang with you until then.” He glanced at the dashboard clock noting that it was just past 7:00 a.m. “Listen, there’s definitely something going on here and I think you’ve got enough to get some backup from the Middlesex unit until you can convince your CO to put you on this full time. I know you’d rather poke yourself in the eye than hand this case over, but what choice do you have? I’d be willing to put in a word if that would help.”

  Pruitt considered his advice. “Let me think about it, but all that will take a couple of days to accomplish at least. Not only that, this is Memorial Day and I’m sure most of the Middlesex guys are off for the holiday. There’s no way I’m going to get any backup today.”

  “You’re probably right,” said Lopez. “Has the BMW come back?”

  Pruitt yawned again. “Not that I’ve seen.”

  “What about your ADA friend?”

  “Monica? I haven’t seen her or any of the fraternity guys anywhere, but I have a feeling she’s around, all right. And where she is, her husband is, and so are Curlander and his wife. I gotta admit that they’re doing a helluva job staying out of sight, but the Audi is still parked in the same place so they’ll show themselves eventually. My gut tells me that something is about to come down, Lopez. Unfortunately we may not be here when it happens.”

  * * * * *

  Fully dressed and freshly shaved, Ducky poured himself his second cup of coffee from the cheap in-room coffee maker while Monica took her time in the shower. Knowing that any of the other six brothers who’d made the trip to Stokes’ house might call first thing, he wanted to be accessible and alert. From that perspective, the cheap hotel coffee didn’t disappoint. He took a sip and grimaced; it was bitter and awful, and it was perfect for the job at hand. He took the hotel pad and paper from beside the phone, noting that it was almost quarter after seven. He started to review his plan in his head—what there was of it—reminding himself that it could change in an instant and that perhaps he should spend some time formulating a plan B, and then plan C, and D, E, F, and G. Then, he thought, who was he kidding? It could go terribly wrong no matter how much planning he did, and he had the overwhelming and uneasy feeling that it would. One of his best friends was already dead; who was to say that another brother wouldn’t be by the end of the day? While remote, it was a possibility he couldn’t ignore. Wouldn’t it be a bitch if it turned out to be him? Still, that might be easier than facing the spouse of another of his Zeta Chi brothers having to explain what happened, let alone console her, for there would be no consoling. Hell, he was having a hard enough time with his own wife.

  As he saw it, there would be two plans, one for the core group which consisted of Harry and Denise, for they were a single entity, himself, Fish, and Fighting Al. Monica and Sally he considered to be bench strength of which they could provide a significant amount, depending on their attitude. Surprisingly, he thought Sally seemed game for anything and might prove to be quite valuable. As for Monica, she couldn’t let go of the legality of the actions they had taken up to now, and she would probably be just as reticent moving forward as evidenced by the huge argument they had over whether or not she should bring the Smith & Wesson automatic she was licensed to carry as an ADA and an officer of the court.

  “That license to carry was not meant to be used offensively,” she had argued.

  “What the hell does that mean?” he had fired back at her.

  “It means that I deal with a lot of bad people and I got that carry permit to protect myself in the event that I ever felt I was in danger. It was for self-defense, not self-offense.”

  “Okay, and what the hell does that mean?” he repeated. He certainly understood what she had just said, and he knew that with her job and her looks she attracted her share of weirdos who could very definitely be dangerous, but did she think his intent was to go out and gun somebody down? “We could be heading into a risky situation here. Don’t you think we should at least have the opportunity to protect ourselves if it ever came to that?”

  “That’s just it, Ducky. It’s not we, it’s me. It’s my permit, and my gun, not our gun. For you, using that weapon would be just as illegal as if you bought one on the street.”

  Up to this point, theirs was a marriage made in heaven. They’d never had a cross word with each other, and he felt that he was the luckiest man in the world having found a woman like her who actually loved him. He felt the pounding in chest as he said back to her, “You said we brothers were lucky to have each other, and I think you were right when you said that if I was ever in a position where my life was being threatened, Harry, and Fish, and Al and all the rest of them would do everything they could to protect me. That’s what I’m going to do in return, and I’m going to follow through on this because we promised we’d be there for each other if the shit ever hit the fan. I hope you come with me, Monica, whether or not you bring that gun, but if you bring it, and I end up using it, even illegally, I’ll be better off than being dead and being away from you.”

  Rather than being touched, however, she said, “You’re such an ass,” but she brought the gun with her and now he was looking at it while she was showering.

  As for the second plan, that would be for the six brothers now gathered at Stokes’ house in Providence. Now, he would have an additional six sets of eyes and ears and three cars at his disposal. Connected by cell phones, they could be a significant surveillance task force.

  He heard the shower stop and a few moments later Monica came out of the bathroom with one towel wrapped around her hair and another wrapped around her body. Secured over her breasts, it barely covered her.

  “Have you and Harry agreed on how all this is going to go down?” she asked.

  Ducky walked up to her and reached over, undoing her towel and letting it fall to the floor. She looked into his eyes and made no attempt to retrieve it or pull away. He took a moment to stare at her naked body. “Not yet,” he said. “There’s something I have to do first.”

  * * * * *

  Harry forced down a bite of his bagel and thanked Laura for the second time in five minutes for her hospitality over the last two days. He and Denise had slept in her guest room while Ducky and Fish and their better halves fended for themselves at local hotels. Al, he knew, lived seventy minutes away and had gone home the previous day after having revealed that whoever had spoken to Hutch just before he died had also made calls to CIA headquarters in Virginia and also to Qatar. The assumption was that that person was CIA special agent Breckenridge. At the moment, Bob was out walking his big chocolate Lab dog around the neighborhood, specifically to see if any of the cars he’d spotted over the weekend were still hanging around. He blew in just as Harry pushed his bagel away. Nothing tasted good this morning.

  “Gone,” Bob announced without any prodding. “Whoever was out there staking out Hutch’s place over the weekend is nowhere in sight.”

  “Are you sure?” Harry asked as Denise came down from upstairs.

  “I was out there for almost an hour,” said Bob, “and I almost wore out poor Snickers. I was on the lookout now that I knew what to look for, and none o
f the cars we saw over the weekend were anywhere in sight.”

  “Huh, and why would they be?” Denise blurted out bitterly. “We set ourselves up like sitting ducks for them with that stupid letter to Brennan’s email. We might as well be wearing a damned target on our shirts.”

  As Bob and Laura just looked at each other, Harry said, “And a fine good morning to you too, honey. Sleep well?”

  “Oh, cut it out Harry. The more I think about what we’re about to do, the more I want to end it.”

  “And that’s exactly what I plan to do—today,” Harry fired back. “Have some breakfast, sweetheart. No low blood sugar today.”

  “Don’t be flip with me, Harry Curlander. Can’t we do this another way?”

  Surprised at her sudden change from her normally supportive demeanor, “We can discuss it when we get back into Hutch’s house,” Harry replied. “These nice people don’t need to see us argue.”

  * * * * *

  There was only a sliver of space on Clifton Street between the Hutchinson house and the hedgerow bordering the sidewalk where it would have been possible for anyone to see into the back yard. Navigating carefully, Harry and Denise snuck along and made their way back into the house, staying away from the windows once inside. Harry said, “First thing is we need to check those computers to see if anyone has tried to contact us about picking up that laptop today.”

  Denise was right behind as he walked into the home office and brought both computers to life. “What about what we were talking about, Harry? Now that the moment has arrived I’m not sure we should go through with this.”

  Harry looked into her eyes and could tell her emotions were bubbling. “What’s the matter?” he asked, torn between wanting to listen to her and thinking he didn’t need this right now.

  “What if.... I mean....” She couldn’t get the words out.

  He took her hand. She was shaking. “You’re thinking about the kids, aren’t you?”

  “Oh, Harry. What if we never see them again?”

  Staring at the ceiling the night before while she was lying next to him, he’d had the same thought. What if this was it? Was this the way it was going to end for him? For both of them? How undignified. “Would you rather we be looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives, not knowing if someone was around the corner waiting for us to step into their sights?”

  “It wouldn’t be for the rest of our lives.”

  “Then how long would it be? Do we really know? We don’t even know who these people are, or what they look like. Who will protect us? Couldn’t we even be putting the kids into danger? It wouldn’t be hard to find out who they are and where they live. Could you risk that?”

  She swallowed hard but didn’t reply.

  “We didn’t do anything to get into this mess, Denise, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let someone else ruin my life like that. We don’t deserve that.”

  “We don’t deserve to be put into a situation like this either.”

  Harry nodded. “You’re right, and if Hutch were here right now I might just punch in him the nose, but I don’t think this was his intent. And how many times have we said to each other, and to the kids, ‘Yeah well, shit happens. Deal with it.’”

  The corners of her mouth curled. “Plenty,” she admitted. “But it was never something like this.”

  Suzanne’s computer was fully awake and he clicked on the Outlook icon and the email inbox. “You’re right, it was never anything like this, but we have to live our lives under our control and not as victims of someone else’s actions. Do you think anyone else is going to protect us?”

  Being the skeptic she was, she said, “Not on your life.”

  “Then we have to do this ourselves and hope we don’t mess it up.” He paused. “I have to go forward with this, honey, but I’ll understand if you decide not to.”

  She took a deep breath and wiped away a couple of tears. “You know I could never stand being away from you. Besides, if one of us is going to end up with a trophy spouse, I want to make sure it’s me.” It was a terrible joke, but she managed a half-hearted smile. “Is there anything in the inbox?”

  Turning away from her, he answered, “No, not here, but we have to check Hutch’s computer also.” They did that, nothing there either. “Okay then,” said Harry. “It looks like show time is at noon. We’ve got about four hours to get everyone in place. I wonder where the hell Ducky is.”

  * * * * *

  “The laptop is supposed to be picked up at noon,” said Ducky. “What time do you think you would be in the vicinity of Hutch’s house?” He looked at his cell phone and noted that it was ten past eight.

  Zen Master was on the other end of the call. “We’re already close. I’d say we’re half an hour out,” he replied.

  “Did you take three cars like I asked?”

  “We did,” said Zen Master. “Bones, Spike, and Stokes are driving, and I’m teamed up with Bones, Stokes with Doc, and Bapple is with Spike.”

  “Bapple and Spike are together?” said Ducky. “That should be interesting.”

  “Yeah, I figure Spike is educating Bapple on the spiritual aspects of nudist time shares.”

  Ducky chuckled. “Are you all together now?”

  Zen Master said, “We just pulled off the highway to pick up some beer for the ride. Just kidding,” he added quickly. “We stopped at a fast food place and figured we’d call in before going much further. What’s the plan, oh great one?”

  Ducky took a moment. “Before I get to that,” he said lowly, “I gotta know about the commitment factor with you guys.”

  Zen Master said, “How do you mean?”

  Ducky picked his words carefully. “With respect Zen, I think we’re dealing with some really bad dudes here. You know that. If any of you guys are having second thoughts, it’s probably best that you back away now.”

  Unbeknownst to Ducky, the six brothers were gathered inside Spike’s Dodge Caravan minivan and they were all listening to the conversation. Zen Master looked at each brother in turn. His eyes holding steady on Bones, he said, “I think we all know what we’re dealing with, Ducky.” Bones didn’t object or turn away. “But I think it depends on what you’re asking us to do.”

  “I need you all to function as a surveillance and reconnaissance team. There are three targets that we need to find and keep track of.”

  “Hence the three cars,” said Zen Master.

  “Exactly. The first target is whoever comes to the house to pick up the laptop Hutch was issued at his bank. Whoever it is, they are coming as employees from the bank’s human resource department, but that’s all bullshit. Harry has rigged it so that they think the laptop contains information on some bank accounts that are being used as money laundering vehicles for the terrorist organization they work for. That’s why they want that laptop back. What they don’t know is that the laptop’s hard drive has been erased.”

  “By whom?”

  “That we’re not sure about, but it doesn’t matter. They think their money laundering channel is about to evaporate and they’re willing to kill people to prevent that.”

  Zen Master arched his eyebrows and said, “Jesus, Ducky. All of a sudden Doc’s secret weapon story doesn’t sound so far-fetched after all.”

  “Not at all,” said Ducky. “Harry has pretty much put it together that Hutch had discovered these accounts and was in the process of blowing the whistle to the feds on the whole thing. That’s why he was murdered, and two other people at the bank are dead because of it as well.” Feeling the uncertainty rise up again right through the phone, Ducky said, “When I used the word dangerous, I wasn’t being dramatic. Should I continue, or do you guys want to rethink this? It you’d like, I’ll give you a chance to talk it over and I’ll call you back.”

  Once again, Zen Master looked from face to face and no one balked. “We’re good, Ducky. Do you know who is supp
osed to pick up the laptop?”

  “No clue,” said Ducky. “That’s what we need one team to focus on, and then that same team needs to follow the laptop to see where it ends up. We think it could lead us to the location of Hutch’s killers.”

  Zen Master nodded to the other brothers and said, “Okay, got it. What’s the second assignment?”

  Ducky went on to relay how Harry’s accident in Point Pleasant was no accident, and that the same car that had stalked him there was now stalking Hutch’s house. In the background he heard someone say, “That means they’re still after Harry.”

  “That’s right,” said Ducky. “We need the second team to find that car and let us know where it is at all times. Whoever is driving it still wants Harry dead, and that would obviously put a real damper on this whole party.”

  Zen Master chuckled. “Do we know what kind of car we’re looking for?”

  “It’s a black BMW.”

  “Is it possible that whoever is driving that car is also the person who killed Hutch?”

  “What do you think?” Ducky shot back. “If it’s not, it’s a slam dunk that the driver knows who did.” He paused a moment and said, “Fucking bastard.”

  “Right on,” said Zen Master. “What’s assignment number three?”

  “Harry thinks it’s possible that a second car, and possibly even a third has also been stalking the house over the last three days, but we don’t know anything else about that except that a woman was in one of them. We need the third team to be on the lookout for other vehicles and to find out who might be driving them.”

  “Okay,” said Zen Master. “What kind of cars are those?”

  “Don’t know,” said Ducky. “That’s for you guys to figure out. Make sure you have each other’s cell phone numbers in your contacts list, and don’t get detected. If you ever think you’re in an unsafe situation, haul ass out of there. I’ll call you back in an hour after you’ve had a chance to plan things out.”

  “How much time do we have to get in place?”

  “None. This show is already in progress.”

  * * * * *

  Harry retrieved his duffel bag which he’d hidden in the crawl space beneath Hutch’s and Suzanne’s back porch. He’d figured that if someone broke into the house while he and Denise were at Bob’s place they wouldn’t think to look outside the house for the laptop, which he’d put inside the bag. He’d thought about taking it with him to Bob’s, but that might have put innocent people in jeopardy and that was out of the question. He’d also put his Sig Sauer and Denise’s PPK into the duffel bag after Bob had indicated that the weapons weren’t invited to the barbecue on Saturday. The other item he retrieved from the duffel bag was the plain white envelope that had come from Hutch via Suzanne, and via Detective Pruitt. He dropped the envelope on the kitchen table and gazed momentarily at the message scrawled on the outside: Harry, use precaution. Next, he extracted the single sheet of legal pad paper listing what he now knew were account numbers being used at First International Bank to cloak the money laundering operation in place there. There were eight entries on the paper, each entry ten letters long, which he was now going to decode into numbers.

  He found a pencil and wrote P R E C A U T I O N at the top of the paper and then went back and wrote the corresponding number to each letter so that it read P1 R2 E3 C4 A5 U6 T7 I8 O9 N0. Five minutes later the eight gobbledygook letter combinations were translated into account numbers. He looked at the carrot clock on the wall and noted that it was twenty past eight. It was time to call Ducky.

  Ducky was all business. “Hello Harry. I’ve been waiting for you to call.”

  “I have the coded account numbers deciphered.”

  “And?”

  “I’d like to give them to Monica.”

  Ducky didn’t ask why. “Hold on a second.”

  Harry could detect them exchanging a few words, which he couldn’t make out. “Hello Harry,” said Monica.

  “I have the account numbers for you.”

  “So Ducky said. Why do you want to give them to me when you could call Tushy directly? Wasn’t he supposed to get them to the FinCEN people?”

  “You know how those politicians are, all promises, no delivery. Besides, I wanted to make sure these account numbers went to someone in law enforcement.”

  “So you’re setting me up.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “You’re a sly devil, Harry. FinCEN is law enforcement. By giving me these account numbers you make me responsible if this whole thing ever goes public and it’s never been investigated.”

  “The same could be said if I called them in to Tushy. I’d like to think I’m handing you key information that would spawn the biggest investigation of your career.”

  “Harry, I’ve already told you that’s not why I’m doing this.”

  “That’s true, but you’ve been part of this the whole time and I think you should be prosecuting this case when the time comes. I’d appreciate it if you’d get these numbers to Tushy as soon as possible.”

  Monica took a deep breath and said, “Go ahead, I’m ready.”

  Harry gave her the information, coded and decoded, along with the key, and said, “By the way, I’m going to destroy these numbers when I hang up. I don’t want there to be any possibility that these scumbags know that we have this information.”

  “Good idea,” said Monica. “I know you’re playing me, Harry Curlander, but I’ll take care of this. You have my word on it.”

  “Thanks, Monica. I appreciate it. Can I talk to Ducky again, please?” When Ducky came back on Harry said, “Is everything all set?”

  “Not quite,” Ducky replied. “I’m still working on it.”

  “Will we be set up by nine o’clock?”

  “Like I said, I’m working on it.”

  Harry ended the call and smiled across the table at Denise.

  Seeing his mischievous grin and having listened to the conversation, she said, “So she knows you set her up.”

  “Like a bowling pin,” Harry said as he got up from the table.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to Suzanne’s computer to email these coded account numbers to myself before I destroy this paper. I’m not trusting anyone on this.”

  * * * * *

  Ducky checked the time. It was quarter to nine and he had a couple more calls to make. The first would be to Fish, who, like everyone else he’d called that morning, answered on the first ring.

  “I’ve been waiting,” said Fish.

  “Yeah, well, I’ve been busy. Are you and Sally still at the hotel?”

  “We are,” said Fish. “Are all the brothers on board?”

  “Sounds like it, but I haven’t spoken to Al yet. I suspect he’s on the way. The boys from Providence are in route, three cars, and they have their assignments. They should be in the vicinity soon.”

  “How detailed did you get?”

  “Not very. I just laid out the big picture and asked them to come up with their own plan on how they should conduct their assignments. I’m due to call them back in about half an hour to review what they’ve come up with.”

  Clinically, Fish said, “You know, if any of us are discovered, chances are that the dirty creeps will fold up and try something else to get to that laptop—and to Harry. We may not be around if that happens.”

  “Which means Harry will remain vulnerable. I get it, Fish.”

  “There are going to be a lot of us out there, Ducky.”

  Okay, there was something he wasn’t saying. “This isn’t the time to be vague, Fish. What are you driving at?”

  “Well, I was thinking about our communication strategy.”

  “We don’t have one, except for cell phones.”

  “Exactly. I have a suggestion.”

  Ducky smiled to himself. Mister Analytical to the rescue. “Okay, let’s hear it.” />
  “Do you think everyone involved has a smart phone?”

  “In this day and age, sure, I’d think that would be the case, but if not, we’re working in teams and one of the guys on each team is bound to have one.”

  “That means everyone would have access to the internet, right?”

  “I suppose. C’mon Fish, you don’t have to sell this. What are you getting at?”

  “Well, if we set up an online meeting using one of those web conferencing services, everyone could be talking to each other at the same time.”

  “And in real time,” Ducky added. “Fish, that’s brilliant. There would be no need for phone calls back and forth.”

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Fish said modestly.

  “Do you have access to a conferencing service we could use?”

  “We can use my company’s account. I’ve got Sally setting it up now on my laptop. We’ll have a link and an access code set up for everyone shortly and I can text it out so they can log in to the conference. I’ve also taken the liberty of drawing up a zone map so that we can have an idea of where everyone is located. That way someone’s left won’t be someone else’s right. Do you think that would be useful?”

  Ducky looked at the phone. “That’s a great idea, Fish. Did Sally think of all this?”

  “She hasn’t had time,” Fish replied. “She was helping me with something else.”

  * * * * *

  Ducky’s last call was to Fighting Al. This would be a strange call, he thought. He couldn’t get a read on Al, never could. Even during their days at John Adams he was hard to peg. With some of the brothers it seemed as if Zeta Chi defined them. That was hardly the case with Al. Unafraid to have an opinion and undaunted by those of the majority, if there was anyone at Zeta Chi that was his own man, it was Fighting Al who always seemed to be in someone’s face or on the opposite side of the discussion. Hence, the nickname and hence the profession, thought Ducky, speculating as to Al’s reasons for his allegiance to the brotherhood. Maybe his don’t-give-a-shit attitude didn’t go that deep. Maybe deep down he needed others to be on his side, or, more accurately, maybe he needed to be on theirs. Perhaps the approval of others meant a lot more to Al than he revealed. Like the other brothers Ducky had spoken to that morning, Al was ready for the call.

  “My understanding is that you wanted everyone in place by 9:00 a.m. even though the laptop isn’t supposed to be picked up until noon,” Al said.

  Anticipating an argument, Ducky said tersely, “That’s right.”

  “Good thinking. If that laptop is as valuable to these fuckers as we think it is, chances are they’re going to scout out the situation beforehand. They’re not going to want any surprises.”

  Still somewhat guarded, Ducky said, “I figured that.”

  “Not only that, whoever is picking it up will probably have a backup team right behind them. If they smell a trap or something goes wrong, they’re gonna go in like gangbusters and they’re not going to be nice about it.”

  Ducky hadn’t thought of that. “Thanks for the insight. I’ll be sure to pass that along to the rest of the guys.”

  “To some degree, I think I already have,” said Al. “I just talked to Spike.”

  “You called Spike?” Ducky questioned, again thinking he was being second guessed.

  “He called me, actually. You might remember we were roommates back in the day and we still talk once in a while. He just wanted another opinion on all this. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Uh... no, right, I mean sure. Of course I don’t mind.”

  “Ducky, listen, there’s one more thing. These guys, whoever they are, more than likely they’re gonna come in heavy.”

  “Heavy?”

  “Armed, Ducky. I hope Harry and the rest of you guys are aware of that.”

  “Uh, well....”

  “It probably doesn’t matter. Even if the whole bunch of you were carrying, I doubt you’d be very effective.”

  “You don’t know that,” Ducky responded haughtily.

  “Ducky, it’s okay, man. Everyone’s got different skills. But deep down you know I’m right, so I went out on a limb here and I brought along a couple of friends.”

  “Friends? What friends? What the fuck, Al?”

  “Ducky, relax. It’s okay, bro. They’re just a couple of guys I know.”

  “Right, just a couple of guys. What guys?”

  “Just a couple of guys who owe me a favor and whose skill sets are a little more aligned with the challenge at hand. You won’t even know they’re there. I guarantee it.”

  Ducky took a moment and tried to get himself off the ceiling. “Listen, Al, my wife is an assistant district attorney, for Christ’s sake. If this thing goes south—”

  “If this thing goes south Harry and his wife will be dead, and neither one of us knows what the fuck else could happen. If your wife is going to be with you, or if you’re concerned about her getting caught up in something that will ruin her career, then get her the fuck out of town... now. The same goes for anyone else, brother or no brother. This is some serious shit that’s coming down. Believe me, Ducky, if this thing goes south, you’ll be kissing my ass in Macy’s window for bringing these guys along.”

  Ducky felt his heart banging so hard that the buttons on his shirt were quivering. Taking a huge, shaky inhale, he said, “Should I tell the other brothers about this?”

  Al said, “I wouldn’t.”