“God, when this is over we’ll have the hospital filled with agents and police,” Asa commented. “I see you have the snipers ready,” she added, while scanning the positions of the three snipers strategically positioned on the roofs of nearby buildings.
“Yeah, we were waiting for you to start the communication with him. I already tried to talk to him, but he just answered with more shots.”
“Let’s try that again,” Asa decided. She took the megaphone from one of the agents standing nearby and looked up at the man, hiding in the tower.
“Mr. Warren,” she called him. “My name is Asa Clark, we’ve met before. I need you to come down and surrender your weapon.”
Everyone on the square fell silent as Asa waited for the man to answer. Two minutes passed, then five, but Ezekiel didn’t answer and didn’t move.
“Mr. Warren,” Agent Clark started again. “We have your partners, David Kimble and Jane Kimble. Everything is over now, you should surrender. We found the plants.”
A movement on her right side attracted Asa’s attention, as she saw one of the FBI agents run from one car to another. At the same moment, three shots came from the tower, aimed at the agent.
“Shit,” Gibson cursed beside her. “This is not going to work.”
“Maybe I can help,” Gibson and Clark turned around to see Gabriel Kimble standing behind them. “I should talk to him. He knows me. Let me try.”
“Okay, but you should realize the danger you are facing?” Asa warned him.
“What can you tell us about him?”
“I don’t know if I know anything useful or not, but I will tell you everything I know,” Gabriel agreed. “He’s an orphan, raised by the community. He has always lived here in rural Montana. His whole life is his ranch. Ezekiel Warren is a cattle rancher and a lifelong friend of my family. He was practically raised by our father and Grandpa Joe. He’s a mysterious and quiet character, but that doesn’t seem out of place to me at all. He is certainly not alone in that, living in this part of northwestern Montana. For all the years I’ve known him, Ezekiel has never shown interest in anything else.
“Yeah, sometimes we are blind when it comes to those closest to us,” Gibson commented, and everyone around them agreed.
“Okay then, if you are sure you want to do this, let’s try it,” Asa said to him, secretly touching his hand as a way to show him she cared. “You’ll stay behind the line of fire… and you’ll wear a vest.”
He agreed, and as he got outfitted, Asa issued orders to the snipers.
“Be ready, if you get an opening, take the shot.”
Once Gabriel was dressed and prepared for the conversation, he stepped slightly from behind the car and spoke on the megaphone.
“Ezekiel, this is Gabriel. Gabriel Kimble,” he spoke calmly. “Can I talk to you?”
“What do you want?” Ezekiel answered him.
“I wanted to ask you, why are you doing this? David and Jane are already arrested, and Grandpa Joe and I are being interrogated…so what is the point?”
“Don’t you see? We were losing our ranches to the banks. We needed the money.”
“Ezekiel, you killed people…”
“It was the Cartel. I was to keep the operation safe. Or they would deal with me.”
Asa could see the man move on the tower and she whispered to Gabriel.
“Keep talking.”
“Listen, Ezekiel,” Gabriel continued. “You should—”
A loud shot was heard from behind them, and they all watched the man on the tower fall backwards.
“We got him,” Gibson shouted, and ran towards the building. Every FBI agent and police officer was pointing a gun at the tower, while a number of special-forces agents climbed the stairs. Their plan to distract Ezekiel long enough for the snipers to get a clear shot had worked, and the shooter was dead.
Chapter 32
Ezekiel’s body was carried away from the courthouse square under the watchful eyes of the nation… through the lenses of the local and national news agencies. The connection to the drug cartels had made the stories of the bombing and shootings all the more newsworthy, circling the entire nation in record time. Journalists from everywhere were coming to film the place and to interview the witnesses. Agent Asa Clark had already provided an official statement, naming Ezekiel Warren as the ring leader of the drug syndicate.
Grandpa Joe had finally broken down and admitted that he was part of the drug syndicate, trying to save the ranch. He had knowingly watched his son mismanage the ranch and had done nothing. After hours of interrogation, the old man had finally admitted that he had seen the two FBI agents killed and carried away, but he didn’t show any remorse about it.
The interrogation of David and Jane Kimble was another difficult moment from that day. Asa and Gibson had seated them together in the same room, deciding that David would be more talkative if his wife was near him.
“Tell us about the murders of the FBI agents,” Asa started, as soon as she was seated. “And don’t try lying to us, because we already know the truth, we just need to compare a few facts.”
“We aren’t going to lie,” David said stubbornly. “We aren’t ashamed of our acts. We only did what had to be done.”
“So, you admit that you killed the FBI agents?” Gibson joined the conversation. “Or should I phrase it differently. You were one of the many killers of the two agents.”
“Yes, we were, we killed them. We didn’t have a choice, the cartels ordered it. We couldn’t say no to them. We waited for the agents to walk to the porch and start talking to Grandpa Joe. We already knew that they were coming to our ranch that day, they were working methodically, following a certain order, while visiting the ranches. So we were there, waiting for them.”
“Should I ask, why did you kill them?”
“We were saving our livelihood. And if we hadn’t done it, the cartel would have killed us,” David added as an afterthought, looking directly at Asa.
“What about you, Jane, do you have the same reasons?” Asa gave the woman a way out, but Jane Kimble wasn’t someone to run from responsibility. She had been looking at a point on the wall behind Asa and Gibson, not giving any sign that she was even listening to their conversation. Asa thought she had seen a tear fall at one point, but she couldn’t be sure because of that stone-like expression.
“Jane, you have to answer me,” Asa insisted.
“I don’t have to do anything you say,” the other woman almost spit at her. “You are the one responsible for all of this. You came into our lives and ruined them. Before the FBI came to our country, we were happy and carefree, but then you had to come and—”
“Okay, okay.” Gibson interrupted her. “So you blame the FBI and Agent Clark for all the problems in your life. We got that. Now, tell us about the murders.”
“We killed them all. I was there when we killed them. It was liberating.” Jane sounded like someone who had been drugged.
“And the bombing?” Gibson continued.
“We did that too,” Jane laughed, almost as a mad woman. “You are so stupid. You let us go right inside the building and put the bomb under the fuel tank without even searching us. And then, it was like a game.”
“Jane, that is enough,” David turned towards his wife and looked at her as if he didn’t know her at all. Asa could understand how he was feeling. The woman acted as if she had lost her mind.
Hearing his voice, Jane trembled almost visibly, showing just how shaken the woman was. Asa saw the battle going on inside of her, and almost felt sorry for her. Jane didn’t speak after that, but David gave them all the information they needed. Asa thought he realized it was all over and wanted just get on with it.
The next day, all the news reports were showing how David and Jane Kimble were hauled away in handcuffs, on their way to the federal prison. They were going to be tried as accomplices in the murder of the two FBI agents that were shot, the bombi
ng of the bank building in Kalispell and resulting casualties, and likely for the murders of the three missing people, once thought to be unrelated incidents. At a minimum, they were going to be in prison for the rest of their lives. And, in a twist of irony, they would serve their time in federal protection, in order to protect them from the cartels. They had confessed to the murders of the two field agents, and to aiding in the bombing of the FBI field office.
Grandpa Joe was going to return home on house arrest, though he would also be tried for being part of the drug syndicate, withholding key evidence of the murders, and for lying to the FBI agents when interrogated.
The cameras were also there when Gabriel Kimble and Grandpa Joe were taken to a more secure location. Asa watched Gabriel hide his face, reminded that she had arrested his entire family. During the last twenty four hours, Agent Clark hadn’t spoken Gabriel, but she could imagine how the man was feeling. Now that he had been taken away, she had to finish her reports on the conduct of the investigation, her least favorite part of life as an FBI agent.
Chapter 33
Gabriel was in local custody for a few days until the investigation was complete. Asa visited him a few times during that period, but her visits were kept short and professional. He had shown signs that he was ready to forgive her, but this time it was Asa who wasn’t sure about her feelings.
When Gabriel Kimble was free to go home, Asa wasn’t there to greet him, and she made sure to stay out of his way for a few days. It was one of the reasons she had traveled to the lake for a few days of relaxation.
She hadn’t been around here for a long time, so Asa had a lot to see and explore. With a tourist book in hand, she explored some of the nearby sites, and two hours before sundown went to the lakeshore. She had heard wonderful things about the beauty of the lake here and wanted to enjoy it when there were fewer people on the beach.
That was when her phone suddenly vibrated, causing her to nearly drop it in surprise. She picked it up and read the message.
‘How are you doing?’ Gabriel had written.
‘I’m good,’ she typed back, feeling a bit self-conscious.
‘What r u doing?’
Asa didn’t answer for a few moments. She waited and waited, until Gabriel resent his message. ‘What r u doing?’
The simple letters on the screen made her feel excited again. The young woman had thought that she would be able to forget about him for at least a few hours, but here she was, once again entangled in his web. In the early days of their relationship, she had allowed herself to be hopeful, but then he had shown her what he thought of her and Asa had stopped dreaming.
Nodding to herself, Asa was about to put the phone away when another text made her eyes widen despite herself. She opened the phone and almost burst out laughing when she saw that he had sent a sad emoji. Getting the hint, she answered his question.
‘I’m watching the lake.’
‘U r by the lake????’
‘Yeah!!!!’ Asa answered with the same amount of punctuation if not emotion.
‘Stop rolling your eyes, I can see you through the phone,’ came the unexpected answer.
Asa decided that was enough messaging for the day and didn’t answer him. Gabriel didn’t give up though and continued to send message after message. Asa listened to the soft ping of her message tone, counting seven times. After ten more minutes, she couldn’t resist the temptation anymore and opened the phone, going immediately to all the unread messages from Gabriel.
‘What? U angry?’
‘U r, aren’t u?’
‘I just know u that well.’
‘U still there?’
‘Stop ignoring me, Asa. :’(‘
‘Hello!’
‘Ok, see u…’
The last message was a bit of a surprise to her, but Asa just sighed, dropping her head back on the sand and looking up at the sky. She was about to give in and text him back, when someone sat down beside her. She turned her head to see Gabriel sitting beside her and looking at the lake.
“You worried me when you didn’t answer my messages,” the man said softly, as if afraid to disturb the peace on the beach.
“This was the first time you ever texted me,” Asa answered in the same tone of voice. “What are you doing here?”
“I waited for you to answer…” his words sounded like an accusation.
“I needed some time for myself,” Asa said and buried her feet deeper into the sand. They were almost alone on the beach, only three more people walking on the other side, but no one coming their way. She had wisely chosen one of the secluded sites on the lake line and had been enjoying the peace and quiet.
“Okay, but I thought you might be hungry,” he said. Moving aside he revealed a paper bag full of little food containers.
“What did you bring?” Asa asked, sitting up to better see the food. Gabriel let her explore the contents of the bag and they ate the still warm Chinese food together, sharing the boxes and feeding each other.
Gabriel called it overly romantic, but kept offering her meat with his chopsticks. By the time their dinner was over, the sun had gone down and the beach was almost dark, illuminated only by the stars. Around that time, Gabriel had tugged her over to sit between his legs and was telling her a funny story about his college years.
“What did you do?” she asked him through her tears of laughter.
“Nothing, I simply waited for the morning, and when the maid came in, I asked her politely to untie me.”
“It must have been the shock of her life,” Asa commented.
“No, on the contrary, she told me that my predicament was nothing in comparison to what she had seen before.” Gabriel shook his head. “And you should know that before untying me, she made sure to take a good look at my… you know.”
Asa was enjoying herself. It seemed that seeing Gabriel was the only way she could relax these days. That thought surprised her and she looked at the man sitting behind her. He was watching her with amusement and Asa thought that he was trying to read her thoughts.
“Tell me something,” she gathered the courage to ask. “Why do you keep coming back if you despise me so much?”
“I never said that I despise you,” Gabriel stated, suddenly very serious. “I may not trust you, and I may be angry with you for using me, but Asa, I never hated you. On the contrary, I really like you… a lot.”
“I’ve told you over and over that I didn’t want to deceive you, and that I let it go too far, but I also had a job to do. Lives were at stake… even more than I knew.” the woman insisted.
“Well, you might not be completely trustworthy, but you sure are different from all the other women in my life. I still find it hard to forget what we shared.”
“You’re being honest with me, aren’t you?” Asa changed her position and faced him. “Do you really believe me now?”
“Yes… you put it quite right,” Gabriel nodded.
“I don’t like it,” Asa shook her head instead. “I hate the idea of being away from you.”
“So, you don’t want to take a break?” he asked.
“Break from what?” Asa asked him. “It seems like there is always going to be something special between us no matter what we choose to do or not do, so, there is really nothing to take a break from.”
“If you say so,” Gabriel agreed.
“In that case, what do you want to do next?” he asked out of nowhere, surprising both of them with the change of subject.
“I think I need a drink now,” Asa answered. “Let’s go to a bar.”
Gabriel nodded his head in affirmation and helped her to stand. Together they gathered the take out containers and trash, then headed toward his car. Asa was walking beside him, and realized that the terrible feeling of doom she’d carried in her heart for so long wasn’t there.
On their way back to Kalispell, Asa decided that she should update Gabriel about what was going on with his f
amily.
“So, all the indictments against your brother and Jane have been filed now, as far as I know. Looks like Grandpa Joe will probably be released, even though he’s still vowing to take revenge on the government for hurting his family.”
“Don’t worry,” Gabriel quickly added. “Grandpa Joe isn’t a threat to anybody. He’s pretty much all talk and no action at this point.”
“I know, don’t worry, I was the one who vouched for him,” Asa assured him.
“What will happen to the ranch?” Gabriel asked.
“I don’t know. The marijuana was on federal land, not the ranch. But the assets of those involved in the drug trade are often seized. Plus, it looks like your father and then your brother owed the banks a lot of money. They may try to foreclose on the property even if the feds don’t seize it.”
“I never knew about the money situation—never asked and was never told. I guess I should have paid more attention to the ranch.”
Chapter 34
There was a light dusting of dirt on the pavement. Looking at the remains of the bank building while feeling the sharp chill in the air caused Gibson pull his jacket tighter around himself. Painful memories gripped Todd as he walked down the deserted street. Replaying the last few weeks; Smith and Holliday disappearing, the arrival of Agent Asa Clark, the bombing of the bank building, which took out the FBI offices and several dozen casualties, including the Deputy Director.
Gibson wasn’t tired. He wasn’t. He was just fed up and ready to give up. Nothing in life made sense anymore and he wanted just to hide somewhere and rest.
Nothing had changed since Deputy Director Josie Shepherd had called him over two months ago. They had been friends and it still wasn’t feeling right. Gibson should be happy now. He had a good job, which he loved and he was healthy, and that was all that mattered. And yet, he wouldn’t let himself be happy, he wouldn’t let himself ruin things again by infecting others with his own conflicted feelings.
Family Ties Mystery Series Box Set Page 11
