by Tom Barber
‘Reyes lashed himself to the underside,’ Richie concluded.
‘Right. The Loughlins had it all planned out and he used them to hitch a ride. They can’t have had any idea he was there or he wouldn’t have survived. Billy’s tried to kill the guy before.’
‘How do you know?’
‘Source at the prison,’ she replied smoothly. Richie didn’t push further, thankfully, but out of the corner of her eye Marquez saw Archer’s head turn towards her. She pretended not to notice.
‘So Reyes could’ve heard about their escape through loose lips in the yard,’ Richie said. ‘But it works in reverse; how’d the brothers know about this robbery? A man with enough smarts to smuggle himself out of prison without anyone noticing wouldn’t start shooting his mouth off about a planned truck heist. Even more unlikely considering someone he clearly cared about was heavily involved.’
‘All visitor meetings at the prison are recorded for security reasons,’ Marquez told him. ‘I watched the tape from the prison’s meeting hall on Thursday. Guess who was sitting at a table near Nicky and Kat.’
‘One of the brothers,’ Glick said.
‘Brooks. He’s the brains of the two. It’s gotta be almost certain that he overheard something.’
‘She just told Reyes her plans with COs and other inmates in the room?’ one of the detectives from Richie’s squad asked. ‘Doesn’t sound very likely.’
‘The little the nearest guard overheard made no sense to him, but they’re now thinking Reyes and Katherine used some sort of a code in their conversation, or for at least part of it. Brooks was listening without them realizing. He must have deciphered what they were talking about.’
‘So he heard a coded message and decided to break out the next day with his two brothers?’
‘They must’ve already had their escape mapped out,’ Marquez said, knowing from her talks with Rainey that the Loughlins’ had definitely had their breakout meticulously planned, but for this coming Monday. ‘What they did would take some time to plan. Maybe after hearing Reyes and his sister, they decided to bring the date forward so they could show up at the robbery.’
‘Which did Frank Lupinetti a big favor,’ Archer added. ‘He wanted to stay in prison about as much as they did. I think he was meant to get out with them on the laundry truck but didn’t show up in time. So they sprung him loose in the end on the bridge on Friday night.’
‘They that keen for his company?’ Richie asked.
‘Frank must’ve promised them a lot of cash, otherwise there’d be no way they’d have lifted a finger to help him. Brooks will know if he and his brother are gonna evade capture and disappear permanently, they’re gonna need every cent they can get their hands on. And there was no guarantee if there was gonna be a heist that it would go according to plan. Frank would be their backup.’
‘He got away with what he was doing in our Department for twenty plus years without getting caught,’ Marquez added. ‘He must have managed to hide money somewhere that he’s promised the brothers a share in, for them to tolerate him the way they have.’
‘But they risked coming here instead of laying low somewhere?’ Richie replied.
‘They’d be heading north anyway. Why not stop by the city and if Brooks had been right about the code, let the truck get hit then move in and scoop up the spoils. If they got it wrong, they could just keep going. Nothing to lose.’
‘They wouldn’t worry about the extra heat that would be focused on them if they did that?’ Glick commented.
‘They clearly don’t care,’ Archer noted. ‘Their answer seems to be shoot their way out of anything. Which is why every law-enforcement officer from here to New York needs to be on their toes.’
‘The brothers and your man won’t be heading west?’ Richie said.
Archer and Marquez looked at each other, then shook their heads. ‘There’s nothing for them out there.’
‘Now we got wise to the train, we’ll pick up their trail again,’ Richie replied. ‘PA and New York authorities are putting the word out and setting up reinforced roadblocks in case our guys jumped off the freight during the night. Pretty soon an insect won’t be able to crawl over the State line without being checked for ID.’
‘If the big brother’s so smart, maybe they know that’s exactly what we’ll assume,’ Glick said. ‘They could go the other way into Indiana, Illinois or Michigan. Or further.’
‘The only freight that slowed enough at that station for them to board yesterday was heading east,’ Archer said. ‘We checked.’
‘Then that’s still not good for us,’ Glick answered. ‘You said the Loughlins are country boys. Over half of Pennsylvania is forest and woodland. They could hide out there for months.’
‘The brothers won’t exactly blend in,’ Marquez said. ‘With all the publicity this is getting, someone’s gonna catch sight of them somewhere soon.’ She smiled. ‘And Frank’s a city boy through and through. He won’t be able to take living rough for long.’
While the conversation between the group of NYPD and Cleveland PD detectives was taking place, east of their location in Erie, Pennsylvania, an Indian-American doctor was driving out of the parking lot at the city’s leading orthopedic institute, UPMC Hamot.
Dr Ramesh Tejwani was a short, somewhat rotund fifty two year old consultant who was supposed to have been off-duty this weekend, but when a colleague due to perform an urgent ankle reconstruction surgery this Sunday morning had called in sick with food poisoning, Tejwani had agreed to take his place.
‘How was the procedure?’ his wife asked after Tejwani called her on the phone’s system.
‘Went smoothly, finished in good time. I’m leaving now but I’ll stop at the store before I come home. Is there anything else we need?’
‘Not that I can think of. You still have the list?’
‘I do. Have people arrived yet?’
‘Only your cousin and his wife. I’m trying to get the boys off their screens to help.’
‘OK, I’ll be with you soon.’ Fifteen minutes later, the doctor drew into a large Wegmans supermarket parking lot on Peach Street. He locked his Mercedes Benz, took a shopping cart from near the entrance, then looked at the list his wife had given him that morning for the afternoon party they were hosting today for his twin sons’ birthday.
It took another fifteen minutes to get every item, the store large and taking time to navigate, but once he was done he paid and headed back to his car with the cart of bagged goods. Just as he’d started loading his shopping, he heard someone walking up behind him but took no notice, assuming it was another customer heading to the store.
Then Tejwani felt someone take hold of his shoulder.
‘Stop what you’re doing,’ a voice said. ‘There’s a gun aimed at you. Just keep acting normal.’
The orthopedic surgeon was shocked and froze, having just loaded his last bag. ‘What do you want?’ he asked shakily, doing as ordered and remaining still.
‘You’re a doctor, right?’
‘I am.’
‘Good. I need your help.’
‘Looks like Lupinetti and the Loughlins might’ve hopped a freight train heading east,’ Archer told Shepherd, standing in the stairwell at the Cleveland police station. ‘If they were still around, they would’ve been found by now. These men are hard to miss.’
‘The Marshals are on it?’
‘Yeah, they like the lead. We have to find these three Gatlin boys, Shep. They’ve killed eighteen people in two days since they broke out.’
Shepherd understood what Archer was saying. ‘You don’t wanna drop this.’
‘No, and neither does Lis. Frank’s heavily involved and we got him once. We owe Lucero to get him again. The people here would appreciate the help.’
‘Then keep doing whatever you can to help track him down. I’ll make sure anyone who calls wanting validation on you two gets it fast.’
‘Thanks, we’ll keep you posted,’ Archer told him, finis
hing the call as Marquez entered the stairwell.
‘Train we think they hitched a ride on broke down overnight after it crossed over into New York State,’ she told him. ‘Repaired, but was just stopped again outside Albany after resuming its journey. It’s being searched, but I think our boys’ll be long gone by now.’
‘Shep gave us the nod to continue going after Lupinetti,’ Archer said. ‘You happy with that?’
‘For sure.’ She paused.
‘But?
‘You mind if I stick around here for a few hours? Just until later on tonight?’
‘Why?’
‘I haven’t slept in almost two days; didn’t get much the night before that either. Want to sneak a couple hours in to make sure I stay on-point. There’s a slim chance they might have faked us out too and still be here. Another reason for hanging around the city for a bit longer.’ Marquez knew he’d caught onto her comment about Billy trying to off Nicky Reyes before, and also that he was well aware she was the last person to let a lack of sleep affect her or disrupt her involvement in a case that was becoming more involved by the minute. She’d demonstrated that earlier, putting off rest to go with him to speak to the woman who’d seen the three fugitives running for the trainyard.
In return, Archer sensed she was holding something back but figured in time she’d tell him what it was, so he nodded. ‘OK. I’m gonna stay on Lupinetti’s heels and not let him rest for a second. He’s going to be getting tired, so he and the other two will start making mistakes soon. I want to be right there when they do.’ Then he paused. ‘You’re curious about Reyes and O’Mara too. That’s another reason to stay until later.’
‘Maybe. Aren’t you?’
‘A bit. I’d like to understand why he did what he did. But we’ve got our hands full with the other three right now. Frank’s my top priority.’
‘Then how about this: you take the Ford. I’ll stay here, use a couple hours to get my head straight and make sure our boys didn’t get one past us all and remain here instead or headed in another direction like Glick suggested. If it turns out they did end up going towards New York, I can use the car you rented to come meet up with you again.’
‘That might be a bit difficult.’ He gave her a rueful look. ‘It got towed after the shootout off Superior. Took enough gunfire to write off the engine block.’
‘You’ll have fun explaining that to the rental company,’ she told him after a brief laugh. ‘I can swipe for another one. And I won’t be far behind you.’
‘I’ll leave the keycard at the front desk at the hotel for you. Let them know you’re taking the room. Tell Richie and his people I said goodbye.’
‘Watch your back,’ she said, slapping palms with him, but then, after he started down the stairs, he stopped for a second.
‘You got a look at Nicky Reyes’ visitor logs from Gatlin, right?’ he asked. She nodded. ‘Did Kat’s stepmother ever visit him there? Blair O’Mara?’
‘Not that I saw.’
Archer thought about the woman who he’d met yesterday, who’d refused point blank to tell him and Richie’s squad what was in that deposit box. ‘Let me know if you find anything.’
‘You too. Track him down.’
In Erie, Nicky was now sitting beside Dr Tejwani in his Mercedes, having left the Mustang he’d taken from the bikers’ scrapyard parked in the lot outside Wegmans, and directed the doctor to a Motel 6 ten minutes’ drive away.
‘Park around back,’ Nicky instructed as they pulled into the small lot, checking behind them.
‘How did you know I’m a doctor?’ Tejwani asked nervously, as they came to a stop in an empty space.
‘Saw your car leave the hospital and followed you. You left from a designated parkin-’ Then the car’s phone system started ringing, interrupting Nicky just as Tejwani was about to switch off the engine and pull the keys. The surgeon’s hand went towards the button from habit, but then he hesitated and looked at his kidnapper uncertainly. ‘Let it ring out,’ Nicky told him. ‘But gimme your phone.’ The doctor did, and Nicky slipped it into his pocket. ‘Let’s go.’
Once they were out, Nicky locked the Merc and after pocketing the key he took the man to a door halfway down the line with a Do Not Disturb tag on the handle.
He opened it to reveal Kat lying on one of two single beds, blood staining the white sheets, the bag now containing the contents of the deposit box dumped on the floor against the wall.
‘What happened?’ Tejwani asked in surprise.
‘She got shot,’ Nicky replied shortly, closing and locking the door behind them.
‘Turn that up, man,’ a Penn State University student called to his companion as he sat facing a secluded lake south of Erie, eating a sandwich for lunch. Two fishing lines and a tackle box were placed on the grass by his and his friend’s chairs, a Winnebago camper van behind them where the music they’d been listening to had been coming from, interrupted by the hourly news.
The two young men had been camping out here the previous night with friends from their graduating year in high school; the rest of the group had left an hour or so ago, but this pair had wanted a bit more time to sweat out the beer from the night before and try to catch more fish. His friend had just been taking a leak in the toilet on the campervan, and stopped by the passenger’s side to reach in to turn the radio up, the other young man taking another bite of his sandwich before wiping some mustard off his chin as he listened.
‘-cal police working with the US Marshals Office and various Sheriffs’ departments, who have deployed extra resources to apprehend the wanted fugiti-’
‘You hear about this?’ the student by the fishing lines asked. ‘There was some big robbery in Cleveland yesterday. Listen.’
-aution all residents in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania to stay alert. If you see anyone you think might be a suspect, do not approach them but call 911 immed-’
‘When I was moving the van last night, I caught something about it,’ the student by the water said, as his friend walked back over to join him. ‘Some cops got killed. Marshals and police are looking for the guys who did it. Five of them. Four guys, one chick.’
A bird called from somewhere in the distance, the area around them having gradually been cast into shadow as clouds started to drift across the sun. The college student who’d returned from the Winnebago glanced around them; being out here suddenly didn’t seem as much fun as it had an hour ago. ‘Let’s start back towards campus, bro,’ he said. ‘Might be roadblocks if they’re looking for these people round here. It could take all day to get home.’
To his relief, his friend didn’t offer up any resistance. He broke up and threw the rest of the bread from the sandwich into the water, and then reeled his line back in. He pulled up their chairs, then realized his pal wasn’t helping.
‘You’re drivi-’ he said, then looked up and his voice got stuck in his throat.
Three men were standing twenty feet behind them beside the campervan. One had a gray holdall slung across his shoulder, a shotgun in his hand, another gripping a rifle with a second bag across his shoulders. They were both dressed as cops in clothes that didn’t quite fit. The third man had a pistol and had it aimed at his friend, who’d frozen where he stood.
The clouds continued to cover the sun, the remote spot remaining in shadow, and it felt a lot colder all of a sudden.
‘You heard what he said,’ Brooks Loughlin told him. ‘You’re driving, kid.’
THIRTY TWO
‘How bad is it?’ Nicky asked anxiously in the motel room, as Tejwani examined Kat.
‘Her right lung has collapsed,’ the orthopedic surgeon told him, listening to the woman’s labored breathing. ‘You see where she got hit?’ he asked, pointing at the padding-covered gunshot wound surrounded by the heavily bloodstained material of her shirt. ‘The impact smashed up parts of her ribs on that side.’ He tipped her slightly. ‘No exit wound, so the bullet must still be embedded in there.’ He looked up. ‘What
fired it? Rifle or pistol?’
‘A rifle, I think.’
‘More power. More damage. That’s not good.’
‘So what do we need to do?’
‘That bullet has to come out and her lung must be re-inflated.’ He glanced at Nicky. ‘By the way we just met, I get the feeling you won’t be interested in checking her into hospital.’
‘That’s not an option right now.’
‘Can you have her rest up somewhere?’
He shook his head. ‘We gotta get moving again soon. Within the hour.’
‘As she is, she’s not going to make it much further. You have choices to make.’
‘Could you remove it?’ Nicky asked. ‘Stitch her up?’
‘If there’s no alternative, possibly. But that’s not ideal.’
‘Maybe, but that’s the only choice we got right now.’
The doctor looked at the gun held low in Nicky’s hand, and slowly reached into his own pocket to come out with a pen. He found his wife’s shopping list in the other, but reversed it and wrote a fresh list of items on the paper as Nicky watched. ‘You need to go back to the store and get these things.’ Tejwani looked back at Kat again. ‘And don’t waste any time.’
Driving east on I-90 in the NYPD Ford, Archer had a map on the passenger seat on which he’d drawn a line following the rail-track of the Lake Shore Limited, the main Amtrak service from Chicago to either Boston or New York. Starting in Illinois, passing through Ohio and hugging Lake Erie until it reached Buffalo, Rochester and then other stops in New York State, the tracks were also used by freight trains like the one which had passed through Cleveland not long after the gun store alarm was hit.
Archer had asked one of the analysts at the CT Bureau in New York City to track down the driver who’d been at the controls of the long train on the previous night and had just been connected to the US Marshals’ local office in Albany where the guy had been brought in for questioning. After a short wait, the driver was on the line. ‘Did you make any stops last night?’ Archer asked, maintaining a steady speed on the highway as he used his prepaid phone on speaker setting.
