by Thomas Bloom
“Why the muzzles?” Amanda asked.
“Because when I take them off it’s their signal to start working. Otherwise they will track any random scent they find.”
Houser approached the site they had been examining from the side not yet searched. Once at the log he took the muzzle off each dog and then pushed their noses down on the log and where the shooter would have lain. The dogs went over the site for several seconds and then bayed and strained at their leash.
“Okay, they have a scent. Let’s see if they can follow it anywhere.” The dogs circled around the site for a moment and then started in the direction of the road. Tamourini followed them and every few yards stuck a small metal rod with a yellow tag into the ground. The dogs followed the trail to the road and then about 200 yards down the road and around a curve. They both bayed constantly. Finally they stopped and circled and barked at Houser.
“Clear as a bell,” Houser said. “Your guy parked a vehicle here, went into and out of the field along the same track and then returned to his vehicle. End of trail. It may not help but at least you have some more real estate to search.”
“Thank you so much Mr. Houser. This was more than we hoped for. We never discussed a fee. What do we owe you?”
“Normally I get five-hundred per day per dog but in this case it’s gratis. I would love to see you get this sick son of a bitch before he takes out anyone else.”
“Thank you sir. Good luck to you and your dogs.”
The team of searchers had been going over the path Tamourini had marked out and the side of the road. One of the FBI agents yelled at Tamourini from the spot where the vehicle had been parked. “I may have something here.” He held a piece of paper in a pair of tweezers. It was the wrapper from a piece of Wrigley’s Doublemint gum. It was folded in half lengthwise.
“Hell,” Tamourini said. “That could be from anyone but bag it and we’ll check for prints. One thing I’m sure of is that this guy wore plastic gloves. He’s done everything else right and he wouldn’t miss that bet.”
Later they had a full team meeting back at the motel headquarters. They agreed to spend the next few days working the suspect list that Dusty and Amanda had put together. “He’s in there somewhere,” Tamourini said. “Otherwise he would not have gone off the tracks the way he did. It will take several days to get any lab work back on the material we’ve gathered today. In the meantime it’s just plain old fashioned grunt work.”
Dusty poked Amanda in the arm and whispered “let’s get out of here. I need a break. Let’s get some dinner.”
“Sounds good, let’s go. You drive.”
As they exited the converted command center and headed for Dusty’s vehicle he heard a thump sound in the distance. “Jesus, I’ve never been in combat but I’ve seen a lot of war movies. That sounded like a mortar.”
“You’re getting too edgy” Amanda said. “Probably just a backfire.”
Just then there was an explosion on one end of the motel unit. “Shit,” Dusty cried. He grabbed Amanda, threw her to the ground and lay on top of here. The first explosion was quickly followed by three more, one of which was very close to the command center.
Tamourini should have been a combat commander. As the last shell hit she broke out of the command center at a full run with a pistol in her hand. She was followed by the other agents. They all headed to the open end of the unit and split into two columns. One headed into the woods at the rear of the property and the other turned the other direction toward the road.
“Let them go,” Dusty said as they got up. “Let’s check for damage and wounded.” They found the body of the man who had been shot several days previously in one of the units hit. He had taken an almost direct hit and only parts of his body remained.
“We need to organize this,” Dusty said. “Call your nine-one-one. We need a fire unit and an ambulance. How the hell did this guy get a mortar and where did he fire it from?”
“I think agent Tamourini is working on that right now.”
A half hour later the FBI agents returned empty handed. “A mortar, a fucking mortar, where did this guy get a mortar?” Tamourini screamed. “In the entire history of the FBI I don’t think we’ve ever faced a mortar attack.”
“I’m afraid we’ve got some more bad news,” Dusty said. “Your wounded man—he didn’t make it—took a direct hit.”
“Oh shit, I tried to send him home but he insisted on staying. Said he’d be okay in a couple of days. This is on me. If I’d insisted he’d be alive now.”
“You can’t blame yourself,” Amanda said. “Who could have seen this coming?”
“Well we have to rethink this whole thing. We combed the ground for a thousand yards out in every direction. Nothing. Our guess is that he had the mortar in the back of a pickup. He probably parked off the road, got off four quick shots and beat it out of here. We’re going back in the morning and look for tire tracks. I don’t know if we can stay here. He could do it again tomorrow and it would take a hundred agents to totally secure the area. I can’t ask for those kind of resources. I’m going to be on the phone for most of the night. We’ll meet again in the morning.”
Chapter Forty Three
Dusty and Amanda ended up in resort hotel about twenty miles away. The hotel was about to shut down for the winter but they were glad for the extra traffic. They asked for adjoining rooms and ordered room service for dinner—two salads, two steaks and a bottle of wine.
“We’ll, who would have thought a month or so ago that one body in the lake would lead to a total war?” Dusty asked.
“This is tearing our lives apart, Dusty. My kids have only been gone a week and I miss them terribly. We knew when we signed up that we might have to put our lives at risk but, Jesus, booby trapped buildings, sniper attacks and now mortar fire. We’re lucky to be alive and we are not close to getting this guy. What’s next, a nuclear weapon? I’m afraid my boys will end up orphans.”
“You can always resign.”
“I can’t do that. Virtually everyone involved in this has family. Yet they go out every day and do their jobs. If they can do it so can I.”
“Okay, then let’s step back a little. The FBI has already taken over the investigation. We’re just involved as a courtesy. We don’t have to be in on every meeting and every operation. Let’s fade out of the picture a little and make ourselves smaller targets. My daughter is nearly grown but I don’t want to leave her an orphan either. If we can come up with something on our own, fine. But they’ve got a full team of people on this already and now that they have a dead agent my guess is that there will be more yet. Besides, we have a legitimate excuse. We both have departments to run. Oh, and one more thing. I don’t want to lose you.”
She pushed back her plate and took his hand across the table. “Likewise. There’s a fake fireplace over there. Let’s turn it on and finish this wine. Then we can cuddle a while.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Chapter Forty Four
Well mama I’ve got ‘em back on their heels now. They’re in a panic and don’t know what to do next. This will set them back for weeks. I got the keys and the alarm code to that National Guard Armory two years ago when we were doing some work there. I just never thought to bring them back. They had four mortars in a storage room in the back of the building along with several crates of shells. I just took one mortar and one crate. By the time they miss what I took, if they ever do, there will be no way to connect it to me. I only used half the shells so we can do this one more time. But, for all they know I could do it every day. I did have to do a lot of research on line to learn how to use it and how to sight it in but I got it down right.
Chapter Forty Five
They met with Tamourini at a Waffle House the next morning. “Well I spent several hours on the line with my superior last night. Needless to say he was very upset about losing an agent. He ended up on the line with his superior. Here’s the plan. He’s sending another ten agents and giving me
two weeks to break this. If we have nothing by then we have to shut it down. We have resources but we can’t keep twenty agents involved on one case with no results. Pending the lab results from our work yesterday all we have to go on is the suspect list that you two have already started. I want to work our way through that in the next few days.
“We’re going to spread ourselves out. Each agent will take a room at a different hotel or motel. I’ve got one agent working on finding different places we can work each day. It might be a hotel conference room one day and a banquet room someplace else the next day but never the same place twice. I don’t mean to insult you but given that we know your office was bugged I’m not going to share that information with you on a daily basis. If we need you one of our people will contact you face to face in a secure location. Obviously, if either of you come up with something we want to know immediately. You can call my cell and then we’ll meet someplace. Don’t give me any information over your land line.”
“Actually,” Amanda said. “That works with our thinking. We both have full time jobs not involving this case. We need to get back to them. You’re running way ahead of us on this. Certainly if we come across something we’ll share it. Frankly I’ve never been so frightened or frustrated in my life. We have a total maniac on our hands who has now killed five people and made attempts on all our lives. I’m not only frightened for our own lives I’m as concerned about the next innocent citizen who gets in his way. If we don’t develop something soon and he goes to ground we might never catch him. That’s terrifying.”
“Understood,” Tamourini said. “All we can do is work with what we have and hope we come up with a lead or that he makes a mistake. We’ve had cases that dragged on for years before we got our man but we almost always do.”
“Shit,” Amanda said. “I can’t spend years separated from my kids. If it comes to that I’ll have to leave town.”
“I understand. Let’s give it a week or two and see what we develop.”
Chapter Forty Six
Well mama, I’ve got them on the run now. They’ve split up all over town. I could take a shot at one of them but I don’t need to scare them anymore. I’m sure they’re going to work that name list. It’s all they have. What they don’t know is that my name will not show up. I was able to remove it. They’ll eventually run out of gas and put the whole thing on a back burner. It’s best that I lay low for a while and not risk anything.
Chapter Forty Seven
Three days later Dusty and Amanda each got a vist from one of Agent Tamourini’s crew. She wanted to meet for dinner at a McDonalds on the edge of town. They had avoided Porky’s the last few days as their affinity for the place was well known. After they ordered and found a booth the FBI agent gave them an update.
“We’ve been through the list completely along with some more tips we got from the Post Office. We’ve got nothing. There were about a dozen good candidates but one way or the other we’ve eliminated all of them. The report from our lab showed nothing. No DNA and no material of any interest. Have you guys got anything new or any other ideas?”
“You’d be the first to know,” Dusty said. “By the way, we’re taking a week off. We’re driving to Chicago to pick up Amanda’s kids and then flying on to Orlando. A week at Disney World and maybe a little golf with the boys.”
“I understand,” Tamourini said. “Just be sure you have your cells with you at all times so if something comes up we can reach you. We’re going to have an all-day meeting with the whole crew tomorrow to review the entire case and go through the evidence one more time. If we don’t come up with anything then I’ve got to throw in the towel. There’s no reason to stay here any longer. Unless you hear from me otherwise assume we’ve left. You have my number. Call me with anything at all, but call from your cells, not your land lines.”
Chapter Forty Eight
It was a seven hour drive to Chicago but they gained an hour on the way. They left at noon and got to Amanda’s sister’s home in time for dinner. Amanda spent ten minutes just hugging her boys. After the boys were in bed they sat down with Amanda’s sister and her husband—Joy and Ray.
“Look” Amanda said. “This is a terrible situation. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’re doing. The problem is that we have not found this guy even with the help of the FBI. We’re at a dead end. I told you about the mortar attack. This guy is ruthless and capable of anything. I can’t leave the boys with you forever. They’re missing school and missing me and I’m missing them. I may just have to resign my position and move out of Pleasant Harbor. By the way, I met with their teachers and have a stack of work for both of them as soon as we get back from Florida. If you can hang on for a few more weeks I’ll resolve this one way or the other.”
“We’re happy to help,” Joy said. “And we’ve had a ball with the boys. Our kids are grown and gone so it’s been a return to our youth. But you’re right, it can’t go on forever. Go enjoy your vacation and then make a decision when you get back. A few more weeks won’t make a difference one way or the other in the long run. I’ll work with the boys on their school assignments. I’m so sorry you have to go through this.”
“Thank you again,” Amanda said.
Chapter Forty Nine
They were on a flight to Orlando the next morning. By the time they got to their hotel and checked in it was mid-afternoon and too late to do anything requiring an admission. Instead they just walked around a while and enjoyed the scenery. The boys were bug eyed. This was totally different than Pleasant Harbor. They had dinner in the hotel restaurant and got the boys to bed early with a bribe of an early departure for the theme parks.
The next two days were a blur of roller coasters, back and forth rides, up and down rides, hot dogs, cotton candy and burgers. Dusty and Amanda each went on one roller coaster ride to prove they were not total wimps but sat out the rest. They had rented a two bedroom suite. Amanda had one bedroom, the boys the second and Dusty slept on a hide-a-bed in the living room. He did manage an occasional middle of the night sortie into Amanda’s room but always returned to his own bed.
On the fourth day Amanda said “enough with the rides. We’re going to see some of the world outside this park.” They went to the beach, swam with some dolphins and just drove around looking at a world vastly different than the one they came from.
On the fifth day they stayed at their hotel, swam in the pool and got sunburned. Dusty took some time off to scout golf courses. He did not want a high end resort course. The boys were not ready for that. He finally spoke to the manager of a local nine-hole municipal course. He explained where he was with the boy’s training.
“Look,” the manager said. “Bring your boys out tomorrow morning. I’ve got a couple sets of rental clubs they can use. Not fancy but they’ll do for your purposes. Just stay with them and stay on a time line so you don’t hold up everyone behind you.”
Dusty explained the rules on the way to the course the next morning. “We are not worried about our score. We are playing for the experience and so that you can get a feel for a real course. Do not try to swing for the fence. Just make contact with the ball and try to keep it in the fairway. If you do get in trouble we will have a one stroke rule. You pull it out of the trap or out of the rough, take a one stroke penalty and keep playing. You have plenty of time down the road to learn recovery shots but not today. We will be riding in carts. I’ll give you a lesson on driving before we start. But the main thing is to go slow and if you get in a situation you are not sure of just stop and ask for help. The carts should not be driven any place near the greens or onto a tee. As much as possible keep them on the cart paths. I’m here to work with you so I’m not playing. Maybe next time.”
Both boys managed to get off the first tee and into the fairway. From then on it was mostly one bad shot and one fair one. They had never putted before and like all beginners they had absolutely no idea how to read a green or how hard to hit the putt. Dusty quickly installed a
three putt maximum rule which applied more often than not. They did play relatively quickly and managed to keep pace. Like most municipal courses it was flat with relatively few hazards and all the holes were on the short side. They finished in just a little over two hours which was on schedule. They broke for sandwiches and a drink. “Well what do you think?” Dusty asked. “Do you want to play another nine?”
“Well,” Elliott said. We’ve been doing what you suggested and watching golf matches on TV. I know that this course is nothing like those but it was fun to actually play the game. But thinking of those other courses with all the hazards and much longer holes is kind of scary.”
“Look,” Dusty replied. “Would you expect any eight or ten year old kid to walk onto a major league baseball park and play a game with the pros? Of course not. The guys playing pro ball spent many years in little league, high school, college and the minor leagues before they had a shot at the big time. Remember the ten thousand hour rule I told you about. Well you guys are about nine thousand nine hundred hours short of that. It would take that kind of commitment to play as a pro. But we can get by with something less than that if the immediate goal is to play well enough to make your high school team. Let’s climb up the ladder one rung at a time. So, want to go around again.”
Both boys nodded yes. The second round was much better than the first. They were over the yips, had a better feel for the course and actually made some good putts.
