Chapter 37
Shootout
On the way back from the courthouse I decided to stop by the office to leave my briefcase and check for important messages before I went home. As I drove in the parking garage an ominous feeling came over me. I looked around but saw nothing, so I cut the engine and got out of my car. After I opened the trunk I took another look around before grabbing my briefcase. As I was closing the trunk I saw movement in my peripheral vision and swung around in that direction but saw nothing. As I was walking toward my building, a tall man jumped out from behind a car. He grabbed me from behind, thrust me hard up against a pillar, and stuck a gun in my back. Pain shot through my temples where I'd hit the concrete hard.
"Do exactly what I say and you won't get hurt!" he demanded.
"What do you want?" I moaned as he pressed the gun deeper into my back. Fear swept through me.
"We're going for a little ride," he said.
I heard a car approaching fast. The car came to a screeching halt and my assailant forced me into the back seat. He gagged me and tied a blindfold over my eyes. The car sped off. We traveled in silence for ten or fifteen minutes and then the car stopped. I heard a garage door go up and felt the car drive inside. We stopped again and the engine fell silent. The garage door closed, my door opened, and someone grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the car. I hit my shoulder on the door jamb and more pain shot through me.
Once inside they sat me on a chair, removed my gag, and tied my hands behind my back. A door slammed. I didn't know if I was alone or if someone was still there with me. Then I heard the faint sound of someone breathing.
"What do you want with me?" I asked irritably.
"Shut up! You'll find out soon enough," a male voice replied. He had a Massachusetts accent just like Rebekah's parents. A few minutes later the door opened. It sounded like several people entered the room.
"Mr. Turner. It seems you have some property that belongs to us," a deep voice said.
"What property is that?"
"Don't play coy with me. You know what I'm talking about."
"Why don't you just tell what it is, and if I have it I'll tell you."
"Diamonds."
"Oh, that. Those belong to you?"
"Yes, and you're going to return them aren't you?"
"Sure, no problem. I didn't know who they belonged to, so I've kept them safe. I figured someone would come looking for them. How did you know I had them?"
"You made the mistake of going to visit Melanie in the hospital. We didn't kill her because we figured whoever had the diamonds would contact her."
"Listen. I knew nothing about the diamonds. A client just gave me some pottery in exchange for legal services. He didn't tell me about the diamonds. Melanie discovered them by accident when she was trying to sell the pottery."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"Yes, it's the truth."
"Right. So, that's why Melanie has been out trying to locate a buyer."
"Well, we were only going to sell them if you hadn't shown up to claim them. We didn't know who they belonged to."
"Well, we're here now."
"Fine. I don't know anything about what you all are into, and I don't care. The diamonds are in a safety deposit box at Valley View Bank. We can go get them right now."
"That's exactly what we're going to do."
"Good. I don't want the diamonds. I knew they were trouble the first time I heard about them."
They led me back to the car and threw me in the back seat. We drove another twenty minutes before the car stopped. I figured we were at the Valley View Bank because I could hear the traffic on LBJ Freeway.
"All right, Mr. Turner. I'm going into the bank with you. You're going to take me to the safety deposit box and get me the diamonds. Then we are going to come back to the car. Once we are at a safe distance I'll let you go."
"No way. I don't want to see who you are. If I see your face you'll have to kill me. Untie me and then disappear. When you're gone, I'll take off the mask and go into the bank and get the diamonds. I'll bring them back here and leave them in the car. I'll go back into the bank and wait ten minutes before I come out."
"Do you think I'm an idiot or something? As soon as you get inside you'll call the police or notify security. I can't risk two million dollars."
"Two million dollars?"
"That's right. Schwartz was supposed to deliver them to us but he betrayed us."
Melanie had lied to me. She must have planned to cheat me. It suddenly dawned on me she hadn't called once since she'd gotten to her sisters. I was confused and angry.
"You know who I am," I said. "You know I have a family. If I betrayed you it would be suicide. Believe me this is the best way to handle it for your sake and for mine. If you go in there with a gun in my back someone might get suspicious and then it will be all over. It's too dangerous. Trust me. My way is best."
There was a long silence.
"All right. But believe me I will kill you and your family if I don't get the diamonds."
"I know. You'll get them. Don't worry."
They untied my hands, and I heard each of the car doors slam. I waited several minutes to be sure they were gone and took off the blindfold. I glanced around, it appeared everything was normal. I opened the car door and walked slowly into the bank. The thought of running over to a security guard crossed my mind, but I knew that was too risky. I didn't really know who I was up against. If it were the mob, the police couldn't protect me or my family. I headed for the elevator and went downstairs to the vault.
The receptionist smiled as I walked up to her.
"I need to get into my box."
"Okay," she said and pointed to the log book. I signed in and she got up and led me into the vault. We both put in our keys and opened it. She carried the box into a private stall and set it down. I thanked her, and she left. I opened the box and lifted the felt bag.
It was too light. Panic ripped through me like a chain saw. The bag was empty. Oh my God! Melanie must have switched bags on me. . . . The rubber band. She sent me for a rubber band to give her time to make the switch. Oh God! No!
I fell back hard against the side of the cubicle. I heard a voice. "Are you all right in there?"
"Yes, I'm fine," I said as I tried to figure out why she had taken them. She must have planned it all along. Make the buyer think I have the diamonds, and she gets away clean. Brilliant, but what a cold heartless bitch!
My mind began to spin out of control. I thought of Rebekah and my children being mowed down by machine guns. Blood was gushing from their wounds. I could hear them wailing. What should I do? Oh, my God! Help me. Okay, get hold of yourself. Think.
I knew if went outside without the diamonds they would kill me on the spot. I had no choice now but to notify a security guard of the situation. I got up and headed for the receptionist. There was a man with her who was signing in the log book.
"Ma'am. I need to talk to a security officer," I whispered.
She looked at me with fear in her eyes. "What's wrong?"
"I don't have time to explain. Just get a security officer down here immediately."
The receptionist picked up the phone but before she could punch in the extension, the man signing in pulled a gun and pointed it at us. She screamed. We both raised our hands. "Get inside and get me those diamonds," he said.
He pushed us back into the vault and stuck the gun in my face. "Get the diamonds now!"
I rushed into the cubicle and picked up the safety deposit box. I knew he'd probably kill me just as soon as he found out I didn't have the diamonds. I came out of the cubicle and ran straight at him like a linebacker after a quarterback. He fired at me. The box slammed into my chest knocking the breath out of me. I fell to the ground gasping for air. There was more gunfire--a lot of gunfire. I looked up and saw a security guard shooting at the man. He went
down, blood gushing from his wound. I tried to breathe and regain control of my body. The shooter fell next to me, reeling from the sting of a bullet. I lunged for his gun. He fought me, but he was weak and gave up the battle quickly as his body went limp.
Then there were sirens and security guards swarming around. I sat up against the wall and tried to regain my breath. Some policemen came down the stairs and asked the security guards what had happened. Then a detective showed up. He came over to me. He stopped and squinted.
"You look familiar. Do I know you?"
"I don't know. I'm Stan Turner."
"Right. You were working the Luther Bell case? I've seen you with Besch."
"Right."
"So what was all this about?"
I told him a short version of the story. He shook his head. "You're lucky you are alive."
"I know."
It was nearly seven o'clock before the police released me. Rebekah came to the station to pick me up. She had been frantic with worry all day since she had expected me to come home right after the trial. I explained everything to her on the way home. She cried.
"You should have just given the diamonds to the police."
"I know. But I thought maybe the diamonds fell into my lap for a reason. Maybe we were supposed to have them. I wondered if Marvin Schwartz even knew they were there."
"Oh, God, Stan. I almost lost you today," Rebekah moaned. "Promise you won't ever get involved in anything like this again."
"God, I hope not. I've had enough excitement for a lifetime."
"You don't think they'll come after you again, do you?"
"No. They probably think the police have the diamonds now. Melanie was a pretty smart girl. She had me completely fooled."
Losing the two million dollars didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. I guess I never really believed they would be mine anyway. What did piss me off was Melanie putting me and my family at risk. I wondered if she'd have given a damn if we'd all been killed.
I called Monte to see if Melanie had gone to her parents and ask him if he thought he could find her now. He said he could find anybody for the right price. Unfortunately, I didn't have any money so I told him just to use up the rest of my credit so we'd be even. He agreed but asked me what I would do if he found her. That was a good question. I didn't know exactly. But one thing I did know was that I just couldn't let her get away with what she had done.
Cash Call, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 5 Page 37
