I pulled Dekker by the collar toward the back door. It was a bathroom. No exit. Dekker shoved me backward and locked himself inside. Fantastic.
There was shouting in the distance. The authorities were on their way. Killing Vic was out of the question. “Jack, can you do something about the surveillance cameras?” I asked quietly while taking off my jacket and started messing with the doorknob. It was a simple lock, easy to pick if I had the right tools.
“Already did. They have nothing but static,” he responded. “It’s a neat little program Mom came up with…”
The boy was chatty, just like his mum. “Thanks, Jack. I’ll check in with you later.” I hung up and found a chemistry set and punched through the box. Science kits usually have probes and other tools you can use to pick a lock. Unfortunately, the box had that plastic clamshell casing that keeps everything pretty and safe inside. I didn’t have time for this frustration. Ignoring the sharp edges that tore at my flesh, I ripped the plastic apart and retrieved the tools.
In spite of my rusty lock-picking skills, I managed to get the door open quickly and dragged Dekker out of the bathroom and into the mall. It isn’t easy to look normal when you are bleeding and you are dragging a man behind you (who clearly has no interest in going with you) who is also bleeding. It wouldn’t be long before we attracted enough attention to cause trouble. And I didn’t have time for that. If I took him to the plane I could secure him and go after Ronnie. But the hangar was too far away. I was much closer to the baggage carousel.
Pulling my protesting Vic behind me, I stepped outside and hailed a cab. To his credit, the driver didn’t give my situation a second glance and soon we were headed to the newspaper where Ronnie was researching.
The ride was short but I had enough time to bind Dekker’s hands behind him using his seat belt. The cab pulled up to our stop and I paid him and dragged Dekker out and into the building.
We’d just entered the elevator when I realized my Vic was apparently quite the Houdini. As the doors closed, he lunged. I swung my arm up and stepped aside, clotheslining him in the throat. He didn’t go down like I’d hoped.
“You don’t give up, do you?” Dekker growled as he punched me in the head.
“Don’t know the meaning of the word,” I replied, kneeing him in the gut.
And as the Musak played The Girl from Ipanema, Dekker and I pounded the hell out each other in a three foot-by-three-foot lift. Arje remembered my weak spots and was getting the best of me with several punches in my shoulder. I managed to crack his nose. The snapping sound made me feel a little better.
Soon the linoleum was slick with blood. Dekker leaned for a side kick and succeeded in plunging his foot through a hole in the wall he created. I punched him in the groin and took a lot of satisfaction in his cry of pain. I hadn’t even noticed that the elevator had stopped until we both fell forward through the open doors.
“Cy? Arje?” Veronica said as she stood over us.
Ronnie?
Before Dekker could react I slugged him hard on the chin, driving his head back and rendering him unconscious. “Stay where you are. I’ve got to get him out of here.” Veronica stared, wide eyed.
Somehow I managed to rise to my feet and drag Dekker across the hall to a bathroom. What was it with me and bathrooms lately? I handed Veronica a few paper towels and asked her to clean up the bloody smear that trailing down the hall. She didn’t say a word.
Ronnie joined me in the small bathroom a few minutes later with red-stained paper towels. I locked the door behind her, leaning against it to catch my breath.
“So, this is the Sentinel’s offices,” I gasped as nonchalantly as possible.
“Yup.”
I made my way to the sink and started washing up. “I’m sorry to cut short your research, but we have to leave. Now.”
Veronica looked pale. She shrugged.
Somehow I had to kill him in front of her. If I didn’t, he would continue tracking her down. And I couldn’t have that either.
“Um, I…” she started, but couldn’t seem to finish. “Why did you two end up here?”
I shook my head. “No time to explain. He’s dangerous, Ronnie.” I hoped she caught my meaning.
“Can’t we just call the police or something? Then they could lock him up…”
“No. If he wants to, he’ll have no problem hunting you down anywhere. This ends now.” On the outside, I was calm. On the inside I was shaking. I’d never killed anyone in the presence of a non-Bombay before. And I was pretty sure that would spell the end of my relationship with Miss Gale.
Ronnie pulled on my arm. “Let’s go! Let’s just go!” She struggled to hold on to a stack of files. I avoided looking into her eyes. I didn’t want to see what I thought was in there. It made me sick inside to even consider killing Dekker in front of her.
Looking down at the unconscious and bloody man before me, I realized that there was only one way to handle this. And it may have been my worst idea ever.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Bob Wiley: What are you doing with the gun, Dr. Marvin?
Dr. Leo Marvin: Death Therapy, Bob. It's a guaranteed cure.
- What About Bob?
The idea of doing a good job is instilled in every Bombay from the minute they begin their training at the age of five. We are taught to make sure each assignment is completed with no screw-ups. Every Bombay has their own modus operandi. And every one of us takes pride in completing the assignment in a timely manner.
My friend at the Sentinel showed us the freight elevator in the back and we were able to at least make it to the ground floor undetected. The doors opened and I spotted a janitor’s closet. It took two, extra large garbage bags to cover the unconscious Vic. Ronnie convinced me to poke holes in the bag around his face so he wouldn’t suffocate. That was too bad because I was hoping I could tell her I “accidentally” asphyxiated him.
I sent Veronica to find a cab and she showed up with my former driver. I guess the guy liked the three-digit tip I gave him. He said nothing as I loaded Vic’s body into his trunk.
“Your hands are bleeding.” Ronnie took my hands in hers and examined the torn up knuckles. “You got that from…” Her eyes darted between the driver in front of us and the trunk behind us. “From the elevator?”
I shook my head. “No. They got torn up trying to open a toy.”
“I hate those things!” The driver spoke up with a grin in the rearview window. “It should be criminal to make the plastic covers for toys!”
I gave him a nod that hopefully conveyed something like, “yeah, me too. Stop talking to us.” He seemed to take the hint and focused on getting us back to the airport. I’d texted the pilot and he found us an alternative way in so we wouldn’t have to go through security checkpoints.
“Well, I hope they have some bandages on the plane.” Veronica said quietly as she continued inspecting my wounds. “You could get a serious infection.”
I didn’t say anything. Frankly, I was wiped out. Dekker was far too dangerous to be dragged around, alive. But Ronnie wouldn’t let me kill him. Oh sure, I could just off him anyway. That’s what I would’ve done pre-Veronica Gale. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill him with her right here. It was just too complicated.
So how it came to pass that Arje Dekker was tied up in one of the family jet’s bathrooms was still unsettling even after we took off.
“Sorry, Cy,” Veronica apologized for the eleventh time since we smuggled him on board. “We’ll come up with what to do with him.”
I ran my hands through my hair. Yes, I supposed she was right. I had no clue how to manage it, but oh well.
“How did your research go?” I asked in an effort to change the subject.
“Well,” Ronnie started, “I found some information. Richard was very helpful.”
“Are you stalling?”
“No.” But the way she looked nervously from side to side said otherwise.
“Then what did you find o
ut?” I reached for her files. She handed them to me hesitantly.
The look on her face made me pause. “Would you rather tell me or let me read it for myself?”
Ronnie shook her head slowly. “I’ll tell you. It’s just that…well I found something out that kind of upset me.”
It’s always a shock when your heroes fall. It’s even harder to watch the face of someone you care about when they realize what they believed was a lie.
“Senator Anderson was involved with a couple of women who weren’t his wife.” She fidgeted with her hair.
“Okay.”
“He apparently”—I noted how she said the word as if saying it that way would make it less true—“was involved with a couple of prostitutes from the same escort service.”
My heart wrenched as she held out two photos. I knew this was hard for her. The pictures revealed a man in flagrante delecto with two women at the same time. While I was impressed, I thought it wouldn’t be wise to say so.
“I guess he wasn’t all I thought he was.” Veronica said finally.
With a sigh I gathered her into my arms. Something inside me begged to never disappoint her like Anderson had.
“Nobody’s perfect, Ronnie,” I said softly as she pulled away. Why was she pulling away?
“I thought he was. I thought he was perfect. Why didn’t these photos run in the U.S.?”
“It’s hard to say. The media isn’t always as objective as we’d like them to be.”
“And if I didn’t know this about this after all my research, what else didn’t I know?” Her calm voice wavered, betraying the agony beneath her words.
“Probably a lot.” I had some strong opinions here but decided this wasn’t the time to bring it up. The fact is that many politicians are corrupt or crooked or easily seduced. Usually sexual deviances were just the tip of the iceberg. I was a bit irritated that Veronica had put this man on a pedestal in the first place.
“You don’t understand, Cy.” She dropped her head into her hands. “This guy and his volunteers were my family when I didn’t have one.”
“I can understand that. But the fact that you are in education should tell you that things aren’t always what they seem. You’ve learned to look at people and ideas from all sides before drawing conclusions.” Right? She had to do that. It was part of the core of knowledge. Critical thinking meant you didn’t hedge your bets.
“You mean like what I thought about you?” She motioned toward the back of the plane. “Or Dekker? Yeah. I’ve been really good at drawing conclusions.”
When dealing with women, you have to tread carefully. Somehow I expected this was one case where she wouldn’t necessarily want me to agree. Then again, if I sugarcoated the truth, how was I helping her learn?
“But you know better now,” I replied.
She looked up sharply, fire in her eyes. I knew it. There was no right way to play this one.
Veronica stood and stalked toward the back of the plane, then plunked herself in a chair by the window.
Okay, that conversation was over. I wasn’t going to follow her back and smooth things over. She was wrong. She even admitted it. How mature to throw a fit like that.
Besides, I had other problems. One was trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey in my bathroom. And the problem was that he was still breathing. Not good.
Maybe I needed to cut Veronica Gale loose once and for all. Just drop her off at her precious university while she still believed that Anderson’s only sins were sexual. It was a mistake to send her to the newspaper. What was I thinking? This kid had one hero…one! And I imposed my will to make her see what a fool she was.
And yes, she’d been wrong about me. But why did I care? Lots of people had misconceptions about Coney Island Bombay. I never cared before. And it wasn’t like I wanted her to know what I really was. So why did I want her to see me differently?
I got up and moved past the sulking Ronnie toward the tiny bathroom where Dekker was.
“Hello, Arje,” I said as I closed the door and sat down on the toilet seat.
Dekker glared but said nothing. Mainly this was because of the duct tape covering his mouth. He was pissed off, but it didn’t matter. I had him tied up pretty good. So what made me reach over and rip the tape off of his face?
“So, you probably know you are going to die,” I said as simply as I could.
“But I’m not dead yet, Bombay. Why is that, I wonder?”
“You can thank Ronnie for that. She gets a little freaked out by violence.”
Dekker grinned. “Yeah. Funny how she ended up around us.”
I toyed with asking him what he thought he knew about me, but changed my mind. “What is it with women anyway? Why do they question our need for fighting?”
Arje looked at the door, then at me. “I don’t know. Never really had a relationship with anyone other than whores. And they were paid to keep their mouths shut. But I know what you’re saying.”
I leaned back against the wall. “I like fighting. I enjoy competing. I know it’s barbaric.” And I did too.
Dekker sighed. “And I like war.”
I looked up at him. “Yes, but you also like killing innocents along with soldiers.”
He nodded. “You’ve heard the rumors then. I’m surprised someone like you would believe everything you read.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I growled.
“I just expected more from you, that’s all.”
“So you are saying that you don’t kill innocent people? I guess you are just misunderstood.”
“No, I’m not saying that, Bombay.” Dekker said slowly. “You of all people should know that sometimes, bad things happen to good people. It’s the nature of war.”
I let his words chill me for a moment. He was right. No matter how careful or just any war is, sometimes innocent people get killed. But I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.
“The way I hear it,” I pointed at him directly, “and my sources are good, you don’t seem to mind it when an unarmed woman or child gets in the way.”
Dekker’s face darkened with something I couldn’t read. “Believe what you want to.” He turned his face away, indicating the conversation was over.
I replaced the duct tape over his mouth. “That’s right. I remember why I’m going to kill you.” As I stood up, I paused. “Thanks, Dekker.”
What the hell was I thinking, talking to him like that? Man, Veronica Gale was really messing with my head. I needed to get rid of her, then get rid of Dekker, find my RV and immerse myself in carnival sawdust and stale corndogs.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Longbaugh: A heart is the only thing that has value. If you have one, get rid of it.
- The Way of the Gun
We landed at the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, airport several hours later. The pilot would get the plane refueled by the time I returned. As the plane taxied to a halt, I’d like to say that Veronica and I made up and had sex the entire time. I’d like to say that. But I can’t. We barely spoke. I don’t know why I was being so stubborn about this. But then, she was being stubborn too.
The saying, ‘two wrongs don’t make a right’ popped into my head. I ignored it as I rented a car and loaded Ronnie’s things into the trunk. We drove in silence to Iowa City. It was an unbearable twenty minutes. I decided that this was the very reason Ronnie and I could not have a future together. I’d take her home, then get rid of Vic and go home myself.
The only time she spoke was to give me directions to her apartment. We pulled up in front of a Victorian house with a wrap-around porch. To my complete surprise, a very attractive young man about Ronnie’s age came out the front door and hugged her. Who in the hell was that?
“Hi.” The guy came up to me and shook my hand. “I’m Drew. Thanks for bringing Veronica home.”
Home? Home was with this guy? Whoa. What was going on here? I looked at Ronnie. She stood there with her hands on her hips. What did that mean?
<
br /> I shook his hand, trying to control my temper. “Cy Bombay. And it’s no problem. She’s all yours.” I shot a look at Ronnie, who threw her hands up in the air while Drew grabbed her luggage.
“You failed to mention Drew.” I said evenly.
She grinned. “I guess you can’t pigeonhole me either.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You don’t know everything about me, Cy Bombay. You think you have me pegged, don’t you?” Her anger was rising. At least, that’s what the red color climbing her neck said. “It makes me so angry that you could be mad about Drew when you play your story so close to the vest!”
“What story? I don’t have a story!” Okay, so I did. And it was a whopper. But that was beside the point. I’d been up front with her about my life, my education and my history with women.
“Well for one thing, why do you have a Dutch mercenary tied up in the bathroom of your private jet?”
“You should know.” I was getting pissed off now. Did she forget that Dekker tried to kill her? That he tried to kill me?
“I don’t know! I don’t know why you couldn’t have let the authorities in Mongolia have him after he kidnapped me! I don’t understand why you couldn’t deal with Interpol or any other authorities! Why didn’t you just let the airport security in London deal with him instead of dragging him along with us?”
She had me there. All of those points made sense. There really was no way to tell her without explaining that killing Dekker was part of my job. That was something I knew I could never tell Veronica.
“Are you going to kill Arje, Cy?” Her question flopped out of her mouth onto the ground in front of us. I watched it flail around on the sidewalk until it died. I had no answer for her.
Greatest Hits Mysteries Boxed Set (Books 1-4) Page 74
