The Second Shooter
Page 18
“Did he say anything?”
“He asked me if I had any other copies of the files. I said I didn’t. He said if I had, they’d keep coming for me.” Panic spread across Robert’s face. “I only saw a few seconds of the video – I swear – I have no idea what it was.”
“That’s okay,” the detective said. “If he was watching from the kitchen, he already knows that. If he didn’t, you’d probably be dead already.”
The detective gave Robert a few seconds to calm himself. “Did he say anything else?”
“He said he was going to destroy the files. Then he told me to call 9-1-1. That’s all I remember.”
* * *
Robert was having a very rough night. Every time he would fall asleep, it wouldn’t be long until he would start thrashing around in his bed as he relived his ordeal. The nurse had been in to check on him several times. At one point, she woke him from one of his nightmares to reassure him that he was now safe and sound in the hospital. There was a police officer sitting right outside their room to make sure no one could harm them.
In the bed beside him, David was also having trouble sleeping, partly because of Robert’s thrashing and partly because of his own guilty feelings. His father was right. David’s participation in the secret society had not only put his own life in danger, but had led to the death of the professor and almost got his brother killed. It was time to put an end to it.
David got out of bed, pulled his laptop from the hidden compartment in his soccer bag and put it on the overbed table. The nurse had told him this room had a working Internet connection. He had just started up the computer when Robert started having another nightmare. David jumped out of bed and raced over to comfort his brother.
“What time is it?” Robert asked after David woke him.
“Just after four in the morning. You were having a nightmare.”
When he was sure Robert was okay, David crawled back into his own bed.
“What are you doing awake?” Robert asked.
“I think it’s about time I got out of this secret society – it’s too dangerous – for everyone.”
David entered the password, then entered the command to see if there were any new messages for him. “There’s a new message.”
“What does it say?”
“It says Files have been destroyed – No further danger.”
“That’s good to hear. Who sends you these messages anyway?”
“I don’t really know – everyone uses a code name. This message came from the Black Knight.”
Robert bolted up in bed. “That’s the guy who shot Vanessa – the guy who saved my life. I just remembered it now when you said it.”
“He’s sent me several messages. He’s the one who sent me the first message to watch out for the second shooter. I thought it was a clue to help solve who actually killed Kennedy – but maybe it was a warning to me all along.”
“Or maybe both,” Robert said.
“What do you mean?”
“It was something Vanessa said. She said the agency always has a backup plan – for every mission. She said they always send a second shooter.”
“What do you think I should do?”
“I’m not sure you should quit a group that probably just saved our lives. It sounds like they’re watching our backs.”
David thought of Bronx. He’d already lost one person who said she’d watch his back. Could he afford to lose another?
He closed the laptop.
*** Chapter 29 ***
Laura sat at the kitchen table at Henry’s place and clicked the button on her computer to submit her latest story to the Tribune. She was sure it would also be distributed to other news agencies around the world. The public loved conspiracy stories about the Kennedy assassination, and this one was sure to add more fuel to the fire.
Laura had interviewed Robert and had written up the story that they’d found the lady with the dog – dead – but how police still hadn’t determined her true identity. How could a person exist in this day and age without any record of who she actually was? It had to be a conspiracy. She had been killed by someone who called himself the Black Knight – someone who had made off with evidence that would explain who actually killed Kennedy – vanished without a trace. How could that not be a conspiracy?
“I have to head back to Chicago,” Laura said as she gave both David and Robert a hug. They had finally been released from hospital and would be spending a few more days at home.
Laura threw her suitcase into the backseat of the rental car. She gave Henry a kiss. “When’s the next time you’re going to be in Chicago?”
“I’m not sure.” He wanted to stay pretty close to home for a while.
* * *
When Laura got to the airport, she followed the confusing directions to the rental car drop-off area. She was in the process of pulling her small suitcase out of the back seat when the rental clerk came up behind her. “Can I get your mileage?” he asked.
She recognized the voice immediately and turned toward him. “Todd, what are you doing here?”
“I just had to see you one more time before I go.”
“Before you go where?”
He smiled. “I can’t say where, but I won’t be heading back to Chicago.”
“They said you resigned from the FBI. Why?’
“I had to. We were told to stay out of the agency’s way while they tried to recover those files. The FBI is supposed to uphold the law and protect people from all threats, even if those threats are coming from within our own government. We turned our backs on the President back in 1963. I wasn’t going to let it happen again.”
“So you’re the Black Knight?”
He smiled and gave her a salute. “Agent Todd Knight – at your service.”
“Have you still got those files?”
“No,” Todd said. “They’ve already caused enough deaths. Like I told the kid – I destroyed them.”
“Why? Don’t you think the public has a right to know who killed Kennedy?”
“That’s not my call. That’s up to the current President to decide.”
Laura paused before asking her next question. “Did you look at them?”
“No, but I have a pretty good idea what they’d show. I’m sure the truth will come out eventually – it always does.”
“Robert owes his life to you – probably David, too.”
“I should have done better,” Todd said. “I was in position the night that David and the professor got shot. I was watching the lady with the dog. I was sure she was the primary shooter. The guy in the hoodie got two shots off before I could eliminate him. That’s my fault. I was supposed to protect them.”
Laura reached out to touch him. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known.”
Todd looked at the ground. “It’s my job to know. I failed them.”
Laura reached out and pulled up on Todd’s chin so he was looking directly at her. “It’s not your fault,” she said again. But she could tell she hadn’t convinced him. “So what happens now?”
“I’m going to disappear. I’m sure they’ve already figured out what I’ve done. They’ll be coming for me.”
“When will I see you again?”
“I don’t know – maybe never. That’s why I wanted to see you one last time today.” He leaned in and kissed her – hard.
“You can’t just disappear forever.”
“Sure I can.”
Suddenly another car came racing into the parking lot. A man jumped out of the driver’s seat and yelled over to Todd. “I’m going to be late for my flight. Can you check the car in for me?”
“No problem, sir. I’ll take care of it.”
The man ran off toward the terminal.
“You better get going yourself, or you’re going to miss your flight,” Todd said to Laura.
Laura looked at her watch. “You’re right.” She turned and pulled her suitcase out of the back seat. When she turned ar
ound again, Todd was gone.
He was right. He could just disappear into thin air.
* * *
It was about three weeks later when David walked into his father’s bedroom and saw him packing. Henry had been reluctant to travel until he was sure his boys were safe again. Robert had overcome his fears and headed back to university, confident he’d be able to catch up on his schoolwork. David felt he had fallen too far behind, so he had decided to miss the rest of the term and start fresh again after Christmas. He’d also been cut from both the Laurier and National soccer teams so he was finding it hard to get motivated about much of anything.
“I was wondering when you’d be heading off to Chicago again,” David said.
“I’m not going to Chicago. I’m off to New York in the morning – supposed to investigate the costs of another merger. Laura’s joining me in a few days. We’re planning to see a few shows on Broadway.” He briefly stopped his packing. “Are you going to be okay on your own?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” David’s biggest fear of late was that he’d die of boredom. He started to walk down the hall toward the family room, but then turned and came back.
“Any chance I could go with you?”
“Sure. I don’t see why not. But I’ll be working, so I won’t have much free time.”
“That’s okay,” David said. “It’s New York. Someone once told me there are a million things to do there.” He opened a map that Henry had sitting on top of his suitcase and began searching for something.
“Dad, can you show me where the Bronx is?”
Other Books By
E.A. Briginshaw
Goliath
Henry Shaw leads a relatively quiet life trying to balance his work at a growing law firm with his family life, including supporting his teenage son who has a promising soccer career ahead of him. But all of that changes when Henry’s bipolar brother, in one of his manic states, tells him that Goliath didn’t really die as told in the biblical story – and that he is Goliath.
When his brother disappears along with a media magnate, the FBI and the local police believe they may have been part of a secret international network and that Goliath was his brother’s code name. The solution to this puzzle may reside in his brother’s laptop computer, which mysteriously disappears during a break-in at his house.
Is his brother dead or just hiding from forces trying to destroy the network? Henry tries to solve the puzzle along with an intriguing woman he encounters at an airport bar.
Goliath is available for purchase on the Amazon.com website.
Book (ISBN 978-0-9921390-0-1)
eBook (ISBN 978-0-9921390-1-8)
The Legacy
Life is pretty good for the Baxter boys. Eric Baxter is a recent college graduate starting his career in financial planning. His younger brother Chip is a promising athlete heading off to compete at the Olympic Games in Brazil. And their father, Brian, has accumulated a tidy sum of money over his life.
As Eric prepares to start managing his father’s money, he learns that his father’s most important objective is to leave a legacy. But when Eric and his brother are kidnapped along with several other people while on a tour in Brazil, the legacy is in jeopardy.
Will the hostages be rescued before the final deadline is reached? Will Brian go against the recommendations of the FBI and the Brazilian police and pay the ransom? Their fate is determined in “The Legacy”.
The Legacy is available for purchase on the Amazon.com website.
Book (ISBN 978-0-9921390-2-5)
eBook (ISBN 978-0-9921390-3-2)