Was Uncle Happy the only one left who was affiliated with the CIA that was involved in this situation? How many other Russians were in the city looking for the videotape? Once we regrouped with my friends, I’d need to reach out to Jadyn and let her know about Uncle Happy, Small, and Foxwood and the allegations that Uncle Happy had made against Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal.
We drove a few more miles without speaking. I was trying to let my mind think about the investigation, but the only thing that my brain kept replaying was the conversation with Uncle Happy and how naturally he lied to my face and I hadn’t been able to detect it. I’d been trained to know when a person was lying. We as humans have tendencies when we lie that a trained eye can usually pick up. However, Uncle Happy, being a trained CIA agent, didn’t do any of the natural things that people usually do when they lie, leading me to believe everything that he told us. Now, I started questioning if Mr. Cardinal was really as involved as Uncle Happy made it appear, or could it have been he and Mrs. Cardinal who were the traitors. That’s something that Jadyn and the FBI would have to investigate.
I glanced over at Rule. His eyes were closed, and his head was leaning back on the seat. Maybe he was asleep and trying to catch a few z’s before we start up again. If he was, I couldn’t blame him. Rule’s one of the few people I know who can rest in the middle of chaos. I remember going to one of his martial arts tournaments when we were teenagers. Everyone who was competing was pumped up. Most were stretching or kicking or shadow sparring with other teammates. Not Rule. He was the only one I saw lying down in a corner of the room using his gym bag as a pillow, asleep for a good fifteen minutes. I thought he was crazy, but when he got into the ring, no one could touch him. That’s Rule in a nutshell, calm in the middle of a storm, the sleeping giant that you don’t want to wake up.
My cell phone rang and I saw that it was Pat.
“You haven’t left for your date yet?” I said.
“Well, look who decided to answer his phone.”
I saw that she’d called two times earlier, but I figured I’d wait to call her back once I regrouped with everyone.
“Crazy afternoon. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“When it comes to you, I think I could believe anything.”
That made me smile. “What’s up?”
“Just checking in to see how your conversation went, but something tells me that it must have gone better than expected.”
“Or worse, but I’ll fill you in later.”
“Does trouble just seem to follow you around like a bad odor?”
“Thanks for saying that I’m funky.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do. To be honest I’ve been starting to wonder the same thing.”
My phone beeped, which meant that another call was coming in. I looked at the screen and saw that it was Rudy, one of my police friends meeting me at my house.
“That’s Rudy on the other end, I need to take his call.”
“Rudy Sanders?”
“Yep, he’s coming to the house.”
“Uh huh, business or pleasure?”
“Purely business.”
“Do I need to cancel this date and come over?”
“Nothing that I can’t handle. Go out and have fun.”
“Well, you know I’m a phone call away. I don’t want to miss out on any of your Jacob Hayden adventures. Call me if you think something’s going down.”
“I will.”
I hit the new call button and heard Rudy and Carl, another cop talking in the background.
“Rudy, what’s up?”
“You’re still on the road, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll be in the city in about fifteen minutes. Where are you?”
“In front of your house. Let me ask you something, is someone else supposed to be in your house?”
“No, why?”
“Because someone is.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
“We’ve been here for a couple of minutes and Carl briefly saw someone in your window with the lights off.”
My eyes widened. I thought about the people I know who have keys to my house. Could it be my in-laws? “Do you see a silver Toyota in my driveway?”
“Nope. There aren’t any cars in front of your house.”
“I asked my neighbor to take Henry for a walk earlier in the day. Maybe it’s him.”
“Which neighbor?”
“Hal, the next door neighbor to my left.”
“Okay. We’ll check it out.”
“Is Phil with you yet?” I asked.
“Nope. He’s running late. Might not be able to make it.”
“Okay, knock on Hal’s door. If he’s not there then that’s probably him. Either way, call me back.”
“Sure thing.”
When I got off the phone, Rule was looking at me.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Hopefully nothing.”
I pressed on the gas pedal a little harder and my car picked up speed.
Seventy-five
Detectives Rudy Sanders and Carl Monroe looked like twin towers walking up to Hal’s house. Both men were twelve-year veterans of the force and both men stood six feet, five inches in height. Rudy was built like a giant Mike Tyson, while Carl looked like the elastic man wearing a jumpsuit.
A blue sedan was parked in Hal’s driveway. Rudy used the doorknocker while Carl looked in a side window to check for movement. A minute later, an elderly woman answered the door. Her eyes were opened wide with a look of concern and her mouth partly opened.
Rudy pulled out his detective’s badge and showed it to the woman. “Sorry to bother you, ma’am. I’m a detective friend of Jacob’s. Is Hal home?”
“Hal, why no. He went next door to Jacob’s house over an hour ago to walk Henry. I figured that Jacob must have come back and they’re over there yapping it up.”
Rudy looked over at Carl and raised his right eyebrow.
“Is everything okay, Detective?”
“Not sure, ma’am. How long ago did you say he went over there?”
“About an hour ago.”
“Does he usually stay over there for a while when Jacob’s home?”
“Sometimes. But if Jacob’s not home, he’ll just walk Henry around the block and come back home. What’s going on?” Her voice quivered a little.
“Again, not sure, ma’am. Jacob’s not home, but we thought we saw someone in his house. I called Jacob, and he said that Hal was supposed to walk Henry.”
“If Jacob’s not home then Hal wouldn’t stay over there. Why hasn’t he come home yet?”
“Not sure, ma’am. We’ll go check it out and send Hal home if he’s over there.”
“Thank you, Detective.”
Rudy and Carl dipped their heads and then turned around and left.
“What do you think?” Carl said.
“I think we’ve got an issue.”
“Think Hal’s in trouble?”
“Based on what Jacob told us over the phone, I think Hal might be in big trouble.”
Rudy pulled out his cell phone and dialed Jacob’s number again. A couple of rings later, Jacob was on the line.
“What’s up, Rudy?”
“Just talked to Hal’s wife. She said that Hal went to your house over an hour ago. He hasn’t returned yet.”
There was silence on the line for about ten seconds.
“Get in your car and drive away,” Jacob said. “Drive three blocks down, turn right, and park under the first streetlight. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“Backup?”
“No. Just us. We’re going to end this shit tonight.”
A smile crept along Carl’s face. “My man.”
Seventy-six
Alexey Gavronskii saw the two men parked in front of Jacob’s house and knew they were cops by the way that sat. Evening was settling over the city, but it wasn’t dark enough that he couldn’t see what the men lo
oked like. Alexey carefully parted the sheer, white curtains that lay over the living room window and saw the two men looking at the house and then around the neighborhood.
What do we have here?
He wondered if they were here to meet the detective, or if the man’s wife had called the police looking for him. Alexey knew the man had a wife because the man told him that only he and his wife lived next door. After a few more moments, Alexey figured that they weren’t here for police business. If the wife had called the police, a squad car would have pulled up and uniformed cops would have knocked on the door.
So these men were here for the detective.
Had the detective told them to meet him here, or had they come there on their own? Alexey looked around the room and suddenly knew that he would be at a stark disadvantage if the detective came home with the two other cops outside. He stepped away from the window and went into the kitchen where he had the old man hogtied for leverage in case he needed it. He knew that his knots were tied tight, but he wanted to double-check them. The old man was still unconscious from the blow to the back of the head.
Alexey went back to the window and looked at the car, and his eyes widened and pulse quickened when he didn’t see the men inside it. He looked around and then walked to the other side of the window, from that viewpoint he saw the men standing in the neighbor’s front yard. One of the men was talking on the phone, and both were looking toward the house. Who is he talking to? Seconds later, the man on the phone put his phone in his front pocket and then both men walked back to the car. The engine started and the car drove away, but not before the men looked back at the house.
When the car was out of sight, Alexey knew that it would be back. He pulled out his phone and dialed Lev Oborski’s number.
“Put on the old man,” Alexey said to the servant.
Alexey heard a muffled voice, and then Lev came on the phone.
“What is it, Alexey?”
“There may be trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“I need help.”
“You never need help.”
“I know. But now I do.”
“Where are you?”
“At the detective’s house.”
“Where is he?”
“On his way.”
“So where’s the trouble?”
“He has friends.”
Lev paused and then let out a breath over the phone, “So then shall you.”
Seventy-seven
“We’ve got trouble,” I said to Rule.
“What’s new?” he replied sarcastically.
“I’m serious. Someone’s in my house.”
“Russians?”
“At this point, who knows? But I’m worried about Hal. He was supposed to walk Henry, but his wife said that he hasn’t come back yet, and that was over an hour ago.”
“What about your friends?”
“I told them to leave the house. We’re going to meet them a few blocks away.”
By now I was flying on the Claire Barton Parkway and passing slower cars.
“They said that they saw someone in my window. Hal wouldn’t just hang around if I wasn’t home.”
“Pops and Mama J wouldn’t be there, right?”
“Nope. Their car’s not in the driveway.”
A few minutes later I was on M Street in Georgetown. I passed by the famous steps from The Exorcist, and then traffic started to move slow as it always does in Georgetown. Nevertheless, I was able to weave my way around cars and drive on the wrong side of the road to make it through in a few minutes.
My mind was wondering and trying to figure out who was in my house. How’d they get in? Then my pulse quickened even faster when I started thinking about Henry. He was a big dog but harmless. Whoever was in my house wouldn’t know that, and they’d do what they could to take him down.
I pushed the gas pedal a little harder and maneuvered through side roads and alleys until I got to my neighborhood. I didn’t drive by my house because whoever was in there would know what kind of car I drove and would be tipped off if I passed by. So, I found my friends right where I’d told them to go. They were standing next to their car wearing Kevlar police vests.
We slapped five and gave each other man hugs. I introduced them to Rule and they did the same thing.
“Tell me what you saw?” I said to Carl.
“We were parked in front of your house. I looked up and saw the curtain move in your front window and then saw a white guy’s face quickly look out.”
“And he wasn’t older?”
“I didn’t see him long enough to get a good look, but he didn’t look old.”
“Damn,” I said under my breath.
I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Hal’s number. Three rings later, his wife answered.
“Hi Liz, this is Jacob. Did Hal come home yet?”
Her voice was faint and trembling, “No, he hasn’t come home yet. Your detective friends were just here.”
“I know. I sent them there.”
“Where’s Hal, Jacob?”
“I’m going to find out. Listen, I want you to go down to your basement and don’t come up until I knock on your door.”
“My basement? Jacob, what’s going on?”
“Trust me, Liz. Just go down there. I’ll come get you when I find Hal.”
I hung up the phone and then looked at the fellas. Concern couldn’t have been written any clearer on their faces.
I looked at my cell phone again and decided to call my house. I’m probably one of the few people left who have both a landline and a cell phone. My phone rang four times and then went to voicemail. I hung up when I heard my voice.
“If Hal was at my house, he would have picked up.”
“How do we know that he’s not?” Rule asked.
I didn’t answer. Rule hadn’t asked the question expecting an answer. If Hal was indeed in my house and not answering, then he was not answering because he couldn’t. I walked to the back of my car and popped the trunk. Inside were two police issued Kevlar vests, one shotgun, and one 9mm Glock. I threw a vest to Rule and told him to put it on.
“I can’t give you a gun, Rule.”
He nodded and understood. We were back in D.C. now. As a sworn officer of the law, I couldn’t give him one of my guns. Even though I wanted to.
“What’s the best way to get in?” Rudy asked.
“All of the windows on the ground floor would be locked. I’m guessing that my back door must be broken down because that’s the only way that whoever’s in my house could have gotten in, outside of breaking one of the windows.”
“Most people don’t go through a broken window unless it was already broken,” Carl said.
“Right,” I replied.
“So if the back door is already broken in then it shouldn’t be hard for us to sneak in.” Rudy said.
“Whoever’s in the house is waiting for Jacob to return,” Rule said. He looked at Carl. “You said that a man was looking out the window. Is that something a normal burglar would do? No. A burglar would be sifting through the house looking for what they’re going to steal and then make a break for it. This person was looking out the window. He’s waiting on Jacob.”
“So if he’s waiting, then he’ll be keeping an eye on both the front door and back,” Rudy said.
“Unless there’s a distraction,” I said.
“What’s on your mind?” Carl asked.
I smiled as I thought, Here we go again.
Seventy-eight
Rule led Carl and Rudy through the backyards of the neighboring houses in Jacob’s neighborhood. Jacob lived in one of the more suburban types of neighborhoods in the city where trees encased many of the backyards. By now, the sun had finally set, which gave the perfect means for them to walk in the shadows without being seen. They finally stopped when they reached the edge of Jacob’s backyard.
The house was dark, as would be expected. From where they knelt, they co
uldn’t see any movement coming from the inside, but they had a perfect view of the sidewalk in front of Jacob’s house. Rule’s eyes moved from the front sidewalk to the rear back door. It was too dark to tell if the door was ajar from being kicked in.
Rule was holding Carl’s cell phone in his left hand when it lit up and started buzzing. He looked over at Rudy and Carl, and all three nodded to each other and stood up to a hunched-over stance, like they were getting ready to run a relay race.
“Here we go,” Rule said.
He hit the talk button and raised the phone to his ear.
“Everyone ready?” Jacob said from the other end.
“We’re all set.”
“Let’s hope my acting skills from tenth grade drama class still work.”
“You got a C in that class, right?”
“Don’t remind me.”
The line went quiet, and then Rule saw Jacob’s car pull in front of his house. Seconds later, Jacob got out of the car and then walked around to the passenger side of the car.
“So, what are we supposed to talk about?” Jacob asked.
“I think I’m supposed to tell you how beautiful your brown eyes are.”
Rule saw Jacob smile and then lean against the car as if was engaged in a casual phone conversation. The plan that Jacob came up with was to talk on the phone in front of his house for a few minutes and act like he was in a joyful conversation and not paying attention to anything else but the conversation. Meanwhile, he would talk loud enough that whoever was in the house would be forced to take a sneak peak from the window to see who was outside. Once Jacob saw where the person was, he would tell Rule that the intruder was in the front of the house and that Rudy and Carl could sneak in the back. The biggest chance that they were taking was not knowing where Hal was located.
The Game of Life or Death: A Detective Series of Crime and Suspense Thrillers (The Jacob Hayden Series Book 3) Page 18
