Chapter 16:
Marie never had to rely on her stunning looks to get people to do what she wanted, but sometimes it did help. She didn’t fight this and used her looks whenever it seemed it would help. Today was no different as she stood at the information kiosk at Summerlin Hospital looking for the wounded undercover officer. This was the third hospital she’d checked, and she was growing impatient. To make matters worse, the security guard working at the kiosk refused to break protocol.
“No matter how many times you ask, I can’t tell you. If you aren’t family or a friend of the family, I can’t tell you who’s here.” The security guard couldn’t stop his gaze from roaming her body while he spoke.
Marie pursed her lower lip and rolled her eyes. In an overly flirtatious voice she said, “Ok, here’s the deal, I was screwing a cop and I heard he got shot up. He’s married, so I don’t want to cause a scene, but I’d like to see him, just for a second.”
The security guard didn’t budge. “Ma’am, you mean to tell me you were having relations with a married man, and you never bothered to ask him his name?”
She made herself appear shocked. “Look, we hooked up three or four times, he’d call me for a booty call, we’d have sex, and then he left. I never bothered to ask him his name because I didn’t think it was anything more than sex.”
The security guard rolled his eyes. “Do you hear yourself right now? You should be ashamed. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Marie was frustrated, but persistent. She began to tremble and forced herself to cry. She collapsed on the floor and sobbed.
The security guard came around the desk to look at Marie. He wasn’t quite sure what was happening, but he didn’t want the lady to lose it on his shift. He was about to say something to her when she blurted out two words.
“I’m pregnant.”
The security guard wasn’t surprised, but now he understood what the drama was all about. He knew he wasn’t supposed to say anything about patients admitted to the hospital. He also knew the undercover officer that had been shot the day prior was, in fact, in the hospital. The security guard weighed what to do, either kick her out or possibly help an unborn child at least have a chance of a decent life by knowing who its father was. As he processed what to do, the woman began to flail her arms while rolling on the floor.
“Get up, and follow me outside,” the guard said with disgust. “We can talk out there.”
Marie slowly controlled her antics and walked with the security guard to the front of the hospital. They exited through the automatic doors and walked toward the parking lot. Marie wasn’t sure what the security guard was doing, but she played along with him because she had no other lead on locating the undercover officer.
The security guard used a magnetic card to open a gate to the underground parking. “Come on.” He pointed to the area beneath the hospital.
Marie followed him with a look of skepticism. As she walked around the corner, she saw seven or eight police cruisers parked in a row.
The security guard watched as the sight of the cars registered on Marie’s face. “Does that answer your question?”
“Oh thank you, thank you, you didn’t have to do this.” She hugged him and shook his hand. “I’ll never forget this.” She leaned in for another hug, but this time she rubbed her breasts on the man’s chest and gyrated. As he blushed from the contact, she grabbed his magnetic card without him knowing.
“Stop. I didn’t do anything. Let’s get out of here now.” He pushed her away from him and turned to walk to the security gate that had closed.
Behind him, Marie realized the security guard would need the magnetic card to get them back out. As he reached for the card, Marie reached for her gun. She began to pull it out and noticed the gate open again.
She put her gun back as she saw the security guard stopped reaching for his magnetic card once his brain registered the fact the gate was opening. Well, that was close, she thought.
Two men in an unmarked car slowly drove into the underground parking structure. They both eyeballed the security guard and Marie. It appeared they were having a conversation, but had stopped to look at Marie and the security guard.
Marie tried to look normal and continued to walk with the security guard to the front of the hospital.
The security guard’s cell phone suddenly rang and he answered it. A few seconds later he hung up and turned to say something to the pregnant hot chick looking for the undercover cop, but she was gone.
Marie had slipped between several vehicles and was already changing her clothes and appearance. She added a wig and a scarf to complete her transformation. She slowly walked to the main street in front of the hospital and slipped into the rental car she’d previously staged.
Confident that she’d located the undercover officer, she placed a call to a weapon and equipment supplier in Henderson, just outside of Las Vegas. She chuckled after she realized she needed very little to assault the hospital.
“I’ve got what you need,” the supplier informed her. Meet me in an hour at our normal spot. It’s gonna be five thousand this time.”
“Five thousand? Why’s that?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, things are really hot around town. Lot more cops than normal, so my exposure is higher.”
Marie smugly replied, “Not my problem. I’ll give you four, that’s it.”
The man whistled. He hated she was so ruthless, but he needed the money. “Ok. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.” They set a time to meet.
Marie looked at her watch, did the math in her head, and figured she’d come back around shift change for the night watch to assassinate the unsuspecting officer. She anticipated at least one or two more officers guarding him and at least one security guard at the hospital. Four on one, no sweat, she thought.
She quickly called Blass. “Target located. I’ll be done by ten p.m.” She was hopeful Blass would approve and tell her they could be together again when she was done.
“Okay. Don’t underestimate the man,” Blass replied coldly. “When you’re done, move quickly to take out Dix’s partner. You may need extra bodies for that.”
Marie snorted in disgust. “You think I can’t handle one guy?”
“I think Dix will have people guarding his partner. He may even be there himself. You aren’t ready for the likes of Bill Dix.” He knew his words stung Marie. He needed her on edge. She happened to be brilliant, but her emotions caused her to rush decisions and miss things. He needed Marie to be off her game a bit in order to successfully use her as a pawn to capture and kill Bill Dix.
“I can handle Dix and his wounded partner. You just watch me,” she said in a nasty tone.
“You need to listen to me on this. Dix is not your average cop. I’ll be with you and we’ll both deal with Dix.”
The comment caught Marie off guard. She couldn’t believe the great Robert Blass would even come to Las Vegas, let alone get involved with a hit on an officer. What are you up to? “Really? When can I expect to see you?” She hoped it was soon.
“Turn around.” Marie spun around and saw Robert standing right behind her. Though her heart skipped a beat, she was upset she didn’t detect that he was there. She hung up her cell phone and embraced him.
The two discussed the plans she had made for killing the undercover officer, Dix’s partner, and finally Dix. Blass was impressed and let her know so. He accompanied her to meet the arms dealer and then to one of his safe houses in Las Vegas.
Marie began prepping her gear as Blass analyzed the blueprints for the hospital. He agreed Marie picked the right time to make her move, but he found a better spot for her to gain access to the rooms likely to be holding the officer she intended to kill.
They called in a pizza delivery and watched the local news. It was mostly about the police looking for them.
Blass shook his head. “Your brothers got sloppy. We need to get these last jobs done and get out of Las Vegas for
awhile.”
Marie cuddled with him. “Relax, honey, they’re gone and I’ll be done in a day or two and we can head to wherever you want to go.” She tried to kiss him and he pulled away.
“Did you forget what I told you? These guys that you’re dealing with are going to be protected and even more aware after getting shot. I can’t have you fail, and I can’t have you getting caught.” He pointed to the table where they’d been planning the first attack. “Get this done and we’ll have all the time in the world to kiss.”
Marie could see the seriousness in his eyes. He had always been tenacious and focused. She could have pushed some issues she had with him, but once he made his mind up, he was impossible to deal with. She grabbed the rest of her gear and plans, glanced over at the clock to see that it was close to shift change at the hospital, and turned to leave.
“I’ll call you when it’s done. Wish me luck.” She winked at him and blew him a kiss.
Blass laughed. “You’re too good to need luck. Call me when it’s over, and we’ll catch a late dinner.”
Marie exited the safe house on her way to kill a man her brothers had failed to kill. She hoped she’d finally be accepted into Blass’s world when she was finished.
Chapter 17:
Dix and Frazier worked the evidence they’d located and made numerous phone calls trying to chase down leads. Dix was hopeful he’d know someone or have a friend of a friend who was working narcotics in Canada. He was running thin on options, and decided to give a call to his friend and retired Miami Dade Sergeant Andrew Snead. They hadn’t spoken in a few weeks and Dix was sure the fact he found himself in another predicament would make Snead laugh.
“Hey Bill,” Snead answered in his smooth southern drawl. “How are you?”
“Well, I’d be better if this was a social call.”
“Wait, aren’t you about ready to retire and supposedly living it up in Las Vegas?”
Dix paused a moment and prepared for Snead’s reaction to what he was about to say. “Sort of. I’m in Las Vegas, but Steve got shot.”
“What! Is he okay, what the hell are you doing out there?” Snead couldn’t believe Dix had found himself in another shit storm… on vacation no less.
“Yeah, he’s going to be fine. They’ve been working on his shooting hand as one of the bullets grazed it and it’s causing some issues. For what it’s worth, we were minding our own business. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Dix recalled the incident as he shared it with Snead. It blew his mind how close he had come to getting shot or killed himself.
“Geez man, you guys sure know how to give a man a heart attack. No more vacations for you, buddy. I’m glad to hear you guys are okay, but I’m a little worried to hear what you need.” Snead had calmed some knowing Dix and Petersen were okay.
Dix told him about the shooting on Las Vegas Boulevard, and the vehicle arson with two more dead bodies.
Snead whistled and shook his head. “You sure know how to pick them. What’s the reason you’re calling me?”
“Well, our leads are to a family named the Roys in Canada. You know anyone working for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who works narcotics near Toronto?”
Snead thought a moment. “I’ve got a friend in Calgary. I’ll give her a call and see if she knows anyone in Toronto.”
Dix nodded. “Thanks. I’ll send you a picture of the identification cards for the two men from the Range Rover. I’ll keep you posted.”
Snead could hear frustration and concern in Dix’s voice. He assumed Dix watched Petersen get shot, which was bad enough, but now that his career was in danger, Dix would be really shaken up about it. “You bet, Bill. And look, don’t worry. Steve will be fine and you’ll be retired soon and this stuff won’t be able to bother you anymore, at least not as much.” After hearing himself say retired, he wasn’t sure a man like Bill Dix really ever retired.
“Thanks again, Andrew. I’ll send the photo in a few minutes. Let me know if you hear anything.” Dix hung up and walked back over to talk to Frazier.
“So far we have nothing with the cash,” Frasier said. “The narcotics canine alerted to it suggesting it was drug money, but the band is one used at almost every casino in Las Vegas.”
Dix shrugged. “Well, so much for that.”
“The ID cards are more difficult for us because they’re out-of-country cards. I’m having dispatch attempt to contact a Canadian authority to see if we can run out the names for criminal history. So far, both guys have armed robbery and narcotics criminal history in Florida, California, and Las Vegas.”
Dix thought a moment and ran his hands through his hair. “So career criminals end up dead after killing local officers. I’m thinking the person in charge did not want dead bodies during the heist and could not afford the manhunt for their operation, so they killed the two men we discovered to stop us from looking into them.”
Frazier nodded. “Sounds about right. Kill them, make it obvious so law enforcement can find them, and hope the manhunt stops. Only problem is, there’s the woman in the surveillance footage. We really need to find her.”
Dix chewed his nails. “It makes sense. I wonder if the woman will come looking for your UC or my partner?”
“Why’s that?” asked Frazier.
“Well, I think she took these two men out,” he said as he pointed at the identification cards. “Men that were, until recently, her partners. She may be cleaning up all her loose ends. Your UC and Petersen are loose ends.” He felt his jaw clench and blood circulate quicker.
“Damn. That would be one ballsy lady. If it were me, I’d get the hell outta town and never come back.” Frazier tried to recall any local women that would fit the description and modus operandi displayed by their female suspect.
He snapped his fingers excitedly. “Bill, we’ve got a woman in town known as the ‘Praying Mantis.’ She sleeps with her victims, usually gangsters or suspected mob bosses, then kills them. I wonder if she’s the driver we’re looking for.”
Dix considered the information from Frazier. A female assassin was unique. The way Frazier described the Praying Mantis, it sounded like someone capable of killing the two men in the Range Rover. He determined they needed to know everything they could about the woman the local law enforcement had named the Praying Mantis.
“Okay, we need to see what your people know about this Praying Mantis woman. I called a buddy looking for anyone who can help us in Canada. He’s supposed to get back to me ASAP. What else can we work with?” Dix felt like the investigation was dragging along and he wanted to keep things moving.
Frazier looked over the items on the table. “I’ve got my cell phone guy coming.” A black unmarked police cruiser pulled up and caught his eye. “In fact, there he is now. We also have this set of keys,” he said as he shook them. “And the passports.”
Dix raised an eyebrow. “What’s significant about the passports?”
“They indicate our two dead guys traveled quite a bit to Afghanistan and Mexico,” Frazier replied. “We need to de-conflict their names, and where they were traveling, to see if anyone else was working our Canadian killers.”
“Good idea. I’ll run their information to see about that.” Dix pointed to the set of keys. “Those look like house keys to you?”
With his gloved hand, Frazier grabbed the keys and looked them over. “Yeah, I’d say so. Problem is, could be anywhere.”
Dix pointed to the emblem on the key ring. “I’m hoping that emblem, and maybe the cell phone, could narrow down our search.”
Frazier stared at him with a puzzled look. “The cell phone?”
“Yup. It may look fried, but it’s not.” Dix knew quite a bit about cell phones. He’d learned over the years that they held a ton of pertinent information and he’d taken numerous classes on cell phone forensics. He continued, “Even if the phone is a goner, we may be able to use the serial number, IMSI, or MEID to figure out the phone number associated to the device.”
Dix smiled. “We could use that to get a search warrant and learn if the subscriber listed a real address. If they didn’t, we could use call detail records for the phone with cell tower information to develop a pattern, especially at night, which might help us figure out the general area where the person using the phone was staying.” He shook the keys. “And that might help us figure out where these go to.”
Frazier shook his head. “Seems like a stretch to me.”
“It is, but it’s worth a shot. Depending on what kind of phone it is, and what cell phone provider they used, we may be able to get GPS coordinates within a few meters of where the phone was during the shootings or at night. We find a house or complex near there, especially one with an emblem like we have on the key, and boom, we’re in.”
Frazier wasn’t impressed. “I’ll get one of our guys to write a search warrant if the phone guy can get something useful from it. What’s our next move? You really think the woman driver would go after my UC, or Petersen?”
This thought had been nagging at Dix ever since he’d said it. He knew there was a third person missing from the investigation and it was likely a highly trained woman that had no qualms with killing cops. If the same woman from the footage was the Praying Mantis he learned about, she’d likely clean up loose ends. He put himself in her shoes and it was obvious the UC and Petersen had to be eliminated. An odd feeling washed over him. If they’re on the list, I’m probably on it too.
He looked Frazier in the eyes. “I do. I don’t know if the driver of the Range Rover is the Praying Mantis, but I think she killed her two partners. She was driving when the two officers were killed as well. I think her only move is to eliminate all loose ends.” Even saying it bothered Dix and he wanted to get to Petersen to check on him.
“Well, you’ve got me convinced. I’m going to send a few cars over to check on my UC. Are you heading over to check on Petersen?” Frazier fished his cell phone out of his pocket.
Sin City Assassin (The Bill Dix Detective Series Book 3) Page 6
