Blue Steele Box Sets 2

by Remington Kane

  “Yes, two pair of eyes are better than one and we can sneak in a little time together, although I warn you, I will be working to find her, and that means long hours.”

  “When are we leaving?”

  “First thing tomorrow, after we eat I’ll go online and get a ticket for you.”

  “How certain are you that Belle is there?”

  I put down my fork before answering.

  “I’m actually very certain, but I don’t know why. It’s like my brain knows something that I don’t and it’s annoying not to have a reason for the feeling, but I feel strongly that she’s there.”

  “What connection does Belle have to New York?”

  “None that I know of, but it’s an easy place to get lost in, and maybe that’s the attraction.”

  “It could be that she’s there to hire muscle to help break Rothman out of jail?”

  “Maybe, but who in their right mind would help her, even for money?”

  Ramón took a sip of wine, then spoke.

  “It’s a mystery, but the good news is that if she makes an attempt she’ll probably get caught or killed.”

  “Yes, but how many will she take with her?”

  Our flight didn’t leave until ten a.m. and so we snuck in a morning ride at dawn.

  I still marveled that I owned my own horse, and I loved riding in the morning. After the ride, we had to hustle to the airport to catch our flight.

  Ramón and I were seated apart on the plane, but at least we were in Business Class together. He had a seat beside a stunning blonde who kept chatting him up and I sent him more than one mock look of jealousy. I, on the other hand, was next to a tubby businessman who slept the entire flight.

  Ramón and I talked as we walk toward the baggage carousel.

  “So, what’s her name?”

  “Her name is Delilah McKenzie, she’s twenty-three, born and bred in New Orleans, loves Italian food, and she’s staying at the Hotel Pennsylvania until Tuesday.”

  “She volunteered all that?”

  “She did, she also said that I look like an ex-boyfriend of hers.”

  I smiled sweetly. “If you don’t want to look like an ex-husband of mine, you’ll forget all about her.”

  Ramón gave me a confused look.

  “Forget all about who?”

  I laughed. “Good boy.”

  Chapter 22

  That night and for the next two days, Ramón and I wandered about New York City hoping to catch sight of Victoria Belle. All the while, the nagging feeling that led me there was growing stronger.

  I was going to give it one more day and then end the fruitless searching. Even if Belle were staying in the same hotel with us, the odds were against us ever spotting her.

  We had taken a suite on the fortieth floor and the view was spectacular. After eating breakfast, I sat at the room’s small table and surfed the web on my laptop, while Ramón carried his coffee over to the window to stare out at the view.

  “You know, this view is awesome, and I love the city, but I would miss the open space we have back in Texas.”

  “Me too,” I said absently, as I began reading a favorite blog, but Ramón’s words kept echoing in my mind. I looked up at him. “What did you just say, I mean exactly.”

  “I said the view is awesome, and I love the city, but I would miss the open space we have back in Texas.”

  “Miss the open space… Claire Rothman said the exact same phrase to me. I wonder if she was relocated here to—oh my God!”

  Ramón left the window and came to stand in front of me, looking concerned.

  “What’s wrong, Blue?”

  “Claire Rothman, Victoria Belle is in New York City to abduct Claire Rothman, that’s what’s been nagging at me.”

  Ramón looked doubtful. “How could she possibly know that Claire Rothman is here? You don’t even know if Claire Rothman is here.”

  “I know, but think about it. They had me meet with Claire in Vineland, New Jersey, that’s fairly close.”

  “Yes, but Philadelphia is an even closer city to Vineland, or maybe Baltimore, or even Newark.”

  I looked up at him. “Ramón, I’m right, I can feel it.”

  He stared at me and then said two words.

  “Call Lawson.”

  I did call Lawson and he said that he would get back to me after making his own calls.

  The wait in between seemed like hours but was in fact forty-three minutes. I used those minutes to get dressed and be ready to move.

  “Blue, the Marshals are not happy that you’re asking about Claire Rothman’s whereabouts, and they will neither confirm nor deny that she’s there. However, I told them of your concern for her safety. They’re sending a team to check on her.”

  “How long until we hear from them?”

  “I have no way to know, but I did request that they keep us informed.”

  “Thank you, Lawson. I hope I’m wrong, but I have a sick feeling in my stomach.”

  “I still don’t understand why Victoria Belle would want to harm Claire Rothman.”

  “I don’t think she does, but before she can free Robert Rothman she needs his wife, otherwise, Rothman would endanger himself again by seeking Claire out, as he did before. Rothman is in prison now because he risked himself to go back for Claire.”

  “And you really think she believes she can free Rothman somehow?”

  “She does, or needs to believe it, but I don’t think it has a thing to do with those explosives she stole or the prison’s blueprints. I think that was all a ruse to get us looking the wrong way.”

  “Hold on, I’m getting another call.”

  I held, and Lawson was gone for nearly a minute before coming back.

  “Blue?”

  “Yes?”

  “You were right; Claire Rothman is missing, taken.”

  “And it’s Victoria Belle who has her.”

  Chapter 23

  I was inside a mobile command unit parked on Houston Street in New York City.

  With me were the three Marshals I’d met during my meeting with Claire Rothman, along with two techs to man the unit’s equipment.

  Marshal Vasicek looked sick to his stomach over Claire’s abduction, but there was a bright spot.

  When the other two Marshals went to check on Claire, they found her missing, but noticed that the coffeemaker was still on, although the brewing cycle had ended. There was also a cup with a spoonful of sugar in it, and a carton of non-fat dairy creamer sitting on the table.

  The coffeemaker had a safety feature that automatically shut it off after two hours, which meant that Claire had been taken that morning. Touching the carton of creamer told them that it was still chilled but held beads of condensation. Apparently, they had missed Victoria Belle by mere minutes.

  The good-looking Marshal I now knew was named Vann, and his older partner was Amato.

  An alert was put out and the tunnels and bridges were under heavy surveillance. Belle’s photo had even been splashed across the giant media screens in Times Square. It was believed that she would have to go to ground or risk being captured.

  Marshal Vasicek looked at me and shook his head.

  “How the hell did this bitch find Claire Rothman?”

  “I have a theory about that, but I’ll need your help.”

  “You got it. If not for you, we still wouldn’t know that Claire was missing.”

  “Who in your organization knows which Marshals are assigned to which program participants?”

  “A handful, if that many, and the participants’ names are all coded in the computer.”

  “Who does the coding?”

  “That I don’t know, but I can find out, give me a minute.”

  “Also, check for recent deaths among clerical employees.”

  Vasicek gave me a strange look, but then he took out his phone to make the call. As he did so, I began to wonder why it took Belle so long to abduct Claire. It had been days since she was in DC setting
up her smokescreen, why wait so long?

  Vasicek looked even sicker when he got off the phone.

  “The person who would have entered the information into the computer was killed in a hit and run accident. Also, a coworker of hers was killed two days prior to that when she surprised a burglar.”

  “It was Belle. She killed the coworker after learning from her who input the info about the participants, and then she killed the woman who knew the Marshal assignments.”

  Vasicek shook his head in disagreement.

  “Even if that were true, it wouldn’t get her to Claire Rothman, the three of us here, we’re the only ones who knew where to find her.”

  I leaned forward and took his hand.

  “But there was a fourth who knew, wasn’t there?”

  He looked down at my hand and then up into my eyes, and I could see the realization dawn.

  “You mean… Charlie? My partner?”

  I nodded. “I believe so. I think that’s why a plastic tarp was used to beat his girlfriend. Belle couldn’t risk the blood spatter evidence not matching the scenario she created.”

  Behind me, I heard Marshal Amato whisper, “Oh Christ,” as Marshal Vasicek gripped my hand.

  “Belle used your partner’s love for his girlfriend to make him tell her where she could find Claire Rothman, but… then she killed her anyway.”

  Vasicek released my hand to wipe tears from his eyes.

  “That makes sense, that makes sense, and it makes a hell of a lot more sense than Charlie going nuts and hurting Barbara like that. He loved Barbara, and he wasn’t that type of man. Oh God, damn me for ever believing it.”

  “It’s a theory, but I think a much closer look at the forensics will prove it to be true.”

  Vasicek stared at me with wet eyes. “Thank you.”

  I called FBI Special Agent Rob Truent in DC to check on his progress.

  “Any news, Rob?”

  “No, Blue, we still have no idea where those explosives are, but I hear that Belle might be in New York?”

  “Yes, and that’s where I’m calling from. You ran a thorough check of hospitals and clinics in the DC area to see if Belle had her shoulder treated, right?”

  “Yeah, and they came up empty.”

  “But were there any leads that looked promising?”

  “Oh yeah, we checked, we checked as far away as North Carolina and Delaware. We came up with three possibilities, but they all fizzled out.”

  “Has anyone done a second check?”

  “No, why would we? All three women were confirmed to be who they claimed to be.”

  “Would it be possible to do a follow up interview with them?”

  “You’re on to something, aren’t you?”

  “I think so, but if I’m right, one of those women is dead now.”

  “Oh crap. Listen, I’ll get back to you on this.”

  As I waited to hear from Rob Truent, I checked-in with Lawson.

  “I heard about your theory of how Belle found Claire Rothman’s location and it’s absolutely chilling. I’d be willing to bet she had the same type of plan in mind to free Rothman. If she had threatened the family of the warden or a state official, she might have managed to get Rothman transferred to a less secure location, or possibly have his records altered before anyone realized it.”

  “Yeah, the more I consider it, the surer I am that the explosives were just a decoy to freak everyone out.”

  “They’re still out there somewhere though.”

  “I know, but once we find Belle, I think we’ll find those too.”

  “Any idea on how to do that, find Belle, I mean?”

  “I’m working on that now with Special Agent Truent in DC and—oh wait, he’s calling back, let me give you a call once I’ve spoken to him.”

  “Right,” Lawson said.

  I heard him disconnect and then took the other call.

  “Rob?”

  “Your hunch paid off, Blue. We checked on a Miss Alice Dyer from Fairfax, Virginia, she’s missing and hasn’t been seen since we last checked on her over a week ago.”

  “Why wasn’t she reported missing by anyone?”

  “Miss Dyer lives with her mother, Gail, and is also her caregiver. The mother has cancer, and now both of them are missing.”

  “And likely dead, I take it that Alice Dyer resembles Belle?”

  “I’m looking at the photo from her driver’s license now, and yeah, if Belle put on glasses and tied back her hair she could pass as Alice Dyer to anyone that didn’t know her.”

  “Alice Dyer was treated for a dislocated left shoulder, but it was actually Belle posing as her. My guess is that she came upon Dyer and her mother somewhere and saw that Alice Dyer was a good enough match.”

  “Yeah,” Truent said. “Then she follows them home, ties them up or locks them away, while she goes out to get her shoulder fixed. When she returns to their home, she threatens to kill the mother if Alice Dyer doesn’t lie to the cops.”

  “But once your people checked the story, she took the women somewhere and killed them.”

  “Hmm, it’s a workable theory we just came up with there, Blue, but do you think Belle is still using her identity?”

  I smiled into the phone.

  “I certainly hope so, because if she is, we have her.”

  Chapter 24

  Lawson’s voice filled my ear with good news as I spoke to him on the phone.

  “In the past few days, Alice Dyer has eaten out several times, shopped at a home improvement store, and most importantly, she’s rented six different storage units around New York City.”

  “That’s impressive for a woman who’s likely been dead for nearly a week,” I said.

  “New York swat teams are gearing up to raid those storage units. It wouldn’t surprise me if Belle is using one for a temporary hideout.”

  “I certainly hope so. Claire Rothman must be terrified; she knows that Belle is capable of anything.”

  “Do you think she’ll hurt the woman?”

  I thought about that and realized something.

  “No, she won’t hurt her. As a matter of fact, she wouldn’t dare harm her.”

  “Because of Robert Rothman?”

  “Yes.”

  “Blue, regardless of the outcome, you’ve done great work today, and you may have given that dead Marshal back his honor. They’re going to go over that case again and I’m betting that he’ll be exonerated.”

  “I think he will be once they take a closer look, and I’ll be riding along with the Marshals today. If they track Belle down, I’ll be there to see it.”

  “I’ll make calls and see that the New York Police know that you’re not just an observer. If not for you, Belle would be long gone with Claire Rothman.”

  “Actually, we can thank the DC cop that dislocated her shoulder. That injury not only sidelined Belle and delayed her timetable, but it led to the clue that guided us to New York City in the first place.”

  “I have to see to another matter, but keep me informed.”

  “Will do, boss.”

  Belle was discovered hiding in the fifth storage unit they searched, and she had Claire Rothman with her.

  Meanwhile, in the third storage unit on South Street, the ATF came across the stolen explosives and blasting caps, and everyone made a sigh of relief.

  The abduction had now turned into a hostage crisis and the officer in charge of the scene was considering storming the open storage unit. It was a 12x8 foot space in which Victoria Belle was huddled against the back wall and clutching onto Claire as a shield.

  Belle said that she would kill Claire and then take as many of us with her as she could.

  The hostage negotiator had done his best to keep things calm, but It’s a bit difficult to negotiate with someone when all they do is promise to kill you.

  Marshal Vasicek filled me in on the tactical side of things.

  “The snipers can’t get a clear shot because of the angle,
but they think they have an eighty percent chance of taking her down before she can shoot Claire.”

  I winced at that. “Eighty percent? I don’t like those odds.”

  “Neither do I. We’ve never lost a participant in the program and I don’t want to start now, and besides, I really like Claire Rothman. I can’t say that of many of the people we protect.”

  I called Lawson, and despite protest from those in charge of the scene, I was being allowed to approach Belle and attempt to end things peacefully.

  A short time later, I crept toward the open storage unit while wearing a bulletproof vest.

  “Victoria Belle! I’m Special Agent Blue Steele and I’m coming to the doorway to talk to you. Do not fire. I simply want to talk.”

  “Stay back bitch or Mrs. Rothman dies!”

  “Victoria, I have someone with me that you’ll want to talk to.”

  “I don’t want to talk to anyone; I just want you assholes to back off!”

  “We’re moving closer so that you can see us. My weapon is in my holster and my hands are empty.”

  There was no response, and I moved closer into her range of vision. She held a gun at Claire’s temple with her right hand, while her left arm was around Claire’s waist. I took note of the shoulder brace Belle wore over her shirt.

  I was armed, but my gun was still in the holster on my hip. However, I had one other accessory that I hoped would keep things from turning violent.

  When Belle saw the large computer tablet strapped to my chest her eyes went wide with shock, as did the eyes of Claire Rothman.

  Both Belle and Claire whispered, “Robert?” as they saw the image of Robert Rothman that was being transmitted from the prison in Terre Haute.

  “Talk to her Rothman. Tell Belle to stand down or there’s a chance your ex-wife will be injured, or worse.”

  I couldn’t see Rothman of course, but I could hear him. He emitted a gasp when he saw that Belle had a gun pressed against Claire’s head.

  “Victoria, please don’t hurt her.”