The McKays Box Set - To Kill For, Blood Sport, Hard Time & Gang Land

by A. J. Carella

  Kyle carried on for a few hundred yards before parking. Adjusting the mirrors, they watched as their target climbed out of the car and walked into a dilapidated apartment building.

  “He’s got to be up to something. Why else would he be here. What do you think? Drugs?” Kyle asked, not taking his eyes from the mirrors.

  “If it is, there’s nothing we can do about it, and unless he’s caught with it on him, it won’t be enough to get Callahan a way in.”

  “True, but if this is a regular thing then Callahan will be able to arrange some sort of sting with this information and catch him in possession. That’s what we’re here for, remember, to get this kind of information for him. So this is good.”

  He was right, but she had to admit she didn’t like it. She was twitching to do something, her years of training desperately wanting to be allowed to kick in.

  They both sat up straighter in their seats as they spotted movement at the front of the building when the door opened and the kid reappeared. He wasn’t alone this time, though. Crying out in pain, he had hold of a young woman by the hair and was dragging her toward his car. Not letting go, he opened the door to the back seat and shoved her in before slamming the door closed. The safety locks must have been on because they could see her desperately trying to get the doors opened again, but they wouldn’t budge.

  “Oh, shit. Now what?”

  Kat quickly processed what she was seeing. “We don’t have a choice. We have to call in the local police. We’ve just witnessed what looks like some sort of a kidnapping.”

  Kyle nodded. “Agreed. You call and I’ll keep them in sight.”

  Fifty-Seven

  The girl wasn’t injured and wouldn’t say a thing against William Mosely. All she would say was that he was her boyfriend and that they’d had a slight disagreement, nothing more, and would they kindly fuck off and mind their own business.

  “Well, she’s an absolute charmer, isn’t she,” Kat said sarcastically as Callahan let himself out of the interview room and into the viewing area. After Kat’s call to the local police, she’d immediately called him. By the time he’d gotten there, they had him in custody. Once he’d flashed his FBI credentials and explained that this was part of an ongoing investigation, they’d been happy to hand it over to him. Kat and Kyle had asked if they could stick around and watch the interviews and he grudgingly agreed; after all, it was thanks to them that any of this had come about.

  “Is Agent Shaw okay with this?” Kat continued.

  “She doesn’t know yet. She doesn’t know about any of this. Honestly, I wasn’t sure the file would lead to anything in the first place and I certainly didn’t expect this.” He gestured at the one-way glass with his hand. “I’m gonna be in a whole heap of trouble when she finds out, though, so I need to be able to give her something good.”

  “So what’s next?”

  “Next I try our suspect and see if he’ll let anything slip, but I’m not holding my breath.”

  ***

  William Mosely sat in another interview room, looking as if he was relaxing in a bar. He was slouched in the chair, hands folded across his stomach, and had his sunglasses pushed up onto the top of his head. He smirked as Callahan walked in, carrying some empty files for effect. He’d already been read his Miranda rights but Callahan read them to him again anyway. If he did say anything, he didn’t want anything to mess it up.

  “You messed up this time, kid. You know why you’re here don’t you?” Callahan threw out casually as he pulled out a chair and sat down opposite him.

  “Yeah, ‘cause you lot got the wrong end of the stick, as usual.”

  Callahan shook his head. “You mean your girlfriend? No, that’s not what I want to talk to you about.” Callahan saw the unmistakable flash of alarm in William’s eyes before he managed to hide it once more with a bored expression and shook his head.

  “No idea what you’re talking about, then.”

  Callahan picked up one of the empty files and opened it, pretending to examine its contents. “You like pearls, William?”

  There was no mistaking the shock that time as William stopped slouching and sat up straighter in his chair. “Pearls?”

  “Yes, you know, little white round things you find in the clams.”

  “I know what they are.” He was looking a lot less comfortable now.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to call your lawyer?” Callahan had offered earlier but he’d declined.

  “No, I’ve done nothing wrong, so whatever you’re trying to pin on me isn’t going to work.”

  “Your mother liked pearls, didn’t she?”

  “You leave my mother out of this.”

  “She was wearing pearls when you found her, wasn’t she, William?”

  The fist banging down on the table sounded like a gunshot in room. “I told you to leave my mother out of this.” William shouted this time, spittle flying from his mouth.

  Callahan continued, ignoring him. “How old were you? Six? Seven? It must have been awful to find your mother like that.”

  “She deserved it. She was a whore who didn’t do as she was told.”

  The kid had lost any semblance of restraint now. “She deserved to die?” Callahan pushed.

  “They all do, dirty whores.”

  “Did you kill all those women, William?”

  “You know I did. That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?” he laughed. “I just wish I’d been able to kill a few more.”

  Callahan smiled. Gotcha! Pushing his chair back, he stood up. “Thank you, William. Someone will be in shortly to take your full statement. Would you like me to call your father?” He was still the governor’s son, after all, and rightly or wrongly, that meant things had to be handled very carefully.

  William was slumped in his chair again now, though this time there was no trace of cockiness on his face. Instead, there was a look of complete resignation. “Why would I want you to call my father?”

  “You’re going to need all the help you can get.”

  William seemed genuinely amused at this. “I think that even with Father’s knack of making people disappear, this will be too much for him to help with.”

  Callahan’s ears pricked up at this. Pulling out the chair once more, he sat back down. “What do you mean?”

  William dropped his eyes to the table and shook his head. “Nothing.”

  “Come on, kid, talk to me. The more honest you are with me now, the better things will be for you in the long run.” Callahan’s gut was telling him there was more to this but he had to tread carefully. He waited, hoping he would start talking just to fill the silence but he’d closed down and sat staring vacantly at the table.

  Knowing he wasn’t going to get any more out of him, Callahan stood up once more and left the room.

  ***

  “What do you think?” Kat and Kyle had watched the whole interview through the glass.

  “I think he’s hiding something.” Kyle frowned. “What I don’t understand, is why? He’s admitted the murders, he knows he’s never going to be a free man again, so why would he hide anything now?”

  Callahan sighed and shook his head. “I’ve no idea.” He checked his watch. “I do know that I’d better get on the phone to my boss and let her know what’s going on.” He nodded in William’s direction. “We’ve got what we needed, though, so we can charge him, whatever he’s hiding.”

  They heard the shouting before they’d even opened the door to leave the small room and Callahan quickly threw it open to see what was happening.

  “Oh, shit,” he muttered under his breath when he spotted the state’s governor striding down the hall towards where he stood, flanked by Kat and Kyle.

  “Is that who I think it is?” Kat whispered in his right ear from where she stood just behind his shoulder.

  “Yes, Kat, it is.” He squared his shoulders, stuck out his hand and took a step towards him.

  “Sir, I’m Agent Callahan, I think I know why you�
�re here.”

  “Doesn’t take a genius, does it?” he boomed. “Care to tell me why you’ve got my son in there?”

  I should probably say goodbye to my career right about now, he thought, taking a breath. “Sir, let’s go and find somewhere more private where we can sit and talk.” They were standing in the corridor outside the interview room and he could see people stopping to stare out of the corner of his eye.

  “Don’t handle me, sonny, just spit it out.”

  Knowing there was no point arguing, Callahan explained about William’s confession. He’d expected shock or revulsion or even tears, but the news just seemed to make him angry.

  “I want to talk to him.” He started towards the interview room door.

  Stepping in front of him, Callahan held up his hands. “I’m sorry, sir, I can’t let you in there.”

  “Do you know who you’re talking to?” The governor leaned in, his face so close to Callahan’s he could feel his hot breath on his face.

  He nodded. “Yes, sir, I do. But you still can’t go in there.”

  “Get out of my way. Now.”

  “Look, why don’t you give him five minutes with his son?” Kyle interrupted.

  Callahan shot him a glare and opened his mouth to tell him to butt out, but Kyle was obviously trying to tell him something. He was gesturing to the side room with his head, unseen by the governor who had his back to him. He hasn’t let you down so far. He didn’t know what he was up to, but he decided to trust him. “You’re right, of course. Five minutes.” He stood aside and let the governor enter the room before joining Kyle on the other side of the glass.

  “What was that all about?” he asked, closing the door. “Governor or not, he shouldn’t be in there.”

  “I know, but I just thought that maybe he’ll talk to his dad and we can find out what he’s hiding.”

  Callahan looked through the glass at where both men were now standing face to face. He hated to admit it, but Kyle might be right.

  ***

  “How did you know I was here?”

  “A friend in the department called me when you were brought in.” The governor looked at his son in disgust. “One child, and I get stuck with you. What did you tell them?”

  “Nothing, Dad, and I won’t.”

  “You’d better not. This is your mess and I’m done trying to clean up after you.” For years he’d tried to make sure that his son’s madness didn’t affect his political career and, up to now, he’d been successful. He would be damned if he’d let him fuck it up now even worse than it already was. “You always were a lot more like your mother than you were like me. Maybe you’re not even mine. I wouldn’t put anything past that whore.” He laughed bitterly.

  “Stop it, Dad. I told you, I’ll keep you out of it.”

  “I’m already in it, you fool!” he shouted angrily. “Whatever happens now, I’m the guy with a serial killer for a son.” He was panting now, he was so angry. “All that money, wasted.”

  “No one asked you to get involved.”

  He didn’t know if it was the nonchalant way it was said or the look of boredom on his son’s face as he said it, but something in him snapped and his hand shot up, hitting him with a backhand across the face, sending him crashing against the table.

  “You ungrateful piece of shit.” He went to grab him, but two pairs of strong arms that seemed to appear from nowhere held him back.

  ***

  “Let go of me.” The governor struggled to get free.

  “When you calm down, I’ll let go,” Callahan told him, thankful they’d managed to get there before any real damage was done.

  The governor took a deep breath before trying to raise his hands. “I’m good. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”

  Slowly, Callahan and Kyle released his arms, both ready to react if he tried to attack his son again.

  He let out a long breath. “I’ll go. I’ve said what I wanted to say. You can lock him up and throw away the key, for all I care.” The governor gave his son one last look and turned to leave the room.

  “I’ll see you out.” Callahan reached out to open the interview room door.

  “Not so fast, Dad.” William stood, holding his jaw where his father had hit him. “That’s the last time you raise your hand to me. If I’m going to hell, you’re coming with me.” He turned to Callahan. “I’d like to make a statement.” He paused, throwing a look at his father who now was as white as a sheet. “My father has known about me for years. Not only that, but he’s been having people killed to stop them from finding out about me.”

  The silence was unbroken as the words hung in the air. Callahan was completely taken aback and it took a few seconds for him to regain his composure. “Like who?”

  “My shrink, Dr. Romero, my ex-girlfriend … there’s a long list.” He smiled and looked at his father “I’m not the only killer in the family, am I, dad?”

  Callahan was stunned. All this time, he’d thought he was dealing with two separate cases and all along they were one and the same. He really needed to call his boss. This was going to make her day.

  Fifty-Eight

  Kyle used the visitor’s entrance to go into the prison this time. There was a new warden and all the guards that had been involved with the conspiracy had been arrested. It was now safe and both Alex and Jake were back there. It was Alex he’d come to see today and, after the necessary checks, he was placed in a room to await his arrival.

  A loud clang signaled his arrival and Kyle watched as he entered the room, flanked by a guard who, after being waved away by Kyle, left them to talk.

  “You look so much better than last time I saw you,” Kyle told him, smiling. “How are you doing?”

  “Much better, thanks to you and your friends. Rumor has it that the governor was somehow involved. I’ve asked the guards but no one will tell me anything. Is it true?”

  Kyle nodded. “Yes, it’s true. He ordered the hits to try and protect his son. It wasn’t obvious at the time but looking back now, they were all a threat to him in some way. One of the victims was a criminology student who was looking for something unique for his thesis. He stumbled upon the connection between the murders but, unfortunately for him, he talked about it in front of his friends and one of them was William. The last target, the one you didn’t shoot, saw him coming out of a house where he’d just committed a murder, though she had no idea and didn’t remember him anyway. Every time it looked like anyone was going to get close, the governor would have them killed.”

  Alex hung his head. “God, I’m so terribly sorry to all those families. I’ve caused so much suffering.”

  “No,” Kyle shook his head. “You did what you had to do under duress. In fact, I received a call just before I got here with some good news. Because of the circumstances, you’re not going to face any additional charges for what you did.”

  Alex looked up. “Really? I don’t know what to say. I don’t suppose it makes much difference as I’m in here for life, but it will be good for my daughter not to have to grow up thinking her father’s a monster who killed so many people.”

  Now for the really good news, Kyle thought. He’d been saving this for last. “Well, it will make a difference, actually. What set us on to this initially was looking into your case. What we found was that your wife’s murder matched, almost exactly, the M.O. of a series of other murders. When we went back and re-examined the scene, we found something the killer had left behind.” Kyle explained about the pearl and how it had been used in all the other crime scenes.

  “Once we found that, we knew it had to be the same guy. It was a lucky break that led us to the killer.” He paused for effect. “The governor’s son.”

  Alex looked stunned. “What? You mean the governor had me killing people to protect his son when all the while it was his son who’d killed my wife?”

  Kyle nodded, unable to stop the grin appearing on his face. “You know what this means, don’t you?” Alex still looked to
o stunned to take it all in, so he explained. “It means that after the legal system has done what it needs to do—and that might take a little while but hopefully not too long—you’ll be a free man.”

  Kyle watched Alex’s face as the reality of what he was saying dawned on him.

  “I can’t believe it.” Alex dropped his face into his hands and Kyle realized he was crying.

  “Hey,” he said awkwardly, not sure what to do. “It’s over. You’re going home.”

  Alex’s face was wet with tears when he lifted it and he gripped hold of Kyle’s hands. “I don’t know what to say, nothing is enough. You’ve given me my life back when I thought it was over.” He voice broke on a sob. “You’ve given my daughter her father back.”

  “When you get out, you can buy me a beer.” He grinned, tears threatening him now. “Now come on, pull yourself together. You’ll be here for a little while longer and you can’t have all the other inmates knowing you’re a cry baby can you?”

  Alex laughed and wiped his eyes. “I’ll buy you that beer, and a few more.” He stood and shook Kyle’s hand. “Thank you, friend.”

  Fifty-Nine

  His flight had landed in L.A. a couple of hours before and he’d quickly found a hotel and checked in. It had already been late so after depositing his bags in his room, he’d gone straight back downstairs to the restaurant to have something to eat. He’d managed to snag a table in a quiet corner and sat with his back to the wall, watching people come and go. It felt strange being so close, knowing his son could be any one of the people surrounding him. A waiter, the barman, even one of the customers. He found himself checking each face carefully for anything that looked even slightly familiar. There was nothing, of course, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking.

  Finishing his meal and draining his beer, he left the dining room and went back up to his room to unpack the few belongings he’d brought with him. He wasn’t planning on staying long so he’d traveled light, only bringing enough clothes for a couple of days.