The Midnight Effect

by Pamela Fryer

  Miles bolted to his feet and raced to his back door without turning on the light in the narrow hall. The yard was dark, but light from a streetlamp reached over the house to fill his backyard with milky beams and black shadows. He silently cursed himself for letting it get so overgrown. There were a thousand places a man could hide. The moon cast blue light off the snow, but in the darkness it was impossible to determine if there were footprints or just pits from the melt dripping off the trees.

  Miles would bet money his visitor was Vince Luggo. He remembered Billings saying the man wasn’t a burglar or a drug dealer… Not convicted, anyway.

  He would probably come around the side of the house and B&E through the back yard. Miles expected him to take the easy way, the side with the gate. He ground his teeth as he eased out the back door, hoping he wasn’t wrong.

  He twisted the knob and closed the door again as quietly as he could. A shadow flickered on the side walkway, then backed away. Either the intruder had made him, or changed his mind.

  Miles raised his weapon and advanced on the walkway, cringing at the crunch of each footfall in the snow. His heart kicked against his ribs as he rounded the corner of the house.

  There was no one there. A cat strode across the fence dividing his yard from the next. Miles crouched and dove for cover just as two muffled shots whizzed past his head.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Miles scrambled to his feet and ran the length of his side yard. He vaulted over the gate as another shot smacked the wood. He landed, picked up a river stone from the flower bed at the corner of his garage and hurled it at the remaining light as he ran across his driveway.

  He released his neighbor’s backyard gate and shoved it open. It banged against the fence and drifted shut. Thank goodness old Mrs. Wheaton was long asleep, her teeth in a glass and her hearing aid on the bedside table. The last thing he wanted was his nosy neighbor poking her head out to see what was happening.

  He eased behind the hedge of oleander dividing his driveway from hers and heard his attacker hit the gate. It was locked; he would have to climb over as Miles had.

  Mrs. Wheaton’s gate drifted shut with a squeak from its rusty hinge which grew louder as it slowed. It bothered him when the old lady left it open on a windy night, but now he was thankful he hadn’t oiled it yet.

  His attacker came to the gate, gun raised, but hesitated before going through. He probably thought Miles was hiding behind it.

  His fears Reilly had more than one henchman were realized. It wasn’t Luggo. Miles stepped out behind him.

  “Drop it.”

  The man whirled on him. Miles fired. He hit the attacker in the shoulder. The gunshot report rolled into the night like a rumble of thunder. The man spun away and crashed into the fence post before sprawling on the ground.

  “Ahh, gah!” The assailant clung to his weapon.

  Miles stepped on his wrist and heard bones pop. The man’s hand flipped open and the pistol slipped from his grasp.

  “Ahhhh!

  Up and down the street, lights began to flick on.

  “Jesus, ahh, shit!”

  “Who sent you?” Miles already knew the answer, but wanted to see how compliant the man would be.

  “I want a lawyer. You’re a cop. You have to let me talk to a lawyer.”

  “You want a lawyer? There’s plenty of them in hell. I’ll be happy to send you there to see one.” He leaned his weight into his right foot again.

  “Ah, fuck, you shot me.” The man squeezed his eyes shut in pain and gave three quick, panting breaths. “Look, mister, it’s nothing personal.”

  “You tried to kill me. That’s very personal.”

  “Hey, Miles, that you?” Bernie Trowbridge stood on his front step in his bathrobe and pajamas.

  “Yeah, Bernie,” Miles shouted back.

  “You okay?”

  “I shot a burglar.”

  “You want me to call 911?”

  “No, no cops,” the man whispered with another grimace. “We can make a deal.”

  Like hell. “What kind of deal?”

  “I know stuff. Big stuff the cops want. You name it.”

  “Sorry. I’m not a cop anymore. What I want right now is a beer and a hoagie. Unless you’ve got those in your back pocket, you’re useless to me. What’s more, I’ve got at least three of your slugs in my brand new pine fence. Nobody will ask twice why I killed you.”

  The man gulped and sputtered. “Vinnie Luggo sent me. Sometimes we help each other out. Said he needed a cop out of the picture.”

  “Why?”

  “Didn’t tell me why, and I didn’t want to know. People in my business got a million reasons to hate cops. Said he’d pay me a cool twenty grand to do it.”

  “What’s your name, nothing personal?”

  “Charlie. They call me Charlie the Chisel.”

  “You got a cell phone, Charlie?”

  He nodded and gurgled out an oath.

  Miles hauled Charlie the Chisel to his feet. “Come on over here, Bernie,” he shouted to his neighbor.

  The ex-NFL player trotted across the street in his slippers. “You need any help?”

  “Get my front door open. The key’s buried in the begonia pot.”

  “He’s bleeding an awful lot,” Bernie said, glancing with curiosity as he crossed Miles’ driveway. “Is he gonna make it?”

  “No comment,” Miles answered. Charlie whimpered. Miles shoved him forward.

  “Ever been shot before, Charlie?”

  “No! God, it hurts like hell.”

  “The bullet is still in your shoulder,” Miles said examining his back. “That’s why it hurts so much. Buck up. Be a man.”

  “Have you ever been shot?” Charlie wailed.

  “Earlier this week. Courtesy of your friend, Vince.”

  Miles steered Charlie across the driveway and through the front door.

  “In the bottom drawer of the bureau is a pair of handcuffs,” he told Bernie.

  “Jesus, you got an arsenal in here. I’ll tell ya, I sleep better at night knowing I got a cop for a neighbor.” Bernie tossed him the cuffs.

  “Ah, no, you can’t put me in cuffs, my shoulder—” Charlie shrieked like a little girl as Miles cuffed his hands behind his back.

  “Sit.” Miles shoved him into an old chair. “Bernie, wait outside for a minute, please.”

  “Heh, heh. Yeah, no problem.” Bernie sauntered across the room, leaning close as he passed to sneer at Charlie. “You broke into the wrong house, moron.”

  “Where’s your phone?” Miles demanded.

  Charlie gasped. “I need a doctor.”

  “You’ll need a coroner if you’re not careful.”

  “You got to make a better deal than that.”

  Miles poked him near the wound and Charlie grimaced.

  “Did he pay you up front?”

  “Five grand down. The rest by wire transfer to whoever got you. There’s a guy at your house at the beach and one at your ski chalet. How’s a cop on the level get property like that? I wonder to myself, but I don’t ask no questions, do I?”

  Miles’ heart skipped a beat. He gave silent thanks the cabin in Parkmont was untraceable. It was Eddie’s name on the deed. His friend was safe.

  “You want to get paid? You better get him to move now. Vinnie Luggo doesn’t have much time left.”

  Charlie eyed Miles suspiciously. “If you don’t kill him, he’ll kill me for double-crossing him.”

  “Don’t you worry,” Miles said. The heavy malice in his voice found its own way there.

  Charlie’s gaze slithered over the room. Miles’ anger flared. He was looking for Lily.

  “What were you supposed to do with her?”

  The man’s jaw clamped shut and his Adam’s apple bobbed.

  “You were told there was a woman with me. Were you supposed to kill her too?”

  “No, no.” Charlie shook his head. His face was an interesting mottle of purple and green, and swe
at beaded on his brow. In obvious pain, his words were ground through clenched teeth. “Vince said not to hurt the woman. He made it sound real important. She’s valuable.”

  “Why?” Miles wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or horrified.

  “I don’t know!” Charlie screamed. “I told you, I don’t ask questions.”

  Charlie’s face was pure desperation. His eyes were tearing and his nose was running. His breath came out in rasps as he waited for Miles to decide if he believed him.

  Miles saw the phone in a holster on Charlie’s belt and yanked it free. “What’s the password to your voicemail?”

  “Why you wanna know that?”

  “I thought you didn’t ask questions.”

  “Seven two nine two two two five. It spells payback. You know, that movie with Mel Gibson?”

  “That movie sucked.” Miles scrolled through Charlie’s phone book. “VL?”

  He nodded.

  “You’ll confirm the hit. Tell him the woman isn’t here.”

  “No problem, man.”

  Miles gave the man a dangerous glare. “You’re in pain now, but it could be a lot worse. Don’t make me angry, Charlie.”

  Charlie shook his head, his eyes wide with fear.

  Miles dialed and tipped the phone to Charlie’s ear so he could hear Vince on the other end. The call rang six times before it was picked up with a grunt.

  “Yeah, it’s C.C. It’s done.”

  “The woman?”

  “She isn’t here.”

  Miles kept his relief hidden. Lily was still safe in her hotel room.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “The bastard shot me before I capped him. I got a slug in my shoulder. Make the transfer now. I gotta drive to Portland to see a special doctor.”

  “You sure the woman isn’t there?”

  “Look, I checked under the bed and in all the closets. The house was dark until he came home, alone. I gotta get the hell out of here in case someone heard his gun go off. Wire me my money, Vinnie. This guy charges five grand to take out a bullet without reporting it. The way I see it, I’m already losing out on fifteen percent of my pay, not to mention my pain and suffering. It hurts like a sonofabitch.”

  “That’s your fault. I told you he was sly. You sure you killed him? This cop seems to have a guardian angel.”

  “Not any more he doesn’t. I tossed his body into the creek behind his house. Gonna be a week before anyone finds him floating.”

  “I told you I wanted a souvenir.”

  “Yeah, well that was before he shot me. I got one arm that works now. He fell through the fence and it was all I could do to kick him into the water. Wasn’t in the mood to start cutting off body parts. Wire me my damn money, Vinnie.”

  Miles disconnected the call.

  “That bought you some time,” Charlie said. He forced a laugh over his panic. “You just be sure you do whatever you’re gonna do right quick, or it’ll be me floating face down toward the bay.”

  Miles chuckled. “I suggest you go into acting. Your present line of work doesn’t have a very good retirement plan.” He slipped the phone into his jeans pocket. “Bernie!”

  His neighbor stepped in immediately as if he’d been standing outside with his ear pressed against the door. “Yeah, boss.”

  “You can call for backup now.”

  Charlie gulped. “Hey! I did what you wanted.”

  Miles leaned close and planted both hands on the arm rests. Charlie shrank back in fear.

  “That bought you your life.”

  By the time Charlie the Chisel had been hauled away and Miles had finished giving his report, it was four in the morning and only Noah Thompson remained in his living room. He’d tried calling Lily’s hotel, but the snippy night clerk refused to transfer him through.

  His old friend shook his head. “I should’a known. I tell you not to be a maverick, that’s exactly what you go off and be.”

  “Noah, Jesus.” Miles lifted his hands, palms up. “I’m sitting in my own living room minding my own business. She’s not even here.”

  “That lunatic sees you as a threat anyhow. Why?”

  Trust Noah to get right to the point.

  “He wants her and he knows I won’t let him have her.” Miles pushed to his feet and paced the living room. He hadn’t had any sleep, but there was no time now. He had to get on the road. “That, and I think he doesn’t want me talking to anyone official. So I’m talking to you while I have my chance.”

  “First smart thing you’ve done all week.”

  He frowned. “I went to Billings. He said he couldn’t do anything.”

  “Where is Lily now?”

  “Not gonna say.”

  “You don’t trust me?”

  “I don’t trust the fates.”

  “Why aren’t you with her now?”

  Miles turned away and sighed. He pushed a hand through his greasy hair. Add another shower to the list of things he needed, but didn’t have time for.

  Noah waited with that annoying, quiet patience he was famous for.

  Miles grumbled under his breath. “Because I have feelings for her I couldn’t handle. Happy? She reminded me I was still alive when I thought I was better off dead. Now shut up and listen because I don’t have a lot of time. I have to get on the road and get to Lily before she does something stupid like walk straight into Colton Reilly’s lair.”

  He went on to tell Noah what he hadn’t said on the record, what he and Lily had learned from Meiling Wong, what they suspected was going on at IntelliGenysis and about Annie’s strange abilities.

  Noah’s brows wriggled up his forehead on the Annie part, but he didn’t interrupt.

  Since Miles had already told him he had feelings for Lily, he went on to confess he’d had to leave because they’d made love, and being with her was so good it scared the hell out of him.

  “Well, hallelujah. You’re human after all.”

  “I’m an undeserving bastard,” Miles said with a grumble. He finished with Charlie’s call to Vince Luggo IDing him as a corpse. “Now you know everything.”

  Amazingly calm, Noah planted his hands on his knees and pushed to his feet. “You want me to come along?”

  “You can’t. I have nothing officially tying Vince Luggo to IntelliGenysis, and that means nothing tying Charlie the Chisel to IntelliGenysis, either. I know you don’t want to be a maverick any more than you want me to, but the difference is you have a badge to risk. I don’t.”

  Noah was silent a long time. Miles knew he was looking for a plausible argument to keep him from heading out alone.

  There was none.

  “I have an unpleasant suspicion this might be the last time I see you alive,” he finally said.

  Miles grinned. “Didn’t you hear? Charlie the Chisel already whacked me.”

  After a five-minute shower, Miles was on the road at four-thirty. He could make it to Woodland Park by seven, probably before Lily even awoke.

  He drove through a fast-food window for an egg sandwich and a large coffee. He was running on empty without food and sleep, but food was the only thing he had time to fuel up on.

  Last night he’d been a cop again. Hell, he’d been a cop for the last week, only hadn’t let himself believe it. Unless he did something to get himself in trouble—officially, he was going to ask for reinstatement. It would be nice to work in Seattle again. Close to Lily. Far from bad memories.

  Just as he had the thought, his hand turned the wheel of the truck into the Shady Hills Cemetery. Coming here was the only reason he ever took Highway 395, and the turn had been automatic.

  Miles gulped and slowed the truck, ready to stop and turn around. He decided it was a good thing.

  He drove around the long, circular road. The cemetery looked pretty with patches of snow mixed into its trees and vibrant green lawns. Tombstones stood like marble sentinels, gleaming in the early light breaking through thick, fluffy clouds. Behind them the sunrise painted the ear
ly morning sky with brushstrokes of red, gold and lavender.

  His mouth was dry by the time he reached the Harris family plot. Sara and Michelle were buried beside Sara’s grandfather. There was no space reserved beside them for him. Montgomery Harris had made it perfectly clear Miles was not welcome in their family, alive or dead.

  Sara and Michelle shared a beautiful tombstone that stretched between their closely laid plots. The three pretty stone cherubs seemed to eye him warily as he walked up and stood before them in silence, as though they knew something was different today.

  As always, his eyes strayed over the inscription. His heart still felt that familiar, painful squeeze, but today there was hope behind it.

  “I’ve met someone,” he started simply. “A good woman. I think I love her.” He cleared his throat. “I do. I love her.”

  Miles knelt before the grave. He picked up a dead leaf and crushed it in his palm. “She’s sweet and kind and she has a good heart. She’s risking her life to save a child who isn’t even hers.” He sighed. “If the miracles I’ve seen this past week are real, I’m sure you’re someplace good, and you already know this. I guess I really came here today to say goodbye.”

  He stood and let the crushed leaf fragments flutter away on the breeze before shoving his hands into his pockets. “I’m sorry I don’t have more time to say it, but Lily and Annie are in danger and they need my help. I’m a cop again, Sara. It’s not official yet, but I feel like one again, and that’s what matters. I don’t know if Lily can live with a cop, but I think she’s willing to try, and so am I. That’s all either of us can do.”

  He swallowed. He’d never imagined he could say goodbye, but it wasn’t impossible like he’d thought. Lily had given him this strength.

  “Maybe it was because you were leaving me that I took on this unbreakable devotion, like I needed to show you I would never abandon you. I realize now I was foolish. It just didn’t work out between us. I don’t blame you for leaving me. You made me stronger, and I’ll be a better man to Lily thanks to you.”

  Miles turned and walked back to the truck. He had expected a seizure of pain in his chest, but instead, he felt light, free of the burden he’d been carrying for three years. There was room in his heart now for Lily.