The 13th Victim

by Linda S. Prather

“Do you have a basement, Gloria?”

  “Yes, but please don’t go to my house.”

  “Where are your children? Maybe we should pick them up on the way.”

  Gloria started to cry, and Cherese sighed heavily. “I hate whiners, Gloria. You’re not going to make me regret letting you live, are you?”

  She sniffled and shook her head. “My children will be at the house with my sister.”

  Cherese leaned back again and smiled. “Good. As soon as we’re all settled in, I have some shopping for you to do, and as soon as it’s dark, there’s a couple of other people I want to pick up.”

  Gloria turned right, and Cherese placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “And if I were you, Gloria, I’d stop driving around in circles before you run out of gas. Because if you do, I’ll have to put a bullet into you and the young man in the back.”

  ~ ~ ~

  “Did you get what I asked for?”

  “Aye, lass.” Dylan handed her a package. “We’d best be on the lookout for the Garda though. The lad wasn’t happy to freely part with the information.”

  “Don’t worry about that. We’ll change cars, and McHugh has men all over the place. Since he’s Irish too, hopefully they’ll think it was him or one of his men.” Andi opened the notebook of minutes. “Eaves voted yes on a project on Cordell Street. So did Mayor Morgan and Councilman Smith. Councilman Graves voted no and made a motion for an investigation into the displacement of the residents.”

  “What kind of project?” Coilin asked, turning in behind an apartment complex.

  “It doesn’t say, but I know someone who can tell us.” Andi pointed toward the back lot. “I picked up Shamus’s car from the office and left it there. We’ll take it.”

  Coilin drove toward the back of the lot. “Won’t Palano be looking for you?”

  “Patrick promised to keep him tied up for at least an hour.” She pulled out the keys and tossed them to him. “You can drive.”

  Dylan placed a hand on her shoulder. “I think Shamus would tell us to drive by Cordell before we involve anyone else. Could be we’ll find our answer there. We won’t be any help to Shamus if we’re all in jail.”

  She closed the book. Dylan was right, and if Divina Morgan did kill her husband, she wouldn’t tell them anything useful. “All right. Take a left on Summit, follow it all the way to the end, then take a right. Cordell is a ratty-looking neighborhood.”

  “This councilman who voted no wanted an investigation. What happened to the residents?” Finn asked. “Strange that a whole neighborhood would just up and leave.”

  Andi turned around to stare at him. Years of writing DIY articles and covering Hollywood fluff had dulled some of her instincts. A whole neighborhood wouldn’t just up and sell out, unless someone forced them to. “Damn, I wish Shamus were here. I think you may have something there, and I don’t know anyone better at digging up information.”

  Coilin turned onto Summit. “We’ll find him, lass. He’s a smart lad, and he keeps his head about him even under the worst of circumstances.”

  Andi stared out the window. It didn’t matter how smart someone was with people like Richard Thomas and Cherese Thomas. The only saving grace to her was that there was only one reason the Cobra would take Shamus—she wanted Andi. Unless she and the brothers found her, her phone would ring eventually, and a trade would be discussed.

  “Looks like there’s someone here.” Coilin pulled into a driveway two houses down from the silver Ferrari. “Why don’t you stay in the car, and we’ll check it out?”

  Andi pulled the gun from her purse and opened her door. “When hell freezes over.”

  ~ ~ ~

  “What are you doing?”

  Jasmine continued her inspection of the basement door. “Checking to make sure the door isn’t wired.” She shot him a grin. “I’m not a very trusting person, but I think it’s clear.”

  “You think? Since I’m the one wielding the crowbar, I’d feel a lot better if you were positive. We don’t even know for sure that Gambini is down there.”

  “Well, since I’m standing here with you, if you blow up, so do I.”

  Bart pressed the edge of the tool into the space between the door and the frame. “I know why I’m doing this. Care to share why you are?”

  “I owe Stuart a favor. This makes us even in my book.” It wasn’t a totally truthful answer. If the girl that called was TK, she hoped that rescuing Gambini would help her find Mollie.

  The frame cracked as Bart applied pressure, but the door didn’t budge. “Harder than I thought it would be.”

  Jasmine reached for the crowbar. “Could be because you’re doing it wrong.”

  He raised an eyebrow but let her take the tool from his hands. “CIA always did think they were better than the FBI. You want to try?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.” Jasmine took the tool and inserted it near the padlock, popping the lock free. “One down, one to go.” She placed the crowbar into the space between the door lock and the frame, pushed in, and chuckled as the door sprang open. “That, Special Agent Pratt, is how you open a door.” Passing him the tool, she pulled the Glock from her waistband. “Are you going to fight me on who is going first?”

  “After that exhibition, no, ma’am.”

  She descended the stairs one step at a time, with Bart close on her heels. She scanned the area in front of her, cringing at the sight of the blowtorch and torture tools strewn across the floor. Stuart was slumped against the rail at the bottom of the steps. “We’re going to need an ambulance.”

  “No ambulance.” The voice was weak, and Jasmine gasped as Stuart turned sideways and looked up at them. “Take me to my place. I’ve got a doctor.”

  Kneeling beside him with her gun at the ready, Jasmine inspected the burns on his chest. “Infection has set in, Stuart, and you’re burning up with fever. You need a hospital.”

  He pulled himself to his feet with the rail. “Did you find the kid?”

  “What kid?” Bart asked.

  “The one who called Jasmine. She’s probably still hanging around somewhere.”

  Jasmine took his arm, careful not to touch the burned flesh. “We’ll get you taken care of, then we’ll come back and look for her. Right now, we need to get out of here.”

  Footsteps sounded overhead, and Jasmine motioned for Bart to help Stuart as she surveyed the room, looking for a place to hide that wouldn’t be readily discernible from the stairs. “Over here,” she whispered, moving to a spot parallel to the stairs in the shadows.

  “Don’t kill her,” Stuart whispered. He passed her the Taser. “I want her alive.”

  Jasmine nodded, took the Taser, passed it to Bart, and readied herself as the footsteps stopped just short of the upstairs door. She didn’t have time to argue with Stuart, but she had no intention of letting the Cobra come down those steps. “There’s more than one person up there.”

  Whispers floated down the stairs, audible but unintelligible until finally a female voice spoke up. “This is nuts. Is there anybody down there?”

  Jasmine breathed a sigh of relief and stored the pistol in her waistband. “Andi, it’s Jasmine. We’ve got Stuart Gambini.”

  Hurried footsteps pounded down the stairs. “Is he okay?”

  The trio emerged from the shadows. “We need to get him out of here.”

  One of the biggest men Jasmine had ever seen stepped around Andi. “I think I can help with that.” Coilin crossed to Stuart and placed one arm behind his back and the other behind his knees. “Out of me way.”

  Bart followed closely on his heels. “We’ll put him in the Ferrari.”

  “Stout and handsome.” Jasmine gave Andi a quick hug. “What brought you here?”

  “Searching up a lead on why Councilman Eaves and Mayor Morgan were killed.” She climbed the steps quickly and hurried outside as Coilin loaded Gambini into the Ferrari.

  “Can I catch a ride with you guys?” Jasmine asked as Coilin walked toward the
m “That way, Bart can take Stuart straight to the doctor, and we can try to find TK.”

  “Did this woman, the Cobra, do that?” Coilin asked.

  Jasmine nodded. “She’s had him two days. I’m surprised he’s still alive.”

  The color drained from Andi’s face, and she swayed on her feet.

  “Andi, what’s wrong?” Jasmine moved toward her.

  “She’s got Shamus.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Tracy gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth, but knew it was too late when Dylan turned to stare at the spot where she was hiding behind the house next door. She’d seen Gambini when they’d brought him out, and she’d almost vomited. It didn’t really matter if they knew she was there. Nothing mattered except saving Mollie and Shamus, and she couldn’t do that alone.

  She stepped from behind the fence next door and walked toward Andi.

  “Tracy?” Andi ran to meet her, pulling her into her arms. “If I wasn’t so happy to see you, I’d kick your ass for scaring the life out of me.”

  Coilin approached. “We should be on our way. Liam and Dylan are going to stay here, in case she returns before Palano can get a crew here. We’ll call him then take Tracy to Mum’s and hide her there.”

  Tracy broke the embrace, her chin jutting out as she met his gaze. “I’m not hiding anymore, Coilin. They have my best friend.” She waved toward the house they’d just left. “This woman was my only lead to who they were, and I doubt she’s coming back now that they know I’m going to meet them.”

  “This wasn’t about you, Tracy.” Andi turned them toward Jasmine. “This was about me, but Coilin is right. We should get out of here just in case she does come back.” She nodded to Liam and Dylan. “She’s extremely dangerous. I don’t think they should stay here.”

  Coilin laughed. “You don’t know us, Andi. We’re extremely dangerous too.”

  Tracy stared at Jasmine. “Oh, my God. You’re Jasmine Singles, aren’t you?”

  Jasmine stepped away from the car. “TK?”

  Tracy nodded her head. “My real name is Tracy Knuckles. Mollie showed me a picture of you.”

  “Please, tell me where she is.”

  Tears filled Tracy’s eyes. “They have her. And if I don’t meet them at the warehouse tomorrow at noon, they’ll kill her. Even if I do, they’ll probably kill us both.”

  Jasmine’s eyes turned cold. “Trust me, Tracy, that’s not going to happen.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Jerry parked in front of the mayor’s residence, opened his door, and turned to Patrick. “I don’t know exactly what you’ve got planned, but cop or not, I can’t let you go too far.”

  “Hopefully, it won’t go that way.” Patrick opened his door. “But if it does, I won’t let you stop me.”

  “Determined to whip my ass one way or the other, huh?”

  Patrick nodded. “Been waiting ten years for the opportunity.”

  The door to the house was open, and Jerry pulled his gun and studied the walkway. “Well, if it makes any difference to you, I didn’t call the Tribune and get Andi fired. Until she told me about it, I wasn’t even aware of it.” Jerry strolled up the walk, searching the ground in front of him. He held up his hand to stop Patrick. “There’s blood here.”

  “Aye, and quite a bit by the door.”

  “You can beat me up later if you still want to, but for right now I’m ordering you to stay here.”

  Patrick stepped back and Jerry pushed the door open with his foot, glanced inside, then holstered his gun and backed away. “She’s dead.”

  “You sure, lad?”

  “Yeah, her body is in front of the door and her head is sitting on the coffee table. I’m pretty damn sure.”

  “I need to look, Jerry.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it sounds like a signature I’ve seen before.”

  Jerry nodded before pulling out his phone. He knew a little about Patrick’s background before he came to America, and he had little doubt Patrick had seen a lot of killing in his time. “All right, but can you do it from the doorway? I may have a hard time explaining what you’re doing here even without your footprints and fingerprints all over the crime scene.”

  Jerry kept his eyes on Patrick and called the station, requesting Officer Cooper be put in charge. The big man’s face turning pale was almost as disturbing as the information he received from headquarters. Patrick turned away from the door and walked to the car just as Jerry ended the call.

  “The Cobra or McHugh?”

  Patrick shook his head. “Neither. Someone much worse.”

  The words sent a chill through Jerry as he studied the older man’s somber face. “Care to share, or are you just going to leave me in the dark?”

  “Richard Thomas, aka Otto Hellmann.” Patrick opened the door to the car. “This is what he did before he came here, when he was working for the Russian mob. There was a rumor he killed his wife this way.”

  “Thomas is dead. We received pictures of the body, and Andi said she killed him.”

  “Aye, the lass believes she did. McHugh must have double-crossed us and saved him after we left.”

  Jerry climbed in and started the car. “If he’s still alive, then where has he been for the last ten years, and why does his daughter think he’s dead?”

  “We find him, we’ll ask him.” Patrick slammed a fist into his open palm. “Right before I tear the bastard apart with me bare hands.”

  “I still don’t buy it, Patrick. It’s more likely the Cobra did this, using her father’s old signature to scare Andi.”

  “We need to let Andi know.”

  Several cruisers pulled up to the house, followed by the ME’s van. “I’ll be right back,” Jerry said. He exited, spoke with Cooper, waved to Frank, then hurried back to his car. “The Cobra was spotted at the Radisson this morning, and a maid is missing. Cooper watched the video. The maid left with a brunette, going out the back way.” Jerry’s cell rang. He listened for only a minute. “We’re on our way.” Flipping on his lights, he did a quick U-turn and headed into town. He turned to Patrick. “That was Andi. They found Gambini and the girl. We’re meeting them at the bar.”

  “What about the Cobra and Shamus?”

  “The captain is organizing a SWAT team. As soon as I drop you off and we make sure Andi and the girl are safe, we’ll move in on the maid’s house.”

  “I thought you were smarter than that, Palano. All you’re going to do is get the kid and any other hostages she has killed. You said you knew this woman. If she can’t kill Andi, she’ll take great pleasure in killing Shamus and leaving Andi to deal with that for the rest of her life.”

  Jerry gripped the wheel tighter and took a deep breath. Patrick was right. “Give me another option, Patrick. One I can take to the captain and get approved.”

  “Call off your SWAT team until you hear what Andi and the girl have to say. It’s gonna be dark soon. The O’Conner boys aren’t innocents—there’s some military training there somewhere. While you’re doing that, we’ll go scope out the neighborhood and see where she’s holding Shamus and how many hostages she has. We may have another problem the SWAT team can handle.”

  “Another problem?”

  “Aye. If McHugh knows where she is, he won’t care how many people she kills or he has to kill to get to her. Have your SWAT team pick him up, and round up his crew.”

  Jerry pulled into the station and parked. “That won’t be an easy task. McHugh will expect it and be ready, and his men aren’t going to give up easily.”

  Patrick gave him a brief smile. “Aye, that’s why you need to have the SWAT team go after him.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Shamus followed the maid’s sister and two small children down the basement steps, aware of the gun trained on all of them. “Why don’ you let the children go? They’re no threat to you.”

  A shove to the back had him tumbling down the last few steps and landing hard. “Why don’t you k
eep your mouth shut until I tell you to speak?”

  The children started crying again, and Cherese glared at the woman. “Shut them up, or I will—permanently.”

  Shamus sought out the young woman’s eyes as she turned the children’s heads toward the space over her stomach, shushing their cries. He didn’t know what the maid had said to her, but so far, she was keeping her head about her.

  “All of you, against the wall and on the floor.” She kicked Shamus in the stomach. “You too, asshole.”

  Gagging, he rolled onto his knees. “I can’t get up with me hands tied behind me back. Either untie me or help me to my feet.”

  The laugh raised goosebumps on his arms, and the hair on his neck became prickly. She grabbed him by the arms and hefted him to his feet. “I should probably have told you, but getting help from me comes at a cost.” She brought the gun down on the right side of his head hard enough to break the skin, but not hard enough to knock him out, then shoved him toward the wall. “Now, get over there, before I decide to forget why I haven’t killed you yet.”

  Shamus staggered toward the wall, blood streaming down the side of his face and into his eye. The young woman reached out and took his arm, helping him to a sitting position before she lowered herself and the children.

  “Gloria and I have a small job to do. If everyone isn’t sitting exactly where you are right now when I come back, one of you will die while the others watch.” She stalked up the stairs and slammed the door at the top.

  “What’s your name?” Shamus asked the young woman beside him.

  “Tonia.” She moved the children from her lap and tore a strip from her dress. “Here, let me try to stop the bleeding.”

  “I’m Shamus O’Conner. Please untie me.”

  “I don’t think I should do that. Gloria said as long as we did exactly what she said, she wouldn’t hurt us.”

  Shamus met her worried gaze. “Do you truly believe that, lass?”

  She reached for the ropes binding his wrist. “No.”