Robin was passing through Redding, California when Joy and Pect were twisting their way up Mt. Shasta at a slow pace. They were both thinking about the hits coming up and Joy went over the bio of her two assignments. One was a class three sex offender and the other was an old woman who had abused older seniors in her home where they rented rooms from her. The old woman time and time again had eluded the crimes of abusing her tenants. The other guy was headlines five years ago and only just recently was caught in a park befriending young girls for a trip to the amusement park; free of course. Both lived in Everett, Washington north of Seattle.
Robin thought of his assignment as he crested the mountain pass, which only recently opened up from a big snow storm. Piles of snow on the sides of the freeway guided him to the summit where it broke out onto a large plain covered like an upside down sky full of clouds. This was the first time Robin had been on this freeway and he thought it was a beautiful sight and guessed right that ranchers struggled to make a living in this harsh climate. His thought returned to his bio’s of the two assigned hits. One in the capital Olympia, and the other in a small town across the sound from Olympia named Shelton, Washington. He smiled at the name Shelton as that was his father’s name.
The guy in Shelton was a drunk driver dude who, on a winter's night three years ago, ran a school bus off the road killing the driver and two school kids as it plunged down an embankment. The guy was a high level manager in the local timber products company which was the main source of income for most of the town. The company had been there for a hundred years and his sentence was so light it wasn’t worth mentioning. Then to make matters worse, he was picked up just recently for drunk driving and once again he was let off with a light sentence.
The Olympia guy was a politician that for the last ten years had been molesting young interns who were college kids wanting to enter the realm of political science. Never once was he brought to court and the accounts that were read by Robin made one ill to think about them as more than one dropped out of college and who knows what happened to them after that. Robin’s white knuckle grip on the steering wheel was about to go around this guys neck soon, as the hate built up in him the closer he got to Washington.
51
Toni, hunched over the wheel of her motor home, trying to see the road in a blinding snow storm, thought she was crazy driving in this type of conditions. She’d found a freeway and was headed west, but Idaho was not where she thought she ought to be. Even though the almost white out conditions prevailed the roads were free of snow. It was so cold out the snow just blew in clouds of fine ice particles when a truck or car passed her. At her last stop for gas she was trying to make it to Boise and wait out the storm. Pocatello was the last town and she never saw it only the signs for exiting. Now she plugged along at forty miles an hour and glancing at her watch saw it was closing in on darkness. She inched her speed up to forty five and hoped for Boise where she find a hotel for the night or motel. Motel would be better, she thought.
Her thoughts drifted back to Peter and his soft touches on her body. Never had she been made love to like that before in her life. Most of her experience was a guy would jump on and two minutes later roll off with a big smile on his face leaving her wondering what the hell happened. With Peter it was totally different as he slowly brought her juices up and when she felt hot as hell, she guided his member in and wow, the next thing she knew she was in heaven. Now she wondered what he was doing and knew she couldn’t mail him as they were probably on to him about something. God I hope I didn’t get him in trouble, she thought as she saw a sign that said Boise forty miles. The last thought she had before she exited into a Holiday Inn was maybe he’d find a way to contact her.
***
Peter was thinking just exactly that as he landed in Miami. Like Toni he’d booked a room at the local Holliday Inn near the beach. After the motel pickup and delivery he walked into a typical hotel room. First the smell hit him of air freshener and disinfectant mixed like a fog in his senses. The room was stuffy and he turned on the a/c while stripping down to wash off the plane ride. Why is it, he thought, that after a plane ride a scum is always on one’s body as he stood under a hot shower soaping up. After a shower he felt a little hungry but realized the restaurant was closed or maybe a coffee shop was open as he read the menu and hotel instructions. He was in luck as a coffee shop was open twenty four seven.
A bronze colored waitress with a smile asked him what he wanted. Her beauty stopped him cold and later he apologized for staring and she just laughed. She said, “It’s the tan that shocks most people in the winter time. I’m a college student and work nights to make a living. But I find a couple hours a day to sun bathe and hang out with friends.”
Peter replied, “Well, Shawna I don’t imagine you have much trouble finding boys,” he laughed and she smiled back at him. Her name tag was perched on her left breast which was hard to read as it pointed up to the ceiling due to her very big chest. “I’ll just have a BLT and ice tea please.” Shawna wrote it down and walked away knowing his eyes was watching her cute backside.
Peter sipping his ice tea was struggling with something that was bothering him. He’d thought it was a dream the other night when he woke up thinking about something important. And now it was slowly coming back as he took a bite of his sandwich. If memory served him, the first hit was in Seattle and the next one LA and then it was here in Miami that two major drug guys were hit along with the DEA guy, who after all was said and done were dirty as hell from drug money. Now, he wondered how many captains are there in this city. He looked at his sandwich and thought it was a damn good BLT as Shawna walked up and asked him the usual question about how the sandwich was. Peter with a mouth full and a smile, told her the sandwich was as good as she looked. A blush of darker color made her cheeks even lovelier as she lowered her dark azure eyes and coyly said, “You’re not so bad looking either. I’m off at two and there is a night club just down the street if you want to hear some good, not so loud music.”
Peter swallowed and replied that he would love to hang out with her and as two was not far away he would be back down when two came around. Shawna hurried off and Peter finished up his snack and left a hefty tip.
At two on the dot he was standing in the lobby reading the evening paper. He was so engrossed in an article about the vigilantes he didn’t notice Shawna walk up and say she was ready. He looked at her and nearly dropped the paper. She stood there in tight jeans and belly shirt revealing a stand up chest and a face to even surpass the nice set of tits. Peter told her he was ready and off they went with the paper still in his hands.
They hailed a taxi and in no time were sitting in a bar that was mostly full of patrons that looked like his date; him too. She knew a few folks who told her hello and looked Peter over who was now dressed in typical yuppie garb: Levi Dockers pants and shirt with slip on loafers. No coat was necessary, but he had on a light weight sports coat and the overall look placed him as a young college professor.
Both ordered wine and the conversation began with weather, school, job and so on. The music was good and not so loud they couldn’t talk. He found out she was twenty four and putting her own way through college with working and student loans. He told her he worked for the government and left it at that. A few were dancing slowly to the jazz and she asked him if he wanted to take a run at dancing for a bit. Peter stood up and she led him to the floor. Nowadays young people dance wrapped up like a Christmas present and nothing is left to the imagination. Shawna after looking him in the eyes for a few minutes dancing slowly laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled even closer.
She smelled wonderful, he thought. How can she just be off work and smell so good? Her grapefruit size chest was buried into his chest and he prayed he didn’t get a hard on. Thankfully the band took a break and told the audience they were wrapping it up for the night and thanks for coming. Pete and Shawna finished their wine and left stopping at the sidewalk to look at each other. Pete, not the smoothest
at this sort of thing stammered and said, “All I can offer is a smelly hotel room, but the occupant is very attracted to his favorite waitress.”
Shawna looked into Peter’s eyes and replied, “Hey I think you are a great guy and I don’t think you are married, but let’s let the night go and see what tomorrow bring us. I’m off tomorrow except for school which ends at four. If you would like I’ll meet you in the lobby at six and I know a place on the beach where we can enjoy the evening breeze.”
Peter smiled and said, “I can wait until tomorrow as what’s one more day in the life of a government employee on vacation. I’ll be there with bells on and thanks for a nice time. I mean that. I haven’t been dancing in way too long. I’ll take a taxi back to the hotel and then he can drive you on home is that is good for you.”
Shawna came close a planted a semi sensuous kiss and told him she had a ride home waiting for her. The bartender, another knock out walked out the door and waited for her to finish up her embrace of Peter. Peter hailed a rare taxi and went back to a night of tossing and turning hoping tomorrow would hurry up and come.
The next day found Peter at a computer store shopping for a hand held unit like Toni had. By one in the afternoon he was set up with a satellite connection and fired off an e-mail to Toni. Next he went over a list of captains in Miami. Frustration overcame him when he had no idea who would match his guy. Peter thought he would start with South Miami and see where it led. He found without the ability to access FBI files he was up a creek and had to resort to public information at a library.
Peter rented a car and with his new Jim dandy computer located quickly a public library in South Miami. Using a reference librarian in no time he found his captain and his bio. Peter made a copy and sat down to read who he was and that didn’t take long due to the fact this guy was his mothers idea of a police captain: a family man without any blemishes on his record. Police Captain Ronald Grimes, age sixty had almost forty years of service entering as a rookie at age twenty one. Peter crossed referenced the convention in Atlantic City and up popped the captain.
Peter then checked the book of records to find out the other captains from East, West and North Miami. Cross checking again, only Ronald Grimes attended the convention of police captains. Apparently they chose him as senior man to go as the expense is hard to justify the attendance of four from one city.
Peter sat back in his wooden chair and sucked in some refrigerator air and knew he had his man. Now the big question was what to do with the information. Confront him or file a report to his superiors who were tailing him, bugging his phone, hacking into his computer and all sorts of nasty things to infringe on his personal rights. He’d broken no laws; had an affair with a red head was all he really knew. Maybe Toni was right, he thought back thinking the government was getting too personal with its citizens using the terrorists as an excuse to pry into other people's lives. One thing he was always reading on the internet how privacy was supposed to be protected and they never passed on or sold the personal information. Ya, right, he thought angrily. So easy to access and so easy to peddle; the point is how many damn credit cards does one need?
Writing down the captain’s address he left the library and drove to his house. Driving by twice he saw houses of plain description sitting next to each other like a row of hens setting. It was quite unlike where a police captain might live. It was like all the neighbors built somewhere in the fifties he guessed. All were painted nicely with windows trimmed in white or green offsetting the browns and whites. Small lawns with tropical plants and fruit trees made the homes feel warm a cozy. A small one car garage, detached a carbon copy of the house probably held the garden tools and the lawnmower. Peter kept on going and realized it was getting close to his meeting up with Shawna.
Pulling into the hotel’s underground parking Peter checked his mail. One mail glared back at him from Toni. His pulse quickened and it was short and to the point. It said, “Peter, got it and will get back to you later. Watch your back. T.” Peter closed it up and went to his room where he took a long shower trying to decide what to do with a meeting with Ronald Grimes. I’ll just listen, he thought, as he shaved close in anticipation of a night with the ending in close contact with those lovely breasts.
52
Joy and Pect were holed up in a motel in Everett, Washington. Both were lying on the bed tossing ideas back and forth about the woman who abused seniors. Joy said, “I like this one for you Pect. Hear me out first and then tell me where it’s wrong or needs improvement. I think you ought to make her your prisoner and let the old folks take their turn at her for revenge. From what it sounds like they live in a big old house that probably has a big living room where you can address the occupants and tell them what the plan is. I’ll let your imagination run with this and I doubt the police will ever get the true story of what happened or a good description of the assailant. What do you think?”
Pect was staring at the ceiling and running it through his mind. He said, “What if someone comes like a son or daughter or hell I don’t know, anybody could show up. The longer I’m there the bigger the risk. I’m all for letting the folks take a run at her making her pay for her past beating and whatever else they suffered from her hands.”
“Well I could sit in a car outside and if someone comes I’ll toot the horn and you can slip out the back while they are coming in the front door. Ah hell, Pect, you do what you want with this one. I’m working on making another child molester pay dearly for his crazed mind.”
“I know, why we don’t buy a couple of hand held walkie talkies,” he asked. “Then we communicate when needed. I think this is a damn fine idea.”
“Yes, tomorrow we will buy then and test before we proceed to the kill sites. Now let’s see what else we need to do before we take on assignment.”
Robin was driving into Olympia about the same time as Joy and Pect were discussing their plan. Robin checked into a Motel Six that was now forty six. This chain of motels were good because no one cared who you were or where you were going. Pay the money and all was well. After checking in and unloading his bike, which he wheeled into his first floor room, he decided to scout out the politicians house. As usual for this time of year, it was a grey cloudy day with a slight drizzle floating down. Robin decided his pickup would be the ticket for this scouting job as he drove off anxious to put this hit behind him. Why, he was not sure, but something was bothering him as he made his way to the old part of town next to the capital. He drove through the area for a sightseeing tour and then headed out towards Black Lake where the dude lived.
Robin noticed this was a lovely area and probably in the summer time, the lake was full of boats and swimmers as he drove alongside the lake. But now, no boat or swimmers and there was very little traffic this afternoon. Robin wound his way around and from one side road to another lined with tall evergreens until he found what he was looking for. The politician’s house sat on the lake surrounded by tall fir trees and a yard of bushes and rhododendrons climbing the side of the house. A double car garage with a luxury car sat outside the garage. Robin checked the license number and it was the guy’s wife’s car.
Robin drove back and forth a few times and no one was about and even less traffic. How I should take this guy out, he thought. One way might be to sneak into his house and put his lights out, but then he’d have to deal with the wife. Kids were not a problem as they were both off to a university somewhere and it was just the wife to deal with. While thinking about this he looked for a place to park if he decided to make a house visit. His bike would be best and having found a place where he could stash his bike he thought he’d found the perfect place not a hundred yards from the house. Houses here were set far apart and lots of room to approach from the rear.
Robin noticed it was raining harder now and the tall evergreens were swaying in the wind. Robin smiled as the thought of a small rain storm would mask his entry and at two in the morning, all would be quiet except for the storm. Perfect, he th
ought. Tonight your ass is mine, he said to the swaying trees as he drove back to the motel for lunch and a nap.
Denny’s restaurant sat not far from his motel as Robin around midnight sat eating a steak dinner. He mentally checked off his gear for the night and his tool kit. For the marks wife an injection of something to make her sleep for ten or more hours was his choice for her. Robin’s plan was to check out, leave his key on the bed and afterwards load up the bike and head for Shelton for his next assignment. Also he had special surprise for this drunk who killed children.
At one am Robin on his bike, dressed in rain gear as the storm was upon him rode out to Black Lake. The road was his as not one car passed while he made his way to the area where he would park his bike. Stashing his bike, Robin was feeling the adrenalin flowing through his veins. Stripping off the rain gear down to his camo dress he then blackened his face and hands, slung his back pack on, checked his Glock and then with a deep breath made his way through the rain soaked brush to the back of the house. Only a back patio light was on and all the neighbors were silent as a tomb as he unscrewed the light. A back sliding door and no alarms were seen as from his tool kit, took out a wrecking bar and pried the door up and with hardly a sound he lifted the sliding door and placed it on the side of the house. No wind on the back of the house as the house faced the west as he slipped into the family room. Robin had on hikers boots and guessed right the whole house was carpet and thick at that. Not a sound could be heard as he made his way down the hall to what he guessed was the master bedroom next to the lake on the backside of the house. With his mag light he checked all the other rooms and found them empty. The master bedroom door was closed and he slowly opened it to see in the shadows a large bed occupied by two people. Now the hard part of the job was to disable the wife and not wake up the husband. Robin changed his mind and decided to take out the husband and then put the wife to sleep.
Justifiable Homicide Page 15
