by M. Z. Kelly
“You think the boys might have gone there?”
Rosie shrugged. “I can’t say, but her home’s on about five acres, and the house is over ten thousand square feet. It might be a pretty nice place for their crazy group of followers to hide out.”
“It’s probably a long shot.”
“There’s something else. I got a clerk at Orson to take a look at the visitor logs for Legend Pierce. The aunt, her name is Barbara Walsh, visited several times a year over the past couple of decades.”
I pulled out my phone. “Maybe it’s not such a long shot. Let me call Sam.”
SIXTY
Sam was in a meeting, but called me back an hour later, and I told him what was happening. “Mary Landers, the girl the Strand tried to burn to death in the cemetery, has gone missing again. We think there’s a chance she could have been kidnapped and taken to a house upstate in the city of Rye.”
“Why that area?”
“The Pierce brothers’ aunt owns a house there. The visitation logs show that she visited Legend regularly over the past couple decades while he was a patient in the state hospital.”
“Let me talk to my superiors and get back to you.”
“Okay, but do me a favor and keep my name and Max’s out of the discussion. We’re working this strictly off the books.”
“Understood.”
Max and I spent the rest of the afternoon sorting through files, waiting to hear back from Sam. We were leaving work for the day when he finally called back. “My boss and his peers are in a vortex, unable to make a decision about following up with the aunt. I think they’re going to authorize a couple of agents to go by and talk to her tomorrow, but that’s the best I can get.”
“That could be too late,” I said. “As I’ve mentioned before, Max gets vibrations and she thinks the girl is in immediate jeopardy.”
“Vibrations, huh?” He paused. “Tell you what, I’ll go by the place on my own tonight and take a look.”
“We’ll meet you in front of the house at seven, after we pick up Amy.”
“I’m not sure that’s a...”
“See you then,” I said, ending the call before he could argue the point.
***
The City of Rye was located only about thirty miles from New York, but, with traffic, the drive took us well over an hour. Along the way, Amy told us the latest on Sophia and her sister. “I tried to get Sophia alone so we could talk, but Maria insisted on being present. I think she’s pressuring her into something.”
“Any idea what?” I asked.
“Not sure, but I got the impression Maria hated Alex. It might be that she helped drive a wedge between him and Sophia.”
“But I thought he abused Sophia,” Max said. “Didn’t he have a bunch of domestic disputes that resulted in the police being called?”
“A couple, but he was never charged with anything. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Alex is a saint, but I’m not sure things went the way we’ve been led to believe, including the murder of Bobo.”
I glanced at Amy in the rearview mirror as I drove. “You think someone else was involved?”
She sighed. “I don’t want to believe that, but it just doesn’t add up that he would be dumb enough to leave a gun with his fingerprints at the scene of the crime.”
“What you gonna do about it?” Max asked her.
“As much as I hate to do it, I’m trying to get ahold of Mojo. Maybe he can do some more snooping around the gym and find out what the gossip is about Alex. I just hope the idiot calls me back and isn’t out spending the money I gave him on hookers.”
We met up with Sam a couple houses down from Barbara Walsh’s sprawling Georgian mansion. After he exchanged greetings with my friends, he told us what he’d seen while watching the house. “Something’s definitely not right here. There are men making regular patrols of the grounds, and I don’t think they’re security guards.”
“Why is that?” I asked.
“I used my binoculars and saw a couple of them with both a gun and a Bible.”
“So much for turning the other cheek,” Max said.
“Not to mention, Thou shalt not kill,” Amy added.
“How should we play this?” I asked.
Sam’s blue eyes fixed on the mansion in the distance. “There’s an approach from the woods adjacent to the house. I was thinking a couple of us could move up from that direction and get a closer look at what’s going on and decide how to proceed from there.”
“I’ll go with you,” I said, then looked at my friends. “Keep your phones handy. We’ll call if there’s any problem.
After grumbling that they wanted to go with us, Amy and Max reluctantly agreed to stay behind.
I drove with Sam to the far end of the street, where we parked and began making our way through a stand of pines and tall grass that bordered Walsh’s estate. As we walked, Sam said to me, “Do you think your friends will do as they were instructed and stay put?”
“I hope so, but they’re a little un...”
I stopped talking in mid-sentence when we heard a commotion near Walsh’s house. We moved up until we had a clear view of the yard and house.
My heart sank as I saw one of the men holding a gun on Amy and Max. As my friends held their hands in the air, the man said, “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but it’s going to cost you your lives.”
SIXTY-ONE
“What should we do?” I whispered to Sam, as several armed men joined the man holding Amy and Max at gunpoint.
“I’ll call for backup, but we’re outnumbered, and I doubt that we can wait around.”
While he made the call for help, the men took Max’s gun. She and Amy exchanged angry words with them before they were ordered into the house.
Sam ended his call, then began moving toward the residence with his gun drawn. “Any help is at least a half hour away. Let’s get closer, see if we can find out what’s going on.”
I also drew my weapon as we moved up to the massive residence and looked through the windows, seeing no one inside. We then tried the front door, but found it was locked.
“Let’s see if we can find another way inside,” I said.
Moving around to the back of the house, we found an unlocked French door. We were about to make our way inside when I happened to glance over and see an electrical panel.
I touched Sam’s arm, motioned to the panel, and said, “Do you have a flashlight?”
He reached into his pocket and retrieved a small Maglite. “Never leave home without it.”
I did the same. “Ditto.”
It took us less than a minute to cut the power to the residence. We stepped inside, hearing a commotion, including some people shouting, from what we thought might be the lower floors of the massive estate.
“Sounds like we got someone’s attention,” Sam said.
“A lot of someones.”
We had our flashlights out as we made our way down the hallway, with guns drawn. The voices grew louder as we moved through the residence and down a stairway. Seconds later, people began moving past us, stumbling up the stairway in a panic to leave the house.
“They must be members of the Strand,” I told Sam.
We stopped, letting them pass us, as Sam said to me, “What’s that old saying about yelling ‘fire’ in a crowded theater?”
“You think that would work?”
“Nothing to lose. Follow me.” Sam led the way down another stairway as he began yelling, “Fire! Everyone evacuate the house! Now!”
That set off a stampede, as dozens of people began running up the stairway, nearly knocking us down. When we managed to get down to the basement, we realized how Legend and Adam Pierce had been using the residence.
“They’re in cages,” I said, using my flashlight and seeing dozens of people, most of them women, staring at us through the iron bars and pleading for help. As we moved past several cages toward the back wall of the basement, we found Amy and Max i
mprisoned and calling out to us.
“Have you seen the Pierces?” I asked when we got over to them.
“They went out a side door,” Amy said. She pointed to the far side of the basement. “I think the key to the cages is over there by the desk.”
We went over to the desk and found the key. We released Max and Amy, then began releasing those held in the other cages, including Mary Landers. We still had a couple cages to unlock when we heard a loud explosion from somewhere above us. A fire alarm began sounding and someone yelled, “Fire!”
“Looks like we were right about the fire,” I said, turning to Sam. “Only this time, it’s for real.”
SIXTY-TWO
Chaos swirled around us, even as we managed to unlock the last two cages holding several women and a couple men. Several of those freed began heading for the stairway. Sam managed to convince some of them to stop, explaining that he was with the FBI and would help them find a way out of the residence.
A woman who had been held prisoner then spoke up. “There’s a door on the next floor up that opens to the yard.” Her voice broke. “One of the men took me through there a couple of days ago...to...to a shed.”
Sam went over to her. “Can you show us?” She nodded. Sam used his flashlight to illuminate the stairway.
We followed her and left the basement. When we got to the upstairs landing, I smelled smoke and heard screaming somewhere above us. We stopped for an instant, as Sam asked the woman, “Which way?”
She led us down a long corridor, even as the smoke began to grow thicker. We stopped at a door that, the woman told us, led outside. Sam turned the knob, finding it locked.
“The door’s made of steel,” Sam told us. “Probably no way to break it down.”
“Anybody got a hair pin or a paperclip?” Amy asked the throng of people behind us.
A woman came forward and offered up a small piece of wire. “I was going to use it to try and unlock my cage, but never got the chance.”
Amy took the wire and said to everyone, “Stand back, and let me show you what us Jersey Girls learned in the school of hard knocks.”
It took Amy only a couple minutes to release the lock and lead us outside. When we were in the yard, we saw that the upper stories of the massive estate were engulfed in flames. Several people who had escaped the fire were milling about the yard, in an obvious state of shock.
“Anybody recognize the Pierce brothers?” Sam asked us.
“They’re probably running through the woods with their followers, trying to save their rotten asses,” Amy said.
We went over to where several people were gathered, and Sam made an announcement. “I’m with the FBI. Help will be here shortly. Does anyone know where we can find Adam and Legend Pierce?”
A couple people spoke up, telling us they hoped they burned alive. A woman then said, “When I got out of the house, I saw a couple of men running down the path over there.” She pointed to an area beyond the rolling lawn where, even in the moonlight, we saw there was a gate. “I think it might lead to the water.”
Sam looked at me. “What do you think?”
“I think we don’t have any other options.”
After Sam made an announcement for everyone to stay put and away from the burning dwelling, Amy, Max, and I followed him through the gate and down the path leading away from the house. If circumstances had been different, the meandering path that led through the wooded area would have been beautiful. Tonight, it was dark and foreboding. I imagined the Pierce brothers coming out of the woods and opening fire on us at every turn.
We had rounded a bend, nearing the ocean, when we saw two men standing on a bluff. They turned, seeing us at the same time we’d spotted them. The taller of the two men was bald, and I had little doubt that he was Legend Pierce. He then pulled a gun and opened fire on us.
We all dove behind some rocks, finding cover from the hail of bullets flying in our direction. When the shooting finally stopped, I rose up and looked in the direction where the brothers had been standing.
I watched as Adam and Legend Pierce joined hands and, together, jumped into the sea.
SIXTY-THREE
Max and I made a point of staying back as a swarm of FBI agents and other law enforcement personnel descended on the burning estate and scoured the area where the Pierce brothers had jumped from the cliff. Despite using search and rescue teams that included divers, they were unable to find any sign of Adam or Legend. We could only assume they’d managed to swim to shore somewhere beyond the bluffs and escape, maybe by boat.
The agents determined that nine people perished in the explosion and fire that had consumed Barbara Walsh’s estate, including Barbara Walsh herself. We learned that the brothers had detonated the explosion after soaking much of the upper floors with gasoline. They then locked the doors, with dozens of people inside, before leaving the residence.
“What’s going to happen now?” I asked Sam, after he’d left the other investigators, and Amy, Max, and I had walked over.
“We have an advisory out for the brothers, but it could be they’re already in another state. The manhunt will be extended to the entire east coast. We can only hope we find them before they regroup and try something else.”
“What about Mary and the others being held in the cages?” Max asked. “Do we know what they were planning to do to them?”
“They were all marked for execution, based on Legend and Adam telling them it was God’s judgment. Most of them were women and had been kidnapped off the street in various towns and cities. When they refused to join the Strand and take orders, they were marked for death. We plan to interview each of them, before returning them home to their families.”
After more discussion about the night’s events, Amy and Max wandered off. Sam and I took a stroll along the seashore, away from the still smoldering ruins of the estate. We found a bench on a grassy knoll, where we watched the sun come up.
“You and your friends did a good thing, finding out the Pierce brothers were behind the killings,” Sam said.
I sighed. “I’m not so sure, considering those who died in the fire.”
“They would have been killed, along with the rest of those we freed, if it wasn’t for you.”
I nodded, my gaze drifting out to sea, before I looked back at him. “Just be sure to keep Max and me out of your reports.”
“Are you sure? It might get you two out of your current assignment. Maybe even get you promoted.”
“I doubt that, and, yes, I’m sure. I just want to go back to my quiet life, do my time in Blue hell, then go back to being a regular cop.”
He chuckled, then surprised me by taking my hand. “I’m looking forward to our picnic this weekend. The weatherman said it should be in the forties.”
I smiled. “A real heatwave.”
My heart raced as he said, “I’ll be sure to keep you warm.”
I turned, seeing Amy and Max coming our way and calling out to us. I stood as they came over and said, “What’s going on?”
“It’s Mojo,” Amy said. “He just called me. Sophia’s sister, Maria, is trying to kill him.”
SIXTY-FOUR
I gave Sam a brief explanation of what was happening and told him I’d call him later. Amy, Max, and I then headed back into the city.
“Mojo said he’s hiding in a warehouse on 128th Street, around the corner from Warren’s Gym in Harlem,” Amy said. “Maria came by the place looking for him, but, so far, hasn’t found him.”
“You sure that little asshole is worth all this trouble?” Max asked, yawning from the back seat as I drove.
Amy turned to her. “No, but finding him is the only way we’re going to know what’s really going on between Sophia and her sister.”
“Did he give you any idea about why she’s trying to kill him?” I asked.
“No, but if I was a betting person, I’d bet that the little perv tried to make a move on her and things didn’t go well.”
�
�That would be consistent with his MO.”
Amy glanced at herself in her compact mirror. “Aw, fuwk, I’m turning green again.” She looked at me. “And so are you.”
“Great. Sam didn’t say anything, but he probably thinks I have some strange medical condition.”
The drive to Harlem took us almost two hours because of heavy morning traffic. Max and I were too exhausted to go to work, so she called in sick for the both of us. We finally found parking in a lot that charged twenty dollars an hour.
“We’d better make this fast,” Amy said, after we paid the attendant and walked up the street. “I’m not sure that the little idiot is worth twenty bucks.”
We found the warehouse Mojo had told Amy about and went in through an unlocked rear door. The place was deserted and looked like a storage building for a high-rise that was under renovation a block up the street.
“Mojo,” Amy called out as we walked through the place. “Where are you?”
“Over here,” we heard a muffled voice say.
It took us some time, but we finally found Amy’s employee hiding in a barrel at the back of the warehouse. Mojo pushed the lid off the storage container and stood up, like a human jack-in-the-box. He was completely naked.
“What the fuwk?” Amy said, going over to him. “Where are your clothes?”
He gave her a lopsided grin. “The barrel was so small, I had to take them off to get inside.”
“You’re disgusting. Put your clothes on, so we can talk.”
It took him a couple minutes to retrieve his clothes from a box and begin dressing.
“I think I seen just about everything now,” Max said. “And it ain’t pretty.”
I agreed, telling her, “I’m having traumatic flashbacks of seeing him in my shower.”
“Hurry up!” Amy called over to him. “And cover up that little pecker before somebody mistakes it for a worm and puts it on a fishing pole.”
When he was finally dressed, Mojo came back over to us and told Amy, “You don’t have to make this personal.”
