Moonlight Warriors: A Tale of Two Hit Men

by Joseph Rogers

  Although she had little roller derby experience, Jenny was a good skater. Over the past few years, she often skated on Grant’s Trail, which ran through the suburbs of South County and eventually connected to the River des Peres bike trail.

  Because the traditional quad roller skates with two wheels in the front and two wheels in the back were very stable, Jenny preferred them to the inline rollerblade skates that were faster. Jenny was glad that roller derby continued to use the quad skates rather than rollerblades.

  Jenny was such a good skater that her team gave her the jammer position. In this evening’s game, Jenny made her way through the pack. Her teammates, serving as blockers, tried to clear a path for her, while the opposing team attempted to knock her out of bounds.

  Chuck was amused by the colorful nicknames selected by the skaters on the two teams. His friend, Jenny Jawbreaker, was protected by her teammates: Lethal Lauren, Casey Crusher, Julie Juggernaut, and Denise the Menace. On the opposing team, Sarah Slayer, Vicky Vendetta, Beth the Bruiser, Sue Smasher, and Danielle Destroyer sought to stop Jenny so that their own jammer could begin to win points for their team.

  During the intermission between the second and third periods, one of the referees put on a demonstration of his skating proficiency. The highlight of the performance was his impressive jump over seven volunteers, all of whom were very glad that the referee’s jump was successful.

  At the conclusion of the game, which Jenny’s team won by a narrow margin, Chuck signaled to Jenny, who skated over toward the bleachers, where the two of them conferred privately about his conversation with Elaine. After making plans for the next day, Chuck congratulated Jenny on her excellent skating and on her team’s victory.

  Chapter 7

  Heroes Unmasked

  Shortly after traveling over the Missouri River and entering St. Charles County, Dennis Sandhaven exited Highway 70 at 5th Street. Two large signs presented him with the attractive options of either going right toward a riverboat casino or left to the Bass Pro Shops, a huge outdoor recreational products store that included a large aquarium.

  Dennis turned right toward the river, but he drove past the casino entrance and onto the cobblestone streets of downtown St. Charles.

  Chuck’s car was never more than a quarter-mile behind him. In spite of his line of work, Chuck had not often covertly followed persons, and he did not consider himself especially adept at it. However, the idea that someone might be following him had not occurred to Dennis, so he did not notice Chuck.

  Dennis went into a restaurant and had dinner with two business associates. Sitting on a bench outside the restaurant, Chuck patiently waited. He enjoyed people-watching as hundreds of persons went in and out of shops along this popular shopping and dining district. Chuck made a brief phone call to Jenny as they coordinated their plans.

  When he finally emerged from the restaurant, Dennis said good-bye to his two colleagues and strolled casually down toward the park that ran along the riverfront.

  Dennis paused to look at a statue honoring Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and their historic Lewis and Clark expedition that traveled along the Missouri River, going against the current the entire way.

  There were a few fishermen scattered along the banks of the river. After looking at the Lewis and Clark statue, Dennis had strolled over to speak with one of the fishermen.

  Chuck slowly walked toward Dennis. After he finishes his conversation with the fisherman, he will be alone, and it will be the perfect time to approach him, Chuck realized.

  “I’m probably scaring off all the fish with all my talking,” Dennis told the older man to whom he had been speaking. “I’d better be on my way. Good luck with your fishing.”

  The two men said goodbye, and Dennis wandered away from the riverbank toward a copse of trees. Now is my chance, Chuck thought as he walked rapidly toward Dennis.

  “Hello, Mr. Sandhaven,” Chuck said. “May I speak with you for a moment?”

  As Chuck’s right hand reached into his jacket, he felt the barrel of a gun pressed against his back.

  “That hand better be empty as you take it out,” Marcus warned from behind Chuck. “Keep both of your hands at your side and walk slowly toward that tree.”

  “Who are you?” Chuck asked.

  “I am Marcus. Your boss might have mentioned me to you. I’m the guy that she hired before she hired you. I will be interested to hear what lies she told you.” Marcus reached into Chuck’s jacket and took Chuck’s pistol out of his shoulder holster. “You won’t be needing that gun.”

  “I wasn’t reaching for the gun,” Chuck said calmly. “I was reaching for my identification in order to show it to Mr. Sandhaven. I did not intend to harm him.”

  “Right. Tell me some other stories,” Marcus said.

  “I’m a good storyteller,” Chuck said. “What story would you like to hear?”

  “You’re Mister Funnyman. I actually don’t need any stories right now.” Marcus glanced over at Dennis. “Mr. Sandhaven, you did a good job drawing this guy out into the open.”

  “Thank you for calling me when I was in the restaurant,” Dennis said. “And thank you for helping Fatima.”

  “I’m glad to be of service.” Marcus returned his attention to Chuck. “Tell me, Mr. Funnyman, what is your real name?”

  “My name is Charles Valentine.”

  “Okay, Charles, besides killing people, what do you do for a living?”

  “Is that what you think I’m here to do?”

  It suddenly occurred to Marcus that this Charles Valentine was stalling. The idea occurred to him a moment too late to take action. Jenny had been moving swiftly and silently along the grass of the riverside park. Marcus had not heard her approach.

  “Drop your gun,” she said as she pressed the barrel of her own gun against Marcus’s neck.

  “What goes around comes around, I suppose,” Marcus said. He quickly calculated his odds of successfully knocking her gun aside without being shot. Even though he could move very fast, Marcus did not like the odds.

  As if reading his mind, Jenny said, “I have never shot anyone, and I would prefer not to shoot you. It would be better for both of us if you drop that gun.”

  “If you kill me, I will kill your friend,” Marcus said, keeping his pistol against Chuck’s back.

  “He is my friend and my partner,” Jenny said. “Perhaps this will help you make the right decision.” With the gun still in her right hand, she pulled out the leather case containing her badge and held the badge forward so that he could see it. “I am Lieutenant Jennifer Halloran, a detective with the St. Louis Police Department. And the gentleman in front of you is Lieutenant Charles Valentine.”

  “Oh.” Marcus made his decision and lowered his gun.

  “Drop it,” Jenny ordered, and he did so.

  Charlie Valentine turned around, picked up Marcus’s gun from the ground, and placed the gun into his pocket. He took a pair of handcuffs out of his jacket and started to place the handcuffs on Marcus.

  “No, wait!” Dennis Sandhaven implored. “Please don’t arrest him. This man did not know that you were a police detective. He thought that you were a hit man hired by my wife to kill me. We have been communicating by cell phones. He was keeping an eye on me in order to protect me. When he spotted you following me, he told me to walk over near the river so that he could trap you. We both thought that you were a hit man.”

  “That was a reasonable assumption,” Charlie acknowledged, placing the handcuffs back into his jacket. “Elaine Sandhaven did hire me to kill you. Lieutenant Halloran and I have been on an undercover assignment for several weeks.”

  “We will need to see some identification,” Jenny said to Marcus.

  “Here is my driver’s license and my private investigator’s license,” Marcus said, taking the two cards out of his wallet and handing them to her.

  She examined them for a few seconds, then gave both cards to Charlie.

  After looking
at the two licenses, Charlie returned them to Marcus. “I have heard of you previously,” Charlie said.

  “I have heard of you, too.” Jenny looked at Marcus intently. “You have been questioned about a couple of murders, but you’ve never been arrested. There was never been enough evidence to arrest you.”

  “I’m as innocent as a lamb, of course,” Marcus asserted.

  “Undoubtedly,” Charlie said. “How did you get involved in this situation?”

  “A few days ago I returned from a Caribbean cruise, and there was a voice mail message from Elaine Sandhaven. I went to meet her at a small park overlooking the Mississippi --- Sister Marie Charles Park. She told me that her husband had been physically abusive. She said that she feared for her life …”

  “That was a lie that she told you!” Dennis interrupted. “I have never hit her or threatened her. In fact, until a few weeks ago, we got along very well.”

  “What happened to change things?” Jenny asked.

  “One evening Elaine got a phone call. I was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. While she was on the phone, I noticed that she said very little, and she became very pale. After she hung up, I asked Elaine about to whom she was speaking. She said that it was a call that she hoped that she would never receive. She refused to tell me anything else. The next day she became very cold and remote toward me.”

  “That’s very strange,” Charlie said. “Marcus, let’s get back to your involvement. You were telling us about your conversation with Mrs. Sandhaven in the park.”

  “Well, to make a long story short, she hired me, and the next day I followed Mr. Sandhaven. I suspected that his wife had been lying to me. Then, yesterday I went to Sandhaven Software in order to try to find out what was really going on. I parked in the back lot because I wanted to slip into a side door. I did not want to have to pass by the receptionist in the front lobby because I had no legitimate reason to be there.

  “As I walked across the parking lot, I noticed several employees gathered near a door as they smoked cigarettes. I pretended to make a cell phone call and casually walked toward them. When I was close enough to hear, I noticed that they were speaking Arabic. I was with the special forces in Afghanistan for about five years, and I speak Arabic fairly well.

  “In any case, they did not pay any attention to me. They had no idea that I was listening to them or that I could understand what they were saying --- at least most of what they were saying. They were speaking a little too fast for me to catch everything. However, I got the impression that they were Islamic extremists who were enthusiastic about the idea of jihad against America.

  “After a few minutes, I figured that they were going to get suspicious if I stayed out there any longer, so I went through the door that they had left ajar so that they could get back inside. I’m guessing that the door is usually kept locked from the outside.”

  “Didn’t anyone question you about why you were going inside?” Jenny asked.

  “No, I just tried to look relaxed and confident; I walked with authority like my presence there was a normal, everyday thing. I started to look around the building, but I didn’t find any additional information. There were many persons around, and they were wearing employee identification badges. I narrowly dodged a security guard. I knew that another guard or employee would eventually stop and question me, so I hid in the janitor’s closet.

  “I decided to stay there until most of the employees had gone home. In the early evening, I emerged from the closet and went into the hallway. There were still a few persons in the building, but I didn’t have any trouble avoiding them. While I was exploring the place, I heard the sound of an argument, then saw a young lady running down a hallway with two men in pursuit.

  “I recognized the two men as two of the Islamic extremists that I had seen outside earlier that day. They grabbed the young woman and were about to beat her when I intervened. I became very angry and gave them what they deserved. I gave the one man a good view of the inside of a vending machine, and I broke the arm of the other man in a very unpleasant way.

  “Then I took the young lady named Fatima Cedars outside. We each got in our cars, and she followed me to my condo in Clayton. I knew that it would not be safe for her to return to her apartment, so I told her that she could stay in my condo. Fatima has the whole place to herself because I am currently living at my house in Creve Coeur.”

  “You own both a condo in Clayton and a house in Creve Coeur,” Jenny remarked. “The private detective business must be very profitable.”

  “It has its ups and downs,” Marcus said pleasantly.

  “Fatima called me from his condo,” Dennis Sandhaven interjected. “She told me everything that had happened. Naturally, I was shocked, but I now understood why Elaine had been acting so strange since receiving that phone call a couple of weeks ago.”

  “Apparently she was a sleeper agent for the terrorists,” Charlie said. “She had probably been waiting for that phone call for years --- waiting to be called to action.”

  “Yes,” Dennis said. “My first priority was to ensure the safety of our son. I didn’t think that she would harm him, but obviously I never really knew the woman. Perhaps she would have used him as a hostage. In any case, I took my son to my sister’s house and explained the situation to her. Two hours later she and my son went to the airport and left on a flight to Florida.

  “Then Fatima called me again and arranged for me to meet Marcus. He drove me to Sandhaven Software and served as my bodyguard during the hour that I was there. I fired Boutros Mahdi and Rashid Fuad, and I cancelled their badges and computer passwords. I also deleted Elaine’s computer password, and I informed the security guards that she should not be allowed into the building.

  “Once I finished doing everything possible to stop Elaine and her co-conspirators, I took my computer and all of the Intelligent Agency documentation with me to the Holiday Inn on Hampton. I decided to get a room there because it is close to Sandhaven Software, but no one knows that I am there.”

  “That should be a safe enough location as long as you don’t tell anyone that you are there,” Jenny said.

  “Lieutenant Valentine, I’m very curious about how you tricked Elaine Sandhaven into believing that you were a hit man,” Marcus said.

  “Well, my partner here actually deserves the credit,” Charlie said. “For several weeks, Jenny has been working undercover at a diner called Angie’s Place. Ever since that diner opened, criminals have liked to use it as a meeting place, so the police department likes to keep an eye on it.”

  “In the past few months, there have been a number of instances of identity theft. Five members of the local roller derby team had their identities stolen. They frequently ate lunch or dinner at Angie’s Place, so we suspected that either an employee or regular customer of Angie’s Place might be responsible for the identity thefts.

  “I’ve always been pretty good at roller skating,” Jenny continued, “so I joined the roller derby team. We also thought that it was possible that someone on the team was stealing her teammate’s personal information and credit card numbers. By getting on the team, I could conduct an investigation from the inside.”

  “Jenny had both possibilities covered,” Charlie said. “If the identity thefts were occurring at the diner, she was a waitress there. If the identity thefts happened in the team locker room, Jenny Jawbreaker was on the team and watching everyone.”

  “So did you catch the culprit?” Marcus asked.

  “Yes,” Jenny replied. “Yesterday evening I was keeping an eye on a waiter named Hassar Bahar. I thought that his behavior was suspicious. Whenever a customer paid with a credit card, Hassar always took much too long to complete the transaction. Yesterday I caught him using an electronic device to copy all of the information from the credit card, so I arrested him on the spot.”

  “I checked with some of the other ladies on the roller derby team, and they said that Hassar had frequently been their waiter when they
ate at the diner. Apparently that was when the identity thefts occurred.”

  “While we were booking him at the station, we did a background check,” Charlie said. “It turns out that he has been a person of interest to the FBI for quite a while. Hassar Bahar has close ties to several Islamic extremist groups including Al Qaeda.”

  “We contacted the FBI and spoke with an agent named David Hummel,” Jenny added. “He suspects that the terrorists might be doing identity theft in order to provide false identities to terrorists.”

  “Perhaps Hassar Bahar is working with Elaine and Boutros Mahdi and Rashid Fuad!” Dennis exclaimed.

  “That’s possible,” Charlie acknowledged. “In fact, David Hummel and his partner, Sam Troutman, are on their way to St. Louis right now. They will be surprised to hear about these latest events at Sandhaven Software.”

  “All the events seem to be converging in St. Louis,” Jenny said. “Just like the Missouri River and the Mississippi River.”

  “ ‘Where the rivers meet, DeSmet began,’ ” Charlie said.

  “You lost me on that one,” Jenny said.

  “Oh, that is a quote on a statue on St. Louis University’s campus. It refers to the Jesuit missionary, Father Pierre DeSmet, who began his missionary journey near the junction of the two rivers.”

  “This historical moment brought to you by Charlie Valentine,” Jenny laughed. She glanced over at Marcus. “We are going to need to speak with Fatima Cedars and take her into protective custody,” Jenny told him. “Perhaps we could follow you to your condo.”

  “That will be fine.”

  “I’m sure that the two FBI agents are also going to want to meet with you, Mr. Sandhaven. We are going to pick them up at the airport later this evening.”

  Jenny, Charlie, Dennis, and Marcus walked out of the riverside park, crossed a cobblestone street, and headed toward their cars in the parking lots.

  Chapter 8

  Matchmaker, Matchmaker

  Charlie and Jenny drove toward the house belonging to Violet and Gregory Valentine, making a quick stop at a neighborhood grocery store along the way.