An elderly woman was waiting for them when they came into the waiting room. She stood up, wringing her hands as Pleasance hurried toward her.
“Mrs. Bond!” Pleasance grasped the woman’s hands. “What are you doing here?”
“I had to come see that you were all right, dear. And tell you about that awful man.”
Pleasance glanced at Alfric; her hearing was still muffled.
Alf took over for her. “Mrs. Bond, hello. I’m Alfric Honeybun. Pleasance has suffered some hearing trauma. There was a man in Pleasance’s house when I got there. But it’s okay, he ended up in much worse shape than we did.”
The elderly woman blinked. “He was in her house too?”
“Yes, did you see him somewhere else, Mrs. Bond?”
“He was slithering around that car that blew up.”
Alf glanced at Brita. She stepped forward, holding her badge up so the woman could see it. “What did this man look like, Mrs. Bond?”
The woman leaned closer, lowering her voice as if she thought the walls had ears. “He was a tall, dark skinned fella. With eyes like a shark.”
Pleasance’s eyes swung to Alfric. She could tell something important was being discussed but she was only catching about every third word.
The next thing she knew, they were bundling Mrs. Bond into Brita’s car and were off to the police station. Pleasance only knew their destination because Alf had mouthed the words very slowly to her.
She settled into the back seat with Mrs. Bond and stared dejectedly out of the window, praying that her hearing would come back soon.
When they got to the station, Alfric placed one hand under Pleasance’s elbow and one on her elderly neighbor’s. He led them toward Brita’s desk and guided them into the two visitor’s chairs there. Brita sat down and pulled out her file on Raia’s organization.
She slid a series of pictures they’d taken of Raia’s men across the table and Mrs. Bond pulled them close, examining them carefully. After a moment, she pointed a bent finger toward Qamra Tamarat’s photo.
“I’d know that devil anywhere. He visited Pleasance’s house before, with some other men. And he was on the street in front of it today, just before that car blew up.”
Pleasance could hear her neighbor’s shaky voice as if from the opposite end of a long tunnel. Finally, some of her hearing was coming back.
Brita thanked the old woman and asked her partner to give her a ride home. She pulled him aside before they left. “Can you make sure the house is secure and maybe sit outside for a while? From what Mrs. Bond told us, Tamarat may have seen her looking for him.”
Bud nodded. “I’ll do ya one better. Jenks is just coming on duty. I’ll have him drive her home and stay until I get off duty. I’m sure you’ll have Tamarat all tied up in a pretty red bow by then right?”
Brita gave her partner a look. “I’d settle for keeping him too distracted to think about going after some harmless, little old woman.”
Bud grinned. “Not so harmless it turns out. At least not to him. We now know he killed his boss.”
“Good point.”
“Why do you have a picture of Legoland on your desk, Detective?”
The old woman’s querulous voice cut through Brita’s banter with her partner like a razor through soapsuds. She jerked her head around and saw that Mrs. Bond was holding the third sketch in her shaky hand.
The one nobody could identify.
Brita hurried back to her desk. “Legoland?”
The woman nodded. “My sister lives in Minneapolis. Every time I visit her we go there.”
Alfric touched the old woman gently on the shoulder to draw her attention. “Go where, Mrs. Bond.”
“The Mall of America!” she and Pleasance said at the same time.
“Of course!” Pleasance said, shaking her head. “I didn’t remember the initials right. It was MOA, not MOM.”
Brita grabbed up her phone, punched some numbers, and started talking rapidly into it.
Alfric kissed Mrs. Bond on a soft, paper-thin cheek. “Mrs. Bond, I love you!”
The old woman blushed and dithered with embarrassment. “Awww, now don’t go gettin’ all mushy on me young man. I already had one love of my life. I certainly don’t have the energy to keep up with another one.”
Pleasance squeezed the neighbor woman’s hand. “I don’t blame you, Mrs. Bond, men are a LOT of work. And they hog the pillow.”
Alf slanted her a look and grabbed her hand, dragging her out of the bullpen. “We’ll take Dric’s plane. You wanna ride with us?”
Brita nodded and covered the mouthpiece of the phone. “I’ll be right behind you.”
“Apparently Jiles Green is going to be at the megamall today. He’s holding a rally.”
“Just what we need.”
Brita nodded. “That’s pretty much what I was thinking. Do you know how many people will be there? Special Forces? Federal Agents?”
Pleasance didn’t recognize the name. “Jiles Green?”
Alf glanced at her. “You’re kidding me right?”
She shook her head.
“Minnesota Senator. He’s been the staunchest proponent of Homeland Security. He’s virulently anti-terrorist.”
Pleasance frowned. “Isn’t everybody anti-terrorist?”
Brita snorted. “In theory, yes. But, unlike a lot of our government, Green backs up the words with action. He’s been even more outspoken than Brick on the need to strengthen our defenses against them. In fact, that’s how he and Brick Honeybun became such good friends.”
Her eyes widened. “Alf!”
Alf had his phone to his ear. “Already on it!”
Clovis answered on the second ring. He sounded harried. “Honeybun.”
“Clovis, please tell me you’re not in Bloomington, Minnesota.”
“Why would I tell you that? I’m in this damn mall. This thing is huge. And it’s a security nightmare. Security got some kind of false bomb threat today so everybody’s in a tizzy. They pulled a Mickey Mouse clock with a brass bell out of a little toy block building.”
Alf’s face went paper white. “Listen to me, Clovis, I don’t care what you found in the toy building, this is real. You need to get Brick out of there. He and Green are in a lot of danger,” Alf screamed toward the front of the small plane. “Pedal to the metal, Dric! Brick’s in trouble.”
The small plane shot forward, throwing its passengers hard into the back of their seats. Pleasance gave a little squeak of alarm.
When she was pretty sure she wasn’t going to die during the next few seconds, Pleasance leaned over and touched Brita on the arm. “What’s up? Why is Alf talking to Clovis?”
“Apparently Brick’s at Green’s rally. In the Mall of America.”
Pleasance flopped back in her seat, fighting panic. How much worse could things get?
Alf listened to his brother talking on the other end of the line for a moment, nodding. “You can’t be serious.” He listened some more, his handsome face turning nearly purple with anger. “The man’s a complete idiot. No speech is worth dying for.” He looked at Brita and shook his head in disgust. “Can’t you at least talk Brick into leaving? I’m telling you bro, this is not a prank. This group doesn’t do pranks. No, I can’t explain all that to you right now. You just need to take my word for it. See if you can talk them into leaving.” He listened a moment longer, looking a little calmer. “All right. Yeah, we’re on our way. Thanks, bro.”
Alf disconnected and scrubbed a hand over his face in frustration.
Brita leaned forward in her seat. “What’s this about a false threat?”
“Apparently the ‘bomb’ in Legoland was a Mickey Mouse clock with a big, brass bell on the top. It was encased in several layers so it took them over an hour to uncover. The place is swarming with cops and feds. Security evacuated the place. But Green refuses to cancel the rally. He says it was just a prank and now that the coast is clear there’s no reason to cancel.”
&nbs
p; “And of course Brick won’t leave either.”
“You got it. Stubborn mule.”
Brita nodded, thinking. “Why the clock?”
Alf shook his head. “Raia…or should I say Tamarat is playing some kind of game. And he’s winning because I don’t have a clue what he’s up to.” He threw himself back on the seat, frustration evident in every line of his long, lean body. He laid his head on the back of his seat and stared out the small window to a cloudy sky beyond.
Pleasance frowned. “That just doesn’t make any sense.”
Alfric turned his intense gaze on Brita. “Did we have any kidnap victims tied to the mall?”
“I’ll have Bud check that out.”
“Could it be a decoy of some kind?”
Alf glanced at Pleasance. “Decoy? I suppose it could. But why?”
Brita caught the last part of their conversation as she hung up the phone. “Well, in addition to the thousands of people who will come to the rally, there will be several US Senators, a good portion of the local police, several area fire departments, several extra contingents of Special Forces, and, with the bomb threat, federal agents are climbing all over everything. That’s a pretty high value target.”
Alf just stared at her for along moment. Then, he whistled. “Shit on a stick.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The entrance to the Mall of America parking lot was jammed with cars and cops. Brita flashed her badge to get them to the barricade around the nearest mall entrance. They abandoned the rental car in front of the barricade and jumped out, running toward the door. They were stopped several times before they could get to the door.
The first cop told them they couldn’t leave the rental in front of the barricade. It looked too much like a car bomb waiting to happen. Godric volunteered to move it into the lot and rejoin them if he could.
Brita’s badge got them through several more checkpoints, although her Indiana badge did raise a few eyebrows. “I didn’t know we were importing cops from all over the country,” one burly Minnesota state trooper told Brita with a grin.
She shrugged, realizing he was only half joking. The local cops never liked it when the feds or cops from outside their jurisdiction stuck their noses into their business. Knowing this, and also knowing that she’d get much further, much faster with honey than vinegar, Brita grinned at him. “I was bored in Indy. Nothing ever happens there.”
The Big Hat laughed. “I’d be happy to send some of this excitement your way.” He shook his bushy, buffalo sized head. “This is a frickin’ mess let me tell ya.”
Alfric stepped forward, offering his hand. “Agent Honeybun, Officer. How are you?”
In response, the big man lifted his eyebrows and glanced meaningfully around.
Alf decided that meant small talk was not necessary. “My uncle, Senator Brick Honeybun, is in the mall somewhere. Do you know where I can find him?”
The trooper cranked his big head around and screamed at someone in the distance. “Olaf! Come cover this post. I need to escort some VIPs inside.”
A small, nervous looking cop with blond hair and twitchy eyes hurried over. “Yes, sir.”
The trooper jerked his head toward the interior of the giant mall. “Follow me folks.”
Brick was squashed into the security hub, along with Jiles Green and what looked like a contingent of Homeland Security grunts, all dressed up in dark suits. Around them was a circle of bodyguards, made up of ex cops and Special Forces soldiers no doubt. When you included several members of mall security the tiny room was packed tighter than a neighborhood bar on an ‘all the beer you can drink’ Saturday night.
Characteristically, Brick was right in the center of things, surrounded on all sides by security of one type or another. He and Green were looking over an intimidating array of monitors with mall security personnel.
“Brick!” Alf waved as his uncle turned and allowed the Big Hat they’d followed to the hub create a path for them. Brick shook Alf’s hand and Clovis, who’d been leaning over one of the monitors talking to the mall cop seated at the console, turned and gave Alfric a back slapping hug. “Bro. We got a cluster of monumental proportions here.”
Alf nodded. “I see that.”
“Alf, my boy, you always were a chick magnet.”
Alf turned to find Brick kissing Pleasance’s hand while reaching for Brita’s. He laughed. “And you always did know what to do with ‘em once I found ‘em,” he retorted.
Brick laughed too. “Women and wine, my boy. Both should be savored.”
Pleasance and Brita smiled at him and gently retrieved their hands.
Alfric turned back to the monitors. “So, what do we have going on here?”
Clovis pointed to a single, large monitor at the left hand side of the console. A couple more Homeland Security suits were bent over the console, examining the images being played across the screen. “We’ve got tape archives from all this week playing on this monitor. We’re trying to find out when and where Mickey was planted.”
Alfric nodded. “We think Mickey was a decoy.”
Clovis turned grey-blue eyes toward his brother. “For what?”
Brita stepped forward, shaking Clovis’s hand briskly. “They’ve seeded the field. The value of the target increased exponentially when they drew Homeland Security and pulled all the extra security and first responders here. A hit on this target right now would make a much larger splash than it would have before. Although,” Brita grinned at Brick, “I’m sure they can’t wait to send Brick to Allah.”
Brick grinned. “Do I get the seventy virgins?”
Clovis snorted, “Not bloody likely, old dog. You’d probably get their mothers.”
“I assume they’d like to rid the world of me too,” a raspy voice said from behind Brick.
Brick turned and an average sized, slightly pudgy man was revealed behind him. He had graying blond hair, just starting to thin at the top, and serious gray eyes that were underscored by crepey skin and dark circles. Jiles Green wore a perfectly tailored grey suit, with a dress shirt of the palest yellow underneath and a burgundy colored tie. By contrast, Brick looked slovenly in his Pink polo shirt and charcoal grey slacks.
Green extended his hand to Alfric. “Jiles Green, son. And you just have to be a Honeybun.”
Alfric shook the offered hand warmly. “Alfric Honeybun, sir.” Alf pulled Pleasance under his arm and indicated Brita. “Pleasance Roberts and Detective Brita Muldane.”
Jiles Green shook each hand warmly. “I’m glad to meet you all. Did you come to help us sort out this mess?”
Alf frowned. “Sir, I believe this will be the site of a major terrorist attack today. I strongly urge you to reschedule your rally.”
Green shook his head. “Not going to happen, son. If I tuck tail and run these buggers will consider it a win. I’m not going to give them that satisfaction.”
Alf’s face clearly showed what he thought about that but he just nodded. Turning to Clovis he said, “I figure we have a couple of hours. They’ll want to strike during the rally. We need to isolate anything out of the ordinary that’s happened this week. Anything and everything, no matter how small, needs to be examined.”
Clovis frowned. “I’ve already started that process. But it’s overwhelming. You have no idea how much goes on in a place like this. And with the rally coming up…” He shook his head.
“I’ll work that angle,” Brita told him. “Who do I need to see?”
Clovis turned to the mall cop standing next to him. “Can you escort, Detective Muldane to the conference room where I had the records sent?”
The woman nodded. “This way, Detective.”
“Here it is, sir.”
They all turned toward the security tech who’d spoken. He was pointing a finger at the monitor. A dark figure was crouched down next to the Lego structure. At first glance, it looked like he was tying his shoe, but if you looked carefully you could see that one of his hands was inside the struct
ure.
Alf leaned closer to the monitor. “Can you scan in and focus on his face?”
The security tech turned a dial and the suspect’s face zoomed larger. He was wearing a Minnesota Vikings baseball cap and had his face tipped downward, as if he knew the location of the camera.
“He’s hiding his face,” said Pleasance, who had stepped up beside him.
Alf nodded. “But if he knew the camera was there, why did he choose that spot to slide the clock into the structure?”
“Good question, son.” Brick was frowning. “I think you might be right. We were meant to find that clock. And they probably wanted us to assume it was nothing more than a prank.” Brick turned to his friend. “Jiles, you can’t have your rally today.”
When the Senator opened his mouth to argue, Brick stopped him with an upraised hand. “Those people would be in danger.”
Jiles stared at his friend for a few beats and then sighed. “You’re right. I can’t endanger the public.” He thought about this for a moment. “But I don’t want any public announcement that it’s been cancelled. We’ll just turn cars away when they arrive. Unless the terrorists have someone who was going to be in the crowd, they won’t know it’s been cancelled until it’s too late.”
Brick looked at Clovis and he nodded. “I’ll handle it.”
Alf clapped his uncle on the shoulder. “Pleasance and I are going to do a little walk around. Do you have a radio I can take?”
Somebody came up with a walkie-talkie for them and they headed out of the tiny security hub and into the mall. Alfric took off toward the center of the mall with determined, ground eating strides. Pleasance had to almost run to keep up with him. “Where are we going?”
“I want to see the spot where Green was going to hold his rally. That’s the obvious place for the attack.”
They found the stage set up in the Rotunda. Alfric pulled the security personnel stationed in the area into a search of the entire stage and all of the sound equipment. After an hour of thorough searching, they’d found nothing.
Life Liberty and the Pursuit of a Honeybun Page 18
