Claire Gulliver #06 - Carnage Goes Coastal

by Gayle Wigglesworth

“Fine, I’m fine, just a little dim. But actually, my headache is much better right now. I think that nap in my own bed helped. How are you doing?”

  “Not so well,” Karen admitted. “I think I got a little complacent. I know we talked about being vigilant. Truly I thought I was prepared for anything, but I have to admit I wasn’t. I was scared to death, Claire. Thank God, you were there and took charge. And thank God for the Murphy’s. I had no idea Mr. Murphy was guarding the neighborhood. I mean they’re very nice people and Mrs. Murphy always comes out and coos over Jack whenever she sees us outside. But really I thought of them as just a nice old couple. But not anymore!”

  “So what was your dad saying about those two men? Who are they? What are they doing here?”

  “You weren’t listening, were you? They’re our new bodyguards. They’ll take turns shadowing me and Jack. Dad said besides these two, he hired two off duty policemen to alternate watching the house through the nights. He says he doesn’t know if anyone else is going to be after me and until the police learn more about those two men, he wants me to be protected.”

  Claire nodded, relieved to have other eyes help watch over Karen. One thing she had learned was she wasn’t capable of keeping them safe.

  It was later that evening when Jack came into the living room where Claire was thumbing through a travel magazine, listening to soft music. “I asked Karen to join us, as I have new developments to tell you both.”

  Claire nodded, putting down her magazine expectantly. Jack sat down beside her and kissed her. “How are you doing? Head still hurt?”

  She shook her head. “Not much right now.”

  Karen came in. “What’s up Dad? What did you want to talk about?”

  “Is the baby down?” Claire asked.

  “Yep, went out like a light. He was ready.” Karen smiled, as she was wont to do whenever she thought about the baby.

  “Where’s Marty?” Jack looked around.

  Claire shrugged. “He went out a few minutes ago. I suspect he’s checking outside. I’m still getting used to him being here, but Tuffy-Two has adapted already. He doesn’t even bark at him when he comes in and out. But he does run for the door when he hears him. I think he’s decided he’s part of the family.”

  Hearing his name the dog looked up from where he was lying with his head on Claire’s foot.

  “Well, I talked to Lieutenant Russo a little while ago. He told me he confirmed with the highway patrol that the white van which picked up the women you saw at the Crown Plaza, the one which transported the woman you planted the bug in her tote bag, was in an accident later that night on the Four-Oh-Five Freeway at the intersection of the Long Beach Freeway.”

  Both women looked at him with concern on their faces.

  “Was anyone hurt?”

  “How did it happen?”

  Jack said reluctantly, “I’m afraid there were fatalities.”

  Claire and Karen made sounds as they sucked in air, their mouths open with shock.

  “The van carried six women picked up from the Crown Plaza, and the driver. Five died immediately, one died being transported to the hospital and one died at the hospital the next day.” He hurried on wanting to get all the bad news out. “Additionally, the driver of the tanker truck entering the freeway from the Long Beach Freeway was killed, as was the driver of the car following just behind him. The freeway was closed for several hours while they cleaned up the mess. A total of nine died, it was one of the worst accidents they’ve had on that freeway.”

  The women looked frozen with horror.

  Finally, Claire said in a soft, squeaky voice, “How? How did it happen?”

  Jack dreaded telling her, but he said slowly, “Witnesses reported a dark SUV driving in the lane next to the van suddenly swerved into the side of the van, pushing it into the path of the tanker truck. The other drivers were so busy avoiding the collision they didn’t have time to see where the SUV went. Nobody was able to get its license number.”

  They all stared at each other. The soft music continued to play. The dog continued to doze.

  “It was Tan Jacket and his friend, wasn’t it?”

  Jack nodded. “The police are looking for that SUV now. They think it might have been left in one of the airport long term parking lots when those two men flew to San Francisco. I provided them with the license plate numbers I located on the security films from the Crown Plaza. When they find the SUV they’ll compare paint chips to make certain.”

  “I did that! Oh, dear God, I killed all those people.” Claire looked up in horror.

  “Claire, listen to me. You did not kill anyone.” Jack’s voice was gentle, but firm.

  “But I did. That woman was having a good time with her friends. They were talking about their trip to the beach. They didn’t expect to die. Why would they? I only slipped that bug in the woman’s tote bag trying to divert Tan Jacket’s attention from Karen.” Tears sprang to Claire’s eyes as she wailed, “I didn’t even think of any harm happening to her or her friends. I wasn’t even thinking I could be killing her.”

  Jack moved closer and put his arms around Claire. “Claire, it’s not your fault. How could you expect these people to be so ruthless, so unconscionable that they would run that van off the road without even checking to see if the person they wanted was inside? It was monstrous. They were monsters.”

  It was several minutes later, when Claire had wiped her tears away and blown her nose, that both she and Jack noticed Karen still sitting in her chair. Her arms were wrapped tightly around herself, her face stark white, her eyes dull with shock.

  “Karen? Karen, are you all right?” Claire jumped off the couch and hurried over to her.

  Karen shook her head. “No, no I’m not all right. I may never be all right again. Nine people died because those men thought I was in that van. And six died in my apartment building, maybe more, I don’t know. And all this is because someone is trying to kill me. When will it stop? When will enough be enough?”

  Jack pulled her up from the chair cradling her in his arms. He rocked her, muttering in her ear, “Baby, Baby it’s not your fault. These are seriously bad people. They seem willing to go to any lengths to get to you. They don’t seem to care how many people they destroy in the meantime.”

  Jack snaked one arm out and captured Claire, pulling her into the embrace. They heard the door open as Marty entered the house and quickly moved through to check out the back. Tuffy-Two seemed to understand something was wrong and he pushed up close to their combined legs, trying to join their group hug.

  “I didn’t want to tell you about the accident. I knew you’d both take it badly. But I knew you had to know. You both need to be prepared to protect yourselves. You have to take Marty and Dave’s presence here seriously and pay attention to what they say.”

  He squeezed them tight. “We’ve formed a task force. The police, the highway patrol, the FBI and my company are all committed to finding the answer to this case.” He snuck a glance at his watch. “Already the FBI in New York City have mounted a raid on the offices of a security company we suspect has something to do with those men stalking Karen. Both of those men were employed by that company. Now they are going to question the man in charge. I suspect he arranges hits for hire. We’ll soon find out.” His voice was grim.

  CHAPTER 29

  I pulled into the parking lot and rolled past the dozen or so vehicles parked near the front door. At the end of the lot I could see the dumpsters clustered not far from the back of the diner. There in the shadows I saw what I was looking for. I pulled up beside the dark Humvee. I picked up my briefcase and climbed out of my car. I heard the lock pop up on the passenger’s door of the Humvee and I somehow managed to get me and my briefcase into that high seat without appearing totally inept.

  “Been waiting long?” I asked cordially, determined to not let my annoyance at this sudden summons set the tone for the meeting. I had objectives here and I planned to start the discussion in a friendly way.


  “No, I just arrived a few minutes ago. Considering the distance I’ve traveled to get here I’m amazed I made it on time. I’m sorry to have disturbed your evening, but I’m afraid the situation has become a bit critical.”

  I turned and stared at his profile, it was hard to see him in the dim light coming off the dashboard. “Perhaps you can start by explaining what is so critical. And make me understand how it has changed since I spoke to you three days ago. Then you reported everything was great. I remember distinctly you said you located our targets, you sent your men to create an accident and you were confident the situation was finally to be resolved satisfactorily.”

  I could see him fidgeting, but I didn’t offer any help. I was fed up with his ineptitude. This man claimed to be a professional. This entire situation had been mishandled and I was tired of paying big bucks for nothing.

  “It’s the girl. I told you I thought she was connected. Well apparently she is, but not to the mob. Her father works for the CIA. That’s why we could never pick up a trace of him. This whole incident has turned into a hornet’s nest. My guys walked right into it.” He heaved a big sigh. “No matter, they won’t be walking anywhere again. They were both killed in a small neighborhood outside San Francisco. It was a major screw up.” Then he muttered half under his breath, “Actually, if they hadn’t died there I would have had to send someone to take them out after the mess they made of the hit.”

  Then, apparently realizing he needed to explain more, “And they had done such good work for me in the past. I’ve used them several times to complete a contract. It’s just this contract on the girl seemed doomed from the start. The guy who pushed her in front of the train couldn’t have guessed a Good Samaritan standing beside her on the platform could have saved her. Then, even though the specialists I sent to fire her apartment did such a fantastic job the police still haven’t figured out the source of the fire, but for some reason the target missed the whole thing. That was a costly venture.

  Then when we discovered she accessed her bank account I was confident we’d get her.” He turned and looked at me, his hands waving about excitedly. “I told you she acted professional I’ve never seen an amateur make the moves she did to escape without detection. If we hadn’t been able to hack into the data lines at the airlines we wouldn’t have found her on that plane in time to get my guys in place to tail her when she landed in LAX.

  “I told you how they caused an accident on the freeway because they thought she was one of the passengers in that van. Nine people died, the police are still buzzing around looking for the SUV which caused that accident. No, don’t worry, they’ll never trace that one back to me.”

  He looked out his side window saying gloomily, “But this one got laid right at my doorstep. Both guys were carrying identification claiming they were private investigators working for me.” He threw his hands up in the air in an exaggerated gesture of frustration. I mean, anyone who watches television knows they should have left all their identification behind before they approached the target. These guys were so confident and so stupid they failed to take the most rudimentary steps to disguise themselves and protect me. What idiots they turned out to be.”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t know anything about what happened. I expected to hear from them today, but last night the alarm I have set at my offices went off. I have it wired to my townhouse and I watched the monitor at home while the Feds broke into my office and helped themselves to my files, my computers and everything else they wanted.” He had turned back so he was looking directly at me in the dim light.

  I couldn’t keep my heart from almost jumping out of my chest. The Feds had my file? I swore under my breath. This was too much. Wade had screwed up royally. He put me and my plans in jeopardy.

  “The Feds have my file?” I said very carefully, very succinctly.

  “Huh? Oh, no. No, your file isn’t there. I have it here.” He reached into the storage bin between the seats and pulled out a thick file. “I had your file with me. I was going to make up the bill to settle up for this last assignment. That was lucky for both of us.”

  I sighed with relief. I held out my hand for the file and set it on my lap on top of the briefcase already sitting there. “Is this everything?”

  “Yes, it goes back to the beginning. It’s all there. The only record of a connection between us now are the normal bills and payments records for those companies I provided security services to on your recommendation. They’re all squeaky clean. No problems on any of them. But, as soon as I saw what was happening at the office I gathered my emergency kit and vamoosed. I knew they would arrive at my townhouse at any moment.

  “I always knew this day might come so I was prepared. On my way out of town I called one of my sources, who checked out what happened in California for me. I called you from the road because I had to leave with limited funds. I wasn’t able to access the safe in my office so I thought you could provide me with enough cash to get to my destination. And I thought I would deliver this file to you with my bill for the remainder due me. You can wire the funds to the account I have written here.” He handed me the folded paper from his inner jacket pocket.

  My temper flared before I could control it. “Wade, Wade, listen to yourself. Can this be right? Are you asking me to pay you for this mess you’ve caused? Not only did you not eliminate the target we agreed on, you’ve caused this carnage the police on both coasts are tracking. This has become a major mess. This is not what I contracted for. It definitely isn’t something I want to pay for. And if I understand you correctly, the target is still out there, still representing a threat to me and my plans.”

  Wade reared back, seeming to grow in stature as his eyes narrowed shooting daggers at me. “What? You think you’re going to weasel out of paying me, you shit?” His terse words turned into a roar. “I don’t think so!”

  His roar made me realize how close we were sitting, how remote we where in this dark corner of a parking lot. I immediately started to back track.

  “Whoa, whoa old boy. Of course I brought cash for you, as you asked.” I responded in a calm voice as I patted the briefcase sitting under the file in my lap. “While I didn’t have much cash on hand, it’s certainly enough to get you wherever you want to go. And I’m sure there is enough to live on until you can access your other funds. Where are you planning to go?”

  “Never mind my plans, you and I are done doing business. Unless of course, you don’t pay what you owe me. If that should happen you can expect a visit from the authorities with questions about a little package they’ve received from me.” His tone showed clearly he was still angry about my initial reaction to his bill.

  “Now, now, Wade, there’s no reason to get belligerent. We’ve had a good relationship over the years. I admit I’m not happy about the outcome of this project, but I understand you did your best for me. And I definitely don’t want you to be questioned by the Feds or any other law enforcement group. We’ve been too close for too long.”

  I could see him relax. I had acted foolishly in showing him my true feelings. I smiled now, I hoped reassuring him. I pulled the briefcase out from under the file he had given me and opened it, sliding my hand in to retrieve the contents.

  “Let’s concentrate now on getting you taken care of&

  The blast of the gun seemed very loud in the air tight cab of the Humvee. Wade’s expression clearly showed his surprise. I pulled the trigger once more, rather than risk the remote chance he could survive long enough to grab his own gun out of its holster. He was now slumped against the door and I was anxious to be gone. I thought a moment about checking in the back to see if there was any material there that might be useful to me, but frankly I didn’t want to take the time to do it, nor did I want to risk staying in the Humvee with a body any longer than necessary. If I had any doubts about the outcome of this meeting they were gone now. Wade was way past his usefulness to me. Imagine that he obviously hadn’t even considered I would kill
him. He so underestimated me he wasn’t even prepared for the inevitable.

  I put the file and the gun in the briefcase, opened the door of the Humvee and prepared to jump to the ground. I stopped suddenly and reached carefully across the body to pluck out that pristine white handkerchief he so obliging wore in his jacket breast pocket. I used it to quickly wipe all the surfaces I could remember touching and then sprang out of the Humvee. When I had wiped down the exterior areas I might have touched climbing in, I dropped the hanky and hurried to get in my car. I saw no activity in the diner parking lot so I quickly headed for home, already thinking about all the details I’d have to check to make sure I was protected. I needed to secure an alibi for the night. I needed to get rid of the disposable cell phone I had used to keep in touch with Wade. That had been his suggestion and now I appreciated his foresight.

  For sure I needed to reconsider the value of pursuing the elimination of this target. The risk now just might outweigh the benefit.

  CHAPTER 30

  Karen had just slipped the frozen casserole in the oven and was starting to prepare the salad when she heard her father come in the front door.

  “I’m in the kitchen, Dad. How was work?”

  He had only started on Monday and since he had decided to take the train, he was walking the mile from the house to the station every day as well as the distance from the train station to the building in San Francisco where the Homeland Security offices were located. Today he had walked home too, instead of going to Gulliver’s and coming home with Claire.

  Jack came into the kitchen and was making faces at baby Jack, trying to get him to laugh at the noises he was making.

  “Well, it’s different than my usual jobs, for sure. It’s been a lot of years since I worked in an office environment, but I think I’m going to like it.” He pulled open the oven door to peak. “What’s on the menu tonight?”

  “Millie’s meatloaf. She makes the best. It will be ready in about a half hour, just about when Claire will be home. Are you starved? I can get you some nuts?”