Mission

by Camilla Chafer

  "Let me guess. The dude looked just like Zach."

  "Yep. He knew we were onto him so he sent us on a wild goose chase."

  "Austen says Sophie has a car she keeps in the garage," I told him. "Perhaps he took that."

  "I'll look into it. To get from the hospital to their house takes time, which means he's most likely still in the area. Where are you?"

  "We're going to Sky Outdoors. Zach might have headed there. Even if he didn't, I think one of the women there knows something, as long as we can reach her in time."

  "Huh," said Garrett. "We're turning back. We'll meet you there."

  We pulled into the outdoor center parking lot only minutes after Maddox and found him waiting with Farid. "This is nice," I said, punching the agent on the arm.

  "I wouldn't miss it for anything," said Farid. "Maddox called me and said to meet you all here. It seems we're taking down a master criminal who's been on the run for years."

  "If we can find him," I pointed out.

  "I don't see any sign of a Mercedes," said Maddox, "nor the truck."

  "You won't. The truck was found along the highway with some kid driving it," said Solomon. "Zach gave him the keys."

  "Smart of Zach. Send everyone one way and go the opposite direction."

  "I don't see a car that looks like Sophie's either," I said, looking around the lot. A sporty car like hers would have stood out amongst the trucks, compacts, and two large minivans.

  "What's the layout of this place?" asked Solomon.

  "There's a chalet over there that serves as the reception and meeting area," I said, pointing to the path I took before, "and then a bunch of paths and clearings with various obstacles and platforms for climbing and rappelling."

  "We should go to the chalet first," said Maddox. "I don't want to walk miles into the woods; plus, it's too easy for Zach to hide amongst the trees."

  "This way," I said, taking off, the men following me.

  "You've met the woman with the tattoo before?" asked Solomon.

  "A couple of times."

  "We shouldn't all go in at once in case we spook her. You go in first and speak to her. Find out if she’s seen Zach or has plans to meet with him."

  "Where will you be?"

  "Outside. I'll see if there's an employee area and check it out."

  "I'll come in with you," said Maddox.

  "Me too," said Farid.

  "And you?" I asked Delgado.

  "I'll take a look around," said Delgado. "No point in us all going in. She might relate better to you as a woman."

  "And to us as law enforcement," said Maddox.

  "Let me talk to her before you flash your badges," I said as we reached the doors. We stepped back when a small crowd of teenagers bustled out, their helmets and climbing gear on. One of the girls loudly complained about her nails and an adult chastised her while holding the door for us. The group sulked away, quickly lost behind a thicket.

  Nobody manned the desk so I walked over and rapped my knuckles on it as Maddox and Farid fanned out to the sides. They waited where they couldn't be seen at the side of the storeroom.

  Vanessa emerged from the storeroom. "The last group just went out," she said. "Can I help you?"

  "Remember me?" I asked.

  "Sure. You came here to talk to Zach about his sister," she said, nodding. "How's she doing?"

  "Not so great. Someone tried to murder her today."

  Vanessa gasped, "What? That can’t be true!"

  "Vanessa, I'm going to be straight with you. I need to find Zach."

  "He isn't here right now."

  "Has he been here?"

  She gave an uncomfortable glance over her shoulder, then shook her head. "He's not working today," she said.

  "Are you sure?"

  She tilted her head. "I think I'd notice if he were here," she said in a bored tone.

  I leaned in, placing both my hands on the countertop. "This is serious, Vanessa. Zach attacked his own sister."

  "He would never! He’s looked after her all his life. She's... delicate. She can’t cope without him!"

  "There's proof."

  "He really wouldn't. I know they've had their differences and she was being a bitch before the accident, but they're all each other has."

  "I'm sure he told you that. But you know what he's capable of."

  "I don't know what you mean."

  "Zach is dangerous and you know it."

  "He's my boyfriend."

  "And you think that protects you from him? I mean, it should but do you really think that? His life is about to get much worse and he'll have no problem getting rid of you if it suits him."

  Vanessa opened her mouth and shut it again. Then said, "What do you mean?"

  "He's going to be arrested as the prime suspect in the bank robbery."

  "I don't know what you're talking about! I think you should leave!"

  "And so are you, Vanessa. This is your chance to get ahead of the rap. Do you know where he is? Does he have somewhere to hide? Did he borrow your car?"

  She paled. "I still don't know what you're talking about," she said, quieter now.

  "Then listen. Zach coordinated a bank heist and put together a crew. One of them was a woman — you — and one of the other members is dead. Thomas Mackleton. You knew him, didn't you?" I asked on a hunch.

  "Tommy is dead?" she whispered.

  "Shot point blank."

  "But that's... that's..."

  "It’s possible and it's very real. And I think Zach did it. He's tying up loose ends before he gets out of town and you might turn out to be one of them."

  "No, he would never..." She glanced behind her again.

  I followed her gaze, settling on the large holdall sitting on one side of the open door behind her.

  "Are you going somewhere?" I asked.

  "We're traveling," she said, her voice weaker. "We're heading up to a cabin I rented..."

  "Did you give notice here?"

  "Yeah."

  "So no one would ever know if you just vanished," I said as gently as I could while trying to impress on her the perilous nature of her next steps. "No employer will expect your return. Friends think you're traveling. Your family..."

  "All gone," she said softly. "Tommy was the only one I had left."

  "Oh," I said, making the connection. "Thomas Mackleton was your half-brother. He called you Nessa. You came back for him."

  "Yeah." Tears prickled at her lower lids.

  "Anything could happen to you up there. He shot Tommy in the head. Tommy never saw it coming."

  "No, no..."

  "Vanessa, where is Zach?" I glanced at the holdall again, having seen one just like it in Zach's apartment. I dropped my voice. "Here's here, isn't he?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. I was also waving my hands under the desk, hoping Maddox and Farid could see my motions. "Just blink if he is," I continued softly. "You're already implicated. Don't make things any worse for yourself. Get ahead of this."

  Vanessa stared at me. The fight dropped from her face. She blinked.

  "It's time to go," said Zach stepping out from the backroom, a gun drawn and pointed at us. "C'mon, honey."

  Vanessa stepped backwards, her hands out from her sides, her fingers splayed to show she was unarmed. She stared hard at me, her lower lip shaking. Beyond that, I saw anger. She had no idea her brother was dead.

  "Don't pay any attention to her, she's just making trouble. We're getting out of here and leaving this stupid town behind us," he said, coming to stand behind her.

  "What about your sister?" I asked.

  "What about her?" scoffed Zach.

  "You didn't even go to her funeral," I said, guessing. A good guess, I thought. I wasn't totally sure but I saw the painted fingertips in the photo Annie sent me. Only the paint was on the fingertips of the Sophie who now lay in a hospital bed. She wasn't a copycat; she was always the woman who knew how to paint.

  "And I don't regret it."

 
"And your wife?" I asked.

  Zach froze and I had my answer. "You figured it out?"

  "I did."

  "Then you just signed your death warrant," he said, moving slightly so the gun was pointed directly at me. The gun was small. It had to the nine millimeter we were looking for. Zach grabbed Vanessa's arm with his free hand, holding her in front of his body like a shield.

  From the corners of my eyes, I saw Maddox and Farid approaching him from either side, their footsteps soft and deft. But I knew they couldn't shoot him from their angles. They might hit Vanessa but not Zach.

  "No," said a voice from the shadows, the word followed by a click. "You just signed yours."

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  "Wow," said Lily. "I'm surprised he didn't shoot you."

  "Me too," I agreed. We both rested our arms on the edge of the spa's pool. I kicked my legs, half floating, while Lily sipped soda through a red and white-striped straw.

  "I mean, it would have been dumb if he had, given that Maddox and Farid would have shot him a bazillion times."

  "Not before Solomon did. He saw Zach through the rear window and crept up behind him while Zach was trying to work out what I knew and whether he should ditch Vanessa and just get out of there." I paused and took a deep breath. The memory of that chalet wouldn't leave me any time soon. "He already had her car keys but she knew where he was going. If he left her behind, she could have told us where he went."

  "Do you think he would have killed her in the cabin she rented?" asked Lily.

  "Maybe, if he got tired of her or she started to smell a rat. He told her so many lies. They were just going to lie low a while but there're plenty of places to hide a corpse in the woods."

  "You have such a dark imagination."

  "Thank you," I said, taking another refreshing sip.

  "Are you sure you don't want to hang out later too? We can put a photo of Zach in the garage and throw axes at it."

  I frowned in alarm. "You have axes?"

  "Sure!"

  "We need to talk about this someday," I told her. "I have to go to the hospital after we leave. Austen said Sophie woke up yesterday and apparently, wants to talk. Solomon is coming, and Maddox and Farid are eager to interview her too."

  "Jord isn't thrilled that the FBI swooped in and took the case."

  "Once it turned into a federal crime, they didn't have a choice," I told her. "For a long time, solving that case looked like Mission: Impossible."

  "Then you turned it into Mission: Possible. That's my girl," said Lily as she fist-bumped me.

  "Jord is going to get a lot of credit for his investigation," I said. "I heard the DA is delighted. He has so many serious charges to throw at Zach Gallo. Real headline stuff."

  "Great. I had to retire the sexy bank robber outfit thanks to this case, but maybe I can get it out again."

  "If you do..." I started.

  "Yeah?"

  "Never tell me. Promise me, Lily. Please! I don't ever want to hear about it."

  Lily rolled her eyes. "You should nearly get shot more often. I like it when Solomon sends us both to the spa. Has he considered buying shares in it?"

  I laughed and splashed her with water.

  ~

  Solomon was waiting for me at the entrance to the hospital. "How was your day of relaxation?" he asked.

  "Perfection. Thank you." I raised onto my tiptoes and kissed him. "Lily appreciated the invitation. We swam, got massages, and I thought of how great our marriage is. How're things in the ICU?"

  "No idea. Sophie was moved to another room now she’s awake and she and Austen are waiting for us. From what I hear, be prepared to expect quite a story."

  "How's Austen?"

  "I'm not sure. Relieved, disappointed, afraid, happy."

  "All at once?"

  "It's possible, if you can believe it." Solomon slipped his hand around mine.

  "I'm not sure anyone will thank me for my contribution to the case," I told him as we took the stairs.

  "Vanessa Reyes might. I'm told she cut a deal with the Feds. No jail time, just probation, and she's told them everything they need to prosecute the Montgomery heist. She gave up the rest of the crew too. A couple of them worked at Sky Outdoors with her and Zach, and one of them was the sloppy shooter. Her voluntary cooperation seriously helped her."

  "Wow."

  "How did you work out Thomas Mackleton being her brother?" asked Solomon.

  "I didn't. Not until I saw her face fall when I told her he was dead. Then it clicked. Vanessa. The robbers' Army training. Nessa the sister who escaped to the Army. Thomas wasn't so lucky but she came back for him. She introduced him to Zach. I don't think she had a clue what Zach was really like."

  "I watched Garrett interviewing her. I got the impression she knew nothing about Sophie or the Gallos’ life in Milwaukee."

  "Really?"

  "She said she would never get involved with a married man."

  "That was the least of her problems," I scoffed.

  We walked down a long corridor and turned the corner, following the signs to the room number Austen gave Solomon.

  "You know this isn't really the conclusion to the case I expected," I told him as we neared the room. "I quickly guessed there was something strange about Sophie's fall but I tried not to believe Austen's suspicions had any basis. I feel so bad for him."

  "He wanted the truth. You gave him that. Sophie should have, but you did."

  "I think she planned to eventually. Hey, I want a nice case next time."

  "Is there such a thing?" Solomon stopped. "We're here. Are you ready for this?"

  "Nope," I said as I pushed the door open. When we stepped in, I was surprised to see Austen perched on Sophie's bed, one foot on the floor, her hands folded in his and resting in his lap. Maddox and Farid both leaned against the wall and Jord was sitting in an uninviting chair.

  "Hi," I said, trying to temper my curiosity. "You're awake. It's so nice to meet you, Sophie."

  "Yes, I am," said Sophie, her voice hoarse. Austen reached for a tumbler of water on the stand next to the bed and held the straw to her lips. She sipped and rested her head on the pillow. "You must be Lexi Graves. Apparently, you worked everything out."

  "I'm not sure I worked out everything. I'd like to hear it from you."

  "We've already talked," said Austen. "I think you'll be interested to hear what Sophie has to say."

  "Then let's get started," said Maddox.

  "I am Sophie Gallo," she said, "But you're right, I'm not Sophie, the sister. Zach was my husband until I supposedly died. Officially, anyway. His sister stole my car one night. Not the first time, I should add, and I know she was high because I saw her earlier that day and she was already wasted. She came by the house, demanding money and I said no and told her to leave, but on the way out, she must have grabbed my keys because minutes later, I saw her peel out in my car. Zach and I went after her. She was going so fast that she crashed and we watched my car blow up. Zach said we should pretend she was me. She was my height, my size, and driving my car. It would solve all our problems, but he really meant his problems. I didn't want to go along with it but there was a small life insurance policy for me and we were broke. Zach was a dreamer but a gambler too. He spent everything we had and then some. He owed money to loan sharks. One turned up at our door and grabbed me by the neck and said the next time he came around, he'd take off my finger. Zach said it was the only way to get everyone off our backs. I was so isolated and scared of him, I just obeyed whatever he said."

  "You never considered leaving him?" asked Jord.

  Sophie shook her head. "No. I already lost my job and most of my friends had distanced themselves so Zach convinced me it was just the two of us. My mom recently died and my dad remarried and our relationship was never good anyway. I was just tired. No, I think I was depressed. And Zach hit me a few times too. I just wanted everything to stop. A new start seemed like a good idea."

  "Did you know about the
bank robbery in Milwaukee?"

  "No. I found out later, but at the time, no. I thought Zach was contracting for an old Army buddy. He was, I guess, just not in the legal sense. After we left, we kind of bummed around a while, looking for somewhere nice to live but Zach didn't like anywhere. He always managed to do something that riled people's hackles, so we just kept moving. And then we found this little town in upstate New York. I liked it and wanted to stay. Then I found a whole sack of money! I confronted Zach about it, assuming it was the money from my life insurance policy, except it was too much. Zach confessed he gambled the insurance money and lost it so I asked him where the hell this money came from and he started to hit me and hit me again. He broke my wrist." She stopped, breathing hard as she regained her composure. "I knew he stole it and after I looked online, I found out about the bank robbery so I knew that had to be it. He didn't want to start a new life anywhere or even try to solve our problems. He robbed a bank and just wanted to live on the run with me. Faking my death turned out to be a bonus."

  "Sophie hid the money," said Austen.

  "Why?" I asked.

  "It was wrong," said Sophie. "It was stolen. I couldn't... I couldn't let him keep it but I didn't know what to do with it. I thought about mailing it back but I was afraid I'd leave my fingerprints or something. Then Zach burned down the cabin we were renting. He smoked sometimes and lit a cigarette and set the place on fire. I was in the bedroom when I awoke and smelled the smoke. I got the money bag and threw it out the window before I climbed out and ran to the car. We were already mostly packed up to go. I just put the cash in the trunk when Zach came staggering out, drunk as always. I think he expected me to die in there, for real. He started raving about going back inside to get the money but the fire was too intense. He said we had to get out of there. He went crazy, saying everything was ruined and that money was the key to our future. I didn't tell him it was stashed in the trunk. As soon as I could, I repacked the money into my bag and threw the other bag away while he slept off the booze."

  "Where did you go next?"

  "We kind of wandered around for a while, picking up odd jobs that paid cash here and there, not that I could work because of my broken wrist. We slept in motels but Zach got paranoid. He said people were looking at us funny and he didn't like anyone talking to me. He decided we should go to a small city where we could become anonymous. The best place to hide, he said, was in a crowd of people, and I was getting so tired of running."