by David Carner
Jessica did a double-take of the car. John smiled.
“Bruce has the FBI car, the Moores loaned it to me,” John said.
“I get to drive it at some point, right?” Jessica asked, with a sly smile on her face.
John nodded and took off. Jessica sighed. She pulled out her cell phone and began making the calls for John’s back-up.
Chapter 60
Jessica finished her phone calls and headed over to Trip and Chet.
“Trip,” Jessica said as she walked up to her two friends. “John didn’t mean to be . . .” Jessica paused, searching for the word. A smile came to Trip’s face.
“So John?” Trip offered. Jessica smiled. “It’s ok, Jessica. We all know John; he means well. He probably thinks solving this case will make things better for me. He doesn’t think about human emotions the way we do. I honestly think it has something to do with his ‘skill,’” Trip used air quotes. He continued. “You all know we’re gonna have to tell him that someone broke Sam’s neck.”
“He already suspects,” Chet said. Trip and Jessica both looked at Chet. “Remember, Stephen’s interview with John?” Chet and Jessica both nodded, and then looked at each other at the same time. They both turned toward Chet. Chet looked confused.
“Does John know that interview was taped?” Jessica asked. Chet shrugged.
“I tried to cover some things when I slipped, but I suspect he does,” Chet answered. “Either way, he already said fire is a good way to hide evidence,” Chet glanced at the fire. “How big of an explosion do you think we’ll get to witness when he finds out someone broke her neck and then burned the body to cover it?” Chet glanced over at Trip. Jessica looked like she could strangle Chet. “I’m so sorry, Boss, I wasn’t thinking.” Trip waved it off.
“Something doesn’t feel right about all of this,” Trip said. “Stephen just showing up to conduct John’s reinstatement session . . .” Trip trailed off, lost in thought. “Chet, can you do a search on Stephen’s financials and make sure no one can trace it?” Chet looked insulted. “I’m sorry, Chet, we just need to be extra careful on this one.”
“Do you think Stephen and Bruce are working together Trip?” Jessica asked. Chet’s mouth dropped open. Trip didn’t know how to react to the question.
“I mean, it’s obvious we three think Bruce had something to do with Thelma’s death and now I’m beginning to wonder about Sam’s death. Are the two of them working together, or possibly even for someone?”
Trip thought about it for a moment. “I honestly don’t think Bruce would work for anyone, unless it suited Bruce. Let’s get to Baltimore, I don’t want to take a chance we’re right about Bruce and he tries to do something to John.”
The three ran to their car and headed toward the address Chet had found. As the car left the crime scene Trip took one last look at Thelma’s house.
Jeremiah Cosby
At an Undisclosed Location
Chapter 61
Jeremiah had been sitting quietly for what he felt was an eternity. He had no idea what time it was. He was tired, hungry, and his body was cramping from being tied in the same position for what seemed like days. Also, he really needed to go to the bathroom. Jeremiah swallowed and decided he had to say something or he was going to wet himself.
“Hello,” he called out.
The room was quiet. Jeremiah listened but didn’t hear anyone. Wait, what was that noise. Was it really something or was Jeremiah’s mind playing tricks on him. Jeremiah decided to try again.
“Is someone there?” Jeremiah called out.
Jeremiah heard a door opening. He tried to control himself, but the events he had been through had pushed him to the breaking point. Jeremiah began to sob.
“For the love of God man, either shoot me or let me go to the bathroom!!!” Jeremiah screamed. He decided mentally he had enough. Something had to give. If they were going to kill him so be it.
Jeremiah heard the door in front of him open very slowly. Sweat was pouring out of every pore of Jeremiah’s body. He was sure he was about to die. Jeremiah realized he was wrong. He didn’t want to die. Jeremiah was desperate.
“If you kill me,” Jeremiah began. “You should know that my good friend, Agent John Fowler will hunt you down.”
Jeremiah listened and didn’t hear anything. He panicked.
“Please don’t kill me,” Jeremiah sobbed. “I want to live.” Jeremiah was crying freely. “I want to live.”
1 Hour Earlier
John and Bruce Racing to Jeremiah’s Location
Chapter 62
John’s car topped out over 100 mph. Bruce had met him downstairs at the hotel and they had taken off. John glanced at Bruce’s face for just a split second. He didn’t dare look too long at the speeds he was driving.
What John saw, or didn’t see, puzzled him. There was no emotion on Bruce’s face. John played back through his head what Trip had said to John about Bruce back in the New York office. Could Bruce be a sociopath? If he was . . . John didn’t like what was going through his mind. Bruce interrupted his thoughts.
“Is Trip OK? To lose someone like that must be absolutely tragic.” Bruce said. John had filled in Bruce as to what had happened to Thelma.
“I don’t know,” John answered truthfully. “He’s so wrapped up with your Dad right now that I don’t know if he’s allowing himself to process what has happened.”
Bruce sat quietly for a second.
“If my father died, John,” Bruce began. He didn’t complete the sentence. John glanced at Bruce. He could see the sorrow on Bruce’s face. He could see the worry. John silently chastised himself for thinking Bruce had been connected to Thelma or Sam.
“Bruce,” John began. “How about you and I try to act like real human beings and put this rivalry behind us? I mean it’s really gotten out of hand.”
Bruce made a laughing noise in his throat. He smiled and nodded, never looking in John’s direction. Bruce was secretly celebrating inside. He had gotten John to feel sorry for him. If only he knew . . .
“I think that is an excellent idea, John,” Bruce replied.
John started to say something but the GPS interrupted them. John navigated his way through the city streets to arrive at their destination. John looked around, thinking SWAT would already be at the scene. He picked up his phone to call Jessica to see where they were, when he noticed Bruce checking his gun. Bruce nodded at John and opened the car door. Bruce got out and headed toward the warehouse. John quickly opened his door and ran after Bruce.
Chapter 63
John finally caught up with Bruce inside the large warehouse. It was going to take some time to clear.
“Bruce,” John hissed. “What are you doing!?!”
“My father is in there, John,” Bruce replied in the same whispered tone. “What would you do if it was your Dad?? Would you wait for backup?”
John nodded, frustrated. He knew exactly what he would do. They were going to have to do this alone.
“Ok,” John relented. “But we do this slowly, clearing each room before we enter the next one.”
Bruce nodded. They began to work their way through the warehouse, checking each room thoroughly before moving to the next one. Suddenly John grabbed Bruce’s arm, stopping him. Bruce imagined pulling out a machete and chopping John’s arm off for dare touching him, but he pushed the thought from his mind.
“Did you hear that?” John asked. Bruce hadn’t heard anything. He listened carefully. There, he heard it. It sounded like someone shouting. They headed forward, carefully, but quickly. They heard noises from the door in front of them, and Bruce slowly opened the door. It creaked loudly. They heard a voice from inside.
“If you kill me,” Jeremiah began. “You should know that my good friend, Agent John Fowler, will hunt you down.”
John slowly closed his eyes. He knew Bruce was going to be livid over that one. He opened his eyes to see Bruce staring right at him.
“Well, at least his h
ero is here to save him,” Bruce said. He gestured for John to go through the door first. John shook his head no. Bruce walked through the door as John heard the Senator.
“Please don’t kill me,” Jeremiah sobbed. “I want to live.” Jeremiah was crying freely. “I want to live.”
Chapter 64
“Dad,” Bruce called out. “It’s me. Is anyone else here?”
“Bruce? Bruce, is that really you?” The Senator couldn’t believe his ears. “No, Son. No, I don’t think anyone else is here.”
Bruce rushed over to his dad and started to untie him. John kept them covered. He reached for his cell phone and called Jessica.
“Jessica,” John said. “We found him. Send an ambulance, but he looks ok.”
John quickly hung up. The Senator was hugging Bruce, and Bruce was looking very uncomfortable. The Senator broke the hug and began to hurry across the room.
“Senator?” John asked. “Senator, where are you going?”
The Senator never broke stride.
“John, good to see you, ole boy,” the Senator answered. “I have to go visit the water closet for a few moments. I do hope you’ll excuse me.”
As the Senator closed the door to the bathroom, John looked at Bruce. John was softly chuckling. Bruce was looking at the bathroom door, shaking his head. As they were standing there, they heard loud noises coming from the rooms outside. They both crouched and aimed their guns at the open doorway. They both heard the unmistakable shout of Jessica.
“FBI!!!” She yelled.
“We’re in here, Jessica, it’s just us,” replied John. Agents began to swarm the room, securing it. Trip and Jessica walked in, and looked around, confused.
“Bruce, John . . .” Trip began. “Where’s the Senator?”
John looked over at Bruce. Bruce extended his arm toward John as if to say, go ahead.
“Well, m’boy,” John said in his best imitation of the Senator. “I say, the good Senator had to visit the water closet and asked us if we would extend his regrets in missing you.”
“That’s good, John,” Bruce said. “You should have worked an, ‘I declare’ in there somewhere, but that’s good.”
Jessica began to chuckle. Trip looked from Bruce to John and back. Trip looked at the ground and shook his head. At this moment the Senator opened the bathroom door.
“Did I miss something?” The Senator asked.
“Not a thing, Dad,” Bruce replied walking away. “Not a thing.”
Chapter 65
Paramedics arrived at the warehouse along with FBI techs. The techs began to slowly process the entire scene. John, sitting on a desk, watched them from a distance. Right now he was really enjoying the war of words taking place between the Senator and the EMTS. The EMTs were insisting Jeremiah go to the hospital. Jeremiah was insisting that he was fine. John was a little surprised when Bruce walked up and sat down beside him.
“Is there any chance of him actually going to the hospital?” John asked.
Bruce shook his head. He leaned forward and gripped the side of the desk with his hands.
“Actually, I think he will,” Bruce replied. “This one scared him. I think he knows how close he came to dying and it’s taken something out of him.” John looked a bit surprised and then slowly nodded. Bruce turned toward John. “Thank you, John. You’ve found my father. You don’t know what that means to me. There are things the Senator needs to know that I’ve never had the courage to tell him. When all of this settles down, he and I are going to have a long talk.”
Bruce was very proud of himself. He had told John the truth . . . he just hadn’t told John what he and the Senator would be talking about. John smiled and clapped Bruce on the shoulder. Bruce saw himself grabbing John’s arm and twisting it out of the socket. Bruce pushed the mental image aside. John removed his hand from Bruce’s shoulder and looked back over at the EMTs continuing to argue with the Senator. John shook his head, smiled, and looked back at Bruce.
“We’re not done yet you know,” John replied. “We need to talk to him, and soon, Bruce.”
“I know we do, but we both know who was behind the kidnapping,” Bruce stated. “That little weasel Luke did it for the former First Lady’s affections.”
“That may be true, Bruce, but we have to prove it first,” John said. “I would love to hear that Archibald had something to do with it.”
John slid off the desk. His cell phone buzzed and John looked down at it. He had just received a text from an unknown number. David George, the man who had tried to kill the former First Lady, had texted him.
“John, it’s David George. I just wanted to let you know that I have agreed to go into a psychiatric hospital. Charges are not going to be pressed against me. Please find something on the Staples family soon. I don’t know if I can handle the nightmares they cause me. I keep having dreams of getting my own brand of justice, and I need to have peace.”
John showed Bruce the text. Bruce whistled.
“John,” Bruce said. “That guy may be a special kind of crazy. He isn’t done with them yet.”
“I know,” John replied. “I hope they keep him locked up for a while. I’m not convinced he won’t try to kill Veronica or Archibald.”
“Would that be a bad thing?” Bruce asked.
John shot Bruce a look and Bruce smiled broadly. John shook his head and chuckled. He looked down at the text again and re-read it. John had a sinking feeling that things were getting worse instead of better.
David George
Psychiatric Hospital
Chapter 66
Tom Evans, David George’s lawyer, looked quite upset. That was nothing new for Tom. He was always upset. He couldn’t understand why he kept getting clients that wouldn’t listen to his legal advice. Tom had just sent Special Agent John Fowler a text. It was from his current client, against Tom’s advice. Tom normally wouldn’t do something like that, but David didn’t have access to a cell phone, and Tom had learned that David could be quite persuasive when he wanted to be. Quite honestly, David scared Tom.
Tom didn’t like David George. In fact, Tom was certain David had murdered five people and would have killed the First Lady if it hadn’t been for agent Fowler.
“Something wrong, Tom?” David asked, jerking Tom away from his thoughts.
“Yes,” Tom replied forcefully, but nervously. “You don’t listen to any of the advice I have given you. You don’t like me.” David smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Tom ignored him and continued. “Why do you keep me on?”
“A buddy said you were the best,” David replied. “It’s not your job to judge me Tom; it’s your job to keep me out of prison.”
“You’re a very evil man,” Tom spat.
David’s eyes grew very small. His nostrils began to flare, and a reddish hue came over his skin. Tom gulped. He knew he had just crossed a line. David spoke very quietly.
“I’m evil?” David asked. “I’m evil? Tom, you haven’t witnessed evil until you meet Veronica Staples. That girl killed my sister for nothing. My sister shared her greatest secret with Veronica, and she killed her. Then, to top it off she tried to have me killed. Why!?! Because she was afraid of what it would do to her image!!! I’m evil?? I’m evil!?!” David’s voice had been getting louder throughout the conversation. Tom was very nervous. He was afraid David was about to lash out. David realized what was going on, and calmed down. David smiled at Tom.
“Sorry, Tom,” David said. Tom was still scared. David leaned forward and whispered to Tom. “I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I’m going to give Agent Fowler a chance to take care of the Staples, and if he doesn’t, then I’m going to . . . permanently.”
David leaned back in his chair and began to chuckle. The chuckle continued to get louder and louder until he was in a full laughing fit. Tom was terrified. He was convinced David was crazy. As soon as David was admitted, Tom fled the hospital and promised himself that he would send David a letter letting him know he was droppin
g David as a client. Tom thought he might move as well, just in case David ever got out and came looking for him.
John Fowler
Warehouse in Baltimore, Maryland
Chapter 67
John watched as they loaded the senator into the ambulance. He had really wanted to question Jeremiah, and so had Jessica. He had to remind Jessica that the Senator was not a suspect. Jessica didn’t find that comment very funny. Bruce climbed into the ambulance with his father. John never thought he would see the day where those two got along. It was quite sad it took a near death experience to do it. John turned and saw Jessica, Chet, and Trip watching him. John pressed his lips together and blew air into his cheeks, looking like a chipmunk. He knew he had to go talk to his friends.
As he walked toward them, John thought back to a conversation he and Sam had once had. She had wanted him to attend a ball hosted by her parents. John had completely resisted, but had finally relented when he had learned that Senator Cosby was going to attend. John smiled. It had been the Senator’s idea for the three of them to team up together. From that point on, well, as they say, the rest was history. He looked at the group and realized that there was a new history, one that he wasn’t part of. John realized he was feeling regret. Regret for the years he had walked away on the people that had tried to help him. John stopped in front of the group, trying to figure out what to say.
