Jen provided cover as Nick pushed Dom down to lie between the grill of his car and the curb. Nick rolled to take cover behind a pile of debris. He saw Jen trying to keep fire pressure on the men in the street and on the sidewalk to Nick’s left. Nick could see a shooter making his way behind Jen. Nick yelled, “Ten o’clock.” The man fell to the pavement an instant later.
Nick caught a glimpse of a light flash from above. A shooter was on the roof of the building across the street. Nick aimed his pistol to fire. He stopped. It was a woman. She pounded her fist to her heart twice, pointed to the side and lowered herself into position.
Bullets chipped the bricks behind Nick and a man fell directly to his left. Whoever this woman was, she was on their side. Nick yelled, “Shooter on the roof is ours.”
Jen answered, “Got it! Four o’clock!”
Nick shot the advancing man and looked at Dom who was bleeding from his shoulder. Nick yelled to him, “You’ve been hit. Stay down!”
Nick crawled over to Dom and saw a bundle taped on the undercarriage of Dom’s car. Nick said, “Jen, bomb under Dom’s car. Someone’s got a detonator.”
Dom’s eyes opened wide. Nick grabbed his shirt and helped him up to a crouching position. “Run into the bar when I say ‘now’. I’ll cover you.” Nick and Jen provided cover as Dom ran into the bar. Two more cars pulled into the scene. Feds.
Six agents jumped from the cars, rifles pointed.
The remaining three shooters in the street dropped their weapons and raised their hands. A man standing at the edge of the building opened his jacket and reached for his shirt pocket. Nick shot him in the forehead and he fell. The street was finally silent. Nick walked over and removed the detonator from the man’s shirt. He held it up for the agents to see as Jen ran over.
“You okay, pretty boy?”
“Just fine, doll face.”
They both leaned against the bricks and surveyed the damage. Nick looked up to the roof across the street. The woman stood, shoulder length brown hair blowing in the wind. She placed her open hand over her heart, turned, and vanished.
Nick cleared his throat, “I think I just saw my mom.”
* * *
Sirens converged on the area surrounding Dom’s bar. Nick walked inside to find Dom sitting in a booth. He motioned for Nick to sit.
Nick shook his head, “EMTs are here. We need to get your shoulder looked at.”
Dom stared at Nick and said, “This is just a flesh wound. You saved my life. Twice. If you hadn’t seen that car bomb…”
Nick said, “Just doing my job, Dom. Let’s go.”
“Everyone is in such a hurry. Your name will be honored by my associates.”
Nick couldn’t say what he wanted to. “Let’s go. I just stopped by to say good morning. I’ve got work to do.”
Dom stood and smiled, “Do you always bring grenades to your morning meetings?”
Dom clutched his wounded arm and Nick helped him stand. Dom looked through the gaping hole in the wall and moaned at the sight of his heavily damaged Town Car.
Nick grinned at Dom’s expression. “That might buff out.”
* * *
Renee arrived at the gate to Brookfield Place and noticed the usual guard had a uniformed Chicago police officer standing with him. She showed her ID badge and drove back to Building D. Everywhere she looked there were police cars and vans. She assumed they had worked through the night or it was a new shift. She had only gotten a few hours’ sleep before her alarm went off.
She saw Ryan’s car in the employee lot. Ryan was standing by the back door. Renee walked up to him and said, “I’m glad you came in today.”
Ryan opened the door for her and said, “I was going to say the same thing to you.”
The transformation of Building D was nothing short of miraculous. Nurses and doctors were conferring over patient charts. Housekeeping was mopping floors and Renee could hear a bustling of sounds coming from the kitchen. A loudspeaker pleasantly announced that patients were invited to resume use of the craft rooms and entertainment lounges.
Ryan must have read her mind, “Seems crazy, doesn’t it?”
Renee and Ryan looked at each other and started laughing. Renee couldn’t stop. It was such a relief to see Building D functioning properly. The patients deserved it. The staff deserved it. She knew it would take a lot of time before everything was fixed, but it was a strong start. The involvement of the FBI gave her hope. Certainly Brookfield Place would be under many watchful eyes now.
Renee asked Ryan, “Are you going to keep working here?”
Ryan answered, “No one has told me I can’t yet. I’m a little worried about smuggling out a patient though. I’m sure there’s something about that in the employee handbook.”
Just then Marcus walked around the corner and headed toward them. He was holding a clipboard and wearing a white doctor’s jacket. Renee’s heart sank.
She whispered to Ryan, “Did you know he was back?”
Ryan shook his head.
Marcus stopped when he reached them and pointed to his ID badge that said “Pretend Doctor, Marcus”. Then he turned around to show them that someone had used a black marker and wrote ‘NOT a Doctor’ on his jacket.
He turned back around and smiled, “I hope you both aren’t mad at me for coming back. You went to so much trouble.”
Ryan shook his head and Renee asked, “Why did you come back?”
Marcus rolled his eyes and sighed, “It’s too crazy out there.” He walked down the hall exchanging greetings with everyone he passed.
Ryan looked at Renee, “I suppose you’ll be transferring back to Building A now.”
Renee surprised herself when she answered, “I think I’m needed here more.”
* * *
Agent Phillips stood by Nick and Jen’s car. The bomb squad worked to clear the scene so the bodies could be removed.
He glanced at Nick. “These are Milo’s boys. They seem to have taken issue with Milo being gone now.”
“What happened?”
“A change in leadership of the Northside crew. Dom convinced the Outfit boss that Milo was behind the massacre at his estate.”
Nick frowned, “Dom knows it was Joey Lacastra.”
Phillips chuckled, “That’s the way it works with the mob. It’s all about leverage and mistrust.”
Nick asked, “How did you know to come here?”
“I was just going to ask you that. I got a tip.”
Nick shrugged, “We just stopped to say good morning.”
Phillips threw his head back and laughed. “With a grenade? You know, it hasn’t been…”
Nick interrupted him as he opened the driver’s door of the car. “I know. It hasn’t been three days.”
Phillips looked at Nick, “I heard from the guys at your dad’s place. We’re never going to get them to leave. I’ve been told to ask your dad how long we can stay there. What do you think?”
Nick said, “I’m sure he’ll work with you. I would suggest months vs. years. Dad knows how long these cases can take.”
“Yes, he does. The Bureau will find something suitable if I apply pressure, which I will.”
Phillips watched Nick and Jen pull away and he walked over to where Dom was being bandaged by the EMTs.
When the EMTs were done and gone, Phillips asked, “The Outfit doesn’t know we have Cummings, do they?”
Dom frowned. “No, they do not.”
“Sucks to be you when they find out. You were lucky this morning.”
Dom rubbed his shoulder and said, “Luck had nothing to do with it. Stryker was here.”
CHAPTER 23
Thursday 9:00 a. m.
Nick glanced over to Jen as they waited for the EMT van to move so they could pass through the street. “Are you sure you are okay?”
Jen grinned, “It got a little dicey for a while. Your grenade came in handy.”
“That’s what I keep telling the Chief! Nobody wants to listen
to me.” Nick and Jen both chuckled. Nick’s expression turned serious, “I have a theory.”
“It’s cooked now?”
Nick smiled. “Billow and this Dr. Elmhurst obviously found ways to steal money from Brookfield Place both through operations and reselling drugs. Cummings said Dr. Elmhurst pulled 140 grand cash from a bottom drawer of his desk and there was more there. You get cash from selling drugs.”
“Let’s say that Tyler’s estimate of six times the normal amount of drugs had been ordered over the last six weeks is correct. Let’s also say that much of the money being sent monthly for operations was diverted to end up in their pockets. My guess is that they made close to two million just in the drugs. Who would trust Jake Billow as the number two man in a scheme that sophisticated and risky?”
Jen shrugged.
Nick said, “Not only is Dr. Elmhurst sophisticated but he’s clean. No record of his prints or facial recognition on any database. No criminal record. Why pick Brookfield Place? If you’re that smart, why risk everything you have pulling off a mutiny and robbery in a facility for the criminally insane? There are easier ways to start a life of crime.”
Jen asked, “Why do I have the feeling you know the answer?”
“Because I do. Dr. Elmhurst is Darren Billow, Jake’s older brother.”
Jen stared at Nick as she processed what he had said. The EMT van had moved and Nick headed their car toward the highway.
Jen said, “I got the impression at Jake’s trial that Darren didn’t really like him. He threw him under the bus whenever he had the chance.”
“Exactly. He wanted him to end up at Brookfield or someplace like Brookfield. I bet if the visitor logs are ever found, Darren began visiting Jake as soon as he got there. I think Darren is the brains of the two. He decided when to take over Building D and how to take it over. Jake did the dirty work. They almost succeeded without a hitch.”
“I don’t think Darren had any idea that the Building D administrator was in charge of sending the mob their skim every month. When they killed the real Dr. Elmhurst and stopped paying the skim, they got the mob on their backs.”
“Darren knew the mob was trouble he didn’t need. He paid Cummings the cash to make it go away. I think Jake followed Cummings from Brookfield and stole the cash back for himself.”
Jen shook her head, “Wow, you have really given this some serious thought.”
Nick grinned, “That’s what we do.”
Jen chuckled. “So, what do you think is happening now? It looks like both Darren and Jake are still in Chicago.”
“I think they are, too. Phillips thinks that Dr. Elmhurst, Darren, got wind the FBI was at the airport. They probably were going to meet outside of the country somewhere. Darren was flying out on Dr. Elmhurst’s ID and Billow was flying out on Dr. Bates’s.”
Jen asked, “Do you think Darren knew Jake would kidnap Lacey?”
Nick shook his head. “I don’t see him wanting that complication. It doesn’t fit. I think last night’s 10-24’s and taking Lacey was all Jake. I bet Darren is trying to figure out how to fix it. At best, they only have a few hours to escape the country. Darren could leave the country on his own ID. Jake can use Dr. Bates’ ID until his body is identified. If Darren is going to help Jake kill me before they leave it’s going to have to be soon. I told Phillips to put out an APB on Darren and the ID for Dr. John Bates. We’ll see.”
Nick glanced to his left and then turned right, away from the city.
Jen asked, “Where are we going?”
“If I’m right, Darren has two choices: force Jake to leave now before he causes any more trouble or clean up Jake’s mess and help him kill me.”
Jen frowned, “Darren has been cleaning up after Jake his whole life.”
Nick answered, “Yes, he has.”
“You know where they are?”
“I think so.”
* * *
Wayne was uneasy. He couldn’t explain it. He walked over to Nick’s computer and searched his recent browser history. He yelled over to Sam, “Did you know Stryker has been researching Jake Billow’s brother?”
Sam answered, “Yeah. He had me do a property search on him yesterday. He asked me to look up vacant land, anything.”
“Did you find anything?”
“Not much, a dumpy cabin south of town on about 80 acres. That’s it. The guy must rent his primary residence.”
Wayne pulled up the old newspaper articles Nick had marked on Billow’s trial. “Hmm. I never knew that.”
Sam stopped what he was doing, “Never knew what?”
“Billow’s dad, mom and sister were killed in that theater massacre six years ago. This article says they were caught in crossfire between the two shooters and the police. The medical examiner said they had bullets from both the shooters and the police in their bodies. He couldn’t determine which bullets had been the fatal shots. Billow tried to sue the state for unlawful death.”
Sam said, “I heard that was why he always killed cops three at a time. One for his dad, mom and sister.”
Wayne said, “It’s also another reason for Jake to focus on killing Stryker. Stryker arrested him and Stryker probably seems like ‘super cop’ to Jake. He might be thinking he has an advantage on Nick by kidnapping Lacey.”
“Except he doesn’t have Lacey.”
“He doesn’t know that, remember?”
Wayne did a Google search on the property address Sam had given him. It turned up an article about a militia group that had been using the land for a training site. A picture of the land owner arguing with authorities was at the top of the article.
Wayne yelped. “Holy cow. Dr. Elmhurst is Darren Billow. Look at this picture.”
Agent Phillips walked in the room and dropped a mangled wad of metal on Wayne’s desk.
Wayne said, “I’ll bite. What’s that?”
Phillips chuckled, “What’s left of a grenade Stryker threw this morning at Dominick Guioni’s bar.”
Phillips told Sam and Wayne about the morning attack of Milo’s men at Dom’s. “I figured he and Jen had come back here.”
Wayne said, “Nick figured out that Dr. Elmhurst is Jake’s brother, Darren. I think he went to hunt them down.”
Wayne showed Phillips the article about the militia farm and Sam offered the address he had given Nick this morning.
Sam pointed at Wayne. “I think mother hen is worried Nick is going to get in over his head.”
Phillips used the web browser on his phone and then looked up. “I’m with Wayne on this one. We’ve been watching this group. They’re very well-funded and heavily armed. They even have a couple of helicopters. We haven’t pinned anything on them yet. Darren is a member of this group. For the right price, he could easily get a few of them to help. They’d like nothing better than to kill a cop. The membership list of this bunch reads like a who’s who of people kicked out of the other groups.”
Phillips frowned, “I gave Nick the GPS info for the phone Darren was using. He was definitely headed toward this property. Jake’s last signal was also heading south before they both went silent.”
Wayne said, “That explains why Nick had me set up surveillance on Jake’s house. He thinks Jake is heading to the cabin to set a trap. This militia group isn’t good news.”
Phillips said, “He probably figures there isn’t enough time for them to organize and get to the cabin. Nick doesn’t know they have copters. We found out from a tip and then confirmed it ourselves. He’s not even worried about them.”
Sam pulled the earpiece that Nick had given him from the drawer and so did Wayne.
Wayne looked at Sam and said, “Road trip.”
* * *
Kamber left a note for Lacey that she and Chad were going to the University to talk to Professor Stryker. Kamber reminded Lacey that the police were watching her townhouse, so she was safe.
On the way to the University, Chad said, “Isn’t it funny how fast we changed our mind about the
documentary?”
Kamber nodded. “I’m glad we’re on the same page. We’ll still have a powerful documentary about the homeless, but we’ll just concentrate on the homeless people that don’t live in the tunnels. I don’t want to even suggest that there is a community of underground homeless people. Their lives are hard enough as it is. If anyone discovers them, they’ll have to move back up to the streets. I can’t imagine how this system became so unfair. By the way; I Googled ‘Utah homeless’ like Joseph told us to do. Utah has reduced the number of homeless by 78% in the last seven years. It is a brilliant program and it’s being copied by several states.”
Chad said, “At least there’s some good news. We have great footage from the people we interviewed that didn’t live in the tunnels. Heck, the footage from people that aren’t homeless is great, too. Especially those you stopped on the street and asked how long they could go without income before they lost everything.”
Kamber said, “How about that lady that started crying? She was working three part time jobs so she wouldn’t lose her house. That was scary. That reminds me, I want to find a cheap apartment. And maybe a roommate to help with expenses. If I can find a job, I can still take a few classes and maybe even save some money.”
Chad offered, “I was looking for a roommate myself. Not a girl though.”
“What’s wrong with girls?”
“They can’t read GPS maps for one!”
Kamber slugged his arm. “How much would it cost me to be your roommate?”
Chad looked out the window and smiled, he didn’t want Kamber to see. “Four hundred bucks and we split food.”
“I saw you smile in the window reflection. We’re just friends, right? You’re not getting all weird?”
“You’re the weird one!” They bickered back and forth until they reached the campus. Kamber reached in the backseat and got their notebooks. Chad got their camera equipment.
Chad cinched the video camera strap and asked, “What do you think Professor Stryker is going to say when we tell him we want to do ‘True Crime’ reporting?”
Twisted: Nick Stryker Series, Book Two The Shallow End Gals Page 20
