Twisted: Nick Stryker Series, Book Two The Shallow End Gals
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Nick had the first EMT unit that arrived divide their staff to help the wounded officer and head into the woods with Sam to get the women. Wayne and Nick moved the SUVs from the driveway entrance to allow for the additional traffic that would soon be arriving. Wayne took pictures of the fallen militia men before Nick dragged their bodies to the edge of the driveway.
The first EMT van left with the injured officer. Nick directed the staff of the second EMT van to run into the woods to help Jen with the women. The wails of approaching sirens screamed from all directions.
The coroner stepped out of his van and walked up to Nick. “Good morning.”
Nick replied, “Good morning.”
The coroner smiled, “You run out of grenades?”
Jen and Sam helped a woman walk out from the woods. Four EMT men carried two transport cots with the other two women. Nick and Sam ran over to help.
One EMT looked at Nick and said, “They wouldn’t have made it much longer down there.”
The woman standing next to Jen looked frail and sickly, but her eyes were alert.
Jen said, “All three women are nurses from Building D. Nick, meet Nancy Logan.”
* * *
Thursday noon
Frankie pulled his car into the storage unit and closed the overhead door. He opened his trunk, took out a folding chair and sat next to the freezer. He read the morning paper, did half of the crossword puzzle, and sighed. “I do miss you.”
Frankie stretched out his legs in front of him. That head had been with him for decades. To him, it was more than just a trophy. It was almost a friend.
“You know, things have really heated up lately. I’ve decided to buy a little house I found in New Buffalo, Michigan. You’ll like it. I gotta do something with all of that cash in my mattress anyway.”
Frankie stared at the freezer. “I’ll buy it this weekend and get a guy I know to build you your own little room. I’ll tell him it’s a wine cellar.” Frankie laughed at his own joke. “Wait a minute, if I get arrested, they’ll find you if you’re above ground. Maybe I should bury you before he pours the cement floor. Yeah, I’ll bury you before he pours the floor.”
Frankie stood and left the chair next to the freezer that happily hummed away. “That’s what I’m gonna do. New Buffalo has a new casino, did you know that? I can go play table games, eat at the buffet and go to shows.” Frankie took a deep breath. “Time the two of us got out of Chicago.”
Frankie raised the overhead door, pulled his car out, locked the door again and drove away.
Sophia watched him from her parking spot across the street and then pointed her car to drive back to the city.
* * *
After the transport team arrived, Nick, Jen, Wayne and Sam all met at Cubby’s for lunch. There was going to be a mountain of reports to fill out on the day’s activities. They all agreed that tomorrow would be soon enough to start them.
An alert from Control Central posted to their phones: the 10-24’s murderer had been caught by the homicide team of the 107th.
Wayne said, “Jeff Turner’s funeral will be in a few days.”
Jeff had been Billow’s last victim. A bright, young cop with the 107th, fresh out of the academy, his life ended with a sniper bullet. There was silence as each of them thought about his widow and two young children.
Nick looked at Jen. “You’re the one that broke this whole case. You did all the research and follow up on Billow. I was busy with Phillips and the mob.” Nick smiled at Wayne and Sam. “You guys put the twisted pieces together somehow and showed up as the cavalry. I’d say we make a good team.”
Sam stood to leave. “Good team or not, when the coroner finishes identifying the bodies in the crematorium, there will be more funerals. The safeguards don’t work anymore.”
Nick said, “The safeguards are gone. They’ve been sold. Our elected officials think they’re too expensive.”
Jen stood to leave. “But they can spend billions to get elected to office. I don’t get it.”
Agent Phillips walked in just as they were leaving.
Nick smiled, “You just missed lunch.”
Phillips asked, “You got time to sit while I eat a burger?”
Jen volunteered to ride with Wayne and Sam. She looked at Phillips, “I’m going home to sleep. Please don’t give him any more hot leads today.”
Phillips laughed and he and Nick took stools at the end of the bar. Phillips asked how it went with Jake and Darren. Nick gave him a blow by blow account of the arrest. Nick asked Phillips what was happening between the Northside and Westside mob crews.
Phillips finished his burger and smiled. “These guys are job security for me. There’s always something going on.”
Nick said, “I thought the mob had mostly died out except for some of the old timers.”
“That’s what they want everyone to think. Since 9/11 the Bureau has raped our budget of personnel and funds to work on mob business. Terrorism is the flavor of the month. The truth is, the mob is growing stronger every day filling that void. We just don’t have the manpower to keep up.”
“It doesn’t sound like Mom’s coming home too soon.”
“She’s working a short list. She might surprise you.” He grinned and Nick nearly asked him if he knew more than he was saying.
Nick said, “I think I have a case on Frankie Mullen, the old mob hit man. I can tie him to the hits that were arranged by Attorney Baxter and to my dogwood blossom.”
“Let’s let that sit a while. Those victims aren’t getting any more dead. Mullen is on my list, too.”
Nick chuckled. “Speaking of your list, now you have to find Milo Spulane’s body? Good luck with that. He’s going to be another Hoffa.”
Phillips twisted his stool to scan the room. Satisfied it was empty of curious ears he said, “We’ve had Hoffa since 1975 when he went missing. Well, most of him. Someone kept a trophy. We find the trophy, we find his killer.”
List of Characters for Twisted:
Cops:
Nick Stryker Chicago Homicide Detective, 107th Precinct
Jen Taylor Chicago Homicide Detective, Nick’s partner
Wayne Dunfee Chicago Homicide Detective, 107th Precinct
Sam Flores Chicago Homicide Detective, 107th Precinct
Steven Phillips FBI Agent, assigned Chicago Special Cases
Agent Miller FBI Agent assigned to track down rumor about Artie and blue cooler
Secondary characters:
Martin Stryker Nick’s dad
Lacey Star Nick’s girlfriend
Kamber Fry Lacey’s niece
Chad Wilson Film student that befriends Kamber
Momma Owns sandwich/ news shop
Mitch Jordan Momma’s son, half owner of sandwich shop
Eli Johnson Mitch’s friend, engineer for the City
Renee Johnson Eli’s sister, RN works at Brookfield Place
Tyler Goodman Administrator at Brookfield, Building A
Nancy Logan R.N. at Brookfield Place (missing)
Ryan Works at Brookfield Place
Marcus Newberry Patient at Brookfield Place
Sirus Corn Homeless man
Dr. Edmund Elmhurst Administrator of Building D at Brookfield Place
Dr. John Bates Physician at Brookfield Place
Joseph Self-appointed mayor of underground community
Jake Billow Confined patient at Brookfield Place
Darren Billow Jake Billow’s brother
Mobsters (Crew):
Dominick Guioni Westside Crew boss, (nickname Dom)
Milo Spulane Northside Crew boss
Frankie Mullen Semi-Retired mob hit man
Artie Corsone Retired mob ‘document’ man, friend of Momma
Travis Cummings Investment banker for Mob
Atty. James Baxter Attorney for the mob
Joey Lacastra New York mob hit man borrowed by Westside crew
Tommy Albergo Old mobster just out of prison
&nb
sp; Anthony Jarrett Old mobster just out of prison
Other books by the Shallow End Gals: Alcohol Was Not Involved, book one of trilogy Extreme Heat Warning, book two of trilogy Silent Crickets, book three of trilogy Catahoula
Nick Stryker Series
Cusp of Crazy
Twisted