I got in the police car and drove away from the curb. Usually, cops take out their keys and set an engine run lock, to prevent theft, but the sheriff didn’t expect me to put up any trouble.
Where was I getting my super-human attitude from? How long would it last before I suffer from adrenaline crash?
I drove the two blocks to Karen’s apartment and saw a car in front of the main door. I drove up from their back side. Two men were seated inside, but I saw the back of their heads. I remember writing an article on the inside of a cop car and its instrument panel some time back, so I pulled up and flipped on the bright lights, hoping they would turn around and see who it was.
It was Willi and T-Bone, waiting for orders. I saw them but the blinding light prevented them from seeing me. I turned on the loudspeaker and spoke into the mic, “Move the car to the back door and wait for my signal, boys.” I tried my best to hide my Boston accent. They hesitated so I spoke again, “Move your ass before I shoot it off.” They started the car and drove around the corner. Now was my best chance. I parked the car, took out the keys and raced into the apartment, with the sheriff’s gun tucked into my pants.
I pounded on the door. “Karen, it’s Daniel, open up. Hurry, we’re in danger.”
The lock unbolted and Karen flung the door open. She was wearing a bathrobe and had cold cream on her face. She was just getting off the phone with her mom. “What’s going on?”
I grabbed her hand and pulled her outside. “No time to argue, we have to flee. I hope your room mates aren’t home.”
“No, they’re out, but I’m not dressed, Daniel. I can’t go out like this.” She began to tug back at me.
“Willi and some tough guys are parked in the back ready to kidnap you. I have to get you to safety.”
“Oh no.” She began to run downstairs keeping pace with me.
We made it to the front door and I checked through the window to see if the bad guys were around.
“I thought I heard a loudspeaker outside … Daniel, are you carrying a gun?”
“Shh, I’ll explain later.” The coast was clear, so we stepped outside and I led her to the cop car. “Get in, hurry.”
“What are you doing with a police car?”
“Not now, buckle up.” She sat in the passenger seat as I went around, opening the driver’s side. So far so good. The streets were almost empty. Just had to take a chance with any eyewitnesses seeing a civilian drive off in the sheriff’s car. I stepped on the gas and peeled out, maybe too fast. At that very moment, I swerved the wheel to avoid a side collision with Willi’s car that was coming fast around the corner. He made an angry face and put on the brakes as we passed by. I stepped on the gas to get out of there.
“He’s following us,” said Karen, looking over her shoulder.
“Not for long.” I was amazed by how much power a cop car had with acceleration. In no time we left Hamilton and proceeded north, leaving Willi’s car far behind us. The police radio began to request the sheriff to respond, so I turned it off. The car may have a transponder for tracking purposes, but I had no idea where it could be.
“Will you tell me why they’re trying to kidnap me?”
“It’s Bo Hopkins,” I said. “He wants to take over the book shop. If I didn’t hand over my deed and loan papers, he would have kidnapped you and written a nasty article in every newspaper in Texas, saying that the shop is a money laundering scheme. Hopkins has compromised Sheriff Driscol. He held me at gunpoint but I got away and took his squad car.”
“Daniel, we can get in big trouble. Are you taking me to the ranch?”
“No, that’s the first place they’ll look.”
“Our parents are there. Are they in danger too?”
“Call Kenny with your cell phone, get him and your dad to lock up the house and have their deer rifles ready.”
Karen pulled out her phone and made the call.
“They want to know what we’re going to do.”
“I don’t know. I’m figuring this out as we go along.”
“We gotta get help from somebody?”
I nodded and pulled out Jack’s business card while I tried to drive on the dark road. “Call this man, would you?”
Karen took the card. “You can’t use your phone?”
“I have a feeling it’s been tampered with so they could monitor me. Better to use yours.”
She dialed the number and turned on the loudspeaker. When Jack answered I explained the entire story to him.
“You’re in a police car?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m heading north toward Stephenville. I thought about finding you but I don’t know if I can make it to Dallas.”
“I have a better idea,” he said. “Stay on the road you’re on. I’ll track you with the transponder that’s emitting out of your car. Can you give me the car number?”
Jack can track a police car? Where does he get his hi-tech goodies from? I gave him the number.
“Ok, I see you on my screen. Do me a favor, when you get to Hico, take the road to Cleburne toward Dallas-Fort Worth. I’ll try to catch up with you. Keep your phone ready. I might need to call you for more instructions. Whatever you do, don’t answer the police radio or stop for anybody, OK?”
I had no idea what he had in mind but I said, “Ok, Jack. I hope this works, whatever it is.”
“Trust me, I know what I’m doing.” Famous last words.
Just then, we saw flashing police lights in the far distance from the rear-view mirror.
Chapter Nineteen
“Daniel, there must be at least three police cars behind us,” said Karen, who had wiped the cold cream from her face with her bath robe. The heater was on at full blast to keep her warm.
I looked once again through the rear view mirror. “So there are.” They were at least five miles away in the distance. The lights would disappear behind a hill then reappear again.
“What are we going to do?”
“Follow Jack’s instructions; that’s what we’re going to do.”
“I’m scared, Daniel. We’re in big trouble.”
“I saved your life, and mine too.”
“Tell that to the cops behind us.”
“They’re all corrupt,” I said, “working for Hopkins and Driscol.”
Just as I said his name, my smart phone rang; it couldn’t have been Hopkins because I had his phone – or was it?
“Hello,” I said, with the speaker phone on.
“Preis, you’re in so much dog-gone trouble it isn’t funny anymore,” blared the voice of Hopkins. “Just to let you know that sheriff Driscol and I have already commandeered your deed and loan papers from your house.”
“I think you’re the one who is in dog-gone trouble, you scumbag, for threatening me and breaking into my house. What are you going to do with them?”
“We’re going to forge notary documents with your signature, stipulating that you have given the debts of your enterprise to me, since your reputation has been destroyed by my article, which I have just sent off to the editors – you scumbag.”
“You can’t get away with this, Hopkins.”
“Well, you’re not having much success getting away from the police, Preis. It’s futile to run away. They’re not going to stop and leave. There’ll be even more cops on your ass, with roadblocks and helicopters and so on. You might as well give up now.”
“I’ll tell them what you said to me with all your schemes and threats.”
“It’s your word against mine. Who’s going to believe you?”
“I believe him,” shouted Karen into the loudspeaker.
“Miss Owens, it looks like you are an accomplice to Mr. Preis; like a Bonnie and Clyde group, if you tell me, sheriff.”
Sheriff Driscol’s laughter echoed from the loudspeaker. “You ain’t got a snowball’s chance in hell to get away, so pull over and give up now.”
“Well sheriff, it looks like the gas tank in the car we’re driving is still three-quarters f
ull,” I said and hung up.
We’d been driving over thirty minutes since we escaped from Karen’s kidnappers. I feared that a road block may already have been set up by the time we got to Hico, but there was none; we drove through the small town with no problems. In fact, drivers were slowing down when they saw us. I thought by this time the cops would have sent off a turbo-powered interceptor vehicle that the Texas Rangers have, that would be fast enough to catch up with me.
Karen’s phone rang again – it was Jack.
“You’ll see me in one minute, up ahead waving a red light. Don’t run me over, but follow me where I go. Got me?”
We were coming up to Cleburne when I saw a lone motorcycle in the middle of the road, about a mile ahead of us, waving a red light around. That had to be Jack – but alone? No cavalry to back him up? This was not reassuring. I followed him off the highway onto a dirt road, running alongside a lake which was visible from the highway street lights. I turned off my lights when we exited and hoped that the cops behind us wouldn’t find us. About three or four minutes later I saw the police lights coming over the last hill in the back, maybe still two miles away but coming fast. There must have been at least five cop cars, maybe six.
Jack pulled off the road and hid behind a tall bush, so I did the same. Dressed in full leather riding clothes for protection from the winter cold, Jack dismounted from his chopper and knocked on my window.
I rolled it down as he spoke, “We’re safe here.”
“Are you sure?”
He pointed his finger toward the road and said, “Back-up is here.”
From the opposite hill, in the direction of Cleburne, an army of motorcycles rode over the crest and began to park in the middle of the highway. There were about thirty or so riders. The noise of their Harleys roared like thunder in the evening.
“Your new Bandito club?” I asked. He nodded and pulled out a pair of binoculars and offered it to Karen. “Haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you, ma’am, but congratulations on the engagement.”
Karen took the field glasses from him and whispered, “Thanks.” She tried her best to cover as much with her bath robe as she could.
The first vehicle to stop in front of the motorcycle blockade happened to be Willi’s car. He had been driving without lights, in a vain attempt to avoid the cops. By the time Willi and T-Bone got out of the car, the police cars stopped all around Willi and T-Bone to prevent them from escaping, not that they were trying to flee. In a flash, both Willi and T-Bone were forced onto the pavement face down and cuffed. Other policemen were now confronting the Banditos for blocking the road. They continued to argue with each other.
“Let’s go,” said Jack. “Get on my bike.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because the cops will track this car down and find us.”
“All three of us on your bike?” Karen protested. “I’ll freeze on there.”
Jack opened the passenger door as a gesture for her to get out. “I have an extra jacket in my saddle bag, my lady. I assure you I will drive very carefully for your sake,” he said with a wink.
A minute later we were on our way, all three of us riding on Jack’s chopper. It must have looked ridiculous, but somehow we were able to manage to drive on the dirt road around the lake and through Cleburne. Half way through the town we pulled over to a diner, in an industrial area where rows of trucks from a depot were parked. Jack was also able to provide an extra pair of leather riding pants for Karen to wear. She looked sexy in leather and I had to take a mental note of it. Karen and I were startled when we heard a cop car pass through a nearby street with sirens blaring.
“They won’t search here,” Jack said calmly.
“Your riders?” I asked. “Are they going to get arrested because they blocked the road?”
“If they do get booked, it won’t be the first time,” he laughed. “No worries, they’ll be free this evening.”
We went in and took a seat in a corner. Jack bought coffee and doughnuts for us, all on him, he insisted. After settling in, he took his phone and started to talk to someone about our situation. I felt uncomfortable about how much information he was telling this stranger.
“It’s all set,” he said as he hung up. “We’ll stay right here. They’ll be here in fifteen minutes.”
“Who?” I asked.
“A friend of mine from Fort Worth. Works for the FBI.”
“You have an FBI contact?”
“I’ve had one since I turned in some Angel members in New York.”
“Will he believe our story?”
Jack nodded. “He should. He’s been looking for T-Bone for months now, since he started drug dealing in these parts.”
He was right. About twenty minutes later, four cars showed up at the café and a small team of men in black, with dark sunglasses and headphones walked in. Talk about an army of secret service agents.
One of the men shook hands with Jack and they chatted in a corner for a moment. The man shook hands with me and said, “Mr. Preis, everything is going to work out OK. Don’t you worry.” He flashed an FBI badge at me, the name looked long, like a Polish name that was too quick to read before he put it back. Even when he said his name, I couldn’t understand it.
Chapter Twenty
Karen and I saw the whole thing in the observation trailer, nestled together between a barrage of video screens and recording equipment. Four black cars silently surrounded the two-story villa just outside of Hamilton. It was almost midnight and one light could be seen from an upstairs window. A man dressed in a black combat outfit, got out of the car. Seconds later the man in camo hotwired the electric gate and deactivated the house alarm. The gate was forced open just a few feet wide, enough for eight armed men to go into the garden and surround the house.
A dog showed up in the garden and was beginning to bark, but one of the men fired from his rifle with a silencer and the powerful tranquilizer took the German shepherd down instantly.
When the signal was given that the premises were secured, they approached the front door. One of them knelt down to pick the lock, as the others had their weapons ready – two of them were wearing night vision goggles.
The door opened and they rushed in. ‘Team One’ took to the stairs and went to the next floor. ‘Team Two’ checked the rooms on the ground floor and the cellar. The all clear signal was given by team two via electronic headsets.
The team upstairs saw the sliver of light under a door in the hallway. They crept up to the door and the leader gave the command to charge in. Inside were three men in an office, sitting around a desk and working on a computer with a special printing machine. They looked up in shock.
“Freeze! FBI! Search warrant!” The four agents pointed their automatic weapons at the suspects. Bo Hopkins dropped the cigar from his mouth onto his desk. Sheriff Driscol stood up and put his hands in the air. The third man, the city notary, also part of the complot, was busy tapping away on the computer, preparing and printing forged documents on thick legal paper that would transfer the deed of the book shop and the loan from Daniel Preis to Hopkins.
“I’m almost done,” said the notary, as if he didn’t hear the agents charge in. He was wearing ear phones with loud music playing to help him concentrate. “Give me a minute.” He didn’t even look up to see who had come in.
A single shot was fired from one of the agent’s weapons. The single round penetrated the flat screen with enough room for the bullet to pass by the notary’s head and exit through the window behind him. As the computer screen blacked out, the notary froze to see the hole in the dead screen. He looked up, saw the FBI special units and said, “Oh shit, we’re screwed.”
After the three were cuffed and taken into separate cars, the FBI agent who had befriended Killer Jack came out of the house and entered the observation trailer where we were hiding. “Mission accomplished,” said the agent. “Not only did we catch them with their flies down, but we got your stolen documents back.”
The agent led us out of the trailer and escorted us to another car.
“What happens next?” I asked.
“We’re confiscating the computer and other evidence. They’ve been charged with attempted kidnapping, breaking and entry, theft, extortion, and other organized crime activity. We have another team at your house, Mr. Preis, dusting for prints. You may want to stay overnight somewhere else.”
“We’re staying at her parents’ house tonight,” I answered. “I hope I’m not going to get busted for using the sheriff’s car to rescue my fiancée?”
“What for? You did everything right,” said the agent. “And just for the record, I contacted the editors of those newspapers, asking them not to print the ludicrous story that Hopkins wrote, since it was part of a criminal act. They said they would ignore the email and not print it.”
“Thank you for all your help, sir.”
“Thank you, Mr. Preis, for helping us crack down on this group.” He opened the door to the back seat and allowed Karen and me to step in. "One of my men can take you back to where you need to stay. I’ll need you and the lady to identify the suspects tomorrow at our Fort Worth station.” He passed a card to me with the address and number on it.
“Will do,” I said.
Just then the door on the opposite side opened and Killer Jack jumped in with us.
“I’m coming with you,” he said.
The agent poked his head through the window. “Get some rest if you can and I wish you a good night.” He closed the door and signaled to the driver to leave.
“Can you take me to the book shop?” I asked the driver. He nodded and drove off.
“Why the bookshop?” Karen asked.
“My truck is there and I would like to take you back to the ranch.” I looked to the driver, “Is that Ok with you?”
“If you wish,” answered the driver. “And your friend here?”
Heart of Texas Page 15
