“Well duh. Obviously I do or I wouldn’t have asked. Don’t act as stupid as you look,” I said.
I was tired of all the jerks asking dumb questions like they don’t have a brain.
“Go away.”
“Look twit,” I said showing him my badge.
“I’m Detective Bartoni and this is Detective Roberts. We need to ask you a few questions.”
“Sure,” he said and slammed the door.
“Kick it in,” I told Dan and then shouted “Runner” around the side of the house.
The door came crashing down and we both had our guns out. He could either try to make a break for it or hope to shoot it out. He seemed pretty stupid so far so a shootout was definitely a real possibility.
“Don’t be stupid Justin. We have men surrounding the place. You try to run and you’re going to get shot,” I yelled going in low with Dan right behind me.
We heard two quick gunshots. They came from someplace in the back of the house.
“Justin. Is this worth dying for?”
“You’re going to be the ones that die.”
“That may or may not be true but I can guarantee you will if you don’t just toss the gun out and then come out with your hands up. We have a lot more people here and your only options are to live or die. It’s up to you,” I shouted back.
The thought of a bomb did flash through my head but I figured he was just a mule. Belk’s gofer. I doubt he really knew much about bomb making.
Of course if I was wrong...well, no need to go there.
“I’m going to the wall,” Dan said, pointing over by the door leading back further in the house.
I nodded and got ready to cover him. He made the dash but no shots followed.
“Justin?” I yelled.
No answer. Crap, this was not good. I jumped up and rushed down the hall. Dan looked at me like I had lost my mind when I went running by. I reached the kitchen just as Justin was trying to connect a battery to a detonator.
“Justin. Stop right there. You even move one inch and I will shoot you.”
“I don’t care. I am not going to go to jail.”
“Justin. Think about what you are doing. You are part of the murder of innocent men, women, and children. Kids Justin. I saw a little girl with her foot almost torn-off still holding her teddy bear. She is a hell of a lot braver than you. Now put the damn thing down now.”
“Can’t do it,” he replied and moved his hand.
I shot him in the arm and he flew out of the chair. It was a pretty good shot even if I do say so myself. It caught him in the elbow causing the battery to drop to the floor. Dan reached down and picked it up.
“Why didn’t you kill me,” he moaned.
“I hope that hurts like hell,” I said walking out of the room.
Potts and his people came in through the back door. It might sound like they didn’t do much but actually they did just like they should have. If they would have come in several things
could have happened. There was a chance for one of our people to get hurt by crossfire. If he blew the place up, all of us might have ended up getting killed. I would have done exactly the same thing in their place.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Dan and I went along to the hospital as Hall was transported to the emergency room.
“How is he doing?” I asked the doctor looking over his elbow.
“He will live but I’m honestly not sure about the arm at this point. Once we get X-rays I will know more. I’ve sent for Dr. Warman. He is our top orthopedic surgeon. He will have to evaluate it.”
“Any chance he might lose the arm?” I asked.
“From my preliminary examination, I can see massive damage to the anterior, posterior and ulnar collateral ligaments. There doesn’t seem to be much to work with but Dr. Warman will make the ultimate determination,” he told me.
“When will he be here?”
“In just a few minutes. He is working on a special patient,” he told me.
“Okay. I’ll wait. Oh, nothing for pain for this guy.”
“I’m sorry, that simply is unacceptable. I’m a doctor. I will not allow him to just lie there and suffer.”
“Doctor. I respect the position you are in but don’t challenge me on this. This man is responsible for the death of over twenty people and counting. Not to mention the number who are maimed and hurt. They are suffering and many will be for the rest of their lives. He gets nothing unless it is to keep him from going into shock.”
He looked at me for several seconds, turned and walked out of the ER.
Okay, stop it. Think what this guy had just done. He ruined the lives of probably close to a hundred people. Do you think for one minute I have any sympathy for someone like that? If I could get away with it I would shoot him in the other elbow.
Fortunately I didn’t have to.
“I’m doctor Warman. I understand you are causing problems for a patient.”
“No. Just not letting him get away with not feeling the type of pain he inflicted on the people he bombed.”
“This is one of those people? Is this the Belk guy everyone was talking about?”
“No, not Belk but he works for him. He gets the material.”
He pulled back the curtain and went to look at Hill. He pulled his arm straight and Hill screamed in pain. I could see him sort of digging around in the gaping wound. Hill was screaming and yelling.
He turned and looked at me and said, “I just got finished working on the foot of a young girl who was injured in the bombing of the library.”
“Ah, yes. I saw you there. The little girl with the teddy bear.”
“Yes. I couldn’t save her foot. I wanted to so badly but too much damage had been done. Her father was killed as well. Fortunately she will still have her mother because she had gone back to the car to get another book they were returning.”
He turned and looked down at Hill. He leaned down and whispered something into Hill’s ear and then stood back up.
“I need to get X-rays and have him prepped for surgery. I will let you know when you can talk to him.”
“Thank you doctor. Warman, isn’t it?”
“Yes. You are Detective...don’t tell me, I saw you on television. Detective Bartoni.”
“I am indeed.”
“I must say, you look even better in person than on the television.”
I’m sure my mouth dropped open.
“Oh for heaven sake. I’m not the first person to tell you that,” he said.
“Actually, you are.”
“Huh. They must be pretty blind. Well, I will let you know when he is out of danger,” he said and off he went down the hall.
Dan came up beside me and just looked at me.
“Well?”
“What?” I asked.
“Nice guy.”
“Who. Oh, yeah I guess. He seemed okay.”
“Oh Bartoni. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that look before.”
“Knock it off or they are going to need X-rays for you next. Let’s go get something to eat. I’m starving.”
**
After we ate and got back to the station the first thing I did was Google Doctor Warman. I got about 3,000,000 hits. I wonder how they do that. I mean only a few are really about what and who you are looking for. The rest is just junk.
Anyway I found that he graduated from Johns Hopkins University. He was forty-four years old and his wife died in a car accident caused by a DUI driver three years ago. He had one daughter and one son. The daughter lived in Hawaii and the son lived in Canada. A long list of accomplishments and accolades followed. I was just settling into reading them when Dan looked over my shoulder.
“Dan. If you know what’s good for you, don’t say a word, just go down to the lab and see if they have anything from Hall’s car yet.”
“I was just on my way,” he said and headed down the stairs.
I read a few more articles and then figured I needed to slap my
self silly. I was acting like a school girl. Okay, so he was nice looking. I didn’t really pay that much attention to his brown eyes, brown hair with just a smattering of gray, or his height that was probably just at six foot. Anyway, I might have noticed it but I’m a trained professional. I’m supposed to notice things.
**
We had been so crammed into the conference room that mustard was the only thing missing from us being officially declared sardines.
“Agent Potts,” I said.
“Detective.”
“Can you tell me why we are seeing such an increase in homegrown terrorism?”
He stopped and looked around for a minute. It was obviously a tough question.
“Detective Bartoni, I want to answer you but I guess the truth is beyond my comprehension to some extent. For one thing, and I will deny I said this by the way, it is because the American public is considered to immature to handle the truth. We often have enough intelligence ahead of time but are kept from reacting because it might ‘alarm’ our citizens.”
“Wait. Are you telling me we know in advance when some of these acts will take place?”
“Detective Bartoni, stop and think about that for a second. We can’t stop every nut but I will not say that we cannot often warn the public in plenty of time to limit the damage. I will tell you that I know for a fact that I have tried to get information out on three previous occasions but was stopped from alerting the general population.”
“Stopped? Who in their right mind would want to stop you? That would be criminal,” I replied.
I was trying to come to grips with what I was being told. No one would intentionally withhold information that could save lives.
“It is not criminal if you are high enough up in the government to be able to determine what the people should know. Withholding information for the overall general good is considered acceptable.”
“By whom?”
“By those above my pay grade. Please, I’ve said enough. Don’t you think I stay awake nights knowing we could have saved lives but others think the American population can’t handle it. Do you remember the movie ‘A Few Good Men’ with Jack Nicholson? The best line of the movie was, ‘Truth? You can’t handle the truth’. That essentially sums it up.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
When our meeting was over all I wanted to do was take a shower. Instead I went to find Marsha Baker, the FBI profiler.
“Hey Marsha.”
“Angie. God, I need a bath. It was like standing in a testosterone shower, so much aggression was flowing.”
“I hear you. Listen, I won’t keep you long but I want to pick your brain about Belk and his band of scum.”
“Belk. There is a complex case. You want to know how I profile him and all I can say at this point is ‘complex’. I have read his file over and over, including his known background. The best I have come up with at this point is that he is a combination of things. First he is IED. Intermittent Explosive Disorder. It is often the associated with bi-polar personalities. It would help explain why he can go for a period of time without bombing and then something sets him off and he can’t control his outbursts,” Marsha explained.
“What about medicine? Doesn’t that help? He was getting treatment in prison.”
“If he took the medicine. Besides, medicine alone does not always work. It takes cognitive behavioral therapy as well. Our prisons aren’t very good in that area.”
“Okay, so he gets angry. That doesn’t mean he has to kill innocent people.”
“Angie, in his mind, he has been wronged. Real or perceived, that’s what he believes. If that was all that was wrong with him, it would be easier to figure out a profile but along with that he appears schizophrenic. Add to that he seems suffer from psychosis and you have one pretty messed up subject. If I could use just one term I would probably call him a misanthrope.”
“Meaning?”
“Hate of fellow man. He holds life in low regard and has no empathy for the suffering of others.”
“That’s just great. So other than the fact that he is crazier than hell, a profile isn’t exactly going to help us. I mean, we all know he is pretty much nuts and ruthless.”
“I can tell you that he will escalate his attacks. Each will be bigger and more damaging than the last. One thing I would caution is that the media be careful in how they portray him. Remember IED can be triggered by a small incident. Calling him crazy or something that refers to his mental condition could cause him to pick up the pace.”
Man, we were dealing with a fruitcake and if we say so we could get a lot of people killed.
“So what do we say to the media?”
“Present the facts of what happened. Don’t refer to him as a mad bomber who just wants to kill people. If he feels he is being made to appear evil he will respond. He has the ability to separate himself from the action of killing. Talking about killing innocent men, women, and children will have no impact on him. Their pain is something he can’t comprehend,” Marsha told me.
Now what? How do you control the media? Oh yeah, you don’t.
**
I found Dan and had him come with me to the captain’s office. I wanted to give him a heads up on this as well.
“That sure doesn’t help us much,” he said.
“It does and it doesn’t. I mean, we know we have to choose our words carefully but how will the media present it? Should we talk to the various news media heads and tell them what we know?” I asked.
“Ha. Like they care,” McGregor said.
“Wow. You’re starting to sound like Bartoni,” Dan said.
“I learned from the best,” the captain replied.
“Boys, I’m right here in the room.”
“Sorry,” McGregor said.
“Captain, I know this isn’t my place to bring it up but if a news conference is called there is no way that the Commissioner or Mayor should address the media,” Dan suggested.
“I know that, Angie knows that and you know that. They, on the other hand, do not and they make that determination, not me.”
“I know. I’m just saying.”
“Noted,” McGregor replied.
“Marsha also said the destruction would escalate. She feels the first two were just to get attention. He is just warming up.”
“Twenty-three dead as of this morning. Three still critical and another forty-two still undergoing treatment. Nearly thirty-five million in damage and he is just warming up. Bartoni, Roberts, we need to bring this guy down anyway we can.”
I looked at him for a minute. ‘Anyway we can’ has several meanings. Anyway we can legally? Anyway we can, pushing the limits? Anyway we can, anyway we can? It was one of those open statements that left a lot to interpretation.
**
“Detective Bartoni.” I said, answering my phone at my desk, with a mouth half full of sandwich.
“Good afternoon Detective Bartoni. This is Doctor Warman. We met at the hospital. I was the one who worked on the little girl.”
“Oh heaven’s yes. I certainly remember you doctor.”
“I’m surprised. You seemed quite interested in Justin Hill at the time.”
Geez, I think I was blushing. This is stupid Bartoni.
“So what can I do for you doctor?”
“You wanted to know when you could talk to Hill. He is alert and able to answer your questions.”
“Excellent. Can I come right now?”
“I don’t see why not. We can discuss his condition after you have had a chance to talk to him.”
“Thank you. Doctor Warman. We will be right there.”
“Just let me know when you arrive,” he said.
I was disgusted with myself. I was acting like a twit. I needed to get my professional face on. I did however, stop by the restroom and just take a quick glance at my hair and makeup.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“What did the Doc say?” Dan asked.
“Just that he was awake an
d alert and that we could talk to him.”
“Did he save his arm?”
“I didn’t ask him.”
Dan didn’t say anything.
“What?” I finally said, not being able to stand the silence any longer.
“Nothing.”
“Are you starting on the doctor again?”
“Angie, I have no idea what you are talking about,” he professed.
I like Dan. Really I do but he drives me crazy sometimes. Finally I decided I was making a mountain our of a molehill so I just let it drop.
“He seems like a nice guy,” Dan just had to interject.
“Dan Roberts, you are on report.”
“For what?”
“For harassing your partner.”
“That’s not an offence,” he countered.
“Well it should be and as of now, I’m making it an official evaluation matter.”
“You can’t do that. Besides, I would have to post something about it on Facebook if you did,” he replied, chuckling.
I decided I was going to ask Doctor Warman to amputate Dan’s head as soon as we got to the hospital. I was more than ready to get out of the car and change the subject by the time we got there.
**
“Detective Bartoni, Detective Roberts. Nice to see you both again. I like what you have done with your hair,” he said causing me to swallow my tongue.
“I was a little disheveled last time.”
“So. Justin Hall. Unfortunately I was able to save his arm but he will have very limited use of it. I was tempted to just amputate but professional ethics kept me from doing it. It just seemed so wrong that he would keep his limb while Penny lost hers.”
“Is that her name? Penny?” I asked.
“Penny Briar. Sweetest little thing you would ever want to meet. Darned brave. I’m not sure I could have handled it as well as she did.”
“I know. My heart about broke when I saw you working on her.”
“I certainly hope you can get this guy and put him away or do whatever it takes to see that he doesn’t do it again.”
“Unfortunately he is still way ahead of us and I’m afraid this is just the start. He has more planned and it is just a matter of when, not if.”
NOTHING TO LOSE - Angie Bartoni Case File # 5 (ANGIE BARTONI CASE FILES) Page 5
