Bloody Shadows

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  “Wrong answer, Dom. Clyde, please be so kind as to put this man on his knees with a plastic tie restraining his hands behind his back while I consider shooting him in the head.” Nick kicked Calhoun in the groin as he lay rolling around on the floor, provoking a scream of agony.

  Bacall forced Calhoun’s companion to the floor, roughly jerking the man’s hands behind his back while Nick held the Colt barrel against the man’s forehead. Bacall disarmed him as Nick confiscated Calhoun’s five thousand dollars. He then waved the Colt at Juarez.

  “Do we have a deal, Freydo?”

  “We do.” Juarez handed Nick a card. “That’s my private number. Let me know when I can get back in business.”

  “I will. Thank you for your cooperation.”

  Clyde opened the door for Juarez and his man. He kept it open as Nick then gestured to the ladies. “Thanks for coming. See you all tomorrow.”

  “Are you going to kill Dom,” Ivy asked, edging around her whimpering pimp.

  “Nope. As promised, he and his buddy are going away for a few days, but without any money. Once we have the Ripper, I’ll have him released. I’ll give you and Dom’s other ladies a number to call. If he retaliates in any way, call me. I will come back here and cut his dick off, and shove it down his windpipe. I know none of you will take my advice, but the twenty grand you each get would make a nice start for you in a new line of work, and a new place of residence.”

  After the ladies left, Nick turned Dominic over, restraining his hands behind his back. He roughly disarmed him. “I’m going to get you on your feet, Dom. If you don’t help me, I’m going to kick you in the nuts again.”

  It took only seconds to get the moaning but very cooperative Dominic to his feet. “Let’s deliver these idiots to my US Marshal cohorts, and then head for home. You did real good, Clyde.”

  “You really think this’ll work, don’t you?”

  “I know it’ll work. He may take a day or two before he bites on the bait, but we’ll get him. Ripper’s been hacking the Dark Web for hooker appointments. If we don’t get enough real appointments, we’ll make them ourselves. Patience Clyde – we’ll get this sucker.”

  “You wanted to kill the pimps. I could see it in your face.”

  Nick grinned at Calhoun and his man. “I’m still considering it, but the ladies made the decision. Dom better be a good boy. If I get a call from any of his ladies about him being a bad boy, I’m going to show him some knife tricks in the middle of the night after he thinks he’s all snuggled in. We’ll have some fun then.”

  The terrified look on Calhoun’s face convinced Clyde the man believed Nick. Bacall breathed in deeply while bending to pick up their equipment bag. So do I.

  * * *

  Dan, dressed as if he were going to a London opera, looking every bit the part of a well-dressed pimp with his merchandise, escorted Sarah along the walkway toward the Seattle Hilton Hotel near the airport at 2 am. It was Dan’s sixth appointment in two days. Each time, they had set in place their plan, but the appointments were completed without a problem.

  “You sure look nice old man,” Sarah told him. “Maybe you should get into the pimp business full time. I’d work for you.”

  Dan laughed. He enjoyed interacting with his supposed seraglio of women. “I’m afraid this is not my line of work, Sarah, nor should it be yours, young lady.”

  “This Ripper guy had me thinking about getting out of the business or at least relocating,” Sarah admitted. “You do know that asshole carved up three pimps too, right?”

  “Yep. He ain’t carvin’ this one up though,” Dan replied. Then he saw movement in his peripheral vision to the right in the spacious and quiet parking lot. His body language betrayed him.

  “I see him, Dan,” Nick’s voice assured him. “Don’t tip Sarah off, Geezer.”

  Dan simply nodded his understanding while he heard Gus and John talking about their positions. A black hooded figure with matching mask nearly six and a half feet tall angled in front of them. Sarah cried out in surprise as Dan arm swiped her behind him.

  “Hello there, big fella,” Dan said. “Nice early morning, huh?”

  “Don’t reach for anything, Gramps, or you die.” The black masked giant showed Dan the 9mm automatic Glock in his hand. “I’ve been watching your new operation, old man. You’re pretty slick. You two are coming with me this morning.”

  “Are you the Ripper,” Dan asked with a big grin.

  “Whatever would make you think that, Gramps? I’m not the Ripper. I’m having some fun. I don’t want to kill either one of you. Now, come along with me.”

  “I don’t think so. I think you’re the Ripper, and I bet my buddy does too.”

  “What buddy? Your driver drops you off at an appointment, and you walk the girls to their date. I ain’t seen no other players, although why an old pimp like you didn’t hire some muscle is beyond me. I’ll just tie you up, have a little fun with your girl, and then let you both go. Nobody needs to get hurt.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, Ripper. You’re going to get hurt.”

  “That so? You first.” The man raised the Glock, and the .50 caliber hollow point projectile from Nick’s Barrett sniper rifle five hundred yards away took the man’s hand off at the wrist. The impact slammed him to the parking lot surface. Shock gave way to mewling screams a second before the Barrett fired twice more. This time the projectiles smashed into his right ankle, leaving the shoed foot dangling by a couple pieces of skin.

  “Stay right here, Sarah,” Dan said to his charge. “I have to ask the big, bad, and ugly a question while he’s still conscious.”

  “Ah…ah… sure, Danny. Go…go ahead.”

  Dan walked over to the writhing figure, and crouched next to him. “I need to ask you again if you’re the Ripper. If you don’t answer truthfully, my buddy is going to shoot off another piece of you. My advice is answer truthfully so we can enter the factual round of proof, and then get you to a hospital.”

  “Take me to the hospital! I…I’m bleeding to death!”

  “Answer the question.”

  “Yes! I’m the Ripper! Take me-”

  “Shut up! The Ripper took a souvenir from each victim. No one knows what that souvenir was, not even the media. Only the task force knows. What was the souvenir you took?”

  “Their tongues… I took their tongues!”

  “That concludes our business, Ripper.” Dan walked away as John arrived from where he had lay in wait near the hospital with a pack. Gus drove alongside with his window down. “Come along, Sarah. Your job’s done. You can wait in the car with me until our law enforcement people and ambulance arrive.”

  “Okay, Gus.” Sarah walked over and kicked the Ripper in the groin on her way by.

  Dan, John, and Gus all chuckled at the new sound of pain as Sarah got into the vehicle. John applied a tourniquet to the Ripper’s arm and leg. He then covered the wounds before collecting the detached hand and foot. Nick arrived on scene a moment later, and put his Barrett sniper rifle in the trunk. With black Nitrile gloves on, Nick removed the Ripper’s mask. While Nick held the man’s head still, John took different angled photos. Nick then used his digital fingerprint scanner to send Ripper’s fingerprints to Paul Gilbrech and his US Marshal contacts. He waved at Sarah in the backseat, holding Ripper’s head so Sarah could see him plainly while John held a light on his face.

  “Nice work, Sarah. It’s all over now. Have you ever seen this guy?”

  Sarah leaned over the open window frame peering at the face without recognition. “No, but I won’t forget him. You weren’t kidding about maiming him.”

  Nick released the Ripper, and removed his gloves. He patted Sarah’s hand. “I never kid. Who won the pool, Gus?”

  “John did. He picked the morning of the third day.”

  “Ratshit! I thought I won it,” Dan said.

  “You said midnight, Geezer,” Gus replied.

  Grace and Tim arrived first, looking as if they
had not been sleeping well. Grace jumped out almost before Tim could stop the car. “We came as soon as we could. Did you get the right guy?”

  “Yep. He knew about the souvenir tongues,” Nick answered. “He was slick. I can see why he nailed so many victims. Wasn’t he, Dan?”

  “Yeah. He didn’t claim to be the Ripper or anything. He’s a damn giant. He talked convincingly he wanted to have a little fun. The women probably took one look at his size, and figured their only hope was to go along with him. He staked me out during our other appointments. He knew right away there was a new game in town.”

  Grace and Tim looked over the two appendages in plastic bags.

  “Did you have to shoot his hand and foot off,” Grace asked.

  “You do see what’s still clutched in his right hand don’t you?”

  “Pay no attention to her, Nick,” Tim said, “We figured Great Kate would be howling for our heads by the end of the day. Now, we get an entirely different agenda for our day. We didn’t know if you could pull this off, and bring the ‘Ripper’ in alive or not. On behalf of this US Marshal, I thank you.”

  “This guy is bad,” Nick stated plainly, looking down at the still moaning Ripper. “I’m glad I had a chance to help. I may have taken a hand in this anyway even if not asked in.”

  “Hey… you two are US Marshals?” This from Sarah, now with a very confused look on her face. “You work with killers now? I think it’s great.”

  “Sarah? Remember our chat about sticking to only the facts of how Ripper approached you, and the threat he posed?”

  “Oh… sure Nick… sorry. I just wish they had brought you in sooner.”

  “Facts only, kid,” Nick replied. “Don’t worry. I have someone arriving today to help us with the task force who will be questioning us. Sometimes they forget who the criminal was, and begin trying to bury the innocent helpers of law enforcement.”

  “You? Innocent helper of law enforcement? Gag! Nick… I swear-”

  “Grace!” Tim’s exasperated interruption silenced his partner. “Your testimony and cooperation is appreciated greatly, Ms. Burns.”

  “Yeah, Sarah, pay no attention to the frumpy Marshal with bad hair. We think she’s going through early ‘change of life’ problems, and gets confused easily about what the hell her job entails.”

  Another one finger salute was the only response from the frumpy Marshal.

  * * *

  Dan continued to do stretching exercises while a task force agent tried to get him to repeat his part in the apprehension of the Ripper. “Please, Mr. Lewis, sit down and answer my questions. The faster you do, the faster you get out of here.”

  Dan kept stretching. “I saw this in a movie with Harrison Ford called ‘Hollywood Homicide’. When Ford and his movie partner, who are detectives, don’t agree with their continued internal affairs interrogation, they start doing yoga and real estate business. I explained in detail what happened twice. That’s all I have to say.”

  “I don’t think you realize you could be charged with hampering a federal investigation. I am trying to get at the underlying facts and details leading to the so called Ripper.”

  “Although I lost a betting pool I thought I won earlier, I’d be willing to wager there is no way in hell you’ll be able to charge me with anything. I’ll still testify at Ripper’s trial, but I’m done talking to you about underlying anything.”

  “But surely you see-”

  “Done now.” Dan sat and clasped his hands. “I want my lawyer when he gets here.”

  * * *

  Agent Kaitlin Anderson sat down with a smile across from Sarah Burns. “I understand you participated in an operation to entrap Gerald Kensky, allegedly the Seattle Ripper. Is that true.”

  Sarah smiled back, remembering Nick’s coaching about testimony. “I helped catch the Ripper before he killed me and Dan. I kept an appointment at the Hilton Hotel. Dan Lewis escorted me to the appointment with a client. A man in a hood and mask stopped us. He tried to force us at gunpoint to go with him. We refused. When he tried to shoot Dan, Marshal McCarty had to wound him.”

  “What provocation did McCarty have to shoot?”

  “The Ripper aimed a gun at Dan’s head.”

  “Will you be able to identify the suspect in court?”

  “Yes. I know he couldn’t stand at a lineup, but I could have picked him out of one. Long dark hair, thin face, pug nose, and he has a cleft lip scar.”

  “I thought he had a mask on.” The investigation was not proceeding in the manner Anderson anticipated.

  “Nick removed his mask while he was on the pavement. I saw him real good.”

  “Yes, but when you testify in court, the defense attorney will ask how you could know the man on the pavement was the same man who stopped you.”

  Sarah began to laugh, but stopped when Anderson didn’t crack a smile. “I thought you were joking. How many huge wounded men did you think were on the pavement?”

  “That was not the point of my question. I have to determine if your testimony could be impeached easily in court, and our case thrown out.”

  “Are you stupid? The Ripper faced us, pointed a gun, was wounded, and then unmasked. No one switched him out with an innocent bystander with the same wounds.”

  “I’m not sure you understand the countless questions an entrapment operation like this can generate in a court trial. You will-”

  At that moment a man entered the room with a briefcase. He wore a black pinstripe suit. He had a friendly smile on his face, nondescript in appearance, angular in form, medium in height, and bright blue eyes which did not project friendliness. He handed Anderson a card.

  “I am Justin Khole, Attorney for Nick McCarty, Dan Lewis, and Sarah Burns. I will be sitting in on every conversation from now on until you end this very strange pursuit of facts not in evidence.”

  “Ms. Burns is a federal witness. She will have to answer the questions asked of her for the trial involving the suspected Ripper, Gerald Kensky.” Anderson’s face did not reflect her confident tone.

  Khole put a hand over Sarah’s clasped ones. “Do not answer anything Agent Anderson asks. Her agenda here has nothing to do with your attacker.”

  “You will not get away with this, Khole. I don’t care who you think you are.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong.” Khole opened his briefcase and extracted a paper. “Mr. McCarty knew you would try to pull something like this immediately after the apprehension of the Ripper. Although the official word will get to you shortly. Let me assure you that your attempt to discredit Marshal McCarty’s invaluable help in solving these heinous Ripper murders and bringing the perpetrator to justice has not gone unnoticed at the Department of Justice, nor with the Director of the FBI. Marshal McCarty tried to allow you full credit without any mention of his part other than a generalized note indicating he was acting as a S.W.A.T. team sniper charged with protecting the operation’s participants. Ms. Burns, Mr. Lewis, and Marshal McCarty will be leaving with me right now. US Marshals Reinhold and Stanwick have been assigned the procedural completion of the case, including any contact with the media.”

  Khole handed Anderson the paper with the letterhead of the FBI Director. Anderson’s face lost all color. Khole stood. “Let’s go, Sarah. The people now actually in control of this case have your contact information when they need to get in touch with you. Good day, Agent Anderson.”

  Sarah gave the shocked Anderson a wave. “Bye.”

  * * *

  Outside the precinct building, Tim and Grace waited next to Nick. They decided any conversation with Nick needed to be done somewhere off site.

  “How did it go with my publicity exposure on this?”

  “Thanks to your lawyer, very well,” Tim said. “When Kensky comes to trial, we’ll gather Dan and Sarah in for testimony. We’ll submit yours as a deposition. You’ll only have to testify as a last resort.”

  “Dan’s eager to testify. He’ll be a key witness. Dan was part of t
he operation, and being threatened at gunpoint on video cam,” Nick responded.

  “You sure called it right with Great Kate,” Grace said. “The damn woman went after you the moment she had the Ripper in custody, trying to actually discredit you and the witnesses. I doubted she’d actually sabotage the arrest for some weird payback scheme, but that’s exactly what she was attempting. My two acquaintances on the task force figured Kate thought since she knew who Kensky was now, even if they lost him temporarily, they would be arresting him later on an ancillary charge. It’s a damn shame after getting warned, she still couldn’t let it go. Now her entire career is in jeopardy, and maybe it should be. That bastard Kensky could have been released and then went on a rampage.”

  “That lawyer of yours is impressive,” Tim said. “Great Kate walked out of the interrogation room after he got through with her in a numbed trance. I suppose part of it had to do with the people you contacted the moment you had Kensky.”

  “I knew I would need help to keep from getting mired in this. Kate’s loss is your gain. The US Marshal Service gets credit now along with the task force. It looks like I get to go do some book signings in Olympia, Seattle, and some smaller ones around the area before heading home without any worries. I guess you can let that punk Calhoun loose along with his buddy. Anytime you two get a break, call me. We’ll have dinner together at the Wolf Lodge, or here in Seattle when I do a signing. That reminds me. I brought you a first edition of ‘Assassin’s Folly’, Grace.”

  Nick put his briefcase on the walkway, and extracted the hardcover edition. He handed it to Grace. “Don’t worry, I simply signed it with a small note.”

  Grace examined the cover, with a grin. “This would be worth a fortune once you’re dead.”

  Nick smiled back. “Read the note inside.”

  Grace frowned, opening the book. The note read ‘To Grace. I ain’t dead yet’.

  Tim started laughing the moment he read the note over her shoulder. “Nick can predict what you’ll say or write before you even announce it, partner. Are you going to ask him before he goes full bore into vacation land mode?”