Terry took a moment and seemed to think. In reality, he was debating how to ask for Pop Martin’s complete file. He decided not to though, realizing that he was supposed to be unacquainted with the case particulars other than the files Smyth had sent. In those, only numbers identified the victims. It could be a bit of a problem to explain how he knew the name of one of the victims. The kind of thing he remembered Benin had tried to use to convince the mayor of Lester that he was involved.
Almost as if on cue, Terry heard a voice he had sincerely hoped never to hear again.
“Well, hello, Bridger. How are you doing?”
Terry closed his eyes. Benin! Now what is this son of a bitch doing here? Without turning his head, Terry said with a sigh of resignation. “Up until about thirty seconds ago, better than I thought.”
Benin frowned. “Hmm. I see you still have the same chip on your shoulder.”
“I don’t have a chip on my shoulder. I got a pain in my ass. And I’m looking at it. Now, what the hell do you want?”
Deciding to drop the insincerity, Benin went back into his normal surly demeanor.
“I can be a lot worse than just that if you prefer. If I had my way, I’d run your ass in for obstruction.”
“Of what, stupidity? The only thing I’ve ever done was your job. Just better.”
Benin reddened. He knew he was blowing smoke about the obstruction charge but not about his desire to do it. His opinion that Bridger was somehow connected to the cases he solved refused to be quashed even in the face of logic. Of course, most of that was the fact that he didn’t like Terry, his methods, such as he knew of, or the fact that he always managed to be right somehow. He knew he should care more about the victims Terry saved, but he couldn’t get past the fact that on his own, he did what he and the bureau couldn’t with the entire facilities of the bureau behind him.
“Well, this isn’t some lone nut you can empathize with so easily. Whoever this guy is, he’s sharp enough to stay off the grid! Your little bag of tricks may not work on someone who isn’t a spree killer who wants to get caught.”
“Then, what the hell do you plan to do? You couldn’t catch them!” Benin’s flush deepened, but before he could mount a comeback, Crane interceded vociferously.
“Gentlemen! Your own opinions of each other, while fascinating, are not the issue here! Like it or not, we are on the same side, and I would like to remind you that both of you are guests of our fair city. If you want to kill each other, I would appreciate it if you would, at least, wait until you catch this maniac!”
Terry looked at Crane, then with an obvious air of disgust, at Benin. He was here to help. The City of Chicago, humanity in general and with a start he realized, for Traci perhaps more than both.
Resignation etched on his face, he nodded toward Crane and moved to a chair by the desk in the middle of the room, saying as he sat down, “That’s the idea. When I get done, hopefully, you’ll believe I mean that.” Looking at Benin directly, he added, “You? I don’t give a shit. Just don’t get in my way.”
Benin took a deep breath but said nothing. This was the last straw. This shyster wouldn’t dictate to him. As long as the powers-that-be held him in such high regard, there wasn’t really much he could do about it, but things change. Bridger was too arrogant not to make a mistake. He could wait for that.
Crane turned away before he blew out a long, slow sigh. This was not going to be easy on any front. Smyth might be on about this guy, but it wasn’t hard to see Benin was going to be a problem when it came to Bridger. Although he didn’t think that he’d do anything really stupid, the look in his eyes said he was far from done with this, no matter what he did or didn’t say. And Bridger was not much better as far as Benin went.
Great! he thought. Now, I’ve got two more to babysit!
Terry, meanwhile, had used the moments between the last of his argument with Benin and Crane’s attempt at reconciliation to get close to the computer. Close enough to lay his hand on the frame. A newer computer, there was no tower, but unfortunately, the screen was plastic. And non-conductive. There was, however, a USB port right in front of his hand. By leaving his hand still and extending a finger, he made a connection Charlie could work with, careful not to let anyone see. He didn’t want to have to explain what he was doing.
Charlie had already begun searching files for the ones relating to the matter at hand. Thanks to a bit of luck and the fact that most of the computers in the building had been on the files nearly constantly for the last few weeks, the path was practically burned into the hard drive. Thus, he was finished in record time. Signaling Terry of his success, he began imprinting the data on Terry’s subconscious. He could compare what he got from the files Smyth had sent later, but for the moment, he took the time to rest. It wasn’t the easiest job in the world, but it would be one of the most satisfying, assuming it worked.
* * * *
Decker had watched the whole thing with a look of unvarnished astonishment. He knew that things were touchy around City Hall lately, but he hadn’t expected to have a front-row seat to a war. And with the way Benin was glaring at Bridger, he was pretty sure there was more to come and none of it pleasant.
For a moment, he thought of the way Bridger had slammed him into the desk. He wasn’t angry about it, but he didn’t like the idea of being embarrassed that way in front of the people he had to protect. He knew he had made a mistake in his handling of the matter, but the idea of being tossed around in his own place was annoying. Still, what he read about this Bridger in the memo he’d seen from Smyth, this guy was good. And Benin reminded him far too much of the normal bureaucrats he had to deal with every day. Between the two, he found he actually liked Bridger more. Enough that he knew he would have to keep an eye on Benin for him.
Chapter Nineteen
Smyth broke into the lobby at almost a run. He had known Benin would be here today, but he hadn’t expected Bridger. He wasn’t supposed to be here until Monday. The idea of those two meeting without a referee was scary enough, but if he knew Bridger, there was every chance that if he ran into the mayor, it would be the end of any chance he had to help them catch this maniac.
When the elevator reached the top floor, he had already considered and rejected trying to call Terry. And neither Decker nor Benin was answering. That meant they were most likely in either Crane’s or the mayor’s office. Hopefully, from what he had seen of him, he hoped fervently that it was not the mayor’s. His own solitary encounter with his honor had left him drained and with a nauseating, hollow feeling in his stomach. In his opinion, the man was a first-rate tosser and shouldn’t be in charge of a chip shop, much less a city. After the meeting, he had told his wife the man was the greatest advertisement he’d ever seen for Monarchies.
Decker was a wild card. He seemed levelheaded and sane, but for all he knew, that could be a show as well.
When he hit the mayor’s offices, he looked around quickly, trying to find someone that he thought might know something.
As soon as she saw him, Anna Rojas simply pointed at the hall that led to Crane’s office.
Smyth felt himself relax. Crane was a breath of fresh air in this place, as well as the key supporter for bringing Terry on board in the first place. His heart sank a minute later as Anna strolled over and told him about the run-in Terry had had with Decker. And that Benin had shown up a couple of minutes after they left on their way to Crane’s office and immediately headed that way.
Heading for the office as well, Smyth’s mind went to all the bad things this could portend.
Imagine his surprise when he was buzzed into the office to find Terry sitting at desk and Benin standing near a corner while Crane sat on the other side of the desk and Decker stood by the door like one of the guards at Buckingham Palace.
“Come in, Agent Smyth.” Crane gushed. “We were just getting ready to go over what we have to see if we can find a plan of attack for this mess.”
Smyth stood in the door, practi
cally panting. His eyes went from one to the other in what resembled a state of panic. For a moment, he wasn’t even sure he was even in the right room. Then, realizing it had to be, he found a seat and dropped into it. It was clear this wasn’t going to be a day in Bristol Park.
The group sat, listening as Crane went over the events that had brought them all there. With the information Charlie had, Terry could tell that, for the most part, they were being as honest as they could. There were no glaring deletions, and the facts, as pitiful as they were, were honest if severely lacking any usable details. The best they would get from this was a rehashing of what they knew. Nothing.
Charlie listened as well. At the same time, he was examining the material he had ripped out of the computer and confirming that at least they were attempting to tell them all they knew. Like Terry, he could find no overt lies in the facts.
That was not to say he couldn’t detect several examples of Crane trying not to hide but rather not to admit something.
After an hour of discussing everything, Crane looked at Terry almost expectantly, as if he was going to make a simple proposal that would solve everything. Decker joined in the staring and Benin chuckled to himself. His ego couldn’t admit it, but part of him really wanted to watch Terry at work. He still couldn’t figure out how Terry did what he did, but at the moment, none of them could do any better, so he was willing to listen.
Smyth sat listening as well, but in his case, he, too, was also looking for any gaps he could fill. He was also surprised to find out that Crane had tried to be as honest as possible.
Terry finally decided to throw out a few questions if for nothing else to make them think he had a plan, when in reality, there was nothing further from the truth.
“You said there are pictures of people you suspected. But I don’t see any files on the ones you said were their last customers.”
“That’s because they’re ongoing.” Crane said quietly. “The ones we are watching are still being watched, but we can’t find anything that connects them. They seem to be totally unrelated socially as far as we can tell. And there is no evidence of anything untoward about any of them.”
“What about your detectives? Why no representatives of them here?”
Crane leaned back in the chair.
This could get tricky but he had asked the question, so…
“The truth is the mayor wants to keep your activities off the grid, so to speak. He has a penchant for control. As far as any of the police will be concerned, you’re just an adjunct to the mayor’s office, which means there will be none of the heroics you seemed to favor in some of your other adventures.”
Terry did his best to look hurt. “You seem to think I’m going to do something wrong!”
“Not at all. But we can’t have you running around playing vigilante. If word of that gets out, we’ll have idiots coming out of the woodwork.”
“And besides,” Benin chimed in sarcastically, “if you get killed, the paperwork will be a bitch.”
Terry ignored him as he asked one last question. None of the answers meant a damn thing anyway. He’d do what he had to to deal with this, the mayor’s plans notwithstanding.
“Am I gonna get to meet the mayor or is he trying to maintain some plausible deniability?”
“The mayor has given me the job of riding herd over this case. I will be coordinating you, the FBI and the police. You answer to me, Mr. Bridger. No one else.”
“Fine.” With that, Terry stood and started for the door.
Crane stopped him.
“Mr. Bridger. I noticed you haven’t said how much your services are going to cost us.”
Terry turned and looked back at him. “You’re right, I haven’t. Because I have no idea what this is going to take. Just so you know, though, this isn’t Lester, Montana. I expect to be paid in accordance to that.”
Benin chuckled again. “A little usury, Bridger?”
“Not at all,” Terry replied. “I just need to get from those that got. If I were working for the FBI, a good case and I could retire.”
Benin’s face went hard again.
He sneered, “As if you could get a job with a real investigative organization.”
Terry smiled at him. “Why not? You did, and your only claim to fame is being an asshole.”
Benin glared openly as Crane stepped in once again. “Decker will be your escort while you are here, just to keep you on the mark.”
Surprisingly, Terry was all for it. “Great. I’m not too familiar with the town. A guide is just what I need.”
Before anyone could muster a comment, Terry turned and headed to the door. It was best to leave before they began asking other questions. Not that he planned to answer them. Decker fell in behind him, silent until they were out of the hall. Even he wasn’t sure whether or not Crane or even the mayor had bugged the hall. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility with either of them.
Once they were out, he followed Terry to the elevator. Terry had still said nothing until they left the building. He, though, had no ambiguity as to why.
Thanks to Charlie, he knew that the hall was bugged. He had found the program in the computer, although there was no hint as to whether or not Crane had put it there. Personally, he was betting on the mayor. Crane had already listed him as a control freak. This would just be the embodiment of that desire for control.
Once they had made it outside, Terry looked up at Decker. He was a big man. He could be an asset if it came down to it, but since he was not one of the occupied, Terry would have to rely on old-fashioned conversation to feel the man out.
Terry headed for his car.
Decker brightened a little, seeing a way of trying to adjust to this new partnership.
Looking at the little car, he told Terry, “Rental, right? I can get you a car from the motor pool so you can send this thing back. Save you a few bucks that way.”
Terry grinned at the idea. “Nah. I figure nobody’ll pay much attention to a guy driving a Corolla. Might be the edge we need.
Decker gave a facial shrug. It made sense in a way. Nobody watches a guy in an economy car. Fortunately, the car was just big enough for Decker to squeeze into.
Terry looked up at him and laughed. He looked anything but comfortable.
Decker grinned back sheepishly saying, “If you want, we can put you up at the Hilton on the city’s dime. I can slip it onto my own expense account and none of the big boys will ever know.”
Terry thought about it for a minute then declined. He didn’t like the idea of being that accessible. Or of taking payment before he had accomplished anything.
Decker sat quietly for a few minutes. He was still trying to figure Terry out. From what he had heard from Smyth, he was his own brand of tough and a damn good investigator, although, according to Smyth again, Benin thought he was a fake and a con artist, but having met him, he wasn’t impressed by Benin’s opinion. The main thing Decker wanted was to get this over, and if this guy could help, he was all for it.
Suddenly, Terry said out of the blue, “Where was this last killing?”
Anxious to help, Decker said, “Right down by the Sears, I mean the Willis Tower. There were two of them.”
“I know, I read the report. Both of them were about your size. Kinda hard to see how one guy could take ‘em both out so fast neither of them got to holler.”
“Yeah, but you should know, size isn’t everything.”
Terry knew he was referencing their earlier encounter. He let it pass unanswered.
“Point is if this guy we’re after is that good, we could be up against it for real.”
Decker nodded. “We have been since the beginning. And if you wanna hear the truth, the mayor is about as useless as tits on a boar. Crane is the brains behind the office these days.”
“What about Finch? I thought he was the mayor’s top aide?”
“Oh, he is! But the boys uptown put the blame on Crane whenever something goes wrong. They want answer
s, they ask the mayor. And Finch. But when they want something done, they listen to Crane.”
Terry shook his head. “Sounds like a lot of heads in the stew.” Seeing Decker’s confusion, he added. “Old saying I used to hear when I was a kid. Catfish stew was all right if you had a few heads in it, but if you were too poor, it was all heads. You got a lot of bosses to answer to.”
Decker looked shocked then snickered. “Are you kidding me? If they knew I knew as much as I do, they’d have my ass. It just comes in handy to know which way the wind is blowing from.”
“So, why are you telling me all this?” Terry was genuinely curious.
Decker made a clucking sound. After a minute, he said, “The mayor is a joke, like I said. But he is easy to control. Crane and Smyth think you can do some good. Benin, though, wants you to fall on your face according to what I got from Smyth.”
“Now, there’s a newsflash.”
“Okay, fair enough. But, while he’s trying to trip you up and the mayor is trying to cover his ass, people are getting killed out here. I doubt the mayor or any of his aides ever rode in a cab, but I have. My uncle was a cabbie when I was a kid. They aren’t all great, but they are good people. And nobody deserves what this clown is doing to them. We got good police here. Good detectives. But they can’t stop him. I don’t know why, but they can’t. I just want to go home and not worry about this shit anymore. If you can do that, you’re aces in my book and I owe you one. Smyth had his shot, and he got nowhere. Now, Benin shows up and he thinks he knows all the answers. But people are dying out here. Here!”
He waved his arm excitedly at the street. “I came from these streets. They’re bad enough normally. We don’t need this kinda shit. So, if you can stop him, do it! I got friends on the force. My dad used to be a cop. The mayor wants you off the grid, but the reality is I want this shit stopped. And if you can do it, let’s get to it.”
The Primal Connection Page 15
