Deceitful Moon

by Rick Murcer

  “Certainly, agents. No problem. I just need a second.” He promptly bit off the top part of Rosen’s ear, spitting it on the concourse floor as Rosen screamed in agony.

  Argyle moved to all fours and slid to the floor as the rain of blows covered his head and neck. He began to laugh.

  Chapter-51

  “He took one in the head, up close, and that was it,” pointed out Alex, leaning away from the passenger door of the vehicle. “He’d only been a cop a few months. Too bad.”

  “Damn. I think this is the kid that was going to get married next month,” said Sophie.

  Manny searched the sky, focusing on the amber moon hanging full in the heavens. A small, dark cloud floated just out of reach of the lunar brilliance, and he couldn’t keep from noticing the contrast between the light and the dark cloud. Just like the concept of four murders in the last three hours were almost out of his comprehension. Hell, maybe that’s how he needed it.

  “What kind of weapon?” he asked.

  “Small caliber, probably a .22.”

  “Did we run the plates?”

  Alex pulled at his ear. “It was stolen a few hours ago.”

  “So what the hell was he doing in a stolen SUV less than a block from headquarters during his dinner break?”

  Alex shrugged his shoulders. “You’re the detective. I just tell you what’s here. But if you’re interested in my two cents, it looks like he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “Yeah. But what does that mean? He wouldn’t have known the vehicle was stolen yet, so I don’t think he was trying to bust anyone.”

  “The blood spatter and his position plus the amount of blood on the seat say he was in the vehicle when he was shot,” answered Alex. “Sparky will be here soon with another tech, and I’ll put them to work processing this thing.”

  “So, do you think he knew who shot him?” asked Sophie.

  “That or he was forced inside,” said Manny. “Either way, one of ours was murdered in cold blood.”

  “That’s just for starters,” said Sophie. “We got two more bodies that are probably compliments of the jacked-up Justice Club.”

  Manny looked to Alex, then Sophie. “What the hell is going on in this town?”

  Just then two black Chevy Tahoes pulled up to the curb, a few feet behind the yellow tape, followed by Kathy Ross’s LPD unit. Agent Tucker got out of the first vehicle, Josh and Chloe out of the second.

  “I contacted the Detroit office and they still can’t have people up here until the early morning. Meanwhile, what do you want us to do?” asked Josh.

  “We got two more homicides to check out, so that’s next,” answered Manny.

  “If this keeps up, we’re going to have to move Quantico to Lansing.”

  “If this keeps up, I’m going to work for the FBI to get a break.”

  “Workaholics like you don’t take breaks.”

  “I’m willing to learn.”

  Josh turned serious. “I want you to know that Argyle’s on his way back to Lansing.”

  “So soon?” Manny raised his eyebrows. “I thought it would be a week or so.”

  “I pulled some strings and got him extradited here. Especially since he wasn’t going to talk to anyone except you. I’m sure there are plenty more charges that your new DA will bring against him in Michigan. Besides, I’m curious about the ‘others’ he spoke of.”

  “If he killed others, or even by saying he did, he knows we’ll want to find out the truth ASAP. I still think it’s a ploy for him to control us. And to think, I’d almost forgotten about him for a couple of days.”

  “Not to mention the longer he stayed in St. Thomas, the harder it would’ve been to get him out of there,” said Chloe. “Or he could’ve ended up accidentally dead.”

  Manny nodded. “There’s no death penalty in Michigan. He knows he won’t fry here.”

  “He could plead insanity,” said Sophie.

  “If he does, he’d still go to a Super Max prison, like ADX Florence. So either way, we win,” said Josh.

  “Yeah, enough about Argyle. We’ve got other things going on,” said Alex.

  Sarah Sparks and the other woman lab tech, Dana Gary, walked up carrying large black cases and wearing blue, LPD-issue jumpsuits.

  “Do you want us to start on the vehicle, Alex?” asked Sparks.

  “Yep. As good a place as any. Then see if you find anything on the sidewalk in both directions.”

  Manny motioned to Wymer and Ross. Frank was making love to a dark-chocolate bar the size of Manhattan. He ran his hand through his hair. “Frank, are you going to be able to pass the fitness test next month?”

  “Hell yeah. I switched to dark chocolate because it’s got that antitoxin stuff, and they say it’s good for my heart.”

  “But you’re not supposed to gobble the whole bar in one shot.”

  “I don’t know, Manny. I look at it like this. The more I eat, the better chance it has to work for me, you know? And it doesn’t give me that bad gas like fiber does.”

  Ross thumped herself on the forehead. “See what I have to put up with? Can I shoot him, now?”

  Manny sighed. “You two stay here. I want you to go door-to-door at the condos on this street, then hit any of the bars and restaurants still open. Maybe they saw something or someone. Then get a hold of the owner of the building where the shooter was and get a list of people who have access to the building’s security code. Make sure we have a couple of blues here with the CSU techs.”

  “The rest of us will break into teams and each check out one of the other murder scenes.”

  Sophie stepped close to Agent Corner. “You’re going to need one of us locals to go with the Feds. Josh and I will team up.” She batted her eyes at the agent.

  Agent Corner adjusted his tie and moved a few feet away. Sophie followed.

  “Okay, but Alex is going with you to protect Josh. Which one do you want? The stolen Mercedes with the spread-eagle body on the hood, or the dickless corpse on the merry-go-round at the park?”

  “Ooooo. Never been in a new Mercedes. We’ll take that one.”

  “Chloe, Max, and I will take the other. Keep in touch and get back ASAP so we can compare notes. We’ll have Buzzy put our findings and thoughts in a spreadsheet and see if we can get more insight. We’ve got to figure this victimology out before tomorrow night.”

  “You think they’ll keep at it, with all the heat they’ve stirred up?” asked Josh.

  “I think they believe we can’t catch them. And if they do have a mission, they won’t stop. In fact, they may accelerate the attacks.”

  Chloe frowned. “I think he’s right. Nothing matters to them except finishing what they started.”

  “Hard to argue with your logic, especially in light of what’s happened here,” agreed Josh.

  “Okay. Let’s go. I’m driving. Josh can ride shotgun,” urged Sophie, hooking Josh’s arm.

  “OH NO! Not Bobby. Oh my God. NO!”

  Manny whirled toward the stolen SUV and watched as Dana Gary slipped to the ground, sobbing wildly. Sarah Sparks tried to catch her, but they both went down in a tangled heap.

  “What’s wrong, Dana? What is it?” yelled Alex, rushing around the vehicle.

  Manny scrambled to the other side.

  Dana continued to sob, then finally pointed to the window where the bloodied dead rookie leaned. She began to speak, but couldn’t. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she shuddered and passed out.

  Sarah clutched Dana close, looking up at Alex and Manny.

  “What it is it?” Manny repeated.

  Sarah cleared her throat. “That’s . . . that’s Bobby Foster. Her fiancé.”

  Chapter-52

  The third member of the Justice Club heard the other cell phone ring, and she sensed trouble before she answered. No one calls at 3 a.m. to tell you good things. Besides, there were only two people who knew this number. Neither one was calling to tell her she’d won the lotto.
r />   She looked down both sides of the lighted street and saw that none of her coworkers were in view. She hurried into the alley. She was greeted with the special smell garbage dumpsters share in hot weather. Rancid.

  “Why are you calling me?”

  “We need to meet, now. Things are coming undone,” said the caller.

  “I know,” she answered, not caring for where this was going.

  The silence on the other end was deafening. “What do you mean, you know?” said the caller.

  “Just that, I know,” she repeated.

  “How could you? It happened only an hour ago.”

  “A little bird told me. Did you forget what I do for a living?” She switched the phone to the other ear. “Why do we need to meet? The plan is still good.”

  “It’s not good. Whoever killed Stella shot up the LPD headquarters in the process. I don’t know what Stella might have said, but I think we need to talk about cooling it.” The caller’s voice was labored, tense. “You did it, didn’t you?” she stated.

  “Did what?” asked the third member.

  “Killed Stella, and shot up the place.”

  “Use your damned head. I was working.” The third member could almost hear the wheels turning in the caller’s head. She saved her the trouble. “It was your secret member of the Club, wasn’t it? I mean, who else knew what was going on? Not to mention, she killed a cop.”

  “I . . .I . . . Shit. Yeah. It makes sense. But I thought she was just going to follow her, make sure she didn’t bury us,” said the caller.

  “And take Stella out if she needed to, right?”

  “Yeah. But she was supposed to let me know first so we could talk it over.”

  “I guess she didn’t want your opinion.” The third member shifted her feet, her mind already running to the next step. “You’re right. We do need to meet, and you’ll have to make sure your mysterious fourth shows up. By the way, who is she?”

  “I don’t know her name. I met her like I met you two. She said to call her Penny, and all I’ve got is her cell.”

  “I don’t care how you get her there, just do it. We have to end this now.”

  “You want to get rid of her?”

  “Do you have a better idea? She’s not exactly playing for the team here. She’s like Stella. We don’t have a choice.”

  “Don’t forget who runs this Club, and I’ll make those decisions.”

  “Yeah, well, make one fast because prison’s not my idea of a good time. I’ll be at the usual spot in thirty minutes.” She hung up.

  Looking to the sky, the third member of the Justice Club stuffed the cell phone in her pocket. She had to come up with an excuse to get away for an hour. Her boss would buy just about anything she had to sell, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

  She lit a cigarette and leaned her shoulder against the building. This wasn’t supposed to work this way. This was a zero risk proposition, at least for her, but Stella had screwed that up. And the unknown member of the Justice Club had made it worse, a lot worse, particularly with Williams and the Feds snooping around. This had to stop. Maybe both Evelyn and “Penny” had to go. That seemed the only rational thing for her to do. She’d find ways to have the evidence point to them and away from her.

  I mean. Who could do that better than me?

  “Well, fancy meeting you here.”

  She whirled around.

  “You seem a little jumpy.”

  The voice was familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. The dark shadows and the hoodie concealed the face. “Hello. You startled me, for sure. My head was somewhere else.”

  “I suppose it would be, based on what I just heard. It’s probably far away and dwelling on things that couldn’t be good . . . for me.”

  “How . . . how long were you there?” But she already knew the answer to that one. Her pulse picked up the pace.

  “Long enough.”

  She reached slowly for her sidearm. Then stopped in mid-motion as she felt the barrel of her visitor’s gun press against her temple.

  “Not a good idea, especially for you, to try that. You see, I plan to live a lot more years.” The visitor leaned closer and spoke in a low tone. “A lot more than you.”

  The third member suddenly recognized the voice. Her mind pounded with contradiction. How could this be? It’s crazy. “Does he know what kind of woman you are? What you’ve done?”

  “I could ask you the same question, but I won’t.”

  The visitor pressed the gun even harder to her head.

  She yelped, then started to cry.

  “No, he doesn’t know. And he never will,” whispered the fourth member of the Justice Club.

  Chapter-53

  The FBI’s sleek Gulfstream G-V banked around Detroit and continued a shallow descent to Lansing’s Capitol City Airport. The moon’s bright reflections danced off the portside wing in rhythm with every shimmy and shake of the plane, causing the moonbeams to act as if they had a life of their own.

  At least that’s what Dr. Fredrick Argyle thought. He sat in the seat closest to the rear of the plane, shackled to its infrastructure in four different places. The manacles offered him no mobility, other than moving his toes and fingers, and of course, his eyes. Not to mention the mask that was strapped tightly across his jaw and mouth. Apparently biting off the ear of an FBI special agent was a no-no, even if the agent was a total ass.

  The Feds don’t seem to have much of a sense of humor about such things.

  The thick, white plastic restraint allowed him to breathe and speak, but he could barely move his jaws. No matter. He had nothing to say, not yet, but the time was coming.

  He glanced up to the three armed agents aligned in a semicircle to his right. None of them had wiggled an inch during the flight from Miami. They wanted him to move; even a small twitch would suffice. He smiled to himself when he thought of the famous line, “Give me a reason.” Not that they needed much of one. He was truly fortunate that all FBI candidates had to pass extensive psychological testing. If he’d stayed in St. Thomas, he’d probably already be in the morgue.

  Still, for them, he imagined, cleaning his blood and brains off the window and wall appeared to be an acceptable alternative to letting him stand trial in Michigan. He’d have to watch his manners. The agent on his left was particularly vigilant. He was also the one who had made sure the mask was going to be a source of pain.

  I don’t think he likes me.

  Argyle noticed the agent’s wedding ring. When he was through in Lansing, he’d make it a point to stop by and see what the agent’s wife thought of his . . . appetite.

  But for now, he would play by their rules. He’d speak how they wanted him to speak, sit where they wanted him to sit, and piss where they said to piss.

  After all, he had a rendezvous or two to keep.

  Chapter-54

  Manny checked his watch as he leaned against the Fed’s SUV, then squeezed his phone tighter. Gavin was still hovering in the same status. “Hanging in there” the nurse had said. But did anyone really understand where “there” was? He didn’t think so. Just a phrase to use when saying “I don’t know” or “it’s really not good.”

  He reached for the coffee sitting on the hood and downed what was left. Agent Corner, Sophie, and Alex would arrive in the parking garage any minute and none too soon. The quicker they compared crime-scene information, the better chance they had of running down the others involved with the deadly Justice Club’s vendetta—and Stella’s killer.

  The crime scene at the playground was staged like the others, but there were some subtle differences, as if the killer had run out of time or maybe had some place to be. The victim was shot an extra time in the head, at close range, based on the black-powder residue. The wrecking of the body was even more extensive, especially the genitals. Sick stuff.

  Max thought the victim was killed around 11 p.m., about the same time they had left the Mason Street Apartments, where they’d been misled by the
young hooker.

  The note Stella had written told him to find the mess she was going to handle. Mission accomplished. He ran his fingers through his hair. Stella’s journey to Psycholand was still more mystery than fact. He’d have to accept that for now.

  The elevator chimed, and Chloe emerged. Max was nowhere in sight, and he knew instantly that was by design. She moved directly at him, never taking her eyes, those beautiful green jewels, from his.

  Here we go.

  Looking to the floor, his stomach did flip-flops at a world-record rate. He’d always been able to throw distractions under the bus, to ignore everything that had nothing to do with the current investigation. But this woman, this captivating woman, had put a huge monkey wrench in his tool box.

  Each step she took echoed through the parking garage like thunder claps, and his temperature rose. She was five feet away when his body, somehow, became still more alive. Not with her perfume, or even her body language, just her. He’d felt this same exhilaration a few times dating Louise, but never this intense, this . . . alluring.

  I’m in deep trouble here.

  Chloe moved to within a few inches, searching his face. “Hey,” she said softly.

  “Hey yourself.”

  She stood silently for a moment, then touched his hand. “Manny. I . . .I’ve never felt quite like this about someone. Especially for a man I’ve only known a few days. A married man, no less. But the first second I saw you, I knew I was in over my head.”

  “Chloe—”

  “Let me finish. I told myself that as long as I didn’t see you or work with you again, I’d be fine. As you can see, that didn’t work out so well. And I was lying to myself. I think of you every minute.” She took a deep breath.

  Manny closed his eyes to ignore the way her breasts rose and fell.

  Really not good.

  Chloe swallowed hard. “I know you’re feeling something too. This profiling thing can be a bitch of a two-edged sword. You did a great job, for the most part, hiding your body talk and even your eyes, but not that great.”

  “So I can’t lie about the distraction you are? The way I get flustered around you?”