Deceitful Moon (28 page)

The only noise coming from the window was the breeze flowing from the late night air.

A few seconds later, Manny dropped the chair and glanced back to the others under the table. “Let’s hope
this works
.”

“What are you going to do?” asked Sophie.

“I’m going to stand up.”

“Wait. Can’t you like raise your hands or arm or something? It’d be better than your melon.”

“How long
,
Chloe?”

“Ninety seconds.”

“That’s good enough for me.”

Manny crawled two yards, took a deep breath
,
and
lurched
to his feet.

Chapter-49

“How’s the
noggin
?” asked Sophie, plopping down beside Manny in the burgundy leather chair
.
She had to almost yell because of the din inside the conference room. It was buzzing with forensic techs and LPD personnel practically stepping over each other.

He moved the blue ice pack to the back of his neck. “I’ll live
, b
ut a couple more pain killers could be in my future.”

“Mine too, but not for the same reason as you,” she grinned.

“Recreational? You?”

“I know. Hard to believe, but how else do you think I keep my edge? Good looks and brains only go so far.”
Sophie’s face turned serious. “I have a question for you.”

“
Al
l
right, but nothing too strenuous for a few more minutes. I have to get
these bells
to stop ringing.”

“I know what you mean. So this is a tough question and no dancing around. I need a straight answer.”

“Sounds
serious.”

“It is.” She let out a breath. “Do you think I should get breast implants?”

“What? Why?”

“I think it could enhance my career goals. I might even make
l
ieutenant with bigger
ta-tas
, say 38DD. Besides
,
I read a couple blogs and checked out a bunch of porno sites where Asian women with big boobs get lots of action. Men think the
y’re
hotter than haba
n
era peppers dipped in jalapeño sauce.”

“Seriously?”

“
Hey
,
I don’t kid about this stuff
. Lots of men have some real kinky itches that only we Orientals can scratch. So yeah, I’m thinking about it.”

“No
.
I mean there are blogs out there talking about Asian women with big breasts?”

She patted Manny’s arm. “I need to get you plugged in.” Then
she
moved over to where the FBI threesome was conferring with Alex.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to get plugged in, Sophie style.

The new smartphone was growing warm in his hand. He wanted to call his wife and tell Louise that one of her close friends was gone
, t
hat she and Stella wouldn’t be doing lunch anymore. But
each
time he pushed the
speed
-dial button, he hung up just as fast.

He finally put the phone in his pocket. He would tell her face-to-face when he got home. They would sit on the sofa, close together, and he’d be there for her.
He’d make the time, somehow.

A minute later, the ME tech rolled the gurney toward the door with Stella’s body enveloped in a black body bag. Manny watched her go
,
realizing
his
sense of surreal
ism
had never been stronger. Gavin
was
in the IC
U
fighting for his life
,
and now this.

Stella had changed, gone deep into the realm of hatred and fear.
He
’
d
never know
why
, completely,
and for the hundredth time
,
he
asked himself why he hadn’t see
n
it. But people mostly only let you see what they want you to see. Mostly. She must have been tortured on a level he never suspected.

For reasons he wasn’t sure he’d ever understand, he stood up and stopped the ME tech. He took in a deep breath and unzipped the bag. Her eyes were closed
,
and she looked almost serene.

He lowered his face and kissed her on the forehead. “Goodbye
,
Stella
.
I’ll miss you,” he whispered.

H
e motioned for the tech to keep going. Maybe she’d find some peace in the next life. He hoped so. God said it was true.

Manny
slid
back in his chair, switching the ice pack to his forehead
and wondered
which way to go next. He didn’t have to wonder long.

Agent Corner moved beside him, joined by Chloe and Sophie.
“Manny, I know this is tough, but we’ve got more issues and have to
get things in gear
.
We need you thinking straight.
Are you up to it? I mean
,
I’d understand
—
”

“
I’m
as
r
eady as I’ll ever be. What do we have?”

He met
Josh’s even stare with one of his own,
and
the agent nodded slowly and motioned to the window
.
“
Let’s go
over there
.”

Once
over to the large, blown out windowsill
,
Josh pointed to the old brick building across the street. “The shots came from that window on the fifth floor. The shooter was using M118 Special Ball ammo. We found one spent casing. Nasty stuff. Alex and Max went to the lab to give it a once over, hoping to get lucky with a print or something. That kind of ammo can pierce light armor from 125 yards. It’s pretty standard issue for military snipers
—
and contract hit men.”

“But you don’t believe this was a hit man, right?” asked Manny.

“No. Too sloppy,” said Josh.

“We’re lucky the sniper wasn’t a g
reat
shot,” added Chloe. “
Assuming the shooter was a membe
r of their Justice Club and a woman, which makes sense, she just got a small part of Stella’s neck and shoulder
,
and the ammo did the rest. The other shots weren’t close. For some reason, the shooter couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn after that. Nerves maybe.”

“
I don’t think so
,” Manny shook his head. “Ouch. Got to stop doing that.”

“What do
you
mean?” asked Josh.

“Chloe said it was about seven seconds in between shots. So that means the shooter was in a rhythm. Hitting Stella from that distance, through thick glass, means she, if it was a she, knew what
she was
doing. To miss us after that was virtually impossible. There’s something else.” He pointed to what was left of the computer monitor. “The shot pattern, after hitting Stella, is a perfect arc from right to left.”

“So the next five shots were cover fire so she could get out of the building and escape?” frowned Sophie.

“I think so. She knew help was coming. She would have planned for that
, d
elaying
that help
could have given he
r a bit more time to get away.”

“That means she wasn’t after us. Just Stella,” said Chloe. Manny noticed how the light caressed her face as she cocked her head. It was all he could do to not notice too long.

“If you’re right, and we have this part figured out
—
” started Sophie.

“
—
then we have to answer the why question,” finished Manny.

“But that should be obvious. I mean
,
we already know she broke rank. The Club must have been worried that she was going to screw things up and put them all behind bars,” said Josh,
his hands gesturing to emphasize his point
.

“That’s true, but remember what Stella said about working it out, that there wasn’t a real problem. And on top of that, why wait until she’s in the LPD conference room to take her out?” said Manny.

“Maybe they didn’t know where she was?” interjected Sophie.

“We didn’t find a cell phone on her or anything else
the Club
could track her with, but I’m not buying that. It took time to get set up for the shot, so someone from the
C
lub had to know,” answered Manny.

“Okay, smartass, what’s the answer?” asked Sophie.

“I’m not sure, but it’s almost like the shooter
was prot
—
”

“Detective Williams?”

He turned to see who had called his name.

Kathy
Ross, followed by Frank Wymer, stepped through
the
door, Wymer with a super-sized chocolate shake in his plump hand.

“Frank? A chocolate shake at 1:30 a.m.?” marveled Sophie.

“Hey. Gotta keep up my strength.”

Ross rolled her eyes. “Never mind that. We got a problem
. I
n fact
,
we have three of them.”

Chapter-50

“I don’t see what’s so special about you,” snickered FBI Special Agent
Jake
Rosen as he bracketed Argyle’s right side
, with
A
gent Hoover on the left,
while they walked through the
secured
concourse at Miami International Airport. “Just another
deranged
prick who thought he was smarter than the rest of us.”

Argyle stared straight ahead.

“
It’s ridiculous that w
e have to shut down this end of the airport and escort your ugly
mug
to Lansing, wherever the hell that is, just because you’re supposed to be some dangerous psycho. But I don’t see it. You look like a pansy
-
ass to me, right
,
Doc?”

Argyle kept walking.
No emotion or acknowledgment that he’d heard the agent
. But
he had, all
too
well.

“What? No comment? Didn’t your momma teach you to answer when spoken to?” The agent rammed his elbow into Argyle’s ribs. “I’m talking to you, murdering piece of shit.”

Argyle never flinched as he
managed to keep
pace with the two agents, even with the iron restraints restricting his mobility, but he stayed silent. There was a time for everything.

Rosen glanced to the other t
hree
Feds some twenty feet behind, shotguns resting across their arm
s.
He
leaned over to
A
gent
Hoover.
“I hear he has real problems gettin’ it up,” he whispered. “Am I right, Doc?
No can launch the rocket?”

Argyle smiled. “Why don’t you ask your wife and mother? They didn’t seem to mind. In fact, I’m not sure which one screamed the loudest.”

Rosen’s mouth dropped open, and then Argyle watched him lose
control
.

The agent swung the
b
illy club at Argyle’s head like he was trying to take one deep into the seats of Comerica Park. Argyle moved as fast as any man in his position could and ducked
beneath
the blow. The stick nicked the top of his head and landed flush into the face of Rosen’s counterpart, shattering his mouth into pieces
and
setting free a gushing stream of blood
and broken teeth
.

Before Rosen could
draw the club a second time
, Argyle moved close and hammered the agent’s nose with his forehead, splitting it open and sending him to the
tiled
floor, blood instantly covering the agent’s face.

Argyle heard the other agents coming up behind him, but they weren’t fast enough. He dropped to his knees, bending close to Rosen’s ear. “How do you like me now, agent? Not so much? Didn’t
your momma
ever teach you not to play with things you didn’t understand?”

“On the floor, face down, now,” yelled one of the Feds behind him. “Or you’re a dead man.”

“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.