Exceptional Merit (26 page)

“Dan.  It's me, Jim,” explained Keegan in a voice just above a whisper, trying not to wake up anyone in the house, especially Kate.

“Our friend that you wanted to have a word with is here waiting for ya, Jim.”

“Great.  Do me a favor.  Tell him to sit tight I'll be there as soon as I can; probably about an hour or so.”

O'Brien who wanted to discourage Keegan from speaking to Flynn if at all possible, suggested Keegan speak to him instead.  “Jim I don't know how long I can keep him here.”  He lied.  “He's been wantin' to leave.  Are ya sure you can't just talk to me?  It would be so much easier.”

“No Dan.  This is something that's between me and him to settle, but thanks anyway.  I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

He hung up the telephone.  He was nervous.  His meeting with Flynn was exactly what he had been waiting for the better part of the week but he was also afraid the hit man might not care about his problems relating to the hit.  Keegan walked as quietly as he could back up to his bedroom.  He peeked in before entering and saw Kate was undisturbed.  He went into the bedroom and picked up his pair of jeans from the floor as well as a sweatshirt from his dresser drawer.  He carried his clothes out of the bedroom and got dressed in the hallway, fearing if he got dressed in the room, he might wake his wife.

After getting dressed, he went back into the room and opened his closet door.  Kate began to stir.  Keegan stood as still as he possibly could, watching his wife's movements until she seemed to settle back into a sound sleep.  He then retrieved the Sig Sauer, nine millimeter handgun he kept locked in a strongbox on the top shelf of his closet, well out of reach of the children.  He closed the closet door and secured the gun in the holster strapped to the right side of his hip.

Keegan once again went downstairs and after putting on his shoes he went into the kitchen.  He took a pen and a piece of paper from a pad in the kitchen's junk drawer.  He wrote Kate a note in case she woke up during his absence, explaining that his job had called in the middle of the night and that he would be home as soon as he could. 
Another lie
.  The note would further explain that he didn't want to disturb her so he let her sleep.  Keegan ascended the stairs and entered his bedroom.  He placed the note on Kate's night table with the corner of the note under her jewelry box.

He looked down at his sleeping wife and thought about how much he loved her and the kids.  He thought that if all went well tonight, she would never know about his dealings with the I.R.A.  He also knew that tonight could be a very important night regarding their future together.  He wanted to give her a kiss before leaving but he didn’t want to chance waking her up.  The last thing in the world he needed right now was for Kate to wake up and start to question him.  After debating for a minute, he decided to throw caution to the wind, and he leaned down and gently gave her a kiss on her head.  God forbid, something
was to go wrong tonight at least, he would know he gave her a kiss good bye.  He knew he was dealing with a very dangerous man.  “I love you Kate.”  He whispered as he stroked her long hair.  Keegan closed the bedroom door behind him and went into his children's rooms to check up on them.  After seeing they were soundly and comfortably sleeping, he gave each one of them a kiss on the head before leaving.

As he left his house, he realized it was a lot colder than he had expected it to be.  The dark blue spring jacket he had grabbed on the way out was certainly not going to be warm enough for the current thirty degrees that it was outside.  He unlocked his Crown Victoria and got inside.  He turned the key and the car slowly cranked to life.  The cold winter weather had apparently taken a toll on the car's battery.  Keegan put the heat on full blast to take the chill out of his bones.  He then allowed the car about a minute to warm up and glanced up at his bedroom window before throwing the car into gear.  No lights had come on from within the house. 
So far, so good
.  He breathed a sigh of relief.  He managed to sneak out of the house and start the car up without waking Kate. 
Now, if only the rest of the night could go this well
…

The traffic on the Long Island Expressway had been rather light until he got to the Junction Boulevard Exit.  He had been traveling at about seventy five miles per hour the entire thirty five minutes and he knew he jinxed himself when he thought how he was making such good time.  The traffic started backing up, he became frustrated.  He saw the turret lights of a marked Highway unit up ahead but he wasn't sure if it was an accident or construction that was holding the traffic up.

After impatiently waiting in traffic for about ten minutes, Keegan put his dome light in his windshield and tapped his siren for cars to get out of his way.  He didn't want to bring any unnecessary attention to himself but if he didn't get to McBride’s soon, he might not have another chance to meet with the hit man before the parade.  Staying in the far left lane, he tapped the siren and the cars pulled slightly over to the right allowing him to pass.  As he got closer, he could see two Highway units on the scene handling a serious accident involving a small truck and a Honda.  There were flares blocking off the two right lanes and a tow truck parked on the shoulder of the expressway. 

As he approached, one of the uniformed highway patrol officers directed traffic out of Keegan's way.  He realized the officer had no idea who he was but he knew the officer would assume him to be a boss of some kind.  When Keegan got to the scene of the accident he slowed down enough to roll down his window and thank the officer for his assistance.

After thanking the officer, Keegan continued on his way, but not before he drew his own assessment of the accident scene.  He saw the Honda had front end damage and the truck had a flat tire.  A tire iron lay on the ground next to the flat tire.  The driver of the truck looked like he was seriously injured and the driver of the Honda was being placed in handcuffs.  He seemed unsteady on his feet.  Keegan figured the truck driver was changing a flat tire on the side of the road when the other car rear ended the truck.  He shook his head at the thought. 
Damn drunk drivers
.  While Keegan enjoyed a couple of beers, he never drank to the point where it was unsafe to drive.  The truck driver was just lucky to be alive.

Keegan continued driving without any further delays to the Queens-Midtown tunnel.  After showing the toll collector the parking permit and announcing the vehicle's car number, he proceeded threw the tunnel.  About a quarter of the way in, his radio went to static so he inserted a compact disc into the player and listened to soft rock and roll music for the rest of his short ride.  The traffic was average for a Friday night in Manhattan and it took him about ten minutes from the tunnel before pulling up in front of McBride's.

Keegan saw an opening near a fire hydrant right in front of the bar.  He might not have parked there if he had his private vehicle because it was a gray area whether or not he was far enough away from the hydrant to avoid a parking summons.  But with the department car and parking permit, he thought he was okay.  Especially since he would not be directly blocking the hydrant.  In all his years of going to McBride's, he had never parked at the hydrant.  But tonight was different; he had wasted enough time fighting traffic on the way over here and he wasn't about to go searching for a parking spot.  He reached above the sun visor and retrieved the restricted parking permit for department vehicle 8567 and placed it so it was clearly visible on the dashboard of the vehicle.  He got out of the car, took a deep breath and made his way towards the bar.  He hoped Dan was able to convince the man to wait there for him.

Louis Castillo watched as Keegan parked the unmarked department auto at the fire hydrant.  He was excited and felt it all might come together tonight.  “That's him Sharon; he's the subject of my investigation.”

Castillo prayed Keegan wouldn't somehow see him again.  He knew he was over a block away but he was still afraid of getting caught a second time.

Sharon, although she didn't know what all the details were, was able to share in Castillo's enthusiasm.  “That's great Louie, maybe something big will happen.”

Sharon was trying to be supportive of her friend even though he was keeping her in the dark with many of the facts.

“Yeah, you're probably right.  Something
real
big.  My big break in the case will go down in there tonight and I'll be sitting right here, unable to see it go down.”

Castillo began to feel angry at himself.  It was almost a habit of his now.  Every time he thought back to how Keegan had made him and then belittled him, he got enraged all over again.

Sensing his frustration, Sharon Winters tried to ease his concern.  “It's not that bad Louie.”

Castillo was clearly frustrated.  “It's not, huh?”

Sharon reached over and slapped Castillo on the knee, hoping to give him some encouragement he desperately needed.  “I have an idea how to find out what's going on in there.”

Castillo perked up instantly.  He was excited and willing to listen to any idea that could help.  “Go ahead Sharon.  I'm listening.  You have my full attention.”

She began to explain.  “Well that guy may know who you are.”

She poked Castillo playfully in the chest as she continued.  “But
I
haven't been made.  He has no idea in the world who I am.  I can just walk right in there and see what's going on.”

Castillo loved the idea and didn't mind showing his excitement.  “You’ve got a point.  You wouldn't mind going in there and keeping an eye on them for me?  I'd really appreciate it Sharon.  I'll owe you big time.”

Sharon gave him a playful wink.  “That's what I'm counting on, Louie.”

Sharon opened the door of Castillo's Nissan and was ready to leave when he grabbed her gently by the upper arm.  She turned to face him.  “Sharon, don't you even want to know why you're watching him?”

Castillo started to feel a little ashamed of himself for not filling her in on the details of the case.

“Of course, I'm curious.  But you said you couldn't tell me anything and I respect that.”

She paused for a few seconds before continuing.  “There is only thing I want to know for certain before I go undercover for Internal Affairs,” she said mockingly.  “This guy is up to something really big, right Louie?  I mean, it's not some nonsense that I'm watching him for?”

“No Sharon.  It's very serious.  You have my word on that.”

“Well Louie, that's good enough for me.”  She once again attempted to leave the auto.

“Wait a minute.”

Castillo was doing something he hadn't done in quite some time.  He started to trust someone.  He hoped it wouldn't come back to haunt him.  “I think maybe you should know what the investigation is about.”

“You don't have to tell me Louie.”

“I know I don't have to but if you're getting this involved I want you to have an idea of what you are getting yourself involved with.”

Sharon closed the car door until it was ajar and waited for Castillo's explanation.  “I'm not sure how deep or in what capacity but I'm rather certain the off duty member of the service who just walked into the bar is involved with the Irish Republican Army.  The young guy inside, I believe is I.R.A.  I’m pretty certain of it.”

“The I.R.A.?”

She was both shocked and excited at the same time to be in on the ground floor of such a major investigation.  “But what in the world are they doing in New York?”

Castillo shrugged his shoulders.  “I'm afraid I have no idea.  But I hope by the end of the night the all the pieces will fall into place and we will find out.  If we can just grab his accomplice with the gun I'm sure he'll roll on the cop and tell us what the plan was if we promise him leniency.”

Sharon Winters thought the plan sounded great but plans usually did sound pretty good until they went into effect.  That’s when a myriad of things could go wrong, she knew.  She hoped this one would go as smooth as it sounded in theory.  “Louie. I have one question.”

“What's that?”

“What exactly am I watching for when I'm in the bar?”

Castillo wished he had a better answer and shook his head at her.  “To be perfectly honest Sharon, I have no idea what to look for.  Just anything that seems odd or unusual.”

“Odd or unusual,” she reiterated as she nodded her head in agreement.

Castillo took her by the hand.  “And please, Sharon, be careful.  He held her hand slightly longer than he should have, he thought.  Winters then pushed the door wide open and got out of the car, unmolested this time.  She closed the door behind her and made her way across Third Avenue.  Castillo raised his binoculars to eye level and wondered where the night would lead as he watched the Sharon enter the bar.

It had taken James Keegan only a matter of seconds to locate the hit man in the crowded back room of the bar.  He was seated in the same table as the last time they had spoken.  He started to walk over to the man and glanced in the direction of the bartender.  Dan O'Brien's eyes met his and Keegan quickly nodded and looked away.  He nodded hello to Tommy McDermott as he walked past the stage.  Upon arriving at the hit man's table, he took a seat next to the man and greeted him.  “It's good to see you Sean.  How have you been?”