In for the Kill [Hawkman Series Book 9] (17 page)

Chuckling, Ray placed his elbows on his knees. “How do you think you came to hate him so much?"

"Just watching your agony. I had dreams of you being a super spy. Then after the accident, I knew it could never happen."

"You don't remember me telling you how I hated him?"

Jack shook his head. “No. I always had the impression you were thrilled to work with Jim Anderson. You tried to discourage me from disliking him. The only negative thing I ever remember you saying, was while you were recovering and in quite a bit of pain. You told me you shouldn't have been on that mission. But you never explained why."

"It's really not important. The fact is, the man ruined my life."

In the flickering light of the lantern, Jack studied the peculiar expression on his son's face, and noticed a tic below his jaw. “How come?"

Ray glanced at his father. “How come what?"

"That it's insignificant for me to know the reason you were there."

"Because the damage is done. Now, we have to make him pay."

Jack picked up the flashlight and pistol, then walked outside. He threw the beam behind the boulder and down the road as far as he could see. Spotting a backpack resting against a tree, he carried it inside. “Is this yours?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Looks like the big man is nowhere in sight. He must have taken you for your word. How long will he wait before he comes looking for you?"

"I'll go find him, after we've formed a plan. I can't let him go back to his house without me."

Jack gave him a suspicious look. “Why?"

Ray raised an eyebrow. “Because if he has a nosey wife, he'll find her dead, and I want to see his face when he turns around to my gun pointed at his heart."

"She didn't do anything to you,” Jack said, glaring at his son. “There's no need to hurt her."

"Yeah, but she's a part of his life, and I understand you left threatening messages on the phone about her."

"Those were empty. I don't like to hurt women. I just wanted to scare him."

"What about the gal you ran off the road?"

"How'd you know about her?"

"I've been keeping a close account of your doings."

"She had nothing to do with me going after Casey. She spurned me."

Ray threw back his head and laughed. “Sorry. It just sounded funny for you to say that at your age."

"Hey, I'm not dead. I still like pretty women. And I thought she'd taken a fancy to me. Figured I could have a little fun on the side. But it didn't work out."

"You can quit worrying about Casey's wife. Nothing will happen unless she tries to open my suitcase."

"You've changed, Son.” Jack shook his head. “What happened to the kind man I used to know? Your mother always said you had a heart."

Ray took a deep breath and stared at his dad. “Time and agony. We can go into this at a later date. Right now, we've got to set up our strategy. Casey may start worrying and drive down this way."

After they'd discussed what Ray had in mind, he stood, took the flashlight from the backpack, then slipped the straps over his shoulders. “I'll meet you on the main road tomorrow morning."

Jack strolled outside with his son and watched him walk off into the darkness.

After Ray had gone some distance, he figured Tom would step up to his side, but he never appeared. Finally, he called in a low voice. “Casey, where the hell are you?” When no response came and he saw no sign of the ex-agent, he headed in the direction they'd parked the SUV. When he reached the spot and found the vehicle missing, he knew something had gone awry. Had Casey overheard him talking to his dad? He remembered hearing some noise outside the hut window, but assumed an animal had rustled through the underbrush. Maybe the varmint was Tom Casey.

He immediately turned and hobbled quickly back toward his dad's hideout. His legs were definitely feeling the strain. Even with the flashlight, he stumbled and fell several times, but soon could see the deep shadowed hole. He made his way around the boulder, then flashed the beam onto the hut. To his horror, he discovered the jeep had disappeared. He hurried to the door and shined the light around the empty hull.

Staggering back outside, he stood in the front of the shanty with his fists on his hips. He reared back his head and his voice echoed through the hills. “Dad, where are you?"

Hawkman carried the ticket into the living room with Bronson at his heels. He glanced up at the wall clock. “Too late to call Detective Williams. I'll wait until morning."

Jennifer stood beside him with Miss Marple in her arms. She pointed at the paper. “That looks like a plane ticket."

"It is. And a very odd one."

"Why?"

"Ray told me he only had a couple more days before he had to get back to work. However, this ticket shows his return flight isn't for two weeks."

Jennifer cocked her head. “He'll have a little trouble retrieving it now."

"I don't know how he figures on using it. It won't be long before the whole country will be looking for him and his dad,” Ken said.

"Maybe he thinks he can escape another way.” Jennifer shivered. “Every time I think about that suitcase exploding, chills go down my spine. After what I've heard, there's no telling how the man's mind works. He's scary."

Hawkman put his arm around her shoulders and gave a squeeze. “Don't worry honey, the catch had to be tampered with, which activated a timer. When I heard it ticking, I ran outside. It might have gone off prematurely when it hit the ground. We'll probably never know. Ray probably thought he could make our deaths look accidental. I'm afraid he's more evil than his father."

"I think we better do a little brain storming,” Ken said.

The four sat down in the living room.

"You obviously didn't hang around the hideout long enough to hear what they planned,” Peggy said,

"No, I'd be out of luck. Dealing with two Agent men, the chances of surviving their onslaught were nil. My best bet was to get out of there as fast as I could. By now Ray knows I didn't hang around. He'll put it together and figure I overheard him talking to his dad."

Jennifer looked at her husband with concern. “So what's the plan?"

"First thing in the morning, I'm going to contact Detective Williams, then call Bill and let him know what I've learned. I think the news is going to shock them."

"All fine and dandy, but what about the rest of tonight?” Peggy asked

"We could call in a couple of back ups, and keep the house under a tight surveillance,” Ken said.

Hawkman waved a hand. “I don't think it's necessary. We can pretty much barricade ourselves inside. I'll activate the alarm system and we're both armed.” He shifted his position and rubbed a hand across his chin. “Ray probably did a lot of walking tonight, and will do more, when he discovers I'm not there. He's going to be very tired and will need some rest before they pursue any plan. I don't expect any action before tomorrow. So I think our best bet is to get rested up so we'll be alert for anything they might throw at us."

Ken stood. “Peggy, I think the man knows what he's talking about. Let's get home and we'll see you two first thing in the morning. If anything unusual happens, give us a call."

Hawkman and Jennifer walked them to the door. After they left, Hawkman moved toward the deck. “I think I'll bring Pretty Girl into the living room. We can put some old sheets on the floor. We've done it before.” Hawkman eyed Miss Marple. “To keep the nervous factor down in both our pets, we better separate them. Put the kitty in our bathroom and shut the door. I'll want our bedroom open so I can hear any noises."

Jennifer nodded. “No problem."

Hawkman hurried out to the garage, retrieved one of the portable perches, and dusted it off. Jennifer draped the floor on one side of the fireplace.

"You think she'll like this corner okay."

"Perfect.” He set up the contraption and checked it for stability. “That should work fine. I'll go get her."

He came back in with Pretty Girl resting on his protected arm. When he placed her on the top rod, she let out a squawk and batted him with her wings.

"It's okay, girl, it's just for tonight."

Once the falcon settled, Hawkman tethered her to the perch, then slid a water and food container on the extended rod. “There you go girl, you'll be just fine until morning."

Jennifer had put Miss Marple to bed and secured the doors and windows. “Are you through going out for the night?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'm setting the alarm."

Jennifer threw all the switches, even the one connected to the garage, and watched all the lights turn green. She then flopped down on the couch. “If someone even so much as touches this house, the alarm will go off and wake the whole community."

Hawkman chuckled. “It's better than being dead.” He disappeared into his office and within a few minutes came back with several pistols. “Watch where I'm putting these. They're all loaded and ready to fire.” He placed one in the drawer between the two chairs, one on Jennifer's desk in front of her computer, but out of sight and one in the kitchen drawer nearest the front door. Then glanced at her. “Got it?"

"Yes. I also have on my fanny pack."

"Good. Hopefully, we won't have to use any of them. But better to be safe than sorry.” He took her hand and led her toward the bedroom. “Come on, hon, let's try to get a few hours rest."

"Are we leaving the kitchen light on for a reason?"

"Yes. I want it to look like someone is still up. It might deter Ray or Jack."

She sighed. “I don't know if I'll be able to sleep."

Shortly after climbing into bed, Hawkman lay there staring into the darkness. Suddenly, he sat up. In the stillness of the night, he could hear the distant low rumbling of a vehicle. He threw his legs over the side of the bed, grabbed his jeans from the floor and hopped into them as he made his way to the sliding glass door and peered out. If he slid it open, he'd set off the alarm, but he couldn't see around the aviary. He sat on the edge of the bed, quickly slipped on his boots and a tee shirt, then pulled the gun from the shoulder holster draped over the chair next to the bed. Leaving his eye-patch on the table, since he didn't need it in the dark, he snatched the night binoculars from his office and made his way to the living room. Pretty Girl squawked as he turned off the alarm and lights. “Hush, girl. I don't need any distractions.” He then marched onto the deck. Sticking the pistol into the waistband of his jeans, he put the binoculars to his eyes. He could make out the faint glow of headlights shining into the sky as a vehicle bobbed across the rough road coming from Topsy Grade.

"Can you see anything?” Jennifer said, moving to his side, clutching her Beretta.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you?"

"You didn't. I couldn't sleep. Noises tend to travel a long ways in the still of the night, especially here at the lake. I thought I heard the grumbling of an engine."

"Me, too.” He pointed east. “If you'll watch where the road goes, several miles up, you can see the glow of headlights. If my hunch is right, we'll have visitors in about fifteen minutes."

She clutched his arm. “Now what?"

"Let's see who it is before we panic. Ken and Peggy are just up the road. If the vehicle turns out to be the jeep and crosses the bridge, we'll take action. You call the Bronsons, if things get hot. They can radio for back up."

"How do we get ourselves into these life or death messes?” Jennifer mumbled as she went back into the house and headed toward the bedroom. As she passed the falcon, the bird ruffled her feathers and let out another squawk. “Shush, Pretty Girl, I don't need you butting in.” In the darkened room, she donned a pair of jeans and shirt, then fastened her fanny pack around her waist.

She eased open the bathroom door and by the soft glow of the night light made out the silhouette of Miss Marple curled up in the box of tissue paper. She grinned and shook her head. “At least I can smile,” she whispered, and shut the door.

Hurrying back out to the deck where Hawkman stood looking through the glasses, she stared at the area where he had them trained. “I don't see anything. Maybe it was just a rancher going after a bear or mountain lion."

"Nice thought. But they might be going downhill. It's when they're going up, I can see the lights against the sky and tree tops."

Jennifer plopped down on the deck chair and put her head in her hands. “Tell me when you see anything."

Hawkman changed his stance. “Whoever it is, they're still coming and getting closer."

Jennifer got up and moved next to him, her gaze focused on the road. “Yes, I see the lights."

Within a few minutes, he dropped the glasses from his face. “It's the red jeep and he's turning on the bridge.” He gently shoved her toward the door. “Let's get inside."

Jennifer headed for the phone.

"No, wait."

The Willys jeep turned into the driveway throwing its head light beams through the window sending a flash across the kitchen walls. Hawkman motioned for Jennifer to duck behind the bar as he stood next to the front door.

The low rumbling of the jeep engine held steady and then a loud voice echoed through the air. “Tom Casey, I need to talk to you."

Hawkman poised his gun, flipped on the porch light, then opened the door a crack. He found himself looking at the hairy face of a mountain man holding a tire iron out the window of the jeep and tapping it against the side. Except for the reflection of the porch light on the narrowed green eyes, Hawkman would never have recognized Jack Hargrove.

Hawkman raised his gun so it pointed straight at Jack's head. “Don't try anything stupid."

Jack tossed the pipe onto the gravel. “I came to talk. Where's Ray?"

"Haven't seen him."

"I thought he'd be here.” He frowned. “Didn't you pick him up on the road?"

"Not after I overheard you two talking about my demise. As far as I'm concerned, I hope never to see him again. And I'm not too happy about your appearance."

Jack scratched his sideburn. “I've come to the conclusion my son's lost his ability to think straight."