Night Shield (10 page)

Rather than break cover, she hurried into the club, spotted Will and shoved the tray at him. “Sorry, table eight’s waiting for these. Tell Jonah I need to speak with him. I have to do something.”

“But hey.”

“I have to do something,” she repeated and walked briskly toward the restrooms.

Inside, she scanned the bottom of the stalls, located the right shoes. Making a wax mold of the keys, Ally concluded and turned to one of the sinks. She ran water while she watched the shoes. It would only take a few minutes, but she’d need privacy.

Satisfied, Ally walked out.

“Ally? I got tables filling up here. Where’s your tray?”

“Sorry.” She shot Beth an apologetic smile. “Little emergency. I’ll get on it.”

She moved quickly, catching the eye of one of her team members and pausing by the table. “White female, late thirties. Brown and brown. She’ll be coming out of the ladies’ room in a minute. Navy jacket and slacks. She’s sitting in the bar area with a white male, early forties, gray and blue in a green sweater. Keep them in sight, but don’t move in. We handle it just like we outlined.”

She walked back to the bar to pick up another tray as a prop. The man in the green sweater was paying the tab. Cash. He looked relaxed, but Ally noted he checked his watch and glanced back toward the restrooms.

The woman came back in but, rather than taking her seat, stood between the tables and reached down for the short black cape she’d draped over the chair. For a matter of seconds, her body blocked the view, then she straightened, beamed at her companion and handed him the cape.

Smart hands, Ally thought. Very smart hands.

When Jonah turned the corner of the bar, she inclined her head and let her gaze slide over to the couple preparing to leave, then back to him.

Casually she crossed over and ran a hand affectionately up and down Jonah’s arm. “I’ve got two officers to tag them. We want them to get through the setup, all the way through. I want to give it some time before I alert the targets. When I do, I need your office.”

“All right.”

“We need to keep business as usual down here. If you’ll hang around, I can let you know when I want to move. You can tell Beth you need me for something so she can juggle tables. I don’t want any alarms going off.”

“Just let me know. I’ll take care of it.”

“Let me have the code for your elevator. In case I need to take them up without you.” She leaned in, her face tilted to his.

“Two, seven …” He leaned down, brushed his lips over hers. “Five, eight, five. Got it?”

“Yeah, I got it. See if you can keep attention off me until I move the targets out of the bar.”

Her energy was up, but her mind was cool. She waited fifteen minutes. When the female target rose to use the restroom, Ally slipped in with her.

“Excuse me.” After a quick check of the stalls, Ally pulled her badge out of her pocket. “I’m Detective Fletcher, Denver P.D.”

The woman took a quick, instinctive step in retreat. “What’s this about?”

“I need your help with an investigation. I’d like to speak with you and your husband. If you’d come with me.”

“I haven’t done anything.”

“No, ma’am. I’ll explain it all to you. There’s a private office upstairs. If we could move up there as quietly as possible? I’d appreciate your cooperation.”

“I’m not going anywhere without Don.”

“I’ll get your husband. If you’d walk back out, turn to the left and wait in the corridor.”

“I want to know what this is about.”

“I’ll explain it to both of you.” Ally took the woman’s arm to hurry her along. “Please. Just a few moments of your time.”

“I don’t want any trouble.”

“Please wait here. I’ll get your husband.” Because she didn’t trust the woman to stay put long, Ally moved fast. She paused at the couple’s table, picked up empty glasses.

“Sir? Your wife’s back there. She asked if you could come back for a minute.”

“Sure. Is she okay?”

“She’s fine.”

Ally crossed to the bar, set down the empties. Then ducked quickly back into the corridor.

“Detective Fletcher,” she said with a quick flash of her badge as the man joined her. “I need to speak with you and your wife in private.” She was already keying in the code.

“She won’t say what it’s about. Don, I don’t see why—”

“I appreciate your cooperation,” Ally said again and all but shoved them both into the elevator.

“I don’t appreciate being bullied by the police,” the woman said with an edge of nerves in her voice.

“Lynn, calm down. It’s okay.”

“I’m sorry to be abrupt.” Ally stepped into Jonah’s office, gestured to the chairs. “If you’d have a seat, I’ll fill you in.”

Lynn crossed her arms, hugged her elbows tight. “I don’t want to sit down.”

Have it your way, sister, Ally thought. “I’m investigating a series of burglaries in and around Denver during the last several weeks.”

The woman sniffed. “Do we look like burglars?”

“No, ma’am. You look like a nice, well-established, upper-class couple. Which has been, to date, the main target of this burglary ring. And less than twenty minutes ago, a woman we suspect is part of that ring lifted your keys out of your purse.”

“That’s impossible. My purse has been right with me all night.” As if to prove it, she started to unzip the pocket. Ally snagged her wrist.

“Please don’t touch your keys.”

“How can I touch them if they’re not there?” the woman argued.

“Lynn, shut up. Come on.” He squeezed his wife’s shoulder. “What’s going on?” he asked Ally.

“We believe molds are made of the keys. They’re replaced and the targeted victim remains unaware. Then their house is broken into and their belongings are stolen. We’d like to prevent that from happening to you. Now sit down.”

Authority snapped in her voice this time. Visibly shaken, the woman lowered herself into a chair.

“If I could have your names please.”

“Don and Lynn—Mr. and Mrs. Barnes.”

“Mr. Barnes, would you give me your address?”

He swallowed, sat on the arm of his wife’s chair and rattled it off while Ally noted it down. “Do you mean someone’s in our house right now? Robbing us right now?”

“I don’t believe they can move quite that quickly.” In her mind she was calculating the drive time. “Is there anyone at that address right now?”

“No. It’s just us. Man.” Barnes ran a hand through his hair. “Man, this is weird.”

“I’m going to call in your address and begin setting up a stakeout. Give me a second.”

She picked up the phone as the elevator doors opened, and Jonah walked it. “I’ve got it covered here,” she told him.

“I’m sure you do. Mr. and Mrs….?”

“Barnes,” the man answered. “Don and Lynn Barnes.”

“Don, can I offer you and your wife something to drink? I realize this is very inconvenient and upsetting for you.”

“I could use a shot. A good stiff bourbon, I think.”

“Can’t blame you. And Lynn?”

“I …” She lifted a hand, dropped it. “I just can’t … I don’t understand.”

“Maybe a little brandy.” Jonah turned away, opened a panel in the wall to reveal a small, well-stocked bar. “You can put yourselves in Detective Fletcher’s capable hands,” he continued and he chose bottles and glasses. “And meanwhile, we’ll try to keep you as comfortable as possible.”

“Thanks.” Lynn took the brandy from him. “Thank you so much.”

“Mr. Barnes.” A little miffed at how smoothly Jonah had settled ruffled feathers, she yanked the man’s attention back to her. “We have units on the way to your house right now. Can you describe your house for me? The layout, doors, windows?”

“Sure.” He laughed, a little shakily. “Hell, I’m an architect.”

He gave her a clear picture, which she relayed to the team before she began to set up the coordinates for the stakeout.

“You have dinner reservations here tonight?” Ally asked them.

“Yeah. Eight o’clock. We’re making a night of it,” he said with a sour smile.

Ally checked her watch. “They’ll think they have plenty of time.” She wanted them to go back down, to finish their time at the bar, go into dinner and present the appearance of normality. And one look at the woman’s face told her it was a long shot.

“Mrs. Barnes. Lynn.” Ally came back around the desk, sat on the edge of it. “We’re going to stop these people. They won’t take your things or damage your home. But I need you to help me out here. I need you and your husband to go back down, to try to get through the evening as if nothing was wrong. If you could hold on for another hour, I think we could wrap this up.”

“I want to go home.”

“We’ll get you there. Give me an hour. It’s possible that a member of the organization is assigned to keep an eye on you. You’ve already been away from your table nearly twenty minutes. We’ll cover that, but we can’t cover another hour. We don’t want to scare these people off.”

“If they’re scared off, they won’t break into my house.”

“No, just into someone else’s the next time.”

“Give me a minute with her, okay?” Barnes got up, took his wife’s hands. “Come on, Lynn. Hell, it’s an adventure. We’ll eat out on the story for years. Come on, let’s go—let’s just go downstairs and get drunk.”

“Jonah, go with them. Ah, pass the word that those—what was it?—the wild wings you ordered didn’t sit too well after all. You’re fine now, but you were feeling a little sick. Blackhawk’s will cover your bar bill, right?”

“Naturally.” Jonah offered Lynn his hand to help her to her feet. “And the dinner tab. I’ll take you down. You just needed to stretch out for a few minutes, and I offered to take you and your husband up to my office until you felt better. Good enough?” he asked Ally as he pressed for the elevator.

“Perfect. I need to make a couple more calls, then I’ll be down. I’m going to have to cut out before end of shift. I’ve had a family emergency.”

“Good luck with it,” he told her and led the Barneses away.

She got the key from Jonah and went straight to the employee lounge for her bag. She ran straight out, doing no more than waving a hand when Frannie called out to her from behind the bar.

She was trusting Jonah to answer any questions. No one could do it better, she thought as she raced the blocks to her car. A simple word, a shrug from him, and that would be that. No one pumped a man like Jonah Blackhawk.

She had to get to Federal Heights before everything went down.

At first she thought she was seeing things. But the night was clear and cool and her vision excellent. There was no mistaking the fact that all four of her tires were slashed.

She swore, kicked viciously at the mangled rubber. A hell of a time, she thought, one hell of a time for Dennis Overton to get nasty. Digging into her bag she pulled out her cell phone and called for a radio car.

Time wasted, was all she could think. Two minutes, five minutes ticking away while she paced the sidewalk and waited. She had her badge out and her teeth clenched when the patrol car pulled up.

“Got some trouble, Detective?”

“Yeah. Hit the sirens, head north on 25. I’ll tell you when to go silent.”

“You got it. What’s going down?”

She settled into the back behind the two uniforms, itching to have her hands on the wheel and her foot on the gas. “I’ll fill you in.” She took her weapon and harness out of her bag and felt more herself the minute she strapped it on.

“Call for a tow truck, will you? I don’t want to leave my car on the street like that.”

“Shame about that. Nice car.”

“Yeah.” She forgot about it as they screamed up the interstate.

*  *  *

A block from the Barneses’ address, she hopped out of the car and arrowed straight to Hickman. “Give me the story.”

“They took their time getting here. Balou and Dietz had the first leg of the tail and said they drove like solid citizens, kept under the speed limit, signaled for turns. Woman riding shotgun, made a call on a cell phone. He turned over the tail to me and Carson when they got on 36. They stopped for gas. The woman gets in the back. They’re driving a nice, suburban minivan. She’s doing something back there, but I couldn’t get close enough to see.”

“Making the keys. I bet you two weeks’ pay she’s got the works for it in the van.”

“Do I look like I take sucker bets?” He glanced down the quiet street. “Anyhow, we had a unit here, waiting. The suspects were observed parking the van a block down from the target address. They strolled up the street, walked right up to the door, unlocked it and went in like they owned the place.”

“Barnes said they have a security system.”

“Alarm didn’t trip. They’ve been inside about ten minutes now. Lieutenant’s waiting for you. We’ve got the area blocked off, the house surrounded.”

“Then let’s move in and wrap this up.”

He grinned, handed her a walkie-talkie. “Saddle up.”

“God, I love cowboy talk.”

They moved fast, kept low. She spotted the cops positioned on the street, behind trees, in shadows, hunched in cars.

“Glad you could join the party, Detective.” Kiniki nodded toward the house. “Ballsy, aren’t they?”

Lights gleamed, a homey glow against windows on the first and second floor. While Ally watched, she saw a faint shadow move behind the lower window.

“Dietz and Balou are covering the back. We’ve got them closed in. What’s your play?”

Ally reached in her pocket, pulled out keys. “We move in on all sides and go in the front. When we move, pull one of the radio cars across the driveway. Let’s block that route.”

“Call it.”

She lifted the walkie-talkie to establish positioning and give the orders. And all hell broke loose.

Three gunshots blasted the air, the return fire slamming into the echoes. Even as Ally drew her own weapon, voices shouted through the walkie-talkies.

“Dietz is down! Officer down! Shooter’s male, heading east on foot. Officer down!”

Cops rushed the house. Ally hit the door first, went in low. Blood pounded in her ears as she swept the area with her weapon. Hickman took her back and at her signal headed up the stairs while she turned right.