The Face of Fear: A Powers and Johnson Novel (50 page)

“It’s tonight or tomorrow,” Simpson said. “I have to be out by Saturday.”

“You just be there tonight,” the voice said and he heard the tone indicating the caller hung up. Ron Buckner also received a call and was told, “Tonight you wipe out everyone in the Wilkerson house. You don’t leave until the girl is dead, and you listen to me. You check her pulse, because if she’s not dead, she’ll be able to say what time you shot her and what color socks you were wearing. Do you understand?”

“No worries,” Ron replied as he heard a click. He sent text messages to Eric and Brian to meet and discuss the plan.

Paul had entered Z Pita at 4:45pm and ordered a Greek salad and take out of Joey’s famous eggplant skordalia to have upstairs when he woke up later. Joey sat down and spoke.

“Listen to me, I don’t know what’s going on and I don’t want to know, but, as for you, you as a person and a friend, you’re scaring me. These past two weeks have been hell I know, that’s your job, but you have people that care about you just remember that. Have you spoken to Rachelle?” Paul was served his Greek salad from his favorite waitress Tina, when he answered Joey Z.

“No, I haven’t spoken to her in what seems ages but it has only been about twenty-four hours. We never went more than a few hours from communicating in some way. I guess you could say she is the closest woman I’ve ever been with without being intimate,” he said as he smiled. Joey Z shook his head.

“Is that supposed to be funny?” Paul stabbed his salad with his fork.

“No, I guess not,” he said.

“You take care of this, Paul, and you remember, don’t do anything you will regret because the ones who care about you will be the ones who are hurt.”

“I hear you,” Paul said as he sipped on his iced tea mixed with cranberry juice. Normally Joey Z would get up and walk around the two sides of the restaurant but this time he was compelled to sip on his coffee and stay with Paul in case he wanted to talk. The Detective Sergeant started to reminisce with Joey Z about the past few years and the funny moments they have had with the wait staff and other customers. Joey Z even told him the story of the new server Rosie who went outside to greet people who were looking at the chalkboard on the sidewalk and a man who was questioning whether he wanted to try the restaurant or just go down to the pizzeria. Rosie started playfully hitting the man’s chest telling him how great Z Pita was and after the third time the man finally said, “Ma’am, please, I have a pacemaker.”

“It was all I could do to keep from exploding with laughter.” Joey said.

“Too bad Bud wasn’t there to see it,” Paul remarked. “He would have peed his pants.” Joey Z and Paul shared a few laughs like the old times before he went upstairs to bed. He called his Dad and got his voicemail and decided to just say, “I love you, Dad, thanks for being my father.” He put his Black-Berry in the charger and lay on his bed with the television on. He set the alarm for 11pm and slowly went into a sleep by 7pm.

Lindsey was watching the History Channel with Monty when Healey approached her parents Sharyn and Walt.

“How are you holding up?” Her Mom was putting the dishes away as Walt stood by the counter.

“I’m just looking forward to this being over and going back to our normal lives.” Healey looked at Lindsey on the couch and replied, “With a girl like that, I’m not sure how normal you think it’s going to be.” They all laughed as she sat quietly in the living room. Healey then walked over to Lindsey and said, “What were they talking about four minutes thirty two seconds ago Lindsey?” The young girl looked up at him and said, “Ford Focus, a commercial was on.” Healey stopped in his tracks, smiled and said, “Bud was right about you.” She laughed as he petted Monty on his head as he was on her lap.

“He’s a beautiful dog,” he remarked. The young girl told him that Monty was going to be a father and she was going to get three puppies from the owner of the female. The breeder was going to sell them for over a thousand dollars apiece. Healey nodded, “And what are you going to do with three puppies?” Lindsey was quick to answer.

“I’m going to give them to you, Bud and Paul for taking care of me.” Healey put his hand on the side of her face.

“You are a sweet, sweet girl Lindsey. I noticed your posters of the famous mathematicians in your room, who is Robert Osserman?” The young girl smiled and replied

“He was also a mathematician who wrote the book
Poetry of the Universe.
It changed the way I look at the world. Read it and you will understand what I mean”

Healey nodded with a smile as he walked over to the front window, looked out and saw Officer Dugan standing outside the cruiser. As he looked at Dugan, his mind was someplace else. It was the gesture of kindness bestowed upon him from a beautiful twelve year old girl who had gotten mixed up in this mess. He turned his head and looked at her totally engrossed in the program and wondered what it would be like to remember just about anything you’ve seen. His thoughts wondered to the sketch that was inside the manila envelope. He went upstairs into the guest room and unlocked the closet door that he had a special lock put on it. He pulled out the Remington 12 gauge shotgun and brought it to the cot that was outside Lindsey’s bedroom. He slit it underneath the small mattress to have there for the evening. He looked over the railing as Lindsey was kissing Monty. As he walked down the stairs, he thought about how he too couldn’t wait for this to be over. He had made up his mind that no one would touch this special girl unless they were successful in taking him out as well.

“What is this about?” he said to her.

“It’s the Revolutionary War,” she replied. “I’ve seen it before but it is so good.”

“I’m afraid to ask,” Healey replied, “but if you remember everything, why would you need to watch it again?”

“You are silly,” she replied. “I don’t watch it to remember, I watch it to be entertained and to see the actual vision and picture that relates to the dates.”

“So,” he said, “when did you last see this then?”

“April 24, 2010,” she replied.

“I’m calling Bud on you,” he replied as they both laughed. Walt and Sharyn came into the living room as the laughter stopped. “10:15, 10:30 Lindsey for bed OK,” her Mom said. Lindsey saluted her Mom as they said good night to Officer Healey. It was now 10pm. “When’s this show over?” he asked Lindsey.

“It’s over at 11pm,” she answered, “but it’s OK, I’ll go to bed at 10:30. I remember how it ends.” Healey thought to himself, “
No shit
.”

Officer Healey walked toward the stairway with Sharyn and Walt as he spoke. “May I ask when did you realize you had a special girl on your hands?” Walt stopped on the second stair up as Sharyn was at the bottom and replied first.

“We knew pretty much from the time she was eighteen months old that she was above average in intelligence. When she started to speak extremely clear by the age of two, we had her tested. We were told Lindsey most likely had eidetic memory which is perfect recall. Most call it photographic memory but there is more than the ability to recall images, sounds or objects with extreme precision. Her hearing is way above the normal range. As you know, she can sketch from her memory. If she studies an image or face for at least thirty seconds, she will maintain a nearly perfect photographic memory on it forever with extreme precision and abundant volume.” Healey nodded as he replied.

“Have they explained to you why or how?” Walt came down a step to speak.

“They can give you all the scientific explanations they feel they need to explain. I find they tend to do it with most things today, but when it comes to the miracle of birth and the first thing that develops is the brain, you can’t tell me the good Lord doesn’t have anything to do with it. There are reasons why you are who you are and why Lindsey has her gift. Her gift is not a scientific gift, it’s a gift from God. Thanks for being here and watching over our child.” With that, Walt Wilkerson started going up the stairs as Sharyn and Justin Healey looked at him as he reached the top of the stairs, turned right down the hallway and into the master bedroom. Sharyn turned to Officer Healey.

“That goes for me too. This has been difficult for us and although Lindsey is gifted, she is still twelve and I’m not sure if she quite understands the danger she could be in.” Healey turned his head to look at Lindsey and Monty on the sofa.

“Oh, I have a feeling she knows, but she loves her parents so much that she just doesn’t want to worry and upset you more. See you in the morning.” Sharyn smiled and thanked him again as she went up the stairs. Officer Healey walked over to the young girl and could see she was falling asleep.

“Come on girl. You’ve got too much going on in that brain of yours and it’s making you tired.”

“Monty,” the girl said, “shut the television off please.” With that, the dog got off the sofa and went to the television and pushed the button to shut off the television. Healey’s mouth dropped.

“You had to show off didn’t you? The remote control was too easy. You just had to show how smart Monty was.” Lindsey laughed as she got up to go to the stairs.

“I was saving that for Bud but it seemed perfect to do it now. Good night.”

As Robert sat down on the sofa in the guesthouse to watch some television, a hand reached over his mouth with the other hand holding a gun to his temple.

“Hello, Mr. Simpson. I’m Mr. Phil.” He was very amused with himself that he said that line in the tone of the horse from the Mr. Ed classic television series.

“I will not waste any time. Give me the money now and I will leave you alive to explain to “the voice” how you lost it to me. Make your decision now. 5-4-3-2”

“OK,” Simpson replied. “I’ll give it to you,” with that he got up as Phil Smith followed him into the bedroom. He tore off the mattress and inside the spring mattress was a section cut out to where the suitcase fit. He lifted it up and gave the suitcase to Phil. As Phil took the suitcase he said, “I’m not sure if you’re smart or dumb. But here are some Southwest gift cards. Use them, get out of town if you want to live. I will say you are lucky because if I didn’t need you to deal with the police and the voice, you would have a bullet in your head right now. Have fun tonight to face the music.” Robert Simpson seemed startled as Phil Smith left. He started shaking and wasn’t sure what he should do. He pulled out his phone and started making calls. Phil Smith got in his car parked on the side of the road on Cliff Road and drove toward the exit which led to East Broadway. As he passed Bell Circle he waved, “Bye, it’s been nice knowing you.” He started laughing as he pulled on to East Broadway and drove away.

Patty arrived at Port Jazz at 10:45pm and ordered two martinis with three olives to sit at the bar. She knew it would be a short time before the police would be looking for her with the monitor on her ankle. She pulled out her phone and sent Phil a text. “I’m here.” When Phil looked at the message he received, he laughed again. “Dumb bitch,” he said to himself.

Robert Simpson was shaking as he tried to call Rachelle. There was no answer. He pushed his buttons again and called Detective Lieutenant Cronin as he explained what happened.

“Did you do what I told you to do and separate five hundred thousand from the 3 million?” asked the Detective Lieutenant.

“Yes,” Simpson said.

“Then you have nothing to worry about. Just stay there and act like nothing has happened,” the Detective Lieutenant continued to speak, “if you blow this, I will shoot you myself.” Simpson disconnected and decided he would do as he was told by the detective. He tried to contact Rachelle again and just like the first time, there was no answer. Rachelle stared at her iPhone as she let the call from Simpson go to her voicemail. She stared at Detective Lieutenant Cronin who was standing in her living room and instructed her not to pick up the call.

“Phil made his move a little early,” he said. He figured out he would be a target and got to the house early. He sent Patty to Port Jazz as a decoy. That means as I suspected the game ends tonight.” Madison walked down the hallway and held on to Rachelle as Cronin spoke.

“Don’t leave this house for any reason Rachelle.”

“She won’t,” Madison answered. The Detective Lieutenant walked outside and walked over to the protective detail on Prospect Street.

“Keep your eyes open. If Rachelle leaves the house, you will be a security guard at Kohl’s Department Store next week, understand?”

“Yes sir,’ the officers replied. Cronin walked away and got into his unmarked vehicle and called Assistant District Attorney Ashley.

“You know what to do if I’m not here tomorrow, whether alive or not as a cop.”

“Kevin,” Ashley replied. “There’s no one better at playing a game.”

“Gee,” Cronin replied. “I’m not sure how to take that but thank you. Take care, John.”

“You too,” the Assistant District Attorney replied. He turned on the ignition and drove away. The two officers in the cruiser decided that maybe one of them should be outside the vehicle and be closer to the house. They didn’t want to take any chances that someone would get in or out of the house. Inside the house, Rachelle was sitting in her chair and looking at photos from her media file on her iPhone. She couldn’t believe how many photos there were of her and Paul that she had saved. She dropped her phone and told Madison she needed to go to sleep and wake up in the morning and find out this had all been a dream.

“Me too Sis. I’ll see you in the morning,” Madison replied.

Ron, Eric and Brian all met in the Mount Sinai Shopping Center parking lot. Ironically, near the very same Rite Aid drug store that Phil had been captured on film.

“Let’s go over the plan,” Ron said. “Let’s get one thing clear, we don’t leave ’til the girl is dead.” They all nodded their heads in agreement as Ron started reviewing where the girl’s room was and where the police should be. He was still reviewing the plans as Officer Lynagh left the twenty-four hour King Kullen Supermarket in the same parking lot with snacks to bring to the house while Healey slept. So close yet so far they were less than one hundred yards apart when Lynagh got in his car. As he drove toward the exit, he was less than forty yards away from them. All their lives would change in less than two hours.