Whistler's Angel (4 page)

“The twins. Then we’ll see. Let me make a few calls. You are not to make a move until they get there.”

“Could you…try to remember that I’m a grown man?”

“Then act the part, Adam. In the meanwhile, stay put.”

The twins were the Beasley twins, Dennis and Donald. They had been with his father since Whistler was a boy. They were now in their fifties, heavy set, thinning hair and had always been a little bit strange. The Beasley twins arrived and, as always, they came separately. No one ever seemed to give them a second glance as long as they weren’t seen together. He met one in Baltimore, the other in Newark. Having had to go through customs, they arrived unarmed. Whistler offered to supply them with weapons. Dennis said, “Not here. We’ll get fixed up out there.”

Donald said, “We got friends there. They’ll have what we need.”

“Friends where? In Denver?” Whistler asked him. “Who are they?”

“Not from there. They flew in. Bunch of lawyers and such. They already got the lady out of jail, by the way. Your father put up half a million.”

“Yeah, but…wait a second. We were talking about weapons. My father has lawyers who do guns?”

“Nah. Not them. Different friends who flew in.”

“Yeah, but who?”

“Never mind who. You don’t need to know. They flew in; they’ll fly out when this is done.”

He was glad to hear that Kate Geller had been freed, but, “Why won’t you tell me who they are?”

“It’s how they want it. No big deal. Relax.”

“But they’re already out there? They’re in Cherry Creek now?”

Donald rocked a hand. “Thereabouts.”

“Well, they couldn’t have gotten there from Europe this soon. So these friends of my father are local?”

“I guess.”

“You don’t guess. You know. Why can’t I?”

“Adam…will you stop? Just be thankful you got friends.”

“Yeah, well I’m getting tired of being treated like a kid. You’ll recall that I’m not exactly new at this.”

“No, you’re not, but mostly it was never this personal. Being mad’s a good way to get dead. Your father’s right.”

Dennis said, “Let’s just get there and do this.”

Whistler and the twins made their way to Cherry Creek, each getting there

by a different route. Donald Beasley was the first to arrive. By the time they regrouped, Donald had the names of the two SWAT team cops who’d shot at Claudia.

“Want to know what these guys drive? One’s got a Jaguar,” said Donald. “The other one has a Corvette. You surprised?”

Dennis said, “Life’s been good to the cops in this town.”

Whistler didn’t bother asking where Donald got their names. All he wanted to know was where they were.

“See that?” said Donald. “You’re still much too hot. That’s why those two cops weren’t left up to you.”

Whistler heard the past tense. “They’re both dead?”

“One would assume.”

“Don’t worry about those two no more,” Dennis told him. “Me and Donald, we’ll go see that judge these guys used. You go get those two guys you know.”

Lockwood and Briggs. “Do we know where they are?”

“Check the airport. They came in on the Aubrey guy’s jet. It’s a Hawker 700. Nice plane,” said Donald. He told Whistler where the aircraft had been parked.

Nor did Whistler bother asking how he knew all this. He asked, “And the plane is still there?”

“Last we heard. Check it out.”

The Hawker they’d flown in on had been there, all right. Whistler knew that plane. He’d used it himself. As he’d guessed, it had departed several hours before. They had probably fled back east in a hurry when they learned that their two cops had vanished. Very well, thought Whistler. He would track them down later. After them would come Aubrey. He would find Felix Aubrey. He would see every one of them dead.

The twins, it turned out, didn’t just “go see the judge” who had issued

the warrant that had legalized the raid. They already had him in the trunk of a car. Tossed in with the judge was a road-kill raccoon that Donald had picked up along the way. “It’s good to give a man time to think,” he told Whistler. “We’ll all have a little talk when he’s ripe.”

The judge had been “thinking” for more than two days when Kate Geller called Whistler again. She had reached him on his cell phone, said that Claudia was conscious.

“I’ve a feeling that you’re someplace nearby, am I right?”

She must have been watching breaking stories on the news.

“Get over here, Adam. She’s asking for you.”

“I’m…not sure that’s a very good idea, Mrs. Geller. I think it would be better…”

“Get your butt over here.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

He’d seen her. They’d talked. Then he watched her fall asleep. He sat with her until the nurse came in again and said it was enough for one day. If her room hadn’t been on the hospital’s third floor, he might have considered slipping out through a window. But he didn’t. He went back to the waiting room where her mother was sitting. She looked up at him and again shook her head.

“You know, the damnedest thing is...you have such a nice face.”

“Mrs. Geller…”

“And an honest face, Adam. Soft voice. Easy manner. And your eyes…those gentle gray eyes.”

“Mrs. Geller, I’ll be leaving. You should have no more trouble.”

“I mean, who’d have known? Who would look at you and know?”

“Almost everything you think you know is false, Mrs. Geller. Not that it matters any longer.”

“Why is that?”

“As I said, I’m leaving, and this time for good. I will never come near Claudia again.”

“She knew you’d say that. Her white light said you would. That light must know you better than we did.”

“She…um, told you all that? That she thinks she’s an angel?”

“I think maybe you’d better stick around for a while.”

“Mrs. Geller...”

“Don’t get me wrong, Adam. I’d be glad to see you go, but I sure don’t want her chasing after you. And it’s not that I blame you for her being shot. It’s just that you’re not every mother’s dream…” She stopped herself. She sucked in a breath. “Well, you seemed to be. For a while there, you were.”

“Mrs. Geller, I’m sorry. And I do blame myself. I brought all this on you.
I’m so sorry.”

“Can you make this right, Adam?”

“There’s a little more to do.”

“You know that she’s been charged with attempted murder?”

“There will be no testimony against her, Mrs. Geller. That charge and the drug charge should be dropped within the week.”

“Those policemen who shot her…I hear they’ve gone missing. Just missing, or shouldn’t I ask?”

Whistler looked away. He said nothing.

“And that other man. The one they brought in all cut up…”

“Um…what man is that, Mrs. Geller?”

“The bald one. Name of Briggs. They brought him in yesterday morning.”

“Brought him here? He’s here now?”

“Intensive Care. You didn’t know? I guess I’m glad to hear that this is news to you, Adam. I was down there with Claudia when they wheeled him in. There’s not much left of his face.”

Whistler’s eyes narrowed. She misunderstood the look.

“That man’s hurt enough. You leave him be, Adam. He’s scared and he’s sorry. He said so.”

“You spoke to him?”

She nodded. “I held his hand for a minute. He’s not ever going to be the same again, Adam. No need to hurt him anymore.”

“Mrs. Geller, where was he found? Do you know?”

“Out at the airport. Seems his plane took off without him. They found him stumbling around where the plane had been. He was trying to keep his cheek from falling off.”

“Any sign of the other one? Lockwood?”

“I don’t know. But Adam…enough is enough. I hate that you know people

who can do things like this.”

“The truth is, I’m not sure I do.”

He’d been thinking the twins, but this didn’t sound like them. The twins

would not merely have marked him. It must have been one of their mysterious friends. He assured Ms. Geller that he had no intention of harming Briggs any further. Lockwood was another matter, but Lockwood would keep. That’s assuming that he got out alive. He told her again that he’d be leaving that day. His only other business was to deal with the judge who was still, at that moment, with the twins.

He said, “This should soon be over. Or at least where you’re concerned. I think the judge will void the warrant that led to the seizure. You’ll be getting your property back, Mrs. Geller. They won’t try to hurt you again.”

“Or you?”

“They might try. But not here. And not right away.”

She got up. She started pacing. She did not like that answer. “You’re saying they’ll wait. They’ll pick the time and place.”

“And you’re concerned that your daughter might be with me. Put that out of your mind. She will not be.”

“Adam...tell me. Are you a good man?”

“Not the way you’d think. No.”

“You worked for those people?”

“I worked
with
them for a time.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That’s not much of a distinction.”