Worse Than Being Alone (27 page)

“
There it is,” Lionel said as I
made the turn and flipped my bright lights.

The road was narrow with winding
turns and no streetlights. This was one of the more obscure parks
in St. Louis County. Limited donated land had been turned into a
picnic area and playground surrounded by dense woods. I parked near
the playground and killed the headlights.

“
I brought a couple of flashlights
and some binoculars,” Lionel said.

“
We’ll have to be careful with the
flashlights. I don’t want to tip Thomas off.”

“
Good point,” Lionel said. “Are
you ready?”

“
Yeah, I’ll bring the
phone.”

After we exited the Pilot, we made our way to the
edge of the woods in the area we thought would be across the street
from the bank. It was very dark and the use of a flashlight was
absolutely necessary. Lionel led the way and tried to shield the
flashlight the best he could. We walked about half a mile into the
woods when we spotted headlights from the road.

Lionel switched the flashlight off as we reached a
slight overlook with a good view of the road and the bank. Lionel
pulled out his binoculars, focusing on the roof of the bank.

“
How do you think he’ll go in?” I
asked.

“
My guess is he’ll try to get in
through the air conditioning on the roof. He’s kind of small and
wiry.”

“
I guess his other option is to
pick the lock in the front door,” I said.

“
That would take a high level of
skill. I can’t see anything on the roof or inside.”

“
Is it possible the bank was never
his target?” I asked.

“
Anything is possible. What are
you thinking?”

Chapter Forty-Eight

A brisk wind ripped through the trees, hinting at
the cold weather to come. I realized my scant clothing was
insufficient for the dropping temperatures. I shivered again as I
framed my response to Lionel’s query.

“
What if he’s robbing some house
in that neighborhood while we’re sitting here freezing our asses
off?”

“
You think we’re overestimating
his talents?” he asked. “You know, I researched bank robberies and
guess what? Three months ago, a bank in Rolla was hit in the middle
of the night. The perp got over $200,000. There were no
fingerprints and the hard drives were removed from the cameras.
They have no leads.”

“
Wow, I hadn’t thought about
previous jobs. I guess we’ll know soon enough.”

Lionel trained the binoculars on the target again as
I readjusted my position. There was no traffic on the road. My
surveillance impatience resurfaced, but I decided to keep talking
without whining.

“
Your mom asked me to have lunch
with her next week.”

“
When did she have time for that?”
he asked.

“
She caught me in the kitchen
right before we left.”

“
She’s good, isn’t she?” he
asked.

“
Yeah, so I guess this is the
check-out-the girlfriend thing, isn’t it?”

“
I wish I could say no,” he said.
“The reality is that’s probably exactly what’s up. I’m sure she’s
concerned about the girls. Don’t worry; she’s gonna love
you.”

“
What have you told her about
us?”

“
I think I talked about a friend
with benefits kinda thing,” he said. “I emphasized the friend
part.”

“
Great, I can’t even pretend I’m
not a slut.”

“
I think we’re all adults here,”
he said. “She’s not that judgmental. In fact, she was pregnant with
my older sister when she married my dad.”

“
I hope you’re right. I had
forgotten about all the baggage that comes with a
relationship.”

“
Are you thinking it’s not worth
it?” he asked.

“
No, I’m scared I won’t pass the
test somehow. I’m upset that it means so much to me.”

I grabbed the binoculars from
Lionel, hoping to change the subject before I made more stupid
statements.

“
I think I see some movement in
the back right corner. Here, check it out.”

“
I think you’re right,” he said,
staring through the lens. “He’s wearing goggles.”

“
What kind of goggles?”

“
Probably infrared,” he said.
“He’ll be able to see the beams from the infrared
sensors.”

“
This kid is amazing.”

“
He’s moving to the area where the
ATM room is,” he said. “It’s probably a good time to call the
cavalry.”

“
Good idea. I’d better tell them
about the air conditioning vent, don’t you think?”

“
Yeah, otherwise, he’ll stay in
the vent or climb out through the roof,” he said.

I took the throwaway cell phone
out of my pocket and dialed 911.

“
This is 911, what is your
emergency?”

“
There’s a bank robbery in
progress at First Federal at 1437 Wolfrum Road. Tell them he got in
through the air conditioning on the roof. They need to surround the
building so he doesn’t get away.”

“
What is your name?” the operator
asked as I pressed end.

“
Now, the real fun begins. How
long do you think we can stay?”

“
We should be OK here for a
while,” Lionel said. “We can go out the back entrance so we don’t
have to go out on Wolfrum at all.”

“
It’s going to take a while for
them to get in there and catch him. They won’t think about how he
got here at first, right?”

“
That’s what I’m thinking,” he
said. “They’ll probably have to get the bank manager to get in
there. I’d send a couple of cars to surround the
building.”

Those words had no sooner left Lionel’s mouth when
two patrol cars, lights off, one from either direction, sped along
Wolfrum and came to a screeching halt in the front and back of the
bank. The flashing lights exploded simultaneously. Lionel was
watching inside the darkened bank.

“
He’s coming out of the ATM room
and heading for the air conditioner duct,” Lionel said. “I’m sure
he’ll head for the roof.”

At that point, two more police cars took positions
on the sides of the bank. The police officers exited the vehicles,
pointing flashlights at the roof of the building.

“
He must be freaking out. He’s
probably just now realizing he’s not going to get away.”

“
And wondering how they know to
look at the roof,” Lionel said.

We took turns watching the show through the
binoculars. There wasn’t much activity until the bank manager,
escorted by a team of detectives, pulled up in front of the bank.
Weapons drawn, they escorted the manager to the front door, pushing
him out of the way after he opened the door.

“
Sloan is probably trying to
figure out whether to come out of the vent inside or repel down the
roof.”

“
He’s going to try to come off the
roof,” Lionel said. “Let’s make a bet.”

“
OK, although I don’t necessarily
disagree with you. What’s the bet?”

“
You stay the night again,” he
said. “The caveat is no Barbie sleeping bag for you.”

“
Sure, why not? But you realize I
was going to do that anyway.”

It was my turn with the glasses.
Suddenly, there was the figure dressed in black on the back side of
the roof.

“
I see him.”

“
The real question is do they see
him,” Lionel said.

“
They must see him. They’re
running to the back.”

We didn’t need the glasses to see two police
officers dragging the figure dressed in black to the front parking
lot. He was already cuffed and talking to the detectives. I lifted
the binoculars to get a close up view of the perp.

“
Is it Sloan?” Lionel
asked.

“
I’m not sure.”

Chapter Forty-Nine

The first hints of light were visible on the horizon
by the time Lionel and I decided it was time to leave our perch.
Early morning dew seemed to have an almost frost-like appearance,
which made me shiver again as we headed for Lionel’s Pilot. I had
climbed back up earlier to retrieve a fleece jacket, but even with
that addition, it still felt cold as we made our final trek up the
hill.

Teams of patrolman and detectives still surrounded
the bank, moving in and out with bags of evidence in their hands.
Upon further inspection with the binoculars, we were able to
confirm it was, in fact, Thomas Sloan who had been captured in the
bank. He had been placed in the back of a patrol car ostensibly
questioned for another hour before being driven away.

I had phoned my brother Dave, who was finally able
to get past his anger about my calling in the middle of the night,
to have a conversation. Despite the fact no murder was involved to
invoke activation of his unit, he was as fascinated as I was by the
daring exploits of the not quite 20 year old. He agreed to keep my
anonymous phone call intact, and make contact with the detectives
on the case. Lionel and I wanted to be sure we got some inside
details because of our involvement, and because we were flat-out
curious.

The sun rose in the middle of a cluster of dark
clouds that signaled the arrival of a cool front. We watched the
sun try to burn through the clouds as we headed back to Lionel’s.
Eerie quiet in Lionel’s house greeted us when we entered the house.
A note from Lionel’s mom indicated she had taken the girls back to
her house. She would make breakfast and have them back about
noon.

A nap was in order, and the Barbie sleeping bag
definitely didn’t seem appealing. I was still cold from our
stakeout and we opted for a hot bath in Lionel’s huge Jacuzzi tub.
We actually did eventually manage a nap, which was interrupted by
Dave about two hours into it.

“
Hey, Dave,” I managed after I
retrieved my cell phone. “What’s up?”

“
I talked to one the detectives in
on the bank job. Our guy Sloan is a real piece of work, just like
we thought. I figured he’d clam up and demand an attorney, but he’s
singing like a bird.”

“
Really,” I said. “I’m kind of
surprised. Why is he talking?”

“
They think it’s because he wants
them to know how smart he is.”

“
Well, that fits,” I said. “What’s
he saying?”

“
They found a burglary kit in the
bank. He had infrared goggles to spot the infrared beams, repelling
gear, and a lead film bag to block the beams. He is also quite the
contortionist, given some of the tight turns in the air
conditioning ducts. In his car, they found ropes, uniforms,
cameras, and a police scanner.”

“
Wow, this gets better and
better,” I said. “How did he get into the ATM room? I thought they
had locks on them.”

“
That’s the best part. You’re
right; they do have huge Secura Guardia locks on those rooms.
They’re big and clumsy looking. The detectives didn’t believe he
could crack it, so they brought one into the interrogation room. He
took the thing apart in about 60 seconds.”

“
You know, Dave,” I said, “It’s
really hard not to be impressed with the sheer nerve this guy seems
to have. He was on his way to becoming a master criminal. Don’t you
think it’s strange that we were able to tail him without him
noticing?”

“
He wasn’t expecting anyone to
catch on. He’s young, cocky, and thinks he’s the smartest guy in
any room.”

“
Well, most of the time I would
agree,” I said.

“
I see this all the time. Most of
the plot is very well thought out and executed. Then there’s this
one little thing that happens they didn’t expect, and the whole
thing unravels.”

“
He didn’t expect Pete Rizzo to do
anything,” I said. “Employers just don’t usually hire
investigators. They defer to the insurance companies.”

“
Another consequence of Sloan’s
vanity. He couldn’t resist the urge to poke a stick at Rizzo. By
the way, what did Rizzo say when you talked to him?”

“
He feels vindicated, of course,”
I said. “He told me sometimes his intuition goes into overdrive,
and he’s learned to listen when that occurs.”

“
His intuition was right on target
this time. Hold on a sec, Kit, I’ve got a call I should probably
take. I’ll get back to you in a minute or two.”

Lionel was dressed, standing by his bed, and tapping
on his wrist watch when I looked at him. I checked the clock by the
bed and realized it was almost noon. I jumped out of bed, retrieved
my clothes, and fled to the bathroom with my cell phone still held
to my ear. Finally, I heard Dave’s excited voice on the line.

“
Man, oh man, this is quite a
ride. Thomas Sloan was handcuffed to a table in an interrogation
room. The detective went to get coffee and Sloan was gone when he
got back. They’ve locked down the county government building and
they’re searching the building. I’m going to head over
there.”

“
Holy crap! Let me know what
happens,” I said as the line went dead.

Chapter Fifty

Roni and Harley were putting the
finishing touches on Harley’s barbecue feast of chicken and ribs,
grilling the meat and then letting it simmer in a large slow cooker
filled with sauce. It was sunny and cool and the wind was picking
up, portending the arrival of another, stronger cold front later
that afternoon. Another good reason to have the grilling out of the
way.