After the Evil – A Jake Roberts Novel (Book 1) (11 page)

“Signed, sealed and delivered, all that’s left is
the crying.”

The copilot gave his best compensatory laugh, and a
thumbs-up.

“How old do you think she is, boss?”

“What difference does it make? Old enough.”

The junior officer actually felt a tinge of sympathy
for Megan. He knew that she like all of the others, had come into
the airlines with stars in their eyes, seemingly unaware that
piranha like Parker swam around them. Megan for some reason seemed
extra young, extra innocent, and naïve to him.

What a shame.

* * *

A menacing eclipse appeared over our table. Harmon
slides his large frame into the booth next to Mika. He knows we
won’t fit on one side of the booth.

“Who you cheesin’ fo’?” he asks.

He normally speaks in perfect English, but every now
and again, he lets out his
brotherness
. He was great at it
when the bad guys were around. Harmon and I reach across the table
and do a fist bump.

“Yo, sup dawg. You feel me?”

I abuse the phrases, because I like the game. My
inner-brother can’t stay silent. Mika watches us hoping the
nonsense will be over soon. Her fingers separate her flowing raven
hair into strands. Her Asian features from her mother’s side,
complement her father’s European complexion.

“We need another flood,” she says.

“A what? A
flood
?” Harmon says.

“Another flood like the first one you know––Noah,
the Ark, two of each species? Except this time, we need to leave
the males behind.”

She takes us down without breaking a sweat. Glaring
at Harmon, Mika drops her chin, and raises her eyebrows.

“Do you have anything for me, anything the least bit
encouraging?”

“You think it’s that easy, don’t you. You come down
here, from the
F-B-I,
with all of your
high-tech
gear,
and straight away, you want
results
. Well, in case
you ain’t noticed, this here ain’t no F-B-I. We’s just po’ poleese
fokes tryin’ to do ourin’ bes’, missy,” Harmon says.

He opens his eyes wide to emphasize.

Mika’s shakes it off.

“No wonder I’m jammed up. I’m working with
comedians.”

She queries the room.

“Pardon me, ah excuse me, can anyone find me a
real
cop please?”

“Hey, you have the precinct’s best, and second best,
sitting right here,” Harmon says.

Harmon deadpans at me.

“Which one is you?”

She continues with head bobs.

“You’re absolutely correct. I have to say that you
two, are the biggest dicks in here.”

“Did you say the two biggest
dicks
? Now baby,
you know which one has that birthright,” Harmon says.

He pats my shoulder.

“How you doing, man?”

Harmon has saved my life on the streets on more than
one occasion, and my butt with Fairchild many more. I watch Mika
laughing. She's trying to decide which one of us is the biggest
dick. I fall back in time.

Her hair fell to her shoulders after she loosened
the braid. Her eyes radiated with confidence and pierced deep
inside mine. Her face was soft as I stroked it. Her scent was
inviting me. I leaned forward, took her in my arms, and kissed
her.

“I did find a clue,” Harmon says.

Mika’s head snaps in his direction. I’m pulled back
from my daydream.

“Harmon Blackwell!”

“Well it’s not really a
clue
, in the
clue
sense.”

She waves her fist at him and follows with a
threat.

“So help me I’m going to smack the shit out of you.
Come on, what have you got?”

He answers with a small shrug attached.

“Mr. and Mrs. Thaddeus Abrams weren’t a happily
married couple. She told me in so many words, you know like she
forgot play the good wife. She was distracted for a moment, and let
it out. It’s got to mean something don’t you think?”

“A struggling marriage. That could be why she spends
so much time at charitable functions. Do we have any proof he
fooled around?” she says.

“It might support the fact he knew his assailant,”
Harmon says.

“Knew his assailant? I should say so. I think it’s
safe to assume he wasn’t on the clock giving good
therapy
,
more like he was receiving some.”

“Did we check his e-mails, or regular mail, maybe
there’s something there. Maybe that’s the connection. Maybe all
those gentlemen were soliciting sex over the Internet?”

Mika bites her lower lip while our orders are placed
on the table. She is famished so she picks up a fork. With a big
smile, the server turns to take Harmon’s order. He asks for chips
& salsa, with a cherry Coke. The young, black woman brushes
against my partner leaving him the impression she finds him
irresistible. He gives her one of those brother-type smiles. As she
walks away, he turns to me.

“Did you see that? I could get into some kind of
trouble with her, feel me?”

He is glowing hot, red hot.

I shrug, and continue trying to figure out what it
is I have been served. It doesn’t look like the picture in the
menu.

“And I thought nothing would ever come between us
Harmon, I’m really hurt,” I say.

Mika’s eyes dart between the two of us. She has
consumed her meal while we played with our food.

“I’ll check the phone records of our victims to see
if anything matches. I’m leaving now so that the two of you can
have a moment.”

Harmon stands to let her out of the booth. With her
purse in hand, she stands over us.

“I’m so glad I work alone. Thanks for lunch Jake.
I’m going back to the house and review some phone files. Harmon,
Harmon, over here, hey! She’ll be back. You’re burning a hole in
her behind with your superhero laser vision.”

“She’s so fine.”

I slide out of the booth.

“Wait I’ll walk out with you.”

I point at Harmon.

“That leaves him with the bill, I thought the Feds
were paying for lunch.”

Harmon turns in my direction.

“You going to be all right? Want to get together
later and watch the Sopranos?”

His concern is real and appreciated. He is sitting
down so I pat him on the shoulder.

“No man, but thanks, I’m looking forward to a quiet
night of introspection and self-doubt.”

As we walk out, Mika has that look in her eyes. I’m
sure I know why.

“Lori Powers?”

I already have my delaying question on my
tongue.

“How come you never ask how I’m doing?”

“Because, you forget, I
know
you Jake. I know
if you want to talk to me about something, you will. I know when
your inner child wants to speak. I’ve been there and done that,
remember?”

Her arms rise to punctuate.

“And I know you just tried to dodge my question
again.”

I look back with one of those stupid male looks.

“So Jake, what’s up with this Powers woman? Did you
interview her, or are you in love again?”

I know what my desires are with Lori Powers, but I’m
getting some weird signals from the Planet Mika. I don’t know what
to say. I wasn’t expecting any emotional conflict over lunch.

“It got personal, didn’t it Jake? And now you’re
headed back to do a follow-up with her, right?”

She looks down at the pavement.

“Well Detective Roberts, with that kind of
dedication, I’m sure you’ll crack this case wide open, so to
speak.”

She waits, but I have nothing to say.

“Well I’ve got to get back to the house. I want to
go over the phone records. I also told Fairchild I’d touch base
with him, keep him up to date.”

She looks past my shoulder at the city.

“There’s a killer loose out there. Just help me find
him that’s all I ask.”

It would have been the perfect time to say something
meaningful, intelligent, but instead, I watch her walk away. She
slams the car door shut, backs up, and drives off. I hear Harmon
come up behind me.

“She still loves you, man. Where you headed now? I
thought I’d hang with you, you know, and do the
partner
thing. You see, we, the two of us, are supposed to spend time
together, that’s what they mean when they say ‘partners,’ get
it?”

I smile back, but my thoughts are about Mika, and
Lori.

“Not this time, but I promise we will. Did you get
anywhere with the girl?”

“I was doing real good right up until she found out
I was the
heat
. Some people just can’t seem to take the
heat, you know what I mean?”

He was considered a visionary by those close to him,
but somewhat off-center by the rest of the population. His enemies
despised him, and were envious of his success. They called him
Ironman, a reference to the comic book hero and Robert Downey.
Hardball was definitely his game. He had the balls. His shouting
could be heard all the way down the corridor. He scowled at those
attending the meeting.

“My head is pounding with all of the science. This
is too much to download, I believe that’s the correct term.”

He shifted to his left then swiveled away from them,
brooding and annoyed. He contemplates.

Scientists, what a pain in the ass!

He rotates back to face them with a disgruntled
look.

“All right, what you’re saying Dr. Caldwell, if I
understand this properly, is we have gone from Tesla theory, to
Tesla reality?”

“Correct sir,” Caldwell said.

Dr. Patricia Caldwell, mid-thirties, was giving a
presentation on weapons of the future to her CEO. Her hair was
pulled up tight in a bun. It was her nature to hide behind the
walls of science and research. It helped to prevent any sign of
emotion.

“In 1886, an obscure scientist named Nikola Tesla,
the inventor of alternating current, also developed the principle
of ‘resonance’ whereby objects can be altered by vibrating them. He
said and I quote:

“
It is possible to transmit electrical energy
without wires to produce destructive effects at a distance and
apply it for innumerable purposes including physical degradation
and even death.
”

Robert Scott, also a brilliant man CEO of one of the
largest defense contractors in the US, considered the
possibilities. He knew that conventional weaponry had to be
replaced some day, so he was willing to keep an open mind.

“Physical degradation?”

He spun around again in his expensive leather,
executive chair to face out the scenic penthouse picture windows.
To his subordinates he was known as, “Attila.” He didn’t care what
they called him as long as it wasn’t to his face. He contemplated
the potential revenue boost Caldwell was talking about. A mid-level
executive made an observation to Caldwell.

“This is high-tech war isn’t it? Like the crossbow
was to the agrarians? The wave of the future is high-energy radio
frequencies, and transient electromagnetic devices used as
weapons?”

He beamed with excitement. The CEO rotated his chair
and got back into the conversation. As he was about to speak, his
executive secretary entered the conference room. She had been with
him since the entire corporation was housed inside of a trailer. In
her mid-fifties, she was still a striking woman. Maggie felt
confident enough to stride in and interrupt the conversation. She
knew all his strange habits and idiosyncrasies. She also knew
important details about his offspring, which included birth dates,
anniversaries, and the grandchildren’s names. More importantly, she
knew how to handle all of the ex-wives. In her hand was a small
piece of paper with a message from a visitor in the outer office
who requested an audience with him.

“She’s outside?”

Maggie couldn’t conceal her smile.

“Meeting’s adjourned, take a recess class.”

His anxious face looked back at Maggie. Those at the
table grabbed their papers, and almost ran for the door.

“Send her in.”

Maggie strutted across the floor in her tight
pinstriped skirt, silk white blouse, and the five-inch heels she
was legendary for. She stopped at the door and waved at the visitor
who appeared a moment later. The next thing Robert saw was a timid
wave from his daughter’s hand.

“Hi, daddy.”

Mika attached her little girl smile intended to melt
his heart.

“Mika, where have you been? Wait. Have you a pen and
some paper? Quick, write this down.”

Taking out her notepad, she glanced at him with a
quizzical look.

“1-8-0-0-555––

After the first five numbers, she stopped
writing.

“Okay, okay, I get it. But you have to understand
I’m a very busy girl and I have responsibilities.”

“You know you give me an icepick headache, and
forget about the thousand broken hearts,” he said.

“I’d have thought the pain would be much lower.”

Grinning, she knew she had just one-upped him.

“Come here, it’s time for the big hug scene,” Robert
said.

He held his arms wide open. They embraced like
family members do after realizing they let life get in the way of
their relationships. She was a sight for his tired eyes. To Mika,
he was still her knight in shining armor. To Robert, she was still
his little girl. She was just like him.

“What brings you to see old dad who has been in the
same town with the same address and telephone number for forty
years now? Need some cash?”

He reached into his pocket, but she waved him
off.

“Those days are over dad, but thanks for the
offer.”

She grasped his hand.

“The Justice Department didn’t send you here about
those––”

A wide grin was followed by a chuckle.

“Justice could never catch up with you, Robert
Scott.”

Mika thought about how much time had passed since
her last visit. Dad was getting older.

I need to spend more time with him.