Blood Line (22 page)

Her words had a chilling effect on Moore. I could see him piecing the puzzle together in his mind; he was an extremely smart person, after all. The problem was: he wasn’t the smartest person in the room.

Valerie pulled her weapon and fired. The shot struck Moore between the eyes.

Valerie said, “We just needed you to give us a reason.”

Zach could be heard repeating, “Holy shit. Holy shit!”

“You’re fine, Zach,” Valerie assured him. “Why don’t you head on up the stairs so Ryan and Hodges can remove the body?”

Hodges and Ryan hustled down the stairs and loaded the body into a black body bag Valerie had asked Lester to procure for her earlier. I watched them double time it back up the stairs with Moore heavy in the bag. I was about to ask Valerie a question when a long shadow appeared on the floor. It was Wakefield.

“I’m impressed,” she said. “The Mossad trains their people well. I’d heard about their interrogation techniques, but tonight was a first for me. The way you twisted him up and spun him out was impressive. But tell me, how’d you know he’d make a play at the end?”

“His ego was too massive to sustain a hit like the one he took when he was broken. The only reason I asked him to play a role in confirming the data on the computer was to repair the damage to his ego. Once he became combative again with me, insisting he be allowed to say what he wanted to say, I knew he was ready. All I needed to do at that time was tear him down again. Humiliate him one more time. It was only a matter of when, not if, he’d act, to prove to himself he was the smarter person.”

“And the gun?” Wakefield asked.

“What about it?”

“Was it loaded?”

“Does it matter?”

Wakefield didn’t respond right away. She turned toward the stairs before speaking.

“So, even before we made contact with Leecy, you decided not to give Moore what he wanted. I suppose we could play the what if game and speculate how this could’ve ended, but I’ve never been one to second guess.” Pausing briefly on the stairs, Wakefield turned to face us.

“I’m grateful to you both. We’ll pick up the other bad guys on our way out of town. They’ll be debriefed, and then dealt with accordingly. I’ve already forwarded the information about the buyer to the FBI. They’ll pick him up when he lands in Atlanta.” She turned again and walked up the stairs, stopping to say, “Tell Leecy that Julia won’t face prosecution. I’ll personally see to it that she gets the help she needs. I don’t think we could’ve pulled this off tonight without her.”

“Lester said to tell you that Porter’s injuries prevent him from being transported tonight,” I said.

“No, I’m sure Lester is mistaken. We’ll pick up Porter as planned.”

“We could’ve pulled it off without Julia, you know, but it would’ve been a lot bloodier,” Valerie said.

Wakefield laughed, and then she was gone.

I hugged and kissed Val before taking her by the hand, and we walked up the narrow staircase of the old jail together. We stepped onto the lawn of City Hall, only to realize Wakefield, Hodges, Franks, Ryan, Julia, Zach, the SUVs, the ambulance, and the other vehicles had all been driven away.

“How did they do that so fast?” I asked. “Looks like we’re walking.”

“No, we’re not. Look over there,” Valerie said as she pointed toward the restaurant.

I could see the parking lights of the Honda Civic as the car drove toward us.

“I told her to go to her grandparents,” I said.

“Yeah, I know you did, but she’s smarter than you, and knew we’d need a ride home.”

I held Valerie’s hand as we crossed the lawn of City Hall. I stopped in front of the Historical Marker and said, “Wait, I want to read this.”

“‘December 10th, 1890. The citizens of Parkland, Georgia, were slaughtered on this spot by a neighboring tribe of Cherokee Indians. The fifty citizens lost their lives in what is considered the most deadly attack by Indians on settlers living on Georgia soil,’” I finished reading.

“What do you make of this, Mr. Wild Indian Man?” Valerie asked with a smile.

“It’s all bullshit. My great uncle told me about this when I was a kid. His version was very different.”

I heard Leecy calling us from the car. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

“Well, what did he tell you?” Val asked.

When I didn’t respond right away, she pressed.

“Are you going to tell me what your uncle told you?”

“Was the gun loaded?” I countered.

Val smiled again and said, “Get in the car, Granger. Let’s go home.”

“What are you two talking about?” Leecy asked.

“Your father is keeping secrets, Leecy,” Valerie said as she buckled her seatbelt.

Leecy reversed out of the parking space, saying, “No secrets, Dad. You know the rule.”

“Mom’s keeping secrets, too, Leecy,” I said in my best child-like voice.

Leecy was speeding away from City Hall, lecturing, “It’s been a long couple of days. I haven’t showered since I can’t remember when, and I want to sleep in my own bed. So spill, you two.”

“He won’t tell me the true story behind the historical marker,” Valerie informed Leecy.

“She won’t tell me if the gun that was left on Moore’s person was loaded or not,” I said.

“Easy, the gun was loaded. Even a nut job like Moore would’ve noticed the weight difference between an empty gun and a loaded gun. As far as that bogus Historical Marker is concerned, I Googled that last year after the topic came up in history class. People did die there, but only after the citizens of Parkland, as Park City was known back then, kidnapped some of the Indian women and children that were passing through the area. The white citizens wanted to force the Indians to leave the area and thought they could achieve that goal by taking hostages. The Indians were preparing to meet the demands of the settlers and break camp. The Indian Chief sent a scout to the white settlement, which was located on the land where City Hall now stands, to make sure the Indian women and children were being treated well. That’s not what the scout witnessed. No, instead he witnessed the white men taking advantage of the women and some of the older children. The scout reported back to the Chief and the rest is history, literally.”

“Interesting that kidnapping and sexual assault almost happened again in the same place. I wonder if Moore knew about the true story and picked that spot on purpose,” I said.

“No, the spot was chosen because of its proximity to the police station,” Leecy said.

“And now we know the answer to the other question,” I said.

“What question?” Leecy asked.

“The question of who’s the smartest person in the room,” Valerie answered.

December 23, 2013

Holiday travel was in full swing, as Christmas was two days away. The Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International airport was as busy as I’d ever seen it. Valerie and I were flying to New York, renting a car, and driving to New Haven, Connecticut, to visit Leecy for the holidays.

Leecy had left for Yale in late August, and we hadn’t seen her since. She was taking a double load of classes in pursuit of her degree, so there was no time for family visits even during scheduled school breaks. She would call us occasionally and we’d Facetime with her, but that just wasn’t the same as seeing her in person. We missed her, and decided to do something about it.

“Have you ever?” Valerie asked as we slogged through the main concourse after checking our luggage at curbside check-in.

“No, this is ridiculous, and we haven’t even made it to the line for security yet.”

“Maybe the crowds will thin out once we get to our gate,” she said, and then asked, “Did you drop off all the gifts? Did you see Lester and Elizabeth?”

“Yes. All gifts were delivered. I did see the new Chief of Police and his wife this morning. You should’ve come with me, because I got to see baby Winston.”

“You did? Is he as precious as his pictures? How’s Liz?”

“Yes, and yes he is, and she’s doing great. They’re all just great. Liz said to tell you she’d miss you. She said Park City won’t be the same without Valerie Granger living there.”

Valerie turned toward me in the security line, and in one of her rare moments of self-doubt, said, “We’re doing the right thing?”

Not really a question, but more of a statement seeking confirmation. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

“Doing? We’ve done it. No time for second guessing now. We’ve sold our home. Our belongings. Our cars. We resigned our positions at INESCO. It’s all done, sweetheart. We’re unencumbered.”

She leaned her back against me again and watched the faces of the people in the crowd. The security line wasn’t moving very fast. We had plenty of time to watch the people in the crowded airport as we inched forward at a snail’s pace. We were content to be there and just be.

“David called again,” Val said suddenly, “while you were out this morning. He asked me to reconsider.”

“Really? I thought he was happy with the decision.”

“Mom and Dad are sorry to see us move away, and are struggling with why I didn’t bring them into my confidence sooner, but they’ll get over it. They just need a little time.”

“What’d you say?”

“I just told them all I loved them, and we’d come back to visit regularly. But I made it clear we wanted to move out of the area and be closer to wherever Leecy wound up. They’ll be okay. Change is hard on everyone.”

“INESCO is in good hands. They’ll be fine. Your family will come around.”

We’d reached the ID and ticket check portion of the TSA line and presented ourselves for inspection. Once through, we entered the body scanner. That was that. We were through security. We slipped on our shoes and headed for the down escalator, the plane train, and eventually our destination at Concourse C.

The crowd of people waiting for the plane train resembled a New York subway platform at rush hour. We had to elbow our way through the large mass of bodies to get to the moving sidewalks. I preferred the moving sidewalks to the train, anyway. The walking gave me a chance to stretch everything out in preparation for sitting on the plane. We walked around a family standing in the middle of the floor staring up at the arrival and departure screens.

That’s when I saw a familiar face.

“Your two o’clock,” I said to Val.

She looked to her left before turning her head to the right. She saw the person in question and looked down at the floor.

“Yes, I see. Don’t forget, Leecy is making dinner for us in her apartment tonight. Do you think we’ll make it by 10:00 p.m.?”

I looked up and slightly to the left before responding. Another familiar face.

“Yes, I see that’ll be tough to do. I thought we were surprising her tonight.”

“We were going to surprise her, but I called and warned her we were coming. She’s very excited to see us. She said she had lots to tell.”

Val stepped off the moving sidewalk and veered toward the escalator for Concourse C, and I followed her lead. We snaked our way through the crowd and found a spot in line and waited our turn on the escalator. I checked my watch. It was 3:15 p.m. Our flight left in an hour. We had plenty of time and no reason to rush.

At the top of the escalator, we turned right with the crowd. We moved like cattle through a short corridor. When the crowd reached the main hall of Concourse C, we broke to the right toward Gate 13. The gate was crowded. It appeared everyone in Atlanta was flying to New York City. I looked around for a place to sit down but found nothing. Valerie pulled me by the arm.

“Come on,” she urged, “Gate 10 is empty. We can sit down over there.”

I looked in the direction she was pulling to see she was right. Gate 10 was deserted, and for good reason. There was a cleaning crew assembled outside the adjacent restroom. They were busy roping off the area, and everyone was giving them a wide berth.

We found a couple of seats on the far end of the gate area, facing the window. We sat down with our backs to the crowds and watched the dance of people with orange-tipped flashlights, luggage movers, fuel trucks and planes. We were the only people in the gate area. That is, until I saw the figures approaching us in the reflection of the window. Then I saw their faces as they sat down in the seats behind us.

“I take it you orchestrated the bathroom scene for our benefit. Or are you guys flying commercial, now?” I asked.

“Yes, those are my people, Ron,” Wakefield said. “I needed to talk to you and Valerie before you left for New York, and I never fly commercial. I do like to come here and people watch, though.”

“Yeah, we spotted your team as we made our way through the airport,” Valerie said.

“Ryan was at our two o’clock when we first entered the underground walkway,” I said.

“We picked up Franks at our ten o’clock,” Valerie added.

“Hodges was coming down the C Concourse escalator as we were going up. That one was blatant. I knew we’d be seeing you next,” I finished.

“Like I said, I needed to talk. You two headed north to see the kid?” Wakefield asked, and then not waiting for a response she added, “Let me tell you, she’s doing exceptionally well, which is no surprise to anyone at the Farm. She’s at the top of her class.”

Valerie said, “That’s good to know, but we’re more concerned with how she’s doing academically.”

“She’s top of that class, too,” Wakefield said.

“Get to it, then. Our flight boards in five minutes.”

“Yes, I am fully apprised of your travel schedule. I have news from this summer.”

“We’re listening,” I said.

“The Smith boys, Travis and Briggs. Well, it turns out they are brothers. Both of them dishonorably discharged from the Army before ever becoming actual Rangers. They’ll be spending the rest of their lives in Leavenworth Penitentiary. Porter is in a Federal prison in upstate New York. His real name is Carl Reeves. He had several outstanding warrants in the New York area, and the state was happy to prosecute him. Porter was not Army. He was a friend of Moore from Moore’s college days.”

“Sounds like those guys are where they need to be. What about Julia?”

“Julia and Zach are heading a new division in charge of updating and protecting the Federal payment systems. Julia showed us how Moore wiped the system clean of Travis and Porter and changed Briggs Smith’s file information. She told us that Moore planned to erase all of them from the system once they had their big payday. Julia is a very bright girl, and I’ve also been making sure she gets the therapy she needs. Turns out she was abused by her stepfather. That explains the PTSD-like reaction to Moore’s tactics.”

“What about the buyer?” Val asked.

“The FBI picked him up when he landed. I don’t know his exact location at the moment, but I’m sure it’s unpleasant.”

“Thank you for the update. I’m happy Julia is going to be okay. I know Leecy will be glad to hear the news,” Valerie said.

“Leecy already knows,” Wakefield said, “which brings me to my real reason for being here. You two are without a home, your child is away at college, and you don’t have anything tying you down. I was curious what you are planning to do with this new footloose lifestyle.”

“We haven’t given it that much consideration,” Valerie said.

“Here’s something to consider, then,” Wakefield said. “You two make an excellent team. You know what each other’s thinking, like ESP. I could sure use it on my team. I want you two to come work for me. Freelance, of course. Freelance pay is really good. More than enough to supplement your new lifestyle.”

Valerie looked at me and said, “I take it freelance work still means what it used to mean?”

“It does. I have something on the books that a family of three would be a perfect cover for.”

“Sounds interesting. When would we start?” Val asked.

“As soon as possible.”

The gate attendant’s voice came over the loudspeaker. She was announcing the First Class boarding of Flight 2217 for New York. That was our flight. I stood up, ready to leave, but Valerie lingered a bit longer in her seat before standing and taking my hand.

“We can’t speak for Leecy,” I said to Wakefield, “and I wouldn’t dare insert myself into her business.”

“Here,” Wakefield said, handing Val an envelope, “you should read this. I think it’ll help you make your decision.”

“Goodbye, Tammy, and happy holidays,” I said, as Valerie and I walked to our gate. I presented our boarding passes and headed down the jetway. We found our seats in row three. We sat and watched the people filing past us in search of their seats. The First Class attendant made the rounds, taking drink orders, which Val and I both declined. The Captain’s voice was soon heard over the speakers, announcing our place in line for takeoff, the weather conditions in New York City, and flying time to our destination.

The plane was moving slowly over the tarmac when Valerie turned in her seat to face me. I looked at her fully. She was holding the envelope in her lap. She opened the unsealed flap and we read the note together.

Dear Mom and Dad,

If you’re reading this, then you’ve talked to Wakefield, and you know there’s a mission. What you don’t know is I’m now part of Wakefield’s team. I’m not waiting for you at my apartment. I’m sorry, but you both know how this job can be. I want you two to join me, just as Wakefield does.

There’s a private jet waiting for you at Teterboro Airport to bring you to me, and car and driver waiting at LaGuardia to take you to the jet. I hope to see you soon.

All my love, respect, and admiration,

Leecy

“You in?” Val asked.

“I’m in.”