Buried Innocence - A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery - Book Thirteen (Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery Series) (18 page)

Mary and Bradley
hurried to their car only to find Chelsea Chase waiting next to it. “I’ve got a
number of my guys going out on this raid,” she said. “I need to know if this is
another one of your psychic games.”

“It’s not a game,”
Mary replied seriously, “and I would never put law enforcement agents in
jeopardy without good cause. I get that you have an issue with me, and that’s
fine. But right now, we’ve got a job to do. If you’re not comfortable with the
raid, pull out now. Just let Chris know.”

“I’m not pulling
out,” Chief Chase said. “I’m just not going to let you get my guys killed.”

She abruptly turned
away before Mary could respond.

“She’s doesn’t like
you very much, does she?” Bradley calmly asked.

Mary shook her
head. “No, we’re okay,” she said as she climbed into the cruiser. “But I think
I pissed her off when I took that last filled long john.”

Bradley chuckled
softly.
“Really?
Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, actually,
I’m better than okay,” she said. “I’m ready to kick some butt.”

Bradley pulled the
cruiser out of the parking spot and pulled up behind Chris’s vehicle. “Don’t
let her bother you,” he said. “She doesn’t understand what you do, and that
frightens her. And she doesn’t like feeling that way.”

Shaking her head,
Mary sat back in the seat. “I’m not letting her bother me,” Mary admitted. “I
actually admire her. She’s worried about her officers, and she’s willing to
confront me so they’re safe. I can respect and admire that.”

Chris pulled out
onto the street, and Bradley followed. Mary peered into the side mirror to
watch the caravan of vehicles follow them down the streets of Galena. “We’ve
got a good-sized group. There’s got to be eighteen of us,” Mary said. “Don’t
you think this is overkill?”

“I’d rather have
too many than too few,” he said. “And the more people around, the greater
protection for you.”

“Bradley, you need
to concentrate on the job, not me,” she said. “We both know that if your mind’s
not on the raid, it’s dangerous.”

“Besides, I’ll be
watching out for her,” Mike said from the backseat of the car.

Both Mary and
Bradley jumped. “I really hate when you do that,” Mary said.

“So, how did the
briefing go?” Mike asked.

“Good,” Bradley
replied. “But your old girlfriend isn’t too fond of Mary.”

“Well, that’s
understandable,” Mike said.

“Excuse me?” Mary
asked.

“Well, it’s obvious
she never got over me,” Mike said, “and her discovering that I’m hanging out
with you is making her jealous. Really, Mary, I thought you’d see that right
away.”

Grinning, Bradley
glanced over at Mary. “Yes, Mary, you should have seen that,” he teased. “I’m
surprised she didn’t jump up and try to pull your hair.”

“Mike, I don’t know
if both you and your ego can fit in the backseat of this car,” Mary replied.

“Good thing we’re
almost there,” Bradley said, the teasing tone leaving his voice. “Okay, when we
get out, Mary, I want you to try to make contact with Bill Patterson’s ghost.
Mike, you stay with Mary.”

“I’m guessing Bill
will find me as soon as we’re on the property,” Mary said. “He said he’d keep
an eye out for us, and I have a feeling he’ll be anxious to help.”

“Okay, so once
we’re in, see if Bill can show you some of those hidden panels he mentioned,”
Bradley said. “I would guess that’s where the most damning information is going
to be hidden.”

Mary nodded. “Okay,
where will you be?”

“Covering you while
you search,” he said, “and directing the other officers to areas in the barn
you aren’t searching.”

“Good idea,” she
said. “So, I can have a conversation with Bill without worrying about freaking
anyone else out.”

The car in front of
them slowed, and Bradley pressed his brake. He took a deep breath and looked
over at Mary. “I love you,” he said, reaching over and grasping her hand.

She smiled at him.
“I love you, too,” she replied, squeezing his hand in response.

“Be careful,” he
admonished.

“You, too,” she
said.

He turned the car
and followed Chris into the driveway leading to the house.

“Joey, get your ass
out of bed!” Gigi screamed as she ran to their closet and pulled out a handgun.

“What?” Joey
muttered, sitting up in the bed and rubbing his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“A raid,” Gigi
screamed, tossing another handgun on the bed. “We’ve got a bunch of cops coming
up the driveway.”

Immediately awake,
Joey jumped out of bed and grabbed the gun.
“How many?”

“Looks like five,
maybe six vehicles,” she said. “I can’t see how many are in each. What do you
think I am, psychic?”

“We’ve got to give
up,” Joey cried. “We’re never going to be able to beat six vehicles filled with
cops. We’d need an army.”

Gigi went back to
the closet, pulled out a semi-automatic rifle, slapped a magazine into it and
then tossed another magazine on the desk. “We got an army,” she said. “Now get
your chicken ass out of bed and be a man for once. There are 30 rounds in this
rifle and 30 more on the desk. There’s no way they got 60 cops out there, so
you’ve got plenty of ammunition.”

“Listen, Gigi,
we’re not Bonnie and Clyde,” he pleaded. “There’s no way we can kill a whole
bunch of cops and get away with it.”

She looked at him
in disgust. “You know who my daddy is,” she spat. “One call from him, and we
are sailing to Venezuela with a bank account full of money and new identities. We
can set up shop anywhere we want. Now grab the gun.”

He took a deep
shuddering breath. “You sure?” he asked her, sliding out of the bed and picking
up the gun. “You sure we can do this?”

She rolled her
eyes. “Have I ever been wrong before?” she asked.

She glanced up at
the security cameras and saw that the cars were nearly to the end of the drive.
“Okay, I’m going to run over to the barn and grab the vendor list and the hard
drive. The rest of the stuff is expendable,” she said. “You meet the company. I’ll
take the tunnel, so I’ll be back and forth as fast as I can.”

“You hate that dark
tunnel,” Joey said.

“Yeah, but this
time, it’s the safest and the quickest way to get over there,” she said, and
for the first time that morning, a slight smile appeared on her face. “And if I’m
lucky, a cop or two will be in the barn so I can get a little target practice
in.”

She looked down at
the gun in her hand and then back up at Joey, an entirely different look in her
eyes. Grabbing the second gun on the bed, she stuffed it into the pocket of her
robe. “This is going to be a great morning,” she said. “Now, let’s get the
furniture arranged before I leave.”

They walked over to
the large overstuffed couch. “We need to drop this onto its back,” she said, “so
you can hide behind it and fire at them when they come through the door.”

“But won’t they be
able to see me?” he asked.

“We’ll turn the
lights off,” she said. “You’ll have the advantage. Now help me with this damn
couch.”

The couch dropped, and
Joey knelt behind it, the rifle next to his shoulder and his eye at the viewer.
“I’m ready, Gigi,” he said. “I’m ready for some action.”

“Yeah, for the
first time in your life,” she muttered.

“What?” he asked
nervously. “What did you say?”

“I said you look
good,” she lied. “And you are going to take them all down. Just aim at the
doorway and keep shooting. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Gigi quickly turned
off all of the lights in the house and moved to the kitchen. “I’ll be back as
soon as I can,” she repeated. “Are you okay?”

 
“Yeah, I’m good. I can hear them coming, so go,
Gigi. Go now,” he called and he rested his finger against the trigger.

Grabbing a
flashlight from a hook in the kitchen, Gigi opened the pantry door and went to
the far end of the small, closet-like room. Pushing on a hidden panel, the back
of the pantry popped open to reveal a set of stairs. She turned on the
flashlight, stepped down onto the first stair and pulled the door closed behind
her.

The air felt cool
and smelled of wet dirt. Grabbing onto the handrail, she pointed the flashlight
so it only pointed down and continued down the short flight of wooden stairs to
the beginning of the tunnel. Once Gigi could feel the damp earth against her
bare feet, she shined the flashlight around the space, shuddering at the exposed
roots that seemed like fingers reaching out from the ground to grab her. The
barn was nearly thirty yards away.

She hated the
feeling of dirt all around her, closing her in. It felt like she was in her own
grave. She hesitated for a moment, and then she heard a volley of gunshots from
behind her and realized she had to hurry. If she and Joey were going to escape,
she needed to get their records from the barn. Taking a deep breath, she
stepped forward and started to run towards the doorway on the other side of the
tunnel, the doorway that led into the barn.

Bradley drove past
Chris’s car and the house to get to the barn. He waited until the other two
cars in his group joined him, and then they all got out at the same time. Chief
Chase climbed out of the car next to them. Bradley nodded to her and all the
others in the group. “Weapons drawn,” he whispered. “We don’t know what we are
walking into.”

Mary adjusted her Kevlar
vest, pulled her revolver from her holster and fell into line with the other
members of her team. She hated the fact that Bradley led the way into the barn,
but she realized that was one of the responsibilities of being the team leader.
Bradley waited until everyone was ready to go in before giving the nod to
proceed. Mary held to the back of the line and covertly looked around.

“Looking for
someone?” Chief Chase asked her.

Mary nodded. “Well,
if you must know, I’m looking for a dead contractor who is going to show me
where he built the hidden panels in the barn,” she replied.

Shaking her head
with disgust, Chief Chase moved around Mary. “You are certifiable and you don’t
belong here. You’re going to get someone killed.”

Mary looked around
again, searching for Bill. She couldn’t believe he wouldn’t show up. The rest
of the team had already entered the barn and begun the search. She couldn’t
wait for Bill any longer. Moving towards the barn, she suddenly she heard a
volley of gunshots coming from the house. She turned around, weapon drawn, and
faced the house. Mike appeared next to her. “You need to get into the barn,” he
said.

She shook her head,
focused on the house. “They’ve got return fire in there,” she said.

“Mary,” he said,
standing in front of her. “They have enough backup. They should be fine. You’ve
got an assignment.”

Mary hesitated for
a moment.

“Mary,” Mike said.
“We need to find the hidden panels.

She nodded and
stepped backwards towards the barn, her eyes still on the house. “Okay, let’s
go.”

When she crossed
the threshold of the barn, she saw Bill waiting just inside the door. “Come
on,” he said, pointing to a corner of the barn. “The hidden panels are over
here.”

Mary looked around
the barn. The other members of the team were systematically searching the other
side of the room. There would be sixty feet between her and the areas they
would be searching, plenty of room for privacy.

Running, Mary followed
Bill to the far end of the barn where a room had been constructed near one of
the corners. “This is the control room,” Bill said. “It’s where all the
computer stuff is, and it’s also where the panels are hidden.”

Mary reached down,
her hand clasped on the doorknob when she felt a hand on her shoulder. “What
are you doing?” Chief Chase asked.

Where the hell did
she come from? Mary wondered.

“I’m searching this
room,” Mary replied, fed up with the chief’s treatment. “And I don’t have the time
or inclination to explain my actions to you. So, if you’ll excuse me…”

Mary started to twist
the door knob open when she heard a soft click from the area just past the room.
“Bill?” she called.

“Damn it, Mary, I
forgot about the secret panel,” he cried. “Someone’s coming through.”

“Down!”
Mary yelled, dropping down to the floor.

“Why?” Chief Chase
asked. “Did one of your dead friends—”

A six foot panel
popped open, and Gigi jumped out, her gun drawn. “Die!” she screamed as she jumped
into the light. Chief Chase started to turn, but it was too late. Gigi had
picked her closest target, and the chief was in her sights.

Mary watched the chief’s
eyes widen in shock when the bullet hit. Its impact knocked her forward past
Mary and into the outer wall of the control room. It seemed like everything was
happening in slow motion. Mary turned to see Gigi raise her gun again, aiming
it across the room at another officer. Without thinking, Mary raised her weapon
and fired. The shot crashed against the side of Gigi’s gun and tore it from her
hands.

Gigi glanced over
at Mary, studied her momentarily and then dashed back into the tunnel.

Mary looked back
over her shoulder and saw the smear of red blood on the white enamel wall left
by Chief Chase as she slid to the floor.

“I’ve got her,”
Mike yelled.

Mary got to her
feet. “I’m going after her,” she yelled to Mike, her police training kicking
in. “I can’t let her get away.”

She dove into the
tunnel, sticking close to the wall, and started following Gigi.

“Mary,” Bradley
yelled from the entrance. “Mary, are you okay?”

She turned and
could see his dark silhouette in the opening. A shot rang out past Mary and
ricocheted off one of the support beams near the exit. “Get down!” she yelled.

“Mary!” Bradley
called.

“Bradley, I’m
fine,” she yelled back. “Get out of her line of sight. Chase has been shot. She
needs an ambulance, ASAP!”

The tunnel curved
slightly, and Mary was enveloped in darkness except for the bobbing flashlight
of the woman she was following.
“Stop!
Police!”
Mary called. “We’ve got you cornered.”

Another shot
ricocheted wildly and struck another beam. Mary hugged the dirt wall and
continued down the tunnel in the dark.

“Mary,
it’s
Bill,” the ghost called.

She couldn’t see
him, but she her skin chilled at his presence. “I can hear you,” she whispered.

“You got to get out
of here,” he said. “We never finished this tunnel. We only put in a couple
temporary supports. The ground is too unstable. It’s sandy soil, and with the
echoing of the gunshots, it could come down at any moment.”

“I can’t let her
surprise the guys on the other side,” she said.

“Then make her come
back,” Bill suggested. “Shoot out her flashlight. This side is closer, and she
don’t like being in the tunnel.”

Mary moved to the
middle of the tunnel, making sure there was no light behind her, and aimed for
the far edge of the flashlight. Taking a quick breath, she squeezed the trigger
and fired. A moment later the tunnel was completely dowsed in blackness.

“You bitch!” Gigi
screamed. “I’m going to kill you.”

“I won’t shoot
you,” Mary called, “if you just give up and come back this way. It’s not safe
in here. The tunnel could collapse.”

Gigi fired another
shot and Mary heard it thump into the dirt wall only a few feet away. Then she
heard the rumble.

“Mary, get out!” Bill
screamed. “It’s coming down!”

She turned and
started to run. The ground beneath her feet started to shake, and she was
tossed against the wall. Trying to get her bearings in the darkness, she called
out.
“Which way?”

“Mary,
this way!”
Bradley called from behind her.

Following his
voice, she stumbled forward as clumps of dirt began to drop from the ceiling. Another
shot rang out somewhere behind her, and she felt the tunnel reverberate in
response. Finally, she reached the curve where she could see the opening. She
placed her foot forward to run, but suddenly the walls on either side of her
collapsed. “Bradley,” she started to cry out as she reached for him, but her
words were cut off by a layer of soft soil.

A tiny pocket of
air had formed beneath her face when she protected her face with her arm. Her other
arm had been extended and was trapped in the dirt. She breathed shallowly,
trying not to panic. Bradley saw where she was. He was only a few yards away. The
tunnel couldn’t be that deep. She took a short shuddering breath and prayed.
“Oh, God, please don’t let me die. Please save my baby.”

She felt pressure
on her extended hand. Someone was clasping it. Suddenly, she felt herself being
pulled up out of the dirt. She gasped deeply when the air hit her face, and a
moment later, she was pulled into Bradley’s embrace.

“Damn it,” he
whispered hoarsely. “You scared me to death.”

She took in another
deep, shuddering breath. “I scared me to death, too,” she gasped. “Thanks for
pulling me out.”

“It wasn’t that
hard,” he said. “This part of the tunnel was only a half foot from the ground,
so when I came running out here, I could see your fingers in the sand.”

“How about Gigi?”
she asked.

“She’s down there,
somewhere, about four feet under,” he said. “We’ve got guys digging, but I
don’t know if she’s going to be so lucky.”

Bradley led her
back into the barn, and they hurried back to Chief Chase, watching the EMTs
work on her. Mike was kneeling over her, offering encouraging words. “Chelsea,
hang in there,” he urged.

Chelsea’s eyes
fluttered open for a moment. “Mike? Mike is that you?” she asked, her voice
weak and disoriented. “Are you going to walk me home?”

He shook his head.
“I hope not, sweetheart,” he whispered. “I hope not.”

Mary could see the bullet
entrance wound had caused a hole below her shoulder that oozed blood, and she
knew that exit wound was going to be even worse.

“Let’s pray the
bullet missed her heart,” she murmured.

The EMTs carefully
lifted her and placed her on the gurney. With her IV waving as they pushed her
away, they rushed her out of the barn and to the waiting ambulance.
 

 
“Mary, she could see me,” Mike said, appearing
next to her. “She wanted me to walk her home.”

“No,” Mary said
stubbornly. “She is not going home. She’s staying here.”