Lieberman's Choice (4 page)

Lieberman and Hanrahan had guns in their hands, but both men knew that if Bernie Shepard decided to open the door and use the same weapon he had used on his wife and Beeton, there would be very little left of them to identify.

“What now?” asked Hanrahan.

“We wait for Kearney,” said Lieberman.

That was when they had heard the first shot.

“Shit,” sighed Hanrahan. “Shit, shit …”

Then the second shot and the third.

The radio on the hip of the officer with the rifle sputtered, and a less-than-calm voice crackled, “Sniper fire. I think it's from the roof. Shooting out streetlights.”

“Sergeant,” the officer at the foot of the stairs called.

“We heard,” said Lieberman, touching Hanrahan's arm and indicating that they should go back down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, Lieberman told the officer to stay low and start shooting if the door above him began to open.

The officer nodded and got on his stomach, propping the rifle on the stairs. He knew what he was doing, and that made Lieberman feel a little, just a little, better.

The radio on the officer's hip crackled again and a voice both Lieberman and Hanrahan recognized came on.

“Lieberman,” said Shepard.

Lieberman leaned over, unclipped the radio from the policeman's belt, and stood up, pressing the
SEND
button.

“I'm here, Bernie.”

“I've planted enough explosives up here to take out this building and maybe half the block or more. You read?”

“I read.”

“You believe?”

“I'm a believer,” said Lieberman.

“Good,” said Shepard calmly. “Make believers out of the rest of them or we're going to have a second Fourth of July. I want ‘Channel Four News' up here, the blonde, Janice Giles. Up here with a camera for an exclusive interview.”

“He's crazy,” said Hanrahan, looking up at the door.

“Do it,” said Shepard.

“I'll pass the request on to Captain Kearney,” said Lieberman.

“It's not a request,” said Shepard. “I want Kearney up here one o'clock tomorrow morning. No sooner. No later.”

“Or …?”

“I've got food, water, supplies, weapons, and a lot of explosives,” he said.

“You're ready to die?” asked Lieberman.

“I'm ready.”

“You want to talk? I'm up. I've had a coffee and a danish. The day is young.”

“Come up alone,” Shepard said. “No weapons.”

Something—it may have been a laugh—crackled on the phone and then Shepard clicked off.

Lieberman handed his partner his jacket and gun and started back up the stairs.

“Abe, there's no point in going up there. He could blow your head off and throw you down for bait,” said Hanrahan.

“I appreciate your support and confidence,” Lieberman said over his shoulder.

He was at the top of the narrow stairwell now, and he knocked at the metal door. A scraping of metal on the other side, the flop and clang of metal against the roof, and the door opened slightly, the barrel of a shotgun inching out through the crack.

“Clean and alone,” said Shepard.

“Clean and alone,” said Lieberman, stepping onto the roof.

His first impression was that it was a different world, cool, isolated. The sky was black with bright lights and a huge moon.

Shepard kicked the door shut and put his back against it, his shotgun leveled at Lieberman's stomach.

“Lift the pants legs, one at a time, as high as they'll go.”

“I don't carry a drop, Bernie,” Lieberman said, pulling up his pants legs one at a time.

“You're a man of your word, Lieberman, but words don't mean much tonight. Shirt up.”

Lieberman lifted his shirt and turned around to show he was clean.

“Drop the pants.”

“It's not a pretty sight,” said Lieberman.

“I think I've seen worse,” said Shepard.

In the darkness behind the concrete block barricade under the water tower, a dog growled sullenly.

“Satisfied?” asked Lieberman, pulling his pants up and fastening his belt.

“It's going to take a lot to satisfy me,” he said.

Shepard looked calm, which might be a good or bad sign.

“You look like you're planning a long night,” said Lieberman, nodding at the barricade.

“And a long day,” said Shepard. “We can kick it around awhile Lieberman, but this is no shitcan. Your perp is standing in front of you confessing. Now, are you going to insult me by trying to talk me down?”

“Depends on what I risk by trying. It's nice up here.”

Shepard looked around and at the moon.

“Peaceful at night,” he said.

“You're going to get more people killed, Bernie. That what you want?”

“What I want I'll tell you. Now, I want you to look around. See the yellow circle on the water tower?”

Lieberman looked up at the water tower.

“Yes.”

“I'm going to stay where I can see it,” explained Shepard. “A shot from anything, handgun, shotgun, anything that hits that yellow spot will light us up all the way to the Michigan shore and turn this neighborhood into a people's rubble park.”

Shepard had lowered the shotgun slightly so that it was no longer aimed at Lieberman, but both men knew how quickly it could come up and how much damage it could cause.

“I told you I believe you.”

“But I want you to make them believe.”

“I'll tell them.”

“Now, you've got five minutes to say what you want to say,” said Shepard, looking at his watch.

“You've got a case,” said Lieberman. “You come home unexpectedly, wife's in bed with a fellow cop. Maybe he goes for his weapon. You—”

“You believe that?” asked Shepard.

“No.”

“You think a jury will believe it?”

Lieberman looked at the setup under the water tower.

“No.”

“Why don't you suggest we go for temporary insanity? Cop driven over the edge by the knowledge that his wife is cheating on him.”

“Might go over,” said Lieberman.

“It's not the truth, Abe.”

“Maybe it is and you don't know it, Bernard.”

“I don't want an out. I don't want to walk out of here in cuffs. I want Channel Four up here in the morning. It's getting late. Think it's time for you to go.”

Shepard moved from the door, raised his shotgun again, and said, “You pull the bar away, open it, and go down.”

“We've got to stop you, Bernie,” said Lieberman, doing what he was told.

“You've got to try,” Shepard countered.

Lieberman got the bar off and opened the metal door. It wasn't easy. Below him he could see Bill Hanrahan and the sniper. He took a step down and the door clattered shut behind him.

“What the hell is going on here?” Hanrahan called up the stairwell as Lieberman came down.

An answer suggested itself to Lieberman, but it wasn't time, nowhere near time, to let it out. He took his jacket and weapon back from his partner and went through the door leading back to the elevator.

The situation was bad, but by the time Hanrahan and Lieberman hit the street, it was much worse. Kearney had parked a block south and come through a backyard and an alley. He had heard the report of sniper fire from the roof.

Lieberman and Hanrahan were just coming through the front door of the Shoreham when Kearney stepped in front of them.

“I want the area clear for at least three blocks in all directions, right up to the lake. And find someplace for a command post, someplace where we can see the street and the front of this building. You talked to him?”

“I talked to him,” said Lieberman.

They went into the lobby of the Shoreham. Residents, afraid to stay in their apartments, were gathered in small groups, arguing, listening, complaining, looking frightened. Lieberman led the way through the crowd to the laundry room. Hanrahan closed the door behind them.

Five minutes later Kearney knew what they knew, and the three policemen went carefully back to the front of the Shoreham. An ambulance had pulled up to the front of the hotel. Its lights were flashing.

Hanrahan grabbed a uniformed cop and started to give him orders to clear the area.

“How well you know Bernie Shepard?” Kearney asked Lieberman.

“Not well but long,” said Lieberman, watching as a large dark car pulled up to the end of the street and was stopped by the police.

“He's good,” said Kearney. “Picked the high ground. He can shut down Sheridan Road at rush hour.”

“If it goes that long,” said Lieberman.

“It'll go that long,” said Kearney. “It'll go till he gets whatever he wants or blows up a good part of this city.”

“You know what he wants, Captain?” asked Lieberman.

Kearney rubbed his broken nose and shrugged, but the shrug was a lie.

“No,” he said. “What do you think he wants?”

“Someone else dead,” said Lieberman.

The doors of the dark car were open and two men were being escorted toward the front of the Shoreham. The men were ducking and weaving. When they got close enough, Lieberman could see that one of them was a hastily dressed Marvin Hartz, chief of police, his hair disheveled, anger in his eyes. Hartz's gray suit and dark tie didn't match.

Hartz had fifteen years experience as liaison to the board of education. He had been a forgotten man till he took a chance, bolted the party, quit his job and came out strongly for Aaron Jameson, the black challenger for mayor. Hartz hadn't risked much. His wife had just died and the insurance and his pension would have left him warm and comfortable in Santa Fe. But Jameson had won and Hartz was chief of police. The man running behind Hartz was Captain Alton Brooks, SWAT director, in full uniform.

The chief was burly and big with a slightly stooped right shoulder. Brooks, compact, his face the gnarled color of stained oak, was known to his men as the Indian. To the rest of the Chicago Police Department who knew him, Brooks was the Cowboy.

Before Kearney could speak, Hartz said, “That's Shepard up there? Bernie Shepard just blew his wife and a cop away and climbed on the roof? What the hell for, for God's sake?”

Hartz looked up into the darkness as if it might yield some answer.

“Sergeant Lieberman talked to him a few minutes ago,” said Kearney.

Hartz looked at Lieberman, trying to recognize him, a slight look of distaste on his lips.

“What does he want?” asked Hartz.

The word was that Hartz was anti-Semitic. Lieberman believed the word.

“Wants a Channel Four interview and to see Captain Kearney tomorrow morning at one.”

“In the morning?” asked Hartz as if the requested hour were a confirmation of Shepard's madness.

“He's out of his mind,” said Hartz, looking at Alton Brooks for support.

Brooks blinked once.

Lieberman wanted Kearney to take over, but Kearney had turned to watch the medics removing Andy Beeton and Olivia Shepard in body bags.

“He may be out of his mind, but he's not stupid,” said Lieberman. “He says the roof is rigged with explosives. He says he has an arsenal up there.”

“He's bluffing,” said Hartz.

“I don't think so,” said Lieberman.

“Shepard doesn't bluff,” added Alan Kearney. “If he says it's rigged, it's rigged.”

“I'm not convinced,” said Hartz. “Kearney, what the fuck is he doing? What does he want with you?”

Kearney watched the door of the ambulance close.

“I don't know.”

“Well,” bellowed Hartz. “I'll tell you what he's getting. Shit. That's what he's getting. I want him down and I don't care how. Down and fast. The mayor'll be getting up in an hour or two, and he'll be on my ass about this. If Shepard isn't down by then, I'll be on your ass.”

“He's picked a good spot,” said Brooks, looking around the street. “High ground. What about doors to the roof?”

“One door,” said Lieberman. “Steel. He's got it blocked and locked. The stairway is narrow.”

“Copter or blow open the door,” said Brooks.

“And Bernie Shepard pulls the plug on the whole neighborhood,” said Kearney.

“Look …” Hartz began, having no idea what he wanted anyone to look at. Brooks decided to save him.

“I don't think he's got the roof wired. If he does, we can spot it from the copter and back away.”

“And if he does have it rigged?” asked Kearney.

“Then,” said Hartz, “we have a goddamn circus. Who the hell does he think he is—God?”

Hartz was looking at Lieberman now, so Lieberman answered, “Something like that.”

Hartz shook his head and checked his watch.

“The hell with it. Brooks, get a copter up there.”

“I'll need light to look for wires. Sun'll be up in an hour.”

“May not have wires,” said Lieberman. “Could all be plastic explosives.”

“You were up there,” said Hartz. “Did you see wires, anything that would prove any of this claim?”

“I saw Shepard. That convinced me.”

“All right. All right,” said Hartz holding up his hands as if he were calling for all present to be calm, which Lieberman found amusing since only Hartz seemed to be on the verge of losing control.

“First light comes, you send someone up there in a copter. Take him out, gas him out. Get him before he talks to any television people. Before the mayor gets up. Why the hell does he want to talk to goddamn television?”

“I don't know,” said Kearney.

“Okay. Why does he want to talk to you?”

“Don't know,” said Kearney.

“I'll take a look at that door,” said Brooks, moving into the lobby. Hartz started after him into the building, changed his mind, and took a few steps in the direction of his waiting car before he stopped, turned to Kearney and Lieberman, and pointed at them.