Relentless (Elisabeth Reinhardt Book 1) (38 page)

The three men stared dumbfounded. Slim muttered, “
What the ….”

“How did you know who I was?” Ray blurted, but Jake grabbed her collar and demanded, “Who are you, Lady? You a cop?”

“Not exactly, Jake.”

“Not exactly,” he shrieked, “What the hell does that mean, you old crow?”

“Why don’t you gentleman have a seat and I’ll tell you all about it,” Elisabeth suggested coolly waving her hand toward a carved love seat.

“You think you’re smart, don’t you!” Jake taunted her.

“Not really,” Elisabeth sighed, “but I do read a lot.”

“She reads a lot!” Jake turned to his buddies, “do you believe that?”

“Want us to tie her up, Jake?” Slim asked reaching into his pocket for some rope.

“
Really, you don’t think three big guys like you can handle an old crow like me without ropes?” Elisabeth teased, “I’m not really all that strong, I think between the three of you, you guys can manage.”

Jake screamed “Where the Hell is she?”
Slim rose and was headed across the room as the doorway concealed in the bookcase swung open and Gina walked into the room holding a Beretta.

“You looking for me, Jake?” she asked. Gil
McCray stood beside her. Pablo and T-Max appeared in the waiting room door, their guns leveled at Slim and Ray.

A big grin spread across Jake’s face! This was perfect. He loved violent confrontations. It made capturing his prize all the more exciting. He could almost feel her in his arms struggling against him.

“Reggie, Babe…,” he crooned, “it’s been too long. Come on over here and let cousin Jakey give you a kiss.”

“I don’t think so, Jake,” she said. Glancing at her therapist she asked, “Are you okay?”

“Sure,” Elisabeth shrugged, “just a scratch.”

Jake interrupted. “I’ve been looking for you Reggie Lee,” he said.

“So I hear,” she retorted, “It’s been on the news.”

“Still the same little smartass, aren’t ya? I’ve been waiting for the day when I could see you again. Have a little fun, have a little payback,” he grinned fingering his bumpy scar.

“You know what they say, Babe,” he muttered, “payback’s a bitch…”

“You know what I say, Jake?”
Gina hissed, “Payback cuts both ways.”

JoJo was tapping nervously on the steering wheel and whistling tunelessly under his breath. Custer slumped in the passenger seat eyes darting between the side mirror and the street ahead. He looked up at the windows of the Bank Building. It had been too long. Something had happened. They should have been out already. How much time did it take to overpower some old broad and get what they needed? Three of them were up there now. Three of them for one old lady? A shrink no less? Something was wrong. Maybe that taxi driver was wrong about the doc coming to this address, but he seemed certain she’d called at least once from that office number. JoJo checked his rear view mirror and noticed an old U-Haul sticking out of the parking lot beyond the Limousine rental place. He squinted trying to see if it was the same one that had parked on his street earlier that day. He couldn’t be sure. I really need to get my eyes checked, he thought for the hundredth time this week.

“
Should we go up and get them?” Custer asked.

“Give it a few minutes,” JoJo responded squinting at the U-Haul
; they were shocked when two faces appeared at the front windows pointing guns at them.

“We want our stuff,” said the man on the driver’s side.

Custer raised his hands and said, “Hey guys, I’m new around here, I don’t know what you want. I’m not from around here.”

“Give it up, you slimy liar,” snarled the shorter man, glaring at JoJo.

“What’s this all about man,” Custer asked JoJo. “Give these guys what they want,” he urged.

“You shut up,” JoJo snapped at Custer.

“Get out of the car,” one man ordered.

“Who are these guys?” Custer
whispered to JoJo.

“Some drug guys,” JoJo hissed back.

“Get out,” the drug guy repeated.

“Okay, Okay,” Custer agreed, then he swung the door wide, knocked the man over, pulled his gun and fired twice into the man’s body. At the same time JoJo flattened himself across the seat and exchanged bullets with the other man, shattering glass. The sound of gunfire rang out.
People on the street yelled and scattered in all directions. Sirens blared. Lou Fairmont, the CBI and the CPD charged into the gang on gang conflict and arrested everyone.  Ambulances shrieked.  JoJo and one drug dealer were wounded. One was dead. Custer was unharmed, slung across the hood and handcuffed.

In the front 3
rd
floor office, Ray rushed to the window fearing for his brother’s life, Jake and Slim exchanged looks. Jake flew forward to grab Gina; Slim flew forward to grab Dr. Reinhardt. Gil raised his gun and shot Slim in the chest; Pedro squeezed off a shot and hit Jake in the leg as Jake leaped on Gina and dragged her backward to the hidden passageway. T-Max rushed Ray at the window and Pedro turned around and rushed out the front door.

“Lookey there,” Jake said with a drawl, “your wetback buddy got scared and ran off. That’s loyalty for ya,” he scoffed.
“Now move out of the way or I shoot her,” he commanded Gil.

“
Okay Fella, don’t get all edgy now, I’m moving out of your way.” Gil stood arms up watching Jake limp backward, pulling Gina to the narrow staircase. Gil could see her eyes steady on his, waiting. As Jake and Gina neared the bottom step Gil made a swirling motion with his finger. Gina bucked, knocked Jake off balance, turned and kicked him in the mid-section, his gun went off bullets hitting the ceiling as Chester and Pedro tore through the back door and grabbed him. Gina collapsed on the bottom steps, a smile of relief spreading across her lips as she watched as her life-long nemesis being cuffed and read his rights.

He lay flat on his back totally still eyes squeezed shut arms straight at his sides. The thin blanket barely covered him and gave off no warmth. He could hear men all around him, talking, yelling, singing, crying. Custer felt afraid; very afraid not knowing what would happen next. For the first time in his life, he felt totally alone. There was no one to tell him what to do, no one to rely on. He felt his heart pounding in his chest. He felt tears sting the corners of his eyes and roll down his cheeks. He was confused. There was nothing to do but lie here and think. He remembered all that had happened. Slim was gone. Shot dead in a therapist’s office in downtown Chicago. How weird was that? He didn’t know who had shot him. Maybe he’d never know what happened up there. Maybe it didn’t matter in the long run. In the long run, he was caught. They’d seen him shoot that drug dealer on the sidewalk. He guessed he couldn’t get away with that. But maybe it was self-defense, after all that guy approached him and he was holding a gun. Maybe he could get off on that charge. The rest of the stuff, well, he could blame those things on Jake and Slim. He could testify against Jake and maybe they’d let him go. Cut a deal with him so he could serve a few years and then go free. Although he was scared and in prison, he had to admit he felt a bit of relief that he was out of the gang. It was a relief to be away from Jake, out from under his iron thumb. But then, he wondered if this was really any better. He had another iron thumb over him now. The prison guards, the other prisoners, the justice system. Those were more iron thumbs. Custer sighed, he was doomed. He’d been under someone’s thumb ever since he was born. He saw it now. He’d just traded one ‘under thumbed’ situation for another. First his father, then his brothers, then Jake and Slim and now this, it was the story of his life.

Tamms Correctional Center was Illinois’ premier maximum security facility designed to house the most disruptive, violent offenders. Surrounded by a 12 foot high double barbed-wire security fence and top notch armed guards, it was chosen as the best temporary location to house what was left of the Parkland Killers gang, until the police and court systems could figure out how, what and where to charge them. Because so many jurisdictions wanted to prosecute them and there were so many crimes with which to charge them
it would take years to sort it all out.  Given the nature of their crimes they were held apart from the general population.

Jake paced back and forth in his 12 x 12 cell. He kicked the walls and every object in the room unleashing a storm of non-stop obscenities. He was furious. He was in a rage! His
leg hurt where that spic or wetback or whatever he was, shot him. The nerve of that guy shooting him! They patched him up in a prison infirmary while 5 guys held shotguns on him. Really? It took 5 guys? His arms and legs were chained to the bed and they still had 5 guns trained on him? They must be scared to death of old Jake Gennett, he thought. They said the wound wasn’t serious and shipped him here. He didn’t know where Custer was, hadn’t seen him since they pulled up in front of that bank building in Chicago. He didn’t think Custer was dead though, he would have heard about that. And what about Slim? That was a shocker! Good old Slim, always so fast on the draw got himself shot dead. Wow that was something. He could hardly believe that. And
he
had been caught! How the hell had that happened? How could Jake Gennett have been caught? And by an old lady? A shrink! Really?  One minute he was pushing an old lady around in her fancy office and the next minute the damn A-Team charges in. And then entering the world of the unreal, little Reggie Lee Raines comes strutting in through a
secret fucking entrance
, of all things and suddenly he’s caught!

How the Hell had that happened? How did sweet little Reggie pull that one off?  She saunters into the room and
says ‘You looking for me?’ Like in a movie or something... All he needed was one more minute with her. He’d have slashed her throat from ear to ear and the old lady’s, too. He paused a moment and relished those thoughts. Oh how he’d love to hold a knife to her throat… He almost had her, he had had her in his arms backing down that stairway and somehow she slipped out of his grasp. It was unbelievable! How had she done that? He had her dead to rights. In his arms, gun to her back and she got away and he got caught!

He was furious! He was stir crazy already. He had to get out of here. They couldn’t keep him here, he thought, he’d get himself a good lawyer and get out. They couldn’t make those charges stick. Those charges were Bull Shit! He’d get himself a mouthpiece like Perry Mason, some guy who wanted the lime-light. Any lawyer would love to get famous defending the leader of the Parkland Killers. Yes, he’d get a great lawyer and he’d get off. They didn’t have anything on him, stuff from an old car mostly. Well anyone could put stuff in an old car. They couldn’t prove it was him! Those charges were bogus. He’d show those cops who they were up against. He was Jake Gennett and he was famous. The TV lady said so. She said he was the best or the first some-kind of killer in the United States. Yep! He was famous and famous people never stayed in prison. Look at OJ Simpson. He got out and they had him dead to rights. Nah, Jake wasn’t worried. He’d get out. Him and Custer would both get out. Then they’d join up and keep on doing their thing. Good old Custer, he could always count on Custer. Him and Custer they’d go on without Slim. They’d get together after they got out and go on together. They were a gang. The three of them, well now it was just the two of them, it was too bad about Slim. He felt bad about Slim getting shot and all. He remembered seeing him there on the floor… blood
dripping out of his chest. Shot by some big white dude. He’d get that guy one day. He’d pay him back for shooting his pal. Poor old Slim...

They sat in Gus’s Diner eating pie and drinking coffee. There were no papers on the table. No strategies to discuss. They were there to say good-bye and to congratulate themselves on finally catching the Parkland Killers. It had been an exhausting 6 weeks but they had made it. One killer was dead and two were in Illinois in Maximum Security. It was a relief that they were gone, out of the way, off the street and out of their hair. All that was left was the clean-up. The finalization of reports on each victim, all the paperwork about what they did and when and why they did it. All the accounting for every law man killed or wounded in the line of duty, every crime scene, every man hour paid for, every vehicle used or wrecked in this multi-state devastation. But they were done! Or at least they felt done. They felt relieved that it was finally over. They had worked their hardest. Overcome their jurisdictional issues and become a finely tuned working team. They grinned at each other and High 5’d across their pie plates.

So Chester asked, “Are you really going to quit after this? I have to say I can’t imagine you on a fishing boat for the rest of your life. You’re too vital! You’re too much a lawman to settle for the slow and boring.”

“Well,” Lou smiled, “I do like my trout!”

“So that’s your answer,” Chester teased, “You like your trout? What about your killers? You like them too don’t ya? You like to catch them right?”

“Yep,” Lou agreed, “Maybe I’ll stick around for a while. Maybe move into a consulting role.”

“Well, I think that’ll be too slow and too hands off for you, but maybe it’ll work for a while
,” Chester responded.

“What about you, Chester?” Lou asked, “You going to stick around here in Hurricane or are you looking for something bigger?”

“I’m going to stay put for a while. Hurricane is a nice place to live and raise kids. My little girls love their school and I’d hate to take them away from that. But, for the future, who knows, maybe I’ll head on up to Quantico with you!”

“Sounds great,” Lou grinned, “I’ll recommend you, just let me know if you want to join the BAU and I’ll put in a good word for you.”

“You got it, Buddy. I’ll let you know. We’ll see. I’m just glad this mess is over with. They sure had us going for a while and we still have a lot of pieces to put together. I was planning on meeting with the US Attorney General about this case. It will probably be tried in a federal court, since it crosses so many jurisdictions. Want to go up there to Tamms and meet with our Killers? I’ve got some questions to ask them.”

“You got it, Buddy, let’s go up there together and tag team them.”

Gus kept sending Star over with fresh slices of pie. He watched the lawmen at the table and thought of all their hard work to catch those killers. It was all over the papers how those three fellas grew up right here in Hurricane and turned out to be the worst guys on the earth. That was mind-boggling. “I remember those guys when they were kids,” he told Chester and Lou as they were coming in. “They used to hang around the diner here after school eating burgers and fries. One of those kids, a boy called Custer asked me if he could work here. Maybe if I’d said yes, he wouldn’t have turned out this way.”

“Well,” Lou said, “Don’t feel too bad about that Gus, you can’t tell about a thing like that.” Gus nodded and went on, “He d
idn’t have no dad at home, that Custer kid, sad little kid he was. I feel real bad about that now. Wish I’d of given the kid a little job, taking out the trash or something like that. Seemed like a nice enough kid too,” Gus added, “Now that Jake boy, he was a mean one. I remember way back to when he first moved over here to the Raines Farm. That was one mean, sneaky kid, probably no hope for him. But the Custer kid, now he might have had a chance. Funny how you can pick stuff up like that from the get go… Guess people are what they are from the beginning.”

Gus thought the whole town was upset about this. Lots of people around here knew those kids. Lots of people felt real bad about all this. All those dead girls and lawmen who were shot, it was a tragedy, that’s what it was. Gus was glad that he had played a little part in the whole crime solving thing. After all, he had introduced them to those Raines girls and that was part of how the case was solved. He felt good about his role in this
, proud of himself that he had helped the cops.

He walked over to their table and sat down with them. “So, Fellas,” he asked, “you about done with this Parkland Killer stuff? Anything else I can do for you? I’ll be happy to fill in some blanks, if there are any. You know,
I’ve known those guys from the time they’re little tykes.”