Sin City Assassin (The Bill Dix Detective Series Book 3) (6 page)

Petersen’s head swirled with thoughts of a possible forced medical retirement. It was more than he could bear. “What am I going to do? How can we have a family if I can’t work? Is there a second expert? When will I know what’s happening with my hand? Where’s the doctor?”

“Shhhh. Honey, it’s okay.” Michelle rubbed his forehead. “Calm down baby, it’s going to be okay. We will get through this. You’re gonna be fine.”

Petersen couldn’t calm down. Having Michelle by his side comforted him, but a pit formed in his stomach about what the future would hold. Then his fear quickly turned to anger. He wanted to find the bastard who'd caused him all this grief and pain. He couldn’t imagine what he’d do to the guy if he got his hands on him.

“Thanks. I’m just freaked out. Sorry about dumping it on you,” he said as a single tear fell from his eye.

Michelle kissed him. “No need to apologize, baby. We will get through this together.” They talked awhile before the nurse came in to give him some more pain medication. Petersen thought about their future and wondered what he’d do without wearing a badge. Eventually, the conversation turned to Dix.

“Any word from Bill?” he asked Michelle.

“Not yet, but all kinds of things have happened since you were out. Two cops were killed by automatic weapons on Las Vegas Boulevard and a Range Rover suspected to be the one you had a run in with was located on fire in Pahrump.”

“Pahrump? Where the hell is that? I hope someone makes these people pay. Do they think the guys who killed the cops are the same guys who shot me?” His investigative instincts were running full speed again. It helped him think less about his hand.

“The shooters were in a Range Rover. Everyone thinks it’s the same people.” Michelle could see the old Petersen was coming back and it made her happy.

“Jesus, criminals today are so damn brazen. But, they have no idea they’ve got Bill Dix chasing ‘em now. You think I could get involved somehow, honey?” He looked at her sheepishly.

Michelle shook her head. “Oh, no you don’t. Those are the meds talking. You’re on the sidelines with me. If they got your hand fixed, there’s no reason to push your luck. Besides, what could be better than spending all your time with me?”

He chuckled and his body ached. “Ok, but can you at least share whatever updates you get with me?” He looked over himself lying in the hospital bed, “Maybe I can help from here.” He forced a small grin and Michelle kissed him again.

“I love you, babe. You’re the greatest thing to ever happen to me. Not even a bullet can take you away,” Michelle replied.

The couple embraced and shared good memories while a stone cold killer landed in Las Vegas.

Chapter 13:

Marie exited the plane in no real rush. She was superb at blending in with the masses. The reason she was so successful as a smuggler was because it was so natural for her.

She felt a momentary rush of anxiety when she caught a man staring at her breasts. Not because he was looking at her like that, but because she noticed a slight bulge on his right hip and assumed he was an air marshal. She giggled and flirted with him as he checked her out. He turned red after she winked at him. She calmed down considerably because she knew no righteous air marshal would let his guard down like that.
All guys think about is sex
, she thought disgustedly. She chuckled internally, however, as she'd recognized this fact early in her life and used it as a weapon against men every time she could.

She walked to the tram station and caught one headed to the main terminal. From there she located the luggage carousel and looked for the bag containing twenty-five kilos of cocaine. She wasn’t anxious about it not showing up because she had paid the airline employees a ton of cash to ensure safe passage of her luggage. She felt anxious and excited in anticipation of hunting down the undercover officer, Dix’s partner, and finally Bill Dix. She became euphoric when she killed someone; it was a rush like no other. Her amazing looks and sexiness allowed her to easily lure her targets into bed, and after she had sex with them, she killed them. It was her calling card. She’d earned a name among criminals, law enforcement, and the media. They called her the ‘Praying Mantis.’ She absolutely loved the name. The Praying Mantis smiled at herself as she scanned the luggage area for threats while looking for a black duffle bag for the money drop.

She watched as her Burberry piece of luggage came up the conveyor belt. She let it go around one time to see if anyone made any sort of movement toward it. The people she'd paid off only insured the bag would make it to the carousel; after that, she was on her own. She was extremely careful because being connected to this large amount of cocaine would surely land her in federal prison, and that was not acceptable. She continued to scan the area around the carousel looking for the person to complete the exchange with.
There he is.

A white male adult had walked in from the street carrying a large black duffle bag. He was dressed in an expensive suit and walked confidently. He entered the baggage claim area and walked directly to the carousel that Marie was watching. As Marie’s suitcase went by, the man nodded slightly and placed the duffel bag directly next to the suitcase. The man did this so discreetly it even impressed Marie. He fished out his cell phone and placed a call as he turned to walk back outside.
So far so good
, she thought.

She slowly made her way to the carousel making sure no one was behind her. She detected at least two quick exit points, one outside to her left and one headed through a maintenance corridor near the carousel. As the duffle bag came around, Marie nonchalantly grabbed the bag and turned to walk away.

“Excuse me! What are you doing, that’s not your duffle bag!”

Marie didn’t skip a beat. She slowly turned to her right to see a little old lady shaking a finger at her.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Ma’am, but I think you’re mistaken.” Marie calmly scanned the area for threats.

“No, I’m not, that’s not yours.” The woman pointed at the black duffle bag over her shoulder. Other people standing nearby had stopped and were now staring at Marie.

She calmly scanned for which escape route would be best. As she did, she picked up a TSA Agent walking toward them.
Shit.

Before she decided what to do, she felt a hand wrap firmly around her waist.

“Hey hottie, sorry I’m late. What’s up?” A male voice breathed in her ear.

She cringed and spun around to see the man who’d dropped off the money bag was now hugging her and playing as though they were a couple.
Wow
, she thought,
this guy just saved some lives.

She tossed her hair and smiled genuinely. The nosy citizen looked completely shocked.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you were with that man,” her accuser said.

“It’s okay.” Marie smiled and looked at the man. “Honey, can you grab the heavier bag, I’ll hold on to this one.” She pointed at the suitcase coming closer to them.

“Why, certainly,” he replied genuinely as he grabbed the suitcase with the cocaine.

Marie noticed the TSA Agent had turned and headed back the other way.

The man put his arm around Marie. “Shall we?” He motioned outside.

She smiled. “Let’s go, babe.” They walked outside. To all those watching, they looked like any other happy couple looking for a getaway in Sin City. Both had never seen each other before, and would probably kill the other in the blink of an eye. But, their ability to adapt so quickly was the reason they were among the elite as far as criminals go.

Once outside, they walked in separate directions without saying another word to each other. Marie observed the man get into a blue 1966 Camaro. She memorized the license plate and walked briskly to the rental car terminal. She placed the black bag in the trunk, unzipped it, and saw a large amount of cash.
All good
. She laughed out loud while thinking of the interaction with the buyer. His smell still hung on her shirt and Marie felt herself getting aroused.
Easy, Praying Mantis, we’ve got work to do.

Chapter 14:

Dix dialed Petersen’s cell phone. He answered on the first ring.

“Dix, hey man, what the hell is going on?” Petersen was bored out of his mind and wanted desperately to get involved in the case.

“Calm down, Steve. First, what’s your status?” He chuckled.

Annoyed, Peterson drew in a sharp breath and looked at Michelle to calm himself. “Well, they’re not sure they can save my hand, but I’m good with it... for now. I wasn’t earlier, but I’ve got Michelle, and I bet I can learn to shoot with the other hand.”

“Oh, man, I’m sorry to hear that.” Dix grunted and shook his head. “But let’s just hope they can get you back up and running, okay?”

Dix then gave Petersen a quick update on the case. He told him about the shootout and the Range Rover being found with two men in it.

“Wait, wasn’t the getaway car from the alley a Range Rover?” Petersen seemed to be conducting his own investigation from his hospital bed.

“Yup, but let me finish. It was the same Range Rover and there was a guy sort of alive that firemen pulled out of the burning vehicle. Before he died, the guy told me, ‘Roy’s, Toronto, we killed the cops.’”

“What does that mean?” Peterson squinted his eyes.

“No idea yet, but the guy had a key around his neck.”

Petersen rubbed his chin. “I wonder what it goes to?”

“Again, I have no idea. The firemen also found another body in the cargo area of the burnt-out car. Frazier says there’s a bullet wound to the back of his head. We think these two guys were the ones who shot you and killed the officers on Las Vegas Boulevard.”

Petersen wasn’t happy. “Well crap. There go our leads.”

Dix snorted. “Don’t be a glass half empty kind of guy. I’m not stopping until we take this crew down. The Missus has already given me the green light.”

Petersen chuckled and raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? If that’s the case, I feel real bad for whoever’s left. Actually, never mind. They get what they get.” Petersen knew how tenacious Dix was. He was proud to be the man’s friend, and he was touched by the kind gesture by Dix to work this case on his behalf.

“Steve, you think Michelle wants in on this?” Dix asked. He figured it would come up anyway, and he wanted to move forward and thought it should be discussed now.

Petersen nodded. “We discussed it, but she’s saying she wants to stay put with me.”

“Good, I just wanted to make sure. With your bum hand, someone needs to stay there and baby you.” It felt good to get back to jabbing his longtime friend. It meant they were closer to getting back to normal.

“Pound sand!” Petersen excitedly replied.

Dix laughed out loud. “That’s the Steve I was looking for. I’ll keep you posted.” Dix hung up and dialed Captain Pierce.

Pierce didn’t answer, so Dix left him a voicemail. “Captain, Steve’s basically okay, and we’ve got a few leads to work with. Two of the shooters have been found dead. That leaves at least one left in the crew that we know about. Obviously narcotics and big money are involved. A dying suspect mentioned ‘Roy’s’ and Toronto. I’ll report updates as they come.”

Dix noticed the younger officer that had picked him up was staring in awe at him. “What’s up buddy?”

The young officer chuckled. “How the hell do you keep everything straight in your head? This thing is blowing my mind and you summarized it in a few statements on a voicemail.”

Dix thought about giving the young officer a spiel about this being nothing and how he’s done much better work, but it would have burst his bubble.

“It’s just experience. I’ve worked a lot of cases and you will too. I try to only talk about what needs to be talked about. The rest is a waste of time. You’ll get it before you know it,” he replied.   

The young cop thanked Dix as they pulled up to the burned out vehicles, which was now also a double-homicide scene. Dix texted his wife that he loved her and that he was in a town called Pahrump. He told her he missed her and was not closer to solving the case, but that he would try his damndest to solve it soon so they could go home.

Dix walked over to see Frazier talking to one of the fire investigators. Frazier stopped talking and introduced Dix to the investigator.

“Hey Hector, this is Bill Dix, he’s going to be helping us on this one.” They shook hands.

Hector eyed Dix, which made him and Frazier feel a little awkward.

Frazier tried to break the tension. “It’s okay, he’s a cop. A damned good one too. You can speak freely in front of him.”

Dix jumped in before the fire inspector could answer.

“Hector, I respect your concern, but let me tell you something. I’m pretty sure the two dead men from this vehicle,” he pointed to what was left of the Range Rover, “put a bullet in my partner. I plan to put the entire crew in prison or die trying.”

Hector snickered. “Okay, I got it. So here’s the deal. I’m seeing burn marks indicating there was white phosphorous in the car, which means whoever set the fire wanted the thing to fry and burn hot for a long period of time. Secondly, the victim in the back was clearly shot in the back of the head based on the two holes on his skull. There’s evidence of some type of burned plastic around his hands, suggesting he was bound in the rear of the vehicle.”

Dix and Frazier shot each other a look.

Dix blurted out, “I wonder what that means?”

Frazier shrugged his shoulders.

Dix held up his hand, “Let’s not call these men ‘victims.’ Once those teeth come back and everything is sorted out, I’m positive these men killed two officers and nearly killed my partner. They certainly are not ‘victims’ in my book.”

Hector looked at him apologetically. “You’re right. Sorry.”

“No worries.” Dix let it go the moment he internalized the apology from Hector. He briefly considered his opinion about the death penalty and whether the two dead bodies deserved such a thing. But, they were cop killers, and in Dix’s book, they deserved to die.