The Ghost of a Chance (Krewe of Hunters #38.7)

Chapter 9

They often took turns questioning people. Sometimes, one agent might have a question that jarred something in a suspect or witness. Other times, they just might have the right empathy to draw out more.

But Jackson quickly discovered at the hospital that there was little more—if anything—he could gain from Cassie.

And she was happy, even seeming to be healing from her ordeal. She was so relieved to be with her parents.

She was calm and ready to talk.

She just didn’t have anything more to tell him, though she was willing to go through the whole thing again, going to see Billy…

And heading into the alley. Night. Darkness.

And monsters.

And she believed in her friendship.

She told him she was anxious to see Billy.

“I know he was forced to take part in that holdup. And I believe with my whole heart that they forced Billy by telling him they’d kill me. I really want to see Billy.”

Jackson glanced at her parents.

They looked at each other and then at Jackson, both nodding solemnly.

They trusted their daughter.

“All right,” Jackson said. “But first, Cassie, what’s most important is that you make sure you’re doing well after everything you have been through, and the doctors say it’s okay. When that happens, I’ll make sure you see Billy.”

“Thank you,” Cassie told him.

He hesitated for just a minute. “Cassie, you’re sure—absolutely sure—that Billy couldn’t have been one of the monsters who kidnapped you?”

“Oh, I’m positive. I left his hotel room and went out the hotel’s back entrance. I never should have done that, but it made it a closer walk to the subway. But the thing is, I was barely in the alley before they grabbed me. There’s no way, seriously, no way at all that Billy could have been one of them.”

“And you believe in him,” Jackson said softly.

“With my whole heart.”

“And you don’t think he would have been traumatized into violence?”

“No. No, the only thing Billy wanted was for a police officer to speak to him in a way that was positive. They kept telling him they had nothing. And I think they made him feel that it was his fault because he couldn’t describe the men. He couldn’t tell them anything at all.”

“The police didn’t tell him they wouldn’t investigate, did they?” Jackson demanded.

“No. He said he believed they were trying to be kind, bracing him for the fact that the killers might never be found. And that bothered Billy.”

“Enough to make him lose it and want to hurt someone?”

“Billy?” Cassie said. “No, no, no. No way. He wanted the killers caught because he never wanted anyone to feel as bad as he did.”

“Thank you, Cassie,” Jackson told her.

He smiled and managed to leave, pausing to exchange a few words with the local officers before he left, and one of his agents from the Krewe of Hunters: Bruce’s brother, Brian McFadden. He didn’t think anyone was coming after Cassie where she lay in the hospital.

But they could never be sure.

There was still an unknown entity out there. Someone who had been involved in all of this—perhaps even the murders of Billy’s parents. And while there was no longer a chance to reap the rewards of a bank robbery, the killer certainly did not want to be identified.

And thus, guards were always on duty.

When Jackson arrived at headquarters, Bruce was waiting.

“We have an ID on one corpse. The man was Walter Raintree. He disappeared in the nineteen seventies. Foul play was suspected. He was a witness against the mob boss, Henry Marino, and the case fell apart when he didn’t show up for court. Since his body was never found…well, it’s a little late now. Marino died seven years ago. Kat and several other MEs examined all the bodies, and one seems to have been there for almost two hundred years based on carbon dating. Another body they estimate to have been there since the nineteen twenties, and the last corpse is from nineteen eighty. They’re still trying every DNA database in the world for an ID, but since the fingertips were chewed off, there’s no chance of finding an ID through prints.”

Jackson sighed. “Probably not much chance of us getting justice for any of these people at this time. Still, if we can solve this…”

“Billy’s parents.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I hate to say it, but Kenneth has been going on and on about the kid doing it himself. No getaway car spotted, Billy can’t identify anyone…”

“How does Kenneth know all this?”

Bruce arched a brow. “You know as well as I do that the murders were plastered all over the news channels, the Internet, and what remains of our newspapers.”

“Right. Of course. So, have you seen Angela yet?”

“She hasn’t come in,” Bruce told him. “Whitney talked to her when she was in the tunnels. She wanted her to get on the computer.”

“I knew she was going to the tunnels.” He frowned worriedly. “Something was drawing her back. You know how it is when you think you almost know something and returning to a scene might be the impetus to discovering what it is.”

“Jackson.”

He and Bruce turned.

Whitney Tremont came hurrying over. “Jackson, she’s still at the tunnels. She asked me to do some research to find out if information about the old tunnels was online anywhere. I found something written about Captain Clancy several years after the Civil War. She needed to know just who might have found out about the tunnels. But, Jackson, I just tried to call her again. I know she’s down in those tunnels. I tried to tell myself there might not be any service down there, but we’ve gotten through before. I—”

“Headed to the tunnels,” Jackson said.

“We’re coming, too,” Bruce told him.

“The more the merrier.”

Angela was smart and capable. She had probably been the one influence that had kept everyone alive during the botched bank robbery.

But she was in ancient, fetid tunnels and might have figured out who the unknown accomplice was…

Just in time to meet them in the flesh.

* * * *

An old saying swept through Angela’s mind.

Still waters run deep…

And there was more that they or the local police should have done regarding the bank robbery and what happened.

They had known who was guilty, so…

Why look a gift horse in the mouth?

She actually managed to smile, furious with herself and ready to mock because she should have known. She had known, or, at the very least, she had come to suspect the truth—just a few minutes too late.

“Bingo! I mean bingo. Yes, I am a woman, and not a big one. I’m not a woman like you—oh, so tough. Trained to stay calm and cast herself down like a sacrificial lamb whenever there’s trouble. No, that’s not me. But you see, when I’m holding this great invention of man—the gun—in my hand, I’m just as tough as any piece of flesh out there.”

“That is true, Ms. Benton,” Angela said. “And, yes, you can shoot me. But I am curious. No one had any idea—”

“No one had any idea?” Elise said. “Well, that idiot was going to give me away eventually. Do you think they actually teach history anymore? I was amazed to discover that I had an absolutely perfect escape from the bank. And that’s just it. Once I get you out of the picture—”

Angela didn’t try to turn.

Elise Benton was not an experienced or hardened criminal. But…

She might have been the mastermind behind the bank job. And…

Was it possible? Had this assumably vetted and respectable assistant bank manager been one of the masked pair who had killed Billy Mendelson’s parents?

“Right now, I am all powerful,” the woman crowed.

“That you are. And you are so right. I’ve discovered that through the years,” Angela told her. “I mean, you know who I am. So, wow, yes. I’ve been up against some big bruisers. You know men always think they’re more powerful than women, and…”

“We know better. This really is a shame. I like you,” Elise told her.

“You’re pretty amazing, too. I mean, the way you managed everything at the bank, Elise…well, if you hadn’t been working with idiots, you’d have gotten the money and made your way through the tunnels.”

“Go figure on that, will you? These tunnels have been here forever. And no one—not even the idiot sewer workers—knew they existed. It’s really not my fault. Seriously. Think about it. What do they teach in schools these days? How to sign on to your favorite video game? History, geography…people know nothing. So, it seemed the right thing to do. I mean, after…well, like I said, you know a woman can be as powerful as any brute. All you need to do is put a gun in her hand.”

“ I’m here. And I’m going for help. ”

Angela almost smiled. The ghost of Captain David Clancy was in front of her, assuring her that she had help.

But could help come fast enough? And even if it did…

Cornered, Elise would still have the nose of her gun pressed to Angela’s head. And she might be willing to die herself when someone else entered the picture—someone with a gun trained on her.

For a moment, Angela clearly saw David in front of her.

And she thought Elise shivered slightly as if a cold draft had come into the room.

Elise wasn’t one of their strangely gifted or cursed numbers; she couldn’t actually see or speak to the dead.

But she could sense something when the dead were near. She could sense something cold that elicited shivers within her.

Might that help at some point?

But then David was gone, and Angela knew he was going for help. He had seen the entire situation. She believed he would explain it well and make it possible for others to do whatever they could.

Without putting her into greater danger.

She wondered if he knew he’d given Elise shivers.

But he’d have realized that just giving someone the chills might not be enough. He had gone because he believed the best thing he could do was get to Jackson or someone else who could help as quickly as possible.

Under these circumstances, she needed to figure out a way to help herself. Certainly, she was far better trained when it came to anything that resembled a physical confrontation, but there was little opportunity for that when all Elise had to do was twitch to pull the trigger.

“Elise, you are ever so right. You are the total power now. But I wish I could understand what led to this. I mean, this all has to be new. You must have been vetted to get your position at the bank, and you are the one who helped save people… So, I mean, I wish I could understand how you became involved with Kenneth or Billy or…I just don’t get it. And…” She let out a sigh. “I know. I mean, I think sometimes we’re not at all appreciated. I—”

“I had the experience. I had the seniority,” Elise snapped.

“At the bank?”

“Twenty years of my life. I was young. I had a chance at a life, love, a family. But no. I was always the one who worked overtime and went in when there was a problem. And yes, I got promotions. But…”

She was upset, and the gun was still pressed against Angela’s head.

“Oh, my God. You’re kidding me. You put in all the work. You put in overtime. You made the bank everything in your life and those bastards promoted Peter Grafton over you. And you knew. You knew Grafton would call in with some excuse—he was supposedly the manager, but he always had an excuse. A meeting with the main bosses for the bank chain. Something with his wife or one of his kids. You knew you’d be the one in the bank that day, and you could huddle whoever was there into the vault and behave like a brave savior to see that people lived. And you knew the bank robbers would get all the money they needed.”

Elise laughed softly. “But you were there. And you really were willing to throw yourself under the bus. It was all going so well. But you made me look even better.”

“Oh, Elise, you are so clever. They were incredibly stupid not to see you were the right one to be the manager. There’s just one more thing I can’t figure out.”

“Really? And you are oh so clever yourself.”

“Well, better than a lot of those bruisers out there, but not nearly as clever as you are, Elise.”

“Right. Because you think you’re manipulating me right now.”

“I’m not, Elise. I know the power of a gun. But I’m seriously lost. I just don’t understand. Please, before…well, please, grant me one favor. Let me know how you got started on this whole thing. Did you know Kenneth, Billy, or the Mendelson family? Please explain how this all came about, I’m begging you. I’ll get on my knees.”

“You’ll get on your knees—for me?”

“Yes. You said you liked me. Please, grant me that small mercy. Let me understand how this all happened.”

The nose of the gun shifted around Angela’s head.

“Down. Down on your knees,” Elise said.

Angela carefully obeyed, noting Elise’s height, her hand on the gun, and where they were in the tunnel.

At some point…

She had to decide. Take a chance, judge her moment, duck, and lunge for the gun.

It would be her only chance.

“So, please, please tell me. Did you meet Kenneth somehow, or Billy? How did this whole thing come about?”

“Well, you see,” Elise explained, “in another life, I might have been a great actor.”

“Ah. I get it. You were one of the monsters,” Angela exclaimed. “Oh, Elise, you must have been amazing.”

“I was kind of amazing,” Elise said.

“And…wow. So, who has been telling the truth? Kenneth claims it was all Billy—they must have met after Kenneth escaped from prison. But did Billy hate his parents? Did he kill them? Oh, wait. The Mendelson family banked with you. That’s how you knew them. And with your position at the bank, you knew where to get the cash that couldn’t be traced easily and…”

“Fine. I’ll tell you all of it. You can take it with you to the grave.”