Carolina Rain (18 page)

“She’s going to hurt you one of these days,” said Josh.

“Yeah, but it’ll be worth it.”

“I think that’s cold, partner,” said Dean.

“Paybacks aren’t supposed to be warm and fuzzy for the recipient,” he said, laughing.

Scanning all three men’s faces,
Josh
watched Dean fight the grin that was just below the surface of his beard and moustache. He almost made it.

“Okay
. I
t’s a little funny, but that motion sickness stuff is awful and
—
”

“Hey
,
Mikus, was that a damned grin I saw on your face?”

Josh watched as Dean turned quickly to see Sophie emerge from the restroom doorway. She was still pale
,
her eyes had come back to life
, however
. He found himself stepping back, just in case.

“Ah
h
, no. I was defending you.”

“Oh, bullshit. I see how this is
. A
ll of you need to watch your backs. It ain’t nice to make fun of sick people. I’m taking off the gloves. And I don’t care if you just got stabbed, lost a hand, need a damned haircut and a wardrobe overhaul, or are the boss of this chicken-shit outfit. It’s on.”

Josh
took another step back. “
We get it
, Agent Lee. Now,
can we get to work? We’ve got more than one concern here,”
he said
. “Sorry you guys had to fly into Myrtle Beach. The airport in Wilmington was having issues with the weather so this was the next best spot.”

“No problem. Sophie didn’t mind.”

“Kiss ass, Williams,” barked Sophie, pointing to her backside.

“Okay, maybe a little problem
. W
hat else is going on?” asked Manny. “Does this have something to do with Max?”

It was remarkable how Manny could ask a simple question and change the whole atmosphere of a situation. It didn’t appear that the man had lost a thing.

Josh shrugged. “I don’t know how in the hell you do that but
,
yes it does. You know about the hair in Garity’s shoe, right?”

Manny nodded, glancing at Alex and Sophie. “We had a chance to talk about that on the trip down. We have a couple of theories and none of them make me smile.”

“That goes for all of us. I liked Max but this new evidence suggests only that
. . .
”Alex was interrupted by Josh.

“It suggests that they met, that they knew each other or
,
at some point, were at least in the same room, perhaps even together, at the same time.”

“You need to let me finish
. . .
pure speculation,” answered Alex. “It could have been a chance encounter on a flight that they were both on, for instance.”

“He’s right,” said Dean. “Who knows what you might have on the bottom of your shoe this very instant.”

“Good God, Mikus
.
I don’t need to think about that right now,” said Sophie, clutching her stomach.

Josh shook his head. “I don’t think so because
. .
.”

“
. . .
Max has escaped, hasn’t he?” asked Manny.

“Yes
, he
has
,
and worse than that, he’s killed his therapist to do it.”

Manny’s face changed expression to one of
disbelief
. I
t didn’t last long.

“Damn it. And let me guess
;
he’s nowhere to be found,” said Manny quietly.

“You’re right, again. I’ve already called Chloe and the Detroit office as well as Gavin and the Lansing Police Department. They’re
taking every precaution and will have officers at Alex’s place as well
.”

Frowning
,
Manny spoke. “That’s disturbing on too many levels. I thought Max had a chance to beat this
. . .
illness. I guess that was just wishful thinking. And alerting the folks in Michigan is quick thinking on your part
,
but I don’t think Chloe or Jen,
Barb,
or for that matter any of our families are in any danger unless they get in his way.”

“Why?” asked Dean.

“They’re not the source of his frustration or his anger trigger
;
Josh and I are. We put him there so we have to pay. He sees us as the biggest obstacles to his life goals. Plus
,
I slapped him. Retribution for that will drive him
too
. He’ll want instant gratification and not dance on our emotions like Argyle did. The fact that he killed to get out suggests to me that I’m right
on this
and his anger has grown. Nothing short of seeing that anger resolve itself by getting rid of the source will do.”

“But Chloe, Sophie, and I were with you two in Ireland
,
so why not us
too
?” asked Alex.

“Remember when we went through the transcript of his evaluations and interviews from the hospital? He’d never use anyone’s name,
other than
mine and Josh’s. He didn’t realize that he was fixating on us even then. In fact, I’d bet he still looks at you as some kind of friend, at least as he interprets friends.”

“Great. This job is just full of fringe benefits. I love the fact that you two are the preferred subjects of psycho killers with vendettas,” said Sophie.

“Who better than us?” said Manny.

“How about politicians in Washington?” said Sophie.

Ignoring her, Josh kept a close eye on his best profiler.
Manny
’s hand was in his hair as usual, a frustration edging his face. A sigh escaped his lips
.
Josh
could see his good friend was struggling to stay in cop mode
, r
esisting the urge to walk back out the door and order the Gulfstream V back to Michigan. Who could blame him?

“Manny, your family’s in good hands, especially with Chloe inside. He won’t want to mess with her
.
B
esides
,
I think you’re
right regarding Max’s intent.”

“I just gave you my best guess, that doesn’t mean I’m totally right
.
Why are you so sure
I’m on it?”

“The truck he drove out of Kalamazoo was found abandon
ed
in southern Indiana.”

“That could mean anything,” answered Manny.

Reaching into his pocket, Josh motioned for his crew to look at the screen of his smartphone.

“I don’t think so. He left a note on the steering wheel.”

The lighted scree
n
sprang to life and displayed Max’s message.

I’LL BE SEEING YOU
BOTH
SOON, AGENT CORNER AND AGENT WILLIAMS. REAL SOON.

CHAPTER-23

“Thank you for giving this prompt attention.”

“You‘re welcome, sir. Is there anything else I can do? Do you need stamps?” asked the clerk behind the counter, her smile a little wider than necessary.

“I don’t, but thank you for asking
. . .
and if a need does arise, I know where to come,” he answered, returning her smile. The tall man then tipped his fedora and exited the post office in Ash
e
ville, North Carolina, his long strides making it seem as if he was in a hurry, but he wasn’t. And why should he be? He had all of the time in the world
. H
ow many people on this dismal planet could say that and mean it?

Moving to his Buick Enclave, he angled into the seat, started the engine, and turned the radio off. Music, for the most part, was tolerable, even enjoyable to some extent
. I
t also worked to cloud his thought process and
,
worse, caused him to relax. For men in his position, as rare as that dominion was, relaxing could lead to errors, both in judgment and action. He could ill afford either at this juncture of the game
. . .
and it was a game, wasn’t it?

Everyone had agendas. Only the ignorant or the egotistical
ly
elite thought their “causes” were legitimate and selfless. That way of thinking was far more than a joke. He’d been around too long to draw any other conclusion. And his unending observation of human behavior, in and out of stress, did little to dissuade his line of thinking. Hell, it was just the opposite. When the rubber hit the road, most of mankind was about themselves
—
period.

Pulling out onto London Road, he tuned left at Sweeten Creek Road, choosing to drive past the Biltmore Estate one final time before leaving the quaint city. Reaching the entrance of the hotel, he slowed in appreciation of the incr
edible structure featuring the
T
echnicolor of the
flower gardens and the elaborate fountain pool, all framed by the shadows of the Smoky Mountains. He took two more pictures with his phone and did
a
U-turn, h
eading north on Hendersonville R
oad then the on
-
ramp
to east
bound US 40.
People didn’t think men like him had this kind of appreciation
for nature,
but as usual, those assessments were untrue.

Looking
at
his watch, he noticed that it was almost
six
o’clock
,
and he had a few more tasks to accomplish before the real sojourn and purpose of his visit to the Carolinas could be addressed and
,
for that matter, completed.

Completed.

It was such a peculiar word for
a
man who wore the suit
—
the purpose
—
which he
embodied.

One
chore completed
le
d to another assignment and
,
giving who he was, those assignments weighed on him like the world on Atlas’s shoulders
.
It was how it had always been for him and most certainly how it should be and there was no reason for him to ever harbor belief that it would change at this juncture of his life. He was the perfect man for the perfect calling
.
Tiresome, yes. Fulfilling? Beyond all measure.

Slipping into the cruising lane, he adjusted the rearview mirror and glanced at the expressionless face slumped low in the middle of the back seat.
The
dead
man’s d
ark eyes focused on the roof of the SUV
.
Of course,
his passenger saw nothing. The two bullet holes in the back of his head had taken care of
that
. Killing him was
simply
another example of what his life entailed. One did what one had to do
,
and that seemed to be a never
-
ending stream.

“No rest for the weary
. . .
or maybe the wicked, eh my friend? But I think you knew that. I think you had begun to embrace that
commission with your own personal convictions, yes?”

The silence that came next was comforting and unsettling at the same time. Not that he’d really expected the man to answer
. Not to mention,
there were
many
more methods to communicate
with
than one’s mouth. His mother had been right regarding that. And his guest had spoken to him, even after he’d begged for his life, even after the second bullet secured the
intention
of the first. Yes. He had talked to him, and he’d listened, and learned. Life was constantly offering opportuniti
es for new knowledge; one simply
had to look for them.

An hour later, he reached the edge of Cherokee Nation
al
Forest and exited US 40
. H
e
pulled to the very rear of the rest area, backing up to the
parking
spot closest to
a
large stand of conifers some fifty feet away. Ten minutes later, the parking lot was empty and he got out, opened the rear
-
passenger door and lifted the man from his car, carrying him like a sack of potatoes over his left shoulder. He placed him against the
moss-covered
trunk of the most immense tree
in the stand
,
facing the woods. He then placed his hands together, as if he were praying. A moment later he
moved back to his vehicle,
then
stopped, and
spun around to look at
the man
he’d met with
and
then
murdered without a second thought.