No Mercy (27 page)

Healey ran around the back of the Passion for Fashion store into the back hallway as Joseph Talison, an employee of Branca at the club, fired, catching Healey in the leg.

“Damn it,” he yelled to himself. Another shot was fired, which just missed Healey's ear. He rolled to a clothing rack and turned it over to try and cover himself as he returned fire. The shots were heard by Powers and Johnson as well as Lynagh and O'Malley ten stores down.

“OK,” O'Malley barked, “if you don't have a gun get out of the mall now.” He fired a couple shots into the ceiling of the mall to have people start running from inside. Someone actually asked O'Malley why he shot the ceiling, and he answered, “It means ‘Get the fuck out,' dumbass!” The crowd was now running as the shots rang out. He started to think how Powers and Johnson had rubbed off on him.

Powers yelled at Simpson as he looked at Rachelle and Deborah still standing. “Listen to me, Robert, shots are being fired. What is that about?”

Simpson shook his head. “I told you I have people here ready to kill and collect bounty money.” Powers looked at Lynagh, who had taken another step closer. More shots were heard from the hallway. They knew Healey was in a gun battle as O'Malley reached Powers with three uniformed officers. He directed them to get to the hallway where Healey was sent. He turned his attention back to Simpson as he took another couple steps closer with Bud next to him.

“Tell me the story, Robert. Why kill Kate Summers?”

Simpson lowered his gun from his arm, getting tired as he began to talk.

“I worked for William Lance for over fifteen years. I fell in love with his daughter. We had a life. A good life. But when Deborah was kidnapped, your boss, Cronin, blamed me for Patty kidnapping Deborah. He forced me against my will to play a fucking game to solve his case. I lost my job. I lost my Debbie. As for Summers, you have no proof it was me.”

The sound of Simpson saying “my Debbie” made her cringe, and he noticed it. Yet he continued talking.

“So what happens? Bud Johnson threatens me to leave forever, and what happens? He takes over where I left off. So I want to know right now who is better at fucking,” he said as he pointed the gun at Deborah. “Rachelle can leave if she wants. I want Debbie and me to leave this world together.” He repeated the words he wrote on the bodies of the dead girls. “If I can't have her, no one will.”

“OK,” Paul said. “Rachelle, start walking here.” He had a chance to get her out of the way and save her life, and then he would work on saving Deborah.

“I'm not leaving Deborah,” Rachelle answered. She held on to her friends arm as she looked back at Paul.

“Rachelle,” Paul replied, “don't do this. Please come over here.”

She looked at Paul and gave him the American Sign Language symbol with her hand for “I love you.” It was the two middle fingers bent down with the thumb opened out with the index finger and pinky finger straight up as she spoke again, shaking her head. “I'm not leaving Deborah.” It was in a tone of voice that indicated she knew she might not make it out of this one.

Lynagh looked back at Paul as he was getting restless as more shots were fired from the back hallway. O'Malley and the three uniformed officers had reached Healey, who had tied his leg up with a couple of shirts he pulled from the clothing rack. O'Malley quickly sent Powers a text that Healey was injured as he kept turning his head looking for a possible ambush in the corridor. “Give it up,” O'Malley yelled, “there are five of us. We are coming to you, and you won't get out of this alive if you don't drop your weapon now.”

“Be my guest,” the reply came. “You're worth $50,000, and Healey is worth $100,000.”

“You got Healey,” O'Malley answered as he motioned for Healey to stay quiet. “I'm coming in. It will either be me or you, but there are cops everywhere all over this mall. You will not get out of here alive even if you get me.”

“I'm willing to take the chance,” Talison replied as he fired another shot.

O'Malley kneeled down to Healey and whispered, “Don't say anything or fire a shot. Let him think you're dead in case there is someone else here listening. If someone comes up from behind us, then fire.” Healey nodded his head as O'Malley and the officer crept forward. It was apparent that Talison was guarding the back entrance to the hallway near the restrooms while Simpson was there.

Lynagh took another step as a shot was fired at his head.

“I told you,” Simpson spoke, “if you got any closer you would be shot. You are worth $100,000, so you most likely won't leave here alive anyway.”

“OK,” Paul said as he motioned for Lynagh to come back. “He's leaving, he's backing off.” Lynagh took three steps back as more shots rang out as he barely took cover behind one of the columns.

“Robert,” Powers said, “how did you know about the women being here at the mall?”

Robert Simpson laughed as he looked at the two women holding on to each other.

“I had the Lance mansion bugged in the foyer and living room. I heard everything these two had been talking about, including your sweet Rachelle calling your daddy that she was worried about you. I even heard my Debbie screwing that Sean Martin when your Detective Johnson got tired of her.” Deborah covered her face as Rachelle held her arm tighter.

“Robert,” Paul replied, “tell me how we all get out of this alive.”

“We are not,” Simpson answered. “Debbie will leave this earth with me. I only took the bounties off them because Cronin is dead. But I want Deborah with me for forever and eternity.”

“And Wyatt?” Paul asked “Where is he?”

“He has passed on, Detective,” Simpson replied. “It seems Linda Tangretti accidently shot him when he located her from a tip from Caulfield.” He laughed as he spoke again. “Yes, he's been quite a help to me. It’s amazing what money can do.”

“Yes,” Paul answered. “You embezzled millions of dollars from William Lance during your employment. That's how you are paying for all of this, right?”

“So what?” Simpson answered. Lynagh caught a glimpse of store lights going out and a figure running and he decided to make a move toward the mall. He began to sprint toward the open mall area as Simpson laughed. “Go get him, Lynagh, save yourself. Oh, where was I? The money was for me and Debbie. No one else. Her father didn't miss it.”

Deborah was now crying as Paul spoke again.

“You love her, Robert. You know you're not going to shoot her. Let them go. We can make a trade, me for them.”

Lynagh sprinted toward the figure he had seen, but somehow he disappeared again. There were at least twenty-five uniformed police officers now spread out through the mall, but all were told to stay away from the walkway leading to the restrooms. Still he could not see where the shooter was. Bud called Lynagh to check on Healey and O'Malley as the officer ran to the back hallway where the shots were originally fired.

Ashley picked up the call from the precinct as to what was happening at the mall as Cronin was driving. “Tell them to have four or five ambulances with a medical team standing by,” Cronin said. “We have to get where we are going. Besides they can't know I'm alive just yet.”

Ashley relayed the message as he hung up and looked at Cronin, saying, “You're a dangerous man, Detective Lieutenant Cronin.”

Simpson barked back at Paul, “There can be no trade. I will take Debbie with me to another life. Somewhere where no one will ever have her again.”

He raised his arm as Bud spoke.

“Then you will never have the satisfaction of seeing me dead, you sick motherfucker.”

Paul put his arm on Bud, but his partner looked at him and said, “It's me and only me that will give us a chance to save the girls. He got Cronin and he put the big prize on me. Our only chance to take him out is for him to try and finish me. He's right. Cronin and I went out of our way to use him as a pawn in the Face of Fear case.”

Bud started to walk toward Simpson, when Paul grabbed his arm again. Bud looked at him and said, “It's OK, partner. I've done a lot of praying.” With that he started walking slowly toward Simpson and the girls. “I have no gun, my hands are up. I'm coming to see you, you ugly son of a bitch.”

Simpson was clearly getting agitated as Bud continued to walk toward them.

Bud continued, “I love Deborah, and the big difference between me and you is that I also respect her. I am willing to sacrifice myself for her. That's how much I love her.”

As Bud continued to speak, Paul called Lynagh who was now in the back hallway.

“Get to the sniper and get through the backdoor! If you don't make it we could lose Bud.” Lynagh saw Healey leaning against the wall with his gun out and yelled to him.

Healey acknowledged and told him O'Malley was down the hallway to eliminate Talison.

“Anyone else here?” Lynagh asked.

“Haven't seen anyone,” Healey relayed.

He tried to get up, but Lynagh held him down, saying, “Make sure no one else comes in behind us. Cops or crooks, we don't want an accidental shooting.” Healey nodded as Lynagh moved further down the hallway in search of O'Malley and the other uniformed officers. He was slowed by the cartons, both full and empty, as well as the clothing on the racks.
So much for keeping fire escapes clear
, he thought.

“Really,” Simpson replied to Bud, “you will give your life for Debbie?”

“I will, but can you keep a promise not to hurt her if I do, or are you a lying fish that's just jealous I have been with her.”

“A lying what?” Simpson asked.

“Oh,” Bud replied. “I meant a lying fuck.”

Simpson was puzzled by the exchange.

“Jesus,” Paul said to himself as he moved closer as Bud spoke. A uniformed sergeant walked up to Paul asking if there was anything more they could do. Paul told him quickly to be sure the mall was secure and to keep the uniformed officers present and visible to discourage snipers.

“Tell O'Brien to search for the sniper from one of the stores through the back hallways.”

Lynagh was moving further down the hall between garment racks and boxes when he spotted a figure taking aim at O'Malley and the three officers. He raised his gun, took aim, and lost sight of the figure again. In another few seconds he saw him move closer to get a better shot, and Lynagh kneeled and fired two shots, injuring the man. It was the bartender from the City nightclub. O'Malley turned around and fired back as Lynagh started yelling. Talison fired from the other side, hitting one of the uniformed officers in the arm.

“Listen!” O'Malley yelled. “You won't leave here alive! Is it worth it? You won't get any bounty money anyway. Don't get in this any deeper than you already are. Cops have been killed. Your only chance of leaving here alive is me.”

He looked back at one of the young uniformed officers who looked like a baby to him. “Get out of here before you bleed to death, and take that asshole over there with you,” he said, pointing at the injured suspect. The officer started to resist until O'Malley spoke again. “It's OK; I have enough backup here,” he said as he pointed to Officer Lynagh about twenty yards away. The young officer started heading the other way as O'Malley turned his attention back to Talison. “You're running out of time, and most likely bullets. No one else needs to die.”

To his surprise Talison answered,

“All I wanted was to have a job in the nightclub business. Work nights, sleep late. Enjoy life, and then this guy enters our lives and offers us a chance to never have to worry about the bills again. I never thought so many people would be killed. Just the cops with the bounty on them. They convinced me you guys had to die. I just wanted to know what it was like to not have to worry about opening up a bill at the end of the month.”

Lynagh had reached O'Malley while Talison kept talking and spoke. “He needs to surrender now or I'm going in. There will be a bloodbath in about two minutes in the hallway, and I need to get through that door.”

O'Malley nodded and yelled to Talison, “We are out of time. We need to get through the door or both of us will be coming to you. You will not make it out of here alive.”

A few seconds went by, and finally a rifle was laid on the floor as Lynagh ran up and pulled Talison away from the door leading to the mall hallway. O'Malley grabbed the rifle and Talison as Lynagh opened the door and saw Simpson standing behind the column as Rachelle was holding Deborah as they stood only a couple feet from him. He could see Bud walking up toward them as Paul was creeping closer and closer.

Lynagh raised his Glock and looked for a way to shoot, but the girls were too close. “Shit,” he said aloud to himself. “Move a little, Rachelle.”

Simpson was anxious to see Bud face-to-face. He let the detective come all the way up to them as Deborah grabbed him. “Oh, how sweet,” Simpson said. “Why don't you tell the girls how many times you had Lynagh pick me up and bring me to the precinct during her kidnapping? Tell her how Cronin threatened me; tell her how you slapped my face, telling me never to come back. Tell her how you told me that you would fuck me up forever if I ever contacted her. You made me feel like a complete asshole. All because of killings I had nothing to do with. Tell her!”

Paul moved closer as Simpson was focused on Bud as another shot rang out. Paul grimaced as he focused on what was going on. Lynagh was turning his head sideways trying to get a clear shot. He was still speaking to himself for Rachelle to move.

Bud turned his head to Deborah and winked, saying, “It's true, he is a complete asshole.”

Simpson was getting enraged that once again Bud was not serious with him. Yet Detective Bud Johnson was doing just that. He knew if he could distract Simpson even for a couple seconds someone might be able to take him out.

Bud looked at Rachelle. “Rachelle, go ahead, leave; he only wants me and Deborah, right?”

“No,” Simpson answered. “I think I like this little group. We can all go to heaven together.”

Bud pushed Deborah away from him, hoping to distract Simpson even more for someone to get a clear shot. “You're going to hell, you sick son of a bitch, and Deborah is too nice to tell you but I will tell you. I am better than you in bed. You needed the music to get it up and all I needed was Deborah. As for Kate Summers you forgot to take the strands of your hair from her hand when she was fighting for her life, you dumb shit. Your DNA is all over her death.”