Sin City Assassin (The Bill Dix Detective Series Book 3) (8 page)

Marie looked at her watch, did the math in her head, and figured she’d come back around shift change for the night watch to assassinate the unsuspecting officer. She anticipated at least one or two more officers guarding him and at least one security guard at the hospital.
Four on one, no sweat
, she thought.

She quickly called Blass. “Target located. I’ll be done by ten p.m.” She was hopeful Blass would approve and tell her they could be together again when she was done.

“Okay. Don’t underestimate the man,” Blass replied coldly. “When you’re done, move quickly to take out Dix’s partner. You may need extra bodies for that.”

Marie snorted in disgust. “You think I can’t handle one guy?”

“I think Dix will have people guarding his partner. He may even be there himself. You aren’t ready for the likes of Bill Dix.” He knew his words stung Marie. He needed her on edge. She happened to be brilliant, but her emotions caused her to rush decisions and miss things. He needed Marie to be off her game a bit in order to successfully use her as a pawn to capture and kill Bill Dix.

“I can handle Dix and his wounded partner. You just watch me,” she said in a nasty tone. 

“You need to listen to me on this. Dix is not your average cop. I’ll be with you and we’ll both deal with Dix.”

The comment caught Marie off guard. She couldn’t believe the great Robert Blass would even come to Las Vegas, let alone get involved with a hit on an officer.
What are you up to
? “Really? When can I expect to see you?” She hoped it was soon.

“Turn around.” Marie spun around and saw Robert standing right behind her. Though her heart skipped a beat, she was upset she didn’t detect that he was there. She hung up her cell phone and embraced him.

The two discussed the plans she had made for killing the undercover officer, Dix’s partner, and finally Dix. Blass was impressed and let her know so. He accompanied her to meet the arms dealer and then to one of his safe houses in Las Vegas.

Marie began prepping her gear as Blass analyzed the blueprints for the hospital. He agreed Marie picked the right time to make her move, but he found a better spot for her to gain access to the rooms likely to be holding the officer she intended to kill.

They called in a pizza delivery and watched the local news. It was mostly about the police looking for them.

Blass shook his head. “Your brothers got sloppy. We need to get these last jobs done and get out of Las Vegas for awhile.”

Marie cuddled with him. “Relax, honey, they’re gone and I’ll be done in a day or two and we can head to wherever you want to go.” She tried to kiss him and he pulled away.

“Did you forget what I told you? These guys that you’re dealing with are going to be protected and even more aware after getting shot. I can’t have you fail, and I can’t have you getting caught.” He pointed to the table where they’d been planning the first attack. “Get this done and we’ll have all the time in the world to kiss.”

Marie could see the seriousness in his eyes. He had always been tenacious and focused. She could have pushed some issues she had with him, but once he made his mind up, he was impossible to deal with. She grabbed the rest of her gear and plans, glanced over at the clock to see that it was close to shift change at the hospital, and turned to leave.

“I’ll call you when it’s done. Wish me luck.” She winked at him and blew him a kiss.

Blass laughed. “You’re too good to need luck. Call me when it’s over, and we’ll catch a late dinner.”

Marie exited the safe house on her way to kill a man her brothers had failed to kill. She hoped she’d finally be accepted into Blass’s world when she was finished.

Chapter 17:

Dix and Frazier worked the evidence they’d located and made numerous phone calls trying to chase down leads. Dix was hopeful he’d know someone or have a friend of a friend who was working narcotics in Canada. He was running thin on options, and decided to give a call to his friend and retired Miami Dade Sergeant Andrew Snead. They hadn’t spoken in a few weeks and Dix was sure the fact he found himself in another predicament would make Snead laugh.

“Hey Bill,” Snead answered in his smooth southern drawl. “How are you?”

“Well, I’d be better if this was a social call.”

“Wait, aren’t you about ready to retire and supposedly living it up in Las Vegas?”

Dix paused a moment and prepared for Snead’s reaction to what he was about to say. “Sort of. I’m in Las Vegas, but Steve got shot.”

“What! Is he okay, what the hell are you doing out there?” Snead couldn’t believe Dix had found himself in another shit storm… on vacation no less.

“Yeah, he’s going to be fine. They’ve been working on his shooting hand as one of the bullets grazed it and it’s causing some issues. For what it’s worth, we were minding our own business. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Dix recalled the incident as he shared it with Snead. It blew his mind how close he had come to getting shot or killed himself.

“Geez man, you guys sure know how to give a man a heart attack. No more vacations for you, buddy. I’m glad to hear you guys are okay, but I’m a little worried to hear what you need.” Snead had calmed some knowing Dix and Petersen were okay.

Dix told him about the shooting on Las Vegas Boulevard, and the vehicle arson with two more dead bodies.

Snead whistled and shook his head. “You sure know how to pick them. What’s the reason you’re calling me?”

“Well, our leads are to a family named the Roys in Canada. You know anyone working for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who works narcotics near Toronto?”

Snead thought a moment. “I’ve got a friend in Calgary. I’ll give her a call and see if she knows anyone in Toronto.”

Dix nodded. “Thanks. I’ll send you a picture of the identification cards for the two men from the Range Rover. I’ll keep you posted.”

Snead could hear frustration and concern in Dix’s voice. He assumed Dix watched Petersen get shot, which was bad enough, but now that his career was in danger, Dix would be really shaken up about it. “You bet, Bill. And look, don’t worry. Steve will be fine and you’ll be retired soon and this stuff won’t be able to bother you anymore, at least not as much.” After hearing himself say retired, he wasn’t sure a man like Bill Dix really ever retired.

“Thanks again, Andrew. I’ll send the photo in a few minutes. Let me know if you hear anything.” Dix hung up and walked back over to talk to Frazier.

 “So far we have nothing with the cash,” Frasier said. “The narcotics canine alerted to it suggesting it was drug money, but the band is one used at almost every casino in Las Vegas.”

Dix shrugged. “Well, so much for that.”

“The ID cards are more difficult for us because they’re out-of-country cards. I’m having dispatch attempt to contact a Canadian authority to see if we can run out the names for criminal history. So far, both guys have armed robbery and narcotics criminal history in Florida, California, and Las Vegas.”

Dix thought a moment and ran his hands through his hair. “So career criminals end up dead after killing local officers. I’m thinking the person in charge did not want dead bodies during the heist and could not afford the manhunt for their operation, so they killed the two men we discovered to stop us from looking into them.”

Frazier nodded. “Sounds about right. Kill them, make it obvious so law enforcement can find them, and hope the manhunt stops. Only problem is, there’s the woman in the surveillance footage. We really need to find her.”

Dix chewed his nails. “It makes sense. I wonder if the woman will come looking for your UC or my partner?”

“Why’s that?” asked Frazier.

“Well, I think she took these two men out,” he said as he pointed at the identification cards. “Men that were, until recently, her partners. She may be cleaning up all her loose ends. Your UC and Petersen are loose ends.” He felt his jaw clench and blood circulate quicker.

“Damn. That would be one ballsy lady. If it were me, I’d get the hell outta town and never come back.” Frazier tried to recall any local women that would fit the description and
modus operandi
displayed by their female suspect.

He snapped his fingers excitedly. “Bill, we’ve got a woman in town known as the ‘Praying Mantis.’ She sleeps with her victims, usually gangsters or suspected mob bosses, then kills them. I wonder if she’s the driver we’re looking for.”

Dix considered the information from Frazier. A female assassin was unique. The way Frazier described the Praying Mantis, it sounded like someone capable of killing the two men in the Range Rover. He determined they needed to know everything they could about the woman the local law enforcement had named the Praying Mantis.

“Okay, we need to see what your people know about this Praying Mantis woman. I called a buddy looking for anyone who can help us in Canada. He’s supposed to get back to me ASAP. What else can we work with?” Dix felt like the investigation was dragging along and he wanted to keep things moving.

Frazier looked over the items on the table. “I’ve got my cell phone guy coming.” A black unmarked police cruiser pulled up and caught his eye. “In fact, there he is now. We also have this set of keys,” he said as he shook them. “And the passports.”

Dix raised an eyebrow. “What’s significant about the passports?”

“They indicate our two dead guys traveled quite a bit to Afghanistan and Mexico,” Frazier replied. “We need to de-conflict their names, and where they were traveling, to see if anyone else was working our Canadian killers.”

“Good idea. I’ll run their information to see about that.” Dix pointed to the set of keys. “Those look like house keys to you?”

With his gloved hand, Frazier grabbed the keys and looked them over. “Yeah, I’d say so. Problem is, could be anywhere.”

Dix pointed to the emblem on the key ring. “I’m hoping that emblem, and maybe the cell phone, could narrow down our search.”

Frazier stared at him with a puzzled look. “The cell phone?”

“Yup. It may look fried, but it’s not.” Dix knew quite a bit about cell phones. He’d learned over the years that they held a ton of pertinent information and he’d taken numerous classes on cell phone forensics. He continued, “Even if the phone is a goner, we may be able to use the serial number, IMSI, or MEID to figure out the phone number associated to the device.”

Frazier still looked skeptical. “So, what’s that gonna do for us?”

Dix smiled. “We could use that to get a search warrant and learn if the subscriber listed a real address. If they didn’t, we could use call detail records for the phone with cell tower information to develop a pattern, especially at night, which might help us figure out the general area where the person using the phone was staying.” He shook the keys. “And that might help us figure out where these go to.”

Frazier shook his head. “Seems like a stretch to me.”

“It is, but it’s worth a shot. Depending on what kind of phone it is, and what cell phone provider they used, we may be able to get GPS coordinates within a few meters of where the phone was during the shootings or at night. We find a house or complex near there, especially one with an emblem like we have on the key, and boom, we’re in.”

Frazier wasn’t impressed. “I’ll get one of our guys to write a search warrant if the phone guy can get something useful from it. What’s our next move? You really think the woman driver would go after my UC, or Petersen?”

This thought had been nagging at Dix ever since he’d said it. He knew there was a third person missing from the investigation and it was likely a highly trained woman that had no qualms with killing cops. If the same woman from the footage was the Praying Mantis he learned about, she’d likely clean up loose ends. He put himself in her shoes and it was obvious the UC and Petersen had to be eliminated. An odd feeling washed over him.
If they’re on the list, I’m probably on it too.

He looked Frazier in the eyes. “I do. I don’t know if the driver of the Range Rover is the Praying Mantis, but I think she killed her two partners. She was driving when the two officers were killed as well. I think her only move is to eliminate all loose ends.” Even saying it bothered Dix and he wanted to get to Petersen to check on him.

“Well, you’ve got me convinced. I’m going to send a few cars over to check on my UC. Are you heading over to check on Petersen?” Frazier fished his cell phone out of his pocket.

“Yeah, I think we need to see if we can get someone on both of our guys until we figure all this out. I’ll call you when I get there or if I hear anything from my friend about the Canadian side of things.” Dix also pulled out his cell phone and began dialing Petersen. When his partner didn’t answer, he began to worry.

Frazier told Dix to use his vehicle and that he would ask one of the local guys to give him a ride back to the police station. They were about an hour outside of town.

Dix drove well above the speed limit to get back to town to check on Petersen. He had an uneasy feeling in his stomach and he hoped his hunch wasn’t correct.

Chapter 18:

Marie parked around the corner from the hospital and walked casually to the entrance of the underground parking lot where she’d seen the police cars earlier. She flipped the security guard’s badge she’d stolen up to the reader. It beeped, but the light showed red and the gate didn’t open. She didn’t panic.
Damn card readers
. She tried again three more times and the same thing happened.
Son of a bitch, he must have figured out he lost the badge and reported it to be deactivated.
In order to get inside to locate the undercover officer, she needed to access the hospital from the underground garage. Time was ticking and she had to come up with a plan B on the fly. She moved into a secluded corner to think.

Just when she decided she’d change her clothes and use the front entrance, the gate began to open. The person driving in didn’t see her, and didn’t wait for the gate to close before continuing down to the parking area. Marie snuck in without a hitch.
And Robert said I couldn’t handle this crap.