Buch lesen: «Undercover Jeopardy»

ONE

Detective Daniel Morley wrote the date on his deposit slip, then double-checked it against the large calendar the bank had posted on one of the columns near the customer service desk among the green pine trim and the red-and-white candy cane decorations. December 14. It had been one year since Bethany Walker had disappeared from his life. An entire year of searching and coming up empty. He was a detective—one of the best in the business, but he’d utterly failed to find her, despite his herculean efforts. She had been his fiancée but now, instead of celebrating their wedding anniversary, he was solemnly remembering the last time he’d seen her and the hurtful words he’d spoken during their argument right before she’d driven away. He should have gone after her. Now, he didn’t know if he’d ever even see her again, and the calendar before him was just one more reminder of how long she had been missing from his life.

People didn’t just disappear, and yet, Bethany seemed to have done just that. Her apartment lease had been paid in advance, but despite several evenings of surveillance, he had not seen a single person enter or leave. He’d even used his law enforcement credentials to complete a welfare check. Daniel and the landlord walked through the rooms together, but there was no sign of Bethany, or any clues as to her whereabouts. Her refrigerator was bare, and there were only a few staples left in the pantry. It was obvious that she wasn’t living there. But then where was she staying? And if she’d moved and left the Chattanooga area completely, why had she kept the lease? It was a mystery.

“Excuse me, can I please have one of those?” An older lady smiled at him as her voice brought him out of his reverie. She motioned toward the stack of deposit slips sitting in front of him, and he smiled back at her as he pushed them in her direction so they were within her reach.

“Of course. Here you go.”

The bullets from a semi-automatic machine gun slammed into the ceiling, quickly covering Daniel with dust and debris from the tiles overhead as the noise shattered the peaceful Friday morning. He instinctively crouched, taking the older woman with him and pushing her under the desk for safety. He pulled out his service 9 mm pistol, his eyes darting around the room as he assessed the situation.

“Everyone get down on the floor!” The voice was masculine and accentuated by more gunfire. Several of the customers screamed, and the fear in the room was palpable and made the air feel heavy and thick. A man in a black hoodie and jeans jumped up on the counter and started waving his rifle around. He let loose with another stream of bullets into the ceiling.

“Quiet, now! The next person who makes a noise dies!” he yelled.

The room was instantly silent, and all eyes were on the robber, awaiting his next command. The man’s face was covered by a mask that distorted his features, and he paced back and forth like a caged tiger. The mask gave away the fact that he was Caucasian and little else, and there was a grotesque smile on it that made his expression seem malevolent and evil.

The robber swung his gun toward a woman teller in a gray suit who already had tears streaming down her cheeks. She was trembling and seemed almost frozen in place. The color seemed to drain from her face once she realized the robber had focused his attention on her. “Get your hand away from the counter!” he yelled, as he fired a barrage of bullets over her head. “If you touch that silent alarm button, you’re dead.” She ducked and dropped to the floor, her body still shaking uncontrollably.

He turned back to the crowd in the lobby and immediately fired a burst toward the ceiling again. “Okay, everyone. You have five seconds to get down on the floor. Anybody still standing after five seconds will be shot. Understand? One, two...”

Daniel scanned the room. From his vantage point where he was still partially concealed by the table, he could see three other robbers. They were all wearing the same black hoodies and jeans. They even had the same masks with identical evil smiles, just like the one worn by their leader. One large muscular robber had positioned himself near the bank’s front door and had put a metal cable around the handles, effectively locking the doors and everyone inside the building while also keeping others out. This man was taller than the others and looked like he either worked out on a regular basis or, at a minimum, played a sport that kept him in excellent shape. He had disarmed the guard who had been stationed by the front door, and was motioning to him and two other men to join the rest of the hostages in the lobby of the bank.

The other two robbers were both skinnier than the man by the front door and younger, if Daniel was any judge of the way they held themselves. Maybe they were in their twenties? Their movements seemed reckless and exceedingly hyper, or they could have just been high on the adrenaline rush that came from shooting up a bank and scaring innocent people. Either way, it was obvious that they were extremely dangerous and volatile. One of the robbers approached the customers who were slower to obey, and he tossed his gun back and forth between his hands, yelling at them and forcing them into compliance. He seemed to have some sort of facial hair under his mask, and Daniel nicknamed him Hairy in his mind. The other robber followed closely behind Hairy at first, but then finally moved away and started spraying paint over the security cameras that were set in three corners of the room. Once the cameras were disabled, he tossed the spray can aside and stationed himself near a doorway that appeared to lead back to the public bathrooms. Daniel noticed he had a small limp and tended to drag his right foot a bit.

“We’re not here for you,” the leader yelled over the confusion, still pacing from his perch on the countertop. “We just want to make a small withdrawal.” He made a point of making eye contact with any of the hostages who dared to look in his direction. “No one will get hurt as long as you do everything we say.”

Daniel looked to the left and saw two men, both crawling away from the front counter area and heading toward the back of the bank where the desks and offices were found. One was wearing a suit and appeared to be a bank employee. The other was wearing shorts and a button-down shirt and seemed to be following the other one. It was apparent that both were looking for a safe place to hide. They didn’t escape the notice of the lead robber, however, who jumped down, ran so that he was directly in front of them and pointed his gun straight at their heads. “Put your faces on the floor. Both of you. Now!”

Daniel moved so he could get a better look at the leader but still be shielded by the counter. So far, he had escaped the robbers’ notice, but he knew it couldn’t last much longer. He raised his gun, taking aim at the man’s chest. One quick shot was all it would take to stop the leader in his tracks and foil this robbery attempt here and now. He might even save the two men on the floor in the process. His finger flexed on the trigger.

“Freeze.” The cold metal of the barrel pushed against his skull. He tried to turn a bit to see who was behind him, but the pressure increased against his head and he stopped. He hadn’t realized there was a fifth robber. He mentally kicked himself for missing that important fact. His inconceivable mistake might just have cost him his life.

“Hands up. Now.”

The voice sounded familiar to him, but he couldn’t place it. He guessed that the robber was a woman by the tone of her voice, even though she was obviously trying to disguise the sound by making it gritty and deeper. He slowly raised his hands as she leaned forward and grabbed his pistol, then pushed him from behind. “Get over there by the wall, hero.”

He chanced a look behind him but only got a quick glance before she pushed him again. It was enough of a look to get a basic impression of the robber, but little else. All he could tell was that she was definitely a woman. Her stature was lean but still feminine, despite the baggy jeans and hoodie she was wearing, and she was quite a bit shorter than the other robbers. Even with the mask that disguised her features, he’d also gotten a good enough look to tell that the eyes and lips were quite ladylike.

“Against the wall, everyone,” the leader yelled. The robbers continued motioning with their guns and herding the customers and bank staff toward the far wall until the whole group was lined up against it. Daniel watched the process as the woman robber marched him over to join the rest of the hostages. So far, he counted eighteen of them, including both customers and bank employees. He saw the old lady that had been near him when the robbers had entered the bank, and her eyes were large and wet beneath her glasses. Her skin had paled, and her weathered hands desperately gripped her large black pocketbook that she held close to her chest. She was obviously terrified. He glanced at the others. There were seven other women and ten men, including himself. He kept his hands up as he walked to the group of frightened people, but when he took his place at the end of the line, he didn’t sit like the others. Instead, he turned and kept his hands raised in mock surrender and took a step toward the woman robber. When he spoke, he kept his tone low and calm.

“You don’t have to do this. Nobody’s been hurt. You can turn around and walk away now before this goes any further.”

“Just shut up and do as you’re told,” she responded, her voice cold.

“Think about what you’re doing,” Daniel implored softly, still trying to sound as non-threatening as possible.

“I can assure you that we’ve given this a great deal of thought. Now have a seat.” She gestured with her gun and Daniel acknowledged her but didn’t sit. He could see the bulge of the weapon that she had taken from him and stuffed into the waistband of her jeans. No cop wanted his service pistol to end up in the hands of a criminal, and Daniel was no exception. He made a vow to recover that gun before this episode was over. Funny—she hadn’t asked why he had been carrying a gun. Tennessee did have very liberal concealed weapon permit laws, but still...

He pushed that thought aside and decided to try talking to her one more time. “The laws have gotten tougher,” he said quietly. “Bank robbery is federal. You could get a life sentence. The minimum is twenty-five years when guns are involved. If you give up now—”

“Not happening,” she said roughly, aiming her gun directly at his midriff. “Don’t be a hero. Sit down with the others.” Her voice was low but threatening.

“Is this guy giving you a problem?” Daniel turned and saw one of the younger robbers coming toward him. He thought it was Hairy, the one who had been tossing the gun around, but he couldn’t be sure. The criminal’s stance was aggressive as he approached, and Daniel braced for the battle that was heading his way.

“It’s under control,” she snarled.

“Doesn’t look like it’s under control to me.” He lifted his rifle as if to hit Daniel in the face, but before he could do anything further, the woman stepped in front of Daniel, her stance protective.

“Back off,” the woman exclaimed angrily. “I said I have it under control.”

The young man paused a moment, his body moving from foot to foot as if he was filled with energy and was about to explode. “Sure you do.”

She took a step closer to the other robber, her voice tight. “The deal was nobody gets hurt. Now stay out of my way, J.P.,” she growled.

He leaned closer and his whisper was a low hiss. “No names, remember?”

She motioned around her. “Who’s gonna hear me? I’m serious. Stay out of my way.”

“You stay out of my way, girl. I didn’t want you here in the first place.” He spun around and angrily threatened one of the other customers with his rifle. “Get back, did you hear me?” He raised the weapon up as if he was going to hit someone else, then abruptly stalked off.

* * *

Bethany blew out a breath of relief as the man moved away. Her heart was beating so strongly she was sure J.P. could hear it. What in the world was Daniel doing here, of all places? Thankfully, she had been able to distract J.P. before any further violence had happened. She had once seen J.P. beat a man into unconsciousness for borrowing his truck without asking. He was vengeful and a loose cannon, and there was no telling how far he would go if he continued unchecked. She said a small prayer of thanks under her breath, then motioned to Daniel with her gun.

“Sit with the others. Now.”

Daniel put his hands up in a motion of mock surrender, then nodded and sat. She didn’t like the way he was studying her, but it couldn’t be helped.

She glanced over at J.P., who was stalking the floor, threatening anyone who dared to look up. The kid was a hothead, and she had been trying to avoid him ever since she’d infiltrated this band for the FBI a year ago. He was always challenging her, and if anyone was going to blow her cover, it would probably be him.

She looked down at Daniel and her heart continued to pound. She didn’t think he had recognized her, and she wondered how long she could keep her identity a secret from him if this robbery took longer than expected. Her feelings were in a jumbled mess where Daniel was concerned. She had loved him once, or thought she had, but that seemed like a lifetime ago. Their last words had been said in anger, and she had taken this undercover assignment only a few days later. It had been an excellent escape and helped her refocus her energy after their breakup. Now that a year had passed, she had no desire to bring those feelings to the surface and sort through them all over again. The past was better left in the past.

“Okay, I want everyone’s cell phones. Now!” She turned to see their leader, Jackson, swinging his gun around and carrying a trash can. He walked down the line of hostages and waited impatiently as they each deposited their cell phones in the metal can. The captives were all in different stages between panic and disbelief. A couple of the women were crying, and a few of the men were pale and withdrawn, but they all complied with Jackson’s orders. When he came to Daniel, he stopped and Bethany held her breath, hoping that neither Jackson nor Daniel would start an altercation. Being undercover meant sometimes walking a thin line between the legal and illegal. Her participation in this bank robbery had been authorized by her handler at the FBI, so they could trace the stolen money and make bigger arrests, but it was hard to see anyone get hurt. Still, she would blow her cover in a heartbeat if any of the robbers tried to kill an innocent victim. The problem was that she knew Daniel was a fellow officer who would do everything within his power to foil this robbery. She held her breath, not sure what to expect, her body tense and ready to react.

“Was this man giving you trouble?” Jackson asked, looking between Daniel and the other robbers.

A cold sweat ran down her back. Should she tell their leader that Daniel was a cop? Her mind focused on the heaviness of Daniel’s weapon resting in the waistband of her jeans. If he saw Daniel’s police badge or somehow discovered that she’d known he was law enforcement and hadn’t said anything, it could blow her cover. But if she did tell, Jackson might lose his temper and try to hurt Daniel, and she would be forced to intervene. There was no telling what he would do if he found out one of the hostages was a detective with the local police department. This entire assignment could blow up in the next few moments if she didn’t quickly think of a solution. Her mind was spinning when surprisingly J.P. solved her problem for her.

“He was mouthing off. I had to show him who was in charge,” J.P. offered with a sardonic grin.

Bethany blew out a breath of relief, her dilemma temporarily fixed. She watched Jackson carefully, waiting for his reaction.

Jackson finally nodded, apparently accepting the response, and pointed his gun at Daniel’s head. “Give me your cell phone.”

Daniel’s pulled out his cell phone that was clipped to his belt and in the same motion, surreptitiously pushed his detective shield into his pocket, hiding it from view. Bethany noticed and quickly looked down so it seemed like she wasn’t paying attention. He dropped the phone in the trash can with the others and Jackson continued down the line, none the wiser.

Suddenly a shot rang out, and J.P. shrieked and grabbed his side. A dark circle of blood appeared on the hoodie near J.P.’s abdomen, and J.P. slowly sank to the floor, his face contorted with pain. Bethany crouched, her weapon ready, searching the room for the source of the shot. Would the next bullet take her out?