William Bernhardt - Capitol Offense

Ben felt a dry catch in his throat. “There’s nothing I can do.”

Dennis fell to his knees. “Please stop this. Please!”

Ben felt his mouth working, but no sounds came out. Tears sprang to his eyes as well. “I-I’m so sorry…”

The bailiffs hauled Dennis to his feet and dragged him toward the doors. “I’m sorry, Joslyn!” he screamed. “I’m sorry! Ben, help me!”

Ben felt Christina squeeze his arm. “I am so sorry.” They were both sorry, and they were both totally helpless as they watched the authorities drag Dennis away. Within a few days, he would be transported to the penitentiary in McAlester, where he would be placed on death row. To await execution.

“Help me!” Dennis screamed one last time before they pulled him out of the courtroom. Ben watched in despair as they hauled him away, the man who had bet it all on Ben Kincaid and, as a result, had lost everything.

Loving woke scared.

Too many sensations rushed together at once, all of them confused, none of them good. His head hurt. He was parched. Worst of all, his skin itched. He felt hot, as if he were… burning.

His eyes flew open.

Slowly, he assimilated what few facts he could be sure about. He was outside. It was daylight. He was lying on the ground, restrained in some manner. He didn’t know where he was, but it didn’t look like Oklahoma. More of a desert. New Mexico, maybe. Arizona. He was tied down to something-not that he was likely to go anywhere soon, given how he felt.

He glanced down at his right arm, exposed beyond his short-sleeved T-shirt.

Oh dear God…

“Loving! You’re awake! About time.”

That was Officer Peter Shaw. He recognized the voice. Hard to forget a man like that, after he had…

Had what? He tried to remember what had happened when he saw Shaw last. He had a strong sense that something important had occurred, but he couldn’t remember the details, nothing after he was spotted by Shaw’s accomplice. It was as if he had gotten drunk and had a blackout-but he was pretty sure nothing nearly so entertaining had been involved.

“Don’t bother trying to get free. You can’t. Don’t bother trying to escape. You’re going to die.”

“Then why haven’t you done it already?” Loving managed to say. His voice was slow and creaky.

“Haven’t had time, sadly enough. Been racing across the country to make an appointment. And then I get this text message. Turns out our contacts are running late. I’m irritated beyond belief. I hate people who aren’t punctual, especially when I’m carrying stuff that can get me arrested. Or kill me dead.”

“Sorry you’re inconvenienced,” Loving grunted.

“You’re the one who’s inconvenienced,” Shaw said. “This leaves me time to deal with you.”

Loving bit down on his lower lip. “You’re a real piece of work, you know that, Shaw? You make all cops look bad.”

“Is that what you think?” He leaned down into Loving’s face. “Well, let me tell you something, Mr. High-and-Mighty Private Investigator. You don’t know squat!”

Shaw pulled back up, pacing around Loving’s prone body.

“Why don’t you educate me?” Couldn’t hurt to keep him talking. Better than the alternative.

“You think I’m going to start monologing and tell you my whole sad story?” He laughed bitterly. “Why not? You’re dead already.”

What did that mean? His skin felt so hot… “I’ve known you for a long time, Shaw. You used to be a straight arrow. What happened?”

Silence hung between them, heavy as a hippo. Loving still could feel the sun beating down upon him. At least, that’s what he hoped he was feeling.

“My sister. That’s what happened. Did you ever meet Nikki?”

“Don’t know that I did,” Loving answered quietly.

“She’s a sweetheart. An angel. Best sister a guy could have. Always there for me. Job troubles. Divorce. Always there. Never had the sense to link up with any guy halfway worth her salt, but she’s a princess. Never had a boss halfway worth her salt, either, but she’s a queen.”

“I’m not seein’ the connection.”

“Haven’t you guessed, Loving? She got cancer. Cervical cancer. Had no medical insurance. Turns out her boss didn’t cover her. I took her to St. Benedict’s. They’re supposed to be the experts, right? But without insurance, she couldn’t afford treatment. Think I could afford it? In one month they billed more than I make in a year. It was hopeless. My sweet sister was fading away, turning skeletal right before my eyes. And there was nothing I could do about it.”

“So you went dirty. To get money.”

“I went dirty to get treatment,” Shaw said, kicking his feet in the sand. “What else could I do? When did medicine stop being about healing and start being about money?” He stomped angrily around Loving. “Dr. Sentz approached me privately. He knew who I was. Said his brother had recommended me. Said I might be just right for a very special job.”

“Smuggling cesium.”

“Chris was already helping his brother set it up. They were taking their lead from some major muckety-muck.”

“The guy in the police station. The one who nixed lookin’ for Joslyn Thomas?”

“All I know is that I went from catching crooks to being one. They had already made one smuggling attempt that went sour. Pig leaked and their accomplice got killed. Some poor clown named Parsons. Radiation poisoning.”

Loving remembered the victim Mike had told him about.

“They said it would be easy. It wasn’t. It went bad, right from the start. First time Dr. Sentz tried to sneak cesium out of the hot lab, Joslyn Thomas caught him. He tried to make some excuses, but she wasn’t an idiot. She ran out of the hospital. Probably had no idea what to do. But Sentz did. He called his brother. Told him to meet Joslyn on the way home.”

Loving’s lips parted. “That’s why she went off the road.”

“Chris drove her into the ravine. She wasn’t dead, but he knew she would be in time, and it was better that way. Looking like an accident. If he had shot her or strangled her, everyone would know it was murder. He made sure she wouldn’t be found anytime soon. Hid her car behind the blackberry bushes. Smoothed out the dirt, any sign that her car had gone off the road. And that was it.” Shaw took a deep breath, then released it. “So you can imagine his reaction when this guy comes into the station wanting someone to look for his wife.”

“Small wonder he didn’t want to open an investigation.”

“Into the accident he caused. Right. He wanted to make sure she was good and dead before anyone found her. And he did.” Shaw crouched down beside him. “What he didn’t reckon on, of course, was the husband.”

“Dennis blamed Sentz.”

“He was righter than he could ever imagine. Sentz knew that. Guilt was eating him alive.”

“So what happened at the hotel?”

“I saw Thomas as soon as he entered. Called Dr. Sentz, asked him what to do. Sentz brought over a drug to slip into the coffee Thomas sipped while he watched for Chris. I did while he was in the restroom. Didn’t work immediately. He still managed to ride up the elevator, just like I said. I wanted that. See, I was worried about Chris. His guilt was getting the best of him. He was making noise about going to the chief, telling him what happened, trying to make some sort of immunity deal in exchange for a lead on the terrorists. I thought that was a very bad idea. I couldn’t let that happen.” He paused. “Chris had to die.”

Loving clenched his teeth. “Did you let Dennis go up to the room so he would do the killin’ for you? Or so he would get blamed for what you did?”