James Born - Shock Wave

He stepped out of his Monte Carlo and met her at his hood. “You’re tough to track down.”

“I’m pretty sure our case is done. At least half of it.”

“I know you’re pissed but I gotta talk to you.”

“Billy, I’m not really mad. I did feel like you stabbed us in the back, but after reflecting on it, I suppose you had your reasons. I saw her, too. She is a hell of a reason.”

Tasker looked at her. “ Who is a hell of a reason?”

“Wells’ wife. She could tempt anyone.”

“Please tell me that’s not what you think. I couldn’t live with grabbing the wrong guy. That’s it. I had no other motive.”

“But the FBI agent, Cobb, said he saw the handoff.”

“He saw the possum cage handed off. The missile was already in the truck.”

She looked like she was considering it, then said, “Why does it matter? I can’t work with you again anyway.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because my bosses think you’re unstable. The FBI bosses spent a few hours over here yesterday making sure everyone had the same opinion. You are not to be involved in another FBI or ATF case ever again.”

“That’s a lot of administrative effort spent on one guy. If they concentrated that energy on crime, I wouldn’t have to lock my door.”

She looked at him sharply. “Billy, the way our bosses feel about you now, you won’t ever have to shower again. No one will ever be close enough to smell you.”

That hurt Tasker. He wouldn’t admit it to her or anyone else, but it stung to have someone say they weren’t interested in working with him. He waited, then said, “I have something that might change your mind.”

“I doubt that. Billy, do you realize that the FBI wants to indict you for this? They’re convinced you did it to make them look bad.”

“That’s ridiculous. They do enough on their own. They don’t need others making them look bad.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.” He took a few steps back, leaned into his car and retrieved a small vial of the noxious liquid that the Homestead bomb-maker claimed was TATP.

Camy asked, “What’s that?”

“It may be the explosive used in your Krans-Festival cruise ship bombing.”

She smiled a little. “Jokes won’t win me over, either.”

“No joke. A guy we picked up made it. Says it’s TATP and he sold some to Daniel Wells a couple of years ago.”

Her light eyes took in the vial as Tasker held it up. “ Our Daniel Wells? What’s he got to do with it?”

“He may have made that bomb.”

“Because he bought an explosive?”

“Other things, too. I need to check them out. But the explosives-maker, Anthony Mule, is certain it was our Wells that bought it from him.”

“Did he sell only to Wells?”

“No, he had a pretty long list.”

“So even if it tested positive, we can’t say that Wells did it. Could’ve been anyone on the list, or the guy who made it.”

“Wells has got a Toyota Corolla stashed behind his house and a matching set of red Samsonite luggage.”

She looked at him, obviously intrigued. “If all that is true, why aren’t you over there right now?”

“Because I’m not in it for glory. I want to do it right. He has no idea about the information we have. He’ll be there for a while. I intend to get an airtight search warrant and build the case right. That is, with your help. I don’t jump other people’s cases.”

She smiled. “You don’t help them, either.” She took the vial and held it up to the halogen streetlight. “You know what this means to me. I lived this case for nearly two years.”

“That’s why I came to you.”

She gave him a skeptical look.

He continued unfazed. “Test it. If it’s not a match, nothing happens. If it is, then we need to hit Daniel Wells quick and hard.”

She held the vial with no sign of giving it back to Tasker. Looking at it, she said, “As tempting as that sounds, Billy, I was told, just this afternoon, not to have any contact with you. I just can’t work with you right now. Especially not on Wells. I mean, you’re the one who let him out. The Bureau would have me skinned alive.”

“Since when does ATF worry about what the FBI thinks?”

“Since we moved to the Department of Justice and they work with us on everything.” She paused and looked at him. “I’m sorry, Billy, but I just need them more than I need you.”

Tasker nodded.

She kept the vial and said, “But I’ll drop this off at the lab right now. We’ll see what they say. If it checks out-I’ll thank you later for cracking my case.”

“I don’t care who stops him, as long as he’s stopped now.”

“I promise to run it up the chain and see what the bosses say.”

“Sounds fair.”

She turned and started back to the building. Tasker didn’t mind seeing her walk away.

Daniel Wells dried the tears in his daughter’s eyes. “It’s all right, Lettye. Daddy will come and get you in a few days. Don’t cry, sweetheart.” He looked in the backseat of his wife’s old Ford station wagon. His two boys were quiet, sitting side by side, waiting to leave. “You two be good, you hear?”

“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.

This wasn’t the first time they’d gone to relatives for an extended time. He’d packed them off to his uncle’s twice, Aunt Sara’s house three times and his cousin in Tennessee for a whole summer. This time he had Alicia driving them to his uncle Tom in Plant City on the west coast of Florida. No matter what he got involved in, he always made sure the kids were safe. They shouldn’t have to pay for his problems. His uncle had taken them when he was afraid those Arabs might come back on him. His cousin in Tennessee when he was afraid someone might link him to the damn cruise ship. Now he was just generally worried. That state cop, Tasker, was sharp. Twice as sharp as the other cops he’d dealt with. He just thought it’d be best if the kids weren’t around while he finished up some business and tried to satisfy his own needs.

He raised his voice, calling over his shoulder, “Alicia, you coming?” That woman would be the death of him. He’d said that about several other women, too, and it was never true. With one of them, the reverse was true. It was really an accident that she had opened the bottle in his workshop, but the fumes had killed her just as sure as if he’d shot her in the head, which was what he had been thinking of when fate had stepped in. He’d found the biggest problem was just getting rid of the body. She was a stout girl, and it had taken all his strength just to load her in the van. Luckily he’d been doing some welding for MidStream Septic Tanks and just planted her under the foundation for a new tank. They’d never been legally married and she had no family. By then the kids were used to running off women, so no one ever asked where she’d gone. He didn’t think the kids even remembered her name.

He heard his wife trotting up behind him.

She wrapped her arms around him. “Sorry, honey. Had some last-minute things to pack.”

“You stay with them, okay?”

Her pouty lips turned lower. “Can’t I take a little break? Your uncle won’t mind. He loves seeing them.”

“Why do you need a break?”

“C’mon, Daniel, I’ve treated them like my own for near two years now. Just want a little time away.”

“Done good, too. They even call you mama and everything. Never did that with Melanie. Hell, Lettye didn’t even know her real mama. She ran off when Lettye was only a few months old.” He knew it had more to do with him than the kids.

“I won’t run off. Just wanna get away a little.”

Wells looked at her. Good-looking women were a pain in the ass. He wished he could be satisfied with an ugly girl. Just like he wished he could be satisfied with a little excitement instead of spectacular shows. If wishes were baby back ribs, he’d weigh five hundred pounds.