David Baldacci - Daylight

“I don’t think so. I’ve been watching you since you came in here. You’ve had your eyes on that couple the whole time.” He gripped her by the arm. “You’ll have to come with me.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you. I don’t even know who you are.”

The man lifted one of his lapels and showed the badge underneath. “Hotel security. And I’m also NYPD, off duty. So you’re coming with me.”

“General?”

They both turned as Robert Puller, in his full-dress uniform, strode up to them.

“General Blum?”

“Yes, Colonel?” said Blum instantly.

“General?” said the bewildered security man.

“Two-star, Air Force,” said Blum, standing up and glowering at the man. “Colonel, this young man seems to think that I was spying on those people over there with my phone instead of taking footage of that beautiful fireplace. I think it will look great with the renovation I’m doing.”

Puller immediately got this. “Absolutely it will. It fits right in with the design theme.” He looked at the man. “We have a flight to catch to DC. General Blum is briefing the Joint Chiefs at the Pentagon late tonight.”

“Jesus,” said the man. With an embarrassed look at Blum he said contritely, “I’m really sorry, General.”

“No need to apologize,” Blum said kindly. “You were just doing your job. Now, if you’ll excuse us.”

“Oh, yes, absolutely.” The man almost bowed.

As they walked out of the hotel Blum said, “Thanks for the assist, but how did you know where I was?”

“So long as you have a smartphone you have no privacy.”

“Right. But why were you looking for me?”

“My brother called and told me you were watching Gorman and Franklin for Atlee. Then he contacted me again. He was worried about you tailing a killer by yourself and asked if I could check on you. I’m glad he did, actually, because I found out some troubling things about Gorman and Franklin. I went to the building where you were supposed to be, but you weren’t there. That’s when I traced you by your phone signal.”

“You could have called.”

“You were on surveillance. I didn’t want to call at an inopportune time for you.”

They turned down a side street and reached a spot where they could speak freely.

Puller said, “So what have you learned?”

“Agent Pine saw Gorman come out of the building where she had gone that night with Lindsey Axilrod. That told her he was in on whatever is happening there. Then he went to Franklin’s congressional office. They were there for hours. He’s head of her security team, Agent Pine found out. She asked me to pick up the surveillance, which I did. They left her office and came to this hotel and were having a very intense conversation in the lounge. He was talking and she was listening, and neither of them seemed happy. I think something big is going down.”

She took out her phone and showed him the video.

“Wish I could read lips,” said Puller.

“Me too.”

“There’s no need for that. I can fill you in.”

They turned to see Gorman standing there, as a black town car slid up to the curb. There were two large and tough-looking men in the front seat. One got out and opened the rear door.

“Get in,” said Gorman, who was now pointing a square-muzzled .45 automatic at them. “Or I’ll shoot you both in the head right here.”

CHAPTER

59

TONY VINCENZO BLUBBERED, “You were going to stick me with that?! I thought you loved me. I thought we were a team.”

“Shut up, Tony.” Axilrod lowered the syringe and stared at Pine.

Pine said, “Haven’t seen you since you killed Sheila Weathers and left me to take the fall for it.”

“I didn’t kill Sheila.”

“If you didn’t kill her, you know who did and probably ordered it. And then you sent some asshole to kill me. Only it didn’t work out that way.”

“She told me before that you killed Sheila,” blurted out Vincenzo.

“She says lots of things, Tony. But when she opens her mouth only lies come out.” She glanced at the syringe. “What’s in it? Morphine?”

“Just a little shot of Vitamin C.” Axilrod looked at Vincenzo. “You would have felt so good, Tony.”

“Put the syringe down, Lindsey.”

Instead, she held up the syringe like a knife. “Make me, you bitch.” She lunged at them.

Pine calmly altered her aim and shot Axilrod in the hand; the bullet passed through skin and bone before becoming lodged in the wall.

Axilrod dropped the syringe and doubled over, screaming in pain. Vincenzo tried to jerk free, but Pine’s iron grip kept him from going anywhere.

“You shot me!” screamed Axilrod.

“You seem to be the only one surprised by that. And trust me, it was all I could do not to aim at your head.”

Pine gave Vincenzo a hard shove, sending him sprawling face-first to the floor. “Stay there,” she barked.

She pushed Axilrod out of the way, gingerly picked up the syringe, carefully wrapped it in toilet paper, and stuck it in the cabinet under the sink. “Whatever is in there, I’ll leave to a biohazard disposal squad to deal with.” She glanced at Axilrod, who was squatting next to the shower, holding her bleeding hand, and quietly sobbing.

Axilrod looked up at Pine through tear-stained eyes. “You have no idea who you’re fucking with.”

Pine tossed her a towel to wrap around the wound and leaned against the sink. “So enlighten me.”

“You wish,” said Axilrod as she tied the towel around her hand.

“How’d it feel feeding fourteen-year-old girls like Jewel Blake to horny old men, Lindsey? You get a kick out of that?”

“What?” said Vincenzo, staring at Axilrod.

“Yeah, your girlfriend plays pimp, too, as another sideline.” She looked at the woman. “Girls who thought you were going to protect them? And you fed them to the wolves.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. And you have no cause to hold me. I’m outta here.”

“You move to the door, the next thing I shoot will not be your hand. But if you talk, maybe we can work a deal.”

“You will learn shit from me, okay?”

“Is this where you say you want a lawyer?”

“Go to hell.”

Pine glanced at Vincenzo. “Hey, Tony, you want a great deal? All you have to do is rat this piece of shit out.”

“You do that, Tony, and you are dead,” snapped Axilrod.

“She was going to kill you anyway, so what’s the difference?” noted Pine.

Vincenzo turned and looked up at Pine. “What do you want to know?”

“Tony!” screamed Axilrod.

Pine pulled out a pair of zip cuffs and handed them to Vincenzo. “Put these on her hands and ankles.”

“But—”

“Now!”

Vincenzo pushed a struggling Axilrod down, flipped her over, put a knee on her lower back, and managed, with difficulty, to bind her hands and ankles.

“Good boy, Tony,” said Pine.

When Axilrod started screaming a string of obscenities, Pine grabbed the scruff of the woman’s jacket, slid her into the bedroom closet, and shut the door.

She returned to the bathroom and looked at Vincenzo.

“Okay, sit on the toilet. We’re going to have a chat.” Pine took out her phone and turned on the video with the lens pointed right at him.

Vincenzo sat down and rubbed the back of his head. “I can’t believe she was going to kill me . I thought she loved me.”

“Yeah, Tony, you need to get over that. She was using you just like she used everybody else. Now I need you to talk.”

He looked at her warily. “Maybe I need to speak to a lawyer.”

“Well, I haven’t arrested you, which is why I haven’t read you your Miranda rights, so technically, you’re not entitled to a lawyer. But what the hell. You want a lawyer? Okay. I’ll cut Axilrod loose and leave you guys to it. She probably has a second syringe in her purse. I’ll go get her now and you two can work out your differences. I’m sure the murdering bitch would be willing.”