Chapter 8
Dead Heat Rising
Chapter 8
Dead Heat Rising
"How you holding up?" he asked.
"I've had better days. What's with you? Don't you feel anything, a little
remorse maybe?"
"I don't believe it was her, Bud. I can't tell you why, but I think she's
alive."
"What the fuck are we sitting here for? Exley's about as useful as tits on a
bull and you're not much better. If she's alive then we have to find her."
Could he be right? None of them had gone to identify the remains. After Exley
explained that the bill was put on Bud to bring him in for his own protection
against whoever killed Stens, there was no need to hide. Not from the LAPD
anyway.
"If it isn't Archer who's got her and it's not the LAPD, then who do you think
it might be?" Thomas asked. He had an idea but he wanted to feel Bud out for
how much he knew.
Bud grasped the back of a dining room chair as Exley brought three glasses of
scotch to the table. He looked down at the one that was placed in front of him
and glared into the amber liquid as if it were some kind of crystal ball. "If
she's hiding, I can't figure out how or why she would fake her own death. I
don't think she would do it that way. She'd contact one of us. I know her."
"Do you?" Exley asked. He found it necessary to avert his eyes from Bud's in
much the same way a subordinate in a pack of wolves would. Deep down inside it
pissed him off, but he wouldn't dare show it. Bud White scared him. He was the
type of cop Exley knew about but wanted no part of.
"Say what you've got to say, Exley."
"Do you know who she was working for?"
"I.A. Thomas told me," Bud fired. "So who was she investigating?"
"You and Stens, maybe more for all I know."
Thomas pulled a chair out from the table and sat down. "Does it really matter?
If you're all clean than you have, or had, nothing to worry about. Bud, she
brought you here to protect you and I'm guessing it's not just from the LAPD.
I'm guessing she may have either had a lead or an inkling of who deep-sixed
Stens and why. If he had his hands in something that you don't know about,
then I figure he had another accomplice in the department. Who it is would be
the sixty four thousand dollar question?" Both men glanced toward Exley.
"Don't look at me," Exley shook his head. He took a deep gulp from the glass,
draining it. "Lonnie would have the answer or she would lead us to the answer.
If you think she's alive then this case is deeper then a well diggers balls."
Thomas pushed the scotch bottle toward him. "Tell us what you know. Who was
she working for?"
"FBI," he answered without a wince. "Only the upper brass was aware of it and
she came in with Angel. When they put her out to play they sent her right to
your precinct ..." he nodded toward Bud. "... to get busted. The photo gig was
all a set up to get you interested in her, White. I figure she did her job,
but I figure you got her interested." He bit his tongue. If he hadn't he would
have added something about the likes of her falling for the likes of him.
"Deep cover," Thomas mumbled. "You think the feds have her?"
Exley shrugged. "Why would they?"
"She blew her cover with Bud. In the process, she was going to out Angel. I
think if we find Angel we'll get our questions about Lonnie answered. Do you
have contact with her, Exley?"
"It sounds like the best place to start. There's a 'for your eyes only' file
on her in my office"
It was just about an hour later when the three men strolled into LAPD HQ.
There was a distinct rattle and hum from the peanut galleries they passed and
all kinds of speculation. One or two men may have started to sweat. Digging
into FYO files could cost a couple of cops their jobs but it would be worth it
to bury corruption.
W
Why did they always keep interrogation rooms so fucking cold and dimly lit?
The dark seemed to enhance the chill. Maybe it was just their version of
torture. Lonnie was shivering and walking in a circle when a small rap came on
the door. The stream of light that flooded in with the doors opening felt
warmer somehow. It might have raised the temperature of the room by a degree
or two.
"I was wondering when you'd come to see me."
"I'm here as a friend, Lonnie, not as an operative. It looks like you got
yourself in some deep shit."
"Yeah, Mike, I sure did, but none of it was intentional. What's the scoop? You
know what they're going to do with me?" She accepted her ex-partners jacket.
Mike Vullo was the one who got her this gig when she decided that being a beat
cop in Philly was not as fulfilling as she thought it would be. He moved out
and up into the domestic espionage game and once he waved the gold FBI badge
in front of her she got the bug. LAPD was supposed to turn her job request
down. It was part of her cover.
"I don't know. They're not saying anything to me. I've got my ears open to the
scuttlebutt but there isn't much of it. I don't think too many ops know you're
here."
"Can you get me out? I mean the fact that no one knows I'm here is a sure sign
that bringing me in was not authorized by the upper brass?"
"How the hell am I going to do that? You know this place. You know these
people," and he knew there may have been ears in the room.
"Mike, they've faked my death. I'm alive for real for some reason. I'm
thinking I know something they want or they're going to use me for some kind
of bait but it's not for Bud or Thomas. By now, they think I'm dead. Jesus
Mike, I don't fucking trust Angel or Ray."
He looked back at the door, almost expecting it to fly open. "Lonnie, this
case was dirty from the start. It's more than land. Archer and his cronies
have defrauded individual investors, ripped off financial institutions, rigged
foreign currency trades and engaged in numerous other forms of criminal
activity. Maybe the fact that he's stayed so cocky for so long answers a few
questions. You know how much money we make. Would you think about it if
someone offered you a million dollars and a beach house in the Caymans?"
"No."
"Bullshit. You may not take it but you'd feel a tropical breeze first. They
have to have a few inside cohorts. It explains why they're not afraid. They
figure no one of importance will be able to get close enough to them to stop
them. No one who's not in with them anyway."
"What are you saying? Some of the other agents from here are in on this? Angel
and Ray have to be."
"I think so. I think they're going to tie up loose ends before they call it a
wrap. They'll eliminate anyone and everyone who knows diddly about what's
going on including you, White and you're friend the PI."
"Fucks sake, Mike. Tell me, did they kill Stens?"
Mike nodded. The sound of someone walking by the door distracted him. "Listen
Lon, I gotta get out of here."
"So do I, Mike. Help me get out of here. I know the moment I'm used up they're
gonna kill me for real. I didn't sign up for this job to die like this!"
"I'm sorry, Lon," he said. Mike took one last look at her before he made his
exit. He did leave one thing with her though, his jacket and deep in the
inside breast pocket were a set of keys, a magnetic fob and a visitor ID card.
She'd figure it out.
W
"We can't just waltz into FBI headquarters with a search warrant. I don't know
a single judge who'd sign it," Exley sighed. "If we try to go in the right way
they'd never admit she was there no matter what."
"I've got all the search warrant I need right here," Bud patted his side where
his 38 police special was holstered. "Enough of this fucking shit. I say we
pick Angel up and shake her down."
"You'd do that? Could you put a woman in the chair, Bud?" Exley huffed.
The very thought of it rattled Bud to the core. "What do you think they're
doing to Lonnie? You think they're playing tiddly winks with her? Every minute
that goes by makes this worse for her."
"You don't even know for sure she's alive."
"Oh she's alive all right. I've got some business to finish with her, so I
know she's fucking alive, I'm goddamned sick of going around in circles. Exley,
where's Angel? Bring her in or I'm going out to look for her. Now, goddamn
it."
"Archer's."
Thomas was sitting on the desk picking something out of the sole of his shoe
with a credit card. "Here we go round the fucking mulberry bush," he scoffed.
Going back to Archer's house wouldn't be so pleasant this time.
W
Was this a setup? She wasn't sure who she could trust anymore and this all
seemed too easy. Maybe it was a way for them to kill her trying to escape. No
one would have to answer for it. There'd be a little internal hearing, they'd
say she was armed and it would be over with. What fucking choice did she have"
Was she supposed to stay there and wait for the inevitable? Lonnie weighted
her options and she chose the only one that gave her a chance. The door wasn't
locked, there was no guard so she slipped out into the hall knowing full well
there were cameras at each corner. Pinning the visitors badge to her shirt,
she carried the jacket over her arms and walked as if she belonged there.
"Excuse me, Miss..."
She smiled sweetly at the blue suited man. Feigning a startle she bumped into
him and let him cop a feel. It worked every time. "I'm lost. Can you tell me
where the cafeteria is? I'm supposed to meet my group there for dinner."
"You must be with the Highland bank tour. Securities Fraud Squad is on the
first floor and they'll be meeting in the basement cafeteria. Just take the
elevators at the end of the hall and you'll find them."
"Thank you." She picked up her pace and bypassed the elevator to use the
stairs instead. The gun she'd lifted from the guy with the blue suit would be
missed shortly and she had to get out of the building before he set off any
alarms. Hopefully some nitwit in the audio visual room was asleep at the
wheel. There was a security airlock where she had to use the key fob at the
base of the stairs and she prayed the door would buzz. It seemed to be taking
so long and her knees began to shake as she stood there between the two doors.
Suddenly there was a click, then a buzz and she was out in the lobby. Her
heart beat fast as she walked past the guard's desk and made a bee line for
the main doors.
"Excuse me. Wait a minute Miss..."
Lonnie stopped in her tracks. Her finger slipped to the trigger of the gun she
had and she turned slowly to the man. If she had to shoot him, then so be it.
She was ready to draw.
"You have to leave your visitors badge here ma'am. It's not a souvenir."
"Oh, silly me. I'm sorry." Securing the gun under the coat with her left hand,
she swept the badge off and lay it on the desk. "Have a nice day.." ten, nine,
eight.....three , two , one. She was outside in the fresh air with one thought
in her mind. She'd go directly to Archer's if it took the rest of the night to
walk there. He had to be at the bottom of this or perhaps he was at the top
and a dozen or so corrupt law enforcement officials made up the rest of the
food chain. One way or the other she knew there was an angel with a dirty face
in this drama.