Chapter 9
Crossroads
They exchanged clothes under
a bridge near the 101. The woman with
the shopping cart thought it was a damn good trade, one hooded sweatshirt and a
thread bare pair of jeans for decent slacks and a sweater, booya!
"Throw in the hat and I'll give you my watch," Lonnie nudged her chin upward as
she sweetened the deal.
"Is that a real Rolex?"
"Naw, it's just a Seiko but you should be able to pawn it for twenty bucks or
so. It'll get you a new hat and a few meals maybe."
"You're on." The woman swept the skully off her head and held it in her hand
until Lonnie handed her the watch. It was hard not to notice the woman's thin
hair. It must have been red a few years back. There were remnants of it at the
tips of the long gray stringy locks that fell to her shoulders.
"Lemme have that pretty bra too. Its one of those push up models ain't it,
cookie?"
Lonnie paused for a moment. Her bra? What the hell. "Okay. Yeah, its one of
those push up models, but I don't think its going to fit you."
"I'll make it fit. Maybe it will get me a man, you think?"
"Good luck, sister," Lonnie replied as she slipped out of the satin garment. She
looked around before sliding it the rest of the way off and quickly pulled the
hoodie over her head. Damn it stank and rightfully so. The shopping cart woman
probably hadn't seen a bar of soap in years.
Lonnie pulled the hat onto her head. "How do I look?" she asked the woman.
"Like you live under this bridge, sweetheart." The woman dropped the bra into
her shopping cart and continued to talk to someone as she wheeled it away. A
half a block away she began to argue with her puka, poor soul. She was the least
of Lonnie's worries, though. Jamming the gun down the back of the jeans she now
wore, the PI climbed the embankment and started back on her way to Archer's
manse. The disguise would shield her from any of the rogue agents who came to
search for her. She reckoned it wouldn't be long before they found she'd gone
missing. Lonnie hoped with all of her heart that her accomplice didn't end up
paying for this. If he was smart, he'd lie low or find some way to blow the
whistle on the rogues without getting himself killed first. If those wheels were
turning, it would be a sweet bonus.
It took her two and a half hours to reach the Archer property. She wasn't
surprised at what she saw, but it did put a monkey wrench in her plan. Bud,
Thomas and some other guy were already there interrogating the residents.
Archer, Angel and...What the fuck? Alice Stens? The group was on the back patio
and Bud was pacing like a caged lion. Lonnie kept herself hidden in the brush as
she watched what was going down. Thomas was keeping Bud at bay as the third man,
Exley, stood over Archer who was seated bolt upright on an aluminum chair. She
held her breath so she could hear them.
"You can't prove any of this, Exley. It's all speculation. None of it would hold
up at an inquest."
"I beg to differ. We've fleshed out the assholes that are in your pocket,
Archer."
"You know goddamned well there are no government officials on my payroll,"
Archer spat.
Bud stopped in his tracks and spun around to glare at Archer. "What about Angel,
or are her hands in your pockets just to play with your balls?"
"Mister White, there's no need for this!" Archer shot back.
"Yeah, oh yeah?" Breaking loose from Thomas, Bud got all up in Archer's face.
Hackles were up and spit flew in all directions as the men went at it.
"What did you do to Lonnie?" Bud grabbed the man by the throat. Archer gasped.
"I don't know what happened to her, but I do know what happened to your
partner."
Bud's hands tightened momentarily. He didn't hear the calls from Exley or Thomas
advising him to let go. It was Alice Stens' voice that got through to the man.
"I need to know! I want to know. Armand, you said you had nothing to do with it.
You promised."
"I didn't." Archer's hands went to his throat to massage it back into working
order. "She did it!" an accusing finger was pointed toward Angel. "I swear it
was her. She called him baggage. She said he had no part in the operation. Go
ahead, admit it Angel."
Not only had he outed her as a murderer, but he outed her as a turncoat as well.
Bud saw red. If this woman had anything to do with killing his partner, he
wanted her dead without question, but not before she answered something.
"Lonnie," he said as he glared at Angel. "Did you kill her too?"
"No, I swear," she responded, feeling fear for the first time during this
escapade. "I know where she is, though. I'll take you to her, just don't hurt
me."
"Go ahead and hurt her!" the surprise voice was from Lonnie. "She has, or had no
idea where I am. I'm here. I'm alive, but no thanks to her." All heads turned
"Brannigan!" Thomas barked at her unexpected appearance. A second yelp came from
Exley as Angel took advantage of everyone's surprise to snag his gun from his
shoulder holster. Exley turned to grab the gun, but Angel had managed to pull a
single shot off before the wrestling began. It was Thomas who dove into the path
of the speeding lead projectile. The bullet was meant for the only person who
could blow the whistle on what Angel and her cronies were up to. Lonnie
Brannigan.
Archer was no dummy. He used the melee as his chance to flee. Leaping over the
wounded Thomas, Archer only made it a few feet before he tripped over a leg,
Bud's leg. The big cop dove onto Lonnie in an impulsive move to save her from
harm. Exley had his hands full with Angel. He pried the gun from her hands, but
to his surprise she fought back as well if not better than any of his male
counterparts would. The gun tumbled across the brick floor of the patio. Only
seconds passed before another shot rang out and it was Alice Stens who stood
shaking and holding the smoking gun. All involved were silent, checking
themselves for wounds. There were a few sighs of relief as Angel fell mortally
wounded.
"You okay, honey?" Bud asked Lonnie as he helped her to her feet.
"Yeah," she responded, not bothering to brush the dirt off of her.
"Don't you go nowhere. You got that!" Bud wagged a finger in her face. "We've
got a lot to talk about."
Seeing that Thomas was okay as he covered the flesh wound on his right shoulder
with his left hand, Bud put his foot down on Archer and expertly cuffed the man.
"Read him his rights," Exley ordered. He was halfway through calling for backup
units to transport and an EMS bus.
"What are the charges?" Archer barked. "I demand to know what the charges are. I
want my lawyer....oh Angel. Angel, baby, I'm sorry." He began to sob. Looking up
toward Alice Stets who seemed to be in shock, Archer scowled. "How could you do
this?"
She raised her eyes slowly. Exley didn't cuff her, but he held both of her arms.
She was rag doll limp and she uttered one word. "Dick." For as soft and
affectionately as she spoke her dead husband's name, it went through Bud like a
shiv.
The dust began to settle. Thomas went to Rampart General and Angel went to the
morgue. The remainder of the group was taken to headquarters. Archer was charged
with conspiracy to commit murder for now but with Alice's help, the rest of his
crimes would be brought to light. Speaking of Alice, she was charged with murder
two, but with a plea bargain, everyone figured out she'd end up with a
manslaughter rap. Her youngest would be out of high school before she saw the
outside again, no doubt. The kids would stay with their aunt and uncle, right
where Alice left them after their father's demise.
It was Exley who uncovered the depth of what was going on. He spoke to Alice
first. Sitting across from her in an interrogation room, she began to sob as she
spilled the beans. Her life with Dick Stensland, Detective Richard Alex
Stensland, was hell in her eyes. He didn't make enough money to please her. What
extra he'd earned was pissed away to shore up his drinking habit and their once
happy marriage became a shambles. Alice had met Archer in a gallery one day and
when he found out her husband was on the job, he saw her as a kind of mule. She
got info from Dick through various means, preying on him when he was drunk or
tempting him with favors that had become few and far between in their marriage.
Archer had promised her that no harm would come to Dick as long as the inside
information kept coming, but when Angel was painted into the picture things
changed. Angel played both sides of the fence until she saw that crime paid a
lot more then the FBI. When IA was brought in to investigate Stensland and White
in the form of Lonnie Brannigan, Angel decided it was time to eliminate the
threat. She had Stens killed and put the suspicion on his partner. She figured
eliminating Lonnie from the picture would end her investigation for now, thus
keeping the accusations made toward Bud viable.
Not a word was exchanged between Lonnie and Bud during all of this. She'd
contacted the feds and Mike Vullo showed up at LAPD headquarters a short time
later. He'd informed Lonnie that he got the ball rolling on a full scale looksee
into how many ops were tied up with Angel and heads were going roll soon, but
they had something else to discuss.
"Did you check on Thomas, Lonnie?"
"Yeah, he's doing well. He'll be here shortly."
"Good. He's a good man." Mike studied her for a moment. "You've got a lot of
paperwork, Lon. What about White? You figure he's clean?"
"Are any of us, Mike?" she queried. "Are any of us completely clean?"
He laughed lightly. "By the way you smell, I'd say not literally."
"Aw, well, I needed to cover up my scent."
"So I've heard. Have you talked to White yet?"
"No, but I've got a lot of explaining to do. Mike, maybe it makes me a bad op,
but I really do love him, you know? I think I know him pretty well and I'm sure
he turned a blind eye to some things, but if he knew how deep this shit went,
he'd have done something about it. He may not have blown the whistle, but he'd
have handled it from inside. Bud's got his faults, but I don't reckon he could
stomach corruption."
"You're gonna have to file a report."
"I know."
"What are you going to say?"
"I'm going to say the case is closed. No further investigation is needed."
"You'd be lying, Lon. Will your conscience allow it?"
She shrugged. "Guess I'll file my resignation with the paperwork."
"What are you going to do, hon? Sling hash?"
"She's coming home with me." Bud White's frame filled the doorway to the office.
"Whaddaya say, pal. You think you could leave me alone with my girl for a while?
We've got some things to iron out."
Mike Vullo turned his head to look at Lonnie. She seemed pretty damn
uncomfortable at the moment and he pondered leaving her alone with White. What
the fuck. She said she loved him. She was a big girl and she could make her own
decisions. Mike stood up to leave. No protest came from Lonnie, so he kept
going, "Agent Mike Vullo," he introduced himself and offered his hand as he
passed Bud. There was a nod; Bud accepted the gesture, but nothing more. He
waited for Vullo to clear the door and he closed it behind him.
Lonnie spoke first. "I guess you're kind of upset with me. I figure I would feel
the same if I knew what was going on. Bud, you have to believe me. At first I
was there to investigate you. It was all a ruse but when I told you I loved you,
I meant it. Things changed."
Bud White put his fingers over her lips. He shook his head. "Knock off the
bullshit, sweetheart. I don't want to hear it. We all gotta do our jobs. I gotta
tell you something, Lon. If you want to kiss and make up, you're gonna have to
shower first. You smell like the men's room door on a tuna boat."
She swept his hand away. "Is that all you've got to say to me? You said we had a
lot to talk about."
"I lied…let's go home."