Chapter 23
Fin was at his apartment packing a bag for his trip upstate with Munch. Jamie was sitting on the bed watching him. "Do you really have to go?" she asked.
Fin stopped and looked at her. "Yeah. It's the only way we're gonne stop this guy."
"Why don't Nic and I tag along and help you guys out?" Jamie asked and crawled across the bed toward him.
Fin wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. "I'd love that, baby, but you got work to do here."
"We're helping you guys with this case. It would make sense for us to go with you."
Fin shook his head. "We need you guys to keep digging up info on this guy. Besides, I'd feel better if you stayed here. It could be dangerous and I don't want you or Nicole getting hurt."
"Not your best argument, Fin." Jamie said, pulled herself out of Fin's arms and got off the bed. "I'm trained in sniper fire, SWAT, hostage negotiation and numerous other things. And Nicole can handle herself. Or maybe there's another reason you don't want us coming." Jamie sighed and walked over to the window and stared out at the lights.
Fin walked up behind Jamie, wrapped his arms around her and was relieved when she didn't pull away from him. "Hey, there's no other reason. This guy's a fucking psycho and is capable of anything and I don't want you anywhere near him." Fin turned her around to face him. "Listen, I love you and I don't want you getting hurt again, okay?"
Jamie looked into Fin's eyes and nodded. "I love you, too, Fin. It's just I got used to sleeping next to you every night."
Fin smiled and then leaned in and kissed her. "I'll be back before you know it."
//Chung Chung//
Munch was already packed for his trip up North and he and Nicole were having dinner. "I still say that me and Jamie should come along."
Munch shook his head. "It's too dangerous. This guy is as psychotic as they come."
"John, we're cops. Danger is part of the job. We can handle ourselves with this guy." Nicole countered.
"Look, I don't know what to expect when we get up there. And if you and Jamie come along and one of you gets hurt, I'll never be able to forgive myself."
Nicole moved her chair closer to Munch. "You're sweet when you're being protective. But right now, I think you're being over protective and you have to learn where to draw the line."
"I know. But I just got you back and I'm not willing to risk anything else happening to you. Besides, it's really not up to me and Fin anyway. It's up to Cragen and he'll never authorize it."
Nicole sighed. "You're right. Well, we'll just have to work on the case from here."
Munch smiled. "Don't worry, honey, I'll be back here in no time."
Nicole smiled back at him. "That's not soon enough." she said and kissed him.
//Chung Chung//
Fin and Munch made the long drive upstate to Walden Falls. Fin was driving and Munch was in the passenger seat. Once they arrived, Fin pulled the car over in front of the police station. "Where's Opie?" Fin asked parking the car.
"Probably gone fishing." Munch remarked.
"Speaking of which, you look a little green around the gills."
"Well, maybe it's because riding with you is like a four hour spin on the tilt-a-whirl." Munch said as they got out of the car.
"I told you to take a dramamine."
"I hate pills."
"So, you'd rather puke?" Fin asked.
"I'm not gonna puke. But you could use a road course on driving in hazardous conditions."
"I kept it on the road."
"Barely." Munch stated as they walked up to the station. "Locals been briefed?"
"Yeah, Cragen took care of it. He faxed them the whole file." Fin replied.
"Assuming they have a fax machine in Mayberry." Munch said and they entered the station.
//Chung Chung//
Back in New York, Jamie was sitting at her desk staring at an open file. Nicole walked in and sat down at her desk. "Hey."
"Mmmhmm." Jamie mumbled not even looking up from the file.
"You okay?" Nicole asked.
Jamie looked around the bullpen and then to Nicole. "This is total bullshit." Jamie whispered.
"What is?"
"Fin and John going away and we're stuck back here with the fucking paperwork."
"Hey, take it easy. Cragen could only afford to send two of us."
Jamie didn't say anything. She just closed the file on her desk and left the bullpen. Just as she left, Elliot and Olivia walked past her into the bullpen. "She okay?" Olivia asked watching Jamie leave.
"She's pissed that John and Fin are gone up North and we're back here doing the legwork." Nicole replied.
"Well, can you blame her? This is a big case. I'd be pissed off too if I got stuck with the legwork." Elliot stated.
Nicole nodded. "Point taken. I'm gonna go talk to her."
//Chung Chung//
The Chief was sitting at his desk when his secretary walked into his office. "Chief, the detectives from New York City are here." she said as Fin and Munch walked in.
The Chief stood up from his desk and walked around to greet them. "Welcome to Walden Falls." he said and shook Munch's hand.
"John Munch."
"Odafin Tutuola." Fin said shaking the Chief's hand.
"Uh, come again?"
"Just call me Fin."
"Fin, got it. Get you a cup of coffee, soda pop, something?"
"We're fine." Munch said.
"So you think you got a fugitive hiding out up here?"
"Cold blooded serial killer and rapist by the name of Darryl Kern." Fin stated.
"I've never heard of him. I know just about everybody in town, so if he's here, he's keeping a low profile." Just then a female officer entered the office. "Ah, come on in. Cheryl, uh this is Detectives Munch and...?"
"Fin." Fin finished and shook her hand.
"This is Officer Cheryl Baxter. Whatever you need, Officer Baxter is at your disposal."
"We'd like to start with Smitty's Pump & Save because that seems to be a regular stop on Kern's itinerary." Munch said.
"You wanna settle in first or go now?" Cheryl asked.
"The woman he grabbed might still be alive. We can settle in later."
"Good luck. If you need anything else, just give a holler." the Chief said.
"Thanks Chief." Munch said and he and Fin followed Cheryl out.
//Chung Chung//
Nicole found Jamie in the crib sitting on one of the beds. "Hey, what's going on with you? I've never known you to get upset over doing the legwork on a case." Nicole said sitting down beside her.
Jamie sighed and looked over at her. "I'm not upset about the case."
"Then what it is? Is it Fin going away?"
"Partly."
"Hey, I understand. I hate the fact that John's gone. But it's something they had to do."
"I wanted to tell Fin today but he had to leave." Jamie said looking down at the floor.
"Tell him what? Are you okay?" Nicole asked concerned.
"I'm pregnant."
"You're what?" Nicole asked shocked. "When did you find out?"
"Yesterday."
"And Fin doesn't know?"
Jamie shook her head. "No. I was going to tell him today but he had to leave right away."
"Maybe you should call him."
"I don't know if I should."
"Jamie, you have to tell him."
"I know but I don't wanna do it over the phone."
"Okay, listen, I have some info to follow up on but I'm here if you need to talk, okay?"
Jamie smiled. "Thanks."
//Chung Chung//
Fin, Munch and Cheryl were talking to Smitty at the Pump & Save. Smitty was looking at a picture of Kern. "A guy from out of town has a cabin up here." Smitty said and gave the picture back to Munch.
"Know where?" Munch asked.
"No. But he likes to hunt, so I suppose it's out on one of the county roads. Lot of folks have hunting shacks out there."
"Was anyone with him?" Fin asked.
"I think he might have a lady friend."
"Is this her?" Munch asked and showed him a picture of Annie.
"Hard to tell."
"You said he liked to hunt." Fin stated.
"Oh, he never really said so, but he spent so much time in Jordie's Guns & Ammo I figured he was stocking up for the season."
"Where's Jordie's Guns & Ammo?" Munch asked.
"Right over there." Smitty said and pointed down the street.
"Thank you." Munch said and walked off.
//Chung Chung//
They walked over to Jordie's and showed him the picture of Kern. "Yeah, that's Arnold Cokely." Jordie said and put the picture down.
"Cokely?" Fin asked.
"That's what I said."
"I heard he comes in here a lot." Munch stated.
"Is there a law against that?" Jordie asked.
"No but there is a law against obstructing justice." Munch replied.
"Come on, Jordie, they're okay." Cheryl said. "They're just trying to do their jobs."
"What'd you need?"
"Did he ever mention anything about a cabin?" Fin asked.
"I think he said it was north of town. He kept it pretty well stocked too."
"With what?" Munch asked.
"Rifles, ammo, provisions. We carry a full line here."
"You mind if we take a look at his paperwork?"
"Uh, yeah, yeah I do mind."
"Jordie." Cheryl said.
"But I don't suppose there's much I can do about it." Jordie said and walked over to a counter that held the files. "Government's got its finger so far up everyone's ass it's getting to be like Russia around here."
"Russia's a democracy now." Munch stated.
"My point exactly." Jordie replied, walked back over with the file and placed it on the counter.
"I assume you checked his ID and waited for his background to clear." Munch said.
"Yeah, I followed the law."
"To the letter if not the spirit."
Fin moved between Munch and Cheryl and picked up the file. "We'll get this back to you." Fin said and they left the store.
//Chung Chung//
Cheryl was sitting at her desk in front of the computer and Fin was leaning on the side of the desk looking at the screen. "We computerized the county records a few years ago. If either Kern or Cokely owns land here, it'll show up in the tax rolls." Cheryl explained.
"Damn. How come we don't have this kind of software?" Fin asked.
"You could always head down to the basement and go through the big books if that'll make you feel more at home."
Fin smirked and Munch walked into the office. "Just got off the phone with New York. Jamie called Missing Persons, Arnold Cokely and his wife Amanda went missing from Tribeca about five months ago and since Cokely's ID was used in a fraudulent firearms transaction, ATF's joining the party."
"That may not be so bad considering all the fire power Kern's been stock piling." Fin stated as the computer beeped.
"Sorry, no match for Kern or Cokely in the system." Cheryl said.
"She faxed a list of others that went missing around the time of his other trips, can you check on those too?" Munch asked and handed her the paper.
"I'll scan the names into the computer and have a printout in a few minutes."
//Chung Chung//
Fin and Munch were getting settled into the Blackbird Motor Lodge when Fin's cell phone rang. "Tutuola."
"Hey, it's me." Jamie said on the other end.
"Hey, you okay? You don't sound good, babe." Fin stated.
"I'm fine, no I'm not, I don't know how I am." Jamie babbled. "Listen, Fin, we really need to talk when you get back."
"I don't like the sound of this. What's going on?" Fin asked worried.
Jamie didn't want to tell Fin that she was pregnant over the phone but the worry in his voice changed her mind. "I wanted to tell you before you left but I never had the chance and I think you should know."
"Know what?" Fin was really starting to worry now. He thought things were great between them but somewhere in the back of his mind had him thinking that Jamie was about to tell him she was leaving him.
"Fin, I'm pregnant." Jamie finally said. There was silence on Fin's end of the phone and it worried Jamie. "Fin, are you there? Please, say something. I need to know that everything's going to be okay." Jamie said on the verge of tears.
Fin sighed with relief and then smiled. "It's more then okay, baby, but we'll talk about it when I get back, okay?"
"Okay. I love you, Fin."
"I love you, too." Fin repeated.
Munch walked in as Fin hung up the phone. "Was that Jamie?"
"Yeah." Fin said still a little shocked at the news he just received.
"Hey, you okay, man? Is everything all right back home?" Munch asked.
Fin looked at Munch. "Jamie just told me she's pregnant."
"Whoa. Who's the daddy?" Munch asked and smirked.
"Not funny, John." Fin said glaring at his partner.
"Kidding man. You okay about it?"
Fin nodded. "Yeah, I really am." Fin stated and then looked around the room as Munch went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. "I still don't see why the city couldn't spring for two rooms."
" 'Cause they're cheap. D.A. wants to decorate her office with antiques and burber rugs and we gotta beg for table scraps." Munch said from the bathroom.
"In Narcotics we always got our own rooms. Sometimes entire apartments." Fin said hanging up clothes in the closet.
"How's that?"
"Undercover. Gotta create entirely new identities, you know apartments, bank accounts, the whole works. One time Jamie and I were under for seven weeks, had a nice little duplex in the village. After we bust the dope ring I gotta move back to my little cracker box one bedroom in Brooklyn. First week home I kept bumping into my own furniture."
"So, this place must make you feel right at home." Munch said coming out of the bathroom.
"Not exactly. I got a nice entertainment system, with surround sound and a wide screen TV." Fin said sitting down on one of the beds.
Munch sat down on the other bed and looked over at Fin. "You really okay about this pregnancy thing, man?" Munch asked while he was filing his nails.
Fin sighed and then nodded. "Yeah. I mean it was definitely a surprise but I'm really okay about it."
Munch smiled. "You really love her don't you?"
"Yeah, I do."
Before Munch could reply a cell phone rang. "Is that mine or yours?" Munch asked.
Fin looked at his phone. "It's yours."
Munch stood up and looked for his phone. "Where the hell did I put it?" He found it on the bed and answered it. "Munch. Hey, Nic. Everything okay, honey? Blueprints? Yeah, we're on it. Thanks." Munch said and hung up. "Where's the phone book?"
Fin leaned across his bed and picked it up off the night stand. "Right here. I used it to order the pizza." he said and tossed it over to Munch.
Munch picked it up and flipped through it. "Like a wallet. Oh, here it is."
"What?" Fin asked.
"They've been combing through Kern's stuff and found blueprints for a bomb shelter drawn up by a contractor in Walden Falls." Munch said dialing his phone. "Cheryl, John Munch. Do you know the owner of McCartney Lumber & Cement? Could you have him meet us at the station? We caught a break in the case. See you in twenty." Munch hung up the phone.
//Chung Chung//
The Chief was arguing with the leader of the ATF team. "This is a Federal matter." Gus Stone, the ATF leader said.
"And this is my office. Play by my rules or get out!" the Chief said angrily as Fin and Munch appeared in the office.
"You're in over you head. This man has enough fire power to start World War 3."
"Somebody's blowing enough hot air to refloat the Hindenburgh." Munch stated looking at Stone.
"Who the hell are you?" Stone asked.
"Detective John Munch, NYPD. Who the hell are you?"
"Gus Stone, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms."
"Well, Mr. Stone, why don't you take your cowboys, step aside and let the police do their work?"
"I have a Federal warrant for Darryl Kern's arrest."
"And I have someone who can help find him before he kills another innocent woman. Who trumps who?"
Just then Cheryl walked into the office carrying the blueprints. "Here they are." She walked over to a desk and layed them out.
"Mr. McKern, do you recognize these blueprints?" Munch asked.
McKern picked up one of the papers and looked at it. "Sure do. A guy came in last June, asking us to build him a bunker."
"For what?" the Chief asked.
"Said he was getting ready for Armageddon and the Race Wars. I don't subscribe to that point of view but his money's as green as anyone's. Drew up the plans to his specifications. An underground bunker, fortified with 12 inch cement blocks."
"You built it?" Fin asked.
"Sure did." McKern replied.
"Where?" Munch asked.
"Tracked the land about ten miles out. Just off the county road 26. Already had a small cabin on it."
"I can have ten men here, deputized and ready to go within an hour." the Chief offered.
"I've got five more on the way from Watertown." Stone added.
"What are we waiting for?" Munch asked and they left the office.
//Chung Chung//
Fin, Munch, the Deputies and ATF surrounded the cabin that was tucked in the middle of the woods. Fin and Munch made their way up to the porch of the cabin and braced themselves against the wall. Munch gave the signal and the ATF guys ran around to the back of the cabin.
"This would have been right up Jamie's alley." Fin stated.
"Yeah, Nicole's too." Munch added.
Then they booted in the front and back doors and entered the cabin with guns sweeping the room. "ATF!"
"Police!"
"Nothing?" Munch asked.
"Clear." Stone said and put his gun away.
"Where the hell is he?" Fin asked.
"Detectives?" the Chief called from outside. He was just coming out of the underground bunker. Fin, Munch and Stone came out of the cabin and made their way over to him. "We got something here." The Chief pointed down into the bunker.
Munch was the first one down and he turned on his flashlight. He found Annie, dead on the cold cement floor. He crouched down beside her. "Sorry, Annie." Munch said.
Fin and Stone were standing behind him in the doorway with flashlights of their own. They were sweeping the beams around the room and discovered a torture chamber. "John." Fin said.
Munch stood up and looked around the room. He saw various chains, handcuffs, whips and other implements of torture. "Bastard tortured her." Munch said.
//Chung Chung//
An hour later, a forensic team was there and they had uncovered numerous bodies buried on the property. "The frozen ground's slowing us down, but we've already uncovered fifteen bodies buried in shallow graves. Three kids." Stone said to Fin.
"Why kids?" Fin asked and shook his head. He couldn't help but think of his son Ken and his baby that Jamie was now carrying. All of a sudden he felt very protective of his children.
"I've got my men scouring the woods but by the looks of those tire tracks, I'd say Kern pulled out a good hour before we got here."
"Somebody tipped him off." Fin said.
//Chung Chung//
Munch was still down in the bunker. He was with the coroner who was zipping up Annie's body in a body bag. "I could have lived an entire lifetime without seeing something like this." she said.
"How bad?" Munch asked.
"Contusions, broken bones, flesh pulped and bruised. Mutilation pattern suggests she'd been penetrated with foreign objects, possibly a knife, all that before he blew her face off with a .44."
Cheryl appeared in the doorway of the bunker. "Detective, found something in the cabin you might wanna take a look at."
//Chung Chung//
Fin, Munch and Stone were back in the cabin with the Chief who was showing them a journal he had found. "It's an operation manual of some sort. Last entry dated yesterday. Position compromised, as long as the worm stays in the Apple, possibility of further erosion. We'll rendezvous at extraction point, operation terminated." the Chief read.
"He definitely has an accomplice." Cheryl stated.
"Serial killers tend to be loners but when they do pair off the stronger personality dominates." Munch explained. "We rate a single perp because his partner lives in his shadow."
"Must have left in one big hurry to forget this." the Chief said referring to the journal.
"He's slipping."
"It says they're gonna rendezvous." Stone said.
"The worm's in the Apple." Munch stated.
"The Big Apple." Fin added.
"He's heading back to the city." Munch said. And it would appear so were Fin and Munch.
TBC...