CHAPTER 9
Matt and Vince pulled into the parking lot of Lincoln Heights Nursing Home a few seconds after Hoyt arrived. "How do you want to work it?" The PI looked worriedly at the building.
"Roy said that Knowles' wife is in 118. Lee's headed that way now. It looks like there are three other entrances. I'll take the east side – you two take the west." The other two nodded and hurried toward the building, Matt untucking his t-shirt to cover up the Glock that was in the waistband of his jeans. When they approached the door both slowed down slightly and tried to look casual.
"One advantage – it's all one level." Vince spoke quietly.
"Yep." Matt looked at the numbers as they went down the hallway. They had just passed room 201 when they heard a scream. Both started moving at a trot, Matt with his hand on the butt of the pistol. "Vince, stay behind me."
As they rounded a corner the pair saw a directory showing that room 118 was to their left and took that. None of the staff seemed alarmed in the least at hearing a scream, and as he thought about it, Matt supposed that some of the patients might do that from time to time. It wasn't until they were about thirty feet away from the room that they saw staff members going in that direction. Lee was near the doorway and they saw Michael approaching from the other end of the hall. Another scream was heard and this time the PI could tell that it was definitely a female. A nurse backed out of the room, her hands in the air. Michael reached for her and jerked her over to the wall, asking what exactly was going on in the room.
"Some man is in Mrs. Knowles' room...and he's got a gun."
"Is there anyone else inside?"
"No – it's a private room."
"Okay. I need you to evacuate the patients on this hallway and we need to lock down the building. Can you do that for me?" Nodding she ran toward the nurses station as another nurse that was standing nearby went into 116 and came back out a minute later with an elderly man in a wheelchair.
"Vince, see if you can get the person in 120 out of there, will ya?" Matt nodded in that direction and the former cop trotted down the hallway as the PI nodded at Hoyt. Both had noticed that the room directly across was a linen closet – one less thing for them to worry about.
Lee eased up to the door and sneaked a look inside the room, removing his head from the line of fire a fraction of a second before Gallagher fired a shot.
"Don't even think about coming in here!" The conman was standing on the far side of Mary Alice's bed, his left arm wrapped around her neck and the gun now pointed at her head. "Anybody else tries to come in here and I'll shoot her!"
Taking a deep breath, Matt thought for a minute and then spoke. "Mr. Gallagher, what can we do for you?"
"How in the hell...who are you?"
"Just somebody who's concerned. How about you let Mrs. Knowles go and just come on out here. There's no need for anybody to get hurt."
"How about you shut up and go to hell?!" A string of curses was heard. Michael was on the phone calling in a SWAT team and urged Matt to keep trying to talk to the conman.
"You know..." The Texan kept his voice calm and conversational. "You aren't going to be able to stay in there forever." There was no reply from inside the room but Matt could hear movement and then Mary Alice screamed again, the sound conveying pure terror. "Mary Alice doesn't understand any of this, Gallagher. She's got Alzheimer's. Why don't you just let her go?" It was then that the door slammed shut and the sound of furniture being dragged around in the room was heard. "Lee, go outside and see if you can get a look in that window." The detective took off toward the front door. "Do we have an ETA on SWAT?"
"About five minutes." Hoyt looked around. The staff was removing the patients from the hallway and taking them to the cafeteria on the backside of the building.
The administrator of the facility approached Michael as sirens stopped outside of the building and police officers took up positions surrounding the building. Matt's phone rang. "Yeah, Lee?"
"He's got the blinds closed, but I can still see around the edge of one of them. He's got her sitting down in a chair. She's really upset." Another scream came from the room. "Damn it! He just hit her across the face." There was a pause. "He took the restraints off of the bed and is is tying her to the chair."
"Okay, hang tight." He listened as Hoyt and the administrator talked over the situation and one of the nurses brought Mary Alice's chart. After a moment, the lieutenant sent the two women away and went past the doorway of 118 to join Matt.
"She's got some blood pressure problems."
"And this situation isn't going to help any at all." The PI blew out a breath. "We need to let Uncle Roy know what's going on."
"Go ahead and call him – tell them to stay put." Hoyt answered his phone again as Matt punched Roy's number on speed dial. After passing on Hoyt's message, he hung up and looked at his watch: 12:17. the cop hung up. "Brad Langston is about a minute out."
"That's some welcome news." Matt had worked with the SWAT leader before and was glad to hear that he had been dispatched.
"Good – because he wants you to keep talking to Gallagher." The cop saw the surprised look on his face. "Give me your keys."
"Huh?"
"You aren't wearing your vest – CJ will kill me." He actually managed a smile as he said the last part.
"Damn." Matt reached in his pocket and retrieved them. "What about Vince?"
"I'm about to make him go back outside."
"That's gonna go over like a lead balloon." He watched as Hoyt jogged down the hallway and then turned back, spying the administrator Mrs. Aaron and waving her over. "How can I get a call into that room?" She gave him the main number for the nursing home and he dialed it, hitting the extension for 118. From outside the room he could hear the phone as it began to ring. Gallagher finally picked it up. "Mr. Gallagher, let me try to help you, okay? I know all about the jewelry stores – but stop and think about it – no one got hurt when you pulled those jobs. But if Mrs. Knowles or anyone else here is harmed, you're going to have a big problem."
"Who in the hell are you?"
"My name is Houston."
"So I guess Knowles and Durst called the cops on me."
"No sir – we figured out it was you through facial recognition."
"Facial what?"
"From the video at one of the stores you hit – we ran your picture through the computer and it matched it up to a picture of you."
"They can really do that?"
"Yes sir. Now look – I'm gonna be honest with you. The SWAT team is almost here...and you've been around enough to know that when they get called in somebody usually gets carried out in a body bag."
"Yeah."
"Now if you'll put your gun down and just come on out here to me, I can keep you safe." The PI felt a tug on his sleeve and turned to find Michael with his vest. The cop helped him to put it on while he held the phone to his ear.
"I don't know if it's worth staying safe. I'm 72 years old. If I got to the slammer now..." Inside the room Gallagher began pacing back and forth. "I really don't have much to lose, do I?"
"Wouldn't it be better to stay alive and take a chance? You don't strike me as a quitter. Actually, I saw some of the video from the jobs you've pulled. Kind of impressive."
"Don't try to con a conman."
"Just telling the truth. How long have you been in that line of work?" The PI knew that the more he could keep the man talking the better the chances were of getting everyone out safely.
"Long time. I was a kid growing up in Chicago. My dad split when I was a baby and my mom worked two jobs and didn't get paid squat. I did what I had to do."
"I can understand that. That's why Rudy and Mrs. Durst were helping you, wasn't it?"
"Yeah." The conman stopped pacing and looked at Mary Alice. Although she wasn't screaming she was talking to herself and it was unnerving to him. How did Rudy put up with it?
"You know if you work with the police they might be able to help you out a little bit. You could tell them who your fence is..."
"Uh huh, and then knowing my luck we would end up in jail together and I would be dead anyway. No thanks."
"They can make sure you get put somewhere else." He waited but there was no reply. The sound of boots coming up the hallway got his attention and he looked to his right to see Brad Langston and one of the other team members getting closer. "Look, Mr. Gallagher: the SWAT team is here. If you're gonna have any chance at all of making it out of here alive, now is the time to..." There were two shots from inside the room and then all was quiet. "Mr. Gallagher?"
Hoyt's phone rang. "Thanks." He hung up looking sickened. "Lee says he shot her and then himself."
He watched as Matt cautiously turned the door knob and began pushing against the door as Langston joined in to help him move the armoire that the conman had scooted over and used as a barricade. The SWAT leader moved into the room first, his pistol trained on Gallagher for only a second before he holstered it. "God almighty..."
Matt stood looking at the pair for a minute. Gallagher had held the gun to Mrs. Knowles' right temple and pulled the trigger and then done the same to himself. He slowly turned and walked from the room, his head down and shoulders sagging as he exited the building. Vince knew the moment he saw him that the situation had ended badly. Going to the van, the PI began removing the bulletproof vest and tossed it inside. "You okay, Ace?"
He nodded. "He shot her and then himself."
"You tried." Houston slid back the side door on the van and had a seat, knowing that he would have to help Michael with the report on the incident. Vince sat down next to him. "There isn't always a happy ending, you know."
"Yep." The PI looked up at the sky – a clear, brilliantly blue, picture perfect California day. "I just happened to think about something that Daddy used to say: "Old folks die so that there's room for the new." Used to think that it was silly – but now I understand a little more." He pulled out his phone and dialed CJ. "How's she doing?...Already?...Tell 'em congratulations for me...Yeah, I'll come by there later...It's going to be a while...Yeah...Love you, too. 'Bye." Hanging up he looked over at Vince. "Miss Lilly Christina Chase made her debut about twenty minutes ago – six pounds six ounces."