Scrabble Spells Murder
Chapter 20
20.1
Robert Ironside looked at his watch. It was late and he really needed to send his staff home. Tired and frustrated, he wheeled to the main table. As he arrived, he slammed his fist on the table. "Mark, put on a pot of coffee!"
Sanger headed into the kitchen. He had a feeling this was going to be one of those nights. The boss would be staying up, sitting at the window.
"How in the flaming hell did we miss him?" Ironside said as he ran his hand down his face.
"He must have discovered the trace and left before we got there, Chief," Eve said.
Ed and Carl fell into chairs around the table. Everyone became silent while they waited for Mark to bring the coffee from the kitchen. With his fingers intertwined through the handles of the coffee cups in one hand, and the pot in the other, he placed a cup in front of each of his colleagues.
"He must have terminated the connection and just before we got there. We left here as soon as we got the word that the trace went through," Ed said. "How could he have had time to break the connection, and get out of there before we got the manholes covered by police officers?"
"He should call himself the sewer rat instead of the hacker," Carl complained.
"Don't remind me," Ed groaned.
"We can't do anything else tonight. Go home and get some sleep. We will start early in the morning," the chief said.
Carl and Ed stood up to head for the door. Eve followed them. "What worries me is that he may just decide to kill someone before we get a chance to catch him on the bay."
Ironside turned his chair in the direction of his departing staff. "What did you say?"
Eve, Ed and Carl turned back to look at the chief. "I am worried about him taking his revenge on you for placing that trace on him."
Chief Ironside wheeled his chair back to the computer. He stared at the message Vincent Mortimer had left for him. "That's it! He will do exactly that! Get back here! We have work to do!" Ironside shouted. "Mark! Get me the phone number to Fran's cell phone!"
20.2
Sleep had become elusive for Vincent Mortimer. He stared up at the ceiling in the dark. Ironside... he could not believe that the man had actually disobeyed him and traced his computer. He had not expected that. That oversight had almost been his downfall. Damn Ironside! He would pay for breaking the rules. Not giving him clues was not punishment enough. Someone needed to die now. He thought about who that should be and the most logical person was Fran Belding. He already had her locked away in the basement of that house. All he had to do was go over there and kill her. He could call Ironside in the morning and tell him where to find her body. Maybe he would pay closer attention to the rules he set up.
Mortimer sat up in bed. The time to do it was now. Ironside would have sent his staff home after failing to catch him today. He was probably sleeping. He threw back the covers and got out of bed. After getting dressed, he grabbed his gun and left the house. One block down the street, Vincent entered the sewer system and headed for the house where Fran Belding was being held prisoner.
20.3
The chief reached for the police handset. "This is Ironside. Carl, do not approach the house. Keep your vehicle out of sight. You are not to move in until I give the order."
"Chief, how can you be sure Mortimer is going to try to kill Fran tonight?" Eve asked.
"No one can be completely sure of anything, Eve. You look at the facts and make a deduction. You are right that Mortimer is going to want revenge. The logical victim would be Fran. He thinks he is holding her and would be no trouble to kill."
"What if you are wrong?" Mark asked?
Ironside looked at Mark and frowned. "Then we go back to headquarters and chalk it up as a rarity."
20.4
Vincent Mortimer pushed the sewer cover up and to the side. Carefully, he looked out into the street. The street was quiet with no one in sight. Vincent pulled his frame out of the sewer and walked toward the house where Fran Belding was.
Officer Belding paced back and forth in the locked room in the basement. Only a few minutes earlier she had hung up the cell phone Mark had given her. Chief Ironside had called to tell her what he suspected Mortimer was going to do. This was their chance to catch the man. Fran was not about to let the chief down. Mortimer was not going to get away.
The closest manhole would be covered by the police. He would not be using the sewer to get away this time. The chief was wise to that. They had the advantage since Ironside knew where she was being held.
Fran pulled the gun from behind her. She checked it to be sure that it was fully loaded. After returning it to her waistband behind her, she went to the door, placed her ear to it and listened. She was unable to hear anything. Vincent had not yet arrived. Fran felt better knowing that Chief Ironside was on his way to her location.
She went over to the only light that was on in the room. She reached over and turned it off. She might as well make it as hard as possible for Vincent to shoot her. In the meantime, she knew she could depend on the chief to come for her.
Fran was unaware the Mortimer had parked his stolen car a couple blocks away. He used the darkness and whatever he could find to conceal himself. There has been a reason why he had chosen this location. The entire area was void of any light.
Vincent had no intention of underestimating Robert Ironside this time. He had worked at the police department too many years and had seen too many crooks do exactly that. He was not about to. The computer whiz had decided not to use the sewer this time. Ironside had traced him once and it almost caused him his freedom. He would not have been able to finish what he had started. He was afraid the detective had discovered where he had taken Belding, but Ironside was smart. That man could figure out things other cops would not even think of. Vincent let him get close once and he did not intend to allow it again.
Mortimer moved silently and quickly to the house. When he arrived, he opened the back door. He wasn't taking any chances with Belding either. He was going to go on the assumption that Ironside had found her and set a trap for him. As long as he figured the worse, he could avoid being captured.
Vincent used his small flashlight to light his way through the house. He did not want to alert Belding that he had entered... at least not yet. He would let her know when he was ready.
On his drive on the way over, he had decided not to kill her. He had other plans for her. He would use her to lure Ironside where he wanted him. But first he had to get her out of here and he had no doubt that she would not be willing to cooperate with his plans.
Vincent moved quietly through the house. When he arrived at the basement door, he reached out and turned the knob. As he opened the door, it squeaked. He smiled, knowing that the sound would not get past Belding's hearing. That would alert her that he was here. So far, everything was going as planned. Mortimer took one step at a time. He had become familiar with what portion of each step to avoid to keep from making any noise. He headed in the direction of the room where Belding had been imprisoned.
Fran heard the squeak of the basement door. She turned her head sharply towards the noise. Pulling the service revolver out, she pointed it at the door. The darkness would serve as an advantage as Vincent would not be able to see her; but it was also a disadvantage, as she would not be able to see him either if he failed to turn on any lights.
Yet, there would be no reason for him not to turn on the lights. No, the advantage was hers, she decided.
Fran continued to wait in the darkness for Vincent to open the door. She could not understand what was taking him so long. He had more than enough time to come down the stairs and arrive at the door. Maybe the squeaking door had been her imagination. She continued to point the revolver at the door, waiting for her captor's arrival.
She listened for further evidence that Mortimer had arrived. She heard none. Fran lowered the revolver and walked over to the door.
On the other side of the door, Vincent smiled as he heard Belding approach the door. He had known something was not right as soon as he discovered the lights had been turned out. Belding would not have shut them off. She would have slept with them on unless she was up to something. Vincent had to assume she was going to try to escape. He waited for Belding to reach the door. Taking his time, he unlocked the door without making any sound. He reached for the knob and slowly turned it.
Fran was getting an uneasy feeling. As she touched the door, she turned her head to place her ear against it. Just as she did, Vincent violently shoved the door opened slamming the door into her head. Fran, momentarily stunned, fell backwards to the floor.
Vincent shined his flashlight down at her. Seeing the gun in her hand, he said quietly but deadly, "Drop the gun, Belding or I will shoot you." He pointed the flashlight directly into her eyes to make it harder for her shoot at him.
Fran worried he would get a shot off before she could as the back of her hand was flat on the floor with the gun in it. The second she tried to lift it, he would fire.
Officer Belding dropped the gun, realizing she had no other choice. How did she allow him to get the drop on her?
Mortimer reached over and turned on the light. He walked over to Fran and kicked the gun away from her. "So Ironside knows where you are?"
"I only wish he did," she replied, hoping tho mislead him.
"Don't insult my intelligence, Belding. Do you expect me to believe that the gun just appeared out of thin air?"
"I found it in this room," Fran bluffed, standing up slowly so as to not alarm Mortimer.
"No you didn't. I checked this room thoroughly before I brought you here. We are going for a ride. Don't try anything. I will not hesitate to kill you. But first, we must make sure Ironside doesn't find us." He walked over to Fran and slammed the butt of the gun into her face. She went down to the floor once again, this time unconscious and oblivious to anything that happened next.
Vincent picked up the unconscious police woman and carried her out of the house. Rather then return to his stolen vehicle, Mortimer did not carry her any further than the backyard. There in the middle of the yard was a gigantic oak tree. The ladder into the tree house was hanging down the side of it. He made sure that Belding was evenly balanced over his shoulder and climbed the ladder into the tree house. He then pulled the ladder up so that it could not be detected.
Mortimer had cased the house before settling on it. He had only discovered the tree house by accident when he spotted the ladder. The leaves were so thick that the tree house was completely concealed in it, especially at night. All Mortimer had to do was wait out Ironside. He would stay here until tomorrow night at which time he would then move Belding through the sewer to the next location.
20.5
Mark pulled the van to a stop a block from the sewer closest to the house where Fran was being held. Ironside grabbed the police radio. "This is Ironside. Any sign of Mortimer?"
The answer came immediately from Officer Duffy. "Not yet, Chief. We have officers placed inside every manhole anywhere near the house. We will get him as soon as he enters the sewer. He won't get past us."
"See that he doesn't," Ironside growled. He turned to Sergeant Brown. "Ed, see if you can get a closer look."
Brown jumped out of the van and headed down the street.
"Eve, get in behind the house. Cut off that escape route," Ironside ordered his policewoman.
"Yes sir." Eve got out of the van and headed toward the house to carry out her boss' order.
"Carl, in case he decides to use another route other than the sewers, call for back up and cut off any means of escape."
Reese immediately reached for the handset and called headquarters.
Ironside sat back and waited for his officers to report in.
20.6
Eve Whitfield came up behind the house. Standing behind the cover of the tree, she watched the house. There wasn't any sign of anyone inside. She could not even spot lights on in a single room.
Eve looked behind her. She saw a man headed in her direction. He could faintly make out the tall lanky figure of Ed Brown. Choosing not to take a a chance of possibly alerting Mortimer of their presence, she kept quiet and waited for Ed to come to her.
Brown approached her with his gun drawn. He ducked behind the tree to join her there. "Looks pretty dark in there," Ed whispered as he reached her.
"Maybe the chief was wrong. Mortimer may not be here at all. You don't suppose Fran is alone and fine, do you?" Eve asked her co-worker.
"The chief is rarely wrong about anything," Ed said. "I don't like this. You would think there would be lights on inside."
"Mortimer is not stupid enough to leave lights on in a house where people are on vacation, Ed."
"People who go away on vacation usually leave some lights on in order not to attract possible break-ins," Ed countered.
"You mean like Mortimer?" Eve said. "Didn't do these people any good."
Above their heads in the tree house, Vincent Mortimer listened to the two detectives converse. He had come here to kill Belding as a punishment for Ironside breaking the rules, but he had decided he would keep her alive and use her against him. He would incorporate her into his plans.
Ironside had somehow discovered who he was. Vincent was glad he had not underestimated the detective this time. Getting Belding out of the house has proved to be the right decision on his part. He successfully had anticipated Ironside. He had to; the man was too good not to. Somehow, he had given him some kind of clue as to his identity. Mortimer thought back. His only encounter with Ironside had been at the bay. He thought back to that day, trying to figure out if he had given him anything that would have put him on his trail.
Ironside had questioned him but what about? Was there something there that had given him away? He ran the conversation through his mind but could not think of a thing. Yet, Ironside had managed to identify him.
Mortimer shook his head. He had always known the man was brilliant. That is why he took the steps he did to keep him from tracing him. Despite it all, Ironside had never been far behind him.
Vincent's life had now changed for good. The cripple would never give up looking for him. He knew that. The only option he had was to get out of the country. Mexico... he would head for Mexico. Ironside could not follow him down there. But first, he had to make the man pay for cheating. If it had not been for his cheating, he would never have discovered his identity.
This time there would be no saving Ironside. He would pay for everything he had done to him... with his life. He already had in mind what he was going to do to him. In fact, Ironside already had a taste of what was going to happen to him. He would lure him into it.
Vincent would go on the assumption that Ironside had discovered that Sister Agatha was his next target. Since he had broken the rules, Vincent could change and twist them in any manner he wanted. The nun did not know how lucky she was. She was off the hook. His choice of targets had changed. He would have liked to kill more people but Ironside had proven to be a very worthy adversary, as he knew he would be.
Fran Belding began to stir. Vincent put his hand over her mouth and an arm around her body pulling it tightly to his. Whispering in her ear, he said, "Stay still. If you try anything; try to alert the police, I will kill you and then I will kill your friends. Just stay quiet and don't move."
Fran's instincts told her she had to do whatever necessary to alert Ironside as to her whereabouts regardless of what Vincent told her. She could not allow him to slip from Ironside's grasps again. The chief was depending on her. Still, she had no intentions of sacrificing herself to this maniac. Ironside would not want her to endanger herself. But taking chances were part of the job.
Fran did not believe that Vincent was willing to kill her yet. She was confident that she was part of his plans in whatever he intended to do to Chief Ironside. They all knew that he had been Mortimer's ultimate target all along.
Below them, Officer Belding could hear Ed and Eve. That meant Ironside was nearby. She had to make a move now to let Ed and Eve know she was above them.
Mortimer had a tight hold on her. They were laying in the floor of... wherever they were. From their voices, she knew that Ed and Eve were below them. Mortimer had his arm around her, immobilizing her arms. Her right arm was in front of her but the left was behind her back.
She was unable to shout out as Vincent had his hand covering her mouth. She could feel his belt buckle digging into her left land. Fran had decided what she was going to do. She started pushing get hand downward. She heard Vincent warn her not to move again. She stopped at his warning. Her hand was already in position.
Below them, Ed told Eve the chief had contacted them. "He gave the order to move in," Ed announced to her.
Fran knew it was now or never. She slammed her hand into Vincent's crotch and squeezed with all the strength she could muster under Vincent's hold.
TBC...