Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23
E lliot led the way down the hallway to Jessica’s apartment. The building was far from being run down, but with the money Maya had been paying Jessica, he thought she’d live in a better neighborhood. He reached the door, took out his lock set, and had the door open in under ten seconds.
“Not bad at that,” Rob said as they entered the apartment.
“Little rusty,” Elliot said as he took in the sparsely appointed but functional space. “Rob, kitchen, Silas, here, and I’ll take the bedroom.”
They’d discussed what they were looking for on the drive over. Anything that would link Jessica to Dillon Ulman and any rationale for her hatred of Maya.
He walked into the small bedroom and made a direct line for the closet. The first was crammed with clothes—all for a female Jessica’s size. He moved shoe boxes and looked through everything on the top shelf and the shoes, purses, and boxes on the bottom of the closet. Nothing. He checked under the bed and the mattress before checking the nightstands. Again, nothing. Elliot’s agitation grew as he walked around the bed and opened the door to the second closet.
Well, fuck … there you are, little miss. Yep, one fixated person, weren’t you? Elliot reached up and pulled the string to turn on the light in the small closet. The top of the closet was lined with journals. The closet walls had newspaper clippings of Maya taped all over them. He knelt and looked at articles about the alleged theft of proprietary information. An article about the abandonment of the backers on the building and several others about the ongoing lawsuit.
“Boss, we’re clear out here,” Silas said from the door.
“Call the forensics team. I haven’t touched anything, and we need these journals analyzed.”
“That’s my gig. I’ve got them on speed dial,” Con said in his ear. “And head over to central booking. You can talk to the undercover cop.”
He looked at Silas. “Forensics is being called. We need to head over to talk to that cop. Rob, wait here for the team.”
“You got it,” Rob said as he looked at the closet. “I didn’t really think shit like this existed. I mean, in movies, yeah, but damn …”
“Even the movies have an element of truth in them,” Silas said as they left the apartment.
“Which explains Fatal Attraction , right? Truth is scary,” Con said in his ear. Elliot shook his head and declined to respond.
It took them almost two hours to get the cop out of holding and to an interview room. Elliot tossed the man a pack of cigarettes and a lighter as soon as the door was closed behind him.
“Thank fuck!” the man said and lifted his hands. Silas unlocked the handcuffs. The man had a cigarette going within seconds. “What can I do for you, and, dude, the ‘I Love NY’ t-shirt is classic.”
Silas chuckled, but Elliot was too focused on the answers he needed. “Who’s the boss?”
“Some dude named Dillon. Didn’t get a last name. He pays us in cash every week. Watch him, though. He isn’t right.”
“Where did you meet him?”
“I’m working a sting on what we believe is a … well, it’s a company or corporation recruiting men without records who can provide any kind of security and will do so without questions. The requirements are no entanglements, no police records, and, if you have a military background, no dishonorable discharge. Weapons training is a plus, but they’ll teach you if you don’t have it. He used that entity to hire us.”
“And Dillon Ulman recruited how many people like you’re portraying?” Elliot asked.
“Three teams. One for him, one for the dead woman, and one for specialized tactics.”
“Such as snipers?” Elliot asked.
“Bingo,” the cop said and lit a fresh cigarette off the butt end of the one he’d drawn down to nothing.
“Did you know what would happen the night of the awards show?” Elliot needed every detail.
“Nope. I was assigned to the woman. She told us to wait for her call. We were at the crib waiting for her to bend her finger toward us.”
“Where’s the crib?” Silas asked.
“The boss’s apartment. On the Upper East Side.” He gave the address. Elliot memorized the address. Con was offline doing something for bigger fish. It didn’t matter. The address wasn’t one Con had sent him.
“How many men will he have with him?”
The cop took a long pull off the cigarette and blew it out while narrowing his eyes. “Well, did you take out everyone at the site today?”
Elliot nodded. “They’re all dead or in jail.”
“Then three more.”
“Are there any snipers in that lot?” Elliot wanted to know if he or Jessica was the actual target.
“Nope. Those guys took off right after they did the job. Boss was livid. They just up and left.”
“Up and died,” Silas said.
The cop looked surprised. “Well, damn, that’s something I didn’t know.”
“Is there any security besides the three with Ulman? Cameras, building security?”
“There’s a code at the main door downstairs. It doesn’t ring upstairs when you use it.” The cop gave him the number. “The elevator is slow and at the far end of the hall. Take the stairs up. It dumps you out right at the apartment door.”
“Thanks.” Elliot stood up. “Do you need anything?”
“Off this assignment.” The guy put his feet up on the table. “And a good hour to sit here and relax.”
“I can’t take you off your assignment, but we can give you that hour.” Elliot extended his hand. “Thank you.”
“Good luck, man. That bunch isn’t inclined to ask questions before they start shooting.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Elliot opened the interview room door and left. They arranged time for the cop to wait for his lawyer, who was on his way. Hopefully, the guards would wait long enough to give the man a break.
The drive to the Upper East Side was stop-and-go, but they finally made it. As they parked in a private slot up the block, Con came back online. “Whatcha doing?” Elliot chuffed out a laugh and briefed the man. “Hold on,” Con said. He was typing furiously as they walked toward the building. “That’s Dillon’s company’s apartment. Checking for cameras.” Elliot slowed down, and Silas took note, slowing his pace, too. “Nothing inside,” Con confirmed. “Do you want NYPD or Guardian backup?”
“Notify NYPD we’re going to apprehend the person who orchestrated the snipers.”
It sounded like Con slapped his leg. “Oh, damn, the cop had good information, huh?”
“Enough for us to take him in. He’s the one paying and the one who hired the men. With the cop’s testimony, we’ll have a slam dunk.”
“Okay, notifying NYPD. Guardian?”
“Silas has already notified them. We’ve got a no-knock warrant.” It was sitting on Silas’s phone with all the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed.
“Oh, totally legal, too?” Con acted shocked. “Oh, that’s right, you’re on the bright sunny side of Guardian.” He laughed even though Elliot didn’t. They keyed in the code, and the door clicked open. Silas tapped him on the shoulder and nodded to the stairway door. They headed over to the stairwell and started up to the sixth floor. At the fifth-floor landing, they both pulled their weapons. “I have the layout of the apartment. The door opens to a long hallway. The kitchen is off to the right. There’s a half bath on the left. Living room directly in front and a bedroom and bathroom off each side of the living room.”
“Got it. Thanks,” Elliot whispered and stopped at the sixth-floor landing to tell Silas the layout. “You go into the kitchen. I’ll clear the bath and then head into the front room.”
“Without me?” Silas shook his head. “No, we should stay together.”
“Get there as soon as you can. You’re going at it on your own in the kitchen. They’re armed.”
“I still don’t like it.”
“Noted,” Elliot said and then opened the door to the floor.
He looked at the lock on the door. Elliot reached for the doorknob and turned it. The damn thing opened. Silas’s eyes rounded, and he shook his head, mouthing Idiots . Elliot agreed, but damn, if they were going to make his life easier, he’d take it.
They entered the apartment and almost closed the door behind them. Elliot lifted his fingers and pointed to the door to the kitchen. Silas narrowed his eyes, letting Elliot know he still didn’t like the idea, but he nodded.
Elliot counted down from three with his fingers. They moved down the hall together, and Silas pivoted around the corner of the room. Elliot passed by an empty powder room before he heard “Freeze, Guardian Security!” and then gunfire. He sprinted down the hall and jumped, landing on the couch where he could see from his straight-shot view. A flurry of rounds came from his right. Elliot rolled off the couch and low-crawled to the end. Lifting, he identified two targets and nailed both with a double tap as they approached where they thought he should be.
He was on his feet and heading back to the kitchen. “Silas?”
“I’m good. Find that fucker,” Silas called back.
Immediately shifting his direction, he moved toward the bedroom the guards had been protecting. He slammed the door open, and Dillon Ulman lifted a gun. The gun's shaking was almost comical.
“Drop the weapon, Dillon,” Elliot commanded.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?”
“Guardian Security, we have a warrant for your arrest.”
Dillon straightened this shoulder and stuck the gun farther away from him in some kind of attempt at bravado. “For what? I haven’t done anything.”
“Except hiring two snipers to shoot at Maya Callahan as she came out of the awards ceremony.” Elliot stepped closer.
“You can’t prove that. It wasn’t me.”
“Yes, we can.”
“How? Jessica? She lies. She’s insane.”
“No, she’s dead.” Elliot took another step forward.
The gun dipped, and Elliot sprang forward, slapping it out of Ulman’s hand. The man screeched and jumped away from Elliot. “Don’t hurt me!”
Elliot grabbed the man by the front of his shirt and pulled him closer. “I’ll leave that for the men in prison. You’re very pretty. I’m sure they’ll be very happy to make you pay your dues.”
“What? No, no, no. This was all Jessica’s idea. She wanted Maya dead. I didn’t have anything to do with any of this.”
“I’m going to read you your rights now,” Elliot said as he marched the man out of the bedroom.
Silas was in the front room. His shirt was stained with blood, and his suit jacket was off. “Con, get me an ambulance here ASAP.”
Silas waved him off. “It’s just a scratch. I’ll get it looked at when we go back to see Maya.”
“Am I calling an ambulance or not?” Con asked.
“Are you sure?” Elliot asked his partner.
“I’m good to go. We need forensics for the crime scene and someone to take our statements.”
“That I can do,” Con said, and Elliot nodded.
Dillon did a dance in front of him as he pushed the man over a dead body. “You killed them!” he shrieked.
“Surprising when they shot at me first, isn’t it? Did you clear the other bedroom?” he asked Silas.
“Done,” he confirmed.
Elliot pulled out his Miranda card and read it to Ulman. The man said he understood and then looked between him and Silas. “If I testify against Jessica, I’ll get a lighter sentence, right?”
“Do you want a lawyer?” Silas bit back at the man.
“No. I’m willing to testify against her.”
“As I said, Jessica is dead. She won’t be on trial,” Silas said and sat down in a chair, holding a tea towel to his right arm.
“You mean I’m going to get the blame for all of this?” He sat forward. “Wait, I can give you information on the system. That would help, right?”
“The system?” Elliot drawled as he listened to sirens draw near. “Con, did you tell NYPD we’re on location?”
“Yeah, not my first rodeo. They’re responding because they have calls of shots fired. They aren’t going to let the good citizens of the Upper East Side think they aren’t policing effectively.”
Elliot nodded at Silas, who relaxed back into the chair.
Dillon stared at him. “Who are you talking to?”
“Does it matter? What’s the system?”
“That’s how she hired them—the men,” Dillon explained with a bit of hysteria.
Elliot smiled at him. “We have all the information we need on that company. Thank you.”
Dillon’s terrified expression slipped off his face, and the man’s eyes narrowed. A completely different voice came from him when he spoke next. He cocked his head, and a sneer appeared across his face. It was the weirdest thing Elliot had ever seen. “Even if you send him to prison, I’ll find a way to kill her, you know. Jessica was a tool that was damaged. I was going to kill her anyway.”
Silas’s eyes widened as much as Elliot felt his own widen. “Send him to jail?”
The man hissed in a breath and smiled. “Dillon.”
“And who are you?” Silas asked. The man slowly turned his head toward the seated man. “Nathanial.”
“Are you getting this?” Elliot asked Con.
“Dude, that’s some freaky shit. The voice doesn’t even sound the same,” Con said. “I’ve got a recording of everything.”
A NYPD cop announced his arrival. “Guardian Security,” Elliot called out, not taking his eyes off the man in front of him.
Just as quickly as the sneer appeared, it disappeared. Dillon put his hands to his eyes and started to cry. “I don’t want to go to jail. Don’t make me. Please.”
The cop walked into the living room and looked around. “Need anything?”
“Cuffs,” Elliot said, nodding to the crying man.
“Are you sure? Doesn’t seem like much of a threat to me.” The cop laughed as he pulled out two pairs of flex cuffs and handed them over.
“Yeah, you weren’t here a minute ago,” Silas said.
Elliot cuffed Dillon as securely as he could without damaging the man’s shoulder that had just been operated on. He wasn’t going to take chances, so he used the second pair of flex cuffs to ensure the man couldn’t escape.
“Man, you think he’s dangerous?” The cop laughed.
Dillon stopped crying and turned his head toward the cop. “No. They think I’m dangerous. They’re right.” He hissed in another breath and let it out slowly. “How would you like to die, officer?”
Elliot watched the officer turn white. The cop looked from their suspect to each of them in turn. “Holy hell, how did he do that?”
“Magic. Pure fucking magic.” Nathanial laughed a deep timbre that Dillon’s voice didn’t have.
“Can I use one of your squad cars to get this guy booked?”
“Fuck, yeah.” The cop stood aside. Nathanial growled at him as Elliot passed by.
“Con, get NYPD to secure the scene. We’ve got a new priority.”
“You sure as hell do. I’ll have a psych eval waiting for all four of you.”
Elliot didn’t respond, but he did ask one question. “Nathanial, who did you hire to take out Jessica today?”
The man laughed again. “Someone killed that bitch? What a shame. She was good in bed and did what she was told. Dillon couldn’t control her, but I could.”
“You didn’t hire a shooter to take her out?”
“Fuck no, she gives good head, and she wanted to kill that bitch as much as I did.” Nathanial laughed again. “But you can’t use any of that information. You haven’t advised me of my rights. So, fuck you.”
Elliot put him in the back of the squad car and got into the front after making sure Silas was okay to drive. “It’s my left arm; it’s stopped bleeding. I’m good. Stop being a nanny and let me do my job.”
Elliot shrugged. “I take care of my people.”
Silas stopped and looked at him. “I’d be on your squad any day of the week. I mean that, Elliot. Both Rob and I would be honored to work with you.” He turned and walked toward the Guardian vehicle.
Dillon whimpered from the back of the car. “What did I do? Where am I? Can you tell me what’s happening?
A low, evil laugh rumbled from the backseat. Elliot sat quietly as the man in the back of the patrol vehicle transitioned once again from Dillon to Nathanial. The voice that came from the slight man was almost demonic. The cop driving looked at Elliot, and he shrugged. What the fuck else could he do?