Chapter 19
Todd climbed in his car and turned on the lights as he sped across town. A police cruiser met him a block from Rosie’s. He pulled up next to it and rolled down his window so he could talk to the driver. The driver was Officer Lance Drane, someone he recognized but didn’t know well.
“We’ll turn off our lights and sirens. I don’t know that Travis is still around, but I don’t want to scare him or anyone he’s with away if they are.”
Officer Drane nodded. “Anywhere you’d like us to station?”
“Just off the alley. I’ll go in the front door. That way you’re in position if he or anyone else is flushed out the back door.”
“Give us a few minutes head start.” The officer put his car in drive and pulled away.
After a minute, Todd turned his vehicle around and pulled into Rosie’s parking lot. He secured the vehicle, then headed into the bar.
The waitress nodded at him. “Doris will be glad to see you. She’s told us we can’t take the trash out.”
Todd frowned. “That’s odd.”
“Very. She doesn’t like to do that anymore, but she’s insisting she’ll handle that after we all go home tonight.”
“Where is she?”
“Her office off the kitchen.”
“Okay if I go back?”
“Sure.”
He walked behind the bar and peered through the round window before pushing through the swinging door. “Doris? Bridget told me you texted, but I couldn’t text back. I left my phone at the hospital tonight. You okay?”
There was no response, which only heightened his awareness as he walked into the kitchen.
A grizzled man stood at the grill cleaning it, while another younger man mopped a back corner of the floor near a large cooler. They barely looked at him as they worked.
He rapped the stainless-steel prep table, and the man at the grill looked up with a frown. “Where’s Doris?”
The man held up the scraper he’d been using. “She went in the office about twenty minutes ago.”
That matched up with when she’d texted him.
“I saw her head out back.” The other man leaned on his mop.
He had the thin frame of someone who had been addicted to opioids but had overcome.
Todd knew Doris liked to give former addicts a chance.
He appreciated that about her, making it one reason, in addition to the comfort food, that he liked to frequent the joint.
“Did she come back in?”
The man shrugged his thin shoulders. “Not that I noticed.”
“Mind if I check the office?”
The guy on the grill watched him warily. “I suppose not.”
Todd edged into the small room, but she wasn’t sitting at the cluttered desk. He frowned when he noticed the bag of trash tied off on the floor. He picked it up and stepped back into the kitchen. “I thought you said she took the trash out.”
The mop guy nodded. “She did.”
“Then why leave this in the office?”
“I don’t know.”
Todd hurried to the back door. Nothing felt right about this. He needed to get out there and figure out what was going on. Why would Doris text him and then disappear? Had it been a trap to lure him here? If so, it was quite the gamble because it had taken him a while to get to the bar.
He hoped he hadn’t taken too long.
Bridget walked Dani to the elevator when Caleb called up that he was waiting at the door. “I’m sorry again about getting you involved.”
Dani gave her a quick squeeze. “I’m not. It’s a good reminder to treasure the people I have. I can pray for my other girl, and I can file the paperwork, so if she wants to find me, she can. But I need to trust that God has her in His hands.”
“I can still be sorry for getting your hopes up.”
“You didn’t. I did that all on my own. Her birthday is always challenging for me. I think Brianna will help. She’s not a replacement, but it does help fill some of the hole in my heart.” Dani blinked rapidly, then, after the door slid open, stepped into the elevator. “Take care of Eliza.”
“I will.” After the doors closed, Bridget hurried to the ICU.
The charge nurse looked up. “Good. We just got the call that she’s in recovery.”
“The surgery’s over?”
“Yes, and they’ll bring her back here once the anesthesia wears off.” She glanced at her computer. “Dr. Lyons should be here shortly to update you, but it looks like it went well based on the notes.”
Bridget’s shoulders collapsed, and she almost stumbled. “That’s great news.” She hadn’t realized how concerned she’d been about whether Eliza would make it through the surgery, but she had to lean against the wall to keep from falling.
“It is. I would guess it will be at least an hour until she’s ready to come back here.
” The woman looked up and noticed her slumping.
“You look exhausted. Why don’t you try to get some rest?
I’ll tell Dr. Lyons where he can find you.
You’ve done a lot for that girl, but if you don’t take care of yourself now, you won’t be able to fight for her in the coming days. She’s still going to need you.”
“Thank you.” Bridget acknowledged the officer seated beside the door, then collapsed onto the recliner.
For the first time, she let her mind drift to thoughts that Eliza’s parents were gone.
What did that mean for her? Did she have aunts and uncles who would take her in?
And where had she been since they died? Bridget had so many questions, but she knew she wouldn’t get answers, not yet.
She opened a note in her phone app and started capturing the questions.
She’d need to find answers but couldn’t do anything in the middle of the night. Tomorrow would have to be soon enough.
A rap on the doorframe pulled her head up.
Dr. Lyons stood there, Jon immediately behind him, his hands on his hips. “This guy okay to come in?”
“He is, thanks.” She pushed the lever to lower her legs and then looked at Dr. Lyons. “How did she do?”
“She came through the surgery better than I hoped. We’ll leave a stent in for at least a day to make sure we don’t have to go back in if the bleeding recurs, but I think we were able to get all the pooled blood.
I also didn’t see a leak, so I think her body was already healing.
” He leaned against the door, and she could see his fatigue.
“I expect her to wake up when the anesthesia wears off. She may be confused for a while, but I don’t anticipate that will last.”
“That sounds good.”
“It is. It all went better than I’d hoped. Thanks for giving your consent.”
“You didn’t give me much choice.” She tried to smile but felt the release of emotional strain. She blinked several times to try to stave it off, but a few tears escaped.
“You did well, and someday Miss Eliza will thank you. Maybe after her patch of hair grows back.”
His words startled a laugh from her, probably his goal. “How bad is it?”
“She might want a scarf. But at least it’s toward the back.” He rapped the doorframe again. “Good night.”
“Night.”
Jon stuck his head in. “That sounds like good news, Ms. Ellis.”
“The best.” And she popped the recliner back up and curled up. She’d do her best to sleep until the staff brought Eliza back. Then she’d have a lot of questions to answer, and she didn’t know how she could explain things she didn’t understand to the young teen.
Todd wished he had his phone or a radio.
Then he could alert the officer in the squad car that he was on his way to the alley and that something was wrong.
He put his hand on the butt of his service revolver and then edged to the back door.
He pointed to the guy at the grill. “Call 911 and tell them to alert Officer Drane that Officer Westmont is coming out the back door of Rosie’s. He needs to be ready.”
“All right.” The man abandoned the grill and headed to a phone hanging by a cord on the wall.
Todd waited until the man had reached a dispatcher, then took a deep breath and cracked the door open.
With a quick exhale, he slid a big bucket lid in place to hold the door ajar and then eased out.
At first, he couldn’t see a thing, the space as dark as it had been the night before.
But slowly his eyes adjusted from the bright kitchen to the darkness.
“Todd, get back inside.” Doris’ voice came from somewhere to the side and behind. Maybe over by the dumpster again. He was beginning to hate that space. He waited, trying to hear every sound. Her breathing sounded labored.
“Are you hurt?”
“Maybe.” She wheezed a breath. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Do you need an ambulance?” He raised his voice, hoping the two inside would hear and relay the message. If so, that would likely prompt more police to arrive. “I can go back inside and ask for an ambulance to be called. We can call 911 for you.”
She inhaled sharply. “Don’t do that.”
“Is Travis out here with you?”
“What would make you think that?”
“I got a text from you.”
She cackled. “I didn’t send you a text. I wondered what made you come.”
There was a sound like a kick, and then she groaned.
“Stop. Don’t hurt my grandma.”
“Travis, stay back,” Todd yelled, praying the boy would listen.
“I can’t let him hurt my grandma.” The boy’s words were broken.
“He’ll kill you, son. Stay where you are.”
The click of a hammer being cocked caught Todd’s attention.
“Travis, get down.” The kid had to obey his order without question because there wasn’t time to try to find him and follow the sound.
He had to choose. All while hoping that Officer Drane had either received the information or was paying attention to all the noise down this alley.
He stepped away from the door and into the shadows away from the pool of light.
“Stop right there, or I’ll shoot her.” The voice was low and menacing, but Todd didn’t stop.
“I don’t think I will. You would have already killed her, but you wanted me to come. I don’t understand why. But I’m here. What do you want to talk about?”
“I’ll leave them alone, all I need is the girl.”
“She’s in surgery. Did you know she’s thirteen? And you’ve had two attempts to kill her. You’re not a very good assassin.”
“I took care of her brother and parents easily enough.”
“So how did a kid elude you?”
“Craziest thing. She looks like my buddy’s sister.” The man snorted. “Last time I get sentimental.”
If Todd could just keep him talking, he’d about pinpointed where he was located. Doris was on the ground due to being kicked. Travis was hiding if he’d done what Todd had told him. All he had to do was draw his weapon and fire.
“Don’t think about it. I’ve got my gun on you.”
There he was. “If you did, you would have already shot.” In one fluid, practiced motion, Todd drew his weapon.
His years of LPD training had drilled it into him: you only pulled your weapon if you are willing to shoot to stop the threat.
He aimed for what he hoped was center mass and fired.
A blinding muzzle flash cut through the dark alley, the boom ringing in Todd’s ears.
But the man anticipated the shot, twisting from the trajectory at the last second.
Instead of hitting flesh, the bullet punched through the metal of the trashcan, tearing a jagged hole through the metal with a deafening clang.
The assailant took off down the alley, and Todd ran after him.
He yelled as loud as he could.
Between the gunshot and the yelling, surely Officer Drane would hear and come.
As if on cue, the car pulled to the end of the alley just as the assailant reached the opening. Officer Drane opened his door and yelled, “Freeze, police.”
The man looked like he would shoot, but Todd tackled him from behind. They tumbled to the asphalt, and Todd fell on top of the man with a thud that almost knocked the breath from his lungs. “Drane, bring me your handcuffs.”
The uniformed officer scrambled around his vehicle, gun trained on the man.
The assassin bucked to get Todd off, and Todd scrambled to find a hold on the man.
He was more athletic and wiry than Todd had anticipated from watching the grainy videos.
Todd fought to hang on to the man, vowing to lay off the donuts he liked to pick up in the breakroom.
This struggle emphasized how much he needed to change that.
He needed to get back into the weight room.
“Stay still.” Todd grit out the words as he put his whole weight into the man.
The killer grunted and rolled. Todd held on but not before the man landed a solid blow to Todd’s jaw. Todd’s head snapped back, but years of football had his grip tightening rather than releasing. He threw his effort forward into the man’s torso and then rolled him back to his stomach.
Finally, he hauled the man’s arms behind his back and slapped handcuffs on him.
“You are under arrest for the murders of Ryan, Bill, and Odette Brandenberg. You are also under arrest for multiple assaults against Eliza Brandenberg and Bridget Ellis. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” He pulled the man to his feet and then shoved him toward Officer Drane’s cruiser.
The man crab stepped to the side, gun trained on Todd and his prisoner. “You’re putting him in my car?”
“Yep.” He didn’t bother to say more. He opened the door with one hand while shoving the man into the car. Only then did he think about how much his jaw hurt. It throbbed
“Looked like a solid punch.” Officer Drane did not look excited to have the prisoner in his car
“You could say that.” He rubbed his jaw and then moved it side to side carefully. “Is an ambulance on the way?”
“For you?”
“No. For the woman in the alley.”
Officer Drane sobered. “Should be here any minute.”
“Good, because Doris is hurt.” He hurried back down the alley to check on her. He found Travis leaning over her, gently shaking her.
“Grandma, wake up. Please wake up.”
Todd eased the young man to the side and knelt beside Doris. Her chest was moving slightly in a stuttered up and down motion, so he shifted to checking for breathing.
Where was the ambulance?
He wasn’t qualified to try to keep her alive.
Finally he heard sirens in the distance drawing closer. “Stay with your Grandma, and I’ll lead the paramedics back here.”
Travis nodded, and Todd pushed to his feet. Then he hurried to the mouth of the alley to direct the ambulance closer. It was going to be another long night. As he watched paramedics bring a stretcher and equipment toward Doris, he prayed it wouldn’t end in more tragedy.