Daredevil Riders

51

She nodded. “Both okay. Finn is still on assignment. Caleb is at his condo. I told Harry to be extra careful and Caleb to stay put.”

“Good, now tell us what happened in Pennsylvania.”

She explained what had happened in the bar and afterwards. When she gave him the exact location of the attack, Herbert hurried off to make a call. When he came back she picked up the story again. “So after I found Reuben we circled back to the highway. Guy in a truck stopped, asked no questions and let us hop in the back. I managed to get the bleeding to stop, but I was afraid Reuben was going to pass out on me. The guy dropped us off at a car rental place. I got us another ride and drove back to D.C. as fast as possible. I wanted to stop and get him medical attention, but he wouldn’t let me. Said we had to get to you. And show you that gun.”

“Did you get a look at any of them?”

Mirabel took a deep breath. “Not really, but one of their trucks flipped over. Some of them have to be hurt or even dead. If you get some people up there to check on it. I gave you the location.”

Herbert said, “I already made the call. They’re heading there right now.”

Twenty minutes later Herbert got a response. He listened, asked a few questions and then put his phone away.

“The truck is gone.”

“That’s impossible. It flipped over. I saw it. The people had to have been hurt, maybe killed.”

“But you can have all that cleaned up in less than thirty minutes. They did find some shell casings and an indentation in the dirt where the truck rolled and a few bits of wreckage, but that was all.”

Mirabel said, “These people are good.”

Herbert looked at Anthony. “Yes, they are. They clean up after themselves really well.”

“Submachine guns,” said Anthony. “Heavy firepower. And he had what, a pistol?”

“That’s right. But he said he was going to do what you would do, Oliver. Be unpredictable. So he waited for them to start reloading and then he charged their position. I guess they didn’t expect that.” She shuddered and let out a gasp. “I thought for sure he was dead.”

Herbert squeezed her hand. “But he’s not. The doctors said he’s going to be fine. He’s just out of commission for a while.”

Mirabel said, “But since it’s a gunshot wound won’t the hospital have to report that to the authorities?”

Herbert took out his shield and held it up. “Not after I showed them this and told them Reuben was working with me.”

“Oh.”

“But if the blokes were Russian, how does that connect with what we found out tonight?” said Anthony.

Mirabel looked at her wide-eyed. “What did you find tonight?”

Herbert told her about the possible origins of the shots from a U.S. government building. “It’s undergoing renovation so it’s empty, but it’s supposed to be secure nonetheless. We talked with the guards there. None of them remembered anyone coming to the building that night, certainly not carrying automatic weapons.”

“Is there only one entrance into the building?” asked Mirabel.

“The very question I put to them. They said not if one had a key card with the necessary authorizations. With that someone could access other entrances.”

“Do we know if someone did that?”

“Checking it out now,” said Herbert. “But I’m not hopeful.”

“Why?”

“Either the card will have been stolen or cloned or something else. And yet the next question is, why go to all the trouble of leaving evidence behind at the Hay-Adams and not actually do the shooting from there? What did the office building have that the hotel didn’t?”

“Well, the building was empty. The hotel wasn’t,” pointed out Mirabel.

“They still had to get to the rooftop garden. And it was empty that night. No, they wanted us to think they were at the hotel. They needed that building. Why?”

Anthony said, “Just add it to all the other questions we don’t have answers for.”

“But it is important,” Herbert said.

“Why?” asked Mirabel.

“Because right before you and Reuben got to the cottage, someone sent a team to kill us. They almost succeeded, and would have except for my friend here.” He indicated Anthony. “How did you learn to move like that?” he asked her.

“I took ballet as a lass. Hated it back then, but I have to admit, it does come in handy when someone is trying to murder you.”

“You think the attack had something to do with what you found out?” asked Mirabel.

“I think it had everything to do with the fact that we discovered the gunfire came from a supposedly secure federal building.”

THE NEXT MORNING Anthony was at Herbert’s cottage by seven o’clock, and she wasn’t alone. James McElroy slowly made his way into the cottage and took a seat in front of the fireplace. He’d changed his jacket and wore no tie. His open-collared shirt had a checked pattern. His hair was neatly combed and his slacks pressed. But his reddened eyes and saggy face spoke of the stress he was enduring.

“Anthony told me about your little adventure here last night.” He looked at the damaged

door and eyed the bullet holes. “Not quite as civilized as a nightcap,” he pointed out.

“No,” agreed Herbert.

“U.S. government building, eh?”

“Yes.”

“Complicates an already overly complicated situation.”

“But it’s the first time we’ve gotten under their collar, so to speak.”

“Well, that is something, I suppose.” His expression changed. “Spoke to the PM this morning, Oliver,” he began.

“And?”

“And he’s not pleased.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, neither am I. But we’ve only been on the case a few days. And in that time four people have died and my friends nearly made it six.”