“Sheryl, what’s going on?” Ganett asked as he lowered himself to the floor.
Vanessa ignored him. “Mack, push your keys and radio over here, and no sudden moves.”
Mack did as she was told.
“Officer, please slide your gun to me.”
The officer complied.
“Cell phones next.”
Vanessa could see Ganett calculating the odds and she shifted her weapon toward him.
“Leroy, I’d hate to see you die for your cell phone. I promise it will be right outside the door. I won’t even use any of your minutes.”
The doctor slid the cell phone to her.
“Okay, here’s the drill. I’m locking you in, but I’ll check on you before I leave. If you’ve changed position, I’ll kill you. If you don’t cause trouble you’ll be okay.”
As soon as she locked the door, her legs almost gave way from relief. After a brief look through the window to make sure that the men hadn’t moved, she unlocked Carl’s door. He stared at his visitor.
“Get up, Carl, we’re leaving.”
“Who…?”
“I’m Vanessa. Now, move it. We don’t have time to talk. I just locked your guard, an orderly, and your doctor in the room next door. We’ve got to get you out of here.”
Carl struggled out of bed. He’d been walking for the past few days, but his legs were still stiff from inactivity.
“Stay next to the wall when we get close to the front door,” Vanessa said. “The orderly on the other side is about your size. You’ll switch clothes with him once I lure him into the ward.” She pulled a second weapon from her purse and handed it to Carl butt first. “Take this.”
Carl checked the weapon, chambered a round, then held it at his side with the muzzle pointing down. When they were at the entrance to the ward he pressed himself against the wall so that he would not be visible to someone looking through the window in the door. Vanessa was amazed at how alive she felt now that Carl was with her. She used the master key to open the door. James looked surprised when she walked out alone.
“Where’s the doctor?” he asked.
Rice stepped out. James’s jaw dropped when he saw the prisoner training a gun on him. He started to get up and Rice cracked him across the temple with the gun barrel. The orderly’s legs wobbled from the blow and he almost fell. Vanessa blanched when she saw the blood, but she kept a grip on her emotions. Rice grabbed the dazed orderly by his collar, shoved him through the door, and swept his feet out from under him. James fell to the floor.
“Strip, and do it fast,” Rice ordered. He grabbed the orderly’s pants and shirt as they came off. While Vanessa kept her gun on James, Rice put on the outfit. Then they took the orderly down the hall and locked him in the room with the other prisoners, who were still on the floor.
“Why are you doing this?” Carl asked when they were headed down in the elevator. “Don’t you know how much trouble you’re in?”
“I know that you’ll be dead if you stay here. If I could break you out this easily, think how easily my father’s men will be able to break in when they learn you’re alive.”
“I wish you’d left me on my own. I told Ami Vergano that I didn’t want you involved.”
Vanessa smiled. “When did I ever do anything anyone ordered me to do?”
Carl smiled back. “Point taken. So, Captain, what’s the plan?”
“My car is gassed up and we’re going to get out of town. After that, I have no idea.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Ami caught a night flight to San Francisco and rented a car at the airport a little after midnight. It took two hours to drive to Lost Lake, and she spent what was left of the predawn hours in a motel on the outskirts of town. When her travel alarm went off at eight o’clock that morning, she felt as if her head were filled with cotton. She felt a bit better after her shower and better still when she stepped outside into the crisp mountain air.
Behind the motel was an arm of Lost Lake, and Ami could see a slice of blue through the pine trees. She wandered down to a dock that had been weathered gray. A few boats bobbed at anchor, and some early risers were fishing near the far shore. Ami stared across to the green hills that rose up behind the crystal-clear water. A hawk glided above her and puffy white cumulus clouds floated above the hawk. The idyllic scene made the violence that had brought her here seem all the more incongruous.
Downtown was three parallel streets of one- and two-story buildings named Main, Elm, and Shasta. As she drove along Main, Ami spotted numerous curio shops and art galleries and three cafes that advertised caffe latte, sure signs that the town survived on tourist dollars. A one-story dull-brown concrete building at the far end of Main housed the Lost Lake sheriff’s department. Ami parked and waited to cross until a shiny tanker and a pickup with a cord of wood stacked in the back drove by.
The reception area consisted of several chairs upholstered in scratched, faded faux leather. A low metal fence ran between the reception area and an open space filled with metal desks. Uniformed sheriff’s deputies were sitting at some of the desks. The receptionist-a large, cheerful woman dressed in a Hawaiian print muumuu- occupied the desk next to the rail. When Ami came in, the receptionist was transferring a call about a bear that was scavenging in a resident’s garbage pails. She hung up and flashed Ami a welcoming smile.
“What can I do for you, honey?”
“I have an appointment with the sheriff.”
A few minutes later, a tall, broad-shouldered man with close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair and hazel eyes walked out of a corridor that led to the rear of the station. He wore the tan uniform of the Lost Lake sheriff’s department and seemed to be in his late forties.
“Mrs. Vergano?” he asked as he held open the gate that blocked access to the rest of the building.
“Yes,” she answered extending her hand.
“Aaron Harney,” the sheriff said as they shook hands. “Why don’t you come on back to my office?”
Ami followed Harney to the rear of the station house and into a wood-paneled office. The walls were covered with framed plaques, certificates, and pictures of Harney with the governor and other celebrities; dominating the view was a mounted moose head. A glass bookcase filled with law books stood against a wall. On top of the bookcase and on other level surfaces were bowling and softball trophies that the department had won. On Harney’s large scarred desk were pictures of his wife and five children.
Harney offered Ami a seat and settled into a chair behind his desk.
“Last night, on the phone, you said that you wanted to talk to me about Congressman Glass’s murder, but you weren’t very clear about why,” Harney said.
“I’m involved with a case that may be related,” Ami said. “I’d like to learn more about the Glass case, maybe see the old files, if that’s possible.”
“It might be if you can tell me why a twenty-year-old case interests you.”
“That’s a little tricky, Sheriff. You know that the law forbids me to reveal the confidences of a client.”
Harney nodded. “And you know that there’s no statute of limitations on prosecuting a murder suspect.”
“Last night, I left my son with a neighbor and flew down here. I’ve got to get home today, so I don’t have time to go to court for the files. If you don’t want me to see them you’ll win.”
Harney liked his visitor’s honesty. Most lawyers would have threatened him with the fury of the law.
“Did you know that I was the first officer on the scene the night the congressman was murdered?” the sheriff asked.
Ami’s surprise showed on her face.
“I’ve been the sheriff here since Earl Basehart retired, and I was a deputy for a bunch of years before that. Counting my experiences as an MP in the military, that makes about twenty-five years of crime fighting. During those twenty plus years I’ve seen a thing or two, but that was the worst. The way Congressman Glass looked when I found him is something I can’t forget. It shook me up when it happened, and it still disturbs me. So you can see
