“Well, a body was found down along the river bank. Just past the old mill ruins down there.” Patty pointed down towards the park along the riverbank. “It had to have been there a while. We haven’t heard how long yet.”
“Somebody fall into the river?”
“Yeah, something like that. Well, they strung some crime scene tape to keep the strollers and joggers out, hoping to be done before the people came out to start their day. Didn’t make it. The ambulance was here to get the body and the detectives are still looking around. Somebody called it into the station and I got a text to get out here.”
Jack looked down at the activity below and took another swig from the water bottle.
“There was a guy here giving the uniforms a hard time. He’s the developer of these condos here in these old warehouse buildings. It’s a big part of the rejuvenation of this area. He threatened to call the mayor.”
Patty was on a roll, so Jack just took another drink and looked at the buildings behind them. The condos in this development were going to have a draw as the river front development continued. The view was great. The Guthrie Theater right here and the new Twins outdoor ballpark a short walk away.
Patty continued on. “Well, mister dog walker, developer has his undies in a bundle. Wonders when the tape is coming down. He’s got some big open house planned for the night of the Fourth to showcase the condos. Wants to show off the views, treat the potential buyers to the balcony view of the fireworks across the river and sell some units.” The frustration was showing in her voice. “There’s a dead guy down here, maybe foul play, and he doesn’t care. He has to sell some units. I’d love to tell the story about that.”
“Well I’m glad you’re here; you saved my life. Doesn’t sound like a federal case so I think I’ll finish my run and get back to work.” Jack handed her the empty bottle. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Patty grabbed the bottle, but didn’t pull it away. She stared into his eyes in a way that made him blink. “I heard you might be looking for a running partner. I like to run in the morning.”
Jack thought he caught her meaning. “I kind of like running alone right now.”
“Well, if you’re looking for company or another bottle of water, let me know.”
Jack didn’t know how to respond. Nobody had seriously hit on him in a long time and seeing other women hadn’t even entered his mind. He let go of the bottle, mumbled, “Thanks, good luck with this mess,” and turned to head off down River Road to complete his run. His legs were a little stiff from the stop that had let the lactic acid build up in his muscles, and had left his brain spinning from Patty’s offer.
Chapter 17
The Governor sat in his car listening to the classical music station, not wanting the words of others to interrupt his thoughts. He needed the classical music to soothe him.
Anything harder and he was afraid he’d punch the window or tear the steering wheel from the column.
He was torn. Walking Vince this morning, he’d discovered that it looked like Mike McDonald hadn’t made it. The police had cordoned off an area down by the river and there was a body in the water. From what he could see, the clothes matched what Mike had been wearing and the Chute would’ve dumped him in the Mississippi. That had turned out OK.
But, Sandy had shocked him at lunch yesterday. First, she asked the question about the murder of the woman at the bank. Then, she told him about Agent Fruen’s visit. He couldn’t believe she had been talking with the FBI agent again. It worried him. She was attracted to the man in the suit and she wasn’t as smart as she thought she was. She might say the wrong thing. Playing detective against a trained agent, she would probably give up more than she learned about the bank investigation without even knowing it.
Now here she was at the club working out with the agent. She had served her purpose. With her temp jobs in banks, she had been able to get information, learn who’s who, office configurations, and routines. Her beauty and brains went well together to gain the trust of others as she worked the inside helping him. She was a good worker. And, as a temp, she would be hard to track. She needed to quit working, to disappear.
The blue car he had been waiting for pulled out of the club parking lot ahead of him. The Governor followed in the stolen Tahoe. Its tinted windows served two purposes today. It helped keep the interior cooler as he sat in the sun, and those on the outside couldn’t see who was inside. From the vantage point of the large SUV, he could keep an eye on the car ahead of him, looking over the smaller cars on the road.
He stayed back, but close enough to keep track of where the car was going. He switched the radio station from classical to something harder to match the quickening of his pulse and the anger surging from deep inside his body. His head nodded with the beat and his hands kept time on the steering wheel as he followed the car off Highway 100 towards the Uptown area by Lake Calhoun. He got closer now that they were off the highway. He didn’t want to lose the car at a traffic light.
The Governor worked to control his fury; he couldn’t make a mistake now. He took a deep breath and dialed his mobile phone as he tailed the blue car through the intersection and they pulled onto Lake Street by the parkway on the north side of Lake Calhoun. There were bikers and joggers out on the trails and at the intersections, but the Governor was barely aware of them as he focused on the car ahead of him.
He listened intently in his earpiece, waiting for the ring as the cellular system linked his phone to the one he dialed. As the cars hit the section of road that divided into six lanes of traffic, three in each direction, around the north side of the lake, the Governor heard a ring, maneuvered into the lane to the right of the blue car, and pulled up alongside. He glanced over and kept pace with it. He could see a hand digging in a bag on the seat looking for the ringing phone. He turned down the radio and waited for an answer.
“Yeah?” the Governor heard in his earpiece and glanced to his left.
“Haven’t you heard it isn’t safe to talk on a cell phone when you’re driving?”
“Who is this?”
Without answering, the Governor accelerated and swerved left driving the large Tahoe into the side of the blue car. Both vehicles continued left until the wheels of the car bounced off the curb dividing the east and west bound traffic. It all seemed slow motion, surreal, as the Governor felt the jolts, and heard the sounds in his vehicle and the sounds in the car next to him through the earpiece of the phone. There was cursing, but he couldn’t be sure of the source of the words. Was it the agent or himself?
He pushed left and accelerated again, first driving the left wheels of the blue car onto the curb and with a final twist of the wheel, up and over it. Horns honked and tires squealed and finally, there was a tremendous crash as the blue car collided head on with a large delivery truck from Room and Board. The Governor continued eastward on Lake Street with only a glance into his rearview mirror to assess the chaos behind him. He moved quickly to the right lane and turned right onto a neighborhood street, accelerated, and turned right again at the end of the block where he quickly pulled into an alley and parked next to a dumpster behind an apartment building.
He glanced down the street as he pulled the latex gloves from his hands and put them in the fanny pack/water bottle carrier. The Governor broke into a jog towards the lake. It was a hot day for a run, but he was just another jogger as he headed for the trail system along the chain of lakes he was going to follow on his long run home. He heard the sirens and headed towards the lake and the scene of the accident to see what had happened.
Chapter 18
Jack ran by the bronze statue of Mary Tyler Moore throwing her hat into the air on the Nicollet Mall in front of the Macy’s store. He tried to block it, but couldn’t stop it. Damn it. The theme song from the old television show burst into his brain. You’re going to make it after all! It happened every time. With just a few blocks left to reach the YMCA and a shower, the song played in his head, threatening to be there all day. The second verse started, then a voice called out, “Jack!”
Jack slowed and looked back over his shoulder, first at the statue, at the hat still just leaving Mary’s hand as she flings it into the air, and then he scanned the faces behind him on the sidewalk. The lunch crowd on Nicollet
