Risky Shot (7 page)

“That’s why the Senator is getting so mad. She’s been spotted so many times, yet we can’t catch her. Come on, let’s circle back around and see if we can find her.” They turned down a side street and Dani kept walking.

“Dammit to Hell and back,” she said under her breath. Police were looking for her, an FBI agent was involved, a Judge, and now a Senator.

Two nights later she lay in her lumpy bed at the roach motel and stared at the map. She had narrowed the men in black to an office near a building that housed the New York State Congressmen when they were home. The Senator involved was either Bruce or Tamlin, but there was no way for her to tell which one.

Her rent was almost up and she couldn’t decide if she should stay here for one more week. Her funds were getting dangerously low. Since the awesome roach hotel didn’t have any curtains, she cursed when cars came into the parking lot lighting her room up as if it was mid-day. When the third car pulled up, she got curious and looked out the window.

“Shit!” She jumped down from the wobbly chair and tugged on a pair of jeans. She grabbed her cosmetic bag, costume kit, and an empty bag. She ran to the miniscule bathroom and scooped as much into the empty bag as she could. She managed to snag a sweatshirt with a hood, her Uggs, and another pair of jeans before opening the back window and jumping out. She heard the crack of the flimsy front door as she ran between buildings heading for her car parked four blocks away. Thank goodness she didn’t park it in the lot. She had lost a bag of clothes, but at least the men in black hadn’t gotten her, yet.

She heard the shouts notifying the others that she had gone out the back and pressed herself harder. She heard more shouts ordering the men to spread out. Their heavy feet hit the pavement hard as they ran after her. Sprinting as fast as she could, Dani took giant gulps of air as her lungs started to burn. She slammed into her car and yanked open the door. She tossed her stuff into the passenger seat and prayed the car would start. She jabbed the key into the ignition and turned. Nothing. “Come on! Come on!” She turned the key again and her Chevy roared to life. She slammed her foot on the pedal and took off as fast as she could.

Dani woke up on a cot at Saint Mary’s Shelter with the feeling of being watched. She looked around and saw a little girl no older than two staring at her. She smiled and tried to see what time it was. She gave up on going back to sleep and got up to use the bathroom. When she came back, a man was asleep in her cot. Deciding it wasn't worth the hassle of trying to get the cot back, she headed out to find her car. It had been one month since the incident and so far she hadn’t learned anything concrete. She had no idea how the men in black found her last night, but it made her real jumpy.

She got into her car and headed to the nearest public library. She tried closing her eyes again, but the fear of being chased kept her constantly looking around. After the first rush of people walked into the library, she went inside and jumped onto the public computer. She stared at the free email sign-up trying the think of the best name to use. Smiling to herself, she signed in as a client of Kenna’s, a sweet old man by the name of Mr. Fox. She sent her message updating Kenna and logged off. She didn’t waste any time hanging around and went back to her car.

* * *

The second month in New York was spent in a constant state of dread. She laid low at homeless shelters and in her car. She had less than five hundred dollars left and was about to give up. She had followed Judge LeMaster for two weeks, and followed Agent Edwards for another week. She spent one week trying to tail Senator Tamlin, but could never stick with him. His driver was amazing, and Dani was too scared to push it.

She opened her second spiral notebook and dated the page April 28th. She shifted in her seat and got comfortable before taking notes. She was down the street from the Senators’ offices. Next up, she was going to try her hand at tracking Senator Bruce. She opened her window and let the cool breeze come in to wake her up. She noted what time Senator Tamlin arrived and was relieved to see Senator Bruce pull in shortly after. Both were in town to campaign for some bill they were sponsoring.

Thirty minutes after they arrived, another car pulled up and parked in the adjacent parking lot. Dani shot forward and then immediately hid behind her steering wheel as she recognized Chad. Her heart literally stopped and she felt her fight-or-flight mode kick in. Part of her wanted to hide and cry, while the other part of her wanted to reach for her 9mm and shoot the bastard.

Chad sauntered into the building and left an hour later. She hit the wheel in frustration as both Senators left within five minutes of each other. There was no telling which one Chad went to see. She followed Bruce and watched him give a speech in Central Park about the environment and the importance of green space. She didn’t spot Chad again, but just seeing him once was enough to freak her out and make her realize she needed to stay. If the judicial system, the police, the FBI and now a Congressman were all working together, then she had no one to turn to for help. She was the only one left to find out what happened to the girl and gather enough evidence to bring down this whole circle of corruption.

* * *

“
Ciao
Mama.” Danielle slipped another quarter into the payphone.

“Bella! We’ve tried calling, but your cell phone goes straight to voicemail. We were so worried that we almost came looking for you.” She heard the relief in her mother’s voice and felt horrible for not calling her parents sooner.

“I know, I lost the phone at the spa and then we got this huge case. We’ve been working non-stop for the past month. It looks like we’ll be at trial in a couple of weeks, so my schedule is insane. I just wanted to let you know that I am okay. I haven’t gotten around to replacing my phone either. I will do that soon and call you with the new number.”

“Are you eating? Are you getting enough sleep? It’s not healthy to work so hard.”

“Yes, Mama. I am fine. Hold on.” She put her hand over the receiver and pushed away the tears falling from her eyes. She wanted to be in the safe embrace of her parents so badly. “Ma, that was Kenna. We have to go. There was an emergency hearing called before the judge! I will talk to you soon. Love you and tell Papa I love him too.”

She waited to hear her mother tell her she loved her too and then hung up. She walked into the building behind the payphone and changed into her street baller gear before heading out the back door and circling around. Based on her location, the men in black would get to her within eight minutes. They made it in seven. She watched from the basketball court across the street as the regular three men in black got out, this time accompanied by Chad. The men looked over to the basketball court, but only saw the ten men playing on the court. They did not see Danielle sitting in the stands with some others watching the game.

It had been three days since she’d seen Chad and she needed to know if he was still in town. She pulled out her notebook and wrote May 1st on top of the page and detailed the time and who showed up. They walked up and down the street and then came over to the court.

Chad walked onto the court as arrogantly as possible. Her stomach turned. He was only fifteen feet away from her. She took deep silent breaths to calm herself and acted alarmed as everyone else was that someone had the audacity to interrupt the basketball game.

“I want to know if any of you have seen this woman?” He pulled out a picture of Dani from the birthday party. It was clearly taken when she wasn’t looking and it disgusted her knowing Chad had probably taken it.

Everyone looked at it, including her. Some shook their head but one boy of about thirteen spoke up, “Yeah, I saw her on the payphone. She went into the building behind it.”

Chad stripped off a hundred and handed it to the kid. “Did she come back out?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t watching for her.”

“Did anyone else see anything?” When he got no response he turned back to the kid and gave him another hundred. He looked up, examining every person in the stands. Dani had to keep eye contact. Her heart was racing and she was surprised Chad couldn’t hear it.

Before he could get to her, one of the men in black came jogging over from across the street and stopped next to Chad. “The woman at the front desk said Danielle came in through the front doors then went to the stairs. She hasn’t come out the front door, but could have left through the basement.”

“Shit. She’s long gone then. I think it’s time I went and paid Kenna another visit. This time I will stick around to say hello.” Chad’s lips curled up into a twisted smile.

Dani’s stomach rolled as if she had just been punched. Bile shot up her throat and she had to swallow it down. Trying not to show the anxiety building up she scribbled the conversation down in her notebook. The men gave one last look at everyone and turned to head back to the car.

Dani cheered and pretended interest in the now resumed game until she was sure they had left. She walked out of the park and down the street to an internet cafe near where her car was parked. She ordered a water and sat at the only open computer.

He’s coming
was all she had time to write to Kenna before she saw the men in black. They were spread out and slowly walking both sides of the streets looking at the parked cars. Chad must have called for reinforcements. Dani pressed send and logged out. She walked to the bathroom and hoped there would be a window. There was one, but it took several precious minutes to pry it open. She climbed out and ran through the back allies to her car. She saw one man walking away from her across the street.

She slowly made it to her car door, keeping an eye on the man’s back the whole time. She inserted her key and worried he’d be able to hear her unlock the car. She placed her hand on the door handle and slowly lifted it. She heard the loud pop of the latch coming free when she heard the shout. “Hey! You!” She looked up and saw the man in black dodging traffic and making his way towards her. She flung the door open, jumped in the car and peeled away from the curb as the man reached for her door. She heard his scream and when she looked back in the rear view mirror she saw the man jumping around on one foot. She smiled, her car may be a piece of shit, but it did a great job running over scum.

She floored the gas pedal, knowing the man was calling in her location to the rest of the team. She drove straight until the man was out of sight and then started zigzagging her way towards town. She drove to the FBI lot and pulled in the parking garage. No way would they think to look for her here. Looking down, she found that her hands were shaking. Her heart was beating so fast she was afraid she might have a heart attack. “Okay girl. What now?” She pulled out her notebooks and started reading through them again.

Chapter Six

Two months ago…

Dani stood off to the side of the ninth hole at the exclusive Overland Private Golf Resort holding Judge LeMaster’s golf bag. She smiled as Judge LeMaster’s putt went in. “Good job, sir,” she complimented as she took his putter and placed it back into the bag.

It had been a month and a half since she hid in the FBI parking garage. After reading over her notes, she decided that Judge LeMaster might be the key figure. A sitting judge would have enough sway to send an FBI agent out on tasks, such as filling out an affidavit, more so than the other way around. She spent three weeks following Judge LeMaster and his family everywhere. She had learned what summer camps his kids were in, when his wife went to play tennis, and more importantly, when Judge LeMaster went to play golf every week.

She had pulled on a black button-down shirt and some khaki pants. She bound her breasts with an ace wrap and found a boy’s wig. She gelled the hair and threw on some boy’s shoes before heading to the golf course. She had written her name as Scott Tamlin. When the interviewer asked if there was any relation to the Senator, she answered in a convincing teenage boy voice, “Dad doesn’t like me to use his name to get things. I am supposed to have a real job this summer and get it on my own. So don’t say anything please?” The woman happily nodded at the chance to provide a Senator’s kid with summer employment and gave him a job as caddy.

The woman in charge of HR for the club bugged her for a copy of her social security card, but so far Dani had managed to push off the issue. When she arrived at work that day, she discovered the HR department was undergoing transition and thanked her lucky stars. She knew she had just bought herself some more time.

She played ball, cards, and did just about anything else to be the caddy for Judge LeMaster’s group and today she was finally assigned to him. It was a comfortably warm day for the middle of June, and the group was excited to be out on the links after taking a couple rounds of drinks at the clubhouse. The group consisted of an Assistant Director in Charge at the New York FBI office, a U.S. Federal Judge, and the vice Mayor of New York City. It was a very powerful group and Dani had learned more about corruption in the first nine holes that she could ever imagine.