“Raises the risk, makes it more exciting.”
“So why not be there in force,” Molly said. “Cover every exit,
have plainclothes people all over the food court.”
“They like risk,” Jesse said.
“But they don’t like certainty.
They don’t want to get caught. They only want the danger of getting
caught.”
“They want to be shot at and missed,”
Molly said.
“Exactly,” Jesse said.
“And you’re afraid that if there are too many different people
involved, somebody will give it away.”
“And we’ll lose them.”
“You’re assuming,” Molly said,
“that their purpose is to kill
you.”
“Yep.”
“So why do it this way. They know where you live.
Why not just
lurk around there and shoot you when you come home?”
“Same reason they’ve been flirting with me, buying me lunch,
being my pals,” Jesse said.
“They are, after all, crazy,” Molly said.
“I tend to forget
that.”
“So not everything they do is logical to us,” Jesse said. “On
the other hand crazy doesn’t mean stupid. They’ve chosen a public
place with many exits. The parking lot leads to many roadways that lead in many directions. It is a good place to escape from. It is an easy place not to be noticed. And it is a hard place for us to start shooting.”
“So we put our people there, early, around the food court,”
Molly said. “Suit and I can be there as a married couple shopping
for cruise wear.”
“You’re ten years older than
Suit,” Jesse said.
“Yes. But I do not look it.”
“True,” Jesse said. “But it
can’t be Suit. They know
him.”
“Well, me and Anthony then,” Molly said.
“We keep Suit out of
sight.”
“I don’t want it to be you,
Moll,” Jesse said.
“Why not?”
“You got kids and a husband,” Jesse said.
“And Anthony has kids and a wife,” Molly said.
“I was afraid you’d remember
that,” Jesse said.
“It’s because I’m a
woman,” Molly said.
Jesse was silent.
“It is, isn’t it,” Molly said.
“Yes.”
“Well, it’s lovely and chivalrous of you,” Molly said. “And I
know you do it because you care about me. But it still demeans me.”
“I know,” Jesse said.
“God, you’re irritating. I can’t
even fight with
you.”
“You and Anthony can be snacking in the food court,” Jesse said.
“Wear your vest.”
“You too,” Molly said.
Jesse nodded.
“Spring fashions,” he said.
63
They set up early Molly and Anthony deAngelo, in jeans and winter coats, arrived at 4:30 and began to shop the mall. Molly made several purchases, and Anthony carried her bags and looked bored. They saw no sign of Tony or Brianna Lincoln. Only Jesse and Suitcase Simpson had actually seen the Lincolns. The rest had detailed descriptions. But it was not the same. Outside the mall, Simpson dispersed the other cops, trying to keep all the exits in view. Only Steve Friedman and Buddy Hall were on duty in Paradise.
At 6:27, Molly and Anthony came to the food court. They put their bags down and sat at a table. They looked from where they sat at the various food stands, appeared to reach a decision, and Anthony stood up and went to get them some pork fried rice. The food court was nearly filled. Looking at the customers, Molly realized that several of them could be the Lincolns. At 6:48 Molly decided that she couldn’t pretend to eat the rice anymore.
She had
no appetite, and it was clear that neither did Anthony.
“I’ll get us some coffee,” she
said.
“Cream,” Anthony said, “two
sugars.”
At 6:57 Molly took a cell phone out of her purse and called Simpson outside the mall.
“Hello, honey,” she said.
“Molly?”
“Yes. Are you and your brother doing what Nana says?”
“Any sign of action?” Simpson said.
Anthony deAngelo looked like a man whose wife spoke often on the
phone, glancing aimlessly around the food court. Molly smiled.
“No, honey, Daddy and I are having coffee, we’ll be home in a
little while.”
“Do you want me to help you with this?”
Simpson said. “Pretend
I’m your kid?”
“Absolutely not,” Molly said.
“What have you and Nana been
doing?”
“I’ll just sort of hum, then, so
you’ll know the line’s open and
I’m still here.”
“That’s very good,” Molly said.
At seven o’clock Jesse, wearing a navy pea jacket over his
Kevlar vest, walked down the mall with his hands in the pockets and stood in front of the elevator, opposite the entrance to the food court.
“It’s seven o’clock,”
Molly said.
On the phone Suit said, “Jesse there?”
“Un-huh.”
“Anything happening?”
“No, honey, not yet.”
“I kind of like the honey
thing. Will you call me honey
around the station, after this is over?”
“No.”
Behind Jesse the elevator door opened and a man and woman stood
in the door. They were wearing hats and scarves that partly hid their faces.
“Jesse,” the man said.
As Jesse turned toward them they each raised a long-barreled pistol and shot Jesse in the chest. The pistols made only a flat pop that was lost in the hubbub of the mall. Jesse stepped a half step back.
“It’s happening,” Molly said
into the phone and dropped it and
turned with her gun out. DeAngelo was on his feet as well, his handgun leveled.
The elevator door closed and the elevator went back up, taking the man and woman with it. People in the food court area were beginning to react. The result was confusion.
“There’s an escalator at each
end,” Jesse said, pointing.
“Molly, cover that one. Anthony, stay here.”
Then he turned and ran down the mall, forcing his way through the crowd, his gun held down against his thigh. When he reached the escalator, he slowed and opened his coat so that, as he went up the moving stairs, he could speak into the microphone clipped to his vest.
“Suit?”
“You okay, Jesse?”
“I am. It went down. We’ve got them
somewhere on the second
level now.”
“Shall we come in.”
“No. We’ll try to chase them to
you.”
“We’ll be here.”
“When we saw them they were wearing black watch caps pulled down
over their foreheads, and black or navy scarves wrapped up over their chins, like they were cold. She had on a fur coat. He was wearing a trench coat.”
“We’ll be looking.”
“Make sure everybody gets the message,”
Jesse said. “And they
could change, so don’t lock in on the coats and scarves.”
“Roger, Jesse.”
At the top of the escalator Jesse paused with the gun at his side, looking around. Most people didn’t notice the gun. The ones
that did looked quickly and moved swiftly away. Jesse made sure his badge, clipped to his vest, was visible. Don’t want somebody
calling 911, and end up shooting it out with the local SWAT
team. He looked down to the far end of the mall and saw Molly
standing at the top of her escalator.
On the first level, Anthony stood facing the elevator. His gun was in his hand, held down against his right thigh. The elevator came back down and the doors opened and several men and women got out. One of them was a good-looking woman wearing a paisley yellow silk scarf over her head, and an ankle-length yellow wool coat. She carried a small shopping bag, and smiled at Anthony as she headed past him toward the exit. Anthony was pretty sure she wasn’t the