Chapter 71
Fred Ross looked up at Decker with a malicious grin.
“Figured I might see you again, fat boy.”
An officer had wheeled Ross down the hall and into the lobby of the police station, where Decker, Jamison, and Riley met him.
Decker ignored this and looked at the duty officer. “We also need to pick up John Baron. His bail’s been paid.”
The duty officer said, “We can’t release him until Detective Lassiter signs off.”
“Detective Lassiter has gone AWOL.”
“That doesn’t matter—” began the officer.
Decker slammed his fist down on the counter. “I’ll tell you what matters.” He pointed to Riley. “She paid the bail set by the judge. You have the paperwork in hand. Lassiter doesn’t have to sign off on shit. So unless you want a big-ass lawsuit against this town that’ll drain the little money it has left, you better go get John Baron right now.” He held up his phone. “And if you don’t, a team of FBI agents will be here in about ten minutes and they’re going to arrest you and everybody else in this fucking place.”
The duty officer stiffened like Decker had just clocked him.
Someone behind them said, “Hey, Agent Decker.”
Decker turned to see Officer Curry standing there.
“I take it you’ve got a problem?” said Curry.
“My problem is bail has been paid, the paperwork has been filed, and this guy won’t release the prisoner because Detective Lassiter won’t sign off on it. But Detective Lassiter, who was supposedly shot today, has checked herself out of the hospital and conveniently disappeared.”
Curry glanced at the duty officer and then back at Decker.
“I’ll go get Baron for you right now.”
“But Detective Lassiter—” the duty officer began.
“Shut the hell up, Bobby,” said Curry. He turned and walked off.
A minute later he was back with Baron.
Decker said, “I appreciate the assist.”
“No problem. I’m getting sick of all the crap happening in this place,” said Curry. He put his hand on his gun and glared over at the duty officer before returning his gaze to Decker.
“How about I stay here and make sure that no one gets a heads-up about anything you might be planning?”
“I would appreciate that even more,” said Decker. He looked at the rack of shotguns behind the duty counter. “And while you’re doling out favors, you mind if I borrow one of those shotguns? It might come in handy.”
“No problem.” Curry looked at Bobby, the duty officer. “Give it to him.”
“I can’t—”
Curry drew his pistol. “Now!”
Bobby unlocked the rack, took out a shotgun and a box of shells, and handed them to Decker.
“Good luck, Decker,” said Curry.
“Thanks.”
Decker handed the gun and shells to Jamison and wheeled Ross out to their SUV. He and Baron lifted the old man into the backseat and Decker stowed the wheelchair in the rear cargo area.
They climbed into the truck, with Decker in the driver’s seat.
“What in the hell is going on?” said Baron.
“A lot,” replied Decker. He pulled out his phone.
“Who are you calling?” asked Jamison.
“Nobody. I’m doing some fast research.”
“On what?”
“Australia.”
He scrolled through screen pages for a few minutes.
“Decker, we’re going to be late for the exchange!” snapped Jamison.
“No we’re not.”
He read through the screens for another few minutes and then he sent off a lengthy text. Only then did he put the phone away and start the truck.
“Find what you needed?” asked Jamison.
He nodded. “Yeah, I found pretty much everything.”
They drove fast and were soon out of the downtown area.
From the backseat Fred Ross said, “Wait a minute. This isn’t—”
He clamped his mouth shut.
“This isn’t the way to the exchange?” said Decker. “I thought you might have known about that since this conspiracy reaches all the way into the police department. But you’re right, it’s not the way to the exchange. I’d rather go where the real action is.”
“What are you talking about?” said Jamison in a worried tone.
“Trust me, Alex, I know what I’m doing.”
“Well, I don’t trust easily,” interjected Baron.
Decker said, “If I were you, I wouldn’t either. In fact, I’m not sure I’d trust anybody in this damn town.”
They began the climb up the winding road leading to the top of the hill where the Baron mansion was located.
Baron looked around, puzzled, and said, “Why are we going to my house?”
“Because I want you to meet the people who tried their best to send you to death row.”
Chapter 72
Decker stopped the truck before they got to the front drive leading to the mansion. He cut the engine and looked around.
“What are we going to do now?” Jamison said.
His phone dinged and Decker took a few moments to read it. It was the answer to the text he had sent previously.
“Finish this, I hope,” he said to Jamison.
“But what about the exchange for Amber and Zoe?” she exclaimed. “We’ve got to get them back.”
“We will, because they’re here, Alex.”
“Here! But the exchange spot is over four hours away.”
“Which is what they wanted us to think.” He looked at Fred Ross. “Right?”
Ross eyed Decker darkly. “You got no idea who you’re dealing with, fatso.”
“Yeah, so everybody keeps telling me.”
They climbed out of the truck. Decker went to the rear cargo area and took out the collapsible wheelchair and set it up.
Baron said, “Decker, we can just leave this creep here. He can’t go anywhere.”
“No, we need him. But we have to take an obvious precaution.” He took out a roll of duct tape from a toolkit in the back and, despite the old man trying to stop him, taped Ross’s mouth shut. Next, he put the struggling Ross in the wheelchair, and then bound his forearms to the arms of the wheelchair.
He took out the shotgun and shells from the front seat and handed them to Baron. “I assume you know how to use it?” he said.
Baron expertly loaded in five shells and looked up. “Lord-of-the-Manor 101 stuff.”
Decker took control of the wheelchair. As they reached the asphalt in the front court of the house he picked up his speed but then stopped.
They had reached the potting shed. On one side of it was a huge mound of dirt and the door to the shed was open.
“What the hell is going on?” exclaimed Baron. “Who dug that up? And why is the door open?”
“They were obviously looking for the treasure here,” said Decker. “Hold on.” He left them and crossed over to the potting shed. Using his cell phone flashlight, he climbed down into the hole. They saw his light flashing around for about a minute before he emerged. Next, he went into the shed. Less than a minute later he came back out and rejoined them.
“What did you find?” asked Jamison.
“Exactly what I thought I would: nothing.”
“And inside?”
“They broke through the floor, but it was just set on a thin concrete slab with dirt under it.”
“So what does that mean?” said Riley.
“That means we keep going to where the treasure really is.”
They took the paved road that led off to the right. As they approached the end of the road, Decker stopped and wheeled Ross off to the side.
He took out his gun and Jamison did the same, while Baron brandished the shotgun. They all followed Decker down the road. They cleared the curve and looked up ahead.