Read Online Last Call by James Grippando - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: James Grippando
Ads: Link
somethin’ you didn’t do has a way of teachin’ you that. Jack met with them. He told them everything.”
Cy seemed willing to accept that, or perhaps he just didn’t see the point of arguing anymore.
Theo said, “Now that I think about it, Isaac left that jumpsuit behind for a reason. He said if I called the cops, he’d tell them I was the one who helped him escape in the first place. Good thing Jack said no way to a police search inside the building.They would have found this, just like Isaac knew they would. Then I’d really have some explaining to do.”
Cy stepped around the desk and stood closer to Theo, a soulful expression on his wrinkled face. His voice no longer had an edge to it, only concern. “Do not reach back into the old ’hood and help that scum,” he said. “The past will hurt you, boy. It will cut you open and laugh in your face.”
“I ain’t helpin’ him.”
“Swear it.” He grabbed Theo’s hand and placed it palm down, flat on his chest.
Theo could feel the old man’s heart pounding.
His uncle said, “Swear to me, boy. Swear that you won’t help that snake.”
Even if his life had depended on it,Theo could not have turned away. Never before had he seen that look in his uncle’s eyes—such a powerful combination of fear and love.
“I promise,” said Theo. “In fact, I’ll call Jack now and tell him to hand over the jumpsuit to the cops.”
Cy grabbed the jumpsuit before Theo could, then shoved it against his nephew’s chest. Their eyes locked for a period of time that seemed much longer than it was, neither man saying a word.
Finally, Cy broke the silence, Theo’s comment about four wasted years on death row seeming to have carried the day.
“Burn it,” he said.
LAST CALL
59
• • •
“On three we’re green,” SWAT leader Michael Penski whispered, his voice breaking the radio squelch in Andie’s ear.
Andie was in a cover position behind a coral-rock fence across the street from the target residence. She didn’t live and work beneath the SWAT rainbow, but she knew that yellow was code for the final position of cover and concealment. Green was the assault, the moment of life and death, literally.With the aid of night vision, she watched the well-choreographed SWAT movements unfold in a wave of stealth.
Penski counted down in a calm voice that reflected years of training: one . . . two . . . three. The word “three” unleashed a ca-cophony in Andie’s headset, the sound of shattered glass and a blown-out door. She braced herself for the crack of gunfire, but she heard only the shouts of Special Agent Penski and his team as they swept through the house.
“Down on the floor, now!”
Andie’s radio crackled with more shouting. Moments later, the front door opened and Penski gave a hand signal as he announced over the radio,“All clear.”
Andie ran across the lawn and hurried through the front door.
Penski and another SWAT agent were standing outside the bathroom. Their night-vision goggles were up, and the ceiling light had been switched on. Through the open doorway, Andie saw an old man kneeling on the bathroom floor beside the tub. His hands were untied, though the torn rags that had bound them together were still dangling from one wrist. A saliva-soaked gag lay atop the sink. He wore only his boxer shorts and was apparently unharmed. But he was sobbing uncontrollably, staring down at what appeared to be a small white dog.
It was little more than a blood-soaked stain on the white tile floor.
“He smashed Puffy with a hammer,” the old man said, his voice quaking.
60
James Grippando
Andie could only presume that Puffy had been the “strange noise coming from the house” that the next-door neighbor had reported to 911.
The man continued.“He said he’d do the same to me, if I made a move before daylight.”
Andie was a dog lover herself, but no matter how distraught the old man was, she needed to get Reems’s photograph in front of
Cy seemed willing to accept that, or perhaps he just didn’t see the point of arguing anymore.
Theo said, “Now that I think about it, Isaac left that jumpsuit behind for a reason. He said if I called the cops, he’d tell them I was the one who helped him escape in the first place. Good thing Jack said no way to a police search inside the building.They would have found this, just like Isaac knew they would. Then I’d really have some explaining to do.”
Cy stepped around the desk and stood closer to Theo, a soulful expression on his wrinkled face. His voice no longer had an edge to it, only concern. “Do not reach back into the old ’hood and help that scum,” he said. “The past will hurt you, boy. It will cut you open and laugh in your face.”
“I ain’t helpin’ him.”
“Swear it.” He grabbed Theo’s hand and placed it palm down, flat on his chest.
Theo could feel the old man’s heart pounding.
His uncle said, “Swear to me, boy. Swear that you won’t help that snake.”
Even if his life had depended on it,Theo could not have turned away. Never before had he seen that look in his uncle’s eyes—such a powerful combination of fear and love.
“I promise,” said Theo. “In fact, I’ll call Jack now and tell him to hand over the jumpsuit to the cops.”
Cy grabbed the jumpsuit before Theo could, then shoved it against his nephew’s chest. Their eyes locked for a period of time that seemed much longer than it was, neither man saying a word.
Finally, Cy broke the silence, Theo’s comment about four wasted years on death row seeming to have carried the day.
“Burn it,” he said.
LAST CALL
59
• • •
“On three we’re green,” SWAT leader Michael Penski whispered, his voice breaking the radio squelch in Andie’s ear.
Andie was in a cover position behind a coral-rock fence across the street from the target residence. She didn’t live and work beneath the SWAT rainbow, but she knew that yellow was code for the final position of cover and concealment. Green was the assault, the moment of life and death, literally.With the aid of night vision, she watched the well-choreographed SWAT movements unfold in a wave of stealth.
Penski counted down in a calm voice that reflected years of training: one . . . two . . . three. The word “three” unleashed a ca-cophony in Andie’s headset, the sound of shattered glass and a blown-out door. She braced herself for the crack of gunfire, but she heard only the shouts of Special Agent Penski and his team as they swept through the house.
“Down on the floor, now!”
Andie’s radio crackled with more shouting. Moments later, the front door opened and Penski gave a hand signal as he announced over the radio,“All clear.”
Andie ran across the lawn and hurried through the front door.
Penski and another SWAT agent were standing outside the bathroom. Their night-vision goggles were up, and the ceiling light had been switched on. Through the open doorway, Andie saw an old man kneeling on the bathroom floor beside the tub. His hands were untied, though the torn rags that had bound them together were still dangling from one wrist. A saliva-soaked gag lay atop the sink. He wore only his boxer shorts and was apparently unharmed. But he was sobbing uncontrollably, staring down at what appeared to be a small white dog.
It was little more than a blood-soaked stain on the white tile floor.
“He smashed Puffy with a hammer,” the old man said, his voice quaking.
60
James Grippando
Andie could only presume that Puffy had been the “strange noise coming from the house” that the next-door neighbor had reported to 911.
The man continued.“He said he’d do the same to me, if I made a move before daylight.”
Andie was a dog lover herself, but no matter how distraught the old man was, she needed to get Reems’s photograph in front of
Similar Books
