First Class Killing

Chapter 33

THE LAST EXHIBIT SHOT OFF TOHARVEY VIA e-mail around three in the morning, East Coast time. He was so nervous I decided to stay up in case he called with more questions. I did, in fact, stay up, but not awake, and when I heard the neighbor’s door slam and opened my eyes, it was six-thirty. The last time I remembered checking the clock was at three twenty-five.

I went into my room and fell onto my bed without bothering to change. The next time I was conscious was after eleven. When I sat up, my neck was stiff. I couldn’t turn it to the left without sending shooting pains down my back, and I wondered if I would have to make only right turns all day. I also wondered about the nagging feeling that kept tapping me on the shoulder, telling me I was supposed to be somewhere. It was as if I could feel it, but when I whipped around to see it, it was gone. I chalked it up to oversleeping.

It was eight o’clock on the West Coast, which meant that Harvey ’s presentation was in progress. I probably should have felt nervous in sympathy with him, but I didn’t feel much of anything. There was no more that I could do. I thought I should have felt more satisfaction. We were going to nail Angel. But all I felt was spent-physically, emotionally, and mentally. I felt like one of those climbers standing on the summit of Mount Everest. To me, they always looked as if they were dying. They had spent so much of themselves to get there, there was no way to enjoy it. They didn’t always get back all that they had spent, either.

By the time I dragged myself out, it was eleven-twenty. I was headed for the shower when I thought to wake up my computer and check my calendar for whatever important thing I was supposed to be doing. When I clicked up the activities for the day and saw what it was, I froze, then grabbed my backpack and flew out the door, wearing the clothes I had slept in and an expression of sheer panic.

Four people were already lined up at the Boston Police Department shooting range when I stumbled in. They had their weapons ready and their headgear in place. The officer conducting the test patrolled the platform, arms folded over the clipboard trapped against his chest.

He barely acknowledged me when I approached him, which made for an awkward pause as I tried to catch my breath. “I’m…”Breath… “Alex…”Breath… “Shanahan.”

“You’re late.”

“Yes, I am, and I’m…”Breath… “Sorry.”

He didn’t say anything. Didn’t have to. Every cell in his pressed-uniform body said it for him. What kind of an idiot shows up for her range test late, smelling like a locker room, and looking as if she’d slept in her clothes? I had done exactly what Tristan had told me not to do-screeched into the Moon Island parking lot late, rattled, and unprepared. If we had still been friends, he never would have let me do this.

The large-boned, dour-faced officer waited. I figured the fewer words, the better. “I’m a flight attendant, and I had a difficult time setting up this test around my flight schedule. I’m sorry to disrupt things. Will you allow me to take it even though I’m late?”

Either he appreciated the direct approach, he felt sorry for me, or he wanted to see if a flight attendant could shoot. I wasn’t sure which it was, but he pulled out his clipboard and made a notation. “Take the last target. You’ve got two minutes to set up.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

It took the whole two minutes to get settled and two seconds to realize what a mistake I had made. As soon as my hand closed around the.38, I knew I should have rescheduled. My shoulders ached, my hands felt weak, the gun felt heavy, and I could not picture any set of circumstances under which I would pass this test today. I hadn’t fired a shot, and I’d already failed, and I knew it.

When I got the signal, I squeezed the trigger, the gun kicked, and the round was on its way. It missed. I let out a long, slow breath and tried to adjust. Squeezed off another round. Missed. The weapon was like some alien object with a foreign mass and shape that I’d never touched before. I wanted to stop, to tell them right then and there that I could shoot. I really could shoot. I had worked and practiced and refined my skills, but this was a bad day, and I had made a bad decision by racing over here, and could I go away and try another day?

Round three, and it was getting worse. I was starting to shake badly. The cumulative effect of the exhaustion and the missed shots was adding up to a weight I couldn’t bear.Grow up, I told myself.Pull yourself together. If you’re this intimidated by the cops, how will you fare with the bad guys who are not just laughing at you but trying to kill you, to boot?

I aimed the fourth round for the bull’s-eye and squeezed off four, five, and six in quick concession. I was perfect. Not a single one had hit the target. If I could have run out of there, I would have, but I managed to remove my gear, gather my things, and not look at a single soul as I walked out the door. I had failed the test. I didn’t need anyone to tell me.

Harvey called in the early afternoon when I was unpacking from my last trip so I could use the suitcase for my next one. I had dumped the contents on the floor, right onto the pile of dirty clothes that had overwhelmed my laundry basket. I was sorting the lights from the darks and the dry cleaning from everything else, when the phone rang.

“Alex, we did it. We nailed it. We knocked it out of the park.” Harvey was so filled with enthusiasm and clichés I almost didn’t recognize him.

“They were so impressed with us. You were absolutely right about those last exhibits. They made the case so effectively that even I could not mess it up. I wish you could have been here, too.”

“I think it worked out the way it was supposed to.”

“Is everything all right? You sound down.”

“I’m okay.” I thought about telling him about the test, but he sounded too happy. He wouldn’t get it, anyway. “I had a disappointment this morning. I’ll get over it.”

When it occurred to me I couldn’t tell the light clothes from the dark, I got up to turn on a lamp and realized the blinds hadn’t been opened for weeks. I pulled the cord and welcomed the sun and the world back into my bedroom.

“Carl has promised me a check for the balance of what they owe us before I leave here tomorrow.”

“You’re on a first-name basis with Mr. Wolff?”

“He wants to take me to dinner tonight. I think he might want to talk about more work for us.”

“Are you serious? The same people who wanted to fire us two weeks ago are not only paying us but offering more work?”

“I told him we would be happy to entertain any proposals.”

“We’ll have to see if we can squeeze him in. That’s…astoundingly good news, Harvey.” I didn’t have the luxury of wallowing in success. I had someplace to be. “Not to spoil the mood, but when do they plan to take Angel out of service?”

“The issue is being discussed, but I think immediately, if not sooner.”

“Good. They should move fast before the word gets out and Angel has a chance to mount a counterattack, which you know she will. The rumors are probably already flying. Not to mention the sooner she’s gone, the sooner I can quit being a flight attendant.”

“They know what they are dealing with.”

“I’m not sure they do. I won’t be here when you get back. I’m going down to visit my brother and his family in New York. I might stay a few days, so if you need me, call me on my cell phone.”

“Alex.”

“What?”

“I was the last one to think we could get to this point, and yet somehow here we are. You made this case, and I will be forever grateful.”

“We made it together, Harvey. Have a safe trip home.”