The Sixth Man

CHAPTER 62

“WHAT ARE YOU two doing here?”

Eric Dobkin was dressed in jeans, thick socks, and a cotton sweater as he stood in the doorway of his house.

Sean and Michelle looked back at him.

Sean said, “We need to talk.”

When Dobkin made no move to open the door farther Michelle said, “Can we come in, or do we do the powwow out in the cold?”

“It’s not that cold.”

“I grew up in Tennessee, Eric. This is like Antarctica to me.”

He motioned them in and then glanced behind the pair as he closed the door.

Michelle noted this observation. “We made sure we weren’t followed.”

“You guys are putting me in a pretty awkward situation,” said Dobkin sourly.

“Everyone’s in an awkward situation,” retorted Sean.

“And I thought you wanted to be in the loop with us,” added Michelle.

“In a limited way.”

“Doesn’t work that way,” said Sean.

“In for a dime, in for a dollar,” added Michelle.

“What do you want?”

Sean and Michelle sat on the couch in the front room. Dobkin remained standing.

Michelle asked, “Where’re your wife and the kids?”

“Out. I had today off, just catching up on a few things.”

“Well, we have a few things to catch up on too.”

“Like what?”

Sean said, “Just to confirm, the same gun killed both Bergin and Dukes?”

Dobkin sat down across from them and nodded. “.32 ACP.”

“Anything else new on the case?” asked Sean.

“MSP is just pulling support, like I said. FBI is running the show. And Megan Riley is getting some police protection.”

“We know,” said Michelle.

“You two could probably use some protection too. The shooter who killed Murdock was firing at you too, Michelle.”

“Trust me, I know. But protection would really cramp my style.”

“Who cares about your style if you’re dead?”

“Eric, if you help us break the case it’ll do great things for your career,” said Michelle.

“And if I stick my nose in and mess things up, it’ll mean the end of my career,” retorted Dobkin.

“I thought you Maine guys were made of hardy stuff,” she said.

“We’re also born with brains!”

“Then why don’t you start using yours?” she snapped.

He rose. “Look, I don’t have to listen to this crap. I covered your butt when Murdock went down. I emptied my clip at where those shots came from. And I gave you info I didn’t have to. So lay off me.”

Sean sat forward. “Okay, okay, you know what, you’re right.” He fell silent, letting Dobkin calm down and retake his seat. “For a change of pace, would you like us to fill you in?”

“I don’t know,” Dobkin said warily. “How bad is it?”

“So you have been thinking about the case?” Sean said.

“If I weren’t thinking about it I don’t deserve to be a cop.”

“Before we tell you what we know, what do you think is going on?” asked Michelle.

Dobkin rubbed his chin. “If I had to guess, and that’s all it would be, I’d say Roy must have some sort of government connection beyond the IRS. I mean why else would the FBI be all over this?”

Sean said, “Without confirming or denying that, I can tell you that it has a lot to do with national security. And that Roy is on America’s side. And that those six bodies came along awfully conveniently.”

“You saying he was set up?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Can you prove it?”

“Working on it. But there are some heavy hitters on this. Real heavy. We encountered them down in New York and almost didn’t make it back to Maine.”

“What happened in New York?” asked Dobkin.

“Let’s just say we have seen the enemy and they play for keeps.”

Michelle added, “And they carry creds that would get them into just about any secure location in this country.”

Dobkin stared at her with an incredulous look. “Wait a minute. Are you saying the bad guys are our guys?”

“Well,” said Michelle, “it’s always been my philosophy that if they’re bad guys they can’t be our guys.”

Dobkin sat back and rubbed his thighs. “Look, I’m just a state trooper. I don’t know anything about stuff like this. I don’t know how the federal side works.”

“Or doesn’t work,” said Sean.

“So what do you want from me?” Dobkin said abruptly.

“We need to make sure if we need another gun you’ll be there.”

“Like you were for me the night Murdock was killed,” said Michelle.

“I don’t mind helping folks out. But the bottom line is I’m a cop. I can’t run around being a vigilante. They’d throw me out of the MSP.”

Sean said, “We’re not asking you to do anything like that. I’m just asking you to step up to the plate in case enemies of this country come to town looking to hurt America.”

“But you said our guys basically are the enemy. And you still haven’t given me any proof of that.”

“Like I said, we’re working on that. But we have limited resources and the other side has no such problem. So we’re here to ask for your help if we need it. And I promise not to ask for it unless we really need it because from what we’ve seen so far, it’s dangerous as hell.”

Dobkin studied the floor. When he looked up he said, “I’m not going to let anybody screw with my country without a fight.”

“That’s all I wanted to hear,” said Sean.

“Thanks, Eric,” added Michelle. “It means a lot.”

“So do you think you can really pull this off?”

“With a little luck and a little help from some friends,” said Sean.