Fly With Fire (46 page)

Al gave Zack an annoyed look
and pulled out a Swiss army knife. “This is fruit of the poisoned tree,
Burnham. You got the nerve?” He worked the Phillips head as Zack looked around.
He tilted pictures and found the wall safe. He had it open in no time finding
two thousand dollars in cash and three passports. “Look.” He held the passports
in a fan. “Let’s see last time these were stamped. Bingo. Here’s a stamp from
the night the plane landed in Monty.  In the name of Ivan Goshinsky. Dude
was making tracks. Crossed the border from Sault Saint Marie into Michigan by
car at ten thirty four p.m. That’s hell of a distance from Monty.” 

“Not if he flew there from
Monty.  Get on that fancy phone of yours and find out when planes fly from
Montreal to Sault Ste. Marie. See what you can find for that Sunday. He coulda
been here in what, seven, eight hours from the border driving? I don’t see him
biding his time once Ms. Whitman baled on the flight.” Al pulled out the
register. Nothing. He went to work on another one.

Zack downloaded an app and
got info on flights between the two cities. “Monty to Sault Ste. Marie. Port
Marie Express landed 8:46. Just over an hour flight. Maybe he had dinner before
crossing the border. Maybe he rented a car.”

“Maybe not. Call Harve. Have
‘im call Monteal police and run registrations in all those names. Bet he had a
car there already.” Al snorted in disgust at the second empty register. He
looked around and eyed the wall safe. It had just had a few inconsequential
papers in it during the search. Oddly to Zack, Al sniffed a loud sniff and took
a closer look.

While Zack talked to Harve he
narrowed his eyes at Al as the big man reached into the safe. He held the money
a moment then set it aside. He drew the papers out, keeping them carefully in
order. He felt around the safe as Zack watched, eyebrows raised. He flipped out
the blade of the Swiss army knife. He started prying at the bottom of the safe.
It wasn’t steel or drywall but dark grey painted plywood. Severinsky had
altered the safe.

Zack’s phone rang. “A hit!
Car registered to one Ivan Goshinsky. Address matches Severinsky’s in Montreal.
Our guy’s not as smart as he thinks.”  

  
“Dumb and dangerous; it’s worked before.” Bits of plywood scattered as Al
worked at the bottom of the safe. After a couple minutes he pulled up the false
bottom. It had an eyebolt attached to it. Zack saw Al pull at a long red ribbon
which was attached to the eyebolt. Up came a plastic bag with what looked like
a few curls from a long black wig hanging out. It was attached to the ribbon of
cloth with a black tension clip. Up came a canvas bag. Last was an expansion
rod with its own smaller red ribbon attached. “I thought I smelled paint.
Smells like the spray paint I used on my lawn chairs.”

“Son of a bitch,” Zack said
as Al pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. The canvas bag held a
housekeeper’s uniform and a pass key. It also held a small but expensive
looking tape recorder and some tools including a socket wrench. Al turned on
the tape recorder. “Sure!” The sound of a shower with singing. Then the flush
of a toilet. “Okay!” More singing and a shower door closing. “Go ahead!”
Operatic singing going to a hum. More singing while the shower ran.

“You want to convince a
housekeeper you’re in the shower? Just leave the ‘do not disturb’ sign off and
hit play. Must have lifted the key in advance. Used the wig and uniform to go
to Ms. Whitman’s room without being noticed.” Al put it all back into the wall.
“Harve and Simmons can search once they have the warrant. Between the maid’s
statement and Severinsky not being on his return flight I’m sure we’ll get one.
Your lucky day Burnham you won’t have to eat the poisoned fruit after all.”

“Never did have a taste for
it. Hey, you ever notice housekeepers?”

 “Maybe you’re getting
your brain back, Burnham, who does?”

Persephone flew through the
air twirling the flaming batons. She offers fire to fire. Hades took the gifts
and set them aside prepared to consummate their love. They descended into hell,
the flames wavering to the haunting song. On the various stages the demons
dance with joy. On the trapeze Demeter, mother of Persephone, mourns and calls
out to her daughter. Zeus throws thunderbolts at Hades.

But the happy queen arises
inflamed by Hades dark kiss. She is a queen. The Bride of Hell. She does a
dance of fire. Hades burns with his desire for her. Persephone cannot give up
her love even for all the gods of Olympus. He has breathed fire into her. She
has breathed life into him.

Mo had done her best to focus
but felt her performance was stilted. She could not get Zack off her mind. She
was worried and had avoided answering questions about his condition all day.
He’d not shown up. Had not come to the arena. Her sadness had sucked the energy
out of her. She felt weighted every time she flew through the air. No one
seemed to notice. She watched Roddy do Trollie’s bit while Sally and Betty
changed her. He had donned a demon suit and stabbed at the flame shooting at his
back end with the trident. He subdued one flame and started to make his way
across the cable on a unicycle. Another would shoot up to torment him. He
seemed to be enjoying himself but she was worried about him. Luciana gone back
to New York in another huff and the Italian was concealing his feelings about
it. She planned on trying to pump him after the show. It was about time to stop
dwelling on her own dramas and get back in cinque with the people who had been
her family for the past ten years. “Hey, Deb, good job.” Mo encouraged Deb as
Betty adjusted the circlet of fire. “When we get to D.C., Sunday is all yours.
You feel good with Haaken?”

“Yeah, Mo. Thanks. Whose with
me?” Deb smiled as she watched Mo. Their relationship had warmed.

“Roddy has hired a woman
named Terese Le Fevre. She’ll be your Demeter for the Sunday show. She’ll be
here Tuesday to put in some rehearsal before D.C.” Mo pushed Betty’s hand
away.”That’s good, thanks.”  Roddy had finally tangled himself in the
cable and brought down the house.

“I know you been through a
lot, Mo. I just want ya to know how grateful I am for all your help. I hope
Zack is okay. Oh. There’s the music.”

“Let’s get back out there.”
Mo took her position with the devil himself.

The trapeze rose from the
flames as the hot lights captured the royal couple. They did their mating dance
while the denizens of Hades celebrated with a banquet of fire. Persephone
removes the fierce mask of Hades and finds he has taken the form of a man to
mate with her. “So you finish with the policeman?” Claude gave her a lurid
grin.

Mo snorted as her lips met
his for the kiss that would seal the bargain. “Don’t get any ideas.” Her head
hurt. She wanted to go down to Zack’s place. But she wanted to give him time to
think about things. Mo and Claude twined like snakes and did their dance.
Flying in the red glittering costumes. The dazzling new move she had been
working on was coming up. She would be swung from Misha in his Zeus costume to
Claude. Then do a triple to Haaken and a do a quadruple back to Claude. She
would be the first female aerialist to complete a quadruple somersault on the
trapeze. She found her heart wasn’t in it. She wasn’t rested and focused as she
should be. She could always just do the triple and eat crow. Advertising had
created anticipation. It was her call though. She could issue an apology for
the excited expectation of the audience. She would signal her intention before
she made the move. No, I won’t wait. I can do it. I can do it.

Misha waited on the stand to
make his move. He looked over at the box where Mayor Tyler sat with the mayor
of Greendale and a few other guests. How nice of him to come see the show
again, Misha thought. He had almost changed his mind but after seeing Mo mope
about the cop all day he was fed up. She had run to him before, it wasn’t going
to happen again. He leapt and crossed with Deb landing on the other platform
and watched Mo and Claude. Heat came up his neck and burned his ears while he
watched them kiss. He did his moves as Zeus then grabbed another trapeze and
did his turns landing back on the platform. It was almost time. He felt the bag
concealed in his costume, which had a loose fitting tunic top. Through the
fabric of it he felt the small rectangular box. He gave the arena a good long look
as he hurled more lighting. 

Zack and Al rushed into the
coliseum. Al had called for backup and arranged for security to assist when
they arrested Misha Severinsky after the show. Zack’s head was much clearer and
his concern for making sure Mo or anyone was in danger had pumped adrenalin
into his system staving off pain and exhaustion. They had proof that Misha had
crossed the border at Sault Ste. Marie into the States the same night he landed
in Montreal. He had taken a plane to the border city using the name on one of
his passports. Further checking into his background had found he’d been a
person of interest in the disappearance of a former girlfriend when he’d worked
at a small time circus in Saskatchewan. The big snag was the murder weapon.
Zack wasn’t betting Misha would just give it up.

Harve had gotten the DA away
from his cook out to get a warrant for the search of Misha’s room. Graver and
Simmons were probably having their bingo moment even as Al and Zack got Roddy’s
attention.

“What you say? Misha?”
Roddy’s eyes bulged. “Mo! He want to hurt Mo?”

“Stay calm, Mr. D’Mario. No
reason to believe she’s in imminent danger but he’s our guy. We need to let
things proceed normally. After the show, tell him you need to see him in your
office. We want him away from Ms. Whitman in case he panics before we’ve got
him.  But I don’t think he has a clue we’re on to him.”

Zack put a hand on Roddy’s
shoulder. “Roddy, we need you to be cool and calm,” Zack affirmed. “You just
need to chat about his part.”

“No, no, he never buy that.”
Roddy eyed Zack. “You let me get him to office. Then you and me, we talk,
Zack.” He crossed his arms with a huff.

“I’m going to talk to the
mayors. We’ll want them and as many people out of the arena as possible before
we bag Severinsky.” Al started to leave Zack to get the security people in
place. He turned back with another order. “Stay out of Severinsky’s sight. No
sense in getting him riled. Here’s Harve now,” he answered his phone. “It’s a
go.”

Zack and Les Moore got
everyone in place to secure Mo and others while the Greendale police positioned
themselves for the arrest. When Roddy got Misha in his office Lourdes Garcia
would ask to see Roddy a moment and get him out of the way. It was hard to
believe Misha was armed in his costume but anything was possible. Clearly he
was unbalanced and dangerous. He was also clever and had gone to great lengths
in pursuit of his sick agenda.

With Les Moore’s team in
position, Zack took an elevator up to the top tier of the coliseum. He wanted
to keep an eye on Misha and Mo until the show was over. He watched Persephone
do her dance with the devil obscured by a column.

Misha looked with
satisfaction at the full house he had for his last spectacular performance. He
would be the star now with Mo. His name forever entwined with hers. They would
be remembered for the blazing glory of their departure from the world. He would
let Mo have her last triumph. The quadruple. His gift to her. Then it was he
and Mo together forever.

See if they laugh at him now
the way that girl had laughed at him in Saskatchewan. She’d called him second
rate. He had proved her wrong. Too bad she’d never know it. But Mo would know
better. Mo would know that there was nothing he feared and he would do anything
to have her forever. What more could a woman want?

Mo brought all her focus into
single pinpoint of will. Although she had practiced repeatedly, this now live
quadruple in front of fifteen thousand people would be her defining moment as
an aerialist. It would be the triumph that would carry her into the history of
her field. She could not hesitate. Could not fail. Claude swung out, his
leotard sparkling flames. In this she could trust. The skill of her partner.
Her own ability. The continuity of the world she was a part of. It was all that
mattered and she would not fail. “Kisses Gram.” A flash of Zack in her mind was
shoved deep down. Concentration. Now.

She sailed through the air,
her body light, fluid and free. One turn, two, three, and four, spinning so
fast it was almost like a blur to those watching in awe. Her hands locked on
Claude’s wrists, his on hers as they swung to the roar of the audience.
Applause filled the air as they swung. Mo somersaulted to another bar.

Mayor Gerald Tyler of Chicago
sat with Mayor Lauren Brody of Greendale and watched transfixed from their
premium suite with the best view in the house. Like the other members of the
audience they were on their feet cheering the astounding feat that had been
advertised all over their cities bringing them reflected glory. They shook
hands and congratulated each other as if they themselves had been up on that
trapeze.

Al Simpson watched from
outside the Mayor’s box. With a child’s wonder in his eyes he watched Mo
perform her historic feat with his heart thumping. For a moment he forgot his
purpose there as he watched her fantastic form spin unfettered. It took the
deafening applause to rattle him back to the present. He set his mouth with
determination and opened the door.