The End Of Desire: A Rowan Gant Investigation (39 page)

“Yeah.” He gave me a nonchalant shrug. “You
know, stuff.”

“Okay,” I replied.

I didn’t press him any further. Whatever the
phone call had been about, he felt it necessary to step outside to
take it. He wasn’t acting particularly concerned, so I had to
assume it was nothing earth shattering.

I glanced around the room as the short spate
of conversation waned. For all the silence that ensued, there was
still a good deal of activity, some important, and some just to
expend nervous energy.

Constance was busy hooking the receiver for
her wireless around her ear and hiding it beneath the temporary
hair, while Agent Parker was helping out by threading the wire down
the back of her shirt and making the connections to the small
transmitter at her belt. Felicity had her arms folded beneath her
breast and was pacing back and forth. The dogs, not wanting to miss
anything, were laying in the living room following her with their
eyes. Ben was still eyeing Constance but not saying a word. Judging
by the look on his face, I had a feeling his initial comment about
the wig really hadn’t been a joke at all.

I turned and looked over at the pendulum
clock on our dining room wall. It was edging toward seven, just
like it had been when I checked moments ago. Four hours had gone
by, and we were still waiting, a fact that wasn’t helping my sense
of foreboding in the least.

“You two should relax,” Constance said,
glancing between Felicity and me as she brushed more hair down over
her ear. “This could be a dry run. She might not even call tonight.
She might wait until tomorrow, or the next day.”

“No… She’ll call soon,” Felicity replied.

“You need to be prepared if she doesn’t,”
Constance offered.

“No,” my wife said confidently. “I
don’t.”

The clock made a loud thunk as if to
punctuate her statement. The minute hand had completed its upward
journey and the internal spring automatically engaged. The winding
released and chattered through the house as it drew back the hammer
then proceeded to launch it against the chime. Before the fourth
bong had finished reverberating, the telephone started to ring.

“Goddamn Witches,” Ben muttered.

Felicity stepped over to the table and picked
up the handset. Constance gave her a quick nod, so she thumbed it
on and placed it up to her ear.

“I was beginning to think you had second
thoughts,” my wife said, her voice coated with a thick frost.
“Where do you want to do this?”

The last chime of the hour echoed from the
clock with a dull finality as we stood waiting. I don’t know about
everyone else in the room, but I was holding my breath.

“Are you sure?” Felicity finally said. “I
thought you’d want it to be someplace more private… I see… Well,
that’s a big place. Where should I meet you once I’m there? Uh-huh…
Aye… I can’t wait.”

She switched off the phone and laid it back
on the table as she turned to fully face us.

“The zoo,” she said. “In one hour. She told
me to wait for her by the carousel. She also said she’ll be
watching, and I’d best come alone or she won’t show.”

“Dammit,” Constance muttered. “The zoo has
their holiday light displays running, and it’s going to be
crowded.”

“Prob’ly why she picked it,” Ben grumbled.
“Easier ta’ disappear into the crowd than to be out in the
open.”

“Did you hear anything in the background?”
Constance asked. “Anything that might indicate she’s already
there?”

“No,” Felicity replied, shaking her head. “It
was quiet.”

“She might be there but sitting in a car on
the parking lot,” the other agent offered.

“Probably,” Constance said with a nod.

“Your call,” Ben huffed, nodding toward
Constance. “Whaddaya wanna do?”

“I don’t like it,” she replied after a
moment. “Not at all… But, who knows if we’ll get another chance.”
She turned to the other agent. “Parker, call it in. Get as many
bodies as we can into the crowd, and get SWAT on standby. Also,
have someone notify the zoo’s park security. Tell them to go about
business as usual, but let them know what’s going on. Tell them do
not approach. We don’t need some rent-a-cop blowing this and
getting someone hurt. Once I leave, give me about five minutes,
then head out, but take a different route out of the subdivision.
Catch up with me on Highway Forty, but hang back in case I’m
tailed.”

“Got it,” Agent Parker replied, pulling out
her cell phone and starting to dial.

Constance stepped into the dining room then
pulled her coat from the back of a chair and quickly slipped into
it. Picking up Felicity’s keys from the buffet, she turned back to
us.

“Ben, you still have two local units outside.
If you need…”

“Go,” Ben said, cutting her off. “I’ve got it
covered here.”

“Constance…” Felicity spoke up with a bit of
hesitation in her voice. “Thank you…”

She gave her a nod and replied, “I’ll call as
soon as this is over. You can thank me then.”

She turned and headed toward the back of the
house where Felicity’s Jeep was parked. Just before she reached the
kitchen doorway, Ben called out, “Connie…”

She stopped and looked back, a surprised
expression on her face. I suspected it was due to the nickname,
since I’d only seen one other person get away with calling her by
it, and this was the first time I’d ever heard Ben use it when she
was present.

My friend just stared at her for a second
then said, “Be careful. ‘Kay?”

She gave him a quick smile then disappeared
around the corner. A few seconds later, we heard the Jeep moving
alongside the house as she backed it out of the driveway then sped
off down the street. As ordered, Agent Parker followed along behind
several minutes later.

Ben stood silently at the window, peering
through a small crack in the blinds. Every now and then he would
glance up at the clock then return his gaze to the opening. After a
few minutes, he turned and pulled his jacket from the back of a
chair and started shrugging into it.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

“Get your coats,” he replied.

“Why?” Felicity asked.

“‘
Cause it’s cold outside,” he told
her.

“Why are we…”

“Just get your coats,” he repeated. “We’re
goin’ ta’ break some rules.”

B
en exited the highway and
pulled the van into Forest Park then moved with the flow of traffic
until he could swing into the zoo parking lot. He hadn’t been
particularly forthcoming with answers to any of our questions, so
both Felicity and I had eventually given up and simply rode along
in silence. It was obvious to us where we were going. What our
taciturn friend had in mind, however, remained a
mystery.

He slowly pulled around the lot, bypassing
several empty spaces until he came back around and located one with
a halfway decent view of the zoo entrance. Nosing in, he shut off
the lights and engine then cracked his side window to keep the
windshield from fogging over. He simply stared through the glass,
watching the entrance without saying a word.

After about a minute, I said, “I take it we
aren’t getting out.”

“Nope. Not yet, anyway,” he replied then
glanced over his shoulder and said, “Felicity, hand me that bag
that’s in the seat next to ya’.”

My wife felt around in the dark and then
passed a paper bag forward. I twisted in my seat and took it from
her then handed it to Ben.

“Dinner?” I asked with a note of sarcasm, as
he took it.

He opened the top of the bag then pulled out
a handheld walkie-talkie and switched it on.

“No. It’s stuff,” he grunted as he ramped up
the volume into the audible range then started clicking through the
preset channels.

“…
ear so far,” a familiar female voice
crackled from the speaker. “How’s my signal?”

He stopped and listened intently.

“Reading you loud and clear,” a male voice
replied.

“Okay, I’m approaching the entrance,”
Constance’s voice came back across the air.

“Lawson has a visual on you,” the man told
her.

Ben upped the volume on the walkie-talkie a
bit more then laid it on the console between us.

“Okay, I see you,” the man responded a few
seconds later. “Washburn will pick you up once you’re inside. He’ll
hand you off to Frye at the Bayou Bullfrog display.”

“Good. Any sign of her yet?”

“Negative.”

The radio crackled with a burst of static
then fell silent for the moment. I looked over at Ben who had
directed his stare back out the windshield.

“Where did you get that?” I asked.

“It’s police stuff,” he replied.

“That isn’t your regular radio, Ben.”

“I got a new one.”

“In a brown paper bag?”

“Recycled packaging,” he returned.

“That’s not police stuff. It’s FBI stuff,” I
said.

“Real cops got ‘em too,” he said, verbally
hinting at his selective lack of respect for the federal
agency.

“Yeah… Why am I not buying that?”

He gave me a half shrug but didn’t avert his
gaze from the entrance. “Hey, she wasn’t gonna be usin’ it.”

“You stole that from Constance?” Felicity
asked.

“Borrowed,” he replied. “There’s a
difference. Besides, ain’t you the one who wanted us ta’ break the
rules?”

“So we came here to listen?” she asked.

“We came here so when they take ‘er down, I
can get ya’ a few minutes with ‘er before they throw ‘er in a
really dark hole.”

“Are you serious?” I asked.

“Look, Constance’ll try ta’ make it happen,
just like she said she would. But, I ain’t countin’ on it. Once the
Feebs got their hands on ‘er, things are gonna get real tight. She
off’ed a federal judge, remember?”

“Yeah,” I replied.

“So, the real deal is this might be the only
chance ya’ get. I’m just evenin’ the odds.”

“So, how much trouble is this going…”

The radio crackled and he held up a hand to
shush me.

“Mandalay is in line at the gate,” the
earlier voice announced.

“Ten-four,” another voice responded.

The device hissed then settled back into
silence for the moment.

“What?” Ben asked, glancing over at me.

“How much trouble is this going to cause for
you?” I repeated.

“Didn’t ya’ say this’s what it’s gonna take
ta’ get rid of the ghost bitch?”

“In theory.”

“Well, then let’s hope your theory’s
right.”

“You’re still going to get into trouble
though, aren’t you?”

“Doesn’t matter,” he replied. “I’m pretty
much already suspended.”

“The phone call earlier?”

“Yeah. S’posed ta’ have a meetin’ tomorrow
mornin’. But, that’s just a formality. Unless I’m completely off
base, it’s pretty much all over except the paperwork. Lookin’ like
thirty days, no pay.”

“I really appreciate this, Ben,” Felicity
said.

“Yeah, I’ll remember that.”

“Just remind me if I try to bite you again,”
she quipped.

“Uh-huh,” he grunted. “What was that
you told me? Oh yeah,
like that’d
work
. Why don’t ya’ just make sure ya’ invite me over
ta’ dinner a lot for the next month. And, maybe get me somethin’
real nice for Christmas too.”

The radio crackled and hissed, then
Constance’s voice issued from the speaker once again. “I’m in and I
see Washburn. Heading for the carousel now.”

A new voice followed. “I’ve got Mandalay.
Everything’s clear.”

My head was starting to throb with a fresh
round of stabs in the back of my skull. While, as usual, the
chronic ache had never fully subsided, it had at least faded into
the background for the most part once Felicity was back on an even
keel. Now, it was returning with a vengeance.

“She’s here,” I said.

“Where?” Ben asked, scanning the distant
crowd of people who were still waiting to enter through the gates.
“Do ya’ see ‘er?”

“No,” I replied. “But, I feel her.”

“Fuckin’ wonderful,” he replied. “Well, at
least we know she wasn’t blowin’ smoke about showin’ up.”

A handful of minutes oozed by, and the radio
crackled again.

“Frye, you should be able to see Mandalay in
about ten seconds.”

A female voice answered a moment later. “I’ve
got her. Clear so far.”

“Who’s covering the carousel?” Constance’s
voice blipped in.

“Book is on the left at the concession
stand,” the earlier voice replied. “Tamm is in the seating area
making like a mommy.”

“I don’t like it,” Constance replied. “Too
many civilians. Especially children. Where’s our takedown
point?”

“When approached, try to lead her back the
way you’re coming in. We’ll move when there’s an opportunity.”

“And, if she doesn’t follow?”

A long span of silence filled in behind her
question. Finally, the radio crackled again and the man replied,
“We follow her.”

“Acknowledged.”

The radio hissed then fell quiet. We simply
waited since there was nothing else we could do.

After a couple of minutes, Ben asked, “You
still feelin’ ‘er?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “Like a hammer to the back
of the head.”

“What about you, Firehair?” he queried.

“Mmhmm,” she hummed.

I turned and gave her a curious glance. She
had been especially quiet for the past few minutes, and a wordless
response wasn’t like her at all. She caught my gaze and simply
raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Are you doing okay, honey?” I asked.

She nodded.

Before I could press her further, the radio
crackled again.

“Book, you should be able to see Mandalay
now,” Frye’s voice came over the air.