The Innocent

Chapter





65


ON THE WAY Robie called Blue Man and requested backup. They would meet him at the bar.

Robie gunned the Volvo and glanced over at Cohen. Her face was tear-streaked and her breaths only came in short gasps that might have caused Robie to feel sorry for her under different circumstances.

She glanced at him, her look of misery deepening. “You think he’s dead, don’t you?”

“I don’t know, Michele. But that’s why we’re here. To prevent it if we can.”

“It seems so stupid now. Of course they wouldn’t just let him walk away. But it was the only chance we had. We were desperate.”

“Which made you the perfect people to approach.”

He made a left, a quick right, and pulled the car to the curb. “That the place?” he said, indicating a bar farther down the street with the sign “Lucky’s” above it.

She nodded. “Yes, that’s it.”

Well, I hope it’s lucky for us.

Robie looked around for his backup. He texted Blue Man. The reply came back almost immediately.

Sixty seconds away.

Cohen blurted, “That’s Mark’s car over there.” She pointed to a gray Lexus sedan parked a half block down.

A few moments later an SUV pulled up behind Robie. He signaled to the driver. The man signaled back. Robie got out and escorted Cohen to the SUV. There were three men inside. Cohen got in the backseat.

“Stay put,” he told her. “No matter what you see or hear, these men will take care of you, okay?”

“Please bring my husband back to me.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Robie looked at the man in the passenger seat. “You want to come with me?”

The man nodded, racked his pistol, and put it back in the holster.

The pair moved down the street, their heads rotating side to side, looking for anything threatening. When they got to the bar Robie saw that it was closed.

He looked at his watch and eyed the other man. “Late opening time for a bar.”

“You’re right about that. How do you want to do this?” asked the other man.

“Give me two minutes to access the back. Then hit the front. We’ll meet in the middle.”

The man nodded and Robie skirted down an alley leading to the rear of this cluster of buildings.

He quickly found the back entrance to the bar. He didn’t know if the door was alarmed and didn’t really care. If the cops came, so be it. They might have to come anyway, depending on what Robie found inside.

He used his pick tools to beat the lock, pulled his gun, and slowly pushed the door open. It was nearly dusk outside, and totally dark inside. Robie wasn’t going to risk a light. He was already a target enough without helping anybody to see his position better.

He let his eyes adjust to the low level of light and moved forward. As he stepped he listened. He checked his watch. His partner should be coming through the front door right about now.

Robie passed through the kitchen and saw nothing except pots and pans, rows of clean glasses and mugs, and a line of mops. The next room had to be the bar area. He would meet his guy there.

Only his guy wasn’t there.

But someone else was, and Robie’s attention was immediately captured by the person. He ducked down behind the bar and took in the room grid by grid, noting all possible shooting points. He waited another thirty seconds and then came out from behind his cover. The room was empty. Except for him and the other guy.

Robie approached the man sitting in the booth to the left of the front door. He was leaning back against the leather seat.

There was enough light coming in from the front windows for Robie to see what he needed to. He thumbed 911 on his phone and spoke briefly.

He clicked off and eased over to the man.

Single gunshot wound to the head. Robie touched his hand. Cold.

He’d been dead a while.

Robie grabbed a napkin off a table and covered his hand with it. He snaked his hand inside the man’s jacket and pulled out his wallet, flipped it open.

The name on the license was Mark Cohen. The man’s picture, minus the bloody wound to his head, stared back at Robie.

He put the wallet back, looked at the front door.

Shit.

He raced to the door, unlocked it, and stepped outside. There were people walking up and down both sides of the street. Robie noted them and then his gaze went across the street.

His Volvo was there.

The black SUV was not.

He ran across the street and slid into his Volvo as he heard sirens coming.

He got on the phone to Blue Man. “Mark Cohen is dead and your guys took off with Michele Cohen. Want to explain that to me?”

Blue Man said, “I don’t understand. They were two of my best men. My most trusted people. They were supposed to follow your orders.”

Robie said, “There were three guys in the SUV.”

“I only sent two.”

“Then one of them tagged along, and I guess now I know why.”

“This is unprecedented, Robie.”

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Go right now and check on Julie. Take a bunch of guys with you. They can’t have bought off all of them.”

“Robie, are you saying—?’ ”

“Just do it!”