The Innocent

Chapter





69


THE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. Memorial’s official opening had been delayed because of a hurricane that had exhibited incredibly bad timing as it swept up the East Coast. But now the memorial was open. The centerpiece was the Stone of Hope, a thirty-foot-high statue of Dr. King, comprised of 159 granite blocks fashioned to look like a single chunk of stone. Its official address was 1964 Independence Avenue, after the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The memorial was roughly equidistant between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, and sited along the “line of leadership” between the other two memorials. It was adjacent to the FDR Memorial and was the only memorial on the National Mall dedicated to a person of color, and a non-president.

Robie knew all of this and had even attended the opening ceremony for the memorial. But tonight he was only interested in survival.

He spoke quietly into his headset as he eyed the memorial. “You in place?”

Vance’s voice came into his ear. “Roger that.”

“See anyone?”

“No.”

Robie kept moving and kept looking. He had on night-vision goggles, but they couldn’t see what wasn’t there.

“Julie?”

The voice was to his left, near the memorial.

It was a man. Robie tightened the grip on his pistol and spoke into his headset again. “Did you hear that?”

Vance said, “Yes, but I don’t have a visual on the source yet.”

A second later Robie did.

The man stepped clear of the memorial. In the wash of moonlight and with the aid of his special goggles Robie could see that it was indeed Leo Broome. He recognized him from a photo he had seen in the man’s apartment.

Vance’s voice came into his ear. “Is that Broome?”

“Yes, sit tight and cover my back.”

Robie moved forward until he was within ten feet of the other man.

“Mr. Broome?”

The man immediately ducked back behind the memorial.

“Mr. Broome?” Robie said again.

“Where’s Julie?” Broome said.

“We didn’t let her come,” called out Robie. “We thought it might be an ambush.”

“Well, that’s exactly what I’m thinking,” said Broome. “Just so you know, I’ve got a gun and I know how to aim and hit what I’m aiming at.”

Vance spoke up. “Mr. Broome, I’m Special Agent Vance with the FBI. We just want to talk to you.”

“You saying it doesn’t mean you are with the FBI.”

Vance came out into the open and held her weapon up and her shield out. “I am with the FBI, Mr. Broome. We just want to talk. To try and find out what’s going on here.”

“And the other guy?” said Broome. “What about him?”

Robie said, “I know that Julie’s parents are dead, Mr. Broome. I’ve been trying to help her find their killers.”

“Curtis and Sara are dead?”

“So are Rick Wind and his ex-wife. Both murdered.”

Broome appeared around the edge of the memorial. “We’ve got to put a stop to all this.”

“Couldn’t agree with you more,” said Vance. “And with your help maybe we can. But first we need to get you to a safe location. And your wife too.”

“That won’t be happening.”

“Did they get to your wife?” asked Robie.

“Yes. She’s dead.”

Robie said quickly, “Were you with her when it happened?”

“Yes, I barely got out in—”

Robie was running full tilt toward Broome. “Get down, now. Down!”

But he knew he was already too late.

He heard the crack of the shot. Broome whipped around and then fell where he had stood. He hit the dirt hard, twitched once as his heart gave a final pump, and then lay still.

Robie reached him, ducked down, and surveyed the area. The shot had come from the left. He called this out to Vance, who was already on her phone.

Robie realized this had been a setup from the start.

He was never intended to get any information from Leo Broome. They were still just playing him. Giving him a tantalizing piece of gold and then jerking it away when he got too close. Whomever he was confronting knew far more about everything than he did. They had assets on both sides, something he didn’t.

Vance knelt down next to Robie. “Is he dead?”

“Round blew right through his head. He won’t be talking to anyone anymore.”

She let out a long breath and stared down at the dead man. “They’re always one step ahead, it seems.”

“It seems,” said Robie.

“You were telling him to get down before the shot. How did you know?”

“They killed his wife, but he got away? I don’t think so. Same thing happened with Julie. They don’t let people just get away.”

“But what purpose did it serve letting Leo Broome live? He could have told us something.”

“They weren’t going to give him the chance, Vance.”

“So why let him come here at all? If they were following him they could have killed him at any point.”

“This seems to be a game to them.”

“A game! People are dying here, Robie. Some game.”

“Some game,” he replied.