Alien in the House

Chapter 86



“BECAUSE SHE SCREWED UP,” Michael suggested. “She was in the running, her plan backfired.”

“Maybe.” Chuckie’s eyes were closed. “Santiago Reyes is dead, yes. But Raul was there, and he was there with SWAT, meaning the plan was always expected to be exposed, police were always expected to be called, and Eugene was always expected to be arrested.”

“Meaning Raul was in place to cover as backup, in all cases,” Raj said. “Especially if we believe there are other aspiring Apprentices, at least one of them was likely at the dinner party, too. If it were me, I’d want to be sure I had someone I could trust to clean up if one or more of them blew it. And our intel shows that Raul has the strongest connection to someone we all feel was a Mastermind, so I say he’s following the current Mastermind’s orders.”

Chuckie nodded. “Logical. Everyone going for the ‘job’ would have to be politically connected in some way. And that makes the most sense for his presence in town, too.”

“So Raul was there to kill Eugene before he could blab, and he’s around to take care of whatever else is needed while Apprentice Tryouts are going on. Getting to have the chance to kill me and Jeff is probably just part of his Christmas bonus.”

“Right.” Chuckie closed his eyes again. “We agree that Brewer’s ‘suicide’ is Pia’s M.O. But she was dead before it was carried out. So I ask again, why was she killed? She adapted and got her target. Why kill her before you see if she can get Brewer on the second try?”

“Well, there’s always the possibility that she was in Cliff’s car when he turned it on and just had bad timing,” Jeff said.

“It’s possible, but why would you put the car bomb in so late?” Chuckie shook his head. “I can’t buy that. Cliff had to park and go inside the Capitol building, for a specific event. There was no way to judge how long it would be before he left the event to return to his car. Thirty minutes would be your best guess for the fastest he’d be back, and you always work assuming worst-case scenario. So, you wouldn’t wait to set up the bomb until the last moment. You’d set it and be far, far away, confirming your alibi.”

“And car bombs aren’t the same as supposed suicides,” Christopher said.

White nodded. “Those are more of a terrorist’s or an assassin’s tool. At least in our experience.”

“The Dingo swears that Cliff’s car wasn’t set up by him. But Raul and Bernie used explosives, too, even more than the Dingo and Surly Vic do. So, Raul was told that Pia wasn’t getting the job and he took her out and dumped her in Cliff’s car when he rigged it to blow. Just think of the confusion when both Cliff and Pia were discovered to be together.”

“We’d spend a lot of time trying to figure out the connection,” Reader agreed.

“Well, Chuckie and I would, for sure.”

“And you’re a pit bull,” Vance said.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Don’t mean it as an insult. You’re just someone who gets her teeth on a bone and won’t let go. Metaphorically speaking.”

“Metaphorically speaking, find a better metaphor next time.” I loved my pit bull, Duchess, but didn’t really want to be compared to her if at all possible.

“Vance is right,” Chuckie said. “And that’s it. That’s why Pia was killed. She wasn’t killed for failure. She was killed because her failure got you, and therefore the rest of us, investigating. The only reason you listened to Vance was because Santiago was dead and you’d questioned Eugene and he’d spilled his guts. That’s the failure, and that’s why she’s dead.”

“I agree,” Mom said. “But we still haven’t answered my question, which is why kill all those people?”

“I think the Dingo knows, or suspects. And now I have more to give him in return, or confirm for him in return. He’s a lot like Olga.”

“They trained in the same arena,” Mom said. “So glad she’s keeping you on your toes, because while you think you can trust the Dingo, I’m not nearly as convinced.”

“Mossad wants to know if you want them along when you go on your cemetery sleepover,” Tim said. “I haven’t told them where you’re going, by the way.”

“Tell them thank you but no and do not tell them where the meet is. We need whatever intel we can get out of the Dingo and he’s sure as hell not going to show if Mossad is hanging around. I’m sure they want to take him and Surly Vic out as much as they want to take Raul out, too.”

“Gotcha. I’ll give them another location if they seem like they’re going to try to follow you anyway.”

“Good plan,” Mom said. “I think it’s time for me to get going to question Esteban Cantu and see if he can shed any light on the subject. And I want Jeff and Christopher going with me.”

“Seriously, we’ll behave,” Jeff said.

“Are you going to handcuff us, too?” Christopher snarked.

Mom rolled her eyes. “Really? I want the strongest empath and imageer in the world to help me question the only person we all think can tell us what’s going on and who’s behind it. I can take you there in handcuffs if you’d like, but I’d prefer to not have to explain why I’m bringing prisoners in and then right back out again, if it’s all the same to you two.”

They both had the grace to look embarrassed. “Sorry,” Christopher muttered.

“Ready whenever you want to go, Angela,” Jeff said, giving her his best You’re the Greatest Mother-In-Law in the WORLD smile.

Mom shook her head. “Sometimes I truly understand why Kitty’s so enthusiastic about working with Richard.”

“You want me and Chuck along?” Kevin asked. “Or do you want us here?”

“Will Cantu talk more if they’re along?” Jeff asked. “Or less?”

“He hates Chuckie. I say take Chuckie and Kevin, too, Mom. Keep Jeff and Christopher hidden, have Chuckie in there to bait Cantu. He may give something away while he’s gloating about Chuckie needing his help.”

Mom shot me the “really?” look. “Thank goodness you’re here, because none of that would have ever occurred to me.” Yes, Mom’s sarcasm knob went well above eleven. “Yes, Kevin, to answer your question, I want both you and Charles along. I’d like Michael Gower along as well.”

Michael looked surprised. “I’m flattered. Why?”

“I want another A-C with us. One who I can trust not to try to run off to handle someone else’s part of the operation.”

Michael grinned. “I’m your man.”

“Good. We’ll be leaving within the hour, so all of you need to be ready.” Mom nodded to Kevin, then went out of the room, presumably to make high-security-level calls to secret underground strongholds.

“Uh oh,” Tim said as soon as Mom was out of range. “I think we have an issue with Mossad. They know you, Kitty, so they assume you’re heading into danger. They also don’t seem to understand why we’re not hiding in the shadows to protect you, regardless of what the Dingo thinks.”

“In other words, if they go wherever you’re telling them, and you’re not there, Mossad’s going to get suspicious, right?”

Tim nodded. “They’re good. They’ll find you.”

“And screw up the meet,” Amy said. “I think Kitty’s crazy, too, but I’m also clear that you don’t tell the nice assassin you’re coming with people who aren’t going to try to take him down, and then show up with people trying to take him down.”

“Maybe Mossad is right,” Abigail said. “They have more information on Raul than we do. They might have more on the Dingo, too.”

“Look, I know I’m right on this one.”

“Paul,” Naomi said. “What does ACE think?”

Every head swiveled toward Gower. And there were three of us who were really wondering what in the world he was going to say.