Blood Money Read online

  “We are going to have to use our lights. There is too much crap on the floor. We could break our necks.” John spoke from experience. As a teenager, he broke an ankle when he tripped over a wooden pallet while working at a summer warehouse job. He still had a slight, almost indistinguishable limp, even after forty years.

  “First, let’s unlock that back door.” Tom walked over and released the lock. He opened the door to make sure it was in working order, in case they needed to vacate the warehouse in a hurry.

  “I think we should split into pairs and go down on different sides,” Dennis suggested. “Watch out for any trip wires.” John agreed. Mark followed him down the left side. Tom and Dennis took the right side. Their flashlight beams fell on an assortment of pallets, short pipes, broken hand trucks, more secretarial chairs and stuff that Mark wouldn’t even know how to describe. It was like walking through a minefield. Mark couldn’t be certain, but the layers of dust on the floor seemed to have been disturbed recently. Of course, rats and other critters running around can cause a disturbance like that as well as human beings. He decided to keep any assumptions to myself. He could see a wall in front of them. The distance across the warehouse was about seventy feet. At the pace they had to go, moving inch by inch, it felt like twice that.

  Both teams arrived at the wall at the same time. There were two doors in front of them. One opened in, the other opened out. The one that opened in had a heavy-duty lock. A wooden sign on the door said STORAGE ROOM. Dennis tried the knob cautiously, but it didn’t turn. He put his ear against the door, but couldn’t hear anything. John took out the GPS scanner and stood directly in front of the storage room door. The icon lit up more brightly than before. “She’s definitely in there,” he whispered excitedly.

  Dennis moved to the other door. It had a simple bedroom door twist lock. They lined up on both sides of the door. On a signal from Dennis, Mark opened it. He flashed his beam down the length of a narrow hall. At the end was a wide door. “It’s just a hallway leading to what looks like the front door,” he reported.

  John motioned for all to join him in the hallway. He raised his voice just above a whisper. “Look, we’ve got a real problem here. We need a ram in here now to open that door where Susan is. We don’t have time for them to come all the way around the way we did. We’re going to have to take out the front door and then move them immediately in here for the other door. It’s got to happen as one swift move.”

  Mark spoke up. “Isn’t that too risky, John? If anyone’s in there, they could kill her before we can get in.”

  “Not if we do this right. We have the element of surprise on our side,” John said, “We don’t even know if there is anyone else in there. It’s highly unlikely that there is. One thing I do know, from experience, is that every minute we delay getting to her could be her last.”

  Mark knew he was right. “Okay,” John. I’m just so frightened for her.”

  “We all are, Mark.” The others nodded in agreement. He reached for his radio. He whispered, “Unit two, I need you take out the front door. As soon as you make entry, you’ll have to come down a twenty-foot hallway, make a right turn and take out an office door. I’ll direct you to it. I’m going to need it to be one swift, non-stop motion. Wait for my signal. Unit three, give them backup. I need one agent each from units four and five to move immediately around to the back of the building to cover our rear. Both of you take a shotgun with you.” He turned to the others. “Okay, let’s get this set up. He left the hallway door open. Tom positioned himself on one side of the door and Mark took the other. They were about eight feet from the door and four feet from the wall. Both had shotguns ready. John and Dennis stood about twelve feet from the wall and also about six feet wide of the door opening. They held handguns. From experience, John knew that anyone exiting the room could only shoot straight ahead as they moved through the doorway. By positioning off to the sides, they avoided being in the line of fire. Dennis spoke, “Remember, men, that if you need to discharge your weapons, don’t fire directly into the room. Shoot on a crossfire as they step out into the warehouse so we don’t accidentally hit Susan.” That was SOP, but he reminded them anyway, probably for Mark’s benefit. They all nodded.

  John signaled them and spoke into his radio. “This is Alpha. Unit two, GO NOW!”

  Immediately, the first ram shot hit the door. It was followed by two more hits in rapid succession before the wood split and the two agents came rushing down the hallway. They stopped briefly at the doorway. Tom and Mark focused their flashlights on the door to the storage room. John motioned to the ram team and gestured toward the door. It only took one hit to knock the door from its hinges. As the door fell, they stepped aside. The whole operation took about fifteen seconds. It was totally dark inside the room. No sound came from inside. Mark bolted into the dark space and waved his flashlight around the room. It was empty except for a mattress, a bedpan, a roll of toilet paper and two chairs. John flipped on the light switch and the two bulbs flickered on to confirm the original findings. Susan was not there. Tom motioned toward the closet. Mark immediately rushed over to the door and flung it open. He jumped back as a mop fell towards him. Then he saw Susan curled up on the closet floor with a bunch of bottles. There was blood on the floor. She appeared to have a gunshot wound in her left shoulder. “Oh my God, she’s been shot.”

  He laid the shotgun down as Tom rushed over to help him remove Susan from the closet. She was curled up in a fetal position from her confinement in the closet. They carried her to the mattress, carefully straightened out her body and laid her on her side. Her hands were still taped behind her back. Mark took off his jacket and rolled it up into a pillow. Her eyes were open, but they were blank. She stared directly at him, but there was absolutely no sign of any recognition. Mark’s heart sank. He felt for a pulse and found one, but it was very faint.

  “She’s alive,” he shouted as he gently removed the tape and sock from her mouth. As he did that, Tom cut the tape that bound her legs and arms. When she was free, they laid her on her back with her head on the makeshift pillow. Dennis and Tom removed their jackets and covered her as best they could. John was on the phone getting an ambulance. Susan had deep, dark bruises on both sides of her neck. Mark looked at Dennis, who just stood there not knowing what to do or say. Sue’s breathing was labored. Mark held his handkerchief to the gunshot wound. Fortunately, most of the bleeding had already subsided.

  “Oh God, Irish, what did they do to you?” he whispered. “Somebody get an ambulance, quick.”

  “They’re already on their way, Mark, be patient”, Wellman said. Then he dialed the Cleveland Police Department. “This is Special Agent Wellman. Put me through to Chief Jacobsen, immediately.” It took only ten seconds for Jacobsen to get on the line. “Chief, we have an agent down. She’s in bad shape. I’ve already got an ambulance on the way. I will need your units to move in and secure the building immediately. Cordon it off as a crime scene. Nobody enters until our forensic guys get here. That’ll be in about thirty minutes. I really appreciate this, Chief. I’m indebted to you.” Then he called the FBI forensic unit and directed them to the warehouse.

  When he was finished with the calls, he came over to Mark and put his hand on his shoulder. “How is she doing?”

  Mark just stared at him. “Where’s that damn ambulance? Why the hell isn’t it here?”

  “They are on the way, Mark. Everyone is doing the best they can. Be patient.”

  Just as John finished comforting him, he heard the sound of the siren moving toward them. In about a minute, the ambulance came to a stop in front of the building. Paramedics, wheeling a gurney, rushed down the hallway and into the room. They were led by an ER doctor dressed in a white coat who personally checked Sue’s vital signs and ordered an IV. A paramedic removed Mark’s handkerchief, cleansed the gunshot wound and applied a sterile bandage. The doctor turned to the paramedics and said, “Let’s get her to hospital, stat. She’s lost a lot of blood. We
’ve got to get that bullet out of her.” He called ahead to the hospital to have an OR ready. The paramedics quickly wheeled the gurney back down the hall and raised it into the ambulance.

  John remained at the site while Dennis and Mark rode with Susan to the hospital. They were silent the entire trip, each praying in their own way. Mark had only cried a few times in his life, mostly at his parent’s funerals. The tears were forming in his eyes now, but he was holding them back. He reached deep down to his faith. As he affirmed that the spirit of God was at work in Susan at all times, he suddenly knew that she would survive this ordeal. He let the tears flow. They tears of relief, and of hope.

  The next four hours would have been nerve-wracking, except for Mark’s new found peace. When the ambulance arrived, the ER staff was already set up to move Sue to an operating room.

  Special Agents Wellman and Norton needed to stay behind to coordinate the activities of the police department and FBI forensics team. Dennis and Mark promised to keep them updated on Susan’s condition. Dennis would, of course, also try to find out as soon as possible who was responsible for her abduction. There was only one known suspect, John Portman, but they were also pretty sure that he did not act alone. Dennis needed Susan to fill in the blanks.

  The hospital staff was very sensitive to the situation. While they were used to comforting loved ones, they seemed to want to work more closely with Dennis and Mark. The head nurse promised to bring them any updates as soon as she heard about Susan’s condition. She even provided fresh coffee from the doctor’s lounge. Two hours into the wait, she informed them that the bullet had been removed. It had missed her left lung, but had done extensive damage to the shoulder muscles and shattered her shoulder blade. The deep bruises on her neck were not serious, just numerous broken blood vessels from excessive pressure that had been applied there. At eight o’clock, Susan was moved into the recovery room. Mark called John to update him on Susan’s condition. He was relieved. Chief Jacobsen arranged for an officer to guard her room around-the-clock. All that was left was to wait for her to regain consciousness. It would be at least two more hours.

  Sue woke up around ten thirty. “Where,” was all she could get out before the dryness of her throat gagged her. The ICU nurse stepped into view. “Try not to talk right now. You’re safe in the hospital, Susan. You’ve lost a lot of blood, so you’re going to feel a little weak, but you’re going to be all right. She reached out and squeezed Susan’s hand lightly. Sue pulled her hand back, reflexively. The nurse was taken by surprise. She turned, left the room and went to the nurses’ station to call for the doctor.

  Dr. Kezdorf appeared within two minutes. He talked briefly with the nurse and then went into Susan’s hospital room. Susan had slipped back into a light sleep. As the doctor was checking her, she opened her eyes again. “Well Susan, welcome back. I was worried about you for a while. You’ve been shot, but we removed the bullet. You’re coming along nicely. There was some damage to your left shoulder that we will have to repair later when you’re strong enough. But from what I can tell so far from the X-rays, you can expect to make a full recovery.” He gave her a soft, reassuring smile. Susan took it all in. Finally, she blinked her eyes as if to clear her head. It was finally registering that she was in a safe place. She had survived the ordeal, after all.

  “By the way,” the doctor continued, “there are two gentlemen outside who are very anxious to talk with you. Normally, I would make them wait, but they are from the FBI and they say it is imperative that they have a few minutes with you. Do you feel up to it?”

  Sue nodded affirmatively.

  “I can only allow one in at a time, and then only for a few minutes. You have to build up your strength. I hope that you understand. It’s for your own good.”

  The doctor left the room and approached Dennis and Mark. “She’s awake now. It will be a long process, but she should make a full recovery within a few months. We have concerns about her shoulder, though. The bullet that struck her shattered a sizeable section of her left shoulder blade. We will have to do some reconstructive surgery down the road. We will know more in a few days.” He looked at her chart for a second. “I can allow you in to see her, but only for a few minutes, and only one at a time. Is that understood?”

  They both nodded in agreement.

  Dennis motioned for Mark to go in first. “Thanks, Dennis. I promise I’ll be brief.” He entered her room quietly and walked up to the bed. She had dozed off again. He watched her for a few minutes. Her beautiful red hair was still matted and full of warehouse dirt. I guess that combing through hair was not a medical priority. Her skin was very pale, except for the dark purple bruises on her neck. As a redhead, Susan was naturally fair skinned, but now her skin was actually ashen. She was hooked up to an IV and an oxygen tube. Mark was torn between letting her rest and his need to speak with her. He wanted her to know that he was there. He stepped up and spoke to her softly, “Sue it’s me, Mark.”

  She opened her eyes slowly. When she recognized him, she smiled. It was not her special smile, but he was glad to see it anyway. She reached her hand out to touch his.

  “Mark, is that really you?”

  “Yes, it is really me,” he assured her. “You’re safe now. We got you out of that place just in time. The doctor says that you’re doing fine. You’ve just got to get a lot of rest. You have been through a terrible ordeal.”

  She struggled to speak. After a while, she said, “I knew you would save me. You’re my knight in shining armor. Did you ride in on a big white horse to rescue me?” The question was followed by another slight smile.

  “Well not exactly. We rode in a Hoover Blue Crown Vic. Actually, it took about twenty of us altogether. I have to leave now. Dennis is outside. He needs to ask you a few questions about what happened to you, if you’re up to it.”

  She nodded a yes, conserving her voice.

  “I will be back as soon as they will let me. You hang in there, Irish.” He leaned over and kissed her softly on the forehead. His eyes welled up as he looked down at her.

  She smiled and said, “I’ll be right here, Mark.”

  Mark left the room and made his way to an anxious Dennis.

  “How’s she doing?” he asked.

  “She’s weak, of course, but her spirits are good.”

  Dennis went into her room and approached the bed. “Mark tells me your holding up well. We were all so worried about you. It was such an awful thing that you went through. I never should have left you exposed like that. Who did this to you, Susan? Was it John Portman?”

  Sue nodded her head. The sound of his name ran a chill through her body. “He had three others with him. I didn’t get any last names, but he called them Dick, George and Karl. I think Dick was the boss of the other two men.”

  “We were pretty certain it was Portman. We have a nationwide search in effect for him. I’ll call in those other three names. They’re probably locals. It’s quite possible that Chief Jacobsen will know who they are. Did you hear them say anything about where they were staying, anything at all that might help?

  “No, I’m sorry, Dennis. They didn’t say much around me. I had to tell them about Peter Thurston. I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t you worry about that, we have him protected. I know you’ll be happy to know that we got the subpoenas and we shut the NRBA down. It was a really successful raid thanks to the evidence you uncovered.”

  “I knew that you had. That’s why Portman shot me. I heard him talking to someone he called Mel. If I had died, it would have been a peaceful death, because for a split second before he pulled the trigger I had the satisfaction of knowing that we had won and that he knew it.”

  “I sure wish it had come sooner, though, so we could have avoided all this. Damned red tape! We are really indebted to you, Susan, for getting us those records.” His voice softened as he said, “You know, I was really scared for you. I couldn’t have lived with myself if anything had happened to you. Oh, and by the way,
I know that you will be pleased to hear that Mark agreed to join us. He will be working as your computer center backup as soon as you get better.”

  Susan smiled. “Well, then, it seems like there is more than one happy ending.” Her voice began to fade and her eyes were starting to droop. Her head began to bob. Dennis read the signals. “Let me get out of here for now. We’ll talk later, Susan. Right now, you get lots of rest. There will be a guard posted right outside your door, 24/7, compliments of Cleveland Police Chief Jacobsen.

  Susan closed her eyes and gave into the meds that were dripping continually into her IV. She felt at peace for the first time in weeks.

  CHAPTER 25

  Special Agent Wellman got a call to come down to Chief Jacobsen’s office. They had picked up two suspects that he was certain were involved in Susan’s abduction.

  “Chief, I really want to thank you and your men for all your help. I don’t know what we would have done without your backup.”

  “You don’t have to thank me, John. Just seeing that young lady freed and knowing that she’s getting better is thanks enough for me. As a plus, we got two more felons off Cleveland’s streets. I’ll keep that guard on her 24/7 until she’s ready to go home. It’s the least I can do.”

  “I want to tell you, Walt, your men did a great job finding that trash.” John was referring to burger wrappers, bottles, and a roll of duct tape found in a dumpster six blocks from the warehouse where Susan had been held.