Conclusion

Part III Justice

Chapter Thirty One

Bonnie fills the thermos up with hot coffee, "Bobby egg and bacon sandwich in the bag, thermos is full I'm going back to bed."

Bob gets his gun out of the lock box and puts it in his holster, and comes into the kitchen, he gives Bonnie a kiss on the cheek, "thanks sweetie, I hate these morning patrols."

She chuckles, "you love morning patrol, I know you drive right over to the east side, and watch the deer in that field across from the shooting range, drink coffee and listen to music."

He smiles, "don't tell Ray I listen to music, see you tonight."

Bob takes the left headed out of town, passes by the shooting range, does a U-turn and parks in the big gravel lot, about a half mile east of the range. He rolls down the window, gets the sandwich out and opens the thermos. The sun is not yet up, the first rays of light are lighting up the eastern sky, the deer are moving across the field. He turns the music on the portable player Bonnie gave him for Christmas five years ago, he sighs all is right with the world.

Nick and Anne are crouched in the woods between the range and where Martin is parked, just on the crest of the low ridge that runs nearly parallel to the road out of town on the east side. Nick looks at Anne, he is there, you ready?"

She reaches into the backpack Nick is carrying, she pulls the gun out, drops out the magazine and checks again that it is full. "I will put it on when we get down the ridge back behind that old shed from the farmers market."

They move along the north side of low ridge hidden in the trees out of view of the road. They can just barely see the patrol car. They walk until they are right across from the small shed, its at the bottom of the ridge right next to the gravel lot where Martin is parked. They move down the steep hillside toward the shed. Nick whispers, "he has the window open on his side, be quiet, real quiet until we are ready to move."

They get to the bottom of the hill behind the small shed, just enough light to see what they are doing. Anne reaches into the backpack, she gets the holster and gun out and puts it in the pit of her back, turning around for Nick to see. He gives her a thumbs up. He puts the backpack down on the ground, gets out the metal pipe.

Anne hears a noise, something from the darkness beside the old shed, there is a blur of movement and Nick falls to the ground. She doesn't understand what is going on, she thinks of the gun, but everything goes dark a blow to the back of her neck.

Clay Buck, moves around the two laying unconscious on the ground. He goes to the edge of the shed and looks around at Deputy Martin in his patrol car, he didn't hear a thing. He rolls puts twist ties around Bonnie's wrist then around Nicks's wrist, and puts duct tape over both of their mouths. Buck takes the gun and pipe and puts them into Nick Shirley's backpack and rolls it up, and puts it into his backpack. He tosses, Nick over his shoulder and hauls him over the ridge to his SUV on the jeep trail on the other side of the ridge. He is moving as fast as he can, when he gets back to Bonnie she is starting to wake up, he tosses her over his shoulder looks around, making sure nothing is left behind. He heads back over the ridge and tosses her into the back with Nick and drives along the jeep road toward the shooting range, parking in the woods behind the range.

He puts tie wraps around their feet, "you two relax, I will be back in a bit and get these off of you."
Clay Buck is moving fast, much faster than he likes but these two forced his hand and altered the approach he had originally laid, out. He gets up to the warehouse, he looks at his watch Graham Moore should be here any minute. He sees Deputy Martin drive past headed into town for his morning patrol, none the wiser to his near-death experience at the hands of Bonnie and Clyde.

Graham Moore pulls up behind the shop parking next to the warehouse, no one from the highway can see his car. He opens the warehouse door, closes it and turns on the lights. He heads toward the back storage room, and turns on the lights. He walks past the shelves of ammunition, towards the three safes. He enters the combination into the safe with the drugs and then the one with the dealing cash, he looks at his watch Nick should be here by now. He turns back to the door, of the storage room, "who the hell are you?"

Clay Buck moves forward, "put your hands behind your back, I am not going to take all of your money."

Buck looks the storage room over one last time, the three safes are open, drugs and money on the table. The three of them on their stomachs hands behind their back with flex cuffs, single gunshot to the back of the head. Originally, he and Baker were on the fence about Bonnie, but this plot to kill the deputy sealed her fate. He looks at his watch, still okay with time. He takes a picture of the three dead on the floor. Leaves the warehouse door open with the lights on, heads over the ridge and drives back toward the campground.

                   *******

Bob Martin is driving past Keystone Realty on the western side of town, "patrol two, get to Minute Man Range, sheriff will meet you there."

Hmm, Hazel is in a bit early, she sounded stressed. "Copy that dispatch, what is the nature of the call."

"Get there, I had to look it up, code 187."

Martin thinks foor a moment, that's a homicide, surely not. He turns on the lightbar and speeds up, Hazel did not play games on the radio.

                   *******

Chris Towers has been awake for an hour, eating some cold cereal, he hears the buzz of a text message. He looks at the picture, what the hell? Bring your drugs and cash from dealing to the sheriff's office, confess to dealing with Nick Shirley, and Anne Wray and identify Graham Moore as the distributor. Alternative is the same as these three.


Chapter Thirty Two

Barnaby Taylor pulls up to the shooting range, and he sees the county medical examiner's vehicle is there, "they better not have touched the bodies." He didn't drive all the way from Harrisburg to a crime scene that has been disturbed.

Ray Jeffrey sees the man get out of the dark cruiser, he gestures to Bob Martin, "that must be the homicide detective from SBI." Ray walks over, "Sheriff Jeffrey, this is deputy Martin. We have not touched anything detective, that is the word we got."

"Detective Taylor smiles, "good thanks. Let's take a look, you two come with me if you have time."

Ray nods, "you got it, we both looked inside the room, and backed out and called you guys in. Maybe you have seen this kind of thing before. Looks kind of strange to me."

Barnaby Taylor is looking over the scene, "these drugs and money were on this table the vaults open."

Ray nods, "like I said we didn't touch anything."

                   *******

Four days later Bob Martin and Ray Jeffrey are meeting in the conference room in the Sheriff's office with Barnaby Taylor from the PA State Bureau of Investigation. Hazel brings in a fresh pot of coffee and more pastries, "you three need anything else? I will be leaving in thirty minutes."

Ray looks at detective, Taylor he shakes his head, "we are good Hazel, thanks."

Taylor starts through with the CSU reports he has just gotten by email, "so for the gun, it's a ghost gun not in the system a twenty-two, no prints, fiber or trace evidence. The bags of drugs have prints from Moore, Towers, Shirley, and Wray. According to Tower's confession, they all worked bagging them into these small bags for selling after Moore and Shirley bring the stuff back from drug runs to Philly. This is weird, I have never seen anything like this before, not with the drugs all laid out and the cash. This text message that Towers gets, why did he not get killed? No way he was smart enough to pull all of this off."

Martin chuckles, "Rocko, yeah definitely not."

Taylor takes a bit of a pastry, "You guys were never onto Moore?"

Ray Jeffrey shakes his head, "guy was a first class asshole, but we have never been after him for anything. Definitely did not think about him being the one hauling dope over from Philadelphia. We always figured Nick Shirley to be the leader working with his girlfriend making quick runs to Harrisburg, Towers is the follower. What are you thinking Barnaby?"

Taylor slumps in his seat finishing off the pastry. "I don't know guys, I was a bit suspicious of someone in the sheriff's department when I first got here, no offense I don't know you. Kind of looked like a possible vigilante killing, but your alibi's are all rock solid and frankly I don't see that as credible, having been around you for a few days. You know I had to consider it right?"

Ray nods, "yeah I understand, so where does that leave you on this case? Like we told you we can't see anyone in town for this."

"My boss has a contact in the FBI in DC, a team that works with VICAP tracking violent offenses. He sent them my case summary, should be hearing from them any time now. He said they would try and give me a call this afternoon before the end of the day."

Bob Martin gets the coffee pot, and pours them each another cup. Moments later, Barnaby Taylor answers his mobile phone, "yeah great thanks for calling, I am putting you on speaker with the Sheriff and deputy here in Cliffside."

The three listen to the agent from FBI HQ, "We have been through your case summary detective Taylor, the signature is very similar to a series of killings across rural Virginia and also several larger drug distributors in Atlanta, Charlotte, Pittsburgh over the last few years and just recently Philadelphia. The rural Virginia killings also had some USBs given to the sheriff's with pictures of the victims dealing and making drug runs. Our working theory is that a major supplier is sending a message, people who are either behind in payments or violating some territorial rules. What you have fits squarely in that box, unless you have some evidence or forensics to the contrary."

Taylor looks at Martin and Jeffrey, they both shrug. "We do not have any evidence to the contrary, thanks for the help. Can you send me an email with a summary for my file?"

"You got it."

Taylor leans back, "I think I am done here, open and inactive, narco trafficking-related. I will head back in the morning."

Ray smiles, "hey there is a good spot kind of a sports bar and restaurant, good food my treat."
"Sounds good, thanks."


Chapter Thirty Three

Clay Buck is in his campsite, he sees the encrypted message from Baker, VICAP consulted they suspect narco-traffickers.

Clay smiles, takes another sip of coffee and sends a reply, few more days I am on the road.
Buck gets up and tosses another piece of firewood onto the fire; he sits back down at the picnic table. He reaches down into his backpack, spins around with the flashlight pointed to the back corner of the campsite behind the tent, "Agent Spalding I'm guessing."

Louise comes out of the dark from the edge of the woods, "yes, my weapon is not drawn."

"Neither is mine, would you like me to kneel, hands behind the head."

Louise takes a seat at the picnic table opposite Buck, "how about we talk for a while, could I get a cup of coffee?"

Buck pours her a coffee; he pumps the gas lantern and turns up the intensity lighting up the table and campsite. "How many days you been here? Thought I saw someone up in the old hospital when Bonnie was refining her draw and shoot skills, but you would have moved in before all of this went down."

Louise takes a sip of coffee, "that is hot, I have been here a while, that was me, what was the deal with them anyway?"

"You didn't see me take them down no way. You would have seen everything and gone straight to the sheriff."

Louise sits back, "I was in the old ceramic factory that morning, northwest corner where you usually set up. I saw you park on the jeep trail, and I saw them come down the ridge line. I could not see what happened behind that shed but I saw you carry them both back over the ridge and drive down to the shooting range warehouse. What were they up to and how did you know?"

Buck is puzzled, what is Spalding up to? She had seen him take down Bonnie and Clyde. "We had their phones cloned and hacked, I use their cell phones to monitor their conversation, the two of them hatched a plan to take over the drug business from Moore. They hated him an did not like deputy Martin, well anyone in the Sheriff's office. They planned an elaborate ruse; Bonnie was going to come out of the woods followed by Clyde chasing her with a pipe right in front of Martins car. He always parks there early when he has morning patrol."

Louise nods, "yeah I know, so they get him to jump out draw down on Clyde, and she was going to shoot the deputy. That's why she was practicing her fast draw from behind her back."

"That's right, then head down to the range, there was a morning meet between Shirley and Moore for a drug pick up and money drop off."

Louise shakes her head, "okay, these two were clever. Clyde shoots Moore with the deputies gun, and they put the bodies in the warehouse making it look like the deputy had caught Moore with the drugs and there was a shoot-out."

"That's right and they take the money and some of the stash. They planned it carefully with counter forensics, they could have pulled it off. Bonnie and Clyde were ready to take over the drug business in town, save money for a few years and said they were going to go out west, I am guessing stealing and killing as they went."

Louise cocks her head looking at Buck, "except you stopped them, you stopped them from killing the deputy." She believes him the story adds up to what she has seen.

Buck slowly nods he in careful to keep his hands where Louise can see them on the top of the picnic table. "You didn't say, how long have you been here?" He is waiting for the cuffs or maybe she is just waiting for some backup to get here, that would be smart.

Louise takes off her backpack she gets out a small box and puts it on the table, "micro-cassettes and camera memory cards." Then she gets out the small portable parabolic listening device she got from a colleague Langley and puts it on the table.

Buck looks at the device, "I have used kit like that before you have some friends in the agency, I haven't been meeting with anyone."

Louise smiles, "I have the turnover meetings between you and Baker."

"No way, you haven't been here that long, you were overseas with INTEROL."

"Yea I was for a month, my boss let me take two months of leave. I didn't tell him where I was going, but he had a good idea. He told me to call if I needed official help. I heard you and Baker talk about me, whether I was onto you and your plans to stop giving the USBs to the sheriffs, one night you heard me, stopped and said it was a squirrel."

Buck chuckles, "You have improved your surveillance skills; I give you that."

"I thought more about Marsh Creek after I got back last year. I realized there was the possibility that Baker might have spotted me and called you in for counter-surveillance. I also realized he probably had contacts in federal law enforcement, keeping tabs on me. I needed a convincing cover story to make you both think I was out of the picture. I hadn't been sophisticated enough in trying to hunt you two down."

Buck shakes his head, "Baker? Don't know what you are talking about. I would have seen you on the trip to Philadelphia, there was no good place for you to see what was going on, I had the one spot myself."

"Did not follow you, I didn't think I could pull it off. I know Randy Cavallo was found the next day."

"Clearly you have figured all of the pieces out, you ready to arrest me now or are you waiting for some backup? I'm not going to give you any trouble."

"We still have some time if you will answer a few questions, one more cup of coffee."

Buck pours them each another cup, "it doesn't taste any better the second time. I'm not going to say anything about Baker, not going to sell him out."

Louise nods, "Okay, how detailed is your surveillance documentation? I saw you and Baker working from a notebook, I would like to look at it."

Buck goes back to the tent and brings her the notebook, Louise pulls the map out and skims through the notebook, "this is thorough, very comprehensive. What would you do if you found out you made a mistake? Killed someone not dealing to kids in these small communities, that is who you are targeting. These dealers and distributors responsible for the deaths of young people? You want to take them out of business, what if you killed an innocent bystander?"

"Good question, I'm sure we have not and I'm guessing you know that you have been tracking this for what three years now. You found me, you must know my background from the military and working with Langley people, there was too much collateral damage in some of those missions. Let's just say that we decided that was not acceptable for this work, a kind of oath. Not allow anyone innocent to go down for these killings and not accept a single innocent death at my hands."

"What would you do, just stop?"

"No mam agent Spalding, come forward to the State Investigators, wherever that might be."

Louise looks closely at the decorated war hero; he is a lot like what Dan told her to expect. Calm almost serene, not a macho braggard. "What about regrets?"

He is quiet for a moment, "for this work, these missions to shut down these people, poisoning these towns with drugs. No regrets mam."

Louise shakes her head, "so if you were not caught, you would keep going, you can't stop it all you know, these drugs are everywhere."

"Edmund Burke said the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. We cannot fix it all, but one town a year that makes the world better for a while in that place. Yes mam, we would have kept going, probably another ten years. We even talked about finding some people to take over the cause, but it would take two special people. Coffee is gone Agent Spalding where is your backup, no need to delay arresting me, I'm not going to run."

Louise picks up the small box, "I didn't read you your rights did I, hmm. Can't use any of this discussion." She walks over to the campfire, tosses the small box on the fire and throws on another piece of firewood, "I have not called any backup, I do not have any evidence to arrest you or Andrew Baker."

Louise puts the small headlamp on her head, "I'm going to be watching, I expect you and Baker to honor your oath. No innocent person goes down for one of these killings and if you kill someone not dealing, you turn yourselves in." She looks at the small parabolic device on the table, "you can keep the kit, I don't need it anymore."

Baker sits in stunned silence, as he watches Louise Spalding head down the trail, the glow of her headlamp slowly fading. I didn't see that coming, he walks along the footpath to a boulder field looking down on Cliffside, he looks down at the small town. He watches for nearly thirty minutes, he sees the dim light of Louise's headlamp come out of the woods from the trail, he shakes his head, wondering about Louise Spalding. Baker is never going to believe me; he heads back to his tent.

Louise heads towards the small cabin she has been renting for the last two months, on the northwest side of Cliffside. She looks at her watch, its not too late, she pours a glass of wine and sits at the small table. She hits the speed dial on her mobile phone.

Dan answers, "Hello SSA Popp."

"Dan its Louise, I'm ready to come home, back to work. Is that still good for you?"

"You still have two more weeks of leave, you have all the answers you need Louise, are you okay?"

"I have the answers I need Dan; I feel good, I feel content. Ready to get back to work on our open cases."

"Okay, yeah it will be good to have you back, what do you want me to say to Karen and Stan?"

"Let me handle it, Is this new agent worth keeping?"

"Yeah, I think so. You have had an unfilled space on your team, it's up to you."


Epilogue

Janet is sitting in Louise's office at the small table, working through the open case status reports with Stan. They both hear a familiar voice from the door, "You two just took my office over?"

They both sit staring at Louise, Janet is happy ready to jump up, then anger takes over, "Are you back now? Done with INTERPOL or is this just a visit?"

Louise sits down at table, "yes I am done with INTERPOL, have been for a while dealing with some personal business. Dan gave me some extended leave to think about things, he promised not to say anything to either of you. Sorry about how I left, but it was something I really needed to do."

Stan smiles, "you and Dan are square, everything is good between you, you are back as team leader right."

"You good with that Stan? Dan says you did a good job."

"I am good with it."

"Agent Spalding you are back."

Louise looks up, she recognizes agent Kim Pauling at the door from a new agent briefing a few years ago.

Stan gestures toward Pauling, "She has been working for us in the temporary spot, she is doing a good job."

Pauling smiles, "well I always understood it was a temporary job based on when you return, I can move back out whenever you need Agent Spalding."

Janet sighs, "I was getting used to you being part of our little family, sorry Louise I know its just a team. I know coworkers are not family."

Louise looks at Pauling, "would you like to stay with us agent Pauling, there is a budgeted opening on the team."

"Yes, I would definitely like to stay. Do you remember me? I asked you a stupid question after an orientation briefing a few years ago."

"I remember, it was a good question, you have to bring your heart into this job with your brain, you were using both. We will take care of the paperwork for a transfer, I already know Dan will approve it, let's go to the conference room and work on case assignments and case status, I will take the lead on a few."

They finish working through the assignments, Janet can see Louise is back to herself, actually she seems better than her old self, content almost. "Louise there was another drug killing, well two like your theory, same pattern where Andrew Baker had been on photography, distributor in Philly them two dealers and a local distributor in a small town, Cliffside. I tried to get Dan to let me go, he said to drop it, should we open that backup?"

"Looks like our plate is full, let's leave these drug killings to the narcotics teams. I think we can use our time better and I don't want us working private time on that, we need some balance to our lives."

Janet laughs, "did you just say that Louise? Never heard you say anything like that before."

Louise smiles, "Kim, do you have a place to live?"

"Well, I have a month by month, it will take some juggling, I sublet my place in Richmond."

"I have a guest room if you need something for the short term, we are kind of like a small family right Janet."

Janet shakes her head, "are you really Louise Spalding?"

                   *******

In December, Clay Buck is sitting in front of the fireplace in the family room in Andrew Baker's small home Boones Fork Tennessee. A meeting they have each winter, talk about the upcoming year and the status of the jobs they have completed, neither of them have family and they usually spend the end of the year together. Buck lives like a real Nomad moving city to city. Baker brings in apple cider spiked with some Tennessee bourbon, ready to hear the story Buck said he had from this past summer.

Andrew Baker is staring into the fire as Clay finishes playing back the meeting with Louise Spalding, "astounding, I never would have expected that, invested all of that time chasing us. She walks away only asking us to keep our oath to each other. Well, we are not going to betray that promise."

                   *******

Louise watched every year for the next twelve years as summer would roll around, they never made a mistake. As far as she could tell, no one in federal law enforcement was onto them, she is the section chief now and Stan is the team leader and Janet is leading another team. Live has moved on, she is happier than she has ever been, in work and in her personal life. It's late in the evening, she is about ready to go home, Stan stops by her office on his way home, "our place Christmas eve right. Good night, Louise."

"See you then, good night, Stan." Louise turns off the light, she misses Dan, he had been retired for six years now, and passed away last year not even seventy. She never did get to tell him she thought of him like a father, but she hoped he knew that. They also never talked about the two months she was in Cliffside that summer after INTERPOL. She always suspected that Dan knew she had found Clay Buck and that she had decided to walk away. She will be eligible to retire with a good law enforcement pension this year, still not even sixty, what would I do with myself?

Louise is relaxing early that evening in her townhouse, sipping a glass of wine and reading a book. The guest room is still usually empty but she has more of a social life than when she was younger, a circle of close friends. She hears a knock at the door; she looks out the window the snow is starting to pick up. She is shocked to see Clay Buck standing outside on the porch. The beard and ponytail are gone.

"Agent Spalding, can I come in? I made sure no one saw me come here."

Her instinct is to say no, but she steps to the side, "have a seat." She gestures towards the small sofa in the family room near where she has been reading.

"Coffee?"

"Yes mam please."

Louise sits down after pouring coffee, "what can I do for you?"

"I wanted to tell you that Andrew Baker has passed away, just a few weeks ago, I think you know who he is, he was a true American hero."

Louise nods, they must be coming to an end with their enterprise, "I understand."

Buck reaches into his pocket, "he asked me to give you this, it's a bronze star he was awarded for his service in Afghanistan, with this note."

Louise puts her reading glasses back on, Agent Spalding, I have carried this bronze star with me for many years, for something I did that supposedly was brave. To be honest, it did not feel like bravery at the time, I did not leave this world with regrets for my work with my friend Clay Buck. Clay can continue on without me for a few more years, he has a young colleague who can take his place. I would like you to take my place, if you do your life will be more difficult and challenging than it has ever been, but it is an important mission. Burn this letter, and keep the bronze star if you want to continue the mission if not return it to Buck, there are a few other people on the list. But you were at the top. Respectfully A. Baker

Louise stares at the letter, "do you know what it says?"

"Yes."

Buck gets up, "I will come by day after New Year's Day, you can give me your answer then. There is no wrong answer, Louise. Its a fork in the road, it's your decision."

Louise walks Buck to the door, puts the bronze star onto the table next to her reading table, and sits down staring at the falling snow.

A fork in the road, which path is the high road? The answer would have been clear to her twenty years ago. She watches snowflakes floating toward the ground illuminated by the street lights. Why is it not so clear now?