By the Book

Chapter 18

Chapter 18 A Call for Help

Sinclair guest house, Connecticut. January 8, 2004 – Thursday morning.

While they listened to the arrest on the surveillance equipment, Thomas Gardiner warned Neal and Henry, "I hear another set of footsteps. There's a third man."

"Denny, a driver, and someone else to help load the truck," Neal guessed. "Peter got Denny, and Tricia got the guy loading the truck. The driver could still get away with the stolen goods."

"That's the bulk of their evidence. Can we warn Peter?" Henry asked.

"This equipment is one-way," Thomas said, standing up. "We have to go out there."

Neal grabbed his coat and made a run for it, almost knocking over Henry, who stayed to guide Thomas to the front door. Seeing the silhouette of a man already in the driver's seat, Neal sprinted past the FBI agents and opened the passenger door to the truck as the driver started the engine. The driver, a burly, bald guy with prison tattoos, pulled out a gun. "Who the hell are you?" he asked.

Neal jumped into the passenger seat and closed the door. "The name's Neal. I work for Wickham. He sent me to keep an eye on things, because he thought there was something suspicious about this set up."

"He got that right." The driver put the truck into gear. Looking in the side view mirror, Neal could see Peter and Henry struggling to restrain Denny; the man must have used the commotion caused by the truck starting as a cover to run away. Tricia yelled at the driver to stop and ran after the truck, but they were already speeding down the road. The driver put his gun into a holster. "Don't try anything."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Neal pulled on a seatbelt. "What do I call you?"

"Lucas."

"Thanks for the lift, Lucas."

"I'm not making any extra stops for you," Lucas warned.

"That's fine. I don't have any place I have to be, other than away from the Feds. Mind if I make a call?" Neal reached for a phone, but Lucas went for his gun again.

"Yeah, I mind. Keep your hands where I can see 'em. No calling or texting anyone while you're in the truck."

Neal kept Lucas calm by staying still and quiet. He paid careful attention to their route, and hoped he was right about what Henry and Win-Win could do.

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"He's armed," Peter said as he and Henry dragged a struggling Denny back toward the house. "Both of these guys had weapons, so we have to assume the driver does, too. And Neal jumps into the truck with an armed man! What the hell is he thinking?"

"He's thinking someone has to make sure the driver doesn't get away with most of your evidence." Henry helped Peter give Denny a final shove into the garage. Tricia's prisoner was already in the garage, and she had locked the house-to-garage door before calling the local police for back-up. Henry saw a chisel and with it tore the garage door opening mechanism from the wall, breaking the wires so the prisoners couldn't control the overhead garage door from inside.

Peter nodded in approval, and used the remote to close the overhead door, locking the prisoners in. Tricia could handle them on her own until the cops arrived to pick them up, but the truck was already out of sight. "Damn it to hell! They could be headed anywhere. I'll have to call the local authorities and put out a BOLO on the truck. Did any of you get the license plate number?"

Tricia had the first letters, and Peter called in the request to be on the lookout for a white box truck with plates starting BRI. He saw Henry pull out a cell phone, and hoped for a moment that Neal had called his cousin with a location, but Henry wasn't talking to anyone. Instead he frowned at the phone, and then stared down the road. As soon as Peter finished his call, Henry said, "I need to use your phone."