Troubleshooter

Chapter 41 - Regroup

GENERAL MCALLISTER, with his perfect operational efficiency, appeared in the lobby when Paul and Amy were still being questioned and Tom was being treated for his knife wound. The affected areas of the building had been evacuated or cordoned off to have the technicians process the various scenes. The two shot gangsters were still lying on the marble floor in pools of blood, gore spread all over. Whoever else remained in the building had to leave through the second level of the parking garage. McAllister asked the highest-ranking police officer to call his superior and then turned to the three survivors.

"Paul, are you okay?" asked McAllister.

An ambulance nurse was tending to some of Paul's cuts after he had patched up Tom's knife wound. Paul looked up briefly and just nodded.

"Your companions are okay, too?"

"No, I don't think so. I mean, they are civilians. They're not used to this." Paul's voice was quiet, too quiet for McAllister's liking. They had been in firefights together before, and a quiet Trouble was a dangerous Trouble.

McAllister waved toward Lieutenant Richards, who came forward. Then he turned to Amy, who had been able to clean off most of the gore from her face but her hair and most of her clothes were still covered with it. "Madam, what is your clothing size?"

Amy looked at him incredulously. "What do you mean?"

"I know Paul is a 52 suit and shoe size 10. What do you wear? You are about the size of my daughter, so about a 38?"

Amy said, "I'm a 39. Shoes size 7 for fashion, 7 and a half for sneakers."

McAllister repeated the questions for Tom, whose upper body was covered only by the shoulder bandage and a blanket; his shirt had been cut off by the nurse. His trousers were splattered with blood-drips.

Lieutenant Richards handed McAllister a piece of paper and a keycard and just left.

"Let's go; we can regroup somewhere more private."

Just as they were leaving, Superintendent Gordon joined them. He came from the scene of the shooting in front of the Tube station. "Where do you think you are going with my witnesses, Sir?" he asked.

The other ranking detective hurried toward him, phone still in hand, and whispered some instructions in Gordon's ear. Clearly annoyed, Gordon threw up his hands. "Let them shoot up my town like it is the O. K. Corral. I do not care anymore!"

McAllister simply stepped toward him instead of addressing his sarcasm. "You also worked on the Tess Herbert scene, Detective Inspector?"

"And who are you, Sir?"

The general flashed his credentials. "General Roger McAllister, Security Service Army liaison. Will you join us for the debriefing of what happened here?"

"Is the Pope Catholic?" replied Gordon after he had studied the identity and followed the group.

The little troupe went across the street to a five-star hotel, where McAllister used the keycard to bring the elevator straight up to the suite floor. Agent Jenkins opened the hotel room door before McAllister could swipe the card again.

Through the doorway, the new arrivals could see a large suite with one big living room and two sleeping quarters, one left and one right.

"What is your name, Madam?" Jenkins turned to Amy first after they had come in.

"Amy Norwood."

"My name is Jenkins. Amy, on the left you will find a room and bath at your convenience. I suggest you take a shower first for the, eh, sticky bits. Rinse and shampoo all over at least two times. Then follow up with a bath and another shampoo round. Take your time. My colleague Irene Richards will return in a few minutes with fresh clothing, so you can discard everything you have on right now."