BODY COUNT: Killers (a novel): Chapter 21. Agent Roberts

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Wayne Roberts’ history included a lot of undercover work when he was with the MPD, but this was his first time being lead on a case. He was determined that it would be his day in the sun. There weren’t many moments in his life he could point to as proud ones. There were only the day he graduated from the police academy and today – because of the faith Blake Harris had placed in him.
    Wayne was the second child of his unwed mother. He and his brother, Ricky, had the same father, while their younger two sisters had a different father. His mother had told him that his father was shot over a drug deal that went bad, and the girls’ father just took off. They lived in three different projects during his childhood. Ricky was killed in a drive-by in his junior year of high school. His mother missed Wayne’s graduation from high school because she was at the morgue identifying the body of the younger of his two sisters, who had died from an overdose. The sister closer to him, Carolyn, skipped a grade and graduated with him. They didn’t find out about their dead sister until they got home that night.
    Carolyn was offered a scholarship to UCLA and caught a bus the next day. College was out of the question for Wayne; with his low grades, he barely graduated from high school. He took the police exam, passed, and excelled at the academy. He hoped for a wonderful, lifetime job. But he ended up being just a black cop they used to arrest other black men they called crooks. But that was in the past. Now he was on his first case.
    Wayne picked up three cameras from Peter and drove to Belz Park. He also took a computer, because the signal range of the cameras wasn’t that great, and he’d have to be close by in order to monitor them.
    Wayne parked by the curb next to the woods at the edge of the park along the Southend Shopping Center. He found a tree with a limb sticking out over the street. He attached one of the cameras to the limb and aimed it toward the shopping center. Then he walked into the woods. In the center was an area overgrown with grass around which were arranged three park benches. He stood on the bench closest to the woods and attached a camera to the tree behind it. It would cover the entire area of grass.
    He came out of the woods on the side opposite the shopping center and stood on the golf-course-looking field. The grass was cut and it took on the appearance of a well-kept city park. However, just a few feet behind him, hidden by the trees, was a perfect killing field. Wayne stood at the edge of the grass looking until he found the right tree and placed a camera facing out toward Florida Street, which ran north and south past the shopping center and the park. Happy with his work, he walked back to his car.
    He turned on the computer and checked the angle of the cameras. They were all good, except that the first one was pointing down too much. He got out, adjusted it higher, and checked it once more. With all three in place, he started the car, but before he shifted into gear his phone rang.
    “Agent Roberts? This is patrolman Phillips.” Wayne had asked the policemen who picked him up to keep an eye on Roy for him. “That homeless guy you asked us to check on? He was found in an alley off Main Street. He had been stabbed three times. Sorry, but he was D.O.A.”
    Wayne’s mind went blank for a moment.
    “Did you hear me, Agent Roberts? He was D.O.A.”
    “Yes, I heard you. Thank you for letting me know.” Wayne put his phone back in his pocket and drove away from the curb.
    He had no doubt who had killed Roy, but he knew nothing would be done, there would be no arrest, and no investigation would take place. No one would talk to the cops, so what was the use? Just one more homeless bum off the streets. It wouldn’t even make the papers. Roy would simply be gone and no one would miss him. No one but Wayne. Why was Roy not still in rehab?

Blake answered his phone. “Yes, he’s one of us, have him escorted in. I’ll have someone meet him at the front door.”
    Blake was waiting in the guard’s area as the security van’s door opened and Rainbow stepped out and came up the walkway. He entered the building, went through the metal detector and explosive-sensing rooms, and finally entered the guards’ room, where Blake threw his arms around his shoulders. “Welcome home, Tony. I was starting to worry.”
    Tony was a big man, big like in overweight. He was 6-feet tall and weighed in at 225. He had a jolly face and smiled a lot, but Blake knew that he could move like lightning and could kill a man or woman with any object handy. He had joined the CIA after college, and three years later was loaned out to the DEA. He was covered with tattoos from five years undercover in a biker gang. After the biker gang, he was placed on medical leave because of a psychological breakdown and released from the CIA after two years of treatment. Blake knew this well, for Tony was his younger half-brother.
    The security attendant at the front desk wasn’t very happy about letting someone with only the name Rainbow into the building, but June Warner cleared it, so that was that.
    In the elevator, Blake said, “What took you so long?”
    Tony laughed at the question. “Those people trusted no one. Once in Canada, we moved to three different safe houses, each one still farther away from the border. There were four of us and everybody there wanted to stay in Canada but me, so it took a while before I could break loose from the group.”
    Blake put his hand on Tony’s shoulder. “I’m glad you were able to get out of there. I’m sorry I put you in danger for nothing.”
    Tony patted him on the back. “It wasn’t for nothing. I gave the DEA the location of the hidden warehouse they were keeping us in – it was full of drugs and weapons. I should get a pretty good finder’s fee out of that.”
    The elevator stopped and they stepped out. “Tony, I’m not sure anyone should know who you are. At least, not until we’re sure what you want to do. To the others on this team, you’re Rainbow and that’s all.”
    Tony smiled. “You’ve got it, boss.”
    As they passed Taylor’s office, Blake waved at him to follow them, and they went into Blake’s office. “Close the door and have a seat, Taylor. You too, Rainbow.”
    Blake leaned back in his chair smiling. “Taylor, this is Rainbow. He was our inside man in Reelfoot with the white survivalist group that Roger Willcocks belonged to.”
    Taylor leaned over and shook hands. “Glad to meet you, although I had no idea we had anyone undercover.”
    Blake threw up his hands. “At the time it was a need-to-know, and even now any record of him is as ‘Rainbow’ – no other name will be known or used. Can you live with that?”
    Taylor laughed. “It’s your boat – I just row the thing.”
    Blake signed. “You do a hell of a lot more than row the boat, Taylor. But it’s very important that he’s kept undercover. There are still people looking to kill him, from his last job.”
    “I can understand that, and I have no problem with it. The fact that we have a ghost in the house may be a good thing.” Taylor stood up. “Unless you need me, I have work to do.”
    Blake walked around his desk and put his hand on Taylor’s arm. “I need you to bring him up to date on our June Killer. Once we have an idea where he’s catching these buses, I may want Rainbow to start dogging his trail.”
    Taylor turned and faced Rainbow. “You want to start now?”
    Blake said, “Let’s start tomorrow. Rainbow has been on a long trip and I think we’ll head out to my trailer and have a beer and cook a couple of steaks.”
    Taylor opened the door. “Give me a holler when you’re ready. I’ll be around here someplace.”
    Tony looked at Blake. “He doesn’t seem all that happy to have me in the club.”
    Blake was putting some files in his briefcase. “He’ll get over it. In the meantime, let’s go get that beer and some steaks.”

Wayne parked outside the A.P.S. building and watched Blake and some stranger drive off. He waved, but the two were in a deep conversation and missed seeing him. He went into the building and proceeded to Operations. As he passed Taylor’s door, Taylor called to him.
    Wayne opened the door and leaned in. “What’s up?”
    Taylor motioned at the chair in front of his desk. “That’s my question. What do you have planned?”
    Wayne sat down and took a deep breath. “I’ve placed three cameras in the park. It’s Thursday and he kills on Thursday nights, between 8:00 and 10:00. I plan on being there waiting for him tonight.”
    Taylor was nodding his head. “That’s good, that’s damn good. But alert the MPD. You’ll need some Memphis Police in case he tries to make a break for it.”
    “I’m afraid any added security in the area will scare him off. Once I see him I’ll call for help.” Wayne stood up. “Unless there’s something else, I need to speak with Peter.”
    Taylor shook his head. “No, I think you have it covered.”
    Wayne walked out smiling. “You’re damn right I have it covered.”

Copyright © 2019, 2020 by Ed Rogers