Ambush (Michael Bennett 11)

“I told you how tall the killer probably is. That they’re professional because of the precision of their strikes. My guess is that they’re very bright as well. I make that assumption based on their knowledge of anatomy. But I also know that detectives like you and Cassie don’t let this shit slide. I figure you’ll have this asshole in cuffs sometime in the next few days.”

I liked his confidence. I was trying to form a picture in my head of how calm a killer has to stay to use a weapon like that, ge

tting in close to deliver such a precise blow to the victim.

I also hadn’t forgotten that a woman was probably involved in the murder of one of the gunmen who killed Antrole Martens. There was no telling if she was a local killer or perhaps someone who worked for the cartel.

Once I had a puzzle like this in my head, I tended to shut out almost everything else. This time I had to solve the puzzle before the killer figured out the puzzle of how to kill me.

Chapter 45

Alex Martinez smiled broadly as she walked along Park Avenue South. She was coming from a lovely dinner with the mounted police officer Tom McLaughlin. He was charming, sweet, and a full eighteen months younger than she was. Not that it made a difference. She wasn’t looking for someone she could raise her daughters with. She also wasn’t interested in telling him where she was staying just yet. It was their first date.

He had taken her for drinks at a sports bar called the Hill. It was a younger crowd, but she appreciated his showing her new places. Then they strolled down Third Avenue to a little Italian place named Bistango, and she tried not slurp down clams marinara in an unladylike manner.

After dinner, Tom calmly accepted Alex’s decision to catch a cab back to her hotel. A quick kiss good night turned into just a little more. Enough to make Alex wonder if she was making the right choice, leaving this handsome, horse-loving man for the evening. But it was for the best.

After they parted, she wanted to walk instead of ride in a cab. That’s when it happened. She realized she was getting sloppy. Someone was following her. She knew it wasn’t the police. This was a pretty young woman with short dark hair, wearing a skirt no cop would wear, even undercover.

This was something Alex had dealt with once before. In Madrid, two years ago, some members of a local gang started to follow her. They were subtle, but not nearly as subtle as this young woman now. In Madrid, Alex simply kept walking until she found a police officer and chatted with him. It only took about twenty minutes for the gang to lose interest and wander away.

Ironically, this time she was coming from talking to a police officer. And she had no idea who would want to follow her.

She worked out a plan in her head anyway. She turned east, toward the river. She wasn’t far from the United Nations building. Once she had gone a couple of blocks, she made another assessment. The woman was still back there.

Alex didn’t like to commit violence she wasn’t being paid for. Especially violence against a woman. She would do what she had to, but she didn’t relish the idea of using her stiletto on this woman, who was using a phone to call out Alex’s movements to someone else.

Alex led the woman down to the FDR Drive, then found a place to cross.

She had the river on one side of her. Now she focused on what was coming toward her.

Chapter 46

Alex was now on the banks of the East River, and she no longer saw the young woman who had been following her. That didn’t mean she was no longer in danger. She sat on a bench to wait. A few minutes later, she saw the two men.

Both men were young. One looked to be in his midtwenties and a little on the heavy side. The other one was tall and lean with long, straight hair.

Alex needed to draw them closer. She dug out her iPhone from her purse, leaving her stiletto and pistol within easy reach. She pretended to be engrossed in texting, but in fact she turned on her camera and was watching the men as they approached.

Alex made a quick survey of the area to ensure there were no witnesses close by. She even had a moment to enjoy the view of the East River and the relative quiet compared to the rest of the city.

As the men came closer, Alex casually dropped her right hand to her purse and gripped her stiletto. She rested the stiletto in her lap and suppressed a smile as the men came blundering into her trap.

She felt a change in her breathing, and her heart rate picked up. It was more excitement than fear. These were the types of challenges she had to overcome in her profession. One of the biggest things in her favor was the fact that men tended to underestimate a woman. That was their choice. She’d make them regret it.

Now they were close. She could tell they were Hispanic. Her guess was that they were Dominicans.

The heavier one said in Spanish, “Hello, beautiful. Why would you be sitting alone on a lovely night like this?”

Alex said, “Unfortunately, I am not alone. I’m being bothered by a couple of assholes who showed up uninvited.”

The chubby man let out a laugh. “Show me where they are, and we’ll get rid of them for you.” He looked to his thinner friend for support.

The young man drew a long fixed-blade knife from behind his back. His smile told her he enjoyed terrorizing women.

Alex stood quickly, pressing the button to extend her stiletto as she came to her feet. The movement clearly took both men by surprise.

She leaned back as the young man with the knife took a wide swipe at her. After all her training and experience, it felt like it took place in slow motion. But the young man meant business. It was a blow designed to kill her. And he had aimed it at her throat.