Whistler's Angel Read Online Free PDF Page A

herself. She sucked in a breath. “Well, you seemed to be. For a while there, you were.”
    “Mrs. Geller, I’m sorry. And I do blame myself. I brought all this on you. I’m so sorry.”
    “Can you make this right, Adam?”
    “There’s a little more to do.”
    “You know that she’s been charged with attempted murder?”
    “There will be no testimony against her, Mrs. Geller. That charge and the drug charge should be dropped within the week.”
    “Those policemen who shot her…I hear they’ve gone missing. Just missing, or shouldn’t I ask?”
    Whistler looked away. He said nothing.
    “And that other man. The one they brought in all cut up…”
    “Um…what man is that, Mrs. Geller?”
    “The bald one. Name of Briggs. They brought him in yesterday morning.”
    “Brought him here? He’s here now?”
    “Intensive Care. You didn’t know? I guess I’m glad to hear that this is news to you, Adam. I was down there with Claudia when they wheeled him in. There’s not much left of his face.”
    Whistler’s eyes narrowed. She misunderstood the look.
    “That man’s hurt enough. You leave him be, Adam. He’s scared and he’s sorry. He said so.”
    “You spoke to him?”
    She nodded. “I held his hand for a minute. He’s not ever going to be the same again, Adam. No need to hurt him anymore.”
    “Mrs. Geller, where was he found? Do you know?”
    “Out at the airport. Seems his plane took off without him. They found him stumbling around where the plane had been. He was trying to keep his cheek from falling off.”
    “Any sign of the other one? Lockwood?”
    “I don’t know. But Adam…enough is enough. I hate that you know people
    who can do things like this.”
    “The truth is, I’m not sure I do.”
    He’d been thinking the twins, but this didn’t sound like them. The twins
    would not merely have marked him. It must have been one of their mysterious friends. He assured Ms. Geller that he had no intention of harming Briggs any further. Lockwood was another matter, but Lockwood would keep. That’s assuming that he got out alive. He told her again that he’d be leaving that day. His only other business was to deal with the judge who was still, at that moment, with the twins.
    He said, “This should soon be over. Or at least where you’re concerned. I think the judge will void the warrant that led to the seizure. You’ll be getting your property back, Mrs. Geller. They won’t try to hurt you again.”
    “Or you?”
    “They might try. But not here. And not right away.”
    She got up. She started pacing. She did not like that answer. “You’re saying they’ll wait. They’ll pick the time and place.”
    “And you’re concerned that your daughter might be with me. Put that out of your mind. She will not be.”
    “Adam...tell me. Are you a good man?”
    “Not the way you’d think. No.”
    “You worked for those people?”
    “I worked with them for a time.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “That’s not much of a distinction.”
    “Not to you. I know that. But in any case, it’s finished.”
    “And just so I’m clear…you’re all government people? You’re telling me my government does this kind of crap?”
    “No. Well, not exactly. It’s not what you think.”
    “But you do frame people. And you take away their homes. And if they give you any trouble, you kill them. Am I close?”
    “Mrs. Geller…”
    “What ever happened to the good old days, Adam, when we only had the IRS after us?”
    He answered, “Mrs. Geller, I will tell you this much. At the outset, the people this unit went after were people with a great deal of blood on their hands. They were people who deserved to be dead or in prison, but who couldn’t be touched by legal means.”
    She stared. “A death squad?”
    “A punitive unit.”
    “Death is pretty damned punitive, Adam.”
    “Mrs. Geller, many governments have units such as this one. For the most part, what they do is track laundered money and identify its