Leopard's Baby

Tammy arrived in the Denver area at about 3:00 AM. She found a secluded spot to park until businesses opened. It was early October and she hoped it wouldn’t get too cold for Brendan. He awoke just as it getting light. He started pulling at his diaper. Before she put a fresh one on him, he said, “Want pee.” She got out of the car with him. He urinated, squatted, and pooped. She cleaned him up, put a fresh diaper on him, while thinking, He’s about ready to be toilet trained. I’ll have to get some training pants. He seemed content with the cold food she gave him.

Shortly after 8:00 AM she put on makeup which made it look like she had a black eye and drove to a body shop. It did not inspire confidence. The windows were so dirty they were opaque. The parking area was unpaved. Remnants of cars could be seen rusting about the building. If her sources were correct, it was a front for a chop-shop and was owned by a woman. A tall, heavyset man came out wiping his hands on a dirty rag. He gave Tammy the once-over and walked slowly to her.

“Help you, Miss?” he asked.

“I need to sell my car,” Tammy said. She looked furtively over her shoulder. “Is the owner here? I heard this is where I can get that done.”

“Owner ain’t in yet,” the man said. He stopped and watched another car drive up. “Here she is now. I’ll tell her what you want.”

A woman in her early fifties got out of the newly arrived car. She was a couple of inches shorter than Tammy, was solidly built, and had short gray hair that had not been professionally cut. The man went over to the woman. He talked to her pointing back to Tammy. She nodded and came over.

“I’m Glenda. Jud tells me you need to sell your car. Got the title papers?”

“N-no,” Tammy said. She licked her lips and hesitated. “It’s really my husband’s car.”

“Can’t buy a car without no title,” Glenda said. She started to turn away. “Sorry.”

“I’m desperate!” Tammy claimed. Tears came to her eyes, and she grasped Glenda by the arm. “I have to get out of Denver before the bastard beats me up again. I need money. It was bad enough when he just hit me, but now he’s threatening to hurt Bobby. He’s not even two years old. Please! You have to help me! You can have it for $1,000. It’s worth ten times that.”

“You a cop?”

“No. And I’m not wearing a wire either.”

“Come in the shop,” Glenda said. She took Tammy by the arm. “I can’t just take your word for it. I’ll have to pat you down.”

After ascertaining that Tammy was, in fact, not wearing a wire, Glenda said, “I don’t see no wedding ring.”

“Well,” Tammy said, blushing. “We didn’t actually legally get married.”

“Had a problem with abusive men myself,” Glenda muttered. She turned her head away and seemed to be debating with herself. “With no title I can’t sell it. Have to use it for parts. Best I can do is two hundred, but I can give you cash.”

“What about six hundred?” Tammy asked. “It’s worth a lot more than that even for parts. The tires are almost new.”

They haggled for a few minutes before settling on three hundred and twenty. Glenda gave Tammy a sheaf of twenty dollar bills and wished her luck.

Tammy put Brendan in a front-facing baby carrier. She wore a back pack and carried a large purse. With luck it’ll be nothing but parts in short order, she thought, while she hiked to the bus station. The authorities will never know where it came from. She bought a ticket to St. Louis.

***

“Let’s see the video again,” the chief of police said. “The one of the getaway car.”

The chief of police, a detective from his department, an FBI agent, Kent Malone, and Jennifer Roberts were in a screening room in Jennifer’s house. Jennifer’s right wrist was in a cast. She was obviously in considerable pain, but refused pain meds because, she said, she wanted to be alert.

The video was grainy. It showed what appeared to be two large animals jumping into a dark-colored car which immediately took off. The windows were tinted so it was impossible to see who was in the car. One of the animals had a bundle strapped to its back. The license plate was obscured. The FBI agent said he thought the car was a ford fusion, but that wasn’t much help, as they tended to be ubiquitous.

“Still, that’s something,” the chief said. “The owner of a B&B came forward to say a young woman named Judy Felson was staying at her place. Had an Illinois driver’s license for ID. Could be an Illinois plate on the car. Wasn’t Colorado.”

“Those things must be dogs,” the detective said. “How the f… ah heck could they train dogs to carry the kid to the car? And where did they go? They’re not on the grounds. You said the kid was afraid of dogs. They had only seconds to work with. How could they get him to ride on the back of a dog without him putting up a fuss?”

“Maybe they drugged him,” Malone suggested. “My men couldn’t shoot at the… dogs for fear of hitting the kid.” He wasn’t about to propose the idea that the “dogs” were actually were-leopards, a conclusion he’d kept to himself. He knew if he voiced it he’d be thought of as a fruitcake and Jennifer might, probably would, fire him on the spot. She was already enraged that despite his security arrangements, Tamara was able to get her son back. Once the immediate dust was settled he wanted to tell Jennifer what he suspected, but couldn’t figure out how to do so.

“It’d have to be really fast acting,” the chief said. “Well at least we got a good picture of her face on video from the baby’s room. Her scar will be pretty hard to cover up. With that $50,000 reward you’re putting up, Mrs. Roberts, we’ll have the public on the lookout for her.”

“If we don’t spend most of our time chasing down all the false claims that are bound to be called in,” the FBI agent said. “That’s the problem with offering a big reward. I’ve rarely seen it work out well.”

“They could’ve at least shot the dog without the bundle,” Jennifer said.

“They were moving too fast to be so selective,” Malone said.

“Can we see the video of the attack at the front gate?” the detective asked. “Given the time element, it’s too much of a coincidence to think it’s not related to the kidnapping.”

They watched the video again. They’d already seen it multiple times. Malone paid more attention than he’d done previously, because he was just reminded of something.

“We’ve got a good picture of the girl, but not the guy,” the chief noted.

“Do we have shots of her full-face on?” Malone asked.

“Unfortunately, no,” the detective said. “Some of your men got a good look at her, and could identify her, but they were standing between her and the camera most of the time. Even so, we can’t prove either of them entered the grounds. Do you think you know who they are, Mr. Malone?”

“I think it’s the same couple that showed up at the Roberts home in the DC area,” Malone said. “It was over a year ago, so I can’t be sure. They met with Karla, walked around the house, and left.”

“Who are they?” the FBI agent asked.

“I think the guy is Tyler Sandar, Tamara’s brother, and the girl is his girlfriend. I don’t know her name.”

“That proves she took my grandson!” Jennifer yelled. “Arrest them!”

“We don’t need the appearance of that couple to prove she took him, Mrs. Roberts,” Malone said as he put a hand on her arm. “We have clear video of that happening. I’m sure by now the others are out of the jurisdiction. They don’t have Brendan. He’s with his mother.”

“Bring them back here!” Jennifer demanded. “They probably know where she’s taken my grandson.”

“Bringing them here might be tough, Mrs. Roberts,” the FBI agent said. “We only have circumstantial evidence they took part in the kidnapping. Should they choose to fight extradition, almost a certainty, we could easily lose. Frankly, the public is not on your side. They don’t like the idea you’ve prevented a mother from seeing her own child. The best we can do is send an agent to interview them in Virginia.”

***

“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Senator,” Olivia said as she settled into a chair in the office of Senator Curtis Roberts.

“Your daughter just kidnapped my grandson,” Roberts said. His body was tense and his tone was icy. “I’d be foolish not to. I’m hoping you’ve talked sense into her and have come here to make an offer which allows your family to see him in exchange for returning him to his legal guardians. I’d be open to that, but I’m not sure my wife would. She wants your entire family, you included, put away for a long time. She thinks you’re accessories to the kidnapping. I can’t say I disagree. I’m afraid in the case of Tamara herself, the issue would not be negotiable. Do you deny you had something to do with your daughter’s action?”

“Senator, you and I disagree on a lot of issues,” Olivia said, sidestepping his question. “In spite of that I’ve always considered you an honorable man. I don’t have the same opinion of your wife.”

“I’m not sure if I should be flattered or insulted,” Roberts said with a small grin. He relaxed slightly.

“Are you recording our conversation?” Olivia asked.

“Yes,” Roberts admitted.

“I want to play an audio for you,” Olivia said. She placed an mp3 player on his desk. “This is for your ears only. Trust me. That’s what you’d want. Please have the recording turned off. After you’ve listened to it I’ll give you a copy. Then you can do whatever you wish with it.”

Roberts frowned as he mulled over the situation. He spoke briefly into his office phone to his secretary. After that, he said, “We’re no longer being recorded.

Olivia played the interview she’d had with Cal Ricci. Roberts sat in stunned silence for nearly two minutes after it ended. He asked to hear it again.

“You can have experts certify that the audio has not been doctored,” Olivia said after they heard the recording a second time. “We both know it wouldn’t be admissible in court. But it tells you that all my daughter’s legal problems were caused by Jennifer having the prenuptial agreement forged.”

“You don’t know for sure it was Jennifer,” Roberts protested.

“You’re grasping at straws, senator,” Olivia said. She resisted saying, don’t be an idiot. “Nobody else would have the motivation. Jennifer is a despicable human being. Had she been honest you would’ve had the same access to your grandson as any other grandparent. Access which has been denied to me. I’m just as much Brendan’s grandparent as you are. Get Jennifer to back down and relinquish custody, and I’ll see to it he’s not kept away from you. If she doesn’t I’ll go after evidence that will be admissible. I can be very persistent. With your money you can probably keep her out of prison, but the process will ruin your reputation.” Olivia stood up and placed a flash-drive on the senator’s desk. “Good day, Senator. This flash-drive contains a copy of what you just listened to. It’s yours to do whatever you wish.”

***

Kent Malone flew to Dallas, Texas, where he met with Charles Kalar in a tavern at the airport. Kalar was a short, wiry man with a dark complexion. Malone and Kalar had served together in Afghanistan and Iraq, and later with the same mercenary group. Malone had seen Kalar in action multiple times, and knew he was utterly ruthless. And without scruple.

The men reminisced for several minutes. Kalar glanced toward a clock on the wall and said, “It’s nice going over old times with you Kent, but I doubt you flew to Dallas just for that. I have a flight to catch and I need to check in. You want something. What?”

“I heard what you do, now that you’re on your own.”

“So?”

“I have a job if you’re interested. Two hundred G’s.”

Kalar’s eyebrows went up and he whistled. “Tell me more.”

Malone handed over a picture of Tammy. “Recognize her? She’s been in the news.”

Kalar studied the picture. “I think so. She’s the mother of Senator Roberts’s grandson.”

“Last night she kidnapped the kid. The senator’s wife wants him back.”

“That’s what the FBI is for. They have resources I can’t begin to match.”

“She not only wants her grandson back, she doesn’t ever want to hear from her former daughter-in-law again. That’s why the money is so good.”

“Half up front?”

“I don’t think so,” Malone said with a humorless laugh. “You’re being offered ten times your usual rate. You need a big incentive to get the job done. I can give you ten up front. That’s your usual down payment.”

“Yeah, but usually I know where… I’ll be working,” Kalar pointed out. “In this case, not only do I have to do the job, I have to find her first. Who knows how long that’ll take.”

“I’ll have my men looking for her. You’re job is just to be ready to go the moment I tell you where she is. Drop everything else and go for her. The FBI might find her and get the kid. If they do, the rest of the job is still on the table. I’ll sweeten the pot. If you’re the one who gets the kid back, unharmed, it’ll be another fifty. And I’ll make the down payment twenty.”

“Done,” Kalar said.

Malone handed him two large envelopes. “Here’s your advance and a history of the target. I have to warn you. She won’t be a pushover. She briefly served with the company, and it came out in the custody hearing that she’s killed more than ten people.” She’s also likely a were-leopard, but if I told you that you wouldn’t take me seriously, even with the front money.

“Not going to be a problem,” Kalar claimed. “I’ve dealt with mob guys before. I doubt she’s tougher than they were.” He took the two envelopes and walked off.

I hope you’re right, Malone thought.