The Three Monkeys, a Carter A. Johnson & Kate Menke Thriller Read online

  Kate extracted herself from the embrace. "I know. There's reason to be concerned about the boy. Pray he comes through it unharmed."

  During each of the interviews, Johnny's name was mentioned and his role in the murders was questioned. A sample of his blood was recovered from the limestone wall in the Peltier killing room and sent to a lab for DNA testing and comparison to other samples gathered at the attack on Deline.

  Capt. Davis requested assistance from the FBI. Agent Masinelli initiated a search for Johnny's whereabouts. He had been gone for six hours and could have gone in any direction. Paul’s Cadillac was missing and Johnny's Mustang was parked in the garage.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The following morning at ten, Lt. Altmon called J&M Investigations. Deline answered and transferred the call to Carter's office. Kate was still upstairs with Anastasia.

  "Hi, Lieutenant. What's going on this morning?”

  "We've located the veterinarian where Johnny Peltier left his German Shepherd. They couldn't do much for the animal; the internal damage was too great. The dog died earlier this morning. They have no idea where the young Mr. Peltier went when he left there."

  "I’m sorry the dog didn't make it. It was only trying to protect its owner. Any luck in locating where Johnny is holed up?"

  "Not yet, but we're working closely with the FBI to find him. If we learn anything else, I'll call you. I have a new appreciation of private detectives thanks to you and Ms. Menke."

  "Thank you, Tyrell. I'll pass that on to Kate, and I appreciate the update."

  At fifteen minutes before noon, Carter took a call from Tom Masinelli. "Hi, Carter, I spoke to Captain Harlee Davis a few minutes ago and updated her. Johnny Peltier has been located in a motel outside Lincoln, Nebraska. The local police have the place surrounded and an FBI team from Omaha is en route to take charge. They should arrive in an hour or so. A swat team will be on-site a little later in case they're needed."

  "What happened," Carter asked, "to bring Johnny to the attention of the police?"

  "The report I got is that he was in a fight with two young men earlier this morning and fired a handgun at them. Apparently, he’d been drinking and propositioned a girl with them for sex. Local police responded and he threatened to kill them if they didn't leave him alone. At about the same time, we traced his credit card to that same motel and started things rolling on our end."

  "The lady who raised Johnny is staying with me and Kate. I'd like to take her there to talk with the young man. She may be able to convince him to stand down and end the siege before he gets hurt. Do you agree?"

  "Sure, it can't hurt to have a friend engaged in the negotiations. I'm driving up shortly, so I'll expect to see you in…what, about six or seven hours?"

  "Yeah, it's about four hundred fifty miles, so six or seven hours should be about right. See you there."

  Carter wanted to get there ASAP, so he called Captain Davis and arranged for a high-speed police escort to Lincoln, Nebraska. He'd be driving the Beemer.

  Six hours later they arrived at the Hilltop Motel. State Police escorts from Missouri and Nebraska had raced ahead of the Beemer with sirens screaming clearing the way for them. FBI Agent Tom Masinelli greeted the trio and gave them a rundown of the present status of the standoff. "John Peter Peltier is still in room 107. Our negotiator spoke to him by phone several times today. He rambles about his grandfather trying to kill their housekeeper and a friend named Kate. He became highly agitated several hours ago when he learned his dog died. There were two gunshots inside the room soon afterward. It was almost an hour later before he answered the telephone again. He speaks coherently for a while, and then he'll cry or scream, curse his grandfather and then hang up."

  Anastasia pushed forward. "May I speak with him, please? I have been very close to Johnny since he was a small child. Please, it may be I can help."

  Inside the command trailer, the FBI negotiator waited for a response from room 107. He'd been trying to reestablish communications with the man intermittently for the past hour. Finally, Johnny answered the phone and screamed and ranted. Anastasia was handed the phone, closed her eyes briefly, and said, "Hello, Johnny. This is Anastasia. I am worried for you…”

  After long seconds of silence, Johnny sobbed, "Louie Louie is dead. That man shot him."

  "He did not want to. Louie Louie attacked him to save you. He gave his life to protect his best friend; he loved you."

  "Aaagh. I'm afraid of dying!" Johnny screamed until the sound suddenly tapered off to sobs.

  "Johnny…Johnny, talk to me, please, Johnny. " She heard crying as the phone dropped with a CLUNK!

  She yelled, "Johnny, talk to me! Please, Johnny."

  In a subdued, monotone voice, he said, "I'm sorry for what Grandpa and me did to those people…I have nightmares about them. I still hear their screams and see their bodies jump around under the straps. Why did he make me do that? I can't stand to think of it anymore."

  "Johnny, we can help you. Please come out so we can take you home and get help for you. Please, do that for me."

  "I'm sorry, so sorry. Grandpa did bad things and told me it was okay, but I knew it wasn't okay. I love you, Anastasia. Goodbye."

  The line went dead. "Johnny…Johnny!" she yelled. Anastasia's arm slowly dropped downward with the buzzing phone still clutched tightly in her grasp. She shook her head several times in frustration. Tears flowed. She looked to where Thomas, Kate and Carter stood nearby. "He is afraid, confused and angry. He has never been so completely alone while at the same time being the center of so much unwanted attention. If only he had Louie Louie with him. I do not know what he will do next." She hung her head and sobbed as Kate embraced her.

  From multiple FBI radios came, "Gunshots! Two gunshots from inside room 107. The window has been shattered. Standby on high alert, multiple gunshots from the occupant in room 107."

  Anastasia, Kate, Carter, and Thomas scurried from the trailer to a space at the end of the FBI Swat Team truck. Dusk timidly replaced the sun as it faded away to the west. A light breeze blew out of the east as police personnel hunkered down behind squad cars or a low stone wall near the street. All were transfixed on the door to room 107. Each pointed handguns, shotguns, or assault rifles toward the motel room. Long minutes passed as everyone nervously waited.

  The door at room 107 slowly opened; Johnny stood in the shadow of the dark room, his figure barely discernable. His arms hung at his sides, a large revolver grasped in his right hand. His expression in the dim light appeared slack, devoid of emotion or feeling.

  A bullhorn blared. "Drop the weapon and lay on the ground. Now, drop the gun and lay prone on the ground."

  Anastasia yelled, "Johnny, this is Anastasia, do what the policeman says. Please, Johnny!"

  Johnny looked up to the direction of his friend's voice, smiled and shook his head. Suddenly, he lunged forward, raised his right arm and fired two shots at the line of policemen. A barrage of gunshots of various intensities shattered the quiet evening. The young man stumbled and jerked and squeezed the trigger twice more as he collapsed to the hard, concrete pavement.

  Kate gasped and Anastasia screamed as her tears flowed freely.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Two weeks after the horror scene in the basement of the Peltier mansion, Thomas Masinelli convened a meeting at the St. Louis police headquarters. The temperature was cool and the sky was dreary. Traffic rushed past oblivious to the presentation about to take place inside the white, multi-story government building. Three FBI agents, nine St. Louis police representatives, two attorneys representing Paul D. Peltier, Carter, Kate, Anastasia and Deline were present as Thomas spoke.

  "All of the equipment used to confine, restrain and kill five victims in the basement of the Peltier mansion was confiscated intact. Videos of each victim while they were being impaled by Paul Desmond Peltier and John Paul Peltier were found on Paul D.'s digital camcorder and filed on his laptop computer. Those killings rank right at the top of
the most gruesome murders I've ever been involved with or heard about. Hitler's SS doctors didn't have anything on the Peltiers. The incarceration of Ms. Katherine Menke and the potential murder of Ms. Anastasia DuBois were also captured on video.

  "Captain Harlee Davis of the St. Louis Police Department requested a check of area shootings in Seattle starting a week prior to the kidnapping of Ms. Jewel Bateman and Mr. Dinesh Maisuria through two days after the abductions. Ballistics from the slug that killed a young man who had a record charging him with burglary and muggings match Paul Peltier’s .38 caliber revolver. That link proves Mr. Paul D. Peltier was in Seattle at the time Ms. Bateman and Mr. Maisuria were kidnapped from their home. In addition to the five impalement deaths, he'll be charged with the death of Mr. Leroy Ollenbittle.

  "Moving on, a DNA test of the late John Peter Peltier's blood sample matched those recovered when Ms. Deline Durand shot and wounded her attacker last month outside the office of J&M Investigations. A recent entrance and exit bullet wound was found on the young man's left arm.

  "Paul D. Peltier is recovering from a gunshot wound inflicted at the time of his capture. He is unable to attend today. He confessed to the five fatal impalements when told his grandson died in a shootout with police in Lincoln, Nebraska. It is strongly suspected the grandson was having a psychotic episode manifested by apparent hallucinations. The senior Peltier has provided a full detailed confession of the six murders mentioned.

  "During the interrogation session that yielded a confession of six murders, we also learned of another murder committed in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Dr. Axel Wilson treated a gunshot wound incurred by John Paul Peltier when he attacked Ms. Deline Durand. A dispute over the price of the medical treatment resulted in Dr. Wilson's death. He was shot by Paul Peltier before his home was set afire. Ballistics has attributed the shooting death to the gun owned by Mr. Paul Peltier.

  "Mr. Paul D. Peltier has been charged with seven counts of murder and the prosecution intends to seek the death penalty. He still defends his actions as necessary to save our country until his grandson is mention. Then he descends into an almost trance like state and sits and stares into space.

  "Thanks to all of you who worked this case, and especially to the members of J&M Investigations for driving the investigation to completion."

  Outside the police station, Deline spoke as they walked to Kate's car. "During the presentation, I received a message from a prospective client. Afterward, while you spoke with Agent Masinelli, I conversed with Ms. Irene Compton. The news of our involvement in the resolution of the Peltier case impressed her. She requested our services, and her plight sounds complex and quite unique. And, of course, it involves murder."

  Carter said, "Apparently, we have another interesting case before us." He put his arms around the shoulders of his beautiful companions. "Come, ladies, there's work to do."

  THE END

  A Brief Intermission until the release of the next Carter A. Johnson & Kate Menke thriller featuring Carter, Kate, Deline, Harlee, Anastasia and Horace.

  I hope you have enjoyed the fourth story in the Carter A. Johnson & Kate Menke thrillers. Three more books in the series, The Blonde Heiress, The Dogtrot Murder, and Cape Abigail are available at many online and traditional retail outlets.

  Thank you,

  Robert Schobernd

  About Robert Schobernd

  Hi, I publish my writing as Robert Schobernd, but my family members and friends know me as Bud or Bob. I began writing before retiring from the Oil Refining Industry where I worked as an operator, equipment inspector, Project Planner, Estimator and Scheduler. My home is the middle of the USA, northeast of St. Louis, Missouri.

  I have nine books published and available at many retailers. All are in the Thriller category. Type my name in the search box and visit my book page.

  And while you’re there, please leave a brief review of The Three Monkeys.