Blind Justice. Don Pendleton
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Название: Blind Justice
Автор: Don Pendleton
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Морские приключения
Серия: Gold Eagle Executioner
isbn: 9781472084811
isbn:
He strolled along the street, eyeing the building he was heading for. At this time in the afternoon the majority of people were still at work, so there were only a few around. Stone had been banking on that. He needed to get into the building and then Keegan’s apartment. He knew the location—ground floor, just along from the front entrance. There were two other ground-floor apartments. The one immediately adjacent to Stone’s was occupied by an elderly woman who lived on her own and rarely left the building. The other, across the hall from the Keegan apartment, belonged to a young single businesswoman who worked long hours and seldom came home before seven in the evening. Stone had no idea how Kendal had obtained such detail, but he admired the man’s thoroughness and professionalism. The details made Stone’s entrance a little less hazardous. When he reached the building he walked calmly along the short path, up onto the porch and in through the open front door. It was quiet inside the shaded lobby. Stone didn’t waste time surveying the scene. He went directly to Keegan’s door, pulled a pair of latex gloves from his jacket, took a set of expensive lock picks from another pocket in his jacket and had the door open within twenty seconds. Inside he closed the door again and stood for a few moments absorbing the apartment setup. Once he had it fixed in his mind he stepped into the kitchen, laid his bag on the counter and opened it.
The kitchen window was shaded with slatted blinds and looked out on the street. Stone made sure he was not silhouetted on the window as he laid out his implements on a towel he unrolled across the counter. That done, he filled a hypo syringe from a bottle.
Then he stood to one side of the kitchen window where he could see the street.
And patiently waited for his victim.
Marty Keegan.
Seattle cop.
Partner and good friend of Ray Logan.
The man who was going to tell Stone everything he might know, imagined he knew, about the runaway cop and his family.
It might take a half hour. It might take longer. But in the end Keegan would give it all up.
They always did.
It was not arrogance on Stone’s part. It was fact. He had worked interrogations many times before, and of one thing he was sure. They always gave up the information.
No one could withstand interrogation indefinitely. There would come a point when human tolerance to pain in its infinitely varied forms became too much. Then the victim would tell Stone whatever he needed to know simply to make it all stop. It had to happen. There was nothing surer. Just like sunrise and sunset—no deviation.
It would happen.
There was a phrase from a well-known TV series that Stone liked for its simple, crystal clarity.
Resistance is futile.
That was how it would be for Lieutenant Marty Keegan.
Chapter 6
Stone heard the sound of a key being inserted into the lock. He moved quickly to stand behind the door, the syringe in his right hand, his left ready to clamp over Keegan’s mouth. He was calm, as always, his control absolute. The door clicked and swung inward, briefly obscuring Stone’s view. He’d expected it so it didn’t faze him. Keegan stepped inside, turning to close the door, and his gaze settled on Stone’s waiting form. Stone nudged the door shut, heard the latch click into place, and in the same movement he stepped in close to the startled cop, left hand coming down on the man’s partly open mouth. His right brought the hypo forward, his swift jab driving the needle into the soft part of Keegan’s neck just below his jawline. The plunger depressed and the hypo’s contents were injected into Keegan. Stone used his bulk to push Keegan against the wall, holding the man immobile for the few seconds it took for the syringe’s contents to spread and take effect. Keegan’s eyes widened, rolling in their sockets. He made a breathy sound and Stone took his hand from the cop’s mouth. Keegan began to go down, his limbs losing all control. Stone held him by his jacket, letting the man slump to the floor. Safe in the knowledge the cop would be unconscious for some time, Stone went back into the kitchen and put the hypo back in its case.
Stone went through Keegan’s pockets, placing everything he found on the kitchen counter, including Keegan’s badge and Beretta auto pistol. The cop’s phone was turned off and placed in the computer bag. Stone emptied Keegan’s wallet—nothing unusual except for $150 in cash. Stone pocketed that. Returning to the sprawled form, Stone dragged Keegan across the living room and into the bedroom. Using a thin-bladed scalpel from his bag, Stone cut away Keegan’s clothing, took off his shoes and socks, then hoisted the naked cop on top of the bed. Using plastic ties he tethered Keegan’s ankles and wrists to the head and foot posts, completing his task by sticking a strip of duct tape over the man’s mouth.
Then he waited. He knew the strength of the injection and was rewarded when Keegan started to come round within three minutes of his estimated time. Still groggy, Keegan struggled against his bonds, mouthing from beneath the duct tape. After a few minutes, exhausted, Keegan became still, his eyes fixed on the patiently waiting Stone.
“All done? I could have told you struggling would only tire you out, but you decided to find out for yourself.” Stone allowed himself a rare smile. “I have no idea what your sexual preferences are, Marty. Maybe you’ve already tried bondage, maybe not. In any case, being restrained can be quite a unique experience—but I’m sure you never expected it to turn out like this.
“We have ourselves a problem, Marty. Your good friend Ray Logan has something my principal wants very badly, which I’m sure you realize. Ray has gone undercover. His wife, Rachel, and his son, Tommy, have also vanished. My job is to locate Logan’s wife. I don’t contemplate failing to do that. To be truthful I have never failed and don’t expect to start now. As Logan is not immediately available, I need to get my hands on Rachel and Tommy, and that is where you come in, Marty. I have reliable information that you may have been talking to Logan on your cell phone. Not very smart to do that in the precinct. But it places you in the position of being Logan’s confidant. So, I think you may have the information I’m looking for.”
Keegan’s head shook from side to side, his eyes giving away his thoughts.
“My problem, Marty, is an inability to accept things on face value. Your denial doesn’t convince me. So we are going to have to rectify that. As you don’t seem to be in an obliging mood it’s going to have to be messy.” Stone moved away from the bed, pausing at the door. “How is your pain threshold, Marty?”
When Stone returned from his visit to the kitchen he held a fine-edged scalpel in one hand and a pair of metal pincers in the other. He stood over Keegan and displayed the instruments.
“One cuts, one tears, Marty. Let’s see which has the greater effect on you.”
It took less than twenty minutes for Marty Keegan to give up what he knew. Within that time period he passed out twice and Stone had to wait until he came round. Stone was not surprised at how quickly the man submitted. The scalpel and the pincers were crude, simple tools. They performed well though. By the time a sweating, shivering Keegan capitulated, his naked body was bloody and cut open. The bed sheets where he lay were sodden with blood.
“Ready to talk?” Stone asked.
A frantic nod.
Stone put aside the instruments he had been using. He produced a Cold Steel Tanto knife and showed it to Keegan.