One after another, they single filed to the front of the room, sharing good times about cousin Hamilton, Uncle Hamilton, my nephew Hamilton, and my good friend Hamilton. Laughter was the best medicine as it took some of the sting away from the final service, with each person trying to outdue the next in the stories they told. The crowd began to dwindle, and the few police officers that remained began to relax as the home-going for Hamilton was coming to a close without incident.
Angelica walked over to Lieutenant Broadnax and extended her hand. “Your words touched me, Carl. They were beautiful. I wished Hamilton could have heard them.”
“You know, Angelica, the lieutenant and I were at odds about a lot of things, but I truly loved him. Hated that things went down the way they did for us five years ago, but I took an oath to uphold the law, and I was doing my job.”
“I know.” Angelica brushed his shoulder. “You got someone in your life yet?”
“You remember Ebony?”
“Yes, she was Jefferson’s secretary.”
“Well, after her mom died, we became very close. In fact, we have a December wedding planned.”
“Congratulations, Carl. I’m so happy for you. Please give my regards to Ebony.”
“I will, and…we’d love for you to come to our wedding.”
Several seconds passed. Angelica did not respond, and Lieutenant Broadnax waved his hand in front of her face. It was not her imagination, but passing in front of her was the man in dreads. She’d recognize his face anywhere. It was etched in her memory.
“Lieutenant Broadnax, don’t move. Read my lips. I don’t know how this man got in here, but I believe there is a guy in here who works for Santiago. I don’t want to set off an alarm or make him aware that I recognize him.”
Eyes shifting, Angelica watched the man scanning the room as if he was looking for someone. He eased through the crowd without arousing suspicion. Pulled back from his face, his dreads were held together with some type of elastic band. He wore a black, double-breasted suit, a tie and a white shirt. Santiago is clever, Angelica thought. Dreads looks like one of the mourners.
People continued to file out of the fellowship hall, although there were still groups clustered together, engaged in deep conversation. Angelica continued to follow him with her eyes when Lieutenant Broadnax began to speak.
“I need to call Petrowski and let him know that we have what seems to be a penetration in the building.”
“Look natural,” Angelica cautioned, tapping Broadnax’s chest with her hand. “I don’t want to give him any indication that we suspect him of anything.”
Broadnax removed her hand and made a quick call, never looking back to personally eyewitness the intruder. He hung up and looked at Angelica. “It’s not going to look normal if I keep standing here talking to you. I need to move around so that, if I need to make a move, I can get into position.”
“I’m sorry. My nerves have got the best of me. My brother, Edward, has a gun on him. I need to let him know what’s going on.”
“That wouldn’t be a good idea, Angelica. Let the police handle this.”
“Letting the police handle it has allowed the enemy to get into our camp. That man is looking for me; it’s my life on the line.”
“Please, Angelica, don’t do anything stupid. You could jeopardize everything. Just play along.”
Angelica let out a sigh and then panic gripped her as she lost sight of the man in dreads. She looked to the left and to the right, and then she felt it in the small of her back.
“Don’t move and don’t scream,” the voice said hurriedly. “I’m FBI. I’ve been working on the Santiago case, and I’ve been following you because we were sure you would lead us to him. We’ve made a lot of headway, but I’ll explain in more detail later. I’ve only got fifteen minutes to make my move. The SWAT team outside is working with the bureau.”
Angelica tried to turn around. “But why didn’t Lieutenant Broadnax know that you all were…”
“Don’t turn around, we have to move forward. The Fayetteville police are well aware of what’s going down. They were waiting for my signal. That’s why no one has pounced on me. I was able to infiltrate Santiago’s organization, and be glad I was in place when he decided to take you out. I didn’t learn about Hamilton until it was too late. That’s why I volunteered to take care of you; I knew that I could save your life.
“Santiago and a couple of his men are waiting outside a few blocks away. If I’m not successful with what they charged me to do, I’m sure they are going to try an attempt on your life. I’m going to walk you to a bulletproof vehicle, in the event something happens.”
“But my brother, Jefferson and Margo are here-what about them?”
“Look to your right, Broadnax is alerting them now. They are herding the others to the back of the room. They’ll be all right. Right now, we want to catch Santiago in the act. We have enough information on his activities, but since the shooting of your cousin, Donna Barnes Reardon, and Hamilton, things have moved so fast. Since I knew that he was going to make an attempt on your life, we are in a position to take him down. After you put on the bullet-proof vest I have in my backpack, you and I are going to walk out of the fellowship hall.”
“But what about all those things you said to me on the bus that day?”
“That was an attempt to get information from you. We let Santiago slip through our hands without a trace, but had high hopes that you would lead us to him.”
“That was pretty presumptuous of you because I wanted to be as far away from Santiago as I could possibly be.”
“Knowing how the criminal mind works, we were sure he was going to make some kind of effort to contact you-unfinished business. Now we’ve got to get moving. The plan is that I’ll have the gun drawn to your head, and the police will surround me. We hope to draw Santiago from his hiding place. Put the vest on, and let’s go.”
“And your name?” Angelica asked.
“Agent Walter Hopkins, at your service.”
Edward, Jefferson, and Margo stared at Angelica. Her fear returned as the remaining crowd watched from a distance. She and Agent Hopkins moved toward the main door of the hall, and when they reached it, he stopped.
“Act like you’re afraid but don’t go crazy. I’m not going to hurt you, and the other officers will be holding their guns on me. Drag your feet to make it look realistic-we’ll replace your shoes if we need to.”
Angelica’s face relaxed into a smile. “All I want is my life back.”
“Ready?” Agent Hopkins asked Angelica and the officers nearby. They moved through the door.