Under Cover

Chapter 9

        "Well that was a wasted trip," Dan O'Connor grumbled as he entered Richards' office.
"You mean your visit to the psychic? What did she say?"

"She just mumbled something about the future being unclear, that our killer was a shadow who we might never find."

"Hmmm, well I never did really expect she would point us straight to our man, I mean woman."

"But she was close with Styles."

"True, but now I think we forget about the psychic and try and do this the old fashioned way."

"How?" O'Connor asked, "There are hundreds of potential targets she could go after."
"We have just over three weeks," Richards answered, "This is what we'll do."

*****
"Yes, I know it's a longshot, but what else can we do?" Michael said to his wife over dinner that night. "Dan has been contacting some of our informants who have helped us in the past, but none of them know who this mystery woman assassin is, although one of them suggested she might be working for the mob."

"So you and Dan are going to go through the newspapers every day and look for possible future victims?"

"Yeah, I know it will be time consuming, but we'll look for stories about high profile people who could fit our assassin's M.O, then we'll compile a list and try and narrow it down."

"It's going to be a long list."

"I know, I know, but I think it's our best chance."

"Too bad about the psychic not being able to help you again."
Hannah breathed a sigh of relief. She had scared Miriam Webster into being silent. Now it was safe for her to go after her next target.

*****
Assistant District Attorney Niles Jefferson turned his BMW onto the quiet residential street. It had been a long day at the office preparing for the big case which would start in two weeks. He was convinced he would win.

As he turned into the driveway of his luxurious two story home he saw a movement in the shrubs bordering his property line. For just a second he saw a figure dressed in black furtively stepping out of sight behind the foliage. He pressed a button on his remote control which opened the door of his two car garage and brought his car to a stop next to his wife's car. He checked the rear view mirror as the garage door slowly closed behind him, half expecting to see the figure in black dashing in wielding a gun, but there was no one. The door closed.

Jefferson used the connecting door to enter the house. His wife was in the living room watching television.

"Your dinner's in the oven," she called.

Jefferson went to the front window and opened the curtains a few centimetres. He peered through the gap trying to see if the person in black was still out there. He could see no movement.

"Niles, what are you doing?" his wife asked looking puzzled.

"Are all the doors locked?" he asked her.

"Yes, of course they are." 

He went to phone. This better be reported he thought. With him prosecuting a high profile case against the son of a drug lord in two weeks there was a risk someone may be here to threaten him to step down from the case, or worse.

The police said they would send a patrol car immediately.

***
Hannah arrived home feeling annoyed with herself. She was getting sloppy. She had allowed herself to be seen by the target in his front yard. If Jefferson reported it to the police, Michael would find out about it and might put Jefferson at the top of his short list.

He was sitting at the dining table with three newspapers spread out in front of him.
He glanced up at her. "Another late night at the agency?" he asked, "You've been having a lot of those lately."

Yes, she thought, necessary surveillance on the target's routine. It appeared Jefferson arrived home most nights between seven and eight o'clock. It was a quiet street, there was usually no one around at that hour. Everyone was inside having their dinner. It would be risky, but she planned to take him out as he arrived home before he drove into the garage. But if the police had been alerted by her blunder tonight they may start watching the house.

"Yes," she said, "A lot of people want to go on vacations at this time of year. It's flat out at the office keeping up with it all."

She walked up to Michael and gave him a kiss. "I'll fix us some dinner. By the way how is your search going for potential victims of your assassin? Have you got a short list yet?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, "A short list of about thirty people, but we'll narrow it down."

As Hannah prepared their dinner she thought about her plans. The police would probably be patrolling Jefferson's street, but if they saw nothing suspicious in the next few nights they would ease off. Then she could make the hit in about ten days which would keep her within the timeframe.

As she served up spaghetti bolognaise Michael reached across the table and gave her a hug.
"Thanks, sweetheart," he murmured, "What would I do without you?"

Hannah smiled. What would I do with you my darling, she thought, especially with all the valuable intel you're going to give me in the next few days.