Foucault turned hard left onto North Holton Street and accelerated only to find another patrol unit closing from the north.
“I have to go left again!”
He turned too late.
* * *
The Traverse tried to turn left onto Elm Street to go west, but at its high speed it couldn’t make the turn. The left-side wheels were off the ground when its right wheels hit the curb. The Traverse flipped high in the air. It landed on its roof, violently rolling over twice and then crashing upside down into a red brick building. The brick wall collapsed upon the impact, bricks and debris crashing down on the Traverse.
Two patrol units closed in on the vehicle, followed by Ring and then Mac pulling in behind.
Ring popped out of his car with the radio in his hand, calling for an ambulance and fire truck.
Mac was out, Sig Sauer in his right hand and flashlight in his left. He ran over and stopped ten feet short and crouched down to look into the Traverse, its roof caved in. The two men were restrained inside by their seat belts, hanging upside down, their bodies limp. Wire came up behind him with another flashlight and shined it inside the vehicle.
“No movement,” Wire noted.
“And lots of blood,” Mac answered and then looked up into the sky. Not only did he see the State Patrol chopper that had swooped into the action, but now there was a television news chopper for the local FOX station hovering overhead as well.
“Keep your box on FOX,” Mac muttered.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“A murder at The Snelling led to all of this?”
Sally, Shelby and Dixon sat casually on the couch in a locker room at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. The governor would be speaking in fifteen minutes and was in an adjoining room, freshening up and spending some time with his family.
Michigan was the target earlier in the day, their last tour through the state. The candidate had two stops in Milwaukee tonight. The campaign wanted to hit Madison as well, but with the football game between Wisconsin and Minnesota at Camp Randall Stadium, the campaign thought the better of it. That might be especially true as the Golden Gophers were looking for an upset, leading 13–3 early in the second quarter.
Hitting the hustings and the small towns on bus tours was over. The campaign was now in big venue mode, hitting arenas, stadiums and airplane hangars for the big crowds, getting to as many people at a time as possible. For Sally, on her maiden big time political voyage, it was intoxicating. “It’s like a concert tour,” she remarked with the wide-eyed enthusiasm of a child when they were at Joe Louis Arena in downtown Detroit over the lunch hour.
The television was on CNN. A reporter was now standing outside of the DataPoint building and reporting on the deaths of Checketts and Martin. “That didn’t take long,” Sally stated.
“It’s something new to report on,” the Judge answered, taking in the news report. “I know for a fact, that this reporter has more background information than she is letting on.”
“Such as?” Sally asked.
“I’m sure the names of Montgomery and Stroudt might have been mentioned.”
“But not Heath Connolly?”
“Not yet, but soon,” the Judge answered. “Tomorrow, in time for Meet the Press and the rest of the morning shows. Give the media a taste of this thing and then drop the big name in and they will be relentless in their pursuit. It’s good for us if the media starts looking at that company. If we need to pressure states to inspect their machines, the media will prove an ally for us.”
Kennedy was quietly amazed. Sebastian had not been dead twenty-four hours yet the Judge soldiered on, completely locked into campaign mode. There was a cloud of sadness that hovered over him that everyone could sense. He tried to suppress it but it was there. After Tuesday, it would be tough on him with the election over and there was time to stop and reflect. But for now, the adrenaline and urgency of the race and what they were facing was enough to keep the Judge focused on the election. What Sebastian’s mother said to the governor had spread throughout the campaign staff now. “You better win.” The Judge was determined not to let Sebastian, or his mother, down.
CNN switched stories and the byline was Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and it was video of a police chase. The reporter indicated