here within a couple of minutes. After that, his ability to question the two men would be limited. One of the perks of living in the more upscale neighborhoods in the area was the prompt response of the authorities.
“Last chance,” Jake said. “Why were you trying to kidnap my wife and daughter?”
“This is all a mistake,” the big one insisted.
Jake could see the lie in his eyes. With only a moment’s hesitation, Jake raised the Sig and shot the man in the chest. He gasped, and collapsed on the lawn, already dead. The ragged hole in his chest colored his shirt red.
“Oh shit!” the second of the kidnappers gasped.
Jake turned the gun toward him.
“Your turn,” he said menacingly. “One chance. Who sent you and why?”
The man held out his hands as if to ward off a bullet. “I don’t know,” he pleaded. “A man contacted us at the bar. He knew all about us and our past history. He paid us to take your family. We were supposed to take them and drive north. He would call us in an hour or so and tell us where to take them. I swear we don’t know any more than that.”
Jake considered. He thought the man was telling the truth.
“Where’s the phone he was going to call you on?” Jake asked.
“Mack has it,” the frightened man said. “It’s in his pocket.”
Jake kept his gun on the man and checked. There was a cheap smart phone in the man’s right rear pocket. Jake left it in place. He heard the sound of an approaching siren. Less than five minutes. He knew they’d be quick.
“Describe the man who contacted you,” Jake ordered.
The nervous kidnapper complied, but the description meant nothing to Jake.
“Don’t shoot me,” the man pleaded when he’d finished his description.
“Of course not,” Jake said, and then back-tracked.
“This is all a mistake,” the big one said.
“Of course it is,” Jake said. “Let’s just wait for the police and let them settle it.” He kept the gun pointed between the two men who could also hear the siren in the distance.
The police arrived with the appropriate squeal of tires, and the two officers piled out drawing their service weapons as they came.
“Police,” the lead man shouted as if everyone couldn’t tell. Both officers had their weapons pointed at the three of them, although mostly favoring Jake since he had a weapon showing.
“Homeowner,” Jake said, allowing the muzzle of his weapon to point toward the ground. “Watch these two. I’m going to set my weapon on the ground.”
The officer nodded, and Jake carefully set his Sig down. Then he turned and leaned up against the house, his hands spread. The second officer had the two men do the same.
“My wallet with my identification is in my pocket,” Jake said. “These men were attempting to kidnap my family.”
“We weren’t,” the big one said unconvincingly.
The officer took his time, but eventually pulled Jake’s wallet from his pocket and confirmed who he was. The other men had no identification on them.
“How would you know what these two intended?” the policeman asked. “It looks as if you stopped them before they ever reached the door.”
“That’s somewhat difficult to explain,” Jake said. “There’s a card you should have a look at. It’s behind my driver license.”
“What kind of card?”
“It’s from the FBI,” Jake said.
“You’re FBI?” the cop asked.
“Consultant,” Jake said. “I think you should call one of the numbers on that card and ask for one of the two agents indicated.”
The card was something Susan Carlson had given him in the event of trouble. In addition to having Jake’s name, his real one, it had her number and that of Jim Laney, the only other member of the FBI who knew about Jake, listed. In the event neither was available, Jake would simply back-track around offering the card, and wait until a later time. He didn’t want anyone else to be aware of him under his real name. There were other ways he could handle this, but he wanted the two men arrested to see what could be learned about them.
The policeman dug back into Jake’s wallet and found the card. “Maury, what do you make of this?” he asked his partner.
Before matters were sorted out, another pair of police cars arrived, one an unmarked car with a pair of detectives. Calls were made, while Jake and the two men waited in the back of two of the cars under watch. Jake could see Karin peering out from the upstairs