<<< Chapter Ten >>>
Cat unlocked her apartment door and slipped inside. She hadn’t seen anyone following her, but that meant little since Carlin knew where she lived. She hung up her windbreaker on the coat rack beside the door and put her purse on the table next to it, then threw the deadbolts and turned to shuffle to the kitchen.
“Boy, I’m tired,” she said to the room. “I could sleep all night and all day.”
“Betrayal is most exhausting, isn’t it, my dear?”
The woman’s low, almost friendly voice startled Cat and she spun in its direction. On her couch sat a woman of perhaps thirty-five, slender, of medium height, shoulder-length dark hair just starting to turn silver in tiny spots, wearing a modest blazer and skirt combination. She almost looked as if she planned to interview Cat for a job.
The woman smiled and stood, her right hand hidden in the folds of her skirt. “My dear Catharine, you haven’t called lately. Is your phone broken?”
Phone? Broken? Called lately? What was she talking about?
Then it hit her. This woman was Arianna Carlin.
“D-Dr. Carlin! I – I was going to – to call you – when I – I got home – b-b-but I – “
Carlin’s right hand lifted and revealed a small semi-automatic pistol. Cat gasped and stumbled backwards until she bumped against the nearest wall.
“Interesting,” Carlin purred. “You know who I am, despite our never having been formally introduced. Now I wonder who could have given you that information?” She made tch-tch sounds with her tongue. “Oh, of course! You were having a conversation with a policeman, weren’t you? I’m certain he revealed my identity to you. Don’t you remember our first rule, Catharine?”
“N-never talk about Fight Club?”
Carlin laughed. “Oh, Catharine, you are so very droll! No, it’s actually ‘never talk to the police about anything.’ But, oh dear, I’m afraid you’ve broken that rule.”
“I – I didn’t call him! He was just there when I went to the office! He asked me a bunch of questions but I didn’t tell him anything!”
Carlin stepped closer. “Now that’s not what I heard from my little birdie. My little birdie says that the man who was following you – according to my orders, by the way – was arrested for carrying an illegal weapon. And do you want to know why? Ultra Woman, of all people, just randomly floated down from the sky and asked him why he was there in the park. He said he was waiting for his wife. Then Ultra Woman asked him about his marriage, claiming that she wanted to learn more about human customs and practices. And while he was distracted, trying to figure out how to get rid of her politely – she’s supposed to be quite fetching in that costume, you know – two officers arrested him for loitering, searched him, and found his pistol and his knife. And the silly man had forgotten his license in his other suit. His lawyer will have him out by Monday afternoon, of course, but it strikes me that this was no coincidence.”
Cat said nothing. She just stared at that little pistol in Carlin’s hand.
“I’m sorry, dear, cat got your tongue?” Carlin laughed. “I’ve wanted to use that joke ever since I learned your nickname. I’m just sorry it has to be now.”
Cat blinked. “Wha – what do you mean?”
Carlin’s eyes went flat, her voice lost its teasing, sing-song quality, and she suddenly looked much older. “I mean that I do not regard betrayal lightly, Miss Grant. You had a conversation with the police. That is something I cannot tolerate.”
“But I – “
Cat didn’t finish her sentence. The pistol in Carlin’s hand snapped loudly four times, and at a range of five feet, she didn’t miss.
The twenty-five-caliber bullets didn’t penetrate far into Cat’s body, but they didn’t have to. Each one tore tissue and blood vessels, and the fiery burn from the combined wounds robbed her of the ability to stand. Her legs turned to jelly and she fell against the wall. Then she slid to the floor, her hands trying to cover the suddenly bloody holes in her chest and belly.
Carlin lowered the smoking pistol and stepped closer. “I’m so sorry, Catharine, but your debt has come due in full. And since you don’t have the money – well, let’s just say that your parents are paying off the balance even as we speak. At least, as I’m speaking.”
Cat tried to say something but she only dribbled blood from her mouth. Her head drooped and she saw the front of her dress where there was a rapidly spreading red stain. She tried to lift her head, but she no longer had the strength.
As if from far away, she heard Carlin say, “I missed your heart, dear, but I believe I did hit the descending aorta. That’s the main artery carrying blood to your lower body. You’ll bleed out in another minute more. Of course, I’ll be gone by then.”
Cat felt a hand on her chin, then the hand lifted her head and banged it against the wall. She barely felt it. Carlin’s face seemed to be miles away.
“Oh, I see that you’re almost gone already. Well, ta-ta, my dear. Say hello to your parents for me, and give them my hate. Enjoy Hell, assuming there is one waiting for you.”
Cat tried once more to speak, to lift her hand and grab Carlin, to do something. But any effort was beyond her remaining strength. Her eyes slipped shut and her breathing came hard. She felt herself slip slowly to her left, away from the leg that was folded under her. She heard a metallic clicking that sounded like someone picking up small pieces of metal.
Then she was gone.
*****
Because he was watching his favorite college football team, Louisiana State University, destroy their overmatched rival Tulane University, Jimmy Olsen almost didn’t answer his phone. But he knew he’d wonder who it was and why he was being called after nine o’clock on a Saturday evening, so he picked up the extension as the battered Tulane quarterback called a timeout.
“Hello?”
“Olsen!” The Chief’s voice was unmistakable. “Get over to Cat Grant’s place and check on her!”
“What? Why? What’s wrong?”
“She’s not answering her phone and you’re closer than I am! Hurry and you might get there before the police do. I’m calling them when I get through with you.”
“Police? Chief, what’s going on?”
Jimmy heard Perry take in a breath and let it out slowly. “I’ll explain it all later. Right now you need to check on Cat. She’s not answering her phone and I’m worried about her.”
“Maybe she’s on her other phone,” Jimmy snarked back. “You know, the special one?”
Perry hesitated, and Jimmy could almost see him wiping his face with his hand out of sheer exasperation. “I’ll tell you later just how big a jerk you’re being, Olsen. Now get over to her place and call me from there! I’m at home.”
Jimmy sighed, resigned to missing the rest of the game. “Okay, Chief. Give me fifteen minutes.”
“Make it ten.” And the phone slammed down at the other end.
Jimmy frowned at the phone and replaced it in its cradle. He didn’t know why it was so important for the Chief to know that Cat the spy was okay, but he knew he’d better do as he was told. Besides, there just might be something going on. Maybe he could catch her with Dr. Carlin. That would show his boss just how smart Jimmy was.
He switched off the TV, grabbed his keys and locked the door behind him. He ran down three flights of stairs to his car, thinking that if Morgana wasn’t already in Chicago he might have been on a date with her and would have missed Perry’s call and wouldn’t be checking up on a spy and a traitor. Oh, well, that’s life.
He pushed the speed limit as much as he dared and slid sideways to the curb next to a parking meter across from Cat’s building in just under nine minutes. He leaped out of the car and skittered across the oncoming traffic, with horns and squealing brakes providing an arrhythmic counterpoint to his footsteps.
He ran up the stairs to Cat’s apartment and knocked on the door. There was no answer so he knocked again.
Still no sound from within, so he rang the doorbell and bashed the door with his fist. “Come on, Cat, Perry wants to talk to you. Open up!”
No one came to the door and no one called to him. He began to turn away, then thought that his boss would have his hide if he didn’t at least try the door.
To his surprise – and belated alarm – the knob turned and the door ghosted open to reveal a darkened front room. The only light came from outside the window across from the doorway.
There was a feel to a place, almost a viable presence, when someone was there. That presence was missing, and Jimmy started feeling antsy.
Then he smelled something that shouldn’t have been there. It was a sharp coppery scent mixed with a hint of old food left out on the counter for too long. Maybe Cat had been called away while she was making hamburgers or something.
He slowly reached in and felt for the light switch, then flipped it on. The room looked empty as he scanned from left to right –
Until he saw the body.
Despite his youth, he was no stranger to death. He didn’t have nearly the experience either Clark or Lois had with dead people, but he’d seen a few corpses in his time.
But he’d never seen a dead person whom he’d known in life.
He listened closely and scanned the room minutely, ready to run at the first indication that the killer was still there. For murder it had to be. No one died of natural causes with that much blood in the front of her clothes and on the floor without any on her head.
Satisfied that he – that they – were alone, he looked for the phone and found it on a desk opposite Cat’s body. He stepped as carefully as he could to it and dialed the police emergency number.
“Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?” came the operator’s perfunctory response.
“I’m at someone’s apartment and she’s been murdered. Please send the police.”
The operator lost her bored tone. “Sir, can you verify the address where you are?”
He did so. “I just got here about one minute ago and I’m pretty sure she’s been dead for a while. She was either shot or stabbed, I don’t know which.”
“Have you examined the body, sir?”
“No, I haven’t gone near her – near it. I didn’t want to mess up any evidence.”
“That’s good, sir. Please remain on the line until the officers arrive, okay?”
“No problem.”
“What is your name, sir?”
“James Olsen. I work for the Daily Planet.”
“The officers have been dispatched and will be there in about three minutes. Do you know the identity of the victim?”
“Yes. Her name is – her name was Catharine Grant. She also works – worked – for the Daily Planet. This is her apartment.”
“Thank you, sir. Can you tell me why you are there?”
“My boss – that’s Perry White, the editor in chief of the Daily Planet – called me at home and told me to come and check on her. He was trying to call her and no one picked up the phone.” He took a shuddering breath. “I guess now we know why.”
“Sir, please remain calm and stay on the line. Is there anyone else in the apartment with you?”
“As far as I know, Cat and I are the only ones here. I haven’t checked any of the other rooms. I’m in the front room right now.”
“Thank you, Mr. Olsen. Please let the officers search the apartment when they get there. They will ask you this also, but can you tell me what you’ve touched in the apartment?”
“The light switch in the front room and the phone. Nothing else. I know what not to do at a crime scene.”
“That’s very good, sir. Ah, the officers are entering the building now.”
“The front door is standing open and I’m in plain sight. Please tell them that I’m not armed and I’m not a threat.”
“They’ll have to search you, sir, but I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
“I’ll let them search me as much as they want as long as they don’t shoot me.”
A short, dark-skinned officer appeared in the open doorway with her weapon drawn. “Police! Don’t move!”
Jimmy lifted his free hand and said into the phone, “The officers have arrived. Can I hang up now?”
Another officer slipped in behind the first one and moved toward the kitchen. “Just do it slowly, sir,” said the operator.
“No problem.” The woman with the pistol slowly advanced toward him as a third uniformed policeman danced toward the bedroom, weapon leading. “Officer,” he said, “I’d like to hang up the phone now, if you don’t mind.”
“Who are you talking to?” she snapped.
“The nine-one-one operator. She told me I could hang up.”
The officer lifted one hand to the microphone clipped to her shoulder and pressed the transmit button. “Officer O’Brian reporting. Front room secured. One person on the phone, male, early twenties, non-threatening attitude.”
Her radio crackled back. “The man on the phone is the nine-one-one caller. He reported the crime.”
“Roger that.” She relaxed slightly. “Please hang up the phone, sir, and turn around and put your hands on the wall and spread your feet.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He complied as she searched him efficiently and thoroughly.
She stepped back and holstered her pistol. “What’s your name, sir?”
“My name is James Olsen. I work for the Daily Planet as a photographer and IT tech. My boss, Perry White – “
“Perry White!” she interjected. “How do you know him?”
“I told you, he’s my boss. He called me at home about fifteen, maybe twenty minutes ago and told me to come over here to check on Catharine Grant. She’s one of – she was one of my coworkers. Mr. White couldn’t get her on the phone so he told me to come check on her.” He pointed across the room where a tall older man wearing latex gloves and a cheap gray suit was kneeling beside Cat’s body. “That’s her against the wall. She’s dead.”
“How do you know that? Did you check on her when you came in?”
“No. I could tell she wasn’t breathing, and that’s way too much blood for any live person to lose and stay alive. The only things I touched when I came in were the light switch and the phone.”
“How did you get in?”
“The door wasn’t locked. I just turned the knob and it opened.”
The man in the suit stood and walked over to Jimmy’s side of the room. “She was shot four times at close range with a small-caliber weapon, a twenty-two or a twenty-five. Probably a Saturday night special. Her skin is cool but she’s not in rigor yet. My guess is she’s been dead between two and four hours. The ME will tell us for sure.” He waved toward the back of the apartment. “As far as we can tell, nothing else in here was touched. This looks like a deliberate killing, not a robbery or something else gone bad. And the shooter either policed his brass or used a revolver.”
“Thanks, Lennie,” the officer said. She turned to Jimmy again as the plainclothes detective walked back to the body. “You have some ID on you?”
“In my wallet. Left rear pants pocket.”
“Bring it out slowly, please.”
He did so, then opened the wallet and pulled out his driver’s license without being asked. She held it for a moment, then returned it. “You have much experience with the police?”
“Enough to know you won’t look at my license while it’s in my wallet. I told you, I work for the Daily Planet.”
“You did, sir.” She pulled a small notebook from her shirt pocket. “Would you mind giving me your home address and phone number?”
He repeated the information to her. “The address is the same as what’s on my license.”
She snapped her notebook shut. “Yes, sir, but sometimes people move.”
He nodded. “Is it okay if I call my boss and tell him what’s happened? That’s why I came over in the first place.”
She turned around. “Lennie? Can this guy use the phone in here?”
“He already touched it, didn’t he?”
“Yeah. You need to dust it for prints first?”
“No, let him make his call. We’ll check the usage records to make sure, but I doubt the killer called anyone from this phone.”
Jimmy nodded to both officers. “Thanks.”
Then he picked up the phone and did the hardest thing he’d had to do in his young life.
*****
Lois saved the story of Ultra Woman’s capture of the two men in Atlanta and sent the file to Perry’s inbox. Then she put her hands behind her head and leaned back, satisfied with how that had gone. No one had gotten hurt and the bad guys were behind bars. Plus, if there were any crooked cops on Carlin’s payroll in that department, they’d surely keep a low profile knowing that Ultra Woman was on the case.
She rocked in her chair a few times, then sat up. It was time to go home. She felt good about herself and about her mission and about the way the net was closing around Arianna Carlin. It shouldn’t be too long before Lex was out from under the menace of her presence also.
And maybe it was time to bring Cat in on the secret of Ultra Woman’s identity. After all, Lois had just saved her parents’ lives, and whatever Cat knew about Arianna Carlin, and however she’d learned it, was going to be used to bring her to justice.
All in all, it felt like a very good night.
The phone rang just before she stepped on the bottom of the ramp. She chuckled to herself and returned to her desk. “Lois Lane, Daily Planet.”
“Lois? Honey? You – you should sit down if you’re not already.”
She blinked. It was Perry’s voice, but he sounded as if he’d suddenly gotten old. Something was wrong – no, check that, something really big was wrong.
She found her chair. “Okay, I’m sitting. What’s going on?”
Something like a sob came over the line. “Are Cat’s parents okay?”
“Yes. Ultra Woman caught the bad guys and handed them over to the cops.”
“Good.” He hesitated again, then spoke. “So the only call I’ll have to make is to them.”
“What? Why do you need to call them?”
He took in a long breath, then let it out slowly. “Cat was killed this afternoon.”
The room spun for a moment and Lois heard a crackling by her ear. It took her a moment to realize that she’d almost crushed the receiver in her hand.
“Cat – dead? How? Who?”
“The police – they think Arianna Carlin shot Cat in her apartment about three hours ago. I sent Jimmy over there to check on her and he – the kid found her body.”
Now the room was tear-dimmed. “Where is Carlin now?” Lois growled.
“We don’t know! And don’t you go off by yourself trying to find her. If Superman and Ultra Woman can’t find her, you won’t do it alone.”
“Give me your best guess, Perry.”
“I don’t have any kind of guess. I think she’s somewhere in or around Metropolis, but that covers a lot of territory. No one has reported seeing her lately.”
“What about that woman in custody, the one from Carlin’s upstate hideaway?”
“She’s in the secure wing of the jail – No! You stay away from her! You hear me?”
“I just want to ask her a question or two.”
“There’s no way Bill Henderson or the DA is going to let anyone talk to her now! If she doesn’t help them find Carlin she’ll find another murder charge filed against her! And I’m not going to let you screw up that case!”
“Perry – “
“I want your word, Lois! And I want it right now! Promise me you’ll stay away from the jail no matter what you’re wearing!”
She almost finished crushing the phone receiver, but after a long moment her control returned. “You have my word. I will not go anywhere near the jail to talk to her.”
“Good.” He took another deep breath. “You didn’t know this, not all of it, but Cat was reporting everything she – wait, you don’t know that either. Look, I need to see you and Clark at my place tonight. Jimmy will be there too. There are some things I need to tell – tell all of you.” His voice caught, then he cleared his throat and said, “It’s time for me to come clean on this.”
“I think Clark’s on a date with Rebecca.”
“Get in touch with him however you need to and get him over here. I want to see all three of you at my house in the next forty minutes.”
*****
Rebecca looked up as Clark came back to her seat, expecting to be handed a box of popcorn and a soft drink. Instead, he leaned down and whispered, “There’s an emergency. I have to go.”
She frowned and whispered back, “Can’t Lois take care of it?”
He shook his head. “My boss wants both of us, along with Jimmy, to meet him at his house right now.”
“Oh, Clark, we’re not even halfway through the movie! Can’t this wait?”
“No, it can’t.”
She jerked back at his sharp tone and the woman sitting behind them stage-whispered, “You two need to take it outside, okay? We’re trying to enjoy the show here.”
Rebecca turned and muttered. “The boat sinks and almost everybody dies.”
“Oh, thanks for spoiling it for me, lady.”
Clark turned and lifted his open hand to the woman in a gesture of peace, then looked at Rebecca. “I have to go now. Either come with me or take a cab home.”
She hesitated a moment, then stood and followed him to the aisle, pouting inside with every step. Her subtle campaign to cut down on Superman’s public appearances had been going well – maybe too well. Maybe that’s why Clark had been a bit harsh with her. Maybe she’d been pouring it on a little thick.
As they left the theater and walked into the mall proper, she muttered, “Don’t you have any time to yourself?”
He didn’t look at her. “You know I’m a reporter. You know I have to respond to the needs of the paper. And right now I have to go see my boss at his home. Something really big has come up.”
Her irritation morphed into curiosity. “Really? What’s it about?”
He sighed and waited until they were in the parking lot to speak again. “I don’t know yet, but it’s big or Lois wouldn’t have called me while we were out together.”
“I didn’t hear your phone ring.”
He opened the passenger door and handed her the keys. “You’ll have to drop me off.” Rebecca frowned at him, then walked around the car and they each slid into their respective seats. “And Lois didn’t call me on the phone.”
Rebecca’s eyes widened. “You mean – “ she touched the side of her head.
“Yes. Now please hurry. She wouldn’t give me any information, but I could tell she was really upset about something.”
“Got it.” She started the car and eased out into the parking lot, then headed for the main road. “I’ll need directions to your boss’ house. I’ve never been there.”
“No problem. Take a left on the Curt Swan Parkway and head west. I’ll direct you from there.”
Whatever was wrong, thought Rebecca, it was bad. Maybe she should ease up on Clark for a while.
Or maybe he needed to learn how to say ‘no’ once in a while.
*****
The funeral had been torture for Jimmy.
Telling Cat’s parents how sorry he was had been sheer agony.
But the knowledge that she’d been one of the good guys after all almost crushed him.
He’d gotten used to speaking carefully around Cat, to keeping sensitive information out of her hands as much as he could, to pretending that he tolerated her presence in the news room. He’d almost tipped his hand a few times, but as far as he or Perry knew, she’d never known that he’d been tracking her movements and her conversations with Carlin for months.
And then Perry had revealed to him that she’d been reporting every word to her editor, that the only reason he’d kept Jimmy on the case was to verify her information, that they had been feeding that information to the police, that Cat had planned to testify against Carlin after the doctor’s arrest, and that Cat would have almost surely disappeared into witness protection after the trial.
None of that would happen now.
Jimmy watched as Perry told her parents that Cat had been murdered by someone she’d been investigating and that the information she’d discovered would help the police find her killer quickly. It didn’t comfort them, of course, but the knowledge that she had been working for the good guys might help deal with her death in the future.
The thought that the Chief was telling them the truth cut Jimmy even deeper.
Lois was barely able to stand. Jimmy had never seen her so inconsolable. She might have fallen more than once had Clark not stayed by her side the whole time, often holding her upright. Even through his own pain, he saw how much Lois would miss Cat, how much this loss was taking from her. Had Clark not been walking beside her, she might have collapsed to the floor when she passed by the open coffin.
And Clark looked stricken, as if he’d lost a friend. But he hadn’t, not like Lois had. He’d never been as close to Cat as Lois was. Maybe he felt Lois’ pain over losing her friend.
There was also a fleeting thought that Clark and Lois looked very natural together, that they fit together as well as any two people he’d ever seen, but the thought didn’t hang around and Jimmy didn’t try to call it back when it drifted away. He didn’t even wonder where Rebecca was, since he knew she and Cat hadn’t known each other.
Just before he walked out of the chapel, Inspector Henderson motioned him to an unoccupied corner. “Olsen, what can you tell me about the Dangerous Boys?”
Jimmy didn’t bother to hide his shock at the question. Henderson wasn’t supposed to know anything about that. “What? Who?”
“Look, I know they’re not a new punk band. I also know that you’re connected to them and that you and they do some really high-tech computer stuff. We have reason to believe that Arianna Carlin knows something about you guys and about you poking around in her business, which means that she might decide to use up some ammunition on you.”
Jimmy’s eyes widened and he glanced around to make sure no one else was listening. “I don’t believe it! We were careful not to leave any tracks!”
“Well, one of you must have stepped in a digital mud puddle and left a footprint. The woman from Carlin’s hideout who we have in custody told us this morning that Carlin asked all of her team to find out whatever they could about you and some guy named Philip Knowles and who they were hanging around with.”
“But – that means – Morgana!”
Henderson grabbed Jimmy’s arm and kept him from sprinting away. “Calm down! Tell me about Morgana.”
“She’s part of the gang, one of the Dangerous Boys, but she’s also a musician and she moved to Chicago to play in the symphony and I have to tell her she’s in danger!”
Henderson shook his head. “If she’s that far away, she’s safe as long as she stays there. What’s left of Carlin’s organization is all up and down the East Coast, but they haven’t penetrated the Midwest yet.”
“How can you be sure of that?”
“We have a number of sources and the FBI is working closely with us on this case. If Luthor hadn’t gone after Carlin with his militia and pushed her underground, we probably would have been able to arrest her a couple of weeks ago.”
“She’s not so far underground that she can’t still kill people!” snarled Jimmy.
Henderson’s face softened. “I know. And I’m sorry. I should have taken Ms. Grant into protective custody, but we didn’t think Carlin would react so quickly and so violently. We’ll know better next time.”
Jimmy leaned closer and snapped, “Cat doesn’t have a next time, Inspector!”
This time Henderson’s face went almost blank. “I know that too. Now you know this. Carlin won this battle but she won’t win the war. We’ll get her. In the meantime, you call your dangerous buddies in your little group and tell them to run for the hills, preferably some place two or three states to the west, and not to come back to Metropolis until this is over. And do it now, before we have to attend any more funerals.”
Before Jimmy could respond, Henderson stepped around him and walked outside.
Great, thought Jimmy, just great. Now we’re targets too. Me and Raoul and Phil and Morgana and –
His eyes popped open again. He’d better tell Clark that Rebecca was one of the targets. Maybe he could get Superman to watch over her until the danger passed.
