KERRI'S WAR (Volume 3 of The King Trilogy)

CHAPTER 80

Steve and Kerri left The Prince of Wales at 6:40 P.M. and hurried to Kerri's BMW at the rear of the hotel. Driving on Queen's Parade, Steve managed to park in the Shaw Theater's lot and follow Kerri into the building with 30 seconds to spare before curtain time.

Itzic Neiman, driving his black 200 Mercedes E320, found an empty parking space at the rear of the lot. He turned the motor off, hoisted himself from his vehicle, then scanned the lot to ensure no one was looking at him. Satisfied that he was unnoticed, he walked to a densely treed area behind the lot and urinated. When he finished, he zipped his fly and returned to his car. He lit a cigarette and leaned against his front fender.

Mengalli approached from his right. He removed the glove from his left hand and withdrew a cigarette from his package. He smiled and raised his left hand to show Neiman that he held a cigarette. "Could I ask you for a light?" he asked.

"Sure," Neiman said, then reached into his pants pocket and removed a red Bic lighter.

Mengalli placed his cigarette between his lips and allowed Neiman to light it. He kept the cigarette in his lips, waited until Neiman returned the lighter to his pocket, then plunged his six inch dagger into Neiman's stomach and yanked it upward. With a powerful twist of his wrist, he turned the knife to ensure maximum internal damage, and that his victim would quickly bleed to death. Neiman, experiencing extreme pain, groaned and slumped forward, his eyes wide, displaying shock. Mengalli left his knife inside his victim and held him in a vertical position. He walked and half dragged him to the area in the trees where he had just urinated, then slowly lowered him to the ground. He removed his knife and cut Neiman's throat to stop the groaning and put him out of his misery. He dragged the body into a dense thicket of Downy Serviceberry and Silver Maples, relieved it of his wallet, money clip and keys. This maneuver was a departure from Mengalli's standard operating procedure. Normally, his victim's body would disappear, never to be found. In this case, however, he had no viable alternative. He knew the body would eventually be found, but proving the identity of its killer would be impossible.

He scanned the area to ensure that no one was looking, then walked slowly to Neiman's Mercedes. He climbed into the driver's seat and opened the glove compartment. He was delighted to find a Sig Sauer P224 pistol, complete with two ammunition clips. He stepped from the Mercedes, locked it, then returned to his Cadillac Deville to wait for Kerri King and her male friend to exit the theater.

It was minutes after ten when he saw them heading for their car. He was disappointed to see that they were surrounded by a large crowd, all of whom were obviously interested in talking to Kerri. The crowd had forced him to delay his move. He waited impatiently and watched as his subject continued with what seemed like endless conversations. He smiled when he saw Steve open Kerri's door and help her get in.

Steve climbed into the BMW's driver's seat and was about to start the engine when Kerri reached for his hand and stopped him. "Did you see Itzic?" she asked.

"No," Steve replied, immediately turning his head in the direction of Neiman's Mercedes. "His car's there, but I don't see him."

Kerri reached for her wireless transmitter and spoke into it. "Itzic, it's Kerri. Where are you?"

No reply.

"We've got to find him," she said, anxiety elevating her heart rate. She reached for her door handle.

"No!" Steve shouted. "Stay in the car! There's a reason he's not answering, and if it's serious, the last thing you should do is get out of this car." He reached for her left hand and squeezed it. "I'm sorry for shouting, but I don't want to lose you."

"I'm worried, Steve. What should we do?"

"Get back to the hotel. You'll be safe there, and we can figure out what to do next. Maybe it's simple. Hell, he could be asleep in his car." Steve started the car and drove the short distance to the hotel.