The Terrorist Next Door by Sheldon Siegel Read Free Book Online

who has reached out to us and done good works for our entire community.”
    “Is that the consensus of your parish?”
    “Not everybody is as open-minded as I am.”
    “We’ve heard rumors that he was involved in gun-smuggling a few years ago.”
    “The FBI paid me a visit. I don’t know anything about it.”
    “We’ve heard some of the members of his mosque aren’t such solid citizens.”
    “I don’t know anything about that, either.”
    “What can you tell us about Jafar?”
    “He’s taking a lot of heat because he wants to buy an empty building on Diversey. The damn thing has been an eyesore for years. I’ve seen his plans—it’ll be a nice addition to our community if it ever gets built. The Al-Shahid case and the bombings this morning may derail the project. I try to remind our parishioners that this wasn’t always a Polish neighborhood.” The priest arched a bushy eyebrow. “I’ve had a lot of practice at keeping secrets, David. Do you think there’s a connection between the Shrine of Heaven and the bombings?”
    “The car that blew up at the Addison El belonged to the mosque.”
    “I heard. Ahmed is too smart to blow up a car easily traceable to him.”
    “What about the possibility that somebody else at the mosque might be involved? Any disgruntled members?”
    “Ask the FBI. I’m sure they’re watching the mosque.”
    “They are. Let me ask you about something else . We met a painter at the mosque named Michael Janikowski. Do you know him?”
    “I baptized him. His mother lives around the corner. Mike’s father used to run a deli on Diversey. Unfortunately, he died of a heart attack during Mike’s last tour in Afghanistan. Mike did two tours in Iraq before that. I’ve been trying to help him find work. It isn’t easy in this economy. I got Ahmed to hire him to help with the paint job.”
    “I heard. How’s re-entry going?”
    “Up and down.”
    “Post-traumatic stress?”
    “Not as far as I can tell. I’ve been watching kids come back from the service since Vietnam. Mike’s unit dismantled bombs. It’s a high stress job with no margin for error. His brother is in the Air Force in Germany. A few weeks after Mike got home, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. He’s staying with her until she finishes her treatments.”
    “Tough stuff.”
    “Yes, it is. Mike still comes to church every Sunday. Played football at Gordon Tech and graduated at the top of his class. Volunteered for the Marines. Came home with a handful of medals and a Purple Heart. We’re very proud of him.”
    “Anything we can do to help?”
    “I’m trying to convince him to go back to school. He might look into the police academy. Can I put him in touch with you?”
    “Of course.”
    “Give my best to your dad.”
    * * *
    The young man took a sip of tea as he glanced at his laptop. The red dot was blinking on Milwaukee Avenue just north of Fullerton. The miniature GPS he’d slipped under the radiator of Battle’s Crown Vic two days earlier was working.
    Attention to detail .
    The CNN website was re-running footage of smoke billowing from the Addison El station. “The El is down until further notice,” the announcer intoned.
    Easier than I thought .
    “And today’s Cubs game has been postponed.”
    You know you’ve hit the big time when you shut down the Friendly Confines .
    He meticulously reassembled the cell phone sitting on his desk. He switched off his computer and pulled a throwaway phone from his pocket. He made sure that he had punched in the correct number. Then he pressed Send.
    * * *
    Gold and Battle were heading south on Milwaukee Avenue toward the Kennedy when Maloney’s name appeared on Gold’s BlackBerry. There was anger in the chief’s voice. “I need you downtown right away,” he snapped. “The asshole just set off a bomb in the garage at Millennium Park.”
     
     

 
    Chapter 7
    “WHAT’S THE ISLAMIC FREEDOM FEDERATION?”
     
    Millennium Park was an urban oasis