Текст книги "Detective Jason Strong: The Early Cases"
Автор книги: John C. Dalglish
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Текущая страница: 19 (всего у книги 21 страниц)
Chapter 15
Devin James decided to go past the Hughes house on his way home. He’d called again and got the machine for a second time. He needed to go by and check his theory before alerting the police. After all, he had nothing but his suspicion to suggest that anything might be wrong at the Hughes home.
He came around the corner and found the house numbers in this neighborhood were on the brick mailboxes by the street. He followed the numbers down the road until he came to the one on his paper. The house was a large, two story brick home with dramatic dormers on the second floor and an immaculate lawn. There were two of those trees you trim into shapes, one on each side of the black front door.
There was a car in the driveway with the trunk open. A tall, dark haired woman in a pant suit was handing bags of groceries to two children. She grabbed the last bag and walked towards the house.
James parked and got out, moving across the lawn towards the door.
“Mrs. Hughes?”
She stopped and turned towards the reporter.
“Yes?”
“My name is Devin James; I’m a reporter for the San Antonio News. Is your husband home?”
“I don’t think so, Mr. James, at least his car’s not here. Why are you asking?”
“I’m doing research for a story and his name came up as a source for some background.”
She continued up the walk and unlocked the door. The kids took their bags inside.
“Oh. Did you call Dex at work?”
“No, I didn’t have the number.”
“If you’ll wait a minute, I’ll get it for you.”
“That would be great.”
She disappeared inside with her groceries and returned a few minutes later with a business card.
“He’s a sales rep for a billboard company. This is his card with his cell number.”
James took the card and gave her one of his.
“If I don’t reach him, would you have him call me?”
“Sure.”
She closed the door and James immediately started dialing while on his way back to his car.
“This is Dex Hughes with Barnaby Advertising. I’m sorry I missed your call. Please leave a message and I’ll return your call as soon as I can.”
James hung up and dialed the office number also listed on the card.
“Barnaby Advertising.”
“Yes, Is Dexter Hughes in?”
“No, sir. He’s not been to the office today. Do you want his cell number?”
“No, thank you. I already have it.”
Devin James hung up. What to do next? He needed to know the whereabouts of Dexter Hughes but he didn’t want to create panic based on a ten year old news story.
He started his car and looked at the address of Betty Jarvis. It was east of the city. He would pay her a visit in the morning.
****
Donnie slammed the door on the fourth cell and snapped the padlock shut. A quick look told him the other three cells were all still locked. Tomorrow he’ll visit Billy one last time before completing the mission. Donnie wished Billy could be present to see the success of the plan and he would love to be watching when Billy received his final rest. Neither was possible but it would be an exciting day, anyway.
****
Dexter Hughes knew he wasn’t alone. He had seen the other locked doors and he could smell the stench of trapped humans. He jerked at his chain, it wasn’t going to give, and looked around for an escape. He wasn’t going anywhere, even if he did get loose.
“Dexter?”
He was startled to hear his name from the next cell.
“Who’s asking?”
“Suzanne Cooper. Are you Dexter Hughes?”
Dexter tried to place the name. He knew it but from somewhere way in the past.
“Yes. Do I know you? How do you know me?”
“Damn! Well, that seals it.”
It was a male voice and came from the far end of the room. Dexter also heard a female start to cry.
“Can someone tell me what’s going on?”
The woman who had spoken first, her voice barely above a whisper, tried.
“The man in the far cell is Ed Garland. Next to me is Chelsea Burt. As I told you, I’m Suzanne Cooper. We guessed who you were because we all have a connection.”
Dexter slumped back against the wall.
“Billy Jarvis.”
“That’s what we think. Ed was taken first, Chelsea second and me third. We knew if you were the one put in the last cell, all of this had to be connected to Billy.”
“Who’s the guy that’s locked us in here?”
Ed spoke up from the far end.
“Hey Dex. Never thought I would speak to you again, especially under these circumstances. We think it’s Donnie Jarvis, Billy’s little brother.”
“But why?”
“We don’t know, he won’t answer us. Just keeps saying ‘We’ll find out soon’.
“Have you told him you know who he is and Billy wouldn’t want him to do this?”
“No! We don’t want him to know we’ve figured out who he is. We think it just increases the danger.”
Dexter tried to get comfortable on the blanket.
“Makes sense, I guess; if anything to do with this could make sense.”
****
The next morning Devin James prepared to leave the house but before he did, he called Dexter Hughes at home.
“Hello.”
“Mrs. Hughes, this is Devin James. Is your husband at home?”
“No. In fact he didn’t come home last night.”
“Is that unusual?”
“Hell yes, it’s unusual.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Hughes. I didn’t mean to offend. I think you should call the police.”
“I already did but they said it needed to be 48 hours before anything could be done.”
“Do you have a pen and paper?”
“Yes.”
“Call Detective Jason Strong. I know him and he’ll listen to you. You can tell him I gave you his name. Tell Detective Strong I believe your husband’s disappearance may be tied to the cases he is working on.”
“What cases?”
“I’m sorry maam, I can’t say more.”
“Jason Strong?”
“Yes Maam.”
“Okay. Thank you, Mr. James.”
The phone went dead and James felt a queasiness in his stomach. He hated to find out he was right. Dexter Hughes is missing.
Chapter 16
Donnie pulled up at ‘Gates of Heaven’ cemetery before sunrise. Today was the day he and Billy had been planning. Over ten years since that awful day and now they were going to make things right. It was going to be so sweet to see all their work pay off.
Donnie couldn’t sleep anyway, so he’d got up early and come to visit Billy for the last time before they played out the final step. Parking the van, he walked through the damp morning grass to his big brother’s grave. He felt a peace inside knowing he had accomplished the most important task his brother could ever give him. To help him rest.
“Good Morning, Billy.”
Donnie crouched down, listening intently.
“I know you’re ready. I’m sure going to miss our talks when you’re gone.”
Donnie smiled.
“Thanks. I did it all for you. You deserve it.”
Donnie brushed the leaves off his brother’s name.
“Don’t worry about me, Billy. I don’t think they know who I am and, if anyone survives, I’ll make sure they don’t know where to find me.”
Donnie stayed by his brother for a little while. It reminded him of the visits he made with Momma when she was alive. They would just enjoy being with Billy. But the events planned for this day would not let Donnie linger as they had those many days. Today was a day for action.
“I’ve gotta go now, Billy.”
Tears welled up in his eyes.
“I love you, too. You’re the best brother a kid could ever have and I’m gonna miss you.”
He stood up.
“You’re welcome. Tell Momma ‘hi’ when you see her. Make sure she knows I miss her.”
Donnie hesitated a moment or two longer.
“Bye, Billy. I love you.”
Donnie walked away with the usual sadness but now it was mixed with anticipation. He was coming to the end of a decade long journey. He fired up the van and sped for home.
****
Jason arrived at work around his usual time. Waiting for him on his desk was a note.
Call Mrs. Hughes. Urgent. 555-230-4210.
Jason got himself a cup of coffee and sat down. He dialed the number.
“Hello?”
“Yes. Mrs. Hughes?”
“Yes. Is this Detective Strong?”
“Yes Maam; I had a note to call you?”
“Devin James, the reporter, he gave me your name and said I should call you.”
Jason did his best not to sound irritated but he didn’t like James using him as an inside contact. He would have to talk to him about it.
“Okay. What can I help you with?”
“My husband is missing.”
“How long has he been gone?”
“It’s been since yesterday morning when I talked to him and they told me at his work he’d never checked in yesterday.”
“Well Mrs. Hughes, we don’t consider a person missing for at least…”
“48 hours, I know. Mr. James said you would help me. He said to tell you my husband missing is connected to some cases you’re working on.”
Jason had been leaning back in his chair with his legs crossed but now he sat upright and put down his coffee.
“Did he say what cases he was referring to?”
“I assume missing persons but I’m not sure.”
Nina came in and gave a nod before sitting down at her desk. Jason grabbed a pad and wrote down the name Hughes.
“Mrs. Hughes, what is your husband’s first name?”
“Dexter.”
Jason wrote it in front of Hughes.
“Okay. Can you hold on for a minute?”
“Sure.”
Jason punched the hold button and gave the note to Nina.
“Check and see if that name is on our reunion list.”
Jason watched her intently as she scanned the sheets. It wasn’t long before she looked up at him.
“Yes. Dexter Hughes. Why?”
“I’ll tell you in a minute.”
He punched the hold button again.
“Mrs. Hughes?”
“Yes.”
“If you’ll give me your address, my partner and I would like to come by and talk to you.”
“Oh, thank you so much.”
Jason wrote down the address and hung up. Nina was watching him, waiting for an explanation.
“I found a note on my desk this morning to call a Mrs. Hughes. When I called her, she said her husband was missing an officer she spoke with told her it had to be 48 hours before they could do anything. Apparently, she has somehow got hooked up with Devin James and he told her to call me.”
“Oh, wasn’t that nice of him!”
“Wait, there’s more. James told her to tell me that her husband missing was connected to the cases we’re working on.”
“You’re kidding! How would he know that?”
“A very good question, one I intend to ask him as soon as I get a hold of him. Anyway, that’s when you came in and confirmed the name on the list.”
“So we’re going over to talk to her?”
“Yes, but first I have a call to make.”
Jason picked up his phone and found the reporters number in his contacts. He pushed ‘call’.
“You have reached the phone of Devin James, crime reporter for the San Antonio News. Please leave a message and I will return your call as soon possible. Thank you.”
Jason waited for the beep.
“Devin, this is Jason Strong. I received a call today from a Mrs. Dexter Hughes. Please call me; I have some questions for you. Thanks.”
He hung up and looked at Nina.
“Ready to ride?”
“Of course.”
****
Devin James recognized the phone number of Jason Strong and let it go to voice mail. Devin figured Jason had talked to Mrs. Hughes and knew the detective had questions that James wasn’t prepared to answer. He would call Jason back when he got a handle on the situation at the Jarvis farm.
The reporter turned down the gravel lane that led up to the farmhouse. He could see a van parked up by the front porch but no sign of anyone moving around outside. He crossed an old cattle guard and slowed to a stop next to the van. Devin shut his car off but didn’t have time to get out before a young man appeared at his side window.
He was maybe twenty, tall and thin and James wasn’t sure where he’d snuck up on him from. Perhaps he was in the van. Devin rolled the window down and felt the blast of the late morning heat. The boy appeared tense.
“You lost?”
James put on his best reporters smile.
“No, I don’t think so. I wanted to talk to Betty Jarvis. Is she here?”
“Nope. She’s gone to town. Are you the reporter who called the other day?”
“Yes. Are you Donnie?”
“Maybe. Is there something I can help you with?”
The boy stayed close enough to the door as to prevent Devin from opening it without pushing him out of the way.
“I’m investigating the disappearance of four people and I wanted to ask your mother about it?”
“Momma doesn’t know anything about no missing people.”
“I’d like to ask her myself, will she be back soon?”
“I said she doesn’t know anything and I don’t know when she’ll be back. I’d like you to leave now.”
“I don’t mind waiting.”
“I said you need to leave!”
James could see this was going nowhere and Donnie was getting agitated. Devin didn’t want a confrontation so he said goodbye and rolled up his window. The young man watched him turn around and continued to stare after him all the way down the drive. James didn’t turn right, the direction he’d come from but went left instead. He’d seen the row of trees which ran across the back of the Jarvis property and he thought they would serve as cover while he watched and waited for Mrs. Jarvis to return.
Sure enough, he was able to pull off the road into the shade of an oak tree and watch the house from a distance. He reached into the glove compartment and got out his binoculars. His instincts told him it wasn’t a time for action, but a time for waiting. Waiting and watching.
****
Donnie watched until the reporter had turned at the end of the lane. He felt very uneasy. The timing of the visit couldn’t have been worse. Today of all days needed to go smoothly and unexpected visitors were not part of the plan.
He turned and walked back to the house. He had preparations that needed completing and sensed his time was getting short.
Chapter 17
Jason and Nina pulled up at the Hughes house 45 minutes later. Mrs. Hughes opened the door before the detectives could ring the bell.
“Detective Strong?”
“Yes Maam, and this is my partner, Detective Jefferson. May we come in?”
“Of course.”
She let them in and after closing the door, she guided them through an oak paneled hallway that opened up into an expansive kitchen. White cabinets, black granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. It was right out of a magazine.
“Would you like coffee, detectives?”
“Not for me.”
Nina also shook her head no and pulled out a chair from the kitchen table. Jason joined her and Mrs. Hughes grabbed the coffee cup she had been using, refilled it from the pot, and joined them. As she held her cup, Jason noticed the shaking of what he thought was probably normally steady hands.
Nina opened a notepad while Jason turned his chair to face the elegant woman.
“Mrs. Hughes…”
“Please, call me Barbara.”
“Barbara, I assume you haven’t heard from your husband since we last spoke, is that right?”
“That’s right. I continue to try his cell phone and check with his office, but there’s no answer and they haven’t heard from him either.”
“Do you have a picture of your husband?”
“Yes, of course.”
Barbara Hughes left the room and returned with a photo frame. She slid the picture out of the frame and handed it to Jason. Jason took a look before giving it to Nina.
Barbara followed it with her eyes almost like it might be the last time she saw the image of her husband. Jason felt for the woman and his frustration at not being able to tie everything together was starting to eat at him.
“Barbara, had your husband mentioned his upcoming class reunion?”
Jason could see the confusion on her face.
“Yes. About a week ago. Does that have something to do with him being missing?”
“We’re not sure. The other cases we’re working, that Devin James mentioned to you, are from the same high school class as your husband. We think it’s likely the connection, and possibly the basis for a motive, to cause these people to go missing. When we found your husband’s name on the class list, we came to see you without waiting the 48 hours.”
“How many cases are there that Mr. James was referring to?”
“There are three others that we’re aware of.”
“Three! My husband is four?”
“Yes maam. Had your husband mentioned being concerned about the reunion or being contacted by someone he wasn’t comfortable with?”
Mrs. Hughes was still clearly trying to get a grasp on the thought that her husband was one of four missing people. Her answers took on a robotic feel, like she’d gone to autopilot.
“No. The only thing he said was the school had called to give him the date and place of the reunion.”
Nina looked up from her note taking.
“Mrs. Hughes…”
“Barbara, please.”
“I’m sorry…Barbara, we would like to access your husband’s phone records and it would be much faster if you just requested them for us.”
“Of course. I’ll call our provider now.”
The tall brunette got up and left the room and Jason looked at Nina.
“What do you think?”
“Four people from the same school, same class and all in a week. We’ve got somebody who had a bone to pick.”
“Yeah, but how many? This is four, how many more could they be after?”
“Until we find the connection, the phone list is the only thing we have. There must be a smaller list, all one hundred plus classmates can’t be targets, and we need to figure out what that smaller list is. There must be something that connects these four that doesn’t connect the rest of the class.”
Barbara Hughes came back into the room.
“They’re e-mailing the record from our last bill to me now. Here is last months.”
Nina took the sheets and they stood. Barbara Hughes walked back out of the room and, in less than a minute, came back with one more sheet which was printed from her email.
She escorted them back to the front door and opened it for the two detectives. When Jason had stepped outside, he turned to face Mrs. Hughes. Jason looked into the woman’s eyes and saw a pain there he recognized.
She wasn’t whole. A part of her was missing and her life was out of balance, like a teeter-totter with no one on the other end. She couldn’t make it move, couldn’t do it alone. The fear that she might have lost her partner in life visibly weighed on her and Jason’s heart ached for her.
“Barbara, we’ll do everything we can to find your husband. Hang in there and we’ll be in touch.”
Tears started to well up as the stress began to come out the only way she knew how.
“Thank you, Detectives. I appreciate it.”
The door closed and Jason’s face turned hard.
“We need to find the bastard that’s taking these people and fast!”
****
Devin James had waited long enough. There was no movement around the farm, but something wasn’t right and he could feel it.
While he was sitting and watching, he had planned out a route he thought would get him up near the buildings without being seen. If he stayed in the tree line behind the property until the garage hid him from the house, he might be able to run up without Donnie knowing he was there.
Betty Jarvis hadn’t shown up from town and James was beginning to suspect she didn’t live there at all, or worse, something had happened to her.
He made his mind up it was time to move but before he left the vehicle, he dialed San Antonio police headquarters.
“SAPD.”
“Yes, is this Sergeant Connor?”
“Yes sir, who am I speaking with?”
“This is Devin James with the San Antonio News.”
“Afternoon Mr. James, what can I do for you?”
“I want to leave a message for Detective Strong.”
“Do you want me to see if he’s in?”
“No, I don’t have time. Can you just give him a note when you see him?”
“Sure. Let me get a pen…okay, shoot.”
“Tell him to pull the file from the Billy Jarvis suicide. It’s from ten years ago.”
“Okay. Pull the Billy Jarvis file. Anything else?”
“Yes. Tell him it’s connected with the missing persons.”
“Got it.”
“Thanks.”
James hung up before Dave Connor could ask any more questions. He took his binoculars and a small digital camera with him, locked the car door, and crawled under a barb wire fence. Staying low, and avoiding a small herd of Texas Longhorn cattle, the reporter made his way along the fence row behind the cover of the trees.
Five minutes brought him to the spot opposite the garage where he wasn’t visible from the house. He paused and took out his binoculars, searching the property for Donnie. There was still no one moving around and no sign he had been spotted.
He stayed and watched for a full ten minutes, catching his breath, before moving again.
Climbing under the back fence to the Jarvis property, he stayed crouched and made a run for the back of the garage.
****
Jason and Nina arrived back at the station and walked through the front doors.
“Jason!”
He turned to where he heard his name called from and saw his friend, Dave Connor, holding up a sheet of paper. Nina continued up the stairs while Jason walked over the sergeant’s desk.
“Hi, Dave. How’s things?”
“Good. You?”
“Not bad. What’s the note?”
The sergeant handed the note from the reporter to the detective.
“Your buddy Devin James called around a half hour ago and left you a message.”
“Buddy is not how I would normally describe him.”
Jason read the note and his pulse quickened. He walked away without thanking Dave.
“You’re welcome.”
Jason turned.
“Sorry. Temporarily distracted. Thanks and say hi to Vicky for me.”
“Will do.”
Instead of going upstairs, Jason went to ‘Records’ in the basement.
****
Marie Turley had been with SAPD for 38 years. She had moved to ‘Records’ after three years as a dispatcher and her memory for cases had made her famous around the precinct. She could track down files and names better than anyone. At 61, she was still sharp and prided herself on keeping up with as many cases as she could.
The records office could be lonely and was usually quiet except for the country music Marie kept on the radio. Johnny Cash, Mel Tillis or some other old country star was always on.
Marie was busy with the regular duties of pulling files requested by detectives or other personnel and re-filing the ones they were done with. Jason startled her when he snuck up behind her and leaned over her shoulder.
“Boo!”
“Ahhh! You scared the hell out of me.”
“Oh, good. Then I’ve accomplished something today.”
“Very funny.”
She smiled up at the detective. Most detectives tended to treat her like their personal librarian but Jason Strong was not like most detectives. He treated her like family and she was very fond of him. There wasn’t any piece of information Jason could ask for that she wouldn’t try to get for him as quickly as she could.
“Whatcha’ need or did you just come down to brighten my day?”
“Not that doing so wasn’t reason enough to visit; I do, however, have a request.”
“Anything for you, Sweet cheeks.”
Jason smiled back at her. She had called him that since he first came on to the force as a rookie cop.
“I’m looking for the file on a suicide case. The name is Billy Jarvis.”
“Oh, I remember that. About 10 years ago. Very sad. I believe he was about eighteen.”
“You’re amazing, Marie. Can you find it for me?”
“I’ll do my best. Give me some time and I’ll call you when I locate it.”
“You’re the best. Thanks.”
Marie had already turned away as the detective headed out of her office. She loved these kinds of requests. They tested her memory and challenged her ability to locate old files. She was deeply involved in the hunt before the door had even closed behind Jason.
