Текст книги "Detective Jason Strong: The Early Cases"
Автор книги: John C. Dalglish
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Текущая страница: 20 (всего у книги 21 страниц)
Chapter 18
Devin James pressed his back up against the garage’s back wall. At 58, he was in decent shape but a dash across an open field while trying to stay low was the kind of physical test he wasn’t used to. He leaned on the building and sucked air, waiting for his pulse to slow down. He still hadn’t seen any movement and everything seemed quiet.
Finally able to focus, the reporter crept to the edge of the garage and peered around the corner. The house was about 200 feet from where he was. Backtracking to the other corner, he leaned to where he could see the front yard. The van was still in the same place.
Devin’s breathing had returned to normal and it was time to move. Back at the corner where he could see the house, he made a quick dash to the rear wall, ducking below a window. Again, he stopped and listened. He heard voices but couldn’t tell where they were coming from.
Slowly lifting his head, he looked over the edge of the window sill into a living room. No one was in the room and the TV wasn’t on. He crouched again and tried to make out what was being said. Despite his best efforts, all he could hear was muffled words.
On his knees now, Devin crawled the length of the house and looked around the corner. From there he could see a window into the basement. The voices were a little louder but there was no other movement. Staying on his knees, he crawled the 15 feet or so to the window well. Looking through, it took him a minute to figure out what he was looking at.
The reporter found himself looking at some sort of a makeshift prison. Cell doors with padlocks. He tested the window and it gave slightly. A pungent odor was released from inside and the talking stopped. Then everything went black.
****
Donnie put down the slab of wood and stared at the reporter.
Damn! This changes everything. He knows where I live and who I am. Billy didn’t say anything about what to do if someone caught on to the plan.
He reached down and dragged Devin James away from the window. Taking a zip tie, he crossed the man’s hands behind his back, slipped the tie over them and pulled it tight.
James gave a slight moan. There was blood oozing from the back of the reporter’s head but Donnie was relieved to find out he hadn’t killed the man. As James started to come around, Donnie grabbed his tied hands and forced him to his feet.
“Move!”
“Where…where are you taking me?”
“Just move.”
Donnie steered the reporter into the garage and to the back wall, forced him to sit down, and pulled out another zip tie. He wrapped it around the legs of James and pulled it tight. Satisfied the reporter wasn’t going anywhere, Donnie turned to leave.
“Why are you doing this?”
Donnie turned and studied Devin James. Donnie found himself longing to tell someone. To talk to someone about the plan besides his brother but he didn’t think there was anyone he could trust. The reporter already knew who Donnie was and might try to understand.
“Because I have to.”
“Why? Does it have to do with Billy?”
The mention of his brother’s name made him pause. James may have figured things out and therefore Donnie could share with him. The moment passed and he realized this was wasting valuable time.
Donnie walked over to a shelf, picked up a roll of duct tape and wrapped a strip completely around the reporters head, covering his mouth.
“You ask too many questions for your own good.”
Donnie left the garage, closing the door behind him, and went to the front porch. Sitting in the same chair he’d found Momma dead in less than a week ago he weighed his options. He had a decision to make.
I don’t know who the reporter might have told about me. For all I know, the cops are on their way. There’s two choices. Abandon the plan and get as far away from here as I can. Or go through with it and risk being caught.
He sat looking out over the farm for a long time, but he knew he had to get moving and he knew he only had one choice.
I have to go through with it. I promised it to Billy and it’s what Momma would want.
He got up and went into the house.
****
Jason had just got to his desk when the phone rang. He hadn’t even sat down yet.
“Strong.”
“Jason, this is Marie. Found your file.”
“Fantastic. Be right down.”
Nina watched him turn and head back for the door.
“Where are you going?”
“Back to Records, Marie found my file.”
“What file?”
“Back in a minute.”
With that he was gone.
****
Donnie cleared off the kitchen table and pulled back the chairs. He had planned to pull the drapes and shut the front door to keep his captive’s from knowing where they were. With the reporter showing up, there wasn’t any point in trying to hide the location. He still didn’t know if they knew who he was, so that piece of information would remain secret. Opening the basement door, he headed down the stairs. It was time to set things up.
****
Jason returned to the office with a file in his hand and walked around to Nina’s side of the desk. Laying it out in front of her, he pointed at what he’d found.
“Ed Garland, Suzanne Cooper, Chelsea Burt and Dexter Hughes.”
“Shit! All four.” She flipped the file closed to look at the name on the front. “What is this?”
“It’s the report on a suicide from ten years ago involving a Billy Jarvis.”
“Okay, what’s the connection to our missing persons?”
“They were all there. They were witnesses. Apparently they took part in a game of Russian Roulette with Billy Jarvis. Jarvis shot himself while the four watched.”
“How did you find this?”
“You know the message Dave Connor waved at me when we came in?”
“Yeah.”
“It was from Devin James. It told me to look up this file.”
“But how did he know?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say he did the story.”
“So what now?”
Jason took the file back, sat at his desk, and opened it to a different page.
“The only names listed in the file besides the four witnesses are the mother, Betty Jarvis, and the younger brother, Donnie. Let’s start there. I’ll try to locate the mother, you see if you can find the son.”
“You think a family member is responsible?”
“Isn’t that usually the case.”
Nina nodded.
“Usually.”
****
Ed Garland had heard each of the people sharing the basement prison with him removed from their cells, one by one. First Dexter, followed by Suzanne and then Chelsea. Each time, the lock would snap open, the door would complain with a grind as it was swung wide, and there would be the sound of chain dragging on the concrete. In the case of both girls, he’d heard them start to cry but nobody had said anything to Donnie. Within a few minutes, he would hear two sets of footsteps going up the stairs. He knew he was next and now he heard the lock on his own door snap open.
The door swung wide and the bare light bulb on the ceiling temporarily blinded him. He felt something hit his leg and when he looked down, there was handcuffs lying next to him.
“Put ‘em on.”
Ed was weak and didn’t have the strength to argue. He clicked one wrist and then the other into the cuffs. Next, something else was thrown to him. He picked it up. A key.
“Unlock the chain.”
He did, fumbling with the lock because of the cuffs. When it snapped open, he unwrapped the chain from around his leg to expose raw bleeding skin. The removal of the chain sent instant pain shooting up his leg as the air hit the open wound.
“Get up, come out here.”
Ed hadn’t stood fully erect in nearly a week and it was painful to try. Finally, he made it all the way up, but could only limp on the one good leg. He made it to the door and out of the cell he’d occupied for nearly seven days.
Donnie Jarvis stood there, gun in hand, gesturing towards the steps. Ed did his best to keep moving forward and leaned on the wall as he made his way up the steps and slowly in to the kitchen. His captor seemed content to let Ed take his time. He didn’t push or say anything to hurry Ed up. Just followed with the gun raised toward Ed’s back.
When Ed got through the door into the kitchen, he started to shake. He didn’t know if it was from the effort to get up the stairs or from the sight that greeted him when he got there. Probably both.
Sitting in three chairs were his three cellmates. It was the first time he’d seen any of them and they didn’t look any better than he did. Both girls had tears running down their face and Dexter looked terrified. No one spoke.
“Over there, sit.”
Ed thought about making a run for the door but he knew he was in no shape to do so and he wouldn’t get ten feet. He limped around to the chair and sat.
Donnie came around behind him, put a zip tie around his elbow and pulled it tight to the chair’s arm. He repeated it on the other arm.
Donnie then stood back against the door frame that led to the basement and slowly looked from one person to the next, studying each for something Ed couldn’t begin to guess at. When he’d made his way around the table, Donnie opened the gun and took all the bullets out of the rotary chamber. He then stood them one by one in the center of the table. When he was finished, he picked up the first bullet he’d stood up and shoved it back into the gun. He snapped it shut and spun it.
“Time to play.”
Chapter 19
Jason and Nina both started with a criminal records search and both came up empty. Nina was the first to move on to a drivers license search and got a hit.
“Donald Jarvis. Age 22. Gives an address east of the city.”
Jason shook his head.
“Apparently Betty Jarvis didn’t have a current drivers license.”
He grabbed the phone book on the corner of his desk and looked up Betty Jarvis. He flipped the book around so Nina could see it.
“Is that the address on the son’s license?”
Nina compared them.
“Yes.”
Jason was immediately on his feet.
“Let’s go.”
****
Donnie decided to have the girls play last. He walked around to the back of Dexter Hughes’ chair and spun the chamber of the gun once more. Hughes started to whimper. Donnie did his best to remain detached. It had to be done.
For his brother.
“I’ve brought you all together to finish the game you started with Billy Jarvis. Each of you is going to get the turn you didn’t take ten years ago.”
“Donnie, don’t do this!”
It was Suzanne and Donnie was startled to realize they knew who he was.
“So, you’ve figured out who I am. It doesn’t change anything. Billy can only rest after the four of you have taken your turn.”
It was his captives turn to appear stunned and Donnie could see it on their faces as the enormity of what was about to happen dawned on each one.
“You first, Hughes.”
Donnie spun the chamber on the .38 revolver for a third time, pulled the hammer back and placed it against the back of Dexter Hughes’ head. He pulled the trigger.
Click!
****
As Jason and Nina came out of the elevator, Jason saw Dave Connor waving another note at him. He thought about ignoring it but if it was from Devin James, he wanted it. He looked at Nina.
“Can you bring the car around? I need to see what Dave has for me.”
“Sure.”
She continued out the doors as Jason went over to the Sergeant’s desk.
“Another note from James?”
“Not this time. Lieutenant Banks called down and asked me to catch you. She says she wants an update in her office immediately.”
Jason stopped short. He didn’t want to lose time explaining everything to Banks. He left the note in Dave’s hands.
“Tell her you tried to give it to me but I was in too much of a hurry.”
“You sure buddy?”
“I’m sure. Thanks.”
Jason turned and hurried out the doors to the waiting car. The lives of four people took priority now. He’d worry about Lieutenant Sarah Banks later.
****
Dexter Hughes sat in his chair shaking.
“You win, Hughes. You don’t die today.”
Donnie stepped back from Dexter Hughes and circled the table, every eye fixed on him. When he came around to the back of Ed Garland, he stopped.
“Don’t do this, Donnie. You won’t get away with it.”
“At this point, I don’t expect to get away with it, since you know who I am but I do plan to get away. They won’t find me.”
Donnie spun the chamber again, a longer spin this time.
Again, he pulled back the hammer and could feel more than see Ed Garland close his eyes. The girls both had theirs closed, as well.
Donnie laid it against the back of Ed Garland’s head and pulled the trigger.
Click!
Chapter 20
Nina had put her blue light on the top of the car and she used her horn at intersections. They were moving through traffic quickly but Jason couldn’t shake the feeling they were running out of time.
His pager started going off. It was the station and likely, Banks. He shut it off.
His phone rang and it showed the lieutenant’s cell phone. Jason decided he better pick up.
“Strong.”
“This is Lieutenant Banks. I requested you in my office ten minutes ago. Where are you?”
“We’re in the car.”
He rolled his eyes at Nina.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Detective. Why are you two not sitting in front of me right now?”
Jason sighed and tried to come up with a short version of a long story.
“We have a lead on where the four missing persons might be.”
“Four!?”
Jason realized they hadn’t yet told the lieutenant about Dexter Hughes.
“Uh, yeah. We discovered a fourth missing person who was tied to the same case.”
“Nice of you to share.”
“Sorry, Lieutenant. We felt a need to follow up immediately on this lead.”
“Where are you? And don’t say in the car.”
“We’re on our way to the home of Betty Jarvis and her son, Donnie.”
“How did you get their names?”
This conversation just kept getting worse. Jason braced himself.
“Devin James.”
“The reporter?!”
“Yes Maam.”
“And how did he get onto them?”
“Apparently, it was a story he did some ten years ago that helped him make a connection.”
There was a long silence on the other end and the next question caught Jason by surprise.
“Do you need any back-up?”
“As of yet, we don’t know what we’ll find. I’ll call immediately if we need support.”
“Very well, Strong. You better be right.”
The phone went dead and Jason looked at his phone, then at Nina.
“That went well.”
****
Donnie pulled the gun away from the back of Ed Garland’s head.
“Well Ed, it seems it’s your lucky day also. You’ve played and won.”
Ed said nothing and Donnie thought the man may have passed out. Donnie spun the chamber repeatedly, each rotation causing the girls to jump, as he walked around to the other side of the table. He stopped behind Chelsea Burt, continuing to spin the chamber as he stood there.
Chelsea began to sob uncontrollably. Donnie spun the chamber twice more and pulled back the hammer. He could tell the girl was saying something under her breath but could only barely make it out.
“Please no…please no….please…”
Donnie laid the gun against her skull and the girl instinctively leaned away from him. He reached out and grabbed a chunk of hair, pulled her back towards him, and squeezed the trigger.
****
Nina steered the car off I-10 and headed west towards the farm. They came to the address in just a few minutes. Kicking up a trail of dust, they sped up the lane towards the house. Jason could see no movement as they approached.
****
Click!
The sound caused Chelsea to jump and she let out a whimper. Donnie stood back. Three had played and all three had won. Something began to gnaw at the back of Donnie’s brain. Something he fought to suppress, to keep from distracting him.
Finish the job, finish the job, finish the job.
He chanted to himself to keep his focus.
He hurried, feeling a growing anxiety, around to behind Suzanne. Donnie had purposely chosen her last, hoping that she might be spared. She had been Billy’s girlfriend, and Donnie had known her well, even had a crush on her.
Now he stood behind her, and looking into the reflection on the china cabinet across the room, he could see the face of the last person to play the game. It now looked as if the odds were stacked against her and he could see the realization in her eyes.
Suzanne was staring right back at him in the cabinet glass. Her eyes looked directly in to his, and she spoke to him as a friend.
“Donnie, you know me. You know this doesn’t have to happen. You have the power to stop now, no one has died, and no one needs to die.”
Donnie slowly shook his head. He knew he had to finish or all this would be for nothing. Donnie could not face the possibility that all of this did not accomplish its purpose, and for that to happen Suzanne had to play. He broke his eyes away from her stare, rolled the chamber three times, pulled back the hammer and laid the gun against her head.
“No! Donnie no!”
Her voice reverberated around the room as he pulled the trigger.
Click!
Donnie had braced himself for the gun to go off. Now his head spun from the silence. Nobody moved, Chelsea still sobbed but without making any noise. Suzanne let out a sigh and Donnie caught her look in the china cabinet. The relief on her face was obvious but Donnie also saw something else. Was it sadness for him?
Donnie stood there, the gun in his hand, and tried to make sense of what just happened.
All four have played and no one died. Everything I’ve done to bring about this moment, was for nothing. It hasn’t changed anything. Billy is still the only one who is dead.
Donnie still couldn’t grasp the fact everything was over. He didn’t feel relief, nor did he feel like he had accomplished something wonderful. The thought that Billy might now be at rest did not help.
Donnie reached onto the table and picked up the five bullets still standing in the middle. One by one, he put them back into the gun’s chamber. The eyes of everyone at the table grew wide with fear.
But he didn’t aim at anyone. Instead, he took the keys to the handcuffs and threw them on the table. Everyone’s focus went to the ring of keys while Donnie walked away, through the back door and out to Momma’s grave.
****
Nina stopped the car next to a van parked in front of the house. Both detectives got out. Nina took a quick look and cleared the van before the two detectives walked onto the front porch. Jason knocked on the door.
“Help! Help us!”
Both detectives drew their guns, Nina pulled open the screen door and Jason kicked the front door in.
“Police!”
When the two detectives came through the door, it took them a few seconds to let the scene before them sink in. It was clear their suspect was not in the room.
One of the girls spoke up.
“He went out back.”
Jason looked towards the back door.
“Is he alone?”
“Yes.”
“Is he armed?”
“Yes.”
“Is there anyone else in the house?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
Jason looked at Nina.
“Call it in. I’m gonna see if I can find him.”
Jason ran out the front door.
****
Donnie stood at the foot of Momma’s grave. Something wasn’t right. He could feel it inside. He had done everything Billy had told him but nothing had changed. Billy was still the only one who had died from playing the game. Donnie had put these people through all this and nothing changed.
Donnie started to doubt the entire plan. Maybe the whole purpose was revenge for his brother. Or maybe he had never heard Billy. Was all this his own idea? Was it him who couldn’t accept the death of his brother? Had he been the one who needed the others to play?
Despair washed over him as the questions weighed him down. He was alone now. No Billy. No Momma. No purpose.
****
Jason had just stepped off the front porch when he heard the explosion of a gun going off. Still with his weapon drawn, he came around the side of the house but didn’t see anybody. He ran up the side of the garage and stuck his head around the corner.
“Damn!”
****
Nina heard the gunshot and didn’t know where Jason was. She left the room going through the back door, crossing over to the side of the garage. She crept along the wall and peered around the corner.
Under a large oak tree, Jason was knelt over a body, his fingers at the throat of a young man. He looked at Nina and shook his head.
There was a loud banging against the garage wall. Both officers went to the back door of the garage, weapons drawn. Again, Jason kicked the door open and the two rushed in. They trained their guns on the surprised face of Devin James.
Epilogue
Jason got off the elevator on the second floor. Lieutenant Banks had made it clear Jason was to stop by her office before going upstairs. He had taken a few days off after the Jarvis arrest but he knew a time was coming when he would have to face Sarah Banks. That time was now.
She was sitting at her desk going over some paperwork when he knocked on the door jamb. She looked up and removed her glasses.
“Come in detective. Shut the door behind you.”
He did but did not sit down. Instead he leaned against the door he had just closed. He suspected it made him feel better to be close to an exit. She didn’t waste time.
“I expect any detective working a case for me to make themselves available to me whenever I see the need. I also insist on being kept in the loop about the cases they have been assigned by me. I do not like being kept in the dark.”
“Yes Maam.”
“Having said that, I consider a detective’s gut instinct to be his or hers best tool in solving difficult cases.”
Jason shifted from one foot to the other but didn’t say anything.
“You followed your gut and put the victims ahead of a department protocol. As a result, lives were saved.”
The lieutenant stood up and extended her hand.
“Excellent work Detective Strong. And thank you.”
Jason stepped forward and shook the lieutenant’s hand.
“Thank you, Lieutenant. I appreciate it.”
Jason turned and left the office. On his way out, he saw Nina Jefferson sitting at a desk. He stopped.
“Hi Nina. You finishing up the file on Jarvis?”
Nina looked up and gave Jason a sheepish grin.
“Uh…no. That’s done. Actually, Lieutenant Banks asked me to join her team and I accepted.”
Jason just stared at her for a minute, before breaking into laughter.
“No kidding? Well, good luck.”
“Thanks. I’m going to miss working with you.”
Jason laid his hand on Nina’s shoulder.
“The feeling is mutual. See ya’ around, Detective.”
“Bye Jason, and tell Vanessa welcome back.”
Jason rode the elevator up to Homicide on the third floor. When the doors opened, he was greeted by a familiar sight, one he’d been missing for awhile now.
Detective Vanessa Layne sat at her desk, which was pushed up against his, reading a file. He walked up without her noticing.
“Good morning.”
She looked up and smiled at him.
“Morning JD. How’s it going this morning?”
“Fine. Just fine.”
