Wrapping her arms around herself, she sighed as she saw the glow of the clock on her nightstand. It sent a blue light radiating across to her as if it was daring her to get out of bed. It seemed to be laughing as it beamed two forty-five, in large numbers. Resigning herself to the fact that she wouldn’t be able to drift back to sleep, she pushed the covers aside, flipped the light on, and climbed out of bed.
She shoved her feet in her slippers and reached for her robe. Wrapping it around her body, she crossed her arms, sliding her hands up and down from her shoulders to her elbows. She warily made her way to the kitchen, to make a cup of tea, in hopes that it would take the cold out of her soul that had settled there.
With her mug of tea held between both hands, she went over to her desk. Her parent's file was sitting there open, from the night before. She opened her desk drawer and took out the other files she had copied and brought home from the record room at work. They contained pages of written detail of the so-called accident.
She poured over them night after night, determined to find the truth.
Krista blinked her eyes numerous times, trying to alleviate the burning sensation that settled behind her lids. She turned onto Federal Plaza, noticing, the streets were no better than they were the day before. Snow was piled so high; the road crews were going to have to start dumping it in the Hudson sooner than later. She parked her car and made her way up to her desk in a fog. It was time for coffee; tea just wasn’t cutting it. Between the nightmares and worrying about her brother, sleep didn’t come easy these days.
Settling into her chair, she noticed that the report from last night’s case was already on her desk. Both Griffin and Simons had signed off on it. She picked it up and was just about to read it when Director Kane walked into her office. Marcus Kane, the Director of the special crimes unit, is a prior marine Lieutenant Colonel, he retired after 30 years of service. His by the book approach to the cases that came across his desk is believed to be the reason for the team’s success rate. The longer Krista worked for Kane, the more respect she had for him. He was a fair man. He expected his team to follow the rules and obtain results.
Krista stood when she heard him say, “Good morning Levell, heard you caught a case last night.”
He motioned for her to sit back down and took the chair that was in front of her desk.
“Yes, sir, multiple bodies were found at a demolition site over on Broadway.”
“What’s your take on it?”
“I was just going over the report that Griffin and Simons submitted when you came in.”
“I can see that, but what’s your take?”
“In my opinion, they've been there since before the building. The way they were stacked, I’d say, probably by the last contractor. I’m not an expert, but the bones looked pretty old. We know the building went up over fifty years ago, and fifty years or not, they looked a lot older than that.”
“You thinking another burial site?”
“Yes, but I want to get all the facts together before anything gets out to the media, and we have protesters crawling all over the site.”
Kane stood up, “I don't have to tell you, keep a lid on this. We need more information, or this could end up to be a media nightmare for the department. Add your notes to the report and get it to my office as soon as possible."
“I’m on it.”
Krista could feel a headache tapping ever so slightly between her eyes as she finished writing up the report. She shuffled through her desk drawer and found some essential peppermint oil. Placing a drop in the palm of her hand, she rubbed them together and inhaled a few times. Not only did it take her headache away, but it also lifted some of the fog off her brain.
Out of curiosity, before she shut down her computer, she did a google search on the Lenape. The only thing it accomplished was to confirm what she already knew, that they were all over Manhattan. It was a gut feeling, but she would bet that these bones were that of the Native Americans that once lived in the area. Only one way to find out, she shut down her computer and headed for the morgue.
The smell of bleach was first to assault her senses. Taking a quick breath in, she remembered to breathe through her mouth.
Crockmin was standing over a body with a saw in his hand. His earbuds were crying out with black metal screeching through them. His green hair gave the impression of trying to attach itself to the ceiling, sticking up in every direction.
Krista flipped the light switch on and off to get his attention. When he looked up, she walked up to him. She waited for him to pull his earbuds out before saying, "Hey, Crockmin."
He placed the saw on the counter next to him and sauntered over to the tables that held the evidence from Broadway.
"Levell, I don't have anything for you yet. I called another forensic anthropologist in to take a look. There's nothing but bone, not much I can do." His hand turned up, extending his arm and waved it across the tables.
"I'll check back with you tomorrow. If you find out anything before-"
"I know the drill, I'll call."
"Thanks, try not to blow your eardrums out."
He rolled his eyes and saluted, "Later."
Krista hadn't made it to the door yet, and his music was blaring into his ears.
Hitting a wall at the morgue, she figured she'd go down the line and tug the next thread. She wanted to track down the company that originally constructed the building. As she was sifting through the public records, her phone rang.
Krista looked down at her phone, at the site of Jeff’s number her breath caught. She was so startled she almost dropped the phone. Evan had been gone for so long this time. Her thoughts flew through her head so fast; they were colliding, one with the other. Was Jeff even able to find him? Where is he? What shape is Evan in, Is he okay?
She snapped back when she heard Jeff’s deep, gravelly voice in her ear. It was as deep as he was big.
“I found him-
3
Camden, NJ
Jeff told Krista he'd look, but he hadn’t expected to find him. She would be as surprised as he was. When he picked up his phone he thought of the last time he had seen her father, Anton.
Anton and Jeff were lifelong friends. Jeff thought he could count on him, knowing he was wrong, was not something he wanted to think about at the moment.
As he punched in Krista’s number he knew this call would devastate her, — more importantly, distract her, — it was something he had to do.
“I found him; he’s in Camden. I watched him stagger into a building on York Street.
“Camden, you mean Camden, New Jersey?”
“Yes, that would be Camden, New Jersey.”
“What the hell is he doing down there? Is he okay? Did you talk to him? Was he high?”
“Slow down; I have no idea what so ever, why he’s in Camden. I didn’t talk to him, I called you. You asked me to find him, and that’s what I did.”
“What do you mean you didn’t talk to him?”
“Were you not listening? I said I’d find him and I did, never said I’d babysit him. I was driving through Camden and I spotted him. I have to catch a flight out of Philly, I can’t wait for you.
“Every time I think I know what he’s up to, the circumstance changes. Last I heard, he was still in Manhattan, no wonder, I couldn’t find him.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, maybe he had come down here with your father, and that’s how he knew the place.”
“My father never mentioned Camden, let alone took him down there. I need to bring him home.”
“I have to go. I’m sending you the address now.” Jeff disconnected the call.
Being at the meeting in California was vital. He had product to be moved, and this would give him what he required to do just that.
Jeff debated what he should do, Krista should not be traipsing around Camden, by herself. If she crosses paths with the wrong people there wouldn’t be any way for him to distract her. She would ask too
many questions. She’d have no idea what she would be walking into, Camden wasn’t the best part of the United States, by far. On the other hand, it would make his life easier. Even though she was FBI, she wouldn't be thinking right, taking the precautions she needed to. FBI or not, when it came to Evan, all bets were off. She would want to get to him right away. With any luck, she would get in and out of there fast. I should never have told Evan about Camden in the first place.
Watching Evan stagger into the abandoned building, Jeff turned to leave. His driver was with the car, waiting for him on the corner. “Take me to the airport. I have more important dealings to attend to,” Jeff said as the driver opened the door.
His driver left Camden and headed towards the Philadelphia airport. Jeff shuffled through the files he was bringing to the meeting, wanting to make sure everything was in place. He was debating whether to put the meeting off and go back to Camden or take the meeting when his cell rang. It was his partner and attorney, Craig Doltz. He picked it up and growled into the phone. The stress of the past couple of days had stretched his patience thin. “What do you want Doltz? I don’t have time for this.”
“What crawled up your ass? I just received confirmation of delivery, figured you could use that information at the meeting. What has your panties in a twist?”
“Krista, I told her I’d look for Evan. I figured I’d just string her along for a while. Damn, if I don’t run into him at the drop-off.”
“What the hell is he doing there?”
“Getting high, it is just by chance that he ended up there. I’m sure of that. I called her to let her know that I found him. I didn’t need her sniffing around. I figure she’ll scoop him up and be on her way. We need her to get him the hell out of the area.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“Her knowing where he is, isn’t much of a distraction now, is it? We don’t need her nosing around either. If I thought he wouldn’t have been in our way, I would never have called her. It’s imperative for me to get on that plane and make that meeting. I don’t need to be worrying about her.”
“You can always send Nelson. He knows what’s going on with the delivery and what we need from California. You can take care of the problem in Camden and keep our interests intact at the same time.”
“Yeah, Nelson is capable, he just seems to think the three of us are equal partners. He can’t wrap his head around the fact that he’s our lackey. I just don’t need him asking any questions.”
“He can ask all he wants; it doesn’t mean he’ll get answers.”
Jeff laughed into the phone, “True, we just need to keep him on a tight leash.”
“Text me when you decide what you are doing. I have a client that just walked in.”
“I’m at the airport now, when I figure it out, I’ll let you know.”
He was still debating if he should make the trip to California or hightail it back to Camden when his driver pulled the car to the curb, he stepped out of the vehicle when the driver opened the door. Jeff’s wool coat whipped around his body, and his scarf almost flew from his neck, as the wind picked up. He tucked it back into his collar and buttoned it up.
“I will be back at five twenty tomorrow night. Be here waiting for me, and not in the cell phone lot. I don’t have time to call you and wait for you to drive around.” Without a second thought, Jeff grabbed his computer bag and carry-on out of his driver’s hands and dismissed him.
The airport was crazy, lines wrapped around like snakes in a basket. Everyone had to go through security for a screening. When Jeff looked down at his boarding pass and saw TSA pre-check, he was grateful to have an admin that stayed on top of everything. He breezed through the line and headed towards his gate.
The smell of grease permeated the air from all of the fast-food restaurants situated along his route. As he passed a bar, he wanted to stop and not have just one quick drink, but drink himself blind. Maybe then he’d be able to deal with everything going on. He knew better, then to stop, so he kept on walking. Spotting the moving walkway, he stepped on and kept walking to the left of people. In the middle of the stretch of the moving belt, a couple just stood there, not moving.
“Can you step to the side?” Nothing, they didn’t budge.
“Step to the –"
Just then he saw why the crowd was gaping. There was a German Shepard, wearing a vest with DEA printed across it in bright yellow letters. It was barking as loud as thunder. The agent holding the dog back had to be at least six feet tall. His partner was wrestling a guy to the ground, just as the walkway passed them.
Jeff inhaled sharply, shaking his head and blowing out his breath in a long whoosh. He stepped off the walkway and proceeded to his gate. Once at his gate, Jeff found a seat near a cell phone charging station. He plugged his phone in and decided to check his e-mail. He read the first e-mail twice before realizing he couldn’t stop thinking about what was going on in Camden, especially after seeing the DEA agents, and dogs, to concentrate. If he wasn’t there to keep an eye on Krista, this meeting in California wouldn’t matter.
If I send Nelson, he won’t have any of these files. On the other hand, numbers are his forte; he could probably rattle any of these off at a moment’s notice. I need to be in Camden, what the hell was I thinking? He unplugged his phone, grabbed his bags and headed to the check-in counter.
The airline rep that stood at the counter smiled as he walked up. “How can I help?”
“Is there a seat available on the flight after this to Los Angeles.”
“Let me check for you.” She tapped a couple of keys on her computer and then a couple more. Seeming very pleased with herself, she looked up saying, “Yes sir, we have one in first class, and there are still three available in coach.”
“Good, I need one ticket for Nelson Hendricks.”
“Will that be in Coach or First Class?”
Jeff didn’t hesitate. “Coach.”
“Will you be changing flights?”
“No, it’s not for me.”
“Can I please have the spelling of the passenger’s full name, birthdate, and type of identification to be used?”
As she entered the information into the computer, Jeff tapped his fingers on the counter. “How long does this take?”
“One more moment sir, Can I have an e-mail address?” She took out a piece of paper and wrote the record locator down. “Here you go, this is all he will need, he can print out a boarding pass with this information. I will be sending him a confirmation e-mail for his receipt.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” As Jeff grabbed the paper from her hand, she smiled and with the sweetest voice and said, “You have a nice day too.”
He looked over his shoulder and swooshed out a breathe of air, resembling a balloon deflating.
As he walked away from the desk, he took out his phone and punched in Nelson number hoping he would pick-up. He was almost run down a few times trying to make his way against a rush of people en route to their gates, as he headed away,
When he heard Nelson’s voice on the other end, he said, “You need to pack and do it fast. I have you flying to California for the meeting with the investors.”
“I thought you were already at the airport,” Nelson said.
“I am but something came up that I need to take care of, it’s important.”
“What the hell could be more important than the connections we need?”
“I can’t get into it right now, just pack your shit and get your ass to the airport,” Jeff yelled.
“Seriously, I’m not one you're of your puppets, I’m your partner, what the hell is going on?”
Jeff chose to ignore what Nelson said and answered, “I need to go and help Krista, she’s in over her head with her brother. I have to get to the building on York Street and fast.”
“So, it’s the damn Levell’s, yet again.”
“You have a problem with that?”
“Yeah, I do. I wasn’t taking the meeting in Calif
ornia, you were, at least until this shit with the Levell’s came up.”
“There isn’t any reason you can’t take the meeting. You’ve been present the entire time that we’ve been working on this project. You know all the details, everything we’re asking. We need to close this deal. You know as well as I do we need the additional channels.”
“You need to get your head straight. I’ll go and get this done, as I should have in the first place. You take care of your bullshit, and I’ll do what I have to do. Send the information to my phone.”
“Who the hell do you think you’re talking to? I’ll deal with you when you get back, and Nelson - Don’t screw this up. Here’s the record locator, QVESTX, she said she was emailing you the confirmation. Check your email. Oh and by the way, nothing was available in First Class, I had to book coach.”
“This just keeps getting better. A six-hour flight, in coach.”
When Jeff ended the call, he called Krista back. The phone went straight to voicemail, swearing to himself, he disconnected the call and called back, again she didn’t answer. This time he left a message. “Krista I’m on my way, wait for me.”
He called his driver four times; each call went to voicemail. Time to find another driver. Knowing he was wasting precious time waiting for his driver, he scanned the signs overhead, looking for baggage claim. He’d have to follow them down to the exits to find the rental car shuttles. He would deal with his driver later.
Once outside, he jumped on the first shuttle to make its way to the curb. U-Drive rentals. Great, they probably have late model cars, pieces of crap cars. The shuttle was full, from the previous stops. There was luggage stuffed in between the bars that ran along the one side of the bus. Staying by the doors, he grabbed onto the bar that was hanging overhead, just as the bus lunged forward. He wanted to be standing at the door when the driver stopped. When he stepped off, he saw the car rental kiosk.
Vindication- Ties That Bind Page 2