by Robin Mahle
“Officer Riley Thompson.”
“Sweetheart, it’s your mother.”
“Is everything all right? Is Gracie okay?”
“She’s fine. Everything’s fine. Honey, the reason I called is because there’s a man here.”
“A man. Okay,” she replied.
“He’s acting strange. Definitely not from around here.”
“Mom, I can’t talk to someone just because they’re acting funny. I mean, is he upsetting anyone else?”
“Well, no. It’s just, he’s making a bit of a scene. Going on about the food and such. Honey, something’s not right with this fella and I thought you should know.”
“Okay. I’ll come by, and if he’s still there, I’ll see what’s up with him.”
“Thank you, baby.” Ellen hung up the phone and wiped her hands on her apron before returning to the kitchen.
“You call Riley?” the cook asked.
“Sure did.”
“Good thinking.”
Riley stood from her chair and reached for her keys.
“Where are you off to?” Ethan asked.
“The diner. Mom says some strange man waltzed in there acting funny, as she put it.”
Ethan stood up and gathered his things. “I’m coming with you. With all that’s going on, we can’t afford to overlook anything. And you going alone isn’t an option. You got a problem with that, I suggest you talk to the captain.”
“I don’t have a problem.” Riley approached Ward’s office. “Hey, Captain, Pruitt and I are going to stop by the diner. Mom says some strange man came in. We’re just going to go check it out.”
“Sure thing. I’m going back and forth with the lieutenant, hoping to get some answers on the history of our two men. You let me know if something smells funny.”
“I will.” She returned to the bullpen. “Let’s head out.” Riley pushed through the doors and unlocked her cruiser.
Once they were both inside, she fired up the engine. “Mom’s pretty relaxed when it comes to people in the diner. Maybe this guy is looking to cause a problem.”
“At this point, Riley, it would not surprise me,” Ethan replied. “Oh, by the way, I’m going to take Gracie to the bus depot later this afternoon, if that’s okay with you. I mentioned it would be best if she left a day early. Lord knows what’s going to happen tomorrow. I know we have a lot of balls in the air right now.”
“Funny, she didn’t mention that to me.” Riley considered their earlier conversation. “Go, it’s fine. Decker and Abrams should be back by then and I’m sure they’ll have plenty to say about Sims.”
“Thanks. I’ll come straight back. There’s too much at stake for either of us to have any personal issues going on.”
She peered through the windshield. “I’m starting to wonder if we shouldn’t confront Levin. Maybe us waiting is putting Alex Laughlin’s life in too much danger.”
“I’d say just the opposite. We don’t have anything on him, except what Jacob has to say about the poker game. And if he’s smart, Levin’s got a good lawyer who will tear Jacob apart because he’s your boyfriend.” Ethan took in a deep breath. “We’re on the right track. I know you want to find Alex. So do I. So does the rest of the team. But we’re doing everything we can to make that happen as quickly as possible.” He turned to her. “Unless you can pull a rabbit out of a hat.”
“Right now, I’d do anything to be able to do that.” Riley turned right and the diner appeared in the distance. “I’ll bet that’s his car.”
“The shiny black Camaro? Yeah, that’d be my guess too. Kind of sticks out like a sore thumb around here.”
Riley pulled in front of the store next door to avoid the patrons in the diner spotting her car. She didn’t want to alarm anyone, especially with a strange man inside. “Let’s try to keep a low profile.”
“We’re in uniform, Riley. That might be a challenge,” Ethan replied.
“You have a point.” She approached the diner’s glass door and pulled it open. What she had wished to avoid was, of course, exactly what happened. With a smile, she politely nodded to those who’d craned their necks to see the officers walk inside.
Ellen spotted her and waved her over out of view of the man in question.
As she and Ethan approached, it was too late.
“Oh, looky here. Local law enforcement.” Gage wiped his lips with his napkin. “Afternoon, officers. Here for some lunch? You have got to try the BLT. Best thing I’ve ever eaten in my life.” He raised two fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
Riley raised her lips into a half-smile. “I’ve had the BLT and you are absolutely correct. Best thing ever. Hands down.” She turned away and looked back to Ellen with raised eyebrows.
“I told you so,” Ellen replied in a low voice.
“I wouldn’t mind a coffee,” Ethan said to Ellen.
“I’ll take one too.” Riley pulled out a stool at the breakfast counter and sat down. She eyed for Ethan to do the same, and in a hushed tone, began, “What do you think?”
“Could be something. Don’t suppose you took note of the plate when we came in?”
“You bet your ass I did. Illinois.”
Ethan nodded then turned sharply when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Sorry to bother you, Officer, I was just wondering. See, I’m new around here and wanted to know where a good place might be to put my head down for the night.”
“Just one night?” he replied.
“For now. I’m playing things by ear. You know, waiting to see what hand I’ll be dealt.”
Riley turned deadpan as she peered into the kitchen, avoiding contact with the man.
“Well, you know, there isn’t a lot of choice here in town. You could try the Ramada Inn off the highway. It’s not far,” Ethan replied.
“What about you, Officer, ma’am? Any suggestions for a city boy like myself?”
Riley pasted on a smile and turned to him. Her head grew fuzzy. She peered into his brown eyes, his smile so wide and bright, she felt the need for sunglasses. Her heart pumped a little harder, her hands grew a little clammy. It was happening here right now and she had to control it. People would stare. The man before her would think she was crazy. Hold on. Just look. Just look, she thought.
“Officer? Are you okay?” Gage pressed on.
“Um, yeah. Of course. Sorry, I was just thinking. My partner’s right. The Ramada’s probably your best bet.”
“Well, I thank you both for your suggestion and I will take it under advisement.” He patted Ethan on the shoulder. “You have a wonderful day and enjoy your lunch.”
Ethan waited for the man to return to his booth. “You saw something.”
She nodded almost imperceptibly. “He wants Levin. He’s here for Levin.”
18
With the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Alex Laughlin, Captain Dan Ward had ordered all hands on deck, meaning the night-shift officers. Lowell Abrams and Chris Decker had been on duty going on eighteen hours straight. Their return from the county jail where Sims awaited arraignment for the brutal murder of his wife was much anticipated. Though upon their arrival, both appeared on the verge of exhaustion.
Captain Ward stood in the bullpen, hands on his hips, eyeing the men as they entered. “Well, I have to say, boys, you two have looked better. I’m starting to think you ought to go home and try to catch a few hours’ rest before we kick this thing into high gear.”
“I might have to take you up on that offer, Captain,” Abrams began. “I’m starting to feel like I’ve hit a brick wall. That said, we do have some news for you on the Sims front.” He turned to Decker. “You want to fill him in?”
The more laidback and judicious Officer Decker began, “Sims was more than a little reluctant to speak to us, but when we told him Laughlin went missing, he seemed keen on answering our questions.”
“Did you promise him anything in return? A deal?” Ward asked.
“No, sir. Wasn’
t our promise to make,” Decker replied. “He was, nevertheless, willing to talk because it seemed he wanted payback for how things went down.” He returned to his desk and dropped into his chair. “Where are Thompson and Pruitt?”
“Heading back. Should be here any minute. They tell me we got us another visitor in town. Things are starting to heat up. So tell me, what did Sims have to say?”
Decker shot a glance to Abrams, who sat across from him. “There’s no doubt in my mind that Sims killed his wife because he lost a shit ton of cash at a poker game in the backroom of the Crooked Horse.”
“We suspected that.” Ward’s attention was diverted. “Oh, and here they are now. Good. You two are back just in time to hear what happened at County.”
Riley made her way inside. “Maybe we’ll be able to figure out why another stranger’s arrived in town looking to keep tabs on Silas Levin.”
“Is that so?” Abrams replied. “Interesting.”
“How’s that?” Ethan asked as he trailed behind Riley.
“Turns out, Sims had been involved in the last several games Silas Levin was running,” Decker continued. “He started pulling in some big cash, then it all went south on him.”
“I’ll bet Levin planned it that way,” Riley replied.
Decker looked at her. “That’d be my guess. So he keeps going to the games, keeps trying to win his money back, but then the last one, last week, apparently was the final straw. He made a bad bet and lost it all.”
“Did he tell you who was at the game?” Riley asked.
“I have a list of names. Couldn’t tell you if the names are aliases or not, but we’ll run them. Point being, Sims says Levin’s running a con. Sims lost his shirt, took it out on his wife, and you know the rest of the story.”
“It’s starting to make sense now.” Riley moved in toward the others who had gathered around Decker’s desk. “The man we saw, I didn’t get his name, but something told me he’s after Levin.” Riley didn’t need to clarify what that something was. Her colleagues were well aware of her special talent of insight. “If Levin’s running a con, why? He only purchased the Crooked Horse, what, a year ago, maybe? Why go through all the renovations and opening up a new business just to risk it all getting shut down?”
“That’s what we’ll need to find out,” Ward replied. “Could be he needs the money. Maybe business isn’t as good as we think it is.”
“That’s very possible.” Riley turned to Decker. “Let’s run those names Sims gave you and see if any of them have a history with Levin. That’ll give us a start. Anyone care to guess how long Levin’s been running this operation?”
“From what Sims said, about three months or so,” Abrams replied.
“Okay. So something happened to him three months ago that made him decide it was time to run the con. We need to know what that was. We already have a dead woman and a missing man we can tie back to Levin in some form,” she continued. “I’m not waiting for the next body to turn up. It’s time we get to the bottom of Levin’s story.”
“You heard the lady,” Ward said. “Let’s divvy up these names and see if we can get a hit. Thompson, you and Pruitt need to find the man from the restaurant. If you got a plate, run it. I want a tail on him. I want to know if he’s going to see Levin like you believe he will.”
“Shouldn’t be too hard,” Ethan said. “The guy’s driving a new black Camaro with Illinois plates.”
“Chicago?” Ward asked.
“If he’s in with the rest of these guys, then most likely,” Riley said. “Why?”
“I’ll just need to let the lieutenant know because he’s helping us track down the whereabouts of Meisner and Vaughan, the fellas we think might’ve had a hand in Laughlin’s disappearance. Maybe there’s a Chicago connection, I don’t know, but I’ll work on that. The rest of you have your orders.” He started toward his office for a moment. “Actually, scratch that. I told Decker and Abrams to go catch a couple hours’ rest. You two should really do that and then come back. After I get off the horn with the IPD, I’ll start on the list of names. You two come back later tonight and we’ll see what we’re dealing with. We have ourselves a plan?”
“Yes, sir, Captain,” Abrams replied.
“You got it, Cap. See you in a few,” Decker said.
Riley found herself behind the wheel of her patrol car once again, with Ethan in the passenger seat. This time, they were on the lookout for the shiny black Camaro and the mystery man who drove it. “I wish we’d turned up more than a corporate owner on those plates.”
“That would make our jobs too easy, Riley. At least we can confirm it’s based in Chicago,” Ethan replied.
“Well, we can hope this guy took us up on the recommendation to check in at the Ramada.”
“You really think he’s going to go there?” Ethan said.
“Hey, it’s all we have right now. Better to rule it out. I’d like to go straight to Levin and talk to him, but…”
“Captain would have your head on a spike if you did that. You said it yourself. Nothing can change. Everyone has to keep to their routine so Levin doesn’t realize what’s happened. I would say this.” He turned to her. “Jacob’s going to have to say something. If tomorrow night happens, and he’s there, Silas is going to wonder where Alex is. Don’t you think it might look strange that Jacob didn’t tell him the guy went missing?”
“Maybe, but the explanation could be that he’d decided to take a vacation.”
“Riley, you can’t be serious. No way Levin will buy that lame excuse. No. The sooner Jacob talks to Levin about this, the better, in my humble opinion.”
She peered at him for a brief moment. “Fine. I’ll tell him to stop by the Crooked Horse after work tonight and talk to him. Let him know what the deal is and if he still wants Jacob in the game tomorrow night.”
“Good. Thank you. See? Sometimes I come up with good ideas.”
She smiled at him. “I never said you didn’t. You’re a good cop, Ethan. No one’s ever questioned that.”
Ethan peered through the windshield. “Here we are. You want to take a drive through the lot to see if his car is here?”
“Yep. Doesn’t look like there are a lot of cars here to begin with.” She entered the parking lot and drove slowly through the near-empty space. “I’m not seeing it. You?”
“No. Nothing yet. Why don’t you let me jump out and I’ll run inside and have a word with the manager?”
“Sure. If he can let us know if he sees the car, that’ll help.” She rolled to a stop and Ethan hopped out.
“Be right back.” Ethan disappeared inside the sliding glass double doors.
Riley pondered the fallout of Jacob becoming further involved in this underground gambling operation Silas Levin appeared to be running. With Alex Laughlin missing, she feared for Jacob’s safety, but in order to find him, someone needed to be on the inside. Unfortunately, that someone was Jacob.
She spotted Ethan returning to the car, and as he pulled open the door and slipped inside, she blurted out the words. “He’s going to have to wear a wire.”
“Sorry. What’s that?” Ethan closed the passenger door. “Who’s wearing a wire?”
“Jacob. It’s the only way we’ll get anything hard against Levin and anyone else in that room who might know where Laughlin is.”
“Okay. Do you want me to tell you what the manager said?”
Riley shook her head as if clearing it of all thoughts. “Yeah, sorry. What’d you find out?”
“Our man in the black Camaro has not shown up. But the manager said he would let us know if he did.”
“Not what I was hoping to hear.” She turned over the engine and pulled away from the hotel. “We’re going to have to drive around and hope that we spot him.”
“You’re thinking the Crooked Horse, aren’t you?”
“So you are a mind reader.” Riley headed onto the highway and toward the center of town.
“I know Ward mentioned thi
s, but are you sure you want Jacob to wear a wire?” Ethan asked.
“I just don’t see any other way. We have to know who’s behind the kidnapping and I don’t think it’s Levin. The men who took him, I’m sure they don’t work for Levin.”
“I follow you, but there’s a connection between the three of them and that’s what we need,” Ethan pressed on. “Riley, I know you understand how dangerous this could be for Jacob.”
She shot him a brief glance. “I understand that I’ve had terrifying visions about him recently. I don’t know if this is the reason or not, but I imagine it is. So yes, I understand a great deal what this could mean for Jacob. But if we do nothing, if we allow this game to continue, we’ll lose Laughlin and Silas Levin will flee town quicker than you can say ‘fold.’”
They reached the center of town once again and both peered into the distance in search of the elusive car.
“The bar’s just ahead,” Riley began. “I’m going to go down the side street here, just in case. I don’t want anyone watching us driving slowly by.”
Ethan gripped the hanging bar above his door and continued to gaze into the distance. “Slow up. Let me have a good look-see here.” He squinted and studied the front of the bar as best he could from where Riley drove through. “I’m not seeing the car.” He continued to survey the area. “Damn it.”
“I don’t see it either. Okay, here’s the deal. I’ll drop you back off at the station so you can take Gracie to the bus depot. I’ll take another loop around town and see if I can spot him.”
“You want to meet me back at the station then? I won’t be but an hour, at the most.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Riley pulled out of the side street and headed back to the station.
Ward held his phone to his ear. “Lieutenant Moody, you have saved the day. Thank you so very much for your assistance. I’ll wait for the email and will be in touch.” He ended the call wearing a wide smile and typed in commands on his computer. “Let’s see what we have here.” Ward placed his glasses on his face and studied the emails that had just arrived from IPD.