Mind (the) Game

by Kelly Shade

  Nick hurried to unlock and open it. Josephine had clothes, towels and cosmetics in the locker. Evans grabbed the baggy with hair products and found a silver recorder hidden in an empty shampoo bottle.

  Happy and eager to hear what was on the tape, the team hurried back to the car and turned it on.

  “I’ll have the money on Monday, I told you! Trevor will transfer everything from the charity first thing in the morning!” said a deep male voice and a woman answered “What about that journalist?”

  The man laughed “I’ll take care of her! You don’t need to worry about that stupid girl!”

  “This recording was done on 18th of May, outside Wiley Bowen’s home office. He and his wife are going to get all the money from a charity event that they organized couple of weeks ago.” Said Josephine’s voice and the recording was over.

  The team looked at each other. Josephine was practically investigating her own death. She did a great job helping the team to reveal the killer but it wasn’t enough. Now Nick, Ian, Ryan, Victoria and Jane had to find the hard evidence which would bring the dirty politician and his wife to justice.

  Ryan went to his laptop immediately to check Bowen’s finances. It turned out that they had multiple offshore accounts and since legally Ryan didn’t have access to them, he had to use his ‘magic’ skills. While Gray was digging into every possible account that Mr. and Mrs. Bowen had, Jane was focusing on the murder case. Blake went down to Barbara Bradley for more information on the murder weapon. Bradley couldn’t say much, it was some kind of a cable, the killer’s height was around 5’7”. Barbara said that the attacker didn’t have much strength so he had to use his knee on the victim’s back in order to suffocate her.

  Blake went back to the others. They already had enough information for a warrant for a fraud but nothing substantial for the murder. At this point they had enough to convict the Bowens for money laundry and fraud.

  “Can’t we wait a little bit?” offered Jane “They will be behind bars for, what, two-three years?”

  “We have to catch them before they leave the country.” Ian puffed “It may not be for murder but they will be charged, it is something!”

  “I’m with Jane on this one, Valdez!” Gray turned in his chair with serious expression. This case meant a lot to him and couldn’t just drop it.

  “We don’t have a murder weapon, we don’t have any evidence on the victim, no DNA, no nothing! The only thing we have is an illegal recording made a month ago. The DA won’t take it seriously and you know it, Gray!” Ian explained and Nick nodded in agreement.

  “We can try for a confession?” suggested Lee.

  “Yeah, Jane may talk to him!” Victoria joined in.

  “How do you expect me to get a confession from a politician, Evans?” Jane laughed at Victoria. Blake didn’t like her at all and used every opportunity to tease her. The only good thing she saw in her was that she was making them coffees all the time. Evans went back to whatever she was doing behind the computer.

  “So it is decided, we charge them with what we have and we try to find something in their house or make them confess.” Nick continued without paying attention to what Jane had said.

  Ryan and Jane weren’t too excited but they went with Lee and Valdez to arrest Mr. and Mrs. Bowen. The family’s house was huge, full of expensive furniture, a private gym, pools, fountains and a lot of staff to take care of everything. It was more than obvious, that the Bowens couldn’t justify from where the money for all this came from.

  After meeting half of their staff members, the team were finally waiting to see the suspects. Nick, Ian, Ryan and Jane were welcomed in Mr. Bowen’s home office.

  “Detective Valdez.” Ian introduced himself.

  “Wiley Bowen, it is nice to meet you!” said the short gray haired man with a suit and sat back in his chair, ignoring the others.

  “Miranda Bowen.” Smiled his wife, short and chubby blonde with glasses, that were too big for her round face, without standing up from the couch.

  “Excuse me, I’ll look around, you don’t mind, right?” Jane asked the owners of the house but didn’t wait for an answer.

  Blake got out of the office and started walking around the house. She checked the seven bedrooms, the kitchen, where an unkind old cook shouted at her to get out, and the another five rooms in Bowen’s home. Jane searched all the bathrooms and closets but unfortunately she didn’t find a thing. When she realized it was pointless to keep digging, Jane decided to go check the gym, which was in another small building next to the house, and the garden.

  Blake walked in the fully equipped gym and looked around. One glance was enough to understand that something wasn’t quite right.

  “Come to the gym, I have the murder weapon.” Blake called Ryan who was extremely happy from that news.

  Ten minutes later the team, accompanied by the Bowens, were with Jane waiting for an explanation.

  “Tell me if you see anything odd here.” Blake said and waited for them to look around.

  Ian checked the treadmill, Ryan went to the exercise bikes and Nick was looking at the dumbbells, jumping ropes, yoga matts and balls.

  “What are you doing here? You have no right!” Mrs. Bowel shouted at Jane.

  “I do have a right when I have a murder suspect!” Blake said quietly and stared at Nick.

  “Murder suspect?” Mr. Bowen asked with a surprise and continued with a firm voice “Your colleagues told us you are here to charge me with fraud, which, by the way, is a lie! I’m calling my lawyer!”

  “You’ll have the right to call an attorney when we arrive in the station.” Blake looked at him with hatred “Until then, if you don’t want me to cuff you, be quiet!”

  “Who are you anyway!? You can’t talk to my husband like this!” shouted the wife.

  “I can and I just did.” Blake stated.

  “Here!” Nick yelled excitedly “One of the jumping ropes is missing!”

  “Exactly!” Jane clapped.

  “Why do you care how many jumping ropes I have?” asked Mrs. Bowen hiding the fear in her eyes.

  “Because, this is the weapon you used to kill Josephine Kowalski!” answered Jane.

  “And you think I killed someone because I have three, not four ropes? Seriously? What kind of police are you?” laughed the wife nervously.

  “Josephine is dead?” the husband couldn’t hide his surprise.

  Nobody answered him. Ian and Ryan went to search in the trash bins, while Nick took care of the suspects. Blake went to the only place she was sure that Mrs. Bowen would hide whatever she didn’t want to be found- the kitchen.

  When Jane walked in, the cook started shouting again but this time Jane advised her to walk away and she did. Blake went to the huge trash bin next to the counter and under all the potato, cucumber and apple skins mixed with old spaghetti and souses, Blake found the rope in several pieces. But this wasn’t enough for Jane, she opened a few drawers and in the last one, put into a false bottom, there was a recorder. That was the recorder with the same tape the team had listened earlier.

  “Got it!” Jane said proudly when she went back to the team.

  “Where?” they all asked.

  “At the place you can’t imagine Mrs. Bowen to walk in – the kitchen!” explained Blake with a smile.

  “I, how did you?!” stuttered Miranda Bowen.

  “You killed Josephine? How could you?!” Mr. Bowen talked to his wife with anger.

  “You wanted to leave me! To be with the one who was going to ruin us! And I did everything for us, everything!” yelled Miranda and started pushing her husband with her shoulders, because her hands were cuffed.

  Jane laughed when Ian and Ryan went to stop the ridiculous fight.

  “Boys, I believe you don’t need me anymore!” Jane smiled at them and headed to the door.

  “Where are you going?” asked Ryan and Mr. Bowen almost freed himself.

  “Home. I need to rest.” Blake said and walked a
way.

  ◆◆◆

  Blake was so exhausted that she preferred to take a cab to the motel and go straight to bed. Unfortunately, the plan didn’t work at all. When Jane reached to unlock the door she realized it was opened. She took out her gun, walked in slowly and saw a man sitting on her bed. Everything looked in place so it was obvious he was waiting for her.

  “What are you doing here?” asked Jane and cocked the gun.

  The Latino, middle aged man lifted his hands, showing he wasn’t armed and spoke calmly with a heavy accent “I’m here to give myself in, I not want trouble. You Jane Blake?”

  “Yes.” Firmly said Jane and kept the gun pointed at the man “You are?”

  “Juan Almeida.” Said the man still with his hands in the air.

  “Okay, Juan, why do you want to turn yourself in? What did you do?” asked Jane and slowly lowered her weapon.

  “I give you information on Michael Morse but you free me and protect.” Said Juan and pointed at the table in sign that he wanted to sit with Jane and talk.

  Blake made him walk in front of her and when he sat down she also settled in the chair opposite his.

  “What information do you have?” asked Jane trying to look like she wasn’t in shock but in fact she was terrified by the fact he was one of Morse’s accomplices.

  “I not talk here. In the police when give me have full immunity and new documents to get out of country.” The man spoke with difficulty in English but he did his best.

  “You were on Valdez’s wedding. One of the staff.” Jane realized she said that out loud.

  “Yes,” Juan nodded “I watch you for weeks before come to you.” Said he as if it was a good thing to stock someone.

  Blake lifted her weapon again and with calm voice said “Habla ahora!” which meant speak now.

  “¿Hablas español?” Asked the man excitedly ignoring the gun pointed at his head.

  “Yeah, I speak Spanish but now you are gonna talk in English, and you will tell me everything you know!” Jane was irritated.

  “I talk if I not go to jail.” Juan was stubborn.

  “You will talk now or I’ll shoot you.” Blake aimed.

  “Kill me or not I talk for immunity. I go to jail- I’m dead, I go out of here – I’m dead.” Juan said.

  Jane could see the desperation in his eyes, she knew that this man wasn’t scared of her gun, he was terrified of Morse and the people who are waiting for him in jail. Blake lowered the gun once more and decided to try a different approach.

  “Okay, I’ll take you to the LAPD, but at least tell me why should I do it? Don’t tell me everything you have but at least tell me enough to believe that you are worth saving.” Jane said calmly and went to make coffees. With turning her back on him she showed she trusted him, it was a risky move but it worked on most people.

  “Okay,” sighted the man, waited for Jane to give him the hot cup of coffee and when she was back in her chair he continued. “I was a delivery boy for one man who work with Morse. When you found Morse, my boss was on the list Morse had in his casa. Lo entiendes?” Juan tried his best to speak good English, Jane nodded and he kept talking “FBI catch mi jefe, my boss, and soon they be after me. I know where Morse. My new jefe, the son of the old one, is doing business with him now but he knows me don’t like him, he knows me want out.” Juan was nervous and the words were just slipping away.

  Jane looked at him suspiciously, he looked honest. There was one way of checking, but her head was dizzy and she was so sleepy she had no idea if she can hypnotize someone at this moment.

  “Juan, you are safe here with me,” Blake started and stroked his shoulder “you can tell me everything you want, I’ll protect you” she continued with her monotonous, quiet and calm voice but she saw that Juan wasn’t in trans at all.

  “No, I talk in police, I sign paper for immunity, I talk then!” Juan was determined and not slightly hypnotized.

  Blake dropped the act, she saw she didn’t have any influence on that guy and her head was killing her anyway.

  “Juan, this is the only deal you will get,” said Jane coldly “You give me whatever you have now and I’ll drive you to LAPD and I’ll make my FBI friends to give you the full immunity plus new ID,” she breathed in and out “or I’ll let you go to your precious jefe. Your choice!”

  “Okay, okay,” Juan got scared “Morse is in a house in Pacifico calle, Bahía Blanca, Argentina!”

  Jane eyes popped out from the surprise, that she just got the exact location of Michael Morse. She took her phone and called Ryan right away.

  “Gray, Morse is in Argentina, I have the address, get the team ready. I’ll come in half an hour with a witness who needs FBI’s protection. Call Tylor for me!” Jane sang all of this before Ryan could say hello.

  “I’m on it!” said Gray puzzled and Jane hung up.

  “What else do you have?” Blake turned to Juan and added “We are going to the Station now, you’ll have your protection.”

  Juan nodded and followed her out of the room. They walked through the parking, Jane’s car was far from her room.

  “Morse send me money to give to a woman here in America.” Juan started speaking again.

  Jane’s insides turned around, Juan knew where her mother was. Blake pretended to be calm and asked. “Who was the woman?”

  “I don’t know. I just put the money in a mail box, but one time I see a woman gets them.” Juan explained with too many hand gestures.

  Blake had to breathe deeply to calm her heartbeat. Maybe she was close to actually seeing her birth mother and locking Morse up for good. It was hard for her to believe that someone came to her with all the information she needed, that she didn’t even search for this guy, but he decided to help himself by helping her. Blake felt lucky.

  “Can you tell me where?” Jane asked eagerly.

  “Yeah.” Juan said, stopped walking, searched in his jacket pockets, took out a cigarette and lit it up.

  Jane was impatiently waiting for him to speak again but she knew it is not the time to pressure him. She made few steps ahead to her car.

  Juan followed her slowly and spoke “She is at the…”

  Blake didn’t realize how it happened but Juan dropped on the ground motionless. Jane didn’t even hear the shot, didn’t even understood from where it came, she was so focused on her thoughts and her headache that she had forgot to observe. She had never been so distracted before Chile, she would have never leave a witness behind like this.

  Juan was shot in the chest and showed no sign of life. Jane dropped on her knees next to him with one hand she reached to check for pulse and with her other she held her phone. Juan’s heartbeat was slow and hard to find but it was still there.

  “Ryan, Juan is shot! Sent an ambulance and come to my motel!” screamed Jane when Gray picked up. She threw the phone aside and started panicky giving Juan first aid.

  Chapter 11

  The cover up

  Jane was desperately trying to save Juan’s life. With hands covered in Juan’s blood, she pushed his chest several times. Then breathed in his mouth while squeezing his nostrils, daubing all of his face with his own blood. Then Jane did the same over and over again even though she couldn’t find his pulse anymore.

  Tears were rolling down Jane’s cheeks but she was determined to bring him back. She kept compressing his chest ignoring the growing dark red puddle under them. How could she lose the one person who knew it all? Blake was shaking, her vision was blurred by the tears but her expression stayed serious and focused on Juan.

  Jane was blaming herself, she could have waited, she could have kept it quiet until they are safe in the Station. Maybe someone followed him, she thought, maybe someone was listening to her conversation with Ryan. She could have been more careful.

  Blake didn’t hear the sirens or the parking cars behind her, she didn’t see the red and blue lights glowing in the nightfall. The moment she realized that her team was already there, was when Nick
grabbed her around the waist and lifted her so the paramedics can do their job. Jane stayed frozen two feet away from Juan while the paramedics were trying to bring him back with a defibrillator, turned on to the highest voltage possible. In several minutes Blake realized that the medics stopped the defibrillator and started gathering their equipment. Jane noticed their apologetic eyes were turned at her, she knew it was over. Juan was dead and all the information he had died with him.

  Jane turned around, her cheeks were still wet, but the tears had stopped at the moment she felt Nick’s arms around her waist. She saw that the whole team, Ryan, Ian, Nick and Victoria were staring at her with disbelief. Nobody could believe their eyes, they have never seen Jane so emotional over a dead body. Ryan reached to hug her but Jane ignored him and turned to the direction where the bullet came. She examined the buildings next to the motel and saw the most probable one- a warehouse with a high chimney about five hundred feet away.

  Jane pointed and said firmly “The shooter must have been over there.”

  “Are you okay, Jane?” Ryan stroked her back gently. He had never seen her like this. Even though Blake stopped crying when the team came, her eyes were giving her away.

  “I’m fine.” Jane answered and ran towards the warehouse, Nick, Ian and Ryan after her, Victoria stayed on the crime scene to wait for the CSU and to deal with the body.

  Blake kicked the door open and walked in the empty storage building, then walked out and searched for stairs on the sides. Ian and Nick went to the left while Jane and Ryan ran on the right side of the huge warehouse. Gray couldn’t keep up with Blake, she was so furious that she ran as fast as never before.

  “Here!” Lee’s voice announced that he and Ian had found the stairs.

  Jane turned around, Ryan closely behind, and ran to find where Nick and Ian were.

  They almost bumped at the corner, since Lee and Valdez were searching for Jane and Ryan too.

  “Where?” Gray asked breathlessly.

  Nick showed the way and all of them climbed the stairs to the roof. Then, again, they had to take another flight of stairs up to the chimney. At last they were at the spot where the shooter was - at the end of the big chimney there was enough space for not very tall person to lay down. It was obvious the killer left in a hurry, they saw a jacket spread on the floor, and a brick covered with a cloth, where he apparently put the rifle for stability. The spot was suitable for a person who was trained. It was far away and yet, the shooter had a clear view and with little knowledge, which he had, it was easy enough for him to make the perfect shot.