“You’re using me as bait?” I rolled my eyes toward the ceiling. “Have you discussed this with Dave?”
“No, and neither will you. If it’s going to work, Carson has to believe it’s real.”
“I think you’re underestimating Carson, sir. Give us a few more days, and we’ll have the evidence we need to take him down.”
A car door slammed outside. Park finished his coffee and rose. “You don’t have a few more days, Kacy. Unless you apologize to Carson tomorrow, or I fire you, he’s leaving. I want to end this here one way or the other. Either we prove his guilt or accept his innocence.” He placed his cup in the sink. “You have roughly twenty-four hours to find your evidence. Otherwise, we’ll do it my way. Don’t waste your time.”
The front door opened, and Dave walked in, whistling Dixie.
Park glanced at my bandaged hands. “We’ll forego the customary handshake today, and I can find my own way out.”
I rose. “Thank you for bringing me home, sir.”
He nodded to Dave. “I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
I glared at Dave as the front door closed. “What the hell were you thinking asking him to bring me home?”
“Wasn’t my idea.” He walked to the counter, picked up a box of doughnuts, and poured a cup of coffee. “Park ordered me to pick up Mrs. Wallins and take her to the hospital. I was all for you coming with me, but he said he was bringing you home. What’s up?”
“He wants me to apologize to Carson.” I’d never kept secrets from Dave, and I wasn’t about to start now, but I didn’t have to tell him everything. It’s not my fault if Dave can read between the lines. “Otherwise, he’s going to fire me.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow at five.”
“You heard from Marcone?”
“No, and I’m getting worried. Have you heard from Greg?”
Dave shook his head. “We got a plan?”
“No, but we’ve got twenty-four hours to come up with one. Park only made one statement that was beneficial. He said we were out numbered.”
Dave took out his cell phone. “What do you think of Sergeant Flanders?”
“I like him. He’s a good man.”
“Exactly what I thought.” Dave stepped into the living room to make the call while I rummaged through the kitchen drawer for notepads and pens.
“Everything’s set. Flanders and three of his guys will be here in an hour.”
“That doesn’t give us much time. The house is a mess.” I started a fresh pot of coffee and arranged cups on the counter with cream and sugar. “We could order a couple of pizzas if they’re hungry.”
“We’re not entertaining.” Dave placed a hand over mine. “There’s no shame in asking for help, Kacy, and it’s the one thing Carson will never expect you to do.”
“When did you get so smart?” I had underestimated Carson, but he had underestimated Dave—and my trust in my partners.
“Doughnuts are brain food. You ready to go to work?”
I nodded. “You’ve probably gained five pounds this week, and Martha is gonna kill me when she gets back.” I flopped in a chair and grabbed my notepad. “Suspects?”
“Carson and his accomplices.”
“Accomplices?”
“We need someone to check visitors to Prune Face, and we still haven’t investigated that building owner. If the killer had Emily Greenwell for a week, he stored her somewhere.”
I grabbed a second notepad and labeled it “things to investigate.” “I think we need another notepad.”
Dave poured two fresh cups of coffee, placed one in front of me, then retrieved another notepad from the drawer. “Your turn.”
“Things we don’t know.”
“I hope you’ve got more doughnuts, because that could fill up three notebooks.”
“Sorry, partner, you’re on the last box. I haven’t had time for a grocery run.” I chewed on the tip of my pen. “Let’s concentrate on Carson. Thanks to Dad and Greg, we know he was adopted, but we don’t know where, when, or if he had any siblings. If we don’t hear from them tonight, we’ll try calling Derek again tomorrow.”
“We can ask Flanders to run down this Cotton girl. She saw the men that abducted Janice Stacy. Bet she’s in the system somewhere.”
I jotted the note on things to investigate. “We’re going to have to change our mantra from brains and brawn to brains and brilliance.”
“What about Greg?”
I’d avoided thinking of Greg whenever possible, which wasn’t as often as I would have liked as the locket he’d given me lay close to my heart. His absence had created a pain deep inside I didn’t have time to deal with until this case was over. “Okay. Brains, brilliance, and brawn. You’re getting old, so we’ll let Greg be the brawn.”
A loud knock sounded on the front door, and I grinned at Dave. “You’d better hide your doughnuts.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“Did me old heart good to see you put that prick in his place.” Sergeant Flanders raised his cup and took a drink. “Whatever you need, you got it. It’s your day off tomorrow, isn’t it, Teddy?”
Officer Ted Barnes nodded. “I’ll take the prison, sir. Leave first thing in the morning.”
“I’ll head back to the station and check on Cotton. If there’s nothing there, I know a few girls on the street. I’ll have something for you by morning.” Officer John Tedrow tipped his hat and headed for the front door.
“Walt can take the building owner, and I’ll do some checking on Carson.” Flanders rose. “We’ll compare notes at ten tomorrow and see where we’re going from here.”
I rose and shook his hand. “I know I don’t have to say this, but be careful. I don’t think Carson is mentally stable, and if he finds out you’re looking into him, it will either make him run or retaliate.”
Flanders nodded. “I’ll be putting extra patrols in this area. You need anything, you call.”
Dave joined me at the door as I watched them drive away. “Sorry about that. Martha and the girls wanted to talk. Everything worked out?”
“We’re getting together tomorrow at ten to compare notes. We’ve got the prison covered, Cotton covered, and the building owner covered. Flanders is going to do some checking on Carson.” I closed the door. “He’s also upping patrols in this area.”
“Gonna be hell to pay if we’re wrong.” Dave chuckled. “You won’t have to worry about those pounds I gained because Park will chew that much off my butt.”
“We’re not wrong.” I glanced at my watch, surprised to find it was only eight. “Let’s grab something to eat, drive around, and see if we can spot Ginger.”
“Don’t have to ask me twice. Arlene’s or Micky’s?”
“Arlene’s is closer to the Carlisle. We’ll drive by there on our way in. We can also stop by the hospital and check on Janice and Mrs. Wallins.”
“Sounds like you’re looking for something to do. Not regretting asking for help, are you?” Dave dug his keys out of his pocket and opened the front door. “Control freak that you are.”
“No. We did the right thing. There’s a lot of good men and women at the department. We should have done it a long time ago.” I locked the door behind us then followed him to the car. “I guess it’s time to hang up our Lone Ranger and Tonto hats.”
“Greg will be a good liaison between us. Most of the guys there really like him.”
“He’s asking the commander for a transfer as soon as this case is over.”
Dave shook his head sadly. “Can’t say I like it, but it’s probably for the best. Kid’s been in love with you for a long time.”
“Love isn’t part of my nature.” I stared out the window, searching Seventh Street for signs of working girls.
“Bullshit. You want to tell me you don’t love Yoshe?”
“That’s different.”
“What about Marcone?”
“I care about him because he’s my father. You have to trust someone to
love them, and trust isn’t part of my nature, either.”
“What about me?”
“You’re different. Like Yoshe, you’re still a child.” I turned to meet his gaze and laughed. “I keep waiting for you to grow up.”
“Not gonna happen. Martha fell in love with the kid inside me.”
I scanned the streets around the Carlisle. “I guess it’s too early for the girls to be out yet.”
“We’ll eat, go by the hospital, and then do another drive-by. Your dad said he had someone watching Ginger.”
My cell rang, and I dug it out of my purse. “Lang. Hang on a second. I’ll put it on speaker so Dave can hear you.” I hit the speaker button. “Go ahead, Sergeant.”
“Bad news on two fronts. We found Cotton. Her real name is Camelia Vermont. She was killed yesterday in a hit-and-run in South Bend, Indiana.”
“Damn. I don’t guess anyone saw who did it?”
“No witnesses they’ve found yet. I called the prison to get authorization for Ted’s visit tomorrow. Warden had already left for the day, but the guard on duty is a friend. He told me Hilda Ferdinand was killed this afternoon by another prisoner. To make matters worse, that prisoner committed suicide an hour later.”
“What about visitors lists for Hilda?” Dave asked. “We still need to take a look at those.”
“No visitors in the past six months. We’ve still got the building owner and Carson to look into, but those will have to wait until morning.”
“Thanks, Sergeant Flanders. We’ll talk to you tomorrow.” I ended the call and shoved my phone back in my bag. “Looks like he’s cleaning up loose ends.”
Dave parked in front of Arlene’s and cut the engine. “Try calling your dad again.”
“I did before we left the house. I tried Greg too.” I stared through the glass windows of the restaurant. “I think I’ve lost my appetite.”
Dave started the car and pulled back onto the highway. “Yeah, me too.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Dave drove aimlessly, and for once, I didn’t stop him. Why kill Hilda if she didn’t know who he was? There was always the possibility Hilda wasn’t involved, but my gut instincts told me she was. “If you wanted information from a prisoner, and you didn’t want to leave a trail, what would you do?”
“Go through another prisoner. One you can visit without raising suspicion.” Dave pulled to the curb. “Call Flanders back and get the name of the other prisoner.”
I hit redial on my phone. “I hope he hasn’t shut down for the night.”
“Flanders.”
“What was the name of the prisoner who killed herself?”
“Hang on a second.” Papers rustled in the background. “Margaret Thornton. What’s up?”
I filled him in on our theory. “We need to know if she had any visitors in the last six months. Also find out what she was in for and how long she’s been there.”
“Guess that’s why you guys are the detectives.” Flanders laughed. “Give me five minutes, and I’ll call you back.”
Dave raised an eyebrow. “What difference does it make what she was in for?”
“She committed suicide after killing Hilda. I’d like to know why.”
Time inched by, and I hit answer as soon as the phone started to ring. “Lang.”
“Two visitors in the last six months. Her mother and kids, and a guy named Carl Lunsford visited three times. She’d been there for a year and was up for parole next month. DUI, fourth offense.”
She has kids. “One more thing. Can you look her up in the system and find an address for her mother?”
“Figured you were gonna ask that. Mother’s name is Olivia Thornton, and she lives at 108 Grant Boulevard in South Chicago Heights. I’m still at the station. If you guys are heading out there, I’d like to tag along.”
I glanced at Dave, and he nodded. “We’ll pick you up in fifteen minutes.”
Dave headed toward the station. “Google that address and see what we’re getting into.”
“It doesn’t look too bad. Trailer park.” I stored my phone and glanced out the side window. “You don’t think he’d kill children, do you?”
Dave didn’t answer, but his hands tightened on the wheel until his knuckles turned white. Flanders was waiting outside the station, along with Officer Tedrow.
“Hope you don’t mind, John wanted to come along.”
“Hop in.”
I wasn’t good at small talk, and the silence in the car became uncomfortable. “Either of you know the area?”
“John does. One of the reasons I brought him along. Most of the residents fall below the poverty line, but they’re good people.”
I asked the question that was slowly driving me crazy. “Do we know how old Ms. Thornton’s children are?”
“Three and five.” Flanders met my gaze in the rearview mirror. “Guard at the prison said they tried to notify the family, but no one answered the door, and it didn’t look like anyone had been there for days.”
I kept my eyes straight ahead as we came closer to the address. Dave and I were used to horrific crime scenes, and the ones involving children were always the worst. The very thought of two young children at the mercy of this monster had my skin crawling.
“We got a plan?” Dave spoke for the first time as he turned into the trailer park.
“We’ve got reasonable cause to believe the family is in danger.” I checked my Glock and stuck it in my waistband. “We’re going in.”
Dave stopped in front of 108. The trailer looked well maintained from the outside, and a few flowers were sprinkled along the walk. “Doesn’t look like anyone is home.” I glanced around the neighborhood. “Actually, it doesn’t look like very many people live here anymore.”
We opened our doors simultaneously, immediately hit by the horrific smell coming from the garbage bin. Dave headed for the trunk. “We’re gonna need some flashlights.”
I covered my nose and breathed through my mouth. “You’d think someone would have reported this by now.” Dave returned with flashlights, and we approached the bin. “I’ll lift; you look.”
Dave nodded, and I lifted the top enough for him to shine the light inside. “Drop it. Somebody dumped a bunch of fish inside.”
Our relief was short-lived. We both knew the purpose of the fish could be to dispel the smell of rotting flesh. Flanders and Tedrow approached the front door and knocked loudly. “Police, Mrs. Thornton. Could you open the door please?”
“What do you want to do, Kacy?” Flanders waited until I joined him on the small step.
The door to the trailer was little more than a rattle-trap to keep out wind. “Anybody got a credit card?”
“I do.” John Tedrow took a card from his billfold and handed it to me. “Don’t worry if you break it. I think it’s maxed out anyway.”
I slipped the card in beside the door lock, pushed, and turned the handle. The door popped open. The trailer was dark, and a musty odor filled the air. Dave joined me on the step.
“We’ll go in first,” I said. “You two keep an eye out here.”
We entered together, guns drawn, as Dave flashed the light around the front room. “Clear so far.”
I flipped on the light switch and blinked as light flooded the living room. “Maybe they’re on vacation.”
Dave grunted and went to the right. “Kitchen is clear.”
Like most single-wide trailers, a small hallway led from the living room to the bedrooms and bath. Dave flipped on the light, and we walked slowly, dreading every step. The door to the first room was open. Two twin beds occupied the space, and both were empty. “Clear.”
“I feel like I’m back in that damn basement.” I touched the knob for the second door, swallowed hard, and flung it open. “Bathroom.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Clear.”
Only one door remained at the end of the hallway. “You ready, partner?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” We approached together, guns ready. �
��I’ll go left; you go right.” He turned the knob. “It’s locked.”
I knocked on the door. “Mrs. Thornton?” Somewhere in the distance, a cat screeched, and a dog barked, adding to the eeriness. “Break it down, Dave.”
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