Stolen Lives: A Detective Mystery Series SuperBoxset

by James Hunt

  “So you did it?” Hart asked, the curiosity getting the better of him. “You testified against your old partner.”

  Cooper tilted her head to the side, keeping her eyes on the road. “Danny and I had been partners for three years. We saw a lot of shit that you couldn’t unsee, but we always did everything by the book. That was our line in the sand.” The sadness that crept up into her throat surprised her. She hadn’t talked about the investigation out loud in a long time. “He had some gambling problems a long time ago, but he got better. Then he relapsed, got in deep with some people, and when he couldn’t pay them off, he started doing a few odd jobs for them.” Cooper pulled to a stop at a red light at an intersection and looked Hart straight in the eye. “He asked for my help. But what he wanted me to do crossed that line, and he knew it did. I want you to understand something right now, and make sure it sticks. Nobody, I don’t care if it’s Farnes or the chief of police, makes you cross that line. It’s yours. You lose that, and you lose your life. One way or the other.”

  The light turned green, and Cooper returned her attention to the traffic up ahead. When she glanced over to Hart he kept quiet and looked out the window. After a while he shifted in his seat. “Then it’s true about the captain too, isn’t it?” His face turned pale like it did when he saw the body of their Jane Doe. “And his brother, the former governor.”

  “Danny wouldn’t tell me who was pulling the strings at the top, making officers work the wrong side of the law.” Cooper ground her teeth and bit into her cheek. “But I know it was them. They’ve been making money off of crime for decades. The only difference between them and the mob is that the mob isn’t state funded.”

  The rest of the trip was in silence, and by the time they arrived back at the precinct power had been restored, and the station had returned to its normal heavy traffic and commotion. Cooper went to the interrogation room where Hall and Kate Wurstshed had been earlier but found that Hall’s bald head had been replaced with slick-backed greasy hair. “Shit.” She opened the door and nearly closed it behind her, forgetting Hart was in tow. “I need a few minutes with your client.”

  The lawyer looked up from the paperwork. His face was tanned and clean shaven. Every portion of his person was groomed, and the expensive suit was freshly pressed. “Detective Cooper. It’s always a pleasure to see you.”

  Cooper feigned a smile and shifted her focus to Kate. “Ms. Wurstshed, I have a few questions for you in regards to your kidnapping. I know you’ve spoken with Detective Hall about what happened, but I’d like to hear it from you if that’s all right.” The regular grimace she reserved for Farnes, Hargreaves, and anyone else that rubbed her the wrong way disappeared. She’d dealt with enough killers to know that Kate was lucky to be alive. “It would be a great help if you would.”

  Hargreaves leaned over to interject. “Mrs. Wurstshed, you don’t hav—”

  “No, it’s all right.” Kate cleared her throat. “Anything I can do to help.”

  Cooper placed her hand on Kate’s shoulder and smiled. “Thank you.” While Hargreaves rolled his eyes, she motioned for Hart to take notes. “Where were you when you were taken?”

  “I was jogging along the river.” The woman had calmed since this morning, and she had changed out of her clothes into one of the emergency jumpsuits they kept at the station. Her cuts and bruises had been cleaned and dressed, though her hands still trembled. “There was a man, standing near the water, and he slipped and fell in. He started yelling for help, so I walked over to make sure he was okay. When I leaned over the edge he pulled me down and covered my mouth. That was the last thing I remember before I woke up.” She shuddered, closing her eyes, and a single tear rolled down her cheek, which she wiped away quickly.

  “Where did you wake up?” Cooper asked.

  “The room was dark, except for a single light, and there was a bucket.” Kate swallowed hard. “And a bed.”

  “Was there anyone else in the room with you when you woke up?”

  “No. I was by myself. But I heard screaming through the walls. At first I thought it was someone trying to find me, maybe it was the police. I yelled back, but the more I listened I realized that the screams were… of pain.”

  “Did you try and escape?” Hart asked.

  Kates shook her head. “The door was always locked.”

  “When did you see your attacker again?” Cooper asked.

  Kate pulled at the cuffs of her sleeves again, tucking her hands inside the shirt. “Maybe a day later. He gave me some food and water and then left. It was like that for what felt like weeks, until…” She trailed off and lowered her head, and her shoulders started to shake.

  Hargreaves put an arm around her shoulder, and Cooper reached for her hand. “It’s important to talk about it out loud, Kate.” Cooper gave a reassuring squeeze, and Kate wiped her eyes.

  “He”—Kate’s lower lip trembled—“raped me.” She exhaled a sharp breath after she’d finally said it, then waited a moment before forcing herself to continue. “He tied my wrists together every time, and no matter how loud I screamed, or how much I fought back, I couldn’t stop it.” She rubbed her wrists, staring at a blank space on the table. “I couldn’t stop him.”

  “Kate, listen to me. This was not your fault.” Cooper watched Kate’s eyes drift then lock onto hers. “The son of a bitch that did this is the one to blame. I will find him. I promise you that.”

  Kate nodded, squeezing Cooper’s hand harder.

  “How did you get out?” Hart asked.

  “I could hear thunder from inside the unit. There was one loud crack, and the lock on the door released. At first I thought it was him, but the door never opened. When I walked over to it and grabbed the handle it was unlocked. I heard more screams in the hallway, so I ran the opposite way until I was outside. I didn’t stop until I found the road and followed it to the diner.”

  “Did you see anyone when you were running? Hear anything?” Cooper asked.

  “No. The storm was so bad I could barely see a foot in front of my face. I nearly fell off the side of the highway a few times. All I could think about was getting away.” Kate’s tone grew more frantic, and her arms trembled and her head and body quivered as if she were having a seizure.

  “Detective, I think my client has been more than cooperative.” Hargreaves put his arm around Kate protectively.

  With the woman falling apart, Cooper submitted to his request and let her go. She knew she still had Hall’s notes to look over, and they had Kate’s contact information if they had any questions.

  Cooper and Hart remained in the room after Kate and Hargreaves left. Cooper drummed her fingers on the table in silence while Hart kept his arms crossed in the corner. She forgot he was there until he finally spoke up. “Isn’t that something we’re not supposed to do?”

  “What?”

  “Promise the victims that we can catch the person who hurt them?”

  “I can. You probably shouldn’t.” Cooper pushed herself out of the chair and left the room. Hart chased her through the busy hallways as radios blared codes, and Cooper closed her eyes, savoring the organized madness that consumed the precinct in the heat of the day. She turned back to Hart, and the two stopped in the middle of the buzzing bull pen. “I need you to contact Kate Wurstshed’s employer, speak with the person who filled out the missing persons report. See if we can find out if she was seeing anyone, who she was close with at work. The rapist is usually someone the victim knew.”

  “Got it.”

  Cooper returned to her office, and when she burst through her door she froze. A woman sat in Hart’s chair, and when she turned around she offered a nervous smile, quickly standing. “Hi, Addy.” She waved with her left hand, clutching a raincoat with her right.

  Cooper shut the door behind her but didn’t venture any farther into the room. “I didn’t know you were in town.”

  “It’s good to see you too.” The woman’s voice was less than thrilled, and she s
ank back into the chair, fiddling with the hem of her raincoat.

  A stab of guilt pained Cooper’s side and she her stumbled forward along with her words. “I’m sorry, Beth. It’s just… I was working a case…” She dropped her arms to her side, defeated in her explanation, and shrugged. “I just didn’t expect to see you here. That’s all.” She finally broke the veil of awkwardness and gave Beth a light hug then sat down.

  “I went to your house last night. I waited for an hour.”

  Cooper picked at the end of her chair’s armrest with her fingernails. “I worked late. Didn’t want to drive home in the storm.” The picking stopped, and she leaned forward. “Why didn’t you call me?”

  Beth shrugged, and her mouth twitched in an involuntary spasm of grief. “I didn’t think you’d answer.” Her voice caught, and she quickly turned her head to wipe her eye, regaining her composure.

  Cooper leaned back, rubbing her face raw with both hands. The lack of sleep was catching up with her, and she reached for the coffee mug, which she suddenly remembered was still empty. “Of course I would have picked up. You’re my sister, for Christ’s sake.”

  Beth raised her eyebrows, giving her the same look their mother used to give the two of them as she tilted her head to the side. “Which hasn’t always been an easy job.”

  “What’s going on?” Cooper set the mug down as she folded her arms on the desk. “Are you and Tim having trouble again?” She tensed at the thought of her brother-in-law. If it weren’t for Beth’s persistence she would have killed the bastard years ago.

  “No, it’s not that. We’re actually really good.” Beth smiled and then reached into her purse. “I found something I thought you’d want to see.” She pulled a piece of paper from her purse and passed it over the stack of case files between them.

  The paper had been folded over a few times, and some of the lines made it difficult to read, but the heading told Cooper all she needed to know. “This is a paternity test.” She narrowed her eyes at her sister. “What are you doing with this?”

  “I found him, Addy.” Her eyes grew big and round, as they did when she was a kid whenever she was excited about something. “I found our father.”

  Cooper tossed the paper down, her interest in the subject dropped. “We didn’t have a father. As far as I’m concerned we were conceived by immaculate conception.”

  Beth picked up the discarded paper. “You’re not curious as to who he was? What kind of life he lived?”

  “I already know what kind of life he lived. It was one without us. The bastard left Mom while she was pregnant with you and never looked back. There was a reason she never told us who he was, because she knew we’d be disappointed. Don’t go down that road, Beth. I promise you won’t find anything good.”

  “Well, it’s too late for that.” Beth removed a file from her purse and clutched it protectively in her arms. “I hired a private investigator to look into it. Everything he found is in this report.” She set the folder down gently. And waited.

  Cooper eyed the manila folder, but it remained untouched. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the small space of desk, looking past the folder and into her sister’s eyes. “Beth, you wasted your time.”

  “I didn’t waste anything I wasn’t willing to give up.” Beth’s tone darkened, and the added venom in her words stung Cooper harshly. “It’s been over a year since Mom died, Adila. I haven’t seen you since the funeral. You haven’t called. You haven’t written. You haven’t even sent a goddamn email. And you know how many times I’ve tried reaching out to you?” She jumped from her chair, pacing the room in circles. “Mom’s death wasn’t hard for just you. It would have been nice to talk to someone about it. For Christ’s sake, Addy. You needed to talk to someone about it. You’ve shut yourself off from everyone. How many times have you slept in this office? How much overtime have you pulled? You burrowed into work, and I needed to do something, so I went looking for answers I’ve always wanted to know!” Her cheeks reddened, and the crescendo of her rant deflated the rage. She leaned back against the wall and folded her arms over her stomach, keeping her head down.

  Cooper remained quiet for a while, watching her sister, the file, the clock on the wall. “I’m sorry I didn’t call. I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you. But Jesus, Beth, you’re a grown woman! You have a husband and kids. And I have this.” She gestured to the office and its scattered mess. “And I’m sorry that I don’t feel the same way about learning about the man who is our biological father.” She pointed to the folder. “This isn’t something I want to be a part of.”

  Beth snatched the folder off her desk. “It doesn’t fucking matter. This was a mistake.” She shook her head, stuffing the papers back into her purse and putting on her jacket. She laughed an exhausted chuckle. “I don’t know what I was expecting. We would see each other, hug, and tell how much we’ve missed one another.” She stopped and turned at the door one last time, her expression stoic. “I just thought you’d like to know where we came from. But I should have known you wouldn’t give a shit. Just like when Mom died.”

  The pictures on the wall lifted from the rush of wind that accompanied the slammed door, knocking a few of them down. She sat silently, her eyes glued to door. She massaged her temples and focused on lowering her heart rate. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, but Hart snapped her out of the stupor when he stepped inside. “What?” she asked, absentmindedly.

  “Who was that?” Hart looked back down the hallway from the door.

  Cooper exhaled, trying to recalibrate her thoughts and return her focus to work. “What’d you find?”

  “Kate Wurstshed’s employer was closed because of the storm, but I left a voice mail.” Hart gestured to the papers in his hand. “I heard back from the department of corrections. Zane Marks never checked in with his parole officer.”

  Cooper jumped from her chair, heading out into the hallway, with Hart close behind. “Put out an APB on Marks. Let’s find the bastard.”

  Chapter 5

  A car sped past, and Cooper resisted the urge to hunt them down for going twenty over the speed limit, focusing her attention on the decrepit house settled in Baltimore’s projects. They’d already poked around the neighbors, confirming that Zane wasn’t home, so they parked across the street and waited for him to show up.

  “You really think he’ll come back here?” Hart asked, leaning his head against the window. “It seems like a stupid move to make after knowingly missing his parole check-in.”

  “Rape is stupid, but he managed to do that. Twice.” Cooper popped another piece of gum in her mouth and fiddled with the wrapper between her fingers. She rubbed her left eye, dry and irritated from the staring contest with the door. “And right now we don’t have anything to do but wait. DNA tests are still at the lab, Barnesby’s secretary hasn’t gotten back with us, and Kate’s work is closed. Right now this is the strongest active lead we have.”

  A blue sedan turned onto their street from down the road then slowed as it neared Zane’s property. It was a modest car but a stark contrast from the run-down vehicles that occupied these streets. A woman sat behind the wheel, and she stopped right in front of Zane’s home. Cooper smacked Hart’s arm. “Run those plates.” She scooted forward in her seat, trying to get a better look.

  A man exited the passenger seat wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, making his face unrecognizable, but he headed straight for Zane’s door the moment the sedan pulled away. Cooper waited until he was inside then flung her car door open. “Let’s move.”

  Cooper and Hart glided swiftly across the street, keeping low. Cooper placed her right hand over her pistol and hastened her speed, and Hart mimicked her motions. She stopped at the front corner of the house, which rested twelve feet from the front door. Two windows separated her from the entrance, and she searched for another way inside.

  Hart kept his voice low as he radioed dispatch. “Requesting officer assistance at twenty-six South Hampton Street.
” He clicked the radio off and leaned in close to Cooper’s ear. “We need to wait for backup. We don’t know if he’s armed.”

  The heat of the afternoon already caused both Cooper and Hart to break out into a sweat. The storm that passed through the night before had left a heavy moisture that lingered in the air. Cooper wiped her brow with her sleeve and glanced down the road, where the sedan had disappeared. “We don’t have time. If that sedan circles back, we’ll have missed our chance, and this will turn into a highway chase.” She looked up to the second floor and saw an opened window. The fence that ran close to the building’s perimeter stretched close to the bottom of the balcony’s ledge. “Watch the front door.”

  “Cooper, what are you—”

  But by the time Hart realized what was happening Cooper was already at the fence. She hoisted herself up, the tip of her boots scraping the splintered wood as she struggled to gain traction. The old pieces of lumber wavered under her weight as she balanced on the support beams that ran along the inside of the fence.

  Once she had reached the fence’s highest point she stretched for the balcony, her legs shaking with the fence. She grazed the iron poles of the balcony’s banner with her fingertips and nearly lost her balance. She inched a little closer, shuffling across the rickety fence, and reached again, this time firmly grabbing hold of the banister’s poles.

  The muscles along her arms and shoulders burned as she pulled herself up. Sweat dripped from her reddened face as half her body dangled from the second story. She felt her hands grow slick, and when she tried to reposition she slipped. The harsh jerk popped her elbow as she dangled from her right hand, clinging onto the balcony’s banister. Her pinky and ring finger slid from the pole, and she dangled with only three fingers gripped around the banister. Just when she thought she’d fall something stabilized her feet.

  Cooper looked down at Hart, who kept her legs steady then hoisted her higher. The lift provided her the needed momentum to regain her grip, and she pulled herself over the iron banister. She tumbled onto the balcony less gracefully than she would have liked, but the noise was minimal. She looked back over the railing, red faced, and nodded to Hart, who retook his position near the front door. She approached the window carefully, raising her service pistol, checking both sides of the window before entering. Once she determined the bedroom was clear, she entered.