by Sam Carter
“You could have said something. You should have. I get it, but you still should have trusted us. But that’s done. Let’s move on.” Harlan felt grateful for that. He was preparing himself for the kind of lecture of responsibility that, as a child, he often endured from his parents. “This voice called your phone. Has he been calling you on that phone the whole time?”
“Just the first time he did, but then I found this in my car.” He pulled out the phone and showed it to Rodriguez. “They’ve all come to this one since.”
She immediately stood up and began to pace the floor. It looked like she was talking to herself, trying to piece some things together.
“Will you sit down? You’re making me nervous.”
“Yeah. Sorry about that. Force of habit.” She stopped pacing, but she didn’t sit down. “That phone. I’ve seen that phone before.”
“It is a pretty common phone, so I can imagine you’ve seen it a lot,” Harlan said, trying to figure out what she was trying to say.
“It was a pretty common phone. You rarely see flip phones anymore. But I’ve seen that same type of phone today.” She started pacing again. Harlan didn’t think it made much sense to stop her now, but he couldn’t just sit there and wait for her, so he kept talking.
“The last phone call. He told me that you all would be here and that whatever you guys said, I needed to blame it on a friend of mine. And I could. It would make sense. But I don’t want to.” He was just rambling now, trying to keep from going crazy.
“Interesting.” Harlan couldn’t tell if she was talking about what he had just said, or if it was something she had thought about. “You’re saying this voice knew we would be here?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. He knows everything.”
That seemed to trigger something because Rodriguez stopped pacing and sat down next to Harlan. The look in her eyes changed. It was now a mix of excitement and terror. Like she had figured something out but wished she hadn’t.
“The phone. My partner. He has one, too.”
Chapter 41
After what Luke had done to Josie last night, it made sense that she was lying in an uncomfortable hospital bed. What didn’t make sense was the location. She was not in one of the hospitals in Seattle that served adults. No, she was in the basement, stuffed in some surgery room in a children’s hospital. Her children’s hospital. All by herself.
That male detective who came to investigate what happened told her this was where she was going to stay. When she tried to ask why, he just made some stupid “it’s for your protection” remark and the two cops, who seemed to be alive to do the detective’s bidding, took her downstairs.
They set it up just fine, and she even had some outside nurse and doctor checking in on her. They had made sure her arm was fixed, and she was resting comfortably. But she still didn’t understand why they had her down here. She didn’t need their protection. It was more likely that they were going to need protection once the Matsuis found out where she was.
Come to think of it, Josie had not heard from anyone within the Matsui family for a while. Nothing at all. This would happen very occasionally, but not during an important time like this. They had completely abandoned her.
The only people she ever heard from, it seemed, were Luke and that voice. That stupid voice. Always calling her and giving her demands about what to do next. Showing up at her office, while she was walking to her car, or even when she was out to dinner, but never showing his face. Threatening to expose her secrets. Threatening to hurt those she loved. Threatening to take away everything she had worked so hard to achieve.
Now she lay in a hospital bed, stuck with no help. All because of Luke. What had snapped inside his head to make him do what he did? Why was everything falling apart and she unable to get out and fix it? And where was the nurse with more pain meds?
Just as she was about to scream out for the nurse, the door opened.
“Thank goodness. Where have you been?”
“You really need to work on the security at this hospital of yours, Joserin.”
Josie froze. It wasn’t a nurse or a doctor or anyone she wanted to see. Please no, she thought. Only one person called her by that name.
Luke.
Chapter 42
Harlan looked at his phone then back at Rodriguez, then back at his phone again. He didn’t think this day could get more strange or confusing, but it just did. Why did Mancuso have the same phone?
“Over the last day or so this phone showed up. He tries to hide it, but I’ve seen it more than once.” Rodriguez was still sitting, staring off into the distance.
“Are you saying that he’s the voice? That he’s the one who’s been calling me?” Harlan felt his blood boil just thinking about it.
Rodriguez just looked at Harlan and laughed. “No. No way. Are you kidding me? He’s not smart enough to pull off something like this.”
“Then what? What are you getting at?”
“Normally he doesn’t care about taking any calls in front of me. Work or personal. But then last night, when we were at the hospital, this phone rings, and he says he needs to take it somewhere else. When he comes back he looks like he’s seen a ghost and tells me he’s got it from here. So, he kicks me out. And when he calls me back in he says Josie’s dead and you, Harlan, are the one who did it.” Rodriguez paused, got up, and started to pace again.
“The voice is calling Mancuso, too? He’s controlling him, too?”
Harlan wanted to get up and walk with her, but his legs felt like Jell-O. If he stood up he would collapse, and he wasn’t sure he would be able to get back up. The voice wasn’t just terrorizing Harlan, but others. And in the process, terrorizing Harlan more. What was this guy’s game?
“What am I going to do? I can’t blame a murder on my friend. But, if I don’t . . .” Harlan didn’t want to say or even think about what would happen. “If I don’t, Mancuso will tell the voice. I’m trapped.”
Rodriguez stopped walking, sat down, and put her arm around Harlan. He could get used to all these beautiful women giving him attention. Not for the reason he was getting it now, but still. He would not protest.
“I need to get back to the hospital. My patients. We are so close. They are working on it right now. I have to get out of here.” Harlan stood up and began to walk toward the door, but Rodriguez grabbed his arm and pushed him back down to his seat.
“Not your best idea, Doc.” It wasn’t, that was true, but Harlan was not exactly in a rational place. He didn’t believe anyone would be rational after what he had been through the last few days.
“Then what? What do I do?” Harlan did not want to break down. Not now. Not ever. He could usually hold his emotions in check. But his control was slowly leaking. Drip by drip. Soon it would break open and everything would flood out. If that happened, how could he save his patients and keep his family safe? He couldn’t. He needed to stay strong. Sticking with the water analogy, he needed to dam them up. So, he did.
“First, breathe. There are options. I know my partner. I can get to him and keep him at bay.”
“But do you know the voice? Do you know what he could have said to get Mancuso to do all of this? This guy knows everything.”
“No one knows everything, and everyone has a weakness. This is beatable if you trust me. Do you trust me?”
Harlan was glad he had decided the answer to that question earlier, because if he’d had to decide at that very moment, it would be tough. But not with all he had found out since.
“I do. I don’t know why, but I do.” He needed to trust her. It felt like his only option and everything told him it was the best option, too.
“Good. We have two ways we can do this. First, we call him out. You tell him that you’re having the same stuff happen to you. We get him back to our side of things.”
“Please tell me your second option is better. Please. I just can’t see that happening.”
“Harlan, Mancuso is a good m
an and a good cop. I know that sounds cliché, but it’s the truth. He’s no saint, but this isn’t him.”
“You’re right. It isn’t him. It’s something else. Someone else. Someone much worse. I just don’t see how that will work
“All right, fine. Then we will have to go with this. I tell him you know who did it. That you’ve got this friend…” “No. No way. I’m not doing it. I can’t.” Harlan was surprised she was even mentioning it. Hadn’t he made himself clear?
“Shut up and let me finish. I tell him you’ve got a friend that you are sure did it, but you need proof. And we are going to let you get it.”
“Do you think he’ll buy that? I don’t think I would.”
“He will because he trusts me. Besides, I’m guessing this voice told him you would blame it on your friend. He’s waiting for it.”
She had a good point. I guess that’s why she’s the detective, Harlan thought. The whole keen, sharp mind thing.
“Ok. That will work. Do you think it will take long to convince him?”
“Convince me of what?” Harlan and Rodriguez slowly turned around. Mancuso was standing behind them with his gun pulled.
“Convince me of what, Harlan? Come on. Convince me of what?”
Harlan wasn’t sure how to respond. If this was a surgical room and a patient were coding, he would have all the answers. But now, he was a blank.
He needed to say something though. Mancuso didn’t look like he had much more patience left. As he opened his mouth, hoping that something intelligent would come out, Mancuso seemed to notice something that diverted his attention.
“Where did you get that? Where did you get that phone?” Mancuso looked like his worst nightmare had come to life. He slowly pulled an identical phone from his pocket. “Why do you have that same phone?”
Harlan looked at Rodriguez. She smiled and nodded. He turned his gaze back to Mancuso.
“The voice. I got it from the voice. The same voice that’s been calling you.”
Mancuso collapsed in a heap on the ground. He sat there and stared at his phone like he was expecting it to explode at any moment.
“This can’t be. If he finds out, if he knows, it’s all over.”
Harlan leaned down to get level with the terrified detective. “What’s all over? What is he doing to you?”
“Me. I’m done. Everything is done. Everything. Everyone I care about. It will all be gone.”
Harlan looked at Mancuso, trying to let him know it would be ok. He didn’t actually believe it himself, but Harlan needed him to be strong. He needed the detectives’ help.
“What do you mean? Why will it all be gone?”
“My secrets. He will expose all of my secrets.”
Chapter 43
He used to love it when people called him the voice. There was so much power and mystery to it. It still worked, but ever since that singing show with the same name debuted on TV, it just didn’t feel the same. And he couldn’t go with the shadow—that was taken. So, he stuck with the voice, and it still worked. It still struck fear.
Now, even though it was the middle of the night, practically morning actually, the voice sat in the office of his day job. He hated this part. The waiting, the patiently waiting, to find out if people would do what they were told. He was always so careful when he selected the people who would help him get what he wanted, and it rarely failed. But when you’re dealing with human beings you never know what they will do. They have brains of their own, which leads them to do stupid things and force his hand.
And he hated that, too. He hated when he had to keep the promises and threats he made. Why couldn’t people just walk the line and do what he said?
Take Harlan, for example. The voice had never vetted anyone as thoroughly and intensely as he had Harlan. He thought he knew this man and what made him tick. What buttons to push. What weaknesses would get Harlan to do what he wanted him to do. But he was wrong, which meant he needed to get Harlan back on track.
And since verbal threats weren’t working, the voice had to escalate the process. Harlan needed to know that he meant business. Which was why the voice got someone—just another person whose weaknesses led him to do whatever he was told—to put a gun on Harlan and blow out his back window. He hated doing things like that, he hated violence in general, but this was a case of the ends justifying the means. And he hoped that these actions had awakened Harlan from his slumber of stupidity.
But he didn’t know that, which meant he had to wait to see what Harlan would do.
It was times like these that the voice wished he didn’t have morals or boundaries. To him a person’s home was a sanctuary, a place that should be left alone. He never crossed that line. He never entered their home, put bugs or cameras all over, or placed a tap on a home phone. Everything else—cell phones, offices, cars—was fair game. The home was sacred, and the one place where people deserved their privacy. So he gave it to them, but right now he wished he hadn’t. Not being able to see what was going on in Harlan’s home was making the waiting even more unbearable.
The other wild card was Luke. He never expected Luke to be easy to control, but the voice thought they were on the same page. That they had the same goals. Unfortunately, everything Luke had done over the past few days showed otherwise. Luke could ruin this whole thing, everything they had been working for.
Josie had assured him that she could keep Luke in line and look where that got her. In a hospital bed, stashed away where she couldn’t be found and completely screw this up. When the first part of this plan was over, so was she. Her usefulness had run its course.
Or maybe it hadn’t. She could do one more thing. She could draw Luke out. She could still deliver Luke to him. She would finally do something right without even having to try. A perfect task for her.
The voice smiled. This was going to work out. It always did. He shouldn’t doubt that. When had he ever actually failed?
He stood up, grabbed his phones so he could still check in with his new buddies, and left to go pay the good Dr. Silver a visit.
Chapter 44
Harlan took a step back, unsure of what to do next. He knew now that the only option was to try to get Mancuso on their side. He wasn’t sure how he would do it, but he knew that was the only way out now.
It was obvious that Rodriguez could sense Harlan’s concerns, so she stepped forward and grabbed Harlan by the arm. Almost like she was trying to steady him.
“You can do this,” she whispered in Harlan’s ear as Mancuso continued to stare into his hands. Harlan looked at her, confused. Hadn’t she said earlier that she could get Mancuso to flip? That he trusted her? Why did she now expect Harlan to be able to handle this delicate and time-sensitive situation?
“Me? Why?” Harlan whispered back.
“You two are connected by this voice. I don’t get it. You can help him. I’m right here to back you up.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Mancuso was still not looking up, but he was there. He wasn’t going to wait much longer. Harlan needed to push forward now.
“Just about this whole situation. How horrible it is. How difficult this must be for you.”
“No, you weren’t. You don’t care about me. Don’t you try to lie to me.” Mancuso had finally looked up. There were no tears, only a mixed look of pain and anger. Harlan decided that honesty was the only way this would work. One hundred percent honesty.
“You’re right. I’m sorry for lying. But I wasn’t lying about being concerned about what you’re going through, it’s just not what we were talking about.”
“Then what? Spill it, Doc.”
“How to get your help. How we can get you to help me get out of this and take care of my patients.”
“You’re on his side?” Mancuso quickly shot up and Harlan jumped back as the detective stormed past him to confront Rodriguez. “How can you do that? You’re my partner.”
“Because this isn’t you. This isn’t the person I know.
You’re better than this.” Rodriguez stood her ground and even tried to reach out to Mancuso, but he just swatted her away.
“You don’t know anything about me. You don’t know what I’m capable of. What I’ve seen.”
“But the voice does.” Harlan walked over and inserted himself between the two detectives. “Right? The man who calls you. Who knows all about it. He’s threatening you if you don’t do what he says.”
Mancuso stared back at Harlan with a look that Harlan couldn’t quite read. “Yeah. And I don’t have a choice. No one can know about me. No one.”
“Do you actually think he is going to let you go free when this is done? That once this is over he will never use you again? Come on now. This voice knows your weaknesses. He knows my weaknesses. He needs both of us, and that won’t end. People like him prey off the weaknesses of those who have the power he needs. He will always need us. It never will end.”
Harlan hoped his little speech had worked. The look on Mancuso’s face told him it might just have. When he looked at Rodriguez it seemed that she thought so, too. She motioned to Harlan to keep going, to take advantage of any progress he had made.
“He’s hurting my patients. Killing them. He’s threatening my family. If I don’t do what he says, if I don’t follow his instructions perfectly, he said he will kill my son. My sixteen-year-old son. Does this sound like someone who will care about you after this hell is over?”
“No, it doesn’t. It doesn’t sound like that at all.”
It was working. Mancuso was going to help them. He would be on their side. This crazy plan might just work.
“But it also doesn’t sound like someone who will be forgiving if I don’t do exactly what he says.”
Quicker than Harlan had ever seen, Mancuso pulled his gun and pointed it right at Rodriguez.
“You should have kept your nose out of this. You should have let me do my job. This would already be over.” Mancuso was ranting, but his gun never moved off Rodriguez. As insane as he sounded, everything else about him looked eerily calm.