Cam Derringer Box Set

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Cam Derringer Box Set Page 52

by Mac Fortner


  Harold retrieved the gun he used to kill Aaron, wiped it off good, and handed it to Tracy

  “You have anything to drink?” she said.

  “Not here,” he said. “Let's go down to the pool, and I’ll buy you one at the bar.”

  Tracy and Harold sat at the poolside bar drinking their bourbon. It was a beautiful evening.

  “Now,” Harold said, “What about the jewels?”

  “I have one more loose end to tie up, and then the jewels are yours,” she said.

  “You mean ours, don’t you?”

  “No, I mean yours. I don’t need the money, and the jewels aren’t the reason I’m doing this.”

  “Really? What are you up to Tracy?” Harold questioned.

  “Revenge,” she said.

  “Well, as long as I get the jewels back, you can do anything you want.”

  She downed her drink, stood and said, “I have to go. Time is of the essence.”

  “What about our time?” he said touching her leg at the hemline.

  “We’ll see,” she said and kissed him goodbye.

  She went to her car and turned on her tracking device and followed the beeps. She finally caught up with Jason’s car moving down White Street. She followed him until he pulled to the curb in a residential area.

  He seemed to be watching a house a few doors down. She pulled to the curb a half block back.

  ~***~

  I met up with Jack and Kailey at Diane's house at eight-fifteen that evening.

  “What are we going to do?” Kailey asked.

  “I’m going to stay here for the night, just in case something turns up. I’ll probably go back out for a while and keep searching,” I said. “I still have a bad feeling about Jason.”

  “I’ll go to the boat in case she shows up there,” Kailey said.

  “I’m going to keep searching too,” Jack said. “Somethings happened to the love of my life, and I’m not going to rest until I find her.”

  That line brought back old memories. I said the same thing when Malinda disappeared six years ago. I kept searching, but never found her. I only found out how she died last year. Now I have to go through it again with my Diane. This time I have to find her.

  “We won’t give up Jack,” I said.

  ~***~

  Jason watched from his car until Cam and his friends left Diane’s house. When they were out of sight he crept around to the back door and using his key he entered the house. He went to Diane’s bedroom and turned on his flashlight. Rummaging through her closet, he picked out five dresses he had seen her wear in his sessions over the last few years.

  “Yes, she’ll look good in these,” he said quietly.

  Then he picked out panties and bras he thought would look sexy to him. Next, he went to the bathroom and collected her toothbrush and cosmetics.

  “She’ll be so happy to get these.”

  Tracy saw two cars back out of the driveway. One of them she recognized as Cam’s. Then she watched Jason walk to the rear of the house.

  “Oh my god,” she said to herself, “This is perfect.”

  Tracy put on her gloves, tried the door and found it unlocked she slowly opened it and entered the kitchen. She could hear drawers opening and sliding shut. She crept down the hallway and saw a light shining around the bathroom. Jason had a flashlight. What was he looking for?

  Tracy could tell this was a woman's house by the furnishings and the decor. She wondered why Cam was here, but it didn’t really matter.

  Jason left the bathroom and came down the hallway toward her. She ducked into a bedroom until he passed. She stepped back out and called his name.

  “Jason,” she said.

  He stopped in his tracks and turned toward her.

  “Tracy, is that you?” he said.

  “Yes,” she said. “Why are you here?”

  “Why are you here?” he answered.

  “I came to get the rest of the jewels.”

  “How did you know I was here?”

  “I followed you. It’s not rocket science. Where are the jewels?”

  “They’re at my house. I told you I would keep them for you,” he said angrily “I burned the sub like you asked.”

  “Did you wipe it clean first?”

  “Yes, of course. I’m still getting my money, aren’t I?”

  “Who lives here?” she asked.

  “My Psychiatrist, Diane.”

  “Why was Cam Derringer here?” she questioned.

  “Diane is his daughter.”

  “Where’s Diane?”

  “I don’t know. I just wanted some of her stuff,” Jason lied.

  “Are you a pervert? Do you lust after Diane?” she teased.

  “I love Diane,” he barked.

  Tracy laughed.

  “Shall we go to your house and get my jewels?” She said sharply.

  “No, you can’t come to my house,” Jason screamed and rushed Tracy.

  He managed to knock the gun from her hand. She took the full force of his weight on her chest as they fell to the floor knocking the air out of her. He hit her in the jaw. She lay still.

  Jason got up and began gathering Diane’s clothes again.

  “Stupid bitch he said over his shoulder.”

  That’s when he noticed that Tracy had regained consciousness and her gun.

  “Fuck you,” she screamed and pulled the trigger twice.

  He fell face first in the hallway.

  She saw all the clothes and make-up he had collected laying on the kitchen table. “What was he up to?”

  She returned everything to where she thought it belonged, slid the gun under the sofa in the living room and left closing the door behind her.

  Chapter 20

  Sheriff Reynolds phone rang at eight-fifteen p.m.

  “Sheriff’s Department. How can I help you?” he answered.

  “Sheriff, its Chief Leland. We’ve got another murder. Same caliber bullet as the last. You might be interested in this. It’s Danny Russel, the fence you’ve been investigating. We found a necklace from the cruise ship under the body.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  Toby arrived to a swarm of police cars and ambulance flashing lights. It looked like the world was being invaded.

  He ducked under the crime scene tape for the second time today.

  “Hey Toby,” Leland said. “Come on in.”

  The body was still lying in the middle of the floor, but from the smell, Toby could tell it wasn’t fresh. The house was in complete disarray.

  “What do you have for the time of death?” he asked Leland.

  “Looks like maybe two days. He was found by his girlfriend who was worried when she hadn’t heard from him for three days.”

  “Any clue to what happened and why the necklace was left behind?”

  “We figured the killer didn’t realize the necklace was under the body. That’s why the place was torn apart. We found this on his table,” Leland said holding up a plastic evidence bag. “It’s Cam Derringer’s card.”

  “Derringer again,” Toby said.

  “Yeah, we checked the phone records. The last call from this phone was two days ago to Cam’s office. It only lasted ten seconds,” Leland said.

  “What do you make of it?”

  “Don’t know. Maybe he needed a lawyer,” Leland said.

  “Is the necklace the only piece here?” Toby asked.

  “It’s the only one we found.”

  “Well,” Toby said, “I guess that ends the investigation on the fencing.”

  “Now we need to find out who he was fencing for and we’ll find our murderer,” Leland said.

  “Yeah. I guess this connects Kingston and Russel. I wonder what Miss Alexander has to do with all of it? Not to mention Derringer.”

  Chief Leland’s phone rang.

  “Yes,” he said. “Did you get their name? What’s the address? I’m on my way.”

  “A lady just called the station,” he said.
“She heard a gunshot coming from Diane Dade’s house. Isn’t that Cam’s daughter?”

  Yeah, let's go,” Toby said, “he reported her missing.”

  ~***~

  I drove around Key West and as far north as Cudjoe Key. I didn’t see Diane or her car.

  My phone rang. It was the Sheriff’s Department.

  “Hello,” I said. I could hear the worry in my voice.

  “Cam, this is Deputy Fisher. Sheriff Reynolds is on his way to Diane’s house. There were shots fired there a few minutes ago. He wants you there.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  I called Jack while on my way. He said he had just taken Kailey home and he would meet me there.

  When Toby and Leland arrived there were two patrol cars in the street, lights flashing. The officers were behind their cars.

  “Any sign of a shooter?” Toby asked when they reached the officers.

  “Nothing, sir. No sign of life,” he answered.

  “I’m going up for a closer look,” Toby said.

  “I’m with you,” Leland said.

  It was unusual for the Sheriff’s Department and the City Police Department to work so closely together, but in Key West where everyone was a little over the top, they made a pact to help each other as much as they could.

  Toby reached the back of the house and tried to peek in a window. It was too high, and he was in no shape to climb.

  “Let me take a look,” Leland said.

  He pulled himself up by the windowsill and looked inside. There was enough light to see a body lying on the floor.

  “One down,” he whispered.

  Toby tried the door. It was unlocked. They drew their guns, and both entered the house identifying themselves as they ran from room to room.

  “Clear,” Toby said.

  “Clear,” Leland said.

  They turned on lights and went to the body.

  “I know him,” Toby said. “It’s Jason Fields. He’s the one who called in the submarine on the beach.”

  “Wonder what he’s doing here?” Leland said.

  “No telling. He’s kind of a loner. Lives around Amelia Street somewhere,” Toby said.

  I arrived at Diane’s house. The scene was enough to make me sick. Leaving my car on the street, I ran to the house. When I entered, I could see several men in a circle. Toby was on his knees inspecting a body.

  “No,” I said. “Diane!”

  Chief Leland turned to me and said, “It’s not her, Cam.”

  Thank God. I couldn’t take it if something happened to her.

  I moved in closer and looked at the body. I didn’t recognize it.

  “Who is it?” I asked.

  “Jason Fields,” Toby said.

  “Jason Fields,” I repeated.

  “You know him?” Toby said.

  “No, but I know of him. I thought he might have Diane. He was one of her patients. Went a little berserk on her the other day.”

  “Chief, we found a gun under the sofa,” Officer Daily said.

  He held it up with a pencil through the trigger guard.

  “That looks like my gun,” I said. “It’s been missing for a few days.”

  “We’ll check it out. Did you file a report?” Toby said.

  “No. I’ve been too busy. I thought I might have misplaced it,” I said.

  “Okay,” Toby said. “I’m going back to the office. I’ll get a ballistics check done on this gun.”

  “What about Diane,” I said. “Do you believe me now?”

  “I believe she’s missing, Cam. I’ll put some men on it. Meantime don’t leave town.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” I said. “I’ll be here looking for Diane.”

  Jack entered the house. He had the same sick look that I did a few minutes ago.

  “It’s not Diane, Jack,” I said.

  Jack and I were asked to leave so the crime scene investigators could go over the house.

  “What the hell was Jason doing at Diane’s house?” I said to Jack.

  “I don’t know, Cam. Do you think he came here to get her and she wasn’t here?”

  “But who was here? Someone killed him.”

  “Yeah. I’d like a chance to go through the house when they leave,” Jack said.

  Chapter 21

  Diane woke. Her head was aching, and her thoughts weren’t clear. Where the hell was she and how did she get here. She tried to rise up but quickly realized she was shackled to the bed.

  “What the fuck?” she said in a panic.

  She looked around the room hoping to recognize it. Other than the bed she was laying on there was only a side table and a stuffed leather chair which was about three feet away and facing the bed.

  She tried to clear her head. What had happened to her? I was walking to my back door and…. That’s all she could remember.

  There was a water bottle on the table next to the bed. She reached for it and then saw the picture on the table beside the water.

  “No,” she screamed.

  The picture was one of a naked man. One she knew very well. Jason Fields.

  Diane managed to get one foot on the floor. She tried to push the bed toward the door. It wouldn’t budge. It wouldn’t do her any good anyway. What would she do when she got there?

  She was soaked with sweat. She was having a panic attack. She knew what it was, she had treated many people who had them, but that didn’t make it any easier.

  “Let me out of here,” she screamed. “Help, help.”

  There was no answer. She was here alone. What if the house caught on fire? Was she going to die here all alone?

  “Cam,” she yelled.

  Nothing. Someone had to come for her.

  She heard what sounded like a door opening and then it closed.

  “Help,” she screamed.

  She heard footsteps. They stopped at her door.

  “Who’s in there?” a female voice said.

  “My name is Diane,” she said. “Help me. I’m chained to the bed.”

  She heard the woman laugh and say, “That pervert.”

  Then Diane heard her footsteps again. She was moving away from the door.

  “Come back,” she called.

  No answer. She could hear the woman opening drawers and turning over tables. After about fifteen minutes she heard her say, “Here we are.”

  The woman returned to Diane's door. “Goodbye, Diane. I hope you enjoy your stay.”

  “No, don’t leave me here,” Diane yelled.

  But no one was there to hear her plea for help. The door had closed again, and the stranger was gone.

  Diane began to cry.

  Chapter 22

  Chief Leland and two officers arrived at Jason Fields home at eleven-thirty that evening. They pulled to the front of the house and killed their lights. Moving slowly and cautiously across the front lawn they approached the house. A porch light next door came on, and a man stepped out the door.

  Now they were sitting ducks in the light. They dove to the ground.

  “Hey Officers,” the man yelled. “Are you looking for Jason?”

  “Turn off that light,” Leland said as soft as he could and still be heard.

  “He’s not home,” the man yelled again ignoring his order. “I've been waiting for him all evening.”

  Leland rose to his feet and told the officers to do the same.

  “I don’t think anyone’s here,” he said. “You guys go around to the back and see if you can see in the windows. I’m gonna talk to this idiot.”

  Leland went to the man standing on the porch in his boxers and undershirt.

  “What’s your name, sir?” Leland asked.

  “Tom Shay,” the man answered matter-of-factly.

  “Why have you been waiting for Mister Fields all evening? Are the two of you friends?”

  “We speak on occasion. Not really friends, not enemies.”

  “When was the last time you saw him?” Leland asked.

&
nbsp; “I saw him leave around seven-fifteen this evening,” Tom said.

  “Again, why were you waiting for him?”

  “He had a visitor earlier. The man lied to me about who he was. I can tell those things. He said his name was Larry Collins, an insurance guy,” Tom said.

  “Did you recognize the man?”

  “I’ve seen his picture before, but I can’t place him.”

  “Thank you, Mister Shay. Now I would like for you to step back into the house.”

  “Is Jason okay?”

  “Please just step into the house. I’ll want to talk to you again later. Probably tomorrow,” Leland said.

  “Okay,” Tom said and retreated to the house closing the door behind him.

  Leland walked back to Jason's house and checked the front windows. The curtains were drawn, and he wasn’t able to see in at all.

  “Chief,” one of the Officers said. “Diane’s car is in the garage.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. The plate says “DOCSIN” just like Derringer said.”

  “Could you see in any windows?” Leland said.

  “No, its dark, and the curtains are pulled.”

  “Did you try the back door?”

  “Not yet. We’re waiting for you.”

  They walked to the back door, and the Chief tried the knob. It turned. He held up three fingers and counted down. Two fingers, one, and they threw open the door. They went in low and fast in the dark. Chief Leland tripped over something and hit the floor. One of the officers found the light switch and flipped it.

  The Chief was lying on his back and holding his shin.

  “God,” he said, rolling from side to side. “My fucking shin.”

  They looked around the room. The Chief had tripped over a kitchen drawer that had been thrown on the floor. All the drawers were scattered around the room. Moving through the house, they saw that the whole house had been turned over.

  “Someone was looking for something,” Officer Williams said.

  “Any sign of Diane?” Leland said leaning down to rub his shin again.

  “Help,” they heard a woman scream.

  They looked toward a closed door. Leland walked to the door.

  “Who’s in there?” he said through the door.

 

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