Black and White Truth (The Syndicate-Born Trilogy Book 2)
Page 14
A knock at the door startled her out of her reverie.
“Knock, knock,” Scott said, pushing open the door.
Sally gripped the side of the stove to keep from punching him.
“What, no good morning?” He shoved his hands in his pants pockets. “Is there trouble in paradise?”
She pushed off the stove and handed him the small stack of papers Jason wrote the day before. “Just take it and go.” She went back to the stove and turned off the burner.
Why can’t he just leave?
Scott stood close to her—too close for her taste. “One more thing. I almost forgot. Ash said to say hello.”
She held her breath and counted to five, trying to calm herself. “What did you do to him?”
“Oh... nothing.” Scott brushed the hair off her shoulder. His fetid breath tickled her neck. “Well... I may have threatened him that if he didn’t do what I told him, I’d have his mother killed.” He snickered. “When he destroyed the digital copy of Jason’s book, I killed his mother anyway. It’s just more fun that way.”
Sally’s mother used to say, “You can’t negotiate with crazy.” So Sally kept to the script and decided to let Scott think he had the upper hand. “I guess you won then.”
“No, my dear. Winning will be finding your son—”
“What’s he talking about, Sally?” Jason leaned on the doorframe of the bedroom, his sweet face twisted in exhaustion and frustration.
She wanted to comfort him, but couldn’t.
“Ah, another secret she didn’t tell you,” Scott said, wagging his finger at her. “Tsk, tsk, Sally.”
Her knuckles turned white as she held onto the stove. If she let go, she’d strangle the life out of this bastard.
Scott sauntered over to Jason and rested his hand on his shoulder. “You should know, friend, that Ms. Sally here is a mama.”
Sally grit her teeth as her eyes rose to meet Jason’s inquisitive stare. “I have a son named Zane. He just turned twenty-five.”
“The talk around the neighborhood is that he wasn’t your old man’s kid, either. Which isn’t too surprising, considering what a cunt whore you are,” Scott said.
Jason lunged at him, his hands going for Scott’s neck, but Sally pulled him away. “He’s not worth it.” She stood between him and Scott, trying to get Jason to look at her.
His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed.
A part of her leapt with joy that he had jumped to her aid. Maybe he would be able to look past all this one day and they’d be together. The thought flew away when he looked away, too disgusted to look at her.
He shoved her out of the way. “If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do. This piece of shit won’t write itself,” he said under his breath.
Scott reached out and grabbed Jason’s arm.
For a moment, she thought Jason might deck him.
“Wait. I have something for you,” Scott said, pulling another bottle of scotch out of the bag he’d brought. “You’ve been working hard. You deserve it.”
Sally shook her head and tried to catch Jason’s eye. “Please don’t.”
Jason met her gaze with defiance, grabbed the bottle, then turned on his heels and headed back to the bedroom.
She jumped when he slammed the door shut behind him. She jumped again when Scott came up behind and whispered in her ear. “Losing him will be nothing compared to what it will feel like when I find your son. I will find him and, when I do, I’ll let my little friend have his fun with him. You’ll regret the day you ever thought of taking me on.”
Sally turned her head so they were almost nose-to-nose. “You touch even a hair on my son’s head and I will personally kill you with my own bare hands.”
“Just remember who started this war, Sally. You should have stuck to whoring. It’s what you do best.” Scott walked toward the door to leave. “I’ll be seeing you.”
Two goons stood watch on the porch as Scott’s car took off in a cloud of dust.
Her hand slipped down to her belly, where her son had once been safely housed. She had an irrational wish that she could put him back inside her womb so she could keep him safe from men like Scott Mitchel. Clutching her medallion in her free hand, she prayed for her son’s safety, for the impossible dream.
***
Unknown Building
Unknown Location
July 21, 2025
8:00 AM
~~~
Alejandro stood at attention as his boss charged into the building towards him. “Sir, we weren’t expecting you.”
“How is she this morning?” his boss asked.
“She’s okay, but he is demanding to be allowed to get in to see her. He said she isn’t symmetrical. We think he wants to make her injuries even on both sides,” Alejandro said.
“Are his restraints holding well enough?”
Alejandro shrugged. “The doc has him under physical and chemical restraints but he keeps fighting. I don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to keep him contained. Once he gets something in his mind, he’s compelled to follow through with it.” Alejandro stared straight ahead.
“What if I send him on another job?” Scott asked, pacing back and forth in front of him like a drill sergeant.
Alejandro shook his head slightly. “I wouldn’t advise that, sir. There’s really no telling what he might do if we were to release him. That mess with the retired FBI man shows how unstable he is right now.”
“Thank you for your counsel, Alejandro.” His boss looked out the window at the grove of trees.
“Anything I can do to be of service to the cause, sir,” Alejandro said.
Scott turned to face him. “I’m glad to hear that.”
Alejandro nodded and smiled.
After a long pause, Scott finally spoke up. “Let him have what he wants.”
“But, sir, you don’t mean—”
“Yes, I do mean. We need to keep him happy.”
“Sir, he might kill her.” Alejandro’s heart began to pound. He wet his lips but remained at attention—as he’d been instructed to do.
“Make sure Tidy does what he needs to do without killing her.” Scott adjusted his tie and buttoned his jacket.
He can’t be serious! Alejandro’s palms dampened and his mouth went dry.
Scott stood in front of him, almost nose-to-nose. “I don’t think I need to tell you about what will happen if you fail in this mission.”
“No sir. I won’t fail.” Alejandro steeled himself for what was about to happen, for what he was going to do.
Scott walked out the door, leaving him alone to do the unthinkable—unleash a monster. If he didn’t let Tidy hurt the young woman again, the boss would have him killed. If he messed up and Tidy killed the woman, he would be dead then, too.
Shit!
***
Ocean City Memorial Hospital Morgue
Ocean City, Maryland
July 21, 2025
3:00 PM
~~~
It took several calls and a few favors, but Manny now stood in an ME’s office in Maryland looking at the body of Jaunita Jones, Ashton Jones’ mother. Ash had opted to stay on the other side of the door while the pathologist on duty that afternoon pulled the body out of the locker where it was being stored. Manny handed the man all the paperwork requesting a full autopsy. He would have to turn over all information to one of his colleagues at the FBI, but his buddies were more than glad to contract with him for help on the case. A few of them even asked if he would be willing to contract with them on a regular basis. He wasn’t so sure he wanted to do this again, but he had to do this final thing for his wife and for himself. And for Ash.
“When you get the results, can you please e-mail them to me?” Manny handed the man his card.
“Any thoughts as to what I’m looking for?” The pathologist peeled back the sheet covering the body.
“We think she may be part of a string of serial murders. The murderer makes it look like an acc
ident or suicide, anything but a murder. The only thing that links the crimes is that he alters something at the scene or on the body, and then finds a way to take the body sometime after the death. You should really have this body secured tightly.”
The man laughed a little. “You’re joking, right?”
Manny could tell that the man thought he was an old kook. “No, I’m not joking.”
“All right, then, I’ll get back with you as soon as the results come in.”
“Thank you.” Manny pushed open the double doors and returned to Ash.
“I tried my best, kid, but I can’t promise anything will come of this. I get the feeling there isn’t going to be much of any kind of security to guard your mom’s body.”
“Thanks, man.” Ash threw his hoodie up over his head and walked up a quick flight of steps to the exit doors. “I’ll see if I can’t get some security of our making,” Ash said over his shoulder, vanishing into the bright afternoon light.
Manny followed closely behind him, squinting from the sunlight. Once outside, he leaned against the hospital wall and lit a cigarette. His mind wandered back to the last time he fought The Syndicate. He’d been a much younger man and had an amazing team of agents at his disposal. Now he was a retiree with only a punk hacktivist kid, who had worked for The Syndicate, to help him save Marianna and stop Tidy from killing again.
Manny put out the cigarette butt with his shoe and walked the long winding path back to his car. He and his wife had taken lots of road trips over the years and had accumulated a lot of maps. His map of Virginia was well worn with heavy folding lines from when he or his wife had been impatient and folded it wrong, but Manny pulled it out and folded it so that the spot where Marianna’s car had been found was in the center. He circled it with the pencil he always kept in his car.
“Where did he take you, Mari?” Manny asked out loud.
As he looked at the map, he drew an approximate fifty-mile diameter circle around the spot where the local PD had found Mari’s truck wrapped around a tree. Her blood had covered the steering wheel and inside of the truck. One set of footprints had been found in the dirt behind the truck, a man’s size seven Nike, but if Manny remembered correctly, the Tidy Killer had often worn smaller-sized soles attached to the base of his shoes to throw off the police.
The killer would have his kill room close by. He wouldn’t risk driving around with Mari in his trunk, but where would he be keeping her? There was a whole lot of nothing on either side of the dot on the map.
***
MDNA Hacktivist Headquarters
Unknown Location
July 21, 2025
9:00 PM
~~~
Jude stretched his arms over his head and twisted his back, making it pop like bubble wrap. Sixteen hours of hunting and destroying surveillance bugs and dust around the headquarters had worn him out. He pulled up the boards to check the latest activity, but didn’t get very far. His MDNA-issued watch vibrated with an incoming Morse code message. Jude slipped it off his wrist and plugged it into one of their secure devices so that the dits and dahs could be translated.
The translation popped up on the screen. “It is time to activate plan C. The packages are in safe. Mail them out ASAP. Ash compromised. Be advised: he is not to be trusted. They have the cop. Don’t know where. They’re using her to make Jason write their truth. We are safe for now. Be careful.”
Jude unplugged his watch and put it back on his wrist. He’d heard about Ash’s mom from some people in the neighborhood. The Syndicate must have gotten to him through her. Before the plan started, Sally had warned Jude that the information might be compromised, but he still worried for his friend and her son. If anything happened to her, he didn’t know what he would do.
He picked up his messenger bag and shut down all the equipment. Plan C had now begun. He tapped out a quick response on his watch and sent it back to her.
It’s begun.
Chapter 12
Church Hill Neighborhood
Richmond, Virginia
July 22, 2025
7:00 am
~~~
Ellie sat at the kitchen table drinking a lukewarm cup of coffee. Sometime around three in the morning, she had given up the pretense of getting any sleep. She was beside herself after three days of not hearing from Marianna. She had an irrational mental image of a supernatural vortex sucking everyone up into its vacuum.
Last night she had called the police. They said they’d put out a missing person’s report, but that she shouldn’t get her hopes up.
She set down her mug and pulled up her phone. No new messages.
Wait... didn’t Marianna say something about working with former FBI agent Emmanuel Richards?
Ellie smiled as her friend and former colleague’s contact information lit up her screen. She remembered him fondly, especially the kindness he had paid her when she took the leave of absence from the Bureau. She needed him in her corner again.
Manny answered on the first ring. “Dr. Forester! To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Ellie smiled at the sound of his familiar voice. “Hey, Manny, how’s retirement treating you?” The morning sunlight streamed through the front window, warming her chilled feet.
“Actually, I’ve been doing a little consulting with the Bureau and the local PD.” He paused. It sounded like he was smoking. “This old dog can’t seem to stay away.”
“You aren’t an old dog.” Ellie stood and walked over to the sofa. “I’m actually calling you about that consulting you’ve been doing on The Syndicate case.”
“What do you mean?”
Ellie stretched out her legs and got more comfortable. “We have a mutual friend, Marianna?”
“Then you know?” he asked.
“She’s been missing since the eighteenth. She went out looking for Jason and hasn’t come back. I’m afraid to go out looking myself.” She tucked her right foot underneath her opposite leg and took another sip of her coffee.
“Ellie, The Syndicate has her. They rigged a car accident and then took her from the vehicle. Jason’s truck was found off 81. Her blood is all over the interior.”
Ellie choked on her coffee and burned her hand as the liquid in the cup sloshed. “Manny, I put in a missing person’s report. Why hasn’t anyone told me any of this?”
“I asked the local PD to keep it all under wraps. I’ve been careful about whom I involve in this matter, but one of their officers checked out Katherine’s cabin and said it was deserted. There is no way to know how many people The Syndicate has embedded in the community. I’ve called in some favors from people that I trust implicitly to help. We will find her, Ellie. I can promise you that.” His voice hitched.
“I believe you, Manny. Why do they have her, though? Do they have Jason, too?”
“I don’t know anything for certain, just some speculative stuff a source gave me. I’m still working on piecing together the big picture.”
“How can I help?” She couldn’t sit back and do nothing.
“How well do you know the area around the cabin?”
Ellie stood up, walked back into her kitchen and rinsed out her cup. She couldn’t drink another sip. Her stomach was in knots. “A little. My husband and I used to go camping at Washington National.”
“Can I meet up with you?” he asked. “I don’t like talking like this over an unsecured line.”
“Meet me at Jason’s in Richmond. Do you remember where it is?” She leaned against the countertop and tucked her hand under her arm.
“Yeah, your old place,” he said, his voice trailing a little. “Chris hosted a couple of poker nights there, back in the day.”
Ellie swallowed hard at the mention of Chris. “Great. See you sometime around noon.” She ended the call and buried her face in her open palms.
They have to be okay. They have to be.
***
Unknown Building
Unknown Location
July 22, 2025
~~~
Alejandro couldn’t put it off any longer. The doctors reported that Tidy’s agitation and violent behavior couldn’t be maintained with drugs. The creature—hopped up on anti-psychotics and tranquilizers—should be in a medically-induced coma, but instead he seemed as strong and virulent as ever.
“Sir, I think it’s time to follow through with the orders from the boss,” one of his men informed him.
“I know, I know.” Alejandro stroked the hair on his chin and thought about the woman in the other room—the sacrifice she would make to quell the beast.
“Sir, I need your order to go through with this.” His man stood against the frame of the door staring him down. No one wanted to take responsibility for what was about to happen.
“God help me,” Alejandro said under his breath—crossing himself.
“Sir?”
“Do it. Give her to him.”
***
Yellow Hat Cabin
Millboro, Virginia
July 22, 2025
7:30 AM
~~~
Sally watched the rain fall in earnest. The dark clouds hung heavy in the sky. It would be an all-day rain for sure, not that it mattered. She shivered and hugged the flannel she found in a back closet around her tighter. The drop in temperature could be felt in the drafty cabin. The sparse furnishings meant she slept on the floor. She certainly wasn’t welcome to share a bed with Jason anymore.
That morning, she’d found an old photo book of Katherine’s stashed in the shed out back. She curled up now in one of the old wooden chairs with the book on her lap. The cracked and yellowed photos gave her an inside look into Jason’s young adulthood. His boyish good looks and wide charming smile started butterflies in her belly. In the candid photos, he was always looking at her with a deep longing. Katherine had been everything to him then, and the photos were proof.
She felt a sort of kinship with Katherine, who seemed to haunt the cabin. A part of that woman had died within these four walls, and she could feel it. Sally looked around the bleak room, then down at the faded stain on the floor, and spoke to the ghost of the woman in the room. “I’m going to make your brother pay for what he’s done, Katherine, even if I have to do it with my own hands.”