His cell phone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket, Alex saw a number he didn’t recognize. Placing the phone back into his pocket, he apologized to the chief.
“No worries,” The chief said. “Alex, you’re good, so I don’t just want to dismiss your thoughts. But just as certain as you are that it’s is Calloway, Danny is that certain it’s not Calloway.”
“Chief, Danny is not being totally honest,”
“I know about the Pizza Hut excursion, Alex,” Steelman said. “He told me.”
“But he’s hiding something. Holding something back. I don’t know what’s going on, but he’s acting very irresponsibly. Even for Danny. He can’t drink Dr. Pepper anymore. Not with that one kidney. A two to three block walk? Chief, we all know he’s healed up well, but really? You believe he made that walk without help?”
“What? Now you’re going to make Danny a suspect? Alex come on! So he caught a cab, hitched a ride. Who cares? That doesn’t make him a suspect.”
“No,” Alex quickly corrected. “Not a suspect. Honestly, I—Ugh! Chief I just know something is up!”
“If there’s some big secret, why would he even mention it? From what Kellan said, Danny brought it up. He asked if you knew where he was, then said it, without flinching.”
“I know,” Alex admitted. “And I didn’t really catch it then. It’s just—I dunno. Something’s off.”
“Well, I’ve doubled his security. He doesn’t know it yet, but I asked our little friend in the FBI to keep a tail on him. He might slip our guys, but he’s not likely to slip detail he doesn’t know is there.”
“He’s good, Chief. He’ll know if he’s being followed. Especially by Josh. They’ve met several times.”
“You forget your police training, Alex?”
Alex’s brow furrowed. Confused, he said nothing.
“There are two ways to tail a suspect. The first, they never notice you. The second?”
“They notice only you. But—”
“Our guys are on notice to be noticed.” Chief said, winking. “That’ll leave Josh and company to…”
“Never be noticed,” Alex answered, smiling. “Chief, you’re a genius!”
“That’s why they pay me the big bucks, kid!”
Chapter 21
For two days, Alex watched Danny’s movements at the office like a hawk. If he went to the bathroom, Alex suddenly got an overwhelming urge to pee. If he went for lunch, Alex found he suddenly craved pizza. Two ways to follow. Alex had utilized both.
Now, it was time to go home for the day. Alex had his stuff packed up. Danny was still in his office, door closed.
Walking by Danny’s office door, Alex knocked softly. Without waiting for an answer, Alex turned the knob.
Locked.
The door was locked.
“Hey, Danny? You in there?” Alex said, knocking again.
No answer.
“Danny? I need to talk to you, Bud! You in there?”
“Hey Alex,” Alex jumped when he heard Kellan’s voice.
“Danny’s door is locked,”
“What?”
Motioning Alex to move, Kellan reached for the door knob. Knocking as he jiggled the knob, Kellan said “Hey, Boss? Got a sec?”
“Something’s not right, Kel,” Alex whispered. “See? I told you!”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions yet, Alex. Call Josh.”
“Good idea,” Alex said, reaching for his cell phone. He almost dropped it when it vibrated in his hand.
“Alyson,” Alex said to Kellan as he opened the flip phone. “Hey Aly. You okay?”
“I’m fine,” Alyson said, cheerfully. “Just reminding you that I have PT today.”
“I forgot, Alyson,” Alex said, resisting an urge to smack himself. “I’m sorry. What time is the physical therapy appointment?”
“Twenty minutes,” she said, “in Longview.”
“Oh, Aly,” Alex said, “Can you call them and tell them you’re going to be late? I’m on my way now.”
“No, don’t worry. That’s why I’m calling. Mrs. Thompson is gonna take me. From up the street? You know her.”
“Yes, I do. Sweet lady. Tell her thank you. I really am sorry, Aly.”
“Police work is never done, Lieutenant,” she joked.
“Alright, rookie,” Alex laughed. “Don’t overdo it.”
Hanging up the phone, Alex called Josh. When the call went to voicemail on the first ring, Alex’s concern grew. He immediately called back. Still no answer.
“Okay, Kel,” Alex said, flipping the phone closed. “Find me something to break down this door.”
“What?”
“Did I stutter? I’m going in Danny’s office.”
“Just gonna kick in the door, eh?”
“You got a better idea?” Alex asked.
“Matter of fact, I do,” Kellan said. Reaching into his pocket, Kellan pulled out a set of keys.
“You have a key to Danny’s office?”
Smiling wide, Kellan nodded. “I have a key to every office, thanks to the chief.”
“Every office?”
“Yep,” he said, “Ah here we are.”
Opening the door to Danny’s office, a cold breeze slapped them in the face. The curtains waved in the wet, winter air.”
Angry, Alex grabbed for his phone.
“Calling Josh again?”
“Nope. Calling Danny. And he’s going to answer.”
He didn’t. Alex called again. No answer. He called a third time. Still no answer.
“Okay,” Alex said, when the voicemail picked up, “Danny, wherever you are, if you’re not dead, I’m going to kill you when I see you.”
Without another word, he flipped the phone closed.
“Let’s go,” Alex said, trotting down the hall.
“Where?” Kellan asked, lagging slightly behind.
“I don’t know yet,”
Alex screamed as his feet slipped out from under him. Flipping over onto his stomach, pushing himself back to his feet, he saw the “Wet Floor” sign he had missed in his haste.
“Careful,” he said to Kellan. “Wet floor.”
Kellan snickered, but didn’t reply.
Chapter 22
On the slippery road, at such high rates of speed, conversation was proving increasingly difficult. Alex had been trying to keep up. He’d been trying to make his point, but for whatever reason, he was finding it increasingly difficult to maintain a steady stream of thought. Well, that and the fact he was having to divide his focus between finding Danny, planning his beating and justifying his actions, which even he had to admit were a tad hypocritical.
The radio was turned off. The heater was turned up. And Alex wished he’d removed his coat as Kellan had done before fastening his seat belt.
“Isn’t slipping your tail what you tried to do, Alex?”
“I didn’t try to lock my office door and sneak out the window,” Alex said. “But I may not be the only one to be hit with a Taser by the time it’s all said and done.”
He was fuming as he drove through the streets of Longview, trying to find his friend, boss and the source of his great angst.
Alex jerked the wheel a little too hard as he zigged and zagged through traffic, not really certain where to try next. Quickly, he corrected the vehicle.
Handing his phone off to Kellan, Alex said, “Call Danny again.”
“You’ve called him six times, Alex. It keeps going to voicemail.”
“Then this will make seven,” he growled. “Call him and then call Josh. And keep calling Josh until he answers.”
Before Kellan could dial, the phone rang.
“Speak of the devil,” Kellan said. “It’s Josh.”
Snatching the phone from Kellan, Alex flipped it open with one hand, pressed the button to answer in speaker phone mode.
“Josh? Where are you?”
“Following Danny,” he said, almost in a whisper.
“And where is Dan
ny?” Alex growled, as Kellan chimed in with the same question.
“Pizza Hut near his house. Third Street. Had a guy stake out the place just in case Danny came back. Lo and behold, he just walked in.”
“Well that was going to be our next stop,” Alex lied. “We’re on our way.”
“Alex, I’m going to ask you to stay away, for now.”
“You can’t tell—”
“Ask, Alex. I said ask. As a favor to you, let me do this.”
“Do what?”
“Alex, Danny is meeting someone.”
“Who, Josh? Geez! Enough with the suspense here!”
“Calloway.”
Before Alex could respond, Josh hung up.
“Just drive,” Kellan said, reading Alex’s mind. “He asked us not to come. So we will stay outside. But, in the end, we’ll find out what’s going on.”
***
The Pizza Hut on Third was in a seedy part of Longview. A part that, in any other town, might have been the source of much crime. To his knowledge, the worst crime occurring in this part of town was probably one neighbor forgetting to return a borrowed weed whacker to another. This was, to put it kindly, the place where most of Longview’s impoverished lived. At least those considered too rich to be eligible for government housing. In East Texas at least, poverty had many faces.
It was odd to know that the house into which Danny had recently moved cost him quite a bit to maintain, even on a captain’s salary. It was reasonably posh, considering. Of course some of that had been paid for out of the money he’d gotten following his disability. The rest had come after his grandmother had passed away. She’d lingered for a couple years with Alzheimer’s disease, but the progression was uncharacteristically rapid. Busy recovering from his own injuries, Danny had been all but absent during his much-loved grandmother’s final days, something for which he frequently expressed guilt.
When they’d arrived, Alex immediately spotted Josh’s car. No doubt Danny would spot it just as easily upon exiting. Calling Josh on his cell, Alex told him that he and Kellan were there and would be pulling around to the other side, so as to cover the other exit. He said they were not going in, but after twenty minutes with nothing happening on either side, Alex reached for his phone.
“Here,” he said, handing it to Kellan.
“Call Josh?”
“Not yet,” Alex said, opening the car door. He felt a hand on his forearm and turned to find Kellan’s eyes filled with stubborn determination. “What?”
“You can’t! Alex, you can’t go in there.”
“I’m not going in,” Alex said, “I’m going to the door to get a look.”
“And when Danny sees you? More to the point, you know how it is in there. You can’t see a thing from that door! That partition as you walk in is eye level to both of us.”
“Look,” Alex said, “It might not be good form, but the man that calls himself my best friend is in there. From what Josh said, Calloway is in there. The very man that Danny himself said was probably on a beach with a fruity drink.”
“Maybe he’s trying to find out if Calloway’s behind it. Maybe he’s trying to talk him in. You know Danny. He’s softened in recent years, but that cowboy attitude of his has gotten him into trouble more than once.”
“Maybe,” Alex urged, “he knows a lot more than he’s sharing. He definitely isn’t sharing that Calloway is in town! And he knew it! Cowboy or not, he’s a cop. He knew better.”
When Alex’s phone rang, he answered it without checking the caller ID.
“Mendez!”
“Lt. Mendez?” Alex didn’t immediately recognize the voice.
“This would be?”
“Sorry, this is Detective Williams. Wanted to let you know we finished canvassing the neighborhood again like you asked us to do. Sir, it paid off! We showed Calloway’s most recent mug shot to the neighbors. One of them puts Calloway in Detective Whitaker’s neighborhood the morning of his murder. Said she only saw him for an instant, though.”
“An instant is all we need, Detective!” Alex said. “Bring her down to the station. I have a feeling we are going to be able to arrange a lineup real quick!”
“Yessir.”
When he hung up, Alex looked at Kellan, “Okay, Kel. Cover me. I’m going in.”
“I thought you said we weren’t going in!”
“We aren’t going in,” Alex said. “I’m going in. You’re staying here to cover my six!”
“Josh is not going to like this,” Kellan said, getting out of the car.
“Heck with Josh! This is an LPD case! Those were LPD officers killed and that’s an LPD captain in there about to get his hind quarters fed to him.”
“All the same, we better warn him.”
“He’s watching the door. If either of them makes a run for it, they better catch em!”
Guns drawn, Alex and Kellan headed toward the entrance on the west side of the building. When no immediate threat appeared, Alex motioned to Kellan to secure his pistol.
“I don’t want a shootout in the Pizza Hut if we can avoid it. There’s two of us. There is Danny and Calloway. If one of them gets away, it’ll be through the other door, where Josh is waiting. If any bullets start flying, I expect I’ll be the one to either hit or get hit. You watch my back, but don’t be a hero.”
Kellan wanted to say something. Alex could see it in his eyes. Instead, he just nodded.
Weapons secured, Alex grabbed his badge. Creeping into the door, Alex showed the badge to a nearby employee exiting the kitchen as Alex entered. Placing a finger to his lips, Alex pulled the young man to the side.
“You have a couple of gentlemen in here,” Alex whispered. “They’ve been here a while. One is bald, about 5’9 with a goatee. Ring any bells?”
The young kid nodded. Pointed to the far right corner, which was obscured by the partition. Motioning with his hands, the young boy signaled Alex would have to go to the end of the partition, make a right and he would find Danny against the far wall. To be a young kid with no police or military background, he was strangely effective in silent communication.
“Okay, listen, the guy he’s with is a wanted felon. I need you to go back there and tell everyone I said to stay back there until we give the all clear, got it? He could be armed and we consider him dangerous either way.”
He nodded again, “Can I see the badge again?”
Shushing the boy, Alex produced his badge and ID again. The kid smiled, started to say something, but shushed when Alex gave him the stare.
Retreating back to the kitchen, the young man grabbed an older man in a tie. Older, maybe by five years, as the mustache on his face was still quite baby fine.
When the mustached man approached, Alex immediately shushed him.
“Taylor told me who you are. I’m Keith Simpson, the manager here. How can I help, officers?”
“You can do like we told him. Stay out of the way.”
“Please don’t shoot up my place,” the young man asked, a little too loud, causing Alex to grab him and put a hand over his mouth.
His eyes as big as saucers, Alex let his stare do the talking. Shaking his head no, Alex slowly removed the hand from the kid’s mouth, placing a finger to his lips. With a head nod, he motioned for the young man to disappear.
Walking to the edge of the partition, Alex peeked around the edge. He could not get a good line of sight on either of them. They were too far to his right, obscured from view.
“Okay,” Alex said, turning to Kellan, “Follow my lead.”
“Alex, what are you going to do?”
“You know me,” he said, turning toward the dining area.
“Idiot! I was afraid you were going to say that!” Kellan whispered.
Crouching, Alex peered around the corner. He still couldn’t see Danny. Focusing with all his will, Alex struggled to hear Danny’s voice. Though he could hear talking, he could not be certain it was Danny.
Sighing, Alex turned back to
Kellan, nodded.
Rounding the corner, Alex moved swiftly.
“Danny?” Alex said approaching them at a brisk walk “Who’s your friend here?”
“Alex? What are—”
Before he could finish the sentence, the other man flipped the table over, knocking Danny to the floor, and broke for the exit.
“You lied to me!” he shouted, darting for the door.
Danny screamed, it sounded as if it was in pain, more than in fear.
“Get him!” Alex shouted to Kellan as he reached down to help Danny up.
“Alex, what are you doing here?” Danny shouted, as Kellan darted toward the east exit. Hearing the commotion, the young manager came to the front, just in time to be knocked to the floor by the fleeing Calloway. Without stopping, Kellan apologized, burst through the door after him. Alex glanced toward the door quickly, saw Kellan had his Taser in hand. Turning his attention back to Danny, Alex sneered.
“Danny, you’re under arrest for obstruction of justice, interfering with—”
“Alex, I am your boss!” Danny said, as Alex wrestled him to the floor. “You can’t do this!”
“I can,” he grunted, wrestling with Danny. “And I will. You’re not in the same shape as you used to be, Old Man!” Alex brought a knee down on him, reaching for his cuffs. “The days of you whipping me are over! Quit resisting or—”
“You don’t get it, Alex! You don’t understand! I’m not—Ow! I’m not resisting! Let me go!”
“You have the right to remain silent...”
As he read the words, it suddenly dawned on him who he’d just placed in handcuffs. Though he didn’t sob openly, he was unable to fight back the tears as he finished Mirandizing his best friend.
“Alex, let me go!” Danny shouted, struggling against the restraints.
“Let’s go,” Alex said, choking on the words. “Move!”
“Alex! Listen to me!” Danny wrestled free of Alex’s grasp. “Alex! You don’t understand! He’s my brother!”
Chapter 23
Alex had a brother once. His name was Ted. Ted was brutally murdered by an unknown assailant. His death was the driving force behind Alex becoming a police officer.
Target: Mendez: An Alex Mendez Tale Page 8