Murder Al Dente

by Nancy Skopin

  At 9:50 I heard the Supermoto return through the woods. A few minutes after that Nina was scaling the fence. When she reached the top she handed down the hydraulic jack and its detached handle before descending to ground level. It’s a compact jack, but still weighs almost thirty pounds. Nina took the jack from me and handed me my keys, which I slipped into my pocket.

  We returned to the garage and I slid the saddle pad of the lifting arm under the garage door, inserted the handle in the slot and gave the jack a test pump. It lifted the aluminum door another three inches with a slight rattle. I looked at Nina, who shrugged, so I gave it another pump. I knew Nina was watching my back, so I focused on raising the door. It took another three pumps before there was enough clearance for us to duck under the door. I left the jack in place, not knowing if the door would automatically close otherwise. We lowered our goggles and entered the dark garage.

  All four bays had SUVs parked in them. One of them was Cammie’s 4Runner. We probably had four adults to deal with inside, and possibly more. I switched to infrared and scanned the garage. No heat signatures other than Nina’s appeared. There was a door in the wall to our right, which I assumed would lead into the living quarters of the compound. I followed Nina in that direction.

  Neither of us were wearing gloves of any kind. Nina’d had her fingerprints removed, so there was no risk of her being identified, and I was planning to rescue a kidnapping victim and didn’t care if I left my prints as evidence. Nina tried the doorknob and it turned in her hand. She glanced over her shoulder at me, silently asking if I was ready. I nodded and she pushed the door open a crack. There was light on the other side, so Nina pulled the door closed and we both flipped up our goggles. I drew the Glock and held it down at my side. Nina wasn’t holding a weapon at the moment, but I was sure she was armed. Hell, Nina was a weapon.

  We pushed through the door and silently moved down a bright, concrete hallway. At the end, it branched off in two directions. We stopped and listened to a quiet murmuring coming from the right. Nina reached behind her and removed a pair of Remington R110mm semi-automatic pistols from holsters hidden under her leather jacket. She flipped off the safeties and strode down the hall to the right. I glanced to my left, not wanting to risk anyone coming up behind us, and followed.

  What we saw when we stepped into the great-room made my blood run cold. Sky was inside a large cage, the kind that houses predators at the zoo. She was sitting in one corner, on a blanket. Though her eyes were dilated she appeared unharmed and her focus was on me, as though she’d known I was coming. There were four women seated around a table in the center of the room. Cammie was among them. She was reading aloud from what I assumed was a Bible. They hadn’t noticed they had company. I took out my cell phone and quickly snapped a wide angle photo of the entire scene.

  Nina pointed her pistols at the group and roared, “On your feet ladies. Hands over your heads. Now!”

  The women were understandably startled. They’d believed their little fortress was impenetrable. Nina gave them a moment to get over the shock, then repeated her command. The women hastily rose from their seats and raised their hands.

  “Move away from the table,” Nina ordered.

  They moved away from the table.

  “Empty their pockets,” she said to me.

  I holstered my Glock, zipping the fanny pack closed so no one could grab the gun. I approached Cammie first. I knew which SUV was hers, and suspected we’d need her keys and maybe a remote for the gate so we could let the authorities in later. I pocketed her car keys and her cell phone, then patted her down, searching for weapons.

  When I was convinced Cammie was clean, I moved on to a tall woman, about five-foot-nine and around a hundred and eighty pounds. She was in her early fifties and dressed like a librarian. The glare she offered me was so full of malice that it almost stopped me in my tracks. In one of her pockets I found a key that I was sure would fit the padlock on Sky’s cage. I also removed her cell phone and her car keys, a small spiral notebook, and a pen from her pockets, then I patted her down as well.

  Fanatic number three was tiny, but I’d learned from Elizabeth how formidable diminutive females can be. Never underestimate an opponent because of their height. I frisked this one before digging through her pockets and, sure enough, in her left boot I found a switchblade knife. I retrieved the knife, her keys, and her cell, and double checked both of her boots again before moving on to the next woman.

  The fourth church lady was my height, five-seven. She had a mop of brown hair streaked with grey, weighed maybe a hundred and fifty pounds and, if I had to guess, had a caffeine addiction. She was twitching in a way that appeared to be from more than nerves. I patted her down and, finding no weapons, emptied her pockets as well. I was glad I’d worn a jacket with large patch pockets. There were four shoulder bags under the table, and I left them where they were.

  When I was done with the disarm-your-enemies ritual I faced Nina and held up the key to the padlock. She nodded and I knew she was telling me she’d cover me. I had to turn my back to the terrible-foursome in order to free Sky.

  I approached the cage slowly, looking through the bars. Sky was standing up now, her blanket wrapped around her tiny shoulders. Her eyes locked onto mine and she said, “I knew you would come.”

  I felt a little shiver wash over me, but ignored it. Placing the key in the padlock, I said, “My name is Nikki Hunter. Your mom sent me.”

  I pulled the cage door open and tucked the key in my pocket. Sky held her arms out to me and without even thinking about it I scooped her up. She hugged my neck and whispered, “Thank you.” I felt tears sting my eyes and realized this was not a good time to get emotional. I walked around behind Nina and faced the women who had kidnapped my charge.

  “Everyone in the fucking cage,” I hissed.

  Sky gave my neck another hug, as though to let me know she approved of my actions and didn’t mind my language. Cool kid.

  The women looked from me to Nina and moved in unison into the cage. I tossed Nina the padlock and she secured it in place.

  Once the women were no longer a threat, I set Sky down and handed Cammie’s keys to Nina. “These are for the white Toyota 4Runner,” I said. “There should be an automatic garage door opener in the vehicle. Will you pull it out of the garage and drive it toward the gate? If it’s motion activated, it should open as you approach.”

  Nina nodded and then turned her attention to Sky. “Did they hurt you?” she asked.

  Sky tilted her head to the side and said, “That’s a complicated question. I am not injured, if that’s what you mean.”

  Nina almost smiled. Jea had said Sky was four-years-old but reading at a third grade level. She hadn’t mentioned how articulate and precocious her daughter was.

  “Did they make you do anything you didn’t want to do?” Nina continued.

  “I did not choose to come here,” Sky said. “I didn’t want to listen to their words or feel their thoughts about me. And I really didn’t like eating microwaved TV dinners.”

  Again, there was a hint of a smile on Nina’s face. This was more emotion than I’d ever seen her express.

  “Did they force you to do anything else?” Nina asked.

  Sky tilted her head again, her eyes locked on Nina’s. “You’re asking if they are evil people who deserve to die,” she said. It was not a question.

  Nina’s eyebrows rose and she nodded. “Are they?”

  Sky put her tiny hand on top of Nina’s, which still held a Remington semi-automatic. “That is not for me to decide,” Sky said. Then she shook her head and said, “Nor for you to decide. Not this time.”

  “You’re a weird kid,” Nina said, “but I like you.” And with that she took off for the garage.

  CHAPTER 22

  Sky climbed back up into my arms while I called her mom. She nestled her head against my neck and breathed out a long sigh.

  Jea answered on the first ring. “Nikki?”

 
; “I’ve got her.”

  “Is she okay?”

  “She’s fine.” I gave her the GPS coordinates of the compound so she could find us. “The gate should be open by the time you get here.”

  “Thank you.”

  Next I called Detective Jan Halstaad. It was after 10:00, but she seemed like someone who wouldn’t mind a little OT.

  “Halstaad,” she answered.

  “Hunter,” I said.

  “Did you find her?”

  “Yes. Write this down.”

  Again I gave out the GPS coordinates. Halstaad said she was on her way.

  Nina returned a few minutes later, and said the gate was open and she’d left the 4Runner in the driveway so it would stay open. Then she began searching the compound to make sure there was no one lurking in the shadows. We might never know how many people actually belonged to this fundamentalist group, but at least we had the ones who had been holding Sky.

  Jea’s voice echoed through the concrete building as she entered, “Nikki? Where are you?”

  I called out our location and heard her running down the hall before she barreled into the room. Her eyes were on Sky, safe in my arms, but then she slowly turned and took in the cage. She froze as the reality of what her daughter had been through struck her like a physical blow.

  “Oh my God,” Jea whispered, her shock turning to rage as she glared at the women now trapped in the huge enclosure.

  Sky squirmed, and I let her down. My heart melted as I watched the reunion between mother and daughter. Jea picked Sky up and the little girl wrapped her legs around her mom’s waist like a monkey, the two of them fused together in an embrace.

  Nina came back into the room and saw Jea for the first time. “The mom?” she asked.

  I nodded.

  “There’s no one else in the building,” Nina said. “I did find a surveillance room filled with monitors showing all the external camera views.”

  “Why bother having surveillance cameras if no one is watching the monitors?” I asked.

  “No clue,” said Nina.

  “The detective in charge of Sky’s abduction is on her way,” I said. “You should probably go.”

  Nina nodded and turned toward the hallway, but I grabbed her arm and spun her around, impulsively hugging my cantankerous comrade.

  “Thank you, Nina.”

  She pulled away and I self-consciously swiped at a tear.

  “Could you call me tomorrow?” I asked. “I think Jea and Sky are going to need help disappearing. New identities and everything. You’re really good at that.”

  She scrutinized me for a long moment, then nodded and turned to leave just as Jan Halstaad stormed through the door holding her service weapon double-handed in front of her.

  “Hey, Jan,” I said, waving like an idiot. “Everything’s under control. I’d like you to meet Sky Solomon.”

  Jan holstered her weapon as Jea turned to face her and Nina slipped out the door.

  “What happened here?” Jan asked, pointing to the four women locked in a cage. She tapped the recording app on her phone. “Nice hat by the way.”

  I’d forgotten I was wearing the goggles and pulled the headgear off.

  “Where to begin,” I said. “Camilla Sutcliffe,” I pointed her out behind the bars, “is the one who kidnapped Sky. Sky’s classmate, Aiyana, was able to pick her out of a photo array. I followed Ms. Sutcliffe to this little fortress when she left work yesterday.”

  “Why didn’t you call me with this information yesterday?”

  “Because you would have needed a warrant, and there wasn’t enough evidence to get one. Do you want to hear this or not?”

  “Go on.”

  “Thank you. When I saw the fence surrounding the property was topped with razor wire and surveillance cameras, I called a friend and asked for help getting inside.”

  “Is that the woman who just left?” Jan asked, looking around the room.

  “Yes.”

  “Who is she?”

  “Just an old friend.” Close enough to the truth. “We found a small patch of fence that wasn’t covered by cameras and climbed over. The only entrance to the building was the garage, so we jimmied one of the overhead doors open and found these four sitting around a table, reading Bible verses to Sky, who was locked in the cage. I searched each woman for weapons and confiscated their keys and cell phones,” I pointed to the table where I’d left most of Sky’s captors’ possessions, “and then I called you and Jea. She was closer, so she got here first. Any questions?”

  “Yeah. Why did you show a photo of this woman,” she waved vaguely toward the cage, “to Aiyana?”

  “That’s where things get complicated.” I glanced at Jea and saw the pleading look in her eyes. The truth about Sky would probably come out when the kidnappers were questioned, but I couldn’t help that. “Camilla is an RN. She works with Jea’s OB, and was present at Sky’s birth. I did some research on Camilla and discovered that she’s a member of the Pentecostal Family of Christ, a fundamentalist cult. Maybe they routinely kidnap children.” I shrugged.

  The women in the cage were silent, probably not wanting to further incriminate themselves. I was good with that.

  Jan gave me the squinty cop-eye that I was used to getting from Bill, and I smiled at her. This was a happy ending. We just had to make sure these lunatics couldn’t find Sky in the future.

  Jan turned to Jea and asked if she and Sky were up to giving a statement at the Palo Alto PD. I held up my hand like a stop sign, and said, “No. Not tonight. You can ask your questions now, and if you need additional information you can wait until Sky has had a bath, a decent meal, and a good night’s sleep. She’s been living in a cage for eight days. Have a heart already.”

  “I heard you were a pain in the ass.” She turned to Jea, and said, “Do you think Sky is up to answering a few questions?”

  “Why don’t you ask her?” Jea said, with a soft smile.

  Jan focused on the child in Jea’s arms, and Sky turned to face her. “Hi, Sky. My name is Jan and I’m a police officer. I’ve been trying to find you since last Tuesday. Can you tell me what happened to you?”

  Sky gave Jan an impish grin. She was probably used to adults talking down to her. “Cammie took me away from school and brought me here,” she said. “She locked me up in the cage, and she and the other women read to me from the Bible every day.”

  I turned to the women in the cage. “Let me get this straight. You kidnapped and terrorized a four-year-old child, locking her in a cage, so you could, what? Earn brownie points with your god or sacrifice her for your belief system? Are you fucking kidding me?”

  Sky reached out and placed her hand on my shoulder. “They didn’t hurt me,” she said. “They fed me and let me use the bathroom. The really painful part was their fear. They think they act out of faith, but it’s fear that controls them. The two cannot coexist.”

  “Are you sure you’re only four years old?” I asked.

  Sky giggled.

  Jan asked her a few more questions and then suggested that Jea take her to the emergency room to be checked out. I think she was afraid Sky had been drugged or something. Adults in hostage situations are rarely as calm as Sky seemed to be. It was a little unnerving.

  Jea said, “We’ll go see Auntie Loretta. Would you like that honey?”

  Sky nodded and beamed a huge smile at her mom. Apparently Loretta was a favorite.

  “Okay, then.” Jea faced me one last time before leaving with her daughter. “Thank you, Nikki. She was right about you.”

  Since her arms were full of four-year-old, I said, “You want me to call Loretta and let her know you’re coming?”

  “That would be very helpful.” Jea smiled and a single tear trailed down her cheek.

  After she and Sky had gone, I made the call to Loretta, while Jan called for reinforcements to come and collect the evidence and the bad guys. Loretta answered on the first ring.

  “What took you so long
?” she asked.

  “You’re hilarious. Jea and Sky are on their way to your place. Can you check Sky over to make sure she’s okay physically? Give her something healthy to eat, and a bath. They need a safe place to stay, at least for tonight. We don’t know how many members this organization has, but they probably won’t be safe at their own home.”

  “Anything else I can do?”

  “I’ll let you know.”

  “Thank you, Nicoli.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  I disconnected and saw Jan looking over the contents of the table. I hadn’t bothered separating everything into piles based on ownership. Jan picked up the knife. “Who does this little gem belong to?”

  “Tiny over there,” I gestured to the pintsized woman in the cage. “It was in her boot.”

  Jan looked me in the eye. “You did a good thing, Hunter.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Can you come down to the station tomorrow to sign your statement?” She held up her phone, indicating that what I’d said would be transcribed by then.

  “Sure. Oh, what’s your e-mail address?”

  “Why?”

  “Jesus, you cops are always so suspicious.” I showed her the photo I’d taken as we first entered the room. “I’d like to e-mail this to you, you know, as evidence.”

  Jan gave me her work e-mail address and I forwarded the photo to her.

  “If you’re done with me for now, I have a dog waiting up for me.”

  “Anderson won’t be waiting up?” she asked, with a smirk.

  “He’d probably sleep through armageddon.”

  She snorted out a laugh and I couldn’t resist joining her. I was so relieved that Sky was safe, I felt like I’d dropped ten pounds of lead-weight in the last hour.

  When I finally stepped out into the night, I remembered that my car was parked at Alice’s. The uniforms and crime scene techs had begun to arrive, so I traipsed back inside and asked Jan if someone could give me a lift to the restaurant.