ONE OF THEIR OWN (Det. Jason Strong(CLEAN SUSPENSE Book 6)

by John C. Dalglish

  Vanessa recognized the name.

  “That’s the trial in Austin she had to testify at. A drug case, I think.”

  “Yeah. I remember that.”

  Jason flipped the calendar forward to October. Nothing but a date with Eddie, and the words ‘one year.’ He put the calendar back on the refrigerator.

  “Maybe we can get the boyfriend’s number from her phone.”

  They went back to the front door, and as Jason picked up the phone, something on the edge of the table caught his eye. A stain, and it looked new. Jason bent down to get a better look.

  “Vanessa.”

  She bent down, dabbing at the stain with her finger, then smelling it. “Smells like blood to me.”

  Jason stepped back outside, followed by Vanessa. He pulled his phone and called his lieutenant.

  “Patton.”

  “Lieutenant, this is Jason. Send a crime scene team.”

  Chapter 4

  The warmth of the midday sun brought Nina around. She’d moved from the cold of the water to the heat of the sun.

  Fortunately, it wasn’t a mid-summer sun beating down on her, or she would be in just as much peril as she was in the cold water. Moving cautiously, she tried to assess her situation.

  Nina already knew she wouldn’t be standing up and walking out from wherever she was, but she hoped her body might be visible from a road. She could hear cars in the distance, but couldn’t see them.

  She appeared to have dragged herself up between some scrub bushes. It wasn’t tall enough to shade her, but it still hid her from view. She needed to get some relief from the direct sun.

  Struggling not to move her left arm, she managed to get her right arm out of her windsuit top, slide the shirt over her head, and down off the left arm. It hurt like mad.

  Carefully swinging the windsuit top with her right arm, she was able to pitch it up and over a bush, shading her face. It was some relief, but her thirst was beginning to grow. She didn’t dare risk moving back toward the water.

  Lying on her back, she closed her eyes, listening for any sound of life around her. Nothing came to her but distant car engines as she drifted back into a restless sleep.

  *******

  Jason stepped around the forensic tech who was swabbing the blood on the hall table. The house was crawling with lab people taking pictures, dusting for fingerprints, and looking for any other evidence.

  He picked up Vanessa’s phone and scrolled through the numbers in the recent call log. He found his own number, Menendez’s number, her brother’s number, and the police station’s number.

  He also found a number saved as ‘Eddie.’ Jason dialed it on his own phone. After six or seven rings, a machine picked up.

  “You’ve got Eddie’s phone. Leave a message. Thanks.”

  “This is Detective Jason Strong with the San Antonio Police Department. I’m calling in reference to Nina Jefferson. Please return my call as soon as possible.” He gave his number and hung up.

  Vanessa came out of the master bedroom. “Forensics has a lot of prints to process, but that’s about it.”

  Jason shook his head in frustration and looked at his watch. Twelve forty-five.

  Pulling his phone back out, he called Sandy as Vanessa wandered off. After one ring, she picked up.

  “You’re not coming.” It wasn’t a question.

  “I’m sorry, babe. I can’t leave right now. Nina is missing.”

  “Nina Jefferson?”

  “Yeah. Nobody has seen her since last night.”

  “Okay. I’ll call you after the appointment.”

  He knew she would understand. “Good. I’m sorry, and I love you.”

  “Love you, too. Bye.”

  Jason hung up and went looking for Vanessa. He found her outside talking to a uniformed patrol sergeant. The officer walked away as Jason came up.

  Vanessa folded up the map she’d been pointing at. “Search is beginning. They’re going to start with a one-mile radius, then work out from there. They’re hoping whoever took her may have turned her loose nearby.”

  Jason nodded. “That would be much better than many of the alternatives I can think of.”

  *******

  The two detectives got back to the station in the late afternoon. Lieutenant Patton, who saw them get off the elevator, waved them into his office. Already seated at the lieutenant’s desk was Sarah Banks.

  Lieutenant Sarah Banks was head of Missing Persons, and Nina had been her detective until John stole Nina for his own team several months ago. At least for the moment, however, Banks’s anger at losing her best detective took a backseat.

  The female lieutenant was tall with close-cropped, dark brown hair and green eyes. She was an imposing figure, and Jason knew from experience that getting on her bad side was not a good idea.

  Jason and Vanessa both nodded at Lieutenant Banks before taking a seat. John began to speak as they got settled.

  “You two come up with anything new on Nina?”

  Jason shook his head. “Afraid not. And so far the search hasn’t found her.”

  “Okay. Nina Jefferson is a missing person, and her case is technically under Lieutenant Banks. However, Sarah has kindly allowed you two to continue as lead investigators, and has offered any resources she has.”

  Both Jason and Vanessa said thank you at the same time.

  Banks eyed them carefully. “Part of the deal is you two keep me in the loop. Fair enough?”

  They nodded.

  “And Jason, you remember what I consider ‘in the loop’?”

  Jason let a smile crease his face, which Sarah returned with one of her own. Jason knew she was referring to the Donnie Jarvis case, where the detective had conveniently avoided briefing her at a critical juncture of the case. “I’m very clear on the level of communication you prefer.”

  Vanessa piped in. “There is something we need, Lieutenant.”

  Sarah directed her attention to Vanessa.

  “Name it.”

  “We’d like to look at the case files Nina was working on in the month before she moved to Homicide.”

  “No problem. I’ll have one of my detectives pull them for you.”

  John leaned forward.

  “Thanks, Sarah, I appreciate it. I owe you one.”

  Sarah smiled at John. “Actually, you owe me two.”

  Everyone laughed, but Sarah didn’t seem to find it quite as amusing. Maybe she did still harbor some resentment.

  Jason’s phone started to vibrate, so he excused himself, and went out to his desk. Sitting down, he answered.

  “Detective Strong.”

  “Hi honey, it’s me. The doctor said I’m three centimeters dilated, and the baby has dropped down some.”

  “Awesome. So it should be soon?”

  Jason knew Sandy was ready, whether the baby was or not.

  “Hopefully. Any word from Nina?”

  “No, but we found some blood at her home and a search has begun trying to track her down.”

  “That’s scary. I guess I’ll see you when I see you.”

  “Afraid so. I’ll keep you up to date. Bye.”

  Jason hung up and his phone started vibrating again.

  “Detective Strong.”

  “Yes, my name is Eddie Turner, and I’m returning your call.”

  “Yes, Mr. Turner. I called about Nina Jefferson. Have you heard from her today?”

  “No, why?”

  “She didn’t show up for work today, and we’ve been unable to locate her. We thought you might know where she is.”

  “No. I talked to her last night, but not today.”

  Although the young man didn’t sound nervous, Jason wanted to look him in the eye.

  “Mr. Turner, could you come by the station? I’d like to get a statement from you.”

  “Sure, I guess. I can come by in about an hour, would that work?”

  “That would be fine. See you then.”

  Vanessa came out of the lie
utenant’s office as Jason hung up. She raised her eyebrows. “News?”

  “That was Eddie Turner; he’s coming down to make a statement. Did I miss anything?”

  Vanessa shook her head. “Not really. We were just trying to decide what step to take next, and interviewing this guy sounds as good as any.”

  Jason looked at his watch. “You want to grab a bite before he gets here?”

  “Sure, if we’ve got time.”

  “We’ve got time. Let’s go.”

  Chapter 5

  The sun was starting to set to her left, upstream from where she was. While the coolness of late afternoon was some relief, she knew she would be cold once the sunlight was gone.

  Thirst had become all-consuming, and she struggled to figure out how to get some water without the risk of slipping back into the river. She pulled her wind-suit jacket off the bush it was hanging on, knowing she would need it tonight for warmth.

  An idea came to her. It was risky, because it meant getting the shirt wet, but she felt the need for water outweighed what little warmth the shirt provided.

  Grabbing one sleeve of the wind-suit jacket, she wrapped it around her wrist, and pitched the body of the shirt at the water. The first toss fluttered, coming up short of the river. Pain seared her left side as the movement jarred her body.

  Nina steeled herself against the pain and tried again, flipping the shirt out a little farther. The second attempt landed in the water. She let the shirt drift for a minute, soaking up water, and then pulled it back to her.

  She held the dripping shirt above her open mouth, the excess water running down her throat. A full mouthful was heaven as she swallowed it. Next, she tried to squeeze out more moisture. With only one arm, she couldn’t twist the shirt, but she managed to get another swallow.

  When she’d gotten all she could wring out, she ignored the pain and flung the shirt at the river a second time. The wind-suit fabric was wet, making it heavier than before, and it flopped on her legs. Pain from her left leg shot up into her brain. She groaned, pulling the shirt back and biting down on the sleeve. When the throbbing subsided, she pitched the top at the water again.

  The weight of the shirt pulled it loose from her hand, and she watched in disbelief as the shirt landed in the water, floating downstream out of her reach.

  No! No! Nina, you idiot!

  Her only tool now floated on the current, downstream and out of view. She began to cry, then chastised herself for losing moisture in her tears.

  Why? Why? It’s not fair.

  She cried anyway.

  *******

  Eddie Turner showed up right on schedule. Jason shook his hand and escorted him to an interview room. Vanessa stayed outside, watching through the one-way glass.

  Eddie was not much more than five-six, thin, with dark eyes and dark skin. He took off a Bass Pro Shops ball cap as Jason directed him to sit in a chair on the other side of the table. Eddie was facing the glass.

  “Thanks for coming in so quickly.”

  “It’s no problem. Have you heard from Nina?”

  “Not yet. Are you and she dating?”

  “Yes.”

  “You said you spoke to her last night?”

  “Yeah. She called me on her way home, said she was going for a run.”

  Jason made a note. “What time was that?”

  Eddie pulled out his phone, checked his call log, and gave Jason the time. Jason had done the same on Nina’s phone. They matched, and Jason didn’t sense any defensiveness in the man’s answers.

  “What did you talk about?”

  “I asked her if she wanted to get some dinner, and she said no, she didn’t feel like going out. She suggested I come by with food instead, after I gave her time for her run.”

  “And did you go by?”

  “Yeah. I was a little early, so when she didn’t answer my knock, I waited. When she didn’t show up, I called her again, and then left.”

  Jason knew about the second call from checking Nina’s phone.

  “Had Nina ever indicated to you she was afraid of someone?”

  Eddie thought about it for a minute before shaking his head.

  “No. Whenever she seemed a little uptight, I’d just put it down to job stress, but she never mentioned anything in particular.”

  Jason closed his notebook.

  “Okay, Eddie. That’s it for now,” Jason handed Eddie his card. “Let us know if you hear from her.”

  “Sure thing. Are you gonna look for her?”

  Jason didn’t think Eddie was involved, but it always raised red flags when a suspect asked questions about an investigation.

  “We have a search going on now. Why?”

  “Just want to help, if I can.”

  “I appreciate that. I’ll let you know if there’s anything you can do.”

  Jason and Eddie both got up, and after Eddie had left, Jason met with Vanessa. She apparently felt the same as he did about Nina’s boyfriend.

  “Doesn’t give me a bad vibe.”

  Jason nodded. “Me neither. Still, he put himself at the house around the time of her disappearance.” He looked at his watch. “We don’t have anything to follow up on, so we might as well call it a night. See you back here first thing tomorrow?”

  Vanessa nodded. “A few hours shut-eye would be good, if I can sleep. Nina’s case files should be here in the morning. Goodnight.”

  Chapter 6

  The warmth of the sun brought Nina around again. She blinked against the light in her eyes, trying to come to her senses.

  Accidentally moving her left arm, and the shooting pain that followed, shocked her awake. She used her right arm to force herself to a sitting position. Fear of the pain in her hip had kept her from trying to sit up yesterday, but her leg didn’t seem to be as sore this morning.

  Her shoes had been thrown off when she hit the water, but she still had her socks on. Something started to gnaw at her. Taking her right hand, she reached down to feel her left foot. She couldn’t feel her fingers touching it.

  Beginning to panic, she pulled at her left sock until it came off.

  Oh, no! It can’t be. No, no, no.

  She began to cry again, this time without the moisture to create tears. Her foot was black.

  Pulling at her pant leg, ignoring the pain in her hip and thigh, she got the pants hiked up to her knee. The discoloration ran all the way up. Infection was killing her foot and leg, and if she wasn’t found soon, she knew it would kill her too.

  The sun started to get hot, so she lay back down, seeking what little shelter the scrub brush gave her. She struggled to formulate a plan.

  I could drag myself back to the water and try to float downstream.

  She discarded the plan, figuring she’d end up snagged on something and freezing to death in the water.

  She could still hear the distant sound of cars, triggering a desperate idea.

  Scream, Nina! Scream as loud and as often as you can.

  “Help! Help! Help me!”

  She kept at it for a full five minutes, then stopped and listened. Nothing came back to her in while she caught her breath.

  Again Nina! Again!

  “Help! Help me, please! Anybody? Help!”

  Again, she stopped after five minutes to listen, and again her effort was in vain. The yelling had sapped what strength she had left and she slipped back into unconsciousness.

  *******

  Even though Jason arrived at the station before six the next morning, both Vanessa and Lieutenant Patton had beaten him in. Vanessa was scanning a file from the cardboard box on her desk when Jason sat down.

  “Good morning.”

  “Morning, Jason. There’s fresh coffee if you want some.”

  “Okay, thanks. Any word on Nina?”

  Vanessa shook her head without looking up. “No, and so far, none of the files I looked at have a viable suspect.”

  “What about the case Nina testified at? The one in Austin we found on he
r calendar.”

  “I don’t know. I guess we’d have to call Austin.”

  Jason got up and went into the lieutenant’s office.

  “Morning, Jason.”

  “Morning, Sir.”

  The lieutenant looked up from a file. “What can I do for you?”

  “Do you have a contact at the prosecutor’s office in Austin?”

  Patton sat back in his chair.

  “Well, I’m familiar with Assistant Prosecutor Amy Bell. She used to work here in town a couple years ago. Why?”

  “Nina’s calendar showed her testifying at a trial in Austin, I’d like to get the story behind that case. Maybe she made an enemy during the trial.”

  “Okay. Let me make a phone call and see what I can find out.”

  “Thanks.” Jason returned to his desk.

  Vanessa closed the file she was working on and sat back in her chair. “That’s number four. Nina had seven cases she was working before she moved to Homicide. All four I’ve looked at are now closed cases with the person being found unharmed.”

  Jason grabbed a file out of the box. “Well, let’s get through these last three.”

  *******

  Forty-five minutes later, John Patton came out of his office and walked over to Jason. He carried a sheet of paper that he laid it on Jason’s desk.

  “I spoke with Amy Bell, the Assistant Prosecutor in Austin, and these are the notes. Nina wasn’t testifying at a trial.”

  Jason’s eyebrows went up. “No? What then?”

  “Parole Board hearing. One of the men she put behind bars.”

  Vanessa reached across and took the sheet of paper. As she scanned it, she whistled.

  “This could be it. The prosecutor was afraid he’d lose the first-degree murder case in a jury trial, so he offered a deal to the creep. Manslaughter one.”

  Jason was now looking at Vanessa, the lieutenant having gone back to his office.

  “What happened?”

  “He took the deal, that was six and half years ago. He came up for parole in June.”