"Don't kill her, there must be another way," she pleaded.
"I think you two should focus on what's required. Assemblyman Mitchell made a good point; success in business is creating assets and eliminating liabilities, and sometimes, Mayor Gayle it’s a monster of a job." The line went to dial tone and Mitchell pressed the end call button.
Chapter 15
Eden was deep in thought as she looked around the dining room at Watson Manor. The guests would be down in another hour for breakfast and, beyond the noise coming from the kitchen, she was alone. She pushed the morning edition of the Marina Press aside and walked over to refill her coffee cup from the urn along the wall.
It was best, she reasoned, to put some distance between herself and Charlie until, as Julia had suggested, they could become friends again. She didn't have an ounce of hope that day would ever come, being close to him only brought her feeling forcibly to the surface. She identified instead with the alcoholic taking control of her life with the bottle in sight and building the strength to leave it unopened.
She felt the threat that had brought them there was gone, but would take Emily to and from school for a while. She had no intention of turning over any more rocks with Sentinel written on them and hoped, by completely avoiding Rosalyne's story in her newspaper, it would send the message she had washed her hands of this investigation.
She sat back down and pulled the newspaper back in front of her, tapping her fingers on the front page of it. The journalist in her stirred and she wondered why Steve Hansen wrote a closed end story without planting any questions in the reader's mind that things were happening behind the scenes. Rosalyne's affiliation with the newspaper, her column 'What's Rockin' in Marina' was discussed at length along with the rescue and recovery. The two men responsible for the 'attempted assault' were in custody…end of story. Maybe, she thought, she was being too critical of Steve Hansen. She knew the Jensen equipment line in a newspaper office was the kind of overkill you would laugh at on Tim Allen's 'Home Improvement' as he displayed his 25 horse powered weed whacker. There was a story there, she told herself and a welcome distraction.
Eden looked up from the table as Jenny walked across the room to get a cup of coffee. She smiled as Jenny approached the table and sat down. "Good morning, Jenny"
"Good morning. You realize you and Emily are welcome to stay a few more days."
"You've been more than a gracious host, thank you. I need to get back to the paper," she said, pushing the newspaper toward her. "Rosalyne's story is on the front page."
Jenny took a sip of coffee as she pulled the paper over to read the story. When she finished she looked up at Eden with a puzzled look on her face. "It's certainly vague," she said then her expression softened, "I'm pleased there was no mention of you and Emily here as related to the story."
"A pleasant relief for me as well. Watson Investigations received a nice plug, 'while assisting the Marina Police in the search and discovering Rosalyne…'."
"I'll never forget the frightened feeling when we first saw her lying there… the not knowing if she were alive or …," she said and shook off the memory as if a sudden chill had hit her.
"A happy ending for Marina's local heroes."
"An ending for us anyway. Chief Walker, Marina's unsung hero will close this story."
"Jenny, what's your impression of Steve Hansen?"
"I've only met him the one time, he was concerned about Rosie and helpful," she said then held up the newspaper and continued, "he's certainly not a gripping journalist. Why?"
"Call it a journalist's curse. There is more there than meets the eye. Well, I'd better go get my pride and joy out of bed and pack. I really want to pay for our stay here."
"My hands are tied. The Reunion Special covers the first two nights. Now, when you come back to see us, the Friends and Family special is fifty percent off. So you have to come back for us to make some money."
Eden reached for Jenny's hand to draw her eyes. "I'd really like that, and without a doubt it will be all Emily talks about, but only if you are really OK with it."
Jenny stood up and met Eden for a hug. "If you know nothing more about me than this, Eden, if I didn't mean it, I wouldn't say it. Now get in gear, a great breakfast awaits you two."
"Thanks so much," Eden said turning for the stairs, then half way there turned back. "There will be a running mention in the Salinas Tribune for Watson Manor, a magical getaway."
Jenny laughed. "God I'm good, I knew it'd work." She caught Eden's laugh before she headed away from the stairs toward the kitchen. Friends and family, she thought still questioning where Eden and Emily fit between those words. She didn't feel compelled to extend the return invitation because of the adage, keep your friends close and enemies closer; Jenny didn't see her as a thief in the night to be watched closely. She had accepted, with difficulty, that Eden was, and still is someone special in her husband's life. To wish it wasn't so, she knew, was fruitless and approached it the only way she knew how, head on with both eyes open.
*****
It was a rare occurrence while on duty to see Chief Walker wearing a suit. He was proud of his family's commitment to military service, his father currently retired as a three star general and he served fifteen years himself before choosing his current position. In his early forties and committed to staying in shape, he could still finish his old boot camp obstacle course in the top ten percent, but would admit that was getting harder to maintain. When Captain Becker suggested they wear suits as a professional courtesy for their visit to Assemblyman Mitchell's district office he understood, but felt naked out of uniform as if he'd been asked to wear a swim suit.
It was a small three bedroom house converted into an office in the downtown area of Salinas. There were four desks in what had once been the living room and a row of six chairs along the wall closest to the front door. Only one desk was occupied by a young woman, early twenties with a college political science text book open as they walked in. She closed the book, stood up and greeted them, "Hello gentlemen; may I help you?"
"Hello, we are Mr. Walker and Mr. Becker and have an appointment with Assemblyman Mitchell."
"Just one moment, I'll check and see if he is free," she said leaving them and walked down the hall.
"Why didn't you just say Rod and Andy," Walker said with a grin.
"Well it would have been Andy and Rod; I've got ten years on you."
The woman appeared in the opening of the hallway and announced," Please follow me, Assemblyman Mitchell will see you now."
Mitchell stood up from behind his desk and extended his hand to Becker who took it and said, "Thank you for seeing us Assemblyman Mitchell. I'm Captain Becker, Salinas PD and this is Chief Walker, Marina PD." After shaking Becker's hand he faced Walker and shook his.
"Have a seat gentlemen, how can I help you?"
They all sat down and Becker began. "We are investigating the disappearance of Sandra Jenkins. We understand she was employed here?"
"For almost a year. I had high hopes for her, a bright, hard worker…in the beginning," Mitchell replied glancing between them.
Becker pulled a photo out of his breast pocket of a young woman in a college graduation gown tossing her cap in the air and handed it to Mitchell. "Is this Sandra Jenkins?"
He took the photo and looked closely at it a few minutes and while handing it back said, "Yes that's Sandy. What a waste, so much promise…"
"It sounds like you don't think she fell in love and took off." Walker said.
"About three months ago, Sandy started coming in late, losing her drive and I was concerned. I asked her about it and she told me she was overwhelmed with college final exams."
"That makes sense, she was just graduating," Becker said, baiting him.
"Well, things didn't improve, but she was worth the effort. I saw her about a week ago. I was at a stop sign on my drive home late that night. We locked eyes for a split second and she turned away. Captain Becker, it was at 5th
and Davis, you know the area and why people hang out there at night. She didn't call or come in the following day, a Thursday I think. I confronted her on Friday and offered to help get her into a rehab program or I would have to let her go."
"That’s the last time you saw her," Becker looked at a calendar on the wall. "Friday the eighteenth?"
"Yes, when I didn't see or hear from her by last Tuesday, we sent her final check to her apartment."
"So Tuesday you decided she had quit," Becker said. "Did you try to contact her at her apartment or check at local hospitals?"
"I tried to offer her help, she refused. I'm an extremely busy man and shorthanded without her here," he told them, his voice elevating.
Chief Walker looked up from his notes, "We aren't insinuating you didn't care. We're only trying to clarify that no attempt was made to contact your bright, promising intern after your discussion on Friday."
"Yes, I'm sorry to say."
"Does the name Dave Peters ring a bell?" Becker asked.
"No. Who is Dave Peters?"
"Besides being her friend and the person that reported Sandra Jenkins missing, he was a reporter in San Jose. Does that help?" Becker asked.
"Sorry, still no help. I've never heard that name before."
"How about Steven Ashland, or Sentinel?" Walker asked.
"Sentinel the real estate investment group, yes, but I've never met their president? I'm trying to be helpful in locating Sandy, but I have a great deal of work to do."
"We're almost done here, sorry for taking so much of your time," Becker said. "If we could get a list of your other staff here with contact information and speak to the gal up front we'll be on our way."
"Pam is a temp, brought in this week and she never met Sandy. I'll have her compile a list and send it over. Do you have a card Captain Becker?"
Walker and Becker stood up, both handing Mitchell a business cards. "If you hear from her, please call us right away." Becker said turning for the door.
"Certainly, I hope you find her."
Walker turned back from the doorway as Mitchell was sitting back down. "I understand you know our Mayor, does she visit often?"
It took a few moments for the confusion on his face to pass. "I'm working on funding for a park in Marina."
"That sounds good, thanks," Walker said pulling the door closed. When he passed through the hall he found Becker wrapping up a conversation with the gal up front and they both walked outside. They didn't say a word until they were in Captain Becker's car on the way back to Salinas PD.
"Sandra is in real trouble, my friend," Walker said, turning to look at Becker.
"And that asshole is involved. Sandra graduated in March with honors and had to wait until June to walk in the graduation ceremony. We have the APB out but I'm lighting a fire under our vice and narcotics detectives to hit the streets and find her."
"My God, Andy. I hope we're not too late."
"Oh, Mr. hopeful and concerned hired Pam on Monday, the day before he figured Sandra wasn't coming back."
"And he doesn't know Steven Ashland but knew he was the President of Sentinel," Walker said.
"I thought that was pretty clever, Rodney."
"We'll need to get surrounding communities looking for her…" Walker started to say when his phone rang. "Walker."
"Hello Chief, I just received a call from the Deputy D.A., can you meet him at five?" Detective Edwards asked.
"Do you know what it's about?"
"Wouldn't say, but said it's extremely important. Can I tell him you'll be there?"
"Yes, we're done here," Walker said and hung up.
Chapter 16
Chief Walker left Salinas PD with copies of several photos of Sandra Jenkins that Captain Becker had found in Sandra's apartment. He had difficulty letting them sit on the passenger seat of his SUV on his drive back to Marina. Each photo he picked up and studied showed him more depth of Sandy and fed his need to find her. Assemblyman Mitchell had said 'what a waste' and it burned within him. He vowed she would not "be wasted" and Mitchell would pay for his part in this. Walker turned on his lights and siren in reaction to the building sense of urgency to do what he could to find her.
Hearing the siren approach, Jacque and Detective Edwards met him at the front door of the Marina Police Department.
"Priority one people, I want these photos in every police department, sheriff's office and FBI field office within a hundred miles. She has been abducted and they are working on a drug abuse cover. We're looking at possible conditioning of drug addiction into prostitution," Walker said handing the photos to Edwards. "Jacque, call the free patrolman in to help with follow up contact, I don't want this to sit in a stack of APB's." Detective Edwards without response took the photos and started scanning them into his computer for distribution.
Jacque, looking up from the radio console reported, "Chief, both are free and coming in. Nice suit, by the way."
"Yeah, right, but thanks," he said headed to his office to change back into his uniform and realized he didn’t have time. He turned and walked to Detective Edwards desk where he saw the single page document on Edwards's computer screen he was creating. The header read 'Abducted Key Witness in Criminal Investigation, Sandra Jenkins' and it explained the drug abuse cover and had all three photos. "That's impressive, Edwards, thank you. Let's get it out there."
"Right away, Chief."
Walker stopped at the front door in thought, what have I missed? "Edwards, did we get an address on Steven Ashland?"
"Yes, he lives in Santa Cruz," he said, leaving his desk to hand the address to Walker.
"Ok, I'm off to see what the assistant DA wants; then, I'm going to talk to Ashland. Any word on Sandra, I want to know right away."
The appointment was with the County District Attorney in Monterey, ten miles south of Marina on Hwy 1. He'd been there many times over the years and greeted the receptionist," Hello Maggie, I'm here to see Assistant Trane."
"Hello Chief Walker. Not this time, they are waiting for you in DA Barnes office."
"Really? That's a first. The top man himself," Walker said as Maggie pressed the intercom on her phone to announce his arrival.
"They're ready for you, go right in."
Walker went to the end office and knocked on the door. "Come in."
He opened the door and saw DA Barnes rounding his desk to greet him. "Chief Walker, I'm Walter Barnes. I know of your fine reputation, but have not had the pleasure of meeting you."
Walker shook his hand. "Thank you sir, it's a pleasure to meet you also."
Barnes gestured with his hand to the far side of his office where a table and six chairs sat forming a small conference area. Sitting in one of those chairs was Mayor Laurie Gayle. "Hello Mayor Gayle," Walker said following Barnes to the area.
Barnes pulled out a chair across from Gayle and said, "Have a seat Chief Walker." Then he walked to the end of the table and took the seat between them. Walker sat down and turned to face Barnes expectantly. "Mayor Gayle came to me at great personal risk with an urgent situation. What conversation takes place here is for our ears only. Is that clear Chief Walker?"
"Yes sir."
"Mayor Gayle, why don't you start," Barnes said giving her a glance.
Walker could tell instantly this was not the confident Mayor Gayle he had interacted with in the past and sat back in his own chair and dropped his arms into his lap to help her relax.
"Chief, I'm here to save the life of a young woman that was abducted in Salinas by the two men you have in custody."
"Sandra Jenkins?"
"Yes, that’s her. I know the man that ordered the abduction is trying to eliminate her as a witness by turning her into a drug addict… or cause her death to look like an overdose."
"We know Assemblyman Mitchell is involved, is he the man?"
"No, he and I were both blackmailed into working with Sentinel. I don't know who the money man behind this is. I've only spoken to him on the phone."
"We're doing everything we can to locate Sandra. The men we have in custody had a great deal of evidence involving others, but nothing at all pointing to Sandra Jenkins. How do you know it was the two men we're holding?"
"They were brought in by him when she was caught speaking to the press," Gayle said. "They took her somewhere and we need to find her, Chief."
"I'll talk to them as soon as I leave here. The only way you know this man is by his voice? Do you have a phone number to reach him?"
"Everything goes through the Sentinel office. He talks to us through the phone in the backroom there or we get a call to go to a phone booth."
Barnes broke in, "We are expediting the search warrant now for Sentinel, Chief Walker."
"Mayor Gayle, we know Steven Ashland is the president, have you spoken to him? Is he our man?"
"I'm thinking he's a figure head and licensed real estate broker. It's not his voice, Steven has a heavy New York accent, but he could be using someone to speak for him, I guess. This man is a monster, Chief Walker and I will do anything to help stop him."
"Mayor Gayle, if as you say, both you and Assemblyman Mitchell are cooperating with Sentinel because he has something hanging over your heads, can you get more information from Mitchell or others unwillingly involved with him?" Walker asked.
"I can try, I will try."
"My priority is to find Sandra now and I want to get over to county holding and talk to Jackson Black. Will you put together everything you can and what his next move is? Including anything you can get from Mitchell then have it delivered to me at Marina PD?"
"I'll start looking right away. Please find her, Chief Walker," Mayor Gayle pleaded.
"DA Barnes, can I offer Black illegal possession of firearms and assault as a plea deal?"
"I can do that. If we don't find her in time, even with his help, he will never be a free man! Go now Chief Walker. I'll be in contact with you later."
Watson Manor Investigations (Watson Manor Mystery Series Book 3) Page 9