Malicious Desires

by Maria Pease

  It broke my heart, but if I was going to help, I had to know what was going on. I continued to ask questions, but before I knew it, tears were streaming down her face as she began to shake. I covered her with the blanket and set the squirrel next to her, putting the candy on the tray by the bed.

  She looked at the squirrel and stroked its tail.

  “It’s okay, Melody. You don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to.”

  She nodded, wiping away her tears.

  I took the photo of Michael Carson out of my bag and held it up in front of her. “Have you seen this boy?”

  “Uh huh. That’s Mikey.”

  “Was Mikey with you and the other kids?”

  “No. I met him when he was with Wally and the other man.”

  “So, he didn’t stay at The Rodeway Inn?”

  “No,” she said, quietly.

  “How did you end up with that man?”

  “I was at the mall with my friend, Eva. We were supposed to meet some boys from school, but instead, they came and took us.” She hugged the squirrel tightly.

  “Was your mom or dad with you and Eva?”

  “No. My dad died a long time ago, and my mom was shopping.”

  As I was about to continue, a full-figured brunette nurse walked in. “I’m sorry. Visiting hours are over.”

  “Can we just have a minute, please?” I asked the nurse.

  “Don’t make me call security.” She turned and walked towards the door. “Five minutes!”

  “Melody, I want to get the bad men and put them in jail, but I need their names. I promise that no one will hurt you or your family.”

  She looked up at me, unsure of what to do.

  I waited anxiously, knowing the clock was ticking.

  “Montgomery,” she whispered.

  “Montgomery? Is that his last name?”

  “I don’t know. We just called him Montgomery.”

  I smiled at her. “Thank you, Melody. We’ll get you back to your mom as soon as you’re better. It’s going to be okay.”

  The elevator stopped at the third floor and there, waiting to get on, was Nelson.

  “Well, look who’s here!” He grinned.

  “I’m here to escort you back to your car. Oh, and I brought a friend. This is Alana.”

  “Hello, Alana. Your friend Samantha has impeccable timing.”

  Alana smiled. “You have no idea.”

  I escorted Nelson to his car and he drove off. Alana and I walked through the lot to the Jeep, made our way back to the office, and found Frank getting ready to head out for lunch.

  “I’m going to grab a bite at Mad Maddie’s. Want to join me? My treat!”

  Alana and I looked at each other. “Well, if you’re buying,” I said.

  We walked down the street to Mad Madeline’s which was buzzing with people. We made our way to the window, placed our orders, and found seats looking out over the street.

  “We found the girl in the hospital. Frank, she’s just a kid.”

  “How old?”

  “I’d guess around twelve.”

  “Did she tell you anything?”

  “She recognized Michael Carson but doesn’t know where he is. She said she met him when he was with the man she called Montgomery.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Frank, she’s a scared kid. They told her they’d hurt her, her younger brother, and her mom if she talks. We were lucky to get a name.”

  “Okay. It’s a good start. You’re going to have to stay on her, though. We need to have more.”

  “We will.”

  We were quiet as we inhaled our burgers and fries. As I ate, I looked toward the Rodeway Inn, thinking.

  “Sam, are you ready?” Frank asked.

  “Yeah, sure.”

  Back in the office, Alana monitored social media while I searched our databases for anyone named Montgomery. Frustrated, I moved out to the balcony to think. As I watched the cars below, I remembered the photo I had taken at the casino. “I’ll be right back.”

  I jumped into the Jeep and headed to the Justice Center. As I parked, my phone buzzed, and I snatched it off the passenger seat. “This is Sam.”

  “That was fast,” Jake said.

  “Hi. I’m just about to come in. I need your help.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you soon.”

  As I pulled the door open, Jake was just coming into the lobby with a big smile on his face. Damn, he was handsome. As he moved in to kiss me, the smell of his cologne just about made my knees buckle. The thought of ripping his clothes off and doing him right in the lobby flashed in my mind.

  “Are we still on for tonight?” he asked, whispering in my ear.

  “Oh, yes.” I inhaled his cologne.

  “So, what do you have for me?”

  “I need to find out who this is.” I showed him the picture of the mystery man. “Can we do that?”

  “Well, let’s see if he’s in the system. What do you have on him?”

  We headed back to his office. “Information has been hard to come by. All I know is that his name is Montgomery.”

  Jake’s smile faded. “That’s it? A name and this picture?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Sam, the picture isn’t even that good.”

  “It’s all I have right now.”

  “Okay. If that’s what we have, we’ll see what we can do. Just don’t get your hopes up.”

  We spent the next few hours scouring the various mugshots and databases without any success. “He could be using an alias. We don’t have anyone with the name Montgomery in the system except for Gladys Montgomery, but she’s already doing life for slicing up her husband and keeping him in the freezer under the frozen vegetables.”

  “Seriously?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “So, what else do I need?”

  “A full name would be a good start.”

  “Okay. I’ll see what I can do.”

  Instead of going to the office, I drove back over to try to talk to Melody. I had too many missing pieces, and at this point, she was the only one who could help to fill in the blanks. I slipped back inside, hoping that evening visiting hours had started. The lobby area was empty. I didn’t see any greeters, and no one was in the nursing station. I glanced at the visiting hours, and although I was a little early, I headed to the elevator and exited on the fifth floor. I carefully moved down to room 515.

  Melody was awake watching Sponge Bob when I came in.

  I held my finger to my lips, and she nodded. “Hey.”

  “Hi.”

  “Can we talk?”

  “Sure,” she said, hugging the stuffed squirrel.

  “I was hoping to get some more details from you. You said that the man took you and Eva, right? So, where’s Eva?”

  “I don’t know. She was with us, but Wally took her away. She didn’t come back.”

  “Did Wally say where she was?” I asked.

  “No. One of the boys asked, but Wally hit him, so we didn’t ask anymore.”

  “Who are the kids with Wally? Can you tell me what’s going on?”

  Before she could answer, the door swung open and the big man-nurse walked in and grabbed me. Melody screamed as he dragged me out of the room. Before I knew what had happened, two security guards had pushed me up against the wall and slapped cuffs on my wrists.

  “What the hell are you doing? I’m a private investigator!”

  They didn’t say a word as they dragged me down the hall.

  Desperate, I dropped to the floor and thrashed around. Unfazed, they hauled me outside, tossed me into a black and white, and sped out of the lot.

  I tried to explain, but they didn’t want to hear it. “It was all a misunderstanding. You’ve got to listen to me!”

  I was booked at the jail and tossed into an empty cell. “Save it!” the officer barked. “No one cares!”

  Chapter 16

  Completely exhausted, I slid to the floor an
d closed my eyes. When I woke up, I felt like an idiot for making such a ruckus. I sat up, wishing it was all a nightmare, but unfortunately, I was still behind bars.

  Before I had the chance to apologize, an officer came in and unlocked the cell with Jake on his heels. Jake stood there, staring at me. “We had a date.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know I’d be otherwise engaged.”

  “You want to tell me what happened?”

  “I just needed to talk to the girl again. Something’s not right, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

  “And it couldn’t wait?”

  “No.”

  “Well, you’d better call Frank. He’s worried about you. He said you left yesterday and never came back.”

  “You talked to him?”

  “Yep. He called me, worried you’d gotten yourself in trouble. I had half the force looking for you.”

  “Please, tell me you didn’t.”

  “You could’ve mentioned my name, you know. It may have been a little easier.”

  “I didn’t want to name drop,” I said.

  Once I was released, Jake drove me home so I could freshen up. I slipped on a fresh pair of jeans and a tan sweater, and as I brushed out my hair, the scent of coffee filled the air. I threw on some light make-up and went down for a cup.

  Jake had made us breakfast. “Are you hungry?”

  “I’m starving!”

  “You look tired. Why don’t you get some rest?”

  “I’ll be okay. I may need a few more cups of coffee, but I’ll get there. Hey, any chance you can drop me off at the hospital to get my Jeep?”

  He eyed me then shook his head. “On one condition. You don’t even think about going into that hospital again. Deal?

  “Deal.”

  “How about we try dinner again tonight. Unless, of course, you think you might be detained again.”

  “Oh, no. My criminal career is over.”

  Jake made sure I got into the Jeep and followed me out of the lot. I had a feeling he didn’t trust me, which was probably a good thing. I needed answers but being thrown back in the slammer wasn’t going to get me any closer. I drove to the office in a daze, probably because I hadn’t slept very well.

  “Well, hello, Sammy. How was your evening?” Frank asked, sarcastically.

  “Oh, just peachy!” I said, falling into my chair.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “You don’t need to say it, Frank. I know.”

  Alana rushed through the door and stopped when she saw me. She stared for a minute then took in a deep breath. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. Just a little tired.”

  “We thought…” she said, hesitantly.

  “No. I was just in a hurry to get more information from Melody. I shouldn’t have gone back when I did.”

  As Alana poured a cup of coffee, I eyed Frank with my, was that good enough? look, and he sent me a nod. I knew he didn’t want me to encourage Alana, or to let her think what I’d done was okay, even though I considered it as part of the job.

  Alana smiled. “So, how was it?”

  “How was what?”

  “You know, getting thrown in the slammer!” She perched on the edge of her seat, slowly sipping her coffee.

  Frank eyed me.

  “It’s not as exciting as you might think.” With that, I moved to my computer. We checked the Facebook page but found no new messages, so I took the last sip of my coffee and told Alana it was time to go.

  “Sam, stay out trouble,” Frank said as I pulled the door shut.

  We drove past the Rodeway Inn, but I didn’t see any sign of the maroon SUV, so we continued through Old Town, drove down Temecula Parkway and pulled into the hospital parking lot.

  Alana looked at me with eyes wide.

  “Relax. This time we’ll do this the right way.”

  Once inside, I pointed to the sign that listed the visiting hours as we headed up to the fifth floor. I moved into room 515, but instead of finding Melody, I saw a heavy-set, middle-aged man resting on the bed. I stepped back and looked at the room number before poking my head in again. “Excuse me, where’s the girl that was in this room?”

  “How the hell should I know? Get out of my room!”

  We quickly retreated, stumbling over each other as we moved through the doorway.

  “Where’d she go?” Alana asked.

  “I don’t know. She was here last night. Let’s see if we can find a nurse.”

  We walked down the hall and stopped at a nurse’s station where a pretty young brunette was filling in a chart.

  “Excuse me. Where is the young girl who was in room 515?”

  The nurse looked up and smiled. She wore pink scrubs and light make-up with pink lip gloss. Her dark brown hair was in a high ponytail, and when she smiled, all I saw were her deep dimples. “Let me check.” She clicked her mouse and stared at the computer screen. “She was checked out by her mother and father a few hours ago.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “That’s what it says here.” She pointed to the computer screen.

  “Huh. Okay. Thank you.” I turned and made my way to the elevator.

  “What’s wrong Sam?” Alana asked, following on my heels.

  “Her parents didn’t come to get her,” I said, clenching my jaw.

  “What do you mean? She just said –”

  “Melody said her father died. Whoever came to get her were not her parents.”

  We rushed to the Jeep as I tried to control my breathing. My hands shook as I dialed Frank. “They’ve got her. They came and took her!”

  I couldn’t focus, so I handed the keys to Alana and moved to the passenger seat. At the office, I ran upstairs with Alana on my heels and pushed open the door. Frank was on the phone. “Yeah, we need to get on this fast.”

  “Who was that?”

  “Monique. I told her what you said, and she’s getting a team on it. I need you two to get down to the Rodeway Inn and camp out. You see anything, call me.”

  We parked in the Stampede parking lot and moved around to the side where we could see all three rooms.

  “Do you think she’s okay?” Alana asked.

  “I hope so. We need to find her because if they learn she talked to us, she could be in real trouble.”

  “She wouldn’t tell, would she? She seemed so scared.”

  “Let’s hope not.”

  After nearly two hours, the door opened and Wally emerged, flanked by a woman and a man.

  I recognized the man from the casino and dialed Frank. “I think we’ve got them.”

  “Do not lose them, Sam!”

  Chapter 17

  Alana brought the Jeep around while I kept my eyes on Wally and the couple. From my vantage point, the conversation appeared to be heated. Suddenly, the man took Wally by the collar, but the woman stepped in to separate them. Wally put his hands up and stepped back. The woman grabbed the man by the arm and directed him to the stairs. They descended and moved toward a shiny black Jaguar, but we were ready.

  The woman sped out of the lot and jumped on the 15-freeway, heading north. She darted in and out of traffic as we tried to keep up, but finally lost them just after Murrieta Hot Springs Road. Although I was hoping to catch up again, when we hit Canyon Lake, I knew it was a lost cause. They were gone.

  I headed back to update Frank on our progress and to give him their plate number. Then we drove to the Rodeway Inn.

  “Stay here.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to see if I can get those kids to open the door.”

  “What about Wally?”

  “I can’t worry about him right now.”

  I went up the stairs and knocked on the door where I’d seen the girls, but it was quiet. I knocked again and waited. I didn’t hear any noise, so I moved to the window and looked inside. Behind the sheer drapes, the room was empty with no signs of inhabitants. The beds were made, and the room looked tidy.<
br />
  I moved to the room where the boys had been, but again, I found no signs anyone was there. Disappointed, I headed to the office. “Excuse me.”

  The old man reading a newspaper behind the desk looked up.

  “The people in rooms 203, 204, and 205. Are they still here?”

  He looked at the computer. “Nope. Checked out.”

  “I’m a private investigator. I need the name of the person who rented those rooms.”

  “You got a warrant?”

  “No.”

  He raised his eyebrows then returned his attention to the newspaper.

  I took a deep breath then made my way back to the Jeep. “They’re gone.”

  “Where’d they go?” Alana asked.

  “I don’t know. We’ll have to figure that out.”

  Back at the office, I filled Frank in on what I’d found. “Can’t we get a warrant to make him give us the information?”

  “I’ll see what I can do.” He opened a file on his desk. “So, we’re back to square one?”

  “Not necessarily. We know where Wally lives. Maybe he’ll show up there.”

  Alana went to check on the Facebook page while I took out my notes and reread them again to see if anything stood out.

  I glanced over at Alana. “Do you have anything?”

  “No messages. I’ll check his page to see if there’s anything new there.”

  “Okay. Let me know.”

  I checked to see where the Boxster was and found a signal east of Temecula. I brought up a map and printed it out. “I might have something.”

  Alana looked at me and headed toward the door.

  Driving east on Temecula Parkway, we approached Vail Lake, and the signal grew stronger. I pulled in past the unmanned station, watching for the candy apple red Boxster.

  “How’s the signal?”

  “It’s gone.” Her brow furrowed. “The signal is gone.”

  “What?”

  “It just disappeared.” She shook her head in disbelief.

  I pulled over. “Let me see.”

  Alana handed me the phone.

  She was right, the little red dot was gone. “Oh, crap.”

  “Where did it go?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. Someone may have found the tracking device,” I said, hoping that wasn’t true.