by Maria Pease
Hector was quick to point out this type of behavior closely resembled that of an abusive husband who beats his wife then seems to regret his actions, only to do it again and again.
“You’re going to have to pay attention,” Hector said. “See here? Where he talks about being jealous without even knowing her? He’s starting the process we call seasoning. His goal is to make her believe he has feelings for her. He’s baiting her by attempting to pull her into the relationship. It’s a psychological tactic used by kidnappers to gain control of their victims.”
“So, how should we respond? We have to keep him interested to find out what he’s up to.”
“Accept the apology but don’t plan any meetings. You’ll have to tread carefully. Katy’s background is perfect, so it shouldn’t be too tough.”
I smiled, noting to tell Ted how the FBI was impressed with his work. “Okay. We can do that.”
They briefed me on some of the buzzwords we should be using and left me with some notes on personality traits. As we bid goodbye, they gave me their cards and said they’d be in town for a few days in case I had any questions.
I was about to head out when Jake got to his feet. “Sam, do you have a minute? I’ll be right back. I’m just going to walk Cookie and Hector out.”
“Okay.” I watched as they moved down the hall and out of sight before quickly stepping into his office, looking for the file on the missing girl who’d failed to show up for school. Her name was Jasmine Langford, a thirteen-year-old Korean girl from a well-to-do family that lived in De Luz, a town just west of Temecula. Her parents, both doctors, hadn’t reported her missing for several days.
According to the police report, she never arrived at school on Friday morning. Her parents had told police she’d planned to spend the weekend with a friend. They’d both worked long shifts at the Temecula Valley Hospital all weekend and hadn’t made contact with her, expecting she’d be home on Sunday afternoon as scheduled.
Jo and Raymond Langford were initial suspects, but according to the police report, the story was confirmed by her friend’s parents. When asked why they hadn’t called the Langford’s, they said Jasmine had changed her mind about staying over several times before and they hadn’t thought much of it.
“What are you reading?” Jake asked as he entered his office.
“I, um…” I was caught off guard. “This case. Is there anything new on it?”
“Sam, you know you’re not supposed to be snooping through my cases.”
“I know, but this case is about a missing thirteen-year-old girl. Have you found her yet?”
“Let me see.” He took the file from me.
“No, not yet. Why are you so intrigued?”
“The missing teen case. I was just wondering…”
“Sam, there are a lot of missing kids, and they go missing for a variety of reasons. It’s unfortunate, but it’s reality.”
“I know.” I sighed and moved closer to him.
He leaned in toward me, kissing me gently on the lips before moving to my neck, his hand trailing over my breast. “We could go to my place,” he whispered.
“I wish I could. I have to get back to work.” I stepped back, trying to steady myself and looked back at him as I moved out of his office.
I had barely gotten down the hall when Jake called out, “Cookie and Hector invited us to dinner tonight. Can you make it?”
“Sure!”
“Great. I’ll pick you up at 7:00.”
I sat in my car, jotted down a few notes on Jasmine Langford’s case and slipped them into the back of my file. Then I dialed Frank.
“Come on over. I need a break.”
Back at the casino, I headed straight to the stairwell. As I climbed, I began to regret the decision. I knew I was just being paranoid about running into Wally again, but I couldn’t risk it. We were pretty sure we’d found Michael and were so close to getting him home, and I couldn’t blow it now. As I approached the door, it opened before I had the chance to knock.
“Boy am I glad to see you.” Frank closed the door behind me.
“Any movement?” I asked.
“Not that I saw.”
“Um, you were watching, right?” I asked.
“Most of the time.”
“What do you mean, most of the time?”
“Nature calls, Sam. When she does, I answer.”
“Is the girl still in there?”
“I didn’t see her leave but ...” He cocked his head, “Wait. Listen.”
I went to the door and looked out to see Wally and the girl leaving the room. Even though her shoes were off, she stumbled, and he had to hold her up. The bell on the elevator sounded and they disappeared.
“Wally and the girl are gone,” I said. “Something’s not right. She was stumbling.”
“Sam, now is our chance to confirm we have the right Michael.”
We knocked on the door and waited.
“You again? What do you want?” Michael said.
“Are you Michael Carson?” I asked.
“I don’t have to talk to you.” He swung the door closed.
Frank put his hand out, holding it open. “I’m only going to ask you once, kid. Are you Michael Carson?”
“No!”
“Okay. What’s your last name?” I asked.
“It’s none of your business.”
“You listen to me,” Frank said. “I have a frantic mother who’s desperate to find her son, a kid who happens to look a lot like you. So, we can do this the hard way or the easy way. Your choice.”
His expression softened and he dropped his head. “My mom’s desperate to find me? Are you sure?”
“Michael.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “We’re going to get you home.”
“You don’t understand. I can’t go.”
“What do you …”
The elevator bell sounded.
Michael quickly moved back into the room. “I can’t talk now.” He pushed the door closed.
We backed into the suite and caught sight of Wally as he disappeared behind the door.
I turned to Frank. “What the hell is going on?”
“I don’t know.”
“He didn’t believe his mom wants him home. Why is that?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but he seemed pretty surprised to hear it.”
“We need to find out what’s going on. This doesn’t feel right.”
Although I would’ve loved to have gotten him out of there and ended it, my gut told me that there was more to this. I took over watch duty as Frank did a background check on Michael’s mom, Stacy Carson.
“Damn! She looks too young to have a sixteen-year-old,” he said, and then, “There’s not much here. Just some financial problems, but who doesn’t have those?”
“So, what now?”
“I’m going to see if we can get surveillance on Stacy, but we need to get Michael alone and have another talk.”
“Maybe he won’t fight us since he knows we’re trying to help,” I said.
“Can you hold down the fort for a while? I need to go take care of a few things.” He grabbed his jacket, checked the hall and headed out.
It was pretty quiet after Frank left and fatigue hit me hard. The only way to keep watch was to stand and peek out of that tiny peephole in the door. No wonder Frank seemed so happy to see me.
After a while, I grabbed a chair, placed it against the door, and sat down. If I hear any sounds, I’ll quickly look out. The faint knocking on the door roused me, and I realized I’d dozed off. Oh, shit. I took a quick look and saw Alana’s face.
She moved to the table and put her books down, glancing at the chair pushed off to the side. “So, what did the FBI guy tell you?” she asked, enthusiastically.
“Cookie and Hector said to accept Wally’s apology but to play it cool. We need to be careful,” I said, and then, “how was your exam?”
“It was brutal. I just hope I passed.”
“I�
�m sure you did fine.”
“Did I miss anything else?”
“The kid is definitely Michael Carson, but that’s about it.”
I heard voices in the hallway and looked out to see Wally and Michael leaving, bags in hand.
“Oh, shit!”
“What?”
“They’re leaving with their bags.”
I popped the door opened and watched them disappear into the elevator. “Let’s roll.”
She grabbed her books off the table and we headed to the elevator.
When the doors opened, my eyes darted around the lobby and stopped when I saw them talking with the parking attendant.
“Get your car, pull up over there, and wait for me. Hurry!”
Without saying a word, she disappeared as I kept my eyes on Wally and Michael. The parking attendant they’d been talking with moved past me and I turned on my heels. “Excuse me, are you getting the car for those men?”
He stared at me, expressionless. “It’s really none of your business.”
“I’d like to make it my business.” I took a twenty-dollar bill out of my pocket.
He eyed it and glanced around. “What can I do for you?”
“I need you to wait five minutes before you bring their car around. Can you do that for me?”
“Five minutes? That’s it?”
“That’s it.” I handed him the twenty.
“Okay,” he said.
Two minutes later, Alana pulled up in her white Nissan Sentra and I hopped in.
“Get ready to tail Wally when their car comes around,” I said.
She looked at me with a big smile then set her attention back on Wally.
As promised, the attendant waited the full five minutes before bringing the car up. Once he exited the Boxster, Wally and Michael jumped in and they were off. They exited the casino hotel, took a left on Pechanga Parkway, and headed back to Wally’s house, sliding into the garage as the door closed behind them. Minutes later, the old grey mustang pulled up in front of the house. The driver grabbed a backpack and quickly headed to the front door and disappeared inside.
Alana and I looked at each other, mouths agape. “Is that the text message guy?” she asked.
“Holy shit! What the hell is going on?”
Chapter 26
None of this made sense, but I knew I had to do something. I took a minute to gather my thoughts and reached for the binoculars. The curtains were drawn on the front windows, so I moved my gaze along the perimeter of the house and set my sights on the car. I jotted down the plate number to compare it to the Mustang at the lake then reached for the door.
“Oh, crap,” Alana muttered.
“I’ll be back.”
“Famous last words.”
I glanced at her with a grin. I made my way to the car and looked for any evidence of foul play. I knocked on the trunk and breathed in, paying attention to any unusual odors, then scanned the interior for signs of an alarm. Finding none, I opened the driver side door and looked to see if there was a latch to unlock the trunk but came up empty. I glanced around, hoping to find something of interest, then checked the glove box. Without anything to show for my efforts, I retreated with just seconds to spare before the guy bolted out the front door and sped away.
“Go, go, go!” I yelled.
We followed the Mustang as it zig-zagged through the neighborhood and came out onto Temecula Parkway, jumping onto the 15-freeway heading north. The traffic slowed, and as we merged, we found ourselves two cars behind him.
“Just stay with him,” I said.
Having Alana drive added excitement to the job and allowed me to focus on the target.
Traffic slowed as black smoke billowed high into the sky. Flames shot straight up the side of the mountain and we inched along as police diverted traffic into two lanes. Sirens wailed and firetrucks converged from every direction. Firefighters jumped into action, running toward the flames, weighed down with their gear. It wasn’t until we moved past the scene that we saw a vehicle in flames on the side of the road.
Once past the incident, I scanned the road for the Mustang. “Do you see him?”
“Is that him?” Up ahead in the right lane?”
“Yeah, that’s him.”
Alana merged over two lanes just as the Mustang sped off the freeway at Bundy Canyon and pulled into the Lake Elsinore Casino and Card Room. We pulled in and parked, scanning the lot for the Mustang, which was squeezed into a tiny space in the back. We watched as a figure in a black overcoat moved to the car window.
“Holy Shit!” I blurted out.
“What?”
“That’s Chanel Pinkay!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Look at her coat and shoes!”
She took something out of her designer bag and handed it through the window, lingering for a moment before moving back to the limo.
“What should we do?” Alana asked as the limo pulled away.
“Let’s hang tight.”
The car door opened, and the man stepped out carrying a backpack. As he moved toward the entrance, a group of guys stepped in front of him, blocking his way. There was some sort of confrontation, and the group moved in. The text message guy stepped back, gesturing and looking nervous. A heavy-set biker type stepped forward and pushed him with both hands. Startled, he stepped back, only to have another guy shove him even harder, knocking him to the ground.
“Call 911,” I demanded.
Alana grabbed for her phone, fumbling nervously. I could hear the emergency operator come on the line. Alana gave her name and location and told the operator what she was witnessing.
While she stayed on the line, all hell broke loose as the gang moved in on him, beating the crap out of him. My head told me to stay put and wait for the cops to arrive but watching this seemingly unprovoked violence had me jumping out of the car faster than my brain could comprehend the stupidity of it.
I ran at full speed and jumped on the big guy, grabbing him around his thick neck as I tried to wrap my legs around his fat belly. Apparently, it caught him off guard; he spun around, trying to shake me loose. I was hanging on for dear life when Alana ran over and jumped on another one of the guys.
He didn’t seem to know what to make of things but tried to pry her arms loose. The remainder of the gang stopped in their tracks, staring in disbelief.
I hadn’t noticed the sirens, but I should’ve realized something was up when the remaining guys scattered.
The cops surrounded us and told everyone not to move.
My thug had other plans; he turned and sprinted toward the wooded area behind the lot.
“What are you doing, asshole? They’re going to shoot at you!” I yelled.
“With any luck, they’ll hit you!”
With the thought of having a bullet in my ass, I released my grip and fell to the ground as a cop jumped over me and tackled him. Three of the seven thugs were taken into custody, and the others had run off.
Groaning, I knew it was only a matter of time before they’d want an explanation from Alana and me as to how we ended up getting piggyback rides from the big boys. This wasn’t the first time I’d done something stupid, and I dreaded the wrath that would follow, but Alana was innocent in this. It was my fault she’d become involved, and I wouldn’t be able to explain that away, no matter how much I wanted to.
More sirens sounded in the distance. I glanced at the text message guy who lay curled up, bleeding and battered on the ground. As soon as the ambulance arrived, the medics jumped into action, loading him into the ambulance. They told us to stay put, and I watched nervously as an older officer approached us.
He had a friendly face with a thick head of black hair, combed neatly to the side. His uniform was perfectly pressed, and he had a smile on his face. He introduced himself as Officer Alfaro. “Who wants to tell me what you girls were doing?”
I had been thinking about what I should say when his expression changed. He cr
ossed his arms and glared at me.
Alana gulped hard and was about to speak until I nudged her gently.
“So, who’s going to tell me how the hell you got mixed up with those bozos?”
“Well, we were about to go inside when we saw those guys beating up that other guy. We were just trying to help,” I said.
“We called 911,” Alana added.
“You know, I’m curious about something. Why didn’t you girls wait for us to arrive?”
“They were beating the shit out of him, that’s why!”
“Don’t raise your voice at me.” He shot me a warning look.
“I’m sorry. It’s just that it was seven against one. I didn’t think he’d make it until you got here.”
“Do either of you know any of those men?”
“No,” we said in unison.
“Are you sure? It’s not often I see two women putting themselves in danger for some stranger.”
“We don’t know any of them,” I insisted.
“Stay put.” He moved over to the scene.
“So, what’s going to happen now?” Alana asked.
“They’re either going to get a statement and let us go, or they’re going to take us in to ask more questions.”
“Are we going to be in trouble?”
“Probably. It sort of comes with the job.”
We watched as the officers milled around, talking with witnesses. After almost ten minutes of waiting patiently, I walked over to find out what was going on. “Is the guy going to be okay?”
“I hope so,” he said.
“So, what now? Do you need us to hang around here?”
“Give me a minute.” He stepped over to one of the other officers.
I glanced back at Alana, who looked concerned.
The officer returned. “You can go but call us if you remember anything else.”
Nodding, I took Alana by the arm and ushered her back to the car. It wasn’t until we were headed back to Temecula that either of us uttered a word.
“That was pretty scary, but really exciting at the same time,” she said, smiling.