by BJ Bourg
I flinched when the door burst open in front of me and Debbie started to step out. Her head was down and she held a plastic garbage bag in her hand. When she glanced up, she saw me for the first time and screamed, flung the bag out in front of her and lurched backward. When she stopped screaming, she thrust her hands to her chest, stared wide-eyed. I retrieved the bag and tossed it in the garbage can, trying not to laugh at Debbie.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” she asked, breathless.
“I was just leaving the gym and I wanted to see if Samantha wanted to grab some ice cream.”
“Daddy!” Samantha screamed from behind Debbie. She ran up and wrapped her arms around me.
I bent and planted a kiss on top of her head. “You want some ice cream?”
“Can I have chocolate swirl with nuts and whipped cream?”
“Whatever you want.”
Samantha grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward my cruiser. I waved at Debbie, who stood staring after us, her face shifting to a darker shade of red.
“She’ll be back before bedtime,” I called over my shoulder.
I held the back door open and made sure Sam was strapped into her booster seat before driving off. I stopped at a local snowball stand and followed her along the wooden boardwalk. Mosquitoes and other bugs swarmed around the light that glowed bright atop the small structure. I had to swat them away as we stepped up to the window to order. Samantha was barely tall enough to see over the counter and the young girl working there—she looked to be a high school student—had to lean out the window to take her order.
“I want a chocolate swirly thing with lots of nuts and whipped cream.”
The girl smiled and her green eyes sparkled. “One scoop or two scoops, cone or cup?”
Samantha looked up at me. “Can I have a cone?”
“You can have whatever you like.”
A large smile spread across her face and she turned back to the girl, held up two fingers. “Two scoops and a cone!”
Once she had her ice cream and I had paid for it, we walked to a wooden bench out of the glow of the lights, where the mosquitoes weren’t as bad. As we talked, she attacked her ice cream like she was being paid to do it.
“Daddy, will you and mommy get back together?” There was a smudge of whipped cream on her lips and chocolate syrup on her chin.
“I’m not sure, Pumpkin. I don’t think so.”
She frowned, stopped licking her ice cream. Her eyes misted over and tears began streaming down her face. “I miss you, Daddy.”
“I miss you, too, Sam. I miss you, too.” I wrapped her in my arms, held her tight. My jaw burned. I blinked away the moisture in my own eyes. I couldn’t imagine getting home every night for the rest of my life and Samantha not being there.
My phone vibrated from my pocket, disturbed my thoughts. I held Samantha a little longer and then pulled out my phone, glanced at the number. The screen read, “Unknown Caller.” I answered anyway.
“Detective Brandon Berger?” a shaky male voice asked. Although it was muffled, it was oddly familiar.
“Yeah.”
“I need to talk to you, in private.”
“I’m kind of busy right now. It’ll have to wait.”
“It can’t wait. I have information about the murder case.”
“Who is this?” I sat up straight, one arm dangling over Samantha’s shoulder. “What information do you have?”
“I can’t talk on the phone. It’s too dangerous. I think I’m being followed.”
“Followed? Who’s following you?”
“I need to meet someplace private, someplace safe.”
“Look, I can’t meet right now, but give me an hour or so and I can meet you anywhere. Just name the place.”
There was a long pause. “You need to come alone.”
“Okay, just tell me where.”
“If I see anyone else, I’m gone and you’ll never find out what happened.”
“No, please, trust me...I’ll be alone. Just tell me where to meet.”
Another long pause. “Meet me where you found the woman.”
My brow furrowed. “Off of Route Twenty-Three?”
“Yes, and come alone.”
“Wait, how do I know you’re for real?”
“You’ll know.”
“Give me a name...your name, the killer’s name, any name.”
“Things are not as they seem.” There was a long pause. “I have to go. Someone’s coming. Be there in two hours. If you’re not there on time and if you don’t come alone, I’m gone.”
Click!
CHAPTER 27
An hour later
Route Twenty-Three, East of Jasper, LA
I slowly pulled my cruiser to the side of the road, shut off my lights. “Okay, I’m here,” I said, speaking into the microphone clipped to my lapel. “I’m getting out.”
“God, Brandon, please be careful.” Dawn’s voice was low, but shaky in my earpiece.
“I’m always careful,” I whispered back.
“We should’ve gotten London Carter out here to provide over-watch protection.”
London was the commander of our sniper team. They said he’d trained himself to shoot and could put three bullets in a dime at two hundred yards after running a marathon. “The caller said to come alone or he was gone,” I said. “I couldn’t take the chance.”
“London’s a ghost,” Dawn said. “He would’ve never been spotted.”
I opened my car door and stepped out. I pulled up on the door handle and gingerly pushed it shut, listening for the slightest hint of a sound. There had been no traffic along Route Twenty-Three as I drove there, and that hadn’t changed. The only sounds to be heard were those of tiny nightlife creatures.
I pressed the release button on the plastic paddle holster with my index finger and palmed my Beretta 9 mm. Balancing it in my hand, I slowly moved toward the tree line where I had first encountered Janice Prince. Even in the dark I could make out the opening through the trees—it was a darker shade of black than the surrounding bushes. I took one cautious step at a time, being careful not to snap a twig underfoot. When I reached the opening, I paused for a split second, then slipped through it. The unblinking eye of my pistol moved in unison with my own eyes.
I stopped and stood for several moments listening. There was not a breath of sound outside of the normal Louisiana wilderness noises.
“Brandon, I know you can’t talk, but please let me know you’re okay.” Dawn’s voice was on the verge of panic.
“All’s clear,” I whispered. “I’ll just sit tight for an hour, or so. After all, I’m early.”
I eased to the ground and leaned against a tree. With my pistol resting in my lap, I settled in for a long, mosquito-infested night. At first, the thrill of the unknown kept me sharp. As the night wore on and nothing happened, my eyes began to grow heavy. I fought sleep the best I could without moving, and eventually decided to call it a night.
“Hey, y’all still out there?” I called into my mouthpiece.
“Of course,” Dawn retorted. “Where else would we be?”
I stood, listened for a few last seconds, and then turned to walk out of the trees. I ducked through the opening and trudged across the shoulder of the road. When I reached my cruiser, I looked back over my shoulder. Not a peep of a sound. “Gang,” I said, “I think we were set up.”
There was no response in my earpiece. I slipped into my cruiser, started the engine, and drove to the staging area behind the tattoo parlor in Jasper. Dawn was already by my car when I stepped out. We waited for the other detectives to finish piling out of the undercover van and walk up to where we stood. “Thanks for coming out. I’m sorry it was for nothing.” I shook my head. “I should’ve known it was too good to be true.”
“You think maybe he saw us setting up and got scared?” Karla wanted to know.
“No,” I said. “Y’all did an excellent job. I just think it was a prank. Or, if it
was real, the caller had a change of heart. Now, go on home and get some rest. And thanks again.”
The detectives got back into the van and Dawn waved them away. “I’m riding back with you.”
“How about you drive?” I tossed her the keys and slipped into the passenger’s seat. As she drove, I contacted the radio room and asked if anyone had called for my cell number.
Julie, the dispatcher who answered, made some humming noises with her mouth and finally grunted. “Yeah, someone called for you at 8:48 PM, but they blocked their number. I actually spoke to the caller. I remember he sounded kind of scared. He said he needed to talk to you and that it was an emergency. I asked if I could take a message, but he said that he was being followed or monitored or something. He said it was about the murder, so I gave him your cell number. I hope I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Not at all.” I disconnected with her, looked at Dawn. “What if they got to him?”
“Who?” she wanted to know.
“When I was on the phone with him, he said someone was coming and he just hung up.”
“Could be.” She turned into the substation parking lot and shut off the engine. She started to open the door, but stopped, pointed to the windshield. “What’s that?”
I looked where she pointed and then lunged from the car, walked around and met her on the driver’s side. I leaned over the hood and squinted. A streetlight was located at the corner of the parking lot and it cast an orange glow over the area. The light was dim, but I could clearly see a small, white envelope shoved up under my windshield wiper.
I inspected it with my eyes only. It was plain, no writings on the outside that I could see. Dawn had walked to her cruiser and returned with a pair of latex gloves and her camera. As I pulled on the gloves, she took several snapshots of the envelope where we’d found it. When she was done, I carefully lifted the windshield wiper and slid the envelope out from under it. I hefted it. There was something heavy inside—well, compared to stationary. Dawn led the way into the office and placed a blank sheet of paper on her desk, handed me a set of scissors. Taking care not to damage anything that might be inside of the envelope, I cut off one end and held it so I could see. There was a ring inside. I placed the opened end of the envelope against the paper and allowed it to tumble out.
“Nice,” Dawn commented. “That’s some pretty gold...expensive.”
The ring was the size of a man’s graduation ring, but the face of it was flat and circular. I checked the envelope to see if there was anything else inside. It was empty. “What in the hell does a ring have to do with anything?” I asked.
“This has to be a joke.”
I lifted the ring and examined it closely. There was a picture of a bomb on the face of it and the words The Bomb inscribed around the rim. I held it for Dawn to see.
“Do you think it means, You’re the bomb?”
“I don’t know what it means, but it’s definitely a clue.”
“What makes you so sure? This could be some sick prank.”
“The caller said things weren’t as they seemed and then he leaves this ring on my car.” I rubbed my chin. “It has to mean something...to someone.”
When we were done inspecting and photographing it, Dawn left to bring the ring to the evidence room in Payneville and I headed home.
CHAPTER 28
Morning came early. I checked my phone to see what day it was, then stared back at the ceiling as I had nearly all night, forcing my brain to work through the events of the last couple of days and trying to find a ray of light in an otherwise dark case. Maybe Lucas Masters held the answers. We’d gone knocking on his door the day before and that might have prompted him to make the phone call. But why set up a meeting just to place an envelope on my windshield?
The caller had definitely sounded afraid, but afraid of whom? Janice had said there were two men and one was doing most of the beating. Maybe the suspicious caller was the underling trying to reach out to me, the least culpable one. Probably wanted to make a deal to save himself. Or, I thought, it was the more culpable one trying to pin it on the other guy.
I sighed, rolled out of bed, and got ready for work. I stopped at the hospital to see Janice Prince before heading into the office. I wanted to know if the ring meant anything to her.
When I approached Janice’s room I saw immediately that it was crowded with people I’d never seen before. I stood for several minutes watching them talk to her, when a woman with a badge looked up and saw me. She said something to the group—all of whom turned to gawk at me—and then ushered them out into the hallway, instructed them to go to the waiting area. She then turned to me, extended her hand. “I’m Detective Tricia Clark. I’m from Mountainburg. You must be Brandon.”
I shook her hand, nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
Tricia glanced over her shoulder to make certain everyone had moved out of earshot. She leaned in, lowered her voice. “Some of the family members are concerned.”
I looked at the group of people moving slowly toward the elevators. “What concerns them?”
“Not one of them knew Janice was pregnant, much less that she had a six month old baby.”
“Well, they lived eight or nine hours away. Maybe they just lost touch for a bit.”
“Janice talked to her mom every couple of days—like clockwork. She never missed. Not once, and she didn’t mention being pregnant.”
My brow furrowed. “Never?”
“Never. Now, she did tell her mom she and Bill were moving back home to Arkansas, told her they put a down payment on a house, told her Bill got a big bonus at work, and even told her they were thinking about buying a German shepherd.” Tricia folded her arms across her chest. “But she never told her mom she was a grandmother. Don’t you think that’s a big deal?”
“Yeah, I do.” I looked through the glass window at Janice. “Bill’s best friend at work didn’t know either and I found that a bit strange at the time. But not this strange. Why would she keep that from her mom?”
“I really don’t know.”
We talked for a few more minutes and then Tricia turned and walked away.
I stepped into Janice’s hospital room.
She sat straighter, scanned my face with hopeful eyes. “Did you find Shelby?”
I shook my head and she sank into the bed, nodded her understanding. She waited for me to talk. I took a seat on the rolling chair next to the bed. “How’re you feeling, ma’am?”
“As good as can be expected, I guess.” Her face looked remarkably better than the last time I’d visited. “Do you have any leads?”
“Not yet, but we’re doing everything we can to find her.” I frowned. “Are you sure you have no idea who could’ve taken her? Or why someone would want to take her? Anything at all that you can think of? The slightest thing might help us find her.”
Her eyes grew misty. “I keep racking my brain, hoping something will come to mind, but it’s no use. I...we don’t have any enemies.”
“What about strangers? Have you seen any strangers in your neighborhood? Any suspicious people? New delivery guys or those salesmen that go door-to-door trying to clean your windows? Anything like that?”
She just shook her head as I spoke, tears welling up in her eyes. “Nothing at all. It took us totally by surprise.”
I drummed my foot on the floor, was thoughtful. How do I say this without offending her?
“What’s wrong, Detective?”
I looked up. “What?”
“It looks like something’s wrong. You’ve got this weird look on your face, like you want to say something.” Janice braced herself. “Is it bad? Is it about Shelby?”
I waved her off. “It’s nothing, really.”
“Then tell me...please.”
“It’s just that...” I glanced over my shoulder toward the hallway, turned back to face her. “Well, your family didn’t know you had a baby. I was just wondering why you never told them.”
Janice turn
ed her head and I thought I saw tears leaking down the left side of her face.
“Mrs. Prince, I need you to help me understand.”
Janice lifted a pale hand and wiped the tears from her face. “We...we wanted it to be a surprise.”
“A surprise?”
“We didn’t think we could have children, because Bill had a low sperm count. We tried for years, but I miscarried twice. Our families had to suffer through the excitement and then the letdown and it was so hard on everyone, especially my mom.” Janice shook her head. “I didn’t want them going through that again.”
I sat stunned. After all of that effort and pain, they finally had a baby, but only to have her snatched from her bed in the middle of the night. “Mrs. Prince,” I said through gritted teeth, “I will find the men responsible for this and they’ll pay for what they did.”
Janice forced a smile. “Thank you. It just seems so unfair. Bill and I were finally going to be parents. It was the happiest time of our lives. We...we...” Janice buried her face in her hands, shoulders trembling.
When she calmed down a bit, I tried to change the subject to a lighter topic. “I heard y’all bought a house in Arkansas. Were y’all planning to move?”
Janice nodded. “We wanted to raise our daughter where we both grew up. We were going to tell my mom about Shelby when we got there. It was going to be a surprise.”
“Your mom said y’all came into some cash recently. That must’ve helped out—having a new baby and all. I know how they can be...eating everything in sight and going through diapers faster than Huggies can make them.”
Janice chuckled, nodded her head. “Bill got a big bonus at work and that helped a lot. We put a down payment on a nice little house in the mountains.”
“When were y’all planning the move?”
“Soon. We hadn’t really set a date, but it was supposed to be soon.”
I was thoughtful, asked, “Did Bill’s work know he was leaving the job?”
“Oh, yeah. He told them a while back. A few weeks ago, I believe.”