by Gerri Hill
“The whole thing is vague,” Jack said. “All this driving around to the middle of nowhere. Hell, if something goes down in Barstow, we’re hours from there.”
“Logistics is a problem, yes,” Andrea said. “But it is what it is.”
Thankfully, Jack had no more questions or comments and the drive continued in silence. That is, until Eric reached to the front and tapped her shoulder. She turned around, seeing the playful look on his face.
“So, whose idea was it to split up?”
Andrea glanced at Jack before answering. “Cameron’s.”
“And who picked sides?”
She smiled. “I did.”
“I see. Still afraid you might shoot?”
“Shoot who?” Jack asked. “Carina?”
Andrea and Eric exchanged glances and Eric shrugged. “She’s a bit obnoxious, don’t you think.”
Jack snorted. “A bit? Hell, everything is always about her. She’s been there, done that and did it a lot better. I told Reynolds she wasn’t going to be a good fit but he wanted a female and she was available.”
“Equal opportunity employer,” Andrea murmured, causing Eric to laugh.
“She’s got credentials, I’ll say that for her,” Jack said. “CIA operative. Seems like she’s taking a step down.”
“Maybe her cover was blown,” Eric offered.
“Maybe she wanted something new,” Andrea said, thinking of Cameron and how she’d grown weary of that life.
“Well, I’m just glad I don’t have to ride with her,” Jack continued. “I’d rather listen to Rowan talk computers than listen to her.”
Andrea glanced back at Eric, matching his smile. She had no idea the normally quiet, stoic older man would be so vocal in his dislike of Carina. She sighed as she looked out the window again, watching the endless desert flash by, her eyes drawn to some distant mountains on the horizon. Splitting up their teams was a good idea but she found she missed Cameron’s presence. She allowed her mind to wander back to last night, picturing Cameron’s face as she climaxed, hearing the whispered Andi as Andrea had continued to suckle her breast long after the tremors had left her body.
“What did you break?” Cameron asked when she saw Rowan’s name come up on the console.
“Do you have any idea how fast your server is? I ran one of your algorithms—”
“You’re playing with my algorithms?”
“I was just testing them. Jason is a genius. I mean—”
“Please tell me you didn’t call just to talk about computers.”
“Oh, no. Sorry. I got a name for Monica Riddle.”
“Great,” she said, quickly losing patience with him. “You want to give it to us or what?”
“Sorry, Cameron.” He paused. “Can I call you Cameron or do you prefer Special Agent Ross?”
“Jesus Christ, Rowan, what’s the goddamn name?”
“She...she either went by Angel or sometimes Rose.”
“Okay. Good job, Rowan,” she said.
“There’s more. There’s a sister. She lives in Redlands. I’ve emailed you the address and her phone number, in case you wanted to contact her. She’s a bank teller. Gets off work at four thirty. Picks her kid up at daycare, then home by five thirty.”
She laughed. “Excellent work. You can call me Cameron.”
“Thank you. I hope you don’t mind about the algorithm. I just wanted to see some of Jason’s work.”
“Play all you want,” she said as she touched the screen to disconnect. “Where did you find him?” she asked Reynolds.
“Murdock recommended him.”
“He’s good.”
Carina sighed. “He’s a nerd. He’s only twenty-five. Hasn’t even lived yet.”
“He got his PhD at twenty-one,” Reynolds said.
“Like I said, a nerd.”
Cameron wondered what she ever saw in Carina. Well, other than a sexy body. Back then, she hadn’t realized how negative Carina was. Or maybe she just didn’t care. Sex was an outlet for their stress and as she recalled, they used that outlet frequently.
“If someone can remember Angel or Rose, remember the last time they saw her, then I want Rowan to pull their security tapes and try to get footage. If we can’t find anyone, then we’ll need to hang around until the girls come out to work.”
“What about the sister?” Reynolds asked.
“I’d like to talk to her too.”
“How about you leave me at the truck stop? I can interview the girls. You and Carina can head to Redlands,” Reynolds suggested. “Ask Agent Sullivan and her team to swing by and pick me up.”
“They’re at least two hours east of here.”
“I can hang out. Observe.”
She nodded. “Okay. Let me call Andrea.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Alone at last,” Carina said with an exaggerated sigh as Cameron pulled away from the noisy truck stop in Barstow.
“Alone?”
“Yes. You have to admit Reynolds was getting on your nerves too.” She smiled and pursed her lips. “And we can finally catch up.”
“What is there to catch up on?”
“Oh, come now, Cameron. You must have fond memories of our time together? I know I do,” Carina said as her hand reached out to lightly stroke Cameron’s arm.
“Fond memories? I don’t know if I would call it that, Carina,” she said. “We were nothing more than fuck buddies.”
Carina laughed. “Yes. That’s what made it so delightful.” She let her hand drop to Cameron’s thigh. “Would it be forward of me to say I’d like to pick up where we left off?”
Cameron bristled at her touch, amazed that Carina would be so bold. She stopped her hand before it slipped between her legs.
“Not interested,” she said.
Carina’s eyes widened in surprise. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“My, you have changed. Your exploits are legendary.”
Cameron shook her head. “Not really. I believe you hold that honor.”
Carina again let her hand fall to Cameron’s thigh. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re involved with someone. But the Cameron I remember wasn’t into that sort of thing.”
“People change. I’m not the same person I was back then.” She glanced at her. “The missions we were on, we never knew if each day was going to be our last.”
“Maybe that’s why the sex was so good.”
Cameron removed her hand again. “I’m still not interested.”
“Surely you and Agent Sullivan aren’t involved,” Carina said.
Cameron said nothing.
“Oh, Cameron darling, she is so not your type.”
“You think not?”
“No. You always went for the more worldly, glamorous types.”
“Oh? Like you?”
Carina smiled and for a third time placed her hand on Cameron’s leg. “Yes, exactly like me. Your Andrea is far from that. Not that she’s not attractive. She is. She just seems so young, so naive.”
“Naive? She hasn’t lived the life we have, no, but she’s not been spared from life’s cruelties.”
“So how long have you been lovers?”
“I never said we were.” She glanced at her again. “And take your hand off of me.”
Carina did but her smile was coy. “Are you in love with her, this partner of yours?”
How wonderful would it have been to be able to say, yes, she was in love. Madly, crazy in love. But she couldn’t. “You know that’s against the rules.”
“Yes, love is definitely against the rules. Sex, not so much.” Carina shifted away from her finally. “I should warn you though, I believe Eric has his sights set on her. When I talked to him earlier, he was planning a nice, romantic dinner out.”
Cameron felt that seed of doubt creep in again, that tiny nibble of jealousy. She hadn’t had a minute alone today to talk to Andrea and here she was, speeding down the highway toward Redlands,
hoping to catch the sister at home. Andrea would be dining out, no doubt at a nice, fine restaurant with Eric. Not grabbing a pizza and taking it back to the rig, not staying in and making dinner herself, but going out, something they rarely did. She wondered if Andrea missed that. Maybe they should make it a point to go out more often. But really, any time she mentioned it, Andrea was content to stay in. As was Cameron. It was the quiet, alone time that they both seemed to savor. Now Carina was placing doubt in her mind. No, trying to place doubt. All Cameron had to do was think back to last night, the way Andrea had made love to her, her murmured words and soft kisses telling her how true their love was. No, she wouldn’t fall into Carina’s trap. Not this time.
“I hope he takes her someplace really expensive then,” she said. “I usually only splurge on pizza.”
That seemed to put Carina off enough that she quietly stared out the window, leaving them to continue the drive in silence. They hit heavy traffic in San Bernardino and she glanced at the monitor, noting that she would be turning left onto I-10 in a few miles. She contemplated calling Andrea, just to let her know where she was but that would be just an excuse. Reynolds would fill her in. Besides, she didn’t want her to think she was checking up on her. She needn’t have worried, however, as a soft beeping indicated a call. Instead of tapping the monitor to answer, she grabbed her phone instead. She knew they would not be able to say anything personal, but she didn’t want Carina to listen to every word.
“Hey,” she answered. “What’s up?”
“Hi. Just wanted to check in,” Andrea said. “We have Reynolds and we’re now heading back to Needles.”
“Why back?” she asked.
“We were able to talk to three of the girls who work the lot. They weren’t giving us much, but Eric used his charm and finally got them to talk,” she said with a laugh and Cameron heard Eric’s voice in the background teasing Andrea. She bit down the jealousy she felt at their easy camaraderie. “There’s a girl missing. Street name is Susie Bell. That’s all I got. They haven’t seen her in over three weeks. Young girl about twenty, they say. Could be Jane Doe 23,” Andrea said.
“Okay. What’s the plan?”
“She was staying at a cheap motel in Needles. We want to check it out, talk to the manager.”
“Did Reynolds get anything in Barstow?”
“Not really. They knew her as Angel, but no one could pinpoint when the last time they saw her.”
“Let’s get Rowan to go over the security tapes. Maybe we can—”
“Already on it,” Andrea said. “It’ll be late when we get back. It’s about two and a half hours from Needles to Indio.”
“Yeah. We’re almost in Redlands. It’s only an hour to Indio. I’ll take care of things at the rig.” Meaning Lola, mainly. It was going to feel empty without Andrea around, she knew.
“Okay. Well,” she paused. “Me too, Cameron.”
Cameron frowned. Me too? Then she remembered their conversation from last week when Andrea accused Cameron of being afraid to say I love you. She laughed now, sporting a grin.
“Yeah, me too,” she said, hearing the soft chuckle from Andrea as she disconnected.
“Anything new?” Carina asked.
“They have a possible lead on the Jane Doe. They’re on their way back to Needles with Reynolds.”
“Oh. Well it looks like it’ll just be the two of us for dinner then. How convenient.”
“I think I’ll let you and Rowan share dinner. I need to spend some time with my cat.”
“Oh Cameron, a cat? I thought surely that furry thing was your partner’s. I can’t see you with a pet.”
“Like I said, people change.” She merged into traffic on I-10, heading to Redlands.
She followed the GPS directions and only a few blocks past the freeway they were in a residential area. The homes were modest but well kept. She turned into the driveway of the sister’s home.
“They all look alike,” Carina said, glancing down the street.
“Yeah. I would hate living here.” She got out, wondering if perhaps they should have called first. She didn’t know if they would walk in on a grieving sister or not. She heard footsteps on the other side of the door but it was not opened.
“Who is it?”
“FBI,” she said, holding up her FBI credentials to the peephole. “May we come in?”
The door opened revealing a slightly overweight woman, older than Cameron was expecting. She held on tightly to the door.
“Yes?” she asked nervously.
“Melinda Appleton?”
“Yes.”
Cameron sighed, wishing Andrea were here. She was better at this part of the job. “I’m Special Agent Cameron Ross. This is Carina Moretti. I’m sorry, but we’re here about your sister.”
“Why would the FBI be interested in Monica?”
“May we come in?”
“Of course.” She opened the door wider. “Please excuse the mess. I wasn’t expecting company.”
“No worries,” she said, following Melinda inside. They walked through the living room which was cluttered with children’s toys. The TV was on and a small girl was lying on the floor watching cartoons, oblivious to their presence. The kitchen counter was covered with bags, indicating Melinda had just come from the grocery store. She immediately began unpacking them as she motioned for them to sit at the table.
“I just got home a little while ago. My husband won’t be home for another hour,” she explained.
“We won’t take up much of your time,” Cameron said as she sat down. “When was the last time you saw Monica?”
“A couple of years, I guess.”
“You weren’t close?” Carina asked.
The woman shook her head. “Monica was...messed up. I can’t blame her really. Our mother was a drug addict. Monica was around it all the time. I tried to get her out of the house when she was in high school but our mother wouldn’t allow it.” She opened the fridge and put in a carton of eggs. “I don’t think Monica really wanted out. She was hanging around with the wrong crowd, you know what I mean? She was in and out of trouble.”
“Did you know that she was arrested?”
“For prostitution? Yes.” She smiled. “That’s actually how I met my husband. He’s a probation officer. We both tried to reach her, but she wasn’t interested.”
“Where’s your mother now?”
“I have no idea. I haven’t seen her in four or five years.”
Cameron paused. “Do you know the circumstances of Monica’s death?”
The woman looked away quickly. “Yes. It’s horrible.” She shook her head. “But it’s hard to think of her as my sister. I’m eight years older. I moved out of the house as soon as I could. I worked and put myself through college, but I couldn’t get her out. I finally stopped trying.”
“But you kept in touch?” Carina asked.
“No, not really. She came around when she needed money. The last time, Joey—that’s my husband—he told her not to come around anymore. We have the baby now.” She smiled. “Well, not a baby. She’s nearly three. But we didn’t want Monica around. Not like she was. Like I said, she was messed up.”
“Any other family?”
She shook her head. “We never knew our father. I have an aunt who lives in Pomona, but we don’t really keep in touch. She’s the complete opposite of our mother so you can imagine they weren’t close when we were growing up.”
“Do you know where Monica worked?”
“Worked? She didn’t work.”
“I mean—”
“Oh. Prostitution.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, as if to chase away the thought of her sister being a hooker. “I know she was up in Barstow a lot. She seemed to prefer to hang out at truck stops.” She shook her head. “I really didn’t ask a lot of questions. I didn’t want to know.”
Cameron wasn’t sure what she was hoping to find, but they learned nothing new really. She stood up, handing Melinda A
ppleton her card.
“Thank you for your time. If you think of anything else,” she shrugged, “please call.”
“Why is the FBI on this case?”
“Monica wasn’t the only girl killed,” she said.
“I heard about the lady they found out near Indio. Is it the same killer?”
“We believe so.”
“Was she a prostitute also?”
Cameron smiled politely. “I can’t really discuss the details of the case with you. Again, thank you for your time. We can see our way out.”
“That was a complete waste of time,” Carina said when they’d settled back in the truck.
“Yeah. I think I was expecting to find a grieving sister,” Cameron said as she drove them back to the freeway. “At least Barstow is confirmed. Reynolds told Andrea that Monica went by Angel. No one could pinpoint when they last saw her so Rowan is going to go over security.”
“We have estimated times of death on all three victims?”
“Yes. So without knowing when they went missing, we have no idea how long he holds them, if at all.”
“A trucker or a local?”
“Could be both,” she said, something she and Andrea had discussed. “Number one, a trucker.”
Once they got out of the heavy city traffic, the trip back down to Indio was made quickly and silently. Driving through the pass into Coachella Valley, they passed a huge wind farm, the blades of the turbines spinning round and round in the constant breeze. The barren mountains were a backdrop for the giant windmills, the white a perfect contrast of the brown drab surroundings. As they approached Palm Springs, Cameron declined Carina’s offer of dinner. Instead, she drove straight on to Indio and the rig, happy to see that Rowan was already running programs to pull credit card receipts.
“A lot are going to be useless though. Company credit cards.”
“Surely they have a truck associated with them.”
“Yeah but that’s just one more thing to sort through.” He pointed at one of her computers. “Let this one run. Don’t touch it,” he said.