by C. M. Sutter
“Got it, sir.”
Jack turned to me. “He probably knows your car, so you’ll have to hang back.”
“I didn’t drive today, Kate did.”
“Okay, that’s good, but we can’t be seen in a government vehicle either.”
“Mitch and I will ride together. Somebody else can use my car,” Mary said.
Jack rubbed his forehead and turned to Billings. “What deputies are on duty today?”
Billings woke his laptop and pulled up the roster. “Silver and Donnelly are working until five.”
“Then we’ll use their personal cars too. I want everybody outside in the parking lot by eleven o’clock so we can plan our positions.” Jack tipped his wrist. “We still have several hours to go. Let’s keep listening to those conversations. Billings, go ahead and check into rental rooms in the area.”
We listened to the transcripts, and every conversation was similar when they discussed the plan they were putting together. The conversation suddenly went into code. Even though we knew who Lea and Tony were talking about, Warren’s name was never spoken, and no illegal activities were mentioned.
Billings walked into the conference room at ten thirty, shaking his head. “I’ve called every ad in the newspaper, and nobody has rented a room since Christmas. Guess tourism isn’t the greatest now that the holidays are over.”
Jack shut down the laptop and stood. “Okay, everyone gather in the parking lot, and we’ll figure out the vehicle situation there. Mitch and Mary, you’ll head out first and act as customers. Enjoy lunch on the sheriff office’s tab. Clayton, I want you to go in alone and have lunch too. Horbeck and Jamison, go home and get some sleep. Everyone is working overtime until this murderer is caught. The rest of us will stay out of sight but will be watching the parking lot from close by.” He turned to Kate. “You’ll be wearing a wire and a vest.” Jack slapped his hands together. “Let’s move out.”
Chapter 55
He checked the time on the digital clock—eleven thirty. Warren climbed out of his car and locked the doors behind him. Parking a half mile away in the lot of an appliance store was a precaution he was willing to take. He’d walk to the gas station across the street from Shooters and set up his post there. Standing on the west side of the building, out of the wind, he’d watch through his binoculars and see who, if anyone, was onto his scheme.
Warren had no intention of meeting with Kate. It was a test and nothing more. He had to know if that bitch, Jade Monroe, was on to him. She was the one who’d alerted Amber that somebody had stolen her phone, and in turn, Amber alerted the police to track down Kate. Warren had to be careful, and taking every necessary precaution, even in the frigid temperatures, would help him avoid being caught.
Warren zipped his coat and slipped on the pair of gloves he had stolen from the nearby dollar store. He pulled up his hood and took off on foot, staying closer to the buildings than the street. He found his position at the Clark station fifteen minutes later and leaned against the side of the building. Unzipping his coat, he reached into the inner pocket and pulled out the list and binoculars. He wrapped the strap around his neck and zipped the coat again. Warren lifted the glasses to his eyes and peered through them. Two vehicles from the sheriff’s office were already parked in the lot. He checked the sheet and looked through the binoculars again.
That car belongs to the weekend desk deputy, Mitch Bryant. He looked at the other car and ran his finger down the sheet. And that one belongs to Detective Chad Clayton. So they are on to me. I guess it’s time to step up my game.
Warren continued to watch out of curiosity more than anything else. He already had the answers he was looking for. Several familiar cars passed and turned in to retail driveways. They set up positions facing Shooters. Warren almost laughed at their stupidity.
What a bunch of amateurs. I’ve spent eight years in prison with every kind of animal—I know the ropes. Do they really think they can outplay the player? They need to stay one step ahead of me to do that.
Minutes later, Kate pulled into the lot in her red Civic. Warren watched her every move through the binoculars. He saw her get out, adjust the vest under her clothing, and appear to speak to somebody even though nobody was near.
Checking reception on your wire, are you?
He blew into his hands to warm his fingertips while he stood outside for another half hour and watched from his stand at the gas station. Once everyone across the street left and headed east, back to the sheriff’s office, Warren walked into the station, bought a coffee from the vending machine, and headed to his car.
Kate Pierce wouldn’t get another pass. She and the other two would die without warning, and it would be when they least expected it.
Chapter 56
Jack pounded his fist on the conference room table. Everyone kept silent and avoided eye contact with him.
“That son of a bitch knew we were coming, but how?”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t make any sense. Nobody has done anything reckless to lead him to believe we’re on to him.”
“He’s watching us, stalking us in a sense, but instead of it being just Jade and me, he’s watching everyone at the sheriff’s office. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Instead of us surveilling him, he’s surveilling us.”
That thought sent a hush around the room as we processed what Kate had suggested.
“Dig in, people. He’s hiding somewhere. If he isn’t going to pop out of his hole, we’ll root him out. I doubt if he’s living off the land, or in his car. It’s too damn cold outside. Check Airbnb’s and sublets. Look online and see if there are more rooms for rent than what was in the paper. There could be others that we aren’t aware of. I want every place in this county called today including the ones that we’ve already contacted.” Jack jerked his head toward Clayton. “Call Sanders and find out if they’re watching for that Altima. Tell him to station a cruiser on the west side of town around the clock. They need to keep it hidden but have Washington Street in their line of sight at all times. If that murdering thug passes by, they’ll see him.”
I gave Jack an eyebrow raise. “Boss, what about tapping the Lynch house phone?”
“That would only work with a warrant, which takes more time. Warren is using a disposable phone, and if Lea has half a brain, she is too.”
“Now that Warren knows we’re on to him, he isn’t going to make contact with me again. My plan of taking him down has gone to shit,” Kate said.
Billings added his two cents. “The man is too dangerous and clever. The only way we could arrest him is if he tried to attack you. Going out to lunch with somebody isn’t against the law, Kate. We don’t even have circumstantial evidence against him for anything. We have no grounds to arrest him even if we saw him walking the streets.”
I slapped the table. “Wait! Did Warren serve his entire sentence, or was he released early on parole? If he was released on parole, then he can be arrested for leaving the state without notice. We know, but can’t prove, he shot Marvin. A parolee can’t have a firearm either.”
“Okay, you’re on the right track, Amber. Where are those damn prison records that were supposed to show up today?”
“I’ll check the mail.” Kate jumped up and left the conference room.
“We need to know if he was released to a person or a facility if he is indeed a parolee, and also who his parole officer is.”
“All of that will be in the prison records if they’ve arrived,” Jack said.
Kate returned minutes later with a cardboard overnight envelope in her hand and a grin on her face. She slid the envelope across the table. “Go ahead, boss. Let’s find out what’s inside.”
Jack tore open the envelope and began reading. “Son of a bitch, he is a parolee. He was sentenced to ten years and only served eight.” Jack rifled through the paperwork. “Where is it?”
I knew what Jack was looking for, and finding that information would connect Warren to the Lynch family once and
for all. We needed to know if the paperwork listed the person or facility Warren was released to.
Jack stopped searching and stared when he found the sheet he needed. He sucked in a deep breath of air and let it out slowly. “We have them dead to rights—all of them. Warren Jay Ricks was released on December eighteenth into the custody of Lea May Lynch of Atlanta, Georgia.” He slid the paperwork to me. “Find the parole officer’s name and call him. We’re issuing a warrant for Warren’s arrest today. Billings, call the Atlanta PD. I want Lea Lynch, Mark Lynch, and James Ross hauled in and arrested for conspiracy to commit murder against a federal agent and a sheriff’s office detective. They’re going to cough up where Warren is or they’ll never see the light of day again.”
Chapter 57
It was a waiting game for us as usual. The Atlanta PD was en route to arrest people at three different households. The police would show up unannounced, giving the families no time to concoct alibis, make phone calls, or hide incriminating evidence that a crime had been planned.
Lea had to know where Warren was staying since she was the person most likely to have arranged his living quarters here, but we had no idea if she would talk.
We sat on pins and needles as we went back to work to locate that one room that had been rented to a Warren Ricks or Craig Hartman. Jack’s office phone finally rang at four thirty. Each of us stopped what we were doing and stared through his glass office wall.
I watched Jack’s body language as he said yes and no to the person on the other end of the phone line. He nodded, rocked back and forth in his chair, and wiped his brow—more than once. He appeared stressed and impatient. After fifteen minutes on the phone, he hung up and walked out of his office. He took my guest chair, spun it around, and straddled it, facing the chair back. He let out a long breath.
“The Atlanta PD has all of them at the downtown station. Each person is in a different interrogation room, and none of them know the others are there. The tech department is going through all the cell phone texts and voicemails. Actual transcripts of phone calls between everyone will take days to get if we need them, but there may be enough information to incriminate them based on text messages alone.”
“Has anyone talked yet?” I asked.
“Nope. The cops are going to let them stew for a while in cold, uncomfortable cells while they go through the houses for evidence. They’ll have a lot more leverage if they find something to hold against the family. That’s when they’ll offer a deal to the first person who talks. Somebody supplied Warren with a gun and a car, likely a stolen one. That in itself is a crime against Lea since Warren was released into her care.”
I smirked. “I’m guessing she’ll talk first. She has the most to lose.”
Jack tipped his chin toward me. “Run downstairs and double-check with Todd that there isn’t an Altima registered to anyone in the Lynch or Ross family. Kate, call Jade and make sure everything is okay at home.”
“You got it, sir.” I pushed back my chair and headed out the door while Kate lifted the receiver from her desk phone and made the call.
Downstairs, I sat alongside Todd while he checked the DMV records for the Lynch and Ross families. This time he searched the database to see if any of them owned a 2005 through 2007 Altima. After a fifteen-minute search of the records, he shook his head.
“There’s nothing that shows any of them do, or did, own that car.”
I let out a tired sigh. “Yeah, I didn’t think we’d be lucky enough to catch a break on a vehicle connection. I just hope the Atlanta PD puts plenty of pressure on those crooks. They have to realize they’re looking at real jail time for their involvement.”
“I could look up guns registered to them too. Lena said the bullet that killed Marvin came from a .45-caliber handgun, and Forensics has it in evidence. If you found that gun and matched it to the slug, at least you’d know definitively that Warren killed Marvin.”
“True, but in order to find that gun, we have to find where Warren is staying first. Either way, getting a gun is easy, and unless you buy something brand-new from a gun store, it probably wouldn’t be registered.” I stood to leave. “I have no objections to you checking into it, though.” I gave Todd a pat on the back, thanked him, and walked upstairs.
“Any link to the Altima?” Jack asked when I entered the bull pen.
“Zilch, as usual. It’s probably a stolen car.”
Jack rubbed his brow. “Kate, how’s Jade?”
“She’s fine, boss. She’s also keeping Spelling and J.T. in the loop with the investigation. Nobody wants her out and about until that maniac is caught. She’d be a sitting target.”
“That reminds me. Billings, call the PD and check that they have a patrol unit making an hourly drive-by of the condo.”
“Sure thing, Jack.”
“Okay, Horbeck and Jamison will be in soon. Go home, take a load off, and eat something. Get some rest if you can. Who knows, we may all be back here again later if we get some news. North Bend’s PD is watching for the car, Atlanta has the families in custody, and Warren is laying low. We don’t have his location yet, and his phone is turned off. At this point, we’re in a holding pattern. I’ll stick around and wait for news. Keep your phones handy. Now, go home while you still have the energy.”
We gathered our belongings and coats and headed to the door.
“People, keep your heads on a swivel and be safe. Great work, guys. I’m proud to have all of you on my team.”
We nodded a good night to Jack and walked out together. Safety in numbers, we were always told. Clayton and Billings walked Kate and me to her car.
“Be safe, ladies.” After Kate climbed in behind the wheel, Clayton tapped the doorframe at the driver’s-side window. “We’ll catch this guy, and by Monday, life will be back to normal.”
I laughed. “Is there such a thing as normal in Washburn County?”
Chapter 58
“So that’s what’s going on for now.” Jack sat at Clayton’s desk and went over the day’s activities with Horbeck and Jamison. “He totally outsmarted us and was probably watching every move we made as we congregated around Shooters.”
“That guy has more brains than I thought.” Jamison rubbed his two-day stubble.
“The real Craig Hartman said the rumors going around Baton Rouge years ago were that Warren was a hired killer. Don’t know how much truth is in that statement since Warren was never convicted of any murders, but he does know how to cover his tracks well.”
Horbeck tapped his fingertips on the desk. “And that could be why he was never arrested or convicted of those crimes. The guy is good, and he’s had eight years in prison to learn even more tricks of the trade.”
“The PD has a car stationed alongside Safrony Auto Mall. Our thoughts are that Warren is holed up someplace west of town, simply because he seems to favor that area. I doubt if he wants to be out in public too much now that he knows we’re on to him.”
“What about Upton’s? Can you station somebody there?” Jamison asked.
“Their lot isn’t that big. He’d probably notice a cruiser or even several people hanging out in a car. The staff knows to contact the PD or us if that same man comes in again.”
Jamison nodded. “And the room search hasn’t brought up anything?”
“I hate to admit it, but no. There hasn’t been one confirmed rental to anyone who fits Warren’s description. Of course, if someone books a room and pays for it in advance online and the owner doesn’t meet them face-to-face, they wouldn’t know what the renter looks like. That could be what’s going on in this case. If Lea rented the room under someone else’s name and used a borrowed credit card, it could be why nothing has popped during our inquiries.”
“She needs to start chirping like a bird and quick,” Horbeck said. “Now that Warren knows he’s been made, he may act sooner rather than later. He doesn’t have any incentive to take his time and hang around North Bend. The job has to get done.”
�
�But he can’t find out that his benefactors have been hauled in and are sitting in jail either. That would negate his payday, and he’d probably disappear before we have enough to charge him for Marvin’s murder. Without having the gun that he used in our possession, we can’t compare ballistic results.”
“Okay, boss, what else can we do about the case while we’re waiting to hear from Atlanta?”
“The cops are patrolling the streets and looking for the Altima. They’re driving by Jade’s house hourly. There isn’t anything more we can do until somebody speaks up. Once we know Warren’s location, we’ll swoop in and arrest him. The nightmare he started nearly a week ago will be over, and he’ll be back in prison where he’ll remain for life.”
“If that’s it, then go home, boss. We’ll carry on with our regular duties until we hear from Atlanta,” Jamison said. “I promise you, you’ll be the first person we call.”
Jack rolled his eyes. “You may be right. I’m beat, and I’d be no good to anyone if I can’t stay awake when I need to. You swear you’ll call me the second you hear something?”
Jamison nodded. “You have my word.”
“All right, then. I’m going to catch a few hours of sleep.” Jack slipped on his coat and left the sheriff’s office.
Snow had begun to fall, and the asphalt—buried beneath the blanket of white—was as slick as ice. Jack’s shoes lost traction, and he nearly wiped out as he crossed the parking lot to his car. He caught himself before hitting the ground.
Damn black ice. I would have cracked my head open if I had hit the pavement. Maybe I should take the back roads home.
Jack walked the rest of the way to his car with short deliberate steps. Behind the wheel, he fisted his tired eyes, turned the ignition, and shifted into Drive. It would be a slow ride home—his Charger wasn’t the best car on icy streets.