by Robert Boren
“He probably left notes about us,” Malcolm said. “Part of the setup. You know if he’s still alive he’s setting a trap, right?”
“Yeah, Malcolm, I get it,” he said. “When we get to the house, I want Dobie and Gabe to stand off. I don’t want them there. Just in case.”
“I agree,” he said. “Let’s get that straight at breakfast. Here they come.”
“You guys ready to eat?” Gabe asked as he walked up with Dobie.
Malcolm and Ted nodded, and the four of them went to the restaurant. The place was empty, so they got seated right away. Same booth as last night. They ordered, and watched as the waitress poured coffee for them.
“Saw you on the phone,” Dobie said. “Everything okay? You guys look a little worried.”
Malcolm and Ted looked at each other.
“Okay, gents,” Malcolm said. “Here’s the scoop. The FBI has cut Ted off. They aren’t giving him info anymore. They won’t even talk to him.”
“Why would they do that?” Dobie asked.
“We’re guessing that Agent Keith left info with somebody there. It probably indicates we had something to do with his disappearance.”
“Oh,” Dobie said. “Not good.”
“Not good at all, and I was nervous about going to this house without telling the bureau about it first,” Malcolm said.
“So what now?” Gabe asked. Malcolm looked at Ted and nodded.
“I called an old friend and talked him into getting the address to the bureau,” Ted said. “He’ll make sure they know it was us that gave it to them.”
“We’re still going to the house, though, right?” Dobie asked.
“Well, yes, but we want you guys to hang back, just in case,” Malcolm said. “We don’t want you two any closer than a couple blocks.”
“Why?” Dobie asked. “Don’t you want me there with the dog?”
“I’d love it, but we aren’t going to put you in a situation where you might get killed,” Malcolm said. “That was part of the agreement that George and I made with your group and General Hogan.”
“What do you think might happen?” Gabe asked.
“Well, best case, the place will be empty. Worst case, Agent Keith is lying in wait for us. If we end up having shoot him, it will start a shit storm that you guys don’t want to be involved with.”
Gabe and Dobie looked at each other.
“You two okay with this?” Ted asked. “I’m sorry. Hopefully you can get in later and check things out.”
“Yeah, we’re good,” Gabe said.
“Can we position ourselves somewhere close enough to see what’s going on?” Dobie asked.
“Let’s do this,” Malcolm said. “You buy another night here, and leave your rig. We all drive in to Columbus. It’s not very far. Ted and I will go in my Jeep, and you guys follow us in Ted’s rental. What do you think?”
“We could unhook the truck and take that too, if you’d rather,” Dobie said.
“I think you ought to be set up to leave in a hurry,” Malcolm said. “Just in case something goes sideways.”
“You don’t think Scott or Howard are still gunning for us, do you?” Dobie asked.
“I think Scott is heading west on Route 36,” Malcolm said. “We don’t know about Howard. There wasn’t a third man seen with them when they shot their way out of that suburb. He could be dead, or he could be waiting for us at the house.”
“I’m okay with hanging back,” Dobie said. “But I’m not going to let you guys go down the tubes. You understand that, right?”
“I don’t want you getting shot up for us,” Malcolm said. “Promise me.”
“Well, we don’t want to get shot up either,” Gabe said. “Remember, though, that we’ve been through a lot of action. We aren’t babes in the woods.”
“I know,” Malcolm said. “Just be careful, okay?”
“All right,” he said. “Here comes our food.”
The men ate quickly and left. Dobie went to the office and paid for a second night, then he joined the others back at the space. Malcolm and Ted drove off in the Jeep, and Gabe and Dobie followed in the rental, Duchess in the back seat.
There was morning traffic as they got near Columbus, and it cost them about forty minutes. Gabe’s phone rang after they got off the interstate.
“Gabe here,” he said.
“It’s Ted. The house is three blocks ahead on this street. We’re going around the back. There’s an alley. Why don’t you guys drive past the front of the house and make a U-turn. Find a place to park across the street where you can watch.”
“Okay,” Gabe said.
“You guys have the address, right?”
“Yeah, I got it,” Gabe said. “Be careful.”
Gabe put his phone back in his pocket, and looked over at Dobie. “U-turn at the light past the house and park.”
“Got it,” Dobie said. “This traffic is nasty.”
“It’s so close to the University,” Gabe said. “The thought of coeds wandering around near folks like Scotty makes me shudder.”
“Me too,” Dobie said. “I keep thinking about Trish.”
“She went away to school, didn’t she?”
“Yeah, but not here,” Dobie said. “I was talking to Jake about that a while back.”
“There’s the house,” Gabe said, pointing. It was a Victorian, run down and overgrown. “Looks like the Addams Family house.”
Dobie chuckled. “Yeah, it does. Geez.” He continued past it in the creeping traffic, making a U-turn at the next traffic light, parking on the crowded curb. “Good vantage point.”
They settled in to watch.
***
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Malcolm whispered, pointing towards the back yard as he and Ted walked up the alley. “There’s Howard’s Class C, under the trees by the back porch.”
“Shit, maybe they are still here,” Ted said, slowing, hand nearing his pistol.
“C’mon, we know Scott isn’t here,” Malcolm said. “Howard might be, though, so keep your eyes open.”
“The gate’s locked,” Ted said.
“Well, don’t shoot the lock,” Malcolm said. “We don’t need to advertise. Look for a place we can slip in.”
“Right there – the neighbor’s place,” Ted said. “We can climb that short fence, then go in through that crack behind Scotty’s garage.”
Malcolm took a look. “Yeah, that’ll work.” He climbed over and then helped Ted. They squeezed around the garage and were in Scott’s backyard.
“Awfully quiet,” Ted said. He looked in the Class C’s window. “Nobody.”
“Try the door,” Malcolm said.
Ted twisted the doorknob. “Locked. Should we jimmy it?”
“Nah, let’s go in the house first,” Malcolm whispered. They went up the back steps and tried the door.
“Also locked,” Ted said. “But we can break the window pane and reach inside.”
“Okay,” Malcolm said. He saw a cardboard box sitting on the floor of the porch, and picked it up, shaking off the bugs. Then he held it to the window, turned away, and jabbed it hard with his elbow. The glass shattered. Both men froze, watching for anybody who might have noticed.
“Nobody around,” Ted said. “Let’s go in.” He reached carefully through the broken pane and unlocked the dead bolt and door knob. The door opened with a squeak, and the men slipped in, shutting it behind them. They walked past a stairway going down to the basement.
“You don’t want to go down there?” Ted whispered.
“Let’s check the rest of the house first,” Malcolm said, as they continued down the hall and entered the kitchen.
“They left in a hurry,” Malcolm said, pointing to the food boxes sitting on the kitchen table that were rifled through.
They walked through the living room. A coffee cup with liquid still in it was sitting on an end table. Nobody on the ground floor. They went up the stairs with its ornate banister. The first room off the
landing was a small bedroom.
“Looks like a kid’s room,” Ted said. “Comic books. Toys. Twin bed, unmade.”
“Yeah,” Malcolm said. “Two more bedrooms over there.”
The first bedroom was the master. The door was open. They walked in and looked around. “Hell, there’s a water glass still half full here, but you can see that some of it evaporated,” Ted said. “They haven’t been gone long. A few days at most.”
“Looks like it,” Malcolm said. “Let’s check that last bedroom.” He opened the door. Un-made bed, clothes on the floor. “Wow. Smells like sex in here.”
“Yeah,” Ted said. “Bailey?”
“Probably,” Malcolm said. “Let’s go to the basement.”
They hurried down the stairs to the main floor, and walked down the basement stairs. The door was unlocked. There was an old studio in front, with backdrops and props on one side, and cameras and lights sitting on tripods.
“Look at the lines of blood on the floor, coming from that door,” Malcolm said, pointing. They went to it.
“Locked,” Ted said. Then he braced his shoulder and slammed into the door. It didn’t budge, but he tried again, and the door flew open. “Smells like death in here.” He saw the chain for the light and pulled it. Dim light seeped into all the corners.
“Look at the blood on the floor,” Malcolm said. “Looks fresh to me.”
They started to walk in, when they heard the doors in the front and rear of the house crashing open, then a rush of footsteps.
“Son of a bitch,” Malcolm said.
Three FBI agents ran down the basement stairs, guns drawn, pointing at them.
“Don’t move,” the lead agent shouted.
Chapter 6 – Small Pox
“Malcolm Davis,” the lead FBI agent said. He studied Malcolm and Ted, standing with their hands up. “And you must be Ted Crowley.”
“And who might you be?” Malcolm asked calmly.
“Special Agent Sandy Williams,” he said. “Agent Williams to you.” He was a large man in his fifties with a ruddy complexion and a British look.
“Good to meet you,” Ted said. “We called in this location. That how you found the place?”
“Baloney,” the second agent said. He was a smaller man, early thirties with sable hair, closely cut.
“Agent Weiss, stand down,” Agent Williams said. “You and Agent Simone check out the room while I talk to these two. Don’t put your paws all over everything, and watch your step. See all that blood on the floor?”
“We’ve been at this for a while, Williams,” Agent Simone said. He was a lanky man in his late twenties with short black hair.
“Okay, Davis, who’d you tell?” Agent Williams asked.
“Let’s not say,” Ted said. “He’ll get in trouble. He’s taken enough crap due to corrupt FBI guys like Keith.”
“Agent Keith is a fellow agent,” Agent Williams said. “Better watch your mouth.”
“Yeah, you guys figure out how his semen got into the coed?” Malcolm asked.
Agent Williams got a shocked look on his face.
“Oh, didn’t know about that, did you?” Malcolm said. “Your buddy is a real piece of work.”
Agent Williams got on his cell phone and had a hushed conversation as he kept the gun on Malcolm and Ted. Then he put his phone away, a hurt expression on his face. He holstered his gun. “All right. Dammit.”
“So how did you find the place?” Ted asked.
“There was an old station wagon at the storage yard where that cop killer got his motor home,” Agent Williams said. “It was registered to the old lady who used to live here.”
“Don’t tell me, let me guess. Last name Smith?” Malcolm asked.
“Close. Maiden name Smith. Last name was Franks. Who did you tell at the bureau?”
“Can you protect him if we tell you?” Ted asked. “I would have gone through normal channels, but somebody locked us out.”
“Agent Keith’s boss locked you guys out after he found his notes,” Agent Williams said. “I’m not going to find out you guys had something to do with his disappearance, am I?”
“No,” Ted said. “Really. Malcolm and I had our differences with him, but we certainly wouldn’t have killed him over it.”
“Okay, who was the agent?” Agent Williams asked.
“Agent Cooper,” Ted said. “He’s an old friend. And by the way, he doesn’t share bureau info with me.”
“He didn’t tell you guys where this place was?”
“No, I figured that out,” Malcolm said.
“How?” Agent Williams asked.
“Research,” Malcolm said. “Long story. I’ll fill you in later.”
“Hey, Agent Williams,” Agent Simone said.
“What?”
“This big freezer is running,” he said.
“Yeah, and there was a stream of blood from the table next to it,” Agent Weiss said. “Somebody got carved up here, and there wasn’t much effort to clean it up.”
“Is the freezer locked?” Agent Williams asked.
“No,” Agent Simone said.
“Well then open it up, you idiots,” he barked, an exasperated look on his face. “Kids.”
Agent Weiss slowly opened the lid, and then let it drop and ran to the laundry sink. He threw up.
“Stay here,” Agent Williams said, rushing over as Agent Simone opened it all the way.
“Is that Agent Keith?” asked Agent Simone.
“Yeah,” Agent Williams said, a grim look on his face. “Don’t recognize the other two.”
“Mind if I take a look?” Malcolm asked.
Agent Williams picked up a saw and poked at an arm. “Frozen solid. Can you verify your whereabouts for the last week?”
“Yes,” Malcolm said.
“So can I,” Ted said. “I’ve got receipts from my trip here.”
“Okay, come on ahead.” Agent Williams said. They rushed over and looked inside.
Malcolm turned on the flashlight on his phone and shined it into the freezer. “Holy shit.”
“Who?” Ted asked.
“I don’t recognize the other guy who’s cut up, but the one on the bottom is Howard.”
“Well, that explains some things,” Ted said.
Agent Williams took a closer look. “Son of a bitch, didn’t recognize him right away. He was on those YouTube videos, at the scene of the foiled abduction.”
“Yep, that’s half of the Nighthawk Road clan,” Malcolm said. “The other one is heading west on Route 36 in northern Missouri.”
Agent Williams pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll call that in.”
“Sheriff Branson is already there watching, so I’d tie in with him,” Malcolm said.
“Branson? He’s the other guy Agent Keith said was after him,” Agent Williams said.
“You know that’s bullshit, I hope,” Malcolm said. “Agent Keith was dirty. He wanted to set a trap for George Franklin and me.”
“Dammit,” Agent Williams said. “All right, we’ll get this sorted out. You guys will have to go in, though.” He punched a contact on his phone.
“Mind if we look around now?” Ted asked.
“Go ahead,” Agent Williams said. Then he walked away, talking on the phone. Agent Weiss walked back over.
“You all right, son?” Malcolm asked.
“Yeah,” he said sheepishly. “Sorry, wasn’t expecting to see that.”
“This your first crime scene investigation?” Ted asked.
“The first one like this,” he said.
“You’ll get used to it,” Agent Simone said.
Ted and Malcolm started inspecting the room. Malcolm stopped when he got to the corner and squatted, looking at the floor.
“What do you see?” Ted asked.
“See those round spots with no dust? There was something here until recently. Probably got moved in the last few weeks.”
“Looks like the size of film cans,” Ted said.
“Did you see that projector out in the studio?”
“Yeah,” Malcolm said. “Scott’s into all of this history. I’ll bet there’s films of the torso murders in those cans.”
“He obviously took them with him,” Ted said. Malcolm focused on the floor leading away from the corner.
“Look, dolly wheel tracks. He wheeled them right out. That’s what those lines of blood were from out in the studio.”
“Wonder where they are?” Ted asked.
“Well, they might be in Scott’s rig, but he’s in a pretty small Class C now, from what the reports say.”
“Shit, I’ll bet he stashed them at the storage yard,” Ted said.
“You’re probably right,” Malcolm said, grinning. “You know what might be on some of that film, don’t you?”
“What?” Ted asked.
“Black Dahlia,” Malcolm said.
“What are you talking about?” Agent Simone asked, walking over when he heard that.
“Did you guys check to see if Scott had a storage locker at that yard?” Ted asked.
“I don’t know,” Agent Simone said. “Hey, Agent Williams.”
“What?” he asked, taking the phone away from his ear.
“Did the cop killer have a storage locker at that yard where we found the station wagon?”
“Don’t know,” he said. “Let me finish this call, then we’ll talk.” He went back to talking on his phone.
“Could be something on the gravel pit murder too,” Ted said. “If he brought his camera gear with him to California.”
“What the hell are you guys talking about?” Agent Simone said.
“Yeah, what are you talking about?” Agent Williams asked, walking over as he stuck his phone in his pocket.
“See there?” Malcolm said, pointing to the corner. “Film cans. They were removed recently. Look at the dust. They were wheeled out on a dolly. Look at those bloody tracks.”
“There’s a projector in that front room,” Agent Weiss said. “Old one. Collector’s item for sure.”
“You’re thinking there’s some old crimes on those movies?” Agent Williams asked.
“Yeah,” Malcolm said. “You guys check to see if Scott had a storage unit at that yard?”
“We don’t even know for sure if it was Scott,” Agent Williams said.