Long Way Home (Matthew Riker Book 3)

by J. T. Baier

  “Oh my God. What happened to you?”

  Riker made his way over to her desk, trying not to grunt with each exhausting step. “That’s what I’m here to discuss. I think that drug dealer that I brought in the other night has some buddies who were not too happy about the incident.”

  “Have a seat. Tell me what happened.”

  Riker leaned his crutches against the desk and slid into a chair next to her. Megan sat in a chair across the desk. Riker looked around the small station and saw the three of them appeared to be alone.

  “Are you the entire police force?”

  “It sure feels like I am some days, but no. At the moment, we have two officers in the field, and the chief is in his office.” She nodded her head towards an office in the corner with a brass plaque that read Chief Myers.

  “I’m guessing that with such a small force everyone is pretty involved.”

  “Yep, it is a group effort, but the chief really runs the show.” She typed a few strokes on her keyboard. “So, are you going to tell me about the attack?”

  Riker told his story as matter-of-factly as possible, leaving out most of the details that could help identify the men who’d attacked him. He didn’t mention Luke’s involvement at all. As he finished his story, he paused, and he put his hand on the desk to steady himself.

  Alvarez stopped typing. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” He let out a deep breath and shook his head to clear it.

  Megan got up from her seat and put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  “I think I just need a glass of water or maybe some soda. Do you have anything?”

  “I’ll grab you a Sprite.” Alvarez got up and went out a door in the back of the room.

  As soon as the door closed Riker grabbed the keyboard and turned the screen of the computer to face him.

  Megan’s eyes widened. “What are you doing?”

  “I just wanted to get a peek at the files before she had time to close out of the program.”

  “You sly dog. I’ll keep an eye out. Just hurry. She could be back any moment.”

  Riker clicked through the software looking for open case files. Each case was listed with a number as the file name. There was no way to tell what each one was without clicking on it and looking at the report inside.

  He looked at the first file which was an open hit and run. He closed it out and proceeded to the next file.

  “You need more time.” Megan stood up and walked towards the door that Alvarez had gone through.

  “You think you can stall her?”

  “I’m known to be a bit of a chatterbox. I’ll just tell her about what a pain you are. That’ll buy us a few minutes.”

  Riker continued going through the files as fast as he could. They appeared to be in chronological order from the newest to the oldest. He clicked through, but nothing helpful caught his eye. Most were about petty crimes like car break-ins. By the time he was a couple weeks back into the files, he noticed there wasn’t one on the drug dealer he’d stopped in Grant Park.

  He switched his focus from the open files to the closed ones. There were a few drug-related charges, but most of them had been dismissed quickly. No major busts, only small fines or cases dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

  Riker started to type Oscar Kane into the search bar, but he heard someone moving around in the corner office and closed the files, restoring the one Alvarez had been working on. The office door opened just as Riker tilted the monitor back to its original position.

  Chief Myers was younger than Riker had expected him to be, maybe forty. He looked as if he was in good shape for his age and his uniform was pressed and clean. His eyes locked on Riker, then scanned the room for Alvarez.

  “Has someone helped you?” He kept his eyes on Riker and moved his hand to the side of his holster.

  Riker put on his friendliest smile. “Yes, Officer Alvarez is helping me. She just stepped out to grab me a beverage. I’m not getting around so well today.” Riker put his hand on his crutches.

  “You must be Matthew Riker.”

  “At your service. How did you know who I was?”

  “Word spreads fast in a town like this. I heard that you were running around causing a little trouble. Looks like the trouble caught up with you.”

  “I’d say trouble ran right into me. I was just telling Alvarez all about it.”

  The door in the back of the room opened and Megan and Alvarez came out chatting about the new school track. When they saw the chief standing there, the conversation stopped.

  Alvarez broke through the moment of silence. “I see you’ve met Chief Myers.”

  “Not officially.” Riker used the desk and chair to push himself to his feet. He extended a hand towards Myers. “Nice to meet you, Chief.”

  He shook Riker’s hand. “You can call me Joe. Only Alvarez needs to call me Chief. You staying in town long?”

  “No, I’m really just here to pay my respects to Coach Kane. Once I do that, I’ll be on my way.”

  “He was a good man. He did a lot for this town.”

  “Have you had any luck finding his killer?”

  “We haven’t had any major breakthroughs yet, but the case is still open. I’m sorry to say that cases like that usually go unsolved. It appears to be a random act of violence. We might get lucky and have some idiot shoot his mouth off about killing the Coach, but there just isn’t much physical evidence.”

  Riker shook his head. “That’s a shame. I’m sure you’ll do your best.”

  “Of course. I just like to be realistic about things.”

  “I always appreciate a man who is upfront about the way things are.”

  “Nice meeting you. I’m sure Officer Alvarez will take care of you. I’ve got to run.”

  Ten minutes later, Riker and Megan were back in the car, their report filed.

  “Well, did the charade pay off?” Megan asked. “Did you find anything useful?”

  “Yes. I confirmed that things are even worse than I thought. Chief Myers is working with the criminals.”

  16

  Megan drove in silence for nearly a minute. Her voice was tense when she spoke, her eyes fixed on the road ahead of her. “You’re wrong. Joe Myers can’t be working with the criminals. That’s insane.”

  Riker didn’t bother replying to that. Megan clearly needed a moment to work through the implications.

  “Joe is one of the few people in this town fighting for our safety. He coaches Little League. His son was in my class two years ago, and now he’s off studying at Brown. There’s no way.”

  Riker stayed silent, the hint of a smile playing on his lips as he watched his cousin consider this aloud.

  “If he were on the take… Lord, the entire law enforcement budget goes through him. He’s in charge of hiring, firing, where the police patrol and where they don’t.” She turned to Riker, anger in her eyes now. “Are you going to say anything?”

  “You’re figuring it out just fine on your own.”

  She thought for another moment. “How do you know? That he’s working with the criminals, I mean.”

  “I had my suspicions going in, but a couple things confirmed it for me.”

  “Such as?”

  “He recognized me right away, and not from when I was a kid. His eyes went right to my leg. He recognized me by my injuries, which means he knew about the attack before I reported it.”

  Megan opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She clearly didn’t have another explanation for what they’d seen.

  “And then there were the files on the computer,” Riker continued. “I wasn’t able to look very long, but I could see that most of the cases were assigned to Alvarez or one of the other officers. All the drug-related ones I saw were assigned to Chief Myers, and every one of them was marked closed. Most without any charges ever being filed.”

  “Jesus.” Megan let out a weary sigh. “Okay, I’ll admit, that’s more t
han a little suspicious.”

  Riker looked out the window as the car rolled past the high school. It looked empty on this Saturday afternoon, the parking lot deserted but for a single pickup truck parked near the dumpsters. Apparently the wrestling team had canceled their usual Saturday practice due to their coach’s upcoming funeral.

  “Tell me about Chief Myers,” he said.

  Megan thought for a moment. “He came to town about ten years ago. Worked on the force until Chief Raynor passed away, then took his place.”

  “Married?”

  “Divorced. One son.”

  “The kid at Brown. How about the ex-wife? She still in town?”

  Megan nodded. “Works at the library.” She glanced at Riker. “You’re not going to interrogate that poor woman, are you?”

  “No,” Riker said, though the thought had crossed his mind. He wouldn’t act on it; at least not now. “Here’s what’s bothering me. A town Kingsport’s size, five thousand people or so, there’s money to be made in the drug trade. Especially with the opioid crisis in full swing. But enough money to incentivize a police chief to bury every drug case, not to mention a murder? Send your kid to Brown type money?”

  “You think there’s something bigger going on?”

  “I think it’s possible.” He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. They still had a couple hours before the funeral. “Do you know where Chief Myers lives?”

  She shot him a confused look. “About a mile from here. Why?”

  “I wouldn’t mind taking a look around his house. And I’d prefer to do it when I know he’s not there.”

  Megan shook her head and smiled. “You’ve been back two days, and you’ve already got me breaking and entering.”

  “Correction. I’m breaking and entering. You’re waiting in the car.”

  To her credit, she didn’t argue. Two minutes later, she circled the block, pointing out Myer’s house to Riker. Then she dropped him off at the end of the block.

  Riker approached the house casually, walking down the sidewalk until he reached Chief Myer’s home. Like all the other houses on the street, it was a squat, two-story residence that had probably been built in the 1940s. It was well-maintained, and the yard was well-kept, but it was nothing fancy. Nothing that screamed that the owner was on the take from a drug organization. Riker knew that didn’t mean anything. He’d seen millionaires living in cheap, one-bedroom apartments. That scenario was even more likely with those who had made their money illegally and were afraid to spend it. Which was exactly why Riker wanted to get inside the house.

  He approached the front of the house, intending to walk right up to the porch, but something next to the door made him keep walking. It was one of those digital doorbell systems. The kind with a camera built in.

  He cursed softly. For all he knew, Chief Myers could be watching him right now through an app on his phone, wondering why Matthew Riker had gone straight from the police station to his neighborhood. And it wasn’t like the chief would need a good look at his face. The way he was hobbling along on his injured leg would be enough for the captain to recognize him.

  Still, chances were the chief would need to realize someone had been in his home for him to check his app for suspicious passersby. Riker kept walking until he was out of sight of the doorbell camera. Then he checked to make sure he was alone on the street, and he slipped around the house to the backyard.

  His hand was already in his pocket pulling out his bump key before he reached the back door. He had a moment of doubt when he saw the deadbolt--it was a brand he was unfamiliar with and clearly an upgrade over the usual residential fair. Still, he inserted his bump key and gave it a hard rap with the back of his pocket knife. The key turned easily, and Riker was inside a few moments later.

  The house practically screamed divorced man in a way that was so obvious that it made Riker shake his head. The fridge was stocked with beer and frozen pizzas. The pile of unwashed dishes in the sink threatened to topple over and send dirty plates crashing to the floor.

  Riker made his way through the kitchen and got to work. He knew he couldn’t risk spending a lot of time here, so he needed to move fast. If he found what he was hoping to, it would reveal a lot about the chief of the Kingsport police and exactly how deep he was into the criminal world.

  He started in the living room, looking behind the large painting that hung over the mantle. He carefully moved the couch away from the wall far enough to look under it. He checked the mantle for any loose or false bricks, but found none. Then he moved on, heading toward the second story, where he figured the master bedroom would be located.

  As he reached the top of the steps, he paused at an open door to his left. A bedroom had been converted into a home office. And there was a laptop sitting closed on the desk in the center of the room.

  Riker stared at that laptop long and hard. If Chief Myers had any correspondence or records that might implicate his involvement in the drug trade or in Coach Kane’s death, it would likely be on that laptop. He lifted the laptop’s lid and dragged his finger across the touchpad. The screen lit up, prompting him to enter the password.

  He sighed and closed the laptop. As tempting as it was, Riker knew he needed to leave it alone. He wasn’t skilled enough to get into the computer without spending way too long here, and if he took the laptop with him, it would be missed and send Chief Myers into a panic that would quickly lead to him inspecting his door camera footage.

  Riker found the master bedroom at the end of the hall and gave it a quick search. Nothing under the bed or behind the dresser. When he opened the door to the walk-in closet, he smiled. A full-length mirror stood on the wall at the end of the closet. Riker approached, running his hand along the edge of the mirror until he found what he was looking for--a small latch. He pressed it, and the mirror swung open, revealing the large wall-safe hidden behind it.

  Riker stared at the safe for a long moment. He wouldn’t try to crack it--that would take far too long. Simply knowing it was here was enough to give him insight into Chief Myer’s worldview. It told him two important things.

  First, Chief Myers had something he felt was worth hiding and protecting. Possibly information, but more likely cash. Ill-gotten cash he was too afraid to spend, at least all at once.

  Second, it told Riker that Chief Myers was paranoid. As a police officer, Myers would know that the two places burglars spend the most time are the living room and the master bedroom. Someone with that knowledge who really wanted to hide a safe would put it anywhere except those two locations. But Myers didn’t. He wanted the money close to him. He was paranoid about it. Maybe even afraid it would be taken from him.

  Riker gave the safe another long look, then carefully shut the mirror. He needed to find out more information about Chief Myers and his possible connection to the death of Oscar Kane. But that would have to wait. Riker had a funeral to attend.

  17

  After Riker got out of the car and headed for Chief Myers’ house, Megan drove out of the residential neighborhood and back toward the high school. Her mind was reeling from the revelations of the past few minutes, and she needed to be somewhere familiar. If Chief Myers was working with the drug dealers, what did that mean for their town? Did any of her students really stand a chance in life if the system that was supposed to protect them was actually in league with the people who meant them harm?

  When she reached the parking lot, she noticed something that had first caught her eye when she and Riker had passed the school. She hadn’t given it much thought then, but now it seemed more important. A lone pickup truck was sitting in the high school parking lot. Megan recognized that vehicle. It belonged to David Underwood.

  Pulling her Mazda into a parking spot not far from the truck, she got out and approached the other vehicle. She found David lying in the truck’s bed, reading a beat-up paperback. Megan couldn’t see the title of the novel, but she could tell from the portion of the cover she could see that it was science
fiction.

  Though she made no attempt at being quiet, David didn’t look up from the book until she spoke.

  “If you’re trying to be early for class Monday morning, you’re overdoing it.”

  He pulled the book down and looked up with a start. He visibly relaxed when he saw it was Megan. “Oh sorry, Ms. Carter. I was just hanging out here doing some reading.”

  “Good book?”

  “Not really.” He tossed the book down into the truck’s bed. “This alien civilization has the power to travel millions of light-years across the galaxy, and yet they don’t wear clothes?”

  Megan laughed. “Maybe their physiology is different from ours and they don’t need clothes for warmth.”

  He considered that a moment. “I don’t buy it. They’d still need to protect themselves. Seems like they are just as susceptible to bullets as humans. Invent some body armor or something.”

  “A fair point. Is that why you’re hanging out in the school parking lot on a Saturday morning? To criticize old science fiction novels?”

  David shifted his position, leaning against the wall of the truck. “No. I’m used to coming here every Saturday for wrestling. My parents didn’t know it was canceled, and I had a few hours to kill before the funeral. Guess I wasn’t sure where else to go.”

  Megan’s mind flashed back to when she was a little girl, and her cousin Matt was always hanging around, looking for excuses not to go back to his house. He’d help with chores, mow their lawn, and even help her with homework. She’d loved having him around, and at the time she’d not thought there was anything odd about it. It was only looking back years later that she’d realized his true motivation.

  “Is everything all right at home, David?”

  He didn’t answer immediately. “Yes. Er, no. I’m not sure. It’s my dad.” He looked up and saw the concern in Megan’s eyes. “It’s not like he hits me or anything. He’s a pretty cool guy, overall. But his job. I don’t know. I’ve had trouble dealing with it lately.”

  Megan raised an eyebrow. “What’s he do for a living?”