by F J messina
“Are you okay? Everything okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s just so good to hear your voice, to talk to you.” She was trying to sound as upbeat as possible. She wasn’t succeeding.
“Come on, Sonia. Tell me the truth. Something up?”
“Oh, it’s just this case. I just found out that another girl is missing. That’s one girl dead for sure, two others missing. God, I wish you were here to help with this.”
“Have no fear, babe. You know what they say about us Marines, ‘From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli.’ Hell, I’m sure Lexington fits in there somewhere between those two places.” In contrast, his voice was full of hope, even joy.
Tears filled the rims of Sonia’s eyes. She let out another sigh, then a tiny laugh. “You’d damn well better be on your way, Marine, and be sure to bring that whole darn NCIS gang with you.”
“I don’t know about that ma’am. If you recall, the Marines are always looking for a few good men, and I’m guessing one good marine is all you’ll need. But heck, if I need to call in a few favors from my NCIS buddies, not a problem. I’ll do it in a heartbeat.”
“So, will I see you tonight?” There was hope in her voice, along with a remnant of pain.
“No, I’m sorry, babe. It’s already too late for me to make any kind of decent connections. I’m booked on an eight o’clock flight out tomorrow. I’ll be home at eleven thirty-two AM. Can I count on you to pick me up at the airport?”
Sonia was still struggling, but her smile radiated through the phone. “You can count on me for a lot more than that, Marine. I’ll be picking you up at eleven thirty-two,” her eyes roamed her apartment, “and you won’t be rid of me until ten o’clock on Monday morning. Maybe later.”
“Sounds great, babe. You have a great night, and I’ll see you before lunch.”
“Can’t wait. Have a safe trip.” She hung up the phone, a quiet smile on her face.
The minutes went by. Sonia kept puttering around her apartment, starting to think more about the meal she would make on Saturday. Something Italian, for sure, it was her specialty. A thought crossed her mind. She realized that she had never asked Brad what airline he was coming in on. In fact, she didn’t even know what city he was coming from. What if the plane was late or something? She couldn’t ask the counter folks anything if she didn’t know the flight number, the airline, even the city of departure. She picked up her phone.
Sonia dialed Brad’s phone but got a recording. “The number you have reached is unavailable. If you would like to leave a message─” She hung up. She was sure she had his number right, it was programmed into her phone. But, sometimes . . . . She dialed again. “The number you have─” Click.
That’s weird. He just called me.
Sonia decided to check the logs on her phone. She looked at the screen. Weird. That’s my last call, but it’s not his number. He must have called me from some other phone. Hmm. Area code 410. I wonder where that is. She dialed the number.
A man answered. “Hello?”
Sonia was perplexed but pressed on. “Hi. I wonder if I could speak to Brad Dunham.”
“Oh, Dunny? He’s not here. He just left.”
“That’s strange. I just received a call from him a few minutes ago. It was from this phone number.”
“Yeah. He said his phone crapped out and he asked if he could use mine.”
“So, his phone’s not working?”
“Not right now. Not until he gets it charged. Can I help you with something?”
“Not really.” She was feeling uncomfortable, not knowing how much to share. She decided to go just a bit further. “I just needed to ask him something about his flight tomorrow.”
“Don’t know much about that.”
“Do you have any idea when he might be back?”
“Actually, no. He just said he had to go and wrap up something with his wife and that he’d be leaving for Kentucky tomorrow.”
The air suddenly disappeared from Sonia’s lungs. She hung up the phone.
At eleven twenty-five Saturday morning, Jet pulled into the parking structure at Blue Grass Airport. She parked, walked across the roadway, and entered the terminal. Turning left, she was almost immediately in front of the escalator down which arriving passengers flowed. The weather was clear, so she was relatively certain the flight that was supposed to arrive at eleven thirty-two would be on time.
A few minutes later, arriving passengers began making their way down the moving staircase. One of the first ones to appear was Brad. Jet watched as he looked around, searching, she assumed, for Sonia. When his eyes found Jet instead he cocked his head.
Brad cleared the escalator with his carry-on baggage in his hand. He walked directly over to Jet. There was confusion on his face and in his voice. “Where’s Sonia?”
Jet’s lips were tight, her answer terse. “She couldn’t make it. She’s out of town. C’mon. I’ll give you a lift back to your place.” She turned and began walking toward the exit.
“Wait. What do you mean she’s out of town?” He reached out and grabbed her elbow. “Where’d she go? Is she okay?”
Jet pulled away and continued toward the sliding doors. All Brad could do was to follow. He caught up with her, grabbed her elbow again and jerked her around. “What’s going on?”
Jet’s blue eyes were ice cold. “Tell you the truth, Brad. I really don’t know.” She spun and ripped her arm free again. “Wait ‘til we get into the car. I’ll try to explain then.”
Neither one spoke until they had reached the car and Jet had pulled the Camry out of the parking structure and through the exit gate. She turned right onto Man-O-War Boulevard. Her knuckles were white on the steering wheel, Brad’s breathing slow and tightly controlled.
As soon as they were clear, Brad spoke. “Now will you tell me what’s going on?” His voice was far from gentle.
Jet didn’t respond at first. Waiting at a stop light, she reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. She found her voice messages and called up the one she had received earlier that morning. She hit PLAY and SPEAKER, and, without looking at him, handed the phone to Brad.
Sonia’s voice came through the phone, loudly enough for them both to hear. It was obvious that Sonia had been crying. “Jet. Hey, something’s come up. I’m on my way up to Cincinnati. Don’t worry. Everyone’s okay. It’s just that . . . well, I’ve just got to be away for a while. Also, somebody needs to pick Brad up from the airport at eleven thirty-two. I don’t know what airline, I don’t even know what city he’s coming from. Could you be a doll and pick him up for me? And please don’t tell him where I’m going. Just say that I had to go do something and that I’ll be in touch as soon as I’m able. Love you, lady.”
The recording ended. Jet shot Brad a look that seemed to fill the car with frost. The message on her face was crystal clear. What’ve you done to her, you bastard? She never said a word.
It did seem to Jet that Brad was honestly confused. When he finally spoke, his voice was noticeably shaky. “You don’t know what this is about? You don’t know what’s happened?”
Jet just shook her head.
“And when did you get this call?”
Jet’s eyes remained on the road as she maneuvered through traffic. “My phone was on SILENT all night. I heard the message around eight-thirty this morning. Apparently, she called at six fifty-four. Sounded like she was already on the road.”
“Well, as soon as you get me home, I’m on my way to Cincinnati.” The tone of Brad’s voice was clearly that of a professional investigator, hot on the trail of a victim or a perpetrator. “I’ll bet she’s at her folks’ place.”
Jet gave him a sideways glance. “Oh, no you don’t, cowboy.” Her voice became accusatory. “You didn’t hear her ask me to not tell you where she was?”
Brad just looked at her, stunned.
Jet’s voice was steel. “Now you listen.” She turned left onto Harrodsburg Road. “The only reason I told yo
u where she went was so that you wouldn’t go off the deep end and do something stupid.” She gave him another quick, nasty look. “I know all about you, and your guns and crap like that; and I don’t want anybody getting hurt. So, what you’re going to do when I drop your ass off at your place is just sit the hell still and wait for her to call you.”
He rose up in his seat. “But─”
“But nothing.” Jet was just barely holding herself in check. The vein that ran down her forehead was popping up. “She said she’d call when she was ready, and that’s exactly what you’re going to wait for. You understand?”
Jet could tell that Brad was fuming, but he didn’t respond. Neither one of them said another word until Jet had gotten Brad back to his place, a nice house on a street off Tates Creek Road. He reached into the back to grab his bag and then closed the door softly, clearly working hard to control his frustration. Jet rolled down the window. “Now you just sit there and wait for her to call one of us. Don’t you dare go up to Cincinnati. She doesn’t want to see you right now, and she’s not going to. You’ll see her when she’s ready . . . if that time ever comes.” Jet stomped on the Camry’s gas pedal and it took off as fast as it’s little four-cylinder engine could carry it. A small chirp from her tires put an exclamation point on their conversation.
38
Sonia spent the weekend in Cincinnati. However, fearing that Brad would come looking for her, she chose to crash with her sister Tee and Tee’s roommates rather than stay with her parents. It was a little weird for her to be back in a tiny apartment near the university, but she had to admit that it felt good to be surrounded by lots of activity.
Sonia and her sister drank lots of coffee and Tee listened patiently while Sonia tried to work out in her mind how Brad could have seemed so in love with her while he was married to another woman. Tee was kind enough to not bring up the fact that John Eckel had left Sonia standing at the altar several years earlier, but eventually, Sonia brought it up herself. It was a weekend full of tears and tissues and something Sonia hadn’t been very familiar with before moving to Lexington, bourbon.
At ten o’clock on Monday morning, Sonia looked up from her desk and watched Jet walk into their offices. Jet stopped for a moment then continued walking directly into Sonia’s workspace. “I was hoping I would hear from you over the weekend.”
Sonia took a sip of coffee that had already turned cold. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t handle it. I needed time to think. Thanks for just giving me space.”
Jet sat down tentatively on the edge of the chair across from Sonia’s desk. “Wasn’t easy. And now? Can we talk now?” Her voice was soft, gentle.
Sonia picked up some notes she had been working on, tapped them into a tidy rectangle, then moved them to the corner of her always-neat desk. “I’m here and I’m ready to work.”
Jet paused, then looked at Sonia with caring in her eyes. “Look, sweets. If you’re not able to tell me what’s going on yet I’ll wait. But you’re going to have to do it sometime and the sooner you do, the sooner you and I are going to be able to start making things better for you. So, what do you say? Can we do it now?”
Before she could say a word, tears began to roll down Sonia’s face. Her voice vacillated between broken and angry. She explained to Jet how she had found out that Brad was still married to someone else and that she didn’t even know where that person was. Jet filled in the blank for her, saying that Brad had flown in from Baltimore. When Jet asked Sonia what she planned to do, Sonia stopped and thought for a moment. She used a scrunched tissue to wipe a tear off her face, being careful not to smudge her mascara. “At this point, I have to put our work ahead of everything else.” She reached deep and bore down. “I want nothing else to do with Brad Dunham. Let’s go find those girls. Their lives are a lot more important than my crummy love life.”
Jet didn’t respond and Sonia sat silently as well. After a long moment, Sonia sat tall and took a deep breath. “And there’s something else I need to tell you.” She took another, shorter breath. “I think I’m being followed.”
Jet stood up straight, her eyes open wide. “What?” Her voice bounced off the plaster and glass walls of the tiny office. “When? Where? For how long?”
Sonia started slowly. “I’m not sure when it started, but this weekend, when I was with Tee, my mind just kept cranking and cranking over things, so many things I could hardly keep anything straight.” She started speaking more quickly. “But one thing that kept pushing itself to the forefront of my mind was this black BMW convertible. It was parked outside my apartment the night I found out about Brad, but I’ve seen it before, several times.” She went on to tell Jet about seeing the car on the street, seemingly following her, and in the parking lot across from Magee’s. “In fact, wasn’t it a black car that splashed me outside of Papi’s?” She stopped.
“Son-of-a-bitch.” Jet’s anger flowed through her words.
Sonia’s voice turned darker, even more serious. “There was even one night I thought I saw a man standing at the back of the parking lot when we left the office, but when I took a second look, he was gone.”
“And did you get a good look at him?” Jet began pacing around the tiny office. “Can you describe him?”
“No, other than he’s tall.” Sonia felt caught between anger and exhaustion. “But the more I think about it, the more I know I’m right. Somehow, for some reason, someone is following me.” She looked directly up at Jet. “Maybe following both of us.”
Jet’s fists were tight, her voice even tighter. “Somehow, for some reason? You know the reason, Sonia. Someone has done something terrible to Mariana and they don’t want us to find out who it is.” Jet leaned down and banged her fist on the desk. “And we’re not going to let that happen. Damnit, we’re going to find him.” She paused and stood straight. “Look. We’re licensed PIs and we can run license plates. We’re going to check the registrations and owners on every black BMW convertible in Lexington, in all of central Kentucky. We’ll catch that son-of-a-bitch, and when we do we’ll find Mariana, too.”
Sadly, the first thought that crossed Sonia’s mind was that part of her wanted desperately to turn to Brad for help, but she knew in her heart she would never turn to him again─ever. The second thought that crossed her mind was that it was less likely than ever that when they found Mariana she would be alive.
Things seemed like they were stuck on PAUSE for Sonia over the next two days. Brad kept calling, leaving messages all but begging for a chance to meet with Sonia. She simply refused to respond. The same felt true for their investigations. Try as they may, call after call seemed to lead them nowhere in their efforts to find Mariana and Penny Rae. An exhaustive search of license plate numbers connected with black BMW convertibles turned up not a single name or other piece of information that could help them discover who was following Sonia.
Finally, on Tuesday afternoon, Jet walked into Sonia’s office. Sonia could tell by the gray pallor of Jet’s face that the news was not good. She asked tentatively. “What?”
“I just got off the phone with Franklin Hayes, the farm manager at Holdenbrook Farm. It seems that over the weekend some hikers in the Green Mountain National Forest found a shallow grave. They’ve just identified the body as Penny Rae Nelson’s.”
Sonia sat silent, her eyes drifting absently to the waiting area, the weight of yet another loss crushing downward on her. Her fingers drummed a tiny pattern on her desk.
Jet dropped her purse on Sonia’s desk. “I guess that’s it then. We’re down to hoping to find Mariana alive.”
Sonia’s eyes regained focus as she turned to Jet. “Well . . . wait.” Even with the painful news, there was a tiny bit of hope in her voice. “Has any new information come out of the investigation, now that they know what happened to Penny Rae?”
Jet took her normal seat across from Sonia, her head shaking solemnly. “I guess not. The only thing we know for sure, other than that she’s dead, is that whoever abduct
ed her drove her car to Vermont. Apparently, he buried her in the forest then drove her car into town and left it in the parking lot of the bus station. Of course, the car was wiped clean of prints, and Penny was strangled, so there was no blood.”
Sonia stood up and walked over to the whiteboard she had just installed on the exterior brick wall in her office, just to the left of the armoire she used as a closet. “So,” she spoke slowly as she wrote on the whiteboard, “why does the guy drive the car all the way to Vermont?”
“I don’t know.” Jet shrugged. “Maybe just to get far enough away from the scene of the crime? Maybe he already knew about the national forest.”
“And what about the bus station? Why leave the car at the bus station?” Sonia was still staring at the whiteboard as if there was some answer there she just couldn’t see.
Jet’s level of engagement was increasing. “Maybe it means nothing. Maybe he figured no one would notice it for a long time, like if someone took a one- or two-day trip.”
Sonia could feel herself coming alive. She turned to Jet. “Think about it. Somebody finds Penny Rae somewhere, at work, outside her apartment, somewhere. He kills her, then puts her in her own car and drives her somewhere, making it look like she’s simply gone away.”
“Yeah, I get that.”
“So, how does he get back?” Though she was standing, Sonia’s toe began tapping. “He killed her near Saratoga Springs, maybe right outside her apartment. He drives her to Vermont. How does he get back to New York?”
Jet’s face lit up. “He takes the damn Greyhound Bus.”
Sonia walked from the whiteboard over to Jet and leaned over her, wagging her finger. “That’s right. The son-of-a-gun rode the Greyhound back to New York. Somehow, he took the bus from Bennington, Vermont to Saratoga Springs, New York, if,” her voice faded downward, “that’s where he killed her.”