by PJ Fernor
When Trevor saw me, he pushed from the car and waved.
Lo looked back at me and her cheeks instantly turned red.
I walked down the high set of steps.
“Trevor,” I said.
“Detective,” he said back.
I glanced at Lo. “You have two minutes. I’ll be in the car.”
I walked away, slowly smiling, knowing I just made Lo’s night.
She was going to get a goodbye kiss from her boyfriend.
It didn’t settle well with me, but it was better than her sneaking around.
I got into my car and refused to look Lo’s way.
Tonight’s big plans were simple.
Pick up pizza on the way home.
And think about who could have murdered Jessica.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The next morning, just before noon, Ben knocked on the window that separated our offices.
His face looked surprised and he waved for me to come into his office as he spoke on his desk phone.
As I rushed to his office, I feared the worst.
But I hoped for the best.
A break in the case.
A new piece of evidence.
Something to get us moving again on this case.
“We will be right there,” Ben said.
He hung up the call.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“That was Anthony. From IY Green.”
“Oh?”
“He wants us to come back and talk.”
“Right now?”
“Right now, Allie Down,” Ben said. “I’ll drive. You toss all your theories at me on the way.”
“Deal,” I said.
We hurried out of the station and Ben started to drive before I could put my seatbelt on.
“He just called out of the blue?” I asked.
“That’s right,” Ben said. “Phone rang and it was him. He wanted to talk… to us. In person.”
“In person,” I said. “Maybe it’s a set up.”
“Or a confession.”
“Or something to do with Jerry,” I said. “We have to be alert.”
“We always are,” Ben said.
I had no other theories to talk to him about on the drive to Anthony’s office.
I had wanted to get back into the office and now I had the chance.
When we arrived at the building again, Ben held the door for me and only me this time.
We went to the elevators and when the doors opened, Anthony stood waiting for us.
“A personal greeting too?” I asked.
“I didn’t like the last time we spoke, Detective,” Anthony said. “I wanted to meet you and walk you personally into my office.”
Anthony turned and led the way to his office.
This time, it appeared to be just him.
“Where’s your brother?” Ben asked.
“Giovanni? He’s not exactly equipped for these kinds of things.” Anthony winked. “He tends to get overzealous.”
“So, you’re blaming him for what happened?” I asked.
“No,” Anthony said. “No blame. We just have different approaches. Giovanni gets right to the point. He doesn’t like to waste time. I think he gets that from our grandmother. Did I tell you the story about her?”
“No,” Ben said. “We missed out on that one. I’m not sure if you remember but the last time we were here it was tense and we were sort of kicked out.”
“Well, feel free to stay this time,” Anthony said. “All I want is to help.”
“Why don’t we skip the grandmother story and get to the Jessica story? We know you sent someone to attack her. For Calvin not paying on his debt.”
“What makes you say that?” Anthony asked.
“Don’t do this, Anthony,” Ben said. “You called us here. Why?”
“To clear the air,” Anthony said. “Look, my brother does a lot of the hiring. He finds those like him. Those who are strong and believe in what we do. I take a different approach. I look to the human condition. The spirit. The soul. Call me what you want for that, I don’t care. Giovanni and I go good together. We know how to pull each other back when need be.”
“You didn’t pull him back with Jessica,” I said.
“You think my brother killed that poor woman?” Anthony asked with a laugh.
“Maybe,” Ben said. “We know more than you think we do, Anthony. We’re a heartbeat away from a warrant to tear this place apart.”
“And another away from arresting you and your brother,” I said. “I don’t think loyalty is valued around here as much as you think.”
Anthony put his hands to his desk and curled his lip. “Well, this was a mistake. Here I thought we could talk. Just us. I wanted to explain my family to you. Giovanni has a tough side, but he’s not a murderer. Now, if you think someone that works here murdered that woman… you take it up with that person. For all I know, someone got a little too passionate about their job. It happens, right?”
“No,” Ben said.
“Come on, Detective,” Anthony said with a clean smile. “You’ve never taken things too far yourself? Given a shove or hit when you shouldn’t have?”
“He never cut someone’s hand off,” I said. “Neither have I.”
“What do you think, Detective?” Anthony asked. “I’ve got a hand hidden somewhere here? Okay, fine, come look.”
Anthony started opening his desk drawers one by one.
He was rattled.
We were getting to him.
I glanced at Ben and nodded.
We had to keep pushing.
“Since we’re here and trying to get along, let’s keep looking,” Ben said. “Let’s review everything.”
The door to the office opened.
I looked back and I did a double take.
The man walking into the office could have been a clone of Jerry.
Dressed in black, built like a professional wrestler, and a mean scowl on his face.
Dark, evil eyes that knew nothing of innocence. Tattoos on his forearms.
“Let me guess,” I said, pointing. “You work in finance too, right?”
“Judging again, Detective?” Anthony asked. “You know, my brother was right about you two. This was a big mistake. You two should leave.”
“Well, since we’re here, let’s keep talking,” Ben said.
I kept my eyes on the big guy.
“What your name?” I asked.
“Victor,” he said.
“Are you here for a purpose or to try and scare me?” I asked.
“I have a meeting,” Victor said.
“I’m sure you do,” I said. “Someone to rough up? Kill? Cut off a hand maybe? What’s today’s task, Victor?”
“You both have no idea what you’re doing here,” Anthony said. “Giovanni will be very upset about this meeting.”
“You told us to come here,” I said, setting my sights back on Anthony. “What are you hiding? We know you’re behind Jessica getting attacked. That alone is enough to bring you in. Are you ready for that? You should give your brother a call too.”
Anthony’s cheeks began to turn red.
I had him.
Ben’s phone beeped and he stepped back to take the call.
I was well aware of my surroundings.
Anthony in front of me. Victor behind me.
“You thought you could call us back here to sweet talk us,” I said. “It doesn’t work that way. It’s over, Anthony.”
“If it really was, you would have done something by now,” he said. “Arrest me. Arrest Giovanni. Arrest Victor. Do it.”
“Allie, we have to go,” Ben said.
“Not yet,” I said.
“Allie, right now,” Ben growled.
When I turned and saw his face, I knew something was wrong.
He pointed to the door and nodded.
I gave Anthony one last look. “Don’t go far, Anthony. You don’t want me chasing you down.”
I gave Victor the meanest look I could muster up, then followed Ben out of the office.
“This better be good,” I said. “He was starting to crack.”
“Allie,” Ben snapped.
“What?”
“Someone else has been attacked…”
“Their hand cut off?”
“Yup.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
We arrived at the scene and another detective hurried up to Ben to shake hands.
“Welloski, good to see you.”
“Thanks for calling me on this, Chucky,” Ben said. “Hey, this is Detective Allie Down. My partner in solving crimes. Allie, this is Detective Chucky Brun.”
“Detective Brun,” I said.
“Call me Chucky,” he said.
“Call me Allie,” I said with a smile.
“Done,” Chucky said. “This is a mess over here.”
“What do we have?” I asked.
“Call came in a little while ago,” Chucky said. “Some guy was out here playing frisbee golf. Ever see that?”
“I’ve seen it,” I said.
“I don’t get the point of it,” Chucky said. “Flicking a frisbee at a basket. I don’t know. Grab some clubs and play real golf, right?”
“Chucky, let’s solve some murders before we start talking golf,” Ben said.
“Sorry,” Chucky said. “Just trying to cut the tension. No use, huh?”
“If this is what we think, this is the second murder,” I said. “There’s nothing to be lax about.”
“Not at all,” Chucky said. “Anyway, this guy tosses a frisbee and it goes way out there” - Chucky pointed to a group of trees. “He climbs through the trees and sees blood. Poor guy panicked as he thought he hit someone.”
“With a frisbee?” I asked.
“Allie, these things are heavy and can hurt,” Chucky said.
“Okay then,” I said.
“The guy finds a body on the ground,” Chucky said. “He gets scared and calls for help. He had to be taken away in the ambulance.”
“For what?” Ben asked.
“Chest pains,” Chucky said. “Probably just panic, but he was certain he killed the guy. Thought he cut the guy’s hand off with the frisbee. Sounds outlandish, but it’s the truth.”
“I can’t believe I’m asking this, but is there a chance that’s what happened?” I asked.
“No,” Chucky said. “This body has been here at least overnight. Trust me.”
Chucky moved a few steps in front of us and when the crime scene opened up, I knew what he meant.
This wasn’t a fresh body.
It was a male. Mid-forties. Wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, with a puffy vest over the flannel.
“Binoculars around his neck,” Ben said. “Bird watching?”
“Probably,” Chucky said. “Or maybe spying on some good-looking ladies and got caught.”
“Is that a joke?” I asked.
Chucky’s face dropped. “Sorry about that.”
“Chucky, give us a minute here?” Ben asked.
“Sure.” Chucky showed his hands and backed off.
The man’s left hand was cut off.
“It’s sloppy,” I said and pointed. “Whoever did this…”
“I get it,” Ben said. He looked away. “That’s tough to look at .”
I hated to admit it, but it looked like a movie scene. The tendons and thin skin, loose, uneven like spaghetti. The white of the bone. The blood pooled all around the man.
“Look at his mouth,” Ben said.
My eyes moved and noticed some kind of cloth balled up.
“To keep him from screaming,” Ben said.
“Right,” I said. “This seems like a fit. No frisbee cut his hand off.”
“Not even close,” Ben said.
“He was probably walking through the woods, bird watching. Or maybe looking for deer. I would assume he was out here during daylight. Or at sunset.”
“And someone sees him? Stalks him? Knows he’s going to be here?” I asked. “We need to know his name. The first thing we have to do is run his name with IY Green.”
“You think Anthony is going to give that information up?” Ben asked.
“We’re getting that information, Ben,” I said. “We know that Jessica was attacked by Jerry at Anthony and Giovanni’s orders. She turns up dead, a hand missing. And now this? It’s the same crime scene. Just a different person.”
We stepped out of the way so a photographer could take pictures.
“Let’s go find Chucky and see what else he has,” Ben said.
I kept my eyes on the man as I walked away.
It was a gruesome sight, but more so, it was a human life lost too soon.
There was no need for this man to end up dead like this.
I paused and looked around as Ben kept walking.
I tried to take in the surroundings.
We were about ten minutes from IY Green’s offices.
About twenty minutes away from the park where Jessica had been murdered.
I spotted some of the chain buckets with yellow rims for the frisbee golf course.
Two men stood at the top of a small hill wearing large duffel bags, watching the scene unfold. An officer approached them, arms out, ushering them back and away.
“Allie?”
I blinked a few times and saw Ben waving at me.
“You coming?”
“I’m thinking,” I said. I started to walk again. “What about a car? How did this guy get here? We have to figure out what he was doing here and why. Get his ID.”
“Let’s talk to Chucky before we go touching or demanding anything,” Ben said. “He called me as a favor. He knew I was working on something similar.”
“Okay,” I said.
Ben let out a whistle and Chucky came running over.
“What do we know about him?” I asked. “Name? Address? Occupation? Why was he here? What time was he here? Anyone see anything? Did you find a car? Truck? Bicycle?”
“Whoa,” Chucky said. “One thing at a time. I just sort of got here myself. When I saw what it was, I thought to call Ben.”
“So you have nothing?” I asked.
“I didn’t say that. We found a pickup truck at the southern entrance. We’re going through it now looking for anything. He did not have a wallet or any kind of identification on him.”
“If he was an avid birth watcher, you’d think he’d know better,” Ben said.
“Who knows what the guy was doing in the woods,” Chucky said.
“We need to know,” I said. “That’s our job.”
“I agree, Allie,” Chucky said. “I can tell this means a lot to you. It does to me too. I just can’t picture who would take a hand.”
“Take a hand?” I asked.
Of course…
“The hand is missing,” Chucky said.
“You’re sure about that?” Ben asked.
“As of right now, yes,” Chucky said. “I have my guys scouring the woods. Now, maybe an animal took it…”
“No,” I said. “It’s just like the other one. The hand was cut off and taken.”
“As a souvenir?” Chucky asked.
“Something like that,” I said.
I foolishly asked myself if this could get any worse.
That’s when I heard a voice yell, “Where is he? Show me where he is right now?”
The voice was very familiar.
I looked back and cringed.
What would make this crime scene more interesting?
Johnny Barby was here.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“Johnny Barby,” I said with a sigh.
“Allie Down,” he said back with a smile.
I shook my head. “Do I want to know why you’re here?”
“Got word there’s a dead guy somewhere around here,” he said. “You know how much I like that stuff.”
“A dead guy?” I asked. “That’s a person. A
person with a name, a life… hobbies, dreams, a favorite food. Not just some dead guy.”
“And you’re as touchy as ever,” Johnny said. He looked at Ben. “I’m surprised you’re still alive.”
“Johnny,” Ben said with a nod.
“I thought for sure she was going to bury you alive after our little plan,” Johnny said with a laugh.
“She only hit me in the head with a shovel,” Ben said.
“I like him alive so I can torture him,” I said. Then I shook my head. I couldn’t get caught up in this nonsense talk. “Anyway, we have something serious here.”
“Yeah, I know,” Johnny said. “A dead body.”
“Beyond that, Johnny,” I said. “His hand was cut off and taken.”
“Taken?” Johnny asked. “Maybe an animal grabbed it?”
“No,” I said. “Ben and I are working a similar case. A woman was attacked and had her hand cut off.”
“Wow,” Johnny said. “So, two people, both dead, missing hands.”
“Yeah,” I said.
“Makes you wonder when it’ll happen again,” Johnny said.
“It’s our job to keep it from happening again,” Ben said.
“We have a solid lead on it,” I said. “I just need to get everything I can about this guy.”
“Well, ask away,” Johnny said.
“What?” I asked.
“Why do you think I’m here? I know who it is.”
“How?” Ben asked.
“Let me see him first to make sure,” Johnny said.
He walked toward the woods.
I glanced at Ben and he shrugged his shoulders.
We followed Johnny back to the crime scene.
When he saw the body, he crouched down to cover his mouth with his right hand.
Slowly, he began to shake his head.
“Johnny?” I asked. “Are you okay?”
He stood up and nodded. “Yeah.” He looked left to right, once, and then turned and walked between Ben and me.
We followed him once again, but I wasn’t in the mood for his nonsense games.
I ran up to him and grabbed his arm. “I’m not playing tag with you, Johnny.”
“What’s your theory on this, Allie? You said you had a lead?”
“There’s a loan company that always finds itself in hot water,” I said. “They give out insane loans with insane terms, and if you don’t pay up when they want, you get threatened. They bring in former bodybuilders and get them hooked on drugs and then send these guys out to act like mob muscle. Scaring people, you know? Then it gets more physical. And then…”