by Robin Mahle
He sat in the bar and downed his second Blue Ribbon. He was being thrifty with what little cash stores that remained.
“Jacob. Hey, man. You all right?” Blake Rhodes pulled up a stool next to him at the bar.
“I didn’t think you were going to show,” Jacob replied.
“I got caught up is all. What’s going on?”
“I was hoping you could answer that. Someone’s threatening to hurt Rachel. And this someone wants money. Only problem is, I don’t know who, what, or how much. So can you shed some light on this? Because I got two days before they do something to her.”
“Jesus. Are you serious?” Blake replied.
“Come on, man. Don’t screw around with me. You know who it is, don’t you? Dude. They might kill her.”
“They aren’t going to kill her.” Blake waved to the bartender.
“So you do know? You’d better tell me, like now.”
The bartender approached.
“I’ll have a Bud Light, thanks.” Blake pulled out his wallet and dropped a five. “Okay, look, I can’t say for sure, but someone might’ve found your name and might’ve tracked down Rachel to get to you.”
“What? Are you serious? Who?”
“I’ll handle it, okay? This is just a big misunderstanding.”
“You think?” Jacob grew angry from his friend, who seemed incredibly blasé, all things considered.
“Relax, Jake, just calm down.”
“I will when you tell me who’s making the threats. What are we talking about here, Blake? Who do you owe money to?”
“Okay, here’s the deal. You remember that project we were working on? That manufacturing plant conversion?”
“Of course I do.”
“Yeah, well, you left before we got the final approvals. And, well, let’s just say that those approvals cost the boss a hefty chunk of change.”
“First of all, I didn’t leave. I was fired. And what do you mean? Like a bribe?”
“Something like that.”
“What the…? Since when do we bribe council members to approve a project?”
“Since the name attached to the funding was a name no one wanted to be associated with. A name people around here are scared of.” Blake tossed back a swig of beer.
“So, what, George bribed an official to move the project along? Okay. If that’s true, why is this person asking for money? And why the hell is he asking me?”
“George might’ve said he needed more than was actually required. Jake, you know how much we lost on that design. We were about to the lose the whole deal until strings were pulled and they got the funding in place. George was just trying to make up for lost earnings.”
“I can’t believe I’m hearing this. Seriously? The firm took money from some shady person or group to bribe officials, then kept some of it? And this involves me how? Cause right now, I’m crapping my pants, wondering if they’re going to hurt Rachel.”
“It’s not just some shady dude. Like I said, I’ll take care of this.” Blake took another drink. “I just need to get them to understand that the money is gone.”
“The money’s gone? This extra money George kept is gone? And these guys think I have it?”
“I thought you disappeared, man. I hadn’t heard from you and I needed to buy time. How did I know they’d find you?”
“Oh my God. You did this? You told them I had the money? How long did you think it’d take them to find Rachel? She works for the damn county.” Jacob tried to steady his nerves. “How much, huh? How much money are they looking for, Blake?”
“Sixty thousand. I can fix this, man, I swear it.”
“Holy mother of God. I have to get to Rachel. I have to get her out of here.” He ripped his wallet from his pocket and dropped a ten on the bar top.
“I wouldn’t do that. If you go there, they’ll be watching you. They’ll follow you wherever you go. Hell, they could be following me, which is why I had someone drop me off here.”
“What am I supposed to do then, Blake? How do I get sixty grand I don’t have? Where’s George?”
“I don’t know. He took off when shit went south. He’s got the money.”
“These people can track me down through Rachel, but not George?”
“That’s because they think you have the money,” Blake replied.
“Well, tell them I don’t. That I don’t have a damn clue what they’re talking about.”
“Look, let me smooth this over. It should’ve never gotten this far. I’m seriously sorry they got you and Rachel involved. Where are you staying? You want to crash with me while we sort this crazy shit out?”
Jacob eyed his former colleague, who he’d thought was his friend. “I’ll find a way to get Rachel out of here. You just get those assholes off my back.”
8
The only hospital in Owensville also housed the morgue, which was where Chloe Dawson’s body had remained for the past three days, waiting to be claimed, waiting to be laid to rest. Although that wasn’t likely to happen until the case was solved, which Riley felt was still well out of reach.
Her search into the boyfriend, Blake Rhodes, hadn’t led her far yet, and upon Chloe’s parents’ arrival, she had to turn over the duties to Ethan, who was still at the station working on it. Right now, she waited with Captain Ward to speak to the girl’s family.
“You’re sure you’re okay to do this?” Ward asked.
“I’m fine. It might help the investigation if I can talk to them. And now that we know who she was dating, we can ask them what they know about Rhodes.”
“I expect them here any minute. You want a coffee or something?”
“Sure. Thanks.” Riley watched him head toward the café while she remained in the lobby. She began to consider the likelihood that this man, Blake Rhodes, was Chloe’s killer. Seemed he would’ve had plenty of opportunity to do the deed elsewhere. Why come back to Owensville to do it? And why at the plant? These were questions that haunted her. And of course, her vision. What did Chloe mean by saying she had to stop him? Stop who?
As the parents entered the hospital, Riley immediately picked up on their debilitating grief. That was the worst part of her gift. Sometimes the emotions were so strong, she couldn’t help but shed tears as well. And for those who didn’t know about her gift, of which there were many, her emotional expressions came off as insincere and patronizing, when in fact, it was the complete opposite.
She started toward them. “Mr. and Mrs. Dawson?”
“Yes, I’m David Dawson and this is my wife, Elizabeth.” He offered his hand.
“I’m Officer Riley Thompson. Captain Ward should be back in just a moment.” And as if she could foresee the future—sometimes she could—Ward approached.
“Here you go.” He handed her the paper cup and turned his attention to the parents. “Evening, I’m Captain Ward.”
“David and Elizabeth Dawson,” the father replied. “Can we see our daughter, please?”
“Yes, of course. Follow me.” Ward started back toward the corridor that led to the morgue.
Riley had been here before and not just as an officer of the law. She’d been here with Carl to see his son, CJ, shortly after he’d been shot dead. But that was fifteen years ago.
“Dr. Trent,” Ward began. “This is Mr. & Mrs. Dawson.”
“Oh, yes. Hello, my condolences.” The doctor offered a greeting. “Right over here.” He directed them toward the chest where Chloe was put on ice.
She was inside a body bag, mostly because her skin was so damaged from the concrete that the raw exposed areas needed to be contained. Chloe was horribly disfigured from the incident.
“I must warn you, she is not in good condition,” the doctor said.
“I filled them in on what happened,” Ward replied.
Elizabeth Dawson moved closer. “Please, just let me see my little girl.”
“Very well.” Dr. Trent unzipped the bag and pulled it open, revealing Chloe’s face. “I
’m so very sorry. She is virtually unrecognizable.”
Elizabeth Dawson clamped her mouth shut with her hand. She buried her head into her husband’s chest and sobbed.
David tried to soothe her but struggled to keep himself together. And Riley felt every agonizing emotion they were feeling. Her heart ached and felt like it was crumbling into bits on the floor. She became overheated, and her face grew red.
“I just need a minute, Captain. I’ll be right back.” Riley had to excuse herself because she would not intrude further on their pain. It was too deep, too personal. She felt like a thief.
Just outside the door, she took a calming breath. It was one of the ways she had learned to block the feelings, refocusing on her breathing, calming her pulse. This was how she maintained composure in times like these. It had taken years to master the technique and she had—mostly. When she returned to the others, the heat in her face subsided. “Please excuse my absence.”
“Officer Thompson has been working on this investigation with me directly,” Ward began. “And we’d like to ask, when you’re ready, if you wouldn’t mind answering some questions for us? We can do it here, in the hospital. Dr. Trent has an office. There’s no need for you to go to the station.”
“Who would do this to her? She was just a child, barely an adult.” David approached Chloe. “I don’t understand. Why was she here in Owensville? We moved more than two years ago from this place.”
“That’s one of the things we’d like to talk to you about, Mr. Dawson,” Riley said.
Elizabeth touched Chloe’s hair. “When can we take her home?”
“Not until all the forensics come back, Mrs. Dawson. I’m sorry. I wish it didn’t have to be that way,” Ward replied. “I’d like to think it would be in another week or so.”
“My God. My daughter has to stay here in this horrible place for another week?” Elizabeth looked to David. “No, we can’t let that happen. We have to make arrangements to get her home.”
“Beth, they have to do this. I know we both want her home, but they need to find who did this to her. And if they need to keep her in order to do that, then that’s the way it has to be.” He looked to the captain. “I’ve seen enough. We can go answer whatever questions you have now.”
Ward nodded and started out the door, holding it open for the others. “Dr. Trent? May we use your office?”
“Of course.” The doctor zipped up the bag again and placed Chloe back inside the chest.
Ward led them to the doctor’s office and closed the door behind them. “We appreciate your willingness to talk to us at what I know must be a very difficult time.”
“You have no idea, Captain,” Elizabeth began. “Do you have children?”
“No, ma’am, I don’t.”
“Then I don’t really think you can come close to understanding what it is we’re going through right now.”
“Of course not.” He eyed Riley for a moment before returning his attention to the Dawsons. “So you weren’t aware that Chloe was here in town?”
“No. She moved out last year, got an apartment. We didn’t get to see her as much as we’d have liked. But from what she said, she was going for a weekend in Terra Haute. I guess to see some friends. And honestly, we hadn’t heard from her since then and that was, oh I guess about a week or so ago.” David looked to Elizabeth. “Isn’t that about right?”
“Yes. She was always on the go, as most young people are.” She wiped away her tears.
“Do you know if she was dating anyone?” Riley asked.
“Nothing serious, from what she’s said, but there was a young man. A few years older than her. I think she was seeing him on occasion. Chloe was a free spirit, not the type to settle down, at least, not at her age,” Elizabeth replied.
“Do you know this man’s name?” Riley had learned not to offer up information, but rather wait for confirmation that what she knew was accurate. And what she wanted to know right now was whether this young man the Dawsons knew about was Blake Rhodes.
“Blake something or other,” David replied. “Did she give you any details on this boy, Beth?”
“Um, yes. I believe it was Blake Reynolds. No. Blake Rhodes. That’s right. It was Blake Rhodes. We never got a chance to meet him. He worked in Indianapolis at an architecture firm, so we figured he must be okay.”
“He was an architect?” Riley asked.
“Yes. I’m sorry, I can’t recall if she ever mentioned the name of the firm he worked for,” Elizabeth said.
“But you say it was in Indianapolis?” Riley pressed on.
“That’s right.”
“Well, we can probably whittle that down and see if we can find out where he works. Might be the best way to track down his whereabouts, unless you know where he lives?” Ward jumped in.
“I’m afraid not. As I said, she wasn’t forthcoming with a lot of information. I assume he must’ve been working on something in Muncie because I don’t know how else they would’ve met,” Elizabeth added.
“Chloe did go to the city quite often,” David said. “There was always something going on there, big city and all. She could’ve met him there, I suppose.”
“Anyone else we should know about? Other friends she spent time with?” Ward asked.
“Not that I can recall off the top of my head. Oh, except Justin Rehnquist. They stayed in touch after school, from what I gathered. But we have a key to her apartment. I suppose you might ought to come take a look,” David replied.
“That could be very helpful, thank you.” Ward turned to Riley. “In fact, we might want to talk to the Muncie police while we’re there, just so we don’t step on toes. And they might have something useful.”
“I agree. I know it’s late, and it wouldn’t take but a couple hours. Would it be okay if we went there tonight?” Riley asked.
“Of course. We want to do everything in our power to help you find our daughter’s killer,” Elizabeth said.
Jacob drove frantically to Rachel’s apartment, his eyes continuing to peer through the rear-view window for any tails. So far, so good. But that didn’t mean no one would be waiting for him at her place. It was a risk to go there, but what choice did he have? They’d threatened her. And no matter that they were no longer together, he couldn’t let this happen to her. She had nothing to do with any of it. Neither did he, but Blake had been his friend and colleague and had now tangled up both of them in this dangerous web.
Her turn-off was just ahead. Jacob veered onto her street and drove slowly along with the dark skies hindering his vision. There would be no way of knowing if these people were holding her right at this very moment. But he would see her car in her parking spot of the apartment building.
His car rolled over the speed bumps as he entered the large complex. Eyes peeled, he drove until arriving in front of her building. Jacob’s heart pounded. What if they were just sitting there, waiting for him? They’d answered the call only hours ago. Perhaps they knew this was where he’d be right at this moment. Blake could have warned them too. He didn’t want to believe it, but this person he used to call friend had framed him for stealing money.
Her red Pontiac Grand Am was parked in the spot. Rachel was here. Well, her car was. “They’re going to know I’m here. They’re probably waiting for me.” Jacob slowed to a stop just behind her car. He feared calling the police, confident they would hurt her if he did. He didn’t know what to do.
Jacob peered at his cell phone and pulled up Rachel’s contact information. “No. They’ll be listening.” There was never a more appropriate time to call Riley than this. She was a cop. She would know what to do. But this was Indianapolis, not Owensville. This city reeked of crime, drugs, and the mafia. “Just go.”
He opened his car door and stepped outside, and as he continued toward the pathway to her building, he peered over his shoulder, wondering if he was being followed. Maybe it would’ve been better if he’d at least been armed. But coming here today, to see his so-call
ed friend, he didn’t think he would end up needing a gun.
The staircase was just ahead and he now stood on the bottom rung. “What the hell am I doing?” But he had to protect her. This was on him, no matter what really happened, and he couldn’t let her suffer for it.
He reached for the iron handrail and started up the steps quietly. It was almost midnight and it appeared most of the residents were sleeping. No lights were on in the windows, not even Rachel’s. This was what really concerned him. If she wasn’t there, then where? Could he call her cell? Would she answer, or would they answer again?
Jacob reached the landing. Twenty paces and he would be standing at her door. But could he continue? He always believed himself to be a brave man, but one never really knew how one would act in situations like this. Would he rise to the occasion? Or would he end up being another Blake Rhodes?
With his shoulders thrust back and his chest puffed, Jacob knocked. He stood waiting, unable to let go the breath in his lungs. No answer. He tried again. One leg was poised behind the other, a stance that would offer some protection should anyone attack. But so far, no one had. And after another minute, it appeared no one would. “Shit.” Rachel wasn’t there, meaning he didn’t know where she was and was helpless to come to her rescue.
He suddenly recalled the key. Jacob still had a key, and by some miracle, it still worked. He walked inside the dark apartment. The light from his phone shining inside, he continued toward the wall to flip the light switch. The kitchen nook lit up. Stunned, Jacob surveyed the damage. They’d destroyed her apartment. Sofas upturned, tables smashed, papers strewn on the floor. “Oh my God.”
The phone call he’d received earlier today frightened him. That was why he met with Blake. But being here now, seeing what they’d done, his fear for her safety intensified. With his phone still in his hand, he called Blake. “Where is she? Where the hell did they take her, Blake?”
“Dude, where are you?”