by Robin Mahle
“Right. I met up with my high school girlfriend.”
“The cop—right. What about her? You think she can help after all?”
“Well, look, man. I didn’t know what do to with this information, but truthfully, I think you should know.”
Blake pushed back in his chair with sudden attention. “Know what?”
“She’s worried about me being here, leaving Owensville so quickly.”
“Why is she worried? Look, I know I initially thought we should turn to her, but now that the deal’s done, if you said something, bro, it would be bad.”
“I didn’t say anything, but she’s very intuitive.”
“Oh. Well, you’ll be able to alleviate her stress after we get this taken care of. What’s the time anyway?”
“Noon.”
“Let me make a call. Maybe I can speed these assholes along and convince them we have a plan in place to get them their money. Maybe we can get you back to Owensville yet tonight.”
“I still won’t have the other 54 grand they want.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” Blake stood from his desk. “I’ll see if I can make contact and get this ball rolling. I’m telling you, dude, it’s a good plan. They’ll go for it if they want to see any money at all.”
“Guess I’ll have to trust you.” Jacob stood in the hall and watched Blake head down to the lobby again. Why he felt the need to make the call in private was yet another red flag. Still, it didn’t seem like he knew about Chloe Dawson. In fact, it didn’t seem like he cared much about what Riley did for a living. Either he was playing it off exceptionally well, to which Jacob would have to give credit, or he really didn’t know, which made this a whole lot more troubling.
Jacob walked to the breakroom and grabbed a Red Bull from the fridge. He popped open the can and chugged it down in one fell swoop. He was tired, hungry, and anxious.
Footsteps sounded in the hall and Blake entered the breakroom. Jacob noted the look on his face. “What is it? You get hold of them or what?”
“Yeah, man, I did.” Blake started inside.
Jacob’s pulse quickened. “They aren’t going to go for it, are they? Did they tell you where she was? Is Rachel safe?”
“Relax, dude. They agreed to come here for the exchange. The six grand for Rachel. And the promise that we’ll deliver the rest of the money by the end of the week.”
“End of the week.” Jacob sighed. “And if we can’t come through?”
“I don’t know, man. But it won’t be just Rachel’s life on the line. It’ll be ours too.”
The plant was always a place that held mystery for Riley since she was trapped here during the night of the EF4. She’d had a connection with the storm, driven by something that she never could explain. A strange connection that frightened her and everyone around her, which included Daniel Ward, her captain. Even now as she and Ethan arrived in Riley’s patrol car, she cast her eyes upon it and saw a dark nature behind the building. It was just a building, she reminded herself. But now, with the murder of Chloe Dawson, it was again more than just a building. It was a place that held dark secrets within it and when it chose to reveal them to her, as it had when the storm came, she would learn of its purpose.
“Riley, what are you waiting for? Let’s go,” Ethan said. “Unless you’re getting a bad vibe?”
“No. No, it’s fine. Come on.” She opened her door and stepped outside into the afternoon sun. It was a bright day for September, much too bright a day to conceal such dark secrets.
“Isn’t that the guy’s truck there?” Ethan asked.
“Yep, he’s here, although I don’t see much work going on. I thought the captain cleared the scene so they could go back to work.”
“He did. Can’t say why no one’s here, except for the manager. Probably something we should ask, hey?”
“Probably.” Riley made her way toward the entrance, and once they stepped inside, she noticed virtually nothing had changed since she was here with Ward after the discovery of Chloe’s body. “Hello? Mr. Bayliss, it’s Officers Thompson and Pruitt.” Her voice echoed inside the massive structure.
A moment later, Roy Bayliss emerged from the rear of the building wearing his hard hat and yellow vest. “Well, hello. I’m sorry, I was in the back. I wasn’t expecting you folks to be here today. What can I do for you?”
“Mr. Bayliss,” Riley started.
“It’s Roy, remember?”
“Sorry. Roy. I had a new development in the murder investigation and I was hoping I might be able to take a look at some of your company records?”
“Well, like what? We’ve turned everything over to you people already.”
“Yes. I know. And we appreciate the cooperation, but I’d like to take a look at your contracts with the other trades. Would that be possible?”
“Why is that, Officer Thompson?”
“Roy, Chloe Dawson was submerged in concrete, had it poured into her mouth. I have to think there would be a record somewhere regarding the concrete company you hired. There might be someone there we need to speak with. Someone who had access to this building and who made the deliveries.”
Bayliss eyed the officers. “Yeah. Okay, sure. Follow me.” He started into the rear of the building again and toward his office. “So you folks don’t have any leads yet as I understand it, is that right?”
“That’s not entirely accurate,” Riley continued. “Which is why we’re here now.”
“Of course.” He walked toward a tall metal filing cabinet and opened the second drawer. “Let me see. Capital Concrete.” Bayliss turned to them. “That’s who’s contracted to do the work here.” He continued in search of the file. “Ah, here we are. If you don’t mind, I’d like for this not to leave my office. You’re welcome to view it here.”
Riley was suspicious but played it off. “Sure, no problem. We really appreciate your cooperation.” She held out her hand and waited for him to give her the file.
“Well, have at it. I’ll be in the yard if you need me.” Bayliss left the officers.
“He doesn’t think we’re all that bright, does he?” Ethan asked.
“Nope. His mistake.” She eyed him. “See any cameras in here?”
He casually scanned the office and shook his head.
“I’ll look at this. Maybe have a look around and see what you can find.” Riley opened the file folder and the top page was a contract issued to Capital Concrete, LLC. She scanned the agreement in search of names and found who appeared to be the president of the company. With her phone in her hand, she snapped a picture of the signature. “I need to find an addendum or bill of sale. Something that shows deliveries and who signed for those deliveries.”
Ethan walked near a credenza. “Take a look in the back of the file. I worked as a file clerk during my senior year in high school. It was for a car dealership and I had to file away the parts receipts. I always filed them in the back, in date order. Worth a shot.”
She flipped to the back of the stack of papers, which looked to be about twenty deep, and smiled. “Have I told you lately how glad I am we’re partners?” She showed him the receipts.
“No. And don’t you forget it.”
Riley took pictures of the deliveries including the dates, times, and who signed for the receipt of the concrete. “Here we go.”
“What’d you find?” Ethan stopped in his tracks.
“An order was placed the day before Chloe was found. It was signed by someone other than Bayliss.”
“One of his guys?”
“Probably. It was supposed to be for the rear yard retaining wall on the north side of the building, according to the receipt. It was a small order, only ten yards.”
“Is there any way to know if there was anything left over from the wall pour?” Ethan asked.
“I don’t know, but I think we need to find this person and talk to him.” Riley started toward the back. “I’ll find Bayliss and ask him where we can find t
he man who signed it. Stay here and keep doing what you’re doing. I’ll keep Bayliss occupied with this.” She made her way outside and held her hand at her forehead to shield the sun from her eyes. “Mr. Bayliss? Can I have a quick word?”
He started toward her. “What is it, Officer Thompson?”
“Can you tell me how to reach Virgil Howard?”
“He’s one of my foremen. What do you want with him?”
“He signed for a concrete delivery the day before we found Chloe Dawson. I’d just like to clarify the use for that concrete.”
“Sure. I can call him in. Might take a while to reach him. I think he’s at another job somewhere in Fort Wayne. I’m not sure.”
“I’ve got time. Thanks.”
12
The window blinds on the second-floor office of Jacob’s former employer snapped shut and he pulled back. “They’re here.”
“Okay, man, just chill. Follow my lead and we’ll get out of this just fine, you understand?”
“Yeah, I understand.” Jacob did, but he also feared he might not make it out of the building alive. And if he didn’t, then Rachel probably wouldn’t either.
“We’ll go downstairs and meet them together. You got the money?” Blake asked.
“I got it. As long as they don’t change the terms of the deal.” He followed Blake to the stairs and both walked down as the kidnappers stood beyond the glass doors of the entrance. They looked exactly as Jacob pictured them, like New York mafia, only this wasn’t New York. This was Indianapolis and it was a city no less dangerous or with fewer problems than New York. And there was no shortage of mafia here.
Blake continued toward the door, a smile plastered on his face as though he was greeting potential clients. “Just act naturally,” he whispered to Jacob.
Upon opening the door, Jacob wore the same forced smile and he knew they’d see through it. They’d see his fear.
“We appreciate your willingness to work with us, gentlemen,” Blake began. “I believe you’ve already spoken to Jacob Biggs.”
Eddie Costa nodded to Jacob. “Mr. Biggs, glad to see you’ve come around. Rhodes says you two have been working hard to find our money, and that an amicable solution awaits.”
“I believe one does.” He returned a greeting, which was nothing more than Costa proving he was the alpha with a bone-crushing handshake.
“Why don’t we go upstairs to the conference room and discuss the proposal I mentioned on the phone.” Blake started back up the steps but stopped when no one followed. “Gentlemen?”
“Maybe we should just do this here. No need to make it more complicated than it needs to be,” Costa replied.
“Okay.” Blake returned to the others.
“Where is she?” Jacob asked. “Where’s Rachel? I have the money, but I need to get her back before I can do anything else.”
Blake eyed him with some measure of disdain.
“I guess there’s no point in pussyfooting around, is there, Jake?” The other man, who still hadn’t offered an introduction, spoke up. “So I’ll get down to brass tacks. Rachel’s fine. She’s being looked after with care. That, I can promise you.”
“Look, mister, whoever you are.” Jacob stood a few inches taller than this man but wasn’t nearly as muscular. “I didn’t take your damn money. My boss did. Blake will tell you the same thing, despite his previous misstatements. So I’m not sure how you got it into your head that I could come up with that kind of cash. I was just an employee here. Low man on the totem pole paying his dues.”
“I thought we had an agreement in place, Rhodes?” The man turned to Blake. “What’s your boy talking about, he ain’t got the money?” He returned his attention to Jacob. “You want your girl back, isn’t that right?”
“Yes.”
“Then I suggest you stick to the plan, or you’ll never see her again.”
Jacob eyed Blake, whose face clearly indicated it would be in his interest not to antagonize this man. But Jacob was pissed. Somehow, he’d gotten wrapped up in this shit storm and so had his ex-girlfriend. “I’m not giving you a dime until you let her go. This has nothing to do with her. It has nothing to do with me either, but I can see that argument isn’t working for you.”
“What is this bullshit, Rhodes? You came to us to make arrangements. Now your boy here is reneging on that?” He pushed closer to Jacob, staring him down.
In that moment, a split-second decision would change the course of Jacob’s life. He threw a powerful right hook that landed hard across the man’s jaw.
He staggered back in shock.
Jacob yanked the man’s gun from his waist, a gun he’d eyed from the moment these guys walked in. And now, he aimed it at both of them.
“What the fuck, dude?” Blake reeled at the bold move.
“Get back, man. I know you’re in on this. For whatever reason, this shit’s falling on me. I don’t know why, but I’m going to find out. Now I suggest you tell me where the hell Rachel is because I bet this magazine is full and I’ll make sure I use every last bullet. And tell your lap dog to drop his gun.” Jacob aimed the weapon at Costa. “Drop it, man.”
“Do as he says,” his partner replied.
Jacob’s heart pounded and it left him feeling queasy. But he couldn’t show any signs of weakness or these guys would pounce and he’d be dead. “Blake, stand over there with them.”
“You’re making a huge mistake, dude. I’m telling you, you got it all wrong.”
“Do I? Why don’t you tell me about Chloe Dawson?”
“Who?”
Jacob noticed the flicker in Blake’s eyes. “Your girlfriend.”
“The fuck are you talking about?”
“The girl who’s dead. You know, had a ton of concrete poured into her mouth. Then was encased in it? I know you’re working with these guys. What did she do? Threaten to expose you?”
Blake’s expression hardened.
“You didn’t know.” Jacob peered at the men on whom his weapon was trained. “She was found in the old Caterpillar plant that’s being refurbished, using the plans we drafted for these pricks.”
Blake turned his attention to the two thugs. “You killed her? She didn’t do anything wrong. What the fuck? You killed her, you sons of bitches!”
“Got no idea what the hell you’re talking about, Rhodes.” Costa returned his attention to Jacob. “As for you, you little shit. You’d better take your shot because if you don’t, your girlfriend will be next.”
“Give me your phone,” Jacob said. “Both of you. Give me your phones now.”
“You got a hell of a set on you, son.” The larger of the two men set his phone on the floor and pushed it toward Jacob. “Give it to him, Eddie.”
Costa laid the phone next to the gun. “Come on, bend down and get them. I dare you.”
“Kick them over to me,” Jacob replied. “Blake, pick up the phones. Don’t touch the gun or I’ll shoot you too.”
“Okay, man. Here.” He handed Jacob the phones.
Jacob stepped closer to the gun that lay on the floor and with his foot, pulled it nearer before picking it up. “Now then, I’ll need you three to have a seat right over here while I make some calls.”
Roy Bayliss shook his head and dropped his phone into his pocket. “I’m sorry, officer. I got his voicemail, but I left him a message.”
“Thank you. I’ll tell you what, we’ll get out of your hair. I’ll keep trying to reach Mr. Howard. I’m sure he’ll be able to answer our questions. Appreciate your time, Mr. Bayliss.” Riley started back inside and caught up with Ethan. “We’re leaving.”
“Okay.” He appeared surprised but followed her out.
She hadn’t said a word until they stepped inside the patrol car and she started the engine. “Did you find anything useful while I was outside?”
“As a matter of fact, I think I did. But why don’t you tell me how your conversation went? Was he surprised, cooperative?”
“Oh, he was c
ooperative. At least, he made it appear that he was. I asked him to call his foreman, Virgil Howard, and he did, but there was no answer. So I said I’d keep trying and Bayliss was obviously troubled by the idea of us reaching out to his foreman. This entire situation is looking really bad.”
“I came across some shady-looking corporate documents and took pictures,” Ethan added.
“Like shady how?”
“Subsidiaries. No parent company listed. It’s worth a look. What are we supposed to do now? Jacob still hasn’t called.”
“No. But he wasn’t supposed to meet those guys until six o’clock. It’s what, like three now?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. We’ll head back to the station. I want to try to call Virgil Howard again and I think we should do a background on him.”
“This is making the hairs on my neck stand on end, Riley.”
“Me too. I can’t fit all the pieces together yet, but I will. I need to know why Chloe was here in the first place. Was she kidnapped? Her apartment had no signs of forced entry. Her car wasn’t there. I think she came here of her own will, but why? And who did she see?”
“Maybe she’s just a pawn and Blake Rhodes is the reason she’s dead.”
“That’s entirely possible, but Jacob said it seemed like Rhodes didn’t know about it.”
“Guess we’ll have to find out,” Ethan replied.
They returned to the station, where Ward stood outside with a coffee in his hand.
“Uh oh, this can’t be good. Captain doesn’t drink coffee this late in the day.” Riley parked her car and the two stepped out.
“How’d you fare at the warehouse?” Ward asked as they approached.
“Got some interesting information. What’s been happening here? You don’t usually have a coffee at three in the afternoon,” Riley replied.
“I got a call from the owner of the plant. You know, the dog food company?”
“The owner?” Not only were the hairs on his neck standing, but now the hair on Ethan’s arms were too.
“He said that a couple of my officers showed up and started harassing one of his employees.”