Behind Her Eyes

by Robin Mahle

  “You can’t trust him, Jacob. You know that. He’s been playing you since the start of this. Please, go back to Carl’s. Let Pryce handle Kelly Hammond, and if Blake is there, then so be it. If you’re there too, you could end up in as much trouble as Blake. He dragged you into this and there’s no telling what he’ll say just to save his own ass.”

  “Riley. I’m sorry. These men won’t stop until they get from me the money or my life. They’ll come after me so long as they think I stole from them. And they might use you to get to me if that fails. I won’t let that happen.” He ended the call and pulled back onto the road.

  “Jacob? Jacob? This isn’t about the money anymore!” Riley shouted into her phone as she stood outside the station house, freezing in the cold night air. “Shit!” She marched back inside.

  “Whoa. What’s wrong with you?” Decker asked.

  “I need to leave.” She ripped the jacket off the back of her chair before brushing past him and back toward the door.

  “Um, okay. Where are you going in case Captain asks?”

  She stopped in her tracks and spun around. “Tell him I have to stop Jacob.” Riley continued outside and stepped into her patrol car.

  Within minutes, she’d arrived at her destination and headed to the front door. She knocked, and a moment later, the porch light flickered on and the door opened.

  “Hey, I need you. Can you come with me?” Riley asked.

  “Where are you going?” Ethan rubbed his eyes. “What time is it anyway?”

  “It’s late. Ethan, I need your help.” She held his gaze with a deadly stare.

  “Okay. I need to put some pants on. I’ll be right back.”

  She waited at the door, peering inside until Ethan returned, fully dressed. “Grab your weapon.”

  He turned back and retrieved his holster before buckling it to his waist. Ethan began to follow her out. “Riley, you need to tell me what the hell is going on.”

  “I’ll fill you in on the drive,” Riley said.

  “The drive to where?”

  “Get in.” Riley stepped inside the car, and after Ethan joined her, turned the ignition and sped down the quiet road.

  Ethan appeared to be waiting for her to reveal their destination and why she was doing this alone at 2:30 in the morning. “You know those guys are supposed to be coming in the morning. Are we going to the plant? Did you get something on a location?”

  “No. We’re going to the city.”

  “Why are we going there?” he asked.

  “Because that’s where Jacob is going.”

  “What?” Ward slammed his fist on his desk.

  “She said she was going to stop Jacob Biggs. I thought he was with Carl Boyd. I have no idea what changed,” Decker replied.

  “You try Pruitt yet? She would go to him for backup.”

  “No, sir. I came straight to you.”

  “I have a feeling I know where she’s going.” Ward picked up his phone. “I’ll call her now. Go on. I’ll take care of this. See what you can do to help the lieutenant.”

  “Yes, sir.” Decker left.

  The captain waited while the line rang, but it went to voicemail. “Damn it!” When the message finished, he spoke. “Riley, you’d better call me back and I mean like pronto, you understand? There are things in motion that I can’t stop. I can only guess where you and Pruitt are headed and you both could be stepping into something I’ll have no control over. Call me back!” He ended the call.

  Lieutenant Moody knocked on the opened door. “Captain Ward, is everything all right?”

  Ward considered telling him, but these were his people. He would get them back. “Yes, it’s fine. Any news on your end?”

  “Pryce has organized a team and they’ll be heading to Kelly Hammond’s home inside the hour. I hope I did the right thing.”

  “What? Of course you did.”

  “I just have a bad feeling about this.”

  “What are you not telling me, Moody?”

  “Look, your officer—Thompson. She’s smart. And I think she might’ve figured out that I don’t entirely trust Pryce.”

  “Okay. Care to tell me why?”

  “I don’t have anything concrete, but maybe after tonight I will.”

  Kelly Hammond stared at the gun now aimed at her and the man who held it, a mediocre structural engineer who was easily led by her husband, the now disappeared George Hammond. “You seem to be a lot of things, Blake, but a killer doesn’t appear to be one of them. George talked about you—the work you did. The way you always kissed his ass. He had zero respect for you. Just thought you might like to know that.”

  Blake chuckled. “I might be a kiss-ass, but I’m not an idiot. You really think your words are going to change my mind? That I’ll just put away the gun and walk out of here? I don’t think you know me at all, Kelly. I know who George is, though. I know he was sleeping with my girlfriend and got her pregnant.” He noticed the glare in her eyes. “Yep. He was cheating on you and then killed the girl because she was carrying his child. My girlfriend.”

  “Doesn’t sound like she was much of a girlfriend if she was cheating on you too. And what gives you the idea George did this? Do you have proof of a relationship? Do you have proof he was the father of this baby?”

  Blake didn’t, and the only evidence he had was hearsay from a man he tried to frame. “I’ll tell you what, you let me know where George is and I’ll ask him.”

  “I told you, I don’t have a goddam clue where my husband is. You want to check my phone? He hasn’t called me in two days. You want me to show you my bank account? Because it’s empty. So you tell me, Blake, do you really think after what George just did that I’d hesitate one iota to tell you where you could find that asshole? And on top of that, you’re calling him a cheater. All the more reason to have you take care of him for me, which is what I assume you want to do. Am I correct?”

  “Mommy?” A girl appeared at the top of the stairs.

  Blake eyed Kelly and noticed panic sweep through her.

  “Go back to bed, sweetheart. Everything’s fine.”

  “You sure about that, Kelly?” Blake eyed the girl. “Hi, sweetheart. I’m a friend of your daddy. Why don’t you come here for a minute?”

  Kelly smiled at her daughter. “Oh, he’s only joking, baby. Go on back to bed now. He’ll be leaving soon.”

  “No, really, I think I’d like to talk to her.” Blake aimed the weapon at Kelly while keeping it from the girl’s sight. “Come here for a second. What’s your name?”

  “Zoe.”

  “Well, hello, Zoe. I’m Blake. I worked for your dad. How old are you?”

  “Six.”

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Zoe. I was just talking to your mom. Do you happen to know where your dad is? I need to give him back something very important. I’m sure he’ll need it.”

  “I know where Daddy’s at. He calls me every day. He had to go away on business, but he’s coming home soon.”

  “Is he? Well, I’m sure you’ll be glad about that. But where is he now?” Blake continued.

  The girl looked at her mother.

  “Your mommy doesn’t seem to know,” Blake said. “So why don’t you tell me?”

  “Blake, she’s six. George hasn’t called her. She’s making that up. I swear to you.”

  “He said he was in Columbus.”

  “Ohio? I see. That sounds exciting. And you say you’ve talked to him?”

  “Sure. He gave me a special phone just so he could call me.”

  “Really? Could I see that phone?” Blake asked.

  “She’s just a child, Blake. This is a game to her. You have to believe me. She doesn’t know where George is.” Kelly looked again to her daughter, trying to convey calm.

  “It’s in my room. I’ll go get it.” The girl turned and ran back up the staircase.

  “Please leave her alone. I’ll tell you what you want to know. I’ll tell you where George is. Just don’t hurt
my children.”

  Just as the girl disappeared up the staircase, a loud crack sounded. The door burst open and men in uniform spilled inside, yelling and shouting orders.

  “Get down!” One of them held an assault rifle and made his way to Blake and Kelly Hammond.

  “Jesus!” Blake dropped his gun.

  “On your knees! On your knees! Both of you. Now!” Another officer rushed inside.

  Two others entered the home.

  “My children!” Kelly yelled. “Don’t hurt them!”

  “Mommy!” Zoe ran back down the stairs, dropping the play phone in her hands.

  One of the officers spun in her direction. The girl screamed and lost her balance. She tumbled down the steps and collapsed on the landing.

  “Zoe!” Kelly stood. “She’s hurt! Help her!”

  “Get down now!” The officer aimed his rifle at her head and approached. “Kelly Hammond, you’re under arrest.”

  “What for?”

  “For the murder of Chloe Dawson.”

  Blake, who was already on his knees with his hands behind his head, looked to her. “What the fuck?”

  “Sir? Sir? Over here!” An officer was attending to the young girl. “We need an ambulance. She’s not breathing, sir!”

  Captain Dave Pryce entered the home and holstered his weapon. “Jesus. Get that girl to a hospital.” He approached the other officers, who were keeping Blake and Kelly at gunpoint.

  “What did you do?” Kelly screamed at him. “My baby! What did you do to her?”

  “You take this one.” Pryce eyed Blake. “I’ll get her out of here.”

  “Yes, sir, Captain.”

  Kelly spilled tears, her face heated as she shouted. “I swear to God, I’ll tell them what you did! You’d better pray my baby is okay.”

  Blake witnessed the exchange as he was being yanked up by the officer. His face masked in confusion. “What the…?”

  24

  The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department headquarters exhibited an orderly mien for a station that was the busiest in the whole of the city. And now Blake Rhodes was part of that outward calm. He was placed in a holding cell for a charge that hadn’t yet been disclosed. What was more troubling was that he didn’t know what had happened to the woman, Kelly Hammond, or her little girl, Zoe.

  The situation had grown out of control. Blake had no way of reaching Jacob to warn him. He was about to find himself in the middle of what appeared to be some sort of setup that could involve George’s wife and Captain Pryce, a theory that seemed beyond anything Blake could have considered. And now he wished he’d never gotten caught up in any of this. But it was much too late for that now.

  There were other, more pressing concerns he pondered at the moment. The idea a captain at the IMPD was behind any of this was beyond troubling. And if Pryce needed to shield himself from exposure, he would do so at any cost, meaning Blake might be here for a while.

  “Rhodes.” An officer stood at the bars of the holding cell.

  Blake approached him. “I’m Blake Rhodes.”

  The officer opened the door. “Come with me.”

  He started toward another area of the vast station house, leaving Blake to wonder where he was being taken. No charges had been set. He knew enough and had been inside enough police stations to know the drill. Though it had been some time, and in his younger years, this seemed out of place. “Am I being charged with something, Officer?”

  The cop peered over his shoulder, eyeing Blake only briefly before returning his attention to his destined path.

  This wasn’t a good sign. The cop wasn’t talking. Hindsight being what it was, Blake considered perhaps he’d given his loyalty to the wrong people. And with Jacob out there on his own, Blake had little doubt he would find himself in a similar situation, perhaps worse.

  Ethan peered at Riley from the corner of his eye. She was weary but imbued with a determination he hadn’t seen in her before. With the late hour, he was concerned for her mental state, and his own, if he was being honest. “Do you want me to drive? You look like you could use a break to close your eyes for a minute.”

  “No, I’m fine. We’re almost there. Do me a favor, though. Try Jacob again for me? I think he’s headed to the Hammond home, but I need to know for sure.”

  “Why would he go there?”

  “Because he’s working with Blake Rhodes. They think they can track down Hammond themselves and my guess is they’ll be after his wife for information.”

  “You mean the wife who’s responsible for Chloe’s death?” Ethan retrieved his cell.

  “Use mine. He’ll be more likely to answer if he thinks it’s me.”

  “Okay.” His tone was laced with exasperation. With the phone to his ear, he waited as the line rang. “Three rings.”

  “Give him a chance. Just wait,” Riley replied.

  “Riley?” Jacob answered.

  “Where are you?” Ethan didn’t correct him but laid into the important question at the heart of the matter.

  “Who’s this?”

  “Ethan. I’m with Riley and we’re headed into the city. Where are you?”

  “Let me talk to Riley.”

  “He’s insisting he speak to you,” Ethan said to her.

  “Put him on speaker.”

  Ethan pressed the speaker button. “You’re on speaker. We need to know where you are, Jacob.”

  “Riley, what are you doing? I told you I would take care of this. You two need to go back to Owensville. I can’t guarantee your safety here.”

  “We’re the trained officers, Jacob,” Riley said. “Tell me you’re not headed to Kelly Hammond’s house.”

  He was silent.

  “That’s that I thought. We’re twenty minutes away. Have you heard from Blake?”

  “No. I tried him but didn’t get an answer.”

  “That’s a bad omen, Jacob. How far away are you? We need to meet up ahead of this and figure out a plan.”

  “Just let me handle this, Riley, okay? I don’t want you here, either of you. Go back home. You have enough to deal with there.”

  She shook her head. “Then we’ll head to her house directly. I won’t let you go there alone. IMPD is sending a team. They may already be there. If you get caught in the crossfire, I don’t know what will happen.” It seemed as though she might have gotten through to him. She eyed Ethan and he appeared to agree.

  “I’m going to the house and you’d be better off if you didn’t follow me.” The line clicked and he was gone.

  “Damn it!” Riley said. “We’ll have to go straight there.”

  “Can we touch base with Ward to find out what’s happening with Pryce’s raid?” Ethan began. “If we get caught up in that, the captain will have our heads. This isn’t our jurisdiction. This isn’t even our case. We’re supposed to be solving the murders of Chloe Dawson and now Justin Rehnquist.”

  “Seems like Kelly Hammond is a big part of solving that. I realize the captain won’t be happy.”

  “That’s the understatement of the year,” Ethan added.

  “We’ll call him now. It’s possible this is already over if Pryce’s team made it ahead of us—and Jacob.”

  Ethan called Ward’s cell phone and placed the call on speaker. The captain answered immediately but spoke before Ethan could get a word out.

  “Riley, you and Pruitt better get back here and I mean now!”

  “Captain, we made contact with Jacob. He’s heading to the Hammond house, where he’s supposed to meet up with Blake Rhodes. They think the wife knows where George Hammond is.”

  “Well, you two are a day late and a dollar short. Pryce’s team already raided the home and placed Rhodes and Mrs. Hammond under arrest. Both are being transported back to the IMPD headquarters. So there’s no need for either of you to be there. Just get your asses back here!” He ended the call.

  Ethan’s mouth hung open. “Yeah, he’s pissed. Riley, it sounds like we’re too late anyway. Maybe
we should go back. You said yourself that your biggest concern was Ward. That you felt he was going to be in danger at the plant.”

  “I know. And I still believe that. But what if this is what I have to do to stop it? What do you think Virgil Howard’s men are going to do when word reaches them about Pryce’s raid on the Hammond home? George Hammond might have left something behind that could implicate Howard and the operation. Pryce has been watching these people for a year. You don’t think he’ll do everything in his power to find proof, real or otherwise? From what I’ve derived from Moody, I don’t think Pryce is beyond doing what he has to do to get what he wants.”

  “That doesn’t solve the current problem. We need to get back.”

  “I can’t, not until we find Jacob. When we bring him back with us, then fine. Job done.”

  “Look, I’ve always stood behind you. If this is what you truly believe needs to happen, then I’ll stand behind you again. Ward can’t fire us both, right?” He spotted her look. “Okay, maybe he can, but I don’t think he will. So we’ll do what you say, go to the house and bring Jacob back with us. I don’t know if any of this will stop Howard and his men from returning to town. Maybe it will if they know we have Jacob under our protection. Or if they know Hammond’s wife is in custody. Time will tell.”

  Jacob pulled up to the Hammond house in Carl’s green monster. He had expected to see the gates closed, but they weren’t. They’d been pushed open and appeared broken, a sign the IMPD had beaten him to the punch. But what remained unclear was Blake’s whereabouts. Had he been taking into custody along with Kelly Hammond?

  He continued inside the grounds and drove along the circular driveway. There was only one car and it didn’t appear to be a cop car. Or if it was, it was unmarked. Had the raid ended already?

  Jacob stepped out of the car and suddenly felt ill-prepared, naked even. No weapon at his disposal. Perhaps he should have waited for Riley and Ethan; at least they were armed officers. He was just a civilian, but one who desperately needed his life back. He might be too late for that now. If Blake was gone and Kelly, where would that leave him?