Secret Need (The Harper Sisters Book 2)

by Satin Russell

  He noticed the half-read mystery and the nearly empty glass of water on her nightstand. There was a pile of dirty clothes tossed into one corner by the dresser. She didn’t appear to be a fan of doing the laundry. He rummaged through her drawers. Other than a couple pairs of beat up jeans and a large collection of band shirts, there was nothing to discover. No needles in the nightstand, no rubber hoses or belts or anything else that could be used as a tourniquet. No bent or burnt spoons used for dissolving heroin in the kitchen. Not even something as innocuous as any laxatives in the medicine cabinet. Nothing.

  From everything he’d seen, Liz was simply a single woman living a rather sparse and solitary life. He got the feeling that she was a private person. In fact, he already knew through his research that she didn’t keep any profiles on the usual social media sites. And, even though she was single, he’d yet to find any online dating accounts.

  All of which didn’t prove she wasn’t dealing. However, in Matt’s experience, people who dealt with the world of heroin tended to get sucked into using their own product or, at the very least, were surrounded by people who did. If Liz had managed to avoid that pitfall, she’d be a member of a fairly small group. It would speak towards her self-control and discipline. It also contradicted the impression of panic and disarray left down in the garage, with the residue of drugs tossed all over the place.

  He rubbed his forehead. So far, nothing about this case was adding up. He walked over to the window and gazed outside, trying to sort out the pieces of the case that he had so far. He was surprised to find a well-groomed blonde woman in a heated discussion with Officer Carver down in the parking lot. Despite her professional attire, she was barely keeping her cool. On the other hand, it could have something to do with the long sleeves she was wearing. Seemed like an odd choice, given the hot summer day.

  He watched as Officer Carver shook her hand off his arm. Josh looked up and became visibly shaken when he spotted Matt in the window. After a few terse words thrown at the woman, he opened her driver’s side door and insisted she get in.

  She rolled down her window to get in a final parting shot. Her tires kicked up dust from the gravel lot, leaving Josh fuming in a cloud of dust. Minutes later, Matt could hear the other man enter the apartment.

  “Everything okay?”

  Josh gave him an unconvincing smile and shrugged. “Ex-girlfriend. What can I say? She can’t get enough of me.” He laughed. When Matt didn’t respond, he cut his amusement short. “Find anything useful up here?”

  Unwilling to divulge his thoughts, Matt said, “I don’t know yet, but I’m getting an overall impression of who she is.”

  He raised an eyebrow at the derisive snort that came from Josh. “We won’t know anything until the tech guys come through. Speaking of which, if you’re done in here, we can get that started.”

  It wasn’t worth arguing about. “I’m finished here. Go ahead and let them know they can come in now.” He’d learned what he needed from Liz’s apartment. Figuring out how it all fit together would come in due time.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Alex kept Liz’s hand in his as they made their way towards the front door. He knew she was perfectly capable of handling herself, but he regretted that she was there. It was bad enough to be on the run, but to thrust her in this precarious situation made it feel even worse.

  When they neared the entryway, they saw that someone had placed a large pile of boxes in front of the elevator, indicating it was out of order. Flyers, for sale, and help wanted signs were posted in the hallway. Spray painted graffiti was scrawled across every surface and wall as they climbed the stairs. The whole place held an underlying feel of neglect and danger.

  Alex hadn’t let his guard down since they’d left the house, but in this building, he felt an even greater urgency to stay alert. Stress sat heavy on his shoulders and his eyes constantly scanned their surroundings.

  Despite the sense of danger, life permeated the building. The smell of fried onions, garlic, and garbage pervaded the air. They heard a man in one of the apartments yelling at the TV as they passed. Two kids came barreling down the stairs in front of them, laughter trailing after them down the hallway until it was abruptly cut off by the door slamming behind them.

  It dawned on him that he had a lot in common with many of the people in this building. If not for the circumstances of birth and opportunity, he could have found himself living in an apartment just like this. The thought was humbling.

  Together they climbed the stairs to the third floor and made their way down the hallway. He noticed Liz’s hand had grown steadily clammier in his as they approached the last door on the right.

  “3-0-…” Alex flipped what looked like a nine upright from where it had been hanging by a nail, “…6. This is it. Ready?” Now that they were standing in front of the door, they realized it was slightly ajar. She pulled her hand from his grasp and wiped it against her jeans. He noted the deep breath she took to steel herself and admired the determined look projected.

  “Here goes nothing.” She reached up to knock on the door, but Alex stilled her and nodded towards the open door.

  “Let’s not announce ourselves, just in case. I don’t want him to take off running before we’ve had a chance to state our case. We need him to testify.”

  He waited for her nod of consent before reaching for the doorknob and giving it a push. Sure enough, the door swung open easily.

  “Are you sure this is a good idea? Peter might not be the only one living here. It could be dangerous, sneaking up on a person, especially if drugs are involved. I’d rather not get shot.”

  Alex hadn’t thought of that possibility. He shrugged. “Well, there’s nowhere for him to run now that we’re in the apartment. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to let him know we’re here.”

  “Peter? Peter, are you here? It’s me, Liz.” She hesitated in the doorway and waited for a response. Growing bolder, Liz moved further into the room. “Peter?” She turned to Alex. “What do you think? Should we go back into the bedrooms?”

  Alex felt uncomfortable, but figured they’d gone this far. Resigned to see their course of action through, he said, “Stay behind me. Who knows what we’ll find.”

  Liz trailed so closely that she accidentally stepped on his heels. She sent him a sheepish look. “Sorry.”

  The first bedroom was empty but for a stained mattress lying in the corner of the room. Alex hesitated to look too closely at the dark brown marks and backed out of the room. “Not there.”

  They moved to the other bedroom. This time, they opened the door, and discovered a lump under a pile of blankets. Liz pushed passed Alex to get a closer look. “Peter?”

  Alex leaned over the prone form and shook his foot. “Is he breathing?”

  The low groan that came from beneath the covers startled them both into jumping back. Liz laughed unsteadily as she pulled her hand away from her throat. She peeled the blankets away from the sleeping man’s face and gasped. “Peter!”

  The thin man rolled over at the sound of her voice, his bloodshot eyes barely open a slit. “Oh God! No…” He whimpered, pulling the covers over his head. “Please, I didn’t know what to do!”

  Liz gave the blanket another hard tug, trying to get a better look at him, but it only caused him to protest louder. “No! Please don’t haunt me! There was nothing I could do to stop him. I’m sorry he killed you, but if I protested, he’d have killed me too.” Whatever else he said was lost in a babble of sobs and incomprehensible sounds.

  A confused look crossed Liz’s face, before understanding dawned. “He thinks I’m a ghost come back to haunt him.”

  Alex tamped down the urge to yell at the guy. This was taking too long. They needed to get going before anybody else happened upon them.

  Alex reached over and shook Peter’s shoulder, forcing him to roll back over and acknowledge them. “Peter, wake up. I need your help.”

  “Please, forgive me! What have I done?!” the man wai
led.

  Exasperated, Liz ripped the covers from the man’s trembling fingers, her patience as limited as Alex’s. “Peter, dammit. Would you listen to me? I’m not dead! Pull yourself together. You are the only hope I have of staying alive and I need your help.”

  At her declaration, Peter’s eyes widened even further. Reason dawned across his face. It was obvious from the way his pupils were dilated that he was still feeling the effects of whatever drug he was on, but Alex had to give him credit. At least he was attempting to be lucid.

  He let out a watery hiccup. “Liz? Is that really you?”

  Rolling her eyes, Liz gave him a brief smile. “Yeah, it’s me. I’m still alive, for now.”

  “No thanks to you.” Alex would have said more, but it felt a bit like kicking a puppy.

  Liz shot him a disapproving look. “You’re not helping.” She turned back to Peter. “Can you get up? We need to talk.”

  Fifteen long minutes later the three of them stood in the postage-sized kitchen while Peter searched for a clean mug among the dirty dishes in the sink. Peter’s hand shook as he poured the coffee. “I’m sorry, Liz. It’s not that I don’t want to help. I just don’t think I can do it.”

  “But, Peter, without you, it’s just our word against his. And since Josh is a cop…”

  “That’s right, he is. And if he knew I was talking to you right now,” the man gulped, beads of sweat beaded on his forehead. “Look, you were always a good sport. You’ve treated me fairer than I deserved. But Liz, he’ll kill me. I know my life is shit, but it’s still better than the alternative.”

  Alex gritted his teeth. Even he could see the man was scared out of his mind and barely keeping it together. It would be a miracle if Peter’s testimony would be worth anything in court, assuming things did go to trial. Maybe this whole idea had been a mistake.

  Liz must have been thinking the same thing, because she decided to try a new tactic. “What if you didn’t have to testify? If we can get enough evidence against him without your statement, it could work just as well. What do you know about this drug ring? Who was Josh talking to on the phone?”

  Before Liz had finished talking, Peter had started to shake his head. Alex came to the realization that Peter wasn’t going to be much help. He fought the urge to wring his neck.

  Blissfully unaware of the dark thoughts running through Alex’s head, Peter took a sip of coffee and winced when it was still too hot. “All I can tell you is what Josh told me when I got the call to come to your garage. He said the large shipment I lost had been recovered and I had to help retrieve it. I didn’t even realize it was your place until you showed up!”

  Before Liz could respond, Alex leaned in. “Why did he call you?”

  Up to that point, Peter had been focused on Liz, barely acknowledging Alex’s presence. He shot a glance towards Alex before directing his answer to Liz. “Sometimes I don’t make as much money as I think I will on the street, so they give me odd jobs to make up the difference.” He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. “I was in charge of delivering the shipment when I got pulled over.”

  At Alex’s sound of disgust, Peter’s shoulders hunched. “What? They would have killed me if I didn’t help recover the drugs I’d lost. I had no idea what Josh had planned, I swear!”

  “Do they usually let people work off debts like this?” Liz asked, warning Alex with a look to stay quiet.

  “I guess. I’ve been a client for a long time, so they know me. It’s not the first time they’ve had me run an errand for them in exchange for payment.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Never anything this involved, though.”

  “And you have no idea who Josh was talking to? You’re sure? Please, think back. Any small clue could be important.”

  Peter took another gulp of his coffee while he thought about it. “I’m sorry, Liz. I swear I don’t know anything else. Other than the fact that someone told Josh about the car being in your shop…”

  “Someone fed him that information.” Liz turned to Alex. “You were there in the office with me when that vehicle came in. Who else was there?”

  Alex thought about it. “Just you, me, Paul, that kid…”

  “Jimmy.”

  “Yeah, Jimmy, the client…”

  “And Cynthia came in at the end,” she added.

  “Right, and Cynthia. I forgot about her.” He thought for another moment. “I think that was everybody, don’t you?”

  The answer didn’t seem to please Liz, but she nodded anyway. “Yeah, that’s what I remember, too.”

  “Unless someone saw the vehicle being pulled into the parking lot and knew what they were looking for.” Alex didn’t think that was the case, but he couldn’t help but throw her an alternative explanation. He knew it worked when her eyes lit up at the possibility.

  “Oh, that could explain things, right?” Even as she said it, Alex could tell she didn’t actually believe it. Instead of dashing her hopes, he decided to pursue another line of questioning. “Peter, was it you I chased out the front door of the house a few nights ago?”

  Peter began to cough, choking on the sip of coffee he’d taken. After a few moments, he asked, “Was that you?” At Alex’s nod, he continued. “I had no idea, man. All I knew was that someone was chasing me and I had to get out of there fast.”

  “But why were you there in the first place? Were you the one who trashed the house?”

  At that, Peter grimaced. A flush crept up his neck and across his face. “What can I tell you? We were told it was a safe place for us to use. We were sent there to help with the distribution. They gave us a couple blocks of junk and we had to measure it out and stick it into little baggies for resale. In exchange, we earned a few samples for ourselves. It was safer than being on the streets and we’re less likely to get caught.”

  Rage grew in Alex’s chest. The thought of that type of activity happening in one of his father’s properties felt like a violation all over again. “Who?”

  “What?”

  “You said you were told it was a safe place to operate. By whom? Who told you?”

  Hearing the tightly held anger in Alex’s voice, Peter grew visibly more uncomfortable. “Man, I dunno. Jonesy is the one who told me, but I have no idea where he got the information from. I swear! The only reason I was there a couple of days ago was because I was a little light and was hoping I’d be able to scrounge up a fix.”

  Alex crossed his arms, mainly to prevent himself from throttling Peter’s neck. “Well, where does Jonesy hang out? Maybe we can ask him where he’s getting his information.”

  Horror filled Peter’s eyes before his gaze slid away and became intent on the dust-filled corner behind the television. “Jonesy? Um, well…he has a way of moving around between cities. He’s originally from Boston, but I dunno know where he’s hanging out these days.”

  “How convenient for you.” The sinister tone must have hit a nerve because Peter flinched, even though Alex hadn’t made a move towards him.

  Liz, who had been observing the two men during the exchange, stepped between them. She placed a hand on Alex’s chest, afraid of how close to the edge he was. Peter looked at the two of them, clearly uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had gone.

  “D-d-o you think you guys could take off now? It would be bad if someone came and found you here.”

  “Why? Are you expecting somebody?” Alex moved towards him.

  Liz held her ground in the small space between the two men and sent Alex a quelling look. “Sure, Peter. We’ll be going.” The encouraging tone Liz used grated on Alex’s nerves. This guy clearly did not deserve her kindness. She spontaneously grabbed Peter’s hand. “Please think about testifying for us. I promise we will do everything in our power to keep you safe.” She looked around the dingy, empty apartment, her disappointment clearly showing on her face. “We could help you.”

  Peter’s expression softened as he looked down at their joined hands. “You know, I used to have the
biggest crush on you? You were the only person who ever gave a damn about me.” He sighed, his shoulders rounding slightly. Whether in defeat or fear, Alex couldn’t say. “I’ll think about it.”

  Liz nodded and gave his hand a quick squeeze before letting go. “Thank you. I’m not sure how long it’ll be before its safe enough to go to the police, but we’ll try to come back in a few days.”

  “Okay.” Peter escorted them towards the door, as if he’d begun to remember manners long forgotten. As they stood in the hallway, he hesitated. “Be careful. There might be more than one force at play here.”

  Liz cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

  Peter looked down at his feet, unable to meet Liz’s gaze. “After I lost the shipment, Josh acted more than just stressed and angry, he was scared. I think he was getting more pressure than usual. Then I came across Jonesy getting ready to make a run down to Boston. I asked him about it, but he told me to mind my own business.”

  “So, you think we’re dealing with a larger drug ring?”

  His crossed his arms. For a moment, Alex didn’t think he’d answer, but then he said, “I think there’s more than one group of people who are interested in what happens to the drugs here. I’m not sure how everything is related, but you should know you’re probably dealing with more than just a small-town drug ring.”

  “Great. The stakes are higher than we thought. How does this knowledge help us? Alex asked. He didn’t mean for it to sound confrontational, but given how he’d been acting earlier, he wasn’t surprised at the look Liz gave him.

  Again, Peter shrugged and seemed to shrink into himself. “I dunno. Maybe it doesn’t.”

  “Is there anything else you can think of – no matter how minor it may seem – that could be useful? Something we can follow up on?”

  Peter started to shake his head no when he paused. Seeing that he’d thought of something else, Liz leaned forward, but it was Alex he turned to. “Well, again, I don’t know if this makes any sense…but your dad’s house isn’t the first time we’ve used a vacant house or rental as our base of operations.”