Secret Need (The Harper Sisters Book 2)

by Satin Russell

  Alex sounded incensed. “You’re kidding me! I would have thought a rash of houses being broken into would have made the local news.”

  “We don’t usually stay more than a week, and we’re supposed to clean up after ourselves when we’re finished. You showed up right after we moved on to the next place but before we cleaned it up.”

  Peter’s voice had become taken on a whining tone that set Alex’s teeth on edge. He took a deep breath and strove for patience. “Could you tell us where some of the other locations have been?”

  Peter hesitated before nodding. He turned and scrounged up a scrap piece of paper from the living room table, a delivery flyer for a local pizza place. After another moment, he found something to write with and scrawled three other addresses down before handing it to him.

  “That’s all I can remember.”

  “How long ago did you use these places?” Alex asked as he looked down at the information.

  The other man shrugged. He gestured to the first one on the list. “That one was about a year ago. The other ones were more recent. Like I said, we never stay at any of them for long and I’ve never gone to the same one twice.”

  Liz turned to Alex. “Sounds fairly sophisticated, if they have access to all these places and are smart enough to clean up after themselves.”

  “Yeah, it doesn’t sound like your typical druggie – no offense.” Alex gave Peter an apologetic look but Pete just shrugged the comment off. He looked like he was trying to slink back into the apartment.

  Liz continued. “Plus, you have to take into account that they have Josh working for them. A cop on the force is advantageous. The person leading this group is smart and keeping their distance from the action, using Josh to do the dirty work.”

  Alex grimaced. “And smart makes them even more dangerous.”

  “Exactly.” Liz asked Peter to consider what they’d discussed and assured him they’d be back in a few days no matter what. Whether it was the topic they’d been discussing or the events from the night before, they weren’t surprised to hear the lock slide into place from the other side of the door.

  Neither of them noticed the shadow that moved across the peephole of the door across the hallway as they left.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “What do you mean you can’t find them?”

  “Exactly what I said. We almost had them a couple of days ago, but since then they’ve disappeared.”

  “Have you been monitoring all her contacts?”

  Josh let a sliver of irritation creep into his voice. “Of course. The entire police department has been watching all known associates, including Detective Clark. I’m telling you, she made that initial phone call yesterday, but they’d already left the warehouse by the time we got there. There’s been nothing since.”

  “Maybe he has another phone on him.”

  He shrugged. “It’s possible, but I don’t see how unless he had it before this whole incident began. He hasn’t stopped into any convenience stores that I know of, and all his movements have been accounted for.”

  The sigh that came over the line had Josh gritting his teeth. “Stay on it. They have to slip up at some point, and when they do we need to get to them before the cops.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to bring our little birdie in and see if he knows anything.”

  “Won’t that blow your cover? Right now, he has no idea who you are, just that you exist.”

  “Oh, he won’t be sticking around long enough to tell anybody, don’t worry.”

  Josh looked at his phone after he heard the click. Poor guy. He almost felt sorry for him.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Liz stalked down the hallway fuming. Misreading her anger for frustration, Alex reached for her. “Don’t worry, Liz. We’ll figure something out.” She pulled her hand back before he could hold it.

  “You didn’t exactly help the situation, did you? Or did you think bullying him would be the fastest way to get what you wanted?”

  Alex stopped mid-stride and stared at her. “What are you talking about?”

  “Seriously? I’m talking about the way you went in there and tried to coerce Peter into helping us. The entire point of going to the apartment was to enlist his help, not harass him further. Did you actually think the best way to get his cooperation was to throw your weight around?”

  “Throw my weight…? Liz, you’re forgetting the guy left us to die! What did you expect? That’d I’d pat him on the head and assure him it was all water under the bridge?”

  “No, but I did expect you to appreciate the precarious position he’s in and try to have a little empathy. Especially considering the fact we were asking him to put his life on the line and testify on our behalf.” She turned and kept walking. “It’s not as if he got in this situation in a vacuum. It was exactly this type of behavior that set him on this road in the first place.”

  Alex’s jaw tightened. “I don’t know who you think I am, or what I’ve done, but I’m getting tired of being typecast into this role you seem to have made for me. I’m not the bad guy here, Liz. In fact, I think I’ve proven time and again that I’m on your side. Honestly, I don’t know what more I can do to convince you of that.”

  She wished she knew what it would take. Not knowing how to respond, Liz continued down the stairs and stepped out of the front entrance. She inhaled deeply trying to release her frustration and anger. The fresh air was a relief after the smells permeating the hallway they’d just exited.

  They were back to square one.

  Alex looked like he wanted to continue their conversation, but stopped when he noticed flashing lights down the block. “Looks like we may have lost our ride.” Her pulse jumped to a staccato of panic and adrenaline.

  Grabbing her elbow, he quickly steered her in the other direction, back behind the apartment building. They both picked up their pace. Alex cast her a sideways look. “How fast can you get us another vehicle without being obvious?”

  They walked a few blocks, making their way over to the next neighborhood. All the while, Liz scanned the cars parked around them. “I’m not sure. It’s not like I’ve had a lot of practice boosting cars. A lot depends on the type of car we can find.”

  Two blocks over, Liz found what she was looking for. She led Alex towards an old, dark-green Chevy Citation. “Keep an eye out for me, would you?”

  While Alex turned his attention towards the windows looking down at them from all sides, Liz cast about until she found a rock from one of the nearby lawns. Three sharp raps shattered the rear driver’s side window. She swept the broken glass aside with care and reached in to unlock the door. Stealing another car left a bad taste in her mouth. She regretted there wasn’t an alternative.

  Crouching down by the curb, she pulled the wires from the steering wheel base. A moment later, the vehicle was running. Alex leaned into the open driver’s side door. “Maybe you should let me drive; that way you can stay hunched down in the seat and out of sight.”

  Liz would rather have been the one in control, but realized he was right. For the first few minutes, all they could think about was getting away unseen. Alex made a number of turns before finally reaching the main road.

  With the immediate danger behind them, an awkward silence descended upon the car. Nearly being caught had paused their argument, but now her mistrust had her shifting uncomfortably.

  Instead of addressing it, she turned her thoughts to their larger problems, mentally cataloguing what they knew so far. Other than Peter, there was Jonesy, Josh, and one other person that they knew was operating the drug ring in Maine.

  That unknown person must either spend a lot of time in the area or is locally based, otherwise they wouldn’t know what houses were available for their distribution operation. “You know, the amount of properties involved has me thinking they have to have a real estate agent or property manager on the payroll. Didn’t you say your dad’s agent was Cynthia?”

/>   She watched as Alex clenched his jaw. “I don’t see it.” Of course, her implicating his ex-girlfriend would bother him. The image of the two of them talking in the café floated through her mind.

  She would have continued to make her case, but the shake of his head cut her off. “Look, I know you two have history, but there are a couple of reasons why I don’t think it’s her,” he said. “First, why would she leave a house that she’s representing in the state I found it in? Wouldn’t that just expose her? If she was dealing drugs, you’d think she’d want to keep a lower profile.”

  Liz didn’t want to admit it, but he had a point. If the name of the game was to fly under the radar, leaving a house that was obviously being used for drugs didn’t make sense. On the other hand, having a real estate agent involved would help insure the house wasn’t shown to customers until it was put back in order. “Okay. You might have a point, but having a real estate agent could work both ways. What’s your other reason?”

  Alex gripped the wheel. “You know Josh. Do you honestly think he’d allow himself to be in a position where he answered to Cynthia?”

  The minute he said it, Liz knew he was right. There was no way a male chauvinist like Josh would answer to a female. Maybe the fact that she disliked the woman really was clouding her judgment.

  Hell, Peter said this group was most likely connected to a drug ring based in Boston or an even larger city to the south. Maybe the person they were looking for wasn’t even local. They’d seen how relieved Josh had been to find the car in Liz’s garage, which means they must have been under quite a bit of pressure from the bigger group.

  Desperate and dangerous did not sound like a good mix, especially where Josh was concerned. Back in high school, she knew that he’d always played fiercest when their team was down a few points and he was backed into a corner. A life and death situation involving drugs would only make his response more cutthroat.

  What she needed was more evidence, preferably a witness that could and would be willing to testify against a police officer, and a way of bringing this all to the authorities in such a way that they would be willing to listen before arresting her and throwing her in jail.

  No sweat.

  Liz must have chuckled at the dark turn her thoughts had taken because Alex glanced down at her. “What’s so funny?”

  “Honestly? Nothing. I think my fatalistic sense of humor is getting the best of me.” She winced as she shifted and tried to rub the knot out of her calf. “How much farther, anyway?”

  “Well, I had a thought about that. Think you can handle being down there for a while longer?”

  Liz bit back her disgruntlement. “Why?”

  “I thought we could go check out the locations on this list. There might be a commonality between them.”

  She was still frustrated with him. The last thing she wanted to do was spend a couple of cramped, uncomfortable hours in the car driving place to place, especially while sitting on the floor. On the other hand, how could they afford not to?

  “Fine.”

  “We don’t have to. It was just a suggestion.”

  “No, you’re right. Let’s get going.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Matt mulled over the facts in the case. He stepped back from the board, hoping something would be illuminated from the new perspective. The problem was, everything felt like conjecture at this point. There just wasn’t enough information to formulate a clear picture of the situation.

  “Sir, you wanted to see me?” Josh glanced around the room before settling on the photo of Liz Harper pinned up in front of him.

  “I did. I was looking through the department’s cases concerning suspected drug activity. I noticed your name came up on a recent one. What can you tell me about it?”

  “Not much more than what I recorded, sir. I got a call to investigate a house that had been broken into and vandalized. When I arrived, there was evidence that it had been used by a couple of druggies. Some paraphernalia, a couple of sleeping bags…the usual.”

  “Is that sort of thing common here in Bath?”

  “I wouldn’t say common, but it happens more every day.” Josh hovered in the doorway. Matt could feel the other man watching as he rifled through the papers on his desk. He waited and let the silence fill the room.

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure…” Matt’s pulse picked up. Now they were getting somewhere.

  “Why has the MDEA been investigating the garage to begin with?”

  He debated just how much to tell him. There had been enough incidents in the past few months that he’d begun to suspect a leak in the department. On the other hand, he still needed the local law enforcement to trust him.

  Deciding to relay the facts already on record, Matt said, “In the past eighteen months, we’ve confiscated three other vehicles that had hidden compartments in them. We suspected they were being used to transport drugs, but didn’t find anything at the time.”

  “What did you find?”

  “All three had the same quality of workmanship. Whoever had built those compartments knew what they were doing. Then we lucked out. One of the pieces used still had a part of a serial number on it. From there we were able trace it back to a delivery made to Bath, ME. Since there are only two mechanics working in and around this town, we were able to narrow the search significantly.

  Seeing an opportunity, Matt decided to ask Josh a few questions. “What are your impressions of Liz Harper?”

  “Sir?”

  “Liz Harper. I noticed you corrected me earlier about her name. I’m assuming you’re familiar with our main suspect.”

  “It’s a small town. We went to high school together. She’s always been a social outcast. Has lived and breathed that car shop for as long as I can remember. Her parents died a few years back, when she was a junior or senior. Can’t remember the exact timing.”

  “Do you think she could be guilty of this?”

  “Absolutely.”

  At that, Matt looked up from his notes. “Really? That certain?”

  “I have no doubt in my mind, sir.”

  A warning bell went off in Matt’s mind. Something was off about the other man’s conviction. Taking pains to conceal his thoughts, Matt continued. “What about Mason? What do you think about him?”

  “You mean other than him being some hot-shot city slicker who has the Chief convinced he’s God’s gift?”

  “Not much of a fan, huh?”

  “Let’s just say, he never would have been hired if it hadn’t been for that little incident this past winter.”

  “You mean the one where he caught the stalker that killed his partner and saved the woman he’s currently dating? The one who also happens to be Liz’ sister?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “From what I understand, there was an investigation into the matter and he was cleared of any wrongdoing.”

  “The suspect died, and it wasn’t even his jurisdiction. If you ask me, Mason got off easy. Some judge probably had a pity party for him.” Josh leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms. “Still doesn’t negate the fact the guy is a pompous dick. Excuse my language, sir. I wouldn’t be surprised if he knows a lot more than he’s letting on.”

  “I see. It does seem like the Harper sisters have had a lot going on recently. Well, thank you for providing me with your insight, Officer Carver.”

  Josh gave Matt a smirk. “Anytime.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Hours later, Liz threw herself down on the couch. “I don’t get it.”

  “Get what?”

  “As far as I can tell, none of those locations had anything in common.”

  “Yeah, I don’t know what I was expecting. I was hoping something would pop out at us.”

  It was the most words they’d spoken to each other in hours. The argument they’d had earlier still sat between them, sucking all the air out of the room. Despite spending all day in the car with each ot
her, things hadn’t gotten any easier between them. Their conversations had been stiff and overly polite. Neither one of them seemed capable of talking about anything more than the weather, traffic, or the case.

  After another moment, Liz groaned and got up from the couch. “My back is killing me. I’m going to go take a hot shower. Maybe it will help get some of the knots out of my muscles.”

  “Fine. I’ll get dinner started.”

  Forty minutes later, Liz assessed the soup and sandwiches and sat down at the table. “Looks good.”

  “Nothing fancy. Would be nice to have Olivia here with us. Bet she could cook up a feast while on the run.”

  “I’m sure.” Liz took a huge bite of her BLT and slowly chewed.

  For the first few moments, neither one of them said a word. Finally, Alex sat back in his chair. “Look. I’m sorry if you think I was too hard on Peter.”

  “You were.”

  Frustration flashed in his eyes, but he forged ahead. “I was doing what I thought was best.”

  “What you thought was best was to mock and berate him? You thought jumping on him was the best way to convince him to help us?”

  “Dammit, Liz! The man left us sitting in the backseat of that car knowing full well it was a death sentence.”

  “But it wasn’t. I’d already gotten our hands free.”

  “He didn’t know that. I was trying to play on his sense of guilt, get him to agree to help us.”

  “I guess we can both see how well that worked out. Peter was so afraid of you, he was trembling when we left.”

  “Oh, and I’m sure that had nothing to do with the drugs in his system.”

  Liz shot up from her chair. “You know what? You’re impossible. I’m going to bed.”

  “We still need to discuss what our next move should be.”

  “I want to go back and try to talk to Peter again. He’ll come around after he’s had a chance to sleep on it. Also, I think I should go by myself to speak to him.”

  “Liz…”

  She washed her dishes and set them in the rack to dry. “If you have any other bright ideas, you can let me know tomorrow. For now, I’m going to bed.”