Behind Her Eyes (A Riley Thompson Thriller Book 1)

by Robin Mahle

  “Riley?” Daniel Ward emerged from the back office. “Riley, is that you?” He wore a white t-shirt and boxers. Why are you here?”

  She was frightened. Never before, in all the years they’d known each other, had she ever crossed over into one of his dreams. “Dan? What’s going on? Why are you here?”

  “I asked you first.”

  “I don’t know why I’m here. Something brought me to you. What have you seen? Did you see Chloe?”

  “No. I was out back and then I appeared in the office. I was looking at the files. I don’t really know why I’m here either.”

  “I think we should leave. I need you to wake up,” Riley said.

  “Why? Maybe we’re supposed to find something.”

  “No. That’s not what’s happening. Dan, something’s wrong. We shouldn’t be here.”

  He offered her a confused smile. And then his eyes widened when a shot rang out.

  “No!” Riley watched as blood seeped from his lips. “Dan! No!” She reached out for him. “We have to go, now!” His blood continued to spill from his mouth like some horrific creature. “No!”

  Riley shot up in bed, a pool of sweat surrounding her. She jumped up and ran into the living room.

  “Riley, what is it? I heard you scream. Are you okay?” Ethan appeared as panicked as she had as he braced himself on the sofa.

  “It’s the captain. Something’s going to happen to him. I saw it, Ethan. I saw it!”

  15

  The alarm clock on Jacob’s phone sounded off, brutally yanking him from his sleep. He sat up on the sofa, still yawning, having only had a couple hours’ rest.

  He walked into the small kitchen for a glass of water. There was no more time to waste; he had to return to Owensville to stop the men who’d almost killed him yesterday and to keep Riley out of the line of fire. Jacob returned to the sofa and pulled on his t-shirt and jeans before walking to the bathroom to splash water on his face. It had been two days since he’d had a shower or worn fresh clothes, but his small suitcase he’d taken to Owensville remained in his car. That suitcase and the few items inside were all he had left in his possession. The apartment he shared with Rachel was hers and so was pretty much everything inside it. For a man in his mid-twenties, he had virtually nothing to his name. This wasn’t how things were supposed to turn out.

  With his cell phone in hand, Jacob headed out the door and made his way to his car. The morning sun was still hidden behind gray clouds and it didn’t appear to have much chance of breaking through them today. Fitting.

  Inside the car, he texted Riley. “I’m on my way.”

  Captain Ward eyed Riley as she sat across from him. “I can’t just sit back and let you take on these men. I won’t do that. I know what happened. It was my dream, remember?”

  “Dan, if what I saw had actually happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do,” Riley said. “You have to let me do this and you need to sit this one out. I won’t risk your life.”

  “You and I both know that sometimes when you see things, it can take on different meanings than the literal ones. And this is likely one of those times, especially considering all that’s happened in the past 24 hours.”

  Riley glanced at her phone. “He’s coming. Jacob’s on his way.” She returned her attention to Ward and Ethan, who sat next to her. “We need to protect him.”

  “Okay, let’s take a step back here,” Ward continued. “We assume Virgil Howard is connected to Chloe’s death. He signed for the concrete delivery and he was one of the men who threatened Jacob.”

  “And helped kidnap his ex-girlfriend,” Riley added.

  “That’s who we need to find,” Ethan said. “We don’t know anything about these other men who were a part of the exchange yesterday with Jacob, but we know about Howard. Captain, I think it’s time we get the state police involved in this. We’ll have State issue a BOLO on Virgil Howard and maybe we can stop him before he gets here.”

  Ward appeared to consider Ethan’s proposal and continued. “Here’s what we’re going to do. This mysterious car that has shown up at your house, Riley, is the same one Jacob took a picture of at the diner, is that right?”

  “Yes, but he couldn’t get a shot of the plates.”

  “Okay. I’m going to assume it belongs to one of the men who’s involved in the plant operation. Now, you asked Abrams and Decker to pull a report? Any luck with that?”

  “No. No one in Owensville is a registered owner of that make and model.”

  “Let’s be on the lookout for that vehicle, first of all. Secondly, Pruitt, I like your idea and I think it’s the right call. Someone has to have something on Virgil Howard. A man like that has to have dirt on his hands. But what we really need to know is who’s running the show? Bayliss?”

  “I don’t think so. He doesn’t seem that high up on the food chain,” Riley added. “But I can try to get closer to him today. I might be able to pick up something from him.”

  “That would mean you’d have to go to the plant. I’m not sure I like that idea,” Ward added. “Not right now. I’d rather wait until Jacob arrives and we can get him under our protection.”

  “We don’t have that kind of time, Captain. I think I should go there this morning,” she said.

  “Well, you’re not going alone,” Ethan replied. “We can go together.”

  “Neither of you are going down there right now. I can’t chance it. What I need to do is get in front of this situation. I need to get with IMPD about Howard. I’m sure they’ll find a connection to the man in charge.”

  “You met with the owners the other day. They wanted to keep a lid on the situation. Who were they?” Riley asked.

  “I did meet with two men. They were the lawyers representing the company, but I’ll follow up on that. I have a feeling, though, that these people, meaning mafia-types, know how to create shell companies and shuffle things around so as not to be linked back to any identifyable names. But these are questions Jacob might have some answers to. He helped draft the plans. He might have more insight into this than we know.”

  “What’s been bothering me the most is the fact that they’re after him for what seems a paltry amount of money, in the grand scheme of things. Someone was murdered in their plant and they’re concerned with sixty-K?” Riley asked.

  “It’s possible they believe Jacob knows something about the organization. Something that could expose them. That’s something you’ll have to ask him when he returns, which, by my math, should be in about an hour. Until then, let’s get to work with history on Virgil Howard, and I’ll reach out to State Police and let them know about our situation. The coordination with them and IMPD will be critical. Let’s hop to it. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

  Blake Rhodes held the lighter to the end of the joint hanging from his lips and inhaled. With this thumb and forefinger, he pulled it from his mouth and held on to his breath.

  “Hey, asshole, you mind putting that out or go the fuck outside?” Virgil Howard appeared from the kitchen of the apartment where they were holed up. “Jesus.” He continued toward the sofa and sat down. “You screwed this up. Costa’s gone because of you.”

  “I didn’t know that chick-cop from Owensville would be onto the situation. Bayliss never should’ve let her look at the contracts,” Blake replied.

  “If he had stopped her, that would’ve put a spotlight on him and the big man. He didn’t have a choice. But, I’m telling you, man, I didn’t kill your girl. It had to be some kind of accident or some shit. Boss would’ve had my ass for doing something so stupid and inside our own operation.”

  Blake extinguished the joint. “I’ll find out what happened.” He eyed Howard, trying to read him and understand if he was telling the truth. Right now, he was pissed because Chloe never did nothing to nobody. She was just some kid he liked to hang out with sometimes. Hell, he didn’t even know why she was in Owensville. Maybe that was a question for her friend, Rehnquist. He knew the kid was cr
ushing on her and played it up, giving him shit whenever he saw him, which wasn’t often. But Virgil Howard was a soulless son of a bitch with empty eyes, impossible to read. He would get to the truth about Chloe one way or another.

  “What’s the plan, Virgil?” Paul Kearns, the man who’d stood next to him yesterday and only narrowly avoided a bullet, approached from the bathroom. “We can’t sit here all damn day. Boss wants to know why we haven’t found Hammond and how we plan on getting our hands on the kid.”

  “We know where he’s going. At least, Blakey boy over here feels pretty confident he knows. So we’ll go to the plant, talk to Bayliss, and get a feel for how far up his ass the cops down there are. Back road hicks like that can’t be too smart, right?” He laughed.

  “I don’t know, man. I think if Biggs knew about Hammond, he would’ve fessed up by now. The money he gave us yesterday, I bet he’s tapped out. He’s going to know it ain’t about the money soon enough. Why are we going after him so hard?” Kearns asked.

  “Cause according to Blake, Jacob knows where Georgie boy is, isn’t that right?”

  “Like I said, he knows. Them two were tight.”

  “And if you’re wrong? What do you think the boss is going to do to you?” Virgil continued.

  “I’m not wrong.”

  “You must have some kind of beef with Jacob Biggs.” Virgil stood and reached for his coat. “Let’s go. I want to stop by Starbucks on the way.”

  Ward emerged from his office and hurried toward Riley. “I got something back from IMPD on Virgil Howard. Pruitt.” He waved him over. “Here’s the deal. Howard is the chief treasury officer for Capital Concrete.”

  “Wait, I thought he worked for the plant owners?” Riley asked.

  Ward raised his index finger. “Get this, he’s a company officer for the concrete contractor and for the plant. And, he’s a former employee of Sandoval Manufacturing.”

  “Who are they?” Ethan asked.

  “Sandoval Manufacturing is a subsidiary of Golden Grains dog food. The same company who bought and is refurbishing the plant. And that’s not the only thing. There’s a list of people with similar histories. All worked for other companies and almost all of them are the same trades working on the plant right now. Most of those same people are now employed, in one form or another, by Golden Grains.”

  “It’s all a big circle. They’re awarding contracts, getting kickbacks, setting up other companies,” Riley said. “Jacob thought these guys were mafia.”

  “IMPD thinks so too,” Ward replied. “They’ve been after them for years. Drug trafficking, racketeering, money laundering. The list goes on.”

  “Why are they still operating?” Ethan asked.

  “According to Captain Pryce, every time his people get close, they shut down operations and open up under new names, new owners. He sent the case files to the feds but says they’re too slow to act.”

  “So now it’s up to us.” Riley looked to Ward. “They’re coming here. Are we going to get any help?”

  “Pryce is trying to round up everyone he can who’s involved with those organizations, but it hasn’t been easy. He’s going to try to extract information in exchange for immunity.”

  “What about the Feds?” Ethan asked.

  “He says don’t bother. They aren’t interested in small potatoes apparently. He said he’d help us as much as he could, and offered to assist State police too.”

  “We’re going to need backup, Captain,” Riley added. “Are they going to help with that?”

  “Once he rounds up whoever he can, he’s sending a team to help. It’ll take the day, most likely, but he knows we’re in deep here.”

  Riley eyed him. “Good. Because I have a feeling a storm’s coming and we’re running out of time.”

  Jacob pulled off the highway and headed toward the station house where Riley would be waiting. The idea that he was the one bringing this trouble and that some girl was dead as a result almost made him keep on going straight out of Indiana altogether. But they would still come and Riley would be in their crosshairs or whoever else happened into their sights. It amazed him still how he was in this mess when only days ago he’d returned home in hopes of finding a place again in Riley’s heart. That now seemed an unlikely feat. How could she forgive him for leaving her? He just wasn’t cut out for small town life, or so he thought. He’d wanted more, but now that he’d seen what his ambitions produced, he’d begun to reconsider that small town life might not be so bad after all. If they could survive this, maybe she would again find a place for him.

  He eyed the rear-view mirror, as he had several times en route to Owensville. So far, it didn’t appear anyone followed, not that it mattered because they were coming regardless. But what he still hadn’t pieced together was Blake’s involvement with them. In light of the revelation his girlfriend had been murdered at the plant, why would he possibly want to remain a part of what they were doing? Was he getting a cut of the money? Did they have something on him? “If I could get my hands on you, George,” he said to himself. George had been the real problem and he was going to get off free as a bird. No one had kidnapped his wife. No one had killed a member of his family. Why was there no retribution against him? Only Jacob, it seemed. Unless you counted Blake’s girlfriend. Who was letting George off the hook? And could Jacob find him when the others couldn’t? After all, he had Riley in his corner and she could do incredible things.

  The station was just ahead and he’d made it within his stipulated time. Hopefully, that wasn’t going to be the only thing to go right today. Jacob parked his car and walked toward the entrance. He spotted Riley inside and opened the door.

  “Jacob, you made it.” Her face masked in relief.

  “I made it. Are you okay?” Jacob embraced her but felt her flinch. “Sorry. I…”

  “No, I’m sorry. I’m on edge. We all are. Ward’s been working with IMPD and it looks like this involves a web of intertwined companies all owned and operated by the same people.”

  “The mob,” he replied.

  “Most likely. How did you get caught up in this?”

  “Guess I worked for the wrong guy.” Jacob continued inside and shed his coat. “Ethan. Good to see you again. I’m sorry it has to be for something like this.”

  Ethan stood and offered a greeting. “It’s okay, man. This isn’t on you. Glad to see you’re okay.”

  Jacob felt some relief hearing that from Pruitt. The guy had a thing for Riley and didn’t care much for what he’d done to her, but he was all right in Jacob’s book. “Where’s Captain Ward?”

  “Right here.” With an outstretched hand, he approached Jacob. “Glad to see you, son. It’s been a hell of a time waiting for you. But as I was telling my people here, help’s coming. We’re dealing with a well-oiled machine that has managed to slip under the FBI’s radar, but not us locals. We’ll get the sons of bitches who killed Chloe Dawson and took your girlfriend.” He turned to Riley. “Riley, I’ll let you fill him in on what’s been happening. I need to get back on the horn with Pryce and see how he’s coming along. We don’t have much time, and I expect those men will be here soon enough. Give me twenty minutes. Then, we’re going to the plant to bring Bayliss in.”

  “Are we arresting him?” she asked.

  “Yes, we are.”

  “Under what charge?”

  “Don’t know. We’ll figure that out later. I just need to shut down operations over there. Get everyone out because that’s where those boys will be headed, I imagine.” Ward started back toward his office.

  “You want a coffee or something, Jacob?” Ethan asked. “I’m grabbing one for myself.”

  “Yeah, sure, coffee would be great. Thanks.”

  “Come sit down.” Riley made her way to her desk and took a seat. “I know these guys have something to do with Chloe’s death, but I’m still getting a feeling there’s more to it than that. I just can’t pinpoint it yet. And last night…” She eyed Ward’s office. “I foun
d myself in Dan’s dream. I don’t want him to go to the plant, but so far, I haven’t been able to change his mind.”

  “His dream? That must have been a surprise. You think he’s going to get hurt?”

  “I saw it, Jacob, and I won’t let it happen. He’s like a…”

  “I know. Look, there’s something I wanted to ask, Riley. I think if we found the man who took these guys’ money, I think we could end this without anyone getting hurt.”

  “Even if that was possible, Ward’s working with IMPD. They’re licking their lips waiting to get their hands on them. Guess they’ve been after them for a long time. So whatever money they’re looking for, at this point, I don’t think it’s going to matter. And frankly, I’m not so sure this is about the money. Jacob, do you know more about George Hammond than you’ve mentioned?”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  Riley felt his defenses rise.“I’m not pointing fingers. I’m just asking if there’s more to this than meets the eye. Was Hammond in on something else that might expose these men who are after you now?”

  “I have no clue. I’m telling you the truth. Look, it was Blake who pointed them in my direction, claiming I had the money George stole from them. That’s all I know. I swear. I came here ready to ask if you could help find him—George Hammond. He’s the one who we need answers from.”

  Ethan returned with a coffee. “Here you go, man. Sorry, I didn’t know how you took it.”

  “Doesn’t matter. Just need the caffeine. Thanks, I appreciate it.”

  “So what are we planning on doing right now?” Ethan grabbed Abrams’ chair and rolled it over to Riley’s desk. “I know you’re planning something, Riley. I can see it in your eyes.”