The Perfect Prey js-2

by James Andrus

  “Hold on, cowboy.”

  The man turned back slowly to face Stallings.

  “Based on the importance of the information we’re looking for and the ability for you or anyone else in this office to erase data from the laptop computer, I’m afraid I’m going to have to secure your office to keep anyone from fooling around with the computer.”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  Stallings leveled a stare at him and said, “Do I look like I’m joking?”

  Tony Mazzetti knew this girl was about to break. His partner, Christina Hogrebe, had masterfully pushed her into changing her statement several times and now was closing the deal by getting her to see the inconsistencies. It had taken almost the entire ride from the downtown hotel back into this shitty neighborhood west of the stadium.

  Now the girl was getting a look at her house for the first time in daylight. Christina paused and let the girl see the random bullet holes in the front of the house, but that wasn’t what they were counting on. They opened the front door and ducked under the crime scene tape still secured across the entrance. He flicked on the light, and immediately the dank, musty smell of blood mixed with marijuana smoke assaulted his system. The house was clearly no palace even before more than a gallon of blood was spilled on the old cement floor. No one had been back in to clean the house, and he doubted the place was valuable enough to pay the exorbitant fees professional cleaners required for messy crime scenes like this.

  Christina was a pro, so she waited while the girl got a good whiff of the smell and had a moment to study the bloodstains on the floor with one bloody handprint on the wall where a young man apparently tried to sit upright.

  Christina said, “So your mama and your baby sister were two houses away at your auntie’s house?”

  The skinny girl nodded her head as her eyes continued to focus on the bloody corner in the room.

  “And you never saw the men when they entered the house?”

  This time she shook her head, still staring at the blood.

  “Why didn’t your brother or his friends try to defend themselves?”

  The girl shook her head.

  Christina let out a long, audible sigh. This was sort of her telegraph to Mazzetti she was about to spring a trap, or at least ask a hard question. She said, “Tosha, we know what happened. We’ve got too much evidence not to come up with a clear picture of how things went down. All I need to know is why. You tell us why, and I’m sure you had your reasons, it can really help me out. Haven’t we treated you real well this whole week?”

  The young girl slowly nodded her head.

  Christina knew not to interrupt or hit her with another question just yet. She wanted to let what she said sink in and the girl think about it. In fact, the forensics analysis had been very contradictory. The only thing she knew was the three men were shot in the head. It had to be three quick shots because there were no signs of resistance or defensive wounds. The theory was the shooter then walked outside and sprayed the house as he left.

  Now the girl shifted her gaze first to Mazzetti, then to Christina. In a very low voice she said, “It wasn’t right how they treated me. Then they started looking at my baby sister the same way. I couldn’t let that happen to her. She’s a sweet girl and she ain’t never given it up for nobody. At least I wasn’t no virgin the first time they did it to me.”

  Christina looked over to Mazzetti slowly and then back to the girl. “Did they rape you?”

  She shook her head. “I never told them no or nothing like that. But I didn’t want to do it either. It’s been going on three years. Since I was fourteen. And nobody done nothing about it. They didn’t even think anything about it. If one of them got horny they jus come looking for me. Even my own brother.”

  Mazzetti knew they had to get her on tape and video as soon as possible. But he also wanted to let her tell the whole story and maybe even lead them to the guns.

  Christina wrapped an arm around her shoulder as the girl started to sob. “It’s okay. They were wrong doing that to you.” Then Christina showed why she deserved to be in the homicide unit. Without missing a beat, still in the tone of a concerned parent, she said, “Where’d you hide the gun? We gotta find it before some kid gets hurt by accident.” She kept her arm around the girl, murmuring, “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

  After a minute of crying and wiping her face on Christina’s pretty blouse, the girl looked up and said, “I buried two guns and some cash in the backyard.”

  In the office of the small waste-management company housed in the Maxwell House building, John Stallings looked across at Patty Levine and Jason Ferrell sitting quietly in the corner of the reception area. He and the manager had come to an agreement that no one would enter Ferrell’s former office until the search warrant arrived. Sergeant Zuni had grabbed a couple of detectives, written a quick warrant, and was getting it signed by a judge now. The delay annoyed Stallings, but he didn’t think he’d get much more information than he already had.

  Ferrell was a complete space cadet and said he never knew any customer’s last name. If it weren’t for the information he’d provided on Mazzetti’s triple shooting they’d probably be booking him into the county jail right now. But the laptop was evidence, and Stallings didn’t want to risk losing anything that might help to determine if a serial killer was working the spring break crowd. And he still thought the killer might be Gary Lauer. It’d take him a long time to get past his idea cops were above crimes like that. Most people based their perception of police on news reports of bad cops usually in distant cities. No one ever took into account what a small percentage of the total profession that represented. Stallings knew it took a certain calling and attitude to make it through the police academy, let alone your first few years on the road. It was inconceivable to him that a cop could stray so far from his pledge to serve and protect.

  Patty quietly nodded off next to Jason, and Stallings realized she had not really been to sleep since yesterday. Jason Ferrell sat quietly as he looked around the room, his eyes a little clearer than the day before.

  Stallings’s phone rang, and he dug it out of his pocket. “John Stallings.”

  Yvonne Zuni’s voice was clear. “We’re on the way with the warrant.

  “Good. We need to get Patty home for some rest.”

  The sergeant’s tone changed. “John…” She was very measured and careful as she continued. “I just got a call from Ronald Bell.”

  Stallings didn’t like the sound of that. He wondered what had happened now and if he was about to be punished for one of his many steps outside the policy book. Cautiously he said, “Yes?”

  “He’s at the scene of a suicide.” She paused again.

  Stallings’s heartbeat increased and he felt sick to his stomach. Immediately he thought of Maria and the stress she’d been under with the separation and her fight to stay clean. It felt like an hour before Yvonne Zuni said anything else.

  “Gary Lauer put a bullet in his brain at his girlfriend’s apartment. No note, no last phone calls. I think all the guilt was starting to get to him.”

  Stallings muttered, “Thanks,” and absently closed the phone and tucked it back into his pocket. He looked across at Patty and Jason. It wasn’t worth waking Patty, and Jason wouldn’t know who he was talking about. So he didn’t say a word. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it either. This did seem to point to the fact that Lauer was involved with the other girls’ deaths as well as feeling responsible for his girlfriend’s suicide. Maybe Stallings’s little pep talk had gotten through to him. Some part of Stallings felt relief at the news, and that made him feel guilty. Cops had a hard enough life and committed suicide too often for him to feel satisfied he’d pushed someone to do it instead of making a case on him. It was a complex situation about which no one would have any good feelings. Even if Lauer had distributed X and was responsible for the spring breakers’ deaths. This would leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouths.

  Fifty-thre
e

  By the time the search warrant arrived at the small office it was dark outside and Patty Levine felt as if she were in a dream. She caught a quick nap sitting upright in the lobby, but now, with the sergeant and Stallings watching Jason Ferrell access his computer, she couldn’t even consider going home. She’d been shocked when Stallings told her about Gary Lauer’s suicide. She was so tired she didn’t know how she felt about it

  Jason tapped away on the keyboard, and, like a teenager whose parents were amazed by his skill, he couldn’t help but show off some of his security measures to Stallings. After a minute, the formula to the Ecstasy appeared on the wide screen.

  Stallings said, “You can show me that stuff later, Jason-we’re seizing the whole computer. I just want to make sure we’re not missing something on your client list.”

  Jason nodded as if that sounded good to him and opened the client list.

  Stallings, staring over his shoulder, gave a visible start and said, “Jesus Christ, that’s your list?”

  Jason nodded pleasantly.

  Patty walked from the side to take a position behind Jason and see what Stallings’s excitement was about. It only took a second to see what had grabbed his interest.

  Stallings said, “Jason, you didn’t tell us you had each of their cell phone numbers next to their names.”

  “I didn’t know it mattered.”

  “We can find out the last name if we have their cell phone number.”

  “Really? You can do that kind of stuff?”

  That’s when Stallings didn’t answer and Patty knew why. He lifted his hand and put his finger under the third name on the list. He leaned in close to see the name again and said to Jason, “Describe this man to me.”

  “He’s a nice fella. Kinda lean, dark hair, real athletic looking. He bought a pretty big lot of the tabs. I don’t know why.”

  Stallings looked as if he was about to be sick to his stomach. He stared at Patty and said the name on the computer out loud. “Larry, the bartender at the Wildside.”

  Suddenly it all made sense.

  Stallings shook his head and said, “The fucking bartender had access to all the spring breakers he wanted. Larry knew the slang for spring breakers from Daytona and Panama City. He knew how to avoid the video in the Wildside, and that’s why Allie Marsh was seen with everyone except him.” Then he muttered, “Oh my God.” “What is it, John?”

  “Gary Lauer killed himself and he really didn’t have anything to do with Allie Marsh.” Stallings looked like he might vomit.

  Patty said, “It was a choice he made and it didn’t have anything to do with our investigation. Don’t drive yourself crazy over Gary Lauer.”

  “Should I drive myself crazy over talking to a killer and never realizing it?”

  She was already thinking of the fastest way to find Larry Kinard.

  It was early for a bar like the Wildside, but Larry Kinard was already done with his half shift. The manager was trying an afternoon happy hour bash that had started at four o’clock. Larry came in the late afternoon to help set up and now, before the place started kicking for the night, he was all ready to head back to his apartment and grab some sleep.

  As he wiped down his end of the bar, he was about to turn his duties over to the new, young female bartender when he heard someone call his name from the hightop table a few feet away. He was shocked to see Ann standing there with a plastic bag in her hands.

  “I know you must be mad. I was all messed up from a week of partying. I thought you might want your clothes back.” She held up a plastic bag. “I have your car keys too.”

  He stared at her, setting the rag down to the side. Although she looked beautiful with her blond hair hanging loose around her shoulders, he still wanted to stab her in the throat with something sharp. He didn’t say anything.

  Ann said, “What could I do to make this up to you? I am so sorry I left you stranded with no clothes.”

  “So am I.”

  She stepped closer, setting the bag on the table.

  He could smell her scent. She was back to being prey. He quickly scanned the rest of the bar to see if anyone noticed her speaking to him.

  Ann said, “Do you have any more X?”

  “I have some back at my apartment.”

  “When do you get off?” She gave him a sly smile as if she was in charge in setting the agenda.

  “I could take you over there right now. Where’s your car?”

  “I parked my friend’s car down the street at the public lot. In case you weren’t here, I was going to look for you at one of the other nearby clubs.”

  He smiled, knowing what a perfect opportunity this was. “I’ll meet you out front in a couple of minutes.” He nodded as she smiled and turned away. This was gonna be sweet.

  Ann was not happy about approaching him and giving his clothes back, but all she really needed was a few more hits of X to get through the break and back to school. Besides, now that she had some time to think about it, she realized he was just roughhousing and had an inflated view of himself like any guy. The only thing that threw her for a loop was when he said he had some of the tabs back at his apartment. She hadn’t really planned to go anywhere private with him. The club, even though it wasn’t crowded, had plenty of people around, and she felt safer there.

  She had a choice to make. Was getting some more X that important? It didn’t take her long to realize it was. She’d already had sex with the guy-what else could happen?

  Yvonne Zuni was feeling the pressures of command as she scrambled to get help for both Tony Mazzetti and John Stallings, as their cases seemed to come to a head at the same time. She had sent Stallings and Patty to the Wildside to find Larry Kinard. She and another detective were still with Jason Ferrell.

  Now she had Tony Mazzetti on the phone. He’d developed a good suspect who had confessed to the shooting. She was surprised it turned out to be one of the residents of the house. She asked Tony, “You found both of the guns?”

  “She pointed out where she had buried two guns. I’d risk my entire career the ballistics will match those guns to the shooting. Plus there was about thirty-five thousand dollars in cash stuffed in Ziploc bags.”

  “What other resources do you need over there?”

  “Crime scene is here now processing the guns and checking out the rest of the yard. Christina and I are going to book this girl on first-degree murder. The media is gonna go crazy as soon as they hear about it. I’m gonna need to get home and change before I talk to the reporters.”

  “Why are you going to talk to the media?”

  “Because that’s what I’ve been doing for the past few years in homicide.”

  “If they need a comment they can call the lieutenant. That’s her job. We’ve got a lot going on right now, and I might need you on Stallings’s case.” She had everything handled, but she didn’t want the detective to think he could call the shots and decide who would or would not talk to the media.

  She just hoped Stallings and Patty could grab Larry Kinard without too much trouble.

  Fifty-four

  This was the second time he’d had prey to this apartment. Lester wasn’t home, and the neighborhood was very quiet tonight. He also had the advantage of not having the victim’s car in his driveway. It was a simple plan. Fuck her, then kill her. He still wasn’t sure if he was going to leave her back in her own car or find a place to hide her body completely. Considering the interest of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, he tended to think he’d leave her somewhere damp and swampy.

  She wandered through his little place ahead of him, looking for signs of a female roommate. Then she stopped in the hallway, noticing his collage of other prey. She said, “Larry, who are all these women?”

  “Just girls I thought were pretty.”

  She stepped forward and brushed the corkboard with her fingertips. A couple of loose photos on the frame moved at her touch. “You sure do have a one-track mind. These girls could all be s
isters.”

  He gazed at her as she stared at his work of art and wondered if it wouldn’t be as much fun to kill her fast and not even worry about the sex. His erection told him that would be fine. He felt the power start to build and surge through his arms and legs. He flexed all over like a big cat ready to pounce. He joined her at the same table where he’d mounted Lisa, then broken her neck. The same sharp letter opener was still in the drawer. He leaned in close to her, sniffing to make sure he still had her scent right, and kissed her on the neck to hide what he was really doing. He slid the drawer open and took a quick look down at the letter opener.

  “That poster is kinda creepy.” Ann stepped away from him quickly. “If you have any Ecstasy I’ll take it with me.”

  She had no idea it was already too late. He was now completely in predator mode.

  Fifty-five

  Stallings and Patty raced from the Wildside dance club. The manager had told them Larry Kinard had just left after having worked the early shift. He gave them Kinard’s address, and now Stallings had the gas pedal pressed hard against the floor. Patty was on the cell phone advising the sergeant where they were going and asking for as much help as they could send.

  Patty said, “John, slow down. If we’re killed on our way there it won’t do anyone any good, and my mom will be pissed at you.”

  “Sorry, we gotta grab this guy, and it’s a way to keep my mind off of Gary Lauer.”

  “I understand, but Kinard has no idea were looking for him. He may not even be home yet. We have a better chance of T-boning someone than we do of losing him.”

  Stallings slowed down but still managed to pass one of the many buses running between downtown and all points east. He turned to his partner and said, “Who else is coming?”

  “The sarge says she and Mazzetti are on their way, and Hoagie is coming from the crime scene near Market Street. Should we wait for the whole posse?”