Premonition (Detective Jade Monroe 4)

by C. M. Sutter

  I wanted to distract Kate. She didn’t need to know what I was thinking yet—it was a dangerous idea but one that might be necessary to capture these two murderers.

  Kate took a sip of orange juice. “This breakfast is delicious, Amber. I especially love the maple syrup—it’s decadent.”

  “Yeah, I really scored when my little sis moved in here. She loves to cook, and me, not so much. I’d get by fine on TV dinners, but why bother when I don’t have to?”

  “I learned a lot from working at Joey’s. When I’m not too busy bartending, I’ll slip into the kitchen and watch the guys work. They give me great cooking tips.”

  “I bet they do. So you go to school and bartend?”

  “Sure do, but I only work a few nights a week. I took off for the holiday since our dad is coming to visit. The bar isn’t super busy right now, anyway. I heard you have a criminal justice degree, Kate.”

  Kate wiped her mouth with the napkin and responded. “I do, but I haven’t used it in a trade. I don’t know if Jade told you or not, Amber, but I intend to go to the police academy and train to be a real cop. I want to be taken seriously.”

  Amber’s eyes lit up. “Maybe we can go at the same time. How fun would that be?”

  “I bet it would be a lot of fun.” Kate pushed back her chair and stood. “Let me clean up the breakfast dishes. It’s the least I can do.”

  Amber stood too. “I’ll help.”

  “If you guys have this, I’m going to shower and get dressed. We have to be at the airport by noon.”

  I slipped away to my bedroom and closed the door at my back. I was happy that Detective Amoroso had given me his personal cell phone number a few days back. I doubted that he’d be at work on a Saturday. Last night, as I lay in bed, I thought of different scenarios on how to apprehend the Lynch brothers. I had a suggestion to run by the detective. I tapped his name on my call list, and his phone rang.

  “Hello, Joe Amoroso here.”

  “Joe, hi. It’s Jade. Sorry to call on a Saturday morning, but something has been weighing on my mind.”

  “Sure, go ahead. Excuse the noise. I’m grinding coffee beans.”

  I heard a sound similar to a lawn mower running in the background. I waited until it stopped. I kidded with him, “Are you finally done?”

  “Yep, all done.”

  “We don’t have solid evidence directly linking the Lynch brothers to any crime other than assaulting a hooker. Sorry to be so blunt, but facts are facts.”

  “Understood.”

  I heard another sound like water being poured.

  “The best way to get any charges to stick is if they’re actually caught in the act of committing a crime.”

  “So far, you’re correct.”

  “Why don’t we lift the BOLO on the truck and turn the tables on them?”

  “I’m intrigued. What does that mean exactly?”

  “Let them become the prey.” I explained my idea to Joe. He agreed it could be extremely dangerous but possibly the only way to get charges that would stick—something serious enough to send them to prison for good.

  “I’ll pull the BOLO in every state for the truck. Please go over this idea with your boss, colleagues, and father before you implement it. Update me several times a day. I don’t care if it’s a weekend or not. I’ll pass the information on. Nashville, Evansville, and Chicago are depending on you, Jade.”

  I clicked off the call and turned on the shower. While I lingered in the steaming water, I visualized my idea.

  This could work. I know it can, and I won’t take no for an answer.

  By ten thirty, Amber and Kate had both showered and dressed. I gave Kate a tour of the deck and showed her the beautiful woods behind the house.

  I introduced Kate to Polly and Porky. She held them while I changed their water and filled the seed dish.

  “They’re so sweet, Jade. I guess I’ve never considered birds as actual pets.”

  “Well, they’re easy, and that’s appealing to me. They don’t need a lot of attention and fussing. As long as they have each other, they’re happy. I’m a good distraction for about ten minutes a day.” I chuckled. “I do think they like me, though, and they’re pretty precious.”

  “They sure are.” Kate kissed each bird on the head and walked to the cage. “Okay, birdies, it looks like it’s time to get inside.” She stretched out her finger, and each bird jumped onto the perch. She closed the gate behind Porky. “Are you sure you want me to join you at the airport?”

  “Sure, why not? There’s no need to sit here alone, and we might go out for lunch, anyway.”

  “Okay, as long as you don’t mind.”

  I backed out of my driveway and onto the street at ten forty-five. I revved the car and dropped the Cobra into first gear. The tires squawked and broke loose as I took off. Kate giggled. Amber told her I was showing off.

  “Dad is going to give you a stern talking-to if you drive like that around him.”

  I smirked. “Yeah, right—who do you think taught me how to drive that way?”

  Kate and Amber talked about school studies all the way to Milwaukee. I pulled into the parking structure at General Mitchell International Airport at eleven forty-five. We had plenty of time to find a great spot close to the skywalk on the third floor. That floor led to every concourse. Dad was coming in on Delta at Concourse D. We checked the arrivals board, and his flight was still on time. I was already grinning. We each grabbed a coffee at the nearby kiosk and found a table facing his concourse. We couldn’t wait to see him walking that long hallway toward us.

  “Tell me about your dad. He sounds larger than life,” Kate said.

  “Go ahead, Sis. I’ll keep watching.”

  Amber told Kate how our dad was the captain at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

  “He’s a big shot and fifth in command. Dad never remarried after he and Mom divorced. He lives in a beautiful house on an acre of land in the foothills of San Bernardino. You see the most gorgeous sunsets from his deck. How cool is that?” Amber beamed with pride.

  “It sounds pretty cool. Is he going to mind that I’m with you?”

  “Of course not, he’s totally chill.” Amber scanned the concourse. “Nothing yet?”

  I checked the time. “They aren’t due to land for a few more minutes.”

  Amber continued without missing a beat. “Anyway, someday I have to go to California and visit him again. It’s been too long. Maybe after college I’ll take a month off before I start at the academy and go hang out with my old man.”

  I glanced at the arrivals board. A green light flashed on his flight’s number. “Looks like they just landed.”

  “Okay, I need to use the bathroom before he gets here. I don’t want to miss one second of conversation with Dad.”

  I watched as Amber headed off toward the nearest ladies’ room.

  Kate watched too. “She sure is excited.”

  I grinned. “Yeah, we both are. She’s just easier to read.”

  Chapter 50

  Robert

  “This place should work,” Robert said as Tony pulled into the gravel parking lot and parked. A blinking neon sign attached to the window under the portico flashed the word vacancy. Chances of it burning out in the next few hours were high. He smirked. “An out-of-the-way dive motel with eight rooms and one car in the lot—I bet we just made their day. Why don’t you go ahead and check in? I’m going to take a look around.”

  “Yep, on it.”

  Robert watched as Tony entered through the creaky door that led to the office. He turned away when the door slammed at Tony’s back. The property sat along a frontage road adjacent to the highway. It looked to be one of those long, flat-topped, one-story roadside motels from the sixties that rarely got any business these days. Someone would have to seek the place out to take time exiting the highway and backtracking to the frontage road.

  Robert stared out beyond the parking lot. Highway 41 wasn’t a partic
ularly busy highway even though it was considered an interstate in Wisconsin. He chuckled at the thought. There were much larger roads people could drive if they were in a hurry. Robert wasn’t in a hurry, though. He wanted to see where she lived, what she did each day, and pick the perfect time and setting in which to kill her. He would finally be with her again after ten years, and he’d savor every second of it. They would be alone, and her death would be very intimate.

  The sound of the door opening behind him brought Robert back to the moment. He gave the road a final glance.

  The truck will be visible from the highway, but like Tony said, nobody is looking for it.

  He turned to Tony. “Are we good?”

  “Yep, good to go”—he laughed—“and only forty-nine bucks a night.”

  “Nice—that means we can afford to take our time. Let’s clean up and order delivery pizza. We’ll check out the area after dark.”

  Chapter 51

  “Keep your eyes peeled. We should be seeing him any minute.”

  “What does your dad look like? I have pretty good eyesight.”

  “The usual for a fifty-five-year-old man named Tom,” Amber said. “Dad has short gray hair, a goatee, green eyes, and average height and weight. He’ll be the one with an ear-to-ear grin and waving like a lunatic.”

  Kate pointed and laughed. “You mean that guy?”

  Amber jumped off the chair and ran into his open arms. “Daddy, you’re finally here!”

  I grinned and stood up. “Yeah, that’s the guy.” I embraced my dad too, then reached for his backpack and slung it over my shoulder.

  My dad was a force to be reckoned with but still a softy when it came to Amber and me. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and gave each of us another tight squeeze. “I love you girls.” He jerked his head toward Kate. “Who do we have here?”

  “Dad, this is our friend Kate Pierce. She’s staying with us for a few days, and don’t say a word—there’s plenty of room.”

  “Okay, if you’re sure. Kate, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Tom Monroe.” Dad offered his outstretched hand, and Kate shook it.

  “It’s nice to meet you too, sir.”

  I walked alongside my dad. “Do you have luggage?”

  “A tan suitcase.” He nodded toward the escalator. “Is the baggage claim still downstairs? I noticed there’s a lot of remodeling going on.”

  “Yeah, it’s still in the lower level.”

  The digital sign at arrivals showed his flight had dropped the luggage on carousel three. We turned left at the bottom of the escalator. The conveyor was full of bags, and people crowded the area.

  Dad pointed. “It’s rounding the corner.” He grabbed his bag off the conveyor, then we took the elevator to the third floor. The doors opened to the parking structure.

  Amber and I noticed Dad’s frown when the cold air hit him. Amber locked her arm through his. “We scored a close spot, Daddy.”

  He smirked. “Oh yeah, now I remember why I moved to California.”

  “And all this time we thought it was because of Mom,” I joked.

  Dad sat in the passenger seat, and the four of us talked nonstop all the way to North Bend. Amber updated Dad on the classes she was taking. Even though he had heard it all before, he seemed happy to listen again. They talked about her plans after school, then Dad reminded her of his good friend that was a supervisory special agent in the serial crimes unit of the FBI.

  “You might get your foot in the door a lot sooner if I have a talk with Dave Spencer. Once you graduate from the academy, we’ll discuss this again.”

  “Thanks, Daddy. That would be so exciting. I’d be happy to start at any entry-level position he could get me into. At least I’d be in the FBI sooner than by my own effort.”

  “Just remind me to talk to him about it in six months. I’ll let you know what he suggests.” Tom looked over his shoulder at Kate. He wanted to know more about her psychic abilities.

  I glanced through the rearview mirror and saw her face go red. She cleared her throat and told him that her future goals were to be a legitimate psychic detective. She wanted to be in law enforcement and use her abilities to help solve cases. She told Dad how she’d worked with police departments in Nashville and Chicago in the past.

  “That sounds really interesting, Kate. Cops can’t always figure things out through the normal and usual route. Believe it or not, even us old, hardboiled fuddy-duddies don’t know everything.”

  I looked through the mirror again. I saw relief wash across Kate’s face. She seemed happy to have us believe in her dreams.

  At some point after we were home, I’d need to sneak away and have a private conversation with my dad. I wanted him to hear my plan, and I trusted and respected his opinion. I knew that in the next few days, everyone would have to be told.

  At one thirty, I pulled into the driveway and waited for the overhead garage door to open.

  “Here we are. What do you think of the outside, Dad?”

  “So far, it looks great, and that deck just screams party.”

  “We had one at Labor Day, but there’ll be more. Don’t forget our summers go by quickly.” I pulled into the garage, and we exited the car. “Let’s get your stuff to the guest room. It’s already set up for you.”

  “Thanks, honey.”

  Amber opened the door, and we passed through. “I’ll make the coffee while Jade shows you around.”

  I led the way to the guest room and set the backpack on the queen-sized bed. My dad wheeled in his luggage behind me.

  “Nice room. This condo looks new.”

  “Yeah, it was built a year ago. Come on. I’ll show you around.” I glanced down the hall and saw Kate and Amber in the kitchen, chatting it up. I turned to my dad and spoke quietly. “Dad, I need to have a serious talk with you later—just you and me.”

  “Okay, honey. We’ll figure something out. You can decide when the time is right.”

  I heard footsteps coming down the hall. Amber was heading toward us. “Quit hogging Daddy.” She gave me a playful scowl. “Here are your dinner choices—spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread and a tossed salad, or enchiladas with a side of frijoles and Spanish rice. What’s it going to be?” With her arms crossed and her foot planted, Amber waited as Dad thought it over.

  “It’s a tough choice, Amber, but since I do live in California and Mexican food is plentiful there, let’s have the spaghetti and meatballs—if everyone agrees.”

  “Perfect.” Amber looked at Kate and me. “Okay?”

  “Sounds good, I’ll eat anything.”

  Kate nodded. “I’ll help.”

  Dad took a seat in the living room, and I poured the coffee. I carried two cups and sat next to him on the couch. Amber and Kate seemed preoccupied, so I quietly explained the Robert Lynch ordeal and my idea.

  Dad took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “It seems awful risky, Jade.”

  “But the case against them is circumstantial at best. Nobody has proof, and there aren’t any witnesses that can put either of them at any scene except for the hooker. She can only say with certainty that she and her friend were assaulted. We need to draw them in. Look at Kate, Daddy. Do you see what I mean?”

  Kate busied herself in the kitchen, unaware that we were sizing her up. My dad gave her a long look, then turned back to me. “Yeah, you’re right—you actually could pull it off.”

  “And you approve?” I asked.

  “I didn’t say that, but you’re a sergeant in the sheriff’s department, honey. Your job is to serve and protect—it’s what you signed up for. I’ll support anything you decide to do.”

  “Thanks, Dad. I have to run everything past my lieutenant and my colleagues first. I may even have to get the North Bend PD on board.”

  Chapter 52

  Tony

  “It’s this way,” Tony said, waving his arm for Robert to follow.

  They crossed the footbridge over the Milwaukee River that meandered thro
ugh town. Having the truck hidden in the dark parking lot behind all of the downtown buildings and across the river wasn’t the worst idea—just in case. At eleven o’clock at night, the streets were quiet and the sidewalks were empty—no foot traffic to be seen. Faint music sounded from a bar on the next block. Most stores on Main Street were daytime retail spaces that closed at five o’clock on Saturdays. Big-box chain stores had taken over most of the shopping in North Bend, but they were on the outskirts of town.

  Tony pointed at the hardware store. The nondescript brick building was among a row of similar looking buildings on Main Street. They all appeared to be from the late 1800s—brick, two or three stories tall, with retail spaces on the street level of each.

  “Keep your head down and stay twenty feet behind me. There’s an intercom on the outside of the glass security door. Her name and apartment number are next to the buzzer. There are eight apartments in the building. Hers is on the second floor. I’ll tip my head when we get to the entry, then I’ll keep walking. I’ll meet you at the end of the block.”

  Robert nodded and stayed in the shadows as they crossed the street and approached the building. Tony cocked his head to the left and kept walking. He sat on a bench and waited in Settler’s Square. He saw Robert walking down the sidewalk toward him only a minute later. Tony got up and jerked his head. Robert followed.

  A block to the west, Tony turned left into an alley. He waited for Robert to join him.

  “So what’s here?” Robert asked.

  “This is where the delivery trucks unload, and it’s where the tenants of these buildings park. I’ll show you where her parking spot is.”

  They walked past the back of three buildings before they reached hers.

  “This is her building from the back.”

  Robert looked up. “She’s on the second floor, and there’s a fire escape back here. That’s good to know. Which car is hers?”