Darias Black lowered his camera and checked the pictures he had just taken. He knew who Mayer was, but it was the first clear shot he’d gotten of the kid. Probably not much taller than five foot six with sandy-blonde hair. He was skinny and walked as if he was hurt, or maybe sick.
Black had been following Mayer for nearly a week. It took some effort to find out who was behind the recently solved abduction cases. For some reason, the newspapers did not cite a particular investigator behind them. In fact, they didn’t report any significant details on the recovery of the children at all. Instead, there were just references to existing police investigations and “clues previously overlooked.” They never actually said who had uncovered the new information.
It took Black a long time to find out. And it had to be done in a way that wouldn’t tip off anyone on the other end of the phone.
Eventually, the person he was looking for turned out to be a man named Dennis Mayer, a recently retired cop from Los Angeles. He’d retired just months before, and quite coincidentally, after the surprising rescue of his own missing daughter. But now, instead of retiring, the detective appeared to be continuing his work in private. Miraculously, he seemed to be instantly successful at finding lost children. And he seemed to be doing so all by himself and covering his tracks for some strange reason.
But now Black knew the detective was not acting alone. He looked to be working with a teenage kid who had not been identified in any of the news clippings or mentioned by anyone during his search to find Mayer. But why?
He continued examining the pictures on his digital camera and zoomed in on one of the better shots of the teenager. In the photo, Mayer was keeping his hand close to the kid as they walked. Was he sick? Mayer didn’t have to help him get into the truck, but he was clearly weak.
So, how was this kid involved?
They appeared to be operating in secret, or at least in a manner meant to avoid attention.
Any other observer probably wouldn’t think twice about the duo. Why would they? It took someone else, someone like Black, to know why. Either they didn’t want anyone to know how they were finding lost kids or who was behind it. And if one of them was easily identifiable, meaning Mayer, then the person he was trying to hide was the teen. The boy was somehow involved in finding those children.
Black had finally found his targets.
The news of the first child being discovered had escaped his attention, but it was the second rescue that caught Black’s eye; from a discarded newspaper on his bus. Of course, he never cared about the children. He just needed to know who was finding them.
It wasn’t until the body of the young boy was found that alarm bells went off.
Darias Black didn’t know how this teenage kid was helping Mayer, but he worried that if left alone they would eventually stumble upon a case that Black followed very, very carefully.
One that would lead Mayer and the kid directly to him.
14
That evening, Dennis and Evan returned to the Keyes house just after 9:00 p.m. An hour well after dark, and one that would put most neighbors already at home.
The night air was cold enough to make their breaths visible as they walked up the ornate stone path toward the front door. The porch light was off as requested, and Mayer quietly opened the screen door, knocking gently. A few moments later, Anne Keyes turned the deadbolt from the other side and opened the door.
“Hello,” she said. She peered past them to the empty street before stepping back. “Please come in.”
“Thank you.” Mayer stepped in first, followed by Evan. When the door was closed, he turned to face Keyes. “We appreciate your flexibility.”
She nodded. “I have to admit, I don’t really understand what you’re doing. But I’m not in much of a position to ask questions, am I?”
On the other hand, Keyes had done her research. She had called the L.A.P.D. that afternoon and confirmed that Mayer had, indeed, recently retired from the force.
“I can’t imagine what clues you could be looking for in my daughter’s room that the other officers haven’t found. Or why you want to be alone in there. Please tell me you don’t have some weirdo thing going on.”
Dennis smiled. “No ma’am. We’re not weirdos. Unorthodox maybe, but not weirdos.”
Evan looked at Dennis but said nothing. He wasn’t sure that was entirely true.
Keyes gave a tired sigh and shrugged. She turned and headed back up the stairs with Evan and Dennis following. She really didn’t have much choice. She was both exhausted and desperate, and the case was cooling, still with no leads. Keyes had not heard anything from the Bakersfield Police Department for over two weeks which was not a good sign. People were losing hope and it was beginning to feel as though she was the only one trying to keep things going. More than anything else, she didn’t know how many more times she could wake up in the morning with nothing but despair left in her heart.
Keyes pushed open the door to Katie’s room and walked in. She stopped in the middle and turned toward Evan and Dennis. In a resigned tone, she stated, “I presume you need to be alone again.”
Dennis frowned. They both knew how strange the request sounded. “Please.”
“Fine.” She passed them on the way out and, not saying another word, closed the door behind her. Without looking back, Keyes walked quietly to the top of the stairs and descended. Once in the living room, she sat down stoically on her couch and hung her head. The tears came easily and she wept, alone.
Twenty minutes later, Evan managed to push himself up and keep steady on the edge of the girl’s bed. The sickness wasn’t as bad tonight, but two visions in one day left him with barely enough energy to sit up. The episodes were now happening every day, whether he liked it or not. But eliciting them on purpose took a much larger toll.
Dennis put a firm hand on his shoulder as Evan suddenly wavered. “Easy.”
Evan acknowledged weakly with a nod. “I saw…tunnels.”
“Tunnels?”
“Big tunnels. Wide. And dark.”
“Do you know where?”
“In a large city.”
“How large is large?”
Evan shrugged. “I’m not sure. Big, like L.A. maybe.”
“Los Angeles?” Dennis thought it over. “Which direction?”
“East, I think.”
“How far east?”
“I’m not really sure. I couldn’t see any names or signs, but there were a lot of buildings. And lots of lights.”
“Do you know where these tunnels are?”
“Yes. If we can find the city, I can find the tunnels.”
Dennis remained kneeling but raised one knee, resting his arm across it. “Okay. So it’s a big city east of here. How many of the buildings were you able to make out? Were any noticeably taller than the others? Maybe lettering on it or a unique shape?”
Evan nodded his head slowly, as if it were still hurting. “Yes. There was a big building, shaped like a giant pyramid. And it had a bright light on top.”
Anne Keyes quickly wiped her eyes and stood up when she saw Dennis helping Evan down the stairs.
“My God, what happened?!” She started forward until Dennis held up his hand.
“It’s okay. We’re fine.” He kept an arm under Evan’s until they reached the bottom. He spotted a rocking chair positioned across from the couch and helped Evan lower himself down into it.
Keyes stepped forward, concerned. “Are you alright?”
Evan nodded gratefully. “Yes ma’am.”
Keyes eyed Dennis. “What on earth happened?”
He took a breath and leveled his gaze at her. “Ms. Keyes, I think you’re going to want to sit down.”
“What for?”
“Please.” Dennis motioned to the couch behind her.
Apprehensively, Keyes moved backward and sat down on the white, leather couch. She peered past him to Evan as she kept trying to figure out what could have happened upstairs.
&
nbsp; Dennis sat down on the end of the couch. “Ms. Keyes, we need to talk.”
“About what?” No sooner had she finished the question than her eyes suddenly grew wide. “Wait. Did you find something?!”
He raised both hands in a cautionary gesture. “Before I say anything, I want to remind you of our agreement.”
“You found something! What is it?”
“Not yet. First, you need to remember our deal.”
“Yes, yes. I remember. Not a word to anyone.”
“Not a word to anyone, ever.” Dennis corrected.
“Yes, of course. No one.”
“No matter who comes asking. No matter how many years later. You don’t remember either of us.”
“Yes! Alright! I promise. Now tell me, what did you find?!”
Dennis spoke calmly. “We can’t tell you what we found. Instead, we’d like to tell you something much more important. At least for the moment.” He took a deep breath. “We believe strongly that your daughter, Katie, is alive.”
Keyes suddenly gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. “What?!”
“Alive,” Dennis repeated.
She sat frozen on the couch. Her erect posture made it look as though she was about to leap up at any moment. But she didn’t move. It felt like she was about to go into shock. Her arms began to tremble. “Alive,” she whispered. “Are you sure?”
Dennis glanced at Evan, who was watching Keyes. “We’re pretty sure.”
She suddenly stopped. “How sure?”
“Very sure,” Evan replied, from his chair.
Keyes looked at him and opened her mouth to speak but stopped again. She looked at the stairs and visually followed them up. “Wait. What happened to you upstairs? What exactly did you find?”
“Well, it’s not so much what we found.” Dennis tilted his head and briefly closed an eye, thinking how best to phrase it. “It’s…kind of…” After a pause, he exhaled. “Different.”
Keyes watched him as he spoke, and then turned to study Evan. He was still resting weakly. “Wait a second,” she said. “Please don’t tell me this is some kind of psychic thing.”
“Well, not really,” Dennis shrugged. “But…sort of.”
The excitement instantly drained from her face. It was replaced by a pained, almost agonizing expression. “Oh my God,” she said, visibly deflating in front of them. “You don’t actually know anything. You’re just guessing.”
Dennis frowned. No, they weren’t guessing, but how does one explain to someone else that they’re not a kook? That what they could see, what Evan could see, was not what most people might envision.
A devastated Keyes slumped back into the couch with hands over her face. “That’s why you didn’t want me to tell anyone. Why you don’t want anyone to know.”
“No. That’s not it.”
She didn’t hear him. She was already shaking her head. She was still reeling from the emotional plunge. It was her own fault. She had let herself get excited over someone having a feeling that Katie was still alive. Was this how utterly desperate she had become?
Keyes dropped her hands and stood up, exasperated. “Please leave,” she said quietly.
Dennis and Evan looked at each other again.
“Ms. Keyes…”
“Thank you for trying to help,” she cut him off. “But please, just go.”
Outside, both Evan and Dennis stood watching as Anne Keyes closed both the screen and then the door in front of them.
With Dennis’ arm still under his, Evan looked up at his partner’s darkened figure. “That didn’t go very well.”
“No, it didn’t.” Dennis continued staring at the square shadow of the front door. “But maybe it’s for the best.”
Telling the parent what they knew was a risk. They knew that. It was intended to calm the person, to give them hope while Dennis and Evan then tried to find the child. But it could just as easily create a larger problem. Grieving parents were in a very unstable emotional state. A state that could explode in any direction, something Dennis Mayer knew too well. Sometimes the parent was on the cusp of doing something drastic, even if they didn’t realize it. Therefore, giving the parents hope and putting an end to the anguish was the first step. Yet, while they knew it was a risk, this was the first time they hadn’t made it past step one.
Dennis could understand Keyes’ reaction. Trying to put your faith in the unknown wasn’t easy when it was practically all you had left. Especially in some kid she’d never met before.
He looked down at the teenager who barely reached his shoulder. What she didn’t know, however, was that Evan had not been wrong yet.
Darias Black silently scanned the street one last time. There were no cars approaching and no one was visible on either of the two sidewalks. His face was painted black to match his sweatshirt, pants, and dark shoes. His black hair made a cap unnecessary.
He reached down and fingered the small Glock, reassuring himself that it was still tucked inside his waistband. He was surprised that Mayer and the kid had come back so soon, but more than that he was thrilled at the opportunity it provided him. Their obsession over stealth was now his advantage. The darkness would make it easy to get close, and if he was fast enough, no one would see a thing.
He started his approach to the house discreetly while Dennis and the kid stood in front talking. He moved in a straight line, keeping a large tree in the neighbor’s yard in between them to hide as much of his movement as possible.
His pace was quick. He reached down, wrapping his hand around the butt of the gun, and snaked a finger over the trigger. In one smooth movement, he slid it up and out from his pants.
If he was anything, he was methodical. A stickler for detail. It was how he had avoided capture thus far, even after multiple murders. He had to think of everything: every detail, every contingency, and every variable that might be out of his control.
As he approached the large tree, Black’s entire shape disappeared behind it. He glanced thirty yards further down the street to his Ford, which was parked along the curb. It wasn’t far beyond Keyes’ house. He would be able to get to it quickly.
Black paused briefly at the sound of the television through the window of a neighbor’s house he was passing. It sounded like some singing show. Inside, the owner would never notice Black moving across his own front lawn.
Now at the wide tree trunk, he glanced around the edge to see if his targets had moved from the next house’s front porch. They hadn’t.
The moment was in his favor, and he didn’t hesitate. Black instantly rounded the tree and broke into a run, sprinting toward them at full speed.
“You need to get some rest.”
Evan shook his head at Dennis Mayer’s silhouette. “I can rest as you drive. We need to get to her daughter.”
The kid was right. There was no way to know how much time Katie Keyes had left, or what condition she was in. But with any luck they would be back in Bakersfield with Katie in a couple days.
“Okay, let’s get going then.” He turned and led Evan down the stone steps toward the sidewalk.
Evan took only a single step before he suddenly gasped. A paralyzing jolt passed through him and his body went rigid. It caused him to stumble, tripping against the edge of the next stepping stone. He tried to reach for Dennis’ hand, which had slipped out from under him, but missed.
The last thought Dennis had before spinning around was how odd an old car nearby looked, parked in that upscale neighborhood. But now he was moving, clutching after Evan, who was gasping and falling away from him. He never saw the dark figure appear behind him.
Luck was on Darias Black’s side. He’d managed to make it across both front yards without a sound. Better yet, as he reached Mayer and the kid, their silhouettes actually appeared to be turned away from him.
He didn’t stop running. He didn’t even slow down. Instead, he passed less than fifteen feet away and fired two rounds just as the teenager appeared to trip and fa
ll.
Black never broke stride. After his two shots, he continued past them at full speed and straight for his car.
15
Bright flashes accompanied by two earsplitting explosions startled them both, as Evan fell to the ground and Dennis fumbled to grab him.
Suddenly, Dennis’ motion changed and his twisting body accelerated, missing Evan’s outstretched hand. Evan hit the ground first, followed by Dennis whose motion sent him spinning out of control until he lost his balance. He fell with a heavy thud onto the edge between the stone and grass and rolled hard into Evan.
When Dennis realized what had happened, it took only seconds for him to retrieve his own gun and jump up onto his knees. He sighted the dark figure as it reached the car he’d noticed at the next house, but he couldn’t see well enough to fire a shot.
If he missed, the bullet from his gun wouldn’t stop until it hit a nearby house. And a forty-five caliber round had more than enough power to go through multiple layers of stucco and drywall.
Black reached his car in less than ten seconds, with the keys already in his hand. He yanked the door open and jumped in behind the wheel. Careful not to touch the brake pedal, he turned the ignition and pressed his foot onto the accelerator. The engine roared to life.
Black dropped the transmission down three notches and eased off the gas to keep from peeling out. Leaving the headlights off would allow him to get away with the least amount of attention. Some neighbors might still notice the shape of a white car leaving the scene, but without its lights on, they would have a difficult time identifying the make and model.
After pulling away, he tightened his grip and pressed harder against the pedal, feeling the car quickly accelerate. It was over. Now he just had to get as far away as possible. Even if he hadn’t killed both of them, killing just one would likely be enough to stop their investigations.
The Unexpected Hero Page 6