by H. P. Bayne
Paul had notified Dez, Eva and Lachlan he’d called his father at the downtown high-rise. Dez had driven his small group over, and they were sitting in the running SUV, awaiting Paul who was on his way into town with Mara to join them. While part of Dez wanted nothing more than to walk into the Dunsmore condo right now and started making demands, the yet-sane part of him accepted it was far smarter to wait on Paul. It was very early in the morning—or very late at night—and a man who had reached retirement age a few years back wasn’t going to be pleased to entertain visitors at a time most people were long asleep.
They were still waiting for Paul when Dez’s phone rang to Sully’s ringtone.
“Everything okay?” Dez asked by way of greeting.
“Sort of,” Sully said. “Snowy won’t help us, though.”
Dez glared out the windshield, though the object of his annoyance was far beyond reach. “Even after she set you up and all? Did you tell her she owes you massively?”
“She knows. That’s not the problem. She’s terrified. Like shell-shocked terrified.”
“So when you said ‘sort of’ about everything being okay, you really meant ‘not at all.’ ”
“No, I meant what I said. She won’t help directly, but she gave me an idea, an even better one. Problem’s going to be getting in.”
Lachlan leaned forward from the backseat. “Put the damn phone on speaker, Braddock.”
Dez resisted grumbling at him and did as asked before returning attention to Sully. “Getting in where, Sull?”
“The Schusters’. I’d imagine the police are still holding the scene, right?”
“We didn’t ask earlier,” Lachlan said. “But it seems a bit early for them to have released it, given the nature of your find and the likely connection to the investigation into Betty’s murder. Why do you need to get in?”
The answer came to Dez without Sully needing to respond. “Harry,” Dez said.
“Snowy reminded me of something. Remember how Harry was trying to possess me, and we figured it might have been about trying to prevent bad stuff happening to his family? Thing is, that means even as a ghost, he has the ability to see things others can’t. If I can’t find Dad or Aiden to show me where Kayleigh is, I’ll bet Harry could see something. Problem’s going to be getting in there to ask him.”
Dez looked to Lachlan. “How likely is it the chief can get Sully inside the house?”
“It’s an active crime scene,” Lachlan said. “Not likely.”
“Even under the circumstances, if he’s treated as a consultant or something?”
“It depends on the forensic work being done, I’d imagine. If it’s not completed, there’s a risk of contaminating the scene. They wouldn’t allow that.”
Dez wasn’t giving up that easily. “We can get Sully geared up in the stuff Ident wears. And I doubt he’d even have to go far inside. Even just stepping through the door might be enough. I mean, hell, if Sully tells the Schusters we’re working on closing in on Lowell, damn straight they’d want to help—especially if it means enabling Thackeray to leave the house. It didn’t sound to me like they were enjoying being stuck there.”
“Tell you what,” Lachlan said. “I’ll call Leuvan, see what he can do for us. Where are you now?”
“Almost at Ravenwood. I would have called sooner, but I didn’t want to risk someone hearing me talking. Working cellphones are a hot commodity in The Forks.”
Lachlan leaned forward a bit more. “Think you can get a cab to Betty’s?”
“I’ve got Pax with me. It won’t be easy finding someone who’ll transport a dog.”
Lachlan looked from Dez to Eva and back again. “Anyone else he can call for a ride? How about that Emily lady? I’d rather not ditch this chat with Dunsmore.”
“It won’t be long before Paul gets here,” Eva said. “Maybe I can borrow his vehicle to get Sully and take him to the Schusters’.”
Dez shook his head. “If Harry’s got answers about Kayleigh’s whereabouts, I want to be there.”
Lachlan gave a head shake of his own. “Uh-uh. I need you here. If we’re going to persuade Dunsmore to help us, we need to prove to him exactly how much we know. It’ll be far more convincing if Lowell Braddock’s nephew is one of the ones doing the convincing.”
“Lachlan’s right,” Eva said. “Don’t worry. We won’t move on anything without you. Believe me, if this goes the way I think it’s going to go, we’ll need all hands on deck.”
“Okay,” Dez said. “But one condition. Take Mom with you, all right? I don’t want you on your own.”
“I’ll be okay.”
“I know. But take her along anyway. I’ll feel better if I know the two of you are together.”
Lachlan heaved a sigh and snatched Dez’s cellphone away. “Hang tight, Sullivan. I’m going to call the chief, see what he can do for us.”
“Hold up,” Sully said. “If you need to explain to him exactly who it is wanting in there, go ahead. The way tonight’s going, it’s only a matter of time before I need to come forward. Might as well be now.”
Lachlan ended the call with Sully, then handed Dez his phone back before retrieving his own from his pocket.
Dez fixed Lachlan in a pointed stare. “Why’d you cut Sully off if you’re using your own phone?”
“I can’t focus on two conversations at once, Braddock.” Lachlan focused on his phone while Dez turned to Eva.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
She shook her head, but didn’t otherwise answer. Dez laid a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get there,” he said. “I promise, we will.”
He could see it on the tip of her tongue, the “what if.” He had an answer ready, one he wasn’t entirely sure he could believe himself, but her question didn’t come. She wasn’t prepared to voice her doubt, which was just as well, because he didn’t think he was prepared to hear it. If Eva fell apart, Dez wouldn’t be far behind.
A tinny voice sounded from behind them, coming from Lachlan’s phone.
“Hang on, Ed,” Lachlan said. “Need to put you on speaker.”
A second later, Lachlan was leaning back toward the centre console, phone in hand. “I’m here with Desmond and Eva,” Lachlan said into the phone. “We’re outside Ray Dunsmore’s waiting for Paul. Once he gets here, we’re going to have a word with him, see if we can persuade him to come to you with a full statement about the Circle’s illegal activities—specifically serious crimes committed by Lowell Braddock.”
“You need to give me an idea here,” Ed said. “What kind of serious are we talking here? Fraud? Drug offences?”
“Murder,” Lachlan said. “More than one.”
“Jee-zus,” Ed said, dragging out the word. “How many?”
“Four for sure, likely five, plus one attempt. And he was front and centre in the Lockwood drug experiments.”
A chuckle erupted from the phone. “You’re joking.”
“I don’t have a sense of humour, Ed. You know that. I’m serious. When I told you he was in deep, I meant it. It occurred to me you’re going to need a DNA sample to match to what you find under Thackeray Schuster’s fingernails. Right now, I’m willing to bet you don’t have anything in the system to match. We can get that for you once Ray Dunsmore comes forward.”
“Who else’s murders are you talking about here?” Ed asked. “I mean, Major Crimes is looking at a possible connection between Thackeray and Betty’s deaths, but who besides them?”
Lachlan sought out Dez’s eye, then Eva’s, looking for the go-ahead. Dez looked for and received Eva’s nod before passing the same on to Lachlan. The night was wearing on and they were no closer to finding Lowell. There was no point sitting on this anymore. They were too far into this now.
“Flynn and Aiden Braddock,” Lachlan said. “And also—”
“Hang on,” Ed cut in. “His own brother and nephew? Why?”
“All in good time. We have reason to believe he was also responsible for the sho
oting death of Prescott Montague. Forbes Raynor was looking into it on the down-low when he was hit.”
Ed sighed. “We knew he was investigating something he wasn’t sharing. Duncan told me Forbes had a habit of taking calls or meets outside of the unit, ones where he’d just disappear and be gone a while, then come back and refuse to talk about it. Duncan thought it had to do with Greta, but what you tell me makes as much sense. Damn it. I need info on this, now.”
“We’ll try to get it to you.”
“I mean from you. I need you in here, Lachlan. I need to know what you know.”
“I can’t. Not yet.”
“Then Dez or Eva. Someone. We can’t sit on this. Not for another second.”
“We don’t have a choice, Ed.” Lachlan paused, looking again to Dez and Eva. It was obvious what he was asking. It was equally obvious they no longer had a choice.
Dez took Lachlan’s phone with a shaking hand. “Chief? It’s Dez. The reason we needed the time is because Lowell took our daughter. He’s got Kayleigh, and given his history, we’re well aware she’s….” He trailed off, long enough to blow tension out through a prolonged breath. “She’s not safe with him.”
“Why would he have taken her?”
Dez launched into an explanation, providing the chief with as much of a rundown of Lowell’s murderous history as time allowed, as well as the perceived reasons for it. When he’d finished, Ed had fallen silent.
“You there, Ed?” Lachlan asked.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m—wow. Okay. God, where the hell do we start with all this?”
“We’ve already started,” Lachlan said. “We’ll share everything with you as soon as we can. But we need you to let us run with what we’ve got for a little while longer. The more Circle members who are pulled in, the better the chances word will reach Lowell. We don’t want him in a position where he’ll panic. That’s one major reason we’re wanting to talk to Dunsmore now. If he can get the word out to a couple of key Circle members not to offer assistance to Lowell, it should keep him in the dark a little while longer—hopefully long enough we can find him before everything blows up.”
“Lachlan, if a little girl has been the victim of a kidnapping, we need to be involved in the investigation.”
“I’m a former cop, Ed. So is Desmond, and Eva still is. We know the law; we know the rules of evidence. We won’t bungle anything so you can’t make a case. But you need to give us the space. Anything else, and that girl’s life is at risk. Anyway, we’ve got an ace in the hole, one Lowell won’t see coming. But we’re going to need your help to use him.”
“This just keeps getting worse,” Ed groaned. “Who are you talking about now?”
“Sullivan Gray.”
“Flynn’s foster son? He was killed two years ago.”
“Another long story, Ed, and we don’t have time. But here’s the quick version: He’s not dead. He faked his own death to get away from Gerhardt and the drug experiments, but mainly to escape Lowell. Lowell tried to kill him when Sullivan learned of his illegal activities, and he’s been gathering evidence against him ever since. He’s got stuff you can use against Lowell, including recorded statements from Gerhardt and Montague.”
“What? Where is he?”
“He’s working on helping us find Kayleigh, but we need your help getting him inside the Schuster house.”
“That’s still a held scene. I can’t.”
“He doesn’t need in far. Just inside a doorway is good enough. You can have a member keep an eye, just to make sure he doesn’t go anywhere or touch anything. Put him in one of Ident’s suits so nothing gets contaminated. But we need him in there, Ed.”
“Why? What’s he going to get out of standing in the doorway?”
“I can’t get into that now. Just trust me. We think he can get us what we need. And once this is over, he’ll willingly come in and talk to your investigators about what he knows. But not before. Kayleigh comes first. Can you get him in there or not?”
“I still don’t understand what he’s expecting to accomplish. I can’t just interfere in an active investigation or crime scene. I need—”
Lachlan had been allowing Dez to hold the phone. Now he snatched it away with a growl. “He communicates with the dead, all right?”
Ed’s response sounded as incredulous as Dez would have expected. “What?”
Dez took over. “Lachlan’s not crackers, Chief. Sully sees ghosts. Always has. You and Duncan wondered how it was our source was able to find Thackeray’s body as easily as he did. That was Sully. The Schusters pointed out the spot to him and Sully and I ripped the spot up until we found enough to call in police. I told you how Harry’s visions were behind Aiden’s murder and everything that followed. You can believe in it or not, but the Circle believed firmly. I think Dunsmore will confirm that for you. But we know it’s true, what Harry can do, and we’re banking on it he can help us find Kayleigh. You need to let Sully in there, just for a few minutes. Please, sir. It might be the only way to save her.”
“Christ almighty,” Ed grumbled. Another few moments of silence fell before an answer came. “All right. Just give me a few minutes to talk to Duncan.”
He hung up without waiting on a reply. Dez looked to Lachlan.
“We’re screwed,” Dez said.
They’d been off the phone only a couple of minutes when Paul pulled up behind them.
Dez, Eva and Lachlan climbed out to greet the newcomers, and Dez marvelled at the fact Paul appeared just as put-together as ever, a thick, gray wool coat over crisp jeans, his hair coiffed perfectly despite the cold breeze and the snow falling atop it.
Mara, on the other hand, wasn’t looking so good. She broke into tears the moment she saw Dez, rushing headlong into his arms and clutching at him while she wept. It proved enough to get Dez going again, and they stood there, the two of them, holding each other and crying while, presumably, Lachlan filled Paul in on what they’d discussed with Chief Leuvan. By the time Dez and Mara released each other, Dez had a mess of frozen tears on his face and Eva was waiting right next to him for her own hug from Mara.
Paul approached and extended a hand to Dez. “I’m sorry all of this is happening to your family. It’s not right. We’re going to put an end to it. I’ll make sure my father does the right thing.”
Lachlan’s phone rang. “It’s Ed,” he said, before answering and putting it back on speaker. “Lachlan here. Paul just arrived. We’re going to go have a word with his father right away. You talk to McPhee?”
“Yeah, and he’s not happy about the idea of Sullivan going in there.”
“Ed—”
“But he’ll do it. Under one condition. Both he and I want to be there.”
Naturally, Dez thought.
Ed continued. “Where and when can he pick Sullivan up?”
Eva stepped farther forward to get closer to the phone. “Eva Braddock here, Chief. I’m going to pick him up and take him to the house. Have Staff Sergeant McPhee meet us there in, say, about half an hour. I’m hoping we can get there in that time, but we might be a little late, depending on the roads.”
“Okay,” Ed said. “Half an hour. And Constable? I’m sorry about your daughter.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Ed broke the connection, leaving the group to finish sorting out tasks.
“Mom, can you go with Eva to get Sully?” Dez asked. “She’ll explain what’s happening on the way. I need to go with Lachlan and Paul to talk to Ray Dunsmore. We’ll meet up again later tonight, all right?” He turned to Eva. “Take the SUV. Oh, and this.” He fished out the palo santo and placed it in Eva’s hands. “Just in case.”
Another exchange of hugs and Dez was watching Eva and his mom drive away.
“Well, gentlemen?” Lachlan said. “What say we get this show on the road?”
24
Ray Dunsmore was not pleased to see them.
He met them at the door of his expansive penthouse condo with a frown and nar
rowed, bloodshot eyes before leading them into an office—one Dez noticed had just one chair, situated behind an oak desk.
Dez was happy enough to stand, and he used his height and muscle to its best advantage by taking up a position very near the desk, dwarfing Dunsmore’s seated self.
The man’s discomfort was clear as he shifted in his chair. Dez crossed his arms, a position that made the muscles of his biceps bulge, even beneath his winter coat. If Dez could deliver even a portion of the anxiety Dunsmore had doled out to Sully, he’d consider it job done.
No great surprise then when the man stood abruptly and circled the desk on the opposite side from Dez. “Second thought,” he said. “We’d be more comfortable in the living room.”
Lachlan turned a smirk and a raised eyebrow on Dez—as approving a look as he’d ever bestowed on him. Dez smiled back. If his being a jerk impressed Lachlan, Dez would be well on his way to a hefty raise by the time this night was over.
The living room was massive, oversized furniture barely making a dent in the open floor plan. Floor-to-ceiling windows provided a breathtaking view of Kimotan Rapids, one Dez would, under any other circumstance, be loath to miss checking out. Tonight was not the night.
Dunsmore gravitated toward one of two high-backed leather chairs and Lachlan immediately beelined for the other. Paul and Dez settled on one of two sofas.
“Where’s Mom?” Paul asked.
Dunsmore’s glare fell on his son. “The estate. Do you want to tell me what this is all about? You know I have a busy day tomorrow. Do you have any idea what time it is?”
“Pretty sure I do, yeah,” Paul said. “As it happens, I’ve been running around, trying to clean up our little club’s mess. I think it’s time you take on your share of the work.”
Dunsmore’s glare faltered, disallowed by the slight widening of his eyes behind tortoiseshell glasses. “Pardon me?”
Paul sat forward, nearer his father. “Lowell Braddock’s gone off the deep end. Unbeknownst to me, he’s been going that way a long time. You knew all about it, and you let it go until now. It’s over, Dad. He needs to be dealt with. The police are closing in, and if you don’t do something about it, he’ll take all of us down with him.”