by PJ Fernor
I stood outside the building and studied the entire lot.
I noticed a camera on the corner of the gas station part.
When I pointed, Ben nodded.
“Yup. I see it too.”
My eyes scanned along the roof and I noticed another camera. This one was in the opposite corner, where the restaurant was.
“Another one,” I said.
“Well, if this is it… this is it.”
“A place with cameras,” I said. “Maybe Sandemor should get a copy of the memo to get some cameras installed..”
“Small town living, Allie Down,” Ben said. “Cameras give off a bad vibe.”
I pointed and said, “Cameras are going to help us find Jessie.”
Another car pulled into the lot and I felt my heart sink with anger.
We had no choice but to call Johnny.
This was his jurisdiction. Steve was his suspect. Lucy was his case. And even if it was tied to Jessie, we needed him. He knew the town. The people. He knew how to get the answers that would ultimately help us.
“You okay?” Ben asked.
“Fine.”
“Your lip is curled so high, I can’t tell if you’re angry or impersonating Elvis.”
I gave Ben a nasty side eye glance and turned away.
Johnny climbed out of his black SUV and opened his arms. “Look at you two. You can’t get enough of me, huh?”
He was in a full suit. Complete with the arrogant aura that told me he was an old pro at dealing with internal investigations for his tactics. And his million dollar smile could get him out of anything that anyone deemed wrong.
He and Ben shook hands.
Johnny looked at me. “Hug or shake?”
“We need the footage from inside both places,” I said. “On the day Lucy went missing.”
“So you really think you have something here?” Johnny asked.
“It’s amazing what you can get when you’re not bullying someone,” I said.
“Bullying?” Johnny asked. “Try working.”
“Where did that work get you?” I asked.
“Look, this is fun,” Ben said, stepping between Johnny and I. “I can do this all day. Listen to you two. But if there’s any chance we find Steve and this mystery guy on camera and can tie it to Lucy and then Jessie, we don’t have a second to spare.”
“He’s got a point,” Johnny said to me. “I already know the ending to my case.”
“You’re a jerk, Johnny,” I said. “How can you be so casual about it? That little girl could have been found. But instead you went on the attack.”
“Save yourself from falling off your pedestal, Detective Down,” Johnny said. “You don’t think I’ve unturned these rocks already? Huh? I know every single movement the Maurowitz family made that day.”
“Were they here?”
“No,” Johnny said.
“Then let’s find out for real,” I said.
“Come on,” Ben said. “Johnny, make the introduction in the gas station and then-”
“It’s already taken care of, Ben,” Johnny said. “Emilio and I already talked. He’s got the footage for both. Locked and loaded, waiting for us.” He pointed. “There’s a second floor office.”
“You called?” I asked.
Johnny smiled at me. That wannabe soothing smile with his two hundred dollar cologne smelling like a skunk rubbed its backside in cinnamon.
“This is my town and my case,” Johnny said. “Now Emilio over here, he bought this off his grandfather, Gio. During some renovations someone walked right in and stole tools and building supplies. So Emilio parked a trailer and watched each night. Then he opened the gas station. It was robbed the second night. That did it for him. He stared into the eyes of a man with a gun and gave him some cash and vowed to never let it happen again. My point is that he invested a lot of money into security. So any angle of any day, he’s got it. Probably better quality images that we’d get off traffic cams.”
“That’s good to know,” Ben said. “Thanks for making that call, Johnny.”
“Hey,” Johnny replied. “I’d say I did it for you, Ben, but when I have the chance to be near Detective Down, I have to take it.”
Johnny winked at me.
I felt like throwing up.
Instead, I pushed by both of them and walked to the gas station.
As soon as I entered, a short man came charging my way.
His wrists jangled with gold bracelets. He wore a heavy gold chain with a cross and a pair of glasses hung from the chain. He looked old and incredibly fit. When we shook hands, his small hand had a fierce grip as he introduced himself as Emilio.
“Detective,” he said. “Anything you need, you tell me.”
Before I could speak, he broke away and cried out with laughter when he saw Johnny.
They met each other and Johnny leaned down so Emilio could grab him by the neck and kiss his cheeks. He did this as Johnny stood with his hands in his pockets, reveling in the moment of attention.
I looked at Ben and he forced a grin.
His silent way of telling me to stay calm.
Emilio shook hands with Ben and led the way to the employees only part of the gas station which led to a set of steps.
“I have both places connected,” Emilio said to me as he climbed the steps. “So you can come and go from each. It’s a busy place. But I keep it safe. I always keep things safe here.”
“That’s good,” I said. “I appreciate you working with us.”
Emilio stopped and looked back at me. “That poor Lucy. Her family used to eat here. Not often. But they weren’t above it. Rich? Yeah. But her father loved it here. His father - the old man - he knew my father. But that’s for another time.”
The second floor had a few doors.
Emilio took us into his office and had his computer screen already turned around.
“I keep track of everything,” he said. “I have an offsite company running a lot of this too. If there’s anything you need that isn’t here, say the word and I’ll get it.”
“Johnny said you have the footage already pulled up for us,” I said.
“Of course,” Johnny said. He walked right behind the desk and sat down in the very expensive looking leather chair. “How do I get one of these? The chair I sit in squeaks louder than Detective Down when she’s wrong.”
Johnny helped himself to a laugh.
Ben took a step and I touched his arm.
I wasn’t sure what was going to happen there, but this wasn’t about us or cheap comments from Johnny.
“Have at it,” Emilio said. “I have both sets of footage loaded.”
I started with the restaurant.
Right around the time Steve gave me, I saw his car pull into a parking spot.
When he got out of his car, he tucked his keys into his pocket but then quickly took them back out.
“Did you see that?” Ben asked.
“I saw,” I said.
It looked like Steve’s credit card fell out of his pocket when he took his keys out of his pocket.
“A little obsessive about which pocket his keys go into?” I asked Ben.
“Maybe,” he said. “He hurried to move them… I’m sure everyone has their own favorite pockets.”
“Wow, you’re really cracking this case,” Johnny said.
“Someone once told me if you put your keys with your credit cards, it messes with the signal on the keys,” Ben said.
I watched the screen again.
Someone walked up to Steve’s car.
The person crouched down and lifted the credit card off the ground.
“Tucks it right into his pocket,” Ben said.
I paused the video. “I want to see something really quick. This guy is looking right at the gas station…”
I switched videos and pulled up the exact time Steve was there.
“There she is,” I said.
I turned the screen to show Johnny.
&n
bsp; “What?” he asked.
“There’s Lucy,” I said to him. “With her father. Getting gas.”
“What?” Johnny asked again.
He leaned forward.
Lucy was in the backseat and rolled the window down while her father pumped the gas. She was happy, beautiful, alive.
“Thought you said you knew every move?” Ben asked.
“I guess getting gas that day didn’t matter to her father,” Johnny said.
I turned the screen around to face me again.
My heart raced.
This is it.
“Just like I told you,” I said to Ben.
I went back to the other video.
And there he was, looking in the direction of the gas pumps. Crouching down every few seconds. Then he dipped down and looked like he did something to Steve’s tire. I couldn’t tell for sure though.
Steve walked back to his car and the guy jumped up.
Everything Steve told me was the truth.
“Turn around,” I whispered.
The office was silent.
Johnny and Emilio stared as intently as I did.
The quick conversation Steve told me about finally came to an end.
Steve opened the door to his car.
And the guy turned around.
He lifted his head just enough to give me a clear shot of his face.
I paused the video and backed away from the computer.
“Allie?” Ben asked.
I collected my thoughts.
“Print that right now,” I said to Ben. “And get it out to everyone.”
“You’re sure about this?” Johnny asked in a somber voice.
I pointed to the screen and nodded.
“That’s the guy I saw… he’s the one who kidnapped and killed Lucy… and he’s the one who has Jessie right now.”
Chapter Sixty-Six
Laura stood behind her desk and studied the image.
“Run this by me again,” she said.
The frustration in me was at an all-time high. Back in the city when I said something, everyone listened right away. I had earned that respect. And even if there came a time when I was wrong, I still had everyone’s support.
But as I stood there with Laura staring at me, I wasn’t sure if I had her support.
Next to me at the good coffee, Garrison clicked his tongue each time he sipped his coffee.
I looked at him. “If you click your tongue again, I’m going to cut it out of your mouth.”
Garrison clicked his tongue two more times.
I took one step and Garrison backed away, showing his hands.
“She’s telling the truth,” Ben said to Laura. “You saw the video. It all makes sense.”
“Aw, how sweet,” Garrison said. “Ben defending his girl.”
“Can I hit him yet?” I asked Laura.
“Garrison, you can leave,” Laura said.
“My mouth is shut,” he said.
I sighed. “Laura. This guy is the one. This is it. He looks for that type of little girl. It sounds like a stretch, but I don’t think it is. I think he was stalking my neighbor. And I bumped into him. I pulled my gun on him.”
“You pulled your gun on this man?” Laura asked.
“Just a gut reaction,” I said. “Because he was crouched down. I think I scared him away from Janelle. But that made him go after Jessie. Which explains why it was so random in a sense. He must have been driving around town and just saw her.”
“And this man right here is the same one that you saw?” Laura asked.
“I’d bet my life on it, Chief.”
“And I’m sure someone has seen him,” Ben said. “We have to find out who he is. He had no problem picking up Steve’s credit card and then using it to point the finger at Steve.”
“What’s the worst thing that happens?” I asked.
“We ruin someone’s life,” Laura said.
“Like Johnny did to Steve?” I asked.
“Good point,” Garrison called out.
“Fire me then,” I said. “Take my shield. My badge. Take everything from me. I know what I know.”
“I’m not going to resist,” Laura said. “I just like hearing the whole story. I’ve already released the picture. We have officers out there handing out copies. I would never hold back on a potential suspect. Especially in this case.”
I wasn’t sure if Laura was evil or what.
Maybe it was her way of showing command.
“We need to hit the streets then,” I said. “Start over. Go back to Nelle. And work our way from there.”
“I agree,” Ben said.
“I haven’t found anything in the woods,” Garrison said. “All searches have come up with nothing. We can start expanding if we want. There’s plenty to search.”
“That would take months,” Laura said.
“I still have a gut feeling he’s close,” I said.
“Unless he took off after dumping Lucy’s body,” Ben said.
“If that’s the case, then we’ll get him somewhere else,” Laura said. “This guy isn’t getting away with this. Even if…” Laura pursed her lips for a second. “Even if Jessie is hurt or worse, we’re going to bring this guy to justice.”
“She’s alive, Laura,” I said. “I refuse to believe anything but that.”
“Then let’s get him,” Laura said. “Garrison, finish your good coffee and get back out there to the woods. Start where Lucy was found. Work that area. Find new areas to look too. There’s plenty out there. I have to call over to Morris. Deal with Detective Barby.”
“My deepest apologies for that,” I said.
Laura smiled. “I’m sure he’s spoken to the Maurowitz family.”
“I’ll contact Jessie’s parents,” Ben said.
He side eyed me as a warning.
But I didn’t need a warning.
I was done with Cat and Connor. I still felt they were guilty in all of this. Not directly, but their actions set the scene for their daughter to be standing there the night she was kidnapped.
“Detective Down,” Laura said. “Good work. You never gave up.”
“I never will,” I said. “And I’ve had plenty of help from Ben.”
“I just keep her from going off the ledge,” he said.
“Well, we’re all thankful for that,” Laura said.
Again, I couldn’t tell if that was her being mean or not.
We all left the office, including Laura.
We all split in separate directions with Ben giving me a nod and a wink.
I got into my car and looked at the file on the passenger seat. It was my condensed version of everything that had happened. Along with my notes of what I thought happened. The pieces of the puzzle that weren’t proven clear yet, but I could see them in my head.
This guy took Lucy for a reason. He did not mean for her to die. He did not mean to kill her. There was no foul play. She died of dehydration. Starvation. There weren’t any signs of trauma other than marks on her wrists and ankles, which suggested she had been tied up. Actually, chained up.
Showing he held her captive.
Why?
Don’t know that yet.
When he found Lucy dead, he panicked.
Something told him he couldn’t live without her. He needed to replace her.
And he started to look around and he found Janelle.
Now, the connection from Lucy to Janelle - and then to Jessie - I can’t explain yet.
He was plotting his attack on Janelle.
I showed up with a gun. I was a detective. A cop. Authority.
That made him take off.
Then in a panic again… he spotted Jessie.
And he grabbed her.
I ran the story through my head as I pulled into the parking lot of Nelle’s dance studio.
I got out of my car and looked around.
The feeling that went through me when I looked to the streetlight where Jessie had been standin
g the night she was kidnapped was tough to explain.
The dance studio door was locked.
I wanted to talk to Nelle again.
I walked back down to the sidewalk.
My eyes looked left to right.
The kidnapper either came into town and kept going or he was leaving town and took Jessie with him.
The fact that not a single camera was anywhere up and down the street irked me.
We had just seen how important cameras were.
I started to walk.
Toward town.
Just another small town. A bumpy sidewalk in need of repairs. The old brick that used to be the sidewalks and probably streets starting to show their age. The cut out dips used to move rainwater into the street. Some with metal tops, some without. When I was a kid, boys used to look for bumps in the sidewalks and curbs so they could jump their bikes and look cool.
I wasn’t sure why those thoughts decided to come to me when they did. Maybe I was trying to capture some of the innocence that should have been in this town. And in Jessie’s young life.
As I passed the pharmacy, I turned my head and saw a man waving his hands.
I wasn’t sure if he was waving them at me or not.
Then he started to run through the pharmacy toward the door.
His white coat danced behind him.
In his hand was a piece of paper.
He came through the front door and pointed to me.
“Detective?”
“Yes,” I said. “Detective Allie Down.”
The pharmacist shook his hand, the piece of paper in it shaking too.
He then started to poke at the paper.
“This… right there…”
I looked at the paper and then at him.
Both of our eyes were wide.
It was the picture of our suspect.
The pharmacist hit the paper again.
“I’ve seen this man.”
Chapter Sixty-Seven
“You’ll have to forgive me, but I didn’t see him well enough to know…”
“I just want to get the right answers here,” I said.