Double Blind--A Novel

by Iris Johansen

  Lynch took a step closer to her. “It’s possible. Make it happen, Griffin.”

  “You don’t run things around here, Lynch. I’m not one of your Justice Department cronies. How many times do I have to remind you?” Griffin growled. “I thought she’d want to see him. I’ve already made arrangements.”

  * * *

  “MR. GELSON?”

  Kendra, Lynch, and Metcalf stood in the driveway of the Escondido home they had visited with Elizabeth Gelson’s father only two days before. They had driven straight from the FBI building.

  A parked Honda CRV was running and Kendra instantly recognized the driver from the wedding video. It was Jeffrey Gelson, the recently widowed groom. He was sitting in his car, staring dully out the windshield.

  Kendra motioned for him to power down his window, and he complied.

  “Mr. Gelson, I’m Kendra Michaels. I’m working with the FBI on your wife’s case. I wonder if I could talk to you.”

  Gelson nodded. “Whatever.” He looked stunned. “I … spoke to the FBI last night.”

  “I’m sorry. I know this is the worst possible time. Are you going somewhere?”

  He nodded. “Funeral home. I’m supposed to make arrangements. My in-laws are meeting me there.” He rubbed his temple. “It’s the last thing I want, but I think we’re in for a fight.”

  “You don’t get along with your wife’s family?” Metcalf said.

  “Usually we do, but we have different ideas about how to handle … this. Liz wanted to be cremated and her ashes spread in Hawaii. She loved Hawaii … But her parents want her in a $30,000 mahogany coffin in Point Loma Cemetery.” Gelson shook his head bitterly. “But I’m only the husband, right?”

  “I’m sorry,” Kendra said. “I know this is a bad time all the way around. We just have a few questions.”

  Gelson shrugged. “Go ahead. I’m in no hurry to get there, believe me.”

  Metcalf stepped forward. “I know the agents asked you about this last night, but now that you’ve had some time to think about it…” He hesitated. “Is there anyone who might want to target you or your wife?”

  He frowned. “Like who?”

  “You tell us,” Metcalf said quietly. “Someone appears to have zeroed in on your wedding for some reason. Are there any exes—from you or your wife—who might be harboring bad feelings?”

  “Bad enough to kill my wife and her maid of honor? No. There’s no bad blood between me and my old girlfriends. And two of Liz’s ex-boyfriends were actually at the wedding. With their wives.” He cleared his throat. “No bad feelings. I don’t think you’ll find any suspects there.”

  Metcalf handed him his business card. “Just to be sure, I’d appreciate it if you would email me their names and addresses later today.”

  Gelson looked at the card. “Okay. Sure.”

  Kendra leaned in closer. “And there’s one thing we haven’t found out yet. We ran across a video of your wedding. It was shot with a phone by a tall man in a tux. We still don’t know who it was who took that video.”

  Gelson thought for a moment. “Oh, that was a guy I went to college with. Paul Tate. He shot and edited that as kind of a present for us.” He shrugged. “Liz loved it.”

  “It was a nice gift,” Kendra said. She turned to Metcalf. “We have Paul Tate’s information?”

  Metcalf nodded. “I remember his name from the guest list.”

  Lynch took a step closer to Gelson. “Do you know a woman named Elena Meyer?”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “She was a paralegal from Connecticut,” Lynch said gently. “She was killed with a copy of the video on her. That’s how it came to our attention.”

  For the first time, Gelson seemed to emerge from his fog. His face was registering surprise.

  Kendra spoke softly. “Do you have any idea how this woman came to have your wedding video on her?”

  “No idea. But I know Paul put it up on YouTube for a few weeks so that everybody could see it. Especially people from out of town who couldn’t make the wedding. We sent the link out to everyone on our invitation list. I don’t think it was a private link or anything, so I guess anyone could have seen it and downloaded it.”

  “Probably so. Thank you, Mr. Gelson. We won’t take any more of your time.”

  He nodded. “Is there any word about Liz’s friend Barbara?”

  “Not yet,” Metcalf said.

  “You gotta find this guy,” Gelson said hoarsely. “Whatever it takes, whatever you have to do.”

  “We’ll find him,” Lynch said. “Trust me.”

  He spoke with such certainty, such authority, that Gelson seemed to take comfort in his words. He nodded jerkily, then backed his car out of the driveway and drove away.

  Kendra turned to Lynch. “That’s why I could never make this my life’s work. It tears me apart to see people like that man.”

  “You’re helping them. Whatever peace and closure there is to be had, you’re getting it for them.”

  “It’s not enough.”

  “It can never be enough for them. But it’s something. And you’re keeping others from feeling the pain he has.” He added quietly, “And that’s everything.”

  Kendra’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She fished it out and looked at the screen. “I just got a text from Jessie. She may have something for us.”

  “Jessie Mercado?” Metcalf said. “You brought her into this?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Why not? She has a way of getting back-channel info that would take your office weeks to get through official channels. We don’t have time to waste.” She gazed at him with a hint of belligerence. “Do you have any objections?”

  Metcalf blinked. “No, just asking.”

  Kendra scrolled down to read the rest of Jessie’s text. “She’d like us to meet her in her office this afternoon.”

  “That was fast,” Lynch said.

  “She doesn’t let the grass grow beneath her feet. You know that about her.” She looked him in the eye. “And you also know how damn good she is.”

  “I do.” He was smiling faintly. “I’ll never argue that with you. I wouldn’t dare. Where’s her office?”

  “Santa Monica.” She tilted her head. “What do you say? Wanna go to the movies?”

  Lynch looked at her quizzically. “What?”

  * * *

  KENDRA AND LYNCH ARRIVED at Santa Monica’s Montana Avenue a few minutes before 2:00 P.M. They parked on a block of shops and restaurants, directly in front of a 1940s-era revival movie theater. The neon-lined marquee announced that the current attraction was a pair of Thin Man films.

  They climbed out of the car and Lynch looked with interest at the box office. “Her office is in the movie theater?”

  “No, it’s over the theater. You can’t even get to her office from inside there.”

  “Then how do you get to it?”

  “Follow me.”

  She led him around the corner to a large door on the building’s east side. She tried it. Locked.

  “Are you sure this is the right place?” Lynch asked.

  Kendra pointed to a small, sun-faded plaque that read “MERCADO INVESTIGATIONS.” There was a button below, but before she could press it, there was a buzzing sound. Kendra pulled the door open and pointed to a camera mounted just under the theater’s roofline. “She’s already seen us. Let’s go.”

  They moved through the door and climbed a long, dark stairway. They emerged at a reception area with a mission-style desk, shelves, and a leather couch. No one there.

  “Come in!” Jessie’s voice came through an open doorway.

  Kendra and Lynch stepped into Jessie’s office, which was dominated by art deco shelving and a large, beautifully restored wooden desk that was probably as old as the theater. Wood shutters covered the windows. Jessie was seated at her desk, scrolling through photos on her camera’s screen. “Welcome.”

  “Still no receptionist?”
Kendra said.

  Jessie didn’t look up from her camera. “I’ve had three since you were here last. I had to fire all of them. One was never on time, another spent hours every shift flirting with the ticket taker downstairs, and the other decided to direct my prospective clients to her stoner boyfriend, who undercut my price by half.”

  Kendra shook her head. “Wow.”

  “Yeah. The dumbass almost got himself killed tailing a cheating husband. Anyway, I’ve been too busy to interview more candidates.”

  Lynch stared at a wall of photographs of Jessie at different times in her varied and interesting life. There were pictures of her in uniform in Afghanistan, as a contestant on the American Ninja television show, and as security director for a teenage pop star.

  “Nice office,” Lynch said. “I’ve never seen one like it.”

  Jesse finally looked up from the camera. “That was the idea. It’s all me. Thanks.”

  “Do you ever see the movies downstairs?”

  Jessie smiled. “The owners say I can go for free whenever I want. A perk of my rental agreement, I guess. I’ve been too busy to take advantage of it.”

  “And we’ve made you busier,” Kendra said. “Sorry about that.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Some jobs are worth a little hassle.” She rifled through a stack of papers on her desk. “In your investigation so far, have you ever run across the name Ryan Facey?”

  Kendra and Lynch shook their heads.

  Jessie showed them a photo printout of a narrow-faced man with a gray-black beard. “Ryan Facey. Ex-Special Forces, for the past four years he’s been a so-called security specialist for Brock Limited. He works out of the San Diego office.”

  Lynch studied the photo. “You think he may have something to do with our case?”

  “I’m not sure. But I do know that he’s gone missing in just the past few days.”

  “Missing? You think he may be another victim?” Kendra asked.

  “Don’t know. It seems different than that. There’s been no police report filed. The only reason I found out about it is that a couple of Brock’s people have been making a lot of noise looking for him. They’ve been leaving their business cards at his usual haunts—with his building doorman, at his gym, even at his dentist, where he missed an appointment yesterday.”

  “You found all this out today?” Kendra asked.

  “I’m used to working fast. In my business, time is money.” Jessie shrugged. “You wanted information on Brock, so I ran all their San Diego operatives through the activity databases. Even a few that the general public can’t usually access. I thought it was strange that Brock Limited was searching for arrest, hotel, and airline information for someone who worked for them. I followed up by looking for Facey myself. That’s when I found out that Brock’s agents have been leaving business cards and fifty-dollar bills around for anyone who might run across the guy.”

  “And who are these Brock people?” Lynch said.

  Jesse turned her camera screen around to show a pair of Brock Limited business cards she’d photographed on a countertop.

  “Gilbert Billings and Lawrence Gaines,” Kendra read.

  “Know either of them?” Jessie asked.

  “Gaines is an ex-Army Ranger,” Lynch said. “He spent some time freelancing before going with Brock. I don’t know Billings.”

  “Well, I started scanning their names on all the databases and I got an immediate hit. The two of them got on a plane for Portland this morning. I have no way to tell if it had anything to do with Ryan Facey, but it looks like they’ve been doing little else lately. And here’s something else…” Jessie pulled another sheet from the stack on her desk and handed it to Kendra. “Facey flew to Connecticut last week. That’s where your first victim, the paralegal, lived. Right?”

  Kendra nodded. “Yes.”

  “Hard to say if he had any contact with her, but it raises the question that his disappearance and their search for him might be related.”

  “Yes,” Lynch said. He turned to Kendra. “I think we need to find Ryan Facey. Before Brock does.”

  “How do you propose we do that?

  Lynch though for a moment. “I’m going to Portland.”

  “What?”

  “That’s where the trail is leading. Jessie can keep helping with any more information she uncovers and I’ll make use of my own sources.”

  “I can’t go to Portland,” Kendra said impatiently. She was suddenly remembering the sight of Elizabeth Gelson in the back of the MINI. “There’s too much going on here.”

  “I realize that you’re too busy. I don’t want you there anyway. You’d probably get in my way. You’re not aggressive enough to deal with Brock’s agents. You tend to be a little too polite. I told you that they can be very nasty characters.”

  “I can vouch for that,” Jessie said sourly.

  Lynch smiled teasingly at Kendra. “Besides, Metcalf will be happy to have you all to himself anyway.”

  Jessie stood from behind her desk. “He won’t have her to himself,” she said curtly. “I’ll be there.”

  Kendra frowned as she turned toward her. “You? I thought you were busy babysitting that movie star.”

  “No, that’s done. He leaves for Abu Dhabi tonight for six weeks of location shooting. The studio asked me to go, but I politely declined. He’ll be someone else’s problem.” She shrugged. “I was going to spend some time at my place in Vancouver, but this sounds a hell of a lot more interesting.”

  “Yes, doesn’t it,” Lynch murmured. “I’ll be sorry to miss out watching the two of you bond. I imagine it might be an exploration of potentials that would be totally unique.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Jessie asked bluntly, her gaze narrowed on his face. “That sounds weird as hell. Don’t you want me on this job, Lynch?”

  “Absolutely. Isn’t that what I said?”

  “It’s hard to tell through the double talk.” Her gaze was still searching his expression. “But I believe that there’s something else going on here other than the obvious. I don’t have time to play games. I want Brock. Are you going to trust me to find a way to get them?”

  “Forget Lynch,” Kendra said curtly. “Of course, I’m going to trust you. Why else did I hire you? And that’s all that’s important. Lynch probably trusts you, too. But you’re right, he tends to play stupid games.”

  “Not stupid.” Jessie was still looking at Lynch. “He’s never stupid. Are you going to trust me, Lynch?”

  “Oh, yes.” He smiled. “Think about it. I’m leaving you with Kendra. Do I trust you?”

  Jessie gazed at him a moment longer. Then she turned away. “Someday you’re going to tell me what that was all about. Right now, both of you get out of here so that I can get back to work. I’ll call you later, Kendra.”

  “Right.” Kendra was already out of the office and going down the stairs. She glanced back at Lynch. “Was that necessary?”

  “No, but you learned a lot about Jessie from just an enigmatic few words from yours truly.” He cocked his head. “Let’s see, she’s so sharp that she can sense every nuance, she reacts with boldness instead of caution when she feels threatened, she’s studied both of us enough to get a grip on who we are and how we’d behave in a given situation.” He glanced at her. “And she’s completely aware of how I feel about you and the consequences if she doesn’t take good care of you while I’m gone.”

  “I don’t need either one of you to take care of me,” she said through set teeth. “For heaven’s sake, we’re involved in an investigation and I usually manage to survive, don’t I?”

  “Are you going to throw that twenty-six number at me again?” He shook his head. “Won’t work. You have your areas of expertise and I have mine. It’s only sensible to stick to what you’re good at. Would you care to go over my numbers?”

  That’s the last thing she wanted. She’d seen some of the scars on his body and those numbers must be in the legend category
. “I probably couldn’t count that high.” She paused. “Just how nasty are those guys you’re going to be searching for in Portland?”

  “Probably just enough to be entertaining.” He held the car door open for her. “I’d bet Jessie’s secretly jealous that I get to go instead of her. You’ll have to tell me when I get back.”

  “How would I know?” She got into the driver’s seat. “I have no intention of probing into who she is or what she’s feeling. That would be an intrusion into her privacy. I told you, I don’t play those games, Lynch.”

  “Not intentionally.” He was around the car and getting into the passenger seat. “But now you know what to look for and how to interpret. Are you going to be able to resist getting the entire picture of Jessie Mercado?”

  “I sincerely hope I can,” she said.

  “I know you do,” he said gently as he reached out and touched her cheek. “And I hope you can’t. I kind of like the idea of you being surrounded by friends and people who care about you. It makes me feel safer about going off and leaving you. But you tend to be very careful who you choose to accept into that circle, and one of those prerequisites is total honesty. You have to really know them.” He shrugged. “You really like Jessie Mercado, that’s why I thought it might be worth your effort to get beyond that first barrier.”

  “Which I’m sure doesn’t exist,” she said shortly. “You’re making this sound like an audition, which is totally ridiculous. You can just do your own probing and analyzing, if you’re not afraid she might deck you.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “There’s always that danger. You might be close to that point now. Are you too pissed off to take me to the airport?”

  “I guess not.” She backed out of the parking space. “At the moment, the idea of you soaring out of my life and into the blue has a certain appeal.”

  He was still laughing as he leaned back on the seat. “Then, by all means, get me to that airport so that I can oblige you.”

  But when she dropped him off at the airport, he would be boarding that flight that would take him to Portland and she wasn’t going with him. It didn’t seem right. She’d refused to go, but in spite of what he’d said, maybe she’d been wrong to refuse. She didn’t want him to be alone, dammit. He was always alone and accepted it without a second thought. Hell, he enjoyed being a loner.