The Ultimate Mystery Thriller Horror Box Set (7 Mystery Thriller Horror Bestsellers)

by Perkins, Cathy

  “March 23rd. Right before Hayes was released.”

  “And a week later Hayes showed up at her father’s house.”

  “Think she hired Hayes to take out her dad?” Jordan asked.

  “The thought crossed my mind. One of the many questions I have for her. Starting with how’d she even know the guy? And why was she lying through her teeth when I talked to her yesterday?”

  “We didn’t ask her about Hayes.”

  “She knew about him. Mighty interesting coincidence he just happened to show up at her dad’s.”

  “Too big a coincidence,” Jordan said. “Anything else you want me to do while I’m here?”

  “You talk to his friends down there?”

  “According to the guards, Hayes kept to himself. Worked out. Spent time in the library. I got a list of the books.”

  “Okay. Get copies of the visitor ledger and anything else they’ll let you copy. Then head back up here. I’ll have another talk with Mrs. Washington.”

  Robbins hung up and immediately dialed Washington’s number. He listened to the phone ring. After six blaring tones, her answering machine picked up. “This is Detective Robbins. Please call me as soon as you get this message.”

  He pulled over the Beason file and found the phone number for the dentist office where Washington worked.

  He poked in the digits and asked for the office manager. A minute later he was speaking with a pleasant-sounding woman. He identified himself, then said, “I’m looking for one of your employees. Gloria Washington.”

  “Join the crowd, Detective.” The tone was wry. “I’m looking for her, too. She didn’t show up for work today. She hasn’t called in, either. Has she done something I should know about?”

  Interesting that her thoughts went first to dishonesty by Washington. From his previous checking, he knew Washington didn’t have a record. “Has she missed work before?”

  “No,” the manager admitted. “But she has an attitude. Did something happen to her?”

  “I’m trying to locate her. If she comes into the office, or calls, please let me know. It’s extremely important.”

  He gave the woman his contact information and hung up.

  Where was Washington?

  What was her role in all this? She was connected to both Beason and Hayes, but Robbins didn’t know enough about either relationship. Angry with her father, she’d reached out to Hayes…why?

  Things could go in too many different directions. He needed more information. More facts.

  If Hayes and Beason were planning something, was Washington an innocent bystander or part of the crazy business up in Greenville? Did she take off because she knew what the men were up to and didn’t want to be involved? Or was she the mastermind behind the plan?

  Had events gone sideways, with the missing seals and the botched picture theft? When Jordan and he came around asking questions, had she taken off, afraid she’d get caught?

  If Beason didn’t go with Hayes willingly—Robbins flashed on the dog. He couldn’t shake the gut instinct that said Beason was a victim in the whole mess—then Washington could’ve set her father up. Her disappearing could be an attempt to distance herself from events. She might have an alibi for her father’s disappearance, but the visit to the Charleston brig screamed conspiracy.

  Robbins leaned against the seatback and stared at the notes on the whiteboard. There was a third possibility. Washington could’ve learned something about Hayes from the phone calls and visit to the brig. Something that sent her running—away from Hayes.

  Something that made her hide.

  Where the hell was she?

  Chapter 9

  Robbins tapped his fingers on his desk, stalling. He stared at the final contact listing for Gloria Washington. He’d run through family, neighbors, anybody who might know where Washington had gone. The last person he wanted to talk to was Dr. McKinley, aka the Cat Woman.

  With a deep sigh, figuring it was probably futile, he punched in the digits for her office. “Doctor’s office. Please hold,” a well-modulated voice answered.

  Why did medical staff always immediately put you on hold? He listened to the syrupy new age music for a moment, then the receptionist returned. “How may I help you?”

  He introduced himself. “I’d like to speak with Dr. McKinley please.”

  “Dr. McKinley is with a patient. I’ll be glad to take a message.”

  Robbins hesitated, not wanting to filter the information through the receptionist. “Please have her call me,” he said. “It could be a matter of life and death.”

  There was a short pause, He wondered if she thought he was being over-dramatic, but there could be a life at stake—George Beason’s life.

  The receptionist said, “The doctor’s session is about to wrap up if you’d like to hold.”

  He turned his wrist, glanced at his watch. Nearly five. “Sure. I can wait a few minutes.”

  Was this McKinley’s last appointment for the day or did she conduct evening sessions for people who had day jobs? He’d only have a moment of her time if she had another patient scheduled.

  He picked up his pen and tapped it against the Beason file. McKinley didn’t seem the type to put herself out to accommodate anybody. He’d have to play to her professional responsibility rather than personal feelings.

  There was more of the new age music crap, then the Cat Woman’s voice filled his ear. “How may I help you, Detective?”

  “I’m calling about Gloria Washington.”

  “I cannot reveal any patient information. It’s highly confidential.”

  “I’m aware of the confidentiality requirements in your field, but Mrs. Washington is missing under unusual circumstances. I know you’re aware her father is also missing.”

  “Do you think the same person kidnapped both of them?” A touch of concern filtered into the doctor’s voice.

  “Do you know anyone who might want to harm either of them,” he countered.

  “I can’t help you with that. I can’t reveal whether Mrs. Washington is a patient, much less anything a patient might disclose during one of our sessions.”

  “Even if her life is in danger?” As long as Washington wasn’t with Hayes and her father, there was no reason to think she might be in trouble. Even if she was with the two men, odds were she was there by her own choice. The trouble was going to start when he caught up with her and started asking questions about her relationship with Tyrell Hayes.

  But if expressing concern—raising the possibility—was what it took to get the doctor talking, he’d be happy to go down that path. “Anything you tell me could help her. Help us find her.”

  There was a long pause, thankfully without the new age music, then the doctor said, “I won’t address specifics, but in estranged family situations, I often suggest the patient reach out to the rest of the family, to reconnect. Often a conflict with one family member will lead to tension among the extended family, which can exacerbate the patient’s sense of loss, abandonment or isolation.”

  He’d already run through the in-state family. Washington wasn’t with them. “You never discuss contingency plans? A safe haven?”

  “Those discussions are standard in a domestic violence or stalking situation, but I was not aware that was your concern today.”

  It wasn’t, as far as he knew. “If Mrs. Washington were to reach out to you, if she indicated she was in danger, please let me know and ask her to contact me as well.”

  In the following silence, he could envision her struggling to address that request while still maintaining that Washington wasn’t necessarily a patient.

  “If—and I stress if—Mrs. Washington contacts me –”

  Robbins rolled his eyes. Like he didn’t know Washington was seeing the bitch.

  “– of course I will assess her immediate safety issues and ensure she is in a secure location.”

  “If someone is gunning for her—or anyone else—it’s better to let the police handle
it. Don’t attempt it yourself.” He really wanted to hang up, but forced himself to wait for her acknowledgement.

  “I understand my role.” The tone had returned to deep freeze. “Do you?”

  He was still sorting out the nuances of her comment when the phone switched from dead air to the annoying voice recording about hanging up the phone to make another call.

  His life would be a hell of a lot easier if he knew everybody’s role.

  Or if he even knew who all the players were.

  Chapter 10

  Jordan burst into the squad room at 5:47 that afternoon. “Did you find them?”

  “I didn’t expect you for another twenty minutes.” Robbins dropped his pen onto the notes he’d been writing about his session with Dr. McKinley. The drive from Charleston took roughly two and a half hours—at the posted speed limits.

  Jordan grinned. “You aren’t the only one with friends. I got an escort.”

  Robbins snorted. “Did you use the time to come up with a different scenario on what these guys are up to? ‘Cause no, I don’t have a fuckin’ clue where they are.”

  Jordan placed his briefcase—a new, leather-sided one he was proud of—on his desk. “I was thinking about the Center, up in Greenville. Maybe the picture—picking it up the way Beason did—was another message. Remember you said him mentioning his wife was some kind of a signal. Hayes is a thief. Maybe Beason was trying to tell us Hayes intends to steal something.”

  “Steal what? The director said they don’t keep a permanent collection.”

  “Would Hayes or Beason know that? It sure sounded like Beason told Hayes there were cylinder seals up there. Maybe that’s what he was looking to steal.” Jordan dropped into his desk chair and unloaded a sheaf of paper from his briefcase.

  Robbins shook his head. “If you’re going to steal something, you rob a bank or grab stuff you know you can convert to cash in a hurry. What are two black guys going to do with a bunch of antique things? Sell ‘em on eBay?”

  “Then why were they asking about the seals?”

  “Who knows? Step back a minute. Run the time-line for the scenarios. The first one is real short. Washington found Hayes somehow while he was in the brig and hired him to do something to her father. Scare the crap out of him. Kidnap him. Kill him. Take your pick.”

  “Revenge, anger—good motive. Uses the facts we have. Washington at the prison. Beason’s house invaded. The two men at the Center. But if Hayes was supposed to kill Beason, why did he drag him up to Greenville?”

  “Which brings us to scenario two.” Robbins wished he had a cigarette and settled from drumming his fingers. “Which could include scenario one if Hayes has his own agenda. Hayes stole something while he was in the army. It would help to know what, but we don’t.”

  “Remember that army clerk who supposedly shipped home a Jeep, one piece at a time? I always wondered if that actually happened. If Tyrell…” Jordan’s words trailed off. He dropped his head and messed with the stack of papers.

  “You finished with your detour into LaLa-land?”

  “Yeah.”

  Damn, the kid blushed. Robbins shook his head. “Anyway, Hayes got caught—maybe the first time he did it, maybe after he’d been stealing for a while—was court-martialed and incarcerated for reasons unknown. He talked to Gloria Washington while he was inside. Then when Hayes gets out, he shows up at Gloria’s father’s house, tears it apart, and ends up in Greenville looking for antique cylinder seals. So the seals mean something, either themselves or because they lead to something else.”

  “Could Washington have known about the seals? Told Hayes her father had some or knew where to find them?”

  “Wait a minute.” The idea hit Robbins like a baseball bat. “You said Iraq. Where in Iraq was Hayes assigned?”

  Jordan sorted through his notes. “He was in Baghdad when the MPs arrested him.”

  Robbins opened the Internet browser, pulled up his history and clicked a site he’d visited earlier that day when he researched cylinder seals. “During 2003, our troops were in Baghdad, hunting down Saddam Hussein. The Iraq Museum got looted in April of 2003, during the early part of the invasion. First the army got blamed for the looting, then blamed for not stopping it.”

  “I kinda remember hearing about it.”

  “I don’t know that anybody outside the art or history world cared. They should, but…” Robbins shrugged. “Mostly it was the usual ‘America sucks’ crap. A Marine colonel was the one who put a plan in place to get the stuff back. Anyway, turns out it was an inside job, most items found, blah, blah, blah but a bunch of these cylinder seals are still missing. What if Hayes stole some of them before he was caught and court-martialed?”

  “Maybe he got caught with some of them and that’s why he was court-martialed.” Jordan slid the photo-copied pages from the brig across the desk.

  “Could be. They’re small. Valuable. Be easy to conceal… Maybe he shipped some out of the country before he got caught. That could also be why Beason’s place was tossed. The guy thought Beason had them.”

  “Why would Hayes think that?” Jordan asked.

  Robbins ignored him. His brain was moving fast, making new connections. “What if…What if there’s a connection between Hayes and Beason’s grandson?”

  He flipped to the charts Jordan had made of the Beason family. “Akeem Beason was in the army at the same time as Hayes.”

  “So were a million other guys. I was probably in the army at the same time they were.”

  “Yeah, but you didn’t show up on George Beason’s doorstep and toss his house.” Robbins picked up the phone and called Sargent Major Monteith, his contact at Fort Jackson. “One more question.”

  “Rocket, I told you…”

  “This can’t breach security. The guys aren’t in the military any longer. One of them is dead and Hayes is out; dishonorable discharge.”

  Monteith blew out a breath, then said. “You can ask—this time. Only this time.”

  “I’m looking for a connection between Tyrell Hayes and Akeem Beason. He’s the grandson of George Beason, the old man who’s missing.” He fed Monteith the two men’s vital statistics. “Was Hayes in same outfit as Beason’s grandson?”

  He heard computer keys clicking, then Monteith said, “Same squad.”

  Robbins nodded his head, although Monteith couldn’t see him. “Thanks for the confirmation.”

  “Don’t make it a habit.”

  Robbins hung up and turned to Jordan. “Okay. We still can’t prove anything, but I have an idea. The grandson was killed in Iraq. Find out when.” He pointed at the computer.

  “May 2nd, 2003,” Jordan said a few minutes later. “About a week before Hayes was arrested. Right before Beason’s tour would’ve been over.”

  “Right after the museum looting.” Robbins laced his fingers behind his head and ignored the life-sucks-irony of getting killed so close to the end of his tour. “If Hayes stole some of these cylinders, or got them from somebody else who stole them, was Beason Junior part of the theft?”

  “Akeem Beason wasn’t the one who did time—inside or outside the army.” Jordan rose and stepped across to the white board. “Part of the theft or not, Akeem was tight with his grandfather. Maybe he talked about the old man, so Hayes sent the contraband there, figuring he could retrieve it later.”

  “Hayes could’ve talked Junior into it. The kid could’ve been tempted. A way to make easy money. They stole the seals together and sent them stateside.”

  “It’s possible,” Jordan conceded. “Hayes didn’t have anybody he trusted to send the package to, so they sent it to George Beason. Then Akeem Beason died before he could get home and intercept the package. Hayes gets caught, does his time and when he gets out, he wants those seals.”

  Robbins shook his head. “One problem with that theory. If the seals showed up, out of the blue from someone Beason didn’t know, he would’ve turned them in.”

  “But Beason knew about the
seals.” Jordan paced the small office area. “Beason told Hayes the seals were at the Nippon Center.”

  Robbins fingers untangled and reached toward his shirt pocket. Damn, he wanted a cigarette. They helped him think. “The seals show up at Beason’s house with or without his grandson’s involvement. Beason stashed them somewhere because Hayes didn’t find them when he tossed the house. Going to the Nisson Center bought Beason time for someone to realize he was gone—missing. Trying to get arrested for stealing the picture made damn sure the people up there remembered him.”

  “Which leaves us right where we started,” Jordan said. “We still don’t have any idea where Beason and Hayes are, much less where these seals are. Or if there’s even a connection between them.”

  “Let’s narrow it down. Who might know about the seals?”

  Jordan picked up a marker and scribbled names as he talked. “Hayes. Beason Junior and Senior. What about Washington? Maybe that’s why she took off. Think she has the seals or knows where they are?”

  “Could be.” Robbins picked up his pen. It was a lousy substitute for a cigarette. “We need somebody to spot one of them. They probably holed up somewhere last night, but they should be on the move today.”

  “They could be resting up for tonight, if they plan to break into the next place—wherever they think the seals are.” Jordan capped the marker and crossed his arms.

  “While we sit around and wait.”

  “What about Beason’s wife?” Jordan was still looking at the white board. “There has to be a reason he mentioned his wife.”

  His wife. Robbins glanced at his watch. Time for phase two of his Make-his-wife-happy program. “Beason’s wife is dead and buried. Maybe the seals are too and Beason’s leading Hayes on a wild goose chase until we catch up to them.”

  “I sorta admire this old guy,” Jordan said.

  “Me, too. Try to come up with someone else to call or another place to look for them.” Robbins rose and picked up his jacket. “I’m outta here. Call me the second we get a hit on the car or either one of the men. Or Washington.”