What Burns Within

by Sandra Ruttan

  He closed his eyes and exhaled. Then he glared at her. “Where the hell have you been? And don’t touch that door. Unless you left it open when you went out, someone did break in.”

  “I left you a note, Craig.”

  “Where?”

  “On the fridge, on your memo board. There was another abduction last night.” She wrinkled her nose as she walked past him, eyes sagging. “I don’t have to ask what you were doing.”

  Craig picked up the phone, and after a moment he followed her into the kitchen.

  “Did they have a good explanation?” she asked.

  He shook his head, his mouth twisting into a wry smile. “Since you were out, they shut off the alarm monitoring.”

  “Can’t wait to see how they explain that in their reports.”

  “Someone’s going to come over, use the patio door to come in and dust the front door. We can leave it open so it’s not as easy to see them check for prints and then they’ll lock up on their way out.”

  “We going somewhere?”

  “Bed. You look as tired as I feel.”

  She glanced at her watch. “For a few hours, but then I have to get back on this.”

  “I talked to my dad. He said he ordered you to come home and rest and that Sims can handle it from here.”

  Ashlyn sighed. “Fine. We got a composite sketch of our suspect.”

  “That’s great.”

  She started to climb the stairs. “Unbelievable. I’d planned on making you breakfast this morning.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You can make me lunch later.”

  Sims glanced at his watch. “You’re early.”

  “Any other case, Daly wouldn’t have dreamed of sending us home. We go at these like sprints.”

  “This one’s more of a marathon.”

  “And I damn well hope we’re in the home stretch. What have you got for me?” Tain asked.

  “I tracked down your clown and the vendor from the fair. They both gave me a positive ID on our composite sketch. This is definitely the guy who was spreading his version of good news on the fairgrounds.”

  Tain skimmed through his messages. “Damn.” He glanced up at Sims. “Not about that. There are two guys we have to track down who might be able to give us an ID on the suspect.”

  “The merry-go-round guy who’s working out in Alder-grove.”

  Tain’s eyes narrowed. “How did…?”

  “I asked Bert and Lex. Surprisingly helpful for guys with records. I’ve already been to Aldergrove.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that.”

  “Hey, I tried. He couldn’t tell me any more than the other two did. Well, other than a bit more of the twisted doctrine this guy was spewing about being cleansed in the baptism of death and purged by fire.”

  “Cleansed in the…” Tain covered his face. “Shit. Right in front of our fucking eyes and we couldn’t see it.”

  “See what?”

  “The girls had drowned.”

  “He baptized them and held them down?” Sims asked, his jaw dropping. “Jesus.”

  “It’s as good a guess as any. We’d better hope that security guy is in today. He’s been on holidays, which is why I still don’t have a message from him. He was supposed to be back on the job yesterday.”

  “Let’s go, then.”

  “Just give me a second. I have to make a call.”

  Tain dialed and then tossed Sims a coin. “Can you get me a soda? I’m going to need the caffeine. Thanks.” He heard a quiet voice on the other end of the line answer. “Craig, thank God you answered.”

  The voice on the other end of the line sounded groggy. “Why? What’s up?”

  “Nothing, it’s just…Look, are the officers watching your place noting license plate numbers?”

  “They’re supposed to be. Well, I think photographing all cars and then getting the prints developed.”

  “I think you should get them on that right away.”

  Silence. “Okay. Why?”

  “Just a feeling I had last night when I was talking to Ashlyn. There was this car. Did Ashlyn tell you?”

  Craig groaned. “Be serious, Tain. Look, it’s just as well you had her with you last night. Someone broke in here.”

  “You’re on night shift again to night, aren’t you? What are you going to do?”

  “Hope like hell you’re ready to bring in your suspect so she’s at work.”

  “Look, I’ve got to go. I’ve got my cell. Call me before you leave for the fire hall and we’ll come up with a plan.”

  Tain hung up and swore beneath his breath. Then he grabbed the information he needed and went to meet Sims.

  “There’s nothing more I can do,” Hawkins said.

  “That isn’t good enough. There must be something,” Lori argued.

  “Well, there isn’t. You’re going to have to deal with that.”

  “You said if I was ready to make a change we’d have a future.”

  “That was before.”

  “Before what? Before the rape?”

  “That has nothing to do with it, Lori, and you know it.”

  “So this has all been for what? Stroking your ego?”

  “That wasn’t it.”

  “Really. Prove it.”

  “Lori, damn it, there’s nothing more I can do. Nothing. Now just let it go.”

  “You don’t get it. I’ve got nothing left to lose on this.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. How about Vish? What about your career?”

  “If they don’t put me back on the rape case, my career will be as good as dead and you know it.”

  “No, that’s not true. Daly, he’s right to make that call. You shouldn’t even be back at work, and if it wasn’t for your constant abuse—”

  “You’re accusing me of abuse? How’s this going to look when it comes out? Just another sorry old bastard abusing his position for sexual favors.”

  He shook his head and laughed, a hollow staccato laugh. “Jesus. How could I be so fucking blind? And I thought I loved you. Prepared to piss it all away if you’d just snap your fingers—”

  “I’m here knocking on your door and you tell me to leave. Don’t you dare tell me you were ready to put it all on the line.”

  “You didn’t leave Vish. He kicked you out. Don’t give me that look. I know. He phoned me. He’d figured it all out. Now here you are, putting the screws to me again, trying one last time to get your way, and if I don’t do what you want, you’ll expose me. For all the good that’ll do your career. You think people won’t want you backing them up on the street? Nobody will want to promote you for fear people will think you earned it on your back.”

  She slapped him hard across the face and pulled her hand back to slap him again, but he grabbed her wrist and held it until she squirmed, trying to wrench free.

  “Once I’ll let go. Do it again, and I’ll go public myself and make sure you take your share of the blame.” He could feel her tremble.

  “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Lori, the only thing I can do is give you a heads up about an arrest. Maybe get you in on it. But I can’t put you back on the case.” He let go of her arm. “I’m sorry.”

  She backed away, her eyes wide and wild, as though it was her face that had been struck instead of his. Then she turned on her heel and walked away.

  “Constable Ashlyn Hart,” she said again, spelling out her badge number. “Oh, give me a break. I’ve talked to three people in that office, and nobody knows how to answer my question. I want to speak to a supervisor.”

  She sat at the desk, tapping the pen against the note pad in front of her, waiting while her call was transferred again.

  Finally, a person answered. Ashlyn repeated her name and her request.

  “I’m not sure I can give that information out. Our employees have rights.”

  “Look, I’m not interested in charging any of them. I won’t even tell you if they admit they were grabbing a coffee at Starbucks inst
ead of finishing their route. But I need to know the names of each person ticketing on that street for the past week and how to contact them.”

  “Maybe if you had a warrant.”

  Ashlyn clenched the pen. “If I get a warrant, I’ll be coming into your office and going through your records personally, and not just for last week on that street. I’ll be looking for the months of June, July and August for half a dozen other streets that relate to this case. Now, at this moment, I’m feeling generous. The last girl that was abducted was taken from this street and we believe she was being watched. That means one of your people might have seen a suspicious vehicle, someone hanging around. Their memories are fresh.”

  “Look, you know, I’d like to help you. I’m not just trying to be difficult.”

  “Fine. I’ll be there in an hour. And I’ll be calling all the affected employees off the streets until I’m done interviewing. I’m sure my supervisor can let the press know that you’re helping us with our inquiries and therefore too busy to do much ticketing, likely for the next week anyway. I can be very thorough with my interviews if I have to be.”

  “Just a minute,” the voice grumbled.

  When Ashlyn had the information, she smiled. “Thank you. Have a wonderful day.”

  “Well, when are you planning on getting them developed?” Craig glanced up at the ceiling. He could hear Ashlyn moving around the small room as he listened to the voice on the phone. Then he responded. “Yes, I need them right away. No, don’t worry about that. It’s fine if you’re a man down for the next two hours. I don’t have to leave until four thirty. Right. Yes, it is very important.”

  Craig hung up his cell as Ashlyn came down the stairs. “Any luck?” he asked her.

  “After I basically threatened to go over there and rip the supervisor’s head off.”

  “Tain’s been teaching you his version of diplomacy?”

  “What’s with people being so uncooperative?” Ashlyn sighed. “Maybe I bring out the worst in people.”

  Craig laughed. “Hardly. Hey, you have that list of all of our potential suspects, right?”

  “You mean Quinlan’s master list? Or the short list of names that fit the young offender theory?”

  “That one. Three dozen or so, right?”

  She nodded. “Sitting in the red file beside the computer. Why?”

  “What have we got on their vehicles?”

  Ashlyn shook her head. “Nothing. We were strictly looking for an existing record. The only one even connected to the department with a record is Bob, and we should have known we wouldn’t find anything. The fire department screens its staff thoroughly.”

  “Yeah, but don’t we have checks on all the peripheral guys? The ones from the store where they get their uniforms and the pager company?”

  Ashlyn sighed. “Not really. I don’t have their home addresses, so all I could do was a name check. In two cases, I didn’t even get local listings under the names that I could positively match. No way to be certain about a record check without more information.”

  “And they have really common names too, don’t they?”

  “Not obscure ones, that’s for sure.”

  “Listen, if you get time, and I stress the ‘if’ there, can you see if you can get some more information on them?”

  “I’ll try. I’m going to have the phone tied up for the next hour or so.”

  “No problem.” Craig watched her go back upstairs and waited until he heard her pull out the chair before flipping his cell phone open again and making another call.

  “Nothing unusual? Well, what about cars you ticketed along there? Yes, for the whole week.” Ashlyn rubbed her forehead.

  “Um, I ticketed a blue Taurus and a silver Neon and one of those PT Cruisers. That one was black.”

  “All just standard violations?”

  “Parked in the handicapped spot with no sticker, no money in the meter.”

  “Anything else?”

  “I’d make lots of money if I could ticket those skateboarders always hanging around on the corner, cutting out into traffic. One day, someone’s going to smack into them and I’ll feel sorry for the driver, you know? Those kids don’t pay any attention to what they’re doing.”

  “They hang out there all day?”

  “Mostly in the afternoons and evenings. I was in that area in the morning last week, so I didn’t have to deal with them.”

  “Thanks.”

  Ashlyn flipped her notebook open. Dog walkers, residents…no skateboarders. She picked up the phone and dialed.

  He answered after one ring. “Tain.”

  “Ashlyn Hart.”

  “What’s up? Everything okay?”

  She ignored the note of concern in his voice. “Just wondering, in your canvassing last night, did anyone mention skateboarders to you?”

  “No. Why?”

  “I’m talking to all the meter maids who were ticketing in the area for the last week. One mentioned there’s usually a group on the corner in the afternoons and evenings.”

  “You want me to swing by, ask some questions?”

  “Aren’t you tracking down a clown or something?”

  “Sims did that. We’re trying to find the security guy. He’s our last shot at putting a name to this guy. Positive ID, though. Confirmed by three guys at the fair.”

  “Okay. I’ll see if any of the other people ticketing on that street can help. Tain, if you get an ID on this guy, you call me.”

  “I will. Don’t worry. You’ll be with me on the arrest.”

  “Good. Use my cell phone. I’ve just finished charging it.”

  “Right. Bye.”

  “This is it,” Sims said.

  “Let’s hope driving halfway across creation’s been worth the trip.”

  They went inside and Sims started to explain to the receptionist why they were there.

  “No offense, but we want to talk to whoever’s in charge,” Tain said, pulling out his ID.

  Sims glanced at him. “It’s a wonder Ashlyn puts up with you.”

  “She knows me. Spend an hour with us, and you’ll hear her dish it right back.”

  “You’re wrecking my image of her.”

  “You should see her in her pajamas.”

  Sims’s cheeks went red. “And I asked you for her phone number. Geez…”

  “We aren’t involved, Sims. She’s sleeping at Craig’s.”

  Tain almost smiled when he saw the look on the young man’s face. He wasn’t sure which option Sims considered worse: himself or Craig, but Tain felt no pang of guilt, no need to explain.

  The receptionist returned, the manager in tow.

  “What can I do for you?” he asked.

  Tain held up the ID still in his hand. “We need to talk to the main staff person who worked security at the fair in Coquitlam during the week of August twelfth to the eighteenth.”

  “We staffed that mostly with university and college students.”

  “I know. That’s why I said the main staff person.”

  Tain and Sims followed the man, who’d identified himself only as Joe, into his office. “We understand there was a man removed repeatedly from the fairgrounds that week because he was frightening children with his religious propaganda.”

  “So? What does that have to do with us? Or you, for that matter?”

  “We believe he may be a key witness in the child abduction case.”

  Joe sat down on his desk. “I see. Well, I don’t think we can help you. I mean, I wish we could—”

  “There was supposed to be a main supervisor overseeing things at the fairgrounds. Are you telling us that you had probationary workers on duty without supervision?”

  “Some of those students have worked for us before, or work for us part-time year round. They were hardly all probationary staff.”

  “Then we need a list of their names, addresses and telephone numbers.”

  “Do I have to give that up without a warrant?”

&n
bsp; “Do I have to tell the press your security company may have violated operating procedure and is reluctant to cooperate with the investigation into the abduction of a child from the fairgrounds you were paid to monitor?” Tain smiled. “Besides, I called. I was told there was a staff person who supervised the fairgrounds. Witnesses have an older man, not a student, present at a number of the removals. His name was…” Tain leafed through his notebook. “Fred Hibbert.”