The Missing Piece (The Jigsaw Files)

by Sharon Sala

  Charlie frowned. “I’m not expecting anything. Who’s it from?”

  “There’s no label or return address,” Wyrick said.

  “Will you do me a favor and check with the courier service to verify if it really came through them?”

  “Already did,” Wyrick said.

  Charlie sighed. Of course you did. Why did I even ask? “And?”

  “Yes, the package came through the service. Yes, the courier was valid. No, they wouldn’t reveal the sender’s name because he or she requested it go anonymously.”

  “My curiosity says open it, but I don’t want to put you in any danger in case it’s from an old enemy or a disgruntled client aiming for some kind of payback,” Charlie said.

  “I beat cancer. I’m not afraid of a package.”

  Charlie grunted beneath his breath. Sometimes the rawness in Wyrick’s voice gave away how much she had suffered.

  “Fine. Do what suits you,” he said gruffly.

  “I don’t like secrets,” she said. “Hang on. I’m putting you on speakerphone.”

  She headed into the kitchen to get the package and laid the phone down beside it. She’d been using a knife from his flatware as a letter opener and quickly slid it under a loose edge of the envelope flap and, with one swift cut, opened the end.

  “The envelope is open. Nothing blew up. I’m dumping the contents on the table,” she said and upended the package. “There’s a letter and another package in Bubble Wrap. I’m going to undo the Bubble Wrap and see what’s there.”

  “Okay,” Charlie said.

  Wyrick cut the tape and unrolled the wrap. “There are several pieces of what looks like really nice jewelry. Hang on a sec and I’ll open the letter.”

  The moment Charlie heard her say “jewelry,” the hair stood up on the back of his neck. It couldn’t be. Not after all these years.

  “The letter is handwritten. I’ll read it to you, okay?

  “Dude. I stole this from you, but the cops picked me up on outstanding warrants before I could pawn it. I been in prison ever since, thinking about the loot I hid at Mama’s, and told myself if it was still there when I got out, I was giving it back. I been out a month. Took me a while to find out where you live now. All’s I want to say is I’m sorry. I’m trying to do better. This was my first good thing.

  “That’s it. Someone with a conscience. Not a lot of that around,” Wyrick said.

  Charlie was stunned. “What’s the jewelry look like?”

  “Um, there are three, no, four necklaces, three with gold chains, one with silver. A couple of gold bracelets, one that’s braided and another with a small chain clasp. And two rings. One cocktail ring with a jade cabochon, and one that’s just a flat gold band.”

  He took a deep breath to steady his voice. “Is there an engraving inside the band?”

  “I’ll look,” Wyrick said and tilted it. The moment she saw the words, she knew this must have belonged to Annie. Her voice unintentionally softened. “It says ‘Forever in my heart.’”

  “Son of a bitch,” Charlie said. “Returning this might have relieved the thief’s conscience, but he gave it back too late to matter to Annie.”

  For once, Wyrick was at a loss for a smart comeback. “What do you want me to do with the jewelry?”

  “Hell if I know,” Charlie said. “I guess, just put it back in the envelope, then hide it in my bathroom, behind the stack of towels in the linen closet. I’ll deal with it when I return.”

  “Yes, sir,” Wyrick said. “Anything else you need?”

  “Not right now,” Charlie said and hung up.

  * * *

  It was the first time that he’d been the one to end a phone call, and she could tell he didn’t even realize she’d called him “sir.”

  Wyrick carefully wrapped everything back up and headed for Charlie’s bedroom. She knew where it was, but she’d never been inside, so opening the door felt like trespassing.

  She walked straight toward the bathroom, opened the linen closet and put the package where he’d asked, then walked out.

  Her heart hurt. It must be hell to love so hard without having it returned. Or in Charlie’s case, no longer having it returned. She hadn’t been engaged long enough to know what loving that hard meant.

  She walked back through the kitchen to get a cold Pepsi, then walked to the windows overlooking the street in front of the apartment building to take her first drink. The pop was ice-cold and it made her teeth hurt and burned the back of her throat as it went down. Her eyes watered. But they weren’t tears. It was the cold Pepsi that did it.

  Don’t you cry. Don’t you dare cry for that man, Jade Wyrick. He’s your boss and that’s as far as it will ever go.

  * * *

  Charlie was in shock. He kept remembering how crushed Annie had been when she realized her mother’s jewelry and the ring he’d given her before he left for Afghanistan had been stolen from their home. Ten years ago. A lifetime. When Annie was still Annie, before Charlie lost her.

  When he finally shifted focus enough to know he was standing in a parking garage, it took him a few seconds to even remember why he was here. The sound of screeching tires brought him out of the funk he was in, and he quickly looked around to make sure he wasn’t about to get run over.

  Anxious now to check the last parking space and move on, he refreshed his memory as to where the other black Lexus had been parked, and started looking for the aisle. He eventually found it on the other side of the third level. As he turned the corner, he stopped, stunned by the sight of a very dusty black Lexus with the “Just Married” sign still on the car. The Mylar balloons were still there, too, tied to the bumper, lying flat on the concrete.

  “What the hell? The police investigation took place over two weeks ago, and this is still here?” he muttered.

  He squatted down in front of the license plate for a closer examination. Within seconds he saw new scratches around the holes where it had been screwed in place, but they shouldn’t have been there. This wasn’t a new plate someone had just put on, and the expiration sticker was only months away. This couldn’t be right. He pulled out his phone and made a call. It rang three times before someone answered.

  “Detective Cristobal.”

  “Hey, this is Charlie Dodge.”

  “How’s it going, Charlie?” he asked.

  “Oh, it’s going. I have a question. I’ve been retracing the steps that were taken during the initial investigation after Carter went missing. I’m in the DaVita parking garage, and I just found something odd.”

  “Like what?”

  “Remember the black Lexus on the third floor with the ‘Just Married’ sign and balloons?”

  “Yeah. The tag number didn’t match the Dunleavy Lexus,” Cristobal said.

  “That Lexus is still here, with all the ‘Just Married’ paraphernalia. And I’d bet a steak dinner that the tag on the car isn’t the one that belongs to it.”

  “The hell you say!” Cristobal muttered.

  “It’s an older tag, but there are new scratch marks where it’s screwed on. Did anyone run the tags when the cars were initially found? And did anyone check the DaVita Hotel to see if the owners of the cars were registered there or had taken the train? I’m asking because there’s no mention of that in the reports.”

  “There should’ve been. Give me the number. I’ll run it right now,” Cristobal said.

  Charlie read it off to him and then waited. He could hear the click, click, click of the keys as Cristobal entered it into the DMV database. A couple of minutes later, the detective was back.

  “It belongs to a 2010 Lincoln, not a 2017 Lexus. Son of a bitch! I need a VIN and the interior dusted for prints. Do you mind hanging out a few minutes until I can get some people there?”

  “No problem. I’ll wait. I need to know if the car belongs to Carter, too. And I have one more question. Did anyone get the footage from the security cameras inside the garage? Because that’s not in the report, eithe
r.”

  “I’ll have to check Evidence. I’ll get back to you. Thanks for the info.”

  “No problem,” Charlie said again and settled down to wait for the police.

  It wasn’t long before the first police car rolled up, followed by a second one. They asked Charlie for identification to make sure he was the man Cristobal had mentioned, and then they all waited for the investigators to arrive from the crime scene detail.

  As soon as they did, the site became a hive of activity. One of the investigators got the VIN, and when they ran it and realized the Lexus was Carter Dunleavy’s personal car, they called for a tow truck to take it to their lab for processing.

  The instant Charlie learned it was Carter’s Lexus, he left. Cristobal called him as he was walking back to his car.

  “Hello.”

  “Charlie, it’s me. We don’t have the footage. And we did have someone checking all of that out, but I just heard that the detective got sick during the investigation. He was on his way to the ER when he had a stroke. Whatever leads we might have gleaned fell through the cracks because he hasn’t been able to speak since,” Cristobal said.

  “That’s a tough blow for him. And just so you know, they’re towing the car back to the lab. The VIN checked out. It’s Dunleavy’s personal car. I don’t know how long they keep security footage, but if I find out anything more, I’ll let you know. Oh...one other thing. I interviewed the family this morning,” Charlie said.

  “And?”

  “I didn’t sense anything about them that would lead me to believe anyone was lying. However, I asked to interview the staff as well, and when I did, it occurred to me to send the maid who tended to his clothing up to his room. I asked her to check for missing luggage and anything else she could think of, and I got a hit. Two suitcases, several changes of clothing, all of it stuff he used for hunting and fishing, along with an iPad from a nightstand were missing. I think he’s running.”

  “Son of a bitch!” Cristobal said. “I know this makes us look like a bunch of screwups, but this isn’t business as usual.”

  “I can see that, and I think it went off track with your detective’s sudden stroke. Look, it’s just me, focusing on only one man, not a city of troubles. I’ll be in touch if more happens,” Charlie said.

  “Same here.” Cristobal disconnected.

  After finding an employee of the parking garage and explaining he was part of the investigation surrounding Carter Dunleavy, the other man gave him the name and phone number of the person to talk to about the security setup in the garage.

  Charlie moved out into the sunlight before making that call.

  “Security, this is Mauldin.”

  “Mr. Mauldin, my name is Charlie Dodge. I’m a private investigator working with the Denver police on the Carter Dunleavy case. I just located Carter’s black Lexus in the DaVita parking garage. I need to know about the availability of security footage.”

  “What the hell?” Mauldin said. “They already checked two weeks ago and the car wasn’t there.”

  “Well, it’s there now. It appears the tag had been changed, and the crime scene crew is towing the car out of the garage as we speak.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry to hear this,” Mauldin said. “So how can I help?”

  “Would you still have footage of the day Dunleavy went missing?”

  “Normally, we keep it for several weeks, and then it’s deleted. If someone hasn’t jumped the gun and deleted it early, we should still have it. I’m going to put you on hold while I go check.”

  “Thanks,” Charlie said and moved into the shade of the building to wait. He was thinking about the stolen jewelry when Mauldin came back online.

  “Mr. Dodge, are you still there?”

  “I’m here, and it’s Charlie. Do you have footage?”

  “We do. Our office is in the DaVita Hotel. I’ll wait for you in the lobby. Look for a middle-aged man in a rumpled gray suit.”

  Charlie laughed. “And I’ll be the tall guy in a Texas Rangers ball cap and a yellow shirt.”

  “A man after my own heart. I was born in Waco. See you soon.”

  Charlie had already seen the hotel, so he started walking toward it and within minutes was in the lobby. As promised, a man wearing a rumpled gray suit lifted his hand. Charlie pocketed his sunglasses and went to meet him.

  “Mr. Mauldin, I appreciate this courtesy,” Charlie said.

  “Call me Stu. I’m happy to do anything I can to help the case. Follow me. I have one of my staff setting up the viewing for you now.”

  When they entered the security area, it was immediately obvious that there was nothing shortchanged with their security system. He’d seen some of the best setups, and this one was state-of-the-art.

  “This is amazing,” Charlie said.

  Stu nodded. “We also cover security for the train station, as well as the hotel and parking garage.” They continued through the front entrance and down a hall to a bank of offices. Stu led him into a room on the right.

  “Charlie, this is Rachel. She’s one of our best in the technology department. She’ll take you through whatever parts of the footage you want to see.”

  Charlie eyed the young woman, privately thinking she didn’t look old enough to be the best at anything, then reminded himself it was the younger generation that was the best with technology.

  “Rachel, I appreciate your help,” he said as he sat down in the chair provided for him. He took off his cap and laid his things aside.

  “My pleasure, sir,” Rachel said. “If you’re ready, we can begin. If at any time you see something you want replayed, just tell me, and we can take it slower.”

  “So, is this the day of the disappearance?” Charlie asked.

  “This begins with the day he went missing on the traffic cam.”

  “Okay, proceed.” Charlie scooted closer to the monitor.

  The first few hours of footage were quickly scanned, revealing nothing but daily traffic, with more cars coming into the garage than going out. When he finally saw a black Lexus appear at the entrance, he pointed.

  “That’s a Lexus, but the time is off compared to when they lost him on the traffic cam. I still want to watch, though.”

  She clicked on a few keys and a second screen popped up on the monitor so they could trail that specific car as it headed onto another level.

  “There it is again,” Charlie said as the next camera picked it up. “Is this the second level?”

  “Yes,” Rachel said.

  And when they saw the car pull into an empty parking space, Charlie leaned back a bit, watching as the driver, who turned out to be a woman, got out and hurried away.

  “Yes, wrong Lexus. The one I need to see goes up to the third level.”

  Rachel took the second screen down and they went back to watching the entrance.

  They continued to scan footage and got closer to the time Carter was picked up on the traffic cam.

  “It should be showing up here soon,” Charlie said.

  And he was right. Less than a minute of footage later, another black Lexus entered the parking garage, also taking the aisle leading to the next level. Rachel was already on it, tracking the progress as she changed from camera to camera. Once the Lexus reached the third level, Charlie’s gaze was so focused on the monitor that he forgot where he was. He wanted that first look at Dunleavy. He watched the car being parked and then the driver getting out.

  Almost immediately, Charlie frowned. The driver looked nothing like the pictures he’d seen of Dunleavy.

  What the hell? “That’s not Carter Dunleavy,” he said.

  His mind was spinning as he watched the driver lean over the back of the car and begin to write on the window. Then he circled the car and finished what he was writing, leaning over from the other side. Charlie grunted. The driver had written “Just Married,” with some kind of giant marker. He opened the back door, reached in and pulled out a handful of Mylar balloons, which he began tying to the b
umper. As soon as he was finished, he looked around quickly, as if making sure he hadn’t been seen, then walked a few cars farther down, unlocked the door to a white Ford Escape, got in and drove away.

  “Stop,” Charlie said. “Is there any way to catch the car that’s leaving to see if we can get a tag number on it?”

  “I’ll try,” Rachel said and once again began switching camera footage.

  Each time they saw the vehicle, it was facing the camera as it passed. They watched it pull up to the exit—and then it was gone.

  “The tint on the window was too dark to see the driver,” Charlie said, “but there was a fairly good shot of him from the side when he first exited the Lexus. Could you possibly print a copy of that for me?”

  “Yes, but I can’t do that right here. If you don’t mind waiting, I need to run back to my office.”

  “I’ll wait,” Charlie said, still surprised by what he’d just seen.

  This was a slick switch, but it only deepened the mystery. Was Carter in on this, or had it been a ruse to keep the cops from looking for real kidnappers? When did Carter leave the Lexus, and did he leave it by choice? Or was he never in it at all?

  He was still trying to figure out scenarios when Rachel returned and handed him the print.

  “Thank you,” Charlie said. “Detective Cristobal is going to be as confused as I am by this revelation. As I told you, I really appreciate your help. And if you wouldn’t mind, please don’t mention this. Until Dunleavy’s disappearance has been solved, we don’t want to alert the wrong people about what we know.”

  Rachel smiled. “Sir, I work in Security. We know nothing, see nothing. Mr. Mauldin will be informed of the results, but it stops with him.”

  “Right,” Charlie said.

  “Unless there’s anything else we can do for you, I’ll walk you out,” Rachel said.

  “No, that’s all.”