by C. D. Samuda
* * *
They returned to his office, taking Lila with him. Before Quinn left Leah’s apartment he gathered the cat’s bed and food and found a small cage that he figured Leah used to carry her. His mind constantly flicked to Leah, wondering where she might be or if she was all right.
Just that morning, Quinn had convinced himself of giving Alan the benefit of the doubt. Gradually, his confidence in his friend was slipping while his rage was building. The longer it took to find Leah, the more he believed that Alan was responsible and the more he wanted to strangle him. He tried his friend’s number several times during the last hour but all the calls returned vacant.
Quinn began to feel responsible for this. If anything happened to her, he didn’t know how he would come to terms with it. Would he be able to forgive himself?
In addition to getting the DNA sample they needed, they searched Alan’s office for any clue for the motive behind his actions. Quinn was standing by his office window when Lawson returned with Nolan on his heels. He held up a hairbrush and a toothbrush in separate baggies. Nolan was holding a stack of papers, which he was trying to read.
“These look important,” he shoved the papers into Quinn’s hand.
His gut wrenched as he filed through the papers. These were company documents as well as Quinn’s will – a fake one. One of the documents was a contract that made Alan the sole shareholder of Quinn & Smith should anything happened to Quinn.
As it stood, Quinn owned majority shares in the company he started. He brought Alan on board for his business acumen and eye for figures. In reality, Alan was made partner for his service rather than financial investment. Quinn’s mind flicked back to three years ago when he told Alan his plans for the company.
“Are you serious?” Alan had asked. “You’re making me partner? I don’t know how many shares I can purchase with the money I have.”
“Don’t be a dumbass, who said anything about you buying shares? I am transferring 30% of my stocks to you. Is that enough?”
“Man, I don’t know what to say. My salary is already more than what those in my position receive.”
“Just sign the documents when my lawyer gets here. You’ve been with me since I started and I could not have done this without you.”
“Thank you, bro.” Alan had hugged him.
After the attorney showed up with the papers and they both signed it, they went out to celebrate. Quinn had the business name changed from Quinn Harrison Investments to Quinn & Smith. He would have used Harrison in honor of his father but he thought Quinn & Smith was short and sweet. Coming back to the present, he left the window and moved to his desk.
“What the hell?”
It was difficult to remain objective after witnessing those documents. The rage curled in his belly, spreading through his body like wildfire. His fist folded, crunching the papers. Nolan grabbed them from his grasp.
“They might be evidence,” the police officer stated.
Lawson rested a hand on Quinn’s shoulder. “What is it?”
Nolan handed the papers to Lawson, whose eyes narrowed as he read them. It was obvious Lawson caught on to the scheme more quickly than Nolan did.
“I suppose you know nothing of this will or this?” Lawson held up the documents.
“That sonofabitch!” Quinn pounded his desk with his fist. “I’ll kill that bastard with my own hands.”
“We’ll get him for sure and we’ll find Miss Brooks.”
“You find her quickly,” he growled. “If anything happens to her, you won’t interfere with between him and me, got that?”
“If anything happens to Miss Brooks, I’ll give you 48 hours off the radar,” Lawson replied. “That’s a promise.”
Their silent communication was all Quinn needed to understand Lawson’s words. The man was on his side and that was enough. He only prayed that Leah was alive.
“This should do,” Lawson said, gathering the papers and the samples. “I’ll keep you informed and if you hear from either of them, call me.”
Quinn stayed behind after the officers left. After all, Leah’s car was still in the garage. The Forensics team could not move it as this was not an official missing person. Their examination of the car was done incognito so nothing was actually taken out of the car except for the hair sample.
For hours, Quinn paced the office, drinking coffee and listening for the phone call. The call never happened. He’d given up calling Alan as he was now certain that his friend was responsible for his attack and taking Leah.
Quinn pulled the revolver from the holster and placed it on his desk. He watched the thing for a while, thinking that he’d go over to Alan’s house and finish him. No, if he did that, they might not find Leah. He’d wait until the right moment to confront his betrayer.
At around 9:30 PM on the advice of Lawson, Quinn reluctantly left the office.
~21~
Earlier that afternoon…
Cold fingers crawled across Alan’s back at the sound of Bridge Bolin’s voice. The man was a creature straight from the pit of hell. Even the man’s voice had a grating sound that made his hairs stand on end. He cursed the day they met and wished that he could disappear from his life altogether.
“What do you want?” he asked through clenched teeth.
It was around 4:30 PM when his phone rang. He snatched it up before he checked the number. Nicole and he had an argument that night and he thought she might be calling. How did his life get so messed up? Nothing was going according to his plans.
He answered the phone, hoping that he could have a moment to talk with Nicole without it causing an argument. The only problem was, he couldn’t figure out how to do that, especially with what was on his mind.
The man’s voice grated on his nerves and he moved to the sanctity of his office bathroom. He wouldn’t want anyone walking in and hearing the conversation. In fact, he should have just cut the call.
“If you know what’s good you and the woman come to 379 Berkley close now!”
The click of Bolin hanging up snapped in his ears. Alan lowered the phone and stared at the screen. What did Bridge mean by that? He checked for the number the man called from and it was hidden.
In a bid to relieve his fears, he dialed Nicole’s number. It rang without answer. He tried several more times to no avail. A sinking feeling settled in the depth of his stomach at the thought of them getting to her. They needed money and he could not supply it.
Rushing from the bathroom, he picked up his jacket and briefcase. He must think clearly. He couldn’t very well rush out of the office like a mad man, or Quinn would get suspicious and start asking questions. It wouldn’t take long for Quinn to figure things out.
“Are you going out, sir?” Vita asked as he passed by her desk.
“Yes, tell Quinn, I’ll be back, I have a family emergency … you know ... the wife.”
“Yes sir,” she replied with a bright smile.
He was almost to the front door of the office when Quinn’s voice stopped him. “Where are you off to in such a hurry? Is there a meeting I don’t know about?”
Alan tried to soften his features as he turned to Quinn. “Nicole is having one of her meltdowns. Since we don’t have anything pressing I thought I’d go home to pacify her.”
“Ahh,” Quinn smiled. “Go on. We’re fine here.”
By 4:47, he was in his car and pulling out. The address of 379 Berkeley Close kept repeating in his head. It was the address the man mentioned and where his wife was held. Stepping on the gas, he sped across town, hoping that no patrol officer would hinder his progress. The roadway was clear.
The place was like a ghost town. Not even a stray dog could be seen. The large looming building was akin to a haunted house you would normally see the movies, with peeled pains, broken windows and dark mold on the bare wood.
“Damn,” he cursed under his breath.
The phone rang once more and he answered before the second ring. “Nicole is that you
?”
“Hmmmm hmmmm,” the muffled voice of a woman came through the phone. “Hmmmm, hmmm, HMMMM!”
It took about twenty seconds before he realized what was happening. “Nicole, are you alright?”
“She’s not alright, you couldn’t pay with money now you pay with something else,” Bridge said.
Alan shouted into the phone. “YOU SONOFABITCH! Where is my wife? What have you done to her?”
“Go into the house and down the cellar,” the man said.
Alan rushed through the broken front door. Cobwebs tangled his face and he brushed them away in a frenzy. He staggered, pulling away the webs in the room, looking around in a stupor. Something huge scuttled away and vanished in a hole in the wall. He almost jumped out of his skin. The tail of what looked to be a rat disappeared in the hole.
He made his way to what looked like the kitchen. He was right, there was a door ajar and foot prints in the thick dust that covered the floor. The floor creaked as he walked and so did the door as he pushed it open. Steps led into a dark abyss. When he was near the bottom, something brushed his face.
“Eeek!” he yelped before he realized it was a string hanging from the ceiling.
He paused a moment to settle his nerves. As he pulled the string, the room flooded with light. He was standing in a wine cellar. Across the room, about twelve feet was a door. He approached. The surface was smooth and dark. He pushed it. It was a heavy metal door that led into a damp musky room. The light from the bulb cast a ray into the room and he made out a figure lying on the damp floor.
His heart skipped a beat at the thought of Nicole lying there. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw dark hair splayed across the floor. He breathed easily when he realized it was not his wife. Tentatively he approached. The head of the woman moved, a soft groom emitting from her. Alan gawped at the figure on the floor. Dread immobilized him as his head throbbed with the realization of who she was.
“Leah?” he muttered. “Oh shit!”
He spun as though in an axel trying to figure out Bolin’s game plan. His phone beeped and he jumped. Leah did not move and he worried about her. He looked at the phone and it was a text from an unknown number. You ask for this, the text read.
What was the idea, kidnapping Leah? They knew this was Quinn’s woman, so they could not have mistaken her for his wife, Nicole. It slowly dawned on him why Bolin did this. It was a set-up – trap, because he wouldn’t pay.
He dropped to his knees, giving her shoulder a nudge. She didn’t move. He shook her some more. What was he to do? A feint groan escaped her and he panicked. What if she opened her eyes and saw him? He looked around frantically and saw a mask and a bottle of water by the wall near the door. The mask smelled of Bridge. The criminal must have forgotten it there.
Alan pulled on the mask and picked up the bottle. He would give her the water, leave and then call the police from a payphone. That way they could not suspect him. He could not allow her to see his face either, or his life would be over.
She groaned again and he placed the water to her lips, urging her to sip. After taking the first sip, she coughed it up. With his silent urging, she sipped from the bottle until she laid back. Stroking her hair, he listened as she mumbled incoherently, trying to decipher what she was saying. All through this, she didn’t open her eyes once. Alan thanked his lucky stars for this.
What did they do to her? He hoped to God they didn’t rape her. He wondered if they gave her anything to eat. Based on her appearance and her mumblings, it seemed they drugged her. Or was it poison?
“Shit!”
The thought hit him like a ton of bricks. Bridge wasn’t only setting him up for the kidnapping, he might be framing him for murder. The man was evil personified and Alan was caught in his trap.
“Jesus Christ!” he muttered softly and Leah’s faint groan reached his ears.
No, I won’t allow her to die, I’ll save her whatever it takes. How the hell would he do that without causing suspicion? He couldn’t very well take her to the hospital now. He’d have to call the police. That was the best thing he could do.
First, he had to get out of there. He had to talk to Nicole immediately about everything. He would have to get a lawyer as well, they would need it just in case Bridge had something else planned.
He laid her gently back on the cold surface and stood. As he walked away, she stirred. A small twinge of guilt surfaced for his friend. Forcing down the feeling he turned to the door. He couldn’t afford to get weak now. There was nothing he could do about the situation other than contacting the authorities and hope for the best. If he took her to the hospital, they would sure pin this on him. Bridge made sure of that.
“I have no choice,” he muttered as he moved out of the room. “I’m sorry Quinn, maybe someday you’ll forgive me,” he whispered as he snapped the metal door shut.
~22~
“Mack, you keep watch on the suspect’s house. Update me every half hour.” Lawson was instructing the team of officers he’d gathered. “John, you’ll be stationed at the office if he turns up there. My gut tells me that he’ll return to find the documents.”
Lawson turned to Nolan, his sharp eyes questioning. Nolan nodded. “Don’t worry, I photocopied the stuff and put them back. The tech team installed a secret camera as well.”
“Good,” Lawson said. “Now catch that son-of-a-gun. Mack and John, you know what to do once he arrives at either location, right?”
“Yes Boss,” Mach replied and John nodded.
Both officers and their partners set off. It was protocol that no officer worked alone, for both safety and evidentiary purposes. In Alan Smith’s case, they were instructed to attach a tracking device to his car and watch him. Their plan was to see where he went, in the event he was the one holding Leah Brooks.
“We’ll find her,” Nolan said. “I don’t think he wanted to kill her, or his goons would have done the same as with Harrison.”
“Yeah, but what was the reason for kidnapping her in the first place?” Lawson fingered his chin. “I don’t see the connection.”
“You think maybe the guy has gone psycho or something?”
Lawson seemed deep in thought. “Nah, its something else. I just can’t put my finger on it.”
“Maybe he wants to interrogate her, find out what she knows,” Nolan suggested. “He might think she saw the goons.”
“That doesn’t make sense, unless he was there the night Quinn was assaulted. The surveillance shows that he already left the building and his apartment security confirmed that he was home at the time of the attack.”
“So we don’t really have a strong motive here.”
“This is so damn frustrating,” Lawson groaned. “I know we have the right guy, I just don’t know if we are on the right track with the Leah Brooks disappearance.”
At that moment, a call came through to Lawson. “Lawson here.”
“This is the head of Security at The Lake Towers. You need to get over here ASAP, we got something.”
He gathered Nolan and one other officer and was on his way. It’s been more than twenty four hours since Quinn dropped off Leah Brooks at work. Lawson assumed she made it to the office and returned to her car when she was taken. Trying to piece this case together was not easy as there was no clear evidence.
They arrived at the security station of The Lake Towers in about fifteen minutes where the head of security escorted them to a maintenance closet off the basement car park. When the man pushed the door, one of the guards was lying on the floor gagged and bound.
“What the…?” Lawson exclaimed.
“His shift changed at 4:00 AM and we thought he’d gone off,” the chief of security told him. “When he didn’t report for duty tonight we tried calling him and got no reply.”
“Who found him?”
“One of the maintenance crew. This closet isn’t often used. Fortunately one of men had something to put away and that’s how he was discovered.”
&n
bsp; The detective put the pieces together. The new security guard was mugged during his rounds in order for the kidnappers to get Leah Brooks. The other question was, how did they entered the car park in the first place? They had to bypass one security post in order to get in.
They removed the man’s gag and rope, which tied his wrists and ankles. They took him to the main security office where they gave him a warm beverage and sandwich. When asked if he needed to see a doctor he said he was fine.
“Tell us what happened,” Lawson said.
“I was making my rounds when I noticed that a delivery van that had entered the premises earlier that day was still there,” he began. “I took my radio off my belt to call the office about it when someone jumped me from behind. Something hit me in the back of the head and I blacked out. When I awoke I was tied up in the room.”
“What time was that?” Lawson asked.
“Around eight last night.”
Now they were getting somewhere, having a time frame with which to work. With the guard’s statement, Lawson was sure that Bolin and his men took Leah, if Alan was involved then they would soon find out.
* * *
The payphone was broken and Alan couldn’t very well call the police with his own cell phone. It was now past eight and many of the electronic stores were closed. The best option was to obtain a disposable phone, the one you could buy without an ID or credit check. The last thing he needed was to leave a trail.
By now, the police must be aware of her disappearance. What should he do? What if Bolin did something to let the police suspect him? Now panicking, he raced towards The Lake Towers, remembering that he’d left the papers in his office. If for some reason Quinn should go in there, he’d be dead meat! He must get rid of them before anyone saw them. He was hoping against all hopes that no one suspected him of the crime against Quinn.
This was turning into a nightmare. Alan slowed the car. He had to save Leah. But how? Should he leave her somewhere where someone would find her? No, he had to get the papers first and then go back to save her.