The Harry Starke Series: Books 1-3: The Harry Starke Series Boxset

by Blair Howard

  I opened the desk drawer and withdrew the images of Brinique that the Williams had left with me. I looked back and forth, from the group photos to those of Brinique. The hairstyle looked the same, but.... Finally, I leaned back in my chair and threw the glass down on the desk. It was no good. The images were too bad. My head was throbbing. I’d had enough. I needed to see the originals.

  I was about to get up and go for another coffee, when something stirred in the back of my brain. It was to do with the files, the nine files for the missing girls. I flipped through them quickly. Nothing, and then the obvious hit me. These girls had all gone missing. If Brinique had been there, then she hadn’t gone missing. If she had, there would have been a file for her. It was either that or her file had been removed, which was of course, an option. Still....

  And there was something else. It had been niggling at me for the last hour, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

  I grabbed the magnifying glass and began to scrutinize the group photos again. Come on, Harry. It must be staring you in the damned face.

  And it was, but I still didn’t spot it, not until I put the glass down and leaned back in my chair. It was then I spotted the image of the principals. I’d shoved it all the way over to the right side of my desk, behind the phone, so that I could spread the rest of the photos out across the desk top.

  I picked it up, and the glass, and studied it. Nothing. Whoa, Harry, what’s that?

  What it was... was a necklace Doctor Ellen was wearing. It was a cross on a thin chain, the same one the corpse had been wearing. Hah.... Okay, so now what? What the hell does it mean? It means we need to see the original, dumb ass. Could she have given it to the kid? Is she a? Nah! Then what?

  I couldn’t figure it out, but I knew I was right. I needed to make sure; I needed to see the original images, and better yet, I needed to re-interview the Draycotts, both of them, but especially Ellen. That, I knew, would not be well received. Hmmm

  I thought about calling Kate, then I thought I wouldn’t. Then I changed my mind again. If there was something going on, I would need official backup. I made the call.

  “Hey, Kate. You busy?”

  “I’m always busy, Harry. You know that. What do you need?”

  “We need to talk. We need to go see the Draycotts again. Where are you?”

  “I’m in my office. Harry, I don’t know about this. They were kinda pissed the last time, when we hauled off all of their files. You sure this is necessary?”

  “Yeah. There are a couple of things. One is I need to see those images on the reception wall. ... Yeah.... yeah, I know I already have them, but they are no good. The quality is very poor. And there’s something else. Can you bring that cross and chain with you?”

  I explained why, and she agreed. I would meet her at the Draycotts’ place in an hour, but first she insisted on calling them to tell them we were on the way. I didn’t like that worth a damn, but I could see her point. If she was to be involved, she needed to cover her ass. She did, however, agree to be vague about why we needed to see them. We sure as hell didn’t want anything removed before we got there.

  Kate was already inside the compound when I arrived. I talked nicely to the little electronic box, and the gate rolled open. And then I was struck by that, too. Security is one thing, but wasn’t this a little over the top? They were not, after all, running a prison, or were they?

  Kate was on her own. Where she’d left Lonnie, I had no idea, and I didn’t ask. Together, we walked through the glass doors into the lobby, where Doctor Ellen Draycott was waiting for us.

  “Where’s your husband, ma’am?” Kate asked, without preamble. “We’d like to see him, too.”

  “And good afternoon to you, too, Lieutenant, and to you, Mr. Starke.” The sarcasm was palpable, and she was, as I had expected, angry enough to bite a sixpenny nail in two.

  “Thank you for agreeing to see us, Doctor,” I said, as I walked past her to the wall where the photographs were hanging. “I need to take a look at some of these photos, if you don’t mind.” I began to take them down from the wall.

  I removed the three that I’d studied back in my office and set them side by side on the reception desk, took my glass from my coat pocket, and again studied the image with the four principals. Yup. That’s it. That’s the cross.

  “Lieutenant,” I said. “The cross. Would you mind showing it to her, please?”

  Kate withdrew a small, clear plastic evidence envelope from her pocket and handed it to her.

  “That belongs to you, does it not?” I asked. “You’re wearing it in this photograph taken during the transition. What I want to know is, how did Brinique Williams come to be wearing it when she died?”

  She looked at it, smiled, and handed it back. She didn’t look at all perturbed. “If you would wait here for a moment, I think I can explain.” She walked out of the lobby and then returned a few moments later.

  “Here,” she said, holding out her hand. “This is the cross I was wearing in the photograph and, as I told you before, I do not, did not, know Brinique Williams.”

  I looked at the cross, then picked up my glass and looked again at the photo. No doubt about it, they were the same. I held out my hand to Kate. She handed me the envelope. They were similar, almost identical, about the same size, but the doctor’s was of a slightly different design. Damn! Damn! Damn!

  “I’m sorry, Doctor,” I said. “I really am. I don’t know what else to say. Please forgive me.”

  “It’s all right, Mr. Starke. I can understand how you could mistake that one for mine. No harm done, I think.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.” I handed hers back to her and the envelope back to Kate.

  “If you don’t mind,” I said. “I have a couple more questions, about these two group photos.”

  She looked puzzled, but slowly nodded. “Of course. If I can.”

  “Thank you. Please look at this one. It was taken the day you and Dr. Draycott took over from the Dickersons, June 20, I believe. This is Brinique, I think. Do you recognize her?” I pointed to the figure at the back of the group.

  She took the glass from me and, for a long moment, she stared through it at the image. Finally, she looked up and shook her head. “No, I’ve never seen her before.” She offered the glass to me.

  “Just one more look, please, Doctor. The boy standing next to her, to her right, that’s Darius Willett, right? That one there.” I pointed him out to her.

  Again, she stared at the photo.

  “That’s Darius Willett,” she said, pushing the photo toward me, pointing.

  I smiled, looked at Kate, and nodded. Then I looked at the doctor. She was still pointing. Her finger was touching the glass. She wasn’t smiling. I looked again.

  “No,” I said. “I mean this boy, here.”

  “And I said that this is Darius Willett.” She was pointing at the smiling boy to Brinique’s left.

  I looked at the boy, then at her, then at the boy again. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m certain. I’ve never seen the other boy before.”

  “Then who the hell is he?” I was shocked out of my brains, and so, by the look on her face, was Kate.

  “I don’t know,” the doctor said, “but it’s not Darius Willett. That’s him, and he left that day along with the Dickersons and several more of the people that had been with him for some time. I’ve not seen him since. Oh, there you are, Sam. Come here and look at these photos, will you?”

  “Hello, you two,” Sam Draycott said. “Ellen said you were coming. What can I do for you?”

  “Please, if you wouldn’t mind, Doctor,” I said. “Point out Darius Willett in this photo.”

  “All right. If I can.... Yes, that’s him, there.” He pointed. He didn’t even need the glass. He picked out the same kid Ellen had. What the f...? If that’s Willett, who the hell is he?

  I stood, staring down at the photo, feeling stupid. Two huge mistakes in the space of just a few minutes
. Then it came to me, and I looked up and grinned.

  “What, Harry?” Kate said.

  “I’m not sure, but I have an idea. I’ll tell you later. In the meantime, Doctors, I want first to apologize to you both for being a pain in the ass and... well, I’m sorry. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

  They both nodded. “Of course. You were just doing your job, even if.... Well, it doesn’t matter.” Ellen even smiled at me as she said it. She was actually quite attractive. “What else was it, Mr. Starke?”

  “Lieutenant Gazzara arrested the Dickersons yesterday and charged them with a whole litany of felonies, including trafficking.”

  “Yes, we heard,” Doctor Sam said. “It was on the news this morning. How does that affect us?”

  “Well... it doesn’t except that.... I have two of his kids staying with me. They’re good kids, victims. They need a home, and all sorts of help: medical, psychological, practical, the sort of help you specialize in here. I was wondering....”

  “Yes, of course,” Ellen said. “Bring them by. We’ll interview them and... well, we’ll see.”

  “Look,” I said. “If it’s money. I can handle that. I just can’t keep them with me. You guys can do them a lot of good. I’ll pay their way.”

  “You don’t have to do that, Mr. Starke,” Sam said, with a smile. “Although donations are always welcome. I’m sure we can work something out. When can you bring them in?”

  I made arrangements for Monday afternoon, the 11th, thanked them for their understanding, asked for permission to borrow the photographs, and we left.

  “What the hell was all that stuff about Willett?” Kate asked, as we walked back to the cars.

  “You’ll see,” I said. “Let’s go talk to him.”

  Chapter 36

  Darius was waiting for us when we arrived. He was seated at the table in the interview room, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, a Coke in one hand, tapping the tabletop with the fingers of the other. He was smiling, but he looked a little chastened.

  “What you want now?” he asked as Kate and I sat down opposite him.

  Kate looked at me. “It’s your party, Harry. Have at it.”

  “Better caution him first,” I said.

  She did. She turned on the equipment, identified those present, and asked him again if he would like an attorney present.

  He looked puzzled. “Whaaat?”

  “Ricky,” I said. “I really think you need your attorney.”

  “Whaaat?” he repeated, his face screwed up. “What Ricky?”

  “Oh come on,” I said, pleasantly. “It’s over. I know who you really are. Here look.” I pushed the photo across the table so that he could see it.

  “That’s you, there. That’s Brinique Williams and that’s Darius Willett. You want to tell me about it?”

  “You wrong, man. It t’other way roun’.”

  “Give it up, Ricky. Both Draycotts identified you, and I know damned well the Dickersons will give you up in exchange for a plea. Now tell us. What happened to Darius, and what the hell happened to Brinique Williams?”

  He picked up the photograph, stared at it for a few moments, then smiled. “She fine. Sweet little thing. I screwed that little girl good, on’y she din’t want to, least not that day, but befo’, oh yeah. She screamed, man; hit me in the face wit’ a board; ran. She hurt me, man. She a bitch. I grabbed her, slapped her silly, took off her threads....” He paused for a moment, smiling, then continued.

  “Oh she was fine: skinny fine, smooth.... and then in walks that little shit Willett. He saw what we was doin’ an’ he ran. She was screamin’ again, man. I din’t know what to do. I grabbed her, an’, an’, an she stopped screamin’. Tha’s it. Din’t mean to....”

  H stared down at the photograph, breathing slowly through his open mouth.

  “Then what, Ricky?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “She daid, man. I din’t know what to do. Then I saw the boards was loose. Electricians had been doin’ somthin’. I took one up, grabbed some plastic stuff in the corner, wrapped ‘er up, an’ put ‘er under. Came back later and nailed it down. Tha’s it, man.”

  “What about Darius?”

  “Hah, that li’l shit. I foun’ ‘im in the basement. Smacked him in the head wit’ a rock, tipped ‘im head fust down the hole, an’ put the lid on. Easy. Then I took his stuff and got outa there. Went after Billy an’ asked ‘im for a job. He gimme one; bin wid ‘im ever since. Cool huh? Tha’s it; tha’s all.”

  “Was he dead, when you put him into the sewer?”

  “Hell, man. How I know that?”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He was one cold-blooded son of a bitch. I didn’t want to look at him anymore, but I had to get the rest of it, while he was talking.

  “And you just took his identity?”

  “Yeah. It was easy, man. I jus’ took ‘is stuff, ‘is bill fol’, an’ that. He dint have no license, just a social card. Hell, man it was ‘is birfday that day I put ‘im down the drain. I jus’ went down the DMV and got me a driver’s license. Tha’s it. I was Darius.”

  “Brinique; you met her in Greenville, right?” I asked.

  “Tha’s right. Tha’s where we lived, both of us, but I’d heerd about Billy an’ was after workin’ for ‘im. I figured I could get them ladies for ‘im; always could. I heered about ‘im on the web, the Dark Web. He damn famous there. I met her at the mall, dated her fo’ a while, maybe a couple months, made it with ‘er, tol’ ‘er we’d go south, start a new life, be together, always. She b’lieved me... at first. Then that night I told ‘er I was taking her.... Well, she din’t want that, did she?”

  “Ricky Jessell?” Kate said.

  “Name’s Richard,” he interrupted, grinning at her across the table.

  “Richard Jessell....” She cautioned him again, and then charged him with the second-degree murder of Brinique Williams and the first-degree murder of Darius Willett. I just sat there and listened, my imagination running wild. Then I got up and got out of there. I had to.

  Chapter 37

  The following Monday morning, the 11th, I got some good news: Jacque was to be released from the hospital the next day, but was going to be laid up for several weeks. Lucy would take care of her.

  Amanda and I delivered the two girls to the Draycotts that afternoon as arranged. They weren’t too sure about it, but when they met Doctor Sam and learned they wouldn’t be separated, they accepted it for what it was. Both of them, young as they were, were worldly wise, and recognized that they were being offered a chance of a better life, and they embraced it.

  Amanda had set them up with everything they would need in the short term, clothes, toiletries, whatever. I assured them and Sam Draycott that I would look after their future needs, at least until they became self-sufficient.

  Parting from them wasn’t easy. Amanda, even though she had been with them just a few short days, had grown attached to them, and so had I. There were hugs, tears, more hugs, more tears, and we left them. We both promised to drop by often and see them.

  That wasn’t the only parting I had to cope with that day. Amanda decided that enough was enough and she moved back into her apartment. I wasn’t too sure if I was happy about that, but I soon settled back into my old routine. It was good to get my life back, although....

  Two days after I’d parted from the kids, and Amanda had moved out, I had Kate over for dinner. It was just a casual thing: nice food, a couple of drinks, and a few quiet moments. We talked about the case, but not much. We’d both had enough of that, and that was it. She left before eleven that night, gave me a peck on the cheek, and was gone.

  The great river was calm that night, a vast, flat expanse of blackness highlighted by the reflections of the lights on the Thrasher Bridge. I was calm, too. I sat for an hour, thinking about the turbulent events of the past year: Tabitha Willard, Charlie Maxwell, Tom Sattler, Brinique, Terri and Sandra, Sal De Luca, Kate, and... Amanda, always Amanda.

  Finally, I
dragged myself together, got up from the sofa, walked to the window, stood for a moment, and.... It’s time to move on, Harry. Time to turn the page.

  Thank You.

  Thank you for taking the time to read Family Matters. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review on Amazon (just a sentence will do). Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and much appreciated. Thank you. Blair Howard.

  Reviews are so very important. I don't have the backing of a major New York publisher. I can't afford take out ads in the newspapers and on TV, but you can help get the word out.

  To those many of my readers who have already posted reviews to this and my other novels, thank you for your past and continued support.

  If you have comments or questions, you can contact me by email at blair@blairhoward.com, and you can visit my website http://www.blairhoward.com.

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  Now you’ve finished the first three novels in the Harry Starke series, you’ll want to read the rest, right? Good, because I have a deal for you. You can get books 4, 5, and 6 as a bundle at a whopping discount.

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  This Boxed Set of Harry Starke novels is Copyright © 2016 Blair Howard

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