The bass almost knocked them over when he opened the door. He stomped outside and yelled over the railing, “Jeez, I’ll turn it down, Mrs. Finster. There was no need to call the FBI.”
“Keegan Brewster?”
The man spun around. “Yeah?” He wore a stained t-shirt with the image of Spock from Star Trek flashing a Vulcan salute with the words “Live Long and Prosper.” His hair was unkempt and stringy and it looked like he hadn’t shaved in a few days.
“We need to speak to you.”
His brows furrowed. “Yeah, okay, sure.” He led them into his apartment. “But like I told Mrs. Finster, I’ll turn it down. The music stimulates my creativity and keeps me company.”
“How about if you turn it down now?” Logan had to raise his voice to be heard.
“Oh, yeah, sorry,” he said. The silence was a shock when the music abruptly ended. Dante’s ears were ringing, or maybe bleeding, he wasn’t sure which.
“Thank God,” Dorian muttered through the com.
Dante glanced around the apartment. He felt like they stepped onto the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. Computers and monitors were stacked all over, with green, orange and red lights blinking. The largest television he’d ever seen took up one wall. The room smelled of burnt popcorn and stale milk.
Brewster shoved magazines off a chair to sit. “So are you going to give me a fine or something?”
Dante crossed his arms. “We’re not here about the music.”
Brewster glanced from Dante to Logan and then Sawyer. “Then why are you here?”
“Are you alone?” Logan asked, glancing around the apartment.
Brewster’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “I didn’t get a good look at your badges. Can I see them again?”
Sawyer flipped open his leather wallet and displayed his credentials. As Brewster squinted to read, Sawyer said, “You run the official Patrick Sweeney webpage.”
Convinced of their official capacity, he leaned back in the chair. “Yeah…well, I don’t run it. I created it and host it, but that’s it.”
“So you don’t handle the day-to-day operation?” Logan asked.
Brewster shook his head. “I heard the guy escaped prison, but I don’t know anything about that. Hell, I don’t even know him…never met him.”
“Who paid you to create the site?” Dante queried.
“I can’t remember. It was years ago and they paid for a ten-year gig.”
“Can you look through your records?”
Brewster shook his head. “Sorry, man. I was young then…in high school. I didn’t bother with things like records or receipts.”
“How did they know to contact you?”
“Oh, through my cousin.” He scratched his head. “I think she’s still active on the site.”
“What’s your cousin’s name?”
“Bonnie. Bonnie Green.”
Dante’s heart skipped a beat. Bonnie Green. One of the last two Sweeney supporters they hadn’t been able to track down. “Do you know how to get in touch with your cousin?”
He nodded. “Sure. She’s a bit of a recluse, but I’ve got her digits.”
Logan rolled his eyes. “Can you get those digits for us right now?”
Brewster pushed himself out of the chair. “Okay.” He flipped through a Rolodex, scribbled down a number, ripped the paper from the pad and handed it to Sawyer.
“One more thing,” Dante said. “Can you tell who uploads pictures to the site?”
“Should be able to.” Brewster moved to a computer with a twenty-four inch screen and tapped at the keyboard. Sweeney’s website appeared.
“Click on this link.” Sawyer pointed to a headline. Brewster tapped it and the photos of Sweeney’s mug popped up. “These…who loaded these pictures?”
Brewster hunched over the keyboard, his fingers flying. Several different screens appeared, some he barely glanced at. Finally he stopped typing and looked up at them. “That’s a coincidence. The pictures were added by my cousin Bonnie.”
Chapter Nineteen
Taylor couldn’t believe how empty the house seemed without Dante. Many of his coworkers were holed up in the office, including Nancy who was still answering her phone. She was eternally grateful. Dante’s parents had stopped by earlier to meet her. They drove down from Michigan in a recreational vehicle and were camping nearby so they could be close when their grandson was located. His dad was an older version of Dante…tall, strong with silver hair and a ready smile. His mother was petite and beautiful and embraced Taylor like an old friend. She only spent a few minutes with them but they were wonderful people she’d love to get to know better. Her parents stayed with her most of the day, but she still felt as if a part of her were missing. How could it be possible that he’d come to mean so much to her in such a short amount of time?
She prayed Sweeney didn’t call while he was gone. She felt stronger knowing he didn’t have Grace, but she still wanted…needed Dante’s calming presence when she talked to him. She glanced at the clock. He’d been gone a couple of hours and she hadn’t heard from him yet. She prayed they found out something that would lead them to their children.
Her doorbell sounded and she seriously considered not answering. Her parents had gone home to rest. They were exhausted from their trip and heartsick over their troubled older daughter. Not only had Cassie helped abduct their granddaughter, but she disappeared with their life savings. Still no trace of her or the truck she filched.
Alerted by the bell, Midas scrambled to his feet and raced to the door, his nails clicking on the hardwood floor. With a resigned sigh, she grabbed his collar and pulled it open.
“Hi, hon.” Gina hugged her warmly. “How are you holding up today?” She patted Midas on the head.
“As well as can be expected.”
“No news?”
Taylor closed the door and released Midas’s collar. He sniffed over to his bowl and started eating. She really hated lying to her best friend. They’d been through so much together. She trusted Gina not to tattle to anyone but she’d given her word she wouldn’t tell. “Not yet.”
“Oh, Taylor, I’m sorry. I know this is killing you. Here, I brought you this.” She handed her a small white carton. “It’s Greek yogurt, high in protein. We give this to the residents when they won’t eat to keep up their strength.”
Gina worked as an aide at a nursing home. Tears pricked her eyes at her friend’s consideration. She wished she could tell her that not only was she eating again, but she was sleeping, too. “That was so thoughtful of you. Thank you.” She placed the container in the fridge. “I’ll eat it later, I promise.”
Gina narrowed her eyes. “You better.” She grabbed Taylor’s hand. “Come-on, let’s sit.”
Midas looked up from his bowl as they passed and then resumed eating. They moved to the great room and sat facing each other on the couch.
“I’m only telling you this in case you hear about it but I don’t want you to worry.” Gina took a deep breath. “Mitch was released from prison over the weekend.”
Taylor grabbed her hand. “Oh, no, Gina. Has he tried to contact you?”
“No. The restraining order is still in effect. He’s been assigned to a half-way house and they’ve lined up a job for him. He’s about thirty miles away, so I don’t expect him to bother me.” She picked lint off her pants, trying to look unaffected. “I spoke with his probation officer. He said that Mitch discovered religion and is turning his life around.” She looked up and gave a humorous laugh. “The last thing I would’ve expected was for him to, and I quote his probation officer, “find Jesus.”
“That’s hard for me to believe, too,” Taylor agreed.
“Well, if it’s true, then I’m glad. The world doesn’t need the kind of evil that lurked in his soul.” She attempted a smile that failed miserably.
“Are you afraid, Gina?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “Maybe a little.”
“Do you want someone to stay with
you? Laurie or Marla?”
Gina shook her head. “I can’t hide out from him forever and I refuse to let him run me out of my house.”
“I’d stay with you if I could.”
“I know, and I appreciate it.”
Midas loped over, spun around three times and then dropped to the rug he’d claimed as his own in front of the fireplace. With a gusty sigh, he collapsed to his side. Gina watched him with fondness. “Maybe I’ll get a dog.”
“That’s a great idea. A big one. Have you changed your locks?”
“Right after Mitch was arrested.”
“You should think about a security system, too. I’m sure Dante would help set you up.”
“I’ll think about it,” Gina promised.
Marla and Laurie arrived for their daily visit. They only stayed for a few minutes and Gina left when they did.
Taylor glanced at her watch. Dante should be checking in soon.
#
Bonnie Green lived in a brick duplex twenty minutes away from her cousin. They surrounded her house, covering the exits so she couldn’t escape. Keegan agreed to accompany them and talk to her. They also wanted to keep an eye on him so he didn’t tip Bonnie off. After a cue from Sawyer, he knocked on the door. “Bonnie, it’s Keegan. Open up, I need to speak to you.”
“Hold on.”
Footsteps sounded and then the door opened. “Keegan? What are you doing—”
Sawyer flashed his shield. “Bonnie Green. FBI. We need to talk—”
Bonnie tried to slam the door in his face but Sawyer blocked it with his foot.
“Go away. I don’t want to talk to you.” She tried to kick his boot out of the way.
“Ms. Green, you are dangerously close to assaulting a federal officer.”
She paused mid-kick. “What do you want?”
“We need to ask you some questions.”
She crossed her arms. “Yeah, well, I don’t want to talk to you.”
“No problem. You’re under arrest. You have the right to remain silent…”
She huffed and opened the door. “Fine. What do you want?”
“Can we come in?”
“Like I could stop you,” she muttered as she stomped into her kitchen.
Luke, Logan, Dan, Dorian and Dante followed Sawyer inside. Wyatt kept watch outside. Keegan made like he was going to come in as well. “You. Stay.” Sawyer shut the door in his face.
Bonnie Green wore a flowering orange top secured with a lime green belt and purple stretchy pants. Her hair was a brassy shade of blonde streaked with blue. Her lips were painted fire engine red and her earrings were chandeliers of yellow disks that brushed her shoulders. Dante had to turn away. She burned his retinae.
She picked up a pack of cigarettes and tapped it against her palm to dislodge one. She stuck it in her mouth. “What do you want?” She turned around and gasped at the wall of muscle standing in front of her. The cigarette fell to the ground. “It takes all of you to ask me a question?” With a shaky hand, she bent and picked it up and lit the tip. She inhaled deeply. “What do you want?” Smoke curled out through her nose. Attractive.
“Do you give us permission to search your house?”
“What the hell for?”
“Yes or no.”
She lifted her hands in a “whatever” gesture.
They fanned out and checked the small space, calling out when a room had been cleared. When they all returned, Sawyer guided her to a chair at the dining room table. She stabbed out her cigarette in a well-used ashtray.
“Tell us about Patrick Sweeney.”
Panic crossed her face. Her eyes darted around the room.
“Ms. Green, Patrick Sweeney is an escaped felon. If you have any information on his whereabouts, you are required by law to report it, otherwise you are guilty of aiding and abetting a criminal.”
“I-I-I don’t know where he is. I swear it.”
“But you are in contact with him.”
Her head swiveled to Dante. “What makes you say that?”
“You posted pictures that went live on his website today. How did you get them?”
She crossed her arms defiantly. “I watch those cop shows. I want a lawyer.”
“You aren’t under arrest…yet.” Sawyer withdrew a pair of handcuffs and dangled them from a finger. “I’d be more than happy to take care of that right now.”
Her bravado fled. “He sent them to me and told me to put them online. He wanted to acknowledge the fans who’ve stuck by him.”
“Have you spoken with him?” Luke asked.
She opened her mouth to say something and then stopped. With a sigh, she nodded.
“Where is he?” Dante’s voice was a low, menacing growl.
She shook her head. “I told you, I have no idea. I swear it.”
“What else are you doing to help him?”
“That’s it. Look, if I’m honest with you, you won’t arrest me, right?”
“I make no promises,” Sawyer retorted.
She gave him a dirty look but continued. “He wanted me to participate in his plan to get back at the lawyer who put him behind bars, but I don’t have the finances and resources to help. My mother is very sick and I spend all of my money and free time helping her.” She shrugged a shoulder. “Besides, I wasn’t comfortable plotting revenge on the woman. She was just doing her job. And…I started having doubts about his innocence.”
“Yet you created and maintained his official website.”
“I just said doubts, I didn’t say I was positive.” She tapped out the last cigarette and crumpled the empty package. She flicked the flame on her lighter but before she could light the tip, Sawyer plucked it from her lips and crushed it in the ashtray.
“Hey, what are you doing? Those are expensive.”
“Smoking is prohibited in public buildings.”
“This is my house.”
Sawyer made a point of looking around. “Hum, so it is. Let’s just pretend, then. Besides, those things will kill you.”
“Screw you,” she spat. “They help me manage my stress.”
Dante was getting frustrated. “How did Sweeney get the pictures to you?”
She glared at Sawyer and then turned to Dante. “Email.”
“Show it to us.”
She looked at each man with a mutinous glare. Finally she pushed to her feet and stomped to her computer. She shook the mouse to wake the screen up and then accessed her email program. When it opened, she indicated the monitor with a jerk of her hand. “Here.”
“Let me see it.” Dan maneuvered around to sit in her chair. He studied the note. “Sent from F. Abagnale.” He made a face. “Cute.”
“Wasn’t Frank Abagnale the con man whose exploits were detailed in the movie Catch Me If You Can?” Dorian asked.
Dan nodded. “Probably a shout-out to the cops.” He started typing. “I’ll forward this to Pete, but I doubt he can trace it. Probably a fake email address and I’m sure Sweeney bounced it all around the world.”
“How do you get in contact with Sweeney?” Luke asked her.
Bonnie shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t. I hadn’t heard from him in months. I’m not even sure he’s the one who sent the email. The message just said to post them to the website, so I did.”
They all exchanged glances of frustration. This wasn’t getting them any closer to finding him.
“One more question, Ms. Green,” Luke said. “Who are you hiding from? You don’t show up on any records in the last two years. You don’t pay taxes or have a current driver’s license.
Her shoulders slumped. “I racked up a huge amount of debt I couldn’t pay. They were hounding me day and night. I just use cash now so they can’t find me to collect. Wait…are you going to turn me in?”
“We’re not the IRS.”
“Are you arresting me for helping Patrick?”
Sawyer reached in his pocket and pulled out a card. He handed it to her. “Not right now, but if Sweeney c
ontacts you again, I expect you to notify me immediately. If he does and you don’t let me know and I find out, then yes, I will arrest you.” As an afterthought, he added, “And turn you in to the IRS.”
“One last thing,” Dante said, feeling like he needed to warn her. “Sweeney’s developed a pattern of using women and then getting rid of them. His current body count stands at four.”
Bonnie clutched a hand to her chest. “Are you saying he’s coming after me?”
“No ma’am, but you are posting pictures for him so you could be a loose end he needs to tie up.”
Her gaze flittered around the group. “What do I do?”
“Do you have family you can stay with?”
“My mother, but I don’t want to put her in danger. She’s ill.”
“What about your cousin, Keegan? He’s right outside.”
“I think he’d let me stay with him.”
“We’ll send him in.”
Dark clouds rolled across the sky when they left the apartment. The wind picked up and thunder rumbled in the distance.
“Looks like a ripper of a storm is headed this way,” Wyatt said as they piled into the SUV. Lightning crashed nearby emphasizing his statement. “I checked the weather reports and it doesn’t look good.”
“We better find somewhere to bunk down for the night and ride it out,” Luke said. “I personally don’t want to fly out in a storm.”
They each stashed a go bag in the plane, so they swung by and picked them up. They found a small motel with an attached steak house. After they secured rooms, they headed to the restaurant to eat. Dante thought about calling Taylor but decided he’d wait until after dinner when he was alone in the room.
#
Kai and Grace had been trapped in their hidey-hole all day. They snuck out once to use the bathroom right after the man and woman left, but they couldn’t take the chance of being outside when they returned. There were games in the box he swiped from the woman’s car so they played checkers and Candy Land and Go Fish. The day passed quickly and now it was getting dark. The man…Patrick…had returned a while ago but the woman was still gone. Patrick came outside and dropped into a lawn chair.
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