Fatally Linked

by Juliann Vatalaro

  “Thank you, Lieutenant. I won’t let you down.” He looked at Katie. “Will Katie be with me today?”

  “Maybe this afternoon. We need her with us this morning.”

  He nodded and turned back to his computer. Dani, Jake, and Katie headed for her office. Dani dropped into her chair and looked at the monitor showing her case board.

  “Okay, first we have the psychiatrist at the building where Zach was killed. Then we’ll head over to the clinic to talk to the doctor.”

  “Are you going to make an appointment with him?” Katie asked.

  “No. I think a surprise visit is in order here. I’m pretty sure we’re not going to get a confession out of him, but I’d like to keep him off balance. When we’re done with him we’ll check in with Wilson to see if there’s anyone we need to follow up with.”

  “We’ll have to get with Lizza after the clinic,” Jake said. “We need to make sure everything for Jennifer is in place today.”

  Dani nodded. “You’re right. After the psychiatrist we’ll get in touch with Lizza to see what time is good for her. Then we’ll follow up with Wilson.”

  Katie looked from Jake to Dani. “Are your days always like this?”

  “I don’t know about Jake, but mine is,” Dani answered as she took out her phone to text Dr. Warren to let him know they were meeting at the building.”

  Jake sat in the chair across from Katie. “I usually don’t work more than one case at a time. We have two, possibly three going now. So yeah, it’s going to be a little nuts.”

  Katie looked at the floor and asked, “Am I really helping?”

  “Very much,” Dani answered quickly. “But if you need to stop, we’ll understand.”

  Katie looked up fast. “No, I don’t want to stop. Helping yesterday made it so much easier to get through the day. I need to be preoccupied with something. If not I think I’ll fall apart from missing my mom.”

  Dani rubbed her eyes to hide the tears. Jake gave Katie a hug. Neither of them said anything. There was nothing they could say that would help Katie from missing her mom. Trying would only make things worse.

  Not a word was said as they pulled up to the warehouse. As Jake started to get out of the car, Dani grabbed his arm to stop him.

  “The tape is off the door.”

  She took out her phone to call dispatch to request two units be sent to their location. There was no way she was going to be blindsided when she walked into that building. She was on the list of people who would approve re-opening the building. Since she hasn’t done that and has no intentions of doing that until Zach’s killer is found, the caution tape being ripped off the door told her that someone was or had been in the building.

  In a way, she hoped they were still in there. Whoever it is might be able to give them some information on what happened that night. In a way she hoped the building was clear. They needed to get Katie through this with as little distractions as possible.

  Dani pulled the car around the corner and parked. She made sure the front door was still in view. As much as she wanted to get in there to check it out, they all stared at the door while they waited for backup to arrive.

  When they pulled up next to her she held out her badge and got out of the car. Jake and Katie followed. Dani picked the biggest of the four officers and pointed to Katie.

  “Your job is to protect her. Once we are inside the door, find a secure spot, and don’t move from it until I say it’s all clear.” She turned to Katie. “No matter what you hear or see, you do not leave his sight, understand?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Of course it goes without saying,” Jake added. “If all hell breaks loose you get her the hell out of there and back to the fifth precinct.”

  “I’ll take care of her.” The officer nodded and stepped up to Katie’s side.

  All weapons were drawn as they walked through the front door. They all waited until the officer had Katie secured in the first office they came to. This warehouse took up half a city block and was three stories. Zach was found on the third floor in what looked like what could have been an old employee lounge. Dani headed to the staircase. She motioned the other officers to clear the first floor before continuing up. Jake kept close to Dani.

  They did not pass a room or door without checking it. Jake couldn’t help notice they worked like they’ve been partners for years as they cleared the floor. Every hand signal was understood. Every entry into a new room or area was performed like it was choreographed. Jake couldn’t help but give Dani a big smile as they headed back to the steps to move on to the third floor.

  The officers met them at the steps after clearing the first floor. Dani took a second to text the doctor telling him to stay back until she called him. The last thing she wanted was a hostage situation to deal with. As they headed up, Dani reminded herself of the layout of the floor.

  As they came through the door, an old beat-up reception desk was straight in front of them. Off to the left and right were hallways leading to the offices. At the end of the hall on the right was the lounge where Zach was found.

  Dani motioned the officers to the left. She headed to the right with Jake. The first two offices cleared quickly. They weren’t bigger than eight by eight and neither had a window. As they walked toward the next office the door was closed, while the others were open. Dani leaned against the wall on one side of the door, while Jake leaned against the wall on the other side. Both of them leaned in to listen for a minute.

  When they didn’t hear anything, Jake nodded to Dani to tell her he was set. She slowly turned the knob and pushed the door away from the latch about an inch.

  Jake went down to a knee as he rolled through the doorway, opening it all the way. Dani went in high, sweeping the room quickly. They both stopped with their guns pointed at two people on the ground in the far corner of the room. At first glance, it was hard to tell if they were dead or alive.

  They both slowly walked up to them. Jake kicked one in the foot. When there was no response, Dani kicked the other in the foot. The woman moaned. Dani did it again as she said, “Hey, get up.”

  Another moan was the response. Jake leaned down and checked the pulse of the man. He nodded to Dani when he found one.

  “Call an ambulance,” Dani ordered as she holstered her gun and knelt down beside the woman.

  She patted them both down before slapping the woman lightly on the cheek. “Hey, wake up.”

  There was no response until she did it again.

  Slowly, the woman opened her eyes. It took a minute, but they knew the second she realized they weren’t alone in the office anymore. She started scooting herself back, hitting the man’s arm to wake him up.

  “Harry, get up. Get up!” She slapped his arm again. “Who are you?” she asked Dani.

  Dani smiled. “I’m Lieutenant Castello, NYPD. Who are you?”

  She hit Harry’s arm again. “Oh God. Harry wake up. We’re in trouble. Wake up.”

  Harry finally started to come around. He swiped at her hand to get her to stop hitting him. “Stop hitting me. What is your problem?” He rolled away from her.

  Harry rolling away from her must have made her mad, because she took a swing at him and yelled. “Damn it, get up! The cops are here.” She hit him again.

  “Stop hitting me!” Harry opened his eyes and sat up. “What is your problem?”

  She motioned to Dani and Jake. They both stared at them with straight faces, but inside they were laughing.

  Jake quickly grabbed Harry’s hands and slapped cuffs on him. “Harry, is it?”

  “Yeah, what’s it to you?” He leaned back against the wall. He looked at his hands. “Hey, what’s with the cuffs? We didn’t do anything.”

  Jake took lead. “What are you doing here?”

  “Just getting some sleep, man. We didn’t take anything. We just needed a place to crash.”

  “Did you see the caution tape on the door?”

  “Yeah, we saw it, but it was
ripped down, so we figured it was okay to come in now.”

  Jake looked at the woman. “What’s your name?”

  “Cindy.”

  “Are you sleeping off your latest high, Cindy?”

  “No, sir.” She shook her head.

  “How about you, Harry?”

  “No, sir. We just needed a place to crash. Nobody was around so we figured it was okay to hang out here.”

  The officers finally worked their way to the room. They entered and looked from Dani to Jake and back. “Need any help here?” the female officer asked.

  “Did you clear the rest of the building?” Dani asked.

  “Yes, ma’am. All clear.”

  Jake continued with Harry and Cindy. “So when we pat you down we are not going to find any weapons or drugs?”

  Harry laughed. “Well, I wouldn’t say that.”

  Cindy hit him again. “Shut up, Harry.”

  “Okay, enough of this. Officer,” she looked at his name tag for the first time. “Officer Hartman, pat them down, switch out the cuffs, and read them their rights.”

  “You can’t arrest us,” Cindy yelled. “We didn’t do anything. We were just sleeping.”

  “Well, Cindy, it’s against the law to squat in an abandon building.”

  Dani nodded to Officer Hartman and left the room. Jake followed.

  “Do you think they know anything?”

  “Probably not. They don’t seem to be drug addicts. At least not the kind we’re looking for.” Dani shrugged. “But we’ll go through the motions anyway.”

  Jake nodded. “I agree. Maybe we’ll get lucky. I’m going to get Katie.”

  “I’ll call the doctor to tell him we’re clear.” Dani looked down the hall, motioning with her head to the room at the end. “Zach was found in that room.”

  Jake looked down the hall. “You know, we asked Katie if she was good with coming back here, but we didn’t even think about whether you would be okay with it.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay with this?”

  “To be honest, no. But it has to be done. Go get Katie and the doctor. I’ll be in the last room on the right.”

  Jake hesitated before heading toward the stairs.

  CHAPTER 27

  DANI FROZE AS SHE WALKED through the last door on the right side of the hallway. Her eyes immediately went to the reddish-brown spot on the floor, four feet from the entrance to the room. The tears came without warning. She turned her back on the spot. Wiping her eyes and taking a deep breath pulled her back to where she needed to be.

  As hard as it was for her to be in this room, she knew it had to be done. They needed more to work with. They needed more information about what happened that night. Katie was the only one who could give them that information. If she couldn’t be in the room, how could she expect Katie to be?

  She turned back to look around the room. There was a couch at the far end of the room. There was a blanket on the couch. When she heard footsteps coming down the hall, she quickly took the blanket and laid it over the spot on the floor.

  Katie’s eyes immediately went to the spot on the floor. Even though it was covered she took a step back. Jake grabbed her hand and whispered in her ear. “You can do this. Please try to help us.”

  Katie eyes locked on Dani’s. After a moment she nodded. “I’ll try.”

  Dani stepped up to Dr. Warren. “Thanks for meeting us here.”

  “No problem. Why don’t we get straight to the point so Katie doesn’t need to be here any longer than necessary.”

  He used Katie leaving as an excuse, but Dani could tell from the look in his eyes that he knew how hard it was for her to be here also.

  Dani turned to Katie. “Are you ready?”

  “As ready as I’m going to be. What do I need to do?”

  Dr. Warren took over. “Why don’t you tell me what you remember?”

  Katie walked over to the window and stared outside as she repeated one more time what happened the night Zach was killed.

  In a calm and soothing voice, Dr. Warren took Katie’s hand and asked, “No names were said that night?”

  He led her to the couch.

  “Not that I remember.”

  “Is this the couch you were sitting on?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, sit back. Try to relax. I need you to listen to my voice and only my voice. Block everything else out. You can’t hear anything but my voice.”

  The doctor motioned to Dani and Jake to move out of Katie’s view. When they complied he spoke to Katie. “Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Slowly let it out. That’s right, just relax and breathe slowly.”

  For the next five minutes or so, Dr. Warren slowly brought Katie to a hypnotic state.

  “Katie, can you hear me?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m going to ask you some questions now. Some of the questions might upset you, but I need you to answer honestly and as quickly as possible. Just remember you are not alone. There is no one here that can hurt you. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “When you walked out of the café, what did you see?”

  “A van was parked in front of the door.”

  “What color was the van?”

  “Black, or maybe dark blue.”

  “Was there anything written on the van?

  “No.”

  “Any logo or graphics printed on it?”

  Katie hesitated, “No. I don’t think so.”

  “What happened as you turned to walk away?”

  “Someone threw a hood over my head and pulled me the other way. Then I was thrown in the van.”

  “Was it just one person that threw you in the van?”

  “No, I think it was two people.”

  “Did they say anything?”

  “Not until we stopped. One guy yelled to the other to get me to the third floor and make me stop screaming.” She blew out a few quick breaths to calm herself. “Wait, the guy who yelled said, ‘Tim, make her shut up and bring her to the third floor.’”

  “He used a name? He said Tim?”

  “Yes. Tim. Definitely Tim.”

  “Good, Katie. That’s good. Now let’s move to what happened once you were in this room. What happened then?”

  “Someone pushed me onto the couch. I guess it was Tim. He took my hood off. He said if I moved he would kill me.”

  “Were your hands still tied?”

  “Yes.”

  “What did you see?”

  “A bunch of people partying. They were drinking and doing drugs.”

  “How many people?”

  “A lot, maybe thirty or forty.”

  “Did any of these other people talk to you?”

  “No, I kept asking to be let go, but they ignored me. They just kept laughing at me.”

  “I need you to bring yourself back to that night, back to this room. I need you to listen to what’s going on around you. Don’t think of how scared you were. Don’t think of what you were saying or doing. Think of everyone else that was in this room with you. What were they saying, what were they doing?”

  Katie closed her eyes. Her breathing was a little rough and tears started running down her cheeks. Suddenly she sat up straight. “Tyron, throw me another beer.”

  “Who’s Tyron?”

  “The guy over by the bar.”

  “Okay, I want you to look at him. Memorize as much about his face as you can, but don’t tell me. Just keep it in your mind.”

  The doctor gave her a minute to do that before he continued. “Okay, what else do you hear?”

  “There wasn’t a lot of talking going on. They were dancing and laughing. There was a group in the corner smoking something. It smelled like pot. I tried to cover my mouth and nose, but my hands were tied.”

  “So no other names were yelled out?”

  “No, just Tyron.”

  Katie was starting to breathe faster now. Jake and Dani were both getting concerned this was too muc
h. As they took a step toward Katie the doctor held up a hand to stop them.

  “Katie, let’s move to when Daren came into the room. What happened then?”

  “He came over to me. He saw my hands were tied and he yelled at someone. Drums. He yelled at a guy named Drums because my hands were tied. He pulled me up from the couch and cut the ties.”

  Katie jumped up. Dani and Jake started toward her again. Dr. Warren held them off. He walked with Katie as she paced.

  “Katie, you’ve told us what happened next. I’m not going to make you relive that. I want you to just listen again. Did you hear anything else? Close your eyes and listen. Let your mind see it all again, but only tell me what you think I need to know.”

  Katie stopped and closed her eyes. “No, don’t.”

  “Who said that?”

  “Daren, I think. I’m not sure because someone is pulling me out the door.”

  Dr. Warren looked over to Dani and Jake. Dani motioned with a finger in a circle to tell him to wrap it up and bring Katie out of it. He nodded to them as he took Katie’s hand.

  “Katie, when I squeeze your hand I want you to open your eyes. You will no longer be in this room on that terrible night. You will be back here with Dani and Jake. You will feel safe. You will feel relaxed and rested. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  Slowly the doctor added pressure to Katie’s hand. She opened her eyes and looked around the room. When she met Dani’s eyes, she asked, “Did it work? Did I remember anything that will help you?”

  Dani walked over and gave her a hug. “You did great. We have some names to work with now. Thank you.”

  Jake hugged her next. “I’m so proud of you. Thank you for doing this.”

  When he pulled away she gave them the biggest smile. “Can I get out of here now?”

  “Oh yeah, let’s all get out of here.”

  “I’ll be out in a minute,” Jake yelled after them.

  Dani slowed and turned back to him. One look in his eyes and she knew why he was staying back. First to look around for anymore clues. Second to say goodbye to Zach. She nodded to him and left the room.