“Actually, I’m not surprised. It’s pretty easy to figure out. I think some of our superior’s wear blinders.”
“Ooh, not all of them. You wouldn’t get away with that with Webster. He’s a hard-ass when it comes to that kind of stuff. I’m sure you’re highly regarded for doing the right thing.”
“Thank you. I hope so.” She pressed the fob and the doors locked into place. “C’mon, I’ll introduce you.”
Inside, Zach was talking to a few of his friends. “Here she comes.”
“Hi,” she said, but didn’t kiss him. “Zach Gerard, I’d like you to meet my partner, Bud Reece.” The two men shook hands and mumbled something nice to each other. A few awkward moments passed and Bud was excusing himself.
“Are you here to help me with Abby’s case?” she asked when they were alone.
“Yes. I told you I would.”
“Wow.” She mimicked a kiss with her mouth. “Thank you.” She latched onto his arm, “Come meet Abby.”
“Okay.” Zach stopped every once in a while to catch up with old friends.
“I didn’t realize you knew so many of these guys in here.”
“Neither did I. I worked with some of them in vice.”
“Now that’s not a department I’d want to work in. I’ve been told it takes forever to solve the cases—sometimes years.”
“Yeah, so my boss, Lieutenant Miller would not work out well in that department.” He laughed as they walked into Abby’s area. She was busy talking on the phone, but when she saw Jessie, she disconnected.
“Hi,” Jessie said, “I want you to meet my boyfriend and former partner, Zach Gerard.” Zach grinned hearing her call him her boyfriend. She hadn’t done that before. “He’s going to help me do some investigating on your case.”
Abby clasped her hand over his. “Thank you so much. I can’t tell you what this means to me.”
“I hope I can do some good,” Zach said. “I’m going to follow Jess’s lead,” he said, pointing to her.
“The fact that you’ve offered means more than you know.” She looked in Jessie’s direction, “how did you make out at the mall?”
Jessie shook her head. “It turned out to be a dead end.” Abby looked disappointed. “It’s okay, Abby. It’s a minor detail. We’ll find more things to check. That’s why I wanted Zach to help me.”
Abby smiled grimly and began to clean up her desk. “Did you talk to the same people the former detectives did to see if they remembered anything?”
“I did.” Jessie patted Abby’s arm. “Look, we need to get to work. I don’t know if I’ll have anything to tell you tomorrow, but as soon as I have some news, I’ll let you know. Don’t think because you haven’t heard from me that I’m not working on it in my spare time.”
“I know.”
“All right,” she said turning to Zach when they were out of earshot, “Let’s check the database for old Alexander James Cavanaugh.” Zach nodded. “While you’re doing that, I’ll be checking the credit cards and financials.”
Two hours later and Zach was walking toward her with a computer printout.
“You found something?” she asked.
“Oh, I found plenty. There are more Alexander James Cavanaugh’s than you could ever imagine. But at least it gives us a place to start.”
“I’ve run into the same thing with the financials. All right, let’s stop for tonight. My stomach is talking back to me,” she said storing the information in the file she’d created.
“Mine too.”
“Thanks for helping me. It felt like old times working with you again.”
He nodded in agreement and together they headed out the door to the subway. “So what’s the deal with your partner?”
“He was actually very nice to me today,” she said, her eyes filled with surprise. “He even told me Jensen thought I was a good cop.”
“Whoa. That’s a major improvement.”
“He even called me Jess. How about that?” her brows rose.
“So why did he make a beeline out of there after you introduced us?”
She grinned. “He probably thinks I told you about how he treated me.” She giggled. “Seriously, that’s pretty funny when I think about it.” She laughed again, “Maybe he thinks I brought you in here as a warning to him.”
“Hey, if it helps, that’s awesome.”
“Yeah, but I’m going to count on the worst being over and things will be fine moving forward.”
“Not so fast, Jess. Don’t jump the gun. Wait and see what tomorrow brings.”
“You’re such a cynic.”
“It’s the nature of the beast.”
Exiting the subway, they walked the last few blocks to Zach’s bungalow. Walking up the steps onto the porch, Zach inserted his key into the lock and opened the door.
“You know I can’t stop thinking about that picture you showed me of Jake’s bedroom.” She frowned, “There’s something about that teddy bear in the photo that has me curious.”
“What about it?”
“Can I see that picture again?”
“Sure,” he said and pulled it from the pile sitting on his table.
“When Abby first told me her story and quest to find her missing brother, she finished off by saying the one thing that gave her comfort was knowing her brother had his teddy bear with him.”
Zach frowned. She nodded, a slight gloat on her face. “Jess, every kid in America has a teddy bear. That’s not much of a coincidence.”
“Yeah, but she described the bear as being on its last legs, and the bear in the photo looks the same way. Look at the circle around the eye. You don’t buy a teddy bear looking like that. The ear’s missing. How did that happen?”
“I think you’re really reaching here, Jess.”
“Maybe.” Jessie cupped her chin with her hand and rubbed it while she stared into the distance thinking about what to do next. “So how do I approach her to ask what Justin’s bear looked like without having her think I’ve solved the case?”
“I think I know a way. Bring up the subject of teddy bears and what yours looked like growing up. To get her hopes up now and not be able to deliver results would add to her existing disappointments.”
“Where did you say they took Jake?” she asked.
“They won’t tell me and they haven’t produced anything with his DNA on it. I’ll give Frasier another call tomorrow morning.” Zach sighed, “Christ, if this is true and Harold Thomas kidnapped this kid, did he mistreat him? The kid spoke about his father like he was a god, although I could see he had a little fear . . . but that could have been because of the way he died.” Zach closed his eyes and forced the breath from his lungs. “Was that fear or genuine love for the man?” He shook his head. “Oh God, please don’t tell me that bastard did bad things to the kid. If he did, it’s a damn good thing he’s dead because I would have killed the son-of-a-bitch myself.” He paced a few times, “You know, Jess, I wish they’d let you reopen this case so you can work on it during the day. Did you ask your Lieutenant?”
“I did. He said although he’d love nothing better than to return a kid home, unless I have something concrete to show, he can’t open it back up.” She shrugged. “I knew that, but thought what the hell did I have to lose?”
“Yeah,” he groaned, “I know.” He removed the computer printout from his briefcase and tore it in half. “Here, you take this part of it, and I’ll do the other half at my office when I have the time. Now, I want to solve this case too. You’ll talk to Abby tomorrow about the bear, right?”
“Yes,” she saluted, “it’s good to have you on my side.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
WALKING THE DISTANCE from the subway to the precinct, Jessie stopped to answer her phone. It was Bud. “What’s up?”
“Where are you now?”
“A few blocks from the precinct. Why?”
“We’re on. The Slopers received a call. I’m pulling out of the parking lot. Stand out by
the curb and hold up your hand so I don’t drive past you.”
“Okay,” she said, feeling a little disappointed she couldn’t do more on Abby’s case until later, but it would have to wait. Lily Sloper came first. She saw his car and flagged him down.
“Good morning,” she said sliding across the seat. She wrapped the seat belt around her waist and snapped it into place. “Bring me up to date.”
“The Slopers received a ransom call for $1.2 million with further instructions to be forthcoming.” He glanced her way. “Please remember what I told you the other day about how to conduct yourself. If in doubt, ask me, otherwise follow my lead. Like I said, we turn it over to the Feds and assist in any way we can. Even though this is our case, our services are in the background. They will rely on us regarding our familiarity with the neighborhoods and the word on the street.”
“Understood.” Jessie felt a surge of excitement about seeing the Feds handle the situation.
“This is probably going to take a few days, so if you need to call family or that boyfriend of yours to let them know you won’t be around, do it now. The Feds get very suspicious when they see any of us on a cell phone during this process.”
“That makes perfect sense. Thanks for telling me.” She pulled her phone out and keyed in Zach’s number.
He answered on the first ring. “See? I knew you couldn’t stay away from me for long,” Zach said with a chuckle.
She laughed. “Actually, I’m calling to tell you we’re on a job and will be working with the Feds for a few days, so I probably won’t be available.”
“Ransom note?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Okay, sweetheart. Be careful and call me when you can. And yes?”
“What?”
“I love you.”
“I know.” She noticed they were pulling up in front of the Sloper’s apartment building. “We’ve arrived. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Inside the Sloper residence, a handful of agents were testing the sound system for clarity, while three more agents watched the monitors, and trialed the equipment to make sure it was working properly in anticipation of tracking the caller’s location. When the phone rang, everyone jerked to attention and rushed into place.
False alarm. The sound of relief echoed through the room.
Now into their second day, Lily’s grandparents were holding vigil with Kelli whose eyes were puffy and red from crying. She hadn’t moved from the spot where she sat since they’d arrived except to go to the bathroom. A collection of dishes filled with meals to entice her to eat remained untouched despite the coaxing from others.
Jess noticed that Warren Sloper seemed much calmer today, but that was because a physician had prescribed a mild sedative for them. The maid had confided in Jessie that the doctor had mashed the sedative up for Kelli and had them mix it in her food, but it continued to sit untouched.
The phone rang!
A silence hushed over the room as everyone awaited instructions from Special Agent Shelton who stood next to Mr. Sloper. Once everyone was in place, he instructed him to pick up the phone and remember what he’d told him earlier about handling the kidnapper.
“It took you long enough to answer, Warren,” the echoed voice channeled through a synthesizer. That usually meant the kidnapper was someone the family knew. “It isn’t in your best interest to keep me waiting, Warren,” he said with force.
“Who are you, dammit!” he said with fury. “I want to talk to my daughter.”
“You, sir, are in no position to make demands on me. It is I who holds the key to the return of your little girl.”
“I want her back now,” Sloper demanded. “I’ll give you anything you . . .” Shelton ended the call abruptly making Sloper furious. “Goddammit. You probably got my daughter killed.”
Shelton blew out a breath. “Mr. Sloper, I told you. This guy knows what he’s doing and you’re playing right into his hands.”
“If it brings Lily back, who cares.”
The phone rang again! Sloper went to reach for it, but Shelton held his hand on the receiver so he couldn’t pick it up.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
“My job, Mr. Sloper. If you want to get control back, you call his bluff.”
“I’ll have your job for doing this, Shelton,” Sloper threatened.
“He’ll call back.” Seconds later, the phone rang again. Shelton nodded for him to answer it.
“That’s more like it, Warren.”
“What do you want?” The agent waved his hand for Sloper to slow down the conversation. “I’ve already told you. I want $1.2 million dollars in small bills, and no tricks. No dye in the bundles, no alarms sounding off and no Feds. You got that?”
“Yes, of course, but you have to know I don’t have that kind of money sitting around. I have to go to the bank and they don’t open until nine o’clock tomorrow morning. Please let me talk to Lily.”
The phone went dead. “Did you get his location?” the agent asked the tech sitting in front of the monitor.
The technician quirked his mouth to the side. “Dammit, eight seconds short. This guy knows exactly what he’s doing.”
Warren Sloper’s face morphed into anger, his fits pummeled the chair. Seeing him so angry, Jess approached to calm him down.
“Mr. Sloper,” she said sympathetically, “I know how upset you are and I’m sorry. This guy is going to play with your mind until he gets what he wants.”
“I screwed up. I need to pitch an idea to him. That’s what I do in my line of work. I can sell snow to the Eskimos. Surely, I can sell him on the idea of releasing my daughter. I should have tried harder to keep him on the phone longer.”
Overhearing the conversation, Bud walked over. “You did everything right. This kidnapper is no slouch, Mr. Sloper. He’s probably got a timer right next to him. He knows the system well, was probably released from prison a week ago and wants to make some fast money, so he picked you knowing he could get the big purse all at once.”
“But I want to give him what he wants . . . whatever he wants to get her back.”
“And that’s what he’s counting on,” Jessie said. “Let these men do what they do best.”
Sloper blew his nose on a hankie he pulled from his back pocket and began pacing back and forth, then ultimately headed for the kitchen, the elder Mrs. Sloper right behind him.
Agent Shelton made his way over to Bud. “Keep an eye on him,” he said. Minutes later, Rose Sloper returned to the room trailing behind a member of their staff carrying a tray of pastries and fresh coffee without Warren Sloper. Bud and Jessie entered the kitchen and heard Sloper asking his employee if he’d left the money in the spot specified.
“What in God’s name did you do, Mr. Sloper?” Bud asked.
Jessie rubbed her eyes. She was tired and mentally drained from the long weekend with the Feds and the dysfunctional Sloper family. Thinking back over the events of the last three days, she imagined herself in the parents’ shoes while still trying to understand their logic. As the Feds pointed out several times, they’d been through this before. Despite their warnings, Warren Sloper had resisted and managed to sneak past security and deliver exactly what the kidnappers requested and he didn’t care what it cost. Unfortunately, the father’s tenacity resulted in the kidnappers getting the ransom, and the Slopers planning a funeral for their daughter. It wasn’t long after that Lily had been found dead in the bushes in Central Park by a dog owner who’d thrown the ball for his dog to retrieve. When the dog began barking and pawing at something in the bush, he walked over and saw the child.
“You all right, Jess?” Bud asked when he walked past her desk. She gave a slight nod. “Listen, the first case is always the hardest. I’m not saying it gets any easier, but you do learn to put it into proper perspective. We did as much as we could.” He lowered his voice. “This job’ll kill you if you let it.”
“Then why do I feel as though we failed?” she said, her stomac
h waving with nausea.
“Because we can’t win ‘em all. If you keep this up, you won’t be able to do a good job. You’re taking this loss way too personally. I know you and Zach were the leading hotshot detectives in the two-one, always getting your man, but that’s not how it works here as much as we’d like to believe differently. In this arena, we do what we can and stop second guessing what we did or didn’t do.”
Jessie casually wiped a tear from her lash hoping Bud didn’t notice. “I’m not sure I’m cut out for this work, Bud.”
“Well, only you can decide that, but let me say this: it’s taken me awhile to get used to a new partner and if you leave me now, I’m going to kick your ass around the block.”
His comment made her laugh. “Thank you for saying that.”
Bud brushed off her gratitude like she’d said nothing. Shifting in his seat, she could tell he was embarrassed. Seconds later he was clearing his throat before changing the subject.
“Let’s work on the Cavanaugh case today,” Bud said.
“Sounds good. Zach checked the NCIC database and came up with a long list of Cavanaughs. How about checking those?”
“Okay, I can do that.”
Jessie tucked a loose strand of hair back into her barrette. “Anything and everything. I thought it was worth a shot to find out where he is. Based on my conversation with Jensen, he didn’t know what happened to the guy or that he’d left his family stranded after the son’s disappearance. Since Abby has never heard from him again, I had this strange thought that maybe he was the one to kidnap his son after leaving abruptly and never looking back.” Bud was nodding. “It could be. Checking out the old man is a good place to start. So give me some of the sheets. I’ll start checking. What criteria are you using?” Jessie found herself flabbergasted he’d asked to help. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all.
“A man in his forties—grew up in Montana where relatives still reside. Raised his family in Soho on Broome Street.” She slid her finger down the list, “And his parents owned The Rest Inn on—”
Elusive Justice (Kensington-Gerard Detective series Book 2) Page 14