Lost in the Darkness (Crusaders of the Lost Book 1)

by William Mark

  “You remote accessed the engine and locks didn’t you?”

  “Something like that.”

  “You scaring me with the train isn’t going to work.”

  “Tell that to the train.”

  Pittman looked out of the window. The train was rounding the bend and heading straight for them. The crossing arms started to lower and were accompanied by a dinging sound as the warning lights flashed red.

  “Tell him what he wants to know,” Stephens begged from the front seat.

  “Shut up, Jeremy.”

  “You should listen to him.”

  “Curt, stop this now. Turn the car back on, and let’s be reasonable about this!”

  “You weren’t reasonable when you took Josh from me. Why do you deserve anything more?”

  Pittman didn’t answer. The train was getting closer. Its horn was steadily blaring at the Town Car.

  “Curtis, dammit! Do it…turn it back on.”

  “Not until you confess.”

  “So you’re willing to kill me to get me to confess?”

  Curt held a deadpan look giving the Senator his answer.

  “Curtis, stop this. You’re crazy!”

  The train was bearing down at a pace guaranteeing that the smaller Town Car would be smashed into several pieces along with whoever was inside.

  “Do you know how long it takes a train to stop?”

  “Curtis, I can’t!”

  “Yes, you can. You did it—NOW ADMIT IT!”

  “No….”

  The train was less than a hundred yards away. Its horn nearly drowned out the sound of Curt’s voice.

  “CONFESS YOU MISERABLE SON OF A BITCH!”

  Seventy-five yards.

  “Fine, fine. I confess. I did it. I did it all!”

  Fifty yards.

  “Turn the Goddamn car back on, for Christ’s sake! You got what you wanted.”

  “Not even close.”

  Twenty-five yards.

  “CURTIS!” Pittman yelled as the train was nearly on top of them. He read the look on Curt’s face. He was seriously considering not releasing the remote hold on the car. Stephens was steadily trying the ignition with no luck. Pittman yelled again, hoping he could be heard over the train’s horn, pleading for the Town Car to move.

  The engine kicked over, and Stephens stomped on the accelerator. The corner of the freight train’s front metal housing nicked the back bumper of the Town Car, knocking it sideways by only a few feet, but it still remained on the road.

  “Oh, Jesus!” Pittman said in relief, catching his breath.

  Curt watched on the other end of the video chat, contemplating his reasoning for allowing him to live.

  Stephens shook off the near death experience and headed for the press conference after asking Pittman what to do. Pittman picked up the iPad and looked at Curt. He wiped his brow with a handkerchief and blotted his face dry before putting it away.

  “Good one. I did NOT see that coming.”

  Curt didn’t answer. Pittman thought for a moment and started to laugh.

  Curt was immediately annoyed. “What?” he asked.

  “You plan to use that in court? That coerced ‘confession?’”

  “Something like that.”

  “Well, I got news for you. It was under duress, and I only said whatever it was you wanted to get the car started. It’ll never hold up.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “Not only will it not hold up, anything I say subsequently will be inadmissible as well.”

  “Like I said, we’ll see.”

  “You arrogant prick! That’s why I took Josh in the first place. You were so arrogant, because you just had to have your man, didn’t you? I saw you following my trail from such a distance, and I knew you didn’t have a real clue. But you persisted because of your arrogance and got too close. But, whatever.”

  “Arrogance on my part, huh?”

  “Yeah, I was enjoying taking my time with Mirra the night before we met for coffee to discuss the oversight committee. How’d’ya like that?”

  “I think you’re done. You’ll never hurt anyone again. Not for the rest of your life.”

  “On what? That bullshit forced confession? Not a chance.”

  “No. Not that.”

  “Then what?”

  “You see that little black tube on the ceiling of the Town Car, next to the dome light?”

  Pittman searched for what he was talking about and found the small lipstick sized object.

  “It’s a camera.”

  “So what?” Pittman’s confidence was feigned.

  “Nice touch, smelling the panties, you degenerate.”

  The pit of Senator Thomas Pittman’s stomach fell through the floorboard of the Town Car.

  “Wh-wh-what are you talking about?”

  “Did you think we’d let you just walk out of the police station with our evidence? Our actual real evidence? Now maybe, instead, we’d let you take a pair of panties with a tiny GPS tracker sewn in the elastic band and planted at the station, just for you.”

  Curt held up the actual package Mirra Teal handed over to Rachel to show the Senator. “This is the real evidence that was compared to your DNA.”

  “My DNA? You have to have a search warrant or my consent for that. That’ll never hold either.”

  “Yeah, it will. Abandoned property. Got it from your fundraiser. You remember your date right?”

  Curt’s head moved to the side, and Beth Young appeared. She was dressed much more casually than for the role of Francine Harvey. She waved at Pittman, “Hi” and pulled up a clear plastic evidence bag with his champagne flute inside.

  “Wait, you can’t do that!”

  “Did it and already matched it. Congrats, it’s yours.”

  “Well played, Curtis, well played. But it’ll never hold. None of this little charade will hold up in a court of law.”

  “You may be right.”

  Pittman smiled, earning a degree of confidence back from Curt’s admission.

  “I want to show you something first.”

  “Uh, sir?” Stephens spoke up from the front seat.

  “Shut up, Jeremy. What do you want to show me, Curt?”

  Curt got up and carried the iPad into a different room from where he was. It was hard to follow as the angle was looking up at Curt’s face from waist level.

  “Uh, sir?” There was more insistence in Stephen’s tone.

  “What, dammit! What is it?”

  “Look.” Stephens was pulling up to where the press conference was being held. A small army of uniformed police officers and FBI agents were standing by awaiting the Senator’s arrival.

  “Oh shit.”

  Curt spoke to him through the video chat, “One more thing, Thomas. Have a look; I bet you didn’t see this coming either!”

  Curt turned the view of his screen outward and panned over a crowd of media and campaign supporters seated in his press conference. He gulped in exasperation but froze at the sight of himself in real time, in the backseat of the Town Car, up on the dual screens. A dumbfounded look unfitting for a distinguished politician remained on his face, until he was removed from the car by uniformed officers and FBI agents.

  Pittman was at a loss for words as he was led away in handcuffs with Stephens. Curt stepped outside and made sure Pittman saw him standing there with a look of satisfaction that his brand of justice was served.

  ***

  The crowd who sat waiting for the announcement of Thomas Pittman running for the US Senate got more of a show than they realized. They were in shock from what they just watched on the video screens. Just as the commercial started, it was interrupted, and a live video chat proceeded in its place. It was odd seeing the Senator in the backseat of his Town Car, but the crowd figured it was something new he had come up with for his upcoming campaign.

  It wasn’t until he began to inappropriately fondle a pair of women’s underwear, that the crowd turned silent, realizing it
wasn’t a joke. A few gasps and choice words followed after watching him smell them. They watched intently as he got rid of the fake evidence and then witnessed his confession made to Curt and the telling conversation that followed.

  Pride from his campaign workers dissipated and was replaced by utter abhorrence and loathing. They couldn’t believe they had followed a rapist and kidnapper.

  Rachel Goodwin turned to Mirra Teal after everything was said and done. She was suddenly standing taller than before. A light from within shone brightly, and she looked at peace. Rachel smiled.

  “It was because of your courage that this happened.”

  Mirra let loose a tear that rolled down her cheek. She nodded acceptingly at Rachel. The scene was empowering on so many different levels. There was a balance that was restored in Mirra’s mind. What had incapacitated her for so long was no longer a hindrance in her life. She was set free.

  ***

  Tony Mason was the first to leave the room and he shot a call to Alexis so he could scoop the story. He wanted to get started before the rest of the press could get their legs underneath them and make sense of it all. He walked by Rachel and gave her a smile.

  “I know I didn’t see that shit coming.”

  He walked outside and snapped a few pictures of Pittman being hauled away. As the Senator was tucked away in the backseat of an awaiting Crown Vic, he looked over and saw Curtis Walker standing there, watching. Mason’s good spirit sobered for a moment, knowing what this meant for the father who had known so much heartache. He raised his phone and snapped a picture of Curt standing proud, draped in a tan trench coat, and looking like an avenging angel watching over his work. It was the perfect picture of justice.

  “You can’t use that,” Curt said, noticing the reporter.

  “I’m not. That one is for me.”

  Chapter 52

  With a whirlwind of media attention that stemmed from the sensational arrest of the Senator circling around Curtis Walker, he found refuge by sitting on the floor of his son’s bedroom and playing with him. He was desperately trying to reestablish his innocence. In the weeks and months following the arrest of Senator Thomas Pittman, Curt spent most of his time dedicated to the recovery and mental well-being of his son. It was slow going and frustrating at times, but each victory, however minor, was worth the effort. Josh was still having nightmares, and Curt often spent his nights simply holding the boy in his arms, giving him a chance at restful sleep. It was a change from the many restless nights on the road for Curt but an adjustment he welcomed without question.

  Curt followed the fallout from the subterfuge that exposed Pittman for the monster he was. The video was played over and over again on the news to the point of nausea. Curt knew the Senator was a craftsman at the law, so he decided instead of attacking him in the courtroom, he would appeal to the higher court of public opinion to try him for his crimes. It worked tremendously well, and he was instantly vilified and disavowed by his political and professional associates. His career was hung by the neck until dead.

  The investigation picked up where Curt had left it prior to Josh’s disappearance. Curt worked it vicariously through Sergeant Polk. After being confronted with the DNA match from Mirra Teal’s underwear, Pittman tried his best to claim it was a consensual encounter and denied anything else ever happened. He fought against the evidence down to the last swab and fingerprint, even after a search of his office in Panama City revealed the same nylon fabric ropes used to bind his victims in both cities. Strands of women’s hair were found in the rope fibers that would later be a match for the last Tallahassee victim. But the coup de gras was when the investigators found CDs of the victims’ taped verbal statements burned onto his hard drive. It was evident that the Senator had worked his way into the investigations of his own criminal acts in order to gain access to their statements.

  “So, he wanted to hear first-hand about his power and control through the victim’s words?” Curt asked Sgt. Polk after his latest update.

  “Looks that way.”

  “And right under our friggin’ noses too. He used his committee seat to spy on his own investigation. Jesus, that’s a sick man.”

  “Yeah, policy changes are sitting on the Chief’s desk as we speak. No more civilian oversight committees.”

  “Good.”

  The article Tony Mason brought to his editor was the literary equivalent of a stick of dynamite with a lit fuse. He was pleased with the national attention it garnered with lightning speed. It was no surprise given the nature of the corruption, criminality, and especially the subterfuge that was used to bring him to justice. Mason took more credit than he deserved by saying it was he who discovered the link between Pittman and the series of rapes. The only person that could legitimately call him out was Alexis Vanderhill. He counted on her knowing better than to challenge him on this key point and risking exposure to the team. It was a small but pointed victory in his eyes.

  The article explained how the one-time City Councilman managed to get inside access to the investigations of the rapes that he had actually committed. Once he learned detectives were closing in on him, he kidnapped the son of the lead detective to derail the investigation. Meanwhile, he continued committing the rapes and moved venues to his hometown, all the while securing an election to the State Senate. It was a Hollywood script that played out in the unsuspecting town of Tallahassee, Florida. Mason kept the term “humid-filled, crap hole” to himself and gave the capital city a more charming demeanor.

  The success he found with this story and a pending book deal lessened the sting of Vanderhill killing his earlier story about her and her team, but he still held a grudge. Using the old adage of, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” Mason agreed to terms with Vanderhill but with the understanding that he had the exclusive on any of their future ventures.

  “That will be fine just so long as I okay the story.”

  “Alexis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

  Alexis rolled her eyes.

  Mason added, “We’ll always have Vail.”

  “Are you done?”

  “Here’s looking at you….”

  Alexis groaned at his adolescent attempt at humor and walked away. Mason smiled and finished quoting his favorite movie. “…Kid!” He shouted, knowing she could still hear him, “…of all the stories, in all the towns, in all the world, you had to walk into mine!”

  Chapter 53

  Three months had passed since the team had managed to bring down the Florida State Senator and his personal assistant, Jeremy Stephens. Stephens was definitely the weak link, and he quickly made a deal with the prosecution. He agreed to testify against the Senator about his knowledge of the rapes and the kidnapping for a reduced sentence. Stephens was the one who actually set up the delivery of Joshua Walker to Tobias Helton on the night of his disappearance. Stephens had known Helton socially and had actually introduced Helton to Gregory with whom he had also taken pre-law classes at FSU. Stephens and Helton had severed their relationship, in light of the kidnapping, so it wouldn’t be traced back to the Senator.

  Detectives from the Leon County Sheriff’s Office found a note Helton had written before committing suicide. He admitted to having done “terrible acts” but did not specify the atrocities he was responsible for perpetrating. He cited the reason for ending his life was not being able to face his inevitable prison sentence and the violence that was sure to greet him at the gate. Helton was a coward to the end, Curt thought. He was willing to inflict violence on a weaker person to satisfy his lustful desires, but when the tables turned, he chose to take the path of the gutless.

  As for Gregory, he was sentenced to a term of life in the Florida State Prison but only after the death penalty was taken off the table by the prosecution. Curt wasn’t happy with the sentence, knowing that nothing short of death was acceptable. However, when Gregory took a plea deal, it meant Josh was spared the trauma of testifying which would reopen his devasta
ting wound. This kept Josh from reliving the nightmares all over again in open court. That made it satisfactory to Curt.

  Curtis Walker eased himself back into life as a detective at the Tallahassee Police Department, although he found himself missing the work he did while on Alexis’ team. He often thought of them and wondered what they were doing…where they were…whom they were helping. Visions of Louis sitting inches away from a computer screen, Melinda and Beth utilizing their impromptu acting abilities, and especially of Rachel, all ran through his mind. He’d known her the least but missed her the most. She understood him; and as he looked back on the help she gave him in his moment of need, he was the one who was now indebted.

  Therapy was going slowly with Josh, and some days, he reverted backwards into a downward spiral of anger and misunderstanding. He would physically lash out toward Curt and Tracy, fighting to understand why this awful thing happened to him. Curt hated to see his child like this but knew of no other way to help him. This led to arguments with Tracy that weren’t productive, and her frustrations with his two-year absence finally surfaced after everything calmed down. He tried his best to repair the damage that this nightmare had placed on his family, but it seemed to run even deeper than he thought. It left him wanting to feel that sense of purpose he had while working on the team. It was something he wasn’t ready to give up.

  ***

  The Sprinter van was parked in the shadows of the street lights just outside the trailer park. A $90,000 van would be too conspicuous if set up within, Rachel mentioned. After leaving Tallahassee, the team started to work westbound and was currently in a suburb on the east side of Houston, Texas.

  Louis Melton worked the computers while Rachel set up inside the park to watch the target trailer. Beth and Melinda were getting acquainted with a nice, elderly neighbor to combat the cold. While hunting earlier that day, Rachel spotted two disheveled children, clearly siblings, following an overly controlling man who constantly snapped at them. Although appalling on some level, there was nothing overly suspicious about this behavior. However, Rachel grew leery of the man and wanted to look into him further. During reconnaissance, she locked eyes with him and could see he was paranoid and hiding something. After running his face through facial recognition software, they learned that he was wanted in Florida for parental abduction and attempted murder. He had lost his two children in a bitter divorce a year prior. Before it was finalized, he ran off with the two children after beating his mother-in-law half to death while she was watching them during the divorce proceedings.