by David Archer
Carol came back into the room as Pete was preparing to leave. He assured her they had everything they needed. They thanked the Hightowers for their cooperation and gave them their business cards, then got back into Pete’s car.
"What was the phone call about?" Pete asked when they were on the road again.
"Josie called and said that the van was found a few miles out in the desert."
“Really? Any sign of…”
“Probably not,” Carol said. “The van had been set on fire. It’s toasted.”
"Fantastic," Pete groaned. "We should go look."
Carol shook her head. "No. Agent McCord said that he’s already going to check it out. I don’t think he needs us to go and hold his hand."
"Good point." Pete sighed. "You were on the phone quite a while. What else is there?"
"I talked to Josie about David Lampley, and she said he works at an auto shop. She checked and he is at work, and it’s right on the way back to the office, so why don’t we stop and have a little chat with him?"
“Sounds like a good idea. What’s the address?” Carol gave it to him and he thought for a moment before taking the next right turn.
Her phone rang at that moment, and she glanced at it to see that it was Max calling. “Hey, hon,” she said as she answered the phone. She listened for a moment, asked a quick question and then cleared the line.
“Pete? That was Max. He needs a favor, and everyone else is still tied up. Would you mind if I do something to help him out after we get back to the office?" She told him what Max was up to, and Pete agreed to it with a smile, but not until after they brought David Lampley in for questioning.
Chapter 12
The name of the auto shop where David worked was called Auto Doctors, and the building looked like it was in dire need of a paint job, but it was the only place in town bearing the name they were looking for. David had to be here.
"Ugh," Carol griped as Pete parked the car and he and Carol headed across the parking lot. "Why are auto shops always dirty?"
Pete laughed. "Ever met a clean grease monkey?"
"No."
"Then there you go. When I was younger, my dad ran a garage just like this, and he taught me how to fix old cars."
"That's really neat,” Carol said. “My dad taught me how to play football."
The waiting area was nothing much to speak of, but they weren't long at the front counter before a man emerged from a door behind it, wearing a grease-stained jumpsuit. He was wiping his hands on a rag, but when he saw Pete and Carol, he tucked the rag into one of his pockets.
"What can I do for you folks?" he asked politely.
Pete introduced himself and Carol as they showed him their credentials.
"We're looking for David Lampley. Is he in?"
"I'm his uncle Tony,” the man said, scowling. “I have the pleasure of trying to keep him outa trouble while his parents are out of town. What's he done this time?"
"Apparently he owns a vehicle that was used in the abduction of a woman yesterday," Pete said. “We need to talk to him about it.”
The old man looked genuinely shocked. "Oh, good grief, you got to be kidding me. I tell you, that boy is going to drive me insane before he’s done. We got a lot of cops in this family, he knows better than this kind of crap."
"Are any of them around?" Carol asked.
"No, ma'am—they picked up and left this town a long time ago. I can’t really blame them, to be honest, this ain’t the best place to be a cop, if you know what I mean. David is in—come this way. It's a shortcut."
Using a latch, he opened a section of the counter that was big enough and wide enough to walk through. They followed Tony through the door he'd used and stepped into the garage. David was hanging out near the back of the giant room, by a back door. He was dressed like his uncle, in a dirty jumpsuit, and he looked like he'd been working awhile.
"David," Tony addressed his nephew. "These folks are private investigators, and they need to talk to you. If they take you downtown or wherever, I'm not gonna bail your ass out."
David took one look at them, and then he was out the door and running. Pete and Carol chased after him, splitting in two directions when they got outside. Pete went straight ahead while Carol cut to the right, and a moment later Pete heard David yell as he tripped over Carol’s outstretched foot and went sprawling in the dirt. By the time Pete caught up, she had him pinned up against a fence and was putting cuffs on him.
"Wow," Pete said when he took in what was happening. "Good catch."
Carol winked. "I told you,” she said with a grin. “Daddy taught me football.”
* * *
Pete took David into the office while Carol went to run the errand Max had asked about earlier. In the main hallway, he passed by the conference room, where Josie, Jake, Chance and Agent Roberts were sitting around the table. Lewis Lambert and Jason McCoy, the detectives from the LVPD, were also present. Lewis explained that the sheriff had agreed to share operational command with the PDI office, since one of their own now appeared to have become a victim of the killer.
"Who's this?" Chance asked after he put David in their interrogation room. The others had followed him out of the conference room and were looking at David through the one-way glass.
"David Lampley. Turns out David had bought the van Gabriella was tossed out of a little while back, and he took off running when we went to ask him about it. I figured we’d take first crack at him before turning him over to the Station Commander’s people, but since we’re all in this together now…"
Jason nodded. “Damn right,” he said. “It’s better this way. We all stay up to speed at the same time, and that’s good.”
"I want to talk to him," Chance said, but Pete put a hand on his arm.
“Might be a bad idea,” Pete said. “Why don’t we let the FBI take the first shot?”
“Hey, wait a minute,” Jason said. “This was our case first. Let me have a crack at him.”
Lewis put a hand on his shoulder. “Chill, Jason,” he said. “You’ll get your chance. I agree with Pete, letting the FBI question him first is probably smarter. Let the kid know just how much trouble he could be in, if he is part of this thing.”
Roberts grinned. “My pleasure,” she said. “Come on, Chance, just watch and listen. If he knows anything, I’ll get it out of him.”
"Josie,” Pete said, “could you look up David Lampley and print out a copy of his record? I know he got caught with Melinda Hightower doing drugs last year in school, but rumor says he’s been dealing for a while, as well."
"I can do all that. Anything in particular I should look for?"
"David’s uncle says there are a lot of members of law enforcement in the family, and the kid’s father is even a former cop. He’s gotten David’s legal troubles buried before, so you might have to do some extra digging."
"You got it," Josie said, and then she was wheeling away.
Pete turned to Chance as Roberts went into the interrogation room. "What did you hear about the van, other than that it was torched?"
"There was a body inside it," Chance said.
Pete stared at him. "What?"
"A body," Chance repeated. "But it was burned so badly that the ME said she'd give us a call when she had a handle on things."
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Pete’s phone rang, and his eyes went wide when he looked at the caller ID. “Pete Dixon,” he said. “Really? All right, we’ll be right down.” He hung up and looked at Chance.
Chance raised one eyebrow. "Let me guess—that was the ME's office?"
Pete nodded. "Jake and I are going to go now. She says she’s got some information for us."
“I'm going with you, then,” Jason said. “I feel useless, just sitting around here.”
He turned and left the room with Jake and McCoy following. Their exit left Chance alone in the observation room while Roberts was sitting down across from David Lampley in the interrogation room,
and he turned to watch.
“Mr. Lampley,” Roberts said. “I'm Special Agent Sherilyn Roberts, FBI. You and I need to have a little chat.”
The kid sat up and looked at her. “Look, I don’t know what this is all about,” he said. “Maybe you should just call my dad.”
“We’ll get to that,” Robert said. “In the meantime, though, I need to ask you a few simple questions about your minivan. You bought the one Melinda Hightower used to have, right?”
"The Aerostar?” David asked, squinting. “I got rid of that a few weeks ago. Why?”
“You sold it? Who did you sell it to, David?”
David shrugged. “Some old guy. Said he needed something for his wife to drive when she goes to the grocery store.”
Roberts opened the file folder she had brought in with her and showed David the pictures of the van, before and after its untimely demise.
"What the hell happened to it?" David asked, his eyes wide. He looked up at her. “Was the old guy hurt?”
“We don’t know yet,” Roberts said, “but I can tell you that we did find a dead body inside it."
David looked at the pictures again. "Oh, my God."
“David, we need to know who the van belongs to now. Did you get his name?"
The kid looked up at her and nodded. "He said his name was John Smith."
Roberts let out a sigh. “Are you serious? John Smith?”
David’s eyes were round as he put on an expression of innocence. “Yeah, I'm serious. He said his name was John Smith, I'm telling you the truth.”
* * *
Carol had gone directly to the airport after leaving Pete and Lampley at the office. The errand Max needed help with involved picking up someone who was due to come in on a flight any moment. She got there with only minutes to spare, as the plane was already parked at the terminal and empty, but she found the person she was looking for at baggage claim. The description Max had given was perfect, right down to the big, brown cowboy hat, but she didn’t need it.
Her next stop was the hospital. She led the new arrival through the halls to Gabriella’s room, where she told him to wait in the hallway for a moment.
Doctor Peterson had decided she was ready to be released, so Gabriella was dressed in her street clothes and sitting with her legs hanging over the side of the bed. All of the wires and tubes were gone, and she looked like she was relaxed, or at least more so than she had been before. She was smiling again, however, as she talked with her mother.
The two of them turned toward her when they noticed Carol entering the room.
"Hi!" Gabriella said. "You’re Carol, right? You can come on in, I'm a lot better now than the last time you saw me! Is—is Chance with you?"
"No,” Carol said. “He didn’t want to take a chance on upsetting you again, so he’s kinda hanging back a bit right now. On the other hand, your brother sent me to run an errand, a surprise for you. Are you ready?"
Gabriella looked confused. “A surprise for me?”
Carol grinned, then turned to beckon to someone in the hallway. A moment later, a man stepped inside. Gabriella stared hard at him for a moment, and then her eyes went wide as a smile burst across her face.
"Enrico!"
For the tenth time that day, Gabriella burst into tears. She was thrilled to see Enrico, one of her oldest friends, and a little bit of the fear that she'd been feeling seemed to fade right away. Enrico was there, and he had always been the one special person she could trust and turn to, even when life threw curve balls at her.
Enrico Garza knew Gabriella very well, and had always been like a second brother to her, protecting her and looking out for her when she was a kid. He had been one of Max’s high school buddies, and Gabriella had once had a terrible crush on him. Max had suggested bringing him to visit, to see if his presence might help. He figured that if anyone could make Gabriella feel safe right now, it was him.
"I'm so happy to see you," she said as they hugged. "Has Max told you about what happened to me?"
"He did." Enrico released Gabriella from the hug and lifted her chin with a finger so he could look her in the eye. "He told me about it when he called a few hours ago. I caught the first plane out, and your friend Carol picked me up at the airport just a little bit ago."
"That's good. Wait. Airport? You flew in from Texas to see me?"
Enrico patted Gabriella on the shoulder. "Yep. I understand you have a lot of catching up to do."
"I should say so," she agreed. "Did you come to break me out of this place?"
He grinned. "And to stay close to you while you get through this, but something tells me that you have some more things to tackle before the doctor gives you the okay."
Watching the conversation unfold, Marianna chuckled. "You've got that right. My daughter is just being stubborn, but that shouldn’t be any surprise. When has she not been stubborn?"
"Oh, the stories I could tell you." Enrico laughed.
Marianna chuckled again, and Gabriella looked from her to Enrico, her brow furrowed.
"Oh, no, no, no," she said. “Don’t be telling all of my secrets, now.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Enrico said, shooting her a wink and a grin. “What happens in Texas stays in Texas.”
Clearing her throat to remind them that she was still there, Carol pointed to a pair of crutches leaning against the bed.
"What's the deal, here?"
"Gabriella's got to walk the length of the hallway and back on those crutches, and then she can be released," Mariana explained. "Her legs and feet are damaged, but not bad enough to need a wheelchair. She's just being funny about walking."
Slightly exasperated, Carol spoke to Gabriella.
"You are going to walk on those crutches, if it's the last thing we help you do!" She grabbed them and brought them over to Gabriella. "Come on. Up, young lady, on your feet!"
"Oh, come on,” Gabriella said, scowling at her. “You know how bad my legs and feet were hit, they really hurt."
"But Enrico, your mother and I will help you. Now, get up."
Gabriella sighed. She was embarrassed that she couldn't stand without discomfort, and she wanted to leave the hospital, but leaving the hospital would mean having to see Chance and the rest of them again. It would also mean going home to kids that she didn't remember. She silently reminded herself to keep it together and not let herself break down into another panic attack, so she put a smile on her face.
With a lot of encouragement from her family, she made it onto her feet and slipped the crutches under her shoulders. Painfully, and making sure everyone around knew just how painfully, she made her way down the hall one step at a time. Doctor Peterson happened to step out into the hall and see her, and broke into a smile.
“It’s about time,” she said. “All the way down and back, and then I’ll let you get out of here.”
The doctor followed along and offered her own encouragement, and finally Gabriella was back at her room. Fifteen minutes later, she was finally discharged and then scowled when she was told she would have to ride a wheelchair down to the door.
As soon as she was dressed in the clean clothes and shoes that had been brought for her, Carol, Enrico, and Marianna accompanied her to the office, where the rest of the crew was waiting with Chance. They walked inside and everyone was delighted to meet Enrico. Max had already told them that he was coming, and why he thought it might be a good idea. He had also assured Chance that, although Gabriella had once had a crush on Enrico, it had ended when she was still a little girl.
"Max called and explained the situation, so I dropped everything to come here. I was lucky enough to catch a quick flight, and Carol picked me up at the airport."
Carol shook hands with him and then turned to Mariana.
"You decided to tag along, Mama?" she asked.
The older woman bobbed her head. "Yes. I just wanted to stay close to my daughter as she came here. She doesn’t actually remember any of you, you know."
&nb
sp; Carol rubbed her shoulder. "You're a really good mother. What are your plans for the rest of the day?"
"I'm going to go back to my grandchildren." Marianna checked her watch. "I already called a taxi, and it should be here soon. Chance’s grandma has all of them, and she says my husband is driving her crazy. He keeps looking out the windows, like he’s expecting someone to try to hurt the children."
Carol waited with her for the taxi and saw Marianna off, then went to the conference room where everybody was gathered.
Gabriella was in a chair at the table, her feet propped up on another chair, and around her, Enrico, Chance, Tina and Agent Roberts were gathered and listening to her account of all that had happened at the hospital. She was able to laugh at herself for complaining about having to walk, and that helped everyone relax.
They had shown her the police artist sketch, but she had furrowed her brow. “It does look familiar,” she said, “but I can’t really remember the face. This could be the woman who held me, but I can’t be sure.”
Chance was sitting close to her, while not trying to crowd her. She kept looking at him, and the searching glances made it clear that she still did not remember him. He felt an ache in his heart every time he saw that expression, but he kept a smile on his face.
While they sat, Roberts was filling Carol in on what they'd learned from David Lampley, who was still in the interrogation room.
“Basically, Lampley is just a kid who doesn’t seem to know a lot,” Roberts said, “but we were able to read between the lines. He sold the van to a man who called himself John Smith, but there’s no record of the registration being updated with the state. As a result, we have about three hundred people to check out within a hundred mile radius of Vegas.”
“And what’s the chance that really was the guy’s name?” Chance asked. “Lampley didn’t bother to get any other information, so we don’t even have a general area to limit our search to. And John Smith? You’d think he’d have been a bit more original, if he was involved in this plot.”
“I agree,” Lewis said, “but it’s all we’ve got to go on for the moment. Until we’ve exhausted the options, we have to work with it.”