“I plan on it.” I gave her a hug and left for the office.
Chapter 31
WHEN I GOT to my desk there was a folder on top. I opened it and was surprised to see a handwritten note telling me to call a number.
Mysterious.
I have always had a hard time staying away from a good mystery. I called Gerry first and read him in on the note. A few minutes later he came out to my desk. He picked up the phone and asked someone to start monitoring my line. Then he dialed another extension and asked someone to check on the phone number.
“Go ahead, Reece. Give him a call.”
“Shouldn’t we do this from your office?”
“Don’t worry about it. The noise will add validity to the call.”
“If you say so, boss.” I picked up the phone and dialed the number.
After three rings Ben’s voice came across the line. He sounded weak.
“Hey, Sam. Good to hear your voice.” His voice cracked in the usual way someone who’s been screaming a lot does.
Rage flowed through me.
“Hey, yourself. How’re you doing?”
“Not so good, I ha—” His voice was quickly replaced by another.
“Enough of the jabbering. You leave me alone to do what I was made to do and I will drop your friend off at a hospital and vanish from your state.”
“Tempting, but sorry. I can’t go against my oath to uphold the law.” I was playing a hunch that honor meant something to this guy. A very dangerous and possibly erroneous hunch.
Please, God, let me catch this guy. I wasn’t the praying type, normally, but I could use all the help I could get.
“I find your sense of honor admirable.” The line went dead and I was left fearing what the AWFA Killer was going to do to Ben out of revenge.
“Hello? Hello?” The dial tone buzzed through. “Fuck.”
Gerry took the phone from me and barked a few orders down the line. I was in a daze and didn’t quite hear what he said. This guy was going to kill Ben and there was nothing I could do to prevent it. I might have even made it worse.
Oh, Fuck.
Calm. I had to stay calm. Getting overly emotional doesn’t lead to logical thinking. Okay, so they probably ran a trace.
“Is there a trace?” I heard myself ask the question, but didn’t recall getting up and pacing while asking it.
“Yeah, it’s bouncing around like a rubber ball.”
“Coward. Fucking asshole piece of shit coward!” I raged.
“Why don’t you tell us how you really feel?” Gerry tried to get me to smile.
“Quinn needs to listen to the conversation. Maybe he can pick something up that we’re missing.” I was going to work this case like any other. I had to. I owed it to Ben.
I worked through Dr. Everby’s steps again, feeling just slightly calmer.
“I’ll have him come in and listen. He’s out running down a lead on the financial end of things.”
“Okay. Where’s Al?” I felt a twinge of guilt that it had taken me so long to ask. Of course, I’d had my mind occupied with other things.
“He’s responding to a call about the BOLO on Ben’s car. A firefighter out of Pelham thinks he has the car, but the VIN numbers have been scraped and the plates trashed.”
“I hope he finds something.”
“Hang in there. We’ll find him.”
“I want to find the AWFA Killer. I want to stop him.”
“I am going to assume you mean stop as in arrest, because otherwise I didn’t hear this.” Gerry looked me dead in the eye.
“I do.” He didn’t buy it. Of course, I wasn’t exactly selling it.
“Why don’t you stay here and coordinate all the information as it comes in?”
Good ol’ Gerry knew me well enough to know there was no telling me to stay off this case. He also knew coordinating all the incoming intel would keep me busy and would ensure I’d stay on everyone.
“Thank you.” I looked him right in the eyes so he could see my appreciation.
“Yeah, whatever, just make sure I’m kept in the loop on everything.”
“Absolutely. I’m going to reread the preliminary ERT reports. Maybe the third time is the charm.”
“Hope is what makes the world beautiful. Stop by Brady’s desk and let him know you’re pulling strings on this one.” I didn’t agree on the hope, but stayed silent.
“Will do. Thanks.” After a tight smile I made my way to my coworker’s desk.
The walk was a blur.
“Hey, Gerry asked me to tell you I’m running point.”
“Cool. Hey, have you seen Alex?” James asked as he rifled through his desk looking for something.
“No, but I am planning on calling him shortly. Is there a message I can relay for you?”
“Nah, I’ll just talk to him when I see him next.” He pulled a file from a desk drawer, sighed in relief, closed the drawer, and opened the file.
“Okay. If you get any info on the case, will you let me know?” I didn’t need to ask, but it was protocol and I was flying on autopilot.
“Sure thing. The second I have info, you’ll have info.”
“Thank you.”
“Not a problem.”
I bee-lined for my desk and the phone.
I called Grace.
“Hey.”
“I hear you’re running lead. Nice.”
“Damn vamp hearing,” I joked.
“Gerry called me. Don’t put too much on yourself, Sam.”
“I won’t, Mom. I promise.”
“Har, har. I can’t help that I worry about my friends.”
“Nope, because you’re a good person.”
“We didn’t find anything else.”
“Hey, do me a favor and check the toilet tank in Ben’s bathroom. I hadn’t thought to look there, until now. Duh.” Stupid me.
“Why are you duhing yourself?”
“If I’d thought of this earlier, I could’ve checked it while I was there.”
“How does the saying go: If a frog had wings it wouldn’t bop its ass when it hopped?
“Something like that.” If I hadn’t been under so much stress, I might have chuckled. I loved Wayne’s World.
“I’m opening the top now.” I heard the clunk-ting of porcelain hitting itself as she removed the lid.
“This is like Geraldo Rivera opening Capone’s vault.” I hoped the end result wouldn’t be the same. I hoped Grace would find some clue.
“There’s something in here.”
My stomach leapt. “What is it?”
“Just a brick. Seems your boy is water conscious.”
“Damn. I really hoped we’d find a clue in there.” Can’t be right all the time.
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay. Thanks for checking. I appreciate it.”
“Hey, anytime. It was a good thought. Hey, we’ll get him back, Sam.”
“I know we’ll all do our best to recover him.” My lips curled in a mirthless smile. “Thanks for everything, Grace.”
“Always. I’ll call when I have something for you.”
“Thanks.” I hung up the phone.
My next call was to Alex. It would be an awkward one, but Al was a good guy, and even though he didn’t like Ben, he didn’t want to see him tortured and killed.
“Baltazar.”
“Hey, Al.”
“Sorry to tell you, it’s not his car.”
“Thanks for checking it out. Gerry has me coordinating everything on this.”
“Is there anything I can do for you?” Such a good guy.
“Not right now, thanks. It’s just nerve wracking knowing that maybe if I’d answered differently Ben would be okay.”
“Hey, you can’t take that on yourself. This is not your fault; this is the fault of that nutjob killing all those people. Remember all those shifters we found and freed before they were shipped out to their torturous deaths?”
“Yeah.”
&
nbsp; “I got an email from one of them. PD forwarded it to me. I CC’d you on it. I think it’s something you should read.”
“Thanks.” I didn’t want to read anything. I wanted to find Ben before he was forced to eat his spleen.
“I’m heading back to the office and I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Drive safe.” I hung up and was startled when the phone rang in my hand.
“Go for Agent Reece.”
“It’s Alonso. The web has been tripped and your spider is on the move. We’re tracking him as he’s tracking whomever it is trying to access the account.” Alonso needed to chill on the spy movies.
“You can tell where he is now?”
“No, but we’re getting closer. He’s not bouncing around as much. I don’t think he knows we put a sniffer on him.”
“Keep me updated.”
“I will.” He hung up and I headed to the breakroom for some more coffee.
Not that I needed any. My nerves were wired and I was filled with a cold terror that made being tired highly unlikely.
As I filled my cup with the delicious mocha mint that was today’s offering, Gerry came into the room.
“Any news?” I was filled with a moment of oh fuck when I realized I’d forgotten to read Gerry in.
“Yeah. Sorry. Al says it wasn’t Ben’s car. Alonso just called and said that our guy took the bait from the AWFA account and they’re tracking him and the unknown big-wig he’s hunting. They’re going to call as soon as they have a fixed location on our guy.”
“Good work, Reece.”
“Thanks, boss.” My phone and Gerry’s rang at the same time.
“Agent Reece.”
“Sam, his location is fixed and has been for a few minutes. We are sending the coordinates to your cellphone now and will keep an eye out until you tell us you’re on scene.”
“Excellent. I promise I’ll let you know when I’ve got him in cuffs and on the way in. Thank you and Birdman for your work on this.”
“Anytime. We miss you over here. Ain’t as much fun without you.”
“Thank you. I miss you guys, too.” I did. They were the most amusing people I knew.
“Good luck, Sam.” The phone clicked off and I returned it to my pocket after mapping the coordinates he’d sent me.
It was a warehouse in one of the poorer districts.
Chapter 32
I TURNED TO Gerry to fill him in and he said, “You got a call about the coordinates?”
“Yeah.”
“Same. Get everyone gathered round. It’s time to get suited up and get over there. I need to inform Sal’s boss that we need SWAT in on this. You know there’s a chance this is a trap, yeah?”
“I do. I also know this guy is doing a lot more damage to the reputation of shifters than he is doing us a service by taking out AWFA. He has my friend and I don’t like it when people take things that aren’t theirs.” I left to do as Gerry ordered.
That’s right! You tell them, Sam!
Thanks, Jix. I’ll find your mate. Don’t worry about that.
I know. Good luck in battle today. I will assist you however I can.
Thanks. I feel better knowing you’re there.
As you should, I am fierce!
Yeah, you are. I couldn’t tell if she was making a joke or being serious.
I could feel her retreat, but not completely. My senses heightened and I realized she was working within my subconscious and giving me an advantage.
One by one I found my coworkers and sent them down to SWAT to get geared up. Alex and Quinn met me at the elevator and we went down together. When we got down there we saw blueprints for the warehouse along with some aerial images of it and the surrounding areas.
Our SWAT SAC, AJ Wilcox, stood and asked us to quiet down before he introduced the On Scene Commander, Rob Miller.
“These are our entry points.” Miller aimed a laser pointer at four spots: two doors and two windows. “You guys in CID will be coming in behind us as we clear. Listen to my guys. I’m making the calls out there, do not forget that. Everybody clear? Any questions?” He looked around and waited for someone to speak up.
Nobody did. CID (us lovely folks at Criminal Investigation Division) worked with SWAT quite a bit. I’ve never had an issue with them, they were always damn good at their jobs. They could get a bit cocky at times, but based on the shit they dealt with, I didn’t blame them. It was kind of a necessity.
“Work the plan, people!”
Various yes sirs, yups, and yeahs rippled through the crowd.
SWAT loaded up and moved out. We pulled our cars around while they were loading and followed behind them when they left.
My stomach was in knots and I spent the ride feeling guilty over how flippant I’d been about Ben earlier. I tried to convince myself he’d been nothing but a sire bond, that we had no friendship, and now I might never see him again.
I was terrified of what we’d find. Truthfully, I was trying to steel myself for the fact he might already be dead. I felt guilty for already assuming him dead. I thought it might make it easier when the time came and we found his corpse, but I doubted it.
We pulled into our release point, a lot about a block away from the warehouse. Agent Miller radioed he was sending someone to the warehouse now, to check it out.
“Sam?” I looked to the right to see James Brady.
“Yeah. Hey, James.”
“I’m sorry this guy made it personal.” He gave me a sad smile.
“Thanks, Brady. You rock. Loving the mocha mint coffee by the way, thank you.”
“Of course. Well, I’m going to go get ready.” He looked nervous as he donned his bullet proof vest.
Perhaps it was the fact he was getting ready for battle. The AWFA Killer was fierce, and well trained in sadism, and I was pretty sure he had no fear of death. My stomach felt even worse as we waited for the scout to come back and relay what he’d found. I was standing near Agent Miller when the report came in. I kept my back to them and listened intently.
“Sir, every crack, crevice, and window is covered. I couldn’t get eyes that way, but I did get a tac-cam under the door. It’s still running. Unfortunately, there are too many boxes stacked for me to see much of anything. I think we have to go in blind.”
“Flash bangs it is. If we can’t get eyes on the inside, I’m not risking men. We’ll disorient them and make entry.”
Sounded like a hail Mary sort of plan, but what the hell?
It took about fifteen minutes for the chain of command to be notified and to get the official nod to go. An agent opened the door to the warehouse and tossed in two flashbangs, then she dropped out of sight and I lost track of her as SWAT rushed in and cleared a path.
When the 10-4 was given I went in expecting to find the AWFA Killer and Ben. I was hoping to see that my maker was still alive and our psycho in handcuffs.
What I encountered was a charred cadaver.
Please don’t let it be Ben.
The smell that lingered in the air could only be described as burnt pork roast, vomit, and overly-used motor oil. I gagged as my Jacobsen’s Organ was coated in the awful stench. Alex came up behind me and handed me a menthol cough drop. I squeezed his hand as a thank you and popped it in my mouth before looking more closely at our body.
The victim looked male … somebody around Ben’s size.
My stomach bottomed out.
It isn’t him. There is no trace of a cat.
I jumped. You sure?
Yes. She vanished again and I ran through relief, gratefulness, and worry for Ben.
“I don’t think that’s Ben Fitzpatrick.” I figured I should distance myself slightly for the moment.
“You don’t think it is, or you don’t want it to be? Sam, you have to face facts. He’s the right size. This is the warehouse we tracked the trap in the AWFA account to. It all adds up, think about it.”
Alex was approaching me as if I wasn’t thinking logically and it annoyed me
.
“Think about this; his cat would still be around if he’d died. You know they don’t fade right away. Yet, there is no trace of wereanimal anywhere in here. Wait for the DNA if you want, but don’t you dare treat me like I’m some fragile little thing whose brain breaks at the first sign of trouble. I’ve been through more serious shit than you could ever fucking be terrorized with in your worst nightmares, rich boy.” I was growling and felt my teeth lengthen slightly.
I’d never talked to Alex like that. Never had to, but the fear and anger had gotten the better of me and I’d be damned if I went without addressing what pissed me off.
“You know I didn’t mean it like that. Once you calm down you’ll be able to think more rationally.”
“The fuck did you just say to me?” I was pretty sure my face was beet red in anger.
“I meant to say I didn’t mean it.” He was digging a hole for himself and he knew it.
My emotions were heightened and the anger was fierce.
“Excuse me, I have departments to brief.” I took another look at the smoking hunk of once-human and hoped like fuck Jix was right.
My phone rang.
“Reece.” I was nervous and my voice held a slight quiver.
“We’ve got Ben’s car.” Gerry’s voice broke through the line.
“Where is it?” I was going to meet him there.
“UAB hospital.”
“He said he’d take him to a hospital if I let him go. He said he admired my honor. Check the hospital for Ben. See if any John Does or anyone with signs of torture have been admitted. Please.”
“Already got guys on it. I’ll call you when we’ve talked to all the hospitals in town. I’ll get on the phone while I wait for answers here.”
“Thanks, Gerry.”
“Of course. Hang in there.”
“I’ll be down to the hospital in a bit.”
“You don’t have to; I’m sending the car here to ERT.”
“Oh. Okay. I’ll meet it at shipping and receiving.”
“See you later, Sam. I promise we’ll get your friend back. Just remember we’re good at what we do.”
“Thanks, man. See ya.” I hung up.
“So?” Al asked.
“They found Ben’s car at UAB hospital. They’re checking it, and surrounding hospitals, for him.”
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