by Tripp Ellis
If I never set foot in the bio-containment facility again, I would be a happy man. When I got back to the Vivere, I took a shower, put on a change of clothes, and walked to Diver Down. Teagan had returned from Miami. Between her and Alejandro, the bar was back in action.
"Buddy and Fluffy are safe. They're in the loft," Teagan said, standing behind the bar.
"Thank you for taking care of them. And thank you for your… insight."
She flashed a brilliant smile, and her teal eyes sparkled. "I'm happy I could help." She paused. "I wasn't exactly right, but I was close."
"You led us in the right direction. We couldn't have done it without you."
"I bet Jack still doesn't believe I'm psychic," she said.
"He chalked it up to luck."
She scoffed. "Whatever." She frowned. "I'm just worried about the cost."
I lifted a curious brow.
"Every time I use my ability, it comes with a cost. Something bad always happens."
"But, you helped save the island."
"Doesn't matter. I don't know, it's like messing with the natural order of the universe. And the universe always gets its payback."
I cringed.
She changed the subject. "You hungry?"
I nodded. It was time for lunch, and my belly rumbled. "How about the jerked chicken and black beans?"
"Coming right up," she said.
She moved to the register and punched in the order.
I heard the door swing open behind me, and high heels clacked against the floor. I looked to my side as Kennedy Shaw took a seat next to me at the bar. I tried not to let a smug smile curl on my lips, but I couldn't help it.
"I guess you were right," she said. "I owe you an apology."
"You don't owe me an apology," I said, pointing to Teagan.
Shaw rolled her eyes.
I could tell it was painful, but she finally thanked Teagan for her assistance.
Teagan smiled.
"This is far from over," Shaw said. "It's a pretty safe bet they'll try again. Maybe here, maybe somewhere else, but another attack is coming."
"What do you plan on doing about it?" I asked.
"Well, right now the FBI is trying to determine who leaked the original virus in the first place. Not only are they looking at one of the scientists at USAMRIID, there is a university professor and two foreign exchange students involved. It's disconcerting that some of our biggest problems are originating within."
I gave a nod of agreement.
"You have any plans of getting back into the business?" she asked.
"Nope," I said with certainty. My spy days were behind me.
Her sharp eyes surveyed me, and a knowing smirk curled on her lips. "You say that, but I'm not sure I believe it. Something tells me you'll go where you're needed."
"I'm needed here, obviously."
She smiled. "I'll see you around, Deputy Wild."
I gave her a nod and watched her saunter out of the restaurant. She climbed into the back of a black SUV, and the vehicle whisked her away. I was quite sure that wouldn't be the last time I heard from Kennedy Shaw.
Sheriff Daniels called as I ate my jerked chicken. "You're not gonna like this."
I deflated.
Bad news wasn't something I wanted to hear at the moment. I'd been through enough. "Don't tell me, there's a case of infection?"
"Thank God, no," Daniels said.
I exhaled a relieved breath.
"Missing persons report. Jane Travers. Fits the profile. Young. 21. Local. She's also a student at the community college. Last seen on Oyster Avenue."
I cringed.
"I think you need to have another look at Charlie Knox. Put some pressure on him."
"I'm on it," I said. "I want Jane's schedule from the community college. What else do we know about her?"
"She lives with a roommate at Bayside Apartments, #307. Roommate's name is Heidi. She's the one who made the call. Jane's father is deceased. Her mother lives in Oklahoma. Jane waits tables at Turtle Club. I don’t mean to sound pessimistic, but I’m afraid we’re going to find Jane floating in the water within the next 24 hours."
“This has Knox’s name written all over it,” I said.
“Now all you need to do is dig up enough evidence to prove it.”
39
Donkey Ballz was gone.
When Jack pulled into the parking lot at Diver Down, all traces of the red spray paint had vanished. The door looked pristine.
"I kind of miss the two-tone thing you had going on," I joked as I approached the vehicle.
I pulled open the door and hopped into the passenger seat.
Jack scowled at me. "The guys at Coconut Customs were able to get the spray paint off, no problem. I swear though, I catch that son-of-a-bitch, he's a dead man."
"I think you should get a custom plate that reads Donkey Ballz."
Jack frowned at me again, then put the car into gear and sped away.
We cruised over to the Bayside Apartments. It was a teal, four-story unit with swaying palm trees out front and well-manicured hedges. Heidi's voice filtered through the call box when we buzzed the apartment. "Hello?"
"Deputies Wild and Donovan with Coconut County."
"Come on up!"
The lobby door buzzed, and Jack grabbed the handle, swinging it wide. We entered the lobby and took the elevator up to the third floor.
Heidi waited in the doorway of her apartment as we arrived. Her eyes were red and puffy. The cute blonde motioned for us to enter the apartment. We walked down the foyer, and she offered us a seat on the couch. Heidi grabbed a tissue from atop the coffee table and wiped her eyes and nose, then plopped into a comfy chair.
"When was the last time you saw Jane?" I asked.
"Yesterday afternoon, before she went into work. She didn't come home last night, which is not totally unusual. I thought maybe she stayed with her boyfriend."
"What's his name?"
"Jared Reed."
"We had talked about going to the beach today, and when I didn't hear from her, I called Jared. He said he wasn't with her last night and was worried as well. I texted Jane multiple times, and I only got one weird message back."
"What was the message?" I asked.
"I'm fine. No beach today. Catch you later," Heidi said. "It just didn't sound like her. I tried calling her back right away, but she wouldn't pick up. I just got this bad vibe that something is wrong. With all this Seaside Stalker crap, it's got me totally freaked out. That's when I called you guys."
"Do you have Jared's number?"
She nodded and gave me Jarred's number. I entered it into my phone, along with his address.
"Do you know if she was having any issues with Jared?" JD asked.
Heidi shook her head. "No. They're a solid couple."
"Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to harm her?" I asked.
Heidi shook her head again. "She's so sweet. She gets along with everyone." Her face twisted with worry. "Do you think she's okay?"
A grim frown tugged my face. "I don't know. I hope so."
Heidi burst into tears.
She grabbed more tissues and sobbed.
I tried to console her. “Don’t go there just yet. She may be just fine.”
It was wishful thinking.
After a few moments, Heidi pulled herself together.
We left Heidi's apartment, and I called Jared Reed. He was eager to meet with us. He said we could come by his work at EuroMotorWerk. It was a high-end European performance shop that specialized in Porsche and Ferrari. Jack was familiar with the place.
We cruised over to the shop, and JD was eager to speak with Jared. They had a common language.
The garage was unlike any normal repair shop. The place was immaculate. There wasn't a spot of oil on the polished concrete floor. Massive pictures of storied performance cars lined the walls. A red racing stripe ran horizontally on the walls around the repair bay. Exotic cars floate
d in the air on lifts while mechanics worked underneath them, accessing the precision components. The smell of metal, oil, and rubber filled the air.
Jared Reed noticed us as we stepped through one of the bay doors. He was a tall skinny kid in his early 20s with longish brown hair. He was underneath a silver Porsche 911 with a torque wrench in his hand. He set it atop a tool chest, peeled off his black latex gloves, and strolled towards us.
"You must be the deputies?"
I nodded, and we made introductions.
Fear and worry drenched his eyes. "Have you heard anything about Jane?"
"No," JD said.
I asked, "When was the last time you talked to Jane?"
"She sent me a text from work last night about 10 PM. Said she'd be working until close. She mentioned something about going to the beach with Heidi today and said that she wanted to get together tonight, grab dinner, and watch a movie."
"What were you doing last night?" I asked.
"I was here at the shop until 9 PM. Long day. I was beat. I went home, took a shower, then crashed after I heard from Jane. We've been pretty busy around here. And I'm gonna have to pull the engine on that 911." He pointed to the silver Porsche on the lift.
"What's wrong with it?" JD asked.
"The engine ticks at startup. I pulled the sump plate and there was a lot of debris—metal shavings, etc.—and the oil was black. I pulled the spark plugs and used a borescope to check the cylinders. Massive scoring. That engine's toast. I don't like to use the term rebuild, but it needs to be broken down and re-sleeved."
Jack winced with pain.
"Exactly. It's a $30,000 job to do right."
"Ouch!"
"That's a nice ride you've got there," Jared said, nodding to Jack's speedster parked just outside the bay.
"Thanks," Jack said proudly.
"Well, when you're out of warranty, think about doing your service here."
"Terrance used to work on my old one," Jack said. "Is he here?"
"He's off today," Jared said. He paused, and a grim frown pulled his face. "It doesn't look good for Jane, does it?"
"It's really too early to speculate," I said.
"I know how these things work. She's dead, isn't she?" Jared's eyes brimmed.
"We don't know that yet," I said.
He broke down into sobs for a moment, then pulled himself together. He wiped his eyes with the back of his wrist, trying not to smear grease on his face. He sniffled, stood straight, and glanced around to see if any of his co-workers had seen his emotional break.
"Do you know if she had any interaction with Charlie Knox?" I asked.
"Who is Charlie Knox? Do you think he had something to do with this?"
"As of right now, Jane is just missing," I said. "We don't know any more than that."
"But this Charlie Knox guy… He's a suspect, right?" Jared asked, rage building behind his eyes.
"We're not allowed to discuss ongoing investigations," I said.
"So you're investigating Charlie Knox?"
"I know this is difficult, but rest assured, this has our full attention. We will leave no stone unturned. I hope this is nothing more than a girl who has taken off for a few days to do her own thing." I tried to sound optimistic.
"She wouldn't do that! Why would she take off for a few days and not tell anybody?"
"I don't know," I said. "But try to stay positive."
"Fuck positive! I want to find out what happened to my girlfriend." His face reddened, and the veins in his neck bulged.
"I understand."
"How can you possibly understand?" he said, growing more and more incensed.
"I can't possibly know what you're feeling or how difficult this must be for you. Both my parents were murdered, so I'm no stranger to pent up anger, rage, and guilt. All I can tell you is to sit tight and hope for the best."
He let out a breath of air. He’d been holding himself so tight and tense he was almost shaking. "Sorry. I'm just beyond stressed out." He paused. "Look, I need to get back to work. I gotta keep my mind focused on something else. Keep me posted, will you? Good or bad, I need to know."
I assured him that we would.
40
JD cranked up the engine, put the car into gear, and we peeled away from the repair shop. We stopped by Hammerhead on Oyster Avenue and spoke with Chip. He hadn't seen Charlie all day. He was scheduled to come in this evening.
"Was Charlie working last night?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"What time did he get out of here?"
"2:30, maybe 3 AM?"
"Do you know what he did afterward?" I asked.
"I don't know what Charlie did."
I showed Chip a picture of Jane Travers on my phone. "Does she look familiar?"
"Yeah, she works over at Turtle, doesn't she?"
"She did," Jack said.
Chip's eyes widened. "Is she dead?"
"Missing," I said.
"Since when?"
"Last night."
"Have you been to Turtle and asked around?"
"That's our next stop."
"It hasn't even been 24 hours yet. Don't you guys give it three days before you consider someone missing?" Chip asked.
"There's no set timeframe," I said. "Jane didn't come home last night. She's not responding to calls or texts. It's unusual behavior for her."
"And you guys think Charlie had something to do with this?" Chip asked.
"We just want to talk to him," I said. "And by the way, thanks for tipping him off that we were coming last time," I said, my eyes burning into him.
Chip looked guilty. "Sorry, man. Like I said, I like Charlie, and I think you guys are barking up the wrong tree. He made some mistakes in his past. I don't know, man. I'd want somebody to let me know if I was about to get arrested."
"You seem to have a disdain for law enforcement," I said.
"Man, I've been in the bar business a long time. I see a lot of shit. I've got health inspectors that look for violations. The fire marshal comes in and harasses me about the code and the club being over occupancy. I've had deputies sit out back and wait for my patrons to leave the parking lot drunk and arrest them for DUI. All of these officials have their hands out. Now you guys are in here harassing a good employee. What do you want? What does it take to get this harassment to stop?"
"I'm not looking for a handout. I want to find out who killed these girls," I said. "And if your good employee is responsible, he's going down."
Chip stared at me for a long moment.
"And tell me which city officials are on the take, and we'll do something about that," I said.
Chip scoffed. "Not on your life. That will only make it worse."
We left Hammerhead and walked around to the parking lot. Charlie Knox's van was gone.
We headed down the block to the Turtle Club. I found the manager, Miguel, behind the bar. He had dark hair, dark eyes, and a couple days worth of stubble that was trimmed neatly.
JD flashed his badge. "We'd like to talk to you about Jane Travers."
"She in some kind of trouble?"
"She didn't come home last night," I said. "Did she leave here with anyone?"
"Not that I know of?"
I showed him a picture of Charlie Knox. "Do you know this man?"
"Yeah. Knox."
"Was he in here last night?" I asked.
"There were a lot of people in here last night, but I don't recall seeing him."
"Do you know if he ever had any interaction with Jane?"
"I don't know. Everybody in the bar business kinda knows everybody. If I had to bet, I'd say probably. It's a pretty small community. Were they friends? I don't know."
"Do you have any surveillance cameras around the premises or in the parking lot?" I asked.
"Yeah, we've got one in the parking lot. No audio."
"Can we see the footage?"
"Sure thing."
Miguel ambled around the bar and led us back to t
he manager's office. He pulled up the footage on the computer and scrolled through the timeline. We started watching footage that began at 2:15 AM. The leaves of an overhanging palm tree obscured most of the view of the parking lot.
"This is pretty much useless," I said.
Miguel shrugged. "Honestly, I'm surprised the camera still works."
We could see people moving through the alleyway into the parking lot, but it was impossible to see facial features or get any detail. The foliage obscured just about everything.
"Do you know if Jane went out with friends after work?"
Miguel shrugged.
I gave him my card and told him to call me if he could think of anything else.
We left the bar and stepped to the sidewalk.
"I've got a practice session in 30 minutes," JD said.
"Plenty of time to talk to Charlie Knox."
"If we can find him. But let's do it quick. The band wants to run through our set one time before the show tonight."
We drove over to the Mega Mart, where Charlie said he usually camped at night. We found his van in the parking lot, and I banged on the cargo door.
His muffled voice shouted through the door, "What do you want?"
"County Sheriff. Open up, Charlie," I said.
A moment later I heard the handle twist, and the door slid open. Charlie's hair was tousled, and his eyes were droopy. "I'm trying to catch a little sleep before my shift."
I showed him the picture of Jane Travers on my phone. "You recognize her?"
He surveyed the image with an expressionless gaze, then looked to me. "I'm not talking to you guys without a lawyer."
"You're not under arrest. We just want to ask you a few questions," I said.
My eyes scanned the interior of the cargo van, looking for anything suspicious. We already pulled it apart once, and it didn't look any different since the last time I had seen it.
"Like I said, I'm not talking to you without a lawyer. So, arrest me, or fuck off!"