by C. M. Sutter
She wiped her eyes and, after Frank gave her his handkerchief, whispered a thank-you. “I’m sorry, and I don’t mean to be a distraction, but I don’t know how cops do what they do. It seems like a slow process.”
Henry took over. “It is a slow process, but usually, the good guys win in the end.”
Chapter 31
“Can I use the toilet?”
Josh grinned. “Piss your pants.”
“Don’t be an ass. Let me use the bathroom, please.”
“No can do, Detective. You’ll sure as shit pull something. I can smell it already.” He laughed. “Damn, I’m pretty good at the play-on-words thing.”
“Fine. Then you better keep your distance because it’s going to get pretty pungent in here after a while.”
Josh stared at me as if he was thinking about how to make my request a possibility without giving me the opportunity to escape.
“Come on, man. Prove you can be a decent human being at least once in your life. All I want to do is take a leak. Are you that afraid of me?”
He snickered as he stood and came closer. “I’m not afraid of you at all.”
“Then prove it.”
Josh crossed the room and disappeared into the kitchen. I couldn’t see him, but I listened carefully and tried to recognize the sounds. A door opened and closed—he must have gone into the garage. Minutes later, he returned with a plastic bucket and placed it in front of my legs.
“What the hell is that?”
He wrinkled his forehead. “It’s your toilet. Take it or leave it. I’m going to cut the tape off one hand, and the rest, you can figure out yourself. Like I said before, your only other choice is to piss your pants.”
I nodded. “Fine, I guess it’ll have to do.”
“Don’t try anything funny.”
“Right, because one free hand is enough to take you down with.”
I watched as he went to the table and retrieved the knife. That would be my only chance to make a move, but my odds were nearly impossible at best. If I tipped the chair, those ropes would tighten around my neck, and I’d be choked. Even if I tried to headbutt him, the ropes would still squeeze the airflow out of me.
Do I let this one pass and try to gain his trust? He’s going to be on guard and ready to attack if I do something now. I’d be ruining a better chance for later.
He stood within inches of me, slid the knife under the tape, and jerked it upward. The tape gave way, and my hand was free.
“Now hurry up and do your business.”
I would bide my time. Hopefully, his guard would be down later if I showed him now that I wasn’t a threat.
The sudden ring of the doorbell seemed to cause Josh to panic. He spun, set the knife on the coffee table, and headed for the window, which gave me just enough time to lift the nooses from around my neck.
In his distraction, it seemed he’d forgotten what I was capable of doing with one free hand. If I stretched out far enough, there was a chance I could reach the knife. If I didn’t get it in time, I’d probably be killed. My fingers were within inches of it as I stretched, yet I had to watch his every move. He separated the blinds and craned his neck to look out onto the porch. I stretched farther, to the point of nearly tipping the chair, but I got it. Pulling the knife toward me, I was finally able to wrap my hand around the grip and quickly sliced the tape that bound my feet.
“There’s two men at the door, and one is holding a tablet.”
I tried to remain calm. “Probably religious zealots who want to convert you. You should let them in and listen to what they have to say. You might be a better person in the end.”
“Real funny. You make one sound that they can hear and I’ll slit your throat.”
“Yeah, I’m good.” All I had to do was get my other wrist free and I’d be able to hold my own, but I was running out of time.
“They’re leaving.”
Josh turned and froze. A dumbstruck expression covered his face when he saw me trying to slice the tape off my other arm. He lunged forward and was on me in three strides. He kicked me backward, which sent the chair and me crashing to the floor. I was still attached to the chair’s arm, but luckily, I maintained my grip on the knife, and swung it wildly at him.
Josh grabbed another dining room chair and bashed me with it, then he stepped on the hand grasping the knife. I kicked and connected with his knees a few times, but he had the upper hand. My position on the floor, taped to a chair, didn’t give me an edge at all. I was screwed and knew it, but I fought with everything I had until exhaustion got the better of me. When he cocked his fist, I stopped fighting and closed my eyes. I knew what was coming next, and it was going to hurt like hell.
When I woke, I was coughing violently and felt like I was drowning.
“What’s wrong, Detective? Don’t like water up your nose?” He stopped and waited for my reaction.
I continued coughing until my lungs cleared. I looked left and right and realized I was once again tied to the chair, but that time, it was lying on the floor, and the seat was perched higher than the rest of it, essentially making my head lower. He was drowning me in the same way that prisoners of war had been waterboarded in the past.
“Looks like you won’t be trying to escape again anytime soon. Hell, you can’t even get upright. You’re at my mercy, McCord, and I guarantee you won’t see much mercy coming from me. I’m going to work my magic on you until the very end. When it’s time for the little lady to come home, I’ll be long gone. And you? You’ll just be gone.”
Chapter 32
Lutz banged on Frank’s hotel room door.
“Go away. I don’t need Housekeeping.”
“Mills, let me in. It’s Lutz.”
“Oh. Give me a second.” Frank opened the door then stretched a T-shirt over his chest. “I’ve had six hours of sleep in two days, and you’ve had less. Don’t you ever need to recharge?”
“Not when one of our own is missing, and put on some pants. Tony finally got through to the rental car agency.”
Frank scratched his head and yawned as he pulled a pair of jeans over his legs. “I thought he did that last night.”
“He tried a half dozen times but kept getting a recording that said they were updating the system. He couldn’t get any answers.”
“Okay, so what’d he find out this morning? Was it rented here in Decatur?”
“Nope—Joliet.”
Frank furrowed his brows. “Did we miss something or someone that makes Joliet important to this case?”
Lutz walked to the four-cup coffeepot, filled the top with water, and pushed a prefilled coffee filter inside the basket. He pressed the start button, and the brewing began. He took a seat at the table across from Frank’s bed. “I don’t have the slightest idea, but I guess we’re heading to Joliet as soon as we grab a bite at the Continental breakfast and check out.”
“What about the tracking devices they use?”
“Just as I thought. They only activate them if a car isn’t returned on time.”
“So that’s a dead end, and it means we need an image of the guy standing at the rental counter. Did Tony get the exact time?”
Lutz filled two cups and handed one to Frank. “He did, and we’ll go over everything downstairs so I don’t have to repeat it to the rest of the group. Be in the dining room in a half hour. Thanks for the coffee.” Drinking his coffee as he knocked on each door, Lutz told Henry, Shawn, and Hanna to be downstairs in a half hour. He needed to go over a new development with them.
It was eight o’clock when, one by one, they entered the dining room, filled their plates, and gathered at the largest table at the back of the room.
“So, what’s the news, Boss?” Henry filled his fork with scrambled eggs.
“We’re checking out as soon as we’re done eating, and leaving for Joliet. Apparently, the rental car was picked up at that location.”
“Humph,” Shawn said. “I wonder why there?”
“L
ikely to throw us off. He used a fake address, a fake name, and now a rental car location in a city that has no relevance to this case at all.”
“Makes sense,” Frank said. “Picking up the car too close to his real home could make our finding him easier, and he probably thought of that.” Frank gave Hanna a quick glance. “Meaning, the abduction was preplanned.”
She looked shocked. “But how would he know when we left or where we went unless he watched us leave Jesse’s house and followed us? It’s impossible for Jesse’s abductor to be Leon since he didn’t even know who we were.”
Lutz wiped his mouth with the napkin and placed his silverware on the plate. “Any chance that Leon and Jesse crossed paths back in the day? Leon has served time, you know.”
Shawn frowned. “Not to our knowledge, Boss, but we can run that by Finley. If anyone would know, he would.”
“Okay, I need that to roll around in my head for a few minutes.” Lutz pointed at Henry. “When you two get back to the precinct, follow up with Narcotics.”
“Roger that.”
“Either way, we’ll know more when we look at the agency’s camera feed and see the face of the person who picked up the car.” Lutz guzzled what remained in his coffee cup. Tipping his wrist, he checked the time. “Grab your overnight bags, check out, and be outside in fifteen minutes. We’re leaving then.” He looked at Hanna. “I’m not sure what to do about you. I bet Bandit wants to go home, and you probably do, too, but I’m not comfortable leaving you alone at your house. We had officers watching Jesse’s place right after Josh Stevens broke out of his ankle bracelet, but nobody has seen hide nor hair of that con since. At least Jesse has a state-of-the-art security system at home, and I can have officers watch his house again. Getting that past the payroll department will be a lot easier than having cops stationed outside your house when there hasn’t been a direct threat against you. I don’t want to scare you, Hanna, but the person who took Jesse knows he wasn’t at the campground alone.”
She fidgeted as he talked. “What if I went to my mom’s house?”
“Not any different than your own. The department cuts back on overtime when things are relatively quiet, and then we work twenty-four seven when all hell breaks loose.”
“And Jesse’s disappearance isn’t considered that?”
“It is, and that’s why I can get the okay for officers to watch his house again.” Lutz pushed back his chair and stood. “Now we’re down to ten minutes.”
After checking out, they gathered in the parking lot with their bags and Bandit.
“You want to go with Henry and Shawn or tag along with us until we head back to Chicago later?”
Hanna looked at Henry. “No offense, but I’ll stay with the commander and Frank until later when they drop me off at Jesse’s house.”
“No offense taken.”
“Okay, then,” Lutz said, “you two head back to the precinct and keep me posted if anything new comes in. Call Finley on the connection, if any, between Jesse and Leon, and then see what the latest is on Josh Stevens too.” He swatted the air. “Just call me no matter what once you’re back and have been updated.”
“You bet.”
They parted ways in the parking lot—Lutz, Frank, Hanna, and Bandit heading for Joliet, and Henry and Shawn heading to the Wentworth station.
An hour passed, and Lutz glanced in the rearview mirror. It had been pretty quiet in the back seat. He elbowed Frank, who looked over his shoulder. “They’re both out for the count. Wonder if she’s been getting any sleep.”
“Who knows,” Frank said, “but she’s a trooper, and so is Bandit. What do you think of what Hanna said at breakfast?”
Lutz’s forehead wrinkled. “You mean when you said the abduction must have been preplanned and she doubted it was Leon since he’d never met Jesse in his life?”
“Yep, that.”
Lutz shrugged. “Hell if I know, but she’s right. It doesn’t make sense. Maybe Leon really doesn’t know anything about Jesse’s disappearance after all. We could be barking up the wrong tree entirely.”
“But he’s still on the hook for murdering Lila and attempting to murder Jesse.”
“That he is.”
“Humph.”
Lutz jerked his head toward Frank. “Want to continue that train of thought?”
“What if it’s Josh Stevens?”
Lutz nodded. “I thought about that possibility last night.”
“You mean when you should have been sleeping?”
“Yeah, then.”
“And?”
“And let’s see who is on the camera footage at the rental agency first.”
“Do you actually know that they have a camera system?”
Lutz turned the radio to a soft music station. “Nope, but I’m crossing my fingers that they do.”
Chapter 33
The clock had just passed the eleven a.m. mark when they arrived at National Ride Rentals of Joliet. Frank and Lutz entered the building while Hanna walked Bandit around the parking lot.
A young man behind the counter, who wore a company logo polo shirt, tipped his head at them. “May I help you gentlemen?”
“I sure hope so.” He pulled out his wallet and showed the man his badge. “I’m Commander Bob Lutz from the Chicago PD. We’re looking for a particular person who picked up a car here, and we were hoping to catch him on surveillance.”
“Wow, okay. I’ll need the plate number and VIN of the car.”
Lutz rattled it off then tapped his fingers on the counter as the agent looked up the information. The commander scanned the room for ceiling-mounted cameras but didn’t see any. Frank walked around with his hands buried in his pockets.
“Here we go. The Corolla was picked up on Friday at two p.m. and is scheduled to be returned on—” The man stared at the screen then scratched his chin.
Lutz leaned forward. “What?”
“It was scheduled to be returned yesterday, but it hasn’t been yet. I’m going to have to report that and activate the tracking device.”
“We know where the car is located.”
“How?”
“I’m a cop, remember? It’s at Giant City State Park near Carbondale, but that isn’t why we’re here. I need to see camera footage of the man who rented it.” Lutz looked around one last time. “Please tell us you have cameras.”
“We certainly do.”
Frank joined Lutz at the counter and breathed a sigh of relief.
“In our fenced-in lot two blocks from here.”
Lutz groaned. “Great. Where are the cameras located?”
“On the guard shack and at the end of each row. We only have three rows, so it wouldn’t be hard to see the individual getting into the car.”
“So the guy signed the documents here at the counter and then waited for a shuttle to take him to the lot, or what?”
“Yes, that’s how it works.”
“What’s the normal wait time for the shuttle?” Frank asked.
The counter agent rubbed his elbow. “I don’t really pay attention, but it can’t be long. Nobody ever comes back in and complains about the wait time.”
“Fine. Can you give the guard a call and say we’re heading over? Having the footage queued up from Friday after two o’clock and in the row that the Corolla was parked in would speed things up tremendously.”
The agent reached for the phone. “Sure thing, Commander.”
“And we’ll need directions too.”
Minutes later, Frank and Bob walked out and saw Hanna sitting on a bench in the shade of an awning near the shuttle stop. Bandit lay at her side. Frank called out her name and waved her over.
“We’re going to the rental lot. Apparently, that’s the only place they have cameras, likely to keep vandals at bay.”
“Okay. Come on, Bandit.”
In the car for less than five minutes, Lutz pulled alongside the guard shack at the rental lot and parked. He looked at Hanna before climbing out. �
�I’ll keep the car running unless you want to get out again.”
“Don’t bother. I’ll just lower the window. I think Bandit would prefer to go back to sleep, anyway.”
Lutz nodded, then he and Frank walked to the shack’s window and started a conversation with the guard. Seconds later, the guard opened the door, and they entered.
“So, as the agent told you, we need to see the footage from Friday afternoon after two o’clock.”
“Yep, and I have it ready to go. It looks like there were four drop-offs. Two in the first row, one in the second, and one in the third.” He gave Lutz a nod. “Ready?”
“More than ready.”
“Okay. The Corolla was in the second row. The shuttle is going to drop off the first two drivers in row one, round the corner, drop off driver two, round the final corner, and drop off the last driver.”
“Yep, I understand. You can just fast-forward until you get to row two.”
The guard did just that and slowed the footage when the shuttle reached the Corolla. “So the driver stops right behind the vehicle. The parking spot is numbered, and that’s how he knows where to let off the driver.”
“Got it.”
“The shuttle doors will open, the driver will hand the passenger his luggage as he gets out, and then the passenger becomes the rental car driver. Easy as that.”
Lutz tipped his head at the screen. “So let’s watch. Can you pause the footage when the passenger gets out of the shuttle?”
“Sure can.”
“Good. Thanks.”
They watched as the brake lights on the black bus flashed and then stayed lit. Seconds later, the door opened, the passenger climbed out, and the bus pulled away.
“Humph. Guess he didn’t have any luggage.”
“Stop the footage right there.”