by Rick Murcer
She turned back to Aaron, pointing at his pad. “Fire that thing up, Aaron.”
Facing Brice, she explained. “I had Aaron enter all of our information from the cases at the river. Including the file of severed limbs put into my SUV. We then ran DNA tests on the hands as well as on the bodies.”
“Okay Ellie, I’ve got them up. What do you want to see?” asked Aaron, moving so that all three of them could see the screen.
She exhaled. “When someone is added to CODIS or any other DNA data base, they stay forever.”
Brice nodded. “That’s what we’ve been told, so?”
“Part of the process, in certain cases, is to rerun the DNA profile against the rest of the data base, only asking for a percentage of the markers to match, like say half.”
“That’s not automatic?” asked Brice.
She shook her head. “It takes too much time to manage that. Specific gives faster results. Anyway, we’re going to do a little search with all three parts of Henry’s given name and then check those names against the data base.”
“What are you saying, then?” asked Brice.
She didn’t answer right away. Instead she took Aaron’s pad and began to type. After sixty seconds, she swore. Right after the screen went dead.
“Aaron. Your pad is dead. Damn it man.”
“Sorry Ellie. I didn’t notice.”
“Okay, you’re going to have to go back to the lab and enter the rest of the information. We need those searches.”
“Okay, I think I’ve got what you’re doing.”
“Well, someone clue me in.”
“I’m saying that Henry has had help and from more than one person.”
CHAPTER-43
Calm in the midst of chaos. That’s one of the lessons she’d learned over the years. Living her life, the way she had, made that emotional commodity a compulsion.
Although, if she were being honest, when one creates the chaos, there is little call for concern. Still, not every detail respected a carefully planned agenda. One could only eliminate as many problems as one could perceive. Luckily, perception was also a strength she embraced.
The Councilwoman’s body had no more than hit the floor when several more shots, almost in sync, exploded throughout the great dining room.
The image of four more bodies hitting the marble floor caused her to smile inside. Any such outward expression might cause suspicion. None of that, yet.
One of the people stretched on the bloodied marble was, with certainty, Councilman Tuor. Just desserts take on many forms. The leech bastard got his tonight. As far as the others, wrong place at the right time could describe their early exits from this world. Those exits would serve her, however.
The room’s coaxed silence endured another momentary reprieve before the room reverberated with another sound.
Screaming.
Uncontrollable, abject terror could be heard in those screams. Not the ‘oh shit’ type. She knew the difference. She’d heard screams over the years. Some when she had been so much younger. Some had been hers.
That recognition was somewhat akin to a mother or father listening to the kind of cries their children made. One for pain. One for real pain. One for fear. None of them sounded the same. Yet they all did.
After one more round of screaming and yelling and the clatter of expensive shoes on the floor as people rushed to get away from the unbelievable, the PA system came on.
A man with a deep voice spoke, exhibiting complete control.
“Everyone stop in their tracks and shut up. Now.”
Most of the unnerving din resided immediately. Again, there were a few stragglers.
“One more time. Stop now. No more screaming. No more moving.”
A few seconds later, the room’s eerie quiet was only interrupted by soft sobs and heavy breathing.
“That’s better. We only have a few moments before the police arrive so listen closely if you want to get out of this room alive instead of riding a gurney.”
If it were possible for two hundred people to be more quiet, she hadn’t experienced it.
After a few more seconds, he spoke again. More control than ever. It made her skin break out in goosebumps. He was most certainly the right man for this job.
“I want you all to look at me.”
He raised a large arm so people would make no mistake who and where he was.
The man stood well over six-foot, his ebony head shining from perspiration that reflected the light flowing from crystal chandeliers that cost more than the average American made in a year. The Rock would have been proud of his appearance.
Good choice indeed.
“This isn’t a social call. Four people have discovered that already. Don’t be next. I want you all to take off all of your jewelry, remove all wallets, and put them in the bags as my compadres approach you. Let me caution you, these people aren’t as patient as me. Do what is asked. Period.”
The room then literally cascaded with red-vested servers as the men and women obviously working with this man moved like well-oiled machinery throughout the gathering of Chicago’s elite, opening bags and collecting that which wasn’t theirs. Such a site. Humbling, she guessed. Humility was a dish many of these bastards had never sampled.
Her phone vibrated in her purse. Good. Her phone’s alarm told her everything was on schedule. She exhaled. What was coming next had to be done convincingly well. No questions. No doubt. And, as always, she was ready to do her part.
The stocky woman hurrying down her segment of the room reached another of Chicago’s blue bloods, Christy McCann, an older buxom woman married to a Chicago councilman used to having her way in every single way. A rich-bitch bully, if there was such a thing.
“In the bag, now,” demanded the stocky woman.
Christy dropped in everything except the gold-trimmed broach at her thick neck.
“The broach too.”
“Please. This belonged to my great grandmother. It can’t be of any value to you. Ple—.”
A second later, Christy’s head exploded into a crimson shower as blood and brains splattered over the floor and on several guests standing near her.
The woman reached down and yanked the broach from her neck. Then stood, kissing the Glock that had suddenly ended Christy’s life.
“Anyone else gonna give me shit?” she asked, an ominous grin etched on her wide face.
Amanda exhaled. Time to move this forward.
“You didn’t have to kill her. You could have taken it from her,” she said.
The blow from the woman’s gun clipped Amanda on the side of the head as the jewelry that was in her hand flew away. She heard it land on the floor the same time as she landed on her side. She was dazed, but relatively unhurt.
The women bent over her. “Open your mouth again and I’ll be three for three,” she hissed.
Amanda didn’t move. The woman kicked her on the hip, little more than grazing her but it must have looked ugly to the people near her. The fearful groan the kick elicited from several people said so.
Great job, Silvia.
She stayed on the floor for the next ninety seconds while the crew that had handled everything so well finished its task.
One more echoing shot, accompanied by pure silence this time, told her that the task had been completed. Six dead. That was right. It’s what was required.
Another blaring communication echoed all over the room. “Everyone else on the floor. Now.”
There was a brief time of clothes and shoes rustling as people shuffled to the floor, then more of that lethal silence.
That distinguished voice continued. “If anyone moves for the next six minutes, or tries to use a cell phone they think they cleverly hid from us, there will be more blood on the floor. Much more. Stay down and stay alive. Starting now.”
Somewhere she’d heard that waiting in situations like this was like a trip into eternity. It wasn’t for her, but she could see how people on the wrong end
of that wait could consider that perception. The wait would be over soon enough, however, then onto the next step.
She closed her eyes and reflected how the results of this night would impact the next few weeks. It was hard to hide the smile. Then, like an untold number of ants milling around a hill, people were beside her.
“Are you okay, Amanda? Can you get up? Are you dizzy? You aren’t bleeding all that much.”
She recognized the voices of concern, all of them. She also made note of the people who hadn’t really cared at all but were still into making it a show.
“I-I think I’m okay. I want to get up.”
“Take it easy,” said one woman.
“I will.”
Propping her left arm against the floor, she began the process of sitting. Three sets of hands help her as she got her first good look around the room.
Her stare almost gave her away. Never had she seen so many men and women who thought they were in control, out of it. Fear was indeed a great equalizer.
Chicago’s privileged elite had been damaged. There could be no doubt regarding that. Not to anyone in this room
They had been attacked and pillaged like the commoners most of them had bent over to get to where they were. It was impossible for her to not think of justice and how it chose to serve everyone, eventually.
She rose from the floor, the proper amount of tears streaking down her cheeks, touching her injured head, the act almost complete. The final one just on the horizon. She loved what was coming next.
CHAPTER-44
“I get it, but I don’t want to go back to the lab. I want to go with you on this search. Plus, I would like to see Beaux do his thing,” said Aaron.
Ellen understood. But she couldn’t be in two places at once. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, she’d go back to the friendly confines of the lab and let the CPD ground troops handle this kind of search. But life, at least some of the time, was riddled with adjustments. This was one of those times.
“Listen. I know. But there’s no one else I trust to process through the evidence and see what’s right and what’s not. You have to do the DNA searches and see what we have. And, for the love of God, see if we have a science link, not just a boatload of circumstantial and unrelated reports.”
“Okay, I get it. I want doughnuts tomorrow though. Big ones stuffed with custard.”
“I can handle that.”
He sighed. “Okay, then. And chocolate milk too.”
She reached up and gave Aaron a peck on the cheek. “Deal and thanks, I really do trust you to get this done.”
“Wow. I ain’t washing my face for a while. Thanks, and you’re welcome.”
Then Aaron was jogging toward the SUV, a determined lilt to his gait.
Just then, the eight other cops arrived. Brice and Bella met them to begin the briefing and to hand out assignments. They’d be moving soon.
“Walk over here with me, Beaux,” said Ellen.
The dog fell in line behind her, almost prancing. They stopped underneath a large, shadowy maple that had sprouted most of its spring leaves.
“This is new to me, Big Dog, so I have to trust you. I’m not the most trusting person on the planet, so you’ve got big shoes to fill.”
He barked softly, tilting his head. She pulled out the blood sample that Aaron had brought and led Beaux over to where The Father and Henry had stood before the shooting.
“I need to find this guy.” She palmed the sample, pulled the cover from the microscope slide, and let the dog take in the scent. It took a few seconds, but he then sniffed the ground, then quickly looked toward the building where Joel and Cheryl had been murdered. He then swiveled his head toward the south, a likely direction Henry would have taken. His brown eyes danced in the streetlamp’s light, asking her which direction first.
The hairs on the back of her neck rose. Anna had been spot on. His reaction was eerie and intelligent at the same time. Especially when he was ready to work.
She stroked his head. “Not the building, Beaux. We already believe he killed those people. I need to find the killer.”
By then, Brice had once again joined them.
“Dang. You sound like you’re doing our job for me,” said Brice, only a trace of his ultra-professional mannerism still in his voice.
She smiled at him. “Just briefing Beaux. I’m not sure he really needs it, though.”
“I see that. I’ve got everyone else aboard. I sent two other units to The Mission on the west side. We need to know why The Father took off. He may be chasing Henry, but if he isn’t, then what the hell is going on with him?”
“That makes sense. I just don’t see him involved, but we’ve seen stranger things.”
Brice nodded. “I know but we have to figure him out. I think we have the canvassing of the area handled and two more CSU teams are on the way. The rest of these folks know what they’re supposed to do so we’re ready when you are.”
Ellen bent toward Beaux, removed his leash, then whispered in his ear. “Beaux. Let’s find Henry.”
CHAPTER-45
Bella Sanchez slapped Big Harv on the back and plopped down on the seat beside him inside the video room at CPD headquarters.
“This should be easier than when we did the search for what happened on the river and the cemetery.”
“So says you.”
She glanced at him and smiled. “You know I don’t talk no shit here Big Harv. And, we don’t have any time for it anyway.”
“Sanchez, I’ve never known you not to talk a little crap, no matter what was going on. But you’re still a good cop, mostly.”
The smile he showed her was in his eyes, not on his face. This man held that ability like no one she’d ever met.
“Mostly?” She raised her eyebrows. “Okay, I’ll take it because that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” She leaned over and bear-hugged him.
After a few seconds, the Big Man brushed her away. “Stop it. People will think you’re harassing an old man. A civilian no less.”
“Yeah, you wish. Besides, we can’t have that heart going south.”
“Now don’t you worry your pretty little head about that. This ticker is getting stronger every day.”
“Pretty little head? Wow, two compliments in one sitting. Are you feeling alright?”
“Don’t let it go to your brain. Enough of the chit chat. Let’s get this info to Ellen and Brice, if you can find it that is. I hope this works. We didn’t have much luck on the last two trips down this lane. Nothing at the river and nothing at the cemetery.”
“Yeah, well, they have to have cameras in order to access them. Both of those locations were pretty remote and in need of big time equipment updates. Hell, Irving Park at the cemetery had two cameras that were out of commission.”
“Figures. So why is this area different?”
“You know how high the crime rate is there. It got upgraded first. Plus, it’s close to a couple of office buildings that give us access to their security systems. We should see something.”
“Show me your stuff,” said Big Harv.
Bella knitted her fingers together and cracked them all in one motion. “Just watch this, Old Man.”
“Stop calling me an old man.”
“Sure thing. Now be quiet while I concentrate here.”
After turning the keyboard in her direction, Bella began by opening the program and typing in the intersection closest to the apartment complex. After adjusting the screen, she then created three other windows based on the local search of the traffic cameras and the private businesses that allowed CPD access to their Closed Circuit Television Systems.
Making sure of her addresses, she hit the enter button again. Five different camera feeds rambled across the screen. She clicked the first one.
A moment later, the screen came alive. As the camera’s live feed came into view, even in the dark of night, Bella could see the effects that the new system had on her ability to make out detail be
cause of the system’s night vision technology.
“That’s pretty awesome,” she whispered.
“It is,” agreed Big Harv.
Bella then accessed the camera’s version of DVR, typed in the time three minutes before the gun fire had begun and waited. The system began to display what was recorded at that time. She then spun the view in the opposite direction of the street view so it was facing the sidewalk leading two blocks down the street where Henry had been standing.
“Now we watch. If he were running, he’d still come into view in about ninety seconds or so. We might even get a look at the getaway vehicle.”
The screen rolled and Bella had to force herself to breathe. She never thought of herself as someone who got overly excited, but she was this time. Her heart thudded in her ears as she hoped their suspect made himself known.
One hundred and twenty-seven seconds went by and no one showed in the camera’s line of sight.
“Okay, he may not have come this way. Let’s go to the next one.”
“Patience isn’t exactly my best virtue,” grumbled Big Harv.
“Mine either, but this is what detectives do, right?”
Bella selected the intersection reference, clicked, and then adjusted the distortion, cleaning up the image instantaneously.
“This isn’t one of the CPD’s street cameras. It belongs to the security system of the factory across the intersection. It’s a great system though so we should be able to see what we need to see,” said Bella. “They’ve added several upgrades including this main camera with a wide-angle lens that will pan forty-five degrees then back.”
“Don’t give a shit about the mumbo jumbo tech talk. I want to know where this boy went,” said Big Harv.
“Keep watching, grumpy ass.”
They watched the screen in silence and, once again, no one appeared from the direction their suspect had run from.
The next system view was like the first two. Nothing. Not even a hint of their suspect.
“Are you sure this even works? I mean it’s one thing to have cameras at intersections to record accidents, but this feels like a damned waste of time to me,” said Big Harv.