Vigilante Investigator Series Box Set

by Eden Sharp

  'Do you think she might have killed herself?'

  'No way. She was happy. She was always in a good mood, upbeat. She was always the one making me feel better about everything.'

  'She had a prescription for Xanax.'

  'We all do. They're easy to sell.'

  There hadn't been any fake coughs or clearing of the throat. No mouth touching. No leaning away with the body or leaning towards the door showing a subconscious desire to leave.

  'Will you keep the picture? Ask around? Just people you trust I mean. Don't go putting yourself out there to the wrong people.'

  Lisa nodded. 'I want whoever got Hayley to get what they deserve.'

  THIRTY-SEVEN

  Inspector Dean Ortiz

  Ortiz and Aaron surveilled Simon Neiger's house. A Spanish style ranch with ocher stucco, a block-paved driveway and a double garage all contained securely by an electronic gate and video entry system.

  They only had to wait around thirty minutes before the gates clanked open and a white SUV emerged driven by a twenty-something blond. Ortiz pulled out behind.

  'We'll give her a block and a half and then pull her over. I'm not trailing her all the way to some downtown mall.'

  She slowed in a quieter street and Ortiz took advantage, overtaking then pulling in front of her at an angle blocking the vehicle and forcing it to a halt.

  Aaron jumped out and immediately pulled out his badge. It was a good move. They didn't want to alarm her enough to force her to reach for her cell.

  Ortiz did the same and covered the passenger side.

  Aaron tapped on the glass and she hit the window button. As soon as it was down, Aaron reached in and released the locking button. Ortiz slid inside the passenger seat while Aaron leaned on the jamb and fixed her with a stare.

  Ortiz lifted her purse from the footwell and checked the contents. She flicked her head back and forth looking at each of them in turn.

  Ortiz couldn't find a driver's license but pulled out three different credit cards and read the names aloud.

  'Are you Cindy Yohansson, Elena Rossi or Madison Picock today?'

  He watched her start to cry. This was good. He hated them all hard-faced and untalkative.

  'Thing is I don't really care what your name is. This could be your lucky day.' He ran an appreciative eye down a bare tanned leg.

  ‘Is Neiger at home?’

  She nodded, patting at her tears with expensively manicured fingertips.

  ‘Downstairs? Upstairs?’

  ‘Out back. In the yard. By the pool,’ the girl said.

  'This is what we’re going to do. You're going to drive out of here and never go back to that house again. Consider yourself lucky to keep the car.’

  Ortiz took out his cell and snapped her picture.

  ‘You go near Neiger and I'm going to make sure you get some serious pen time. You're going to give me your cell and the release for the gates and garage and not look back, you got it?'

  She nodded her head.

  He pocketed her cell phone and Aaron unclipped the transponder for her keys.

  Ortiz opened the passenger door. 'I see you again, orange is going to be so this season for you.'

  Ortiz moved his car to the curb. The girl inched round then shot forward, slowed briefly at the stop sign then hightailed it.

  'Normally it's good when they talk but cooperative and quiet is even better,' he said.

  Outside, they scanned the front of the house, checking the windows for movement or any signs of life then released the gate. Each half swung back on its hinges and Ortiz drove through. He used the space to turn an arc leaving the vehicle facing the gate then released the garage and they each stepped out from the car. He jogged inside and over to a door leading into the house.

  He waited for Aaron to catch up behind him then listened for any sounds coming from inside but couldn't hear anything. He turned the handle slowly and inched it open until he could see into a utility room leading through into a kitchen. He stopped and listened again. He was going to be pissed if no one was at home. Peering through the crack in the utility door he could see the kitchen was empty so he maneuvered inside waiting while Aaron opened a second door to what he presumed was the main hallway. Aaron slipped through and out of sight.

  Ortiz made his way around the L-shaped room and headed towards an area with low slung leather couches, a foosball table, and an open patio door. He shifted the edge of the drapes away from the wall and checked outside. A large swimming pool sat at the center of a patio area strewn with sun loungers. One, facing away from him, was occupied. He could see the back of a bleached blond mohawk bobbing up and down presumably to whatever sounds where emanating from a pair of large, silver headphones.

  He skipped back around the corner of the room into the kitchen area to meet Aaron coming back in and pointed the way.

  A cloud of marijuana smoke hovered above Neiger's head. As they approached, his hand placed a large blunt into a glass ashtray by his side. Ortiz snatched the headphones off the top of Neiger's head and Aaron pulled up a sun lounger to his right and sat down.

  Ortiz stepped left, towering over Neiger just enough to be dominant but taking care not to block out the sun. Neiger raised an arm attempting to shield bug eyes. There was nowhere to go but Neiger did his best to back up on the lounger, his feet sliding against the fabric.

  'Hey dude what's going on?'

  Ortiz pulled out his badge and bet the paranoia was kicking up an extra notch.

  Aaron produced his own badge. 'Gotcha.'

  Ortiz watched Neiger swallow. Bet his mouth was real dry right now.

  'We know everything.' Aaron said.

  A great opener. Suspects would either spill it or clam up. Either they'd find out more than they knew or whether they were dealing with a smart ass who would be lawyered up in minutes.

  'I don't know what you think you know officers but there is nothing illegal going on here.'

  Ortiz smiled. 'It's inspectors and that clearly ain't the case.'

  Neiger glanced across to the blunt.

  'That's personal man and at home on private property.'

  Aaron leaned in. 'We ain't here about a lid of Mary Jane. We know all about the carding operation and the girls you got working the malls.'

  Ortiz reached inside his jacket and took out a photograph.

  'We got what we need to nail your balls to a board for eternity but we got other fish to flip.'

  He held out a picture of Angela McGlynn.

  'You had a visitor. I want to know exactly what went down.'

  Neiger nodded staring at the picture. 'That Russian bitch.'

  Ortiz didn't twitch.

  Aaron stayed silent. Leaving the space for Neiger to fill.

  'I mean, I crossed paths with her. She didn't stay long. Just blah blah blah you know?'

  'What did she say to you?' Ortiz asked.

  'She...' Neiger rubbed his eyes, looked around as if for an answer that wasn't forthcoming.

  'I'm getting real bored real quick. You want us to get involved in your other set ups or just give out this address to the bigger boys so your friends can find you face down in the pool?' Aaron said.

  Always find out everything you can about someone. Always exploit their weaknesses.

  'Maybe you could move us up the food chain then you'd be free and clear,' Ortiz said.

  'All right, okay. It might just have happened that someone I know got hold of a database of card numbers and whatnot. They appear to have belonged to some Russian mafia outfit okay? But like I don't have them anymore. I just gave them back okay? That's what she wanted.'

  Ortiz glanced at Aaron. He tapped the picture again.

  'This woman took the card details.'

  'Yeah, she took it all.'

  'How?'

  'On a memory stick man. She downloaded them to a stick.'

  'How many?'

  'I don't know man, thousands, maybe tens of thousands.'

  'You realize y
ou're gonna have to testify to that right?'

  'Yeah. Yeah man I get it.'

  Aaron stood up.

  'We'll be in touch.'

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  Angela McGlynn

  'I'm no expert but Lisa seemed kosher to me,' Knox said.

  I nodded. 'I agree.'

  I stopped to let a car back out of a driveway, taking the opportunity for a slow pass down Scots Avenue, then turned back around and pulled up into a space diagonally opposite from the wife's residence.

  'Pulido's wife and kids. Not divorced, not in residence, occasional father. That's all we've got. Who knows the last time he paid them a visit?'

  Knox checked it out using the mirror on the wing.

  'Ordinarily we'd have another car stashed a block away near probable exits and one of us would stay out of sight. That way it looks normal when one person pulls up, gets out and walks away. Then the other person would head back to the other car to act as a chase vehicle if the sub moves. Or I'd go round with a fake questionnaire knocking on doors maybe.'

  'Cool.'

  Funny.

  'Our cover is a couple who've pulled over to fight. Our main problem's going to be nosy neighbors. Usually in that instance I'd go chat to them but I'd have to show them my ID so I'd pretend we were surveilling someone in a different area and were waiting for them to pass this way. If they ask I usually say it's about a divorce and if they're a woman that I'm trying to catch a wayward husband. That way they're usually sympathetic. The last thing we need is someone calling the police and reporting suspicious activity and a patrol car coming by.'

  'What would happen then?'

  'Then I'd show the cops my ID, but we'd still be blown. Sometimes I call the dispatch and let them know what I'm doing and give them a description of the car. But now the Secora file’s flagged I don't want anything pointing back to Stuart if this is connected.' Not more than it already is.

  'So what are we looking for?'

  I pointed towards the back. 'That bag I brought, there's a camera inside. Do you know how to use it?'

  'If I just have to press a button.'

  'I'll set it to auto for you. The idea is to record who's in and out, times, faces, that sort of thing. Vehicles they're using.'

  Two kids, a boy of around six and his younger sister, played on their bikes in the driveway. Shiny pink streamers fluttered from the girl's handlebars as she rode around in laps. She made a turn too fast and a doll in the front basket fell out and clattered across the driveway. The boy made a siren sound and rode over and retrieved it. He rocked it in his arms like a medic treating an emergency. Pulido's wife appeared with icicles. She gave one to her daughter then snatched the doll out of her son's arms and gave it back to his sister.

  Three boring hours passed by then we were blown.

  It made good sense for parents to be alert to the fact that strangers were hanging out on their street. Even if it had taken so long. Pulido's wife headed over our way. There was no way of knowing how long ago she had spotted us.

  'Couple fighting now,' I said.

  'You think I'm having an affair is that it?' Knox shouted.

  'Well who the hell was she and what was she doing in my house?' I said matching the volume. I hoped we would be audible from outside the car and put the Pulido woman off.

  'She's Mike's wife you idiot, she was helping me plan a surprise for your birthday.'

  Carla Pulido had motored across the street at an alarming rate and wasn't slowing down. Any minute now there was going to be a confrontation. I thought fast and got out of the car.

  'Carla Pulido?' I said.

  She stopped in her tracks.

  'I'm a skip tracer. I'm looking for Lorentz. You're about to be right out of luck when it comes to child support.'

  She looked confused.

  'He's about to skip town Carla. You better make sure those bikes are going to last another year because Christmas is going to be a bust.'

  'What the hell are you talking about? That sonofabitch only shows up when he needs money from me. I don't get no child support.'

  She could have been lying but my instinct believed her.

  'Maybe you should. I could help you arrange that. It's your right.'

  'I don't want nothing from him. I got myself a real man now.'

  'Do you know where Lorentz is?'

  'He got a friend he runs with over in Bayview. Lono Cantrell.'

  'You got an address.'

  She took out a cell phone. 'Nope but I got a number.'

  'Cell or landline.'

  'It's the house phone.'

  I entered the number she gave me into my phone.

  ‘I hope you catch him so you can tell him to go fuck himself.'

  She turned and wandered off back to her yard.

  I got back in the car.

  'Classy,' Knox said.

  I selected and copied the details Carla Pulido had given me, brought up a website on my cell and showed Knox.

  'Criss-cross directory. Looks up three things. Names, addresses and landline numbers. If you've got one you can usually look up the other two. Won't work for Pulido though. If there was any information Stuart would have given it to me.'

  I entered in an account password and then pasted in Cantrell's name and the number. A Bayview address came up.

  'Let's take a pass at the friend,' I said. 'But I need to check out some details. You drive.'

  THIRTY-NINE

  On the way over I checked the County Appraiser. By the elderly female owner registered there, it looked like the property most likely belonged to Cantrell's mother.

  'This looks a whole lot nicer than the last place. Better than Mission,' Knox said.

  I shrugged. 'Bayview's got its fair share of gang activity but it's a real mixed neighborhood. It's kind of industrial and run down and it's ringed by freeways which doesn't help but a lot of the old warehouses are rented by artists and it's quite a creative place.'

  We passed a brightly-colored grocery store and a wall covered in murals at the junction of Kirkwood and Third as if to illustrate my point.

  'Problem is, as the local community are fighting for and gaining improvements, it's slowly getting gentrified and that will eventually price them out.'

  I adjusted the angle on the rearview mirror.

  'What is it?' Knox asked.

  'There's a guy on a bike. I'm sure I saw him over in Silver Terrace.'

  Knox leaned in and checked the mirror.

  'Pull over,' I said.

  I leaned across and reached under the driver’s seat for my gun and placed it in the holster in the small of my back. The bike passed us, made a left a couple of blocks ahead, and disappeared from sight.

  'What's the plan?'

  'You stay here. I'm going to take a walk around the block and check it out. Stretch my legs,' I said.

  'I'm coming with you,’ Knox said. ‘Especially if this might be related to the gang thing from before.'

  'No. I need you to stay here in case he comes back this way.'

  'I don't like it.'

  'You don't have to. Don't go turning into Mike Kelly on me Knox.'

  'Just-'

  I shut the door and walked toward the direction the bike had taken. No one was waiting at the intersection with Thompson Avenue. I made the decision to discount it based on nothing but gut feeling and continued to the next where I turned on to Oakdene Avenue.

  I took a minute to glance around at surrounding alleyways at turn-in spots. No sign of anything suspicious. I crossed a couple of intersections and made like a paragon of road safety checking repeatedly right and left. The bike sat thirty yards down on the right at the third.

  I turned left down Ellwood back towards Thompson. The biker had his visor down making any identification impossible. He sat stationary, hands resting on the gas tank, probably wondering like me what the next move was going to be.

  Fifteen yards away I could hear the engine ticking over. Twelve yards away and I had no cl
ue as to what I was going to say to him. At ten, he shot his arms forward, turned the throttle, kicked the stand away, and roared off down the street. I noted a pony tail sticking out from under his helmet as he went by. I watched him make a right at the intersection taking him away from Knox's direction.

  I took out my cell and dialed him.

  'He took off. Definitely spooked. Definitely a tail. I don't think he's heading your way. I'm on my way back now.'

  'Nothing going on here. See you soon,' Knox said.

  He sounded relieved.

  I walked around the block and back to the car.

  'Any ideas who it could have been?' Knox asked. 'Pulido? Cantrell? Wife's new boyfriend?'

  I shrugged. 'Impossible to say.'

  We continued on until we reached the right address and cruised past Cantrell's blue, two-story stoop. Knox was a fast learner. He carried on to the end of the street then looped back around and parked a couple of houses down.

  ‘I'll see if Cantrell's in,' I said.

  All the windows were closed which on a hot day told me no one was around. All of them had bars on except two small ones at the top sitting under the eaves of the roof. The drapes were drawn all round so there was no way to see inside.

  I climbed thirteen steep steps up to the front door and knocked. After a sufficient wait and another knock I gave up and made my way back down to the car.

  'Notice anyone trying to look around the drapes?'

  Knox shook his head.

  'Keep looking. I'll check around back.'

  There was maybe a three-feet gap between the side of the house and its neighbor, a large portion of which was taken up by what looked like a tall Saguaro cactus. Normally found in deserts in the south west, I was either wrong about the species or the homeowner paid particular care. It would be hard to cultivate in San Francisco even if Bayview did get more sun than most of the rest of the city.

  I took care inching past it and found my way round the side of the house to a tall, metal gate. It was locked. I made dog-friendly noises and when no pent-up bundle of fur and teeth came to greet me, stuck my foot in a convenient shaped piece of iron detailing and hauled myself up and over. Not an ideal scenario for a quick getaway.