Across State Lines

by C. J. Johnson

  Frankie was relieved Heather could not see her eyes rolling. She took a deep breath and said, “No, Heather. I mean, yes. We are going to get your car but no you cannot go. Do you understand he is not planning to give you the car? It’s a trick to get you there. My guess is he wants to snatch you again. Or worse. We will set up surveillance and as soon as we see your car, we will stop him. What time did he want to meet?”

  “7.”

  “Okay. I need you to stay at the shelter. I’m serious, Heather, this could be bad if you try to meet him on your own. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, but…”

  Frankie’s voice became firm, “No ‘buts’ Heather. You have to stay at the shelter.”

  Heather responded with a sullen, “Okay.”

  Frankie told Heather she would call her when it was over, and she could get her car. Once the call was disconnected, she dialed her old partner, Mac.

  “Hey Mac, are you and Payne working tonight?”

  “Yeah, what’s up?”

  Frankie explained the situation and asked if they’d be willing to be the takedown crew while she and Mia did surveillance to try and get Heather’s car. Silently she hoped all three men would be in the car, but something told her that was wishful thinking.

  Mia was listening and began gathering her vest and supply bag. When Frankie hung up the phone, she said, “Want some help?”

  “I was about to ask you if you wanted to go get these guys.”

  “Heck yeah. What’s the plan?”

  “We are going to meet Mac and Payne at the car wash at 59th and Prospect in

  about thirty to watch for the car. If we see it, they will initiate a felony car stop. We will hang back until everyone is in custody. Of course, if the shit hits the fan….”

  “We move in.”

  “Yep,” Frankie replied as she gathered her keys and vest. “As satisfying as it would be to put handcuffs on these guys, I want to keep a little distance. It’ll benefit us in the interview if we don’t have to go hands-on.”

  “Agreed,” Mia said.

  Chapter 26

  Mia and Frankie slowly drove the streets around Prospect. There were many ways Corey could approach, and they wanted to get him before he got to the busy restaurant. At the last minute, she had called Fitz to join them. He was sitting in a parking lot across the street from the Church’s Chicken in an unmarked, undercover car.

  “What are the chances Corey will be the one driving,” Mia wondered aloud.

  “Slim to none. If I was a betting woman, I’d say he’ll have one of the other guys driving. Probably William. Or he could send a cutout.”

  “You really think he plans to kill her?”

  Frankie thought for a moment before responding, “Yeah. She can identify him and, my guess is, he’s been to prison and doesn’t want to go back.”

  “Check that car out,” Mia said.

  As soon as she said the words, a car matching the description of Heather’s car drove past. Frankie waited, then pulled in behind the car. Checking the license plate number, she confirmed it was Heather’s car then turned onto a side street.

  “I’m surprised they didn’t switch the tags out,” Frankie said.

  Mia picked up the radio mic and said, “1064 to 242 on private.”

  “Go ahead for 242.”

  “The target vehicle is heading north on Wabash. Looks to be occupied one time. He’s going to turn east on 59th. He should be coming right at you.”

  “Copy that. We’ll initiate the car check as soon as he’s on Prospect.”

  “We’ll circle around and come in behind you.”

  “242. Copy a car check. 59th and Prospect. Northbound. Silver Ford Taurus. Missouri license Adam Adam 3 7 George 1. Occupied one time. Hold the air.”

  “Holding the air for 242. 59 and Prospect.”

  Frankie and Mia pulled in behind Mac just as he began ordering the driver out of the car at gunpoint. Payne stood on the passenger side, gun drawn, carefully scanning the vehicle for other occupants or threats.

  “Using your right hand, open the door from the outside. Step out of the vehicle facing away from my voice. Put your hands above your head.”

  The driver complied with the initial instructions. Frankie and Mia exited their vehicle but remained in the doorframe for cover, their hands on their holster just in case they needed to take action.

  “Step backward towards the sound of my voice.”

  Once the driver was a safe distance from the car, Mac ordered him to stop.

  “Keep your hands above your head and get on your knees. Now, lay face down and put your hands straight out. Keep your hands where I can see them.”

  Fitz circled around behind Frankie and joined them at their car. Traffic on Prospect slowed down, passersby watching curiously at the scene playing out before them.

  Once the driver complied with his instructions, Mac and Payne quickly moved towards him. Frankie, Mia and Fitz moved forward to the patrol car and continued to scan the area for threats.

  Mac put his knee onto the driver’s shoulder while he put handcuffs on his wrists. Once he was secured, Mac began searching the driver, rolling him on his sides to check the front of his waistband for a weapon.

  “242. You can clear the air. One in custody. Start us a wagon.”

  “219, I’m almost 10-23.”

  “Copy 242. The air is cleared. 219 I have you out with 242 at 1853 hours.”

  Frankie and Mia approached the car Payne was about to search.

  “Hey, hold off on that for a minute. I think I’m going to have the Crime Scene Unit process it. The victim said she was held in the trunk for several hours. There’s bound to be all kinds of evidence in this car.”

  “Do you want to have them come here or take it to the garage?”

  Scanning the area, Frankie said, “Let’s tow it. Then I can bring the victim to pick it up when we are done.”

  “242. Start a tow to this location.”

  “Copy 242. Tow en route.”

  Frankie glanced at the vehicle, then returned to Mac. “Did he have an ID?”

  “Yep. William Kennedy. I was just about to run a check on him.”

  Frankie took the ID and said, “I’ll do it. Go ahead and load him up. Tell the wagon driver I’ll bring a May-I up when I get back to Headquarters.”

  Frankie slid into the driver’s seat of Mac’s patrol car and started entering William’s information into the computer. A few minutes later she had a complete criminal history on William R. Kennedy.

  “What’s he got,” Mia asked.

  “Couple traffic violations and one pop for possession. Doesn’t look like he has any violent criminal history. At least not as an adult. He also only has one address listed. My guess is it’s his momma’s house. I’ll have the Perpetrator Information Center pull his associates when we get back. Maybe we can get Tubby and Corey’s information that way.”

  Chapter 27

  “We can meet you at the lot if you are ready to process the car now,” Sierra said.

  Frankie smiled to herself. Sierra Planck had been a crime scene technician as long as Frankie had been with the department. They had worked many scenes together over the years. She was smart, funny, and very easy to get along with.

  “That sounds good. See you in twenty.” Frankie turned to Mia, “Looks like we can process the car before we talk to William. I’ll have somebody on 4 take the May-I up for us.”

  Frankie called Mac to tell him they would not be meeting him at Police Headquarters. The Investigative Arrest form, otherwise known as a May-I, would be waiting for them in the Domestic Violence Unit on the 4th Floor. All felony arrests required a completed May-I before the jail would let the officer book in the arrest.

  Sierra arrived just as Frankie and Mia entered the gates of the tow lot. The wind had picked up, making them glad they had a garage bay out of the elements to process the car. Sierra jumped out of the van with a camera around her neck and a notepad in her hand.


  “What do we have, ladies?”

  Frankie explained the case facts to Sierra along with the evidence they hoped to find in the car. Once she had all the notes she needed for her report, Sierra began taking photographs. Mia started a photo log and Frankie began taking notes on the car.

  After taking photographs of the exterior, they all donned gloves so they could look inside the car. Frankie started on the driver’s side, looking underneath the seat first, then in the gap between the seats and emergency brake.

  “What do you know?”

  “What did you find?” Sierra and Mia asked in unison.

  “Sierra, would you take a photograph of this for me?” Looking at Mia, she said, “He had a handgun next to his seat.”

  “What do you want to bet he wasn’t planning to give her the car back?” Mia asked.

  While Sierra photographed and recovered the gun, Frankie moved to the passenger side. A McDonald’s bag was sitting on the seat with a couple of French fries lying next to it. Almost as an afterthought, she opened the bag.

  “Yeah, I’d say that’s a pretty good bet,” Frankie said. “Sierra, when you are finished there, please come photograph this.”

  Mia peeked in and said, “Are you freaking serious? When did you start getting a roll of duct tape with your combo meal at McDonald’s?”

  Frankie started laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.

  “I guess instead of a toy, you get a roll of duct tape. I hear it can fix anything.”

  Laughing with Frankie, Mia said, “Yeah, anything but stupid.”

  Sierra joined in the laughter while she worked.

  After they finished with the front of the car, Sierra prepared to open the trunk so she could capture photographs of the contents.

  Frankie said, “Damn, I hope there’s not a body in there.”

  Sierra paused and then asked, “Do you think that’s a possibility?”

  “Heck, anything is possible with this crew,” Mia said.

  Frankie hit the trunk button, and they all held their breath as it popped open. Laughter followed their exhale upon realizing there was nothing but a bunch of clothes inside. The laughter subsided as the odor of stale urine hit their noses.

  “Damn!” Mia exclaimed. “You didn’t mention this.”

  “She didn’t tell me she urinated in the trunk, but it doesn’t surprise me. She was in there for a long time and was terrified. It would be embarrassing to admit, too. I’ll ask her when I call just to make sure it wasn’t one of the men trying to punish and humiliate her more.”

  “Can you imagine being stuck inside this trunk?” Sierra asked as she looked through the clothing. “With all of these clothes? Especially if she urinated. She’s lucky she didn’t suffocate.”

  Sierra grabbed paper sacks from the van and began the methodical process of inventorying the contents of the trunk. Frankie and Mia took note of the remnants of duct tape among all the pieces of clothing.

  “I hope they used their teeth to tear the tape,” Frankie said.

  “Do you need these clothes recovered as evidence or just the tape?” Sierra asked.

  Frankie looked to Mia, “What do you think? I’m leaning towards photographing and releasing the clothes.”

  “We should confirm the item she said he tried to put over her head, but otherwise, I’m not sure what we can get from it. Especially if she is the one that urinated. She was wearing the clothing she was raped in when she went to the hospital, so we already have those. I don’t see signs of anything else and she didn’t say anything about them doing anything to her in the trunk.”

  “Agreed.” Frankie looked to Sierra, “Why don’t we inventory the clothes and put them in our car. I’ll photograph everything at the unit. If we decide to recover anything, we’ll do it there. Chain of custody should be good since we are all here.”

  “Sounds good, let’s finish the inside of the car.”

  Sierra began examining the car for trace hairs and fibers, specifically on the driver’s side of the car. The men could claim they had been in Heather’s car with her consent, but she had been driving when she picked them up. There would be no reason for there to be any traces from anyone but William on anything around the driver’s side. She collected tape lifts of the seats and floorboard, documenting the location of each lift carefully.

  “Did you see this, Frankie?” Mia asked.

  “What?”

  Mia was in the back, looking underneath the front seats.

  “Sierra did you already capture photographs under the seats?”

  “I did. What did you find?”

  Mia removed an EBT card from the floorboard and held it up for Frankie and Sierra to see. “Looks like it belongs to Laronda Cole. Didn’t Bruce say one of the boys’ mommas was named Laronda?”

  “Yeah, I think it was William’s,” Frankie said.

  “Do you want me to dust the car for prints?” Sierra asked.

  “Yes. They can argue anything we find, but the prints will help identify their specific locations in the car.”

  Once she had finished processing for fingerprints, Sierra began collecting swabs of areas the men may have touched for possible touch DNA. Heather did not mention anyone wearing gloves, so the chance of finding DNA was pretty good.

  With the last swab collected, Frankie looked at her watch, “Dang ladies, we have been at this for over 2 hours. I don’t know about you, but I think I’m ready to go talk to this guy. He’s got some explaining to do.”

  Chapter 28

  Frankie checked her phone when she got back to the car, hoping it wasn’t too late to tell her kids good night. 9pm. Tyler’s bedtime was 8:30, but if she hurried, he might still be awake.

  “Hey Keith, is Ty still awake?”

  “Of course, he is. He said he wasn’t going to sleep until you called. Hold on a minute.”

  Frankie stared out the window into the darkness as she waited. It never got easier not being there to tuck her kids into bed at night. Her shift rotated every twenty-eight days, making a routine very challenging. She was lucky her neighbor and best friend Keith was willing and able to help. When he wasn’t available, her parents and sister pitched in. She couldn’t do her job without their help and support.

  “Hey mom! Catch any bad guys today?”

  “As a matter of fact, we did. I’m heading to HQ now to talk to him. How was your day at school?”

  “It was okay.”

  “What was your favorite part of the day?”

  “Recess. Tommy and I played a new game.” Tyler regaled Frankie with the rules of the game he and his friend invented. She smiled at his never-ending imagination.

  When he had finished, Frankie said, “Sounds like a fun game, Ty but you need to get some sleep now.”

  “I know. Will you come and tuck me in when you get home?”

  “You know it. I love you, buddy.”

  “I love you too, mom. And good job today.”

  “Thanks, Ty. Is Dani awake?”

  “Yeah, here she is.”

  Frankie could hear Tyler telling his sister she was on the phone. Softly she said, “Night buddy.”

  “Hey mom.”

  “Hi Angel-girl, how was your day?” Frankie often called her teenage daughter the nickname she had given her as an infant.

  “It was okay. School is so boring. Are you going to be home soon?”

  “You’ll be asleep when I get home. Mia and I are getting ready to do an interview.”

  “Okay. Are you taking us to school tomorrow?”

  “That’s the plan. Do you have any homework?”

  “I’m doing it now.”

  “Okay. Love you Dani.”

  “Love you too, mom. See you in the morning.” Dani disconnected the phone before handing it back to Keith.

  Frankie sent a quick text, “Doing an interview. May be late.”

  “Okay. James is working. Going to sleep on the sofa.”

  Keith was such a good sport whe
n Frankie had to work late. He rarely, if ever, complained. Keith’s partner, James, spent almost as much time with the kids as Keith. Frankie felt very fortunate to have them nearby and willing to help.

  Frankie said, “You ready to get a confession from this guy?”

  Laughing, Mia answered, “Hell yeah.”

  “If you’ll take my bag and start the recording, I’ll go grab him from the jail.”

  “Sounds good, Frankie.”

  Chapter 29

  “Who are you here for Frankie?” asked Claire, one of the detention facility officers assigned to the jail.

  “William Kennedy. Mac brought him in a few hours ago.”

  “Yeah, he’s been asking when a detective was going to come to talk to him. The May-I said he’s being held for kidnapping?”

  “Yep. He and two other men stuffed a woman in the trunk of her car and drove her from an apartment in Wyandotte County to a house here. I’m hoping he’ll give up his buddies. The vic said this guy was pretty decent, but the other two were not. We may be looking at adding conspiracy to his charges once they are identified.”

  “I hope he gives you what you need.”

  Before Frankie could respond, the man she watched get taken into custody on Prospect was standing before her.

  “Mr. Kennedy?”

  He grunted a response.

  “I’m Detective Thomas. My partner, Detective Boden and I would like to speak to you for a few moments if that’s okay.”

  Looking down on her slight frame he grunted another response.

  Frankie guided Kennedy onto the elevator.

  “What’s this about, man?” Kennedy grunted.

  “I’ll explain everything when we get into the interview room.”

  The ride to the fourth-floor interview room was brief. Mia was waiting with a bottle of water and notepad in hand.

  “Please have a seat in that chair,” Frankie said, pointing at the chair farthest from the door and most visible by the camera.

  Reluctantly Kennedy sat in the chair with a thud.

  Frankie spent the next half hour, asking questions unrelated to his arrest. Frankie and Mia worked to build rapport with William so he would relax and let his guard down.