Killing Frank Barnes

by Ruth DuCharme

  Jack felt the bed move as Lizzie tried to carefully get in without waking him. He kept his back to her and pretended to be sound asleep. He wasn’t sure what was eating at him, guilt or envy. She was turning into one of them just as he feared.

  Jack felt fear and anger well up in him and knew he had to do something but he just didn’t know what. He didn’t know how much longer he could pull this off. Maybe Joel had been right? A real life wasn’t for him. No! He had to try a little longer. Maybe he should come clean? She might understand. If he was going to tell Lizzie the truth he had to do it soon. Time was running out.

  Jack lay there pretending to sleep for the next four hours. Finally, when he couldn’t stand it any longer, he got up and went to the kitchen. Maybe a cup of coffee would help.

  Jack started the coffee and frowned at Lizzie’s things piled in the entryway. He bent down and picked up her jacket and bag and fished her shoe out from under the kitchen table. He hung up her jacket and as he put her bag in the closet he noticed some of her papers had fallen out. A sticky note caught his eye. “Frank Barnes,” he read aloud. What was this? It was stuck to a folder that held a small report. He opened it and saw it was the CSI report Lizzie had mentioned.

  Jack heard the toilet flush and knew Lizzie would be up in a moment. Stuffing the file into the back of his jeans, he grabbed a jacket and his car keys and snuck out the door. He ran down the apartment building steps two at a time. He ran to his truck and quickly started it up. Jack drove out of the parking garage and turned left onto their street. He drove about a block away before parking under a tree. He nervously opened the file.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Jack sat there with the open file on his lap but was almost immediately interrupted by his cell phone. It was Lizzie. Jack answered, “Hello?”

  “Where are you?”

  “I just went for a little walk.”

  “Are you coming back soon?”

  “I’m on my way back now.” The file would have to wait. He shoved it under his driver seat and walked the block to his apartment.

  Jack entered the apartment and found Lizzie standing at the stove flipping pancakes.

  “There you are!” said Lizzie. The smell of bacon cooking made Jacks stomach rumble hungrily. Jack took a second to appreciate the sight before him. Even sleepy and rumpled Lizzie looked like an angel.

  “Can you take Sam to school this morning?” Lizzie asked. “I have a little research I need to get done.”

  “Sure, what kind of research?”

  “You’re not going to believe this but I’m pretty sure Dekker lied to me about the fire case.”

  “Lied how?” Jacks ears perked up and a tingle ran down his spine.

  “He had this folder with the tentative victim identification in it. When I asked him about it he refused to show me. He ended up getting pretty angry. He started to sound like you!” She mimicked Dekker and Jack, “‘Leave it alone, Lizzie. You’re just a rookie, Lizzie.’”

  “See I told you.”

  “Yes, you told me. But what reason would he have to lie?”

  “I don’t know. Who was the dead guy?”

  “Hold on let me check the file.” Lizzie went to the closet and searched her gear bag. “That’s weird. It’s not here!”

  “Could you have left it in your car or your locker?”

  “Maybe. I was pretty revved up last night so maybe I misplaced it or left it behind without noticing.”

  The bacon was starting to burn. Lizzie dropped her bag and returned to the stove to turn the heat down. “Oh well, I’ll find it later. I still think it’s weird. The file was incomplete but I’m going to get the original. It just won’t be available for a week or so.”

  Lizzie clearly wasn’t going to let this go and Jack felt he had one last shot to dissuade her. “Why don’t you just leave it? Dekker already told you to drop it and here you are nosing around in something you shouldn’t.”

  Lizzie turned on him with suspicion. “Why are you being so weird about this?”

  “I’m not. I just think you should focus on learning how to be a street cop before poking around into detective business.”

  “That’s what Dekker said.”

  “Well, he’s right. You have a long career ahead of you and detectives don’t necessarily like it when rookies start doing their job for them. They worry you’re going to mess it up somehow.”

  “Frank Barnes!”

  Jack almost fell off his chair. “What?”

  “That’s the dead guy’s name. Frank Barnes. Or at least it could be his name. We aren’t sure yet and I don’t know how they are going to be able to tell for sure if his DNA isn’t in the database.”

  “All you have is his name?”

  “So far. I haven’t gotten time to read the CSI report yet so I’m not sure what else is in it.”

  “Sounds like flimsy information to go on. Just a name. I still think you’re out of your depth here, Lizzie.”

  “So how about you help me instead of constantly warning me. This isn’t the first time we’ve had this conversation, Jack, but you can be sure it’ll be the last. You need to either quit lecturing me and let me do what I need to, or you can help me.”

  Jack looked at her in surprise. She had never gotten this forceful with him before and he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Maybe being around all those guys was making her bold. “Ok, fine.”

  “Fine? What do you mean fine?”

  “I mean, if you feel that strongly about it I guess I have no choice. Tell me what you need from me and I’ll see what can I do.”

  “Really? Oh thank you Jack!” Lizzie left the bacon and reached over to throw her arms around Jack. She planted a wet kiss squarely on his cheek. “Can you look into your agency files and see if you have anything on Frank Barnes? Maybe ask your friends at work if they know anything about Dekker too. It might give me a lead as to where to start. I need to find out about that original case so I can start figuring out who would have motive to kill our dead guy. Just don’t tell anyone you’re looking into this for me. They can’t know I’m poking around.”

  Jack smiled at Lizzie as she turned back to her breakfast making. He had counted on her wanting to keep this a secret. He knew he could use this to his advantage. What better way to keep on top of the investigation as well as misdirect her? He had to make sure Lizzie didn’t ever connect the dots.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  An early morning three-car pile-up on the freeway had derailed Lizzie from pursuing the case file before her shift. She had gotten to work with barely five minutes to spare before briefing. She hadn’t had one minute to herself since. Now She sat in the patrol car waiting for Dekker to finish inside the county courthouse. Lizzie had looked in her locker but still hadn’t been able to find the CSI report.

  Dekker returned to the car thirty minutes later and Lizzie asked if it would be ok to stop by her house for a moment. “I left some paper work on my kitchen table. Is it ok if we stop by my place for a moment? I promise I’ll run in and run out?”

  Dekker sighed, “Ok but lets make it quick. You should come to work fully prepared. This can’t happen again.”

  “Thank you!”

  Lizzie drove the five minutes to her apartment and parked directly in front.

  “Nice apartment. Do you have any roommates?” Dekker asked.

  “No, it’s just me, Sam and Jack.” Lizzie snuck a look at Dekker to see if she registered any surprise on his face.

  “Who’s Jack?”

  “My boyfriend. We’ve been together for a couple of years.”

  “What does he do for a living?”

  Lizzie gulped before replying, “He’s a cop.” Now she had Dekker’s full attention.

  “Oh, is that so? How did I not know this before now?”

  Lizzie tried not to stutter nervously, “I didn’t want people to think I was getting a hand up. I wanted you to think I could do this all on my own without his help.”

 
“And are you?”

  “Sort of.”

  “What do you mean, sort of?”

  “I told him about Frank Barnes.”

  “You did what? That information is not for dissemination! Not only did I tell you to drop the case but now your sharing classified intel with other people?”

  “He’s not just other people! He’s a narcotics cop and he might be able to help.”

  “Help? How? We don’t even know if this is Frank Barnes. And what does an OPD cop know about our case anyway? It’s nowhere near his jurisdiction.”

  “Jack had an idea. He said he would ask around with his guys and see if anyone has had contact with Barnes in the past.”

  “Lizzie, if I have to tell you more time to leave this alone, we are going to have a major problem. O’Connell will hear about it and you’ll hear about it in writing! You don’t want to be the rookie who got written up in her first month of training for insubordination, do you?”

  “No.” Lizzie sat silently looking out the windshield.

  Dekker got control of himself and with a sigh he said, “Ok. Here’s the deal. Let me talk to this boyfriend of yours. What’s his name?”

  “His name is Jack.”

  “Jack. Let me talk to Jack and see about getting information but YOU have to stay out of this from now on. Do you hear me?”

  Lizzie perked up. “Yes sir!” She felt a little brightening of hope. She could put Dekker and Jack in touch with each other and she knew Jack would never keep what he found from her.

  She wrote Jack’s cell number on a page in her notebook. She ripped out the page and handed it to Dekker. “Here you go. I’m going to run up and grab my paperwork and I’ll be right back.”

  “Make it fast.”

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Dekker watched Lizzie enter the vestibule of her apt building. He looked at the paper in his hand and thought about stubborn Lizzie was. Clearly warning her off hadn’t worked. Maybe, Dekker would have to meet her halfway. Jack might prove to be easier to work with. Dekker considered his options. Maybe, using an outside source wasn’t such a bad idea. Maybe, this Jack guy really could help him find out more about Frank Barnes. Dekker wondered if he could find out more about Werner too. Werner and Jack might know each other.

  Dekker decided he was overthinking the problem and puled out his cell to call the number in his hand. He needed make the call before Lizzie came back down. Dekker couldn’t let Lizzie hear any of what he was about to say and he had to make sure he warned Jack not to share any information with her. If Jack loved Lizzie he wouldn’t want her anywhere near this investigation and maybe he could help Dekker keep her in place.

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  After taking Sam to school Jack had driven home in a daze. He had to figure out how to stop of Lizzie from this investigation once and for all. Jack turned the corner onto his street and slowed almost to a stop. What was a police car doing outside of his apartment? A Roland police car! His mind raced with questions. Had they found him? Had they figured out that the body wasn’t his?

  Jack slowly drove past the police car, taking care not to look directly at the sole occupant. Jack recognized Dekker immediately. Jack made a left at the end of the block, parked and then doubled back on foot. He was fairly certain Dekker hadn’t noticed him.

  Jack remained at the corner and spied on the police car from behind a tall hedge. He took out his cell phone and dialed Lizzie.

  Lizzie answered her phone on the first ring. “Hi honey!”

  “Hey babe. What are you up to?”

  “I’m actually at home. I had to run by the house to get something and I wanted you to meet Dekker.”

  “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  “I confronted him about Barnes and, yes, he yelled at me and even threatened to write me up!”

  “So you brought him to our house?”

  “He said he wanted me to leave it alone but he agreed to talk to you.”

  “Talk to me? Why?”

  “You said you could help and he said he wouldn’t mind talking to you.”

  “I see. I’m not near the house so I guess our little meet and greet will have to wait.”

  “But you will answer if he calls, wont you?”

  “Sure.”

  “And you’ll tell me everything he says, right?”

  “I suppose so.”

  Jack’s phone beeped signaling he had another incoming call. He looked down at the number but didn’t recognize it. Jack spoke into the phone, “Hey honey, I gotta go. We are in the city and I’ve got one of my guys calling me.”

  “Copy that! Be safe.”

  Jack didn’t even say goodbye before disconnecting. He peeked around the corner once more.

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Dekker waited in the car while Lizzie ran up to her apartment. Dekker took the opportunity to look at his surroundings more thoroughly. Lizzie’s neighborhood was quaint. It boasted mature trees and sweet buildings. There didn’t seem to be much traffic. In fact, in the last ten minutes, Dekker had only seen one truck drive down the street. Dekker imagined Sam playing ball in the street or riding his bike up the sidewalk. Lizzie had made a good decision moving here.

  Dekker picked up his cell and punched in the number Lizzie had given him. He might as well reach out to Jack while he waited. Dekker listened as the phone rang and rang and eventually went to voicemail. He hung up without leaving a message.

  Dekker wondered what was taking Lizzie so long and decided to get out and go check on her.

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Jack didn’t even say goodbye. He hung up the phone and took another peek at Dekker from around the hedge. Jack watched Dekker get out of the patrol car. Jack wondered what he would do if Dekker made a move to go up to the apartment. He would have to stop him somehow. If Dekker went up he would surely see the photos of Jack and put it all together. Jack knew he couldn’t let that happen.

  Jack wished he had his gun. If he had his gun he could run up on Dekker and put an end to this Barnes investigation. Jack could make sure that Dekker learned the truth and in turn, neither would Lizzie. Jacks thoughts took him by surprise. Had murder become the answer to all his problems? He told himself to think! Think of another way out of this! He would have to manage this situation in a better way; way that didn’t require anyone else getting hurt.

  Jack continued to watch as Dekker approached the apartment building vestibule. Just as Dekker reached for the door, Lizzie came bounding out. Jack exhaled in relief. Jack watched as Lizzie and Dekker got back into their patrol and drive away. He made sure the car was around the corner before coming out from his hiding spot. Jack walked back to the apartment and on the way he formulated his new plan.

  Chapter Sixty

  Jack walked the length of the block to his apartment and let himself inside. He took the stairs two at a time. He entered the apartment and went straight to the spare bedroom to retrieve his stash. He had briefly considered grabbing the drugs and cash and just getting out of town. Going on the run wasn’t the worst idea. He had started over before and he could do it again.

  This whole situation was getting too risky and if he stuck around any longer he was sure to get caught. Then it wouldn’t just be a stint in county jail. It would be death row. There would be no Werner or Johnson to get him out of this. But then there would be no Lizzie either. No Sam. No. He had to fix this a different way.

  Jack grabbed an old backpack and stuffed the money and drugs into it. He zipped it up and slung it over his shoulder. He retrieved the gun from the box and stuffed it into his front jacket pocket.

  Jack went out to the kitchen and grabbed his keys and cell phone from the counter. His phone began to ring. Without looking at the screen to see who was calling, Jack clicked the off button and shoved the phone in his pocket.

  Jack opened the front door and took a quick peek out into the hallway to make sure it was clear. He quickly took the stairs to the ground floor lobby and stood at
the door for a minute casing the street. Nothing moved. Jack quickly walked outside and tried to look nonchalant as he walked the block back to his car.

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Jack made it back to his truck. He got in, stuffed the backpack behind the driver seat and started up the truck. As Jack drove towards the freeway his cell phone buzzed again. Whoever this number belonged to sure wasn’t going to let up until he answered the phone.

  Jack pulled over to the side of the road to answer it. The last thing he needed right now was to get pulled over for using his phone while driving. Jack couldn’t hide the impatience in his voice when he answered the phone. “Hello?”

  “Hi, is this Jack?”

  “Speaking. Who is this?”

  “This is Tom Dekker with Roland PD.”

  Jack felt his lungs collapse and his throat constrict. He didn’t say a word.

  Dekker continued, “I’m Lizzie’s training officer.”

  Jack found his voice, “Is she ok? Did something happen?”

  “No nothing like that. I thought she told you I would be calling. Sorry if I scared you.”

  “Yeah, yeah, sorry. She did tell me she was going to give you my number and I spaced. I’ve been busy. Sorry I haven’t answered all your calls. How can I help you?”

  “Maybe Lizzie told you, we had a case last week in which a murder victim was found in a burning car. We think the victim could be a guy named Frank Barnes.”

  Jack remained silent, waiting to hear what Dekker thought he could do to help.

  Dekker continued, “This Barnes guy used to be an informant of ours. I just thought that maybe you had dealings with him? Lizzie said you worked undercover Orland PD. Our jurisdictions are close enough that its possible you guys came across him in some of your investigations.”