by C. E. Nelson
Trask looked around the room while Daniel watched. It was dark. The only light provided by a low-wattage floor lamp by the loveseat and the light filtering in from the kitchen. But even in the dark Trask could see the walls were empty. Nothing. There were no pictures sitting on any tables or anything on the mantel of the fireplace. It was like Daniel had just moved his furniture in and hadn’t had time to decorate. There was a glare on the window from the lamp, and Trask wondered what Daniel had put over the glass. Maybe something to block the UV rays?
“You should try your whiskey, Agent. I assure you, it is very good.”
Trask watched Daniel take a sip and then brought his glass to his nose. He took a drink, holding the liquid in his mouth for a moment before swallowing. Good stuff, expensive. He tried to see the label on the bottle on the bar, but it was too dark.
“Well Agent Trask, to what do I owe this honor? And at such a late hour.”
Trask studied Daniel. The man was in faded blue jeans and a red polo. He was wearing loafers but no socks. Wide awake. Daniel had been up and waiting for him. But why hadn’t he seen any light in the house?
“I’m looking for a lost child, Daniel.”
“Oh no, not again.”
“Yes, again. A small boy this time.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that. A missing child can simply devastate everyone involved...and even some who were never involved.”
Trask’s eyes narrowed. There was no masking Daniel’s comment. Daniel took another sip and then cradled the tumbler in his lap.
“Well, I’m so sorry, but I really can’t help you. I haven’t seen any lost boys here.” Daniel drank some more and then stood. “Can I top you off?”
Trask looked down at his glass. “No, no thanks.” He took another sip as he watched Daniel go to the bar and pour more whiskey in his glass before returning to his chair.
Daniel smiled. “You know, Agent, I really owe you a measure of thanks.”
Trask was lost. He’d made this guy’s life hell. Cost him his job, made him change his name and move. “How’s that?”
“After I lost my job, I couldn’t find anyone that would hire me. Odd for someone in my field where there is so much demand, but that’s the way it was. Anyway, it forced me to go into business for myself. It took a little while but now I have more work than I need and am making so much that I only have to work when I feel like it. All thanks to you.”
Trask drained the last of his drink, crunching an ice cube with his teeth. “You’re welcome.”
Daniel laughed. “Come on now, Agent. I know we’ve been enemies in the past, but let’s let bygones be bygones as they say.” He held his drink out in front of him. “What do you say, Agent?”
Trask stared hard at Daniel. Shook the last cube in his glass and then tipped the glass to his mouth, the cube going in. He crunched it up like the other.
“You must have just one more,” said Daniel. “It’s a whiskey I’ve been holding just for you.”
Trask could feel the crushed ice move down his throat, but he also felt a little tipsy, off-balance. Daniel was standing in front of him now. Trask wasn’t sure how he got there. He looked up at the man smiling down at him.
“Are you all right, Agent?”
Trask tried to stand, but his arms seemed not to have the strength to push him up.
Daniel laughed again. “You may as well just sit there and be comfortable, Agent. I don’t think you’re going anywhere.”
Trask attempted to pull out his gun, but Daniel moved behind him and pulled it out before Trask’s arm was off his lap.
Daniel showed him the gun, held with two fingers like it was full of germs. “We’ll just put this away. You won’t be needing it anymore.” He walked to the kitchen, put the gun on the bar, and poured himself some more whiskey. Walked back to Trask and held the glass in front of him, staring at it. “You know I never really drank whiskey before you came into my life. I used to follow you around, sometimes into bars and restaurants, and watched you drink the stuff. Thought I better try it because you seemed so intent on drinking as much of it as you could.” Daniel giggled. “Anyway, I got so I liked it. So, thanks for that.”
Daniel took another sip and looked down to see Trask blinking furiously trying to keep his eyes open. Trask opened his mouth to say something, but his tongue failed him and only a moan escaped.
“How did I drug you? Quite easy. All those times I watched you drink, you always took your drink on the rocks. I put a sedative in your cubes.”
There was a satisfied smirk on Daniel’s face. Trask tried to use the sight to fuel his anger, to keep him awake, but his eyes soon closed, his head falling to his shoulder.
Daniel watched him for a moment, his pinched smile turning to a frown. “Now, Agent Trask, it is time for you to suffer like I did.”
Chapter 39
Seton could barely keep his eyes open. He was about to go home when he saw the picture. P. Gonzales. Pablo AKA Paul. Read the file. Called Peale and left a message. Walked to Stoxon’s office to see him with his head down on the desk.
“Larry.”
Stoxon lifted his head, eyes wide.
“Found him.”
Seton took Stoxon through what he knew about Paul Gonzales.
“So, do we know who the guy worked for?”
“Not that I can see. We can talk to the DEA in the morning to see if they know more.”
“Had Trask ever run across him?”
“Not that I know.”
Stoxon stared ahead, his eyes glazed.
“We need to shut this down, Larry. Go home, get some rest, go to church and pray for some divine inspiration in the morning.”
Stoxon felt drained. Like a failure. Felt like crying.
“Come on, Larry,” said Seton as he helped Stoxon stand. “You did good. We’ll figure this out, only not anymore tonight.”
Stoxon sighed, his chin dropping. There had to be something more he could do.
Jenkins sat in her car, watching the bar close. Last call drunks spilling into the street, walking to their cars. “Better get out of here before I get hit.” She went back to Lake Phalen and let herself into Trask’s building. Checked to see his car was not in the garage and went up to the condo. She walked through the condo, flipping on the lights as she went. Started in the kitchen, going through the cabinets, not sure what she was looking for. Saw the whiskey bottle and pulled it down, setting it on the counter. Thought about Trask, about his drinking. Thought she might cry.
“Damn you, Trask.”
She returned the bottle to the cabinet and continued her search. Went through the living room cabinets. Found some bills and unopened mail in a cubby. In Trask’s bathroom she found an unopened prescription bottle of pain pills that had expired a year earlier. She remembered visiting Trask in the hospital after he had nearly been killed with a metal folding chair to his head.
“Tough guy.”
She flushed the pills and walked back into his bedroom. Went through his closet and dresser, finally coming across the cabinet with the open safe. Gun. Had to be a gun.
“What are you doing, Trask?”
Jenkins looked at her phone. It was nearly two. Pushed the call button.
“Hello, Mel.”
The voice did not sound sleepy at all. The voice sounded wide awake.
“I’m at Don’s place. I found a small open safe in his bedroom. Do you know what he kept in it?”
Dave Trask shook his head. “Damn. Had to be a gun.”
“That’s what I’m guessing. We need to find him. Fast.”
“OK, I’m leaving now. Where will I meet you?”
“I’ll be at Daniel’s place. It’s the only place I can think of where he might be.” She found Daniel’s address and gave it to Dave. “Should we call Minnetonka in on this?”
“Oh shit. I don’t think so. Not yet. We really have nothing that says Don is even there. He could be after the guys that set him up.”
Jenkins h
ad forgotten about that. “OK, I’ll meet you there.”
“Mel?”
“Yeah?”
“Do not go in without me. Get some coffee. Wait. Promise?’
“Yeah. See you there.”
Jenkins looked around Trask’s empty condo. She did not want to wait.
Chapter 40
Grace had three cops with him, none happy about trucking through a bug-infested sauna late on a Saturday night. They met in front of Little’s house. All wore long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and boots. They were going to be hot. Grace pulled bug spray from his car, and they took turns spraying each other down. Closed their eyes as they were sprayed, but they still breathed some in and ended up coughing. Each man had a bottle of water and a flashlight.
Grace led them to the edge of the woods behind the Little’s house where Michael had entered to show them his fort earlier in the day. Where Seton and his team had walked. Shined a light on the ground looking at all the tracks there. All the mud.
“OK, we’ve got lots of activity in this area from earlier. We’ll follow this trail to the creek. Look for any footprints or sign that someone has left the trail.”
Grace flashed his light ahead and then down at the ground. It was a trampled mess. Walked along the edge of the woods to the right and found places where someone had either walked in or out. Went back to the left of the trail and found the same thing. Some places there were big prints, other places just trampled weeds and grass. The officers waited. His plan had been to send two officers down the edge of the creek one way while he and the other officer walked the edge toward the park.
“Shit.”
He walked back to the group. “OK, we’ve got multiple points of entry or exit along here. We need to follow these and see if any lead away.” He assigned two officers to look to the left while he and the other started to the right.
The officer with Grace looked at a trampled area and then shined his light into the woods, toward the creek. “What do we do if the trail goes into the creek?”
Grace hadn’t considered that. A big kid like Michael could wade right in, maybe go all the way across. “We’ll worry about that if we come to it.”
Palm called the hospital. Was told that Cheryl Little was sedated and would not likely wake until noon or later on Sunday. What had Cheryl Little said? The park or a few of the neighbors.
He called the cops looking at the video in the mall. Nothing so far.
He called Grace.
“Where are you?”
“In the mud. You coming?”
“By the creek?”
“Yeah, behind the Littles.”
“OK. I’m going to check out the park.”
“I’m heading that way along the creek.”
“Don’t shoot me.”
“I’m sure the mosquitoes will have sucked out all of my blood long before I get there.”
“Good to know.” Palm paused. “I think someone close has the boys. Both boys. We need to get into the neighbor’s houses.”
“You going to try for a warrant?”
“No, never get it. After I’m done at the park I’m going to go bang on doors, wake people up. Tell them we need to search every house in the area in case Austin got in some way on his own.”
“At this time? You think people will buy that?”
“We’ll see. Call me when you’re done. You can join me.”
Jenkins had tried to drive slowly to Minnetonka, but her foot wouldn’t let her. She found the Burger King in the mall parking lot. Walked in just as Palm was walking out. They nodded to each other, looked back over their shoulders after they passed, and then on their way. Cops generally can pick out another cop.
Jenkins grabbed a Coke and sat at the same table Palm had occupied. Decided to wait for Dave there and called him to tell him where she would be. He said he was about an hour out. Jenkins sat back and sipped her drink as her stomach growled. Looked quickly around to see that there was no one who noticed and was relieved to see she was the only one in the building.
She decided she could maybe stand a little something to eat, not much, maybe one of those apple pie things. She walked up to the counter and stared at the menu. A greasy-haired kid asked if he could help her. Jenkins was about to order the apple pie when she saw it. OREO cookie cheesecake. She loved Oreos, loved cookies, and loved cheesecake. Her mouth started to water.
“Um, how’s the OREO cheesecake?”
“Way good. Have two pieces myself on break like every day.”
Jenkins looked at the kid’s eyes, guessed he was maybe a little high, but ordered the cheesecake anyway. Took it back to her booth and forked a bite into her mouth. Closed her eyes, leaned her head back and moaned. Before she knew it, the cheesecake was gone. She was sucking on her fork and then licking the wrapper.
It was no use. She walked back up to the counter and ordered another piece.
“I know,” said the kid. “You can’t eat just one.”
Jenkins had decided that her Coke was not the best accompaniment to the cheesecake and ordered coffee to go with her second piece. Took both back to her booth. Controlled herself a little better this time, but found she was still licking her fork for every morsel again after she had finished. She looked at her phone. Trask could still be awhile. Looked back up at the counter and the menu above. A picture of the cheesecake flashed on the screen.
“Oh man.”
Jenkins resisted for as long as she could, was about to get up and order another piece when Dave walked in. He saw her in the corner, waved, and then went to the counter. Got a coffee and walked to her table, sitting next to her.
“How you doing?”
“Had enough caffeine so I should be awake for a couple of days.”
Dave looked at the empty cheesecake packages. Picked one up. “Must be pretty good?”
“Um, one of those was there when I sat down. Just thought I would give it a try.”
“How is it?”
She looked at the wrapper in his hand and started to salivate again. “OK.”
“So, have you got a plan?”
“Not really. I mean we don’t even know if Don is there for sure. He could be back home by now for all I know.”
“But you don’t think so?”
“No. I left a message for him to call me as soon as he gets in on the bar in the kitchen, and in case he missed that, I taped one on his door. Not to mention all the phone messages.”
“OK. So why don’t we drive over there and at least see if his car is there.”
Chapter 41
Daniel had moved Don’s car into his garage. He had walked north on Creekside Drive for two blocks and then had gone the other way before he found it. Brought Don’s key fob with, clicking the open button at the couple of cars he came to until Trask’s car responded with flashing lights. Drove it back to his house and put it in the empty stall next to his car.
Daniel walked back into the house, depositing Trask’s keys on the counter next to the gun. He stood in front of Trask who was sprawled on the couch. “This won’t be easy.”
Daniel moved the table away from the couch and then bent, grabbing one of Trask’s ankles in each hand. Lifted the legs and backed away. Daniel didn’t think the man was going to move at first, but then he slid off the couch where he ended up with his back against the couch before tipping sideways. Daniel was not a strong man. He dropped Trask’s legs, put his hands on his thighs, and breathed hard. Walked over to the kitchen, put some water in a glass, and then walked back to look at Trask.
“Shit.”
Daniel put his glass on the table and then bent at the waist, picking up Trask’s legs again. This time he tucked an ankle under each of his armpits, grasping Trask by the thighs. Backing away again, turning the limp body towards the kitchen as he did. He inched along, working hard, thinking he was going to have to figure out some other way to move Trask, when the body moved off the rug and onto the hardwood floor and slid.
Daniel drop
ped Trask’s legs in the middle of the kitchen and rested. Picked up his glass of water and sipped as he leaned on the counter and caught his breath. He looked across the kitchen to the doorway leading to the stairs to the lower level. Thought he could make it this time. Walked across the kitchen to open the door to the stairs and then came back to Trask. “OK, here we go.”
He made it to the stairs. Thought about resting but decided he might as well keep going. The stairs would be easy.
They weren’t. The stairs were carpeted in a short, tight nylon weave, a mixture of brown and tan that hid dirt well. Daniel had slipped on the stairs in his leather slippers a couple of times and figured Trask would just slide down. It was a little awkward going down the stairs backwards. Daniel looked down as he went, putting one foot at a time on each step, sliding Trask across the floor to the threshold as he went. He almost lost his balance on the second stair but held tight to Trask’s legs, the weight of the body stabilizing him.
As Daniel moved down to the fourth step, Trask’s butt slid over the edge of the landing. Daniel almost lost his balance again. He blew out a breath and then looked down. He put one foot on the next step and then the other, but Trask did not move with him, and he found himself leaning up the stairs, his face nearly in Trask’s crotch. Leaned on Trask’s knees and looked up. Trask’s torso, with arms stretched above, did not want to move off the landing. He guessed maybe Trask’s belt was hung up on the edge, but there was no way to get around him to check. If he could just get the body on the stairs, he was sure it would slide.
Daniel stepped down one step further. Leaned forward, grabbed Trask by the ankles, and tugged. Trask didn’t move. Daniel took a deep breath and pulled again.
Trask’s belt had been caught on the edge of the landing but now it came free, along with the rest of him. Daniel could do nothing to stop it. He fell backwards, Trask’s ankles still in his grip at first, but then he let go, trying to catch himself as he tumbled backwards down the stairs. It was too late. He somersaulted once before his shoulders and then his head hit the tiled floor on the lower level. There was a flash of light, and then Daniel blacked out.
