End of the Line

by C. M. Sutter

  I was glad that Frank was finally thinking rationally. The killer needed to be apprehended but not at the risk of Gina’s safety. I prayed that she was still alive, and although Frank gave off the air of being a rough-and-tough cop, I knew he was praying for her safety too.

  After cleaning up the table, I started down the hallway. “Go on to bed, pal. I’m beat. There are clean towels in the guest bathroom.”

  “Thanks, Jesse. I’ll probably be gone before you in the morning. Gotta stop at home and change my clothes.”

  I gave him a head tip before closing my bedroom door. Bandit had already claimed his spot at the foot of the bed. “Good enough. See you in the morning.”

  After a full night’s sleep without a call to a crime scene, I woke up feeling refreshed. We would catch the killer that day and bring Gina home to her apartment. At least that was the plan, but I knew after being a cop for nearly thirteen years, anything could upset the apple cart—and usually did.

  The scent of freshly brewed coffee filled my nose as I walked down the hall with Bandit on my heels. I turned the corner into the kitchen, half expecting to see Frank at the table, but nobody was there. A sound outside caught my attention, and I crossed the living room to see what it was. I twisted the wand on the blinds, and saw Frank backing his truck out of the driveway.

  I chuckled. “Thanks for making the coffee before you left, buddy, and you really need to replace that muffler.” I returned to the kitchen and poured myself a cup. “Hungry, Bandit?” I grinned when he sat up and begged. “You’re one smart dog, dog.” After giving him a scratch behind the right ear, I filled his bowl and headed to the shower.

  Traffic was a nightmare that morning, not unusual for a Friday, but luckily, I still made it to work before roll call. We would have a busy day, and I was raring to go. I was surprised to see that Frank hadn’t arrived yet but chalked it up to traffic on his end too.

  As I walked to the roll call room with my colleagues, my cell phone vibrated in my pocket. The screen told me it was Frank, and I assumed his truck had broken down or something of that nature. I held back while the others continued on.

  “What’s up? You’re late for roll call.”

  “Jesse, he was here.”

  “Who was?”

  “The killer. He was at my house.”

  I heard the concern in Frank’s voice. “How do you know? Tell me everything, and are you still there?”

  “Yep, I’m here, and chances are he’s watching me.”

  “Jesus, Frank!”

  Frank continued. “I walked out my front door to leave, and there was a box on my porch. It wasn’t there when I got home earlier, so what does that mean? Was he watching your house and then followed me home?”

  I paced the hallway. “Hell if I know. What’s in the box? Did you open it?”

  Frank let out a slow breath through the phone line and I was sure I heard his voice crack.

  “It’s Gina’s ponytail. He enclosed a note in the box, too, that says I’m in a race against time.”

  “Damn it! Insinuating what?”

  “I don’t know, but I assume it’s about how long Gina lives. That’s all he wrote. I imagine there’s more clues to come. He’s toying with us, and what he sent so far is probably meant to unhinge me.”

  “Sounds like it, but how does he know that you’re close to Gina?”

  “I don’t have those answers, partner.”

  “Okay, sit tight. We don’t know if he monkeyed with your truck, so don’t leave the house. We’re coming to you. I’ll call you back when we’re en route. And Frank?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Keep your gun at the ready.” I hung up and raced to the roll call room, barged in, and interrupted Lutz’s updates. “Boss! Sorry to cut in, but the killer was just at Frank’s house. He left a box behind with Gina’s ponytail and a threatening letter inside. We have to get over there and have Forensics check it out, and we need to make sure Frank’s truck hasn’t been tampered with.”

  “Son of a bitch! Okay, this meeting is over. Shawn and Henry, grab three officers and head to Frank’s house now—lights and sirens engaged. I’ll tell Forensics, and then Jesse and I will head out too. The rest of you hang back in case he calls the station with other threats.”

  Chapter 53

  Lutz clamped on the brakes, and the cruiser squealed to a stop in front of Frank’s condo. It was 8:50 a.m., and as everyone arrived, the officers were directed to search Frank’s truck from top to bottom. The rest of us funneled into the house and gathered at the kitchen table, where Frank showed us the contents of the box. He looked angry but also concerned, and I was sure it was because of the ponytail.

  We slipped on gloves and snapped a few pictures of the box and ponytail while we waited for Forensics to arrive.

  “You didn’t notice anybody following you this morning?” Lutz asked.

  “No, but I wasn’t watching for it either. I didn’t hear a car outside or anyone on the porch, but my bedroom is on the opposite side of the condo, and I was in there changing clothes. I was only home for fifteen minutes. The killer had to have followed me from Jesse’s house, meaning he knows where both of us live.”

  Lutz rubbed his wrinkled brow. “We should have assumed that, since he already knew your names. Finding your addresses was his next step and not something that’s difficult to do.” Lutz walked to the window and turned the wand on the blinds. He peered out and took in a deep breath. “He could be watching us right now, and since we don’t know what he looks like, he could get away with anything.” The commander slapped his hands together. “We’re setting up shop right here temporarily. I’ll get Judge Hendricks on the phone for that warrant right now, and you guys get the security company on the horn. We need to see that killer’s face so it’s us that’s doing the hunting, not the other way around.” Lutz left a message with the judge’s secretary and told her he needed a callback about a warrant as soon as possible.

  Frank spoke up as soon as Lutz ended the call. “What happens if we do get his face, enter it in the system, and it comes up with a hit?”

  “Then we ambush him,” Lutz said.

  Frank shook his head. “It isn’t too much of a leap to go from slicing off Gina’s ponytail to slicing her throat. The last thing we want is for him to use her as a human shield.”

  Lutz held up his hands. “Okay, okay, I understand, and we aren’t going to risk her life. First things first, though. Let’s see if he’s on camera.”

  A knock on the door sounded, and Lutz answered. The lead officer reported that no tracking device or bomb was found in Frank’s truck and none of the lines had been cut.

  “Good. Secure the perimeter and watch the street.” Lutz returned to our conversation. “Okay, make that call.”

  Henry read aloud the phone number for Safe Home Security Systems as Frank tapped the phone keys and pressed Speakerphone. With the phone lying on the table, we gathered around and listened as it rang.

  A woman picked up on the third ring. “Safe Home Security Systems. How may I direct your call?”

  “This is Detective Mills with the homicide unit of the Chicago Police Department. I need to speak with the person who handles the monitoring accounts for the camera doorbell systems.”

  “That would be Charles Pike. One moment, please.”

  As we waited, I poured coffee for everyone, and seconds later, Lutz’s phone rang. He had a short back-and-forth conversation then gave us the thumbs-up. The warrant for Leslie’s account was approved, and we would have access to every doorbell video of hers that was stored in the cloud.

  Frank cleared his throat when Charles Pike picked up on the other end of the call. As long as the company was actually monitoring Leslie’s account, we would be in business.

  “Cloud Storage, this is Charles Pike speaking.”

  Frank introduced himself and asked if Leslie Adams from Dearborn Park had a monitoring account on her doorbell camera.

  “I’d need that accoun
t number, sir.”

  “I’ve already given you her name, so look it up that way.”

  “If you don’t have her account number, then her PIN will do.”

  “Mr. Pike, I have a warrant for that information, and I intend to serve it on your company today, but right now, I need to know if her camera footage was stored in the cloud, and I need to know that immediately.”

  “One moment.”

  Frank’s face turned a deep shade of red. I told him to have a seat, then I pushed a cup of coffee in front of him. “Drink that and calm down.”

  He closed his eyes, and I was sure he was mentally counting backward from ten.

  Charles Pike returned to the phone. “Detective Mills?”

  “Yep?”

  “I’ll give you that information as a courtesy, but you’ll need to present that warrant to actually see the footage.”

  “So you do have her videos on hand?”

  “Yes, we can access them from the cloud.”

  “Good. We’ll be there soon with that warrant.” Frank clicked off the call and sucked in a deep breath. “Finally, something is going our way.”

  Lutz spoke up. “You’re staying here.”

  “What!”

  “You heard me. If that killer has an agenda for you, then you need to be available to answer the door, answer your phone, or comply with his demands. It’s the only way to track him down unless we’re lucky and get a hit on him using the facial recognition software. I’m having the officers stay behind, too, and watch your house. If the killer contacts you, I want a call immediately. Is that understood?”

  Frank nodded. He was clearly upset by Lutz’s orders but complied. We all knew it was the right move. Lutz, Henry, Shawn, and I took off in our cruisers. Lutz and I had to stop at the courthouse first and pick up the warrant. Doing that would speed up the process exponentially. Lutz told Henry and Shawn to continue on to the security company, make the introductions, and have everything ready to go with Charles Pike once we arrived. We figured we’d be there in forty minutes.

  Chapter 54

  Richard grinned at Gina while enjoying his freshly brewed coffee. Earlier, he had given her a few sips of water—along with a punch to the face for good measure. Richard had never kept anyone hostage, although he didn’t quite view Gina as just a hostage. She would die—that was a fact—but Richard wasn’t getting the immediate rush of adrenaline he had grown accustomed to by keeping her prisoner. Slapping and punching her was his only outlet until the exact moment when he would slit her throat.

  And Detective Mills will witness the blood draining from her body just before I kill him too.

  Richard’s teeth chattered with excitement. Looking at Gina, he bit into the warm cheese Danish and rolled his eyes. “This tastes amazing. I can hear your stomach growling from across the room, Gina. You must be starving by now. I mean you haven’t eaten anything since that chicken dinner last night. Good thing you chowed that down like a hungry dog. Speaking of dogs, you do realize how foolish you look, right? Sorry about chopping off your ponytail, but I had to get my point across to the detective. Don’t worry. It’ll grow back. Oh, wait. No, it won’t.” Richard laughed. “It can’t grow back because you’ll be dead.”

  “I hate you! You’re a lying, demented psychopath who gets his kicks from killing innocent people.”

  Richard scooted his chair closer. He wanted her to smell the coffee and see how much he was enjoying the Danish. “Interesting descriptions, Gina. So Brad Risack and Manny Aragon—the two men who murdered your sister—were innocent? Hmm, maybe you were in on it. Did that whore have a stash of money you wanted to get your hands on?”

  “Shut up! My sister was a wonderful human being. She was just trying to make an—”

  Richard chuckled. “Were you about to say an honest living?”

  Gina’s tears dripped to the floor as she looked down.

  “Yep, that’s what I thought.” Richard licked the icing off his fingers and stood. “I’d let you lick my fingers, but I know you’d bite them.” He circled around to Gina’s back as she tried to look over her shoulder to see what he was doing. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a balled-up rag. “It kind of sucks that you don’t have that ponytail anymore. There’s nothing for me to grab except your head.” In an instant, Richard reached around and pinned her head against his leg. He knelt behind her and squeezed her cheeks between his fingers. “Open your mouth!”

  She clamped her teeth tightly and tried to fight him off, but the fist to her temple knocked her for a loop.

  “See what happens when you don’t obey, you stupid bitch. It’s taking everything I have not to slit your throat right now.” He jammed the rag into her mouth, tightened her restraints, walked out, then locked the door at his back. The race against time was about to begin, and Detective Mills was on the clock.

  Chapter 55

  Henry and Shawn were waiting in the lobby when we arrived at the Safe Home Security Systems building. They had already checked in with Charles Pike, and he was gathering Leslie’s data and videos for us but wouldn’t release them until he had the warrant in hand.

  “Right this way,” Henry said.

  He led us down several hallways to Mr. Pike’s department, where a dozen or so cubicles filled the large office space. I assumed that behind each divider was a person pitching the monitoring service that was available for a nominal fee to the doorbell camera owners.

  Henry knocked on the door that had Charles Pike’s name on a plaque. He called out for us to come in. With the warrant ready to present, Lutz entered first and introduced himself as the commander for our homicide unit. Mr. Pike stood and reached across his desk to shake Lutz’s hand. The rest of us hung back.

  “Mr. Pike, I’d like to cut to the chase since a woman’s life hangs in the balance,” Lutz said. “Here is the warrant for every video your company has stored in the cloud for Leslie Adams.”

  Charles Pike opened the document and read it. “Everything looks to be in place. It will include all doorbell footage from the time our company started monitoring her account. Now, all I need is an email address to send her files to.”

  Lutz gave me a nod, and I rattled off my email address. Having the footage on my computer in the bullpen made more sense. We could all watch it together.

  I couldn’t wait to get to the precinct. We thanked Mr. Pike and left.

  “What about Frank?” I asked as Lutz headed south.

  “Call him and see if anything has happened since we left his place.”

  My phone rang just as I pulled it from my pocket. It was Frank. “That’s weird. Mills is calling me.” I swiped the green phone icon and answered. “Hey, buddy, we’re heading back to the station with the log-in and link to Leslie’s cloud-storage account. I was about to call you. I’m putting you on Speakerphone.”

  “Jesse, shut up for a second. The killer just contacted me and said I had to get on the Green Line at Forty-Seventh Street and ride it to the end at Ashland and Sixty-Third.”

  “Why?”

  “How the hell would I know? Probably so he can try to ambush me. He said I need to get off there, go to the return platform, and ride it back to Garfield. Once I’m there, he’ll call me.”

  Lutz chimed in. “He definitely has something in mind, and he’s giving you the runaround, but that’s good for us.”

  “How so?”

  “He’s familiar with you and Jesse, but he doesn’t know what any of the other guys look like. I’m going to put Henry and Shawn on the Green Line ahead of you at Indiana so they can start scouting out the scene. If we get a hit on the perp in the database, we’ll send his photo to everyone’s phone. You’re the bait, but little does he know that we’re turning the tables on him. No matter what, if he is following you, Henry and Shawn will have your back.”

  “Okay, I’m up for that. We just need to find out who he is and where he lives, and hopefully, that’ll be where he has Gina stashed. I’m really praying that she’s still
alive.”

  Lutz groaned. “And so are we, Frank. We’ll let you know if we get a hit on his name. Either way, we’ll send his image to everyone’s phone. I’ll keep the officers at your house just in case he’s trying to draw you out so he can set a trap.”

  “Appreciate it, Boss.”

  Lutz had me call Henry and tell him the change of plans. They were to head to the Indiana subway station and board the train. After that, they needed to stay in constant contact with Frank.

  I ended the call just as Lutz pulled into our lot. I couldn’t wait to log on to Leslie’s account and finally see the perp’s face right in front of us. His would be the last image caught before he ripped the doorbell from the wall.

  I jerked my head at the back entrance to our building. “Let’s go see who we’re dealing with.”

  The only detectives left in the bullpen were Tony and Kip, and two officers were also present. Lutz grabbed my guest chair and scooted it to my side as I took a seat, jiggled the mouse, and woke up my computer.

  “Okay, it’s time to reveal yourself, asshole.” I opened the email sent by Charles Pike, highlighted Leslie’s log-in, and entered that information into her cloud storage account with Safe Home Security Systems. Dozens of videos popped up, all people who rang her doorbell over time. I scanned the tabs, looking for one that would let us see the videos by date.

  “There.” Kip pointed at the top left of the screen. “That drop-down menu is for entering the date.”

  I clicked the tab and saw that it went by the month. I entered May and tapped the date for Wednesday, two days earlier. The camera was motion activated, but it looked like it caught movement only forty feet or so out. It didn’t catch passing cars on the street, which was good for us. “Here we go.” The camera caught Frank and me walking up the sidewalk to the porch. Frank extended his hand and rang the bell. The video was clear and crisp, and both of us fit into the frame.

  “This is perfect,” Lutz said.