He rang her bell twenty minutes and one drink later. Davey was sitting in her desk chair, his fingers flying over the keys, while she hovered over his shoulder.
“This is perfect,” he said after about fifteen minutes. “Her firewall and antivirus software are crap. I’ve logged in as administrator and you now have full access to her e-mail. Just click here.” He pointed to a small icon at the bottom of her screen.
“What about the camera?”
“She’s got a webcam built into her system.” Davey began a detailed description of its properties, but she stopped him midstream.
“Can I see her?” She noticed her hands were shaking as she set her drink back down on the desk.
“Oh, sure. Just click on this icon here.” He pointed to an icon that looked like a miniature camera. “Here, I’ll show you.” He clicked on it and a window popped up, about three-quarters the size of her own screen.
She stared at the laptop, then pulled him out of the desk chair, taking his place. “It looks like her bedroom.” Half of her bed and a chair in the corner were visible. She continued to stare. “But I don’t hear anything. Isn’t there sound?”
“There’s sound. But the microphone isn’t that great on these models. You’ll only be able to hear things that are in that room, and maybe in the next room.”
Just then she saw a huge black and white cat jump up on the corner of the bed and stare at the screen. “Look,” she murmured, trying to talk without moving her lips. She slowly pointed to the screen, trying not to startle the cat. “Are you sure he can’t see me?” She clenched her teeth, barely moving her lips.
“I’m positive. Here, watch.” He screamed at the laptop and the large cat didn’t move. “See? If he could see or hear us, he’d have run away.”
The cat jumped from the bed to the desk and his face filled the screen. “When he moved it was all jittery,” she said.
“That’s because the resolution is crap. She needs a better webcam.”
“Can I keep this up all the time? Even when I do other things?”
“Sure. Just minimize it, and it’ll still be in the corner.” He demonstrated. “If you close it, it’ll disappear and you’ll have to click on the icon again to see it. You can do that if you don’t want someone to know you’re hooked up.” He winked at her.
“Thanks, Davey. You’re amazing. Is there something I can get for you?”
“Well, there is this really cool Mac I’ve had my eye on for a while, but it’s pretty pricey.” He shrugged.
“Is it under fifteen grand?”
“Hell, yeah.”
“Do you need my actual credit card or can you order it online?” She still couldn’t take her eyes off her laptop, fascinated by the inside of Toni’s bedroom.
“Online,” he said.
She pulled herself away from the screen just long enough to write down her credit card information for him. “Here you go. Order whatever you want, up to fifteen grand. Just let me know the total, okay?” She trusted him inherently and knew he’d never do anything but order computer things.
“Wow. Thanks, sis. You’re the best. I’m going to go home right now and order it. Is there anything else you need me to do?”
“Just keep up with our supply and I’m good.” She stood up and hugged her brother. “Now go on, get yourself a new system. And thanks.”
He grinned like a little kid and hurried out the door. She made herself another drink and sat back down in front of her laptop. It’s in her bedroom. How lucky was that?
Boggs had polished off three slices of her favorite—beef and bacon—but noted that Toni hadn’t even finished her first piece. Not a good sign, she thought.
“I know I need food, but I still feel a bit sick, like a hangover I guess.” Toni sipped at her soda. “I guess I drank too much.”
“You didn’t drink, sweetie. It’s the drug.”
“The nurse there told us that you might feel that way most of the evening,” Vicky said. “Can you tell us what you remember?”
Toni shook her head. “God, the drug. I keep feeling like I drank.” She looked at Vicky. “What did you just ask me?”
“What do you remember?”
“Well, Doug Bradley called me this morning, telling me he had information about Kevin Tucker. I met him at Homer’s at two.”
“We’ve got an APB out for him now. Do you remember any vehicles in the parking lot,” Vicky asked.
Toni seemed to think for a moment, her face slack, as if she really was hungover. “Things are so fuzzy. I’m sorry.”
Johnnie put her arm on Toni’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. You’re doing great. Just tell us whatever you remember.”
The gesture didn’t escape Boggs. She felt her anger rise and noticed she was clenching her fists. Let it go. She’s just being supportive. She took a deep breath and tried to focus on what Toni was saying.
“Well, I think there were six cars in the lot. I remember wondering who in the hell goes to a tavern in the middle of the afternoon.” She laughed. “Oh, wait. Doug was driving Kevin Tucker’s Pontiac. He pointed to it from the window.”
“Hang on one sec,” Vicky said, flipping open her phone. “I’m going to call Captain Billings so he can put out the word to look for Tucker’s car.” A couple minutes later she said, “Okay, go on. Can you remember any other people there?”
“Well, there was Homer.” She smiled. “And I think there was a couple at a table and a woman at the other end of the bar. And I could hear people in the back somewhere.” She took another sip of her soda. “I saw Doug at the bar. He looked nervous and was drinking a beer, so I went over and introduced myself.”
“Did you have a drink?” Johnnie asked.
“Yeah, well, I ordered a Sprite. But it tasted okay,” she said apologetically.
“It doesn’t have any taste, babe. You’d never know.” Boggs said. “Was there anyone else near you, besides Doug?”
“No. At least I don’t think so. We got our drinks and he rambled about his friendship with Kevin.”
“And he told you about having Tucker’s car?” Vicky asked.
“Yeah. No, wait. He showed me. He pointed out the window.”
“So you went over to the window from the bar?” Vicky was sipping her beer and sat up straighter.
“That’s right. After Homer brought us our drinks, I paid for them. Then Doug went over to the window and motioned for me to follow. He pointed to the car in the lot, then we went back to the bar and he just started rambling.”
“I bet that’s when your drink got spiked,” Boggs said, imagining the scene. “Did you see anyone leave the bar or walk around?”
Toni shook her head. “I can’t remember much. It’s all so hazy. But I wasn’t really paying attention to anyone but Doug. Damn it. How could I have been so stupid?”
Again Johnnie touched Toni’s shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself. It could have happened to any of us. That shit has no taste and if it’s in liquid form, it doesn’t take long to kick in.”
That was the second time she touched her, Boggs thought. She gritted her teeth. What the hell? Did she think she could just move in on Toni like this with her sitting across the room? She glared at Johnnie and apparently Vicky noticed because she shot her a look and mouthed, “Cool it.” Boggs bit back a retort and tried to let it go.
“But why would this guy want to drug you?” Jessie asked. “Am I missing something? I mean, why drug someone and then disappear?”
“I have no idea,” Vicky said. “And I don’t think you’re missing anything.” She smiled at the young officer, who blushed in response.
“He probably ran because you got hurt,” Johnnie offered.
“Wait,” Toni said. She sat on the edge of the couch. “I vaguely remember someone else. Like there was someone else with Doug and me as we went outside. Was there anyone there with me when the ambulance came?”
“No,” Vicky answered. “I talked to Homer and he said you were just sit
ting on the floor inside when you called for him. So that would make sense to me. If someone was working with Doug, they wouldn’t stick around. Maybe that’s the person who’s obsessed with you.”
“We have to find out what happened before the ambulance arrived,” Jessie said. “Because you can’t remember. How much time went by? He gave you a date rape drug and maybe . . .” Her voice trailed off and her hands flew to her mouth. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry, I mean . . . I’m sure nothing happened.”
Toni paled and her hand went to her chest as though she was trying to cover herself. “Did he . . . did he rape me?” Her voice was barely above a whisper and the room was silent.
“No, sweetie,” Vicky said. “There wasn’t time. Homer said you left and then called for him in less than five minutes.”
Toni seemed to relax just a bit.
Oh, my God. He could have raped her, Boggs thought. And she wasn’t there to protect her. I’m going to kill that son of a bitch.
“God, this is all so creepy,” Toni said. “I don’t even want to think about what could have happened if I hadn’t gotten hurt.” She reached for her soda with trembling hands and promptly spilled it all over her shirt. “Jeez.” She reached for napkins. Jessie quickly wiped up the spilled soda. Toni looked at her soaked shirt. “I guess I need a clean shirt. Back in a sec.”
Toni slowly climbed the stairs. Someone gave me the date rape drug. She shuddered. Entering her bedroom, she saw Mr. Rupert sitting on her desk, staring at her laptop. “Hey, buddy. What are you doing? Ordering something online?” She rubbed his head and peeled off her wet T-shirt, tossing it in the hamper. She glanced at the screen saver with its tropical fish swimming. She rarely turned off her computer and the screen saver would come on after twenty minutes of inactivity. “Oh, I see. Your very own fishtank.” She dug in her dresser drawer and found another T-shirt. She watched the online fish swimming back and forth for a moment, then pulled on her shirt. She rubbed his head, kissed him, then headed back downstairs.
“What did I miss?” she asked as she sat down close to Boggs on the couch.
Boggs kissed her on the lips and possessively put her arm around her. “We’ve decided that you’re not allowed to go anywhere by yourself,” she said. “And I think that includes the bathroom.”
Everyone laughed. “Well,” Vicky said, “I guess that means you’ll have to accompany Toni to the bathroom at work. And if I recall correctly, you’ve done that on occasion.”
“And we almost got caught.” Toni chuckled. She snuggled a little closer to Boggs. “And I still can’t walk past there without thinking about that kiss, even months later.”
“Ugh. You guys make me sick.” Vicky reached over and patted her lightly on her arm. “And I love it.”
A phone rang, playing Rod Stewart’s “Tonight’s the Night,” and everyone laughed. Vicky glanced at the display on her phone. “It’s Captain Billings.” After a cryptic, one-sided conversation, she disconnected. “They found Doug Bradley. He was behind the old candy factory in Tucker’s car. Dead. One shot to the head.”
Toni was shocked. She’d just been talking to him hours earlier.
“I guess his usefulness was over,” Johnnie offered. “Did they find anything else?”
“Nope,” Vicky said. “And no cell phone, which is odd. I’m guessing that whoever he worked for had him set up this meeting with Toni. After that, they had to get rid of him. I sure wish Homer’s had cameras in the parking lot. That would have been helpful.”
“What’s our next step?” Jessie asked.
Vicky glanced at her. “You’re going to hit the bars. Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. See if you can’t find someone selling ecstasy or something like that. Use the cell Johnnie gave you to snap a photo if you can. And you’ll have to remember not to acknowledge any of us when we’re around, okay?”
“Got it.” Jessie was beaming. She seemed excited at the prospect of doing some more undercover work.
“You’ll use the identification that Johnnie gave you before, and I’ll give you some marked buy money. One of us will be at the bar with you, and you’ll have to wear a wire. Captain Billings has already talked to Johnnie about this, right?”
“Yeah. We’re doing a joint deal here,” Johnnie said. “Since we don’t know how far this thing goes in the police department, we don’t want cops in on it. I’ll have two agents on the other end of the wire. We’re going to be on between nine at night and two in the morning, all three nights.”
“I guess we’re good for right now,” Vicky said. “We need to meet tomorrow night before Jessie goes to the bars. I’ll have the background checks on our suspects by then and maybe Johnnie will have some info on Dead Granny.”
“That sounds good,” Toni said. “How about if I get Chinese food for us? It’s the least I can do for all you guys are doing for me.” She grabbed a pad of paper and took the orders from each of them.
Boggs glanced at her watch. “It’s almost seven. I need to get some clothes and feed my fish. Can one of you guys stay here with Toni while I go?”
“I’ll be fine, hon. You’ll only be gone maybe thirty minutes.”
“No way, babe.”
“I agree,” Vicky added. “Until we know who’s behind this crap, we’re not letting you alone for even thirty minutes.”
“I’ll stay with her,” Jessie said quietly. “If it’s okay with you.” She looked at Toni. “I haven’t seen you in quite a while since I’ve been on nights.”
“That would be great,” Toni said, smiling at Jessie. She liked her and wouldn’t mind catching up. “You guys go on, and Jessie and I’ll hang out, okay?”
They all agreed and within five minutes, Toni and Jessie were alone in the living room. Jessie had stayed with Toni for several weeks a few months ago when she was acting as a bodyguard of sorts. Jessie had kindly cleaned up the coffee table, putting the leftover pizza in the fridge. She joined Toni on the couch, bringing with her a fresh beer for herself and a soda for Toni.
“I am so wiped out,” Toni said as she stretched out on one side of the couch. “I could probably fall asleep in minutes if I closed my eyes.” She thanked Jessie and opened her soda. “Tell me what’s been going on with you.”
Jessie opened her beer and sat cross-legged on the opposite side of the couch. They’d been talking for about ten minutes when Jessie suddenly sighed and took several gulps of her beer. “Well, I told my folks.” A pained expression crossed her face.
“Didn’t go too well, huh?”
“They pretty much disowned me. And I’ve been cordially uninvited to the yearly Fourth of July gathering.” She took several more gulps of her beer. “I guess I knew it was coming, but I was hoping it wasn’t.”
“I’m so sorry. I know that must be very hard for you. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“I’ve got a younger brother who’s pretty cool about it and an older sister who thinks I’m going to hell.” She laughed. “Oh, well. I never really cared for her anyway.”
“How about coming to our Fourth of July party? I don’t have any of the specifics yet, but there’ll be plenty of food, drink and friends.”
“That sounds really nice.” Jessie seemed to relax. “Where will it be? Here?”
“Oh, no. Boggs and I bought a loft down in the warehouse district and we close in two weeks. We’ll have just enough time to unpack before the party.”
“That is so exciting. I’m happy for you.” She took another sip of her beer. “Um, would it be okay if I brought a friend?”
Toni grinned. “A friend? Have you met someone?”
Jessie blushed. “We’ve only gone out twice, but I’m hopeful.”
“Tell me everything. Where did you meet her?”
“She transferred down from St. Louis about two months ago. We’re on the same shift.” Jessie took a sip of her beer. “She’s wonderful,” she added with a sigh.
Toni watched the dreamy look on Jessie’s face and smiled. It
reminded her of herself when she thought of Boggs. “Did you tell her about this assignment?”
“No. I didn’t know if I should or not, but I’m sure she’s okay.”
“I’m sure she is, but just to be safe, you better ask Vicky, okay? In fact, since you’re going to be out at the bars with a fake ID, I think maybe you should go ahead and call Vicky now.” As Jessie dialed the number, Toni whispered to her, “What’s her name?”
A smile exploded on Jessie’s face. “Helen.” She closed her phone five minutes later. “Vicky said I could tell her I’m working on a special task force, undercover. And if she sees me, she shouldn’t acknowledge me unless I speak to her first.”
“She’ll understand, I’m sure of it,” Toni offered. “In fact, why don’t you go ahead and call her now. I’m going to go upstairs and put on my jammies and crawl into bed. Is that okay? I’m just really wiped out.”
“Oh, sure. Thanks for talking to me and inviting me to your party.” She had her phone in her hand and glanced at it.
Toni understood her excitement, waiting to call her girl. “Go on, call her. I can’t wait to meet her.”
Toni slowly climbed the stairs and as she rounded the corner, she saw Mr. Rupert still sitting on the desk, staring at her laptop. “I didn’t know you liked the fish so much, buddy. Soon you’ll have your own tank.”
She pulled off her clothes, realizing how tired and achy she felt. She stood for just a moment, feeling exhausted from just taking off her clothes. After a heavy sigh, she dug in her dresser for an oversized T-shirt with a picture of a cat bowling on the front. She felt strange, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Probably from those drugs, she thought. And she’d taken those pain meds too. God, no wonder she felt like crap. But how long would those other drugs be in her system? Would she still feel like this tomorrow?
Curiosity overcame her and she sat down at her desk. “Beep beep, Mr. Rupert. Mom’s gotta do some work.”
Compulsion Page 14
