“I’m not sure, sir.” he answered.
I jumped on my cell and dialed my partner. “Flo, there’s no one in Room 215. I need you to bring Melvin and Cassie up here and do an immediate head count. I think some of our players have snuck out.”
11
I wasn’t sure how many of them were gone, but when Flo did her usual spot check, there were four players missing. Cody Miller just happened to be one of them. I wasn’t impressed by this turn of events, especially considering how close I was to getting to the truth. Just when it had seemed like I was taking steps to getting closer to the answer, life threw me a curve and made things that much more difficult to accomplish.
I wanted to speak to someone, and of course that just happened to occur on the same day a handful of players got super bored and decided to go out on the town for a few kicks. They were not taking the threat seriously enough, but they were just college kids. I doubted that they’d taken anything seriously during the course of their lives.
I walked up to Flo, who gave me a spare radio to keep in quick contact with her and the other officers. “The boys were seen sneaking out by other players, less than an hour ago. It looks like they were going to hit the mall and do a little shopping, find something to bring back to the hotel to keep them occupied because they were bored.” She didn’t sound impressed with the excuse either.
“Sounds like a lame excuse just to get out,” I countered. I had hoped that was the truth because being in a crowded mall was a lot safer. As long as they didn’t hit a bar where someone could drag them off for a killing, that would have to do for now. I paused for a moment to digest the information Flo had just given me. “Right now, Westgate is the closest mall. It’s only a few blocks away. If they were honest about going there, they could have walked from here. I’m going to take this kid here and go find them.”
“Want me to go with you?” Flo asked.
I did, but at the moment the one person who I trusted most had to be left behind where the rest of the players and now my daughter were being stashed, for their safety. “I need you to stay here and make sure no one else sneaks off.”
“Sorry about that,” Flo replied. “I was a little distracted and someone took advantage of that.”
“There are a lot of kids here, it was bound to happen,” I replied. I turned to the kid that ad kicked the door open for me. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was eager to make things up for letting those kids sneak out. “You’re with me. Let’s take a little stroll.”
As expected, the officer was more than eager to help out in any way he could. “Yes, sir,” he said as he grabbed his coat and followed me down the hall to the elevator to leave.
We left the second floor and did a quick sweep of the lobby before leaving the hotel and walking towards the mall. I didn’t blame the kids for getting a little restless, but they hadn’t come face to face with the madness we were dealing with. That made it tougher for them to take what was going on as seriously as we were.
We’d also been withholding information from the public, so that didn’t help our cause when trying to convince college kids to stay put and just watch television all day. Some of them were bound to get restless and make a run for it. I was just hoping they had more patience than this. Kids these days didn’t, and I couldn’t wait to beat the shit out of them when I got my hands on those spoiled and cocky pricks, or at least make them think that that was my plan, scare some sense into them.
We were less than a block from the mall when the officer who was with me patted my shoulder and pointed across the street. “That pub is a local hangout for students from the university. I wouldn’t be surprised if the boys stopped in there to throw back a few longnecks.”
“That makes more sense than the bullshit about going to get monopoly at the friggin’ mall.” I crossed the street and waved for the officer to stand back. I checked my cell phone and consulted some pictures Flo had texted me a few minutes ago of the four boys that managed to sneak out. “They’ll run the minute they see your uniform so you stay here and make sure no one makes a run for it. I’ll take a look inside and see if they’re still in there.”
“Yes sir,” the young officer replied as he took a position near the door.
I walked into the pub and it was pretty much what I’d expected based on what that young officer had told me. The place also had banners, jerseys, and other memorabilia based on the university’s glory days when they were a national champion and whatnot. Definitely the place you’d want to hang out if you were a member of the team. The place was pretty much empty considering how early it was. I walked up to the bar, but scanned most of the place and there was absolutely no trace of the players I was looking for, none whatsoever. Since there was no trace of the boys, I parked myself at the bar. “I’ll take a double Jack Daniels on the rocks.”
“Coming right up,” the bartender answered.
When my drink came over, I wasn’t sure if it was the case getting to me or the fact that my oldest daughter was dating one of the players, but it didn’t matter. I just took a nice good sip of the whiskey and took a long deep breath to ease my nerves. Two sips later and my drink was gone. I motioned to the bartender. “I’ll have another.”
“Long day, detective?” he asked as he refreshed my whiskey. I looked at him to give him the impression that I wasn’t in the mood for sarcasm. “I know why you’re here. The kids stopped in for a few drinks but took off about an hour ago. I recognized them but didn’t make a fuss about it.”
I took another sip of my newly freshened drink. “Did you happen to see which way they went?”
“Towards the mall,” the bartender answered.
“Of course they did,” I said as I polished off the second glass. I tossed a $20 bill on the bar and walked out. It turned out their story about window shopping wasn’t exactly the bullshit I had originally thought it was. As I walked out of the bar, I looked back at the officer. “It appears they really are heading for the mall. Let’s keep moving.”
It took us about 15 minutes to make it to the mall doors. I tested my radio to make sure it worked and then turned to the young officer behind me. “Split up and take the north side. I’ll start with the food court.” I personally didn’t like the idea of using my time looking for runaway players from our protected location, but at the moment I wanted to interview Cody since he was likely to be aware of what Wally did to deserve the threats he was getting by email.
This kind of intel could break the case, so finding Cody and getting the information from him was my highest priority. When I go to the mall, one of the places I usually like to hit is the food court. I absolutely hate shopping on an empty stomach as it makes me grumpy and very impatient. Most men were like that, so I went down a floor and walked over to the food court. Since it was just past lunch, hundreds of people were eating at the time. The place was packed and I couldn’t tell from my view if the boys I was looking for were there. I saw a security guard walking around and decided to enlist his help. I approached the guard and showed him my badge. “I could use your assistance.”
“What can I do for you?” the guard asked.
I took out my cell phone and showed him the pictures Flo had forwarded to me. “Have you seen any of these guys around here today?”
The guard took a look and nodded. “I did. They were roughhousing in the sporting goods store about a half hour ago. I followed them here to the food court after I asked them to settle down.”
I started to get nervous, as I might have just missed them again, like I did at the bar. Still I asked, “Are they still here?”
“I think so, but I’m not sure where they’re sitting,” the guard replied. “I’ll be more than happy to help you look for them.”
“Thank you very much.” I didn’t say anything else to the guard and we split up to cover more ground in the food court. The place was very packed, but I didn’t want to get too pushy. I tried my best not to bump into anyone and looked around without snoo
ping too much. Just a quick glance at one table and I moved on to another. After a few minutes, I noticed the guard was waving at me. He had found two of them and they were having lunch. When I reached the table, I noticed there were four trays at their table and only two people. I flashed my badge and gave the two guys an ugly glare to let them know how pissed I was. “You boys are in big trouble.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” one of the young men replied.
“Where’s Cody?” I quickly asked.
The two boys realized they were in trouble and pointed in the other direction. “He and Joe went to the bathroom.”
“Stay here,” I called to the guard as I headed off in the direction of the bathroom. I jumped on my radio and called the officer who was scouring the mall with me. “I found two of them in the food court. Get down here and converge where the guard is. He’s watching them for me right now. I’m following the other two into the food court bathroom. I’ll call again if I need assistance.”
I was eager to get my hands on Cody and get him to spill what he knew. As I got closer to the bathroom, I heard someone call for help and I started to run, bumping into some people on my way to the bathrooms. When I got into the hallway, I brushed past some women coming out of the other bathroom and saw that there was an older man calling for help. “Police!” I called out. “What’s going on?”
“There’s a man down on the floor, I can’t tell if he’s breathing,” the man replied. The man had apparently just been going in to take a piss and seemed genuinely scared.
Rather than take my chances, I pulled out my gun, opened the door, and moved in. I saw what the old man was creating an alarm about. There was one of my students lying face down on the floor. When I got closer to him, I could see it was the player the boys outside had referred to as Joe. There was no blood, but the young man was unconscious. He was breathing and just out like a light, which gave me the impression that he might have been tazed. This meant my killer was here.
“What the hell is going on?” someone called out as he walked into the bathroom.
I jumped on the radio I still had in my hand. “Dispatch, this is Detective Walker.”
“Walker, this is Dispatch. What do you need?”
“I’m at Westgate Mall. One of my college kids is down in the food court bathroom and might be in need of medical attention. Send an ambulance and backup. Inform Agent Collins and his people that our suspect might still be here in the mall.”
Just as I called that in, something caught my eye. There was blood underneath one of the stalls that I hadn’t noticed before because it was only now slowly creeping out from the stall. I stood back and pointed the gun at the stall. Despite my aching leg, I kicked the stall door open. There was Cody, sprawled out on the toilet and stabbed multiple times in the chest. Deader than Dillinger. The one kid I needed who might be able to give me information that could help was now silenced. I took a deep breathe. “Dispatch, this is Walker again.”
“Do you have an update, Detective Walker?”
“We’re going to need more backup and the coroner to get down here. Our suspect has killed again.” Considering how many people were within earshot, I did my best to resist the urge to curse and shout out my frustration. I took a look at Cody in the stall again and realized there was another card: the seven of hearts. I took an evidence bag out of my pocket and stashed the card away as soon as I could, as it was one of the details we had still managed to keep from the media. I sealed the bag and put it in my pocket while looking around for other signs to confirm that this was our person. Cody was tazed, but not tortured. This was most likely due to the confining space of the stall rather than a lack of intent from the suspect. From what I could count, there were at least seven or eight puncture wounds on Cody’s torso, and I let out a deep sigh. I jumped back on my radio. “Flo, this is Jake.”
“I heard your call to dispatch,” Flo answered. “Who’s dead down there?”
“Just Cody,” I answered. “The other, named Joe, is tazed but alive.”
“So we have a witness,” Flo observed. “Make sure he’s given a secure trip to the hospital. We don’t want this witness going into a coma.”
“Good point,” I said as I returned to the middle of the bathroom to check on Joe. Still unconscious, but still breathing. The officer who had been searching the mall with me came storming in. His eyes popped open when he caught a glimpse of what was left of Cody in the stall. “Secure the outside! I don’t want anyone coming in.”
It took close to 20 minutes for more officers to arrive on the scene. Agent Collins and his men arrived soon after and they took over the crime scene. Collins took a look at Cody. “What the hell was he doing here?”
“Being a royal pain in the ass,” I answered.
“He ran away from the hotel, didn’t he?” Collins asked.
“Right to his own death.” I paused for a moment to process that.
“Are we sure this is the same person?” Collins asked as he looked around. “This looks a little too sloppy to be our guy.”
“I’m pretty sure,” I said as I took the card out of my pocket and passed it to Peyton. He looked at it and cussed under his breath before stashing the card in his own pocket for safe keeping. “All right, it’s the same guy. “What I want to know is how did our suspect know he was here?”
“I’m not too sure about that,” I answered.
“It’s a popular mall, right?” Collins asked.
“Not that popular. The odds of our suspect browsing and bumping into one of our kids here isn’t that likely.” I was angry enough to punch the wall. “He must have been tailing me. I led him right to the hotel where everyone is staying.”
“Probably saw these kids sneak out after you went in to speak with Flo,” Collins said as he walked around. “This isn’t your fault. If these brats had stayed put they would probably still be alive. Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Collins said as he was checking out Cody’s corpse. “This punk made his own decision. No one forced him to run off to the mall.”
“Someone forced him to hide, though,” I countered. This suspect was literally a step ahead of us and we were having a hard time keeping up. I had sent a few officers to look through the mall for anyone who might have blood on them, considering how some of it must have sprayed around when Cody was stabbed. No one called back in, which gave me the impression the suspect was long gone by the time I found Cody and called it in. I left the bathroom in disgust and strolled out into the food court to see that many people had left while some had stayed to see what was going on. At this point, some reporters started to show up and tried to get an idea of what was going on.
Seeing them there reminded me that I had a dinner date with someone a few hours from now. I checked my watch and realized that I had a little over four hours to go, which meant rushing around for another three. I looked around to see if Tina was there as well, but she wasn’t.
I could only imagine the questions she was going to give me at dinner, but at the same time, it’s always good to test the pulse of what reporters are running with. Part of me wanted to get something to eat, while another felt too ill to eat given the scene I had just left. I went to one of the food joints there and just ordered a small soda, something to quickly drink and settle my nerves. After taking a short breather, I was approached by the young officer who had escorted me from the hotel to the mall. “How is Joe doing?” I asked him.
“He’s been loaded onto an ambulance and on his way to the ER,” the young officer replied. “Whoever hit him with that Taser did it a few times. It could be a while before he wakes up.”
I couldn’t believe our luck. This was the second time our suspect left a witness at the scene, but the person was again too out of it to give us a statement. I had officers at the hospital with Mrs. Bennett and I intended to make sure there were officers guarding this kid as well, so whenever either of them woke up, we could get a statement and possibly a sketch of this bastard, so we could have him on the
front page of every newspaper the next morning.
I got Flo to tighten security around the hotel just in case the suspect did follow me to their location. We discussed the idea of transferring to a new location, but trying to move that many people around was too risky, and we could lose another in transition. It was better to bunker down and wait things out. No one was going to leave without permission now, especially after what had happened to Cody. Right now we were going to have to wait for one of our witnesses to wake up. Hopefully, that would happen before another body turned up.
12
As much as I wanted to stay at the station or go back to the hotel to give my oldest daughter another lecture about sneaking around to meet boys who were under police protection, I had other commitments to attend to when my shift ended.
I had made a promise to Tina that I would meet her for dinner. She’d been playing along with me since the beginning and I owed her a moment of my time. There was a good chance she was buying and would write off the meal as an expense, so I wasn’t going to feel bad about ordering a big steak, which is just what I needed because I hadn’t eaten since I’d popped a few slices of toast for breakfast.
I went home before meeting with Ms. Carlson for dinner. I slipped out of my work clothes and promptly showered, and even shaved before putting on a nice black suit to look my best. I didn’t get out that often, and while there are other women out there that I would prefer going out on a date with, I was determined to have a little fun before getting some rest and going right back to work the next day.
Mystery: The Card Counter: (Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Suspense Thriller Mystery) Page 11
