by James Hunt
“Or he’s just a cocky son of a bitch,” Kerry replied.
“We need to dig more into the mother,” Jim said. “And we need to take a look at the security footage from the pool hall, make sure Vincent isn’t pulling our chain on that one.” He checked the time and grew anxious when he saw them already past the six-hour mark. “We need to speed through this, so let’s finish our due diligence and get to work.”
It didn’t take long for Jim and Kerry to confirm the video's authenticity from Corner Pocket’s surveillance and the fact that Vincent was telling the truth.
“They didn’t touch her,” Jim said.
“Yeah, but Vincent wouldn’t be stupid enough to beat the woman in his own business when he knew he had cameras recording,” Kerry said. “They still could have done it somewhere else.”
“I don’t think so,” Missy said. “Take a look at this.”
They had gone over to Cyber to watch the video and to get an update on Missy’s status on working to open the laptop they had found. Missy pulled up video surveillance from a traffic camera that showed Marcia Teller parking on the street and then disappearing down an alley alone. When she returned, she had a noticeable limp to her gait.
“So that’s where she was attacked?” Kerry asked.
“Attacked or did something to herself,” Jim answered. “Is there any other angles of footage that you can look at?”
“No,” Missy answered. “I tried, but there was nothing.”
“Jim, Kerry,” Mullocks said, poking her head inside Cyber’s office. “I need you to come with me.”
Jim nodded to the lieutenant and then glanced back at Missy. “Keep digging on the Tellers, anything and everything you can find about their financial history. Whatever systems you have to hack into, do it.”
Missy finally peeled her eyes away from the computer screens and looked at Jim with laser focus. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for someone to tell me that.”
Jim left Missy to her work and joined Kerry in the lieutenant’s office, unsure of the meeting.
“We have some visitors,” Mullocks said.
Before the lieutenant had a chance to explain anything else, Jim and Kerry saw the two sets of parents waiting for them by their desks.
Jim recognized them as the parents of two of the children he and Kerry had successfully recovered from the Broker’s abductors.
“What do they want?” Kerry asked, her mouth going dry.
“They just wanted to speak with you two,” Mullocks said. “We tried asking them to come back another time, but they saw the news coverage of Ricky Teller. And after our incident this morning with Emma Fuller, I thought it best to let the couples speak with you.”
Unsure of what the parents wanted, Jim didn’t need the distraction. “I don’t know what I can do for them.”
“I suspect they want closure,” Mullocks said. “They’re aware—just as Emma Fuller is aware—that the Broker is still out there, wreaking havoc. I assured them we were working the case as diligently as possible, but they want to speak to you. Personally.”
“Lieutenant, I can appreciate what these parents have gone through, but I don’t think now is the time to be wasting—”
“Wasting?” Kerry asked. “Their children were abducted by a psychopath, Jim. We can give them a moment of our time.”
Jim knew how harsh he sounded, but with the clock ticking on finding Ricky Teller, they didn’t have time to waste. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I know what you meant,” Kerry said. “So think of it this way. Those parents can offer us insight into what happened with their children. This could be a good opportunity for us to learn something new about the case.”
Jim wasn’t sure if they would be able to learn anything new, but he didn’t want to make a big stink about it. Maybe Kerry was right, and if she weren’t, then Jim would make sure to end the conversation quickly.
Mullocks led Jim and Kerry to one of the conference rooms. The space wasn’t as intimidating as the interrogation rooms, and Jim didn’t mind the change of scenery. He tended to be aggressive in those rooms, and the last thing these parents needed was to feel attacked by a member of the police force.
“Jim, Kerry, these are the Hooper and McMillan families,” Mullocks said.
The two families stood, nervously fixing their clothes as they approached Jim and Kerry. The first to introduce themselves were the Hoopers, Todd and Jessica, and then Shelly and Michael McMillan.
“We appreciate the time,” Mr. McMillan said, shaking Jim and Kerry’s hands as everyone was introduced. “We know you’re busy, so we won’t be long.”
“Why don’t we all have a seat?” Mullocks asked.
“Of course,” Mr. Hooper said.
All seven of them gathered around a small circular table. Jim wasn’t sure what they wanted to talk about or if he should start the questioning, but Mr. Hooper solved that problem for him.
“We want you to catch the person responsible for taking our children,” Mr. Hooper said. “Not just the person who abducted them, but the man who spoke with them online.”
“I can assure you we’re doing everything we can to find the person responsible,” Jim said. “But I’m afraid we can’t share any details about the case since the investigation is ongoing.”
“We’re not here to learn what you’re doing,” Mrs. Hooper said. “We’re here to tell you what we know.”
Jim was intrigued, but he wasn’t about to get his hopes up. “We’ve read all of your statements—”
“We know,” Mrs. McMillan said, and then she reached into her very large purse, and she removed a binder that was three inches thick of materials. She placed it onto the table and then pushed it over for Jim and Kerry to read. “That’s everything we managed to glean from our children about their conversations with the Broker.”
Kerry was closest, so she reached for it first and opened to the first page, which had photographs of both the children.
“You gathered all of this yourselves?” Kerry asked.
“It’s been part of our children’s therapy,” Mrs. Hooper answered. “Talking about the conversations they had helps them to move past it.”
“It’s been hard on the kids, coming home,” Mr. Hooper replied. “Our son used to love playing videos games online, but now he won’t even try because he’s afraid of who might be talking to him.”
“It’s because of the details the Broker went into learning about our kids,” Mrs. Hooper said. “The games they liked to play, the foods like they liked to eat, the clothes they wore, the shows they watched, everything our kids loved was used against them by the Broker.”
“We thought that if we could provide you with information on our boys, it might be of use to warn other parents,” Mr. Hooper said.
“That’s very thoughtful and forward-thinking of you,” Kerry said. “This looks like it took a lot of work to make.”
“It did,” Mrs. McMillan said. “We hope it’s some use to you.”
“We also know it’s a lot of information to comb through, and you probably don’t have a lot of time, so to make it easier for you, the first three pages are the highlights of what we thought was most important,” Mr. Hooper said, and then he swallowed. “We tried to… think like he might think.”
All of the parents shuddered, and Jim knew it wasn’t easy for them to do all of this. He reached for the binder and flipped through the first two pages.
“This is very impressive,” Jim said. “Truly.” He looked up at them, realizing how any hope of redemption for their children now rested with Jim and Kerry.
“We love our children, Detectives,” Mrs. McMillan said, holding back tears. “What we’re asking you to do, what every parent is counting on you to do, is daunting. We understand the psychotic nature of whoever was responsible, but don’t let him get away with this.”
Beneath all of their grief was a well of anger that was bubbling up. Jim understood that anger.
“You’re good parents,” Jim said, his voice catching in his throat, unsure why he said that. “Better than some of the guardians I had growing up, that’s for sure. And, I…” He stared down at the pictures of the children. “… I won’t let you down.”
Mrs. McMillan started to cry while the other parents nodded their thanks. Once the meeting was over, Jim and Kerry hung back in the conference room while Mullocks escorted the family out of the building.
Jim stared at the binder in his hands, and Kerry touched his shoulder.
“You all right?” Kerry asked.
“Yeah,” Jim answered quickly and then opened the binder again, scanning the first three pages.
“You think this will be helpful?” Kerry asked.
“I’m not sure,” Jim answered. “I want it to be, but who knows.”
It was difficult to scour through the pages the parents had given them because it reminded both Jim and Kerry of the horrible reality that every child could face if they couldn’t find the Broker and bring him to justice.
“I guess the silver lining to all of this is that we managed to bring their children home,” Kerry said.
“Yes,” Jim replied.
The binder didn’t really tell them much of anything they didn’t already know about the Broker and how he operated. But what the binder did provide was the stark truth of what they were up against.
The way the Broker manipulated the children he spoke with, the way he crept into their innermost thoughts and pried their secrets away from them, holding it against them without the children even realizing it.
“We need to find him,” Jim said, his anger rising. “We need to find Ricky and bring him home, and then find this animal who has been preying on children without remorse, without repercussions, and we need to bring holy hell down upon him.”
“Detectives North and Martin?”
Jim and Kerry looked up to find a well-dressed man in suit and tie, with an envelope in his left hand.
“Yes?” Jim asked.
“My name is Kit Donovan,” he answered.
“The attorney?” Kerry asked.
Kit flashed a smile. “I see those bus signs are paying dividends. Yes, it’s me.” He handed Jim the envelope in his hand. “I’m representing Emma Fuller in a civil suit against you. You two are due in court Monday of next week.”
Jim stood, and Kerry snatched the envelope from Jim’s hand as she opened it to read the letter.
“You have a lot of nerve going after that woman,” Jim said. “Do you have any idea what she’s been through?”
“I do, actually,” Donovan answered. “It’s the reason why I chose to represent her and file the dispute against you and your partner for your negligent handling of her daughter’s case, which resulted in Amy Fuller’s untimely death.”
Defeated, Kerry slowly lowered the summons to the table. Jim was too angry to read the letter now. He stepped around the table, hands clenched tightly into fists. He was one bad thought from swinging at the lawyer’s face.
“Go on, Detective,” Kit said, goading Jim. “Hit me and see what happens. Your career will end. Your life will be over. And I’ll string you up in court so bad you’ll never get free. Unlike you, I’m good at my job.”
Jim inched closer, but Kerry held him back.
“You should leave,” Kerry said. “Now.”
Donovan glanced at the two of them, measuring them up, and then he laughed. “You know, I’ve followed you guys in the papers throughout your career. You were quite the pair, but I suppose every good team reaches the end of the road, huh?” He laughed and then retreated toward the door. “I look forward to seeing you both in court.”
Once Donovan was gone, Jim kicked the table, rattling the computer on his desk. Kerry studied the summons more closely, shaking her head.
“I can’t believe she’s doing this,” Kerry said.
“He had to have gotten to her,” Jim said. “No way she would go after us like this. She knows how hard we’ve been working—we just talked to her this morning!”
Jim reached for his desk phone and started to dial Mrs. Fuller’s number, but Kerry stopped him before he finished.
“You’re not in a good headspace to call her,” Kerry said.
“We need to talk to her,” Jim said. “We need to explain—”
“Explain what?” Kerry asked. “Explain to her that she shouldn’t be upset with us that her daughter is dead? Explain to her that she needs to move on or that we’re doing everything we can? Jim, you can’t force someone to work through something. They have to get there on their own time, okay?”
Jim let go of the phone and then collapsed into his chair. Kerry was right, but Jim also understood that between Hickem wanting to end their careers and Emma Fuller suing them and the department, Jim and Kerry would be easy targets for the chopping block. But of everything Jim had lost in his life and could be on the verge of losing, adding his job to the list was too much.
“If they take us off the case, there’s nothing more we can do to help,” Jim said. “The only way we finish this is if we stay in the fight.”
“We are still in the fight, Jim,” Kerry said.
“And how long do you think it’s going to stay that way?” Jim asked.
The question resonated between them, and Kerry didn’t have a good answer, but they were running out of time to find out.
16
None of the details were adding up, and Jim knew that meant someone was lying. But between Daniel and Marcia Teller, Jamison Kent, and Ben Turner the security guard, he realized that all of them had incriminating evidence against them.
“I can’t believe these people,” Jim said, staring at the monitors on the screen. “All of them are guilty, in my opinion.”
“So let’s work backward,” Jim said. “Ricky gets his phone.”
“Right, through the same methods the Broker has used with all of the previous victims,” Kerry said.
“We don’t know how long they’ve been in communication, but it’s been at least a few weeks, judging by the video at the P.O. Box where Ricky picked up the phone,” Jim said.
“I still can’t believe no one thought a child coming into that place alone was weird,” Kerry said.
“People are oblivious,” Jim said, and then he continued with his train of thought. “He takes the phone home, and I think Ricky knew he was supposed to meet his ‘friend’ at the convention.”
“And then the power goes out, Ricky is nabbed, and we’re left with five different suspects.” Kerry stood next to Jim, a similar look of disgust on his face as well. “So, what are we missing?” She turned around and headed toward their desks.
Jim joined her and opened the file for the security guard, Ben Turner. “One suspect with allegations of inappropriate behavior with a minor.”
“And someone with an ax to grind against the security team that fired him,” Kerry said.
“But is that enough for him to reach out to the Broker on the dark web for help?” Jim asked, and he dropped the file. “And how would he even know how to do that? The Broker’s contacts spread through word of mouth and on the dark web. He didn’t strike me as someone who had the kind of understanding needed to make that happen.”
Kerry picked up the mobster’s file. “Everything we learned about these guys from VICE suggests that while they might have been dangerous back in the day, they’ve grown much more timid in their handling of business. They have too many legitimate avenues going to risk losing on some racketeering beef.”
“But Mrs. Teller did owe them a lot of money,” Jim said. “Millions if the numbers add up.”
“Millions they’ll easily make back once the casino is up and running,” Kerry replied. “I don’t think they’d jeopardize that kind of future over one woman, no matter how much money it is. And those guys didn’t strike me as someone who would take a child.”
“Crooks with morals,” Jim said. “Not the first time I’ve heard about that.”
/> “Plus, Vincent told us the mother asked for contacts about ‘contract’ workers,” Kerry said.
Jim knew that the term ‘contract worker’ was a base term for people hired for unsavory jobs. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility for Marcia Teller to hire someone to kidnap her own son for the sake of the insurance money. Jim reached for the mother’s file.
“It’s always the parents, isn’t it?” Jim asked.
“Ninety percent of abductors are someone the victim knows,” Kerry said. “It’s just math.”
“Math that hasn’t worked in our favor the past twelve abductions,” Jim said.
It was maddening, going over the same information repeatedly. It was akin to banging his head against the wall and expecting money to pop out of the wall with every smack.
“The Tellers make more money in a single year than the average person earns in their lifetime and it’s still not enough,” Jim said, shaking his head. “Maybe Kent was right.”
“About what?” Kerry asked.
“Parents using their kids,” Jim answered. “It’s obvious neither of Ricky’s parents had his best interests at heart. They were only looking out for themselves.”
“They’re despicable,” Kerry said. “But are they vile enough to really trade their own child? To use a psychopath to help broker a conversation with their son?” She shook her head. “A parent would never do that.”
Jim nodded, chewing Kerry’s thought. “I think you might be right about that. But that doesn’t mean the parents are completely innocent.” Jim picked up the mother’s file and then headed back toward the cyber division.
“Missy,” Jim said.
“You rang?” Missy answered, in her best Lurch from The Addams Family impression.
“Where did we land on the financials for the Tellers?” Jim asked.
“I was just about to check on that, actually,” Missy answered, and then she scouted through her emails at warp speed. “Just came in a few minutes ago.” She opened the attachment and scanned the documents the state financial division had sent them. “Tax returns look pretty normal, debt isn’t too bad, save for the house, but their high income level helps offset that tremendously.”
