Cache 72 (A Jaxon Jennings' Detective Mystery Thriller Series, Book 2)

by Richard C. Hale

  “Where are you?”

  “Where we discussed. I got here about thirty minutes ago. It’s not the same without you.”

  He smiled to himself. She knew just how to make him feel like a human again.

  “I’d be there if I could.”

  “I know. Just been missing you a bit.”

  “Me too. Call me if something else develops.”

  “Always.”

  He hung up and called Tate. “I hear you have our boy.”

  “He’s not your boy, and yes, we’ve got him in interrogation.”

  “Has he given us anything yet?”

  “No, and I don’t expect him to.”

  “You do know that things point his way, right?”

  “He’s not the guy.”

  “What? Is he your best friend or something?”

  Silence.

  “I don’t think you need to be working this case,” Jaxon said.

  “You don’t have any say in this.”

  “Listen, Tate. You’re too close to this. An innocent girl’s life is at stake and you’re jerking things around because he’s your buddy.”

  “Are you saying I’m not doing my job?”

  “I’m saying you can’t in this situation. You’re working with blinders on and you don’t know it. Take it from me. I know.”

  “From what I hear, you couldn’t work yourself out of a wet bag. Why don’t you keep working on your ‘consulting’ and let us handle the important stuff?”

  “If she dies, you won’t be able to handle anything. You won’t even be able to piss without help.”

  “Is that a threat?”

  “What do you think? Do your damn job.”

  “Screw you, Jaxon.” And he hung up.

  “That went well,” he mumbled to himself and he caught Mel looking at him. He could read her expression and he really didn’t need to be judged right now. Especially by her. He sighed and then dialed another number. The sheriff of Clay County answered.

  “It’s Jaxon. You’ve got a problem.”

  “I’ve heard. It’s you.”

  “Then you’re hearing has gone bad. Tate is too close to this. You need to put somebody else on the case.”

  “Tate is the lead investigator. He’ll stay on it.”

  “He and Fanucci are friends. He doesn’t believe it’s him and he’s not operating in the most optimal manner.”

  “And just what would be the most optimal manner? He’s a friend of everyone in this office. We’ll do our jobs and we’ll do them correctly.”

  “Have you forgotten about the girl?”

  “What did I just say?”

  “What have you learned so far in the interrogation?”

  “Nothing. He knows nothing and has a solid alibi. And frankly, I’m inclined to believe him.”

  “He has the motive and the opportunity. You can’t take this lightly.”

  “Dammit, Jaxon. Don’t tell me how to do my job. And besides, you’re only in this as a consultant. You do not have any authority to tell any of us what to do.”

  “How would you like the FBI all in your face? That can be arranged. And rather quickly. I would think the Feds would have some concerns in this case especially since it involves one of your deputies. I would call that a conflict of interest.”

  “My patience with you is wearing thin. If you want to continue to have a working relationship with the local law enforcement in this town you’ll think carefully about your actions.”

  “Are you threatening me, sheriff?”

  “Just stating the facts. Stay out of it and let us do our job.”

  “That’s my problem. If you would do your job and your detectives would do their jobs, I wouldn’t be having this conversation with you.”

  “This conversation is over. And stay out of this, Jaxon.”

  “Not on your life, Sheriff. You couldn’t drag me away.”

  Jaxon hung up and looked at Mel again. She was smiling at him.

  “It doesn’t seem to be going your way,” she said.

  “Those pricks don’t know what they’re doing. Sorry.”

  She shrugged.

  “Fanucci is our best opportunity to end this and they won’t put any pressure on him because he’s one of theirs.”

  “How would you feel if it was one of your fellow policemen you worked with in DC? It would be hard to overlook all the years of trust just because of some suspicion.”

  “Still, I’d do my job. That’s all that matters. If they cross the line, then they have to be dealt with.”

  “I’ve seen you cross the line.”

  He smiled at her. She was right, he knew, he just didn’t want her to know that.

  “I’m a civilian now.”

  “That’s kind of lame.”

  “True.”

  She smiled back at him. “Why is this so important to you? You don’t even know the girl. I just want to hear it from your lips.”

  He hadn’t considered this. It was just something he did. He didn’t want to analyze it, yet here she was, wanting just that.

  “I just don’t like bullies. This guy Fanucci is bullying her, and us, and it drives me nuts. She doesn’t have a fair chance against him and I’m trying to even up the odds.”

  “But she bullied someone herself. Remember?”

  “She was just a teenager. Kids do stupid stuff.”

  “Adults do stupid stuff.”

  “Why are you on his side?”

  She looked shocked. “I’m not. I…you just seem…I don’t know…very determined. Especially for someone you’ve never met. Most people would’ve given up by now.”

  “Up in DC, it was my job to stay in the fight. I still feel like it’s my job. This guy thought he was having some schmuck play his little game and I’m glad to disappoint him. She may not have had a chance with just anybody.”

  “You’re different, Jaxon Jennings. I would hope to have someone like you if I was in trouble.”

  “You are in trouble.”

  “Oh yeah. See? You made me forget.”

  “Why these questions all the sudden?”

  She shrugged. “Just trying to figure out what makes you tick I guess. We only met a short time ago and I feel like I know you. Then you surprise me.”

  “Don’t base your judgment of me on this experience. I’m half out of my mind with fatigue and this guy gets me going.”

  “People’s true selves usually show through in times of extreme stress.”

  “Great.”

  “I like your true self. It suits you.”

  She smiled again and touched his hand. He took it in hers and squeezed. He didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything. He let her hand go after a second and turned to look out the window at the passing trees. He hoped he would be able to live up to her expectations. He had a feeling things were going to get a lot worse.

  * * *

  Tallahassee proved to be a non-event. They arrived at the waypoint and found the situation very similar to Gainesville. It made Jaxon think there was some kind of connection but it was escaping him at the moment.

  The waypoint was located in a park-like area on the campus of Florida State University. Home of the Seminoles. In fact, it was also in the shadow of Bobby Bowden Field at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. The statue of Bobby Bowden was in the area of the cache point, but they ignored it and concentrated on the trees. Some of the students looked at them strangely, but nobody questioned them or made a point to even talk with them. Jaxon was glad. He didn’t want to have another DelFuego incident. If something was going to happen, he didn’t want an innocent bystander suffering the consequences.

  Mel found it in the third tree they checked and she called down the lat/longs carved into the tree. There were no others hidden and no fake bark with a hidden explosive acid booby trap. In fact, it was probably the easiest one they had located. The lat/longs, unfortunately, were the same ones they had found in Gainesville. The ones for Palm Beach. This trip had been a w
aste of time.

  “We guessed wrong again,” Jaxon said.

  “Seems like the norm,” Ray said.

  He gave Jaxon a look, but Jaxon couldn’t read him. If he had to guess, he assumed his impression of him was not as glowing as Mel’s. And Jaxon agreed with it. He was blowing it, and it pissed him off.

  It was time to change things up. “We need to split up,” Jaxon said back at the car.

  “Split up how?” Ray said.

  “I need to go back to Orange Park. I want you guys to continue on to Palm Beach. I need to talk to Fanucci and see if I can get anything out of him, but we need to keep at the search in case I can’t.”

  They looked a little sober at this news, but he could see they were all in agreement.

  “I’ll join you wherever you are after I have my little talk with Fanucci. Can you three stick together?”

  Gil and Mel nodded their heads. Ray said nothing. Jaxon motioned for Ray to walk a few steps away and he joined him out of earshot of the other two.

  “Can you keep them safe?”

  Ray nodded. “That’s the plan.”

  “You don’t agree with this?”

  “Yeah. I think it’s the right thing to do. I just don’t like being a babysitter.”

  Jaxon nodded.

  “I know how you feel, but they’ve become something I want to protect. I’d take them with me, but this will be strictly police work over there and their strengths lie in this GeoCaching and puzzle solving. You’ve seen Gil at work. We’d be a whole day behind if it weren’t for him.”

  “I know. I just don’t like it.”

  Jaxon slapped him on the back.

  “At least you’ll have company. I owe you man.”

  Ray grinned. “I like Crown Royal.”

  “Me and you and two shot glasses when this is over.”

  He shook his hand. Jaxon couldn’t help feeling it might be the last time he saw him.

  They dropped him off at a car rental place and then he was on his own, making good time on I-10 heading eastbound. A couple of hours and he might have some answers. Or he might be wasting his time. Time would tell and that was not a luxury he had much of.

  CHAPTER 25

  Bethany braced herself against the roof of the container and struggled with her other arm to keep herself afloat. It was a battle.

  The water had risen well above any previous level and she prayed the container would not completely fill. At this point, she realized that this would eventually be her demise, unless she was able to find a way out of here, or somebody came to her rescue. It must have been their plan all along.

  The terror that filled her slowly subsided and she began to resign herself to her fate. It wasn’t that she was giving up, she was just so tired and thirsty. The bottled water was gone and she hadn’t had a thing to eat in days. She didn’t know how long she’d been in here exactly, but she could tell it was at least three days. Maybe four.

  The picture was clamped in her teeth and she struggled to keep it dry.

  The water was up to her neck now with her head bumping along the ceiling. She held on to a loose piece of metal that protruded from the weld at the roof joint and the sharp edges were cutting into her palm. The hand with the missing finger was now infected and the fever she was running made her shiver in the cool water. She knew her temperature would be higher if she was not submerged.

  She could see Danielle staring at her just out of focus at the end of her nose and it seemed as if she were laughing. It was her imagination, she knew, but she couldn’t keep from glancing along her nose every few seconds. It was a wonder she had held on to the picture this long, but it was like a life preserver to her. It did nothing to keep her afloat in the rising waters, but it buoyed her mental outlook and gave her strength. She would save Danielle this time and the only way she would allow her to drown was if she drowned herself. They would survive.

  The container was tilted on whatever surface it was resting on and she was currently at the high end. The end that was above water.

  The other end was submerged and the water crept along the roof, slowly rising toward her. The camera at the other end had shorted out and she had seen the sparks fly from it when the water hit it. At least they couldn’t watch her die and that gave her some comfort. Dying was a lonely business and as scared as she was, she didn’t want to share it with anyone else. It was hers to experience and no one would comfort her or egg her on.

  No one except Danielle.

  The water rose to her chin and she sucked air through her clenched teeth around the picture. It wasn’t going to be much longer and she wondered what it would feel like. Would it be painful? Would she stay awake until the very last second? Would her life flash before her?

  She held on and waited. And waited.

  She wasn’t sure, but the water didn’t seem as high as a few minutes ago. Maybe it was her imagination. She shivered and turned her head toward the crack of light. The level of the water looked just a little lower over there. She giggled around the picture in her mouth and looked back toward the other end of the container. The water was slowly pulling back along the roof. It would recede a bit and then flow back in but each time it receded just a bit more. It was over.

  She had survived and the water was not going to take her and Danielle this time. She would live for one more cycle and hopefully she would find a way out. She shivered and waited. There was nothing else for her to do.

  * * *

  Jaxon walked into the station and was immediately greeted by the sheriff. He must have seen him walking up to the building.

  “Afternoon, Sheriff.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Good to see you too. I want to see him.”

  “No way.”

  Jaxon sat in a chair at an empty desk and looked around the room. He guessed it would hold fifteen people during some peak period or intense investigation. He was disappointed to see it almost empty.

  “I take it the whole crew is out working on finding the girl.”

  “My deputies are doing their jobs. You should be doing yours.”

  “That’s why I’m here. I need to see him.”

  “I told you no. I cannot allow a civilian to be involved in an investigation of this nature.”

  “I’m already involved. You know that.”

  The sheriff took a chair opposite him and rubbed his face. “Why are you making my life difficult?”

  “Because you’re making mine difficult. I’m closest to this case and I just may be able to get through to him. We could save a girl’s life. That should be the most important thing right now. I’m not interested in making your department look bad. I just want to know where she is.”

  He sighed and shook his head.

  “Ten minutes. If you touch him or threaten him in any way, it’s over. I will not have one of my deputies, who is presumed innocent, harassed.”

  “It’s funny, Sheriff, when I was a detective up in DC, we never used the term ‘presumed innocent.’ It’s not in a cop’s vocabulary. That’s not our job. To me, everybody is guilty. And I bet until this morning, it was that way with you and your deputies.”

  “It’s different when it’s one of your own.”

  “It’s worse when it’s one of your own.”

  “Damn right about that. Ten minutes. I’ll bring him up to an interrogation room.”

  Jaxon grabbed a cup of coffee while he waited and was not surprised to find it sucked. He thought all police departments must get their coffee from the same supplier. It was all crap. He drank it anyway and relished the warm liquid. His exhausted veins seemed to lap it up like a thirsty dog in the desert. If only it would make him feel better. The dull ache behind his left eye wouldn’t seem to let up and the odor coming off of him was barely human. Maybe he could torture Fanucci with the smell.

  The sheriff led him down a long hallway to a set of doors that he unlocked and held open for him. Jaxon stepped through and entered another room that s
erved as a prepping area for the actual county lock up. The sheriff led him past a glassed-in booth occupied by one deputy and into another hallway that had two doors on either side. He opened the second one on the right and Jaxon entered. Fanucci sat in a chair on the other side of a metal table and seemed surprised to see him. The deputy from the other morning was with him. Williamsen if Jaxon remembered correctly. He held a bottled water in his hand and then set it down in front of Fanucci.

  “Thanks Bro,” Fanucci said and sipped the water. Williamsen nodded to Jaxon once and then left the room.

  “Are you the cause of all this?” Fanucci asked.

  “Where is she?”

  “Who? The woman I’m supposed to have kidnapped and hidden away to die? The girl who killed my daughter? Bethany Hope? Good to see you too. Jaxon, wasn’t it? Excuse me if I don’t get up.”

  Jaxon took a seat opposite him and the door closed behind him. The sheriff had left him alone with Fanucci but he was sure the man would be observing from another room.

  “Let’s talk about Bethany.”

  “I don’t have to talk to you about anything. You’re not even a cop anymore. I’m only cooperating with my department because I haven’t done anything.”

  “Your department believes that too. They seem very supportive of you. You must have a lot of friends.”

  “I get along with all of them.”

  “You have to look at this from my point of view. Take a step back and put yourself in my shoes. When everything is laid out, who would you be talking too?”

  Jaxon watched his face as he worked it out. It betrayed nothing.

  “Me. I know how bad this looks. Hell, I wanted to see all those girls dead after it happened. That was a long time ago. I’ve moved on.”

  “It’s been eight years. I don’t think you’ve moved on at all. I think that wound has festered inside of you all this time and finally come to a head.”

  “You don’t know shit.”

  Jaxon leaned forward.

  “I know exactly what it’s like to lose a child. I wanted to kill anything and everyone who had anything to do with his death. Even myself. I know that you feel a part of you has been amputated. Cut from your body without anesthesia. The pain intolerable and the aftermath impossible to live with. The itch of that missing limb is something you can never scratch and the world is never as sunny as it was before.”