by Willow Rose
“I meant on computers. Hacking stuff. Not babysitting.”
“She’s in danger,” I said. “They want to kill her. I can’t go into too many details, but she helped find a body that was supposed to stay hidden. You’re the only one I trust right now. No one knows this place even exists. It’s a freaking fortress.”
Al exhaled and fiddled with a dreadlock. “All right, I guess. But I’m not cooking or anything like that.”
“You don’t have to,” I said and handed her a one-hundred-dollar bill. “Buy a pizza. Buy several since Josie eats a lot. She’s still growing.”
“I wouldn’t think it was possible for her to get any taller, but I’ll take your word for it,” she said and took the bill.
“Just don’t let her leave the apartment, okay? I need her to stay hidden,” I said, about to walk to the door.
“I haven’t left this place in years, at least not in full daylight,” Al said. “I think I can manage. But, hey, be safe out there, will ya?”
I chuckled. “And you say you’re not the motherly type. That right there was some pretty deep motherly stuff.”
“Get out of here,” Al said. “Before I kick you out.”
“Oh, before I forget,” I said and stopped myself halfway to the door. “There is one more thing I need you to do for me, something I know you’re very good at.”
Al rolled her eyes at me. “You’re the gift that just keeps on giving, aren’t you? Okay, Hunter. Spit it out. What is it?”
Chapter 39
I knocked on the door, then poked my head inside. It was the next morning after only a few hours of restless sleep. I had a pounding headache but ignored it, knowing Jean would kill me if she knew.
“You got a minute?”
Fowler was on the phone when he saw me. He nodded and signaled for me to give him a minute while he finished his conversation. Then he hung up.
“Hunter.” He looked at his watch. “This early? Something must be up.”
I sat down in a chair across from him.
“I know that look,” he said and leaned back in his leather chair, folding his hands in front of him. “It usually means trouble.”
“It’s the Wolfe murder,” I said. “You know how Josie helped find where he was buried, right?”
Fowler chuckled. “Allegedly because she dreamt it, yes, how could I forget? Has she had any other dreams recently?”
“None that she has told me about, but I have reason to believe she’s in danger.”
“Really?”
“Yes, whoever killed Wolfe is trying to get to her.”
He got a serious look on his face. I thought about David and how he was doing back at the house where I had cuffed him and put him in the pantry, then closed the door. Camille was the only one in the house, and she would be sleeping most of the day. I reminded myself to start looking for a nurse for her. Jean was wonderful, but it wasn’t healthy for any of us that she came over so often. It broke my heart to think this way, but it was necessary.
“And you’re certain about this?” Fowler asked.
“I’m not making this up, if that’s what you’re suggesting,” I said. “I have this from a reliable source.”
He nodded. “Okay. Have you gotten her somewhere safe?”
I nodded. “She’s staying with Al.”
Fowler smiled. “I remember her. You still see each other?”
“Occasionally,” I said.
Fowler had been my partner back when we had been on Al’s sister’s case. It was around the time he received news of his promotion, and I had ended up solving it alone while he moved up the ranks instead.
“Okay,” he said. “And what do you need my help for, then?”
“I need to re-open the García case. I think they were killed because the girl knew who killed Wolfe. These two cases are deeply connected, and I want the means to solve them. I also think it’s connected to the death of Savannah Hart, who died in a fire last night. I believe she was murdered too.”
He wrinkled his forehead. “Do you have any evidence to back up this claim? It takes hard evidence to reopen a case; you know that.”
“I’ll have it hopefully by the end of the week. I have a hunch I will.”
Fowler nodded. “Okay, then. You’ve always had good hunches. If you can provide proof enough, then the case is all yours, but it won’t make you popular with your colleagues. You’re basically questioning another detective’s work and claiming he didn’t do his job properly.”
I rose to my feet, phone in my hand.
“I’m a big boy. I can take it.”
Chapter 40
“Do you have any sodas?”
Josie looked at Al, the strange woman in harem pants who was sitting by her many computer screens, staring at them steadily, her fingers tapdancing across her many keyboards.
She didn’t answer…maybe because she had on that big headset. Probably listening to music or speaking with someone at the other end of the world. She had been like this for the past four hours, ever since Josie woke up, and she was beginning to get bored. Her dad had taken her phone, so she couldn’t be traced, and she didn’t have her computer or her sketchbook with her either. There was nothing to do. Plus, she was starving. Al had been awake when she woke up, and she wondered if she had slept at all. The constant tapping on her keyboard was annoying, and she didn’t like the way her eyes didn’t look away from the screen…not even once. It was like she was hypnotized by that blue light like her very soul was sucked into the screen in front of her and couldn’t let go. Josie had asked for food, for cereal or even some bread, but Al hadn’t answered her.
Now, Josie rose to her feet and walked to the kitchen, then looked in the fridge. There was nothing much in there. Just some pomegranate, some kind of weird looking juice, and a pineapple. Was that all this woman ate?
No wonder she was the size of an ant.
Josie filled a glass of water from the fridge, then drank it, but it didn’t help anything. She felt weak because she hadn’t eaten for so long. It wasn’t good for her heart to be fasting. She wondered if she should go and ask Al about food, like go up to her and get in her face to get her attention. Maybe pull off the headset.
Nah, she’s busy and doesn’t have time to take care of you. You heard her last night. She didn’t want to babysit. She doesn’t like children.
Josie didn’t like to impose or be in the way. She wasn’t one to demand much of people around her, and especially not if she sensed they didn’t like her or want her around. More often than not, she was certain that if she didn’t do things right or behave well enough, she’d lose people—like her dad would get mad at her and leave her. It was a real fear she’d had ever since her mother overdosed. She’d always felt it was her fault, that it was something she’d said or done to upset her enough to make her start doing drugs again. She often feared she was the one who had driven her mother to do the drugs again somehow, and now she was terrified of doing the same thing to her father. That’s why she hadn’t told him about how she felt that something was wrong with her heart before all of this happened. Before she passed out, she’d feel weak from time to time, especially when doing sports; she could get very dizzy. But she didn’t dare to tell him. She didn’t like for him to worry about her. Worry wasn’t good for anyone. It made people sick. She knew that more than anyone because she worried a lot herself. She worried about her dad getting shot at work; she worried her mother would never get back to normal again. She worried that God would take them both from her, and she’d end up all alone. She worried about those things too much.
Josie felt a pinch in her heart as her stomach rumbled. She grabbed the strange juice and poured herself a glass of it, then took a deep sip. It tasted awful. She spit it all out in the sink, then washed her mouth with water. She went to the fridge, stared at the pomegranate, then decided it wasn’t worth even trying. She looked at her watch.
“Could we order pizza?” she asked. “My dad said we could?”
Al wa
s deeply into her work, and, of course, she didn’t hear. Josie sighed deeply, then walked back to the couch where she had slept. The couch was way too short, and she woke up with pain in her legs and hips.
If only she had her phone, she could call her dad and ask him to bring her food. Had he completely forgotten about her? It was one in the afternoon, and she was starving.
Josie sat down with a deep sigh, and looked at the door, willing him to come.
Bring pizza. Bring pizza!
As she sat there, staring at the door, it was like it suddenly exploded. Josie screamed as men entered the apartment, men wearing black masks and holding weapons. They pointed them at Josie and hit Al with a stick on the back of her head, so she passed out.
Next, a man entered, a man in a black suit, walking toward her with a grin on his face, his haunting steel-gray eyes glaring down at her.
“Hello, Josie,” he said. “I think it’s time you and I met properly, don’t you think?”
Chapter 41
I ran my bike across town, zigzagging through traffic, making sure that if anyone followed me, I’d lose them easily. I made a quick stop at one of my favorite pizza places on the beach. I asked them to make me a large pizza with ham and cheese, then drove up the small alley toward Al’s building. I grabbed the pizza, ran up the back entrance and up the stairs, whistling. I had a good feeling about this case. I was going to solve it with the help of David Smith, who was still cuffed to a pipe in my pantry. I was going to him next, making sure he didn’t starve to death in my house. I knew it wasn’t very nice of me to cuff him like that, but I had to make sure he didn’t leave. I needed his help to catch this killer. Without him, I was lost. He knew when the next delivery was due down at the harbor, and that was when they’d be there again, those men that had spoken about Josie and cutting her heart out. He had told me he was hired to do the next job tomorrow night. I just hoped Al would find me some evidence I could use against them. If all went well, I could have a team with me at the harbor and nail them once their delivery came in. But the illegal import of appliances wasn’t exactly enough for me. I needed them to go down for the murder of Wolfe, and hopefully, Savannah Hart, along with Emilia and Jennifer García as well. I just didn’t have all the pieces put together yet, and I hoped Al would provide me with that.
Knowing her, she’d been at it all day and had completely forgotten to feed my daughter. That was why I brought pizza. I felt compelled to, somehow. Maybe it was just my common sense.
I ran up the first flight of stairs, pizza balancing on my hand, the intense smell of it in my nostrils, making me realize I was actually starving. It wasn’t exactly heart-healthy food for my daughter, but it was the best I could do right now. It was better than her not eating.
As I reached the top of the stairs, my heart suddenly dropped. The door to Al’s apartment was gone. I could barely breathe when I saw it. Al never left it open. She locked it with at least five locks. As I approached it, I realized the door was on the floor inside the apartment, splintered to pieces.
Inside, I saw Al lying on the floor, blood smeared in her hair.
I threw the pizza down and ran to her.
“Al!”
She groaned something and tried to lift her head but couldn’t.
“Careful,” I said. “You’ve gotten a blow to your head. Come, let me help.”
I helped her back up into her chair, where she sat for a few seconds, staring at me like she couldn’t focus properly…like she had to figure out who I was. I grabbed her some water, and she drank.
“Josie,” I said nervously. “Where is she?”
Al seemed to have to think it over for a few seconds. “I was…working on that thing you asked me to and didn’t…I wasn’t looking. I wasn’t paying attention. Suddenly, there was movement; someone approached me faster than I could react, and I felt something hit the back of my head. I am sorry, Hunter. I completely blacked out.”
“Who was it? Who took her?” I asked, my voice shaking in despair. “Who took my Josie?”
“I didn’t get a look at them, but I have cameras. The entire place is covered.”
Wincing in pain, she leaned over her computer, then clicked a few times with the mouse and wrote a passcode to something. A picture showed up on the screen, a picture of the door. The door was then kicked in, and two men in black masks and clothing entered, pointing big guns at Josie. Then, a man entered, wearing a suit. With fists clenched and heart throbbing, I watched him talk to Josie. Then the men grabbed her and carried her out, kicking and screaming. Al stopped the video right before the man in the black suit turned around and was about to leave.
“There you go,” she said. “That’s your guy.”
“I can’t believe it,” I said and rubbed my hair. I stared at the face, my nostrils flaring and blood boiling.
“There’s more,” she said, wincing again in pain. “I found this for you. It had been deleted from Savannah Hart’s cloud on the night she died, but I managed to recreate it. Here you go. This is what this guy is so eager to cover up. This is why both Savannah Hart and Emilia García had to die.”
Al pressed play, and I watched the shocking video for a couple of seconds, then asked her to play it again and again. Then I asked her to send the file to my phone before I left in a fire of rage. I couldn’t believe I had been so stupid all along. I had been trusting the wrong people.
Chapter 42
“God, give me the strength to not blow his head off because I will do it if you don’t stop me.”
I mumbled the words as I ran up the stairs and burst inside. I threw my helmet on the couch, then grabbed my gun, and pulled it out of the holster. I grabbed the door to the pantry, then pulled it open, pointing the gun at David, who was still sitting inside on the floor, cuffed to the pipe on the wall behind him.
He gasped when he saw me. My six feet eight could be very intimidating when I wanted them to be.
“You betrayed me, why?” I asked. “How did you know where to find her? How did you know where Josie was? Because I don’t remember telling you.”
David stared up at me, his hands shaking. “I don’t know…what are you…I’ve been here the whole time.”
“Cut the crap,” I said and walked closer with the gun, finger steadily on the trigger. Boy, I wanted to kill him, right then and there. Just pull the trigger and get it over with. I was that angry at this point, and sick of being deceived. I had truly believed this guy, trusted that all he wanted was to protect Josie and Emilia’s heart. I had believed that he was just a grieving father who wanted to be close to whatever was left of his daughter. I had even felt sorry for him.
I felt like the biggest fool on earth.
“I’m sick of your lies. I saw you,” I said. “On that video that Savannah Hart made before her death. The one from the graveyard where you shot Wolfe. I saw you, and then I saw Emilia, your daughter. You were arguing, weren’t you? You had asked Wolfe to meet you there, hadn’t you? And then you were arguing. Emilia was there, playing. Being homeless after you left them, her mother often let her run around in parks and at the cemetery while she was passed out on pills, sleeping in the car. That evening, she had parked next to the cemetery, and Emilia was playing around when she suddenly heard voices and hid behind a tombstone. Someone was arguing, and one of the voices sounded familiar. The girl then peeked up and, seeing her father, the man she hadn’t seen in a very long time, she called out to him just as the shots were fired. Terrified, she realized she had just witnessed her own dad kill someone, and she screamed. Then, she took off running.
Seeing this, you ran after her, trying to catch her. Meanwhile, Savannah Hart was out on one of her evening jogs, as she usually was at that time of the day, when the air is cooling down after sunset. She was in her own thoughts when she heard the shots go off and found herself right outside the cemetery. She heard the scream that followed it and realized something was very much off. Thinking she was unarmed, and her only weapon was her phone, she p
ulled it out and started filming between the trees. She filmed the body on the ground and then turned it to film you as you ran for the girl and grabbed her just as she reached the exit. On the video, I saw how you were holding the girl’s mouth, covering it, and I could hear you hushing her, telling her it was all right and just to make sure she stayed quiet. Seeing this, Savannah knew she had to do something to save the girl, so she yelled at you. Filming you and coming up toward you, she told you to let go of the girl. On the video, you can clearly hear her tell you that she is live streaming it, probably thinking that will make you stop, which she is right about. You let go of Emilia, and she ran off. Run, Girl, Run, Savannah yelled after her. But as she made it into the street, Emilia ran into someone else, a buddy of yours. He was waiting by your car, waiting for you to finish the business he asked you to do, killing Wolfe. He’s a guy with steel-gray eyes, who Emilia didn’t know. Savannah was filming the encounter, and the guy saw her and forgot about Emilia, who ran with all she had while the man approached Savannah, yelling at her to stop filming.
That’s when the filming stopped, and I assume Savannah ran off and later made it home. But you and your buddy then decided to go after them both, didn’t you? He said he’d take care of Emilia, your daughter, and you could focus on the runner, on Savannah. So you kept an eye on the area for a little while, and one day you saw her running again, then made sure you followed her home and to work, and knew all of her routines before you made your move, didn’t you? You burned down the house with her inside of it after you had made sure to remove the video from her phone and computer. But the thing is, those things never really disappear.”
I raised my phone and played the video clip again. I let him watch as he saw his daughter run, and right when he grabbed her, I paused it. “There you have it. Now, I’ve made sure that this clip is safe somewhere in cyberspace, so if anything happens to me, the clip will be the evidence. You can’t outrun it.”
