“Agent, this guy doesn’t see himself as a child molester. He actually thinks he is in love with Sam and she with him. I am hoping that he won’t hurt her and we can catch the bastard before he molests her. He was shot in the leg and I pray that slows him down.”
“That does make a lot of sense and praying can’t hurt.”
Grumpy caught Sheriff Cox off to the side to get an update from him.
“The bottom line is that we are checking all leads and have gotten nowhere in finding Sam or Jack Collins. We found two of the three stolen cars, a dead salesman and blood in all of the cars. Sam left notes in the two cars telling us that Collins was the abductor and that they were heading east. They disappeared after he killed the salesman and stole his car. Bill, I wish I had more, but it is what it is.”
Grumpy looked at the sheriff and said, “Look, I know that I am not a detective, but this guy obviously has a hideout or a safe place to hide. Someone owns it or knows that he is staying there. Have you checked to see if he, his family or friends own any property east of Louisville?”
“Grumpy, it’s not that easy in this case. His father is friends with every elected official, billionaire and influential person in Kentucky and every state around us. He dines at the governor’s mansion once a month and their families take vacations together. He’s been to the White House numerous times.”
“So, have you checked or not?”
“Yes, and I got my ass chewed out by the mayor. There isn’t any property in Jack’s or his father’s name outside of Louisville. I tried checking on his father’s companies and got nowhere. Several companies are shell companies owned by offshore companies owned by other companies.”
“So what you are telling me is that the father is probably with the mob or is just a regular old crook, but the bottom line is that he is a crook.”
“Grumpy, I have always thought he was a crook. Do you remember that good-looking blond reporter that fell off the Natural Bridge over by Lexington?
“Yeah, she fell to her death. They reported that she was on drugs.”
“Well, she was performing an investigation into Jack Collins, Sr.’s dealings with the Chicago mob just before she fell. A friend said that she spent two weeks in Chicago spending a lot of cash on informants and ended up dead a couple of weeks later. You don’t want to get caught messing with Jack Collins, Sr.”
Grumpy replied, “Caught,” and left the police station.
Sammy waited in the truck and was happy when Grumpy came back to him. He missed Sam so much and wanted Grumpy to find her. He jumped in Grumpy’s lap and lay down while he drove to the Café for lunch. They sat outside on a picnic table and shared Grumpy’s lunch. Just as they were finishing lunch, a young black girl walked up and Sammy jumped up and ran to her. She picked him up and walked to Grumpy.
“How do you know Sammy? He seems to like you.”
“I go to school with Sam and we hang out a lot. I’m Kathy and Sam is my only close friend. I miss her so much. I couldn’t see her because my family thought that she was on drugs like her mom and Jack.”
“I’m Bill Jones and my wife, Mary and I are Sam’s foster parents. I am searching for her. Do you know anything that would help me find her? Do you know Jack?”
“I don’t know him very well and didn’t want to. He was trying to molest Sam and her mother wouldn’t do anything about it. He even tried it with me once and I kicked him in the balls. I never went back to their house again.”
Grumpy didn’t want to push too hard so he got Kathy talking about school and Sam for several minutes, then went back to asking what she knew about Jack.
“Did you hear anything or see anything that could give me a clue where he could be hiding her?”
“I’ll tell you what I know. One time I was in the house and could hear Jack talking with someone on the phone. He mentioned that he was going up to the cabin for some fun that weekend. He said that it was only about two hours due east from Sam’s home. He also got a call from his dad on Fridays about every two weeks and had a lot of money after each call. Sam told me about that. She thought that Jack was a pimp and was supplying young girls for his dad.”
“What made her say that?”
“I don’t know; she didn’t say. Hey, I almost forgot, his dad goes out to the cabin after each of those calls and drives an old pickup truck to the cabin after work. They both would spend the weekend at the cabin. Jack had a truck just like his dad’s, but as you know Sam wrecked it several months ago.”
“Thanks so much for the information. If you think of anything else please call me at the number on this card.”
She took the card and asked, “How is your wife doing? She is so brave. Would it be okay if I visited her at the hospital?”
“Of course, go see her anytime. You are welcome to come and visit Sam anytime. We will get her back soon. I promise.”
***
“Sir, may I have a word with you?”
“Yes, but I only have a minute. What can I do for you?”
“That sheriff has been nosing around your building over in Shepherdsville and burning up the internet searching anything to do with you or Jack, Jr. Should I do anything?”
“Ray, you are the head of my security. Make sure that my son and I are secure. That’s all.”
“He will be dealt with.”
“George, meet me at my house at 2:00 p.m. and I will prep you for an off the books operation. Think about which two of your best men can be trusted with this type of operation. They will be well compensated.”
“Yes sir. I know just the two for the job. One is a woman; is that a problem?"
“You know your people. I expect results. Handle this to my satisfaction and you will receive a fat bonus and a trip to anywhere you want for you and your wife.”
“Thanks, I won’t fail you.”
They met on the deck behind his house. He briefed George about the sheriff, but never mentioned Mr. Collins or Jack.
“George, I know you have many questions, but all I am going to tell you is the name of the sheriff and pay you to make sure that he goes away. An accident would be nice.”
“How soon would you like this mission completed?”
“Make it your top priority. Here is $20,000 to get the mission started. There is another $30,000 when I see proof that the mission was successful.”
“We will start on Friday and bring proof to you ASAP.”
***
Sheriff Cox dropped by Grumpy’s house later that morning to tell Grumpy that there was still no progress in the case. He also asked Grumpy if Sam had mentioned going to any other houses or friends with Jack and her Mom.
“Andy, what has the FBI accomplished? I know that your resources are limited, but these guys have the full weight of the Federal Government. Sam never mentioned any other places. Jack and her Mom just stayed around the house all drugged up or went to that bar out on Popular Road.”
“It’s only 29 hours since Sam was abducted on Thursday. We need time to check hospitals, doctors and walk-in clinics. The FBI is checking for a cabin owned by Jack, Jr or Sr. We have over fifty police, FBI and state police checking every city east of here to see if anyone has seen Sam or Jack. We are doing our best.”
“Andy, is the FBI checking out Collins, Sr.?”
“Grumpy, I am not aware of them checking into that angle, but remember Collins is a big donor and supported of the governor and the President. They won’t look too hard. You also have to remember that Collins, Sr. hasn’t done anything wrong. Jack, Jr. is the kidnapper.”
Sheriff Cox drove off and Grumpy finished getting ready to head to Louisville.
***
The sheriff was heading east out of town retracing the part of Jack's route when he saw a dark SUV following two cars back. He saw the same SUV across the street from the diner an hour ago. He thought that they must be the FBI because they were in the same make and model Suburban that they drive. He made a couple of turns and they stayed behind him.
He called his friend Joe in the state police and told him what was going on. Joe told him to lead the vehicle out of town towards the State Maintenance garage and that he would fall in behind them in an unmarked car and run the plates.
“Greg, we need to get him to stop and get out of the car so we can inject him with the drug. In ten minutes, no one will suspect anything other than a natural heart attack.”
“Look, he just made another turn. Either he is just wandering around or he made us.”
“Andy, I ran the plates and it’s a rental from Illinois. This smells rotten. I think that we should pull them over and see what they are doing.”
“I agree. Be prepared for a gun fight.”
“Let’s roll.”
The driver of the Suburban saw the flashing blue lights and said, “He did make us and called for backup. Do we take them both out or run?”
The woman said, “No, let me talk our way out of this. Pull over. I was prepared for this.”
Joe approached the car from the driver’s side while Sheriff Cox slowly walked to the passenger side.
“Please hand me your driver’s license.”
He looked at the license and asked, “Why were you tailing the sheriff?”
The driver pointed at the lady on the passenger side of the car.”
She pulled out some ID and said, “Sorry for startling you. I am trying to do a story about the kidnapping and hope to follow the sheriff to something interesting.”
“Both your IDs check out. I’d recommend that you not do this in the future.”
The woman smiled and said, “You know us reporters; we have to get our story.”
Joe told them that they could leave and they drove off.
“Joe, did you buy that story?”
“Not for one minute. They are either good guys acting stupid or you pissed off someone with some real power. Both of them are ex-military guns for hire. I could see the outline of a shoulder holster on the man and the woman kept her right hand close to her jacket flap. They were ready to shoot it out.”
Joe then got on his car radio, sent the vehicles and peoples description to the station and asked that the two to be picked up and detained for questioning. He warned that they were armed and dangerous.
They were never caught.
✼ ✼ ✼
✼
Chapter 17
Grumpy had searched the internet and had a good picture of Jack's father and the location of his business. He locked up the house and went to his truck. He opened the passenger’s side door of the pickup and found Sammy sitting on the seat.
“Boy, I thought that you were still at the hospital with Mary. You need to stay here.”
Sammy looked at him and barked. Grumpy remembered that he had no one to watch Sammy.
“Boy, do you want to take a ride with me? Go bye bye?"
Sammy got all excited, wagged his tail and shook all over.
“Okay, I really don’t have a choice; you and I are going to Louisville.”
The drive was only about 55 minutes and Grumpy talked with Sammy all the way to the Collins' building. He told Sammy about his promise to God to be a better person and offering his life for Mary’s life. Sammy crawled up in Grumpy’s lap, licked his cheek and listened to him talk.
He found a spot where he could see the parking area for the office building. People came and went until about 5:30 p.m. and the parking lot emptied. There were only a couple of small compact cars left in the parking lot and they looked more like the janitorial crew drove them than the owner of the company. He waited another hour and heard a rumbling of a hot rod coming from the alley to the left of the building. A bright red ‘49 Chevy truck drove out of the alley, made a left and drove right in front of Grumpy. The driver was Jack Collins, Sr. Sammy barked several times and jumped up and down in Grumpy’s lap. He pulled out and followed the truck from about a hundred feet back.
The truck got on Highway 64 East and jumped way ahead of Grumpy. He pressed the peddle down and was doing 95 mph before he saw the truck in the distance. There were several cars on the road so he didn’t think that he had been spotted. The truck only slowed to go through Lexington on New Circle Road. It stopped at a restaurant for ten minutes, and then it was 85 mph again on 64 east. They drove for another 30 minutes, exited south and took a small country road southeast for another 1o minutes before getting on another gravel road. Grumpy didn’t have to worry about being seen because the truck threw up a cloud of dust so he stayed about 100 feet back.
Suddenly there was no dust and the road turned into a dirt road with no one ahead of them. Grumpy turned around and drove slowly back until he saw the truck's tire tracks turn down a small gravel driveway. He listened and did not hear the truck, so he parked his truck in the woods.
“Sammy, I’m leaving you in the truck with the window down a bit and I’ll be right back.”
Grumpy had his .45 Colt and two extra magazines. If he needed more ammo then that, he was in deep trouble. This was just a scouting mission and the worst case was he would call the police to rescue Sam.
He walked into the woods and walked parallel to the long driveway until he could see the house. He saw the truck parked in a garage attached to the right side of a very nice cabin. Collins father was carrying several bags from the restaurant into the cabin. The sun was going down and the trees were thick around the cabin so it was almost dark. Grumpy heard a rustling in the woods across the driveway and saw an animal slowly walking in the shadows towards the truck. He was afraid that it was a dog and its barking would give him away. He moved closer to the cabin when he saw the animal cross a patch of light. It was Sammy!
He scurried across the driveway, picked Sammy up and gave him a hug. Sammy squirmed to get down and made a beeline for the old truck. He sniffed around the truck and jumped up and down on the door until Grumpy opened the door and Sammy jumped in. He sniffed around the truck and brought a girl’s sock to Grumpy. Then he forced his way under the front seat and came back with a wadded up piece of paper. Grumpy used his cell phone light to see that the paper was part of a pamphlet on gun safety that he had given to Sam.
Grumpy was both excited and scared for Sam’s safety. She had to be here. He picked Sammy up and started to walk behind the cabin when a light came on in the garage and Grumpy saw someone walk out of the house into the front of the garage. The truck backed out of the garage and Grumpy saw that the older Collins was behind the wheel. Grumpy was glad that he had hidden his truck in the brush. Collins father was trading trucks. The old Chevy bellowed as the driver roared down the back roads.
Grumpy had Sammy in his arms and he was looking in the kitchen window when he was struck from behind. He fell to the ground just as Sammy jumped free. Sammy saw Jack and ran towards him to protect Grumpy when Jack shot several times at Sammy, but missed every time. Sammy charged and bit Jack on the leg and hand when Jack tried to hit Sammy. Sammy bit him several more times when Jack finally hit Sammy with his gun and knocked him away. Sammy ran off into the woods with Jack taking several shots at him and again missing every time.
Jack reloaded his gun and then threw some water on Grumpy to wake him up and made him walk into the cabin. He pushed Grumpy down on the floor, tied his hands behind his back and told him not to get up.
“Stay on the floor until I get some chain. I had planned to kill you in a month or so, but you are making this very easy on me. I was going to kidnap you and force you up here so I could bury you in the woods with my other friends. Now, I can torture you and make you dig your own grave.”
Grumpy was looking at Jack when he looked past him into a bedroom. There was Sam spread out on the bed with her leg hanging off. Grumpy was now sure that Sam had been murdered and would soon be buried in these woods. He wondered what role Jack’s father played in this nightmare.
Tears were streaming down Grumpy’s face as he asked, “Is this where you bury all of the little girls that you have molested? Does your father molest them before you kill th
em? Killing Sam was the biggest mistake in your life. I will make sure that you are brought to justice.”
Just then, Grumpy heard, “Bill, I’m not dead! Where is Sammy? How is Mary? Jack shot her.”
Grumpy saw Sam was sitting up and chained to the bed. A chain was bolted to her leg just above her ankle and was locked to the footboard. The bed was an old iron bed so Sam had no chance of breaking free on her own.
“Sam, Mary is doing well. Sammy is outside waiting to attack Jack again. We love you and will get you away from this pervert.”
Jack replied, “You can’t save yourself. How are you going to save her? I killed that damn dog; he won’t be bothering me again."
Jack pulled his pants leg up to show a bloody bite mark.
Jack limped over to Grumpy and hit him on the head with the butt of his pistol. Grumpy slumped to the floor and pretended to be unconscious while watching Jack clean his new wounds and then bandage them. Sammy had torn into Jack again. Grumpy doubted that Jack had killed Sammy. That dog was fast and hated Jack. He could imagine that Sammy was plotting how to attack Jack again and free them.
Jack went to the back porch and came back with a log chain and several locks. He chained Grumpy’s hands together and used another length of chain to chain his feet just loose enough that Grumpy could walk.
“Mr. Jones and I are going to take a walk into the woods and only I will be coming back. Sam, say goodbye to Mr. Jones. He and his wife has been a bump in the road, but will no longer be a problem. Then Sam, we can finally be together.”
Jack was slurring his words and moving very deliberately, like a drunk who had been asked to walk a straight line. Grumpy eyed his .45 Colt lying on the kitchen table and said, “Look scumbag. What makes you think that I am going to walk into those woods, dig my own grave and let you kill me?”
Grumpy, Sam and Sammy: A Murder Mystery and Thriller Page 10
