“You have to let it go,” said Tyler, noticing her faraway expression one day. “He wants you to doubt yourself.”
Alice gave him a questioning look. “Do you think he knows who I am?” It was a question that had been bothering her ever since Riley’s stunt with the phone call.
“I don’t know,” he replied. “He is a sick, twisted guy who would probably do something like that to anyone trying to bring him to justice.”
Riley’s taunts and jeers only made her even more committed to catching him. She contacted local authorities in Colombia and asked them to run Harrold’s recent photograph on every news channel in a segment of America’s Most Wanted Criminal. They didn’t know where Riley was but they could get to Harrold and then use him to catch his partner.
Alice hung up the phone when she had finished talking to the Colombian Police. She leaned over her desk, interlacing her fingers. She would make sure she had the last laugh.
CHAPTER 5
Loud Spanish music played in the club. The dance floor was crowded with people gyrating their sweat-covered bodies to the pulsating music drenched under neon lights. A gorgeous Latina sat at the bar, bobbing her head to the music. Isabella Garcia had just got off from work and decided to head to the club to unwind. She had chosen a skimpy bright orange dress with a low neckline and a slit above her right leg. It made her feel desirable and she could see several men looking her way.
A man in a cowboy hat sidled up to her and whispered in her ear, "Can I buy you a drink?"
"No, thanks," she replied without sparing him a glance.
"Would you care for a dance then?" the stranger asked in broken Spanish.
"No," she said, flatly. She didn't need to look him over to tell that he wasn't her type.
"You look nice," he said, switching back to English. Isabella took him for a foreigner. "Do you mind if I sit next to you?"
She shook her head making her large gold hoop earrings swing from side to side.
The man sat on the barstool next to her and took off his hat revealing a bald head. He looked her over with a twinkle in his eye and a slight smile on his lips. "You are a beautiful woman. You shouldn't be sitting out here alone. You should be on the dance floor, having fun."
"I'm waiting for the right dance partner," she said, raising an eyebrow.
"Oooh! You're savage!" He chuckled. "I just wish you didn't make up your mind about me too soon, I could've surprised you."
His honesty made Isabella smile. She turned toward him, placing her slender arms on the counter and resting her chin on one hand. "Where are you from?"
He grinned. "Canada."
"So what brought you to Colombia?"
"My passion for finding the world's best coffee."
"You've come to the right place then; nothing is better than Colombian coffee."
"Or Colombian women," he remarked with a mischievous grin.
Isabella smiled coquettishly. She lifted a long-stemmed glass to her lips, finishing her drink. "Are you still in the mood to buy me a drink?"
The man's smile grew wide as he took out cash from his pocket and gestured at the bartender.
A few more drinks made her lose her stiff persona. She threw back her head and laughed loudly at every little joke that he made. They were leaning close to each other and she could feel his leg touch hers under the table.
"Would you like to come over to my place?" he murmured in her ear.
She gave him a shy smile and nodded. She couldn't tell whether it was the alcohol or that she had noticed that he wore a Rolex and drove a BMW, but she had begun to like him.
He excused himself to go to the restroom after making the proposition. Isabella saw him make his way through the crowd and noticed a limp in his gait. He was older than the men she usually dated but she didn't seem to mind.
Taking a sip of her fifth or sixth drink — she had lost count — she glanced at the TV fixed on the wall.
When the man returned, he was surprised to find her stool empty. He looked around but couldn't find her anywhere. The TV show playing on the television overhead caught his attention.
Harrold's stomach dropped the moment he saw his picture flash on the screen with the caption, "America's Most Wanted." Panic surged through him. The girl must have called the police. He searched his pockets for his car keys, took them out, and dashed out of the club.
Crouched in a corner of the club, Isabella had her phone pressed to her ear while her heart beat wildly in her chest. There was a $100,000 reward for providing the police with Harrold Brown’s whereabouts and she would be a fool not to take it. She felt a thrill of anticipation as she waited for the police to pick up her call. She cast furtive glances over her shoulder, afraid that the American might pounce on her from behind.
Fear gripped her as she imagined what crime he might have committed for the U.S. government to put up such a large amount of reward money for his capture. A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered that she almost went with him to his house.
Outside, Harrold fumbled with his keys as he tried to open the car door. He glanced around for any sign of police and a Wanted poster on a lamp post caught his attention. His mouth went dry and his heart hammered inside his chest as he saw his face pasted all over the block.
He had to do something or else it wouldn’t take them long to catch him.
***
Alice rubbed her eyes to make the exhaustion go away. She was up most nights checking the information people sent in about Harrold Brown. The phone was ringing constantly at the police department. The $100,000 reward money meant a lot of people called in to report fake sightings. But they had to follow through with every single eyewitness report to ascertain if it was true or not. At times like these, Alice realized how terribly understaffed they were.
She was doing more than her share of work, still it seemed they were no closer to catching Harrold or Riley. A woman called from Colombia claiming that Harrold Brown was with her at a local bar. He reportedly fled the scene by the time the police turned up. So far that woman’s testimony seemed the most authentic one.
“Any plans to leave the office or are you going to be spending the night here?” Adrian asked, standing in the doorway.
She glanced at the clock; it was late. “I still have a lot of work to get done,” she replied, stifling a yawn.
He nodded and was about to leave when he remembered something and turned back to face her. “You know, I have an idea to catch Chris. I’m just not sure whether you’d want to go through with it.”
“I am willing to do anything to catch that bastard. So go ahead, tell me what you have in mind,” she said, gesturing at him to take a seat.
He hesitated a moment then finally sat down. “I’m going to start off by making a confession,” he said, carefully choosing his words. “I was a little confused why you were so dead set on catching Chris Murray. I was going through his past records and I learned about his marriage to Rita Sloan.”
Her expression was hard to read. She fixed a cold set of eyes on him and waited for him to finish.
“I know what happened with your mother and your connection with Chris. He was a conman and went by different names over the years. I understand he used the name Riley when he married your mother.”
Alice leaned back in her chair and let out a troubled breath. “So now you know why it is so important for us to catch him. Not only has he committed fraud, abduction, and murder; he killed a federal agent.”
Adrian realized he was walking over a minefield. A single misstep would make her go off on him, unleashing years of pent-up rage. "I was thinking," he leaned forward, resting his arms on her desk, "what if we get you to call him?"
"I'd love to get to talk to him and give him a piece of my mind. But we don't have his number."
"Give me some time to work it out. I just think if he hears from you and you can lower his defenses, we might be able to get him to stay on the line long enough to trace his location."
"
I doubt he'd be interested in talking to an FBI special agent."
Adrian smiled. "Don't tell him that you work for the FBI then."
Alice went over his plan after he'd left. She liked the sound of it; it could work and there were a lot of things that she had to say to Riley. A few moments later, she shook her head and brushed away the idea. There was no way Adrian could find his phone number and even if he did, Riley would get suspicious after she introduced herself.
CHAPTER 6
A few weeks passed by with no developments on the case. Since the body found in the car had been confirmed to be Tyler's grandfather, it was returned to his grave and a small funeral was arranged.
The four of them found themselves back at the cemetery. Dressed in black, they all stood with somber expressions while the coffin with the bones found in the car crash was lowered into the grave.
A worker stepped forward to shovel dirt over the glossy wooden coffin once it was inside.
"What kind of sick weirdo digs up a corpse to stage his murder," murmured Naomi.
"The same kind who loves Ethiopian coffee beans and flirts with girls half his age," snapped Adrian.
Naomi glared at him but resisted the urge to respond and start another fight. The two had been at each other's throats ever since they returned from their visit to Harrold's house. It seemed the honeymoon phase had come to a close and their relationship was on the brink of collapse.
Tyler walked alongside Alice once the dirt was leveled on the surface of the grave and they had laid flowers all around it. "We received a tip from an anonymous source again. This time it is an address."
"It must be another one of Riley's tricks," she said. "It would be better if we don't fall for it."
"The location is in Mexico," said Tyler. "I contacted the local authorities to check it out and they reported seeing a man living there who matches Riley's description."
Alice shook her head. "I don't trust these random tip from unnamed people. Why would anyone pass on an opportunity to earn $100,000? Unless they've already been paid for with a much larger sum of money."
"I get what you mean," he came to a stop and gazed at the beautiful undulating hills before them, taken momentarily by its beauty, finally he turned toward her, "but what if it's not a trick. What if whoever called to report him was afraid of him so they didn't leave a name? What if the person was afraid of his name getting leaked to the media?"
Alice bit her lower lip. "And what if it's just Riley trying to derail the investigation by wasting our time?"
"In that case, we could treat our trip to Mexico as some much-needed time off," he said with a shrug.
Alice didn't look convinced so he added, "I'll leave the final decision up to you. Let me know what you decide in the morning." With that, he turned and ambled away, leaving her to think over what course of action she should take.
It was difficult for her to decide what to do. Riley's derisive laughter echoed in her ears. She did not want to make a fool of herself for the second time by falling for his sick tactics.
Finally, she realized the possibility of the information provided by the anonymous source being authentic was far greater than it being a hoax. She called Tyler to let him know. He was pleased to learn that she had agreed to fly to Mexico and quickly booked their tickets. They flew to Cancun, Mexico, the very next day.
Alice felt a rising sense of trepidation as their plane descended over the Caribbean city with sparkling turquoise water and sandy white shores dotted with five-star hotels.
She had been preparing herself to come face to face with her stepfather for the past month but now that a meeting with him was imminent, all she wanted to do was turn back and run to Needles. She feared that looking into his gray eyes would make her lose courage. Her childhood trauma would resurface and she would find herself paralyzed with terror the same way that she used to be when she was a child.
Tyler noticed her agonized expression and took her hand in his. He was familiar with the mounting anxiety that she might be experiencing as the plane's landing gear unfolded with a clunk and it dipped its nose, slicing the air as it headed toward the runway.
"You're not alone. We're in this together," he murmured. "Remember, you'll always have me by your side."
The plane rattled as it touched the ground and taxied to a halt. Alice took a deep breath and unsnapped her seatbelt. She stood up, squared her shoulders, and marched down the aisle behind Tyler to alight the aircraft.
The fuselage door swung open and the staircase was clicked in place for them to descend the airplane. They had booked a special flight, and apart from them, only a few other businessmen were on the plane.
Alice spotted a row of shiny black BMWs parked on the tarmac as she descended the stairs behind Tyler. A group of stern-faced men dressed in black suits and ties and shades stood near the car.
One of the men, a bulky Latino, stepped forward as they stepped over the tarmac and introduced himself as a Mexican Secret Services Agent. The man escorted them to a black BMW and drove them to their headquarters.
They were briefed about the raid that they would be carrying out. Alice put on her bulletproof vest over a navy blouse and black pants and tucked her gun in its holster tied around her waist. She was given two stun grenades and a tear gas bomb, in case things took a turn for the worst.
They piled into their cars and set off toward the beach. Riley was reportedly seen living in a wooden cabin in an isolated area on the beach. They parked their vehicles several miles away from the hut, jumping out of the cars with their weapons drawn. Alice, Tyler, and the local police officers fanned out, circling the premises from all sides.
Slowly, they began moving down the beach and inching toward the cabin. Alice crouched behind a tropical plant with large green leaves. The air was rich with the scent of exotic flowers mixed with the salty sea breeze.
She waited for a signal from the others to move in on the cabin. Her heart thrummed inside her chest and she felt like her thirteen-year-old self, hiding in the closet after hearing the gunshots. Her grip tightened around her weapon. This was her moment to take revenge. The moment she had been waiting for all her life.
Hatred swelled inside her with every passing minute. She wanted to rush inside and put a bullet in Riley's head, setting things right and giving him what he deserved.
The snake necklace hung from her wrist. She had wrapped it around her hand like a bracelet. Afraid that her will to take him out might falter, she had kept the necklace close to remind her of what he had done.
A voice crackled inside her earpiece that the police had secured the perimeter and she could move on. She motioned at Tyler to follow and crept through the plants and bushes toward the cabin. She ducked low near the window to avoid being seen and moved on to the porch.
Slowly and steadily, Alice moved toward the door with her weapon at the ready. She paused for a moment, staring at the door and trying to calm her nerves before she barged in and saw him. His mocking laughter rang in her ears once more. Anger rushed through her veins and she swung her leg with all her might, kicking open the door and barreling inside.
She was met with a deathly silence. A window on the far right lay open, letting in a gust of wind that scattered a pile of papers lying on a writing desk. Alice stepped inside, swinging her weapon at the slightest sound or perceived movement.
They checked every room but there was no sign of him. Disappointment swept over her. She lowered her weapon, her eyes darting all over the cabin searching for any sign of Riley being there. Had he managed to trick her again? Her breathing became shallow and quick and she could feel a full-blown panic attack come on.
Tyler appeared in the living room with a small piece of paper in his hand. He stared at it with his brow furrowed, unable to make sense of what it read. Confused, he handed it to her.
She had a look at the paper and froze after she saw what was drawn on it. A stick figure hanging from the gallows with her name written underneath, each letter
capitalized and underlined. She remembered the word game her stepfather used to play with her when she was a child. He would dole out cruel punishments if she failed to guess the word and lost. One time he destroyed her favorite doll, another time he shot her dog. He would make up excuses for the incidents when Rita found out. The dog chewed on Alice’s favorite doll and later attacked Alice so I had to take him out. It was always her word against his and her mother always went with what he said.
Alice sank to her knees. Her whole body began to shudder as tears rolled down her cheeks and loud sobs escaped her lips. She couldn’t believe that he had managed to escape and had the gall to mock her again. Even today he seemed much stronger and more clever than she could ever be. Her hope of avenging her mother’s murder diminished.
Tyler wrapped an arm around her. “He is playing mind games with you. You have to be strong.”
She felt mentally and emotionally drained. All she wanted to do now was give up. She wanted to return to Virginia Beach and go on with her life. A thought crossed her mind making her eyes bulge with fear. He knows who I am. He will never leave me alone.
She knew she couldn’t lay on the floor and mope over her fate for long. She wiped away the tears and pulled herself to her feet and began searching through the cabin for any more clues.
They did not find anything else in the cabin that could help them track Riley. All they knew was that he had received information about the raid beforehand and fled the scene long before they arrived.
All that Alice could think of was that there was a snitch in her team or the Mexican Secret Services who had aided them in the raid. Either way, she was devastated by the failed operation and felt paranoid about who she could trust in the investigation.
She was not ready to leave Mexico and give up on catching Riley. The first thing she did after getting back from the failed operation at Riley’s residence was to send his photograph and details to border patrol officers and make sure he did not leave the country. Next, she ran his photograph on every local news channel with the reward money.
Grave Deceit Page 6
