Nodding, Raymond looked to the clock and he knew it was time to begin his drive around. They would be together. There was strength in numbers but that was why he was being sent in. He, Raymond Alteri, was the best killer that the Ciervo family had. He refused to let them down.
Chapter 14
Hazel was getting up despite the fact that everyone insisted she stay down. She was not going to sit in some hospital bed all day when she knew something very dark and dangerous was happening. “You can’t leave the hospital,” Owen said to her firmly.
“I don’t give a damn. I’m still breathing. I can deal with everything else.”
“Why do you have to be so stubborn?”
“Maybe I wouldn’t be so stubborn if you just let me have my way.”
Percy was in her room now. They grabbed each side of her, helping her up. She was sore and in a lot of pain, but they gave up arguing. She was stubborn and they both knew that she always got her way.
“I want to see Nate before I leave,” she said to them.
At Nate’s room, she watched her brother as he slept. She wondered if he was having a peaceful sleep or if he was being haunted. She wanted to burst into tears. He was bruised and cut up badly. “I love you,” she said and then they continued down the hallway.
“Is Mom mad at me?”
“Why would she be mad?”
“I was in her car during the accident.”
“Mom probably doesn’t care. If you had been killed she would be very upset, but no, she doesn’t care.”
Nodding, she felt dizzy. She disliked hospitals almost as much as she disliked elevators.
Finally they were outside and she was being helped into Owen’s car. The image of how Nate looked was still embedded in her mind. He was under close watch, but still, she was not comfortable with it at all. He was back and safe, but at what cost to his mental stability?
They arrived in front of her apartment. Owen opened her car door and picked her up in his arms. As he carried her in, she wondered what he thought about the gash on her head. It had required thirteen stitches. Percy got the door for them and they took her inside.
He put her down carefully in her bedroom. “Is there anything I can do for you?” her mother said, walking into the room. Hazel was delighted to see her mother, but noticed the stress lines on her forehead.
“No Mom,” she said. “I will be okay. I think I just need some sleep.”
“Take care of her,” she said to Owen, kissing her daughter on the cheek before leaving.
“I can always sleep in the living room,” Owen said, testing her.
“You can stay in this bed with me,” she said firmly.
He crawled into bed next to her, looking upset. “I don’t like the fact that I feel like I’m losing you again,” he said.
“I wish you didn’t work for the government. I just can’t stand this.”
“I will always be yours,” he said, looking deeply into her eyes.
In that moment, she was ready to accept how everything was. She was not much for the idea of fate, but in this case she knew this was the way it was meant to be. Everything had been set in motion and would play out the way it was supposed to. Until then, she was going to savor this moment.
She reached out to Owen and he moved on top of her. He kissed her gently at first, but then his kisses became more demanding. Extremely lightheaded now, she could care less. “Will you be mine?” he murmured in her ear.
She wanted him and he wanted her. Their lips met then parted and she bit her lower lip, feeling him pull away.
“Another night,” he said as he took the covers and wrapped her in it. “For right now, you need to rest.”
“Are you sure that’s what I need?” She pulled him back and lie on top of him. She removed her top and he reached behind her, unhooking her lace bra. She bent down towards him and he kissed and fondled her breasts. Closing her eyes in ecstasy, he moved her aside and unbuttoned her pants, slipping them off.
She watched as he began removing his clothes and moved on top of her. She moaned as he moved inside of her. Chills traveled throughout her body as he began to move faster, bringing her to climax. With his climax, he stiffened and shuddered, resting on top of her, kissing her lovingly.
Hazel hadn’t been this happy in years.
§
The morning light began to trickle through the blinds. Hazel stirred in her sleep. She was still dizzy and felt sick to her stomach. Owen was not anywhere around. She threw her bathrobe on and went into the hallway but her knees gave out.
“Are you crazy?” Owen said, bolting towards her. “You are supposed to be relaxing.”
He helped her back to her feet and escorted her back into the bedroom. “I didn’t know where you were. I thought that this was just a dream at first.”
“Hopefully the reality won’t disappoint you,” he teased.
He sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her. “I need you to relax today. Don’t worry about anything else going on.”
She shook her head. “I am still part of this case.”
“Right now you are out of the field. Not just because your stepfather said so, but because your doctor thinks that you should be in bed as well. The moment I know anything, I will let you know.”
She nodded and felt his lips brush lightly against her cheek just before he walked away. Alone once again, the events from the past week came crashing down on her. She felt as if she had aged ninety years. Then her mother appeared in the doorway, her arms were folded over her chest.
“Are you doing okay?” she asked.
“Yes, Mom,” she answered, surprised to see her mother. “Just slightly out of it is all.”
“I know Owen stayed here with you all night. Do you mind telling me if you two are back together?”
“I’m not sure,” said Hazel. “But when I figure it out, I’ll let you know.”
“Good. I’m going to fix up some breakfast. I’ll bring it in to you.”
§
Owen was sitting at Hazel’s desk at the station going through her files. Finding a ghost was difficult. He tracked her progress on the case and saw where she’d left off. There was a knock at the door and Owen saw Brooks standing there. He looked like walking death.
“Has she told you anything yet?” he asked when he opened the door.
“About what?” inquired Owen.
“She is a killer – a cold blooded killer just like the rest of us. How else do you think she was able to keep up with us throughout this entire investigation?”
“Did you set her up to kill someone?”
“No. It was never my intention, but she killed Losito all on her own. The minute she realized he was the mole, she made sure his death warrant was signed, sealed, and delivered.”
“Was his body found or something?”
“No. I suspect the Ciervos family took care of that loose end, but I know without a doubt that Hazel pulled the trigger.” Brooks paused and said,”She can go overseas with us.”
“I don’t think she would leave her family,” said Owen.
“She would if it meant she was making a difference in the world and was with you the entire time.”
Owen shook his head. “I am not going to force her hand on this one. I love her and am not going to have her kill anyone else.”
A call came into her desk phone. “Special Agent Jones.”
“Is Detective Hanson available?”
“Not at this moment. May I ask who is calling?”
“Dr. Mathis. I need to talk to Detective Hanson. Kelly is – dead,” she cried. “She was killed this morning. The police are already here, but they said that you guys are at a different station. What the hell is going on?”
Owen was silent for a moment. “Dr. Mathis, I’m sending our units down there right now.”
“Alright,” she sobbed.
Hanging up the phone, he turned to Brooks and told
him what happened. “We’ll pull together a small team right now,” Brooks said. They were going to finish this investigation – their way. The best part of their job was that they didn’t have to follow the law. So long as the bad person was off the streets, no one gave a damn.
Hazel had made her way to the kitchen, refusing to eat in bed. “Hazel,” her mother said frantically, “I told you I was going to bring you breakfast.”
“Now you don’t have to worry about it,” she said, plopping down on the couch. “I’ll eat in here.”
Her mother shook her head disapprovingly and disappeared into the kitchen when her phone rang.
“What’s up, Dad,” Hazel answered.
“Kelly Mathis was just murdered in her front yard. You’re in no shape to come out,” he added quickly. “I am just telling you because you deserve to know that much.”
“Dad,” she said, “you do know that this is all falling back to Raymond Alteri, right?”
“That’s why I’m making sure that every cop on the east coast has his information. I’m not going to let him slip away. Men like that don’t deserve oxygen. I gotta go.”
Her stepfather hung up and Hazel’s head started spinning again. Her mother walked in with a cup of coffee and handed it to her. Just as Hazel put it to her lips, the cup dropped from her hands and hit the floor.
Her mother rushed in. “What happened?”
Hazel was not able to answer. She felt like passing out. Soon thereafter, the entire world around her went black. She heard her mother’s voice, but it seemed far away.
Now conscious, Hazel’s mother was standing over her. “Are you okay?”
“Yes Mom,” she said, still in a stupor. What the hell was happening to her?
Owen walked over to Percy who was fiddling with the computer. “Did you find out anything more?”
“Troy Wilkes came from a very wealthy family and was making bank on Wall Street. He was a smart investor.”
“And that is relevant how?”
Percy tapped the computer screen while he read. “Nearly a million dollars had been drained out of the account the day after his death. I looked into his families’ accounts, but no one put it in theirs. Now we have to figure out where that money went.”
Owen nodded. “If you find anything else, call me.”
“No problem,” Percy said as Owen walked away. Turning back to his computer screen, he looked for information about the rest of Troy’s family and found something odd. His youngest sister Gabriella was gone. There were no statements or recent accounts in her name. She did not even have an address. It was as if she had been erased.
As he reached for his phone, Brooks approached him. “I need you to do me a favor, kid.”
“Pertaining to what?”
“If Thomas Dunham is still alive, he will be in school now. I want you to find his record. I have a feeling that his kid will be listed under his name.”
“Okay. Just found a new clue. Gabriella Wilkes is nowhere to be found. She disappeared right around the time Troy died and his account was drained.”
Brooks shook his head. “That explains a lot.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean the Italians got a big pay day and that is why they’ve been so successful.”
Percy looked at him in wonder, but Brooks did not care to explain. “I will call Jones about it. Go ahead and keep working.”
Percy went back to his computer. Finding Thomas Dunham would prove to be a tedious task.
Chapter 15
Brooks called Owen with the news. “After Jacob and I are done processing this scene, we need to go into the city and talk to the Wilkes family.”
“What is going on?” Jacob asked after he hung up.
“Nearly a million dollars had been drained out of Troy’s account and his youngest sister just disappeared. Brooks suspects that the Italians knew that they could get money out of this family.”
Jacob shook his head. This was some bullshit. There was always something happening – behind every corner was another piece of the puzzle, but putting it together was the difficult task. There was so much to juggle that it made his mind twist remembering all the information.
Arriving at the scene was going to be a pissing contest. Cops from other districts were not a good mix at any scene. This was not their jurisdiction, but they didn’t give a damn. Getting out of the car, Owen watched everything and everyone for any clues.
“Jacob, do you have the sketch with you?”
“Sure do.”
“I want you to be looking for this guy. I have a feeling that he is here right now.”
Owen walked over to a detective standing by the front door. “Why are you here?” he said to Owen. “We have this under control.”
“Your department does not know what is going on,” Owen said. “I am not attempting to take this case away from you, but the Mathis family is part of our own investigation. I need to see Kelly’s body. That’s all.”
Begrudgingly, the detective stepped aside and allowed him access to the crime scene. Kelly’s throat had been slit like all the others.
“How did this happen to my baby girl?” Dr. Mathis wailed on the front porch steps.
Owen walked over to her. “Dr. Mathis, I’m so sorry about this. But I need to know what happened last night. I need to know everything that you could possibly remember. No detail is too small.”
She nodded and racked her brains. “Detective Hanson told me to just be there for her. We had a conversation. She has been so depressed, but was coming to terms with all of it. She was getting better. We had dinner and I turned in before she did. I woke in the morning and she was gone. When I went outside, she was out there,” pointing to where her body was found.
Tears began to stream down her face. “I’ve tried calling David, but his wife says he’s missing. What the hell is going on?”
Owen was not sure how to comfort her and there was nothing he could tell her about the investigation. “We will find out who is behind this. I promise you that.”
“I remember something from last night,” she said. “I woke up to a bright light right outside my window. I just thought it was a neighbor’s car.”
“You can’t blame yourself for any of this. The person who is responsible for this has been killing for a long time. He is very resourceful and you should know that nothing could have prevented this.”
“It is just so hard to breathe,” she said. “Both my girls are gone, and they had been my entire life. I love them so much.”
“I will keep you updated in this investigation.”
“Where is Detective Hanson?”
“She has been taken out of the field. She was in a bad accident, but is still working this case. I can assure you that she is still doing everything in her power to figure out who is responsible for this.”
Owen got up and walked to the officer in charge. “If you could give me copies of what you process here, it would be much appreciated.”
Leaving, he knew that the other officers understood. Jacob was still looking at faces of the bystanders but none of them were who they were looking for. Jacob and Owen got into the car and pulled away.
“What are we going to do next?”
“We’re going to figure out what the hell is going on with the Wilkes family and from there, we’ll clean up.”
It was going to be a long day. With Thanksgiving tomorrow, the city streets would be teeming with people from all over who had come to watch the parade. Getting through town once that started would be nearly impossible.
They had to be cautious when asking questions. Something had happened to Gabriella, and that they were probably going to deflect everything that Owen asked them.
“What do you think they’ll say?” Jacob asked.
Owen shrugged. “I have a hunch they’re going to deny everything.”
“Why though? We pretty much know what happened.”
“Yes, but since it was never reported, I’m sure they were told not to go to law enforcement.”
Getting out of the car, they walked toward the Wilkes’ home. The house, faced in dark red brick, was large, private, and sat in a gated community with few neighbors. It seemed welcoming. However, Owen knew from experience that it was just a façade. Inside the house was a broken family hidden from the rest of the world.
Knocking on the door, an elderly woman answered. Her hair was thinning and she appeared to be depressed. After seeing their badges, she stepped aside and allowed them to enter - no questions asked.
“I am Audrey Wilkes. What would you like to know?”
Owen knew they had to be delicate and Jacob spoke up. “We would like to know what happened in July of 2009.”
Bowing her head, she shook her head when a man entered the room. “Why are you starting to ask this now?”
“We have just stumbled upon the case,” began Owen. “What is your name, sir?”
“James Wilkes. You shouldn’t judge us,” he said. “At that time, we didn’t even know what was happening and were under strict orders as it was.”
“Do you know who abducted Gabriella?”
“No, we don’t know who did this. We got a ransom letter and they demanded a quarter of a million dollars. They told us that we were not to go to the police. We knew Troy had the money in his accounts, and he was already dead. We decided to pull the money from his account and used it to pay the ransom. That was when we lost communication with them. Our daughter has not turned up since.”
“How did you figure this out?” a young woman’s voice called out. From the file they both knew that this was the other sister, Priscilla.
“We had one of our guys look into the murders and he found a few anomalies. We came to this conclusion.”
“Do you think that the person who killed my brother is the one who abducted my sister?”
“That’s our theory at this time.”
“Do you think that she is still alive?”
“There is no way of knowing,” said Owen. “We will figure it out though, and when we do, you’ll be the first to know.”
Shoot to Kill Page 13
