Behind Her Eyes (A Riley Thompson Thriller Book 1)

by Robin Mahle

  “Riley, it’s not safe out there. They could already be here, regardless of what Blake said. The captain sent us here to keep a low profile,” Jacob said.

  “He sent us here so I could figure out who it was I saw choking the life from Justin Rehnquist.” She looked to Carl. “I’m right, aren’t I? You can feel it too.”

  “I do believe you’re onto something. Whoever this was, his face is seared in your mind’s eye. And while I can’t see who you saw, I can see that you aren’t sure he’s with the rest of them coming here to town.”

  “Jacob, you should stay here. I’ll go,” Riley said.

  “Not a chance am I letting you go back there alone. Someone found Justin. That someone might find you too.”

  “Oh, so now you want to stick it out with me?” She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that. I didn’t mean it.”

  “Somehow, I think you did. Look, I’m not letting you go out there by yourself. Think whatever you want, but it’s not going to happen. This is all because of me.”

  “This isn’t about you anymore. Not this part,” Carl said. “Go, take my car. I don’t drive it anymore, but I keep it in the storage unit at the back. Last thing we need is for someone to spot your patrol car. And, Riley, this has to be resolved tonight. It could change the course of what’s about to happen.”

  “I can’t believe this car still runs.” Jacob eyed the massive green dash, metal door handles, and analog clock in the 1979 Lincoln Continental.

  “Carl would never get rid of it. It’s the only thing he has left that reminds him he isn’t in a grave yet,” Riley replied.

  “That’s dark.”

  “He’s a dark guy who’s seen a lot.” Riley pulled into the parking lot of Justin’s apartment building.

  They stepped out and continued along the walkway until reaching the unit that now had police tape stretched across the front door.

  “How are we supposed to get in?” Jacob said.

  “Justin dropped his keys when he was caught by surprise by his attacker. When Ethan and I were here, I found them on the floor. Figured they might come in handy, so I swiped them.” Riley removed the police tape and unlocked the door. “Voila.” She entered the apartment and immediately felt her chest tighten.

  Jacob noticed the grimace on her face. “Are you okay?”

  “I just have to push through it,” she replied.

  “I hope you and Carl are right about this because I don’t think you need to go through this again,” Jacob added.

  “The man I saw doesn’t seem to be one of Virgil Howard’s guys. So if he isn’t, then who sent him? I was in a state that I couldn’t see anything past what Justin was feeling at the time of his death. So we didn’t keep looking for clues. My mistake, which I’m here to rectify now.”

  “I know what happened between you and Carl way back, but how did it end up that he is somehow connected to you? I mean, does he see things like you do?”

  “No. He senses feelings in me, same as I do him. Only not quite the same. I don’t know how it happened exactly. When I crossed over into his dreams, something was left behind. I’ve never had that connection with anyone else. Not even my own family. I can’t really explain it.”

  “That’s why you visit him so often, isn’t it? You share that bond.”

  “Yes, but it’s also because I love him. He’s always been there for me, no matter what.”

  “And I haven’t.”

  “I didn’t say that.” She turned away and continued to survey the apartment. “Without Justin here, I don’t know what I’ll find.”

  “You said whoever it was tried to make it look like a suicide. That does seem strange if it was these same guys who are after me. What would be the point?”

  “There wouldn’t be one. I should’ve picked up on that sooner.”

  “It takes a while for you to recover. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

  Riley continued in search of something that would help her connect to Justin once again. She started toward his bedroom. “If I’m going to find something to latch on to, it’ll be in here.”

  Jacob followed closely behind until they reached the bedroom.

  “If I can find something personal,” she began.

  Jacob veered off toward the closet. A moment later, he returned to Riley’s side. “How about this?” He wore a broad smile. “Right coat pocket. Jacket was still hanging in the closet. Guess Moody’s men didn’t search the place as well as I would’ve thought.”

  “A cell phone?” Riley was stunned.

  “I don’t know if you’ll pick up anything from this, but I bet you’ll find some interesting phone calls or text messages.” He handed her the phone.

  “I can’t believe you found this.”

  “Maybe I have a touch of the gift too.”

  “Careful what you wish for.” She turned on the phone. “I’m sure it’s password protected.” As the phone loaded, she found she was right. “Damn it.”

  “This is a cake walk for you. Come on, Riley, focus. You know what it is. I know you do.”

  She exhaled and studied the phone. “He had it recently. I don’t know, I’m not seeing.” She stopped dead, and after another moment, keyed in a code. The phone unlocked. “I saw him entering the code.”

  “It is stronger now, isn’t it? Stronger than when you were younger?” Jacob asked.

  “Yeah. Sometimes it’s a little frightening, even for me.”

  “I don’t doubt that at all.”

  She swiped the phone and immediately checked the email. “Looks like a burner. I wonder why he needed this? How deep was he in this?”

  “I don’t know, Riley. I guess I was hoping you could figure that out.”

  She began checking the text messages. “Jacob, there’s some here from Chloe. This doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t they text on his regular phone?” She opened one of the conversations. “This was last week, three days before we found her. It’s the last one on here. I don’t recognize the phone number.” As she read the messages, it became clear what had been happening. “Jacob, are you reading this? Am I reading this right?”

  “This is bad, Riley. I mean, really bad.”

  “He was using her,” she began. “I thought he loved her, but if that was true, how could he do this?”

  “Did you know she was pregnant?” Jacob asked.

  “No. She kept that from me. Who was she trying to protect? I don’t even know if the coroner is aware. I doubt he’s gotten any of the labs back yet. Do you know what this means?”

  “According to these texts, he brought her there; to the plant.”

  “Yeah.” She peered at Jacob. “He signed her death warrant. He took her there, knowing she was pregnant and knowing what would happen to her.”

  “But who did he take her to see? He doesn’t mention a name at all. All we have is a phone number and I’ll bet it’s a burner too. Probably in a river somewhere by now. How are we supposed to find out who this number belongs to? These phones aren’t traceable.”

  “I have to get this to the captain. Maybe there’s something Moody can do with it. They have resources we don’t.”

  “Are you sure you want to bring this to his attention? You could find yourself in a lot of hot water for coming here tonight. Moody will want to know why. What are you going to tell him? That you had a feeling something else was going on?”

  “You know, there was one thing that has been bugging me since we found Chloe. And that was why in the world her ID was still there. I mean, would you go and kill someone, then make sure to leave behind identification for someone to find?”

  “It was that manager at the plant who found it too, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, and he called us.”

  “Like it was planned,” Jacob added. “Riley, are you sure you can’t pick up anything else here? A little more information sure would be helpful. We need to know who this number belongs to that Justin was texting. You saw a face, you have to fi
nd more.”

  “I know that!” She paused. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to raise my voice. I’m freaking out over here, and I know it’s on me to find more. Sometimes I just can’t see everything.” She scanned the bedroom again before walking to his closet. Upon opening the doors, she reached for his clothes, touching every last article that still hung on the rod. “Where’s the coat, Jacob? The one you found the phone in. I might get something if he’d worn it that day.”

  Jacob retrieved the coat he’d found from the closet. “Here.”

  She grabbed hold of it. Riley closed her eyes, but nothing came. She slipped it on and waited. “Come on. Show me something, Justin. Whatever you did, you can make it right.”

  Jacob kept his sights glued on her, waiting, ready to catch her if she succumbed to a vision.

  Riley saw an image appear before her. It was a woman. She was standing inside the plant with Justin. “Who are you?” Riley’s brow began to bead with sweat. Her breath grew shallow. In her mind’s eye, she stood not more than ten feet away and watched them talk.

  “And you promise not to hurt her?” Justin had said to the woman.

  “I’m only going to make a point. She won’t be harmed, I promise you.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Justin, I know you need the money. Chloe will never ever know it was you. I promise you, this will just be a warning.”

  “Okay,” he replied.

  “You’re making the right call. Here’s half the money. You’ll get the other half after you bring her here tomorrow night. Someone will be waiting.”

  Justin appeared confused. “Wait, you aren’t the one who’s going to talk to her?”

  “No. I’ll send someone to deliver the message. Don’t worry. He knows what to do. This is the last thing I’ll ask of you. After that, we’ll never have to see each other again. It’s for her own good. She has no idea who she’s involved with. You’re doing her a huge favor.”

  Riley’s eyes flew open, revealing a terrifying glare.

  “Are you okay? Is it over?” Jacob grabbed on to her shoulders to steady her. “What did you see?”

  “A woman. She was trying to convince Justin to get Chloe to the plant. He was being paid to bring her.”

  “Was this woman the one who killed her?”

  “No. She said someone was going to meet Chloe there. Get her to understand that Chloe didn’t know how much trouble she was in.”

  “She was going to be warned to back off?”

  “I think so, and he agreed. Justin agreed to do it because he needed the money.” Riley looked at him.

  “But if he did what he promised to do, why was he killed?”

  “The man who killed him has to be the same one who killed Chloe. A hired hitman? I don’t know why they would’ve come after him.”

  “Unless it was to take back the money?”

  “They could’ve easily just not paid him in the first place. No, I think Justin was talking to us and that spooked whoever paid him off. He was scared. I saw it. It felt like more than just losing his friend. Unfortunately, I didn’t see everything clearly.”

  “This is so much bigger than I thought. Where does it stop and with who?”

  Riley pulled off Justin’s coat and stared at it. “I have no idea.”

  Captain Dave Pryce sat in his car, elbow hanging out of the driver’s side window and peering into the darkness. The skies were laden with clouds as thunder rolled above him. He waited for the woman to show up. And she was late.

  The parking lot of the shuttered Best Buy in the suburbs of Indianapolis was a good place to lie in wait. It had been all but forgotten by everyone, including law enforcement, making it an ideal location to set up this little rendezvous.

  He spotted headlights approach and leaned over the door until the car pulled alongside him and the driver rolled down her window. “I was getting worried you weren’t going to show.”

  “He wasn’t supposed to die.”

  “He was talking. It couldn’t be helped. Collateral damage,” Pryce said.

  “It was almost over. Why? You only had to wait another day.”

  “Like I said, it couldn’t be helped. Is that the only reason you wanted to meet? To scold me for doing what I had to do to protect you?”

  “You weren’t protecting me. You were protecting yourself,” the woman replied.

  “Just stick with the plan. Stay out of sight. My people are already in place. You just have to ride this out and it’ll all go away. So long as you keep to your end of the deal. Your hands are just as dirty as mine. I need you to remember that.”

  She eyed him. “Don’t you worry about that. I remember. But after tomorrow, I’m gone, you understand? No one will have need to find me. No one cares at all about me.”

  “Well, that’s where you’re wrong. I care.”

  She laughed and shifted the gear. “Goodbye, Dave.”

  “Goodbye, Kelly. You take care of yourself.”

  21

  The assisted living facility where Carl lived was just ahead. Riley pulled around to the storage units at the back and parked Carl’s car inside his unit. She pulled the keys from the ignition and turned to Jacob. “I need you stay here with Carl, okay? I’m going back to the station to talk to the captain. I have to tell him what we know.”

  “I want to come with you.”

  “No. Please just stay here. It’s the only way I can be sure you’re safe. I have no idea what I’m going to run up against. This isn’t what we thought it was. In fact, I’m not sure I have a clue at all about what we’re up against. Carl will be awake. He won’t sleep until he knows we’re okay.”

  Jacob held her gaze, and in a moment of desire, his hand slipped behind her neck and his lips pressed firmly against hers.

  She surrendered to him, but only for a moment. “Stop. You can’t do that. Not now when everything is so messed up.”

  “I’m sorry. I just—I couldn’t help it. It won’t happen again.” He opened the car door and stepped out.

  Riley waited as he walked inside the building. “Damn it, Jacob.” She missed the way his lips felt on hers. The way he touched her. Despite the fact that he left, she never stopped loving him, even when he moved on with another woman. But she couldn’t give in to him now. She couldn’t divert her attention, not when she was so close. He only kissed her because he was afraid. “It was nothing more than that,” she reminded herself.

  Riley returned to her patrol car. Carl would be annoyed she wasn’t staying, but there was too much happening and Ward had to be briefed. There was still the dream of his and she believed he was in danger. Maybe there was something she could do to stop whatever was about to happen.

  At the approach of midnight, Riley drove back to the station, sure that the captain would still be there, and her only concern was explaining to Moody why she’d returned. And Riley being who she was, was desperate to know if they’d tracked down Hammond. Now there were two faces she’d seen, the woman in the plant and Justin’s killer, neither offering an identity and knowing both were important.

  The station house was ahead and she was not wrong in her assumption. Ward was still there. In fact, it appeared Moody and a few of his men were still there as well. She wondered about Ethan and her other colleagues.

  Her patrol car pulled up next to one of Moody’s team and Riley stepped out. She made her way inside to find only Abrams and Decker. “Hey. Anything new happening?” she asked Decker because Abrams generally got on her nerves.

  “They’re still monitoring Hammond, but he’s been MIA for the past few hours. I think they lost track of him.”

  “Yeah. With all their modern technology, you’d think those IMPD pricks could do better than that.” Abrams was displaying his usual machismo.

  “What about the captain?” she added.

  Decker thumbed in the direction of Ward’s office. “Been in there with Moody for a while. Hey, I thought you were done for the night. Wasn’t that Captain’s orders?
”

  “Since when do I obey orders?” She smiled. “What about Pruitt? He get sent home too?”

  “Yep. It’s just us chickens now,” Abrams said.

  Riley started in the direction of Ward’s office, but his door opened before she reached it.

  “What are you doing here?” Ward said. “I saw you pull in. Where’s Jacob?”

  “He’s safe. I needed to see you.” She peered around him in attempt to spot Moody, but he didn’t emerge from the office.

  Ward continued into the bullpen. “Let’s go into the breakroom.”

  “Where’s Moody?” she asked, following him closely.

  “On the phone in my office. He has a lead on Hammond,” Ward continued.

  “About time. Maybe we can find out if he’s coming here or not.”

  Ward stepped into the breakroom and stood with his arms folded. “Okay. What’s so important you came back here, directly disobeying an order. Which, by the way, you seem to be making a habit of lately.” He leaned against the countertop of the kitchenette.

  “I went back to Rehnquist’s apartment.”

  “Why would you do that? You went alone?”

  “No, I didn’t go alone. I brought Jacob with me, but that’s beside the point,” Riley said.

  “Then you’d better get to the point quick.”

  “I was trying to figure who it was I saw who murdered Justin. We were at Carl’s place and I did as you asked, logged into the system. But none of the men, at least the ones we had on file, were the killer. So I thought I could pick up something if I went back and Jacob refused to let me go alone.”

  “For your sake, I hope you found something worthwhile,” Ward replied.

  “I did. A woman. I saw a woman with Justin at the plant. She was asking Justin to bring Chloe there and that he would be paid well for doing it. But she promised him nothing would happen to her; that it was just going to be a talk, a warning. And that’s all I saw. So now I have two faces—no idea who the hell they are.”

  “What am I supposed to do with this?” Ward appeared to mull a solution.