“The way I think of it, there are two reasons why a person refuses to talk with the police. One: it’s because they’ve killed the victim or know who did it. Two: they were a part of it and don’t want to say anything to incriminate themselves or someone they know, which might label them as a snitch.”
“I think it’s safe to say that the last thing Ursula has to worry about is being labeled a snitch,” said Morgan. “If she’d hung out in the places where I’ve been, like the north side of Philly or Milwaukee, then I could understand.”
Lily agreed. “No, she’s hiding something.”
*
After leaving the police station, Victor climbed into the backseat of his Escalade and signaled for his driver to leave. He hoisted his hips off the seat, digging into his pocket for his phone.
He scrolled the call list, tapped a number in his call log and listened until a voice answered on the other end.
“Speak.”
“Move the girl,” Victor said.
“Are you sick? She’s buried behind a wall.”
“Find a way to unbury her. The police are starting to catch on and because of you it won’t be long before they’ll be lurking around my brewery.”
“We paid you a lot of fucking money for that spot. Now you’re trying to back out?”
“I can get your money.”
“It’s not the money. You made a deal with us and you need to stick to that deal.”
The line went dead on the other end.
Victor’s hand trembled as he pulled the phone away from his ear. “Let’s go. I need to get away from Wisconsin for a few days.”
Chapter 14
Still chilled after the quick walk back from her car, which had been a desperate attempt at getting some fresh air, Morgan sat slumped at her desk, staring at the beach theme on her computer screen. The talk with Victor had been like dancing with the devil. She had no doubt that at least seventy percent of what came out of his mouth was a lie.
To add to her worries, Lily would be coming around that corner any second. And Morgan still hadn’t been able to think of a way to break the news Sean had given her about Lily’s dad.
As Morgan reached for the phone, she heard Lily’s voice down the hall. She braced herself, and waited.
A few seconds later, Lily walked into their cubicle. Pulling her chair away from her desk, she asked, “Did you follow up on that search for the missing girls?”
“Yeah. I narrowed it down to thirty. Evan said he’d finish it up before he headed home last night.”
“Good.”
“We’ve gotta talk.”
“Make it quick. I need to find Evan.”
“Sean called yesterday, wanting to talk to you. I couldn’t find you so I took the message. It’s about your dad.”
“What about him?”
“He’s been looking into—”
Evan walked into the cubicle, faced Lily and said, “Your hunch paid off. On my way in, I got a call back from a Mr. Wenword. His daughter, Penny, has been missing for a week. A few days before Penny went missing, Mr. Wenword found his daughter chatting on Scatter with an older guy. That’s all he could remember.”
“It has to be our CtryGeek23. Did his story check out?” Lily asked.
Evan nodded. “That same night, a neighbor saw Penny get into a white truck with a dark spot on the door.”
“Thomas Sanchez’s truck is white with a rust spot on the passenger door,” Lily said. “If she’s the girl Victor told us about, he’d be able to identify her. I’ll see if I can get him back in.”
Lily unhooked her cellphone from its clip and began dialing. “Morgan, fill out the request for a warrant for Barkin’s Brewery and the home of Thomas Sanchez.”
Morgan got to her feet and grabbed Lily by the sleeve. “What I have to tell you is important.”
“This case is important,” Lily snapped.
Morgan let go of Lily and stood back.
“Let’s take care of this first.”
“Okay,” Morgan said, turning on her heels.
Morgan exited the cubicle and did as she was told. Next time, she vowed, Lily was going to listen, even if it killed her.
*
8:30 p.m.
“Victor’s not answering,” Lily said, hanging up her cellphone for the third time. “The last two attempts went to his voicemail.”
She stepped into the walkway outside her cubicle and headed toward Owen’s office with Evan following close behind.
Lily’s thoughts ricocheted inside her brain. She knew the chances of finding Penny Wenword alive were not good.
“What do you think is going on?” Evan asked.
“Victor’s lying,” Lily replied. “And I want him brought in to answer some questions.”
When Lily and Evan arrived in front of Sergeant Owen’s closed door, she peered through the glass window and saw that he was finishing up a phone call.
Lily rapped lightly on the glass.
Owen waved them into his office and the two detectives went in and took a seat.
“I put a couple of guys on the Sanchez home and Barkin Brewery.” Sarge stood. “There isn’t much activity at the Sanchez place, but an Escalade pulled up about ten minutes ago. It belongs to Victor Barkin. They believe it was him that went inside a few minutes ago.”
“Why did he go back to an abandoned brewery?” Evan asked.
“We need to get down there. I don’t want him trying to remove anything from the building,” Lily said.
Sergeant Owen pulled a sheet of paper off the fax machine and handed it to Lily. “Here’s your warrant for the brewery. An informant called in a bit ago, saying he saw the Wenword girl last week with a white male. He claims it was the owner of the brewery.”
Lily looked over at Evan. “Where did he see them?”
“In front of the brewery. They were getting into Victor’s Escalade. Thinking she might be in trouble, the informant pulled over to talk to the girl. She introduced Victor as a family friend and told the informant to leave her alone. The informant and Wenword met at a party and often hung out together.”
Lily glanced down at the warrant.
“Judge Lee is still deciding on the Sanchez home,” Sergeant Owen said. “He’s looking for something more concrete.”
Lily’s head snapped up and she looked over at her sergeant. “Something more concrete? What is the judge waiting for? Another dead body?”
“These are the things that come along with solving a case. Especially, a high-profile case. It’s important that you remember that.”
“Yes, Sir,” Lily said.
“Follow up on this warrant and I’ll meet you there. Evan, you back up Lily. I’ve got officers nearby to assist if you need it.”
Evan nodded and left the office.
“Your dad was so proud of you when he learned you wanted to be a cop,” Sarge said. “And when you joined the force, no one could wipe that smile off his face. You’re a damn good detective, Lily. I promised your dad that I’d watch over you. And I’m keeping that promise. Don’t make me regret my decision to bring you onto this case.”
“I won’t.”
Lily did an about face and left the room, embarrassed and distracted. She knew the best thing to do was to stay objective and prove to Sergeant Owen that she was worth the risk.
*
9:16 p.m.
The Charger turned right on Woodwind and Third and found a parking spot after about twenty feet, on the street in front of Barkin Brewery. Lights illuminated the interior of the building as if it was still in business.
Lily turned off the car’s engine and glanced over at Evan as he ended his phone call. “Was that Morgan?”
“Yes. She and Alec are about ten minutes out.”
“I want to know what Victor’s doing in there. We may not be able to wait for the others.”
“We’re going to try.”
Lily wrapped her fingers around the steering wheel and squeezed. “I want to apologiz
e for my frustration back at the station.”
Evan smiled and said, “Don’t apologize. I saw it coming. You’re a passionate person who cares about the victims. It’s one of the reasons why I fell in love with you. Just keep your cool and find the killer. I’ve got your back. I always will.”
Lily’s cheeks warmed. She wondered if Evan noticed. She quickly brought her hands to her face and looked away.
“After this is all over I want to explain why I broke off our—”
“Here comes Victor,” Lily said.
Victor walked out of the brewery carrying a dark trash bag, which he put in the backseat of his SUV. He closed the car door and went back inside.
“I can’t wait,” Lily said, stepping out of the car.
“Hold on.” Evan got out and closed the door.
As Lily moved around to the front of the car, she adjusted her tactical vest and surveyed the outside of the brewery. As they came within a few feet from the door, a night timer turned on another set of lights, brightening the face of the building. “No photocell for the outside lights; they must be on a timer.” In the newly cast light, she looked into the eaves and on the corners of the brewery. “Damn, no security cameras.”
Evan tugged at the door. It was unlocked. Dislodging his gun from its holster, he moved slowly with Lily following him inside. The wall of stench was as strong as any guard dog. Months old malt, hops, and grains smelled as if it had been mixed with urine. Rotting corpses of dead pigeons and loose feathers were splayed throughout the brewery.
Fat rats scurried across the floor to the corners, off to the brew house where copper pipes rose out of the brewing kettles and upward toward a catwalk with a flight of metal stairs leading to the third floor. The maintenance bridge between the upper offices and the massive bins were stacked with empty beer cases, like a curtain, blocking the rows of windows that looked out at the night sky.
Lily gently touched Evan’s elbow and pointed at Victor as he moved swiftly toward them with his head down, lugging two full garbage bags.
“Victor!” Lily shouted.
Victor looked up and dropped the bags. “I don’t have a weapon on me,” he said, raising his arms.
“What’s in the bags?” Lily asked.
“I was just doing some cleaning before the sale.”
Lily took a few steps in Victor’s direction, her arm still extended.
The front door opened and Morgan and Alec entered.
“I’m going to check to make sure you don’t have anything on you,” Lily said. “Is that okay?”
Victor nodded. “I swear. I’m not armed.”
An exchange of voices sounded from Morgan’s radio.
Lily closed in on Victor and patted him down. “He’s clean.”
“Is there anyone else here with you?” Evan asked, returning his gun to his holster.
“It’s just me,” Victor replied.
Morgan and Alec began their search of the place as Lily scanned the bags.
“You’ve got a warrant to search my brewery?”
“We do,” Lily said, reaching for her handcuffs. “Not that there are any trust issues, but I’m going to cuff you.”
“Am I under arrest?” Victor asked.
“No,” Lily said, clicking the cuffs into place. “Detective York is going to have you wait in a car until we get this figured out.”
As Evan led Victor out of the building, several officers came in and started helping with the search.
Lily pulled a pair of gloves from her back pocket and put them on. She felt the bag along the outside. “It feels like paper.” She grabbed the top of the tied bag, untwisted the tie and peered inside. She observed piles of bags with yellow and blue lettering.
Lily reached down inside the bag and removed one of the bags. FastCrete. “Looks like bags for concrete mix.” She returned the torn sack and closed up the bag.
Since Victor was coming from the back when they came in, Lily headed toward the small administrative area and circled back around to the L section of the building, which had three walled-in offices and a door centered at the end of the hallway.
She ventured down the hall and noticed the sign. “Utility Closet.”
Why is the light on?
As Lily opened the door, a draft and a foul odor reeking of death assaulted her nose.
Another body?
The walls were lined with wood paneling and two narrow single-paned windows. On the lower left corner of the right hand window, a broken triangular shard was missing. Gusts of wind whistled through the opening.
Cleaning supplies sat on a lower shelf next to the mop sink where water dripped from the spigot. Lily walked over to the sink and placed her hand into the small stream.
It was still warm.
“Did you find anything?” Morgan asked, coming up behind her.
Lily shook her head. “Not yet.”
Morgan covered her nose. “Smells like a body decomposing.”
“It’s coming from this room, but I don’t see--” Lily backed away from the mop sink, dropped to her hands and knees and peered through the gap between the wall panel and the concrete floor.
She stood up and peered closely at the wooden panels.
“What’s the matter?” Morgan asked.
Lily felt around the panel and pushed
It didn’t budge.
Lily ran her fingertips down the seam of the wall, feeling for the source of the draft. About midway she felt an unevenness to the right of the seam. Near the buckle, she knocked on the panel, which rang hollowly.
“This panel’s been tampered with.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah! But let’s not touch anything else. We’ll wait for forensics and have them help us with this.”
“I’ll call it in.”
Chapter 15
“The panel’s off,” Hauser said, walking up to Lily. “We found a body. You should come and take a look.”
“Right behind you.”
“There’s some wet concrete next to the body, so watch where you’re walking.”
Lily stepped behind the wall and into a crawl space occupied by some plumbing and duct work.
She stared at the corpse of a young woman, sealed in plastic and positioned just like the others, with cloths covering her breasts and genitals. Lily ducked to avoid hitting one of the low beams and squatted next to the body. She wasn’t one hundred percent sure of a positive ID, but the latest victim resembled the photos of Penny Wenword.
She looked at the hand and noticed that this girl, too, had a ring on her finger. Lily turned to Nick. “Go seal off the building.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Including the parking lot,” Lily yelled after him.
“I’ll go talk to Victor,” Morgan offered.
“Have you been able to determine anything?” Lily asked.
“No. I can only imagine what possible evidence was captured in that bag,” Hauser replied.
“All right. Call my cell immediately when you know.”
Lily made her way back up front as soon she was outside. She noticed Morgan walking away from Evan and Victor, heading toward her.
“Victor’s nervous. He wants to talk.”
“About?”
“He wouldn’t say. Only that he preferred if it was with you.”
“Ah.”
“Must be that carpet bond or something you two had.”
“It’s an Oriental rug.”
“Whatever. Evan and Alec are taking him back to the station.”
“Let’s go.”
*
11:39 p.m.
Victor Barkin had smoked three cigarettes while he waited impatiently. He had just stubbed the fourth one out when Lily stepped into the room with two bottles of cranberry juice in hand.
She handed him one. “You want to tell me the truth this time?”
He took the bottle from her and twisted the cap off, laying it neatly next to his pack of cigarettes. Keeping his ey
es down, he said, “When I found them together, the girl was already dead.”
Lily sat forward and rested her elbows on the table. This was her last chance to nail Victor for his role and to get him on tape. She needed to get the information she wanted. “I’m grateful that you trust me enough to have this discussion. However, anything you tell me has to be the truth. No more lies or half-truths. You’ll have to be real with me so you can have a chance to tell your side of the story. Am I clear?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Let me state a few facts. First of all, Victor, I know that just about everything you told me the first time was a lie. Would you agree?”
“Not all of it was lie.”
“You lied about knowing this girl’s name. You never called her parents and you helped to hide the body.”
“I never helped to hide the body.”
“But you knew that she was in that crawl space located in your brewery.”
“I did,” Victor said, putting his head down.
“I can tell you’re ready to get this off your chest. Help me out here. Now, that girl we just removed from your building was someone’s daughter. I know you and I don’t have kids, so we don’t have any idea what her father is going through, but, if we did, we’d want this asshole found. Right?”
Victor nodded.
“Be the bigger person in this investigation and point me in the direction of this psycho. Let my detectives and me handle the rest. You with me so far?”
“Yes.”
“So, let’s start from the beginning. What was her name?”
“Penny. I don’t know her last name.”
“That’s fine. You’re doing good. Now, tell me what happened to Penny. How did you meet her?”
“A while ago. I caught her sleeping beside the dumpster out back. She told me her father had kicked her out with no money and she needed a place to stay. She told me her friend was hiding her in the crawl space, and she couldn’t come out during the day, and she had gotten locked out the night before.”
“Who was this friend?”
“Thomas Sanchez. I mean I figured, all this kid wanted was a place to lay her head.”
“Did you provide that place?”
“I did. For two days she stayed at my place. Then she came to me about needing money. I loaned her five hundred dollars and told her she could work it off by helping keep up the place and being a companion for Cotton.”
Promised Lies (A Detective Blanchette Mystery) Page 10
