I was stone-faced as I waited for him to finish talking with some nurses and another doctor. When they all dispersed, he walked over to me.
“This can’t be good if you’re back, detective,” said Bakersfield. “What is it?”
We walked over to an area where there were no people and I thought I saw his hand shaking.
“Ivory Shaw was pregnant,” I said.
“What? It wasn’t mine,” he said. “We hadn’t been together in months. No way.”
“How do I know that? I’m gonna need some DNA, just to rule you out. You can fight it but then you’d need a lawyer and all kinds of questions might be asked— publicly.”
“Jesus, Jesus,” he said. “This is some kind of nightmare.”
I knew it wasn’t his baby but I needed him motivated.
“When Ivory stalked you, you said she came to your offices. How did she get in to see you?” I asked.
“She pretended to be a patient, said she needed a doctor, then she asked for a second opinion and like a fool, I walked in and there she was, half naked, grinning at me like the devil.”
“Who was the other doctor?”
“One of my partners, Dr. Bell-Ross, Sandra.”
“I’m going to need to talk to her,” I said.
“She’s not at the office,” said Bakersfield. “She’s been sick. Her husband called in for her.”
I had a feeling of dread. I saw RaRa laying dead in Wyandotte and felt an urge to bolt for the door.
“When was the last time you saw her?”
“Three days ago, I think. She looked fine then.”
I got Dr. Bell-Ross’ number and address and then I had Bakersfield put some hair into an evidence bag and I left. I would make him sweat it out on the DNA test, or maybe I’d never call him back.
I called Dr. Ross on my way to her house but got her voicemail. I didn’t leave a message and just kept driving out to Grosse Pointe Shores.
GPS was one of those areas that just made you mad when you went there. The homes were all huge with prices in the seven figures. I didn’t know being a doctor was so lucrative. I guessed that Dr. Bell-Ross already had the money before she went to medical school.
Now it was making more sense to me. A rich person could throw a baby into an inner city girl and not be caught and who knows why rich people did the crazy shit they did these days.
The house on Lakeshore Road looked like something out of a travel brochure. It was enormous and the land seemed to go on forever. I was stopped by a guard who came out of a little booth.
“Detroit police,” I said showing him my badge and ID. “Need to see Dr. Sandra Bell-Ross.”
“The doctor’s not well,” said the guard who was a black man about sixty or so.
“She got a husband or grown kids I can talk to?” I asked. I was not buying this sick thing but I didn’t want to piss the man off.
“Damn, I thought you was shittin’ me with that voice,” said the guard. “You a real wigger, huh?’
“We don’t like the W-word,” I said laughing. He laughed with me.
“I knew a white kid just like you,” said the guard. “Donald Dees, a good man.”
“Look, I know she ain’t sick,” I said. “I’m worried about her. When did you see her last?”
The guard looked around then moved closer to me.
“Something damned sure ain’t right,” he said. “The doc never came back home three days ago. Her husband’s been around and he looks like shit. They ain’t got no kids.”
“Where was she coming from three nights ago, work?” I asked.
“Naw, she went to her yoga class. Got it on the schedule. She never came back. The day guard confirmed it. Husband’s been acting like everything’s okay, saying she’s sick but none of the staff have seen her. You ask me, she’s dead.”
I got the husband’s name, Thom Ross.
I got Dr. Ross’ plate number and her husband’s cell number from the guard but I was sworn to secrecy.
If I tried to question the husband, he would hide behind a gang of lawyers. If no one filed a missing persons on her, it could be a while.
If he had killed her, he would have made his move by now. The police would be out looking for her while her body was somewhere decomposing. He was still around the house and in the city, so that meant someone had snatched her. A kidnapping made more sense.
I said goodbye to the guard whose name was Horace and took the long drive back into the city. I could have waited for the husband but time was not on my side. Three days into a kidnapping was a long time. Chances were she’d be dead in a week if it went on that long. Otherwise, the husband would pay and everyone would pretend like it never happened. Either way, I’d never find my killer.
I went to the precinct and found the info on Dr. Bell-Ross’ car. I knew a thief would ditch the plates but they could not change the vehicle ID. It was not on the stolen or found car list and so maybe it had been chopped up.
It was a high-end Mercedes AMG, so I took a chance that it had that service, Tele-Aid. It did and it was simple to get the tracking on it.
The service showed that the car left her yoga place at seven thirty-nine three days ago and then headed east. Then the signal went out.
I got the location and headed out. I had been running all day and it was already dark. I drove over the Detroit Grosse Pointe border and looked around but found nothing. If they ditched the ride, then someone took it and that was that. Smart move, I thought.
I was exhausted. Working alone was good but I wanted to have someone to bounce ideas off. I almost called Vinny but she’d want to come out with me and I didn’t want that. The family was doing their thing and honestly, I didn't want her on the street this time.
I called Grosse Pointe PD but they had nothing on the car either. I decided to call it a night. I’d be refreshed the next day I told myself.
On my way back home, I called the Samoan again but again, I got no answer. His place was on the way back to my house, so I decided to drop by and get his favor out of my life.
The people living at Jimmy’s were now all on the inside as it was much to cold to hang out in the old parking lot. The vans were still there though and I assumed business was going on inside them.
The inside of the place was an office but many of the walls had been knocked down and the debris cleared away. Graffiti covered the walls in vivid colors and on one wall, there was a full-sized portrait of Jimmy.
The people were still doing what they did, smoking drinking and partying. The fight pit was gone but many of the fighters were still there.
Jimmy and his crew were inside playing cards and dominoes and drinking. I saw Vollo at a table. When he saw me, the smile fell off his face.
“‘Bout time,” said Jimmy getting up.
“Been busy,” I said. “What you need?”
“Nothing,” said Jimmy. “I got something for you. Been calling for days now. Yo, that was some gangsta shit you did to that dirty cop.”
Some of the crew echoed this statement.
“So, what can I do for you?” I asked impatiently.
“I need a rematch with you!” yelled Vollo. He had stood up and looked angry as hell.
“It’s been a long day,” I said. “Ain’t got time to teach you another lesson.”
The crew all laughed and Vollo pushed over a table and stormed over to me. Jimmy turned to him and stopped him with a look.
“You must wanna fight me,” said Jimmy.
I took it that Jimmy was a good fighter because Vollo looked scared at these words. Jimmy was big and muscular and really quick on his feet. Didn’t know if I could take him but Vollo knew and he took a step back.
“No,” said Vollo.
“Go and get that new girl.”
Vollo turned and walked out as Jimmy turned back to me.
“Excuse him,” said Jimmy. “He’s been upset since the fight. Boys been calling him Slap behind his back.”
“Why am I here?
” I asked.
“Got a new girl and she’s trying to buy her way out of my service with information. She says her man kidnapped a rich white lady. Now, I’m thinking there’s got to be a reward, right? I hook you up, you do the hero thing, then you help a brother out when you get her back.”
Suddenly, I wasn’t tired anymore. Some fool asses took Dr. Bell-Ross and one of them was bragging about it. If she wasn’t dead, I just caught a break. Mentally, I was pissed because if I had gotten to Jimmy the first time he called, I could have been on this sooner, instead of chasing my ass around looking for that car, which was probably being sold in pieces all over metro Detroit by now.
“I’m listening,” I said remaining cool.
Just then, my man Vollo walked in with a very pretty girl by his side. She walked over boldly and had no fear in her eyes.
“Yo woman, come over here,” said Jimmy.
Vollo stopped and walked back to the crew while the girl came to us. She looked upset now that she was closer but that stood to reason as Jimmy was running his usual game on her. She glanced at me, then fixed her gaze on Jimmy.
“Who this?” said the woman.
“He can get you out of your situation,” said Jimmy. “So, tell him what you told me, Impala.”
20
TRACER
They still had no signal from her. Renardo had been smart. He’d ditched the car and her phone and purse but he had not taken her clothes and accessories, which was why Dr. Bell-Ross had a tracer in her earring.
The damned thing had to be damaged or something because it wasn’t transmitting at regular intervals like it should have. They’d gotten a signal which led them in a general direction but it had gone out somewhere around mid-city.
Also, there was a lot of other crap signals in the air. With all the goddamned cell phones, drones and police activity it was a wonder the thing worked at all.
Thom Ross drove the Range Rover through the snowy streets looking for his wife. He had no intention of letting Renardo blackmail him. He had not wanted to resort to this but more death had to come now.
None of this had to happen but Sandra and her crazy family had pushed everyone to the extreme.
The family had a dynasty trust, which passed the family’s legacy to each successive generation as soon as an heir was born. Of course, no one told him that when he was marrying the woman. He was never asked to sign a prenup and he thought he was getting away with something. He’d just stay married for a few years and then slam it on her, he’d thought.
Well, the family was protected because as soon as a kid was born, all of the money would go to that kid and he, Sandra and her brother and his wife would get just enough to live out their lives but no jackpot.
And if you divorced someone after an heir was born, well, you’d get part of what your spouse had, which legally was not much because the trust owned everything, the money, the cars, the real estate and investments, all of it.
Sandra even volunteered her services as a doctor, so he couldn’t even get that money. He was fucked.
This was how rich people kept money in the family and kept gold-diggers from taking advantage.
He made sure not to get Sandra pregnant, even though she begged him for a kid.
Her brother Evan’s wife could not have kids and that had frustrated him. And before he could dump her ass for a new wife, Evan, had had a ski accident and ended up a veggie. He died soon thereafter.
This devastated Sandra who had been very close to her brother all her life. They had survived cruel parents, boarding schools and more than a few personal tragedies.
But Sandra had tricked Thom and stole DNA to impregnate the black girl. She had done the procedure with some trusted friends but Thom found out and had to stop the kid from being born. He did but it had resulted with him being in league with even more dangerous people.
The man riding shotgun was silent as they drove around looking for a signal from Sandra’s tracer. He held a little machine in his lap and occasionally raised it to the window to see if he could get better reception.
This was the man who had waited for Ivory Shaw in the precinct house and killed her. He’d sabotaged the surveillance system and had set up Dobbs Harson, who was the perfect, flawed patsy.
He killed Raymond Ranier after extracting information from him and he’d tracked down his mother but was too late that night.
When Dobbs Harson was arrested, he thought the whole thing was over. They’d all get the money, break the trust and cash out. But it got complicated because of Thom and this nigger he was in business with.
This had all been very hard on Officer Bill Wiznewski. As one of the original eight officers under suspicion, he had been very limited in what he could do in the aftermath. The IAD had been on him and he was getting pressure at home. He and his wife were calling it quits and the child support and alimony for their six kids would kill him. Women and kids were like death and taxes, he thought.
When Wiznewski’s little half-sister Janet, the beauty queen, married into the Bell family, he was excited. Rich relatives were always a good thing. He and Janet were estranged back then and had not spoken in years. He wasn’t even invited to the wedding.
Wiznewski had gone to her on his knees and they started talking again but as far as the Bells knew, he didn’t exist.
But the Bell family was a bunch of assholes and had the money tied up and then the little shit of a brother in law died on them, but not before dropping the secret of what Sandra, his crazy, fucked up sister had been up to.
Wiznewski had been watching Dobbs Harson and the black girl meet for weeks after he knew she was carrying Sandra’s heir. He’d followed her one night and saw her meet Dobbs at a crap motel. He could not believe it. Getting rid of her and that baby was going to be easier than he thought.
He needed a scapegoat and Dobbs was perfect. He was a loose canon and with all the police misconduct going on and the race-baiting in the media, he knew it would be a national story. He would even be suspected at first, then let go. It was all too perfect.
Suddenly, the little receiver beeped. A signal was coming in.
“Got something,” said Wiznewski. ”It’s faint but it’s got to be her.”
“How far?” asked Thom.
“A good way, I think. Take Seven Mile at the next intersection. We’re going in and take both of these guys out. And when this is over, we’re all going to have to renegotiate things.”
“Don’t worry,” said Thom. “They’ll be plenty of money. We just need Sandra alive for now.”
Wiznewski nodded but it was already planned that when it was all over, Dr. Sandra Bell-Ross was a dead woman.
21
REWARD
“What do you know about a kidnapping?” I asked the girl named Impala.
“This guy named Kelvin’s been gettin’ with me for a minute,” said Impala. “He works with this other dude named Renardo. They run house scams on old people. Anyway, we been hookin’ up here and there, not for long periods of time, you know, because his boss don’t approve.”
“Ask her why,” said Jimmy excitedly.
I didn’t ask, I just gave Impala a look.
“That’s not important,” she said. “We have to sneak to get it in. That’s the only thing that’s—“
“She got a dick!” said Jimmy. “Can you believe that? Look at that ass on her, them legs. Ain’t a touch of man on her.”
“I’m in transition,” said Impala. “Like the universe.”
I took another look and I almost didn’t believe it. There was nothing masculine about the girl, not even her hands but I took Jimmy at his word. And yes, I was feeling a little uncomfortable because before Jimmy said this, I was digging her looks.
“Okay, so the boss don’t approve, I said. And?”
“Well, Kelvin, he just wants me to go down on him and go real quick. So, I ask why and he tells me he got to get back because his boss done gone crazy. I didn’t push for why. Always best to
let a man take his time. Well, it didn’t take long. Kelvin said Renardo got pissed because some rich white dude screwed him on a deal, so he took his wife.”
“Was the woman a doctor?” I asked and I couldn’t help that my voice rose a little in anticipation.
“Yeah, yeah,” said Impala. “He said she was some big time doctor from rich people in GP.”
“Where are they holding her?” I asked.
“This old building over by Mound Road,” said Impala. “Kelvin said it used to be a canning plant or something.”
I promised Jimmy a reward of there was one. I bolted out of there as soon as I could. If Dr. Bell-Ross was still alive, she probably didn’t have long.
I got into my car and took the drive to case the place. I had to make sure this wasn’t all bullshit before I called in the troops. The only plant in that area was the old Tulling Canning building.
As far as I could figure, Dr. Bell-Ross met Ivory while she was stalking Bakersfield and somehow talked her into being a surrogate, paying her off the books.
Ivory used her pregnancy to leverage her then boyfriend, Dobbs Harson. They fought and she went to see him at the precinct and was killed. So if Dobbs didn’t do it, that meant one of the other cops was dirty. We missed something, some connection and it had cost us.
I arrived at the Tulling plant and staked it out. There was a car parked in the back of the place. From the front, it looked abandoned. This could definitely be it, I thought. I moved in closer on foot and managed to get a look inside.
I saw two black men sitting and watching a little TV. They each had guns on the table. They were having what looked to be a heated exchange.
There was a little back room. I assumed my victim was being kept there.
I pulled out my cell phone and called it in. I’d wait for the cavalry and hope they’d give up without a fight.
Suddenly, the two men started yelling at each other. This continued for a while and then one of them stood, grabbing a gun. I heard a noise, a car’s engine revved loudly and then a Range Rover crashed through the front of the place.
**********
Grind City Page 16
