by Dale Mayer
After his quick search, he came back and nodded. “It looks to be clear.”
The other three men came up the hallway as Rebel walked in. He motioned at them and said, “It’s empty.”
They walked in, splitting up in the different parts of the apartment to search. He chose the bedroom, heading straight for the night table. He opened the drawers and pulled out a notebook.
Rebel stood in the doorway. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for answers. Looking for where she might be or who she may be with. Looking for clues to see if she was taken against her will.”
“By going through her personal possessions?”
He heard the shocked embarrassment and anger for her friend.
He turned to look at her. “Do you believe she’s missing?”
Rebel nodded.
“Then this is what we have to do. So get over your embarrassment, over that sense of violation and intrusion, and realize what we’re doing will help her, not because I have any voyeuristic wish to read her diary.”
She stepped closer. “Sorry. It’s just the shock of seeing you head straight for the night table. She always kept her personal stuff there.”
“Which is exactly why I am here. Does she have a laptop? What about her cell phone?”
“Her laptop is here. She has a cell phone, but it’s going straight to voice mail.”
“Can you check the apartment for her phone, maybe call it while you’re here, to see if it’s been left behind?”
She pulled out her phone and called. They listened, both tilting their heads to the side to hear better. She got no answer, and no ringing sound could be heard in the apartment.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean anything,” Saul said. “Her phone battery could be dead.” He glanced at Rebel as he rummaged through the night table. “You know if she has a diary, besides this notebook, or an address book?”
She shook her head. “Everything’s on her laptop or maybe her tablet.”
He nodded. “Where’s the tablet?”
Rebel spun around in a slow circle. “I …” She went to the other night table and checked. Then she went to the dresser, opening the top drawer. “It’s not here. I’ll look in the living room, but she might have taken it to Daniel’s with her. It was just for personal use so I’m not sure it’s an issue.”
He nodded. He did a quick search of the other night table. Not a whole lot was here. He found a journal, but the last entry was over a year ago. It was interesting reading about Daniel and how angry she was when she found out he was messing with her coding at work. Saul hung on to the diary, went to the closet for a quick examination, then to the dresser. So far nothing was out of the ordinary, and nothing gave any indication of a struggle, and there was certainly no suicide note. So far it was as if she just got up, walked out and never came back. The closets and dresser were full of clothes.
He headed back to the kitchen, then realized he’d forgotten to check the bathroom. He gave it a quick search but didn’t find anything. He walked out to find Stone sitting at the kitchen table with the laptop open and on. “Is there a password on it?”
Stone nodded. “Of course there is. She’s in IT. But the password was way too easy.”
“What’s way too easy?” Rebel asked.
Stone looked up, gave her a glimmer of a smile. “The password.” The men turned and looked at him. Stone shrugged. “Too often people use the same password at work and at home.”
“She used to have complicated ones,” Rebel said in defense of her friend. “But then she had a problem a couple years back with her mother who couldn’t remember her password to get into her laptop to take care of some banking. Since then, on her personal devices, Tammy stuck with one password her mother could remember.”
Stone nodded. “I’ve seen things like that happen before too.”
“Anything of interest?”
“Lots of emails back and forth between her and Daniel. They were planning to spend the weekend together. Nothing out of the ordinary, providing this email came from Daniel.”
Saul turned at the sudden silence beside him.
Rebel stared at Stone. “Meaning, she could’ve been led to believe this was her old relationship coming together, only all these emails may not have been coming from Daniel?” She shook her head. “No. That doesn’t make any sense. She was with Daniel a lot at work.”
“Were you privy to the conversations they had at work?” Merk asked.
She shook her head. “No. But she told me how he’d been a lot friendlier.”
“Probably not on the same level,” Dakota said. “It’s possible she was lured somewhere else after leaving Daniel’s in a huff.”
She plunked down at the kitchen table. “But, if that’s the case, how do we find her?”
Saul lifted his gaze. “We can only follow the breadcrumbs. What we find at the end of the pathway, nobody can tell. Keep the faith, and we’ll do what we can.” He faced Stone. “Can you track the email?”
“Already working on it. It’s a sophisticated system. Then they are both computer geeks.”
“Is it beyond you?”
Stone shot Saul a look. “Talk like that will get you in trouble.”
Saul smiled. “Not trying to insult you, just wanted to make sure we don’t need to bring in somebody else for it.”
“There may not be anything here to find.”
“Ice can check her bank activity from two Fridays ago and thereafter. She’s already checked hotels up and down the coast. No evidence she made a reservation though. We’ll have to find out from Ice if Tammy’s credit cards had any action.”
Saul stepped away and called Ice. He explained where they were and what Stone had found.
Ice confirmed, “No bank activity and no action on either of her credit cards.”
“That’s not good.”
“It’s not necessarily bad either. If I took off, the last thing I’d do is use my cards. It would be too easily traceable. Much better to go with cash and apply for new cards when you got yourself set up in a new location.”
“True enough. I can’t connect with Benji either.”
“Benji is now overseas. He shipped out this afternoon before you landed.”
“Explains why he never answered his calls.”
“Find out what you can and call me tonight. It’d be nice to have something to report.”
“Unfortunately, right now, we don’t have anything. Daniel’s been missing for a couple days, and this woman Tammy has been missing for a week longer. Her last known whereabouts was at Daniel’s apartment with him. However, one of the neighbors at Daniel’s place did say she saw somebody taking boxes from Daniel’s apartment on Friday night. Apparently he was moving quickly. She did not see anybody else and, when questioned further, couldn’t determine if Daniel had been there.”
“So it’s quite possible somebody went in and cleaned out his apartment to make it look like he’d moved.”
“There could be all kinds of reasons for this but, yes, it’s been cleaned out. And, as Rebel stated when she walked in, there was a strong smell of bleach.”
Ice sighed. “I can check again with the local PD on the case. Maybe they will give us a few details. I did a run on Daniel’s car. It was towed from outside his apartment in a no parking zone. I haven’t found any property under his name yet. Also no hits on the credit cards. If someone stole them they haven’t used them yet.”
“Don’t tell Benji.”
“I won’t be telling Benji anything until we get some proof. He’s likely to go off half-cocked, tearing the town apart, looking for his brother when he returns stateside.”
“Daniel’s had a pretty rough life. But he was improving. According to Benji, he had a lot of hope that his brother was turning his life around since his son was born four years ago.”
Ice sighed heavily. “Let’s hope we find both people soon.” Just like that she hung up—in total Ice style.
Chapter 4
She’d done what she could. She didn’t know what else to do. She’d searched Daniel’s place. She’d searched Tammy’s place—twice now—finding it as empty and clean as Tammy always left it. There was no sign of her. Where could she be?
Stone worked on the laptop beside her at a table, while she slumped in Tammy’s chair. She’d spent many happy hours here with her friend, laughing and crying, going over all the things that made life so special between friends. She was desperate to get word as to what had happened to her best friend. She brought up her phone and dialed Tammy’s number. She glanced up and saw Saul watching her.
“What are they looking for?” she nodded at the two men intent on their computers.
“Other missing persons cases, other kidnappings in the area. They are looking for anything that might link to Daniel and Tammy’s disappearances.” He pulled out his phone. “I’m searching for pawn shops in the area. On the off chance whoever cleaned out Daniel’s apartment might have tried to make a few fast bucks.”
“And Dakota?”
He sighed. “Dakota got a hit on a couple of Jane Doe’s in the area. He went personally to check them out.”
At her cry of shock, he reached across and said, “He’s already checked in. Neither were Tammy.”
She stared at him wordlessly. None of this had even occurred to her to check out. She pulled out her phone and instinctively hit the redial button. Then winced. “I can’t stop trying to contact her. I keep hoping she’ll answer.”
Sitting beside Stone, Merk had his laptop open too and looked up. “What’s the number?” She ran it off to him, and he entered it into the laptop.
She watched with interest. “What are you doing?”
“Checking again for the last time that number was used and from where,” he said quietly, his fingers busy on the keyboard. “Which was from Daniel’s apartment. Two Fridays ago.”
“When she called to tell me that she was on her way home.” She leaned forward and stared at them—waiting for an answer. “Does that mean she was attacked at his apartment?”
“We don’t know that from this data,” Saul said quietly. “Only that her phone was last used at Daniel’s apartment.”
She settled back. “Right. Can you track it?”
Merk shook his head. “No, I can’t. Most smart phones can be, but hers is an older one. Either the tracking wasn’t installed, has been turned off or is corrupted.”
She nodded. “As far as I’m concerned, everyone should have GPS.”
“You can get apps to help as well.”
She nodded. They had confirmed something at least. Though not the answers she’d hoped for, it gave credence to the fact Tammy could have been attacked at Daniel’s apartment.
Merk looked up at her. “Was she nervous about taking buses?”
Rebel shook her head. “Tammy was a pro at buses, but I hated her taking them at night. I wanted to pick her up, but she was so distraught that she wouldn’t listen. Daniel should’ve seen her home safely.”
“But, if they were fighting, she probably would’ve refused his help.”
Rebel nodded. “That’s true.”
“Does she have any other friends she’d have gone to?” Saul asked. “Somebody who might have an apartment she could crash at or another place to just get away to for a bit as she got her head on straight?”
Rebel shook her head. “No, not that I know of.” Tammy would have contacted her mother regardless.
“Do you know if Daniel has a storage locker in his apartment building?”
Again she shook her head. “I don’t know. Tammy has a small one here in her building. But, after some flooding, she took everything out so the storage areas could be repaired, and she never bothered using it afterward.”
“Each tenant should have one. But we never thought to check.” Saul stood. “I’ll check Tammy’s, just to make sure. We can’t go back into Daniel’s apartment as the forensic team is either currently working or has sealed it off.”
Rebel nodded. “Fine, I’m coming too.”
She walked out of Tammy’s apartment with Saul to the elevator and down to the basement. She turned on the lights, showing Saul locker upon locker. Reading the numbers, she quickly led them to the back corner where Tammy’s storage area was. It was empty, as she’d said.
“I’ll go to Daniel’s apartment and check his.”
“May I come?” she asked.
He shook his head. “You stay here, in case Tammy turns up, or the guys find out something and need further information from you.” He pulled out his phone and called Merk, still upstairs in Tammy’s apartment. “I’m heading to Daniel’s apartment building to check out his storage area. Tammy’s is empty. I’m sending Rebel back to you guys at Tammy’s.”
His phone at his ear, he groaned and glanced at Rebel. “She can come with me if you think that’s better.” … “Okay, fine. Be back in half an hour or so.”
As he put away his phone, she grinned. “So it’s okay? I can come?”
He nodded. “I can’t say it’s the best decision, but let’s go.”
With that, she raced off ahead of Saul. “Then we’ll go in my car as I know the way.”
*
While sitting in the passenger seat of Rebel’s car while she drove, Saul sent Merk a text, asking,
Why take her with me?
To keep her close. She seems most open with you. She’s the only one who has any idea what’s happened.
Meaning, she could be lying? Or withholding something?
I doubt it. Her fear for her friend is real. Her hatred for Daniel is just as real. Yet she might remember something, something inconsequential to her.
Fine. Be back soon.
Watch your back.
Saul put away his phone, thinking about Merk’s words. Was Rebel in danger? Were they all in danger? If somebody had killed Daniel in his own apartment, would they maintain watch on that apartment? Then take steps to eliminate any further threats? When you commit murder once, the second time is that much easier.
The one person who had been consistently at that location in recent days was Rebel.
She pulled into the back of Daniel’s apartment building again. The two of them walked around to the front, waited for somebody to come out so they could enter. He had another option for getting in, but he didn’t want to break in if he didn’t have to. However, they didn’t have to wait long as a neighbor walked out and held the door for them and carried on without even noticing.
Up at Daniel’s, Saul unlocked the door, using his lockpick, and stepped inside for a quick look around to see if anybody had been here since the last time Saul was here. It appeared the same overall. When he took a closer look, he found strands of hair, one on the inside at the front door and one farther inside the apartment—Merk’s work. The guys all had personal favorite traps to set to ensure no one had entered a room while they were gone without their knowledge. This had all the hallmarks of Merk. The first Saul had dislodged when he opened the door, and the second was still intact. Feeling better that the place was still deserted, he turned and told Rebel, “Let’s go to the lockers.”
Downstairs, he checked out the various hallways, dividing large open lockers. The apartment block was huge, and one locker was allotted for each apartment.
He counted down the numbers until he came to Daniel’s apartment number. He stopped in front of it and stared. It was full. As in seriously full. He smiled and whispered, “Bingo.” He double checked the number on the outside of the unit to confirm it corresponded to Daniel’s apartment number, then he dialed Merk. “The locker is full from where I’m standing, but Rebel can’t confirm the contents are his though.”
“Or it could be somebody else’s stuff?” Merk asked. “Why would someone so meticulously clean out Daniel’s apartment, leaving behind a packed storage locker? Probably didn’t know he had it. Can you see what kinds of items are in there?”
“Lots of moving-size boxes, contents unkno
wn. A couple snowboards and a bike.”
“Best guess for the owner of those possessions?”
“Daniel’s. There is a padlock on the fencelike gate to the storage area.”
“You might need clearance before going in. Give me five.”
“Good enough.” He turned to see Rebel staring at the locker.
“It’s full,” she said in surprise. “Why wouldn’t Daniel have moved it all?”
“Remember, he’s not the one who cleaned out his apartment,” Saul said brusquely. “I’m leaning toward something happening to Daniel, and whoever cleaned out Daniel’s apartment just made it look like Daniel took off and yet wasn’t aware of the storage locker area down here.”
She turned and stared. “But, if that’s the case, what happened to Tammy?”
He shot her a grim look. “I don’t know yet.” His gaze returned to the storage locker. He peered through the mesh door to see what was inside, but it was too dark. It could be boxes of personal belongings, could be important things, but it would take hours to go through it all, and that was if they could get into it.
His phone rang once more. “Good enough,” he said. He put away his cell, pulled out his lockpick and worked on the padlock. “We don’t need clearance for this. Benji is co-owner and gave us permission. If we find anything we’re to let Detective Wilson know.”
The light was crappy back here, so he had to go by feel when working on this lock. It took him about thirty seconds longer than it should have. Swearing to himself nonetheless, the lock popped open when the final click engaged. He removed the padlock from the hasp and opened the door. A light switch was just inside. He flipped it, and a hanging bulb threw an eerie glow over the contents of the locker. He went to the first box and opened it, full of winter clothes, sweaters and jackets. He closed the top flaps and went after another box.
He repeated the process for a couple more boxes, but the next one yielded gold.
“Looks like income tax returns.” He opened the box, scanned the top document within the first packet and confirmed it was Daniel’s material. “Well, that’s a start. But, if Daniel was involved in any way with the staging of his empty apartment, the fact that he didn’t also dispose of everything in this locker is suspicious.”
