photos show a slingshot, and others a circle.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“I’m not sure, Parker, but those may have been the
last images that Tracey Newman saw before she died.”
“Bring them by the station in about an hour, Kathy. I
should be there by then.”
Kathy didn’t know why she suddenly felt better, but
she suspected that Parker’s unexpected acceptance of
this possibility was a factor. She gathered the photos and
put them back inside the folder, before heading to the
bathroom to take a shower.
#
Parker looked at his watch – eight o’ clock in the
morning. He doubted that Eduardo Carlos was coming
home. He left a business card stuck in the door and was
getting ready to leave when an elderly man sporting a
checkered flannel shirt and high-water trousers came up
the stairs and almost ran into him. His choice of clothing
seemed odd in this blistering heat, but in his long career
on the force Parker had seen even stranger things and he
readily decided that the old man probably suffered from
low blood pressure. He probably didn’t know Eduardo
Carlos, but there was no harm in asking.
“Say, Good man, would you know the man who
lives in this apartment?”
“Yago? I sure do. Who wants him?”
“No, I’m sorry, we must be talking about different
people. The name of the man I am looking for is not
Yago, but Eduardo Carlos.”
“That him. His name is Eduardo, but his friends call
him Yago. With a ‘Y’.”
Parker didn’t want to even know the reason why
someone would choose such a nickname, so he asked
another question instead. “Do you know where Yago is
right now?”
“He probably at his girlfriend house.”
“Interesting. You wouldn’t know her name by any
chance?”
“The name escapes me, but I know where she
lives.”
“Yeah? Where is that?”
“1420 Wintry Lane. I know it because I had to take
Yago there a few times, when his car broke down.”
“Thank you, Sir! I really appreciate your help. If
you see Yago with a ‘Y’, tell him that Sergeant Parker
would like a word with him.”
“Sergeant Parker? Is Yago in trouble with the law?”
“No, he’s not. We’re just old friends.”
“Oh good. I don’t like cops too much myself…”
At other times, Parker would have inquired further
as to why this old man had a problem with the police,
but right now he was in a hurry, and he couldn’t waste
any time indulging conversations unrelated to the case;
besides, his mind was already working overtime to
figure out how the man could wear those clothes in this
blistering heat without breaking into a sweat. He
thanked the old man again and headed to his car. More
suspects were floating up to the surface, and Parker
knew that the game was becoming more complicated by
the minute. He wanted to go straight to the girlfriend’s
house, but a quick look at his watch told him that Kathy
was probably already on her way to meet him at the
station, so he postponed his plan until after her visit.
#
Mirna Thompson had just clocked in and taken her
place behind the glass window at the ticket counter of
the bus station in downtown St. Louis when she spotted
a little girl sitting alone. She was very small and
delicate, and Mirna – a grandmother of three – felt
instantly irritated at the fact that the little girl’s mother
would have left her there alone, even if she was only
down the hall visiting the restroom. Did that woman not
watch the news? – Small children are taken every day,
sometimes even under their parents’ eyes. She made a
point to watch over the little girl until her mother came
back, and to keep a better eye on her she decided to
close her window and pretend to be organizing
paperwork; she certainly didn’t want to get distracted
and
miss
anyone
with
malevolent
intentions
approaching that child.
The little girl hugged her knees, and laid her head
on them, her small backpack on the seat next to her.
Mirna watched as her tiny eyelids fluttered and her left
hand reached out to dig inside the pint-size luggage. She
pulled out a small brown teddy bear and placed it
between her head and her knees. Mirna looked at her
watch – almost nine –o’clock, exactly twenty minutes
since she clocked in – and the child’s mother was still
gone. She had enough of this nonsense. She stood up
and walked out of the booth, determined to find out why
the little girl was left unsupervised for so long. She
slowed down her step as she approached the row of
seats, hoping not to scare her.
“Sweetheart,” she called gently, “are you okay?
Where is your mommy?”
The little girl looked up with sleepy eyes, and took a
moment to focus on Mirna’s face, but her voice was
clear and infused with resolve. “My mommy is at home.
I am going to see Kathy.”
“What do you mean your mommy is at home?
Who’s here with you?”
“My friend Lily.”
“Well, where did Lily go?”
“She’s here. We are going to see our friend Kathy in
North Carolina.”
“That’s nice. Why don’t you come with me,
Sweetie?”
“Thank you, but my mom always tells me I
shouldn’t talk to strangers.”
Mirna smiled. “I’m not a stranger; my name is
Mirna, and I work here. I can get you some lemonade or
some Coke if you want.”
The little girl’s eyes opened wide. “Can I have
Sprite?”
“You certainly can. Come on.”
Mirna placed a protective hand over the little girl’s
shoulder as they walked by a homeless man laying at the
edge of a corridor. The smell of urine, disinfectant and
sweat, all combined in one disgusting package, lingered
in the air.
The little girl crunched her nose. “It stinks in here!”
“Yeah. Bus stations are not a good place for little
girls, especially when they travel alone.”
“Where are we going?”
“To my supervisor’s office. She will help keep you
safe.”
They walked together through a door that opened on
a series of cubicles, and continued to one of the larger
enclosures.
“Wow, this place looks like a beehive!”
Mirna laughed and knocked on the glass door.
When she saw her supervisor waving her in, she opened
the door and led the little girl inside.
“Who have we got here?” The woman asked
smiling.
Alexis took charge of the conversation and readily
introduced herself. “My name is Alexis. My friend Lily
and I are going to
see our friend Kathy who lives in
North Carolina.”
“I see. How old is Lily?”
“I don’t know. She is a girl like me.”
The blond woman arched her eyebrow, and she and
Mirna exchanged a look.
“Why don’t you wait here a minute, Alexis? We’ll
be right back.”
“Okay. Can I have my Sprite now?”
“Of course, Honey. Let me get one for you.” Mirna
walked to a small cooler at the far corner of the room
and got a can of Sprite.
While Alexis was busy opening her drink, the two
women stepped outside. Mirna spoke first. “I think we
should call the police, Lois. It sounds like we have a
little runaway on our hands.”
The other woman nodded. “Please call from
Derrick’s office while I keep her entertained.”
#
“Sorry I’m late, Kathy. I had to stop for a cup of
coffee on my way in. I had no sleep last night.”
Kathy sat in the chair across from the desk and
smiled. “It’s okay. I guess it makes two of us not
sleeping last night.”
“So, what photos were you talking about on the
phone?”
Kathy opened her case and pulled out the folder
containing the photos.
“Here they are. I also included a few shots I have
taken at my house; I’d like to know if you see the same
thing I saw in them.” She lined all the photos on the
desk, starting with the ones of Tracey Newman’s face.
“Holy crap! If I didn’t know better, I’d say this is a
woman screaming.”
“Look at it closely, Parker. Do you know this
woman?”
Parker put on his reading glasses and took a better
look. His mouth opened as he focused on the image, and
he raised his eyes to meet Kathy’s. “What is this? Did
you photoshop these?”
“No Parker. I took those shots around my house to
make sure my camera wasn’t broken. Who does the
woman look like?”
“Well, I’ll be damned, Kathy. She looks like Tracey
Newman.”
Kathy could easily detect the shock on Parker’s
face, and she watched him as he swallowed repeatedly.
“Now look at these – Dr. Greer let me take some photos
of Tracey’s eyes with my iriscope.”
“Your iris-what?”
“Iriscope. It’s like a special camera that holistic
doctors use to detect illness in the body by identifying
irregularities in the iris of the eye. When I took shots of
Tracey’s eyes, of course, her pupils were completely
dilated, so I didn’t think anything would come out, but I
got these.” She pointed at the line of photos featuring
the slingshot and the small circle. “According to my
theory, those are the last images that Tracey saw before
dying, but unfortunately I can’t make them out. She
wouldn’t have looked at a slingshot before dying.”
Parker sat back in his chair and was quiet for a few
minutes. Kathy could not read what he was thinking, but
she could almost see imaginary little wheels spinning in
his head. He picked up one of the photos and put it
under his desk lamp; he turned on the light, and studied
the image carefully, then he looked up at Kathy.”
“What if this is a charm or a pendant that was
hanging on someone’s arm or neck, Kathy?”
That thought never occurred to her, but the image of
Tracey seemingly pointing to a necklace on the
bathroom counter in one of the photos flashed through
her mind. And what about the small circle? She wanted
to ask Parker that, but was afraid to break the spell of
possibility that was opening in his mind.
“A charm of a slingshot?”
“No, but it could be a pendant with someone’s
initial! A letter “Y’ rather than a slingshot. Look, I’ve
got to go, Kathy. I will call you later. Forgive me if I
can’t walk you out – do you mind if I keep this photo?”
Kathy shook her head, still recovering from the
surprise of Parker’s reaction.
Before she could say anything, he was gone.
#
The first thing that Tom noticed when he woke up
was the smell of mildew and naphthalene that pervaded
the room. His head was hurting and he could taste
something salty on his lips, but when he tried to move, a
wave of pain shot across his entire face and he
grimaced. It was pitch black in here, and hot as Hades.
He couldn’t move his hands or his feet, and he felt wet
material from his shirt sticking to the sparse hair on his
chest.
Suddenly the light came on, and felt as a knife
jabbing at his eyeballs. Someone else was in the room
but Tom couldn’t move or turn his head to see the figure
insinuating toward him. He could hear the steps on the
concrete floor coming closer and he wondered if the
shallow breaths he was taking were going to be his last.
The man walked in front of him, and he and Tom
locked eyes for a moment.
“What do you want from me? Why am I here?”
The man’s laughter was malicious. “You have a way
of getting in my business, Lieutenant, but we are taking
care of that today.”
“Who are you?”
“My friends call me Yago. Are you my friend,
Lieutenant?”
Tom didn’t reply.
“Everything would have gone well, you see, if
Shannon Brinkley didn’t start poking her nose into
things she had no need to get into.”
Tom knew he had to buy time if he hoped to
survive. The knife protruding from the man’s right hand
was definitely a good incentive to bring the gift of gab
out of him.
“What did Shannon do?”
“Too bad for her that she found out something she
wasn’t supposed to know. And besides, she isn’t very
nice to Mary.”
Tom already knew the answer to his questions, but
he asked anyway. “So her overdose wasn’t accidental?”
The man laughed, the sound of his voice filling
every pocket of this humid, forsaken place.
“Accidental? I wouldn’t think so, Lieutenant. It wasn’t
too hard to slip some pills into her drink.”
“Did you kill Tracey Newman?”
“I was going to, you see, and then that bitch got
away. But she died anyway.”
Tom was confused by that statement. “What do you
mean by that?”
Yago’s teeth reflected the light coming from a single
light bulb hung on the ceiling. “You are too curious,
Lieutenant, and curiosity unfortunately killed the cat.”
#
Parker turned on his lights and siren as he punched
the gas. He sped through the beltline traffic and was
glad that he had at least avoided the rush-hour
congestion. When his mobile phone rang, he thought of
not answering, then changed his mind and clicked the
talk button along with the speaker.
“Parker.”
“Sergea
nt, this is Lana Briggs. St. Louis called and
asked to speak to Lackey – they have Jack Little in
custody.”
“No shit! That’s great. Did they leave any other
information?”
“No, they just said to call back.”
“Hold on to that number for me, Lana. I’ll call back
soon.”
He ended the call and pulled up in front of the
residence, not sure if he had the right address. The home
was pristine clean, with flowers in the yard and a white
picket fence. He parked in the driveway and walked to
the door, all along admiring the delicate pansies planted
in the flower bed running the whole length of the
walkway. He knocked twice and waited for someone to
open, but there seemed to be nobody home. He knocked
again and then walked around the back of the property
praying not to meet a guard dog – an accident from his
youth had left him wary of pooches of all sizes. The
back yard was just as manicured as the front, with grass
so green and fresh-looking that Parker had to fight the
urge to lay in it.
He was ready to turn the corner and get back around
to the front when he thought he heard something. He
listened carefully but no other sound came through. He
took one more step, and another muffled scream pierced
the classy silence of the neighborhood. This time he
knew he hadn’t imagined the scream. It was a man’s
voice, and although he couldn’t be sure it was Tom’s
voice, his gut instinct told him it was. He had to get
inside. All the doors were locked, and none of the
windows were open, so he stopped for a moment and
tried to gather his thoughts. He was aware that Tom’s
life was in his hands right now, and any mistake could
be fatal.
Chapter 19
Shannon had no idea of where she was when she
first awakened. She tried to focus on her surroundings
but her eyelids felt exceptionally heavy and she could
only keep them open for a few seconds at a time –
although there wasn’t much light filtering through the
blinds, to her aching eyes it felt like a breath of fire. Her
muscles felt like heavy weights, and her first thought
blended with a memory from her childhood when she
had tried lifting the heavy grocery bags from the trunk
of her mother’s car to prove her strength.
Something was stuck in her mouth, preventing her
from calling out. She desperately tried to raise her arm
to remove the object in her mouth but was too weak to
Killer in Sight (A Tom Lackey Mystery) Page 26
