by C. M. Sutter
“How about a red-and-white pickup truck?”
“No shit!” I realized how loudly I said that when I turned around and everyone was staring at me. I fist pumped the air. “Did they get a make and model?”
“The tech department pulled the video and took it to the police department. They’re working on it as we speak. Good call, Jade.”
“So what else?”
“This one isn’t good news. I just found out that an EMT from Evansville was reported missing yesterday by his wife. Seems that he never made it home after his shift at the hospital. The PD is working that case too. They’re looking to see if there’s any connection between his and Jillian Wiley’s disappearance.”
“What a mess. It sounds like Evansville PD has their hands full right now. Keep me posted, Joe, especially if the tech department can get a make and model of the truck.”
“Will do.”
I clicked off and explained to my crew what Joe had just told me.
“If they have the truck on the camera, they ought to have the person that got out of the truck on the footage too,” Billings said.
“Well, if they do, he’s going to match the person that abducted Deidra from the Shopmart parking lot. With any luck, they’ll catch his face this time.”
“It could be the accomplice,” Clayton said, “or maybe both.”
I nodded. “We should get so lucky.”
As I sat at my desk with nothing needing my immediate attention, I made a list. Two killers were at large in a red-and-white pickup truck. We knew they killed Deidra, but we didn’t know anything beyond that. It was like trying to put a jigsaw puzzle together without all the pieces. The killer in Kate’s dream drove that truck, and he had facial hair and a ponytail, but we didn’t know his identity or where he and his accomplice were going. All we had so far was the color of the truck and a backside view of one of the killers. I had to talk to Kate again about the Highway 41 theory. If there was any information we could pass on to the Evansville PD that would help find Jillian Wiley or the missing EMT, we had to come up with it soon.
I dialed Kate’s number and doodled on my list as I waited for her to answer.
“Hello.”
“Kate, it’s Jade again. I have more information that we need to go over. Can you come down to the sheriff’s department?”
“Sure, not a problem. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
I added to my notes as I waited. Kate arrived, and I escorted her through the bull pen door. I noticed the cream, red, and black-checked pattern of the silk scarf she’d slipped on before she left her apartment. Every time I looked at a scarf wrapped around her neck, it reminded me of why I was in law enforcement. Catching the bad guys was in my blood, and innocent people needed to be protected.
“If you want to help yourself to something to drink, I’ll hang your coat.”
“Okay, thanks.” She unbuttoned her wool coat and handed it to me.
I hung it and closed the closet, then joined her across the room. She had a cup of tea in each hand.
I cocked my head toward the hallway. “Let’s sit in the conference room. Do you mind if the guys tag along?” Her face turned from ivory to a crimson shade of red. I chuckled and whispered to her as I took my cup of tea, “Kate, if you want to be in law enforcement and taken seriously, you’ll have to do your fair share of brainstorming with your coworkers.”
“Oh, okay, I understand.”
Jack, Clayton, Billings, Kate, and I pulled out chairs and sat around the conference table. We each had a notepad in front of us.
I began by explaining to Kate that this wasn’t something we normally did, but because of the positive feedback I had received from the Nashville and Chicago police departments about her help on several of their cases, she had been brought in as a consultant. I didn’t want to call her a psychic investigator. She’d have her own credentials once she became a police officer if she really intended to pursue that route.
“Kate, we have some new information from Detective Amoroso. He has been keeping close tabs on this case since Deidra was local to Nashville and abducted there.”
She nodded that she understood.
“The red-and-white pickup truck was spotted on a home surveillance system in front of a house where Deidra’s purse was found. Evansville’s tech department is working to enhance the video to see if they can get a make and model of the truck as well as an image of the person or persons that dropped the purse off. You do realize that if one of those men has facial hair and a ponytail, it would match the man in your dream description.”
“Yes, he’s the one I saw in both dreams.”
“That’s telling us he wasn’t the man that abducted Deidra, so he’s likely the one driving the truck. We need to focus more on the Highway 41 possibility. I doubt if Evansville PD is searching that area or conducting any interviews with businesses along that route. Jillian Wiley’s parents tend to think she only drove the interstates.”
Jack wrote that down. “There is a possibility she took Highway 41. They’d be wise to check quick marts and gas stations along that route. How is this going, anyway? It seems like most of the problems are taking place in Evansville so far. We can’t tell them how to do their jobs. We’re outsiders at this point.”
“I agree. In my opinion, Kate should work directly with them.” I turned toward her. “Maybe we could get Detective Amoroso to make the introductions between you and Evansville police department, Kate. North Bend doesn’t have a reason to be involved, and we certainly don’t want to step on any toes. Would you be willing to do that?” I waited for her response. I was throwing her a bone, and from the expression she wore, she realized it.
“I’d love to help.”
“Good. I was hoping you’d say that. First, Evansville needs to check out areas along Highway 41 as well as the interstate. They probably have put a BOLO out for Jillian’s car and this missing EMT’s vehicle too.”
“An EMT went missing from Evansville?” Kate asked.
“Yes, I found that out after we spoke earlier. You didn’t have any dreams of that, did you?”
“No, only Deidra and the blond woman we haven’t discovered yet.”
Billings spoke up. “You’re sure that dream woman wasn’t Jillian Wiley? She had a white hatchback, and they were both young and blond.”
“I know, but I’m not getting the sense that they’re the same woman.”
“Okay, for now we’re waiting to hear back about the truck and the truck’s occupants. Kate, I’m going to set up a call between you, me, and Detective Amoroso. Do you have time to do that?”
“Yes, I’m on board.”
I dialed Detective Amoroso’s desk phone, and he answered right away.
“Hi, Joe. I have Kate on speakerphone with us.”
“Hey, Kate. Good to talk to you again.”
“You too, sir.”
“Any news yet on the truck?”
“Nah—but I’m the first one they’re supposed to contact. I guess the original footage was pretty choppy looking, like there was some type of interference. They’ll clean it up the best they can. As far as Deidra’s car is concerned, the forensics lab completed their work on it. No prints other than Deidra’s and a handful of petty car thieves local to Evansville. Unfortunately, I wasn’t expecting much more than that, but they had to make sure.”
I let out an audible sigh. “That’s too bad. I guess one could always hope. Anyway, what do you think of bringing Kate in on this case as a consultant? The red-and-white truck was in her dream.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“We have a few ideas that would be relevant to Evansville. These killers are moving through different jurisdictions, and they may be on their way to Chicago. It can get sticky for us, but Kate doesn’t have to color within the lines like we do, if you get my drift.”
“I absolutely get your drift. So why Chicago?”
“Kate, why don’t you explain to Detective Amoroso what we’ve discussed as f
ar as Robert Lynch goes? I don’t think he knows that story. Am I correct?” I knew I was putting Kate on the spot, but these police departments needed to know why Kate had a vested interest in this case. “Why don’t you tell him about the Highway 41 theory too?”
Kate’s eyes widened, and I gave her a reassuring nod.
She took a sip of water. “Okay, I’ll explain everything.”
Chapter 42
Robert
Robert called Tony over the walkie-talkie. “How far to that fleabag hotel you picked out?”
“I can see the Chicago skyline already. It’s the Hamilton Inn near Lakeland Park. Apparently, that area is a hot spot for prostitution.”
“Good to know, but how much is the hotel?”
“It’s Chicago, man. We’re still going to pay a hundred bucks for the night. Let’s check in, then scout out the neighborhood. I’d say we have about fifteen more minutes of driving time to go.”
“Sounds good, out.”
Robert clicked off. He remembered the conversation he and Tony had before they left Atlanta. Hookers were the best prey. The thrill of the kill was what Robert was into. The women’s appearance and figure were secondary, but a little personal satisfaction didn’t hurt—he had ten years of catching up to do.
They were coming into the south side of Chicago. Highway 41 ran along Lake Michigan, and the hotel and Lakeland Park were only a few blocks to their west. Robert followed Tony to the Hamilton Inn. He weaved in and out of lanes of traffic behind his brother until they exited the highway onto a side street. Five blocks west of the lake stood a run-down brick hotel. Robert groaned when he saw the truck’s brake lights flash. He knew they had arrived. He followed Tony into the small parking lot. A sign at the lot’s entrance warned that any vehicle without a hotel pass in plain view on the dashboard would be towed away at the owner’s expense. Robert chuckled as he drove past the sign.
Good luck with that—different name, different plates.
They parked side by side and exited the vehicles.
Robert kicked an empty beer bottle and watched it roll as they crossed the parking lot and entered the building. “Seriously, dude, this place reeks of cockroaches and rats. I can tell already.”
“Do you want to sleep in the back of the van instead?”
“I would, but I’m thinking the van is going to be occupied by several ladies tonight. No worries. I’ll suck it up.”
Tony snickered. “Yeah, like a prison cell is any better.”
They approached the registration counter to check in. A lone tattered roller chair sat against the wall with a dirty ashtray on a two-drawer file cabinet next to it.
Tony called out, “Anybody around? We’re here to check in.”
A gravelly voice sounded from the back room. “Got a reservation for the night or you just want an hour?” An old woman with kinky dyed hair and too much makeup, and who sounded as though she had smoked far too many cigarettes in her life, came around the corner. She held a smoldering cigarette in her hand. “Damn thing got wet.” She looked Tony and Robert up and down and smiled through a toothless grin. “Looking for a single bed?” She winked at Robert.
“No, we’re brothers, and we need two beds for the night. How much?”
“Depends.”
“Don’t even go there. You got a room or not?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah—nobody has a sense of humor these days. Can I bum a few smokes off you?”
“Can you forget the hotel tax?” Tony said.
“Whatever. Give me five cigarettes and I’ll charge you an even hundred bucks—no tax. Damn car is on the fritz, and I can’t leave to buy my own cigarettes, anyway.”
Robert placed a single hundred-dollar bill down and slid it across the counter. She took it in her shaky hand and held it up to the light.
“Is this real?”
“It better be.”
“Okay, give me those cigarettes. You got a preference—upstairs or down?”
“Down is better.”
With the end of a pencil, she slid the key ring off the nail on the wall and dropped it into her hand. “Here you go, hon.” She placed the key in Robert’s hand. “You’re in room 6 at the end of the hall.” She pointed at her left. “That way.”
Tony nodded. He carried the suitcase and Robert carried the bag of snacks as they disappeared down the hall. Tony set the suitcase down at the door and turned the key in the knob. They entered the room.
Robert ground his fist into his eyes. “Jesus, this room is worse than the first one in Evansville, and it smells like shit. I’m not planning to spend much time in here, bro.”
“Yeah, I hear that. Let’s take a walk and check out the sights. We’ll go back tonight with the van when the picking is ripe.”
Chapter 43
I heard the conference room door open and close. I looked up from my desk and saw Kate round the corner and enter the bull pen. I motioned for her to take a seat on my guest chair.
“How did the conversation go with Detective Amoroso?”
“Really good, it was almost like old times again. I actually opened up and told him everything about the Robert Lynch ordeal. He was shocked, but now he understands why I’m trying to keep up with this case. I told him Robert was released from prison last week and how the nightmares started shortly before that. The red-and-white truck and the knife symbolized something in my dreams. I think it means Robert is coming for me. He’s heading north, but this time he isn’t alone.”
I patted Kate’s hand. “You know, I just thought of something. Since you never told anyone in law enforcement, other than me, the Robert Lynch story, they wouldn’t have checked to see if any red-and-white trucks were registered to his family. I’ll have Billy check on that right now. Give me one second.” I made a quick call downstairs and asked Billy to see if anyone in the Lynch family of Atlanta, Georgia, had an older red-and-white pickup truck registered in their name. “Let me know as soon as you can, Billy. Thanks.” I turned back toward Kate. “We’ll know something in a few minutes.” I panned the bull pen, and nobody was paying attention to us right at that moment. I lowered my voice and leaned closer. “Kate, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?”
She stammered out a quick answer. “I have plans.”
“Really? That’s nice. What are they?”
She shrugged. “Fine. I’m watching old movies on TV and eating a pizza like I do every year. It’s my own personal tradition.”
“That ends this year.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’re having Thanksgiving at my house. You can meet my old man and Amber, my sister. Spaz, Polly, and Porky will be there too.” I laughed. “They’re our pets. Seriously, you and Amber have so much in common. She’s studying criminal justice right now. She’d love to pick your brain.”
I saw a wide smile cross Kate’s face. The ends of her grin nearly reached her ears.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive, and my dad is a riot. You’ll love him. Come over at noon. We can hang out all day.” I jotted down my address and cell number. “Please show up. It’ll be fun.”
“Okay, I’d like that. I guess I ought to go—I’ve taken up plenty of your day already.”
“Kate, I have vacation all next week. Call my cell phone if you and Detective Amoroso find out anything more. Oh, hang on.” I dialed the tech department again, and Billy picked up. “Hey, Bill. Did you get anything on the red-and-white truck?”
“Nothing that’s related to the Lynch last name.”
“Shoot. Okay, thanks, anyway.” I shook my head at Kate. “No dice.”
Kate said good-bye to the guys while I pulled her coat out of the closet. I walked with her to the vestibule of the building.
“Feel free to call me anytime next week about anything, and keep me current on the case. I’ll be checking in with my guys daily too.”
“Okay, have fun with your dad.”
“I definitely will. See you soon.”
“Hey, Joe. Jade here. I heard you had a nice conversation with Kate.”
He blew out a deep breath. “That woman has been through the wringer. I had no idea.”
“She sure has. Joe, there’s another reason for my call.”
“Shoot, I’m all ears.”
“I’ve only talked to the detective Kate worked with in Chicago once. That was right after I spoke with you the first time.”
He chuckled. “You mean when you were checking Kate’s credentials?”
“Yeah, then. My concern is, if these guys are actually going north, wouldn’t it be prudent to give Chicago PD a heads-up? Other than that initial phone call, the only communication I’ve had with them is when I sent over the composite sketches of the women in Kate’s dream, one actually turning out to be Deidra.”
“Understood. I have a pretty good rapport with the guys in the Chicago Violent Crimes Division. Bill Branson heads that unit.”
“Yes, that’s the same detective I spoke with.”
“Sure, I’ll give him a call as soon as we hang up and have him tell his guys to keep their eyes peeled for that truck.”
“One more thing, Joe,” I said as I arranged everything neatly on my desk, “tell him I’m going to fax the most recent photo of Robert Lynch to him, just in case.”
“Got it. I’ll take care of that call right now. I hear you’re going to be on vacation all next week. Is there anyone at your unit you’d like me to keep updated?”
“Sure, my partner, Jack Steele, or my boss, Lieutenant Chuck Clark. They’re both aware that we’ve been communicating about this case.”
“Okay, have a nice week of vacation.”
“Thanks.” I hung up and dug out the folder with the prison photo of Robert Lynch in it, then pulled up the contact information I had on Detective Bill Branson. After faxing the photo and a brief explanation to go along with it, I mentioned on the cover sheet that Detective Amoroso from Nashville would fill him in on the rest. I went back to clearing my desk. My family photos along with the jar of pens and pencils remained where they were, and everything else was either put in the drawers or filed. “That’s it,” I said as I checked the time. “I’m out of here.”
