LET'S PLAY (Det. Jason Strong(CLEAN SUSPENSE Book 10)

by John C. Dalglish

  She’d sat unmoving, sobs causing her body to vibrate. When she didn’t comply, he’d reached down, grabbed her by the arm, and dragged her down the hallway. Once in the bathroom, he pulled the robe off her.

  “Now fold it.”

  He stood watching while she tried to fold it the same way she’d found it. When her re-fold had been found to be lacking, he’d cussed at her, grabbed the robe, and threw it on the floor.

  “Do it again and this time do it right!”

  She had folded it more carefully the second time, as he watched with his hand resting on the knife. When she was done, he’d forced her into his bedroom, next to where her box was kept. This time he’d raped her twice.

  Now naked and cold, she laid still, hoping he was done for the night.

  *******

  The next morning, Jason and Vanessa found Marie had delivered several boxes to each of their desks. In addition, there were three more on the floor by Jason’s desk. Jason looked at the boxes and then to Vanessa. “Conference room?”

  “Conference room it is.”

  Together they moved all the files into the conference room and started sorting through them. They’d been at it an hour and a half before Jason realized he hadn’t had any coffee.

  “Time out!”

  He made the ‘T’ with his hands and stood up. Vanessa laughed. “Okay. What’s up?”

  “Coffee. I need some.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll take some, too.”

  Jason left the room to get two cups of coffee. When he returned, Vanessa had a tape in the video machine and was watching some surveillance replays. He passed her a cup and sat down next to her.

  “What are you looking at?”

  “I found the city’s closed-circuit recordings of the River Walk.”

  Jason squinted at the grainy black-and-white images. “Pause it a sec.”

  Vanessa did and Jason closed the blinds as well as shut off the lights. “That’s better. Go ahead.”

  Vanessa restarted the video. “This is from the night Melinda Gomez went missing. It’s been reviewed, of course, but I figured we would want our own look.”

  It took a few minutes to spot their girl for the first time, but after that, she was easy to follow. She came out of the RainTree Bar alone, turned and waved her cup at someone still inside, and then walked unsteadily toward the west end of the River Walk. Whoever had been in the bar didn’t follow her.

  In fact, it wasn’t until she threw her plastic cup away that she had any interactions at all. The River Walk employee standing next to the trash can looked as though he tried to engage her in conversation, but she wandered off seemingly without speaking to him. He didn’t follow her.

  The last place she appeared on the video was at the taxi stand, where she gets into the back of a cab. Jason already knew she never made it back to her hotel. He flipped open the book of interviews he’d retrieved from Melinda’s file.

  “I see an interview with the River Walk employee and another with the cabbie, but no reference to the person or persons she waved at in the bar.”

  “What did the Walk employee have to say?”

  “He said he remembered speaking to her, but denied seeing her after that. He took a polygraph but the results were inconclusive.”

  “What about the cab driver?”

  “He said it was a long night but he thought he remembered her. He claimed to have dropped her off at her hotel.”

  “Did he take a poly?”

  “Yes, same result as the employee. He also provided a copy of his log book.”

  Jason’s phone began to ring. “This is Strong.”

  “Yes, Detective Strong, this is Elizabeth Fulton with the Bexar County Rural Cemetery Association. I’m returning your call.”

  Her all-business tone subconsciously prompted Jason sit up straighter in his chair. “Yes, Miss Fulton…”

  “It’s Mrs. Fulton.”

  “Mrs. Fulton…I apologize. What I called in reference to was the exhumation the other day at San Isidro.”

  “Yes, I heard about that. Shocking.”

  “Indeed. Have you ever had something like that happen at San Isidro before?”

  Her indignation came through clearly. “Detective Strong, I assure you that something like this would never happen under normal circumstances.”

  “Do you have any idea how it did occur then?”

  “I certainly do not and I would think that is something for you to be looking into. We have procedures in place to prevent such things from happening at any of our cemeteries.”

  “I’m sorry, did you say any?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “How many cemeteries does the board oversee?”

  “Currently, there are six.”

  That explained why such a small cemetery had its own backhoe.

  “Mrs. Fulton, you have an employee who does your maintenance...”

  “Yes, Nathan Wolsey.”

  “Does he perform the same duties at all six of the cemeteries?”

  “Yes.”

  “Including digging graves for funerals?”

  “Yes, of course. Why do you ask?”

  “Just gathering general information. Can you give me a list of your other cemeteries?”

  “Sure.”

  Jason wrote them down as Elizabeth Fulton named them. “Thank you, ma’am. Do you know where Nathan is working today?”

  “I believe he’s doing fence repair at San Isidro. Will that be all, Detective?”

  “Yes, for now. Thank you for calling.

  Jason hung up and looked at his partner. “Remember Mr. Wolsey?”

  “Of course.”

  “He has five other cemeteries where he does the digging.”

  “Really?” Vanessa shut off the video. “I think we need to go speak to our friend Mr. Wolsey.”

  “I agree, but let’s stop at Stumpy’s first.”

  “Ooooh, that sounds good.”

  “Any food sounds good to you!”

  *******

  They beat the lunch rush and took a table near the window as usual. Their food came quickly and as they sat finishing, they were surprised by a visitor to their table.

  “Good afternoon, Detectives.”

  Jason and Vanessa looked up to see Devin James, the senior city reporter from the San Antonio News. Vanessa went back to her lunch, but Jason smiled up at him. “Hey, Devin.”

  “Mind if I pull up a chair?” He didn’t wait for an answer, sitting down at the same time he asked.

  “Suit yourself.”

  “So Jason, I heard something interesting, and you’re just the person to verify it.”

  Jason studied the face of the reporter. Devin’s eyes were always bright against his dark skin, but today they seemed to have an extra glint, and that could only mean trouble. “I doubt it.”

  Devin ignored his tone, plunging ahead.

  “It has been suggested to me that you found the body of Melinda Gomez, one of the River Walk Missing.”

  Both Jason and Vanessa stopped mid-chew and stared at James. The reporter grinned, obviously pleased with his surprise. “It appears my information is good.”

  Jason set down his fork. “Where did you hear that?”

  “Oh come on, Jason, you know I can’t tell you that.”

  “I’m not going to verify that, James.”

  “Okay, but maybe you could tell me if there’s a suspect that has come to the forefront based on the discovery.”

  “No comment.”

  “Can you tell me how the discovery was made?”

  “No comment.”

  “What about cause of death?”

  “Devin, please excuse yourself from our table. We would like to finish our lunch in peace.”

  Devin looked at Vanessa, who still had her head down, then at Jason. Their eyes met for a long moment before James stood. “Enjoy your lunch, Detectives.”

  Jason watched the reporter walk away, then looked at Vanessa. “Crap!” />
  *******

  An hour later, the two detectives parked at the entrance gate to San Isidro Cemetery. They found Nathan Wolsey working on the fence near the back of the property. He didn’t appear happy to see them. “Detectives, what brings you out here?”

  Jason took out his notepad as Vanessa took the lead with the manager, as she had the last time. “We had a few more questions.”

  “You could have called.”

  “It’s so peaceful here; we thought it would be nice to visit in person.”

  Nathan dropped the pliers he was using into a toolbox on the ground. “So what is it you needed?”

  “When we spoke the other day, you failed to mention your other duties.”

  “What?”

  “Your other duties.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “Isn’t it true that you are the manager and groundskeeper for six cemeteries?”

  “Well, sure, but…I didn’t think that mattered.”

  Vanessa pressed him. “It does matter, Nathan. In fact, it matters a lot. You dig the graves at all six, correct?”

  “Yeah, so what?”

  “Did you notice anything unusual about any of those graves in the last six months?”

  The young man was sweating profusely, and not from the heat. The day was cooler than the previous several, and a nice breeze ruffled their shirts. “What do you mean?”

  “Think, Nathan. Disturbed dirt, graves that seemed altered, things out of place from the way you left them the night before.”

  “I don’t know. I can’t remember any.”

  “What about last December, on the sixteenth, would you be able to tell us where you were that day?”

  “Six months ago! I doubt it. Hey, what is this about? Are you trying to say I was responsible for the body we found the other day?”

  Jason stepped forward, laying his hand on the young man’s shoulder. “We’re not saying anything right now, Nathan. We just want to make sure we have all the facts, and it’s disturbing you withheld information from us.”

  “I didn’t withhold…I’m sorry… I didn’t think it was important.”

  Jason handed Nathan his card. “Okay. If you think of anything else, you be sure and let us know, okay?”

  “Yeah…of course.”

  “Great. We’ll let you get back to work now.”

  Jason and Vanessa headed back to their car. Jason put away his notepad. “What do you think?”

  “The kid gets very nervous, doesn’t he?”

  “Yeah, I think we should run a criminal history on him. In the meantime, we have to meet with the captain. He’s gonna want to know about what James said.”

  “He’s not going to be happy, that’s for sure.”

  Jason opened his car door and looked across the hood at Vanessa. “I’m clean. You?”

  “I’m clean, but still, I hate being the bearer of bad news.”

  They climbed in and Jason started the vehicle. “Me, too.”

  He took out his phone and called Patton’s office. In a short conversation with Mary, they made an appointment for three o’clock.

  Chapter 5

  Mary Faldo smiled at the detectives when they came into the office.

  “Go on in, he’s expecting you.”

  Jason held the door for Vanessa. “After you, madam.”

  She rolled her eyes. “James is your buddy, I’m not telling the captain.”

  Jason smiled at being caught. “Okay, okay.”

  John Patton rose from behind his desk and shook hands with his detectives. “Good to see you both, I think. Why the meeting?”

  The captain hadn’t lost any of the muscle he’d worked so hard to get while in charge of Homicide. “You’re looking good, John.”

  His friend’s bushy eyebrows went up. “Oh, no. Small talk, that’s bad.”

  Jason laughed and took the seat offered to him. Vanessa stayed standing. Jason got right to the point.

  “Devin James stopped by our table at lunch today.”

  “Another bad sign.”

  This time Vanessa laughed. “You have no idea.”

  Jason gave her a dirty look. “Anyway, he said someone had given him an interesting piece of information.”

  “About what?”

  “It seems he was informed we had discovered the body of Melinda Gomez.”

  The captain studied his detective with a blank face. Finally, he looked at Vanessa, then back at Jason. “I trust I can rule you two out as the source of this information?”

  “It wasn’t us, John.”

  Patton leaned forward and picked up his phone. “Mary?”

  He listened, and then. “Get me Chief Murray, please.”

  He put the phone down and waited, still watching his detectives in silence. Jason decided keeping his mouth shut right now was the wisest option. The phone buzzed and Patton picked it up.

  “Bill, this John. I have Strong and Layne in with me. You got a minute?”

  The captain nodded. “We’ll wait.”

  He hung up and looked at Jason. “Tell me how it went.”

  “He said he been told we found the body. He asked for verification and I said ‘no comment.’ Our reaction probably told him what he needed.”

  “He caught you by surprise.”

  “You could say that.”

  “What else?”

  “He wanted COD and any information I could give him on suspects. I stuck with the no comment spiel and asked him to leave us alone.”

  Patton nodded as the door to his office opened. Chief Murray, wearing his standard tie, white shirt with dark slacks, and boyish haircut, came into the room, nodding at both detectives.

  He turned to Patton. “What’s up?”

  The captain filled his boss in, and when he was done, the chief stared out the window. “You two are sure you weren’t the source?”

  They answered in unison. “We’re sure.”

  “Who else knew, John?”

  “Davis, the new guy Chase, Doc Josie, Eli Warren, and Lieutenant Banks. I filled her in this morning.”

  “Okay, I want you to speak to each of them personally. No phone calls. I’ll check my end with the mayor’s office.”

  The captain nodded.

  Murray directed his attention toward the two detectives. “What have we got on the case to this point?”

  Jason had brought the sketch from Jennifer Landers and handed it to the chief. “That sketch is from number four’s best friend, he’s the last person she saw her friend talking to, but we don’t have an ID on the guy yet. We also have two names we’re looking into from the original file, and one we’ve discovered ourselves.”

  “Anything promising?”

  “Not yet, Chief.”

  “Okay, stay on it, and keep the captain up to date.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Their presence no longer required, the two detectives beat a hasty retreat. On the elevator down to the third floor, Jason let out a sigh. “That was fun.”

  “Yeah. Hanging out with you, Strong, is a kick!”

  He laughed. “Thanks!”

  *******

  It was still daylight when he unlocked the box the next time. The glow blinding her wasn’t just the overhead bulb, but the sunlight hitting a living room window, which was streaming through the bedroom door.

  “Time to play.”

  In one hand, he was holding the pink bathrobe out to her, while the other rested on the hilt of the knife. Struggling to stand, she grasped at the robe and pulled herself up. As quickly as she could, she wrapped the robe around her. Next, he handed her a hairbrush, and pointed toward a mirror hung on the wall.

  “You may feel better if you brush your hair.”

  She took the brush, knowing instantly it was too small to be an effective weapon, and walked to the mirror. She was horrified, but not surprised, at her reflection. Her blonde hair was tangled and matted, her eyes sunken, and her skin pale.

  Pulling the brus
h through her hair, she did her best to make herself feel human again; a nearly impossible task with that animal watching her. Eventually, she handed the brush back and followed him out to the living room. There was a card table set up, a pitcher and two glasses sitting on it.

  “You sit over there.”

  She went to the chair he indicated, her body propelled by a kind of nightmarish autopilot, and sat with her hands in her lap. He poured her a drink and then one for himself. Thirst drove her to grab the glass and guzzle it, her brain registering the flavor of peach iced tea as it went down.

  He sat opposite her and sipped his own, watching her over the rim of his glass. “More?”

  Tammy-Jo nodded slightly, putting her glass down. He refilled it and this time she drank it more slowly.

  “Dinner is frozen pizza, and I’ll put it in the oven soon, but I thought we could play some cards first.”

  “What kind of cards?” Her voice sounded unfamiliar; distant, lifeless.

  “Do you know how to play Gin Rummy?”

  She nodded.

  “Good. We’ll play a few hands before dinner.”

  He reached behind him, picked up a deck of cards, shuffled them, and dealt seven each. Tammy-Jo looked at the greasy playing cards but didn’t move. He was busy fixing his hand when he noticed. “Go ahead, pick them up.”

  It wasn’t a request, or at least it didn’t feel like one to her, and she slowly picked up one card at a time. He resumed fixing his hand and when he was done, he looked up at her.

  “You’re first.”

  *******

  Jason was on his way home when his phone began to ring. It was next to him on the seat, and he recognized the number as he picked it up.

  “What is it, James?”

  “Jason, why so formal? After all, I was calling you as a favor.”

  “Really? Well, forgive me for being so rude!”

  “You really are a cynic, Strong, you know that?”

  “Funny, no one else ever tells me that; maybe it’s just you.”

  Devin allowed himself a chuckle. “I’m calling with a heads-up.”

  “To what?”