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

by John C. Dalglish

  “Even so, let’s keep him in the dark, just in case we’re wrong.”

  “Agreed.”

  “I was thinking…”

  “Did it hurt?”

  “More than you know. Finding this body, assuming it turns out to be Joann Heddon, supports the pattern you suggested. That means…”

  “Tammy-Jo Cousins has roughly thirty-six hours left,” Vanessa finished.

  *******

  The interior of the box was beginning to overwhelm Tammy-Jo’s senses. The darkness was claustrophobic, the foam insulation around the sides was irritating her skin, and the smell of dried blood mixed with her own body odor was causing her to dry heave.

  The box suddenly opened, washing her with a welcome breath of fresh air, but her relief was instantly followed by the rising fear that came with being in her captor’s presence.

  “A new game awaits us.”

  She didn’t bother resisting, and sat up while shielding her eyes. “A new game?”

  “Backgammon; have you ever played?”

  She’d watched others play, but it had never appealed to her enough to learn how. “No.”

  “That’s fine. Go to the bathroom and then I’ll teach you.”

  She made her way down the hall, did her business, and then struggled back. In the beginning, she would stall for time in the bathroom, but now thirst and hunger drove her to hurry.

  The table was set as usual, but this time her food consisted of just toast and a half glass of water. She inhaled them. “Can I have more to eat?”

  “No.”

  “How about water? Can I have another glass?”

  “No.”

  The implication of his refusal slowly dawned on her.

  He’s not worried about me going without food or water.

  When he began to explain the game to her, she found it nearly impossible to focus. Even though she felt safe in the box, she rarely slept. On top of being exhausted from her ordeal, thirst and hunger were constant companions.

  “It’s your turn!”

  She jumped. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Weren’t you listening?”

  “Yes… I just don’t understand.”

  “You weren’t paying attention, I could tell. You know what? Let’s forget this.”

  He threw the dice down onto the table. “Roll your first set of numbers.”

  “No, no…I want to play.”

  “Too late! Roll!”

  She started to cry, barely able to produce tears, but sobbing anyway. She reached over, picked up the dice, and dropped them back onto the table. A two and a three. Even in the fog taking over her brain, she knew she was in trouble. Five could only be made by two combinations where seven had multiple sets of numbers.

  He didn’t bother announcing the roll. “Go again.”

  She did, and wasn’t the least surprised when a six and one showed up. The excitement at the playing of the game from the previous nights was gone from his demeanor. His voice was cold, matter-of-fact, and emotionless.

  “You lose; get up.”

  “No, please…”

  This time he ignored his knife and reached over the table, grabbing her by the hair. She had nothing left to fight him with. He dragged her to the room and raped her.

  Several hours later, she was returned to the box. There was no relief from being there, as she had known all along but denied to herself, she wasn’t safe from him anywhere. The only thing different tonight was she no longer cared.

  Chapter 11

  Jason and Vanessa arrived at the station the next morning acutely aware that it was day six. They had to find Tammy-Jo today.

  Banks had called them last night to report Eli had found a body, presumed to be Rosalind Garner, and that she would be exhumed this morning.

  The first stop for the detectives was Doc Josie’s lab. She was ready for them when they came through the lab doors.

  “Follow me.”

  She led them to the back of the lab and flipped a switch on a light panel. Two x-rays appeared before them. Doc Josie pointed as she talked.

  “This one was provided by the family when Miss Heddon disappeared. This on the right is the one I took from the exhumed remains at Davenport Cemetery. See the fillings here, here, and here.”

  Both detectives nodded.

  “We’ve got missing teeth in two locations, here and here, and the upper wisdom teeth have been removed in both cases. This is your girl, I’m afraid.”

  The news didn’t surprise Jason, but he needed more. “What about cause of death?”

  “You’ll have to go see Doc Davis on that.”

  “Okay, thanks Josie.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  They crossed the hall to the Morgue and found Darrel Chase washing down an autopsy table. “Hey, Darrel. Is Doc around?”

  “He’s putting a body in the freezer.”

  Right on cue, the freezer door opened, and Doc Davis came out. To Jason it looked like the doc was sweating. “Hot in the cooler, Doc?”

  He laughed. “Not really.” He turned to Vanessa. “I thought I told you not to bring him down here with you.”

  She shrugged. “I try, but he misses you.”

  Doc snorted. “I bet!”

  Jason and Vanessa followed Doc as he walked into the tiny cubicle he called an office. Jason was anxious to find out the COD of Joann Heddon. “Did you finish with the Heddon autopsy?”

  Doc picked up a folder from his desk and handed it to Jason, who passed it to Vanessa, while he waited for the short version.

  “Cause was a combination of blunt force trauma, blood loss, and suffocation. Which one was the determining factor is hard to say.”

  “The trauma, was it from a similar item, such as a hammer?”

  “The wound is the same, so yes. The trauma and blood loss were a match to the Melinda Gomez autopsy, but suffocation was detectable in this case.”

  “She was alive when she was buried?”

  “Technically, yes. I found inhaled soil particles in the throat and lungs, but whether she was conscious or not, I can’t tell.”

  Jason pushed. “But it’s possible she was alive when she was placed in the grave?”

  “Unfortunately, I believe so.”

  “Thanks, Doc.”

  Jason turned and headed for the door as Vanessa scrambled after him. The elevator doors were opening when she caught up and followed him on. “You didn’t hang around for the rest of the report.”

  “I figured you would tell me anything else important in the file.”

  “Why were you so interested in whether Joann Heddon was alive when she was put in the grave?”

  “Today is day six for Tammy-Jo, right?”

  “Right.”

  “And if the timeline holds, he will try to bury her tonight, correct?”

  “If it holds, yes.”

  “Well, I think our best chance to catch this guy is to stake out the cemeteries we consider a possible for tonight.”

  “Makes sense, but why the concern for her being buried alive.”

  The elevator doors slid open on the third floor, but Jason didn’t walk out.

  “Because it means Joann was alive when she got to the cemetery. We can only hope the same is true for Tammy-Jo.”

  *******

  He’d picked up the morning paper in preparation for that night. Passing the room with the box in it, he went into the third bedroom, flipped on the light, and threw the newspaper on the desk. Walking across the room to the opposite wall, he stared at the oversized map of San Antonio hung there.

  Red pins were stuck in three places, each signifying a different location already used, and green pins were stuck in each of the remaining cemeteries outside the city center. The green pins indicated potential burial sites for his girls, and he’d done recon at all of them, making sure they had enough seclusion.

  He moved back to the desk, his pulse quickening with the job at hand.

  Time to prepare f
or the burial of girl number four.

  Pulling the funeral notices page from the Community section, he laid it onto a small desk, and ran his finger down the several columns listing the deceased. Each time he found the date April 7 listed for the funeral, he highlighted it with yellow.

  When he was done, he moved back to each yellow marking and looked at the name of the cemetery. Checking it against his location map, any cemetery that had a green pin, got a green highlighter mark over its name in the paper. When he was done, there were three cemeteries that had both green and yellow highlighter marks.

  Picking up his recon book from the desk, he found the name of each cemetery in his notes, reviewing his observations and picturing the location in his mind. The first cemetery didn’t suit him, not for any particular reason, but just because he didn’t like the name.

  Scratch that one!

  The second option seemed to be fine, and the third option was good as well.

  How to decide?

  A smile slowly creased his face.

  I know the perfect solution.

  *******

  Jason had the newspaper section with funeral notices laid out in front of him on the conference table. Vanessa had taped a map of the city and surrounding area up on the chalkboard. She stood back and examined what they had come up with. “Is that all of them?”

  “That’s all I’ve found. Patton and Banks are due here in a few minutes, so let’s go over what we have.”

  “Okay. I see four possible locations for stakeouts.”

  “Yup. Kruestler Cemetery to the northeast, Saint Luke Cemetery south of the city, Becker Cemetery to the west, and San Isidro.”

  “You think we should eliminate San Isidro?”

  “Yeah, so far he hasn’t used the same cemetery twice, but maybe we send someone out there anyway. Just in case.”

  “So, that gives us four to stake out tonight.”

  The door to the conference room opened. Patton and Banks came in and took seats without saying a word. When they were situated, Banks studied the map, then turned to Jason.

  “Do you have a plan?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good; let’s hear it.”

  Jason began to explain the process by which they’d eliminated some and chosen other cemeteries when the captain waved his hand to stop.

  “I’ve got a meeting with the mayor in twenty minutes. I’m afraid you’ll have to cut to the end.”

  Vanessa took over and pointed with the end of a marker at one cemetery, then the next. “We have four cemeteries we want to stake out tonight. Kruestler, Becker, Saint Luke, and San Isidro.”

  “What assets do you need?”

  “Three patrol cars and three EMT units. One of each within a mile of the three main stakeouts, ready to respond at a moment’s notice, if our guy shows. We also need a fourth patrol car to watch San Isidro, just in case.”

  Patton glanced at Jason. “Why the EMTs?”

  “We’re hoping Tammy-Jo Cousins will still be alive when we find her, and if she is, we may not have time to wait for medical personnel to be called after the fact.”

  Patton let his gaze move around the room from the map, to his detectives, and finally settling on his lieutenant. “Sarah, I want you to be placed at a middle point and serve as task force co-coordinator.”

  Banks nodded.

  Patton looked at his watch, then stood. “I’ll sign off. Get it set up, and keep me in the loop.”

  “Yes, Sir.” The response came in unison.

  *******

  Tammy-Jo must have drifted into a semi-conscious numbness because, when the top of the box flipped open, she jerked with surprise.

  He laughed. “Snuck up on ya, huh?”

  She wiped at her eyes, trying to clear her vision, but didn’t respond.

  “Sit up, we have one more game.”

  Immediately, her pulse raced. “One more?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Then I can go home?”

  He laughed again, this time longer. She tried to pull herself up out of the box but he pushed her back.

  “You don’t need to get out for this one.”

  “Why? What’s the game?”

  He handed her a single die. “Roll it on the floor.”

  She stalled. “I thought you said the floor didn’t count.”

  “Just roll it!”

  “What am I trying to get?”

  “This game is odds and evens. Odd is one place, even is another.”

  “Place for what?”

  “For you.”

  “Is one of them home?”

  “I can’t tell you that. Now roll.”

  She sat looking at him, afraid to move.

  “Roll!”

  She flinched, causing the die to fall out of her hand. It rattled around on the floor for a second or two before stopping on five.

  “Odd. That settles it.”

  “Settles what?”

  “I told you, that’s a secret. Lie down.”

  “But…”

  He shoved her flat and dropped the lid closed. The lock snapped shut and he was gone.

  Chapter 12

  Jason returned to the station just after six, having gone home for a short nap and to have dinner with his girls. Sandy was never happy when he had to work nights, but at least it wasn’t like the last time he’d been undercover, when he was almost killed.

  Vanessa, Eli, and Banks were already in the conference room when he came in, the tension in the room palpable, everyone recognizing the importance of the night. If they were going to catch this guy, tonight might be their best chance, and if they were going to save Tammy-Jo, tonight might be their only chance.

  Banks nodded at him when he came in, then stood up next to the map, pointing. “Okay, let’s get this thing going. Eli, you have the Kruestler Cemetery. You’ll park here, and the backup team will park two blocks away, here.”

  Eli nodded and made a note on his own copy of the map while Banks continued.

  “Vanessa, you have Saint Luke. Set yourself up here, and the team will be three blocks away, here.”

  Banks turned to Jason. “You have Becker. The spot with best line of sight is here, but it’s outside the fence, which means your reaction time will be slower than the others. The support team will be here, behind an old barn. We got permission from the land owner.”

  Jason pointed his pen at Banks. “And you?”

  “I’ll be here, just off the 1604 loop, less than seven minutes with lights and sirens, to each of your locations.”

  “What about response? What do you want the planned action to be if he shows up?”

  “Once he has left the vehicle, and is near the grave, I want you to put yourself between the vehicle and him. As you move into position, call for backup. The black-and-white will join in the arrest; the EMTs will assess the girl.”

  Jason liked the set-up. “Sounds good. Is the other black-and-white set for San Isidro?”

  “Yes. Vanessa, you and Eli are in secluded neighborhoods, and even though your stakeout locations are inside the cemeteries, there’s also likely to be civilians in the area. Don’t get into a shootout if you can help it.”

  Eli nodded. “If our guy shows, do you want the other two detectives to move on the scene?”

  “No. At least, not immediately. Let’s make sure it’s not a false alarm before we leave our posts.”

  The lieutenant looked around the room. “Any questions?”

  Vanessa raised her hand, a tiny smirk appearing.

  “Layne, what are you doing?”

  “I have a question.”

  Banks stared at her, waiting.

  “Will you be making deliveries from Starbucks during the stakeout?”

  Anger seared the lieutenant’s face until a smile broke out. Everyone laughed, a little of the tension relieved momentarily.

  “Get your caffeine on the way to the stakeout, Layne! I don’t do coffee runs.”

  *******

>   Darkness was settling on West Texas a little later each day now. Jason thought the weather guy had said they were gaining four minutes of light every day, but out in the rural areas, street lights were absent, and darkness seemed to come on suddenly.

  He’d arrived at his location, checked in with Banks, and slumped down in his seat. The clock on his dash glowed 9:10, and he assumed it would be at least midnight before this guy showed his face, but the nature of a stakeout was such that you never knew. One second you’d be fighting to keep your eyes open, the next moment, you could be fighting for your life.

  His radio crackled, and he turned it down. In the stillness, it sounded like a megaphone. “Lieutenant, this is Vanessa.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “I’m in position, and I have my Starbucks.”

  Jason smiled in the darkness.

  Man, that woman never gets tired of pushing the lieutenant’s buttons. It’s a wonder Banks doesn’t have Vanessa working lost dog cases.

  “Glad to hear it, Layne. Radio silence now unless you have something to report.”

  “Understood.”

  Jason had already heard Eli check in, as well as all four backup teams, and now it was a waiting game. He liked to pray at times like this, because it gave him hope, and it gave him peace. It also managed to give him courage, which came in handy when on a stakeout.

  For the next couple hours, the radio stayed silent.

  *******

  Tammy-Jo heard the footsteps, but her mind no longer functioned well enough for her to be afraid. She had no strength to resist, no tears to shed, and no hope she would ever be free. Inside her box, she’d resigned herself to dying at the hands of the monster that held the key to her prison.

  The lock snapped and the lid flew open. She covered her eyes with both hands, and as a result, she never saw it coming. One second there was bright light, the next a crushing pain, and then nothing.

  *******

  Sarah Banks sat in the surveillance van, headphones on, listening for the first sign of their target. It was nearly midnight, and no indication they had guessed right. Normally, she enjoyed stakeouts. They broke up the monotony of her day-to-day routine, but that was before Gavin. She missed their time together when she had to work late.