Right on cue, her phone lit up with his picture. Slipping off the headphones, she pushed answer. “Hey there. I was just thinking about you.”
“What a coincidence; I was just thinking about you.”
“Sorry about this overnight duty, but I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
“I look forward to it. Listen, I was thinking about what you said the other day.”
“What I said?”
“Yeah, about keeping secrets?”
Sarah’s heart thumped as her pulse quickened. “What about it?”
“I would never intentionally say anything, but…”
She waited.
“Somebody at the office may have overheard a conversation of ours.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I was going back over some things in my head, and I remembered one of my associates leaning through the office door, waiting for me to get off the phone.”
“What were we talking about?”
“That’s the thing; I don’t remember. I’m just afraid I may have said something that could hurt you.”
Silently, she ran the possibilities through her mind.
Don’t be paranoid, Sarah. It’s unlikely he said out loud anything relating to finding Gomez. You probably weren’t even talking about the case during that conversation.
She tried to recall when they discussed the Gomez case, whether they were on the phone or together, but she couldn’t remember.
“Sarah?”
“I’m here… It’s okay, Gavin. I’m sure that wasn’t the way the reporter got his information; things will work themselves out. I’ve got to go. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know how things went.”
She hung up, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt.
*******
He wiped the blood from the hammer and hung it back on the wall. Reaching into the box, he lifted the limp body out, and carried it to the garage. The back of his vehicle was already open, and he half-tossed, half-rolled the body forward, which fell with a deadened thump onto the carpet. Next to the body were the shovel, a stepladder, a pair of work gloves, and a small flashlight.
He closed up the vehicle, got in the front seat, and triggered the garage door. A quick look at his watch told him it was 12:30. He was on schedule.
*******
Vanessa tipped her coffee cup, expecting hot wake-up juice, but got nothing. She looked into the bottom of the cup.
“Crap!”
She keyed her microphone. “Lieutenant, you wouldn’t happen to be near a coffee shop, would you?”
“Forget it, Layne.”
Vanessa laughed.
“You can’t blame a girl for try…”
Movement in the darkness stopped her. “Lieutenant, I’ve got movement here.”
“Can you make an ID?”
“Not yet, but it’s a solitary figure.”
The radio fell silent, everyone waiting for a signal from Vanessa, hoping this was their guy. The figure moved toward the open grave, a thin flashlight beam illuminating his path. After several minutes, the lieutenant broke the silence. “Layne, what have you got?”
Careful not to make a sound, she slowly keyed her mic, whispering her response. “It appears to be a man, and he’s stopped near the grave. I’m going to get a closer look.”
“Wait for your backup.”
Vanessa lowered her window, and climbed out of her car, crouched low, waiting to make sure he hadn’t heard her. The radio crackled again, much too loud with her window down. “Layne? Layne!”
The lieutenant’s voice seemed to echo throughout the cemetery, and the man turned quickly in Vanessa’s direction. She remained motionless, cursing herself for not turning off the radio, and waiting to see if the man moved. She poked her head up over the hood and spotted him peering at her, trying to see through the dark.
He didn’t run, instead shining his flashlight in her direction. “Hello? Is someone there?”
Vanessa suddenly doubted this was their target. She stood up, her hand resting on her weapon, and approached.
“San Antonio police, identify yourself!”
The man’s hands shot straight up. “Don’t shoot. My name is Ross…Ross Tyner.”
“Walk toward me, Ross.”
The man came closer, and Vanessa saw for the first time the flowers he held in one hand. She relaxed, standing up and shining her flashlight at in his face.
“Mr. Tyner, what are you doing here?”
“I’m visiting my Molly.”
“Your Molly?”
“Yes, she was my wife. I like to come in the quiet to speak to her.”
Vanessa’s heart broke. “I’m sorry to disturb that, but I need to see some ID.”
“Of course.” He rummaged around slowly in his coat pocket until he found his wallet. Vanessa looked at the picture on the driver’s license and everything matched.
“I’m sorry to have disturbed you, Mr. Tyner.”
“It’s okay. May I go now?”
“Absolutely.”
Vanessa returned to the car where she could hear Banks going ballistic. “Layne, dang you, answer!”
Blue lights flashed as the backup car responded to where Vanessa was.
“This is Vanessa. All clear.”
“What do you mean, all clear? What happened?”
“The guy I saw was here visiting his dead wife.”
“In the middle of the freaking night?”
“Yes.”
“For crying out loud. Well, you might as well wrap it up; your cover is no doubt blown.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
*******
He drove slowly through the gates, his eyes flicking back and forth, searching. His headlights were off, but the orange parking lights gave him sufficient light to see, and he soon made his way to the back of the cemetery. There, just off the road, was a mound of dirt and an open grave.
Looking back over his shoulder, he checked the girl. She remained motionless, and more importantly, quiet. He turned off the vehicle and got out. This time in April, the nights were still cool, and it made his work that much easier.
He checked the time; 1:30. He wanted to be gone within an hour.
Opening the back doors, he put on the gloves and grabbed the shovel. Running his arm through the rungs of the ladder, he lifted it onto his shoulder. The moon was bright enough that he didn’t need the flashlight.
It’s a beautiful night for doing some digging.
*******
Jason pinched his arm. It was a tactic he employed to stay awake. Nothing did the job like a shot of pain, and he usually managed to bruise himself on these long stakeouts. They were to stay in position until sunrise, which this time of year, was around six in the morning. It was 1:30.
Jason sat upright, his eyes straining. An orange glow was moving through the cemetery.
Parking lights!
They stopped in front of the open grave, and a man came around to the back of a white minivan. When the doors opened, the interior lights didn’t come on, so Jason couldn’t be sure if Tammy-Jo was inside. What he did see was a shovel, followed by a ladder.
The man walked toward the open grave, dropped the shovel into the hole, and swung the ladder off his shoulder. Jason waited until the man disappeared into the hole.
“Lieutenant, this is Jason. I’ve got him; all units respond to my location.”
With that, Jason jumped out of the car, drew his gun, and raced to the edge of the open grave. He snuck close enough to reach out and grab the ladder, jerking it out of the hole.
“Hey! Who’s there?”
Jason flicked on his flashlight. “San Antonio Police. You’re under arrest.”
Ricardo Bonitez, clawed at the sides of the hole, but there was no getting out. Jason held his light on the man until the black-and-white arrived. Once the officers were graveside, he raced for the van.
Throwing open the back doors, his flashlight fell on the motionless form
of Tammy-Jo.
“Tammy! Tammy-Jo, can you hear me?”
Blood was dried in her hair and her eyes were partially open. He reached out and touched her throat, fearing cold skin, but was excited to find a faint pulse. The EMTs were just arriving.
“Over here! She’s still alive!”
Jason stepped out of the way, letting the medical team do their work, as the night filled with sirens.
Epilogue
Jason sat across from Bonitez, who was cuffed to the table in the interrogation room. Jason watched him closely, but Bonitez refused to meet his stare, and otherwise seemed unfazed by his situation.
Jason closed the file folder in front of him. “Right now, you’re looking at three counts of first-degree murder, four if Tammy-Jo Cousins dies, along with a slew of other charges. They’re going to lock you up and throw away the key, but you might be able to avoid the death penalty if you cooperate and give a complete statement.”
“Why would I do that? To make it tidy for you cops?”
“Do you want the chair?”
Bonitez finally looked up. “Fry me, I don’t care.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“These women didn’t do anything to you, so why?”
Bonitez gaze returned to the floor and his words were muffled. “My wife died last year and I needed somebody to play games with.”
“I can’t hear you.”
“I needed someone to play games with!”
Jason had heard many motives for just as many horrific crimes, but this one sickened him.
“What about the women? They could’ve had husbands and kids who wanted to play games with them. You and your wife had that, but you took the chance away from them.”
Bonitez didn’t respond. In fact, he did his best to look bored.
Jason stood, opened the door, then turned around before leaving. “Bonitez.”
“What?”
“If they give me the chance, I’ll be there to throw the switch.”
He let the door slam behind him.
*******
Two days had gone by since the arrest of Bonitez and the end of the River Walk Missing case. John Patton had just got off the phone after speaking to Chief Williams. He got up from his desk and walked out of his office.
“I’ll be down on the third floor, Mary.”
“Okay, Captain.”
He took the stairs and came out on the floor to find a circle of people, all standing, except for Jason. He was telling a story. Banks was in her office, so he nodded at everyone, and went in to talk to her.
“Got a minute, Sarah?”
She looked up, surprised. “Sure…sit down, John.”
“No. This won’t take long.”
“Okay…shoot.”
“I leaned on you pretty hard to find out if the story reported by that reporter had come from our department…”
“Yeah…”
“Well, I just got off the phone with Chief Williams.”
“And?”
“He got a call this morning from the mayor. It seems that an aide who works at City Hall is a nephew of Devin James.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. Anyway, I wanted to make sure we’re good.”
“You know we are, John.”
“Thanks, Sarah. I’ll let you tell your team. By the way, what’s the condition of the Cousins girl?”
“She’s still comatose. The blow from the hammer caused swelling in her brain. They think she’ll make it, but don’t know her long-term prognosis.”
“Linda and I will be praying for her.”
“I think a lot of people are.”
*******
Sarah sat at her desk, watching the captain walking toward the elevator while she tried to catch her breath. A load had been lifted and she could feel its absence. She picked up her phone and dialed Gavin.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me.”
“What’s up?”
“I just wanted to call and apologize for doubting you.”
He was quiet for a minute. “That’s not necessary, Sarah.”
She smiled into the phone. “I love you, Gavin Newman.”
“Right back at you, Miss Banks. Have you told your gang yet?”
“No, but I think it’s time. See you later.”
She hung up and went out to where the gathering was. Doc Davis, Doc Josie, Vanessa, Eli, and Jason were all visiting and laughing. Jason was in the middle of a story.
“So, I’m sitting on the bed while Sandy is getting ready for work. She’s in the bathroom and yells out, ‘I’m late!’ I look at my watch and she’s got at least another forty-five minutes before she has to leave. ‘You’ve got plenty of time,’ I said.”
“She comes out holding a stick and I ask her what it is, and she says it’s a pregnancy test. And I’m like ‘Oh, that kind of late!’ and she laughs at me.”
His eyes get huge as he tells the story. “Wait, a pregnancy test! You didn’t tell me you thought you were pregnant. She says, ‘I don’t, but I figured I’d check anyway. These stupid things are so hard to read!’ She walks over and gives it to me.”
Jason pretended to look at the stick. “I looked down and it says plain as day in blue letters—pregnant—and I’m like, ‘This isn’t hard to read, it says you’re pregnant.’ And that’s when I look up to see her standing there, grinning at me.”
Everyone laughed at the look on Jason’s face and took turns congratulating him on the news. Sarah went back to her office. She decided her news could wait a little longer.
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
I can’t begin to tell all of you who have written how much it means. Your encouragement has pushed me to finish now the tenth book in this series.
I hope you enjoyed it and that following the characters is still satisfying. If this is your first read in the series, thank you for taking the time, and I hope you will try the others, as well.
As always, I want to thank my wife Bev, for prodding me forward, and keeping me on task. Also, my editor Samantha, who fixes things without hurting my delicate ego. For that I’m grateful.
Please don’t hesitate to write at mailto:[email protected] or stop by my webpage at
http://jcdalglish.webs.com/.
God Bless and hope to see you next book,
John
MORE BY JOHN C. DALGLISH
THE DETECTIVE JASON STRONG SERIES
“Where’s My Son?”- #1
Bloodstain - #2
For My Brother - #3
Silent Justice - #4
Tied to Murder –#5
One of their Own – #6
Death Still – #7
Lethal Injection - #8
Cruel Deception - #9
THE CHASER CHRONICLES SERIES
CROSSOVER– #1
JOURNEY- #2
DESTINY -#3
INNER DEMONS - #4
LET'S PLAY (Det. Jason Strong(CLEAN SUSPENSE Book 10) Page 10
