Cuffed & Claimed

by Lori King

  “That’s what I’d like to know. Did you assign partners or leave it up to them?”

  “I left it up to them, but they were supposed to tell Jenny so she could keep track of everything.”

  “Good. If he followed the rules, then we should know who was supposed to be with him.” Words wouldn’t form, so she nodded. Hugh Johnson was dead? It didn’t seem possible, she’d seen him earlier in the day, and he was as obnoxious as always, but that was him. It had been for as long as she’d know him. Poor Betty. They’d been married forever, all their kids were grown and gone. She would be devastated.

  “I should probably go over and see Betty.” When he looked at her oddly, she clarified. “Hugh’s wife, umm widow now. I guess. She’s the sweetest thing, and the complete opposite of her husband.”

  “I’d rather you didn’t. At least not until someone can go with you. He was murdered, and we don’t know who’s behind it. I’d prefer you stay here and set the alarm as soon as I close the door.”

  Anna understood his reasoning but she wasn’t a child, and she was trained in self-defense too. She was more than capable of taking care of herself, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

  He got ready and headed out. She knew he waited outside until he was sure she’d set the alarm. She watched him drive away then got dressed. Yes, he was worried about her, but this was getting out of hand. If she didn’t put her foot down soon, he’d have her wrapped in cotton so she didn’t break, and to use one of his expressions, “fuck that noise.”

  Double-checking the address, she left a note on the kitchen counter for Ethan in case he returned before she did. She disabled the alarm, went through the mudroom door and opened the garage. She’d just opened the door when something hit her hard on the back of the head.

  * * *

  Ethan arrived at the house as CSU finished and released the scene. Steele was conferring with the LT, and there were several uniforms spread out to keep the press and public away. This is exactly the scenario they’d been hoping to avoid. Violent death brought back visions of Iraq, but he pushed them away. He needed to stay focused on the scene.

  Steele waved him over, and their grim looks didn’t bode well. “What do we know?”

  “Not much yet. CSU dusted for prints but from what the coroner said, the victim was killed with a blunt force trauma. But it looked like he fought back, so we still don’t know whether it is more than one person. It’s not like the victim was in the best shape or young. He was sixty-five according to his driver’s license.”

  Ethan nodded. It wouldn’t have taken too much to subdue him so it could have been one man, although he was convinced it was a group. They got in and out too efficiently for it to be only one or two.

  “We’ll know more when we get the autopsy report but don’t look for that until Monday,” Lt. Mark Watson stated. It wasn’t often he came to a crime scene anymore, so the fact that he was here meant it had gone all the way up the food chain, and no one was happy.

  “Did the coroner say anything else?”

  “No, liver temp indicated the victim had been deceased about four hours. It was still light when it went down. I’d say that pretty much cements your theory that they really know the neighborhoods they’re hitting.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Does Anna know?” Steele asked after their lieutenant walked away to speak to the press.

  “Yeah. She wanted to go see his widow, but I told her to stay home until I had more information.”

  “You told her? You really don’t listen, do you? No wonder you’ve been single for so long. You don’t tell a woman like Anna what to do. You ask her or cajole her. But anything remotely like an order will only get you the opposite of what you want.”

  Ethan looked from the house, crawling with police, back to Steele. Was he right? He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed her cell. He didn’t want to wait for her to text him back. Except she wasn’t answering. One ring, two, three, four, voicemail. What the fuck?

  “She’s not answering, is she? What did I tell you! You really do need to get on Facebook more.”

  “So you’re telling me the handbook on how to deal with women is stalking Facebook?”

  “Yup. Just do it, you’ll see.”

  “First I have to find my woman. She was half-asleep when I left so maybe she went to bed and didn’t hear the phone.”

  “Really? That’s the best you’ve got? Bro, what have you been smoking?”

  Ethan rolled his eyes. Sometimes he thought Steele would have been better as a private investigator, or maybe he should have joined his brother’s security and protection firm.

  Calling over one of the uniforms, he asked him to go to Anna’s house and let him know what he found. He’d have gone himself, but he had a crime to investigate.

  They went into the house after putting on their gloves and crime scene booties. The place was trashed. The other homes hadn’t been wrecked inside, just cleaned out of valuables. It definitely looked like there’d been a knockdown drag-out fight in the front room.

  “What the fuck happened here?” Steele asked. “None of the other crime scenes were torn apart.”

  “I’m wondering the same thing. Could it be different perps? Or maybe there was something else going on here.”

  “Do you still think Johnson is involved?”

  “Yup. I do. There was something not right about him.”

  Steele nodded. They’d discussed their observations, and he’d agreed with Ethan after he’d met him. But if he was involved, why kill him? Did he want out? Maybe he got scared they were going to be caught. For now, they had a lot more questions and a lot fewer answers.

  They were still going through the house when Ethan’s phone rang. He expected it to be Anna. Instead, it was the uniform he’d sent to her house.

  “Sir, I think you need to get over here. The garage door is up, and the car is in there, but the door is open. There’s no sign of Ms. Taggart but her keys and purse are on the garage floor, and there’s blood.”

  “Damn. Don’t touch anything.”

  “No, sir.”

  “Stay there, and don’t let anyone in or out until we get there.”

  “No problem.”

  “What happened?” Steele asked concern etched on his face.

  “It looks like someone’s grabbed Anna. C’mon we need to get over there. You call CSU, and I’ll call the LT.”

  Steele didn’t bother to reply just pulled out his phone and started dialing. By the time they got to Anna’s house, CSU was already there, and the uniform was standing guard. They ducked under the yellow crime scene tape, and he fired questions at the crime technician. “What have you got?”

  The tech looked up at Ethan and shrugged. “Not a hell of a lot. We took samples of the blood and some mud we found on the floor, but there’s not much else here. The place is clean. It looks like she was surprised by where everything is on the floor.”

  “Do you think they killed her?” Ethan didn’t want to say the words out loud, but he had to know. He wasn’t the expert but the tech in front of him was.

  “No, I’d say there’s a good chance she’s alive. Not enough blood for a major injury. If I had to guess, I’d say she was knocked out from behind.”

  He and Steele exchanged glances. They’d just come from another crime scene with a similar MO. It looked like Ethan’s theory was proving itself.

  9

  Darkness. And pain. Deep throbbing pain. Unable to see, she tried to move, but she was tied to something. But even the little movement triggered a wave of nausea, and she fought back the saliva and gagging. Where the hell was she? She tried to think, but it made her head hurt. Shit. Someone had been at her house, and she’d let them in when she opened the garage door. That had to be it. But where was she now? She probably only had two options, sit there and pretend she was still unconscious or call out and hope someone would come to her rescue before whoever took her came back. Unless they were still there and watc
hing her. Fear raced down her spine followed by another wave of nausea. She was well and truly screwed.

  “I know you’re awake, bitch.”

  Okay, that answered that question. Obviously hostile. Think, Anna. What did your class teach you—figure out your surroundings. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her racing heart. She’d get out of this, Ethan would find her, right? Except he’d told her to stay home and so he had no idea she was even missing. It could be tomorrow before he got back and realized she was gone.

  She was on her own. It’s okay, she had the skills. At least that’s what the certificate hanging in her office said. She’d already figured out that her arms were tied together by rope—not handcuffs—which was much better. There had to be a blindfold around her eyes, that would have been easier than making sure the whole room was dark. If she couldn’t see, she couldn’t identify them, so maybe they weren’t planning on killing her. A spark of hope ignited. She just needed to keep fanning the flames and figure out how to get the hell out of there.

  “I’m talking to you, bitch. What, you think you’re too good to talk to me?” Without any warning, something hit her hard on the side of her face. After the intense pain and wooziness had subsided, she realized he’d punched her. Nice.

  “Way to go. Oooh, a macho man. Hitting a woman who’s tied up and helpless. I’m so scared.” Either crazy, incredibly brave, or a little of both, she wasn’t sure. But she’d rather be killed fast rather than deal with slow painful torture if that was his intention.

  The room smelled weird, something she’d encountered before but she couldn’t place it. It had to be a large open space from the way his voice echoed. Then she heard another voice. “You really shouldn’t antagonize him. It’s a good way to end up dead.”

  That voice she recognized, she should, she’d heard it often enough. It had to be a mistake. Maybe she was forced into it. There’s no way she would have done this on her own, would she? Either that or Anna was really a terrible judge of character.

  “She’s right. But I’d love to teach her a lesson or two. Fucking stuck up bitch. Thinks she knows everything. Well, we showed her, didn’t we, girl?”

  Another clue. They knew each other? Was it Mr. Creepy Pants?

  “Yup, we did. And I’d say she had no idea. Probably thought they were pulling a fast one and we didn’t know what she and her boyfriend were up to.”

  “What do you want? Why am I here?” Anna hoped if she got them talking maybe she’d be able to figure out an escape plan, or something, anything, to help her get out of there before it got worse.

  “You haven’t figured it out yet?”

  “No. Why don’t you tell me?”

  Laughter, harsh, and scary echoed all around her. The throbbing in her head got worse. She probably had a concussion, but she doubted that would be what killed her. The more they spoke, the less hope she had about getting out of there alive.

  “You think this is TV? The bad guys spilling their guts thinking they’ve already won. Nope. Sorry, bitch. If you can’t figure it out, we’re not going to help you.”

  “Why did you kill Hugh?”

  The sound of a cigarette being stamped out was all she heard for a bit. Just when she figured they wouldn’t answer her, he started talking again. Maybe he wasn’t as smart as he thought he was. She was good at this game. She’d gotten Steele to come clean, and he was a trained professional. If this was Mr. Creepy Pants, there’s no way he was a professional anything. Other than a hired killer maybe.

  “Hugh was a piece of shit, and my brother. He thought he was in charge, but I showed him. Stupid fuck. Ran up thousands of dollars in gambling debt and needed a way to pay the loan sharks.”

  Okay, well that made some sense anyway. Poor Betty.

  “After your fuckin’ boyfriend showed up he got worried. Tried to pull the plug. I told him he was a fucking pussy and that I’d run things from now on. He didn’t like that idea so oops, night, night, Hugh.”

  “I didn’t even know he had a brother. How could you kill your own blood?”

  “We didn’t grow up together. Our whore of a mother put us up for adoption. I didn’t even track the fucker down ‘til a couple of years ago.”

  It looked like getting him to talk wasn’t going to be that difficult after all. If she could keep it up, maybe she could get her hands free. From the echo, she knew he wasn’t close and hopefully he wouldn’t be able to see her working on the knot. But then she’d forgotten about the other one, and that betrayal cut her to the core.

  “Dad, you need to shut the hell up.”

  Dad? Dad? No wonder. But did he force her or was she a willing participant?

  “It won’t matter; by the time they find her, she’ll be rat food.”

  Ugh really? Rat food? She hated rodents, creepy little faces, and sharp teeth. Fear bubbled up inside her. Calm down. Deep breaths. One. Two. Three. One…

  * * *

  Ethan and Steele went inside and saw Anna’s note about going to Betty Johnson’s house. Obviously, she hadn’t made it out of the garage on her own, but did Betty know anything?

  With her note with the address in his hand, they headed out. Next stop, Betty Johnson’s house. It was their best lead right now, and he needed to find Anna while she was still alive.

  “It’ll be okay. We’ll find her,” Steele said from the passenger side as he hung on to the suicide handles. Ethan didn’t care if he broke every traffic law in the state, he wasn’t going to waste one minute.

  “Hell yeah, we will.”

  “Just remember, you’re about to charge in to the house of an old woman who just found out her husband was murdered. We have no proof she was involved at all. We don’t have proof he was either. Nothing turned up in the call logs.”

  “I know. I’ve got this.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  Ethan leveled a stare on Steele and the way the man blanched he was sure he looked as evil as he felt. Someone had his woman, and he was going to get her back, and God help anyone who stood in his way.

  The lights were on at the Johnson’s house, and there was already a patrol car parked outside. The front door was open, and Ethan walked in with Steele following. The white-haired old woman was sitting on the sofa, with a uniform next to her. She looked frail. And innocent. But time would tell. Ethan was done playing these games.

  “Mrs. Johnson?”

  The woman looked up, tears welling in her eyes and his heart softened just a little. Tears. Fuck. “Yes. Who are you?”

  “I’m Detective Price, and this is my partner, Detective Brennan. Is it okay if we ask you a few questions?”

  She nodded, and the uniformed officer got up and left the room.

  “We’re really sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you. He wasn’t much, but I loved him. For over fifty years, too.” Ethan had a flash forward wondering if that’s how he and Anna would be in fifty years. But not if he didn’t find her.

  “Did he have any enemies? Do you know why anyone would want to hurt him?”

  “Oh, lots of people hated my Hugh, but they didn’t’ really know him. At least until his good for nothing brother showed up.”

  Steele and Ethan exchanged looks. Now they were getting somewhere. “Who is his brother? We didn’t show a brother in his records.”

  “They were separated when their mother put them up for adoption. Joe found Hugh a few years ago. I’m not sure how. That’s when everything went to hell in a handbasket. Joe was just bad news.”

  “Do you know where Joe lives?”

  “No, I’m sorry. He wouldn’t come around often because he knew I didn’t like him.” Damn, so much for progress. Looked like another dead end.

  “That’s okay. I’m going to leave my card on the table here. If you think of anything, give us a call. We think he kidnapped Hugh’s boss, and we need to find her before she gets hurt too.”

  “Oh no? Not Miss Taggart? What a lovely woman. Why would…oh never mind
. He’s a bad egg. I know he was working at the lumber yard off Heritage, but I think they fired him a couple of months ago.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Johnson. And again, we’re very sorry for your loss.”

  Ethan couldn’t get out of there fast enough. He had a destination now, and if his gut was right, he was about to rescue a damsel in distress.

  Steele called the LT and told him where they were heading. Ethan knew the lumber yard and gauged it would take him about ten minutes, five if he really pushed it. He really pushed it. Steele mumbled the entire time about lunatics behind the wheel as he clung to the suicide handle for dear life. Ethan didn’t know what he was talking about, he was totally in control, even if he’d only barely missed the eighteen-wheeler on his last turn.

  He wanted to arrive with his siren blaring, but he knew better. They had no idea how unstable Joe Johnson was or who else with him. He still believed it was a whole crew that worked the burglaries. He should find out soon enough if he was right.

  Lights off as he turned into the parking lot, he practically coasted up to the front of the building. It looked locked up, but on the second floor, there was a dim light shining from one of the windows. Carefully getting out of the car, and pushing the door shut, he walked over to his lieutenant who was already there. How he’d arrived so fast, Ethan had no idea, but he didn’t care either. He was going in to save Anna with or without his boss’ approval.

  “What do we know?”

  “Not much. I ran Joseph Johnson and came up empty, but you said he was adopted, right?

  “Yeah.”

  “He probably has a different last name. The panel van used in the robberies is parked around back, and so is a car and the green pickup truck Anna saw. I’d say we have our man, or crew, however, it turns out.”

  “I’m going in,” Ethan said as he turned toward the building.

  “Whoa, hold up there, cowboy. You need a plan, and you’re not going in alone. You’ll have backup.”

  “Fine. What’s the plan?”

  “I have Simmons and Mercier heading around the back to cover the exit, you and Steele go in the front, and the rest of us will be on standby for whoever needs us. Use the radio only if you need assistance. We don’t want to let them know we’re out here.”