by Terry Keys
My cell phone rang, and I rolled over to answer it. It was Captain Wilcrest.
“David, we spoke to Miranda’s boss. He did acknowledge that she was working on a story, but even he had not been aware of the details. He checked her office. Her laptop and the video and audio footage she’d gathered are gone. It must have been in the car with her when she wrecked at the lake.”
“What? “ I asked, confused. “Why the hell are we just finding this out now? Why didn’t someone tell us items were missing from her office?”
“Her door was locked, and her boss was out of town for a couple days. He checked her office the minute he got back,” the captain explained.
“That definitely confirms foul play! Why else would they have needed to keep her laptop?”
Captain Wilcrest said nothing as I ranted. Karen stirred, looking up at me with fear in her eyes. I calmed myself.
“David, we’re doing everything we can. You know that. The divers have been out dragging the lake for the past three days and . . .”
The captain hesitated, which was strange. I’ve never known the man to be at a loss for words.
“David, they found a shoe. It might belong to Miranda. We’ll need you to come in and identify it.”
I sat silent and stunned. They’d found a shoe?
“At this point, it doesn’t look good, David. But I don’t have to tell you that, do I? If the shoe is Miranda’s . . .”
Wilcrest paused, giving me a chance to comment, but I couldn’t.
“I know what you told me about her story and the mayor,” the captain continued. “But, David, we have nothing concrete to go on, and we can’t exactly storm into his office and make him talk. No judge in his right mind would sign off on a search warrant on such sketchy grounds.”
“ Thank you, Captain. I know the boys put in more time than they usually do on a missing person’s case. I appreciate it. I’ll come down there as soon as I get the girls off to school.”
I strained to keep my emotions in check.
“David, I can’t imagine what you’re going through. Take all the time you need.”
“Thanks, Captain,” I muttered.
“And since I’m the only one who knows the report was about the mayor, I’ll keep the fact that it was you who broke into his office to myself.”
I bypassed the comment, not wanting to incriminate myself or deny the accusation, either.
“Can you get someone from HR to get some counseling sessions lined up for the girls?” I asked instead.
“David—”
I disconnected.
“What’s wrong, Daddy?” Karen said. “Did they say they found Mommy?”
I hugged my daughter without saying a word.
“We’ll be okay, Daddy,” she said. “I’ll take care of you until Mommy comes home.”
Hearing my daughter say this brought the lump back into my throat again. A knock on the bedroom door brought my thoughts back into focus. It was Hilary.
“Dad, I’m going to hang out with some friends,” Hilary announced. “I’ve been here for three, almost four, days. I have to get my mind on something else.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I need to go, Dad.”
“Okay, okay,” I said. I understood completely. “Just be careful, and be sure to call me every few hours, will you?”
“Call you? Why? You couldn’t protect Mom—”
“Hilary, that’s not fair,” Grandmother Sara said as she appeared behind her. “And besides, you shouldn’t talk to your father like that, especially in front of Karen. What kind of example are you setting, young lady?”
Hilary, her face reddening, bolted out of the doorway.
“It’s okay, Mom,” I said. “It’s to be expected. Sometimes people just need someone to blame. Right now that someone is me.”
“She shouldn’t talk to you that way,” she insisted. “Would you have spoken to me or your father that way?”
“Times have changed, Mom, but you’re right; I probably wouldn’t have. But Hilary and I have had a strained relationship for a long time. That’s no secret. Miranda has been the glue between us. I don’t know what’s going to happen now.”
“Yes, times have changed, David. Parents are too lenient with their children, and it leads to this.” She held out her arms to Karen. “I’m going to take Karen into town and make sure she’s got something to wear for the vigil tonight. Do you need anything?”
A candlelight vigil had been planned for the community after word of Miranda’s disappearance spread. Our church was hosting. I shook my head. As they left the room, I mouthed a thank you to my mother. She nodded and closed the door behind her.
I sat down on the bed again. The only word I could think of to describe myself at the moment was lost. Lost. Without Miranda, I am—we are—lost.
16
I stared at the ceiling. My head ached and I couldn’t stop shivering. I felt like I had the worst case of the flu—ever. It had been five full days since my wife disappeared. The only thing I had consumed was a few sips of water.
“Daddy, you don’t look good.”
I glanced at Karen as she walked into my bedroom. “I don’t feel good, honey. Not sure what’s come over me.”
I knew all too well. I didn’t want to be here anymore. I was ready to give up. Life without Miranda didn’t sound like something I wanted to experience. The only thing keeping my heart beating was my daughters. I felt a sick sense of despair and guilt over her disappearance. It threatened to engulf me. If only I’d stayed awake the night she disappeared!
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No, I don’t think so, sweetie. Daddy just has an upset tummy and a headache. I’ll be okay. I promise.”
She was about to reply when my phone rang. I groped for it on the bedside table and opened it without looking at the display.
“Porter here.”
“This David Porter?”
“Yeah, who is this?” I asked, watching my daughter climb onto the bed and sit cross-legged beside me, staring intently.
“Listen, I have information for you. You want to know about your wife, don’t you?”
“Who is this?” I sat up, fully attentive.
“Meet me in one hour at Mills’s old feed store. Come alone. If I see anyone else, I’ll leave and you’ll never hear from me again.”
The call disconnected, but I suddenly felt better—much better. I forgot all about my flu-like symptoms as hope surged in my chest. But I didn’t want Karen to see the excitement in me and start to ask questions I couldn’t answer yet. Calmly as I could, I turned to her.
“Karen, why don’t we get you some Captain Crunch? You’ve got to be hungry. Daddy has a quick errand he has to run.”
We headed downstairs, and I sat her at the kitchen table, prepared a bowl of cereal for her, and then hurried back upstairs to dress. Then I peeked into Hilary’s room to tell her I’d be out for a few hours. As I turned to leave, Hilary stopped me.
“Dad, you promised us you’d find Mom.”
As she turned to me, I could see she’d been crying. I stepped inside, and sat next to her on the bed. I wanted to hug her, but decided not to press my luck.
“I’m trying, Hil, believe me. I’ve run myself into the ground looking for her, trying to find solid leads. I’m not giving up. I actually have a new lead I’m working now. Keep your fingers crossed—mine are.”
I kissed her forehead and left the room.
After letting my parents know I’d be out for a while, I hurried out the door to meet my mystery informant. On my drive to the designated location, I had to wonder if it was a setup. Maybe I was driving right into the middle of John Carter’s plan to get rid of me. I had been snooping, after all. Still, it was a chance I had to take. I reached down to feel the comforting weight of my gun at my waist.
I ran a few red lights, driving recklessly in an effort to hasten my trip. After a short drive, I pulled into the decrepit parking lot of the old feed store on the
outskirts of our neighborhood. There wasn’t a soul in sight, no other cars nearby. My senses on high alert, I stepped out of my car and moved toward the building. A side door hung crookedly on its hinges. I pulled it aside and stepped into the darkened structure.
“Hello?” I called out, gun drawn.
I saw a rat scurry away at the sound of my footsteps. Could this informant have picked a worse place for this meeting of the minds? For the predicament I found myself in, I was being as cautious as I could. With gun in hand, whoever was here would at least know I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.
“Don’t turn around.”
A male voice. I froze.
“And lower your weapon. Now!”
At that moment, I felt the first trickle of fear. I had made a mistake. In my eagerness to find out what had happened to Miranda, I had stepped into a trap, no backup. I never should have come here alone or at least without telling someone where I was going. I was afraid my life was about to end.
Before I could reply, a sharp retort caused me to hunch down. A bullet whizzed past my ear.
“What the hell are you doing?” I yelled.
“Just wanted to give you some incentive to make sure you don’t try something stupid. I know how you John Wayne cops are.”
I tried to place the voice, but couldn’t. My back tensed, awaiting the impact of a bullet.
“I used to work for Carter,” the man said. “I was low man in his entourage. I know why he made your wife disappear. What I don’t have is proof. I can tell you where to dig and what to look for, but you’ll have to do the legwork yourself, super cop. And by the way, I don’t like you. Let’s get that out of the way now. I’m not doing this for you. I hate Carter even more than I hate you.”
“Okay, I’m okay with you not liking me,” I said, turning slightly.
“Don’t do it, Porter, I told you not to turn around. You turn around and I stop talking.”
“Okay,” I said, freezing again. My heart pounded in my chest, waiting for him to tell me about Miranda.
“I did everything I could for Carter. I lied when I needed to lie, covered up what I needed to cover up. Whatever it took. I picked up his damn kids from school, bought flowers for his stuck-up ass of a wife when he forgot his anniversary. First chance that prick had to get rid of me, I was out. I have a family too, ya know. He ain't the only one who needs money. So one day I overheard him say I was replaceable and useless. On top of that, he blackballed me.”
I wondered how long he would continue to whine about his sorry life. I kept my mouth shut.
“Now I can’t get work anywhere, and over a mistake I didn’t make. We’ll see about that; we’ll see how useless I am. I’m going to enjoy watching him rot in jail.”
This guy was obviously bitter and hurt, but it would be interesting to see how much he could help me.
“I get it,” I said. “But why did he let you live if you know something that will get him thrown in jail?”
“Hey, I’ll do the talking here. He threatened my family. I have three kids, Porter. Plus, he doesn’t think I have the balls to do it or the proof. Which, like I told you, I don’t have.”
“We’ll protect your family,” I said. ”Don’t worry about that.”
“Shut up!” he shouted. “You couldn’t protect your own wife. How the hell are you going to protect mine?”
My blood boiled but I tamped it down. “In all fairness, mister, I didn’t know my wife was in danger or I would have, trust me!”
“Playing the I-didn’t-know card? Being a super cop and all, how could you not know, with all the digging she’d been doing?”
“She didn’t tell me the details of her investigation. Actually, she didn’t want my help. She wanted to do it alone, so I let her.”
“Well, this is what I know. For starters, Carter has a laptop detailing all of this business hidden in a safe in his wine cellar. He doesn’t know I know about the laptop or where it is. I have a few secrets of my own. I don’t have to tell you that besides being the mayor, his family left him with more wealth than he could ever spend.”
He paused, but I remained standing where I was, waiting impatiently for him to continue. What the hell did he know about Miranda’s disappearance?
“I always felt that if a man had too much money, he’d eventually do something bad with it. Carter went on a trip to Dubai early last year, minus his wife. There were five of us on that trip. By the way, you’ll be glad to know your tax dollars paid for it.” He laughed. “Carter told the media he fronted the bill. He has money tied up in several businesses there, and that was the nature of our trip. While we were there, he met with a man named Abu Da Hussein. Remember that name. He was offered a piece of Hussein’s business to be a partner.”
“What kind of business?” I asked.
“International sex slave trade.”
“What?” My heart skipped a beat. The mayor was involved in trafficking human sex slaves? “Is this what Miranda found out about?”
“I’m getting there,” the man replied. “We’re almost out of time. Let me finish. Several of us advised it was a bad move that would only end in scandal, but Abu made it clear there would be no ties back to Carter. He detailed how his money would be covered and moved from company to company and bank to bank to avoid suspicion. Hundreds of businessmen travel to Dubai every year for this very reason. It’s a popular and lucrative business, Mr. Porter. Carter has even visited the boutiques on more than one occasion. He fit Abu’s investor profile, which is why he approached him with the offer. The five of us who traveled to Dubai are the only ones who know about the deal. I was never approached, talked to, or asked about it again after that day. Actually, I tried my best to forget it.”
“I doubt that only you five know,” I said. “I mean, there’s too big a chance that someone would talk. It just doesn’t make sense. Why would he take that kind of risk?”
“Why do evil men do what they do, Porter? Pick a public scandal and then ask yourself why the person did it. Why do serial killers kill seemingly innocent people? Look, I don’t have time to play these games with you. I shouldn’t be here in the first place. And like I said earlier, you can’t protect me or my family. If I went into protective custody, wouldn’t that tell Carter I talked?” He spat. “You know, for a cop, you’re pretty stupid. Aren’t you like some big renowned crime scene expert? They should really make you guys take some sort of aptitude test or something. We’re on his payroll. Money is the root of all evil. Surely you’ve heard that before, right super cop?”
I shrugged, still with my back to him. “I guess I’m smart enough not to get involved in something that would eventually ruin my life and my career, especially something so highly immoral and stupid. I have daughters. With that said, it’s hard for me to understand someone who can or does. So you’re saying if I can get to Carter’s laptop, I’ll have everything I need to find my wife?”
“Here we go again with the stupid questions. Yes. Like I told you, I hate Carter for what he did to me. I hope you’re as good as they say you are. So far you haven’t impressed me much. But I’d like to be able to visit Carter in prison one day. Good luck and I hope you find your wife.”
“Any special info?” I asked before he left the building. “Like a good time to try to get this laptop or whether the safe requires a key or a combination? Can you tell me where it is in the wine cellar? Is the cellar locked?” I stopped spewing questions and waited for a response but heard nothing. “Are you thinking or waiting for me to ask a more intelligent question?”
Nothing. I turned around. He was gone. I ran out the door and around the back of the old feed store, but saw no trace of him.
“Damn it!”
I hurried back to my car, armed for the first time with something I could run with. I decided I couldn’t trust anyone with this information, not even Wilcrest. My next challenge would be getting inside Carter’s wine cellar and putting my hands on the laptop. Maybe I would find out what h
ad happened to my wife. Maybe, just maybe, I would find her still alive.
One thing did trouble me. How had Miranda stumbled onto this? I might never find out, but it did explain why they took her laptop. It didn’t, however, explain why they’d left the note blaming me. Maybe it was to throw me off the trail. It had worked . . . till now.
17
I knew the first thing I had to do in order to stack up a case against Carter was get a tap on his phones. But to do that, I’d need a warrant, which would mean I needed probable cause. Not to mention everyone in the department would know. What if Carter had someone working on the inside? I couldn’t risk it. Time to call in a favor from a friend.
“Tracy, it’s Porter.”
“Hey, David. What’s up, sweetie?”
“I need a huge favor, and I’ll owe you big-time. I already know that.”
“Just tell me what you need, honey.”
“I need trace and tap put on a few phone lines.”
“That’s it? Way too easy. Okay then, who’s the future inmate?”
“John Carter.”
“You mean like Mayor John Carter?”
“Yes.”
“Come on, David, I’ll do anything for you. You know that. But this could be big trouble.”
“I know, I know, but I have no choice. You’ve got to trust me on this one. I’m flying solo here. Just sit back and watch the skeletons fly out of the closet. I promise you I’ll be revealing some pretty nasty ones in the next few days.”
“You know I hate you, right, David?”
“Yeah, I know you do.” I smiled. “Let me know when it’s a go. And remember, I’m on my own on this one. I’ll get you a plane ticket somewhere nice when this is over.”
“Yeah, yeah, but this better be good,” she said with a sigh. “This is a ball you can’t afford to swing and miss on.”
I knew I could count on Tracy to get the taps quickly and stay quiet about it. Next, I needed to call the girls and check in on them, as the day had turned into much more than I had originally anticipated. My oldest daughter answered the phone.
