“Avi, just the person I wanted to see.” She said and gave him a smile.
“Murphy, so good to see you. It’s been a while. What brings you down here?”
“I don’t know if you know this but I opened my own private detective shingle and I’m working on a case. I know this is probably unorthodox and, I don’t think I’m asking you anything out of protocol, but I need to know the name of the arresting officer for Johan Luken.”
“Johan Luken? You got mixed up with those people again?”
“Tell me about it. It wasn’t by my choosing but I’m in. You know how I get when I catch a whiff of a mystery.” She said and hoped that he would drop it. Avi got the message and did. He sat down behind his computer and punched in Johan’s name. “Johan Luken was arrested a week ago on a burglary charge out in Angelino Heights. Luckily that’s our division and the arresting officer was one Manuel Ortega. I know Manny; he’s a great guy. Manny’s... let’s see,” he typed some more. “Manny’s coming back from shift in the next fifteen minutes if you want to wait for him.” Avi said.
“That’s great. Thanks so much. How has it been going over here?”
“Not as exciting as when you’re around here. We’ve run down a couple of gang shootings and BNE. No serial killers but I’m quite happy with that.”
“Are you still partnered up with Lauren?”
“No. She wanted to go into cyber crime and went into a bigger division downtown. It’s a good move for her. She wants to get in with the FBI so she’s exactly where she should be. LAPD isn’t enough for her.” He said with a smirk. Eva remembered that those two didn’t entirely get along when they were working their last case.
“There’s been no blowback?” she asked, unsure of how to proceed.
“It’s all good. I’m just keeping my head down, working the cases and closing them. You know how it goes.” Avi said and nodded.
“I get that. Thank you for all the help you gave me on the... I mean... yeah, you know what I’m trying to say,” she sputtered.
“I know what you’re trying to say.” Avi checked the time. “I hope those people don’t get you into any more trouble.”
“Unfortunately, they already have, Avi. They are already have.”
“If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.” He said, and she nodded. She walked out of the detectives’ bullpen and hoped not to have to go back there for some time.
Eva came out into the vestibule and headed towards the parking lot where cars were driving in for the shift change. She had seen Manny Ortega around and knew what he looked like. It didn’t take her long to suss out which car he was in and make a beeline straight for him.
“Officer Ortega?” She asked to make sure.
“What can I do for you Ms. Murphy?” Officer Ortega said and Murphy was relieved to at least know he remembered who she was.
“I wanted to see if maybe you could do me a solid, one cop to another? You arrested a man named Johan Luken? It was a BNE in Angelino Heights?”
“I remember that guy. I finished up his paperwork yesterday.” Ortega said.
“I was wondering if you could lose the paperwork for a couple more days. I need information from him on a case and I know where I can find him. Not sure if he would do a runner or not but he can’t go far if you’re in central booking.” She said with a nod of her head.
“I can make that happen for you. Always great to see you, Murphy. You caught some real bad guys in your time.” He said and offered his hand.
“I really appreciate that Officer Ortega. I really do. And if you ever need anything, I’m your man.” She said and handed him her private detective’s card.
“Started up my own shingle, I figured it was better than working security for some rich Hollywood assholes.” She said with a wink. He nodded.
“I hear you but I’m sure if you ever wanted to come back to us we’d have you back.”
“I think that ship has sailed, Officer. Ortega, but I do appreciate the sentiment.” They parted ways and Eva checked her time. Sara should be getting down to holding for visiting hours now. If anyone could get Johan talking, it was Sara Caine.
27
The door of the visitation room clicked closed behind Sara Caine. The prison guard escorted her to a table where a gaunt and haunted Johan Luken sat waiting for her. He winced out a smile.
“Johan?” Sara said as soon as the guard left them.
“I knew you’d find me eventually,” Johan said.
“You’re in jail? What did you do? Do you need a lawyer? Why didn’t you call me to help you out of here?” Sara said.
“I have a lawyer. I’m getting out tomorrow,” Johan offered and took her hand in his.
“Why did you involve me, Johan?” Sara asked. “I wanted to put the murders behind me. You knew that. Instead, you dump this film into my lap, knowing full well that it’s connected to my father. You involved Madeleine Richards in this as well, didn’t you? Have you heard she was murdered?” She hadn’t meant to blurt it out like that but the words rushed out of her mouth of their own volition. “She was found dead and now Lorelei has gone missing. He has her.”
“I know. My lawyer told me when he saw me this morning. I’m devastated that happened. She was a good woman. I had warned her of the risks involved. She helped me anyway. I don’t understand why Lorelei Richards was taken. Her mother told me they were estranged. I don’t believe she knew anything.”
“Do you know about the file? Her daughter gave it to me on Madeleine’s request.”
“I do. Madeleine told me all about it when I showed her the film.”
“Did you find it or did Janice give it to you?”
“Janice is dead too, isn’t she?”
“Yes. I was the one who found her. The tally is two women murdered for knowing something and a bunch of missing girls. This is the case you dropped into my lap?” Sara fed her anger. She needed to get it out first before she could move forward with what Eva wanted her to do.
“I didn’t know who else to trust. Who to bring it to. I knew you’d ask Eva for help. She’s on the case, isn’t she?”
“Did you know Madeleine Richards? Did you know my father?” Sara asked and by his look knew the answer. He’d been involved in this from the very beginning.
“I’ve missed you.” Johan whispered. Sara would not give him the satisfaction.
“Don’t change the subject.”
“I wanted to say that before we went any further.”
“What am I supposed to do with that information?” Sara asked but could feel herself breaking down. He was her weakness. The tears in his eyes weren’t helping her stay mad at him either.
“I’ve missed you too. This business has torn us apart.”
“It didn’t have to. We could have investigated this together and maybe some of these lives wouldn’t have been lost. Use your gift to find out what happened to these girls...”
She dropped his hand and stood up to go. He grabbed at her but she stepped away from him. It was the old fight. Her inability to contact the dead was all he could think about. He didn’t care about her. It was the gift that was important to him.
“I didn’t mean it that way,” he explained.
“You drew me into this whole mess so you could use me?”
He paled and shook his head. “NO, I swear it wasn’t like...”
“How did you find Janice Hollebeck?” Sara interrupted him.
“She found me.”
“When did you know Asmodeus was behind this?” She wouldn’t let up on him. Not now. He’d give her the answers she needed.
“When I saw what the film contained,” Johan answered. They stared at each other and Sara had a flash of what could’ve been between them. If they had left well enough alone and lived their lives. History destroyed the present and the future she’d so desperately wanted with him.
“I don’t know who he is in though. He’s snatched another body.”
“You promised to k
eep me out of this. You promised you would stop looking,” she said and sank back down into the hard plastic seat. Their eyes met, and she saw the rage and vengeance in his eyes. He would never have stopped his search for the demon. It had consumed him as the search for her father’s killer had consumed her. She needed to tell him the truth.
“I made a deal with him,” she confessed.
“A deal with who?” Johan asked but by the look on his face he knew the answer.
“There was no other way for me to get out of limbo with Anderson. Asmodeus imprisoned Anderson in that labyrinth and waited for me to show up. He tricked me into going there. The only way out was to pledge that I’d stop looking for my father’s killer. Stop you too. And if I didn’t he’d kill everyone I loved. I never had a choice. I made that promise,” Sara said and steeled herself for his response.
“He played you. He has every intention to kill the both of us,” Johan said and squeezed her hand. “His trick was to cause a rift between us and he did. You never told me what happened. If you had, I would have told you then. Asmodeus never keeps the promises he makes. Trust me. I found out in the worst way. He drove a wedge between us. That was his plan all along. We’re stronger together than we are apart. Apart, he can destroy us. We have to get him first.” She saw the plea in his eyes and had to look away.
“You should have told me what you were getting me into so I had a choice. Now, I don’t have a choice. The cops called last night to speak to me about Madeleine Richards’ death. I’m one of the main suspects. I can’t turn my back on this even if I wanted to. You wanted that to happen. You took away my choice. I’m terrified and a girl’s life is on the line.” She stood up to go and tears fell from her eyes.
“I love you so much and you have dragged me into hell with you.” Sara said, turned her back on him and walked out the door.
28
Lorelei Richards woke up, and for a brief second, thought she was back in her own apartment. Her mother was still alive, and she was planning to go meet her for breakfast. The metal ceiling reminded her where she was.
Gulping down a scream, Lorelei focused on the positive. There was enough oxygen to breathe. She’d gone through every crevice of the metal box the man had put her in and discovered that the only way she was breathing was through several small vents in the upper left corner of the box. He would start toying with her soon and she knew she didn’t have long. Lorelei listened to the hiss of the air and wondered if today was going to be the day that she died.
“Don’t even think that, Lorelei. You’re going to get out of here. Figure out a way.”
She went to the window that made up the entire half of the back wall. She cupped her hands around her eyes and peered into the gloom. He was recording her.
The videotape recorder blinked its red light at her. She stepped away from the window.
There was nowhere to hide. The room held only a chaise lounge she’d woken up on and curtains that hung from floor to ceiling. A stage set for a grisly play.
He’d drugged her and changed her clothes while she was unconscious. Instead of the street clothes she’d put on to meet her father, she now wore a twenties satin gown, yellowed at the edges and frayed. It was as old as the style it looked. Under any other circumstances, she’d have admired the dress for its craftsmanship but all she wanted to do was rip the thing off her body. Hysteria would not help her out of this situation, she thought.
“Think, Lorelei. Think!”
She searched the room. Again. The best she could find was the thin opening between the heavy metal door and the doorway. If she could pry it open...
The only piece of furniture in the room was a chaise lounge with wooden legs. If she could crack the legs off, and splinter them into a smaller piece then she could use the makeshift tool as a wedge to pry the door open. It was worth a try.
She scuttled back to the chaise and grabbed one end of it. It was heavier than she’d expected it to be. She slammed it to the ground hoping to loosen the legs. The legs stayed where they were. The damn thing was too well made.
She picked it up and slammed it down. And did it again. And again.
Her arms were shaking from the strain and sweat ran down her face but she kept at it until she heard the crack. She got to her knees and tried each leg until she found the broken one. She wrenched it hard and fell back as it gave way.
Lorelei laughed. She’d done it. Now, to make it smaller.
She grabbed the leg’s thinner end and cracked it against the metal ledge of the window. She cried out in pain from the contact.
“Do it, Lorelei.” She closed her eyes and hit the ledge again. And again. She pretended it was the kidnappers head and kept on hitting it. She was past exhaustion and would survive this, goddammit. Her hands turned slippery and when she opened her eyes, she saw her hands red from her blood. This wasn’t going to work.
She turned back to the chaise. Plan B. She banged on one of the attached legs until she heard the telltale crack. It dropped to the ground.
Lorelei squared her shoulders and hit the broken leg with the other leg. Cracks formed on one end. This would work, she thought, and kept at it.
What felt like hours later, she’d finally split the leg into four different pieces, one thin enough to fit into the door crack. She slid it in the crack near the door handle and pulled as hard as she could.
The wood snapped in half and Lorelei fell back with a cry. All those hours were in vain. She grabbed the curtain next to her and yanked hard. It ripped and fell down in a heap around her feet.
Lorelei stared in horror at an imprint of a small foot in the metal wall. She wasn’t the first. There’d been other girls in this room before her. The missing UCLA girls. They’d tried to escape and instead left their mark. A final imprint of their desperation. Lorelei closed her eyes and screamed.
29
“I did it. I met with him. Johan confessed that this was about Asmodeus and my father. He knew all along. He said he knew it from the moment he watched the film. He also said that Asmodeus snatched another body. I think he meant he’s inhabiting a human. Like Anderson is doing to you.” Sara Caine said to Eva as she sat in her car. The cell phone was giving her a headache, and she fumbled the ear buds into her ear.
“Did he tell you why he was arrested?” Eva asked.
“No, he didn’t. I didn’t ask him about that either.”
“Find out why he was arrested. He broke into a house in Angelino Heights and was caught inside empty handed. Something tells me that’s the vital clue we’re looking for.”
“I can’t go back there.”
“You have to. If he will tell anyone, it’ll be you.”
“You’re using our relationship to gather information.”
“That’s right. That’s what private detectives do. They leverage relationships to get the information they need out of people. Johan pulled you into this without your express permission. He used the love you have for him, to draw you in. Do the same with him.”
“I don’t want to go back in there.”
“Listen to me when I say this. If you want to close this case, you will have to be ruthless. Be as calculated as he was with you. I understand that there are a lot of feelings involved, but he hasn’t told you the full story and you have to get it out of him. Think of Lorelei.”
“Fine. But I can’t make any promises. If he didn’t tell me everything when I was laying my soul out for him then I don’t know what I have to do to have him tell me.” Sara struggled with her tears.
“You can do this. I believe in you,” Eva said.
Before Sara could reply, a loud bang sounded on Eva’s side.
“Are you all right?” Sara gripped the phone in fear.
“I have to go now. Let’s meet back at Ritchie’s place after you get back.” Eva said and hung up.
Sara gathered what little courage she had and stepped out of her car. The jail’s visiting hours were ending in fifteen minutes. She didn’t have a second
to spare.
Sara rushed back inside.
30
“What are you not telling me?” Sara sat down, checking the clock behind Johan Luken. She had ten minutes.
“Eva put you up to this?”
“She did. She thinks you’re holding something back. Why did you break into the Angelino House? Do you think Asmodeus own it? That you’d find proof?”
“Eva Murphy is a good detective.” He countered. Another minute went by.
“Johan, what is it?”
“Have either of you wondered what he does with the bodies?” Johan asked.
“Eva thinks he’s burying them somewhere.”
“I think some bones would have been found by now.” Johan said and waited. Sara didn’t understand why he was protecting her now. He’d wanted her help and now she was in and deep.
“You think they are buried in the garden or something?” Sara asked. The guard moved toward them.
“No. I think he’s burning their bodies.” The guard stood over him.
“It’s time.” The guard said and Johan stood up.
“I don’t understand what that has to do with the Angelino Heights house?” Sara said and grabbed his hand. The feel of his skin beneath hers made her heart jump.
“I was looking for an incinerator,” Johan called out as the guard led him away. Sara sat back confused. His logic made sense. It would be the perfect body disposal. She didn’t understand why he kept that from her though? She caught his eye as the guard led him away. His smile nearly broke her heart.
31
Johan pondered his next move as he followed the guard through the dull gray corridor. His plan had worked beyond his wildest imagination. He had his Sara back. They were back as a team like they were always supposed to have been. The guard stopped to unlock the gate to the main holding cellblock when a crackle came through his radio.
Silent Death: A Chilling Serial Killer Thriller (A Caine & Murphy Thriller Book 3) Page 10
