Donors

by C. M. Sutter

  J.T. handed Gina his card. “Please call if you think of anything else,” he said.

  I approached Denny and asked him his height and weight before we walked out.

  Back in the car, J.T. closed the driver’s door while I buckled my seat belt.

  “Write this in your notes while it’s fresh in my mind,” I said.

  He pulled his notepad out of his coat pocket. “Okay, shoot.”

  “Denny said he was five eleven and weighs one hundred eighty-two pounds, give or take.”

  “Got it. Hungry?”

  “Yeah, I’m starving, and a fast-food joint works for me. I’m too tired for a sit-down restaurant.” While we rode, I called and updated Sullivan on our visit to Insomnia and forwarded pictures of the sign-in sheet. “Can you get those shots to the tech department, Captain? Maybe they can sharpen them up so the initials are more legible.”

  “Will do, Jade. I’ll see you two in the morning.”

  J.T. hit the drive-through, and we took our burgers and fries back to our hotel rooms and parted ways for the night.

  As I lay in bed eating my late-night burger, I saw a text had come in earlier from Amber. All she wrote was that she had good news, but I wouldn’t find out what it was through a text. She’d call sometime tomorrow and try to get me on the phone.

  “That’s interesting.”

  I finished my meal and brushed my teeth. Then I clicked off the nightstand lamp as I crawled into bed.

  Chapter 50

  I craned my neck beyond J.T.’s shoulder and through the driver’s side window as we stared at the entrance to Second Life Resale. I checked the time on my phone. “There must be an alley entrance, otherwise we would have seen somebody walk up and unlock the front door.”

  We sat in the cruiser and sipped coffee as we watched the door and windows for signs of life. A light should go on soon, and somebody would have to turn the Closed sign around.

  I stared at the run-down buildings on either side of the street. The neighborhood looked rough at best.

  “Why the hell would somebody choose to have a business right here?” I asked, more rhetorically than anything else. “I’d have my sidearm locked and loaded twenty-four seven.”

  J.T. chuckled. “You already do.”

  I checked the time again—8:55.

  “Queue the lights,” J.T. said. “Somebody is inside and headed toward the door. Got everything you need?”

  I smirked as I climbed out of the cruiser. “You mean my gun?”

  We crossed the street and approached the building just as the sign on the door was spun to indicate the store was officially open. Past experience had told us it was best not to give potential witnesses a heads-up that we were coming. They wouldn’t have time to think of anything but the truth, in most cases.

  A woman gave us a surprised smile as we neared the door. She pulled it open and allowed us in. “Wow, my assistant must have marked everything down. We never have customers right out of the gate.”

  Once we were inside and she had closed the door behind us, I stuck out my hand to introduce myself. “Sorry, but this is an official visit. We aren’t here to shop. I’m FBI Agent Jade Monroe, and this”—I pointed at J.T.—“is my partner, J.T. Harper.” We pulled out our IDs. “Are you the store owner?”

  “FBI? Is something wrong?”

  I noticed how her eyes darted from left to right out the floor-to-ceiling windows on either side of the door.

  “Believe me, this is an iffy neighborhood on its best days, hence the bars on the door and windows.” She paused and looked at us apprehensively. “Oh, sorry. Yes, I’m the owner, Jan Severson. What seems to be the problem, agents?”

  “We’re looking for information on a purchase made late in the day on Tuesday. I have a photo of the receipt right here.” I dipped my hand into my coat pocket and pulled out my phone. She waited as I tapped the Gallery icon and scrolled to the picture. I handed my phone to her.

  “Okay, yes, Emma told me she sold several chairs the other night.”

  J.T. spoke up. “So you weren’t here during that transaction?”

  “Sorry, but no. I work Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until three, and then I have part-time employees pick up the other weekdays and cover the weekends. Was there a problem with the chairs?”

  I smiled. “We didn’t buy them, ma’am, but we are very interested in the person who did.” My eyes scanned the interior walls. I pointed. “I see you have a camera near the register. Are there any more?”

  “I’m afraid not. There’s really no concern over theft since most of our items are too large. It’s the till I worry about.”

  “We noticed a few cameras outside along the rooflines as we walked over here. Are any of those yours?”

  “No, but given the quantity of security cameras in the neighborhood, most of them overlap and cover my doorway too. That’s why I didn’t bother installing my own. We don’t have a lot of markup on the furniture here, so I tend to cut corners in other areas where I can.”

  J.T. nodded. “How about letting us take a look at the register video from Tuesday? We’d like to see the person who purchased those chairs.”

  “Of course, but do I need to sit in there with you? I may get customers, and until noon, I’m the only one here.”

  “We only need you to set it up, ma’am,” I said. “We can handle it after that.”

  Jan led us to a closet-sized office where the camera footage was installed on a laptop computer. We watched as she clicked the camera icon on the desktop. The live feed came up and showed an empty counter where the cash register was located.

  “There you go. It’s all ready. I’ll back it up to where the tape begins on Tuesday. It switches to the next day at midnight. That’s the best I can do. You’ll have to advance the footage to get to the precise minute that’s on your copy of the receipt.”

  I gave her a thank-you nod. “I think we can handle it from here. We appreciate your help, Jan.”

  “Holler if you need anything.” She walked out and closed the door.

  “Okay”—I double-checked the picture on my phone—“we’re looking for five-fifty according to the receipt.”

  The process was much more tedious than we had anticipated. The camera taped a full twenty-four hours before kicking over to the next day, so we had nearly an eighteen-hour length of tape to get through before we reached five-fifty p.m. Even pushing the slider bar ahead, we found it took about ten minutes to get through each hour of tape.

  I groaned. “At this rate, it’s going to take three hours to get to the time we need. This system must be ten years old. How about I stay here and you knock on the doors of some of the other buildings? Maybe their outside cameras caught the guy entering the store.”

  J.T. pushed back from the desk. “Yeah, good idea. There’s no point in both of us sitting here like Tweedledee and Tweedledum.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Did you really just say that?”

  “I’m afraid so. Keep your phone handy in case I find something.”

  “Will do.” I called Sullivan as I watched the minutes pass on the video. I manually inched the scrubber bar forward with the computer mouse.

  Sullivan picked up his office phone on the first ring. I assumed he had to be sitting at his desk. “Captain Sullivan speaking. How can I help you?”

  “Hey, Captain, Jade here. J.T. and I are at the secondhand store. I’m reviewing their slower- than-molasses video feed from Tuesday, and J.T. went out to see if any neighboring stores had videos that are from the twenty-first century.”

  He sighed. “So are you saying you’ll be there for a while?”

  “Afraid so unless J.T. finds something helpful soon. Any news on that sign-in sheet?”

  “I talked to Charlie ten minutes ago. He said they were getting close.”

  “Good to know. At least that’s something.”

  “Yeah, I can only hold Alex for forty-eight hours before I have to charge him with a crime or cut him loose. We’ve
rounded up a few more people from his clan, and Fitch and Andrews are conducting the interviews. Something has to surface today, or everyone will have to be let go.”

  “We’re working on it, sir. I’d suggest getting somebody to start compiling the initials of everyone that has been interviewed. It’ll speed things up once Charlie and the tech department definitively figures out what’s written on that sign-in sheet from Insomnia.”

  “Great idea. I’ll get Stone and Mills on that immediately. Keep me posted, and I’ll do the same.”

  I hung up and slid the scrubber bar to the right again. This process was inefficient and time-consuming. I paused the tape and pushed back the chair. I needed to talk to Jan. I stepped out of that stuffy room to brighter light and fresher air. I saw Jan at the back of the store and called her over.

  “Agent Monroe, what can I help you with?”

  “This process is going to take a long time. My partner is seeing what we can get from the outside cameras.” I rubbed my forehead in thought. “Okay, here’s what I want you to do. Call the woman who worked Tuesday night and get her over here. You said her name was Emma, right?”

  With her cell phone already in hand, Jan scrolled the contact list with her index finger. She looked up at me. “Yes, Emma is the one who sold the chairs to the man in question.”

  “Good, get her here now. I need more information.”

  “I’m on it, Agent Monroe.”

  Chapter 51

  “Son of a bitch, wake up.” Sam slapped Kristen across the face. He gripped her cheeks between his thumb and fingers and squeezed hard. He shook her face and slapped it again. She didn’t move. “I said to wake up, damn you!” When he let go, her head dropped to her chest. He felt for a pulse. She was dead. “You stupid bitch, this wasn’t supposed to happen.”

  Sam kicked over the chair that stood in his way and checked on Bethany. Her head bobbled when he called her name. She gave a nearly inaudible moan. He slapped her inner arm to check for viable veins—they were almost invisible. “There’s no way I’m going to let you die before I get more blood out of you.”

  Sam quickly set up the equipment. He wiped her inner elbow with a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol and placed the empty transfusion bag on her lap. He connected the clear tube to the end of the bag. Next he tightened a rubber tourniquet around her upper arm. With a couple of snaps of his thumb and index finger against her skin, he was able to see a faint blue vein. He jammed the needle deep into the vein and taped it in place. With the end of the tube inserted in the needle port, he flipped the valve and watched as new blood seeped out of Bethany’s arm and into the bag. Sam sighed deeply then got back to work.

  He cleared the area around the gurney. After he set up the collection jugs beneath it, he pulled the tape and ropes off Kristen. He carried her lifeless body to the gurney and dropped her on it. He had no idea how long she had been dead, but rigor hadn’t set in. He’d drain her blood. That was what he’d sell.

  There’s no way in hell I’m going to transfuse a dead person’s blood into Mom. Kristen’s blood is what I’ll sell.

  That thought reminded him that he needed to take a trip to the library. As soon as he had Kristen set up and her blood draining into the jugs, he’d head out to check for a response from Massimo.

  Chapter 52

  “Anything yet?” I asked with a long sigh into the phone.

  “Nah, mostly undesirables milling around on the sidewalks in the general area,” J.T. said. “They’re probably waiting for drug buyers or sellers to show up. There’s a dozen or so vehicles parked along the curb on both sides of the street, but I haven’t seen anyone entering or exiting any of them.”

  “Damn it. What store are you in?”

  “I’m two doors north of Second Life at a corner bodega. Some of these places, given the fact that they’re dumpy neighborhood bars, don’t open until mid-afternoon.”

  I walked to the window and looked out. “Hey, some guy just went into the store across the street. Hang on. Jan?” I pointed out the window. “What’s that place over there?”

  She looked at where I was pointing. “The yellow building?”

  “Yeah, that one.”

  “It’s a check-cashing place. They’re stocked with cameras since they need to keep a lot of cash on hand.” She glanced at the time. “Yeah, they just opened.”

  “Great, thanks. Okay, J.T. leave the bodega and go to the yellow building directly across from Second Life. Jan said it’s a check-cashing store with plenty of cameras. I guess they just opened.”

  “Got it. I’m on my way.”

  My phone rang just as I returned to the office and clicked the arrow to restart the video. Sullivan was calling again. I leaned back in the chair and answered. “Hey, Captain, what have you got?”

  “Charlie is pretty confident that the initials are an S and an R.”

  That’s awesome, and our guesses were close, but close only counts—well, in my opinion, close doesn’t count at all. Anyway, J.T. is checking out a business across the street as we speak. We were told it has a decent number of cameras since it’s a check-cashing store. Have Stone and Mills started compiling names of everyone interviewed?”

  “Yeah, and now that we’re relatively confident of the initials on that sheet, they can speed through the list.”

  “Okay, I’m waiting on the night clerk to arrive so she can go over everything with me. I should know something soon. I think we’re getting somewhere, sir. I have a good feeling about today. Has Charlie replied to the message from last night?”

  “Yeah, he’s taking it slowly, though. We don’t want to spook this guy. A couple of back-and-forth emails should do the trick. It’ll make our perp less suspicious and more likely to set up a meeting. Charlie will let us know the minute another message comes in.”

  “Perfect, and I have to go. It looks like that girl I need to speak with just walked in.” I caught a glimpse of J.T. out the window as he entered the building across the street. I approached the young lady standing with Jan and introduced myself. “Would you mind sitting in the office with me where we can talk privately, Emma?”

  The bell above the door rang, and Jan left and greeted the customer who had just entered.

  Emma looked worried. “Sure, but did I do something wrong?”

  I smiled to ease her mind. “Not at all, and to be honest, we could really use your help.”

  I closed the door behind us as we squeezed into that tiny office. I pulled my notepad out of my purse that hung from the chair back and offered Emma the one and only seat. Leaning against the wall, I had my pen, notepad, and questions ready.

  “Emma, I need to know everything you can remember about Tuesday evening around six o’clock. I believe that’s the time you sold two chairs to a male customer. Can you take it from the first contact you had with him?”

  “Oh, okay.” She situated herself in the chair and folded her hands in her lap. “He called first and asked if we had any upholstered armchairs. He specifically mentioned that type. I asked if they needed to match, and he said no. I told him we had five in the store. He said he’d come in and take a look. About twenty minutes later, I saw somebody standing near the chairs, so I assumed it was him.” Emma paused while I caught up.

  “Thanks. Okay, go on.”

  “I think I scared him when I asked if he needed help. He said he was deep in thought. He ended up taking two mismatched heavy chairs. He mentioned something about wanting the arms to be wide enough. I asked for what, and he just said for comfort.”

  “Okay, I need you to think hard about his appearance. Take your time and only tell me the things you remember for sure.”

  Her forehead wrinkled as she seemed to dig deep into her mind’s eye. “It isn’t like I study the customers’ faces, although I do remember thinking he was cute.”

  “That’s good, Emma. I do realize it’s difficult several days later to remember everything about a customer. Just do the best you can.”

  “
He wore a sweatshirt with a jacket over it. It was chilly that night, and I remember feeling the cold air blow in every time the front door opened. He had the sweatshirt hood pulled up.”

  “What color was his hair?”

  “Sort of a medium blond.”

  “Was he tall, short, heavy, or thin?”

  “Average, just like a regular guy.”

  “Okay, that works.” I gave her a reassuring nod. “Did he happen to mention his name?”

  “No, not that I remember.”

  “And he paid with cash, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “You said he took two heavy chairs. What did he put them in?”

  “I don’t know. I told the guy to pull around to the alley and Jerry would give him a hand loading them. He did and then came back inside a few minutes later and paid the bill. That was the last time I saw him.”

  “Jerry should remember the vehicle, though. Right?”

  “Sure. I’ll give him a call right now.”

  J.T. entered the store as I waited in the retail area for Emma to make her call.

  “Find out anything?” He blew on his hands to warm them up.

  I jerked my chin at him. “Where are your gloves?”

  He stared down at his hands. “Yeah, I left them in the cruiser.”

  I smiled. “Humph. Emma, the night clerk, is here, and she’s making a call to the man who helped our guy load his vehicle. We ought to have a description of it any minute.”

  “Good to know. The lighting was dim in the video from the check-cashing store, but I did see several people get in vehicles and leave the area during that time. One person came out of the store, but they were empty handed.”

  “That was probably him. Emma said she told him to pull around the back to the loading dock. What kind of vehicle did he have?”

  “A van, and I know your next question. I couldn’t tell the color except that it was dark, but it wasn’t the extended van Alex’s clan uses.” J.T. tipped his head. “Is that Emma?”