Chuck nodded as the rest looked at the map, then turned to his notes again.
“Alex’s cell provider recorded an incoming call to her phone at a seven-thirty-eight. That has to be the call from Regina Carlisle. According to the cell phone company, it connected through a tower on the west side of the lake. They said their reception is spotty up here, but they’re sure the town of Fawnskin would be on the very edge of their service area and her phone would not have connected had she been too much farther from the tower than that.”
Chuck straightened up and took a breath. “I’ve had them trying to ping her phone since I first called them early this morning. When I spoke to them just now they said they had a momentary connection that failed almost immediately. It went through the same tower.”
Sal looked down at the map. “So the phone is somewhere between here and Fawnskin? Chuck nodded. Sal turned and looked at the deputy. “That call went through just before the storm started?” The deputy nodded.
“Geez, so what are we saying here? They drove off the edge of the road?” Tiffany asked.
Sal looked up at Chuck, knowing they were thinking the same thing.
“Or they were forced off the road,” he said quietly. “Alex wouldn’t have driven if the weather was too bad. And she wouldn’t have driven faster than the conditions allowed.”
“Okay,” the sergeant interjected. “So we concentrate our efforts between here and Fawnskin. We pay attention to any evidence of cars going off the road.”
He was immediately on the radio, making notifications. After further discussion it was agreed that Sal and Tiffany would ride with the deputy and begin their search from the hotel. Chuck and Robert would ride with the sergeant and respond directly to Fawnskin, then begin working their way back eastbound along the highway.
ALEX WOKE UP to sunlight coming between the blinds on the bedroom window. She was at first confused in the unfamiliar surroundings, then her memory returned. She sat up slowly, feeling the discomfort the movement brought, and the exhaustion that still invaded her body. She turned to Sydney, still asleep beside her, then reached over to run her fingers down a bruised cheek.
“Hey, how’re you doing?” she asked when Sydney’s eyes began to flutter. Sydney tried to sit up then gasped, grabbing her ribcage and falling back.
“Don’t move,” Alex said. “Just rest and stay warm. I’m gonna get us some clothes and then we’ll work on a way out of here.”
Alex swung her legs off the bed as she moved to stand up. As the bed covers fell away the improvised compression bandage she had created the night before was revealed, now stained with blood. Sydney gasped again when she saw the bloody bandage and Alex’s bruised torso. She reached for Alex’s hand.
“Don’t worry,” Alex said, squeezing Sydney’s hand gently. “I’m fine.”
She made her way slowly into the bathroom, finding their clothes on the floor where she’d left them. They were still wet and rumpled. Considering the chilly conditions outside, Alex figured it would not be prudent to put those clothes back on. She went back into the bedroom and began rooting through the chest of drawers and a nearby suitcase. Sydney watched from her position in bed.
“It feels kind of wrong,” Sydney finally said. “Just searching through someone’s cabin like this.”
Alex returned to the bed, now carrying two pairs of sweatpants and a couple sweatshirts.
“I know, hon. But our clothes are still wet.” She sat to put on the sweats. “And it’s not as if the owner is going to need these anymore.”
Sydney nodded silently in response.
“Here, why don’t you put this on. It’ll be large, but it’s clean and warm.” Alex helped Sydney sit up and put on the loose sweatpants and sweatshirt, then tried to get her to climb back in bed. “We’ve got no keys, so no car. I’m going to head up the road away from the lake. I figure it’s got to hit the main highway a little ways up. I’ll flag down a car and get someone to call for help.”
Sydney shook her head. “I’m coming with you.”
“Sydney, you’re hurt. You’re cold. You were almost...” Alex stopped momentarily as she visualized the horror of the previous night. Sydney had been choked into unconsciousness. She’d almost drowned. “It looks like there’s two feet of snow out there. There’s no point in both of us going.”
Sydney stood slowly and leaned into Alex. The two of them embraced, neither wanting to let go for several moments.
“Be careful, please?” Sydney finally said, leaning back and looking into Alex’s eyes.
“I’ll be careful,” Alex said, then leaned down and kissed her. “And I’ll be back soon.”
They moved together out of the bedroom toward the front living room, Alex helping Sydney, who still seemed unsteady on her feet. She intended to leave Sydney on the sofa there, beneath a blanket. They were both startled by the sound of footsteps on the front porch, immediately outside the door. Before Alex had time to react or remember whether she had locked the door, the doorknob turned and the door swung open.
OVER AN HOUR into the search Sal and Tiffany, along with their escorting deputy, had covered almost three miles. The radio crackled with a notification from the sergeant advising them to come immediately to a point two miles east of the Fawnskin town limits. Sal’s heart was in his throat as they drove west on the highway. Tiffany reached forward from the back seat and squeezed his shoulder as they pulled up to the scene. Chuck met them as they climbed from the sheriff’s cruiser.
“We found her truck,” he said, pointing down a steep ravine. Sal and Tiffany looked down and saw the truck lying on its side lodged against a tree, partially covered under a blanket of snow.
“Oh, shit!” Sal said. “Are they there?”
“It doesn’t look like it. Rob is down there now with the sergeant taking a better look around.”
Sal reached for Tiffany’s hand. They had no choice but to wait and watch as the two figures worked their way around the overturned truck and the surrounding area. They then began to trudge back up the ravine through the snow. It was not an easy trek, taking the two of them a good ten minutes. When they reached the edge of the road they were breathing hard as Detective Kim told them of their observations.
“There’s no one in the truck. Looks like they kicked out the windshield to exit. It’s got a solid layer of snow on it and there’s no footsteps in the snow, so they crashed at the beginning of the storm.” He looked uncomfortably at Sal and Tiffany, clearly needing to add something. “There are four rounds through the roof. Someone was shooting at the truck after it came to rest. And there’s blood inside, on the driver’s side.”
Almost an hour later they were still there. Due to the evidence of shots being fired this was no longer a simple missing persons case. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department had called in additional resources. Deputies were searching the woods surrounding the overturned truck, though there was little hope of any obvious evidence due to the snowfall.
Sal, Tiffany and the two R.H.D. detectives were standing by the various vehicles gathered at the road’s edge waiting for any news that might come in. A deputy soon drove up and the four of them listened as he reported to the sheriff’s sergeant who had taken command of the scene.
“We’ve got an SUV parked off the road in the underbrush just about a couple hundred yards up the road. Almost looks like it pulled off the side and intentionally parked out of sight. It’s got collision damage to the right side. Paint transfer looks like it may match.” The deputy nodded his head at Alex’s truck at the bottom of the ravine. “It’s locked up and other than the damage to the outside, nothing looks suspicious. Here’s the license.” He handed the sergeant a slip of paper.
The sergeant nodded, then turned to the detectives. “Well, let’s see who it’s registered to.” He climbed into his car to work on the mobile computer as they all gathered around. Moments later they had an address for the registered owner in Marina del Rey, California.
“T
hat doesn’t help much, does it?” Tiffany asked Sal.
“Well, M.D.R. is L.A. County Sheriff’s territory. How about we have them do a drive by on the owner’s address and see if anyone can tell us where the owner is up here?” Sal said to the sergeant.
He nodded. “Already done. Our dispatch is making the request to the L.A. Sheriff’s Office now.”
Another thirty minutes later their reply came in via the sergeant’s computer terminal. The adult daughter of the registered owner had fortunately been dog-sitting for her father and was able to provide the location of the cabin he owned, with rural directions to a private road off a mile marker a short distance down the mountain highway. Having been briefed by the R.H.D. detectives on the history of Sinclair/Brooks, and unsure of what they would find, the sergeant had gathered four additional deputies to accompany them to the cabin. They set off in a caravan of several vehicles.
Sal turned in his seat and told Tiffany, “Stay in the car until we know what’s going on, okay?” She nodded and they proceeded down the dirt road toward the cabin.
The vehicles pulled directly into the clearing and the cabin was suddenly in front of them, a single sedan was parked in front and the lake visible beyond.
The various sheriff’s personnel exited their vehicles and deployed on the house at the direction of the sergeant as he and a second deputy approached the front door. Sal, Chuck and Robert stepped out and gathered behind the vehicle parked in front of the cabin, wanting to be available but knowing it was the locals’ operation. They watched as the two sheriff’s deputies took each side of the cabin’s door, then the sergeant reached up and turned the knob. The door swung open without resistance and the two uniformed officers brought their drawn weapons up.
TRAPPED IN THE exposed center of the room, Alex tried to turn and shield Sydney as the door fully opened. She first saw the two handguns pointed at her, then noted the weapons were brandished by uniformed officers. She slowly raised her free hand to show she had no weapon, her other arm was wrapped around Sydney.
“Don’t shoot,” she said clearly. Then added, “I’m a cop.”
“Sergeant Chambers?” The inquiry came from the uniformed deputy wearing sergeant’s stripes. He entered, lowering his weapon slightly, eyes sweeping the rest of the room. Alex nodded, relief flooding through her. The sergeant waved for the second deputy to follow and they quickly cleared the rest of the rooms in the small cabin.
“Sit down,” the sergeant said, pointing at the sofa. “You look like you’re about to fall over. We’ll get you some help.” He turned to his deputy, “Let them know they can come in. And make sure to get the nurse.” The deputy nodded and headed for the door. Moments later Alex heard him yell from the porch.
“Get the nurse and you can all come on in.”
Rapid footsteps were heard traversing the porch. Alex looked up at Sal as he entered, smiling weakly at him as he sat down in a chair next to her.
“Geez, Chambers, you really are a shit-stirrer, aren’t you?” Sal shook his head, looking back and forth between them, unable to hide his look of relief.
Less than an hour later they were en route to Mountains Community Hospital on the east shore of Lake Arrowhead, compliments of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. Both were admitted for their multitude of injuries and the residual effects of moderate hypothermia.
Chapter Twenty-Five
THE NEXT MORNING Alex was perched on the edge of Sydney’s bed, refusing to move despite Sydney’s efforts to convince her otherwise.
“You shouldn’t be up, Alex. You should still be in bed.” Sydney gave Alex’s hand a squeeze as she gently argued.
“I’m fine. I just need to be near you,” Alex replied. A noise at the doorway drew their attention as Sal and Tiffany entered their shared hospital room.
“Glad to see you two looking a little more healthy and alive,” Tiffany said as she gave each of them a hug, dropping a duffle bag beside the bed.
“Yeah, and I want to thank you for the romantic evening Tiffany and I spent in your nice mountain suite,” Sal said with a smile. He looked around at the sparse hospital room furnishings, his eyes settling on the remains of the breakfast they had been provided. “I’d venture to say our night was certainly far better than yours was.”
“Yes,” Tiffany added. “And better than the night you’ll spend this evening, I’m afraid.”
“Ah, you’re kidding me.” Alex said. “Tell me we’re not stuck here for another night!”
“Afraid so,” Tiffany said. “It’s for the best, Alex. You guys both went through a trial.”
“Yeah, but—”
“You’ve got another mild concussion on top of your previous one, re-injured your cracked ribs and re-opened your bullet wound.” Tiffany countered.
“Yeah, but—”
“Sydney almost drowned, she’s got her own cracked rib and her case of hypothermia was not minor, Alex.”
“Just stay and keep me company, Alex. Please?” This came from Sydney, as she blatantly manipulated Alex in an effort to get her to voluntarily stay at the hospital.
Alex took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said quietly, ceasing her arguments. She looked down at their entwined fingers as Sydney gave her hand another squeeze. Sydney looked up to exchange a knowing look with the other couple and stifled a giggle when Sal silently mouthed, “She’s whipped,” to the two women.
Later that afternoon the San Bernardino Sheriff’s investigators, accompanied by Chuck and Robert, visited Alex and Sydney at the hospital. Alex had her cell phone and weapon returned to her by the Sheriff’s investigators, who told her the items had finally been located inside her truck. The vehicle, she was told, had been dragged back to the roadway, but was unfortunately a total loss.
They all made themselves comfortable in order to fill the women in on what had been discovered over the past twenty-four hours.
Working with the crime scene information, along with statements provided by Alex, Sydney and Regina, and from follow up by Chuck and his partner in reviewing the old manual children services and adoption records, a full picture of what happened had been put together.
“Matthew and Lucas Brooks were indeed twins,” Chuck began. “From what we can gather they were raised by a single mother. Dad left and completely disappeared when the boys were still very young. Mom had her own issues and evidently abused the boys both physically and psychologically. She locked them in a small closet for days at a time and beat them sometimes with a belt when they caused her problems. Evidently she blamed them for holding her back from what she believed would otherwise be her own great professional success. A teacher discovered this abuse when the boys were ten years old and a court removed them from mom’s custody. She didn’t really fight the process or make any effort to keep them when they were taken.
“Regina was able to locate the county foster and adoption records, which is when she tried to make that phone call to you.” Chuck paused to look around the room before continuing and Sal jumped in.
“She called me after her call to you dropped and she wasn’t able to get back to you. Then, when I couldn’t get hold of you, that’s when I reached out to Chuck and we all headed up here.” Both Alex and Sydney nodded.
“How did you figure out where to start looking for us?” Sydney asked.
“We traced the cell tower closest to you when that last call went through. We asked around and figured out where you had been to dinner and were pretty sure you never made it back. So we started looking for your car along the route from the restaurant,” Roger said. “We found your car, then soon after found the car Brooks used to run you off the road. We were able to contact the owner’s family and that led us to the cabin where we found you.”
“What happened to the owner of the car? How did Sinclair, or Brooks, get a hold of it?” Sydney asked.
“We found his body today,” one of the Sheriff’s investigators said. “He was buried in the snow in the woods beside his cabin. He�
�d been shot. We think it’s likely ballistics will show it was the same weapon Brooks shot at you with.”
Alex leaned back against the raised bed and pillows beside Sydney and put her arm around her. Sydney leaned into Alex, comforted by their contact as she contemplated how close to death they had both come.
Chuck then took up the narrative once again.
“The foster records Regina found show what we now know were activities that indicated serious psychological issues. They were abusive to small animals and cruel to other children. Various foster families took them in only to return the twins when the problems surfaced. Notes indicated they were too difficult to control, dangerous and violent. Social workers finally determined the only way to handle the two would be to separate them. They believed their misbehavior fed off one another and so separated they would be more manageable. This seemed to work out for Matthew, who was taken in by a financially well off couple who had been unable to have their own children. They gave him their family name and he grew up in a life of privilege, becoming Matthew Sinclair.”
“Lucas Brooks, on the other hand, carried on with his socially unacceptable behaviors and acting out,” Roger said. “He developed into an angry teenager and juvenile delinquent. There were even some allegations of sexual abuse made against him by other young women he encountered, but none of those charges ever stuck because all of the victims seemed too afraid to follow through with any formal investigations. Lucas was never adopted and spent his time in the system until he turned eighteen.”
“It looks like sometime after Lucas turned eighteen he was able to track down Matthew.” Chuck took over the story. “Now that we know where to look and the name to look for, we’re finding some banking records that show Matthew Sinclair was providing large amounts of money to Lucas Brooks, and has been doing so for years.”
White Roses Calling Page 35
