by Blake Pierce
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Keri’s breathing had finally returned to normal. She had passed two black-and-whites going the other way on Sunset and gritted her teeth each time, expecting to see either of them make a U-turn with sirens blaring and lights flashing. But neither did.
She waited until she was safely headed south to Inglewood on the 110 freeway before calling Ray. He picked up after one ring.
“You on the way?” he asked.
“Yeah. I should be there in about fifteen minutes. You?”
“About the same.”
“Do we have backup?” she asked.
“Yep. Inglewood Police are setting up behind a church three blocks away. That’s the address I gave you. Make sure to keep a low profile. Castillo’s en route too. She secured protective custody for Sammy Chisolm at Twin Towers and decided she hadn’t had enough drama for the night. Now do you want to tell me what the hell is going on?”
Keri thought for a moment, debating whether she really wanted to do what was percolating in her mind. Ultimately she decided she didn’t have much choice. She’d just have to deal with the consequences later.
“I do. But first, I’ve got to tell you, Ray, when this is all over, I want to take a real vacation, maybe a week on Bondi Beach or something.”
Ray was silent for a long second. She could picture him processing exactly what those words meant. She was pretty sure he wouldn’t have forgotten.
Then she heard a muffled sound that was almost certainly him ripping the bug out of his sun visor and tossing it out the window.
“I’m ready to go right now,” he finally said.
“Well, we’ve got to take care of a few things first,” she replied as she dug her hand into the hollow spot in the steering wheel where she knew her own listening device had been planted.
“Like what?” he asked. Clearly he could tell what she was doing and was stalling for her benefit.
“Like get Downtown Division to shut down their APB on me. Maybe you can ask Hillman to have a word?”
“Maybe I could if I knew what was going on,” Ray prompted her. “Can you tell me?”
She managed to get her fingers on the bug, rip it from its hiding spot, and toss it out her own window.
“He’s dead, Ray. The Collector’s dead.”
“What? What happened?” her partner asked, shocked.
“I’ll explain more later. But the short version is that he figured out who I was and attacked me. We struggled and toppled over a barrier onto a concrete parking ramp. He was on the bottom.”
Keri wondered why she didn’t mention the part about choking the man to death.
Is that because some part of me is worried Jackson Cave might have another bug in the car and catch me admitting to a felony? Or is it because I’d be ashamed if Ray knew the whole truth?
“Were you able to find out where Evie is before he died?” Ray asked.
“No,” she answered, feeling a sudden cascade of emotion rise in her throat.
She tried not to choke up but Ray must have heard the catch in her voice.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.
“He said that anything that happens to her from now on is my fault. And he was right.”
“No, Keri, he wasn’t. You didn’t choose for your daughter to be kidnapped. And you’ve spent almost every minute since then trying to get her back. He was just trying to torture you one last time before he died. Don’t let him.”
“Yeah,” she replied as she blinked the tears out of her eyes, trying to shake it off. “He was pretty unrepentant, taunting me even as the life was bleeding out of him. He wanted me to suffer after he was gone.”
“Well, it sounds to me like he let something slip when he tried to do that.”
“What?”
“If he said that anything else that happens to her is on you, that means she’s still alive. You may have believed it before. But now you know it.”
She felt a sudden jolt of hope. He was right.
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Keri admitted. “I guess I just never considered the possibility that she wasn’t. So it never registered that he was confirming it.”
“See?” he said, trying to buck her up. “This evening may be turning into a net positive, despite, you know, falling onto a parking ramp and being on the lam from the cops.”
Keri laughed despite herself. Changing lanes swiftly, she took the ramp from the 110 freeway south to the 105 freeway west. Traffic was surprisingly light and she guessed she’d be at the address in just a few minutes.
“So why were you in an apartment off Sunset?” he continued. She knew he was trying to keep her focused on the now and help her avoid falling into the emotional hole she’d been circling. She didn’t mind.
“It was his place. I knew Downtown Division would be swarming it soon so I needed to get there first to see if I could find anything.”
“And did you?” he asked.
“Maybe. There were these postcards. But something about them wasn’t right. I need to look at them more closely when I get a second. So I took them.”
“You took potential evidence?”
“I did. After everything else I’ve done tonight, it didn’t seem like that big a deal. So can you get Hillman to have the APB dropped?”
“I’ll call him. He’s going to be pissed and with good reason. But I think that under the circumstances, he might cut you a little slack. Let me reach out to him now. I’ll know more when we meet up.”
“Thanks, Ray,” she said, “for…everything.”
“Of course…” he answered. He sounded like he wanted to say more and Keri waited for it. But in the end he simply said, “See you soon,” and hung up.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
By the time Keri pulled into the church parking lot on Hawthorne Boulevard at 101st Street less than ten minutes later, she felt like a balloon about to pop.
The combination of her narrow escape from Wickwire’s apartment, her technical status as being on the run from authorities, and potentially being on the verge of finding Sarah had her on edge. She had to repeatedly remind herself to take her foot off the gas so as to not be pulled over for speeding.
She actually passed the motel on her way to the church but a glance in that direction didn’t reveal anything overtly suspicious. Like half of the buildings on the street, it looked to be in disrepair.
It was a great place to set up shop if you wanted to avoid foot traffic or the unwanted attention of nearby business owners. Seemingly every other storefront was boarded up or papered over.
Ray wasn’t there yet but it looked like half of the Inglewood Police Department was. Technically they had jurisdiction. But unlike the SWAT unit in North Hollywood, the sergeant on the scene deferred to Keri’s knowledge of the case and didn’t seem to mind if she took point. Sergeant Henriksen was a tall bald white guy in his forties with a bushy mustache and a laconic demeanor that suggested he was used to being steamrolled by LAPD.
“You let us know where you want us and we’ll move accordingly,” he said after they introduced themselves.
“You know the area better than me,” Keri said. “Any recommendations?”
She saw the look of pleasant surprise in his eyes and knew she’d made the right call. Keri wasn’t normally one to collaborate well with others. That was Ray’s thing. But she figured these officers would be more willing to put themselves on the line if they were invested in the operation. And she needed them invested, for Sarah’s and Lanie’s sakes.
“Okay,” Henriksen said and pulled out a map of the area. He laid it out on the hood of one of the cars. “The motel is surrounded on three sides by chain-link fence, which offers protection from prying eyes. But the surrounding lots are all abandoned and we could easily send teams of officers on foot with bolt cutters to enter at the back and the sides of the property.”
“That’s a solid idea, Sergeant,” Keri agreed. “Meanwhile, a small insertion team can approach quietly from th
e front. We can see where their people are and report back to you. When the guys in back are in place, we could have them create a diversion. With Chiqy’s crew focused on the back of the motel, you send in backup and we’ll swarm the place, hitting every door simultaneously. And we create a perimeter at the edge of the parking lot so no one can slip through. What do you think?”
“I like it,” a voice said from behind them, “as long I can be part of that insertion team.”
Keri turned around to see Officer Jamie Castillo walking toward her. It was nice to see a familiar face and not just because Castillo had her back when she’d gone after the Collector/Wickwire a few months ago.
Castillo was also just a badass. She was only about two inches taller than Keri but she was far more imposing. Her uniform clung to her muscled, athletic frame and her black hair was tied back in a businesslike ponytail. Her dark eyes glittered with intense focus. For an officer out of the Academy for less than six months, she had the bearing of a seasoned veteran.
“Officer Castillo,” Keri said, forcing herself not to smile, “nice to have you along.”
“I wouldn’t miss it, Detective.”
Just then, Ray pulled into the lot. He hopped out of his car and joined the huddle of officers around the map. They reviewed the plan for him.
“It sounds good,” he said when they were done. “I just checked with our tech guy back at the station. Based on what he could glean from cameras in the area, he thinks there are between five to seven men there.”
“How sure is he of that?” Sergeant Henriksen asked.
“He warned that the footage is grainy and downloads in chunks every fifteen to thirty minutes. The last update was fifteen minutes ago, so it’s possible that more men might have arrived in the interim. Also, we think there are well over twenty girls spread out among the rooms.”
“Thank you, Detective Sands,” Henriksen said before turning to his own officers. “I want the bolt-cutting teams to head out now. Let me know when you’re in position. I want to breach ASAP.”
As the Inglewood officers scurried into position, Ray pulled Keri aside. From his furrowed brow, she suspected something was wrong.
“You’re not pissed I took the lead, are you?” she asked.
“Not at all,” he answered, surprised that she even had doubts. “You seem to know the lay of the land on this one and Henriksen likes you. Keep it up.”
“What is it then?”
“I talked to Hillman,” he whispered.
“And…?”
“He was pissed at first. But not as much as I expected. I think you’ve just worn him down so much that he’s used to you ignoring his orders.”
“I knew that being unprofessional would pay off eventually,” Keri said.
“Yes, that’s the lesson to draw from this experience,” Ray said sarcastically. “Can I continue?”
“Please,” Keri said, biting her tongue.
“He understood. He wasn’t happy that you hid all this from him or that you fled the scene without being interviewed by the Downtown detectives or that you broke into the guy’s apartment without a warrant. I mean, can you blame him? But he gets it. It’s your daughter and you thought this could help you get her back.”
“So what happens now?” Keri asked.
“He’s tight with the captain of Downtown Division so he thinks he can smooth things over. Plus, he doesn’t want to pull you off this case while we’re in the middle of it. He was pretty sure they’d drop the APB if you agree that the second this case is done, you’ll come in for questioning.”
“Seems fair,” Keri said, hiding her relief.
“Yeah, I’d say it’s more than fair. Most detectives in your situation would either be on leave or in cuffs right now. You should really get that guy a fruitcake.”
“So does this mean I don’t have to take you in?” someone behind Keri asked. She turned around to see Castillo.
“How long have you been standing there listening?” she asked the younger officer.
“Let’s see. Fled the scene of a crime, must come in for questioning, fruitcake. I guess for pretty much all of it,” Castillo said, a smile playing at her lips. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t going to drag you in, even if Hillman ordered it.”
“That’s very reassuring, Officer Castillo,” Keri said snarkily.
“And I’ll keep your offer of insubordination under wraps,” Ray added.
“I’m glad you got him, Detective,” Castillo said, dropping the tough gal act. “I was worried that you’d never get another chance after it didn’t work out in Santa Monica last time.”
“Thanks, Jamie,” Keri said.
All three members of West Los Angeles Pacific Division stood there awkwardly, uncomfortable with the rare moment of genuine emotion, unsure what to say next.
They were rescued by Sergeant Henriksen, who called them over.
“My units are in position. They’ve cut through the fencing and are waiting for the instructions.”
“Great,” Keri said, shaking off the sentiment of the prior moment and shifting focus to the task at hand. “Detective Sands, Officer Castillo and I will approach from the front. Henriksen, maybe a couple of your officers can join us?”
“Of course. I’ll assign two men to flank you. Is that enough?”
“Initially, yes,” Keri said. “We’ll scout the motel and try to get as close as possible without detection. Then we’ll have your men in back create that distraction. When they confirm they’ve got the attention of these guys, you can follow us in and strike in force. Sound okay?”
“Sounds okay,” Henriksen agreed. “Let me get my men for you.”
As he picked them out, Keri looked at Castillo.
“You got a coat you can throw over that LAPD uniform? It’s a little conspicuous.”
Castillo ran to her car and grabbed a windbreaker. The two officers Henriksen had assigned to join them were also wearing jackets that covered their uniforms.
“Hopefully with this weather, no one will be suspicious of the heavy coats,” Henriksen noted, “which should effectively hide your firearms.”
“Agreed,” Keri said as everyone assembled. “Okay, let’s get moving. We’ll walk along the sidewalk in front of the motel about thirty yards apart from each other. Ray, you and Jamie walk together like you’re a couple and take the southern end. I’ll follow behind and stop near the center of the property. You two linger at the northern end of the property,” she said to the Inglewood officers.
They started out along the sidewalk. Keri waited until Ray and Castillo were well ahead of her before she began walking. After she reached 102nd Street, she motioned for the Inglewood officers to follow.
She glanced at her watch. It was 11:32 p.m., kind of late for a gal to take a casual stroll by herself in a tough neighborhood. She hoped the oddity of it didn’t draw too much attention. As she continued to walk, she zipped up her coat to protect against the buffeting late night wind. The temperature was now in the mid-forties but it felt colder than that.
As Keri crossed two more intersections, getting closer to the motel, she couldn’t help but notice how dark it was. At least half the streetlights were out and even the businesses that didn’t seem to be shut down were completely dark, without any exterior lighting to ward off interlopers. She suspected they’d been knocked out so often that the owners had given up replacing them.
As she crossed the intersection at 104th Street, the motel finally came into view on her left. She tried not to turn in that direction. After all, she wanted to project the image of a person just trying to get home after a late shift at work. There would be no reason for her to look anywhere other than forward.
Ahead of her, at the corner of Hawthorne and 105th Street, Ray and Castillo came to stop. She wrapped her arms around his waist as if to both embrace him and protect herself from the wind. It was convincing and, despite her best efforts, Keri felt a pang of jealousy.
She took a few more steps until she r
eached a waist-high bush on the greenbelt. When she got to it, she bent down, as if to tie her already laced shoe. Confident that the view of anyone looking out from the motel would be obscured, she glanced back at the Inglewood officers. They were huddled close together, neither of them looking at the motel, both smoking or at least pretending to.
Keri spoke into the small speaker attached to the earpiece in her right ear.
“Everyone in position?”
She saw Castillo rise on her tiptoes as if to whisper in Ray’s ear.
“In position,” she said.
“In position,” said one of the officers as he exhaled on a drag from his cigarette.
“Your guys ready, Sergeant?” Keri asked.
“Just waiting for your word to go,” came his voice over the radio.
“All right, everyone hold position,” Keri said. “I’m going to approach the motel to get a better view. Hopefully even if I’m seen, one civilian female won’t be suspicious looking.”
“Proceed with caution,” she heard Ray say in her ear. It sounded completely professional but Keri knew that it was more than just an admonition from a colleague.
“Will do.”
She stood up and ambled casually onto the greenbelt, making sure to stay behind bushes and out of the glow of the few working streetlights. In the distance she could see a brown van parked in front of what looked to be the motel office. There were three other cars in the lot, parked at a sizable distance from each other, almost as if to give the impression that the place was still in business.
But the closer she looked, the more obvious it was that this wasn’t a normal motel operation. There were a total of four vehicles in the entire parking lot. But she counted twenty-four motel rooms, twelve on both the first and second floor. And the lights in all but one of them were on.
She wanted to move closer but that would mean stepping into the actual parking lot where there was no cover. Anyone watching her would likely quickly shift from curious to leery.
“I think there might be girls in every room. I’m not sure how many johns there are though. There are hardly any cars in the lot.”
“They must have been told to park on the street,” Ray said. Keri glanced at the long row of cars parked one after the other along Hawthorne and realized he was right. That meant that each of these girls was likely being assaulted right now.
