by C. M. Sutter
“We only talked to Luke Parker. Nobody else was home. Maybe we should have asked him if he knew which house was a rental. It could have been a lease-to-own property. Maybe Leroy got the details wrong.”
The radio in our cruiser squawked. Peggy from dispatch was calling.
“Hey, Peggy. What’s going on?”
“Jade, Lieutenant Clark wants everyone to report back. Somebody just called in a 10-57 out at the intersection of Rustic and Linden Roads. Apparently a car just ran into a house. Don’t know the circumstances yet, but there are two fatalities and several injured people. An ambulance is on the way. Clark has already informed Jason, Lena, and the forensic team.”
“Roger that, Peggy. We’re on our way.” Then I said, “Hit the lights, Jack. It sounds like a bad one.”
The drive took us twenty minutes. That location was on the far west side of the county. We arrived at a chaotic scene. People familiar with that intersection knew it to be a dangerous one. To anyone else that had never been to that area, they’d understand the danger once they’d see it. A hill hid the stop sign that was just below it at the intersection and a house stood dead center across the road. Anyone driving too fast that didn’t realize a stop sign was just beyond their field of vision could easily be involved in an accident.
The front of the brick bungalow, right at the picture window, had been pushed in by the car. Skid marks told us the driver had had no idea a stop sign was there. The lawn was furrowed by tire tracks that continued on until they stopped where the car hit the house. The EMTs were assisting several people inside the residence. Jason’s head was buried behind the steering wheel, and Lena was on the other side of the car, looking in. Both the driver and the passenger were deceased. Neither of them had on a seat belt, according to Jason.
“Holy crap, this is bad.”
“Jade, Jack. We’ve got two deceased in the front seat. The backseat passenger is already in the ambulance. The EMTs said it doesn’t look good for her. They’re getting ready to take off for St. Joe’s.”
“Does anyone know what happened?”
Lena spoke up, “I can tell you this, there are plenty of empty beer cans on the floor of the car.”
“It’s only eleven a.m.”
Jason nodded. “And these are kids. Their driver’s licenses show they aren’t even legal drinking age. The car is registered to the driver’s parents.”
Jack shook his head. “What a waste. Let’s go inside and find someone to talk to.”
The door-to-door interviews were temporarily put on hold. We had people in the house to interview and parents to contact. Nothing about this scene would have a good outcome.
We drove to the hospital and let Billings and Clayton finish up the interviews with the homeowners. Luckily the husband and wife were sitting at the kitchen table instead of watching TV in the living room. That alone probably saved their lives. Cuts and scrapes from flying debris seemed to be their only injuries.
We were told at the hospital that the third person in the vehicle, a seventeen-year-old girl named Stephanie Cane, had also passed away. Now it was our job to track down the families and break the bad news to them. Not only had their children died, but also there could be an insurance suit filed against the driver’s family. Thankfully, that was something we didn’t have to address. Jack and I sat with each family at their home and told them what had happened. We gave them Jason and Lena’s contact information as well as our condolences, then we left.
I looked at my watch when we finally walked out of the last home. It was nearly five o’clock.
“Let’s head back to the station. We’ll update Clark and call it a day.”
I agreed with Jack and climbed into the cruiser. We turned onto Schmidt Road at five fifteen and parked. Inside, I made coffee, and we sat with the lieutenant, going over the day’s events.
“That accident was not only tragic, boss, it was so senseless. They were just kids.”
“And likely drunk ones, I might add,” Jack said, shaking his head. “What I want to know is who bought the beer for them. That in itself is a criminal act which resulted in three deaths.”
Clark agreed. “That is something we’ll probably never find out. Might be better left for North Bend PD to check into. All of the kids lived in town. What about the door-to-door interviews earlier?”
“I’m on the fence with someone we talked to. It was at that house with the paint outline.”
“Something suspicious going on?” he asked.
“Not really, just off. I’ve got to think about it some more. For now, I’m going home.”
“Yeah, sounds good. Get out of here. I’ll see what Billings and Clayton found out when they check in.”
“Okay. Night, boss. Night, Jack.”
“Night, Jade.”
The late afternoon sun felt warm against my skin as I walked to my car. I pictured lying on the chaise on my deck, the sun on my face and a cold beer in my hand. Living close to work was something I was thankful for. I drove the short distance home with a lot on my mind. Amber worked until closing so I had the house to myself—and plenty of time to think. I pulled into the garage and hit the button on the passenger side visor. The door lowered. Inside the kitchen, I opened the pantry door and pulled out the cat food. Spaz purred at my feet and rubbed his side against the Velcro tabs on my blue boot. I was sure he didn’t care about me, he just wanted to be fed, but I petted him anyway. In my bedroom, I changed out of my work clothes and put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. I poured fresh birdseed into the plastic feeder for Porky and Polly, then I dumped their water and filled the cup from my bathroom faucet. Polly sat on my shoulder while I changed the newspaper at the bottom of their cage.
With all of the animals taken care of, I opened the refrigerator and pulled out a Scottish ale. With two hours of daylight left, I sat on the deck with my beer and a notepad in hand.
I thought back to yesterday when Jack and I were at the Parker residence. I remembered Jack commenting on the fresh tire tracks in the driveway. I tried to rationalize them. The UPS man could have pulled in, or Luke might have had a friend that came and left—anything was possible. And without a car, was he home yesterday when we were there? Did he see us snoop around and enter the barn while he peeked out from behind a closed curtain? Did he know we saw the paint outline? Was he on to us? Maybe he wasn’t even home when we did our snooping. I had too many questions and not enough answers floating around in my head.
I’m overthinking this. He’s probably exactly who he said he is and hasn’t done anything wrong. But what about the rental Leroy mentioned? It has to be that house. No matter what, there’s still something about Luke that bothers me. Call it police intuition or whatever, but I need to find out more.
There was still an hour of daylight left, and Luke didn’t know my personal car. I could sit a good distance away and watch the property with my binoculars. I needed to know if there was another vehicle somewhere and who might be coming and going. I knew Jack would be furious if I told him I was going back to Division Road, but it was only for surveillance—what was the harm?
I made myself a quick sandwich, chowed it down, and left. From my house, the drive was only twenty minutes. I tried to recall the layout of the property as I drove east, a direction from which I was less likely to be noticed. In reality, I didn’t want to be noticed at all. I knew in my gut that the outline we saw in the grass came from a vehicle being recently painted. There was no other logical explanation. If the paint came from his parents’ artwork, the black would be at the outer tips of the grass as the lawn grew. Luke said they had been gone for several weeks, yet the grass where the paint was couldn’t have been more than a few inches tall. His story didn’t jibe with the facts. For some reason Luke Parker had lied to us, and I needed to know why.
I turned off Highway 60 a few miles before I needed to. The back farm roads would be better for me, less obvious than the most direct route. I’d come in from the north and sit about a quarter mile from the house.
I had known that at some point in my life, the high-powered binoculars I owned would come in handy, and lately they had.
My heart raced when I saw the green street sign that said Division Road. I wanted to turn back and go home to the safety of my pets and a glass of wine, but the detective in me said to continue on. I turned and slowly drove south. The farm was on my left about a half mile down the road. As soon as I saw the rooftop of the barn, I’d slow down and creep closer to a safe place to park. Out in farm country, there weren’t too many hiding places. Wide, open fields took up most of the real estate as far as I could see.
I pulled over and wished the crunching gravel on the shoulder of the road didn’t sound so noisy. I parked and waited. I patted the gun on my side for reassurance, picked up the binoculars from the passenger seat, and placed them against my eyes.
Chapter 53
Jeremy sat at the computer, nervously tapping his foot against the cracked cement basement floor. Matt had just put Megan back in her cage. The photos and one-minute video of her were uploaded, and now it was just a waiting game.
Jeremy was pissed. Megan could have easily gone for twelve thousand dollars, but now? He’d be lucky to get half that price since the auction was so short, and she would have to go to somebody nearby. The luxury of time was a thing of the past. The brothers needed to leave the area as soon as they could.
“How’s it going?” Matt asked as he pulled up a chair and handed Jeremy a beer. He sat and looked at the screen. “You wrote a really good description of her. I like the ‘feisty Irish’ part. That should attract more people.”
“True, but we only have an hour left. This auction is short. There hasn’t been much time to get a lot of eyeballs on it.”
“So what are you thinking, somebody from the Chicago area?”
“Yeah, probably, and hopefully they have deep pockets. We’ll have to take her tonight once the money wire has cleared. If those cops are still trolling the neighborhood tomorrow, I don’t want them to see us. At this point, they’re probably suspicious of any van.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Matt leaned back and took an extra-long swig of his beer. “What did you set her reserve at?”
“Five grand.”
“Man that sucks. What can I do to help?”
Jeremy looked at the time on the bottom right corner of the computer screen. “Let’s see, it’s almost seven o’clock. Why don’t you pull the van up to the cellar doors and load an empty cage in the back. You can get a syringe ready and give her something to eat. I want to leave as soon as the payment goes through. We may be driving farther than Chicago, just so you know. You can pack some food up for us and Cage too.”
“Yep, I’m on it.”
Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the reserve icon go from red to green.
“Yes! At least the reserve hit.” He checked the time again—seven fifteen. In forty-five minutes the auction would be over, and Megan would be gone. He hoped they wouldn’t have to drive too far.
Jeremy went up the steps when he heard the cellar doors bang against the ground. He saw Matt outside.
“The reserve hit—we’re almost there, only a half hour to go.”
“Good to know. I’ll get the van ready.”
Darkness hadn’t set in yet, but the sun hung lower in the sky. The cellar doors stood in the shadows of the house. Matt flipped on the yard lights before he walked to the barn.
Chapter 54
“Damn it.” I craned my neck out the passenger side window and looked west at the setting sun, trying to calculate how much time I had left. Daylight was quickly slipping below the horizon, and a deep pink-and-purple glow took over the sky. It would be dark in a matter of minutes. So far I hadn’t seen anything that would warrant suspicion.
I continued to peer through the binoculars, hoping to see movement, but with each passing second the shadow of night was filling the sky. I gave up and turned the key in the ignition, with plans of spending the rest of my evening in front of the TV. Lights suddenly illuminated the backyard from the house to the barn, breaking the darkness. I quickly shut off my car.
“Shit. I hope he didn’t see my headlights.”
I saw Luke open the barn doors, then a vehicle backed out. It drove in reverse to the house.
So Luke did lie to us earlier. I wonder what he’s up to.
I had to decide if I would check it out on my own or call Jack for help, and I had to make my choice quickly. By the time Jack would arrive, Luke could be gone. It looked as though he was getting ready to leave and needed the cover of darkness to make his move. I couldn’t walk to the house on this bum foot, but I could get a little closer as long as I didn’t turn on my headlights.
I turned the key, and the car’s engine came to life. On the blacktop with the headlights off, and the quiet of my barely moving vehicle, I inched closer to the farm. I was only a few hundred feet away, and I was sure I could walk that distance. My adrenaline would help me get there. I needed to see what was going on.
Before I exited the car, my conscience told me to call Jack. I knew I would get a tongue lashing, but as an officer of the law, I had a duty to check out a suspicious situation, or at least convince myself that there was nothing to be suspicious of. Jack’s phone rang.
“Hey, Jade. What’s up?”
“I know you’re going to be really pissed at me, but as a responsible adult, I have to tell you.”
“Now, what did you do—or is it something you’re in the process of doing?”
“I’m parked down the street from Luke Parker’s house and—” I held my phone away from my ear as Jack yelled at me.
“Are you out of your mind? What part of that do you call responsible? Don’t do anything. As a matter of fact, get out of there right now!”
“I can’t leave. He’s up to no good, I just know it. He backed a vehicle out of the barn and up to the house like he’s going to load something. I have to check it out.”
“Jade, don’t! At least wait for me to get there.”
“He’ll be gone by then. I’ll be careful.”
“Jade—Jade—son of a bitch.”
I hung up and got out of my car, then I closed the door as quietly as I could at my back. I dropped my keys and my gun’s extra magazine into my back pocket then double-checked my sidearm. The ditch was the best place to walk, not only to hide myself as much as possible but also to avoid the crunching sound of the gravel under my feet.
At about a hundred feet out and lying low behind a row of trees, I saw a black van and what looked like open cellar doors. A lone window at ground level on the side of the house told me the basement lights were on. I was certain I could reach that window undetected. From there, I would be able to see what Luke was doing downstairs.
Crouched low, I moved through the shadows. I had to be careful and deliberate with each step. The slightest sound of a twig cracking could give me away.
Finally, when the window was only ten feet from me, I belly-crawled the rest of the way. The basement window was surrounded by a metal window well. I had to drop my upper body into the well to see through the dirty glass. Thanks to the windows having years of exposure to the outdoor elements, cobwebs and dried leaves filled the space and clouded my view. I didn’t want to give what normally disgusted me too much thought. I had to see what was going on downstairs. Holding my body in that awkward position and scooting in as close as possible, I was able to see inside, and what I saw made me want to shoot Luke right then.
Chapter 55
Matt circled around and entered the house from the porch. He took off his shoes, then he tiptoed downstairs from the kitchen. He entered the computer room with his announcement. “We have company.”
Megan’s auction was over, and she’d sold for ten thousand dollars to somebody from Barrington, Illinois. Jeremy was ecstatic—until Matt said those three words.
“Son of a bitch, what does that mean?” He pounded his fist on the desk so hard, the computer mouse bounced
off and hit the floor.
“I saw headlights a few minutes ago. They came on then went off immediately. I circled the house on the driveway side and crept down the road. I found an empty Mustang parked a few hundred feet north of here. I saw a set of binoculars on the passenger seat. That’s telling me there’s only one person, and they’re definitely watching the house. That person is outside somewhere, it’s just too dark to see them.”
Jeremy pushed back the chair and grabbed the stun gun and cattle prod out of the jelly cupboard. “Did you load a syringe?”
“Hell yeah, I have it right here.” Matt handed it to Jeremy.
“Okay, go upstairs and put your damn shoes back on. Make plenty of noise in the kitchen. That should be all it takes to lure them through the cellar doors and into the basement. I’ll be ready and waiting for them down here.”
“Got it.” Matt ran upstairs and into the kitchen.
Jeremy prepared himself for whatever was about to happen. He remained out of sight with the syringe in his pocket and the stun gun and prod in his hands. There were plenty of empty cages for his next guest.
Chapter 56
I felt for my phone then remembered I had left it in the car. I had only so many pockets, and I definitely didn’t want it to ring when I was trying to be quiet and surveil the situation. Jack knew where I was, and that was what mattered right now.
My focus was on the girl being held captive. I couldn’t see who she was; the room was dimly lit at best. She lay curled in a fetal position at the back of her cage, her knees almost touching her chin. The cage was secured with a large padlock. I didn’t see anyone downstairs other than the girl. Eight empty cages were lined up against the far wall. That room looked to be the main area, yet there were corners and doors going off in different directions.
The noise continued from inside the house. Luke was preoccupied, likely packing up. I had to think of a way to rescue the girl in the cage—and any others that might have been down there. As far as law enforcement knew, four young women were missing, and one was definitely dead.
