Thread of Suspicion (Joe Tyler Mystery #2)

by Jeff Shelby

  Stevie nodded, his hands pressed to the vent. “Yeah.”

  I glanced in the rearview mirror at Boyd. “You?”

  He seemed surprised that I was asking him, but he nodded. “Yeah. They’re cool.”

  “So, what are we looking at if we go to this Laser’s place?” I asked.

  Stevie grimaced. “Nothing good.”

  “How so?”

  “They’ll be gunned up,” he said. “Him and Nate. Not sure Laser would know how to shoot a gun but Nate does. For sure. And there are probably other guys running interference at the front of the building. Just hired help, but still. We can’t just walk in.”

  That presented a problem. I didn’t carry a gun and I wasn’t looking for a firefight.

  “Can I say something?” Boyd asked from the backseat.

  I glanced in the rearview mirror again. “Yep.”

  “She can get us in.”

  “She?”

  Boyd nodded. “Isabel. They won’t mess with her and they’ll let us in.”

  I looked at Stevie.

  “He’s right,” he said. “People know her. Even Laser. At the very least, she can probably get us in to see him without the bullshit.”

  The snow gathered on the windshield, wet snow that slapped against the glass. The sky was heavy with more and there was no sign of it letting up.

  “Okay,” I said, pulling the phone out of my pocket. “I’ll call her.”

  THIRTY-ONE

  “Why the hell are we here?” Isabel asked, gloved hands on her hips, oblivious to the dropping temperature.

  We were on the corner across the street from Laser’s place. I’d called her and told her to meet us there. Now the four of us were standing there, looking at the building, trying not to freeze.

  Or, more accurately, I was trying not to freeze. Isabel seemed to be completely comfortable standing there in the wind and snow.

  “We think Marc’s girlfriend is in there,” I said and then told her what we’d learned from Amanda and Mary.

  The building was a low-slung, brick rectangle. The windows were dimly lit and two glass doors at the front were illuminated by a single bulb. I could see a guy huddled right inside the front door.

  “She’s hooked up with Laser?” Isabel asked when I finished.

  “That’s what they told us.”

  “Crap,” she said. “Okay. So what are we doing here?”

  “Going in,” I said.

  “And I’m here because?”

  “Because we figured you’d get us in a little easier than if we just barged in.”

  I expected some resistance, some sort of false modesty. But to her credit, there was nothing like that.

  “I’ve dealt with him before,” she said. “He’s a piece of work. But yeah, I’m sure I can get us in. But then what?”

  “Let’s get in first and worry about that later,” I said.

  We crossed the street, our feet making fresh tracks in the wet snow. The body I’d seen behind the glass doors stood from his huddled position and stared at us as we approached.

  Isabel tapped on the door and waved at the guy, a skinny kid in his teens wearing a yellow knit cap, a black ski jacket and jeans that looked two sizes too big for him.

  He came over and cracked the door. “Yeah?”

  “Marty, we need to see Laser,” Isabel said.

  He scanned all of our faces. “He know you’re coming?”

  “No,” she said. “But we’re here and we’re freezing so we’re coming in.”

  She eased the door open and Marty stood back, unsure what to do. We followed her into the small lobby, which wasn’t much warmer than outside. I stomped my feet against the ground, shaking the snow off of them.

  “You need to call him or something?” she asked. “Or should we just go back?”

  Indecision ran through his expression. I didn’t think he’d ever encountered anyone just walking into the building and saying they wanted to see Laser.

  “We’re going back, Marty,” Isabel said, starting to walk.

  We followed her and Marty stayed behind, not leaving his post. I wondered if there would be any consequences for him.

  Isabel led us down a shadowed hallway and around a corner. There were people in sleeping bags in several open-doored rooms, passed out and huddled together for warmth. The building wasn’t as cold as the outdoors, but the fact that I could see my breath as we walked told me the heat wasn’t on, either.

  We came to another set of locked off doors. There was an intercom and buzzer next to the door. Isabel stuck her finger on the buzzer.

  “Yeah?” A voice asked through it.

  “It’s Isabel,” she said. “I need to see Laser.”

  “He ain’t seein’ anyone.”

  “I need to see Laser. Tell him I’m here,” she said.

  Thirty seconds later the door lock clicked and it opened. A tall, lanky guy in a gray hooded sweatshirt and black nylon sweatpants stood in the doorway.

  “What do you want?” he asked Isabel, then looked quickly at Boyd and Stevie before letting his eyes settle on me.

  “I need to talk to him,” Isabel said. “Won’t take long.”

  “He’s asleep,” the guy said, still staring at me.

  “Wake him up then,” she said. “And you can tell him I told you to. But I’m talking to him.”

  The guy frowned, stuck his hands in the front pocket of the hoodie. “Wait here,” he finally said and closed the doors.

  I looked at Stevie and Boyd. “Either of you carrying?”

  Stevie shook his head and Boyd’s face colored.

  “Okay,” I told Boyd. “You’re our only cover. When we get to him, whatever kind of room we’re in, make sure you move away from the three of us. If things go wrong, we don’t want to be a cluster target. But do not bring it out unless it’s absolutely necessary. Clear?”

  Boyd nodded, relieved I wasn’t angry. “Got it.”

  “And the guy that answered the door?” I said to him, then looking at the other two. “He had something on his left hip. Assume everyone from here on in is armed. Doesn’t mean we’ll see anything, but be cautious and be prepared.”

  Stevie did his usual shrug, while Boyd nodded.

  Isabel looked tense.

  “You’re doing fine,” I told her. “You’re being pushy. That’s good.”

  “Good until someone gets shot,” she muttered.

  The door lock unlatched from the other side and the guy in the sweatshirt was back. “Okay, he says come in.”

  The four of us stepped through the door. The hallway here was better lit and as we walked, I counted twelve doors, six on either side of the hall, all of them closed. We turned a corner at the end of the hall and the doors at the end of this last hall were open. It would’ve been the boss’s office if it was still an office building.

  Instead, it was Laser’s home.

  Indirect lighting in the corners gave the entire room a shadowy feel. A bed was pushed over into one corner, a large desk on the other. A flat screen was attached to the back wall in front of a couple of leather recliners. Two space heaters sat on opposite walls, heat emanating from them.

  A small guy in his twenties with thick glasses and short brown hair was in one of the recliners, his feet propped up, a Diet Coke in one of his hands.

  Another guy sat on the edge of the desk. About the same age, but heavier, a baseball cap on backwards above large eyes and a flat nose. He had on a long sleeve Vikings T-shirt and shiny white sweatpants.

  “A little late for you, Isabel,” the guy in the chair said. “I’m kinda irritated.”

  “Looks like you were awake, Laser,” she said. “So, I don’t feel too bad.”

  Laser chuckled, then did a slow take on the rest of us. “Stevie. Boyd. I know you two. But I’m not familiar with your friend.”

  I didn’t say anything.

  “He’s my friend,” Isabel said.

  “Check him, Nate,” Laser said.

 
; The guy on the desk slid off the edge and walked over to me. Which was good because it gave Boyd the opportunity to drift over to the wall, away from us.

  “Arms up,” Nate said.

  I held my arms out and he did an incredibly lazy pat-down. He missed at least three places I could’ve hidden a weapon and I knew that one day his arrogance would probably get him killed.

  “Clean,” Nate said, then retook his post on the desk.

  “Who are you, dude?” Laser asked, adjusting his glasses.

  “Isabel’s friend,” I said. “Just giving her a hand.”

  “And maybe giving her a little something else?” he said, then chuckled at his own joke.

  Isabel’s face reddened.

  “I heard you were kind of an asshole,” I said. “Good to know people don’t lie.”

  His chuckled died and he pushed the recliner forward, standing up. He was a good five inches shorter than me and at least fifty pounds lighter. “Excuse me?”

  I stepped toward him and kept an eye on Nate. “I said I heard you were kind of an asshole and you proved that right. Are you deaf, too?”

  He was taken aback by my coming forward and he took a step back toward his chair before he realized he’d done it. He stopped and sort of wobbled, trying to catch his balance.

  Nate stayed in place.

  “We’re looking for a girl named Jessica,” I said. “I’m told she’s here.”

  “Yo, man,” he said, sticking out his chest, trying to recover. “You better chill.”

  “Or?

  “Or?” he asked confused.

  “Or what?” I asked, stepping even closer, crowding him. “If I don’t chill. What’s gonna happen? Let me know what I’m up against here.” I nodded at Nate. “I’m aware of him. But is that it? Because if you’re gonna threaten me, you’re gonna need a little more than him.”

  Confusion ran through Laser’s eyes and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nate start to move.

  “Hold it,” Boyd said.

  I turned my head. Nate’s hand was at the back of his waistband, but Boyd already had his gun out, locked in on Nate.

  Boyd was turning out to be alright after all.

  “I got him,” Stevie said and moved behind Boyd and over to Nate. Nate’s hands were up and clear and Stevie pulled the handgun from Nate’s waist and stepped over near Boyd.

  I turned back to Laser. “So. Or what?”

  Laser swallowed hard and backed up until he stumbled against his recliner. There was nowhere for him to go. “Yo, man. There’s a lot of people here.”

  “No,” I said. “There’s a lot of girls here. Not people. Girls.”

  “Man, you don’t know…”

  I shoved him hard and he fell back into the recliner. “Don’t tell me what I don’t know. Tell me where I can find Jessica.”

  Laser adjusted his glasses. “Take it easy.”

  “No, I’m done taking it easy,” I said. I motioned at Stevie. “Gimme that.”

  Stevie hesitated then handed me the gun.

  I held the gun and looked at Laser. “Open your mouth.”

  “What?” he said.

  “Open your mouth.”

  “Look, man, I…”

  I pressed the barrel to his lips. “Open.”

  His eyes grew wide and he managed to get his mouth open wide enough for me to push the end of the barrel in.

  “Was it like this, Boyd?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” he said, his voice tight, not enjoying the memory.

  “Joe,” Isabel said. “Come on.”

  I ignored her and looked at Nate. “Your gun, right?”

  Nate nodded.

  “So, when I blow his head off, it’s gonna look like you did it,” I said. “So, not only am I gonna kill your buddy here, but you’ll get the blame. You see where I’m going with this, Nate?”

  Nate swallowed hard. “Yeah.”

  “Joe,” Isabel said, her voice louder. “Stop.”

  Laser squirmed in the recliner, sucking on the gun.

  “Doesn’t feel good, does it?” I asked him. “Probably about as comfortable as being locked in a room in this dump.”

  He couldn’t take his eyes from the barrel.

  I looked back at Nate. “I’m going to ask one more time. Where will we find Jessica?”

  Nate didn’t even hesitate. “Third door. Middle of the hallway.”

  “Key?”

  He nodded at Laser. “He’s got ‘em.”

  I looked at Laser, who was already pointing to the desk. Stevie walked over and pulled up a ring of keys. He brought them over to me and I handed them to Laser. He flipped through them, then held one out to me.

  I took it from him. “I’m going to go check the room. Stevie is going to keep this gun in your mouth. If you move, he’s going to shoot you. If Jessica isn’t in the room, I’m going to come back and shoot you. Do you understand?”

  He nodded, breathing heavily through his nose.

  I motioned at Stevie, who came over and took the gun from me, careful to keep it inside of his mouth. “He twitches, shoot him.”

  Stevie nodded.

  “Joe,” Isabel said. “This is ridiculous.”

  “I agree,” I said, staring at her, my voice rising. “It is ridiculous. It's ridiculous that some piece of crap is locking up girls and forcing them to do who knows what. It's ridiculous that he’s dealing to them. It’s ridiculous that anyone has to live here and live under his thumb. It’s ridiculous that anyone would get to the point that this is their best option. It’s utterly ridiculous.”

  I’m not sure if Isabel recognized it or not as she looked away from me, but I was talking just as much about Elizabeth as I was Jessica and any other girl that was there. When I walked in, all I could think about was Elizabeth ending up in some place like this. Having to listen to some jackass like Laser just in order to survive. So, was putting a gun in his mouth over the top?

  Maybe.

  But I didn’t care.

  I glanced at Stevie and Boyd. “We’ll be back.”

  They both nodded.

  Isabel followed me down the hall, past two doors and we stopped at the third.

  “If she’s here,” Isabel said, “that’s great, but we can’t just leave the others…”

  “We’re going to clear this entire building, Isabel,” I said. “Trust me. No one is staying here another second if they don’t want to.”

  She bit her top lip, then nodded.

  I stuck the key in the lock and twisted the knob. The door swung open to a dark room. We both squinted as our eyes adjusted.

  A twin mattress was against the far wall amidst a pile of clothes and shoes. I didn’t see anything on the walls. The room smelled like a weird mixture of perfume and sweat.

  On the mattress, two bodies stirred beneath a wool blanket. One propped themselves up. A girl. Long, stringy blond hair, her eyes barely open.

  “Who is it?” she asked, her eyes still adjusting.

  We both stepped into the room.

  “Is there a light in here?” I asked.

  She jerked to a sitting position. “Who are you? What do you want?”

  “Relax,” I said. “We’re friends.”

  I could see her face more clearly now. Caked mascara. Small nose. Thin mouth. Tiny gold earrings. A long sleeve T-shirt.

  “Who are you?” she asked again.

  “I’m Isabel,” Isabel said. “This is Joe. Are you Jessica?”

  She stared at her, trying to place her. “Yeah. I’m Jessica. How do you know my name?”

  The body behind her stirred and shifted under the blankets.

  “We’re looking for Marc,” Isabel said. “Do you know where he is?”

  She sat up straighter on the bed, more nervous now than when we’d entered the room.

  The body behind her shook free from the blankets.

  His eyes were swollen shut, purple and silver balls. A red jagged cut ran across the bridge of his nose and there were similar c
uts at the corners of his mouth. I could see some bruising on his cheeks, too.

  “Who is it?” he rasped, clearly unable to see us.

  Isabel brought her hands to her mouth and sucked in her breath.

  “It’s me, Marc,” she whispered. “It’s Isabel.”

  THIRTY-TWO

  Jessica helped prop Marc up. He moved with the stiffness and difficulty of someone who’d gotten the crap knocked out of him. Given the condition of his face, I guessed that was exactly what had happened.

  Marc ran a hand through his thick, black hair and turned his head in Isabel’s direction. “Isabel? How’d you find me?”

  Isabel looked frozen, unsure whether to go to him or stay where she was. Jessica sat close to him, her eyes still moving between us, not sure she trusted us yet.

  “We, uh, we’ve been asking around,” she said. “We were worried about you.”

  He turned in my direction. “Who are you?”

  “My name’s Joe Tyler,” I said. “Isabel has been helping me with something else. She was worried about you. I offered to help her find you.”

  “Oh,” he said, clearing his throat. “Okay.”

  I noticed a bottle of water on the floor. I picked it up and handed it to him. “Water. Sounds like you need some.”

  He held his hand up and I placed the bottle in his hand. He fumbled with the cap, got it off and took a long drink.

  “How did you get in here?” Jessica asked.

  “Don’t worry,” I said. “Laser is taken care of for the moment. We’re going to get you out of here.”

  “Get us out?” she asked. “How? And what about…” Her voice trailed off.

  “Don’t worry about Laser,” I said. “He’s done. You want out of here, you’re free to go.” I looked at Marc. “What happened to you?”

  He took another long drink from the bottle, then handed it off to Jessica. “I tried to get her out of here.”

  “Laser?”

  He nodded. “And the other guy. Nate.”

  I glanced at Isabel. I wondered if she still thought I’d been too harsh in sticking a gun in Laser’s face.

  “I found out she was here a couple days ago,” he said, touching her arm, as much to steady himself as to show affection. “They let me in, but they wouldn’t let her go. I tried to break down her door. They came after me.” He shrugged. “We’ve been in here ever since, basically.”