Hard to Kill

by C. M. Sutter

  “Sit your ass on that chair. If you move, I’ll finish him off. My patience with you two is wearing thin. I should have killed that bastard at the tent and then hightailed it out of the area. Nobody would have ever suspected it was me that put that prick out of his misery. Now I have both of you to deal with.”

  Josh took the new roll of duct tape out of the bag and straddled the detective. He pulled Jesse’s arms to his back and wound the tape around both of them a half dozen times, then he did the same to Jesse’s knees and ankles. He tore off another strip of tape, flipped Jesse over, and covered his mouth with it. After kicking him in his fractured ribs, he stepped over him and headed toward Hanna.

  “Look at me!”

  She reluctantly did.

  “You try to pull one more stunt like that and you’ll be swallowing the barrel of this gun. Understand?”

  Hanna nodded and wiped her tears away defiantly.

  “Put your hands behind your back.” Josh wrapped tape around her clenched hands and wrists and then around the chair back.

  “What are you waiting for? You keep saying you’re going to kill Jesse, but you haven’t. What kind of sick game are you playing with us?”

  “It’s none of your business. You’re just collateral damage, nothing more. You weren’t supposed to be a part of this, so that’s on you. This is between McCord and me, and he knows what’s going on.” Josh looked over his shoulder. “But it doesn’t look like he’s able to explain it to you right now.”

  “You’re a sick son of—”

  Josh stretched a piece of tape over Hanna’s mouth and leaned in only an inch from her face. “Since you can’t shut up, I’ll shut you up. Next time, it’ll be permanently.” He grabbed her right ankle as she tried to kick him away. Josh swung the gun and cracked her in the head with it. Hanna went limp. “I swear to God, you’re as much of a pain in the ass as your boyfriend is.” He wrapped her ankles, knees, and the chair legs in tape then went to the refrigerator. “Now, let’s see what’s in here to eat.”

  After making himself a sandwich and eating it, Josh grabbed the back of Hanna’s chair and dragged it across the floor and into the family room.

  “We’re going to watch the news together. Seems like the disappearance of your boyfriend has been on a continuous loop at the top of the hour on every news channel. After tomorrow, they’ll be airing news of his death instead.”

  Chapter 55

  Henry and Shawn returned to the precinct at eleven o’clock and met up with the rest of the group in the conference room. Henry had the flash drive in hand. He passed it to Frank, who inserted it into his laptop’s port. With the computer connected to the oversized monitor on the wall, they watched the minute-long video of the Forester stop at the curb. Josh Stevens got out and began his southbound walk as the vehicle drove away.

  “Pretty ballsy to be out and about when there’s an APB on him,” Frank said.

  Lutz sighed. “True, but it isn’t like there’s patrol units driving by, and even if they were, he’s not wearing a sign around his neck that says he’s Josh Stevens. Slipping into an alley or walking with his head down is enough to keep him invisible to most people passing by.”

  Kip took his turn. “We’ve got more coverage on the news about Jesse than we do of his abductor. If Jesse is being held captive, nobody is going to see him, anyway. There needs to be more attention focused on Josh since he doesn’t seem too worried about being out and about.”

  “Then go take care of that, Kip,” Lutz said. “Get that latest photo of Josh and his description from the prison out to all the news stations. Tell them where he was last seen too. There was coverage when he escaped his ankle bracelet but none since Jesse went missing. Push it hard with the news channels.”

  “Copy that, sir.”

  After Kip walked out, Lutz turned to the group. “Okay, let’s get a map of that area up on the screen. Put a marker at the drop-off location, at Hanna’s house, and at Jesse’s house and see what we come up with. Josh could have seen those cameras on that corner building and intentionally went in a different direction just to throw us off.”

  “We need confirmation that he didn’t circle back,” Frank said. “How about checking PODs in a ten-block area around that intersection and see if any of them catch his movements?”

  “Go ahead and get on it.”

  Police observation devices, or PODs, were located throughout the city, and Frank said he was going back to the bullpen to access the website that showed how many were in the area. He returned ten minutes later with a slip of paper.

  “There’s six PODs in total in that southside location. One is three blocks from Jesse’s house on South Stoney Island and Sixty-Eighth Street. Josh may have passed it if he didn’t know it was there, or he could have gone the cautious route and stayed off the main streets.”

  “What about the others?” Lutz asked.

  “There’s one near Parkside Elementary School that he could have passed on his way to Hanna’s house, or again, he could have taken alleys or less-traveled residential streets. Those are the only two close to either house.”

  “So how long is the walk from the drop-off spot?”

  Frank continued. “Closer to Jesse’s house, about a ten-minute walk, and to Hanna’s, another seven minutes or so.”

  “All right. Have Todd pull up the feed on both cameras for the times in question. Tell him to call the conference room when he has the results.”

  “You bet.” Frank made the call to the tech department, passed on the information, and returned his attention to the meeting.

  Lutz glanced at his vibrating phone. He read the text that had just come in then summarized it for the group. “The patrol unit just drove past Hanna’s house, and as before, they said everything looks fine.”

  “Maybe Josh walked by Jesse’s place just to check out the scene. Could be he wants to stay one step ahead of us by seeing if we’ve discovered the damage to the house yet,” Henry said.

  “Well, he’d know that once he saw the police tape on the door. Meanwhile, what’s he doing for food and money?”

  “He could have stolen everything his uncle had before he took off.”

  Lutz rubbed his chin. “True, but he’s got his hands full with two captives. It isn’t like he can check into a hotel with both of them, and he isn’t driving the Explorer around.”

  “That means they have to be in a house.”

  The phone rang in the conference room. Frank pointed at it with his chin. “That’s got to be Todd with news on the cameras.”

  Lutz lifted the receiver and pressed the speaker button. “Commander Lutz here.”

  “Lutz, it’s Finley.”

  Bob frowned since he had just spoken with the Narcotics commander earlier. “What’s up, Keith?”

  “I got to thinking after we talked, so I went through the documents for Josh’s sentencing.”

  “Yep, and?”

  “And he was sentenced to a twenty-year term.”

  “Right. We’re aware.”

  “But did you realize that tomorrow is the anniversary of the day he was locked up? He made threats to Jesse in the courthouse when they hauled him away all those years back.”

  “Shit, so what does that mean? Tomorrow is the day he’s going to exact revenge on McCord?”

  “That’s my gut feeling. The question is, where the hell are they, and how are you going to conduct a surprise attack on him without risking Jesse and Hanna’s lives?” Finley asked.

  “Jesse’s guns were missing from his house, that much we know, and the likelihood of Josh Stevens having them is great. We’re going to need help on this one, Keith, and even though Patrol has been watching Jesse and Hanna’s homes, I think our first step is to make absolutely sure he didn’t find a way into either house without our knowledge.”

  “I’ll get on the horn and have the drone with the heat-vision camera brought to you. Best to use it under the cover of darkness in case he’s watching out the windows. I
think tonight is your best bet since tomorrow may be too late.”

  Lutz hung up, and only seconds later, the phone rang again. It was Todd, and he said Josh hadn’t shown up on either POD.

  “So even though he’s out and about, he’s still taking precautions,” Frank said.

  “Go get a couple of cars out of impound and have some plainclothes officers sit on both houses. I want reports every hour, whether they see any activity or not. We’ll organize our approach, get a floor plan of Hanna’s house from Lee, and then as soon as it gets dark, we’ll launch the drone. If anything inside the house glows red, we’ll know somebody is there, and our surprise attack will take place.”

  “And if they aren’t at either house?” Kip asked.

  Lutz shook his head. “We have to assume they are—it’s the only thing that makes sense. If they aren’t, then we’re up shit creek.”

  Chapter 56

  After a heads-up call to Lee, Frank and Henry drove to her home to talk with her. They didn’t want her to feel overly optimistic, but at that point, it only made sense that Josh might possibly be holding Jesse and Hanna captive right in Hanna’s own home.

  They arrived at Lee’s house shortly after one o’clock. She welcomed them into the kitchen, where they took seats across from her at the table. It was obvious from Lee’s face that she hadn’t been getting much sleep. Her eyes were puffy and outlined in red. She poured herself a cup of coffee and offered Henry and Frank one.

  “I apologize, Detectives, but I can’t even think logically unless I have some coffee. Please, join me.”

  They did, and Frank began. “Lee, we have reason to believe Josh Stevens may be holding Jesse and Hanna in the area. We can only assume their location would have to be in a house since Josh certainly can’t take them to a hotel. Jesse’s home was destroyed and has been sealed, but there could be a chance Josh found a way inside. The same goes for Hanna’s house, and even though patrol units drive by regularly, there could still be the chance that he got past the police.”

  Lee blew over her coffee. “I understand.”

  Henry took over. “You told us that Hanna’s house key was missing and you couldn’t get inside the garage by using the door code you had memorized. That information is interesting to say the least. There’s the chance that Jesse and Hanna are being held right in her house. We came to you to get an idea of the floor plan so we know what we’re getting into if we find out they’re inside.”

  “But how would you know they’re at the house unless you burst in?”

  Frank smiled. “With a heat-seeking drone. Its sensors will send an image to our monitor if there are living, breathing people inside the house. It’ll show us what rooms the people are located in, which will help us breach the house in the safest manner possible.”

  “So you want me to draw the floor plan?”

  “That’s exactly what we need. We could get a real floor plan from the county clerk, but that’s time-consuming. We need to act on this tonight.”

  “Of course. Is it okay to use a sheet of printer paper?”

  Frank nodded. “That would be perfect.”

  Lee excused herself and disappeared down the hall. She was back a minute later with several sheets of paper. She returned to her chair with a pencil and placed the paper flat on the table.

  “There are two doors that enter into the house, besides the garage door. The front door is to the left of the garage, and the back door is a set of French doors that lead out to the patio. The front door has a knob lock and a dead bolt that use the same key, although the one I usually use is missing from under the rock where Hanna kept it.”

  Frank interrupted. “Do you know if Jesse had a key to Hanna’s house?”

  She shrugged. “I really couldn’t say, Detective Mills.”

  “Okay, we haven’t found any keys in his house, so I’m guessing Josh Stevens has all of them, including Hanna’s. Go ahead and draw the floor plan.”

  Lee took the pencil and started at the front door, which entered into the living room. Beyond that was the dining room against the back wall, and to its right was the eat-in kitchen, where the bump-out space held French doors that led to the patio.

  “Looks good so far, Lee,” Frank said. “Is there an outdoor light on the patio?”

  “Yes.”

  “And how about curtains or blinds that cover the French doors?”

  “There are magnetic blinds over the windows in the door.”

  “Okay. So depending on if they’re opened or closed, we may be able to sneak up the patio. You can’t see the kitchen from the living room, though, right?”

  “No. Only if you turn right off the dining room. To the right of the kitchen is the laundry area and then the door that opens into the garage.”

  “Uh-huh,” Henry said. “But the only door out of the garage is the overhead, correct?”

  “That’s correct.” Lee tapped her drawing. “The bedrooms are all on the opposite side of the house off the hallway to the left of the living room. The first door on the right is a small office. The second door is a hallway bathroom, and the last door is a guest bedroom with a twin bed and a dresser. The entire left side of the hallway is an en-suite master bedroom with a huge walk-in closet. There’s also a linen closet on that side of the hallway just before the bedroom door.”

  Frank and Henry reviewed the floor plan.

  “Looks pretty basic,” Henry said. “No basement?”

  “Only a half basement. The door is right here off the kitchen.” She drew a mark on the floor plan just beyond the refrigerator. “Hanna only uses that area for storage since it’s small, and of course the furnace is down there.”

  “Okay.” Frank lifted the sheet of paper. “This is going to be a big help. Thank you, Lee, and we’ll do our best to keep you updated. With any luck, this will come to an end tonight, and Jesse and Hanna will be safe and sound.”

  Lee stood and cleared the cups off the table. “I’m praying that’s true.”

  It was nearing three o’clock by the time Frank and Henry got to the precinct. They made a beeline for Lutz’s office to show him the sketch Lee had drawn of the house’s layout.

  “It’s a pretty basic design, Boss,” Frank said. He pointed at the house’s access points. “We have the front door, which is probably what Josh is watching—if they’re actually there. He’d have a visual of the street, the driveway, and the porch. The back entry is made up of a set of French doors that enter into an eat-in kitchen, and then the only other door is the overhead garage door.”

  “Okay, that’s good. The officer who operates the drone is scheduled to be here at six o’clock, and it gets dark by seven thirty. That’ll give us plenty of time to go over our plans, decide where we’ll station everyone, and set up the drone to do its passes over the house. My thoughts are to let SWAT handle the breach if Hanna and Jesse are inside. I’m sure they’ll be restrained, and there’s a ninety-nine percent likelihood that Josh has Jesse’s guns. I won’t risk their lives, so it’s better to let the experts handle it. We’ll know more after looking at the drone images, but I’m assuming they’ll go in with either tear gas or flash bang grenades.”

  Frank huffed. “Or both. Too bad Jesse and Hanna will suffer the consequences too.”

  Chapter 57

  Calls were already coming in about sightings of Josh Stevens.

  “That’s what happens when idiots like him wander the streets without wearing a hat or sunglasses to camouflage himself,” Lutz said. “He had to know it was only a matter of time before his face would be plastered all over the TV screens again. He must have needed something pretty badly to take that risk.” Lutz turned to Kip. “Any sightings of him in residential neighborhoods?”

  Kip shook his head. “Not yet. Several clerks from strip mall stores on South Stoney Island Avenue have called. Other sightings didn’t seem likely—north side of Chicago and the Schaumburg area, that type of thing.”

  Lutz pointed at Tony and Kip. “Get to thos
e locations, confirm it was Josh, and find out what he bought.”

  The detectives pushed back their chairs and headed out the door.

  “Any information yet from those plainclothes cops who are watching the houses?” Shawn asked.

  Lutz responded. “Everything is quiet at both locations. The officers have stationed themselves about five houses away from each home, so the only chance of Josh seeing them would be if he actually went outside and stood on the sidewalk.”

  “And it’s doubtful that he’d even realize somebody was in the vehicles from that distance,” Frank said. “I’ll get some copies of the floor plan printed out for SWAT.”

  “Speaking of SWAT, they’re going to meet up with us on South Constance, exactly four houses south of Seventieth Street, the same distance from the corner as Hanna’s house. We’ll be on the next block, but everyone is going in dark. We don’t want to give Josh any chance of seeing cop cars or light bars between the yards.”

  Six o’clock finally came, and Jesse’s desk phone rang. Lutz answered to hear Debra on the other end saying the officer who operated the drone was there and she was about to escort him up to the bullpen.

  As soon as they walked through the door, Lutz stood. He introduced himself with an outstretched hand. “I’m Commander Bob Lutz, and speaking for myself and my team, we’re grateful to have your help.”

  “Thanks, Commander. I’m Chris Moore, and I’ve been the lead drone operator on the night shift in Special Services for seven years. I’m pretty confident we’ll have success tonight if the people in question are actually at the residence. With your team, the drone, and the SWAT officers, everything should go according to plan.”

  “Then let’s get to that plan.” Lutz tipped his head toward the back of the room. “Let me show you the maps of the area and what we’re dealing with. We have a lot of tree cover to take into consideration on that street. The parallel street is where the SWAT team suggests we station ourselves, and here is the hand-drawn floor plan of the house that we’ll fly the drone over. There are two houses in question, but the one we’re going to first is the one that Josh Stevens is likeliest to be holed up in.”