Pretty Broken Dolls: An absolutely gripping crime thriller packed with mystery and suspense (Detective Katie Scott Book 6)
Page 25
John paused and thought a moment. “Did she happen to mention that text problem with her phone? She got some strange texts, supposedly from you and Lizzy.”
“Yeah, we thought you might be able to trace the sender.”
John frowned and stepped inside. “I did some checking about cell phone cloning because I really don’t know much about it. Spoofing someone’s number is more accessible and it’s a common tool used by telemarketers these days. Someone could do that, but there are some software programs out there that you can use to clone from one phone to another but you generally need the SIM card of the phone you want to clone. There is more sophisticated software which allows you to clone a phone within a minute—but it’s generally used by the FBI or other law enforcement agencies.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You worried?” said John.
McGaven picked up his phone and called Katie. He waited for her to pick up, but it rang out. “Huh, no voicemail,” he said.
John called her number on his phone. “Same. No pick-up or voicemail.” Turning to McGaven, he said, “You look worried.”
“I am.”
“What’s been going on?” John remained solemn and listened intently to McGaven explain about Agent Campbell and the circumstances surrounding the investigations.
“I see,” said John. He was a man of few words but he spoke up when he felt it was necessary. “We need to find her.”
“What makes you think she’s not at home and just not answering her phone?”
John smiled. “We are talking about Katie.”
“You’re right.” McGaven picked up the department phone landline. “Patch me through to patrol near the ninth RA.” This referred to the responsibility area of a specific police officer. He patiently waited. “Sarge, it’s Deputy McGaven. I was wondering if you would check on a detective. Yes: Scott. It’s 8788 Spruce Drive. Thanks.” He hung up.
“And?”
“He’ll call me back.”
“Where was she going after work. Home?”
“Yes, and then she was going to meet Lizzy at seven thirty at the bistro.”
“Okay.” He dialed Lizzy’s number. “Same thing,” he said. “It rings but no answer.” He looked up a number on his phone and then dialed. “I’m calling the bistro. Let’s make sure they— Yes, thank you. Two of my friends are having dinner tonight and I was wondering if they had already left or not? Katie Scott or Lizzy Cromwell.” He waited. “I see. Thank you.”
“Were they there?” asked McGaven.
“Only Katie, but Lizzy didn’t show up.”
The phone rang.
McGaven snatched up the receiver. “Deputy McGaven. You sure? Thank you.” He slowly hung up the phone.
“What?” said John.
“Not home. We have a problem.”
“I have an idea.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
Friday 2245 hours
Katie left the security guard in the safest location she could find and moved toward the Ferris wheel. She kept out of sight as best she could while the annoying music blared. It was difficult to concentrate as her head throbbed with the annoying tune.
Her phone alerted with an incoming text.
If you don’t play… today… Lizzy dies. Tick Tock. Tick Tock. Tick Tock…
Katie was frustrated. She needed to find Lizzy and who was behind this.
She finally reached the Ferris wheel, which was slowly circling in its revolutions. She stood in the shadows, watching the wheel. After a few moments a blue car came down and she saw, to her horror, that Lizzy was inside, tied to the bars. She wore barely any clothes—obviously she had been ambushed as she was getting ready for dinner. Her eyes were closed and her head and torso gently bobbed from side to side as the rotation of the ride came and went.
“Oh, Lizzy,” she barely whispered. Closing her eyes momentarily, she prayed that she wasn’t too late. Katie wanted to yell out to Lizzy to let her know that she was here and was going to get her out of this nightmare, but it was best to be as quiet and hidden as possible.
She searched for the controls, only to find that some of them had been destroyed. Feeling a sickening lurch of dread, she forced herself to concentrate, and think through the problem logically. She realized she would have to find and cut the electricity supply—without being seen. Scrutinizing every building and structure, she first made sure that there weren’t any cameras. The GPS on her phone would just give a general area and was not as accurate as an actual camera on location.
Katie needed to find the utility area so she could turn everything off. Remembering the map she had used when tracking the site with Cisco, she recalled that it was near the food stands. She moved stealthily and quickly, watching from every direction.
Cautiously approaching the group of food kiosks where there was a small brick building, she noticed two doors marked “Do Not Enter—Employees Only,” along with a sign depicting an electricity hazard. She tried both doors but they were locked. Taking the key she had been instructed to find at the Trenton house, she tried the first door. Nothing. Hands trembling, she tried the second door and it unlocked.
Katie looked behind her and up and down the food walkways. She was alone. Pushing the door open, she felt the warm air hit her skin.
In front of her were several electrical panels with fuses and switches—some were huge while others were smaller. They were lit up in green and there were dim lights along the bottom of the wall, so she didn’t have to use her flashlight and risk attracting attention.
As Katie’s eyes adjusted to the weak lighting, she could read the plastic labels affixed to each panel. She quickly fought the potential to become overwhelmed with the unfamiliar equipment and steadied her nerves. Keeping her focus and hands steady, she forced herself to read each label and mentally imagine where it powered in the area. Most were associated with different food booths. Then there were breakers in the subpanels matching the different rides. She searched for the Ferris wheel and couldn’t find it. Panic filled her. Taking a quick breath and methodically reading the labels again, she came to realize that there was one label missing from a panel with three sub-panels and several breakers in the up position.
“Here we go,” she said softly and flipped the switches to the breaker downward.
Suddenly the music stopped.
Katie hadn’t realized how loud and irritating the sound was until it was silent. She paused a moment to enjoy the quiet and stillness before leaving the warmth of the utility room.
She opened the door partially and stepped into the darkness of the night. Strong arms forcibly grabbed her from behind, around her neck and waist, pulling her firmly, causing her to drop her weapon. The gun hit the ground next to her feet. The person’s body was heated and sweaty as they pressed up against her.
A desperate voice whispered into her left ear. “Don’t move or say a word.”
Chapter Fifty
Friday 2245 hours
McGaven followed John into the main forensic examination room. John pulled up a chair and began searching through a database that was unfamiliar to McGaven. He watched as the forensic supervisor clicked in and out of programs until he came to what looked like a type of GPS program.
“Okay, we can put Katie’s cell phone number in and it should tell us by pinging off of the cell towers where she is—or at least a close proximity.”
McGaven watched the screens eagerly, waiting for the outcome.
“Here we go,” he said and pressed the enter key.
Both men watch the screen search through large areas of the county and then begin to narrow the pursuit until finally it pinpointed a specific area.
“Where is that?” asked McGaven.
“Looks like the outskirts of town.”
“It’s rural. Lots of farmland. What’s in the vicinity?”
“Of course,” said John. “It’s near the fairgrounds.”
Chapter Fifty-One
Friday 2310 hours
The man stepped into the light and she saw his face clearly—it was Agent Campbell. He looked frazzled and skittish. His clothes were torn. There was blood on his face and now on his arms. His eyes darted back and forth as though he was expecting to be ambushed.
“Campbell?” said Katie.
“You have to believe me, I didn’t know.”
“What are you talking about?” She stood up, gaining her bearings and taking control of the situation. “I have to save Lizzy.”
“I knew you would flush out the killer. I knew it…”
“Start talking right now. What are you doing here?” She scanned around them in all directions. Spotting a garbage can, she saw some rope inside.
“Keep moving. Now!”
“Detective, you have to believe me.” He moved as she ordered.
“I don’t have to believe anything you have to say. You’ve lied to me from the beginning. You’re not going to hurt anyone else. Understand me?” she said, reaching for her cell phone. Pressing a familiar saved number, Katie dialed McGaven. Nothing happened.
“You’re going to release Lizzy, now.”
“You don’t understand,” he stammered.
“You set up this entire thing—it’s obvious that someone in law enforcement set this up. That was your mistake. The victims. The crime scenes. Stalking me. Setting this entire thing in motion. Beating up the security guard. You’ve gone too far. Are you setting me up now? You are despicable.” She detested him and everything he had put the victims through.
“I didn’t do any of these things.”
“Why are you here, then, huh?” Katie tried to keep her wits. “If you didn’t do it, which you did, why are you here?”
“I got a text from you.”
“What?” she said, blinking in surprise.
“You sent me a text saying to meet you here.”
“I don’t believe you,” was the only thing she could say. “Turn around, now!”
“What are you doing?”
“Turn around so I can secure you and get to Lizzy… and I’ll let the police sort all this out.” Katie pointed the gun directly at his head. “Believe me, I know how to use this and won’t hesitate.”
He complied as Katie tied his hands behind his back using the rope in the trash can.
“Why are you so sweaty?” she asked.
“My car broke down and I hurried here.” He turned around to face Katie. “I didn’t do this. I may have done some things that I’m not proud of, but I didn’t kill anyone or set anyone up.”
“I have to say the text messages were a nice touch,” she said sarcastically. “I’m the bait,” she mocked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about—I haven’t sent any texts. You don’t understand, this is all I have. This job. When they put me on suspension my life was over. I found you, Katie Scott, I knew that you would find the killer.”
Katie patted him down and found he had a gun. “What’s this?” she said and took it.
“Think about it! I have no reason to track down female military K9 officers!” He turned to her. “Why would I do that? I have no connection to the military. Why, Katie? Ask yourself!”
Katie really studied Campbell and saw him as a scared and desperate man. She believed him about his job, but… he fit every part of the profile for the killer. The military K9 connection had to be something from his past—something they weren’t aware of yet.
“You do believe me,” he said. “Don’t you?”
“If it’s true what you’re saying, who else would have the same access as you, the skills, capability, knowing what the next steps were?” Her mind raced in several directions. For some strange reason she thought of Jared Stanton and how his parents were the closest people to him, but they were the ones who had killed him and disposed of his body. These cases and victims were close—like family? Close like friends? K9 handlers and trainers—a close-knit group. She saw the crime scenes and Darla Winchell on the Ferris wheel—why? Why was it this particular location? Did it hold something personal to the killer? The murder location wasn’t just a convenience like in the Stanton case. Katie guessed it was someone who had either an abusive past and wanted someone to pay that took something from them—based on the humiliation of the posed victims. Everything in her gut dismissed Agent Campbell as the killer as she studied him.
It had to be someone who knew everything that Agent Campbell knew…
The list of names that Sergeant Serrano had emailed from the training videos… R. Rodriguez… S. Davis… D. Haley…
Katie flashed back to when she arrived at the fairgrounds crime scene and approached her uncle. Of course! He had introduced her to Agent Campbell’s rookie agent.
“I want you to meet Agent Dawn Haley,” said Sheriff Scott.
“It can’t be… but…” Her mind whirled with everything she had read in the reports, the crime scenes, the autopsies with the layered bruising on the chests, the victims’ backgrounds, military K9 training, and what Sadie Caldwell said describing a person with a slight build moving onto Jeanine Trenton’s property. As Agent Haley beamed with enthusiasm at the fairgrounds—obviously a perfectly planned pretext—Katie suddenly remembered seeing a Band-Aid on her right index finger which she carefully tried to keep from view. Of course! Someone who was close to Agent Campbell and knew everything about the cases—watching and waiting. Someone who knew everything about Katie. Watching. Waiting. The pieces of the murder puzzle were steadily being put into place. “DH stands for Dawn Haley,” she said.
Several shots rang out in succession. The bullets ricocheted from the buildings and pinged from metal parts of the rides making a variety of musical noises.
Katie instantly hit the ground and began crawling, army-style, away from the shots. The guns still held aloft in her hands, she commando-crawled on her elbows, moving to a covered area underneath a food kiosk with oversized pictures of hotdogs and iced drinks painted on the side.
“I know it’s you, Agent Haley,” Katie shouted and took aim in the direction where the shots originated. She remembered her fake smiles and overenthusiastic gestures.
Glancing to Agent Campbell, she saw he was bleeding out from being hit in the neck—no doubt the carotid artery. She had seen soldiers bleed out in less than a minute before on the battlefield but she couldn’t let it slow her down or stop her from saving Lizzy. There was nothing that she could do for him. Another unnecessary death.
Katie rolled onto her back and inched away even further. To her best estimation, the bullets were coming from the west and from a higher elevation—probably from a ride.
“What’s the matter, Dawn? You wash out from military K9? Is that what this is all about?” Katie kept moving, skinning her exposed legs against the asphalt. She could now see the Ferris wheel and Lizzy about halfway up. The ride was now stationary, which meant that she was safe for the moment until Katie could safely get to her.
“Someone a victim in your family? Something horrible happened to them at a fair?” called Katie as she searched her mind through the articles Denise had brought her. There was a murder at one of the new fun house exhibits.
Two more bullets struck the building just above her.
“Wow. You figured that out all by yourself. I thought you were supposed to be a better profiler than that. Fairs and carnivals were supposed to be a place for family and fun,” Dawn said.
“But not for you. Who was it, Dawn?” Katie tried to gain more time keeping her talking so that she could get to Lizzy.
“She was my mother,” Dawn said with hatred. “A miserable, abused drug addict. I would watch her apply hideously heavy makeup that sh
e thought looked beautiful before she went to do her sex business. But… nobody should be a victim to rape and murder. May she and her killer rot in hell.”
“So she didn’t take care of you—love you—is that what this all about? C’mon, Dawn, you’re a walking serial killer profile. And the wash out at the military training. Poor you. That’s so boring. Tell me something that I don’t know.”
“You don’t know anything!” she yelled and her voice cracked.
Got her…
Katie knew that now Dawn was emotional, she could make a mistake. That’s where Katie’s strength would come from—the killer’s mistake would give her the upper hand. It was the way it had to be.
“You weren’t cut out for K9. It takes special, intelligent people with a true bonded relationship with a dog.” She waited for the next bullets so she could see the muzzle flash. Bracing herself on her back and holding her aim steady between her knees.
Like clockwork, two shots fired again in her direction with a fiery flash.
Katie fired back with three shots in quick sequence.
It was unclear if she had hit Agent Haley or not. It was quiet and then finally…
“I didn’t wash out!” the agent yelled. “It was taken from me. They lied! I never washed out! If it wasn’t for the precious Jeanine and those others, I would have made it without any problems. It was because of them. I didn’t wash out!”
“Seems to me you did,” said Katie as she moved closer to the ride. There was another ride near the Ferris wheel that flung people up and down that she could use as her cover.
“Once I found out you solved cold cases and were a military K9, I couldn’t resist. That was my only mistake. I should’ve killed you a long time ago. It would have been so easy—and your death would remain a cold case.”
Katie thought that Dawn was getting closer and moving in on her. She slipped her cell phone from her bra strap and pressed McGaven’s number, clumsily typing with a bloody hand, 911 fairgrounds.