Cold Hunt

by Mary Stone

  “He worked alone most of the time, right? It’s not like anyone was going to find out.”

  Ellie nodded her agreement, dialing the last number on her list. “Hi, Mrs. Hines?”

  “Speaking.” The woman’s voice was short and clipped.

  “This is Detective Kline from Charleston PD.”

  “That’s what the caller ID says. After all this time, someone is finally getting back with me about my Addie?”

  Ellie drew in a deep breath. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I’ve taken over for Detective Jones since he retired, and I’m following up.”

  “How do you follow up when nothing was done in the first place?”

  “Are you saying you never spoke to Jones?”

  The woman scoffed, the sound brittle and filled with pain. “You’re a quick one.”

  “I’m looking at the notes he took, and it says that you gave him information about places Addie frequented when she disappeared, which it says here was often.”

  The woman was silent for a moment. When she finally spoke, fury dripped from every syllable. “My Addie never disappeared on us. And that scumbag detective never called me. I spent every spare moment hanging flyers and posting her picture online. When they found her body, the medical examiner’s office thought I had been notified and called me in to collect her things, like it was no big deal.” A sob tore from the woman’s chest, and she let out an angry, visceral groan that was pure rage. “Unless you’re calling to tell me you found the monster who did that to my sweet Addie, don’t call here ever again.”

  The phone disconnected in Ellie’s ear before she could say anything else.

  Jillian’s expression was grim when their eyes met. “Do you think Fortis knows?”

  “No, but I have to tell him.”

  “How do you think he’ll take it?”

  Ellie shrugged, gathering the evidence she’d collected against Jones. “I don’t know how he could deny how damning this is.”

  “You’re taking a huge risk telling him.” Jillian leaned across the table, pressing her hand down on a file Ellie was trying to pick up until she had her full attention. “If Arthur Fink is telling the truth, I mean. Are you sure you can trust Fortis?”

  Worry walked up Ellie’s spine. “I don’t have a choice.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  Ellie checked her watch. “No. It’s late. Even if I can convince him that Jones is dirty, there’s no guarantee he’ll let me chase this lead right away.”

  “Yeah, and no one ever wants to believe their colleague is dirty.”

  “It’s going to be a tough sell.”

  Jillian helped Ellie put the rest of the files away and motioned toward her desk as she gathered up her things. “Any chance I can get you to bring Sam home with you when you’re done? I need to run to the grocery store and a couple other places, and the last time I left her in the car with food, she helped herself.”

  Sam’s tail thumped against the desk leg. Jillian rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide the grin that spread across her face.

  “Of course, I’ll take her.”

  “You’re a lifesaver.”

  “I’ll see you back at the apartment. Wish me luck.”

  Jillian held up her crossed fingers, grabbed her purse, and headed out the door.

  Ellie knelt beside the desk and narrowed her eyes at Sam, who lay flat on her side in the dark space. “You behave yourself. I’ll be right back.”

  Another happy thump of the tail was her only response.

  “You’re one lucky dog. I’d trade you places in a heartbeat if I could, but I guess I’d better just get it over with.” She teased Sam as she rubbed her ears. “Fortis isn’t going to like what I have to say, and if it gets out that I’m going after another detective, things will most likely get uncomfortable around here.” Ellie closed her eyes and sighed. “I hope I’m wrong, but it’s my job to follow wherever the evidence leads me.”

  Sam whined, her dark eyebrows giving her a worried look as she turned her gaze on Ellie.

  “It’s going to be all right, girl. The truth always comes out in the end.”

  But as Ellie closed the door behind her and made her way down the quiet hallway, Arthur Fink’s warning taunted her.

  Don’t trust anyone. The master controls more than you know.

  If what he’d said was true, admitting that she knew the truth might get her killed.

  27

  Fortis waved her into his office before she could knock. He looked tired, his tanned skin doing almost nothing to hide the dark circles under his hazel eyes. His smile was forced. “I’m about to leave for the day, what’s up?” He gestured to the papers she held in her hands. “Did you get anything good from Arthur Fink?”

  “Yes and no.”

  His brow furrowed. “Why do I have the feeling that I’m not going to like this?”

  “He said the Ben Brooks case went cold on purpose. And it’s not the only case that was mishandled intentionally.”

  Fortis’s face went blank as he leaned back in his leather desk chair. “Are you accusing Jones of being on the take, because you better have receipts with that accusation.” He scanned the doorway over Ellie’s shoulder.

  “Everyone’s left already, sir. I made sure of it before I said anything.” She drew in a quick breath and sighed. “And I wouldn’t throw out those kinds of accusations without some kind of proof.” She handed Fortis the documents she’d brought with her. “That’s why I didn’t come to you right away. I wanted to make damn sure there was a reason to suspect Jones before I told you.”

  “What am I looking at here?”

  “Highlighted in orange is every mystery payment made to his creditors from an unknown third party.” She leaned over his desk so she could direct his attention to her notes. “I wrote the corresponding case numbers in the margins. So far, I’ve been able to link the timeline of him receiving money to five cases.” She paused, making eye contact with Fortis, keeping her shoulders back and spine straight. “That’s five cases, including mine.”

  He scanned the documents, frown deepening with each passing second.

  “There’s more,” she said before he could come to any conclusions.

  “This is bad enough.” He slapped the desk with the fistful of papers he was holding.

  “I agree, but I also found out the people he claimed to have interviewed never spoke to him.”

  Air hissed through Fortis’s teeth. “You’re sure about this?” He shook his head and muttered under his breath. “What am I saying? Of course, you’re sure. You wouldn’t accuse another officer of something like this without proof.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. “Did you tell anyone else about this?”

  “No. Only Jillian knows, and she’s like a vault.”

  “Good. I’ll have him come in tomorrow, and we can talk to him then.”

  Ellie sank slowly into the chair in front of his desk, the adrenaline that had carried her this far beginning to drain away. “We?”

  “The man gave his best years to Charleston PD. He deserves a chance to explain these numbers and everything else.”

  “What if he runs?”

  He frowned down at the papers as if waiting for the words and numerals on them to change. “He won’t.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  He arched one eyebrow at her. “Unless you tell him that he’s a suspect, he won’t know.”

  Ellie’s jaw clenched, and she reached for the papers she’d brought.

  Fortis covered them with his hand. “I’m going to review these tonight.” His expression was unyielding. “You’ll get them back, but what you need to do right now is go home and get some rest. Tomorrow will be a rough one.”

  “I can handle it.” She tilted her chin upward, defiant.

  “Never doubted that, but let’s be real here, Kline.” Leaning forward, he folded his hands on top of Jones’s financial documents, his hazel eyes intense. “It’s no secret th
at there were a lot of unhappy people when you were promoted, whether you deserved it, or your name got you where you are.” She started to argue, but he held up his hand. “Let me finish. You are a driven detective, and you have a natural talent for the job that can’t be taught. But the grumbling about you has just died down. We’ll do this my way.” He pinned her with a stare. “Are you listening?”

  She nodded once. “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. I’ll run point on it and say you’re sitting in because it’s your case. If anyone asks, I’m the one who brought Jones up and looked into his financials. Let them be angry at me for going after one of our own.” He gave her a wry grin. “That’s why I make the big bucks.”

  She forced her fingers to let loose of the arms of the chair that she’d unwittingly gripped. “Fine. Do you want me to take Jacob with me to bring him in tomorrow morning?”

  Fortis shook his head and arranged the stack of papers neatly before putting them in his briefcase. “No. I want you to come to work like normal tomorrow, and if anyone mentions that I brought Jones in before I call you to the interview room, act surprised.” He nodded to the door. “We’re done here, Kline. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Ellie dialed Jillian’s number as soon as she was out of the parking lot.

  “Do you still have a job?” Jillian asked when she answered.

  Ellie laughed, some of the tension lifting away. “Yes. I’m leaving the parking lot now.”

  “Glad it went well.”

  She scowled into the dark, turning a corner and getting onto the highway. Beside her on the passenger seat, Sam was already fast asleep. “I’m not so sure about that.”

  “What happened? Did he believe you?”

  “Yes,” Ellie bit out, and beside her, Sam lifted her head in response to her sharp tone.

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  Ellie gripped the steering wheel tighter, glancing at the GPS screen in the dash, and turning her attention back to the road. “He took the bank statements and the notes I made and put them in his briefcase.”

  Jillian sucked in a short breath. “That’s not good.”

  “This thing with Fink has me paranoid. Fortis insisted that he run point on this, and he’ll bring me in tomorrow morning after he has Jones in interrogation. He’s going to frame it like he was the one who found out Jones might be dirty, and I’m just there to observe because it affects my cases.”

  “That’s bullshit.”

  Ellie nodded and checked the navigation again. Three more miles. “He made it sound like he was trying to protect me from backlash in the department.”

  “He could be telling the truth.”

  “Or he could be involved somehow. Jillian, what if he knew about Jones the entire time?”

  “Arthur Fink did warn you that it was bigger than just him and Jones.”

  Ellie tapped her thumbs on the steering wheel, trying to release some of the anxiety building inside her. “But Fortis?”

  “You can’t afford to be too careful.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Ellie, where are you? If you were coming home, you would’ve been here by now.” Ellie took the exit for Piedmont Avenue, and when she didn’t answer right away, Jillian groaned. “You’re going to Jones’s place, aren’t you?”

  “I’m just driving by. I’ll be home soon.”

  “Be careful, Ellie.”

  “Sam’s with me. I’ll be fine.”

  Jillian laughed, and Sam lifted her head, tilting her head quizzically. “That doesn’t make me feel better. Don’t do anything stupid.”

  “I won’t.” They both knew it was a lie.

  Ellie made a right down a quiet cul-de-sac and slowed, checking the addresses against the one she’d written down. She parked her SUV two houses down and patted Sam on the head. “I’ll be right back.”

  Sam let out a sigh, groaned, and turned in the seat so she was on her back, belly in the air.

  Ellie rolled her eyes. “Good thing I have you with me for protection.”

  Jones’s house was dark, though most of his neighbors were just getting home, and others could be seen in kitchen windows, finishing up after a late dinner.

  She was halfway up the front walkway when she spotted him in the rocking chair on the porch, sitting in the shadows. A jolt of adrenaline shot through her at his unexpected presence.

  “I thought I’d see you soon.” His deep voice rumbled out of the darkness.

  “Hey, Jones.”

  “We haven’t formally met, but I know you, so I’m not surprised you know who I am.” He chuffed, leaning back and rocking the chair with his foot. “Who gave me up?”

  “I’m not at liberty to share that information.”

  He shrugged, and the floorboards creaked beneath the rocking chair runner. He fished a cigarette out of his shirt pocket and struck a match, the orange glow illuminating his face for a moment as he lit the tip. “These things will kill you, you know. Buried my wife because she wouldn’t give up cigarettes until it was too late.” He turned away from Ellie, facing modest houses where children danced in family rooms, and laughter flowed out an open window. “It seems so ordinary, doesn’t it?”

  “What?” She moved her hand near her gun, resting easily on her hip. Ready.

  “This night. All these families just living together and loving every minute. That’s why this happened, you know?”

  “That’s why I’m here. I want to know. I wanted to get your side of things.” She took a cautious step forward.

  He ignored the move. “I gave the department everything I had, and we barely scraped by. I missed their first steps and first words. Bedtime routines and bubble baths. By the time I had enough seniority to work better hours, my kids were teens.” He turned back her way, meeting her steady gaze. “No matter how hard you try, kids hate you then. Nothing I did made them happy.” He took a long drag on his cigarette. The ember glowed brighter and faded as he blew out the smoke. “We were drowning in debt, and a man approached me about a case I was spinning my wheels on.”

  “Was that the first one?”

  “It was. I know you think you would never do the same, but I was desperate, and the case was already going cold, I just hastened the process along. The money saved my house.” The tip of the cigarette glowed bright orange again. “It starts off that way. They ask for something small that seems inconsequential.”

  “Do you remember her name?”

  He nodded. “I’m the only one who remembers anything about that poor girl. No one makes a fuss when a strung-out, drugged-up prostitute is found murdered in a dark alley. People are just glad the trash took itself out. Hell of a society we live in.”

  “That doesn’t make what you did all right.”

  “No.” He shook his head, took a deep breath, and held the smoke in with his eyes closed for a moment before letting it out. “No, it doesn’t. But she was already dead, and nothing was going to change that.”

  “How many were there?”

  “I couldn’t tell you.” He jabbed the cigarette in her direction. “I’m a good detective. One of the best Charleston PD has ever had.”

  “You’re a dirty cop. There’s nothing good about that.”

  He sat up straight, making his face more visible in the pale yellow wash of the streetlight. For a moment, she thought he was going to come at her, but then he sat back, chuckling. “It’s easy for you to say that. You’ve never had to wonder if your wife would have to work to put food on the table. I bet you’ve never had to choose between braces and broccoli. You can judge me all you want, but until you have kids and no way to put them through college, let alone getting them everything they need to make it through high school, you have no idea what it’s like in the real world, little girl.”

  His words were meant to rile her up, but Ellie stood her ground. “You can lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me. I can hear it in your voice. You never wanted to do this.”

  “You’re right about that.
If I’d said no, they would’ve hurt my family.”

  “You can set this right.”

  “I have nothing left and no reason to do any of this anymore. The love of my life is in an urn on the mantel, and my kids only call me when they need something. I wasted my life protecting this city, and look what it got me.” He flicked off the ashes, gesturing broadly at the neighborhood. “An empty house my kids will fight over when I’m gone and a lonely ass existence. I sacrificed everything, and I have nothing to show for it.”

  “Is Valerie alive?”

  He didn’t act surprised, and he didn’t hesitate to answer. “She was when I dropped her off before dawn this morning. Drugged out of her mind, but that will wear off.”

  She couldn’t tell if he was telling the truth, but she had to believe that he was.

  “If you tell me where she is, I can talk to the judge. If you cooperate, it’ll look good on you, with your accolades with the department. Maybe I get you into witness protection. You can turn them in.” She took another step. “Jones, you can save Valerie’s life and be a hero.”

  His laugh was hollow. “You’re so naïve. They’ll make an example of me and throw me into general population. I’ll be dead before the trial. And that’s if the master doesn’t have me killed first.”

  That name again.

  “Who is the master? Tell me his name.”

  “It won’t do you any good.”

  Ellie lifted her chin. “Let me decide that.”

  He was quiet for so long that she felt he’d never speak again. After a good minute went by, he finally said, “Doctor X.” He shook his head and laughed again. “No one knows his name. Even if you did, he’s untouchable. You have no idea what money can buy you.” His upper lip curled back, and his eyes narrowed. “I take that back. You, of all people, should know that money can get you anything your heart desires. Even a new heart when you’re too old to enjoy it.”

  Ellie flinched at the obvious jab at her father. How much did he know about the Kline family? How much did Doctor X know? “No one will blame you for what you did. You had no choice.”