A Killer Past (20 page)

I
T TOOK
J
ACK
an hour to contact Andy Crouse, Rodriguez’s parole officer, and another hour before they had a judge’s signature on a search warrant, but by mid-afternoon a convoy of Rivershore police cars was heading for Jose Rodriguez’s house, followed by one parole officer and one assistant district attorney.

No drug-sniffing dogs were available.

Neither Todd Mickelson, the assistant DA who had insisted on coming along to oversee the operation – which, in Jack’s opinion, meant he was along to make sure they didn’t screw up – nor Andy Crouse were to enter the premises until Jack and the other officers were sure the house was clear. And, just in case one of Rodriguez’s gang members showed up unexpectedly, Mickelson and Crouse were to wear bulletproof vests, just like the rest of them.

They arrived at Rodriguez’s house without lights or sirens and parked down the street. One by one, they moved into position, Jack taking the front door, while Officers Mendoza, VanDerwell, and Carlson covered the sides and back.

When a knock produced no response, Jack tried the doorknob. To his surprise, the door was unlocked. He let the others know the situation and then entered the house, calling out his presence. Quickly he cleared the single-level ranch-style house. Finding no one inside, he opened the back door and let Officers Mendoza and VanDerwell in and then signaled for Mickelson and Crouse to join them.

Room by room they went through the house, looking through cabinets and drawers, tearing the couch and chairs apart, cutting open the mattresses. At first Jack was glad they didn’t find anything
too easily. He didn’t want Rodriguez yelling it was a set-up, that drugs had been planted by the Rivershore Police Department. But after forty-five minutes of searching with no results, Jack began to fear they’d find nothing at all.

The look the assistant DA gave him didn’t help. Mickelson wasn’t saying anything, but it was clear he thought the search was a bust. And then Officer Mendoza called them into the master bedroom and pointed out how one of the drawers in the dresser didn’t seem as deep as the others. They found several bags of weed under the false bottom, but Jack wanted more than a few bags of marijuana, and urged them all to keep looking.

It was Mickelson who discovered the hidden storage area under the living-room floorboards, probably because the man weighed over three hundred pounds. Mickelson had basically called it a day, and was waddling toward the front door, ready to get in his car and drive back to his office, when Jack heard a board creak under Mickelson’s leather shoes. Jack didn’t mind that the assistant DA received the credit for finding the cocaine. Considering the way the drugs were concealed, Jack was also pretty sure David Burrows hadn’t planted that evidence.

All in all, they found twenty pounds of cocaine, nine bags of marijuana, and two hundred grams of crack cocaine. Jack was smiling when he called the chief. Rodriguez wouldn’t be coming back to Rivershore for a long time.

‘Was Shannon supposed to come here?’ Mary asked her daughter-in-law.

‘No. I mean, I thought one of her friends was driving her home, but DeeDee said Shannon never showed up at her car after school. So I thought maybe she got a ride to your place. You know, so she could see her car again.’

‘Give me a minute,’ Mary said and put down the phone. She walked over and looked out the front window. Shannon’s car was still parked in the driveway, its tail light and back fender hanging at an odd angle. If Shannon had come to the house, she hadn’t driven off in her car.

As she stared at the Fusion, a sickening sensation twisted through
Mary. What if her granddaughter did come to check on her car? What if she arrived when those gang members were breaking in?

But no
, she told herself.
That would have been too early.
Rodriguez and his boys had hit her place close to the lunch hour, way before school let out.

Mary started back to the phone, then stopped. They were assuming Shannon disappeared after school. What if she did get someone to drive her over during her lunch hour? What if she was at the house when Rodriguez and his boys arrived?

Mary knew the police had taken the four away. Could there have been a fifth gang member? One who grabbed Shannon?

One person might know.

Mary hurried back to the phone. ‘Clare, I’m going to hang up and call a neighbor. I’ll call you right back.’

She didn’t give her daughter-in-law a chance to object. A click of a button and the press of another made the disconnect and automated the call to Ella Williams. As soon as Ella answered, Mary asked her question. ‘While you were watching my house today, did you see Shannon? Did you see anyone grab Shannon?’

‘No. I haven’t seen her since last night. Why, what happened?’

Mary wasn’t sure what had happened. That was the problem. ‘You said you saw those boys sneaking around my house. How many did you see?’

‘I don’t know. Didn’t they take three away in a police car and one in the ambulance?’

‘Could there have been another one?’

Ella hesitated before answering. ‘I … I’m not sure. I don’t think so.’

‘But you’re sure you didn’t see Shannon?’

Again Ella hesitated before she spoke. ‘I did go to the bathroom,’ she admitted. ‘I’d already called 911, and I took the phone with me, but I just couldn’t hold it anymore. I just had to pee, so I wasn’t away from the window all that long. If she came while I was in there, I guess I could have missed her. Why? What’s wrong?’

‘She didn’t go home,’ Mary said, not sure what to think. ‘Clare’s all worried. She thought maybe she came here, but if you didn’t see her …’

‘If she came while I was in the bathroom …’ Ella didn’t finish. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘It’s not your fault.’ Mary didn’t want her friend blaming herself. ‘She probably never came here. She’s probably over at another friend’s house, or maybe she went to see Robby. He said he’d get her car fixed as soon as possible. She probably went to see him, to make sure he was doing that.’

It sounded logical, yet it didn’t sound like something Shannon would do … go see her dad without telling her mother. And how would she have gotten there?

‘I’m going to call Clare back,’ Mary said. ‘Maybe Shannon’s home by now.’ She certainly hoped so. ‘Again, thanks for your help earlier.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Ella repeated. ‘I shouldn’t have gone to the bathroom.’

‘It’s not your fault,’ Mary assured her, eager to get off the phone. ‘I’ll talk to you later.’

She called her daughter-in-law back as soon as she’d hung up on Ella. ‘Still no Shannon?’ she asked.

‘No.’ Clare sounded tense. ‘I’ve called all of her friends. I even called Robert. No one has seen or heard from her.’

Darn
, Mary had hoped her granddaughter and son were together. ‘Well, I don’t think she came here. We had a little excitement earlier today, and I’m sure someone would have seen her if she’d been around.’

‘What do you mean, “a little excitement”? What’s going on, Mother Harrington?’

Mary knew she might as well tell Clare exactly what had happened. Although she doubted the break-in would be on TV, she was sure something about it would be in the weekly paper. ‘Some kids broke into my house.’ she said. ‘The police were here. I’m sure, if Shannon had come by, she would have come inside to see what was going on.’ Unless she came before the police arrived. ‘Do you know if Shannon attended her afternoon classes?’

‘Of course she attended them. They had testing all day. Besides, my daughter does not skip classes.’

Mary rolled her eyes. She had a feeling Clare didn’t know half of what Shannon did. ‘What about her boyfriend?’

‘Oh, they broke up. Would you believe, he had some wild idea about the two of them traveling through Europe for a year or two. We told Shannon there was no way we were going to allow that, and she might as well forget him.’

‘Call him,’ Mary ordered, knowing Shannon hadn’t forgotten the boy. ‘I’ll bet she’s there.’

‘Why would she…? We told her … Oh, all right.’

‘Then call me back and let me know she’s safe.’ Mary knew she wouldn’t relax until she knew Shannon was OK, until she was sure one of those gang members hadn’t grabbed her.

Less than two minutes passed from the time Mary hung up until the telephone rang again. She’d barely had time to grab the telephone book and turn to the yellow pages section for glass repair. Clare started talking immediately. ‘She’s not there. He said he hasn’t seen her since last hour of class.’

So Shannon was in school through that last hour. That more or less eliminated one of the gang members grabbing her.

‘He said she got a ride with someone driving a black car,’ Clare said. ‘He couldn’t tell who was driving, just that Shannon got into the car on her own.’

A black car.
Mary tensed. Shannon had seen a black car driving up and down Maple on Halloween night. Both of them had seen it. And the car was back the next day, parked just down the street. Maybe it belonged to one of the gang members. Maybe they did have Shannon after all.

‘Clare, I think you’d better call the police. Ask for Sergeant Rossini.’

By the time Jack returned to the police station all he wanted to do was write up his report and head to the Shores for a cold beer. Allison had already left for the day, but she’d been busy while everyone was searching Rodriguez’s house. A pile of ‘While You Were Out’ slips sat on his desk, all marked ‘Urgent.’

The moment Jack saw the names of the callers and their messages, he knew it would be a while before he got that beer. Allison had taken the last message just before leaving the station, so Jack chose that number to call first. ‘Mr Harrington,’ he said. ‘This is
Sergeant Rossini.’

‘About time,’ the man on the other end of the line snapped. ‘Do you realize how many times I’ve called?’

‘I’m sorry, sir. What seems to be the problem?’

‘Problem? My daughter is missing, that’s the problem. You won’t answer my calls. The state police are giving me the runaround, and the FBI won’t do anything. That’s the problem.’

He was nearly shouting, but Jack understood the man’s frustration … and fear. In response, Jack kept his voice level, hoping to calm the man. ‘When did you realize your daughter was missing?’

‘This afternoon. Hours ago. My wife has called you. So has my mother.’

‘Is your mother Mary Harrington?’ Jack asked, though he was sure she had to be Robert Harrington’s mother.

‘Yes. She told us to ask for you specifically. She said you’ve met Shannon.’

Of course
, Jack realized.
The teenager from the night before, the one with the red Fusion.
That they were talking about an older child, not a young one, eased some of Jack’s concern and gave a possible reason for the girl’s disappearance. ‘I have met her,’ he said. ‘She’s a lovely girl. Why do you think she ran away?’

‘She hasn’t run away,’ Harrington shouted. ‘She’s been kidnapped.’

‘And why do you think that?’

‘Why? Because her boyfriend … that is, one of her friends saw her get into a car, and no one’s seen her since.’

That didn’t sound like a kidnapping, but Jack didn’t say so. ‘Have you been contacted about a ransom?’

‘No.’ Robert Harrington hesitated. ‘Not yet. But my mother said that car has been over by her house, was there the night Shannon helped her give out trick-or-treat candy.’

A stalker?
Jack didn’t like the sound of that. ‘Tell me everything you know,’ he said, pulling out a pen and pad of paper.

M
ARY
STARED
AT
the clock. Hours had passed since Clare’s first phone call. Hours of waiting, wondering, and fretting. She’d called Rossini’s cellphone number twice. In each case she’d ended up leaving a message. She’d called the station directly. Same result.

She wanted to drive over to Robby’s, but she didn’t want to leave her house, just in case Shannon showed up there. Every time the phone rang, her stomach churned and her heart raced. She’d hold her breath when the voice on the other end of the line turned out to be Robby or Clare. No news became good news, at least better than some of the scenarios playing through her head.

Was it a kidnapping? Did one of the gang members have Shannon? Were they going to use her granddaughter to punish her?

Mary kept hoping for the best. Maybe this black car had nothing to do with the black car both she and Shannon had seen hanging around the neighborhood. Maybe this black car was driven by a friend of Shannon’s, someone Shannon hadn’t mentioned before, someone who showed up unexpectedly and suggest they go for a ride.

At this very moment Shannon might be in Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo having a blast. Maybe she was at a movie or a concert, eating dinner, or dancing. Maybe, maybe, maybe …

Mary didn’t want to think of other possibilities, but the thoughts kept slipping into her head. Shannon was a beautiful girl, friendly and sweet. A little naïve. No, very naïve. She could easily be duped into offering to help a stranger. Once in his car …

The doorbell rang.

For a moment Mary didn’t move, then slowly she pushed herself to her feet.

Again the doorbell.

‘I’m coming,’ she called, her voice sounding weaker than she wanted. Older. More feeble.

At the door she hesitated. The racing of her heart made her lightheaded, a mixture of dread and excitement stalling her hand. And
then she released the chain and turned the knob.

‘Sergeant,’ she said the moment she realized who it was.

‘May I come in?’

He looked tired, his eyes bloodshot and a stubble of beard covering his normally smooth cheeks and chin. His overcoat was unbuttoned, as if thrown on as a last thought.

‘My granddaughter. Is she…?’ Mary didn’t want to say the word.

‘I have no idea,’ he said and nodded toward her kitchen. ‘I need a coffee.’

‘I’ll fix one.’

He walked by her, heading for the kitchen. She looked up and down the street, half-expecting to see a black car. Wishing she would.

A street light illuminated the SUV parked in front of her house, otherwise the street was empty, houses mere silhouettes under the street lights.

She closed the door and went into the kitchen.

‘I gather you got my message,’ she said as she placed a single-cup container into the coffee maker.

‘I didn’t see the ones on my cellphone until just a while ago. I’d had it on mute, so I never heard those calls, but I saw you’d called the station. Your son did, too.’

‘You’ve talked to him?’

‘I have. The other night you said you’d seen a black car hanging around here. Can you describe it?’

She shook her head and grabbed a clean mug from the cupboard. ‘Black. Four doors. Otherwise looked like half of the cars on the road.’

‘Did you ever see the driver?’

‘Not really.’ She pushed the button to start the coffee. ‘I think it was a man, but I couldn’t be sure. Shannon said the car went by several times Halloween night, and then I thought I saw it following me another day.’

As soon as the machine spat out the last of the coffee, she handed Rossini the mug, then sat down across from him. ‘I don’t even know if that car has anything to do with Shannon’s disappearance,
but the moment Clare said someone had seen Shannon get into a black car, I thought of that one.’

Cradling the mug in his hands, he took a sip of the coffee, then a long gulp. When he set the mug down, he gave a slight nod and a sigh before giving her his full attention. ‘Are you sure your granddaughter has actually disappeared? Maybe this black car belongs to one of her friends. Maybe she’s just off doing her own thing.’

‘That’s what I’m hoping,’ Mary said. ‘But Clare – my daughter-in-law – said she’s called all of Shannon’s friends. Not one knows where she is, not even her boyfriend. Besides, this isn’t like Shannon. She doesn’t just disappear without telling anyone.’

‘You’re sure?’ His tone expressed his disbelief. ‘We parents think we know everything our kids do, but I’ve learned that’s not always true.’

Mary wanted to argue that Shannon wasn’t like that, but she remembered the discussion they’d had about a trip to Europe. Shannon had kept that plan a secret from her parents for a long time. Even now Clare and Robby thought Shannon had broken up with her boyfriend. Mary doubted that was true.

‘Besides,’ Sergeant Rossini added, ‘officially, at her age, your granddaughter is under no obligation to tell anyone where she’s going.’

Mary had thought of that, too. An eighteen-year-old was an adult according to the law. Shannon might still be living with her mom and dad and still be in high school, but legally she was responsible for her own actions.

‘Does that mean you’re not going to do anything?’ Mary knew if he wasn’t, she was. She wasn’t sure what, but she couldn’t just sit around waiting.

‘I didn’t say that.’ He took another gulp of coffee, then pushed himself back from the table. ‘I’ll go talk to your son and daughter-in-law, see if they can give me any additional information. I’ll get a picture of your granddaughter. Maybe talk to this friend who saw your granddaughter get into the car.’

He didn’t sound hopeful. Mostly he sounded tired, and Mary felt a measure of compassion for the man. He’d evidently had a long day, which made her ask, ‘Did you search that Rodriguez guy’s house?’

‘We did.’ He shook his head, but he also smiled. ‘After all, you told me we should.’

‘And?’

Rossini’s smile was bigger, more natural. ‘If your friend planted those drugs, I don’t want to know, but if everything holds up in court, Rodriguez will be out of here for a long, long time.’

‘If you found a lot of drugs, they weren’t planted by David.’ That wasn’t how they worked, at least not when she was a part of the agency. ‘My guess is one of those gang members gave him all the information he needed, someone who’s now decided he doesn’t want to live in Rivershore any longer.’

‘You guys don’t exactly work within the law, do you?’

She wasn’t sure how to answer. The ringing of the phone eliminated the need. ‘Let me get that,’ Mary said. ‘Maybe Shannon’s home.’

It wasn’t Shannon on the phone. Nor Robby or Clare. Ella’s voice was high-pitched and excited. ‘There’s a man at your car, Mary.’

‘There’s someone at my car,’ Mary repeated for Rossini and waved her hand toward the front window.

‘Or maybe it’s a boy,’ Ella continued, and Mary could picture her neighbor at her living-room window, watching all this. ‘He’s wearing one of those hooded sweatshirts, so I can’t really tell. Oh, he put something in your car.’

‘He’s putting …’

Mary didn’t finish. Rossini was already at her front door, pulling it open.