Authors: Roseanne Dowell
“A rosary? What the hell we have here a religious criminal?”
“Either he’s a religious criminal or we’re in trouble.” Jim pulled a plastic bag from his pocked, grinned, shrugged, put the brown rosary into the bag, and handed it to Callie. “If it hadn’t been for the silver crucifix I might not have seen it.”
“What do you mean, we’re in trouble?” Callie slid the bag into her pocket.
“Could mean someone thinks they’re doing God’s work.”
Callie shivered. Just what they didn’t need. “Let’s go inside, look around. Maybe he left something more identifying.”
They met the forensic team at the door. “Go around to the window on the side, dust for prints.” Callie unlocked the door.
Nothing out of place. Didn’t look like there’d been a struggle. Her mother would have mentioned that. Was it someone Gram knew?
“You check the kitchen, I’ll check her bedroom.” The bedroom seemed more private. Not that her grandmother wasn’t free to do what she wanted, but still. Everything looked normal, bed made. Callie checked the hamper. That’s odd, no dirty clothes. She met Jim in the hall. “No dirty clothes in the hamper. I wonder how long Gram’s been gone.”
“Nothing out of place in the kitchen. What’s in there?”
Callie flipped the lights on to Gram’s office. “Everything looks okay here, too.”
Jim went to the window, pulled up the shade. The guys were still working outside. “Window doesn’t look the worse for being pried open.”
Callie looked around the small office. Papers all appeared to be in order. One drawer, stood partially opened. “That’s not like Gram. She had a thing for keeping drawers closed. Even when we were little she stressed closing drawers and cupboards.
” She covered her hand with her shirt and eased the drawer open farther. “Only some pens and pencils.”
“Doesn’t look like we’re going to find much here. Let’s check with the neighbors, see if they saw or heard anything.”
Jim turned to leave.
“Wait. What’s this?” Callie picked up a card from the desk. “Holy picture?” Callie turned it over. “Margaret of Cortona? Patron Saint of the Falsely Accused. What do you suppose that means?”
“Looks like someone has a grudge against your grandmother. Let’s go check with the neighbors and then we’ll see if your grandmother sentenced someone who’s been paroled recently.”
“I’ll call and put Peters on it.” Callie pulled out her phone. “Oh, Mom checked with Mrs. Tucker next door. I’ll talk to Mrs. Erwin across the street, you check with Mr. Kirsch on the driveway side. Maybe he saw something.”
***
“Only thing Mrs. Erwin saw was Gram come home about nine thirty.” Callie compared notes with Jim.
“Mr. Kirsch said he was locking
up about 10:30 and someone turned around in Jess’s drive. Nothing unusual, people turn around in drives all the time.”
“Or it could have been something. But if he can’t identify the car, it doesn’t help us much. Let’s get back to the office. See if Peters came up with something.”
Chapter 16
Something told Jessica this wasn’t going to pass. Not this time. Spending a night in jail was the epitome of horror, but nothing compared to this. Wiggling her fingers helped ease some of the numbness in her hands, but not much. The rope burned her wrists every time she moved even a little. How much longer was this guy going to keep her tied up? It wasn’t like she could go anywhere. At least the jail cell had a window. Some light coming in.
How long before someone missed her? Not that it mattered; they wouldn’t know where to look for her. Damn it, she didn’t want to die in this cold,
dark room. Alone. If only she could get up, walk around. The duct tape cut into her ankles. To make matters worse, she had to pee.
The lock turned in the door. Maybe he’d cut her loose. Let her move around. Whoever the hell ‘he’ was. Why would anyone want to kidnap her? She wasn’t rich. No one would pay ransom for her. Hell, no one in her family could afford it. And how the hell had he gotten in? The door was still locked. Must have been a window, but where? How?
If only he’d take the tape off her mouth, let her talk. Not that she could talk herself out of this. But it was worth a try. It’d be nice to know who he was and what he hoped to accomplish. He just kept mumbling some kind of prayer or chant over and over again.
Bright light shined in her eyes. He entered the room, but Jess couldn’t see anything but a shadow behind the light. He stood there, looking at her. Why didn’t he speak? Finally he set something on a table in the corner. A tray of food, hopefully, because then he’d have to take the tape off her mouth. Maybe even untie her hands, unless he planned to feed her. God, if she could just use the bathroom.
He came toward her, ripped the tape from her mouth. Damn it hurt. He still shined the light in her eyes, bright, blinding light. She closed her eyes and turned her head against it.
“I’m going to untie your hands. Don’t try
nothing funny.”
“Can I use the bathroom, please?”
“There’s a potty chair in the corner.” He shined the light across the room.
A coal bin! Black soot covered the walls. No wonder there weren’t any windows. Jess rubbed her wrists, getting some circulation back into her hands. “Can you take the tape off my legs? I can’t stand up.”
He leaned down, cut the tape between her ankles and stood back. “Don’t try nothing.”
“I won’t.” God it felt good to be able to move her legs. She managed to get to her feet, walked to the potty chair and looked at him. Surely he wasn’t going to stand there and watch. Apparently he was.
He motioned for her to do her business. At this point it didn’t matter, she was damn near ready to pee her pants.
The
tiny room held a table in the corner where he’d set a tray of food, a small chair, and the sleeping bag she’d been sitting on until now. How long did he plan on holding her here? And what did he want? Finished with her business, she stood.
He motioned her to the table with the food. Not very talkative. Jess sat and lifted the lid covering the tray. A toasted cheese sandwich and tomato soup. Not a very nourishing breakfast. If it was breakfast time. Better than nothing. “What time is it?” Stupid question, but she had to start a dialogue somehow.
“Seven o’clock.”
Jess took a bite of the sandwich. Damn, she was hungry. Not the best sandwich, kind of greasy. Almost oily. Obviously he didn’t use butter. Still, it was better than nothing. “I don’t suppose you want to tell me why you kidnapped me.”
He looked at her. Grinned an evil grin, mumbled something or laughed, she wasn’t sure which, but some kind of horrible sound came out of his mouth, then he turned and left. The lock turned in the door. At least he left the light.
Too bad she hadn’t let Jim follow her home like he suggested. But would she have invited him in? That was the only thing that stopped her. They were moving too quickly. Hell, at their age, they should move quickly. Wasn’t that what Jim said? She smiled at the memory. Jim pressured her to go on vacation. Most she’d agree to was a day fishing. He’d be looking for her in a couple hours. They agreed to meet at nine.
If she got out of here, things were definitely going to change between them. It was time for a vacation. Maybe even time to retire. It was time to enjoy life. If only she could get out of here.
How that was going to happen she’d never know. No way could she overpower him. It wasn’t that he was a big man, but he scared her. His attitude. That evil grin. Those guttural sounds he made. What did he plan to do with her?
***
Callie followed Jim into the office. Poor guy was beside himself with worry. He cared more about her grandmother than she’d realized.
“Peters, what’d you find out?” Jim’s booming voice filled the station.
“Nothing, sir. Absolutely nothing. No one’s been released in the last six months.” Peters looked up from the computer.
“Look back farther. Go back a year.” Jim sat on the edge of the desk.
Callie’s phone rang. Her mother. Damn, what was she going to tell her? “Hi,
Mom. I was just about to call you.” Only a little white lie. “No, we haven’t found her yet. Did Gram say anything about someone following her or threatening her?”
“No, why? What’s going on, Callie?”
“Well someone broke into her office window and left a holy card on her desk.” No point saying anything about the rosary.
“You call me the minute you know something. I’m going to call your aunts now. They don’t know she’s missing.”
Oh, lord, last thing she needed was her aunts descending down on her. Aunt Ethel would insist on helping. Try to take over. Hopefully, today was her babysitting day.
Callie never felt so helpless in her life. Worse than when she was attacked. Could the two incidents be related? Maybe another look in the alley was in order. Maybe Jim missed something. Okay, she was grabbing at straws. Jim was the most thorough investigator she knew, but she had to see for herself.
“I’m going out to the alley, Jim. Maybe something will spark a memory.”
“You think Jess’s disappearance has something to do with your attack?”
Callie shrugged. “I don’t know, but I can’t just sit here.”
***
Callie looked around the alley. Nothing to be seen here. She started back to the street when she noticed the surveillance camera on the Billie’s Restaurant across the street. Could that hold the answer? How long did they keep their tapes? Time to find out.
Callie hurried into the station, surveillance tapes in hand. “Peters, set up the VCR.” Old technology, but business folks around had a theory, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Jim got up. “What’s that?”
“Surveillance tape from Billie’s. Might show something from the night I was attacked.”
“Damn, whyn’t I think of that?”
Peters slid the tape in and the three of them sat on edge while Peters fast forwarded to the day and time Callie was attacked.
“There. Stop!” Callie jumped up. “What the hell? That’s the guy my aunt insisted I meet.”
“Is he the guy that attacked you?” Jim sat back on the desk.
“Yep, look he’s wearing a hoodie.”
A few seconds later, he pulled it up before he walked into the alley.
“I’ll be damned.” Jim snapped his fingers.
“He looks familiar. Where have I seen him before?”
Just then Aunt Ethel stormed into the station. “What’s going on here? Watching movies instead of looking for my mother?”
Callie motioned Peters to stop the tape. “We’re working Aunt Ethel, not watching a movie. What can I do for you?” As if she didn’t know.
“You can find your grandmother, that’s what you can do.”
Before Callie could answer, Aunt Lottie came in, Charlie in tow. He held a stuffed dinosaur in his hand. Dinosaur, dragon, that’s it! She snapped her fingers. “He has a dragon tattooed on his wrist. I remember seeing it just before he knocked me down.”
“Who has a dragon tattoo? Talk sense, Callie,” Aunt Lottie said.
“My attacker. That guy.”
“Never mind your attacker, what about your grandmother?” Aunt Ethel stepped forward. “Quit thinking about yourself.”
“Now just a damn minute, you happen to be talking to the new chief. Show a little respect.” Jim stepped forward.
“Humph, talking to my niece as if it was any of your business.” Ethel spun around.
“Now you hold on here, little lady. You don’t come into the police station and talk to your niece or me like that. I know you’re worried about your mother. We all are! Don’t give you the right to talk to anyone like that.”
Ethel took in a big breath, puffed herself out. Uh oh, Jim was in for it now. Didn’t matter that he was the ex chief, didn’t matter
Gram was sweet on him, all that mattered was her mother was missing. Callie opened her mouth to say something, but the door banged open before she got a word out.
Aunt Beatrice Lulu stomped in, yelling at the top of her lungs, “Callie Johnson, what the hell is going on around here? What do you mean not calling and telling me my mother’s missing? I got to hear it from the rumor mill?”
“Excuse me. I was speaking.” Ethel turned her attention to Aunt Beatrice Lulu.
“What are you doing with a picture of Alfred up there?” Aunt Beatrice Lulu pointed to the TV screen.
“Alfred. Alfred what?” Callie turned her attention to her aunt. He could hold the answer to her grandmother’s disappearance.
“Alfred Doefert. Don’t you pay attention to anything, Callie? I introduced you.”
“Look up his address.” Callie directed her comment to Peters.
“Okay,
ladies, we have work to do and I promise to keep you all informed of any news. If we find Gram, you’ll be the first to know.” Callie put her hand on Ethel’s and Lottie’s back and ushered them to the door, pushing Aunt Beatrice Lulu along with them.
“Here’s the address.” Peters held a piece of paper out to her. “I remember this jerk, he’s related to the guy we arrested with Sanders.”