They looked at each other, then back at her.
“Know they’re dead,” the blonde said.
“Know who they work for?”
“No,” they said quickly.
“Ramon Blackmon?”
“Never heard of him.”
Tori smiled. “Oh, come on. This is his area. I want to talk to him.”
“Hey, man, he didn’t do this.”
“I don’t think he did. I’m looking for johns,” she said.
“You know how it works, officer. We don’t take names. Not like they give a real one, anyway.”
Tori nodded. They were scared, she could tell that. But they weren’t talking. She pulled out her card and handed it to the blonde.
“Call me if you hear something, okay? Streets aren’t safe for you girls right now. You need to be careful who you pick up,” she said.
“So what’s new?”
Chapter Eight
Samantha was late. She’d spent the weekend at Robert’s but had planned on going home Sunday. He’d talked her into staying. She’d barely had time to run home and shower, then she caught the morning traffic. Now it was eight-fifteen and she hurried into the squad room, tossing a quick “good morning” to Sergeant Fisk as she passed by.
“Sorry I’m late,” she said to Tori as she pulled out her chair.
“No problem.”
“Did you have a good weekend?” she asked. She’d told herself she was going to attempt to get along with Hunter. And she was determined to draw her partner out. Whatever the consequences.
“It was lovely,” Tori said dryly. “You?”
Samantha was startled by the question.
“Yes. Caught up on sleep,” she offered.
“Is that why you’re late? Slept in?”
Samantha smiled. “No. I was at Robert’s. Had to swing by my apartment this morning.”
Tori nodded. She would make an effort. She had spent all day Sunday on her boat. She had fished and relaxed. And she told herself that she was being too hard on Samantha. What would it hurt to open up a little?
“The boyfriend. Is it serious?”
Samantha stared. Tori was actually asking a personal question. Whatever in the world was wrong with her?
“Not marriage serious,” she said, leaning forward. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Excuse me?”
“Body snatchers?”
Tori smiled. “Yes. Don’t worry. They’ll return my evil twin by afternoon.”
“Hunter, Kennedy. In here.”
They both looked up as Malone stuck his head out of his office. They looked back at each other and shrugged.
“What’s up?” Tori asked as she took one of the chairs in front of his desk.
“How’s your Jane Doe?”
“Dead end. No one’s talking. Can’t find Ramon Blackmon. As far as I know, he’s just a name.”
“And the girls?”
“No ID. No priors.”
“Okay. CIU is requesting bodies. They got another terrorist alert. Oil and gas this time. There’s an old gas pipeline company east of the city. It’s spread over about twenty acres. It’s one of three that aren’t in use right now. They need a hand checking them out. I’ve sent Donaldson and Adams out to Mesquite. You guys run by there, make sure everything’s quiet.”
“It’s not like we don’t have a case, Lieutenant,” Tori said. “Can’t the local sheriff do it?”
“Your case is a dead end, Hunter. You said so yourself. Besides, Sikes and Ramirez are both out. It’ll just take an hour to drive out there. Make sure nothing’s going on, no vehicles, no activity. Report to CIU and head back. Simple.”
“If it’s so simple, why aren’t they doing it?”
“Because they’ve got their hands full with the ones that are active, Hunter. That’s obviously the most likely target. But we all know that the ones that are shut down still have tons of shit underground. It’s not like they secure the area when they close up shop.”
“Four thousand cops on the force and it falls to Homicide?”
“Give me a break, Hunter. I’m just following orders.”
“Come on, Tori. It’ll be fun. Give us a chance to talk,” Samantha said.
“Fun? Talk?” She followed Samantha out the door. “Sam, just because we had a little chat this morning, doesn’t really change anything. I’m still a bitch.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that for a minute. And I’d hardly call that a chat.”
Tori allowed a smile to touch her face, one she kept hidden from Samantha. She rapped her knuckles on the counter. “Fisk? Lieutenant’s sending us to damn near Terrell. You got a Lexus or something gassed up and ready to go?”
“Sure, Hunter. Why don’t you just take the Mercedes?” He grabbed keys off the rack and tossed them to her. “213. Bring it back in one piece.”
Samantha watched this exchange with eyes wide. She’d never seen Tori tease with anyone before. And especially Fisk. If there was anyone in the office that intimidated her, it was this giant of a man.
The Mercedes ended up being a drab beige Ford. Standard issue. No perks. Samantha didn’t even suggest that she drive. She went obediently to the passenger’s side.
Tori maneuvered them through downtown and to the interstate in silence. They were several miles away when the silence got to Samantha.
“Where do you live?”
Tori glanced at her then back at the road.
“Why?”
“Just curious. Just making conversation,” she said.
“I have a tiny apartment on the south side of Dallas. Near Oak Cliff. Don’t go there much, though. I have a boat, a cabin cruiser, on Eagle Mountain Lake. That’s more home, but I don’t make it out there too much, either.”
“So, I was right. You don’t sleep.”
Oak Cliff? Good Lord, why would a cop live near Oak Cliff?
“I didn’t say that.”
“Okay. You just don’t sleep in your own bed. Nothing wrong with that.”
“Like you didn’t sleep in your own bed this weekend?”
“So, is there someone special?” Samantha asked, ignoring Tori’s own question.
“Special?”
“You know, a girlfriend,” Samantha prompted.
Tori laughed. “No girlfriend, no one special.”
“One-night stands? Every night?”
“If I had the energy,” she murmured. “No, downstairs in the gym, there’s a cot in the locker room.”
“I see. No wonder you beat me to work each morning.” Samantha glanced at her. “Does Malone know?”
“Of course. Who do you think put the cot down there?”
Samantha hesitated, then turned to Tori again. “Why don’t you go home?”
Tori tightened her hands on the wheel. If this had been last week, she’d have told her to mind her own fucking business. But this was a new week and Tori was making an effort.
“You were right. I don’t sleep much,” Tori finally said. “I stay up here late. I usually go to the gym to work out anyway. I don’t see the point of driving home when it’s after midnight just to turn around and drive back.”
Samantha wanted to ask more questions, but she dared not. She saw the grip Tori had on the wheel, saw the frown that creased her forehead. She thought she would change the subject.
“How will we know if anything is out of the ordinary? I mean, it’s not like we know what a shut-down gas pipeline is supposed to look like. Do we?”
Tori shrugged. “Maybe there’ll be all kinds of activity and we can call the boys at CIU to come to our rescue.”
“Somehow, I can’t see you doing that,” Samantha said.
Malone had been right. It took them only an hour to reach the area. They had to stop at a convenience store for directions, and now they drove down the tiny country road, past hay meadows and crop fields. They saw the towers of the old plant from a mile away. Tori slowed her speed and they pulled to a stop at the locked gate. They got out and stood in front of the car, scanning the buildings for any activity, listening for noise.
“What do you see?” Tori asked.
“Nothing.”
“Look in front of the gate.”
“There’s nothing. No tracks.”
“No. Not there. But look up ahead, about fifteen, twenty yards,” she said, pointing.
There, in the dirt, looked like fresh tire tracks. But not by the gate. Then Samantha looked closer. The dirt looked almost as if it had been brushed, obscuring the tracks.
“Oh shit,” she murmured.
“Come on.”
Tori turned the car around, then parked on the side of the road.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re going to have a look,” Tori said.
“Shouldn’t we just call it in?”
“Call what in? Tire tracks? So they can send in a SWAT team and find out there’s nothing here? We would never hear the end of it.”
Tori was already walking back down the road. Samantha jogged to catch up. She was afraid she was about to see Tori Hunter in action. And she wasn’t sure she was prepared for it.
“How are we going to get in?”
“Climb the fence.”
“There’s barbed wire at the top,” Samantha pointed out.
“Yes, there is.”
Samantha kept her mouth shut. It was pointless to ask questions. She followed along silently, stopping when Tori did about twenty yards from the gate. She watched as Tori scanned the area, then followed her across the ditch to the fence.
“Take your jacket off,” Tori instructed.
“My jacket?”
“We need something to wrap around the wire.”
“My jacket? Do you know how much this jacket cost?”
Tori stood with her hands on her hips and stared at Samantha. She finally held out her hand.
Samantha took off the jacket. She watched as Tori climbed the ten-foot fence, dangling from the side with one arm as she wound the jacket around the barbed wire with the other. Then she swung her leg over, sitting across the wire.
“Damn,” she hissed. Even with jeans, the barbs stuck her. She pulled her leg free, then dropped to the ground on the other side.
Samantha stared at her. She looked down at her own slacks and loafers, then back at Tori’s jeans and sneakers.
“Come on, Sam,” Tori said impatiently.
“You seriously expect me to do that?”
“Climb up, swing your legs over, jump down. How hard is it?”
Samantha closed her mouth. She refused to complain. So she ripped her pants? So her jacket was ruined? By God, she was following Tori Hunter over the goddamn fence!
Easier said than done. She got to the top but didn’t have the strength to pull herself over.
“Jesus Christ,” Tori mumbled. She climbed back up and reached over, grabbing Samantha by the thigh and pulling one leg over.
“Ouch… damn, Hunter. You’re ripping my leg off. Will you watch it?” She teetered on the top, her eyes squeezed closed as she felt her flesh ripping from the barbs. Tori moved along the fence, reaching over again to grab her other leg.
“Will you come on?”
“I hate you. You know that, don’t you?”
Tori ignored her, instead pulling her leg free of the barbs and nearly pushing her to the ground. She landed on her ass. Tori dropped down beside her, a grin on her face.
“That was great.”
“If you tell anyone what just happened, I’ll shoot you,” Samantha threatened.
Tori laughed, then reached out a hand and pulled Samantha to her feet. Jogging the rest of the way to the first building, they walked quietly along the side to the door. They paused and listened. Nothing. She tried the handle, but it was locked. They walked down to the windows and peered inside. It was dark, but they saw no movement.
“Come on. Let’s go around back,” Tori said quietly.
They rounded the corner, then stopped, both pressing themselves against the side. Three trucks were parked in the back and several men stood around them.
“Now seems like a good time to call it in,” Samantha whispered.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Tori grabbed her cell phone, never taking her eyes off the men. She punched out the number without looking. “Fisk? Tell Malone to send the troops. Yes.” She looked behind them. “Oh shit!” She folded her cell phone as two men approached them from behind. She grabbed Samantha’s hand and started running toward the towers. Shouts, then gunfire followed them.
They slipped behind one tower, pausing to get their bearings. It was at least two hundred yards to the woods and another fence. Between them and that lay ground wells.
“Come on, Sam. Run!”
“Don’t call me Sam!”
Tori passed by two wells before stopping. At the third, she grabbed the metal ladder and lowered herself down.
“Come on,” she yelled.
“Oh, shit,” Samantha murmured. But she followed Tori down the hole. “Do I
even
want to know what’s down here?”
“No.”
They crawled down the ladder nearly thirty feet before the rungs ran out. Tori felt for a ledge and found one. A tiny one, barely a foot wide. She stepped gingerly onto it, guiding Samantha down beside her. They both pressed back against the damp wall. Up above, they heard shouts.
“They don’t know which well we went into,” Tori said quietly.
“Great. Is now a good time to tell you that I’m claustrophobic?”
“No.” Tori turned, facing Samantha, then stepped around her, straddling her body with both legs as she struggled to stay on the tiny ledge.
“Do we really know each other well enough for this?” Samantha whispered as she felt Tori’s body pressed up tight against her own.
“You wish,” Tori chuckled, then reached around her to grab the ladder. She put her hand at Samantha’s waist and pushed off, hanging on to the ladder with both hands.
“Stay here.”
“Like I’m going somewhere,” Samantha whispered. She couldn’t see a foot in front of her and she was afraid to look up, afraid she would see them looking back at her.
Tori grabbed the ladder tightly and went down, hanging by her arms until she hit water.
“Shit.”
She lowered herself into the cold, rank water until she touched the bottom. The water was to her shoulders.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“There’s always a tunnel. The water has to go somewhere.”
“A tunnel ? Are you out of your mind?”
“They’re going to get lights. They’re going to shine it down here and find us and then they are going to shoot us. So yes, I’m hoping there’s a goddamn tunnel!”
Tori took a deep breath, then disappeared under the water. She felt along the side, finally finding the opening she was looking for. She swam into it, then up into the air pocket, breathing hard. She had no idea where the tunnel ended up, but it was better than being sitting ducks in the well. She took a breath, then went back the way she’d come, breaking water right at Samantha’s feet.