Jump The Line (Toein' The Line Book 1) (55 page)

“
Eeeyyyep.  Like father, like son, those murdering bastards
,”
Billy Lee says, leading me right back to his unsolved case and Brick Verbote.
 “
I know the sonofabitch did it.  I just could
n’
t pull enough evidence together to nail him
.
”

“
Did Clermont County try to prosecute Delber
t—
Brick Verbot
e—
for Francin
e’
s murder
?
”

“
His family had a helluva time getting a lawyer who would even defend Delbert
,”
Billy Lee says.
 “
The case was controversial, but Francin
e’
s body was chewed up so bad.  Looked like one of those crocs at the bar she danced at had gnawed on her.  The
y’
ve got money, though, those Verbotes.  They found themselves a high powered lawyer.  Got him off.  Lack of evidence
.
”

“
Do you recall Stoke Farrel having any connection with a girl called Alaina Colby
?
”

“
Yo
u’
re talking about Berta Colb
y’
s girl, I take it
?
”
 
He spits, and tobacco juice sluices down his chin, darkened by salt-and-pepper stubble.
 “
Berta Colby and Francine were thick as thieves.  That is, until Francine found out Brick had a thing for Berta.  He loved feet, you see, and Berta was
n’
t just a looker: she was an exotic dancer, same as Francine
.
”

“
What about Bert
a’
s daughter, Alaina?  Did she and Stoke Farrel cross paths that you know of
?
”

“
They played togethe
r—
two of the cutest kids yo
u’
d ever want to se
e—
but that boy turned weird and got slammed in juvie
.
”

“
What for
?
”

“
Turns out he had a fetish just like his dadd
y’
s.  Liked wome
n’
s feet.  Got a girl named Julianna Short down at school and chewed off and ate a couple of her toes before they could stop him
.
”

“
Jesus
!
”

I bolt to my feet.
 “
Sheriff Knowles, excuse me. 
I’
ve gotta make a call
.
” 

Maybe they lacked evidence in Francine Farre
l’
s murder, but Stoke Farrel could be emotionally disturbed enough to stalk and kill Alaina.  He might even be Megalo Don.  But if so, why did he switch shoulders between Meera and Angie Miller, and then our latest victim, Jane Doe?

Unles
s—
I think the puzzle through.  What if ther
e’
s two killers, a father-son team?

“
Dad, I need a warrant
,”
I say, the second Judge Hawks comes on the line.
 “
Two, if I can get them.  Sheriff Knowles just handed me the probable cause I need to search for evidence in the Megalo Don murders
.
”

“
Whose premises and what specific areas do you want to search
?
”

“
Two
,”
I say.
 “
Doctor Brick Verbot
e’
s and Stoke Farre
l’
s.  All of it
,”
I add.
 “I’
ve got to search their entire premises.

“
And Billy Lee
,”
I say, disconnecting from my call with Judge Hawks
,“
w
e’
re reopening your unsolved case.  Looks like your killers have moved to my jurisdiction
.
”

Billy Le
e’
s smile grows so big it could swallow that cud of tobacco h
e’
s chewing.
 “
By God
,”
he says, thumping me on the back
,“I’
m gonna be the only sheriff in Clermont Count
y’
s history with a hundred percent solve rate.  The boys down at Olli
e’
s are gonna love this. . .
.
”

“I’
ve got to run, sir.  Thanks for the coffee
.
”  

“
Wha
t’
s your hurry
?”
he asks.
 “
Sit a spell and let me tell you about the time I played linebacker for the Bear
s
—”

“
Thanks, Billy Lee
,”
I say
,“
but I gotta run
.
”

He does
n’
t even notice me leaving.  Sheriff Knowles is off on another story about the old timer
s
’ football game, the reunion of the boys who played for the great Ara Parseghian.

Chapter 50

I spend the drive back to Goshen fuming.  If BCI had gotten my report on Brick Verbote back to me sooner,
I’
d not have wasted so much time. 
I’
d certainly have made the connection between him and Stoke Farrel quicker. 
I’
d also have known who, among Alain
a’
s friends, had access to the material to make those dental grills used to disguise Megalo Do
n’
s bite marks.

I call Wes and leave a message.
 “
Call me.  I need you to meet me at Verbote Dental.  Pronto
.
”

Then I call NPD dispatch and ask for an AutoTrak on Doctor Verbote.
 “
Get me his home address
,”
I order
,“
and then call Judge Hawks and give it to him, along with Stoke Farre
l’
s.  H
e’
s got a couple of warrants I need completed
.
”

I pull in at Bert
a’
s trailer and get out.  Floy
d’
s lunging at his chain, worse than before for some reason.
 “
Down, Floyd. 
I’
m friends with the dog catcher
.
”

The remark further pisses him off.  When I try edging by, he goes stark raving mad barking and slobbering like h
e’
s gonna break that tractor chain.  At first I think i
t’
s me, but then I realize why Floy
d’
s acting so mad.  Sh
e’
s not home.  Bert
a’
s skipped.  Floy
d’
s doing guard duty.

“
Hellfuckingfire.  I ca
n’
t find Wes.  I ca
n’
t find Alaina.  DeeDe
e’
s MIA.  Wha
t’
s
wrong
with these damn people
?
”

I do the only thing I can.  I call Captain Meyers.
 “
Captain, I need backup
.
”

I give him Verbot
e’
s business address, and then I ask him to serve my warrants for searches at both Verbot
e’
s and Stoke Farre
l’
s addresses for evidenc
e—
and for Alaina.  The captai
n’
s team will beat me to both locations, since
I’
ve got the drive back to Cincinnati ahead of me.

Despite his dislike over my affair with Darlene Laws, he gives me what I need. 

“
Got you covered, Detective
,”
he says.
 “
You got time for a quickie
?
”

To save time, we do phone briefings calle
d“
quickies
.
”
 
Helps make them less burdensome.
 “
Sure
,”
I say.

“
I got a call from Berta Colby an hour ago
,”
the captain says.
 “
She says Alain
a’
s got evidence Stoke Farre
l’
s your murderer, Megalo Don.  Mrs. Colb
y’
s going over there now, although I warned her not to. 
I’
ve sent two boots over in an unmarked to intercept her
.
”

“
Captain, have you heard from your boots
?
”

“
Nada
,”
the captain says.
 “
Not yet
.
”

“
Hellfire
,”
I say.  Have we added a pair of boots to our rapidly growing list of missing LEOs?
 “I’
m heading to Cincinnati now, Captain. 
I’
ll meet them at Farre
l’
s apartment.  Anything else
?
”

“
They found Theodore McCloske
y’
s body.  He was tortured to death.  Your friend, SAC Smit
h’
s been talking to Omar Jain to see what he knows, if anything
.
”

I inhale, feeling the tension knotting in my shoulders.
 “
What did SAC Smith learn
?
”

“
Turns out, Omar Jai
n’
s from Punjab.  H
e’
s been here in the U.S. looking for his daughte
r’
s murderer.  He brought some home-grown Punjabi muscle with him, it looks like, some serious thugs led by a man who goes by the name of Rakesh Gupta
.
”

“
A fake name
,”
I muse, recalling how Rakes seemed a little
off
, even for a lawyer.

“
No doubt
,”
the captain agrees
.“
Looks like Jain is the father of our vic, Meer
a
—”

“
Holy shit
!
”
 
I make the connection before Meyers can finish.
 “
Omar Jai
n’
s bar is a front h
e’
s been using while he looks for his daughter
.
”

“
Not his daughter, Detective Hawks
,”
the captain says
,“
his daughte
r’
s murderer
.
” 

Then it dawns on me why Theodore McClosk
y’
s dead.
 “
Oma
r’
s known all along that the vic w
e’
ve been callin
g‘
Meer
a
’ is his daughte
r’
s, has
n’
t he
?
”

“
Yes
,”
Captain Meyers says.
 “
H
e’
s had Gupta and his muscle following everyone, including Alaina Colby, to see what he can learn about Megalo Don.  Seems the Punjab contingent left Meer
a—
her real nam
e’
s Gayatri Mantrad
i—
over at Doc Verbot
e’
s, until they could get enough info to find Oma
r’
s daughte
r’
s killer
.
”

“
I
t’
s not Theodore McCloskey
,”
I say.
 “
He did
n’
t kill Meera . . . uh, Gayatri
.
”

“
Yes
,”
Captain Meyers agrees.
 “
He knows that, too, now.  But McCloske
y’
s already dead
.
”

“I’
ve no doubt Omar Jain, or Omar Mantradi, and his Punjabi cronies did it, sir.  Have you met Rakesh Gupta
?
”

“
No, but Detective Laws filled me in.
 ‘
A slobbering pig bastard
,
’ I think she called him
.
”

“
Have you arrested any of them
?
”

The captai
n’
s silence occupies several long seconds.
 “
No, w
e’
ve opened Theodore McCloske
y’
s homicide investigation, but by the time we get enough to prosecute,
if
we get enough evidence to prosecute, Jain and his cronies, including Tate
r’
s so-called lawyer, Rakesh Gupta, will be back in Punjab
.
”

“
Can we extradite from ther
e—?
”

“
W
e’
re checking now
,”
Captain Meyers says
,“
but i
t’
s going to take a while to get them back from Punjab, even if we can extradite
.
”

“
Then the
y’
re beyond our reach
?”
I say, worrying out loud.
 “
But if the
y’
re still here, and  they get to Stoke Farrel before I do, we wo
n’
t have anyone to prosecute for Megalo Do
n’
s murders, unles
s
—”

“
Unless what
?
”

“
Nothing, sir, I was just thinking out loud
.
”

I do
n’
t tell him about what
I’
ve learned about Brick Verbote in Goshen.  No need to.  H
e’
ll get my warrants and then h
e’
ll know I did
n’
t go to the morgue like he ordered me to.  H
e’
ll also know I was wrong about Brick Verbote being Megalo Do
n—
maybe.

“
Do you know where Detective Laws is
?”
he asks, sounding a little embarrassed.

“
Sorry, sir, no.  Wes was looking for her.  Sh
e’
s disappeared
.
”

“
Hot headed, is
n’
t she, Detective
?
”

“
Yes, sir
,”
I agree.
 “
No argument there
.
”

I feel sorry for the captain.  H
e’
s going to have to do a lot of adjusting, if he plans to keep sleeping with Mayor Laws, DeeDe
e’
s mom.  But
I’
m starting to like him.
 “
I gotta get over to Farre
l’
s apartment
,”
I say, before he starts asking where I am. 

“
While yo
u’
re there, check on your rookie, will you?  I know DeeDee slipped away from Wes to steal the collar, but she could be in trouble
.
” 

Despite the seriousness of the captai
n’
s remark, I laugh.  Ca
n’
t help it.
 “
Detective Laws is one gung-ho rookie, sir.  Sh
e’
s determined to make the Megalo Don collar, but you and I both know: it ai
n’
t gonna go down the way sh
e’
s thinking.  It never does
.
”

The captain laughs.
 “
Sh
e’
s ambitious, like her mama.  But then . . . you know exactly what
I’
m talking about, do
n’
t you, Detective Hawks
?
”

“
Yes, sir, I do
.
”

“
Truce, Detective Hawks?  I think we can work better as a team than enemies
.
”

“
Truce, sir
.
”