Serial Date: A Leine Basso Thriller (19 page)

Chapter 29

She heard the
keys jingling well before the dark haired woman made her appearance. April tensed as she waited for her to open the door to the dungeon. She'd made a huge miscalculation before, trying to take out the psycho and wasted the only chance she'd had. Prepared for swift punishment, she'd been surprised when Azazel hadn't retaliated for the damage she'd done to his face. Finding the rusty knife blade stuck behind the wallboard trim had been a stroke of luck. April wondered who'd left it there and if they made it out alive.

The woman entered carrying a small tray. Lunch. The torture didn't end at being kept in a large, wire kennel. April couldn't wait to escape this hell-hole if only to eat something resembling a food source. Three times a day, she was subjected to a vile smelling green smoothie with the consistency of snot. The psycho waxed poetic about his own private concoction, extolling the virtues of wheatgrass, barley and algae, with just a hint of stevia for sweetening. The only barley April wanted to taste at that moment was a cold beer. She hadn't succumbed to her friend's reverence for eating a raw food diet, preferring a nice, juicy cheeseburger on occasion, along with a side of fries. She'd taken a lot of grief for her choices and thought it ironic she was now being force-fed the shit.

The dark-haired woman brought the tray with the plastic glass full of mossy green liquid and opened the small door on the upper half of the cage. April dutifully accepted it, itching to grab the woman by the neck, if only to lift the keys for the cage from her pocket. She always stood too far away.

“He's got a surprise for you today,” the woman said in a sing-song voice, and pulled out a cellophane wrapped object from her dress pocket. She unwrapped it and held the two-inch square lump of what looked like smashed brown seeds toward her.

When April hesitated, she stepped closer and said, “Go ahead and take it. They're really yummy. His special recipe.”

April brought her hand up and instead of lifting the unappetizing lump from her hand, grabbed hold of the woman's wrist and, catching her off-guard, yanked her off her feet, dragging her against the cage. At the same time, April's other hand shot out and covered her mouth, cutting short her screams. The woman scratched at April's fingers, but she held on tight.

Surprised by her own strength, she tightened her grip and growled in her ear, “Give me the key to the cage, now.”

The woman nodded her head and squeezed her eyes shut. The bitch tried to take a bite out of her palm, but April leaned back and bent the woman's arm at an awkward angle. She was rewarded with a soft whimper.

“If you don't do as I say, I'll break your arm.”

The woman nodded, slipping her free hand into her dress pocket. Before April could react, the woman plunged a hypodermic needle into her arm and delivered the full dose. April's grip loosened as she fought the dizziness. The last thing she saw was the smile on the woman's fuzzy face before her world turned black.

***

Jensen was pissed. He'd driven in circles searching for Leine, ending up at a dead end after he found one of her cars in the reality show's parking lot. When he checked with the security guard at the front of the building, he was told she'd taken time off to care for her aunt. That fit with the hospital visit, except her aunt was supposed to be in San Diego.

He'd woken up early that morning and walked out to the living room to check on her when he realized she'd left. No note, just gone. He'd gone back to the bedroom and pulled the plastic bag with the keychain out of the front pocket of his jeans. He was planning to bring it to his CO to book it as evidence in the unsolved murder cases. The only problem being, he'd have to tell his lieutenant how he'd come by it. He wasn't ready to do that, yet. If he did, he'd never live it down. He could hear him now,
“You slept with a possible suspect in a cold murder case? Well, stupid, that's what you get for thinking with your little head.”

It was a given he wouldn't be able to talk to Leine, and he wanted, needed to hear her side of the story. The lieutenant would insist he not work the cold cases since he'd had a relationship with her and he'd be required to have no contact with her until they cleared her of the murders.

If they cleared her
.

Jensen pushed the idea aside. There was an explanation, he was sure. His feelings for her had grown and he realized it was making him act out of character. He'd gone over it in his mind a dozen times. The effect she had on him defied explanation. It wasn't just sex. Even with Gina, it had been more lust than love. Jesus, he thought. This is dangerous, Santa. Love can make you stupid. He'd seen it a thousand times. Men would fall like a lead balloon for some woman and give everything up to be with them. At the time, Jensen thought they were idiots. He didn't this time.

And that scared the hell out of him.

Not once in his years on the force had his ethics been in question and he was proud of that. He realized withholding evidence, even for a brief time was a career-killer. If anyone found out, he'd be thrown out of RHD, put on patrol to finish out his days on the force. If he was lucky. He'd worked damned hard to get where he was. He could hear Putnam saying
, “You're gonna throw it away for a friggin' broad? You're nuts, Santa.”
Maybe he was.

He slid the bag with the keychain into the top drawer of his dresser.

He'd wait and talk to her first.

Chapter 30

After Gene left
, Leine checked her email once more. This time, there was a return message from Cory. He remembered her and had been in contact with April off and on through the years. He asked where she'd been as he hadn't seen any updates from her in a few days. Leine emailed back immediately, explaining she was concerned as well as she hadn't heard from her either, and included the new disposable phone's number. Within twenty minutes, the phone rang.

“Hi, Mrs. Basso. It's Cory.”

Leine's heart leapt to her throat.

“Hey Cory. Thanks for calling. I remembered April mentioning your name once or twice and took a chance you two were still in touch.”

“Yeah, but I haven't heard from her in a few days. According to her status update, she made it back from Amsterdam. I thought she told me you were in Seattle?”

Leine was surprised how happy it made her that April had mentioned her.

“I was, but I'm here now. What exactly did she put in her update?”

“That she was back in L.A. and looking to hook up with old friends. I sent her a message, but haven't heard back yet.” He paused for a minute and then continued. “If you don't mind my asking, aren't you and April, you know, don't you both kind of go your own ways?”

“We were working on getting to know each other better when she dropped off the radar. I became concerned when she didn't show for a dinner date we'd planned.”

“Yeah, she usually does what she says.”

Yet another aspect of her daughter Leine didn't know about. She filed it away.

 ”Have you called the cops yet?” he asked.

“No. I thought I'd try to track her down first, and if that didn't work, I'd call.”

“Have you checked GlobalPaws?”

“GlobalPaws. What's that?”

“A social tracking site. A bunch of us use it. The avatars are animal tracks. It's more accurate than most of the other tracking programs on the internet. It'll ping your location within a block of where you are. Sometimes it'll even get it right on. I figured with her going to Europe and all, you'd be one of her contacts.” Cory's voice trailed off.

“No, I didn't know about it. Would you check for me?” Finally, something she could work with.

“Sure, Mrs. Basso. Hold on a minute.”

Leine waited, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. Cory came back on the line a few minutes later.

“It shows her last location as Tujunga Boulevard, seventy-four hundred block. The cross street is Sherman Way.”

“Does it tell you when she last updated it?”

“Thursday. Have you talked to her since then?”

“Our last conversation was on Thursday morning.” Leine's pulse was rocking now. This was what she'd been searching for. “Cory, would you like to help me with something very important? It involves April.”

***

Her smartphone rang as she was driving to meet with Cory and Gene near the block where April had pinged her last location. Please, please, please be Azazel, she thought.

Private Caller. Leine punched the button.

“You were very naughty, Madeleine.”

Leine let out the breath she'd been holding.
She's still alive. She has to be. He wouldn't call me if she was dead.

“I know. I'm sorry. Something was wrong with my phone. I didn't realize until this morning. Can I talk to her?” Leine had to bite her lip to keep from saying what she really meant, which would have gone something like,
Get her on the fucking phone, you lunatic, and let me talk to my daughter.

A long sigh echoed from the other end.

I'm going to kill him so slowly, he'll beg me for mercy.
Fair price for keeping her in agony.

“Well, yes, I guess so. You did do everything I asked. I have to tell you, though—” He paused and she heard the jingle of keys. “Your actions caused me to vent my frustrations.”

Leine's breath caught in her throat. If he touched April…

“Now, now, I know what you're thinking. Did he take it out on poor, dear April? I'll tell you, I was tempted. She's quite disrespectful. But no, I did not. I am a man of my word. Maybe this time the actors will finally figure out how to comport themselves like real killers, although I'm afraid it's for naught. They appear a little slow. You'll find when you return to work there's one less problem to deal with. You might want to suggest to the female contestants to lay off the Botox, though. Nasty stuff.”

“One less? What do you mean?” Gene was right. He killed Tina.

“I won't bore you with the details. You'll find out soon enough.” Azazel's breathing changed, becoming deep and heavy. It reminded her of the sound Darth Vader made in the Star Wars movies.

“Are you still there?” she asked. He didn't answer, although she could hear him breathing. More keys jangled, followed by the sound of a door opening and closing.

“Here she is. In all her glory. You look tired,” he said, away from the mouthpiece. “Did the little shot Gwen gave you make you sleepy?” He chuckled and spoke into the phone. “Your daughter's exhibiting some of your tendencies, Madeleine. She's quite the pistol, aren't you, April? Would you like to talk to your mother?”

“Mom? Are you there?” April's voice barely wavered, but Leine could sense her fear. She clenched her fists to keep in control as a mixture of relief and anger flooded to the surface.

She's alive.
That's all the confirmation she needed. Leine felt a fresh surge of energy flow through her, giving her resolve the boost it needed.

“I'm here, baby. It's going to be okay.”

“Mom, tell Brutus I'm all right.”

Azazel came back on the line. “That's more than enough time to talk, you two. Madeleine, I have one more task I'd like you to perform. I realize you have others who are anxious to see you dead, but I'd like you to complete this last request for me. If you do what I ask, April will be free.”

After Azazel gave her the directions of his last request and ended the call, Leine started to formulate another plan. April mentioned Brutus, which was the name of a dog that spent most of its time in the next door neighbor's basement. April would visit with him through a window the owners would leave open while they were at work, and afterwards came home crying because she thought it was cruel to leave him inside all day and wanted to bring him home with her.

Leine assumed that April was telling her the killer was keeping her in his basement. Now, all she had to do was figure out where.

It's only a matter of time, Azazel
.

***

Gene was the last to arrive. Leine told them to meet her one block down so they wouldn't draw suspicion. Cory sat next to Leine in the front passenger seat of the second rental. Gene parked his car so he faced her.

The block of well-kept, older homes showed freshly mowed yards for the most part, with evidence of several kids in the neighborhood; bicycles, soccer balls and Big Wheels littered the sidewalks. Leine shivered at the thought of the monster most likely living next door to these innocents. This is almost over. With any luck, he'll be dead before dark.

“Cory's an old friend of April's and has information on the last place she was before she was abducted,” Leine said, by way of introduction. “It's a long shot, but I'm hoping that she entered the location just before Azazel got her.

“There's at least one woman guarding her, probably two. Paula described the woman who delivered a package to you as different than the one who dropped off mine. I've identified the one who delivered my package as Sissy Nelson through fingerprints on the box. She's approximately five feet five, thin with strawberry-blonde hair and a light complexion. She drives a late model red Honda Civic. Her last known address was some place in Ohio. She's wanted for armed robbery, so she could be dangerous. The other woman's name is Gwen. I don't know anything about her.” Leine glanced at Cory. “That means you only observe. You do not attempt to follow her or stop her in any way. If you see a woman with her description, call me immediately. That goes for you, too, Gene. We don't need any heroes here, okay?” They both nodded.

“Once we have a positive ID we'll verify the house and I'll contact Detective Jensen and give him the information. The man who abducted her is extremely dangerous. He's killed three women as far as we know. This is not something to try to accomplish on our own. Got it?”

“Got it,” Gene answered. Cory nodded his assent. Leine continued.

“I have to leave for a while this afternoon, but I should be back before nightfall. If I'm not, here's Detective Jensen's number.” Leine handed them each a business card with her number and Jensen's written on it. “Call him if you've verified the location and you can't get a hold of me. Tell him everything I've told you. The GPS on my phone is turned on and you can track me from this.” She turned on the small tablet so they could both see what she was doing and clicked the link to a website where she entered a password. The screen came to life with a map of Los Angeles and a blinking avatar labeled 'Leine.'

“Rescuing April is more important than finding me. Once she's safe, come for me if you have to. Otherwise, I'll bring you two dinner.” She rolled her shoulders and stretched her neck to relieve the tension. The strain she was feeling played with the relief of a possible end in sight.

Cory frowned. “What if it takes longer than overnight? I mean, we could be sitting her for days, theoretically.” His face turned red. “Where do I—you know, where do I go to the bathroom?”

Gene scoffed. “Open your door and piss on the neighbor's lawn, kid. If you gotta do something more than that, hold it.”

“There's a coffee shop around the corner. Let Gene know if you have to go.” She rolled her eyes at Gene. “Give the kid a break, will you? He's new.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Gene reached through his window and rested his hand on Leine's door. “You sure you don't want me to come with you?”

Leine shook her head. “Thanks, Gene, but I've got this one. Cory, you take this corner, Gene you cover the other end of the block. Keep in touch with each other. She could be in any of these houses.”

Cory picked up the tablet and got back into his Jetta. Gene turned his car around, heading for the far end of the street. He cruised slowly, checking both sides of the block. Leine started the car and pulled out, on her way to complete her last task for Azazel.