Authors: Lacey Weatherford
Hunter-
“Which one
’s the right place?” I asked Chris. “There’s another one down the street.”
“I don’t know. She said the storage unit on Oracle Road. This was the first one I looked up.”
“We need to text her back.”
“She isn’t going to answer, Dylan. She was lucky to get
the text out to us while Ripper was sleeping.”
“I guess we’
ll stake out both of them then. Which one do you want?”
“I guess I’ll take this one,” he replied.
“You know what? I have a much better idea. Call dispatch and tell them we need a search warrant. You said it was unit thirty-two, right?”
“Yeah, that’s what Roberta texted.”
“I’m going to flash my badge and tell the owners the warrant is on the way. They can call to verify if they need. If we open the right one, it’s going to have the money in it, correct?”
Chris shrugged. “If he left it in plain sight.”
“Well, he’s got to have something in there that’ll prove it belongs to him.”
“And if he
makes an appearance while you’re in there?”
I
lifted the police radio in my hand. “You’ll warn me, and I’ll arrest him. Besides, all the other guys should be in place soon. It’s not like we don’t have back up.”
“
Be careful. I don’t want to be the one telling your mom and Cami you got shot again.”
“I will be. Besides, I’m wearing my bulletproof vest this time
, and I know you’ve still got my back, bro.” I punched him in the shoulder and climbed out of the car.
There was a thin, dark-haired young man sitting behind a counter in the office reading a magazine. He looked up when I walked in, his stare immediately going to
the weapon in my shoulder holster. “Can I help you?”
“Yes,” I replied, slipping my badge off my belt and laying it on the counter. “I’m Officer Wilcock. We received a tip that a murder suspect we’re trying to apprehend may be coming to
retrieve belongings at a storage unit he rents. We aren’t sure if it was at this location or the one down the road. My dispatcher is sending a search warrant. You’re also welcome to call the station yourself to verify this. I’m wondering if perhaps you could check your records and tell me who unit number thirty-two is registered to.”
“Sure. No problem,” he said, quickly going to his computer and tapping in a few things. “I’m showing it register to a Juanita Valdez. Does that sound familiar?”
I shook my head. “No, it doesn’t.” I got on the secure radio channel Chris and I had. “This unit is registered to a Juanita Valdez. Does that ring any bells?”
“No, I don’t recognize that name from any of the information we were given,” Chris radioed back. “I’d check it anyway. He could have it registered under a false name, or it could be a friend’s storage unit he keeps things in.”
“Copy,” I replied, turning my attention back to the man at the counter. “Would it be possible for you to open this for me? I just want to look inside. I won’t disturb any of the contents. Like I said, we’ll have a warrant sent to cover any legal issues you might have on your end.”
“I’m happy to help.” He walked over to a thin cupboard and unlocked it, opening the door to reveal many sets of numbered keys hanging on small hooks. He
grabbed the one marked thirty-two and locked the cupboard again. “Follow me.”
He led me outside
, across the yard, to a corner unit located behind another row and opened the lock. “It’s all yours,” he said, stepping back and gesturing for me to open it.
Reaching
down, I grabbed the handle and opened the door. I started laughing. “This is definitely not the right locker. Not unless our suspect has taken up knitting, crocheting, and doll making.” The place resembled a crime scene for the miniature, with bags of different doll-body parts stacked everywhere, along with massive skeins of thread and yarn. It really was a bit creepy looking. “Thanks for your willingness to help us out.” I handed him a card. “But if you see anything suspicious, please feel free to notify us in case we don’t have our facts correct.”
He took the card and stared at it for a moment. “I’ll be sure to do that. Sorry it wasn’t what you were looking for.”
“Don’t be. It helps us get one step closer. I’ll have a couple of officers keep an eye on this place today anyway.”
“Okay, thank you. Good luck.” He extended his
hand, and I shook it before heading back to the car.
“Any luck?” Chris asked as I slid in beside him.
“Nope. It was full of doll-making supplies. Let’s go over to the other place. I told the manager here that we’d still have a couple of officers stake the place out today, in case we missed something.”
“I agree. That’s a good idea.”
In the span of a few minutes, I found myself standing outside the second storage unit of the day, this one being registered to a Margaret Rivera. Things were suddenly looking up. I slid the door open and found the space full of tools and car parts.
“This is the one we’re looking for,” I said to the middle-aged attendant, Laura, standing beside me. I radioed the information to the guys setting up around the perimeter.
“Everyone has access to these during regular business hours. At night, after we’re closed, they can get access if they have one of the twenty-four hour security cards, but they have to pay an extra fee for those.”
I closed the door, not wanting to touch anything inside in case it might be evidence. “Do you
r security cameras monitor the yard all the time?”
“
They do.”
“Would it be possible to check the footage for the last twelve hours perhaps—to see if he’s already been here? I don’t want to waste time sitting here if we missed him already.”
“Sure. Come back inside.”
I radioed what I was doing to Chris and the team. He was parked beside a building across the street in the alleyway
to avoid any vehicles on the road alerting Ripper.
Laura helped me
arrange the security video on fast forward so we could get through it quickly. She sat beside me silently as we watched it together. We were several hours into the tape when my radio went off.
“He’s here,” Chris stated. “Driving in through the front gate right now. I don’t recognize the vehicle, but Roberta is in the passenger seat.”
“10-4,” I replied, ducking low behind the counter as I watched the car pass by. I turned to glance at the current security feed when he drove past my line of sight. “Laura, I want you to leave. Walk out the gate and turn to the right. An officer will meet you there and guide you to a safer location.” I had no idea if Ripper was armed, and I didn’t want any civilians caught in the crossfire.
She nodded, brushing her salt
-and-pepper hair away from her face with a trembling hand before she reached for her purse. “Can I call my husband when I’m out there?” she asked.
“Of course. Hopefully we’ll get this taken care of quickly. You may want to call your boss as well. We
’ll mostly likely send a crime scene unit here to collect evidence from the storage unit as well, and we’ll need to shut the place down for the day.
“Okay. I’ll let him know.” She hurried off to the door.
“I’m sending the attendant out. Don’t let any other civilians enter the premises.”
“Copy,” Chris replied. “Two of us are coming in to back you
up. Squad cars are on the way.”
“
10-4. I can see the vehicle on the security camera. He’s stopping in front of the unit, and they’re both getting out of the vehicle. I’m heading out into the yard now. Please go to radio silence while the suspect is approached.”
As soon as Laura was safely through the gates, I left the building and made a dash across the lot to the next row of storage units. Pulling my weapon from the holster, I peered around the corner to assess the situation.
Ripper had the door open. He was out of sight, but Roberta was standing near the opening watching whatever he was doing. Waiting a few seconds, I hoped to catch her attention and signal her away, but she never glanced my direction. Silently, I began my approach, creeping closer along the far side of the vehicle.
Ripper was inside the small space, rummaging through the drawers of
a metal tool chest, and pulling out several plastic bags containing thick wads of cash in each. There had to be an incredible sum of money there. If he managed to get away, he’d be set.
I raised my weapon over the hood of the vehicle, leveling it in Ripper’s direction. “Hands in the air!” I hollered.
He froze for a second before slowly lifting his hands as directed. “You going to shoot me, Hunter?” he asked, glancing my way. Roberta stood frozen beside him.
“Not if you do everything I tell you. I’d really like this to go down smoothly.”
He stared hard at me. “I trusted you, man.”
“I know.”
“I pulled you into my inner circle—let you date my sister. You were just using her. We didn’t mean anything to you, did we?”
I hadn’t expected a reaction like this from him. He seemed genuinely depressed about my betrayal. “Look, I’m sorry
, but I had a job to do, and now it’s time to finish that job. If you hadn’t been breaking the law, then this wouldn’t be an issue. There’d be no reason to arrest you.”
“And what about Cami? What was her role in all this? Was she a cop too?”
Apparently, Roberta hadn’t filled him in on the details—obviously because it would’ve shown her involvement if she said too much. This little tidbit of information gave me some hope. The less he knew about her the better.
“Cami was an innocent bystander who got caught in the middle of things because I was careless. She never intend
ed to deceive you. The department factored a cover for her when you refused to let things go. Making her disappear would’ve raised your suspicions.”
“You had it all planned out, didn’t you?” He glared hard at me.
“Sorry, bro. It had to be done. Now both of you step outside, and put your hands against the wall nice and easy.”
Roberta came forward and did as directed, but Ripper stayed put, glancing back down at the money.
“Don’t even think about it, man. It’s not worth getting shot over.”
“I don’t believe you’d shoot me,” he said, locking eyes with me.
“Even if I wouldn’t, I can’t vouch for the other guns trained on you at the moment.”
Ripper moved forward, looking both ways down the alley, seeing Chris and Officer Johnson for the first time—their weapons raised.
“There’s no escaping this time, Jack,” I spoke, calling him by his given name.
I saw the resignation on his face. He stepped forward and placed his hands against the wall. I let out a sigh of relief. Regardless of who he was, I didn’t want to shoot him.
I hurried over and holstered my gun as Chris and Johnson moved in closer, a squad car with lights flashing pulled up behind them, and two more officers jumped out.
I quickly pat
ted Ripper down, removing a gun tucked into the waistband of his pants. Once I was sure he didn’t have any other weapons on him, I pulled his hands behind him and snapped them into the cuffs. “Jack Rivera, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will, be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. You are being placed under arrest for multiple counts of grand theft and suspicion of the murder of Manny Perez.”
“What?” he shouted, yanking away and looking frantically around. “What are you talking about? Manny hasn’t been seen in months!”
“We found his body where it was dumped in Sabino Canyon,” I told him flatly, and Roberta let out a sob.
“You killed him!” she yelled, leaving the wall and pounding him in the chest. “I knew you did it! I knew it!”
“What the hell is going on?” Ripper shouted, unable to deflect Roberta’s attack.
I grabbed her from behind and wrapped my arms tightly around her arms as the other officers rushed forward. “It’s okay,” I said as she squirmed. “It’s all over now. Let them take him.”
She turned into my chest and wept, clutching onto me like she was drowning.
“Take him away,” I said to Chris. “Call a different car for Roberta.”
He nodded and grabbed Ripper by the arm, dragging him to the vehicle.
“This is bullshit!” Ripper shouted. “Bullshit! I swear I’m gonna sue everyone in this damn department! Do you hear me?”
Chris had to physically push him into the vehicle. I could still see him thrashing and yelling inside, but couldn’t understand what he was saying.
“Roberta,” I said gently. “I’m going to place you in handcuffs too. I know you were offered immunity for your testimony, but we need to arrest you so Ripper doesn’t think you were involved in setting him up. Okay?”
She nodded and stepped away from me, holding her hands out in front of her. Chris handed me his cuffs, and I placed them on her.