“No problem. Should we bring anything?”

  Ellie could tell by his question that Jordan hadn’t raised the subject yet. Now that they were going to be more people, she wondered if she should ask Kate to come over earlier, then reconsidered. This was painful enough, and everyone that would be in the room had an interest in keeping Pratt behind bars.

  “Not this time. We’re still waiting for that day when you and Kate invite us on the boat.”

  “This spring. I swear.”

  “Okay. Maybe bring wine. See you later,” she said before ending the call. “Kathryn seemed okay this morning, right? So perhaps we don’t need to freak out either. I bet you he hasn’t even tried to start the process, because he knows everyone will laugh in his face.”

  Ellie agreed, though she was relieved they’d be able to take some pre-emptive measures. In no scenario would either one of them let this man anywhere near their daughter.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. This man ever gets out, I’ll shoot the son of a bitch myself. Sorry, Jordan.”

  “I think Jordan understands. We all understand,” Derek said after a moment of tense silence, reaching out to take Kate’s hand. “I’d still like to start over and pretend none of us heard what you just said.”

  She glared at him. “What, you think their house is bugged? Come on. You know what he did.”

  “Yes, and he should stay behind bars because of it. This is not realistic, right?”

  “Some people can turn their lives around. Pratt—he’s not one of them,” Jordan said, relieved she’d listened to Ellie. When Kate and Derek were the first to show up, they had filled them in right away. “But Derek is right. We wanted to give you a heads-up, and also pool resources.”

  “Is he going to contact me? I’ll tell him where he can stick his story.” A hint of fear was piercing Kate’s anger.

  “I don’t think that’s up to him,” Ellie said. “But someone might want to speak to you on his behalf, if they’re going forward. We’re going to stop it in its tracks. Any lawyer will soon realize that an appeal is not realistic. And Jill already said that her editor might be interested in telling the story from a reasonable angle.”

  They finally sat down in the living room.

  “This might actually be helpful,” Derek remarked. “It will remind the people that we put a lot of heavyweights away.”

  “Or it might make him look sympathetic,” Kate said morosely. “All right, can we get to the wine? I don’t want to deal with this sober.”

  “I can’t blame you,” Jordan told her. “I’ll be right back.”

  * * * *

  Of their friends present, Valerie Esposito was the only one who hadn’t worked and lived in the city when Pratt teamed up with a crime lord from out of town. Their alliance had brought terror on various people, including Kate who lost her fiancé in an ambush.

  “I’ll be glad to reach out to my predecessor,” Valerie said. “He might even want to make a statement. I can see how this is unsettling for everyone, but you can all relax. This is not going to happen.”

  “Can I quote you on that?” Jill asked.

  “Normally I’d be careful with that, but in this case…We’re safe.”

  “Great. Crisis averted,” Jordan said. “I just wanted to make sure we’re aware…and we’ll keep each other in the loop.”

  “I understand. It’s off the record until you tell me otherwise. Thanks for having me here.”

  She nodded to Jill. “No problem. As you can see, we’re not entirely unselfish here.”

  After all these years it was a relief that her friends, old and new, were on the same page. No one had any doubts or questions when it came to her relationship with Pratt—it was simple, for her, for them.

  She had tortured herself over the idea of biological destiny, but that was before Meri. The reality of her own child had confirmed that choices counted more than anything. She and Ellie would make the good ones for Meri.

  She cast a look over at Kate, wishing she could do more for her. She had coped with her fiancé’s death, found love again, but a bad surprise like this brought back the raw anger.

  “Okay, I think the food should be here soon.”

  As if on cue, the doorbell rang, perfect timing. Everyone around the table could use some comfort.

  * * * *

  “We have a hit,” Jordan said, not even trying to keep the triumph out of her voice. The message she’d gotten from Anna Crawford, head of the lab, might not get her a warrant for the garage, but it was one step closer. “There were some prints on the clown mask,” she explained to the other attendees of Monday’s briefing. “They belong to Dylan Hastings, one of Randy’s co-workers at the garage. Let’s bring him in and ask him how his prints ended up on evidence in a murder case.”

  “You and Henderson go,” Carroll said. “Harding, I’d like to see you in my office.”

  Ellie didn’t look concerned, and given what he had told her the other day, Jordan assumed it would simply be a follow-up after her sick leave.

  Derek was driving, so she leaned back in her seat, trying to anticipate what they might find at the garage.

  “You heard anything else about Pratt?” he asked.

  “No. Thank God. I imagine after Jill’s story, that will be it.”

  “Yeah.” To her relief, he didn’t try to deepen the subject. “So what do we know about this Hastings guy, other than the DUI from a decade ago?”

  “He went on to become a mechanic, paid all his bills on time. Not even a parking ticket. He’s been working for Quentin for five years.”

  “Fowler didn’t have the job that long,” Derek remembered. “He only came on board a year ago.”

  “Let’s see what Hastings has to tell us.”

  Sara at the reception greeted them with a polite smile.

  “Detectives. Mr. Quentin isn’t in today. May I help you with something?”

  “You may,” Jordan said. “Where can we find Mr. Hastings?”

  “Oh, funny you should ask.”

  “Why is that?”

  “He didn’t come to work today. He hasn’t called yet either.”

  “Thank you.”

  They stepped aside, and Derek asked, “We’ll talk to the other guys?”

  “Not yet. I’d like to check if Dylan’s at home, and I don’t want them to tip him off.”

  “You don’t think Sara will?”

  “She might. That’s why we have to go now.”

  * * * *

  On the way, they had called for a unit to back them up. Officers Marshall and Martin were already parked in front of the building when they arrived.

  Hastings was definitely home, sounds coming from inside his apartment. He didn’t react to the doorbell, knocking or the request to open the door.

  “It’s going to be one of those days,” Jordan muttered.

  “Looks like it.”

  “Mr. Hastings, this is—”

  She was interrupted by a piercing scream and quickly stepped aside.

  “Your turn to kick the door.” Not that they were keeping count, but Derek didn’t argue otherwise.

  A moment later, they were standing in front of Dylan Hastings, who jumped up from the couch. He was in his underwear.

  “What the fuck? Did someone swat me?”

  They could barely hear him over the screams still emanating from the TV. After a quick glance, Jordan spun around, feeling sick to her stomach. Not your traditional horror—or adult—film.

  “Would you mind?”

  He finally paused the movie, the image frozen on a rather grotesque scene.

  “Did the guys from the garage send you?”

  “We need to ask you some questions,” Derek said. “You better put on some clothes.”

  “What if I say no?”

  “Your prints were found on evidence, in the house of a murder victim. If you have nothing to do with it, you might want to clear it up?”

  “I can’t believe this,” he sulked. “You’re going to watch me dress? You want to come to my bedroom?”

  Jordan didn’t deign to answer.

  “No thanks,” Derek said, but he went to check the window and fire escape after Hastings had disappeared into his bedroom. He emerged a few minutes later dressed in cargo pants and a t-shirt.

  Derek waited until Hastings had left with the uniforms. “That garage is one place I’d never go for maintenance,” he said. “The people working there are insane.”

  Jordan cast another look at the picture on the screen, wholeheartedly agreeing with him.

  * * * *

  She sat across from him in the interrogation room. Hastings didn’t yet seem to appreciate how much trouble he was in. Not very original—he was hoping the scene from the movie had rattled her. Jordan had seen these tactics before. Hell, she had experienced some true horror herself.

  “Mr. Hastings,” she said as she tossed the mask enclosed in an evidence bag onto the table. “This is yours?”

  Derek sat next to her, but Hastings remained focused on Jordan.

  “You really don’t like my tastes, do you? Too bad. As for this, I’m not sure.”

  “You’re not sure? Why is that?”

  “Might have worn it for Halloween or something, but if it’s that particular one, I don’t know.”

  “So you own more than one?” Derek asked.

  “I didn’t say that. I wore a similar one for Halloween.”

  “Which Halloween?”

  Hastings all but rolled his eyes at Derek. “Couple of years ago. I’d have to go through my pictures.”

  “We’d appreciate that. All right. Do you know a Ronald Jenkins?”

  He shook his head. “Never heard of him.”

  “You know anything about valuable coins?”

  Hastings started laughing. “You’re really fishing, aren’t you? I’m not sure what you’re getting at, but sure, perhaps I wore that mask, and someone took it from the basement. Whatever they did with it, it’s not my problem.”

  “You might be wrong about that.” Jordan took a sip of her coffee, waited a few more heartbeats. “We have a warrant for your apartment.”

  “So? You might not like my choice of movies, but they’re not illegal.”

  “I’m not talking about a horror flick,” she clarified. “We already have the mask with your prints on it. The way it’s going, I’m sure we could justify asking you for DNA. You worked with Randy Fowler, another murder victim. Don’t you think all of this is happening awfully close to home?”

  “You tell me, Detective.” He grinned. “You think you can charge me with something?”

  “Carl Fisher came to the garage. He was aware of Jenkins and his coin collection. He also got into trouble with Randy. Did he ask you to take care of it?”

  “Me? Come on. I didn’t even see the guy when all that trouble with Randy started.”

  “Funny. We have you on video talking to him, reassuring him.”

  He did a bit of a double-take, but quickly composed himself. “Mr. Quentin needed someone on it. Fisher was going to sue.”

  “On it, what exactly does that mean?”

  “Offering a discount, something like that.”

  “Hm. All right.”

  “Does that mean I can go?”

  “No, that’s not what it means.”

  “Then I want to talk to a lawyer—”

  Everyone in the room turned to the door when after a quick rap, Officer Libby Marshall came inside.

  “Jordan, can I speak to you?”

  Realizing that Libby was well aware that this was an inconvenient moment, Jordan assumed her request had to be urgent.

  She got up to join her at the door where Libby informed her, “There’s been another sighting. Weston Elementary.”

  “Don’t tell me it’s a clown sighting.” Dylan Hastings couldn’t have heard what she’d said. Nevertheless he laughed, a cackling sound almost as alarming as his choice in movies.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I’m starting to think this town is haunted for real. Were all these decorations this morbid last year? I don’t think I noticed.” Jordan shared her observations with Derek as they were walking from the parking lot to the entrance of Weston Elementary School where uniformed officers had already taped off the area. In the distance, one of them was talking to a group of parents.

  “You had other things on your mind,” Derek acknowledged.

  “Yeah. I sure did. I’m changing my mind now. No trick-or-treating for Meri. She’s going to have nightmares for years.”

  “It might be a little early for that,” he agreed.

  Given the recent events, the sight of a clown sneaking around the premises had triggered a lockdown.

  When they were about to greet the officer at the door, Sam Potts came running towards them.

  “Guess what?” she said, sounding excited. “We got him. He’s one of the mechanics at Quentin’s.” Sam pointed to the squad car where a bored looking Chris Atwood stood leaning against the driver’s side door. A man was sitting in the backseat.

  “Great job,” Jordan returned. “What can you tell us about him?”

  “He was peering into windows, scaring the kids. The teacher called 911, and triggered a lockdown. He was still on the school grounds when we found him.”

  “All right. You take him in. We catch up with you later.”

  She looked around the place, at the worried parents in the distance, and suppressed a sigh. It wasn’t time to celebrate yet—but this was an important step. With the lockdown lifted, they could reunite scared children with their equally scared parents, and talk to the teacher.

  They found her in the principal’s office. Both women seemed shocked, but more angry about the situation as the kindergarten teacher described what had happened.

  “He didn’t really do anything or try to come in, but with that grisly mask…I couldn’t take the risk,” she said. “He could have had a gun.”

  “You did the right thing,” Jordan assured her.

  “We were lucky,” the principal added.

  It was hard to argue with that statement. It lingered for a few seconds, reminding all of them how much worse this day could have gotten. Jordan thought they had reason to be carefully optimistic.

  Hastings was conferring with a public defender at this moment, and they had apprehended another clown. The web was tightening around those criminal comedians.

  * * * *

  “Where’s the detective?” Hastings asked. “I am ready to talk.”

  “You can talk to me. I’m Detective Harding. So, did you refresh your memory on how that mask ended up in Mr. Jenkins’ house?”

  It was one of those moments when everyone had a job to do, and she couldn’t just sit on her hands, behind her desk. When Jordan and Derek returned, they would interrogate Hastings’ colleague Jimmy Bryan who had been picked up at the school. In a quick phone call, they had determined that Ellie would continue with Hastings. It made sense, as it put more pressure on both men to talk. They’d sort out the rest later.

  “One of the other guys must have taken it there. I was never in that house.”

  “You were on the grounds of the amusement park the night Randy was killed, and Todd Williams was kidnapped?”

  He looked uncomfortable, glancing at his lawyer who nodded. “Mr. Hastings has decided to come clean,” he said.

  “I was there,” Hastings confirmed. “I got the call, I went…I had no idea that they were going to shoot somebody, I swear.”

  “Who are they?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Come on,” Ellie said, disbelief coloring her tone. “You know that one of your co-workers was just arrested? Coming clean is a good idea, but you have to make up your mind, and you have to be quick. If he talks first…”

  “Yeah, I know you’re supposed to say that, but I can’t help you, and he won’t either. Look, I know he was in it too because I recognized the voice. That’s all. Just a coincidence. It’s one of the rules. You stick to the plan, you don’t try to identify anyone, or you’re out.”

  “Out of what?” She was beginning to get irritated. This was supposed to be a quick wrap-up, given that they had compelling points to make him tell the truth.

  “The game. It was supposed to be just a game, okay? You want to get back at someone, you find your teammates and go for it. Stupid Randy almost got the shop shut down because of Todd and his girlfriend. I never imagined someone would end up dead.”

  “Or lose a hand?” Ellie prompted, instinctively leaning back a few inches. Hastings turned green-ish so fast she was afraid he might throw up. This was new information though, something that might tie all the cases together. A game. A stupid game in which people lost their lives. It was one of those days that she wanted to give up on humanity altogether…

  But they still had a case to solve first.

  “Okay, I want you to tell me everything you know. How did you find the game, how you play, everything you were involved in.”

  “You’ll take his cooperation into consideration?” the lawyer asked.

  “That’s not for me to decide as you know, but you’ll definitely be in a better position if you can offer the A.D.A. something of worth. Try to provide as much detail as possible. The amusement park, Mr. Jenkins, Lisa Garner.”

  He seemed to finally grasp the gravity of his situation.

  * * * *

  “I don’t know who the other guys are,” Jimmy Bryan declared. “Except for Dylan, obviously, but I didn’t know until after the first couple of times.”

  Jordan shared an incredulous look with Detective Wu who stood in the corner, arms crossed over his chest. She turned to the suspect and sat across from him.

  “You mention Dylan, your co-worker who’s spilling his guts to my colleague as we speak. You know it’s a bit of a race right now. We have two murders, kidnappings and a few instances that could have turned equally bad…Whoever gives us names first, wins.”

  “But I don’t have names! He doesn’t either. That’s not how you play the game. And we weren’t going to kill anyone.”

  “Interesting. A game where you bring guns and tools to dismember people, ropes and duct tape…but killing someone wasn’t on your mind.”

 

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