So Forgotten, page 9
Then Dave Booth raised his head and stared at her and Connor, his eyes taking her in, his gaze roaming over her hair, her face.
Cami felt a surge of horror as she looked at him. There was a dull hopelessness in his demeanor that chilled her. Prison was a horrible place. If Connor had actually brought her here and showed her what it was like, Cami thought she would have agreed to work for the FBI even faster than she had done.
"I'm sorry to see you've been hurt," were Connor's first words to Dave Booth. "Do you know who attempted this, Mr. Booth?"
"You think I'd tell you if I knew?" Sounding surly, Booth responded.
"I don't know. I’m not sure what I'd do in your circumstances, but I'm sorry this happened," Connor said again.
It was as if the words acted as an invitation, because Dave shrugged, but then he began speaking.
"I didn’t see who attacked me. I was grabbed from behind. Someone had managed to get hold of a piece of steel, and they grabbed me from behind and dragged it across my neck, and then shoved me forward. By the time I'd managed to turn around, they were gone."
"Do you know why this happened?"
"I think I do," he said.
"And the reason?" Connor asked, while Cami felt shivers play up and down her spine.
"It's because I gave someone what they deserved a while ago," the man said. His lips tightened.
"Was this anything to do with a man who got paroled recently?" Connor asked carefully. Cami noticed how he'd kept the question open-ended. He hadn't mentioned any names. Just in case the killer's name came up, Cami guessed.
Clever as the question was, the answer was unfortunately disappointing.
"It was to do with another guy inside. He's part of a gang. He tried to hurt me a while ago. I tried to hurt him back. He had it coming. Maybe he thought I do, too. I guess this is the latest round of payback."
"Are you getting moved?" Connor asked.
He shrugged. "Yeah. I guess after this, I will be moved elsewhere, or else things could get worse. Prison wardens don't like dead bodies turning up inside their prisons." He gave Connor a sly look.
Time to move on to the real business of their visit, now that they'd established that the injury was not related.
"Tell me about Nealon Browne. You shared a cell with him, right?"
"Nealon?" Dave Booth looked surprised. "Yes. I shared a cell with him for a couple of years."
"Tell me who his friends were. Apart from yourself?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Why do you want to know that?"
Cami could see that Connor was considering the answer to this question very carefully. He didn't want to make trouble for the convict, but he wanted to get an honest answer out of him. If that was possible at all, Cami wondered.
Eventually, Connor said, "It seems that somebody got him into some trouble. We're just looking to get the full picture. Of who his friends were, who might know more."
That was deliberately vague.
It seemed to be enough to reassure Dave Booth.
"He used to share a cell with Ellis Zackey before he shared with me. Ellis got out a few months ago, though. Then he used to spend time with Nick Edwards and Giovanni Bellini. Those were his closest friends, I guess. Not that he was the friendliest guy." Dave grimaced. “Nick is still in here. Giovanni is out.”
"How about enemies?" Connor asked. "Anyone hate him?"
Dave sighed. "It's Boston Max. We're not exactly kumbaya here, you know."
"Anyone?" Connor pressed.
Dave shrugged. "Why don't you ask Nick? He knew Nealon better than I did."
"We'll do that, and thank you."
Connor got on the phone, and a moment later, the guard entered the cell and took Dave away. Cami saw how carefully he held him and how there was another guard waiting outside, so that Dave had a double escort on the way back to the cells. This was scary to see. These men had the potential for violence. And perhaps one of them had unleashed it, and used Nealon to help.
It was only a minute later before Nick walked in. He walked slowly, and Cami's eyes widened as she saw he wasn't just in handcuffs. He was in leg shackles too.
She didn't know what that meant. Perhaps he'd done something so serious he had to wear them. In a way, she didn't want to know.
He was a huge man with a massive, shaven head, piercing eyes, and a densely tattooed neck and forearms.
He sat down on the chair and stared them down.
Cami made herself stare back, even though she felt her eyes were watering with the effort.
Connor said easily, just like he'd addressed Dave, "So, you're due for parole in a couple of months, Mr. Edwards. Looking forward to it?"
Breaking the ice. Nick looked surprised at that. Maybe he didn't get many people asking that kind of question.
"I guess," he said warily. “Can’t be worse than in here, right?”
"We're here because of someone else who got out recently." Connor moved smoothly into his reasons for being here.
"Is that Nealon?" Nick asked.
"Yes. Why would you think we were here because of him?"
Nick shrugged. "He, Ellis and Giovanni got out recently. He was the most recent, though."
"Was he close to the others?"
Now, a sly expression crossed Nick's face.
"Seems like you want to know this badly?" he asked. "Strange information to be wanting. Did something happen outside?"
"We would appreciate the information," Connor said.
"But what am I getting?" Nick spread his hands.
Cami felt a flicker of worry as Nick continued.
"So I've got to help you now, and I get nothing? That doesn't seem fair. And if it's not fair, I'm not helping." He stared at Cami again, his gaze raking over her. “I’ll tell you what. How about a conjugal visit? From this pretty young lady here? I’m owed one! I’ll give her a good time, I promise you.” He grinned.
Cami ducked her head, her face burning. She remembered Connor’s warning. She couldn’t show emotion. But still – this was something she’d never expected to have to handle.
“You don’t say that to FBI visitors!” A rough, unfamiliar voice made her raise her head again. The guard was there, grabbing Nick’s shoulder angrily, shouting into his ear. “You don’t say that kind of thing. Or all your privileges will get revoked!”
Nick glared angrily back up at the guard.
“Wait a minute!” Loud and sharp, Connor’s voice intervened. “I have an idea.”
For a few beats, there was silence. Everyone looked at Connor.
What was Connor going to do now? Was there a way of saving the situation after that inappropriate and offensive comment?
"I believe in fairness. I can’t do much for you inside, but maybe we’ll get further if we talk about what’s possible and reasonable. So, how about some credits at the prison store?"
She could see Nick turning the idea over in his mind. The guard’s demeanor relaxed slightly.
"Okay," Nick said. "I guess that'll do.”
Cami breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Store credits it is," Connor said.
"Organize them. Now. Or I'm not talking. And it better be a decent amount."
Nick was a hard negotiator.
"I'll be back now," Connor said.
Cami followed him out. No way was she going to sit there alone with him after what he'd said. It was creeping her out. The way he'd gazed at her like she was an object that was there to be looked at, was horrible.
Connor walked quickly down the corridor, called out to the guard by the top gate, and asked him directions to the prison store. That was a brisk walk away, that took them out of the prison and into the bitter cold.
The store was accessed via a separate entrance that required going through security all over again. Cami was sure there was a different way through if you were a prisoner, but they weren’t allowed to take it.
All this, just to buy credits? Cami felt they needed technology in this jail, but acknowledged that it might be too much of an enabler for a smart and sneaky convict who wanted to escape.
Connor bought a very generous amount of credits, and then they headed all the way back again, down to the cells, and with the guard watching sternly, Connor handed the credits over.
Nick glanced at the receipt and nodded. Clearly, Connor had estimated the amount correctly.
But would he talk now?
"I'm not sure what you want to know," he complained.
"I want to know if either of the men who left at around the same time as Nealon, had any problems, any grudges, showed any strange behavior. What kind of guys were they?" Connor asked.
"I didn’t know them so well. They were average. Ellis was smart, but a sneaky creep and a backstabber. Giovanni was quiet, but in a way I never trusted," Nick said disparagingly.
"Anything else you noticed? Did Nealon have any enemies?"
“Not in particular,” he said.
“What about good friends? Anyone particularly close?”
He shrugged. "I wouldn’t say we were close as a group. I remember Giovanni, I think, couldn't wait to get out. He had some dream of reuniting with his girlfriend, but that would never happen. She moved to another state, probably to avoid him."
"Thanks a lot. Helpful," Connor said.
Cami felt stunned.
They now knew that one of Nealon's friends, Giovanni, who was untrustworthy and quiet, had gotten out with intentions of reuniting with a girlfriend.
This linked up to all the romantic places the bodies had been left, the ribbons, the music on the phones.
Giovanni could easily have gone on a killing spree after finding his girlfriend had left the state.
Now to track him down.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Cami had never thought they'd find Giovanni Bellini in a place like this.
Crashes and bangs resounded around the large room. Lights flickered, sending colorful flares and shadows spinning over the ceiling. War cries and cheers resounded around the space.
When she and Connor had rushed from the interview room to find out more about Giovanni Bellini, they'd discovered that he'd found a job after leaving prison. He was working as an assistant at one of the new event venues in town.
And when Cami and Connor arrived, having checked that Giovanni was on shift and in the building, they'd found themselves at a robot fighting event.
“What on earth is this?” Connor said, looking at the poster by the door.
“Robot fighting is a new craze,” Cami stage-whispered, above the commotion made by people flooding in. “Teams work together, they custom build their machines, and then they put them into a combat situation on stage, remotely controlling them, and see who wins. It’s proving amazingly popular.”
“I guess this is the modern equivalent of dog fighting or rooster fighting?” Connor asked, still sounding perplexed.
“Yes. I like it a lot better because no innocent beings are harmed. Although it ends up feeling as if the robots are real,” she said. “Most of the robots in these fights look like battlebots, and are controlled in basic ways, just crashing into each other and dodging each other’s attacks. But I see here from the poster they’re doing an experimental fight right now, with more advanced robots that have arms and legs and move more like people, instead of flat objects. That should be very interesting for fans of the sport.”
"Tickets?" the doorman said.
Cami could see Connor was intrigued by the action inside the room, and so was she. Robotics was something she had always been fascinated by.
But they were here to catch a killer. Her curiosity about this robot fight would have to wait.
"We're FBI," Connor said, showing his badge in lieu of a ticket. "We're looking for Giovanni Bellini. Would you know where he is?"
His ID photo and description were unhelpful. He was average height, average build, short brown hair and brown eyes, and thirty years old. With an oval face and no distinguishing features, not even visible tattoos, picking him out of the crowd wouldn't be easy.
"Giovanni's somewhere in there." The doorman gestured to the crowded room. A massive, metallic crash filled the air, and the lights dipped and flared. Cheers erupted. "He's circulating inside. I'm not sure where, though."
He peered into the murky light.
"Any uniform? Would he be wearing anything distinctive?"
"A RoboBattle baseball cap and a black jacket," the doorman said, and Cami had to suppress a flare of frustration. It looked like everyone in the room was wearing similar clothing.
"I guess we go in and look for him," Connor said.
He stepped inside, weaving his way through the tightly packed crowds. The robot battle was occurring on a raised stage at the back. Two machines, with metal gleaming and arms raised, were doing battle, while their teams, at either end of the stage, worked the controls.
The lights dipped again, plunging the place into blackness, and then flared. Cami stared around, seeing the crowds, battling to get her eyes adjusted to the constantly changing light, and to train her gaze to pick out the man they needed.
Everyone in the crowd seemed to be wearing that baseball cap, and there were hundreds of people in the room. The robot fights were clearly a hugely popular crowd-puller, and Cami could see why. There was something hypnotic about watching two large, remote-controlled machines battle for supremacy.
"How long will this fight carry on for?" Connor asked.
Cami shouted back in reply. "Usually, as long as it takes for the one team to get the other one's robot on the floor. Then the lights will go up and we'll have a better chance at spotting him."
“Okay. I’ll have a look around. Let’s stay in touch via message.”
For a moment, Cami considered speeding things along by hacking into one of the robots and simply forcing it to lie down. She could have done that. If she got to the controls, she had a very powerful program that would work.
But she put that idea instantly out of her mind. It would not be ethical to do that. And she was trying her best to remain an ethical hacker. Prize money was at stake, these teams had put their all into the game, and a few minutes more of searching in the gloom would have to be endured. In any case, it looked like the team with the red and gold robot was much stronger and that the silver and black one would soon be forced into submission.
But maybe this room wasn't the only place there was to search.
It was very crowded in here, and she didn't see what role an assistant could play in this space. Surely it was far more likely that an assistant was going to be somewhere behind the scenes? Perhaps checking that the restrooms were clean, or setting up the catering, or backstage, ready for the next team's entrance?
"This way?" she said, turning.
But she saw that Connor had already gone.
Her boss had headed off somewhere different, and now she'd have to pursue her good idea all on her own.
A crash, a flare of light, and raucous cheers signaled that Team Gold had almost won against Team Silver, but at the last minute, the silver team had got their robot out of the way, sending it back, regrouping. Working on their strategy. She watched as the robot lifted its arms again.
It was hard not to ascribe human emotions and feelings to something that behaved in such a lifelike way as the silver robot tottered bravely forward once more.
Maybe, Cami thought with a shiver, the robot actually had more humanity within its mechanical soul, than the man they were here to hunt.
There was a side door, taking her out of the main viewing hall.
She pushed it open and headed through, to see where it led, and if her hunch was correct. The side door whooshed shut behind her.
Back here, it was much darker, with only a string of tiny, silvery lights showing the way. And it was much quieter. The noise, deafening from inside the main hall, was muffled back here.
She followed the corridor along, letting her eyes adjust to the gloom.
Footsteps from up ahead alerted her and she moved to the side, pressing herself against a wall, as a woman in a baseball cap hurried past. Cami guessed she'd come from the restrooms. They must be down this way, and she saw another sign directing her to the kiosk and refreshments area.
It was a few steps later that Cami thought to herself that the woman passing by had looked upset. As if she'd been trying to get back to the hall, fast. She had been rushing back. She'd been looking threatened.
And a moment later, she picked up the sound of raised voices coming from further down the corridor. She heard a man's voice, sounding angry. And then a woman's voice, high and traumatized. The note of fear in it set Cami's instincts prickling. She needed to see what was happening. This could be Giovanni Bellini himself, trying to grab another victim from this crowded and anonymous venue.
Where was Connor? Cami quickly picked up her phone and sent him a message.
"I am in back corridor, toward restrooms. Sounds like some trouble from down here."
She hesitated. There was no guarantee that Connor would read her message any time soon. He was prowling around an extremely noisy competition hall in search of their killer. Unless he actually looked at his phone, there was no way of alerting him.
Another shout from down the corridor. Whatever was playing out, it wasn't resolving. It was getting worse. And with no sign of Connor around as yet, Cami would have to stop this herself.
Taking her courage into her hands, she headed down the corridor, walking quietly, hoping that whatever was down there, would be within her power to solve.
She'd so much rather have been in that competition hall. Hacking into the robot would have been easy compared to this.
"No! Get your hands off me!" Those words were clearly audible, and the woman sounded terrified.
Cami broke into a run, pounding down the dimly lit, carpeted corridor. It ended in a lobby, with restroom doors on either side and an emergency exit beyond.
A woman, with frightened eyes and long platinum hair, was resisting the grasp of a solid looking man, who had her arm firmly pinned in his hands, and who was trying to drag her to the exit door.
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