Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00, page 11
I sat down in one of the recliners, while he slipped the DVD into the machine and reached for the remote. He pushed play and sat down in the second recliner.
Several exotic resort-style images flashed onto the screen like a flip-book, only the title was in Spanish: Puerta Del Diablo. “What does it mean?” I said.
“It looks like a travel brochure,” Jaden said. “Does it have something to do with your case?”
“I don’t know?”
Jaden was just about to hit the stop button, when a room appeared on the screen - the same room from the photo. It had no windows, and there were several bunks. Only this time, the bunks weren’t empty. The young women and male from the photos were sitting on the edge of the bunks, except there was something else that was strange.
“What the heck…” I said, shocked by what I was seeing. “Jaden, did you see that? Play it again.”
Jaden stopped the DVD, hit rewind and pushed play again.
“WTF!” Jaden blurted out. He saw the same thing I did. “Syd, what the heck’s going on?”
The young women and man were being held captive. Each one of them had a chain secured around an ankle, which was attached to one of the bunks. Jaden was about to hit the stop button again, when we saw the shadow of a figure, and a male voice echoed on the screen.
“Now, you belong to The Privileged Ones,” he went on to say. “You will not go back to the life you had. We will feed you, clothe you, and give you a better life. We will train you, and turn you into the perfect specimens, commodities that will make you profitable. In return, you will work to repay the fees, until it is time…”
“Until it is time…?” Jaden said. “Time for what…?”
I bolted out of the chair, and walked into the bathroom to put cold water on my face. I replayed the last two days in my head. Summer walking into the firehouse, surveillance of David Klein, what happened to Tamara, and now these photos with victims chained to bunks, only who knew where. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
THIRTY-SEVEN
SEVERAL MINUTES later, I joined Jaden and Cody at the computer. Cody was standing over the photographs, viewing them through a magnifying glass, making sounds I couldn’t decipher. He looked up. “You okay?”
“I think so.”
He resumed his attention to the photos. There are some pretty interesting players in these photos.”
“Really? Who do you see?” Did Cody know the same faces I did, or were there others? He motioned me over to his side. He held the magnifying glass over the images. “I’m sure you know the guys that work for the city, but you see these guys here in the center?”
I looked at the men he pointed out. “Cops,” I said. One of them was the cop I referred to as Skater, the one that showed up in the Camaro. If Tamara knew some of the men were cops that would explain why she didn’t seek their help. She didn’t trust them.
Cody nodded. “And these guys, here,” he said, and he pointed out the guys from the Hummer. “They peg me as the mob, or maybe a cartel.”
“Their license plate is from Mexico.”
Cody motioned toward their images. “Check out their shoes, their clothing, and the bulge on their hip. They’re carrying guns.”
“The mob, or a cartel,” I said to myself. “They were strutting into The Devil’s Door like they were straight off a film set. Okay, so what have we got here, then?”
I took the magnifying glass and pointed out Aaron Grant. “This is the son of the employer of Tamara Marquez, the girl that was murdered. So, how does a rich kid from Sutter Beach, fit in with a vice cop, guys who work for the city, and the mob or a cartel, allegedly?”
Cody shrugged. “From these photos, all you know is that they’re all together at some party.”
“Yeah, only somebody is chaining victims and calling themselves The Privileged Ones. Unfortunately, he didn’t show his face on the video.”
We got quiet, and all you could hear were the cars going back and forth outside on the street. Cody did a little more work on the photos, while Jaden and I viewed them with the magnifying glass.
“Oh wow!” I zeroed in on another face I recognized, and it just blew the whole thing wide open for me. I held the magnifying glass over an image. “This guy here is David Klein. It’s the case I’m working on, now.”
“No way,” Cody said, suddenly suspicious. “He’s the brother of the model?”
“Yep.”
Jaden cackled sarcastically. “Can you spell conspiracy?”
Cody snorted. “Yeah. A model comes in out of the blue, says her step-brother is stealing from her. You tail him to a private club. Tamara Marquez calls you. She winds up dead, but she had a photograph of the guy who you tailed to the club.”
My head was starting to spin. “Yes. These cases are related!”
“I thought there was something iffy about that model coming in out of the blue,” Cody said, and if he could he would give himself a pat on the back. “I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“Yeah, but what is the connection between David Klein and Aaron Grant?”
Jaden said, “Who took the photos?”
“I’m betting Tamara Marquez did.”
Jaden shook his head. “The Sutter Beach Harbor is filled with some heavy shit.”
I sat back in the seat. “Like my mom said, the world can be a dark place.” Tamara was dead and there was no time for self pity. Pieces were slowly coming together, and we had to keep going to figure things out.
When I left them, I wondered how far into the darkness we were going to have to go to find out who killed Tamara, and what we might find along the way. They must have been thinking the same thing. Jaden and Cody were watching me from the window to make sure I made it to the loaner car, unharmed. They knew I wasn’t going to stop until I had the answers. When something was on my mind, I was relentless - just like my mother, and it didn’t matter that I had no experience.
Seated in the car, I punched in the number for Summer’s cell phone. It was late, but I thought I might catch her. I wanted to ask her if she knew Aaron Grant. Her brother was a process server for a law firm. Would he have come across Aaron through work or could they have met through Summer? She wasn’t in any of the photos, but that didn’t mean anything. I got her voicemail, so I left a message.
As I pulled away from the curb, I had no idea Cody was placing a call to Carter to make sure I made it to my next destination.
THIRTY-EIGHT
CARTER AGREED to meet me at El Cantino Mexican Restaurant, to go over what I knew. Food was a priority, and El Cantino has the most amazing buffet, all-you-can-eat tacos and burritos. I got there first, and snagged a table by the window. When he walked in, he was showing signs of fatigue. I wondered how often he made it home to see his wife, or if he spent the last few weeks practically living at the police station. Aside from two murders - my mom and Tamara Marquez - he was still working on the pension fund scam, and prepping for the trial of Marty Cole. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was disheveled. There was also about a week’s worth of stubble on his chin, and his clothes looked like they’d been slept in. He sauntered over to where I was sitting, and motioned toward the waiter to bring him a Corona.
“How’s your face?” he said, as he dropped down into the seat from exhaustion.
“I’ll live.” Even though it hurt like you wouldn’t believe. “Have you found out anything on Tamara’s murder?” I had to ask, but I knew he wouldn’t share anything with me.
He gave me one of those looks. “Did you ask me here to bust my chops about the case?” At the same time, the waiter came over with his Corona, and took our order. We both opted for the buffet. He gave us plates and silverware; then we headed toward the display.
“I’m not busting your chops,” I said. At the same time, I was thinking how weird it was that I was involved in something so crazy in the first place. When Cody and I decided to take over McSwain Investigations, we figured we’d be dealing with a bunch of paperwork, a little computer work, or maybe a few insurance scams. Nothing like what we were tangled up in. “I just thought we could share information.” We piled our plates full of food, and returned to the table.
“Those employers of hers sure are pieces of work.”
“More than you know.” I knew Aaron Grant was involved. I just didn’t know how, yet.
“So, what have you got?” he said, as he started to chow down on the food.
I shook my head at him. “Typical cop,” I teased. “You want everything I have to offer, but you won’t tell me squat.”
He shrugged indifferently. “You don’t have to worry about the brass jumping down your throat. If leaks get out it could mess up a trial. You know that.”
Unfortunately, I had to give him that one. That was one of the reasons my mom chose to be a private investigator instead of a cop. She didn’t like dealing with bureaucracy. I reached into my backpack and pulled out the envelopes; then handed them to him.
“What’s this?” He opened the envelopes and started to view the photos. He looked at them with a keen eye. His jaw clenched.
“I also have a DVD.”
“Where did they come from?”
“Tamara gave them to my mom, before she died. If I had…”
He looked at me, and realized I was feeling responsible for Tamara’s death. “It’s not your fault any of this is happening, Syd.”
Tears welled up in my eyes again. “I know that logically, but there’s something crazy going on.”
“Well, that’s for damn sure,” he said. The expression on his face made me think he knew a whole lot more than he was sharing. “Why don’t you tell me how this all went down, so I understand it better. Start at the beginning.”
I took a bite of the taco salad, and paused before speaking. “The morning of mom’s death, she gave me a package and told me to put it in the safe. With everything that happened, I forgot all about it. When I was going through her filing cabinet to see if there were any open cases, I found a file on Tamara, so I searched the files on mom’s laptop.”
He held his hand up to interrupt me for a moment. “So that I’m clear; Tamara talked to your mom before she died?” He asked, and again, I got the expression there was more going on, and the answer was very important. Why couldn’t he just tell me? I already knew. Bureacracy. I didn’t want to mess up his case, so I didn’t push.
I nodded. “There wasn’t much in the file to go on, just a few notes. The night that Tamara called me, she asked if mom received the package. During the call, she said we are running out of time, not I am, but we. That’s when she asked me to meet her in the alley behind the coffee shop. When I arrived, shots were fired and she was gone. You and I left the scene to inform Howard Grant of her death. While we were gone someone broke into my pickup. They looked through the office, too.”
He looked me square in the eyes when he heard the last statement. “This is the first I’m hearing about the office.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t see the need. There wasn’t anything missing and I figured they wore gloves.”
“Syd, you should have told me,” he said, and he was clearly annoyed with me.
I sighed. “That’s when I remembered the package in the safe.”
His brow creased. “So, somebody knows you have them, and they want them back.”
“I guess.”
“It’s also pretty clear whoever tossed your pickup, might have been at the scene. They were watching you.” He had a strange look on his face when mentioning that revelation.
I didn’t want to persuade him into thinking a cop might be involved, I wanted him to get there on his own. One thing was for sure; I understand more of what my mom must have been dealing with when she accused Marty Cole - a cop - of being involved in the pension fund scam. Cops don’t like it when outsiders accuse another cop of criminal behavior.
“You want to hear something weird?” I said, and I picked up one of the photos and pointed out David Klein. “This guy here, he’s a process server at a law firm. It’s the case I’m working on. His sister hired me to follow him. She said he’s been stealing from her.”
He raised his eyebrow, and clenched his jaw. “That’s a little too coincidental, and I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“That’s what Jaden and Cody said.”
He processed everything I just said, and glanced through the photos, again. I could tell he recognized Skater. His eyes kept darting back to his image, but he kept it to himself. “Syd, I need you to keep all of this quiet. Only talk to me. Are we clear?”
I nodded, as I gathered up all the photographs and stuffed them back into the envelope. Maybe he was suspicious of other cops, or maybe he knew a heck of a lot more, but he just couldn’t tell me.
“Syd, from this point on, I want somebody with you at all times. I don’t want you leaving home without me, or Cody by your side. Will you promise me that?”
“Cody’s meeting me at the firehouse after we leave here,” I said, and this time I was telling the truth.”
THIRTY-NINE
I HAD the jitters when I opened the garage door to the firehouse. With Carter’s warnings just a short time, ago, my over-active imagination was going; ding, ding, ding. I looked around, but I didn’t see anything. There were no signs of visitors, and things weren’t out of place. I parked in the bay, and waited for Cody to lock up his motorcycle.
Once I saw him headed my way, I grabbed my backpack and stepped out. That’s when two men dressed in dark clothing and ski-masks charged down the stairs. One of them walked directly toward me and shoved me to the ground. Then, the second guy grabbed him and motioned toward Cody, and they took off running. I was pretty sure it was the same guys I ran into at Tamara’s. While I tried to pick myself back up, Cody took off after them in a foot pursuit.
I wrapped the strap of my backpack over my shoulder as I charged after Cody, while fumbling for my cell phone at the same time. The perps were running north, headed toward a vehicle that was waiting at the corner.
Cody noticed the getaway car. He didn’t panic, freak out, or stop running. Nope. He pulled out his camera, and started filming the chase and continued to run after them.
My eyes went wide. Was he crazy?
“Cody, stop!” What the heck was he going to do if he caught them? Ask them to smile?
I wasn’t far behind him, when I spotted the black Hummer turning onto the street behind us. It was headed in our direction. I could make out a driver. There was a second guy, as well. He was in the back seat, just behind the driver, but sitting at an odd angle. Then, I discovered why. He was holding the long barrel of a gun, and it was pointed out the back window. These maniacs wanted to take us out.
As the Hummer continued toward us, I realized Cody was too occupied with the two perps. He didn’t see the Hummer, or the gun.
“Cody, get down!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. But with all the noise and commotion, he couldn’t hear me. As fast as I have ever moved in my life, I sprinted toward him and tackled him to the ground, just as several rounds of gunfire came our way.
Br - rat – a – tat …. Br - rat – a – tat…
We scrambled to get out of the line of fire; then rolled onto our stomachs and stayed down. Cody frantically checked his precious camera; then continued to film the scene until the Hummer disappeared around the corner, and sped out of sight. We glanced back in the direction of the first getaway car. It too had disappeared around the corner with the two perps safely inside. Both cars got away.
We remained down on the ground in case the cars came back around. A few minutes passed before we heard the sound of sirens in the background. We stood up, and tried to catch our breath.
“You okay?” He finally said.
I nodded, finding it too hard to speak. Cody wrapped his arms around me to keep me from shaking.
“You filmed the crazy scene!? Really?”
He shrugged. “I thought it was just the goons that popped your nose. A cool chase scene with ski-masked men was hard to resist. I didn’t know we’d be chased down by real bullets, too. I got carried away.”
“You’re lucky you weren’t killed,” I yelled at him.
We got back to being serious when patrol officers arrived. We filled them in on the events that occurred, and gave them a description of the cars. I pointed to the area where I suspected the shots were fired. The crime scene techs would be able to narrow down the type of gun used, from the shell casings they were sure to find.
I kept quiet about the fact that I had seen the perps before, a reminder that the two cases were definitely related. And Cody didn’t let on that he filmed the scene either. Carter told me to keep things quiet. It was either a cop or Tamara’s employers that knew she contacted me. Until we knew who, we weren’t going to disclose every piece of information, not even to Carter.
Cody nudged me and ushered me off to the side. “You know we have to check your place to access the damage. Those bad guys were in the firehouse for a reason.”
“Yeah,” I said, resigned to the fact that they had probably ransacked it looking for the photos.
FORTY
CODY DID a walk-through of the firehouse before calling me in. When he did, I was stunned. They didn’t trash the place like we expected. With exception to my ‘parental unit’ tape recording being on the blitz, you wouldn’t know anyone had even been there.
“They must have realized I had the stuff with me,” I said.
Cody shook his head. “No. I think they were here for another reason.” He led me over to the phone on the desk in the firehouse office. He flipped it over and showed me the bottom. “There was a piece missing when I checked it. It was lying on the floor next to the leg of the chair. Somebody messed with your phone. I think your place was bugged, and those thugs came back to retrieve them.”
