Necessary Decisions, A Gino Cataldi Mystery (16 page)

“I cannot believe you said that, Detective. I could have your badge.”

“Yeah, well, try to get anything you want. But the papers will soon be telling the world that this ultra-clean biotech executive doesn’t give a shit about a poor girl about to be raped, or killed, or both.” I smiled. “So what do you think? Will those articles earn you much sympathy? Think they’ll help your IPO?”

Winthrop shook his head repeatedly. “I cannot believe…”

“That I’d say such things?” I shook my head at him. “I’d say, or
do
, anything to save that girl. Think about
that
why don’t you?”

Delgado stepped between us. “Let’s everyone remain cool.” He glared at me. “
Right
, amigo?”

That was the signal from Delgado telling me to shut up. I did. I was about to apologize to Scott when Alexa wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Daddy, it’s Jada. I think that’s who they have.”

He looked genuinely upset. “What?”

“Jada walked to school by herself. Todd picked me and Lisa up, and we…cut school.”

He hugged her, stroking her hair. “Dear God.”

“What’s her parents’ number?” I asked. “Do you know where they live?”

She nodded.

I thought about calling, but that was no way to tell them, assuming the victim was their daughter. “Let’s go. You can show me where they live.”

Chapter 24

My Daughter Is Missing

I
forced myself to be silent as I drove Alexa to the Hackett’s house. I wanted to talk to her about drugs, how she’d ruin her life and her father’s life. But I didn’t trust myself to maintain control; besides, she said it was only a five- or ten-minute drive to their house. Not enough time to do any good. At least that’s what I convinced myself.

We crossed the freeway, took a few turns, went over a set of railroad tracks, and into an older subdivision with a nice, tree-lined drive. A few blocks later, we turned onto their street.

“It’s right there,” Alexa said. “Number 712.”

I parked next to the mailbox, where I noted the car and truck parked in the driveway. “Do you know her parents well?”

She nodded. “They’re nice people.”

We walked up the sidewalk together, but when we reached the porch, Alexa stood behind me, almost hiding.

A teenage boy answered the door. He was maybe fifteen or sixteen. “Can I help you?”

I held out my badge. “Detective Gino Cataldi. Is your father home?”

He looked nervous, but people—especially kids—usually did when a cop showed up at their house.

“Dad, some cop is here.”

Jada’s father came to the door, wearing a look I’d seen many times—fear. I’d seen enough people scared of the police to recognize it, and I wondered why he was.

Is this guy a dope dealer? What has he done wrong?

Then I remembered why I was there—their daughter was missing. Maybe, just maybe, the appearance of a cop late at night when your kid was missing could do that. That brought to mind my own situation from not long ago, when Ron was doing drugs. Every time the phone rang, I jumped, certain it was a cop calling to tell me Ron had been busted, or the hospital calling to tell me he’d OD’d. Or was dead.

“May I help you?” Jada’s father asked.

“Sir, I’m Detective Gino Cataldi. I—”

“Alexa?” Jada’s father said. “Is that you?”

She stepped out from behind me, wrapping her arms around him. “Mr. Hackett. Oh God, Mr. Hackett, I think they got Jada.” The tears came pouring out.

I hadn’t wanted it to go like this, but now… “Mr. Hackett, may we come inside?”

“Who’s got Jada? What’s she talking about? Are you holding my girl for something?”

As we entered, his wife came out from the kitchen. “What’s going on? Is something wrong?”

I had to get hold of this quickly. “Sir. Ma’am. I didn’t want to start the conversation like this, but we have reason to think that your daughter might have been kidnapped.”

“What?” Lonny rushed to the table and grabbed his phone, punching in numbers.

I moved quickly toward him. “Mr. Hackett! Please, sir. Don’t do that.”

He stopped and stared. “I’m calling Jada.”

“Sir, if Jada’s been kidnapped, it’s because they think she is Mr. Winthrop’s daughter. We don’t want to do anything that could arouse suspicion, including unnecessary phone calls.”

Mrs. Hackett was hugging her husband and son both. She had that frightened-parent expression. “What makes you think it’s our girl?”

“They called Mr. Winthrop this morning. We thought all along it was Alexa until she came home. Then when she told us that Jada spent the night…”

“I thought she was shopping for a dress with you,” Mrs. Hackett said to Alexa.

Alexa shook her head. “That’s what she told you, but she was going with Jason.”

“Who’s Jason?” Mr. Hackett said.

“Some loser,” the son said. “The guy she’s going to the prom with.”

“‘Loser’?” I said. “What do you mean by that?” I focused my attention on Hackett’s son.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Just…I don’t know.”

Mr. Hackett grabbed his son and shook him. “This is no time to play games. Tell the man what you know.”

I couldn’t understand how they must feel, but I tried imagining. “Son, your father is right. Your sister’s life may be in danger. Anything you know will help.”

He hesitated, looking first at his father, then his, mother, and finally back at me. “He’s a punk. Into drugs, gangs. I told her not to go with him.”

I thought Mrs. Hackett would lose it. She covered her face with her hands and plopped into a chair. Her body trembled. “Oh God! Mars, why didn’t you say something? You should have told us.”

“Mom, I can’t—”

“All right. Enough!” Mr. Hackett reached his hand out to me. “Detective, my name is Lonny. My wife is Lucia, and that is our son, Morris, but we call him Mars. Let’s sit down. Then please tell us what we can do.”

While Alexa filled them in on what she knew, I looked the place over. The windows had no curtains—only blinds—and the floor was the standard carpeting that came with small tract houses. The TV was an old tube model. If this guy was a drug dealer, he didn’t spend his profits at home.

Alexa told them about Jada walking to the bus stop alone. When she finished, I described the ransom call and what had happened since. “We feel fairly certain it
is
Jada they have.”

Lucia was crying again. Lonny looked as if he’d do that same any minute. I figured this was a good time to get them moving. “Mr. Hackett, I know your world has been torn apart, but we need to get back to the Winthrops’ house. These people think they have his daughter. They might call, and if they do, I need to be there. Besides, I want you to hear the tape to see if there is anything you can pick up on. I doubt it, but it’s worth a try.”

“Anything, Detective, let’s go.”

Lucia grabbed her purse as she headed out the door with Lonny and Mars.

“You should ride with us,” I said.

The three of them climbed in the backseat. Alexa sat up front with me. It seemed like two hours to get back to Alexa’s house. Lucia cried almost the whole way, with Lonny consoling her. Mars was in a zombie state, silent and rigid as a stone.

“Alexa, do you have this…Jason’s number?”

“I’ve got it.”

“Call him. See if he’s seen Jada, but don’t tell him what’s happening.”

Alexa made the call. She talked for maybe half a minute. “He thought she was with me.”

“But he never called you?”

“He’s probably been calling her cell.”

I cringed when I heard that, knowing it would bring more tears from Lucia. It did. “Don’t worry, ma’am. We’ll get her back.”

When we got to Alexa’s house, the Hacketts sat at the kitchen table while I played the tape.

“I thought they would let her talk,” Lonny said afterward.

“This isn’t like the movies, Mr. Hackett. These people seem professional, which means they want to control things right from the start. Not letting you talk to her keeps you guessing. They are supposed to call tomorrow. I’d bet we’ll hear her then.”

“Do you think…” Lucia sounded afraid to put words to her concerns.

I patted her back. “Yes, ma’am. I think she’s safe. They are only interested in the money.”

No sense in telling her differently.

“What are we going to do?” Lonny asked.

“About?”

“The money. How do we work this?” He stared at me, desperation in his eyes. “You have a plan, don’t you?”

“I’m working on it,” I said.

“Working on it? You’ve had all damn day.”

I took a few breaths then leaned toward the two of them. “Earlier, when we thought it was Alexa, Mr. Winthrop was going to provide the money.”

“And now?” Lonny’s voice had a sharp edge to it.

“I’ve asked my captain if we can do something. I won’t know how to approach it until we hear from the kidnappers. The next call will determine a lot.”

Lucia patted her husband’s hand. “They’ll do what they can. Don’t worry, the Lord won’t let anything happen to her.”

I pulled Delgado aside. “Have Connors babysit the druggie while you watch the parents. I’ve got to get hold of Coop.”

“You bringin’ in the Feds?” Delgado asked.

“Maybe. I don’t like not having the money as a backup.”

“That
could
turn it ugly.”

“Yeah. And none of us want that.”

I called Coop, roused her from bed, and filled her in on the latest development. “And you’re sure they have this Hackett girl?” she asked.

“We’re not sure of anything. She could be out drinking, could be in a motel with her boyfriend—although he said he hadn’t seen her—or she could be taped up and gagged with a bunch of guys who want to do wrong things to her.”

“And you feel it’s the latter?”

“Pretty damn certain.”

“How are the parents?”

“As you would expect. Disbelieving, hoping it’s not true. But they know. They’ll be worse tomorrow when it’s confirmed.”

“Did you…”

“
Placate
Winthrop? Yes, I did.”

“Good. That’s one worry gone. What do you need now?”

“I’m going to need people for surveillance on whatever drop they have planned. I’ll need to keep the techs here, and I’ll need seven million dollars cash.”

Coop coughed between fits of laughter.

“One more thing, Coop. I need a stand-in for Winthrop. He’s about six foot, 190 pounds, and he’s black. Think Chief Renkin wants the job?”

“I’d ask, but he’s noticeably bigger, and blacker, than Winthrop. As for the money, find another way. You’re not getting seven million dollars. You won’t get seven
hundred
.”

“We should call the Feds.”

“Chief doesn’t want it.”

“He made that decision when we thought this was about Winthrop. Now it’s some poor sap whose daughter got in the way.”

“I’ll ask again, but don’t count on it. They don’t want any controversy surrounding this IPO.”

“Captain, this girl’s life is on the line.”

Coop sighed. “I
know
. Let me work on it.”

“At least give me Tip,” I said.

“No way am I putting you and Denton on another case together. Get that out of your mind.”

I went back inside, trying to figure out what to do next. “Delgado, what time is it?” I cringed having to ask. My blood boiled, reminding me that a guy named Number Three had Mary’s watch.

“A little past eleven.”

I went to the table and sat next to Lucia, across from Lonny. “I know this isn’t a good time, but there are questions that need answering.”

Lucia said, “Go on, Detective.”

“What do you know about her boyfriend?”

Lucia shook her head. “Nothing. We didn’t even know he
was
her boyfriend. She came home the other day saying he asked her to the prom, but other than that…”

“I’ll kill that son of a bitch!” Lonny said.

“Hold on, sir. We have no indication that he did anything wrong. It’s simply something I have to follow up on. Whenever we—” My phone rang. It was Chief Renkin. “Hey, Chief. What’s up?”

“Coop filled me in, Cataldi. I can give you all the manpower you need, but we can’t do anything about the money. You’ll have to make do.”

“I figured that much.”

“Anything new on the Marshall case?” Renkin asked.

“I got Ramirez working it with her partner. Last I heard, the Marshall boy wasn’t doing well.”

“Leads?”

“None yet, but Ramirez is good. We’ll get there.”

“We better, Detective. That case is getting headlines.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Keep me informed. On
both
cases.”

“Yes, sir. Thanks.”

I hung up and dialed Ramirez. She answered right away.

“Ramirez, I’m getting pressure from the chief. What have we got?”

“Nothing new.”

“You need to turn up the heat. If that boy dies, they all go down for murder.
Use
that. Find out who was involved and press hard. Start shaking people up. Tongues loosen up when a murder rap’s involved.”

“Was that the Marshall boy from that home invasion?” Lonny asked.