Necessary Decisions, A Gino Cataldi Mystery (42 page)

“I’m on it.”

Shit!
I’d almost forgotten about Harbough. “Tip, the guy who was running the insurance investigation firm—it wasn’t Masterson, it was Ed Harbough.”

Dead silence. “Where is he?”

Tip usually had a semi-dufus, friendly, funny voice. This time his voice was scary.

“On his way downtown.”

“You should have let me have him. You owed me that.”

“I did it for you.”

“The fuck you did.”

I felt bad about what I did to Tip. I knew how much he wanted to find his mother’s killer, but I also knew he’d have probably killed Harbough. If he had, one of us was going up for it.

I looked in my rearview mirror as I drove. I half expected to see something resembling a spaceship flying by at any minute, piloted by a humanoid who resembled Tip. He’d be pissed as hell at what I did. When he was pissed, he drove fast. And he drove ninety when he was happy.

I called Ribs to pick up where we left off. “Go outside.”

“On my way.” I waited a few seconds, then he came on again. “What’s up?”

“Let’s try to figure out who planted the spyware. Do that, and we’ve got our kidnappers.”

“None of us had access to his phone. No reason for Alexa to do it. No reason on earth for Scott to do it.”

“So that leaves the people at his work,” I said. “They would have access to his phone at various times. And they’d likely know, or suspect, his password. His admin would surely know.”

“But
why
would someone from work do this? Don’t they all stand to make money from this IPO?”

I didn’t have an answer. “Maybe it’s a jealousy thing, like that case a while back where the scientist put the carcinogenic stuff in the other guy’s nasal spray.”

“Cruel shit there.”

“So you think somebody could hate Scott that much?”

Delgado laughed. “You tell me.”

I thought about it for a moment. “Let’s assume it’s somebody from work. Why would they not know they had the wrong girl?”

“If their information relied on listening to the phone, maybe we didn’t mention her by name when Scott was there.”

Delgado got me thinking. “So as long as Scott didn’t mention it at work…”

“And you told him not to.”

I nodded. “That could explain it. We’ll have to ask Scott when I get back.”

“You want me to tell him about the spyware and see if he comes up with any suggestions?”

“Yeah. See how he handles it.”

I hung up and stared across at Lonny. “I won’t tell you not to worry, but we’ll get her. I promise.”

“Like you promised those people in Philadelphia?”

That was a low blow, but he had a right to say it. I shouldn’t have promised. Not them. Not him. We rode in silence for a few moments. I exited the freeway, turned left, headed toward the motel.

Chapter 62

Last Room on the Left

N
umber Four paced the room, cracking his knuckles and squeezing his hands. The crime scene unit was in the next room, vacuuming, moving furniture, doing God knows what.

When the hell are they going to leave?

He walked to the window. Number Four had the curtains closed again. He didn’t see any more cars, but that didn’t mean anything. They could have an army around the corner, for all he knew. Why the hell did Boss have to send him here, of all people? He shot a quick glance to the girl, lying on the bed. Number Two must have scared her good. She’d been perfect ever since that phone call.

***

Lonny had been on the phone with Lucia ever since I told him about Jada being in the motel. He hung up as I pulled into the parking lot alongside Lance’s van. How Lance had gotten back so fast was beyond me. Maybe he and Tip went to the same driving school. Maybe all Texans did. Lonny and I got out of the car and went to the van.

“Detective,” Lance said and nodded.

“Everybody ready?”

“Good to go. Just give the word.”

I turned to Lonny. “Stay in the car. Call Lucia. Do
anything
, but stay in the car. I can’t be worried about you with Jada’s life on the line.”

“Lucia’s on her way,” he said. “Mars is driving her.”

“Good. Jada will like that.”

I waited for Lonny to get in the car then turned to face Lance. “Consider this a hostage situation. As far as we know, we’ve got one kidnapper in the room with the girl. He’ll be desperate, feeling trapped.”

“Not good,” Lance said.

“No, it’s not.” My phone rang. “Hang on, Lance.” I answered the phone, assuming it was Delgado but it was her.

“Detective, in a few minutes, you will hear noise from inside room #178—screaming or banging on the wall. The girl will be in the bathroom. That will be your opportunity. Don’t miss it.”

“How—”

“Goodbye, Detective.”

I stared at the phone then looked at Lance. “That was one of the kidnappers. They’re in room #178, and the girl will give us a signal when she’s out of harm’s way.”

“When?”

“A few minutes.”

“They’re giving up their own?”

“Along with the girl,” I said.

“What the hell? Why?”

“My guess is she doesn’t want any witnesses.”

Lance looked at me and shook his head. “‘She’?”

“The one who called is a woman. These people are cold, Lance.”

“Ice cold,” he said. “But it doesn’t matter. We’re ready.”

Gino turned to Lance. “Make sure they are. Have the crime scene unit listening for the signal. And Lance, we want this guy alive. We
need
him alive.”

“We’ll do our best.”

“
Alive!
” I said as he gathered his men.

***

Jada had been counting down the minutes, waiting for the right opportunity. She tried judging the time by watching Number Four’s mood, but he seemed so…wired. It scared her. Number Two had been insistent though, so Jada figured she’d better make her move. She grunted low to draw his attention.

Number Four turned. “What?” His voice was a harsh whisper.

Jada gestured with her head toward the bathroom.

“You’ll have to wait.”

She shook her head and indicated again she had to go.

He closed his eyes and sighed. “Can’t you wait?”

She shook her head. He grabbed her arm and led her toward the bathroom. When they got to the door, he spoke into her ear with a low voice. “Remember what Number Two told you. Try anything…”

Jada put fear into her eyes. It was easy to do, because she really was scared half to death.

He let go of her arm but stood close to the door. She went in, but he kept watching. She started to close the door, but he stopped it, shaking his head.

Jada unzipped her pants, sat on the toilet, and pretended to try. After a minute or so, she motioned for him to turn his head. She got ready. As soon as he turned his head, she jumped up, slammed the door and twisted the lock.

He banged against the door, but not very hard. Then she heard him threatening her.

“Open this fuckin’ door. You know what will happen.”

Jada tried getting her gag off, but it was tied too tight. She kicked the wall, once, then more. Her stomach lurched. Number Four was pushing on the door. If he got in, she was dead. She got on her back, stretched her arms back and braced against the tub, and kicked with all she had. She kept kicking, and kicking, even punching holes in the drywall.

Somebody please help me!

***

Inside room #180, the CSU lead heard the noise and called Gino. “We’ve got a signal. It’s a go.”

Gino looked to Lance. “Go!”

Lance had men inside #180 and outside of #178. He gave the order to move in.

Number Four heard footsteps. He ran to the window, looked out. They were coming up the steps. He waited for them to get close. Fifteen feet, ten. He fired through the window, taking the lead cop down.

The door from #180 burst open. Two guys rushed in, one low to the ground. The low one fired. The first shot blew out Four’s chest. The second ripped a chunk of his head off.

***

Lance’s guy went down. I prayed his vest covered him. I drew my gun and rushed the room. A shot rang from inside. Then another. Lance’s guys busted through the door of #178. I followed them in. The guy on the floor wasn’t a pretty sight. Noise was still coming from the bathroom.

“Jada! Open the door, Jada. It’s the police. You’re safe.”

The bathroom door burst open, and Jada flew out. I held my arms open, and she wrapped herself around me, showering me with tears. When I took out the gag, her words couldn’t come fast enough.

“Oh my God! Is it over? Oh God.”

I patted her back and kissed her head. “It’s over, Jada. You’re safe.”

She couldn’t stop crying and wouldn’t let go of me.

“Your dad is outside. Probably your mom and Mars, too. How about we go see them?”

She broke off from me. “Oh my God. Are they really here?”

I held her arm and led her through the room, trying to shield her from the gory mess on the floor. She cried all the way out of the room and down the walk. When we turned the corner, she saw Lonny and Lucia. And Mars. Jada broke from me and ran, screaming something incoherent. I took my time getting to them, but it was an easy scene to interpret. A family reunited, sharing in grief and relief. When I got to within about ten feet, they were still crying, even Mars. I felt good inside. This was not how my other kidnappings ended, though there was still a sour note to play out. I felt certain that Lonny hadn’t told them of his situation, and I knew that as good as it felt for them to have Jada home safe, it was going to be just as bad to see Lonny go. Maybe worse. For the time being, though, I let them enjoy the moment.

Lucia ran to me, hugging me and spreading more tears on my shirt. “Detective, we can’t thank you enough. I knew you’d do it. I
knew
you’d save my baby.”

“I’ll get an ambulance out here. You can ride to the hospital with her.”

Lonny came over, repeating the gratitude. “So what do we do, Detective?”

I knew I shouldn’t do what I was about to do, but I did it anyway. “Give me your word that you’re not going anywhere, and you can ride with the family to the hospital.”

He offered his hand. “No problem there. I owe you for that.”

“I’m sending someone to the hospital to ask her questions. I’m going to Winthrop’s house. I’ve got to get these people.”

“Get them for Jada.”

I let the Hacketts alone and set about wrapping things up so I could get out of there. I called the ambulance and gave Lance instructions for securing the area until someone else arrived. The crime scene unit could handle their own business. Next I called Delgado and told him what had happened, and to keep it quiet for now. Until we figured things out.

It was good to get Jada, but I was still pissed. We had been played like fools through this whole thing, to the point of relying on them to help us save Jada. It was time to get these fuckers. Now!

Chapter 63

Charred Evidence

I
was two miles away when the phone rang. It seemed like all it did was ring. “Cataldi.”

“Gino, it’s Julie. Those addresses you gave me earlier?”

“Yeah?”

“The fire department just had a call to one of them. There’s a big blaze in a building a few blocks away.”

Aw shit!
“Which address?”

Julie gave it to me. “I’m on it. Call Tip and Delgado for me. Fill them in.”

I turned on the siren and punched the gas up to Tip-Denton speed. Fortunately, the traffic was light. From about a mile away, I saw the smoke. As I closed to within half a mile, I saw huge tongues of flames lapping the sky. The end of the road came quicker than I thought, switching from pavement to gravel. The car bounced hard. I thought the shocks broke for a minute. I hit the brakes and got down to a reasonable speed. After a couple hundred feet, woods surrounded me, growing thicker the closer I got. The road skewed right, then left, opening into a small clearing. I hit the brakes. Four fire trucks stood in front of me. I scanned the area. Didn’t see anyone but firemen. I got a sick feeling in my gut.