For My Brother (7 page)

Chapter 12

Donnie turned the corner and pulled in behind the small strip plaza. Cuffed in the backseat of her own car was Suzanne Cooper. The van was waiting for him, and he transferred his captive to it, putting a hood over her head once she was inside.

The plaza sat about a mile from Suzanne’s house, and Donnie had walked to get her. He would leave her car here and take her to the farm.

Donnie put the hoods over his captives’ heads to protect the location of his home. He didn’t want them to know where they’d been,
if
they survived.

He started the van and drove out from behind the plaza. Twenty minutes and he’d be home with only one remaining task in the first phase.

*******

Suzanne lay as still as she could. She was trying to trace in her mind where they were going. She knew they’d gone to the plaza near her house, but after only a few minutes, she realized it was hopeless. She didn’t even know what direction they were headed.

She struggled to grasp what was happening. Time had ceased to exist, and her mind reeled with possibilities of what waited when the van stopped. She wanted out of the hood and the darkness it brought, but she was terrified of what she might see at the end of their trip.

She didn’t know how long they had been driving, but she felt the van slow and make a hard turn onto a gravel road. She could hear the dirt and rock kicking up beneath her. After just a moment or two, the van ceased moving and the engine sputtered to silence.

She heard the driver’s door open, then the van’s side door slid open. Her captor grabbed her by the feet to drag her out, but she kicked wildly. He let go. Next to her ear came the distinct sound of a gun being cocked.

Click!

Her heart stopped. “No, no. I’m sorry. I’ll get out.”

Again, she felt the tug on her feet, but this time she didn’t resist. When her knees were past the edge of the door, he took her by the shoulders, and stood her up.

“Walk slowly, I’ll guide you. Don’t do anything stupid, and you won’t be hurt.”

It took all the strength she could muster just to nod her head once.

They walked a short distance and then up a couple steps. She heard a door open and sensed they had moved indoors. The hood came off.

She blinked at the brightness, trying to focus, and found the man staring at her.

“Please don’t hurt me. What did I do? Why are you doing this?”

He ignored her and pointed the gun toward the basement steps. She didn’t move. Again, he pulled the hammer back on the gun.

She willed herself to move slowly toward the stairs and down into the basement. What greeted her was shocking.

A small prison with four doors, two of which had padlocks on them. She could smell urine and it made her gag.

“In there.”

She began to cry and turned toward him.

“Please don’t do this.”

He got behind her, grabbed the cuffs around her wrist, and forced her to follow him backward into the cell. Pushing her to the floor, he looped and padlocked a chain around her leg before removing her original restraints. The door shut and a lock snapped. His steps retreated up the stairs, then nothing, just quiet.

“Who are you?”

A female voice from the next cell broke the silence, startling Suzanne. She leaned as close to the wall as she could.

“Suzanne. Who are you?”

“Chelsea. The man next to me is Ed. Do you know why he brought you here?”

“No. I was at home, and next thing I know, I’m in a van with a hood on my head. Do you?”

Suzanne could hear Chelsea start to sob.

“No. He won’t tell us.”

“How long have you been here?”

“A couple days. Ed’s been here four.”

“Has he hurt either of you?”

“No. Not yet.”

Suzanne heard a man’s voice from the far cell.

“What did you say you’re name is?”

“Suzanne.”

“Suzanne what?”

“Suzanne Cooper.”

“Is that your maiden name?”

“Yes, why?”

Ed ignored the question.

“Chelsea, is Morris your maiden name?”

Chelsea tried to stop crying.

“No. Burt…my maiden name was Burt.”

Silence fell over the three of them as the girls waited to find out what Ed was driving at.

“Mother of God!

“What?” Both girls asked in unison.

“Does the name ‘Billy Jarvis’ mean anything to either of you?”

*******

It was near closing at the local dollar store, and Curt was finishing the last of the busywork.

“Wendy, I’m taking trash out; back in a minute.”

“Okay.”

He unlocked the back door and carried the two bags to the dumpster. After throwing them in, he turned to go back, and noticed a teal-colored car parked at an odd angle. The dome light was on and the back door open. He didn’t recognize the car, and everyone who worked at the plaza parked in the outer lot up front.

Curt walked down toward the vehicle and looked in. The keys dangled from the ignition, but the car wasn’t running. Standing up, he looked around. He was alone in the back alley. He pulled out his cell phone.

*******

Two uniformed officers responded to Curt’s call. One was calling in the license plate, and the other was getting the final details of how Curt found the car.

The first got off the radio.

“Car belongs to a Suzanne Cooper. Address is not far from here.”

“Get a phone number?”

“Yes. I’m trying it now.”

The second officer turned back to Curt.

“Thanks for your help. You can go now; sorry to keep you so long.”

“No problem.”

As the dollar store employee walked away, the first officer hung up the phone.

“Answering machine.”

“Okay, call in for a car to go by the address, and I’ll get a tow truck to come take the car.”

By the time the officers heard no one was answering at the residence, the car was on the truck and ready to go. Instead of the impound lot, it was sent to the forensics garage.

*******

Ed Garland could hear both girls suck in their breath. Neither said anything, and Ed waited while it sunk in. He had already figured out the connection, all three of them had been there the day Billy Jarvis had shot himself playing Russian roulette.

The thing he hadn’t figured out was their captor’s identity. Finally, Chelsea spoke. “Ed, Ed Garland from McCollum High?”

“Yes.”

“And Suzanne Cooper, Billy Jarvis’s girlfriend?”

Suzanne didn’t answer immediately, but Chelsea could hear her crying.

“Suzanne?”

“Ye…yes.”

“You’re Billy’s ex-girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

“That means Dexter Hughes…”

Ed slammed his hand on the wall. “That’s his name! I was sitting here trying to remember the other guy who was there that day. That’s gotta be who the last cell is for.”

Suzanne had regained her composure.

“If you’re right, and Dexter is put in the last cell, then what? And who is the guy doing this?”

Ed’s answer chilled them all.

“I don’t know
who
he is, and I don’t
want
to know
what’s next.”

Chapter 13

Jason received a call the next morning from Lieutenant Banks.

“Go see Doc Josie when you get here.”

“Okay. What’s up?”

“You would have me ruin the surprise? I wouldn’t think of it.”

The phone went dead. Jason called Nina, who was just leaving the house. “Hello?”

“Morning, Nina. You heading in?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Banks called. She said we need to go see Doc Josie first thing; I’ll meet you there.”

“Okay. She say why?”

“Nope. Said it was a surprise.”

“A surprise? Okay, see you in about twenty minutes.”

*******

Jason found Dr. Jocelyn Carter staring through a microscope.

“Morning, Doc.”

She pulled her head back, rolled her eyes, and went back to the scope with a chuckle. “Maybe for you, Detective. For me, it’s more like afternoon. Got a call at midnight to come in and process a car.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

Nina came through the doors and joined them. Jason stopped her before she had a chance to wish Doc Josie a good morning. “She’s been here all night.”

“Oh. Did you find out what the surprise is?”

“I was just about to ask. So Doc, is this car you mentioned our surprise?”

Doc Josie got off the stool and walked to her office with the detectives in tow. Grabbing a sheet of paper, she handed it to Jason.

“If this set of prints is what you’re referring to, then yes, this is your surprise. Those partial prints were found on the car.”

Jason gave her a quizzical look. “Let me guess. You’ve seen them before.”

“Very good. You should be a detective.”

Nina couldn’t help herself and started laughing. Doc Josie continued.

“Not only have I seen them before, I’ve seen them recently. They match the ones we pulled from the two missing persons cases you’re working.”

Jason looked up from the print sheet. “Who does the car belong to?”

“A Suzanne Cooper. It was found abandoned, keys still in the ignition, behind a plaza near her home last night. Lieutenant Banks said they haven’t been able to find Miss Cooper.”

Nina walked over to a table, put her briefcase down, and popped it open. After rummaging for a minute, she pulled some papers out. “What was that name again?”

“Suzanne Cooper.”

Jason watched as his partner ran her finger down the sheets. She stopped on the second page. “It’s here, Jason.”

“Are those the McCollum reunion lists?”

“Yes, and she’s on them.”

Jason moved for the door as Nina packed up. “Thanks, Josie. Go home and get some sleep.”

“You’re welcome, and I plan on doing just that.”

*******

Lieutenant Banks was in her office when they got to the second floor.

“Got a minute, Lieutenant?”

“Sure. Find your surprise?”

“Yes. Do you have the report from the scene?”

She slid the file across the desk.

Nina followed Jason into the room and sat next to him opposite the lieutenant. Jason picked up file, but didn’t open it.

“We’ve got a connection between the three missing cases, besides the fingerprints.”

“Okay. Please fill us in.”

Nina pulled out the phone lists and slid them across the desk toward Banks. She picked them up, glanced at them, and then up at Nina. “What are these?”

“Those are the phone lists for this summer’s ten-year class reunion of McCollum High. All three of our victims are listed on them.”

The lieutenant looked at them with a disbelieving stare.

“You’re suggesting someone is stalking, then taking their classmates before the reunion. You’re kidding me, right? It sounds like a slasher film.”

Jason shrugged his shoulders.

“I know it’s thin, but right now it’s the only link we’ve found.”

“Thin is one word for it. What’s next?”

“We run a record search on everyone listed.”

“So, you’re thinking the person or persons taking these people, or at very least possibly the next victim, are on these lists.”

Jason nodded. The lieutenant stared at the sheets for a minute. “When’s the reunion?”

“The fifth of next month.”

“Okay. I’m going to have a press briefing on this at three this afternoon. We’ll see if the public can help us. Somebody must’ve seen something. I want you two present. In the meantime, that’s a lot of names, so you better get started.”

Jason and Nina gathered their files and left the office. Nina gave Jason a grin. “Press briefing with Banks. Boy that sounds like fun!”

Jason just laughed and rolled his eyes.

*******

Chelsea was cold. The basement was damp, and the blanket didn’t give much protection. In addition, the chain was rubbing her ankle raw. She had spent the last several hours trying to figure out who their captor was.

“Suzanne?”

“Yeah.”

“I think the guy doing this has to be related to Billy.”

“Why?”

“Well, it doesn’t make sense for someone to go to all this trouble without a personal connection.”

Ed agreed. “I’ve been thinking the same thing. Billy was my best friend, but I don’t remember much about his family. His dad was dead by the time of the accident, and I think he had only his mom and brother.”

Suzanne’s memories were the same. “The whole time I knew Billy, I only heard him talk about two people. His brother and his mom. I think the brother’s name was Ronnie…Lonnie. Something like that.”

Ed remembered. “Donnie. His brother’s name was Donnie.”

Chelsea pulled her blanket tighter around her. She wasn’t feeling well. She had vomited once a few hours earlier, and it had just added to the stench surrounding them.

“That has to be it, she said. “It must be the brother. How old was he when Billy died?”

She could hear Ed rolling over before he answered, his chain scraping the floor. “Eleven or twelve, I guess. I’m not sure. I don’t even see how knowing who he is helps us. In fact, it may make it worse.”

The basement went quiet again. Knowing who their captor was should have helped, but it didn’t. In fact, it made him all the more dangerous if he found out they knew.

Chelsea could now guess at what Donnie had in mind, and she didn’t like it.