Forty-Four Box Set, Books 1-10 (44) (134 page)

CHAPTER 52

“I remember him now,” Frazier said to me. “A crazy-looking old guy. He could barely walk. There’s no way he took Emily. So, in that sense, his claim rings true.”

“It supports your theory about the dog being used as bait,” I said.

“Maybe so. I tried to explain to old Jerzy that we were busy. I asked him to come back in a week or so, but he never did.”

He grabbed his keys off the desk.

“I’m going to go look for him,” he said. “I can drop you off.”

“I’d like to come along if that’s all right.”

He nodded.

We drove to more than a dozen different places where Frazier thought Jerzy MacTavish might be, but didn’t find him.

Finally just before three, Morales called to say that he had located the homeless man at a bus stop.

“On my way,” Frazier said.

He flipped the car in the opposite direction, tires squealing.

“We’re almost there.”

The car was really flying now. A minute later we pulled up into a bus lane, screeching to a halt.

Morales was on the sidewalk arguing with an old man.

“That’s him,” Frazier said.

He started getting out of the car and then looked back at me.

“Stay here, Abby. These guys can be unstable.”

I rolled down the window so I could hear what was being said.

“Take it easy, Jerzy,” Frazier said. “We just need to ask you some questions about your dog.”

“I told him that,” Morales said. “That’s when he started going off on me.”

“Don’t
Jerzy
me,” the old man said with a toothless snarl. “You don’t know me well enough. And it’s too late to talk about my dog.”

“You’re right,” Frazier said. “Mr. MacTavish then. You’re right about your dog as well. It’s too late. But it might not be too late to help save a young woman’s life. We need your help, Mr. MacTavish. She needs your help.”

Jerzy MacTavish was ancient, with a long, scraggly beard. He was standing, barely, leaning on a cane, and bent over like a dead tree. He couldn’t have weighed more than 100 pounds. His arms were just bones, his legs sticks under a pair of stained sweats. I could smell him from 20 feet away.

Frazier was right. There was no way he could have taken Emily.

“I’m not talkin’ to that Mexican over there neither,” the old man said, nodding toward Morales.

“As I said, we need your help, Mr. MacTavish. But if you can’t be civil, I’ll have your dirty ass locked up.”

The old man had struck a nerve. Frazier’s patience was wearing thinner than Emily’s chances.

Morales pulled out his handcuffs and took a step toward MacTavish.

Frazier motioned him back.

“I’m sorry about your dog. I truly am. You have a right to be angry. We should have paid more attention to you when you came into the station. I’m sorry. But I still need to ask you about the man who took your dog. Do you remember him?”

“O’ course I remember him. You think cuz I’m old that my mind is gone, that it?”

Frazier waited.

“The Invisible Man, that’s who took ‘er.”

The two detectives looked at each other. The younger man shook his head slowly and looked at the sky.

“The Invisible Man?” Frazier repeated.

“The Invisible Man took her. He whistled at her and pulled out some food. Meat I think it was. She could never resist a good piece of meat. Then he put a leash on ‘er. I yelled at him and tried to go after him, but he was too fast. I didn’t see him do it, but I know he broke her leg. I found her in the woods the next day. He had left her there to rot.”

I couldn’t help wondering if the same fate had befallen Emily.

“I tried to mend her leg, but it was no good. She hobbled around wurst than me. Died maybe two months ago. He kilt her. The Invisible Man kilt my Daisy.”

Frazier walked over to Morales while the old man blinked and stared into space. After all the invisible man talk I was sure they would send Jerzy MacTavish on his way, but Frazier wasn’t finished.

“Mr. MacTavish,” he said. “When you found your dog, did she have something wrapped around her leg?”

“She had a fancy-looking blue scarf.” Jerzy MacTavish scratched behind his ear. “I never understood why that dog murderer bothered with that after he mangled my poor girl the way he done.”

There it was. The link connecting Emily directly to the dog.

“Sir, I need you to come down to the station and look at some photographs,” Frazier said. “But I won’t force you. I’m asking you here, man to man. Asking and offering you a hot meal. Would you like that?”

The old man’s face lit up.

“Burger King?”

“Burger King,” Frazier said.

“Can I ride up front?”

“C’mon,
abuelito
,” Morales said with a sigh, leading him to his car.

CHAPTER 53

Frazier took me to a small room before he went to interview Jerzy MacTavish. The coffee looked dangerous, so I got a hot chocolate from one of the machines. It tasted old and rusty. I thought about Lyle and his Elixir of the Gods, wishing I had one of those instead.

A hundred miles was a very relative thing. Bend seemed so far away.

I called Ty but he didn’t pick up. I thought of leaving a message but hung up instead. I tried Kate.

We talked for a while and then I asked her about David.

She laughed.

“I think he’s moved into your room. He’s still sleeping, but we did have a long night.”

I was glad she was looking after him.

“He’ll be okay. It’s that mending a broken heart kind of thing. Broken hearts aren’t just about failed relationships. He’s staying over again tonight. I was trying to talk him into seeing
Les Misérables
, but he’s been putting up a fight. I have to say that I didn’t see that coming.”

“David hates musicals.”

“Yeah, yeah, he’s told me that a million times since I suggested it. But I think I’ll make him watch it anyway. Who doesn’t love Russell Crowe? And who doesn’t want to see Russell Crowe singing?”

We said goodbye and I walked outside and sat in the sun. I thought about David and his cancelled show. I thought about Emily and her cancelled life. And how sometimes life just wasn’t fair, in the small things or in the big things.

About 15 minutes later, Frazier came down and found me.

“Anything?” I asked.

He shook his head.

“We had him look through the photos of our people of interest, but he didn’t recognize his invisible man. I’m having a uniform take him to dinner now. How about we go finish watching the DVD?”

I threw out the rest of the hot chocolate and went with him back inside. Morales was sitting in the conference room, waiting. He looked frustrated, but he gave me a nod and a slight smile.

Frazier hit the remote and the video started up again. I focused on the images but didn’t see anything that I hadn’t already seen before. Nothing stood out. The vigil ended and the two workers started stacking the chairs.

“No,” I heard Frazier whisper. “It can’t be.”

He stood up quickly and walked over to the TV.

He rewound the video for a few seconds, started it again, and then paused it.

The screen froze on the workers. One was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, but the other was bundled up as if it was a chilly January evening. He was wearing long sleeves and long pants, with a hat pulled down low that covered his face. He was also wearing large sunglasses and a nose shield.

“I’ll be damned,” Frazier said, staring at the screen, placing his finger on the worker who was hidden under layers of clothing.

“
The Invisible Man
.”

CHAPTER 54

Frazier took a photo of the Invisible Man from the screen with his phone.

“I’m going over to the university grounds maintenance office to look into this guy,” he said to Morales. “When Jerzy gets back, see if he can ID this individual as the man who stole his dog.”

Morales nodded.

“I’ll call Johnstone and tell him to get the food to go,” he said. “They’re just down the street. Why don’t you wait for the old man?”

“We’ve waited long enough.”

I stared at the hidden face. The old man was right. The figure on the screen had an uncanny resemblance to Claude Rains in that old black and white movie.

“You coming, Abby?” Frazier said as he grabbed his jacket from the chair.

I stood up.

“Call me if you find out anything,” Morales yelled out.

“You too.”

A few minutes later, Frazier pulled up to the front of a small building near the center of campus. As we got out of the car and headed toward the front door, a short, round man with gray hair came out to meet us.

“You in charge around here?” Frazier said.

The man nodded.

“James Bolton. How may I help you?”

Frazier introduced himself, holding out his badge. Then he showed him the photo.

“The one all covered up. Is he one of yours?”

“Yes. That’s William Cooper.”

“What can you tell me about him?”

“Let’s see. He’s been here about three years. William has a skin condition. He’s always been a good, dependable worker. Until now.”

“Until now?”

“I haven’t seen him in more than a week. He never called in and doesn’t answer his phone. I thought maybe that’s why you were here. Because someone filed a report or you found him. His roommate, he works here too, told me he was sick. But I figured he was just covering for him.”

“Is the roommate here today?” Frazier said.

“Yeah, Tom’s over at Autzen. If you like I’ll phone him and have him meet you at the ticket booths near the front.”

“I’d appreciate that. I’m also going to need William Cooper’s contact information.”

I followed Frazier to the car.

“I had another one of those dreams last night,” I said as we headed over to the stadium. “I was running down a trail again. And the shadow man was there. But this time he spoke. He knew my name. And he said I was too late.”

“Did you see his face?”

“No, it was too dark.”

His phone rang and Frazier put it on speaker.

“What’s up, Morales?”

“The old man ID’ed the guy in the video as the one who stole his dog. He has no doubt.”

“Good. I found out his name is William Cooper. He hasn’t been at work for more than a week. Run the name through the computer and see what it spits out.”

“William Cooper,” Morales said. “Will do.”

“I’m about to talk to his roommate. See what he knows. I’ll call you back when I finish.”

We found Tom Walker holding a leaf blower.

“Mr. Bolton mentioned that you and William Cooper are roommates,” Frazier said.

“That’s a stretch. Coop crashes on my couch once in a while, but he doesn’t really live with me.”

“Where does he live?”

“Mostly with his mom, I think. I’m not really sure. I think his grandfather has a house somewhere. Coop’s kind of a nomad, going from sofa to sofa.”

Frazier took out his small notebook and wrote something.

“When did you see him last?”

“I haven’t seen or heard from him since last... when was it? Last Thursday. Yeah, last Thursday. I remember because I asked him if he wanted to come over and watch a baseball game. Lincecum was pitching. I don’t know what’s happened to Coop, honest. I told Mr. Bolton that thing about him being sick so he wouldn’t give him the axe.”

“Do you know where the grandfather’s place is?”

Tom Walker shook his head.

“No idea.”

“Anywhere else he may have gone?”

“I can’t think of anywhere else. I mean, I’m pretty sure I’m like his only friend. Is he in some sort of trouble?”

“We just need to talk with him and ask him a few questions regarding an investigation,” Frazier said, handing him a card. “If you hear from William, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention that we’re looking for him. Just make sure to give me a call.”

“Okay,” Walker said, removing his sunglasses and squinting. “Must be serious.”

Frazier didn’t answer.

“I hope he ran off with that girl,” Walker said.

Frazier’s energy darkened.

“What girl?”

“I don’t know. He’s a private guy and doesn’t talk about those things. But these last few months he’s been, I don’t know. Happy, I guess. If you knew him, you would know how weird that is. Like humming while he’s working. Things like that. He even agreed to get a beer with me after work one time, which is unheard of. I told him he was acting like he was in love or something.”

“What did he say to that?”

“He didn’t say anything. But it was the way he didn’t say anything. You know what I mean?”

I got a bad feeling deep inside when he said that. I think I knew what he meant.

“I was stoked for the dude. He’s had a hard life. You know, with his face. I think it’s tough for him to meet people, especially women.” Walker looked at me and then away. “I mean, I’ve never seen him without his disguise. You know about his face, right?”

“Yes,” Frazier said. “Thanks for your time, Mr. Walker, and please call me day or night if you hear from William or think of anything else. It’s very important.”

As we walked away, Tom Walker went back to blowing dust from one side of the sidewalk to the other.

CHAPTER 55

“What’s our next move, boss?” Morales’ voice came through the speaker. Frazier had just finished giving him an update. “His moms?”

“If there weren’t so much at stake, I would normally just call her. But if he’s the one we’re looking for and he’s there, I don’t want to spook him. And I don’t want her tipping him off.”

As he drove, Frazier handed me the Xerox copy Bolton had given him with William Cooper’s contact information.

“I think I saw her name listed there under emergency contact. Abby, can you find it and read it for us?”

I scanned the sheet for a moment.

“April Cooper. Relationship, mother,” I said. “There’s a phone number but no address.”