Untainted: (Crime Romance: The Photographer Trilogy #3) (5 page)

“That we found this connection! I mean if what you just told me about Stanley Smith and Frank Bild is true, then Kate has been a target for years!” Derrick looked at Annie as if she had lost her mind.

“Oh, great plan. And how do we explain the breaking and entering part?” She pointed toward the front door that was mostly closed, but clearly no longer on its hinges.

Derrick followed her gesture and exhaled slowly.

“Alright. New plan, let’s find Kate and not go to jail at the same time.” He countered, not knowing how to actually do that.

Annie rolled her eyes and headed toward the door.

“You’re a genius, Derrick, you know that?” Tensions were rising between the two as their task seemed insurmountable.

Derrick felt her anger and took it quietly, not lashing back even though he could feel the same anger boiling in his blood. He knew that she wasn’t really mad at him, he knew who they were both really angry with.

“Where are you going?” He called, putting the photograph back on the shelf and following her out the front door.

He propped it up behind him so that it looked like it was properly closed, hoping that would hide any signs of their criminal conduct.

“I know where Fallen Oak Stables is. It’s out past Middleburg, maybe an hour’s drive from here. Let’s go!” She replied, although he barely heard him since she was already rushing down the hallway.

She had no plans on waiting for him, her mind was set on one thing.

Finding Kate.

“Fuck! Annie, stop!” Derrick called after her, not knowing what to do.

He wanted to go and find Kate immediately, but he wasn’t about to let her little sister go charging into a psychopath’s lair. Picking up pace, he charged down the hallway after her, taking the stairs down three at a time.

Annie was out of sight and Derrick began to panic. He rushed out the front door of the apartment building only to see his car skidding away, already half way down the block.

He stood there dumbfounded for a moment, conflicting emotions charging through him. He hit the door with his hand angrily, furious that she had pretty much just stolen his car and run off into a dangerous situation. At the same time, he was terrified for her.

With Kate not here, he felt a brotherly need to protect Annie, because he cared about Annie but also because he knew that Kate would want him to do that. Now he had just assisted Kate’s little sister in breaking and entering, stealing a car, and chasing down a potential serial killer.

What a great big brother I turned out to be
, Derrick scoffed at himself.

He stood on the steps trying to figure out what to do for what felt like hours, but really only a few seconds clicked by. However, with Kate’s safety on the line, every second was a lifetime. He quickly turned on his heels and ran back into the apartment building, retracing his steps to Frank’s apartment, and entering easily since the door was really only a prop at this point.

He had recalled seeing car keys hanging on a hook by the front door and quickly grabbed them, then put the door back the way it was, and ran back out of the building, circling around to the back. He clicked the lock button, waiting to see which car in the parking lot would respond.

A sedan at the back of the lot lit up and flickered its lights with a soft beep, calling his attention. Derrick grinned and raced over to it, sliding in the driver’s seat and shooting out of the lot at double the speed limit. One hand on the wheel, his other hand was tapping the name of the stable into his GPS on his phone.

He had already committed one crime today, stealing a car was nothing.

~~~~~~

“Snow, fall back.” McCraig put his hand up against her, shoving her up against the wall roughly, yet quietly.

She followed his lead and peered around him to see what his eyes were targeting as she pulled her gun out of her holster and held it up at ready. McCraig was already stepping forward slowly in the dingy hallway of Frank’s apartment building, gun up.

He got to the door that was slightly ajar on the second floor and pushed it open, hearing the loud creak as it tilted off its hinges. With a quick motion to follow him, McCraig slipped into the apartment silently.

The two detectives rushed through the apartment with deft feet, not making a sound as they swept through each room with their guns drawn. They nodded to one another when an area was cleared, finding no one there. Moments later, the two detectives reconvened in the center of the living room in front of the open doorway.

“All clear. No one is hear.” Snow said out loud, confirming what they both had just figured out.

McCraig nodded at her and they re-holstered their weapons as they began walking around the apartment, carefully inspecting everything.

“Doesn’t look like much of a home.” She called over to her partner.

“If he spent much time here, he certainly didn’t care enough to decorate. Hell, there is one dish and two cups in this cabinet.” McCraig scoffed as he closed a cabinet.

“Kind of a mess, too. Left this book on the ground.” Snow walked over toward the window, where the radiator sat beneath.

It was still partially opened and disheveled from Derrick’s search. She leaned down and scooped up the album that had been forgotten after it was dropped there by Derrick, not more than twenty minutes earlier. She flipped it open and began thumbing through it.

“Sick fuck!” She gasped as she continued going through the pages of photographs.

McCraig whirled around from his search in the kitchen and moved across the room to look over her shoulder. He paled slightly at the images, gulping down his nausea. Looking away, he concentrated on the radiator and the camera that was propped on it.

“Looks like we have our man, this looks like an instant camera.” McCraig said, picking it up and turning it over in his hands.

“I’m pretty sure this album seals his fate. Fuck, McCraig, they are all in here. This is Hayden Posen, that’s Teri. Hell, that’s Sparkles and Jennifer. Nikki Herrera. Oh shit, Clara McConnelly. That’s the same photograph her mother showed me.” Snow handed the album to McCraig, wiping her hand over her eyes as if to erase the images.

“Kate’s not in here.” He said, continuing to scan through the pages.

McCraig had years and years on the job, but even his strong stomach whimpered at the sights passing before him.

“I don’t know, maybe the bastard took it with him.” Snow shrugged and continued moving around the apartment, looking around for other clues.

McCraig pulled out several evidence bags from his pocket and began putting the camera and albums in separate ones. He lifted his cell phone out of his shirt pocket and called into dispatch, requesting crime scene technicians to join them at Frank’s apartment for a more thorough sweep. Now that they were sure Frank was their guy, it was time to bring out the big guns.

“McCraig, did you leave this here?” Snow called back to him, grabbing his attention. He looked up to see her holding a police blanket, her face clearly confused.

“No, what the hell is that doing here?” He responded.

“It was laying over the back of this chair. I have no fucking idea.” She looked it over, biting her lip.

McCraig looked toward the front door, still off its hinges, then back at the torn apart radiator.

“Shit! Call the sister and boyfriend right now!” McCraig seethed through his teeth, storming around the apartment inspecting each piece of evidence that they had been there.

Snow’s jaw dropped and she pulled out her phone instantly, dialing in their numbers. She called both of their cell phones twice, receiving no response.

“Damn it, Snow. They were here. They are playing vigilantes or some shit like that. We are going to end up with a lot more dead fucking bodies on our hands.” McCraig bellowed, rubbing his hands over his tired eyes.

“I told you not to tell them about Frank! This is a total shit fest right now, we cannot let them take the law into their own hands. They have no damn idea what this sick asshole is capable of!” Snow groaned angrily.

“Well, they obviously saw the album, so I’m guessing that they have some clue. Don’t you dare put this on me. We don’t have time to shove around the blame here, we need to figure out where they went after this. Obviously they found something that led them to a second location, so retrace their steps.” McCraig commanded, slowly circling the apartment and carefully looking over everything. 

“For someone who didn’t care about decorating, it’s a little weird to have one photograph on an empty shelf.” Snow huffed, picking up a desolate frame and turning it over.

The words scrawled on the back made her narrow her eyes.

“What did the file on Frank say about his father?” She called out to her partner.

“Not much, that he killed himself out on his farm somewhere down in Middleburg. Didn’t seem like he was very involved with Frank, no child support or anything. Frank didn’t even take his father’s last name, although I don’t know if that was him or his mother’s doing.” McCraig mused, pushing aside a few books on another shelf and flipping through them.

“What was his name?” She followed up, looking at the two men in the picture again.

“Stanley Smith, why? What’s that?” He turned his attention to her.

“Says it’s Frank and his Dad, Fallen Oak Stable. Is that the farm he killed himself at?” She looked up at her partner’s gruff face.

“Can’t be sure without looking, but sounds familiar. You think the sister saw this and they are going there?” He asked her, taking the photograph from her and examining it himself.

“There’s nothing else here that would tell me differently. It’s either this or they went home to take a fucking nap. I have no fucking idea, McCraig, that’s all we are doing at this point- making random guesses and seeing which one lands.” She said sarcastically, heading toward the door.

McCraig huffed, partly chuckling and partly irritated. He pushed the frame into his pocket and followed her out of the apartment.

As they got down the stairs to the front door of the apartment building, the crime scene technicians were just walking up with their gear.

“Snow, hold on. We need to instruct the techs, plus call in a BOLO for Frank’s car.” McCraig called to her as she was already sliding into the driver’s seat of their unmarked police car.

She glanced back at him, then slid out just enough to speak to him over the roof of the car.

“You tell them, I will head out to Fallen Oaks alone. It’s probably nothing anyway. I’ll call you if something comes up.” She waved him off.

“Don’t go in there if you see any sign of disturbance, Snow! Call it in and wait for me.” He ordered, pointing at her sternly.

She grinned and rolled her eyes at him, then slipped back into the car and backed out onto the road.

“Guys, its 2B. Second floor, I need you to dust the entire place for prints and collect literally everything in evidence bags. Books, photos, pillows, linens, utensils, everything. Got it?” He told a young tech with large glasses who looked overly eager and nervous all at once.

“On it, Detective!” He replied, grinning and heading into the building.

McCraig watched him and the other techs walk past with a bit of nostalgia, remembering when he used to have that kind of excitement for the job. Now his work day involve finding dozens of pictures of tortured women, a glimpse into the underbelly of society that most people didn’t get to witness. McCraig not only saw it, but walked their trenches daily.

He sighed as he walked toward one of the technician’s cars to go call in the BOLO for Frank’s car. He nervously chewed on the inside of his cheek, worrying about Snow going out to Fallen Oaks alone. Something felt off and his years in the military taught him to follow his gut. He glanced down and saw that the keys were sitting in the ignition.

He was going to Fallen Oaks.

CHAPTER SIX

“Your mom called, she is going to be late picking you up from school today, girls.” The tall man looked down on them, a grin on his face that implied something only Kate understood.

She swallowed nervously and looked down at her Velcro sneakers poking out from under her long plaid skirt. Annie was sitting next to her on the bench in front of the school wearing a matching plaid skirt and white button up top that was required for all the students at the private elementary school.

“How late?” She asked him, pushing her hands underneath her bottom  uncomfortably.

“Late enough. Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’ll wait with you pretty ladies.” He smiled at her and gave her shoulder a squeeze that lasted a little longer than it needed to.

“Annie, why don’t you go play on the swings? You never get a chance to at recess and now no one is on them. I’ll watch out for Mom.” Kate spoke gently to her little sister, who looked up at her with big brown eyes full of trust and innocence.

“Okay!” She beamed and hopped off the bench, hitting the ground at a run as she took off toward the other side of the parking lot where the playground was.

“You don’t have to send her away, baby girl.” He took Annie’s spot, sitting next to Kate who refused to look sideways, instead focusing on watching Annie on the swings.

“You promised not to touch her if I didn’t tell.” She whispered, her voice shaky. He nodded, watching Annie as well.

“Put your backpack on your lap.” He nodded toward the bag sitting in front of her feet.

She followed his gaze and sighed, attempting to get control of her shaky breathing.

She slowly bent down and grabbed the straps, sliding them up her legs until the heavy bag sat on her knees and shielded most of her body from view. Her eyes never left the playground  across the parking lot, her gaze unblinking.