It occurred to him that he did not hear his cell phone ring in a while. He picked it up, knowing he’d missed many calls, some of which might be important. The phone was on silent mode. Annoyed, he checked his voicemail and noticed there was one from the stab victim, Quinn Harrison. When he returned the call, the man told him to expect a text message. After hanging up, it took only a few seconds before his phone beeped. As he read the text, he furrowed his brow. His sharp eyes darted from word to word trying to make sense of it.
Nolan looked up from writing his report. “What’s that?”
“I just got a message from the victim. Here,” he said, handing over the phone.
Nolan read the message aloud, “$50,000 or die – your choice. We will cancel if you meet our terms. Does that mean what I think it means?”
“Sure thing. I’m going over there to get the phone now, so we can send it to Jimmy over at IT. The number is anonymous, so it may not be possible to trace,” Lawson replied.
“Detective Lawson?”
The detective turned at the sound of his name. Sargent Alicia Lewis was one of the prettier female cops he liked. He smiled at her and walked over, leaving Nolan shaking his head. Everyone knew he was sweet on the Sargent- everyone except her.
“What can I do for the lady?” he asked in his nicest voice.
She seemed oblivious to his smile and the way he looked adoringly at her. “Chief wants to see you in his office,” she said.
Lawson noted the indifference in her eyes and he walked away, deflated. The head of the police department, Chief Wallis, was waiting with someone from the governor’s office. He narrowed his eyes, gave them his usual hard stare and wondered what he’d done this time. He wasn’t a favorite of theirs due to his particular way of dealing with criminal elements.
“Don’t look so defensive,” Wallis grunted. “This ain’t about you.”
“That’s a first,” he muttered, his tone sour.
Lawson glared at the other man who was looking on with interest. He smirked and the man everted his eyes.
“This is Edwin Bogle, from the Governor’s office,” Chief Wallis said. Lawson looked at Edwin from head to toe and decided he was a lackey for the government.
“The daughter of a very close friend of the Governor…,” Bogle began.
“No,” Lawson declared before the man could finish the statement. “No, I aint doing that friggin’ Gov’nor no favors. He almost had me expelled from my job. Tell him, NO!”
The chief rose from his chair. “You haven’t even heard what he had to say.”
“It’s another favor for that Gov’nor, who wants special attention for a friend’s case. I know the drill. You remember what happened the last time? That bastard almost got me fired!”
“This time it’s different,” Chief replied.
“How so?” Lawson asked. “I know what he wants. He’ll ask for a special favor and if things don’t turn out the way he wants he’ll screw me over. That’s the way he operates. His own nephew was the culprit in that theft that he begged me to investigate. I arrested the boy and he threatened my job.”
The chief was impatient. “Shut up and listen, will you … for Pete’s sake?”
Lawson was agitated. The Governor was not brave enough to face him so he sent his henchman. Cool … just bloody cool! “You have three minutes,” he said, setting his eyes upon Edwin. The man looked to the chief for approval. The chief nodded.
“She was assaulted by three people wearing masks. The security footage revealed that one might be a female.”
“Are you sure?” He asked. His sharp mind immediately recalled that Quinn mentioned the breast of a woman touching his arm. “Where is the footage?”
“I-I-I have it with me.” The man was obviously terrified of the detective.
Lawson glowered at Edwin. “What are you waiting for? Hand it over.”
“Here.” Edwin retrieved a flash drive from his pocket and handed it to Lawson along with a report. “She’s still unconscious in the hospital, but we believed it was a setup.”
“What do you mean?”
Edwin fidgeted with his jacket, his voice faltering. “She’s been working with a group of animal rights activists that are now fighting a court case,” he replied.
Lawson scratched his head. “You mean the case about that rich guy who trains dogs for fighting?”
“Yes, she is the one who brought the case forward.”
“Don’t think I’m doing this for the Gov’nor nor his friend. I’m only looking into it because it may be related to a case I’m on,” he informed Edwin.
He gave the chief the evil eye and Edwin a scathing look. The man visibly flinched. Lawson departed the chief’s office. With mixed feelings, he told Nolan about it. He had a hunch the cases were related.
“What are you thinking?” Nolan asked.
“Let’s watch the footage first, shall we?”
They watched the security video by setting up two screens in order to compare the one from their current case and from the footage supplied by Edwin. The new footage showed that the activist was assaulted at her boyfriend’s apartment building. They took nothing.
“Wait,” Lawson said. “Did he say something? Turn it up.”
Nolan increased the volume to the fullest and went back a few seconds. It sounded as if the tallest fellow said something, but it was muffled and quite low. They weren’t even sure if he did say something. One thing was for certain, it appeared to be the same men. Lawson also noticed that Quinn’s description about one being like a hulk was also correct. The man’s arms were almost bigger than Nolan’s thighs.
The breasts on the female stood out like a sore thumb as well as she being plump and shorter than the men. What was more, after attacking the animal rights activist, she removed her mask before she was out of the surveillance shot. They were the same people who attacked Quinn Harrison – Lawson had no doubt. They had the clothes and shoes to compare. However, nothing was final until the IT department reviewed it. They would also be able to clear up the sound.
“Is that their MO, to taunt the victim? Who are these guys?” Nolan asked, fingering his chin.
Nolan was eight years younger than Lawson who was going on 42. Nolan’s eyes always seemed to be pitiful, and was the one thing Lawson disliked about him. He looked at his partner, as he fingered is chin to try to put the pieces together.
“Let’s check out the scene and see what clues we can find there,” he told Nolan. His partner nodded and picked up his jacket. Lawson threw him the patrol car keys. “You drive.”
While they drove to the apartment of the latest victim, Nolan gave Lawson some news. “The trace on the 911 call came back while you were talking with the Chief.”
Lawson gave him a sour look. “And you’re now telling me?”
“You were in the chief’s office when it came in and then we looked at those tapes, I didn’t get a chance,” Nolan remarked.
“What’s her name?” Lawson asked in an exasperated manner.
“Sorry, the file is on my desk.”
* * *
Lawson didn’t get a chance to see the file until the following morning. It was the first thing he checked when he walked into the office. The emergency department was kind enough to supply the number, which the tech department traced. The cell phone used to make the call belonged to a Leah Brooks.
He dialed the number. “We’re sorry, the person you are trying to reach is not available,” the voice on the automated system replied.
“Sargent Lewis.” Lawson walked over to the female cop.
She looked up from her desk and gave him a lazy stare. “What can I do for you Detective?”
“Can you find out more about this person, please?” He handed her the file with the name and cell number. “Address, work, friends, anything you can find.”
“Okay, give me 40 minutes,” she said, taking the file from him.
“Thanks.”