Missings, The (23 page)

“What’s a sixteen-year-old kid doing working on a weekday morning?”

“I’m on a work-study program.”

Common enough. Many families in Aspen Falls, in contrast to their wealthy neighbors, needed to have all of their family members contributing financially in order to make it.

“How does that affect your school work?”

“I’ve been an honor student for the last three years.”

“Is there any question you want to ask me?”

Efraín’s face pulled back, his eyes wide. “Me?”

“Sure. What would you like to ask me?”

Chase watched the young man’s face begin to open. Watched as his brain searched for the best question.

“When this is over, can I go on a ride-along?”

Chase heard the request all the time and it always pleased him. Hell, he’d been the same kid twenty-five years ago. “Do you want to go into law enforcement?”

“No. I want to be a writer.”

“I think a ride-along can be arranged. Now you need to tell me about the two men.”

Efraín nodded, but this time with confidence instead of fear.

“They told me they needed my help. They said their mother is very ill. Dying. She needs a kidney. They said they believe I would be a match for her and could save her life. They also said they would pay me five hundred dollars for one of mine, but they needed my answer in forty-eight hours. After that the price they’ll pay drops to two-fifty.”

“Have you seen these men before?”

“No sir. Not before this morning.”

“How are you supposed to let them know what you decide?”

Efraín pulled a business card from his pocket.

“They said I could not call them. Their cell phones could only be used for business. But they said they knew where to find me. They gave me this.”

“Just set it on the table,” Chase instructed.

Efraín dropped the card on the table as if it had caught fire. “Prints. I’m sorry. I didn’t think… ”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll get your prints and eliminate them. Besides, we already think we know who the two guys are. We just need this to tie them to you and to our case.”

“Really? I’m connected to a case?” The young man leaned forward, eagerness lighting his eyes.

How quickly teenagers forget. Fifteen minutes ago this kid’s head and a toilet bowl were doing a dance.

Chase touched the business card lightly on the edge and turned it to read. One of those cards to remind you of your next appointment.
27/9
was written on the date line.
10
next to the preprinted a.m. Not much, but they now had a little more information. Whoever wrote this didn’t use the American style for the date. Not exactly rare but not what he expected.

Where were those other Preston Clinics located? He phoned Terri. His call went to voicemail.

Aspen Falls Police Department

Tuesday, September 25

Terri carefully laid the crumpled sticky note to the side and walked over to another counter where she’d put some evidence bags. Daniel walked around the table to take a look.

Need new code—old one not working

“So? Why is this significant?” Daniel’s eyebrows screwed up.

“Someone in the ER is ordering blood tests using a doctor’s authorization code. I thought maybe they’d been hacked. Maybe it’s a lot worse.”

“Or it could be a note from his wife regarding their garage door opener.”

“Could be. Or something else.”

“Wait. You said blood tests?” Daniel asked. He walked quickly back to his side of the table.

“Yeah. You got something?”

“A staff memorandum for some meeting. An agenda item that might have a connection.” Daniel fingered through the pile of items he’d already inspected. “Damn. I know I saw something.” He shoved more papers around, careful not to mix them up with the items he still needed to examine.

“Here.
Medicaid / Blood Tests / Additional MD Support Required.
It caught my eye because notes had been made next to every other agenda item. But not this one.”

“Great. Bag it. I’ll run it by Leslie and see what she has to say.”

Terri and Daniel went through the rest of the collected trash piece by piece but didn’t find anything else of significance.

She stripped off her gloves and checked her phone. Three messages. Carol Greene, Krysta Corinn, and Chase. Ignoring the first two and the sudden tight sensation in her gut, she pressed the button to call Chase. Her job she could handle. Adopting a little girl? Maybe not so much.

“Daniel with you?” Chase didn’t waste any time.

“Yeah.”

“Neither of you were answering your phones. Tell him he needs to get back to the bookstore. His one and only assignment for the next two days is the safety of Efraín Madrigal, unless I personally pull him off of it.”

“Is Efraín in danger?”

“He is. Now tell me why you weren’t answering your phone and refresh my memory as to the locations of the other Preston Clinics.”

After bringing Chase back up to speed, she asked him when he planned on coming back to the station.

“Right now I’m tailing Carlisle to see what he’s up to. I picked him up by accident. I’ll see what else I can learn before I bring him in for questioning. I have a feeling this guy isn’t going to give up anything. Then I need to make a run to Aspen and pick up my father-in-law.” He paused significantly. “I’ll answer my phone if you call.”

Chastised, Terri hung up, gave Daniel his instructions, and moved to a private location to call Carol Greene. She’d rather get any bad news from the grandmother she knew rather than the attorney she’d just met.

Tailing the Black Mustang

Tuesday, September 25

Chase had picked up the black Mustang by accident. He’d needed some nourishment before he drove to Aspen to pick Stuart up at the airport and decided to grab something at a fast-food place near the middle school. Before he could place his order in the drive-up, he spotted the Mustang pulling away from the curb in front of the restaurant. Thankful the lunch rush hadn’t begun, Chase drove past the window, gave them a wave, and followed the car. Chase had very little doubt that Carlisle reported to someone further up the chain. No sense in getting his guard up.

He popped open the glove compartment and pulled out an open bag of Twizzlers. Six left. Probably better for him than fast food. But not as filling. He also grabbed a digital camera.

Carlisle drove back to the downtown area and parked by the drugstore. Chase found a spot in front of the bank, about a half-block before the drugstore, and watched Robert Carlisle sit.

One minute. Then two. No move to get out. Definitely something going on.

After four minutes, a Bugatti rolled around the corner and parked illegally. Chase loved those cars, but not necessarily their owners. The driver of this one walked briskly in his direction, then without hesitation slid into the passenger side of the Mustang. Less than a minute later the door opened and the man emerged. Chase had the camera ready and snapped several pictures.

Carlisle pulled out but Chase decided to wait and see if the Bugatti took him someplace interesting. Even in Aspen Falls, a multimillion dollar vehicle got attention. The car rolled through town, and even the glitz-hardened residents took notice. The business district behind them, Chase watched the car round a curve like butter on a warm plate. He imagined what it must be like to drive a machine like a Bugatti.

The car put on its left-turn signal and Chase drove on, not surprised. The car turned in to the Preston Clinic.

A patient? Maybe. A doctor? Maybe. A coincidence? Not a chance.

His cell phone rang.

“Waters.”

Stuart Wentworth’s voice filled his ear. “I’m landing in ten minutes. If I’m not your priority, I promise you, you
will
be mine.”

Damn.
Forcing a quick reunion for Bond and her father had better work.
Chase continued on the back road to Aspen to meet the private plane from Chicago.

Aspen-Pitkin County Airport

Tuesday, September 25

Chase loaded Stuart Wentworth’s carry-on into his trunk and closed the lid. Moments ago the two had shaken hands, done their version of a hug, and now Stuart sat in the car waiting for an explanation. The man had left his business, his home, his wife, and flown to Colorado at Chase’s request.

Maybe Chase had overreacted. Maybe lack of sleep had made him turn this into a drama. Maybe.… No. He remembered the look in his wife’s eyes as she told him the story. The pain etched on her face. He’d made the best move based on the information he had available. Time would tell if he’d made the right one.

The fifteen-minute drive home to Bond stretched before him.

“You’re not going to tell me, are you?” More of a statement than a question.

Chase shook his head.

Stuart Wentworth half-mumbled. “It’s bad or you wouldn’t have called me. I wouldn’t be here if it was a walk in the park.”

Chase said nothing. Their conversation earlier this morning had told Stuart that much. Men didn’t hold the wealth and power his father-in-law enjoyed by being stupid. He knew how to read people and situations. He could go from point A to a whole new alphabet without blinking, and getting to the truth was rarely a gamble.

Stuart Wentworth had made his first million before his thirtieth birthday. A marriage to a department store sales girl he thought loved him for who he was rather than what he had made him feel complete. The son she gave birth to put him on top of the world. No one could ever hope to have this kind of perfection. They named their little boy Jeremy.

Three days before his thirteenth birthday, Jeremy died. Stuart expressed his grief by throwing himself into work more than ever. In less than a year he tripled his fortune. Four years later, his name appeared on every list of “desirables,” not only in Chicago, but New York and Washington.

Then Celeste got pregnant again. He thought he wanted another son. A son to replace the one he’d lost. He wanted a boy so bad he felt sure that’s what he’d get. A boy he could try and get things right with this time. But it wasn’t to be.

The little girl who held his heart from her first breath bore testament to the avenue of wealth for the young man of modest means. The bond market had changed his life—Bond changed the reason he lived.

Stuart Wentworth didn’t share this story with Chase until after David’s death. Until his daughter’s marriage almost fell apart, even the existence of Jeremy had remained a family secret. Bond hadn’t even known she’d had an older brother.

Based on what Bond told him last night, this family knew how to keep secrets. Bad ones.

The two men traveled the rest of the distance in silence. Not stressful exactly. But also not the comfortable companionship they’d forged over the years.

Chase pulled up the long drive to his house and took a deep breath.
Please let this go well.
He opened the door for his father-in-law, then followed with the man’s overnight bag.

When they walked in the house, Bond had her back to them, putting something in the oven. “What are you doing home in the middle of the day?” She turned, then froze, eyes wide. Her gaze went from her father to Chase and then over her father’s shoulder.

“Your mother didn’t make this trip, sweetheart. Just your dad.”

Bond swallowed and blinked several times. Then after another moment’s hesitation, she gave a strangled cry and flew into her father’s arms.

Chase took the luggage through the kitchen and down the main hall to the guest room. When he returned the older man, arms still around his daughter, nodded in silent thanks.

Chase reached for his wife. When Bond turned to him, her face blanketed with tears she hugged him hard. “I love you, Chase Waters. Thank you for bringing my Daddy to me.”

Chase handed her his handkerchief and she wiped her eyes.

“Now get back to work.” She gave him a squeeze and stepped back.

Bond tugged on her bathrobe, then touched a hand to her hair. “Dad, I’m sorry for the way I look. Why don’t you unpack and I’ll get dressed and put on a fresh pot of coffee or we have some sun tea.” Bond was filling the space with words.

Stuart took his daughter’s hand firmly in his and walked her over to the kitchen table. “Sit. Talk. I’m not going anywhere and neither are you until I know what’s bothering you.”

Chase’s cell rang as he walked out the door.

“This is Raul Ramirez. I have some information for you.”

The Santeria guy. From the frying pan into the fire. That’s what Chase felt like, going from his father-in-law to voodoo.

“I can meet you at the same place in twenty minutes.” Chase tucked the phone back in his pocket and refocused.

City Market Parking Lot

Tuesday, September 25

Chase worked to settle his stomach as he pulled into the City Market parking lot. It was unlikely that any information Raul Ramirez might have would be good.

He’d seen the worst mankind had to offer the world in the physical sense. From battered wives to abused children to broken bodies to eviscerated remains. But Ramirez represented something Chase could not fight against. He valued every man’s right to believe in whoever or whatever his heart followed. That’s what this country stood for. Still it left him feeling helpless.

The Toyota Camry sat idling at the far end of the lot. Smoke curled from the exhaust like a snake.

Chase pulled his car into the empty space directly across the parking aisle. He turned the engine off and waited.
Let this be quick
.

The driver’s door opened and a flip-flop-donned foot appeared to settle on the asphalt. Ragged jeans followed and finally the skinny profile of Raul Ramirez.

Chase’s gut did a strange lurch. Sort of a tighten and somersault at the same time. He swallowed.

“This will be the last time you and I meet,” Ramirez said. “After today I’m out of your field of reference. You don’t call on me and I have no obligation to contact you. Understood?”