Necessary Decisions, A Gino Cataldi Mystery (22 page)

He should have turned them in from the beginning. They’d be in jail now, and Jada would be safe. But he’d be in jail too.

And Lucia and the kids would have no house. And no food. But Jada would be safe.

It all kept coming back to that. If he had only turned himself in when they hurt that boy, none of this would have happened.
Assuming they caught them.

This thinking brought to mind the Marshall boy and how Number Three had beaten him. What was he doing to Jada? Lonny fought tears.

God, please don’t let him hurt my girl.

Chapter 31

Surveillance

D
elgado spread the map across the table. We had already pinned Scott’s house and the Denny’s restaurant. “We’ve got ten cars coming from Coop,” I said. “We need to figure out what makes sense as far as placing them.”

Delgado tapped his finger on the map. “Definitely the Parkway and Gosling. And #242.”

“We should have two in each direction on I-45,” Connors said. “One in front and one behind, so they can switch.”

“Will we have GPS in all the cars?” Delgado asked.

“Coop will have it coordinated downtown. They’ll know where we are in relation to Doran at all times. And we’ll have GPS devices on him, the phone, the car, everything. We’ll be monitored on a grid, like air traffic control.”

“Why do you think they picked Denny’s? It’s right next to the Shenandoah Police Station.”

“Maybe to taunt us. Who knows?”

“We could put a survey team on the road,” Connors said.

Delgado shook his head. “They’d spot that in a heartbeat. We need someone at the hotel next door. Get a room with a view of Denny’s. At least we can see
some
of what goes on there.”

“And if everything works, we’ll hear it through Doran’s second phone.”

“You think they’ll show?” Connors asked.

“No way are they showing at Denny’s,” Delgado said. “That’s just the first stop. My gut tells me this will be a long chase.”

Connors fidgeted with a pen. “When do we take them?”

“As soon as they realize Doran doesn’t have the money,” I said.

“And we need to take them
alive,
” Delgado said, directing the last comment at me.

We were still discussing plans when the Hacketts returned. Lonny came straight to the table and handed me two pictures of Jada. “These are a few months old.”

“She’s beautiful.”

“Yes, she is. Thank you.” He stared at the map for a moment. “Anything new?”

“We’re making plans for the drop.”

“What drop? We’ve got nothing
to
drop.”

“They don’t know that.”

He started to walk away but came back. “What are they going to do when they find out?”

“We hope to be there so nothing happens to the girl,” Connors said.

Lonny bristled. “The
girl’s
name is Jada. And she’s my daughter.”

I closed my eyes and cursed. We weren’t used to working around victims. We worked with drug addicts, dealers, and homicide victims. None of them complained about lack of sensitivity. “He didn’t mean anything by that. It’s how we deal with things.”

Lonny nodded. “So how
are
you going to see she’s safe? What happens when they don’t get the money?”

I sighed. He wasn’t going to like it no matter what I told him. “All we can do is buy time and hope they make a mistake. If we can grab one of them, make him talk—”

“
Hope
they make a mistake! These people don’t make mistakes.” He closed his eyes and raised his head back. “Have they made any mistakes yet? Do you think they’ll turn sloppy when it counts most?” Lonny stormed out of the kitchen, brushing past Lucia on his way to the patio.

She looked at me. “He’s upset, Detective.”

“I understand.”

Delgado was staring at me. “He’s right, you know. These people
don’t
make mistakes.”

“They will,” I said. “They
have
to.”

The door opened, and four of the new surveillance guys came in.

“Techs are right behind us with new equipment,” one of them said. “We got half a dozen more cars on the way up.”

Quick introductions were made. I got one of the men to run a picture of Jada to Kinko’s to get copies. The others joined us at the table.

***

Lonny walked slowly around the patio. He wanted to run, hide, hit something, all of those things; instead, he walked. And he worried. What the hell was he going to do? That detective didn’t understand who he was dealing with.

Mistakes? That detective is hoping they make mistakes?
Lonny knew better.

He sat in a chair by the fountain, struggling to keep his mind focused. Images of Jada squealing when he told her she could get the prom dress popped into his head. Of her laughing with Mars last Christmas. She was a happy girl, always happy. Now Lonny had put her in this terrible situation. Who knows what would happen to her, or if she’d even come out alive. He
had
to do something.

He should turn himself in, tell Gino he
knew
who had Jada. To what end? How could it help Gino find them? Lonny kicked at a loose piece of cement on the flagstone patio. He’d already been through this line of reasoning half an hour ago and came up with the same conclusion.

He wouldn’t sit around this house and do nothing. If somebody was going to save his girl, it had to be him. And he knew just how to do it. He’d find Willard, the slimy bastard who put him in touch with Boss to begin with. And once he found him, Lonny would make him talk. If there was one thing he was sure of, that was it: he’d
make
him talk. Lonny picked up his pace as he went inside, heading for the front door.

“Lonny, where are you going?” It was Gino calling.

“Out.”

***

I watched him leave then shot a glance to Lucia, who hurried to catch him. “Where’s he going?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she said, and ran for the door, worry etched on her face.

I turned to Connors. “Tail him. I want to know where the fuck he’s going.”

Connors grabbed one of the new guys and headed out.

“What the hell is that all about?” Delgado asked.

I stared at the door. “I’m wondering the same thing, Ribs.”

Chapter 32

One Last Chance

J
ada listened close to see if she could hear where the kidnapper was in the room. They only had one guy with her this time, the one they called Number Five. So far he didn’t seem bad. She waited until he went to the other room then rubbed her head against the bed, trying to nudge the blindfold up enough to see. She got it to the point where she could make out a hint of light. The door opened.

She stopped, straightened, and kept still. She heard him walking toward her.

“Won’t be long now. Things are happening fast.”

Jada didn’t know what that meant, but there was no way in hell that her daddy had seven million dollars to give them. Alexa’s father wouldn’t foot the bill either. She had to do something, and if she’d ever have a chance, it was now, with just him to guard her. She remembered a glass in the bathroom. And a lamp on the table next to her.

She signaled that she had to go to the bathroom. When he spoke, he startled her. She hadn’t realized he was that close.

“Got a weak bladder?”

She grunted.

Number Five removed the gag.

“I need to go pretty bad,” Jada said, using her most pleading voice.

He untied her feet but left her hands tied. She stood, stretching. “I need my hands free.”

“You can go without them.”

“I have to…” Jada lowered her head. “Wipe myself.” She felt him untying her. “Don’t be stupid and try anything.”

“I won’t.”

She felt her way toward the bathroom, feigning a stumble. “Can you help me get there? Please?”

Number Five grabbed her arm, squeezing too hard, and tugged her forward. She almost fell for real this time but managed to keep count of the steps. Five small steps. Once she reached the door, she felt it with her hands and started to close it. “Thanks. I can manage from here.”

“Don’t lock it,” he said.

She closed the door, put her ear to it and listened. The sound of his footsteps faded; he had moved away. Her stomach churned, and her hands shook. She felt for the sink, and carefully searched, finally finding the glass. If she could hit him hard enough to disorient him—even for a moment—she could get the lamp from the table and hit him with that.

Give me strength, Lord.

Jada did her business, gathered her nerves, and pulled her pants up. She only zipped part way and then stuffed the glass in the back of her pants. After taking a big breath, she reached for the door. “I’m ready. Can you help me?”

Number Five grabbed her left arm and moved her toward the bed. Bile rose in her throat, which felt like it was closing. On the fourth step, she reached behind her and grabbed the glass. Estimating where his head was, she swung as hard as she could.

The glass didn’t shatter like she hoped, but she caught him on the side of his head. She knew because she felt his ear. Number Five fell sideways.

“You fucking bitch!”

She pushed him, groping for the lamp. She grabbed it with one hand. He still had hold of her other arm. Jada yanked hard to tear out the cord then swung the lamp. She kicked him, hard, and ran, reaching for her blindfold.

Number Five grabbed her leg and yanked it, bringing her down. She screamed, kicked harder, and scrambled to get away, pushing backwards on the floor with her hands while thrashing at him with her feet. She
had
to get away. If he caught her now…

A pillow went over her face, his weight smothering her. Jada kicked and punched, but couldn’t budge him. She arched her back, fighting for air. He punched her in the side. Then the pillow was gone. Jada tried getting up. A fist slammed her face, splitting her lip.

She cried. Number Five punched her again, hitting her nose and eyes. “Stop! Please stop.”

“You bitch! You whore bitch.” He yanked her up and threw her to the bed, face down. Jada didn’t move. Number Five put the gag back on. He grabbed hold of her shirt and began undoing it.

She made a feeble attempt to resist. Her bra came next. Then her pants. Her body convulsed. He was going to rape her. She jammed her foot into his gut and pushed with everything she had, fear providing strength. Her effort moved him back, but only a bit. He came back harder.

“You’re gonna get what you deserve now, bitch.” He ripped her panties off, grabbed her ankles, and dragged her into position.

Jada used all of her strength to fight him, but she had nothing left. She didn’t even have the strength to cry. When she felt certain he was going to rape her, he stopped. She waited, silent. Nothing happened for a moment. She could hear him panting, out of breath.

“You’re safe for now, bitch. But when this is over…you’re mine. I’m going to do things to you that you can’t imagine.”

Jada inched her way toward the top of the bed. He tied her hands again, and her feet, and left her naked.

“Let’s see how you like that. At least the view’s a little better.”

She fought tears as she lay there, wishing she had never tried to escape. And when she thought things couldn’t get any worse, Number Five’s next words sent shivers down her body.

“If you think this is bad, just remember, Number Three will be back tonight.”

Chapter 33