Rausch & Donlon - Can Be Murder 02 - Love Can Be Murder (23 page)

“You know, Chief, this serial killer thing is straight out of that TV show that Jim likes so much. This is like a friggin’ episode of
Criminal Minds
.”

* * *

Chip was finding it hard to concentrate on
Mind Games
with so much happening on the home front. The chief had described the voice on the phone as “mechanical.” He wondered how a mechanical voice was produced. He heard it frequently on TV interviews where an identity was being hidden, along with a blurred face. He wondered if a mechanical voice would be just the thing to add to his story. A mechanical voice will keep readers speculating about John’s abductor.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Mind Games

Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

Early August

“Just what the hell were you thinking?”

Agent Jo Schwann stood in front of her boss’s desk, feeling like a school girl called down to be chastised by the principal. Tom’s assistant had requested her presence in his office shortly after 10:00 a.m. Jo wasn’t sure what exactly he was referring to. Looking back over her actions in the last twenty-four hours, it could have been several things, including trespassing. So, she waited until Tom continued his diatribe.

She didn’t have to wait long. Tom’s face was red when he said, “Don’t you already have enough on your plate? You can’t stay out of Agent Daniels’ case?”

Well, that narrows things down some.
Jo was about to open her mouth to explain exploring her neighbor’s back yard without permission, when Agent Daniels walked into the office and said, “Here’s the flashdrive we received.”

The agent handed over the portable drive and Tom inserted it into his laptop. He walked around to the other side of the desk and turned the computer around so they could all view the screen. Jo was curious about the flashdrive, and wondered if it could have something to do with John.

An image of John appeared on screen and Jo gasped. There were purple smudges under his eyes and his normally ruddy complexion was pale. Silver duct tape covered his mouth and his eyes were dilated. She realized he must have been drugged. Jo was desperate for him to speak, to give her a clue of where to find him.

She scanned the screen, frantic for a date and time stamp. When she saw the video was dated earlier the same morning, her knees almost gave way at the sudden relief.
He’s still alive!

Jo was startled when at last she heard an electronically altered voice in the background, even while the camera remained focused on John. Tom reached over to the volume control and turned up the sound. “Agent Jo Schwann performed an interesting little dance for me this morning. I am rewarding her resourcefulness by showing that Dr. John Goodman is alive and well.”

Jo watched John turn his head and look off screen. A pair of gloved hands reached out and twisted his head back toward the camera. Then she heard the disembodied voice again. “Here’s my proposition. I would like to meet with Agent Schwann. Alone. I will not tolerate anyone tagging along, thinking they are going to be the hero. My audience will be with Jo. I will be in touch to let you know where and when we will meet.”

On screen, John’s eyes grew wide. Jo could tell he was upset with the man’s terms and was trying to convey she should not come.
I will go, wherever he tells me to go. Because this is our best shot at getting John out alive.

As if reading her mind, John frantically shook his head back and forth. The distorted voice spoke again. “Doctor, you think you can convince your girlfriend to stay away from me? Of course, she’ll come. To save you. But in the end, she’ll come to love
me
.”

Jo gasped at his final words. For a brief moment, she felt dizzy. Love? Love is what I feel for John, not the sick obsession this crazy bastard has for me!

To Jo’s horror, the gloved hand raised up, holding a gun. The weapon crashed down on the back of John’s head and it lolled forward, his chin hitting his chest.

Jo’s heart raced. She heard some scuffling sounds, a yelp and then the screen went blank. Jo stared at the screen. The image of an injured, vulnerable John burned into her retinas.

Tom spoke. “Just what did you do to get him this interested?”

Jo felt herself flush when she looked him in the eye and replied in a hoarse voice, “Like he said. I performed for him. Naked.”

Jo watched the jaws of her boss and co-worker drop in unison. Under normal circumstances, she would have found their looks of astonishment comical. As it was, nothing about John’s disappearance was remotely amusing to Jo.

Agent Daniels was the first to recover his voice. “Are you fucking kidding me? You really thought that was the best approach? I guess it didn’t occur to you to let me in on your little stunt.”

Jo whirled around to face him. She snapped, “Well, it worked, didn’t it? I got him to contact us and now we know John is alive.” Her voice was bitter when she continued, “It’s not like you were getting anywhere with this investigation.”

Agent Daniels’ face turned crimson and he moved to stand right next to her. Jo could smell the stale scent of coffee on his breath. “Damn it. Did anything I said on the phone this morning register with you? I very clearly recall saying that we didn’t want to provoke him to the point of violence. And, gee, Jo. Guess what? The guy smacked John with the butt of his gun.”

A part of Jo’s brain registered that Daniels was right. She had poked a crazy man and he had hurt John. She clenched her jaw and said nothing.

Daniels continued. “This is still my case, Schwann.” He pointed to the computer screen. “That may be your boyfriend, but this is exactly why you weren’t given this case in the first place. You purposely taunted a guy who is stalking you.”

Daniels threw up his hands. “For chrissakes, are you trying to get yourself kidnapped, too? Like I don’t already have enough on my hands with trying to save Goodman. You screwed up with that ‘girls gone wild’ routine.”

Jo’s fist balled up and before she even realized what she was going to do, she punched Daniels in the jaw. All the stress, anger and helplessness she had stored up ever since John disappeared went into the blow. She felt the force of it all the way to her elbow, and her knuckles crunched on impact.

Agent Daniels had a good foot on her height, but she had caught him unaware. He reeled backwards against the desk and lost his balance.

Tom had watched the argument with a wry smile on his face, but as soon as it became physical, he said, “Jesus, Jo. Have you lost your mind? That’s enough.” Tom reached for Daniels and helped steady him once more. The agent shrugged off Tom’s hand and straightened his suit coat.

Jo’s anger disappeared with the hit, and she was horrified at what she had done.
Maybe I’m losing it.
On top of all that, her hand hurt like hell. She was pretty sure she hadn’t broken any bones, but it was going to swell if she didn’t get ice on it soon.

She knew she had overstepped quite a few boundaries and probably one or two rules, as well. Daniels had been doing his job. John just wasn’t safe yet. “Daniels, I’m sorry. I overreacted. You were right; I should have told you what I was going to do. I … I guess I just didn’t want you to stop me. Look, I’m tired. And scared.”

She looked down at her bruised knuckles, and said, “I shouldn’t have hit you.”

Daniels rubbed his jaw, working it one way, and then the other. “Man, for a little bitty thing, you pack a wallop. I went too far with what I said.” He shrugged. “And you did manage to goad him into contacting us, so I guess I should be grateful you jump-started our investigation. Just wish you would’ve told me about it first.”

Jo gave him a small smile. “I’ll let you know the next time I’m planning a … what did you call it? Oh, yeah. A ‘girls gone wild’ routine.”

The agent colored. “Not my best choice of words. I apologize. I know I’ve been resentful of your successes, but you’ve got great instincts.”

She reached out to shake his hand. “Thanks. And I accept your apology. You can make it up to me by finding John. ASAP. ”

Daniels smiled and shook her hand. “You’ve got a deal.”

* * *

They spent the next hour replaying the video, pausing it here and there to study the background details. From the exposed brick walls, large industrial garage door and wide open expanses, they decided John was most likely being held in an old warehouse or factory of some sort. However, in the large metro area there were many buildings which could fit that description and nothing stood out on the video to identify which one.

They listened again and again to the scuffling noises at the end of the video. Something about the yelping sound tweaked Jo’s brain. It wasn’t John who made the noise; it was clear that he had lost consciousness before the sound occurred.

Agent Daniels said, “It almost sounds like a dog.”

Tom said, “That’s what I was thinking. Doesn’t help us much, though.”

Jo turned to Daniels and said, “I’m assuming you already dusted the flashdrive for prints. How was it delivered?”

“Carol was at the front desk when a teenage boy dropped it off. Kid was pretty pleased with himself. He mentioned some guy paid him fifty bucks to bring it here. It was in a sealed envelope that had ‘Investigator for Goodman Disappearance’ typed on the front. No prints there or on the drive. ”

“Can we bring the kid in to talk to our sketch artist?” Tom asked.

“Nah. By the time Carol realized what she had in her hands, the kid had disappeared.”

Jo’s boss shook his head and said, “What about our security cameras? There must be something on one of the tapes to identify this kid.”

Agent Daniels shook his head. “I tried that route. He was wearing a ball cap and we didn’t get a good look at his face. We’ve got Carol’s description, but it’s pretty basic, ‘A kid in a plain black hoodie with a Twins baseball cap.’ Could describe half the teenage boys in the greater Twins Cities area. The only odd thing about him was that he was wearing gloves. I think this kid was coached to keep his head down and stay out of the cameras.”

Tom grunted and said, “Damn. I hate when these guys get smart. Sounds like a pro. No fingerprints, no direct trace back to him. Give me a garden-variety dumb crook any day.”

They resumed their review of the video, but after another half hour, they gave up and Agent Daniels pulled out the flashdrive. He held it up and said, “I’ll take this to the computer gurus and see if they can’t isolate some of the sound bites and pictures.” As he left Tom’s office, he rubbed the spot on his chin where Jo had tagged him.

After the agent had closed the door, Tom frowned and said, “You know, I should suspend you for that stunt. That, and the interference with Daniels’ investigation.” He shook his head. “Hell, I should fire you.”

Jo looked down at the papers scattered on Tom’s desk, unable to meet his eyes. “Yeah. You should.”

Tom massaged his temples. “What’s gotten into you, Schwann? You used to be so level-headed and now you are taking crazy chances and punching fellow agents.”

She wasn’t sure if he really was looking for answers, or was simply blowing off his frustrations so she remained silent.

Finally, Tom huffed out a loud sigh. “But you know I won’t fire you.” He shook his finger at her. “Although I might still suspend you after this is all over with. Unfortunately for me, I need you on the Freemont/McDonald cases. Bring me up to speed.”

Jo walked him through what she and Frisco had discovered, ending with her plan to talk to the cops involved with the shooting death of Robert Bishop.

“You really think Bishop’s death was a set-up?” Tom said.

“That’s what I want to find out. Look, I know it’s a long shot. But put yourself in Freemont’s shoes. You are a powerful man, running for the governor’s office. Out of the blue, you are confronted by your long-lost son who can prove that you murdered your mistress to cover-up the existence of another family. What line wouldn’t you cross? Freemont would have lost everything. His wife’s millions, for starters.”

He frowned and said, “Okay, I’m willing to give you some leeway on this, since we haven’t had any new leads lately. Make damned sure all the t’s are crossed.”

Tom was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, Jo was startled by the change in subject. “Wonder when we’ll hear from the kidnapper again. You know he’s setting a trap for you, right?”

She felt the weight of Tom’s words settle on her shoulders. She shrugged and then replied, “No doubt about it. But tell me, Tom. What choice do I have?”

* * *

Jo held a bag of ice on her throbbing hand as she stood next to her office window, absently staring off toward the distant Minneapolis skyline. Scenes from the video played over and over in her head, always pausing on the final shot of John’s bowed head, as he sat unconscious in a warehouse.
But what warehouse, John? Tell me where to find you.

After a few minutes, Jo shook her head, trying to expel her musings.
I’m not getting anywhere this way.

She dropped the bag of ice into the trash can next to her desk and sat down in her chair. As she dialed the phone number of her contact at the Minneapolis PD, she knew this was going to be tricky. She would be calling into question any actions they took during a raid of Robert Bishop’s home, maybe even accusing them of a cover-up.

When Alex Cohn answered, Jo said, “Hey, Alex. I have a case I need you to research. Last year, there was a drug bust at the home of a Robert Bishop. Ring any bells?”

“Uh, yeah. I remember it. The guy was killed, right?”

“That’s the one. Can you put me in touch with the officers involved?”

Alex sounded leery when he said, “Why don’t you tell me what this is about, Jo?”

“I’m following up on a trail of clues and it led me to Bishop. Just making sure I have a complete picture of what went down.” She hesitated. Something in Alex’s voice made her say, “Did I step into something?”

“Yeah, you could say that. The officer in charge of the raid on Bishop’s house was just arrested last week on suspicion of taking bribes, among other charges. His name is Ben Johnson.”