The Killers Amongst Us: Chimera Dawn Chronicles (18 page)

BAXTER’S
Steak House on the main street was quiet for
lunchtime. Shaw usually had to share a table with tourists, but on this
occasion, he found an empty table by the window.

“Usual, Sheriff?” Mrs. Baxter called out from behind the
counter. She didn’t need to serve his table. A creature of habit, it was always
the same homemade steak pie and mash, with a generous pouring of gravy over the
top. Shaw studied the menu as he always did before replying.

“Sure. I’ll have the usual.”

He looked out onto the street. The few people that ambled on
past the window didn’t look as though they had any urgency to their day; no
sense of purpose. They were just taking a leisurely stroll. He thought it was
as if time had slowed, and whatever was going on the world was of no
consequence to them. He realized that’s how it had been for him over the past
six years. Save for the events since Friday, those six years had seemed like
double the time. He slipped his fingers into the top pocket of his shirt and
pulled out two pieces of paper. One of them was folded into a small square. He
unraveled it and studied the telephone number on the back of the burger bar
receipt. A vision of the server sat on her stool and giving him the thumbs-up
sign, flashed through his mind. He opened the second note with Cleo’s number at
the Wildlife Sanctuary. He placed them both back in his pocket. Now wasn’t the
time, but he knew that the time was fast approaching that he needed to make
something of his life.

“One steak pie and mash with gravy,” said Mrs. Baxter, as
she set down his plate and cutlery.

“Thanks, but where’s Joyce? You don’t usually bring the food
to the table.”

“She phoned in ill this morning. Bad stomach she said.”
Turning on her heel, she scurried back behind the counter.

Shaw thought Frank was right and there was a bug doing the
rounds. Steam rose from his plate of food, bringing with it an aroma that had
him tucking into the pie. He hardly stopped to breathe as he devoured his meal.
Sitting back in his chair, he set down his cutlery, patted his stomach, then
glanced at the television screen in the corner. The face smiling back at him
and holding a microphone was the young woman who had interviewed him outside
Hogan’s butchers. In the backdrop, he could see the entrance to the Medical
Center in LA where they were treating Johno. He turned to face Mrs. Baxter.

“Can you turn up the sound?”

“....and security has been tightened, with police guarding
the victim’s room. According to one police source, they have no motive for the
attempt on the young man’s life, and they are extremely grateful that quick
thinking and the actions of the staff who saved his life. The police are
checking the security footage for any clues as to how they gained access to his
room, for whoever did this to switch off his life support. Police and a
spokesperson from the Medical Center have refused to name the young man until
his parents have been informed of the situation. However, I can report that the
victim is from Breakers Pass, north of LA.”

Shaw rose from his seat and walked over to the television as
she continued with her report.

“When I put it to my source to ask if there could be any
connection to the death of two paramedics that was reported earlier, and the
theft of their ambulance, he said it was too early to comment, but they were
looking at all possibilities. This is...”

Shaw dipped into his pocket, pulled out a twenty-dollar bill
and dropped it on his table as he dashed out of the steak house. He retrieved
his cell phone, located Amy in his contacts and pressed call. He continued
walking at a quick pace with the cell phone pressed to his ear. The call rang
until it went to answer phone.

“Amy, call me urgently.”

He picked up his pace and ran back to the office. Shaw burst
through his office door and over to his desk. Jim was sitting in Shaw’s seat.

“What the hell’s happened?”

Shaw rested both hands on the desk, his chest heaved. His
meal lay heavy in his stomach, and his head pounded.

“Move,” he said. It was all he could muster. He edged around
the desk to his chair and flopped onto the seat. Gyp fussed around his feet.

“Mary’s just called before you came through the door. She
said to phone her urgently.”

Shaw showed Jim the palm of his hand as he tried to gain
some composure. His cell phone rang. Trembling fingers located his cell phone
in his pocket. Shaw looked at the screen and gained some composure, when he saw
Amy’s name appear. He pressed accept and put the phone to his ear.

“Amy, where are you?”

“Who is that?” said a male voice.

Shaw held the phone away and looked at the screen. It was
definitely Amy’s name he could see. He snatched the handset back to his face.

“This is Amy’s dad, who the hell are you?”

“Highway Patrol Officer Gilmore, sir. LAPD. A woman flagged
me down after she found the phone in the grass near a bus stop at Hollows Lane.
She heard it ringing, but it stopped when she picked it up...”

The officer carried on talking, but the words faded to a
jumble as Shaw’s brain scrambled. His office phone rang and Jim answered.

“Yes he’s on his cell phone,” said Jim. “Mary’s on the line.”

“Officer, please, can you hold the line. Listen, I’m Sheriff
Shaw. I used to be a detective in LA homicide. I think someone may have
attempted to murder Amy’s friend at the UCLA Medical Center this lunchtime.
There could be a connection to her losing her phone. She’s staying at her Aunt
Mary’s, and her Aunt’s on the other line.”

He didn’t wait for an answer and took the handset from Jim.

“Mary, is Amy there?” He crossed his fingers, while resting
both phones on his cheeks.

“No, that’s why I’m calling. She phoned me from the bus two
hours ago to say she was on her way. I thought maybe she’d changed her mind and
gone shopping, but she’s not answering her phone.”

“Jesus, no. Hold on Mary. The police have found her phone
near the bus stop at the bottom of your street. I’m talking to the officer now.”

“Oh, God, no. I hope she just lost it and nothing’s
happened.”

“Just wait there.”

“Officer, look, she’s not at her Aunt Mary’s but she phoned
from the bus two hours ago to say she would be arriving soon. I think something
could have happened to her.” His last words choked out.

“Look, Sheriff, as one officer to another with a daughter,
don’t worry, I’ll check it out. Give me her Aunt’s address and I’ll go there
now. I’ll fill out a missing persons form. Will she have a photograph?”

“Mary, do you have a recent photo, and do you know what she’s
wearing?”

“Yes to both.”

“Listen, the police are going to come to your home now.
Phone me after he’s gone. Don’t worry, they’ll find her.”

They said their goodbyes and he closed the cell phone call.

“Yes, she has a photograph, and she knows what Amy was
wearing. Her full name is Amy Shaw. Her date of birth is July eleventh,
nineteen ninety six. When you have the report from Mary, can you get the
details to Logan the head of LA homicide as a matter of urgency? I’ll phone him
now so he’ll be expecting your call.”

“Sure, will do.”

Shaw gave him Mary’s address and closed the call. Jim placed
a coffee in front of him.

“Where’s Frank? I may need you two to hold the fort while I
go to LA,” Shaw said.

“Gone to interview Ron Bartlett.”

“Oh, yeah.” Shaw stood, and paced around his desk. He took
off his hat and threw it at the stand. “Damn, shit and damn.”

Jim picked up Shaw’s hat off the floor and placed it on a
peg on the stand.

“Look, Brett, I can go with you if you like? I don’t know what
to say, only I hope she’s in a coffee bar in some shopping mall.”

“There’s nothing you can say, but thanks for the offer. What
a nightmare.”

Shaw picked up the handset, dialed LA homicide and dropped
onto his chair seat.

“Can you put me through to Logan? I’m Sheriff Shaw from
Breakers Pass.”

Gyp sat looking at him, his head tilted to one side.

“She’ll be okay, Gyp,” he said, and patted his head. Logan
answered the call.

“Brett, or should I call you, Sheriff Shaw, now? How’s it
hanging you old dog.”

Shaw was taken aback by his familiarity. It wasn’t the style
of greeting Logan used to make.

“Nothing’s hanging. Everything’s all up in the air just now.
My daughter Amy’s in LA and she’s gone missing.”

Shaw explained the situation and Amy’s connection to Johno.

“Well, I can tell you that no one was in the hospital room
when they pulled the plug. I can also tell you that CCTV shows the intruders
wearing paramedic uniforms with surgical masks, and they arrived and left in
the stolen ambulance. We have an all points out looking for it now. And I can
also tell you that at the time it happened, from what you say, Amy was on the
bus, so I doubt she got caught up in the situation, and it’s a simple
coincidence that Amy’s gone AWOL. I’ll get someone to check the bus schedules,
and have someone talk with the driver. As soon as officer Gilmore reports back
here with Amy’s photo, I’ll have it circulated to all foot and highway patrol
officers. Don’t worry, we’ll find her.”

Shaw lowered his head and with his elbow on the desk, he
rested his forehead on the palm of his hand.

“I really can’t handle this. I’ll set off down there now and
do my own checking.”

There was no immediate response from Logan.

“You there?”

“Yes, I’m here. Don’t you think you’re overplaying it a little?
It’s only been two hours.”

“What do you mean ‘overplaying it a little’? Do you mean
like the girls that went missing back in two thousand and eight. The two hours
the parents took to report them missing turned into six years. What if it were
your daughter?”

“I understand, but sorry, Brett, you know better than to get
involved. Maybe she set off to  go to Mary’s, realized she’d lost her phone,
then crossed the road to wait for the bus returning to see if she’d left it on
there. The bus driver could have set off with her looking under her seat, and
she decided to go back to the medical center. Look, leave us to do our work.
I‘ll make sure that everyone knows it’s a fellow officer’s daughter we’re
looking for.”

“But—”

“No buts. I don’t want you anywhere near the investigation.
You know the protocol and the consequences if you break the rules. You’d be too
close to the case if it turns out to be something untoward has happened and
it’s not within your jurisdiction. What I’ll do is to keep you fully informed.
I’ll give no quarter if you step over the line and interfere, understood.”

Shaw understood, but it didn’t help the knot tightening in
his stomach.

“Just stay calm and wait until we’ve interviewed the bus
driver. I’ll get them onto that now. I’ll also have a detective take a look
around the immediate area at the bus stop.”

“Okay, keep me informed. But you have to understand this; if
she’s not found by the morning, they can stuff investigation protocol up their
ass. It doesn’t stop me driving around to look for her.”

He placed the handset back on the cradle, picked up his
coffee and gulped it down in one.

“God, this is going to be one hell of a long night. It
doesn’t look as though I’m going anywhere... for now. This is crap. I don’t
know what to do.”

“I don’t know what you can do either, only wait to see what
they come up with,” said Jim, and walked over to the window. “Frank’s back.
Wait a minute. Is that another prisoner in the back of his pickup?”

“Who is it?” Shaw said, and swiveled his chair to look out
of the window.

Jim put his hands on his hips and stood in front of Shaw,
blocking his view.

“Well, I’ll be,” Jim said. “It’s... nah ... yes, it is. It’s
only the rooster himself, Ted Carter.”

AMY’S
boyfriend stumbled through the office door,
wearing a white T-Shirt, jeans and sneakers. Frank followed, holding the chain
between the cuffs securing his prisoner’s arms behind his back. Shaw stood, then
turned with his back to them and looked out of the window. He wished he had
simply phoned the FBI. The prisoner was a distraction too far.

“Broken taillight, and resisting arrest,” Frank said. “I’ve
read him his rights, but I need to let him cool off so I can write it down
without the cussing.”

“This is bullshit. He broke the taillight with the butt of
his gun. I would have come to talk to you only I needed to go home first. I’ve
done nothing. What’s so urgent we need all this?” said Ted.

Shaw couldn’t face him and continued to stare out of his window.

“You know the drill. Book him in then lock him in a cell,”
Shaw said.

A county sheriff’s deputy pulled up in his car outside. Shaw
turned to Jim.

“I can’t handle this. County are here for their prisoner.
Frank’s report is on his desk with the evidence. You see to him, I’m going
upstairs.”

Shaw trotted up the stairway with Gyp following. He threw
himself on the sofa, face down, and buried his head in a cushion. Reaching out,
he blindly grabbed the telephone from the coffee table and put it beside him.
He lay there almost comatose for around ten minutes. The telephone rang, and he
turned over, grasping at the handset.

“I have it,” said Shaw, as someone in the office had
retrieved the call at the same time.

“Sheriff’s office. Shaw speaking.”

“It’s Mary, the officer’s gone.”

“What did he say?”

“He took all the details, and I gave him Louise’s phone
number and Amy’s photograph. He spoke to someone called Logan over his radio.
Apparently, they’ve tracked the driver down on his bus route, and the officer
is going to speak to him. Then, he said he was going to central to meet this Logan
person.”

“Logan is my old boss. He’s going to throw everything at
finding her.” Mary started to cry over the phone. “Is... is there anything you
can do?”

He wasn’t sure if he should tell her his thoughts on her
connection to the attempt on Johno’s life. The last thing he wanted was to
upset her any more than she already was. He decided to leave the incident with
Johno out of the equation.

“Logan’s asked me to stand by and to wait for news. I feel
so damn powerless. He wants me to check with her friends that she hangs around
with locally. Maybe she’s phoned them?”

“God, I hope so. She was supposed to be meeting Ted tonight
and going back with him tomorrow.”

Shaw sat up at the revelation that Amy was going to meet him
that night. His mind worked overtime as to why he had come home a day early.

“Ted! I thought I asked you... oh, never mind. Well that
wouldn’t have happened, he’s back here in Breakers Pass. Listen, I need to go
and start asking questions. Ted’s at the office now. I’ll phone you when I hear
from Logan. If she’s not found by the morning, is it okay if I come and stay at
yours?”

“You don’t have to ask, of course you can.”

“Thanks, speak to you soon.’ Shaw closed the call. Gyp
offered him a paw.

“What’s up, boy? You hungry?”

Shaw hauled himself from the sofa and walked to the kitchen.
He poured out some dog chews in Gyp’s bowl. Gyp sniffed at the treats, but
turned away, following him out of the apartment and down to the office.

“I’m so sorry about Amy,” said Frank, as Shaw entered the
room, head bowed. “Is there anything we can do?”

“Yes, there is something. I need you and Jim to talk to
Amy’s friends and see if she’s contacted them. I also want you to shake them
down. There’s been an attempt on Johno’s life.”

“What!” Frank said, and dropped his backside on his chair.

“I need you to find if there’s anyone dealing drugs in town.
LA homicide reckons the motive for the attempt on his life lies up here
somewhere.”

“God forbid,” said Jim. “Ain’t come across nothing like
that, only the liquor.”

“Maybe it’s because we haven’t been looking.” Shaw said. “Anyway,
it’s likely I’m going to LA tomorrow, so I’ll want you both to look after
things up here.”

“Look after what?” Frank asked. “It’s not as though you’re
exactly forthcoming with what’s in your head. I mean, why is Ted here for a
start? And what’s that list of names for on your desk headed, ‘Things to do’?”

Shaw knew the rebuke was deserved.

“Oh yeah, sorry. I think it’s time we had a meeting.

Shaw could feel the heat in his cheeks. Frank was right.
He’d not exactly entrusted them with his line of investigation. There again,
he’d thought that their job description didn’t go far beyond handing out
vehicle violation and litter tickets, and attending the odd breach of the
peace. If ever there was a time to test their loyalty, it was now.

“Whatever’s said in here stays here. It’s the first rule of
investigating. Breakers Pass is too small a town for word not to pass around if
there’s a leak. That includes talking to the wife. We clear on that?”

“Clear,” said Frank.

“You got it,” Jim said.

“Good, I’ll start with our prisoner, Stewart Harvey, alias
Ted Carter.” Jim and Frank exchanged glances. “He’s wanted by the FBI for questioning.”

“Why didn’t they haul his sorry ass?” Jim asked.

“Because I haven’t told them, that’s why. I wanted to give
him a tongue-lashing first, on account of the hurt it’ll cost Amy. In the
circumstances, it’s a good thing I haven’t told them yet. He may know something
about Amy going missing.”

“What have the FBI got on him, besides using an alias?”
Frank asked.

“Computer hacking and fraud, but I’m not interested in that.
They can handle that once I’ve questioned him about Amy. I need you both with me
when I question him, ’cause I‘m likely to want to tear his head from his
shoulders.”

“Understandable,” said Frank.

Shaw didn’t want to give them time to ask how he found out
about Ted and moved onto the next subject.

“Did you get the statement from Ron Bartlett?”

“Yeah, Ed Grimes had been visiting Maria alright. I have the
dates and times, but nothing on the night of her death,” said Frank.

“Good, we can move on. Maria’s death. Here’s where I’m at
with it so far. We don’t know the cause of death until the autopsy comes back
to us. We can take it an animal, probably a dog, ragged her neck, but she could
have already been dead. That brings me onto the bare footprints. Someone else
was at the scene, and my main suspect is Ed Grimes. He was the last to have
contact and we have Bartlett’s statement confirming Grimes had been paying her
late night visits. I think it’s likely he had a hand in the arson attack to
cover his sorry ass. Trouble is; we don’t have any physical evidence yet to put
him at the scene of either the death, or the arson attack. I’m waiting for the
forensic report on the oil valve to see if they can find any prints that will
match his. Until then, I can’t move in on him, or he’s likely to cry to his
attorney.”

Jim set an awkward stance and shuffled from foot to foot.
Shaw could see he had something bugging him, but he was having difficulty
communicating with his mouth.

“What’s on your mind?”

“I didn’t want to tell you this,” said Jim. “But Ed pulled
me to one side the other day in the main street. He was asking me if you
thought your taste for liquor was affecting your judgment. I told him I’d never
seen you drink at work, which is the truth.”

Shaw slapped the desk and sat back in his chair.

“That confirms it then. I had a visit from the county sheriff
this morning. I guessed Grimes had a hand in the county sheriff’s visit. I need
to take a medical on Wednesday after they’d had an anonymous call about me
drinking. Luckily, I haven’t had a drop since I came back from LA.”

“So he’s trying to get you suspended?” said Jim.

“It’s looking that way, which tells me he wants me off of
the case because of my background working homicides.”

“Do you think the dog could be one of his pit bulls?” Frank
asked.

Again, until we get DNA tests back, there’s no point in
testing his dog. With a little luck, it may have left some saliva on her body
or nightdress. But now we have a second dog. Ted got rid of his dog Polly, and
by all accounts, it was fierce and big enough to have caused the damage to her
neck. It had also been for treatment to the vets a few days before her death.
So after questioning him, I’ll need you to track it down.”

“What about the prepper’s feral dog?” Frank asked.

“I think that’s just a smoke screen to keep people away from
the silver mine, and to perpetuate the mine monster myth. Breakers Lake is near
the silver mine. It was probably the preppers’ way and scaring off Amy’s crew
from wandering near there. So... that’s it, my to-do list is waiting for the
autopsy and forensics reports to come in for me to start hauling ass. The
priority now is to interview Ted, or Stewart, I should say, and then you can go
and start talking to Amy’s friends.”

“But what about the dog tracks at the ravine?” Frank said.

The questions were becoming like a tide washing over him.
This had to be the final answer. Finding Amy had to be the priority and that
meant interviewing the prisoner.

“Same as I said about the multiple cat tracks. It could have
been a hunter’s dog passing the trail earlier. Okay, meeting finished. Let’s
get this interview under way with our reluctant guest. But first, pass me his
personal belongings from the locker.”

Frank sprang off his seat and walked to the locker. He
retrieved his prisoner’s belongings and placed the box on Shaw’s desk. Shaw
tipped the contents out and spread them around. He inspected the keys on his
car key ring. There were two other keys besides his car key, probably for the
front and back door of his home. He picked up his wallet and opening it, he
checked the contents. There were a few small denomination bills amounting to
fifty dollars, his driving license, insurance card, medical card, and a bank
debit card, all in the name of Ted Carter. In one of the pockets, he found a
piece of paper tucked inside. He teased it out and unfolded it to reveal two
addresses scribbled in Biro. One was Mary’s address and the other was for the
Medical Centre with a room number. Shaw slipped the note back inside and picked
up his cell phone. He pressed the phone symbol to fire it up, but the battery
was dead.

“I’ve got a charger for that model in my drawer,” said Jim.
He opened his drawer and rummaged around. “Here it is,” he said, and tossed it
to Shaw.

He connected the lead to the phone and plugged into a socket
by his feet.

“That’s better, now let’s see who he’s been calling.”

Shaw noticed his neck chain had a small key attached. He had
a flashback to the locked door in the corridor at Ted’s home. Shaw opened the
outbound calls on his cell. The last call was to Amy around the time she would
have been on the bus.

“Okay, let’s see what he has to say. Take your chairs
through to the interview room. I’m not going to tell him I know about the alias
straight away, or that Amy’s gone missing. Just watch, listen and learn. Let’s
see if we can find a drug connection.”