Detective Wade Jackson Mystery - 03 - Thrilled to Death (27 page)

Jackson asked Evans and McCray to go through the statements, line by line, while he and Schak started on the phone records. Jackson flipped through the pages until he found the calls for Monday. “I’m taking this page to my desk, so I can plug these phone numbers into the database.”

“You can use my laptop,” Evans offered.

“Thanks, but I’ll be more comfortable at my desk.”

Jackson pulled a pair of reading glasses out of his top drawer. So far, he only needed them when he was looking at pages of small print like this. Monday’s calls started a third of the way down the page. At 8:03 a.m., Valder had received a call from Alice Valder, located in Aurora, Illinois. His mother, Jackson assumed. Calling first thing Monday morning. It was rather typical. Most of the male suspects he encountered fell into two categories, they either hadn’t seen their mother since they left home or they were tightly bonded, sometimes in a life of crime.

The next call at 10:36 was outgoing, from Valder to a local number. Jackson punched it into LEDS, the law enforcement data system. The name Robert Napper came up with an address in Springfield. Jackson added the information to his case file.

First he would make a list and check each name for criminal history. Those with a record, they would visit in person, and the others he would call just to see who they were and how they reacted. Robert Napper was twenty-three and had a DUI conviction two years before. Jackson wondered if he was an employee, someone who worked at the club. In a minute, he’d call him and find out.

At 2:17 p.m., Valder had placed a call to another local number. Jackson keyed it in and waited: Elias Goodbe of 2255 Wolf Meadows.

His heart did a tiny tap dance. Goodbe was somehow in the thick of this. The importer-turned-philanthropist not only had associations with both missing women, Goodbe knew Valder, the strip club owner and porn maker who had held both women in his house. Valder, with a gagged and bound young woman he needed to dispose of, had called Goodbe. Most interesting.

A rush of adrenaline surged through his body and Jackson’s fingers flew as he keyed Goodbe into CODIS. He came up with nothing. Goodbe was not a known criminal. Was the name an alias? Without fingerprints or DNA, they had no way to cross check.

Jackson scanned the other Monday calls. One at 4:47 p.m. came from Goodbe. He keyed the other three Monday calls into LEDS and came up with two that went to Lucky Numbers, Valder’s club, and one to a woman named Trisha O’Neil.

Jackson pulled out the small evidence bag with Valder’s phone. Jackson slid the cover back and started hitting buttons, looking for a contact file. After a moment, he gave up, grabbed his bag, and headed back to the conference room, signaling Schak at his desk to follow.

Evans made notes on her laptop while McCray read from a list of figures. They both looked up as Jackson announced, “I think we have another solid lead.”

He took a seat as Schak came in. “Seth Valder talked to Elias Goodbe twice on Monday. As we just discussed, Goodbe is the director of Young Mother’s Outreach and had contact with Danette. He also knows Elle Durham, who funds his center, so we might assume he knows Courtney too. The question of the moment is: Why does Goodbe, a supposed philanthropist, know someone like Valder? And why did Valder call him when he was dealing with the scenario of having the wrong kidnapped woman in his house?”

“You talked to Goodbe, right?” Schak asked. “What kind of vibe did you get?”

“Sorry to say, I didn’t get much of a read.” Jackson flipped back through his notes and tried to recall the interview that morning. “Goodbe seemed uncomfortable talking about Courtney.” As he remembered something else, he snapped his fingers. “Goodbe lied to me. I asked him if he knew Seth Valder just to see his reaction and he said no.”

“I can see why he would want to keep that relationship to himself,” Evans noted with a slight sneer.

“Do we bring him in?” Schak cracked his knuckles.

“No, we tail him,” McCray said, springing to his feet. “Bringing him in will get us nowhere. We can sweat Valder to roll over on Goodbe, but Goodbe has no reason to tell us anything.”

“I like your thinking,” Jackson said. “We also need subpoenas, which may take time.”

“I’ll take the first shift on the tail,” McCray offered. “I’m tired of paperwork.”

“You’ve got it. His address is 2255 Wolf Meadows. I think that’s in the area between Green Acres and Chad Drive. His business is downtown right next to the center.”

“I’ll take a shift watching the center,” Schak offered.

“Great. We’ll get uniform backup if we need it.” Jackson turned to Evans. “I need you to create the paperwork for a search of Goodbe’s house, import business, and the center. I’ll dig into the databases and see if there’s anything in Goodbe’s background that will help sway the judge.”

“What’s your working theory about Goodbe’s role in this?” Evans wanted to know.

“I haven’t had time to formulate one.” Jackson’s brain scrambled as he tried to generate a hypothesis. “Maybe he’s connected to Valder’s porno operation or some sex trade business. If Goodbe picked up Danette from Valder, I’m a little more hopeful she is alive.”

Evans asked what everyone was thinking. “But where?”

“We need to determine, then search, every piece of property Goodbe owns.” Jackson remembered he had Valder’s cell phone in his pocket. He pulled it out. “Does anyone use this type of phone or know how to locate the list of contacts?”

Evans reached for it. “It’s a Google 1.” She clicked a few buttons. “I assume this is Valder’s phone and you want me to scroll through his contact list for calls and see if Goodbe is in here.”

“Yes.” A wave of uncertainty hit Jackson. “What other kind of contact list would he have in the phone?” Jackson hated being behind the times on technology, but he always was.

“Most new phones have e-mail capability. I don’t know if it has a standard e-mail address file though.” Evans was scrolling as she talked. “Goodbe is in here at contact number 26.”

Jackson barely listened. His mind was on Courtney’s missing phone. What if Courtney had one of those phones and sent an e-mail to someone Tuesday night after Eddie Lucas dropped her off? He turned to Schak. “When you asked for the records for Courtney Durham’s phone, did they say anything about e-mail?”

Schak looked taken aback. “No. I asked for a record of her calls for the last two weeks.” Jacskon watched him make the connection. “You think she might have sent e-mails out before she died?”

“We need to find out. Get back to her phone service provider and see if they track e-mails too. Next head over to 17th and Oak and keep an eye on the outreach center for a while. If you spot Goodbe, call me.”

McCray let out a little sigh. “Should I follow up on Valder’s phone e-mails?”

“No. Get out to Goodbe’s house ASAP. We need to get this guy under surveillance.”

Chapter 26

Jackson ran Elias Goodbe’s name through every database and browser he had access to. What he discovered was that Goodbe had opened Goodbe’s Imports in Eugene in 1996, had purchased a house at 2255 Wolf Meadows in 1997, had joined the Eugene Chamber of Commerce the same year, and had started the Young Mothers Outreach in 2006. It was almost as if he hadn’t existed before 1996.

No vehicles came up associated with Goodbe’s name either. It only meant he’d never been pulled over by an Oregon police officer. Jackson would have to check with the Department of Motor Vehicles in the morning.

He felt guilty about giving Evans the impossible job of writing a convincing subpoena to search Goodbe’s personal records, home, business, and charity. No judge would sign off on it, based on two phone calls between Valder and Goodbe on the day Danette disappeared. The men could have been talking about anything. They needed something more solid.

Jackson remembered Kera had visited the center so he gave her a call. “Quick question. What was your impression of the Young Mothers Outreach? Did you meet the director?”

“I did. Elias Goodbe. He’d seemed charming at first.”

“What happened?”

“I mentioned talking to Sophie Speranza about doing a story to get the center some publicity and he rejected the idea. Then he kind of shut down.”

“Did you talk to anyone else or learn anything interesting?”

“Hang on a sec.” Jackson heard some shuffling noises, then Kera was back. “I had to put Micah on my other shoulder. He’s a solid little chunk. Back to your question. I talked to a volunteer named Gwen who said some of the women who come to the center don’t have families, and they place their babies in state care. Sometimes they never come back. It made sense when I first heard it, then it bothered me later and I’m not sure why.”

Considering what he suspected about Goodbe, it bothered Jackson too. “It’s a little unnerving. Anything else?”

“Not really. Will I see you this weekend?”

“I hope so. I’ll call you later. Give Katie a hug for me.” Evans walked up with paperwork in her hands. “I have to go see a judge about a search warrant.”

“Good luck.”

“Bye babe.”

“Oh wait. I just remembered something else Goodbe said I thought was interesting. He said some of the volunteers were at the center as part of their own therapy. He said it right after mentioning Stella Callahan.”

“Thanks. Love you.” Jackson flipped his phone shut and looked up at Evans, who had a funny smile going. “What?”

“When did you first tell Kera you loved her? How long into the relationship?”

“About four months, I think. I knew long before that Kera was the best thing that ever happened to me.” Jackson started back to his desk. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

Evans had the audacity to wink at him. “I hope you found something on Goodbe, because this subpoena is weak.”

“I haven’t yet. We’ll just have to be very persuasive. I’ll start calling and see if I can find a judge who’s willing to look at it tonight.”

Jackson made calls to three judges and left messages, emphasizing the need to
find a missing young woman
. He sent Evans home to rest, so she could take the next shift in front of Goodbe’s house in about five hours. Jackson didn’t want to leave McCray out there longer than that. He called Schak. “What’s the update?”

“I couldn’t get anyone with authority at Verizon on the phone tonight, so we may not get any information about Courtney’s e-mail records until Monday,” Schak reported. “Now I’m sitting across the street from the Young Mothers center. The lights are off and no one’s home.”

“What about the import business across the parking lot?”

“Also dark and quiet. Why?”

“It’s Goodbe’s.”

“No kidding? Convenient for him.”

“I’m still working on the subpoena. I’ll get patrol units to keep an eye on the buildings, so you can go home and get some sleep.”

Judge Cranston called back around nine-thirty. “What’s your situation?”

“We have a missing woman. She was kidnapped on Monday in a case of mistaken identity. We’re trying to locate her. We know she was delivered to Seth Valder on Monday and Valder called Elias Goodbe soon after, so I need a search warrant for Elias Goodbe’s home, business, and charity.”

“Elias Goodbe of Goodbe Imports and Young Mothers Outreach?”

Oh shit
. “Yes.”

“I know Elias.” The judge cleared his throat. “I find it hard to believe he would be involved in kidnapping. What makes you think he is? Other than a phone call?”

“Two women disappeared earlier this week. The other one was Courtney Durham. Goodbe had contact with both of them. He also had contact with Seth Valder, who held both of the women in his house.”

“Elle Durham’s daughter was kidnapped? When? I was out of town for a while.”

The conversation was not going according to plan. “Courtney was kidnapped Monday night. She arranged it for herself from a company called ThrillSeekers. Two things went wrong. First, the company kidnapped the wrong woman, Danette Blake, and no one has seen her since. Second, Courtney died soon after she was released and we’re not sure yet how or why.”

“Good Lord.” A scraping sound followed, as if the judge had pulled out a chair.

“If you knew the family, I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I know Elle, and I met Courtney once. I’m a little stunned.”

“Courtney had mental health problems.” Jackson wanted to get back to Goodbe, but he needed the judge to come along with him. “Courtney was seeing a psychiatrist named Stella Callahan. Danette Blake was seeing her as well. That’s where the mix-up came in.”

“What makes you think Elias knows anything about either kidnapping?”

“Seth Valder called Elias Goodbe on Monday after Danette was mistakenly delivered to his house. Two hours later, Goodbe called him back. They spoke twice on the phone while a kidnapped woman was in Valder’s house.”

“You’ve searched Seth Valder’s property?”

“Yes. Tomorrow we start digging up his backyard, but I have a feeling Danette isn’t there. I think Goodbe picked her up.”

The judge made an odd noise in his throat. “For God’s sake why? Why would a businessman who started a charity for young women get involved in something like this? Have you even asked him?”

“Not yet. If we bring Goodbe in, we can’t follow him around and see where he goes. Once we question him, he’ll be on guard after that.”

“I’m not letting you tear apart Elias Goodbe’s home and reputation on such thin speculation. Go question him. Maybe he has a good reason for talking to Seth Valder. Good night.” Cranston hung up.

Jackson was disappointed, but the judge had a point.
Why would a businessman and philanthropist get involved in kidnapping a young woman?

Porn. It had to be about sex somehow. Some men became so obsessed with pornography it took over their lives and made them irrational. A year ago, a Springfield man had shot and killed his wife after she smashed his computer because she couldn’t live with his porn addiction any longer. Their three children were in foster homes now.

McCray answered on the first ring, so he must have had his phone in his hand. Jackson pictured him sitting there on a dark street, watching a dark house, and wishing someone would call.