The Pawnbroker (22 page)

“Gone. He must have been wearing a vest. I hit him twice in the center mass and the blows rocked him. Once the Taser darts hit, I couldn't stay on my feet. They ran off.”

“Where's the boy?” Gordon asked, coming up and looking past Ruth.

“Kidnapped,” Ruth said. “My bastard husband did this. The men who grabbed Rene left a phone and a note on the grass.” She pointed to the coffee table. On it was a cheap throwaway phone and a piece of white computer paper. On the paper was a simple message. “No cops. Give me what I want and you get Rene back alive. Wait for instructions.”

“Well, it's too late to worry about the cops. Did you call the FBI?” Charlie said.

“I asked Nancy not to, and she passed it along to the detective,” Ruth said. “He's checking with his own supervisors on that.”

“Okay, so what do we know so far?” Gordon asked.

Nancy looked down and brushed some leaves and grass clippings off her uniform as she spoke. “The man who took Rene and Tasered me was a big guy, six-three, 230—quick, like a pro linebacker. He carried the boy under his arm like he was nothing. The guy had on a ski mask and moved with confidence, like ex-military. The second perp was about six feet, 180. He screened the guy with Rene, then pulled a gun, semiauto, maybe a Glock. I already had my weapon out and fired two rounds before I got lit up. Wish I'd taken a head shot.”

“Did you see anything else? A vehicle, a third kidnapper?” Charlie asked.

“I think they had a driver because it all happened so fast. By the time I was able to get to my feet, through the gate, and out to the street, all I could see was the back end of a dark green Dodge van. It had one of those auto-dealer paper tags on the rear window. I gave what I could read to DuPree and he's trying to trace it.”

“Probably fake. All you need is a computer and printer to whip up a lookalike and tape it in place. Tear it off once you're out of sight and there's a legitimate plate underneath,” Gordon said.

Nancy nodded. “Yeah, these guys carried this off like pros; they both wore latex gloves. No prints.” She turned around to face Ruth. “Sit, calm down, and stay out of sight, Ruth. We'll find Rene. We already have a good idea who was behind this.”

“We heard Eddie Henderson's got a new crew,” Charlie said.

Nancy stepped up to within two feet of Charlie, so close he could smell the faint scent of rose perfume and mint breath freshener. Her green eyes were full of fire. “Who the hell gave up Ruth and Rene's location?”

“Guilty. We just found out that our office and shop are bugged, maybe even from Baza's time,” Charlie said, his own gaze unwavering.

Gordon spoke next. “That explains how the man who killed Diego Baza and shot Gina knew when and where the meet about the safe was taking place. We discussed that with Gina in our office. He's known almost all of our plans in advance. All he needed to do was find out where you lived to find Ruth and Rene.”

“With the Internet and some hacking skills, that wouldn't be so hard. Eddie placed the bugs. He got in tight with Baza for a while, selling guns for him and at the same time trying to track down Ruth for Brooks. During that time, he probably placed the first bug. He may have been adding a second bug the night we thought he was trying to rip us off,” Charlie added, certain now that he knew the basic situation. “He must have gotten in before, when Baza was running the place. Eddie knew how to get in through the roof.”

“And you just found this out, which is why you and DuPree showed up when you did,” Nancy said. “Damn, if only you'd have gotten here ten minutes earlier.”

“We called. It's on your voice mail. Now we know why you didn't pick up,” Charlie said.

“Bro,” Gordon said, “I was thinking that maybe we should leave the bugs. They don't need to know we know.”

“Yeah, play them for a change,” Charlie said. “Call Jake and tell Al to find every one of those suckers, but keep them in place. Hopefully neither of them have already given it away.”

“Well, Al took us outside to tell us about it, and I think Jake's got it together too,” Gordon said. “God's ears,” he said, bringing out his phone.

Just then Detective DuPree walked up to the porch. “Everyone inside. We've got to get our shit together and find Rene, even if it means waiting for a phone call and playing it by ear. Also, Sergeant Medina, a detective is on the way along with the mobile crime lab.” He looked at his watch. “And call your captain, Medina,” he added. “You're going to be working with me for a while.”

 

Chapter Sixteen

“I've got my captain trying to contact Lawrence Brooks, Ruth, but he's worried about blowback if your husband isn't actually involved. Extremely wealthy businessmen have very influential friends—even the shady ones,” DuPree said.

They were all seated around the table in the dining alcove off the kitchen.

“He won't get through. My husband has all of his calls screened,” Ruth replied. “He's paranoid.”

“Gutless bastard. We're talking about a five-year-old boy here,” Gordon said, looking down at the burn phone the kidnappers had left behind.

“I know,” DuPree said. “My idea here is to first track down Brooks's current location. If Brooks does call back, I'm going to ask the chief to trace it. If he's nowhere near, at least we can rule out his physical involvement. Parental custody is a sticky legal issue.”

“You're saying that Brooks might claim that this was just an attempt to recover his son and not really a kidnapping? That's damned low,” Nancy said.

“Welcome to my world. Lawrence is as low as it gets,” Ruth said. “We may never get a call on that phone now that they have him. They could just be stalling for time to get away. How can we find Rene before they hide him somewhere I can't get to him? My husband has the resources to take him anywhere in the world. In less than two hours they could be in Mexico.”

“If I think this is going out of state, I'm going to have to bring in the FBI no matter what. But our chief has asked the other local agencies to set up roadblocks on all major roads, and all public transportation, from buses on up,” DuPree said.

“Lawrence has his own airplane.”

“Private flights are also being covered,” DuPree said. “I'm trying to get help from everyone I can and still maintain control of the investigation. If they made it to I-25 or I-40, they'll still encounter state police roadblocks. They don't have enough lead to outrun the radio net.”

“I get all this,” Charlie said. “But I don't understand why the boy was taken and the ransom note and phone left behind. If this kidnapping was done for your husband, what does he want from you in exchange for Rene?”

“Yeah,” Nancy said, “it doesn't add up. A police officer was assaulted and someone got shot. That makes this criminal, not civil. I have my doubts Lawrence Brooks would do something like this just to get his son back. He has too much to lose by not making this strictly something for the courts. And what would this exchange, this ransom, be?” Nancy asked.

Charlie spoke before she could answer. “Could this be one of your husband's enemies instead, Ruth? Someone out to harm Lawrence?”

“You mean that maybe the Eddie guy turned against Lawrence?” Ruth replied. “Oh no, he'd know better than that. Lawrence would make his life a living hell. And if it was someone out to get back at Lawrence, why come looking for me and Rene? How would he know where we are? Or that I'm not still back at the estate? No, it's got to be my husband doing this.”

“But why would a father ransom his own son? What is it he wants from you?” Charlie insisted, staring her down. “It's not money.”

Ruth could see all eyes were on her now. She thought about it a moment, then finally she spoke. “Okay, he wants the information I took—insurance—that has made him back off until now. I know it can't be anyone else but him.”

“He hasn't made a move on you until now, because you've got something on him?” Nancy asked. “Leverage?”

“Lawrence was involved in dozens of insider-trading deals and he kept very careful records of dates, times, and even conversations with his sources. My guess is he did this to keep them from turning on him. But what I took would not only ruin him financially, it would send him and his corrupt partners to jail. I was also able to make a copy of some of his digital recordings of those conversations and put them onto a flash drive.”

“So you copied his potential blackmail material and threatened to turn it around on him?” DuPree asked.

“Exactly,” Ruth said, relief in her tone and expression. “When I took Rene and ran for it, I left a note and a small excerpt of the information I had. I told him that I'd put it all up on the Internet—everywhere—if he came after me, hurt me or Rene, or tried to force me to return. Leave me alone, and I'll leave you alone. That's what I told him.”

“Apparently it worked, or at least until Eddie Henderson tracked you to Albuquerque. Lawrence hadn't backed off, he just couldn't find you until now. Any idea how they knew you and Rene had come here?” Charlie asked.

He already had an idea, but didn't think it wise to mention right now. Gordon caught his eye and mouthed the word “Baza.” Nancy looked over, but not in time to get the message.

“I don't really know,” Ruth said. “I've been extremely careful, not contacting anyone I knew from before, keeping my face out of every place he might be looking—newspapers, TV, social media, Facebook, anything else on the Internet.”

“You worked for Three Balls. And I still hate that name,” Nancy said. “So what did you do about your Social Security number and not carrying any real ID? How did you get hired?”

“When Diego agreed to hire me and needed my background information, I told him that I was fleeing from an abusive husband. I couldn't afford to be found. He sympathized and helped me out, not pressing for details. I had enough money to keep us safe for quite a while already, but Diego agreed to pay me in cash and keep my name off the books. Along the way I guess he fell in love with me. He even managed to help me get a New Mexico driver's license.”

“And after he ‘fired' you, he still paid your salary?” Gordon asked.

“Yes. I continued to do his bookkeeping from my apartment, then e-mailed it to the business computer. One night he told me he was going to milk every penny he could out of the shop, save up his cash, and the three of us would take off to Costa Rica, via Mexico.”

“And when Henderson found out Diego was about to split with you and Rene, he had to stop you all,” DuPree said, nodding. At the sound of a big vehicle outside, he stood. “That's the crime-scene unit.”

Ruth asked, anxiety on her face. “What happens if we never get contacted by the kidnapper and your chief decides to get the FBI involved? We already know that all these crimes are interconnected, but how long is it going to take to convince the FBI?”

Detective DuPree cleared his throat. “If the FBI steps in, we should just keep to the facts. A material witness in the investigation of Diego Baza's murder just saw her son get kidnapped. Once we get Rene back, we can work out the rest. Sergeant Medina will stick with Ruth, and when I can't be here, I'll make sure another detective is present. I'll have a tech set up a recording system for when the kidnappers contact Ruth. I'll also post a plainclothes officer in the area, but keep marked units away.”

Charlie couldn't believe what he was hearing, and judging from Nancy's and Gordon's expressions, neither could they. Maybe DuPree wasn't a brainless asshole after all.

“Good idea, sir,” Nancy said immediately.

Charlie nodded. “Now that's a strategy we can all work with.”

Gordon stood. “There's one more thing I just remembered, and maybe it can help us find Rene a little bit sooner, if he's still in the area.”

“Please, tell us,” Ruth insisted. “Any idea right now that'll help.”

“Did Rene leave his electronic game behind when he was taken?”

“I didn't see it anywhere,” Nancy said. “He was still hanging on to it when he was grabbed. Maybe it's still with him. What's your point?”

“Well, I taught him how to get online with his game and play on the Internet, and prepaid for a few months to get him started. There's WiFi capability in his handheld console, and a built-in charger.”

“I never let him go online,” Ruth said. “He's too young.”

“Then it's my bad, I showed him how,” Gordon said sheepishly. “But if his kidnappers let him keep the game and play to keep him occupied, and they happen to have WiFi within range…”

“Then we can locate his signal, maybe, if he goes online,” Nancy said. “Can we?”

Charlie nodded. “I think so. Eddie supposedly left his first apartment looking for better WiFi, remember? I'm guessing he's keeping Rene at a place where he can get a wireless hookup. But to find which signal is Rene's will require us to go through the game server, and even then, the WiFi range will be short, maybe a block or two tops here in the city. APD techs might be eager to try this.”

“Anything that'll help,” DuPree said. “I'll tell the crime scene leader when I go out there, and he can pass it to the techs and see if it can be done. Let's just hope Rene still has the game and that his kidnappers will let him log on.”

“No better way to keep a frightened little boy occupied,” Gordo said.

“Moving on, I've got another idea,” Charlie said. “Let's see if we can have a quick conversation with Ruby. She may be able to give us a lead on Eddie Henderson now that she knows what he did to her friends,” Charlie said.

“Who's Ruby?” Ruth asked.

“I'll fill you in,” DuPree offered. “Go ahead, guys. I'll make a call and do what I can to get you access. I'll make sure they don't transfer her to lockup right away.”