The Perfect Scream (10 page)

J
ohn Stallings had driven the length of University Boulevard, which ran through the entire city from Lakewood. He rented this tiny house all the way north where it ended in Charter Point. The road got its name from Jacksonville University or, as virtually everyone in the city called it, JU. It was a smaller, private university known for its basketball and baseball teams. The argument could be made that the much larger public university, the University of North Florida, was also close to University Boulevard, but in reality it was farther east, off Kernan Boulevard near J. Turner Butler Boulevard. The large apartment complex that served as the hub for fraternity houses was closer to UNF on Bean Boulevard.

Right now the fraternity house and the missing Zach Halston were not the primary ideas occupying his mind. Armed with the photograph of Zach Halston and Jeanie, Stallings intended to question the owners of all the small, independent shops that lined the road in different areas. Kyle Lee had said that he thought Jeanie worked in one of the shops. Stallings intended to find out if that was true.

Stallings felt guilty about not inviting Patty. But he couldn’t let her know what he was really looking into. He rationalized it by thinking it was more efficient for Patty to look at other elements of the investigation anyway. He’d told her he was going to be checking with snitches, which he intended to do, and they were skittish around more than one cop at a time. Patty had met a couple of his informants over the years and knew this was true.

Stallings pulled to the curb in front of an antique clothing shop. He recognized this was the first time he’d ever taken an active step in interviewing a potential witness about his missing daughter. Sure, he had his regular routine. He called around on Thursdays to missing persons detectives all across the country and on Saturdays he sent emails to even more. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children knew Stallings’s name better than any other law enforcement officer in the country. His daughter had more cops looking for her than any missing teen in history. But until today he could look his bosses in the eye and say that he, personally, had never investigated his daughter’s disappearance.

He sat in the car for a moment looking into the plate-glass window at the elegant, frilly long dresses and took a deep breath. Then he said in a clear voice, “Is today the day that changes the rest of my life?”

Kyle Lee wasted no time calling together the inner circle of Tau Upsilon. He had waited until most of the guys had gotten out of their morning classes. Many of them took classes as a group so they could study together, or get ahold of an old test and use it as the ultimate study guide. Kyle had skipped class this morning; he was too worried to concentrate. The weekend had been brutal, isolated at his parents’ house, unable to talk to the people he needed to talk to. He’d barely paid attention to the Florida State–Florida game. He had just sat at a party, going over all the possibilities in his head.

But now, in front of his eight most trusted friends, he felt more confident. Kyle looked around the room and said, “We all know that a cop has been looking for Zach Halston.”

One of the brothers from the back of the room said, “You mean the two cops who came out to the hotel on the beach? One of them was a really cute chick.”

“And the other one’s name was John Stallings. He is not cute and he is not a chick. I did some research online and found out he is one of their top homicide detectives. He caught the crazy guy that was strangling women. He also caught the Bag Man last year. He is a big shot at JSO. Why do you think he’s looking for Zach?”

Kyle waited while the group huddled in close for a serious discussion. Finally, Elroy looked up and said, “You think he’s more interested in things that might’ve happened over the last few years?”

Kyle shrugged. “I don’t think he’s working in narcotics. And I don’t believe he’s only in missing persons and worried about Zach’s well-being. That means he’s interested in things we don’t want to talk about.” He looked around the room, making sure he had everyone’s attention. “It’s more important now than ever before that we stick together. No one talks to the cops about anything unless we hear from Zach. If he calls or contacts any of us, we need to let the cop know.”

Elroy raised a long, skinny arm. The odd, birdlike young man said, “Do you think Zach is a victim of the curse?”

“There is no curse, Big Bird. The fraternity has just seen some bad luck.”

“It seems like a missing brother, one dead from an overdose, and one killed in a robbery is more than a coincidence.”

That caused a stir among the crowd and Kyle knew he needed for them to focus. He raised his voice and said, “You’re talking about stuff that’s happened over a year and a half. We have a lot of members and shit happens. Think about how many members we have who did good things over the same time. Think about how many got a decent job, or got married, or graduated with honors. A few accidents don’t make a curse. You guys all know what I’m talking about and why we need to keep quiet. Either way we don’t say anything to this cop, Stallings. I don’t care how big and scary he is.” He let his eyes scan the room until everyone nodded in agreement; then Kyle let his gaze fall on Elroy, or as most of the brothers called him, Big Bird. He was worried the business accounting major might not have the nerve for this kind of thing. Kyle was worried about him from the beginning, but Zach said they needed his head for numbers. He made sure Elroy caught his gaze and understood what it meant.

 

 

 

Patty had spent most of the morning going over phone records supplied by Zach Halston’s family. There had been no calls on his cell phone for nearly two weeks, and she had yet to find a pattern of calls that indicated he had a girlfriend or someone he might stay with for an extended period.

She was so used to spending her days with John Stallings that it felt odd to be working quietly by herself in the office. Tony Mazzetti had been unusually quiet sitting across the squad bay. She had caught a couple of odd, furtive glances, and other than saying hello he hadn’t spoken to her all morning.

Sergeant Zuni popped out of her office just before lunch and wandered over to Patty’s desk. The sergeant had proved to be outstanding. She stood up for her people when they needed it and pushed the lazier detectives to do their best on every assignment. She was a particularly good role model to Patty, who saw that when you were tough, but fair, no one could really complain. Her exotic good looks and petite frame didn’t seem to matter one bit in this profession dominated by men. Patty had seen more than one detective wither under her hard stare. But with things slowing down around the squad the sergeant had seemed a little lost.

She eased into the chair next to Patty’s desk, then let her green eyes scan the room. When she felt comfortable that they were alone, Sergeant Zuni said, “Anything new on the missing fraternity brother?”

“It’s like he just disappeared. John is out checking with informants and a lead he had about businesses on University Boulevard and I’m going back to his phone records.”

The sergeant nodded, then looked over her shoulder at Tony Mazzetti working quietly at his desk. She leaned in closer to Patty and said quietly, “Just between us girls, what’s going on between you and Tony? I know I wasn’t supposed to sanction a relationship between two of my detectives, but you guys weren’t causing any problems.”

“It’s all over. He’s even started dating one of the assistant medical examiners.”

“Lisa Kurtz?”

“How’d you know that?”

“She’s the only one over there that’s smaller and less hairy than Tony.”

Patty had to laugh at the only joke she’d ever heard her sergeant tell.

Sergeant Zuni placed her hand on Patty’s arm and said, “Are you doing okay?”

Patty nodded her head. “It is what it is. I just don’t think the stress from a job like this helps a relationship.”

“Stress from anywhere is tough on a relationship. But I’m very impressed you guys handled it so quietly. That shows maturity and common sense. One thing a detective bureau does not need is extra drama.”

“I appreciated it.”

“Now that we’ve got that out of the way, go find Zach Halston for me so my boss will get off my ass.”

Lynn sat at her desk working on the accounts receivable for the Thomas Brothers supply company. She was surprised how well she could concentrate after the events of Friday night. Spending the weekend with her family had helped calm her down, but she still got a little charge thinking about slapping the pest in the face with the closed knife. But the pace here at the supply company could be hectic and cause her to stress. The whole day was planned from money coming in during the morning to money going out in the afternoon. She’d have no break before she headed directly to Dr. Ferrero’s office to handle his payroll and pay the bills for the month. He made more money selling supplements for animals than actually tending to them medically. He had two employees who did nothing but sell and deliver special food.

She liked the young doctor’s easygoing manner and the way the office always seemed calm and efficient. There was never anyone shouting obscenities over the noise of a forklift. No one in the office smoked. That was so nice. Lynn liked it so much she had even considered going back to school and earning a degree in the medical field. The practical side of her said that not all offices would be like Dr. Ferrero’s. No matter what she did, at least she’d avoided the family business and all the associated pitfalls. Besides, Dr. Ferrero was a veterinarian and only a few could afford to hire professional help like him. Most of the poor vet techs Lynn had met barely made enough money to live.

As Lynn sat at her desk reviewing the pile of accounts receivable, a huge shadow fell over her like an eclipse. She knew without lifting her head who was standing in her doorway. She mumbled, while keeping her eyes on her work, “Hey, Dale, what can I help you with?”

She heard the deep, creepy chuckle, then looked up to see the sweat-soaked T-shirt of Dale Moffitt.

“You have a good Thanksgiving?”

“I did. What about you?”

“We had a fine time. And we had a cookout for the Florida–Florida State game. Maybe you’d like to come to one of my cookouts sometime.” The way he looked down as he said the last comment made her smile.

Lynn gave him a noncommittal nod, waited, then said, “Is there something I can do for you, Dale?”

The big man stepped into the office and ran his hands down his dirty T-shirt like he was trying to spruce up. “Well, that was kind of it. I was wondering if you would like to come over for a cookout or have a drink sometime.”

“I appreciate the offer, Dale, but between both my jobs and all that’s gone with my family, I’m short on time.”

“You short on time or you just don’t want to go out with my kind?”

Lynn caught the edge to his comment and noticed him step in closer and lean toward her desk.

The loading dock foreman said, “We can’t all have a fancy Florida State degree. I know I’m just a workingman, but I make a fine living and I haven’t seen you going out on the town much.”

“How would you know anything about that, Dale? I keep my private life very private.”

“I bet I know a little bit more about your private life than you suspect. You forget I was raised around here and I know your older brother.”

“So?”

“So I probably know a few family secrets. I also know you returned the company Suburban with front-end damage.”

Lynn’s face flushed as she said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do, but you don’t got nothing to worry about. When the tubby Mexican fella that washes the cars showed it to me, I told him I’d take care of it. I scrubbed it really good and straightened the grille the best I could. It’s hard to get blood all the way off a car grille.”