Chapter 17
Crash couldn’t help himself, so he pulled Allyson into his side while they waited for the police. Witt wasn’t all bad when he wasn’t hitting on Allyson, but Crash wanted to clarify that the doctor didn’t have a chance.
“Who were you in Hopedale to see?” Axel asked out of the blue.
“I’m sorry I can’t divulge that information. The whole doctor/patient confidentiality thing.” Witt sipped from the cup he held in his hand.
“You’d have to tell the police if they ask,” Axel pushed.
“The only way I’d need to do that is if they had a warrant and I was in trouble.” Witt stopped. “Which I’m not.”
Crash wanted to grab the man and shake the information out of him, but that would upset Allyson, and he was pretty sure the guy would probably cry to the police. When he glanced at Axel, he could tell his friend was probably thinking the same thing.
“Besides, what would my patient have to do with your prowler?” Witt continued.
He wasn’t wrong. What were the chances both situations were connected? Crash decided to let it go because he was concerned about a guy sneaking around Allyson’s home when she was there alone. Thank God he’d asked Axel to keep an eye on the house while Crash was putting the finishing touches on his house.
“Do you want some advice?” Witt asked.
“Not from you,” Crash grumbled.
“I’m going to give it to you anyway because if you care about Allyson, you’d probably be smart to put some lights and a camera on that part of the house. I’ve had the entire outside of my place examined and ensured there were no blind areas.” Witt crossed his legs and picked a piece of lint from the fabric of his pants.
“Are you afraid of something?” Axel crossed his arms over his chest.
“Not afraid. I’m being prepared. I live in a wealthy neighborhood, and some homes have been burglarized. I won’t let some hoodlums take what I work so hard to make.” Witt sighed. “Could I have another cup of coffee?”
“Sure,” Allyson said.
While she went about starting another pot, Crash motioned for Axel to join him outside. He wasn’t worried about Witt doing anything to hurt Allyson; from what Crash could see, the guy was a snowflake.
He didn’t understand why someone would lurk around Allyson’s house. Then again, whoever was following him probably knew he’d been staying there, and he wanted to kick himself for putting her in danger.
The kids were currently with his mother for the evening because she and his sister-in-law wanted to pick up some things for the children’s rooms. Crash had no idea what else they could pick up because between what he packed up at Wyatt’s house and the things given to him, he wasn’t sure there was room for anything else.
Axel seemed anxious, and Crash still had not found out what his friend wanted to talk to him about. He needed to know if his friend had any information that could help.
“What’s got your back up, Ax?” Crash asked as soon as he closed the door.
“The fact that I missed someone lurking around your woman’s house isn’t reason enough?” Axel walked to the end of the deck and dropped down on the bench.
“No. You said you needed to talk to me about something, and I feel it’s the reason you seem on edge.” Crash sat next to him.
Axel was quiet for several minutes, then turned and pulled something out of his jacket. He handed it to Crash before he started to speak.
“Six days ago, I got that in the mail. I don’t know who sent it, but it says if anything happens to any of the men from our team, I need to watch my back. I can’t get any information on that son of a bitch that sent us over there, but I do know he’s in hiding. With Otto dropping with a heart attack last year, we’re the only two left.” Axel leaned against the railing surrounding the deck.
“Why didn’t you mention that when you got here?” Crash asked as he scanned the letter he pulled from the envelope.
“You had a lot of shit on your plate. It’s why I’ve been sleeping in my car across the street in that opening in the trees. I’m pretty sure someone is trying to clean up after themselves. There is something about our team someone is afraid of.” Axel shook his head.
“Why? Gibson was forced to retire because of all this. Do you think it’s him?” Crash asked.
“I doubt it. According to his neighbor, the guy was scared of something.” Axel tapped the envelope. “I don’t understand why I’m the only one who got this.”
“You said you got it six days ago?” Crash asked.
“Yeah.”
“All my mail has been going to Crunch’s place. I haven’t been over to get it in a couple of weeks. His woman texted me to let me know there was some stuff there. I wasn’t worried because I do all the important stuff online,” Crash said, glancing down the road toward his friend’s house.
“Maybe you should go grab it,” Axel suggested.
“I’ll get it after the police leave.” Crash opened the door to step back inside. “Don’t mention anything to Allyson. I don’t want to worry her.”
Axel nodded and followed him inside. Crash wasn’t sure what the hell was going on, but knowing someone was possibly taking out his entire team made him think Wyatt’s and Ellie’s deaths were part of it.
Aaron showed up a few minutes later with several other officers who immediately checked around the house. It was probably useless; after all, the guy was long gone, but he needed to have a report filed in case it happened again.
He was also less excited about moving to his home and leaving Allyson alone. God knows what would’ve happened if Axel hadn’t been there or even Witt. Crash hated that he’d probably brought danger to her doorstep, but he had no idea what was happening.
“Looks to be typical work boots,” one of the officers said when he walked inside.
“So, it could be anyone who bought a pair of boots.” Allyson sighed.
“I’m afraid unless we have someone to match the prints too, we don’t have much to go on,” Aaron said. “Maybe you should put some extra cameras around that side of the house.”
“See, I told you.” Witt smirked.
“You can go now.” Crash growled at the ass.
“I’ve got your information if I have any other questions,” Aaron assured the cocky doctor.
“Call if you need anything,” Witt said as he turned to Allyson.
“Thanks again, Witt.” Allyson walked him to the door.
“I don’t like that guy,” Aaron muttered.
“You and me both,” Axel agreed.
“I’m not a fan either, but if he hadn’t warned us, something could’ve happened to Ally.” Crash’s voice quivered at the thought of her being in danger.
“I’m glad you’re staying with her,” Aaron told Crash.
He was, but only for another day or two. He hated to leave but needed to get Mila and Caleb settled into their new rooms. After all, he would be returning to work, and he couldn’t do that if they were shuttled around to a different house every day. Maybe he could convince her to stay with him.
“I thought you were moving into your place this weekend?” Axel asked.
“I’m supposed to be, and I can’t put it off because …”
“The kids need to settle in, and I’ll be fine here.” Allyson interrupted Crash when she walked back into the kitchen.
“Maybe you could stay with…” Aaron began, but Allyson held up her hand.
“I’m staying here. I’ll get Keith to put in some extra security cameras, and I’ll make sure all the doors and windows are locked at all times,” Allyson informed them.
There was no way any of them would convince her otherwise, and Crash knew that because if he’d learned anything about her over the years, it would be that she was stubborn. He would ask Keith about setting up a detail for her, but he needed to talk to Allyson about it first.
Aaron was headed out the door when Crunch walked up the front steps. He had a bundle of mail in his hand and seemed as if he was pissed about something.
“Why the hell didn’t you call one of us?” Crunch didn’t give anyone a chance to say anything.
“How did you find out?” Crash asked.
“Aaron was at the house when you called.” Crunch handed Crash the mail he had. “That stuff has been at the house for weeks, but this one only came last week.”
Crunch pointed to a large white envelope with his name on it. There was no return address, but the postmark showed that it was sent from inside the province.
“That’s different from the one I got,” Axel said.
“What do you mean?” Crunch asked.
Crash explained the letter Axel had received and that they figured someone was either warning or threatening him. Either way, Crash was anxious to check out the contents of the non-descript envelope. He tucked the rest of his mail under his arm while carefully opening the large envelope as if it would blow up in his hands.
He opened it and found a thick stack of papers inside. He pulled it out and began to read. Crash wasn’t sure what he was reading, but it appeared to be medical records with the names blacked out.
“I have no idea what this is,” Crash mainly said to himself.
He handed it to Aaron and waited as his friend scanned the papers. Crash, Axel, and Crunch waited while Aaron went into cop mode and flipped through the documents.
“These are autopsy reports. The names are redacted, but there are at least four different people.” Aaron looked up at Crash. “Didn’t one of your team die four years ago?”
“Yeah, Perry Brown. He died in a fire,” Crash explained.
“In Ottawa?” Aaron asked.
“Yes,” Axel and Crash said together.
“This report is on someone whose remains were found in a house fire, but their lungs had no damage.” Aaron pointed to the paper.
“What does that mean?” Crunch asked.
“It means he was dead before the fire.” Aaron moved his finger down the paper. “This means his body was covered in bruises, and this is several broken bones.”
On one of the pages was a sketch of the front and back of a person. As he read all the notes on the drawing, he felt sick. Both Perry’s legs were broken, as well as most of his ribs. All his fingers were shattered except for one, which had been cut off. Crash didn’t know that this report was about his friend, but if it was, it meant Otto was tortured to death.
“What the fuck?” Axel gasped.
“This means someone set the fire to cover up a murder,” Crash exclaimed angrily.
“Let me check into it and talk to the officer who investigated the case,” Aaron held out his hand. “Can I borrow those to make copies?”
“Ally has a copier. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I want to keep this and read them over. I’ll copy them for you.” Crash hurried into the house.
“Maybe I can also find out who the other reports are,” Aaron offered.
Crash waited patiently while Allyson photocopied over a hundred pages of documents. She explained some of the information but said they could sit down and go through it.
“Thanks, sweetheart. I’d appreciate it.” Crash kissed her cheek.
If one of the reports was about Perry, who were the others, and why was it sent to him?