CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
Day four of the stakeouts found all the teams were getting frustrated with no new leads. Lana was convinced there was a leak, either in the department, or worse, the task force, if not both.
She trusted her team, Jayson, and Ryan. That was the extent she truly trusted within the task force.
Lana invited Ryan over for family dinner that night, along with her team. She was going to discuss her theory with the team and get their take on the others assigned to the task force.
“Okay, I have a question.” Swift started the evening talk while everyone got settled. “Is it me or do Ellers, Green, Jones, and Graham give off creepy vibes?”
“I don’t know Graham that well. He’s from New York. He just moved here a couple of months ago. His wife’s family is from here,” Ryan answered around a bite of his dinner.
“What did he do before joining the PD? Or in NY?” Sgt. Buller asked, setting her fork down on her plate.
“I think he was with NYPD, Brooklyn…Bronx…something like that.” Ryan shrugged before going back to eating.
“Lana, you have contacts in the NYPD, don’t you?” Sgt. Buller asked, her meaning clear.
“Yeah. I’ll reach out to Salvatore. He’s with Queens but can find out what we need.”
“He?” Jayson asked, his eyes going dark.
“Can it. He’s happily married with three kids. His wife and I served together. He was a Green Beret out of Ft. Benning.” Lana rolled her eyes at Jayson.
“So, what about the others on the task force? We have a leak somewhere. There’s no way we would have missed anyone at any of the locations unless someone warned them. Which makes me think there’s some kind of connection between them all.” Hollywood sighed as she leaned back in her seat.
“Harris and Freeman, I’m familiar with. Can’t say that I know them very well,” Lana admitted as she looked over at Jayson for confirmation.
“Yeah. Harris and Freeman were seniors in high school with us. Both guys were on the football team with me. Ashe, Chompers, and Peter always called them the goody two-shoes of the team. Very religious guys. Ashe tried a few times to get them to let one of her girls bang them. I think it was because they were virgins until the day they got married. Harris’s dad is one of the preachers at the church Mom goes to. ”
“Peterson is pretty religious, too. His family is Catholic. They drive to the church about thirty to thirty-five minutes outside of town,” Ryan spoke up, putting his fork down on his plate.
“What about Deerman?” Swift leaned forward, her elbows on the table.
“He’s good. Stays to himself mostly. Comes from a religious family, but I don’t think he’s actively practicing himself,” Jayson answered, pulling Lana’s hand into his.
“Danvers? He’s new. I think I heard rumors someone mentioned he’s risen in ranks pretty fast,” Rocky mentioned as she copied Swift’s pose.
“Yeah. He’s from California, I think. He just got out of the military.
I believe he said he had been in the Navy.
If I’m not mistaken, he was a SEAL, since he was at Coronado.
His girlfriend is from here. She’d just graduated medical school in California and came home to open a pediatrics office here in town. ” Jayson snapped his fingers.
“He doesn’t care for Graham, Ellers, Jones, or Harris. That much I know.” Hollywood laughed. “I’m paired with him, and he rolls his eyes when he hears one of them speak.”
Lana leaned back and listened to the group throw ideas off of each other. She knew they needed to talk to Peter again to get some more answers.
She just wasn’t sure if he’d cooperate anymore now that he was on suspension. None of them had talked to the guy since the day shit hit the fan.
Lost in thought, she didn’t realize Jayson and Sgt. Bueller’s phones were ringing. When Jayson’s voice sounded hard, almost cold, she realized something was wrong.
“There’s another girl missing. The mother went to take her daughter something at the friend’s house and realized that she and the other girl’s parents had been lied to,” Sgt. Bueller announced to the team.
“Missing girls are Patricia Blackman and Deanna Jesseps,” Jayson answered everyone’s unspoken question.
“Did they ever identify the girl from the other day?” Lana asked Jayson quietly.
“Yes. It was Stacie Miller. Her parents came into file a missing person report along with the parents of Crystal Mckenzie. They each told the other parent they were staying at the other’s house then disappeared.
From the timeline we have, Stacie was killed roughly thirty-six hours from the last time she was last seen by her mother. ”
“What did the medical examiner say about her body?” Sunny sadly asked as she shifted in her seat.
“He stated she was worked over pretty good. She had several broken bones, broken ribs, was sexually assaulted, and sodomized brutally. He’s ruling her cause of death a homicide since she died from a drug overdose and internal bleeding because of the injuries she suffered from what happened to her.”
“Let’s go meet with the Blackmans and the Jesseps.
Once we get done there, I personally want to pay a visit to the Millers and the Mackenzies.
I have a feeling the missing girls are all connected somehow.
Jayson, I want you, Lana, Rocky, and Sunny, to take the Blackmans.
Ryan, you can take Hollywood, Swift, Cullen, and myself to meet with the Jesseps.
We’ll meet up and discuss our findings and go from there.
I may switch everyone up when we go to meet the Millers and McKenzies,” Sgt.
Bueller assigned everyone to their tasks.
The group put their dishes away and went to their vehicles. Lana knew why Sgt. Bueller included Ryan and Jayson the way she did.
It made her respect her team leader all the more. Her sergeant knew the families they were about to talk to would be more comfortable with a familiar face.
Jayson and Ryan were known to people in the county of Hellburn Falls. She and her team were outsiders to these people, so why would they care about a missing girl?
“Actually, Sarge, I was thinking for the Millers and the McKenzies, Jayson, Rocky, Hollywood, Cullen, and I could go talk to the McKenzies. You, Ryan, Swift, and Sunny take the Millers. You guys are softer, nicer than we are. Since their daughter was found, they’d more than likely open up to you.
We can take the Mckenzie’s. We can push them harder there,” Lana suggested as she bit her lower lip.
“What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know. I can’t put my finger on it. I remember reading up on both girls when Jayson had mentioned them when we were looking at the body of Stacie Miller. Both fathers were members of local MCs.”
“She’s right. Miller is part of the Blue Kings, which is an older MC.
They are a non-violent group which is mostly made up of officers from the local PD.
I think he’s been there for about fifteen to sixteen years.
Mckenzie is part of the Satan’s Enforcers MC.
They are violent, but we don’t usually have a history of issues other than a few bar fights now and then.
” Ryan snapped his fingers in remembrance.
“Holy shit! You’re thinking the moms are best friends behind the men’s back and that shit is what we can use to hit them with over the girls’ disappearance and death!” Rocky summarized her thoughts.
“Perfect disaster waiting to explode,” Lana agreed.