Chapter Twenty-Five
Robin
“Tape off the entire area!” Bassinger shouted at the police officers as I looked around the pier. Talk about one of the worst places to dump a body.
Finding any viable evidence was going to be impossible.
“Where is the body?” I asked, walking over to my partner. We were out getting something to eat when the call came over the radio. As one of the first to arrive, we quickly took control of the scene, ordering the officers to form a perimeter. I wasn’t taking any chances with this crime scene. If there was even one speck of evidence, I wanted it found, catalogued, and under lock and key.
Since my talk with the captain, the pressure to find this monster was riding me hard. I too wanted the fucker found, but I wasn’t going to arrest just anyone. Unlike Norwich, who kept the precinct busy with the intake of homeless men, that I knew had nothing to do with these murders.
No, my gut was telling me it was someone else.
Someone highly intelligent.
Someone with the means and ability to continue his sadistic delights for a long time to come.
“Hey, Calloway. Come look at this,” Bassinger yelled, getting my attention.
“What?” I asked when my partner pointed to one of the light posts that ran along the pier. “Wanna tell me why there is a security camera on the pier?”
“Got me,” I muttered, looking around, only seeing the dilapidated warehouses. “Anymore?”
“Yeah. They line the pier.”
“Where do they stop?”
“They don’t,” an officer stated, walking over. “Pier 80 through 84 are privately owned. This whole entire area is heavily monitored.”
“Who owns the piers?”
“Piers 80 thru 82 are owned by Stone Corporation, and piers 83 and 84 are owned by the Harbor Security Firm. They own that exclusive building on 5 th .”
Looking around the area, Bassinger commented, “That makes no sense. Why dump the body here when all the other dump sites were alleyways and parks? Why place the body somewhere where he could be seen?”
“Because he’s fucking toying with us,” I muttered. “He’s turned this into a damn game. We need to speak with someone from each company. I need access to these cameras.”
“Well, Mr. Stone and Mr. Law are standing right over there,” the police officer stated. Turning, I saw where the officer was pointing and standing behind the yellow caution tape was none other than Montana Stone, the CEO of Stone Corporation, and a man I could only assume was Matthew Law, the owner of the Harbor Security Firm.
Making my way over to the men, I took note of the one I wasn’t familiar with. Matthew Law was an imposing figure. Taller than Montana by a few inches, the man stood firmly, arms crossed over his chest. Wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans, the man didn’t look like the owner of anything. In fact, he looked like a former military officer with his high and tight haircut and muscular build.
The man gave nothing away.
“Gentlemen, can I please have a word?” I asked nicely, stopping before them before waving them off to the side, away from prying eyes and ears. What I was about to say, I didn’t want an audience for.
The men said nothing as I led them over to a secluded area, out of earshot, before I turned and faced them. “You wanna tell me what the fuck is going on, Montana?”
“Excuse me?” The man blanched, looking at the man beside him before adding, “I don’t know what you mean.”
“The fuck you don’t. Just like I don’t know that my brother is part of your club, Prez. Yeah, that’s right. I fucking know. Just tell me the Soulless Sinners have nothing to do with this?”
“Don’t kill kids, Robin,” Montana growled, quickly typing something into his phone.
Turning to the man I didn’t know, I looked up at him and asked, “What about you, Mr. Law?”
The man just shook his head.
“I’m going to need access to your security feeds,” I stated as Matthew Law smirked.
“Got a warrant?”
Rounding on the opposing figure, I glared. “Don’t push me, Mr. Law. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there is a child killer on the loose in this city. This is the fifth kid in three months. If your cameras captured anything, I need to know what that was.”
“Detective, if my cameras saw anything, you’d be investigating two murders.”
“Is that a threat?”
The man grinned. “It’s a promise.”
“Do you think this shit is funny? Because it’s not,” I sneered.
This man was seriously pissing me off. Never in my life had I met anyone so blasé, so nonchalant about anything. And the way he smugly smirked, as if he thought this whole contestation was funny, had me reaching for my cuffs.
“Try it, sweetheart,” the annoying man said, narrowing his eyes. “And I’ll have you bound and gagged before you can even pull your gun.”
“Whoa!” I heard my brother Jason shout as he ran over, stepping in front of me. “Everyone just needs to calm the fuck down. And stop threatening my sister, Matt. She’s only doing her job.”
“She needs to learn to play nicer.”
“Mister, I’m about to kick your ass!”
“Wouldn’t mind seeing that.” Montana chuckled, shaking his head as Matthew Law glared at me, daring me to make good on my promise.
Slapping my brother’s back, I yanked him to the side of me. “I don’t need your help, Jason.”
“Could have fooled me,” Law commented, eliciting another glare from me.
Huffing, I looked around the scene. “I don’t have time for this. I need to see those cameras. If I have to, I will get a court order. I’m hoping that the two of you care more about catching this killer than whatever nefarious shit is on those feeds.”
Matthew Law nodded. “I’ll be waiting for that court order, Detective. You can find me at the Harbor on 5 th .” With that, the man did an about face and walked away.
Turning to Montana, who was glaring at my brother, I listened as Jason said, “I didn’t tell her, man. I don’t know how she found out.”
“Oh please,” I scoffed. “It wasn’t hard to deduce, and I’m very fucking good at figuring shit out. Which reminds me. You and I are going to have a long talk about Delany and my niece Harlow.”
“What the fuck is he doing?” Montana clipped as I turned to find a large man covered in tattoos, kneeling before the body of the young girl. About to yell at him, the man crossed himself before standing and walking over to us.
“What are you doing here, brother?” Jason said, confused.
“Needed to see for myself.”
“Do you know the victim?” I asked.
The heavily-tattooed man shook his head as he stared at Montana. When no one said anything more, I sighed. “The cameras?”
“I’ll have them delivered tomorrow,” Montana muttered, not taking his eyes off the big guy. I may have known that my brother was a member of the Soulless Sinner Motorcycle Club, but that didn’t mean I knew all the players. The only reason I knew of Montana was because I saw security feed the day they both showed up at my mom’s bar, which was the day she had issues with the AC repairman. I had gotten a call from a server and rushed over, just in time to see my brother and Montana Stone beat the hell out of the guy before kicking him to the curb.
Saying nothing more, I left my brother with his friends. I had a job to do.