Chapter Seventeen #2
“No. Drew wasn’t a detective. He was barely a patrol officer. All the kid wanted was to make his community safer and instead
he lost his life,” Eric said. “Marcus claimed he just saw an off-duty cop and decided to kill him for the fun of it, but I
always suspected Abigail was behind it all. No one investigated further because Marcus pled guilty and went to prison. I believed
it was a murder for hire, but after I looked into it, I stopped. It wasn’t that long ago and my own son had started working
for the marshals. I didn’t want an ‘accident’ to happen to him. I’d lost enough thanks to Abigail.”
“Were you able to trace any big payments sent to Marcus?” Kessler asked.
“No, but he had a girlfriend. She might know the truth and if there was money, I think she took it and left town. She disappeared
a while ago and I’ve been trying to find her. I was getting close and then Hope was taken.”
“How did you find out Hope was kidnapped?” Kessler asked.
“I still have friends at the department. One of them sent an email to an address I check.”
“Did your friends know you were wanted?”
Eric shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. I’m the least of their worries in the department. Abigail isn’t the only one who’s corrupt.
You should investigate them further after we find Hope and Abigail—including the chief. The corruption starts at the top,
although I think Abigail is the dirtiest.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Kessler said, a slight edge of sarcasm in his voice. Then getting back to the task, he asked, “Were you able to find this girlfriend who disappeared?”
“I was getting close, but tracking someone down is hard to do when you’re on the run. I flashed my badge a few times since
I still had it. Luckily no one ever asked more or asked for the number to verify that I really was an active officer.”
“I’ll pretend like you didn’t just say that,” Kessler said. “What did you find?”
“I think Marcus’s girlfriend lives in Wyoming not far from here. I think she’s in a small town like Centennial or Tie Siding.
Possibly even Laramie. But I couldn’t pinpoint her exact location. I have some good leads, though.” Eric pulled out a piece
of paper and gave it to Kessler. “Again, I hope you’re careful about who you share this information with, but with FBI resources,
I think you can find her pretty quickly.”
“You think she knows for sure if Abigail hired Marcus?”
“I do,” Eric said. “And I also think she might know who Abigail’s partner is. But she’s deliberately made herself hard to
find and I don’t blame her.”
“You really think this accomplice is FBI?” Kessler asked.
“I do. Or like I said, in another federal agency that works with the FBI. DEA, ATF, you know, any of the alphabet soup agencies.
How well do you know the agents with you?”
Kessler gave Eric a hard stare. “I know Agent Ross well. He taught me at Quantico. He went up to Montana and taught some classes about behavioral science and kidnappings. Kidnappings are his area of expertise, so I’m glad he could come.
He remembers Abigail being in a few of the classes, but doesn’t know her well.
After getting to know him at Quantico, I can’t believe he’d have anything to do with this. ”
“And the other guy? The one who kind of is my doppelganger?” Eric said.
“I don’t know Agent Bernardo as well,” Kessler admitted. “But he’s closed many cases and has a good reputation. He investigated
a string of bank robberies in your hometown. Abigail was helping him. I thought having someone who worked with her would be
good. Bernardo told me he thought Abigail wasn’t on the up-and-up, but he didn’t have any proof. Again, I can’t believe either
of them are involved.”
“I understand,” Eric said. “We want to believe that everyone would do the right thing and is in law enforcement for the right
reasons. Hell, I started out that way, but look at me. Things happen, people change. Sometimes, there’re even good reasons.
Money is needed for medical bills for a child or something like that, but it doesn’t matter, once a line is crossed it’s hard
to ever go back. I don’t think you can. I wouldn’t trust either of them if they’ve ever been around Abigail. She’s very persuasive.
She’s part of the reason I made some of the bad choices that I did.”
“You admit you’re guilty of your crimes?”
Eric nodded. “I do. Like I said, I can’t go back, but telling the truth and doing the right thing now, that’s all I can do. But someone like Abigail would never admit her crimes. Even right now she’s probably convinced that what she’s done is okay.”
Kessler sat back in his chair and glanced to where Maya and Josh were standing. Maya could tell the agent was thinking things
through. One of the many reasons she liked and trusted him. She took a deep breath and let it out. Listening to Eric expand
on his story with Kessler and get into more details only added to Maya’s anxiety about Abigail. She’d lost her mother and
grandmother, but how many others had Abigail killed or had murdered? How many lives were lost because of her desire for power
and control? Anger mixed with Maya’s anxiety, but she worked to calm herself. If Abigail was able to get Maya to cross a line
and lose control, then she would win. And it was exactly what Abigail wanted.
Turning his gaze back to Eric, Kessler said, “I don’t want to see anyone else get hurt. I believe what you’re saying. I’ll
keep all this between us here right now. I’ll tell my guys a few things to keep them happy and share anything that will help
us find your granddaughter. You have to understand, though, I can’t keep this quiet forever.”
“I understand,” Eric said. “And I appreciate everything you’re doing.
I’d be glad to help. If you release me, I can also give great insight into Abigail and how she works.
Probably even better than Bernardo. And I may not have the psych background and kidnapping case expertise of Ross, but it’s my granddaughter. I’ll do anything to help find her.”
“No. There’s many reasons you can’t be involved in this case, but especially because our missing girl is your granddaughter,”
Kessler said. “That’s where I draw the line. But I’ll let you stay here at the Western River County Sheriff’s Office detention
cells. If you were to help then it would only complicate things, jeopardize prosecution and bring up more questions. I need
you to stay here. Can you do that? I’m sure you have about ten different ways to escape. Will you work with me so if I need
some questions answered I can find you?”
“I’ll do that,” Eric said.
For once, Maya felt like her father was making a promise he was going to keep.