Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
A sharp rap on the window of Matthias’s Jeep drew his attention from his phone. He looked up to see Troopers Fergusson and Lukan and stepped out.
“Do I want to know why you’re facing down delinquents outside one of our favorite bars?” Fergusson asked with a healthy dose of sarcasm.
Matthias had called Fergusson twenty minutes ago after disarming the young gangster. He’d placed several other calls since then, but Fergusson didn’t need to know about them. “Depends. Do you want the gun I confiscated?”
Fergusson tugged on a glove and held out his hand, into which Matthias deposited the semi-automatic. The trooper scowled. “I thought you Erie detectives knew enough not to handle evidence without these.” He wiggled his gloved fingers.
“I decided it was more important to secure the weapon as quickly as possible. The kid wasn’t going to wait for me to follow protocol.”
“Don’t suppose you got an ID on any of them.”
“I asked. He decided to rabbit instead of complying.”
Fergusson grunted. “You said there were three of them. What’d they look like?”
“I’d guess they were fifteen or sixteen years old. Two were five foot eight or nine. The lead dog was closer to six two. All were skinny. The smaller two were sandy-haired, blue-eyed. The taller one had brown hair and hazel eyes.”
The troopers exchanged a knowing look. “We know exactly who they are.” Fergusson dropped the gun into an evidence bag. “Let me guess. The shorter boys looked like they were about to crap their pants when you didn’t back down.”
“Yep.”
“Okay. Thanks.” Fergusson handed the bag to Lukan, planted his hands on his hips, and glared at Matthias. “Now, why are you here? And where’s your girlfriend?”
Matthias had anticipated the first question and had been weighing his answer since he’d placed the call about the gun he’d seized. The second question he decided to ignore. “I was told Nell Anderson might frequent this establishment.”
Fergusson reacted with surprise. “You mean to tell me you don’t know where your girlfriend’s sister is?”
Matthias didn’t reply.
“I understood she was with Baker.”
Matthias still didn’t reply.
“So, is she here?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t make it that far before I saw those three fine, upstanding examples of the younger generation eyeballing my wheels.”
Fergusson chuckled. “Yours wouldn’t be the first vehicle in this neighborhood to end up on blocks.” He wiped a hand over his mouth as he eyed the structure. “How long have you been sitting here?”
“Not quite a half hour.”
“Have you seen any activity? Anyone at all coming and going?”
“Just the three amigos.”
Fergusson glanced at his partner, who shook his head.
Matthias could tell they were having a silent conversation. “What am I missing?”
“We’re not going in.” Lukan’s tone was soft but firm.
“I wasn’t asking you to.”
“No,” Fergusson said, “but you were thinking about it.”
“I was thinking it looks like the kind of place where backup is a good idea.”
“You’re right.” Fergusson lowered his voice to a whisper. “There’s a task force investigating the Highlander. They wouldn’t appreciate a pair of state cops going into their territory and making folks nervous, if you get my drift.”
Matthias folded his arms. “I don’t look like a cop.”
“Not as much as we do, no, but the reason these guys have been so difficult to bring down is because they have a sixth sense about law enforcement. Hell, they’re probably flushing their stashes right this minute because we’re standing here.”
Matthias closed his eyes and exhaled as the realization struck him.
He hadn’t spotted anyone or any security cameras, but that didn’t mean they weren’t being watched.
While it was true that, in his T-shirt and jeans, his appearance didn’t scream detective, he was standing outside a business that dealt in illegal activities, talking to known police officers.
No doubt, he’d been made.
* * *
Emma’s phone buzzed, and an unfamiliar number lit the screen. She answered before the device had a chance to vibrate a second time.
“Is this Emma Anderson?”
“Yes. Is this Jim?”
“Yes. Diane asked me to call you about your sister.”
“That’s right. Nell. I think you picked her up this morning.”
“I did. She was standing there, hitchhiking, which scared me to death. You never know who might pick you up, especially a young thing like that.”
Emma didn’t take the time to agree. “Can you tell me where you took her?”
“She asked where I was going, and I told her I was headed to Little Washington. At first, she asked me to take her to a liquor store. I refused. I’ve been in recovery for twenty years and told her so. Gave her a good talking to.”
“I appreciate that. So where did you take her?”
“I offered to buy her a meal. She looked like she needed a few groceries under her belt. She agreed that she was hungry but said she didn’t need me to buy her food.
She asked me to drop her off at the Save Rite Market.
It was a couple miles out of my way, but that’s where I left her. Do you know where that is?”
“Yeah.” Emma knew the supermarket well, as did Nell. It was a huge store that carried a lot more than groceries. “Did you happen to see her go inside?”
“Yep. She went into the Starbucks entrance. Said she wanted to get one of their everything bagels with avocado spread.”
Emma swallowed hard. While it was true Nell loved everything bagels, Emma was all too aware that the coffee shop opened directly into the liquor department. “Thank you for calling me back, Jim. You’ve been a big help.”
“I hope you find her safe. She seemed… depressed. I asked her if she had any family around, and she said no.”
Emma fought back a sob, mumbled another thank you, and hung up.
After splashing water on her face in the bathroom, she placed her next call.
Matthias answered immediately.
She babbled about what she’d learned—the trucking company, the driver, and Nell’s new last known location—before asking him, “Where are you?”
He hesitated then replied, “Outside the Highlander. I ran off some kids trying to steal the wheels off my Jeep, but in the process, may have been made as a cop by the people inside.”
“Have you seen Nell?”
“No. I would’ve told you.”
Emma wasn’t sure about that. If Nell was in bad shape…
“Do you want me to check the Save Rite Market?”
“I want you to come pick me up so we can both check it.”
“You need to rest.”
She wanted to scream but restrained herself. “I’m not going to get any rest while Nell is out there. I’ve done all I can do on the computer. Please, Matthias, come and get me.”
Instead of the argument she expected, he said, “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
* * *
Matthias spotted Emma exiting the hotel as he pulled into the lot. She must’ve been waiting in the lobby, watching for him. He drove up to the front door, and she jumped in. “Which way do we go?”
She pointed down the hill in the opposite direction from which he’d come. “That way.”
He drove in silence. He’d intentionally withheld the information about the young tire thief pulling a gun on him, as well as the part about Fergusson and Lukan and the task force investigating the Highlander. If Nell hadn’t gone there, none of it mattered, anyway.
Less than five minutes later, he parked in the lot and barely shut off the engine before Emma opened the door. “You can wait here,” she said.
“Not happening.” He climbed out.
Instead of heading for the main entrance, she strode to a revolving door at one end of the building beneath a Starbucks sign.
Silently, Matthias followed her inside. She didn’t approach the counter but made a sharp right into a section of the store holding several rows of wine bottles and refrigerated units holding beer. This is why Emma was on edge.
“You told me the trucker dropped her off at the Save Rite Market. Did she tell him she intended on buying liquor?”
“She said she wanted a bagel. That was after he refused to take her to a liquor store.” Emma hurried along the wall, scanning each row.
“Did he not know they sell alcohol here?”
“I have no idea, but this is Nell we’re talking about. She probably charmed him into believing a bagel was all she had in mind.” Emma reached the last aisle. “Looks like we missed her.”
Matthias wasn’t surprised. She had a good head start on them.
Emma crossed to the cash register, which was manned by an older woman. “Hi, I hope you can help me. My younger sister was in here earlier.” Emma held up her phone with a photo of Nell on the screen. “Did you happen to see her?”
The woman squinted at the picture. “Oh, yeah. Is she all right? She looked ill.”
“She is. That’s why I’m trying to find her. Did she buy anything?”
“A bottle of wine.” The woman’s expression turned guarded. “She had her ID that stated she was of age.”
Emma shot a look at Matthias.
“Don’t tell me her ID was fake,” the cashier said. “It looked legit.”
“No, no. It’s fine. She’s twenty-four.”
The woman appeared relieved.
“Did she happen to mention where she was going next?”
“Sorry.”
Emma thanked her and turned to face Matthias without meeting his gaze. “Now what?” he asked.
She thought for a moment before looking at him. “I know someone who works here. Or used to. Come on.” She took off toward the main part of the store with Matthias on her heels.
Emma stopped in front of the customer service desk and studied the women behind the counter.
Apparently not finding who she was looking for, she started across the front of the check-out lines.
She paused, then strode toward a young woman at a podium, thumbing through a stack of papers. “Betsy,” she called out.
The woman lifted her gaze and smiled. “Emma. It’s been a long time. I spotted Nell in here a couple hours ago. How are you both doing?”
Emma ignored the question. “You saw Nell?”
“Yeah. I didn’t get a chance to talk to her or anything. She seemed in a hurry.”
“Where exactly did you see her?”
“I was working customer service. She came out of the beer and wine department and went straight out the doors.”
“Did you see where she went after she left?”
“No. I can’t see outside from the service desk.”
Emma’s shoulders sagged. She thanked Betsy and turned away.
“Hey,” Betsy called after her. “Is there something wrong?”
“I hope not,” Emma said over her shoulder.
Matthias walked at her side as she exited the store and stopped on the sidewalk, looking around as if hoping Nell might still be there.
She wasn’t.
Matthias noticed a gangly teen collecting shopping carts from the corral in the parking lot. “I have an idea.”
He hurried toward the kid and waved. “Excuse me.”
The teen stopped and looked at him warily. “Hey man, if you got a ding in your car, it wasn’t me. I’m real careful about moving these buggies around.”
“It’s nothing like that.” Matthias gave him a smile.
“We’re trying to find someone who was here a couple hours ago and thought you might have seen her leaving the store.
” He held his palm out to Emma, who placed her phone, queued up to Nell’s photo, on it.
Matthias showed the picture to the young man.
He studied the image and fingered his shaggy brown hair. “Yeah. I think that’s her.”
“Why do you say it like that? Did she do something to get your attention?”
“Kinda. You don’t see many people bumming rides these days.”
Emma stepped forward. “She was hitchhiking?”
“Not really. She was wandering around the lot, stopping people who were loading their groceries in their cars. I was close enough to overhear her asking a woman if she could give her a ride. The lady told her no.”
Before Emma could say more, Matthias stopped her with a hand on her arm. To the teen, he asked, “Did you happen to hear where she was asking to be taken?”
“Yeah, as a matter of fact. Highland Avenue.”
Matthias tightened his grip on Emma, thanked the kid, and steered her toward his Jeep.
“Highland Avenue,” she said in a ragged voice.
“I know,” he replied.
The street on which the Highlander Club was located.