Chapter 47
FORTY-SEVEN
McGaven drove into Katie’s driveway exactly ten minutes later.
Katie locked the door and walked to McGaven’s black truck.
She was definitely more fully awake and was looking forward to finding Junior before he went back into hiding or killed someone else.
He didn’t seem to have a moral compass on killing people.
She climbed into the truck and shut the door.
McGaven backed down the driveway and headed toward the warehouse location.
“You look more awake than you sounded,” said McGaven.
“I was in a deep sleep when you rang. What did you expect? I got ready in ten minutes.”
McGaven laughed.
“Where are we meeting Andrews?” she asked.
“Gas station a block from the location.”
Katie rode quietly and hoped Grand hadn’t left or Junior hadn’t gone in the wind.
“Don’t worry, he’ll still be there,” said McGaven.
Katie didn’t even respond to the fact that her partner could read her mind. It happened too often now.
McGaven drove into the small gas station where a navy sedan waited.
He pulled up next to the vehicle where they could talk from their driver’s side.
The window eased down. Katie could tell that the driver was excited by the look on his face.
He seemed not to be affected by staying up late for hours or even given a mostly boring assignment—his face was all bright-eyed and smiles.
“Detectives,” said the officer. “Grand is still at the warehouse on Brown Street. There’s a painted 1024 on the front in gray spray paint. There are four cargo areas on the right, two doors on the front. He drove up and entered at 0115 and is still there. His car is a silver Lexus.”
“Okay,” said McGaven. “Anything we need to be aware of?”
“Another car arrived three minutes later, a brown late-model truck. A man got out, but I couldn’t positively identify him. He made sure he stayed in the shadow and is wearing jeans, black hoodie, and black cowboy boots. My reports and photos are on their way to your email.”
“Excellent. Thanks, Andrews. We’re going to take it from here and I’ll let you know if Grand still needs a tail.”
“Thank you, Detective, for the opportunity.”
“There will be more heading your way. I’m sure.”
Andrews nodded and then drove off.
McGaven raised the window. “You ready?”
“Ten-four.”
McGaven made his way slowly around the row of warehouses.
Most were empty but sported signs of who would be leasing it next.
He was able to find a perfect parking space where they could see the warehouse and anyone coming and going, but would remain hidden in the black truck.
There were some outbuildings and places where the electricity came into the buildings keeping them safely camouflaged. They were cloaked in darkness.
They saw both vehicles Andrews had described and it seemed no new visitors had arrived.
Katie took photos of both cars, including the license plates, with the digital camera with a long-distance lens.
She also took photos of the area and the warehouse.
The area used to be made up mostly of food processing plants that would bring in fresh fruits and vegetables and flash freeze them before the product would go out to grocery stores.
“You’re very quiet,” McGaven said.
Katie smiled. “I’m feeling the weight of this case.”
“Give me some of that load.”
She looked at her partner and could still see the image of him diving into the trailer to save her. Not many people would have done that. “We’re partners. We share the load.”
“Anytime, anywhere.”
Flashes of light suddenly permeated through the small windows and cracks around the building.
“Did you see that?” Katie said.
“Yep.”
“Gunfire?”
“Maybe.”
The detectives readied themselves. They had a duty to go and see what was going on—if someone was in danger or if a crime was being committed.
Katie made sure her Glock was securely holstered and her smaller Beretta was in her ankle holster as well.
She put a five-inch knife in her opposite boot, which was something new she had decided was needed.
They opened the truck’s doors and quietly closed them.
Katie stayed in the darkness, followed by McGaven.
They were quiet and stealthy as they advanced.
Their shoes were whisper quiet on the old asphalt.
Zigzagging around the potholes and broken areas around the parking, they neared the right side of the building where the flashes of light were the most dominant.
There was a second story and metal stairs on that side of the warehouse.
Katie had memories of another warehouse they had been caught in with explosives, but she pushed everything from her mind except what they had to do next.
With hand signals, McGaven pointed for her to go up the stairs and he would check out the main area.
He pulled his cell phone. She nodded and opened a connection between them in case there was a problem or they needed to call backup.
McGaven stayed below while Katie slowly and quietly climbed the stairs.
A few of the steps were loose and moved side to side.
In the darkness, it felt as if she had stepped onto a boat.
It was both unsettling and dizzying, but she made one step and then another until she reached the top landing, where she suddenly stopped.
There were no railings, just the last step that was about three feet square.
She felt suspended, weightless in the dark.
It was a weird feeling, so she leaned up against the metal door, not wanting to make any noise.
The handle was missing, so she pushed. It wouldn’t open.
Bending down, she peered through the ragged round opening where the doorknob had been.
Everything was dark, but she could see another staircase and a mezzanine that went all the way around the perimeter of the building.
It resembled a large crow’s nest. She could hear voices.
Low tones with not much inflection that seemed to bounce off the walls.
She could tell it was two men talking, but she couldn’t hear legible words.
“Gav,” she whispered.
“Affirmative.”
“Two men. I can’t hear what they’re saying.”
“Easy.” He meant she should be careful and not get caught.
“I’m going to see if I can get closer.”
“Easy,” he repeated.
“Affirmative.” Katie knew McGaven wasn’t happy but wouldn’t give her a lecture. She wondered what the flashes of light had been. They didn’t seem to hear a ringing of gunshots, but a suppressor could have been used to keep the shot quiet. It was extremely strange.
She pressed on the door from different areas and it began to move. She didn’t want to make a noise if she tried to kick it open. With one final shove of her body against the metal, it released.
She waited.
Incredibly, the door didn’t squeak or make any scraping noises. She pushed it open an inch at a time until she could slip through.
Katie stood on the metal access and looked around. She could finally see things better with some light coming from downstairs and from another room. Maybe the flashes were actually a light source?
Pushing the door closed just enough to make sure it wouldn’t burst open and make a noise or let light infiltrate from outside, Katie moved slowly, one foot at a time, as if she walked a tightrope without a net and at any moment she could fall.
She made her way around to the other side, where she could hear the voices more clearly.
It was as if they were standing near her.
She carefully looked down and could see what looked like cement partitions where operating gears and switches were located.
She dared to move farther around to the other side that faced the back of the building. There were stairs nearby.
Katie stopped and hoped her dark clothing was enough to conceal her appearance, but in her experience as a police officer people rarely looked up.
It was a strange phenomenon, but in police training they were taught to have eyes all round, including looking up when entering a building, especially when there was a search or arrest warrant involved in the scenario.
She gingerly moved forward to see if she could hear the conversation. She still couldn’t see the men, but she could hear them.
“Can you hear?” she barely whispered to McGaven.
“Ten-four,” he replied.
Katie hoped McGaven could record it. Her phone had been temperamental, and she was going to have to get a new one, so she didn’t want to chance recording the conversation in case it didn’t work.
“Do you know the risk I’ve taken coming here?” said the first man, who Katie assumed to be Junior.
“I’m sorry, but they know,” said the second man. That was definitely Tom Grand.
“What do you mean, they know?”
“They just do.”
“What did they say?”
“It wasn’t spelled out exactly—it was how they worded their questions.”
“They asked you about me?”
“Yeah.”
“And you told them you knew me when we were kids?”
“Yes, but…”
“And that you visited me in jail?”
“Yes.”
“If that’s all, it’s no big deal, right?”
There was silence and a flash of light again, but Katie realized it came from a type of security light.
“Right?” Junior’s voice rose in volume. The way he pronounced his words made Katie cringe. She had heard offenders sound like that after they had spent time in prison.
There was thumping then that sounded as if someone had shoved another.
“You can’t do one thing. Look at you, you’re falling apart. You’re becoming a liability. You know that?” said Junior.
“I won’t say anything.”
“No, you won’t.”
“It’s that detective.”
“Who? The female?”
“Yeah.”
“Believe me, if she gets any closer, she will be taken care of. You remember that cop we talked to when we were kids? He’s going to pay too and it’s going to be fun.”
They had to be talking about retired Detective Ventura. She and McGaven were going to re-interview him tomorrow.