Crucified (7 page)

“
You don’t think Ray had anything to do with our Casey being
taken, do you?”

“
I don’t know. I’d appreciate you keeping this conversation
between us.”

He put a
wrinkled finger to his thin lips. “Mums the word.”

“
Thank you.” Dianne spun on her heel and took hold of Taylor’s
arm, pulling him across and down the street.

“
Easy now. Where are you taking me?”

“
I’m going back to the station to get Seth. We need to check
out this Ray guy.”

Taylor pulled
her back to his side. “Since we’re already here, why don’t we take
a look around? If I know the old man as well as I think I do, he’s
burning up the airwaves as we speak.”

The sign above
the picture window read “Hardware Store.” In the window above the
weathered sign, a soft amber glow lit up the window.

“
Why don’t we just pay a little social call?” Before she could
respond, he jogged to the side of the building and rapped on the
door.

“
Are you crazy? We should call for backup.”

“
Why? We’re just asking a few questions.”

The curtain on
the door’s window moved to the side and he caught a quick glimpse
of wide eyes staring out at them. The lock clicked on the door and
Dianne took a step back, motioning for Taylor to move to the side.
Seconds passed before it was obvious Ray had locked the door and
had no intention of opening for them.

From the corner
of his eye, he watched her withdraw a gun from under the back of
her sweatshirt. “I want you to run for backup.”

Taylor shook
his head. “No way. I’m not leaving you here alone.”

“
Get behind me then,” she snapped before banging on the door.
“Federal Agent, Ray. I just need to ask you a couple of
questions.”

Silence
permeated the alley.

“
I’m going to count to five. If you don’t open the door, I’ll
be forced to break it down.”

“
That door’s not just made of plywood, ya know?” He was twice
her size and there was no way he could budge that monstrosity of a
door.

“
Really? Thank you. I’ve never done anything like this before.”
Her sarcasm left little to be desired.

“
One…two…” Dianne counted, loud and deliberate.

****

Dianne
regretted her words the second they flew out of her mouth. Taylor
didn’t deserve that kind of treatment. She had a bad feeling about
Ray and the last thing she needed was to be worrying about him
getting hurt. She shouldn’t even be here without backup. Now, she
had to follow through.

“…
five.” She peered back over her shoulder, warning Taylor with
a frown. “Under no circumstance are you to follow me in there. Do
you hear me?”

He didn’t
answer her, and she didn’t have time to argue with him. With expert
precision, she brought up her leg and kicked the door. A loud crack
of wood splitting reverberated in the alley.

Dianne crouched
down, her gun aimed in front of her. She moved in quick, precise
moves up the stairs. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, every
sense on high alert. She heard footsteps behind her. Taylor’d
totally ignored her command, but she couldn’t focus on him right
now.

Frozen to the
spot, she strained to hear. The muffled sound of paper ripping came
from behind a closed door down the dingy hallway. She motioned for
Taylor to stay back, as she inched her way to the door.

What is he doing in there? Is Casey in there with him?
The undeniable sound of a toilet flushing
assaulted the quiet. She banged on the door. “Federal Agents,
Mr
.
Gilbert. Open
up! Come out with your hands in the air.”

She trained her
gun at the door, her feet set slightly apart.

The toilet
flushed again.

Without a
moments hesitation she pulled back her leg and kicked out with all
of her strength. The door burst open, flinging back at her after it
hit the hard tub. Her reflexes stopped the door from closing on her
with her foot. A wide eyed man knelt next to the toilet, shredding
photographs and tossing them in the bowl. Despite the intrusion, he
acted as if they weren’t there.

“
On your feet,” ordered Dianne.

Ray looked up
at her. Fear and madness danced in his bloodshot eyes. He let out a
burst of air and struggled to his feet. The stack of photos
fluttered to his feet. Young girls’ and boys’ faces stared up at
them. He raised his hands and linked them behind his head.

“
Where did you get these pictures?” She kept her gun aimed at
him. His gaze shifted erratically, never once meeting hers.
Taylor’s presence behind her did not go unnoticed.

“
The pervert has a telescope pointed to Main Street. He’s got a
Polaroid camera, and a whole shitload of pictures.”

“
Do you know where Casey is?” she demanded of Ray.

His expression
stilled, and he met her gaze for the first time. His mouth moved
slowly, until it formed a smile.

Taylor almost
knocked her into the bathtub. He lunged past her, hitting a
wide-eyed Ray squarely in the face.

“
You sick fuck. Where is she?” Taylor grabbed him by the
collar. Blood spurt from Ray’s nose.

Dianne grabbed
the confused man, pushing him so his gut spilled out over the
counter, and pinned the arm closest to her behind his back. The
muzzle of her gun pressed against his temple.

“
What the hell was that?” Anger riddled her body.

Taylor raised
his hands in mock surrender. “Easy now.”

Dianne glared
directly into his eyes. “Go find a phone and call the station for
backup.”

Taylor stood
his ground. He still didn’t want to leave her alone.

“
Now!” She commanded, the last thread of composure slipping
away.

He held up his
hand in defense. “Okay, I’m going.”

“
Don’t touch anything.” Her request came out a little angrier
than intended. She knew he hadn’t intended to push her buttons. It
took her many years to stop her coworkers from treating her
different because she was a woman. She had to work twice as hard as
her male partners to prove her abilities as a cop. Her anger toward
Taylor wasn’t personal. He was genuinely concerned for her
well-being.

Ray squirmed
under her weight taking her focus off of Taylor. In one fluid
movement, she unclipped her cuffs from her belt and snapped them
shut around his thick wrists. “Why don’t you save us all a whole
lot of time and tell us where Casey is.”

He giggled and
she stifled his laughter by pushing his face into the countertop.
Footsteps made their way down the hallway, stopping with Taylor’s
appearance in the doorway. They’d no sooner made eye contact than
the blare of sirens filled the street. Taylor stood outside the
bathroom.

“
She’s up here.”

Seth bolted
past him first. “Does he have Casey?”

Dianne shook
her head and shrugged. “He’s not talking.”

Seth grabbed
hold of Ray’s arms, freeing her from having to restrain him. She
pointed out the photos scattered around the base of the toilet. “It
seems he’s pretty handy with the camera. He’s got a telescope at
the front window.

“
You just earned yourself free room and board.” Seth pulled the
grinning perp upright, and pushed him out of the bathroom where a
uniformed officer stood next to Taylor. “Read him his rights and
take him to the station. I’ll be there as soon as I have a quick
look around.”

The officer
grabbed hold of the cuffs and persuaded Ray down the stairs.

Seth turned
back to face her. “Do you think he’s our man?”

Dianne
shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s not exactly playing with a full deck.
I’m not sure he’d tell us where to find Casey, even if he does
know.”

“
What the hell were you thinking, taking this guy down without
backup?”

“
We just stopped to ask a few questions on our watch. How was I
supposed to know the guy was taking pictures of young
kids?”

“
Go back to the station.” He passed Taylor and continued down
the hall “I’d appreciate you waiting for me before you start
grilling the prick.”

“
Don’t be long. Time’s tickin’.” She tapped her watch, even
though he couldn’t see her.

Taylor followed
her from the building in silence. Once outside, she stopped and
stooped over, resting her hands on her thighs. She took a couple
cleansing breaths before standing up. “I’m afraid we’ll have to go
for our ride another time.”

“
I understand. I’ll walk you back.” Disappointment laced his
reply.

Dianne nodded
and they walked side by side up Main Street, leaving behind a small
number of townsfolk who had gathered in front of the hardware
store. “I’m sorry if I was a little short with you back there.”

Taylor
shrugged. “No big deal. I guess I owe you an apology for busting
his face.”

Dianne
chuckled. “I think I can let that one slide. How about a rain check
on the ride?”

“
Anytime, Officer Parker.” His smile set her pulse racing as
she ascended the stairs

She forced
herself to open the door and step inside. As the door closed behind
her, she heard the rumble of his motorcycle as it pulled away from
the station.

I’ve got to
find Casey.

She looked
forward to hopping on the back of his bike and tossing all her
cares in the wind.

Chapter
Eight

Dianne splashed
cold water in her face. No matter how many all-nighters she pulled,
they never got easier, and with thoughts of Taylor distracting her,
made for an unbearably long shift. Ray Gilbert turned out to be one
sick puppy, but she was pretty confident he wasn’t the one who took
Casey. Confirmation came in the form of a report from the head
office. The camera they’d confiscated at Ray’s apartment didn’t
match the camera that had taken the photos found on the bulletin
board.

We had to have missed something
. She
dried her hands and smoothed down her hair. She’d let it loose from
a ponytail around four that morning.

W
ell, when you think you’ve missed
something, what do you do? You go back to square one.
She gave her reflection in the mirror a decisive
nod.

“
I’m heading over to the post office.” Dianne scooted over to
pick up her notebook and cell phone. “We’ve missed something, and
I’m going to figure out what it is.”

Seth leaned
back in his chair and took his glasses off, rubbing his eyes. “What
are we going to do with Mr. Picture Guy?”

“
Arrange for the guys in the white coats to pick him up. Call
my cell when the last photo comes back from forensics.”

“
You got it.” He stretched his arms above his head. “Don’t be
going to some whack job’s house alone again. I’m only a phone call
away. Promise?”

She scrunched
up her face and laughed. “You know how I feel about promises. You
worry too much.”

Seth frowned.
“And you don’t worry enough about yourself.”

“
I love you too.” Dianne blew him a kiss before opening the
door and slipping outside.

The sun shone
bright despite the thick tension that shrouded Johnstown. With each
day gone by without a break in the case, a sense of urgency grew.
The only place with any sign of life was the diner across from the
station. It seemed to be ground zero for the townspeople to discuss
Casey’s abduction. She debated walking up to the post office, but
opted to take the sedan. If she got a call, she needed to be ready
to roll.

The post office
remained open for business as usual, with the addition of uniformed
officers posted on the doors and strategically throughout the
building. Dianne hadn’t interviewed the employees personally, and
thought it would be a good place to start. The postmaster directed
her to his assistant’s office. Delia Stewart’d been in charge most
of the times new photos were found. Unfortunately, she wasn’t at
work today.

Dianne picked
up the phone on the assistant’s tidy desk and keyed in Ms.
Stewart’s home number. Delia Stewart answered on the first
ring.

“
Hello?”

“
Is this Delia Stewart?” asked Dianne.

“
Yes, this is Delia. May I ask who this is?”

“
This is Agent Parker with the FBI. I’ve just spoken to Ed
Tibert. He tells me you were responsible for locking up the last
time a photo was found. Is there any chance the door was left
open?”

“
No, I don’t think so. In fact, the officer even checked the
door behind me.”

“
I see. Thank you for your time” Disappointment doused her hope
of a new lead. She reached over to press “end call” when she heard
Delia shriek into the phone.

“
Agent Parker? Have you talked to Jerry Cox?”

“
Excuse me? Jerry Cox, did you say?”

“
Yes, he’s the man who cleans the post office after
hours.”

“
Does Mr. Cox have his own key?” Her pulse raced.

“
Why, yes, he does. He has the key to many places in town.
Jerry’s been cleaning offices and the like for over twenty years.
Maybe he saw something.”

“
You wouldn’t happen to have his number handy?”

“
Hmm, let me look. I can’t remember the last time I had to call
him. He’s never missed a day of work as long as I’ve worked at the
post office.”