Roll the Dice (20 page)

“That I don’t know. When he showed up in town, I heard Mike ask him what
shape he’d found his old man? He’d replied the old shit was still alive—that
only the good die young.”

Aurora knew that Ham would be listening on the other side of the glass
and would move on the tip right away. She also knew there was a lot more juice
to be squeezed from the players at the hangout, juice that only one of their
own would be privy to.

She arched her neck and rubbed at the back, thinking, always pondering
her best interests in this scenario. “What say I let you go? Do you disappear
or do I hear from you again?”

“What do you think?”

She sized him up. The lounging whiner now replaced with a man on a
mission. “I think you need my cell number.”

Plain clothes and uniformed officers were in the meeting room with Cory
in charge at the front.
 
He paced back
and forth only stopping to point a finger when he intended his message to be
taken seriously. “We have every cop in the state following up on this
kidnapping. If we don’t find Rhondo first, the FBI will be called in. And I
want him myself, no sharing." His finger slashed the air leaving no one to
wonder about his meaning."

Aurora spied a few rookies wiggling in their seats but the old-timers
wore steady expressions of support.

"As we speak, officers are picking up Big Mike. We’ll get him on an
illegal gambling charge. Morelli noticed some of the men playing cards when
they were there earlier, and there was money on the table. Lawson checked and
his bar hasn’t got a gambling licence. They pulled it last year because of the
constant fights.
 
It’s good enough to
question him.” Cory’s voice, hoarse from being on the phone for hours, grated.
The man exemplified grim with no give at all in his attitude.

"We have a new lead." He turned to Aurora and asked once
again, “Rhondo’s father lives here? In Vegas?”

Aurora perched on a chair at the side of the room. “That’s what Eddie
said. Somewhere in Vegas. He didn’t know the exact area. I let him go so he
could try and get a conversation started at the bar once we pull in Mike. We’re
hoping the scumbags will open up if the big guy isn’t staring them down.”

“Good idea. It’s worth a try.”

She nodded at Ham who had appeared at the doorway and gave her a nod,
then stood to leave.

 
“Where are you going?”

“To see the tapes. Ham says the techs have set them up.” She got tiredly
to her feet and balanced for a few seconds before moving.

“Hold up Aurora…Hampton.” Cory’s old bellow was back.

Ham answered from two feet away. “Yes boss?”

“Order some food— pizzas or sandwiches—and coffee. Get some decent
coffee in here.”

“On it.” Ham left.

Cory slapped his hands together. “Okay, everyone our priority is to find
my wife and son. So concentrate on whose vehicle Rhondo borrowed and hope the
officers are alive in order to tell us what went down. And we need to find the
poor sucker who fathered this loser. Everyone works this case, and no one
leaves except to use the bathroom till I say so. That clear?”

***

The crowd thinned rapidly, not one face looking pissed at having to work
overtime. When it came to a cop needing support there were none better than the
people behind the badge.

 
Cory moved to take Aurora’s arm.
“I’ll go with you. I’ve seen the tapes before they worked their magic, but you
have good instincts and good eyes. Who knows, maybe something will pop.”

They hurried down the various hallways, then up the short flight of
stairs to where the computer geeks hung out in their land of flickering
monitors and virtual reality. Never satisfied, they always wanted newer and
better toys, but the budget only stretched so far. Hopefully what they did have
was enough to edit the videos to where they'd get a break.

"Where’s Kai?"

“He’s gone to pick up Veronica Marks.
 
They should be here soon. BTW, you know we never got to check out
Debbie's room at the hospital after she'd left? The staff had started cleaning
it for the next patient before we could stop them."

"I heard." His fingers tightened on her arm.

"I meant to ask. Has the hospital sent over the rest of her
belongings, her purse for instance?”

“Yes, got it a while ago. Thanks for arranging it.”

“Did you get a chance to see if her charger was in her purse?”

“Never thought of it.” His stance stiffened and he yanked her to a stop.
“Why?”

“Cause the last time I visited, she had the phone plugged in and it sat
near her pillow…
 
I thought to call her
but I hesitated in case her ringer was on and he found the phone. ”

“You’re right. God how could I have forgotten? She always kept it near
her on the bed. I’ll go now and see if it’s in her purse.” He hurried away in
the direction of his office—his faltering steps a caricature of his old bounce.

IT had every surface littered with older computers, monitors and
equipment that spilled over in the corners and onto the floor. They'd set up a
screen on a large desk littered with hard-drives, headphones and various types
of cables. Maybe not the best-of-the-best stuff available on the market,
nevertheless they'd done wonders with the video's picture quality.
 

“Run that tape again, Pat. But this time slow it down and zero in on her
hand holding the baby blanket. There’s something going on that I couldn’t see
clearly on the other monitor.
 
There,
hold it.”

The hospital’s video system, obviously not state of the art, had a
grainy sequence of shots that showed a uniformed officer whose hat hid his
face. He moved in on room 505 and then reappeared seemingly helping a woman who
carried a tightly wrapped baby.

“See her hand by the blanket? Get closer. There! Her fingers. It’s the
phone sign.” Debbie’s thumb and baby little finger fleetingly formed the signal
that her and Debbie used all the time for “call me”. Excitement lit up Aurora’s
face just as Cory burst into the room.

“Cory, she’s got her cell! Does it have GPS?"

"The brat wouldn't let me change her phone to update. Said it took
her long enough to learn the old system. By God, she'll get one now if I have
to buy it for her birthday."
 

"Look here." They rewound the tape and Aurora pointed out the
Debbie's symbol. Gladness filled her at the thought that Debbie might be able
to contact them. They certainly couldn't take the chance to text her.
 
Her old partner loved knowing every time an
e-mail came through and had set her ring-tone with an annoying set of bells.
Drove Aurora crazy most of the time. If she hadn't had the opportunity to shut
that option off, Rhondo would find the phone. Nope, they couldn't take the
chance. Just had to pray she'd get a message through to them.
 

Eyes glued to the image of his young wife being led away by a rapist had
Cory visibly shuddering. “Can’t believe he wouldn’t have checked and taken it
away from her.”
 

“Yeah. Seems kind of sloppy to me also. But then again there was a lot
going on. Who knows, maybe she lied and said she didn’t have one. She can fake
anyone when necessary.”

Cory huffed loudly, and the tension that had held him together seemed to
loosen slightly.

“That she can!” Pride rang in his voice.

What seemed like ages after they left the hospital, but wasn’t that long
by the car’s clock, a call came over their radio. Rhondo stared Debbie down and
showed her his gun. “Not a word.”

He angled his mouth to the left and spoke into the microphone attached
on the shoulder of his uniform. “LVPD 2-Queen-4 go ahead.”

The radio operator gave the message about the hostage taking and Earl
replied with an affirmative. Debbie knew he had to have gotten instruction from
the vehicle's officer. She only hoped the poor soul was still alive.

Satisfied that he'd slid under the radar, he clicked off then turned to
her. “The game is on. Give me your phone.”

“What phone?” Debbie played dumb. Meanwhile hidden inside the baby’s
blanket, her fingers were wrapped around the device and clinging—hard.

“Don’t mess with me. Hand it over. I won’t ask again. If I have to take
it from you, someone might get hurt.” How could a voice be so cold—no
inflection, no warmth, just a deadly promise?

He pulled to the curb and held out his hand. She glanced out the
passenger window and saw no one. The rundown neighbourhood looked to be full of
depressing buildings, which housed the poor and uncaring.

Slowly she pulled her hand out while her thumb caressed her girlie pink
companion. This phone had become her best friend over the last while, her
connection to everyone she loved. Giving it up equalled passing over the link
to her life, her world…safety.

Scorn filled his voice. “Thought you could pull a fast one, hey? Don’t
underestimate me, Deb.”

Skilful acting kicked in and stopped her tears. She threw it towards him
and watched as he leaned out of the window and dumped it into a garbage can.
The knowledge that Aurora would have seen her call-me clue had kept her sane.
It would have given them hope that she could get them a message. Now there was
no hope. She was on her own.
Oh God!

Back on the road heading out of town, Rhondo drove like one possessed.
She became lost once they left the city limits and took the first few turns to
nowhere. He’d used roads that could only be called tracks, and that would have
been a compliment.

Jostled and sore, Debbie clamped her lips shut and prayed the baby
wouldn’t cry—that he’d stay sleeping.

During this whole time, only once had the man’s face softened, the
meanness faded. Looking at the sleeping child, he’d almost seemed human. Then
he said the first thing that gave Debbie any indication of why the crazy
bastard had broken into her hospital room and kidnapped her and Alec.

“He has my chin.”

Thoughts and images battled for supremacy. She hated reliving those
moments when he’d beaten her, broken her spirit and possessed her body. Worse
of all, she detested having to spend even a split second letting him have room
in her head. Months ago, she’d worked hard to obliterate the animal from her
mind.

Except now the animal had forced his way into her life again. This time
she’d be damned if he’d win whatever battle he intended. Not when the life of
her son was at stake. This time, she’d kill him or be killed.

Promise made, she relaxed the stiffness in her back and stomach and
arched her neck to release the painful stiffness. She couldn’t let her emotions
rule. Now she needed her smarts to work for her. Being a savvy cop gave her an
advantage, one she’d use with the last breath in her body.
 

“You think so?” She cleared the acid eating at her throat.

Rhondo glanced at her quickly then turned back to the road.

She watched the play of expressions on his face and knew her answer had
unnerved him. Liking the power, she added. “I named him Alec.”

“Why Alec?” Tentative interest had flared, and the words burst from him
as if he had tried but couldn’t contain it.

“Don’t laugh, okay? I figure the kid will probably grow up to be a
smart-aleck anyway, and I liked that the word smart would be connected - a kind
of mind transference thing. You know. If people call him smart, he’ll have to
live up to it.”

“It’s good…a good idea. Alec’s a man’s name…not sissy. I like it.”

He slowed the car and swerved onto a lane that came out of nowhere. Dirt
and dead bushes surrounded the car as they slowly headed to a dark and
dilapidated building in the distance.

Veronica Marks was a stunning woman in her late forties who had a lot of
initials after her name. Short brown hair styled to behave, and intelligent
brown eyes that saw more than most people hoped to divulge, she impressed
Aurora right from the moment Kai made the introductions.

Cory appeared shortly after she arrived. His tie lost long ago, his
sleeves rolled to half-mast and the creases in his suit pants proved to those
who knew him that all was not well with his world. If his appearance didn’t
warn one, his nervous manner and the crazy glint in his eyes did the trick.

 
“Mrs. Marks. Thank you for
making time to help us. Our normal profiler is sick right now and the others on
his team haven’t the expertise for such a case.”

“Everyone, please call me Veronica.” She made eye contact with all three
of them. I’ve ready the preliminary reports and have a fairly good idea of Mr.
Rhondo, but Kai mentioned you have a few videos featuring the suspect.
 
It helps when one can actually see the
person live.”