Stolen Lives: A Detective Mystery Series SuperBoxset (7 page)

“Is that slime ball going to be present when she speaks to them?” Captain Porter asked Nettles.

Nettles shrugged, not certain. “His plate is full with three other clients, but ultimately it’s up to the lovely couple in there.”

“They
did
request to speak with her,” Lou added.

Porter shook his head. “Again, I don’t understand. What’s their angle?”

“How much is Philip Anderson worth?” Miriam asked—posing a question of her own.

“He’s believed to have a net worth of three million dollars,” Nettles answered.

Lou nearly gasped. Porter’s eyes widened. Miriam could hardly believe it herself. She turned and patted Lou’s back as he hacked and coughed.

“That psychotic backwoods predator is a millionaire?” Lou said, catching his breath.

“Yes,” Nettles said. “We’re working on freezing his assets.”

“That’s a start,” Porter said.

“He’s not stupid,” Nettles said. “There has been zero activity in his bank and credit accounts.”

Miriam wondered how much the FBI knew about Philip Anderson. She wondered how much they knew about her. With the family lawyer present, it looked like the parents’ release was a foregone conclusion. What did he want with her anyway? Why had she come to Lee County when a fresh crime scene stood waiting at her own house? She pulled her phone out to check for any missed calls—even though her ringer had been fully on. The unlisted number didn’t show.

Nettles knocked and opened the door to the interrogation room. The curly-haired lawyer stopped and turned around, exposing a youthful, clean-shaven face. He looked to be in his early forties. With the amount of wealth Philip Anderson had, Miriam was surprised that an army of lawyers hadn’t descended upon the precinct. She asked Agent Nettles to elaborate on the family’s wealth.

“They all make a decent income, but Phillip is the loaded one,” he said. “The family business and all its wealth belongs to him.”

That one man could have so much power over his family was strange. Whatever the scenario, Miriam could understand his parents’ reluctance to talk.

“Yes?” the lawyer asked from the other room, waiting.

Nettles opened the door and poked his head in, speaking in a moderately sarcastic tone. “All right, your honor, I have Ms. Castillo here as requested.”

The lawyer nodded and grabbed his briefcase. The Andersons stared ahead, stone-like and incongruously indifferent. Nettles stepped aside and let Miriam pass through. She wasn’t sure whom she was supposed to talk to or who had specifically requested her. She wondered about the lawyer. How much did he know? Was he aware of Philip’s whereabouts?

He extended his arm and introduced himself as Michael Kershner, attorney at law. Miriam shook his clammy hand. He had on a gold watch, and his pin-striped suit looked like the real custom-made deal.

Just as soon as he had introduced himself, Kershner picked up his briefcase and excused himself from the room, leaving Miriam looking perplexed and confused. Before he left, he pulled out a chair for her to sit on. Miriam looked at Nettles, who seemed to understand the situation. He left the room as well and closed the door.

She was on her own—though she knew they were being watched. She turned and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She then turned back to the parents. They said nothing, and their faces gave nothing away as they stared at her with two unmistakable frowns. Only Boone moved, taking his wife’s hand in his, and giving her a faint smile.

“You wanted to speak with me?” Miriam said.

Their silence was followed by a tense awkwardness.

“Is there something I can help you with?” she continued.

Judith looked away, but Boone kept his serious eyes on her, not saying a word. Miriam continued with her questions. “Do you know where your son Phillip is?”

Again, they didn’t answer. She felt anger resurfacing and leaned closer to them over the table. “Did you know that he kidnapped my daughter and murdered her father in cold blood? Did you know that?”

Boone cleared his throat but didn’t speak. Miriam could feel tears welling in her eyes. However, the last thing she wanted was to let them see her upset.

“Do you even care?” she asked. Her voice cracked. Their silence got to her, despite her best efforts to stay calm. “How about the children he kidnapped? Do you care about them?”

If that was the case, and they did care, they didn’t show it.

“Then what do you want from me?” she asked, pounding the table. She stopped and took a deep breath, trying to focus on the main goal: securing Ana’s release.

She lowered her head, grimaced, and then whipped her hair back out of her face. “I see your high-priced lawyer is working diligently to release you. And I hope that happens. Just know that if anything happens to my daughter, I’m holding you and your entire family responsible.”

At that moment, her cell phone rang, vibrating in her pocket. She pulled her phone out to see that the unidentified number was finally calling her back. Nervous, she answered, keeping her eyes on the parents.

“Hello?”

“Don’t say anything else. Just nod from now on,”
the familiar, distorted voice told her.
“Understand?”

She nodded in response.

“Good,”
he said as though he were watching.
“I know that you’re in a room with my parents now. And I want you to know that my parents are watching every move you make through the duration of this phone call. So that means you don’t speak, you don’t call the others in, you simply listen. Understand?”

She nodded. Phillip chuckled to himself.
“It is kind of weird to have a conversation like this. But rest assured, I know your rooms are miked, and I don’t want to take any chances.”

Miriam looked up at his parents. They were watching her like hawks. The entire set-up seemed suspect. Were they all in it together? The lawyer? The parents? The brothers? How far did the conspiracy go? It would be foolish to let any of them out. But none of it mattered to her as long as she got Ana back. Thoughts of her daughter consumed her. She could sit in silence no longer.

“Please. Let me say one thing.”

“What did I tell you?”
the voice growled.

“I need to speak to her. Just one word!”

“Talk again, and I’m hanging up. Got it?”

Miriam nodded as a tear streamed down her cheek. The Anderson parents could see her vulnerability, exactly what she didn’t want them to see.

“Good,”
he continued.
“Here’s what’s going to happen. Mr. Kershner is going to secure the release of my parents and my brothers. Supervised, of course. I can’t imagine the feds just letting them go. Now that I’ve exalted you to a higher position of authority, you will give these decisions for their release your complete support.”

She resisted the urge to argue. Their supposed deal was for the parents, not for the entire family. Again, she thought of Ana and was ready to embrace whatever scheme he set forth.

“You are not to tell anyone anything I’ve told you over the phone. You play your part, that’s all. Secure their release today and I’ll tell you where you can find Ana.”
He paused, letting the words sink in.
“So now I want you to nod again for yes so that my parents can see that we’re in agreement.”

She did as she was told.
“Good…”
he continued.
“Oh yes. And one more thing. My family and my lawyer will neither confirm nor deny knowing about any of this. Don’t push them. And remember, there will always be eyes on you.”

With that, he hung up. She held the phone to her ear, ensuring that he was no longer there. Hands trembling, she lowered the phone and put it back in her pocket. She said nothing to the parents as she rose and left the room. Everyone was standing outside the interrogation room, having watched her from the window.

“Well?” Captain Porter said as she walked out.

“What the heck was that all about?” Lou added.

Agent Nettles examined her keenly and with suspicion.

“That was him on the phone, wasn’t it?” Lou asked. “That son of a bitch.”

She took a deep breath and looked around. “We need to release the Anderson family today.”

Porter’s eyes widened. “Are you out of your mind?”

Nettles looked increasingly skeptical. “What did he tell you on that phone call?”

“Nothing,” she said. “He’s playing a game and enjoying every minute of it. Releasing his family is the only way to get close to him.”

“But what if we find something at the salvage yard? Some incriminating evidence?” Porter continued. “They just walk?”

“Of course not,” Miriam said. Like clockwork, the door opened, and Kershner entered the room, presumably to check on her. “Unless you have some reason to hold them here, I’m requesting that you release my clients within the next hour.”

All eyes went to Miriam—the odd woman out. “I agree,” she said. She couldn’t believe the words as they left her mouth.

Nettles stepped in her path with his hands on his hips, getting into the lawyer’s face. “This case is under federal jurisdiction,” he said. “We’ll hold the family here as long as we damn well please.”

Kershner mockingly held out both hands. “Looks like we have a constitutional scholar here, ladies and gentlemen!”

Nettles and the lawyer continued bickering as Lou leaned into her ear. “What did he say to you on that call?”

“The same stuff he’s been saying from the beginning. He wants his family released. Those are his terms.”

Lou touched her shoulder. “We’re going to get Ana back. I promise.”

It was a hell of a promise to make, but she wanted to believe every word of it.

Released

A preliminary search of the Anderson Auto Salvage Yard brought very little in the way of evidence. Lee County had deployed half its police department to cover the ten-acre salvage yard in an intense search for any evidence that would incriminate the family and keep them in custody. The FBI was conducting their own investigation as well throughout several of Phillip Anderson’s land purchases in the area.

The underground bunker where undiscovered horrors had taken place over the years was an official crime scene. The investigation had rocked the small town of Palm Dale. The Andersons, spotlighted through media coverage, were officially public enemy number one, and to release them would be a violation of the public trust. Miriam knew this, as did her colleagues on the force. By the end of the day, however, she felt relieved that authorities had no choice but to release the family.

“Are we sure this is the right call?” Lou asked as he, Miriam, and Agent Nettles convened in Captain Porter’s office.

“We’re keeping tabs on them,” Nettles said. “Twenty-four hours a day, until that bastard comes out of hiding.”

“How can we be sure that he hasn’t fled the country?” Porter asked from behind his desk.

The air of a demoralized police force hung in the air. They had failed to capture the Snatcher for more than six years. Now—after finding him—they were forced to relinquish the only bargaining chip they had—his extended family.

Nettles cut in. “At this point, it would be extremely hard for Mr. Anderson to travel any significant distance. He’s on the no-fly list, and his mug is on posters in every federal building from here to Tallahassee.”

“The news media are going to have a field day with this,” Lou said, shaking his head.

“Have you been watching the news?” Porter asked. “They already are.”

Miriam hadn’t said a word yet. She was too distracted, watching her phone. She had done her part and expected the call to come at any minute. The anticipation was killing her. The sickness in her stomach—the exhaustion and headache—were all symptoms of her frantic pain and worry about Ana. Surely Anderson’s lawyer had contacted Phillip by now and informed him of his family’s pending release.

After scrolling through his phone, Lou looked up suddenly, as if struck by a new concern. “I hate to say it, but is the department taking any measures to ensure the family’s safety?”

Porter shot him a cockeyed glare and took a sip of bottled water. “Which family? Those Anderson scumbags?”

Lou held his phone up for everyone to see. “You should see the comments on some of these news threads. People are out for blood.”

Porter shook his head. “Keyboard warriors are the least of our concern right now. I’m sure the FBI will have things under control. Isn’t that right, Agent Nettles?”

Nettles nodded while running his hands through his hair. “They’ll be under constant surveillance.” He didn’t look quite as confident as he sounded.

Porter raised a hand, waving away the idea of any potential problems. “See. They’ll be fine.”

Lou turned to Miriam, noticing her acute distraction. “You okay?” he asked.

Startled, Miriam looked up, from her phone. “Yes. Yes, I’m fine.”

Nettles turned to her and folded his arms. “What
did
he say to you during that phone call?”

Muffled commotion from outside Porter’s closed door made it clear that the precinct was in a frenzy upon learning about the Anderson family’s release.

Miriam thought to herself, careful not to reveal too much. “In his phone call,” she said, “Phillip only repeated his earlier demands. Only this time, he said he wanted his whole family’s release—not just his parents.”

“And he told you that when that happened, he’d release your daughter?” Nettles asked.

“Yes,” Miriam said, nodding.

Porter cut in. “And you believe him?”

“What other choice does she have?” Lou asked, stepping in.

“Ms. Castillo. You don’t have to do this alone. Let us help you,” Nettles said, reaching for her shoulder.

Miriam looked up again. Their concerned faces didn’t inspire confidence. “For six years this man was able to do what he did under the nose of law enforcement. One year ago he shot and killed my partner during a routine stop. Now… my daughter’s life.” She stopped talking but managed to keep herself together. “If anything happens to Ana, I’ll never forgive myself. Ever.”