No Stone Unturned Read online

  Once they were all finished eating, the kids cleared the table and put the food away while James and Keith dished with Frankie on the latest scandals at the fire house. When her laughter turned to a yawn James and Keith took their leave. Frankie read Tyler a story, kissed Dani on the head, and made her way to bed. Just as she was drifting off to sleep the sound of a text message alert caught her attention.

  “Sweet dreams. XO D”

  Chapter 48

  Derek awoke in a cold sweat. His hands trembled and his breathing was labored. Bear was whimpering and bumping Derek’s elbow with his nose. He tried to ground himself by feeling the floor beneath his bare feet. He began to stroke Bear’s fur, feeling the course hair run through his fingers.

  He couldn’t remember the specifics of the dream, just the feeling of helplessness and terror. The one image that wouldn’t go away was Jessica’s face. Her eyes pleading with him and her voice asking, “Why.”

  He picked up his cell phone and dialed, hoping it wasn’t too late.

  “Derek, is everything okay?”

  Derek felt a pang of guilt, “Hey Jess. Did I wake you?”

  “No, I was actually working on a case.” Jessica looked at the clock, “I didn’t realize how late it was. What’s wrong?”

  “Do you ever have dreams about that night?”

  “Why do you think I’m still working at 1 A.M.? It’s easier not to sleep. Did you have one?”

  “Mmhmm. It’s not the first. Probably won’t be the last.”

  “Have you talked to anyone about it?”

  “No. Have you?”

  Jessica hesitated before answering softly, “Yeah. It seems to be helping. Most nights at least. I finally stopped having panic attacks when I leave work after dark and you’ve already left. Maybe you should – talk to someone, I mean. I can give you the name of the guy I’m seeing.”

  “Sure. That would be great. I’m sorry for bothering you tonight.”

  “You’re fine. Let’s grab a drink after work tomorrow. What do you say?”

  “Yeah. G’night Jess.”

  Derek disconnected the phone, got out of bed, and walked to the kitchen. With a glass of scotch in his hand he started pacing the floors of the house. Bear rubbed against his leg and nudged his hand with his cold nose. Without thinking Derek began stroking the dogs thick fur as they walked. Gradually his heartrate slowed and the tension in his shoulders eased. As he made his way back to his bedroom he grabbed his cellphone and typed a message.

  “Sweet dreams. XO D”

  Derek fell asleep before receiving a return message.

  Chapter 49

  After a lazy morning, Frankie climbed into her Jeep and headed to the office. The skies were clear but the air was cold. She was mentally planning her evening when her cell phone rang.

  “Thomas.”

  “What’s up buttercup?”

  Frankie smiled at the sound of her little sister’s voice. “What’s up Soph?”

  Sophie chattered on about her new man friend and their evening plans. “Jake’s birthday is Saturday. It’s the big 3-0. You’re coming to the farm for the party, right?”

  Frankie slapped the steering wheel. She’d forgotten Jake’s party was this weekend. “What do you want me to bring?”

  “Beer and that cute FBI agent.”

  Frankie laughed, “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Frankie grabbed her gym bag out of the back of the Jeep, leaned against the side, grabbed her cell phone and sent a text to Craven.

  “What are you doing Saturday night?”

  Not expecting a quick answer, she started to walk towards the garage entrance. Before she made it to the door her phone dinged with an incoming message.

  “No plans. What do you have in mind?”

  “Want to go to the farm for a party?”

  “Sounds good – ride together?”

  “No, I’ll meet you there. I have to drop my kids off. I’ll text you details later.”

  “Okay.”

  Frankie smiled. The weekend was looking up.Before she could drop her bag by her desk her cellphone started to ring. Looking down, she stepped outside of the squad room to take the call.

  “Hey Derek. How’s your day going?”

  “Better now.” After a few minutes of small talk Derek asked, “What are you doing next weekend? Are you working?”

  “Friday and Sunday night. Saturday’s Jake’s birthday. I’ll be down at the farm.” Frankie hesitated before asking, “Want to be my date for the party?”

  Frankie’s question was met with silence. After an awkward moment Derek answered, “Thanks for the invite. I’ll let you know.”

  Derek’s tone told Frankie he had no intention of going to the party.

  Chapter 50

  Frankie had a message from Bank of America saying they had a disk of still shots from the ATM. Someone would be there until 5pm if she wanted to pick it up. After answering a few messages, she headed to the bank to pick up the disk of photos.

  By the time she finished at the bank it was rush hour. With the disk in hand, she made the slow drive back to headquarters. As she approached downtown she caught sight of the county courthouse in the distance.

  Looking at the clock she said to herself, “5:30. Maybe I can catch Derek leaving work and talk him into going to the party?”

  Frankie pulled into the back entrance of the parking lot. Before she made it to Derek’s parking spot she saw him walk out of the building. Her stomach dropped when she saw he wasn’t alone. Frankie watched Derek put his hand on the small of Jessica Moon’s back and lead her to his car. Frankie sat motionless as he opened the door and helped Moon inside, laughing at something she said. Without seeing Frankie, Derek walked around to the driver’s side and got in. He drove out the front exit and never looked back.

  Frankie debated on following him but decided against it. She was on the job and she had no claim on him. Yet, she couldn’t just let it go. She picked up her cellphone, entered the number she had memorized years before, and hit send. One ring. Two. The call was sent to voice mail. Frankie couldn’t form words so she disconnected the call without leaving a message.

  Chapter 51

  “You did what?” Mia exclaimed. She and Frankie were driving to the house of Trayvon Stockton’s aunt, Aurelia Williams.

  “I invited Craven and Derek to the farm for Jake’s party.”

  “Have you lost your damn mind?”

  “Not at all. Craven said he would be there. Derek waited too long to answer then just said he’d let me know. So, he’s definitely not going to go. And I’m not sending him the information unless he asks for it.”

  “Did you tell him Craven’s going to be there? I bet he’d drive down then.”

  “Nope. I’m not playing his little games,” Frankie parked the car and said, “There’s the house.”

  Frankie’s knock was met with the sounds of a barking dog. Instinctively she stepped back and waited. Frankie loved dogs but wasn’t keen on the idea of one jumping at her.

  “Who is it?”

  The voice on the other side of the door was deep and raspy; undiscernible if it was a man or a woman. “Detective Thomas and Detective Boden. Kansas City Missouri Police Department.”

  “Hold on. Let me put the dog up.”

  Frankie looked at Mia and smiled. “Thank goodness.”

  Before Mia could respond, the door flung open. Standing in the doorway was a mere sprite of a woman. Her bright blonde hair stood out in stark contrast to her dark skin.

  “Come on in before you let all the warm air out!” Aurelia directed, standing there in her shorts and Kansas City Chief’s sweatshirt.

  Frankie smiled at the woman she guessed to be in her early 70’s. The smile the woman returned showed teeth stained yellow from too many years of smoking and drinking caffeine.

  “Is this about Tre? My sister-in-law told me you might be stopping by. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

  “Yes ma’am and no thank yo
u. We just had a few questions for you.”

  Aurelia dropped into an oversized chair and invited the women to sit on the sofa across from her.

  “When was the last time you saw Tre?”

  “He was by here late Saturday night the weekend his momma was gone. Came in through the back door. He wasn’t here long though. Said his car was acting up so he left it here and took my son’s car. Told me he had a job to do. I think he brought it back on Sunday morning.”

  Frankie looked up from her notepad and asked, “Did he tell you what kind of job?”

  “No. But, then, I guess I didn’t ask either. He’s had a lot of piddly jobs. It’s hard for me to keep track.”

  “Does he have a bedroom here?”

  “Well, it’s not his bedroom, but sometimes when his momma’s gone he stays in the room off the kitchen. She doesn’t like him staying at her house by himself.”

  Looking around the tiny house, Frankie noticed not a thing was out of place. “Have you cleaned that room since then?”

  “Sure did. I always wash the bedding after he’s stayed over. I like it to be clean in case someone comes for a visit.”

  “Do you know if he had anyone with him when he stopped by?”

  Aurelia seemed to give that some thought. After a moment she said, “I can’t be sure. I thought I heard an extra set of footsteps but when I asked him he said he was alone. He knows I’m not okay with him bringing girls in and having pre-marital sex in my house.”

  Frankie stifled a smile. “Is Tre or your son’s car here?”

  Aurelia stood up and walked towards the kitchen window. Looking outside she said, “Tre’s car’s back there. Doesn’t look like my son’s is. He lives next door. He’s usually home after 7.”

  “Thank you, Miss Aurelia. May we look around your house?”

  Aurelia hesitated before asking, “Whatcha lookin’ for? I already told you what I know.”

  “Ma’am we have reason to believe Tre brought the girl he kidnapped here. We’d just like to see if it matches the description she gave. Maybe take a few pictures.”

  “You gonna take any of my things? I know how the police work. You don’t ever give people their stuff back.”

  “No ma’am. Only things I’m going to take are photographs. Unless I find something that belongs to her. Can you show us your back door?”

  Chapter 52

  Aurelia led Frankie and Mia through the kitchen to her back door. The floor looked like it had just been mopped. As she scanned the room, the light from the digital clock on the stove caught Frankie’s eye. She wondered if Sarah had noticed it? A small hallway led to another bedroom with a closed door.

  “Is that the room where Tre stays when his momma’s gone?”

  “Yes.”

  “When you cleaned the room, did you notice anything out of place. Anything that didn’t belong to you or Tre?”

  Aurelia smoothed her hair back from her face before answering. She walked out of the small room, grabbed a glass from the cabinet, and turned to the sink to fill it with water. After taking a drink she said, “There was an earring. At first I thought it was Tre’s.”

  Frankie and Mia looked at one another. Sarah had not mentioned a missing earring, but it was possible she didn’t think it was important or didn’t remember. “May we see it?”

  Aurelia picked up a glass ring holder from the windowsill and removed a small hoop earring with fake stones embedded in the metal.

  Frankie took a latex glove from her pocket and took the earring from Aurelia. “What makes you sure this isn’t Tre’s?”

  “Because he said it wasn’t. He said he didn’t know who it belonged to.”

  “Where did you find it?”

  “It was on the bedspread in that room.”

  Frankie was about to respond when she heard the front door slam and a man’s voice saying, “Momma? You home?”

  “Detectives, this is my son Lamont. Lamont, these detectives are here about Tre.”

  Lamont extended a hand to Frankie and Mia. Shaking their hands he asked, “What did Tre do now?”

  “A woman has made some allegations against him,” answered Mia. “Did you happen to see him last Saturday? It would have been late?”

  Lamont stroked the stubble on his chin. “Detective I can barely remember who I saw yesterday.”

  “This ain’t no time to be cute Lamont. Tell ‘em what you know,” chastised Aurelia.

  Leaning against the counter, Lamont said, “I didn’t see Tre here, but he did take my car. Damn boy didn’t even ask if it was okay. He just took it. Hell, I didn’t even know it was gone until he called me.”

  “Do you know what time he called?” Frankie asked.

  “Must have been about 3 AM. He said the car broke down in Westport. He was giving someone a ride and it stalled out. I went outside and saw his car was in the drive but it wouldn’t start. I ended up taking Momma’s car to go get him. Turns out he’d run my car out of gas.”

  Aurelia’s face scrunched up in anger, “Why didn’t you tell me ‘bout this Lamont?”

  Looking down and away from his mother, Lamont answered, “Because you don’t like me taking your car and I didn’t want to hear it.”

  “Are both cars here now?” Frankie asked.

  Lamont looked up. “Yeah. Tre’s car still won’t start. Mine’s in the driveway next door.”

  “Will you give us permission to look inside your car and process it for any evidence?”

  Before Lamont could answer Aurelia said, “Of course he will.”

  “Thank you, ma’am. Lamont?”

  He just nodded in agreement, not daring to contradict his mother.

  Mia got the information from the car and Lamont’s signature while Frankie called for the Crime Scene Unit and a tow truck.

  “Lamont, I’m going to get a search warrant for Tre’s car. We’ll tow it to the garage for processing. I’ll let him know when we are finished with it,” Frankie said.

  “I’ve got keys, why don’t you get what you need now?” Aurelia asked.

  “Because the car belongs to him and he’s not here to give us his permission. Thank you, though.”

  The house wasn’t far from the crime lab, so the wait for the crime scene unit was not long.

  “Hey Ash, good to see you! You by yourself tonight?”

  “Hey Frankie. Mia. There was a shooting down on the Avenue so Yang and Rhino are down there. Greg is back at the unit recovering some stuff from last night’s shooting. I told him I could handle this one on my own.”

  Frankie gave Ashley all the information she needed for her reports then stood back while she took photographs of Lamont’s car. When Ashley was certain she had taken enough photos, she got out the fingerprint kit and swabs to collect possible DNA samples.

  Ashley was thorough. She lifted possible fingerprints, swabbed the seatbelt and door handle for DNA, and used the alternate light source to look for biological fluids on the seats. Frankie and Mia watched in silence as Ashley did her job.

  When she was about finished Frankie asked, “Can you use luminal on the front seat?”

  Mia looked at Frankie with question in her eyes as Ashley went to the Crime Scene van to retrieve the spray.

  “She was pretty banged up when we saw her at the hospital. It’s possible her blood is on the seat or somewhere else in the car.”

  “Good call!”

  Ashley sprayed the luminal in the front seat and floorboards of the car. At first it did not look as if there would be any reaction. Frankie started to turn away but Ashley stopped her, “Wait. I think I see something.” She pointed towards the headrest of the passenger side of the car, “There.”

  A blue glow emanated from a small spot on the headrest. Ashley quickly marked the spot, careful not to contaminate any possible evidence. She grabbed a swab and processed the area.

  “Nice catch Ashley. Hopefully it will be the victim’s blood.”

  “Anything else you need me to do?” Ashley asked.


  “No. I’m going to need to get a warrant for the other car so we’re going to tow it to the garage.”

  “Sounds good. Let us know when you’re ready to process it.”

  “Thanks Ash! It’ll probably be tomorrow night.” Frankie and Mia turned to go back inside Aurelia’s house. They handed Lamont his keys with the list of things seized from his car. “Is there anything else either of you can think of that might be helpful?”

  “His momma said it was a white girl accusing Tre. Is that right?”

  “Yes…”

  Lamont interjected, “Tre wouldn’t have been with no white girl.”

  “So we’ve heard,” said Mia.

  Chapter 53

  On the drive back to the office, Frankie called Sarah and confirmed she had been wearing hoop earrings with stones embedded in the metal the night she was kidnapped.

  “I assumed I lost it when I fell in the mud.”

  “We found one in the house we think Tre took you to. We would like to drive you by there when you have some time.”

  “How about Sunday? I’ve got a lot going on this week, but I’m off on Sunday.”

  Frankie set up the appointment time then emailed Ashley and asked her to send a photograph of the car they had just processed. Frankie would take some photographs of Tre’s car after they got the search warrant and show them to Sarah when she came in on Sunday.

  The phones were quiet the rest of the evening. The only call came from Gary Kinder from the local news station asking if they had any news.

  “Got any sex?”

  Laughing, Frankie said, “Hey Killer. We don’t have anything new tonight.”

  “Do you have a court date on that case with the girls from Stevenson Auto?” Kinder was hoping Frankie would give him something on the case she and Craven worked together.

  “Nothing official yet.” Frankie knew a plea deal had been offered, but nothing was official so she couldn’t release the information.

  “Alright, call me if anything comes up.”