Dead Cold Mysteries Box Set #4: Books 13-16 (A Dead Cold Box Set), Blake Banner [story read aloud .txt] 📗

“I’m going to talk to Penelope again. Sir? Can you take Consuelo off the search for decapitated bodies and get her searching for vehicles registered to Penelope Peach, Grant Shaw, Alornerk Smith in Boston and Helena Magnusson, also Shaw Line and Connors Communication. I want to see if that throws up any white Savannahs.”

“Of course, good thinking. Listen, Carmen, I really want you to consider taking a new partner for the remainder of this case.”

“Sir, I’ll take care of it myself if you are too busy…”

“Don’t be impertinent, Carmen. That was not my point. You need support!”

“I need Stone, sir.”

He sighed. “Very well. I’ll see to this.”

“Thank you, sir.”

She made her way back to the unmarked Dodge, climbed behind the wheel and, as the light started to fade in the city, drove back north along the banks of the Hudson. All the way she kept her mind focused and her emotions tightly battened down. Grief, despair and fear cost lives. A clear, focused mind might be the only thing standing between Stone and death.

A white van.

Would a killer as methodical and systematic as this one have kept his van for five years? It was unlikely. What was not unlikely was that it was a taunt. A mockery. He, or she, had wanted the van to be seen. That was why he had parked it outside the school, where he could be certain it would be seen. He wanted it to be seen.

He or she.

Why? Why would he want the van to be seen? She stopped and corrected herself. “Stone would tell you that question is too open, Carmencita. Rephrase it. What would make him want the van to be seen?”

There was the taunt and the mockery, but this killer was smarter than that. This killer took out Jack Connors five years ago and had not been caught since. No, there was something more to it than taunting and mockery.

“Stone would say,” she said aloud, “if he wanted the van to be seen, it was because he wanted to draw attention to it. What would make him want to draw attention to the van? Think, Carmen! Think!”

Her phone rang.

“Dehan.”

“Detective Dehan, it’s Consuelo. You wanted me to look into vehicles…”

“Yeah. What have you got?”

“Of the list of people and companies you gave me, Shaw Line Security have a fleet of six white Savannahs. They are of the passenger type. Do you want me to arrange to go and see them?”

“No, not yet. Good work. Anybody else?”

“Yes, it’s a bit odd. I mean, I know it’s a popular van but, Connors Communication own two and Alornerk Smith, in Boston, he also has one. Statistically, I think it’s unlikely that so many of the people on your list would own the same vehicle.”

“I agree. Get me the license plates on all of them. Then I want each one of those vans accounted for. Inform the inspector.”

“I’m on it.”

She hung up and pounded the wheel with her fist three times. Then she called ahead to have Penelope taken up to the interrogation room again.

Ten minutes later, she screeched to a halt outside the station, pushed through the door and sprinted up the steps. She met Mo coming down and for once in his life, he looked sincere.

“Carmen, I heard about Stone, I’m sorry…”

“Save it for the funeral, Mo.”

She left him staring after her and ran the rest of the way to the top floor where she burst into the interrogation room and bent over the table, staring down into Penelope’s face.

“The van you saw, the one you thought was stalking you, was it a passenger vehicle?”

Penelope goggled. “What?”

“Did it have windows in the back? Yes or no?”

“No!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

“God damn it!” She turned and wrenched open the door again. Over her shoulder she snarled, “Get out of here! Go home!”

“What?”

“Get out! Go!”

From there she crossed to the inspector’s office, hammered once and went in.

“Carmen.”

“Sir. I am letting Penelope go. Stone was right not to bring her in. She was stalked by a white van just before Jack was killed. The white van that stalked her had no windows in the back. This van has windows. It was parked outside just about the only place in that neighborhood where it was sure to be seen by witnesses. That means Stone’s abductor wanted the van to be seen. He wanted the van to be seen because he wanted us to connect it with Grant Shaw and the original white van Penelope saw five years ago. Shaw uses a fleet of white Savannahs. So it could not have been Shaw or Penelope. This guy—this person—is very, very clever at deflecting suspicion and staying out of the picture.”

“Consuelo told me about the vans. I’ve sent a car to check on the vehicles and establish their whereabouts this morning. What about the other two?”

“Alornerk and Jack’s own company, Connors Communication. They own three vans between them, all fitting the description by the witness. Alornerk certainly had motive to kill Jack. I don’t see him abducting Stone and setting up this elaborate show, but he’s a mathematician right? And an academic. They’re all crazy. I need to find out where he was today. Maybe we can call Boston PD and have them send somebody over to ask him. Come to think of it, he should have come in today to make a statement.”

“Interesting.”

“Yeah. Meantime, that leaves two vans belonging to Jack’s own company, and I have to tell you sir, that, to me, stinks like shit soup. Excuse me.”

“You’d better explain.”

She shook her head. “Right back to first principles, chief: who benefited from his death? Helena. And not only did she benefit, he was screwing another