Raven: A political thriller Read online

  Ellen fidgeted while twisting her fingers around a tissue that she took out of her pocket. She proceeded to tear it into shreds. “I can’t remember what day it was. Everything is such a fog lately,” she said as she tried focusing her eyes.

  “Please try.”

  Ellen appeared deep in thought for the longest time and then glanced up, as if suddenly coming out of he fog. “It was the last time I saw Willie. I think it was last Friday. He called from the office,” she said and then waved her hand before continuing. “The doctor has me on these pills and it’s hard to concentrate.”

  “Madam, your husband has been missing for almost two weeks.”

  Don looked suspiciously at Mrs. Maxfield, as she seemed genuinely surprised by what he had just said. He knew she wasn’t faking it, either. He had seen enough people lie to him, but Mrs. Maxfield really looked out of it.

  “Has it been that long? I told the police all of this already.”

  “I know, but I need you to think back. It’s important to the case I’m on.”

  “You think Willie’s disappearance is somehow connected to Raven’s murder?”

  “We’re not sure.”

  Fred looked out the window at the kids playing. In the distance there were tennis courts. It looked like everyone was dressed for swimming, but he couldn’t see the pool and guessed it was hidden behind the fence near the tennis court. Fred turned to Mrs. Maxfield.

  “Why did your husband call you?” Fred asked before Don could. Fred sensed they had to keep the woman on task if they were going to get any pertinent information out of her.

  “He wanted to meet me for lunch. When I got there he had to cancel. He sent me home with his briefcase.”

  “Didn’t that seem a little odd?” Don asked.

  “Not in the least,” Ellen said, a little puzzled by his question. “He wasn’t sure he was going back to the office.”

  “Then you didn’t actually meet at the office?” Fred asked.

  Ellen glanced over at Fred with a confused look on her face and then she replied, “Why no, he was with Raven at the restaurant.”

  “Do you still have the briefcase?” Don asked.

  “Yes, it’s upstairs in the bedroom.”

  “Could I see it?”

  “I’m not sure,” she said with a concerned look on her face.

  “I could get a search warrant.”

  Ellen stared at Don for the longest time and then she turned to Fred, as if to ask if he was serious.

  “He’ll do it, and then the press will be on it like vultures.”

  All she did was shake her hand. “I couldn’t have that. They’ve just stopped calling.”

  Ellen didn’t say a word as she slowly got up and walked out of the room. The cat took the opportunity to scurry out quickly, following its mistress. Don turned to Fred.

  Fred just shrugged. “What do you think?”

  “Definitely not the woman on the tape,” Don said.

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  “With what that doctor has her on, I don’t think anything is going to bother her for a while.”

  Fred took the opportunity to walk up to the window and stare at the surroundings. Don walked over to Fred at the window and stared out at the manicured lawn.

  “I wonder how much something like this sets a person back?”

  Fred turned to Don and laughed. “Trust me, it’s out of your league.”

  “Do you ever stop to wonder what crossroad you missed?”

  “I’m perfectly happy with my life the way it is,” Fred said and then he glanced around and laughed. “You regretting what happened to Jackie?”

  “No. It’s not that.”

  “You being philosophical?”

  “Maybe that’s the difference between us, that and ten years on the force. You been at this as long as I have, you wonder why there isn’t more to life.”

  “Maybe Jackie will take you back.”

  “That’s one crossroad I won’t go back to. It wasn’t what I meant, either.”

  Mrs. Maxfield walked back into the room. She handed the briefcase over to Don, who took it from her and then set it down on the coffee table. He quickly sat down on the sofa. Don slowly opened the clasps and then opened the case. It was empty. Don glanced up at Mrs. Maxfield with a look of surprise.

  “Did you remove anything from this?” he asked.

  Don watched her intently for a hint of whether she was lying to him.

  “No,” she snapped. “I never gave it a thought until you brought it up just now. You’re the first person to touch it since Willie gave it to me that day.”

  Ellen walked over to Don on the sofa and sat down next to him. She reached over and flipped a hidden lever, and the back panel released. An envelope quickly fell out. Ellen reached over and picked it up. She handed it to Don and shrugged her shoulders.

  “That was a feature Willie liked. He sometimes carried confidential information and felt he wanted the added precautions.”

  Don opened the envelope and took out the 16 GB flash drive. “Mind if I have a look at this?” Don asked.

  Don held it in his hand and then turned it over. He looked at Mrs. Maxfield, who seemed to be deep in thought.

  “I’m not sure I should,” Mrs. Maxfield said with concern.

  “Your husband is missing. This could help in the investigation.”

  “What if it has something to do with national security on it?”

  “Then I’ll gouge my eyes out when I’m done,” Don quipped.

  Mrs. Maxfield just glared at Don for the longest time. She might have been medicated, but she knew there were things that her husband dealt with on a daily basis that even she wasn’t privy to. Yet at this point, after two weeks of Willie being missing, she was desperate to have her husband back. The investigation into his disappearance seemed to have hit a dead end. She was about to throw caution to the wind as she glanced over at Don.

  Don got serious and looked sternly at her. “I promise whatever is on this,” he said while holding up the flash drive, “won’t go any further than me. And I’ll return it immediately if it’s nothing pertinent to the case.”

  “I trust you,” Mrs. Maxfield said with a look that was one of relief.

  Mrs. Maxfield reluctantly let Don take the flash drive. She had been frustrated with the investigation into her husband’s disappearance. It was like everyone was dragging their feet and didn’t care anymore. She knew the longer he was gone, the worse the scenario might be. Ellen was desperate to breathe new life into the investigation.

  Chapter 11

  The maid quickly walked Don and Fred out of the mansion, thankful their stay was not that long. They stood on the porch and glanced around the grounds.

  There was a fresh smell to everything. The Magnolia trees were almost in full bloom, but the rain last night had left a lot of the blossoms scattered about the freshly cut lawn. There was a distinct citrusy scent in the air that was so unmistakably clean and fresh smelling that even a busy city couldn’t take it away.

  Fred turned to Don, who still had the flash drive in his hand.

  “What are you going to do with that?” Fred asked.

  “Have Charlie take a look at it. I wouldn’t even know where it goes in a computer.”

  “That’s what I thought,” Fred said as he laughed and walked over to the squad.

  Don put the flash drive in his jacket pocket. He took out the pack of cigarettes, quickly put one in his mouth, and lit up as he slowly walked over to the squad and got in.

  As Fred climbed into the passenger seat, he looked over at Don. “You should quit. Those cancer sticks are killing your brain cells.”

  “It’s all I have left in life.”

  “Maybe you should start thinking about that life.”

  “Now you’re sounding like Maggie,” Don said as he took a long drag on his cigarette and held it in for the longest time before exhaling. He then turned to Fred and asked, “Got any suggestions?”
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br />   Fred glanced at his watch and then turned finally to Don, “Yeah, go back to square one I guess.”

  “Where’s that?” Don asked.

  “Her place. Somebody was looking for something. You may have scared them off, then again...” Fred started to say and then stopped.

  Don just waved his hand for Fred to stop. “All right!” Don snapped. “I got the message. Square one, it is.”

  It was early afternoon, and Don knew the lab guys should be finishing up at Raven’s house by then. He was curious if they’d come up with anything but figured he would have gotten a call letting him know if they had.

  As they pulled up to Raven’s house, a few of the neighbors peeked out their windows, as they seemed to be curious about all the activity. The yellow crime-scene tape only added to their inquisitiveness. Raven’s untimely death had made the early morning edition so everyone was aware that something bad was amiss. But no one had the nerve to come over to ask what was going on. At least not while Don and Fred were there.

  They quickly got out of the squad and walked up the path to the front porch. Once they entered the living room it was clear the lab men were about finished with their work, as they were packing their cases. Don walked up to one of the technicians, his tag said Jack. Don had never seen this group before, so he wasn’t sure just how much information he’d get out of them just then. He opened his suit jacket so the detective shield was clearly visible before he started asking any questions.

  “Find anything?” Don asked.

  Jack just turned to Don. Before answering, he glanced at the shield quickly and then turned to the other tech, who was finishing up in the living room. Jack just shrugged indifferently.

  “The place was wiped clean,” he said as he shut his case and then took off his gloves.

  “What do you mean?”

  “The outer surfaces have been wiped clean, just what I said,” he snapped, not knowing how much clearer he could say it for the two.

  Jack pulled out a slip from the case and handed it to Don. “We found this on the dresser upstairs.”

  Don stared at the slip from Merry Maids. It was a bill for cleaning services.

  “So she hired them to clean up the place?”

  “Looks like it. But they forgot the laundry chute.”

  “What did you find?” Don asked, while the excitement in his voice was clearly noted.

  “There were a couple of bloody towels. Not her blood type either.”

  “You check with Schmidt already?” Don asked.

  “Yeah, we figured he had her body.”

  “How much blood are you talking about?”

  “Major bleeding, that’s what I’m talking about.”

  Don looked again at the Merry Maid bill. “They were here Monday morning.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Maybe she had a friend who cut themselves.”

  “With that amount of blood, you’d think stitches were required.”

  “You sure?” Don asked.

  “Trust me. I know a bleeder when I see it, and this required stitches.”

  Don turned to Fred and shook his head. He knew what he had to do now. He was going to enjoy this interrogation. The fine doctor may have felt he had one up on him, not realizing that evidence was left behind. Now he would have some explaining to do.

  “Maybe we better get Dr. VanBuren down to the station.”

  “He’s not going to like this,” Fred said.

  “And your point being?”

  Don had one of the mischievous smiles across his face that he got when dealing with someone who thought they had the upper hand. He pulled the card out of his pocket and handed it to Fred.

  “Call him and set up the meeting,” Don said as he glanced at his watch. “My turf this time. Tell him to meet us at the station house at four,” Don ordered and then turned back to Jack. “Anything else I should know?”

  Jack shrugged. “No.”

  Don walked past Jack and into the living room. He glanced up at the portrait. Fred walked up behind Don.

  “Maybe they’d sell it to you.”

  Don turned suddenly to Fred. “Very funny!” he mustered up to say.

  Don just turned and stalked off. As much as he so desperately wanted the portrait, he knew in the end it would only destroy his sanity because every day he looked at it, it would be a reminder of how violently her life ended. And there was nothing he could do to make it right, other than catch the person who did that to her.

  * * *

  Dr. VanBuren sat in the interrogation room with Mr. Leslie, his attorney, for nearly an hour before Don made his presence known. The dirty walls were covered with the grime of the years of criminals who sat in that very room. Once Don entered the room he sat on the other side of the table. He set the folder down. He wanted to open it so that Dr. VanBuren could see what remained of his daughter. He wanted to see the pain in the old man’s face. He wanted to cause excruciating pain like he felt in his own heart. But he knew he dare not, for fear he would be taken off the case. For that reason he kept the folder closed. Right now he had to work on getting Dr. VanBuren to trust him.

  The long mirror that filled the far wall hid Fred and the Chief, who wanted to watch Don in action. Don had one of the highest closure rates in the station house, and others sought out his strategies for getting people to talk.

  “Well, do you have anything you want to tell me?” Don asked, finally glancing up at the two.

  “My client doesn’t have to answer that,” Mr. Leslie snapped. He was protecting his client, as attorneys do when they come to the interrogation room. And judging by Mr. Leslie’s demeanor, this wasn’t the first time he had been there.

  “I want to know who he stitched up at his daughter’s house last weekend?”

  Mr. Leslie motioned with his hand for Dr. VanBuren to be silent, but Dr. VanBuren just shoved his hand aside. There had been too much riding on this to stand in silence any longer. Right now he feared for the Senator’s life. And given what happened last night, he wasn’t so sure what they were doing was for the good of all. He just wanted it all to end. He didn’t care what they did to him because he didn’t report a gunshot wound to the authorities.

  “It’s got to end. Willie was seriously hurt,” Dr. VanBuren snapped.

  “Senator Maxfield?” Don asked.

  Fred suddenly leaned forward as he watched Don’s expression and the relief on the doctor’s face. Mr. Leslie was clearly the only one upset by this revelation as he tried to get the good doctor to be silent. But it was useless at this point.

  “Yes, I stitched Willie up last Sunday. He was shot in the side.”

  Don looked at him through the eyes of a seasoned interrogator. “Do you realize what you’re saying?”

  “Mr. Leslie quickly whispered into Dr. VanBuren’s ear. Don could only guess what he was telling his client.

  “Yes, I should have reported it to the police.”

  “Why didn’t you?” Don snapped.

  “Raven convinced me they didn’t know who to trust.”

  “Where is the Senator now?” Don asked as he stared at the doctor.

  “I don’t know. Raven said she would take him someplace safe.”

  “Do you have any ideas?”

  “I thought maybe our summer home on Diamond Lake. But I’d only be guessing. They aren’t answering the phone.”

  Don had a puzzled look on his face, not believing what he had just heard. That the good doctor just left his daughter with the injured Senator, knowing that there were people trying to kill him. And, in fact, did in the end kill his own daughter.

  “What were they involved in that could be so dangerous?” Don snapped.

  “Willie and Raven were working on something together. It had nothing to do with national security. They assured me of that.”

  Don couldn’t believe Dr. VanBuren’s words. Granted, national security might not be at stake here, but the fact still remained that what they were involved in must have b
een pretty dangerous to have people willing to kill to keep the two of them silent.

  “He was on the run,” Dr. VanBuren said. “Maybe I should have done more.”

  “Your daughter’s dead, Doctor. It’s about time you start trusting someone.”

  Dr. VanBuren was about to say something but caught himself. He turned to Mr. Leslie and stared at him a moment and then turned back to Don.

  “What was I to do? I had no idea.”

  Fred walked into the room. He realized that time was being wasted. Once he was in the room he looked at the doctor.

  “Where is this lake?” Fred asked.

  Fred knew if they were going to put an end to this, they would have to get to the Senator before someone actually succeeded the next time. It was clear that the Senator and Raven separated at some point, and that got her killed.

  “It’s about twenty miles from here. I’ll write down the directions,” he said.

  Don slid the pad of paper to the doctor and then tossed him a pen.

  “I only hope we’re not too late,” Don snapped.

  The doctor looked up at Fred and realized for the first time the severity of the situation.

  Chapter 12

  With not getting any real sleep last night Don had a hard time staying alert on the half-hour drive to Diamond Lake. Fred, on the other hand, didn’t really know what more to say to Don about the case or the problems he was having dealing with his fixation with the victim.

  The doctor’s directions were easy to follow, and once Don pulled up to the garage he was anxious to get this part of the investigation behind him. He had little hope that they would find anything, let alone find the Senator holed up here. But it was clear it had to be checked out.

  The cottage, if that’s what you wanted to call it, was bigger and better looking than most people’s primary dwelling. Don guessed that a caretaker took care of the grounds. Even with the good doctor being retired, Don didn’t think he had the kind of spare time to spend keeping up the two places, given the size of each. The shrubs were beautifully manicured, and the lawn looked freshly cut. Don liked the smell of a freshly cut lawn.

  Don and Fred walked around to the back porch, which faced the lake. The furniture was all wicker and was highly varnished to protect it from adverse weather. And judging by the size of the place, Don figured it had to have at least three, if not four, bedrooms.