Chapter 4
The boys were up bright and early despite a very short night's sleep on very lumpy mattresses. They were anxious to get on the road and Neal wanted to make sure to be on a flight back to NY by noon the next day. They grabbed some coffee and muffins at a fast food place nearby and were on the road to San Diego by 9:15, discussing strategy and contingency plans as they drove.
They rolled into the city by 11:30 and decided to head over directly to the address that Gus had provided them with: 376 Elm Street in the Gaslamp Quarter of the city. The area was mostly industrial, located near the waterfront and it was a mixture of old, barely standing buildings and newer upstarts. They cruised up and down the area and it didn't take long for them to figure out that whatever apartment dwelling had existed at 376 Elm Street was no longer there.
'Strike one' said Peter as they drove up the street for the third time
'So, do you have any contacts at SDPD?' asked Neal, hopefully
'As a matter of fact, last I heard one of my colleagues from Quantico was working for the police department here. Of course, he's my age so he may be retired but let's look him up' said Peter as he headed west back towards the mainland.
It wasn't difficult to find a fellow lawman when you had the type of contacts Peter Burke had and by 1:30, they were sitting across from Captain Mark Donaldson and he and Peter were exchanging stories about their glory days at the academy. They'd had a passing friendship at the time, and despite not keeping in touch over the years, they still had fond memories of the many experiences they'd shared while training at Quantico.
'So, as much as I'd like to think you two came all this way to reminisce, I have a feeling you're here about something else' said Mark, finally
'Nothing gets past you, Captain Donaldson' said Peter, grinning 'We're on a very old cold case, trying to locate a woman who disappeared from the LA area about 32 years ago'
Mark looked at Peter questioningly 'And this woman is important because...'
'She's Neal's sister-in-law. She disappeared when she was sixteen and made her way to the west coast; fell in with a bad crowd. Neal's wife has never gotten over it so we're trying to get to the bottom of it – or at least giving it our best shot' said Peter by way of explanation
'So, what do you know about her?' asked the captain
'Her name is Emily Ellis, but she had an alias – Sadie Johnson. She would have come to San Diego about 32 years ago from LA and she was living with a man named Paul Baxter, a drug runner' explained Peter
'Well, let's start there, then' said Mark as he turned to his computer screen
Within two minutes, he was able to ascertain that, although they didn't have anything on Emily Ellis, they did have one hit on Sadie Johnson. Paul Baxter, on the other hand, had a lengthy rap sheet but he'd fallen off their radar more than twenty years before so Mark excused himself to go dig up some good old paper records in the department's morgue for dead files.
'Thank God for technology' commented Neal as he stood up to stretch
'Well, let's hope San Diego is good at keeping old records' said Peter just as Mark returned carrying a thick file in his hands
'You're in luck, gentlemen. This guy was on our radar for a long time and he left a long trail with us' he said as he began thumbing through the file for pertinent information.
By the time Neal and Peter left his office, they had four different addresses for Paul Baxter in the San Diego area and, starting with the first one, they hit the pavement.
WCWCWC
Liam had a bad case of the jitters. Although he had played for the basketball team, the volleyball team and the soccer team at his middle school and despite the fact that he had been the high scorer for the intramural basketball league for the whole of the White Plains district, he was having trouble keeping his nerves in check as he prepared for his first junior high tryout. He had already downed two bottles of water but he was still feeling thirsty and truth be told he was feeling a little dizzy. He spotted his buddy, Will, coming into the gym and jogged over to meet him.
'You up for this?' he asked Will as he adjusted the too large jersey they had given him for the tryout
'I guess' said Will, hesitant
They were interrupted by the coach's whistle calling all new recruits to the bench for instructions.
WCWCWC
The first place Neal and Peter hit was in a very dilapidated and economically deprived area of town as evidenced by the number of pay day loan places and the decrepit state of the buildings nearby. They found 148 Flora easily enough; it was a three floor walk-up with a rickety set of stairs leading to the front door. Peter knocked on the apartment door with the word 'Sprtendnt' on it – the other letters having seemingly fallen off and never been replaced. He and Neal shared a wayward glance as they waited for the occupant to come to the door.
Finally, a man they guessed to be in his mid to late forties appeared; he was a large man, Latino, with an oversized mustache and a booming voice to match.
'What do you want?' he bellowed as he opened the door. The men had obviously disturbed his beauty sleep.
'We were wondering if you could help us?' asked Peter, flashing his FBI badge
'I know nothing' the man said as he prepared to close the door
Peter took a tentative step forward to keep him from closing the door. 'Sir, we're just gathering some information on someone who lived here several years back, a Mr. Paul Baxter'
'Don't know him' the man said, again attempting to close the door
'Do you have residents who have lived here for over twenty, twenty five years?' Peter asked, in a last ditch effort
'Look around, buddy. Would you stay around here any longer than you had to?' asked the man gruffly as he finally succeeded in slamming the door in their faces
'Strike two' mumbled Peter, under his breath
The second address they'd been given was a few blocks over. According to the records, this was also the address they had for Sadie Johnson on her one and only arrest for drug possession. The place looked marginally better, a little cleaner and there were actually flower beds outside one of the apartments in the building. This time, they had to buzz in to the superintendent to be let in. After several tries, they were just about to give up when a young woman came up the steps and took out her key, ostensibly to let herself into the building. She eyed Neal and Peter suspiciously but looking at the way they were dressed, she seemed to conclude that they were not an immediate threat.
'Hi' said Peter as he took out his badge once more. 'Do you live here?' he asked as the woman nodded
'We're looking for someone who lived here about thirty or so years ago' added Neal, smiling his winning smile, hoping the woman would relax enough to talk
'I've only lived here since last May' said the woman meekly
'What about the superintendent?' asked Peter
'Oh, Mrs. Moore? She's been here forever!' said the woman, visibly relaxing
'And is Mrs. Moore in right now?' asked Peter
'No, she goes to the senior centre every Thursday afternoon for her game of gin rummy. She won't be back until dinner' said the woman
Peter pulled out one of his business cards and handed it to the woman. 'Do you think you could ask her to call me when she gets in? We're looking for this woman' he said as he jotted Emily's name on the back of his business card.
'Sure, I can do that' said the young woman as she finally let herself in and closed the door behind her.
'Strike three?' Peter wondered
The last two addresses were also dead ends and Peter and Neal decided they should start looking for a place to stay for the night. It was well past 8:00 and they were hungry and tired.
They decided to spring for accommodations that were slightly an upgrade from their place in LA and hunkered down at the local Howard Johnson having grabbed some take-out Mexican food for dinner. Neal was feeling demoralized and downtrodden. He didn't want to believe they had finally come to the end of the line already, a mere 48 hours after they' begun their search. They ate in silence, each one deep in thought as to their next steps in light of the lack of information the day had produced.
Halfway through his enchilada, Peter's phone rang and he looked up at Neal.
'Must be El' he said, putting down his dinner and heading to a corner of the room to take the call. Of course, the room being what it was, it did not afford much privacy and Neal's ears perked up as he heard Peter's voice.
'Mrs. Moore? Of course, thank you so much for calling back' Peter looked excitedly at Neal as he moved back to where Neal was sitting
'You do remember Emily?' Peter was saying 'Yes, you're right it was a very long time ago'
'Ma'am, I'm travelling with Emily's brother-in-law. Would it be okay if we stopped by to see you and talk with you? We could be over in about 30 minutes'
Neal was looking over at Peter with a twinkle in his eyes, unable to believe their luck.
'Oh, I see. Yes, I understand. Tomorrow morning would be fine. Around 9, then? Thank you Mrs. Moore. We look forward to meeting you.'
Peter looked over at Neal, eyes bright and smiling 'Do you believe that?' he said as he put away his phone
'Couldn't she see us tonight?' asked Neal, somewhat disappointed
'I didn't want to push it, Neal. She's obviously very elderly and she seemed a bit tentative. I didn't want to push her over the edge' Peter admitted
'Yeah, of course. I'm just really anxious to hear what she has to say' said Neal, realizing this was the better solution
'Did you bring some of the family photos like we discussed?' asked Peter
'Yeah, I've got stuff from our holidays and some of Sara and the kids' said Neal as he began to go through his suitcase looking for the said photographs
'Good, I have a feeling Mrs. Moore knew Emily more than just in passing. And I think she might react positively to seeing Emily's family and how anxious they are to be reunited with her' Peter offered
Despite the more comfortable accommodations, Neal was having trouble settling down as he lay on the bed. He kept running over things in his head, wondering if this woman would be able to give them any information about where Emily went when she finally left San Diego – that was, if she ever left.
He wanted to talk to Sara but he was afraid his emotions would seep into the conversation and he didn't want to have to explain why he was so excited about a routine investigation. He finally gave up at around three in the morning, west coast time, knowing Sara would be up any time now and he opted to text her, keeping the emotions out of it.
Neal: Hey, good night's sleep?
Sara: Not bad, miss you
Neal: Me too. Upgraded to a Howard Johnson but still not the same without you in my arms
Sara: I love it when you talk dirty...
Neal: I'll let you know when my flight comes in later today
Sara: Okay, get some sleep, Caffrey!
Neal: Love you
Sara: xx
Afterwards, feeling more relaxed, Neal finally settled in for a couple of hours of uninterrupted sleep.
TBC