"I heard the news on the radio yesterday about Steve being killed in the car accident. I just couldn't believe it, we had a couple of drinks together on Saturday night, he was telling me about a girl he was going to ask out." Anderson told Norm as Roy and Lee climbed out of the car and hurried across to join them, continuing after Norm had made the introductions and asked him to go on, "But then this morning as I was leaving for work, I heard someone moving around in Steve's apartment."
"Are you sure they are still inside?" Roy asked, glancing up at the apartment that Lee had pointed out when they had arrived was Steve's.
The young man nodded as he turned and looked up towards Steve's apartment, "There's no back door and it's a pretty steep drop for anyone trying to escape from one of the back windows, and I have kept an eye out on the front but so far no one has come out, so whoever it is, they are still in there."
"Thanks." Roy gently slapped the young man on the back as he nodded at Norm to take Anderson to safety before they entered the apartment.
Waiting until Norm had moved the young man away, Roy waved across to the two other uniformed officers who were standing silently next to their patrol car for orders to join him. Turning, he quickly led Lee and the two officers cautiously up the stairs to Steve's apartment.
Standing next to the uniformed officer, on one side of Steve's apartment door, while Lee and the second officer took their position on the other side of the door, Roy listened closely, unable to hear any sound of movement coming from within the apartment. Unholstering his gun, Roy gave a single nod as a silent order for the officer to kick open the door.
The officer turned and raised his foot, kicking the door as hard as he could, causing it to crash open with a bang before rushing in, his gun ready for any confrontation as he yelled "Police!"
Quickly following the officer into the apartment, Roy looked around the empty living room, glancing at the empty bottle of bourbon sitting on the coffee table and broken glass that littered the floor next to the far wall as Lee and the second officer entered and moved across to the kitchenette, checking that the intruder had not taken refuge behind the breakfast bar. Lee silently shook his head as the other officer headed towards the closed bathroom door.
Moving across to the partially closed bedroom door, Roy paused a moment as he heard movement inside. Gripping his gun tighter as he looked across at Lee and pointed towards the room and raised one finger to indicate that he had heard someone inside the room. Lee nodded silently he hurried across to back up Roy. Holding up three fingers, Roy counted down before he kicked the door open, going in high as Lee went in low.
Brian looked up as he heard the apartment door smash open and heard someone yell 'Police!'. Dropping the diamonds back into their small leather bag, he quickly turned and pushed the bag as far as he could beneath the mattress of the bed. Turning back towards the partially closed bedroom door, he rose to his feet and lifted his arms, interlocking his fingers behind his head. Turning around towards the faced the bed, automatically assuming the position to be frisked and handcuffed by one of the two armed officers who had just entered the room as he looked back over his shoulder and protested, "Hey, what the hell is going on? What the Hell do you think you are doing?"
"Investigating a report of a 'Break and Enter' into one of my missing officer's apartment!" Roy growled as Lee began to frisk and handcuff Steve's father and read him his rights.
After covering Lee with his gun until Brian was securely handcuffed, Roy reholstered his gun and tilted his head in a silent order to the officer standing behind them to move Brian out of his way as he walked across to the side of the bed and lifted up the mattress, searching for the object that he thought he had seen Brian quickly shove beneath it as they had entered the room. His search was rewarded when he saw a small leather bag laying on the base of the bed. Reaching down, he picked up the small but surprisingly heavy bag and opened it up before emptying some of its contents into his hand.
Roy stared in surprise as a large assortment of uncut stones and what appeared to be cut diamonds tumbled out of the bag into his open hand. Looking back up at Lee and the uniformed officer, he saw the same shocked looks on their face that mirrored his own face. His eyes drifted across to Keller who appeared to be totally focused on the diamonds he now held in his hand with a hungry look in his eyes.
It was obvious to everyone in the room that nothing else mattered to the man, not even his missing son, as Brian licked his lips greedily, watching every diamond drop from Roy's hand as Roy carefully poured them back into their bag.
After tying the bag closed, Roy looked up and struggling to keep the disgust he was feeling for Steve's father from leeching into his voice, he ordered coldly, "Get him out of here! NOW!"
After watching the uniformed officer grab Brian's handcuffed arm and roughly lead him out of the room, Lee turned to look back at his lieutenant and asked softly, "What did you mean just then by 'one of your missing inspectors'?"
Looking back at Lee, Roy frowned in total confusion, "What?"
"Just then when you arrested Keller, you said that you were investigating the reported break and enter into the apartment of one of your 'missing' officers' apartments." Lee told him, his own brow creasing. "I mean, we both know that Steve's not missing, he's …" Lee swallowed hard, still finding it hard to believe that both Mike and Steve were gone, let alone admit it out loud.
Realizing that in his rush to get to Steve's apartment that he had not yet told Lee or any of his other Homicide inspectors of Charlie's discovery of the fragment of material that indicated that Steve had not been the driver who been killed in the fiery crash involving his car. Nor had he told them about the contradicting evidence at the scene where Mike was believed to have fallen into the river in Yosemite park and drowned. It was something that he realized that he owed the guys and needed to do as soon as he got back to Bryant Street. Unable to stop the smile from appeared on his lips, he told Lee, "No, there were developments in the case late last night that I haven't had a chance to tell you or any of the other guys about. But just then when I told Keller that Steve and Mike are 'missing', that's what I meant. I believe that both Mike and Steve have been abducted, not killed." The smile slipped from his lips as he looked at the door through which Keller had been led as he added, "And I also believe that Brian Keller is somehow involved in this mess up to his neck." Reaching up and gently placing a hand on his stunned inspector's shoulder, Roy steered him towards the door as he continued, "Come on, I will fill you in on all the details on our way back to the station."
SOSF SOSF SOSF
Glancing quickly towards the man sitting alone in the integration room, Roy returned his attention back to the file he was re-reading and frowned. There was something he was missing, something that tied Keller, and the diamonds they had found, that Keller had tried to hide beneath the mattress of his son's bed, that to Mike's and Steve's disappearances. He no longer had any doubts that both men were alive.
Flicking over the page, he glanced at the last entry on Keller's rap sheet – Gross Vehicle Manslaughter – for the death of his wife. Roy paused as he stared at the sheet of paper before he slowly looked back up and across at the interrogation room, staring at the man now slouched down in the chair. Of course, why didn't he think of it before? The diamonds had to be the missing link. Turning around, he hurried back into Mike's office and picked up the phone.
SOSF SOSF SOSF
"I've been waiting here for an hour!" Brian protested loudly, rising to his feet, as Roy entered the interrogation room. "You can't force me to stay here!"
"Sit down!" Roy ordered as he turned and closed the door behind him.
"I'm leaving." Brian continued belligerently, "I know my rights, you can't keep me here without any charges."
"You want me to charge you?" Roy asked, a dangerous edge to his voice as he slowly turned and walked across to the table, deliberately placing the file he was carrying onto it before placing the small brown leather sack on top. Looking back up at Brian who began to head towards the door, he nodded in agreement, "Ok then, I will charge you…"
"For what?" Brian demanded as he stopped his egress towards the door and turned back to the Homicide lieutenant.
"For Break and Enter for starters." Roy answered coldly, "And with you already on parole…"
"You can't charge me with break and enter into my own kid's apartment …" Brian protested, his face paling at the threat , staring at Roy as the Homicide lieutenant sat down at the table and turned his head, looking at him expectantly for him to sit down as he added. "My dead son's apartment."
"I can and I will. So, unless you want to find yourself sitting in a holding cell downstairs waiting for your ride back to jail, I would advise you to sit down right now and start answering my questions." Roy warned him softly, ignoring his play for sympathy. He watched Brian hesitate before he barked, "Sit down!"
Running his hand over the back of his head, Brian stared at the lieutenant for a few heartbeats as he realized the man was not bluffing. Reluctantly, he turned and walked back to his chair and slowly sat down.
"Now," Roy began firmly, in no mood for games. He needed answers and needed the answers fast as a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach warned him that whatever this man had gotten Steve and Mike dragged into, time for the two of them was running out fast. "You are going to tell me what you have gotten yourself, your son, and his partner, Lieutenant Mike Stone, into and what the hell is going on."
Slowly looking up at Roy, Brian licked his lips nervously as he shook his head, "I don't know what you are talking about."
"I'm talking about why you were hiding in your son's apartment," Picking up the soft brown pouch that lay on the table between them, Roy untied the knot before tipping the bag and emptied the precious stones onto the table. Watching the other man's face, he saw Brian's eyes greedily light up as the other man stared, mesmerized, at the shiny gems as the lieutenant continued gruffly, "And how you became in possession of almost a million dollars' worth of diamonds! And where my two missing officers, your son and his partner, Lieutenant Stone, are!"
Snapping his head up, Brian stared at Roy, "Your two missing officers? I don't know about Stone, but I do know my son is laying on a slab in the morgue waiting for you cops to get your fingers out and identify him…"
"We no longer believe the body in the morgue is Steve's." Roy interrupted softly.
Staring at Roy in disbelief, not quite daring to believe that Quintin had not carried out his threat, Brian whispered, "He's alive?"
Roy nodded, watching the other man carefully, "But missing and so is his partner, Lieutenant Stone," Removing the pen from his pocket, Roy used the tip of it to move the stones around, never taking his eyes off the other man's face as he took a calculated risk but wasting time was a luxury that Mike and Steve no longer had, as he continued, "And we both know that you... and these diamonds that you stole from Quintin… are the reason why."
Biting his bottom lip, Brian remained silent, but Roy saw the flash of surprise in the other man's face as he began to push, "Look, I know you love your son, even if Steve no longer believes you do. Hell, I'm a man myself, and I do understand that everything between you and Steve and his mother was done because you loved them, and you just wanted the best for them. I also understand that sometimes a man has to show their wives and kids just who's Boss, even if they don't understand." Roy lied, sickened by the words that came out of his mouth but desperate to get the other man talking as fast as he could as Brian slowly looked back up at him, as he pushed even harder, "but time is running out for Steve and his partner, especially if Quintin is involved in their abductions, and we both know that he is."
Staring back down at the stones, Brian swallowed hard, wishing that he had a few drinks under his belt for Dutch courage, he hated being sober and being able to feel the guilt caused by his actions as he listened as the Homicide officer outlined his own theory about what he had been involved in.
"Look, Brian, I'm going to lay my cards out on the table straight in front of you. After we found you with the diamonds, I checked your prison records and I know that Quintin was your cellmate. I also checked the robbery report from the diamond robbery that Quintin pulled, and I know that these are some of the diamonds he stole in the heist. And I am willing to bet that you somehow found out where he hid them and decided to take them yourself or maybe, Quintin offered you a cut if you retrieved them and brought them to him when he escaped…" Roy saw Brian freeze in his seat and draw in a deep sharp breath of surprise, before he asked softly, "That's it, isn't it? You were supposed to retrieve the diamonds for him after he escaped and as a reward, he claimed he was going to give you a share. So, if the diamonds were a reward, then what was the punishment if you decided to rip him off? Was it Steve's life?" He paused and stared at the other man as Brian flinched and looked away. The horror of what the other man had risked in his greed was almost overwhelming and Roy lowered his voice in a mixture of horror and disgust as he continued, "It was, wasn't it? Quintin knew you had a son; he probably even knew that Steve was a cop and threatened you with Steve's life if you crossed him. But even knowing Steve's life was on the line, you couldn't help yourself, you got greedy and you crossed him anyway."
"It wasn't like that!" Brian protested loudly, angry that he was being accused of being greedy.
"Then tell me why?" Roy roared, slamming his hands hard on the table, causing several of the Homicide inspectors working at their desks in the bullpen to jump in surprise and turn to look at what was happening inside the interrogation room.
"I did it for Steve as well," Brian yelled, "I was going to give him half of my share of the diamonds. It was the least I could do for him after what I did to his mother… And I would have gotten away with it, but his damn partner had to stick his nose in where it wasn't wanted and ruined everything…"
"Mike Stone?"
"Yeah, Lieutenant Mike bloody Stone!" Brian growled, spitting Mike's name out like a vile curse, his hands curling into fists on the table as he looked up at Roy, his face red with anger, "He's the reason why Quintin went after my son. He's the reason why my son is now missing, not me! He decided to try an act like some big man and after I got out from prison, he tried to threaten to send me back to prison if I tried to contact my own kid! My OWN bloody kid!" Silently agreeing with Mike's actions to try and protect his partner from this man, Roy watched as Keller thump the desk hard with his fist. In that moment, Roy knew that he had just caught a glimpse of Keller's volatile and violent temper that his young missing inspector must have witnessed and been on the receiving end of for years, as Keller continued to rant, "Just who did he think he was, telling me to stay away from my own kid! It's his fault that Steve was grabbed, not mine! One of Quintin's men must have seen us together in that damn cafe…Then yesterday when I heard on the news that Steve had been killed…"
"That's when you realized the Quintin had discovered you had stolen the diamonds?"
Brian nodded in agreement. "I knew that Steve's death wasn't an accident and I knew that I would be next if I didn't get away."
With the pieces of the puzzle sliding quickly into place, Roy frowned, "So you after you came to me to confirm the news reports about your son's death, you went straight down to Personnel to ask about his death benefits and life insurance."
"Steve was dead, I couldn't change that, and I was next. So I needed money to get away with the diamonds," Brian admitted as he looked back down at the shiny stones, "but the girl in Personnel told me it would take several days for any payments to come through and I needed somewhere to hide until it did."
"So, you decided the best place to hide was in your son's apartment?"
Brian sighed, "Yeah but what I didn't bank on was not only did the kid have a nosy partner, but he had nosy neighbors as well."
"So how were you supposed to deliver the diamonds to Quintin, once you retrieved them?" Roy asked.
"Quintin was going to get in contact with me about where and when to deliver them. I guess he didn't trust me enough to tell me where he was hiding." Brian shrugged as he looked down at the diamonds before he reached across and picked one up, turning it over and over again between his fingers as he stared at it. Slowly he placed the diamond back down on the table before he looked back up at Roy and asked softly, "Do you really think there is a chance that Steve is still alive?"
Roy nodded.
"I know you probably heard all the stories from Steve about how I treated him and his mother." Brian sighed, running his hand over his head as he looked past Roy's shoulder and stared at the wall. "But as you said, he didn't understand why I had to do the things I did or why I had to hit them. I know that you probably won't believe me when I tell you that I really did love him and his mother but sometimes they made me so angry… they would disrespect me and would deliberately defy me until I snapped and hit out. It wasn't my fault, it was theirs! All they had to do was give me the respect that being the head of the family deserves!
But even though Steve doesn't believe me, I really did love them, I still love them…" Brian voice trailed off as he glanced greedily down at the diamonds again before he looked back up at Roy hopefully, "Listen, there's a chance that I might know where Quintin is holding my kid and his damn partner but first, before I tell you, I want a deal."
"A deal?" Roy asked, momentarily shocked, but not really surprised that after Brian had just tried to convince him that he loved Steve and his mother, the man was now trying to make a deal to benefit himself.
Brian nodded eagerly, "Yeah, a deal. You drop the charge of break and entering." Brian smiled as he looked down at the diamonds before he looked back up at Roy, "Do that and we split the diamonds, fifty/ fifty and then let me walk out of here a free man and in exchange, I tell you where Quintin is probably holding my brat and Stone."
"Go on." Roy encouraged the other man softly.
Brian smiled smugly as he leaned back on his seat and looked across the table at Roy. "Quintin told me about a place he had up in the Redwood National Park, some old log cabin, hidden deep in the redwood forest, right off the trail, that not many people know about, not even some of the rangers. He said it was a place where he uses to hide after a job to wait for the heat to die off. I'm betting that's where he is holding Steve now."
"Did he ever say what trail?"
Brian shook his head, "No, just said it's was way off the trail and that not many people even knew it was there, not even the rangers."
"And he said it was in the Redwood National Park not Yosemite? Are you sure?" Roy pushed harder.
"Yeah, he said it was in the Redwood National Park." Brian snapped.
"Thanks, that's all I need," Roy smiled as he quickly gathered up the diamonds, dropping them back into the small bag before he grabbed the file and headed towards the door.
"Hey, what about me and our deal?" Brian yelled as he turned around in his chair and watched Roy hurry out of the room.
Pausing at the door, Roy turned back and looked at him, "Did I say that I agreed to a deal? If I was you, I would start praying that your greed hasn't got either Steve or Mike Stone killed and that we find both alive. Because I promise you, that if anything has happened to either one of them, I will personally be the officer arresting you with their murders and I am sure it won't be hard for me to convince the DA to seek the death penalty.
SOSF SOSF SOSF
"Hang on Bill, he's just finished with the interrogation now." Lee told the inspector on the other end of the phone before holding up the phone down as he looked across the bullpen and waved Roy across as the lieutenant walked out of the interrogation room, "Phone call for you, Lieutenant, it's Tanner and he says he may have something."
Veering from heading towards Mike's office, Roy hurried across to Lee's desk and grabbed the phone, snapping a little more harshly than he intended as his anger from the interview with Keller spilled over, "What have you got for me, Bill?"
"Maybe our first real break in Mike's disappearance, Roy," Bill answered as he glanced across at the young ranger sitting across from the desk from him. "I spoke to one of the rangers who was on duty when Mike and Leeds signed into the park, he said Mike and Leeds arrived at the park late on Saturday night and that a second car containing two men signed in a few minutes later. He remembers the men and the second car because he was on a quick shift after signing off duty at ten, Saturday night, and was back on duty at six, Sunday morning, and thought it was strange when the second car left the park early in the morning. He remembered because he thought it was strange that the men only stayed overnight and then appeared to be in some sort of a hurry when they left the park. The ranger said that they were speeding so fast, that they fishtailed as they went through the gates and almost caused an accident."
"Have you got a description of the car and the men?"
"It was a light blue Rambler 1970 station wagon, California license plates- 5UMG719. I've already done a check and it was reported stolen from San Francisco about a week ago." Roy sighed loudly and turned back to stare at Keller who was still sitting in interrogation, waiting for him to arrange someone to take him down to booking and the holding cells as Bill continued, "But we got lucky, when the ranger described the two men who were driving the car and I recognized one of them by the description- Bobby Davids. I arrested him when I was in uniform, a real nut-job, has a rap sheet as long as your arm. I thought he was still serving his time in San Quintin, but he must have gotten out. He's real trouble Roy, likes to hire himself out as an enforcer for a fee. He has convictions for assault, assault with a deadly weapon, intimidation, grand theft auto, also suspected in several hits, but we have never been able to get enough evidence to pin the charges on him. So, I had a photo of Davids teletext to the ranger's station and the ranger was able to confirm that Davids was one of the men in the car. I've teletext the photo of Davids and a copy of his rap sheet to you, it should be coming through in a minute."
"Sounds like he was in a hurry after they grabbed Mike." Roy mused.
"That's what I thought. I've already placed a state-wide APB out on him and the car."
"What about the second man?"
"The ranger said that he didn't get a good look at him, he was in the passenger seat, but the ranger thought he could have been in his late 30's, dark hair, maybe had brown eyes and he noticed he had a scar on his left cheek starting just below the eye and ending near the corner of his mouth. Didn't recognize him but I've arranged for the ranger to work with one of the police artists from the Yosemite PD, hopefully, we will get an ID when they're done…"
"You might not need that sketch."
"Why?"
"Because it sounds like one of our suspects in Steve's disappearance- Sam Quintin. He's the link to both disappearances. I am about to send out a state-wide APB on him. I will send you a teletext photo of him, see if the ranger can confirm he was the second man in the car. Then I want you to head back to Redwood National Park, meet me at the ranger's station."
"Redwood? Why?"
"We just got some information that Mike and Steve may be being held in a cabin somewhere in Redwood park, not Yosemite."
"What do you want to do about the search for Mike's body?"
Roy paused, turning back towards Mike's office before he answered softly "Keep them searching, if this lead we have is a red herring and Mike's disappearance really was an accident and there's a chance that Mike's… if Mike is somewhere in Yosemite, I want him found."
"Ok, Roy," Bill answered as he heard the click of the call disconnecting in his ear.
Hanging up the phone as he heard the familiar chatter of keys from the teletext machine, Roy hurried across and watched as the black and white photo of the face of Quinten's partner slowly emerged. Ripping it free from the machine, he studied it silently as he waited for Davids' rap sheet to print out, before also tearing the lengthy arrest records and relevant information about Davids free from the machine. Glancing through the info as he walked back across the bullpen, Roy was not surprised to find that David's last jail incarceration was in San Quentin and he suspected most likely in the same cell block as Quintin and Keller.
Placing the grainy photo of Davids into the photocopier, Roy hit start as he found himself once again staring at the man sitting in the interrogation room, still unable to quite believe that this whole nightmare began because of his greed. No wonder why Steve never spoke about the man.
Grabbing the photocopy of the photo, Roy quickly lifted the lid of the machine and snagged the original teletext photo before he hurried into Mike's office and dropped Davids' rap sheet onto the desk. Turning, he grabbed his coat before he headed back to Lessing's desk, pausing only long enough to order, "Get a state-wide APB out on Sam Quintin, if he is spotted, I don't want him approached but he is to be followed and they are to contact me, either by radio or at ranger station at Redwood National Park."
"Will do, Lieutenant." Lee nodded as he reached for his phone.
"Also contact the rangers at the park, tell them that we have two possible kidnap victims being held in an isolated cabin in the park. If they see any unusual activity, I want them to hang back and just observe until I get there, I should be there in about two hours. Under no circumstances are they to tip anyone in the cabin off that the cabin is under surveillance."
"What about Keller?" Lee asked quietly as he cast a quick look towards the interrogation room.
"Book him." Roy growled angrily, glancing over his shoulder towards the interrogation room in disgust before he turned back and looked at his inspector, "Charge him with break and entering, receiving stolen goods, attempted bribery of a police officer, and conspiracy to commit the murder a police officer for starters. And let him know I will personally be bringing more charges against him when I get back, so he had better start praying I find both Steve and Mike alive and okay."
Lee nodded as Roy turned as he watched his lieutenant turn and hurry out of the bullpen before he dialled headquarters to place the APB.
SOSF SOSF SOSF
Mike was unable to stop the gasp of pain as Steve stumbled and they both fell heavily to the ground. Biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from passing out, Mike forced himself back up onto his knees as he tried to keep hold of the gun. Reaching again for Steve, he tried to ignore the agonizing pain that radiated from the wound in his side, flowering out through his torso, leaving him feeling nauseous and lightheaded as the voices and distinct sounds of someone crashing through the undergrowth grew louder and closer … too close.
Snagging Steve's still and silent form under the arms, he murmured, "Come on Buddy boy, just a little bit further," to the limp man as he tried to stand. He cried out in surprise, frustration and pain as his legs suddenly gave out beneath him and they crashed back down onto the ground.
"They have to be close, so shut up and keep an eye out, they can't be too far ahead!"
Lifting his head, Mike stared at the trees just behind them, his heart thumping painfully in his chest as he caught a small flash of yellow through the leaves. Time had run out, there was no time left for them to get away, even if they could run. Holding the gun tightly, Mike reached for his unconscious friend, grabbing Steve around the waist as he bodily threw himself and Steve under the thick ferns that surrounded them before he began to roll desperately trying to get them to safety and out of view. The solid ground beneath them suddenly disappeared and he found himself falling for what felt like an eternity with Steve still held tightly in his arms.