Matt walked into Hoyt's office and caught the detective scarfing down a breakfast taco with extra peppers.
Hoyt was about to take another bite when Matt walked in. Seeing the burrito and the guilty look on Hoyt's face he asked, "So you don't have an ulcer anymore, huh?"
Hoyt looked back at him annoyed and took a big bite and tried to get out, "Arrest me."
Matt smiled and asked, "So C.J. is down the hall talking to her client. I thought I would stop by to see if you've uncovered anything from the drawing of Chris' attacker or the partial plate from Saturday."
Hoyt nodded his head, moved some files around on his desk, pulled one out and handed it to Matt. He couldn't really say anything because he mouth was full.
Matt opened it and took one look at the drawing and recognized Stephen Telso. His eyes widened and started to say something but Hoyt interjected, "I know, it looks like its Telso. In fact he has a sedan with a license plate that starts with NTV. However, your bartender called the office this morning to say that he made a mistake, that it was so busy that night and that you threatened him so he just had a familiar face drawn to placate you. He said he serves that ST Farms Strawberry Wine all night long and just used that as his inspiration, if you will. Telso on the other hand, told the local police this morning that he has been out of town all weekend, vacationing off the coast and came home only to find someone had wrecked his car. He's filing a report as we speak with their police captain."
Matt slammed the file back on Hoyt's desk and ran his hand through his hair. "I'll have a little talk with our bartender and have him back here in a few minutes."
Hoyt stopped him as he reached for the door knob by saying, "He's out of town as of about 8 this morning. He decided to take a little trip to Mexico, Cancun to be precise."
Matt wanted so bad to hit something. "So we can't tie him to anything, huh. That's great. He gets to hurt Chris, rape her, and then just walk away like nothing happened. He gets to break into my home, threaten my wife and there's nothing anyone can do about it." He was practically yelling before he finished.
He rubbed his brow, trying to reign himself in. Hoyt walked over to him and closed the door, "Listen, Houston, you have to give us more time. We can get this guy. Maybe C.J. will be able to get something out of Gonzales down the hall there and we will have more we can go on."
Matt took a deep breath and said, "I sure hope so, because I'm telling you now…if Telso makes good on his threat and comes after her, I'll kill him." Matt looked Hoyt right in the eye when he said it and then walked out of his office, slamming the door behind him. He went out to his car and called Uncle Roy just to check on Chris again. Then he started pacing. He knew telling a police lieutenant he planned to kill someone probably wasn't the best idea he ever had, but in the heat of that moment, he knew he meant it. C.J. would probably yell at him later for it, but it didn't matter. If Telso so much as laid one hand on her, he'd kill him with his bare hands.
Matt passed Ricardo in the hallway being led back to his cell by two officers after he finally made his way back in after calming down outside. C.J. was shaking Guillermo's hand and thanking him for his help. Matt could read in her eyes that she had discovered something and it frightened her. She slipped her hand around his waist and he did the same for her and they walked in silence out to his car.
He asked, "Where are going?"
She looked at him and simply said, "The penthouse, we need a map of Stephen Telso's winery."
They drove in silence to their office. They walked past Chris' empty desk and both just stopped for a second before going in. C.J. turned on Baby and Matt called Uncle Roy just to check on Chris from the bar. She was fine and they were playing cards. He told Matt they might take a walk later.
C.J. pulled up an aerial photograph of the Telso winery. Matt walked over to join her on the couch and noticed she was clearly looking for something in particular so he asked, "What are we looking for?"
She looked down for a second. The entire ride over she kept thinking about what Ricardo had told her. She understood now why Bob had taken the case and what it was he wanted to uncover. Stephen Telso was a brutal man and he was going to bring him down. But Bob was in the hospital and she feared that if she told Matt everything, he might be put in danger too. Telso would clearly suspect she knew more than he wanted, but probably wouldn't suspect Matt knew anything unless he did something to reveal that.
She wrestled with this all the way to the penthouse. She and Matt were married now, and she did not plan to keep another secret from him ever again. They made a pact after the last case to communicate and not hold anything back and she didn't want to be the one to break it. Still, would it matter if Matt got hurt or worse, killed? No, she had to tell him.
So she started, "We are looking for a graveyard and a small hill."
Matt's eyes widened, "What do you mean a graveyard? C.J. what did Ricardo tell you exactly?"
C.J. turned to face him and took a deep breath, "I'm not really sure where to begin. Ricardo did assault Sheryl Marx that night. Telso ordered him to. You see, he can't do it himself because of his medical condition. He wanted Ricardo to drug her and put her in Telso's delivery van so he could take her…"
C.J. swallowed hard and closed her eyes. Matt put his arms around her and said, "I'm right here, honey. Just take a deep breath. It's ok."
Matt released her when she nodded and then tried to continue, "He keeps them in a hidden room in the storage facility. He wants to control them, in every way, psychologically, physically….when he's done he kills them. Ricardo is terrified of him, most of the workers are. You see he travels frequently to Mexico and he recruits people. He tells them about the better life they can expect working for him, that he can house and take care of them. But, he hurts them. Because they aren't documented he thinks he can kill them and just bury them and get away with it. In fact that was how things worked until about 5 years ago, when one of the workers stood up to him. She was supposed to be his secretary and he took her into that room. The other workers fought back and now he won't attack the women working for him, but comes into L.A. He's killed ten women in front of Ricardo to scare him in just the last 2 years."
Matt closed his eyes for a second and then added, "He just pays people off on the outside. That's keeps the local cops away and lets him get away with murder. He's probably the one who paid Kyle Smith that $20,000. Roy and I hacked in to Pepperdine's computers and found that the sealed case was when he and his frat house went streaking across campus. The bartender that could identify him at the bar watching Chris just decided to take a trip to Cancun. He's paying off his loose ends."
C.J. nodded and looked at her hands, "He's gotten away with it for so long. Ricardo says Telso will target someone and then send him out. He can't carry them himself so he needs Ricardo. He said he always goes after women he calls throwaways."
That term brought back memories for both Matt and C.J. of Butterfly. That was the case where a homeless teenager sought Matt and C.J.'s help to rescue her little sister Butterfly before she got caught up in a prostitution ring. The police called runaways, throwaways. They never were put high on the priority list by the police if something happened to him. That left them vulnerable to people like Telso and it allowed him to operate and stalk his victims and remain aloof for how many years now?
Matt then asked, "But, Sheryl Marx wasn't a runaway…she was a singer and people would notice if she went missing….why would he go after her?"
C.J. looked up at Matt, "I think he's emboldened now. I think since he has gotten away with it for as long as he has, with his wealth, he thinks he can do anything he wants. Ricardo said that he called her irresistible. Apparently he takes photographs of his victims and gives them to Ricardo so he knows who to go after." She looked back at the screen and said, "Ricardo told him it was getting too dangerous but that Telso assured him that he was a respected member of a refined community and that no one cared what he did with women he took, that they were disposable. He's an animal Matt, and he needs to be brought down."
Matt agreed but watched his wife closely, he had never seen her quite like this before. He rubbed her back and tried to reassure her, "We will get him and then he's going away for life."
Even though Matt said that, he wasn't so sure he would be able to let the guy walk away and looking at his wife, he wasn't so sure she would either.