Chapter 9

I was so thankful for the sat nav because I would never have been able to find my way to the address. Washington Street didn't seem too bad as an area, but what did I know. As I sat in my car parked outside Action4kids I googled the area.

South Dorchester is a dangerous Boston neighborhood with a total crime rate of 3,295 per 100,000 which is 142% higher than the Massachusetts state average. While violent crime does occur in this neighborhood, most of the crime is related to property crime. However, violent crime is still prevalent, with assaults and robberies happening sporadically. It is advised to stay aware of your surroundings and use common sense if you are passing through South Dorchester.

That had me looking up and around the area where I was parked. It certainly wasn't anywhere near as bad as Stark Street but then again, I was on a main road. I hesitated in reaching for the gun that was locked inside the glove compartment. Did I want to be carrying it inside a building where children and adults went to for help? No, not really. The car was locked as I made my way over to the front door and I prided myself on how I kept looking around for any signs of danger. Once inside the red bricked building I was aware of an older man who looked up from the desk that he was working at. Maybe I'd come in through the wrong door.

"Can I help you?"

I was hearing a lot of noise coming from the door behind him so assumed that was where most of the children would be.

"I came here because I'm trying to track the movements for Lisa Harcourt and was wondering if you could remember when she was last here"

He obviously had known Lisa because the look that he gave me wasn't exactly friendly.

"Oh yeah, and who wants to know"

I couldn't blame him for being suspicious of me but come on, I was trying to find her.

"Her father. I work for a private investigator and Lisa's father wants to know more about his daughter and her life"

I hadn't meant to sound so stern, it had just come out like that. What I'd said was true and I already knew more about Lisa from Josie than any reports could have told me.

"I've just been talking to Josie, and she told me that the two women did some voluntary work here with the children"

"That they did. Such a waste of a truly angelic woman. We didn't know what had happened to her. We get volunteers who can't hack it here and don't come back but those two, they really made a difference to some of our kids. What do you want to know?"

I smiled as he gave me that answer because it showed just how much Lisa and Josie had been appreciated here.

"The last time that Lisa was here, was it the usual time and was she on her own or with Josie?"

His eyebrows shot up as though I'd asked for the impossible, but I didn't want to prompt him with a date. I wanted to know if Lisa had come here on the day that she'd disappeared. As I waited, I watched as the man pulled open a drawer and removed a book.

"Everyone has to sign in when they come here so I should be able to give you your answer"

I knew that Lisa had disappeared just over four months ago on January 6th, but I waited patiently as the man turned the pages.

"I remember when we heard that she'd disappeared. It must have been just after Christmas. Never did hear or see Josie again. Poor lass must have been devastated. Ah, here it is. She was here on her own. Nothing written down for Josie"

I was ready to move forward and grab the book from his hands if he didn't hurry up and just tell me the date.

"12pm on January 6th with her signing out at 4pm"

"Could I take a photo of that for my records?"

Just came out because it was the proof that I needed to confirm that she'd been here. The man turning the book toward me was all that I needed before I was taking my phone out and stepping forward.

"Just her information. We keep a tight ship on confidentiality"

I nodded my head as I focused in on the line where Lisa had signed herself in and out of the center. As I put my phone away, I stayed close to the desk because there were other things that I wanted to know, and this man might be able to help me.

"At that time of year, it would have been dark outside and I, err, I'm sure it wouldn't have been safe for Lisa to be walking very far. Is there a bus stop that she could have used to get her into the city from here?"

"Always buses. But you're right not an area for a pretty lass to be out on her own. I don't know how she got into the city. Only two ways really from here. Bus or taxi"

I had what I needed so after thanking the gentleman I quickly made my way over to my car. Talking of getting dark, that was exactly what was happening now, so I wanted to leave this area and get back home. I'd just put on my seatbelt and was about to push the start button for the engine when a knock on my window nearly had me jumping out of the seat. After giving a small shriek I was turning toward where the sound had come from to see a face pressed up against the glass. I was about to scream at them to piss off when I realized that the face that belonged to the squashed nose was that of a young kid. I tentatively pushed the knob to lower the window a few inches whilst I watched what she would do. Was she there to try and rob me or even worse did she have a posse of friends ready to steal the car.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you"

At least she was saying the right things for me to calm down, but I wasn't ready to lower the window any further.

"What's wrong?"

Thinking that maybe she was after a lift somewhere. My eyes were darting back and forth between the mirrors just to be sure that no one else was creeping up on me.

"Nothing. It's just that I overheard you talking to Mr Grumps inside"

Okay, so how was that of any interest to this kid. She looked to be a young teenager but with the hood of her jacket pulled up it was hard to get a good look at her face.

"I liked Lisa. She was such a help sorting out the mess that me and my sister were in. I kinda miss her. That day when she were here, she came just for me. So I owe her. I saw her come outside. Me and my sis were leaving by the side door an I was gonna go talk to her, thank her, you know. I stayed back 'cos she were on the phone. Then this taxi pulled up. Never did get a chance to talk to her. Is she really dead?"

I was internalizing what she'd told me, but her last question really threw me. Was Lisa dead. Probably. I didn't want to be so blunt and just say yes, yet I didn't want to give the young kid any false hopes.

"She disappeared that day and hasn't been seen since. It doesn't look good"

"So why's you asking around?"

Good question for a kid so young and at that moment I knew that she was far more world widely than I gave her credit for.

"To find out what happened to her. That way her family and friends will have an answer"

"Like my dad. He walked out on us an I think everyday where he went"

"Yeah, something like that"

This kid, she had been the last person to see Lisa, well apart from the taxi driver. I needed some more info from her as to what the cab looked like.

"That taxi, what did it look like. Was it one that normally worked around here?"

Probably a long shot. Hell, it had been four months ago so I doubted that she'd remember anything. I was right because all that I got was a shrug of the shoulders. So was Banning a regular around here?

"Did you used to get a man in a red truck in the neighborhood collecting bottles and cans?"

"Nah. The center, they have this deal with some of the young kids. They pay them for collecting things like that and then Mr Grumps and another worker take it away"

So not an area where Banning would have been welcome. I wasn't sure what else the girl could tell me, but it was obvious that she wasn't about to move from against the car. I opened the small holder at the front of the car and pulled out $20, passing it out to her through the gap. Yep, that was what she was waiting for. I didn't mind and at least I'd gained some information and she'd moved away from the car. As I started the engine and pulled forward onto the street, I watched behind me as she gave me a wave.

Following the directions to get back to my apartment gave me time to think. Why had the FBI assumed that Lisa had gone missing close to her apartment, was it because that red truck that belonged to Banning was seen in the area and that Banning knew Lisa? It made sense to follow up on him and Banning was definitely involved with women going missing. Hell, the evidence that they'd found at his home confirmed that Lisa had been there and that made for a convincing case against him. From what I'd discovered today Banning wasn't the one to take her which meant that there was definitely an accomplice involved. An accomplice who knew Banning.

That accomplice must have been scared shitless when the FBI picked up Banning. Hell, that was one hell of a coincidence. Then there was Lisa's phone. Had no one pulled up the records for any calls that she'd made or received on that day? It was bugging me that the police and then the FBI had been so sloppy with their investigations. Then again, they had their evidence and a confession, a straight forward case as far as they were concerned. As far as they were concerned Banning was probably responsible for the many other women who had died or were missing.

Pulling into the parking space I was anxious to get to the office. I wanted to explain to the others what I'd learnt and hoped that they would be as keen as me to get some answers. I didn't bother to go up to my apartment instead I made for the track that led me to the office, oblivious to how much I hated it, especially in the dark.

As I came out of the opening, I was moving pretty fast, maybe my subconscious had taken charge. The problem was that I ran straight into someone, taking us both down onto the ground.

"Annie, what the hell? Are you okay?"

Sitting up I was looking at Oscar who was crouched down next to me. He extended his hand to me which I gratefully took as he pulled me up and onto my feet.

"Sorry. I hate that alleyway"

"Yeah, it's not exactly inviting, especially at night. You on your way to the office?"

I nodded my head as I looked down at the state of my hands and knees that had hit the ground so hard.

"Let's get those cleaned up"

Came from Oscar who had obviously noticed what I was looking at. I followed him into the building and into the elevator glad of the silence because I was trying to gather my thoughts.

"I found out some things today. Things about Lisa"

I was surprised that Oscar didn't respond or ask me what I'd learnt. Instead as the doors opened, he led me to the far side of the room and had me sit down on the low leather couch. A minute later he'd opened a drawer by the side of me and pulled out a first aid kit.

"So, what did you find out? We did wonder where you'd got to"

I watched as Oscar pulled out a sterile wipe and as he gently took my hand began to clean away the dirt and gravel. I suppose that he was right, I hadn't told anyone where I was going, but then again Oscar and Jonas weren't there and Jex was deep into what he was doing.

"I suppose with everyone being busy and us not having our morning meeting"

I stopped there because I felt as though I'd been wrong just following my instincts. I wasn't used to having to inform someone where I was going.

"Okay, but in future it's important that you let someone know where you're going. I'll give you my number so that next time you can text me"

If I'd just been told off, then at least Oscar had been diplomatic about it. What had me confused was why he was so concerned for me. Thinking about it Oscar had insisted that he stayed close when Kiera and I had gone to that nightclub. Was he keeping tabs on me or was it a protocol that I hadn't read up on. Regardless, I wanted Oscar to know what I'd discovered so ploughed on with my explanation for being out of the office.

"I wanted to know more about the women who had disappeared, especially Lisa. After reading the reports and doing a search on her it felt so, impersonal. So I went to see Josie, the woman that she shared an apartment with. Did you know that those two were in love, a couple?"

That had Oscar looking up at me which told me that he hadn't known.

"Josie told me about them, how the lockdowns had affected them. Even after, they rarely went anywhere and had only just begun to venture out and mingle with people as a couple. They went to bars and restaurants and even to that club, The Cat's Whiskers"

I took a breath as I remembered how upset Josie had been when I'd asked about the red truck and the owner. It was as if she was annoyed because they'd helped him out, that by doing that it had led to Lisa's disappearance. Maybe it had.

"They knew Elijah. They collected bottles and cans from the building for him so maybe that was partly the reason that the FBI jumped on seeing his red truck down from where they lived. Anyway, Josie also told me that they volunteered at this kids outreach place, so I went there. Oscar, she was there that afternoon. I saw the signing in book. She left at 4 to go meet up with Josie for a meal close to where Josie worked, and a teenager saw her get into a taxi"

I waited for Oscar to say something, but the silence was killing me. Didn't he believe me?

"I don't know what to say. Well, I do. Could Lisa have walked down the street and seen Banning? Of course she could have. But if what you're saying is right then why was she seen there?"

"To catch a bus to the kid's center"

It made perfect sense to me.

"Oscar was there a record of her calls from her phone because the teenager said she saw Lisa on her phone"

I wasn't even sure that Oscar was listening to me properly with his next comment.

"But Banning admitted to killing those women and their clothes were found there along with those bodies"

I knew that, which was why I was so confused. I really needed to reread and listen to the videos that we had from the psychiatrist when he'd interviewed Banning.

"There has to be someone else that was involved"

I added, knowing that I'd said that before. Maybe I'd be taken seriously now. And maybe that someone was responsible for knocking me out and setting fire to those journals. There had to have been something in them that someone didn't want me to find.

"That's a lot of information Annie. Tomorrow we'll start to unravel it. It's late and I bet that you haven't eaten"

He said that with a smile because I was sure that he'd heard my stomach rumble. He was right though. I was hungry and tomorrow I'd be able to plan out with the rest of team what to do next.

"I have a great pizza sat in my fridge and maybe some fries in the freezer"

Damn, I never had got to a grocery shop to restock on my food supply, so his offer sounded good. My hands and knees were clean, and Oscar had returned the first aid box to the drawer. I had no idea where Oscar lived but unlike me, I never asked, instead I was following him out of the office.

Surprise kept me quiet as Oscar took the path toward Jonas's house. Surely he didn't live in the house did he? Nope, because he led the way past the house to what I assumed was the other corner of the property. Seeing a two story building I was full of questions but it seemed that Oscar was ready to fill me in.

"This place belongs to Jonas. Jex has the top floor and I have the ground floor. The two apartments are probably similar in size and layout to where you live"

After going through a door at the corner of the building I was seeing the stairs that led upstairs, so at least the guys had some privacy. Oscar was right, the inside of his apartment had the same layout as mine and even similar furnishings. As Oscar made his way to the kitchen, I wandered around the living area. Huh, I was looking at a home of the man who I worked with, and he had very few personal items on display.

"Beer or coffee?"

Turning to Oscar I watched as he placed a pizza and tray of fries into the oven. Did I want a beer or coffee, decisions, decisions.

"Beer, please"

I replied as I took a seat on the leather couch. A few minutes later Oscar handed me a glass with the beer inside. I was used to drinking out of the bottle, so the gesture surprised me. Oscar sat opposite me with his beer obviously unsure of what to say. Yeah, this sure was an awkward situation.

"Annie. You realize that you've blown this whole case out of the water"

I wasn't sure how to take that. I hadn't meant to. All I'd been doing was to discover more about Lisa to learn why she had been targeted. At this stage I was pretty sure that I was frowning.

"Hey, I wasn't saying that it's a bad thing. You know when Jonas told us that he was bringing in a woman as part of the team, Jex and I had our reservations. Don't get me wrong, I've worked with some very competent women, but I couldn't figure you out. The way that you would focus onto something, that to be honest we both felt at the time was a waste of effort. But somehow you seem to have an uncanny sense for ferreting out what's important"

"My spidey sense"

Just came out because what he'd said to me was how I'd always puzzled things out. I wasn't sure how it worked or if it was just me and how I looked at things.

"Spidey sense. I like that. So how does it work?"

Gees, how was I ever going to explain it. Only two people had ever acknowledged or taken it seriously, my grandma and Ranger.

"I don't know. I just know that I have to follow a certain lead, even if it does seem a weird way of doing things. So finding Banning's mother, I just knew that it was important"

The sound of a timer going off interrupted what we were talking about which was probably a good thing. I dreaded someone asking me what work I'd done in the past. Was I ashamed of that? No because regardless of the methods that I'd used, I'd always been successful. I suppose it was the reputation from the media and the gossip in the Burg that I hated.

I watched as Oscar served out the pizza and fries onto two plates and as he walked over to me.

"Bon appetite"

Were his words as he handed me my plate. I have to admit that the contents did smell good so was soon following Oscar's example of using my fingers to eat with. Once finished and with the empty plate sat on the coffee table, I finished the beer in my glass. I was beginning to feel awkward being here on my own with Oscar. I liked him but for some reason I didn't fancy him. There was no feeling of attraction on my part. It was definitely time to go.

"Thanks for the food Oscar and for hearing me out. I need to get back to my apartment and write a report for Jonas for tomorrow"

Which I did have to do, but I also knew that I had to get some laundry done before I ran out of clothes to wear.

"I'll walk you back"

Standing, I was about to object to him having to walk me back to my apartment, sheesh, it was only around the corner. Oscar standing up and leading me to the door left me with little option but to accept his offer. Surprisingly I was quiet as we walked back, maybe because I felt that Oscar had gone into protective mode. With his hand on my back, I did appreciate the action but at the same time it brought back so many memories of when Ranger would use that gesture. The problem was that I felt no interest in Oscar nope, not even an attraction. Yeah, he was good looking, he was polite yet honest. Probably everything that I would look for in a man. But he wasn't the one for me. Ranger had definitely ruined me for all other men, and it was going to take a long time to get him out of my system. After thanking Oscar, I was quick to ascend the steps and get into my apartment. Doors were locked and windows checked before I went through to the bedroom. First priority was the laundry so while the machine did its magic, I went through to the room that I used as an office.

I spent a lot of time on my report for Jonas. The information that I'd discovered was important, so it needed to be presented in a clear and concise way, leaving no room for misinterpretation. Once satisfied with what I'd produced I wrote a second document, this one contained possible ways forward and questions that were puzzling me. By one in the morning, I'd the printed sheets and they were in a folder ready for the morning. I had clean clothes and bed sheets. Tomorrow I'd change the bed and put the clothes away. I was whapped and ready to sleep.

I was fast asleep and then I wasn't. My heart was beating way too fast as I lay there in the darkness. What the hell was it that was waking me up? A look at the clock told me that it was 3.30 in the morning. Was it me, did I have some kind of internal alarm? Even as I was talking to myself, I knew that it wasn't working. There had definitely been something that had woken me up.

I went through the same ritual as before, listening intently before daring to move. The light by my bed went on but as sat up I knew it was futile looking. I checked the whole apartment, this time with my gun in my hand. Though had there been anyone luring in the shadows or even in the shower I wasn't sure that I could shoot someone. Sighing I pulled back the safety catch and put the gun down on the kitchen counter. I needed coffee and lots of it because there was no way I was going to get back to sleep.