Chapter 21

Townsend was looking at the one in the room. “You hid them well enough. These don’t look disturbed. No one would know they were there short of a search.” One of the techs came back and handed Townsend the papers. He jumped to the last page after a whispered conversation with the tech. “This will make it easier.” He waved the paper toward another detective. “Have units standing by. They may be all together or not. We will need warrants for each and their locations. We don’t want to lose them if we find them.”

Jason watched and hoped it was as good as it looked. LA was a big city and just because they had the ids didn’t mean they had the bodies attached to them. His hand twitched and he thought to make a call. He didn’t have his phone since they had yet to return it. The urge to get involved faded, slightly.

Townsend got a call just as the group was breaking up and spent another ten minutes off talking.

All Jason heard was the last of the conversation.

“Yes, commissioner, I will tell him. I had already planned on it.” He came to a stop and handed Jason his phone.

“I don’t see any reason to keep you. Still, keep local just in case something comes up. Personally, I don’t think you had anything to do with this, but we still have to follow the evidence to be sure.”

“I have no intention of going anywhere, detective. I have my work to attend that is out of the city, but I’m sure you can talk with the military police to find me if needed.”

Townsend considered whatever was on his mind but stepped out of the way. “One more thing,” he said as Jason stepped closer to the door. “If you are half the cop that I’ve been told about, I would say you are thinking of doing some investigating on your own. Don’t. Let us handle this.”

“I won’t impede your investigation, Detective,” Jason stopped at the door. “If you would be so kind as to call the techs you have searching my car to be sure they have my key and that all the luminol is dry. I hate getting it on my clothes.”

He walked away before Townsend could respond but could sense the befuddled look. It took a few minutes to get to the next set of elevators, and the officer waited for clearance over the radio before letting him leave. It felt like the longest elevator ride ever with the silent office that rode down with him.

He took long breaths once outside. He had seen a share of blood in various aspects of all his jobs. It wasn’t that bothering him. It was the ton of what-ifs circling his mind.

He made it to the parking lot and the officers. “I trust it’s all clean and ready,” he said as the tech held out his key.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, sure. First on the scene gives you access to the car, free and clear, and you don’t look for any blood or other evidence? Not likely. Just as long as you didn’t damage my kit contents and that luminal is dry, it is expected.”

The tech was embarrassed he was expecting anger not understanding, even from a cop. “We were hoping to be done before you got released. We couldn’t find a thing. Not even a crumb on the floor. They said you are a cop. Most cops have some sign of food or something.”

“Coffee cups usually, as my friend usually complains about. Occasionally, there is a wrapper here and there as I grab something going to work. But I found a school near Ellsworth and Madison. They have the kids doing weekend car washes, and they do an excellent job. I take it to them once every couple of weeks unless something happens. They have all the equipment to do a job inside and out. I just took it to them yesterday. They have raised funds for the art programs and the gym and two of the sports teams.”

“I’ll have to check it out. My wife’s car could use a good cleaning,” the tech sidestepped and started back inside. The officer was nodding and followed.

Jason put the hotel behind him as he drove away. It wasn’t easy but he wasn’t a part of the LA police and he couldn’t get involved any other way without some issues coming in from it.

The police did a good job of keeping his name out of the papers. He didn’t tell Selena anything about it. He did go to see Ruby a few times. Even after surgery, she was not doing much better. Ruby’s sister had arrived and told the doctors that it was okay for him to visit. She told him the details that the police didn’t. What they did to Ruby and her husband was sadistic and insane. Even the baby would not come unscarred.

For two weeks, he went to school and worked with Selena. He checked on Ruby every day, whether by visiting or texting her sister, Joy. They had to revive her twice. That got him into a mood, and he did some checking around about the people involved. Few spoke, and none that did had a good thing to say. And all feared these people. The one thing he hadn’t done was look at the footage. He had made the system send it to a cloud storage as a backup. Paranoia or habit, he didn’t know which. He knew himself and knew if he saw what they did, he wouldn’t stop himself from taking them out.

He dropped Selena off and went to visit Ruby. Joy was there but looking very tired and unkempt.

“I know you won’t sleep, but you should go and eat something better than hospital food, get a shower, and change,” he told her after a few minutes.

“I can’t leave her alone. Our parents can’t get here; we just don’t have the money to. Someone needs to be here for her.”

“I will stay until you can get back. Take a rest if you can; I have nowhere to be.” He let her be and just stared out the window. He had enough information on the people involved. He knew that the police had been trying to build a case against them for three years.

“I do look a mess, don’t I.” she was older than Ruby, thinner despite the two kids she had, and had long blond hair that was barely in a bun. She was divorced and staying with her parents until she could get back on her feet. They were in Oklahoma City. “She would call a few times a week and she spoke about you often. She said you were very nice. Thank you. I will be back as fast as I can.”

An hour later a nurse brought him a cup of coffee as another checked on Ruby. They didn’t speak, beyond the basic hello and how is everything. They just did what they came to and left.

“I’m sorry, Ruby.” He was looking out the window again. It was something he rarely got to do. “This is my fault. I can’t fix it, and I can’t change it. I should have sent them to jail from the start.”

He lost track of time as he looked out the window. He couldn’t see the stars. What he could see were the planes and helicopters that streaked the sky. Even the hospital’s helicopter had flown out and back in. He heard a slight horse whisper and nearly dropped the coffee.

“Not...” Ruby croaked out. Her eyes were still closed, but her lips moved slightly. “Not fault.” She managed.

“Don’t talk Ruby,” he rushed to her. “I need a doctor in here,” he turned and shouted as well as pushed the call button.

“Wasn’t just them,” she continued. “Others,” she said just as a wave of people came in and pushed him out the door.

Jason tried to focus. He couldn’t see much as they worked with Ruby. He sent a message to Townsend telling him what happened. He got back a thank you and a reminder that they were handling the case.

Jason was angered but then felt stupid. With the video, they knew that there were others involved. He wasn’t telling them anything new. There was more to this crime family. He missed something in their organization.

He hadn’t known the situation with Ruby’s parents. He didn’t want to press for any information from Joy, not knowing the reactions he would get. He made a couple of calls as he waited for the doctors to vacate the room. They were still coming and going forty minutes later when Joy returned.

“Jason, you won’t believe this. My parents are coming. A messenger came ten minutes ago. Somehow, a man in New York City heard about what happened. He knew the entire situation. He has offered to bring them here for free. He’s a pilot with his own plane. He makes trips here every week, but he’s just changing the time he would be coming. Isn’t that great?” She was so happy about the news that she didn’t look in the room. “And to make it even better, there’s a housing unit nearby that has offered to put them up until Ruby is released. They even said I can stay there. They could barely talk, and they were so happy. Mom is already planning to make Mr. Sorlini a big dinner.”

Jason smiled. He knew Tino wouldn’t readily accept that. He may have to give in eventually unless he can think of something short of the truth. Tino wasn’t the wealthiest person around, but he had several private charter planes that served some who were wealthy. He was an older man but wouldn’t know it by the way he acted. Tino started with nothing and worked for everything he got. But he never forgot to give back. This wasn’t the first time he or one of his pilots would do a charity flight. He also didn’t say anything about the housing being ten miles away, but a town car was ready with a driver to take them wherever they needed.

Joy finally calmed enough to realize he was in the hall and there were doctors in the room. “What?”

Jason smiled. “She woke for a few minutes. They have been running whatever tests they do. All I’ve been told is she’s stable.”

Joy didn’t react as he thought. She got happier. “Our parents are coming, and she’s waking. This is good, Jason. I didn’t think people would be so generous.”

“There are many out there. Just not enough resources for every situation that happens. Sometimes, they just need to pick and choose. Maybe that is why it has taken this long for them to arrange things.” He looked through the doors a moment. “Have you checked on your niece and brother-in-law?”

Joy’s smile faded. “Calvin is sedated. The surgery went well, but he has a long way to go before he will recover. The physical injury is bad enough, but it’s compounded by the mental challenges ahead of him and Ruby. It will change their relationship forever.” She brightened a second later. “Ruth is doing fine. She is healthy, and thankfully, the bastards didn’t do anything to her directly. If they hadn’t got to her when they did, the blood loss would have killed both her and her mother.”

Jason offered to go get some food. She wasn’t starving but she was able to eat. Mostly he wanted to get out and get some fresh air. It could help him think things through. They were in the waiting room when the doctors came in. Jason was already standing when Joy said to stay.

“She’s stabilized. She’s sedated for the time being. Her injuries were severe. Excited movements could cause her to open the wounds internally or externally. We will keep her monitored. She will be kept under for at least twelve hours. You should go and rest. The nursing staff has contact information should there be any changes.”

Jason offered to take Joy to where she was staying and even to take her to the housing unit. She was thankful and didn’t take long to gather her things and check out. she was paying a daily rate motel. The housing unit was a thousand times better.

Six days. Jason spent the day with Selena and school stuff. Half the nights he spent at the hospital with Joy. Her parents arrived the second day and were there when they stopped sedating Ruby. All in all, Ruby was recovering. Jason stayed away a few more days just so it would be them.

Selena had talked him into a movie night. She wanted to do something other than schoolwork. He didn’t mind. He could watch just about any type of movie. He didn’t care for horror movies as much, but he tolerated them when he had to. Selena opted for the action-comedy that was playing. He had taken her to dinner after and was just dropping her off when he got the message from Kent.

“You won’t like it, but a heads up. there was a fire at the DA’s office, and the police evidence was locked up. It’s clearly arson, but so far, there are no leads to who, but speculation is going. Jason, all the evidence for Ruby’s case is gone. The DA has to release them. He can’t keep them on your statement alone.”

He was just about to send another copy of the video when he got a call from Joy. She was sobbing and gulping air. “Jason, Ruby’s dead. She had been resting fine but then went into convulsions. They won’t know the cause until they do an autopsy. I have to deal with my parents and the doctors. I’ll let you know anything when I know it.”

She didn’t let him speak; she just hung up. He sent her a message. “I’m sorry. Please let me know if there is anything I can do.” She didn’t respond, and he didn’t expect one.

Jason didn’t sleep. He downloaded the video to his computer and it sat there not played. He had told Ruby he wouldn’t watch it. He hadn’t. Even after he hadn’t because he knows if he did, he would have acted. He didn’t want to interfere with the investigation, leaving it to the police to do their work.

The text he got from Joy the next morning was too much. “They told Calvin about Ruby. He committed suicide sometime this morning. He dug the stitches out of his injury.”

Ruby had mentioned Calvin had no family but her and the coming baby. It was too coincidental for him. He sat and watched the video from where six men broke into the room. He was angered more and more. But his stomach twisted. He had seen things in life, but these men were sadistic.

Jason called Tino to arrange for a transport to get Ruby to her home. It wasn’t needed. Tino already knew and had started the search for a large enough plane. He also told Joy that he was going to help them with the funeral expenses. That explained a few things.