Bad News Travels
- Автор: Суэйн Джеймс
- Серия: Lancaster & Daniels #3
- Год: 2020
- Язык: английский
- Год: Thomas & Mercer
- ISBN: 978-1-5420-1644-5
- Жанр: Триллеры
Электронная книга - «Bad News Travels». Краткое содержание книги:
No sooner do they arrive than suspicions are aroused. There’s the pair of Russians who seem to be watching every move the family makes. A final, cryptic phone call Martin Daniels made to his granddaughter. Strange blood evidence on his estate. More than $1 million missing from Martin’s account. And his cell phone, wiped clean, along with clues to a double life. To Beth, it’s disturbingly clear: the man she loved was a stranger.
As she and Jon delve into Martin’s past, they have no idea where the secrets will take them. Or how dangerous it will be to expose the conspiracies, the cover-ups, and the terrible truths of Martin’s life — and death.
“She got him dead to rights,” Jon said.
The meeting ended, and the others left without a word. Her father slipped the cell phone into his pocket. His world was falling apart, and he didn’t know what to do.
The chairperson came around the table. They were the last two people in the room. She seemed to share her father’s pain, and put her hand upon his shoulder.
“Martin, you need to get help,” she said.
“It’s not what you think,” her father repeated.
“The cat is out of the bag. We all know about your problem with pornography. You’ve let it invade your professional life, and it’s going to ruin you,” she said.
“It’s not—”
“Stop making excuses, damn it.” She took a business card from her purse and stuck it into his hand. “This is a therapist that I know. Get some help, before this addiction destroys your life. It’s for your own good.”
“I don’t have an addiction,” her father protested.
“I’m not blind, Martin,” she said. “Please, get some help.”
Her father slipped the card into his breast pocket without looking at it. The chairperson shook her head and left. The door slammed loudly behind her.
Her father gathered his things. Then he, too, was gone.
The screen went dark.
Chapter 27
Lancaster stared at Beth. “Your father looked tortured in that video.”
“That’s exactly what I thought,” she said.
“I’m no shrink, but his behavior doesn’t fit the profile of a porn addict,” he said.
“Are you speaking from experience?”
“Hardly. I worked the night shift as a beat cop. There was another cop who I shared a patrol car with who was addicted to porn. He used to sneak away and watch videos on his cell phone on break. He never did it in the open.”
“Your partner hid his addiction.”
“That’s right. And he was good at it.”
“My father was watching a porno in a board meeting. It was like he was oblivious to the danger he was putting himself in. It doesn’t make sense.”
They had hit another wall, and they both fell silent. They were missing something important. Martin’s problem was right there in front of their faces, yet his motivation still remained unclear.
Beth’s cell phone lit up. Special Agent Phillips calling. She let the call go into voice mail, then played his message so they could both hear it.
“Call me right away,” Erce said. “Jon Lancaster has been up to his usual tricks.”
Lancaster glanced at his watch. A little over an hour had passed since he’d smacked around Sykes and his posse. Bad news traveled fast in these parts.
Beth turned on the car before calling Erce back. Her phone’s Bluetooth connected to the car’s sound system, and they listened to the call go through over the car’s speakers.
Phillips answered on the first ring.
“Hey Erce, it’s Beth. I’m driving in my car. What’s up?” she said.
“Have you spoken to Jon Lancaster recently?” Phillips asked.
“No,” she lied. “What’s going on?”
“The Saint Augustine Police Department released an official statement a few minutes ago,” he said. “It seems that three uniformed officers and a detective were attempting to subdue a homeless guy when the homeless guy jumped them. One of the cops got his face rearranged, and another has a broken knee. The homeless guy also stole their weapons, and drove off in one of their vehicles. They gave a description of the assailant, and are asking other law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout.”
“One homeless guy took down four cops? How does that work?”
“The statement was vague on the details.”
“Who is this guy — John Rambo?”
“That’s what the Saint Augustine cops made it sound like. Between you and me, I think your buddy Lancaster is responsible, and the story is a coverup.”
“Really. Why do you think that?”
“Most of the homeless population in Saint Augustine have drug and alcohol addictions. There’s no way a drunk, or a druggie, could pull off what these cops are claiming. And Lancaster’s an ex-SEAL with a history of confrontation. The guy has no fear. I’ll bet you a beer he was responsible for roughing up these cops.”
“Does J. T. know about this?”
“Not yet.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
“I have to. J. T. ordered me to report any suspicious activity that might be linked to Lancaster. If I don’t send him the statement, he’ll be all over my ass.”
“Got it. Please remind J. T. that Lancaster is running solo here.”
“I’ll be sure to do that.”
She thanked Erce for keeping her in the loop, and disconnected. Lancaster smiled to himself. Sykes and his goons had just painted themselves into a corner, and he realized that it couldn’t have played out any better if he’d scripted it.
He hopped out of the car and entered the Starbucks. When he returned, he had two Double Chocolate Chunk Brownies wrapped in a napkin. Brownies were Beth’s weakness, and her eyes went wide when he handed her one.
“What’s this for?” she asked.
“We’re celebrating,” he said.
“What for?”
“We’re going to break this thing wide open.”
While Beth ate her treat, Lancaster replayed Micah’s video on his cell phone.
Micah had been standing on elevated ground when he shot the video, his angle pointing down. For reasons only Micah knew, the audio was muted, and there was no sound.
On the video, a police cruiser and a black sedan pulled into a public park and parked behind an aluminum storage shed. Three beefy uniformed police officers climbed out of the vehicles, followed by Lancaster, who was in handcuffs, and was obviously being held captive. Detective Sykes appeared from behind a shed after Jon’s handcuffs were removed. A brief conversation between the two men followed.
“What did he say to you?” Beth asked.
“He told me we were sticking our noses where they didn’t belong,” he said.
“So he threatened you.”
“Several times. Now comes the fun part. Watch.”
The largest cop cuffed his shirt sleeves and stepped forward, ready to administer a good old-fashioned whipping. The other two cops and Sykes were sharing a laugh.
“What a bunch of mutts,” she said.
The largest cop pulled the front of Jon’s shirt apart. He pointed a chubby finger at Lancaster’s shoulder. He said something to his partners, then started retreating.
“He saw the frog tattoo on your chest and made the connection, didn’t he?”
“Good eye. It put the fear of God into him.”
“It was four against one. Weren’t you afraid?”
“Not of these idiots. They thought I was going to roll over for them.”
On the video, Lancaster charged the largest cop, and tossed him into one of his partners. They went down, and lay on their backs, writhing in pain. He threw a handful of dirt into Sykes’s eyes, then incapacitated the third cop. There were plenty of street fights on YouTube, and they always ended quickly. This one was no exception. They watched him relieve Sykes of his weapon, scoop up the cops’ handguns, then hop into Sykes’s sedan and drive away. It was here that Micah’s video ended.
“You fight dirty,” she said, licking her fingers.
“Dirty wins. Does anything you just saw match the statement the Saint Augustine Police Department released?”
“Nope. Whoever wrote that statement lied through their teeth.”
“Sykes wrote the statement.”
“You don’t think the others had a hand in it?”
“No. Sykes is the ringleader.”
“Do you want me to arrest Sykes? Based upon what I just saw, I can charge him with kidnapping, assault, and attempted battery. He’ll also be suspended from the force for releasing a false statement, and eventually fired and lose his pension. He might even spend time in prison. His life will be ruined.”