Don't Look Like a Seal Pt. 01

"I was brought up to speed last night by Alex Kortesis. His firm is supplementing the security for the Voss' and he's also a former team member as well," I explained.

"I see." She nodded then turned to her partner. "What do you think, Bobby, should we trust him?"

"Your call, Jen," He answered as he leaned back against their car.

"Meaning it's my ass on the line if you aren't on the level Grayson," She told me.

"You can call Alex if you want to verify it," I told her.

She studied me for several minutes then nodded her head.

"All right, Grayson, I'm going out on a limb here but I'm going to trust you," She said. "Walk with me."

I fell in step with her as she took me a little ways up the shoulder of the road into the apex of a blind curve.

"We figure that the women were being followed from the airport. They waited for them outside of the restaurant then the lead car passed them at this point," She explained and pointed toward some skid marks. "They skidded to a stop blocking the road and the van pulled up behind them boxing them in."

"No escape," I commented as I looked around.

Deep ditches ran the length of the road in this area with trees waiting beyond that if you could have somehow managed to make through the axle bending ditches. I looked up the road, back down then up again then posed a question.

"Where was the third car," I asked and received puzzled look from Det. Lang while Det. Young snapped her fingers.

"That's what's been bugging me," She stated "There had to be a third car!"

"Would one of you care to bring me up to speed," Det. Lang asked.

"It's practically a blind curve," I told him. "With that curve there is no way the lead car would know that it was safe to pull out to pass and block the road without a third car parked somewhere further down to spot for them."

"Mystery solved then," He commented.

It was my turn to look confused.

"We were out here this morning because we had a feeling something was missed. I was thinking it might have been smaller than a car but apparently not," Det. Young explained.

"Don't feel too bad about missing it. The only reason I had a clue is because we used to run scenarios like this to learn defensive driving for when our team had to work at embassies and the like," I explained.

"You see a lot of these?" Det. Lang asked.

"Only a couple times, usually in South America or over in one of the old Soviet Union countries where kidnapping is as legitimate a business as your local bank," I shared.

"That's a scary thought," Det. Lang commented.

"Over there it's a business, you take someone, get paid, send them home easy peasy," I stated. "Never kill your revenue stream is their mantra but over here you've got just as many people that would rather kill you than keep you because they figure once they get paid it's just easier to kill the witness than to give them back."

"And we're supposed to be the more civilized ones," Det. Young sighed.

"Yeah remind me if I ever plan on getting kidnapped to do it in Russia," Det. Lang joked.

"I wouldn't recommend it especially with you being a cop. Those seem to be the exception to the rule," I warned him.

"I will stay out of Russia then. So where would you have put your spotter car if you were doing this attempt?" He asked as he looked up and down the road.

I started to walk as I looked up then down the road.

"So, van?" I asked as I pointed to the spot and Young nodded.

"Lissa's car?" I asked as I took a few more steps.

"Right. Lead car was where I'm currently standing," She confirmed. "Your friend's car approached from the rear of the van and parked there."

"So Scott came up from behind and surprised them?" I asked.

"According to Ms. Joiner's and Ms. Voss' statements the gunmen were just as surprised as they were," Det. Lang answered.

"So that means that the van blocked the spotter car's view when it stopped," I said.

"Meaning," Det. Young said as she took up my train of thought. "The spotter car would be further down the road this way."

"That's a fine theory but with technology these days who's to say that someone wasn't flying around one of those drone's with a camera on it or rigged up a camera to one of these trees?" Det. Lang asked.

"The drone is a possibility but then whoever was controlling it would need line of sight or risk losing the signal," I said.

"There was only the driver left in the van and no one in the lead car," Det. Young said. "If they used a drone there would still be a car nearby that we didn't count on."

"Camera on the tree would work but they would risk having it discovered and those things aren't that hard to trace," I shared.

"I'll call it in," Lang said as he reached into the car. "This is Detectives Lang and Young, we need some uni's at our location to help with a search and go ahead and get a crime scene crew rolling as well in case we find something."

He got a response that both were inbound and he nodded at Det. Young.

"They'll be a few minutes out," He said.

"Let's get started without them. Bobby, you take the far side and I'll take Mr. Grayson with me down this side since he is my burden," She said.

"Why is your name familiar to me, Grayson?" She asked as we walked along.

"Probably because some of the cops in the 4th Precinct have a standing order to arrest me on sight," I chuckled.

"Really and why would that be? Oh my God, you're the one that busted Capt. Norris with his many girlfriends and got him divorced." She said.

"Yep and now if I so much as sneeze around someone from the 4th I get a trip to the drunk tank to spend the night while stone cold sober," I sighed.

She pulled her handcuffs out and let them clink together while she stared me down.

"Guess where I started out at, Grayson?" She said while she hid a grin.

"It figures," I told her and held my hands out in front of me.

She laughed and slipped her cuffs back into their holder.

"Relax. I was just kidding you with the cuffs," She smiled at me. "I didn't like Norris when I was there and when I heard he got busted by a P.I., I was in a good mood all day. The guy was a sleaze and I'm glad someone finally nailed his ass."

"His wife was glad too. Well ex-wife I guess I should say otherwise I wouldn't be able to afford a car like the one I drove up in," I told her.

"She paid for that?" She said as she appraised my car with a backward glance. "Are you sure all you did was take some pictures for her?"

"Yes, detective," I assured her. "Turns out her family is quite wealthy and she lost nothing in the divorce thanks to the proof."

"No wonder he's pissed at you," She nodded.

"I tend to have that effect on people," I chuckled.

"I don't know, you seem to be doing all right with me," She smiled.

It was a very pretty smile.

"I'm usually good for about two hours before someone wants to shoot me," I laughed. "I think your partner is just about at that stage already."

"He's like that with most people," She stated. "Just stay on the far side of me just in case."

About a hundred yards down the road Det. Lang waved us over to his side.

"I think I've got something!" He called out.

Det. Young and I crossed the road as he knelt down beside what looked to be recent tread marks in the soft earth.

"Looks promising right?" He asked.

"Let's see how far back they go. With our luck this is some teenagers make out spot," Det. Young answered.

"I doubt that," Det. Lang said. "Kids usually make out on the beach or somewhere you can see the lights from the big hotels. You can't do that here."

Only ten feet from the road it was clearly visible that a car had parked in this spot. I carefully stepped over to where the driver would be sitting in a car and took a look around.

"I don't think this is a make out spot. No condoms or condom wrappers that I can see," I pointed out.

"Thank God for small miracles. No beer cans or candy wrappers either," Det. Young said as she glanced around the overgrown area. "This does look promising now, Bobby."

"Detective Young, can you come over and stand where the passenger seat would be?" I asked her.

She walked over and stood where I asked.

"This about right," She asked as she knelt down same as I was doing.

"Yeah, now look up the road, back towards the crime scene and tell me what you see," I asked.

"All right," She said as she looked. "This would be a pretty decent vantage point if I was in an SUV."

"That was my thinking, too," I nodded then gestured toward Det. Lang. "Want to have a look?"

He moved over to where I was just standing and nodded.

"The driver would have had a clear view of the road ahead to alert the follow team to when the road was clear," he said.

"And the passenger would be able to see right up the hill until the van blocked his view." Young stated. "Good call, Mr. Grayson."

"And nice eye by Det. Lang here finding the tire treads," I nodded.

"That's not all I found. Check these out," He stooped down and pointed to what look like a pile of sunflower seed husks.

"Looks like someone needed a snack while they were waiting," Det. Young stated. "All right we need to make our way back to the road and wait for the crime scene techs to show up."

The three of us carefully back tracked to the road then back to our cars. Det. Lang pulled out a set of flares to block the road while they waited for the crime scene techs to show up. I checked my watch and saw that it was close to time for me to meet up with Alex.

"I should be going," I told Det. Young.

"Thanks for your help Mr. Grayson. We probably would have found that eventually but we might have lost some valuable evidence in the meantime," She said and offered me her hand.

I shook her hand and gave her a smile.

"Glad to be of assistance," I commented. "Just do me a favor and nail these bastards that tried to kill my friend."

"We'll certainly do our best," She assured me and then handed me her card. "I'll keep you in the loop best that I can with what we find out."

"This isn't a get out of jail free card by any chance is it?" I asked with a grin.

"Closest thing I've got to one," She smiled back.

"You spend a lot of time in the gray bar motel Grayson?" Det. Lang asked and Det. Young explained the story I told her.

"Better take my card too then. You can use all the help you can get," He chuckled.

I laughed, accepted his card and thanked them again.

"If you're heading to the estate let them know we'll be over there later on to talk about some things," Det. Young told me.

"Sure thing Detectives," I nodded. "I'm sure I'll see you there."

I got back in my car and gave them a little wave as I passed. Det. Young smiled slightly and shook her head as she causally waved back.

She heard her partner chuckle and looked at him.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing," He answered. "Just haven't seen you flirt before, that's all."

"I was not flirting," She defended. "That was not flirting."

"Closest thing I've got to one," He mocked her as he tried to raise his voice to match her pitch.

"You gave him your card too, Bobby," she pointed out.

"Yeah but I didn't bat my eyes at him when I did, plus that smile and wave you gave him when he was leaving. Where are the two of you registered? I want to get you a Crockpot for the wedding," He teased her.

"You're a Crockpot," She responded. "Now quit busting my hump and get back to where the car was parked so we don't lose anything."

"Ah to be young and in love," He chuckled. "Get it, Young and in love, you're names Young and..."

"I will shoot you Bobby, and plead justifiable homicide. Anyone that knows you will agree that I was well within my rights," She warned him.

"You can't do that because I'd come back and haunt you," He shared.

"You haunt me now," Det. Young responded. "How could it possibly get any worse?"