Girl, Vanished (An Ella Dark FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 5) Read online

  “This article is from twenty years ago, though.”

  Ella didn’t reply, and instead waited for Byford to offer something other than a setback. He offered nothing, so she took it upon herself.

  “Didn’t Jimmy’s wife say something about pawn shops? That Jimmy dealt with them?”

  “She did.”

  “Let’s go and have a word with the one she mentioned. They might be able to tell us something.”

  “Alright, let me just finish up,” Byford said.

  She read the rest of the article while she waited for her partner, finding nothing of value. Alan Yates used to find foreign coins in his shipments, so gave them away to children to play with. She remembered Pogs from back when she was a kid, and Alan was right, the kids would have loved them. Pretty creative judgment on Alan’s part, she thought.

  To finish, she checked the two image files. The first was the picture of the smiling boy with the coin, the second was an image she hadn’t yet seen, and one made her skin break out in goosebumps.

  “Oh my God,” she said. She thought the cocktail of exhaustion and stress was forcing her eyes to play tricks on her. “Nigel, look at this.”

  “What now?” he asked as he got to his seat. He grabbed his jacket before he sauntered over. When he got to the screen, he too froze in shock. “Holy f….”

  The picture showed Alan Yates as a younger man, smiling ear to ear while holding two coins over his eyes.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Ella parked their vehicle around 200 feet away from their destination. One of the advantages of being in law enforcement was the parking flexibility but finding spaces in a busy city like Newark was still an arduous task. Ella found an empty curb outside a hardware store where she wouldn’t obstruct traffic.

  Aces & Eights was an old brick-and-mortar shop on Dragon Run Road in downtown Delaware. It had a pinstripe canopy cascading down from the roof, immaculately clean and surprisingly appealing, Ella thought. The shop window announced WE BUY GOLD in giant letters that were impossible to ignore. Ella suddenly realized that she’d never actually been in a pawn shop in her life.

  Tolling wind chimes announced their entrance through the wooden door. The interior smelled of fresh pine and lemon, and it seemed there wasn’t an inch of space that didn’t boast some ancient relic. The path through the shop was determined by a small strip that could barely stand two people. It ran through the store linearly, like some kind of manual amusement ride. To Ella’s left she saw two elongated masks staring back at her, looking like they belonged to some faraway African tribe. All the bizarre stuff seemed to be at the front, while the rear was decked with bikes, guitars, electronics and jewelry.

  They moved to the counter and found it deserted. Ella shouted for assistance.

  “Hello. Anyone here?”

  “Be right out,” a voice replied. Seconds later, a gentleman appeared from a back room, sweating. “Sorry, some heavy stuff back there. Are you guys okay?”

  The gentleman was as stocky as they came. Gray hair decorated his face, from his windswept hair to his gigantic beard that reached his chest. If Ella had to guess, he was about fifty years old. He wore a gray vest that revealed his tree trunk-like arms. Not muscular as such but looked like they could hold a few pounds.

  “We don’t mean to bother you, sir, but I’m Agent Dark and this is Agent Byford with the FBI. We’re looking for the owner of this store.”

  “That’ll be me. I’m Ace. FBI, you say? Well, I didn’t do it, I promise,” he laughed.

  “We’re sure you didn’t. We’re actually investigating a homicide case and we believe you may have known the victim.”

  “Old Jimmy,” Ace chimed in before Ella could finish. “Yeah, I heard. I had a feeling the cops would come knocking actually. I don’t know all the details but it’s shocking. Appalling.”

  “You expected us, sir?” Byford asked.

  “Yeah. And less of the sir. Call me Ace. I named this shop because my eight kids help me run it.”

  Ella put the dots together. “Wow, eight children? Do you sell TVs in here? Because I think you need one for your bedroom.”

  “Zing!” Jimmy laughed. “They’ve all grown up and left me now. I’d have another eight if my wife was still around. But anyway, me and Jimmy were as close as any married couple, so ask me anything. I got all day.”

  Ella appreciated Ace’s cooperation. A lot of people would be afraid of being so helpful in case it cast them in a suspicious light. Given Ace’s size, she doubted he could sneak into three homes unobserved.

  “Thank you. Jimmy’s wife said you and he sometimes had spats. Can you tell us about that?”

  “Spats?” Ace laughed. “She’s talking out of her backside. This is a man’s business, and banter comes with the territory. Me and Jimmy might have disagreed on a few things but nine times out of ten, we were like brothers. I had a lot of respect for the old man.”

  Ella decided to rummage around their relationship before getting to the real question. “What did you disagree on?”

  “Prices mostly. His store is a cat’s hair away from mine. Ain’t no one gonna buy a vase from him when I’ve got the same thing for half the price. He was always telling me to put my prices up, but I told him there was no point. If I did that, neither of us would get the sale.”

  “Sounds like classic competitor pricing,” Byford said.

  Ace pulled his beard and twisted it around. Ella had to wonder how that thing didn’t itch his face off. “Totally. But he had his antiques lovers; I have my bargain hounds. We both got our own niche, but we overlapped when it came to stuff like ornaments, jewelry, coins. Everyday stuff.”

  Ella and Byford caught each other’s stare when Ace mentioned the magic word.

  “You touched on something we’re very interested in there, Ace. Do you know if Jimmy had any involvement with coins at all? Specifically rare coins?”

  Ace rested his hands on the countertop. “Coins you say? Well, you won’t find an antique dealer that doesn’t sell coins, but yeah, Jimmy sold a few.”

  Ella felt the walls of this getting smaller. Whenever she got a connection like this, it sent her numb for a few seconds, then the dopamine high kicked in. It was the rush she lived for.

  “He did? Do you know what type of coins? Or whether he had any regular buyers?”

  “Umm, well I’m not sure about Jimmy’s particular transactions or anything. I know he sometimes sold coins by the bundle. Can I ask why coins are so special here?”

  “It’s confidential,” Byford jumped in, abrupt as ever.

  Ella thought that maybe they should give a little back. Ace and Jimmy were clearly close, and it didn’t seem fair to not clue him in on some aspects of his friend’s murder.

  “We can’t say too much, but two coins were found on Jimmy’s body. We believe they may have some significance to the crime, like perhaps a wronged client looking for vengeance. We still don’t know all the answers yet.”

  Ace retreated a little in light of the new information. He was probably picturing the scene in his head. People had a tendency to keep a vicarious distance from the realities of murder, but when presented with specific details, it made it all the more real.

  “Christ almighty. I’m sorry to hear that. But now that you mention it, I might have something you can use.” Ace disappeared back into his stock room. Ella heard him fumble around, then he returned with a wooden board. He spun it around to show the agents. It had around ten mugshots pinned to it.

  “What’s this?” Byford asked.

  “See this? These are all the guys banned from my shop. Rude people, thieves, general assholes. You name it.”

  Ella skimmed the photos and didn’t recognize anyone. Some of the photos were close-up portraits while others were blurry CCTV-screened snaps. “Looks like a friendly bunch,” she said.

  Ace pulled off the picture second from the right. “See this guy? This is Aleister Black. A scummy piece of work to say the least.” He passed
the picture to Ella. The man in the photograph had both sides of his head shaved, with long black hair stemming from the top. He had piercing blue eyes, thin features and a scar through his lip. On the shaved parts of his head were tribal tattoos.

  “What did he do?” Ella asked.

  “To me personally? Not a whole lot. He’s been in my shop a few times, but he just looks around and leaves. Gives me a real creepy vibe, to be honest.”

  “Is that all?” asked Byford.

  “No. This guy is a collector. An obsessive one. I think he’s got some mental issues because he acts all weird like. No eye contact, twitches, you know the sort.”

  It seemed a vast generalization, but Ella didn’t want to mention it. The chances of their unsub having some kind of behavioral issues was almost certain, so this Aleister Black gentleman was definitely worth checking out.

  “Do you know what he collects?”

  “Coins,” Ace said. He let the silence punctuate his statement. Ella’s head jerked in the direction of her partner. Byford looked as surprised as she did.

  “Really? He’s a coin collector. He doesn’t look the type.”

  “Like I said, he’s got problems. But there’s a coin dealer down in New Castle; apparently Aleister beat the heck out of him for not parting with one of his treasures. Jimmy had some run-ins with Aleister too as far as I know. It was Jimmy who got me this picture, actually.”

  That was all Ella needed to hear. They needed to check this man out. If he’d committed assault, chances were that he was in the police database. The picture of him looked like an official mugshot photo, too.

  “Thanks so much, Ace,” Ella said. “This is fantastic.”

  “You’re welcome. When you catch this scumbag, give him one from me, yeah?” Ace balled up his fist and punched the air.

  “We will. One last thing before we go,” said Ella. “Could you give us a list of any regular clients who buy coins from here? Ideally ones who’ve made recent purchases.”

  “I only sold to one guy and the old bastard died weeks ago. Heart attack, I think. I’ll dig through my records for you though, just in case I’ve missed anyone. If you need me, I actually live upstairs here, so don’t be a stranger. Adios.”

  The agents left the pawn shop and went back to the car. Ella started up and headed back to the precinct. In her pocket, she felt her phone buzz, and decided that today was the day her relationship changed for the better. The only man she had time for today was a violent, obsessive coin collector.

  ***

  Before she tracked this man down, she needed to know everything about him. In her office, Ella found Aleister Black’s police file and went through it with surgical precision.

  “Ace was right, this Aleister guy attacked a man in New Castle last year,” she said to Byford beside her.

  “Did he go to prison?”

  Ella continued on. “No, just community service. But it doesn’t stop there. He’s been arrested three times in the past five years. Violence, disorderly behavior. Murder is a natural progression from that.”

  “Not a bad find,” said Byford. “What’s his employment record? Surely someone this unstable must be a drifter.”

  Ella checked the next section. “No, actually. Looks like he worked for Quanta Services Newark.”

  Byford scratched the side of his head. “Quanta? Where’ve I heard that name recently?”

  Ella moved her fingers off her keyboard. “Have you? I’ve never heard of them. Who are they?”

  “They’re an electrical company. Branches all over the country.” Byford went over to his pile of paperwork and rustled through. He picked up the police report from Barry Windham’s murder and leafed through. “Here, look.”

  Ella took the file and felt her heart skip when she saw the words. “Holy crap. Barry Windham worked for them too.”

  Byford snapped his fingers. “Bingo. We’ve got a link. I’m liking the sound of this suspect.”

  Ella felt the same. Just from his picture alone, she could picture this man breaking into homes, slashing throats, and leaving behind bizarre relics. It felt like the pieces fit perfectly well.

  “So we know he has links to Jimmy Loveridge and Barry Windham. I’m going to see if I can find any link to the first victim and then we need to pay this man a visit.” She thought about Alan Yates. He’d been retired for ten years but worked for JPMorgan Chase before he settled down. She devoured all of the text on the page, finding no mention of banks whatsoever. There was no more text to consume.

  “Hang on,” Byford said. “Didn’t it say Aleister vandalized some buildings in town?”

  Ella scrolled back, quickly catching Byford’s train of thought. “Yes, it did. Good thinking. Let me check.” Her excitement was short-lived. “No. He vandalized a pharmacy and a grocery store. Damn it.” She skimmed through the file again to see if she’d missed anything, focusing on the stand-out terms.”

  “It doesn’t matter, it’s enough. Let’s get his address and…”

  “Hold on a second,” Ella interrupted, landing on a word that caught her attention. “Alan Yates. The sheriff brought us the coins from all of the crime scenes, remember?”

  “Yeah. What about them?”

  “Do you remember what kind of coins they were?”

  Byford browsed his file again. “Japanese coins. One thousand yen. Okinawa 1964 according to this file.”

  There it was. Another spark. More pieces falling into place. “Look. Aleister Black lived abroad for a year. Look at the location.”

  Byford leaned down to see the screen more clearly. “Well damn. Okinawa, Japan.”

  “Come on,” Ella said, pushing herself up in haste. “I’ve got his address. Time to meet this man for ourselves.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The address listed in the police file was a gentrified apartment building called Apollo House, perhaps at one time a warehouse or industrial building. The front had recently been stuccoed, and all four apartments in the front had leaded-glass bay windows.

  Ella circled past the building and parked just out of sight. She knew the mindset of a killer, and if Aleister Black was one, he wasn’t going to answer the door to two strangers. She got out of the car, checked the mailboxes, and found that number 1 belonged to an A.B. Behind the window blinds, she saw a silhouette moving back and forth.

  As it wasn’t yet nine am, Ella devised a plan. She got back in the car and told Byford to wait with her. Approaching suspects in a public area made them less likely to turn hostile. It was one of Mia’s techniques. In their own homes, suspects maintained an air of supremacy. On neutral ground, it was a different story.

  They watched the pedestrian traffic up and down the road. After ten minutes or so, Ella got restless. She got out of the car, crossed the street, leaned against a telephone pole took out her phone. She pretended to have a conversation. Cell phones were, hands down, the best surveillance prop ever invented, she thought.

  Finally, the door to the apartment complex opened. The first person to walk out of the building was an older woman, well-dressed and accessorized to the nines. When she reached the sidewalk she stopped, rummaged through her purse then stormed back inside the building. She’d obviously forgotten something. A minute later, a second resident emerged. A much different picture this time.

  He was dressed in a black overcoat, tight jeans, and heavy black boots. His dark hair had been tied back, exposing the swirly tribal tattoos on the side of his head. From what Ella could tell, one of them was in the shape of a dragon. His skin was alarmingly pale, like he hadn’t seen the sun in decades.

  The man moved across the street, keeping his gaze to the ground. When he reached the car, Ella called out to him.

  “Excuse me, Mr. Black?”

  Aleister looked up from the ground and locked eyes with his caller. They darted around, finally landing on Ella’s knees. Ella recognized it as a sign of timidity or more severe mental health issues.

  “Do I know you?” he asked.
His posture betrayed neither aggression nor escape. Instead, he looked pleasantly curious, if a little afraid.

  Within a few seconds of their meeting, she saw the symptoms Ace mentioned. Aleister seemed unsteady on his feet, his limbs twitching in no particular pattern.

  “You don’t. My name’s Agent Dark and I’m with the FBI. Could we talk for a moment?”

  Aleister looked at her badge, then back down to Ella’s lower half. In the spring morning light, his eyes were a pale blue, almost colorless. A harsh contrast to his entirely black profile.

  “FBI? Okay, but I can’t imagine what I could tell you. Or your partner over there.”

  Ella laughed. She hadn’t expected this man to be so observant. Or maybe she and Byford had just been careless. “Well spotted. Do you know why we’re here?”

  Aleister folded his arms and shifted his weight onto one leg. Ella didn’t quite know what to make of this man. Violent offender? Troubled autist? Something else?

  “Yes. It’s because of the killings, isn’t it?”

  Another unexpected comment, but not a desired one. “It is. You know about them?”

  “Yeah. I know all about them. I read the news. A lot.” Aleister began to shift his weight across his body and back again, like he was dancing to some invisible beat. Ella was struggling to get a feel of this man’s personality, but his criminal history spoke for itself. He’d attacked a man, vandalized buildings, and engaged in disorderly conduct. Even if he was struggling mentally, they couldn’t be overlooked.

  “Were you familiar with the victims?” Ella asked, already knowing the answer but wanting to gauge his honesty levels.

  “I knew Jimmy, but everyone knew Jimmy. That’s all.”

  Ella picked up on his language. Referring to a recently deceased victim in the past tense, especially when it was someone you had a connection with, was considered a red flag. Not definitive proof by any means, but worth taking into consideration. Ella saw Byford had exited the car and was standing beside it now.

  “You had a run-in with him, correct?”