Double Blind_A Novel

  “No, thanks,” Lynch said. “We have a ride.”

  Blake looked at the Evidence Response Team sifting through the wreckage and his smile didn’t falter. “Of course. Enjoy the rest of your day.” He turned and walked back toward his car.

  “Huh,” Kendra said quietly to Lynch as her gaze followed Blake. “Can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to work for that guy.”

  Lynch turned back toward Griffin. “How quickly can your people take a look at my car’s computer system?”

  “Assuming there’s anything to look at, I’ll have them start this afternoon. And if we have to send it to Washington, we can have it there by early tomorrow.”

  “Good.”

  “Any news on Elizabeth Gelson?” Kendra asked.

  “None. Her husband was supposed to have gotten back from Asia today, so we’ll talk to him. We’ve pulled some traffic cam footage of her neighborhood and our people are combing it for a silver SUV or van. No leads yet.”

  Kendra turned back to watch Blake climb into his car and speed away. “What in the hell are they hiding?”

  Lynch shook his head. “I have no idea. But they don’t deal in small change. And whatever it is, they appear to believe it’s worth killing both of us to protect.”

  “And maybe Elena Meyer?”

  “Maybe.”

  Kendra thought for a moment. “You have some contacts in the Justice Department and the Department of Defense. Can they tell us more about Brock Limited?”

  “I actually reached out to them last night. We’ll see what they come up with.”

  She smiled. “I just remembered that I have a source, too. One with a military background who has an uncanny habit of knowing where bodies tend to be buried. She might be able to dig up something on them.”

  Lynch raised an eyebrow and then his lips suddenly lifted at the corners. “Sounds very familiar. Anyone I know?”

  “Oh, yes.” She met his eyes. “Don’t you think it’s time to call Jessie Mercado?”

  * * *

  DEREK LOOKED AT THE VIDEO playing on his van’s in-dash DVD player. It was the only movie he’d watched in the past few weeks, but he still wasn’t even close to growing tired of it.

  There was a momentary video glitch as the maid of honor lifted her glass to her friend, the bride. “Lizzie and I have shared everything … a dorm room in college, eyeliner, study notes, and our embarrassing affection for sappy Kelly Clarkson songs.”

  The crowd generously chuckled.

  People would always smile at Barbara Campbell, even though she had violated a cardinal rule of maids of honor.

  She was prettier than the bride.

  Barbara couldn’t help the fact that she was a natural beauty, but she had obviously spent a lot of time with her hair, makeup, and tanning for the wedding. She was positively luminous.

  Bad girl, Barbara. Mustn’t upstage the bride.

  He’d have to discuss that with her. And he would, very soon.

  Derek looked up from the console screen. He was parked on Collins Drive, across from the clothing boutique Barbara owned with her sister. It was almost closing time, which meant Barbara would soon be locking the store and walking around the corner toward her blue MINI Cooper.

  “What can I say?” Barbara’s voice sounded tearful as she continued on the video. “Lizzy, you’ll always be my best friend, my partner in crime, my soulmate…”

  Lies. All lies. He knew they never saw each other anymore. But that was okay. They would soon be reunited.

  The boutique’s glass door swung open. It was her!

  Derek started the van.

  It’s showtime, Barbara!

  CHAPTER

  7

  Beverly Hills, California

  10:30 P.M.

  LYNCH LOOKED UNCERTAINLY at the dark street as Kendra parked her car. “Here?”

  Kendra checked her phone again. “This is the place. Jessie told me to park here and walk about half a block up. She didn’t want us to blow her stakeout.”

  Lynch looked around at the large Hillcrest Road estates. “These are ten-million-dollar houses. What kind of case is she working?”

  “She didn’t say. Just that it was a well-paying client and that if we wanted to talk to her tonight, this was the only way it could happen.”

  They climbed out of her car and walked down the street. Kendra looked at the street address numbers on the curb. “We should be at the right place.”

  “You are,” a familiar voice whispered. “Though I’ve been wondering all night if I am.”

  Kendra and Lynch spun around to see a young woman stepping from the shadows. It was private investigator Jessie Mercado. She wore dark clothing and a pair of headphones and looked her usual sleek, vibrant self.

  Kendra gave her a quick hug. “Sorry to crash your operation.”

  Jessie made a face. “I believe that’s a misnomer.” She was in her early thirties, but she could easily pass for a decade younger. Her short brown hair attractively framed her face in a pixie cut and her large brown eyes glistened in the moonlight. “Whatever this is, I’m not sure it can be called an ‘operation.’”

  Lynch bumped fists with her. “Then what is it?”

  “Just another day, another dollar.” She cocked her head toward a black Land Rover parked across the street. “Get in. We can talk in there.”

  Jessie took the driver’s seat, Kendra took the passenger side, and Lynch climbed into the cluttered back seat.

  “Sorry about all the junk,” Jessie said. “Tools of the trade. Be careful, you may be about to sit on a stun gun.”

  “Now you tell me,” Lynch said.

  “Man up. The worst that’d happen is that you might wet your pants and froth at the mouth a little.”

  Kendra laughed. “Now I’d pay to see that.”

  “We’ll talk later,” Jessie said. “My rates are quite reasonable.”

  Lynch picked up a stun gun and a pair of binoculars and carefully placed them on the seat next to him.

  Kendra peered out the windshield. “So what are you working on?”

  “My current client is a movie studio that’s bankrolling a two-hundred-million-dollar action film starring one of the biggest stars in the world. Said star recently lost his driver’s license due to one too many DUIs. The star can afford every chauffeur in town, yet he still prefers to drive. Trouble is, if the cops catch him behind the wheel, the star goes to jail and the film gets put on a costly hiatus.”

  Kendra nodded. “So it’s your job to make sure he doesn’t drive.”

  “Yep. He’s at a party in that white house at the end of the block. If he so much as climbs behind the wheel of his car, the studio has authorized me to block him and yank him out of the vehicle.”

  “Are you sure you can handle that?” Lynch asked. “You said he was a big-time action star.”

  “Big-time action star, surprisingly little guy.” She gave him a sly glance. “But I think I’ve shown you that I’m capable of handling guys twice my size.”

  “True,” Lynch murmured. “My ribs still haven’t recovered.”

  Jessie smiled. “My confidentiality clause prevents me from telling you who this movie star is, but if you hang around long enough, you’ll soon see him. He’ll probably leave the party with at least two or three women who look like Victoria’s Secret models.”

  “Tempting,” Kendra said. “But we have something else we need to talk to you about.”

  “I figured you didn’t come all this way to watch me babysit Hollywood’s action hero du jour.”

  “We’re working a murder case in San Diego.”

  “Show-off.” She grimaced. “As if I wasn’t already feeling embarrassed by this job.”

  “You said you were being well-paid,” Lynch said.

  “Ridiculously well-paid. But it seems a little trivial when you’re probably making the streets safe from a monster.”

  “We could use your help,” Kendra said.

  Jessie leaned back
in her seat and turned to more fully face her. “What’s the story?”

  Kendra brought her up to speed on Elena Meyer’s murder and the trail that led them to Brock Limited.

  “Brock?” Jessie practically vomited the word.

  “I thought you might know them,” Kendra said.

  “You could say that.” The sour look still hadn’t left her face. “They had a heavy presence in Afghanistan when I was there. Trust me, every soldier knew who they were. You’ll have a hard time finding anyone with anything nice to say.”

  Kendra nodded. “I read a couple Rolling Stone articles today.”

  “You mean in the hours since they tried to kill you?” Jessie’s flush of anger was visible even in the dimness of the car. “Believe me, they’ve managed to keep the worst stuff quiet. They took chances they never should have and we had to risk our lives to pull them out of some tough spots. Two good friends of mine died because of them.”

  “I never heard about this,” Kendra said. She turned toward Lynch. “Had you?”

  “Just rumors,” Lynch said. “It probably wasn’t unique to Afghanistan.”

  Jessie was getting even more visibly upset. “By the time these stories hit the media, it was presented that Brock Limited was pulling U.S. military forces out of harm’s way instead of the other way around. To make things worse, our base commanders wouldn’t even let us set the record straight. They said it would disclose confidential strategies and troop movements and that we could be court-martialed for treason if we spoke about it at all.”

  “Nice,” Kendra said. “Looks like we came to the right person.”

  “I don’t know about that. I’m not very objective where Brock Limited is concerned. I’d give anything to pound Vivianne Kerstine into the ground.”

  “She’s their CEO, right?”

  “Vivianne Kerstine was head of Brock’s operations in Afghanistan when I was there. She was a tough and brutal woman and her own employees were terrified of her. But Brock must have liked what she was doing because she’s now head of the entire company. And their fortunes have only skyrocketed since she became CEO.”

  Kendra took a deep breath. She hadn’t expected such a strong emotional reaction from Jessie. In the short time she’d known her, nothing had seemed to faze her. “We think they’re involved in this murder in San Diego. And maybe even this abduction. Will you help us?”

  Jessie tensed her jaw. “Just try to stop me. What do you need?”

  “Elena Meyer’s only connection to San Diego was through her law firm and the Brock Limited case. Can you dig up anything on this case and what Elena might have gotten herself into?”

  “I’ll see what I can find out.”

  “Thanks, Jessie.”

  Jessie leaned back to address both Kendra and Lynch. “Listen … you think you know what Brock is capable of. But trust me, you have no idea.”

  “I think we do,” Lynch said. “We almost died today, remember?”

  “It won’t stop there,” she said curtly. “You need to watch your back.”

  Lynch nodded. “That’s the plan.”

  “And if those guys are as bad as you say, you might take your own advice,” Kendra said. “If you’re poking around Brock Limited, you could find a target on your back, too.”

  “Believe me, that’s nothing new. I might as well get a target tattooed back there.” But she was suddenly smiling recklessly. “And as far as I’m concerned, Brock can do their damnedest. I’ve been waiting for the chance to bring some serious pain down on them.”

  * * *

  KENDRA AND LYNCH TOOK Sunset Boulevard back to the I-405 and headed back to San Diego. Kendra finally broke the silence. “I admit I didn’t expect Jessie to have such strong feelings about Brock. She’s usually very cool and analytical.”

  “Neither did I. But then how much do we know about Jessie? She only lets us see what she wants us to see. We’re probably lucky that she permits us to get past the first barriers.”

  “What? Barriers?” Kendra looked at him, startled. “Jessie doesn’t try to hide anything. She’s always been open with us.”

  Lynch shrugged.

  She didn’t understand this. “You like her. You admire her.” She added in frustration, “Now you’re saying that she might not be what we think she is?”

  “I’m saying that Jessie’s a very complicated woman.” He smiled. “And I like what I see. I’m just not sure what else is beyond that first barrier. I’m looking forward to finding out.”

  “First barrier,” Kendra repeated. “You said that before. You make her sound so guarded. You don’t believe that what you see in Jessie is what you get?”

  “I don’t believe anyone is what they seem. That’s what makes life fascinating, exploring the potentials.” He chuckled. “You’re frowning. I’m not attacking Jessie. I knew you’d probably be offended that I even hinted she might not be everything you think she is. You’re very loyal and you consider Jessie your friend. But did you ever think that she might be even more than you think she is? Potentials, Kendra.”

  And she shouldn’t be this surprised, she thought. Lynch was considered a world-class expert at not only identifying but pulling the strings of everyone with whom he came in contact. This kind of cool, judgmental analysis was his stock in trade. She’d just never thought it would be applied to someone she liked and respected.

  “Actually, I was complimenting her,” Lynch continued. “Complicated women are much more interesting.” He met her eyes. “I have a passion for them.”

  She tore her gaze away. “Why can’t you just accept people as you find them? Why do you have to analyze and tear everyone apart?”

  “You’ve already figured that out. Perhaps for the same reason you tear a crime scene into impossibly small pieces until you know exactly what happened there.” He added, “But Jessie’s response wasn’t all that unusual considering her background. There are mixed feelings about Brock in the intelligence community, but for soldiers on the ground it’s obviously much more personal. It was a good idea to go to her. She’ll be extremely motivated to find out what she can about them.”

  “More than I ever guessed she would.”

  “And you were also smart to warn her about them. It’s a warning you should take to heart yourself, especially after what you’ve been through in the past couple of days.”

  Her brows rose. “Is this another play to get me to stay with you at your house?”

  “Not a play. Just good advice. You know there’s no place safer. And if someone does manage to penetrate my house’s defenses—not damned likely—you have the security of knowing I’m in the next room.” He grinned. “You might even get to see me perform the head-twist-neck-break maneuver on some unfortunate intruder. That alone should be incentive enough.”

  She frowned. “I’m not sure I’d really want to see that.”

  “Sure you would. Especially if was someone who was coming after you.”

  “My place will be fine, thank you.”

  “Oh well, you have about eighty-five minutes to change your mind. Think about it.”

  Less than thirty minutes had passed when Kendra’s phone rang. She glanced at the Caller ID display on her console screen. Metcalf. She punched her steering wheel button to put him on speaker. “Working late for that government paycheck, Metcalf? You’re on speaker with me and Lynch. What’s going on?”

  “Plenty.” Metcalf’s tone was grim. “It seems the scope of our investigation has changed, Kendra.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “A woman disappeared tonight. It looks as if she was taken near her workplace downtown as she was getting in her car.”

  Kendra felt that familiar knot in her stomach. “And you think she’s connected with our case?”

  “Oh, yes, almost certainly. Her name is Barbara Campbell.”

  “Who?”

  “Barbara Campbell. You’ve seen her. Kendra … She’s in the wedding video.”

  Kendra sh
ared a quick glance with Lynch. He mouthed an expletive.

  Kendra said it aloud. “Shit.”

  “Yeah. She was the maid of honor. But I’m afraid that isn’t the worst of it.”

  “It gets worse?”

  “I’m afraid so. Like I said, we think she was taken near her car.” He paused. “And we got another unpleasant surprise.”

  A chill raced up her spine. Please, please don’t let it be what she was thinking …

  “It was the corpse of the first kidnap victim,” Metcalf said. “The bride. Elizabeth Gelson. She was in the back seat.”

  Kendra inhaled sharply. “I was afraid of that. But that’s crazy, isn’t it? Why would—” She was trying to think. “Could we be looking at a serial killer?”

  “It’s still too early to tell what we’re dealing with here, but we’re already working through the possibilities. We’re holding a powwow at the office tomorrow morning at 9:00 A.M. You and Lynch should be there. But before that, do you think you can get yourself to the crime scene before it’s broken down?”

  “We’re on the road from LA. We can be there in an hour.”

  “Good. For the moment, we’re sharing jurisdiction with San Diego PD. Evidence Response is finishing up right now and the ME is already playing Words with Friends on his iPhone. We’ll hold the scene until you can take a look. We’re at Collins and Broadway.”

  “Thanks, Metcalf.” She shivered. “As always, you know how to show a lady a good time.”

  “It’s what I do.”

  Kendra had a sudden thought. “One more thing. What are you doing to protect the other people in that video?” she asked. “If this is a serial killer, any of them could be next.”

  “We’re on it.” He added, “It’s not easy. It was a huge wedding even without the immediate bridal party. Both bride and groom had large families, and the place was brimming with business guests as well. We decided we had to narrow it down to the bridal party and identified fourteen potential targets and reached out to them. The bridal party, parents of the bride and groom, and the officiant. There’s still a couple we haven’t been able to contact.”