Calvin
My phone rings for the third time since I left the house as I drive down the highway. It's Kayla, attempting to get me to come back to the house. That's not going to happen. I won't be accused of anything in my own house, especially murder. She even had the nerve to tell me I need professional help. What does she think, that I'm crazy? I'm not crazy. I just want the man that killed my brother to pay for what he did. There's been too many sleepless nights over the past week and I can't wait for justice to serve itself. I have to do it myself, there's no other way.
I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone, turning it off before it can ring again. At least now, Kayla won't be able to see my location. No one will be able to stop me from what I need to do. Not my wife, and definitely not my boss. I knew as soon as I told Captain Bennett that I would leave the case alone that I wouldn't be able to keep that promise. They're not working fast enough and I need to see results. I believe I'm the one, possibly the only one, that can get those results.
Eventually, the highway I've been driving on since I left home intersects with Highway 169, and I take the exit into North Mankato, immediately pulling into a Days Inn parking lot. It's not the nicest hotel in town but it's conveniently located across the river from the quarry. Somewhere I'll be sure to wind up at later. I slip out of my truck and make my way inside, just as a few dark clouds begin to roll in.
"One room please," I say to the receptionist sitting behind the front desk.
"How many nights?" Asks the kind woman.
"Just one," I say, handing her a credit card.
The woman taps a few keys on her computer and then hands me a single room key. "You'll be in room two fifteen," she tells me with a friendly smile.
I thank her and then make my way to the elevator. By the time I make it up to my room, the rain is already coming down outside. I slip the room key into my wallet and click on the TV, taking a seat on the bed. The only thing I can do now is wait for night to come.
The rain is still steadily coming down by the time ten o'clock rolls around, but I don't want to wait around all night for it to stop. I've got things to do, whether it's raining or not. The TV is nearly putting me to sleep. It's just the same thing over and over again: people remodeling their houses to look like farm homes. I don't get what all the hype is about. They don't look appealing to me, but I guess I'm not like the majority of the population. I could've changed the channel, but there's not too many options to choose from.
The TV turns black with the click of a button and I head out of the room, making the short walk to the elevator. The woman behind the desk has been replaced by an older man. He glances up at me for a second and then looks back to his computer when he realizes I'm not walking towards his desk. I push the door open and step into the cold rain, lowering my head as if that's going to prevent me from getting too wet. My legs begin to move faster until I make it to my truck in the middle of the parking lot.
The rain seems to pick up a little after I get into my truck. It almost feels like a sign that I shouldn't be going out tonight. At this point, I think I'm willing to ignore any sign that's thrown my way. I need to do this. My hand grips the gear shifter, pulling it into drive, and then I take myself back onto the highway.
My truck merges back onto Highway 14 and I take the next immediate exit onto Third Street. There's very little traffic out tonight. Possibly due to the rain and the fact that most people have to work in the morning. I turn onto Cleveland Street and slowly creep down the road. My headlights illuminate a patrol car at the end of the road. They've got to have someone monitoring the crime scene at all times, especially for a murder case, at least until they've collected all the evidence they need. The patrol car is sitting idle without any headlights on. I'm sure the rain will prevent the officer from making any walks around the site. If it were me, I wouldn't want to get soaked in the rain just to do a walk around of a crime scene, not in my uniform that is. That vest can get pretty heavy when it gets wet.
I turn into a trucking company's parking lot roughly two blocks away from the patrol car and kill my headlights. My truck rolls slowly through the parking lot as I lean forward in my seat and squint to see through the rain. I follow the parking lot around the building and cross the road into another parking lot for a building labeled 'USA Trailer Sales'.
The rain beats down on me as soon as I get out of my truck. I can't see the patrol car from where I parked. If I can't see him, he can't see me. I duck around to the back of the building and make my way under a patch of trees. Between the rain and the fact that it's past ten at night, it's hard to see where I'm going. I slip my hand into my pocket, pulling out my phone, and turn it back on. A flood of missed calls, text messages, and voice mails fill my screen. Every single one is from Kayla. I swipe them all away and switch my phone into 'Airplane Mode'. I can't risk getting a phone call while I'm out here and giving myself away to the patrol on duty.
I click on the flashlight accessory, illuminating the ground beneath me. My shoes are already covered in mud just from the walk over here from my truck. This is going to be a messy mission but I have to know if Gavin left any clues as to where he might be. I have no doubt that he's the one behind Manny's death. There's a high risk that everything might've already been picked up when the detectives were out here doing their job, but I still need to know if they missed anything.
Stepping out from under the trees, I make my way to the gravel road between me and the quarry. The rain splashes against the phone in my hand as I light up the ground in front of me. I can see the patrol car at the end of the gravel road, pointing towards the entrance to the quarry. I bolt across the road, hoping the officer didn't notice the flash of light, and duck down into another patch of trees. Fighting through the thick branches and shrubs, I make it through to the other side and step into the huge opening that is the quarry.
I keep close to the trees as I make my way closer to the crime scene tape surrounding where the body must have been found. There's several yellow place-markers indicating where some type of evidence was found. Several of them have been knocked over by the rain and wind. I make it about ten yards away from the end of the tree line and click off the flashlight, sliding my phone back into my pocket. I can barely see the patrol car through the trees. There's no light illuminating from the inside of the car. For all I know, whoever is inside could be sleeping right now. It'd be very bad if they were caught sleeping on the job but in my case, it'd be helpful if they were. Captain Bennett already warned me that if I interfered in anyway, I'd lose my job. It's just a risk I'm willing to take in order to get justice for Cameron.
I creep towards the crime scene tape, hoping the rain and the dark night will hide my figure from the officer inside the patrol car. My heart beats harder and harder with every step. Getting caught here would not only get me fired, but it would also land me in jail for tampering with a crime scene. I can't get any closer to Gavin if I'm in jail. The crime scene tape flaps around in the wind as I get closer. The raindrops hit the ground hard, landing in small puddles that send little drops of mud flying up from the ground to land on my shoes. I glance back at the patrol car and still don't see any sign of movement, then I duck under the yellow tape.
A clear plastic bag, pinned underneath a rock, catches my eye from the back side of the taped in circle. It's just a couple feet from where the ground drops off to a deeper part of the quarry. Why would someone leave an evidence bag out at the crime scene? That's a good way to get yourself in trouble. I'll be sure to take advantage of their mistake. I crouch down and move towards the bag, making my figure smaller and harder to see for the officer that's supposed to be watching this place. Whoever it is, they're clearly not doing a very good job.
I lift up the rock, revealing the contents of the plastic bag underneath. It's not an evidence bag at all, it's a normal plastic bag. This wasn't forgotten here, it was left here. I unconsciously stand up, holding the bag in my hand, glaring at the one thing enclosed in it. A single white envelope with my last name written across it in thick black letters. Gavin must have left it here to find, just like at the last crime scene. But how would he have gotten in and out of here to leave this letter for me? He had to have known I'd come here. Has he been following me? That's not important, I'll have to worry about that later. What is important is that I found this letter before anyone else did, and now I need to know what it says.
Before I'm able to make another move, the area around me is illuminated by a pair of bright headlights.
YOU ARE READING
Got Your Six
AcciónHow well do you know the people around you? Cameron has learned that a person from his past is involved in the towns biggest drug ring. Being ex-military and looking for new excitement, Cameron jumps at the opportunity to help end the big drug epide...
