Killing Frank Barnes Read online

  “Stop that” Robyn laughed and playfully swatted him with the dishtowel she kept slung over her shoulder.

  Dekker went to the cupboard and grabbed two plates and two coffee mugs. Robyn was right, today had been a long one and he was hungry. He smiled to himself. Even after twenty years of marriage, Robyn still knew exactly what he needed. Pouring himself a fresh cup of coffee, Dekker sat at the kitchen table and watched as Robyn finished cooking.

  “How did today go?” Robyn asked.

  “Fine.”

  “Then what’s wrong?”

  “What makes you think something’s wrong?”

  Robyn raised one eyebrow knowingly.

  Dekker said, “You aren’t going to believe this. Remember that call where Lizzie followed the fire truck and there ended up being a body in a burned ou car?”

  Robyn laughed. “Yep. Sounds like you have your hands full with her.”

  “She’s interested in everything. I kind of like that about her. At least I don’t have to kick her in the pants to get her to do things.”

  “Did she do something wrong?”

  “No, nothing like that. We went to the autopsy today. The coroner tentatively ruled it as a homicide.”

  “That doesn’t sound so out of the ordinary. What makes this one special?”

  “The victim.”

  “Who was it?”

  “I don’t know for certain but…” he paused, looking up from his food.

  “But what? What is it?”

  “I got the CSI report back today and there was a print found inside the trunk. Only one useable print in the whole burned up mess.”

  “That’s a good thing right? Now the detectives can go about figuring out who he is?”

  “I already know who he his.” Dekker said with a lowered voice

  Robyn put her fork down and stared at Dekker expectantly.

  “It came back as a match to Frank Barnes.” Dekker spoke the words and once again felt the shock at the information.

  “Frank Barnes. The informant?”

  “The one and only.”

  “I don’t suppose there was a bag of dope and money in that trunk?”

  “No such luck.”

  No longer hungry, Dekker took his plate to the garbage and scraped his uneaten dinner into it. He went to the sink and ran hot water over the plate before leaving it in the sink. He turned back to Robyn. “I’m not quite sure what to think. Let’s say this is Frank Barnes. How did he get there? What happened to the money and the drugs? He was just a kid, who would want to kill him?”

  “You still think about that day don’t you?”

  “Of course I do! I was blamed for the whole situation when Barnes couldn’t be found. He could’ve helped. He could’ve testified to whole setup.”

  “What good would that have done, Tom?”

  “What good would it have done? Maybe he could have told us what he saw when Jimmy was killed. We would certainly still have the money and the drugs wouldn’t be out there floating around. ” Dekker put his coffee cup in the sink with the plate and went to the cabinet for a glass. He poured himself a scotch from the decanter on the counter and took a large swallow. “I bet Werner had something to do with this.”

  “Oh now really,” sighed Robyn. “Werner is a tool but do you really think he’d murder someone just to keep you looking bad?”

  “He got my job didn’t he? He wouldn’t want anyone screwing that up. All I know is that Barnes has been off the grid for years and now suddenly he’s back”

  “You’re talking about murder, Tom! I refuse to believe that any cop is capable of that type of evil.”

  “That’s because you don’t know what really goes on in that place. You’d be surprised how many guys get away with dirty policing.”

  “I think you’re getting carried away with this. If Barnes was involved in drugs he could’ve crossed the wrong guy and now he’s paying for it.”

  “The wrong guy like Werner!”

  “Oh good Lord, stop. How much does Lizzie know?”

  “None of it. She doesn’t know about the old case and I lied this morning when she asked if the CSI officer had found anything.”

  “Good. Keep her out of this. The last thing that sweet girl needs is to get caught up in all that sordid mess.”

  “What do you think I should do with this?”

  “Nothing. I say let sleeping dogs lie.”

  “I’m not sure if I can do that, Robyn.”

  “Come to bed. Maybe you will be able to think more clearly in the morning.” Robyn took the glass from Dekker’s hand and set it in the sink with the rest of the dinner dishes. She grabbed him by the hand and flicked off the kitchen light as she led him to their room.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Long after the lights were out and Robyn had started her gentle snoring, Dekker lay awake pondering the Barnes case. He could feel the old familiar acid building up in his stomach. He had developed an ulcer when all of that went down and he was a little afraid it was coming back with this new discovery.

  Frank Barnes had been so close this whole time! The last two years had gone by and Dekker had been sure Barnes fled to Mexico or some other part of the country where he could move on without being recognized. But he had been close this whole time.

  Dekker couldn’t just lie there with his head spinning the rest of the night. Moving softly so as not to wake Robyn, Dekker climbed out of bed and grabbed his bathrobe. He quietly closed the bedroom door behind him and made his way to the kitchen. A glass of warm milk might help. He spied the glass decanter of scotch. This. This is what he needed. He grabbed a clean glass from the cupboard. With the decanter and glass in hand he made his way to his home office.

  Closing the office door behind him he sat down at his executive desk and flipped on the small lamp in the corner. The room was originally going to be a nursery but once they found out they couldn’t have kids he had turned it into a home office and it had suited him well. Maybe if he and Robyn had adopted, they could have spent the last two years enjoying family life instead of being in the midst of something so ferocious their marriage almost hadn’t survived.

  Opening the center desk drawer Dekker removed a set of keys. He should do what Robyn said and just let sleeping dogs lie. Leave this alone and just move on. Keep training rookies until he retired and stay out of any further mess. But what if his suspicions were right? What if Werner knew where Barnes was and was using him to get further on other cases? Dekker knew Werner was slimy but could he really have murdered Barnes? What if Werner was trying to set Dekker up? Did Werner really hate him that much?

  Dekker made up his mind with a quick set of his mouth. He got up and unlocked the top drawer of his file cabinet. He can’t let this go.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Dekker removed the stuffed file folders that held all of the documents from the original case. There were police reports, witness statements, coroner’s reports and depositions. Two years of his life stuffed into these files. He piled them up on the desk and paused to look at them. He wasn’t even sure what he was looking for. He thought he knew these documents backward and forward. Maybe something would jump out at him. Something he had missed. Something would help him decide what to do next. He took a deep breath and an even bigger swig of scotch. He opened the first file and started reading.

  The sun was just peeking through the blinds when Robyn quietly knocked on the door and entered the office. She held a steaming cup of coffee in her hands and stared at all the papers and files strewn all over the desk and floor.

  “I thought were going to leave this be?”

  “I was but it just kept nagging me.”

  “Did you even sleep last night?”

  “Not really. I got wrapped up looking for that missing piece that would help me figure this out.”

  “Did you find it?”

  “Nope. Nothing yet.”

  Robyn hugged him tightly and set the mug of coffee down on a pile of papers
he still had to look through. “Can you put that aside and have something to eat before work? Can I make you breakfast?”

  “You really are too good to me.” Dekker said, grabbing her hand and holding it to his face.

  “And don’t you forget it!” Robyn quipped as she walked to the kitchen. “Now put that away!” she yelled from the kitchen.

  Dekker left every file right where it was and went to his bedroom. He had time to take a quick shower before breakfast and then he would spend the rest of his morning with Robyn. She deserved that. If he was going to pursue this homicide investigation he had to make sure it didn’t swallow him. As the shower ran hot, filling the bathroom with steam. He spoke to his reflection in the bathroom mirror. “You will NOT let this affect your marriage. You will NOT sacrifice what you have for any reason. Don’t you dare.”

  Chapter Forty

  By the time Dekker had gotten to work, sat through briefing and gotten Lizzie and her stuff loaded into the patrol car, it was time for court. He earnestly hoped this would go quickly. He hated having to wait for the DA to call him but they didn’t appreciate it when he told them to “call me when you need me.”

  Lizzie was a little quiet this morning but when they arrived at the courthouse Dekker told her to wait in the car.

  Lizzie spoke up. “You said I could come in and watch.”

  “You’re right I did say that. Come on then. Just sit in the audience and don’t talk.”

  “What kind of case is it?”

  “DUI case from four years ago”

  “And it’s just now going to court?”

  “It’s ridiculous really. This suspect has been in San Quentin for the last two years on a robbery conviction but the baby D.A.’s needed something to cut their trial teeth on. So they pull cases like this. Even if they lose this DUI trial, the guy just goes straight back to lockup.”

  Lizzie nodded as if this made all the sense in the world. She followed Dekker into the assigned courtroom and took a seat in the back. Dekker walked down the aisle and tapped the DA on the shoulder to let her know he was present.

  Lizzie watched the proceedings with fascination. She couldn’t keep her eyes off of the big burly man sitting at the defense table. The full-grown beard that hung past his shirt collar made a stark contrast to his gleaming, bald, head. A large tattoo of a cross marred the left side of his face. This is what real criminals looked like. I’d hate to meet that guy in an alley on a dark night. As if reading her thoughts, the defendant turned his head and stared back at Lizzie. She shuddered involuntarily as he smiled, revealing a gap where his two top teeth should be. Whatever this man had done, prison was definitely where he belonged.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Lizzie jumped at a tap on her shoulder. She looked behind her and saw Ofc Camden holding his finger to his mouth warning her to keep quiet. She looked at him questioningly and shrugged her shoulders. He waved for her to follow him out into the hallway and Lizzie did so begrudgingly.

  “I was learning something in there!” she scolded Camden

  “Oh please. That case is snooze fest. Walk with me and I’ll show you around.”

  Lizzie followed Camden down the hallway to a door marked Records Clerk. Camden knocked on the door and a pleasant looking woman opened it to them.

  “Donna” Camden smiled sweetly.

  “Officer Camden, what can I do for you?”

  “I need to pull a case file, please.”

  “Come in then. Just hurry up because I’m about to go to lunch and I don’t relish the idea of leaving you alone in here.”

  Camden asked with a fake pout, “You don’t trust me?” He blinked his eyes innocently for good measure.

  “Not a chance!”

  “Smart girl,” he said and Donna laughed.

  Lizzie followed Camden to a desk with a computer on it and watched as he typed in a name she didn’t recognize.

  “So what exactly are you doing?”

  “I have to write up a case for the detectives and I want to pull the old court documents on the suspects previous rap sheet.”

  Lizzie watched over his shoulder as Camden located the case file number he needed and then walked with him to a large wall of file drawers. Camden flipped through case files until he found the one was looking for. “Be right back, I need to copy these.”

  Lizzie waited until Camden was at the copier before she walked back to the computer. Making sure no one was looking she diminished the screen Camden had been using and did a search of her own.

  She typed in the name Frank Barnes. The computer hummed as it searched before it popped up a case number. Lizzie sat there staring at it. What was she doing? Was this smart? She quickly grabbed a sticky note and a pen and copied down the file number. She closed out her search and put Camden’s back on the screen.

  Camden was still busy copying papers and flirting with Donna. He paid Lizzie no attention as she slipped back to the file cabinets and searched for the file number she had written down.

  There it was. She lifted the file out but to her surprise there was barely anything in it. It was small and thin, not anything like she expected it to be. Only an envelope that said “sealed” and boasted a large circular stamp on it. Why was this sealed?

  “Lizzie?” She jumped as Camden called out for her.

  “Coming” she said loudly as she stuffed the file back into the drawer and closed it. Lizzie came out from behind the file cabinets and joined Camden and Donna at the front counter.

  “Thank you for your most gracious hospitality” Camden said to Donna before grabbing her hand and kissing it.

  Donna swatted him away. “You better not forget to sign out of your computer again. I’m not your maid and I don’t pick up after you.”

  “Yes, ma’am!” Camden saluted Donna and said to Lizzie, “Ill be right back”

  Lizzie smiled at Donna, “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure sweetie, what is it?”

  “If I wanted to get a copy of a case file, how would I go about getting that?”

  “You could ask the assigned detective for it if you want the criminal case.”

  “Actually I want all of it. The case I’m interested in has already been adjudicated and put to bed. I just want to review the court testimony and all the documents involved. To see how everything works.”

  Lizzie felt bad for lying to Donna but she had no idea how to get what she wanted without Camden getting suspicious. That’s all she needed was him nosing around and then telling Dekker on her. And she sure as hell didn’t want Dekker knowing what she was up to. Not yet anyway. If she did some of her own research she would tell him if she came up with a lead. Then Dekker couldn’t be mad at her for nosing around.

  “Here, honey,” said Donna, as she held out a form. “Fill this out. The Freedom of Information Act lets you have access to those kinds of files. Just fill in the case number and Ill pull it. You can come back and pick it up tomorrow.”

  “Actually would it be ok if I had it sent to me? We are so busy and I’m afraid I won’t make it back tomorrow.”

  “Sure. Just write down where you want it sent and I’ll even wave the normal processing fee, because you’re new and all” Donna smiled sweetly

  Lizzie filled out the form quickly and handed it to Donna just as Camden returned.

  Camden and Lizzie said their goodbyes to Donna and Lizzie walked with Camden to the parking lot.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Lizzie blinked in the sunlight outside the courthouse. She waved goodbye to Camden and then walked to her patrol car to wait for Dekker. She unlocked the trunk and began to search her gear bag for her cell phone. She might as well call Jack while she is waiting.

  Lizzie looked up at the sound of a car racing into the parking lot. A unmarked police car swerved into the empty parking space next to her and Werner climbed out of the driver seat.

  “Well, well. Who do we have here?”

  Lizzie stared at him in contempt. “Officer Wern
er.” She acknowledged. She didn’t have much to do with this guy but she had heard he was a real windbag.

  “Looking good in your uniform!”

  Lizzie grimaced. “That’s not appropriate in the slightest and I don’t appreciate you ogling me.”

  “What’s wrong? You don’t like being appreciated?”

  “Not by you.”

  “You’re in a man’s world now chickee. Get used to it.”

  “Just leave me alone.”

  “How’s your flunky training officer treating you? I must admit Im a little jealous that he gets to spend all day riding around with a pretty thing like you.”

  “Lucky for me he isn’t that type of guy”

  “Oh sweetie you have no idea what kind of man Dekker is.”

  “And I suppose you do?”

  “Haven’t you heard? Let me fill you in on exactly what kind of man he is. He thinks he’s the big boss of everyone. He will take credit for every good thing you do and when he messes up…well that’s one thing he won’t take credit for. He blames everyone else for his mistakes.”

  “What kind of mistakes?”

  “You’ll find out. But in the meantime why don’t you ask him about Barnes.”

  Lizzie perked up at the mention of the name. She didn’t want to seem interested but she couldn’t help herself. Here was a clue to why Dekker was being so secretive. “Who’s Barnes?”

  Werner laughed. “Barnes was an informant of mine. I was doing what I was supposed to do. I made cases and this was my big bust. Using Barnes was the key.”

  “I take it something went wrong?”

  “Yeah, the informant turned. He ended up shooting the dealer and then in the fray he escaped with the money and the drugs.”

  “How was that Dekker’s fault?”

  “It was MY case. My buy bust and when things went south it was Dekker who hung me out to dry. He was supposed to be there. He was the supervisor. Instead he was somewhere sleeping off a bender. Whatever, I don’t need someone hanging over my shoulder just to do my job. He told IA that he knew nothing about it and then he blamed me for the whole thing. Tried to wiggle out of it. He had the nerve to insinuate that it was me who shot the dealer. He said I was a hot head and he couldn’t get me in line.”