ONE OF THEIR OWN (Det. Jason Strong(CLEAN SUSPENSE Book 6) Read online

  ONE OF THEIR OWN

  by

  John C. Dalglish

  2014

  Other Clean Suspense Books

  by

  John C. Dalglish

  WHERE’S MY SON? – Det. Jason Strong - #1

  BLOODSTAIN – Det. Jason Strong - #2

  FOR MY BROTHER – Det. Jason Strong - #3

  SILENT JUSTICE – Det. Jason Strong - #4

  TIED TO MURDER – Det. Jason Strong - #5

  DEATH STILL – Det. Jason Strong - #7

  LETHAL INJECTION – Det. Jason Strong - #8

  NEW CHRISTIAN FANTASY SERIES

  CROSSOVER – Chaser Chronicles #1

  JOURNEY – The Chaser Chronicles #2

  DESTINY – The Chaser Chronicles #3

  Prologue

  Detective Nina Jefferson was glad to see this day come to an end. Her work as a member of the Homicide Division at San Antonio Police Department was satisfying, but at times, exhausting. Today had been more exhausting than satisfying. Homicide was like that; exhilarating when you solved a tough case, exhausting when hard work didn’t produce results.

  Her partner slowed the car and turned into the driveway of her West San Antonio home.

  “Thanks, Frank.”

  Frank Menendez was in his late fifties, bald, and tired looking.

  “Anytime,” he said, coming to a stop. “Your car gonna be ready tomorrow?”

  “Yeah. I’ll walk over and get it.”

  She closed the car door, and walked toward the house. Her screen door sat slightly ajar, setting off her inner warning bells.

  I’m sure this door was shut when I left.

  Nina tried the front door handle and it was locked. She knew she’d been paranoid lately.

  With good reason! she told herself.

  Unlocking the door, she stepped into the comfort of air conditioning. Fall Temperatures weren’t terrible in San Antonio, but they were still hot enough to appreciate the A/C.

  She set her keys and purse down, collapsed on the living room sofa, and dialed Jason.

  “Detective Strong.”

  “Hi, Jason. It’s Nina.”

  “Hey, Nina. How’s things?”

  “Good. How’s Sandy? How far along is she, eight months now?”

  Even though they worked in the same division, their schedules and cases kept them from visiting very often.

  Jason laughed. “Eight and a half, and ready to pop!”

  “I bet,” she hesitated. “Listen Jason, I need to talk to you about something.”

  “Okay, shoot.”

  “Actually, can we meet up, say breakfast tomorrow?”

  “Sure. Where?”

  “How about Denny’s on Commerce Street?”

  “Okay. See you around eight?”

  “Fine. Thanks.”

  “Of course.”

  Nina hung up. She needed to decompress, and the best way to do that was usually with a run. She got up to change into her running clothes. After putting on her purple windsuit, she stood in front of the hall mirror.

  Short and stocky, she’d been blessed with the beautiful chocolate skin of her mother. Curly black hair, which she pulled into a ponytail when she ran, framed her big brown eyes.

  Nina checked the time. Eddie, her latest flame, was due to come by in about an hour.

  She was setting her phone on the hall table next to her purse, when she heard a noise behind her. Turning, she spotted some motion, but it was too late.

  A blinding pain to the back of her head, and everything went black.

  Chapter 1

  Eddie showed up, Chinese food in hand, and rang the doorbell.

  No answer.

  He rang again, with the same result.

  She must still be on a run.

  He sat down on the front step and extracted a fortune cookie from the bag. Glancing at his watch, he realized he was fifteen minutes early.

  Maybe she was in the shower.

  He waited ten minutes, and rang the bell again.

  This time he rang it three separate times with no answer. The food was now cold, and he was beginning to think she stood him up. Still, that didn’t seem like her.

  He dialed her phone.

  “This is Nina. You know what to do.”

  He didn’t leave a message.

  Finally, figuring something must have come up, he got back in his car to leave.

  I guess I’m gonna have leftovers.

  He started the car, pulled an eggroll out of the bag, and drove off.

  *******

  The fog began to lift from Nina’s brain, getting pushed back by the sound of a car rumbling over pavement. She struggled to make sense of where she was. She was blindfolded, but finally, she figured it out.

  A car trunk.

  She didn’t know how long she was unconscious, but the blow to her head had been severe, and her head pounded. Nina tried to touch her head but couldn’t. Her arms were pinned behind her in the tiny space.

  As near as she could tell, her head was the only part of her injured; she didn’t feel pain anywhere else. Lying as still as possible, she listened, trying to pick up some noise or conversation coming from the passenger compartment. There was nothing.

  She struggled against the panic threatening to overtake her.

  Think, Nina, think. Who could this be?

  One of the facts of being a detective was that there was always a risk of people who might want to hurt you.

  The car began to slow, rocking her slightly forward against the back seat, but her arms remained pinned. A few seconds later, the car came to a complete stop. The engine remained running, but a door slammed, and she could hear footsteps coming toward the rear of the car.

  A click, the trunk popped open, and she felt a rush of fresh air. Two arms reached in, picked her up, and stood her upright outside the trunk.

  Nina could smell the man, grungy and foul, but couldn’t see past the blindfold.

  “Who are you? Why are you doing this?” Her questions were met by silence.

  A shove sent her stumbling forward, where her legs came up against some sort of a railing. She couldn’t see enough to tell where she was, or even if it was night or day.

  “Where are we?”

  Footsteps came up behind her, another shove, and she was falling.

  *******

  Frank Menendez realized he’d forgotten something. He pulled his phone out and dialed Nina. Her machine answered.

  “Nina, this is Frank. Listen, I’m probably going to be late tomorrow, so if your car isn’t done, maybe Jason or someone can get you. See ya later.”

  He hung up as his wife called him to dinner, but his phone started to ring. He looked at the number, then called out to his wife.

  “I’ve got to take this. Be a few minutes!” He pushed the answer button. “Why are you calling me?”

  *******

  Nina couldn’t tell how far she fell, but it seemed to take forever. The blindfold quickly blew off, and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could see the ground rushing toward her. She couldn’t hear herself scream, and found it odd.

  As the ground rapidly came closer, she realized it wasn’t solid ground at all. A river coursed beneath her, and when she hit the surface, she was struck by the cold.

  Everything returned to black.

  Chapter 2

  The next morning, Jason was a few minutes late for his meeting with Nina, but was relieved to see she wasn’t waiting on him. He took a table at the far end of the restaurant, next to the window.

  The waitress came up and Jason ordered coffee. His p
hone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, honey. I wanted to remind you of the appointment this afternoon.” Sandy and he were to have an ultrasound.

  “I didn’t forget. One o’clock, right?”

  “Yup, see you there.”

  They hung up and Jason looked at his watch. Nina was now twenty-five minutes late. The waitress came back and refilled his coffee. Jason took out his phone and called Nina. He got her machine.

  “Nina, this is Jason. I guess something came up, so I’m going to the station. See you there.”

  Jason paid for his coffee, still watching for her car, but eventually he had to leave.

  *******

  Open your eyes! Open your eyes! Nina, open your eyes!

  She was screaming at herself without knowing it was all in her head. Cold and pain enveloped her as she fought to gain consciousness.

  Finally, her eyes popped open. She immediately wanted to close them again. Every movement, even her eyelids, hurt. And she was cold, colder than she’d ever been. In fact, the shivering may have been what woke her up.

  Nina tried to figure out where she was. She remembered falling, then cold, but that was it. She knew she was on the bank of a river, but had no idea which one, or even if she was still in San Antonio.

  Ever so slowly, she turned her head.

  Step one. My neck isn’t broken.

  She tried her arms. The right one moved without much pain, but the left arm shot pain up into her shoulder when she tried to lift it, stealing her breath.

  “Craaaap!”

  One arm works, one doesn’t. Now the legs.

  Her legs were lying in the water, swishing in the current. Each time they moved, pain shot into her hip, but she couldn’t tell which leg was causing the pain. The water had numbed them.

  She forced herself to lift the right leg, and despite wet pants, she was able to get it above water. Next, she tried the left leg. Pain seared her consciousness, a lot of pain. Apparently, when she’d hit the water, she was on her left side. Her gut told her she had a serious injury to her hip and thigh.

  The cold was moving up her body, and she was shivering uncontrollably.

  Get out of the water, Nina. Now!

  Even in South Texas, the rivers run cold, and she knew hypothermia was beginning. Willing herself to move, she rolled onto her right side.

  “Ahhhhhh!” She began to cry from the pain.

  She succeeded in shifting her weight onto the right side of her body, resting before struggling to pin her left arm to her side.

  Several minutes passed as she fought nausea brought on by the pain. Eventually, she looked for something to pull on.

  Reaching above her head, her hand landed on a scrub bush. Grasping it by the root, she pulled. Six inches of movement, and the pain made her stop.

  Panting, tears running down her face, she rested.

  Keep going, Nina!

  She grabbed another bush, farther up the bank, and pulled. This time her knees cleared the water, only her feet remaining in the cold river, but her body screamed from pain. She felt herself losing consciousness, and fought to stay alert, resting between pulls.

  A few minutes, and the pain subsided enough for another try. Each pull had scraped her right side, and her jogging pants had pulled down to her thighs, but she still wasn’t out of the water.

  One more, Nina!

  She took hold of a larger branch, and bracing herself against the pain, pulled.

  Her feet cleared the water, but the effort took its toll. Pain racked her body until she lost her battle to stay conscious.

  *******

  Jason arrived at the precinct a little past nine. He rode the elevator up to the Homicide Division, which took up the entire third floor of the station, and was usually buzzing with activity at all hours. Today was no different.

  His partner, Detective Vanessa Layne, was already at her desk. With a tall, thin frame; large, blue eyes; and long, straight black hair. Vanessa was what some would call ‘easy on the eyes,’ but Jason knew she didn’t get ahead on her looks.

  Vanessa was smart, and a very good cop. He’d known her since they were on street patrol together. Vanessa made detective before him, and when Jason was promoted, Lieutenant John Patton made him Vanessa’s partner.

  He sat down at his desk, which was pushed up against hers, and flashed a smile. “Morning.”

  “Good morning to you. How was your meeting with Nina?”“She never showed. Have you seen her this morning?”

  “No, not yet. Frank came in a little while ago.”

  Jason looked around the office and spotted Frank Menendez over by the fax machine. He caught him on his way back to his desk.

  “Frank, have you heard from Nina this morning?”

  “No, not this morning. She should be here any moment. Why?”

  Jason didn’t know who she’d told about their meeting and didn’t want to stir something up.

  “Oh, I tried to reach her this morning with no luck.”

  “Really? I’m sure she’ll be along any time.”

  “Yeah.”

  Lieutenant Patton came out of his office.

  John Patton was a big man. He worked out every morning, including his days off, and it showed. Every muscle was controlled and toned, but the same couldn’t be said for his moustache and eyebrows. His brown eyes and his mouth were completely hidden by hair and his teeth would suddenly appear from beneath his moustache when he smiled.

  “Frank, I need you and Jefferson in my office.”

  “She’s not in yet, Lieutenant.”

  The lieutenant, who had started back for his office, stopped and turned.

  “Where is she?”

  Menendez shrugged. The lieutenant resumed his walk back to his office.

  “Call her, then get in here.”

  *******

  An hour later, Menendez came out of the Patton’s office, followed by the lieutenant. They both asked the same question in unison.

  “Nina show up?”

  Vanessa and Jason both shook their heads. The lieutenant didn’t like it.

  “That’s not like her. Jason, you and Vanessa go by her place, and make sure everything is okay.” He turned to Menendez. “Frank, you work on what we just discussed.”

  “I’d like to go check on my partner.”

  “Don’t care. Strong and Layne can check on her while you clean up your mess.”

  Menendez didn’t hide his unhappiness, but neither did he argue with the lieutenant. Jason got up to leave with Vanessa on his heels.

  “We’ll call in when we get there.”

  The lieutenant nodded and went back to his office.

  Chapter 3

  “How’s Sandy?” Vanessa asked on the drive over to Nina’s house.

  Vanessa constantly wanted updates on Jason’s wife and the little girl Sandy was carrying.

  “Pretty good. She’s ready to bring our baby into the world,” he smiled. “That little girl has a ferocious kick.”

  Vanessa laughed. “You can see her moving around, can’t you?”

  “Oh, yeah. She’s going be a pistol if her time in the womb is any indication.”

  They turned onto Nina’s street. Parking in the driveway, Jason noticed her car was gone.

  They walked up to the house and knocked. No answer, so Jason tried the doorknob. It turned easily. Jason leaned into the foyer and called out.

  “Nina?”

  The house was quiet.

  “Nina!”

  Still nothing.

  “Something doesn’t feel right.”

  Vanessa looked down and spotted Nina’s keys lying on the floor.

  Jason dialed Lieutenant Patton.

  “Patton.”

  “Lieutenant, this Jason.”

  “You two at Jefferson’s house?”

  “Yes, Sir. We knocked and got no answer. When we tried the door, it was unlocked. Her car is gone, but her keys are still here.”

  “Hold on,” Jason
could tell the lieutenant had covered the phone, but he quickly came back on. “Frank says her car was being repaired at McMichael’s Garage on Commerce Street. She was supposed to walk over and get it this morning.”

  “Okay, we’ll follow up on that. We’re getting ready to go into the house, but we’ll check on the car too.”

  After he hung up, he gave the name of the garage to Vanessa and she looked it up. While she called the garage, Jason went inside.

  When he tried to push the door all the way open, it hit something. Looking around the door, he saw the reason. The hall table had been knocked over, a purse and cell phone laying on the living room floor.

  He called out again. “Nina!”

  He moved to the bedroom, checking the bathroom in the hall as he went. Both were empty. After a quick check of the spare bedroom, he went through the living room to the kitchen. Vanessa joined him there.

  “The garage said she never showed to pick up the car this morning.”

  Jason scanned the kitchen. “It looks like someone surprised her. She probably never left to get the car.”

  Walking by the refrigerator, Jason noticed a calendar hanging by magnets. He took it down. Nothing was noted for last night or today.

  “Look at this.”

  Vanessa joined him, looking over his shoulder. “What?”

  “There’s several entries about an Eddie.”

  “Who’s Eddie?”

  “I’m not sure, boyfriend maybe?”

  Jason flipped the calendar back a month. On the fifteenth, he found an appointment noted:

  Shelly-IA-2 PM.

  Vanessa looked at the name. “You suppose she means Shelly Meyers of Internal Affairs?”

  “Seems likely to me,” Jason said. “I wonder what that was about.”

  Jason flipped the calendar back another month. It was blank. Back another month, and he found three days noted as Testify-Brady Trial.