Always By Your Side (Jack Archer x Mithran Ganesh)

Chapter Ten

After stopping by HQ to drop off the gun and to update Chief Ripley of course this comes as a total shock luckily Elliot is already working on retrieving the information and will contact us once it's done meanwhile the four of us are heading to the train station to meet up with Ashley Douglas and solve this murder. "I don't believe she would just remove her digital fingerprint from the internet completely unless she had help." The others turned to look at her completely stunned at Carmen's statement. "It's possible but only time will tell I'm sure that Elliot will be able to get what we need." There's no doubt if anyone can retrieve missing or deleted information it's him in fact, he's a miracle worker as we continued to go over what we know about the victims. "It seems that Calvin James didn't have any enemies and was loved by everyone, but we also learned that Brittany Johnson has a history with the local law enforcement which leaves us to believe this was intentional so many questions and yet so little answers as we pull up to the train station. "According to the schedule she should be arriving very soon while were waiting for Ashley let's search around for clues maybe somebody will know or at least try to know." The others nodded in agreement as the four of us hopped out of the cruiser making our way towards the train station only to notice a couple of security guards keeping a lookout for something without a second thought walked past them. "I wonder what that's about?" The others shrugged as we continued inside looking down at my watch, I saw that it was almost time for Ashley to arrive the four of us sat down on a nearby bench just talking about random things it wasn't long until we heard an announcement come over the loudspeaker. "The Silver Star has arrived at the Harmony Creek Railway Thank You for riding with us." Looking down at the information Rebecca gave us we immediately knew that this was the train we were waiting for we decided to keep our distance, so we don't scare her away I watched as Mithran reached into the folder pulling out a picture of Ashley we watched as the train doors opened one by one passengers started walking out with luggage in hand the four of us being on high alert it wasn't long until we spotted her although she looks completely different then the picture I turned to look at the others who nodded in acknowledgment we waited for a few moments before getting up and following her towards the entrance but right as she was about to leave I tapped her shoulder which made her turn around confused. "Can I help you?" We nodded pulling out our badges. "Yes, you can we're from the Bureau I'm Detective Jack Archer these are my partners Lab Chief Mithran Ganesh, Detective Carmen Martinez, and Detective Michelle Zuria we're investigating the murder of Calvin James and Brittany Johnson." She looked at us for a few seconds before her eyes went wide. "Wait a minute did you just say Calvin's been murdered?!" We nodded. "That's correct did you know him personally?" She nodded leaning against the wall. "The two of us go way back when we were younger, we've shared an unbreakable bond as for Brittany... It doesn't surprise me I'll be honest with you she crossed so many lines and boundaries stealing from others especially since the incident several years ago." That seemed to peak out interest. "If you don't mind me asking what exactly happened?" She looked at us completely shocked before reaching into her pocket pulling out a newspaper article showing it to us. "You'll need to read it for yourselves, but I'll give you the short version Brittany and an ex-boyfriend of hers broke into a couple of businesses looking for what I'm not sure so far everything was going according to plan except for one little thing she planned on betraying him at the next break in leaving him behind to take the fall while she left the country taking the valuables with her unfortunately it didn't work out in her favor it ultimately backfired on her immediately turns out her sister over heard her talking about where they would strike next when and where after writing down the information she contacted the local police department informing them about the next break in that gave them plenty of time to come up with a plan to catch them in the act of course they asked her sister to keep tabs on them she agreed and left during that time her sister managed to gather enough information keeping it hidden from others until she was able to deliver it after school she completely understood the risks knowing what the outcome would be but she didn't mind it one bit after all she was willing to put her sister and her ex away once and for all after thanking her for everything that she's done and to stay safe after she left the entire police station started gearing up before heading towards the location which wasn't far from there after arriving at the scene they get into position waiting for them to arrive and just as her sister wrote down they notice a pair of headlights coming this way being careful not to blow their covers watched as a couple of vans driving towards the back of the store luckily they informed the owners beforehand and were able to get security footage both inside and out to everyone's shock it was the exact same van that was seen parked outside a few days earlier probably to scout out the best ways to enter without setting off the alarms they had no idea that there were cameras inside and out of the building watching their every single move after leaving security immediately contacted the owners who in returned contacted the police department informing them about what they noticed which prompted a thorough investigation turns out it was the same van that was spotted at the previous locations before the break-ins it didn't take long for the alarms to go off which meant that it was go time as they rushed towards the business both Brittany and her ex dropped everything before rushing towards the vans unfortunately it didn't work out for her right as she was about to leave until she notice that her ex-boyfriend disappeared only leaving behind a note as she opened it up all the color drained from her face in it there was only a single sentence which only said goodbye flipping the paper back and forth absolutely confused and furious tossing the letter on the floor board not wanting to waste any more time starts up the van but before she could even leave the parking lot only to be surrounded by several cruisers with their weapons drawn telling her to get out of the van with her hands up but instead of cooperating she put the van in drive hightailing it which lead to a high speed chase down the highway luckily no one else was out but that she was determined to find out where her ex-boyfriend fled too but then she remembered an abandoned house near the edge of town without a second thought sped up anger rushing through her veins luckily she made it in record time and with no cruisers nearby she parked behind the house leaving it running just in case barging her way into the house only to see another note taped to the wall near her snatching it she opened it up in it he says after everything we've been through you planned on betraying me well guess what two can play at this game have fun in prison day hello to an old friend of ours that was the last straw as she headed out the back door only to realize that she was once again surrounded not wanting to put up a fight she gave up they swarmed in placing her in handcuffs before taking her to jail while the other officers stayed behind tapping off everything after arriving back at the station they immediately brought her in for questioning at first she denied ever being at those businesses but when they showed her the evidence she admitted to everything but that she didn't do it alone he ex-boyfriend was also involved as well when asked where he was she shrugged not saying another word they once again handcuffed her taking her to a cell but before being locked up she looked at the officers a look in her eyes nobody knew what was going on but didn't think much of it before walking away a month later she was sent to prison for how long I'm not sure that's all I know here you can have this it'll probably won't do me any good." As she handed it over to Mithran. "Thank you, quick question though did they ever find, out whatever happened to the ex-boyfriend though?" She shook her head. "I'm afraid not they only found the remains of the van he was last seen driving other than that he's still a missing person I nodded as Carmen started taking notes. "Do you anything about her entire existence being erased from the internet?" She looked at us confused for a few moments before realizing what I meant. "I'm afraid not but I might know someone who does his name is Samuel Alito he goes to the same college I do although it'll be hard to find him usually, he'll be in his dorm room but just so happens that he has a roommate who lives not too far from here his name is Marco Stevenson, I can give you the address of you want." We nodded watching as she reached into her pocket pulling out a piece of paper writing down the address before handing it over. "Thank you it we have any more questions we'll know where to find you." She nodded grabbing her bag making her way towards the exit the four of us looked at each other. "Hey Mithran, can you text Elliot and see if he can gather information on Brittany's ex-boyfriend." The others looked at me like I'm crazy. "How are we supposed to do that when don't even know his name Archer?" A smirk appeared over my face. "Simple Carmen he'll match the face to a name in the database while that's being taking care of the rest of us are going to visit Marco Stevenson." As we headed towards the exit, I notice a newspaper stand in the distance without a second thought I made my way over not paying attention to Carmen calling out my name looking around I notice a gossip magazine with the victim's name in bold printed letters followed by trouble in paradise. "Excuse me sir do you know anything about this?" The seller turned to look at me. "Oh, that apparently they've been having a lot of fights lately not sure what about though if you want you can have it." I nodded grabbing the magazine off the shelf paying for it before walking back. "Archer why do you have a magazine in your hand we don't have time for reading we have a killer to catch!" Instead of responding I held up the magazine pointing to the cover. "Take a look at the cover from what the seller told me the victims have been having a lot of fights lately maybe someone close to the victims saw what was happening and decided to do something about it, so they followed them to the Red Rooster Restaurant but right as they followed behind only to be stopped by the bouncer Noah Cox for not wearing the proper clothes which gave the staff a clear view of what the killer wore after they left the restaurant at about 8:30 watching from a safe distance as they made their way back towards the hotel and let's not forget about what the elderly couple told us after hearing the crash followed by screaming the killer mumbled under their breath about forgiveness which meant that they felt remorse for what they did." But right as I was about to continue Mithran tapped my shoulder a smile appeared over his face. "Great news I just got a text from Elliot about the tattoo on Brittany Johnson's upper arm turns out it's from a popular tattoo parlor called the Rose Tattoo Parlor and you'll never guess what turns out that Brittany Johnson worked there years ago unfortunately it didn't last long the owner caught her stealing large sums of money and equipment police were called and charged were pressed she ended up going to jail the owner fired her and told her never to come back." We stared at him in amazement. "Do you have an address for the Rose Tattoo Parlor?" Mithran shook his head. "No, the place shut down years and the owner left town with no known address, but I did ask Elliot to run a background check on the employees who worked there it'll be a bit before he gets back to us." I tossed my arm over his shoulder kissing his temple. "That's very smart of you babe while waiting for a reply let's go see this, Marco Stevenson." As we left the train station one of the security guys stopped us. "I'm sorry to bother you but I couldn't help but over here that you're investigating the murder of Calvin James and Brittany Johnson?" We nodded turning around to face him. "That's correct do you have any information?" He nodded reaching into his pocket pulling out a piece of paper followed by a picture. "I'm not sure if this will help or not but I notice a white van parked in front of the hotel days before the murders." That immediately peaked our interests. "Did you say a white van?" He nodded quickly. "Yes, I wrote down the license plate just in case." Carmen pulled out her notebook writing down the information. "Did you see who was driving the truck?" He shook his head. "No, it was too bright, but I was able to catch a quick glance of a tattoo on the upper arm." Reaching into my pocket I pulled the picture out showing it to him it didn't take him long to make a positive match. "That's it that's the same tattoo I saw luckily they were distracted with something not wanting to stick around I went on my way hours later I was walking past the Red Rooster Restaurant with a couple of friends of mine I notice a strange fellow hiding behind some trash cans but before any of us could ask he quickly bolted down the alleyway we didn't think much of it that's when I saw the van not wasting any time I quickly wrote down the license plate watching as it sped off into the night." After he hands us the piece of paper Michelle contacted Elliot asking him to run the number. "Thank you for informing us about this please stick around for more questioning." He nodded heading back towards the train station. "Do you think this is the same person who killed Calvin James and Brittany Johnson?" I shrugged looking down at the picture. "It's still too early to tell we'll need a lot more evidence to put this killer away for a very long time." The others nodded in agreement a few moments later Michelle gets off the phone a smile appeared over her face. "We're in luck turns out the white van belongs to a restaurant called the Prime Pizzeria turns out the owner contacted the local authorities filing a report that one of their vans has been stolen of course they weren't able to locate it until they received an anonymous tip stating that a young white male in their early to mid-twenties was last seen driving it when they went to question this individual he disappeared never to be seen or heard from ever again." So many thoughts were running through my mind all at once I wonder if this person was somehow related to the murders and the disappearance only time will tell. "Alright looks like we have a lot of ground to cover where should we start?" After some thinking we decided to question Samuel Alito as we get back into the cruiser, Carmen's phone starts going off she quickly answers it. "Carmen speaking." The three of us stayed completely silent waiting for her to finish talking. "I see we're on our way." After hanging up she turned to look at us. "That was Ingrid there's been another murder." Our eyes went wide. "Another murder you can't be serious?!" Carmen shook her head. "I'm very serious Archer she sent the address to my phone let's get going." Without saying another word, we pulled out of the parking lot heading towards the location along the way we decided to compare notes at first none of it made since but with a little more time and patience it started coming to light. "It appears we are most likely dealing with a serial killer, starting with the disappearance of Brittany's ex-boyfriend when he found out what she planned on betraying him but instead he took off without her the moment she came back to the house it was completely empty as for the van that was seen days before the murders was stolen from the Prime Pizzeria a young white male in their early to mid-twenties was last seen driving it unfortunately he disappeared too I wonder if this is connected to the murders somehow and let's not forget the Rose Tattoo Parlor Brittany was arrested for stealing large sums of money and equipment for what I'm not sure but only time will tell in the meantime we have another murder to solve.