Page 29 of The Perfect Betrayal

“Let’s go say ‘hi,’” she said, getting out of the passenger seat. She took several quick breaths, bordering on hyperventilating, in the hopes of getting extra oxygen to her brain and clearing up the sluggishness that still persisted. It seemed to help a bit.

Riddell joined her, and they made their way up the path to the apartment complex gate. Metal fencing ran along the entire exterior of the two-story building. Riddell used the key in the Knox Box, the secure lockbox attached to the wall next to gatecode panel. The box was intended for police and emergency personnel to access buildings quickly and without having to announce themselves.

Once inside, he led the way as they headed to unit 114. The poorly named Gardena Gardens was a motel-style complex where all the units were accessed from the outside. They passed a sad-looking pool that had more leaves than water in it and came to a stop in front of Collins's door.

Once they arrived, Riddell undid the holster for his sidearm. Though Jessie considered the detective to be rash and ill-tempered, in this instance she didn’t think he was off base. They were virtually certain that their killer was female, and it appeared that Collins had an unpleasant history with Taye Boyce, if not with Daran Peterson. Taking extra precautions seemed reasonable.

“You ready?” Riddell asked as he stood to the left of the door and held his fist in front of it.

Jessie stepped to the right of the door, undid the holster on her own gun, and nodded. Riddell rapped on the door and barked loudly.

“Samantha Collins, this is the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. We need to speak with you. Please open the door.”

Jessie was surprised. She'd expected him to knock normally in the hopes of starting this interaction on the right foot. But apparently, Riddell wanted to escalate things from the very start. The unexpected adrenaline jolt that came from the realization helped dissipate whatever remaining brain fog she had.

They waited ten seconds without hearing anything. Then there was a loud thump that Jessie couldn’t identify. For half a second, she thought it might be the sound of a body hitting the ground. But then a more likely culprit popped into her head. If she had to guess, that was the sound of a window being slammedopen. She looked over at Riddell, about to share her theory. But he spoke first.

“That sounded like someone in distress to me,” he said, not even trying to be convincing. “I think we’ve got exigent circumstances here and need to breach.”

It was clear that he didn’t buy his own assertion but felt he had to officially make it out loud before smashing open the apartment door. Without even looking over to see if she would object, he grabbed his gun and barked a second time.

“Ma’am, we’re concerned that you are in danger. We are entering the domicile. Put your hands above your head for your own safety!”

Jessie reluctantly unholstered her own weapon too. They were committed now. Riddell silently counted down from three, then reared back and kicked at the flimsy door near the handle. The frame cracked briefly before popping open. Riddell entered first. Jessie followed, scanning the living room for any movement. There was none.

Riddell stepped around a half wall into the kitchen. Jessie glanced down a short hallway to what looked like the bedroom.

“Moving to the back,” she whispered, shuffling forward. She took quick note that the place was somehow both spartan and messy at the same time. There was hardly any furniture, just a loveseat with an end table. The walls were bare. Either Samantha Collins didn’t have many possessions, or she couldn’t afford to keep what she used to have.

Jessie reached a door in the hallway that she assumed was for the bathroom. It was open, but the room was dark. She stayed in the hall as she felt around for the light switch. Finding it, she flicked it on, then knelt down and kicked the door open. The bathroom was empty.

“Passing you on the right,” Riddell said, “Kitchen was clear.”

He proceeded ahead of her to the bedroom at the end of the hall and didn’t even bother trying the handle. He used the same technique as before, kicking it open. This one was even more brittle than the front door and the lower hinges snapped off entirely when the thing slammed open.

Riddell rolled in and popped up onto his knees. Jessie stayed by the broken door and looked around. There was no one there, but the back window was wide open. Riddell headed that way.

Jessie was about to warn him to check the closet first but gave up on the idea and decided to just do it herself. It had a sliding, mirrored door that was half open already. She crouched and peeked in. Nothing.

“She’s headed down the alley,” Riddell said. “I’m going after her.”

Jessie looked over. He was already clambering up on the bed and straddling the window. Jessie rushed over. By the time, she was on the bed looking out, he’d already dropped to the ground and started running after a young woman, who was halfway down the alley. There was no way that Jessie, still unsure if she was fully recovered from the medication’s effects, was going to follow suit.

“Toss me your keys,” she ordered. “I’m going to get the car.”

He stopped for half a second to fish them out of his pocket, then threw them back to her.

“Don’t crash it,” he warned before giving chase again.

Jessie didn't have the energy to offer a comeback. Instead, she simply hopped off the bed and darted back through the apartment. As she sprinted through the apartment complex courtyard back to the street, she tried to guess where Collins would go next.

Jessie wasn’t super familiar with the Gardena area, but she had noticed that this residential street, 154thCourt, intersected with a larger one, Crenshaw Boulevard, which was lined withbusinesses. That’s the direction that Collins had run. If Jessie could get there before the woman, maybe she could find her before she disappeared into a store, and they lost her.

She jumped into the driver’s seat, started the car, and hit the gas. She reached the intersection with Crenshaw in a matter of seconds and turned right toward the alleyway than ran parallel to 154thCourt.

It took her a moment to locate Collins. But after a quick, fruitless scan of the right side of the road, she glanced left and saw her. The woman had already crossed the street and was scurrying along the sidewalk on that side. Riddell was nowhere in sight.

Jessie punched the accelerator, shooting past several cars in front of her before cutting across traffic and coming to a stop on the sidewalk, blocking Collin’s path. The woman came to a sudden halt just in front of her. For the first time, Jessie got a good look at her.

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