Page 26 of Justice for JoElla

Jesus, I wish people would stop saying that, JoElla told herself as she sat there. She was looking at blood spatter analysis, for god’s sake. Nobody in her office was having a good day. They had no hope for one.

Mick brought back submarine sandwiches and chips, so JoElla saved the big dill spear for last. At least that was something to look forward to. She unwrapped the sandwich, took a big bite, and then talked as she chewed. Yeah, it was an annoying habit, but she didn’t give a shit. When you usually ate standing up, talking with your mouth full became the norm. “So I got a hit on the ballistics. Murder in SanAntonio.”

Mick’s brow wrinkled downward. “Texas?”

“Unless there’s a SanAntonio in Tennessee. Called the officer who worked the case and he’s supposed to call me back.” Mick nodded. “Fuck it all, I should’ve given him your number too in case something happened and I wasn’t around.”

“Similar circumstances?” Mick asked.

“I dunno about that, but a woman and in a similar age range, so there’s that.” She dabbed at the corner of her mouth with one of the napkins included in the bag, then took a sip of her drink before she continued. “We need to know the circumstances behind their closing of the case and if anything came of it.”

“Good things to know for sure. I?” Mick’s desk phone rang, and he picked it up. “Yeah?” His eyes cut toward JoElla and she stopped chewing. “Uh-huh. Yeah. Okay. Be there in just a couple.”

“What’s up?”

“Sighting of his vehicle. Swallow that whole and let’s go.”

JoElla crammed the rest of the sandwich in her mouth. “Whehhh?”

“ShelbyCounty.”

The elevator was way too fucking slow, so they ran down the stairs and blew through the door of the forensics area. Richard was waiting for them. “Got this from KSP about three minutes ago,” he said as he jetted back to the video area, JoElla and Mick right behind him. He slid to a stop in front of a large LED screen and pointed. “Here we go.”

The film was a little grainy, but as surveillance footage went, it was pretty damn good. Several cars came and went, and then an SUV rolled into the camera’s range, its rear end toward the camera and the passenger side toward the store. “Stop there!” Mick barked, and he and JoElla leaned in.

“Yeah. That’s his plate. Okay, roll it,” she instructed Richard.

The video footage showed a large man climbing out of the driver’s door. “That’s him,” Mick muttered. Oddly, as they watched, the man turned and looked straight at the camera, as if to taunt them. Mick’s voice was nothing but a low growl. “Son of a bitch.”

“He’s an arrogant bastard, I’ll give him that,” JoElla muttered under her breath.

“I’ll say. But now it gets really interesting,” Richard said and let the video roll.

The big man seemed to look through the car’s doorway into the back seat, then started the gas pump. He disappeared into the store. What happened next shocked them to their souls.

The rear door farthest from the store opened and someone climbed out. When they were completely clear of the vehicle, JoElla gasped.

It was Josie, stark naked and her hands tied behind her back with zippered ties. “Holy shit.”

“Oh my god,” Mick whispered. “I don’t believe this.”

As they continued to watch, the woman made her way slowly to the rear end of the vehicle and peered around as best she could, then she too faced the camera and mouthed a silentHelp me!After that, she crossed the concrete island on which the gas pumps sat, but she was so preoccupied with watching for the man that she stepped right into the path of a car pulling up to the pumps. It was hard to tell what was happening, but it appeared the driver honked their horn, then rolled down a window and was speaking toward the woman. A man got out of the car and just as he did, the big man from the SUV ran out, punched him and knocked him to the ground, grabbed the woman by her hair, and threw her back into the back seat of the vehicle, then took off without even closing his fuel door, the pump’s hose and nozzle falling to the concrete. The driver of the car, stunned, stood, wobbled for a second, then ran toward the store and disappeared inside.

They didn’t even get a chance to ask before Richard handed JoElla a piece of paper. “Here. The number for the store and the name and number of the clerk who was on duty. They called the police, who called KSP. That’s when they connected it to our BOLO and everything fell into place.”

“When was this?”

“About three hours ago.”

JoElla’s voice was a coarse whisper. “So as of three hours ago, she was still alive.”

“Looks that way,” Mick said with a nod. “Thanks, Richard. Can you forward that to our email?”

“Sure can.”

“Thanks for your help, Richard.” JoElla was already on the move, and she could hear Mick behind her. “Right now she’s probably still alive.”

“Yeah, but after that stunt, he’s probably pretty damn pissed at her, and that won’t go well.”

---