We were getting close. Only two miles remained on the GPS route before reaching Bell’s house.
“What do you think? Should we drive down his street and then circle to the back?” Frank asked.
“Damn right we will. I want to know who Vance has sitting on the attorney’s house. We’ll pull the plate number as we pass and see who the car belongs to.” Moments later, Lutz turned down Bell’s street.
“His house is the fifth one on the left,” I said as I enlarged my phone’s map.
“Good. That means if the car is still there, they’ll be looking toward us, and my headlights will shine on the plates and their faces, but they’ll also be blinded as they stare out the windshield.”
“Just make sure you don’t look at them as we pass,” I said. “I’ll check them out closer from the back seat’s tinted windows.” From our location, I could already see a dark sedan parked at the curb ahead. I pointed. “That has to be them. Don’t slow down, or they’ll get suspicious. Frank, take a picture of the plates when we get close, but make sure your flash is off. Tech can always enhance it for us if necessary.”
Bob drove the posted speed limit as we passed the car. I wrote down the plate number even though Frank caught it and the men’s faces with his phone’s camera. He checked the images in his gallery.
“Not the best, but Tech can brighten it up.”
Lutz continued on and turned in to the alley behind the house. Other than the homeowners’ cars in driveways, the alley was clear, just as Bell had said.
“Pull farther down and park, and then we’ll walk back.” It was better to spend a few extra minutes being cautious. I didn’t want any regrets later on. I called Bell as we exited the SUV and walked in the shadows. He said he’d be waiting for us at the back door, and he reminded us that his address number was above the overhead door on the garage.
We reached his house without encountering anyone. Jared opened the door, looked both ways, and quickly ushered us in.
“Is there a center room where we can sit that doesn’t have windows?” Lutz asked. “Better safe than sorry.”
Bell tipped his head to the left. “Right this way. The dining room sits between the living room and the kitchen. You can’t see the table from any windows.”
“Perfect.” I led the way behind Bell as we followed him through the mudroom, kitchen, and into the dining room.
“I just put on a pot of coffee.” Jared looked at each of us as we sat. “I’ll bring out four cups.”
Since I had been home and changed clothes, I didn’t have a notepad with me, but Frank did. It and a pen were sitting on the table when Jared returned and pulled out his chair.
“You need to tell us everything Vance said and why he called you at all. Have you ever represented him?” Lutz asked.
“Never, but you do know the Vasquez family uses my services all the time.” He checked our expressions for confirmation, and I nodded. “Anyway, I’m sure John had my contact information since several of the Vasquez boys worked in his organization. Knowledge is king in the world of crime.” He straightened out the place mat in front of him. “If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have a job.”
Frank tapped the pen against his notepad. “And we wouldn’t either.”
As Lutz rearranged himself in the chair, he let out a long sigh. “Go ahead from when you got the phone call.”
“He was to the point. The call only lasted five minutes at most. He knew where I lived, my wife and kids’ names, and mentioned that he had men stationed outside my home.”
“What did he want?” I asked.
Pressing his temples, Bell shook his head then answered. “Since I’m the attorney for both Maria Vasquez and Mark Conway, and the only person with private visitation privileges, he wants me to kill them.”
“What! The nerve of that bastard!” Frank yelled out. “He doesn’t want a single person left alive that had a part in his disappearance or can find him, and one by one, they’re dropping like flies.”
Jared wrung his hands. “What am I supposed to do? Vance made it clear that my family will be in danger if I don’t kill Maria and Mark before their arraignment on Monday.” Tears welled up in Bell’s eyes. It was clear that he feared for the lives of him and his family.
I didn’t understand John’s logic. He had to know that Jared would be convicted of the murders. No one else had that kind of access to the inmates. “You do realize that if you kill them, you’ll go to prison yourself, that is unless John gets to you first. He’s tying up loose ends, and everyone is fair game.” My statement gave me pause. Was John gunning for me, too, or had enough time passed? I wondered if his only focus was the current threat to his freedom and those people involved or whether I was in imminent danger as well. A life-threatening blindside might be headed my way.
“How exactly did he want you to kill them?” Lutz asked. “It isn’t like you can take weapons with you inside their jail cells.”
Jared’s hands shook as he poured a round of coffee for all of us. “He suggested poisons like strychnine and aconite and said both were readily available on the internet.”
“Jesus!” Lutz locked eyes with Jared. “I need to put you and your family in protective custody right away.”
“But how does that get those hired guns outside off my back? They’ll follow me wherever I go, and if not them, it’ll be someone else. Vance reminded me how far of a reach he has. That’s not to mention his unlimited amount of money. He said he’d pay me one hundred thousand dollars to do the job.”
I closed my eyes and mentally calculated who would be left if Maria and Conway were dead—no one other than Jared Bell and Abraham Cruz, who was in the wind. John’s hatred for me wasn’t tied to Tina Morton’s murder or the people who helped him escape. It was all about Jake. John and I would eventually do our dance, I was sure of it, but in that moment, all that mattered was making him believe Jared Bell had carried out his wishes and killed Mark Conway and Maria Vasquez.
An idea was forming, and I needed to get it down on paper before it vanished like smoke in the wind—I was just that tired. But if the plan worked, we could draw John Vance in and put him back in a cage where he belonged. That time, little brother Curt would join him, and they would both spend the rest of their lives behind bars.