Chapter 9 - Suspicions
Sergeant Roger Brooks with the Sacramento Police Department usually had a calm and collected demeanor. However, when he learned of Trey's little stunt with Caterina, he was beyond angry. Everyone stayed away from his office, especially Ellie, as she was the one who assisted Trey with his plan.
Roger was confident Trey would be in contact eventually to check in, but he didn't like not knowing where he was. He had to calm himself down before he sent an email to Trey. They had agreed they would have a secure email set up for getting in touch if it came to the point that he would need to hide with Caterina.
Roger wasn't expecting Trey to make that decision on his own without consulting with the team. Roger banged his fist on his desk. Trey was his best detective, and he had never seen him act like this. Even as the youngest detective on the team, Trey was always the most level-headed when it came to his work.
Roger was mulling things over in his mind and figured it must have something to do with Caterina. Trey had demanded to be the primary person to follow her, and he refused to read her case files regarding the things her uncle did to her. Roger drummed his fingers on his desk while he thought. He saw a picture of his beautiful wife, Valerie, on his desk, which made him smile.
That was when it hit him. Trey must be falling for Caterina, even though they had never officially met before this morning. No other reason could explain why he went to these lengths to get her alone.
Roger chuckled to himself. If everything Detective Cummings said about Caterina was true, Trey would have a heck of a fight on his hands.
While waiting to hear from Trey, he had a team setting up a command post in Caterina's apartment building. He also had Ellie call the hospital and news stations making up a story of why they had both disappeared. Roger ran his fingers through his thinning brown hair while looking at his computer.
Leo Edwards was one of the biggest dirtbags he had ever seen. The things that he had done to Caterina made everyone on the team want to kill him. Roger looked up when he heard a knock on his door.
Ellie walked in with her long blonde hair in her typical ponytail. She was his number two and Trey's handler when he was undercover.
"Hey Roger, I released the statement to the news stations and called the hospital. We haven't received anything from Trey yet. Marc picked up some online chatter regarding Caterina's disappearance. Edwards is now offering $5000 for someone to find her and bring her to him." Roger took a deep breath and rubbed his hand down his face. He now thought it might be a good thing that Trey jumped the gun.
"Okay, thank you. Let me know if we hear anything from Trey. Now that he has taken her away, it's probably best they stay hidden until we have a plan."
"Will do. Also, I don't know if it means anything, but Caleb acted a little strange when he found out Trey had taken Caterina. He began yelling and throwing things on his desk. I think we need to keep an eye on him. Something is off." Ellie was speaking quietly so no one else could hear.
"I agree. Watch him discreetly, and let me know if you notice anything else." Ellie nodded before leaving his office.
Roger looked out his office door and saw Caleb angrily typing on his computer. He had only been with their team for a couple of months, but no one warmed up to him. He didn't like to be told what to do, and Roger had to constantly follow behind him to ensure he did his job.
He decided he would watch what they shared with Caleb. There was no reason for him to be upset about Trey's actions unless he had something up his sleeve. Roger sighed, thinking again that it was good that Trey had taken Caterina. Who knows who they could trust if they couldn't even trust those on their own team.
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Leo Edwards looked at his phone, cursing to himself. That damn bitch was able to slip through his fingers again. He knew he shouldn't have trusted that idiot Jack Davis when he said he would take her from the hospital. Now he had no eyes on his little Caterina.
Just thinking her name caused the fury to build in him. She was the one that ruined all of his plans twelve years ago and put him behind bars. He couldn't wait to make her pay for all the pain she caused him.
He knew that some people may consider what he did abuse, but Leo didn't see it that way. He felt she should have been grateful that he took care of her. All he asked in return was that she do what he said. For the most part, Caterina didn't complain. When she went to the police, he knew what an ungrateful bitch she really was.
Leo laughed when he looked at himself in the mirror. People thought he was harmless with his light blonde hair, baby blue eyes, and small frame. Little did they know he was the person they should be keeping their children from.
He started a business when he was still a teenager, selling children to whatever sick freak wanted them. Leo knew what tricks to use to get children to trust him. The younger they were, the easier it was to convince them. Some of the girls he kept for himself, but most he sold. Once he had little Caterina, he sold them all. She had been his legally, so it was easier to make it look like they were a family, and he could do whatever he wanted to her.
Leo would make sure she paid for all the money he lost while he was locked up. She wasn't going to pay with cash. No, he was going to make her pay with her life. He couldn't wait to put his hands around her neck and choke the life out of her.
He imagined what that would feel like, and it got him excited. That bitch may think she got away this time, but he knew he would get her. He had too many people working for him to let her hide for long. One of those people was someone that was supposed to be keeping her safe.
Leo rechecked his phone and smiled. He had a big deal coming up and wanted to have the Caterina situation straightened out before closing on it. It was her fault that he had to come across the country to get to her. The way he saw it, Caterina could blame herself for all those he had taken from the Northern California area.
Leo would have been more than happy to stay on the East Coast, where most of his contacts were. However, he knew she was running from him when he found out where she had gone, and Leo decided it was best to kill her sooner rather than later.
He went out onto the balcony of his apartment to look down toward the market where Caterina shopped. Leo had been lucky that he was able to get this apartment so close to hers. He had only been in the area for a couple of weeks, but he had seen her go to the market several times.
He wouldn't kidnap her himself or kill her in her apartment. He thought it was better to have someone bring her to him, and then he would make her disappear. From what he had seen, Caterina was always by herself, so no one would even miss her.
He laughed to himself, thinking about the reasons why Caterina was alone. Leo knew he had something to do with that. When she testified against him in court, she stated that he was her only family and no one else could take care of her when her mother died. She had also described everything he had done to her, making it sound perverted.
He had wanted to jump up and scream at her that she was making a big mistake, but his lawyer had held him back. After the verdict was read and he was sentenced, no one could stop him. Leo had felt so much anger toward that little ugly bitch that he had screamed at her that she would pay for what she had done.
Anyone who knew anything about Leo knew that he always kept his word. Killing Caterina was not only a threat, but it had been a promise. Now she would know what it felt like to be hunted down. He wanted her so scared that she would go out of her mind with fear. That is when he would come in and end her lonely, miserable life.
