Betrayed Read online

  She rubbed Voltaren 5% gel on her left knee and then her right. She picked up the tube and squirted another dime size bit of the white cream and slipped her hand under her shirt and rubbed the medication on her ribs. It worked miracles, but she could only use so much a day. She tapped the tube on her right hand and deliberated on how much it would hurt to just put a little more on the back of her neck. The discs back there ached and were causing another headache. She decided to chance it and squirted one more dimed-size amount on her hand. She massaged it into the skin over her cervical discs. As she screwed on the cap, the commercial on the television ended and she grabbed the remote to unmute the volume.

  “In other news,” the female newscaster said, “Mr. and Mrs. Jose Alverez called 911 last night to report their daughter, Louisa, missing. Liz Randolph has the details. Liz?”

  A small brunette, with a pert nose and brown eyes, appeared on the screen. “Thank you, Alexa. I’m in Denison and a family is desperate to find their daughter. Mrs. Alverez reported to police that Louisa Alverez was supposed to call her yesterday morning after she returned from her obstetrics’ appointment. But according to Mrs. Alverez, she never called. Wait. Here comes Chief Miles Norris. Maybe he can give us more particulars.” Liz waved her hands and called, “Chief, Chief, can I ask you a couple of questions?”

  “Hey, Liz.”

  “Chief, can you tell us what’s happening here?”

  “It’s an ongoing investigation. Therefore, there is nothing to say about the case, except we would like to speak with her boyfriend, Roberto Lopez. He’s a person of interest and the sooner he turns himself in, the faster we can find Miss Alverez. I can’t make further comments. I need to get back to the station.”

  “Of course, Chief, we know how busy you are, trying to find Miss Alverez. But, can you speculate why Mr. Lopez hasn’t come forward since his ex-wife’s disappearance if he’s innocent?”

  The chief tipped his hat. “No comment.” He turned and walked off to the left.

  Piper picked up the remote again and pressed the mute button. She tapped the remote to her chin. She murmured aloud, “Another pregnant woman is missing. This can’t be a coincidence. What about the boyfriend missing, though? Maybe they both left town.”

  Piper grabbed her laptop and searched the missing person story online. She found another article and skimmed it, learning that Louisa and the baby’s father had had a pretty devastating fight the day before she disappeared. He physically abused her the day prior to her obstetrics’ appointment. The nurse said that Louisa was very emotional during the whole appointment. None of her injuries were serious, but she had several substantial bruises.

  That was the only additional material the article had over the television reporter.

  She switched apps and clicked on Identity Seeker. She purchased the app from a PI. A twinge in her stomach reminded Piper that she’d never asked where the PI purchased the app because sometimes it gave data that she knew she shouldn’t have. But good investigative reporters found the information where they could. She clicked on the laptop keys, typing in Louisa Alverez, sex, city and state. That was really all the demographics she had at this point, which was why she needed this app.

  Less than a minute later, the app returned her report.

  Twenty-one-year-old graduated from Jasper High School and attended North Central Texas College. She didn’t finish her associate degree.

  Scanning the details on her education, Piper determined that Louisa stayed until her last semester of pregnancy before dropping out. Louisa only had a few classes to complete to graduate.

  Piper dropped her chin to her chest, closed her eyes, and shook her head ever so slightly. She condemned herself for even having that thought. However, in all likelihood, Louisa was already dead. This serial killer didn’t keep the victims long. There wasn’t evidence that he spent time with the women before he removed the babies and discarded the bodies.

  Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. Jose Alverez.

  Piper found that was almost all she could get. There wasn’t anything listed for arrests, credit problems, or anything else. She clicked on the father’s link, but nothing significant other than his demographics were listed. He appeared to be a fine, upstanding citizen and member of society.

  She clicked on the search box again and typed in Roberto Lopez. It took almost a minute for his data to load. When it did, she noticed three aliases listed right off the bat. She grabbed her phone and clicked on the recorder app. She wanted to save the specifics she found.

  The report began with the other names he had used. Piper read them into her app. “Rob Estes; Martin Gonzalez; Robert Martinez.” She clicked on another button for more information and learned his age had a range of twenty-five to twenty-nine. What really interested her was his arrest sheet. It was too long for her to read into the recorder app. She clicked Record again on the app and stated his age, that he had a lengthy arrest history of mostly petty larceny. However, she also noted that in the last two years, he had five female assaults. One of them listed the victim as Louisa Alverez. None of the cases went to court. She’d finished recording the details, including his address and phone number, just as she had done with Louisa’s information. Thankfully Louisa’s parents’ data had been linked to hers, so she had their address. That was a very good thing, because she was catching an Uber to her parents’ house to find out what really happened to Louisa.

  Chapter 48

  Nearly two hours later, the Uber car navigated a low-income neighborhood. This didn’t make sense to her. Most of the other women came from middle- to lower-middle-class areas. The vehicle pulled in front of a house that saw better days, probably seven decades ago or longer. Not one reporter or news van waited in the area for breaking news.

  “Could you wait please?” Piper asked as she stepped from the Uber.

  “Sure,” the perky twenty-something, blue-eyed, blonde replied. “It will cost extra, though.”

  “I know. No problem.” She closed the door after she let Tazz out and the two headed to the front door of the Alverez home. Her service dog sat regally next to her while she rang the doorbell. Not hearing anything, she knocked.

  The door opened with a start and Piper realized the gentleman answering the door had hoped whoever dared come over had news of his daughter. He had a short, rail-thin stature. He had dark hair with a few strands of gray lightly speckled on the sides. His eyes were dark, watery, and red around the rims.

  “Mr. Alverez?”

  “Yes.”

  “Mr. Jose Alverez?”

  “Yes.” The answer came with a rougher edge to his voice.

  “I apologize for disturbing you, but I am here to get particulars on your missing daughter and what you think happened.”

  His gaze found her dog and he moved back a step. “You’re a reporter?”

  “Yes, sir. This is my service dog, Tazzie. She’s very friendly and well-behaved.” Piper needed to get in there, so she strategically added, “I’m sure you’ve been bombarded with reporters and TV news people. I don’t mean to bother you, but my boss sent me here from Austin to cover this story and is waiting for it as we speak. I’ve been working closely on cases in Plano involving missing pregnant women. Could you see your way to find just a little time for me?”

  He glanced nervously at the dog again. After a moment, he answered. “Si, si, I’m sorry, yes. Please, come in.” He opened the door wider and gestured his arm, inviting her and Tazzie into his home.

  Piper followed him into a sitting room. Several antique wing chairs were scattered in twos around the room, with an end table in-between. Each tabletop was adorned with a small vase of silk flowers. The room wasn’t bright; gloomy would be the way she would describe it. Mr. Alverez motioned her to a chair and he sat in the matching one.

  After settling in the chair, she gave Tazz a non-verbal down command. Her Sheltie immediately obeyed. “Is your wife here?”

  While raising his gaze from the ball of fur, he said
, “No. She’s upstairs sleeping. Our priest called a doctor to give her a sedative and it knocked her out.”

  “I can understand.” Piper fiddled with her cell phone and glanced at the notes she took on Louisa’s boyfriend. She grappled with whether she should share them or not. “Mr. Alverez, what do you think of Louisa’s boyfriend, Roberto Lopez?”

  “Ex-boyfriend. I don’t like him. I never have. He hit Louisa once and he fractured her eye socket. But my daughter would not listen to me. She would not press charges. When he almost caused her to lose the baby during her first trimester, she left him and never looked back. But Roberto won’t leave her alone.”

  “Are you aware of his background?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He has a jam-packed police report, including five incidents of assault on women in the last couple of years. Not only that, he has at least three aliases.”

  The man rubbed his hands up and down his face. When he was done, he shook his head. “How do you keep your children from meeting people like him? They come into your daughter’s life and brainwash them to the point she doesn’t listen to or take your wisdom. I knew from the start he was no good.”

  Mr. Alverez answered questions for nearly thirty minutes—one right after the other. He never wavered in his belief that Louisa was alive. Piper learned a little more than reported in the article or on television. Louisa had a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend. He wasn’t supposed to come within one thousand feet of her. He had violated the order the day prior to her obstetrics’ appointment. There was a warrant for his arrest.

  “I’m so sorry, Mr. Alverez. I hope we find your daughter very soon and she and her baby are perfectly fine.” Piper stood and pulled one of her business cards from her back pocket. She offered it to Mr. Alverez. “Please, call me anytime—even if it is just to talk. I’ve been through my own violent attack and I might be able to help in some small way.”

  “Si. Gracias.”

  Piper offered her hand and he shook it, but not too hard, seemingly aware that he needed to be gentle with her.

  When Piper headed out of the house with Tazz in tow, her Uber waited as promised. She let Tazz jump in ahead of her and then she climbed into the backseat. She hooked Tazz into her seat belt and said, “Can you please take me back to the hotel?”

  “Sure.” The driver pulled into traffic.

  Piper glanced at the time on her iPhone. Just after two in the afternoon. She needed to try to gather a little more background information on Louisa and then she should be able to write her story and have it to Wyndon tonight for the morning edition.

  Her phone vibrated as she slipped it back into her purse. She pulled it back out. The call was from work and she clicked on Answer.

  “Piper speaking. What can I do for you?”

  The other party spoke, and Piper laughed.

  “Tami-Sue, why are you calling me while I’m on assignment? Is something wrong? Is Wyndon pissed?”

  “No. I have a tip. I heard through the grapevine that another body was found in a state park in Norman, Oklahoma. It’s nearly three hours away. They think it might be the pregnant woman missing from Denison, Texas. A female body was found in a remote section of a state park. The baby was crudely removed.”

  “Who found her?”

  “A hiker who got off the path because of his German Shepherd who has an acute sense of smell. The dog’s name was Jasper and his owner is Gary.”

  “Can you give me the location?” She jotted down the address, and said, “Thanks.” Piper hit the Off button and said, “Change of plans. Can you drive me to Thunderbird Park in Norman, Oklahoma?”

  “That’s not really how it works.”

  “Right.” Piper tapped her chin with her pencil. “Okay, what about this. We close out this ride, you sign off Uber, and take me on your own time. I’ll pay you $300 to take me there, wait for me, and then bring me back to the hotel.”

  “Okay,” the young woman agreed.

  Three hours later, Piper gave a sigh of relief as the Uber driver finally found the location that Tami-Sue had directed her to. She searched her mind during the drive, trying to figure out why Tami called the tip into her. Shrugging her shoulders because the long drive hadn’t shed any light onto Tami’s angle, she grabbed her briefcase and opened the door.

  “Now, promise you will wait for me,” Piper asked the Uber driver.

  “Don’t worry, I will. I’m going to cover my eyes and take a little nap.”

  “Do you mind if I leave Tazz here? I don’t know what to expect from law enforcement in this area.”

  “No problem.”

  “Thanks.” Piper closed the car door and headed toward the area where a group of people stood talking. Two were in uniform that she could see from her location.

  She hiked to the gathering area. Two local cops stood with four other men dressed casually: two in jeans, one in khakis, and one in Hawaii-inspired swim trunks. As far as Piper could tell, they were standing around telling jokes, as they laughed every few seconds and it didn’t appear that anyone took the job of paying attention to the crime seriously.

  Piper asked, “Which one of you are in charge of this crime scene?”

  The one cop glanced at the other and then they did the rock, paper, scissors game. The guy who shot rock won. He faced Piper and said, “I am. What do you need?”

  Piper scrutinized each man and then closed her eyes and subtly shook her head. “I’m with the Austin Statesman newspaper and I was wondering what you have found here?” Piper pulled her ID from her jacket pocket to show the two men her credentials.

  “Why did you come all the way from Austin for this? This is nothing. A domestic dispute gone awry.”

  “Really? Is that what you think it is?” Piper tapped her notebook with her pen and added, “My information indicated she was near her due date and the baby was brutally removed.”

  He took two steps toward her and put his hands on his hips. One of his hands gripped the top of his weapon. “Where did you get that information?”

  “Sorry, privileged information.”

  “No one said anything about a baby,” the other cop said.

  Who provided Tami-Sue with this information if the cops weren’t talking? “Sorry, I can’t say. What I can tell you is that I’m following a story in Plano with similar characteristics,” Piper said.

  “The evidence we have indicates she was killed after a round of intercourse. Semen was found.”

  “But what happened to the baby?” Piper asked after seeing a bump in the abdomen area of the white sheet.

  “I didn’t confirm there is a baby missing.”

  Piper pointed to the slow-moving gurney. “Lump under the sheet.”

  The cop turned and said, “Oh, right. Yes, she was pregnant. We haven’t released that information and won’t. We’re keeping that confidential. You can’t print it.”

  “You said, ‘was pregnant.’”

  “Uh, slip of the tongue. Didn’t mean a thing.”

  “You know of the murders in Plano of pregnant women, right? The babies were stolen. This baby was stolen too, wasn’t it?”

  He crossed his arms over his chest and changed the position of his feet. “No comment.”

  “A number of female bodies have been found. The last several found were pregnant when they went missing—but the ME determined the babies had been removed. The ME hasn’t issued any reports yet—the other bodies found were skeleton remains.”

  “This victim isn’t a Caucasian with blonde hair and blue eyes. She’s Hispanic. We follow other murders in Texas, too. This doesn’t have anything to do with the Plano murders. And, I’m not going to discuss this with you.”

  “You may not think so now—but I bet you will be proved wrong in the not too distant future.”

  The officer uncrossed his arms and pointed down the hill toward the road. “Out. Get out of this crime scene now.”

  Piper backed off. All of a sudden, the scents of ammo
nia and anesthesia permeated the air around her. She wasn’t sure where the smells were coming from, but they made her queasy. They reminded her of times she didn’t want to remember; times when she was a broken woman who had barely enough strength to survive. She could hear Tazz whine and scratch on the car’s window.

  Piper pulled her cell phone from her side pocket and called Jax’s number.

  “Hello,” a deep Hispanic voice answered.

  “Jax?”

  “No, this is Jon. I’m holding his phone while he’s speaking with the captain. Anything I can help you with?”

  “This is Piper.”

  “Ah, yes, Piper. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Her cheeks burned. She was curious at how much Jaxson had told his partner about them. Hopefully not too much. “I hope it wasn’t all bad.”

  “Naw, only ninety-five percent.”

  She tried to laugh, but it came out stilted. “Listen, I think there’s been another murder by the serial killer.”

  “We haven’t gotten notice of one. What are you talking about?”

  “I’m in Norman, Oklahoma. It’s out in the middle of nowhere and there is a Hispanic pregnant woman with her baby missing. Well, technically the cops didn’t confirm that last part. But that’s what my source told me.”

  “How did you just happen to be in Norman, Oklahoma? This doesn’t fit our killer’s MO.”

  “I got an anonymous tip. Besides, he’s changed his MO before. First, he possibly killed non-pregnant women. Now, he kills pregnant blonde, blue-eyed women. There is a reason for that change. I think he’s selling the babies and maybe he got a request for a Hispanic baby.”

  “And where did you get this information?”

  Uh, oh. Piper had slipped. She’d assumed Jon knew she and Jax were working together. She was wrong. “I’m smart. Could you just ask Jax to call me?”

  “I’ll think about it.” Jon clicked off the cell phone.

  She couldn’t keep her mouth shut. It was apparent Jon didn’t think too much of her. She clicked open the messaging app and tried to type a friendly text to Jax asking him to call her, letting him know it was urgent. There was no telling whether Jon would let it go through or not.