Black Bird: A Murder Mystery Suspense Thriller, page 1
Black Bird
Book Ten in Detectives Daniels and Remalla
J. T. Bishop
Eudoran Press LLC
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Contents
Previously...
Cast of Characters
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
A Note From J.T.
Other Books by J. T. Bishop
Books in Chronological Order
Dedication
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Enjoy an excerpt from The Forgotten Night, Book One in the Lexie Logan Series
Copyrights
Previously...
(careful–spoilers ahead)
Detectives Daniels and Remalla deepen their investigation into the secretive black bird society. A society whose sinister secrets and alarming reach are connected to the murders and branding of three men—Rex Beelson, Donald Morgans, and now Reginald Durning, a prominent attorney and former prosecutor. When Durning’s murder is witnessed by Jerry Lee Caruso, a hotel employee who escapes the killer and disappears, Daniels and Rem go on the hunt to find him before the killer does.
Believing the killer to be a woman with the alias of Rhonda Champlin, an elusive assassin working for the black birds, Daniels and Remalla investigate Durning’s murder and the law firm he worked for, Crenshaw, Ingram and Willoughby, or CIW. After CIW’s partners provide minimal help, they learn from Durning’s assistant that he had a client named Dirk that no one at CIW wants to discuss. Their search for answers becomes even more complicated when an FBI investigation linking Rem and Daniels’ captain, Frank Lozano, to crimes allegedly committed by Reginald Durning, results in Lozano’s suspension.
Elsa Crow is appointed captain in Lozano’s place, but her oversight of Daniels and Remalla’s cases results in conflict when her opinions clash with the detectives’. Despite her doubts about the existence of the black birds, Daniels and Rem continue to work with Lexie Logan, an investigative journalist, without the support of Crow.
Meanwhile, Detective Luca Manetti becomes suspicious of his partner, Detective Frank Monk, when he discovers that the name of a murdered cult member, Vera Canmore, was not mentioned in a file where Monk claims to have found her. Manetti also finds drawings by Margaret Redstone, a violent criminal in a psychiatric facility, in Monk’s desk. Unbeknownst to Manetti, Rem, and Daniels, Monk is a prominent member of the black bird society, and the assassin Rhonda’s lover.
Rem, Daniels, and Lexie Logan continue to dig into the contents of a mysterious box left behind by Marvin Ackerman, a disgruntled former member of the black birds. They find themselves caught in the crosshairs, though, when Rem’s cousin Cain remains aligned with the black birds, and someone new appears on their doorstep—Erin Gerard. Erin’s revelation that she is Daniels’ half-sister creates tension between Rem and Daniels when she offers to use her connection to Cain to help bring down the black birds.
When Lexie reveals she’s located an encrypted list of the society’s members’ names that Ackerman hid, Daniels takes a risk and gives the file to computer-savvy Erin, hoping she can decrypt it, but Rem disapproves.
The case becomes even more complex when Sammy Caruso, the corrupt, mobster-related politician and Jerry Lee’s grandfather, contacts Daniels and Rem, and insists they find his grandson alive—or else.
Hoping that decrypting the drive will lead to the black birds’ downfall and Jerry Lee’s safe return, Daniels and Rem are caught off guard when Daniels’ pregnant wife, Marjorie, is hospitalized after a car accident, which results in a miscarriage. A witness to the accident implicates Erin.
When Rem reluctantly tells his partner about his sister’s potential involvement, the rift between them grows deeper. After an emotional confrontation with Daniels, Rem races to Cain’s, who is ready to talk about his involvement with the black birds, but finds Cain mortally wounded. Before dying in Rem’s arms, Cain identifies the man known as Tex, the black bird member who tried to kill Rem and Daniels in the town of Elmwood, as his killer.
Daniels and Rem make amends when they discover Marjorie’s accident was planned, along with Cain’s involvement and murder. Erin decrypts the list and, after proving her innocence, provides them with the members’ names. The list reveals familiar players, including Barbara Ingram from CIW; Elsa Crow’s father, Chogan Crow; and Winnie, the elusive cigarette-smoker who is Margaret Redstone’s accomplice and the man Mikey witnessed shooting Vera Canmore; Rhonda, the assassin; Victor D’Mato, the deceased cult leader; and Dirk, the mysterious client of Reginald Durning. The detectives believe they finally have some solid leads to follow.
While Lexie Logan researches the remaining unfamiliar names, and Mikey attempts to jog her memory to identify Winnie, Rem and Daniels search for Jerry Lee and the perpetrators behind Marjorie’s attack and Cain’s murder. The murder scene of Arnold Bertrand, a former employer and friend of Jerry Lee, reveals evidence that Bertrand had been harboring Jerry Lee before Jerry Lee escaped yet again.
Although determined to discover Tex’s true identity and locate Rhonda before she finds and kills Jerry Lee, Rem and Daniels are sidetracked once more when they learn Cain and Bertrand were both shot with the same type of gun as one in Rem’s closet. When Rem’s gun turns up missing and Daniels’ medical debt is unexpectedly paid, they visit Jerry Lee’s mother and learn the reward offered to find Jerry Lee matches the amount of Daniels’ paid debt.
She also provides information that leads the detectives to a meeting with Tex and the mysterious Dirk, who reveals himself to be Damien Rook, a real estate tycoon with an ugly grudge against the detectives. He threatens to frame them for the murders of Cain and Bertrand if they don’t agree to kill Jerry Lee Caruso and become Rook’s assassins.
Shocked by Rook’s vendetta against them, Rem and Daniels conclude their only way to survive, protect the ones they love, and stop Rook and his society…is to become black bird members themselves…
Cast of Characters
(in alphabetical order by first name)
Detective Aaron Remalla - a detective based in San Diego
Arnold Bertrand - former employer and friend of Jerry Lee Caruso
Ben Crenshaw, Barbara Ingram, and Charles Willoughby - partners in the law firm of Crenshaw, Ingram, and Willoughby (CIW)
Cain Carson - Remalla’s cousin
Chogan Crow - city council president and Elsa Crow’s father
Damien Rook - founder of Rook Enterprises, which owns Pinnacle Properties
Delaina Desmond - Ben Crenshaw’s personal assistant
Donald Morgans - murder victim branded with a star
Elsa Crow - police captain promoted from the Special Crimes unit and daughter of Chogan Crow
Erin Gerard - Daniels' half-sister and friend of Cain Carson
Ezra Grimm - attorney for Montes Pharmaceuticals and Ruben Montes’ cousin.
Captain Frank Lozano - the head of the squad
Detective Frank Monk - Manetti’s partner
Detective Gordon Daniels - Remalla’s long-term partner and friend
Hans Morrow - a name from the list of black bird members
Jennifer Chambers - Aaron Remalla’s deceased girlfriend
Jerry Lee Caruso - son to Patricia Caruso and grandson to Sammy Caruso
Lena - shaman and grandmother to Kyle, Mikey’s co-worker
Lexie Logan - investigative journalist
Lonny - Lexie Logan’s neighbor
Detective Luca Manetti - a detective in the same precinct as Remalla and Daniels
Margaret Redstone - Mikey’s psychopathic sister and a former high-ranking member of Victor D’Mato’s cult
Marjorie Daniels - Daniels’ wife
Martin Bailey - a name from the list of black bird members
Marvin Ackerman - former Pinnacle Properties accountant and black bird member
Mason Redstone - medium, paranormal PI, and former Texas Ranger. Brother to Margaret and Mikey.
Mikey Redstone - works at SCOPE with her brother Mason; is Rem’s girlfriend
Nathan Briars - a former cult member and friend of Ver
Patricia Caruso - Jerry Lee’s mother and Sammy Caruso’s daughter
Raymond Daniels - Detective Gordon Daniels’ father
Reginald Durning - defense attorney for Crenshaw, Ingram and Willoughby
Rex Beelson - murder victim branded with a star
‘Rhonda Champlin’ - an assassin
Rita Vittorio - a name from the list of black bird members
Chief Ronald Patterson - chief of police and Captain Lozano’s superior
Sammy Caruso - a powerful politician from Chicago with mob connections
Tommy - nickname given to Tex’s partner, who helped Tex try to kill Rem and Daniels in Elmwood
Tyson Croft (aka Tex) - a member of the black bird society who attempted to kill Rem and Daniels in Elmwood
Vera Canmore - a former cult member and close friend of Mikey
Victor D’Mato - cult leader
Chapter One
Martin Bailey drove down the dark alley. A soft rain fell, and his wipers made a high-pitched squeak as they slid over his windshield. Squinting through the wet windows, he drove beneath a dim light fixture that, along with his headlights, cast eerie shadows. Nervous and looking for his destination, he slowed down. The rain picked up in intensity, and he cursed, wishing he were back on his couch with his cat Butters, drinking a beer and watching an old movie.
The moment he’d gotten the call, he’d dreaded every moment of this assignment. He’d done this twice before, but never in the rain, and never at this time of night. The first time he’d done it, he’d simply stopped in the alley beside a heavy metal door, and a man the size of a prizefighter had come out. Martin had popped the trunk, and the man had grabbed the box in the back, shut the trunk, and Marty had driven off.
The second time, Marty stopped at the door, but no one showed. After waiting several minutes, he’d received a text telling him to bring the box inside. He’d reluctantly left the car, collected the box, and had gone to the door. He’d knocked, but no one had answered. Uncertain, he’d opened the creaky door and stuck his head in. Not seeing anyone, he’d stepped inside.
Not sure what to do, he‘d waited, and an awful smell made his hair rise. He held his nose and debated leaving the box when a man’s deep voice pierced the quiet.
“Bring it here.”
Trembling, Marty cautiously walked down a hall and turned a corner. A room came into view that he could only describe as right out of a horror movie. Lighted candles stood around the room at various heights, strange symbols covered the walls, and a chalk circle marked the floor. The horrid smell had almost made him gag.
The voice spoke again. “Put the box in the circle.”
Marty couldn’t see anyone. He couldn’t even identify the source of the voice. His heart hammering, he’d stepped farther into the room and approached the circle. Staring at it and the strange symbols on the walls, he realized that whatever this place was used for, it wasn’t good. Aware that he was about to step inside the circle, he jumped back. Intuitively, he knew not to step past the chalk. He lowered the box, set it on the ground, and shoved it into the circle.
He heard a crackle, and goosebumps ran over his skin. “Leave,” said the male voice.
Marty wasted no time. He turned, ran out of the building, jumped in his car, and squealed away.
Now, three months later, he was back, and the memory of that last visit made him tremble again. He prayed that this time around, the prizefighter would be back, and Marty wouldn’t have to return to that room, and the awful smell.
Slowing more, he looked for the metal door. He passed another light fixture, and just beyond that, he spied where he’d stopped the previous two times. Saying a prayer, he pulled up and stopped. He waited, watching the door, hoping it would open, but it didn’t. Groaning, he spoke to himself. “Take it easy, Marty. It’s just a room. No big deal.”
He thought of the box in his trunk and wondered what sort of delivery would warrant this level of secrecy. Whatever was in it had to be important, but to whom and why was a mystery.
Several minutes passed, and Marty expected the text, but it never came. He debated whether to keep waiting or to bring the box inside when he saw headlights in his rearview mirror. The light fractured into irregular shapes on the wet glass as Marty watched the car stop behind him.
Expecting all he’d have to do was pop the trunk and let whoever was in the car take the box, Marty breathed a sigh of relief, thrilled he wouldn’t have to leave his vehicle. His phone buzzed with a text notification, and he picked it up and read it.
Bring the box to me.
Marty lowered his phone with a curse. “Figures I’m the one who has to get wet.” He popped the trunk and opened his door. Stepping out into the rain, he pulled his hood over his head and grabbed the box from his trunk.
The car behind him idled, and the passenger door opened. A man wearing a dark raincoat with the hood pulled up got out. Holding the small box, Marty closed his trunk. He stepped to the side, expecting to hand the box over to the man, when the man stopped and slid his hands into his pockets.
Getting closer, Marty recognized him. “Croft? Who’d you piss off to have to come out in this crappy weather?”
Croft half-smiled. “I could ask you the same.”
Marty grunted. “I’m just a messenger boy. You know that. I don’t carry the clout you do.” He paused. “Unless you’re no longer Mr. Sidekick.” He snickered. “Don’t tell me. Did you finally tell the bossman the truth?”
Croft didn’t move. “What truth is that?”
The rain fell harder, and Marty pulled his hood higher over his head. “You know what I mean. The rumors are circulating.”
“What rumors?”
Marty wiped the rain from his face. “It’s a mess out here. Can we get this over with? Pop the trunk or take the box. I want to go home.”
Croft’s expression didn’t change. “What rumors, Marty?”
Rain splattered against the box. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
Marty scoffed. “I think you’ve gone as bonkers as he has. What’s up with all this delivering strange boxes in the middle of the night crap?” He tapped the box. “What’s in this thing?”
“Nothing that concerns you.”
Marty squinted. “It concerns me when I have to deliver it to some crazy room with candles, circles, and weird symbols. What the hell is going on, Croft? This is more than I signed up for. I’m all for the group support, and the nice paycheck, but this is getting strange.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Marty.”
Marty pointed. “And I’m not the only one thinking it, either.”
“Really? Who else is questioning their membership?”
Marty detected a clip in Croft’s voice. “Hey, man. Don’t take it personally. It’s just that when you see and hear things, you have to wonder.”
“Wonder what?”
“Just who exactly I’m working for.” A clap of thunder and a flash of lightning made Marty grip the box tighter. The cardboard, softened by the rain, bent under his grasp. “You better take this box. It’s getting soaked.”
Croft remained still.
“C’mon, man. Don’t just stand there.” Marty shivered. “I’m freezing.”
Croft’s eyes narrowed. “I’m sorry, Marty.”
“It’s okay. Just take this already.” He lifted the box.
Croft pulled his hand from his pocket. He was holding a gun. “As you say, it’s not personal. But the boss does not abide disloyalty.”
Marty widened his eyes in shock. “What the hell is this?”
“The group must remain cohesive, and those who stir the pot, well, they have to go.”
Marty stared at the gun. “You want me out? Just because of a few rumors?”
“Rumors are just the beginning. If they aren’t controlled, then it leads to more disloyalty.”
Marty couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Are you listening to yourself? You’re as bad as he is. He’s crazy, and you know it. Why aren’t you questioning it, too?”
“I’m not the one who makes the rules. He is. And he pays the bills.”
Scared, Marty raised his free hand. “You want me out? That’s fine with me. I’m out. I’ll drive off and you never have to talk to me again.”
