Bone Secrets 03 - Buried

I-5 watching the other assholes around me text on their phones.”
    “Wave your badge at them.”
    “Why?”
    “They’re gonna kill somebody someday by not focusing on the road.”
    “I’m gonna kill someone if this damned traffic doesn’t start moving. Got anything new for me?”
    “Yeah, heard back from my guy in the gang unit. They can’t associate the tattoos with anything they’ve seen before, so he’s definitely doing his own thing. If he was trying to start something with the ink, it’s not caught on.”
    Mason snorted. “Nothing like throwing a party and no one coming.”
    “I got a translation on the two wrist tattoos. And they’re Chinese characters, not Korean, like we’d wondered.”
    Mason’s ears perked up.
    “One stands for enlightenment—”
    “Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
    “—the other is chaos.”
    “That seems appropriate. The ass has been causing chaos for these families for decades. I don’t get the snooty enlightenment symbol. This isn’t a highbrow character we’re dealing with.”
    “Ever watch that show on cable about people who hate their really bad tattoos? Some of the stories are hilarious. Usually at one point, the tattoo had seemed like a good idea and the image really spoke to them. Then later, they realize how stupid it looks.”
    “After they sleep off the alcohol?”
    Ray’s chuckle filled the line. “You’d be surprised how many of them are sober and let unknown artists mark them uppermanently. Now they’re paying through the nose to have it fixed. I’m thinking this is steering us away from the lead Cecilia Brody gave us about her Korean patient. I’m gonna keep Mr. Jeong on the back burner while we give this more priority.”
    “Definitely. He’s looking less and less likely to be involved. So maybe Mr. Tattoo was trying to better himself with a classy message on his wrist? A message that showed in the pictures of those kids with his hands around their necks? That worked real well. Totally distracted me from the
sick prick’s intentions!
” Mason glanced at the cars nearby. Had anyone heard him yell at Ray? He blew out his steam and ran a hand over his head. “Sorry,” he muttered into the phone.
    “You’re just saying what I’m thinking.”
    The phone line was quiet for a few seconds as Mason tried to get those Polaroid images out of his brain. His Bluetooth did an odd double beep in his ear, and he glanced down at his phone screen in his console.
    “Hey, Ray. I’ve got Michael Brody trying to call. Have you talked to him recently?”
    “No, haven’t heard from him.”
    “I’m gonna take this call and get back to you.”
    “Okay. I’m going to return a call to the ME’s office. They’ve got something they want to run by us.”
    Mason switched over the call. Brody was breathing heavily.
Oh shit.
    “What happened?” Mason barked.
    “Jamie’s gone. I left her in the hotel room for thirty minutes…not even that long…and I came back and she’s gone.” His words ran together. “No one has seen anything, she didn’t go to the store, her cell phone is still in the room.” He drew in a deep breath. “But a male called her room. Sounds like right after Ileft. He must have said something that would make her leave. Damn it, Callahan, I think he’s got her.”
    Silence.
    “Fuck.”
    “I talked to Spencer. They’re still processing the scene of that kid who was killed in the garage. Spencer thinks he was killed because he talked to Mr. Tattoo. Thinks that might be how he found Chris’s house and knew of his friendship with the baker. Jesus Christ! I’m pulling out my hair here, Callahan!”
    “Calm down—”
    “Don’t fucking tell me to calm down!”
    “What’d Spencer say to do? Did you talk to Hove?” Mason thought hard. He was hours away from Brody’s position. As much as he wanted to jump into the scene boots first, he’d be too fucking late.
Damn it!
    “He’s putting the word out and contacting Hove. I shouldn’t have left her alone! That sick asshole’s got her. He’s killed two people in the last twenty-four hours. Maybe more if he already got to her brother.”
    “If he’s gotten to her brother, he wouldn’t have needed Jamie. Now concentrate, Brody! Did you see any vehicles by the hotel? Did you see anyone? Hear anything?” Usually the reporter was unflappable. This level of alarm from Brody was rattling Mason.
    “Nothing! I’ve already gone through all that.”
    “Where are you