Covert Exposure, a Nick Spinelli Mystery

by Valerie J. Clarizio

  Shannon stepped backward until the back of her legs found the bed then she lowered herself onto it and scooted over to make room for him. Her hair spilled like fire over the pillow. He scanned her naked body.

  “God, you’re beautiful.”

  He crawled in beside her and lay next to her leaning up on one elbow gazing deeply into the sea of green that stared back at him. Desire filled them.

  He leaned toward her and skimmed his mouth over hers. Then he took her mouth swallowing her soft sigh. He slowly stroked her smooth flat stomach with his hand while his lips trailed down to her neck. He slid his hand up and cupped her small breast. It fit so perfectly into his palm it nearly undid him. Unable to resist, he lowered his kisses down from her neck to her chest and then to her breasts. He needed a taste. He massaged her taut nipples with his tongue, giving each one their due attention. His hand drifted lower. He found her wet, swollen, and ready for him. He pressed his hand to her wetness. She gasped and let out a deep, throaty moan, music to his ears. His own pleasure grew from hers and the movements of her body told him she was ready for him.

  Spinelli reached back toward his nightstand and opened the drawer. He retrieved a condom. Shannon sat up and took the small square package from his hand, opened it, and slid the condom on him. Her small hands sheathing him was the most erotic experience. His heart nearly leaped out of his chest. His body begged for release.

  Shannon eased her body down. Spinelli gazed into her eyes as he positioned his body on top of hers then he gently slid himself inside her. He stroked slow and deep, and she felt just as he had imagined in his fantasy, warm and soft as velvet. Her hands skimmed his hips and flowed over his back to his shoulders leaving a path of heat trailing behind as if he wasn’t hot enough already. She seemed to meld to him, matching his every thrust, driving him closer to the edge. Her intensified breathing nearly drove him crazy. He knew she was almost there, teetering at the edge. He greedily drove deeper into her. She was so hot. Her grip tightened on his shoulders. She moaned and called out his name as her muscles clenched around him. He drove one last time and with his release, he was sure he had died and gone to heaven.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Spinelli struggled to drive himself and Shannon to the mall because the fat suit he wore under his Santa costume pushed up against the steering wheel making it difficult to maneuver turns. He should have just changed into it when he got to the mall, but he figured he wouldn’t have enough time. He’d spent too much time in bed with Shannon. Yet more time would have been nice. Thoughts of their afternoon delight made him grin like a kid.

  His thoughts shifted to Shannon’s safety. He simply didn’t want her at the mall, so close to the action, so close to Loukas the Greek the mastermind behind everything. Yet he, Walker, and Marsh agreed that the appearance of keeping things normal would allow for a better chance of catching a break in the case.

  He and Shannon reached the Santa display to find Officer Miller in place as an elf with one of the usual elves at his side. Walker and Marsh watched and listened attentively.

  Spinelli glanced at the long line of children who waited for his arrival. But on this particular night, he didn’t seem to mind the hours of listening to whiny kids that lay ahead of him.

  As he saw to each and every child, he couldn’t help but notice the intense exchange taking place between Miller and Elf Tyler. He could only make out bits and pieces of their conversation from time to time through his earpiece. The background noise from the children rambling on and on about what they wanted for Christmas seemed to block out the key components of their discussion. He hoped Walker and Marsh could hear it all.

  Finally, 9:00 p.m. arrived and the Santa display closed for the evening. Spinelli watched as Elf Tyler took off toward the locker room and motioned for Miller to follow. “I’ll be right there,” Miller yelled as Tyler stepped onto the escalator.

  “Okay, but we don’t have much time,” Tyler yelled back.

  Miller started to fill Spinelli in on what he and Tyler talked about while Spinelli had attended to the kids but Tyler interrupted as he leaned over the second floor railing and flashed an anxious glance toward them. “You have fifteen minutes. They don’t like it when we’re late.”

  “Okay, okay,” Miller yelled up to Tyler, and then he looked at Spinelli. “Tyler is a nervous wreck, something more must be going down other than the card game he invited me to join.”

  Shannon pointed down the hall of one of the first floor exits. “While you guys work on figuring out what you’re going to do I’m going to the ladies room.”

  “Okay,” Spinelli said absently but it took all of two seconds for him to realize what she had said. “No, wait.” He couldn’t let her go off by herself.

  Spinelli looked at Miller. “You go with her while I talk with Walker and Marsh. And don’t you dare let her out of your sight. Understood?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “When you’re done just head toward the locker rooms and I’ll catch up to you.”

  Miller and Shannon headed in the direction of the restrooms and Spinelli found a quiet uninhabited corner in which to talk with Walker and Marsh on his cell and make their game plan.

  Several minutes later Spinelli found himself standing by the base of the escalators by the Santa display with no Miller or Shannon in sight. He thought that maybe they went upstairs already. He stepped onto the escalator but it moved too slowly. He used his long stride to capture two steps at a time until he reached the top.

  He entered the dark locker room and flipped on the lights. The room was empty. Still wired he asked Marsh and Walker if they could see Shannon or Miller on any of the monitors. Both answered no. “I’m en route to the restrooms,” Walker added.

  Spinelli too headed in that direction. Walker came back on. “They’re not there. Both bathrooms are empty. Shit.”

  Spinelli’s feet moved faster and he could feel his heart rise up into his throat. “Shit what?”

  A pause fell over the air.

  “I’m just about there. Walker, what’s going on?” Spinelli asked as he pushed his way through the ladies room door to find Walker standing there with Shannon’s small handbag hanging from his pen dangling next to Miller’s wire.

  Every bit of air in Spinelli’s lungs drained out and he fought to refill them.

  “Marsh, you got anything?” Walker asked as Spinelli fought for air and imagined the worst.

  “No nothing. The only thing I saw was Tyler enter the restaurant and the last thing I heard was Miller telling Shannon that he’d be right outside the bathroom door waiting for her. Everything seemed okay at that point. My eyes are fixed on the computer screens. Nothing’s happening.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “I’ll wait right here,” Miller said to Shannon as he leaned against the wall, inches away from the door leading into the women’s restroom.

  Shannon smiled and nodded then pushed her way through the doorway. She walked past the first two empty stalls and entered the third stall, the last in the row. There was no one else in the bathroom.

  Through the noise of the automatic flush, Shannon heard the bathroom door open and the sound of footsteps. She didn’t think much of it until a muffled groan echoed within the bathroom walls. Fear instantly penetrated her body; she didn’t know why.

  She reached up and gripped the top left wall of the toilet stall and pulled herself up as she stepped onto the toilet seat. She peeked over the top of the stall to find one of Loukas’ men standing near the row of sinks. He held Miller by his upper arm. Miller’s hair was dampened with sweat and his cheeks were flushed. Duct tape covered his mouth.

  Turning her head, she found another one of Loukas’ goons walking past the front of the bathroom stalls. She tried to scream but her throat closed, allowing no sound to escape.

  The man entered the stall next to hers and she jumped down off the toilet. She reached into her handbag and retrieved her cell phone but before she could dial Spinelli the goon reac
hed over the top of the stall, grabbed her by her hair, and pulled. As he yanked her upward, she plunged her hand into her purse and rummaged for anything that could help her out of the immediate situation. Her fingers wrapped around her glass nail file. She gripped it tightly in her hand and pulled it out of her purse. She reached back and then flung her arm forward and sank the nail file into the goon’s forearm. He released his grip from her hair and she dropped to the floor.

  Shannon sprang to her feet and used her frantic fumbling fingers to unlatch the lock on the stall door then she threw the door open. She’d wanted to make a run for it but the goon was too quick. He wrapped his strong large hand around her tiny bicep and tugged her to a halt. His other hand held a handgun pointed in her direction, only inches from her face. Her heart beat wildly as she eyed the gun and the glass nail file still stuck in his arm. Blood dripped from the file. Oh, how she wished for Spinelli! He would know what to do and he would take care of her.

  The sound of shuffling feet drew Shannon’s attention, as well as the attention of her captor. They looked in Miller’s direction. With his mouth taped shut and hands tied behind his back, Miller still attempted to free himself from his goon.

  Shannon shifted her attention back to the bloody nail file and in one swift movement, she reached over, gripped the file in her hand, and shoved it further into the goon’s arm. He dropped his gun and released his grip on her. The gun fell to the floor and she lunged for it. She circled her fingers around the grip of the gun but before she could lift her arm, the room went dark.

  Damp, musty air stung Shannon’s lungs and she fought to open her eyes. She couldn’t. The back of her head throbbed and her neck ached. Muffled voices echoed in her head but she couldn’t make out the words. Among the voices, the distinct sound of a low tone groan found its way to her ear. She fought to open her eyes again. Her persistence paid off and she found herself staring down at her lap. Her chin tucked to her chest. She struggled to lift her head but the slightest movement caused the throbbing in her head to beat harder and faster. She shifted her eyes to find Miller sitting in a chair beside her. No, not sitting, bound. Not good.

  * * * *

  Marsh stared at the computer screens. “Still nothing happening,” Marsh reported again over the air to Spinelli and Walker as they sprinted toward the restaurant.

  “Damn it. This fucking fat suit. Why didn’t I take it off,” Spinelli muttered under his breath as he trailed behind Walker. They posted behind a pillar and studied the restaurant, finding it hard to see through the tinted windows and closed metal gate.

  “Marsh, anything on the video?” Spinelli asked.

  “No, still no activity.”

  “What about in the parking ramp?”

  “Only a few parked cars, no one in sight,” Marsh replied.

  “I don’t get it. If there’s no one left in the restaurant and all the exits are covered by cameras, why isn’t Marsh seeing anything?” Walker asked Spinelli.

  “The head of security,” Spinelli whispered.

  “What?”

  “The head of security is in on it. I bet he’s working for Loukas the Greek. Think about it. He’s the only one who knows that we’ve been monitoring the mall cameras. What if he shut one off? If Marsh had access to all of the exit cameras he would have seen something, right?”

  “We’re on our way, Marsh. In the meantime, call up the camera that shows the exit just beyond the bathroom Shannon used, and go back to your last visual on Shannon and Miller.”

  Spinelli could hear Marsh rapidly clicking keys on his keyboard. The clicking stopped. “I got it, the last visual. There doesn’t seem to be anything unusual.”

  Spinelli and Walker climbed into the van. They all stared at the computer screen in silence.

  Spinelli watched as the computer monitor focused on the bodies of Shannon and Miller. The last visual of them was of their backsides as they headed down the hallway corridor leading to the restroom and one of the mall exits. Just short of the restrooms was the last he saw of them on the monitor.

  “Hmm, back it up again, to the point where they walk past the photo machine,” Walker instructed Marsh.

  Spinelli turned toward him. “Did you see something?”

  “Stop, right there.” Walker leaned forward and pointed at the monitor. “Look, right here. If you look past them, you can see the exits beyond the restrooms. Now start it again.”

  Marsh hit the forward button.

  “Watch the camera angle as they get closer to the restrooms. Stop right there,” Walker instructed as he leaned forward again and pointed at the monitor. “Look, the camera angle dropped, and you can no longer see the exits. As they walked toward the bathrooms someone adjusted the angle of the camera downward so Shannon and Miller dropped out of sight before they got to the bathrooms.”

  “Shit, I can’t believe I didn’t notice that,” Marsh said in disbelief.

  Walker shook his head. “You were probably focused on a different camera at the time. I guess we better pay the security guards a visit.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Spinelli and Walker headed toward the main security office of the mall and Marsh stayed in the van.

  “Anything going on?” Spinelli asked.

  “My eyes are glued to the computer monitors and other than you and Walker there’s no other activity taking place.”

  Spinelli knocked on the door to the security office. No one answered. He tried the handle but it wouldn’t budge. His chest constricted, nearly cutting off the blood flow to his heart.

  He pulled his cell phone from the pocket of his Santa suit and dialed the number to the mall security office. Through the doorway, he could hear a phone ringing but no one answered.

  Spinelli glanced at Walker. “Step back.”

  Spinelli used his heel to kick the door open. The door to the small vacant cluttered office flung open. He took a seat on the high-backed office chair and wheeled himself up to the desk. He opened the desk drawers looking for any information that could possibly lead them to Shannon and Miller. Finding nothing of use, he slammed a desk drawer shut and pushed himself away from the desk. The chair rolled over a thin throw rug making a hollow echo sound. Walker glanced down then gripped the back of Spinelli’s chair and wheeled it off the rug.

  He sprang from the chair, picked up the throw rug, and tossed it aside. He studied the flooring, which looked normal and intact. Walker knelt down and rapped on the floor with his knuckle and again the sound seemed to echo. Spinelli glanced around the small office taking in every detail he could process. Things seemed in order.

  A draft of cold air swept over Spinelli. “Walker, did you feel that?” “Feel what?” Walker asked as he stepped toward Spinelli. “Wait, I feel it now. Where’s it coming from?”

  Spinelli held up his hand as if trying to determine the direction in which the draft blew. “Over there,” he said as he pointed to the small sized closet door in the corner of the office.

  Spinelli opened the closet door to find a couple of mall security uniforms hanging from the rod in a dry-cleaning bag. The cold draft caused the plastic bag to flutter. He reached in and slid the uniforms to the side exposing a door on the backside of the closet. He opened the door. The doorway led to a dark narrow staircase leading downward. “Walker, look at this.”

  Walker poked his head through the closet door and looked down the stairwell into the darkness, “What the hell? Where does that go and why is there such a cold draft? We’re on the first floor of the interior of the mall.”

  Marsh still sat in the van listening to the whole ordeal. “What? What are you guys seeing?”

  “There’s a closet in the security office and the backside of the closet is actually a doorway to a stairwell leading downward,” Spinelli replied. “Call up the blueprints of the mall and see what’s supposed to be underground.”

  Marsh opened the blueprint file and viewed it on his computer screen.

  “Well?” Spinelli asked impatientl
y.

  “I’m looking. There’s nothing, there’s nothing underground on the blueprints,” Marsh replied. “I guess this explains why I didn’t see anything. They obviously took Miller and Shannon out via the underground.”

  “Marsh, we’re going in. Keep your eyes peeled to those cameras and let us know if there’s any activity,” Spinelli barked.

  They each grabbed a flashlight from the metal shelving unit, which stood next to the closet door. Spinelli edged his way through the closet door and the stairwell door first. Walker followed. Spinelli barely fit through the narrow stairwell. He’d been so preoccupied with everything he forgot he still wore the Santa outfit, fat suit and all.

  Earlier he’d shed the hat and beard and left it in the van but foolishly, he still wore the suit. The thick cool damp air stung Spinelli’s lungs as he descended the staircase. It smelled musty, like rotting wood. When he reached the bottom, he placed the palm of his hand on the cold perspiring cement wall to balance himself as he leaned around the corner to eye what lie ahead. A dim light glowed at the end of the tunnel. The ceiling, riddled with pipes running along the weak-looking support beams glistened with moisture.

  Spinelli and Walker headed in the direction of the light, their guns drawn, their eyes peeled, and their ears tuned in. Other than the sounds of water droplets falling from the ceiling and splattering against the cement floor, and pools of water sloshing at his feet he heard no other noises.

  The tunnel turned left and the light grew brighter. The sound of vehicles passing overhead surfaced. The walls of the tunnel shook slightly with each vehicle that passed. Eventually, the vehicle noise grew faint.