by W L Knightly
Lizzy nodded in agreement. “Yeah, there’s no need to make any moves just yet. I’m sorry for what happened to you. I guess Gough was guilty after all.”
“Yeah.” Lane felt the disappointment in himself burning inside. “I’d appreciate the discretion. I’m not speaking to the press or anyone else about this. It was a long time ago.”
“Thank you, Mr. Simon. That will help us immensely. We’ll be in touch.” Lizzy seemed satisfied, and that was all he could ask for.
“I’ll walk you out,” said Darek, getting to his feet. He and Lane walked together as they went to the parking lot.
“What did I just do?” asked Lane, walking to his rental car. “Remind me why I just lied to your girlfriend.”
Darek’s hand fell on his shoulder. “To save my ass. I can tell her that I didn’t know any of that shit. With you being a lawyer, it’s not out of the ordinary that I met you or Bay. I’ll be able to pacify her until we can get rid of Max. So, thanks for that.”
“For the record, I feel like a piece of shit,” he said, opening up his car door. Not even Darek had a response for that one. Instead, he gave Lane a sympathetic look. Lane could imagine he felt the same way.
Chapter 4
Bay
Bay walked into the busy police station, expecting someone to tackle him to the floor or tell him to get out. He didn’t exactly storm into the place, but he had definitely walked in with as much purpose as the last time.
He was met by the usual sea of blue. Officers lingered around between their shifts, and the ones who were destined to be behind their desks were scarce. Bay suspected they had gone out for lunch. The lobby had no shortage of derelicts and concerned citizens, voicing their complaints to whoever would listen.
Bay ignored them all as he walked up the counter, not bothering to stand in the short line.
A stocky lady, whose name was something along the lines of Lucy or Linda, stood behind the front desk. “Hello, Mr. Collins, do you have an appointment with anyone?”
“Is Detective Blake around?” He wasn’t going to barge into his office this time. He’d see how much playing nice would get him.
The little brunette gave him an apologetic look. “He stepped out for lunch about twenty minutes ago.”
Bay looked at the clock over her head. One fifteen; the lunch hour was almost over.
Darek having a late start for lunch meant he had probably talked to Lane and then left right after. Bay wondered how it had gone and decided to give him a call. Before he could take his phone from his pocket, he heard a voice behind him.
“Jesus, Bay, I told you I’d call you.” Darek looked around and pulled Bay down the hall with him.
Bay met Darek’s stare fiercely. “Look, I’ve been patient, but I’m going crazy sitting around the house, doing nothing. I need to know what’s being done about Mia.”
“We’ve put out an APB, notified missing persons, and we have an officer going around checking some of the hot spots. Places we’ve found some of the other victims.”
Knowing that didn’t comfort Bay in the least, mostly because he had been responsible for a couple of those body dumps himself. The killer was not likely to choose the same place for Mia. Missing persons was a joke. They would put out a few feelers and wait for something to happen on its own. Bay had worked with them before. He let out a breath of frustration as Darek continued.
“I’m going to interrogate him myself as soon as I get back from a meeting,” he said.
“Fuck that,” Bay said. “I’m tired of waiting. This isn’t a case of Mia running away again. Max is using her to punish me. He fucked with her in the first place to fuck with me, just like he fucked Lizzy.” Bay hoped to rile Darek up. He wanted him to act now instead of later.
Darek’s eyes narrowed. “He didn’t fuck her. He only wishes he did.” He tugged at his tie, and Bay could tell that he had the man thinking about it.
“As far as you know,” Bay said. “She might be too ashamed to tell you the truth. He could have used her, and you know what that kind of thing could do to a woman like Lizzy. It would make her feel so stupid she fell for it that she wouldn’t want anyone, especially you, to know about it.”
“I know what you’re trying to do, Bay. And as much as I want to go in there and pound the guy’s head until he talks, I’m not going to handle it that way.”
“You don’t have to. Just let me talk to him.”
Darek put his hand on Bay’s shoulder and leaned in closer. “Look, I’m handling this. I don’t need you coming down here making it harder. You don’t know what this has been like on my end of things. I’ve got the whole fucking department looking at me and watching my every goddamned move. They know that Max was my partner and my best friend, and some of them aren’t on my side.”
Bay smiled cruelly. “Damn, if that’s the case, I guess they don’t think too highly of you.”
“All I’m saying is that Max has friends,” Darek said. “He was a good cop, and he helped a lot of people around here. So, some folks are sitting around, wondering if he didn’t do the world a favor. A vigilante cop taking out a cult? They’re all looking at me and wondering if I’m fucking Lizzy or if I’m going to lose my shit. You aren’t making it any better. And it’s not going to help us find Mia any sooner.”
Bay let out a growl of frustration. He looked over his shoulder and noticed they did have an audience. He pulled Darek into the first empty room. “Did you talk to Lane?”
“Yeah, I did. He pulled off the pedo ring story, and I think Lizzy bought it. I just hope she listens to me. I tried to convince her that saying anything to Max would be a bad idea.”
“Yeah,” Bay said. “I don’t know if Lane told you, but he is Gough’s son. I’m guessing this is a big revenge plot. He must have researched the case, found out who really did the crime, and did his homework. Although the others claimed they didn’t say anything, there’s no telling who they really talked to. If you’ve ever said anything—”
“I haven’t,” said Darek with a stern voice.
“I’m just saying, if you have, thinking it was harmless, it would be good to know.”
“I haven’t even told my therapist this shit,” Darek spat the words and then turned to look over his shoulder.
“How’s that going?” asked Bay. “Any more of your little episodes?” Darek’s little problem had made it much easier for Bay to fuck with the detective. He was hoping to hear he’d had a hard time with it lately.
“The meds are doing their thing. I’m good.” By Darek’s stern tone, Bay knew he wasn’t going to get anything out of him. “You just need to let me do my job.”
Bay took a step back and raised his hands. “I’m staying out of the way. I just want a minute with him.”
“You need to focus on someone else getting to him,” Darek said. “That’s what you should do. Put all of your angst over Mia into that task, and we’ll be good.”
“Is there any chance of him going to general population?” Bay knew it was a long shot, but he still had hope. Even a small window would suffice.
Darek shrugged. “You might be able to sway one of the guards to let him out into the courtyard when the others are there. Anything could happen to him, but I’m not guaranteeing that any of his fellow officers would throw him to the fucking wolves. It’s a risky move too. You should be careful.”
“I’m just looking for the right window,” Bay said.
“How’d you do Logan?” asked Darek with a smug look. “Don’t pretend that wasn’t you.”
“It was easy,” Bay said. “No one knew him. I found a guard with marital and financial issues, and they owed me a few favors.”
“Would the same guard take another chance?” Darek had a good point about using the same guard. The only problem with that was getting him back in the same place that Max was being held.
Bay shrugged. “I’m working on it. Do you have any dirt on anyone? Anyone owe you anything?”
Darek let out a
long breath. “I’m not having this conversation with you here. Come on, man. I’ve got a meeting, and I promise as soon as I get back, I’m going down to see him.”
“If you think of anything—”
“I’ll let you know. Shit, Bay. I’m on your side. I promise.”
“And I’m not going to rest until she’s found,” Bay said. “Stop acting so fucking surprised. If this was something going on with Raven or that fucking kid you’re so concerned with, you’d tear the fucking world down. Why are you shocked when I have the same fucking reaction?”
Darek’s shoulders slumped as he took a step back. “I’m sorry. I know this is tearing you up—”
“It’s eating at me.” He was only bothered because he was in a situation that he couldn’t control. It was the worst possible scenario for him, and he was going to keep on until he got his moment alone with Max. “All I need is a minute with him. I just need to look him in the eye and…”
“And what?” Darek asked. “You have a child coming, Bay. You should step back and let us do our jobs. Focus on your family. Your wife. I’m sure she needs you right now.”
Bay hadn’t told Lila anything. He knew he needed to take care of that as soon as possible, but he had hoped he’d have answers for her when he did. The look on his face must have told Darek something because he let out a breath. “Jesus, Bay. You haven’t told her?”
“It’s only just been twenty-four hours. I was hoping that we’d have answers. That I’d have a body. Something.”
“Maybe we’ll find her alive. There’s still hope.”
Bay shook his head. “Nah, she’s gone. I can feel it. Besides, whatever he’s done to her, I’m pretty sure that she’d rather be dead than suffering. Or worse, living with the horror of it. My Mia is dead.”
Chapter 5
Lane
After leaving the station, Lane drove out to Nona’s house. The place looked strange with a cleaning truck out front. The police had called to tell him that they would be cleaning up the house once all the evidence was collected, and someone would have to sign off that everything was as clean as possible.
As he got out of his car, a man met him at the front door. “Excuse me, sir, are you family?”
“Yes,” said Lane, not wanting an argument. “I’m here to sign off on the cleaning job.”
“We had a detective stop in for a little more evidence, so we’re just finishing up in the closet. We’ve taken the carpet up. It couldn’t be cleaned, and most of it was already cut out in patches.”
Lane tried not to think of the state the room had been in. The blood had stained the floor and seeped nearly into the bedroom. There was so much. “Thank you.”
“No problem. Are you the victim’s husband?”
“Fiancé,” he said, knowing Nona had wanted it that way. In his heart of hearts, he knew it would have never worked out, but it didn’t matter now.
“Sorry for your loss,” the man said. “I’ll just get finished up here, and I’ll get that form to sign. It won’t be but a few minutes.”
“It’s all good, thanks.” Lane walked inside and went to Nona’s desk to look for her address book. He was going to have to call her family and friends, including her aunt, who had already been informed of her death but had been waiting on Lane to give her more details. He wondered if he should get it over with. It wasn’t like he could feel any worse.
He looked into her drawer and found her address book. He flipped through and wondered who was important enough to warrant a phone call. For the moment, he decided to just call her aunt Mary.
Before he dialed, he walked over to the couch and sat down. Like usual, he put his foot up on the coffee table. It was something he’d done a million times, and he’d thought nothing of it. But now, something caught his eye.
A tiny stain.
A little round drop of dried blood was on the sole of his shoe. His heart began to race, and his eyes burned. He remembered the day before and the blood that he’d stepped in. It must have splattered up onto his shoe.
He thought he’d gotten it all off. One of the officers had sent it back to him after collecting the evidence. He had thought they’d cleaned it up, but he couldn’t help but wonder: had they left the one tiny spot to fuck with him?
With the cleaning crew still working at the other end of the house, he walked into the kitchen and stopped at the sink to take off his shoe. He turned on the hot water and let it run a minute while he scratched the blood off with his fingernail.
Everything that had happened came back to him. The blood sloshing under his foot, the slurpy sound of thick, wet carpet, and the way Nona’s eyes looked up at him. She was lying there with her intestines a mangled mess in her lap and her face in a permanent scowl.
All he could think about was how he’d carried that part of her around with him. He put the shoe under the water and tried to scrub his sole clean. He had to get it clean.
He was just about to really lose it when he heard footsteps behind him. “So, yeah, we’re finished up in the back. If you want to go check it out.” The man’s tone dropped a little when he walked into the room. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, sorry. I had a damn spot on my shoe.” He grabbed a rag from the counter and dried the shoe off before putting it back on his foot. “I’ll just sign that when you’re ready.” He was sure his face showed all his emotions, but the man turned away, took a clipboard from one of the others, and passed it over.
Lane took the clipboard, and when he poised his pen, the other cleaner cleared his throat. “Sir, you really should go check out the room and make sure there’s no problem with anything.”
Lane shook his head. “I’m sure you guys did a bang-up job. Thank you very much.” He scrawled his name and passed the clipboard back to the first man.
“It’s cool, dude,” said the first guy. He looked at his friend like he needed to let it go.
Once they had gone, Lane walked back over to the couch and kept his feet firmly planted on the floor. He didn’t need anything else to mess with his head. “I have to get through this.”
He dialed the number to Aunt Mary’s house. She was probably the only person left on the planet who had a landline. She answered the phone with a weak voice, sounding more frail than usual. “Hello?”
“Aunt Mary, it’s Lane. How are you holding up?”
“As good as I can,” she said. “I always feared something like this would happen to her. She was too much of a free spirit and so flighty. I told her the last time we talked that she should settle down with you. Her clock was ticking, you know, and I knew how much you two really loved one another.”
Lane felt like a knife was twisting in his gut. “Yeah, well, we talked about it actually. She didn’t mention you two had discussed it.”
“Well, I guess it’s okay to tell you now, but she told me, she said, ‘Aunt Mary, you just don’t know how he makes me feel. I love him more than anything, but I don’t know if I’m good enough for him or not.’ She said she thought about moving south. It was all she talked about. I told her I’d support her decisions like always. I have my church and the ladies down at the bingo hall. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be able to make it through, you know?” Her voice broke.
Lane hadn’t told her the horrible details of Nona’s death and didn’t plan to. She knew that Nona had been murdered, and she had asked him not to tell her the worst of it. She had a bad heart, and she knew it wouldn’t do her any good.
Lane had no idea that Nona and Mary had those conversations, and he didn’t want to make Mary think that he didn’t appreciate all her niece had been in his life. “I was calling to tell you that I just got her house released, so I’ll be able to go through everything.”
“I trust you to make the right decisions with all of that, Lane. I don’t have room or the need for any of her things. If you could just take the majority and sell it, I would get more use out of the money.” She cleared her throat and sniffled into the phone. “I would l
ike a few of her personal things, things she loved, you know? If you could handle that for me, I’d appreciate it.”
“I’ll handle it,” Lane said. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll ship you a few things. I haven’t been able to talk to the funeral director, but when I do, I’ll make arrangements for you to get her ashes.”
“You’re too good to me, Lane. You’ve always been so good to us both, and I want to thank you for that.”
Lane didn’t know what to feel about that. Nona had died because of him. If she hadn’t been in his life, then she’d still be alive to talk to her Aunt and ask for life advice.
“It’s nothing,” he said. “She was a good girl. She deserves the best, you know? I’ll make sure that I take care of her.”
They talked for a few more minutes, and when Lane felt like she was finally going to be okay, he ended the call.
Sitting in the house alone, he kept expecting to look around and see her, but that was never going to happen. If it did, it would only be a figment of his imagination. He leaned forward and put his head between his knees. He needed to get it together. It had already been a long fucking day, and he was exhausted. He hadn’t slept at all the night before. It wasn’t possible with Nona’s death mask staring him in the face every fucking time he closed his eyes.
The phone rang, and he sat up and answered. “Yeah, Darek?”
“Hey, I thought I’d call and check on you.”
“I’m at Nona’s getting shit straight,” Lane said. “The guys just left from cleaning it up, so I hope you had all the evidence you needed because I’m going to sell most of her shit and donate the rest.”
“Yeah,” Darek said. “And having Max in custody, we’re sure that there won’t be a problem.”
“Well, I hope so. I heard you came by. Well, I assume it was you. Did you swing over after the meeting for more evidence?”