by W L Knightly
“Call me when you’re ready.” The man hung up the phone, and Bay breathed a sigh of relief. Max would soon get his, and Bay would be nowhere around for the aftermath. He planned on taking Lila and hiding out until after the baby was born.
He decided to call Lane and tell him all about Raven and how the bitch had been in town the entire time. She had to be involved, and even though Darek had a soft spot for her, Bay was going to make sure she was taken care of, just like Max.
He dialed Lane’s number and waited for him to answer. When he didn’t, Bay decided he needed to go over and check in on him.
He left the penthouse and got in his car, finding the Marissa/Clarissa’s panties in the front seat. He lowered the window and tossed them out. Then he raced across town to see Lane, who was most likely still asleep at Nona’s or too busy moving her shit out that he didn’t have time to answer.
Bay arrived after a ten-minute drive and was relieved to see Lane’s car. He was looking forward to telling Lane that their troubles with Max would soon be over. The man was as good as dead. Bay just had to get his thugs on the inside to be ready to strike.
He almost expected Lane to meet him at the door, but he figured the man was doing something that kept him from it. Bay rang the bell, but Lane never answered. It wasn’t until Bay looked in the window and could see the back of Lane’s head that he began to be suspicious that all was not well.
He banged on the door again. “Lane?”
He banged on the door, pounding his fist harder than he wanted to. The man had to hear that.
But Lane didn’t budge.
Bay looked into another window, but he couldn’t see Lane from that angle. He went back to the door and looked under the mat for the key.
“Bingo,” he said. “Lane!” His voice was full of excitement as he opened the door, but then, when Lane still didn’t respond, he began to think that something was wrong; something terrible.
“Lane, if you’re asleep sitting up, I’m going to beat you until you wake up.” He walked into the room and stopped short when he saw blood dripping down the back of the couch. “Dammit.”
Lane sat there with a knife wound in his neck, and he had a laptop on the coffee table in front of him. Bay walked in front of him.
Lane’s eyes had been removed from their sockets and were lying bloody in the palms of his hands. “Oh shit, brother. What have they done to you?” His shirt was pulled open, exposing his brand on his shoulder, and the stab wounds were so violent, Lane looked like mincemeat.
Bay took Lane’s phone and put it in his pocket. He didn’t want him to be found with it. Whoever he’d spoken to last might have some clues to share. He took his own phone out, dialed nine-one-one, and reported the crime. Then he called Darek.
Darek answered his phone with a shitty tone. “What the fuck do you want?” he asked.
“Lane’s dead.” It had come down to the two of them, even though Max was locked up and they thought they’d had their man just two days earlier.
“Shit. What happened?” Darek’s tone changed to that of concern.
“He’s sitting here in Nona’s house with his eyes in his lap. He also had a computer in front of him. I’m guessing he knew too much, saw something he shouldn’t have. He was still on the case.”
“Fuck,” said Darek.
“Yeah, you can say that again. It’s all one big fuck you to us. Do you still want to ignore that there is another person involved?”
“We’re not ignoring it, Bay. We’ve had Otis in. I thought it was him, but it’s not.”
“No, it’s not. I think you should ask your friend where she was,” Bay said.
“Getting almost raped by you,” Darek said. “Yeah, I know what happened with you and her. She told me how you tried to fuck her. That doesn’t tell me you think she’s guilty of anything, Bay.”
“I do, and don’t worry. I wasn’t trying to fuck her as much as I was trying to rattle her.”
“Oh, you did,” Darek said. “Keep your fucking hands off her. And don’t touch Lane, either. I’ll be right there.”
“Be warned. It’s pretty gruesome. And as much as I hate to say it, it’s so bloody that maybe you were right. Maybe Raven didn’t have anything to do with it.” He didn’t totally believe it, but he just couldn’t see a chick doing something so brutal. Carving out Lane’s eyes? Whoever had done it was fucking nuts.
He hung up the phone and looked at the scene, wondering what was on the computer. The battery was dead, and Bay checked Lane’s phone battery, as well as his ringtone volume, just to see if it was still working. When he was sure he had enough charge, he went to the texts and found one from Kenneth Warner. The man had most likely found something, and Bay was going to find out what.
Chapter 25
Darek
Lizzy had been working day and night to find out all she could about Mia’s death. Darek had been equally as busy trying to nail down evidence and keep things from imploding. So, after Bay had called about Lane’s death, he went into the building and found Lizzy hurrying down the hall.
“We had a call,” she said.
“Homicide, in the Belvedere area?”
“Yes, how’d you know?” Her eyes narrowed. “I just got the call. It was just phoned in.” She didn’t look pleased, and she let out a long breath.
“I got a call, too. It’s Lane.”
“Lane Simon?” She put a hand over her mouth and turned away, as if looking him in the eye might make it all true.
“Yeah. Bay went to check on him and found him. He says it’s pretty gruesome. I’d assume he’s stabbed like the rest. Bay said he had his eyes cut out.”
“Dear Lord,” said Lizzy. “That’s new.” Her face paled. “What kind of monster are we dealing with?”
“I don’t know, but we need to get going.” He thought of Bay being there with Lane, sitting there staring at someone who couldn’t stare back.
“I’ll drive.” She walked past him and headed to the parking lot. Darek hurried to keep up, and soon, they were on their way.
“We have to figure out who is helping Max,” Darek said. “He’s surely pulling strings from the inside, but who could be in on this with him? Who would have the biggest motive?”
“It’s probably someone who wants revenge too,” said Lizzy. She turned out onto the main road.
Darek wasn’t so sure. “Or a call to loyalty. If Max has someone who loved him enough to see the whole thing play out, then it’s probably safe to say he could control them without a problem from prison. Or perhaps they had something else to go by, with him locked up. A schedule? Things were pretty well-planned with Mia’s death, and he obviously didn’t do it alone.”
“It was sadistic,” she said. “Makes my stomach sick. Whoever these people are, they’re the worst.”
Darek wondered if that could be the point. To do something so horrible and hope to get away with it, just like he and Bay and the others had. Or had they? Everyone else had paid the ultimate price for their sins, and Darek knew that no matter how awful things got, nothing was as bad as he and the other Zodiacs had been.
They pulled up to the house, and Lizzy parked beside the emergency response units that had beaten them there, consisting of one ambulance and two squad cars.
“I hope they haven’t touched anything,” he said with a sigh.
“They should know better,” she said. “But yeah, I hope so too.”
They went inside after pushing through the small crowd of neighbors who were beginning to form out on the lawn. Some were trying to stare in the front window.
When Darek walked into Nona’s place, he pulled the blinds and turned on a light. Lane was suddenly a lot easier to see. Lizzy walked right over to the body. He didn’t look real as he sat on the couch, his mouth a permanent scowl, and his eyes nothing but two large, bloody holes.
Darek walked over and stood next to Bay.
“He deserved better, you know,” said Bay quietly. “Out of all of us, he was
the one who was the most genuine friend and person.”
“Yeah, I liked him too,” Darek said. “It’s down to the two of us, Bay. I have a feeling that Max isn’t going to hold off much longer. He’s going to spill his secrets. Our secrets.”
Bay leaned in closer. “Don’t worry about it, Darek. My plan is almost in motion.”
“You found someone to do the deed?” Darek asked. “It’s scary how fast some people turn on one another.”
“It’s a guard,” Bay said. “They’ll get him from point A to B. He’ll look the other way and be unable to stop it. He’ll try to pull them away and get knocked out. It’s the only way to do it with his reputation intact.”
“You’ve got it all planned out, don’t you?” Darek couldn’t believe how easy it was for the man to make those kinds of arrangements.
“It’s done. All I have to do is give the go ahead, and that’s going to come shortly after I see him.”
Darek shook his head. “I can’t have you go in there and be too obvious. You know people will ask about your sudden interest.”
“If that happens, it’s my problem,” said Bay. “I’ll handle it.”
“How’s Lila?” asked Darek. He was concerned only for the woman and her child. Bay was a controlling asshole who had treated the girl like shit on too many occasions.
“She’s huge, complaining, and she’s a pain in my ass,” he said. “So, she’s pretty much normal, aside from missing her sister.”
Darek wished she hadn’t had to go through that. There had been too many innocent people hurt by all of this. He felt like a selfish ass.
“Have you checked into that lead I gave you?” asked Bay.
Darek knew who he meant. “Stop it,” he said. He looked across the room to Lizzy, who raked her hand through her hair and then moved in closer to take some photos. “I have to go help Lizzy with this shit. Don’t go anywhere. I’m sure she’s going to want to talk to you about things.”
“Maybe I’ll tell her my suspicions about Raven.” Bay met Darek’s eyes. “Or at least tell her that Emily’s sister might want revenge. She could find out who it is as easy as anyone else.”
Darek gave him a hard look. “Maybe we should meet later. You know, after the deed is done. We’ll figure out how to flush her out.” With that, he walked away, and Bay went to stand by the window, peering out through a crack in the blinds.
Darek walked over to Lizzy, who snapped another photo. A closeup of Lane’s sockets. “Did you ask him if he saw anyone coming or going?”
“No, he’s just as baffled as us,” said Darek. And talking crazy, he wanted to add. “What does it look they used for that?” Darek gestured to the holes in Lane’s face.
She looked down to the floor. “There’s a spoon.” She pointed to his foot, where a spoon was left just next to his shoe.
“Jesus. They left the spoon?”
“Yeah,” Lizzy said. “I’m sure they got it from the house, but maybe you want to check it out? There’s a lot of stuff packed up.”
“I’ll give it a look.” He went to the kitchen but didn’t find anything there. When he went back and got a closer look at the pattern on the spoon’s handle, something dawned on him. The utensil looked familiar. Too familiar.
“Well?” asked Lizzy.
“No, there are no boxes in there and nothing in the drawers.” Because the spoon didn’t come from Nona’s belongings.
“The team is here, finally,” she said, taking a photo of the spoon. “Let’s make sure they bag that utensil. I’m hoping there will be prints on it, but let’s face it. This asshole is smarter than we’re giving them credit for. I want the laptop too. There has to be something on it. I doubt the victim was just casually browsing when this happened, or else the eyes wouldn’t have been cut out. Maybe there’s a message on it. We’ll need to find its charger and take it back to the office once it’s been processed. I’ll have the computer guys crack into it if it’s password protected.”
Darek didn’t have a good feeling about what was on that computer. If the killer wanted them to find it, it could only mean that there was some type of information linking everything back to him and Bay and what they’d done. He had to make sure that no one else saw the thing. The only way to do that was to make sure it came up missing somehow.
But as soon as forensics came in, Lizzy got with them to collect both items like they were precious. “Make sure these get first attention. I’m sure this isn’t our murder weapon, but it should have enough prints on it to royally fuck up someone’s life.”
Darek thought of what that would mean for him. He didn’t want his life totally fucked, royally or otherwise. And if that spoon was from where Darek thought, he better have a damned good excuse.
Chapter 26
Bay
Darek and Lizzy were a bit too busy to notice him slipping away, and he couldn’t think of a better time to take care of business than the present. He made it all the way to his car without anyone coming after him, so he carefully backed out across the lawn and drove away.
He didn’t need to sit around and watch Darek and Lizzy do their thing, and if he needed an alibi, he’d used Lila as an excuse. He had to see Max to get one last word in, and then he was going to make sure the man never saw another sunrise.
He drove across town, hoping Darek wasn’t onto him yet. After studying Lane long enough, he’d had time to think, and even though it was brutal and messy, he’d come to the conclusion that a woman might just be capable. It would throw them off, and that was most likely the point.
Bay still couldn’t get Raven out of his head, and when he was done with Max, he was going to look for her.
After making it all the way down to the jail without being stopped, he found a parking place and called his friend.
“That was a lot quicker than I expected,” said Lawrence.
“Yeah, well, I’m an impatient man. I’m coming up, and I want you to have him waiting for me in room four. Then, after I see him, you’ll take him back to the wrong place.”
“Can do. I’ll need you to keep him busy a minute.”
“No problem. And you’ll call me back when it’s done.” Bay had to swing by his office and take care of signing a few paychecks, and he had to gather a few case files if he was going to stay home with Lila. But first, it was time to take care of Max.
He got out of the car, fully intending to be tackled to the ground and arrested. But as he stepped out into the sun, cool wind whipping past him, there wasn’t anyone around but a few average citizens going about their day.
He was ready to have his time with the asshole, and when he went inside, he went through the entire process of seeing him, which included signing in, knowing it was going to leave one massive paper trail shortly before Max’s demise. But the burden of proof wouldn’t be his. He was ready for whatever anyone tried to throw his way.
After waiting nearly half an hour, his phone pinged, and he checked it to see that Darek was looking for him. He didn’t bother responding and hoped he had the good sense to cover for him.
Finally, Lawrence called him into the back, “Your client is ready,” he said. Bay studied the man’s face as he went past him, noticing how calm and collected the man was, even though he was about to do something horrible. He would have made a good Zodiac.
Bay would never forget the way Max smiled upon seeing him enter the room, or the feeling of satisfaction he had, knowing the man would soon take his last breath and be left to bleed out on a dirty cell floor.
“I wondered when you’d get your turn,” Max said. “Every dog has his day. Isn’t that the old saying?”
“I’d say that’s appropriate in your case,” said Bay.
“I heard you found Mia. How was she? Did she ask about me?”
“You hoped I’d be there, didn’t you?” Bay asked. “That’s why you didn’t tell anyone sooner. You hoped that Darek and I would find Mia, and it would all play out just how you wanted.”
“I
think it has worked out the way I wanted it to. But tell me, did you get to see the life drain from her eyes?”
Bay tried to maintain his composure, so he turned off his hate and made sure he didn’t show it. “Yeah, I did. I have to give you credit. It was clever the way you did it.”
“Thank you. I mean, I don’t want to brag.”
“Nor should you. I mean, we know you had help. I just wonder how that bitch had the stomach to pull it off. I mean, a fucking woman? She’d have to be a ruthless bitch to do something like that.”
Max’s eyes lit with surprise. “You know about her, do you?”
“Yeah, and I’d say she’s my kind of woman.”
Max grinned. “She’d kill you for saying that.”
“Ah, that’s right,” Bay said. “She hates me. I forgot for a minute about that. I mean, it’s all about revenge, right? You for your father? Her for her sister?”
“You’re the one who knows so fucking much all of a sudden. You tell me.” He rattled his cuffs and adjusted in his seat to lean in closer. “I can tell you this. You’re going to pay your price as well. You all will. Even Darek Blake isn’t safe.”
“He’s your old friend, isn’t he? Man, you’re so clever to play him like you did. As far as Darek, I can’t speak for him, but I fully intend to get my revenge for all of my men. Each and every one of them.”
“Even the ones you killed?” asked Max. “You pretend to be the victim, but I know. I know how many of them died at your hand.”
Bay was not rattled. Everything he had done was necessary. “You know a lot, too, don’t you?” Bay leaned in closer. “I appreciate you keeping your silence.”
“I’ll tell all when the time is right.”
“When she tells you, you mean?” Bay hoped to rile him up. “You see, I have a theory. I think she runs the show. Tell me I’m wrong.”