“Dr. Wright, do you think you’ll be able to escape harm this time?” A reporter stuck his microphone in her face and others quickly followed suit.
“Do you think the Co-Ed serial killer is back in New Orleans?”
“Do you think he will come after you?”
“How does the FBI plan on catching the Co-Ed serial killer?”
“Did you visit Red Lettenberg?”
Liz raised her hand. “Please. One question at a time.”
Every reporter’s hand flew upward.
Liz scanned the hands in the air. “Ms. Breland. You have a question for me?”
“Yes, can I have a one-on-one interview with you at the station?”
***
Blaze wiggled in the leather chair across from her father in the office she hated. It always reminded her of how much he controlled her life. “Thank you for cutting your trip short. It means a lot.”
“Tell me what demanded my personal attention that couldn’t wait until I returned from Russia.”
“I need you to purchase the apartment complex where I’m living. You offered to buy it before. Buy it now, please. For your little princess.” She pouted her lips.
“I can’t say I’m surprised you’re asking me for money because you do it most of the time. Your request to purchase an entire apartment complex is very amusing.”
“Please buy it for me. I want to become a business woman and invest in property.”
“Why do I sense you’re lying? Maybe, because you are.”
“Okay. The truth is I had a party on Cinco De Mayo and things got loud. Not wild; just loud. The landlord threatened that I’d have to move, and I don’t want to. So, I need you to buy the building.”
“Lux told me about this unfortunate event. I’ll make you a deal. Return your bracelet and I’ll invest in you becoming a slumlord.”
“Why are you so concerned about my bracelet?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you the truth.”
“Try me. It’s refreshing to tell the truth. Remember? I did.”
“All right. I’ll try it your way. Do you remember the glass globe charm? I had it made to protect my investment in Project Dimension. It has a chip inside and I need that chip to get the project operational.”
“Buy me the apartment complex and I’ll give you the bracelet. It’s simple mathematics. I’m willing to bet that charm is worth millions to you and the building would cost you a lot less. Isn’t that the Angela way?”
CHAPTER 40
Git Along Little Ponies
Mr. Hammer limped into the room using his antique wooden cane as he sucked a one inch smokeless wet blunt of a cigar. He looked at Matthew. “Boy, you look like you’ve been raked over the coals.”
Matthew rubbed the sleep from his eyes, opened the Thompson file case and thumbed through the pictures of the dead girls.
“Boy, it’s time for you to pack up and head on home. Your work will be here tomorrow, they’re not going anywhere.”
Mathew remained focused on the file in front of him. You’re one sick politician. A glint of a glower tinted on his face as his brown brows lowered.
Peterson straightened his desk. “Are you coming Matthew?”
“Not today. I want to review the Thompson case. I’m tailing him tonight.” I hope I convinced them.
Debra grabbed her purse and headed for the door. “You drew the short straw.”
Mr. Hammer pulled the cigar from his mouth. “Time to quit, boy. Don’t you go ignoring me and pretend you can’t hear.” His eyes shot daggers toward Matthew as he put the cigar back into his mouth.
“Why are you here Mr. Hammer? You went home earlier.”
“I ain’t retired yet. Came back to get my Cubans.” He held the wet-spit soaked blunt and shook it. “This one doesn’t have much life left.”
Debra’s eyes locked onto Matthew. “I’m buying the first round, are you sure you don’t want to join us? Last chance.”
“Why pay for something you got at home?” Mr. Hammer tapped his cane.
Matthew nodded at Debra. “I’ll take a rain check.”
“Go on. Git.” Mr. Hammer pretended to herd cattle as he waggled his cane toward the door.
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” Peterson grabbed his jacket.
Mr. Hammer grunted. “I just did. Now get your hitching gear and git along little ponies.” He shuffled to his office as he mumbled beneath his breath. “Ya’ll better be gittin out of here.”
No one hurried to move. “You ain’t gonna get drunk standing round here. Git!”
Peterson and Debra took their leave and waved goodbye.
Mr. Hammer shuffled to Mr. Snead’s office, he entered the combination into the electronic pad of the Sargent and Greenleaf safe.
Matthew watched Mr. Hammer through the glass observation window. He held up his cane and pointed it toward him. “Mind your own business. I got nothing you need and nothing you need to know about.” He opened the safe door as the orb shimmered blue.
Fixated his focus onto the Thompson file, Matthew didn’t notice.
Just as Mr. Hammer retrieved a three inch orb from Mr. Snead’s safe, an electrical charge radiated causing him to fall. “Shit!”
“Are you okay?” Matthew leaped to help his boss.
“Nothing to worry your soul about.” Mr. Hammer pumped his fist in the air in victory. “Just making amends for a mistake.” He used his cane to become upright.
A grin of relief twisted Matthew’s lips as he sat and continued to work. He’s a piece of work.
Mr. Hammer left the glass protected private office as he tucked the orb into his coat and shuffled to Matthew. “You’ve been looking like shit lately. Go home boy and snooze in your own bed tonight.” He strolled to the door.
“I won’t stay too much later young man.” Matthew rubbed his bloodshot eyes and stretched.
Mr. Hammer stopped at the door, turned around and tossed Matthew a Cuban cigar. “One for the road, how much longer you plan on working?”
“Long enough to do the right thing and short enough to know better. Isn’t that what you always say?”
“Until the day I die.”
The office door closed behind Mr. Hammer.
Matthew pulled out his wallet and looked at his sister’s picture. “I’ll find you. I promise.”
***
Milo waited behind Perks in hiding until it was time for Roth to complete his shift. He looked at his watch. Better plan. He sprinted to the front of the building, across the street and hid beneath Roth’s orange and white van.
Like Milo thought, after a few minutes, Roth approached the van. He waited as he calculated his ambush.
Roth untied a woozy Sam, unlocked the van’s door and opened it.
Milo waylaid Roth on the back of his head using the tip of his gun and knocked him unconscious, then looked at Sam who seemed to be questioning Milo with his expression. “I know what you’re thinking. I could just snuff him with my thoughts, but that wouldn’t be any fun.” Get in.
Sam jumped onto the driver’s seat, headed to the back and lay at the foot of the bed.
Milo shoved the redhead out of the driver’s seat onto the floorboard. He’s such a lightweight. He picked up Sam’s water bowl, got in the van and slammed the door. I love it when a plan works. He climbed over Roth to search for something to tie his hands and feet.
Milo inspected the built in bed cabinet and pulled the drawer which slid the trundle bunk caked with dried smeared blood out. “Well, well. This is where you do your kills. It’s payback time.” He grabbed Roth’s black duffle bag and searched through it. “You make this too easy. How predictable.” He pulled out several zip ties, duct tape and secured Roth’s wrists and ankles.
Roth groaned and mumbled through his pain. “What the hell?”
“Don’t you mean, who in the Devil? It’s your time to die.” Milo focused his thoughts on Roth and removed some air from his lungs.
Roth
wheezed and gasped.
Milo released his mental control. That is the easy way to kill you. You need to suffer. Again, he used the butt of his gun to knock Roth out. Milo hurled him into the trundle trunk and locked it. “By the way, I like your wheels.”
He sat in the driver’s seat and started the engine. He drove off as the song They Put a Body in the Bayou by the Orwells played on the radio. His head moved to the beat as his thumbs tapped the steering wheel. How apropos. “Roth, I know you can hear me back there because I haven’t killed you. I warned you not to kill any more of my co-eds, but no. You didn’t heed the warning. I guess I should thank you for that because now I get to kill you.”
Roth's eyes opened in fear inside the blood-smeared trundle trunk. He winced with regret. I should have listened; he’s a serial killer.
Milo’s head bobbed to the music.
CHAPTER 41
Farewell to Anna Conda
Matthew unbuttoned his shirt as he sat on his couch drinking a warm beer. The doorbell chimed. “I’m coming. I don’t have magic powers.” Matthew strode to the door and peered through the peep hole. A grin of surprise crossed his lips as he opened it. “It’s good to see you Liz. What brings you to my doorstep?”
“I need a drink.”
“I’m flattered you thought to come here.”
“I need to talk to someone that knows what I’m going through.”
“In that case, let’s go to the Alley Cat.” He buttoned his shirt.
***
Ima Star, dressed in black, including a black lace veil to cover her face stood somber mid-stage at the Purple Oz. “It’s with great sadness that I stand before you tonight on this very stage that Anna Conda loved and treasured so deeply. Special thanks to the Purple Oz for allowing us to hold her memorial here. She would have wanted it this way. Please, everyone, raise your glasses to Anna.”
The crowd responded and raised their glasses.
“To Anna.” Ima lifted her eyes to the heavens.
“To Anna!”
At the bar, Robby chugged his beer and remembered the pain he absorbed during Anna’s autopsy.
Ima lifted her black lace veil. “After I’m finished expressing my favorite memory of her, I’ll open the stage for anyone else who would like to speak.” Ima choked, grabbed her hankie from her bra and dabbed her eyes. “I loved Anna, she was such a joy.” She placed her hand over her heart and held back her tears. “One of my fondest memories of her was the time she came into the bar and auditioned for our show. She was funnier than Hell and needed a little work, but you know this momma could help. So, I hired her. Her real name, Jody Lane Pasteur, had to go. When I asked her for her stage name, she told me she didn’t have one. I couldn’t believe it. We put our pretty little heads together trying to come up with a good one. The first name that came to my mind was Anna Depressant, but she didn’t like that because it sounded grim to her. She came up with Anna Peon. Oh, hell no I told her, that sounds like you want to get pissed on. We both laughed and just about then, a baby garter snake crawled across the stage. Anna freaked. The poor little creature wouldn’t harm a fly, well possibly a fly. Anna told me it might as well be the size of an Anaconda and that’s why she took the name she did.”
The crowd raised their glasses. “To Anna Conda.”
“The mic is now open for anyone who wants to share.” Ima took her leave and strutted to the bar.
Eura Phan, a royalty drag queen, pranced to the stage in her ceremonial attire, her black sequined regal gown made a statement. “I’ll begin by saying I claim her wardrobe. No other queen in here is her size.”
The crowd laughed.
Robby drank his beer and blocked out everything around him in his own fog tunnel, he couldn’t help but remember Anna’s autopsy. I’d rather take care of you sugar, over anyone else. I’ll find out what you tell me about your murderer.
Ima placed her hand on Robby’s shoulder. “My heart breaks thinking how difficult it must be for you. Please take splendid care of her and find the bastard who took Anna from us.”
“I will, Ima. I promise.” Robby took a drink of his beer and looked at Ima. “You know what I find strange?”
“No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me.”
“Matthew Raymond, the private investigator you hired. I saw him speaking with Roxy the night of her murder and he’s the one who found Anna. Don’t you find that coincidental?”
“I’ve never thought of it that way.”
“Of all the people in this city, he’s the one who discovered that luggage. It doesn’t add up.”
“Don’t let that stop you from looking for the real killer. Do your forensicy thing and find the real murderer.”
“You trust him?”
“I wouldn’t have hired him if I didn’t.”
“Where did you get his name?”
“Now what kind of question is that and why are you giving me the third degree?”
“Answer the question, how did you find Matthew Raymond?”
“Juana Bang gave me his card. She used him to find the stalker who had been harassing her, he really came through. So, the way I figured, he didn’t have a thing against us queens and would be willing to help. It ain’t always easy finding someone that doesn’t hate our guts or thinks we’re despicable. Now, is it?”
“Yes, and Juana is missing?”
***
Liz sat at the bar at the Alley Cat between Matthew and James. The boys both drank a draft beer while Liz sipped a pomegranate cosmopolitan.
Madame Laveau perched on her cushioned stool finished singing a bluesy tune and raised her glass. “I’d like to dedicate this next song to my friend, Anna Conda. Anna, may you find peace wherever you are. Cheers.”
The crowd raised their glasses. “Cheers.”
Kelly entered the bar and pranced directly to Matthew.
Lorenzo leered at Santiago. “Who in the hell cares?”
“I hope otherwise everyone is having a good time.” The bluesy singer stood from her stool. “I’m taking a break and will be back for my second set in twenty minutes. Please don’t forget to tip the wait staff and Alex, our favorite bartender.”
Kelly delicately touched Matthew’s shoulder. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
“Not half as much as I am.” He offered her his stool like a gentleman.
Kelly sat; every eye focused on her and the simple black dress she wore. She glanced at Liz. “I hope I’m not disrupting your evening plans.”
“You’re not. We’re working a case together.”
Matthew waved to Alex. “A drink for Ms. Corbin.”
Kelly ogled Liz’s drink. “I’ll have what she’s having.”
Liz paid more attention to Kelly than the last time they were together. She studied her face. “You look familiar, have we ever met?”
Kelly hesitated because several years earlier they had become acquainted. “No, we’ve never met.”
“Do you have a brother? I once had a nurse named Kyle Corbin. He took fantastic care of me when I was recovering from a car wreck.”
“Kyle isn’t my brother, but we’re related.”
Alex delivered Kelly’s drink. “Here you are Ms. Corbin. Glad to see you again.”
“It’s always good to be seen, now isn’t it?”
Behind Matthew, Madame Laveau approached the bar. “Alex, tonic water with a twist of lemon.”
“On its way.”
Madame Laveau nodded at Matthew. “Mr. Raymond, it’s always a pleasure to see you. You’ve become a regular.”
“I’ve been coming here before you played this joint.”
Madame Laveau looked deep into Matthew’s eyes. “Have you found what you’ve been looking for? She’s closer than you think.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’re sister. She’s trying to reach you, but you’re blocking her out.”
“You know I have a sister? How is that?”
“She speaks to me from the beyon
d.”
“Wait. I sense you’re a voodoo priestess, but a medium too?”
“I’m neither; I’m simply open to listening to those no longer on this world. Just because you can’t see or hear them, doesn’t mean they’re not here. You can’t see the wind, it’s there because things move. Open your mind Mr. Raymond to the possibilities. There is a universal energy that surrounds us. There are world’s you can’t see, but they exist.”
Liz listened to Madame Laveau. She had firsthand experience with her psychic connection to her father. She couldn’t explain it, but she always recognized the instant her father entered her thoughts.
TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2058
CHAPTER 42
It’s All About the Serial Killer
Jenni exited her car. “We only have two hours before class.” She, Blaze and Mag rushed to their favorite booth at Perks. Jenni slithered along the bench to be against the wall as Mag and Blaze slid across from her.
Blaze rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “Where did the morning go?”
“I think it’s called sleeping in.” Mag wiggled. “Yuk. It’s wet.”
Alice waddled passed them nonchalantly. “I’ll be right with you.”
Blaze smelled the fresh brew aroma and scanned the room as puzzlement encapsulated her face. “I thought for sure Roth worked today. I don’t see him anywhere. Do either of you?”
Mag twisted her brow. “Who cares? I only like him because you asked me too.”
Blaze slanted Mag a reproachful scowl.
Jenni plopped her book onto the table. “He’s a nice guy.”
Blaze continued to scan for Roth. “I’m not kidding. Roth isn’t here, and he isn’t responding to my texts or answering my calls either.”
Jenni smirked at Blaze’s round-eyed gape. “You sound worried.”
“Yes, very worried.”
Alice waddled to the table, placed an empty coffee cup in front of each girl, gave the girls a cold glare and left.
Blaze’s eyes widened. “What the hell was that?”
Jenni opened and booted her laptop. “No kidding. She’s a little rude, get over it. This is our last chance to get our presentation together. So, let’s focus.”
The Keystroke Killer Page 33