ENTANGLED PURSUITS (MEN OF ACTION Book 1)

by Brenda Jackson

  “Who discovered the body?”

  “A former roommate. She had moved out a few weeks ago, but she still had a key, and had come back to get something. She’d found it odd the front door was closed but unlocked. So she looked around...and that’s when she found the body.”

  “Where is the roommate now?”

  “In the kitchen. The woman was in hysterics when we got here. Still screaming. She’s not much better, but at least she’s quiet.”

  “Hey, Detective Logan.”

  Andrew turned to see the Medical Examiner had arrived. “Hey, Bobby, you okay?” Bobby, a middle-aged man in his fifties, had lost his wife to cancer a few months ago. He had taken a short leave of absence to process his grief, and had only been back to work a few weeks now.

  “Staying busy, as much as I can.”

  Andrew nodded and glanced over at Toni. “This is my new partner, Detective Oliver.”

  The two shook hands and Bobby grinned. “You’re a lot prettier than Norm. How well can you shoot?”

  Andrew smiled at the confusion he saw in Toni’s eyes, so he figured he would explain. “Norm used to be a sharpshooter. More than once, he was offered a job on the SWAT team.”

  “Oh.”

  “Well, let me go inside and see what we have. Wait a minute and give me space before coming in. I don’t need either of you in my way,” Bobby said.

  “Got it,” Drew said, then watched Bobby hurry inside.

  The beat cop walked off, too, and the minute he did, Toni turned to Andrew. “Is that proper procedure, Drew?”

  Here we go…. He knew what she was asking but decided to let her spell it out anyway, while inwardly telling himself it had nothing to do with the fact that he liked the sound of her voice. “What?”

  “Why aren’t we in there with the ME while he’s doing his thing?” she asked.

  “Because that’s the way we do things here, Toni. Just chill. Bobby is good. Thorough. I’ve learned it’s best to let him do his thing so we don’t run ourselves ragged making assumptions. Bobby won’t take long.”

  And, proving Drew’s words, a uniformed officer came to the door and called out to them. “Detectives Logan and Oliver, the ME wants you.”

  “Now we can see what Bobby’s got.”

  But as Andrew headed for the steps, that eerie feeling returned.

  • • •

  Just chill…

  A woman had been brutally murdered, and Drew told her to chill? Toni was aware that all police departments had their own way of working, but procedure was procedure. He’d attended the same workshops she had six years ago in San Diego. Drawing in a deep breath, she turned to follow him. The last thing she wanted to think about was their time in San Diego. She had done so earlier and was convinced that’s why she was feeling all hot and bothered.

  Toni glanced around when they entered the house. It was a pretty nice place, neat as a pin, so she could dismiss robbery as a motive. In her experience, thieves weren’t all that tidy. Drew met her gaze, obviously coming to the same conclusion, then addressed the officer who’d called them inside. “What do you have?”

  “Victim living alone. No signs of forced entry. Doesn’t look like anything was taken. Her bedroom looks as neat as the rest of the house, except for the bed. Looks like a tussle might have taken place on it. We’re still checking for prints.”

  At that moment, Bobby came down the stairs. “Victim’s a black female, approximate age, late twenties. Cause of death, wrists cut.”

  Toni raised a brow. “Both?”

  “Yes, and by the directions the cuts were made, it wasn’t suicide. Pending autopsy, of course. I suspect she died within minutes due to blood loss. She bled out like a hog.”

  “Damn,” Drew said, followed by several more expletives.

  “There’s no sign of a murder weapon, although I suspect a knife versus a razor.”

  “Sexual assault?’

  “None that I can tell.”

  “Okay, let’s see what we have,” Toni said, moving past Drew to go up the stairs. When she entered the bedroom, she was glad she hadn’t eaten breakfast that day. There was so much blood. She wasn’t the squeamish type, but what she saw nearly made her sick to her stomach.

  No matter how many years she’d spent as a detective, there was no way she couldn’t be affected by such a senseless loss of life. The body in the bed had probably been somebody’s daughter, sister, friend. Now she was dead and her last moments had to have been horrific.

  There was not a mark on her beautiful face, but the rest of her… She was wearing a bathrobe and both it and the bedcovering were drenched in blood. What animal would do such a thing?

  Toni knew the moment Drew stepped into the room. She was about to ask another officer, whose badge identified him as Jerome Ford, a question about the woman’s ID, when Drew began cursing loudly. What in the world…?

  She, like everyone else, turned to stare at him. “What’s wrong?” she asked him.

  He didn’t say anything for a minute as he simply stared at the lifeless body. Then, he said, “Her name is Maria Tindal. At least, that’s the name she gave me, and I have no reason to think she’d lie about it. I met her two nights ago at the gun range. I had planned to hook up with her this weekend.”

  Toni inwardly drew in a deep breath, telling herself the idea of Drew and the dead woman hooking up for a weekend of hot, passionate sex meant nothing to her. But it did. Before she could stop herself, she said, a little snidely, “Well, Detective Logan, I hope you have a good alibi for last night.”

  UNLIKE OFFICER FORD, WHO had a crazy ass grin on his face, Andrew didn’t find Toni’s statement funny. Not one damn bit. He narrowed his gaze at her. “I don’t think I need one, Detective Oliver,” he said in a cold voice. “But since you’re so concerned...” He then turned to Bobby and asked, “Time of death?”

  “Approximately ten last night.”

  He nodded. “Anyone want to tell my partner where I was at ten last night?” Andrew said in that same chilling voice.

  “Playing cards at Detective Miller’s house,” Ford offered. He no longer had a grin on his face now that he realized Toni hadn’t been teasing. “I was there, as were six others. The game ended around one. You were there the entire time, although a couple of us tried to get you to leave sooner since you were kicking our asses.”

  Andrew nodded. “Thank you, Officer Ford, for being my alibi.” He turned a daggered gaze to Toni. “Before you go accusing me of—”

  “I didn’t accuse you of anything. I just said I hoped you had an alibi. You do. No big deal.”

  She might have thought it was no big deal, but he didn’t. It was a big deal to him, but he didn’t intend to chew her out in front of an audience. What he had to say was better said in private. “I’ll go talk to the roommate.” Then he left the room.

  Andrew hadn’t made it to the stairs when he heard Ford say to Toni, “I know you’re new, Detective, and I mean no disrespect, but here in Alexandria, we are a team. We don’t throw our partners under the bus for any reason.”

  Instead of hanging back to hear Toni’s reply, he took the stairs to the kitchen. That’s where he found two uniformed officers with Maria Tindal’s former roommate, Pamela Larkins.

  After acknowledging the officers, he glanced over at Ms. Larkins. He noted her attire—a pretty dress with heels, her hair in place and wearing makeup. The officer who’d questioned her said she’d dropped by this morning. Had she been on her way to work?

  Andrew remembered Maria Tindal telling him that her roommate had moved out. That had been the reason she’d bought the gun to protect herself. He thought back to that evening. Maria Tindal had given him a lot of information about herself. Had she given that same information to someone else? Did she have an enemy she didn’t know about? A secret admirer...or maybe one who wasn’t such a secret? After all, there was no sign of forced entry. That meant she probably knew the person and let him or her in.

  One of th
e officers had handed Ms. Larkins a glass of water, and she was quietly sipping, obviously trying to get a hold of herself. He glanced around the kitchen. It was tidy like the rest of the house. And the officers had already dusted for prints, so he could be a little more relaxed while he questioned Maria’s former roommate.

  Andrew knew the exact moment Toni entered the kitchen, but he refused to take any notice. Instead, he waited for Ms. Larkins to take another sip of her water. When the woman appeared a little calmer, he said, “Ms. Larkins?”

  She glanced up at him, her eyes still wet with tears and shock. “Yes?”

  “I’m really sorry for your loss. My name is Detective Logan, and this is my partner, Detective Oliver. I know this is a difficult time for you, but we need to ask you some questions.” Toni came to stand by his side.

  The woman glanced over at Toni and nodded as new tears flowed from her eyes. “I can’t believe it. Maria has been my best friend since high school. She was such a kind person, and friendly. Everyone liked her. Who would do something like this to her?”

  “We don’t know, Ms. Larkins, but I promise you that Detective Logan and I intend to find out and bring the person to justice,” Toni said.

  Andrew knew what the woman was talking about. “Yes, Maria was definitely friendly. In fact, I met her two nights ago.”

  The woman’s tear-filled eyes widened. “You did?”

  “Yes, at the gun range. She was very outgoing...too outgoing, I thought. Within twenty minutes, she’d given me her name, address, and phone number. She’d even told me she lived here alone because her roommate had moved out. I assume you’re the roommate she was talking about.”

  The woman nodded as she swiped at her eyes. “Yes. I dropped by this morning on my way to a meeting to get the last of my boxes. I didn’t want to move out, but I had no choice.”

  “And why did you feel that way, Ms. Larkins?” Toni asked.

  “It’s my grandmother. She’s been living alone since my grandfather passed away two years ago. But her doctor recently diagnosed her with early stages of dementia. I work from home, so I decided to move in and look after her.”

  More tears sprang into Pamela Larkins’s eyes. “I wanted to wait until Maria found a new roommate so she wouldn’t be here alone, but my grandmother’s condition was getting worse.”

  “And when did you move out?” Andrew asked.

  “A few weeks ago.”

  “What about Maria’s family? Next of kin? Do you know who we need to notify?” Andrew asked her.

  Pamela Larkins nodded. “She has a stepsister, but they aren’t close. In fact, they haven’t spoken in years.”

  “You have a name?”

  “Yes, Jennifer Evans. Jennifer’s father married Maria’s mother when Maria and Jennifer were both juniors in high school. They became a blended family, but it wasn’t a happy one. Maria spent a lot of time with me and my grandmother to avoid having to be around Jennifer. Maria’s stepsister was a major drama queen, a real work of art. She didn’t want to share her father with anyone—especially not his new wife and stepdaughter.”

  “Since you didn’t mention Maria’s mother or stepfather as her next of kin, I take it they aren’t alive,” Toni said, jotting notes on her mobile phone.

  “No, they both died six years ago.”

  Andrew lifted a brow. “How?”

  Pamela’s eyes widened, as if she’d just realized something. When she didn’t say anything, Toni then prompted, “How did they die, Ms. Larkins?”

  Pamela drew in a deep breath. “Maria’s parents were killed during a home invasion robbery. Both Maria and Jennifer were away at college at the time.”

  “What about Maria’s biological father?”

  “She never knew him. Her mother never mentioned him, and Maria never asked. She figured that if he’d cared about her, he would have made it a point to be in her life. But he didn’t.”

  Andrew glanced at Toni, who was jotting down pertinent information on her cell phone. He was old school and still used a note pad. “Do you know of any reason Ms. Tindal felt she needed to purchase a gun to protect herself, Ms. Larkins?”

  “No. I own one and encouraged her to get her own since I was moving out.”

  “Why did you feel she needed to own a gun?” Toni asked. “Are there a lot of break-ins in the area?”

  Pamela shook her head. “Not that I know of. This is a pretty safe area, but when you have two women living alone... Well, you never know. I’ve owned a gun for years, and thought it was odd that she didn’t.”

  “What about a boyfriend?” Andrew asked.

  Pamela Larkins nodded. “Maria and Johnnie broke up months ago.”

  “Do you know why?” Toni asked.

  “Yes. She’d discovered that he’d been unfaithful. In fact, she even caught him in the act when she showed up unannounced at his place one day. He was in bed with another woman. That hurt Maria pretty badly. It took her several months to get over it.”

  “How long ago did they break up?” Andrew asked. He noted how in sync he and Toni were in asking questions. It was as if they’d worked together for years.

  “Six months ago.”

  “And what was the ex-boyfriend’s full name?”

  “Johnnie Underwood. He owns a travel agency.”

  “There hasn’t been a steady boyfriend since then?” Toni asked.

  “No, she dated a bit, but she didn’t have a steady boyfriend after Johnnie.”

  “We will need the names of the guys she’d dated, if you know them,” Toni said.

  “I don’t remember them all, but there was this one guy who was really odd. She went out with him once, but that was it. He got angry and started making a nuisance of himself.”

  Andrew lifted a brow. “In what way.”

  “More than once, he’d wait for her in the parking lot when she got off work, wanting to talk to her since she had blocked his number.”

  “And what was his name?” Toni asked.

  “Byron Nettles. He’s some type of freelance photographer and computer expert.”

  ‘‘Why did she only date him that one time, then block his number? Did she tell you?” Andrew asked.

  “Maria said he had begun acting jealous and territorial.”

  “Can you tell us where Maria worked?”

  “She taught second grade at John R. Lewis Elementary School. Maria loved her students and they loved her. Her class will be devastated.” The woman broke down and began crying in earnest.

  Toni and Andrew gave her time to compose herself before resuming their questioning. “There was no sign of forced entry. Do you know who might have had a key to this place?” Drew asked.

  Pamela Larkins wiped her eyes. “Maria gave Johnnie a key, and my boyfriend had one, too. But he gave me my spare key back when I moved out.”

  Andrew nodded, though he knew that spare keys could be made. “I still need all his information.” Pamela Larkins gave Drew what he had asked for.

  “Do you know if Johnnie Underwood returned his key to Maria Tindal when they broke up?” Toni asked.

  “Not at first. She had to call him a couple of times to get it from him.”

  “But you’re certain she got it?”

  “No. But she never said she didn’t.”

  “And where were you around ten last night, Ms. Larkins?”

  The woman’s tear-stained eyes widened, and her mouth trembled. “Surely you don’t think I would hurt Maria?”

  “It’s just a routine question, ma’am,” Andrew said. But he knew how she felt—he hadn’t liked Toni’s implication when she’d mentioned an alibi for him, either.

  “I had taken my grandmother to church. Bible study.”

  Toni lifted a brow. “It lasted that long?”

  “Typically, no. But there was a meeting afterwards.” She then started crying again and said, “Please find the person who did this to Maria. She didn’t deserve this. Please find them.”

  • • •

&n
bsp; It was two hours later when Andrew and Toni walked out the house and headed back to the car. The media had arrived. Television trucks had parked on Maria Tindal’s nicely manicured lawn, and several reporters were crossing the yard instead of using the cement walkway. At least they were staying behind the crime-scene tape, although they were ruining the little bit of grass the townhomes shared.

  All of them wanted to be the first to report the murder on the noon segment of their news. Toni noted other than the cam mobiles, the neighborhood was quiet. Pamela Larkins was right about this being a pretty nice community. She figured most people had left for work, but she did notice the movement of a few curtains, so obviously some residents were watching what would soon become a noon-day circus.

  She had done her research before arriving in town. Alexandria was not the safest city in Virginia, but it wasn’t anywhere near the most dangerous. Crime had drastically decreased over the years, especially since Wilmot LaNeer had been promoted to chief of police.

  Since becoming top cop, Chief LaNeer had established substations in various parts of town—those considered high-crime areas—and criminal activity had been drastically reduced. There was nothing like having a police station in several at-risk neighborhoods to keep the streets clean.

  After calming Pamela Larkins down, Toni and Drew had finally managed to get enough information from her to start an in-depth investigation. They’d also gathered the names of several people of interest. Then they had walked through the house, making their own observations. It was obvious several pieces of furniture were missing, but it was likely those had belonged to Ms. Larkins, and she’d taken them when she moved out. That’s how it had been when Toni had ditched her first roommate. She hadn’t realized how much of the furniture had belonged to her roommate until she’d moved.

  “Andrew!” a feminine voice called out. He turned and so did Toni. The woman seemed to be a television reporter affiliated with Channel 12, from the looks of it. Toni also noted the woman was very attractive, with medium-brown skin and thick curly hair that hung past her shoulders, with a pair of almond-shaped, hazel eyes. Since she’d called Drew by his first name, Toni couldn’t help assuming the two were friends...or possibly more.