by W L Knightly
“What the fuck does that mean?” His tone sharpened.
“You know what it means, man.” Maybe the Aquarius symbol he got on his phone was a confession, not a warning.
“If you’re asking me if I’m the killer, then I’m going to pretend you didn’t so we can keep the small ounce of friendship between us.”
“Noted,” Darek said. “But I hope you understand why I have to ask. I asked Bay and Tad the same thing.” He knew that soon, he’d have to tell him about the texted symbol, but it wouldn’t be just yet. “You know, Aquarius comes after Capricorn. That’s your sign, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but, wait. You think this killer is coming after us in some kind of order?” Logan’s footsteps sounded through the phone, as if he were climbing stairs.
“I’m saying it’s a possibility.”
Logan chuckled halfheartedly as the footsteps changed, and Darek heard the sound of water running. “Well, why wouldn’t they have started with Aries? It’s the first sign of the zodiac calendar.”
Darek hadn’t thought about it, but he was right, and the calendar also ended with Pisces.
“The killer might not care,” Darek said. “Or he simply doesn’t know. But regardless, you should keep an eye out.”
“Thanks, man. Good to know you care.” He sounded as if he weren’t taking any of it seriously, and Darek felt awful for not being able to share the truth, but he just couldn’t show all of his cards. Not until he could get a handle on what was going on.
“Listen,” Darek said. “Tad also said that whoever this is was sending him messages, so if you get any, remember to let me know.”
“Of course, Detective. And if you find out I sold all of the brands to the killer, let me know.”
“You said you hadn’t sold yours, right?” Darek asked.
“Right, it’s around here somewhere. I guess it’s stupid, but I couldn’t part with it.”
“Well, I’d find it if I were you and put it someplace safe. At least then we’ll know not to expect any more brandings.”
“Not unless whoever does it makes their own off the first one’s pattern,” Logan said.
“Well, let’s hope not. Call me with that list in a few days. I’m eager to crack this one before it comes back to bite us.”
Logan sighed. “I think it already has.”
If he thought losing Tad was the worst that could happen, he was sorely mistaken, but then, he hadn’t really been affected as much as poor Tad had. Tad’s entire world turned upside down, and then he’d been left to make a tough decision. Instead of spending time in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, he chose the only way out he knew. But then again, he’d had a much more disturbing past than any of the others.
9
Logan
Friday had been a good day, and not just because he was still thinking about the other night with Hannah. Friday was one-day closer to him starting work on the new project with Finn. He had felt a bit guilty about texting with Hannah, but it wasn’t enough to deter him from having thoughts of leaving Lidia for good.
Things between them weren’t working out. Her recent attitude toward him had really made him feel useless and unloved. He’d already had one woman in his life treat him that way, and he’d decided a long time ago not to let anyone else make him feel like that.
He heard a noise at his front door and put down the welding torch. Someone was banging around out there, and while he hoped it was just another confused customer from the donut shop, whose door was clearly labeled, whoever it was seemed a bit aggravated. The banging got louder, but it wasn’t a knock. It was like someone was trying to kick in the door.
Logan stepped cautiously across the room and picked up his broom. It wasn’t the best weapon, but it would suffice to hit whoever it was over the head. He wished he had his gun, which was upstairs in the closet, and he made a mental note to bring it down with him when he was working. As he got closer to the door, he heard muffled mumbling on the other side. Then, he opened the door and found Lidia fighting the keys in the door.
She glanced at him, her face lined with worry. “I got the wrong key stuck in the damned lock.” With a final, spirited tug, she managed to extract the key.
“I wasn’t expecting you.” Logan stepped aside and let her in. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I wanted to surprise you.” She stepped closer and took his hand. “We need to talk, but could we do it upstairs?”
With her showing up at his home, he had a feeling she was going to end things, and he had mixed reactions to the prospect. In one way, he’d love it if she took the initiative to end their relationship and save him the trouble, but in another, he had no idea what would happen. She’d no doubt kick him out of his home, and then he’d have nowhere to go. He’d have to call Bay or worse, his mother, and ask for help.
“Of course. Come in.” Logan shut the door and walked her up the stairs and into his living room.
Lidia dropped her bag on the floor next to the couch and took a seat. “Come and sit with me.”
“Do you need anything to drink, or could I get you something?” He wanted to be polite, but instead, she took his hand.
“Sit with me,” she said, this time with greater emphasis. “I need you close. I’m not sure I have the strength to tell you this.”
He felt a lead weight in his chest. Had she strayed? Was that why she’d been acting so strange lately? Perhaps she’d found herself someone new and younger? Someone who could keep up with her strange fetishes but had none of his own.
He sat with her, and at that moment, he saw the fear in her eyes. “Honey, what is it?” He didn’t like to see her hurt, no matter what else was happening between them.
Lidia took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I know I’ve been just awful lately, and I wanted to start by apologizing to you. You know I love you, Logan. I have never loved anyone like you before, and I know I never will again.”
This wasn’t the direction he thought the conversation would go. He kept quiet to hear her out, but then she moved closer to him and put her hand on his knee. “I want you, Logan. I need to feel you close to me.”
She opened her blouse and then reached down to caress his thigh, working her way up to his cock, which grew harder despite his reservations.
She rubbed and cupped her breasts, and he reached up and stroked them, then leaned over to give one a taste. He loved the feel of her plump nipples between his lips. He flicked his tongue over it, and it grew hard as a pebble. Her hand stroked his hard length. Knowing he couldn’t refuse her, he reached down between her legs and up her skirt. He moved her panties aside and pushed two fingers between her folds until he found her slick, wet hole.
He finger-fucked her hard until she began to pant, and then he eased her back on the couch, broke free of her nipple, and then dived down between her legs where he kissed and licked her swollen clit, biting and nibbling it like he had her nipple as he worked his fingers against her G-spot.
“Fuck me, Logan. Please.” Her voice and hands trembled, and he had no intention of stopping.
He rose up, capturing one of her nipples in his lips, and as he sucked, he pushed her skirt up farther and nestled down between her legs, his thick bulbous head bouncing at her entrance. She held her tits up and stroked them as she begged. He looked into her eyes and thrust hard, burying himself inside her. He knew she liked it hard; she had begged for it rough nearly every time the two had been together.
She moaned so loudly, he wondered if Gene could hear them downstairs in the donut shop. He captured her mouth with his to silence her a bit. As her first orgasm quaked through her, causing her to pulse around his cock, he kissed his way down and licked her tight nipple, pinching the other with his fingers as he sucked the one just as hard.
As he pounded her pussy hard, he thought about the turmoil between them and wondered what kind of future they could really have, caught up in this vicious cycle.
“Fill me up, Logan. I want it deep.
Consume me.”
He wasn’t one to deny her anything, and as she screamed his name one more time, he filled her up just as she desired.
He stilled, and she held him tight, not letting him leave her. “I do love you, you know?”
“I know, Lidia, and you know I love you, too.” He did. He loved her in so many ways, but maybe not in the right way anymore.
“There’s something I need to tell you.” She covered her face. “As you know, I’ve been weak and tired lately. Even though I thought it might be hormones or age-related, I went ahead and went to the doctor the other day. It’s why I’ve been so on edge. I’m sorry I took it out on you, but it’s always hell waiting on test results.”
“I wish you’d told me, Lidia. I’d have gone with you.” He knew that doctors terrified her since the bout with cancer.
“They called with my results and,” she paused a moment to wipe a stray tear, “and the cancer is back. I’m afraid it’s also metastasized. It’s in my kidneys and lungs.”
He couldn’t believe what she was saying, and he couldn’t help but feel like shit for the things he’d been thinking. Not only about leaving, but about Hannah. He’d betrayed her when she was so vulnerable, and if he’d known, he never would have even considered such a thing. “So, what happens now? You take chemo?”
“Yes, but I have to tell you, my chances aren’t good, I’m afraid.” She relaxed and let him pull away, but he laid down beside her, holding her closely.
“You’re going to fight it, though, aren’t you?”
She nodded. “I will, but I don’t want you to worry, Logan. I will make sure my affairs are in order, and you’ll be taken care of.”
“What? I’m not worried about that, honey. I don’t want to lose you.” Not to cancer, not like this, not ever. It was one thing to leave your lover to a better life without you, but to leave them to die alone? He couldn’t do that, and he didn’t want to go on in a world without her in it. She was his best friend.
“I’m going to make sure that this place is yours,” she said. “You can live off the donut shop downstairs and do whatever jobs you want in your studio.”
“I appreciate it, but Roland won’t like that.” He knew her son was going to be a problem.
“Fuck Roland. It’s not his choice. It’s mine, and I want you to have it. I’ve already done it, anyway, so there’s nothing he can do about it now. I wasn’t going to tell you, but I already spoke to my lawyer as I was leaving the hospital last week. He made the revisions. I had a feeling it had come back. I guess I was just too scared to talk about it. Like saying the words out loud would make them true.”
“Don’t do that. Don’t keep your pain from me. I’ll take care of you, Lidia. I’ll be by your side, doing whatever I can to help you through this. Till the end. I promise, no matter how long we have left.”
A tear slid down her cheek. “Thank you. That means a lot. You’re better to me than Roland ever dreamed of being. Which is why I’m leaving you some money, too. I have plenty enough to share with him, and the house is his. I’m sure he’ll sell it as soon as he can, so there are some things I’ll give you. But there’s one other thing, Logan.”
He hung on her every word. “Anything.”
“Come live with me. I know you’ve got this project, and that you’ll be busy every day, but come home to me at night. This place will always be here.”
He knew moving in was going to be hard, but he’d do it. “Absolutely,” he said. “As soon as possible. And we’ll fight this together.”
“I’m not sure how much fight I have left in me, but I will live what time I have left with you, darling. We’ll drink cheap wine and fuck till the sun comes up.” She gave him a smile. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his forehead to hers.
As much as Logan would be there for Lidia, he felt a pang of sadness that he had no one in his own life to help him through this difficult time. He would have to be strong for Lidia, but who would be strong for him? His thoughts drifted to Hannah.
He was still attracted to her, and he didn’t know what to do about that. He didn’t consider himself a cheater, and he didn’t want to mislead Hannah or hurt her. She’d been through enough. Maybe he could just be her friend. Then again, he and Lidia had always had an open relationship, and it wasn’t like he would never love again after she was gone.
She leaned in close to his ear and tousled his hair. “Let’s go to bed. I think I’m ready for round two, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to make the walk after.”
Her laughter was a welcome sound after the weeks of angst. He stood up and held out his hand for her. She took it, and they walked hand in hand to his bedroom. It wasn’t often that she spent the night at his place, but when she did, it had been some of their best times. Especially back at his old apartment.
The place had been so rundown that he was afraid she’d never come back after that first night, but she’d been so smitten that instead of leaving him, she’d decided to put him someplace better, someplace safer for her to go.
He turned back the covers for her, and then they both undressed. She slowly stepped out of the skirt and blouse and left it on the chair across the room, while he tossed his in the hamper.
As he climbed into bed, he heard his phone make a sound, but he knew better than to look at it. He turned it off and left it on the bedside table. He’d get to it tomorrow. At that moment, Lidia needed him more.
10
Darek
Darek sat at his desk, and Lizzy leaned in over his shoulder. “See, this is the camp. It’s right there.” She was pointing to places on the map which he’d seen a million times before and even walked a time or two.
“It’s just a coincidence, Lizzy. You know that song, the one about it being a small world?”
“Don’t start that shit, Darek,” she said. “Don’t you want to get away from here anyway? I think this could be a perfect road trip.”
He had to admit that being on the road with her for four to five hours would be nice, but not when the destination was Camp Victory in Virginia.
“I’ve got the divorce hearing, Lizzy.”
“We’ll schedule it around the hearing. Maybe you’ll even be single by then?” She flashed him a wink, and he couldn’t help but grin.
Just when he was thinking of another way to deter her, Sam Reed, her boss and close friend, walked in and stopped in front of Darek’s desk. Darek couldn’t quite figure out the nature of their relationship, other than them having a friend in common.
Her face brightened when she saw him. “Sam! Just the man I wanted to see.” She turned around and greeted him with the same warm and friendly hug the man always seemed to get from her for just walking into the room.
“How’s my girl?” Sam asked.
“I’m good, thank you. I wanted to ask a favor, actually.” She pulled her shoulders in, like she was a little hesitant. Darek wondered where this body language was coming from, but he had a feeling he knew what she was about to ask.
“A favor huh? Well, you ask, and I’ll see what I can do. How about that?”
“I want to go to Virginia for the Zodiac case.”
Sam’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “But you have your man, don’t you? All evidence pointed to the jumper, didn’t it?” Sam turned and met Darek’s eyes.
Images of Tad’s jump out the window ran through Darek’s head, but he pushed them away and nodded. “Yeah, all signs point to him, although the guy was in the hospital close to the time his uncle was murdered. We’re waiting for an actual pinpointed time of death to determine if he could have been the killer.”
“I don’t think he was,” Lizzy said. “The sister, Hannah Halston, mentioned something very interesting about where her brother got the Capricorn marking. She remembers him getting it while in Virginia at a place called Camp Victory. He was just a kid. So, if children are being branded at this camp, maybe someone remembers something about it.”
She paused while Sam walked over
to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup. He turned and urged her on. “I’m listening.”
“Remember the case I brought to you?” she asked. “Eleven years ago, there was a murder that took place in that area. The girl was found with multiple stab wounds and the zodiac symbols crudely carved into her back. Her name was Emily Johnson.”
Sam nodded. “I recall. You didn’t think the guy who got convicted did the crime, and you wanted to look into it to find our killer.”
“Correct. So, instead of us finding our killer that way, perhaps we’ve found hers. I wanted to go down there and see if there was anything else. Some kind of evidence to either prove or disprove that we actually have our guy, who might I point out, would have only been a teenager at the time. We still may have gotten the wrong man before, and Otis Gough did claim to be innocent. And not only that. There were twelve carvings on this girl’s back. My theory is that this was a ritual of some sort. What if there are eleven others out there that are responsible?”
Darek’s hair stood on end. She was so close to being right; it was scary as hell. Her instincts were spot on. He needed to put an end to it. “Or maybe the kid did it all by himself. Either way, he’s dead, Gough is dead, and the system is happy. It’s not a perfect system, but death has evened things out.” Darek hated to sound that way, but he was grasping at straws.
Sam nodded. “I’ll think about it, Lizzy. But I actually came here to see Darek. I’ll let you know what I decide.” He gestured to Darek, and he got up to follow the older man out of the office and down the hall.
Darek was nervous, but the old man finally put his fears to rest. “I wanted to talk to you about your application at the Bureau.”
“Yes, sir. I’ve been hoping I’d hear something back. It’s my dream to be an agent.”
“I like the work you’ve done in the past, and most recently, in helping us find our man with this Zodiac nonsense.”