by Nicole Kurtz
“Where did you go after you left her?” I asked quietly, playing the good p.i.
Nathan’s face seemed to close. He stood up and stepped into his boot. “I had some private business to take care of.”
Jane stepped over the bench, her hand reaching out toward his throat. He swatted it aside, and Jane swung. Nathan dipped and punched. She blocked it.
“Martindale!” Hanson shouted as he jogged up to the fifth set of lockers.
The locker room was filled with the three narc regulators and Hanson.
“Martindale, until the Quadrant’s Internal Interrogation team complete their investigation and has cleared the charges of theft and trafficking,” Hanson’s clear his throat, “you are suspended with pay.”
Nathan’s face burned a bright red. “What?”
“It starts today,” Hanson said icily, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Now.”
“Who?” Nathan growled and then stopped. His eyes scanned the three narc regulators who stood behind Hanson with naked disgust. “You!”
Hanson swelled up to his full height. His blue eyes flashed as he spoke. “You know I cannot tell you more. The QIs will be contacting you during the course of their investigation.” His voice echoed and bounced around the locker room as if the heavens had opened and the gods had spoken this to Nathan.
Smiling broadly now, Hanson said, “Good day.”
He and the other narc regulators left, two with short glances back at Nathan. Those eyes held glee and in one, relief.
Nathan ripped off his shirt spilling buttons across all directions. He glanced over at us. “Satisfied?”
Jane said, “No.”
“Good,” he snapped as he slammed his locker door closed, threw his ripped shirt into the trashcan and left.
“Let’s follow him,” Jane said, her eyes still pinned to the spot where Nathan has been sitting.
“You go,” I said. “I need to talk to Hanson. He’ll drop me off at Roger’s.”
She nodded and we parted ways at the information desk. Jane reclaimed her knife. One of the security regs said, “Nice piece,” before giving it back to her.
I hurried up to Hanson’s office. Sherry seemed asleep. Her double chins flattened against her chest as she dozed. The quiet of the corridors swelled out into the day.
Hanson’s doors had opened as I reached his nameplate on the outside wall.
“Ah, Cybil,” he said, a broad smile on his face. “Forgive the cold shoulder earlier. Work, you know.”
He beamed. Getting rid of Nathan had definitely been a huge rock lifted from his shoulders.
“Tom, can you tell me about what he did to get suspended?”
Hanson said in a hushed tone, “He stole Zenith from the evidence locker.”
Temptation had led to action.
Seeing the look on my face, Hanson added. “He’s done it before, but we couldn’t catch him. I suspect that Derrick used to do it, hell, he was smarter, but with him gone, Nathan had to do it. He got caught.” Hanson shrugged.
“How?”
“After that talk you and I had that day from the hospital, I asked the QIs about a hidden camera. They said okay. So I set it up. Sure, I could’ve done it before, but I was, was afraid for my career. I owe to Mandy to be more of a man.”
“Good for you, but that won’t stand up in court.”
Nathan could argue he was set up, but of course, the QIs would have thought of that already before agreeing to Hanson’s request.
Hanson shook his head, his hair flawless. “Doesn’t have to. One witness and Nathan’s hair with DNA left at the scene of the missing Zenith. He’s toast.”
Nathan had this habit of trying to run his fingers through his tangled, curly hair. He’d snatch his fingers through it and rip a few strands right out from the roots, leaving DNA attached.
“Any news on Derrick?” I asked as we started down the corridor to the staircase.
“No,” Hanson said, a little less thrilled. “Two of my best regs are working on it. Nothing. Could’ve left the quadrant, leaving Nathan to take the fall for theft. I wanted it taken care of before it hit the newsfiles…”
But leaving didn’t seem like Derrick’s style. He liked being a reg and he liked issuing orders.
Hanson said, “I owe you an apology for the other night. I-I shouldn’t have, well, you know. Anyway, I’m back on the wagon. Going to my first AA meeting tomorrow.”
“Good for you,” I said. I didn’t know what exactly I was looking for here, but something had to point to Amanda’s killer. If Nathan had left Amanda on the bank, who came along later and killed her?
We reached the bottom of the stairs when I saw Jane storm in. She stalked up to me and said, “We gotta go!”
She yanked me forward by the arm and I pulled it from her grasp before she dragged me out like a sack of potatoes. I followed her out of headquarters and into the wauto. She was practically running.
“I thought you were following…” I said between breaths.
“Maria called. Nathan is on his way to the mansion!” Jane spat, already starting the flight sequence. “We’ve got to get there before he harms Aunt Belle!”
I hurried around to the passenger seat. Before I could close the door, Jane lifted off.
“Slow down!” I shouted, while feeling around under the seat for my gun.
“I can’t,” she said, her voice shaky. “He’s going to kill Aunt Belle!”
“We don’t know what he’s going to do,” I said, my voice louder than I wanted.
Jane’s eyes stayed focused on the lanes. She must’ve been a racecar driver in another life. We went from downtown by regulator headquarters to the mayor’s mansion in half the time it’s supposed to take. She set down the vehicle and hurried to the mansion’s doors, where Maria opened them so fast I suspected she was standing by them, waiting for us to arrive.
With wide eyes, Maria shushed us and pointed to the staircase that snaked behind the foyer’s wall and up to the second floor. It wasn’t the same staircase that led to Amanda’s room towards the rear of the house. This upper floor section overlooked the cul-de-sac and our parked wauto.
“They’re in her bedroom,” she whispered, pointing to the staircase. With bright eyes, Maria wiped her hands on her apron. “He got here about ten, fifteen minutes ago. Boy was he in a terror. Yelling, cursing…” Maria shook her head. “I nearly went for my gun.”
Jane led as we took the stairs up to the second tier and down the hallway towards the western end of the house. Along the cream-colored walls were awards the mayor had won or been awarded due to citizenship, contributions, and community service. Too bad she didn’t give her daughter all that time.
As we reached the top of the stairs, the giggles and moans greeted us with intensity and heat. Like dripping water, they fell into the hallway, naked and unrestrained.
Jane tossed me a look of shock and her face mashed into disgust.
I knew what Mayor Christensen and Nathan were doing and I’ve had the sneaking suspicion all along. But Jane was taken totally by surprise when we reached the doors, opened them to the lewd scene. Nathan’s naked body, amazingly hairless, was pale beneath the room’s lights. I prefer the dark or candlelight, but others needed to see everything.
Tangled in a mass of sweaty desire, Nathan and the mayor continued with their romps of joy until Jane cleared her throat. Nathan’s head snapped up, a look of astonishment on his face. His spill of curls in his eyes turned him into slightly sexy. The mayor’s eyes were tightly shut, her teeth firmly holding on to her bottom lip and her forehead damp with perspiration, continued to engage him with upward thrusts.
He froze, his eyes skipping over to me and then to Jane.
Mayor Christensen struggled to sit up, her eyes searching Nathan’s face and then following his gaze to the doorway to us.
Outraged filled her face, turning it into a mask of fury where seconds before it had been relaxed in pleasure. “What the hell are you two doin
g here?”
Nathan rolled back on his heels away from her and toward the window. I saw his exposed buttocks before he pulled on his pants from their spot on the bed’s edge. His back bore circular bluish-black bruises. His neck burned a bright red.
“That’s what I want to know about him,” Jane said. She gestured with her head in Nathan’s direction, her voice amazingly calm despite the situation. “I thought he was trying to kill you.”
Firm and slightly athletic, Mayor Christensen boldly walked across the room to her vanity table and collected her robe. Her body wasn’t bad, despite her age.
“What goes on in my bedroom, Janey, has nothing to do with either of you, so get out!” Mayor Christensen crossed her arms over her now covered bosom and glared at us. “You aren’t in charge here,” she continued, her eyes whipping over to me. “You’re fired! Get out!”
Behind her Nathan smirked across the room at me. His tousled hair scattered and skewed made him look wild. He folded his arms across his bare chest as if to say there.
“You’ll fire us to protect him?” Jane balked. She stepped closer to Mayor Christensen, her fist raised. “He cares nothing for you. What about Mandy? What about her killer?”
The mayor laughed, but it was without heart. “Please, this has nothing to do with him or Mandy. I’m weary of you. Always barging in, popping up and questioning people. I’m trying to win an election.”
“You can fire me, but I’m still going to investigate Amanda’s death,” I said, crossing my own arms, feeling the 350 move beneath my jacket. “Though I don’t know why you’re so eager to protect him. He called you a bitch only a few minutes ago, back at headquarters. Didn’t you Nat?”
The mayor pretended she didn’t hear me, although the corners of her mouth turned downward in a slight frown. Jane’s eyes bore a hole in Mayor Christensen’s face, trying to force the mayor to meet her eyes.
“It does not matter. Who I sleep with is none of your business,” the mayor said repeated, but the notch of superiority had slipped. “Now, get out before I call the regulators.”
“Call them,” I said with a grin. “I’d love to see how Hanson deals with your chosen bedroom partner.”
Mayor Christensen clucked her tongue in outrage. “Never mind, you go.”
I directed my comments at Nathan, ignoring the mayor. “At the benefit, Nathan, she said you were scum. Obviously, she doesn’t think highly of you.”
Nathan’s smirk wilted, but he didn’t say anything.
“For all you know,” Jane said to Mayor Christensen, “he could’ve killed Mandy.”
Mayor Christensen rolled her eyes. “First Hanson, now Nathan? You two don’t know anything do you? Next thing you know, I’ll be a suspect too.” She laughed. “And to think someone said you were the best…”
“Are you?” I asked, not smiling.
Jane growled in frustration. “Fine. I’m done!” she spat, turned on her heels and walked out. “Mandy deserved better than this. Better than you!” she said as she started down the stairs.
The mayor glanced quickly to the door where Jane had stood and back to Nathan. “You called me a bitch?” her tone nasal and offended.
Nathan shrugged. “I was tryin’ to throw her off our scent, babe.”
She stiffened. “So,” she said to me. “There you have it. Now you can leave.”
“Listen,” I said, staring her directly in the face. “Amanda did deserve better than you. Between the two of you, you know what happened to her and I want the truth. Start talking or I’m going to start talking about your little tryst to the media.”
The color drained from the mayor’s face. She whispered, “You wouldn’t dare. Your contract has a confidential clause.”
“Wouldn’t I? I am well aware of your clause and willing to refund your fucking currency. This is a game Nathan knows well, don’t you, Nat?” I said. “I have several very close friends working at the D.C. Mirror and one in Toronto at the Star.”
She sat down, crossing her legs at the ankles. “I-I don’t know anything…”
I gestured toward Nathan. “When you dropped Amanda off at the spot by the embankment, where did you go?”
Nathan’s mouth was a slash of fury.
“Tell her, dammit,” Mayor Christensen said, her voice slightly elevated. “Tell her so she can go.”
Grudgingly, Nathan said, “I came back here to see how she was doin’.” He nodded toward the mayor.
Mayor Christensen nodded her head in agreement, as she bit her bottom lip. “It’s true.”
“Then what happened,” I said as I leaned back against the wall. “All of it.”
“If-if he tell you,” the mayor said slowly interjected, “none of it will go to the files? It stays here, in this room?”
“Someone is dead. That someone is your daughter! And all you’re worried about is what it’ll look like in the news? Listen, I can’t promise that it’ll stay here. It’s up to Captain Hanson,” I said. “Hanson isn’t one to blab, is he?”
“Don’t tell her anything!” the mayor demanded. Her eyes met mine and she said, “Go tell your friends. I have friends too and yours won’t be around long to tell much. Either way, I’m a shoe in for the governor’s seat. So get the hell outta my room!”
“You won’t be after I tell Jesus about your little extracurricular activities with Nathan here, whom you helped muscle in on the Raymen Cartel’s business. That will be in addition to the stuff I tell the papers. I promise it’ll be racer than what I actually saw…” I said, starting for the doors.
Mayor Christensen’s eyes popped. “You-you…All right! Stop! Come back!”
I came back into the room. “You hired the best, and you’re getting it,” I growled, tired of her already. “Nathan, start talking…”
He peeked at the mayor, his lips trembling. “She knows about the cartel? Annabelle…”
“Shush!” she spat, but it was too late and they both knew it.
Nathan collapsed on the bed, his back to the bed’s headboard and his hands folded in front of him. His profile outlined his Romanesque nose and bobbing Adam’s apple.
“I came back here to check on Annabelle. Mandy called from the spot askin’ me to come and get her. I told her I was busy, but I would send Derrick to get her. Believe it or not, Mandy didn’t know about me and her mom and I wanted to keep it like that.”
Mayor Christensen closed her eyes as Nathan’s voice took on a rough, scratchy quality as if worn out from carrying the burden of the truth for so long.
“…Derrick took her to my house. I got back there sometime after midnight. When I walked in Derrick was still there in the living room, sitting by the couch. Mandy-was- she was on the floor dead. Blood-oh God, it was all over the telemonitor...”
Nathan rubbed his face and was silent.
The mayor lay down on the bed and rolled away from me, toward her windows that looked out over the entranceway up to her home.
“Let me guess,” I said finally seeing the pieces fit themselves tightly together. “Amanda threatened to report you and Derrick’s drug operations to Hanson to fall back in favor with him or to embarrass him. Either way, Derrick had to kill her to shut her up.”
Nathan nodded, a sickened look on his face. “That’s what he said. I believed him.”
“Nat, she was raped. This wasn’t a drug hit. The gun blast didn’t hide that,” I said to Nathan and Mayor Christensen’s shoulders started to shake, a sob escaped from her lips.
Nathan’s head bobbed up and down before he said, “I-I didn’t know that until you told me at the benefit. I believed Derrick. I had no reason not to…But-but after the benefit I read the autopsy report and it was all there. Every stinkin’ detail. So, the other night on shift, I asked him about.”
The mayor had balled herself into a tight ball as if trying to protect herself from the news.
Nathan didn’t want to talk at first. The words wouldn’t come, but now they rushed out of him like an old rusted n
ozzle on a bathtub.
“He didn’t wanna say, you know. He even tried to tell me the same ole story. But I told him about the autopsy report…So, I –well, anyway, he said he picked her up like I asked him to. She was a mess. High on Zenith…He told me that Mandy had passed out. He was turned on by her; she wore that denim shirt and a mini-denim skirt. He said the skirt had hiked up, revealing…” Nathan swallowed hard. “…and… and he raped her. He laughed, said he knew she wanted it.” Nathan’s face distorted into disgust. “Said she woke up midway through it and threatened to tell Annabelle and Hanson. He panicked and killed her. Shot her in the temple, after he beat the living shit out of her. God, I loved her so much…and this piece of shit wipes her out! Just like that! She was my best friend!s”
Nathan words faltered and he sobbed, his head in his hands as if was too heavy to hold up on its own. The mayor clucked her tongue and swore.
“I didn’t know any of this until after Mandy was found,” the mayor chimed in. “Nothing.”
I had no way to prove that Nathan didn’t kill Amanda or that Derrick did. Sure Nathan had an alibi, the mayor, but how far would she go to protect her lover? Her image? All the way to perjury? Probably not. The governor’s seat was vacant and Christensen wanted her big butt in it.
It wasn’t his alibi that made me believe Nathan. It was his eyes. They were bitter and hurt at Amanda’s demise. Such a savage death for a young girl would wound the hardest of hearts—except the killer’s.
I crept down the staircase and met Maria at the foyer, leaving Nathan alone with the mayor.
“Jane is still waiting for you,” Maria said, her voice low and hushed. “Follow me.”
We walked back to the sitting room and there Jane stood, her back to me, facing the fireplace. “She confess?”
“She didn’t say anything. But Nathan stated it was Derrick who killed Amanda and raped her. She threatened to tell,” I said, aware that my own voice held a certain level of weariness. “I’ll call Hanson and have him pick Nathan up tomorrow. I doubt even Hanson will agree to arrest him at the mayor’s mansion.”