by Iris Bolling
A year later Janice and Alex opened a nightclub called Cachée. Janice wanted a secure place where officers could hang out and chill without fear of being targeted. She managed the club and hired security to protect the establishment. Janice was the one who convinced Alex to go to law school to change his career. He followed her advice, went to law school, joined the Commonwealth Attorney’s office, then ran for the position when his boss resigned. His understanding of justice, from both the police officers’ and the court system’s perspectives, gave him a unique advantage. It was the reason he’d welcomed Nate with open arms to the police department. Alex understood his value.
“Janice, I don’t know how to tell you this.”
“Stop,” she put her hand up, then closed her eyes. “Don’t say it. Don’t you damn it say it, Nate.” She leaned back against the fireplace mantel. Shaking her head.
“Janice, I am so sorry.”
“Damn it!” she screamed out in pain. “No,” she held her hand up as if blocking the words as tears uncontrollably streamed down her face. “Just don’t you say it to me. Not again. Oh my god, not again!”
Nate stood there with his arms ready to hold her. “Janice, he’s gone. Alex is gone.”
Janice screamed as she came at him clawing at his face. “I told you not to say it, I told you not to say it! Damn you, Nate Reigns, damn you!”
Nate grabbed her hands, holding them down at her waist, then he wrapped his arms around her. They both fell to the floor in anguish.
14
Janice shook her head as she cried into his chest. “What the hell do you mean, Nate? You’re trying to tell me Alex is dead. He can’t be. I just received a message from him before I went to bed. He’s going with me to court this morning.” She sobbed.
Nate rocked her as he whispered. “I’m so sorry, Janice, I’m so sorry.” He tried to hold her tighter in his arms, but she pushed him away.
“He’s not a cop anymore, Nate. He’s not in the streets with criminals. He left that life,” she screamed as she crawled away from him. “NO!”
Nate caught her, wrapped her back in his arms holding tight as silent tears fell down his cheeks. “I’m going to find who did this, Janice. I promise you I will find who did this.”
“Don’t promise what you can’t deliver, Nate,” Janice wailed out. “I’m still waiting….” she hesitated, “for who killed my mother…damn it. He was all I had left. Alex was all I had left.”
Nate sat on the floor rocking her as she screamed. All Nate could think about was the pain he knew was shooting through her. He wanted to absorb as much of it as he could to ease what she was going through.
“Is there someone I can call for you, Janice?” Tony asked.
“Alex was all I had. All I had…” she continued sobbing.
Nate pulled out his phone, searched for a number. He gave the phone to Tony. “Call that number. Tell him Janice needs him here now.”
Tony stepped into another room as Nate consoled Janice.
“You know I have to ask you some questions.”
Janice pulled away, wiping her face. “I don’t have any answers that you wouldn’t have. Hell, in the last five years he spent more time with you than he did with me.”
Nate pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket. He handed it to her and helped her up to the sofa. He sat next to her as she wiped her face.
“Yes, he had enemies. He was a cop for ten years, and a prosecuting attorney for the last three. There are plenty of people who hated him.”
Nate nodded. “Anything on the personal front I may not be aware of?”
Janice retorted. “Women, they either love him or couldn’t stand his guts because he would not give them the time of day.” She glanced up through tear-stained eyes. “Does Tess know?”
Nate nodded. “She knows.”
“Oh.” Janice shook her head as more tears streamed down her face. “He liked Tess, but it was Regan, Regan Fontaine who really had his heart.”
“I know,” Nate sighed. “Tess knows it too.”
“How am I going to tell her…this?” Janice sobbed. “This is going to cut Regan so deep.”
“I will handle it,” Nate exhaled.
Tony walked back into the room. He nodded at Nate as he returned his phone. “Janice, as a technicality we need you to identify Alex.”
Nate was trying to avoid that request, but as the next of kin she was the only one who could.
Nate took her hand in his. “We’ll make it as smooth as we can,” Nate said as Janice’s eyes pleaded with him. “If I could do this, I would take this off you. But we have to do everything by the book.”
Janice exhaled then slowly stood. “I’ll get dressed.”
Nate watched as she slowly walked out of the room. He turned to Tony. “Porter on his way?”
Tony nodded. “He should be here before we leave. Was she able to give you anything?”
“No.” Nate shook his head. “Give me a minute. I’m going in the room with her.”
He walked down the hallway, to the last bedroom on the left. The room was empty. He walked to the adjoining bathroom. Janice was inside sitting on the edge of the tub.
“Where’s your gun, Janice?” he watched as her hand came up.
“Get out, Nate.”
“I will as soon as you give me that gun.”
“You going to shoot me if I don’t?”
“No, then I will have to kick Alex’s ass when we meet up in hell.”
The shocked look on her face was what he wanted. He knew she had weapons in the house, and the last thing he wanted was for anyone else close to him to die tonight. He walked over to where she sat then slowly took the weapon from her hand. She wrapped her arms around his waist and cried.
Twenty minutes later. Nate emerged from the room, with three guns in his pocket and another pocket filled with ammunition. He stopped in the entrance of the living room from where Tony stood.
“Was that Tess on the phone?”
Tony nodded.
“Any identification on the woman?” He asked as he watched the bedroom door.
“Nothing yet, she’s doing the prelim on the woman now.” He hesitated. “Let me ask you something. What do you make of Alex taking that case to his house? Is that normal?”
“Not to my knowledge.” Nate exhaled. “Makes me think he did not trust that case in his office.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” Tony nodded. “I’ll have a look at the people in the office.”
“Hold off on that,” Nate stated. “Every person in the prosecutor’s office has an alert on their names. Anyone doing a search on them will trigger an investigation. We will have to go through Internal Affairs to get a warrant to look at them.”
“Internal Affairs is going to request a reason, and that’s a lot of red tape. We don’t have time for that, Nate. The first forty-eight hours are crucial.”
“We don’t have a choice. If we want to look at the people in Alex’s office, we have to get a warrant. I refuse to leave an opening for a defense attorney to have evidence thrown out of court,” Nate replied.
The front door burst open. Nate and Tony went for their weapons until they saw who it was.
“Where is she?” Wayne Porter stumbled through the front door.
His clothes were disheveled, his hair a mess and he reeked of alcohol. “You’ve been drinking?” Nate raised an eyebrow.
“My wife is divorcing me in the morning. So yes, I’ve had a drink or two, shoot me,” Wayne replied.
Nate understood where the man was coming from, but he would have to deal with that later. Right know he needed Wayne to man up.
“You think she needs to see you like this? I don’t,” Nate replied. “Why don’t you go back home, get yourself cleaned up and meet us at the Medical Examiner’s office? She is going to need you to be strong, like a man ready to be her everything. You understand what I’m saying?” Nate shrugged. “Those divorce papers may never get signed if you handle thi
s right.”
Wayne held his glare for a long moment, then nodded. “I can do that. Is she all right?”
“No, Wayne, she just lost her brother, none of us are all right,” Nate replied. “Just meet us at the Medical Examiner’s office.”
“I’ll be there.” Wayne turned and walked out of the house as quickly as he had appeared.
Tony looked at Nate. “You playing marriage counselor now?”
“She’s going to need him, long after this night is done.”
15
Once the evidence was locked away in her office in the Federal Building, Skylar made her way to Alex’s office. It was still raining and close to three in the morning, so she decided to drive. Most days she walked since his office was less than ten minutes away from hers. But today, time was of the essence. Most of the information on the case was kept at Alex’s home. However, there were parts of the case that were deemed insignificant, yet helpful, that remained in his office.
Unlike normal, parking was a breeze at the John Marshall Courts building. The parking garage was close to empty with only security around. Skylar walked into the side entrance of the building, nodded to the guard as she went through the metal detectors, then proceeded down the hallway towards Alex’s office. As she drew closer, she could see officers outside the door securing the area as she had ordered. She nodded her head, flashing her ID as she walked up. The officer stepped aside allowing her entry.
"What in the hell are you doing here?"
A man standing close to six feet, maybe one hundred sixty pounds, blond hair, blue eyes, dressed in a tan trench coat and dark suit and tie, turned to her.
The man stared at her face, before his eyes slowly roamed over her body. His eyes stayed on her legs as if mentally measuring how far up they go.
“Why, I’m investigating a crime. What are you doing here this time of morning?”
It was strange how quick the element of trust tilted for Skylar. Any man who could not look her in the eyes tended to tilt the scale to untrustworthy. The fact that the man was staring at her legs did not help his cause. Her dislike for the man was immediate. She wasn’t certain if it was the sarcasm behind his words, the arrogant tone of his voice or the southern accent that irritated her the most, but she was getting tired of his perusal of her body.
She spoke without moving her hands from the pockets of her pink coat. "Up here."
Skylar waited for his eyes to meet hers. The reaction to her face was bordering on funny. But she wasn't in the mood to be humored. "Who granted you the authority to enter this office?"
"Why, no one ma'am." The man smiled giving him a more youthful look than she first witnessed. “No one had to. I’m a detective with RPD. I don't need anyone's authority." He stepped to her. "You, on the other hand do."
Skylar walked past the man to the desk near the window, scanning the items on top. "You were here alone, Detective…?”
Cory sneered at her. "In case you didn't notice there are several officers dressed in blue just outside the door."
Skylar noted the detective did not give his name. “My question again, why are you in this office, alone?"
"I don't think I like your question."
"It wasn't meant to be liked. It was meant to be answered."
The man began to speak when Skylar put up her hand. "It is the Richmond Police Department’s policy to have two officers or more witness any search of property during an investigation, is it not, Detective?"
"Lady, I don't need you or anyone else to recite RPD regs to me." The indignation clear in his voice. "I'm a detective investigating a murder. This is the victim's office. I have the authority to be here."
"As I have the authority to have you detained, stripped and searched to determine exactly what you are doing here and if during your time alone in this office anything was removed.” She sat her purse down on the desk. "Now, answer my questions as to who you are and why you are in this office; or shall I proceed with a search?"
The look on the man’s face was outrage, while Skylar held a stern expression.
After a moment, the man put his hands up in surrender and smiled. "Look, we may have started off on the wrong foot here.” He extended his hand. "I'm Detective Cory Vaughan. Alex Burnett, the Commonwealth Attorney who occupied this office was murdered tonight," he stated gingerly. "His home is being processed. I came here to process the office."
"On whose authority?"
Angered by the woman's continued interrogation, Cory unbuttoned his coat, displaying his weapon. "Before I answer any more of your questions. I insist you identify yourself or I will take you in for impeding an investigation, after a thorough search, of course.”
Skylar knew the man couldn't do any such thing. "Officer," she called out.
An officer dressed in blues, stepped around the corner with his hands on his hips. "Yes ma'am?"
Skylar reached into her purse and flashed her credentials. "Escort this gentleman to the door. If he resists in any way, arrest him or shoot him. I'm partial to the last." Her eyes shifted to the detective. "I have no idea who sent you here, but I suggest you start praying your partner backs your story."
"Hold on—hold on, now," a nervous Cory stammered as he pulled away from the officer. "All right, I was being proactive, trying to get a jump on the investigation while my partner was working the crime scene."
The officer glanced at Skylar.
Skylar glared at the detective with a raised eyebrow. "Your partner?"
"Yes, Detective Nathan Reigns."
Skylar wanted to throw her hands up. "Not another one," she sighed. This male dominated department of detectives was going to work her nerves; she felt it coming. "Detective Reigns sent you here?"
“Umm…not exactly." Cory flinched. “I was told to survey the residents of the apartment building for any potential witnesses. And to be honest I felt that was a waste of my skillset. I decided it would be more useful to come here to the victim’s office instead.”
"Have you completed that task?"
“Well, I was in the process of that when you came in.” Cory smiled.
Not for one minute did Skylar believe the man was as dense as he was acting. She was not in the mood for the ‘aww shucks ma’am’ routine he was demonstrating. “Did you interview the residents of the building?”
"Not exactly." He shrugged. "I thought this would be a better use of my time."
"Did it occur to you that someone in that building may have seen the killer or killers when they entered the building? Or that one of the tenants may have heard something during the time of the double murder? Or the possibility that one may have seen suspects leaving the building, getting into a car or so many other things?” Skylar shook her head. "Detective Vaughan, don't bother to answer that. I frankly don’t have time for your bullshit.” She sighed. "As I advised your partner at the crime scene, until we determine what happened tonight, this investigation as well as this office are under federal control. I need you to vacate the premises."
Cory nodded. "I can do that. But umm, ma'am, could I ask you not to mention this to my partner. See, I'm still trying to impress him, to gain his acceptance. That's part of the reason I'm here. This little misunderstanding could set me back."
It was now close to five in the morning. Skylar just wanted to look around the office to ensure no DeFazio files were here. Dealing with an eager detective was not on her list of top five favorite things to do.
“I suggest you leave now.”
Skylar watched as Detective Vaughan slowly turned, he paused once, looked in her direction then walked out of the office. She made a mental note to pull his records. There was something about him that was off. She could feel it in her bones.
Pushing thoughts of the detective from her mind, Skylar walked around the desk and sat in Alex's chair. Searching across the desk she tried to envision his steps. She distinctly remembered him folding the document then placing it inside the envelope. She was walking out of the door at the
time and didn’t know if he put it inside his briefcase or in a drawer. She pulled open drawer after drawer but did not find the envelope.
That was something Skylar had to do. It was imperative now more than ever to exclude it as evidence in Alex’s murder or decide whether it was just a coincidence. “I do not believe in coincidence,” she exhaled as she searched around. “What is the significance of that printout and better still, where is it?” She sat up then glanced over the items on the desk once again to ensure she had not missed it. The printout wasn’t there. Other documents and folders were where they had left them only hours ago, but the printout was gone. She glanced at the doorway where Detective Vaughan had exited. Could he have taken it, if so, why? Was it possible Alex had taken it with him when he left? Skylar sat back asking the same question Alex had asked. “What is the significance?”
16
“That’s Alex,” Janice whispered with tears streaming down her face. “That’s my big brother, Alex Burnett.” She exhaled.
Nate pushed the button to close the observation window at the morgue.
Tess stepped out into the hallway, walked over and hugged Janice. “I am so sorry, Janice. Just know you were his world.” She held the woman at arm’s length. “You and that damn club were all he ever talked about.”
Janice chuckled through her tears. “He loved the mystique of Cachée.” She wiped her tears with a tissue. “He said only I could come up with a name that nobody could understand.”
Tess smiled. “Yes, I have to agree with him on that.”