by Lisa Olsen
“My guess is it’s her own shoe.” Libby held up a purple leather boot sealed in a plastic bag, thick soled and sturdy. “I found trace elements of blood on the heel, I’m betting it’s the victim’s.”
“So, the killer micks her, but she’s not as out of it as she needs her to be, or maybe she didn’t drink enough of it. She conks her on the head and then strips her and does her thing, not noticing that she’s stepped in the blood on the way out. She’s been so careful up until now, why the sudden changes?
“Maybe she was in a hurry?” Brady suggested. “Maybe the girl started to squawk before she knocked her out?”
“That could be,” Nick allowed, stepping away as they all swapped possible theories. Trying Natalie’s cell, he frowned when it went to voicemail again. Something wasn’t right. Flagging down one of the uniforms, he asked him to go check on her at Annaliese’s house, where she was parked, watching Jax. While the evidence had started to point away from the rocker, the fact that he couldn’t reach Natalie didn’t sit well with him. Maybe she’d fallen asleep in the car and hadn’t heard the call, but at the very least the officer could get her attention and let her know there’d been another murder.
There was a lot to coordinate as reports started coming in from the cars out in the field. Unfortunately, no one spotted any suspicious looking individuals, either male or female, but Brady came over with a sack full of videotapes from neighboring surveillance cameras, so that gave them something to go on at least.
“Hey, Sergeant Gibson?” One of the beat cops approached, his face a mask of tightly controlled excitement.
“What’s up?”
“I just got a call on the radio. You sent Hentz over to check up on Special Agent Fox? Well, she’s not there.”
“That’s fine. She probably gave up and went home for the night. Tell him thanks for me.”
“No, her car is still there, but there’s no sign of her anywhere. Should I tell him to approach the house?”
“No, tell him to do a slow patrol through the neighboring streets and see if he can spot her. I’m on my way down there.”
“What’s going on? Where is Natalie supposed to be tonight?” Annaliese asked, snapping out of the semi-doze she’d been in from his car.
“Okay, don’t freak out, but she’s been keeping an eye on Jax.” He said it fast, bracing himself for a smackdown, but she seemed more surprised than anything as he started the car and sped away.
“Outside my house? But didn’t you think you had the killer in custody with that Dwight guy?”
“Ed Dwiggins, and yes, we did, but Natalie was pretty stubborn about thinking Jax is still the killer. I can’t say too much about it since it turns out she was right about Dwiggins not being our guy.”
“You don’t still think it’s Jax, do you?”
Nick was silent for a moment, blaming it on taking a curve at high speeds, but mostly he was trying to find the right words. “I think we definitely need to talk to him to see if he experienced another blackout.”
“But we know it’s a woman.”
“We don’t know anything, and we won’t know until we catch the killer. Now hold on to your hat, this is gonna be rough.”
Conversation was suspended for the rest of the drive as he focused on getting them there in one piece. He spotted her car right away on the street and double parked beside it, leaping out of the car when he spotted the figure inside, half sure he’d find her unconscious or worse.
Instead, Natalie jumped a mile high at the sudden interruption, swearing in two languages after spilling her cup of coffee. “Goddamn it, Nick. What’s wrong with you?” she growled, climbing out of the car to shake the mess out.
“Where the hell have you been?” Nick demanded, ignoring her deadly stare.
“Sitting right here, what do you think?”
“No, you definitely weren’t here when I had the black and white come check on you not fifteen minutes ago.”
“Oh, well sure, not fifteen minutes ago,” she agreed. “I went up the street to get a cup of coffee. My ass was starting to go to sleep, I needed to get up and walk for a while. What’s the big deal?”
“Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
She looked in the car to the passenger’s seat. “Oh shit, I left it in here while I was out and then I didn’t notice I had a missed call. You’re starting to freak me out, Nick. What’s going on?”
“There’s been another murder, that’s what’s going on,” Annaliese replied, already digging out her keys. “I’m going to go check on Jax and see if he’s alright.”
“No, wait, I’d better go with you,” said Nick, snatching the keys out of her hands.
“Wait, wait, wait…” Natalie interrupted, grabbing hold of his arm. “You can’t just say murder and take off. I need details.”
Nick wasn’t in the mood for her bullshit, especially after he’d been worried sick for nothing. “Then maybe you should’ve made yourself available to receive them. Come with if you want to, but we’re going inside.”
“What’s the rush, for chrissakes?” she blinked, following them up the walk. “He’s buttoned up tight for the night. May hasn’t made a move all night.”
“How do you know? How long were you gone for?”
“I don’t know, not that long. How long ago was the murder?”
“If the two of you don’t mind, I’d like to go inside,” Annaliese muttered, plucking the keys from Nick’s hand and letting herself in. “That’s odd, the alarm isn’t set,” she frowned, snapping on the lights.
“Annie, stay behind me,” Nick growled, darting inside to catch up with her.
“Shhh, I’m sure it’s fine. I’d rather not wake him up if he’s sleeping. I’ll poke my head in and then we can continue this discussion quietly,” she said in a tone that brooked no argument. Nick allowed her to take the lead, but once they were upstairs, he gently pushed her aside to look into the spare bedroom first.
Only Jax wasn’t in there. “Annie, go outside and sit in the car.”
“Why?”
“Because I have a bad feeling about this. Nat, fan out, let’s check out all the rooms and see if there’s any sign of him. There’s also an attic.” The special agent nodded, easing her gun out of her holster and Anna refused to budge.
“No way. I’m not leaving you guys to search my house with Jax inside and her with an itchy trigger finger.”
Nick was inclined to agree with her. “Put your piece away, Nat. I’m not signing off on any accidents.” He stared her down until she complied, and only then did Annaliese agree to go down the stairs.
The master bedroom turned up empty, so did the office and bathroom. Nick was about to search the attic when he heard a shocked squeal from downstairs that he just knew came from Annaliese. Damn it, why wasn’t she out in the car? Taking the stairs two at a time, Nick careened into the kitchen, his heart about to burst from his chest until he saw Annaliese pulling Jax into the light.
May’s face was waxy and blank, and he gave no sign that he knew where he was. A dark smear marred the front of his t-shirt, and his eye was bruised and bloody.
“Annie, back away from him,” Nick instructed, not liking what he saw one bit.
“No, he’s hurt,” Annaliese refused, bringing him into the kitchen. “Oh, sweet Goddess, look at your hands.” She picked one bruised and bloody knuckle up to inspect it closer. May’s hand came up like a puppet, but his face registered nothing. “Jackson, what happened?”
“Annie, back away from him right… now.” Nick circled around the room, watching May like a hawk.
“But…”
Nick approached slowly, grabbing hold of Anna’s wrist and tugging her to him with a fast yank, making her head wobble as she was pulled off balance. As gently as possible, he pushed her behind him as Natalie came around the corner, her eyes widening and then crinkling with glee.
Jax May gave a sudden start, blinking rapidly under the glare of the kitchen light. It took him a
few seconds to take in his surroundings before his shoulders slumped in dismay. “It happened again, didn’t it?”
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Again?” Natalie asked, with a pointed look to Nick. “What’s happened again?”
Annaliese ignored the question, shrugging herself free from Nick’s hold to dart forward to Jax’s side. “Jackson, are you alright?”
“I don’t know, I think so, I… Ow, my eye hurts like hell,” he winced.
“Don’t touch it, you’ve got quite a shiner and your hands are all beat up. Let me get you a wet towel.”
Nick moved to block her path. “Annie, I can’t let you do that. We need to get him down to the station and the less you contaminate the evidence, the better.”
“Evidence, what do you mean evidence?” she scoffed. “He’s been beat up, that’s all.”
“There’s been another murder, hasn’t there?” Jax asked, worry and a touch of fear puckering his brow.
“You think?” Natalie smirked. “Isn’t that the vic’s blood all over your shirt?”
He looked down. “What? No… Shit, is that blood?”
“His eye is cut and so are his knuckles, it’s probably his own blood,” Annaliese said patiently, and Nick took up the questioning, trying for a mild, conversational tone.
“Where have you been, Jax?”
“I… I’m not sure. Out for a walk, I guess.”
He didn’t sound too certain of that. “At this time of night? Where did you go?”
“I couldn’t say.”
“You’d better say,” Natalie growled and Nick shot her a quelling look.
“You’re not helping,” he admonished her. “Jax, do you remember when you left the house tonight?”
“No, I’m sorry, I don’t.”
“Do you remember seeing or talking to anyone along the way who could vouch for where you were?”
Jax gave a helpless shrug, and Nick felt for the guy, but he didn’t leave him a whole hell of a lot of choice.
Annaliese took advantage of the tiny lull in the questioning to put her two cents in. “If you’re not going to let me clean him up, then I insist you get him some medical attention.”
“She’s right, we do need to get you looked at,” Nick agreed. “Jax, you’re going to have to come with us.”
Natalie’s eyes lit up in anticipation. “I’ll drive him in.”
“No,” both Nick and Jax objected at the same time with the same level of alarm.
“He can come with us,” Annaliese volunteered. “Don’t worry, Jackson, I’ll make sure you get the treatment you need.” She moved to take his hand again, but Nick stepped in instead.
“Actually, I’m afraid I’m going to have to cuff you, at least for the transport.”
“But Nick…”
“It’s fine, Anna. I don’t mind.” Jax held his hands up, defeated. “He’s right to be afraid of me, you should be too.”
“That sounded like a threat to me,” Natalie said, and Jax gave her a dirty glare.
“I’ll give you a threat.”
“That makes two,” she crowed. “You all heard him.”
“Come on, we’d better get going.” Nick suddenly felt tired. Jax allowed himself to be handcuffed, and they all walked out to his car in civilized silence. At least Nick hoped it was civilized; from some of the looks Annaliese gave him, he wasn’t so sure. “I’ll meet you down at the precinct,” he said to Natalie after settling Jax in the back seat. “You don’t have to come down with us, Anna. I can call you later with an update.”
“Are you kidding? I’m coming with,” she insisted, opening the other rear passenger’s side door. “And I’m not afraid to ride in back with him.”
“Let her come along, it won’t do him any good,” Natalie said, practically giddy over the turn of events. “We’ve got the sonofabitch now.”
“You’re only saying that because you’re completely behind on all the facts,” Anna retorted. “Tell her, Nick. Tell her we know the killer is a woman.”
Nick knew she wasn’t going to like it, but there were certain facts they had to face. “We have to investigate all possibilities. Yes, the footprints at the scene support your theory that there was a woman present, but like I said, the footprints might not belong to the killer.”
“That’s garbage and you know it. You know what I saw.”
“Anna, he just happens to come home all bloody with a great big gap in his memory the same time there’s another murder? Yes, I believe you, but we have to check it out no matter what you saw. The sooner we get there and get him processed, the sooner we’ll know for sure what’s going on.” There wasn’t anything left to say on the matter, especially with Jax cooperating. He hadn’t asked for his lawyer once.
Nick almost felt sorry for the guy, who allowed himself to be swabbed and prodded, surrendering his t-shirt and shoes to be tested. After his cuts and abrasions were treated, Brady took him through another series of questions, but it didn’t shed any further light on the situation. The past couple of hours proved to be nothing but a black hole in his memory.
Natalie was convinced she finally had what she needed to charge May, but as the preliminary lab results came in, the blood turned out to be all his. There were no traces of blood on his shoes either, and nothing to place him at the scene of the crime.
“You can let him go now, right?” Anna asked in relief, but Nick wanted to be thorough.
“I’d like to hold him a while longer until we get the rest of the results from forensics. They collected a virtual soup of DNA samples from the motel room and I want to see if any of it is a match.”
“But you’re not charging him with murder?”
“Not at this time, no.”
“Alright, then I’d like to try something with him. Can you give us some privacy?”
Why did he not like the sound of that? “What do you have in mind?”
“I’d like to try another guided meditation with him to see if I can learn anything more about the killer. If I can access the memory earlier, I might be able to see something we can use.”
That didn’t sound so bad. “Fine, but not completely private. You can use one of the interview rooms, and I’ll be watching you on the monitor.”
“I don’t care, as long as nobody else is in the room to distract us, it should be fine.”
Relieved that she’d given in so easily, he led her to the room and had Jax brought up from holding. To keep things on the safe side, he kept the cuffs on him, but left them fastened in front so he could be more comfortable. After that he slipped out to give them the illusion of privacy, watching them closely on the monitor as promised.
Only there wasn’t much for him to look at. After a few minutes of chatting and establishing what he already knew – that Jax had zero memory of waking up and leaving the house – they held hands and Anna started talking about him finding his happy place. Apart from the suspicion that Jax’s happy place more than likely had something to do with her, based on the sappy looks they exchanged, Nick found the whole thing pretty boring.
Anna too, must have figured it wasn’t going as it was supposed to, but to her credit, she didn’t let it rattle her. Instead, she asked him to breathe deeply with her and try again. Nick breathed along with them, thinking about what his happy place might be. Anywhere with her, he realized with a lazy grin.
Jax suddenly dropped her hands in frustration. “It’s not working. I don’t get anything but blackness.”
“You’re distracted. It’s not your fault given these surroundings, but we have to keep trying.”
“It’s not going to work. What happened to the incense and the amber and all that jazz?”
Annaliese reached out and took his hands again. “The conditions aren’t ideal, but we have to keep trying, it’s important.”
“Maybe I did it?” he said, his voice hushed, almost as if he was afraid to say it out loud.
“Don’t say that. You heard about the lab results, that
was all your blood. I know what I saw and you’re not the killer. So close your eyes and let’s try again, okay?”
“Okay,” Jax relented, eyes slipping closed again.
Ruby sidled up to Nick, escorted by Park, her eyes going to the monitor that showed Jax and Annaliese holding hands. “It’s just like old times,” she smirked. “You didn’t strike me as the sharing type, Sergeant.”
“I’m not, but I trust her,” Nick replied with more confidence now that they’d traded I love you’s. Not wanting to let Ruby rattle him, he looked to Park for an explanation for her presence.
“His lawyer is arranging for his release and she asked to see May. We don’t have enough to hold him.”
“Damn right you don’t,” Ruby muttered, eyes narrowing as she studied the pair on the monitor. “Can I go see my brother now before she ends up in his lap?”
Nick had been hoping they’d have a more definitive answer from forensics before he had to let Jax walk, but he nodded, admitting defeat. Leading her to the interview room, he interrupted their hand holding session, releasing Jax’s cuffs. “You’re free to go for now, but please don’t leave town without talking to us.” He couldn’t tell who looked more surprised, Jax or Annaliese.
“Really? I can take him home?” Anna clapped her hands together with joy. “That’s fantastic!”
Jax flashed a worried glance to Nick over the offer. “If it’s all the same, I think I’ll go back to the hotel. I think that’d be for the best.”
“Yeah, who needs all this bullshit,” said Ruby. “I say we hire a pack of dogs to keep the hallway outside the hotel room clear of scumsuckers looking for a story.”
“You’re not coming with me?” Anna sounded more disappointed than Nick liked.
“No, I think I’ve overstayed my welcome, don’t you?”
“Don’t be silly. In fact, as far as I’m concerned, everything that’s turned up in the last twenty-four hours only proves you didn’t do anything. Please come and stay with me. I’d like to help you figure things out.”