"This is my PI," she said, pointing to me just as Maddox turned around. "Tell them I didn't do it."
"I don't think she did," I said.
"Okay guys, let's let her go," said Maddox. "I am so relieved you arrived and told us that evidence-less bit of information."
"Take it easy, guys," I said, stepping closer, wondering where Solomon was and why Maddox was being so snarky.
"What are you doing here?" asked Garrett, flashing his badge as he pushed his way through the crowd. "I thought you were waiting in Solomon's car?"
"You knew Solomon was coming," I pointed out.
"Yeah. And?"
"Then you should have worked out I wouldn't be staying put," I said smartly.
"Do you all know each other, or what?" sniffed Lauren.
"Brother," I said, pointing to Garrett then to Maddox. "Ex-uh."
"Friend," said Maddox.
"Ex-friend?" asked Lauren.
"No, definitely a friend," I confirmed.
"Boyfriend," said Solomon, his breath tickling the back of my ear and making me shiver. Great.
"I thought you're her boyfriend? Whatever. Small towns are weird. Lexi is my employee," said Lauren.
"What?" asked the guys together.
"Huh?" said Josh looking past me to Solomon. "We asked you to take her off the case."
Behind me, Solomon remained silent.
"You heard me! I hired Lexi to be my PI and she's gonna prove that I didn't kill the bitch! Then my lawyer is going to give you a talking-to like you've never heard before! And then I'm going to complain to your captain!"
"Lexi?" asked Solomon.
"She's right. I work for her and I do have proof that Lauren has an alibi for the time when Katya was killed."
"But you can't tell anyone," said Lauren.
I ignored her. "I also know who killed Katya," I said, looking around for Don. I spied him in the middle of the crowd. The cute redheaded dancer was still pressed to his side, but her attention was riveted on us.
"Start talking," said Maddox.
"’Cause I ain't walking!" added Lauren. "Tell them I didn't do it."
"I found evidence of Lauren in the hotel at the time of Katya's murder, but she wasn't on her own. She went to a room on the sixth floor and remained there until after the time ME confirmed Katya died. She wasn't on her..."
"That's enough!" Lauren cut in. "See!? I told you idiots I didn't do it!"
Maddox turned to her. "You said you were on your own in Amelia's suite."
"I was, but in that hotel room, not the suite."
"Was she alone, Lexi?"
"No, someone opened the door to her. There was at least one other person in that room."
"Please, don't," Lauren pleaded.
"Okay, so if Lauren was with someone who can give her an alibi, how did the killer get to Katya?" Garrett asked.
"He was able to bypass the band's surveillance detail by entering the hotel via the employee entrance. Then he rode the service elevator up to the band's floor and used the secret passageway to enter Katya's room unseen. He knew no one would see him so long as he was careful."
"Sounds pretty convoluted to me," said one of the cops at Lauren's side.
"It is," I agreed, "but it wasn't his first time. He used the passageway before while conducting an affair with Katya so he was already familiar with getting in and out without being seen. I believe he killed her when she broke it off with him. Maddox, you should be able to match his fingerprints to the ones you found in the passage; and I'm sure you can match the DNA on the knife to him."
"I need a name," said Maddox.
"Don. Don Kenley," I said, turning to point to him, but he was gone. "He was right here."
"Well done, Poirot! You lost him!" yelled Lauren.
"Go find him," Garrett instructed the uniforms. "Have you got any more evidence to prove he was in Katya's room when she was murdered?"
"Find Don Kenley!" yelled Josh Alvarez, puffing up his chest and waving his arms. "I want all eyes looking for him."
I ignored Josh barking orders as I focused on Garrett. "Yes. I can disprove his alibi, and I have hotel footage of him entering the hotel in the time window for the murder; plus, there's footage of him in the kitchen, where the knife used to kill her was stolen."
"Good work." Garrett patted me on the back. "Also, did you quit or get fired?"
"So who were you with?" Solomon asked Lauren as the uniformed cops broke from the crowd, fanning out. "What's the big secret?"
"Michael," I said, softly. "Tell them about Michael." I was bluffing, I didn't know who he was or what he was to her, but Lauren didn't know that. I needed her to confess she'd been with her mystery guy because so far, I was only guessing that he was the one she was secretly visiting.
"You know, don't you?" Lauren whispered as shouts for Don sounded across the warehouse. I nodded. "And you don't care?"
"Should I?" I countered. "Tell them, Lauren. It'll be better if it comes from you."
A tear trickled down her cheek and she sniffed hard. "Michael," she started, hiccupping, "Michael is my son. He's nine years old."
Chapter Nineteen
I would have thought Lauren's bombshell could have stunned the warehouse into silence; but instead, it seemed to have the opposite effect. Garrett was shouting at his men to find Don while he uncuffed Lauren. Joe was shouting at Lauren, and Amelia had her arms around her friend. Maddox was on his phone, also shouting at someone. The uniforms fanning across the warehouse were quiet, their torchlights flashing in the darkest corners. Solomon was probably shouting in his head, but I didn't turn around to find out. I could tell he was still standing behind me; and his presence made my skin tingle, despite his silence. And me? I was gaping in surprise.
Taking higher priority on my list of problems was the now empty spot where Don was standing only moments before. The cute, little dancer chick also disappeared. At Garrett's prompting, I tried to explain to everyone how Don managed to dupe the hospital surveillance cameras into providing him with an alibi should he need it, while he walked into the hotel and grabbed a knife. Meanwhile, Don used Lauren's distraction as the perfect opportunity to escape. That wonderful, smart feeling I had only a minute ago vanished, and now I felt like a huge idiot. Had I been more thoughtful, and less intent on winning over Solomon, I would have texted Garrett or Maddox and advised them to fan their men around the crowd, ready to catch Don before he could make any break. If Don escaped now, I would have been totally responsible. Again.
It was a good job I'd already quit; otherwise, I'd probably have to fire myself.
"What do you mean you can't find him?" Garrett said into his radio. "He can't have gone far. Find him! You! Boss man! What kind of vehicle does Don drive?"
Joe paused from his tirade to frown. "How should I know?"
One of the dancers raised a hand. "He drives a red Toyota. I saw it in the lot on my way in."
Garrett grabbed his radio. "Look for a red Toyota in the parking lot."
"In sight," came the crackling reply. "It's empty."
"Check inside."
"Clear, and the hood's cold. This vehicle hasn't moved in a while."
"Shit. Keep looking." Garrett glanced up from the radio. "Any of you missing any car keys?" he asked. The cast and crew began to pat their pockets, frowning. Garrett clicked his radio again. "Never mind. Post a uniform on the gates while I send security to lock them. Where the hell is security?" he yelled.
"He won’t try to go out the front," I said. "He knows his escape route is blocked out front. Besides, he's too smart to escape in a car that’s registered to him."
"She's right." Garrett glanced at us. "I got here to supervise the arrest, not to make a search. I don't have enough men to cover the whole warehouse, along with the rear area beyond the warehouse. He's already got a five-minute head start."
"Have your men take the front," Solomon instructed. "I have another guy here. With Maddox, we can start checking the interior.
He might not have left yet."
"And me," I added. "Solomon's right. The warehouse is huge. He could be hiding until we all leave, and then just slip away."
"No way," said Solomon. "You're not on the case; plus, this guy is dangerous."
"She's on the case because I'm paying her and she just solved it," yelled Lauren.
"Thank you!" I gave her a grateful smile, but her face soured.
"I'm still mad at you," she said.
"Why? Because you have a kid? So what?" I asked.
"Duh. Do the math," said Amelia.
"Huh?"
Amelia looked at me like I was an idiot, which didn't help my current self-annoyance. "She had him when she was barely sixteen."
"Oh. So?"
"No one likes a teen mom," wailed Lauren.
"You're not a teen anymore; and you've done really well for yourself," I told her, momentarily distracted. Shaking my head, I realized the clues about Michael had been there all along. The house in Lauren's name that I assumed her mom lived in... with the kid's bike in the yard. The bike must have been his. As for the secret hotel room she rented, I guessed we'd soon find evidence that Lauren wanted to keep her son close by as she toured with the band. "I'm really impressed that you could become a single parent, even when you were so young, and you're crazy talented. That's quite admirable."
Lauren blinked back surprise. "You think so?"
"Sure. You're an inspiration to any young parent, single or not."
Lauren wiped her tears with a tissue. "Okay," she said, sounding confused. "Maybe."
"Can you find the asshole who murdered Katya now?" asked Amelia. "Or are you going to give a pep talk to anyone else?"
Maddox stepped forwards. "We'll team up. Lexi and I will take the east side. Solomon, you and your guy take the west. We'll work our way into the middle."
Solomon fixed me with an impenetrable look. Finally, he asked, "Are you armed?"
"Only with my knife," I replied, patting my pocket, and momentarily happy at feeling the cool lump within. I had a gun, and a concealed carry permit, but I rarely took it from the house. The knife was better. Smaller, effective, not to mention, it made removing clothing labels on impromptu shopping trips easier. I was forced to use it to defend myself before, but I preferred using it as a deterrent, rather than as a weapon.
"Take this," said Solomon, removing a small pistol from his ankle holster and handing it to me. "Don't use all the bullets at once."
I checked to make sure the safety was off before tucking it into my waistband. I was pretty sure Don wasn't armed, but it didn't pay to guess wrong about that. If he were capable of stabbing one woman to death, he was surely capable of committing another murder.
"Let's go," said Maddox, placing a hand on my shoulder. I nodded to Solomon, and was glad when he didn't bar my way. Without his encouragement and his job offer, I might have never become a private investigator, or found my most fulfilling job. At times, he played my mentor and teacher, and he rarely stood in my way, except for this case. I was fairly sure he would have handcuffed me to a chair if I were actually pregnant, and I felt glad he knew me well enough that he could depend on me seeing the case through. Instead of arguing, he simply armed me.
"Be safe," Solomon mouthed as I turned away.
The crew and everyone else, drawn together by the commotion of Lauren's arrest, were corralled near the wardrobe area, leaving the rest of the warehouse empty. From the corner of my eye, I watched Solomon and his guy, a man I vaguely recognized from the risk management team, jogging across the floor, and receding into the shadows. Maddox and I did the same, with Maddox leading in front by a couple of yards, with his gun drawn.
"Maddox," I hissed.
"Yeah."
"Don was standing with a woman. One of the dancers."
"Yeah?"
"I couldn't see her. She might be with him."
Maddox stopped so fast, I almost collided with him.
"Didn’t you think about mentioning that back there?"
"I was distracted!"
"Pregnancy brain?" he asked, glancing at me, his face blank.
"Not you too! I'm not pregnant! Lily is!"
Maddox broke into a huge smile. "Oh! Awesome!"
"I know!"
"Text Solomon, tell him about the woman so we don't accidentally shoot her. What does she look like?"
"Petite, red hair, great calves."
"Could you be more descriptive? What about a name? Does she drive?"
"I don't know to both," I said, tapping a message to Solomon before tucking my phone away.
"Let's keep going."
We ducked into tight corners, and checked behind pillars, all the while, trying to avoid tripping over the thick cables that snaked across the floor. With the shadows invading the dusty corners, and the warehouse becoming darker and darker the further we delved into the corners of the cavernous space, the more my heart rate picked up.
Hearing a footstep, out of rhythm with Maddox's and mine, my muscles tensed. I knew Maddox heard it too when he halted, holding a hand up for me to stop. We paused behind a pillar, waiting as the footsteps got closer. A hunched figure scrambled past us and Maddox let out a yell before launching himself at the person, knocking the intruder to the ground.
"Help!" screamed a female voice as Maddox wrestled her flat.
"Who are you?" Maddox hissed.
"Carlotta. Get off me!" She flinched, and began blinking as I shone the flashlight in her eyes.
"It's her, the woman with Don," I told him. "Where's Don?"
"I don't know. He grabbed me when you were all talking and said we had to go, except he wanted to go out this way, out the back exit. I didn't want to go, but he made me and then someone started shouting his name. He hurt my arm. What's going on?"
I ran the flashlight over her and saw the reddening fingerprints on her upper arm. Her fear and confusion were palpable.
"Where'd he go?" I asked.
"That way." She nodded to the back of the warehouse. "He stole my car keys."
"Where's your car."
"Out front, in the lot."
"He might circle back," said Maddox, relaxing his grip slightly.
"He knows we're looking for him. He knows we'd stumble across Carlotta and he thinks taking away her keys will make us think he circled back."
"You're right. Out front is covered. You stay here," said Maddox, grabbing handcuffs from his waistband. He slapped one cuff over Carlotta's wrist and attached the other to a ring embedded in the pillar.
"You can't leave me here," she whined. "It's dark."
"I can't let you go wandering around. You could get shot." Carlotta whimpered and Maddox sighed. "I'm sending a text so someone will come for you, okay? Just stay quiet for now. Lexi, let's go."
We continued on, despite Carlotta's protests, and tried to stay low as we made our way darker and deeper. Our feet shuffling through the debris, we had to keep our footfalls as quiet as possible. By the time Maddox edged closer, tapping me on the wrist, I nearly screamed from my raw nerves alone. "Door," he whispered, pointing at a stream of dusty light in the corner. "I don't see any other exits and it's open a little bit. Don could have exited through there."
"You go first," I said.
"Why me?"
"I'm learning."
"To be a PI?"
"No, not to get shot first."
Maddox laughed softly. "Fine. I'll go first. Cover me." I knelt, raising my weapon and surveying the area as he jogged forwards. With his body hunched down low, he raced towards the door. No one shot from the shadows when he grasped the handle. He pushed it further open, and the door gave a long squeal as more light flooded in, pooling around him in a heavenly glow. He stepped outside, but no further than where I could still see him, and turned around, giving me the thumbs-up.
"Don't move," whispered a male voice next to my ear. I froze as something pressed into the small of my back, which, I was sure, wasn't a banana. An arm reached arou
nd and politely relieved me of Solomon's gun.
"Lexi, come over here," Maddox said, waving a hand, beckoning me.
I remained motionless.
"Lexi," he called, a little louder.
"Get up," said the man.
"Don?" I whispered.
"Yeah, it's me."
"Don, don't do this."
"Too late."
"It isn't. It's me, Lexi. I can help you," I said, trying to establish a connection with him, anything that would make him less likely to shoot me.
"I know who you are; and all I care about is getting out of here. Get up."
I rose slowly, the barrel still poking into my back as Don wrapped an arm around my neck. I realized the exact moment when Maddox discovered I wasn't alone; I could tell by the stiffness in his shoulders, his rigid posture, and the fear in his eyes.
"You think you've got it all figured out," said Don, nudging me forwards. I shuffled as Maddox remained still. "I can't believe you're even here. You should have got fired."
"You did leak the video?" I gasped, my jaw stiff.
"Yeah. Listen, don't try anything stupid, or I'll put a bullet in you."
"I'm not going to try anything, Don. Let's talk about this."
"That's what Katya said right before I killed her."
"But you're not going to kill me. We're not enemies, Don."
"I'll kill you if I have to. Call your friend there. Tell him to put his weapon and keys on the ground. Do it."
"Maddox," I called. "Don wants you to put your gun and keys on the ground."
"Okay." Maddox reached into his pocket slowly and tossed the car keys onto the floor. He bent at the knees and lowered his gun, placing it on the floor in front of him before rising. "They're on the ground. Now let Lexi go."
"Move away from the door. That way. That's right," Don said, as Maddox sidestepped away from his weapon, as well as the exit.
"Where do you think you're going?" I asked him. "There are cops everywhere."
"Yeah, watching my car out front, or waiting for me to steal Carlotta's. I've got this all planned out."
"Did you plan me too?"
"No, you were a curveball."
"Did you plan to kill Katya?"
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