by Mimi Barbour
Thinking if her partner could read the crap so could she, Lisa had bought a few of the books and damned if she hadn’t gotten hooked. Hell, if she could write about her sweet night with Jeff, she’d have every reader swollen with envy.
The sweet devil had stroked her from the top of her head, paying blatant attention to her hair and then made his way to the bottoms of her feet when he’d lifted her leg over his hip on their second bout and accidently tickled her. She’d giggled and that led to him swinging their joined bodies over, forcing her to ride him with his complete compliance.
It had been Jeff whose hands stopped threading through her hair in order to pull her face to his for the next kiss. Then stopped her inches from his mouth so he could gaze into her eyes; his full of heat and lust and a faint light that excited her the most. She’d felt so… so adored.
The opening of the door pulled her from her dreams, ones that had seemed so real. Moisture gathered between her legs and her swollen breasts left her wanting. She knew she’d been on the brink of being satisfied and damned the demons who’d forced her awake at that precise moment. She shook her head to clear the cobwebs from the beautiful visions she’d soaked in. Stretching, she pulled herself up to lean against the back of the sofa. “Hi, Ham. I can’t believe I fell asleep here in the office.”
“Well, me darling, you’ll have time to grab yourself a shower while I order the breakfast. Then we’ll cover the newest evidence. And lass? You won’t believe it!”
Chapter Nineteen
Overwhelming sensations drove Jeff awake. Excruciating pain, radiating from the back of his skull worked its way to the front where a headache pounded in rhythm with each breath he took. He lay quiet, thankful to be on a bed, albeit with both his wrists tied to one post. The typical costly hotel room had a large balconied window curtained off, a big screen TV perfectly spaced for the occupants of both queen-sized beds and furniture that graced the spacious area in luxury. Knowing his own hotel well, Jeff was aware that this suite would be on one of the upper floors in the more expensive arm of the hotel. Despite him bragging about the soundproofing in the walls, the muffled sounds of a bellow from the other room caught his attention. Angry voices, shouting, hurling accusations led him to believe all wasn’t going according to plan with Sam and Troy. Good!
He closed his eyes in order to concentrate on hearing better. Sam’s voice had risen, his deeper tone prevalent and overriding Troy’s whine. “No fucking parties, Troy. Are you crazy?” Muffle muffle, “Kill us.”
“Shut the fuck up!” Troy sounded pissed. Muffle, “Don’t know won’t hurt.” muffle muffle. “It’s already happening. How many times does a guy win this much at the tables in one night? I’ll pay the shot, the booze and drugs, the girls, everything. In fact it’s all arranged.”
“You’re gonna get us killed. We’ve spent the last two years planning this caper and you’re going to ruin everything to get high.”
“Don’t forget the girls. We’ll get laid too. You know how much you like your tail, bro. I’ve arranged for some high-class hookers, the best they had. It’s gonna be a blast.”
“What about—”
“Stop arguing, Sammy.” Troy’s whinging escalated. “You make me sick, you pussy. Nothing’s happening for the next twenty-four hours. I’ve organized delivery of the third note so we’re on schedule. All we need to do now is wait until this evening when the fun begins.”
“What about our prisoner?”
“What about him?”
“What’ll we do with him while this party takes place?”
“Hey have you seen the size of the closets in this hotel? And the suckers have locks.”
Jeff stared up at the ceiling, the tape around his mouth made it hard to swear aloud so his fury had to be internalized. Aw fuck!
Chapter Twenty
“Are you messing with me, Ham? Cause if so, now’s not the time.”
The big Irishman held his arms out by his side and grinned. “Now Lisa, me darling, would I be so stupid? You carrying a gun and all?”
“I thought Francesca had no intentions of staying with your family. Hell, from the frightened look on her face when Mattie and the girls pushed, I’m surprised she stayed for dinner,” Lisa said, with gentle sarcasm.
“Me too! My women have a way about them that’ll charm the angels from their clouds. Not only has Francesca stayed in her new room but she’s the one that thought of the scheme to age-progress the Stokes boy’s photographs.”
“You told her about the case?”
A sheepish look appeared, making Ham rather boyishly endearing. “It was this way, it was. When I got home, the girls were asleep in their beds except for me new daughter. Francesca was in the kitchen having a glass of milk.” Ham’s hands never rested. Instead, they waved around showing his agitation more than the tone of his voice. “You know what, Lisa? A million questions ripped at me insides. I wanted so many answers. However, the anger at her cold-hearted, double-dealing, lying bitch of a mother stopped me from opening my mouth. Francesca kept looking at me as if she expected me to be the stronger one. That’s a hoot. Sure ‘n there’s me swimming in my tears. Got all choked up and needed to talk about something.”
Lisa reached her hand to grasp Ham’s. Gripping hers firmly, he shared how horribly hard the evening had been for him without saying a word.
Gentle with caring, she asked, “What happened?”
“Bless me, after I explained the situation, she pulled out her laptop and got busy. Within a few minutes, she had morphed Troy and Sam’s kindergarten photos, converting them to images that could very well be close to what those two look like today.” If we give them to the fellows upstairs, maybe their Biometric face recognition software can check the database to find them. Or even pick up on one or the other if they’re in any of the main areas in the hotel.” “It’s brilliant! We… we can make up some kind of story to cover the search about high-rollers, or millionaires travelling incognito. That we want their experience here to be excellent and for them to have the best.”
The door opening interrupted their excitement. Jim and Jonathon appeared, faces downcast.
“What’s wrong?” Instantly, Lisa picked up on their unhappy state.
“There’s another message. This time, they’re not playing games. They want to kill my boy.” Jim’s voice cracked on the last word. After he tossed the notepaper in her direction, he turned and slammed his hand against the wall.
Lisa took the message and girded her heart for its impact.
Payback!
Son’s rich. Father’s rich.
$6,000,000 in unmarked bills or he’s dead. Then, you’re dead.
Sins of the Father - Old times are NOT forgotten!
Instructions to follow…
Sickness welled from her stomach into her throat and had to be swallowed. Either that or choke. It burned, making her cough. Covering her mouth gave her the necessary time to conceal the horrific fear that craved to be turned loose. Words from the past, from cops who’d worked for decades, rang in her head. Kidnapping is always about money, and more times than not, the victims are killed. Seconds later, after forcing away the devastating weakness, she faced the two who both looked to be on the brink of collapse. “Don’t despair. We may have a break in the case, thanks to Ham’s daughter who’s new to our fine city and will soon be working as an agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Look at these two photographs Jim, and tell me if they look at all like the Stokes boys you remembered.”
Jim’s hand trembled as he reached for the images. Lisa watched the play of emotions in his expression and breathed a huge sign when his exclamation of delight burst out. “Yes. Especially Troy. He’s just as one would envision. Always was the skinniest of the boys. Despite that, he ranked as the meanest. It still shows on his face, in the thin lips and high cheekbones. His eyes are Bens, dark and close but his slimmer build is more like that of his mother.”
Jim switched pictures and stared long and hard
at the one of Sam. “Somehow, I wouldn’t have thought that Sammy would turn out quite like this. Either he’s changed or I’m prejudiced. When he was a little boy, he had a sweetness to him that drew a person. Of the two boys, Jeff liked him. So did I.”
Once again, Lisa stared at both images, trying to engrave them in her memory. These men were now on her hit list and dammed if they would escape.
A disturbance at the door caught everyone’s attention. “Look Numbnuts, I don’t care if your boss left instructions not to be disturbed. I’ve just come from the airport where the airlines had me wait four hours because the stupid bastards cancelled my flight… then they lost my luggage and pretty well starved me through the whole ordeal. So right now, you have two choices. Either you knock on this door or you let me. If not I’ll rip off your face and shove it up your ass. Got it?”
Aurora!
Chapter Twenty-One
Lisa, engulfed with relief, shared a look with her friend and partner to replace the words that weren’t necessary. “Just couldn’t stay away, could you?”
“Yeah, yeah! How the hell do you expect me to enjoy playing at being a tourist when I can’t sleep or eat? Either I was up walking the floors or Kai was champing at the bit. Lily was the only one got any rest the whole time we were gone.”
“Lady, it’s only been a few days.” The glad lilt in Lisa’s voice proved she couldn’t contain her happiness at seeing the one person she most trusted to keep things real.
“For you, maybe. To us it felt like a month. Soon as we hit Whitehorse, Kai had his parents fly up to drive the motor home back. He dangled the promise that they could keep Lily with them for those days and we jumped on the next flight home.”
Aurora glanced at the smiling Irishman. “Hey, O’Hampton. How’re you dealing with shock of playing daddy to a grown-up baby-girl?” Aurora play-punched him in the arm and followed it up with one of her sweet smiles not seen very often.
“Like I don’t have enough ladies in me life to take care of.” His mischievous grumbling only earned him a snicker.
Just then Kai appeared at the door and dropped two suitcases by his feet. “Aurora, baby, you’re killin’ me here.” Breathing hard, he limped over to the desk and leaned against the side. “She’s had me running from the time we got to the airport, wouldn’t go home, wouldn’t even stop and pick up a cruiser. Had to come straight here. Hell, when the traffic held up the cab, she made me get out and run all the way up the drive.” Handsome as sin, the bald-headed man with eyes matching the deep blue in his checked shirt gave up his mock glower and winked at Lisa then threw a grin toward Ham.
Lisa stepped up and introduced everyone so they could all be on a first name basis. With a few terse sentences, she brought Kai and Aurora up to date in the situation. “Right now, Jim and Jonathon will arrange to get the cash on the off-chance these assholes don’t give us a lot of time. They said instructions were to follow in the last note, but I have no doubt they’ll expect that arrangements will have been made. Hell, they might even have someone planted to see that Jonathon and Jim are gathering the cash and following orders.”
“Let’s hope not. If so, they’ll know we’re working the case.” Ham pointed out. “And for sure we don’t want them to know we suspect that they’re holding Jeff in the hotel.”
Jonathon interrupted. “There is no way anyone on my close staff is involved in this heinous deed. I personally screened every single man and woman. They were all bonded and had years of experience.”
Lisa noticed Kai’s expression and so she questioned him. “What?”
Kai, serious now and on the job, asked, “Now that you presume they’re in the hotel, by the way, good detective work, are the hotel security staff working on finding out when they arrived? They have scanners at all the doors leading into the place that they use on every person who enters. Maybe they got a picture of these guys?
“We’re working on it. Since there’s a lot of video to cover, it’ll take some time. Meanwhile if you and Ham help me interview the staff from the main reception area it would be helpful.
. Aurora, I’d like you to go over all the notes on the case to see if you can come up with something we might have missed. Fresh eyes can make a difference sometime and I just have this feeling that we’re not seeing the obvious.”
Within minutes, everyone went to look after their tasks and Aurora sidled up to Lisa who had all the papers spread across the desk and was deep into reading about the Stoke’s family past.
Lisa felt Aurora’s hand latch onto her curls followed by a gentle yank.
“Now they’re gone are you gonna elaborate on your Email message about this guy, Hank Beckman? The one who claims he’s Noel’s father.” Brooking no resistance, Aurora crossed her arms and waited. By the time Lisa explained the circumstances, Aurora’s attitude had shifted somewhat. “What do you plan to do?”
“Right now? Nothing. All I care about is Jeff’s safety. Once this nightmare goes away, then I’ll deal.”
Lisa knew the minute that Aurora caught on to her words and their meaning. “You care.”
“Yes. God, of course. Yes.”
“I knew you guys had something going on. Look, I think you’re right about him being in the hotel. It’s the only thing makes sense.”
“But what if we missed something, Aurora? These people are twisted. Who knows what they’re planning.”
“We’ll get him back, Lisa. These people are ordinary, everyday losers. They don’t have our resources or our experience.”
“No, that’s true but they’ve done pretty good so far, haven’t they? Let’s face it, Ben Stokes and his boys have had years to plan and they’re being driven by hate and revenge.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Fuck! How the hell could I have missed that?” Lisa dropped her head in her hands then seized the mass of curls that surrounded her face. “Damn hair!” She grabbed it into a tail, wound it around itself and stuck the pencil she’d been using through the bulk to hold it in place.
Aurora’s earnestness appeased her somewhat. “You’re tired, partner. We’ve been interviewing the staff all morning and at this paperwork since then. How many hours of sleep have you had in the last few days?”
“But it makes so much sense. Ben’s doctor would have had to pass on his medical records to the new clinic. Says here he’d already had a slight stroke before he and Jim parted ways. Stands to reason his new doctor would request his files. I just didn’t see it.”
“Hey, don’t beat yourself up.”
Lisa gritted her teeth and hissed the next words through her frustration. “I’ll get one of the uniforms to pay a visit to the medical office, see what he can shake loose.”
Aurora moved closer. “No, I’ll organize it. In the meantime, why don’t you go and have a nap. Okay don’t glare at me. Just go and freshen up then, grab a shower and some downtime. I’ll continue to go through this mess and call you if anything else comes up. By the way, so you won’t fuss, you know Ray caught the images of the two kids used to drop the notes under Jim’s door. They’re trying to come up with names but it’s almost impossible. We don’t want to ask too many questions and risk building suspicion. I’m thinking that’s a dead end.”
Lisa hesitated until she saw Aurora cross her arms and nod toward the door. “Fine! I’ll get a 10-minute shower but I’ll be right back.”
A few minutes later, Lisa hung behind three young girls in the elevator who looked to be in their mid to late teens. Their giggles irritated her enough that she listened to their whispering comments. A blonde, doing her damnedest at being a hooker advertisement, popped her gum and sneered. “The loser’s been a drag since we got here.”
Her chubby sidekick, wearing so much makeup she’d have to scrape it off with a blade, agreed. “I know. Go figure she’d be such a pain in the ass. We’ve had to baby her along every step of the way but then she’s the one with the money. We wouldn’t even be here if she hadn’t gotten us the room. She’
s just such a… a dork.”
Then the third of the group broke in and had her say, “I say we straighten Miss Priss out. Look, if she’s wasted, she’ll want to party too. Right? Like I’ve got just the product to sweeten her. By the time she’s like taken this crazy-shit stuff, she’ll want all the guys instead of turning up her rich-bitch nose at us just cause we like wanna have a bit of fun.” The skinny chick talking looked to be strung out already.
Lisa hid her eyes and played bored.
Arms entangled, the three jail-bait skanks didn’t even realize they had a tail when they left the elevator. Hanging back a few feet, Lisa watched to see what room they entered and waited until they’d closed the door. Then she retrieved her badge from her purse and pinned it on at the hip. She knocked at the door and waited.
The youngster who opened to her wasn’t one of the other three. This girl looked like a decent sort. The scared look she wore told Lisa the others must have dumped on her already. Sure enough, there was blondie with a tequila bottle in one hand and ice cubes in a glass. Chubs had shoved something out of sight under the pillow and the skinny bitch sneered Lisa’s way from her position near the door.
“Umm, yes?”
“My name is Detective Lisa Jordan. Your name please.”
“I’m Leslie Thorn. Is there a problem Detective?”
Lisa ignored her, stepped into the open space and turned to the others. “I’d like your names.”
The skinny bitch playing up in front of her pals stepped forward. “Why?”
“Why not?” Lisa asked. “You got something to hide?”
“None of your business. You can’t come busting in here and like question us for no reason. We’ve got our rights.”
“Sure, you have rights. You have the right to remain silent so shut the fuck up.”