by Rose Pressey
Nothing.
I let out a deep breath. If I didn't calm down soon, I'd probably pass out. The intruder wouldn't have to knock me out; I'd do a fine job of that on my own. Until I had answers, I needed to take deep breaths and relax. I stepped back out from the bathroom and moved into the living room. Sirens rang out as I made my way toward the kitchen. Thank goodness they'd finally showed up. I hurried out into the foyer and back down the long staircase. The police entered as soon as I reached the bottom of the staircase. I clutched my chest. They didn't rush in like in the movies, though. No guns drawn, tasers, or shields. They seemed quite calm actually. A lot calmer than me. My insides were turned upside down, I felt like my apartment looked.
“Did you call the police?” The lanky officer asked.
I nodded. “Yes. Someone broke into my apartment, I'm not sure if they’re still in there or not.” I pointed. “I’m on the third floor.”
“You stay here. We'll check it out.”
Fine by me. The policemen made the hike toward my apartment and I found a spot in the corner. I rubbed my temples, then it hit me. Were my neighbors okay? Had the intruder been to their apartments as well? As I stood there fidgeting and pacing the tiny foyer, wondering about them, Mr. Cooper walked through the door. White tufts of hair flipped the opposite way of where I assumed he wanted them, and his shiny bald head gleamed under the light. He scuffled over. Standing next to me, with his back hunched over, we were the same height. His wrinkles deepened as he scrunched his face and peered at me through his minuscule wire bifocals. If in fact they hadn’t been visited by the thugs too, I’d hoped to hide this little hiccup from my nosy, er, concerned neighbors. They wouldn't be happy.
I didn’t know if anyone had broken into their apartments, but the fact that I now had a bass in my living room that hadn't been there before, led me to believe their places were safe. They, however, wouldn’t feel safe.
I knew when I moved in they didn't like the idea of someone young and in a band living here. If they knew about the vampires, witches and werewolves, well, I didn’t know what they would have done. Lucky for me, the landlord loved money and just saw dollar signs. As long as I paid my rent, he didn't care. My neighbors figured I'd throw wild parties and have shady characters coming and going at all hours. That couldn't be further from the truth—I didn’t throw wild parties. Now the shady characters…yeah, maybe that wasn’t so far from the truth. This latest development wouldn't sit well with them and I knew it.
“What the hell is going on here?” He asked in his gravelly voice.
“Someone broke into my apartment, Mr. Cooper.” I let out another deep breath.
His eyes grew wide. “Those sons of bitches better not have touched any of my things. My stamp collection had better still be there.”
I worried about him having a heart attack at this point. His face was red and blotchy—blotchier than usual. Maybe I shouldn't have told him. But how else would I have explained the police cars. He dropped his grocery bag and unlocked his apartment. I leaned over for a view as he opened the door. Just as I suspected, nothing out of place. Well, except for the usual beer cans littered about.
As I stood there watching Mr. Cooper move through his apartment, mumbling something about a son of bitch, a car pulling up in front of the building caught my attention. An unmarked police car. I recognized it right away. It was Detective Walker.
Chapter 25
What was he doing here? They must have contacted him about the bass—talk about not wasting any time. If the old coot, I mean, Mr. Cooper saw the fangs on the detective, I’d be out of my apartment before I could say O Negative.
“Good afternoon, Veronica,” he said as he walked up the stone path to the front porch. “We meet again. You sure do know how to stay in trouble. It follows you lately, huh?”
I stepped out onto the porch. “Hello.” I bit my tongue to keep from saying something I’d regret—no easy task.
“Have a bit of a problem with your apartment?”
“Yes, you could say that, but you already know.”
“What happened? If you don’t mind sharing? I’d like to hear what happened from you.” He rubbed his head and let out a breath.
“It's trashed. Someone broke in and turned everything upside down. The police are up there now.” I motioned with my head. “They even pulled the window blinds off the windows. Overturned furniture, broken pictures.”
“Mind if I take a look?”
“Go for it. I wasn't sure if the person was still in there or not. I looked around a little, but….”
“Stay right here. I'll be back.” Yeah, yeah, I knew the drill.
I watched as he made his way up the staircase. They'd get their exercise today trafficking up those steps. After a minute of standing there, I noticed Mr. Cooper coming back toward his door. I didn't want to talk with him anymore about what had happened, so I hurried up the stairs toward my place. Obviously if anyone had been in there I'd know by now. Detective Walker and the police had told me to stay put, but since when did I do what anyone told me to, anyway?
Once I reached the top of the stairs, I heard Detective Walker talking with the officers. I couldn't make out exactly what was being said, but it probably wasn’t good. As I walked across the foyer, the conversation stopped. Damn squeaky floor. The detective poked his head through the cracked door.
“Is it safe? I asked.
“I told you to stay put.”
I shrugged. “Sorry.”
“Come on over here. I’d like to ask you some questions.” He frowned, increasing the lines around his eyes.
My stomach took a dive. I didn't like the tone of his voice. It reminded me of my teenage years when my dad's voice took on the same tone when he knew I'd done something wrong, but was trying to catch me in a lie before admitting that he knew what I'd done. I moved over to the doorway. One officer was on his radio and the other had moved into the bedroom.
“Did you know there were flyers scattered throughout the apartment?” He held up one of the hot pink pieces of paper I’d handed out for tomorrow night’s performance.
My face had been scratched out.
“There are at least a dozen of these scattered around. All of them have your face marked out. Didn’t you notice? Kind of hard not to notice.”
I swallowed. “I didn't notice them, no.”
“We're sending forensics over to fingerprint and look for evidence. Do you have any idea who would do something like this? Who are your enemies, Ms. Mason?”
“I have no idea. I don’t have any enemies.”
“Everyone has enemies, Ms. Mason.”
“I don’t. Do you think it's linked to Johnny's murder?”
“I wouldn't speculate on that just yet. It's too soon to say what the motivation is.”
I looked at the bass beside the sofa. “Um, that's not mine.” I pointed. If he didn’t know about the bass, then why was he here?
“What's not yours?”
“The bass. I'm pretty sure it's Johnny's. His bass was missing from the scene last night.”
His eyes widened and his mouth dropped a little. The tips of his fangs peeked out, reminding me of what he was. His stern look wasn't so stern now, it was more of a flabbergasted appearance. “How sure are you?”
“I’ve seen his bass a bunch of times. It has his initials.”
“And it just happens to be in your apartment today. What a coincidence.”
“It’s not a coincidence. Someone obviously left it here on purpose. I didn’t have his bass.” Was he insinuating something?
“Did you touch it?” he asked.
“No, no, I had no reason to.”
“We'll take it is as evidence.”
“The bass is Johnny’s, so that means this has to be related to his death.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Let us stick to the detective work, Ms. Mason. You stick to singing.”
Completely uncalled for statement, if you asked me, but he wasn’t asking m
e, so I kept my mouth shut. The thought of Johnny’s murderer being in my apartment sent chills up my spine. And why had they crossed out my face on the flyers? That seemed like a direct threat to me. Detective Walker didn’t seem concerned about that.
“Don't I get some sort of police protection or something?” I asked.
“And why would you need that?”
“The flyers are a direct threat to me. I need at least a patrol car to pass by here a time or two.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary.”
“So do I have to be murdered first? Cause it’ll be too late then, don’t you think?”
Footsteps climbed the stairs. We both looked over to see who was coming. Detective Walker stepped in front of me. Guess he was doing his job. It shocked me; I hadn’t expected him to care if I took a bullet. Not after what we’d just discussed. He placed his hand on his gun, ready to unload bullets, if need be, on whoever approached. I’d heard they used wooden bullets tipped in silver, that way it covered all the bases—werewolves and vampires.
The face that emerged caught me by surprise. But made me smile.
Chapter 26
“It’s okay, detective, this is my new bass player, Buzz Vaughn.”
He looked at me and then back at Buzz.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I drove by on my way to run some errands. I wanted to make sure I knew where your place was for later. I saw the police cars and open door. I was worried, so I thought I'd check on you.” He stepped through the open door. “Are you okay? What happened?” Detective Walker frowned and moved back into the apartment to talk with the officers.
“We were supposed to meet at my parents’, not here.”
My heart rate increased. What was going on?
“You wrote down your address, I thought I was supposed to meet you here first. He showed me the paper with my address scribbled on it. I felt like an ass.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I guess I forgot. Someone broke into my apartment. They trashed the place. And they left flyers for tomorrow night's gig everywhere.” I pointed over my shoulder. “Problem is…my face was crossed out.”
“Are you serious? What did the police say?”
“Not much, you know how police are.” I frowned.
“No, what do you mean?”
“I mean, they’re secretive, and too macho for their own good.”
The side of his mouth raised in a sexy grin. “I thought you said that about all men, not just police.”
I shrugged. “I guess I did, but I'm sticking by that statement.”
“So you think this is somehow related to what happened to your bass player?”
“I think so, yeah. Considering his bass is in my apartment. He had it last night, and now it turns up in my apartment!”
“Are you serious? How did it get here?”
“I have no idea what’s going on. I don’t know what to think. The bass was missing last night and now it's here. The same person had to have left it here, don't you think?”
He stared at me with his dark eyes for a beat, then ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“I don't know what to do. I don’t know how safe I feel in this place.” Police traipsing through my apartment and direct threats to my life—why was this happening? “I could stay with my parents for a while. But I don't want them to worry about this. They have enough problems without me adding to it.”
“Maybe you could stay with your friend? What’s her name, Kitty?”
“Nah, she lives in a small place with her boyfriend. There’s barely enough room for their cat.”
“You can stay with me.” I looked at him. My expression must have said it all because he added, “I know you don't know me.”
He thought it was just because he was a stranger to me? Unfortunately, that wasn’t entirely it. I’d never resist his kissable lips living in the same space as him.
“That's really sweet of you to offer, but I think I'll be fine. I'll make sure the landlord fixes the front door.”
“Is that how they got in? Through the door?” He tilted his head in that direction.
“Yeah, I guess. It was open when I got here.” It wasn't as if they could climb through the window. Unless it was Spiderman. “It had to be. My neighbors are elderly and sometimes forget to lock the main door downstairs behind them. Whoever did this probably walked right in like they lived here.”
“I see,” Buzz said.
“I'll add another lock to my door too.”
“Well that might cover when you're home, but what about when you're out and about? What if this person is following you?”
I shrugged. “I hadn't given it much thought, I guess.” A vision of the mysterious car popped into my head.
He was right, but I couldn't let it stop me. “What am I supposed to do, barricade myself in my apartment? I have to continue with everything I'm doing. Just live my life and hope that the police find out who did this.”
“Well you should at least carry mace or pepper spray.” Buzz folded his muscular arms in front of his chest.
I nodded. “I'll get some.”
“Do you think your neighbors heard or saw anything?”
“Mr. Cooper wasn’t home and Mrs. Stevens is hard of hearing, so I doubt it. I guess the police will talk with them.”
Footsteps grabbed our attention. We turned to see who was walking up the stairs, but I knew by the voice.
“God, I hope everything is okay.” Kitty shrieked.
“I'm sure she's fine,” her slacker boyfriend muttered.
Kitty popped up at the top of the stairs. “Are you okay? I was worried when I drove by and saw all the police. It looks as if someone had been murdered. So of course after last night, I freaked.”
“Why is everyone driving by my apartment? Are you all stalking me?”
Kitty looked Buzz up and down. Her brow shot up. “Well, you do live on a main thoroughfare.”
“Good point. I'm fine. Someone broke into my apartment.”
“She’s fine. She’s fine.” Kitty waved her arms. “Someone just broke into her apartment and she says she’s fine.” She glanced from Danny, to Buzz, then me again. “You make it sound so casual. Like it happens every day.”
“The main thing is I’m not hurt. Therefore, I’m fine, Kitty.”
“How did they get in? A window?”
“I’m pretty sure they walked right in the door. And I know they didn’t break in the main door, because I’m sure Mr. Dust in a Jogging Suit left it open. They’re always leaving it open.”
“Yeah. I told you some freak would walk in off the street like that someday. There are pervs in that park next door.”
“I'm not sure how they got into my apartment, though. I was sure I locked the door when I left. But I guess I was in a hurry. I’d gotten a call from the craptastic detective in there.” I motioned with my head. “He wanted to ask more questions, which left me flustered.”
They stared at me. All except Danny, he stared at his nails in between biting on them.
As I explained to Kitty the details of what happened after I got home and then called the cops, Detective Walker emerged from the bedroom. “You’ve got quite a crowd gathered here. Are you planning a party?”
“Well, this is Kitty Lauren my best friend.” I pointed. “And her boyfriend, Danny Clayton. I believe you spoke with them last night. And you talked with Buzz Vaughn earlier.” They exchanged a glance.
“Yes, I remember.” He nodded at Kitty and Danny.
I’d almost forgotten about seeing the detective confronting Buzz as he left the bar. When I got the chance, I’d ask Buzz what they’d talked about.
“Forensics will be here soon,” he said. “They’ll be a while. Do you want to come over to the police station and sign a statement?”
Did I want to? No. Would he force me? Maybe. He had asked, but I was sure it was more like an order.
“Do you have any idea how long they’l
l be?” Kitty asked.
“An hour or two. I really can’t give an estimate. This isn’t P.F. Chang’s. There’s no waiting list and I’m not the hostess.”
Kitty had a short temper. If he wasn’t careful with his tongue, she’d sprout hair and claws within a half minute. Detective or not.
“I’ll go to the police station,” I said before they could exchange more banter.
“I’m going with you,” Kitty said. “Danny can drive my car home. I'll ride with you, then we can come back here and clean up this mess.”
The mess. I hadn’t thought about cleaning the disaster. Looked as if my nap was ruled out. I’d be exhausted by the end of the evening; we still had to practice.
Chapter 27
Buzz had a look of pity on his face. “Do you need some help?”
“No, no, Kitty and I will be fine. It’s not as bad as it looks.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.” Danny didn’t offer to help, but I didn’t want him hanging around anyway. Time alone with my best friend was what I needed right now.
“So I’ll see you tonight?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Can you give me your parents’ address?”
“Um, okay. Sure, I’ll give you directions. Just let me write it down.”
I grabbed paper from my purse and jotted down the address, then handed it to him. My fingers brushed his with the exchange. He had the sexiest hands I’d ever seen.
“I’ll see you.” Buzz grinned and waved.
“We’ll met you at the station, detective.”
He nodded and I followed Kitty down the stairs. Buzz’s backside was right there in my line of vision on the way down, so I stole a glance at him. Kitty caught me and her mouth twisted into a huge grin. My cheeks burned. Damn. I didn't mean to look for that long. Now she’d caught me.
“You like him,” she whispered.
“I do not.”
She continued to smile. Buzz walked down the path toward his bike. I hoped he hadn’t heard her.