The Queen of Hearts (Mountain Springs Mysteries, #1)

by J. E. Mann

  "So," I started somewhat unsure of how to approach the subject. "So what?" He kidded me. "Well, I was just thinking, and there's no better way to put this... I don't think James is the killer. I think today proved that." Ben nodded at me and his eyebrows sunk. I was pretty sure I was barking up the wrong tree but I thought my goal was made clear. He stood silent in front of me and that was enough to shame me to just come out with it. "Can you please let him go now? James can't be our killer if he was sitting in jail all day!"

  He probably thought I was crazy begging like a child but I was ambitious and I held out hope. I thought of Ben as a nice guy and hopefully he wouldn't prove me wrong. A loud sigh escaped him and he looked beyond my shoulder to something behind me before he started. "I will do what I can Rachel. You do prove a good point, but there is so much paperwork involved. I can't make any promises but I'll do what I can."

  I almost squealed with excitement but I was simply too tired. Somewhere in the back of my head I knew James wouldn't care what my interjections were with his freedom but at least I had made the effort to move something, anything forward. When I finally came back to reality I thanked Ben and hurried back to our makeshift group.

  "Now what?" I asked Ben a few moments after the ambulance took off in to the afternoon. We stood almost motionless brainstorming in our worlds until I put the most realistic pieces together. "For me," I began, "I think we need to protect the people on that list. So far every victim we've had has been cheating, and from the dating site."

  Ben stood on his toes as he mulled over my thought process. "Ok...but that's a lot of people and a lot of work. Where do you think we should start?"

  Personally, I didn't care where he started, I just wanted him to make something happen.

  For the first time since this case started, I had a day off. Jake and I had been working nonstop on these cases and we were both exhausted. We were also out of food at the office and most likely at our homes too. We had run ourselves in to the ground. As much as I wanted a day off, I realized that shopping and doing everything that was necessary at home came first, so I got in my car and headed straight for the grocery store.

  Weekends were the worst time to go to the store but it was a natural pattern for most people. I waited for at least five minutes before finding a parking spot and then got stuck behind a line of people making their way in to the shopping center doors. The doors opened with a quick gust of wind and I made my way to the shopping carts. If we were going to continue at such a high volume with our investigation, we would need more supplies than normal.

  I slowly checked the ads and tried to sort out what all we needed. I hoped Jake would get along well with anything I bought. He wasn't very fond of many different types of food and come to think of it, I had never really seen him eat more than string cheese. At least that was one thing off of my list. I started to wonder if the hospital even had string cheese. As I made my way around the store weaving in and out of people, I noticed a young woman that just happened to be in every isle I was in. Determined to keep work separate from my off hours, I went through the frozen section, detailing every item on the shelf to make sure I hadn't missed anything we might want. My skin tingled as I felt someone pass me and the worst part was, I felt their presence still around me.

  That was when I felt the small tap on my shoulder. I turned cautiously to find the young woman sheepishly smiling at me. She was obviously unsure of me and as she stepped back. "Hi... it's Rachel, right?" The young woman stuck out her hand and I took it cautiously. "I'm sorry to bother you, I just thought I would say hello. We met at the dating service office not too long ago." Things always became strange when potential suspects, or their friends recognized you. "Yes, I do remember you. You're Nina, correct?"

  I wondered why the young woman had approached me. If my guess was correct, Jake never got back with her, leaving me as the middle man. Her long black hair dangled from her shoulders and her almost all pink outfit screamed that she was meticulous and possibly had OCD. I could see why she was studying nursing for school. Nina smiled a large toothy smile, "Yes. How is the investigation going? I recently heard about well... more cases."

  "You mean murders?" I wanted to get to the point, I had things to do. "Yes," she replied hushed, "It was quite a shock when we got the news." I had no sympathy for anyone involved in the case and it showed. There were many questions that I wanted to ask her now that we were face to face. How could I have missed her earlier? Maybe I was too focused on her manager. Work was a place for work, this could wait one more day.

  "I'm sure it was a shock, no one likes to hear their customers have been murdered." I pulled my jacket tighter around myself as the cool air was starting to seem in to my clothing. "I don't mean to be rude," I continued, "But can I possibly call you when I'm at the office? I'm in quite a hurry today." Nina started to say something else, but I was already heading to the checkout lane. This woman seemed a little high strung. I hoped that Jake wasn’t serious about dating her.

  JAKE

  I slammed the door to my apartment. Almost one o’clock in the morning and I couldn’t sleep. The doctor in the ER had given me twenty-five stitches, a bottle of narcotics, and a note for me to come back if the cut became infected. Karen had been unusually quiet during the whole thing. She had made some remark about talking to Rach, but that was all. She had dropped me off at the apartment three hours ago and had taken off. It had suddenly occurred to me that I didn’t know if Karen was married or not.

  No time for that now I thought. The only thing was that my mind was racing and I couldn’t make it stop. The pills would have helped, but I wanted to think, not sleep. I hit the street and pulled out a smoke. Lighting it up, I began to walk. The streets were void of people and a hazy glow was over the streetlights.

  I always did my best thinking at night. Rach said it was because I was overstimulated during the day. Maybe, but at night things just seemed more clear. There was nothing to see and very little hear. A person could try and make sense of the jumble of thoughts.

  Three dead people, different backgrounds, sexual orientation and etc. The only things that connected them were how they died and the website. Reaching the end of my block, I headed east. I had no real destination in mind. All I knew was the case.

  Was there a chance that we could trace the gun? I doubted it. Whoever was killing people was smart and had probably gotten a stolen gun, Or had it lying around the house. No witness, at least not until yesterday. I was betting she was going to be no help. Killers were not smart, Rach liked to say. They are lucky. When you look back over a case, you found that all the clues were right there. If luck was the factor, then this psycho must have had twenty five rabbits…

  “If you’re looking for drugs, I would suggest Arizona street.”

  I jerked my head up. I was not expecting to see Rodriguez leaning on a car at this time of night. Looking around, I had walked about twenty minutes from my home.

  “I got everything I need from the hospital. What are you doing up Rodriguez? They got you catching hookers?”

  “Funny. I’m watching this house.” He pointed across the street. I followed his arm. Just a nice normal house.

  “What’s so special about this house?”

  “Mr. and Mrs. Bill Smith live here. Mr. Smith used the CO Singles website. He claimed it was just harmless, but he’s married so..” He shrugged, letting me figure out the rest.

  “You don’t have someone you can pass this off too?”

  “Too many people. Too few officers.”

  I leaned on his car. Rodriguez had his faults, but the simple fact that he gave up his bed and his time to make sure these people were safe was a positive in my book.

  “That girl tell you anything?”

  “Holly. Holly… something, hell I’m so tired I can’t even remember. She was walking to the store when someone came up behind her. Put a bag over her head and forced her into a car. Drove a few minutes then dragged her out. Doused her in gasoline and pu
shed her to the ground. Then you two showed up. In other words, she told us nothing.”

  I pulled out a cigarette and began tapping it on my wrist. I saw Rodriguez watching me intently. I held it out to him. He hesitated for a moment then took it. I pulled out another smoke and my lighter. Lighting my own, I tossed it to him.

  “I didn’t know you smoked Rodriguez.”

  He took a long pull. It was the trademark of someone enjoying something he hadn’t had in a long time.

  “My wife wants me to quit. Won’t let me smoke in the car or at home.”

  “Yeah, things are tough all over.” We stood there, smoking in the lamp light.

  “What are you doing out here Jake?”

  I exhaled a large cloud. “Thinking about this case. Trying to figure it out. You know, it comes down to a simple mistake. All killers make one. The problem is making sure you recognize it.

  “You sound like Rachel.”

  “I learned from the best.”

  He flicked the ash onto the ground. “I just don’t want this to become another star sign.”

  I looked at him. “I’m not sure how to respond to that.”

  He signed. “The Zodiac. That killer in San Fransco back in the sixties. Killed a lot of people and then just disappeared. They never solved it. The police, I mean. What if this case is just like that one? How could any cop live with that? I call those cases star signs.”

  I pushed myself off the car. “It won’t be. When I was talking about a mistake, I wasn’t wishing for one. They have already made it.”

  “Care to share?”

  “The restaurant. They should have dumped Steve somewhere else. By killing him and then leaving him there, they screwed up. Burning bodies and missing hearts might be what sell papers, but the real thing is that restaurant. Whoever had access is the killer.”

  He flicked his cigarette into the street. “Easy as that huh? The problem is that points back to the guy who was locked up when the latest woman was taken.”

  I lit another cigarette. “If detective work was easy, Rach and you would be out of a job.” I started to walk back toward my house. I stopped and turned back to him.

  “You need anything? Food or something to drink?”

  He shook his head. “You know? I think this is the most civil we have ever been toward each other.”

  “We’ll get back to normal tomorrow.” With a wave of my hand, I turned and headed back home.

  RACHEL

  Fatigue set in quickly after I left Ben at the bar. Deciding to take care of myself first, I opted to leave Jake’s care behind and get it later. After I hit the door to my home, the pillows in my bedroom called out to me. The day’s events had worn on me something fierce. I went through most of my normal evening routine when I gave up early and lay down. As I plugged my phone in I saw the notification lights going off.

  I didn’t want to answer them but I couldn’t take the chance that one more person on the planet needed me, again. Seconds rolled by as the message began to play. I could have easily looked at the number instead and decided if I want to listen or not but sleep was coming quickly and I used the energy I had left to just lay there and hear.

  “Rachel, its Karen. I just got a phone call from James. He said you had him locked up because you thought he was the killer you have been looking for,” a pause settled before she kept going with her message, “Is he really the murderer here? Why didn’t you call me first? I think we need to talk. Please call me back.” She sighed heavily before hanging up on the voicemail.

  From what my mind gathered as I laid in bed, Karen was confused or maybe accusatory? I wasn’t completely sure of her mood or when she had called. I didn’t hear Jake in the background so I guessed she had left the message before everything happened today. In the defense of everyone around me the past few days, I was out of commission since James was arrested. Karen could have called days ago. Was I really that far removed since that moment? Karen acted strange when I saw her last. Perhaps she had been waiting for me to make the first move to talk to her and I didn’t even realize it as we stood at the ambulance.

  The time for sleep had come and I drifted in to the slumber I desperately needed. Karen could wait a few more hours to talk about James and the situation she hardly knew anything about.

  When I awoke, my head spun lightly with sleep. I knew I needed to get up but my body was fighting me for every minute it could take to recover. My mind however, felt restless and was still running a million miles an hour. How was the girl we found yesterday, and how was Jake? Did I really need to call Karen and was she really privy to the information that I had against James?

  I tried to tell myself to shut up but my phone did it for me when it alerted me with sounds I had never heard before. A series of beeps and tones came from the dancing phone as it rattled across my night stand. From the look of the surrounding area, I may have gotten a few hours of sleep before something awoke me. My bedroom was dark and empty; stillness covered everything, everything except my phone that was obnoxiously going off. With a harsh swipe I grabbed the phone and answered.

  “Hello?” My voice cracked on the way out making me sound very angry with the disturbance. For all I knew, they were disturbing me. I never really was a happy sleeper. There was minor hesitation on the other end before they started, “… Hey babe.” I tried to burry my head in the pillow as I rolled over to sit up. This was not the phone call I wanted to wake up to.

  “Hi James, what time is it? Are you ok?” Lucky for him, I wasn’t awake enough to hide my emotions for him. “Sometime around three A.M., I just got out of jail and wanted you to know.” He had my attention now. Why would he care if I knew that he had been released? Surely he hated me. “…I’m fine…” he continued sounding wired. Noises blasted in the background and I couldn’t place where he was but it was loud.

  “Where are you James? Do I need to come get you or something?” I tried to ignore how angry I was that he was calling me so early and with some rationalization my job was after all, at the mercy of people who did stupid things in the middle of the night or day. “I’m just out having a good time and was thinking about you. How is the case going?” I stood up and stretched willing my body to get with the program. I didn’t appreciate his curiosity about the case Jake and I was working on but I covered up my thoughts with sweetness, “The case has taken quite a drastic turn and I feel like it said a lot about you.”

  A sigh mixed with laughter crossed the digital lines and I wasn’t surprised at his reaction, “I told you I didn’t do it.” With a slight slur at the end I could hear the smile in his voice and I admired how well he was handling himself. “Have you been drinking Jake?” Suddenly I was very confused and annoyed.

  “You got me babe, I have.” James sounded a little defeated, “Can I see you?” I was pacing around my room at this point, it was a nervous habit I had when I was on the phone. With everything happening spinning me in an emotional tornado I had to let him down again. “Sorry… I can’t see you,” I made up a half-truth to avoid him, “I have to be up early for the case. Now’s just not a good time.”

  Something inside of me was clawing to be let out. Nervousness and hesitation was all over me. I wanted to see James but I felt unsafe. He was drunk, or at least getting there. He couldn’t possibly be rational. I only hoped I was doing the right thing by not seeing him. So I went with my backup plan instead. James didn’t say anything on the other side so I continued, “I’m sorry James, you know how work is for me--.” He cut me off, “Fine if we can’t meet up, I’ll just come out with it then… are we still…you know, together?”

  Personally, I thought his question was out of left field but he sounded like he had been thinking about the situation as much as I had. The reason he had been drinking became clear to me, and it was for the same reason I had stuck myself in the same spot. He needed some liquid courage to get himself through what he was feeling as well. Pathetically, I wanted to tell him yes but my mouth and brain disagreed
.

  “I don’t know James, maybe?” I was only complicating the situation but I didn’t plan for him to actually want to stay with me and I had assumed things were over. Assumption, it got me every time. When would I learn that I couldn’t assume anything?

  “Hello?” My voice was an octave higher than I wanted as I continued to pace around in the dark. The loud noises were gone and I withdrew the phone from me ear. With slumped shoulders I sat back on the bed. “Ugh!” with a flick, I tossed my phone across the bed and heard a hollow thump as it landed. James had hung up on me, leaving me twisted and confused about making the right choices. This only left me with one thing to do, call Karen first thing in the morning.

  JAKE

  With an angry grunt, I threw the piece of paper across the office. Nothing new, nothing that would help us put this sick little bastard behind bars or with a date with a needle. I hadn’t been able to get more than three hours of sleep after leaving Rodriguez and I was feeling angry. The only other time I remember feeling this enraged was when I woke up from anesthesia after surgery. I had actually locked myself away in my apartment the whole day. I could have probably controlled myself, but maybe not.

  I jumped up from my chair and began to pace the office. No attacks last night, at least none reported. That was good, but also no new clues to go over. Rachel hadn’t shown up, missing her usually arrival time.

  Probably crying and eating ice cream trying to figure out how to win James…

  Easy. Steady.

  I looked at the wall of pictures of everyone who might be the killer. Somewhere on that wall, a person who liked to kill cheating people stared back. They looked like everyone, but so did a rabid dog until it bit you.