“No, not Jamarcus. Jamal.”
The woman’s face softened. “Jamal’s a sweetheart. I’m glad he got out of here.” She took a pull of her cigarette and blew the smoke through her nose. He did his best to not breathe in the toxic fumes. “You know how he is?”
He scrolled to the photos on his cell phone and showed her the picture Jamal texted him two days ago. He was sitting on a swing and though it was a little out of focus, the smile was radiant and genuine. He looked truly happy.
The woman nodded, took another drag, and blew out the smoke…thankfully away from Declan this time. “Good.”
“Do you know what happened to his mother?”
“Just that she was offed. She’d been dead hours or days before they found her. I’m not sure.” The woman shrugged. “She whored out her body for drugs and alcohol, so I’m not surprised. She was killing herself, one way or another.”
He almost remarked that she was too with the cancer sticks, but wisely held his tongue. He thanked the woman and made his way to one of the policemen standing guard. He explained that he was a friend of the family. The cop directed him to a man taking notes as he spoke with two people who looked like they’d be about as helpful as the red fire hydrant a few feet away. When he finished with them, they couldn’t leave fast enough, practically leaving skid marks in their haste. Declan approached before he could interview other witnesses. “Detective Appleton?”
The man turned and eyed him suspiciously. “Yeah.”
“My name’s Declan Elliot. I work for COBRA Securities.” Damn, it felt good to say that, even if the ink wasn’t yet dry on the contract. “I know the family who lived here.”
The detective judged him much the same way the woman did a few minutes ago: with a derisive look filled with scorn. “You know this family?”
“Not the woman who was killed. I’m in touch with the youngest son and the victim’s sister.”
“Yeah?” The detective flipped to a page in his notebook. “What are their names?”
“Jamal West and the sister is LaTonya Stanton. Jamal lives with her in Detroit.”
“Those are the names I have.” He flipped the cover shut. “How do you know them?”
He gave a quick rundown about his association with Noah and Peyton and Peyton’s connection to Jamal. He left out the part about Jamal’s mother bashing in his head. He didn’t want to inadvertently land himself on the top spot of the detective’s suspect list.
Appleton nodded, accepting the story. “My next task was contacting next of kin. I’ll need their numbers so I can inform them of the death. Are there any other family members that you know of whom I should contact?”
“There was another son, but he was killed a few weeks ago in a shootout here.”
“Yeah, I remember that one. It was a bloodbath.”
“Ms. Stanton will know if there are others you should notify.” He hitched his chin in the direction of the apartment. “Can you tell me what happened? Off the record.”
“Two bodies, both sliced to ribbons.”
“Two?”
“One male and one female. We haven’t identified the man yet, but one of the neighbors gave a positive id on the female. The place was ransacked and there were drugs found in the bedroom, but we don’t have a motive yet.”
He almost told the detective that the apartment always looked like it’d been tossed, but he didn’t need to admit to having been inside before. Staying off the suspect list was job one here.
The cop opened his notebook again. “You have numbers for the son and sister?”
He gave the cop LaTonya’s cell number. He didn’t want the man calling Jamal. He’d let LaTonya break the news to him. Even though she’d been a horrible mother, Declan knew Jamal would be upset. He’d already lost his brother recently. At least he had a loving aunt to care for him.
He shook hands with the detective and headed back to his truck. After the unexpected stop, it was late as he drove to Eric’s apartment and the traffic was light. His cell buzzed as he parked in one of Eric’s designated spots. He smiled seeing Jamal’s smiling face on the dashboard screen. He tapped the button on the steering wheel to answer.
“Hey, bud. How’s it going? How are Semper and Fi?”
“Please come quick. I need you. They’re hurting LaLa.”
Chapter Five
Declan’s back stiffened and his blood turned to ice. “Who’s hurting LaLa, Jamal?”
“I don’t know,” he cried in a whisper. “She was screaming and then there was a loud bang—oh no, he’s coming back. I have to go.”
“Jamal, wait! Do not hang up yet. Are you safe?”
“Yes. I’m in my secret room.”
Jamal had told him all about the hidden space inside his closet that LaTonya had constructed for him, and he’d sent pictures of the cozy nook. “Good. Stay there and don’t make a sound. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
He hung up and called information for the police department emergency number in Detroit. After checking LaTonya’s address on his phone, he dialed the number and asked for the police to be sent to the address. Detroit was approximately two hundred and fifty miles away, give or take. The drive would be around four hours and twenty minutes if he drove non-stop. He could cut that down to an hour and fifteen if he flew. Plane it was.
As he squealed out of the parking lot, he dialed Eric with voice command. When his brother answered, he quickly explained about Jamal’s phone call and his last-minute trip to Detroit. Eric told him to keep in touch and let him know what happened as soon as he could. Eric called back five minutes later.
“I booked you on the last flight out of Chicago to Detroit tonight. I’ve sent the boarding pass to your phone. It leaves in half an hour.” Eric rattled off the airline and terminal number. He committed it to memory.
“Thanks bro, I owe you big.”
“Just be careful.”
The trip to the airport was faster than usual with the light traffic. He hoped like hell he didn’t get caught up in security. Travelling without luggage might set off red flags. Though he had a bag of clothes in the back of his truck, he didn’t want to take the time to grab it. Getting to Jamal was all that mattered.
He parked in short term parking and took off for the terminal at a run. Luck was on his side as he made it through the screening process and arrived at the terminal as they were boarding.
A redheaded flight attendant greeting the passengers smiled at him and batted her excessively long lashes seductively. “I’ve got an extra seat in first class.”
He gladly accepted her offer. It meant getting off the plane faster. He smiled his thanks and dropped down into the leather seat. At any other time, he’d have flirted shamelessly with her, maybe gotten her number so they could hook up on her next trip to Chicago. But his heart wasn’t in it. That organ currently resided deep in the pit of his stomach.
#
A noise jerked Kenzie awake—or more accurately, the lack of any. She slept with a sound machine cranked on high to drown out the city commotion. She’d started the habit living in New York where the cacophony of cars and horns and sirens at all hours of the night conspired to keep her from getting any rest. She didn’t need the machine here, as the area around Franny’s condo was peaceful and quiet, but she’d grown used to the steady hum. She’d grown used to the city racket, too and could sleep through a bomb blast.
Her senses felt out of whack. The silence was almost deafening, and the room was bathed in total darkness. That’s when she realized the power was out. She’d experienced several blackouts in Manhattan, so it wasn’t anything new. Sometimes she was able to go back to sleep. Other times it would take hours or until the power was restored.
An engine started up outside and then tires screeched as it peeled away. This was an upscale neighborhood so she couldn’t imagine kids out for a joy ride randomly ending up here.
Tossing back the covers, she hurried to the window in time to see a black four door sedan
speed out of the parking lot…at least she assumed it was black judging from the glow of streetlights. It was definitely a dark color. Clouds obscured the moon and it was too far away to begin to make out the license plate. She wouldn’t be able to give a description since she was terrible with makes of cars.
She started to turn away when her head snapped back to the window. Why were the streetlights on in a blackout? She glanced at the building across the road. Lights shined from two different windows. She checked the other condos in the area, and they too were illuminated. That meant the power was only out in her condo. That was strange. Could an animal have chewed through wires or something? If so, she’d talk to LaTonya about hiring an exterminator.
She probably needed to notify the power company, but she had no idea what number to call. As she reached for her cell phone on the floor beside the mattress, the acrid scent of smoke drifted to her. A fire, not rodents, caused the blackout. Panic had her dressing quickly and tossing her computer into her messenger bag that also served as her purse. After sliding on her running shoes, she secured the strap over her head and grabbed her phone. She tapped the flashlight app and used it to guide her from the bedroom. The smoke thickened when she stepped into the hall. The detectors weren’t going off, so they must be hard-wired into the electrical system. Pretty big system flaw if you asked her.
When she made it outside into the fresh air, she glanced back at the house to see flames shooting from the roof. She dialed nine-one-one while watching for LaTonya and Jamal to exit. LaTonya’s car was in the lot, so they were home. When the operator answered, she gave the address and told the woman that the building was on fire. The woman instructed her to stay on the line, but Kenzie hung up and rushed for LaTonya’s door. Maybe they were sound asleep. She jabbed the bell and knocked but no one answered. She ran around the back to the patio and her steps faltered. Glass littered the ground from the shattered sliding glass door where smoke poured out. Covering her mouth, she stepped over the shards and headed for the stairway that led to the upstairs bedrooms. The house had been ransacked. Cushions had been torn apart, pictures ripped from the walls and furniture overturned. Her gaze zeroed in on a woman lying unmoving on the floor.
“LaTonya!” She rushed to her friend, her feet skidding in the pool of blood that formed beneath her body. She knew without checking LaTonya was dead. She was beaten and battered, but it was the neat round hole between her open eyes that had ended her life.
Stifling a sob, she stood and snapped a picture with her phone. She would never look at it again, but if the house burned down, she needed to let the cops know that LaTonya had been murdered. Someone needed to pay for killing one of the nicest women Kenzie had ever met.
Her eyes were watering, but she had to check on Jamal. She took the steps two at a time. The smoke was so thick, she could barely see where she was going. She’d pulled her t-shirt over her nose and mouth to block some of the smoke from entering her lungs. She came to Jamal’s room first, and if the downstairs was a mess, his room had been absolutely destroyed. She was afraid to go inside. If she found his little body broken, she wasn’t sure she could handle it.
“Jamal? It’s Kenzie. Are you in here?”
When there was no response, she took a tentative step inside and shined her flashlight around the destruction. She didn’t see him so she beelined for the closet and knocked on the secret door.
“Jamal? Are you in there?”
“Kenzie?”
The small voice had a sob tearing from her throat. “Jamal, we need to get out of here.”
The door opened and his head popped out. His eyes were wide and frightened. She held out a hand. “Let’s go.”
He clutched it greedily and she practically jerked his arm from the socket and sprinted for the steps just as a part of the ceiling behind them collapsed. Jamal screamed but she didn’t slow down to comfort him. The front door was closer, but that meant they’d have to pass LaTonya’s body. She tried to shield her from Jamal’s view as she unbolted the locks and whipped it open, sucking in the clean, fresh air. Thankfully, Jamal didn’t see his aunt lying dead on the floor.
She turned to him. “Are you—”
The sound of something whizzing by her head had her tackling Jamal to the ground with her. Someone was shooting at them. “Stay down.” She half-ran, half-crawled to LaTonya’s car, dragging Jamal with her as two more gunshots sounded, one taking out the back window. They covered their heads and huddled together as pieces of glass rained down. Her heart was beating so fast, her head spun.
The shooting stopped and she breathed a sigh of relief, but they weren’t out of the woods. She needed to make sure the gunmen were gone, so she pushed to a crouch and started to slowly peer over the car. Something threw her off balance and she screamed as she teetered backwards until she landed hard on her behind.
“Kenzie!” Jamal cried as a man dragged him along the sidewalk by his arm.
Shiloh Storm overtook her body. With a feral scream, she launched at the man and leaped on his back like a demented circus monkey, wrapping her arms around his beefy neck. She’d break it if she had to.
“What the hell?” He released Jamal and stumbled forward until he fell to his hands and knees, letting out a string of violent curses. “Get off me bitch so I can kill you.”
The blessed sound of sirens wailed in the distance. Help was finally on the way.
With a roar, the man ripped her arms from around his neck and tossed her off him like an unwanted cape. She landed hard on her backside again and winced. A door slammed and the smell of burning rubber mingled with the smoke from the fire. She popped up in time to see the same black sedan as earlier peeling out of the lot, but not before the man squeezed off several more shots. With an un-Storm like squeak, she dove to the ground next to Jamal. When no more shouts sounded, she lifted her head.
“Are you—”
She didn’t get the words out before the ground shook and an explosion rippled through the air. The heat was intense as she rolled over Jamal to cover him from any flying debris. When nothing pelted her, she glanced over her shoulder to see LaTonya’s car in flames. If they’d stayed where they were a minute ago, they’d have been incinerated. What was happening here?
Lifting her weight off him, she clutched Jamal’s shoulders. Tear tracks cut through the soot on his adorable face. “Are you hurt?”
“No, but we have to go back for Aunt LaLa. She’s still inside.”
Kenzie grabbed his arm when he scrambled to the burning building, jerking him to a stop. How on earth was she supposed to tell a young boy that his beloved aunt was dead?
His shoulders slumped and he slowly turned to her. “She’s dead, isn’t she? They killed her.”
Tears flooded her eyes and she nodded. She tugged him into her arms and held him as his little body racked with sobs. He suddenly stiffened. “I have to go back!” He tore out of her arms again. She lurched up and managed to snag the back of his shirt before he could rush back into the flames.
“Jamal, no. There’s nothing we can do for her.”
“Let go! You don’t understand!” he wailed before crumpling to the ground. “I left my phone. I don’t have any way for Declan to find me.”
#
Kenzie tried to comfort Jamal, but he was inconsolable. She didn’t have any younger siblings and she hadn’t been around many kids, so she wasn’t sure how to make him feel better. Right now, she didn’t think there was anything that could ease his pain, except for his friend Declan, whom he obviously adored. From what Jamal told her about him, he was a cross between Superman, The Incredible Hulk, and Captain America all rolled into one. No one could live up to that hype, she was sure.
Declan wasn’t here, so for now, she was Jamal’s only source of support. She let him cry on her shoulder as they sat on the curb and waited for the first responders to arrive. She also kept an eye out in case the black sedan made a return visit. If they made a grab for Jamal again, they’d have to go through h
er first.
Red and white lights lit up the night as firetrucks roared into the parking lot, their sirens abruptly cutting off. Soon it was a frenzy of activity as hoses were dragged out and attached to hydrants, radios squawked and men and women in turnout gear hurried to dowse the flames. Neighbors from surrounding condos huddled in groups to watch the action.
Two police cars arrived, followed by an unmarked car and an ambulance. The medics scurried over and performed a cursory exam on each of them. The woman who took Kenzie’s blood pressure offered a ride to the hospital to be checked for smoke inhalation, but she declined. Jamal wasn’t showing any symptoms and though her throat was scratchy, her breathing was fine.
One of the firemen approached her. “Is this your condo, ma’am?”
“Half of it.”
“Anyone inside.”
“Yes…no.” She patted Jamal’s knee. “I’ll be right back, sweetie.”
She stepped away so Jamal wouldn’t overhear the conversation. He didn’t need reminders of what he’d lost tonight. Digging her phone from her pocket, she scrolled to the picture of LaTonya but quickly looked away. “There’s a woman inside but she was murdered before the fire started.” She turned her phone so he could view the screen. He took it from her hand and studied it, his brows narrowed.
“You knew her?”
“Yes. That’s her nephew.” She indicated Jamal. “He lived with her.”
“Hold on, let me get a detective over here.” He handed her back the phone as he spoke into a mic attached to his coat and soon a tall man with black hair and brown-haired woman a foot shorter approached.
The man spoke first. “I’m Detective Fuller.” He indicated the woman next to him. “My partner, Detective Lyons. The Fire Chief said something about a murder?”
Kenzie showed them the picture.
Detective Fuller’s lips tightened. “Start at the beginning and tell us everything.”
Running Scared Page 4