by Dylan Keefer
“Don’t stop kissing me,” she smiled. He nodded and smiled back.
“Yes, ma’am.”
***
Raine sat in her apartment as the rays of sunshine streamed through the windows of her patio door. She sat in a t-shirt and boxer shorts that Micah had left in the apartment. She never knew how comfortable they were until she started stealing his. Granted, she loved regular underwear, but something about the boxers…
She sipped on some coffee and tried to piece together what she knew. James Borland was not a saint. In fact, he was far from it. Several people could have killed him. His wife saw him as a liability to her career. While she stated that she could divorce him, his death would look better for her as far as publicity. The teacher didn’t seem like the type to commit murder, and she apparently had an alibi. It could have been one of the students. Jake may have been the last one to see him outside of the guys in the gym. Then, there could have been someone who found out and just figured they would take him out.
She dumped the coffee cup in the sink and grabbed her keys and phone. On the way to meet Ailani, she tried calling Micah’s cell phone. It had been late by the time that she had dropped Eric off and gotten home. She missed hearing his voice and seeing his face, but she knew after the hike they had done that day, all of them were probably asleep. Of course, the phone call went to voicemail. She tossed the phone in the passenger’s seat.
Ailani was just pulling up to the boat dock when she arrived. He beamed when he saw her.
“You look like you slept horrible,” he said. She groaned.
“I had coffee. I got used to sleeping with Micah in the bed, and I don’t like it that he’s gone.” She pouted, and he waved off her complaint. So much for sympathy, she thought. A native Hawaiian greeted them with genuine excitement showing on his face. He wore a very bright yellow shirt that provided a glare that could have blinded them.
“That’s Danoboy. He’s a little crazy,” Ailani warned. “Well, maybe a lot crazy.”
“You know him?”
“I know about him. That’s enough,” Ailani said under his breath as they approached.
“You call bout da murda boat, yeh?” Raine turned to Ailani who rolled his eyes.
“I told you that it isn’t going to be called the murder boat, and we can’t let you market it as that because it’s under an official police investigation.”
“C’mon, man. Times is hard, and I own uh private dock.”
“And you think that advertising murder is going to help your efforts?”
Danoboy shrugged. “You neva know bout people. Da boat ova heya.”
They followed him over to a beautiful boat. It looked like it was in pristine condition. Raine was sure that Meaghan Borland approved of the purchase just to keep him happy and away from her. As with all boats, it had a name inscribed across from it—Ring Girl.
“Why would you do that to such a beautiful vessel?” Ailani frowned. “Ring Girl?”
“It fits the whole fighting persona,” Raine said as they stepped onto the boat. The boat had a decent-sized cabin that could fit several people. Everything on the inside was clean. There was a TV, a mini-bar, couch, a bedroom, bathroom, and game table. “This is better than my apartment. I’m not an expert on boats, but one person could take this out on a trip and navigate it without a problem?”
“Dis is top uh da line,” Danoboy said patting the wall. “You cud fall uhsleep an drive dis ting.”
“This is a private dock, right? So you have cameras around?”
“All ova,” Danoboy said. “You wanna see.”
“I’ll stay here,” Raine said. “I want to look over some things.”
When Ailani left, she stood in the center and looked around. It was perfectly clean. If someone was on the boat with him, they had to touch something that they missed. There had to be a clue. She walked back into the bedroom. It didn’t look like it had been touched. Raine ran her hand over the bed sheets. Getting on her knees, she looked under the bed. Nothing. Pulling back the bed sheet revealed nothing either. She sat on the bed and looked up. Raine stared at the light covering on the ceiling. It didn’t fit. She looked over at the LED lights on the table next to the bed. Those fit. Everything on the boat was so perfect that it was easy to see that the light didn’t belong. Raine stood up on the bed and reached up for the light. The cover came off easily in her hand when she pulled on it. It had only been attached by two little hooks. Well, look there. No lightbulb. Instead, on the inside of the cover there was a small camera. James, the saint strikes again. The camera was small. There was a little SD card slot that opened, and she pulled out the card. She thought for a moment, and then hopped off the bed and walked over to the TV. Sure enough, there was a media box that read SD cards. Raine didn’t want to see what was on the card. She knew what probably showed, and it may be a key to finding out who the killer was.
She turned the TV on and fiddled with the remote until the picture came up from the camera. There was a girl on the bed. Raine felt sick to her stomach. It was Mya. She lay stretched out in her bra and panties, a pair of MMA gloves on her hands.
“Ready for training?” James Borland’s voice sounded from off camera. He walked into the picture and crawled on top of the bed. He was in athletic shorts and had similar gloves on.
“What are you going to teach me?” Mya said in a sexy voice. James leaned down and whispered in her ear. Suddenly he moved to the side and pulled Mya on top of him. She screamed and laughed as he put his arm around her neck. Her arms went to his as he put on a choke hold with light pressure. Mya moaned and bit her lip. James whispered in her ear, and she giggled. He applied the hold tighter until she started wheezing a little. Then her hand tapped his arm three times before he let go.
“Did you learn something,” James said as she turned over on top of him and nodded.
“I learned just how sexy you are.”
Raine stopped the recording. She wanted to vomit. Suddenly, everything in her was glad the sicko was dead. Of course, now there was a possible suspect. She grabbed the SD card from the reader and stepped outside of the boat. Ailani was just walking back to the boat.
“Hey, you’ll never guess what we have on video?” He waved her over, and they both made their way to the shack that Danoboy called an office. “Play the video from last night.”
The light from the dock were surprisingly bright. Raine could see everything clearly on the screen. If she had been walking around this place at night, she wouldn’t have suspected cameras this nice. And on the screen appeared James Borland. On his side, walking hand-in -hand with him was Mya. She walked onto the boat with him and moments later the boat started to leave the doc.
“What time was this?” She asked.
“Around ten thirty,” Ailani said. “Would work around the timeline. He left the gym a half hour early right?
Danoboy fast forwarded the video and played it from where the boat returned. It stayed docked for a couple of minutes before Mya appeared stepping out of the boat and tying it to the dock. When she was done, she straightened her clothes.
“Look lik you go da killa.”
Raine nodded. She fingered the SD card. Mya was the number one suspect.
***
Micah wasn’t sure what happened. He woke up to Heather moaning beside him. He tried to get his wits about him, and finally it all came back to him. He sat up quickly. Brock was still there. Heather had her arm around him as he leaned against her chest. She looked up at Micah when he awoke.
“You okay?” She asked through gritted teeth.
“Me? You’re the one with the hurt leg. Let me see it.” He pulled back the fabric he had torn from his pants and wrapped around her leg. The bleeding had stopped. The bullet had gone right through the meat of her thigh and thankfully missed any bone or major muscle.
“Am I going to be okay, Doctor?” She joked. He didn’t answer. Micah stood up and realized that they had stumbled across a small cleft in a hill that hi
d them in the darkness. Now, they were prime targets for Cooper and his gang.
“We need to get out of here,” he said.
“Do you really think they’re out there still?”
“Yeah,” Micah admitted. “We not only know that he is a major drug dealer, but he is also a killer. The two boys. He’s not beyond staying out here until we’re dead.”
“You hit one of them, didn’t you?”
Micah sighed. “I’m not sure what I hit. What I do know is that our stuff is back at the camp. Everything that could possibly help us out.”
“Then send me,” Brock said. They both turned to him with raised eyebrows.
“There is no way,” Micah dismissed the comment. Brock sat up on his elbows.
“You gotta take care of my sister, and I can go get help. C’mon.”
Micah knew that he was probably their best bet. Brock was young and more energy. He was also the very person that they were looking for. He couldn’t let the boy go in there with no protection. The gun he had taken from Cooper was out of bullets. The only options were trying to make it with hopes that they could find some sort of help along the way.
“Let him go,” Heather mumbled. Micah looked at her. She winced as she tried moving her leg. “I trust him. I know he can make it.”
Micah looked at Brock. “You could get lost.”
“I won’t,” he said standing up. “Once I find help, I’m sending it to you guys. I promise.”
This was a bad idea. Micah felt it, but he also knew that Heather wasn’t about to lose her brother. If she trusted that he could do this, then he could, too.
“I love you, little bro,” Heather said with a reassuring smile. Brock nodded.
“Love you, too.” And with that, he was gone.
***
Mya walked into the principal’s office and sat down. Raine waited for the door to close, and they were alone. She looked at the girl. There was the fear that she had seen the other day. It was in her eyes. Raine tried to remember the facts that were given to her about the girl. Sixteen. Cheerleader. Average student. There was nothing about Mya that stuck out.
“I’m here to talk to you, Mya. No one else, but me. Is that okay?”
“What did I do? I didn’t do anything.”
Raine held her gaze for a moment. “How long had Mr. Borland and you been intimate?”
Mya’s eyes widened a little. “I really don’t want to talk about it.” She jumped as her phone vibrated in her pocket. When she pulled it out, Raine saw the name on the screen.
“Does Jake know? He is your boyfriend, isn’t he? He came to the gym the other night while Borland was there. Were they talking about you?”
Mya glanced around. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her phone kept vibrating. Raine finally snatched the phone and put it on her lap.
“Mya, let me tell you what I think happened. I think that Mr. Borland started this fight club because Jake got into a fight. Then, he saw you. He really saw you amongst all the girls and decided that he needed something—he needed you. He asked you to babysit for him, but he wanted you to keep it secret. He didn’t want his wife finding out. Then whenever you were alone with him, he couldn’t help himself. He called it training, but it was really him dominating you and turning you into his own personal escape. That’s why he would take you to his boat. He would take you out and treat you amazingly. You were already keeping the secret about the fight club, but this was your personal secret. And you liked it. But you are also in high school. You needed Jake to remain your boyfriend just like Mr. Borland needed to be a husband to his wife. You knew this, Mya.”
Mya had averted her gaze from Raine. Raine leaned forward. “Mya, talk to me. Why did you kill him?”
That made Mya jerk to attention. “I didn’t kill him,” she said. “I couldn’t kill him. He was just—too amazing. I couldn’t hurt him, and he never hurt me. I loved him, and I would have done anything for him. All of this was our little secret. He said that when I graduate that we could be together because he would be divorced, and I would be old enough to consent. I promise you that I would never kill him.”
Raine dug into her pocket and placed the SD card down on the table. “We’ve got footage, Mya,” Mya shook her head as she looked at the item in front of her. “You want to know what it shows. It shows you and Mr. Borland the night of his death. You both were walking to his boat. The boat leaves, and then comes back later. You alone come off the boat. Borland doesn’t.”
“I didn’t kill him,” Mya said shaking her head frantically. “I---um—okay. I was with him that night, but I didn’t kill him.”
“Did you do it because there were other girls? You noticed that he was cozying up to them. Maybe he wasn’t paying as much attention to you other than babysitting his child.”
“I didn’t care about the other girls. I was the only one that had been in his house. I was the only one he took out on his boat. I was his. He didn’t even do what he did with me with his own wife. Like I said, why would I kill someone who did all of that for me?” Mya leaned forward. “I think that Jake killed him.”
Raine raised an eyebrow. “How?”
“Jake found out because he read text messages on my phone, and figured out who the mystery guy was that kept texting me. Mr. Borland and I started sleeping together not long after the fight club started. Jake was furious. He said he would dump me if I didn’t stop. I did. At least, I told him that I did.”
“He found out that you hadn’t,” Raine surmised. “If only Mr. Borland wasn’t a quality fighter named ‘the Boar’. Instead, Jake tried buddying up to James, and that seemed to be working.”
“James didn’t know that Jake knew. Not until…” Mya stopped.
“Not until the other night.” Raine nodded. “It all would make sense except that Jake has an alibi, and you don’t. Some guys at the gym said Jake stayed there for another hour after James left, and then traffic cameras followed his car heading home after that.”
Mya looked like she was scrambling for words. Raine sat back. C’mon Mya. Just admit it. Admit it, and this can be over.
She looked up at Raine. “I didn’t kill him.”
The door opened, and Ailani walked in with a uniformed cop. He asked Mya to stand which she did slowly, tears started to fall down her face. She looked at Raine.
“Please. Please.” Raine closed her eyes as they took her out of school.
***
Micah’s stomach growled. He groaned at how stiff he was from laying on the ground all night. His body needed some recovery after this. Heather wasn’t doing so well. Brock had been gone for hours, and the sun was now starting to make its descent back down to the horizon.
“He’s going to be fine,” Heather said. Micah turned to her. “You worry a lot, don’t you?”
“You worry about your brother, too.”
“About his dumb choices and decisions, not about his capabilities.” She sat up straight. “I need to walk on this leg. It’s so stiff.”
“Be careful. I…” Micah stopped talking. There were footsteps. Coming from behind them. Fast! Micah turned just in time to see a body flying at him. The force of the tackle knocked him to the ground and almost knocked the wind out of him. Micah saw a fist aim for his jaw, and quickly rolled his head to the side. He grabbed the arm as it came down and hit the elbow hard. He heard a snap and a scream from the attacker. Micah’s training kicked in as he allowed the momentum of the attacker’s fall after losing the support of his arm to bring the attacker into a sleeper hold. The attacked struggled for a few seconds before succumbing to slumber.
Heather sat unmoving as she looked at Micah. “That’s one of Cooper’s guys, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is. That means, if I did take out one of them last night, he’s down two of the men that came into the woods with him. There’s just the girl and another gunman.”
“They may be split up looking for us,” Heather said. “If we can take out the other guy, then it�
��s a fair fight.”
Micah looked at her as if she was crazy. “You want to hunt down three people; two of which are armed while you are nursing a gunshot wound? What happened to trusting in Brock’s capabilities.”
“He’s taking too long. I still trust them, but I’d rather not risk the other two guys finding us. We need to make a plan.”
***
Raine sat staring at the wall. Her fingers tapped the arm of the chair as she made random sighing noises. Ailani raised an eyebrow but kept writing in his report.
“You got something on your mind?”
“Yeah, I don’t think she did it.” Ailani dropped his pen and leaned on the desk in front of him.
“You—don’t think she did it? Raine, forensics swept the boat. Her DNA was all over the place as much as she tried to clean up the evidence. And the camera? They found a lot of girls on there, but only one showed up multiple times. Mya.”
“How did she get a hold of an anesthetic?”
“Maybe she bought it off somebody. I don’t know, but now even the boyfriend is turning on her. He says she’s unstable anyway.”
“Of course, he would say that. She chose an older man over him. He’s pissed.” Raine leaned forward. “We are missing something here, Ailani. I know it.”
“Hey!” They both turned to see Malanie, Eric, and Dani walking into the office. Eric pointed behind him. “Recognized the girl they got back there. She’s from the school, right? Did she do it?”
“Yes,” Ailani said.
“No,” Raine countered as Ailani growled at her.
Malanie and Dani looked at each other. Raine put her hand on her forehead. She knew that there was something missing. Eric walked over to her side and pulled out his phone.
“So, I spent this morning watching ‘the Boar’ fight. I found whatever footage that I could. I wanted to see how good this guy was.”
“And?” Ailani said moving over to see the phone screen.
“He’s good. He’s very good.”
Raine looked at the phone, too. James Borland looked amazingly fit and energetic as he entered the ring to fight. His eyes had the look of an animal. Anyone that wanted to get rid of him would have to have an anesthetic just to bring him down to a manageable level. The fight started, and Raine gasped. She had seen UFC before, but this was brutal. Well, James was brutal. The fight didn’t last one round.