Vasquez interrupted, "Well if he's the killer what’s his motive?"
“That's the question of the hour. Would losing a custody hearing for a client prompt someone to murder their attorney?” Lauren said tirelessly. “Guys, hold on a second, merging Officer Jones into the call for an update on the hit and run case.”
Officer Jones reported that after interviewing witnesses, the car that struck Mr. Carpenter was either a Town Car or a Crown Vic. spray-painted black, but no plates were found.
Lauren was frustrated. "So, whoever did this knew how to disguise themselves."
Ace made a sharp right turn, "That or they didn't want to pay six hundred bucks for a new body job. Is Mr. Carpenter going make it? Did anyone get ahold of Mrs. Carpenter?"
Lauren paused, "Ugh, maybe. The doctors are concerned that he may not pull through. He’s a much older man, and his condition is critical.”
“That sucks, poor guy.”
“I know Ace; I feel bad for the man. One of the rookies tried to reach Lorraine. They still can’t find her. I told him to try the Sunset or the Bayview Outlets, her two favorite pastimes.
Lauren continued, “And Stone, don't think you're off the hook for that sexist comment you made earlier.”
"Huh, what comment?" A flush of red appeared in Ace’s cheeks and necks.
"The one about letting you and the boys handle the interrogation with Lomax. Don't be surprised if a summons from HR shows up on your door; talk to you soon, partner dear."
Ace smiled and shook his head. Vasquez held his chest and let out a loud cackle.
"You two are quite a pair. What made you call it quits; I mean, the marriage?"
Ace's eyes widened, "Let's just focus on the case and find Lane's killer."
Chapter 9
Lauren Jacobs stood on the front porch of her house, brushing her long thick hair. The air was heavy and smelled like a damp, wet towel. Part of that, she knew, was the swamp that slowly swallowed the land behind her house. Every year, more and more rain fell, and less and less of the water went away every year. She found frogs in her kitchen and snakes on the back stoop. Once, early one morning, a fat, chubby alligator marched clear to the driveway at the side of her house and waited for her to start her car. It all came with living in Florida, but the gator had just about been the last straw. Every morning before leaving for work, she threw a handful of snap poppers into the yard to discourage the toothy menaces. So far, it'd worked.
Unlike other mornings, she hadn't even reached for the bowl by the door before she caught sight of a man standing in her driveway.
"Good morning, ma'am." He called to her, and gave a friendly wave.
"Can I help you?"
He was a little older than her and balding on top. He had a tall forehead, broad shoulders, and the legs of a man who never spent much time at the gym. He took a few cautious steps towards Lauren. She noticed a bruise on the right side of his temple.
"Have you been hurt, Mr.—?"
He smiled, though it looked forced. "Fleming, my dear. Reed Fleming. Your partner spoke to my wife and me yesterday about the dead lawyer."
Lauren remembered what Ace had told her about his interview with the Flemings: how Mrs. Fleming had belittled her ex-husband in front of Ace and the supervising sergeant. She beat him up right there in the interrogation room.
"So, what can I do for you, Mr. Fleming? My partner is already at the office if you need to speak to him."
Reed shook his head, "Oh, no, no. No, you'll do just fine. You can take a message to your good ole partner and let him know that ever since he dragged my wife and me in for questioning, I've had reporters and photographers parked outside my front door, day and night!" His voice rose.
"Yeah? Yeah, you know, they've been shouting at me, asking me questions, trying to get me to confess to something I didn't do. As if I killed that stupid—"
Lauren raised a hand to stop him. "Mr. Reed, please. I'm sorry the media has harassed you. I am, but there's not a whole lot we can do about that. We can protect you if you truly think you or your wife are in danger, but many of us are busy with this case."
Mr. Fleming’s folded his arms, his face narrowed, “But then: You know, I kinda figured you'd be like that. Giving the dead more respect than the living and especially because she's a woman. I know that about you."
He climbed up onto the first step and raised an accusatory finger.
Lauren took the tiniest step back and frowned. "Are you drunk, Mr. Fleming?"
He ignored this. "I always thought that was the trouble with female cops. They are always going to side with the women, no matter what. You would have stood by and let her castrate a good guy like me all in the name of feminism!"
Lauren figured he meant this whole show as a scare tactic that he was looking to make her tremble with fear in front of him, maybe even cry, if he was lucky.
Her voice was steady when she spoke. "Mr. Fleming, I was not at your questioning yesterday, you know that. And frankly, I thank God. I get enough of the feminist militant' crap at work without idiots like you showing up at my doorstep. It's old, Mr. Fleming. Old and tired."
His face reddened steadily from the chin-up like an old cartoon. He took his first step up onto the porch. "I'm not a violent man, Ms. Jacobs. I leave all the man-busting to my wife. It gives her something to do since she's angry and postmenopausal! But when she and that Mason woman got together and took me for everything I had, I was truly fit to spit. I didn't deserve it! I was a good husband! I didn't even want the divorce. She came up with it all on her own and told me that's the way it was going to be! The two of them were quiet a pair, and Lane even came to my house.”
Lauren crossed her arms and leaned against the porch rail. "So, you're telling me, Mr. Fleming, that you were angry with Lane Mason, not your wife?"
Reed started to open his mouth, then shut it audibly with a dull click. The sound made Lauren wince.
"Mr. Fleming?"
As she watched, the color slowly drained from his face, "I see what you're doing," he hissed, his eyes narrowed to slits. "You're trying to pin our lawyer's death on me! Just because she favored my wife's opinion over mine! Just because it's like I said, that all you women band together to tear a good man down! You eat him up! You spit him out! You leave him high and dry, cry wolf, and the whole pathetic world listens!"
By this point, Mr. Fleming was screaming and out of control. Lauren slowly backed herself towards the front door. She left the door ajar and tried to reach inside the doorway. Reed matched her step, for step, and left no more than three feet between them when she backed right into the entry way. Lauren then stretched her hand out blindly behind her.
"What do you mean, 'cry wolf'? Did Lane Mason accuse you of something?"
Reed Fleming stopped shouting. His shoulders heaved, his chest inflated and deflated like an old fireplace bellows. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Suddenly, a patrol car pulled into her driveway. Reed heard the gravel pop under its tires. He cursed stomped his foot and balled his fist and marched around Lauren’s yard.
Lauren took a chance; she found the edge of the bowl inside the door and scooped up a handful of the snap poppers. When Mr. Fleming turned his back to her, she threw the poppers at his feet and made a run for it. She raced down the steps towards the car in the driveway. Behind her, the loud cracking sounds were like miniature gunshots as Mr. Fleming screamed. Lauren pulled the passenger side door of the cruiser and tumbled inside.
"Havin' fun?" asked Ace. She was out of breath but grinned.
Mr. Fleming still screamed and yelled.
Ace giggled, "Remind me when we get back to the station to look into Reed Fleming again. Something's not sitting right with him.”
“Ahhhh, turn back. I left Lane's file back in my car”.
Ace circled back down the street and made a U-turn. They saw Mr. Fleming turn on 5th and Chelten. Lauren whistled and strolled towards her car as the neighbors’ old cat ran
across the street. She then reached for the car’s handle.
"LAURRRRRRRR................................ACE frantically screamed!" Lauren’s 2007 tangerine orange Sportage exploded. Detective Stone raced towards the vehicle.
Chapter 10
The driveway was filled with black rolling clouds of smoke. Detective Jacobs heard Ace as he shouted her name. His words were muffled, and her ears stung. She was thrown backward, pushed back by the wave of heat. The clouds seeped around her into her ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. Fire shot from the center of the rolling shadow. She shut her eyes against it and prayed it wouldn't reach her.
"Hey! Hey, Laur, wake up! Hey, c'mon!" Ace cried. He used his left hand to gently slap her cheek. She moved slowly and tried to raise her head. Ace cradled the back of her head in one hand. His stomach turned when he felt the bump on her crown and the half-tacky dried blood. Lauren came to and attempted to lift herself off the ground.
"Stay still, Laur, don't move," Ace shrieked.
"Alright, weirdo, calm down," she murmured weakly. Ace smiled softly at her.
"Get back, people! Back it up!" The order came from Bomb Squad Commander Saif Andrews, a short, stocky man about Ace's age. The bomb squad sifted through the debris once the dust had settled. The scene looked like the aftermath of a war zone as fragments of Lauren's car lay scattered on her front lawn. A homemade pipe bomb was found under the hood of her car but had only partially detonated.
Ace boiled with anger and sensed that they were close to finding the killer. He vowed to catch the culprit who nearly took Lauren's life and finally close the case. Chief Maloney was still on the scene, and Ace wanted Mr. Fleming arrested immediately.
"It's Mr. Fleming! He's the killer, and now he is trying to take out my partner. He tracked her down, showed up at her home uninvited, hurling threats, insults and accusations. Arrest him!” Fear gripped Ace's heart. He couldn't bear the thought of losing another partner, let alone his former wife. He still was in love with her.
Chief Maloney moved closer to Ace and gently touched his shoulder. "Calm down, take a few deep breaths. I want to catch this monster just as much as you do, but we can only call Fleming in for questioning; we have no concrete evidence to make an arrest, no prints were found at the scene."
Ace’s heart pounded, and his breathing was deep and heavy. He closed his eyes, took three quick deep breaths, and made his way to Bayview Beach County Memorial Hospital.
She held the top of her head and squinted her eyes. The circular light fixture blinded her and made her headache even more unbearable.
"How are you feeling, Laur"?
"Besides this lousy concussion, just peachy!" Lauren swatted Ace's hands away; she sat up entirely on her own in the bed. His eyes watered.
Lauren paused. She held his face in her hands and looked intently into his eyes. Ace kissed her forehead and smiled. "I know you're ready to strangle Mr. Fleming, but he's no killer. He's not smart enough to dispose of a body. And, he’s too dumb to know the ins and outs of planting a bomb."
"Let's not forgot pulling off a hit and run," added Ace. We still should question him to cover all our bases. I mean, he was the last person to see you before the explosion. Maybe he saw something."
Lauren agreed.
"The more I think about it, Laur, the more I think you might be right about Mrs. Carpenter," Lauren raised her eyebrows.
"Oh? You mean the hit on her husband for the insurance money?”
"Yup," Ace replied. She certainly had a motive for wanting Lane dead. Like you said, Laur, Ms. Mason handled their financial affairs and would most certainly alert Mr. Carpenter if she felt something fishy was going on.
"But there's still Casino Boy Max, and then there's Bennie. And let's not forget the other goon, Kip. Any word on Max's whereabouts?”
"Nope," Ace shook his head.
"Let's bring Fleming and Mrs. Carpenter in and see what we can squeeze out of them. We can hunt down Bennie and Kip tomorrow."
"Laur, I am taking you home! You need to rest. There's 24-hour surveillance at your
house, thanks to Chief Maloney. Hank and James are the officers assigned to you."
"You gotta be kidding me! I'm not a child! I can take care of myself!"
Ace folded his arms, "Of course, the other option is to stay at my place and live under my protection. Ace grimaced.
"I was always fond of Hank and James, two fine-skilled officers, she chuckled. I promise to rest later. Ace, please, let's go back to the station and question Mrs. Carpenter and Mr. Fleming.
Ace blew out a breath, “OK, but you must promise to rest afterward. Nothing else this evening. I mean it, Laur.”
Lauren smiled, "Let's get out of here. I hate hospitals!"
Chapter 11
Mrs. Carpenter arrived at the station and adamantly refused to be questioned by Detective Jacobs. Detective Stone sat straight across from her; she barely blinked since being escorted into interview room one. She sat there as a POW chained to a metal pole.
Lorraine wore a pearl-white silk pantsuit, a pale pink blouse, and shoes with a low square heel. Her hair and makeup were impeccable as usual. The only sign of any distress was the tight pucker of her lips. It was hard to tell whether the expression was one of resentment or simple annoyance.
"Mrs. Carpenter, can you give me any reason why you and Bennie might've been seen together on at least three separate occasions at the Sunset?"
The older woman smiled thinly. "I wish I could tell you we were having a passionate affair, Detective Stone, but I don't think the poor dear's heart would have been up to it. But neither were we arms-smuggling if that's more the kind of thing you mean."
Ace chuckled, “But what innocent reason could there possibly be for you to spend so much time with a man known, both locally and nationally, as a low-level criminal? Were you his secret babysitter of some sort?"
When Mrs. Carpenter laughed, it sounded like the cluck of a chicken. "Well, detective, Bennie is a burly boy, probably wouldn't enjoy playing patty cake on my old lap." Why don't you tell me why you think I was with Bennie?"
Ace squared her shoulders, wincing at the twinge in her neck. He drummed his fingers against the tabletop. "I think, Mrs. Carpenter, that you owed Bennie a lot of money, money he loaned you to pay off your gambling debts. And—"
She raised one hand in a halted position, "And, I think you were arranging a way to get that money, fast, by putting a hit out on your husband."
Ace raised his voice and moved in closer, "Who was it Mrs. Carpenter that ran over your husband? Was it Bennie? Max? Kip? Which goon from the casino?"
Mrs. Carpenter nostrils flared, her lips flatten, and voice intensified. "I am aware I have a problem, but I’m no killer! And yes, it was stupid of me to think he wouldn't see that I'd taken a second mortgage out on our beach house. I could duplicate his signature, you see, had done it for years. But something like that was too big to hide. And we couldn't pay it, of course; the refinancing. I think he must have figured it out quickly that I was doing it to fund my—my problem. And that's when he got together with Ms. Mason to cut me out of his will." But I would never lay a hand on my beloved Philipp. Never!"
C'mon Mrs. Carpenter, who was the person that was driving the car that hit your husband? If you cooperate with the investigation, things will go better for—"
She interrupted. "I resent these allegations and will not stand by and let you insult my intelligence any longer! This conversation is over. This is harassment; you’ll be hearing from my new attorney, detective!"
Mrs. Carpenter stormed out of the room. Her tiny red high-heeled shoes made a loud clicking sound as she waddled down the corridor and demanded to be taken home immediately. Ace was summonsed to Chief Maloney's office. The chief saw the whole interview and argued that Detective Stone broke standard protocol.
Meanwhile, Mr. Fleming entered the second interview room with Detective Jacobs and carried himself like an untamed wild bull. His chin and shoulders were up
, and his eyes seemed to bulge. He rolled up his sleeves and loosened his collar and glowered at Lauren.
"Something you said at my house the other day bothered me, Mr. Reed," Lauren began. "And not just all that crap about women protecting women."
He scoffed but said nothing.
"What was it about Lane Mason which bothered you so much? Were you happy with your wife? It didn't seem that way to me."
Reed rolled his eyes, a smirk crept into his lips. "I already told you that, missy. My ex-wife is a cold shrew at the best of times, but you put her and that musty psycho militant woman in the same room, and it's game over for any man."
Lauren bit her tongue against the myriad of things she wanted to say. Instead, she played on a hunch, she thought of since this man shown up screaming at her door.
"Were you and Lane having an affair, Mr. Fleming?"
Deathnet : Bayview Beach Book 1 Page 4