Malicious Desires

by Maria Pease

  “Oh, shit, Sam. You broke in!”

  “No, I didn’t. The door was unlocked. I just walked through the unlocked door to get a look around.”

  Frank rolled his eyes and started the engine. As we drove out of the neighborhood, the metallic blue sports car sped past us in the opposite direction.

  I eyed Frank and took in a deep breath. “That could’ve been bad.”

  “Damn right that could’ve been bad!”

  “Hey, you said time was of the essence! I’m doing what I have to do.”

  Frank was silent the rest of the ride back, and I found myself re-thinking my logic.

  “I was just following my instincts,” I said, once back inside the office.

  “I know,” Frank said, staring at his computer. “I just worry about you.”

  “You do?” I smiled.

  “Don’t make me say it again, Sam.”

  “Okay. So, what now? We have solid evidence Michael is here, and Wally is the reason.”

  “We’re going to have to follow him and see if we can locate Michael. I didn’t see anyone in the car with him, did you?”

  “No, but he was going pretty fast. It was a blur.”

  “Did you move anything? We don’t want him to get suspicious.”

  “No. The place was disgusting. I didn’t touch anything except the zipper to the backpack. When I saw the book, I wanted to see if there was anything inside… like a note or something. I was so excited when I saw Michael’s name, I grabbed the book, zipped the backpack and headed out.”

  “Okay. Good.”

  “I’m going back to stakeout Wally. We know he’s home, so if he heads out, I’ll stay with him and see if he leads me to Michael.”

  “I can’t tag along this time, so stay out of trouble.”

  “No worries, Frank. I’ve got this.”

  I parked the Jeep down the street and searched for signs of movement as I thumbed through his file. As I pondered over what I knew about him so far, I was even more confused. He’d been in all kinds of legal trouble. Apparently, he was a big gamer, and for some reason, it appeared he’d lured a teenage boy from his home. And that car! Frank had said it was worth two-hundred thousand dollars. The house he lived in wasn’t even worth that!

  There were so many conflicting factors, I couldn’t make sense of it. I wasn’t concerned because it was the beginning of the investigation and each case was a puzzle. With this puzzle, I didn’t have any pieces that fit…not yet anyway. I knew if I kept working, something would begin to fit into place, and hopefully, I could gather all the pieces and solve the case. It was all about patience and perseverance. My only concern at the moment was finding the missing teenager and getting him home.

  After sitting in the Jeep for hours and trying to stay awake, with no movement from Wally, I was beginning to wonder if I should’ve taken the chance to check for his car. It was approaching 5:00 PM and the sun was going down. It would be getting dark soon, and there was a chill in the air. The temperature would drop faster now. All I could think about was that I was already cold and loud noises were coming from my stomach. If I didn’t see some action soon, I’d have to bail to get a jacket and some food.

  My cell bounced around on the passenger seat. “Hi, Frank.”

  “How are you holding up?”

  “I’m so bored, I’m ready to poke my eyes out with some sharp sticks.”

  “So, it’s going well?”

  “I’m cold and hungry.”

  “Stay put. I’ll bring you something to eat. Any requests?”

  “At this point, I’ll eat anything. But since you asked, a roast beef sub from Campini’s would be great.”

  “Hold on. I’m on my way.”

  I started the car, turned on the heater, and scanned the dial for a decent radio station, hoping the diversion would keep me from thinking about how hungry I was. I’d finished my water bottle long ago and was now starting to feel panicked about how thirsty I was. I’d never make it if I got lost in the desert. Here I was, sitting in my Jeep with the ability to drive anywhere, and I felt like I was going to die of dehydration. Geez, I’m a wuss.

  Waiting for Frank’s arrival must’ve distracted me because all of a sudden, I saw the metallic blue Ferrari fly out of the driveway. I followed behind, knowing it would only be a matter of time before Wally would be zig-zagging his way through traffic. I just hoped I wouldn’t be left behind.

  He moved into the casino parking lot and I stayed on his tail as he drove into the three-story garage and parked. I sent a quick text to Frank letting him know where I was.

  Wally got out of his car and looked around as if he were waiting for someone, but after five minutes, he strode to the elevator.

  I was intent on not losing him, but realized I’d followed too close; he held the elevator door for me as I approached. I hadn’t planned on getting in with him, but it would’ve seemed awkward if I didn’t; the stairs were in the other direction. As we descended, I took a closer look.

  Wally was, indeed, very fit and well put together. He didn’t resemble the video game obsessive in a ripped T-shirt and faded blue jeans I’d imagined. He wore pressed black Chinos and a red polo shirt. His light brown hair had been carefully combed back away from his sparkling green eyes and he smelled delicious. When the elevator came to a stop, he shot me a smile.

  Somewhat reluctantly, I smiled back. Charming was the only word that came to mind.

  When the doors opened, he held back a large group of Japanese tourists to let me exit before him. Once outside, he picked up his pace, heading toward the casino. He glanced back at me as an afterthought. “Good luck.”

  I nodded. “You, too.” You’re going to need it.

  As he moved through the casino, I attempted to stay on his tail without getting so close he’d realize I was there. Luckily, the place was hopping and I didn’t think he’d be able to find someone, even if he was actually looking for them. At this point, I was just hoping he wouldn’t head back to the high roller room.

  Wally stopped to speak with one of the poker dealers while I tried to look busy at a slot machine across the way. As I watched him, all I could think about was how crazy this smoke-filled atmosphere was, with all the activity and the bells and whistles sounding constantly. It felt like it was an alternate reality, waiting to lure me in.

  In an instant, Wally was on the move again but at a much slower pace. He no longer seemed like he was in a big hurry and it made me wonder what the poker dealer had said to him. He climbed a flight of stairs, headed to the round bar that overlooked the casino floor and took a seat.

  I couldn’t keep an eye on him from the bottom floor, so I climbed up the stairs and found a small table on the opposite side with a clear view of him. As I took a seat, I heard my phone buzzing inside my purse, and I reached for it.

  “Hello?” I said quietly, keeping my eyes on Wally.

  “Were you able to stick with him?”

  “You bet. I’ve got eyes on him right now.”

  “Where are you?”

  “There’s a round bar on the second floor, looking over the casino.”

  “I’m heading up.”

  The waitress asked if I wanted anything and I told her I was waiting for someone.

  “I’ll come back.” She moved on to the next table.

  Frank emerged from the stairs, scanning the bar. I could see that he had eyes on Wally. He moved toward me and leaned in as if to kiss me.

  “You mean an air kiss is all you’ve got?”

  “Don’t tempt me, Sam. Oh, and your sub is in my truck.”

  “Good. I’m starving.”

  We both ordered a virgin margarita and waited for Wally to make a move. He nursed a beer and kept checking his phone.

  Frank dug in his pocket for his wallet. “He’s waiting to hear from someone. We’d better settle up so we’re ready when he gets his call.”

  Wally casually glanced around the bar, spotted me, and sent me a nod.

 
“What was that?” His eyes narrowed as he scrutinized my reaction. “Shit, Sam. This could be a problem.”

  Chapter 4

  I took a deep breath. “It was an accident. I was tailing him and got too close. Frank, he saw me. It would’ve been too obvious if I’d retreated, so I just went with it. He didn’t suspect anything.”

  Frank was quiet and had that look he gets when he’s frustrated with me. I knew there would be a lecture sometime in the near future.

  Wally reached for his phone and threw a couple of bucks on the bar. He raced down the stairs, so Frank and I followed. Moving through the casino, he headed out through the doors by the hotel.

  We followed him outside and caught sight of him getting into a maroon SUV just before it sped away. Without any chance of catching up, Frank gave me my sub, and we went our separate ways.

  I drove home to once again wash the smoke out of my hair. As I stepped out of the shower, I realized it was my third of the day. If this keeps up, I’m not going to have any skin left. I put on my sweats, brushed out my hair, and went downstairs to the bottle of red wine and my sub sitting on the kitchen counter.

  While I ate, I filled out my index cards, adding a few notes about my observations of Wally. Then, out of nowhere, I found myself thinking about how afraid Michael Carson’s mom must be. I was tempted to call, but I knew better. Frank would take me off the case so fast I wouldn’t know what hit me. Still, I knew she had to be a mess.

  To take my mind off Stacy Carson, I sank into the couch and settled on the Clint Eastwood movie, The Dead Pool, and enjoyed my wine. By the time I staggered up to bed, it was after 11:00. I was completely wiped out.

  I woke up to a cold, grey morning that confirmed it was officially fall in Temecula. Unlike most states where fall is considered to start in late September, we don’t even start cooling down to a reasonable temperature until the end of October, which meant we were right on schedule.

  By the time I got to the office, Frank was in rare form, which always made me uneasy. Usually, it meant there was trouble in paradise. With Frank, there was a lot of trouble in paradise. He’d been divorced twice and appeared to be heading toward a third, but he conveniently kept forgetting all the pain divorce entailed. Recently, he’d been seeing an unbelievably beautiful woman named Monique Collins, a cop.

  Monique was the only female cop I’d ever seen who looked amazing in that horrible uniform. She filled it out in all the right places, and it was pretty tough not to notice. So here I was, evaluating Frank’s current mood, wondering if I should even ask.

  Frank was the kind of guy who would either spill his guts completely or bask quietly in his pain and misery; I never knew which it would be. I decided to wait and feel him out, so I went to my desk and powered up my computer. I was at a loss how to proceed, so I decided to set up the dummy Facebook account. As I searched the internet for a tutorial, Frank’s cell phone rang. I glanced up.

  He looked at the caller ID and set it down, letting it ring.

  “Are you going to get that?”

  He looked at me, expressionless. “No, Sam. I’m not going to get it.”

  “Should I ask?”

  “Probably not a good idea.”

  “Then can I ask a work-related question?”

  “What is it?”

  “I want to set up a dummy Facebook account to try to connect with Wally.”

  “I bet Jake can help. We should find out if they have a file on old Wally anyway, so we don’t duplicate our efforts. Why don’t you go check that out before we do anything?”

  It seemed Frank wanted to get rid of me, so I grabbed my jacket and headed out.

  “Are you going to be okay?”

  “You bet.”

  As I pulled into a parking spot, I had flashbacks of when I’d first met Jake. We had this crazy, intense connection. I found it interesting that even now, after dating for several months, that I still had that excitement to see him. I checked myself in the mirror, put on some pink lip gloss and strode into the lobby. I couldn’t find him but caught sight of Monique as she brought a file to the clerk.

  “Monique?”

  “Hey, Sam. What’s up?”

  “I’m looking for some information.”

  “I can help unless you’re waiting for Jake.”

  “I couldn’t find him. Are you sure you have a few minutes?”

  “Yeah, sure.” I followed her back to her desk. “So, how can I help?”

  “Do you know anything about a guy named Wally Mason?”

  “It’s not ringing a bell. Who is he?”

  “I’m working on that missing teen case. Michael Carson, the kid from Van Horn, Texas. We believe he may have come here at the urging of Wally Mason.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  “We spoke to a friend of his. She said that Michael had connected with Wally through online gaming and Facebook.”

  “Any idea what’s going on?”

  “No, not yet. I was hoping to get some help with a dummy Facebook account since that’s how Wally and Michael connected. It might give me some insight into what Wally is doing.”

  “We have someone who specializes in setting up and monitoring those. Let me see if we have a file on Wally Mason.”

  Monique went to check on the file. As I waited, her cell phone rang. I couldn’t help but take a look to see who was calling, but I immediately regretted my decision. Just as I sat back down, Monique returned and set the file down on the desk in front of me.

  “This is all we’ve got.” She glanced at her phone to see who’d called. “Take a look.”

  I opened the file and read through it; nothing new stood out. Wally had obvious issues with being a con artist, but it didn’t look like he had any history of violence. That was a plus. I closed the file and handed it back to Monique.

  “There’s not much there. Let’s go see if Ted can help you with the dummy Facebook account.”

  We walked down to the Crime Prevention office and found Ted monitoring surveillance on several screens.

  I stayed in the doorway as Monique gave him the rundown on what I needed. He looked over at me, and I sent him a nod.

  “Come on in,” he said.

  “Hi, I’m Sam Parker.” I stretched out my hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Ted Williams. So, tell me about this Wally guy.”

  “He’s a twenty-nine-year-old guy that invited a sixteen-year-old boy to come here from Texas. We’re not sure what he’s up to, but I was told he met Michael, the sixteen-year-old, on some gaming site then connected with him through Facebook. Honestly, I’d just like to find out what was said to get this kid to leave his home and to find out what he’s up to.”

  “I can help with that. Monique tells me you’re a PI. Who do you work for?”

  “Frank Meeker.”

  “No Shit? You work for Frank? How the hell is he? Is Chuck still around?”

  “He’s fine.” I glanced at Monique, who smiled ever so slightly. “And yes, Chuck’s still around but he’s been working a case in Seattle.”

  “Wow. You work for Frank. That’s wild. Okay. Let’s get you all set up.”

  Monique handed the file she had on Wally to Ted and we moved out of his way. He reviewed the file then moved to his computer and went to work. After a few minutes, he looked up. “I’ll let you know when I’m finished. This is going to take a while.”

  Over a cup of coffee, I hoped she’d tell me what was going on with Frank, not that it was any of my business. Still, I wanted to know.

  “Did Frank talk to you?” she finally asked.

  “About?”

  “What’s going on with us?”

  “No, but I can tell you, he’s not happy. Want to talk about it?”

  “I don’t know. I’m really conflicted.”

  “Conflicted?”

  “He -” Her phone sounded and she quickly answered. “Great. We’re on our way.”

  Ted showed me the dummy Facebook page he’d set up.


  “Here’s the page. Now it’s up to you to get Wally to make the first move. Your account is under Katy Smith. After reviewing Wally’s background, it was obvious he was into girls. Anyway, Katie is a seventeen-year-old cheerleader with a crappy home life. Her parents are divorced, and her dad is out of the picture. Her mom’s trying to make ends meet and is living with an abusive man. You’ll need to become active on the gaming sites, and post on Facebook and the other social media sites.”

  I felt like I was in unchartered territory and I hoped I wouldn’t screw it up. The upside was that I had this new identity. I was seventeen again!

  The fresh air felt good as I walked across the parking lot. The dark sky that had threatened rain this morning had renewed its promise. Driving out of the lot, I wondered about Jake. I hadn’t heard a word from him all day and there had been no sign of him at the station.

  With my stomach rumbling, I stopped by Rock N Jenny’s for a sub. I ordered a turkey with lettuce and tomato and chatted with Jenny as I waited. Then, I sat down and called Jake. The call went right to voicemail, so I left a message telling him I was heading to the office but would be home by five and hoped he would give me a call.

  I don’t make a habit of worrying too much about Jake; he’s a cop – a very good one – and worrying was a waste of time. I finished up and went back to the office to start studying up on gaming and social media.

  When I walked into the office, I immediately knew something was wrong. There was no sign of Frank and the door was unlocked; I knew Frank was a stickler about locking up. “Too many people count on us for privacy,” he’d always said. I didn’t want to panic, so I looked around to see if he’d left me a note or if anything was out of place. I noticed the door to the small conference room was closed. That was odd because we never closed it, even when we had the rare occasion to use it. I slowly and quietly moved towards the door and reached to open it. When I peeked in, my heart stopped.

  There, in the darkened room, was Chuck, boning some girl over the conference table. They both looked at me and she screamed.

  I quickly slammed the door and, horrified, I ran down to my Jeep. I pulled out of the parking lot, attempting to make sense of what I’d just seen while trying not to run off the road. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that Chuck had brought some girl to our office to get laid. I mean, Chuck had been working on a case out of town, and this was the first time I’d seen him in over a month, which suited me just fine. The less I had to deal with him, the better. I knew he felt the same way about me, but opening that door, and seeing him there, bare-assed…and well… Ugh! Now I’d have to live with that visual.