by WL Knightly
“You’re the one coming in late and taking time for appointments. I asked Sam to give me more time on this case again to help you out, and now you think I’m taking over? Well, I have news for you, Darek. There are a lot of things happening in this case, and I’m bullying forward with all of them.”
“What do you mean? You’ve got information you’re not telling me?” His pulse raced. She couldn’t push him out like this. His promotion depended on him being a part of this investigation. “Are you trying to sabotage me now?”
“Don’t be silly, Darek. You’ll do that to yourself.” With that, she turned and walked out, her footsteps fading down the long hall as she got farther and farther away from him.
What the hell did she mean by that? For a moment, he couldn’t help but think that she knew something or that she was onto him. Have I finally messed up?
He would have to watch each step even more carefully now, and if she wanted to challenge him, he would gladly accept. He wondered if he could get Raven to file a false report to throw her off the trail, or maybe he could get her to file one that makes him look like he’d done all the work.
He took a deep breath as the thoughts ran through his mind. He’d already grown bitter, and it wasn’t like him. Maybe being with Raven was right after all. Maybe she was what he deserved.
Chapter 11
Alan
The alarm clock beside Alan’s bed went off. As he reached over and tried to make it stop, he wondered why it had been set in the first place since it was Sunday. Finally, after a moment of fumbling with the clock, he opened his eyes and rolled over. It wasn’t his alarm clock at all, but his phone signaling a new message.
He rubbed his eyes and sat up, hoping it wasn’t from the maniac who had him kill Seth. But he had no such luck. He brought the screen up and read the message: Soon is now. I’ll let you choose, but one more has to die.
“Fucking Christ.” His sleep-addled brain puzzled over what the killer meant, unable to comprehend the vague message. Thin it clicked, and he screamed out once he realized he would have to kill one more of his old friends.
He let his fingers move over the glass screen. What if I don’t?
He could always pack up the family and move to another country. They would sell off all they had and start over somewhere no one would ever find them. As long as he stayed one step ahead of the killer, he could keep from having to do another one of his awful deeds.
His phone sounded seconds later with another message: I already own you, murderer. I’ll tell the world what you’ve done, and the next time you set eyes on your children, it will be through prison glass.
The thought terrified Alan, and he began to wonder who he had in his life that he could really trust. Someone he could tell that would help him. Someone that wouldn’t turn him over to the cops.
Jamie had been his ride or die, and even though they’d always trusted each other with their darkest and deepest secrets, he couldn’t share this problem with her. Even though she’d been the Bonnie to his Clyde when they were wild and crazy youngsters, she was a mother now, and he couldn’t allow her to get mixed up in a mess like this. Besides, he didn’t think she would ever look at him the same way again, and that was a chance he couldn’t take.
Bay was a lawyer, and he might be able to give him some kind of advice. He hadn’t wanted to call him before, but now he was backed into a corner with little options. He dialed his number and held his breath as the phone rang.
When Bay answered, he was in a horrible mood. “This had better be good, Lowe. In case you haven’t heard, Seth is dead, and the cops have already called me because they had our names on that fucking real estate contract.”
“They called me too,” said Alan.
“Yeah? Well, I’m sure you didn’t like it any more than I did. So, I’m lying low, and you will too if you know what’s good for you.”
“What happened to him?” He wanted to see what Bay knew.
“Some asshole shot him is what. Who? I have no fucking idea, but I’m not getting mixed up in this shit right now. Zodiacs are being killed right and left, and I wish I knew who the bastard was. I’d skin him alive myself. I’ve got a baby on the way and a fuckload of work. I don’t have to be mixed up in this shit. It’s bad enough you motherfuckers call me to be your problem solver. I guess I should be glad that there are less of you.”
Alan could tell by Bay’s tone, and the fact that he seemed bothered by the very thought of it, that the man knew nothing about the murder. So, the theory that Bay had given the order as Seth had thought was highly impossible. Bay was a lot of things, but an actor? No.
“Do you have anything else?” Bay waited while Alan thought it over.
Alan wasn’t going to tell him what was wrong, but he would ask for a safe place to stay. “Do you have a guesthouse, someplace I can use? I am having problems with the wife and just need to get away a bit.” He hated having to ask, but he knew Bay owned other properties than the one he bought for himself. He had a penthouse and no telling how many houses around the country.
“No, I can’t help you,” said Bay. “My family is already crashing at the guesthouses. Oh, wait, I do have a nice hotel room with a view. Tad loved it.”
Alan tried not to think about Tad diving out the window, and he was not about to go stay in the room, or the hotel for that matter, where his friend had ended his life.
Alan thought about what it must have been like for him. Tad was probably being hounded the same way he was and took matters into his own hands. At least the guy hadn’t killed anyone. He got a sinking feeling in his gut. He’d never be able to forgive himself.
“No, thanks,” he said to Bay.
“Oh well. I’ve already saved your ass, and the money’s been delivered to you and Seth’s widow, so it’s time to man up, grow some balls, and take care of yourself.”
He wondered if he should explain and tell Bay that the killer was no longer just in New York. Maybe Bay could offer him some advice. Maybe he would help him work up another strategy.
When the line went dead, the thought of killing Bay went through his mind. He had always been a dick, and he had never understood why so many of them depended on him. Bay had always had money and his shit together, and when any of them needed help, they got it. For a price of course. He wasn’t prepared to keep hounding him and thought about the other Zodiacs. There were six more besides Bay, and the first person to come to mind was Justin Finch.
Justin was a businessman too and owned two successful sporting goods stores in Michigan. He was a doomsday prepper with a lot of crazy ideas about the world ending. He was bound to have a bomb shelter somewhere, if not two. The thing was probably stocked to the teeth with weapons, ammo, and canned meats that would survive a nuclear holocaust. It might be a good place to go, but the only problem with that? He was too far away.
Alan thought of his only two choices on his side of the country. Carter Hamilton was pastor of a megachurch down in San Diego. Maybe its time to go to confession. He could slip in and take the man out. But with him being such an important asshole, he probably had a whole church of people sucking his dick and putting him upon a pedestal that he was bound to take a swan dive off of sooner or later.
It wasn’t like he could just show up after all these years, and it would be too much to try and sneak past his minions. He would end up killing some brainwashed youth pastor and not only burn in hell but go to prison for two murders.
The other person was Corey Farrow, who lived in Phoenix. As far as Alan knew, the man lived alone and didn’t have much family. Alan’s best bet was to go there and lie low, and if all else failed, he could always find the courage to do what needed to be done. Corey was smart, but he didn’t have a wife and kids that depended on him. The other options from the old Zodiacs were too far away.
Lane Simon was in New Orleans, Bay was in New York, along with Darek, and both of them were virtually untouchable for obvious reasons. Then there was Ethan Cline, who was
too high profile with his country music career to get close to, much less kill.
Was he really ranking his friends by how easy it would be to kill them? When the hell did he become an assassin? How had this become his life? He had to think of a plan and think of one fast.
He saw Seth’s blood again and started to tremble. He found the hollow place in his mind, the safe place he’d designed to escape to in times of crisis.
He’d been going there a lot over the past couple of days, and it was a place of pitch darkness with nothing and no one around to be hurt by him. A place where he couldn’t even hurt himself.
He took a deep breath and knew what he had to do. He got up and packed a bag and then searched for Corey’s address online by using his phone number. Once he had the address, he keyed it into his GPS and planned the route. The trip would take him four and a half hours if he hurried, five if he didn’t break any laws on the way.
He would be there by the end of the day, and with any luck, Corey would be happy to see him.
Chapter 12
Darek
Darek hadn’t expected to wake up in Raven’s bed again, especially on a Monday morning, but the woman was like a drug, one that made him forget how complex his life was, and with her, the troubles that did plague him were simplified.
He moved away from her to the edge of the bed and tried to slip out quietly, but Raven slept like a cat. “Are you leaving?”
“I have work.” He reached down and found his pants on the floor.
He felt her warm hand on his back. “Did you decide when you want me to come forward?”
She hadn’t asked him anything about the case the night before, and while he had planned on calling her later, maybe this was a conversation he needed to have with her face to face. He turned, and she looked up at him with sleepy, bedroom eyes.
“Did you really care about Finn and Seth?” he asked.
“I barely knew Seth. But I adored Finn. He and I had a lot of great times together, and when he died, I think I felt like I’d never find another lover to have that deep of a connection with.”
Darek gave her a sideward look. “I thought you didn’t like getting too close.”
“Every woman wants to be special, even if she isn’t the only. Take what we have. While we both know that this isn’t going to lead to a bunch of hearts and flowers bullshit, it could lead to a strong friendship. One good friend you can trust is worth more than a thousand you can’t.”
“I agree.” He gave her a smile and reached out to stroke her cheek. Her half-lidded eyes closed, and a smile dawned on her face. “You are special, you know? And not because of me.”
“It’s words like that, see? Those are the words to make a woman fall in love. But thank you for saying them.” She turned, and when she put her arms up behind her head, her breasts peeked out from the sheet.
Darek reached down and pulled the covers up over her tight nipples which were likely to turn him on and make him late for work.
“Too tempting?”
“Yes. You’re addicting.” He knew he had to go, but he still hadn’t told her what to do. He looked deep into her eyes, and she stared back.
“Say it. You can trust me.” She shrugged like he was silly. “Fine, I’ll tell you something personal. Something I’ve never told a single person in my whole life, and then maybe you’ll trust me.”
“It’s not necessary. I do trust you, Raven. It’s just that the truth is hard to speak. It’s something that is going to come to light, but I’m hoping by careful moves, I’ll manage to live through it.”
She propped up on her elbows. “Is it that serious?”
“Only if the secret isn’t kept.” He was prepared to tell her his troubles, but he wouldn’t tell her anything about Emily Johnson and the others.
“I understand,” she said. “This could put you in danger?”
“Like Seth and Finn, yes. That’s why it’s important that what I tell you, it stays between us. I’ll confide in you, and in return, we’ll have more mornings like this one.”
“That sounds like a fair arrangement,” she said. Her hand reached out to his, her eyes pleading for truth.
“I’ve known the others since we were kids. We formed a club together, and now the members of that club are dying. I’ve waited for the case that would take me to the FBI, and it just so happened, with my dumb luck, that this is the case I was dealt. It couldn’t be easy, of course.”
“You’re too close to the case, aren’t you? Why not just tell them that?”
“Because not only am I close to the case, I’m on both sides of it. And until I can save myself at the end of it, I’m afraid that’s the way it will continue to be. I just have to play the game and wait for my move.”
“Your move?” She gave him a puzzled look.
“I believe whoever is doing this, is forcing certain ones of us against the other. I believe that the person who killed Seth was a friend of ours and that he did so under an order. I’m not sure of it, but one of my friends jumped through a window, so I know it must have been bad.”
“Jesus.” She shook her head like she couldn’t fathom it.
“Yeah, I saw it happen,” said Darek. “He thought it was the only way.”
“No wonder you’re so stressed.”
Darek gave a half-hearted chuckle. “Yeah. It’s been pretty stressful. Then, for good measure, I slept with my partner and made it all worse.”
“Ah, the other woman.” She nodded. “And you think you’re in love with her. I guess you’ll know in the end, right?”
“I guess so. At least I’ll know if she loves me.” When it all fell apart, he would truly see who was left or there all along.
Raven looked at him with narrowed eyes. “So, this game you’re playing. You’re making careful moves, right? Using strategy?”
“Yes. And it’s hard because I have to keep everything so close to the vest.”
“Let me help.” She took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Two minds are better than one, and if you’re not careful, you’ll lose your mind to the stress. You’ll make a bad move.”
“Do you think you can help me, even if it’s illegal?” he asked, not surprised when her eyes widened.
But then, a slow smile spread her lips. “You never let me tell you my secret. If you had, I think you’d see I’m very good at keeping them, especially when it benefits me, and even if they are illegal.”
He wondered what it was but wanted her to keep it to herself. “Save it for me. You’ll tell me one day when I have more time. I only asked about legalities because I would need a favor. One that requires you to lie for me.”
“Friends do difficult things for each other, do they not?” She rose up and kissed him, and when she pulled away, she rested her forehead on his and closed her eyes. “Tell me what you want me to do.” She sat back and covered herself.
“I need you to find a phone, one from a business somewhere that can be considered public. Make a call into the police and give them an anonymous tip. Tell them you were leaving the hotel that night, but not from Seth’s room. You were just a random person who happened to see a suspicious guy on the way to the elevator, and you thought nothing of it until you saw the murder on the news. Tell them his description. That he was nervous and angry. Describe him, just as you did with me.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding like it was the easiest thing she’d been asked to do. “So, you want me to come forward, but not directly. I can do that, and it’s not lying, really.”
Darek shook his head. “Well, I want you to tell them that the victim was arguing with the man about coming into his room to use his phone.”
“You want it to look to like a random shooting?”
“Yeah, I do. My partner is dangerously close to fucking up the whole case for me. I think she’s trying to go rogue on me since I ended things between us, and quite frankly, I’m not letting her take this case away from me. And when it comes down to the end, if I play my cards right
, I’ll find out who is doing these killings and still have my promotion.” And his life.
“No problem, and I like your style by the way. You know what you want, and you’re going for it. Whatever it takes. That’s admirable in my opinion.” She leaned in and kissed his lips.
Darek backed away and stood up to put on his pants. “You’re a naughty girl, trying to make me late.” His cock had hardened, making doing up his pants a challenge. If he didn’t go soon, he would find himself buried deep between her legs.
“Plotting with you turns me on, too.” She licked her fingers and then slipped them down between the covers. “Are you sure you can’t stay a little while?” She began to pant as her hand moved beneath the sheet, and he could see her rubbing between her legs.
“Positive.” He hurried to her bedroom door. “We’ll plot later, my friend.”
“See you later, lover.” She gave him a wink and closed her eyes as her mouth hung open with pleasure.
Fuck, she’s hot.
Darek made a quick getaway, and he couldn’t believe he had left a horny woman to go to work, but there was a first time for everything.
After a quick stop by his house to change and take his meds, he was off to the station. On the way, he decided to call Bay. If his hunch that Alan shot Seth was true, then Bay would probably know something about it.
He dialed The Slayer’s number and put the phone on speaker. “Good morning, Detective.”
“It is a good morning, isn’t it?” asked Darek.
“I’ve got a bitchy, pregnant wife giving me sass and a caseload that is going to be the death of me.”
Darek took advantage of the segue. “Speaking of death, do you happen to know anything about Seth’s murder? Like who pulled the trigger, for instance?”
“It wasn’t me if that’s what you’re asking. But no, I have no idea.”
Bay’s monotone didn’t do anything to convince Darek. “I think it was Alan. Are you sure you’re not trying to cover up for him?”