by Sandra Brown
The tantalizing aroma of mesquite-smoked meat lured them into barbecue joints. Open barroom doorways emitted blasts of cooler air, the smell of beer, and the wail of country ballads.
The streets were congested with every kind of vehicle from mud-spattered pickup trucks to family vans to sleek European imports. Bands of young women and groups of young men prowled the wooden sidewalks in search of one another. Parents had pictures of their children taken sitting atop a bored and probably humiliated longhorn steer.
Occasionally one could spot an authentic cowboy. They were distinguished by the manure caked on their boots and the telltale circle worn into the rear pocket of their Wranglers by the ever-present tin of chaw. They also regarded their counterfeits with an unconcealed and justifiable scorn.
The atmosphere was lightheaded, wholesome, and innocent.
Lozada was none of those.
He retrieved his silver Mercedes convertible from a kid he’d paid twenty dollars to car-sit and drove up Main Street, across the river, and into downtown. In less than ten minutes he left his car with the parking valet, crossed the native-granite lobby of Trinity Tower, and took the elevator up to the top floor.
He had bought the penthouse as soon as the renovated building became available for occupancy. Like most of the buildings in Sundance Square, the exterior had been left as it was to preserve the historic ambience of the area. The interior had been gutted from the foundation up, reinforced to meet current building codes—and, hopefully, to withstand tornadic winds—and reconfigured for highrise condo living.
After buying the expensive floor space, it had cost Lozada another two million dollars to replicate the apartment he had admired in Architectural Digest. This financial setback was earned back in only three jobs.
He let himself in and welcomed the quiet, cool serenity of the condo after the festive confusion of Cowtown. Indirect lighting cast pools of illumination on the glossy hardwood floors that were softened only occasionally with sheepskin area rugs. Every surface was sleek and polished—lacquered wood, slate, and metal. Much of the furniture was built-in, crafted from mahogany. The free-standing pieces were upholstered in either leather or animal pelts.
The main feature of his living room was a large glass tank situated atop a knee-high pedestal of polished marble. The tank was eight feet square and a yard deep. This unusual display was the only deviation from the apartment he’d seen in the magazine. It was a necessary addition. Inside the tank, he had created an ideal habitat for his lovelies.
The temperature and humidity were monitored and controlled. To prevent them from killing each other, he saw to it that they had enough prey on which to feed. Presently the tank contained five, but he had had as many as eight and as few as three.
They didn’t have names; that would have been ridiculous, and nobody would ever accuse Lozada of being ridiculous. But he knew each of them individually and intimately and occasionally took them out and played with them.
The two Centruroides he had smuggled out of Mexico himself. He’d had them less than a year. The one that had been living with him the longest was a female of the common Arizona species. She hadn’t been hard to come by, nor was she valuable, but he was fond of her. She had borne thirty-one young last year, all of which Lozada had killed as soon as they had climbed off her back, thereby declaring their independence from her. The other two in the tank were rarer and deadlier. It was hard not to be partial to them because they had been the most difficult and expensive to obtain.
They were the finest scorpions in the world.
He paused to speak to them, but he didn’t amuse himself with them tonight. Ever the businessman, he checked his voice mail for messages. There were none. At the wet bar in the living room, he poured another añejo into a Baccarat tumbler and carried it with him to the wall of windows that provided a spectacular evening view of the river, for which the building was named, and the neighboring skyscrapers.
He raised a mock toast to the Tarrant Country Justice Center. Then he turned in the opposite direction and raised his glass in a heartfelt salute to the warehouse across the railroad tracks.
These days the building housed a business that customized RVs and vans. But the corrugated-tin structure had been vacant twenty-five years ago when Lozada had committed his first murder there.
Tommy Sullivan had been his pal. He’d had nothing against the kid. They’d never spoken a cross word to one another. Fate had just put Tommy at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was during the hot summertime. They were exploring the empty warehouse for lack of something better to do. Boredom had placed them there and boredom had gotten Tommy killed.
Tommy had been walking several steps ahead of Lozada when it suddenly came to him how easy it would be to grab Tommy from behind, reach around his neck, and jab his pocketknife into his friend’s jugular.
He’d done it just to see if he could. Tommy had proved he could.
He’d been smart to attack from behind because Tommy had spouted blood for what seemed like forever. It had been a challenge to keep it off him. But overall, killing Tommy had been incredibly easy. It had been just as easy to get away with it. He’d simply walked to Tommy’s house and asked his mom if Tommy was at home. She told him no, but he was welcome to come inside and wait; Tommy was bound to show up sooner or later.
So Lozada had passed the time after killing Tommy playing Tommy’s stereo in Tommy’s room, in delicious anticipation of the hell that was about to break loose inside Tommy’s house.
A knock interrupted Lozada’s fond recollections. Out of habit, he approached the door cautiously, a switchblade flattened up against his wrist. He looked through the peephole and, seeing a familiar uniformed woman, released the lock and opened the door.
“Turndown service, Mr. Lozada?”
Living in the building came with perks, including the parking valet, the concierge, and twice-daily maid service. He motioned her inside. She went into his bedroom and set about her chores. Lozada refreshed his drink and returned to a chair near the window, setting his switchblade on the table within reach. He stared down at the movie marquee across the street, but none of the featured film titles registered with him.
His mind was on the telephone conversation he’d had with Rennie Newton earlier that evening. He smiled over her poor attempt at playing hard to get. She truly was adorable.
The maid approached him. “Do you want me to draw the drapes, Mr. Lozada?”
“No, thanks. Did you leave chocolates on the pillow?”
“Two. The kind you like.”
“Thank you, Sally.”
She smiled down at him and then began undoing the top of her uniform. He had never solicited personal information from her. In fact, he wouldn’t even know her name if she hadn’t volunteered it. She had been eager to tell him that this housekeeping job was strictly temporary. Her ambition was to become an exotic dancer in a men’s club.
She had the tits for it, maybe. But not the ass. Hers was as broad as a barn.
When she began to dawdle playfully over the buttons of her uniform, he said, “Never mind that,” and pulled her between his thighs, pushing her to her knees.
“I could give you a lap dance first. I’ve been practicing in front of a mirror. I’m good, even if I do say so myself.”
By way of answer, he unbuckled his belt and unzipped his trousers. She looked disappointed that he didn’t want to see her performance, but she applied herself to pleasing him. She unbuttoned his shirt and spread it open. She fingered the tattoo on his chest. A bright blue dagger with a wicked blade appeared to be spearing his nipple. Tattooed drops of blood spattered his ribs. “That gets me so hot.” Her tongue, as quick and agile as a snake, flicked the tip of the dagger.
He had gotten the tattoo when he was sixteen. The tattoo artist had suggested he get his nipple pierced at the same time. “With this dagger, a ring through your nipple, that’d look cool, dude.”
Lozada remembered the fear in the man’s eyes
when he had grabbed him by his Adam’s apple and lifted him off his stool. “You think I’m a fag?”
The guy’s eyes bugged. He’d choked out, “Naw, naw, man. I didn’t mean nothin’ by it.”
Lozada had gradually released him. “You’d better do a fucking good job on those blood drops or it’ll be your last tattoo.”
By now Sally’s avid mouth had worked its way down to his crotch. “Condom,” he said.
“I don’t mind.”
“I do.”
He never left DNA evidence. Nail clippings were flushed down the toilet. He shaved his entire body every day. He was as hairless as a newborn, except for his eyebrows. Vanity prohibited him from shaving them. Besides, without the eyebrow, the scar wouldn’t be as noticeable, and he wanted that scar to show like a banner.
Thankfully he had a perfectly formed cranium. It was as smooth and spherical as a bowling ball. Add to that his olive complexion and he looked very handsome with a bald head. He used a handheld vacuum on his bed and dressing table twice a day just in case dry skin was sloughed off. He’d had his fingerprints burned off years ago.
From the experience with Tommy, he’d learned that a victim’s blood could be troublesome. He had been afraid that someone would ask to see his pocketknife, and he wasn’t sure that he’d been able to scrub away all the blood. No one ever considered him a suspect, and eventually he’d gotten rid of the knife, but from there on he tried to leave the weapon at the scene. He used common, ordinary things—nothing exotic, recently purchased, or traceable to him. Sometimes his hands were the only weapon necessary.
He had a social security number. Like a good citizen he paid taxes on the income he earned from a TV repair service. An old rummy who’d been drunk since they invented televisions ran the place for him. It was in a bad neighborhood where few bothered to have a broken TV repaired. They simply went to a good neighborhood and stole a newer one. Nevertheless it was a legitimate, if not very lucrative, business.
His real source of income left no trail an IRS auditor—or officer of the law—could follow.
Sally ripped open the foil packet with her large teeth. “You must be awful rich. Having this place. That sweet Mercedes.”
He loved his possessions, even more now than before he had languished for eight months in the Tarrant County jail while awaiting trial. That taught one to appreciate the finer things in life.
Of course those months had also cost him revenue. But he wasn’t worried. He had been well paid for the job on the banker.
His money was tucked away in interest-bearing accounts in banks all over the world, places he’d never been or intended to go. He could retire anytime he wanted and live very well for the rest of his life.
But retirement never occurred to him. He didn’t do what he did for the money. He could make money any number of ways. He did what he did because he was good at it and liked doing it. He loved doing it.
“Those scorpions sorta creep me out, but I love your apartment. You’ve got awesome stuff. That bedspread is real mink, isn’t it?”
Lozada wished she would shut up and just suck him.
“Are you as dangerous as people say?”
He grabbed a handful of her dyed black hair and yanked her head up. “What people?”
“Ouch! That hurts.”
He twisted her hair tightly around his fist, pulling it tighter. “What people?”
“Just the other girls who work here in the hotel. We were talking. Your name came up.”
He looked into her eyes but could see no signs of treachery. She was too stupid to be a paid informant. “I’m only dangerous to people who talk about me when they shouldn’t.” He relaxed his hand.
“Jeez, no need to get so touchy. It was just girl talk. I had bragging rights and wanted to brag.” She grinned up at him.
If only she knew how repugnant that smile was to him. He despised her for her stupidity and coarseness. He would have liked to hurt her. Instead he pushed her face back into his lap. “Hurry up and finish me.”
She was here only because she was convenient. He could always get a woman. Women were easy to come by. Even attractive ones would do anything for a little of his attention and a fifty-dollar tip.
But the easy ones weren’t the kind of woman he wanted. He wanted the kind he’d never had before.
In school he’d been a punk who ran with a rough crowd. He was always in trouble either with school officials or the police, or both. His parents weren’t interested enough to care. Oh, they complained about his bad behavior but never really did anything to correct it.
His baby brother had been born with a severe birth defect. From the day his parents brought the baby home from the hospital, Lozada might just as well have ceased to exist, because in his parents’ hearts and minds he had. They devoted themselves exclusively to his little brother and his special needs. They’d assumed that their handsome, healthy, precocious older son didn’t have any needs.
Around age four he had gotten angry over their neglect, and he’d never stopped being angry at them for favoring baby brother over him. He learned that being disobedient won him a little of Mommy and Daddy’s attention, so he did every mischievous and mean thing his young mind could devise. He had been a hellion as a boy, and by the time he became a teenager he was already a murderer.
In high school the popular girls didn’t date guys like him. He didn’t use drugs, but he stole them from the dealers and sold them himself. He went to illegal cock fights rather than the Friday night football games. He was a natural athlete but didn’t play team sports because he couldn’t play dirty and where was the thrill in playing by the rules? Besides, he would never have sucked up to an asshole with a whistle who called himself Coach.
The popular girls dated guys who proudly wore their letter jackets and would go on to UT or Southern Methodist and major in business or law or medicine, like Daddy. The desired girls went steady with the boys who drove BMWs to the country club for their golf lessons.
The girls who dressed well and participated in all the extracurricular activities, the classy girls who held school offices and were members of academic clubs, avoided him, probably fearing they would be compromised if they so much as looked twice.
Oh, he had turned their heads all right. He’d always been good-looking. And he had that element of danger about him that women couldn’t resist. But his raw sexuality scared them. If he looked at one too long, too hard, too suggestively, she got the hell away from him. He could never get near the nice girls.
Nice girls like Rennie Newton.
Now there was a classy woman. She was all the women he’d ever wanted wrapped in one beautiful package. Each day of his trial he couldn’t wait to get into court to see what she would be wearing and how her hair was styled. Several times he’d detected a light floral scent and knew it must be hers, but he never got close enough to be certain.
Not until he entered her house. It was redolent with the fragrance. Recalling the essences of her contained in the rooms she occupied made him shiver with pleasure.
Mistaking the reason for it, the maid tightened her mouth around him. He closed his eyes and envisioned Rennie Newton. He fantasized that it was she bringing him to climax.
As soon as it was over, he told the girl to go.
“Don’t you wanna—”
“No.” The sight of her heavy breasts disgusted him. She was a pig. A whore.
Validating his thought, she ran her hands down the front of her body and swayed to silent music. “You’re the best-looking guy I’ve ever been with. Even this is cute.” She reached up and touched the scar, still pink, that bisected his left eyebrow. “How’d you get it?”
“It was a gift.”
She looked at him stupidly. Then she shrugged. “Okay, don’t tell me. It’s still sexy.”
She stretched upward, and when he realized she was about to kiss his scar, he shoved her away. “Get out of here.”
“Well excuse me for breathing.”
/> Before she could get to her feet, he clamped his fingers around her jaw like a vise, holding it so tightly that her lips became scrunched and protruding. “The next time you talk about me with anybody, anybody, I’ll come find you and cut out your tongue. Do you understand?”
Her eyes were wide with fear. She nodded. He released her. For a large girl she surprised him by how quickly she could move. Maybe she had a future as an exotic dancer after all.
After she was gone, he mentally replayed his telephone conversation with Rennie. He conjured up the pitch of her voice and the cadence of her speech until he could almost hear it.
The moment he had spoken her name, she had known who was calling. How silly of her to pretend she didn’t. She had told him not to call her again, but that, too, was posturing. That was just the surfacing of a nice girl’s innate wariness of the bad boy, and he didn’t mind that. In fact, he had enjoyed hearing the trace of fear.
His experience with women was vast, but it was also limited in the sense that all had been mindless encounters for the sole purpose of sex. He was tired of that. Picking up women and going home with them could be tedious, especially when they wanted to cling. And he hated whining.
Paid whores came with their own set of nuisances. Meeting them in hotel rooms, no matter how upscale, was a tawdry proposition. It was essentially a business transaction, and inevitably the whore believed she was boss. He’d had to kill only one for insisting that she was in charge; they usually submitted to his superiority before it came to that.
Besides, whores were dangerous and couldn’t be trusted. There was always a chance that the police were using one in an entrapment setup.
The time had come for him to have a woman who was of his own caliber. It was the one area of his life that was deficient. He owned the best of everything else. A man of his standing deserved a woman he could show off, one other men would envy him for.
He had found that woman in Rennie Newton.
And she must be attracted to him, or why would she have argued so passionately for his acquittal? If he’d had a mind to, he could already have satisfied their physical longing for each other. He could have waylaid her at any time and, if she had put up some bullshit female resistance, eventually subdued her. After he had fucked her a few times, she would’ve come to the understanding, as he had, that they were destined to be a couple.