Sinful Deception

by Mel Comley

  ~

  Alex landed on Nobby’s doorstep, a few hundred feet from her own front door, two minutes after the agreed time.

  Nobby opened the door and took one look at the scowl on Alex’s face. “Morning, Sunshine.” He chuckled as he stepped outside. “Looks like someone has managed to rattle your cage already. Who?”

  Alex walked toward the car and called over her shoulder. “Some tosser at the park. It’s forgotten about.”

  “Is that right?” Nobby locked the door and followed her. “I guess your brain forgot to transmit that information to that pretty face of yours.”

  She could feel her cheeks warm. “Have you had your juice this morning?”

  Nobby climbed into the passenger seat and groaned. “Yep. Still as vile as the first day you ordered me to swallow it.”

  “Stop whining. As long as it kills the cancer, that’s all that matters, right?”

  “Guess we’ll find out on Friday.”

  Alex turned to study his face. He looked stronger, and his color was better. “How are you feeling? You seem less tired than you were.”

  “If you’re looking for an admission your miracle juice is working, think again, missy. Not as tired because I don’t have to put up with you and the rest of this crazy crew keeping me up all hours of the night.”

  Alex shook her head and started the car. “Not looking for anything of the sort. The evidence is clear to me, but you’re too stubborn to admit the juice has been beneficial.” She shot him a grin. “And the truth is you enjoyed every minute of our last case together. Do you want me to go to the hospital with you?”

  “Hell no. If the news is good, I’ll have to listen to you gloat all the way home. If it isn’t, then you’ll come up with some other torture.”

  Alex laughed. “You, stubborn old coot.” She’d grown to love retired Sergeant Matt Adams, whom she’d lovingly dubbed Nobby, more than anyone else in the world. Since she’d arrived in the States, he’d been her constant guardian angel along with her godfather, Chief Dan Brown. After her sister’s murder, Alex had nothing left, except a burning desire to find the man that killed Scarlet. If it hadn’t been for Nobby and Chief Brown, Alex would have ended up either committing suicide or being shipped home to the UK. They’d stood by her, even when her former commander, Patterson, had done everything possible to make her life a living hell—all because she wouldn’t screw the bastard. She hoped when the chief finishes his investigation, Patterson will finally get his comeuppance.

  “You’ve gone quiet on me. Don’t think I don’t know what—or should I say, who—you’re thinking about.”

  “You’re too smart for your own good. I was thinking about Patterson.”

  Nobby grunted. “Waste of good brainpower. That bastard don’t deserve a second of your time. Tell me about this guy at the park.”

  Alex placed a hand over his and squeezed it. “Don’t worry. It wasn’t him. Just some bloody idiot wanting to flirt. Not worth you wasting a second of your time on.”

  “Well, we know he’s here now, so we need to remain vigilant and keep our eyes wide open.”

  “I know.” Alex sighed. She hadn’t told Nobby that the Escape Artist had called her the day before or what he’d promised. She would have to inform the team, but she wanted to go through it just once.

  “We’ll get him, Alex. With the team Dan has pulled together, there’s no way he’s gonna get away this time.”

  Alex didn’t want to think about the Escape Artist. He was all she’d thought about for the last year. At least until Patterson had given her the impossible job of finding three missing babies and the FBI and Chief Brown had set her up with a guinea pig team as a trial run for the Special Investigations Unit. She was still a little miffed that they’d lied to her, but it had made her realize the Escape Artist had stolen much more than just her sister from her. She’d followed him to America with no idea what she would do and with no friends in the US except Chief Dan Brown. Since she’d been promoted to detective and was once again part of a top-notch team, working with Derek Frost in his new position of commander, her dreams of catching the Escape Artist and making him pay for Scarlet’s murder were finally closer to coming true. Her newest allies in the FBI, undercover agents Tamara Madden and Ben ‘Reefer’ Nicols, were sure to form a crack team along with Officer Jacob Crimshaw and Gabriella Sams.

  “You heard from Blake?” Nobby interrupted her thoughts.

  “Not since yesterday. Chief Brown will get him pardoned eventually. After all he did for the team on the last case, there’s no way the department is going to let his talents go to waste.” Alex concentrated on her driving instead of continuing a conversation that would have the devastating effect of churning up her insides. The less she thought about Blake Morgan, the better off she was.

  ~

  The rest of the team were already seated around the large conference table when Alex and Nobby arrived at HQ. Alex was surprised to see Derek had joined them, and a feeling of trepidation started deep inside her gut. Chief Brown stood at the head of the table and surveyed the team as any proud father would. Their team was the first of its kind, the FBI and NYPD working alongside each other. A lot was riding on their success. “Will Mr. Morgan be joining us this morning, sir? I have something I need to share with the team.”

  “He’ll be joining us shortly, Alex. I know you’re all anxious to jump into finding the Escape Artist, but Commander Frost has asked for our help, and until we have more to go on with that case, we’ll be working closely with him on the bodies that were pulled from the sewer system last night. Derek, if you’d tell the group what you’ve found.”

  Derek Frost replaced Chief Brown at the head of the table. He grabbed the remote and turned on the monitor. “I just received a text, and the medical examiner has some news for us. Let’s see what he has to say first.”

  The monitor filled with the jovial face of Harrison Alvars. How does he always manage to look like he’s just won the lottery? If I had his job, I’d be a prune face all the time. Alex shook off her thoughts and brought her attention back to the job at hand.

  “Good morning, Dan, Commander Frost.”

  “Good morning, Harrison. What have you got for us?”

  “I wish the hell I knew.” He rolled out of the picture and zoomed in on a blackboard containing three photos. A red laser dot pointed to the first one. “We’ve had a positive ID on one of the girls—Belinda Montgomery. Her parents were in about an hour ago. Took it awfully hard, I must say, as they seemed to feel responsible. Miss Montgomery ran away a few months ago.”

  “How’d she die?” Crimshaw asked.

  “Patience, Detective, I’m getting there. Miss Montgomery was fifteen. I can’t say exactly how she was killed, but all her organs have been removed, as well as a portion of her brain.”

  The red dot moved to the second and third pictures. “Victim Two, I would estimate to be approximately fifteen to sixteen. She also had all of her organs removed, as well as a portion of her brain. Victim Three had all her organs removed, her blood drained, and her entire brain removed. She also appears to be between the ages of fifteen to sixteen.”

  “So nothing from a tox screen?” Derek asked.

  Harrison sighed. “I’m afraid the bacteria from the sewer messed up anything that might have revealed, which I assume was the killer’s plan.”

  “You said their organs were removed; was it a professional or a botch job?” Reefer asked.

  “Very professional. Whoever did this was skilled with a scalpel. We’ll be examining the bones to see if they reveal anything. I’ll let you know.”

  The screen went black.

  “Any ideas?” Commander Frost asked. “We have the missing person file on Belinda Montgomery. Her parents have been searching for her for the last six months.”

  “Ten years ago, I’d have said organ sales,” Nobby piped in. “No way to transplant a brain or even a portion of a brain. And why the hell would somebody drain all the blood o
ut of that kid?”

  “Alex?”

  Chief Brown didn’t ask the question, but Alex knew what he was thinking. “I don’t think it’s him, sir, but it could be. He called me yesterday and told me he’d have a birthday present for me tomorrow.”

  “What the fuck? Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” Nobby glared at her.

  “Because I only wanted to say it once, Nobby. Talking about the bastard makes my blood boil.”

  “Let me get Morgan with us, Alex, and you can tell us about the conversation.” Chief Brown switched the channel and turned on the screen. “Good morning, Blake. Alex has had contact with the Escape Artist. She’s getting ready to tell us about it.”

  “Good morning, gang. What have you got, Alexandra?”

  As usual, the sound of her name rolling off his tongue caused her stomach to lurch as she met the cool blue gaze staring out at her from the monitor. “He called, congratulated me on my promotion, and asked me if I liked the present he’d given me. I told him my birthday was tomorrow, and what I’d like was to meet him face to face. He laughed, as usual, and said he wasn’t ready to do that. I told him to either give me a name to call him or stop calling me. He said he’d have a present for me tomorrow.”

  A knock sounded on the door, and Chief Brown went to answer it.

  “Reefer, can you put a tracer on Alexandra’s phone?” Morgan asked.

  “No problem, but he’s always used throwaway phones. Unless we’ve got a team wherever he’s located, he’ll toss it and be gone before we can get there.”

  “I figure he’ll be close to wherever Alexandra is, so he can watch her reaction to his present.”

  A murmur of excitement circulated around the table.

  “So what if I stuck close to headquarters tomorrow? If he’s anywhere near here, we’d have the manpower to monitor and catch him.”

  Chief Brown returned to the head of the table. “I’m afraid we have a second case, and I think I know what your birthday present is, Alex. Patterson is missing.”

  The blood drained from Alex’s face, and she shivered. “I don’t understand. Why would he take Patterson?”

  “I think I can answer that question,” Morgan said. “He’s enamored with you, Alexandra. If you can keep your cool and play along, pretending you’re warming up to him, we may be able to box him in.”

  “He killed my sister, Blake. The son of a bitch can’t possibly think I could ever care about him.”

  The chief cleared his throat. “Here’s what we’re going to do. Alex, you and Crimshaw go to the station with Derek and pick up the file on Belinda Montgomery. Interview the boyfriend, the parents, and anyone else you can find. See where she was before she was killed. That’s our only lead right now. Tamara, Reefer, I’m putting you on the Patterson case. Check out his house, talk to his neighbors. See if anyone has seen anything. Matt, you can hang out with me today, and we’ll see if Patterson had any other enemies. Until we hear something to the contrary, we’re going to assume the Escape Artist has him. I want everyone here at eight sharp in the morning. Depending on what we find today, we’ll stay at HQ tomorrow until he contacts Alex.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Alex looked up the address for Shane Hardy, Belinda Montgomery’s boyfriend. According to the parents, he was the reason she ran away.

  Crimshaw had been quiet since they’d left the station.

  “What’s eating at you, Crimshaw?”

  “This is a fucking waste of time. That’s what’s eating at me.”

  “I trust your instincts, so what are you thinking?”

  Crimshaw glared at her. “We should be working the Patterson case is what I’m thinking. And these kids were gutted like pigs. Her boyfriend ain’t gonna be involved in that. Be better off checking out slaughterhouses.”

  “As much as I disliked Patterson, the thoughts of him in the hands of the Escape Artist terrifies me. No one deserves that. And there’s no way Chief Brown was going to let me be a part of that case. If anything went wrong, someone out there would say I did it on purpose. And if nothing else, if they were close, the boyfriend can tell us where she was staying before she disappeared.”

  Crimshaw grunted but kept his thoughts to himself as he drove through some of the rougher neighborhoods of New York. “Look at them! Little shits should either be in school or out searching for a job.”

  Gangs were loitering on the street corners, and each of them cagily eyed the car as it passed.

  “I hope you’ve got a couple of spare tires in the trunk.” Alex chuckled.

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s a tip I picked up from Nobby. He takes his beat-up wreck of a truck out to places like this and throws a couple of old tires in the back that usually gains any yob’s interest.”

  Crimshaw raised an eyebrow. “And you didn’t mention this before we left, because?”

  “Hey, don’t have a go at me. I’m still relatively new to the area. I haven’t quite sussed out the zip codes yet.”

  “In that case, maybe I’ll sit in the car and let you go and question the Hardy boy yourself.” He parked in front of a run-down apartment building. Alex climbed out of the car, but true to his word, Crimshaw remained in the vehicle, much to her amusement. Upon entering the front door, Alex immediately wished she could change places with him as a variety of unsavory smells assaulted her senses. She hurried down the hallway, located Apartment 10, withdrew her badge, and knocked on the door.

  A woman with long grey hair opened the door and squeezed her head through the gap.

  Alex showed her badge. “Mrs. Hardy? I’m Detective Alex Fox. I’d like a word with Shane if that’s okay?”

  She opened the door a little and scowled. “What’s the little shit been up to now?”

  “Nothing as far as I know. I’ve been assigned Belinda Montgomery’s case. I understand Shane was her boyfriend.”

  The door opened wider, and she invited Alex into the apartment. “Wait in here. I’ll get him out of bed.” She showed Alex into a scruffy living room with crayoned drawings on the wall above the couch. The woman returned and caught her staring at the pictures.

  “I’ve got an older daughter. She brings her two-year-old son to see me; he’s taken up decorating my walls every time I leave the room. I’m considering getting one of those dog cages to put him in.”

  Alex’s mouth dropped open, and the woman roared with laughter.

  “I was kidding. You have all lost your sense of humor nowadays. He’s throwing some clothes on. Not sure what use he’s going to be to you—he didn’t come home until four this morning.”

  “Really? How old is he?”

  “Sixteen. What about it? You telling me you didn’t stay out until all hours when you were a teenager?”

  “My parents would have strung me up from the nearest tree.”

  “British, ain’t ya?”

  “Yes, I’m British. Maybe we do things differently across the pond.”

  “You’re always thinking you’re better than us Yanks.”

  “Not sure where you get that idea from, Mrs. Hardy. Nothing could be further from the truth for me. Do you think I would have joined a tough police force in one of the toughest cities in the world if I felt that way?” Alex asked, feeling the need to defend herself and her fellow Brits. Maybe she should go back to the car and let Crimshaw take over.

  Luckily, before the conversation became too heated, a young man entered the room. Shane Hardy threw himself on the couch, dug his elbow into the arm, and rested his head on his hand. “You wanted to see me?”

  “Yes, Shane. I’m Alex Fox, a detective working Belinda’s case.”

  He lifted his head, and his bloodshot eyes met hers. “Her mom called and told me they found her. Have you caught the person who killed her yet?”

  “Not yet, but we will. From our records, it doesn’t look like anyone came to question you about the case. Is that right?”

  He sat upright and stared at her in disbelief.

&
nbsp; Alex raised her hand. “Not that we’re suspecting you, Shane. We were hoping maybe she stayed in touch after she ran away from home, and you can tell us where she went, or if there was anything in her home life to make her want to run away.”

  He relaxed a little. “Not a lot I can tell you. I only met her parents once before she disappeared. We talked a couple of times during the last few months.” He glanced at his mother. “We live on the wrong side of the tracks for them, so they didn’t like me, even though we loved each other. They told her she couldn’t see me anymore, and that’s when she ran away.”

  Alex sat in the chair opposite him to make her visit seem less official. Her observations of the boy so far led her to think he was struggling with life at present. “I’m sorry for your loss, love. It must be hard dealing with losing a loved one at your age.”

  Shane shrugged, but sadness welled up in his eyes. “It was. No one understands how much we loved each other. She told me she was going to run away.” His eyes hardened, and he glared at his mother. “I begged Mom to let her come and stay here with us, but she refused.”

  “Now don’t you turn this on me, boy. I did what I thought was right at the time.” Mrs. Hardy turned to look at Alex. “Can you imagine… having two teenagers living under my roof?”

  “It wouldn’t have been like that, Mom. We loved each other. I respected her.”

  “Hah, you don’t know what respect is, boy.”

  The tension in the room made the hair on Alex’s arms rise. “Mrs. Hardy, perhaps it would be best if I could talk to Shane alone.”

  “No, you can’t. He’s underage, and I have every right to listen to what’s being said in my own house. Won’t have the little shit blaming me for this.”

  Reluctantly, Alex relented. “Okay. However, I need you to show your son some compassion in my presence. He’s obviously going through a torrid time at the moment.”

  “Huh, you’re easily fooled,” Mrs. Hardy grumbled.

  Alex ignored her, determined to finish her questions. “Shane, did Belinda ever mention where she was going? Or maybe contact you after she left?”