The Acceptance s-2

by L. L. Foster

  “No. She wanted a few days to herself.” Gut instinct started churning. But then, he always felt uneasy when thinking of Gaby. “Now why do you ask?”

  “Huh.” Stepping to the side of the desk again, Ann lifted a wrist and looked at her watch. “Our shift is up. Are you ready to go?”

  Dodging his question? “I don’t think so. Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

  She wrapped both her arms around one of his and tried to lead him toward the door. “I’ll tell you, but only after we’re outside and in your car.”

  Planting his big feet, Luther refused to budge. “My car, huh? Should I take that to mean you’ll be riding somewhere with me?”

  “Yup. To Mort’s.” She cleared her throat. “Because that’s where Gaby’s at.”

  Oh hell. The way she said that . . . Luther shut down his computer and grabbed up his suit coat. “Let’s go.”

  Trotting in her high heels to keep up, Ann said, “Just that easy?”

  Where Gaby was concerned, Luther had learned a second’s hesitation could be too long. “Yeah, just that easy.”

  “She has you twisted up pretty good, Luther. I’m not altogether sure that’s a good thing.” Once they were in the hallway, she pulled back on his arm. “Slow down, please. My shoes aren’t meant for sprints.”

  Luther moderated his pace, but his determination burned. They stepped outside to a setting sun and humid skies. “Okay. So what’s going on?”

  “Well, two things, really. And I want you to hear me out, okay?”

  “Fine.” He opened the passenger door for her, practically tucked her into the car, and hurried around to the driver’s door.

  Ann laughed. “I didn’t mean to alarm you. Gaby’s visiting with Bliss. From what Mort said, she’ll be there a little while yet.”

  “Unless she decides to leave.”

  “Well, yeah. She does make mighty abrupt decisions, and her mood switches faster than light.”

  “Trust me, I’m well aware of Gaby’s personality quirks.” Grim, Luther started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. “So what specifically about Gaby being at Mort’s made you think we needed to get over there?”

  “You won’t like this.”

  “That much I already know.”

  Ann half turned in her seat to face him. “Given what Mort overheard of the conversation between the girls, Gaby wants to know the particulars of being a prostitute.”

  “So? She’s always curious about . . .” Luther trailed off. Ann didn’t need to know about Gaby’s preoccupation about, and inexperience with, sex. “Never mind.”

  She waved that away. “I don’t think you’re getting me, Luther.” Ann touched his arm. “Gaby wants to know what she should do, and how she should act, to convince others that she’s a hooker.”

  Disbelief slammed into Luther. His hands tightened on the steering wheel. Damn her. So that was her harebrained plan?

  At least Mort and Ann had done as he’d asked, and notified him posthaste of her foolhardy plan.

  Resigned to Gaby’s perfidies, Luther said, “She hopes to set herself up as a hooker in order to catch the cretin who’d killed Lucy.”

  “I think so. That was Mort’s impression. He couldn’t think of any way to dissuade her, so he called me, so I could tell you . . .”

  Striving for a calm that was well out of his reach, Luther said, “I appreciate it. Thanks.”

  Ann sat back. “Well, bravo. And here I thought you’d be up in arms about it.”

  “There’s no need to get upset because she’s not doing it.”

  “She’s not?”

  “Hell no.”

  Seconds ticked by as Ann studied him. She settled back in her seat and folded her hands over her lap. “Well, I’m curious as to how you plan to stop her. From what I’ve seen, Gaby is an unstoppable dynamo who does just as she damn well pleases.”

  “I’ll stop her.” Luther flexed his hands on the wheel. One way or another, he’d force her to see his reasoning. “That’s all you need to know.”

  “Luther . . .” Ann’s hesitation diverted his attention.

  “What?”

  “You know I love you. As a friend and partner, I mean. I can’t help but worry about you.”

  He’d said as much to Gaby; friends worried, and nothing could change that. “What’s on your mind?”

  “I don’t want to anger you. But you’re so eaten up with this girl, I’m not sure you’re seeing things as clearly as you should—as clearly as you normally would.”

  Luther glanced at Ann. Eaten up? Yeah, he was. Gaby had him twisted up in a dozen different ways. He stared at the road ahead of him. “Let’s hear it.”

  And still Ann fretted before finally saying, “How did Gaby know that there was someone in that fire? No one else knew, right?”

  “She claims to have this incredible intuition.” Feeling idiotic, but unable to stop his defense of Gaby, Luther attempted to explain. “You know, like a cop’s instincts that tell him something isn’t right. You’ve done it. So have I.”

  “Not like that, Luther. Gaby knew someone was inside. She didn’t just suspect it.”

  He didn’t have an answer for that, so he said nothing.

  “And after just stumbling on that dead vagrant, how did she then go several blocks away, only to discover a pipe bomb in an old playground?”

  Oh God. He should have asked himself those same questions. But when he was with Gaby, his need for her blunted his suspicions. She made him believe in her.

  Probably because he so badly wanted to believe in her.

  “I don’t know.” Luther shook his head, growing more tense by the moment. “It could all be bizarre circumstance.”

  “I suppose that’s possible.” Ann’s hand tightened on his arm. “But, Luther, you’re a cop. You have to accept the other possibility—that Gaby knows these things, because . . .”

  He didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t. “Ann—”

  “She knows, because she’s the one responsible for them.”

  Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Luther tightened his hold on the steering wheel. Acid burned his throat and his guts churned. But he needed to hear it all. “You’ve gotten to know her some, Ann. In your personal opinion, do you think she’s capable of that?”

  “Capable?” She answered without equivocation. “Absolutely. I’ve never seen anyone more capable. But do I think she did it? No.”

  His lungs filled. “No?”

  “I was there when she stormed past that fire to save someone she didn’t know. I was there when she stood over that damned bomb. You heard from the bomb squad. If it had detonated, there would have been no more than little bits and pieces of Gaby left.”

  So he wasn’t the only one under Gaby’s spell? Nice to know, but under the circumstances, not a whole lot of comfort.

  “Gaby is hurting. I see that, too, Luther. And people in pain can do astounding things. Mort trusts her with his life.”

  “They have a screwy friendship.” A smile took him by surprise. “Want to hear something funny? When I first met Gaby and got to know Mort, I thought they had something romantic going on.”

  Ann smiled, encouraging him with her silence.

  “I was jealous.” Feeling raw, Luther laughed at himself. “That’s pretty fucked up, huh?”

  “You know what I think?”

  He wasn’t sure he wanted to. “What?”

  “I think Gaby is incapable of causing such carnage, but she knows a whole lot more than she’s telling you. And regardless of our personal feelings on it, we’re obligated to explore every possibility.”

  Luther pulled up to the curb in front of Mort’s apartment building. “Meaning you want me to count her a suspect?”

  “I don’t relish Mort’s reaction to such a thing. He’ll feel betrayed, and that’s sure to cause a rift between us.” She opened her seat belt. “But do we really have any choice?”

  “No.” They were about to get out when a call came in. />
  Ann answered, saying, “Detective Kennedy.” After a moment of listening, she closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. “I see.” She listened again, then said, “Oh God. Yeah, we’ll be right there.”

  Seeing the strain on her face alerted Luther to the seriousness of the call. As soon as she disconnected, he asked, “Trouble?”

  “That’s an understatement.” She looked at him with sympathy. “We have to make this visit short.”

  “He got another woman?”

  “No, this time it was a man. We’re being called in because he was tortured pretty badly, in a similar way to our first victim.”

  Ice cut along Luther’s spine. “Where’d they find the body?”

  “About two blocks from where Gaby lives.” Ann reached for his arm. “It’s worse than the female victim, though. They say this guy had his testicles and heart removed. They were left on either side of his head, so no one would miss the . . . significance.”

  “Christ.” Luther looked up at the building holding Gaby. Somehow, he just knew she was involved.

  “There’s more, Luther.”

  Ah. Just as he figured. “There always is.”

  “An anonymous source claims that Gaby fought with this guy the night before last. He said he witnessed her beating him to within an inch of his life.”

  Numb, Luther looked at Ann, and asked the only thing he could think of. “Why?”

  “Something about the guy abusing one of the hookers. I guess Gaby took exception to it.”

  “She would.”

  “The thing is . . . the witness says he overheard her threaten the guy with further punishment.”

  Dread formed a cold lump in his guts. “Let me guess. She told him she’d cut off his balls?”

  Ann nodded. “And carve out his heart.”

  Luther scrubbed his face and laughed. “Leave it to Gaby to let her arrogance bury her neck deep in shit.”

  Leaving it up to Luther, Ann asked, “What do you want to do?”

  Patting Ann’s hand, he silently thanked her for the support. “Gaby’s not stupid, you know. She wouldn’t openly threaten a man, and then kill him and display him for all the world to see.”

  Ann considered that. “They said the corpse is pretty mangled.”

  “Yeah, and that, Gaby could do.”

  At Ann’s surprise, Luther shrugged. “If the man hurt one of the prostitutes bad enough, I have no doubt Gaby would have beat him nearly to death. She’s ferocious in her protection of anyone she thinks is smaller or weaker than herself.”

  “I’ve noticed that.”

  Luther’s thoughts churned. “In all honesty, I believe she could even kill the guy.” He looked Ann in the eyes. “But if Gaby murdered someone, no one would ever know about it. The body would never be found.”

  Refraining from judgment, Ann sat quiet.

  “I guess we should go.”

  “A few uniforms are holding the site for us.” She softened. “If you want to stay here to talk to Gaby, I can head over there without you—”

  “Forget that.” Luther opened his door. “This is going to be quick.”

  Ann hurried out of her side of the car. “And if Gaby is resistant?”

  He strode toward the front door. “She won’t be. Not this time.” Luther swore it to himself, and hated what he knew he’d have to do. But damn her, she had his back against the wall.

  What happened next would be on her. She’d brought this on herself.

  But knowing that for truth didn’t alleviate Luther’s consuming guilt one little bit.

  Chapter 14

  Edginess had been creeping in on her for days. Not the feverish diminution of strength and thought that usually accompanied a true calling, but a more frenetic sensation that left her discomforted, antsy.

  Something had happened—but what?

  Everyone she cared about was safe; she trusted in that. If any of them, any innocent person, was in great peril, she’d know.

  Bliss droned on in great reluctance, schooling Gaby on patent costs for various deals of prostitution. Blowjobs, hand-jobs, visuals, and extra participation . . . it all sounded repulsive and far-fetched. But to catch her guy—

  A disturbing premonition of dread invaded Gaby’s thoughts. Bellicose urgency brought her to her feet, but unlike her other episodes, this impending doom affected her differently.

  This had to do with Luther, not evil incarnate.

  “Oh fuck.”

  Bliss grabbed her hand. “Gaby, wait.”

  “Can’t. I need to get out of here. Now.” Gaby jogged to the front of the house and caught Mort just as he started to unlock the door to Ann and Luther. “Don’t.”

  He turned to her in surprise. “It’s okay. It’s Ann—”

  “I know who it is.” Pulling him away from the door, Gaby studied his face, praying for the support she desperately needed right now. “Mort, you know me, you trust me.”

  His earnest gaze never faltered. “One hundred and fifty percent.”

  “Well, Ann and Luther don’t.”

  Sympathy darkened his features. “Gaby . . .”

  “They don’t know me, and they sure as hell don’t trust me.”

  Luther’s fist rattled the door. “Mort! Open up.”

  After glancing at the door with nervousness, Mort put his shoulders back. “What do you need me to do?”

  Thank God for friends. Gaby headed for the steps. “Stall them while I sneak out through the basement.”

  “I changed that window, Gaby.” Mort turned her around. “Go out through the kitchen door and into my shop. In the backroom there’s a window you’ll fit through. It’ll put you in the alley.”

  How had she gotten so lucky? “You’re my hero, Mort.” Changing routes, Gaby rushed through the house.

  Bliss stayed hot on her heels. “Gaby, wait. I have to tell you something.”

  “Not now.”

  In an uncharacteristic display of backbone, Bliss smacked Gaby’s shoulder. “Yes. Now.”

  Caught in a quandary, Gaby nodded. “Fine. Follow me and talk along the way.”

  They both heard the front door open, and Luther’s voice questioning Mort. She didn’t have much time.

  Holding a finger to her lips, Gaby held open the door leading into the graphic novel shop connected to Mort’s living quarters. Bliss went through, and Gaby closed it again with a quiet snick of the latch. “Come on.”

  Unlike the dusty, disheveled shop of old, Mort’s establishment was now well-organized, colorful, but at this time of early evening, empty of customers. The front shades were lowered, leaving the interior in deep shadow.

  Gaby made her way to the back of the shop, through a door to a private office complete with desk, phone, fax, and other business devices. “Huh. Mort’s really stepped up in the world.”

  Pulling over a chair to enable her to reach the locked window, Gaby started to climb.

  “Luther’s in trouble.”

  Sharp fingers of dread yanked Gaby back. She spun to face Bliss. “What are you talking about?”

  Bliss rubbed her temples. “I’m sorry I ain’t more clear, Gaby. But everythin’ is jumbling around in my brain.”

  “Just tell me what you see.”

  Nodding, Bliss looked up, bit her lip. “I see Luther in that awful room.”

  Gaby’s heart stuttered, and she reached for the chair-back for support. “The room where Lucy was tortured?”

  Tears tracked Bliss’s cheeks. “And Gaby? I see you there, too.”

  Contrary to Bliss’s reaction, that relieved Gaby so much that her knees almost gave out. “I’m with him? You’re sure?”

  “That’s what I keep seeing, yeah.”

  Glancing heavenward, Gaby whispered, “Thank you, God.” If she was there, she could keep Luther from harm. What happened to her didn’t matter so much. “I have to go.”

  Openly crying now, Bliss clung to her shirt. “But why do you have to go? I’m scared.”

  Gaby di
sengaged her fingers. “A man was killed. I don’t know why I didn’t know that sooner. Maybe because I really hated him and didn’t care if he died.”

  “Who?”

  “It doesn’t matter anymore. The problem is that Luther will think I’m involved, which means he’ll be honorbound to take me in for questioning—or more.”

  Bliss shook her head hard. “No. Luther cares about you. He’s a good man.”

  “I know he is, and that’s why he’d arrest me.” The need to see her safe, even if behind bars, would motivate Luther as much as suspicion on her involvement. “But, Bliss, I can’t protect him if I’m under arrest.”

  Angry footsteps sounded in the hallway, spurring Bliss to panic. “Okay, okay, get on your way then. Hurry.”

  “Go back into the next room so Luther doesn’t immediately know how I left.” After a quick hug, Gaby waited for Bliss to exit the office.

  The girl rushed out, inadvertently leaving the door ajar, and Gaby didn’t waste time closing it. She stepped up onto the chair, unlocked and opened the window, and hoisted herself out. She was just dropping down into the dark alley when she heard Luther’s booming voice calling her name.

  Poor Luther.

  He said he trusted her, but he didn’t.

  He said he believed in her ability, but how could any sane man believe what she did?

  She’d convinced herself of many far-fetched dreams, and now the demiurgeous intrusions of her life brought reality crashing in.

  Knowing Luther would feel betrayed, Gaby couldn’t make herself go. She adjusted the window so it appeared shut. Resting against the brick walls of the alley, she fought with her conscience, hopeful of Luther saying anything to belie the urgency for her escape.

  In the next second, she heard Luther barge into the room with Bliss. “Where is she?”

  In a teeny, frightened voice, Bliss said, “She’s gone.”

  Two heartbeats later, he exploded. “God damn it.”

  Ann’s much calmer voice chastised his language. “Luther. Bliss is upset.”

  “Where is she going, Bliss?”

  “I don’t know. Really I don’t.”

  To Ann, Luther said, “I guess this is all the proof I needed, huh?”