by Alexa Verde
“I didn’t. It was a guess.” Mari checked the rearview mirror for a tail.
Then she clicked through the pictures, most of them family photos, and tried to memorize them. She stopped at the one showing a fortress, recalling a similar one from Lydia’s vacation pictures. Years ago Lydia’s grandmother had taken her on a grand European tour as a college graduation present.
Mari turned the phone toward Luke. “Do you know where that is?”
“The fortress?” He shook his head. “No.”
“It’s in a small town in Belarus, a country in Eastern Europe. Care to guess the name of the town? Okay, that’s where I come in handy. It’s Lyda.”
“You think the picture was added to June’s phone?”
“Yep.” Mari nodded. “But why leave so many clues around? I think the killer wasn’t sure who was going to be his next victim. Or he was deliberately leaving the field open. But he probably knew which group he was going to choose from.”
Luke stopped at the traffic light. “Go on.”
“Our clique. Calendar meant Julia, or one of her sisters, April or Jan, short for January. Falcon was for Soledad Sokolova. ‘Sokol’ means ‘falcon’ in Russian. ‘Lyda’ is for Lydia. Wolf on the T-shirt was for me, of course. ‘Lobo’ means ‘wolf’ in Spanish. I was afraid there would be a photo of a river, which is a no-brainer. River Montenegro.”
“But there was an ocean, and a sea can be in the ocean. So far, you’re the only one whose both first and last names were used.” He moved forward on the green light, looking straight ahead, his jaw tight. “You could be the next victim.”
“Probably. Julia went to visit her aunt in Canada. Soledad is in Eastern Europe. River has her husband by her side at work and at home. Lydia… Well, I hope having a cop watching after Lydia will discourage the killer from attacking her. Lydia also has a doting grandma who can whisk her away at the sign of danger. So I’m a much more available victim.”
“You don’t sound scared.” He sent her a concerned look as if he wanted her to be scared.
“I want for my friends to be safe. I can defend myself. But I’d say it’s a toss-up between me and a woman with the initials ‘JS.’ Right now, there are too many clues. It’s still muddy. When somebody is really after me, the clues will point to me. With no doubt.”
“How do you know?”
“A gut feeling.” She rubbed her tired eyes.
He put the vehicle in park and turned to her. “You need to get some rest. Please.”
Warmness spread inside her. She had to defend herself against it. “Do you say it as a doctor?” she fired back then bit her tongue.
He was being nice, and she, well, wasn’t. Probably it wasn’t in her nature. They weren’t compatible at all. Oh, yeah, and there was that little detail about being the sister of the guy who’d killed Luke’s fiancée.
Something nagged at her, like a thorn in her side. Something wasn’t right. But then, lots of things weren’t right in her life. “I’m worried about Lydia. She’s very trusting, more than others. She’s my close friend. And then there was that head in my fridge.” Her phone played the Juanes song, and she picked it up.
“I followed Lydia and checked her house. So far so good.” Aidan’s voice was confident but a touch concerned.
“Thanks, Aidan.” She put the phone back in her pocket, breathing a little better.
When the car stopped near her place, Luke glanced at her. “Would it be okay if I come in?”
“Sure, but I don’t have any food.”
“I know. For some reason, I’m starting to like your company.”
“You don’t want to.” She chuckled.
“No. But it’s impossible to stay in your presence for more than five minutes and be indifferent. One can either love or hate you. There’s no middle ground.”
She sighed. “As flattering as that sounds, I know you also hope for a serial killer to show up. Well, he’d better not be hungry.”
Luke shook his head. He got out of the car and opened the door for her. “You’re an infuriating woman. I’ll pray for patience.”
Her throat constricted as she stepped out, accepting his hand. She wanted to be able to pray, too. “You do that.”
“Mari, you tease me and challenge me. Sometimes all in the same sentence.”
She grinned. “Part of my charm.”
“God help me, I’m starting to like the challenge.”
Chapter Seven
“You seem to have a lot of friends.” He walked across the room to look at the photos on the wall. Most of them depicted a group of five girls at different stages of their lives.
“And I’m thankful for that. My mother left me when I was little. Tony was actually my half-brother, but his mother didn’t stick around, either. You know how his life turned out. I left home when I was fourteen. My friends are the only family I’ve got.”
Fourteen? That seemed young even for an independent, stubborn person like her. He remembered the words he’d overheard while waiting for the ambulance for Tara.
“I can’t go to my dad. I’d rather die.”
Luke let it go for now and studied the pictures. Her friends were her family. So she was going to have hard time believing any one of them would hurt her.
“This is our clique, so to speak.” Her voice was low.
He glanced back. “Your clique?”
Mari stepped next to him, looking at the photos pensively. She pointed to one, most likely taken in their teens. “Our group, nicknamed the Danger Girls. Most of us were friends since elementary school. Except me. I joined in middle school. I had private tutors before that. I hope you recognize me. Even with long hair. And the cheerleader’s uniform. River rather blossomed now from being a scrawny, mousy kid with huge glasses. Soledad is the girl with chestnut-colored hair with honey highlights. Julia is the one with shoulder-length red hair and in a miniskirt.”
All the girls were laughing, their eyes sparkling. But the bruises on Mari’s face and neck worried him.
She seemed to understand his unspoken question. “I used to get into trouble a lot. I acted out. I got beaten up at first because I got into fights with boys.”
“Your father wasn’t worried?”
Her laugh was short and mirthless. “Me getting into fights was one of few things he liked about me. He didn’t like me losing though. So I took up karate. I wasn’t losing anymore. Dad liked it at first. But then…” She paused.
“Then?”
“When I started winning, I lost the perfect explanation for bruises. And there was another thing…” Deep in thought, she massaged her shoulder.
Explanation for bruises? Slowly, he reached for her and slid the T-shirt’s short sleeve back. There was an old scar there. His insides boiled. “Was it Tony?”
“No. Dad. My karate skills got too good. So when a man can’t win with his fists, he reaches for a knife. It was Tony’s weapon of choice, too.” She looked at her cowboy boot. “Must run in the family.”
His jaw set tight, he rolled the sleeve back down, wishing he could take away her pain. Apparently, she’d been hurt long before the truth about Antonio came out. “Did you report him?”
“Are you kidding me? No. Dad is the owner of a large chain of seafood restaurants. He always had power and money. And the chief of police was his friend.”
“What did you do?” He frowned. Her confession was shocking and revealing, especially to a stranger. Tony had led a double life and worn a mask with great skill. Could she be doing the same?
Pain flashed in her eyes. “I ran away. But enough about that.”
No, it couldn’t be a mask. At that moment, he believed her completely, and his heart went out to her. He was especially grateful for his family now. He’d never complain about his father’s grouchiness or his mom’s meddling again.
“You’re a fighter. You lived through a nightmare and came out unbroken.” He brushed his knuckles against the soft skin of her cheek, but she withdrew. “I won’t talk about it if y
ou don’t want me to.”
He moved to a different photo that seemed to be taken more recently, probably about a year ago. There was a drastic contrast. The young women were smiling into the camera, but their eyes didn’t sparkle anymore. River had a scar on her forehead, and her lip was broken. Lydia was still a little on the plump side and lovely, but her eyes were swollen, as if she’d cried a lot. It looked like it took a lot of effort for her to smile. A petite blonde with kind eyes, she reminded him of Cynthia.
He said a quick prayer for Cynthia, hoping with all his heart she was in heaven.
Cynthia had been a wonderful person, kind-hearted, generous. She hadn’t deserved to die. And now, if he didn’t find out the truth about Antonio Del Lobo in time, more innocent young women would suffer.
His gut knotted.
Luke turned his attention back to the picture. Soledad was the only one from the bunch who hadn’t changed much, had only grown up and gotten curves. She was also the only one who wore a light-blue blouse and long, black skirt. The rest were dressed in T-shirts and jeans.
Julia’s transformation was unusual. While in school, she was probably the most attractive from the group; later she seemed to try to change that. Her hair — now dull brown instead of bright red — was pulled back in a bun, which didn’t suit her at all. Half of her face was hidden behind thick, ugly glasses. Her baggy gray T-shirt and blue jeans looked a size too big for her frame and completely hid her figure. There was no makeup on her face, except for pale lipstick, and Luke wished she’d skipped that one as well. It only made Julia look ghost-like.
And Mari… Mari, still the tallest and skinniest from the group, had cut her hair, colored her bangs blue, and put on as many metal chains as her thin wrists could carry. Cowboy boots apparently had become her trademark choice of footwear, even in the summer heat. And sadness had become a permanent resident in her beautiful hazel eyes. Like River, she had a scar on her forehead. Luke understood now why both Mari and River were wearing bangs.
Something obviously had happened to these girls, except, probably, Soledad. What scars were they hiding inside? For a quiet little town, Rios Azules held many secrets.
“We all came from difficult families, except Julia. But we figured we could forgive her for being normal. My brother — if that’s really my brother — might try to get to me through them.” She leaned against the wall, as if it was hard to stand tall anymore.
Nowa walked to her and nudged her hand. Mari slid down the wall to the carpet, and the dog settled next to Mari with her head on Mari’s knees.
Luke sat down near her and gave her several minutes of silence to gather herself.
Once again, he glanced over the room. Mari’s small place consisted of mismatched second-hand furniture, probably sanded over and painted by Mari herself, a lonely cactus, sea-related knickknacks, seascapes signed by Soledad, and lots of pictures with her girlfriends, as well as Aidan, and Nowa. There was a guitar mounted on the wall and a dart board with several darts in the bull’s-eye. It was a strange collection, but somehow altogether it made the place cozy and homey.
Mari stirred.
“Have you noticed anything different in anybody’s behavior lately?” He slid his arm around her shoulder, and she didn’t move away. His heart started beating just a tad faster.
“Different? Let’s see. Lydia finally started to smile without forcing herself. River isn’t waking up from her own screams anymore. And if you’re curious, I stopped having nightmares about a month ago.” Her eyes widened. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it. It was cut from this picture.”
“What?” he asked.
Nowa lifted her head and whined softly.
Mari stared at the picture. “I found my photo in my desk drawer today. Covered with red ink. I received similar things a year ago, so I tried to put it out of my head. But it was a different picture from the ones before. Those were downloaded from the Internet, probably from my rock singing days. Today’s was part of this photo.”
He wrapped his arm tighter around her shoulder, hoping she’d understand it as support and accept it. “Did you go to the police?”
Surprisingly she leaned into him. “Yes, I gave it to Aidan. He dusted it for fingerprints. He didn’t find any. But it couldn’t be any of my friends. They wouldn’t do this to me.”
He liked her leaning closer, even if it was only for comfort, and he squeezed her shoulder slightly. But he had to ask the question. “I believe Tony killed Lydia’s sister?”
She moved away. “Well, half sister, but they grew close.”
Strange how her movement made him feel empty. “Tony almost killed River.”
“My friends wouldn’t blame me for something my brother did. And why would they do anything a year after his death?”
“After June’s murder aired on the news, there were several articles online,” he said slowly. He hadn’t wanted to mention these stories because he didn’t believe them. But he wanted Mari to be careful. “One of them speculated that Antonio’s sister might have helped him to carry out the murders. The reporter also wondered if now the sister picked up where her brother had left off.”
Mari shot to her feet. “You should leave now.”
“I found those speculations ridiculous, but—”
“Did you? Was it the reason for your trip to Rios Azules? To find out if I was the new Smiling Killer? Carrying on the legacy, so to speak?”
“I believe you. I trust you,” he said.
“I don’t know if I trust you now. Please go.” She took a step back, fire in her eyes.
His heart heavy, he walked to the door. He shouldn’t have pushed her that hard. Not because his mission would fail without her, but because it would be much more difficult to protect her from afar.
At the door, he turned around. “Did you receive any other messages? Besides the ones on the mirror and the motorcycle, and the one on the phone I saw by accident?”
She reached the door in several quick strides, Nowa right at her side. “Yes. And how can I be sure it didn’t come from you?”
So he’d lost her trust. His heart plummeted. “What did it say?”
“‘Who’s next? Can you figure it out?’”
* * *
His mood darker than the color of his car, Luke staked out several blocks from Mari’s place. He stayed near a house that looked empty and didn’t have any vehicles in the driveway, probably due to the owners being on vacation. But the resident of the opposite house looked several times in his direction.
Finally Mari took off on her motorcycle. Luke waited for some time, let several cars pass, and followed her. Judging by the way she was going, she was headed to The Café. So he consulted his GPS and took a different route to her restaurant.
Minutes later, he was approaching the road Mari was taking at ninety degrees. Her motorcycle was dashing between cars. His jaw dropped. Was someone after her?
Saying a quick prayer for her safety, he floored the gas pedal and came to the intersection at full speed.
Ignoring the red light, he turned to the right, wedging himself into traffic before the oncoming car. Angry honking exploded behind him. But he could only concentrate on Mari’s figure that was rapidly disappearing in front of him. With no opening to his left, he passed the car in front of him by driving on the shoulder. Now he had a duet of honking cars. Shrugging it off, he moved to the left, afraid she was running away from somebody. But what if it was her usual way of driving?
He turned on his left blinker, and the car in the passing lane slowed down, letting him in, probably the driver figuring it was safer anyway. He repeated the maneuver several times and arrived at The Café’s parking lot.
Mari’s lanky figure was moving toward the entrance. He jumped out of his car and gave chase. He caught up with her before she reached the door.
“What was it?” He was breathing hard. “Was somebody after you? Or do you like riding between cars?”
“I do.” She turned around.
<
br /> He clenched his teeth. What was she thinking? “You were putting yourself and other people in danger!”
“But I haven’t done it for an adrenaline rush in forever. And not this time. Somebody tried to run me off the road. I had to get away.”
Cold ran down his back. “How do you know?”
“Something about the way he was trying to hit my motorcycle might have given him away.” Mari placed her hands on her hips, but her lower lip trembled slightly. “The guy was wearing dark glasses, a gray T-shirt, and a cowboy hat. Not much to go on. He was driving a black SUV with tinted windows.”
The same type of car that had rushed out of the hospital parking lot the night before. “Did you get the license plate number?”
Teasing sparks danced in her eyes, and her lip wasn’t trembling anymore. “Nope. I was too busy trying not to be run off the road. I’ll text Aidan about it regardless. By the way, I have doubts now you’re the one threatening me. You couldn’t be in SUV and your car at the same time.”
“Thanks. I think.” He heaved a sigh of relief. “I don’t believe you helped Antonio to kill those girls. And I’m sure you didn’t kill June.”
“Because I was at The Café at the time. You checked my alibi, didn’t you?” She narrowed her eyes.
“That, too. Do you trust me now?”
“I don’t have much choice. We have to find the murderer before he kills somebody else, me included. One more thing. I probably overreacted at home,” Mari said.
Luke opened his arms, and she accepted his embrace. He stroked her short hair, so soft under his fingertips, and her fragile shoulders, and his heart melted. How was it possible that in such a short time she’d become so important to him? Her fight was his fight now.
“I’ll keep you safe,” he whispered.
Mari was still alive, and he’d gained some of her trust back.
Probably just in time. It seemed that with Mari every extra day she lived was already a victory.
* * *
After she’d taken care of business at The Café and he’d had a brief conversation with James about the black SUV, Luke and Mari returned to her place.