Sherry popped her head out of the kitchen with a smile that did nothing to improve Tom’s mood. “Tom, that’s Dan’s chair. Do you think you could move to the sofa?”
“Oh, nonsense, honey. He is a guest; he can sit anywhere he wants to. There is no need to make this any more uncomfortable for him than it already is,” Dan said, using both hands to motion for Tom to stay put.
“Okay, whatever. I’ll be out in a sec.” She shrugged before disappearing again.
Tom seethed at Dan’s words. A guest? This used to be MY house. Who does he think he is? It isn’t his place to make me more comfortable. If anything, the fact that it is him doing it, makes me even more UNCOMFORTABLE. Why is he still wearing that dumb ass grin on his face?
Dan took a seat on the sofa across from him. “So, Sherry tells me you’re a detective. Are you one of the guys working on the murder case that’s been all over the news?”
“Yeah,” Tom affirmed without elaborating. He hoped his silence would be a clear indication that he had no desire to talk about it, or anything else for that matter.
“What’ve there been, like three of these couples found so far?”
“Yeah,” Tom repeated.
Dan didn’t catch the hint. “So, do you have any leads?”
Tom just sat there, looking at him. Wow, big AND dumb. If he doesn’t take that god-awful grin off his face, I’m going to have to do it for him.
“Honey, don’t press him about his work. He isn’t allowed to talk about cases he’s working on.” Sherry’s voice floated in from out of the kitchen.
Tom swore if he had to hear either of them say ‘honey’ one more time, he was going to puke.
“Oh, I’m sorry; I didn’t know. So, what do you do outside of work?”
“I don’t have a lot of time for much else.” Tom wasn’t sure why it was so important for this chump to make small talk, but he figured if he played along it might make the time go faster. “Sherry mentioned that you used to play for the Dallas Cowboys.”
“Sure did. Just for one year though. I was a hell of a middle-linebacker, but I blew my left knee out during our final game of the season,” he answered, clearly happy that the conversation had steered towards his achievements.
“Lucky for him the firm doesn’t need him to be able to run while he addresses a jury.” Sherry laughed as she joined the conversation, rubbing her hands on an apron.
“The firm?” Tom switched his gaze back and forth between the two of them.
Sherry took a seat on the sofa. “Yes, Dan is an attorney. Parnell and Associates just hired him a couple of weeks ago. Didn’t I mention that to you over the phone?”
He wanted to shout, Hell no, you didn’t mention anything of the sort. Besides, that would have robbed you of the joy of blind-siding me like this. He chose to shake his head instead.
“I know, you probably just thought of at least a hundred lawyer jokes all at the same time. Go ahead, let’s hear one of them,” Dan urged, his smile doing the impossible and growing even larger.
“No, that’s okay.”
“Ah, come on. You know you want to. Trust me; you won’t hurt my feelings. I’ve heard a ton of them.”
“No, really… I can’t think of any right now.” Tom had the overwhelming urge to flee the scene “Are the kids about ready?”
He swallowed several times, trying to fight back the feeling of nausea that crept up in his throat. I swear to god, if she kisses him in front of me, I am going to lose it. This guy is just too much.
“They should be down any min—”
“Daddy!” Julie shouted as she ran down the stairs, followed closely by her brother.
Tom held his arms wide as his children rushed in to hug him. “Hiya, pumpkin! Hey Johnny, how have you guys been?”
“Dad, you know I like to be called John now.” He scowled at his dad’s forgetfulness.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry, son. It’s going to take awhile to get used to that. Can you ever forgive me?”
“Maybe,” John replied with a grin.
“Maybe?” Tom asked in mock indignation.
“Maybe, if we can stop for some ice cream on the way to your house,” he replied sheepishly, causing his sister to clap her hands in excitement.
Tom rubbed his chin as he smiled down at both of them. “You drive a hard bargain, but I think it can be arranged.”
“Tom, before you go, I have something I need to talk to you about,” Sherry said.
“Uh… okay.” Tom’s guard instantly went up. Is she about to raise my child support or tell me that she is going to marry this clown? A million thoughts fought for dominance in his mind, all of them horrible.
“John said the last time they stayed the night with you that you took them to a crime scene. Is that true?” Her voice was cool as she leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Traitor.” He laughed nervously as he mussed up John’s hair.
“Dad,” John said indignantly as he pulled away, caressing his hair back in place.
“I asked him when I saw that there was another… you know.” She stopped to mouth the word murder. “So don’t blame him.”
“It’s not like I actually took them inside with me.” Tom wore a look of confusion on his face. “What’s the big deal?”
“You left them alone in the car?” Dan’s eyes went wide.
“I don’t really see where this concerns you, pal,” Tom said, raising one eyebrow as he glared in Dan’s direction.
“I think it concerns the hell out of…” was all he managed before Sherry put a restraining hand on his forearm.
“You don’t have to be so defensive. I just don’t think it is a good idea for them to be exposed to something like that.”
“Jesus Christ, Sherry. I couldn’t leave them at home. Besides, I had a couple of the officers entertain them while I was inside.” Tom wasn’t sure why she was making such a big deal out of the whole thing.
“You could have called me. I understand that you have to go when you get the call. I just don’t want our kids to tag along,” she replied, shaking her head slowly. “Surely, even you can appreciate that.”
“Even me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Calm down, Tom. I am just saying that since you deal with these things on a near daily basis, you are bound to be more desensitized to just how messed up your world can be. Try to think about how all of those officers and flashing lights look to a nine year old little girl.”
“My world, huh? Last time I checked, we all lived in the same city. She wouldn’t see anything worse than when she watches the news with you at dinner,” Tom said softly as he knelt down and stroked Julie’s cheek.
“Actually,” Dan started to explain. “We don’t watch—”
“Shut up!” Tom and Sherry yelled almost simultaneously.
“Look,” Sherry continued. “I didn’t want this to turn into some huge fight. I just don’t want you to take them to those types of places. If it happens again, just call me. I will let you pick them back up when you are finished, I promise.”
God damn her. Why is she taking the high road? Now she is just making me look like an ass in front of my children. Oh, and we can’t forget about Dan. Like he needs another excuse to look at me like the cat that ate the canary.
“Fine, but I don’t want to catch an ear full if it happens to be after midnight. Does that sound reasonable?” He relented, realizing he didn’t have a good argument to back his decisions.
“Yeah, I can live with that,” she agreed with a shrug that left Tom doubting he would make it through such an occurrence without at least a couple of terse words.
Rising from the sofa and heading toward the door, she turned her attention to the children with a smile. “Come on, kids. I am sure your dad is anxious to get his weekend started with you guys.”
Tom was instantly suspicious. “Weekend? I can have them both nights?” He couldn’t come up with a single reason for her to toss an act of kindnes
s his way.
She waited for the kids to run out into the front lawn before responding. “Yeah, let’s see how you do and we might be able to make it a regular occurrence.”
Great…first, she picks a fight with me, and then she does something nice. What the hell is wrong with these people?
“You won’t regret this I promise,” he said as the kids climbed into his car.
“I know.” The look on her face was doubtful. “Just have fun and call us if you need anything.”
There it was: Us. In one fell swoop, she returned the knot to its proper place in his stomach.
*****
Later, he tried not to dwell on the conversation, but an evening full of his children asking him ‘What’s wrong?’ confirmed he was failing miserably in that regard. It shamed him to admit he was grateful when he finally tucked them in that night.
The rest of the weekend went much smoother. Just having his kids around washed away the anger he felt about his wife’s new romance. He even managed a sincere smile for the happy couple when he dropped his children off on Sunday evening. As long as it means I get to see my kids more often, I could care less what she does with her life.
Chapter Eleven
Tom sat up in his bed with a gasp. He’d been dreaming of his children, but the edges of the dream were already melting away.
What the hell was that all about? Am I just trying to tell myself I need to spend more time with them?
The phone rang, startling from his musings. He grabbed for it as his mind struggled to free itself from the grips of his dream.
“Hello,” he spoke into the receiver as his reality began to solidify around him.
“Tom, this Jack,” the voice on the other end informed him. “What’s going on, man? You were supposed to be in the office an hour ago.”
“Holy shit!” he exclaimed as he grabbed the clock. “I must have slept right through the alarm.”
“Well, hurry up and get your ass in here. I have good news and I know you wouldn’t want to call in sick with news this big just sitting here waiting for you.”
“Big, huh? How big? Did we catch a break?” He held the phone with his shoulder as he lit up a cigarette.
“The lab results are back from the blood you found at the Joyner house. We have a name and I am running it through the database right now to see if we can get an address.”
“Jesus, that took them long enough. It’s been what… a month?”
“It’s been a week, smartass, and it probably wouldn’t have taken that long if you hadn’t jumped all over their shit again.”
“I wouldn’t have had to talk to them if they would have sped things up. This guy’s killed three couples this week. Two of which happened after we sent that lamp to the lab. That’s four murders that could have been avoided if these people would develop an appropriate sense of urgency.”
“Hey, for what they lacked in urgency, they made up for in efficiency. That sick fuck finally has a name.” Jack paused. “Hey, do you really want to sit around talking about this on the phone or are you going to bring your sorry ass in here?”
“I’ll be right there.” Tom laughed as he jumped to his feet. “Oh, and Jack…”
“Yeah?”
“Keep as few people in the loop on this as possible. I don’t want to risk another leak.” Tom rubbed his temples.
“Sure thing, Tom. Just get here as quick as you can.”
Tom couldn’t believe his luck. As he jumped into the shower, he silently thanked God that they finally had a solid lead. He was sure The Puppeteer didn’t have a clue that they were on to him. The maniac was still killing any time he felt the urge. Surely, he would have laid low for a while if he had the slightest inkling that he had left evidence at the Joyner’s house.
He was dressed and headed out the door in a matter of minutes.
He weaved in and out of traffic as he made his way to the station. Barely resisting the urge to use his wailer, he still managed to make incredible time. He swung his car into a parking space in the underground garage and ran to the elevator.
“Come on, come on,” he said impatiently, watching the indicating light move slowly downward.
The doors finally began to open and he rushed forward. He collided with someone, causing a rain of expletives and falling papers.
Great, just what I needed, he thought when he looked down at the scowling face of Anna Perez.
“I’m sorry,” he said, extending his hand to help her up.
“So, I gather,” she huffed, but allowed him to pull her to her feet. “But an apology wouldn’t hurt either.”
“Moving up in the world,” Tom said as he helped her gather the scatted papers.
“What do you mean?” Anna paused and stared at him.
“Every other time I’ve run into you, you were holding a camera.” Tom shrugged. “Now, it looks like you’re up to paperwork status.”
Anna snatched the wad of papers from his hand and added it to her own. “Where you born an asshole or does this come from years of practice?”
“Ah, you don’t have to be that way. I’m not such a bad guy once you get to know me.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” Anna spun and walked off in a huff.
Tom stepped into the elevator and let the doors close. There was a faint hint of Anna’s perfume hanging in the air of the small space.
My God, she smells as good as she looks. Maybe, I need to try to be a bit nicer to her. Once all this is over, I’ll have to show her just how charming I can be...
He stepped out of the elevator and walked into his office to find Jack sitting on the edge of the desk, wearing a shit-eating grin. He held a thick manila folder, tapping it against his chest. Tom motioned for him to get off his desk and strolled around to the other side nonchalantly.
“That’s an awfully thick folder to be just the holder of a name.” Tom took a seat and cleared off a spot on top of his desk.
“We have his name, address, picture and every piece of public information ever gathered on this guy.”
“What’s his rap sheet look like?” The amount of information Jack had gathered in such a short time was impressive.
“He doesn’t have one.” Jack shrugged. “He had a few tickets while he was in med school but that’s about the extent of it.”
“Med school? That explains his precision with a blade.” Tom shook his head in disgust. How can someone with enough intelligence to make it into med school commit such horrible acts?
Tom leaned back in his chair. “You know we speculated about that very possibility the first time we investigated him.”
“Really? And you couldn’t find anything solid to follow up with that?”
“No, our chief at the time ruled it out early on,” Tom smirked. “There is no way somebody could be this sick and maintain a normal life as a doctor, he told us.”
“That sucks.”
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
“Are you ready to go get this creep or what?” Jack pulled a picture out of the folder and held it up for Tom to see.
“Yeah, let’s get a squad together and ready to head that way. I’ll fill the chief in on where we stand. He should be able to push the warrant through before lunch.” He picked up the phone. “What’s the address?”
“54233 East Delaware Avenue.”
“Jesus Christ!” Tom blurted, nearly dropping the phone.
“What’s wrong?” Jack gave him a puzzled look.
“That’s only a few blocks from my… I mean Sherry’s house.” He hung up the phone and moved to stand in front of the far wall.
There was a large map between the door and the window, with a red pushpin placed in the locations where they had discovered bodies so far. He pulled a blue pin from the corkboard below and placed it where the killer’s house was. The first crime scene was in the far northeastern section of the city. They found the next victims in a residential area to the southwest. The third was in a house that sat in the northe
rn most tip of the city. Tom had half expected to discover that the killer’s house would be in the center, not south of town.
“Tom, we can study the map after you get the ball rolling,” Jack suggested calmly.
“Huh?” Tom managed without turning around. “Oh, you know what? I have a better idea. Let’s go tell him in person.”
“How quick do you think he can get judge Mulhaney to sign the warrant?” Jack followed Tom into the hall.
“To catch The Puppeteer?” Tom turned to cast a smile at his partner. “I’d be surprised if he even looks through all of our evidence.”
“I can’t wait to see the look on that bastard’s face when we knock on his door.”
“Neither can I, old friend. Neither can I.”
Chapter Twelve
“What the hell?” Kyle opened his eyes to find Nina standing over him. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something?”
“Not this time, lover,” she giggled, shaking her long dark curls. “I was just watching you sleep.”
“How long have you been standing there?” he asked through a yawn as he sat up in his bed.
“For a while.” She shrugged. “What does it matter?”
“I wish you wouldn’t do that.”
“I’m afraid I don’t see the problem.”
He snorted and slid out of bed. “To tell you the truth, it creeps me out a little.”
“Don’t be silly.” She placed a finger under his chin to make him look her in the eye. “You are a beautiful man and I like to look at you. Is that so bad?”
“How did I get so lucky?” He pulled her close.
She returned his kisses, but when his hands started to roam, she grabbed them with her own.
“What?” he asked sheepishly. “Are my hands cold?”
“We don’t have time for that right now.”
“There’s always time for some good loving,” he whispered huskily.
“As tempting as you make it sound, we really don’t have time,” she insisted.
“Why not?” He pulled back when he realized she was serious.
“Because, I have a surprise for you.”
The Dance Page 6