by Kim Pritekel
“What do you mean you haven’t arrested DeHererra yet?”
Catania reached a hand up and rubbed at the back of her neck, giving a side glance to Oscar, whose eyes were already on her before they shifted back to their supervisor. “Sir, I think it’s a mistake. We don’t have grounds to arrest him.”
“What are you talking about?” the African American man bellowed, staring her down, his thick black beard almost hiding his frown. Almost. He stabbed a finger at the pile of pages on his desk blotter. “Did you read this report, d’Giovanni?”
“I should hope so, sir, I compiled it.
He pointed a long finger at her. “Don’t get cute. Listen, you two. A four-year-old boy is dead and I want to know why. The community wants to know why, and most importantly, my lieutenant wants to know why. Got it?” At Catania and Oscar’s nod, he shoved the report toward them. “Go find me a suspect!”
“That guy is such an asshole,” Catania growled quietly as they walked back to their desks.
“Total Trump voter,” Oscar muttered in response.
****
Standing next to Oscar, Catania watched the large crowd from behind her sunglasses where they stood back near a tree. The tent for the family was set up over the double gravesite. This funeral was more difficult than usual to case, as it seemed half the town had shown up to it. Anastasia and Eric were being buried today, Aaron the following day. Mother and son were to be buried in the same grave. The four-year-old’s tiny casket had left not one eye dry—including Catania’s—but it was her and Oscar’s job to seek out those who were possibly responsible for this, and sick enough to show up at the funeral. Sadly, a sociopath who could do that to a child would certainly relish the effect of his or her work as their victims were laid to rest.
“This is crazy,” Oscar said softly next to her. “Not one goddamn person has caught my eye. Nobody looks out of place.”
Catania sighed and nodded. “I know. I’m thinking the same thing.”
Suddenly, a loud wail rent the air.
“They must be lowering the caskets,” Oscar mumbled. “Jesus, I can’t even imagine.”
Catania felt the sting of fresh tears trying to come and brought up the wadded tissue she’d been holding, reaching up under the left lens of her sunglasses to dab at her eye. “So messed up,” she whispered.
“Wanna get out of here?” Oscar asked gently, a hand briefly touching her back.
Catania took a deep, cleansing breath, then nodded. “Yeah. I don’t think we’re going to get anything more here.” She turned and was about to follow Oscar back to the car when she stopped, movement catching her eye.
About thirty yards away sat a stand of trees, and the space between them was dark, pitch-black dark. She turned to face that direction, trying to make out what she was seeing. The harder she looked the deeper the darkness seemed to get, and as the world seemed to fade around her, she felt the pull of that darkness. She could feel a pulsing chill from it, as though a heartbeat of ice beckoned.
Not of her own accord, Catania took a step toward it, only for the beating pulse to get faster, so fast she could feel it in her stomach, like the low bass of a powerful music system. She felt as though she were losing her will, drawn in to the abyss…
“You comin’?”
“What?” She whirled around at the touch on her arm.
Oscar looked at her with wide eyes, his hand pulled back as though burned. “Sorry. Are you okay?”
Her forehead pounding, Catania dropped her head as her hand rose to meet it. “Whoa,” she murmured, for a moment no idea where she was or what had just happened. She removed her sunglasses and rubbed her eyes before glancing at her partner again. “Sorry. I uh…” She glanced back over at the trees only to see the sunny day and tombstones beyond. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Six
Catania felt like she was in a daze as she locked her Jeep and made her way up the short flight of stairs that would take her to the back door of her apartment. She glanced down at the keys she held in her hand and sorted through them until she found the house key and unlocked the door, letting herself inside.
Yes, she’d been emotionally affected—deeply so—by this recent case, but after the funeral she felt physically drained, emotionally spent, and absolutely mentally foggy. She entered her kitchen and, though she considered getting a bite to eat, she walked on through, headed for her bedroom.
Standing next to her bed, she shrugged out of her long black coat and tossed it across the comforter before reaching up to unbutton her blouse. Her energy left her and suddenly all she wanted to do was sit down.
Plopping down backward across the bed, Catania stared up at the ceiling fan, studying the five unmoving blades. She felt a combination of tired, sad, a touch of depression, and absolute loneliness swell inside her. She had her moments of feeling lonely, wishing she had someone in her life, but then she’d just turn to her work to quell that notion. The irony this time was that it was her job making her wish she’d had someone to lean on.
Her thoughts stopped with a screech when she heard something. The door opened and then closed, followed by footfalls on the wood floor. Lifting her upper body, Catania braced herself on her elbows and listened.
The footsteps grew more faint, as though headed away from the hallway where the bedrooms were and toward the kitchen. Soft humming began as water was turned on.
“Ally.” Catania exhaled the breath she had been holding in. “Right, it’s Wednesday.” They’d made the deal that Ally’s day to clean the apartment was best smack-dab in the middle of the week for her schedule at the diner.
“Ow! Damn, that’s hot.”
Catania smiled at the words that drifted through the otherwise quiet apartment.
The humming continued, joined by the sound of the pantry door squeaking open. The humming stopped only for soft murmuring to begin.
“Okay, I used you last week, so let’s try you. Let’s see if you’re as zesty orange as you claim…Whoa! Orange cough syrup. Maybe not.”
Catania sat up, a full grin on her face as she listened to Ally talk to the cleaning products she’d bought for her.
“Roses, huh? Well, what girl doesn’t like roses. Let’s see…Uh, not horrible, but I’ve never exactly smelled a bouquet like you before. I think you’ll make the bathroom smell awesome. Roses it is.”
The humming started again in earnest as the sounds of sweeping commenced. Moments later, a full-on a cappella concert began. Curious, Catania pushed up from the bed and headed down the hall, slowly approaching the living room. She saw Ally over by the wall where the TV was, her hair pulled up into a messy bun. She had earbuds in and her very shapely behind was moving in time to whatever song she was listening to. Unfortunately, her very off-key singing wasn’t helping Catania’s identification attempts.
Ally picked up the broom, using it as a de facto microphone. She whipped around, belting out the song at the top of her lungs. Catania realized she was going to scare the living hell out of the poor woman, and stopped advancing so she wouldn’t be a victim of death by broom. Too late.
Ally screamed as her eyes went round, the broom coming up as the waitress took a defensive pose. Catania’s hands instantly went up in surrender.
Letting out a relieved breath, Ally lowered the broom and tugged the earbuds out of her ears. “My god, you scared the crap out of me!”
“I’m really sorry,” Catania said, lowering her hands and walking toward her.
Ally sent a glare her way, hand covering her heart. Finally, she met Catania’s steady gaze. “Am I here on the wrong day?”
“No, I’m sorry,” Catania said, tucking her hands into the front pockets of her slacks. “I decided to come home for lunch and forgot. I’ll leave and get out of your way.”
Ally gave her a sweet smile. “No need. It’s your place, Nia.” She studied her for a moment then stepped up to her, hugging the broom to her chest. “Are you okay? You look like you’re about to cry.”
“Come here,” Ally murmured, leaning the broom against the wall as she opened her arms to Catania, holding her close. “It’s okay.”
To Catania’s eternal embarrassment, the tears came. She allowed herself to be held and wrapped her own arms around Ally’s slender frame. The upset came hard and fast but seemed to wind down just as quickly. Within moments the tears abated and she let out a heavy sigh, relieved to get some of the pent-up emotion out. She smiled slightly when Ally ran her hand over Catania’s back in small circles before giving her a tight squeeze.
Ally pulled back and looked into Nia’s eyes. “Are you okay?” She reached up and lightly wiped away a small tear trail left after Catania used her sleeve to wipe at her face.
Catania took a couple deep breaths and let them out slowly with a nod. “Yes. I’m really sorry about that. Just seeing a friendly face…You know how it is.” She gave her an awkward smile.
“I do,” she said, returning the smile with the sunshine that was uniquely her. “Come on,” she added, tugging lightly on Catania’s hand. “Let’s sit down.” She looked around them, the recliner their only option. “You really need to get a couch or something,” she said playfully, lowering herself to the floor, followed by Catania.
Feeing like a real idiot—random emotional bursts, no furniture—she figured Ally thought as much about her as well. She sat cross-legged, as opposed to Ally who sat with legs stretched out, crossed at the ankle. Her upper body reclined back slightly as she rested her weight on her hands, which were placed against the floor behind her.
“What happened?” Ally asked softly, head slightly cocked to the side, full attention on Catania.
“Oh,” Catania said, running a hand through her hair. “Just a tough case I’m working on. Kinda got to me.” She spared a glance and small smile Ally’s way before studying her hands as they poked at a knot in the wood flooring.
“Case? Are you an attorney?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Homicide detective.”
Ally’s eyes grew wide for a moment. “Really? Wow. I’ve never met one in real life before. I can’t imagine how difficult that must be. I’m sure you’ve heard of that horrible murder that happened recently…a family, I think it was.” She shook her head. “A little boy.”
“Yeah,” Catania said softly. “I know the case well.” She reached over and lightly tapped Ally’s shin. “You wanna get something to eat?”
****
By mutual agreement they avoided Randy’s, instead choosing a pizza joint.
“Wait, you guys actually had a second house?” Ally asked, straw halfway to her mouth to sip from her Pepsi.
“Sure did. We all referred to it as the Lake House.” Catania tossed the last bit of crust into her mouth from the piece she’d had and finished on her plate. The medium pepperoni pizza they’d ordered to share had been just the right size. “God, we had so much fun there when I was a kid. Even Jason would come up and spend a weekend with us.”
“Okay, wait,” Ally said, setting her soda back to the checkered-cloth-covered table. “Which one is Jason again?”
“The oldest,” Catania said, sitting back casually in the booth as she wadded up her napkin and tossed it on her empty plate, sated and full.
“Wait. I thought Paul was the oldest.”
“He is.”
Ally stared at her. “You just said Jason is.”
“He is.”
“Okay!” Ally reached over and snatched a napkin from the dispenser and slapped it on the table in front of her after she shoved her plate away. “Miss, can I borrow your pen, please?” she called out to the waitress, who wasn’t paying a lick of attention to them. She grinned at Catania “How many brothers do you have?”
“Five. Okay, you have Jason that is my father’s son from a high school girlfriend. He came into our lives when I was a little kid. Then—”
“What does he do?
“He’s an electrician. Used to work with our dad, but they just couldn’t get along. So, he started his own business, fixing TVs and stuff.” She shrugged. “Pretty successful, now. Works with contractors. He has this huge workshop behind his house, always tinkering, fixing stuff, and making stuff.”
“Are you guys close?” Ally asked, raising her cup when their waitress glanced their way, the clear plastic cup filled with only what was left of her ice. “Want a refill?” She took the cup Catania offered and handed them both to the waitress when she stopped by their table. “Okay, and Paul?”
“Paul is the oldest of my parents’ kids. He’s a mess, to be honest. He’s battled the bottle for years. Gets sober and gets married. Falls off the wagon and begins drinking, and she leaves him. Gets sober, gets married.” She rolled her eyes and waved off the subject of her brother. “It’s sad. I lose track of how many kids he has. Most want nothing to do with him.” She smirked. “The irony is, he’s the only one out of all us kids who has any kids, but I think he’s reproduced enough for all of us.”
“Is he married now?”
“Last time I heard. A lady named Pam. I only met her a couple times, hair stylist or something. I think she has like three or four kids herself.”
“Good lord! Productive couple.” Ally laughed, smiling up at the waitress when she brought their refilled drinks back. She handed Catania’s to her. “Okay, next?”
“Well, there’s me, of course. Then, Matteo. He’s…interesting.” She chuckled, removing the paper at the top of the new straw put into her Pepsi before taking a sip. “He’s the closest brother to me, not just our age, but he’s my bud. He’s an absolute math genius and does all the accounting for my dad’s company. He just got his own place recently. I’m super proud of him.”
“Why? And, why ‘interesting?’” Ally asked, sitting back in the booth, her hand resting on the table next to her drink.
“He’s on the spectrum. When he was little my parents didn’t understand him. I think they thought he was crazy or mentally ill.” She shook her head. “To understand Matty is to understand he’s illogically logical. If you can get that into your head, expect it, and not question it where he’s concerned, you’ll do fine.”
“Not to be disrespectful or anything, but is this kind of a Rain Man thing?”
“Kinda. Maybe not quite as severe as the Dustin Hoffman character, but yeah, you got it.” Catania took a sip of her Pepsi before switching gears. “Next is God’s gift to women—so he thinks—my brother Dino, who is a millennial poster child.”
Ally groaned and rolled her eyes. “One of those.”
“One of those. He works for my dad, lives at home, and believes everyone should wait on him hand and foot. I love Dino, but not always a fan. And finally, the baby, Leonardo. Sweet kid. He graduates high school next year.”
Ally shook her head. “Wow. Your poor mother, and poor you. That can’t have been easy growing up with so many men and so much testosterone in the house.”
Catania chuckled. “You have no idea. What about you?”
“What about me?” Ally asked, her tone slightly defensive.
“Where did you grow up? Siblings? Are you close to your folks?
“Ladies, here’s the check whenever you’re ready,” the waitress said, leaving the ticket in a shallow black plastic tray before walking away.
Catania snagged it before Ally could even react. “I’ve got this.”
“What? Why? I’ve got money, Nia.”
“I know, but I also know I interrupted your afternoon and took it over. So, let me treat, okay?”
Ally studied her for a moment, arms crossed over her chest, and finally nodded. “Okay. Can I leave the tip?”
“Sure.” She grabbed her jacket, which lay in the booth beside her, and dug her wallet out of the pocket. “So?” she said, eyeing her companion. “Your family?”
“Ah, come on! Now I’m intrigued.” Catania glanced at her phone on the table when Oscar’s unique ring began to play. She met Ally’s gaze. “Saved by the bell.”
****
Catania drove back to her apartment and dropped Ally off so she could finish her housekeeping work, then went on to the crime scene where she met Oscar. She found herself in the middle of nowhere off Hwy 50 West, a long stretch of prairie that led to a handful of smaller towns northwest of Pueblo.
She spotted the sedan that she and Oscar typically used for work, though it was empty. Her partner and three uniformed police were all standing around a site about fifty yards off the road.
Pulling the Jeep to a stop behind the old Crown Victoria, she grabbed her phone and notepad before climbing out. The mild November day had turned colder, the wind picking up in the wild, open space along the highway. Pulling her long coat tighter around her, she headed to the quartet, her booted footfalls crunching on the dead vegetation.
“Hey, guys. What we got?” she asked, steeling herself for what may see.
“Dead woman,” Oscar said unnecessarily as he indicated the body at their feet.
Catania squatted down next to her, pushing her personal thoughts and feelings aside as she allowed her professional indifference to take over. The woman was dressed in what looked to be a summer dress, the kind that slips on over the head with a flowing skirt and spaghetti straps over the shoulders. She was obviously missing undergarments, no bra or panties, and her feet were bare.
Her gaze turned to the woman’s face, the expression relaxed. She saw no outward sign of damage or wound—no bullet wound, no stabbing wounds, or rips to the dress. There was no blood, and a closer look at her neck showed discoloration. She also noticed the unusual spider web tattoo that spread over half of her neck and down to her back, though it was impossible to see how far because of how she was lying. Catania returned her attention to the bruising.