Guilty Pleasure

by Justus Roux

  “Wow, I’m a prolific serial killer,” Michael said sarcastically.

  “Johnny was terrified of you. He kept saying you were fucking with his mind. Your odd reactions to being around monsters and now this timeline it all fits.”

  “Except for the part that Maxwell Stevens was tried and convicted of murdering those people in New Haven.”

  “As I’m sure, if I let this go, Adam Matthews will be tried and convicted of these murders in Chicago. Then you will simply move and find a new patsy to pin your murders on.”

  Michael chuckled.

  “I’m not going to let that happen. Nor will I let you murder that sweet girl who was stupid enough to fall in love with you.”

  “I’m going to murder Nicole now. This just keeps getting better.”

  “I will find a way to tidy this up and when I get those final pieces of the puzzle…”

  Michael lunged for Tim knocking him on the ground. He immediately took Tim’s sidearm out of his hostler and threw it aside before Tim could grab it. He quickly stabbed Tim in the chest three times. He knew the knife wasn’t long enough to do any real damage unless he cut Tim’s throat with it. He held Tim down. Tim was no match for Michael’s strength.

  “You are a stupid man. If you really believed I was a serial killer why did you follow me out to this isolated area.”

  “Those truck drivers will…”

  “Seeing how there is only one idling truck I’m going to say there is only one of them. He is more than likely sleeping. Now thanks to you I will have to kill him too. You were right about me, Tim. I am the monster you think I am. Your theory was spot on, bravo. I’m actually pleasantly surprised you were clever enough to figure this all out on your own. And don’t try to bullshit me with telling me you shared this info with anyone. You wouldn’t have. Your boss told you to leave me alone, so you couldn’t risk your pathetic job until you were sure of your theory. Your partner tried to save you from yourself.”

  Tim tried to break Michael’s hold but couldn’t.

  “You are going to die now, Detective Dane…”

  “Don’t kill Nicole…”

  “What?”

  “You killed your first girlfriend and since that second woman you were spotted with died the same way Jenny did you must have killed her too. Please don’t kill, Nicole, let her go. I don’t care what you do to me. I’m a threat to you. You have to kill me. She has done nothing but love you.”

  “Why the fuck do you care about her?”

  “No one should die for loving someone.”

  Michael cut Tim’s throat then climbed off of him. He watched as the light faded from his eyes.

  He grabbed Tim’s pistol and went to the idling truck. He banged on the door.

  “What the fuck do you want?” the truck driver said sleepily.

  “Open the fucking door and get out.” Michael lifted the pistol up.

  “The hell I will.”

  Michael shot the window out and unlocked the door. He dragged the man out of the truck and threw him to the ground.

  “What do you want?” the man said as his body trembled.

  “You were in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Michael shot the driver then he went back over to Tim. He wiped the gun of his finger prints then placed the gun in Tim’s hand and fired it a couple of times. He grabbed his pocket knife, wiped it down then ran it back over the wound on Tim’s neck, making sure not to get his finger prints on it. He staged the truck driver’s body to make it look like he got shot running away from Tim. He checked the other truck to make sure that it was empty. He made sure to grab that little notebook Tim was looking at then he got in his car and drove off.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Nicole arrived at work. She started looking through the case load and saw there wasn’t really anything there, and soon released that Michael was late. She walked up to Emily’s desk. “Did Mr. Lyons say when he was going to come into the office?”

  “Oh shit, he left a message for you. I’m sorry I don’t know where my head is at today.” Emily looked over the mess on her desk. “Ah, here it is. He said to tell you to go be with your friends today. He had to check on something. He said you would know what he was talking about.”

  “Don’t we have cases to work?”

  “You know surprisingly Mr. Lyons’ case load is really light. Whatever he had been working on here lately seems to be taking all of his time.”

  “Are you going to go home too?”

  “Nah, I just help out Mr. Smith’s assistant when I don’t have much to do.”

  Nicole went back to her office and grabbed her purse. She headed out. She felt bad that Michael was working so hard to help Adam. There has to be something she could do to help. She took a taxi down to the police station. She went up to the front desk. She really hoped that she had the right precinct.

  “Can I help you?” the young man at the desk asked.

  “Yeah, I would like to speak with detective Tim Dane.”

  “I’m sorry but that won’t be possible.”

  “Why not? If he is busy I can wait.”

  “Miss, detective Dane is dead.”

  “What? How?”

  “I’m sorry but I can’t give you any more information. Would you like to talk with any of our other officers?”

  “No, this can wait.” Nicole left the police station utterly stunned. She just talked with Mr. Dane last night now he is dead. She took a cab back to her apartment.

  “Hey, what’s wrong, little Nicole?” Adam said as he turned off the vacuum.

  “Detective Dane is dead.” Nicole sat at the kitchen table.

  Adam hurried over to her. “How do you know that?” He slowly sat on the chair next to her.

  “I went to talk to him to see if he had any news about your landlord’s murder and to see if I could help. I was worried about Michael taking so much on by himself. And the guy at the desk told me Mr. Dane was dead.”

  “Did he say how he died?”

  “No.”

  Monica came into the room. Adam told her what happened.

  “He is dead. He comes here and talks to you, Adam, and tries to talk to Michael and now he is dead,” Monica said.

  “What are you getting at?” Adam asked.

  “You were with Nicole and me all night. Where the fuck was Michael?”

  “Are you implying Michael killed him?” Nicole said stunned.

  “Of course not. I’m just shocked.”

  “I have to find Michael and let him know what is going on. I will be back later,” Nicole said.

  “Nicole, stay here with us,” Monica said. “You won’t know where Michael is.”

  Nicole took out her phone and called Michael.

  Monica watched Nicole talking on the phone. She silently prayed he would tell her to stay here. But when she saw that smile on Nicole’s face she knew that wasn’t going to happen.

  “I’m going to go to Michael’s apartment. He just got back home. I will talk to you guys later.”

  Adam watched her leave he was startled when Monica grabbed his hand.

  “What is wrong with you? You are acting like a frightened child here lately,” Adam said.

  “Adam…I’m scared.”

  “Hey, it will be alright.” Adam squeezed her hand firmly.

  “I’m scared for Nicole. I…” Monica didn’t know what to do. If she told Adam her theory and he didn’t believe her it might hurt their friendship. If he went and told Michael, God knows what would happen. But if she was right…oh God she didn’t want to think about if she was right.

  “Talk to me, Monica.”

  “I think Michael killed Detective Dane. I think he killed your landlord as well. And I think he might have killed Linda Bennett.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “Think about it. If you went and talked to your landlord you would have found out that he gave Michael a key to your apartment.”

  “Why would he kill some woman in my apartment?”r />
  “I don’t know, but he scares me. You didn’t see the way he looked at me the other day. Like I was some sort of prey. I have never had someone look at me like that.”

  “Monica, I think all of this is getting to you.”

  “He might have even killed Mindy.”

  “Okay, now you are just…why not say that I killed all those people. I have the motive to do so. I don’t see where Michael would benefit from any of this.”

  “What if he is trying to set you up for all of this?”

  “Okay, now you are being ridiculous. I’ll tell you what, if you find a key to my apartment in Michael’s possession then I will entertain your theory. Otherwise, you are blaming a man, who if I might remind you has helped me out quite a lot, who has done nothing wrong. You are only going to hurt your friendship with Nicole if you keep thinking like this.”

  “I’m sure he is not going to keep your key on him.”

  “Look, Nicole is moving in with him. I’m sure she will forget something and I will go to Michael’s apartment and give it to her. She will invite me in for a visit and I will look around his apartment.”

  “You won’t find anything. I’m sure he would have hidden it.”

  Adam sighed.

  Monica could see the strain on his face. He has been through so much he really didn’t need this. She would have to find proof then bring this up again. She was sure Michael wasn’t who he was pretending to be, she could feel it in her bones. But Nicole and Adam weren’t going to listen without proof. They were her family here and no one hurts her family. She had to make sure that Michael wasn’t who she thought he was. If something happened to either Adam or Nicole, she couldn’t forgive herself.

  “You’re right, I sound silly. I just…we seemed to be surrounded by death and it’s starting to freak me out.”

  “Me too.”

  ***

  Nicole arrived at Michael’s apartment. He was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper. She wanted to rush over and throw herself into his arms. She still couldn’t believe that Mr. Dane was dead. Instead she walked calmly over to him.

  “What’s wrong, Nicole,” Michael said as he folded up the newspaper and set it on the coffee table.

  “Detective Dane is dead.”

  “I know, I just read it in the paper. How did you know?”

  “I went down to the police station…”

  “You did what?” Michael’s voice bellowed through the room. He quickly stood.

  “I wanted to help you…”

  “What the fuck were you thinking?” He grabbed a hold of her. He was already stressed out by what he read in Tim’s little notebook. If that idiot could make all those connections by going through Michael’s past how long before someone else does the same thing.

  “Ouch, you are hurting me,” Nicole said.

  “I told you I would take care of this. Why the fuck didn’t you just listen to me?” Michael pushed her onto the sofa. His inner demon was bubbling up to the surface, he couldn’t control his rage. He went and grabbed the floor lamp. He yanked the cord out of the socket and gripped the lamp firmly with both hands. His inner demons were screaming for blood. He looked over at Nicole she was curdled up in a ball trying to cover her face.

  Michael yelled then used the floor lamp to smash the coffee table.

  “God damn it, I’m trying to protect you. I’m trying to protect all of you and you all just keep getting in the way.” He smashed the piece of artwork that he and Nicole bought earlier. He walked over to the kitchen and swung the table lamp down onto the counter breaking the lamp in two.

  “Why the fuck doesn’t anyone listen to me?!” he screamed. He stood there breathing heavy when he felt her trembling hands on his arm. He had to pull his shit together or just kill her and be done with it. The walls were closing in. It was time to setup Adam for the murders then move from this city. Hell, it would be best to move overseas for a while.

  “I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

  He should just kill her. Strangle her with the cord of that damn lamp…but…he didn’t want to do it. This thought confused him. She was nothing but a liability. She would end up getting him caught. Every fiber in his being told him to kill her. But he just couldn’t.

  “God damn it!” he yelled, then he came down to a squatting position.

  He felt her hand timidly touch his back then shortly afterward she hugged him from behind.

  “I’m sorry,” she repeated.

  “Adam is going to get killed. Do you people not see that? Whoever got into his apartment is stalking him.” Michael sat on the floor. “They killed Mindy, and the landlord, hell they probably killed Detective Dane. If they get spooked they will kill Adam. I’m trying to save him, Nicole.”

  “Let me help.”

  “I can’t, because what if…I don’t even want to entertain the thought.”

  “Tell me, let me help you.”

  “What if Adam killed those people?”

  “I can’t see him doing something like that.”

  “Just like you couldn’t see Johnny being a killer either. I don’t know what to do, Nicole. I don’t want you or your friend being around him if he is the killer, yet if he isn’t the killer he will be a sitting duck if he is alone. What do I do?”

  “Innocent until proven guilty. If you get proof that Adam is the killer you have to turn him into the police. But until then I won’t believe Adam capable of doing those awful things.”

  “You have to promise me that you will do as I say. If something happened to you…”

  “I promise.”

  Michael turned around and grabbed her. He gently laid her on the marble floor. He quickly pulled his jeans off then lifted her skirt. He positioned himself between her legs and thrust forward, burying his cock to the hilt inside her. He slowly thrust as he looked her in the eyes. The way she looked at him with such love in her eyes…he lowered down and kissed her as he continued to slowly thrust. One thought kept trying to evade his mind as he made love to her…he should kill her.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “I’m sorry about yesterday. I will understand if you want to leave me. After what Nathan had done to you I don’t want you to think I will do the same,” Michael said as he gently stroke Nicole’s hair. They both were snuggled up in bed.

  “You were really stressed out. You were keeping all of that to yourself it must have been hard. I really was just trying to help you when I went to the police station.”

  “I know. Nicole, I have been mulling over everything and the more I think about things…did you know Linda Bennett worked in a small restaurant that was across the street from the bar Adam’s band plays at?”

  “No, I didn’t know that.”

  “I found that out yesterday. Then I come home and read that Detective Dane was murdered. All the evidence is starting to point to Adam.”

  “Maybe someone is trying to set him up.”

  “That is a possibility but why would they. The only person gaining anything is Adam. First his ex-girlfriend ends up dead, then his landlord, next Detective Dane. My theory is Adam’s landlord saw Adam bring Linda Bennett back to his apartment. Adam had to kill the landlord before I talked to him. Detective Dane was catching on, we don’t know all the questions he asked Adam, so again Adam had to find a way to kill him.”

  “But Adam was with Monica and me.”

  “He could have easily had a bandmate do it. I know a couple of them have shady past, who knows what favors they owed Adam.”

  “Why would he kill Linda Bennett and since she was murdered like those other people were it had to be the same killer?”

  “Adam must be a serial killer. And those other three got in the way. The only one that was personal was Mindy. She broke his heart so he killed her. Look at Adam who would think he could do those things. Any woman or man for that matter would eagerly go home with him. And another thing, I looked up unsolved murdered cases that had the same M.O. and there were about ten of them s
cattered over the United States. I’m betting if we could find a way to track where Adam’s band played that we could put him in each murders location.”

  “Oh my God,” Nicole said stunned as she sat up.

  Michael sat up. “I’ve been trying to find anything to prove me wrong, but the more I dig the guiltier Adam becomes.”

  “But wait? He is not trying to stop you from looking into everything.”

  “I know, and this scares the hell out of me. Nicole, I think he might kill us to save himself. But if I’m wrong and he is innocent I will condemning him to life in prison for something he didn’t do and the real killer will walk scot-free. This is why I’m so stressed. I don’t want to risk your life. I can handle the risk on my own life, but I don’t want to send an innocent man to prison either.”

  “I don’t want you risking your life either.”

  “So for now let’s just act like everything is normal and I’m having trouble finding any information about Adam’s landlord’s murder. Can you do this?”

  “Of course.”

  “Now, let’s talk about something a bit more pleasant. When are you moving in with me? I want you to get used to me because I have been thinking about doing something.”

  “What is it?”

  “I always wanted to live in London even if for just a little while. I can open a law firm over there, after of course I study British law. And I would love for you to come with me.”

  Nicole smiled brightly. “That sounds awesome. I always wanted to visit London.”

  “Then it’s settled. When I’m done here, we will pack up and move, so you need to pack your stuff and move in here as soon as possible. Plus, I will know you are safe. It will ease my mind. This apartment building has really good security I will make sure they don’t let Adam into this apartment.”