“Your hair is so beautiful, but Mommy has found something better. Yes, I have. This hair is as bright as the sunlight and long enough to hang the length of your back. You will truly be the beautiful princess I know you are. What’s that? When? Soon, sweetie.”
With both of their faces lit from the bulbs, it was still easy to see the resemblance between Momi and her daughter. Behind them, still tied to the chair in the corner, was Izzy.
Chapter 63
Momi balanced her daughter on the chair and put her gloves back on. It was time. She had force-fed Izzy a bunch of diuretic pills when she first captured her to help speed up dehydration. It would cause her skin to loosen, but specifically Momi was focused on her scalp.
It had been very easy to take Izzy last night. Momi had been planning it since she first met the couple at Luau’s. Izzy’s long golden locks caught her eye immediately. She knew right then; her daughter had to have that hair.
At first Momi was unsure of whether she could make this happen, until Izzy and Darby said they would be here for a month. Plenty of time, she had thought. Her first step was to befriend the blond haired woman and gain her trust. She knew Izzy would crave a girlfriend to talk to and hang out with. All women do. Once she had accomplished that, she would make her move.
Her first attempt was during the day, when Izzy was home alone, taking a bath—such a vulnerable moment. Momi was able to get into the house very easily through the back door. Her first thought was to kill Izzy while she lay in the tub with her eyes closed and her senses on hiatus. The skin would be loose from the warm bathwater. She even thought she could scalp her there and wash the hair after. Of course, Momi never got the opportunity because that dumb man of Izzy’s returned home.
Over the days, Momi continued to work on her relationship with the couple. She soon discovered Darby would be out of town. This would be her second opportunity. However, there were two things Momi didn’t foresee: Izzy being in the bathroom when she showed up and her being a trained kickboxer.
Momi grew up fighting the boys in the neighborhood. It was this skill that she was relying on to overcome Izzy and her height. The truth was, Momi should have overpowered Izzy. She thought she was a much better fighter, but was caught completely off guard by Izzy’s ability. She wouldn’t make that mistake next time.
Momi continued to use her friendship with Izzy to learn more about her weaknesses, and even invited her to work out at a gym so she could study her skill level. With each day they spent together, the more she fell in love with Izzy’s hair. She would often comb and braid the flaxen strands, pretending it was her daughter’s hair she was fixing. Momi still had one big advantage; Izzy would never suspect she was out to kill her.
Third time’s a charm.
Darby was heading out of town again. Momi vowed her third attempt would be her last. She showed up at the beach house just after eleven the night Darby left. The second Izzy opened the door, Momi threw a straight left directly into her face. The hit sent Izzy reeling back, dazed but not knocked out. She was confused. Why did Momi hit her? It didn’t matter, her instincts took over and she blocked the next two blows. They began trading hits, each delivering blows and misses. Izzy then struck with a kick to Momi’s outer thigh, sending her to one knee. Izzy relaxed her guard for a moment. Dumb.
Momi saw the opportunity and shot forward, taking Izzy to the ground. They grappled, each fighting for dominance, wanting to deliver a ground and pound to the other. Izzy was able to scissor lock Momi between her legs and twist away. With both of them standing, fists up, they went at it. Momi connected on Izzy’s chin. Izzy’s legs buckled for a moment, allowing Momi to grab the back of Izzy’s head and pull it straight down into her knee for a crushing blow that sent Izzy to the floor unconscious. The whole ordeal took fifteen minutes. The scalping would take even less time but Momi wanted to savor the act after all this trouble.
Momi switched the bright lights of the basement back on and stared at Izzy for few minutes. She had gone unconscious again. This will be so easy.
With a plastic tarp already around the chair for an easy clean up, Momi moved over to a shelf near the wall and opened a toolbox. Inside was a supply of new surgical scalpels. Momi plucked one out and held it up in front of her, admiring the steel’s shine, the newness.
“Hello, scalpel.”
“Why, hello, Momi.”
“I thought we could cut someone open tonight.”
“Sounds splendid. Mani and pedi after?”
“That sounds delightful.”
But before Momi could start, she had to find out who was ringing her doorbell.
Chapter 64
The lights were on when I got to Momi’s place. I was hoping Izzy was here but part of me didn’t believe that. I rang the doorbell and waited. A few seconds later I rang it again. Where the hell is everybody? I peeked inside through the window. I couldn’t see anyone, but Momi had a fairly large house; they could be in any room.
Finally I saw some movement and the front door opened. It was Momi.
“Hey, Darby. What’s going on? It’s a little late to be stopping by.”
“I’m sorry but, is Izzy here?”
“No. She didn’t stay here last night even though I invited her. Why? Is everything okay?”
“Yes. I, uh, I mean no. It’s not. I don’t know where she is.”
Momi motioned for me to come inside and led me to the living room.
“What’s going on Darby? Tell me,” she said as she sat next to me.
“That’s what I’m trying to find out. The house—something happened there. It’s a mess, like a fight took place, and Izzy—she’s not there. She’s not anywhere. I looked.”
“Wait a minute. You’re telling me someone broke in and now Izzy’s missing?”
I nodded, barely able to speak. “She’s gone. I’m scared that something bad happened to her.” My voice was an octave higher than usual and my fears were beginning to run wild. “Dammit, this is the second time this shit has happened.” I slammed my fist into a pillow on the couch. “I should have been there to protect her.”
Momi gave me a friendly hug. It was comforting.
“Let’s calm down and figure this out. When did you last speak with her?” she asked.
“Um…last night, right before I got on the red-eye back to San Francisco”
“You haven’t heard from her since then?”
“No. I tried calling her today because I thought I might have to stay an extra day, but I got her voicemail. I didn’t think anything of it.”
“Is there any other place Izzy could have gone besides here?”
“No. I don’t think so. But that’s the thing; I don’t think she left on her own. You should see the place, Momi. It’s a mess.” I dropped my face into my hands.
“Maybe Izzy decided to relax and clean up later.”
I looked back at Momi. She had a weird blank look on her face. “You obviously don’t know Izzy that well. She’s fanatical about stuff being out of place. She would never leave the house like that, even for a little bit. Besides my gut, there’s one thing that makes me think something bad has happened. When I last spoke with her, before getting on the plane… She was eating a bowl of cereal.”
Momi shook her head. “I’m not sure I’m following you.”
“That bowl of cereal was still there, near the broken coffee table. Don’t you see? This all happened last night.”
Momi stood up and started pacing. “Okay, let’s not panic and assume the worst. First things first: Did you call the police yet?”
“No. A part of me thought she escaped and came here.”
Momi stopped pacing and looked directly at me. “As you can see, she’s not here.” Her tone was sarcastic.
“Maybe I should call the investigator.”
“Investigator?”
“Yeah. Izzy didn’t mention this to you?” I could have sworn I gave Momi’s name to Balagot. Maybe he didn’t talk to her. I thought he did th
ough.
“No, she didn’t,” Momi said, crossing her arms over her chest.
Did she just roll her eyes? “The police weren’t any help, so we hired a private investigator about a week ago to help us. He’s been busy talking to people and I guess following people and whatnot. I should call him. He needs to know.”
I stared at Momi for a moment. She seemed lost in thought as she chewed on her bottom lip. Finally she snapped out of it and looked at me. “Maybe you should call the police instead of him.”
“But the police aren’t responsive. No offense, Momi, but your friend on the force, he didn’t really help out a lot.”
“Well, maybe there wasn’t much to help out on. Every day tourists on the North Shore get robbed,” Momi snapped back.
What the hell? “Look, it’s obvious Izzy’s not here.” I stood up and made my way to the front door. “Time’s of the essence. I’m going to call my investigator and then look for Izzy.”
“Have you tried calling her since you came back?” Momi asked as she held open the front door.
“No,” I said, stepping outside, “I haven’t, but that’s not a bad place to start.”
I hit the speed dial for Izzy’s cell. A second later, I heard a ring but it sounded weird. In one ear, I heard a standard ring tone but in the other, I heard the customized ring tone that Izzy had for me on her iPhone. And it was coming from the bushes near the door.
When I bent down to investigate, that’s when everything went black.
Chapter 65
Balagot arrived at Darby and Izzy’s beach cottage a few minutes later. The Jeep was in the driveway and the lights in the house were on. He’s back and they’re up.
Balagot’s first knock on the door opened it an inch. This wasn’t a sign of hospitality in his line of work. He immediately withdrew his can of pepper spray and slowly pushed the door open until he was inside. He didn’t see anyone, but it looked like something had happened here. He recalled the place being neat on his last visit. Balagot didn’t bother to announce his presence. He moved quietly to the bathroom and peeked inside. No one was there. He did this two more times with the master bedroom and the guest bedroom. The house was empty.
Balagot looked around for something that might tell him what had happened here. If anything, it looked a lot like a domestic dispute. He’d seen plenty of those and this, so far, fit the profile. That’s when Balagot had his aha moment. Maybe that’s why things weren’t adding up. This whole intruder thing was a cover up for ongoing domestic disputes. Nobrega had it pegged early on. Is that the reason why the local uniforms dropped the case? Had they come to the same conclusion?
Balagot had so wanted this case to be more—to be what he missed while on the force—that he had made it more than what it was. Sheesh, what a waste of my time. Balagot knew the M.O. There are couples that fight and make up and it’s an ongoing thing for them. Sometimes it gets out of control and they have to cover it up. It appeared as if this is what happened. It was clear as to why the information the couple was feeding him and what he was finding out didn’t gel together.
Balagot didn’t know where they were and he didn’t care. He was pissed. He looked around a bit more and noticed a couple of blood drops. Ten dollars says they’re at the hospital and someone is getting stiches.
When he exited the house, he noticed a suitcase in the front seat of the Jeep. Hmm, I wonder if the boyfriend came home and caught the girlfriend with another guy.
Out of habit, Balagot did a walk around the cottage. The motion sensor lights flicked on and lit the place up. Nothing strange caught his eye. When he saw the two hidden cameras, he wondered if they had caught anything. Darby had showed him on that first visit how he could control it from a set-up in the bedroom.
The PI headed back into the house and straight to the master bedroom. The monitor was where it should have been, on the dresser. He clicked on the live feed button and two pictures came up for each location. He searched backward on the feeds and saw himself walking outside. He continued to search until he saw movement in the house. The way the camera was angled, he could see a tiny bit into the house, as well as shadows cast through the large glass windows.
Balagot reviewed the tape. It looked like someone was walking around. The shadow disappeared and the outside lights came on. Suddenly Darby came into view, looking around. When he turned around, he put his hands up to his mouth. He was yelling. Was he calling out for Izzy?
Balagot continued watching the footage and eventually saw a bit of the Jeep backing out of the driveway and leaving. If he came home to find the place like this and Izzy wasn’t there, the next few minutes should tell me what happened.
But nothing came up. Balagot had continued searching backward until the recording showed the afternoon. No sign of life. No shadows. Nothing. This wasn’t adding up to a domestic dispute.
He remembered Darby telling him the machine only recorded in forty-eight hour periods. He had already gone through the day and was coming back around to midnight the day before, but so far there was nothing. And then suddenly, there they were: Shadows.
This time there were two, with plenty of movement. Balagot slowed the tape down and began creeping frame by frame. He could see just a tiny bit into the living room. He hoped someone would come close enough to the window to give him a clue as to what was going on. And then he got a quick glimpse of two people on the floor. Lovemaking? A fight? Drunks?
He rewound footage and then studied those frames. There were definitely two pairs of legs and, if his memory of Izzy showering was correct, the long pair belonged to her. It was clear that lovemaking didn’t tear that place up; a fight did. And it had happened last night while Darby was gone.
Chapter 66
Balagot hurried back outside to his car. His mind raced to determine the next best step. He was no longer a detective on the force, but the situation had turned dire fast. He needed to bring in local law enforcement in the event that the worst-case scenario had happened: Izzy was kidnapped.
He didn’t know what to make of Darby’s disappearance. He obviously came home and found the house in this condition and Izzy nowhere around. If I were Darby, what would be the first thing I would do? I would check with Momi.
Balagot jumped into his car and drove down the street to Momi’s place. The lights were on in the house and he parked next to another car in the driveway. His headlights lit up the garage. The heavy bag was gone.
• • •
Downstairs in the basement of the house, Momi had just finished strapping an unconscious Darby to the bed. She had not anticipated this, but she was determined not to let anything come between her and the trophy hair. I’ll feed the both of you to the pigs.
Izzy was awake and watching Momi’s every move. Her eyes were wide open. Was that amazement or fear? Momi walked over to where Izzy sat and slapped her face.
“You think you’re something special don’t you… Huh? With your long pretty hair and your long skinny legs. Well, guess what; I’m taking your hair and your legs. There’s plenty of meat on those bones for the hungry pigs.”
Izzy shook her head back and forth. Muffled sounds escaped the sides of the cloth that kept her gagged.
“Oh, are you crying? Are you scared? Don’t be. It won’t take long, but I promise you, it will hurt. You should have heard that little girl I took before you.” Momi laughed but was soon interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Again?
• • •
Balagot rang the bell again while peeking inside. The lights were on and a car was in the driveway, but he saw no sign of someone being home. Was the house empty? He was agitated and felt like every minute he put off going to the police could mean Izzy’s life. Just as he did an about-face and started to walk away, the door opened.
“Mr. Balagot,” Momi said.
The investigator turned around. “Hi, Momi. Sorry to bother you. It’s so late at night, I know, but is Izzy or Darby here?”
Momi shook her head. “No. Why
? Is something wrong?”
“Have you seen either of them in the last forty-eight hours?”
Momi tilted her head while her eyes looked upward. “No, it’s been a couple of days since I last spoke with Izzy. What’s happening?”
“I think Izzy is in big trouble.”
“Izzy? Why? She was fine when I last saw her.”
“I just came from their place. It looks like a terrible fight happened inside the house.”
“Do you think it’s the same person who broke in earlier?”
Balagot took out his phone. “I think so. My cell phone just died. Can I use your phone?”
Momi opened the door wider. “Yes, of course. Come inside.”
Balagot entered the house.
“The phone is right there,” Momi said, pointing to a small table near the couch. While the investigator sat down and made his call, Momi closed the front door and sat on a chair opposite him and watched the investigator.
Balagot was on the phone with his contact at HPD, someone he could trust to act on the information considering he still had doubts about the uniforms in the area. He was arranging for a couple of detectives he knew who were on the up and up to meet him at the house. A forensics team was also being sent to comb the place for evidence, prints, whatever they could get to establish leads. Balagot looked over at Momi who was still sitting opposite him. Her eyes were locked on him, devoid of all emotion.
He put his hand over the receiver and said, “No worries, Momi. We’ll find Izzy.”
He continued with his contact while writing in his notepad. When he finished, he returned the phone to its cradle. A pack of cigarettes lay next to it. Hmm, Chesterfields. The butts he found outside Darby and Izzy’s place were the same brand.
He looked at Momi. She still sat quietly, staring. Next to her, draped over a chair, was a black hoodie. Balagot remembered Darby saying the intruder wore a black hoodie.
Darby Stansfield Thriller Series (Books 1-3 & Bonus Novella) Page 71