Shadows of Doubt

by Corcoran, Mell

  Max reached for a folder that was sitting on the coffee table and perused its contents for the fifteenth time since the night before.

  Niko glanced over to see the crime scene photos. “That his latest victim?”

  “Janine Winslow, went by the name of Jade. She was twenty-seven and lived in the Valley.” Max got up, walked over to the window and looked down across the boulevard. “She worked right over there as a dancer most nights. I may have very well been standing right here when she walked to her car for the last time.” Max shoved his hands into the pockets of his robe and sighed with disgust.

  “No way you could have prevented this, Max.” Niko got up and stood next to his friend. “You think he knew you were here and pulled her because she was in the line of sight? Just to piss you off?”

  “Yes and no. He didn’t snatch her from here, he waited and made sure she was a safe distance away. But he knew I would eventually be sitting here doing exactly this. Staring out the window to where she worked. He likes rubbing my nose in it.”

  “Yeah, but this one wasn’t an urchin. She was bettering herself, that’s off pattern. Even the London victims were unfortunates but this one was a student who was just working in a trash-pit to make ends meet.” Niko had a point, and a point that Max was well aware of, which is why he was all the more bothered.

  “That is precisely why I know he’s escalating. He waited a long long time to pick up where he left off.” Max turned back to the coffee table and picked up his cup. “The timing is key. He started in London right after I was tapped as Dominor. That went on for, I don’t want to think about how long that went on. But once I clued in and we started hunting him, he made it more of a game. He got more careful. Then when I got reassigned to the U.S., he stopped cold. Nothing, or so we thought.”

  Niko sat on the arm of the chair and skimmed over the open file on the table. “Those scattered single kills all over the planet. You’ve always felt those were him. Taunts.”

  “Exactly, just to remind us he’s still out there and there’s nothing we can do about it. But now, he’s in my face again. I’m not letting him float away this time, Niko. I can’t. If he does, I will step down as Dominor.”

  Niko grumbled. “That’s crap Max. You can’t let this ass-hat undo all the good you have done all these years. Just because the West Coast got a little out of hand. He’s taking advantage of that and pushing your buttons, but you can’t let that work.”

  Max stood up and stretched while he considered Niko’s words. “I want to shake some trees and see what falls out on this bastard. Someone has to have noticed someone acting a little too innocent or a little too guilty, not putting in for deliveries on a regular basis or something else out of the norm. There has to be something.” Max looked at the clock and was glad that it was later than he expected. People would be waking up and available. “I’m going to shower and get changed, then you and I are hitting the streets.”

  Lou came out of the bathroom squeaky clean, warm and cozy, wrapped head to toe in fluffy white terrycloth. She could hear Caroline rummaging and cursing in her closet and for some reason that made Lou smile. It served Caroline right for being so damned tall.

  “What are you grinning at?” Lou’s mother walked into the room carrying a lovely tray filled with a coffee service and scones.

  Lou jerked her head in the direction of the closet. “Caroline is raiding my closet. By the sound of the expletives coming out of there, not having much success.”

  “Ah, I see.” Shevaun nodded as she arranged the tray on the coffee table. “It’s her own fault for having those damn long legs of hers.”

  Lou snorted and bounced to her mother, kissing her on the cheek. “That is exactly what I was saying to myself just before you walked in. Thanks for this, Momma. I was just gonna hit the Keurig for a couple cups before we headed out.”

  “Joe did it, I just carried it in here. He’s all excited for dinner tonight so he was looking for ways to burn time before he could head to the office. He sends you kisses and was sorry he couldn’t wait until you were out of the shower to say hi and bye.”

  “Dinner tonight?” Lou asked as she poured herself some of Joe’s amazing brew. She so missed his coffee while he was gone. “You didn’t mention you were going out tonight.”

  “Didn’t I?” Shevaun fixed herself a cup then sat on the edge of the ottoman. “Oh, well, we are taking our soon-to-be neighbor to dinner at the club. Joe was so thrilled when I told him about the meeting last night. He is so happy I finally met his business buddy and that we hit it off so well. You want to go with us? He’s a lovely man.”

  “I really can’t, Momma.” Lou unfurled the towel from her head and combed through the damp mop with her fingers. “I have a bunch of stuff I need to do after I’m off the clock on this Winslow woman since it’s no longer our case.”

  Caroline stepped out of the closet wearing a triumphant look on her face. “Tada!” She said as she did a little twirl. “How’s this look?” She had finally settled on distressed black jeans tucked into tall black leather boots that reached just below her knee, and a gray chenille tunic.

  “Well that looks adorable! Perfect for casual Friday on a rainy day.” Shevaun complimented Caroline’s ensemble. “Are those Lou’s jeans? I can’t believe they’re not too short on you, and that top too.”

  Lou scowled at her mother. “That top is a sweater-dress on me. I usually wear it with tights and those boots, which go over my knees!”

  Caroline snickered. “Yeah and these jeans are like pedal pushers on me. Without the boots you’d see they only hit me mid calf. But it works!”

  Shevaun laughed but tried not to. “Oh honey, she’s more than six inches taller than you and I so don’t feel bad. At least we can call her a bitch to her face!”

  They all laughed as Lou took her turn in the closet. She tossed on some boots, jeans and a sweater herself, then the three women sat and enjoyed their morning coffee together. One would think three women would be talking about the latest fashion or gossiping about someone or another, but not these three. Janine Winslow and how she came to be bloodless and legless on those railroad tracks was the topic of their conversation.

  The three agreed that it had been premeditated, not a spur of the moment snatch and grab. No robbery since her purse was found in the abandoned car untouched. All three of them felt that the killer knew her or at least enough of her routine. Grabbing her when she came out of the market was the perfect window of opportunity. It was what they didn’t know that was the big issue. Her body hadn’t been on those tracks for very long, which meant that she had been dumped there three days after her abduction.

  “You know what this means then, right?” Caroline’s eyes were as big as saucers.

  Lou nodded, knowing exactly what she was thinking. “It means if this is one guy, he took Winslow within twenty-four hours of dumping Talbott.”

  “Holy marigolds, and you don’t think LAPD has a clue the two are connected?” Lou’s mother broke off another piece of scone.

  “Not as of the time I left Mission last night.” Caroline stated as she tied her platinum mane in a tight knot at the nape of her neck. “When the Chief came in and had me pass off Winslow to Carpesh, I told him about the anomalies and the keratin and he said he would follow up on them, but I could tell he was basically slotting it the same way your captain did.” Caroline got up from her chair and began to gather her things.

  “Damn, I wish there were a w
ay to get those samples re-tested.” Lou looked at the time to gauge if she had enough of it to indulge in one more scone.

  “Oh darlin’!” Caroline spun around and looked at Lou with that beaming Georgia Peach smile. “I plan on just that! I stuffed my own samples in a drawer and am having them sent to a buddy of mine over at Quantico.”

  Lou nearly choked on the bite of scone she had just taken. “Why didn’t you tell me that last night when we were plotting with Vinny?” She said through coughs.

  “I didn’t? Well I was focusing on the fact that we have no hand in any official part of the investigations anymore. If my friend gets anything off my samples, I have no idea how I’m going to inject myself officially without getting my ass handed to me for going off the reservation. Its a sticky situation we’re in here.” Caroline leaned over and kissed Lou’s mother on the cheek. “Thank you so much for everything. Those scones were dreamy.”

  “You know its always a pleasure to have you here, Caroline.” Shevaun’s cell phone beeped with an incoming message. “Oh dear, I need to get over to the Goulds. Joe needs me to sign some papers on the new neighbors and they can’t wait until he gets back up the hill. I’ll walk out with you, Caroline.”

  “Give me a kiss goodbye now, Momma. I’ll be gone by the time you get back. Hey tall bitch, you coming back here after work?” Lou got up and kissed her mother before she could bolt out the door.

  Caroline laughed at Lou. “Yeah I’ll bring Chinese from that great place we love. Make sure there’s cake.” She waved as she and Lou’s mother headed out the door.

  It seemed that for the first time since Lou woke up it was quiet. As she walked over to her balcony doors, she wasn’t sure if she liked it better this way or not. There was something very comforting in the hustle and bustle of a busy morning that seemed to take the edge off knowing the coming workday was going to suck. She stared out into the gloomy morning and was surprised the skies hadn’t started dumping more rain already. The one consolation with so much rain was that the meadow would be blooming crazy with flowers come spring. Lou had a spectacular view of the meadow that spread wide and deep all the way to the hillside. A pang of sadness hit her as she realized the new neighbor would be trashing her meadow. Soon she would be looking at some hideous house in the distance. He would probably even tear out her giant oaks that she loved. Damn, she was thoroughly depressed now.

  The sound of clanking cups startled Lou from her brooding and she spun around to see Marta, their housekeeper, collecting the tray that Lou’s mother had brought in.

  “Oh!” Marta shouted, obviously as startled by Lou as Lou was of her. “I am so sorry, Miss Lou, I didn’t see you in here! Please forgive me!”

  “Don’t be silly Marta, I’m sorry for scaring you. I can bring that down.” Lou started to help the woman stack the cups and plates onto the tray.

  “No no, I have this, but thank you very much.” The plump and cheery Portuguese woman smiled brightly at Lou. Her hair was pulled back into a pompom of a ponytail and she was dressed in her usual white smock over black pants and impossibly white tennis shoes. While the McAllisters had no requirement that Marta wear any sort of uniform, the woman had said that it made her feel more official to wear something appropriately professional. She was a darling woman that had been working for Joe since before Lou and her mother had come along. She was family and Lou cared for her very much. “You need to go and catch bad guys and leave these things to me.” Marta gave her a wink, then hoisted the tray up and headed out of the room.

  Noticing the time, Lou decided she had better get downstairs and wait for Vinny there. She grabbed her gun, badge, cell phone and other essentials and tossed a coat over her shoulder, then headed down. When she hit the foyer the doorbell rang and Lou was certain Vinny was going to bitch that he had to get out of the car to ring the bell. She yelled to Marta that she had the door and ran before he could ring again. To Lou’s surprise, the person standing on the step was not Vinny at all but some woman who amazingly enough she stood eye to eye with. Lou noted right off that she was lovely and impeccably dressed with a decidedly sassy style. Lou would have liked to steal the woman’s flame red coat but it would be a shame since it matched the woman’s hair so perfectly.

  “Can I help you?” Lou asked the woman.

  “Hello! I am looking for Shevaun McAllister. Would that be you?” She beamed at Lou.

  “No, I’m her daughter. She’s not here at the moment. Can I help you with something? Miss...?” It was definitely a questioning tone that begged for an answer.

  The woman shuffled some cardboard tubes under her arm then quickly peeled off a glove which was the same flame color as the coat and her hair. “Where are my manners? I’m Abigail La Rue.” She offered her hand to Lou and Lou accepted it with a certain hesitation. “I was sent to have the architectural committee sign off on these plans. For your new neighbor?”

  “Oh, well, crap...” realization dawned on Lou. “You know what, come on in. I think there was some mix-up because she just left for the Goulds apparently to meet you. Let me call over there and get her back. Please, come in!” Lou waved the woman inside, then bolted for the phone. “Make yourself comfortable, can I offer you some coffee or tea?”

  Abigail smiled brightly. “Oh no, thank you, I’m great. I am so sorry for the mix-up.”

  “No worries, give me just a sec to call her.” Lou began dialing as the red-head took a seat.

  Abby knew Max would be livid when everything came out but she couldn’t resist getting her eyes on the woman who had sent her and Frank into an actual, real Code Pink. She wasn’t sure what she had expected, and she would never admit out loud to anyone that she was hoping not to like her. But there was something about this Lou person that Abby instantly liked, and it made her very happy. She sat quietly and folded her gloves while she listened to Lou tell her mother that she had someone waiting for her. Glancing around the McAllister foyer, she could see that tastes ran similar between them and Max. That was going to be convenient. When Lou came back into the room, Abby stood up and resumed smiling.

  “Apparently you just missed each other. She’s heading back now so it should only be a few minutes.” Lou gestured towards the sitting room off to the left of the Foyer. “Why don’t we wait over here. Any chance I could get a peek at those plans? Since I’m going to be staring at it every day, it only seems fair.” She grinned.

  Abby grinned back. “I don’t see what the harm would be. Are you excited for new neighbors?” She decided to do a little fishing while she had the chance.

  Lou sighed. “I probably will get in trouble for saying this but I was just thinking about it while I was upstairs staring out my windows. It’s actually rather depressing!”

  Abby blinked. That was not what she had been expecting to hear. “Why is it depressing? I won’t let on you told me, I promise.” She lied. If it served Abby’s purposes she would tell anyone she needed.

  “Well...” Lou hesitated for a moment but felt compelled to tell this woman the truth. “I love the natural state of things up here. That meadow in the spring is just amazing with wildflowers. Once someone builds there, they are going to grade it and landscape the crap out of it and it’s no longer nature, it’s just someone’s yard.” She shrugged and waited for the woman to laugh at her.

  “Can I let you in on a little secret?” Abby leaned toward Lou with a glimmer in her eye and passed her business card to her. “I’m responsible for the landscaping plans so you tell me what you want to see and I’ll make sure it makes
the plan.”

  Lou looked at this Abigail LaRue and couldn’t help but smile. “How the hell are you going to talk this guy into just accepting what you put in the plan? He has to have ideas for his own yard.”

  Abby just kept smiling as she unrolled the structural plans. “Lets just say I have significant pull in the aesthetics. Right now his plate is very full, so he is trusting me with a good chunk of the project.”

  Lou looked at the plans and really wanted to hate everything about them, but she just couldn’t. It was just like her mother had said. The actual structures were going off and to the back with the majority of the land left undeveloped. In fact, when she looked at the orientation of the main house, Lou would only be able to see a third of the actual house at most.

  “Are you leaving the oaks alone?” Lou looked at Abby pleadingly.

  “You want him to? What about a good trim now and then, that okay?” Abby was moved by the depth of Lou’s appreciation for the trees and land in their natural state. She was not what Abby had expected for an L.A. girl, or a detective.

  “Oh, that would be so awesome! I know it sounds strange but I am pretty possessive of the area up here, including the animals. I grew up in Galveston and got a healthy respect for Mother Nature and her creatures at a young age. I was a self proclaimed ‘warrior protector of the sea turtles’ when I was eight years old.” Lou laughed at herself, not even remotely sure why she was spilling her guts to this stranger. “Here it’s the ground squirrels, bunnies, frogs, bobcats, skunks, basically any four legged or feathered creature.”

  Just at that moment Lou’s cat decided it was the perfect time to introduce himself by jumping up on Abby’s lap.

  “Well hello there!” Abby greeted the friendly feline.