Code of Deceit: A Mystery/Detective novel (David Mason series)

by John Foxjohn

  David rubbed his mouth and moments passed before he spoke. “You’re right, and I know it. She’s a wonderful woman, and I believe I’m falling in love with her. I think about her all the time. She’s what I’ve always wanted. I can’t say if I want to get married, or even if she wants to get married, but I’ll tell you this. if I married anyone, I’d hope it’d be someone like Beth.”

  Henry drained his beer and set the empty bottle on the table, rising. “Okay, I need to go. I said too much already. Is Beth coming over?”

  “I don’t know. I called and left her a message. But you didn’t go too far. I appreciate what you told me.”

  “I like her, David. I don’t want to see her get hurt.”

  “I know. Talk to you Monday. Tell Patty I said hello.”

  David lay down on the sofa for a few minutes when Henry left. Hours later, knocking on the door woke him. Like a drunk, he staggered to the door and looked out the peephole. He’d never been one to take naps, and he always felt worse after a short nap than if he’d stayed up. Beth’s beautiful, smiling face looked back at him through the hole.

  She glided in and looked around in astonishment as other women had. His apartment didn’t look like the average bachelor’s place. He wasn’t obsessed with orderliness and cleanliness, but he put his clothes up and cleaned the place every day whether it needed it or not.

  “I’m sorry they talked to you today,” David said after she sat.

  She hung her head, tears pooling in the corner of her eyes. “Does anyone think I had anything to do with the shooting?” she murmured.

  “No, darling, I don’t, and no one else does, either.”

  “Why did Henry ask me all those questions?”

  “They needed to check. Not on you, but on an ex-husband, boyfriend, or someone who might be jealous.”

  They remained quiet for a few minutes. David scooted over close to her and put his good arm around her. His shoulder hurt, but not as much as it had.

  “Darling, homicide detectives always start investigating close to the victim and work their way out.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, confused.

  “Ninety-nine percent of all homicides are committed by friends or relatives.”

  “I’m glad you don’t think I had anything to do with this. Did Henry tell you what we talked about?”

  “No, he didn’t, but I’ll tell you this: he likes you a lot.”

  “What about you?”

  “What about me?” David asked, not sure what she meant.

  “Do you like me a lot?”

  “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  Chapter 14

  Beth picked David up Saturday morning. They’d decided to go out to the country for a picnic and spend the day together. She brought the food and he picked a place he thought provided an ultimate romantic setting.

  He wore navy slacks, deck shoes without socks, and a light blue button-down shirt. Beth wore blue jeans, a plaid shirt tucked in without a belt and white tennis shoes.

  He gave her directions and they headed north on Highway 59, leaving Houston’s city limits.

  “Aren’t you going to tell me where we’re going?”

  He gave her a crooked grin. “Nope. It’s a surprise.”

  Beth let her head fall back and rolled her eyes. “Oh, gosh, I love surprises.”

  David grinned. “It’s about twenty-five more miles.”

  Wildflowers still bloomed along the roadside, but the trees were losing their leaves. Evergreens mixed with hardwoods with red, yellow, and orange leaves presented a gorgeous postcard picture.

  “There’s going to be a dirt road about a mile ahead on the left,” he said.

  “Do you want me to turn on it?”

  “That’ll be nice, since it’s where we’re going.”

  They bumped down the dry dirt road, David wincing as they jolted through potholes. As he turned in the seat, red dirt billowed up behind them like a giant cloud.

  “You might want to slow down some. We’re going to hit some loose gravel up ahead.”

  “How far do we have to go?” she asked.

  “About three more miles.”

  Her head turned left and right, looking at the evergreens, flowers, and squirrels hovering near the road, but scampered away when the car got near them. “There are no homes down this road,” she said

  “Nope, not many people drive this way. Let’s stop up here for a minute. I want to show you something.”

  When she pulled over, dry dirt puffs sprang up when they stepped on the unkempt road. They ambled up to the old wooden bridge, which nestled among dense brush and trees with a flowing creek rumbling below. Leaning over the rail, they looked at the untamed beauty in silence. Sunlight reflected off the water, which sparkled like a lit firecracker fuse.

  “Wow. This is magnificent,” Beth said.

  “It’s beautiful,” David agreed.

  “What’s the creek’s name?”

  Shrugging, his gaze locked on the beauty. “Not sure.”

  He straightened and flexed his wounded shoulder and didn’t get much pain. “Are you ready to go?”

  “I’m ready when you are, but it’s quiet and peaceful here.”

  They turned off to the right and followed a narrow, tree-lined trail for a couple hundred yards. Oaks and willows grew among pines with large grapevines dangling. They arrived at a chained, locked farm gate.

  “If this is where we’re going, we’re going to have trouble getting through this gate.”

  David laughed. “This is where we’re going and we won’t have any trouble. I have a key,”

  He unlocked the gate and she drove past. With the gate closed and locked, he got back in, and they drove a couple hundred more yards until the trees gave way to a clearing and a small lake.

  “We’re here,” David said.

  As they stood looking at the narrow secluded lake, birds dived and soared close to the water, and squirrels chattered at them from the trees. Trees surrounded the lake, except where the narrow lane led them in. Around the edges, cattails sprouted from the water, and farther out lily pads floated.

  A big, white frame house with a wide, screened-in porch around the front sat close to the water. Wooden piers extended into the water on both sides with small Jon boats tied up.

  “Is this where we’re going to have the picnic?”

  “No, we’ll go along this trail,” David pointed to the right.

  “Let’s get the blankets and basket.”

  As they meandered along a narrow path in the woods, a roaring sound became louder. They reached another small clearing overlooking a waterfall, spread the blankets out, and sat to take in the splendor.

  She took a deep breath. “This is the most romantic place I’ve ever seen. She turned to face David. “How many women have you brought out here?”

  “Oh, hundreds. I brought one here last Saturday, and another Sunday.”

  “Liar. On Saturday you were out with me getting shot, and Sunday, I happen to know, you were in the hospital.”

  “Beth, you’re the only woman I’ve ever brought here.”

  “Really?”

  Aroma of fresh pine straw lingered around them, and a gentle, warm breeze sifted through the trees as they gazed into each other’s eyes. His heartbeat quickened and with a gentle touch, he caught her chin with his thumb and index finger and kissed her. Their lips lingered together for a moment. “Really.”

  She smiled and kissed him back.

  “How did you ever find this place, and how did you get a key?”

  “This is a private lake owned by several business people in Houston. Several years ago, I investigated a burglary at one of the owners’ homes. I recovered the stolen property, and he tried to give me a free membership, but I couldn’t accept it. He asked if I’d come out here every so often and keep an eye on the place for them.”

  “And you didn’t mind doing them this little favor, I see.”

  “Yep,�
�� he laughed. “I drive out here sometimes to fish. He tried to pay me a security fee, but I wouldn’t take that, either.”

  “Why not?”

  “Principle, I guess. I’m not doing any security work here. It would’ve been the same as me taking a free membership for doing my job. It’s not illegal, but it wouldn’t be right.”

  “Are you always particular about following guidelines in these cases?”

  “I try to be. I mess up from time to time, but I don’t try to take advantage. There are a lot that do. I know one who demands free food in all the restaurants he goes in. Henry told me the guy took a party of twelve out to eat and demanded the meal free.”

  Her eyebrows rose. “They didn’t complain?”

  “Nope. Afraid to. Police, if they wanted to, could put pressure on the place.”

  “How?”

  “This particular restaurant sells alcohol. Suppose you go there to eat and drink. When you leave, there’s a patrol car sitting across the road, waiting. When you pull out, the patrol car follows you, pulls you over, and gives you a ticket or arrests you for drinking and driving. Would you go back to that restaurant?”

  Honking geese caught their attention as they flew over in a v-pattern and small birds buzzed close to the water hoping to catch bugs and insects swarming around the edges.

  “Nope, I’d be too scared to,” she said.

  “Most people would be. Word would get out and it wouldn’t be long before that business wouldn’t have any customers.”

  “Isn’t that illegal?”

  “Yes it is, but we’re talking reality here, not what’s right and wrong. Anyway, the businesses would be too scared not to give in.”

  “But you don’t?”

  “Beth, I’m not a boy scout. However, I won’t be a part of that stuff.”

  He stood and reached out for her. She looked into his eyes and took his hand. When he pulled her up, they drifted back to the lake and out on a pier, looking at the clear water.

  “You like to fish?” she asked.

  “I grew up hunting and fishing in the country.”

  “I thought you were from Houston.”

  “My parents moved here when I was twelve. The first twelve years I lived in Nacogdoches.”

  “I assumed you were a city boy.”

  “You know what they say, ‘you can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy.’”

  “I’d love to fish here.”

  His head jerked back and his eyebrows rose. “You like to fish?”

  “Yes, and I even bait my own hook. My father used to take me all the time.”

  “What happened to your father?”

  “He died almost four years ago with cancer.”

  He smiled. “I’ve never met a woman who fished.”

  She batted her lashes. “David, darling, you’ve never met a woman who could do a lot of things, including count to three.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I’m going to kill Henry.”

  “Don’t blame Henry. I made him tell me.”

  “How’d you make him?”

  Beth laughed. “I asked him about you.”

  “Hmm, need to talk to my partner. It didn’t take much to get the information from him.”

  “I can be persuasive.”

  “I can, too,” David said, and tickled her along the sides. Beth let out a screech and David chased her, both laughing, back to the blanket. Beth fell down on the soft quilt, and David lay beside her. Both kicked their shoes off.

  “Why do people call you the little shrimp?”

  He laughed. “Started after I joined the third precinct from the police academy. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m shorter than most police officers.”

  She smirked and cocked her head, looking up at David. “I’ve never noticed.”

  “Anyway, someone put a cartoon on the bulletin board. Two big longshoremen was walking down a pier, and a small longshoreman walked by them. One of the big ones turned to the other and said, ‘I see the shrimp boat has come in.’”

  Beth laughed.

  “Some wise guy wrote my name over the little guy in the cartoon, and I’ve been called the little shrimp ever since.”

  They remained quiet while they ate. Beth brought sandwiches and chips, along with some coffee in a thermos. David couldn’t remember a time when he’d been this relaxed. He enjoyed the peacefulness and quiet by the water, but most of all, Beth’s company.

  “What about you? Have you ever been married?”

  Beth attempted to give him a menacing look, but couldn’t pull it off well. “You know I have. You’re the detective, and you know my last name’s different from my mother’s. I got married my junior year in college. Our marriage lasted two months and I left him.”

  “What happened?”

  “We went to a party one night at a friend’s house with about ten couples. We all danced and had fun, but we drank a lot. I didn’t think we were drunk. When we got back to our apartment, he slapped me several times for dancing too close to someone.”

  David poured more coffee from the thermos into his cup and took a drink. “That’s when you left him?”

  “Yep, that night. He found me the next day and begged me to forgive him and come back—swore he’d never hit me again.”

  “Did he?”

  “Nope, I never gave him a chance to. I filed for divorce. I won’t put up with a man hitting me.”

  “I don’t blame you.”

  Her eyes narrowed and looked David in the eye. “I’ll be no one’s punching bag.”

  They lay back on the blanket looking at the clear sky and talking for a while, and Beth rolled over and put her head on David’s chest. Her touch, along with her nearness and perfume brought exhilaration. He wondered if she heard his heart beat faster.

  She raised her head and their lips were close. Desire burned through him. She kissed him, and their lips lingered for a long time. In a husky voice, she asked, “How’s your shoulder?”

  His body trembled. “Good” and he meant it. He’d forgotten all about his shoulder wound.

  Quiet settled over them for several minutes as a tension developed.

  Beth laid her head on David’s chest, listening to his heartbeat. She knew what he wanted, and she did, too. She wondered if he knew how badly she wanted him. Her body trembled and she had trouble breathing. Could she trust him? Would he consider her his trophy and use her until he tired and dump her? She wondered if she was ready.

  She looked into his eyes and didn’t think he would treat her like a trophy.

  She bent and kissed him. His tongue probed her mouth, and her body, almost on its own accord, sought his. She ran her hand under his shirt and across soft hair on his stomach and chest. He trembled at her touch. Their kissing became intense with passion.

  Their mouths sought each other and her body responded, melting close to his.

  He pulled back, his voice thick with desire. “If you plan on stopping, now’s the time. If we go any further, it’ll be too late.”

  She gasped, unable to speak for a long moment. “If we stop now, will you think me a tease?”

  He reached up with his fingertips, brushed hair from her face and ears. “No. Darling. I told you before I’d wait until you were ready.”

  Neither said anything for a while. They held each other close. They could feel each other’s hearts.

  “David—I’m not experienced at being with a man.”

  He reached up and stroked her hair with his hand.

  She closed her eyes as heat expanded through her.

  “Beth. I’m not experienced either.”

  She hit him on his good arm, closed one eye, and looked at him with the other eye narrowed. “Liar.”

  He laughed. “Well, a little experienced.”

  “I’m serious,” she said. “I’ve only been with one man, and not much with him.”

  David kissed her. “That’s OK. When you’re ready, say so, and I
’ll teach the teacher.”

  She looked into his eyes for a long moment, and said, “So.”

  Quiet of the lake area broke occasionally when squirrels squawked, but there were no other sounds. Well a few, but no one was around to hear them.

  ***

  Gun oil and solvent odors filled the small apartment. Still upset, the stalker sat in his room, cleaning his rifle. Another time would come, and he’d make sure. He needed to get the others. Mason would be careful, and he could get the others and wait on Mason. It didn’t matter which one died first, anyway, as long as they all died.

  He’d had perfect light and distance, and Mason had stood on the porch like a big bird, waiting to die. He’d shot center mass of the heart, and missed a kill shot. It bothered him that he didn’t know how. He’d thought about firing again, but Mason rolled down the steps and he couldn’t get a shot from the window. The sirens convinced him he needed to clean up and get out.

  He laughed aloud as he stroked his cat, thinking about the investigation. He’d done his research on this. He knew what they were going to do.

  Chapter 15

  Tired and spent, David dragged himself to the office Monday morning. He’d always heard a person needed to watch out for the quiet women. He now understood what they meant. He smiled thinking about the weekend.

  His wound didn’t hurt as much, but he had a hard time getting dressed. With some movement in his left shoulder, he still couldn’t bring his arm up high enough to get his tie on. This would be the first time he’d gone to work without one.

  Court began at nine, but David arrived at the office after seven, finding a note on his desk requesting he and Henry come to Inspector Patterson’s office right away.

  He strolled to the break room, poured a cup of coffee, and headed back to the office to await Henry. Perched in his chair, David read over the sniper shooting. Shot came from an abandoned building’s second floor across the street from the restaurant. Whoever fired had broken in a back door.

  Whoever fired the shot would’ve made much noise getting in, but he’d have needed a flashlight to make his way in and out in the dark. The shooter made sure he didn’t leave any prints or smudges. Combs wrote that the shooter had used a broom or something to remove footprints from the dust in the old closed-up building.