by WL Knightly
“I’m sorry it wasn’t updated sooner. I’ll have the guys come out and install all the latest equipment. And if you want, I can call up the manpower office and have someone keep watch for a few weeks. I want you to feel safe.”
Jamie’s lip quivered as if she might cry. “I don’t think I’ll ever feel safe again, Alan. Someone came into our home while I stood in our bedroom and hit me from behind. I never even heard them, never saw them. I didn’t wake up in that room until they’d gone, and I had no idea if they’d ever come back. I thought I might die there.”
Alan drew her into his arms and held her tightly, but she pushed away after a moment. “I couldn’t help but think about things, Alan. I know we love each other, but sometimes, that’s not enough. I have to take care of the kids.” She started over to her car, and he followed, stepping forward to open the door for her.
“I will follow you over and see them, and then I’ll give you some space.”
“No,” Jamie said as she slipped into the driver’s seat. “I don’t want you to come over right now. I’ll call you, okay?”
“Wait, Jamie. I’ve been through hell too, and I want to see my kids.” He hadn’t seen them since she’d taken off with them a week before. “You can’t keep me from them.”
She acted as if he weren’t speaking. “I have to go, Alan. Do me a favor and give me some space. Get your shit together, and then you can see the kids.” She slammed her car door, and it didn’t take her long to start the car and peel out of the drive.
Alan turned around and kicked the nearest thing to him which happened to be his son’s remote-control truck, and that made him feel like an ass.
He couldn’t blame her for not wanting him around. He walked into the house and rounded the corner into the kitchen, tripping over his son’s cleats that had been left there since the last game Alan had missed, and as he crossed the living room and walked to the stairs, he looked down at Rory’s doll she’d left sitting in a play stroller by the bottom step. It hurt his heart knowing that he wasn’t going to see them, but he wouldn’t fight Jamie and make things worse. He’d screwed up big time, and it would take a lot of time to make things the way they were again. If they’d ever go back to normal was the question, and he had been too afraid to ask her. He had a feeling he wouldn’t like any answer she would give him under pressure.
They’d been together for too long to just throw it all away now, and he didn’t think he could ever love another woman the way he loved her.
As he turned on the shower and stepped inside, he thought about Bay and Seth, and how the two had discussed wife-swapping. He couldn’t imagine someone else having their hands all over Jamie, and if he had found out the killer had, he would make it his sole mission in life to hunt them down and slice off their cock.
Jamie hadn’t been with anyone but him, and even though he’d played around a bit before they were together, he would always honor his relationship. He knew how serious it was to betray a loved one, and while that might have been his mother’s style, it wasn’t his. No way.
Things had been perfect while his family lived in Virginia, but once his father packed them up and moved them back out to Las Vegas where Alan’s great uncle had left them a security business, things quickly fell apart.
His parents had been from Sin City, and after a wild life of parties and drugs, the two decided to settle down. Alan had even learned years later that his mother had once been a dancer. His father let it slip one night in a drunken rant, then later went on to drive his truck into a tree. He was laid up for weeks with a broken ankle, and Alan had to take care of him. It was the longest summer of his life, and to make it up to him, his father had sent him away every summer following.
After being in Vegas five years, his mother decided she was bored enough to hook up with the man down the street, but she let him talk her into taking half of everything his father had built.
When she left, she not only left his father, but she’d left him too. He hadn’t seen her since.
Alan made quick work with the soap and rinsed, then cut the water off, but as he stepped out into the chilled air, he still felt dirty. Knowing what he’d done, he would never feel right again.
He couldn’t get the images out of his head no matter how hard he tried, no matter what he thought of, Seth on that hotel room floor, lying in his blood, the picture was always there.
Alan toweled off and dressed, and though he wasn’t all that hungry, he knew he’d better eat something. He hadn’t in over twenty-four hours and didn’t think his appetite would ever come back to him.
He went to the kitchen and fixed himself a sandwich; then he grabbed a bag of chips to bring along as he went to his home office which he’d built off the garage and was more like a man cave with all of his collections lining the walls. He sat behind his desk and found a cold beer in the mini fridge and popped the top.
He dropped his cap, so when he bent down to pick it up, he found a poker chip lying on the floor. He picked it up, leaving the cap where it lay, and stared at it like it was his long, lost love. He remembered the reason he kept the thing, to remind him that there was always a bit of luck in life. You just had to be willing to take a chance.
Alan thought about the first time he’d gotten lucky, back when Jamie had gotten pregnant with Dustin. With his father still alive and working Alan’s ass into the ground, he needed to unwind, and while he’d always been taught to stay out of the casinos, he and Jamie went down to have a little fun. She had been content to play penny slots, but he wanted to do something bolder, and as luck would have it, it paid off. He won fifty grand, and Jamie made him cash out and go home. That first fifty grand changed his life, and while he hadn’t gotten lucky since, he’d been trying to find that feeling.
And even though he hadn’t ever been unfaithful to Jamie, gambling became his mistress. He’d lost more times than he could count but had always managed to keep his head above water, and when Rory came along and his father died, he had gone from running the company for his father to owning it. They even took his father’s home and made it their own, building on it and creating a place where he could raise his family. But the gambling continued, and with that, came the drinking, and with that, poor decisions.
He’d really done it this time, and now, there was no one to help him out of the mess. The only two people who had consistently helped him through the years had been Seth and Bay. Alan would never forgive himself.
He unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite, and even though it tasted like ash on his tongue, he continued to eat it. After he’d gotten halfway through it, his phone made a noise in his pocket. Taking it out, he turned it on and checked the screen.
I’m not done with you yet, the message read.
Alan felt his sandwich trying to crawl back up and swallowed it down, washing it down with the icy cold beer. He took a deep breath and stared at the phone. It took a minute for his fingers to work, but when they did, he typed: I did what you asked. I’m done.
Soon, came through a moment later. The one word sent chills down his spine. He was just now getting some of his wits back, and this fucker wasn’t going to let him rest.
He got in his phone and called his office. He had to make sure that his family was safe.
The phone rang and luckily, his manager, Beau, answered. “Champion Security, how can I help you?”
“Beau, this is Alan. I need you to get one of the new systems and bring it out to the house. I want the entire place wired by the end of the day.”
“Is everything okay?” Beau asked. He was a nice guy, and Alan liked him a lot, but he wasn’t about to tell him about how Jamie had been taken or the other crazy shit going on in his life.
“Yeah, man. We’re good. I just to looking at this security, and it’s really outdated. I’d also like you to connect me to the manpower extension, please.”
“Sure thing, boss, but are you sure things are okay? I mean, new security, manpower too?”
“Yeah, I
want to be thorough. There’s been some petty crime in my neck of the woods, nothing serious.” He took a deep breath and tried to get just how serious it was out of his mind. He could still see Jamie tied up in that chair, see Seth on the floor. It had been one hell of a week so far.
“Okay, man,” said Beau, “I’ll have Jason come out and hook it up. Call if you need me.” He waited on the line while he was transferred and made arrangements for a man to sit outside Starla’s house to watch for anything suspicious. Adding the manpower branch to his company had been the best move ever for the company, but he never expected that he would have to use it.
He chugged the rest of his beer and went back in the house to pack. If that killer was coming after him, he wouldn’t find anyone at home.
Chapter 5
Darek
Even though Darek had gotten out of his appointment before nine, he decided to take his time and enjoy the morning. Knowing if he was needed Max would call, he went back home to chill out for an hour and paid some bills.
Everyone needed a little time now and then, and he didn’t even have to take an entire weekend away from everyone in his life to have it. Still being pissed at Lizzy was unhealthy, and he was ready to move on. Jumping into their relationship so quickly had been a mistake, and if she was already to the point of lying to have a little time away from him, then maybe it wasn’t meant to be.
As if she’d heard his thoughts, the phone rang right when Darek’s pot pie came out of the oven. He placed it on the counter and picked up the phone. “Yeah?”
“Good morning to you too, Detective, where the hell are you?”
Darek chopped up his crust and stirred the pie to let it cool. “Home. I had a doctor’s appointment today.”
“Another doctor?” Lizzy sounded bored, and he remembered how she’d been annoyed over the last doctor being a woman.
“Yeah, she wanted to get with me early. Start her day off with a bang.” He hoped it made Lizzy wonder.
Lizzy sighed. “Well, I hope it went well, but I need you to get your ass to Regency Suites room five-o-three. We have a murder.” The phone call disconnected.
Shit. Just when he thought that he could take a fucking break, he had to run. He sat the phone on the counter and looked down at his pie. It was still too hot, but he was determined. He dipped in his fork. The steaming entrée burned his lips as he took a bite, and his tongue didn’t fare any better. He huffed and quickly swallowed, hoping that he had spared the roof of his mouth. No such luck.
He went to get on his pants and shoes, and then after grabbing his keys, he took the pie and his fork and carried them with him.
After a busy drive across town, he arrived at the hotel and headed up to room five-o-three, where a crowd was already starting to form.
Lizzy was with the body, and Darek held back to look for Max. He scanned the room, but his friend was busy with one of the hotel maids who held her hand in front of her mouth and wiped tears as she spoke.
“There you are,” said Lizzy, waving him over. “Like it or not, detective, we have to work together. And it looks like we have another victim of the Zodiacs.” She knelt down and turned the victim’s head. That was when Seth’s face became recognizable to Darek.
Numbness came over him like a warm blanket, and the world seemed to slow down around him for a brief moment until Lizzy spoke. “This V-shaped mark looks an awful lot like the Aries symbol.”
“Yeah, I believe it is. It’s the same size and shape of the others.” As if feeling sympathy, his shoulder started to tingle where his mark had been removed, but he fought the urge to scratch, not wanting to draw any attention to himself. “What have you gathered?” He figured she’s been at the scene long enough to have talked to some witnesses without him or at least know what was going on.
“Well, he didn’t show up for check out at ten-thirty, and the cleaning lady went in and found him. He’s been there for several hours. I’d say he was killed around midnight, maybe a little before. His name is Seth Stone, and he’s from Dallas. By the photos in the wallet and the ring he’s wearing, he’s married.”
Max walked across the room with his phone to his ear. “We have a celebrity boys and girls. This guy was running for office in Dallas. I just got the call back on his license scan.”
“Crooked politician?” mumbled Lizzy to no one in particular. She turned and met my eyes. “Do we know what he was in town for, by the scene?”
“There was a contract in his suitcase,” said Officer Darius Coleman, who had been processing the scene. “It looks like he was here on business. He sold some property to Bay Collins just hours earlier.”
“You mean The Slayer?” asked Max.
Darius laughed. “That’s him. And there’s also an Alan Lowe listed. I’ll get on the phone and call them in.”
“By the condoms in the trash, he had a very good time, so he wasn’t alone,” Max said. “Did the security cameras find anything?”
“Do they ever?” asked Lizzy. “This time, the manager reported that there was a system reboot around the time of the murder. It isn’t uncommon for the companies to reboot their systems and do tests late at night when fewer people are logging in and out of the systems.”
Darek could barely look down at his friend, and the sound kept coming and going in and out of his ears like his brain was short-circuiting. He didn’t know if he was about to go down or not, so he took a few deep breaths and then walked over by the window. The sun beaming in helped to clear his head, and he turned to look at the bed. Seth had been entertaining, and from what he’d learned, it could have been a man as well as a woman; maybe both. He’d learned his friend’s tastes were far-reaching and wondered how something like that could have impacted his campaign. He thought of Seth’s home life, and how he’d married a young bride who apparently was into the same lifestyle. Chances were, this wasn’t a jealous lover, but it was sure to be a scandal when it hit the papers back home.
“What do you make of all this?” asked Lizzy from the foot of the bed.
“He could have been on a hit list, given his political aspirations, and since he’s away from home, he could have been having an affair.”
“Could have been having an affair? I’d say it’s likely. He’s a married man, and there are two condoms in the trash, five on the nightstand.”
“That doesn’t always indicate an affair. He could have had an open marriage, or maybe it was a one-nighter. He came in after the deal and called up a couple of prostitutes maybe?”
Lizzy gave him a look that said she wasn’t buying it. “I appreciate you thinking outside of the box, but I see a duck. You know, if it walks like one, quacks like one? At least until something else is proven.”
Darek didn’t want to argue. He was just throwing up ideas the same as she was. “Well, then maybe someone caught him cheating on his wife and followed him out here to do him in.”
As he stared at the white pillow on the bed, where Seth’s or someone’s head had left an impression, Darek thought of Raven. He wondered if she’d seen Seth on this trip. She had been with him and his wife, as well as Finn and Bay. There was no telling whose DNA was going to show up in this investigation, and with Bay Collins and Alan Lowe’s names on the contract, they were already going to be questioned. The narrower this case got, the narrower his tightrope.
“Has anyone been instructed to call his family?” asked Darek. He hated to be the bearer of bad news, but he felt more and more responsible with each death. Soon there would be no one left, and he would be standing face to face with the killer.
“I thought one of the officers would do it. Did you want to call?” She gave him a strange look, and he shook his head.
“No, I just thought if anyone hadn’t, I don’t mind. It’s probably best an officer do it. I’ve been a little cloudy lately. A lot going on.” He looked up and realized that the coroner’s office had arrived to take Seth’s body.
While the rest of the crew worked the scene, Lizzy took Darek
’s arm and walked him into the bathroom. “I would like for us to talk.” She rested her hand on his chest and moved in closer.
He looked at her hand and then met her eyes. “About the case? Sure, talk away.”
She searched his eyes. “I think we need to talk about what happened with us.”
“I don’t think that’s important right now, Lizzy. Besides, how do I know what you say would be the truth?”
“I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have lied to you, but as I said, we’re not a couple, and if I need a little space to clear my head, you shouldn’t freak out about it.”
“Once again, you’re missing the point. But while you want to talk about it, let’s just get it out in the open right now. Who were you with?”
She met his eyes. “I wasn’t with anyone.”
He had a hard time believing that, and he didn’t think it was just because of what had happened at the club with him and Raven. “When we talked, you said you couldn’t talk at that time, that you weren’t alone, and you didn’t want to get caught on the phone. So, who were you with?”
“It was just an attendant from the spa, and I didn’t want to talk, Darek. Okay? It wasn’t anything personal; sometimes I just need time for me. I’m sure you can relate.”
“I can; I need that kind of time now.” Darek grabbed her wrist and moved her hand off of his chest. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Lots and lots of space, and you’re going to give it to me.” He turned and walked out of the bathroom and back to the scene.
Lizzy walked out a moment later, looking up at Max who had turned to look at both of them. “It’s clear,” she said as if they had just gone in to check the bathroom.
Darek turned to give her a sideward look. She was sure good at bullshit, and he felt like a fool. He wouldn’t fault her for having mixed feelings or even needing space, even if she had been with someone, but lying, especially when there wasn’t any sense in it, was uncalled for and unacceptable.