B00CCYP714 EBOK

by Bradshaw, R. E.

  Danny came back on the line. “Is the mother there?”

  “I can understand not wanting to upset his mother. He says she’s bedridden.”

  “Do you think she’s really there?” he asked.

  “No, I think we’re long past that. I think you’re the only one that can make Mike understand how you feel.”

  “Norman Bates, is it?”

  “Oh yes, exactly,” Rainey answered.

  “Okay, there is a patrol unit a block away. It’s rolling to you. Hang on,” Danny said.

  Mike took a few more steps in Rainey’s direction. It was time for her to make her move.

  “Okay, I’m going to hand the phone to him now,” Rainey said. She held the phone out to Mike, talking loudly enough for Danny to hear. “Give me the gun, Mike, and I’ll let you talk to her.”

  Mike Hopkins loved Katie Meyers beyond reason. Had he thought it through, he would have known that Rainey would not let him near her wife. She certainly would not hand him a phone to talk to her. His delusion made it impossible to resist her offer. He stuck the gun out for her to take and snatched the phone from her hand. Rainey took the revolver, opened the cylinder, and dumped the bullets onto the floor.

  Mike did not seem to care. “He-hel-hello, K-K-Katie.”

  The weapon secured, Rainey set it down on the hall table and grabbed for Mike’s wrist. She twisted his arm behind his back and swept his legs out from under him, while he continued to talk to his imaginary Katie. His obsession prevented him from recognizing that he had been duped.

  “K-Katie, I’ve wanted to talk to you forever,” he said, just before Rainey landed a knee in his back and forced his face into the floor.

  “Rainey, what are you doing?” Molly said from the doorway.

  “Get my cuffs out of the console, Molly.”

  “I am not participating in a kidnapping, Rainey,” Molly argued.

  “The cops are on the way. I just want to secure him. He had a gun on me,” she said, chuckling at the look of horror on Molly’s face.

  The phone had fallen on the floor by Mike’s head. He was not struggling to get free, but fighting to pick up the phone, as he yelled repeatedly. “I love you, Katie Meyers. I love you.”

  Rainey leaned over him. “Mike—Mike, hey, hey, relax.”

  His face was red and he was slobbering like an animal, as he professed his love for Katie through spit-laden words of devotion.

  Rainey popped his face against the floor, not too hard, but enough to get his attention. He craned his neck, peering up at her out of the corner of one eye.

  “There you are,” Rainey said, smiling at him. “Just relax, Mike. The sad truth about Katie Meyers is she would be telling me not to hurt you—that I should understand you are in need of mental health care. Katie’s sweet like that.”

  Rainey heard Molly explaining to the patrol officer that her client was in the process of making a citizen’s arrest that had somehow spilled into the man’s home.

  Rainey put her lips close to Mike’s ear. “But I’m not sweet, Mike. In fact, I’d like to end this all here, snap your neck and be done with you. Here’s your warning, M-M-Mike. Don’t come near my family again. Find a new obsession or the next time I see you will be the last breath you take. Don’t fuck with me, Mike. I’ll kill you.”

  She slammed his face into the floor again, this time a little more forcefully, just as the officer entered the hallway. Rainey looked up at the breathless female officer, who did not look a day over eighteen. She smiled, knowing this young woman would not soon forget this day.

  “You should call your supervisor,” Rainey said, her knee still in Mike Hopkins’s back. “I think you’ll find a body upstairs. It’s his mother. I think she’s been dead for quite some time.”

  The officer went pale.

  “Hey,” Rainey said, softly. “Take a breath and cuff this guy.”

  Rainey helped handcuff Mike’s hands behind his back and then stood to face the young officer. She looked at her nametag.

  “Officer Hammond, study this case. Interview this man. Careers are made on understanding how these guys think.”

  Hammond studied Rainey’s face for a moment. “You’re Rainey Bell, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, and I’m giving out free career advice today. If you can close off your emotions, walk up those stairs and evaluate the crime scene, then welcome to the launch of your career. What you have here is a real life ‘Psycho,’ not a movie. If you’re going to go pale when faced with the evil that men do, find another career before the nightmares find you.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Hammond said, warier now after the reprimand.

  Rainey felt a little remorse for stating the facts so plainly. She buoyed the young woman with her next comment.

  “Call it in, officer, and read this asshole his rights. Don’t let the big dogs come in and take your arrest away. Get your paperwork started and stand your ground.”

  Hammond smiled broadly. “Yes, ma’am!”

  Rainey left Hammond to her tasks. She felt no need to verify her suspicions. There was definitely a body in that house. No amount of air freshener and mothballs could mask the scent of human decay.

  Molly, who had remained on the porch, peeked in the doorway as Rainey was coming out. “He didn’t have a bloody nose a minute ago,” she observed.

  Rainey smirked. “He slipped.”

  She sat down on the porch steps, waiting to give her statement so they could go.

  Molly joined her. “Before or after he was in cuffs? I’m only asking while it’s fresh in your memory, in case he sues you for breaking his nose. And what exactly are you having him arrested for? The blog is a civil matter. I have to serve papers on him, before he is in violation of the judge’s order.”

  “Don’t worry, Molly. Where he’s going, they don’t allow access to the Internet.”

  “Why? Any good defense attorney could argue he had a right to pull a gun on you. You did kick the door in,” Molly argued.

  “Yeah, are you volunteering for the job?” Rainey teased her. “Before you do, you might want to find out if his mother’s rotting corpse was a result of natural causes.”

  Molly blinked, and then shook her head. “It’s never normal around you, is it?”

  Rainey grinned. “Nope. Not by a long shot.”

  #

  “It never ceases to amaze me what you stumble into,” Gunny said, taking another bite of her sandwich.

  Katie was feeding Rainey and Gunny lunch, while the grandmothers played with the triplets in the den. “Stick around. Norman Bates types are the least entertaining of the freaks that find her fascinating,” she said as she refilled Rainey’s glass of tea.

  Rainey swallowed a bite of sandwich. “Need I remind you, this particular freak was obsessed with you? Speaking of that, why didn’t you tell me about the protection order on Vance Wayne?”

  “His ex-wife brought her son to the shelter last summer until she could move again. Even divorced, he terrorized her. He tried to enter the property and was removed. Molly filed the order on behalf of the shelter, among many others. If I told you about every protection order we file, you’d spend all your time investigating them. The security team is doing its job. You put the measures in place. They did what you told them to do when a threat was made.”

  Gunny chuckled into her plate.

  “What’s so funny, Marine?” Rainey asked playfully.

  “You might as well give up, boss. She has an answer for everything.”

  Katie was just about to reply, when the alarm erupted in the backyard. Rainey darted to the security monitor, where her eyes narrowed on a figure rattling the back gate and yelling into the camera. She shut off the alarm and started for the backdoor.

  Katie called after her. “Wait, you don’t have a gun.”

  “I do,” Gunny said, springing from her chair, heading for the garage door.

  “You have another gun in your car?” Katie demanded.

  Rainey kept movi
ng. The last thing she heard before leaving the house was Gunny saying, “I don’t think right now is a good time to argue about it.”

  Rainey did not need a firearm. She sprinted across the long lawn to the back gate and yanked it open, launching into the man. “Martin Douglas Cross, I’m about to make you piss your pants again, and I don’t even have a weapon this time.”

  Martin backed up with both hands up in front of him in surrender. “Hey, hey, look, I just need to talk to you. It’s really important.”

  “Come here,” she said, grabbing him by the shoulder and throwing him into her backyard. “I want to make sure this is legal when I kick your ass.”

  He stumbled through the gate, pleading his case. “Wait! Wait! You need to hear this. Really, I don’t want to cause any trouble. You need to know someone close to you is feeding me information.”

  “Rex King is feeding you information. He’s hardly close to me. And that bullshit you took out of context in Danny’s testimony? Just go ahead and print that.” She took a step closer to him, which made him flinch. “I also have reason to believe you had something to do with trying to frame me for murder,” she growled through clenched teeth. “I saw you with my weapon.”

  She had not worked out in a week. Punching a bag kept her inner rage at bay. The frustration of the past few days was rushing to the surface and Rainey really wanted to hit something. Martin’s face looked like an excellent target.

  “No, no, that’s wrong,” he cried, swaying back and forth like a drunk in a fight.

  Gunny thundered up behind Rainey. “I got him, boss. I can drop him where he stands.”

  “Wait, wait, listen to me.” Marty was growing more and more afraid for his life. Desperate, he started spouting information. “I don’t know who is framing you, but it has something to do with Michael Paul Perry. That’s where I got my information, an anonymous source that knows all about his adoption into that powerful DC family, and accuses you of causing his suicide. This person contacted me about your gun being used in a crime, before the police even knew about the murder. I told the police that.”

  “You had access to my weapon, Marty. I have the video of Rex giving it to you. How do I know you aren’t the one setting me up with your partner, the dick detective?”

  “Rex just doesn’t like you. He let me look at your weapon, he got me the testimony transcripts, but honestly, I don’t think he’s the one framing you. How would he know about the Perry kid? It’s someone much closer to you than Rex King.”

  Rainey goaded him. She wanted a good reason to kick his ass. “Why so generous, Marty? I thought you wanted to see me get what’s coming to me. How’s that going to help sell your book?”

  “You don’t deserve to go to prison for something you did not do. Besides, the truth about you is more interesting than myths and innuendo.”

  Rainey dropped her aggressive tone. “Okay, I’m listening. How do you know it’s someone close to me?”

  Martin relaxed just a little, but kept his eyes on Gunny and the weapon she had aimed at his chest. “My informant knows too much about you, your comings and goings, the cases you’re working, the pictures that hang on the walls in your office.”

  “That’s all doable with the right surveillance equipment,” Rainey countered. She was still unwilling to believe she let someone inside her security net who would do her harm.

  “The guard’s dog’s name is Buddy, if he asks. You cannot enter your home without defeating four levels of security. There are no weapons allowed past the foyer or garage door. The panic room is in the master suite closet, behind a hidden panel, accessible only by biometric lock.”

  Rainey dropped her hands to her sides. “Enough.” She took a step toward Martin and he ducked, anticipating a blow. “I’m not going to hit you. Give me your business card.”

  Astonished at the request, Martin asked, “What?”

  Rainey held out her hand. “Give me your card. I have things to do today, but I will sit down and talk with you. I will call you as soon as things settle down around here.”

  Martin dug around in his coat pocket, producing a card emblazoned with, “Cross Examinations: The real story.”

  “Catchy, Martin,” Rainey said, slipping it in her pocket. “Now, out you go. I don’t advise trying this approach again. They’re giving me my firearms back today.”

  She escorted the still trembling writer out the back gate.

  “Thank you for not kicking my ass,” Martin said.

  Rainey smiled and looked down at his crotch. “Sorry about the pants, Martin. I’ll call you.”

  She closed the gate and turned to Gunny. “You know she’s going to rake us both over the coals for the firearm violation, a second offense, I might add.”

  “No, I don’t think so. She shouted at me to go get it and go after you. I think she’s glad I broke the rules, and I may have actually won a point in my argument.”

  Rainey laughed, patting Gunny on the back. “Oorah, Gunny.”

  “Oorah,” came the reply.

  On the outside, Rainey was calm, almost serene, laughing and joking with Gunny on the way back to the house. On the inside, her mind was racing through the list of construction workers, architects, employees, friends, and acquaintances, even family members who had access to her home. Her cellphone rang, as she chuckled at the argument Gunny was preparing in favor of allowing weapons in locked vehicles in the garage. She pulled it out of her pocket, seeing Junior’s number on the screen. As hard as she tried not to allow it, doubt crept into mind. That’s what Martin had just set in motion, Rainey’s inability to trust anyone, even a man she considered a little brother.

  “Hang on, Gunny. I need to take this. It might be about Mackie.” Rainey stopped walking and answered the phone. “Hey, Junior. Is Mackie all right?”

  Junior proudly announced, “He came through with flying colors. That’s what Dr. Herndon said. He should make a complete recovery, and be healthier than he was two days ago. He’s in recovery now. We should be able to see him in a few hours.”

  “Great. Katie and I were planning on coming after we get the kids down for their afternoon nap.”

  “Okay, I’ll tell Thelma and Ernie. They haven’t left the waiting room all day.”

  “Gunny is going to stay here at the house. We’ll drive separate cars, so I can stay for the night if I need to. Thelma would probably like to go home for a bit. I’m sure you could use a break, too. You haven’t left him either, have you?”

  “Why does Gunny need to stay at your house? I thought you caught the stalker guy. Who are you afraid of?” Junior asked.

  “Someone tried to frame me for murder. Until I figure out who that is, I’m not standing down. It may take days or years, but I’m going to figure out who this is.”

  “I hear that,” Junior said. “I contacted Brooks.” He paused to chuckle. “She likes me.”

  “You’re pretty, Junior. Just her type,” Rainey said, laughing with him.

  “I asked her to run deeper background check on everybody associated with the bail business. Brooks can dig a little deeper than the rest of us, as you know. She said she was coming over to your house to stay a few days and would work on it for me.”

  “And what did she wrangle out of you in return?” Rainey teased.

  “She said I had to come serve her drinks at your house with my shirt off, just so she could look at me. I don’t think she was serious.”

  Rainey cackled into the phone. “Oh, Junior. She was so serious. You better work on those abs.” The phone vibrated in her hand. She tipped it down to see Brooks’s number on call-waiting. “Speak of the devil, she’s calling me now. I’ll see you soon.”

  “My girlfriend would kill me. Tell her that.”

  “A deal’s a deal,” Rainey said into the receiver, and then hung up with Junior to answer the other call. “Hello, Brooks. Are you calling with your ETA?”

  “Rainey, Danny is on his way to you. Be calm,” Brooks said, with uncharacteristic
seriousness.

  “I thought he had to go back to Quantico,” Rainey said, worried but not sure what she should be worried about.

  “He was about to leave for the airport when I showed him what I found. He told me to call you and ran away with his head pressed to his phone.” She paused. “Where are the children, Rainey?”

  “Why, what’s wrong?” Rainey said, beginning to sprint for the backdoor.

  “It’s Gunny. She was raped at age eighteen, her first year in the service. She’s Michael Paul Perry’s birthmother.”

  Rainey stopped running. Gunny, who had been running beside her, skidded to a halt, too. Her eyes darted around the yard and to the house, looking for the enemy. When she made eye contact with Rainey, it only took a split second for the recognition to hit her. They locked eyes long enough for Rainey to see the transformation. Like the nictitating membrane retracting on a shark’s eye, Gunny blinked the psychopath into view.

  At that moment, Katie opened the backdoor. It distracted Gunny, but not Rainey. She threw her cellphone down and leapt for Gunny’s weapon, yelling, “Panic room, now Katie!”

  Rainey heard the door slam, but could not look up to confirm Katie was gone. She knew she was. One thing Katie recognized was Rainey’s “get to safety” voice, never hesitating to do what that voice said. Rainey got her confirmation, when seconds later the panic alarm exploded from the house. The guards would ignore it for the fifteen seconds allowed for resetting, after false alarms and appearances by the likes of Martin Douglas Cross. Katie was following procedure. By now, she would be rushing everyone into the panic room, where they would be safe. She would call the proper authorities from the emergency phone and wait for help. Rainey on the other hand had a major problem, surviving until that help arrived.

  Gunny Pierce was fully capable of killing with her bare hands, so it made no difference that Rainey had managed to knock the pistol from her grasp. She grabbed two fists full of Rainey’s hair, and began banging her knee repeatedly into Rainey’s face.