CHAPTER 39
‘Are you sure she is not covering for him?’
Lexie shook her head vigorously.
‘Dani wouldn’t do that. She is a diligent cop.’
After the interview with Bream, Lexie had rung Dani to verify his alibi, that he was with her the night Melissa McDermott was murdered. During their tense conversation, Dani had admitted that Rod Bream had in fact spent the night with her. This admission was followed by an awkward silence that had stretched until Lexie had thanked her for the information and hung up. Sadly, this investigation and Bream’s involvement in it was putting pressure on their friendship. Lexie hoped that when it was all over they could get past it.
‘Well, love does strange things to people,’ Brad mumbled under his breath. ‘We may have stirred him up enough to start talking to someone.’
Lexie gave him a doubtful glance.
‘What, you believe absolutely everything he said now?’ Brad cried, looking amazed. ‘You women change your mind like the bloody wind.’
‘I know I was convinced he was somehow involved, but you have to admit, he did seem sincere and genuinely shocked about everything we put to him.’
Brad groaned in apparent frustration.
‘Lexie, he lied to you about knowing Melissa McDermott. He lied to Dani by playing up on her with not one, but two other girls – who we know of, there may be more – and you still believe everything he says?’
‘I didn’t say I believe everything he says, but . . . I don’t think he’s our killer. Besides Dani just verified his whereabouts—’
Brad put up his hand to stop her talking.
‘No offence to your friend but I’d take her word with a grain of salt.’
‘Dani would not cover for a killer. She wouldn’t lie about something like that.’
Brad scoffed.
‘Didn’t she tell you she wanted nothing more to do with Bream? Just the other night, didn’t she tell you she wouldn’t be treated like a doormat? By my calculations, that was pretty soon after spending the night with him at her place.’
Lexie sighed. She was not going to win. Besides, Brad had a point. But she couldn’t be bothered getting into a debate with him right now. Her brain was starting to shut down like an overused computer hard drive. Carrying out her customary tidy-up, she stacked her paperwork in trays, put pens and pencils in drawers, then sprayed the surface of her desk with disinfectant and wiped it down.
‘What if he was lying through his teeth and he warns whoever this Natalia is that we are on to her?’ Brad said to Lexie, clearly not finished with their discussion.
Lexie shrugged.
‘What can we do? We had to let him go. We had nothing to hold him on. If he does call Natalia, it will be picked up on the telephone intercept and we’ll have him. But I don’t think that’s going to happen.’
Lexie was so tired it was an effort just to talk.
‘And if she is a no-show in the morning we’ll know she’s been tipped off and we’ll bring him in again.’
Lexie grabbed the car keys out of her handbag.
‘But I don’t think that is going to happen either. Now I have to go before I fall asleep sitting here.’
Brad agreed and grabbed his jacket.
‘We had a productive day today, Lex. I’ll walk you to your car.’
Lexie would normally disagree and insist she was fine to walk to her car alone. But for two reasons she didn’t do that: one, she was too exhausted to argue; and two, she was on edge. The memory of the rose in that glass vase was ever-present in her mind.
For once she just accepted his offer.
‘Thanks Brad, I’d appreciate that.’
*
Lexie couldn’t help but drag her feet as she climbed the flight of stairs that led to her front door. Each time she lifted a foot it felt as if a lead weight was attached to the sole of her shoe. Her muscles ached. Her eyes felt as though they had been rubbed with crushed glass. The last burst of adrenaline had worn off and her energy was on the fast downhill slide. Lexie couldn’t wait to see Josh, but feared she might only be capable of keeping her eyes open for a very short time.
Rifling around in her handbag for her keys, it took her a moment to remember that they would be useless. The locks had been changed. She would have to knock on the door and hope Josh was awake.
As she reached the top of her landing, Lexie stopped dead in her tracks. The blood drained from her face. She grabbed the wall for support as she stared at the words scratched across her front door.
‘YOU’RE NEXT, BITCH.’
Oh my God.
Her first thought was concern for Josh. Was he all right? Lexie banged on the door. There was no answer. She reached inside her handbag for her phone. She dialled Josh’s number while concentrating on taking deep breaths. There was no answer. Lexie growled and redialled his number. This time he picked up straight away.
‘Hi, Lex, you home yet?’
There was a lot of background noise. It sounded like he was at a pub.
‘Where are you? I thought you were here waiting for me?’
Lexie knew her voice sounded accusing and slightly whiny, but she couldn’t help it. She wanted Josh here. Now!
‘I thought you could be caught up at work all night and Troy called. A few of the boys were meeting for a drink at the Clovelly. I haven’t seen them for a while. I didn’t think it would be a problem. I thought I’d still probably beat you home.’
‘I need you to come home; I mean come to my place. Right away . . . please . . . now.’
‘What’s wrong? Are you all right?’
His voice was now full of concern.
‘Just hurry. I’ll be waiting outside.’
Lexie hung up and dashed down the stairs and out into the cold night. She stood on the footpath near the streetlight. Wisps of sea fog floated around her.
Her heart hammered loudly as she stared up at the black sky. She felt very alone. The silvery moon poking between the clouds was her only company. But Lexie felt a whole lot safer outside in the street than she did inside her own flat right now.
Someone had been in her home last night. Someone had carved a threat into her door. She shivered. Not just from the cold.
Someone wanted her dead.
CHAPTER 40
Peripherally Lexie caught a glimpse of something, a hazy outline coming out of the darkness. She heard heavy footsteps pounding the pavement and then Josh was standing before her. She let out a startled gasp.
‘It’s me, Lex. It’s Josh.’
He was panting as if he had just run a marathon. Little clouds of mist puffed out of his mouth each time he opened it.
‘Are you all right?’ Josh asked, breathlessly.
Lexie nodded and to her horror felt the beginnings of tears.
Josh pulled her into his arms. She welcomed the warmth, the security of his embrace. She could feel his heart pounding in his chest.
Taking a deep breath, Lexie disentangled herself from him and, figuring it was best just to show him what had upset her, she took his hand and silently led him to her front door. Standing back she waited for his reaction as his eyes settled on the message scratched into the wood.
‘ “You’re next, bitch”?’
His tone was disbelieving as he read the words aloud.
‘Holy shit. What the fuck . . . ?’
Moving closer to the door, Josh examined the damage.
‘It looks as if someone has used a key or something thick and sharp.’
He turned and stared again at Lexie, who stood transfixed by the wall.
‘Do you have any idea who could have done this?’
‘The same person who left the rose has to have done it. It’s whoever killed Jenna. And Melissa, and maybe even Bream’s girlfriend, two years ago.’
Lexie could feel her voice beginning to rise a few octaves. With Josh’s arrival her fear had subsided somewhat, until now. Staring at the words again, the full meaning behind them
sunk in.
‘Someone wants me dead, Josh.’
He was by her side in an instant, wrapping her up in his arms, kissing the top of her head, smoothing strands of blonde hair off her face.
‘Nothing is going to happen to you while I’m around, Lexie. At least the lock worked,’ he said. ‘Whoever did this probably tried to get in but couldn’t. Maybe that pissed them off enough to leave this message.’
The knowledge that the new locks had denied whoever had her old key access was at least a small comfort.
‘Did you speak to Bream?’
‘Yes, he has been on a fishing trawler since Friday morning, so whoever left that rose, it was not him. He also has an alibi for the night Melissa was murdered.’
Lexie couldn’t be bothered going into the details that involved Dani right now.
‘What about the night Jenna . . . died?’
Josh seemingly couldn’t bring himself to say the word murdered.
‘Bream reckons he was working. We have to check that out tomorrow.’
Josh looked thoughtful, concerned.
‘We should probably call Casey and tell her—’
Lexie cut him off.
‘No! She’ll take me off the case.’
Josh shook his head. Opening the front door with the new key, he guided Lexie inside.
‘We don’t need the neighbours hearing our conversation.’
Lexie walked into her flat and took a seat on the lounge.
‘Can you lock the door, please, Josh.’
As she watched him set the deadlock and attach the chain, the tears that had been threatening earlier sprang from her eyes without warning. There was no holding them back this time. She wiped them away with the back of her hands.
‘What’s wrong with me?’ she sniffed. ‘Am I some sort of psycho magnet or what?’
Josh came to sit next to her. Taking a handful of tissues from the box on the coffee table, he handed them to Lexie.
‘You’re not a psycho magnet. But I do think we need to tell Casey about this. Remember what happened the last time you told nobody you were receiving threatening text messages? You nearly got killed,’ Josh pointed out. ‘And once this is official we can get forensics in. We might be able to get a fingerprint from the door.’
Lexie shook her head adamantly, an irrational wave of anger setting her jaw into a straight line.
‘No. There won’t be any prints.’
‘You don’t know that.’
‘You said there were no prints on the vase. There will be no prints on the door. Only an idiot would be dumb enough to leave their mark and I don’t think this person is dumb. As for Casey, I’ll tell her after the operation tomorrow. By that stage, hopefully, it might be all over.’
Josh gave Lexie a long look. One that told her he didn’t agree but would not push it any further.
‘As I said before, at least whoever it was couldn’t get in. We’re safe here. But we can go to my place, stay there tonight. Would you rather that?’
Lexie shook her head obstinately.
‘No. I am not going to be run out of my own home. I’m staying here.’
Her voice sounded strong, determined, exactly the opposite of how she felt.
‘As long as you stay with me, that is,’ she finished, with a half-hearted smile.
‘I’m not going anywhere,’ Josh said, kissing the side of her face gently. ‘Come on, let’s go to bed. To sleep. Only to sleep. You’ve had a big day and tomorrow will be even bigger. You need your rest.’
Lexie couldn’t imagine how she was going to sleep, even with Josh next to her. Her mind was in a dark place. She knew what fear and anxiety could do to her. Like a noxious weed it could fester and grow, strangle you from the inside. Lexie would not allow that to happen ever again.
Fear is a parasite that will eat you alive.
But not if you don’t allow it.
The wording on her door smeared across her mind.
‘You’re next, bitch.’
She shivered involuntarily and put her head in the crook of Josh’s neck. She tried to think of other things.
‘Batman had an epileptic fit tonight at work,’ Lexie told him.
‘Is he okay?’ Josh asked, looking deeply into her eyes.
‘Yes, he will be but it was horrible to watch. Really scary.’
Josh hugged her, then kissed her hair.
‘Do I have anything to worry about where Batman is concerned?’
Lexie had wondered how long it would take him to ask the question.
‘No, you have nothing to worry about where anyone is concerned.’
‘Good.’
All of a sudden she felt exhausted, boneless. She wondered if she could take a step without falling to the floor.
‘I want a shower.’
Josh nodded. As if knowing she needed his support, they walked arm in arm towards the bathroom. Unlike Josh’s beautifully renovated flat, Lexie’s modest one-bedder was what she liked to call ornately original. When she had moved in after the split with Zack, she had done some cosmetic work, which basically comprised a paint job. That had been all she was able to afford. It still was. But she was not complaining. At least she had a place to call her own.
As though in a trance, Lexie stood in the doorway of the bathroom and watched Josh push the shower curtain back, lean over the bath – that also doubled as a shower recess – and twist the taps. The old pipes spluttered and screamed for a moment before a steaming spray of hot water exploded from the faucet.
Josh tested the temperature with his hand and then fiddled with the tap some more, before surprising Lexie by discarding his clothing and stepping into the shower.
I thought I was the one having a shower?
He kept his back to her.
‘I could do with a quick shower myself. I’ll just be a second, I promise.’
Lexie didn’t move from her post by the door. She was incapable of any movement at all except that of her eyes. They travelled the length of Josh’s body, completely mesmerised by the play of the finely tuned muscles moving under his darkly tanned skin.
In the dim glow of the bathroom light, Lexie drank in his perfectly proportioned masculine form: wide shoulders, biceps cut to perfection, trim waist, strong thighs and tight butt. Not to mention the parts of Josh that were facing away from her. The gorgeous chest, the toned abdomen and stomach muscles, the lean hips and his very impressive . . .
Turning, Josh caught Lexie’s appraisal and smiled boldly.
‘Are you checking me out?’
Lexie shrugged, feeling suddenly warm.
‘You caught me.’
His smile turned inviting. Holding out his hand, Josh said, ‘Come on in. There is plenty of room. I’ll wash your back for you. But no funny business, I promise.’
Lexie felt a wave of disappointment.
Stepping out of her clothing, she followed him in. Josh stepped aside, out of the stream of water and manoeuvred her in front of him. Lexie sighed as the spray hit her skin.
‘Oh, that’s so nice.’
Josh’s fingers slid across the back of her neck, gently massaging and kneading her tight muscles. She let her head drop forward, not caring that her hair would get wet.
‘That feels soooo good.’
‘You look soooo good,’ Josh whispered in her ear, his voice husky. Kissing the side of her neck, he suddenly stopped, moved himself back away from her.
‘Sorry, I promised no funny business.’
Josh reached around her and took the bar of soap from the shower tray.
‘I’ll stick to the plan and wash your back.’
Lexie wasn’t sure she wanted Josh to stick to the plan. They were standing naked in the shower together. She didn’t want to consider that he could so easily resist her.
Josh rubbed the soap across the back of her neck, along the skin of her shoulders, down to her waist, over the cheeks of her butt and then back up again. Lexie just stood still with her eyes closed,
letting him take control. Josh’s hand suddenly froze on her hip.
‘I know you’re exhausted, Lex. Maybe I should get out and let you finish up in here,’ he suggested, though he didn’t make a move to leave. ‘Unless you want me to stay . . .’
Without moving a muscle, Lexie said, ‘I want you . . . to stay.’
That was all the encouragement Josh needed. He began to nibble on the back of her neck as his hand travelled around her waist, to the front of her and started slowly rubbing the soap in circles across her flat stomach. From there his hand moved to the curve of her hips and back up again to under her arms. Gliding the soap luxuriously across her shoulders, he circled around her breasts, without touching them, in a large figure eight.
It was sweet and sensuous torture. Lexie felt her legs go weak.
‘Josh, I think you’re teasing me.’
‘Who me?’ His voice was low in her ear. ‘Never . . .’
Josh’s other hand, still holding the soap, started to roam over Lexie’s breasts, across her nipples. Then, when he voyaged downwards, his hand moving between her legs, she gasped as his fingers instantly, expertly, found the most sensitive part of her. Hit with such a powerful rush of pleasure, Lexie was capable of doing nothing other than experiencing it.
‘Oh God, Josh . . .’
Lexie’s body took on a new lease on life. She became a bundle of sensation and raging hormones. The exhaustion of earlier was replaced by a raw primitive need that had to be satisfied. She hardly recognised the erotic moans that came from deep in her throat. Small, helpless sounds of need escaped her parted lips as his fingers worked their magic. Josh had a skill. He knew just where to touch her, how much pressure to exert to make her desperate and weak with desire.
Lexie froze as his fingers upped the tempo. The movement of his thumb circling the most sensitive part of her was heavenly, sublime, sensory overload.
Oh God . . . Don’t stop.
Instinctively her hips began to move shamelessly. Enraptured, she flattened her hand over his, keeping it in place, grinding her body against it. Her heart was racing. Her breath was coming hard and fast.
‘Please, don’t stop,’ she gasped.
Deadly Obsession Page 32