Victoria stepped out of the bathroom and retrieved her greatest excitement of the evening, her ice-cold vodka.
* * * *
Heads turned as the beautiful, envied couple entered the gallery. It was a full house. The room was filled with the chatter of mindless small talk, the clinging of priceless glasses of champagne and well-practiced, on cue laughs.
Victoria wore a fitted, backless black dress that trailed the floor. Six-inch high heels squeezed her feet. Her long, dark hair was elegantly pulled back into a tight bun. Sparkling diamonds hung from her ears. Her green eyes glowed and her full lips sparkled red.
Victoria was exquisite. She carried herself with a natural grace and elegance little girls practiced in front of their mirrors. Her exotic beauty was accompanied by an aloof shyness that created a mysterious air around her. Men swooned over her. Women truly did envy her. Her beauty was only outmatched by her wealth. Her husband’s wealth.
Victoria had met William at a charity event just over ten years ago. Like a moth to a fire, he was drawn to her unimpressed reaction to him. He relentlessly began pursuing her the day they met.
William courted Victoria, in the true sense of the word. He was a southern gentleman who opened doors, pulled out chairs, and called everyone ma’am and sir. Little did she know at the time, it was all an act.
Less than a year after they’d begun dating, he asked her to marry him underneath a star filled sky on the beaches of Bora Bora.
Victoria said no.
The rejection only made him more determined. He always got what he wanted. It took two more proposals for Victoria to finally say yes. They married three months later in a lavish ceremony on the shores of Fiji. To her husband’s dismay, Victoria kept her last name.
“Mrs. Henry, Mr. King, lovely to see you.”
“Lovely to see you, too, Mrs. Tao. You look incredible tonight.” William kissed her hand. Mrs. Tao blushed and glanced at Victoria. “What a beautiful dress.”
“Thank you.”
Victoria turned to her husband. “Sweetheart, I’m going to make the rounds.”
“Of course.” He kissed her cheek.
She was bombarded with tedious small talk as she made her way to the back of the gallery.
“Vee!”
Victoria smiled. “Natasha.”
Natasha excused herself from a group of men who looked like bloated penguins in their three-piece suits. They unabashedly watched her walk away.
“My God, you look beautiful!”
“Thank you, so do you.” She glanced down at Natasha’s cleavage and smirked. “The girls look nice.”
Natasha laughed. “They’re earning every cent tonight.” She wore a short, red cocktail dress that accentuated her curves. Natasha knew how to make a sale. She glanced around the room. “So, was Will able to make it back in time?”
Victoria’s smiled dropped. “Yes.”
Natasha touched her arm. “I’m sorry.”
Victoria took a deep breath and appreciated her understanding. “Me, too.” She shook her head as if shaking away the bad energy. “I need a drink.”
The ladies made their way to the bar and ordered two dirty martinis. Extra dirty. Victoria took a deep sip. “So, how’s business tonight?”
“Good, I think I’ve got three sold already.”
“Nice.” She glanced over to the corner of the room. “The penguins?”
“Yep. And I only had to accept one date.”
Victoria laughed. “What would I do without you?”
“Internally combust.”
“You’re probably right.” She took another sip. “How’s Jessica doing?”
Natasha rolled her brown eyes. She had no patience for the gallery’s young sales assistant. “Running around like a chicken with her head cut off.”
“Oh, come on, give the girl a break.”
“I’d like to, believe me.”
“And Brooke?”
“She’s doing great. Her crush is here tonight so she’s doing everything in her power to avoid him, of course.”
“Ah, young love.”
“Hello, Mrs. Henry!” Natasha and Victoria fell into conversation with the Mayor and his wife. After fifteen exhausting minutes of small talk, the two broke away.
They made their way into the back gallery when Natasha elbowed Victoria and motioned her to look toward the far corner of the room. Victoria followed her gaze.
Crowded in the dark corner was Victoria’s husband and a young, busty blonde. The two were in a deep, serious conversation. Victoria’s back straightened, her eyes narrowed.
Natasha lowered her voice. “A work associate?”
Victoria raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “Who knows?” She calmly sipped her drink and turned her back to her rich, handsome husband.
Chapter 3
Danny slowed as he drove through the road blocks. He rolled to a stop behind a squad car that was haphazardly parked behind a firetruck and ambulance. After turning off the engine, he zipped up his jacket and flipped up the collar. The light mist had turned into a steady rainfall, which did nothing to help the visibility of the dark night.
Beyond the parked cars, an officer stood at the edge of a ravine, hands on his hips. Water poured off the rim of his hat as he peered over. The EMT’s were pulling an empty body bag from the back of the ambulance. Never a good sign.
Danny got out of his vehicle and took a second to assess his surroundings. He was known for his keen instinct and sixth sense. Although it wasn’t always the most popular choice, he always trusted his gut, first and foremost.
Wiping the rain from his forehead, he knelt down and ran his finger along the fresh skid marks on the wet pavement. He looked around. A tall cliff lined the left side of the road, and a deep wooded ravine dropped to the right of the road. Steel guards ran along side of the narrow shoulder, which obviously had done nothing to avert this situation.
He closed his eyes, took a moment to listen to the world around him and imagine the moments before the accident.
He stood and walked briskly over to the officer.
“Where the hell are the klieg lights?”
Startled, the officer turned around. “Lieutenant Dabrowski, hello, sir.” A look of relief washed over the rookies’ face. This was Brian Wilson’s first dead body. “Smith’s setting them up now.”
Danny looked down the ravine. A path of broken trees led to an overturned vehicle, about twenty yards down. “Who’s been down?”
“I have, sir. Male, deceased.” Brian reached into his pocket and pulled out a camera. “I already photographed the scene. Sir.”
Danny noticed a flickering light in the rubble. “Who’s down there now?”
“The Fire Chief.”
Danny looked behind him and back at the rookie cop. “Do you think standing here is the best use of your time, Wilson?”
“Uh, no sir, sorry.” He hesitated.
Testing him, Danny asked, “How do you plan to get the body up the ravine?”
“Uh, I think we’re going to need a rope system, sir.”
Danny clenched his jaw. “Then why the hell aren’t you working on that?”
“Yes, sir.” The rookie scurried away.
The flood lights flicked on and illuminated the scene. Danny rolled up his jacket sleeves, crouched down and began his descent down the ravine. He was almost completely vertical, grabbing onto the broken limbs to edge himself down. The pouring rain didn’t help his descent. Loose rocks slid out from under him as he took each step. He angled his body and slid down.
“That you, Dabrowski?”
“Cartwright?”
“Yep.”
He stepped down to the car. “She sturdy?”
“Oh, hell yes, she’s wedged perfectly between these two thick trunks. Gonna be a bitch to get this out.”
Danny found solid footing on one of the tree trunks. Cartwright hunkered down on the other.
He took his flashlight from his belt, bent down, angled his head and lit up
the cab. The windows had been blown out and blood was sprayed everywhere. A body lay belly up across the seats, feet up in the air, head down in the passenger side foot hold.
“Can’t see his face from here.”
“Shit, man, do yourself a favor and don’t.”
He shined his light around the cab. The glovebox was popped open, papers strewn across the seat. He shined his light down the side of the truck and onto the tires.
“I’m coming over.”
“Suit yourself.”
Danny shimmied off the trunk, gripped onto branches and wedged himself behind the vehicle. Cartwright pulled him onto the other trunk. He looked in the window. Barely recognizable, half of the man’s face was a mushy blob.
“Damn.”
“Yeah.”
The rain began to pick up.
He shined his light around the passenger side of the cab. Blood and skin fragments were splattered across the roof.
“He wasn’t ejected.”
“Surprised the hell out of me too, but, look, the seatbelt stuck.”
“Hmm.” Danny glanced back up the ravine. “Son of a bitch must have been going pretty damn fast to get this banged up on the fall. That’s some thick foliage he mowed over.” He swept his light over the surrounding area, looking for anything that might have fallen out of the cab.
“That’s what I was thinking too. He took down some trees that I would’ve thought would stop a flipping vehicle.”
They looked up, hearing a yell from the road. “Throwing down ropes!”
“About fucking time.”
Cartwright laughed, “That kid’s as green as my shit.”
“You should probably get that checked out, Cartwright.”
The fire chief smirked. Danny was also known for his quick wit.
“Okay, let’s head up and see what we’ve got to pull this guy out.”
* * * *
Three hours later Danny peeled off his wet uniform, pulled on a pair of thin plaid boxers and walked to the kitchen. He’d gotten used to seeing dead bodies, but it always left him restless and edgy. He paused, leaned up against the counter and stared lifelessly at the wall.
His apartment was tiny…and empty. The kitchen was bare, except for the necessary appliances that most men needed to survive, namely a microwave, refrigerator and bottle opener. The living room was small, with stains on the carpet that he didn’t want to know where they had come from. An old brown sofa sat in the middle of the room and a TV hung from the wall, the cords visibly dangling down to the electrical socket. Down a short, narrow hall was his bedroom, decorated with a bed, dresser and free weights. His bathroom was cramped with a washer and dryer that lined against the back wall. No pictures hung on the walls, no plants, no woman.
He looked down and rubbed his head. His hair was still damp. How the hell had it come to this?
Six months ago he’d been a married man of three years, trying for a baby. He lived in a five bedroom, four bath house in an affluent neighborhood full of stay-at-home moms and red sports cars. His lawn was perfectly manicured and his manly work shop sat in the backyard. A hot tub sat on the back deck. Potted flowers lined the front walkway.
Things seemed to be falling into place for Danny. But, as any good ex-solider knows–never get too comfortable.
Five months ago, he’d arrived home early from work to find his wife in bed with his best friend. To this day, he hadn’t said one word to her. Not the moment he caught her, not the moment he dragged his friend out of the bedroom by his sweaty hair and threw him out the front door, breaking his arm. Not the moment he packed his shit, loaded up his car and left.
He didn’t know who he was more pissed off with, his wife or his best friend. But, he’d been through enough in his life to know better than to waste a second of emotion on some whore. Danny hid his emotions the way most men did, in pent-up anger. And, he released those pent-up emotions after the split by having sex with about half of the women in town, including his ex-wife’s best friend. Yep, you reap what you sow. Danny never had any trouble getting women, or whatever he wanted, especially revenge.
All his life, he’d been a superstar, in every sense of the word. His dad pushed him to be his best, but Danny always pushed himself much harder. His expectations for himself far exceeded what most parents wished for in a child. He never settled for a B on a test, never settled for second place. He exceled in sports, carried straight A’s in school, and as if that weren’t enough, he had movie star good looks.
After high school, Danny followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the Navy. But that wasn’t good enough. He wanted to be a SEAL. At six foot three, two hundred and thirty pounds, Danny was a monster, a machine. He was accepted into the SEAL training academy, moved to California and quickly soared to the top of his class. He survived on little to no sleep, and the same amount of food and water. Nothing could stop him. He graduated from the academy with honors and served his first tour a few weeks later. For seven years, Danny dedicated his life to the teams. Those were the best days of his life.
On what would be his last leave, Danny went to back home to Texas to visit his family. On the day he arrived, his dad—his hero—died instantly of a heart attack. He had been as healthy as a horse.
In that one second, his world changed. Everything changed.
He left the teams to take care of his mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer years earlier. Back home and stir crazy, he did the only thing he could think to do. Join the police force. Danny had gone from living an exhilarating life full of travel, adventure, danger and lots of women to living back in his hometown, working the beat, and taking care of his ailing mother. Eventually, he met his soon to be ex-wife, and was married for three years before that crashed and burned.
It had been ten years since he left the teams. Ten years of discontentment. Ten years of looking for something, although he wasn’t sure what.
His mother lost her battle with cancer three months ago, and now, more than ever, Danny wanted to get the hell out of Texas and back to California. He just had to figure out how.
He pulled a glass out of the cabinet, retrieved the whiskey from the counter top and poured himself a drink. The amber liquid tingled as it slid down his throat. He was tense. Hyper.
He found himself thinking about the truck that tumbled down the ravine. Something didn’t sit well with it. The road was curvy and narrow, and based on the damage to the vehicle and the guys face, he must have been flying down the two lane. Most people in their right minds don’t drive like a bat out of hell on that road.
He sat down his drink and glanced at the clock. Almost midnight.
“Fuck it,” he said to himself. He walked to his bedroom, threw on his running gear and went for a six mile run in the dark, pouring rain.
* * * *
At six the next morning, Danny walked into his office, flicked on the lights and opened the blinds. He liked getting to work early, even after a long night. Always get a jump on the day, his dad would tell him.
He looked out the small window. Heavy cloud cover made for a dreary morning. A low fog danced on top of the pavement.
He turned to his desk, noticing a yellow folder. John Mortin was written on the tab. He flipped it open and skimmed the notes from Rookie Wilson.
John Mortin was the name of the man who lost half his face tumbling down the ravine. Sixty-nine years old, divorced, father of two. Employed at King Chemicals, Inc. for over thirty years.
Danny picked up the phone.
“Tomlinson here.”
“Good morning, sunshine.”
“Damn it, Dabrowski, why the hell do you get to work so early?”
“To speak to my favorite ME Assistant.”
“Suck it, Danny. What do you want?”
Danny smiled. He and Jenny had an efficient working relationship. She hurled insults at him, he barked back, but they both respected each other. Probably because she was one of the few women he hadn’t slept with. Danny wasn
’t in the habit of sleeping with lesbians.
“You get that body from the wreck on highway forty-five last night?”
“Yep, he rolled in here just before midnight.” Pause. “And, no Danny, I haven’t done shit with him.”
“Oh Jenny, come on, can’t you take a look?”
“Why the hell do I have to look at this one? The way I hear it, it’s a pretty cut and dry accident.”
“Because I ordered it to be done.”
“Dude, I’m swamped with dead bodies right now.”
“Blind dates gone wrong?”
“Go fuck yourself, Danny.”
“You need to get laid, Jenny.”
“That reminds me, you can pick your ex-wife up from my apartment on your way home.”
They both laughed at that one.
“Can you at least get the tox rolling?”
Sigh. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks, dear.” Still laughing, Danny hung up the phone.
Chapter 4
Victoria ran her finger down the sweating martini glass. She glanced at the clock, then checked her phone. No messages. From William or Natasha.
She fit right into the elegant, classy bar. The room was dimly lit with low hanging chandeliers. The glow from long stemmed candles reflected off the glass table tops. Soft piano music played in the background.
She sat at the sparkling silver bar, waiting for her best friend, who had met with a high profile collector that afternoon, and she and Victoria decided to recap the meeting with a drink instead of staying late at the gallery.
Glancing into the mirrored back of the bar, Victoria tensed as she noticed a man in the corner booth looking at her. Although his face was shaded by shadows in the dim light, she was sure he was watching her.
She sipped her drink and looked toward the front door, still no Natasha. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, she pretended to be typing on her phone, then looked up into the mirror again. The man was gone.
“Hello.”
She jumped, nearly spilling her drink. Standing beside her was a man who looked like he had just stepped out of a fashion magazine. Tall, tanned skin. Long black hair combed back, away from his face. Dark, mysterious eyes. He wore a grey suit, blue silk shirt and matching tie.
Lethal Legacy Page 3