The Season of Sin (Peace In The Storm Publishing Presents)

by Stacy-Deanne

  Jasmine went back into the living room.

  Nick stuffed his scarf down his coat. “Well I guess I should be going huh? It was nice meeting you both.”

  “Nice meeting you too.” Zoë went upstairs.

  “Well.” Nick tied his scarf. “Tell Dylan I hope she’ll be okay.”

  “Wait, Mr. Sebastian.”

  “Call me Nick.”

  “I just wanted to thank you so much for what you did. I can’t imagine what would have happened if you hadn’t come along.”

  “I think your niece is much stronger than you give her credit for.”

  “Maybe so but I will always worry.” She walked him to the door. “I owe you. If you need anything then let me know.”

  “That’s not necessary.”

  She touched his hand. “There’s nothing I could give you that would be worth what you did. You have no idea how much I care for Dylan.”

  He pulled his collar over his ears. “I probably understand more than you think.”

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  Brianna and Steven approached the front counter of the “Make a Deal” pawnshop the next day.

  “Are you Antwan?” Brianna asked.

  “I am.” He escorted a customer to the furniture section then went back to the counter. “Is something wrong?”

  “I’m Detective Brianna Morris with the Albany Police.” She showed her badge. “This is my partner Steven Kemp.”

  Antwan dusted off a shelf of DVD players. “What’s this about?”

  “You’re a friend of Shannon Kuriakis’ aren’t you?” Steven moved for a customer to pass.

  “Look if this is about Dr. Hollister then you’re on the wrong track. Shannon wouldn’t hurt her. She wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

  “That might be true but we need to find Shannon first. We believe she’s missing. We heard you saw her Friday the fifth. It was the day of Nadia’s funeral.”

  He straightened a bin of golf clubs. “Look I don’t know where Shannon is. If I did I’d tell you.”

  Brianna stooped down to check out a computer scanner. “But you have to be concerned right?”

  “We spoke to a young lady, Marley Blake.” Steven checked out the televisions. “She said you’re all close friends.”

  Antwan scratched under his hat.

  “Marley told us you were all together the evening of the fifth. Marley said Shannon was very upset because she wasn’t allowed at the funeral.”

  “I don’t remember. She was rambling and everything.”

  Steven blocked him. “We’re losing patience.”

  “Okay Shannon showed up at Marley’s around one or two that afternoon. Marley called me over because Shannon was scaring her.”

  Steven glanced at Antwan then back to the televisions. “How was she scaring her?”

  “She was talking crazy and yes, she was kinda drunk. Shannon’s neurotic anyway but when she starts drinking she’s out of control.”

  Brianna nodded. “What happened?”

  “She was cursing and hollering about not being able to go to the funeral and how much she loved Nadia. Then she started talking about Bruce.”

  Steven played with a universal remote. “Bruce McNamara?”

  “Yeah she kept saying she knew he killed Nadia.”

  The officers looked at each other.

  “She said he wasn’t gonna get away with it. Marley got scared because Shannon kept talking about getting her gun to go see Bruce.”

  Steven moved from the shelves. “Shannon has a gun?”

  “Look she was just ranting and emotional. She didn’t mean it.”

  Steven put the remote back on the shelf. “How do you know?”

  “Shannon says things all the time when she’s drunk. I told her to go to the police if she thought Bruce was involved. She cursed me out, left Marley’s and I haven’t seen her since.”

  “Do you think she saw Bruce that day?” Brianna asked.

  He adjusted his cap. “I don’t know. This isn’t the first time Shannon’s sprouted off and disappeared. You guys don’t know how Shannon can be when she’s drunk.”

  “Looks like we need to get back to Old Swaggert’s junkyard huh, Steve?”

  He gestured to the door. “I’m right ahead of you, Bree.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Steven and Brianna found Bruce underneath the hood of another car when they got to Swaggert’s junkyard.

  He turned the radio down and got a wrench from the pocket of his overalls.

  “Well isn’t this a lovely surprise huh? Let me guess. Wanna talk about the murder right?”

  “You can say that,” Steven said.

  Bruce walked around Brianna to get to the other side of the car. “I thought we settled this before.” He stooped back under the hood.

  “You know Shannon Kuriakis is missing?” Brianna peeked over his shoulder.

  “I heard something about that.” He wiped his oily hands on his overalls. “Sure she’s missing?”

  Brianna stepped back. “What do you mean?”

  “Well this isn’t the first time Shannon’s run off.”

  “We’ve heard.” Steven stepped over a soda can in the grass.

  “I suppose you’ve also heard she’s a drunk?”

  Brianna swatted a gnat. “We think it might be more than her just running off.”

  Bruce peeked over his shoulder at her. “Why?”

  She shrugged. “Do you know Antwan Toussaint?”

  He reached further into the car. “What did ole’ big mouth Antwan say now? I swear he gossips more than a chick.”

  “Antwan saw Shannon Friday, the fifth. I’m sure you remember that day right?” Brianna stood next to Steven. “It was the day of Nadia’s funeral.”

  “Get to the point if you don’t mind.”

  “Antwan said that he and Marley Blake, another friend of Shannon’s was with her that afternoon. She was upset about not being invited to the funeral and she was very drunk.”

  “When was Shannon not drunk?”

  Steven bent down beside Bruce. “Antwan said Shannon planned to come see you and she was bringing her gun.”

  “Oh man this is total bullshit.”

  Steven rose. “Is it?”

  “Yes. Now maybe she said she was coming to see me but she never did. I haven’t seen Shannon in months. Ran into her at a bar last time I saw her.”

  Steven rocked on his tiptoes. “Kinda get the feeling you’re lying there, ol’ Bruce.”

  “Why would I lie about Shannon?” He cleaned his hands on his overalls. “She was no one in my world. I couldn’t care less about her.”

  “It’s just so funny that your name keeps popping up every time we turn a corner with this case.”

  “Well I don’t know what to tell you guys, Detective Morris. If you really wanna find the killer I suggest you stop bothering me and go talk to someone else. I’m not taking more of this harassment. I’m getting sick of it and trying to control my temper.”

  Steven put his arm around Bruce’s shoulders. “I think you’re lying.”

  “For the last fuckin’ time I didn’t see Shannon that day and I don’t know where she is. So you can run back and tell Jasmine that. She probably danced down the street when she found out Shannon claimed she was coming to see me so I’d look like the killer.”

  “We haven’t even told her about Shannon coming to see you yet,” Steven said. “Besides she’s busy worrying about Dylan. I’m sure you’re the last person on her mind.”

  “Dylan?” He tossed the wrench on the ground. “Is she okay?”

  “I don’t think it’s your concern.”

  “Don’t fuck with me, Detective Kemp. Is she okay?”

  “She’ll get better with time,” Brianna said.

  Bruce slammed the hood shut. “I’m losing my patience here.”

  “Dylan was attacked last night.” Brianna glanced around the yard. “A man tried to rape her.”

  “What? You gotta be fuckin’ kid
ding me.”

  “Steven and I were there when she got home. She was very shaken up and scared which is expected. So Jasmine isn’t worrying about you right now.”

  “I don’t believe this.” Bruce leaned back on the car. “Who did it?”

  “We don’t know." Steven shrugged. "There's a detective over in Shannon’s area that’s handling the case. It happened over there.”

  Bruce lunged at them. “I want a name.”

  “We told you we don’t know,” Steven said. “Now you acting like a moron isn’t helping anything.”

  “This is all Nadia’s fault.” Bruce marched to the front of the garage with his radio.

  “How is it Nadia’s fault?”

  “Because if she hadn’t stuck her nose in our business Detective Morris, Dylan and I would be together and I could’ve protected her from something like this.”

  “That’s ridiculous. It was just something that happened.”

  “Detective Kemp you don’t understand. Nadia did all she could to keep me out of Dylan’s life and now all kinds of shit’s happenin’. I gotta go. Swag!” He propped the radio on a paint can. “Swag!”

  He hobbled out, scratching under his arm. “What?”

  “I gotta go.” Bruce got out his keys.

  “The fuck you do.” Swaggert smacked tobacco. “You get over there and finish that car. I’ve had it with yo’ shit.”

  “This is serious.” Bruce went inside and came out buttoning his jacket. “Something’s happened to Dylan. Someone tried to rape her last night.”

  Swaggert spit brown juice by Brianna’s foot. She jumped.

  “You leave now then you don’t ever need to come back!”

  “What?”

  “You get your ass over there and finish that car. If you don’t then you’re fired!”

  “I don’t care. Dylan’s more important than any damn job.”

  “Ungrateful son of a bitch.” Swag spit to the side. “You might think you run everything else but you don’t run this. Now get your ass back there and get to work or kiss your job goodbye!” He wobbled inside.

  “Fuck him. I’m going.” Bruce trudged to his car.

  “Wait.” Brianna ran alongside him. “Isn’t that why things got so messed up between you and Dylan in the first place? You and Nadia being too selfish to care about what Dylan wanted?”

  He stopped at his car. “I know what she wants, Detective Morris.”

  “Listen.” Steven blocked him. “I know what it’s like to want to do all you can for the woman you love. Believe me. But you need to back off.”

  “Back off?”

  “Put yourself in Dylan’s place, man. She’s embarrassed, frightened, confused, and even a little hopeless. The last thing she wants right now is to see you. Think about her and not yourself. Give her some space.”

  “How can I just sit back when she’s in pain? I gotta show her I care about her.”

  “Then care for her the way she needs you to,” Brianna said. “Not just how you want to.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  That night Brianna and Steven made it to Jayson’s restaurant to check up on a tip. Some guy who’d worked at the restaurant called Steven, claiming he might have info about Shannon. Something seemed fishy but Brianna didn’t question it.

  She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone out for fun. Her mother Beverly and stepfather Edgar always got on her for obsessing over work and ignoring time for play. They lived as if they were the ones in their prime and she the senior citizen.

  Steven joked with the lazy greeter at the entrance.

  Couples laughed as they toasted drinks and ate. Others delved into heavy conversations or danced.

  She lost herself in the serene atmosphere and luscious aroma of entrees and sautéed vegetables.

  A man whispered in his date’s ear. She tickled him underneath the table with her foot.

  Another woman gave her date a soft kiss on the cheek. In return his hand went down the back of her dress. Shit Brianna didn’t have a man but she should’ve been doing the same damn thing right now not worrying about a case.

  Steven suggested they grab something to eat while they waited for the guy to come out. He just so happened to choose Brianna’s favorite table by the window.

  “You all right?” He held her chair for her.

  “Yeah just jealous as hell.” She sat down. “I haven’t eaten out in I can’t tell when.”

  He danced to his chair. “Well you are now right?” He sat down and put the napkin in his lap. “Why you looking at me like that?”

  “I just get the feeling something’s up.”

  “I swear you’re the most suspicious woman I’ve ever known.”

  “I’m a cop.”

  “You’re suspicious for a cop.” He lined up the salt and pepper shakers.

  “And this guy said he knows where Shannon is?”

  “He said he might have info that could help us. He should be out soon. Here comes the waitress.”

  Steven ordered the haddock and green beans. Brianna chose the Chef’s salad with the baked chicken breast.

  “Okay, your order will be out soon.” The bouncy waitress jotted down the order. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

  “Uh excuse me?” Brianna touched the waitress’ arm.

  “Yes?”

  “We need to speak to Mr. Luckett. He supposedly works in the kitchen.”

  Steven covered his eyes.

  “Uh, there’s no Mr. Luckett that works here, ma’am. You might have the wrong restaurant.” She left.

  “Okay, Steve. I’ll give you a few minutes to explain then I’m leaving.”

  “Okay I lied.”

  “You lied about someone having important information for a case just to trick me to go out with you?”

  “Yes.” He laid his hand on the table. “What do you want me to say?”

  “Say you’re sorry.”

  “Well I’m not. If I’d asked you to go out with me would you have?”

  She didn’t answer.

  A couple walked past the window on their way inside the restaurant.

  “I rest my case.” He dragged his hands over the tablecloth. “I just felt we needed to talk about us and every time I bring it up, you’re not in the mood.”

  “That’s not the point. You don’t use something as important as a case to fix up a date.”

  “Well jeez, Bree. Aren’t you at all flattered? When we were dating you always said I wasn’t romantic enough.”

  “Oh I didn’t say that.” She crossed her legs.

  “Please it’s what you bitched about eighty percent of the time. I finally do something romantic and I get attitude?”

  “But we’re not together anymore, Steven.”

  A waiter brought them water.

  “And why aren’t we? We damn well should be.”

  “Steve.”

  “We belong together, Bree. I don’t care how much you try to fight it. I know you still love me.”

  “Love isn’t always enough.”

  “Bullshit. I don’t know why people say that. I just want to know why you broke it off. What turned you off?”

  “It’s not that simple. I told you.”

  The waitress brought their meals and went on her way.

  Steven untangled his fork and spoon. “I still haven’t heard an answer.”

  Brianna cut up her chicken breast. “You haven’t exactly been straight with me tonight either have you?”

  “Not surprised to get that comment.”

  “And I’ve had it with your sarcasm. You think you have a right to me and you don’t. Just because we were together once doesn’t mean we belong together.”

  He stuck his head in the air. “That’s true.”

  “Oh I hate it when you do that.” She shook her glass.

  “Do what?”

  “You’re pouting like a big baby.”

  “Since you won’t give me a straight answer then I’ll just come out
and ask. Can we start over?”

  A chunk of chicken fell out her mouth.

  “I’m officially asking. I want us to be a couple again. What you say tonight will be the end. I won’t pressure you anymore but just give me a straight answer.”

  “You can’t put me on the spot like this.”

  “I’m sick of going around in circles. It would be different if we weren’t so damn attracted to each other. It’s been too many close calls. Too many times we’ve kissed and started to make love only to be stopped because you don’t know what the hell you want.”

  “I…”

  “But I think you do know what you want. You want me and you need to tell me right now. I wanna move on and if it’s gonna be with you I gotta know something now or else…”

  “Oh I get it.” She set her glass down. “You want me to let you off the hook. You wanna know where we stand so you can decide if you wanna see someone else or not.”

  “No, no.” He coughed between chewing. “Now wait a minute.”

  “You’re trying to bully me into telling you if we have a chance so you won’t feel like the bad guy by dating someone else. Obviously there’s someone else you wanna date right?”

  A pain ran through her stomach and it wasn’t from digestion.

  “You gotta make it sound so piggish, Bree?”

  “Oh you men are something else. You don’t have the balls to admit you’re attracted to someone else.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Oh please.” She stirred her vegetables. “I know you, Steve. You got your eye on someone else. I can tell.”

  He threw his fork down. “That’s crazy.”

  “I’m not stupid.” She chewed croutons. “I know you like Zoë.”

  “Zoë?” He coughed and hit his chest. “Where are you getting this from?”

  “Ray Charles is blind and dead and he could see you got the hots for Zoë. It’s okay. I couldn’t care less.”

  “Then how come that vein in your forehead’s doing summersaults?”

  “Oh please.” She faked a laugh. “Honey if you want to get it on with Zoë Peron then it is fine with me.”

  “Stop it. You know no woman could ever take your place in my heart. I want you but I don’t wanna be strung along.”

  “Well I don’t see the damn point of you tricking me to dinner just to tell me you wanna be with someone else!”