Hanson took a deep breath. “Well that’s the interesting part. No. He doesn’t want to press charges.”
Skylar frowned. “Nothing? That’s odd.”
“You’re telling me.”
In the background she could hear the noise of phones ringing, and officers pecking at keyboards. The steady hum of the office was the same day or night. When they weren’t dealing with major cases, it was mostly domestics, the odd hate crime and disputes.
“But did he say why he was there?”
“According to him Tyron hired him to come out to his place and give him a tattoo, but Tyron is denying that and said that he broke in and caught him trying to steal. However, I’ve had an officer over at his warehouse and there are no signs of forced entry and Alvaro’s vehicle had tattoo equipment in it.”
“What about his phone records? I’d imagine there would be some record of communication if he was planning on hiring him.”
“Nothing. Already been through it. Now according to Alvaro he met Tyron at a party down in Tampa when he was doing some promotional events for his matchmaking business. They discussed it then and made arrangements and he showed up. Alvaro said that he’s not sure why Tyron went berserk on him. One minute he was fine, the next he flipped.”
“And let me guess, Tyron denies that.”
“You got it.”
Harvey began driving over the John Gorrie Memorial Bridge that stretched between Eastpoint and Apalachicola. The water was choppy that afternoon, and dark brooding clouds were moving in threatening rain.
“So is Tyron pressing charges for trespassing?”
“Again, the strange part. No. Once he heard that Alvaro wasn’t pressing charges against him for battery he changed his mind.”
“So where is Alvaro now?”
“After he was seen to at the hospital he was released.”
“And Tyron?”
“He gave a statement and was able to verify his whereabouts on the morning Teresa was murdered, so there wasn’t much else we could do. He was released an hour ago. Reznik is keeping an eye on him, seeing where he goes but that’s it.”
“Alright, thanks, Hanson.”
She hung up and chewed over what he’d said. The whole event seemed really odd. It would have made sense that if Lasalle had sent someone over to rough up Tyron, that he would have been told to deny and back off. However, why would LaSalle even want to harm Tyron if he already had access to his database and clients? Unless of course Tyron had retaliated or harmed Teresa, and LaSalle was taking matters into his own hands. Then again it was possible that the whole thing was staged. Maybe he’d planned on beating him up, calling the cops and telling them that Alvaro worked for LaSalle — in some desperate attempt to throw shade at him. She sighed. It was becoming increasingly difficult to work through the tangled mess of secrets and lies.
“So both men have been released?”
“For now. Alvaro didn’t want to press charges, and Tyron dropped the trespassing.”
Harvey drummed out a beat on the steering wheel with his fingers. “Why would Alvaro want to harm Tyron?”
“If Teresa was about to let the cat out of the bag about LaSalle’s operation, and LaSalle knew that she’d been speaking with Tyron. Perhaps he figured that she’d told him, and with both of them out of the picture he wouldn’t have anything to worry about.”
“But why drop the trespassing charge? I would imagine that would have worked in his favor.”
“Without proof it’s his word over Alvaro’s.”
Harvey nodded and reached over and cranked up the air conditioning because it was hot out. The air always got thick just when it was about to rain.
“Which brings us back to what he’s trying to hide.”
Several SUVs and trucks passed them on the way. A few kids stopped near the water to throw a line in. They had a tackle box beside them and looked excited to be fishing. It made Skylar think about her childhood. When she wasn’t dealing with her mother’s heavy drinking, she escaped to the local library in New York and would spend hours poring over books and reading. It was the one place she could forget about her life and enter someone else’s world.
As they swerved into the parking lot outside the Victorian style inn, Skylar gazed up at the three-story structure with two wraparound white porches and Florida “Cracker” architecture. Like many of the old structures in the downtown it was made from pine and black cypress. A large American flag blew in the breeze outside, and two guests sat in rocking chairs drinking coffee.
“You know this place is supposed to be haunted.”
“Yeah right,” Skylar replied.
“No seriously,” Harvey said putting the gear in park. “Two sisters, wearing knee-high socks and black Mary Jane shoes, are said to spook the guests. People also hear and see birds squawking in their rooms.”
Skylar snorted. “Harv, you’ve been watching too many ghost films.”
“I’m telling you, it’s the truth.”
They pushed out of the vehicle and Skylar stretched her arms to work out the tension in her back. Haunted or not the place was truly beautiful. As they made their way inside they approached the front desk. An older lady in her early sixties was manning it. She was seated and browsing Pinterest.
“Good afternoon. Would you like a room?”
Harvey brought out his badge and flashed it. “Actually we were hoping to speak with one of your guests.”
“Oh,” she said looking a bit perturbed by having the police on her doorstep. “There isn’t a problem, is there?”
Skylar smiled. “Not at the moment but we’ll be sure to keep you in the loop.”
Harvey shook his head. “Tom Reynolds.”
“Well, let me just take a look and find out his room number.” She sat back down and proceeded to tap his name into her computer. “Okay, room 313, it’s on the third floor. Would you like me to phone him?”
Skylar was quick to answer. “That won’t be necessary. Tom loves surprises.” She gestured with her head to Harvey and they headed off up the stairs.
“You know, Reid, I have to admit I’m a little baffled by the whole Valentine’s thing.”
“How so?”
“What’s the point of sending a card to someone anonymously? I mean if you like them wouldn’t you want them to know?” He shook his head. “For all you know it could be some pervert like Tom Reynolds.”
“Well now that you put it that way it is a little creepy.”
They reached room 313 and Harvey gave the door a sharp knock. As they waited, he continued. “If I was you, I would bring the card in and dust it for prints and get a DNA sample off the envelope. You could have a stalker on your hands.”
“A stalker?
Her mind switched to the conversation she’d had with Ben Walker. Could he have left it? No, that would have been a conflict of interest. She was a patient of his and besides he knew what Valentine’s meant to her.
There was no answer.
Harvey knocked again though this time he called out his name. “Mr. Reynolds. Franklin County Sheriff Department. Open up.”
He placed his ear against the door to check for movement.
“Maybe he’s getting a massage,” Skylar joked. “I’ll go see if the front desk will open the room.”
She headed off and minutes later returned with Carol the front desk clerk. When she arrived at the door, she knocked a couple of times and called out to Tom but got no reply so she unlocked the door. When the door swung open, all of their jaws dropped.
“Oh my God!” Carol cried.
Lying on the bed was a woman in lingerie with her wrists and ankles tied to the four posts of the bed, and she had a gag in her mouth. She made a muffled noise and Skylar hurried in and took the gag out.
“Where is he?”
“He went out to…”
She had barely got the words out of her mouth when they heard movement behind them. Skylar turned to see Tom standing in the doorway with a grocery ba
g in one hand. He dropped it and bolted.
“Hey!” Skylar yelled racing after him. As she exited the room, she saw him double-timing it down the stairs. She took off in pursuit and made it down to the second level in time to hear his boots hit the tiled floor at the bottom. She considered for a second following but decided to cut him off by hurrying down the corridor to a door that led out onto the wraparound porch. She burst through and catapulted over the railing just as he came sprinting out of the front door. Skylar hit the ground and turned bringing up an arm and catching him in full motion as he looked back over his shoulder. He didn’t even see what hit him. One second he was upright, the next lying on the ground gripping his neck and coughing.
“Get up!” she said dragging him to his feet as Harvey emerged from the doorway breathing hard. She took him over to the cruiser and slammed him up against it before putting cuffs on him.
“Right, you want to tell me why you have a woman tied up in your room, and why you are running?”
“You’re from U.S. Customs and Border Protection?”
Her brow furrowed. “No. Franklin County.” She brought out her badge and flashed it. As soon as he saw it he breathed a sigh of relief and started chuckling.
“Oh, man, you gave me a fright. I thought you were here about the flower imports.”
“Flower imports?”
“Valentine’s Day. We just had the big one.”
“You’ve lost me.” Skylar turned to Harvey who was speaking with the woman who’d been brought out of his room. “Okay, start by telling me why you have a young woman tied up in your room?”
“Of course, she’s my date.”
“Date?”
He exhaled hard and looked down. “Okay, I admit she’s an escort, but we didn’t have sex. It was strictly her company that I wanted.”
“And you usually tie up company? Actually don’t answer that.” Skylar took him and placed him in the back of the cruiser. “Just stay put.”
She went over to Harvey to find out what the woman had to say. “So?”
“She says she works for a local escort service in the area. Reynolds paid her for four hours of her time, and to give him a massage. She consented to being tied up, and he told her that he would let her go when he got back from the store. Beyond that, she’s saying nothing else happened, and that he had been nothing but a gentleman to her.”
“A gentleman?” She glanced back at him. “Yeah, I bet. And what’s in the bag?” Skylar asked, motioning over to what he’d brought out with him.
“Viagra, a bottle of pop and a bag of chips.”
“Cheap date,” Skylar remarked, her mouth worming into a smile. “Looks like he had other things in mind.”
“You know we can’t arrest her.”
“Pretty clear what was about to go down.”
“It’s different to prostitution, Reid. We don’t know that’s what was happening here. Escort services aren’t illegal per se. It all comes down to conduct. She’ll just say she was selling time and that any arrangement they made was between consenting adults. It’s how most of them get away with it. It takes a lot of evidence to prove the nature of service. There isn’t a law that prevents someone from paying a person to act as their girlfriend. This would be like selling bong pipes. We know what they’re being used for but there are ways to use them lawfully so it’s not illegal to have them in your possession.”
Skylar nodded and looked at Reynolds over her shoulder.
“And what’s his excuse?” Harvey asked.
“He thought we were U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Something to do with flowers.”
“What, did they have drugs inside them?”
She shrugged. “Are you going to let her go?”
“I’ll take down her details. She’s already been paid by Tom, so yeah, she’s free to go for now. But let’s have a word with him.”
Skylar went back to the cruiser while Harvey finished up. As soon as she got in, Tom’s gums started flapping. “Look, this is all a big mistake. I know how it looks but I swear. I haven’t done anything wrong.”
She didn’t answer him. The cogs in her mind were already turning over trying to think about how to use the situation to her advantage.
“So you on vacation?” she asked watching Harvey take down a statement from the woman.
“Just for the weekend.”
Once Harvey was finished up, he returned to the vehicle and got in the driver’s side. He slammed the door closed and twisted around.
“So what’s this all about customs and flowers?”
He looked a little puzzled, but like anyone who was nervous and cuffed, he just began spewing at the mouth. “Over a billion flowers enter the country every year in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day. It’s big money. Most of them are being flown in from Colombia and Ecuador. It’s cheaper for the flower companies, everything is refrigerated and for the most part it makes up a good chunk of business every February. However, the CBP agents have been cracking down on it because they think it could harm the agricultural and floral industry. So they’ve increased inspections. They say they are mainly looking for disease and any insects that are attached but that’s all hogwash. There is no law against us importing these in, it’s just that a number of importing companies have been bringing in more than flowers.” He paused. “Drugs, hidden inside the bouquets.”
“And yours were found to contain illegal substances?” Harvey perked up, probably thinking he now had an angle on Callum Jackson, except it was quickly shot down.
He bristled and leaned back in his seat. “I don’t get involved in that. I run a tight ship and a legal operation.” His eyes bounced from Harvey to Skylar. “I’ve been in this industry for over nineteen years and I don’t have one instance of a problem with the law or customs but this whole inspection thing has me real nervous. A few buddies of mine who are in the same business ended up being pulled in and told their batches contained coke. Now I know those guys and they are not involved in anything illegal. Which makes me think that someone on this side was hoping to get to those packages before they hit customs and before my friends realized they were being targeted.” He shrugged. “I just assumed they’d found something in mine and were coming after me.”
Skylar chuckled and shook her head. “Well today’s your lucky day.”
“Look, if you’re not from customs then do you mind telling me what this is about?”
“Other than the fact you tied up a woman in your room?” Harvey asked.
“I told you, she didn’t mind. I was only paying her for…”
“… her company, right? So there was nothing sexual in nature about that request?”
He didn’t respond to that so Skylar continued.
“Did you tell her your name was Phoenix?”
His brow furrowed and then he pursed his lips. “No. I…”
“Look Mr. Reynolds, I’ll be honest with you here, it’s in your best interest you tell us the truth about how you came to be on board the St. Catherines last night. And before you say you weren’t there. We already have someone that has confirmed it.”
He stared back with a blank expression.
“I’m not sure what you’re alluding to but I admit, I was on the boat. Sure. What do you want to know?”
Chapter 14
Tom blew cigarette smoke out the corner of his mouth, then squinted back at them. He’d asked for a smoke to calm his nerves, so Harvey obliged. He kept a pack on him at all times because it often came in handy to get a suspect to open up.
“Look, I frequently use escort services. Mostly for events that I have to attend because I haven’t exactly been lucky in love, you might say. Anyway, I was recently introduced to Elite Matchmaking by a friend of mine.”
“Callum Jackson?” Harvey asked.
“Who?”
Harvey was hungry for any tidbit that he could use against the man. He threw a hand up and glanced out the window. “Nothing. Please, continue.”
&nb
sp; “As I was saying. He introduced me to it and said that they were good at connecting people like myself with young, good-looking women. He said the pick was far better than anything the escort services could offer up and that they were open to…” he struggled to find the word.
“Massages?” Skylar asked. “Or being tied up?”
“Massages.” He took another puff of his cigarette and went red in the face. “I attended three of their events where you get to mingle with the women and for the most part it was an enjoyable evening. I didn’t find anyone that I could see as a long-term companion but I didn’t mind being around beautiful women so I continued to go out.” He paused as if expecting Harvey to agree. Harvey remained stoic. “I was told that for an additional cost I could become a VIP member and that would open me up to a whole new selection of services.”
“Like?”
“Pleasure, pain, pretty much anything.”
“Anything?” Harvey repeated.
He nodded. “Well within reason.”
Skylar leaned in. “So sex is off the table?”
He cocked his head but didn’t respond to that.
“And so you took them up on it?” Harvey asked.
“Of course. It was pocket change to me and I’m curious by nature. That said, I didn’t go in with any intention of having sex,” he said, then looked back at Skylar.
“No?” Skylar asked not believing him. “So the Viagra in your bag is just for kicks?”
Tom bit down on his lip. “I know it doesn’t look good. But there was nothing sexual about me tying her up.”
“That’s debatable,” she replied. “Continue.”
He shrugged. “That’s it. I paid for a VIP membership and was allowed on the boat.”
“And what happens on there?”
“I can’t speak for what others do. I can only tell you what I did.”
“So tell us. What happened last night?”
“I played a couple of games of poker, had a few drinks, danced and retreated to a room where I received a massage.”
“And that’s all?” Harvey asked.
“That’s it.”
“So you didn’t have sex with the woman? Possibly whip her?”
Death Match Page 11