Daddy's Home

by A. K. Alexander

  She bent down and glanced inside the Barbie case. Everything was organized to a tee. Like mother, like daughter. Something was missing—out of place—and it took Holly a few minutes to figure out what that was. There was Doctor Barbie, wearing her white doctor’s coat, Mermaid Barbie in her getup, and a few others. But there was a set of Barbie clothes to the side of the case, which was odd since everything else was clearly in place, and each Barbie was inside her own compartment except for one—Beach Barbie. Holly recognized the sunglasses and pink high-heeled sandals that Beach Barbie wore. But Beach Barbie was nowhere to be found, and one of the compartments in the doll case was missing its doll. Holly was pretty sure that Sara had had enough Barbies to fill the case. He let her take a doll with her. He took them to his place. But how? Shannon struggled with him. She did not go out of here without a fight, and he would’ve had to control both of them.

  The whole thing baffled her. Holly didn’t know how he got in or how he got out with the two of them, and he most likely still had the Barbie on him. He has to be one strong son of a bitch, because Shannon would have fought like hell.

  Holly then went into the bathroom located between the two bedrooms. It was also small, but done as nicely as the rest of the house with the old pattern styles of mixing black and turquoise tiles together from days gone by. Holly scanned the bathroom. Nothing appeared out of order. She opened the medicine cabinet and found a couple of prescriptions for Sara, including Albuterol for a ventilator. You were asthmatic. There were a couple of inhalers and even a prescription for Prednisone—a strong steroid. The child must have been a pretty bad asthmatic at that. Prednisone was not a drug that physicians gave out lightly. Had Sara had an asthma attack when the killer had them? Stress could bring it on. If she was frightened and gasping for air, and he didn’t have her medicine, had he panicked? Had that been what sent him over the edge? Holly didn’t know. It would mean more questions for the Medical Examiner.

  She jotted her questions into her notepad and then stepped into Shannon’s bedroom. Clean, as she expected, just like the rest of the house. The bed hadn’t been slept in. He hadn’t taken them from their beds. Did you know this bastard, Shannon?

  Holly breathed in deeply, stale air combined with the slight smell of rose from a diffuser on the wicker nightstand next to Shannon’s bed, a decidedly tropical style with a bamboo headboard and a floral print on the duvet. A romantic? There were candles everywhere, but so far no one on the team had determined whether or not there was a lover in her life. If there had been, she’d kept it low key. Sara was definitely her mother’s first priority, and if there was a man in Shannon’s life, she more than likely kept him clear of her child, unless they were serious.

  In one corner stood the secretary that Chad had mentioned. Holly sat at the wicker-backed chair and folded down the front panel, revealing compartments and drawers. She pulled open the first drawer. Stacks of bills and presumably important papers lay before her. She picked up one of the stacks, a ribbon securing it, and began rifling through it. Mainly basic bills—utilities, phone, cable, plus a gym membership. Have to check that one out. Another stack. She snapped the rubber band and flipped through. These were all medical bills, primarily for Sara—asthma, allergy specialists, pediatrician, a gastro doc, and an endocrinologist. Most of the docs were located up at Children’s Hospital. Sara must have been a sickly child. This troubled Holly even further. So, do you intentionally prey upon the weak? She knew she’d have to look further into Sara’s medical conditions. It probably wasn’t really important, but there could be something there.

  One more stack. It contained information on school activities and programs that Sara was involved in, including an acting class, and piano lessons. There was also a sheet of paper discretely stuck inside a blank envelope. Holly pulled it out, and as she read it, her heart raced a bit faster. Fetish and Fun? What do we have here? Mom wasn’t only a romantic, but she was also apparently into the rough stuff. Holly looked over the receipt for black leather wrist studs, a blindfold, whip, and the super-deluxe large man dildo.

  “Find anything?”

  Holly jumped and nearly fell off the chair. “Jesus, you startled me,” she said, turning to see Chad.

  “Sorry.”

  She handed him the receipt and looked back into the envelope to retrieve a second piece of paper. Chad let out a low, long whistle. “Mommy liked a little S&M, huh?”

  “Yeah, and she wasn’t necessarily playing with people she knew. Look at this.”

  The second piece of paper she handed him was a phone number to a dating escort service that boasted confidentiality for players who liked to live life on the edge. “Now, what do you think that means?” she asked Chad.

  “I don’t know, but I’d say we’d better find out. Say we pay the friends over at Date or Do Me Nicely a visit.”

  “I don’t know if we should go busting in as cops. This isn’t your average dating service.”

  “You think someone ought to go in undercover and do some fishing?” Chad asked.

  Holly nodded.

  “Who?”

  Holly pointed at him.

  “Oh, no. Besides, don’t you think we might find out a little more if we send a woman in?”

  Holly slumped back in Shannon’s chair and sighed. “I’ll send in Maureen.”

  “You can’t do that. She just gave a press conference. Her face will be all over tonight’s newscasts. Trust me, people don’t forget someone who looks like Maureen.”

  “Fine. I’ll do it.”

  “No time like the present.”

  “Now?”

  “You want to solve this thing, don’t you?”

  “You’re a real pain in the ass. Grab a crew and let’s head out.”

  “Good idea.”

  Holly watched as Chad left the bedroom. She bagged the separate sections of mail, let out a long breath, and shook her head. The voice in her head screamed at her that this was about to get very, very interesting. And possibly very, very ugly.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Exhaustion settled in as Holly shimmied into the Lycra red dress. Wow, that was attractive. She noticed her breasts were nearly popping out the front as if she’d just appeared in a photo shoot for a Victoria’s Secret Catalog. Somehow, though, she didn’t think her 5’4” frame would’ve worked as a sexy model. But she would have to throw caution to the wind and step out in this instance. Somewhere a killer was waiting for his next set of victims, if he hadn’t already found them, and Holly knew it was up to her to find the sadistic madman.

  Regardless, this really was the last thing she wanted to be doing at almost five o’clock. That drink was calling her name. But it was at least a good hour away. She had already put in a call to Brendan letting him know that she might be later than expected. He didn’t seem put off by it, and said that he’d get the girls to bed if need be, as it was a school night. That familiar pang of guilt hit her in the center of her gut. Another child’s parent shouldn’t be putting her child to bed. She knew that it was her duty. Right now, what choice did she have? And she knew the truth of the matter was that if any other parent was going to be putting Chloe to bed, she’d just as soon have it be Brendan O’Neil. The thought made her bite her bottom lip, close her eyes, and pray she could fight the lust welling inside her. The care he gave to his children and her own daughter made Brendan even more appealing.

  She walked into the squad room. Robb let out a low, long whistle. “Well you won’t make Supermodel of the Year, but I’d do you.”

  Holly looked him square in the eye and said, “Carpenter, you make one more sexist, chauvinistic remark to me today, tomorrow, or ever, for that matter, I’ll serve you with a sexual harassment suit so fast your dick won’t ever want to do another woman again. You’ll hate my kind so much, you’ll go homo on all of us.”

  Robb’s face reddened. He looked as if he was about to comment when Chad said, “I wouldn’t, pal.”

  “I’m out of here. You two can handle
this the rest of the day. I’ve got to head back over to the McKay’s neighborhood and speak to a few more neighbors,” Robb said coolly.

  “And we will miss you,” Holly shot back. She placed her hands over her heart and batted her eyes.

  Robb stormed out of the office. Chad shook his head at her. “You two are terrible.”

  “Hey, he started it, and if he can’t take the heat, it’s not my problem. He’s one of those who can only dish it out. I don’t care what he thinks. Let’s head out and get this over with. I’m ready for a margarita on the rocks.”

  “Okay, you’re the boss. And a hot one at that.” He winked at her.

  “You watch it.” She shook a finger at him. “You may be getting a letter from my attorney, too.”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  “Nah. I know who’s on my side and who isn’t around here.”

  “We better move out. I told Brooke to meet us at The Tavern around 6:15. We should be done by then.”

  “Hopefully this goes as simply as planned.”

  Maureen spoke up. She’d been laughing under her breath since Holly had ripped into Robb with the low blows. “It’s basic. I made you an appointment at Elegance Dating Service. I explained that I was your assistant, and that as you were a very discreet person, you would like to meet with the owner himself. The woman on the other end said that wasn’t a problem, and that he usually is the one who does all of the interviewing anyway. They pride themselves on the ‘services’ they provide, claiming they truly are a unique dating service. And get this, they’re very ‘hands on.’”

  Holly and Chad both snickered. “I bet,” Chad said.

  “Okay, so you’ll meet this Mr. James, William James, to be exact. He must really think that name is important because his receptionist enunciated every syllable,” Maureen said.

  “Great, not only do we possibly have a kinky pervert on our hands, he’s also a self important one,” Holly added.

  “Is there any other kind?” Chad asked.

  “I asked Robb if he could run a background check on him. But seeing that he cut out of here early, my guess is he’ll let that go for the night. As we all know, he isn’t too thrilled with taking orders, suggestions, or even polite queries from those of us of the female persuasion.”

  They all laughed. “No, we aren’t his favorite species. But he’s a decent detective. Okay, before we head out, why don’t you ask Craig Anderson to do it. Greenfield gave him a desk job after he came back from rehab last month, and he’s working evenings. Poor man is really gonna have to prove himself. Sometimes I think Greenfield is way too hard, but I’m not getting into the politics of that situation,” Holly said.

  They all knew that office politics was the last thing any of them wanted to get involved in inside this place. Same with office romances, office gossip, office anything-other-than-work. It could mean slicing one’s own throat. Greenfield ran a tight, closed-mouth ship. “Put Craig to work, take his mind off his troubles while we’re out having a drink. I’m sure he’ll be far more eager than Robb to get it done. If he finds something, have him give us a call. Or if it’s too late, ask him to leave a report on my desk for the morning.”

  “Will do. Okay. Want me to meet you guys out in the van?” Maureen asked. “I’ll head over to Craig’s side of the cubicles and give him the skinny.”

  “See you out there then,” Chad said.

  He and Holly walked out to the surveillance van. Holly would be driving her own car. “Your wire on?” Chad asked.

  “Wouldn’t leave home without it. But I’m not going to show you where it is.”

  “I trust you. Get in your car and give me a check.”

  Holly did and started singing his favorite tune to him. He got out of the van and said, “You’ve got a good voice. I always knew you liked ‘Sunshiny Day.’”

  “I did that for you.”

  Maureen came out and walked over to the van. “We’re set. Craig was just happy someone gave him something to do. He said that Greenfield is still unrelenting and unforgiving, that all he’s doing is filing reports. I know that he’s pretty ashamed and embarrassed, but let’s face it, we all fuck up once in awhile. At least he confronted it and had the decency to be totally honest with himself and the department. I hope Greenfield comes around where Craig is concerned. He’s a good man, and before he got really out of hand with the booze, he was a good cop.”

  “Greenfield is not one to go light on people he considers weak. Craig is lucky he let him keep his job. By the way, does anyone know how Greenfield’s wife is doing?” Chad asked.

  “No, but I think I’ll check in with him in the morning and send over some flowers from all of us,” Holly replied, climbing in her car.

  “You are such the politician,” he said.

  “Right on up there with the president,” she joked. “Now let’s get this over with.”

  The dating service was only moments away from the station, located downtown on Fourth and B, a decent enough area, but most of downtown San Diego was fairly upscale. Maureen and Chad pulled into an empty parking spot right across from the service. The van’s disguise showed it to be a cable company vehicle. Chad sat up front dressed in a cable man’s uniform.

  Maureen was working the communication center in the back. Holly knew the plan was simply to go in, do a little fishing expedition, and find out what these people knew about Shannon and if there was any apparent illegal activity going on. If they or this William James knew something, then Holly’s crew might be able to gain some info and have quite a bit of leeway. Holly had the distinct feeling that this guy was going to slip right into her category of filthy slime balls.

  “I cannot believe that I’m doing this. We really should have sent you in, Maureen,” Holly whispered into her wire as she started to walk the half-block up to the dating service’s entry. She noticed a leering homeless man and a couple of construction guys heading into a bar for a couple of after-work beers. They whistled and looked her up and down.

  “Nice ass,” one said.

  “Nice tits,” another one replied.

  She kept walking. A strong urge to pull her Glock from her purse and go Jennifer Garner à la Alias on them crossed her mind. She whispered, “Assholes.”

  “I think you look hot, too, baby,” Chad laughed over the wire in her ear.

  “Watch it. I know where you live, cable guy.”

  Maureen cut in, “Leave her alone. You’ll be fine, Holly. We’ve got your back.”

  “Okay, you ready?” Chad asked. His jovial tone downshifting.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” she replied.

  She felt like a hooker in the spiky high heels, low cut, slinky red dress, and more makeup than she had ever worn before. This was gonna suck.

  She opened the door to Elegance Dating Service. A discreet sign just inside the door read, “We provide a place to meet for those people with the love for pleasure.” Oh, God, this was really gonna suck.

  Holly tried her best to stay balanced on her spiked heels, but it was damn hard. She approached the front desk where a way-too-thin peroxide blonde sat behind a black lacquered desk—tacky all the way. In the center of the room a coffee table in front of a red velvet couch held a black vase filled with fake flowers the color of the gold silk drapes. A truly pretentious room, it was something out of a bad Vegas casino, or a Mafioso boss’ home.

  “Can I help you?” the blonde asked.

  “I have an appointment,” Holly answered.

  “Do you mean an interview?”

  “I suppose I do.” Holly shifted as perspiration made her itch at her panty hose line.

  “Hmmm, name?”

  “Katrina Richards.”

  The blonde looked down at her scheduler. “Yes, Mr. James will be with you in a moment.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Would you like some coffee, water, tea? A glass of wine, perhaps? We can even mix you something stronger. It might help relax you during the taping process.”
<
br />   Wonder where they got their liquor license? “No. I’m good, thanks.” Holly sat down on the couch, sinking nearly all the way into its plush fabrics. She reached for a magazine—Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler. Great. She finally found a Cosmopolitan, not really her cup of tea, but better than her other choices. She crossed her legs and tried to look comfortable. She wondered if the receptionist knew Shannon McKay. She decided to take the gamble and see what she said. “My friend sent me here. She said she’d met some really great people, and that I might like it.”

  “Really? I’m sure she was right. So, who is your friend?”

  “Shannon McKay. Do you know her?”

  The young woman looked up at her from the paperwork she’d been shuffling, apparently with the intent of looking busy. Something in her eyes—was it a look of fear, anxiety, anger, the knowledge of something bad? Holly didn’t know, but whatever it was, there was definitely something other than mere recognition.

  When she replied, her voice was far sharper than it had been only moments before. “You know, we get so many people coming through the door, and it is really hard to keep track of who everyone is. I can’t say that I know your friend. But I’m certainly glad that she recommended us. I’m sure you’ll find our service as satisfactory as she told you.”

  “Oh, I’m sure I will.”

  Shannon would have had to go through the receptionist to get an interview. Why is this woman lying? There was something far more sinister going on behind the guise of this dating service. Holly felt it in her bones. And she couldn’t help but wonder if it would lead her to Shannon and Sara’s murderer.

  CHAPTER SIX

  William James, one of his many aliases, sat in his lavishly decorated office, all modern in black and fuchsia, behind the two-way glass that reflected the comings and goings in the waiting room. Yes, he was a voyeur. In this business, that wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, as far as he was concerned, it was a prerequisite.