Brynn rattled off an address.
Emma scribbled it down, but was interrupted by her boss. “What’s up, Captain?”
They knew it was bad when the man scrubbed his hands over his face in frustration. “We have another body.”
They all groaned.
“Someone left you a present at a local motel, and from the way the cleaning woman was shrieking in the background of the nine-one-one call, it’s bad.”
Emma knew they couldn’t be in two places at once. “Brynn, can you and Curtis handle the mailman interviews?”
She was glad to get out of the office.
Paperwork sucked.
“What can we do?” Tessa asked.
Croft spoke up. “You two look beat. Head out and call it a day. Paris, you’ve been on duty for two days straight. Tessa, you’re not even here as far as HR is concerned…We’ll cover for now.”
Paris was glad. He was beginning to get loopy. “Thank you,” he replied. They both desperately needed down time.
“We’ll take the body,” Emma stated. “The ME is going to be pissed off. This is like his tenth body in less than a week just from a case I’m working.”
Croft was aware.
“It’s going to be a long one,” he stated.
Everyone there knew it.
* * *
Arriving at the motel, it was crystal clear why the killer had used this spot. On the seedier side of Vegas, nestled in the business district, the run down place screamed, ‘commit a homicide here’.
As they hopped out, Emma dropped her badge around her neck and headed toward the crime scene tape to talk to one of the cops who was on duty.
“What happened?”
“The owner called in a body. The cleaning lady was getting ready to take care of the room. When she opened the door, there was more of a mess than she expected.”
“Keep her alone,” Emma stated to the officer, as her husband approached. “I want to question her after I see what we have.”
Croft spoke up, “Steele is in the room starting his initial assessment. Why don’t we give him a few minutes and interview the owner? She’s in the office with another cop.”
Emma agreed. The last thing she needed was to get in the ME’s way. He was just as overworked and tired as they were, and when nerves were frayed, there was bound to be hostility.
Inside the run down motel office, they found a woman pacing back and forth. In her youth, she might have been attractive, but time had not been kind. Her hair was peppered mostly with gray, washing out the mousy brown. The wrinkles crisscrossed her face, leaving deep lines in her skin.
“I can’t believe this has happened!” stated Mildred Myers, owner of ‘The Hideaway’. “That poor woman! This is terrible!”
Emma pulled out her phone to make notes. “Can you tell me what happened, ma’am?”
“Rosa went to clean the room, and then I heard this horrific screaming like someone was murdering her. I ran out, to find her pointing in the room and shouting in Spanish.”
She entered the details.
“Did you know the woman who rented the room?” Emma inquired.
“Yes! She was a regular. I can’t believe what was done to her. She was a sweet girl.”
Croft interjected, “Like a working girl?”
Mildred shook her head. “No. She came here once a week. She wasn’t any working girl I knew. That Mercedes out front is hers. The rock on her finger is real.”
Emma made more notes. “So, did she pay by credit card?”
“No, it was always cash, but I made her show me ID the first time she registered.”
That was going to make their lives easier.
“Can I get a copy?” Emma asked.
When the woman hobbled over to the file cabinet, she kept talking to them. “I didn't hear anything. I watch a lot of cop shows, and she didn't make a peep before he did her.”
Croft lifted a brow. “Did her?”
“You know, like took her life.”
Emma would have been amused by the older woman if they didn't have so many bodies popping up. She wouldn’t be the first person that they encountered who believed being a cop was like a television drama. “Did she say who she was meeting?”
The woman moved toward the copier. “No, she never did. I don’t think it was the same guy. I know couples like to spice it up, but I just think she was fooling around on her man. It’s a shame. A good woman is so hard to find. I never would have fooled around on my man. Well, in my day, my husband would have put me over his knee.”
Croft looked around. He liked spice as much as the next male, but he’d NEVER bring his wife to a place like this.
Not without a tetanus shot first.
“Walk us through what happened.”
“She came in, paid, I handed her a key, and that was it. We didn't hear from her at all. Rosa went to clean the room, and it looks like a horror movie in there.”
Emma took the paper the woman handed her. “Reanne Morris, age thirty.”
The woman nodded. “So pretty too. Now, she’s not even close.”
Croft could only imagine, and they would be seeing it shortly. “You wouldn’t happen to have any security cameras around the perimeter of your business, would you?”
“No. I run a motel. People come here to shack up. I don’t ask questions. If you want cameras, you head to the Hilton on the strip. You want to get your willy wacked, you come to the no tell motel.”
Emma shook her head, “Maybe you should invest in some, then you wouldn’t have a dead woman in your room.”
She pursed her lips. “You can stare down your nose at me all you want. I’ve seen you on the TV. You’re one of those women. This, here, business put my son through school and pays the bills. I’m not the police. It’s not my job to patrol for hookers. A girl has to work. There’s nothing wrong with sowing your wild oats here.”
Yeah, what a cop out that was.
Emma was appalled. She stood in guts and blood all day. If that was what this nutjob called living the life, she obviously was a few bricks short of a wall.
“Thank you for your help,” Emma added, heading out. There was no point going there. It would be a waste of breath.
In the cool night air, Greyson was thinking the same thing she was. “We haven’t seen her yet, but it’s going to be an obvious escalation.”
“Yeah, it is.”
They headed toward the room. Before even entering, they could smell it.
Death and blood filled the air.
When Greyson Croft got a view of the killing, he couldn’t believe it. “Holy shit!”
“You’re telling me,” stated Steele Bentley. “Your killer is nuts. We skipped slow and steady escalation and went right to full blown sadist.”
Emma stared down at her battered body. It was bruised and twisted in unholy angles. From the looks of it, she’d been beat to death. Emma had to hope that this all happened after she was dead.
If not, this woman had suffered.
Her hair was gone, but not cleanly like the last few times. It was ripped out, and there were pieces of scalp remaining. It looked like he ripped it out by the roots in anger, and then left it on the bed beside her in his haste to escape.
“Wow, Paris is going to have a field day with this one,” Emma stated.
“Before you ask, I’ll tell you it was likely the same killer. I checked her eyes, and there’s petechial hemorrhaging, so she’s been strangled.”
“What about all the marks to her body?” Croft asked.
“It looks to be post mortem. It looks like he got mad and had an unfair fight.”
Emma made more notes as the team lifted the woman into a black bag.
“She has DNA under her nails. From the looks of it, she fought.”
Well, there was something to be happy about. Now, if they could just find a crazy person with scratch marks, they’d have their serial killer. Was it too much to hope they were all over the killer’s face?
“Anything else?”
Steele stood, rolling his neck. “I won’t be doing the autopsy today. I’m beat. If I even try, I may miss something. I’ll hit it up first thing in the morning. I have a few other bodies from the other accidents and crimes in the city, but I’ll bump yours to priority.”
Emma was thankful. “I appreciate it.”
“Why don’t you head to our place with Dante and grab a pizza? We can all sit on the couch and decompress later.”
At this point, Steele would kill for a hot shower, food, and to get off his feet for a little while.
“When this is over, I’m taking a vacation. It’s going to be in a land of quiet where no one dies or bleeds.”
They couldn’t blame him.
“I’ll see you later. I’ll get the team organized, and then our victim and I are hitting the road.”
Emma snapped a picture of the photo ID that Mildred had given her. “Here you go,” she stated, handing him the paper. “We have Reanne Morris. We’ll do the notify next.”
“Good luck with that. You may have an even shittier job than I do. Although, on days like this, I doubt it.”
Emma saw the cleaning woman and knew she had to do the interview. “Rosa is next, and then we can get out of here,” she stated.
“She only speaks Spanish,” Steele added. “They had to call in a cop who could translate.”
“I speak Spanish,” she admitted, much to her husband’s surprise.
“What? When did that happen?” he asked.
“Greyson Croft. I worked the streets in Philadelphia. Do you really think that the criminals and people there weren’t speaking languages other than English? The hood is a colorful ethnic pot. You Feds have it too damn easy.”
He laughed.
When she was gone, Steele dropped his voice. “Dominic Marianna is going to be all over you two.”
He was well aware.
“Yeah, we’re screwed. When Randall died, we basically lost our shield. I’m already contemplating packing it in and getting Emma out of here.”
He wouldn’t blame him. “My dad messed with Marianna, and he didn't live long.”
“You think he killed him?”
Steele shrugged. “One never knows. All I can say is that he went to meet him, and then never came home. You do the math.”
Croft didn't have to.
He wasn’t surprised.
“Watch your back,” Steele said, patting him on the shoulder.
Croft was trying, but it wasn’t easy to handle all this on his own. He noticed his wife was still talking to the woman, so he picked up his phone and made a call.
On the third ring, it was picked up by an unfamiliar voice. “This is Ethan Blackhawk’s phone.”
Croft paused. “Uh, this is Greyson Croft, is he around?”
“Yeah, let me get him. He’s busy with Elizabeth.”
There was a pause before the man came on the phone. “Hey, Greyson! Sorry! That was my brother. What can I do for you?”
He began at the beginning, telling the man about Emma being assaulted at Randall Mason’s party, and then the man turning up dead. Croft held nothing back, and even told him about the fear that they were sitting ducks.
“Okay, breathe. We’ll take care of this. Just hang on there. I’ll call Gabe and tell him what’s going on. If at any time you think your life is in danger, you’re to get out. Am I clear?”
Croft was.
“Unless a miracle happens, we’re going to have to figure something out.”
He told him about the body found beneath the three female victims in the desert.
“Ship it here. We have an anthropologist on staff. He’s due back from medical leave. Doctor Magnus will be more than happy to get us something. He’s the best.”
Croft was glad to get some backup on this.
“Keep your eyes open, and if need be, get the hell out of dodge,” Ethan Blackhawk warned.
Greyson was good with that.
When it came down to it, his wife was his priority, especially now that Dominic Marianna was going to be on the prowl.
By the time he hung up the phone, his wife was finished with her interview.
“Anything?”
Emma came up with nothing. “She said the same thing that the owner of the motel did.”
“Great.”
“Let’s go do the notify. Maybe the grieving spouse can tell us something,” Emma suggested.
Croft hoped so, since they were at a loss. All he knew was that everything in Vegas seemed to be coming to a head.
Now, he needed to make sure it didn't take them down when it all came crashing around them.
* * *
Curtis was at a loss.
When they pulled up to the neighborhood, it just looked off. The houses were mostly run down, empty shacks. For some reason, he doubted a well-paid Federal employee lived like this.
Then again, the housing market had tanked and people lost everything.
“This is like the biggest crack and cocaine district in Vegas,” stated Brynn, pulling her blazer back in case she needed her gun.
“Yeah, why don’t you go sit in the car?”
She stared at him. “Is that my partner asking or husband telling?”
When she said the word, his heart skipped in his chest. Immediately, he glanced down at her hand. Her ring finger was bare. “Both?”
Brynn laughed as they headed up onto the porch. “Then, the answer is no on both counts.”
It was worth a try.
After knocking, they waited. When no one came to the door, they opted to investigate.
“I’d say ask a neighbor, but all I’ve seen are curtains rustling since we got here,” Brynn stated. “They’re watching us and aren’t going to cooperate. Right now, they’re hiding all their meth labs.”
“We can’t go back without getting more information. Greyson will kill me.”
Leaving the porch, they began walking the perimeter, together. In the back, one window wasn’t covered by heavy drapes.
“I’ll boost you up, and you can tell me what you see.”
Brynn didn't hesitate. She let him lift her so that she could scan the inside of the building.
“Nothing. It’s empty.”
“Shit. Where is he?” he muttered, trying not to focus on the woman in his arms.
“Got me. Want to let me down?” she asked.
When he slowly released her, she slid down the front of his body. The familiar feel of his torso and scent of Curtis’s cologne caused her pulse to quicken.
“Sorry,” he muttered, setting her free.
She didn't mind. “That’s okay,” Brynn stated. Quickly, she changed the subject back to work. “Why did our mailman disappear, giving this empty house as his place of employment?”
He didn't have any idea.
“What’s he hiding?”
“I guess we should head back in and find out,” Curtis stated. “I find it odd that we can’t interview him in this investigation.”
Brynn could feel eyes on her, and they didn't vest up before arriving there. “Let’s head in. The hair on the back of my neck is standing up.”
Curtis was a big believer in gut instinct. “Okay, Brynn,” he offered, scanning the area for anything dangerous.
Back at the car, they knew what was next.
Paperwork.
They had to find a trail, and that was going to be virtually impossible.
* * *
Back at their place, Paris relaxed on the couch while Tessa grabbed them each a drink. As he watched her move around their kitchen, he couldn’t help but fall more and more in love with her.
Tessa’s straight black hair was tucked behind her ears, giving him a clear view of her eyes.
God, he loved them.
There was something bewitching about them. Whenever she’d look up at him, he felt like he was falling into the green depths.
When she came to sit beside him, he couldn’t look away
.
“What?” she asked, handing him a soda.
“Marry me.”
She stared into his eyes. “Paris, I am going to marry you. Are you feeling all right?”
“No, I mean as soon as this is all over. Let’s run away and get hitched--just you and me. I don’t want to plan a wedding. I want to have one. We can go to a little chapel in Vegas and get married, then leave on our honeymoon.”
Her heart skipped.
She couldn’t wait to be Mrs. Paris Archer.
It was her dream come true.
“What about qualifying?” she asked, knowing that was coming up in a couple of months.
“I’ll keep training, but I’ll head into it a married man, not an engaged one. Let me have my prize before I win the race. Please?”
Tessa would give him her life if he asked for it. “Yes, Paris. I’ll run off with you and get married.”
“Promise?”
She placed her soda on the coffee table and moved into his lap. “Yes, I promise,” she offered, leaning down to lay kisses across his face. When she finally reached his lips, they both sunk into the mating of mouths.
It was amazing.
Paris held her to his body. In the back of his mind, he was worried. Would his body react to her again? What if he couldn’t perform?
It was as if she sensed his trepidation. Pulling away, she removed his glasses and started unbuttoning his shirt. “Stop worrying and just go with it. You’re overthinking, Paris,” she whispered in his ear, before biting it.
He moaned. His entire upper body was on fire, longing for her touch. “More, Tessie,” he begged, knowing that she was going to have to lead him into the pleasure. His body didn't know how to get there alone anymore.
She was the only one who could help him.
The woman in his lap was his salvation.
Tessa slid down his body, kneeling before him on the floor. When he went to undo his belt, she stopped him. “You’re going to need to be a more visual person,” she stated. “Let me help you. Just lean back and watch,” she said, taking over for him. “Pretend you’re watching a sexy movie.”
“Tessa porn. My favorite.”
She laughed.
Heaven is Weeping (A Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 5) Page 36