by C. D. Samuda
This time, she would make sure to board that plane. All she needed to do was adjust her luggage to suit the Oregon weather. It was late spring and still cool along the river. She should pack a sweater and jeans, just in case the nights became frigid. That was exactly what she did when she got home, pushing Quinn Harrison from her mind.
~8~
Detective Lawson was sitting at his desk in the precinct scanning a file in front of him. Across from him to the right was Detective Sean Nolan, his partner. A few desks away was Sargent Lewis, and the chief’s office was off to his left.
It occurred to him that he did not hear his cell phone ring in a while. He picked it up, knowing he’d missed many calls, some of which might be important. The phone was on silent mode. Annoyed, he checked his voicemail and noticed there was one from the stab victim, Quinn Harrison. When he returned the call, the man told him to expect a text message. After hanging up, it took only a few seconds before his phone beeped. As he read the text, he furrowed his brow. His sharp eyes darted from word to word trying to make sense of it.
Nolan looked up from writing his report. “What’s that?”
“I just got a message from the victim. Here,” he said, handing over the phone.
Nolan read the message aloud, “$50,000 or die – your choice. We will cancel if you meet our terms. Does that mean what I think it means?”
“Sure thing. I’m going over there to get the phone now, so we can send it to Jimmy over at IT. The number is anonymous, so it may not be possible to trace,” Lawson replied.
“Detective Lawson?”
The detective turned at the sound of his name. Sargent Alicia Lewis was one of the prettier female cops he liked. He smiled at her and walked over, leaving Nolan shaking his head. Everyone knew he was sweet on the Sargent- everyone except her.
“What can I do for the lady?” he asked in his nicest voice.
She seemed oblivious to his smile and the way he looked adoringly at her. “Chief wants to see you in his office,” she said.
Lawson noted the indifference in her eyes and he walked away, deflated. The head of the police department, Chief Wallis, was waiting with someone from the governor’s office. He narrowed his eyes, gave them his usual hard stare and wondered what he’d done this time. He wasn’t a favorite of theirs due to his particular way of dealing with criminal elements.
“Don’t look so defensive,” Wallis grunted. “This ain’t about you.”
“That’s a first,” he muttered, his tone sour.
Lawson glared at the other man who was looking on with interest. He smirked and the man everted his eyes.
“This is Edwin Bogle, from the Governor’s office,” Chief Wallis said. Lawson looked at Edwin from head to toe and decided he was a lackey for the government.
“The daughter of a very close friend of the Governor…,” Bogle began.
“No,” Lawson declared before the man could finish the statement. “No, I aint doing that friggin’ Gov’nor no favors. He almost had me expelled from my job. Tell him, NO!”
The chief rose from his chair. “You haven’t even heard what he had to say.”
“It’s another favor for that Gov’nor, who wants special attention for a friend’s case. I know the drill. You remember what happened the last time? That bastard almost got me fired!”
“This time it’s different,” Chief replied.
“How so?” Lawson asked. “I know what he wants. He’ll ask for a special favor and if things don’t turn out the way he wants he’ll screw me over. That’s the way he operates. His own nephew was the culprit in that theft that he begged me to investigate. I arrested the boy and he threatened my job.”
The chief was impatient. “Shut up and listen, will you … for Pete’s sake?”
Lawson was agitated. The Governor was not brave enough to face him so he sent his henchman. Cool … just bloody cool! “You have three minutes,” he said, setting his eyes upon Edwin. The man looked to the chief for approval. The chief nodded.
“She was assaulted by three people wearing masks. The security footage revealed that one might be a female.”
“Are you sure?” He asked. His sharp mind immediately recalled that Quinn mentioned the breast of a woman touching his arm. “Where is the footage?”
“I-I-I have it with me.” The man was obviously terrified of the detective.
Lawson glowered at Edwin. “What are you waiting for? Hand it over.”
“Here.” Edwin retrieved a flash drive from his pocket and handed it to Lawson along with a report. “She’s still unconscious in the hospital, but we believed it was a setup.”
“What do you mean?”
Edwin fidgeted with his jacket, his voice faltering. “She’s been working with a group of animal rights activists that are now fighting a court case,” he replied.
Lawson scratched his head. “You mean the case about that rich guy who trains dogs for fighting?”
“Yes, she is the one who brought the case forward.”
“Don’t think I’m doing this for the Gov’nor nor his friend. I’m only looking into it because it may be related to a case I’m on,” he informed Edwin.
He gave the chief the evil eye and Edwin a scathing look. The man visibly flinched. Lawson departed the chief’s office. With mixed feelings, he told Nolan about it. He had a hunch the cases were related.
“What are you thinking?” Nolan asked.
“Let’s watch the footage first, shall we?”
They watched the security video by setting up two screens in order to compare the one from their current case and from the footage supplied by Edwin. The new footage showed that the activist was assaulted at her boyfriend’s apartment building. They took nothing.
“Wait,” Lawson said. “Did he say something? Turn it up.”
Nolan increased the volume to the fullest and went back a few seconds. It sounded as if the tallest fellow said something, but it was muffled and quite low. They weren’t even sure if he did say something. One thing was for certain, it appeared to be the same men. Lawson also noticed that Quinn’s description about one being like a hulk was also correct. The man’s arms were almost bigger than Nolan’s thighs.
The breasts on the female stood out like a sore thumb as well as she being plump and shorter than the men. What was more, after attacking the animal rights activist, she removed her mask before she was out of the surveillance shot. They were the same people who attacked Quinn Harrison – Lawson had no doubt. They had the clothes and shoes to compare. However, nothing was final until the IT department reviewed it. They would also be able to clear up the sound.
“Is that their MO, to taunt the victim? Who are these guys?” Nolan asked, fingering his chin.
Nolan was eight years younger than Lawson who was going on 42. Nolan’s eyes always seemed to be pitiful, and was the one thing Lawson disliked about him. He looked at his partner, as he fingered is chin to try to put the pieces together.
“Let’s check out the scene and see what clues we can find there,” he told Nolan. His partner nodded and picked up his jacket. Lawson threw him the patrol car keys. “You drive.”
While they drove to the apartment of the latest victim, Nolan gave Lawson some news. “The trace on the 911 call came back while you were talking with the Chief.”
Lawson gave him a sour look. “And you’re now telling me?”
“You were in the chief’s office when it came in and then we looked at those tapes, I didn’t get a chance,” Nolan remarked.
“What’s her name?” Lawson asked in an exasperated manner.
“Sorry, the file is on my desk.”
* * *
Lawson didn’t get a chance to see the file until the following morning. It was the first thing he checked when he walked into the office. The emergency department was kind enough to supply the number, which the tech department traced. The cell phone used to make the call belonged to a Leah Brooks.
He dialed the number. “We’re sorry,
the person you are trying to reach is not available,” the voice on the automated system replied.
“Sargent Lewis.” Lawson walked over to the female cop.
She looked up from her desk and gave him a lazy stare. “What can I do for you Detective?”
“Can you find out more about this person, please?” He handed her the file with the name and cell number. “Address, work, friends, anything you can find.”
“Okay, give me 40 minutes,” she said, taking the file from him.
“Thanks.”
~9~
Quinn was discharged one week after the assault. Brittani returned several times to see him, which annoyed Quinn. He hated clingy women and this one was just that. That’s the very reason he’d broken up with her. She’d been overly possessive and he wasn’t interested in the kind of relationship she wanted.
There was still some soreness in his chest, however, the wound on the side was in better condition. Dr. Rattray restricted him from playing any kind of sports for a while. He could start by walking in a week or so and then jog in a month. Alan was supposed to pick him up in the morning but he found himself waiting for over an hour. When Alan finally showed up, it was apparent his friend wasn’t having a good day.
“You look terrible,” he observed. “What’s going on?”
“I’m fine, just some stuff at home,” Alan replied in a clipped tone.
Alan’s movements were noticeably jerky when he grabbed Quinn’s bag. Quinn puckered his brow, wondering what was going on with his friend. He knew that Alan did everything he could to make a happy life with his wife. Even though Quinn and Nicole didn’t get along, he made an effort to be supportive.
During their college years, things turned sour between them and never got better even after she and Alan were married. Quinn strongly believed she tricked Alan into marrying her. The only reason he even spoke to her was because Alan was like a brother. He patted his friend’s shoulder.
“You know you can talk to me about anything. If there’s something I can help with…,” he began.
“No, nothing to worry about, Quinn. We’ll be fine.”
He wasn’t convinced, but it was obvious that his friend wanted the subject closed. “Okay, take me to get my car.”
Alan looked sharply at him. “Have you gone mad? Didn’t you hear the doctor?”
“No worries, I’m fine. I just can’t do anything heavy for a couple of weeks, I will be fine,” he nonchalantly replied.
His friend gave him a stern look. “Are you sure?”
“Hmm.”
After the release papers were signed, the nurses insisted on a wheelchair to the car. This he thought unnecessary since he could walk just fine. However, he had some amount of discomfort getting into Alan’s smaller car. Of course, being six feet three inches meant he needed plenty elbow room.
“Have you heard anything about that woman?” he asked Alan as soon as he’d latched the seatbelt.
“You and that damn obsession of yours. She doesn’t want to be found man.” Alan said. “Think about it. You’ve been in the hospital for a week and she hasn’t checked on you once.”
“You might be right. Still, I can’t ignore it,” he said easily. “I know the detective will find her, but I need to see her.”
“Drop it Quinn, why are you so bent on finding her anyway?”
“The least I can do is meet the one who saved me.”
“Come on Quinn, let it go man.”
Quinn nodded, trying to push her from his mind. “You are right buddy. Maybe I should leave her alone.”
Alan looked at him from sideways, trying not to take his eyes off the road. He said, “That’s a complete 180. You’re kidding, right?”
“You’re the one who just said to drop it,” he replied in a very casual voice. “Anyway, she’s been distracting me. I need to focus on the company we just acquired.”
Even though Quinn tried to push the woman from his mind, occasionally, thoughts of her resurfaced. When he thought of her, his heart skipped a few beats. He dismissed it as a part of his injury’s side effect.
Alan gave him a relieved smile. “Good, I was beginning to be concerned for you and this obsession of yours.”
“Yeah, if she comes forward, I’ll reward her handsomely, but for now, let’s leave it at that.”
“Hey, Terry has been hounding the office. She threatened to come to the hospital a few times, I had to tell her that the doctor ordered no visits,” Alan informed him. “I think she figured out that Brittani came to see you.”
Quinn grunted. “I’ll take care of it.”
He was in no mood to see anyone. Then again, as he thought about it, he would give anything to see the one with the dark hair and pure hazel eyes. He was beginning to feel frustrated about her disappearing act, though he made out that he didn’t care.
For the rest of the twenty minutes journey, Alan brought him up to speed about the office. This briefly distracted him from thinking about her. He had planned on filling in Alan about the police investigation, but his friend seemed to have enough on his plate.
When they entered the parking garage, he paused as the incident rushed through his mind. The heat of anger burned his stomach. Something was definitely not right. This was no random attack. His watch alone valued more than $20,000. They took nothing. His wallet was still in his jacket breast pocket with a few hundred dollars and three platinum credit cards. The Jaguar was the only thing they would not be able to steal because of the voice recognition software installed.
It took some effort convincing Alan to leave him alone. As he sat in the car, the night replayed over again as if it was just happening. He could think of nothing different from what he told the police. Everything was a mystery, from the people who attacked him to the reason behind it.
What was more was the mystery of the woman who saved him. It was strange. People loved attention and usually when one heard of a hero, they would be splashed all over the news. Recently a man saved a boy from drowning, and his story was on the local news. Some time ago, a woman saved a dog from a burning building – she too was on the news. This woman didn’t seem like she liked the limelight.
A slight pain in the chest caused him to wince, temporarily getting his mind off his troubles. The doctor told him that he might feel pain for some time to come, until it healed completely. He opened his shirt to look down at the bandage and there was a pink stain, telling him that he was bleeding a little. This was his cue to head home to relax.
Perhaps getting away for a few days to sort things through would be a good idea. He hated having to stay home all the time, but he knew that Alan would throw a fit if he came to work. He turned on the car phone and put it on speaker, then he dialed Vita’s desk.
“Quinn and Smith. Vita speaking,” she answered in her quiet, shy tone.
“Hello Vita.”
“Mr…, I mean Quinn.” She sure sounded happy to Quinn. “Where are you sir?”
“I’m on my way home. I would have come up to see you but you know Alan,” he told her. “Vita, I need a favor. Book me a few days - anywhere is fine.”
“Hotel sir?” she asked.
He thought for a moment. “Somewhere with a relaxing atmosphere … maybe sightseeing or some crap like that.”
“Sir, are you alright…I mean… I know you’re not, but this isn’t like you,” she sounded worried.
He chuckled. “I know.”
“Will that be lodging for one or two?”
“For one…just me,” he told her.
He was in no state of mind to go with anyone. As a matter of truth, there wasn’t anyone with which he wished to accompany him on this trip. Vita fell silent. He knew what she was thinking, that perhaps he’d gone crazy after the accident. She never booked him a room alone unless it was strict business, and he always found a way to add another guest to his tab by the end of his trip.
“Okay sir, I’ll call you at home with the information,” she said. “By the way sir, Te
rry left a message asking you to return her call. She says it’s urgent.”
“Thanks,” he replied before hanging up.
While he waited for Vita to make the arrangements, he called Terry. He owed her that much. She answered the phone after a few rings.
“Quinn, why haven’t you picked up your calls?” Terry admonished.
He sighed wearily. “Terry, you know I’ve been hospitalized.”
Her voice softened. “I was so worried. I heard you got discharged, can I come over?”
He’d missed female company, and thought that maybe Terry could help him drive the woman he’d been thinking about from his mind. He thought of Terry and her dark hair, her soft brown eyes and generous cleavage. Maybe she was exactly what the doctor ordered. He smiled to himself.
“In an hour,” he told her.
That would give him enough time to get home and freshen up. Terry was at his door in forty-five minutes. He was just stepping out of the shower when he heard the doorbell. He wrapped his large towel around his waist and removed the covering the doctor gave him to keep the bandage dry while he showered. It was a weird rubber wrap, which he used to wound around his torso.
Leaning seductively against the doorpost, she was dressed in mini skirt and tight tank. Generous breasts strained against the skin fitting fabric of the blouse. Quinn’s eyes cruised her as he stepped aside to let her in. Her sickly sweet perfume stung his nose. They entered the spacious living room of his penthouse where she dropped her purse on the black and white sofa.
“Hi, I’ve missed you so much.” She twined her arms around his neck and gently kissed his lips. “Poor baby,” she muttered and stepped back, running her fingers gently over his bandages. “Let momma kiss it and make it all better,” she murmured sweetly, kissing his bare chest.
Quinn stood patiently as Terry ran her soft fingers over his shoulders. Her tongue licked his neck and worked its way down. He felt nothing. Usually a touch or kiss would get him started, but there was nothing. He closed his eyes and hazel ones loomed before him. There was a slight stirring in his loins and he felt some blood rush to his manhood.