by Dale Mayer
It was a perfect fit. She fingered the lightweight material and smiled. It was supersoft, like a stroke of kindness on her skin. Dressed and unable to make the bed without causing more pain, she slowly opened the door to find Dakota waiting for her. “I put these clothes on, but the socks and shoes,” she confessed, “were beyond me.”
He nodded and stepped into her room, looking at the shoes. “You need socks for these?”
She glanced down at the low-slung ballet shoes. “Maybe that would be a better answer.” She quickly stepped into them and smiled. “We won’t do too much walking, so they should be fine.”
With him at her side, they walked to the SUV. Forty minutes later they approached the outskirts of town. She had taken a few minutes to get her bearings as it wasn’t an area she was accustomed to entering town from. With a few directions, she sent him back to the corner where she had seen the shooting. She didn’t like the idea of walking the area, but there was no other way to make sure nothing was left to find.
He walked around and helped her from the SUV. Merk stood watch.
“Exactly where were you just before the shooting?”
She motioned to the main side of the block. He strode with her to where she’d been standing and carefully led her through the steps she’d taken.
“I came in the alleyway here, and that’s when I saw the men. I kept walking, and then I heard the shot.”
He stopped and stared at her. “No, that doesn’t work. You said the men were inside the alley down here.”
She nodded. “I thought I heard something first and so had stepped in a little bit to see what was going on. But when I saw the three men in their business suits, I just turned and walked away.”
He studied her face for a long moment.
Inside she felt everything go still. He didn’t believe her, or did he? She bit the inside of her lip. “No, that’s not right. I thought I saw something on the ground.”
“What you mean, something?”
She walked back to the opening of the alleyway and pointed to where some crumpled paper was. “I thought it was money.”
He walked over to see the green and white paper and nodded. “Now that makes sense.”
She stood where the paper was. “I turned to look down the alley and had a much better view.”
“So, from here, you saw the three men standing where?”
She pointed at the location. “But, once I realized it wasn’t money, I hurriedly left, and that was when I heard the shot.” She paused. “No, I heard them shouting,” she corrected herself. “I turned around, and that’s when I saw the gun raised, and the tall man shot the third man. I up and bolted.”
“Which direction did you run?”
She pointed to the corner up ahead. “I cut across the traffic and went through that block.”
He turned and studied where she’d run and realized it was a straight line of sight. He nodded. “Okay, so that’s when he shot you. And you carried on down the block a little bit. I was two blocks away when you ran into me.”
She nodded.
He walked a little more into the alley. “Am I standing where the men were standing?”
She frowned and studied the angle. “I only had a really fast glimpse of them.” She pursed her lips. “A little more to the right.”
He stepped to where she said.
She nodded. “I think the three of them were there.”
She walked closer to him. He stopped and slowly looked around on the ground. Mud still covered the alleyway, but it had dried up considerably. The ground had been thirsty for water and, although it was still wet on the surface, it was quickly disappearing.
He reached for a soggy cigarette butt.
“How can you tell if that’s recent?” she asked.
“After the rain, it’s hard to say. For all I know, this is Detective Mannford’s.”
She couldn’t imagine a detective leaving evidence in a crime scene.
But accidents happened. Dakota spent ten minutes looking around the area but found no evidence of a shooting. If there had been blood, it’d been washed away in the downpour. There weren’t even footprints left that matched the scenario. Finally he straightened and smiled at her. “Okay, let’s head to your apartment.”
She smiled with relief. “Good. I don’t like it here.”
“Understandable.” He led her toward the SUV, helping her once again back inside.
Her apartment wasn’t very far away. When they pulled up to the front of the building, there was an odd sense of loneliness. It hadn’t been a happy place for her once Rick got ill. It was the same apartment she’d shared with her husband. They’d been together for so little time before he’d been diagnosed. The pain and sadness and grief overrode the good memories. And for that she was sorry. She’d had a lovely six months with him while he was healthy.
With Merk sitting in the SUV, keeping watch and waiting for them, they walked to the entrance. At the door to her apartment, she quickly unlocked the door and pushed it open. “I shouldn’t need too long,” she said stepping inside. “I just want to get like a week’s worth of clothing.”
He grabbed her arm, and she was jerked to a standstill. She shot him a look, and he motioned toward the apartment. She spun around and gasped. “Oh, my God.”
Her apartment had been trashed.
*
Grimly Dakota surveyed the living space. This hadn’t been a robbery; this had been a message. There wasn’t a couch cushion, a wall, a foot of flooring that wasn’t either damaged or tossed with paint or in some other way destroyed. He quickly walked through to the bedroom to see the same thing. In the bathroom, he stopped to see lipstick on the mirror that read Keep your mouth shut, bitch. He pulled out his phone, quickly updated Merk and took pictures.
Bailey hadn’t seen this yet.
He joined her as they walked through the apartment systematically, taking pictures of the damage. He sent them all to Ice and glanced over at Bailey, but she stood in the hall, leaning against the wall, tears in her eyes and her arms wrapped around her chest. Not frozen but daunted by the task in front of her.
He walked over and nudged her chin up. “We need to see if you have any usable clothes left for you to grab.”
She shook her head. “My God, why vandalize my place like this?”
“The people you saw in the alley are sending a warning to keep you from talking.”
She closed her eyes briefly, then straightened, turned and walked into the bedroom. He helped her find her travel bag among the mess. The vandals had cut the top so the zipper would no longer close, but it would still do for their purposes. If there was anything left to pack. She didn’t have much. Her shirts were cut; things had been ripped off their hangers, and most were damaged from the paint tossed on top.
She glanced around. “I don’t think anything here is salvageable.”
There was so much pain in her voice. This woman who had already lost so damn much, had paid the price for so much and now was faced with the complete ruination of all personal effects in her apartment.
“Do you have anything of your husband’s you want to take?”
She looked at him, startled, and walked over to the night table. It had been pulled out, but underneath was a stack of books, still sitting as if untouched. She pulled out the very bottom one and opened it to show a keepsake box. Inside were their wedding rings, several photos, some folded pieces of paper. She clutched it against her chest. “This is the only thing I need from here. It’s the only thing worth keeping.”
He nodded. “We have to phone the police, make a report for this for insurance.” He winced at his next thought. “Did you have insurance for your contents?”
She looked up at him and shook her head. In a soft voice she whispered, “No. There was no money left over for that. Everything I have is old, used. I sold everything but my business clothes for my job. Then, when I lost that job, it didn’t matter. I could wear casual clothing to my temporary jobs and
at my current position.” She looked at the bed. The mattress had been tossed and destroyed. “I can replace everything at a second-hand store. I don’t have the funds yet, but it shouldn’t take too long to get up enough to start again. The clothes are really what I needed the most.” She glanced down at the paint strewn on top of everything. “I just don’t know where to begin.”
Dakota took a serious look. It was almost as if the intruders had deliberately made sure every piece of clothing was destroyed. The dresser was still standing, but the drawers were left open; several drawers were missing, dumped on the floor. Inside he was swearing heavily. It took a real asshole to destroy what little she had left.
Beside him, she said with a humorous note in her tone, “The only good thing about this is, I don’t have much left to move.” And she turned resolutely and left the bedroom.
Dakota watched her walk over a few piles of cushions and knickknacks as she went into the kitchen, where dishes had been dumped, the food jars shattered. On the counter, written in what looked like spaghetti sauce, was the word Bitch. She stared at it for a long time. “They must be really afraid of what I have to say.”
“Terrified.”
She wrapped her arms around her chest. “Could we please go to the nearest department store? I’ll pick up a few necessities for the next couple days.”
As they went to the front door, she paused. She looked in the coat closet, but every jacket had been pulled out and knifed several times.
She didn’t say a word. She just slowly exited the apartment.
Outside in the hallway, Dakota’s phone rang. It was Ice.
“You get whatever she needs in town for a few days. Detective Mannford can see to the apartment.”
“We just have to report this to the superintendent here. She’s only renting.”
“Okay. But, before you leave town, Mannford wants to talk to you.”
“I’ll call him next.”
While Bailey watched, Dakota dialed Detective Mannford. Bailey walked over to the window at the end of the hall and stared out at the world around her.
Dakota put away his phone. “We need to wait for Detective Mannford.”
She bowed her head. “That’s fine. We should talk to the super.”
She led the way back downstairs to the main floor to the last apartment and knocked on the door. An older man answered. When they explained what happened, he shook his head and wanted her contact information. Dakota gave it to him instead and said, “Detective Mannford from the police department is on his way here. They’ll be upstairs taking pictures so we can file a report.”
The super nodded. “I’ll need a copy of that report for the owners.” And he closed the door on them.
Chapter 7
Bailey hadn’t seen too much human kindness in the last couple years. But even the super’s attitude was cold, disinterested. It was hard to stomach.
As they walked back to the main entranceway to take the elevator again, the detective walked in. He studied her face carefully. “How are you doing?”
“Moving slowly but holding up.”
Upstairs in the apartment, he stopped at the open door and stared. He glanced over at Dakota.
Dakota nodded. “It’s pretty bad in there.”
Bailey just couldn’t imagine anybody taking the time to so thoroughly destroy every single thing she owned.
“It’s certainly not good,” Detective Mannford said. He took a walk through the apartment, came back and said, “I know it’s probably a foolish question, but do you know if anything’s missing?”
She stared at him in surprise. “I couldn’t tell. But I didn’t have anything worth taking, so I doubt it.”
“TV? There’s no TV here.”
“I don’t have one. I couldn’t afford one anymore.”
“Camera, electronics?”
She shook her head. “No, I have a tablet, but it’s in my purse. That’s it. Again I couldn’t afford any of that stuff.”
He nodded and kept walking through the apartment. Finally he returned again. “I’ll get the report written up. Then you can sign it. We’ll give you copies so you can give them to your insurance company.”
At that Dakota stepped up. “She doesn’t have any contents insurance for her personal belongings.”
The detective sighed. “I’m really sorry. This is a blow.”
“It’s a blow, but it would’ve been much worse if I’d been here at the time.”
He smiled at her in approval. “That is very true.”
Detective Mannford took care of formalities while they were here. He made short work of interviewing her about what she’d seen. At least unofficially.
When they were done, so was she. It was obvious. Dakota was more than a little worried about her.
“Did you take your medication this morning?” he asked.
She nodded. “But now you can tell it’s wearing off. I need my antibiotics.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s almost two already.”
“You want to go for lunch or you want to go straight home?”
She glanced over at him. “Home is an odd word for me to use.”
“For the moment, your home is where I live.”
She smiled. “Thank you. It would be very nice. I would like to go straight home.”
He helped her back into the truck, nodded to Merk and placed a call to Ice with an update. “We’re coming home.”
*
The drive back was short and sweet. By the time they got there, Bailey had fallen asleep. He pulled inside the garage and turned off the engine. Merk already had her door open.
Then Dakota walked around to her side. “Bailey? Bailey, we’re here. Wake up, honey.”
She mumbled but turned to the other side to get away from his voice, disturbing her sleep. He didn’t want to give her a shake because that would likely hurt her back.
He shifted the seat slightly to get an arm underneath her. And then he picked her up in his arms, trying to avoid the main part of her back, and walked inside the house with her, Merk holding open the door for them.
Alfred came running. “Is she hurt?”
Dakota shook his head. “No. She just fell asleep about ten minutes ago. Apparently she held out as long as she could. She should be out for hours.”
Alfred took over for Merk and went ahead of Dakota and Bailey, leading the way upstairs to her room. Alfred pulled down the blankets, smoothed her bed and moved the bathrobe and nightgown so Dakota could lay her down.
Gently Dakota placed her on the bed, slipped off her shoes and pulled the covers over her. He stepped back to where Alfred stood in the doorway. “Hopefully she’ll get a couple hours rest.”
He headed back downstairs, and his phone rang. He grabbed it, not knowing the number, and answered it.
A hard cold voice said, “We want the girl. Name the time and place.”
And the caller hung up.
Chapter 8
Bailey woke up hot, uncomfortable and cranky as hell.
She lay in the bed for a long moment, realizing where she was and where she could no longer be. She didn’t have a bed of her own that was usable anymore. What had happened to her life?
She threw back the covers and just lay there for a few minutes. She was fully dressed. It seemed Dakota had carried her to bed; the last thing she remembered was the drive home.
What she really wanted was a shower. But again she didn’t know if that was possible with her stitches. The other thing she needed, and in a bad way, were her painkillers.
She propped herself up on her elbow and took both her pills again. She glanced at her phone and realized it was almost 5:00 p.m. She shook her head. “Where has the day gone?”
She forced herself vertical and headed to the bathroom. There she took the washcloth and towel, and did as thorough a wash job as possible. After brushing her hair with the small brush from her purse, she felt marginally better. Knowing they would all be downstairs for dinner, she slowly made her way
to the door and down the hall.
When she walked into the dining room, silence fell. She stood quiet for a long moment, then said, “Did I do something wrong?”
Ice stood up. “No, you certainly didn’t.”
Just then Dakota and Levi walked in from the garage, both talking. Levi saw her first.
She gave him a small smile. “Hello.”
Dakota caught sight of her and smiled. He walked over and held out an arm for her. She grasped it gratefully. She didn’t think she needed the physical support, but she realized the emotional one was a crutch she would have a hard time letting go of.
“Did you get some sleep?”
She nodded and laughed. “And you must have carried me to bed, though I don’t even remember that happening, so I presume I slept well.”
With his help, she made her way to the same chair she’d sat in earlier.
As soon as she sat down, Ice placed a cup of coffee in front of her, taking a long moment to study her features, seeing the shakiness of her hands. Ice motioned at the coffee. “Drink up. And if you can stand it with sugar, that would be good for you.”
“I don’t normally like coffee at all,” she confessed. “Maybe I will try it once with sugar.” The sugar bowl arrived beside her, and she put a bit in. “And why do I need the sugar?”
“You still look pretty shaky.”
Dakota reached over and laced his fingers with hers. “And you have another shock coming.”
She froze and turned to look at him. “What else can there be?”
“I received a phone call from a stranger, telling me that they wanted you, and I was to name the time and place.”
She stared straight ahead, feeling all her strength drain right down to her toes. She slumped in her chair and then straightened with a cry of pain. “Really? Seriously?”
He nodded. “Apparently they know you’re with me.”
She covered her mouth, holding back the cry threatening to come out. “That’s terrible.”
He shrugged. “Actually I’m not upset about it at all.”
She gave a tiny headshake in confusion. “That makes no sense. Now you are a target too.” She glanced around. “That means Mayor Alden has targeted this place.” She tried to push her chair back. “I have to leave.”