by Aaron Riley
“What's your name?” he asked, drinking from his tall glass of beer.
“Christopher,” he replied, flushed from the liquor.
He put his hand out. “Joshua.”
Christopher switched his glass to his other hand to shake Joshua's hand. He didn't need to do that and it led to an awkward moment.
“You aren't the normal type of guy that walks into this bar.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” he asked.
Joshua scratched his stubble. “Your attire for starters.”
Christopher swayed from side to side and looked down. “What's wrong with this?” he asked, pulling on his black suit jacket.
Joshua laughed. “Nothing wrong. I actually like it. I'm sick of the men around here flaunting their leather.”
Christopher smiled. He tried to think back at the last time he had a good conversation with a guy and he couldn't remember. Probably all the way back in high school when Jason told Christopher he liked him right at the end of senior year. It was too late. Christopher went away and never looked back.
Joshua took a step forward. “I've never seen you around town before.”
Christopher was very aware that he was moving in closer. “I'm just visiting. Used to live here actually.”
“Well I'm glad you walked in here.” He inched his way even closer.
Christopher knew what he wanted. Normally Christopher wouldn't even let things go this far. He didn't have time for relationships. He didn't even have time for one-night stands.
Christopher tried to pump the brakes. He put his hand on his chest to stop him from invading his space.
But that was a bad idea.
Joshua was insanely in shape. His hard chest only made the blood pump through Christopher faster. He could smell his manly scent as he wrapped his hand around the small of Christopher's back. His lips parted and he closed his eyes.
They kissed outside the Eight of Spades, their tongues dancing with one another. Christopher felt like jelly in his arms as he held him close. Joshua reached up and tugged on Christopher's hair, snapping his head to the side. He nibbled on Christopher's neck, leaving a bright red mark.
Christopher knew this was going to lead down a dangerous path. He was weak and it wouldn't take much to end up in Joshua's bed.
Christopher had bigger things to think about than Joshua's massive hard-on beneath his tight jeans. He was able to push away Joshua for just a moment to catch his breath.
Joshua wiped his mouth of saliva and revealed a cocky smile. Christopher might dress differently but he was no different than the guys he always picked up at the bar. He knew he'd be moaning under his sheets to his touch soon enough.
“Want to go back to my place?” he asked. It wasn't even really a question. More of a demand. So when Christopher declined, he didn't even know how to process it.
Nobody ever said no to Joshua Scott.
“I'm sorry, but I'm working on a case right now. I don't have time for a fling right now.”
Joshua took a step back. His face turned to horror. “What are you a cop?”
Christopher shrugged. “No, FBI.”
“Son of bitch,” Joshua replied.
Christopher didn't know how to take that. “What's wrong with that?”
“You trying to use me just to get close to the MC?”
“I don't even know what you're talking about.”
Joshua walked away without saying another word and left Christopher all alone in front of the Eight of Spades.
He walked to his rental and sat in driver's seat, thinking about the interaction over and over again. Even though he rejected Joshua first, he didn't like that it was ultimately something about him or something he did that turned him off.
“When are you ever going to win, Christopher?” he asked himself before turning the ignition.
Chapter Six
Joshua stood by his bike with the rest of his MC in the middle of the desert at night. The air was cold even after the blazing hot day. He put on his leather jacket and proudly wore the new sgt-at-srms patch on his chest.
“The Devil Hearts are late. What do we do now, prez?” Cameron asked, sticking his tongue through his missing teeth.
“Give them time,” Flash replied.
“Give them time? We've been freezing our asses off for hours now,” Jett, the prospect, said.
“Not our fault your mommy didn't pack you a warm set of clothes,” Flash said
The entire MC erupted in laughter and Jett quickly shut up.
Joshua pulled out his black Sig Sauer P220 and checked the magazine. The gun felt good in his hand. He felt like nobody could touch him. He put it back in the waistband of his jeans.
Headlights appeared in the distance. The Devil Hearts MC rode through the dirt on their bikes until they arrived at the meeting place.
Each member took off their helmets and stowed them on their bikes. The Devil Hearts were armed to the teeth. Every single of them carried either a shotgun or machine gun. Like they were expecting a big firefight.
And with these two rivals, a firefight was likely.
Flash broke away from his group and walked to the middle of the circle. The president of the Devil Hearts did the same.
Aiden was one of the ugliest motherfuckers to ever ride a bike. There wasn't one thing that you could point to that would give away the ugliness. It was more like the whole painting itself didn't work together.
Flash shook his hand and they hugged each other. An outsider would think that the two of them were lifelong friends instead of lifelong enemies.
“You got our money?” Flash asked.
Aiden nodded and snapped his fingers. An Irish member ran to the middle with a large duffel bag. He threw it on the ground between the two presidents. Flash used his foot to kick it open and saw the stacks of green bills.
Joshua put his hand on the butt of his gun. This was usually when things went sour.
“Bring out the guns,” Flash announced.
Jett jogged to the middle with two long duffels on each shoulder. He had a hard time balancing with the heavy bags. Jett set them down and ran back to the rest of the MC.
“Let's see what we got here,” Aiden said. He opened up each bag and started pulling out guns. Pistols, shotguns, and machine guns of every variety.
“Like what you see?” Flash asked.
“These look like they will work.”
“Good, then we have a deal?” Flash put out his hand.
Aiden looked down at it. “I never thought I'd be making a deal with the Dog Soldiers. But desperate times.” He grasped his hand.
“Pleasure doing business with you.”
“Let's roll out, boys.”
Joshua watched as the Devil Hearts rode out one by one, their tires kicking dust into the air. He took his hand off his gun and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Aren't they just going to kill us with the same guns we just sold them?” Jett asked.
Flash put on his bucket helmet and fastened it under his chin. “The Devil Hearts have bigger things to worry about than us. The Asian gangs are seizing their territories. If we're lucky, they'll wipe each other and we only have to clean up the mess.”
“Sounds like a good deal then.”
“Let's get back to the bar and celebrate. The Dog Soldiers have some money to burn.”
Joshua dreamed about how many men he could buy with all the money he made tonight.
Chapter Seven
Christopher sat on the floor of his childhood bedroom, files and photos spread about. It was a couple hours past midnight and he wasn't close to tired enough to go to sleep. A single lamp shined down onto the ground. Christopher picked through the papers looking for anything that caught his eye. It had been a few days since Christopher arrived in Jimstown and he wasn't any closer to catching the serial killer.
He stared at a photo of one of the victims, Carolyn Mayne. The picture was probably taken when she was in high school posing next to a tre
e. Carolyn looked like any other average girl with long brown hair and acne. Nothing that would set her apart for a serial killer to pick her from others.
So what why did the killer pick her?
Was it out of desire? Convenience? Was it all just random?
Christopher closed his eyes and tried to imagine he was the killer, hunting for a potential victim. He pictured herself at the college at night, watching girls walk by. Did he know them beforehand? Maybe he met them somewhere else and used the college at night for his kill spot.
A knock at the door made Christopher jumped. He clutched his chest and exhaled. “Come in.”
Lindsay walked in with a tray of food. “What are you doing up so late?”
“Can't sleep and I need to figure this case out. Why aren't you in bed?”
Lindsay tilted the tray of food so Christopher could see. “I made your favorite, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with the crust cut off.”
“Mom, I'm old enough to eat crust now.”
She set the tray onto Christopher's bed. “Well I always used to make it this way for you.”
“Thank you,” Christopher replied. He took a slice and took a bite. PB&J always tasted better with the crusts cut off.
His mother hovered over his shoulder and looked at the photos. “Who is that?”
“It's one of the victims, Carolyn Mayne.”
“It's terrible what happened to her. I can't believe somebody in Jimstown could be capable of such a thing.”
“There's always evil in the world, Mom.”
“Well if it wasn't for these motorcycle clubs, this town wouldn't be so bad.”
Christopher was about to suggest that not all bikers were bad. But something clicked in his head. He fumbled through the files, searching for something.
“Is something wrong, honey?”
“I think I may have figured something out.”
“I'll leave you to it.”
Christopher pulled out a file from the stack. “Thanks again for the sandwiches.”
Lindsay closed the door behind her. Christopher took another bite of peanut butter and smacked his lips. He ruffled through the papers until he found the witness account for Teresa Cullen, the first victim.
Teresa was killed the same as the others, a large gash in her neck most likely caused by a long knife. But unlike the other victims who were found the next morning, Teresa was found right after she was killed.
The witness, Jennifer Skylar said in her statement that she heard screaming and rushed to the scene. She found Teresa lying on the concrete pathway bleeding from her neck. She called 911 but it was too late. Teresa had bled out before the paramedics arrived.
When the police questioned if Jennifer had seen anybody suspicious, she told them she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.
But Christopher had a gut feeling that Jennifer might know more if she was asked the right questions. It was the only lead he had.
He found Jennifer's address written down on the statement. He knew exactly where she lived.
Christopher finished the rest of his sandwich and grabbed his black coat. He quickly realized that he couldn't talk to Jennifer in the middle of the night. That wasn't very professional. It would have to wait until morning.
He dropped his coat and collapsed onto the bed. The mattress springs creaked underneath. His eyes felt heavy. Christopher didn't realize how tired he actually was. His mind had been working so hard for days now and he barely had taken a break.
It didn't take long to fall asleep with the light still on.
–
Christopher woke the next day still wearing his clothes from the night before. He wiped the dried slobber from his cheek and checked his watch on the nightstand. It was almost noon.
He jumped out of bed and didn't even bother changing into a fresh pair of clothes. He went to the bathroom and fixed himself up before leaving the house.
Talking to the only witness couldn't wait a moment longer.
He drove to the outskirts of Jimstown where the trailers were parked. When he was younger it was a lot more common to see trailer parks all over town. Now they were relegated to the edges.
Kids played in the dirt road between the trailers as Christopher parked next to Jennifer's. He got out of his nicely air-conditioned car and began sweating immediately. Wearing all black in the desert wasn't the best choice for an outfit. Christopher took his sunglasses off and knocked on the front door.
A young girl in her early twenty's and long blonde hair answered the door. “Whadya want?” The smell of bubble gum and beer spilled out of the doorway.
“Are you Jennifer Skyler?”
The girl nodded and closed the door a little for protection, chewing pink gum.
Christopher flashed his badge. “My name is Christopher Taylor and I'm from the FBI. I'd like to ask you a few questions about Teresa Cullen.”
“But I already told the cops everything I saw.”
“I know but can I come in for a moment?”
Jennifer didn't want to but she knew she couldn't stop the FBI. The door opened wide enough for Christopher to walk through.
The trailer was even more cramped than it looked like from the outside. Empty beer cans littered the ground and the sink overflowed with dirty dishes.
Jennifer swept a stack of newspapers off a wooden chair and motioned for Christopher to sit down. Jennifer sat on the couch across from him. “Like I already said before, I told the cops everything I know.”
Christopher took out a small notepad. “I just wanted to clarify a few things.”
“You must not be close to catching this guy if you're back here talking to me.”
Christopher ignored the comment. “Can you describe what happened the night you discovered Teresa's body.”
Jennifer rolled her eyes. “Fine. I was walking home from class when I heard a scream.”
“And what time was that?”
Jennifer blew a big bubble. “Whenever my last class ended.”
It didn't matter because he had the time from Jennifer's first statement. “Where did you hear the scream?” Christopher interrupted.
Jennifer closed her eyes. “I was walking out of the history building and I heard a scream come from close to the engineering building.”
Christopher wrote down notes. “And what did you do?”
“I ran to see what was going on.” Jennifer crossed her legs.
“Keep going,” Christopher said.
“I saw a woman lying in the middle of the sidewalk. There was blood everywhere.” Jennifer's eyes glazed over.
Christopher knew he was going to lose her. He needed to wrap this up quick. “Did you know she was already dead or did you check for a pulse?”
“She definitely looked dead. I didn't check for a pulse until I called 911 and they told me to. Then I knew for sure that she was dead.”
“And you didn't see anyone around?”
Jennifer shook her head.
“And you didn't notice anyone suspicious earlier in the day?”
She shook her head again.
“What about any noises?” Christopher asked.
Jennifer cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“I mean did you hear anything when you found Teresa?”
Jennifer was visibly uncomfortable. She couldn't get the picture of the dead body out of her head. “No.”
“Close your eyes or a moment. Try to remember. Did you hear any cars leaving?”
Jennifer closed her eyes. “No but I think I heard a motorcycle off in the distance. I remember because it was crazy loud.”
Christopher smiled and continued writing in his book. “Did you notice any bikers that day at school. Someone who didn't belong.”
“Now that you bring it up. I did notice somebody in the parking lot when I was going to class. I mean we see bikers around town all the time but this guy was just sitting on his bike doing nothing. You don't normally see those type of guys going to
college.”
“What did he look like?”
Jennifer concentrated with her eyes still closed. “He wore a leather jacket.”