by Alexa Davis
“Wow,” I said with a sigh. “This thing is a lot bigger than I thought.”
“Do you want me to keep digging?” Brett asked. “Maybe see if I can come up with some names of people he’s fingering, stuff like that?”
“Yes, Brett, thanks,” I told him. I hung up and tried to sort out my thoughts. I was starting to get more than a feeling that somehow everything that was happening led back to the oil spill. That was where this mess had all started. Miles was being sued by some very angry people. Vick was stealing from some very powerful people. Lots of them had motive to want Vick dead, and many of them also had motive to want Miles to be blamed for that murder.
I hated to think it, but even Alex had a stake in all of this. Once Vick was killed, Alex was able to step right into his position as campaign manager for the President of the United States. That was a position that some people would kill for.
I shook off that thought. I was being silly and as Adam had said this morning, a little paranoid. Alex was Adam’s good friend. He wasn’t a murderer.
I thought about Marjorie then. How did she tie in to all of this, or did she at all? Was her murder, coming so close on the heels of Vick’s, just a coincidence? None of it was making much sense to my tired brain.
I looked at the clock and realized it was mid-afternoon. I hadn’t eaten a thing all day. I grabbed my purse, and decided to take a walk to the sandwich kiosk down the street. As I stepped outside of the office, I took a deep breath of the fresh, cold air. The reporters had disbursed some, and the few that were left yelled out some questions at me that I let fall on deaf ears. I took my time walking. The city was decorated beautifully for the Christmas season. I strolled along and tried to lose my stress in the beauty all around me.
When I got to the kiosk, I ordered a turkey sandwich and a coffee. I took them to a bench in the little park across the street and sat down. Just as I was about to take a bite, I heard Jack’s voice, again, “Hi.”
I looked up at him. I didn’t want to be angry or suspicious right then so I just said, “Hi.”
“May I join you?” he asked, holding out a sandwich and coffee he had in his hands.
“Sure,” I told him. “I’m not the best company today, though.”
“It’s alright,” Jack told me sounding sincere. “I understand you’ve been through a lot. How is Adam holding up?”
I studied his face, trying to ascertain if he was still being sincere. I didn’t see anything threatening there, however, so I said, “He’s doing as well as can be expected, I guess. It’s been a rough couple of days.”
“I can’t imagine,” Jack said between bites of his sandwich. “The news reports are calling him a ‘person of interest’ in Marjorie’s death. Did you see the press conference today?”
“No…what press conference?” I’d suddenly lost my appetite.
Between bites of his sandwich, Jack said, “The Chief of Detectives was asked by one of the reporters if Adam was a suspect. He said no, however, Adam was a person of interest.”
I knew well from my job that being a person of interest in a murder case was not good. What it technically meant was that the police had no evidence that Adam was involved, however, they had strong suspicions about him. What it said to the public unfortunately was that Adam was guilty, and the police just didn’t have enough evidence to convict him. It was a term that could very well ruin a person’s life.
I had defended a man not long ago in a civil suit who had been declared a person of interest in the death of his wife. That man had lost his job; his friends and family no longer wanted to have anything to do with him. His credit was ruined, and the worst part as far as I was concerned, was that I had firmly believed he was innocent.
“I’m sorry, Jack,” I said as I got up from the bench. “I need to get back to the office.”
Jack stood, as well. “I am really sorry I upset you,” he said. “It wasn’t my intention.”
“I know,” I told him. “I just need to get back to work. I’ll speak to you later.”
He said okay and I began to walk away. I got a few steps down the sidewalk and turned back around. “Jack, do you know a man named Alex Fritz?”
“Hmm, the name sounds familiar, but I can’t place it. Who is he?” I wasn’t sure, but I thought there was a slight change in Jack’s demeanor. He looked worried or anxious, maybe.
“Just a friend of Adam’s,” I told him. “I thought maybe I saw you with him earlier today. I must have been mistaken.” With that, I turned back around and continued my walk back to the office.
I waited until I was almost a block away before glancing back again. The man I had seen arguing with Alex this morning had been wearing a black suit and overcoat. When I looked back, Jack was walking away in the other direction. The overcoat was thrown over his arm, and his black suit really stood out against the light cover of snow on the ground. I was sure it was him.
I continued on my walk back to work, stopping at a small newsstand about a block from the office. The little Chinese man who waited on me could barely speak English, yet he knew enough to point at the front page and say, “The lady looks like you.”
I gave him a tight smile paid for my paper, tucking it under my arm as I went on my way. When I was back in the safety of my office, I opened it. There was Adam and I on the front page. It was mostly me since I had turned to look at Rose Dugan. Adam was holding my hand, but he was still facing the other way and trying to pull me along behind him.
The look on my face was sure to not win me any fans. Rose’s question about the fight with Marjorie had thrown me off guard. I was looking at the camera with daggers in my eyes. Not exactly the face of a woman who was broken up about the loss of a life that had just taken place.
I folded it closed with the intention of tossing it in the recycle bin, but then with a heavy sigh I opened it once again. I was compelled to see what Rose Dugan had written. I hated to, but I had to admit that the girl was good. Although she used words that would float heavy suspicion around both Adam and I, she was very careful to state only facts and nothing that we could possibly use later in a libel suit.
For instance, there was no mention of the fight. It had only been witnessed by Carla and since I was sure that it must have been Marjorie who had given her the information, the informant was now dead and wouldn’t be here to back it up in court if it had come to that.
My headache was growing again. I still had so much to do, both here at work and to get ready for my parents’ visit. I hadn’t even gone grocery shopping yet. Tossing the paper in the recycle bin where I should have put it in the first place and glancing at the gorgeous diamond that Adam had placed on my finger only the night before for strength, I got back to work.
CHAPTER TWO
ADAM
I tried to make it through the day without bothering Alicia, but it was sucking so badly about two p.m. that I had to at least hear her voice to make it through the rest of it. Carla buzzed her for me and when Alicia answered, I instantly felt better.
“Hi, baby,” I said, “how’s your day going?”
“Well, not my best day ever,” she told me. “Better now that I’m hearing your voice. And yours?”
I sighed. “I’ve also definitely had better days. I’ve gotten about a hundred phone calls today. Some of them are saying ‘Ding Dong the Witch is dead,’ and others are acting like they believe I killed her. I suppose you’ve seen the news?”
“Yes, I’m so sorry.”
“I’m just glad I have you,” I told her. “I wouldn’t know what to do if you decided all of this was too much. Not that I would blame you.”
“Oh, Adam, that is not going to happen. This is not your fault. You are a victim here, too.”
“Well, I definitely don’t say this often enough, but I appreciate you, and I love you, and I need you.”
“You’re right,” she said with a laugh. “You don’t say it often enough. Will you be staying with me again tonight?”
�
�If it’s okay. Detective Samuels called earlier. He says I can probably go home tomorrow…just in time for your parents to come into the country and not find you harboring a ‘person of interest’ in a murder case.”
Alicia groaned. I knew she couldn’t be looking forward to that conversation. She changed the subject and said, “I have to go grocery shopping this afternoon. How about I make us a nice dinner?”
“Sounds like just what I need. I should be there by about seven, if that will work?”
“Perfect. And Adam...”
“Yes?”
“I love, need, and appreciate you, too,”
“I know,” I said with a little laugh. “How could you not?”
I felt so much better after I had hung up the phone. I had something to look forward to tonight, something so simple, but a definite change from where my head had been at ten minutes earlier. I got back to work with the sound of her voice in my head. I could get through this, with Alicia’s help.
********
Alicia already had the table set with candles and a hot meal waiting when I got to her place. She never fails to amaze me. I took her into my arms and just held her for a few minutes, breathing in her energy. When I let her go, I kissed her lips softly, and then my eyes landed on a copy of the National Inquisitor lying on the counter. Alicia’s picture was on the front of it but they had done something to it with photoshop.
“Baby, why did you buy that crap?” I went over and picked it up. They had transposed a picture of Marjorie into the shot and it looked like Alicia was glaring at her. The words above it said, “Maybe Looks Can Kill.”
“I don’t know. I guess I figured it would be one less in circulation. Or, I’m a glutton for punishment. It’s awful.”
I tossed it face down on the counter. “It’s trash.”
“I know. I’m handling this all as well as I can, I promise.”
I took her back into my arms. I felt slightly ashamed that touching her was turning me on at a time like this. She just sincerely overwhelmed me. “I’m sorry. I know you are,” I told her.
She pulled back and said, “Let’s sit down.” We took our seats at the table and she picked up her napkin as she said, “On my way home from the office, I went by the store to buy groceries. The simple and mundane task of shopping for my home made me feel better at first. It was so…normal and that was all I really wanted lately.
“All that was shattered suddenly when I got into line to pay for my things. The lady in front of me kept staring when she didn’t think I was looking, she snapped a picture of me on her phone. I was confused until I looked to the right and saw these awful rags there.”
“I’m so sorry I’ve pulled you into all of this.”
“I don’t blame you, Adam, really. It’s just…surreal, I guess.”
“Yes, it is. How about we try and make tonight as normal as we can?”
She held up her wine glass and I picked up mine. She clinked her glass to mine and said, “To normal.”
“To normal.” We drank and then started in on the delicious meal she’d made.
Afterwards, I helped her clean up the kitchen and made a fire while she got the dessert ready. She came out with two plates of strawberry shortcake, and we ate and talked about one of our cases that had nothing to do with Miles or Marjorie or anything remotely close to either of them.
Once we finished our dessert, she wanted to watch a chick flick on DVD. I agreed, but I really had other “normal” things on my mind. I was working her clothes off of her once again. I had her blouse up under her arms and was going for her bra strap when she sat up and said, “Are we finished with the movie?”
I unhooked the bra and when her breast spilled out, I took one in my hand and rolled the nipple as I looked into her eyes and said, “You can go ahead and watch it if you like.”
She sucked in a hard breath. “I might be slightly distracted by what you’re doing.”
“You want me to stop?”
She moaned. “No…not even a little bit.”
I grabbed one of her hands with my free one and pressed it to the front of my pants. “Good.” She groaned again and started rubbing me. I leaned in to kissed her hard, and at some point, I stood up and picked her up with me. She wrapped her sexy legs around my waist and I carried her down the hall to the bedroom.
I sat her down on the bed and pushed her back with my body. My tongue slipped back into her hot mouth for a few seconds before I abandoned it again to trace a line down the side of her face to her neck. She didn’t seem to mind that I wasn’t in the mood to be gentle. As I bit and sucked on her sensitive flesh, she moaned, whimpered, and squirmed.
I did that for a while before pulling her up and finishing undressing her. I looked her over and smiled. “Where are those shoes you wore the night we went out? The burgundy or wine-colored ones?”
She grinned and pointed at the closet. I went and got them and handed them to her. While she put them on I flattened my palm and used it to rub against her hard nipples. Once she was finished putting on those sexy shoes, I pushed her back again and let my hand find the wet treasure between her legs. She was already soaked. I fucking love how her body responds to me.
I played with her that way for a few minutes and then I flipped her over so her ass was in the air. Once again I put my hand down between her legs. I let my fingers play up and down along her slit, stopping to pinch her hard clit and make her shiver and moan. She came up off the bed, and once again I pushed her down with my body. My hard cock pressed up against her ass and I rubbed myself against her.
“Are you going to take those clothes off?” she asked. Her words were mumbled into the comforter that her face was pushed down into.
“In a minute,” I told her. “I’m busy here.” I used one hand to continue my torture on her pussy while I slid the other one underneath her chest to grab a breast. I massaged and kneaded it and got even more excited by not only the feel of her, but the sounds she was making. I flipped her over again and took one of her hands and put it down between her legs.
She brought her feet up and I felt those sexy heels dig into my back while she began to rub her own clit. I bent down further and sucked one of her breasts into my mouth. I tickled her nipples with quick strokes of my tongue and the harder I licked the faster her hand moved between her legs. I could tell she was getting close when she breathed out a simple, “Please.”
Instead of undressing and fucking her, I moved her hand and continued sucking on her breasts while I fingered her. I slid two fingers inside of her and felt her tight walls clamp down on me as she held my head to her chest and cried out my name. I used my free hand to pick up one of her legs and put it up on my shoulder.
Then, I used my fingers to fuck her fast and hard until she was screaming in ecstasy and coming all over my hand. When she finished I pulled it out and licked my fingers, tasting her sweetness. It only made me want more.
I leaned down and put my face between her legs and began to lick and suck. She was muttering incoherently as she grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled hard while I brought her to another quick orgasm.
I let her recover, but after a few minutes, she reached up with shaky hands and unbuttoned and unzipped my pants. She pushed down on them until they were around the tops of my thighs. I stepped back and took them the rest of the way off, depositing my shirt down on top of them.
As soon as I stepped back up to the bed she reached out for me. She wrapped both of her hands around my hard cock and pulled it to her mouth. She started licking me all over like she was going after a lollipop. I stood at the edge of the bed and watched her lick and then suck and even gently graze her teeth along the underside of it, the whole while massaging my balls with one hand. She nearly put me sailing through the ceiling when she took one of my balls into her mouth and sucked on it.
I was shaking all over when I finally worked up the energy to pull back. I threw myself at her, pushing her back on the bed in one big movement. I mounted her
and fucked her until we were both crying out in an orgasm that rocked the room around us. I fell asleep wrapped up in her arms and the world went away if only for the night.
At five a.m., I was rudely awakened to the annoying sound of my phone. I should have left it in the living room. I sat up and looked around. Alicia was blinking her eyes like she was trying to wake up. “I’m sorry, baby.” I reached over and fished for my phone.
I put it to my ear and heard a strange voice say, “Mr. Hanson this is Sergeant Mason of the NYPD. We got a call from your alarm company. There has been a breach at your law office downtown. I’m afraid there was a break-in.”
“Shit! Did you catch them?”
“No, sir, but we’d like you to come down so we know if anything was taken.”
“Okay, I’ll be right there.”
“What’s wrong?” Alicia asked, sitting up. I told her as I got dressed. She put her hands on her head and said, “When is it all going to stop?”
“I wish I knew, baby.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
“No, baby. Your parents’ plane comes in at eight, right? I know you need to get ready for that.”
Alicia laid her face all the way in her hands and said, “God, I wish I didn’t have to explain all of this to Mother.”
“What about your father, do you think he’s going to take it any better?”
“He’s more understanding,” Alicia said. “All he has ever wanted was for me to be happy. He’ll worry about me and how all of this is affecting my life, but Mother… Well, let’s just say that she likes to give orders and issue ultimatums. If they’re not followed, then you have an argument on your hands.”
Great. I couldn’t wait to meet her. I kissed Alicia and said, “I’m sure it will be fine.” I’m a lawyer. Lying comes easy.
CHAPTER THREE
ALICIA
After Adam left, I got up and put the coffee on to brew. I made sure the guestroom was free of dust and the bathroom well stocked, and then I started getting ready to bring home the parents.