Inked Killer (A Tattoo Crimes Novel Book 2)

by A. J. Norris

  “Never call me.” Harry glared at Cam, snarling.

  Grace’s jaw dropped. “Dad, seriously? This is Brayden’s birthday party.”

  “Harry, when did you get here?” Brayden asked from behind him. If one more person snuck up on him again tonight…Jesus Christ.

  Harry spun and looked down at the kid. “I just got here.”

  Maybe it was the overhead lights, but Brayden’s eyes appeared shiny with unshed tears. His smile widened at the sight of his future grandfather.

  “Cool. Thanks for coming.”

  Harry leaned down a bit. “I brought you a card and I was hoping we’d go shopping for fishing gear in a few weeks.”

  Brayden smiled. “Awesome.” One of his friends called his name from across the room and he trotted away.

  When Harry straightened everyone except for Natalie had left to join other conversations.

  “Let’s go sit down, clearly you’re hungry and they set out some rolls,” she said.

  They sat at a table next to one occupied by Cam, Needles, and a few folks he didn’t know, although some faces were familiar. Directly across from Harry was Cam. Harry stared.

  Cedric plopped into the chair next to him. “Are you going to eyeball that guy all night?”

  “What do you think?” Natalie asked, reaching for a garlic roll. She burped. “Mm…excuse me.”

  Harry chuckled. Natalie had been doing that a lot recently. She moaned when she bit into the bread. “I never eat the rolls here. I had no idea what I was missing.”

  Cedric grabbed one too. “Like Mama used to make.”

  “Your mother made rolls like this?” Natalie asked.

  “No. Someone’s mother did though.” Cedric and Natalie laughed.

  Harry’s eyes never left the other table. Cam talked with a blonde waitress filling his water glass. She looked familiar, although not because she worked here and he’d eaten at this restaurant before. It was something else. He couldn’t hear the conversation. She blushed. Ol’ blue eyes must be handsome or charming.

  Needles sat on the other side of Cam, glaring at his nephew. He shoved his glass at the young woman. Her mouth gaped, yet she took the glass and filled it. She went around Cam then set it down. When she leaned forward, Needles turned his head and looked down her shirt, which had the first three buttons undone. Even Harry saw the lace of her bra.

  A waiter set a bowl of lettuce that looked like lawn mower clippings on the table, and a caddy of three different dressings. Natalie put the dandelion leaves on her plate, drizzling ranch all over them.

  “Would you like some before I pass the salad?” she asked.

  “No. I don’t eat weeds,” Harry told her out the side of his mouth.

  She inhaled deeply. “It’s not weeds.”

  “She’s right. This is a spring mix,” Cedric interjected.

  Harry’s brows knitted together. “What do you know about lettuce?”

  “I’ll have you know I’m somewhat more cultured than you.”

  “Pfft. If you say so.”

  The waitress moved away from Cam. A hand cuffed Harry on the shoulder. He slipped his own hand inside his blazer. Oops. Pulling his Glock out at a kid’s birthday party probably wasn’t a great idea.

  “Enjoying your salads?” Brad Winston, owner, chef, and Mikey’s best friend asked.

  No. “Yeah, great.”

  Brad ignored the sarcasm. “Good. Main course should be out soon.” He found Brayden and Mikey at another table. The kid smiled and laughed at something that was said.

  Mikey raised his water glass at Harry. “He’s looking forward to the fishing trip up north, it’s all he talks about.”

  “Me too,” Harry said. Being in tune to everything was his job. Despite being distracted, a woman’s giggle caught his attention. The blonde waitress again. Cam spoke with animated hand gestures. She laughed again. Was she enjoying the man’s sense of humor or did she want him?

  Natalie ate another roll, complete with more moaning. Should he be jealous of bread? His girlfriend sat munching, sighing into her food. He was an ass. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pressing her to his side. “Sorry for being an embarrassment.”

  “Oh, I’m not embarrassed. I’m old to enough to know that your behavior isn’t a reflection of me.”

  Ouch.

  A slew of wait staff entered the room carrying huge round trays of plates. Steam rose toward the ceiling. Whatever Brad had whipped together smelled delicious.

  Natalie put her hand up to her nose.

  “Is something wrong?” Harry asked.

  She shook her head.

  The staff served Brayden’s table first. His eyes went round as a big plate of spaghetti was placed in front of him.

  “Excuse me, sir.”

  Harry sat back, allowing a waiter to set a plate down. “Thanks.”

  “I love spaghetti,” Cedric said, reaching for the grated parmesan cheese.

  Harry couldn’t eat, except if he didn’t, he’d regret it later. He cut his noodles and ate. Spaghetti sauce slopped on his chin and a few drops speckled his white shirt and gray tie. He held the tie and examined it.

  “I can get the stains out, leave it, don’t rub it in,” Natalie said. Prior to her speaking she’d been quiet, only picking at her food.

  “Is something the matter?”

  “I’m not feeling all that great.”

  “You wanna go home?”

  “No, it’s Brayden’s night.”

  They ate in silence. Or rather Cedric and Harry did. Natalie mainly pushed the noodles around on her plate. After the dishes were cleared, the blonde waitress and another gal set out a cake and other desserts on a long table next to the bar. All the kids gathered around Brayden and sang Happy Birthday.

  Harry searched the adults who rose from their chairs, watching Brayden blow out his candles. Cam led the blonde through the archway with his hand on the small of her back. She no longer had an apron tied around her waist. The asshole worked fast.

  Without thinking Harry followed them. His phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled the cell from his blazer. A series of texts went off, all from Natalie.

  Where are you going?

  Can’t you stop being a cop for one night?

  Never mind. I’m leaving.

  He looked back and saw Natalie putting on her coat. She headed toward him with her head down, hands shoved into her pockets and purse slung over her shoulder.

  He now had an excuse to leave the party, and perhaps tail Cam. Maybe prevent a murder too. “Let me walk you to your car.”

  “Don’t bother stopping me.”

  “I’m not stop…” Oh, she wanted him to. Duh. Her eyes met his.

  “Tell Grace, Mikey, and Brayden I wasn’t feeling well.”

  She walked quickly toward the exit, and handed a valet a ticket. “You don’t have to come with me. See ya, Harry.”

  What was that supposed to mean? “Nat?”

  His girlfriend stood on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss on his cheek. He waited until her car arrived. She wore a mid-thigh skirt and heels. The woman had terrific legs. The kind he loved wrapped around his hips.

  Harry leaned a hand on the wall next to the glass entrance for a long time after she left. He went back to the party, grabbed some cake, and sat next to Grace. “Your buddy Cam left.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Grace said.

  “With that blonde waitress.”

  “So?”

  “Doesn’t it bother you? This is a kid’s birthday party.”

  “Mikey only invited him and Needles to be polite. I don’t care what he does. The only thing that bothers me is how you treated him.”

  “I apologize to you, then. Not him.”

  “Did Natalie leave?”

  “Yeah, she wasn’t feeling good.”

  They sat in silence while he finished his piece of cake. Ten minutes later Cam returned, sans the waitress. That was quick, Harry thought. The guy’s face looked flushed.

>   Needles said something to Cam, but with all the conversations going on around him, he couldn’t hear a damn word. Why was he so interested anyway? Harry needed to go home. Truth was, the pair disturbed him on many levels. Cam’s uncle shook Mikey’s hand and left the room. He never came back to the party.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Mikey

  Brayden ran ahead of Mikey with his sled acting as a shield. The night before had brought a fresh layer of powdery white stuff. Snow crunched and packed beneath his boots. They headed behind Brayden’s elementary school to the big hill at the back of the playground. Rays of sunshine filtered through the trees at the top of the sled run. Although dusk was coming soon, this didn’t mean they couldn’t get in a few runs down the hill before losing the light.

  Grace opted to stay home. She was smart. Mikey wished he hadn’t suggested they go sledding. The wind chill couldn’t be above zero. Eager to test the new sled he got for his birthday last night, Brayden didn’t seem to notice.

  “Come on, Dad, we’re losing daylight!” Brayden called over his shoulder.

  Mikey dragged his toboggan up the hill and stood alongside Brayden. “Got the place all to ourselves. You know what that means?”

  “No waiting for slowpokes to get out of our way?”

  “No. We’re the only ones crazy enough to brave the bitter cold. It’s freezing.”

  “Are you going to whine more or can we have some fun?”

  Mikey mimicked him in a mocking tone. “Just put your sled where your mouth is and we’ll see who gets to the bottom first.”

  “You wanna race? Thought you’d never ask.”

  Both of them put their snow gliders down. Mikey sat on his toboggan and grabbed the rope in front. Brayden plopped in the middle of his red saucer. He anchored the sled with his hands and rocked, preparing for a big push off.

  “Ready…set…go!” Brayden yelled.

  And they were gone, coasting over the snow.

  His son led the race. Mikey hit a bump and went airborne. “Yahoo!”

  Brayden’s lead dwindled as Mikey picked up speed. “I’m gaining on you!” he said, breezing by his son. He glanced back for a millisecond, and that’s all it took for the rigid toboggan to run over a bumpy patch of ice. Unlike the more flexible saucer sled, the wooden sled tossed Mikey into the snow. The empty toboggan lost the race.

  Brayden popped up with both hands raised in the air. “You suck! I smoked you!”

  “Congratulations, saucer boy.”

  He smiled and ran to the top. Mikey lagged, the wipeout had resulted in him landing on his tailbone—not a pleasant feeling.

  After a couple of more trips down the hill, Mikey was ready to call it quits. However, Brayden convinced him to go one more time. They stood on the hill, catching their breaths for the last trip down.

  An animal growled. Mikey pivoted and protectively shoved Brayden behind him. It sounded like a dog or two. He couldn’t see them and figured they were on the other side of some bushes, about twenty feet away.

  Another growl.

  “What is it?” Brayden asked.

  “Just a couple of dogs, nothing to worry about,” Mikey said, knowing they were likely coyotes and not a couple of harmless Yorkies. He didn’t want to make any sudden movements though.

  “Can I see?”

  “No. Let’s go. Last one down is not the winner.”

  The “dogs” growled again and one yipped and yowled as if the other had bitten it.

  “That’s not a dog, Dad.”

  Mikey looked down at his son. Brayden stepped around him. “Wait. Stay back.”

  “What do you think they’ve got?” Brayden pointed. The tail end of one stuck out from the bush.

  It braced itself while yanking backward on something Mikey couldn’t see. The animal won the tug-o-war and dragged out…

  What is that?

  Mikey gagged, covering his mouth.

  A bare arm. No one screamed. Whoever the person happened to be wasn’t conscious. Or alive.

  “Get on your sled. Now.”

  “What is it?” Brayden’s voice wavered.

  “Nothing…please just get down the hill.”

  Without any more questions, Brayden complied. They both flew toward the bottom. Mikey’s heart pounded and the cold air didn’t help his already quick, shallow breaths any.

  They ran to the Escape. “Get in!” Mikey yelled, tossing Brayden’s saucer into the back. He slammed the tailgate shut. The toboggan he had to strap to the roof. Mikey swore when he pinched his fingers and scraped his knuckles on the rack on top of the car.

  Mikey started the engine and called Harry. He decided to avoid dialing 9-1-1. Grace’s old man would be more discreet, he hoped. And he wouldn’t have to spell out the fact that they’d found a dead body.

  “Hello?” Harry answered.

  Mikey hesitated. “Bray and I just got done sledding.”

  “That’s why you called?”

  “Not exactly. Saw something at the top of the hill.

  “Oh, yeah, what?”

  “Uh, couple of coyotes.”

  “That right?”

  “Bray’s with me.”

  “Figured. Something I should know about these coyotes?” Harry pronounced the last word like ‘Ki-yotes’.

  “Why don’t you just tell him we found a dead body?” Brayden said.

  The blood drained from Mikey’s head. He closed his eyes. He had so hoped his son hadn’t seen the arm, but even at the distance they were standing, there was no mistaking the human arm and the crown of blonde hair.

  “Did you hear—”

  “I heard…shit,” Harry said with a sighing groan.

  * * *

  Harry

  Harry hung up the phone and tossed it on the coffee table next to his couch. He’d fallen asleep there after coming home from Brayden’s party and pretty much stayed prone all day, except for the occasional bathroom breaks and ordering a pizza. Natalie had made it clear she hadn’t wanted company at her house.

  He sat and rubbed the back of his neck before making a call to the station. What was with this town? Maybe he should find another line of work. There had been more dead bodies in the past year than his whole career it seemed. This wasn’t true, but damn.

  Harry dressed in the same clothes he wore the night before. He plucked the pants off the floor. There were only a few wrinkles. The button-down shirt was another story. Screw it, who’d he have to impress? He threw his winter coat on and walked out the front door.

  Snow covered the top of his car and front and back windshields. The garage door had refused to open because the clicker needed batteries, so he’d left his car in the driveway the night before.

  Harry started the car and took the ice scraper out of the trunk. He looked across the street at Natalie’s house. Smoke rose from the chimney. Was she wrapped in a blanket, sipping cocoa by the fire? He laughed at himself for being a sap, and wished he was the blanket. Should he call and tell her he would be out late? Again. Man, the woman was a saint.

  He got into his Buick and drove away instead.

  Dozens of emergency and police vehicles surrounded South Webster Elementary School. Mikey’s SUV was parked along the curb in front of the school. Harry pulled up behind his car. Brayden stomped through the snow on the lawn next to the sidewalk, solely focused on the ground. He appeared to be enjoying himself despite the solemnity of the situation. Mikey stood talking to Officer Ellison, watching over his son.

  Harry went over. “Has the body been secured?”

  “Yeah,” Ellison told him. “Up the hill, they’re waiting for you.”

  Good. Or not good, depending how one looked at it.

  Brayden strode up behind Harry. His boots alerted him to the kid’s presence. “Hi, Harry. ‘Bout time you showed up. It was totally gross.”

  What could Harry say to that? He wished Brayden hadn’t seen the body either. Wasn’t anyone’s innocence protected anymore? “I wish you didn’t have t
o see that.”

  “Me too.” Brayden crinkled his nose.

  Harry nodded at Mikey and walked around the school toward the big hill. Several people, including ME tech Daniels, milled around at the top of the hill. Climbing up was going to suck. He already felt his muscles aching.

  Lots of flashlights shined through the trees and bushes. A portable set of spotlights had been set up.

  “Aw…fuck!” Harry immediately recognized the woman as the waitress from Cocoa that Cam probably did in the parking lot. As far as Harry knew the guy was the last person to see her alive.

  “You know the victim?” Daniels asked.

  “No. She worked at Cocoa though.” He checked out the body more closely. Her forehead had been bashed with a heavy object. The flesh had a chunk missing, exposing bone covered in dried blood, an area too large to have been caused by one blow. “Find a murder weapon?”

  “Still looking, doesn’t look promising though.”

  Great. And the lack of bloody snow indicated the body had been dumped. Her clothes had been removed below the waist, and only a torn bra remained on top. The sexual assault was obvious.

  Harry had clearly picked the wrong decade to cut back on drinking coffee. A trough of the stuff sounded too small right now. He wanted to dunk his head and gulp it all down. Maybe he’d drown while he was at it and wouldn’t have to face this shit.

  After a more exhaustive discussion, Harry made his way back down to where his car was parked.

  Brayden and Mikey waited in the SUV with the motor running. His future grandson rolled down his window in back. “Are you all right?” Brayden asked when Harry came to the window.

  “Yeah, fine. Why don’t you two take off.”

  “Are you sure? You don’t look so good. Do you know who she is?”

  Harry withdrew his head. “No,” he lied.

  Mikey said over his shoulder, “Hey, kid, that’s not our business. Sorry, Harry.”

  Harry waved him off. “I’ll catch up with you later. Take him home. Say hi to Gracie for me.”

  “I will,” Mikey said. Brayden’s window went up.

  Harry sent a text to his future son-in-law: