Murder in the Presidio (Peyton Brooks' Series Book 6)

by M. L. Hamilton

  Peyton frowned. “What?”

  “I’ll agree not to publish anything else until he’s caught and tried.”

  “Okay?”

  “But once that’s happened, you help me get access to him so I can interview him.”

  “I can’t promise he’ll want to talk to you.”

  “He will. But should he be killed in the line of fire, I get access to the case notes.”

  Peyton glanced over her shoulder at Marco. He shrugged. “You can’t publish another word about him then, not until he’s had a fair trial.”

  Genevieve waved her off. “Fine, I won’t, but I want one more thing.”

  Peyton’s brows rose.

  “I want a date with your partner.”

  Marco straightened, but Peyton shook her head. “I’m not pimping out my partner. I guess we’ll see you in court.”

  “Wait.” She gave an uncomfortable laugh. “I was joking.”

  Peyton cocked her head. Sure, she was joking.

  “As soon as this is over and you have your conviction, I get to publish the letters and I get to interview you.”

  “Me?”

  “Yes, you and your partner and anyone else associated with the case.”

  “I’ll have to get that cleared with the captain.”

  “Whatever it takes, but I want your promise you’ll work on it.”

  “You have a deal.”

  “Good. Then I guess we’re done here.”

  Peyton rose to her feet and leaned on the table, bringing herself close to the reporter. “Listen to me and listen to me good. You write one more article about me or the Janitor and I will arrest you. I’m still not convinced you haven’t romanticized this entire thing in your mind and that worries me very much, so let me be expressly clear. If I find out you’ve contacted him again for any reason, I will put you on a psychiatric hold for as long as I can. Do we understand one another, Genevieve?”

  “Yes, Inspector Brooks.”

  “Good. Now you can go.”

  Genevieve rose to her feet and sauntered out of the room, giving Marco a sultry look as she went past.

  * * *

  Marco followed Peyton into the observation room where Defino and Devan waited. Devan smiled at her and shook his head.

  “You were brilliant.”

  “Can we bring her up on charges of obstructing justice?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. It’s tricky with the press. I hate getting tangled in First Amendment cases.”

  “It was a good threat whatever way you look at it and it backed her off,” said Defino. “Good job, Brooks.”

  “Thank you, Captain.”

  Devan shook his head again, smiling at her. “You are amazing.”

  Marco could feel tension race up his spine. What the hell was the guy doing? He was engaged to another woman. Why the hell did he keep sniffing around? And Peyton seemed pleased by his praise.

  “If she thought I was a bitch before, she probably has a worse impression now,” she laughed, glancing at Marco.

  He smiled at her. “I think you made her piss herself.”

  She laughed again. “That’s the fun part of the job.”

  “It worries me though what the Janitor might do if she doesn’t publish any more of his manifesto,” said Defino.

  “Can we find out if the newspaper has a surveillance camera in their offices? If not, maybe we can put up one of our own.”

  “Good thought. I’ll have Cho and Simons go over there and canvass the place.”

  Devan touched Peyton’s arm. “Can I talk to you in the hallway?”

  She shrugged. “Sure.”

  Marco realized he was grinding his teeth as they walked out the door. He couldn’t believe she’d be stupid enough to fall for Devan again after the way he treated her the last time, but he was sure pouring on the charm lately.

  “You okay?” asked Defino.

  Marco glanced over at her. “Yeah.” He moved away from the door and went to the two way mirror, staring at the interrogation room.

  “You sure?”

  “Why the hell is he messing around her again? He’s engaged to someone else.”

  “That’s his business. And hers.” She shifted to face him. “If you can’t handle this anymore, I can make changes.”

  Marco focused on her. “No, I can handle it.”

  “Really? Because it doesn’t seem like that from here.”

  “I’ve handled it for eight years, Captain.”

  “Things change, D’Angelo. People change.”

  “I don’t. I can handle it.”

  She studied him a moment, then sighed. “Yeah, that’s obvious. You’re the Dalai Lama right now.”

  “The what?”

  She shook her head and walked to the door.

  * * *

  “You really were amazing in there,” said Devan as soon as they stepped into the hallway. “I forget how good you are at that.”

  His praise was making her a little uncomfortable. And she couldn’t help but notice the way Marco had reacted. The tension coming off him had been palpable. She knew Marco didn’t like Devan, but his hostility had been a bit more obvious this time.

  “You wanted to talk to me?”

  “Your partner doesn’t like me much, does he?”

  She shrugged. “What did you want to talk about?” She glanced over as Defino walked out of the observation room and disappeared down the hall.

  “Thanks for letting me stay for dinner the other night.”

  Looking back at him, she frowned. This is what he wanted to tell her? “Okay?”

  “I really needed a distraction.”

  Yeah, well, her house definitely qualified for that. “No problem.”

  “I forgot how fun it could be.”

  “Fun what could be?”

  “Your place, your friends. It was nice. I don’t have a lot of friends. Lawyers tend to stick to themselves mostly.”

  Where was he going with this? “Maybe you and your fiancée can make some friends with other couples?” Why was she giving him tips on dating?

  “We probably will, but at my level, it’s about making connections, not friends. It’s all so blasé.”

  Peyton immediately thought of Abe. Wine is just so blasé. Lawyers are just so blasé. Runny Misery is so blasé.

  “What are you thinking?”

  She blinked at him. “What?”

  “You’re smiling.”

  She schooled her face. “Sorry. Short attention span. So, make friends that aren’t lawyers. Doesn’t Runny…”

  “Rani.”

  “Rani know anyone?”

  “Mostly she associates with her father’s clients and partners.”

  “Maybe the associating is the problem? Making friends is different than associating. Honestly, I don’t know what to tell you, Devan.”

  He took a step closer to her. “What are you doing for your birthday?”

  She stepped back. “Oh, um…”

  “Besides going on a date with Stan.”

  “Abe has this ridiculous thing planned…” She waved her hand airily.

  “Abe? Is Jake going?”

  “Probably.”

  “Who else?”

  “Ah, Cho and Maria and Marco.”

  “Of course.” He straightened and gave her a tight smile. “You wouldn’t do anything without Marco.”

  What the hell did that mean? “He’s my partner, Devan.”

  “Right.”

  Peyton frowned. “Was there a point to this conversation?”

  He slipped back into his lawyer’s persona. “Jedediah O’Shannahan is testifying at his own trial on Thursday.”

  “Really? Wow, he’s ballsy.”

  “Yeah. I was hoping you’d come.”

  “Me? Why?”

  “I thought maybe it would shake him up, rattle his cage to see you sitting in the courtroom. Do you think you can make it?”

  “Sure.”

  “Great. I’d appre
ciate it.”

  “What happened with the motion to dismiss the case?”

  “The judge threw it out, but it doesn’t mean it’s going well. Elizabeth Brown would never agree to put him on the stand if she didn’t think he could sway things in their favor. Honestly, I think we’re in trouble.”

  “I’m sorry, Devan.”

  He shrugged. “I told you I was worried about this case.”

  “I know.”

  “He’s a slippery eel.”

  “I know.”

  His phone buzzed in his pocket and he fished it out, looking at the display. “It’s Rani. I gotta take this.”

  Peyton nodded.

  He thumbed it on and turned away. “Hey, sweetheart, how are you?”

  Peyton leaned against the wall, watching him. Men, they were so damn flaky sometimes.

  “You okay?”

  She looked up into Marco’s blue eyes. He was standing in the doorway of the observation room. “Yeah.” She sighed. “Why are all men such asses, Marco?”

  He glanced at Devan’s back as he moved down the hallway. “All men?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s painting the brush strokes a bit wide, isn’t it?”

  She rolled her head on the wall wearily. “Okay, I guess Jake’s all right. And Cho. He seems like a decent enough guy.”

  “Really? Jake and Cho?”

  “And Abe, but Abe’s gay, so he’s definitely better than other men when it comes to treating women right.”

  “Jake and Cho and Abe?”

  “And Pickles, but I think he’s got his eye on the Poodle down the street and then I saw him checking out the Pomeranian next door.”

  Marco laughed, leaning on the wall next to her. “Maybe the problem isn’t with the men, but with women.”

  “No, that can’t be it.”

  “Of course not. But here’s just a thought. When a man reveals himself as an ass, maybe a certain woman should avoid him and not be taken in by his charm.”

  “I’m not taken in.” She bristled a little at that. “And I’m not stupid, Marco.”

  “I didn’t say you were.”

  “What did you say?”

  “That Devan’s an ass.”

  “Damn straight.”

  “A total and complete ass.”

  “A gigantic, colossal ass.” She paused and looked at him closely. “Why don’t you like him?”

  He narrowed his eyes on her. “What?”

  “You’ve never liked him. Even when we were dating. Why?”

  “Uh…”

  She shifted on the wall so she faced him. “What is it that you don’t like?”

  “Brooks…” he started, but her phone rang.

  She reached for it and glanced at the display. Mom. “Hey, Mama,” she said, pressing it to her ear. “Is everything all right?”

  “Of course, everything’s fine, sweetheart. I’m calling about your birthday.”

  “My birthday?”

  “Yes, it’s Saturday. I was hoping you’d come to dinner that night.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Mama. I have plans.”

  “Well, what about Friday?”

  “Again, I have plans.”

  “You don’t have any time for your mother?”

  Cue the guilt. Peyton studied Marco’s face. “How about Thursday night? I can come for dinner that night.”

  “That’s wonderful. Cliff’s so excited to celebrate with you.”

  I’ll bet, she thought, then a brilliant idea occurred to her. “Hey, Mama, would it be all right if I brought my partner with me?”

  “Marco?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Of course.”

  “Great. What time?”

  “6:00?”

  “Sounds great. We’ll see you then.”

  “Oh, I’m so glad, sweetheart. See you then.”

  The line went dead and Peyton shoved the phone back in her pocket, beaming a smile at Marco. “You know what I want for my birthday?”

  “I’m sure I’m not going to like whatever it is.”

  “Oh, you’ll love it. I want you to have the whole Cliff Martin Experience with me.”

  He sighed. “Is this my punishment?”

  She gave him a sultry look. “Not at all. This is your reward,” she said, patting his cheek.

  CHAPTER 12

  Jake found himself anxious whenever he brought up his email. Today he sat and stared at the message from Jillian Cera. Did he open it? Did he get Peyton? Did he tell the captain? Why was the Janitor focused on him? He had his reporter. Wasn’t she enough?

  His hand shook as he reached for the mouse, then he stopped himself, wheeling back from the computer. Why hadn’t he stayed a banker? Messing with people’s money didn’t really bring you face to face with serial killers.

  Scrubbing a hand over his mouth, he reached for the mouse again and opened the email, then the attachment. He didn’t allow himself to read it as he printed two copies. While he waited, he reached for his water and took a sip.

  There had been times working at the bank when he thought his brain would melt from boredom and ooze out his ears. This job was certainly not boring, but boring wasn’t bad, right? When he got up in the morning to go to work at the bank, he didn’t have to walk through a tangle of cots set up in his living room and fight with a crowd for a few minutes in the bathroom. And most important of all, he didn’t have serial killers sending him cryptical messages about his childhood.

  His sister, Faith, had called last night to see how he was. She wanted him to come to Nebraska for a visit. He’d heard himself tell her he couldn’t go, not right now, not with the case they were working. Insanity. He should have been on the next plane out of SFO. He should have jumped at the chance to take a break from the sea of crazy surging around him, but he said no. He said he couldn’t go. What the hell had happened to him?

  He gathered the papers and made two separate piles, then carried them to Peyton. She and Marco were working at their desks. She looked up at him with a smile, then her face fell when he held the papers out to her.

  Jake swallowed hard and passed the second copy to Marco, then hooked a chair and sat down so he could read the Janitor’s words over Peyton’s shoulder. She didn’t say anything, just sat staring at them without moving for a moment, then she held them up and began reading. So did Jake.

  Missy stopped meeting me at the bleachers after that. I would wait around outside her classes, but she’d hurry away, keeping her head down and refusing to respond to me no matter what I did.

  Clayton cornered me once and begged me to stop. He told me it only made things worse for them at home. Unsure what to do, I went to my mother, but she wasn’t any help. She told me she hadn’t been able to talk to Missy’s mom for weeks.

  Then one night Missy woke me up, banging on my window. I told her to meet me at the front door. The minute the door opened, she threw herself in my arms, sobbing. I tried to calm her down, but I couldn’t understand what she was saying.

  It woke my mother and she took over, getting Missy to the kitchen and making her a cup of hot chocolate.

  What Missy told us that night stripped the last of my innocence from me. I’m sure you’ve already guessed what was happening in that house, and I’m shocked I didn’t know earlier, but I had been pretty much sheltered from the seedy side of life by my mother.

  The Nova man had been after Missy from the moment he moved in with her mother. Her mother worked such long hours, she hadn’t been aware of what was happening, until that night. She’d come home from the swing shift and found her boyfriend in Missy’s bed.

  The house had erupted in screaming and accusations. In her confusion, Missy’s mother had first blamed Missy, then her boyfriend, ordering both out of her house. Missy had run to our place.

  As my mother calmed Missy down, a knock came at our door. It was Clayton and he begged Missy to come back home. Missy didn’t want to go, but Clayton pleaded with her. My mother tried to interfer
e, but Clayton told her to mind her own business. I came as close as I ever came to decking Missy’s brother that night, but I didn’t because I was afraid that would ruin things with Missy.

  A little later, Missy’s mother came to the house and begged to talk to her daughter. She promised she’d thrown the Nova man out and she’d pleaded for her daughter’s forgiveness. Eventually Missy agreed to go home.

  Even after a trauma like that, people continue on. Missy and Clayton went to school, so did I. Graduation was coming and for me, I had already decided I was going into the Marines. College just wasn’t in my future. I was barely able to complete high school.

  Missy and I would see each other in the hallways of the school, but she didn’t seem to want any contact with me. I was devastated. I was sure I loved her, but she obviously didn’t feel the same. My mother explained that after the trauma she’d experienced, it was probably better if I kept my distance. I tried, but one night I couldn’t help it.

  I saw the Nova man’s car in the driveway.

  I went to the house and I peeked in at the window. Missy’s mother was talking with him in the living room and beyond him, I could see Missy sitting on the stairs, staring down at them.

  The look in her eyes will haunt me forever. Terror, pure and simple. She seemed so small, so fragile, like a puff of smoke that would dissipate in a slight breeze.

  I had to save her. I had to protect her. No one else would, no one else cared. I wouldn’t let this man steal any more of her soul. She belonged to me and I would make sure no one ever harmed her again.

  The Nova man was my first kill.

  Peyton made a gasping sound and lowered the papers. Jake placed a hand on her shoulder. How the hell long ago was that? Shit, how would they search for a murder that happened an indeterminate number of years ago?

  Peyton ran a hand across her eyes and pressed her fingertips to her temples. “How many people has he killed?”

  “Keep reading,” said Marco, glancing up at them.

  Peyton reached for the papers again as Jake took a deep breath and picked up where they had stopped.