A Killer's Game
Page 18
A KILLER’S GAME
A DETECTIVE LENNY SHANE NOVEL
AMY ANDREWS
Published by AMY BOHAYCHYK
Copyright 2014 AMY ANDREWS
Cover Design By James, GoOnWrite.com
I hope you enjoyed reading “A Killer’s Game,” as much as I enjoyed writing it! If so, won’t you please take a moment to leave me a review at your favorite retailer? BOLO (be on the look out) for the next Detective Lenny Shane Novel, “Killer Chase,” coming soon! Keep reading below, for a sneak peak!.
I would like to give a special thanks to Andrew, for always being there to help me bounce my ideas around. Thank you! I love you! Your input helped me more than you know! I would also like to thank my Mom, Christina, for her endless encouragement and support! And lastly, I would like to thank my kitty, Oreo, for always wanting to snuggle, when Mommy really needs to be typing. LOL!
Thanks!
Amy Andrews
About the author:
Favorite my Author page at Smashwords.
Favorite my Author page at amazon.
Connect with Me:
On Facebook
www.amyandrews.us
Click here and sign up to get alerted to new releases by Amy Andrews
KILLER chase
A DETECTIVE LENNY SHANE NOVEL
AMY ANDREWS
CHAPTER ONE
“Are you fucking serious?” Tessa said, as her perfectly arched, sandy blonde brows shot up, just as much as her voice did. “Is that why Lieutenant Whitten came in to see you?” Standing there, with her hands splayed on the desk, she leaned in, impatiently waiting for an answer, while playing a drumming tune with her fingers.
Lenny Shane was a seasoned, but retired Homicide Detective, turned Private Investigator. In his days as a Detective, he had encountered some hairy situations, but he wasn’t quite sure if any of them were as nerve racking as this. He leaned back in his desk chair, to cower away from the glare, and looming presence of his 5’2” wife, who was maybe 5”4” with the black designer boots she was currently wearing. He was a tough guy, but he would be the laughing stock of his former colleagues if his tombstone read, “death by stiletto,” and with what he was asking, he was walking that thin line.
Shaking her head, her long blonde hair swished across her back as she said, “You are well aware that one of them tried to kill me. You remember that, right?”
Cupping his white mug in both hands, Lenny took a swallow of his black java, to let her bomb diffuse a bit before answering her. Setting the mug down on his cherry wood desk, he looked into her steel blue gaze. “Of course, I remember. How could I forget the day I came so close to losing the reason I live and breathe everyday? To tell you the truth, Tessa, I remember all too well, which is exactly why we need to do this. And yes, that is the main reason why Sara came to see me.”
Throwing her hands in the air, Tessa said, “Why would she come to see you, Lenny?” Tessa’s heels clicked across the floor as she started to pace. “You’re not on the force anymore. You retired so we could get away from all of that….She stopped and turned towards him with a fury boiling in her eyes. “When I suggested you become a PI, this is not the type of case I had in mind, to occupy your time. Our time.”
Tessa looked at him inquisitively, as he daringly continued. “Look, they have both escaped and eluded law enforcement, right under their noses. They could be anywhere by now. If they’re out of this jurisdiction, there isn’t much local law enforcement can do. Their hands are tied. At this point, it’s in the hands of the Feds. Me? I’m no longer bound by the rules and red tape, Tessa. I played a major part in apprehending both Robert Verde Jr., and Sr. during my career as a Detective. And Junior, he had a personal vengeance vendetta against me, which is why you were in danger. Maybe he’s over it, maybe he’s not…but I can’t take that chance, Tessa. I can’t live everyday looking over our shoulders. You and I were both the prey last time…this time, I prefer to be the hunter.” Lenny consciously decided to omit the part where his former partner threatened to make sure the job got finished if there were a next time. Tessa didn’t need to know that.
Tessa stood and tucked her hair behind one ear. Crossing her arms, she sighed heavily and whispered, “I suppose you’re right.”
Feeling pretty confident that it was safe, Lenny came out from around his desk, and cautiously approached her. Placing his hands on both of her shoulders he said, “Come again?”
Rolling her eyes, she said with pouting lips, “I said, I suppose you’re right,” Being almost a foot shorter than him didn’t stop her from poking him in the chest. “But don’t get too used to it, Mister,” she warned him.
Smirking, Lenny kissed her on the forehead. “Don’t worry Dear, I won’t. So,” he piped up as he headed towards the large dry erase board mounted on his office wall, “Lieutenant Whitten has enlisted our help. We will be given all the resources that are at her disposal, should we need them.” Picking up the black marker, Lenny scribbled the names “Robert Verde Jr. / Bobby Thorne ?,” and directly underneath that, “Robert Verde Sr.? ” Turning towards Tessa, he gauged her face to see her reaction to seeing the name of one of the father/son duo sociopath killers. “Bobby Thorne,” as they knew him, was an alias that “Robert Verde Jr.” went by, and they knew him as. He was one of the most dangerous types…patient and cunning. He had actually killed a man to assume his identity. Living a lie for over five years, he was Detective Bobby Thorne, Lenny’s Homicide partner on the force. All of this just to get close to Lenny to enact his plan of revenge for Lenny’s role in putting his Father, Robert Verde Sr. away. Albeit, his plan included putting Tessa through a night of living hell.
Tessa narrowed her eyes, and straightened her spine. Staring past Lenny, directly to the names on the board, she spoke without so much as a hint of fear in her voice. “Well, what are we waiting for then? Let’s go nail the son of a bitches.”
Lenny’s chocolate eyes widened, and a smile settled on his lips. “Whoa there, girl,” he chuckled. “First thing I need you to do is to go home and get packed. We need to be able to head out at a moment’s notice. Bring all of your camera equipment, and don’t forget to pack the long lenses. Not sure how long we’ll be on the road, so what I need you to do is to go get prepared for it. I’ll be right behind you. I need to get some things around here,” he said, signaling around the office. By “things,” he meant surveillance equipment, guns, and ammunition, that he kept locked up in the office safe, but those were the details.
“So, I’ll meet you back here in an hour or two,” she said, as she strode out of the office.
CHAPTER TWO
Robert Verde’s hand started to cramp, as he tightened his grip around her throat. “Shh, shh, shh,” he hushed her. “Just go to sleep, and it will all be over,” he whispered to her, as he caressed her face.
Bobby Jr. stood there watching his Father drain the life out of yet another innocent young girl. Over the past month, he came to realize that killing was like a drug to his Father. He didn’t just want to do it…he needed to do it. They were both on the run, and , as an ex homicide detective, he knew that leaving a trail of dead bodies wasn’t exactly the way to keep a low profile. As the girl looked at him from across the room with begging eyes, his pulse started to race, and his eyes darted to the floor. No matter how much he tried to block it out, he could still hear the choking sounds escaping her mouth, as she desperately tried to claw his Father’s hands from around her delicate neck. Yes, he himself had killed innocents before, but it always served a purpose, that had been fueled by revenge. Now that he had gained his Father back into his life, he wasn’t quite so sure if his past actions weren’t a mistake. He had hated his ex partner, Detective Lenny Shane for taking his Father away from him as a child, but sometimes in life, you think you know what’s good for you, but you don’t. Sometimes, you think you want something, and will do anything to get it, but once you’ve gained it, it doesn’t turn out to be everything you thought it
would be. Bobby didn’t want her to have to die, but he also didn’t want to disobey his Father, so he just stood there, as though his feet were cemented to the floor, gripping the sweet smelling bouquet of heather tighter and tighter. It was like he was a child, all over again, seeking his Father’s love and approval.
Robert Sr. felt a release of adrenaline surge through him at the moment the last bit of life flickered out of the girl’s eyes. He was never a drug user, but assumed the rush must be the same kind of fix. It was addictive.
Releasing his grip, the girl slumped to the floor. “Phew,” he said, wiping off his sweaty brow with his forearm. He and Bobby locked eyes. “Now, that’s a workout, son. She was a real bitch, that one.” Reaching into his shirt pocket, he pulled out a Marlboro. “I need a smoke after that. Why don’t you be a good Son, and clean up after your old man. After all, we just got back together again. You don’t want to be torn apart again, do you Bobby?”
Unable to form any words, Bobby didn’t say a word, so he just nodded his head., as his Father walked past him, and out the back door into the night air.
Verde finished his smoke, and was careful not to dispose of the butt. Instead, he snuffed it out, and placed it in his jeans pocket. He knew the cops couldn’t discern anything from the ashes, so he didn’t really care about them. Besides, by time they arrived, the wind would have scattered them through the city anyway, and he and his Son would be long gone by then.
Returning inside, Verde’s eyes watered as he was hit with the caustic smell of bleach. Bobby had wiped down all of the walls, the floor, and the door with a bucket of it diluted with warm water. He smiled in appreciation at how well Bobby took care of his prizes. The girl was lying on her back, atop the break room table of the Circle K gas station,, with her hands gently clasping the bouquet of heather that he had given to Bobby to hold. He had even taken the time to close the girl’s eyes. She looked peaceful and lovely. Just the same as she did when living. All except for the purplish bruising around her neck.
Satisfied that there were no traces of them ever being there, they grabbed their plastic bag of money, and helped themselves to a couple of snacks for the road. Robert stopped and turned around before walking out the door. He strode over to a large plastic bin, and plucked out a bouquet of pink carnations. Deeply inhaling the sweet scent, he smiled as he walked through the dimly lit lot towards the eighteen wheeler, where Bobby was already sitting behind the wheel, with the engine roaring.
Bobby felt his gut wrench at the sight of the bouquet, as his Father hopped into the passenger’s seat, and slammed the door shut. He and his Father had been on the road for a month now, and it had become a predictable and reoccurring cycle. He no longer liked flowers, because when he saw his Father with some, he knew what it meant. It meant that someone was going to die. He didn’t know why, but his Father always left the girls with a bouquet. Kind of like his signature, or calling card, he supposed. As of right now, he didn’t know who was going to be so unfortunate, and he didn’t know where. It all depended on where the road would take them. Even though he took no part in any of the murders, he felt a huge weight of responsibility and guilt for their deaths, because he was driving. He felt like he was an angel of death, leading the Devil. It would simply be a matter of being the right girl, at the wrong place, at the right time. It was a weighted feeling that had been building, and he just couldn’t shake it, no matter how hard he tried.
###