In the Middle of Love's Crime *BWWM Mystery Romance Thriller

by ReNita A. Burgess

  Simona was a very popular news anchor for WFTX News channel 7, her career meant the world to her. It had been a lifelong dream of hers as a child. She could remember being so excited to receive a camcorder for her sixteenth birthday from her father.

  Growing up, she and her brothers would run around the neighborhood to record fictional news stories, this gave Simona all the practice she needed.

  Upon completing high school, Simona attended South Carolina Capital University earning a bachelor’s of arts degree in broadcast media. She had landed the position right on at WFTX News, thanks to her articulate voice and stunning good looks. Soon she became the talk of Columbia every weekday morning. Simona was extremely beautiful, especially on and off camera. She had that wholesome look that captured the hearts of many.

  Taking it up a notch, Simona energetically began running along the trail as her sneakers crunched on the pavement. She hadn’t notice the cool autumn breeze hitting her skin because her pumped blood created body heat.

  Phew. She couldn’t stop now, she was on a roll. The goal was to run 1 mile nonstop around the park to challenge herself. She felt her legs and abs burning. Great. That means its working!

  Her serious duties at work caused her to get behind on her normal workout routine. Taking the morning runs had targeted all of her areas at the same time.

  “Good morning! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! You’re Simona Cox from TV!” shouted a short, chubby woman. She had to have been no later than her forties. Her brown, curly hair framed around the freckles on her face.

  Simona tried to hide her aggravation. Damn, all I wanted was a little me time and seems I’m spotted quickly.

  She reached out to gradually shake the woman’s hand. “Yes, that would be me, Simona Cox! How are you doing today?”

  The lady’s lips quivered with excitement. She couldn’t believe she was having a conversation with a popular South Carolina news anchor. Simona had never gotten such star struck reaction from a fan, but she had to admit that she was amused.

  “I…I…I’m doing fine now that I actually have a chance to meet you…in person.” The lady stuttered. “I’m Jill… Jill Morgan. How often do you run here?”

  Wanting to rush away from Jill, Simona knew that she couldn’t do that or she would receive negative feedback from the media. It was important for her to have a good reputation in the city. Now this damn lady probably would start jogging around the same time that Simona jogs at Finlay Park. Nice going.

  “I..uh..jog on some days. Usually when I feel like it.” Simona said with a fake smile, hoping to cut the conservation short.

  She looked at her watch and started to lightly jog in place. “But it was such a pleasure meeting you, Jill. I’ll give you a shout out on TV. Remember to stay tuned with WFTX News Channel 7. Take care!”

  Jill’s face turned red as a tomato as she watched Simona jogging away, a big smile was spreading across her face. She stood there with an open mouth, frozen. She was too excited and overjoyed from Simona’s response. She quickly dialed a number in her phone to call up a friend to share the news.

  “Yes…hello..Emily? You will NOT believe who I just ran into jogging at the park? SIMONA COX! THE Simona Cox! YEAH... She’s gonna give me a shout out on the news!! Oh my Lord! You have to watch the news today!” she said excitedly.

  Simona overheard the conversation in the distance. She shook her head, smiled and continued with her run. She usually had an effect on people, but sometimes it was tiresome and overwhelming.

  After Simona completed the run, she stood in front of the waterfall. The waterfall display had been one of the amazing attractions in Columbia. It was always on the Columbia, South Carolina greeting cards.

  The sound of the water running mentally cooled Simona off. It so sounded refreshing, like those meditation nature CDs.

  Simona hesitated, drinking in the view of the city. The buildings stood strong together. Simona inhaled and exhaled the air, placing both hands on her hips. She checked her stop watch and smiled with a heavy breath. She had mastered the mile in seven minutes and fifteen seconds, which was great timing.

  She walked to the parking lot and as soon as she sat inside her black PT Cruiser, she opened a bottle of water. She dipped her head back as she took a large gulp of the H20. It was as though she hadn’t drunk anything in forever because of her intense run. The water was the reason for her youthful appearance and fast metabolism.

  Simona was what others would refer to as a hippie health freak. She believed that being healthy was the key to being positive. Her home library always consisted of positive audio CDs and she’d attend life coaching seminars in town. Yeah, she was one of those people.

  Simona snapped on her seatbelt before pulling out the parking lot. She had the day off from work and it was very much needed; (Especially since she hadn’t seen her fiancé, Benjamin, in weeks.) The army always sent him to the woods or on duty at the last minute. Simona couldn’t stand it at times, but it was the sacrifice she had to deal with when being involved with a military man.

  At times it was like hell being away from him and it meant so much when she was around him.

  When she was around him, the thoughts of missing him had disappeared. She always wanted to tell him how much she missed him and how it was so hard for her. Once they were together and made love, she really didn’t care about explaining that anymore.

  The newly engaged couple both lived together in a beautiful military neighborhood on the east side of Fort Claxton.

  Simona could remember Ben asking her to move in before he asked her to marry him. She refused the offer because of her old fashioned beliefs. Simona came from an old fashioned family, not believing in “shacking up” at least until she was married or engaged.

  After a year of knowing her and countless, enjoyable dates, Benjamin decided to take matters into his own hands. The only way to get her to move in with him was to ask for her hand in marriage...and he did.

  The proposal happened at Myrtle Beach while they were both on a roller coaster ride at the amusement park. Simona thought it was the funniest and stupidest, way to propose. The look of Simona’s reaction as the roller coaster rushed down the slope when Ben screamed out ‘WILL YOU MARRY ME?!!!’ was priceless.

  He made sure that it was recorded on the rollercoaster’s hidden camera so they could watch it later and laugh at the replay. Before she said yes in agreeing to marry him, she cussed him out for proposing to her in that ridiculous way.

  Simona had so much mascara running from her eyes from the overwhelming tears of joy. The video received a million hits on YouTube and even sparked the attention of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

  Simona smiled as she drove in silence through Assembly Street. She was at a happy place in her life. She had an amazing job, support from her family and friends and an amazing fiancé. She had accomplished so much in which she was thankful for. What more could a girl ask for? Things were going great and the good Lord had blessed her.

  Chapter 4

  Simona pulled into the garage of the beautiful apartment complex that she and Ben were now living at. They rented the last one available because the complex sold out rather quickly.

  Everyone was trying to reside at the Tree Mellows Court, it was one of the best apartment complexes in all of Columbia.

  The brochure was what had caught their attention when they were searching for a place to stay. The pamphlet showed the large pool of water sparkling under the golden sun.

  The gym looked like something on those fitness infomercials. Each apartment included a balcony connected with a breathtaking back porch. Simona couldn’t wait for spring to arrive so that she could decorate their porch with plenty of plants and flowers. Gardening had always been a special hobby of Simona’s. It was something that she did most of the time to keep her mind away from stress or whenever she was in deep thought.

  Simona knew that the apartment was the best choice. The staff and neighbors were always friendly and welcoming; no one ne
ver made it an issue that they were an interracial couple. Being that there was a crime that took place, a few tenants were starting to evacuate and search for other homes.

  Walking up the stairs to the third floor, Simona fidgeted for the keys. They fell to the ground. Shit. She reached to pick them up and tried to insert the key into the hole. However, before she could open it, the door had already flung open.

  Standing there with his blond hair tousled and his blue eyes glowing like magic, Ben smiled as he pulled her inside with a warm kiss. His warm lips traced against her cold lips that the outside weather left on her.

  Simona blushed and pulled away. “Babe, I thought you were sleeping when I left.”

  Ben licked her cherry flavored lip gloss from his lips. “The military has me programmed to wake up to slight movements.”

  “Oh no! I probably woke you before I went out for my run! I’m so sorry! I know you were tired and exhausted from coming back from field training. How could I have been so stupid?” Simona pouted.

  Ben walked over to the kitchen with a sly smile. The only thing he was wearing was his boxers, revealing the chiseled abs that God gave him.

  “Aww you’re not stupid, babe. No need to feel sorry. I needed to get up early anyways. I have to do some studying and besides, I wanted to prepare you a big breakfast.” He picked up the spatula and flipped over the smoking pancake.

  Simona sniffed in the air from the burnt smell and laughed. An uncertain expression formed on her face. She scratched her head as she rushed over to the stove. Not wanting to discourage him, she gave him a kiss as she turned off the stove. Ben had forgotten to use oil or butter on the frying pan, which was why the pancake not cooking smoothly.

  “Ooooh, honey! You cooked for me. That’s so sweet.” She replied, wrapping her arms around his strong neck as they stood face to face.

  She tried to take his attention from the awful pancakes so that he wouldn’t want to continue cooking.

  They kissed.

  “Have a seat so that I can feed my wife-to-be.”

  Now he knows damn well that he can’t cook worth a damn. Simona thought. “You just want to feed me so you can kill me with that ugly pancake. I think NOT! Babe, it’s burnt. There’s no telling that it may burn my lungs.” Simona teased.

  Ben kissed her again. Their affection in the morning was sexy and flirtatious. “Hey, those are fighting words. Be thankful that I’m trying to treat you right.”

  “Well, I can’t blame you for trying. I love you so much that perhaps I’ll eat it and pretend that it tastes good.” She said with a sexy whisper, jokingly.

  “Sounds like a challenge.” Ben pulled out the stool from under the granite counter and allowed her to take a seat.

  Simona couldn’t believe she was in agreement. “Do you realize that pancakes are full of carbs? This is torture.”

  “No it’s not, babe. Since we are about to become married, you have to learn to adapt to my flaws.” Ben said as he kissed her cheek. “Also, you’ll be the one doing all the cooking anyways.”

  “Oh, is that right?” Simona asked, snapping her head back.

  “Damn straight!” Ben placed the slightly burnt pancake on the plate and poured maple syrup over it. He sliced it in small pieces as he began feeding her.

  She couldn’t stop laughing between each bite. “You are so silly, hun.” She licked the excess syrup from around her mouth. “You know this actually isn’t so bad. It tastes almost like burnt popcorn.”

  He cradled her beautiful, bronze face in his hands to look into her mocha-cream eyes. “You’re beautiful, you know that?”

  Feeling shy and caught off guard, Simona’s smile was angelic. “Thanks, you’re not so bad yourself.”

  “Now, how about let’s have some real breakfast. What do you say we go to Y-Hop for those strawberry waffles and coffee? My treat.” Ben suggested.

  “Sure. I agree that it has to be your treat, especially after not being successful with cooking those pancakes. It was awful, baby.” Simona gave him a playful yet pouty look.

  Ben started to tickle her waist as he tossed her over his right shoulder. She was laughing uncontrollably. Their relationship was fun and always childlike.

  “Speaking of awful, we need to get rid of the awful sweat that’s on your body. Eeww! Shower time.” Ben joked.

  “What ever happened to loving me no matter what? And are you going to lather soap all over my body?” Simona asked, seductively.

  Ben laughed. “Oh, I’m gonna do more than that.” He spanked her on the booty as she was hanging over his shoulder.

  They made their way, leading into the bathroom. The two were bound to have a little fun of their own.

  Chapter 5

  “Is that all you’re eating?” Ben asked as he scooped his eggs up with the fork.

  Simona chewed the waffle slowly, taking the napkin to wipe the sides of her mouth. “Yes, I’m not really that hungry. Especially after consuming the ‘burnt pancake’ challenge.” She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at Ben. “This one waffle is enough to keep me full. It’s also low fat. You know that I’m trying to watch my figure.”

  “You should let me watch your figure for you, babe.” He winked. “And I thought you’d have an appetite, being that morning sex killed the calories from the pancakes.”

  Ben sat back and took a deep breath from eating very quickly, he pat his stomach to express that he was full. He always had such a big appetite, most people mistook him for a bodybuilder.

  Simona raised an eyebrow at Ben. Sometimes she wondered about her fiancé. The goofy things he said came out of nowhere.

  “Not really that hungry. Just a little shaken up about the murder that took place in the parking lot. What’s awful is that I had to report about it.”

  Ben stopped himself before biting into his French toast. Anything involving murder bought back flashbacks of killing in Iraq.

  “A murder? Hmmm. Where? What’s it about? I missed it.” He said, scratching the back of his neck.

  “Yeah, because you’re always busy these days.” Simona sighed. “The murder took place… in the parking lot of OUR neighborhood. A woman was killed and found in the trunk of her car.”

  Ben seemed a little calm, murders were something he was used to knowing about. “I’m used to hearing about murders, but it’s strange that it occurred in our neighborhood.”

  Simona searched Ben’s face for any kind of emotion, but he showed none. “Babe, you do realize that I just said this happened in our area, right?”

  “Yeah, but you’re forgetting that I’m a soldier in the US army. Nothing scares me. You’re safe with me.” Ben took another bite into toast. “Who was the woman that got killed? What happened?”

  Simona folded her arms. “She was somehow arguing in the parking lot with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend lives in the apartments too, but no one knows who he is or where he is. Some say that he’s in the army so I figure you may know him.”

  Frown lines and the rush of blood finally formed on Ben’s face from the news. He rubbed his chin. “Uhh. There are plenty of soldiers that live in the neighborhood and the apartments. It’s a military neighborhood.” He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple moved quickly. “What was this....woman’s name?”

  Simona stared at him coldly and hesitated before answering him. “Natalia Karpova. That was her name.”

  Those words shot through him like a bullet as he dropped his spoon and stretched his eyes. Simona was surprised at his sudden reaction.

  “What’s the matter, babe? Do you know anyone in the apartment building who may have been dating her?” Simona asked.

  Ben was frozen for a moment in an almost sadistic look. Sweat pellets were popping around his forehead and he behaved nervously. “No..No I..don’t know her. I don’t know of anyone she could have dated.” Ben quickly rose from his seat.

  “Another girl was murdered the same way too. Amanda Stone. She was also found in the back of her trunk.” Simona added.
/>   “WHAT??!! They found her body?” Ben asked, surprised.

  Simona raised her eyes, surprised as well. “Did you know Amanda Stone?”

  Ben was hesitant for a moment “I just....heard of her name is all.” He said, lowering his voice.

  Simona stared at him, studying his reaction. Something was strange.

  “You know, I’m not really that hungry. Let’s just head back home.” Ben suggested.

  Simona shrugged her shoulders at his strange behavior. “Umm..okay. Let me just leave a tip for the waitress.”

  “NO! Don’t worry about it. She doesn’t need a tip, she’s getting paid regardless!” Ben shouted angrily. Simona had never seen him this way.

  “But they don’t make much.” Simona replied, looking up at him and stopping before going into her clutch purse.

  “I said don’t worry about it! Let’s just get out of here!” Ben demanded.

  Geez Simona thought. His PTSD must be getting to him. She got up from her seat to follow behind him, walking out the door.

  Detective Drew looked up from his menu in the nearby distance at them. He had been watching and listening to their conversation the entire time. He had received an ear full.

  So this was who Simona was dating, some looney bin-nutcase- army guy. Jealousy filled in his heart. He wanted badly to make this soldier disappear so that he could have Simona all to himself again; just like the way it used to be.

  Chapter 6

  At around 4:30am, Simona reached across the bed in hopes to feel the touch of Ben’s muscular chest, but all she felt were the cold sheets. She blinked and looked over at the lonely pillow beside her and looked up slowly at the ceiling. She sat up and looked around the bedroom, slowly getting out of bed.