Marked for Murder

by Colleen Helme

  CHAPTER 12

  I entered the precinct like I had every right to be there and walked with purpose to the detective’s offices. Without hesitation, I hurried to my desk, noting with relief that Bates wasn’t in the room. I pulled out my chair, but stopped before sitting down.

  The old chair was back, sending another wave of anger over me, but I sat down carefully and managed not to cause a stir. The flowers still sat on my desk, wilted and forlorn. With a decisive gesture, I picked them up and let them fall into my wastebasket.

  Grateful my desk was in the corner, I hid behind the monitor, in case Bates showed up, and powered up my computer. It took forever for the ancient relic to boot up. Entering my password, I finally got into the police database.

  I typed in Isaac Hill, and a file came up with a mug shot of the same face from Ethan’s photo. He’d been arrested more than once for drug possession with intent to sell, but he’d never been prosecuted. It didn’t say why, but I knew that Strickland had something to do with it.

  I found his last known address and phone number and quickly wrote them down. It wasn’t in an area of town I recognized, so, before shutting down my computer, I opened another window to search Google Maps and put it in.

  Finding a run-down apartment building confirmed my fears that this might not be the best place for me to go on my own. I needed to call Dimples, especially since he could arrest the guy, but I hated asking him for help after everything he’d done today. Still, I’d made a promise, right?

  I powered off my computer, and a couple of hands came down forcefully onto my desk, startling me. I jerked backwards, unbalancing my chair, and it tilted sideways. With a yelp, I pitched to the side, headed to the floor. Immediately, those same hands grabbed the armrest of my chair, then my arm, just barely stopping my fall.

  It took a moment to push the hair out of my eyes. I straightened and glanced up, catching Bates’s guilty flush. I picked up his consternation that he’d almost hurt me. Since he thought I shouldn’t be there, he’d only meant to startle me. Now it looked like he’d intentionally tried to bully me.

  He glanced around the room, hoping no one had seen his mistake. Two of the other detectives started toward us, murder in their eyes. “What are you doing, Bates?” One of them asked, folding his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes.

  “Uh… I was just about to ask Shelby the same thing. She shouldn’t be here.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Her husband is a person of interest in a murder case. The chief doesn’t want her involved.”

  “And you think that gives you an excuse to push her around?” This time the detective got in Bates’s face. “If I ever see anything like that again, I’m writing you up. In fact, if Shelby wants to file a complaint, I’ll be happy to act as a witness.”

  The detective caught my gaze, silently asking if that was what I wanted to do. I wanted to say yes, but decided to wait and use this as leverage. “Thanks, I appreciate that. Let me think about it.” He nodded. Then, with a disgusted glance at Bates, he went back to his work.

  Bates let out a breath and shook his head. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “Yes you did,” I said, not about to let him weasel his way out of it. “It wouldn’t have been such a big deal if you hadn’t stolen my chair again. Karma’s a bitch, right?” I raised my brow, giving him my best you-got-caught look. “I’m willing to let it go… for now. But be warned, I will file a complaint if something like this ever happens again.”

  “What are doing here?”

  “I’m following a lead on Ethan’s killer.” Before he could tell me to quit interfering, I continued. “When I find this guy, do you want to be the arresting officer… or should I call one of them?” I motioned toward the detective who’d stood up for me. “It’s your call.”

  “What have you got?”

  I shook my head. “No. You’ll have to wait for my call. What will it be?”

  He hesitated. “Fine. Call me. But you’d better have some compelling evidence, or you’re going to look like a fool.”

  I didn’t think that deserved an answer, so I stood, pulling myself up to my full height, and stared him down. He was still taller than me, but he broke eye contact first. I walked away. Keeping my head up, I continued out of the building, grateful my shaking legs didn’t give me away.

  Well, that was fun.

  I sat in my car, wishing I had a diet soda something fierce. What a day. My phone began to ring, and I could have cried. The tune was Devil Rider, the ringtone I’d programed for Ramos. “Hello?”

  “Babe,” Ramos said. “You okay?”

  “I am now.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Something bad happened. You remember Ethan, right?” At his grunt, I continued, “Well, someone killed him last night. It was horrible. Worse, Chris is the one who found him. Now, if we don’t find the killer, Strickland is probably going to have Chris arrested.”

  “What the hell.”

  “Yeah. When we confronted Strickland, he was thinking that he could use the recording as Chris’s motivation to kill Ethan. Not only that, but he still has the recording and, without Ethan to say it’s been doctored, Strickland could get away with it.”

  “When were you going to tell me all this?”

  “Uh… I just did.”

  He huffed out a breath. “Manetto needs to know. Now. Where are you?”

  “I’m at the precinct following a lead. I might know who really killed Ethan.”

  His silence let me know I’d surprised him. “Don’t tell me you were going after this guy.”

  “Okay.” A low growl came from him, and I smiled. “I wasn’t going by myself. I was going to call Dimples first… unless you’d like to come with me.” He growled again, only this time it sounded more exasperated. Oops. “But I think I’d better come over there first.”

  “I think that’s a good idea.”

  “All right. See you soon.” He sent another grunt my way, and the line went dead.

  Several minutes later, I stepped inside Thrasher Development, a little winded in my rush to get there. Jackie greeted me and told me to go on back to Uncle Joey’s office. “They’re waiting for you.”

  I nodded and stepped down the hall. I probably should have told Uncle Joey about things sooner, especially since I’d involved him in this mess with Ethan from the beginning. So why hadn’t I? Was it because Dimples didn’t want me to? That probably had something to do with it. But honestly, between the two of them, I was getting a severe case of whiplash.

  Ramos sat in his usual chair in front of Uncle Joey’s desk. Sitting behind his desk, Uncle Joey sent me a smile, but I picked up his disappointment that I hadn’t called him before now. He supposed it had been a hard day. He just wished I wouldn’t try to do everything by myself or rely so much on the police. Didn’t I know he had my back?

  Stricken with guilt, I opened my mouth to apologize, but he waved me off. “I’m sorry to hear about Ethan. I’m sure it’s been a rough morning. Tell me what happened.”

  Ramos stood from his seat and gestured at me to sit down in his place. While I sat, he opened the small fridge in the cabinet and pulled out a diet soda. Wow. My second one for the day, and I hadn’t even asked. He popped it open and handed it to me.

  “Thanks.” After a couple of refreshing swallows, I told them both everything that had happened. Uncle Joey’s brows rose at the part where I’d confronted Strickland. But at least he was grateful I hadn’t spilled the beans about knowing who Ethan’s killer was.

  Warming to my story, I even told them about my confrontation with Bates, and that he’d given in to my demands that he make the arrest when I called. “Of course, I have to find the guy first.”

  Uncle Joey was impressed with my take-charge attitude. Maybe I could handle working with the police, and he shouldn’t let it bother him so much. “So you’re sure the friend, Isaac, is the killer?” he asked.

  “He sounds like the
one to me, but I won’t know for certain until I talk to him.” I didn’t add that Ethan had a picture of him on his desk, and that it had fallen over while I’d been there. Just thinking about it sent goosebumps down my arms.

  Uncle Joey nodded. “If we want to take down Strickland, you need the detective to arrest Isaac— if he’s the killer. But in order to help Chris, you’ll need Isaac to confess and imply that Strickland put him up to it.”

  “That sounds about right. But I can do it. I can use his thoughts against him. He’ll confess, you’ll see.”

  Uncle Joey’s face broke into a pleased smile. “There’s something else you’ll be happy to know.” He paused for dramatic effect. “I was able to obtain a copy of the recording.”

  “What?” I straightened with surprise. “How?”

  “I have my ways.” He cleared his mind of what those ways were, and the only thing I picked up was that he had a connection in the prosecuting attorney’s office.

  Since I didn’t want to know more, I nodded. “That’s fantastic. Did you get to hear it?”

  “Yes. It sounds bad for Chris, but I took it to Alex Drake. Do you remember him?”

  “Yes. Of course.” He was one of my first clients after I’d begun my consulting agency. He owned a high-tech security firm that helped clients all over the world. I’d helped him recover some stolen diamonds and found the man who’d killed his girlfriend. “How’s he doing?”

  “He’s doing well. He was happy to take a look at the recording for me, especially since it involved you. With his software, it was easy for him to find the exact places where it had been doctored to sound like Chris said something that he didn’t. That means it won’t hold up in court, and we could prove it.”

  “Wow. What a relief.”

  He nodded. “Yes. So now we don’t have to worry about that. It would have been better if I could have destroyed the original recording, but a copy was the best I could do. Now if you can find Ethan’s killer, Strickland is going down.”

  “You don’t know how good that sounds,” I said. “Ethan was… well, he wasn’t perfect, but he was still a good person and, in some ways, I feel responsible for his death. You know?”

  Uncle Joey nodded, thinking he knew how I felt and was grateful that I’d share my feelings with him. “We can’t be responsible for other people’s choices. He chose the consequences when he made the choice to work for Strickland. That it ended with his death is on Strickland, not you.”

  “As long as Strickland pays for it,” I added.

  “With you going after him, I believe he will.”

  That brought a smile to my lips and warmth to my heart. “Thanks. Now let’s just hope we can find Ethan’s killer.”

  “What’s the guy’s address?” Ramos asked. I handed him the paper, and his lips thinned. “Not the best part of town. It’s a good thing I’m going with you.”

  Our gazes met, and I smiled. “I agree.”

  We took the motorcycle. For the first time that day, I didn’t feel like crying. Determination that I was on the right track filled me with hope. Strickland wasn’t going to get away with this. Now that I had Ramos and Uncle Joey on my side, we could find this guy and make him confess before Strickland got to him.

  We pulled up in front of Isaac’s apartment complex. The run-down place smelled of cigarettes and urine. As we walked up the stairs, I tried not to breathe too deeply. At the door, Ramos knocked several times before an older man pulled it open. A few of his teeth were missing, and his eyes held the vacant look of a junkie.

  “I’m looking for Isaac Hill. Is he here?” Ramos asked.

  The man shook his head. “He ain’t here. Why do you want to know?”

  Ramos leaned against the doorframe, letting his jacket fall open so the man could see his gun. “Do you have any idea where he might be?”

  The man scowled, wondering what kind of trouble Isaac was in. If that skinny kid brought trouble to his door, he’d kick his sorry ass to kingdom come. Maybe it was time for the kid to leave. Isaac was nothing but trouble, and he was tired of dealing with him.

  Ramos glanced my way and lifted his brow, silently asking if he was telling the truth. I gave him a nod, and Ramos turned back to the man. “Well?”

  Glancing between us, the man thought that Ramos’s size and hard gaze made him look like a hired gun. But why was I there? I didn’t fit the mold, and it threw him. “That kid owes me money. If you find him, you tell him to get his ass over here and pay me back.”

  Ramos straightened to his full height and towered over the man. “Do I look like a messenger to you?”

  The man backed up, fear widening his eyes. “No. No. Not at all.” He reached into his back pocket and slipped a small knife into his hand, keeping it out of sight. Alarm prickled the back of my neck, but I picked up that Ramos had caught the movement and was ready.

  “I don’t want trouble,” the man said. “You could try the bar on main and third west. Sometimes he goes there.”

  Ramos didn’t budge. “When was that last time you saw him?”

  “I don’t know. A few days ago.” The guy backed into his apartment. Ramos made no move to stop him, and he quickly shut the door. We heard the lock click along with the bolt sliding home.

  Ramos raised his brows, glancing at me. “Not too friendly, was he?”

  “No. But at least he wasn’t lying about the bar.”

  “Good. Let’s check it out.”

  We found the bar a few blocks away. After entering, I was grateful to have Ramos by my side. The place was dark and intimidating, with a rough crowd that made me nervous. Ramos leaned against the bar and asked the bartender if he knew Isaac. I pulled the photo from my purse and pointed at Isaac’s face.

  The bartender pursed his lips, thinking he’d seen the kid around. He glanced at Ramos and nodded. “Yeah, he’s been here before, but I haven’t seen him for a few days. Go ahead and look around if you want.”

  Ramos did that chin lift thing and turned around. “Stay here,” he told me. He took the photo from my fingers and stepped through the crowd. The bartender caught my gaze and raised his brows, hoping I’d get the message that I needed to order a drink if I was taking up a stool.

  I might have felt obligated to order something, but no one else wanted my place, so I stayed put. The bartender might have challenged me, but he didn’t want to tangle with Ramos, so he let it go.

  As Ramos asked around, I listened for thoughts of deceit, but no one cared enough to lie about Isaac. He hadn’t been there in a couple of days, and that was all they knew.

  Ramos came back. “Anything?” he asked.

  “Nope.”

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  Outside, I couldn’t help the disappointment that washed over me. What was I missing? “Hey, maybe we should go back to Ethan’s apartment and take another look around? I’ll bet the police are done there. I’m sure they’ve collected all the evidence, but we might see something they missed.”

  Ramos nodded, thinking it was worth a try.

  Twenty minutes later, we pulled in front of the apartment building. There weren’t any police cars around, so it was safe to go inside. Still, remembering all that blood slowed my steps. Ramos started toward the building, but turned back with a questioning brow. Why wasn’t I coming?

  I swallowed and got my legs moving to follow him. Inside, we took the elevator to the fifth floor. Ethan’s apartment door had yellow crime scene tape crisscrossed in front of it. Leaving his motorcycle gloves on, Ramos tried the knob.

  Finding it locked, he took out his lock picks and got to work. A moment later, the door opened. Ramos lifted the crime scene tape so I could duck under it, and he followed me inside.

  A large bloodstain marked the spot where Ethan’s body had been, and the accompanying coppery smell turned my stomach. The crime scene unit had taken most everything of interest. On the kitchen counter, all of Ethan’s mail was gone, along with the notepads I’d seen before. Ethan’s fridge still
held the receipt from the grocery store, along with the ad for the gym membership.

  Nothing stood out, and disappointment crashed over me. I might have more luck going through the evidence the police had already gathered, but I didn’t think that Bates would let me check it out.

  “I’ll check the bedroom again,” Ramos said.

  I nodded and absently pulled the refrigerator door open, finding take-out food containers and a carton of milk. The freezer held a small carton of ice cream, along with a couple of ice cube trays. As I closed the refrigerator door, the ad for the gym membership fell to the floor.

  I picked it up and examined both sides of the ad, in case Ethan had written anything on it, but found nothing. Letting out a sigh of discouragement, I put it back.

  The massive blood stain on the carpet drew my gaze. A sense of despair washed over me, and tears threatened to fall. Poor Ethan. He didn’t deserve this. If only I could have gotten him to confide in me sooner, this might not have happened. Finding the killer before Strickland was the only thing left I could do for him.

  “Ethan,” I whispered. “I need your help. I need a clue. Where should I go next? How can I find Isaac?” I let out a breath, barely holding back my tears. “I’m so sorry this happened.”

  I waited for something that would tell me he’d heard me, but nothing happened. Maybe the photo was the best he could do. I hadn’t picked up anything from dead people for a long time. Not since my sojourn to New York. Still, I closed my eyes and asked Ethan if there was a clue I needed.

  The magnet holding the ad for the gym membership fell off the refrigerator and rolled under a cabinet. As if caught on a breeze, the ad floated lazily to the ground and landed at my feet. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and my heart thumped.

  I picked up the ad again. This time, I studied everything on it. At the bottom of the ad, three words caught my attention. I gasped. Rock Climbing Wall. This was it. The clue Ethan wanted me to find. A shiver ran up my spine, and excitement rushed over me.