A Dozen Deadly Roses (28 page)

The stalker snorted and cursed.  “This is called revenge, baby.”  A sickening smile lit his face.  “The good news is that God agrees with me.  You know, the ‘old eye for an eye’ thing.  I’m sure it’s all in a day’s work for you and your drunk partner to kill a kid.  Especially a kid from the ‘hood.’.”

Understanding hit Jade like a freight train.  “Are you talking about Vinnie Souza?”

“My baby brother.  My only brother.  Ma never got over him bein’ dead.  You killed her too.  She took a bunch a pills and died six months after he did.  Today I get my payback.”  He took a step closer, flipping his wrist.  Instantly, she identified the metallic snap of a switchblade.  The metal gleamed in the beam of her flashlight.

You mustn’t let him know you’re afraid
.

“What’s your name?”

“I’m the angel of death, baby.”  The stalker smirked.

“So you’re the one sending me the dead roses.”

He nodded.  “Kinda romantic, don’t ya think?  A dozen dead roses.”  A proud smile came over his face.  “It was a little tough getting into your hospital room, but once I’d swiped some doc’s I.D. I had carte blanche.”

“So, what was the point?”

“Ya know,” he said, pointing the switchblade for emphasis, “you cops ain’t too bright.  Whadda ya think they mean?  Today was the last one.  It’s the end of the road for you. Adios. Sayonara. Stick a fork in you – you’re done.”

She had to keep him talking.  Maybe she’d be able to disarm him.

“You said my son would be here.”

“I lied.”

“Where is he?”

“He’s fine, relax.  I’ve got some bud on me.  Wanna smoke?  Maybe that’ll calm you down.”  The gangster laughed at his own sarcasm.

“That wasn’t the question.  Where is my son?  Who’s watching him?”

The stalker ran the edge of the knife blade across his cheek, almost as if he were shaving.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t be worryin’ about my kid.”

Bile rose to her throat.  “Look, we can work this out.  Just let me be sure my son is safe and we’ll work out the rest.”

“Listen, you bossy bitch, you’re not callin’ the shots here – I am.”  The stalker shifted on muscled legs.  “You seein’ your son again ain’t gonna happen.  You ain’t leavin’ this empty building.  When they blow up the Desert Dunes hotel, your body will go with it.  I’ve had years in prison with nothing to do but figure out how to kill you.”

“But what are you doing out of prison?  I checked.  Your records say you’re still locked up.”

“Obviously your records are wrong, babycakes.  I’ve heard paperwork is all fucked up ‘cause a furlough days.”  He shrugged.  “You’re almost as dumb as that woman cop I wasted a few days ago, but you’re definitely a finer piece of ass.”

“Are you talking about Callie Lasko, the female officer in my partner’s condo?”

The felon snickered.  “
That
, wasn’t planned, but it sure was sweet.”

Jade’s stomach gurgled at his glee.

“I figured you and your partner were shacking up at his place, but I was never able to tail you to his place ‘cause of the security gate.”  The killer shook his head.  “The other day, I see a cop car pull up to the guard shack.  The broad in the car says something to the guard and the gate swings open. I pull up and yell to the goon in the shack that I’m undercover and with her.”  The man grinned.  “Stupid rent-a-cop believed me.”

As the gangster re-lived his actions, Jade watched for an opportunity to attack or disarm him.

“I don’t know how the broad got in, but she left the front door unlocked.  I didn’t find anyone downstairs, so I go to the second floor.  In the very first bedroom I come to, I see a cop uniform and gun belt on the chair, and somebody covered up in the bed.”  The man smirked.  “Next thing I hear is a woman’s voice comin’ from the bed.”  The killer affected a falsetto voice. “Mac, I’ve waited a long time for this.  Now, take off your clothes and do me.” The stalker laughed and shook his head.

“What could I do?  I obliged the lady.  ‘Course I had to beat her up a little to get her in the mood.  Afterwards, I didn’t want her to identify me, so I smoked her.”  The ex-con shifted on his feet.  “I got so wrapped up killin’ the broad, I almost missed you guys leaving town.  I had a couple of homies watching your apartment and the place you drop off the kid.  One of ‘em called me tellin’ me you had suitcases and looked like you were goin’ on a trip.  He followed you ‘til I could catch up.”

The canister of pepper spray was slippery in Jade’s damp hands.  “So you followed us to Barstow and put the flowers on the truck in the restaurant parking lot.”

The stalker nodded.  “I was going to put them at your partner’s house, but you left town.  I needed to get them delivered.”  He displayed a fiendish grin.  “For a couple of cops you sure are dumb.  In Barstow I attached a tracking device to your truck.  You never even saw me.”

“How did you get the poisoned candy in our room?”

The killer rocked back on his heels.  “How do you think?  I slipped a maid a c-note.  She took care of it for me.”

Jade shook her head.  “Why would a maid risk her job to help you?”

“Do you know what those people get paid?  For another hundred bucks, she would a snatched the kid too. I wanted you to know I could get to you any time, any place.”

Pulling himself out of his memories, his eyes hardened.  “This is the last time I’m going to tell you to put that pepper spray down.”

Panic filled Jade’s body as she clenched the pepper spray cylinder tighter.  Unfortunately, he was out of range for the stream of blinding pepper spray to hit him, yet he could throw the knife and kill her instantly.  Mac was right.  This guy meant business and he was done playing with her.

He crouched.  His eyes narrowed.  He charged.

Jade pressed the trigger on the canister.  The liquid shot out in an arc, striking the felon in the neck.  She turned to run but wasn’t quick enough.  Terror washed over her as the beast grabbed her arm and swept her legs from beneath her.  Her flashlight flew from her hand, crashing to the ground with a clatter. 
Damn!
  She hit the ground hard, on her back, her head slamming into the concrete floor, one arm sprawled above her head.  Instantly, the knife was at her neck.  Remembering the sign at the police academy, she fought to keep her eyes open and stay conscious.
The more you train, the less you bleed
.

The stalker, on his knees, leaned over her, his putrid breath smothering her face.

“You thought that stuff was going to stop me, huh?  I just got out of prison.  They spray us with that crap all the time.  It ain’t got no effect on me.”

While he talked, Jade fingered the decorative comb in her hair.
Never give up.  Those who survive have the will to live
.  In one movement, she snatched the hair restraint from her head and slashed it across the stalker’s eyes.

An onslaught of profanity spewed from his mouth as he brought his hands to his eyes.  Her arrest and control training kicked in and she put him in the guard hold.  Deftly, she flipped him on his back.  Using the heel of her hand, she punched him in the nose, hearing bone give way.

A wounded yell filled the night as her attacker reached to put his hands around her throat.  The fingers of his right hand twined around her neck, pulling her closer to him.  With all her might, Jade bit his forearm and he released his hold. 
She had to get away; there was no way she’d be able to fight much longer
.

Jade rolled and clambered to her feet and ran about thirty feet before tripping on an exposed bolt from the floor.  Sprawled across the gritty cement floor, her eyes swept behind her for her pursuer.

The stalker sprang up, wiping his forearm across his eyes.  An ugly laceration across his face oozed bloody droplets, while blood gushed from his nose.  Giving a tribal yell, he lifted the switchblade above his head, gingerly holding the blade in a throwing position.

A shot rang out.  Then another.  The assailant’s eyes widened in surprise.  The knife slipped from his fingers and clattered to the floor as a stain of red wetness enlarged across his broad chest.  His startled gaze shifted from Jade to the blackness beyond the discarded flashlight’s range.

Mac emerged from the shadows. His nine-millimeter semi-automatic handgun, still smoking, was held on the gangster.  The smell of gunpowder hung heavy in the air.

The stalker swayed like a willow in a breeze but kept his feet.

Dumbfounded, Jade watched.

The ex-con’s mouth opened and his jaw moved, but no sound came forth.  His face muscles hardened with concentration; his weight began to shift, as if he might take a step.  Then, grunting, he collapsed to the ground on his side, his arm stretched above his head. The switchblade lay inches from his fingertips.

Jade wanted to kick the knife out of reach, but stayed put, fearing he might grab her if she got too close.

“Stay where you are,” Mac ordered, as though reading her mind.  “I’ll come to you.”

He approached the downed man cautiously.  When he reached the stalker’s feet, Mac kicked the expensive tennis shoes.  The beast didn’t move.  Mac drag-stepped to the knife and kicked it into the darkness beyond the illumination of the flashlight.

Not taking his eyes off the stalker, Mac hurried to Jade with a one-handed grip on the gun, keeping it aimed at the stalker.  He grasped her arm and pulled her up, then put his arm around her.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m fine, although I can’t seem to stop shaking.  Thank you for saving my life.”  She nodded her head toward the stalker.  “Is he dead?”

“Looks that way,” Mac said, displaying a wry smile.  “Apparently no one taught him you don’t bring a knife to a gun fight.”

Mac holstered his gun, pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and called 911 to notify local authorities.

“I’m glad he’s dead.”  Then realization hit her.  “Oh, my God!  How are we going to find Donnie?”

“Don’t panic.  When Metro P.D. gets here we’ll search the body for clues to Donnie’s whereabouts.”  He slipped the phone in his pocket.

She pulled from Mac’s grasp and ran toward the dead man.

“Jade!  Stop!”

She skidded and halted.  “Are you crazy?  Donnie is out there somewhere scared and alone.  I don’t give a rat’s ass about protocol or this guy’s rights – he’s dead.”

“Jade, I want to find Donnie too, but we’re in Las Vegas, not L.A.  We don’t know how they conduct their shooting investigations, and since we’re both murder suspects in Lasko’s death, I think it’s in our best interest to wait until the crime scene is documented before we search the body.”

“Well, I hope they hurry up and get here.  I need to find my son!”

“Listen, you can hear the sirens in the distance now,” he said.

“How did you know where I was?”

“You left the florist box with the note inside on the bed in our room.  I tried to flag you down in the parking structure, but you didn’t see me.  I grabbed a cab.”

“Where’d you get a gun from?  You said Detective Crandall took it.”

“The night you were poisoned, I saw your gun on the shelf in the closet.  When they took you to the hospital, I couldn’t leave it in the room for the maid or anyone to see, so I took it with me.  When I got the chance, I hid it in the spare tire compartment in your truck.  When the detectives took my gun, I got yours, and I’ve been wearing it ever since.”  He glanced at the body on the ground.  “I didn’t think I was going to make it in time.”

“Thank God you did,” she said, looking toward the sound of the approaching sirens.  “I wish they’d hurry.”

Mac pulled his phone back out and dialed Captain Douglas Kincade’s private cell phone number. “Captain, this is Mac Stryker.  Sorry to tell you this, but you better hop on a plane back to Vegas.  I just shot and killed the stalker.”

After listening for a few minutes, with Mac making occasional “yes, sir” replies, he disconnected the call and put the phone away.   “He’s not happy.  We’ve both been cleared of the Lasko murder and now this.

“They recovered the tape of you in the drug store, so that cleared you.  The security guard at my condo complex admitted to seeing a tattooed guy follow Callie inside.  He didn’t say anything earlier because he was afraid of losing his job.    Apparently, Irma, my maid, was leaving when Callie arrived.  She tricked Irma into letting her in the house.  Because Callie was in uniform, Irma let her in.  Once inside, Callie stripped down and hopped in my bed.  She was beaten and shot five times.”

Jade shook her head.  “That’s awful.  I didn’t like her, but I didn’t want her dead.  You know, the stalker said he’s had us followed, and the note indicated there were other people involved in the kidnapping.  What if they have Donnie?”  Her eyes filled with tears.  “What will they do if this jerk doesn’t come back?”  Holding her face in her hands, she wept.

The approaching sirens got louder, and then the sound of people running filled the air.  Suddenly, the room was ablaze with flashlights.  Las Vegas police officers stormed in with guns drawn.  They took Mac’s gun from him and he informed the officers they hadn’t searched the body for additional weapons.  The officers quickly determined the stalker didn’t carry additional weapons.  The officers wanted to take the two of them to the station for questioning, but Jade refused.

“Look, this guy kidnapped my – our son.  The command post at the Southern Comfort is in place to find Donnie.  He’s still missing.  Any questions you have about this shooting are going to have to wait until we get our son back safe and sound.”

The sergeant was skeptical, but after a conversation with the command post, he backed down.

Paramedics arrived, their hands encased in turquoise rubber gloves.  After a quick check of his vital signs, they officially pronounced the stalker dead.  Then they searched the dead man’s pockets for identification or any other clue to his identity.  From his jeans they pulled cigarettes, a lighter, and a small plastic baggie with an off-white substance.  Jade immediately recognized the fine powder as the illegal drug methamphetamine.  Grunting, the rescue personnel turned the body over and out of another pocket recovered a handful of various receipts and papers.