Craving Vengeance (7 page)

“Can you believe this shit?” the ME
questioned as she pointed at cupid number four. Her eyes focused on
Spinelli. “What in the hell? How many cupids are left in the
city?”

Spinelli and Walker stepped up to the
bedside. A small round serving tray, two wine glasses—one
broken—and a single long-stemmed red rose lay on the floor several
feet from the bed. Next to the mess stood a shiny metal champagne
chiller on a stand. Only the stem of the champagne bottle stuck out
above the ice.

Spinelli shifted his gaze to the dead man
sprawled out on the bed. His heart pounded against his ribs, his
cheeks burned, and the air drained from his lungs. His throat
constricted. He fought for a breath. None came. He tried again. He
caught some air on the second go around.

He could hear Walker talking to Debra and the
Sergeant, but his mind wouldn’t process the words. He continued to
stare down at the face of the victim. He couldn’t seem to tear his
eyes from him.

Walker tapped him on the shoulder. “Are you
okay?”

“Yeah, I just...he just...has he been
identified?”

Walker frowned. “Yeah, that’s what the
Sergeant just told us. The room was rented to Dr. Joshua Meyers,
and he matches that of the picture ID in the wallet on the desk
over there,” Walker said as he pointed to the desk in the corner of
the room.

“Doctor. That just figures,” Spinelli mumbled
as he tried to make sense of it all.

“What?” Walker asked.

Spinelli glanced at the Police Sergeant and
the ME then shifted his gaze to Walker. He shook his head.
“Nothing, never mind.” He’d wait to tell Walker in private that the
fourth dead cupid was the man he saw Shannon kissing earlier in the
day.

“Debra, do you have an estimate as to the
time of death or any ideas as to the cause of death?” Spinelli
asked.

“Not long. Couple of hours, tops. Judging
from the smell of almonds, I’m guessing we have another cyanide
poisoned victim. He doesn’t have any visible wounds.”

A golf ball sized lump formed in Spinelli’s
throat making it difficult to ask the Sergeant his next question.
“Did you talk to any hotel staff? Did he check in with anyone?”

The Sergeant pointed to the doorway. “The
shift manager is in the hall waiting for you guys. Earlier he said
that Meyers was alone when he checked in at around 1:45.”

A wave of relief washed through Spinelli, but
Shannon wasn’t off the hook yet. Why was the man she kissed only
hours ago now dead? And who exactly was this man?

They stepped back into the hall to talk to
the manager. Walker introduced himself and Spinelli. “Hi, I’m
Marcus Grasse, the front desk manager,” Marcus responded in a shaky
voice.

Spinelli’s silence caused Walker to start the
questioning.

“So, you said Dr. Meyers checked in alone,”
Walker stated.

The young manager nodded his head. He stood
with his hands in his pockets and shifted from foot to foot,
confirming his nervousness.

He looked to be in his early twenties.
Probably his first real job out of college, and he winds up with a
murder on his shift.

“Did you check him in or did someone
else?”

Marcus shifted his gaze to the floor. “I
did,” he whispered.

“Did he say anything when he checked in or
was he acting unusual at all?”

The kid chewed on his lip for a moment, then
released it from his teeth. “It was like any other routine
check-in. He told me his name. I punched it in on the computer and
found his reservation. I swiped his credit card, handed him his
room key, and gave him a map of the hotel.”

“So he had a reservation?” Walker
questioned.

“Yep.”

“Do you know when he made the
arrangements?”

“It was earlier in the day, actually, shortly
before he arrived. We’re not super busy during the week this time
of year. I took the call myself while I was working the
counter.”

“Who found him?”

Marcus pulled his hand from his pocket and
ran it over his face. He pointed at a young woman sitting on a
bench at the end of the hall. She was talking with a uniformed
officer who stood by the caution tape dividing the perimeter from
the rest of the world. Even from this distance, Spinelli easily
noticed her red, swollen eyes. She took a pull from a bottle of
water.

The three of them walked toward the woman.
She rose to her feet as they ducked under the caution tape. Walker
introduced himself and Spinelli. Her frantic gaze darted between
the men then landed on Marcus. He gestured toward her. “This is
Ashley Dart. She found Dr. Meyers when she delivered the champagne
and rose he’d ordered shortly after he checked in.”

The young waitress swiped under her eyes with
a balled up tissue.

“Ms. Dart, was anyone else in the room when
you entered?”

She shook her head.

“So tell me how this works. You knocked on
the door, no one answered, and you let yourself in?”

“Yes. When he ordered the room service, he
specifically said he wanted the order brought up at 4:00. He wanted
the champagne to chill on ice for a few hours. So I arrived at his
door and knocked. He didn’t answer, so I knocked again and
identified myself. Still no answer, so I spoke through the door and
told him that I was going to let myself in. I entered the room and
found him,” she sniffled and pressed on. “I was startled. I dropped
the tray and ran out of the room. I didn’t stop until I found
Marcus and told him what had happened. He called the police, and
now here we are.”

Tears ran down her cheeks. “I don’t know why
I’m crying like this. I don’t even know the man.”

Marcus nodded.

“Did you see anyone on your way up to make
the delivery or on your way back down to the front desk?”

“I passed by lots of people, but I thought
they were just regular guests.”

Spinelli pulled his wallet from his pocket,
flipped it open, and retrieved a photo of him and Shannon. He
stared at the photo for a brief moment wondering where he’d gone
wrong. In the picture he was dressed as Santa, and Shannon wore a
little red velvet dress.

The photo had been taken two months earlier
while they were working in the Santa display at the mall. This was
when he’d first met her. He remembered feeling utterly ridiculous
through the whole undercover Santa job, but he did it for her. And
it was a good thing he did or she probably wouldn’t be here today
to tell her story. He’d snatched her from the boney hands of the
Grim Reaper and took a bullet in the process. His chest tightened
at the awful memory and what followed. He shook his head. So this
is how she repaid him. She kissed another man; a man who had just
turned up dead.

He tore his gaze from the photo and handed it
to Ashley, “Have you ever seen this woman?” He watched as Walker
glanced at the photo then shifted his confused gaze to him. He knew
Walker wanted to say something, but he held his tongue.

“Yes,” Ashley replied with a nod.

Spinelli’s heart leaped into his throat. His
lungs drained. Blood rushed through his veins at the speed of
light. His mind reeled for a response. He hoped his ears had
deceived him. “She was here?” he asked. His voice cracked.

“No, not here, but I’ve seen her before.
That’s Ms. O’Hara. She’s my family’s caseworker. My stepdad, he’s a
real prick to my mom and my younger stepbrothers,” Ashley’s eyes
filled with tears again. “Oh no, is she okay? She’s been a godsend
to my mother.”

Spinelli’s throat cleared and his lungs
inflated. “She’s fine.” Ashley’s questioning gaze stayed on him but
he offered nothing more. He refused to look at Walker who’d surely
want an explanation. He’d get one as soon as they were finished at
the crime scene.

Spinelli and Walker milled around the crime
scene with a couple of forensic officers. Nothing looked
unusual.

They headed toward the elevator. Walker
pressed the button. They waited. Spinelli could feel Walker’s
curious gaze on him. The doors opened, they stepped in, and the
doors closed. They were alone.

“Okay, do you want to tell me what in the
hell that was all about?”

Spinelli looked at Walker, the elevator
stopped, and a woman and child stepped through the doors. They rode
the elevator in silence, and all exited on the main floor. Once in
the unmarked, Spinelli spilled his guts. “The vic, Dr. Joshua
Meyers, is the man I saw Shannon kissing in the hallway.”

Walker’s silence about killed Spinelli, and
again Walker stared back with the usual unemotional look on his
face. He started the car but didn’t shift it into drive. “Where is
she now? Where was she going when she left us in the precinct?”

“Church. You can’t possibly...there’s got be
a reasonable explanation for this,” Spinelli squeaked out.

“Don’t get me wrong. There’s no way she
killed him or anyone else for that matter. But the way it looks
right now, she was one of the last people to see the victim alive.
I have to wonder, is she in danger as well? I know she doesn’t fit
the profile of the other vics. All that said, I am puzzled by the
fact you saw her...,” his voice trailed off.

Spinelli swallowed hard and finished Walker’s
sentence. “Kissing him. I know what I saw.”

“So, where is she?”

“She’s at St. Mary’s church helping with the
fundraiser.”

“What kind of fundraiser?”

Spinelli thought for a moment. His pulse
pounded in his ears. His mouth went dry. “She’s playing the role as
cupid’s helper,” his voice almost a whisper.

Walker’s eyes widened. “What?”

“They’re performing singing valentines and
delivering chocolates and flowers.”

Walker shifted the car into gear, pulled into
traffic, and headed in the direction of St. Mary’s.

Spinelli pulled his cell phone out and tapped
the display screen. A picture of Shannon loaded. Her bright emerald
eyes stared back at him. He pulled her up on the contact list and
put the phone to his ear. The call went to voicemail. “Damn it!” he
growled.

“What’s the matter?” Walker asked.

“She’s not answering.”

“Could be by design.”

“That’s not funny. I expect that kind of
comment from Marsh. Not you,” Spinelli snapped.

Walker flashed his eyes in Spinelli’s
direction. “It wasn’t meant to be funny. I was just trying to say
that maybe she’s busy, and everything is okay.”

“Oh.”

Within minutes Walker had parked the unmarked
in the church’s parking lot. A single exterior light shined above
the side door facing the street. They sprang out of the car and
rushed to that door assuming it would be unlocked. They were right.
Just inside the doorway was a lit stairwell leading to the
basement. Following the scent of roses, they raced down the stairs
to find the priest and a couple of what he assumed to be “Sisters”
indulging in some Valentine’s Day chocolates. It was much easier to
identify nuns in the old days when they wore habits.

Spinelli flashed his badge and introduced
himself and Walker. Wide smiles instantaneously stretched across
the faces of the priest and women. “So, you’re Shannon’s beau,” one
of the ladies commented as she kept an inquisitive eye on him. “I’m
Sister Pat,” then she gestured toward the other woman and the
priest. “This is Sister Lora and Father Daniel.”

He couldn’t help but smile. They all looked
so pleased; little did they know. “Yes, ma’am I am Shannon’s
boyfriend. Do you know where I can find her right now?”

Sister Pat lifted the reading glasses that
hung by a chain around her neck and perched them on the end of her
nose before she picked up the clipboard that lay on the table in
front of her. “Oh, dear, they all had so many deliveries scheduled,
and that poor girl has to do hers by herself since her partner
didn’t show up. We can try her cell phone to find out where she’s
at.”

“She’s by herself?”

Sister Pat fixed her soothing blue-eyed gaze
on him, obviously picking up on his discontent. “Yes, we didn’t
have anyone else to send with her when she left. Father Daniel and
Sister Lora just got back from their deliveries, and I was the only
one left here to man the fort. Because she was alone, we sent her
on the downtown business deliveries. You know, to the ladies and
gentleman who are working tonight. The majority of them are working
at stores or restaurants,” Sister Pat paused and smiled. “People
just love to surprise their loved ones at work.”

Spinelli worked to get his voice in check. He
knew he needed to get it together. “Can you tell me who she was
supposed to work with tonight?”

“Joshua Meyers, but he didn’t show up. That’s
so unlike him. I hope nothing happened to him.”

Walker shot Spinelli a sideways glance. He
knew what he needed to do. He didn’t like it one bit, but he
knew.

Spinelli shifted his gaze to Father Daniel.
“Father, were you dressed like cupid earlier?”

“Yes.”

“Can I borrow your costume?”

Father hesitated for a moment. He must have
read the concerned look in Spinelli’s eyes. “Sure.” He glanced
toward Sister Pat. “Why don’t you call Shannon and see if you can
locate her. Maybe Mr. Spinelli can catch up with her and help her
finish with her deliveries.”

Sister Pat nodded and picked up the phone
receiver. Spinelli leaned toward her. “I’d like to surprise her if
I could.”

She nodded before her call connected. “Hi,
Shannon. This is Sister Pat. We received two more delivery requests
in your area. Do you think you could take them on and still finish
by 8:00 or so?...Uh huh...oh no, dear, we’ll have someone meet you
at your next stop with the names, addresses, flowers, and candy.
Where is your next stop and when do you think you’ll be
there?...Okay, got it.”

Sister Pat hung up the phone receiver and
fixed her gaze on Spinelli. “She’s working North Water Street right
now, and she’s just about to stop at a client’s, so that will take
some time. Her next stop is at Billy’s BBQ. She’s delivering to a
waitress there. She’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”