Fatal Jealousy (Black Widow Book 1) (5 page)

“Hello?” she whispered. There was a long silence before someone finally spoke.

“Hello, Carson?” Audrey was bewildered. It wasn’t like him to let someone else answer his phone.

“Dale is asleep; could you please call back later?” Ellie bit at her lower lip, an unsettling feeling stirring inside her as she stared at Dale, still sound asleep. She wondered if the girl with the sweet voice was his girlfriend or a friend in the same context as she was. If she was, Ellie was going to shove his phone down his throat.

“I wish I could. I know it’s his day off, but could you please ask your boyfriend to come to work?”

Boyfriend! Ellie smiled at the thought, “Is there no one else who can fill in for him?” she asked with a pang of regret, she really didn’t want him to leave.

“I’m sorry but no.” Audrey’s face was beaming with a huge smile. She was glad she would have to make a call to Gwen next. Carson had finally found himself another girlfriend- fingers crossed, “I could give you details as to where he’s supposed to be.”

“No, no don’t do that. I don’t think he’ll be all too happy I answered his phone. I’ll just wake him.” She sulked, wishing she’d turned off the phone instead of answering it. What line of work was he in anyway? “Dale, you have a phone call,” she said, shaking him awake. She sat up, unwillingly pulling herself out of his embrace, “Dale, wake up.”

Carson stirred, then settled his head on her lap and wrapped his arms around her waist, “What, is the movie over?” he sounded more drugged than asleep.

“Three hours ago,” she answered, gently stroking his head, “You have a phone call.” She placed the phone on his ear, but he didn’t say a word, he went back to sleep instead. “Dale!” she laughed, shaking him awake.

“Audrey what is it?” he asked groggily, the sound of annoyance at the edge of his voice. He pulled Ellie in closer so that he could take a look at his watch on his wrist.
This girl has such a tiny waist, but she’s heavy
, he thought to himself as he listened to Audrey on the line.

“Are you at your girlfriend’s house?” She asked eagerly, “Or did you finally bring a girl to your apartment?”

“Audrey,” he groaned, pinching Ellie’s belly with his lips, making her giggle.

“I’m so happy for you!” She had screeched before she was serious again. She wished she didn’t have to ruin the best moment of their lives, “We have another serial killer.”

Dale’s stomach dropped and his body went rigid, “Where?”

“His or her last victim is from here, Washington, but murder reports with the same MO have appeared in Boston too. I have one more person to call, the rest are on their way.”

“Thanks sweet cheeks.”

“Don’t call me that! She’ll think you are cheating on her, and we’ll lose a girlfriend!”

“You really need to focus on
your
relationship and leave
mine
alone. I’ll see you in fifteen minutes.”

“What are you and
sweet cheeks
squabbling about?” Ellie asked unsure if she should be jealous or not.

He stood up and walked to the bathroom, “How long did you guys talk for?”

Ellie felt caught, “Not long. She just asked me to wake you up.”

“How did she sound to you?” he asked, walking out with his head and face wet, a towel in his hand.

She dried the back of his head as he put on his shoes, “She sounds nice, really sweet.”

“That’s why I call her sweet cheeks. She wanted to know if you were my girlfriend and where I spent the night.” He then stood up and looked down at her, analysing her expressions.

Ellie looked up at him, “And?” She wasn’t sure if she’d like any of the two obvious answers because she wasn’t sure what title he held in her life. They’d only seen each other four times, but talked and constantly texted for seventeen days.

He kissed her lightly on her lips at first and then deepened it, pulling her tightly and closely against him. If it weren't for work, he would have led this down the direction it was crying to go. “And I have to go,” he whispered on her lips before he pulled away.

Ellie stared at him dreamily, her body numbed by a voltage of passion that surged through her. She had felt this before, just not like this!

“I’ll call you later,” as he walked out the door. Ellie just nodded, and then she slowly closed the door. She leaned against it, still dazed by the kiss.

“Oh my....” she sunk down the door, onto the floor.

Chapter Six

Carson stepped out of his car and walked up the victim’s driveway, Ellie still on his mind. There was yellow tape around the house and a police barricade keeping the reporters and the onlookers out. He walked into the house- an air of dread hung inside it. Police officers were all over, processing the house. Paloma and Doran were seated with a man he assumed to be the victim’s boyfriend. He walked up the stairs and spotted Kevin, Gwen and Richard. He was sure that was where the murder was committed. The tied up naked body and the blood on the bed and wall confirmed it.

“What the hell happened here?” He asked, putting on his latex gloves. He walked around the room and looked through her things, trying to get a feel of the victims’ personality.

“The victim was tied to the four corners of her bed with her bras. We aren’t sure yet, but I think it’s safe to assume she was sexually assaulted, probably after the suspect beat her up,” Kevin offered.

Carson stared at the battered woman’s bloody face. His chest tightened as he thought of Ellie lying there in the victim’s place. He took a deep breath as he tried to refocus and get his composure back, “How old is she?”

“Twenty-four.”

Carson took another deep breath, the weight on his chest heavier, “What about the other victims?”

“Well, so far the youngest is twenty-three and the oldest is twenty-six. I looked through the photos of the victims we’ve found so far. It’s like any girl the suspect considers attractive is a potential victim.”

“Do they have anything else in common?” He wished the answer was yes, he would be able to eliminate her and breathe a little easy.

“No.”

“Damn it!
Where are those files?”

“Back at the office.”

“Speaking of women, how’s your girlfriend?” Gwen asked, without looking up from her notebook. Carson looked at her, sensing the hostility in her voice, and he wasn’t the only one.

Richard’s eyebrow rose with curiosity, “Why did you say it like that?”

“Last night we found her on stage dancing with two strippers, drunk out of her mind.”

“It was her twenty-sixth birthday,” Carson defended, “We all did wild things at twenty-six.”

“I didn’t.” Kevin objected.

“Yeah, we know.”

“So she’s practically half your age. Carson, are you having a
pukey
mid-life crisis?” she jeered.

“She’s ten years younger than me Gwen, you know that.”

“How are you two doing?” Richard baited, “Those two weeks must have affected the relationship in some way.”

“We are doing just fine,” Carson smiled sweetly, “There is no rush, and we’re taking it one step at a time.”

“Is that code for ‘she’s holding out’ on him?” Kevin asked. He then exclaimed loudly when Gwen and Richard nodded in response, “Dale Carson, you’re slipping!”

“No, I’m not,” Carson jumped, with a bruised ego, “She’s just different. I want to take my time with her, see how it goes.”

Richard chuckled, “Carson in a steady relationship, that I’d pay to see.”

“I give it a month.” Gwen said, with such conviction it bothered Carson.

“How about we get the asshole that did this before you start placing bets on my relationship?” The thought of Ellie being the psycho’s next victim bothered him. How he wished he could just lock her up in his house forever to keep her safe. He wouldn’t be able to stand it if something like this happened to her.

“I’m going back downstairs to see what Paloma and Doran have. Kevin, walk with me.” The two disappeared leaving Gwen and Carson alone with the body.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Carson asked under a whisper.

“What are you talking about?” she returned with a blank look.

“You are taking cheap shots at Ellie. Is this about us? We agreed, no strings attached, remember?”

Gwen looked at him intensely, then after a moment her gaze softened, “I know, I just don’t like being replaced without notice, and besides I’m just looking out for you.” She had smiled at him before she left the room. Carson wasn’t sure he believed her, but he wasn’t going to probe.

****

Ellie looked at her phone message confused. Dale had sent her weird messages before, but this one was on a whole different level of strange.

“What’s wrong?” Kris asked stepping behind her.

“Dale’s weird message... he says we shouldn’t go out alone, it’s safer to walk together.... are we in high school again?”

Kris laughed sitting back on the couch, “He’s sweet and just worried.” Changing the channel from
Two and a Half Men
to
CNN,
“We have a serial killer in Georgetown,” she went on pointing to the screen. Ellie sat next to her, her eyes glued on the screen, “Is that Dale?” Kris asked stunned.

Right next to a man speaking on the podium, Dale stood next to him, his sunglasses on and his face held stiff and hard. His hands were held behind his back like a soldier in a parade. He looked like a different person, stern and emotionless, a complete opposite to the man she was cuddling with a few hours ago.

“He’s a cop?” Ellie whispered genuinely surprised. She buried her face in her palms; this was the last thing she wanted.

Kris jumped in, “Maybe not... he might be....” her quick tongue failing her. She moved to Ellie and hugged her by the shoulders, her voice conciliatory, “Honey it doesn’t have to be a deal breaker if you really like him.”

Ellie lifted her face out of her hands and laughed sadly, blinking back the tears threatening to spill over and betray her, “It’s a good thing nothing has happened yet.”

Kris held her tighter, “You can try to lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me. You like him, and it hurts you that he’s a cop.”

Ellie pulled away from Kris and stood up in front of her, “Why would Ellsa hook me up with a cop?” the anger simmering slowly inside her, “She knows I wouldn’t date a cop if I had a gun held to my head. Is this another one of her stupid pranks or is this payback?” She paced the small living room, “This is revenge for her stupid boyfriend. Why is she punishing me, it wasn’t my fault!”

“I’m sorry to say this, but it’s always someone else’s fault, but Ellsa’s.”

Ellie simmered down, “It’s not her fault she dated a horse’s ass.”

As she changed the channel, “Ellie, one of these days you are going to have to put yourself first.”

“Until then, I have a bone to pick with a certain cop!”

“And the next day you are going to have to get over it. It’s been eight years, let it go.”

“My parents are dead Kris, I can’t just let that go.” Her eyes filled with tears as a piece of her heart broke away. She missed them and the pain of losing them didn’t seem to be getting any better.

Chapter Seven

Ellie told the first person who approached her, “I’m looking for Dale Carson.” It didn’t take long before someone had noticed her. She looked like a fish out of water with her arms wrapped around her, feeling major discomfort being in a federal building. She stood close to the elevator. She needed a quick getaway once she’d said what she needed to.

“I’ll get him for you,” Paloma answered with a polite smile. She eyed her like she would a nervous suspect, before she walked away, “Carson, there is a girl waiting for you by the elevators.”

He took his feet off the table and putdown the victim’s file he’d been going through with a fine tooth comb just in case they missed something, “Why didn’t you ask her to come here? Or is there a new policy that states we receive visitors by the elevators?”

“Even if I asked her to come, I’m sure she would have said no. She didn’t look like she wanted to get far away from the elevators. She’s anxious, like she’s waiting to spill something before she runs off.”

Curious, Carson went to see the antsy girl. His heart smiled when he saw her, it was Ellie. “Hi babe. How did you know where I worked?” he kissed her before she had a chance to answer.

“You were all over the news yesterday, it wasn’t hard to find out.” Her voice sounded like she had something stuck in her throat.

“So, what’s up?” He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. She had leaned into it longingly for a moment before she turned away.

“I came to tell you that this can’t work,” Her voice trembled as she spoke the words she knew she would come to regret one day. But she’d thought about it, and it was the only way to go. She’d never be able to look past his badge and gun no matter how hard she tried.

“What?”

“I don’t date cops Dale. Why didn’t you tell me you were a cop?”

“First of all, I’m an FBI agent not a cop, and because I didn’t think it mattered.”

“To me it does,” she pressed the down button on the elevator, “good-bye Dale.”

“Ellie wait, you can’t be serious,” he felt like he was being punked, a victim of a practical joke, but the look on her face told him she was as serious as she sounded. “That isn’t a solid reason to end this.”

She stayed quiet, keeping her back to him as she struggled to swallow the sob in her throat. The second the doors opened she jumped in, keeping her eyes away from him, “Goodbye Dale,” she said one last time, as the tears trickled down her cheeks.

Carson stood there frozen for a second as he stared at the metal doors, still thinking that it could all be a huge joke.

“Carson, we have a case to get to,” Doran called out from behind him.

“What did you do?” Audrey asked, infuriated by Carson as she walked with him back to the large case room.

“I didn’t do anything!” Carson answered, irritated by her accusations. Usually he was to blame for most of his relationships collapsing, but this time he didn’t do anything wrong, except his profession, the one thing that got him girls, not the opposite.