Loves Redemption (9 page)

“Great. This is the best way to dig up leads, Dr. Richardson,” the lieutenant encouraged

her with a half smile.

“I do have one other question before we continue. You mentioned that Ally had been

found within a week of her death. How long between time of death and discovery for the others?

I don’t know about the other victims, but the last two had families and people that would miss them. Does this play a factor in your investigation?”

“We’ve uncovered the majority two to three weeks from the time of death. Based on the

coroner’s report, our victim last night had been killed within the last 48 hours, which is the soonest,” Mark interjected.

“Why was this victim’s discovery sooner?” Maya asked, giving Mark her full attention.

“A jogger and her dog discovered the body. This is important information. Because as

you say, if our victims had close families, and based on what type of lives that the men led, they’d be reported as missing as soon as they didn’t show up when they were supposed to. Your sister didn’t have a report filed on her and neither did the greater majority of our other victims, including Kross, our man from last night. If the slayer is stalking loners or men without family members, which was our original thinking, it would be easier to see some type of pattern. This in turn makes life easier for us, because the closer you come to completing the pattern, the closer you come to finding the offender.”

Jordan, who’d remained silent for most of the meeting, added, “Either she’s changed her

mode or it never was her mode. We assumed based on the type of victims targeted that maybe

she had been scouting out her victims, choosing them based on their anonymity. The only victim with a missing report filed, had it filed by his employer.”

“Which leads us to the question: is our killer watching and then targeting certain men,

and if so why did she kill both Kross and Clemens? Because neither one fit the type of her

previous victims. And what, if anything, is the connection with Allison?” Mark questioned.

“At this point, let me suggest we go into more of Dr. Richardson’s expertise if we may,

because as we’re all aware she is here despite a busy schedule,” Lieutenant Hernandez rerouted the conversation.

Maya glanced at her watch and was surprised to see the time. “I hadn’t realized it was so

late. Are there any questions for me?”

Jordan spoke up. “You work with women who’ve been in prostitution for a lot of

different reasons. It’s got to be hard for them to leave prostitution on their own; it almost seems like a drug.”

“In the time I’ve worked with these brave women and men, I’ve found that most come

from abusive homes where there was no father living in the home or the father that was present was abusive physically and or sexually to them or another family member. In an attempt to

escape the abuse, they run away.” She gave the handsome detective her full attention.

“You said that it seems like a drug. In a way it is. Drugs find their way into a person’s

bloodstream, destroying anything in their path. Prostitution is a behavior that does the same thing. At Imani House we treat it for the ‘drug’ it mimics. We know that it takes more than finding a 9 to 5 job to reclaim their lives.”

Maya had strong feelings for the women and men who came to her, trying to recapture a

life that had been stolen from her. Although she’d directed her response to Jordan, she could feel the collective stares of Mark and Lieutenant Hernandez.

Lieutenant Hernandez shook her hand at the close of the discussion. “Thank you for

taking so much time out of your schedule for us Dr. Richardson. I hope we haven’t put you too far behind in your day.”

“You’re welcome. And no you didn’t. I hope I’m able to help. I’ll be in touch with you

whenever I find any new information,” she said, and allowed Mark to lead her out of the office.

Once she and Mark were inside the elevator, she turned toward him. “Do you think the

media are gone?”

“They should be gone by now; it’s been a while. They can’t gain access into the garage.

How Alicia and her cameraman got through I have no idea, but I’ll find out.” He promised

grimly.

As they were leaving the elevator and walking toward his vehicle, seemingly out of

nowhere a bright light shone directly in Maya’s face. Again.

“Hey what the hell are you doing?” Mark demanded, as the cameraman evaded the arm

he swung in his direction.

“If you’ll give me a nice sound bite, I’ll be out of your way, and I promise I’ll make the

police look good. It won’t take long,” Alicia pleaded.

“That’s fine, Mark. I don’t have a problem with speaking with the reporter.” Maya spoke

up, just as Mark was opening his mouth to shoot the channel eight reporter down. As she’d

spoken, Maya had moved closer to Mark. She knew the best defense was always a good offense.

“Make it quick, Alicia, Dr. Richardson has given up enough of her time this morning, and

she needs to return back to work.”

“How is
she
involved in the investigation?”

Maya took marginal offense in the way the reporter talked about her as though she was

invisible. “
She
can speak for herself. If you have a question about me, please direct it toward me.”

“Fine. How are you involved in the investigation?” Alicia asked with a discernible bite.

Mark gave her silent approval to disclose her involvement with the police with a nod of

his head.

“I have agreed to act as a special consultant to the police department,” Maya answered

nominally.

Wasting no time, the reporter nodded toward the cameraman as she spoke into the

camera. “Good afternoon, viewers. This is Alicia Somers with channel 8 news and I’m here with Detective Halstan, along with Dr. Maya Richardson. We’ve just been informed that Dr.

Richardson, who runs the halfway house for area prostitutes, is now a part of the slayer

investigation.” Turning toward Maya she aimed her question to her.

“Dr. Richardson what will you bring into the investigation that it is currently lacking?”

“I’d like to offer a correction by saying Imani House is not a halfway house. We are a

privately owned and funded agency that provides not only a
home,
but also a wide variety of programs to aid those who wish to bring dignity back into their lives. Now in answer to your question, our collective prayer is that my knowledge in this area will provide aid in helping the police apprehend the person or persons responsible for these murders,” Maya was confident and comfortable with her topic.

“And you, Detective? What do you hope to gain with Dr. Richardson?” the reporter

quickly turned away from Maya and smiled at Mark.

“In what way do you mean?” Mark asked and raised his eyebrow. Maya cast a curious

glance his way at his response.

“What do believe she can bring to this investigation that it’s obviously lacking?” She

asked tersely.

“Dr. Richardson is an expert in her field. We hope to gleam any bit of information we can

in the hopes of ending this before more lives are lost.”

Continuing her brief interview, the reporter asked Maya few additional questions that

required minimal answers. She soon brought the interview to close.

“Thank you for your time, Dr. Richardson--the piece will air on the five o’clock news

this evening.” After shaking her hand briefly, Alicia turned her full attention to Mark.

“Remember what I said earlier, give me a call.” Reaching out to touch him, her hand never made contact with the intended target of his face.

Catching her hand in midair he answered, “I think I’ll pass on the opportunity. I’m sure

I’ll have other plans.” Clearly irritated, the reporter left, heels clicking angrily on the cement.

Mark turned to Maya, “Let’s go,” and escorted her to his vehicle.

They’d driven for a while before Mark turned to look at her. She saw admiration and

surprise in his eyes. “You handled yourself well during the interview with Alicia. Most people are nervous in front of a camera unless they’re used to speaking in front of one,” he

complimented.

“Thank you. After defending my dissertation, I got over stage fright pretty well,” she

admitted with a laugh.

“I bet you did. I don’t think Alicia appreciated your confidence.” He laughed along with

her.

“I don’t think that’s the only thing Alicia didn’t appreciate,” Maya couldn’t resist adding, and it was her turn to be surprised when she saw the red stain his cheeks.

They drove in silence after that, with an occasional comment or question offered by

Mark, until he pulled up in front of Imani House. He turned off the engine and was taking off his seat belt when Maya stopped him.

“You don’t have to get out; I’ll hop out and go inside.” She placed her hand against his as he took off his seat belt.

“It’s not a problem. Let me get your bag and take it inside for you.” He turned her hand

to cover hers before he reached his long arm in the backseat to retrieve her bag. Then he helped her out of his vehicle.

When they’d reached the front porch, Maya turned to Mark. “I’d better go inside; I have a

ton of work to do. I guess I’ll hear from the police when you need me?” she questioned.

“Yes, you’ll hear from the
police
when they have a need for your expertise, and of course you should contact us whenever you have information for us. Now as far as you and I are

concerned, you’ll hear from me much sooner. I know you’re going to be swamped today to make up for your late start, so do you think you’d be able to make time for me this weekend?” he asked with a hopeful expression.

“I think that I can make time for you. I already have plans for this weekend, what about

next Saturday?” She smiled hesitantly.

“That would be great. I’ll call you and we can decide what we’ll do.” Mark gave her a

small, yet lingering kiss good-bye before jogging back to his vehicle and leaving.

With a half smile, Maya walked inside Imani House, an odd contentment settling in her

spirit despite the sad event of Allison’s recent murder.

“I’ve been informed that because of the high visibility of this case, we’re bringing in the FBI.” Lieutenant Hernandez told the men without preamble.

The men were strategizing over the slayer investigation. Mark and Jordan were in

conference with Lieutenant Hernandez more times with the slayer investigation than he thought they’d ever been with any other investigation during their tenure under his command.

“Who ordered this? No, let me guess the
acting
chief himself,” Jordan both asked and answered.

“Hole in one. However, I’m sure I can count on my men to be cooperative and helpful

professionals.” The Lieutenant said with a lift of his brow, aiming his comment at both men. He knew he could count on them, but both were strong men with strong opinions and he knew of

their distaste for working with the FBI.

“As far as Dr. Richardson is concerned, without compromising the investigation, she is to

be provided with police help if she needs it. Her aid in this investigation may provide us with the break we need. Mark, it seems as though you have good communication with her, so we’ll

continue with you being her contact person for the department. Of course make sure she’s aware she can call any of us when needed.”

Lieutenant Hernandez saw the way Jordan’s glance fell on Mark after his comment. He

used the remaining time to go over plans for the current investigation as well as the decision on which detectives to delegate Mark and Jordan’s other cases to. The slayer investigation had top priority, and the decision had been made to devote his two top detectives’ time in its direction.

Mark and Jordan were the highest producers in their division, solving many of their cases

with lauded efficiency. Lieutenant Hernandez was confident of the fact that the acting chief dare not pull Mark off the case. The Halstans, along with their close-knit peers, were known for making or breaking political hopefuls. With this knowledge in mind, the chief was careful not to commit political suicide by posturing and pulling the young detective from the case.

As he dismissed the two detectives to their own work, he sat back and pulled out his

notes, a pensive look on his small features as he went over the information the detectives had on the case, his eyes narrowing in thought.

* * * *

Mark knew Jordan had questions. “Okay, what do you want to know? You’ve been

staring at me since the meeting this morning with Maya and the lieutenant, and I can guess why,”

he said, no longer able to take his partner’s stares.

“How ’bout we grab some lunch and talk. It’s been a long morning and I didn’t get much

breakfast.” Jordan asked, not denying his curiosity.

“Let’s go.”

Jordan took the familiar route to their favorite café. Once inside, after they had given

their order to the waiter, Mark took a long drink of water and waited for the inquisition from his friend.

“So man, what’s going on? With you and Dr. Richardson?” Jordan asked bluntly.

Mark knew better than to play dumb. He valued Jordan’s opinion as his partner and as a

friend. He and Jordan had been together in the academy and had graduated from uniform to plain clothes together. As friends and partners they’d shared a mutual respect for the police force and commitment for their job.

Clearing his throat Mark began to speak. “I’m sure you know something’s been going on

between me and Dr. Richardson.” At Jordan’s nod, he continued, “When she first came to the

precinct, I saw her outside the lieutenant’s door waiting to go in, and man I swear it was like--