Murder Stalks (13 page)

“
I take it the news wasn’t
good,” Rex said as he folded the paper and threw it into the back
seat of the car.

“
No, he’s not our guy, and
Montes won’t let me talk to him. Damn it. I should have sent Dickey
Farris up here instead of wasting our time.”

Rex drove as Tony sifted through his notes
about the case. They were headed back to Juniper, trusting that
Officer Montes would get the guy in custody to tell the truth.
Tony’s mind drifted from the harsh reality of murder to the soft
supple curves of Marissa. A deep longing filled the void left by
her absence. His deep sigh garnered a quizzical look from Rex. Tony
turned back to his notes, ignoring Rex’s pointed looks.

“
Tony, how long have we
known each other?”

“
Fifteen years.
Why?”

“
She loves you, man. You
just need to remind her why.”

Everyone thought Marissa had walked out
because she was suffering from discontent. She was mad as hell, and
Tony didn’t blame her. He would go see her today. He couldn’t stay
away. The need to be close to her was overwhelming at times,
bringing Tony to a pit of despair he desperately wanted to escape
from.

By the time Tony and Rex parted at
headquarters, it was five-fifteen. Tony drove straight to
Marissa’s. His hands were slick on the steering wheel, and small
beads of perspiration formed on his brow.

He turned his car off and took the keys out
of the ignition. He pushed open the door, ready to tell Marissa how
much he needed her. Then her rebuke came to mind. Two days was a
long time to wait to see her beautiful smile, but if he alienated
her by his impulsive desire to connect, then what? Would she banish
him again for another month, maybe two?

Tony slunk down into the seat, defeat
shrinking his tall frame behind the steering wheel until his eyes
were level with the dashboard. He peered towards her apartment and
waited. For what, he didn’t know.

Ten minutes later, Tony still hadn’t moved.
The windows were open, leaving him hoping for a crosswind but
nothing blew through. His shirt clung to his damp skin, and beads
of sweat on his brow formed tiny rivulets, leaving trails of
moisture running down his face. His behavior was childish. He
should go talk to her and quit skulking around.

He moved to get out of his car when two
black and whites pulled up behind him. He was leaning into the car
to retrieve his wallet when he heard the command.

“
Step away from the car.
Hands out, away from your body!”

“
Excuse me?” Tony did
little to hide his annoyance.

“
Move, now,” the officer
yelled.

Tony stepped back and raised his hands. His
suit jacket flared away from his body. The officer saw his shoulder
harness, drew his weapon and moved his finger over the trigger. A
full sweat broke out on Tony’s face. These guys were serious.

“
Hold it there, buckaroo.
What’s your name?” Tony’s voice radiated annoyance.

“
It’s none of your
business, and what was that you called me?”

“
Hey, Miller, I don’t
think we need to worry about this guy.” Officer Dickey Farris
stepped forward as he spoke.

“
What?” Miller asked, his
face skewed into a grimace.

“
It’s Detective Santos.
You know, the Detective Tony Santos.”

“
Oh, gosh. Oh no. Crap.
Some old lady called and said someone was staking out her place.
She said the guy looked like a dangerous thug. Oh God, I’m sorry
Detective Santos.” Miller’s face turned red and his eyes
rounded.

“
It’s okay, Miller. Why
don’t you lower your weapon?” Tony said calmly, not liking being on
the business end of Miller’s Glock. He was the one who suggested
the officers keep an eye out for men sitting in cars watching
buildings. He should have known better than to sit outside
Marissa’s apartment for so long.

“
I can’t believe I didn’t
recognize you.” Miller holstered his gun as a fresh wave of red
covered his face.

Tony wanted to laugh, but he knew the young
officer’s pride was on the line. “Miller, you did the right thing.
Next time, just make sure it’s not me that you try to bust. Farris,
why don’t the two of you go talk to this lady? See if she’s seen
anyone else staking out the place. Make her feel good for watching
and keeping an eye on her neighborhood.”

“
Yes, sir,” both officers
answered, smiling broadly. The two new recruits laughed nervously
as they walked back to their cars to get the woman’s
address.

Determination forced Tony’s feet forward. He
would see his wife today. He knocked twice before he heard movement
behind the door. He imagined her looking through the peephole,
checking to see who was on the other side. At home, he’d watched
her do the same thing over and over again. The thought of Marissa’s
right leg lifting as she watched him made him smile. God, he missed
her.

The cracking sound of the door opening
brought Tony back to the present. The tension from days of worry
and stress fell from his body. He felt lighter than he had in
months. He wanted to pull Marissa into his arms and dance around
the room. The look on her face drew him up short, freezing his
smile, and forcing him to face reality.

Marissa lived here and he didn’t.

“
I asked you to stay away
for two days.”

“
I wanted to see you,”
Tony said in a hushed voice.

“
Can’t you come back
tomorrow?”

His analytical brain took over and
suspicions built in his mind. Why did she want him gone? Was there
someone else in the apartment with her? The door was only cracked
two inches. Marissa’s face and body covered the opening, obscuring
Tony’s line of sight. He couldn’t see anything inside. He ticked
through the tactics he could use to get inside to investigate what
she was up to.

Then it dawned on him. He was using
investigative procedures on his wife. His stomach flopped as
queasiness washed over him. How could he sink so low? Marissa
wasn’t the enemy. She had always been a rock, a firm foundation.
There wasn’t anyone else in the apartment with her. The problem was
in his sick mind. He was the one coming up with wrong
conclusions.

“
I’m sorry I bothered you.
I’ll call you tomorrow.” Tony turned and walked away.

He heard her quick steps just before he felt
her hand on his arm.

Breathing in deeply, Tony braced himself for
the worst. Her total and complete rejection of him. Even when she
moved out, Marissa hadn’t completely taken away all of Tony’s hope
for their future. Holding his breath, he looked down into her
crystal blue eyes. For a moment, he forgot about his job and the
case.

“
Tony, I--” She blew out a
quick breath and her face softened. “Why don’t you come in? We can
talk for a few minutes.”

“
Thank you.” His shoulders
lifted and the pain pressing on his skull eased.

Marissa shut the door behind them and leaned
against the solid wood. Tony immediately thought of the first time
they made love on their honeymoon. Too impatient to wait, he’d
dropped his pants and pulled up her skirt when he’d shut the door
behind them. He knew better now. Marissa was to be savored, every
last ounce of passion brought to the surface and enjoyed before he
possessed her.

But that wasn’t why he came over here. Or
was it?

Tony racked his brain for the reason for his
visit. All he could think about was the dip at the small of her
back and the rounded curve of her bottom.

Marissa moved away from the door. Perhaps
she was having similar thoughts. Maybe she was burning with desire
too? Tony watched as she moved. Her body language was stiff and
unforgiving. No, he decided, she wasn’t engulfed in thoughts of
their lovemaking. This was a mistake. There was no way he could
confess his desire to take her, not when she sat on the couch so
primly.

“
Why are you here?”
Marissa asked pointedly, bringing Tony out of his lustful
thoughts.

“
I was just thinking the
same thing myself.”

“
I shouldn’t have let you
in.” Marissa moved to stand, anger flashing in her eyes, turning
them ice blue.

“
Marissa, wait. I just
want to talk. I promise I won’t do anything.”

Tony watched Marissa’s face as she thought
about his request. The anger slowly ebbed, smoothing the lines away
from her features. He sat in a chair next to the couch, not wanting
to be too close to his wife, afraid that if he could reach out and
pull her into his arms he would.

“
I talked to Danny today,”
Marissa said.

“
Yeah, is he coming back
into town?”

“
No, not yet anyway. He
had a cleaning company go through their house and do deep cleaning,
but he wants me to go over and box up some of the things that are
important to him.”

“
No!” Tony’s voice echoed
off the walls. Even he was surprised by the intensity he had
displayed. Marissa sat still for a moment. The fear on her face
turned to anger. Tony knew he was in for a fight.

“
Excuse me? I’m doing this
for Danny.”

“
Marissa, I know you want
to help, but not this way.”

“
Why not? I’ll go over
there during the day and leave before it gets dark.”

“
I can’t let you do
it.”

“
You have no say over me
now. I am going to help Danny. And there’s nothing you can do to
stop me.”

Anger rolled through Tony. He needed to calm
down. He got up and moved around the room. The space was small,
making him feel like a caged animal. Marissa was determined to help
Danny. He could tell by the look on her face she was willing to
make a big deal out of this. Stalling was his only option.

“
I need some water,” Tony
said before heading towards the kitchen.

He found water bottles in the fridge. He
smiled as he cracked one open. Marissa always had bottled water on
hand, especially this time of year when algae bloomed in the lakes.
Tony chuckled, remembering the cute way she would wrinkle her nose
in disgust at the earthy smell of the tainted tap water.

The cool refreshing liquid soothed his
parched throat. His head ached with tension. As his mind worked on
a solution to his problem, he noticed the drawer under the counter
opposite him was cracked open. He moved to shut it, but hesitated.
Pulling it open, he smiled to himself when he spied Dove chocolates
mixed with the pens, scissors and other odds and ends. He snagged
one of the sweet treats, and his eyes were drawn to an envelope at
the bottom of the drawer. The word ‘key’ was printed in bold
letters.

Before he could reign in his impulses, Tony
had one of the silver keys in his hand. This key was different from
their house key, probably an extra for this apartment. He took it,
sliding it out of the envelope and into his pocket, not allowing
his mind to examine the breach of trust he had just committed.
Replacing the envelope quietly, Tony breathed in deep, trying to
calm his racing heart.

The sound of footsteps in the short hall
from the den alerted Tony that Marissa was near. Casually leaning
against the counter, he took a long swig from his water bottle. The
vision of Marissa out of the corner of his eye made his heart jump
in his chest.

“
I think you need to leave
now.” Marissa’s voice was unbending and sent a chill down Tony’s
spine.

“
Marissa, when you go to
Danny’s house would you please promise to call me? I want to have a
patrol car keep watch on the house while you’re in
there.”

“
Why?”

“
This killer is crafty.
He’s not your average thug. I worry about your safety.” Tony
stepped forward, within inches of his wife. He wanted to reach out
and pull her into his embrace. His fingers ached to touch her soft
skin and smell the sweet fragrance of her silky hair, but he didn’t
move.

“
You can stop worrying.”
Marissa’s voice was hard as steel. Her body language screamed
‘don’t touch’. Tony backed away, not wanting to push Marissa even
further from him.

“
No, Marissa, I can’t stop
worrying about you. I love you too much to ever stop worrying. I
think about you, about us, day and night. When I wake up in the
morning, the first thing I do is check the bed to see if you’re
there. I want you back.”

“
I’m not ready.” Worry
lines crossed her forehead and her lips pinched into a thin line.
She’d had enough.

“
I know you’re not ready,
Marissa, but I will keep coming to see you. I’m not going to stop
calling, either. When you’re ready, I want you back in our
house.”

“
Don’t push it.” Marissa
turned away from him.

“
I’ll stop for now, but
not forever. I want to fix this.”

“
You can’t fix it.” She
turned and studied his face. Her eyes roved over his body. A blush
flared on her cheeks as she stared at his lips. She was thinking
about kissing him. Tony reached out and pulled her close. Her body
melted against his. Her soft curves pressed against his torso.
Desire filled him, leaving him feeling warm.

He drank in her scent and kissed the top of
her head. The smell of fresh peaches filled his nostrils, reminding
him of the sweet past they shared. Another spike of desire shook
through him, causing shivers to run wild. Marissa pulled him
tighter and turned her face towards his.