Murder Stalks (16 page)

“
Fine, just Sekorski and
Randall.”

“
I’m going to take a
shower.” Tony tried to stand, but his legs wouldn’t support him. He
fell back against the wall, sliding down to the floor.

“
No,” Rex
barked.

“
I can’t let Randall see
me like this,” Tony begged.

“
Okay, I’ll leave Randall
out for now. But if you wash, we will never know if there was
evidence on you. You stay put until I get back in here. Then we’ll
go over every inch of your body, looking for some fiber or hair
that the real killer brought in.”

Tony stayed sitting, unable to move from the
spot against the wall. The dead body mocked him from the other side
of the room. Someone had come into his house, violating his
personal space. What if Marissa had come home with him? The thought
scared the shit out of him, and a fresh wave of tears rolled down
his cheeks.

Then a thought hit Tony that left him
gasping for breath. Was he capable of murder? Had he broken down,
found some willing body and brought her home? Did he have it in him
to fuck a stranger then kill her in cold blood? Tony gagged. His
empty stomach heaved as he listened for Rex to return with
Sekorski.

Chapter 13

The seconds stretched into minutes. Rex
entered the room and then went out.

Tony sat.

Rex came back with Sekorski. They bent their
heads together and whispered. It didn’t sound good.

Tony sat.

Maybe he had committed this atrocity. Maybe
there was a hidden part of him. Some psychoanalytical mumbo-jumbo
about split personalities would come out during his trial. He would
plead insanity.

“
Tony.” Rex’s voice was
gentle and subdued.

Tony liked his tone. He doubted anyone would
ever use that tone with him again. People didn’t talk to murderers
in that tone of voice.

“
Tony, we’re going to
shine this light on you. We need to search for fibers and trace
evidence. You okay with that?”

Tony raised his eyes to Rex. He tried
focusing on the face above him but it was too hard. His eyes burned
and his head buzzed. He needed some water, and then a big strong
cup of coffee.

Tony watched as Rex made four different
passes over his body with a high intensity flashlight. He knew
procedure. Look for trace evidence, a fiber or a hair left behind
by the suspect.

“
Rex, come look at
this.”

Tony watched as Rex and Sekorski examined
the body on his bed. They shook their heads then Rex turned back to
Tony. His face was blank and unreadable.

“
Sekorski, draw some blood
from Tony.”

“
I was just thinking the
same thing.”

Tony didn’t move. He watched as Sekorski
took a needle from his bag and pulled out four collection tubes.
Being on this end of police procedure was disturbing. Tony couldn’t
move. His body was frozen in place by fear and revulsion. His
thoughts were clouded in a haze. He questioned last night’s
activities. Rex and Sekorski buzzed around him, collecting
evidence. All the activity left him feeling empty, lost, and
confused. How had this happened?

Tony thought about his evening, but the
details were lost to him. Marissa’s apartment, headquarters to
work, then home. He had gone home to do...What?

He wasn’t a murderer. He hadn’t slept with
that girl. He would have remembered.

“
Tony, there’s a hair on
your leg. It doesn’t look like it belongs to either you or the
victim. I’m going to use this tape to get it off. If I pull out
some of your hair out, I’m sorry.”

The sting of the tape ripping out leg hairs
brought a new level of clarity. Some of the fog around his thoughts
cleared.

Water?

A bottle of opened water from his
fridge.

He’d drunk water when he first came
home.

“
Rex.” The sound of Tony’s
voice halted all activity in the room. Both Sekorski and Rex stared
at him, their eyes wide with fear, the type of fear you show when
you think the other person is crazy and it might rub off on you. “I
think I was drugged last night.”

“
What?”

“
A bottle of water in my
fridge was opened. I thought I had cracked the seal, but now I’m
not sure.”

“
Did you drink it all?”
Rex’s question was too complex. Tony fought to remember what he had
done. His mind seized, dragging him back down into a sea of
confusion.

“
I don’t
remember.”

“
Is it this bottle here on
the nightstand?” Rex asked.

“
I don’t know.”
Uncertainty swamped his thoughts. He wondered if he had the water
last night or the night before. Tony pulled his hand across his
face, smearing more blood over his skin. He clenched his fists,
then unclenched them, unsure how to gain his
equilibrium.

“
Sekorski will run an
analysis on the blood he’s collected.”

“
He needs to take some
from me,” Tony said, his words slow and sluggish on his
tongue.

“
Tony, he already
has.”

“
I don’t
remember.”

“
Hey buddy, I think you’re
on the money about being drugged. I don’t believe you offed this
girl, but I need to call in the rest of the team and Randall. You
may have to go downtown for a bit. I don’t think you’ll be held
overnight.”

“
I can’t.” Tony’s voice
was desperate as a chill swept through his body. They couldn’t book
him. He wouldn’t last an hour in jail. He and his team had
personally busted fifteen methamphetamine labs last year. Prisoners
hated him.

“
Tony, the girl is dead.
It looks similar to our suspect’s MO, but we have to get a bit
closer to ‘by the book’ to make your absolution
complete.”

“
I don’t want everyone to
know about this. Rex, what if I’m guilty?” Tony blurted. The
oppressive weight holding him in place lightened. Tony stood, his
legs felt wobbly, but he wouldn’t be railroaded into
jail.

“
I’m trying to help, but
we need to call in Janice and Michael.”

“
I didn’t do it.” Tony’s
voice rose as he became bolder. His hand searched for the wall
behind him, looking for the comfort of the cool solid
surface.

“
Tony, I believe you, but
we need evidence collected. I already have a hair shaft with the
follicle still attached. We can beat this thing.”

“
Fine, but I want to
shower first.”

“
Not until we get a
picture of you.”

“
No.” Tony’s belligerent
voice held the room still. Rex and Sekorski gave him a strange look
again. Maybe he was crazy, but he didn’t murder the
girl.

Photos of him covered in blood would be
passed around the department while junior officers laughed at him.
His hopes of a future in law enforcement would be washed away.
Unable to voice the words that would take him out of his job and
leave him the laughing stock of the Juniper Police force, Tony
nodded his head in consent.

He stood in a corner, out of the way of the
activity, and listened as Rex placed calls to Michael, Janice and
Chief Randall. There was no going back now, his career was over,
and he was going to jail. Even if he ran now, how far could he get?
Maybe a few miles, possibly out of town, but he would never leave
the state of Texas. They would hunt him down and fry his ass.

Randall arrived first, his face set in a
scowl, head shaking as he surveyed the scene. Pity. That’s what
Tony saw. Chief Randall had to know Tony’s career was over. Nothing
he could do or say would keep him on the force. There would always
be rumors, innuendo, and little gossip sessions where the pictures
would come out time and time again. Tony wanted to yell, but he
didn’t. Like an obedient child, he stood out of the way, waiting
for the damaging pictures to be taken.

Janice showed up next. Tony watched as she
walked into the room. Her first look at the body made her step
back. Visibly shaken, Janice turned away from the bed and placed
her camera case on the floor. When she sought Tony out, she averted
her eyes, unable to make contact. She snapped shots without a
word.

“
I’m done.” Her eyes
searched for Rex. She turned away from Tony as quick as she could
with no words of encouragement. He was guilty in her eyes and
nothing would change her mind.

Tony moved towards the bathroom. Randall
followed and waved Rex over. Both of them converged on Tony,
crowding the already small bathroom.

“
Tony, I need your badge
and your gun.” Randall’s calm voice soothed Tony. There would be no
arguments. Tony was off the force.

“
The dresser. Top drawer,”
Tony answered, his voice flat with defeat.

“
This is just a
technicality, but you are suspended from the police force until
further notice.”

“
I figured as much.”
Tony’s voice was scratchy to his own ears. He sounded years older,
like an old man at the end of his life.

“
Also, as soon as you are
done in here, Rex will take you down to the station to be
booked.”

He was being booked. Everything in him
wanted to rant against the chief. He was being railroaded into
jail. He should have run. Tony wanted to slam his fist into the
wall, but his energy was on short circuit this morning, leaving him
drained and incapable of abusing the wall in anger. “I didn’t do
it,” Tony said weakly, knowing his words didn’t matter anymore.

“
The evidence will tell us
the entire story, just keep quiet until then.”

“
Damn it, Randall, I
didn’t murder that girl. I may be a fool, but I’m not a murderer.”
Tony’s voice echoed in the small bathroom. The chief turned to
leave, his face red with anger.

“
Tony, I’ll try to get the
district attorney to set a low bail, but I wouldn’t bet on it,” the
Chief said as he walked out of the bathroom, shutting the door
behind him.

“
Do you have a name for
the girl?” Tony asked in the wake of the chief’s anger.

“
Yeah, Latisha Enzer. We
found her purse on the floor beside your bed.”

Tony lifted his gaze and stared at Rex. He
wondered if he had already made his decision. Did Rex think he was
guilty? Tony wanted to know if Rex was in his corner or if it was
Tony against the world. He’d played that part before and could do
it again.

His life at the boys’ home was thrust to the
front of his mind. He’d had no allies, no one to turn to and no one
to hold him when he cried. He had learned to be tough, never giving
in to his feelings. Now, he would have to pull the lesson out
again. Prison was rough, but prison for a cop was certain death.
Tony rolled his shoulders forward, defeat echoing in his mind. If
he survived this, he would leave Juniper and never look back.

“
Tony, I believe you, man.
I don’t know how, but we’ll find the evidence we need to get you
out. Sekorski has already taken the bags of evidence to his office.
He’s keeping a tight lock on them. No more disappearing acts. He’s
doing a rush on your blood to see if you were drugged. Buddy, trust
me.”

Tears welled in Tony’s eyes. Before Rex
could see, he swiped them away with his arm. He hated crying. He
didn’t cry often. Ashley’s funeral was the last time he remembered
tears falling. He felt strange. His entire body was messed up, like
he couldn’t control any emotions or thoughts. He wouldn’t give in.
He would be strong and show them what a rock he was. Tony turned
away from Rex and pulled off his shirt, flinging it against the
back wall. He tugged at his shorts and let them fall to the floor.
The blood cracked on the fabric, flecking as it hit the ground.

“
Tony, I--“

“
Just let me shower in
peace.”

“
Wait,” Rex hissed. His
hands shot up, touching Tony’s back. He flinched at the unwanted
contact.

“
Damn it. Just let me take
a shower.”

“
Crap.”

“
What is it?” Tony
barked.

“
There’s something on your
back.”

“
What do you mean?” Tony
twisted his neck, trying to look. It was no use. He couldn’t see
what Rex was talking about.

“
Stay here and don’t get
in the shower.”

Rex left the room and returned with Janice.
Tony instinctively reached down to cover his privates.
Embarrassment rushed through him. ‘Get used to it. You’re going to
prison,’ his mind yelled.

“
Rex, what the hell is she
doing in here?”

“
She’s taking the
pictures,” Rex replied, his voice unwavering.

“
The blood’s dried.”
Janice’s voice was cold as she snapped shot after shot.

“
I’m going to get a
sample,” Rex said as he walked out the door.

Tony’s back was to Janice as her camera
clicked and whirred. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air. Tony
closed his eyes, wishing he could disappear. No one on the force,
other than his best friend Rex, had seen him naked. He hated the
feeling of being totally exposed. Memories of living in different
boys’ homes across the country ripped through his body, and he
shuddered. He didn’t want to remember being beaten with a bar of
soap in a pillowcase, but there it was, pulled into his active
stream of consciousness instead of staying hidden in the past.