Murder Stalks (17 page)

Tony sighed heavily and Janice paused, no
longer clicking pictures of his naked backside. The silence was
almost unbearable. He wanted to curl up on the floor and pretend no
one else was there, but her scratchy voice, filled with emotion,
drew him to the present. “I’m sorry I doubted you.”

“
What does that mean?”
Tony spat out.

“
There’s an ‘L’ carved on
your back.”

“
What?” Tony stilled. The
fog parted further, and his brain kicked into motion. This was
proof he had been set up. He wasn’t guilty and he could go back to
work. Elation bubbled through his thoughts, leaving him feeling
woozy and light headed. He wouldn’t be kicked off the force, his
life would eventually return to normal.

The door opened. Rex and the chief piled
into the small bathroom. The space was crowded. The air conditioner
vent couldn’t overcome the raw heat from four bodies pressed into
the small room. Sweat dripped down Tony’s face. He let it run over
his eyes, not bothering to wipe it away. Janice was still in the
room, and now they were pressed close, too close for him to uncover
his privates and wipe away the annoying perspiration. Tony cleared
his throat, hoping Janice would leave the tiny room.

“
Turn around, let me get a
look at this,” Randall commanded. His fingers pushed at Tony’s
back. The pain from the wound pinched at Tony’s nerves as the chief
probed.

“
Chief, I don’t think Tony
did this. The ‘L’ proves he’s innocent.”

“
It doesn’t prove
anything,” the chief growled.

Tony turned, rounding on the chief, his
elation melting away with each word the chief had spoken.

“
It doesn’t prove
anything?” Tony demanded. “How the hell do you think it got
there?”

“
Detective Santos, you are
out of line.”

“
Excuse me for not staying
in my place, but I am not guilty. The ‘L’ etched on my back proves
it. There’s another girl out there who’s been murdered. We have to
find her. We need to gather as many clues as possible from the
murder scene and catch this guy before he does it
again.”

“
What do you mean there’s
another girl out there? Did you kill someone else too?”

“
No, damn it. Don’t you
understand?” Tony moved his hands, bringing them up to add emphasis
to his words, not caring that he was totally exposed to everyone in
the room. “If there’s an ‘L’ then there has to be an
‘H’.”

“
Rex, make him shower and
book him.” The chief opened the door and walked out of the
bathroom. Tony grabbed a towel and followed, not wanting him to
leave without hearing the facts.

“
Randall, this is a
vindictive killer.”

“
Santos, you are out of
line,” Randall roared.

“
Damn right I’m out of
line, and you’re railroading me into jail when you have evidence
supporting my claim that I didn’t kill this girl.”

“
You’ve got nothing other
than an ‘L’ carved on your back. For all we know, you did it
yourself.”

“
I didn’t do it. How the
hell could I carve it on my own back? Don’t you know what he’s
spelling out?”

“
What are you talking
about?” Randall asked.

“
Each victim has had a
letter. The first girl, Angela Longfellow, had an ‘A’. Kelsey had
an ‘S’ and now I have an ‘L’.”

“
What the hell dose A-S-L
spell?”

“
He isn’t spelling A-S-L.
He’s spelling out Ashley.”

A hush fell over the room. Everyone had
loved Ashley. She had touched everyone in this room, making them
laugh at her antics. Her vibrant spirit had moved them all. Once
you met her, you loved her. Even the most miserable and hardboiled
cop had a place in his heart for Ashley. The entire department had
grieved when she died.

“
Tony, her death was an
accident,” Randall countered, his voice lowered with
pity.

“
We never looked beyond
the animal marks.”

“
What do you mean?”
Randall asked.

“
No toxicology was run.
Sekorski didn’t do a full. He, and everybody else, had been
devastated. We rushed her to burial.”

“
You think someone killed
her?” Randall questioned.

“
This suspect of ours,
he’s left three letters on our victims. I think there’s a fourth
girl out there. She was killed like the last few. I don’t know why
he brought one to my house. Maybe it was to render me unable to
defend myself. I don’t know.”

“
Rex, get Tony into the
shower and bring him to headquarters.” The chief turned away,
walking down the hall away from Tony.

“
Haven’t you heard what
I’m saying?” Tony’s voice was strained with emotion. He couldn’t
afford to be off the force right now. They needed him to help look
for this killer.

“
Santos, I’ve heard you.
We aren’t going to book you at this time, but you are still on
leave.”

“
No, you can’t do this to
me,” Tony yelled. His head pounded and his eyes stung. He wanted to
go back to sleep, to find some peace, but he couldn’t let Randall
kick him off the force. No matter how bad he looked or felt they
needed him to help solve this thing.

“
You either take what I’m
offering or resign right now. This is too personal for you. We need
clear heads, not grieving fathers. Rex, you’re the lead
now.”

Rex put his hand on Tony’s arm and led him
back to the bathroom. Rex stood outside the door and let him shower
in private. He was no longer a suspect, and they didn’t have to
watch him like a hawk, but Tony hated even this intrusion. Pain
shot through his back and down his legs when shampoo foam dripped
onto the ‘L’ carved on his shoulder blade. Wincing, he held onto
the wall for support until the worst of the pain passed.

He scrubbed his body twice, trying to wash
away all of the blood, but he was unable to clean the scent of
death from his nostrils. It clung to the membranes in his nasal
passages, making him wish he had problems detecting smells.

With his shower finished, he dressed in
clothes Rex had deposited on the toilet lid. Before he slipped on
his shirt, he had Rex cover the oozing wound on his back with a pad
of gauze. Later, he would go to the doctor to get stitches if he
needed any. His clothes were casual, jeans and a t-shirt, not his
usual attire for going to the police station. Then again, there was
nothing usual about this trip. He was on leave.

The strange feeling followed him to the
station. He stepped out of Rex’s H3 and the first wave of flashes
caught him by surprise.

Someone had alerted the media. Their
suspect, most likely. Tony had little doubt the newspaper’s caption
would read ‘Local Serial Killer Caught’.

Marissa. He had to talk to Marissa.

Chapter 14

Ally’s eyes adjusted to
the muted darkness. The room was strange, unfamiliar. She rolled
over, eyeing the curtains covering the tall window. Light seeped
around the edge of the fabric, illuminating the room enough for her
to make out a large dresser and a nightstand. A sheet of paper
propped against the bedside lamp caught her attention. Ally grabbed
it, holding it close. She read aloud, savoring the words.
‘
Thanks for the most wonderful night,
Michael
.’

Groaning, she rolled over and stood. Her
legs shook with each step. Now she remembered. He’d given her a
beer. She shouldn’t have taken it. The pounding in her head
increased with each movement.

Ally made her way to the bathroom, turned
the cold faucet on and drank. They had come back to his place
around nine to talk. She wasn’t experienced, but she wasn’t stupid.
Talking meant sex. She’d wanted it. Her one failed attempt at sex
with a man had ended with a broken nose--not hers--and months of
ridicule heaped upon her. How could she have known his nose would
shatter? He shouldn’t have asked her to suck his thing.

Michael had been different, so loving and
sweet. When he had come to her house the other night, he had kissed
her only once, letting her know he wasn’t going to push her into
sex. Last night he didn’t question her when she said ‘no’ to
blowing him.

Ally rolled her shoulders and caught her
reflection in the mirror. She looked satisfied. Michael had known
what he was doing. He had spent time kneading her muscled back,
working his hands like magic, getting her to relax. At one point,
he had kissed almost every inch of her. His tongue had done amazing
things to her breasts and between her legs. After he finished
exploring her body with his mouth, his strong arms held her as they
rocked back and forth, the powerful rhythm overtaking both of them,
sending them over the edge.

He fed her strawberries dipped in chocolate
and drizzled champagne over her body, lapping it up with his
tongue. The memory of orgasm after orgasm sent a shiver down her
spine. She had passed out at some point from exhaustion. The
thought made her laugh. Today she was paying for it.

Ally showered and dressed quickly. Her first
appointment for the day was in an hour. She paused in the kitchen,
leaning her head against the cool refrigerator. The stupor from her
hangover made her movements slow and sluggish. No more drinks for
her. She wanted to stretch her stamina even further and see if she
could outlast Michael.

Whistling, Ally left the apartment and
locked up with the key she found on the kitchen countertop. Michael
had written another note telling her to keep the key. He wanted to
see her again, not tonight though. He needed one day of rest so he
could keep up with her. Another laugh escaped her lips. She had a
boyfriend and the key to his apartment. No one could claim she was
a bizarre weirdo now. She was a normal girl, not some freak who
couldn’t get a man.

The elation carried her through her first
two appointments. Both women commented on how happy she seemed.
Ally kept her newfound status a secret. She didn’t want to divulge
everything at once.

Marissa came in smiling and waved to Ally.
Her spirits lifted. She could tell Marissa about Michael,
maybe.

****

Ally pushed hard, forcing Marissa to go
beyond what she thought she could endure. By the end of the hour
she felt like her body had been brutalized.

“
You may want to soak in a
tub tonight,” Ally said.

“
Yeah, I think I will. You
seem fairly chipper today.”

“
I have a
secret.”

“
Let me guess, it has
something to do with a man.”

“
How did you know?” Ally
asked.

“
It’s obvious. I’ve been
there myself.”

“
I don’t know. It’s
strange, I’ve never...” Ally shook her head. “We’re done for the
day. Why don’t you go take a shower and I’ll see you next
time?”

What had Ally been about to say? She liked
her trainer, but something was off. She paused to pick up her towel
and water bottle. The televisions above the stationary bikes
reflected in the mirror. Her husband’s picture flashed on the
screen. Maybe a break in the case and then they could work on their
relationship.

She turned and read the ticker at the bottom
of the screen. Her knees weakened and she stumbled forward, bracing
herself on the back of a recumbent bike.

“
Marissa, you
okay?”

“
I’m fine. I just...I have
to go.”

Her fingers shook as she pulled her jeans on
over her workout shorts. A dead body. They’d found a dead body and
thought Tony killed the poor woman. “Damn it, where are my stupid
keys?” She emptied her purse on the bench and fished her keys out
of the mess. She scraped everything into her gym bag. She’d fix it
later. Her feet didn’t stop until she slid into her car. Why was
she running to Tony now? She knew why and the answer sobered her.
It didn’t matter that they had split. She had to see him.

The streets were a blur.
‘
Not Tony, not Tony
,’ ran through her mind as she raced through the small city
at breakneck speeds. She threw the car into park and bolted towards
the station. She’d always come here with Tony, not for him.
‘
Damn it, he couldn’t have killed
her
.’

Two reporters conferred over notes in the
front of the lobby. Marissa ducked her head and approached the
receptionist. “I need to see Tony.”

The receptionist looked over where the
reporters were camped out and picked up the phone. Marissa glanced
over her shoulder. The reporters weren’t paying any attention to
her.

The receptionist hung up and nodded. “Don’t
sit by them. They’re sharks waiting to devour you.”

“
Thanks.” She waited at
the other end of the lobby. Would they take her back to see Tony or
would they bring him out here? She glanced nervously at the
reporters. They still hadn’t noticed her.

Rex opened the security
door. His face was drawn and grim. Her heart fell. Rex was always
jovial. Grim meant something bad had happened. She slumped back
against the wall. ‘
No, not
Tony
,’ sung in her thoughts again as Rex
came towards her. A single tear slid down her cheek. Marissa used a
shaky hand to swipe at it. She wouldn’t let the reporters see her
cry.

“
I need to see him,”
Marissa whispered as she grabbed Rex’s shirt, pulling him
close.