Murder Stalks (19 page)

For the first time, exhaustion filled his
body. He needed sleep. That was a new feeling. New feelings were
coming around a lot this week. He felt weakened, yet joyful.

He had called Latisha and woken her from a
deep sleep. The stupid bitch had agreed to meet him at one. Never
did she question the odd time or why he wouldn’t come get her. She
walked downtown, and he picked her up in an alleyway. Didn’t she
know not to meet with strangers at night?

The killer groaned as latent excitement
pulsed through his body. Last night had been absolutely amazing.
The highest high achieved. Latisha had been so innocent. Her
virginal blood flowed between her legs, not letting him down.

He’d kept her blindfolded the entire time.
After their first little interlude at his place, he’d told her they
were going somewhere magical. She had willingly agreed to keep
wearing the blindfold.

Once at Tony’s, he had her shower, washing
any trace evidence from her body. Then, when she was done washing,
he struck. Her screams had to be muffled. He had hated that. He
wanted to hear her words, laugh at her pleas for help. In his mind,
he had made up words for her to say. He’d gone over the edge.

And the best part was Tony had been right
there to witness it all. Of course, he never stirred. Drugged and
asleep, he missed the show.

Soon, Tony would know he was nothing. No one
loved the great Tony Santos and no one needed him. The Juniper
police department didn’t need him, and soon Marissa wouldn’t need
him either.

The waiting game had paid off. Answering one
of his most basic prayers, Marissa had kicked Tony out again. All
of the setup work had been worth it. Glee filled his heart. He
loved his life. Tony had been taken down once more.

Chapter 16

The rata-tat-tat of a truck grinding its
engine brake woke Tony from a sound sleep. He reached out and
checked his bed. Empty. Relief washed over him. One dead body was
enough.

He threw his pillow across the motel room
and it landed against the door with a soft thud. Ripping off the
covers, he launched himself out of bed and showered quickly. He
drove downtown, parking two blocks from headquarters. Tony walked
to the back door and slid his badge through the reader. The lock
clicked and he was in. No one had bothered to cancel his access or
take his card.

He moved quickly to the back conference
room, picking up a file folder on the case. He checked the computer
for new reports and saw that Sekorski had written up the autopsy
for Latisha Enzer. Rex’s voice echoed down the hall. He was near.
The team was assembling early this morning.

Tony’s heart quickened and sweat formed on
his brow. He was trapped. Hiding under the table was out of the
question. Then he remembered the storage closet at the back of the
room. He ducked into the small space and pulled the door closed
behind him just seconds before he heard the door to the conference
room open.

The sound of Rex’s voice carried into the
closet. Tony found a stool and leaned against it, making as little
noise as possible.

“
I received the DNA
analysis from Sekorski on the hair strand found on Tony yesterday.
It was mine. I guess I cross-contaminated the scene when I arrived.
So now we have one less piece of key evidence to go on.” Rex’s
words didn’t surprise Tony. He doubted the suspect would leave much
behind.

“
Excuse me,” Janice
interrupted. “Did Sekorski give any indication whether or not the
hair had blood on it? I thought...well, I mean it looked like it
was in the blood smears.”

“
I thought the same thing,
but Sekorski said it must have fallen on Tony when I first
arrived.”

Tony’s memory was sketchy from yesterday,
but he could have sworn the hair had been encased in dried blood.
If the blood was dried then Rex had to have been there when the
murder took place. Could Rex have done this? How could Rex, the man
who stood up with him at his wedding, the godfather they had chosen
for Ashley, the man he trusted as his partner, be their killer?
Tony shook off the thought and thumbed through the file.

All of the fingerprints found in his house
were from the investigative team. The drugs in Tony’s system were
the only real lead. If Tony had been drugged then it would have
been impossible for him to have preformed the acts committed on
this woman.

Tony sat in the back storage room and read
through the reports as Rex, Michael, and Janice developed a plan of
attack. The report detailed the sick manner in which Latisha Enzer
had been raped and murdered. Possible forced penetration with a
long cylindrical device not found at the scene. Possible forced
penetration by suspect, condom most likely used since there was no
seminal fluid found in the vagina.

Something had been shoved into her mouth
repeatedly, tearing the skin around her lips. There was no semen or
residual fluid found on or in the victim. Pinch marks covered her
breasts and buttocks. The instrument used was akin to a roach clip.
This ran against the profile he, Rex, and Jackson Spade had built.
They didn’t think the killer was a drug user, too precise and clean
to mess with it.

Next the report detailed how the suspect had
fashioned a garrote with one of Tony’s ties--his favorite one--and
strangled his victim. Tony hated the next part. The hands had been
cut off post mortem. Janice had made a note about the victim
scratching the suspect. Tony touched his cheeks and neck. No
scratches.

Had Latisha been a willing partner for most
of the night? Then at some point things turned ugly and she fought
back. Or had she fought all the way to Tony’s house, forcing her
will to live on the suspect and leaving evidence of the fight under
her nails?

Tony paused as the team listed off the
victims’ names. Angela Longfellow, Kelsey Ingles and Latisha Enzer.
All three women were young, attractive and loved by someone. Tony
felt grief well up in him. Somewhere, there was a woman marked with
an ‘H’, just waiting to be found. Damn it, he should be part of the
team, not some bozo hiding in the closet.

He would work on this case without their
knowing. Somehow, he’d get the material and sift through it,
looking for anything that pointed to the real killer.

Tony heard Rex’s voice change. He was
winding down the meeting, preparing the team to go out and catch
this sicko.

“
I wanted to say I agree
totally with the chief’s decision to ask Tony to leave the
department. However, I know Tony is innocent. Please don’t contact
him, or talk to him if he contacts you. I want him free, and I
don't want our case compromised.”

Michael and Janice said nothing. Tony
guessed their silence was agreement on their part. No one wanted to
associate with a cop who found a dead body in his bed. Who cares
that he had nothing to do with her death? Circumstantial evidence
weighed against him. The whispers and gossip mill would be filled
with innuendo and compromising tales by this afternoon.

The team filed out, leaving the conference
room empty. Being at the police station was dangerous, but he
needed to gather a few more items before sneaking out. He’d take
what he needed then come back tonight if he missed anything. He
crept out of the closet, double-checking the room. He sighed and
slumped his shoulders forward. Yesterday he had authority here.
Today he was breaking in and sneaking around.

His cell phone vibrated and he jumped. It
was Marissa. Tony drew in a deep breath before he tapped the green
button, connecting her call.

“
Tony, I don’t want you to
come by again and please don’t call.” Marissa’s voice was sharp and
the words cut through Tony like a knife. First work, now Marissa.
Would life ever get back to normal?

“
What?” Tony said in a
hushed voice. “Where are you?”

“
I’m at the
apartment.”

“
Don’t leave. I’ll be
there in an hour and we can talk over some pizza.”

“
No. We don’t need to
talk.”

The phone disconnected and Tony stared at
the far wall, wondering what had gotten into his wife. Could she
tell him face to face to leave her alone forever?

The path out of the conference room was
blocked. Randall stood with Michael Rains at the end of the
hallway. Tony pulled the door shut. His only escape from the room
was the hall.

Seconds turned to minutes, and Tony poked
his head out again. The coast was clear. Carrying two folders, he
made a dash for the exit. Only when he was safely ensconced in his
car did his breath ease back to normal. He wiped his brow with his
shirt, and stuck the key into the ignition.

The passenger door flew open. Tony yelped
and reached for his gun. It wasn’t there.

“
Tony, not surprised to
find you here. How long were you in there?” Rex closed the door and
inclined his head towards the dangling keys. “You want to start
this thing?”

Tony turned the engine over and directed a
vent towards his face. Rex was a close friend, yet he was still a
cop. With a nervous jerk, Tony reached out and grabbed the file
folders he’d taken from headquarters. “I was going to return
them.”

“
I know, but I can’t let
you take anything from the police station.”

“
Damn it, Rex. I should
still be working this case. I’m innocent and I know what’s going
on.”

“
And I don’t? Wait, don’t
answer that,” Rex spat out, shaking his head, leaving Tony
wondering what was up. “You can’t take the files with you. You know
that. But I could use some help evaluating the
evidence.”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
You know, I sometimes
make extra copies of important information. I think some of those
copies could find their way into your possession. But you can’t act
on any information you find.”

“
What?”

“
We would be breaking
every rule in the book,” Rex said.

“
That’s rare. I think I
need to make a note in my diary about this. It’s amazing. One day
in the lead position and you’re already starting to sound like the
brass at HQ.”

“
Enough, you can rag me
about this later. Now be a nice cop on administrative leave and
give me the files.”

“
You’re making a mistake.”
Tony clutched the files tighter.

“
Let me make it then. I
want you back on the force, and if Randall found out you broke in
to steal files, he would be livid.”

“
So, don’t tell him,” Tony
replied, holding the folders against his chest.

“
It’s not going to work
that way. I’ll make copies, but you can’t have the
folders.”

“
I need those copies
tonight.”

Rex nodded. “I’ll run them by your
house.”

“
That won’t work. I’m
staying at the Beach Combers Motel. Room one forty six.”

“
I’ll be there at nine.”
Rex jerked the files out of Tony’s hands.

“
Don’t be
late.”

Tony watched as Rex walked to his Hummer and
drove off. The last four hours had been a waste.

****

“
Stupid, stupid, stupid.”
The killer watched in disgust. Detective Tony Santos was a pig. He
couldn’t believe the bastard had broken into police headquarters.
It was only by accident that he’d seen Tony’s car. Rage washed over
him, drenching him in sweat and making him feel dirty.

The great detective was out of a job.
Hopefully the stress would take its toll soon and send Tony into a
downward spiral.

A deep chuckle escaped his throat. Tony
fired from his job. This news was rewarding. He had worked at
destroying Tony’s world, and was happy to see he was making
progress.

He was satisfied after Latisha. Arisa Fink
had been somewhat less satisfying. She was a whore, but she was
fulfilling her role. She hadn’t been chosen because of his
attraction to her. No, it was the location of her house and her
name. It would take the police days to find her body, and when they
did, he wondered if they would recognize her death as one of his
projects.

Really, they weren’t that different, he and
the great detective. Except the killer had a plan and Tony was
still flailing in the wind, hoping something he did would work
out.

It was time to up the ante, Tony needed to
lose big. The killer hadn’t planned to wait, hadn’t planned to
prolong the agony, but now he could. He would make Tony wonder. The
game was just getting good.

Chapter 17

Tony stuffed a wad of french fries into his
mouth. He chewed, savoring the salty taste. Normally he ate salads
and grilled chicken, but there was nothing normal about his life
right now. He needed the comfort of feeling full no matter how many
inches this would add to his waist. If he kept this up, swimming
wouldn’t be enough to keep the weight off. He would have to jog
too.

A knock pulled him out of his thoughts. He
checked the peephole. Rex stood on the other side of the door,
holding a small case file in his hands.

“
Tony, you need something
to eat?” Rex yelled.

Tony cracked the door open, checking if Rex
had come alone. “No.”

“
Wow, I smell fast food.
Tony Santos eating a cheap burger and fries?”

“
It’s the stress. Tell me
you’ve brought more than one folder?”

“
I’ve got more copies
coming, but it will be tomorrow.”

“
Damn it, I need more to
clear my name.” Tony turned and kicked at a chair. It knocked into
the table and a few fries bounced to the floor.