Shattered Puppet (Rag Doll) (2 page)

Carter didn’t want to have to do it this way, but getting out of trouble was more important than some girl. He didn’t have much choice and would have to take things in a different direction. He was hoping it wasn’t necessary.

He timed it just right
; it was hardly an accident. His neighbor came down the hallway, her heels in her hand, just like he expected. Carter opened his door with his briefcase in hand. “Oh, hi. I’m sorry about last night. Truly; I was out of line.”

“What part of leave me alone don’t you understand
? I don’t want you knocking at my door, showing up on my corner, and I don’t want to have dinner with you. If you bother me again, I’ll complain to the front desk that you’re harassing me and have your ass thrown out of here.” This guy was getting on her last nerve.

“Right. I actually wanted to apologize. I guess you didn’t pick up on that part.”
He tried not to be offended, but let’s face it, she wasn’t hearing it.

Cree rolled her eyes. Fumbling with her key, she slipped it in the door. She had nothing left to say.
This guy was a royal pain in the ass.

A knock came at the door. She could ignore it, but why bother
? He’d just knock again. She rolled her eyes and answered the door. “What now?”

“I’
m sorry. I didn’t want it to be like this.” He started with an apology.

“Like what?”
Confused, she had no idea what he was talking about.

His hand came up fast,
clasping over her mouth before she could scream, and wrapping her in his arm. He pulled her inside and quickly closed the door. His heart pounded in his ears as the adrenaline kicked in.

Cree’s eyes sprang open wide
as panic coursed through her veins. Through muffled yells, her teeth gnashed at his palm…it didn’t help.

“Shh, I’m not going to hurt you.
” He tried to talk her down. “We need to talk. You need to listen to me.” He hated that it had to be this way. It could have been so much easier.

Fear danced in her eyes.
What did he want? Who was he?

“Don’t panic. I mean it, I won’t hurt you, but we need to talk. I’m going to take my hand away.
Do not scream. I promise,” he said as he stared into her eyes, “I’m not going to hurt you.” Carter took a deep breath and slowly pulled his hand back.

Cree’s heart
beat faster than her body wanted to keep up with. Her breathing was hard, but more than anything, she noticed the change in his eyes. They went from endearing to scary. They were hard, laced with anger and frustration. He said he wouldn’t hurt her, but she couldn’t take any chances.

The second he lifted his hand
away from her mouth she screamed bloody murder. Carter shot his hand back to her mouth as he tried to stop any damage. “You’re going to be difficult, great.” He muttered under his breath. “I’m here to help. I can’t help if you don’t cooperate.” Shit. This isn’t going like he expected. It’s not like he expected her to be great with the idea of him breaking in and holding her like this, but at least she could work with him. He told her he wouldn’t hurt her.

Whatever help he was offering, she wanted no part of. This didn’t feel like help.
Cree tried to kick him and twisted to try to unravel from his hold. He held her tight. She wasn’t able to get any leverage to break free.

He talked slowly. “I can’t help you if
you scream. Do you understand? You’re okay. I’m not going to hurt you. Do you understand that? Tell me you understand by nodding.”

She nodded, watching his face.
Her nerves stood on edge.

“I’m taking my hand off again. If you scream, it’s going to get ugly. I don’t want that okay? I’m not going to touch you, hurt you, or assault you. You simply need to talk to
me; it has to do with your friend. I just need information. That’s all, information.” Slowly he removed his hand.

Cree caught her breath.
After calming herself the best she was able, she muttered, “I don’t have any friends.”

“Listen, can I let go of you? We need to sit and talk. I’m an investigator. I don’t want anything out of you but information. I don’t have time to fool around.”
He’d grown frustrated. He thought this would be easy. Foolish mistake.

“You couldn’t just come out and say that?” She glared at him. “I have nothing to say and I don’t have any friends.”
Why the hell did he grab her if he just wanted information? Why not just say, I need to talk to you about something? It felt off. Something didn’t feel right.

“She goes by Crystal. I need to find her.”
He said, exhausted from the situation.

“Crystal?” Cree couldn’t hide the shock in her voice. She clammed up. “I can’t help you.”

“I was told you could.” He watched her eyes.

Cree watched his eyes, looking for clues. “By who?”

“That’s not important.” He needed to keep control of the conversation.

“I can’t help you.” No way would she rat out one of her only friends. Screw that. He could ask somebody else.

“This is urgent.” Carter sighed. “If she’s your friend, you’ll talk.”

“Who are you working for?” Cree turned her head, looking at the door. If she ran for the door, she could get out.
He might catch her in the hallway, but maybe somebody would see and get help. How did he find her? What did he know about her? She obviously couldn’t stay here anymore. Her overpass was always a safe spot. She should have never left it. It was going to be hard to adjust to living outside again. He’d outrun her, she was sure of it. She’d simply shut down and say nothing. He’d get tired of waiting for her to talk.

“I can’t say.”
He bluffed, though not really. It’s not like he’d tell her anyway.

“And I don’t know anything. I think we’re done here.” She bit her lip, chewing it, trying not to show fear. She didn’t trust him.

He sighed. “Listen, she’s the key to an important case. She’s in danger. I’m in a race with a bad guy, and I need to get to her first.” He wanted to bang his head on the wall. Why did they always make it look so easy on television?

“How do I know you’re not the bad guy?”
She said, eyeing him sideways.

“I’m not.”
He huffed, growing more frustrated.

“Oh, and I should take you at your word?”
I don’t trust you, buddy
.

Carter shook his head. “If you care about this girl, if she’s your friend at all, you’ll tell me. If they get a hold of her, you won’t see her again.”
He threw in that last bit out of desperation.

Cree’s hand shot up to her mouth. She couldn’t hide the gasp.

“We’re about to crack open a big drug bust. She’s a key witness. They want her gone. She was talking and then she disappeared. We need to find her to keep her safe. You could be the person that helps me find her before someone else does.”

“If you’re who you say you are
you’d have a badge. Cops have badges. And you wouldn’t have grabbed me like that.” Something still didn’t feel right. Her gut was throwing up red flags. Working on the street she’d had more than a few run-ins with cops.

Carter sighed. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his wallet. “I’m a
n undercover detective. I’m working with the task force.” Flashing his badge, Cree relaxed a little. Badges usually left her uneasy, but at least she knew he wasn’t here to hurt her.
Wait a minute
…she’d seen plenty of badges. That wasn’t right.

“You’re not a cop,” she said,
calling his bluff. “What do you want from me? Are you going to hurt me? Will you hurt Crystal?” Anxiety started to course through her veins at the reality that something was seriously wrong here.

Carter shook his head. “I don’t work for the locals. This is a big case. You can either trust me, or someone much worse may come looking for you for clues. Word got out that you knew this Crystal girl.”
Would she buy it?

“If that’s true, why didn’t they just show up on my corner? I’m not buying your game.” She grew more confident by the moment.
If she acted tough, maybe he’d back down some.

Carter
groaned. “Fine, I’m a private investigator. I don’t work for the task force. I need to find the girl, okay?” This girl was impossible!

“I don’t trust you. You need to leave
, and leave now!” She’d had enough. She tried to find the courage to push him out, but he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Not until we finish talking and we’re not done yet.”
He was firm on that point. He wasn’t going anywhere.

Cree paced. “I’m no rat.”
What is with this guy? First he says one thing, then another? What does he want from Crystal, and why is he so desperate to find her?

“Crystal is in trouble, okay? There are some bad people looking for her. She took off with money
and some drugs…and she called a friend of mine desperate for help. I need to find her before they do. I’m going to help her, but I can’t if you don’t tell me where to find her.”

“If she wanted help so badly, why didn’t she tell her friend where she was?”
Cree was growing more brazen with her questions. This guy was a wannabe. He didn’t know what he was doing. Her fear started to back down.

“You’re impossible. Do you want to help your friend or don’t you?” Carter ran his hands through his hair. “I’ve got a job to do. If you’re not going to help, you’re wasting my time.”

“Umm, you broke into my room, strong armed me, and demanded answers. I’m wasting your time? What’s in it for you?”

“A pay day, okay? This is what I do. I find people.”
Of all the people in the world he had to deal with, he had to meet this girl. She was hardly the help he’d hoped for.

“Well, if this is your method, it’s not working very well, is it. Now if you’d be so kind as to leave.” Her tone bit at him.

“We’re not done here.” He stood firm.

C
ree dropped onto a chair. “What do you want from me? I don’t know where she is. And we’re not even that close. She wouldn’t tell me where she is.”

“When was the last time you saw her?”
If he could find even a shred of a detail, it might help locate her.

“Not since she overdosed, and maybe a few weeks before that.”
Cree thought for a minute, but the words were out before she could stop them. The truth is that she saw her right before she moved in here, just about two months ago. “You’re not very good at this are you?”

“What do you mean by that?”
His guard went up.

“You don’t lie well. I’ve been out on the streets for years. You’re still soft.”
Now she’d take control. This was nonsense. It was time for this guy to leave.

“What makes you say that?”
He was offended. He thought he was handling himself well enough. Well, at least until she made a mess of things. If she’d just answer his questions, it would have been easier.

“Well, if you can’t even get information from a hooker…” she trailed off. “You know how they work, right?”

“You want me to pay you for the information?” Unbelievable! She wants me to pay her?

“Maybe you’re smarter than I thought. You’re catching on. Now, if you were truly a cop, I’d have to give up that information freely, but you’re not. And for the record, I’d find a better badge. That phony
one you have doesn’t pass the muster.”

“Hey, I paid good money for it…”
He was embarrassed he even tried it. He bought in on the internet, but figured even if he had to flash it that it would be a quick thing and look legitimate. He figured she’d naturally be afraid of cops.

“
How is that working out for you?” She couldn’t hide the snap of sarcasm in her voice.

“Look, do you know where she is or don’t you?
I’m not going to pay you for bad information.”

“How much is it worth to you?”
She liked where the conversation was going. Now she was leading and he was chasing her for the information, willing to pay good money for it.

“
Forget it.” Carter had had enough. “I’ll find her myself.”

“
Good luck.” She laughed at him as he turned to walk away.

“Dinner. I’ll buy you dinner.”
He spun back around to watch her reaction.

“Dinner? That’s how you’ll pay me? You think I’m some cheap date? Cash is my preferred method of transaction.”
What a moron. He thinks he can buy me dinner and I’ll sell out my friend? This guy is a piece of work.

“You’re a real peach,” he snapped sarcastically.

Cree shrugged. “Looks like the tables have turned.”

“Listen,” Carter sat. “I need to find the girl. It’s important, okay. She’s in too deep and I can help her get out. If she’s your friend…”
He tried another method, maybe softening her would work.

“She is my friend. Well as much as you can be friends on the street. It’s hard to trust people.”
She almost felt bad for the guy. He was really bad at this.