The Wife of a Lesser Man (LA Cops Series Book 1) (14 page)

“Charlie’s had to take a leave of absence,” Mark said.

Lipkus was silent for a moment.  Then he laughed.  “I like you Tame.  Pulling him off was the best decision you made.” 

“I didn’t pull him off.  He pulled himself off.”

“Even better!”

“It’s not what you think.  His wife is dying of cancer.  I told you I’ve got it under control.”  Lipkus said nothing.

“I’ll be in touch,” Mark said.

Mark looked up, not realizing Lisa was standing at his doorway.  She gave him the thumbs up and took a few paces closer.  “Poor Madeline.  What can we do to help?” 

He shook his head.  “I don’t know.  What I do know is we gotta find that shell casing or my ass is on the line and so is Charlie’s.” 

“But what if there isn’t one?  There wasn’t one at the Reed scene?”

Mark thought for a moment.  “Is Reed’s house still vacant?” 

Lisa nodded.

“Something tells me we need to have another look.  Make sure nobody knows and I mean
nobody
.  Richard and I will comb both scenes just to be sure.  If anyone asks, we’re meeting with witnesses.” 

“You got it.”  Lisa winked and then said quietly “Should we send Madeline flowers?”

Mark rose from his chair.  “No, Charlie wanted discretion.  I’d like to respect that.”

Lisa nodded again.  Richard walked by and stuck his head in Mark’s door.

“The team’s all assembled and ready to go to the scene.” 

“Great.  You want to come with me?”  Mark motioned for him to close the door behind Lisa.

Richard leaned in.  “What’s up?”

“Big problems.  Lipkus is up my ass about the bullet.  We gotta go back to Reed’s place and have another look.” 

Richard furrowed his brows.  “What’s on your mind?  Did Charlie miss something?” 

As much as Mark was battling with Charlie’s discretion, he also wanted to maintain his good friend’s honour. 

“Charlie’s been under an unprecedented amount of strain lately and it doesn’t look like it’s getting better.”

“Is that why he left?” 

Mark nodded.  “Madeline’s got cancer.  It doesn’t look good for her.  He doesn’t want a soul to know though.  Just the three of us and that’s it and even Charlie doesn’t know about that.”

Richard’s face dropped almost to a frown.  “Jesus Christ.  No wonder Charlie’s been so out of sorts lately.  I’ve never seen him like this.  What can we do to help?” 

“Find that bullet or make damn sure there isn’t one at
both
places.” 

“You got it.”  Richard nodded.

…

“So let me make it up to you,” Sarah said.

“Na, there’s no need. I get it,” Shelley said.

“Come on, I’m here now.  Let’s go shopping.”

“Is Vera looking after the shop?” 

“Yeah, and Dan our artist is there today too, so I’m all yours,” Sarah said, opening her arms for emphasis.  It was Shelley’s early day and she had just arrived home.  Sarah was waiting in her car to surprise her.

“Okay, come on in and let me change my shoes,” Shelley said, looking down at her loafers. 

“Sure.  I’ve got my running shoes in the car.  I’ll change and meet you back.  We’ll take my car?”  Sarah said.

Shelley nodded “OK.”

“So how’s things with Mark’s diet?  Is he sticking to it?”  Sarah asked, switching the gear to drive.

“Ah.  He’s doing okay I guess.  He ate my egg salad the other night,” she admitted.

“Uh oh.”  Sarah laughed.  “Well, if that’s all he’s doing wrong then I suppose it’s forgivable right?” 

Shelley nodded.  “He’s working crazy hours again too.  So far not much has changed since the heart attack.  Well…..”

“Well what?  What else has changed?”  Sarah was looking towards Shelley as she checked the passenger side mirror to change lanes.  She peeped her head down further to judge Shelley’s facial expression.

“We still haven’t had sex,” Shelley said as though she had just told Sarah her favourite pet died.

“Oh my,” Sarah said quickly.

“Yeah.  It’s
killing
me.” 

“I bet.”  Sarah nodded.

“Have you ever considered getting yourself a little friend?”  Sarah asked as if it was a secret.

“Like what kind of little friend?  One with batteries or one that has to take me to dinner first?”  Shelley laughed.

Sarah laughed.  “Either.”  Shelley slapped her with her purse.  “Are you kidding?”

“Well you have to do something. I mean, you can’t survive like that forever. 
I
even have friends.”  Sarah pointed to herself.  Shelley thought for a moment. 

“Come on.  Let’s hit the Love Shop.” 

Shelley looked at Sarah and slowly shook her head from side to side.  “Oh…I don’t know….what would Mark say?” 

“Well, he knows he can’t get it up, right?”  Sarah said bluntly.

“Yeah, but isn’t that kind of throwing it in his face?” 

“Well my dear,
if
he ever found out about it, you
could
say you were keeping it to spice things up,
couldn’t you
?” 

“I don’t know.  Can’t we just go buy some sexy lingerie instead?”  Shelley suggested.

Sarah thought for a second.  Then relented.  “Sure, lingerie is good, too.  It sure beats that nasty thing you wear to bed now.  Do you still wear that scanky t-shirt Mark bought you for your anniversary?” 

Shelley laughed, remembering what she did the day she threw that away.  “No, that’s long gone.”

Sarah scoffed.  “Thank God.  I was going to say it’s no wonder Mark won’t do you anymore wearing
that
thing.” 

Shelley was silent but thought to herself
girl, you have no idea
.

…

“What do you like, pink or red?”  Sarah said, holding up the sluttiest looking teddy she could find in the store.

Shelley was skimming through another rack of white cashmere night dresses and looked up.  “For you or for me?”  she asked incredulously.

“Um….for you?”  Sarah answered slowly.

Shelley shook her head emphatically.  “Absolutely not.  Are those holes for your nipples?”  She asked with her hand in front of her face, like the teddy was the plague.

“Yeah, and the slit here is for your…..well….so he doesn’t have to….you know.”  Sarah’s hands were gesturing in a forward circle as if to say ‘come on.’

“Sorry, but my old shirt is sexier than
that
.”  Shelley laughed.

Suddenly Sarah lowered the teddy which revealed the surprised look on her face.  She took a step closer to Shelley and said under her breath.  “Don’t look now, but isn’t that tattoo guy walking outside?”  Her head gestured toward the store window which had a clear view of the glass elevator.

Shelley looked quickly and turned towards Sarah, so her face was away from the window.  “Yes, it is,” she said with embarrassment.

“Oh geez.  I think he’s coming in,” Sarah said.  Shelley quickly made a beeline to the change rooms.

Sarah laughed and grabbed her arm.  “I was just kidding.  He’s waiting for the elevator.” 

Shelley turned around and once again smacked Sarah with her purse.  They continued perusing the racks for a few minutes when Sarah said, “He’s still there.  Wow, is he hot or what?” 

He was standing by the elevators, keying something into his cell phone.  “I wonder if he’ll be at yoga again tonight,” Sarah said, watching him.

“Quit staring.  And it’s not like you care.  You won’t be there will you?”  Shelley asked.

“I have some incentive now,” she said seductively.

“Ha.  And your big ass wasn’t enough incentive?”

Sarah took her purse and returned the smack she received earlier.

“Okay, I’ve had enough of this place.  I can’t find anything that I’d wear in front of my husband.  This should be called ‘The Slut Shop’.  I need something more tasteful that leaves something to the imagination,” Shelley said.

“Yeah, me too.  The question is, how do we get out of here without tattoo guy seeing us?”  Sarah asked, nodding toward him.

“Well, his name is Matt, and we don’t have to hide out.  Unless he looks our way he won’t be able to tell where we came from.  Don’t be such a baby,” Shelley said, gently grabbing Sarah’s arm.

“Oooo, so you’re on a first name basis are you?”  she teased.

Shelley sighed.   “It’s no wonder you’re still single.  You’re still such a baby.  Come on.”  She tugged Sarah’s arm as they exited the store.

Matt didn’t look up and the girls passed him without notice.  “Do you want to go downstairs?  There isn’t anything else up here except the food court, kids stores and a wedding boutique.  Funny how that happened.  You can get your scanky clothes, get married and pop out a kid while you eat, in whatever order you like.” 

“Sure, the stairs are just over here.”  Shelley nodded towards a staircase that had yellow caution tape woven around it.  “Oh great.  We can either take the elevator with….
Matt
…..or walk the other way and take the other flight of stairs.” 

“We’ll head to the elevator.  If Matt’s gone we’ll take it and if he’s still there we’ll skip through to the other stairs.” 

“Hmmm…..quite the strategist.”

“Oh shut it.”  Shelley said, elbowing her.

As luck would have it, Matt was still standing by the elevator on his phone.  Just as they thought they would escape unnoticed, he looked up and smiled as they passed him.

“Good afternoon,” he said cordially and nodded to both girls.  His elbow rested on the railing that met the elevator and he leaned into it with one foot resting on the other.

Both girls said hello and he stood up tall, “Hello.” he said, addressing both girls.  “Enjoying yoga class?” 

“Very much,” Shelley answered.

“Still recovering,” Sarah said.

“The best way to recover is to keep going,” Matt said matter-of-factly.

“That’s what I told her,” Shelley said as if to say ‘I told you so.’

Sarah blushed and looked towards the elevator.

“So, will you girls be there tonight?”

“I will be,” Shelley said.

“I’ll think about it,” Sarah admitted.

The elevator door opened and Matt said to Shelley, “I’ll look forward to seeing you there.”  When he walked away he held Shelley’s gaze a moment too long. 

As he stood in the elevator waiting for the door to close he smiled at both girls and waved.

“Okay, I believe you,” Sarah said.

“Believe what?” 

“He
did
ask you out didn’t he?”

Shelley’s brows lifted.  “That’s what I told you.”  In the same tone she used moments ago.

“Girl, are you in some trouble now!” 

“Why do you say that?” 

“Did you see the way he looked at you?”  Sarah’s eyes went from the elevator back to Shelley, as though Matt was still standing there.

Shelley waved her off, “Why does that mean I’m in trouble?” 

“Well maybe not trouble, but your life is about to get much more interesting.” 

“What are you suggesting?”  Her arms folded in front of her, she took the bait.

“Well, when was the last time someone had the hots for you?”  Sarah smirked.

Shelley rolled her eyes.  “Oh my god, what is this,
high school
?  I’m a married woman, which by the way Matt knows because
I told him
.” 

Sarah was about to argue when Shelley interrupted.  “And another thing.  Y
ou
are a bad influence.”  Shelley’s finger was pointing at Sarah and she had half a smile.

Sarah walked toward the railing where the elevator was emptying below them.  She watched Matt exit the elevator.  Shelley stood beside her.  Both girls had a nice view of his behind and as such remained silent as he strolled slowly away.

Sarah sighed.  “He does have a nice tattoo.” 

Shelley nodded.  “And a
really
nice bum.”  Sarah looked at Shelley in disbelief and put her hand in front of her mouth to stifle a laugh. 

Without looking at Sarah, Shelley said, “Oh shut up.  It’s been a while.”

Chapter 12

Mark and Richard shared a patrol car on the way to Karen Reed’s house.  The weather was turbulent.  Thrashing winds and some late November flurries were beginning to pepper their way into the atmosphere.  It was cold and damp.  Both men wore their winter jackets and were comforted by the extra warmth their vests provided.  Mark kept his phone at close range on the console, awaiting a call from Lipkus.  Just as he expected, it rang, but he was relieved to see that it was Lisa transferring a call to him, therefore it would not be Lipkus without warning.  Mark greeted his caller and was pleasantly surprised to discover it was Monica Sutherland, Karen Reed’s friend.

“Good morning Chief.  I’m terribly sorry to bother you, but I just had a couple of things I wanted to tell you.  I hope it isn’t a bad time.”

“No not at all.  Although I do have you on speaker phone as I’m driving.  My partner Richard with me.  Is that okay?”  Mark looked up at Richard, who was sipping his coffee casually.

“Sure.  Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I was cleaning up my Facebook site yesterday.  I just don’t have the time to go on social media sites for personal use given I spend so much time promoting myself professionally.”

“Okay.”  Mark furrowed his brows, wondering if the conversation was relevant.

“Well, I found a picture of Karen that I’d forgotten about.  It wasn’t actually a picture I took, but I was tagged in it since it was taken at a party I threw six months ago after closing my biggest sale.” 

Mark nodded.  “Go on.”

“The picture isn’t terribly clear and Karen is not the focus of the shot.  All of my colleagues and some of my friends were there.  But when I pulled it up and had a closer look at the picture I noticed something strange.”

“I’m listening.”  Mark said, growing a little impatient.

“Well, I threw the party at my place and therefore hired all the caterers, etc.  So I knew everyone who attended.  In the picture, Karen is looking at someone I don’t recognize.  It’s a man.”

“Do you get a clear shot of the guy?”  Mark asked.

“It’s from far away, but I’m sure you guys have equipment you could use to enlarge it?”  Monica ventured.

“Yes we do.  Can you bring the picture to my office or email it?” 

“I can do both.  Um, there is one more thing.”

“Yes,” Mark said, turning into Karen Reed’s driveway.

“Her mother called me.  Expect her to be calling you any minute.  She’s mad enough to spit fire.  I just thought I’d warn you.”

…

The caution tape had been removed and the only evidence of any wrongdoing at Karen Reed’s house was the tire track residue from all the patrol cars and crime scene investigation vans that were parked all over her front lawn and driveway.  Her front lawn resembled an abandoned camp site.  There hadn’t been much rainfall since her murder and none of the marks had been removed.  Some would be permanent due to the damp fall and heavy loads on the grass.