Urban Renewal (Urban Elite Book 1) (12 page)

Jack

I fucking hate fingerprint dust. Shit gets everywhere and is nearly impossible to get rid of completely. After an hour spent cussing a blue streak as I wipe down my car and help Max with hers, I insisted that she follow me back to the compound so we could park her car and she could ride with me. This case is hard for seasoned cops, it’s most certainly hard for a kid who’s just starting out.

“Where are we headed?” she asks as she jumps in the car.

“To talk to Lady Luck and see if she’s heard from her friend. Are you okay?”

“I’m not going to say I’m not freaked out about finding a fucking ear in my car and knowing that it was put there by a batshit crazy serial killer – but, hey, I knew what I was signing on for. The way I see it, if you can’t stand the heat…”

“Max, I understand you’ve put on your big girl panties, and I respect that. But if this is more than you bargained for, I can set you up to still do the crime blog but not go to the crime scenes…”

“Oh, hell no. You asked me a question and I’ll always answer you honestly.” She looks at me before she continues, as if she’s debating what to say next. “Don’t make it where you’re so overprotective that I have to think twice about what to say to you. Oh, and on another note, please don’t tell my dad about the sick shit we’re seeing.”

“You really need to work on your language. Don’t you want people to see you as a lady?”

She rolls her eyes as her phone starts to ring. Of course I listen in as she answers it.

“Dr. Chambers, hi. I’ve been meaning to call you. Oh, that’s right…Liam. Dinner? Tonight?”
She chuckles.

“Well, I’m flattered, but to be honest I’m not a country club kind of girl. No offense, Doc. Okay, looking forward to it. Merlot’s, downtown. Yeah, that sounds great.” She ends the call and turns her attention back to me.

“A date with a doctor,” I say, impressed. “Where did you meet this guy?”

“I met him in a coffee shop while I was there meeting with my old professor.”

I want to probe but I have to be careful. This girl isn’t my woman, she’s my employee. There’s a big difference there. I’m hoping she’ll keep talking to give me a feel for this guy so I don’t say anything wrong.

“I wanted my professor’s take on the serial killer contacting me. He’s always encouraged his students to do whatever it takes to get the story—you know, other than crossing moral boundaries we’ve set for ourselves. Anyway, ironically enough, a friend of his was in the coffee shop and he just happens to be an orthopedic surgeon. I asked him if I could ask him some questions sometime. I’d like to get his thoughts on the technical side of what we’re seeing in this case.”

“And he opted for a country club, that’s pretty high class. So is this a date?” She looks at me as if I’m crazy.

“First off, we agreed on Merlot’s downtown. Second, he’s not my type, Jack—too booshie for me.”

“Booshie?”

“Yeah, you know, bourgeois. Snooty. Too highfalutin’.”

“Perhaps it’s a case of opposites attract. I can’t see not giving someone a chance just because they’re of a different social status.”

“You would think that because you’re booshie.”

My laughter fills the car, this girl is too much. I have to admit, I really do like her.

“Max, quick update. I’ve got a hacker coming in soon. A guy who specializes in cyber technology – in particular, hacking into computer systems and rooting out people who try to hide behind their online identities. This guy can get into places that most people wouldn’t even know about. The dark web is one fucked up place, and this guy knows his way around it.” I start laughing and just can’t resist adding, “I bet he’s booshie.”

Her face is grim as she crosses her arms and retorts, “I can’t work with booshie.”

I take my eyes off the road just long enough to give her a no-nonsense glare and the carefree atmosphere in the car disappears. “You’ll work with whoever I pair you with—we’re a team. This guy’s been referred to me personally by Cash, if that tells you anything. He’s consulted with Undercover Elite and Cash is basically loaning him out to us during Urban Elite’s initial startup. Anyway, it’s not like you’re going to be paired up with him as a partner, Max.”

“Why do you have to bring a bunch of suits in? Isn’t that what you’re trying to get away from?”

I can hear the insecurity in her voice, like she thinks she’s going to be tossed to the side if she doesn’t measure up. That isn’t how I operate.

She doesn’t give me time to answer as she continues, “I don’t work well with people like that, they always look down on me, like I’m young and I don’t know anything.”

“Listen, I’m never going to allow anyone to come in and treat you like you’re beneath them. The members of this team will work together and respect each other or they’re out. Non-negotiable.”

I think my answer seems to have satisfied her. She just needs reassurance and I have no problem giving it to her, because I understand where she’s coming from.

“Why do you call me kiddo all the time?”

“I call you
kiddo
because I look at you like you’re my daughter—the daughter I don’t have yet. Now back to the guy I’m bringing in. It boils down to having people who can work together and get the job done. I also need employees who can keep their mouths shut. The fact that this guy comes to us with Cash’s seal of approval is all I need to know, but he’ll be expected to sign a confidentiality agreement the same way you did. There’s no favoritism at Urban Elite. You don’t have to worry about being put on the back burner because he’s a suit—I hire and I fire.”

“Ha, ha, our killer’s rubbing off on you, you made a rhyme: hire, fire. Too funny,” she chortles. I shake my head as she slaps her knee, laughing at her own lame joke. “And, by the way, don’t worry about your threats of hiring and firing, Mr. Boss Man. I doubt he has anything you can use against him if he’s some rich ass suit. People like that rule the world and we mere mortals are expected to bow down to their oversized egos.”

“Max, don’t you see that you’re doing the same thing to the
suits
, as you call them? You immediately decide the doctor you’re going to dinner with isn’t your type because he’s in a different social status. You haven’t even met the guy Cash is sending over and you’ve already decided he’s going to be an egotistical ass. Look, kiddo, I’ll be the first to admit I can be an alpha ass when it comes to running this outfit, but it’s who I am and I make no apologies for it because I’m also the guy who will be here for the team when the chips are down. I don’t run some freewheelin’-Franklin establishment. I’m dealing with young professionals who need guidance to steer them in the right direction so their overzealous natures don’t get them killed.” I look over at her briefly and find that she’s scowling at me. Jesus, I think she’s actually…huffy. “Anyway, you’re judging people before you ever give them a chance.”

“Freewheelin’-Franklin? That’s hilarious,” she says on an exasperated sigh. “Fine. I get what you’re saying and we’re cool…even if you are an arrogant ass like the rest of the suits you’re bringing in. And you’re still booshie.”

I cut my eyes at her and she shrugs, smiling at me. Yes, Max is going to work out great. The main thing in this vision I have for training private investigators is that we come together as not just a team but more like a family, and I can feel myself getting attached to Max already. She’s easy to talk to, she’s funny, Valerie likes her (that’s a biggie), and she fits right in. Looking back, I’m glad she hounded me for a job because I couldn’t have found anyone better. The kid has definitely grown on me.

We’ve entered a pretty seedy part of town, so I slow down and keep a watchful eye on the streets. It doesn’t take long until I spot the person I’m looking for. She spotted me too, so I give her a brief nod before I pull over into a parking lot a little farther down the main drag. She struts over to the SUV, bending down to look in my window.

“That your girlfriend?” she says as she scowls skeptically. She’s studying Max as if she’s deciding whether or not she likes the idea.

“No. Officer Valerie Hathaway is my woman. This is Max, one of my employees.”

“Oh, so you’re a leg man, ‘cause Val be lookin’ all like a Barbie doll and shit. What do you mean, employee?”

“I bought the old motel on West Jefferson and she’s working there for me.”

“I get it. So you’re the
Urban Elite
I’m hearing about on the streets. You got everybody out here all worked up, putting up your big-ass fence around the place. What you doing down there in that fortress?”

“I’m training a team of private investigators.”

“You don’t say,” she purrs. “Maybe you’d like to train me.” She waggles her eyebrows at me suggestively. Lady and I have a long history and I know her well enough to know she’s joking, so I play along. But I’m hoping to give her something to think about.

“Lady Luck, darlin’, you clean up your act and get off these mean streets, and I might just do something about that.”

“Ha! I ain’t comin’ to work for you. You’re too damn bossy.”

“And booshie,” Max chimes in.

“Damn, you got that right, girl! He booshie as hell!” Lady hoots with laughter, leaning into the car to reach across me and high-five Max’s outstretched hand.

I know when I’m outnumbered.

“Hey, no tag teaming the boss!” I complain as both women continue to laugh at my expense, which is fine with me even though I would never let it show. “On a serious note, Lady, have you heard from Chineka?”

“Nah, she must still be hiding out from that sorry ass pimp of hers.” She stills when I place my hand over hers, somehow recognizing that I’m trying to soften the blow of what I’m getting ready to say.

“Lady. I think something really bad may have happened to her. I can’t say a whole lot about the details, but there’s this case I’m working on. It’s some nasty shit that’s been going down. I hope I’m wrong, darlin’, but I’ve just got a bad feeling about this.”

Lady takes a step back from the car as her eyes well with tears. “You work murders and shit like that, Jack. You tellin’ me some freak’s out here killin’ working girls? You think he got Chineka?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.” I’m not surprised that she caught my meaning so quickly; if you spend any amount of time on these streets, regardless of your purpose or profession, you gain a sixth sense. Add to that the natural intuition women seem to possess by the grace of God himself, and there isn’t a whole lot that gets past Lady or any of the working girls out here. Except Chineka, it seems.

No doubt the story of body parts being found in different areas of the city will be national news by tonight anyway, so it’s not like I’ve revealed anything that would impact the integrity of the investigation.

“I want you to be careful, Lady, even with your regulars.” The lethal look on her face sends a chill up my spine.

“I’m gonna’ tell ya straight up, Detective Jack. That motherfucker is foolish enough to come after me, it won’t be me gettin’ fileted on the coroner’s table.”

I barely hear Max mutter under her breath, “I know
that’s
right!”

This guy is already accomplishing what he wants—he’s getting into people’s heads. Serial killers feed off attention and notoriety, especially from the press. The press can do for them what no one else can—they can make killers celebrities overnight. These psychos don’t care if the public hates them. They feed off the power of knowing they’re striking fear in the hearts of the multitudes.

We all have control issues. I, of all people, know that. Being the reason why people are double-checking the locks on their doors and windows is a power trip for someone who’s already evil to the core.

Too bad for this fucker, I’m going to use it against him.