Life Sentence

by Carolyn Arnold

  MEANWHILE BACK AT JUDGE FLANNIGAN’S office, the judge approached his clerk.

  “Did I hear you say something about Bryan? Was he here?”

  Sophie sat back in her seat and swiveled to face him. Trying to put on a solid front despite being shaken by the woman, she said, “Well, this woman was just here. She was looking for him and she was really upset when I told her he hadn’t been here. She said she was going to call the police.” She frowned at the judge, questioning what had just transpired.

  “What did this woman look like?”

  “Long blonde hair, wavy, about this length—” she held a hand to her shoulder. “Pretty woman, slender. She was really distraught.”

  The judge thought the description fit the photograph of Bryan’s fiancée. He had proudly shown it to him last week when he shared the news of the engagement. She was the only woman who Bryan had ever shown him.

  “Please notify me the moment he comes in here.”

  “Of course.”

  The clerk nodded to her superior, turning her chair back to face her computer.

  JESSICA SWUNG OPEN THE FRONT door to the police station with such force her arm didn’t release as fast as she walked through. It yanked on her arm and she winced in pain, cursing under her breath. She followed the directions of a sign above the door and went up a staircase to the main reception area.

  As she broached the top of the stairs, a cacophony of sounds assaulted her ears. People were talking, phones were ringing, fingers were clicking on keyboards and office equipment was humming. The smells were as pungent as the sound—perspiration and office supplies mingled with a hint of alcohol and vomit.

  The floor tiles were laid out in a checker pattern, worn and abused over the years. Two plain wooden benches sat in the middle of the area. To her right was an office with a window facing the front desk. On the left was a long front counter, and a larger woman was braced behind it.

  Jessica sensed eyes on her, but it wasn’t the officer at the counter. She looked around and noticed a prostitute watching her. She leaned against the far wall, her one leg bent, her other foot braced against it. The hooker blew her a kiss, smiled seductively, and winked. Jessica felt a wave of revulsion.

  The officer who had been standing at the front counter had left.

  Panic seized her and she found herself frantically looking around for another one. Beyond the counter were a series of desks and a handful of police officers. Her eyes settled on a man in his late forties, possibly early fifties. He had a warm face, a mustache, and he wore glasses. He lifted his black mug to take a drink. She kept her gaze intently on him. Maybe he would sense her watching him and come over. She needed someone to help her now. Her breathing quickened.

  “Can I help you?”

  Jessica broke her attention from the man to see the brown eyes of the woman officer. It was the woman who had been there before. Her eyes were warm and sincere.

  “My fiancé’s missing.” Relief followed the words, yet combined with fear. Somehow it made the situation real.

  “Well, are you sure? Possibly he had an appointment, or had to go somewhere and forgot to tell you?”

  The woman twiddled her pen between her index and middle finger, tapping the end of it on the desk.

  “No, I mean sure it’s possible, but…listen, I’m sure you have people tell you their loved ones are missing all the time. They show up hours or days later. But trust me he’s missing, and he’s in danger.”

  “When did you last see him?”

  “This morning.”

  “Normally there is a waiting period. In most areas anyway, but unless you know for certain or have reason to believe he’s the victim of foul play, maybe you should go home and wait for him.” The woman dropped her pen. “I mean we can fill out a report, but these aren’t actively investigated. May help, may not.” The woman kept eye contact with her, trying to impress her view on the situation. Jessica read the woman’s thoughts, another cheating bastard not man enough to break it off in person.

  “I—” Jessica took a second to find the strength to give audible birth to the words she was thinking. “I know he’s the object of foul play.”

  The woman stood there watching her, telling her, without words, to elaborate.

  “I received a phone call this morning, at his house. Well, I suppose it’s our house. Anyway, he said that Bryan was dead, or as good as. Please, you have to help me. He’s a defense attorney, and this isn’t the first threat from this guy.”

  The woman’s facial reaction tightened and paled. “Just wait here. I’ll be right back.”

  She went off in the direction of the older officer Jessica had watched moments earlier and returned with him.

  He smiled warmly at her and took the paperwork that the woman handed him.

  “I’m Detective Ted Falkowski. I understand your fiancé’s missing.”

  Jessica nodded her head and answered verbally, “He is, and I received a phone call this morning telling me he was as good as dead.” Her voice cracked speaking those words again.

  “As I’m sure Officer Hale explained there’s no guarantee by filling out this paperwork that we will find him.” Jessica nodded again. He continued, “Come with me, Miss—what is your name?” He gestured for her to walk through the opening from the front to the back.

  “Jessica Pratt.”

  The noise at his desk was more intense than it had been from the other side of the counter. It pierced the backside of her brain causing a sharp pain to surge through her head. She pressed her index finger to her temple.

  He took a seat and pointed to a chair at the end of two desks that faced each other. “Sit here.”

  The workspaces contrasted each other. The one facing Falkowski’s had paperwork heaped six inches high. His was tidy. She hoped this was an indication he took his job seriously. He needed to place urgency on this report, or Bryan would be dead.

  Jessica said, “I’m sure you hear it all the time, but I’m serious when I say it is not like Bryan to disappear. His life was threatened. Before today.”

  “Jessica, do you know where these death threats came from? Or anyone who would have a reason to hurt him?”

  “Dimitre. Bryan is a defense attorney. When he took his case, Dimitre had made it clear that losing was not an option. My apartment, it was tossed. Also the fire.”

  The officer held up his hand. “Apartment? Fire? Were any of these instances reported? It would help us in tracking things down.”

  “No reports were made, but it wouldn’t matter. You wouldn’t find anything. Dimitre is a professional. Nothing was stolen from my apartment. And the fire was ruled as a faulty fan, accidental not arson.”

  Jessica saw a glint in the man’s eyes. His eyes shifted to a point behind her and turning to follow his gaze, her eyes settled on a woman who stood talking to some others. She commanded respect from her colleagues and must have been very seasoned at her job. Her short blonde haircut gave the impression she was approachable and outgoing. Jessica had the feeling the desk that faced the male detective’s belonged to her.

  She must have sensed their eyes on her because she came over.

  Falkowski asked Jessica, “This Dimitre, would it happen to be Dimitre Petrov?”

  “Yes.”

  Jessica’s attention wasn’t on him but on the female officer.

  The woman glanced between them and rested her gaze on Jessica while directing her words to him. “Falkowski, what about Dimitre?”

  Falkowski glanced at Jessica.

  “Detective Madison Knight here was responsible for landing him on murder one. She organized all the evidence and helped build the case.”

  Jessica nodded to acknowledge the introduction.

  “Just helped build the case?” Knight smiled at the male detective. Her expression went serious when she addressed
Jessica. “I’ve been out to nail that bastard since the first run-in I had with him. It was unfortunate murder one was all we could get him on. He deserves much worse. Hopefully, we can get another case together to keep him behind bars. Shouldn’t say this, but it’s unfortunate that we don’t have the death penalty because if anyone deserved it—” She sat beside Jessica without finishing her sentence and kept her attention on her.

  Jessica was left speechless.

  “She was just telling me her fiancé is missing, and she suspects that Dimitre has something to do with it,” Falkowski said.

  “Bryan Lexan?” Detective Knight looked at Falkowski.

  What more was being said between them Jessica didn’t know, but the fact this woman came up with Bryan’s name simply based on a connection to Dimitre made her nauseous.

  Falkowski nodded. “She said she received a threatening phone call this morning, and now he’s missing.”

  The female detective directed her next comments to Jessica. “Well, his outreach is unlimited. His main men, especially dangerous. Sergey and Anatolli. They’re just as hard to get to as Dimitre. Although, we got Dimitre.” A cocky grin spread across her lips. “Let’s get a missing persons report filed and we’ll do a trace on Bryan’s call history. See if we can locate who made the call this morning and go from there. Trust you’ll take care of the paperwork?” She smiled at the male detective and walked away.

  “She has a way of always leaving me with the paperwork.” His eyes fell on the form in front of him, and he nonchalantly picked up a pen from its holder. “Okay, it will start off pretty basic and will progress in complexity so that we don’t miss anything. So the name is Bryan Lexan.” He wrote it on the paper. “His age?” He barely raised his head when he asked the question.

  “Twenty-seven.”

  The questions went on forever. Eye color, height, address, phone numbers, business information, anything they could use to try and hunt him down—assuming he was to be found.

  “Okay, now anything about him that would be unique.” He sat back in his chair. “Anything, should the result be the worst-case scenario, that could help identify him.”

  His words impacted her but not fully. The threat to Bryan’s life had been made clear, but she had not let her thoughts progress to completion before now. He could be dead. He could be dead while she sat here talking to this cop.

  Her eyes misted with tears, but she worked strongly to fend them off. It was not the time to get hysterical and emotional. Cops would see through that and it would detract from the severity of the situation.

  “Anything?” His eyes were fixed on her. Brows furrowed.

  Until he repeated himself, she never realized how lost she was in her thoughts.

  “A birthmark. He has one right here on his lower back.” She twisted in her chair and pointed to the area in the small of the back. “It’s slightly to the right.”

  “Brown or cherry?”

  “A dull brown.” She blinked hard trying to win the battle over her tears. “And he never goes anywhere without his ring. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him not wearing it.”

  “Okay, what does this ring look like?”

  Jessica’s eyes roamed around the room. It seemed like all had fallen silent despite people appearing busy. She realized only her mind had dulled the perception of noise. Her eyes came back to meet Falkowski’s.

  “It is platinum, etched on the band with scrollwork, abstract, nothing definitive. It has an oval onyx stone set in the top of it.”

  Falkowski took care in accurately recording all the details. “Good. Anything else you can think of?”

  Jessica tried to pull more details from her mind, but it went blank...completely vacant as if all her thoughts had run off with her. She shook her head.

  “Okay, then I’ll get this report entered into the database right away. Now, in the meantime, Detective Knight and I will work on tracing the call from this morning. And here’s my card if you think of anything else that might help us. Also, if you can bring us a picture of him, that would be very helpful.”

  He reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a card.

  Jessica took it from him. “I will.”

  “And the best way to reach you is first your cell phone, and if that’s unsuccessful, the Lexan residence?”

  “Actually, I’ll leave you my office number as well.”

  Jessica left the station and the entire situation was surreal as if she watched a movie in which she starred as the leading actress. She never auditioned for the part and had no desire to be involved. But unlike show business, this was her reality.

  Answering all those questions brought her headache to the foreground. Reaching to get Advil from her purse, she recalled it was at the house.

  As she pulled from the parking lot, her mind ricocheted all the events of the last few weeks—the trial, the threats, her apartment, Bryan’s business, the proposal.

  Her heart sank in her chest. The realization that she had promised to love him for her life hit her with a sadness she never expected. The man she committed herself to was in peril. There could be no way of knowing if he would ever be found and if he were, whether his heart would be beating.

  Dimitre’s men could be harming him right now and she was powerless to stop it. The thought of him enduring torture, or worse, being murdered, at this moment in time, was too much for her. He would get back safely. He had to.

  What if she had been at work today, she could have been oblivious for even longer. She likely wouldn’t begin to suspect his disappearance until the early evening.

  Entering the house, it felt cavernous and empty. How would she keep her sanity while she waited for his return?

  If he returned.

  Tears stung the corners of her eyes and ran down her cheeks. She wiped them with her fingertips. Her head pounded like a drummer keeping a rhythm.

  Rosa came down the stairs to the main sitting area. “Miss Pratt? Did you find Bryan?”

  She shook her head and directed Rosa to sit on the sofa. Jessica sat beside her.

  “I have bad news.” She licked her lips trying to steady herself and calm her nerves any bit possible before continuing. “Bryan is missing.”

  Rosa gasped loudly and placed her hand over her mouth. “Ma’am?”

  “I filed a missing persons report at the police station. They assured me they would do what they can, but it didn’t seem like that would be much.” Jessica wiped fresh tears that streamed down her cheeks. “Now, all we have to do is wait.”

  “Oh, dear.” Rosa put one hand to her chest while the other lay in her lap.

  Jessica reached over and placed her hand on the woman’s. At a time like this they needed the other to be strong. They needed to feed off each other’s resilience. They sat there on the sofa for hours while Jessica relayed every detail from the day including the passing out in the courthouse.

  Her countenance shaking by the time Jessica finished, Rosa let out a large yawn nearly encompassing her entire face. It had a contagious effect on Jessica.

  “I must try and get some rest.” Rosa maneuvered her way off the sofa. “They will find him, Miss Pratt. It will be okay, you will see.” Her lips attempted a smile, but she communicated the concern in her touch and patted Jessica’s knee. “You should try and get some sleep too,” Rosa called out from the staircase.

  Alone in the room, the silence was so deafening it reminded Jessica of her headache. Over the hours while she was talking with Rosa it had dulled. Her stomach was uneasy, but given the stress of the day it was understandable. There was a low rumble in the pit of it signaling her that she hadn’t eaten anything. Letting out a huge sigh, she went to the kitchen.

  Her soul was void as if it had been raped and stolen from her. In a way, it had. Bryan figured into her future and had become her everything.

  As th
ose words struck her, she knew she let things go too far. It had been confirmed.

  She had become attached to him not long after junior prom, and even though the years separated them, she knew they belonged together. She had fallen with more than reason and logic—her heart had taken a dive off the board. To love a man with that much dimension, that level of intensity only begged for the winds of fortune to change direction. And now they had.

  Suddenly, feeling so intensely alone she glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed it was just after midnight. She needed someone to talk to. She was pathetic. Rosa’s spot on the couch would not even have cooled and she pined for companionship. This must be the long road to hell.

  She picked up the phone and dialed Nella. Her best friend had a right to know everything.

  After four rings, her call was answered. The weight bearing down on Jessica eased its pressure. “Nella, it’s—”

  “Hey there, I’m out living life. Sing your tune at the beep.”

  Jessica left a brief message for her friend to call and hung up the phone. As quickly as her hunger alerted her to the need for food, it had disappeared. She rubbed her stomach unsure if anything would stay down if she ate anyway. She opted for stretching out on the white sofa and possibly getting some sleep. Maybe if the gods realized how desperately she needed Bryan in her life, they would give him back to her...maybe.

  -

  Chapter 20

  A HAND, ROUGH AND CALLOUSED like a man’s, caressed Jessica’s cheek.

  “Jessica.” It was a man’s voice.

  Being simply too exhausted, she couldn’t find the strength to speak. She conjured only a low moan from the base of her throat.

  “I love you, you know.” His words were warm and soothing to her.

  She closed her eyes tighter and managed to open her lips to speak. “Love you.”

  She sensed him kneel on the floor beside her and lean in closer to her. The warmth of his breath blanketed her face just before he took her lips in a hungry kiss. She found herself responding. It made her yearn for more. She opened her eyes seductively only to realize Mason was kissing her.