by Noelle Hart
He stared blankly.
“A man who raises his fist to a woman can easily do so to a child. You don't even recognize your inner beast or try to control it. I won't have this child subjected to that.” She paused and reigned in her own anger. “I don't want to go the legal route, but if I have to get a restraining order I will. If you continue to harass me in any way, I'll have you arrested. That won't look good with the boys in the accounting firm, will it? Never mind your father. My suggestion? Get some counseling.”
Her juice arrived and she gulped it down in three swallows, then rose to her feet, tossed a few bills on the table. “That's it. All I have to say. Good bye, Drew.”
His face infusing with pink, he pleaded, “At least let me hug you one last time.”
She held up a hand. “Not a chance.”
The muscle in his jaw worked furiously. With narrowed eyes he watched her march out the pub's front door. It swung open enough to reveal a Jeep at the curb with a man at the wheel.
The same guy from the park, the one with the kid.
So it was like that, was it.
Drew slugged down the rest of his drink and gruffly ordered another. Scotch, neat. He liked the way it burned all the way down, how it warmed his belly and softened the too rough edges of his mind.
Briefly he thought about his last relationship, another that had ended before it truly began. Trudy Milhone. She'd been a man magnet with her curvaceous body and wild mane of curly black hair. Not classy like Kylie, certainly not wife material, but attractive nonetheless. She'd wanted to sleep with him from the get-go and their first time in bed had been their last as she too had told him to stay away from her afterward. All he'd done was slap her around a little, in jest, in fun. Okay, the thing with the knife had been going overboard, but he'd only meant to scare her minimally, to enhance their experience. He never would have actually stuck her with it. Although she probably deserved it.
He'd let her go, just like the redhead and the brunette before her. When he'd spotted Kylie she'd reminded him of his mother, a woman he could mold to his specific needs. Apparently he'd been wrong. Too bad she'd turned out to be such a wimp. That slap had been nothing, a mere reaction of his wrist to a frustrating situation.
Sucking back another scotch, Drew's eyes closed as he recalled the bright red of Kylie's skin when he'd struck her. The fear, doe-like, those slanted eyes going wild with it. It gave him a hard on that pulsed against his trousers as desire filled him, desire to crush, to maim, to inflict pain.
The waitress was standing before him with a wary look when he opened his eyes. “Everything okay here?” she asked.
He smiled, his whole face morphing into something irresistible. “Perfect. Check, please.”
* * * *
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“You bitch!”
Jolene clamped her lips tight before she really got started. Damn it all, Lillian McFarley had her arms coiled around Lyle's neck. Thankfully for him he extracted himself and pushed her away. Lillian slowly turned to Jolene.
“What did you call me?”
Her expression foul, wordlessly Jolene wheeled her bike into the back room. Lillian followed her in while Kim and Lyle exchanged raised eyebrows. This was going to be good.
“Jolene's gonna go ape-shit every time a woman looks sideways at you,” commented Kim.
“Lillian did more than look. It's justified.”
Kim sent him a side-long glance. “Could it be that Lyle Morris, bachelor extraordinaire, is about to get snared?”
“I told you my views on that. They haven't changed.”
“Sometimes things change without us noticing. Suddenly you're on the opposite side of the fence.”
“Now you sound like Jolene. She's been hinting at marriage and babies and houses. Hell, I'm breaking out in a rash.”
“Yeah, but maybe she's scratching that rash good, huh?”
Lyle grinned. “Like it's never been scratched before, my friend.”
“A high five to that. Should we go in there and referee?”
“Nah. Let those two cat it out themselves.”
In the back room Jolene and Lillian faced off.
“Lyle and I are dating,” Jolene spit out. “We're together. That means hands off.”
Lillian had her own ideas. “I don't see a ring on your finger. Lyle's an attractive man. It should be up to him to decide if he wants a little variety.”
Jolene was mad enough to risk it. “Then let's go ask him right now.” And heaven help him, if he didn't stand up for her like she thought he should then maybe she was barking up the wrong tree. Studly as he was. She moved toward the door.
“Wait,” said Lillian. Not having signed a work contract with Will Delaney, she needed Jolene on her side. Pouring it on, “I'm sorry. I deserved to be called a bitch. I'd probably do the same if things were reversed.”
Jolene's glare was icy cold. “What were you doing anyway?”
“I wanted to thank him for helping me get through the rest of the shift on my own last night, that's all. There were a few shaky moments and he coached me through them. I'd like for us to be friends Jolene. After all, we'll be working together, won't we?”
Not if I can help it. She wasn't buying Lillian's apology but at least it was on the table. She'd give Lillian her recommendation and strongly suggest she be contracted for the new location in Langford. Then she'd be rid of her.
“Yeah, sure,” she mumbled. “Tonight you shadow me. That means you hover in the background and listen and learn. If you think you're ready, I'll let you take one table on your own.”
Lillian nodded. “If I do well enough, will you tell Will that I'm ready to be contracted?”
“Yet to be seen. You'll need to wear this apron and tie your hair up. The fewer stray hairs the better.”
Later that night lying in Lyle's arms Jolene asked, “Are we exclusive?”
Lyle grunted, half asleep. “What do you mean?”
“It's self explanatory.”
He knew where this had come from. “This is about Lillian.” He looked into her troubled eyes. “Let's clarify. As long as we're together I won't see anyone else, and I expect the same from you. Sound fair?”
“Fair enough. Lillian's a schemer. She wants you and I have a feeling today was only her first act.”
“Jolene, when Lillian made her play I felt nothing. Nada. Not an iota of attraction. Why? Because all I can think about is you. You fill my dreams and my every waking moment. That's going to have to be enough for now, okay?”
His words warmed her all the way to her toes. “Okay. But I'm a little quicker on the uptake than you. I love you. I'm not afraid to say it either.”
He searched her eyes. “What makes you so sure you love me?”
“I see how you handle things, how you love Dino so much. How you have a way of defusing chaotic situations with a calm word or a simple look. You're like this... gentle giant. I know you'll make a great Dad some day and an even better husband. You're exactly what I've been looking for. I hope that doesn't scare you off.”
“It did. Not so much now.”
She let out a long breath. “Love is a two way street.”
“Doesn't work otherwise.” He shifted, spooning her and murmuring in her ear. “The idea of marriage scares me, but you don't. Let's sleep on this. We can talk in the morning over coffee and eggs Florentine.”
Jolene sighed at the incredible bonus of having a man in her life who ruled the kitchen. She drifted into sleep.
*
Drew had a buzz on, big time.
He sat in his car gazing at the entry to the Village Diner. Kylie's roommate had worked the evening shift and he could see two shadowy shapes still moving around inside. It was time to pay the interfering bitch back for nattering in Kylie's ear all that nonsense about rights and restraining orders.
It was all jumbled up in his head. Kylie, the baby, her roommate. How women could be such cock teases.
This would be his de
but, his coming out.
He took a pull from the bottle of scotch in his lap and felt it lay a sizzling path through his bloodstream.
Need clawed at his thoughts, stark, compelling, absolute and undeniable. Something at the back of his brain pulsed, illuminated, then died, the darkness obliterating all reason. Tunnel vision swept all else aside as his breathing quickened. This was real, it was happening! He sucked in quick gulps of air and gave in to his lust.
The lights inside the diner went dim and the front door opened.
Jolene came out. It was her, right? Her hair looked darker tied up like that but the body type matched the general impression he'd gotten that day in the grocery store.
She was walking briskly. It was later than usual, the streets all but deserted. He started the motor and slowly pulled away from the curb.
Drew drove past her three blocks and parked his car around the corner on a side street. From his glove compartment he extracted a pair of thick gardening gloves he'd confiscated from his mother's garden tool basket. He'd spent hours doctoring the gloves, attaching heavy strips of metal onto the fingers and across the knuckles. Getting out, he backtracked to the main drag and went into a long, narrow entryway, climbed onto the window ledge, and using his gloved hand, broke the halogen light bulb in its housing. The trap set, he crouched in his now pitch black hidey-hole.
How apt that it be the entry to Lambert Hardware, he snickered to himself, anticipation crawling up his spine and into his festering mind.
*
Rita Lambert was singing along with the early morning radio as she pulled into the alley behind the hardware store and tucked her vehicle into the covered niche they'd built to serve as garage. Today it was her turn to open and give Joe a chance to sleep in.
She let herself in to the back room and flipped the light switches. Humming the song from the radio she busied herself prepping the cash register and powering up the computer and credit card machines. Done, she made her way to the front of the store.
Their locale had large windows up front displaying a number of their best selling garden and power tools. The entrance was inset between the windows, and pulling a ring of keys from her pocket, Rita opened the front door.
What lay in the entryway jolted her into horrified silence as a scream formed at the back of her throat and lodged there like a jawbreaker, cutting off her air as shock waves kicked in.
*
Kylie ran into her parent's store and straight into her mother's arms. Rita clung and quietly sobbed onto Kylie's shoulder.
“That poor girl.” Rita sniffed, her racing heart calming under the steady soothing hand that Kylie ran over her back. “Who would do such a thing?”
The two police officers dispatched by emergency services had created a parameter, cordoning off the entrance to the store with yellow tape while awaiting the arrival of the city coroner. Homicide and forensics units were on their way as well.
Living close by, Kylie had made it there in record time, beating out her father who was on his way in from Gordon Head where he and Rita lived.
Despite the early hour, outside on the sidewalk a small crowd began to form, everyone straining to catch a glimpse of the victim. The body still lay where Rita had discovered it, jammed up against the door frame and lying in a fetal position.
There was a commotion out front as the homicide team arrived. Wearing protective shoe covers and gloves they carefully examined the body and the surrounding area, and finally the head detective came inside the store and approached Rita and Kylie.
A large, muscular man, bald but making up for it with a thick black mustache, his take-charge bearing commanded instant respect. His dark, soulful eyes were a deceiving front for a shrewd mind.
“Mrs. Lambert? I'm Detective Sargent Ethan Crane. I'm part of IHIT, a supplement of the R.C.M.P. Stands for Integrated Homicide Investigative Team. I understand you found the body this morning upon opening. I'd like to ask you some questions if I may. Would you like to take a seat somewhere?”
Rita nodded while Kylie brought two stools out from behind the counter to join the one already there. All three perched.
“And you are...?” he asked Kylie.
“I'm Kylie Lambert, her daughter. I live close by so I came as soon as Mom called.”
“Alright.” He produced a pocket size electronic tablet and began punching in data as they spoke. “Mrs. Lambert, I'd like you to walk me through the steps it took for you to discover the body. No detail is too small to leave out.”
Rita took a deep breath, then dove in.
“You haven't actually looked at the victim?” he asked when she finished.
Rita shook her head violently. “I got a general impression that it's a female. All I saw was the blood. That was enough for me. I got right on the phone, called 911. The operator sent the ambulance and police. The paramedics confirmed she's... deceased. Why aren't they taking the body away?”
“This is a crime scene and there are procedures. Forensics will do their job, then the coroner's office will remove the body. It is a woman, but her face isn't recognizable. Once we have an I.D. on her I'll bring around a photo, see if it's anyone you know or have seen.”
Joe Lambert rushed in from the back entrance and hugged his girls. Releasing them, he turned to the detective and introduced himself.
“This is a social community of small businesses,” said Joe. “A murder here is unthinkable.”
“Mr. Lambert, would you be up to taking a look at her, see if you know her? There's no purse, no wallet, nothing to indicate at this point who she is. I must warn you, it's not a pretty picture.”
In the doorway a member of the forensics team was taking photos, flash popping to illuminate the lurid scene in the dim morning light. Kylie watched as her father bent over the figure. He shuddered, shook his head negatively and shifted his weight giving Kylie a clear look at the bloody pile of flesh. A shock of recognition zinged through her and she cried out in alarm.
Both Detective Crane and Joe looked up sharply.
A wave of dizziness had Kylie reeling as slowly she moved toward the body, then squatted beside her, pity replacing horror.
She'd been severely beaten, her face a pulp of raw flesh, eyes swollen shut, nose crushed. Her hair, once long and jaunty, was now a tangled mass. Bruises lined her arms and legs as they lay at odd angles.
And there, on her ankle, a small cupid tattoo. It was what Kylie remembered about her from Will's barbeque.
Detective Crane crouched beside her. His tone was gentle. “Who is this, Miss Lambert?”
“Lillian... something. Not sure of her last name. She's been in training with my roommate at the Village Diner a few blocks away.” A new wave of dizziness washed over her. If this was random, it could just as well have been Jolene or one of the other waitresses.
“The Village Diner,” said Detective Crane as he helped Kylie to her feet. “I know the place. Had dinner there the other night with the missus. You're sure now, about this being her?”
Kylie pointed at the tattoo. “It's not every day you see a cupid tattoo on someone's ankle. It's a pretty good bet that this is her.”
*
Will and Lyle sat in the office above the diner, having just spoken with Detective Ethan Crane. Will had supplied him with Lillian's work application form which gave enough information for him to locate her family and officially identify her.
Absently petting Dino, Lyle suggested, “Let's have a staff meeting, get a buddy system going so none of our workers leave alone.”
“Already thought of it.”
“What kind of sick bastard...”
“Don't go there.”
There was a brief knock on the door, then Kim stepped in. “Hey Chief, Lyle. What's the story?”
They filled him in.
Kim's eyes welled. “Besides me, she was last to leave here last night. She wanted to talk so I let her. Mostly stuff about wanting to fit in. She might have been a flirt but she sure didn't d
eserve that. You think the sicko who did this was one of our customers?”
Lyle stared out the window at the street with its cherry tree meridian. Shoppers bustled, going about their business. It seemed other-worldly to him that this kind of thing would happen on their turf.
“Could be she was an easy target walking to the bus stop,” he murmured, remembering Jolene's objection to taking a bus home from the Langford location. What if it had been her? The thought of it set his jaw in a painful clench. “Jolene goes home that way every night. I'll take her home on the nights she doesn't come with me.”
“Good,” said Will. “That leaves Eileen, Cameron and Millie.”
“Cameron's husband picks her up and Millie gets a ride with them,” supplied Kim. “I'll take Eileen home myself. She'll just have to wait a bit longer 'til I'm ready to leave, that's all.”
Will rose. “Perfect. Now let's go tell them.”
Downstairs the women were huddled around a pot of coffee. Will took charge. “Ladies, I asked you all to come in early today because I have some sad and somewhat terrifying news. I'll cut to the chase. Lillian, our trainee, has been murdered. She was beaten to death last night in the doorway of Lambert Hardware just a few blocks away.”
Everyone was stunned.
“Lambert Hardware?” sputtered Jolene. “So that's where Kylie rushed off to this morning.”
“It has a long, narrow entryway. Whoever did this broke the light bulb and when she walked by he either lured or dragged her in and assaulted her.”
“Isn't the Village patrolled by police at night?” asked Millie.
“Yes, but they basically do a loop, so the bastard struck in between. I don't want anyone here taking chances. No one goes home on their own. Agreed?”
Everyone nodded with numb looks on their faces.
