by Margaret Carter, Crystal Green, Erica Orloff, Patricia Rosemor
Not that I would actually get a tattoo.
Needles really did give me the willies. My avoidance went all the way back to my childhood, when a series of bronchial infections had made me feel like a human pincushion. Silke’d had to get me drunk before I got my ears pierced. No way would I ever consider getting a tattoo.
What felt like a heavy gaze followed me and I glanced back, expecting to see Blaise looking after me. Or Jake. But both were busy. But the feeling didn’t let up, so I craned farther and found that I had Desiree’s interest.
I was the first to look away.
I was too busy for a while serving drinks to think about the real reason I was here. As the crowd thinned, LaTonya and Thora and the attack on me filled my mind.
I didn’t know anything about Thora Nelson, and I didn’t think my sister was much better informed. She didn’t even have Thora’s phone number or address, so how close could they have been? But what I knew about LaTonya told me she was too levelheaded to get into the weird cult stuff and go off the deep end.
Unless someone had pushed her…
My attacker the night before had definitely been out of it. There were plenty of drugs that could send someone off the deep end.
Sheena had said to ask Elvin Mowry about Toni/LaTonya. I glanced at the upper deck, where he held court, a Goth girl I didn’t know seated across his lap. Suddenly he reached up and pulled her head down toward his. It looked as if he was nuzzling at her neck. Her expression was thoroughly sexual, and I wondered if they would abandon all propriety and have at it right there in front of everyone.
I felt a surge of disgust and yet I couldn’t look away, kind of like when you see a multicar pile-up on the expressway. The cult leader seemed to have a grip on her neck and wasn’t letting go, as though he was sucking the life’s blood out of her….
My heartbeat quickened and my instincts went on alert.
Focusing on them alone, I casually moved toward the stairs as her lids lowered and her features went slack. What did he think he was doing? And what could I do? I couldn’t break cover just when I was getting somewhere. I looked toward Jake. Busy.
By the time I climbed the stairs, the girl had slumped over, eyes closed. And when Mowry raised his head, he quickly licked his lips.
Was that blood on them?
Then Mowry’s companion sat up and moaned.
“Oh, can we do that again, Elvie, but someplace more private?”
I stared and she eyed me with distaste. Nice.
“Another round?” I asked, trying not to sound out of breath.
“Nah, not tonight,” Mowry said, giving me a look that said I could have been the one receiving his personal attention. “We have more delicious treats on the menu.”
Goth Girl stood and flicked her hair. Her neck was red where Mowry had been sucking on her, but as far as I could tell, no blood had been exchanged.
Chagrined, I let the wanna-be vampires pass by me and then faced the table filled with discarded bottles and glasses and ashtrays filled with half-smoked cigarettes.
As I cleared the table, I became aware of the rumble of voices, words smothered by the ever present thump-thump of music. At first I tuned them out somewhat as I tuned out Silke. But then I realized the voices were raised in argument…or worse, a struggle of some sort. And one of the voices was that of a young woman.
I looked around. Nothing. Where was the argument coming from?
When I heard a muffled “Don’t!” from the woman, followed by what sounded like a body being tossed, I left the table half-cleared and went to investigate. The muted noises drew me around the end of the bar and to the door that connected the bar to the inside of the shopping mall.
Without thinking about the possible consequences, I opened the door and raced out into the mall. It was after hours so all the stores were closed and the mall was completely dark. But I heard a physical struggle to my left and saw Hung Chung pressed up against a shopfront window, his meaty arm pinning a fragile-looking woman with dark hair in tufts around her face and three earrings in one eyebrow.
Raven!
Her top was torn and Chung was groping her chest with his free hand. She was pushing at him and trying to free herself to no avail. Her expression was frightened and tears smudged her eye makeup into drippy dark pools.
“Get out!” Chung ordered me.
“I don’t think so. Raven doesn’t look like she’s enjoying your company.”
“What she wants is none of your business.”
“It is if you’re forcing yourself on her.”
“If you know what’s good for you—”
“Raven, talk to me.”
I knew from my time as a patrol cop that some women liked rough sex and if you tried to interfere, they made it rough on you. But this was clearly not a two-way affair.
“I—I just want to go,” she whispered.
My gut tightened. He was messing with her against her will. “You heard Raven. Let go of her, or—”
“Or what? You think you can take me, Silke?”
“Try me,” I said.
Chung turned his back on me and ground his mouth into Raven’s. I cursed him under my breath, then grabbed the fleshy part of his underarm and twisted. He came away from the girl with an explosion of sound and movement. I was lucky to get out of his way without being hit by one of his ham-sized fists.
“Go now!” I told Raven.
She didn’t hesitate, and as she flew by me, she croaked, “Thank you.”
“Call the police!”
She didn’t answer.
I didn’t take my eyes off Chung, who was focused and deadly-looking. Suddenly, he came at me in a frontal attack. I sidestepped, tugged at his arm to spin him around and then elbowed him in the back. He went down hard but rolled and struck out with powerful legs. I took a blow that knocked me off my feet. I landed hard on my hip, but conditioning didn’t allow me to cry out. I was so pumped, I barely felt it anyway.
Silke was freaking, though. I felt it not only in my head, but all through my body. Busy determining the security guard’s next move, I shut her out without another thought.
Chung got to his feet and I did the same, quickly reorienting myself to the bar door. I was no fool to stay in this fight any longer than necessary. It wasn’t like I could arrest the pervert without blowing my cover. I just wanted to dissuade him from further criminal behavior.
“Is this all you know how to do?” I asked. “Physically assault women?”
“You mean bitches like you?”
He came for me again and I waited until he was just close enough. I snapped out my leg and caught him at the side of the knee with my foot. His big body torqued and I followed up with a flat-handed strike to the side of his head.
He went down hard.
I knew that I’d scrambled his brains a bit and that he would be disoriented for a short while.
Enough time to get out.
I didn’t make the mistake of turning my back on Chung, though. I kept my eye on him until I was actually inside the bar. I took a moment to breathe, to let my adrenaline level even out. Then, looking for Raven, I wondered if Chung was simply a bully…a potential rapist…or a murderer.
Chapter 7
I could feel that I was the focus of attention. Jake’s. He was staring at me, and I got the weirdest feeling that he knew what had just gone on in the mall.
Which was impossible, of course.
And yet, he asked, “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” My hip was now refuting that statement, but I would live. I looked around. “Did Raven leave?”
“I saw her run into the women’s bathroom.”
I immediately headed that way, wondering if Chung’s attack on her was related to Thora’s death in any way. He was both violent and a sexual predator—both traits of LaTonya’s murderer. I wanted to know if Thora had been sexually assaulted, as well.
Inside the rest room, I heard muffled sniffling and realized Raven was in a stall. Sh
e’d left the door open. Her back was pressed to the stall and she was shaking. When she saw me she let out a sob.
“Hey, are you all right?” I asked.
She nodded. “H-he didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“I’m okay. Did you call anyone for help?”
“N-no.” She sobbed again. “I—I’m sorry. I should have told J-Jake.”
Truth be told, I was glad she hadn’t. He could suspect all he wanted, but he hadn’t seen what had gone on in that mall between Chung and me.
“You shouldn’t let Chung get away with molesting you.” I was ticked that I couldn’t arrest him myself without putting an end to my investigation from the inside. “You could have him arrested.”
“Thanks for helping me out, Silke, but he won’t try that again.”
He would—if not with her, then with some other young woman—but I didn’t want to argue. I wanted to get information from her. “Listen, about the other night—”
Raven’s eyes went wide and she looked around wildly as she lowered her voice. “Forget the other night!”
“How? Thora’s dead. You found her.” I assumed she had no clue that the body had disappeared.
“Well, maybe she wasn’t dead…I was, um, a little high. I could have imagined some of it.”
No shocker there. Yet I thought she was using drugs as an excuse, so she didn’t have to face what she’d actually seen. “What do you remember?”
Raven shrugged and had trouble meeting my gaze. She was scared, probably doubly so after being attacked tonight. That added to a good dose of guilt in my regard. Had Chung convinced her to forget what she’d seen?
“You don’t really want to forget Thora, do you?” I prodded. I could tell she was torn. Most of a detective’s work was talking to people, wearing them down until you got to the truth. “You have to remember something about how Thora looked when you found her.”
Raven shook her head.
“I know I wouldn’t forget if I saw something like that. It would haunt my dreams.” I knew I shouldn’t lead her, but I was getting desperate to make another positive connection with the first murder. “Did Thora look like she was sexually molested or anything?”
“Okay, yes…her skirt…it was up.” Raven’s voice low and frantic, pleaded, “Can we drop it now?”
Her skirt was up—the same as with LaTonya.
“You need to tell the cops what you know,” I said in Silke’s most persuasive voice.
“I—I can’t.”
“It’ll happen again. You know that. You don’t want to see anyone else hurt or killed.”
I could see Raven’s mind working—she could be that anyone else. She was staring down at her hands, which were knotted together. Fear leached off her in waves.
“Raven, please. You might have seen something that could lead to the murderer.”
“Or lead the murderer to me.”
“The police can help you.” I would see to it. I would help her myself if I had to. “They can keep you safe.”
“I—I don’t know.”
She was weakening. I could feel it. “Don’t let this happen to another girl,” I pleaded.
“I’ll think about it.”
Was she serious or brushing me off? I pulled a sheet of paper from my order pad and tore it in half. I scribbled the number to my cell and handed it to her, then gave her the other half and the pen.
“Can I least have your number? I’ll call you later, after the bar closes.”
Raven hesitated, then gave in. I wanted to tell her to give me her last name and address, but I was afraid of pushing too hard. I just prayed the number she was giving me was real. If it was, I could do a reverse directory and get her name and address from it.
“Okay, Silke,” Raven said, handing me the paper. “I’ll think about it. I’ll think about everything. I—I promise. Thanks for being a good friend.”
We headed back into the bar and had barely gotten inside when Chung entered. Having recovered faster than some would from a blow to the head, he quickly zeroed in on me and Raven and didn’t let go. I meshed gazes with him, wanting more than anything to lock him up personally…but I couldn’t.
So I was the one to look away first.
Raven quickly put herself between two of her friends, so I got back to work with a feeling of satisfaction. I thought I’d gotten to her. I would have to call her later, when she was away from the bar, and talk to her again. If I could cinch a witness willing to tell what she saw, I would make the investigation official. Then I would have the full resources of the department at my disposal. And a better shot at nailing the killer.
I was trying to think of a way to convince Raven when Desiree caught my eye and waved me over. I approached her warily. Had the security guard complained to her already?
Her dark eyes looked almost black in the low light as she gave me a piercing look. “You and Hung Chung. You don’t play together nice.”
That was certainly putting a spin on things. So did everyone in the bar know about our altercation? It happened in the mall, so I didn’t see how. Undoubtedly, she’d sensed the tension between Chung and me when he’d come back into the bar.
“He was forcing himself on someone. So I just tried to stop him. That’s it.”
Desiree slid a glance to the bar and I followed. Even though he was still on duty, Chung was nursing his wounded pride with a beer.
“A man of his nature has no control,” Desiree said. “He could have hurt you.”
“Sometimes fear isn’t a good enough reason not to do something.” I swore that made Desiree look at me with respect. “Does Chung have any kinky tricks other than force?”
Desiree’s expression turned inscrutable. “His tricks will prove ineffective.”
“Does that mean you’re going to do something about him?” Wondering if I was making a mistake in trusting the bar owner simply because she was a woman, I pushed her a little further. “I’ve been hearing weird stuff lately, like someone here at the bar has a taste for blood.”
Desiree went ashen, if that were possible. I swear her already pale skin lightened.
“Rumors,” she said. “Considering our customers, this is no surprise. But you, Silke, you prove to be quite a surprise.”
Was that a compliment? Or simply an observation that should tell me I had now raised her suspicions where I—rather, Silke—was concerned? She certainly hadn’t liked the question, and she’d brushed it off rather than really answer it.
“I don’t like seeing women get hurt,” I told her. “Especially ones I know.”
Desiree nodded as if she agreed. “Don’t worry, I shall take care of Chung,” she promised. “He won’t bother anyone here again. That includes you.”
And indeed, a short while later, I saw the bar owner in conference with the security guard. Hot anger radiated off Chung. Desiree was coldly angry.
And I got a little nervous about the whole incident. What if Chung gave Desiree a load of crap about me and she believed it? Then I would be out of here, and my investigation would be ended.
But a few minutes later, Desiree passed me with a distracted smile. So far so good. Too bad she’d avoided telling me anything of value about Chung.
Did she know something about him that she wasn’t telling?
Silke continued to worry long after Shelley had shut her out. What the heck had happened?
She hated this whole identity switch. Hated being shut out when her sister was in danger. Hated that she’d been the one to pull Shelley into this mess.
What had she been thinking?
No matter what Raven had wanted after finding Thora’s body, Silke knew she should have called 911 instead of her sister. She’d simply thought Shelley should be in on this, so she could clear her name. If only Shelley would relax and accept their psychic connection, Silke thought, picking up a book on casting spells.
She’d always been attuned to her sixth sense, something Shelley had denied ever since the time she’d gotten
her signals crossed and had mistakenly roughed up a guy Silke had been flirting with. Puberty had done weird stuff to them both, but she’d gotten past it. Shelley hadn’t. That incident had been it for her. Shelley had blamed their twin mind-meld, as she used to call it, for her hurting someone who was innocent. So while Silke learned to expand her mind and her personal power, Shelley had closed down and had never trusted that particular instinct again.
But why couldn’t her twin open up now, when her life could depend on it? Silke wondered, worry eating at her.
She set down the book and called the bar and when Jake answered, affected one of the accents she’d used on stage.
“Silke Caldwell, please,” she said, her voice ripely Southern and a little breathless.
“Who is this?”
Not a polite “Who can I tell her is calling?” but a demand that made Silke crash the receiver into its cradle. Great. Now what?
Glancing at the clock, she realized it was almost midnight. Heart of Darkness was about to close. It wouldn’t take her more than ten minutes to get there at this hour. Part of her wanted to march down to the bar to see that Shelley was all right for herself. But doing so would blow Shelley’s cover and put her in even more danger.
Calling Shelley’s cell or home phone would probably be as futile as it had been the night before when her sister hadn’t bothered with her voice mail.
There was only one thing for it. She went to her key depository—a fancy bowl on a bookshelf—and pulled out the ones to Shelley’s apartment. She would go to her sister’s place and wait for her there.
I was exhausted when I left the bar, relieved to find parking across the street from my building. Before getting out of the car, I checked my surroundings to make certain there were no nasty surprises awaiting me. All I saw were a couple of guys out with their dogs for a late-night stroll.
I hurried to my building. Tension I hadn’t even realized I was holding drained from me as I hurried up the stairs to my second-floor apartment. By the time I got to the landing, I was relaxed.
Which lasted all of a moment until I saw who had a shoulder wedged against the jamb of my apartment door. My pulse pushed against my veins like a locomotive picking up speed. I stopped dead in my tracks.
