by Ponzo, Gary
“Don’t mess with me, pal.”
“Don’t mess with me, pal,” Simon continued, but this time, he added a lisp and pushed timidly away with his hand. I nearly burst out in laughter, but kept it together. Time to separate the children. I waved my hand between them, breaking the staring contest. “Both of you cool it right now!”
Simon took another bite of the chocolate. He still had Kang in his sights.
“Simon!” I said loudly. “Pay attention to me, okay?”
He shifted his eyes off of Kang and onto me.
“You see that large heart down there?” I asked, pointing toward Union Square. “Did you see anyone messing with it last night or early this morning?”
Simon looked down the street, and his eyes went vacant. I thought I had lost him, but then his beady gaze found me again.
“Someone vandalized it,” I continued. “We’re looking for a woman.” I held out my phone so he could see the picture of our mystery woman. “Did you see her, Simon?”
He squinted again, slowing his chews as he concentrated on the picture. “I saw her.”
“Where, Simon? By the heart?”
He shook his head. “I saw her the other day. Over there,” he said, pointing across the street to a diner.
“You saw her go inside?”
“No, she stood near the building, peeking around the corner. Then she got on the number two bus.”
“You remember the time?”
“It was near sunset. I don’t know exactly when.”
“You did a good job, Simon. Thank you for your help.”
He held out his hand and rubbed his thumb and index finger together and, for the first time, cracked a smile. Surprisingly, he had all his teeth.
“I see everything that goes on around here. I got me a photogenic memory. That’s why they call me Simon Says.”
I took a twenty out of my wallet and handed it to him. “Well, Simon Says, do me a favor; don’t spend that on booze.”
“How about breakfast? My treat,” he said with a wink as he waved the bill back at me.
I smiled. “I’m on duty. I’ll have to take a rain check.”
As we walked away, Kang mentioned that the buses were equipped with cameras. “If we can locate the bus she boarded, we’ll know what stop she exited at.”
“Good call. I’ll get Agent Tucker started on that.”
“So, uh, does every man you meet ask you out?” Kang asked, with a chuckle.
“Of course not,” I said, putting my cell phone up to my ear. “You haven’t.”
Chapter 38
When I got to the office, I received a text from Tucker. He had identified the buses on the route that afternoon and was working on securing footage from the surveillance systems. We were making progress. Keep squeezing, Abby.
Back at my desk, I closed my eyes. I could feel the beginnings of a headache percolating and I wanted to head it off before it gained traction. I dug into my desk drawer, and removed a bottle of aspirin and shook two into my hand. I must have been dehydrated, because in the break room, I gulped down water like a dog after a Sunday run in the park. I need to get more sleep, I told myself, but really, I knew sleep wasn’t the culprit. It was the case.
I returned to my desk determined. I picked up the photo of my mystery woman and stared at her. It may be slow and hard, but we’re getting closer to finding you. My gut had that tingling feeling—the one I get right before I turn the corner on an investigation. I knew if we kept on closing down the angles, we’d find our way. The question was, would we find her before she struck again?
I had a feeling she wasn’t done yet, that she believed she had more work to do. A body in Fay Park, one near Pier 39, another in Muir Woods and now a fourth in Union Square. All these locations were popular attractions in the city. Did she have a grudge with San Francisco? Was she wronged in the past and this was her payback? What’s driving you?
The other thought that had snuck its way in to my head was the abrupt change in Kang’s demeanor. I had sensed earlier in the morning that he had doubts about the investigation and how it was being handled. I won’t apologize for making my case my priority, but I did believe Piper’s killer was responsible for Kang’s previous victims and the owner of the heart.
Kang had seemed like a straight-up guy from the beginning. Sure, I gave him a hard time, but I could see that he was one of the good ones, someone who believed in police work and did the right thing. I also had the impression that he liked me, and we worked well together. I appreciated having a partner instead of flying solo.
But still, why the attitude? It had come out of nowhere. It’s not like he was an a-hole from the beginning. I genuinely felt I could count on Kang to work with me and not against me—unlike so many men I had encountered in the past. I had to hope he would continue to trust me.
I sent Tucker a text, asking for an update. While I waited for a reply, I headed to the break room again, this time for some hot water. I passed a slew of empty desks—a lot of agents were still out in the field. Some days, the office is a madhouse, and others, it’s a ghost town. I wonder what everyone is working on.
I removed a pinch of tea from my canister and dropped it into a mug filled with hot water. I watched the water turn color as the leaves settled on the bottom. I placed a napkin over the top of the cup to keep the heat in so it could steep and took a seat at one of the tables. A few seconds later, my phone beeped. The text from Tucker read, “Still looking.”
I thought more about our mystery woman between sips. It seemed so strange for a woman to be this violent. Removing a heart? That was serious stuff, not something I’d expect from a female killer. A man? Yes. To get at the heart, one has to actually pry the chest apart. I’m not saying a woman couldn’t be as vicious or possess the physicality needed to do the job. I’ve seen them chop people into pieces like their male counterparts, but they always had a partner in those crimes. Did my mystery woman have a partner?
Just then, Reilly entered the break room. He didn’t see me, as I was tucked away in the corner. I watched him head straight for the soda machine and feed a dollar bill into the slot. A beat later, a Pepsi rolled out the bottom. It wasn’t until he turned around, bottle pressed against his lips, that he noticed me. “Abby. I didn’t see you there.”
“I’m small.”
He took another sip as he walked over to my table and sat.
“You know that will rot your teeth.”
“Yeah, that’s what I hear,” he said before taking yet another powerful gulp. “How’s the Cotton Candy case coming along?” he asked as he swallowed the burn in his throat.
“Slow and hard.”
He nodded. “The partnership with those detectives working out okay?”
“Sokolov was put on another case. It’s just Kang and I. We’re working well together and making progress.”
“Good to hear. Let me know when you get a break in the case.”
He pushed back from the table and stood. I watched him tilt his head back and guzzle as he exited the room.
I finished the rest of my tea and stood up to return to my desk when my phone notified me of an email from Green. He said the heart belonged to a young male, fairly healthy, no obvious signs of disease or substance abuse. From the deterioration of the tissue, he approximated that the heart had been out of the body for about ten, maybe eleven hours by the time it was reported to the police at six thirty in the morning. I copied and pasted that part of the email and sent it to Tucker and Kang, leaving the other half of Green’s message for my eyes only.
He wrote that he enjoyed our coffee date. I had to admit, I’d had a pretty good time. He asked if we could meet again, maybe for lunch or even dinner. At first, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to make it lunch, let alone dinner, but then I realized I had spent the same amount of time with him at a coffee shop and it had been fine.
Deep down inside, I knew Green had a crush on me. I didn’t want to lead him on, but I did enjoy our conversati
on and wouldn’t mind talking with him again. I found him interesting, and I honestly didn’t feel like I had given him any indication that our relationship could be anything more than friends. But I knew how men operated: return a smile and suddenly they think I want to give them head. Is that what it’s come to? I have to watch who I smile at, or else I’m on the hook for head. Sheesh.
Chapter 39
I was still at my desk when Tucker showed up a few hours later. He had an intense look plastered over his face, but his approach showed signs of weakness in the knees. I appreciated his seriousness, even if I made him nervous.
“What’s the news?” I asked.
He reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and removed his cell phone. A moment later, a video clip played on the screen.
“We found her. Not only that, but I believe we found our victim as well.”
I grabbed his cell phone and studied the footage. There was no doubt in my mind that the person entering the bus through the rear doors was our mystery woman.
“Go back into my camera roll. There’s another video.”
I swiped the screen and pulled up the second video. It showed a young man with a guitar exiting the bus. I looked up at Tucker. “The medical examiner said the heart belonged to a young male.”
“Both individuals exited the bus at Larkin and Sutter,” he added. “It’s a residential area in the lower Knob Hill neighborhood. My guess is either she followed him, to his place or she lives in the area.”
I agreed with Tucker. “Great work, Agent. Email Detective Kang and me those videos, and get ready to head out with me.” Earlier, Reilly had mentioned that if I had the chance to take Tucker out into the field, I should do it. He needed to get his feet wet. I questioned whether it was too early, but Reilly said he didn’t want to coddle the kid.
“Okay,” Tucker said with a large smile.
After he left, I called Kang and updated him on Tucker’s find. “The sooner we can organize a knock-and-talk, the better chance we might have at finding someone who saw something.”
He agreed, and we made a plan to meet at the location in forty-five minutes.
“Bring a couple of extra bodies,” I told him. “I have a feeling about this one.”
<><><>
The Carlsons had just completed another marathon sex session to celebrate the completion of the heart Attraction. Because they were in a new place, they had done the deed in all the rooms and finished in the bedroom, where they both lay breathless and sweaty. Jerry had quickly faded into a deep sleep—not unusual—but Vicki remained alert and energized. She hopped out of bed right as Jerry began to snore.
In the kitchen, she opened the fridge and poured herself a glass of orange juice before taking a seat on the balcony, still nude. The crisp air gave her goose bumps, but it felt so refreshing that she didn’t mind. She stared at the sparkly reflections that covered the bay and fell into an aimless gaze until an uptick in the breeze awakened her.
She took another sip of the juice and was reminded of the charm that had fallen off her bracelet. She had noticed it missing when she gave Jerry head earlier. She had eight altogether. The missing Eiffel Tower charm was the one she adored the most though, because that’s where Jerry had proposed to her. But mostly, they were reminders of where they had killed together.
She knew she’d still had the jeweled piece when they were watching the musician in Union Square, even when she stood in the alleyway waiting, because she had been playing with it. After they dispatched him, they came straight back to the hotel, packed and moved to the cottage, where shortly after, they had begun their sex-a-thon. Did I lose it at the apartment?
She thought about telling Jerry but decided against it. He would only tell her she should be more careful. Plus, at the time, he had begun to do her doggie style, and she temporarily forgot about it. Even though it had only cost a few Euros, to her, it was priceless, and she had to have it back.
Vicki thought briefly about returning to the apartment and the dangers that would entail. The other likely place she thought she might have lost it was in the alley outside the musician’s building. While waiting, she had placed both of her hands behind her butt and leaned against them instead of the building’s exterior. It could have caught on something and, in the process, have been pulled off the bracelet. But being in the vicinity was a bad idea. Jerry would never let her go back there if he knew that’s what she was thinking. She realized then it was a plus she hadn’t mentioned it.
Vicki made her way to the master bedroom. She could hear Jerry snoring before she even entered the room. He lay on his stomach with a pillow stuffed under his chest and head, his bare ass looking back at her. She poked her husband in his arm. “Jerry.” She did that twice more, but still, he didn’t stir. She figured she could cab it over to the location and take a peek in the area where she had stood, and if she didn’t find it, she would come back to the cottage right away. Jerry would never have to know.
Vicki dressed in jeans and a black sweater so as to blend with all the other people who wore black in the city. She’d had no plans of wearing the wig, since she had worn it that night, but seeing how it looked with her outfit changed her mind. She grabbed her oversized sunglasses to differentiate her look and then called for a cab.
<><><>
Tucker and I met Kang and his crew of officers at the corner of Larkin and Sutter. We weren’t sure what we were looking for. Her apartment? His apartment? A body? Who knew, but we had to start somewhere.
Given that we had no idea how far they might have walked, there was a great deal of ground to cover. Our plan was to start with the buildings near the stop. Kang’s men split up and tackled Sutter. Kang, Tucker, another officer and I took on Larkin, they on one side of the street, Tucker and I on the other.
The Sutter team was already handling the building on the corner, so Tucker and I walked north to the next one, past a small side street. We got lucky with a resident exiting and were able to slip inside the lobby area.
We counted sixteen mailboxes in the five-story building. The first floor was a lobby, no apartments.
“Four per floor. Should be easy,” Tucker said.
“Take the second and third. I’ll handle the fourth and fifth. Remember, if you stumble upon anything suspicious, you call me before you do anything? Got it?”
He nodded. “And if I find the body?”
“Don’t touch it. Don’t puke.”
Tucker hoofed it up the stairs while I waited for the elevator. Did he live here? Did she ride up with him? Did she strike up conversation to relax him, to have him lower his guard? Was she flirting, making it easier?
The elevator doors opened onto a dimly lit hallway. The light directly outside the elevator had burned out, and the rest looked like they were all low wattage. Talk about cheap management. I breathed in deeply. The air was slightly chilly with a touch of mustiness. My nose didn’t catch a whiff of death, but my other senses tingled as if it should have.
Chapter 40
Vicki had the cab driver drop her off one block north from the location of the bus stop. She had decided she was better off approaching the building from the opposite direction and on her terms. No surprises. She thought about paying the driver to wait but decided against it. No need for a witness should something go wrong. She tossed the cabbie a twenty and exited the vehicle.
For a minute or so, Vicki stood at the corner and watched the building. Street traffic was sparse, and there didn’t seem to be any people walking the block. Might as well get on with it. Vicki adjusted her purse on her shoulder before crossing the street. Her right hand dipped inside the bag and fondled her blade, ready for any confrontation she might encounter.
She walked confidently at a pace she thought would mimic a person who lived in the neighborhood. A few steps past the building, she stepped into the alley. Where are you, little one? She scanned the area methodically, not wanting to overlook the small charm. It could have slipped into a crack or been
covered by a piece of rubbish. Rather than kick the debris around, she picked up each item, eliminating any doubt as to whether she had checked under each one. It didn’t take long for her hopes to diminish as the area she searched widened. Vicki let out a deep breath, resolving to what she knew she had to do: return to the apartment.
<><><>
I hadn’t had any luck with the first three apartments—two were empty, and the occupant in the third had a very poor command of the English language. So there I stood, facing the last apartment at the end of the hall, expecting to have a similar experience. I was pleasantly surprised when the door opened and revealed a cheerful, old lady who was exactly my height.
“Hello. May I help you?” she asked with a pleasant smile. She had light blue eyes that popped against her snow-white bob, which was neatly tucked behind each ear. She wore a pink blouse with a pearl necklace draped over it and a checkered skirt that fell slightly past her knees. I could tell she was of the generation that believed in dressing for the day, even when she had no plans to leave her apartment.
I smiled back at her. “Hello. My name is Abby Kane. I’m with the FBI. I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
Concern drew her lips together. “Yes, of course. Please, come inside.”
She stepped back, opening the door wider. Before I could ask my first question, she told me to take a seat on the couch, said she would be back with some tea and then scurried off to the kitchen.
I hadn’t expected to have a long conversation; all I wanted was an opportunity to show her a few pictures. With her enthusiasm for entertaining an FBI agent, I got the impression she didn’t receive many visitors. Besides, it wouldn’t kill me to make the time, and she had said the magic word: tea.
I sat there quietly, taking in her décor. That woman loved horses. They were everywhere in the form of paintings, sculptures and stuffed animals. Even the throw blanket she had on her couch featured a scene of horses running through an open field.
