Collin

by Jessie Cooke

  “Okay, I’m going to tell you what I think you should do, but you’re not going to like it.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You know there aren’t any secrets in your family. Sooner or later if this woman calls anyone else, Ava will find out. My advice to you is to tell her yourself before she does. She’ll take it a lot better than if she thinks you were trying to hide it from her.”

  Collin curled his lip. “I hate that idea.”

  “It’s the best one I’ve got.”

  “You’re worthless,” he said. “I’ll meet you back here in what…two hours?” Noah laughed again and nodded. Ava’s wrath focused on someone else was fun to him. He also appreciated getting his mind off the task at hand for a few minutes. He gave Collin some of the fliers and they separated. Then he texted Jace and told him his location and Jace texted back theirs. The Skulls were familiar with the streets downtown, more so than Noah was, so he felt better having them there too.

  About an hour into handing out flyers, being ignored, solicited, and flipped off, Noah ran across a young prostitute sitting alone in the alcove of a brick building that faced the alley. He stopped, and as soon as she saw him she stood up and turned on what she thought were her charms. She couldn’t have been more than barely legal, if that, and she already had the eyes of a troubled forty-year-old. He looked at her and saw Ciara at that age. It made his stomach hurt. “My name is Noah. I’m trying to find my sister.” She rolled her eyes at him and started to walk away. “Please hear me out.” She kept walking. “I have money.” That stopped her. That stopped everyone down there. Noah went over and stepped in front of her. She was so thin, and when he looked at her he thought about how easily a grown man could pick her up and take her away. Just like Ciara. He held up the flyer and said, “Do you know this man?”

  She looked at it and back up at him with a cynical look. “He don’t look like anybody’s sister.”

  “No, but I think he might know where my sister is.”

  “Then ask him,” she said, walking away again.

  “I will as soon as I find him. What’s your name?”

  “They call me Sugar,” she said. “I ain’t never seen that ugly man. Can I have my money now?” He stepped in front of her again and held out the mug shot photo of Ciara.

  “Have you ever seen her?”

  She looked at the picture and then up at Noah’s face. “She’s your sister?”

  “Yes. Her name is Ciara but they call her Dahlia. Do you know her?”

  “I seen her around.”

  “Have you seen her lately?”

  She confirmed his fears when she said, “Not for a couple of months.” He held up the picture of the man again and said:

  “Please take a closer look at this. He’s been hanging around down here for years. Are you sure you’ve never seen him?”

  “I don’t think you have any money.”

  Noah reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the fifties he had put there for this purpose. “I have money. Please talk to me, Sugar.”

  “I guess I’ve seen him,” she said, trying to take the money from his hand. Noah pulled it back and said:

  “When and where?”

  She shrugged. “I seen him around. It’s been a while.”

  “A while as in months, years…?”

  “Months, I guess.”

  “Was he a customer of yours?”

  “No, he was like you, all talk. He told me he didn’t like to fuck in dirty alleys. He wanted me to go with him to his house.”

  “Did you?”

  “No. I might not be the brightest but I know better than to go anywhere with a john.”

  “Sugar, do you know anyone who has ever gone with him?”

  “No, but Princess told me that she saw him in front of a big house in Bunker Hill. She says he’s rich.”

  “Who is Princess?”

  “Just another one of the girls that hang out around here. Her grandma lives over there and sometimes she goes and gets money from her.”

  Noah felt a thrill run through him. “Where can I find Princess?”

  “I don’t know. I ain’t seen her in weeks.”

  Fuck! “Sugar, do you know where this house is exactly…what street it’s on?”

  “I don’t know which house. I went down there with her once to get money from her grandma.” She stopped talking and looked at the fifty in his hand. “I think it might be worth two of those for me to tell you. Don’t you?” Noah pulled out another fifty and said:

  “You can have both of these if you give me the name of a street.”

  She reached for the money. “Her grandma lives in one of those old brick mansions in Biltmore Heights.” Noah let her take the money.

  “Thank you, Sugar. Don’t spend that on drugs.”

  She rolled her eyes at him and walked away. He hated leaving her there but Noah had figured out a long time ago that you couldn’t help an addict that didn’t want to be helped. With a tickle of anticipation at the lead in his belly, he took out his phone and called Collin first to meet him at the car, and then he texted and let Jace and the rest of the Skulls know what was going on. Jace told him that he’d also found a prostitute who admitted she’d seen the guy downtown, but she denied knowing anything else. At least they knew Bennie had given them a decent description. Next, he called Hayden. If they got the son of a bitch, he wanted to make damned sure he didn’t skate out on a technicality.

  “So let me get this straight,” Hayden, Collin, and Noah were standing in front of the Starbucks at the end of the street. If you walked about a half a block and went left around the traffic circle you’d be on the part of the street where the old mansions were. Noah had just finished telling Hayden what he had found out and that they needed to start knocking on doors. As usual, he was skeptical about the whole idea.

  “A prostitute named ‘Sugar’ told you that another prostitute named ‘Princess’ has a grandmother that lives in one of these houses. How am I doing so far?”

  “Good.” Noah was choosing not to address the cynicism in his voice…yet. Collin was trying to act casual, like he was people-watching. He was a terrible actor.

  “She didn’t know which house or even exactly which street, so we are tasked with knocking on every one of these doors and asking…what, exactly?”

  “We’ll show them the pictures and ask if they know him or if they’ve seen her. It’s more than the police are doing right now.”

  “You paid a prostitute for some sketchy information. The Phoenix PD put out a ‘be on the lookout’ for both of them, Noah. We’re doing our best with what we have to work with. You of all people know this guy is a ghost.”

  “I do know that, Hayden. But I’m not going to stop doing the best with what I have in the meantime.”

  “And if our killer answers the door we do what? We ask if he has Ciara or if he’s been killing women for ten years?”

  Noah sighed. Hayden’s cynicism was beginning to annoy him. “Listen, I’m not an idiot. I know that we’re going to have to approach this delicately. But again, this is the best lead we’ve gotten on this guy in ten fucking years, Hayden. There’s also a damned good chance that he has my sister and I don’t care how many fucking doors I have to knock on or how many prostitutes I have to pay, I’m going to find her.”

  “Okay, why not just sit at the end of the street and watch for him? I mean, this is not the type of neighborhood with residents who appreciate people knocking on their doors. You’re likely to have the cops called on you.”

  “What if he doesn’t leave his house until after my sister is dead? Do you want to be the one to get that call?”

  “We’re not even sure that he has her.”

  “We’re not sure that he doesn’t.”

  “Fuck…I won’t be able to get any help on this, on the word of a prostitute. The captain is not going to authorize men to go door to door.”

  “I know that too. Collin and I will start knocking on doors, a
nd Jace and about ten of his guys are already out and available.”

  Hayden raised an eyebrow. “Sure, they’ll respond well to a bunch of bikers…”

  Collin visibly bristled at that. He wasn’t a full-fledged Skull yet, but he was already loyal. Noah said, “Don’t go there, Hayden. We’ll handle this, and if anyone knows anything or has seen anything we will call you.”

  “Right.”

  “I called you this morning, didn’t I? If we get this guy and if he lets us take him in alive…”

  “That right there is the problem. You don’t want this guy brought in alive.”

  “Damn right I don’t. As long as he’s alive there’s a chance he’ll be back on the streets killing again, so forgive me for wanting the motherfucker dead. But I promise you that I will do everything in my power not to kill the son of a bitch if I find him.”

  “Fuck.”

  “You use that word a lot.”

  “Only when you’re involved. Noah, if we get this guy we have to make at least ten counts of rape and murder stick. One technicality…”

  “I’m well aware of what will hold up in court and what won’t. If I recall, I’m the one who taught you.”

  “Yes, but we’re all well aware of your penchant for manipulating the system to your advantage.”

  Collin cleared his throat, loudly. They both looked at him and he said, “It seems to me that if Ciara is in one of these houses, the two of you would rather spend our time trying to figure out how to get to her rather than measuring each other’s dicks out here on the street.”

  They both glared at him, but they also both knew he was right. Noah took a deep breath and looked back at Hayden and said, “So we’re doing this, right?”

  “My way.”

  Fuck. “Which is?”

  “Go home and put on a suit and shave. I can’t believe Ava lets you go out of the house looking like that.”

  “Just because your wife holds your dick while you pee doesn’t mean we all need help.”

  Collin cleared his throat again. “Shut up, Collin. Shave and put on a suit. No one in this neighborhood is opening the door to Al Pacino and his ginger sidekick.”

  “Hey!” Collin protested. Hayden shot him another look and said:

  “You know I’m right, Noah. And while we’re on the subject, Collin, take off that fucking kutte. These people definitely won’t open the door to someone wearing a motorcycle club vest. And tell Jace and his guys to stay where they are…for now.”

  Noah growled and Collin let out a sound so that Hayden knew he was good and insulted, and then Noah said, “Fine, we go home and get dressed up and then we go door to door until we find this son of a bitch…and Ciara.”

  “And then you call me and wait until I get here.”

  “Fine.”

  “I mean it.”

  “I said fine.”

  Collin rolled his eyes again. “Shut up and get in the car, ginger,” Hayden said as he started walking toward his car.

  “Hayden…why now?” Noah asked.

  “Why now what?”

  “He wants me to catch him. He killed that girl, left Ciara’s hair, and left Bennie alive. He also let Sugar and Princess see him in this neighborhood. This guy went ten years without making one single mistake. He never kept women before. All of a sudden he’s changing the game and he knew damned good and well that we would notice. He’s not suddenly making all of these mistakes. He wants to get caught. Why now when the heat wasn’t even on him for a year?”

  “I don’t know, but you’re right. He’s not screwing up by accident, which means he’s waiting for you to find him and when you do he’ll have the upper hand.”

  “Ciara is his upper hand.” It actually made Noah feel better to believe that. It made him believe that she was still alive.

  Hayden took another long look down the perfectly manicured residential street and then at his watch. “I have to get going. If you see anything suspicious, Noah, you call me or call the station, understand? Don’t go psycho on this guy and do something that’s going to end up with you being the one that gets arrested.”

  “I don’t know where you get your ideas about me, Hayden.”

  Hayden rolled his eyes and looked at Collin. “Watch him.” Collin was still pouting from being called ginger and told to take off his vest. He rolled his eyes.

  Noah snorted, like Collin could keep him from doing what he wanted to do anyway. There was that one time that he kind of got the upper hand on Noah, but that was about his sister and he had his brothers for backup. This was about Noah’s sister and as much as he didn’t want to visit Ava and Aiden through plexiglass once a week and cell up with a guy named Bubba, if the killer hurt Noah’s sister he wasn’t walking away unscathed.

  When they got back to the house Collin got out of the car and said, “I’m going home to change. I’ll be back in an hour.”

  “I thought you were going to talk to Ava about Ann.”

  “Now?”

  “No time like the present.”

  “Isn’t she at the office?”

  “Nope, we didn’t have any clients so Kendra is manning the fort today.”

  “Oh, great. I think I’ll wait, though.”

  “Okay, buddy, it’s your funeral.”

  Noah watched him slink towards his Harley like a coward and he was almost to the front door when Ava suddenly threw it open and looking right through Noah screamed out her brother’s name. Collin turned slowly and Noah tried not to smile as he slipped past the miniature red bulldog in the doorway. He could hear yelling all the way from the bedroom. He pulled a suit out of the closet and flipped on the television to drown out the angry Irish. He was headed into the bathroom to shave when he heard his sister’s name. He spun around and saw her face flash on the screen. God, he hated that picture of her. She was so beautiful before the drugs and life began to eat away at her body and soul. Noah picked up the remote and hit the volume up button,

  “Police are seeking this man who is wanted for questioning in Ciara Campbell’s disappearance.” They flashed the sketch artist’s rendition of Bennie’s description on the screen. If Bennie was right, the killer did look as creepy as he was. “If you see this man or this woman please contact Detective Hayden Brandt with the Phoenix PD at…” The anchorwoman recited the number. Noah watched Ciara’s face fade off the screen and his gut clenched. He always thought that, after all of the years of worrying and wondering, he would be prepared when the day finally came that he got that call. But, as he watched her fade off the screen, he knew that he wasn’t. He was her big brother. It was his job to protect her. So far he had failed miserably at that. If she killed herself either accidentally or on purpose, his heart would break…but if she died at the hands of a monster…he would just have no idea how to handle that.

  He turned back towards the bathroom and heard Ava come in behind him. “You knew my brother was fucking our son’s teacher and you didn’t tell me?”

  Somehow Noah knew he wasn’t going to get out of this unscathed. “I told him to tell you.”

  “But he didn’t and you knew he wasn’t going to. He’s a big, fat coward.”

  “Who told you?”

  “My mother!”

  Noah curled his lip. “Your mom knows?”

  “Yes! Ann came to the house looking for him. When my mom told her that he wasn’t home she dissolved into tears. Mom invited her in and they had tea…and now my mother knows her son is a man whore. First the whole quitting his job and becoming a biker thing, and now this. What the hell is wrong with him?”

  Noah was still trying hard not to smile. Being part of Ava’s family was better than watching a sitcom some days. He ignored the question about what was wrong with her brother and instead he asked, “Why wasn’t Ann at school?”

  “What?”

  “Isn’t Aiden at school?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why wasn’t his teacher there?”

  “I don’t know. That’s not the poin
t here.”

  “Well now, maybe it is, partially. Collin says that she came on to him in the bar. Granted, he could have turned her down, but we both know that’s not going to happen and I get the feeling she did as well. Then when he doesn’t call her, she uses her position at the school to not only get his number but Sean’s too. She takes a day off to meet and confront him and another day off to go ‘accidentally’ tell your Irish Catholic mother that he had illicit sex with her and never called her. How did she get your mother’s address?”

  Ava looked like she was absorbing what Noah was saying as she said, “The emergency card, I guess.”

  “Right, and I find that inappropriate and I’m beginning to wonder if Collin is right and this woman is slightly unstable.”

  “She called Daniel too before she went to the house.”

  “See, weird.”

  “Where did Collin…do her?”

  Noah was losing the battle with the smile. “Do her?”

  “Oh shut up, you know what I mean.”

  He had to tread lightly then. If she knew he had seen Ann at Collin’s place, he could be in even more trouble. “He said he took her back to his place.” That wasn’t really a lie. He did say that at some point, Noah was sure.

  “Then she already knew he didn’t live at the house. She went there to talk to my mother. That manipulative little…”

  “See, the man is not always to blame.”

  “Oh, screw that. If my brother had kept it in his pants we wouldn’t be in this predicament in the first place. But something is not right with that woman and I’m going to find out what it is.”

  “Good idea, baby.” Noah was secretly glad that she had something else to occupy her attention. He didn’t want her with them while they knocked on doors looking for the monster. He looked over at her, and she had her hands on her slim little hips and her green eyes were trained on his face. “What?”

  “That’s all you have to say about this…‘Good idea’?”