“Uh, Okay. I, well, um I’m thinking I hear something in the training room. As I got nearer I heard what I first thought was folks arguing. So real careful like, I crack the door a little, just so’s I could get inside, maybe make out what they’re fighting about, you know? Maybe it was something I ought to break up or something, you know?” He spoke as though he were reliving the moment. “I almost lost my lunch when I saw it. Gross!” He took a breath. “There’s Jessica and Gloria going at each other! Whoa! I kid you not!”
Kyle asked what they were fighting about.
Luke rolled his eyes. “Fighting! Uh, uh, they were definitely not fighting. They were, oh man, they were all over each other, buck naked! They were doing it.” He looked at the players’ emotionless masks, and then continued. “Gloria’s head was buried between Jessica’s legs and vice versa. They were, you know, sixty-nining. And Jessica, shoot! Jessica sounded like she was in pain, she was moaning so loud. She’s screaming and jerking her hips like she’s a regular bronco horse, trying to push Gloria’s head further up her pussy, and...”
“Stop for Christ’s sake. We got the picture!” James swallowed, looking to Kyle as though he needed a lead on where to go from there.
Arnold took the silence as a sign to continue and went on. “I’m telling you, they didn’t know I was there. My feet were, uh, they were like glued to the floor. I popped some wood. I was trying to get outta there, but oh man! I couldn’t move! It took me a couple minutes to process everything and then I flew out of the room and down the hall to my office. Man! I even locked my door. I mean, I was really spooked. Hey! How often do you get to watch two girls going at it like that up close and personal? A live porn show. Man, they were so hot, I was hard for the rest of the night!”
Kyle dropped into a chair, saying nothing. Then a humorless laugh tore from his throat. “Fuck. Gloria and Jess. Fuck!”
James started for Arnold again. Luke shrank back and yelled for him to stop. “I swear on my mother... I’m telling you guys exactly what happened. That’s how the fight started between Jessica and me.” He covered his head with his arms.
James held still long enough to get the fat man talking again.
“So what was I supposed to do? I couldn’t talk to Gloria about it, the way she’s always mocking me and all. You guys know how she’s always trying to make me look bad, right? But I couldn’t let it go, either. I mean I heard all about how Jessica ran around on you, Kyle — uh, excuse me for saying so. But I never knew she was a lezzie! Man, I had to check it out and, well, Jessica had always been so nice to me, I figured I’d have at her, you know what I’m saying? Like counsel her like a big brother’s all, I mean, you know, talk to her about it. Get her back on track with you, give her some guidance, like I do for the players all the time, you know?”
Kyle was furious! “She was my problem and none of your business. I never asked for your help. Besides, if you were so concerned about me, then you should have come to me. Your job has nothing to do with counseling anybody.”
“Fuckin’ A!” James stormed.
“I told you, I mean, I can’t help but stick my nose in everyone’s business. It’s my job!” Luke screamed.
James punched the wall. “It’s not your fuckin’ job, Ace. Players’ personal lives got nothing at all to do with you, except for you to make sure no one else knows anything about them. How’re you walking with them brass balls, fat boy?” He made a face. “Damn! Did you fart again?”
Arnold mumbled another apology. His clothes were drenched in sweat and he was quivering like an old beagle. “What do you think I shoulda done, huh? Don’t you even want to know what she said?”
“If she was smart, she told you to mind your own fucking business,” James responded.
“Yeah, she did. But she also threatened me. She actually threatened me! She told me to forget I ever saw anything and I better keep my mouth shut. Best looking chicks in town and they’re both dykes!” He belched.
Kyle and James eyed one another with frustration. When it came down to it, Luke’s brain had failed to thrive past the teen-age boy mentality. He’d just never left high school.
Kyle moved toward the door, stopped and turned back to look at the quaking mass that was the team’s security go-to guy. Revolted by Arnold and everything that happened in the past hour — hell, in the past few days — he spoke in carefully measured words. “Luke. Stay away from me. And when the cops come around again, tell them the truth — all of it. We’ll be watching you.”
James looked hard at Arnold and snarled, “Make damn sure they know Kyle didn’t know shit about any of this! I ever get pissed off enough to punch something in your office again, it gonna be you, fat man!”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
L ed Zeppelin was singing about a stairway to heaven while Kyle was feeling as though he was trapped in hell. Every time he moved, it seemed, he walked into another land mine. The bombs were fragmenting his psyche and it was getting more difficult by the day to think straight or reason right. He ran his months with Jessica over and over in his head. The closer he came to finding some answers, the more devastating the next explosion.
He had always suspected Jessica’s agenda included men other than himself. James had sure nudged him often enough about it. But after their visit with Luke Arnold, the extent of her betrayal — and Gloria DiAngelo’s as well — overwhelmed him. It was no great shock that Jess got involved with another woman. She had no inhibitions when it came to sex But the two of them, each knowing of the other’s intimacy with him, besieged his sanity. It struck him as being deliberately malevolent.
In retrospect, Gloria had given a flawless performance when she spoke with him in the training room the other day. Her words now mocked him. I got no problems but then I never dated Jessica Benson. In her determination to throw Kyle off, Gloria had implicated Arnold. Arnold would have ratted out his grandmother to get James and Kyle off his back. The word clusterfuck came to mind.
Worse yet, that detective, Kaufman, had zeroed in on Kyle and just kept hammering at everyone he spoke to about him. The bastard was all about giving him a one-way ticket to a lethal injection. The man was a train that showed no signs of derailing.
Many of today’s athletes were far from role models, but Kyle had always tried to be one. He had been raised with very clear parameters of right and wrong, and with very few exceptions, never crossed the lines. The past didn’t mean shit to Kaufman, though. He was out to catch a murderer and Kyle apparently looked like a good one to him.
Football . For some reason it seemed even more important that he make it to the playoffs now — as the team leader. The closer it got to the season’s end, the more strongly he believed this year would be his last.
This scandal served to push Coach Raymond to his limits and he was set on Kyle retiring. Tyrell already smelled blood and was circling like a vulture. But dwelling on his backup’s ruthless ambition would serve no purpose. He was emotionally drained, but wanted more than ever to finish this season out right.
Suddenly the room was silent, which brought him up short. The CD had ended — when? He had not noticed. He walked over to the system to set up some more discs when the house phone buzzed.
The concierge announced that a Ms. Karen Brandt was here to see him. Kyle hesitated only a second before telling him to send her up. The need he felt to see her shocked him. The few minutes they shared the other night had given him hope that someone in charge was willing to get the evidence before crucifying him. But his anticipation now had nothing to do with the case.
Kyle felt an incredible lure toward her. The grown up Karen bore only a slight resemblance to the little girl that had been Brett’s sister. She was now a sensitive, very attractive woman. She was also a cool, competent professional, a cop who held Kyle’s life in the balance. Yet there was much more. She woke memories that he thought had died a long time ago, with her brother.
It occurred to him that his interest in Karen might be a result of her being
the proverbial port in the storm. He wondered if he was reaching out to her because she might be able to offer a solution, rather than because he felt any romantic attraction. It didn’t much matter, though, he figured. Any basis for sanity he could find, he would take.
Kyle was headed toward his door, planning to walk outside and meet her at the elevator, when he heard her soft knock. She made the trip up quickly. It flashed across his mind that she might yet be the bearer of more bad news. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. Then what? His mind exploded into millions of thought molecules, all bad. If he could just set the clock back to the day he met Jessica, so he could run the other way.
Karen looked up as he opened the door and gave him a hesitant smile. She was wearing jeans and a short charcoal tee that highlighted the soft gray of her eyes. Her hair was loose and windblown and she smelled like the ocean. Kyle felt his chest tighten and his heartbeat quicken. No, these feelings have nothing to do with the case.
“Are you going to keep me standing out here, or do you think you might consider letting me in?” She looked directly into his eyes, unwavering.
Trying to pull his eyes from hers was like trying to break a vacuum. Finally, he stepped back, found his voice and tried to sound casual.
“Oh, sure. Sorry.” He tried being clever: “I’m just not myself what with that murder rap hanging over my head and the flames of hell lapping at my feet. I suppose you’re here to arrest me?” But he immediately realized he sounded like an asshole. “God, did I say that? Come on in.”
Karen cocked her head and leaned past Kyle into the apartment. Uh, I’m here to see Kyle Sands. You must be his mentally challenged twin?”
Kyle’s heart did a stutter step, and suddenly he smiled. “Yeah, Kyle’s around here somewhere. He’s going to have a drink. Care for a cocktail?” Then it hit him that this most probably was not a social call and tried to recover from the gaffe. “I mean, if you’re not on duty that is. I’m going with vodka, straight up. But I have sodas, too. And juice. My refrigerator is pretty well stocked. Mom made one of her mercy missions this afternoon and filled it up with plenty of healthy stuff. She’s afraid...”
Karen burst out laughing. “Stop! Please, stop already. Vodka is good, but if it’s not frozen, throw in an ice cube for me, and some lime if you have it.”
They both laughed and Kyle said “Always keep my vodka in the fridge.” He headed toward the kitchen and beckoned for her to follow him.
She told him to relax. She had no plans to make any arrests tonight. She added that she was off duty and the visit was to be considered off the record, as well.
Relieved, Kyle opened the freezer, took out a bottle of Grey Goose, and put it on the counter. He hesitated, and then, as though struck by divine inspiration, reached up to a high shelf that displayed exquisite crystal tumblers. “Baccarat, only for my special guests,” he said.
Karen watched as he gently placed two tumblers next to the bottle. He looked at her once more, as if expecting her to say something, then got a fresh lime from the refrigerator. He neatly sliced it and slipped it on to the rim of one of the glasses. Carefully he poured the two highballs to less than a quarter of an inch from the top. He wrapped the bottom of her glass with a cocktail napkin and handed it to her. He then picked up the second drink and led her to the living room.
The lights were dim which gave the space an ethereal glow. The windows reflected pitch black. Karen moved toward them to look outside. Kyle stepped close to her and said, “There isn’t much to see out there at night. An occasional star or satellite maybe. A cruise ship heading out to sea, if you’re lucky.” He pointed upwards toward the sky, and continued. “See the halo around the moon? That’s the best light, anyway.”
She turned to him and reached her glass to touch his. “It is enchanting. To the moon.”
“To the moon,” he replied. He took a couple of long sips. “You smell like the sea.”
“I walked along the beach for a while before I came up. I was working up the nerve to see you, I suppose.”
“I know you didn’t just come here to share the night sky, right?”
“No I didn’t, but since I’m here, it doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.” She sat down on the sofa and a whoosh of air from the deep leather cushion made her stop talking for a minute. Kyle sat next to her.
“Not a bad thing at all,” he added. He was having trouble relating to the situation. Incredible night, exquisite woman, good vodka and a murder mystery. It might have been perfect, were he not the murder suspect and she the cop. And although she was kind enough to be flirtatious, he knew the case was on her mind, and was, realistically, why she was here.
“Truthfully? The ambience is intoxicating... or is it the alcohol? But Jessica’s murder is what brought me here. This case has the entire unit monopolized, Kyle. Whoever the killer is, he or she was smart enough to clean up afterwards, almost to a fault. Our crime scene guy recovered nothing from her apartment. The only solid information was from your friend James. He gave us Jessica’s ‘personal’ trainer, but he didn’t seem to have a clue either. It all keeps going back to you and the argument you had with her at Utley’s that night. The way I see it, you’d have to be dumber than a brick to have a knock-down drag-out in front of the whole world and then take her home and kill her. But stranger things have happened.”
“I understand what you’re saying.” He nodded, and added, “Feyzi. The trainer. He was no help?”
“Nope. Both Will and I had at him. He was nervous, and I couldn’t help but feel he was holding something back. Just my gut, you know, but my gut is usually pretty accurate.” She looked at him as though expecting a response, and when he remained silent, continued. “I guess I’m here because you’re our only viable suspect — still. As a cop that should make my job easier. But as a person, I can’t accept it.”
Kyle drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ve been doing a little research as well. Have you spoken to Gloria DiAngelo?”
“Yeah. But she had nothing to give us. The good news is that she seemed to be in your corner all the way. Told us you would never hurt a woman and she knew it for a fact. Sounded like you had more than a player-trainer thing going with her. Why? You think she knows something?” She raised an eyebrow at Kyle, waiting for is response.
“Well, it seems when I try to find out something from anyone, it implicates someone else. Boggles my mind. To begin with, Gloria mentioned something that didn’t sit right with me. She said she had seen Luke Arnold and Jessica arguing in the parking lot at the complex the night before the murder. Gloria and Luke never had a close working relationship. And off the field they were barely civil. Ha! That’s some kind of an understatement. She couldn’t stand Luke. I probably wouldn’t have paid any mind to her bad-mouthing him if my life weren’t on the line.”
“That’s strange. She never mentioned anything like that to us. Pretty big oversight,” said Karen.
“Yeah, really. But she said she got sidetracked because your partner was pushing her so hard to incriminate me. She got a case of nerves.”
“Come on, Kyle. I don’t care what kind of pressure she was under. That’s a crock. A fight only one day before the woman is killed and she forgot? Bull!”
“Oh, it gets better. James and I decided to pay a visit to Arnold and get his side of the story. When we told him what Gloria said, he couldn’t wait to rat her out to us.”
He drained the rest of his drink. It had done its job and he was considerably more relaxed. Karen’s glass was pretty close to empty as well. Without asking if she wanted a refill, Kyle took it from her, and before she could protest, he headed for the kitchen. “Tincture of vodka. Good for what ails you,” he called back.
“Well it does the trick sometimes. You aren’t by any chance trying to get me drunk are you?”
He was smiling when he came back to the sofa. He handed her the drink and sat down beside her once again. “Yes, officer, I guess I am.”
“Mm
m,” she sighed. “Try to finish telling me about your talk with Arnold first.”
Kyle was suddenly reluctant to continue. Although he wanted to believe there was a growing attraction between them — he certainly felt the pull — the thought crossed his mind that she was learning plenty by keeping him drinking and talking. He had been planning on relating this all to her anyway, but was bothered by the thought that she was pumping him in such an intimate manner. Yet it was much easier to be with her alone than trying to get a word in edgewise while her partner pounded on him.
“Luke told us that he was arguing with her to protect me. Protect me! Ha!”
“Wait a minute! Neither Gloria nor Arnold mentioned the argument to us, but then they go and tell you about it? That’s whacked.”
“Well, it just slipped out when Gloria was talking to me. And as far as Arnold, James has a way of convincing people that he’ll get to the truth, by whatever means necessary. Most people react instantaneously when he’s dictating the forum.”
“Alrighty then. So what’s this about Arnold protecting you?”
“Well, it seems Luke was making his rounds of the complex one night in the not too distant past, when he comes to an unlocked door with strange noises emanating from within. Being the Cracker Jack security head of the team that he is, he took it upon himself to investigate. Imagine his surprise when he finds Gloria and Jessica locked in a passionate embrace, wearing nothing but their birthday suits.”
“Gloria and Jessica? Together? I mean, I understand that they were ‘together,’ but jeez! Together, huh? What’d they do when they saw him?”
“That’s the thing, Karen. He says they were so involved with one another — and he gave us a little too much information about that — they never even heard him come in. Neither of them looked up. He told us that he took off out of there and didn’t look back. But he didn’t let it go, either. He went to Jessica — who was apparently one of the few people who treated him like a human being around here — in some ridiculous attempt to defend my honor, or that’s what he was trying to sell James and me.”
The Mystery of Jessica Benson Page 11
