He was aware, and it sucked that he’d been a part of that. From here on out, he’d pay her back.
“I’ll be your partner. When they won’t, I’ll have your back, Elizabeth. I believe in you. I see you going places.”
“Yeah, the sanitarium.”
“I mean, here, with the FBI. You’re going to move up the ladder one day. I’ll be proud when you do. I see it in you.”
She didn’t know what to say.
“What else do you see in that crystal ball?”
“I see you and the ME getting naked to take the edge off this stress you’re putting on yourself. I see you rolling around, laughing, and having fun. Sex should be fun. Have some. Then again…”
She glanced over. “What?”
“I hope you can find his dick,” he teased.
Elizabeth wouldn’t let anyone trash her best friend. In fact, she’d let their tongues wag first.
“Actually, I saw it last night. In fact…”
“Stop. Please. My head will explode if you tell me you were touching Doctor Death.”
She snorted.
“I’m going to use that term. Thanks for that. I needed this laugh.”
Gabe was aware.
“Seriously. Have sex, see if it eases up some of the tension, and go from there.”
“Do you really think I should?” she asked. “We work together all the time…”
“Stop. You’re overthinking. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, and God should strike me with lightening right now, but just jump in, have fun, and live your life. Thinking isn’t always good. Cowboy it up, Elizabeth LaRue.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Are you telling me you’ve never slept with someone just to have fun?” he asked.
“I have.”
“Do it again. I’ll bet you have a really good time, and this won’t tear you two apart. It’ll make you closer. Twenty years from now, you’ll have this secret you’ll share, and it’ll be part of the foundation of your relationship. Despite how much I torment him, Christopher Leonard is a decent guy. Stop loathing yourself so much and slumming it.”
He had a point.
“If it fails?”
“Then don’t talk about it. This is the Federal government. You think that’s going to be too big a secret to hide? This is Gabe your friend. I won’t say shit.”
She laughed. Maybe he was right. Elizabeth was blowing this way out of proportion. It was time to stop dwelling on it.
“We’re here,” she said.
Gabe checked out the building. “Someone has money. Who’s up first?”
“The first interview is Arnold Knox. He’s a financial advisor.”
“And you think he might be behind this?”
“I wish I could search him right now.”
Gabe pulled out his phone. It was fancy, glossy, and Elizabeth wanted to touch it. “What the hell is that?”
“It’s an FBI issue for upper management. It has access to all our systems.”
“Don’t tease, Gabe.”
“I’m serious. Look.”
He held it out, and she was dying to put her prints all over it. It was really awesome, and not because it was tech. Elizabeth didn’t give a shit about that. She wanted access to all the databases without having to go to her desk.
“Pretty, isn’t it?” he asked, pulling it away when she reached for it.
“Come on. You guys get the sweet shit. I have a freaking crap phone.”
“Times are a changing, Lyzee. Soon, we’ll all have better equipment. I’m trying to get the boss man to see it my way. If you have tech, you have a leg up on the bad guys.”
“Can I?” she asked, pointing at it.
He handed it over. “Do your search and be awed by what is about to come your way in a few years.”
She typed in his name and it began running. When it popped up, she giggled.
“You need a day off if that gets you excited. No, you need to have sex. Here’s your proof.”
“My girly parts have cobwebs, Gabe. It’s been a long time since I was excited about anything. Let me have this one.”
He shook his head.
“What did you find?”
“Arnold Knox is pretty clean. He looks to be an upstanding member of society.”
“But? I feel one coming.”
She kept scrolling through the information. No one was perfect. People had secrets. They cheated on their taxes, they played the ponies, or they were sex addicts.
There was never a perfect person.
That individual didn’t exist.
When she flipped through, she found it.
“I can connect him to Detective Cathy McCall,” she stated, “but there aren’t many judges who will buy this one.”
He didn’t like the sound of that.
“What?”
“He’s in charge of the local police retirement pensions. He does all of their investments for the Fraternal Order of Police.”
She was right.
No judge would buy that one. It was a stretch at best, and it wouldn’t get them a warrant. Gabe didn’t even think he could tap dance that one into the judge’s chamber and come out with a signed paper.
That was saying a lot.
“We should go in there and hit him hard,” Gabe said. “It’ll catch him off guard.”
“Yeah, well, I think I got this.”
He stared at her. “Then why am I here? Did you need someone to look pretty?”
She snorted. “Just be my backup, okay? No offense, but you’ve been out of the field too long.”
“I think you just insulted me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Do ya think?”
They headed into the office building. At the front desk, they both flashed their badges.
The receptionist behind the counter didn’t look all that impressed with either of them.
“We need to see Arnold Knox.”
“He’s busy, so unless you have an appointment, you’ll have to come back another time.”
She didn’t even look up at them. It was the typical blow off they got without a warrant.
That pissed Elizabeth off.
So, she tried again. After all, her boss was right there. She wanted to make a good impression.
“We’re the FBI. When we come a knockin’, the doors are unlockin’.”
Gabe glanced over at her in amusement. He knew the hilarity was about to begin. With Elizabeth, there were telltale signs.
She was playing nice, and then being funny. Next was going to be the smack down.
“I’ll put it in a way you’ll understand,” the woman said. “Go away.”
Well, someone was cranky.
Elizabeth had the remedy for that. She smiled. “Give me a second, boss.”
She vaulted up onto the counter of the woman’s desk and whistled.
“Arnold Knox! Your presence with the FBI is requested. We’re investigating you for fraud and money laundering!”
All the potential clients in the waiting room stood and got the hell out of there, and fast.
The woman began sputtering.
“We also have you on tape humping your neighbor’s dog. Fido has filed a complaint, and we’re here to bring you in. Apparently, you didn’t buy her dinner first, and she wants us to bring you in for lewd and lascivious behavior.”
Gabe began laughing. He really missed the field. Being partnered up with Elizabeth was always entertaining.
This was why.
“Get off there!” the woman stated, going for her legs.
Elizabeth just evaded by tap dancing down the counter and out of her reach. Then she brought out the big guns.
“We’re here because you were seen fraternizing with a hooker. I think you may want to talk to us before I tell everyone in here what you were doing with their money!”
The man’s door opened, and he stood there, bright red.
“Gee, the dog humping and laundering got us nothing, bu
t a hooker?” Gabe stated. “Shocking. I was betting on the dog. That would have got my attention, and fast.”
“Me too. This was a last-ditch effort.”
The man stormed their way. “Get off there!” he said, going for Elizabeth. “This is a place of business, and you’re ruining mine!”
Gabe grabbed the man before he could touch Elizabeth. He arm locked him, and then slammed his face against the counter. “She’s a Fed and a lady. That’s a twofer of no touching.”
The man stopped moving.
“I see you are available to see us,” Elizabeth stated. “Funny. She said you were busy.” She looked around the waiting room, and it was empty. “You’re free now.”
“Cheryl, cancel my appointments. I think I’ll be busy with these two.”
“You think, Arnold?” she asked, hopping down. “You’ve been a very bad boy.”
“What did I do?” he asked, as Gabe hauled him up and into the upright position.
“How about we talk hookers and murder?” she asked. “We think you might be involved with both of those.”
He looked horrified. “I want a lawyer.”
She laughed. “I haven’t arrested you yet. You don’t get one. You get me. Happy Friday to you. I’m your early happy hour.”
Gabe dragged the man into his office by the arm. When he pushed him into his seat, the man looked scared.
Elizabeth was going in hard. She didn’t plan on allowing the man anytime to think. If that happened, he’d try to come up with some big lies.
“Who was blackmailing you?” she asked.
“A girl I met.”
She laughed at that. “Her name was Naima, and she wasn’t a girl you met. She was a hooker you hired. I’m a girl you met. See the difference? I’m not letting you put your dick anywhere near me. I’m willing to bet that you get that reaction from a lot of women.”
He closed his eyes.
Elizabeth continued, “You were paying her to do what, exactly?”
“Sex.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know you were. I saw the videos. In fact, my male friend and I watched the HOURS of you getting off. Okay technique, but your form needs improvement. You were getting sloppy toward the end. A gentleman let’s a lady cum first.”
The man sputtered.
Oh, she wasn’t done. Elizabeth kept going.
“How often were you visiting your little piece of hooker heaven?”
He knew there was no point in being coy. The jig was up. “A lot. I have an addiction.”
And there it was. No one was perfect. There were always hidden secrets.
“I can’t get off without a hooker.”
“Try your hand.”
“Thanks for that advice, but I have. I needed assistance, and for the amount of sex I need, it was simply easier to pay a hooker.”
“And illegal,” she added.
“When you have needs, you have to fill them. Naima came highly recommended, and I took her for a spin. One thing led to another, and she was riding my dick and wallet.”
“And you killed her.”
“NO! WHAT?”
“She’s dead. Someone took off her face and then had some fun with her eyeballs.”
He gagged.
Elizabeth didn’t care. If you were a big boy and could dial up a hooker, you could answer the tough questions that came along with the responsibility of doing something illegal.
“How about a timeline? Where were you the night she was killed?” She rattled off a date.
“I was home alone. We had sex earlier that day. She worked the street at night. There was no massage business. That’s simply how she advertised her services. If a woman called, she told them she was unavailable. If a man called…”
“Do you know how unsafe that is?” she asked. “Do you like Mr. Winky at all? You’re going to rot him off by dipping it in the STD pool.”
“We used protection.”
She stared him in the eyes. “Protection isn’t always enough, my sick, perverted friend. Do you need me to rattle off all the diseases you can get with a condom in play?”
He shook his head.
She did it anyway.
Gabe tried to keep a straight face the entire time. Yeah, he really missed this. Working with Elizabeth was fun.
She was never going to change.
“You don’t get it. I have an addiction.”
“Get a girlfriend.”
“I don’t have that kind of time. I have a very high sex drive. I can’t help myself. In fact, I’m sitting here thinking how I’d like to offer you copious amounts of money to suck my dick.”
She pointed at him. “One, I’m a government employee, and any money thrown my way is illegal. Two, I’d rather drink the Hudson River than put you hooker javelin anywhere near my body—let alone my mouth.”
Gabe couldn’t help it. He finally laughed, and then had to cover it with a cough.
“I need sex.”
“Man, get yourself together. You’re paying blackmail and you’re in charge of cops’ pensions. Oh, and a cop is dead. It’s been brought to our attention that you handled her account.”
“Wait! I don’t know any of them.”
“The hooker is dead too.”
“I didn’t kill Naima. She was only asking for five hundred a week. That’s only two thousand a month. I can afford it. Plus, it made the sex dirtier. I got off on it.”
She sighed. This was going nowhere.
“I bet you’re hot in the sack.”
She picked up a paperweight on his desk. “I bet I can lodge this so far up your ass you never find it again.”
“Kinky. I like…”
Gabe pointed at him. “I’d shut it now, or I’m going to be the one who shoves it there.”
It got him to close his mouth.
“Elizabeth, it’s all yours,” Gabe said.
She was hoping he meant hurting the perv, but she doubted it. So, she continued with her questioning.
“And you were home alone?”
“I have security! I can get you the log.”
“Do it.”
He picked up his phone and called the security company. While he was doing it, they waited.
If he could make the list appear, they had to move on. Was he guilty?
Maybe.
Could they prove it?
With that security log, no.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t a judge around who would bend that much to give them a warrant to search his home. Plus, she doubted he’d invite her in for a little looksee.
Yeah, this was done.
When he hung up, the fax machine went off. “Here it is. This will prove it. I turned on the security at nine, and then off again at eight in the morning. I didn’t open my gate. As you can see, I didn’t have time to doctor this, so…”
She had to let this one go.
Unless they got something more that proved he was involved, they were out of luck.
“Do you know these women?” she asked, as Gabe held out his phone with the pictures of them before their deaths on it.
She rattled off their names. He didn’t even flinch. Apparently, he didn’t know them.
Strike one.
It was time to move on.
“Thank you for your time,” she offered.
He sat there and didn’t say a word. When he finally spoke, he had tears in his eyes.
“Are you okay?” she asked, a little caught off guard. This guy didn’t cry when she ripped into him. Now he was going to?
Really?
“Naima is really dead?”
“Yeah, she really is.”
“Now how will I get off?”
Her hope in humanity, at that very moment, had died. It was good to see the asshole was simply worried about himself.
Elizabeth didn’t even reply.
If she did, it wouldn’t be nice. The man was the village idiot, and she didn’t plan to play in his stupid.
“Let’s go,” she sa
id, as Gabe followed her out of his office, and toward their ride.
“Well, that was interesting,” he offered.
No, that was a travesty.
“I need a drink,” she muttered.
“Coffee?” Gabe asked.
“Yeah.”
Only, that wasn’t what she was thinking. At that moment, she needed something a lot stronger.
* * * E l i z a b e t h L a R u e * * *
Morgue
While Chris was wrapping up the autopsy, he wasn’t in the mood to talk. The entire time, he was worried. He was borderline panicked over the scenario that was playing out in his head.
The kiss he and Elizabeth shared said one thing, but he kept thinking back to their past conversations.
The sex wouldn’t be good.
It would ruin what they had.
He’d be disappointed.
He was frustrated because he needed to find all of that out on his own. Chris knew himself. If he didn’t, it would make him insane.
Then Elizabeth flirted with him.
She told him his cologne was sexy, and that gave him other signals. Unfortunately, he had one giant issue.
Her name was Madeline.
Right before the whole flirting happened, Madeline had sent him a quick text message, and he’d replied.
They went back and forth.
They talked.
They tried to break the ice.
It felt so damn wrong. Chris knew he didn’t want to go on that date with her, but he’d convinced himself to do it because he was horny and wanted to relieve the tension. He’d told himself that it was his imagination with Elizabeth.
But now he wasn’t so sure.
He was confused.
Was Chris afraid of what would happen if he crossed that line with her, or was he simply so desperate he’d do anything to feel?
He didn’t know.
This was a mess.
All he knew was Madeline wanted to get a drink tonight, but he already made plans with Elizabeth. He couldn’t cancel on her. It wouldn’t be right.
Even if it was just dinner with her father, she mattered.
So, he scheduled for the next night, and he felt like he was cheating on her.
Why?
No clue.
They were only friends…right?
Were they more?
Were they less?
Stalked by the Past: An FBI Flashback Novel. (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 17) Page 20
