by J. E. Taylor
“No, he wasn’t in his office when I arrived.”
“Did anyone see you?”
“No. What is this about?”
“When was the last time you saw Carolyn Hastings?”
Linda’s face flushed red. “That little hussy ruined my marriage.” As soon as the words were spoken, her eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth. She sat on the couch and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry about that little outburst. My husband’s infidelity still stings a bit.”
Steve took a seat next to Linda, formulating his words very carefully, as if he wasn’t privy to the truth. “Are you insinuating that your husband had an affair with Ms. Hastings?”
“I could never prove it, but…”
“Then why were you visiting him at City Hall?”
“I wanted to see if he really had fired her like he said he did,” she said and looked out the window. “That turned out to be a farce as well.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Why would he do that? Why would he lie to me when he vowed to work on our marriage? Why?”
Steve raised his eyebrows, “I’m sorry. I don’t have any answers for you on that front, but I do have another question if you don’t mind.”
She nodded and sniffled, wiping the stray tear from her cheek.
“Did you see anyone while you were at City Hall?”
“I told you, no one saw me.”
“That’s not what I asked…”
Her manner transitioned from the teary-eyed wife, to the same hardness that overcame her when he introduced himself. “No, I didn’t see anyone I knew either.” She answered and glanced at her watch. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m late for an appointment.”
“Just one more question, Mrs. Britt.” He paused and waited until her gaze locked with his. “Where were you between the hours of one and three in the morning today?”
“I was sleeping.”
“Can anyone confirm that?”
Her jaw tightened and she stood. “I think it’s time for you to leave.”
Steve nodded and offered his hand. She stared at it and then turned, walking out of the room in a darker mood than when she had entered. He took the cue and left, closing the door behind him.
Out on the sidewalk, he opened the list and put an asterisk next to Linda’s name. The prospects of obtaining a court order to search the district attorney’s house with the flimsy information he had were slim and that did not sit well with him, especially after the brief and bizarre conversation. He’d have to follow up with the District Attorney regarding her whereabouts over the last few weeks. He stuffed the list back into his pocket and hailed a cab.
“City Hall,” he said and leaned back in the seat.
His phone beeped and he scanned the message that came in from his boss. “Shit,” he muttered and swiped to the next text. “Change in plans, can you take me to Central Park West and 110th Street instead?”
The cab turned around on 42nd Street and looped back up Fifth Avenue and around Central park, dropping Steve off at the corner of 110th and Central Park West. He paid and headed toward the apartment building, steeling himself for the next confrontation.
She turned, her platinum blonde hair flowing in an attractive arc, followed by that captivating brown-eyed gaze that met his with all the hostility of a Brooklyn mobster.
“Hey, Sarah.”
“Don’t give me that shit. You left me to babysit your wife in court.”
He gave the doorman an awkward smile before grabbing Sarah’s arm and leading her to the elevator. “Do you always have to make a scene?” he asked when the elevator doors shut and the cabin began its ascent to the penthouse.
“I do when you’re such a dick.”
“I was needed here.”
“You were needed at home,” she countered, staring him down. “Do you know how hard it was for her to sit in that courtroom and go through the testimony without you?’
Guilt bit at him, prickling and itching under his skin and he shifted with discomfort. He knew it was going to be hell on her, but if he heard her recount each horrifying assault in person, he would turn his anger on Kyle Winslow, finishing the job that Chris Ryan started. “I know.”
“Then why the hell…”
“Let it go, Sarah,” he snapped, sending a warning glance in her direction.
She stepped closer, the set of her jaw matching her offensive thoughts.
Steve’s teeth clenched and he willed his hands from following suit. “If I was in that courtroom listening to what she went through, hearing her voice shake and seeing the tears in her eyes… I. Would. Have. Killed. Him.”
Sarah’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t think I wanted to shoot the bastard?”
He met her angry gaze. “You didn’t have a loaded gun in the courtroom, did you?”
She bit her lip and stepped back just before the elevator doors slid open.
He crossed into the hallway and opened the apartment door with a thought, walking into the living room and staring out at the panoramic view of the city.
“I haven’t seen you lose your temper since the night we met,” Sarah said
“Yeah, well, put me in a room with Kyle Winslow and…”
“You already had the chance to kill him and you chose not to. Hell, if you hadn’t stepped in, I would have killed him, so what’s different between then and now?”
Steve ran his hand through his hair, frustrated with this line of questioning from his partner. Sarah always put him on the defensive and this time he had to head it off before he did lose his temper. “Look, did you come here to work on the case with me or did you just fly down to ride my ass?”
“As much as I’d like to ride you…” The rest of the sentence fell into silence.
He turned at the imaginary porn flick snapping off in her mind. “You’re doing that just to piss me off, aren’t you?”
She raised an eyebrow and her lips formed that come-hither smile that, if he hadn’t been married, would have sent his libido into overdrive. Now, it only served to irritate him further.
“Stop it,” he said and crossed to the desk, picking up the file and handing it to her. “They’ve narrowed down the weapon to a collector’s axe. You want to make yourself useful and start matching sales records with these names?”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to City Hall to have a chat with half the names on that list. I’ll be back,” he said and headed toward the door.
“You can’t just pawn off the case research on me.”
Steve sent a smile in her direction. “Sure I can,” he said and closed the door on her loud curses.
* * * *
City Hall at noontime was a mass of people and Steve stood in the entrance for a moment, soaking in the thoughts of strangers. He turned and marched up the stairs and into the District Attorney’s office with authority.
Jim Britt looked up from his computer and his expression hardened. “I don’t appreciate you harassing my wife this morning.”
“I really don’t give a damn. I’m trying to stop a serial killer and if that makes you uncomfortable, so be it. You and your wife each have a motive to target Ms. Hastings, as do a handful of others in this office.”
Jim’s eyes narrowed and his lips thinned to white lines. “You think I killed those girls?”
Steve flipped his notebook open to the page listing the dates and times of the attacks. “At this point, I’m not ruling anyone out. Eight women are dead and I’m trying to make sure there isn’t a ninth.” He raised his gaze, meeting the now red-faced glare of Jim Britt.
Jim’s thoughts turned into a flurry of information, none of which settled Steve’s suspicions. He sent a curt nod in Steve’s direction.
“What can I do to help?” he finally asked.
“I need to start ruling people out and I’d like to start with you,” Steve said, toning his confrontational stance down a notch. He sat across from Jim and slid the notebook in his direction. “Can you tell me where you were during the ho
urs of the murders on this list?”
Jim scanned the dates and times. “I was in the office last Monday morning, the rest of these times I was at home either working in my study or sleeping.”
“And your wife?”
“I don’t know where she was last Monday, but she was sleeping the other times.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Jim scanned the times again. “Actually, I’m not sure what time she arrived home on Wednesday. She had a rotary club meeting and those sometimes run long. As you know, we haven’t been sleeping in the same room for a while.”
“So the only concrete alibi you have is during the second murder?”
Jim looked at the list and sighed. “Looks that way.”
“And your wife?”
“Look, my wife couldn’t have done this. Despite how angry she is with me, she wouldn’t go after Carolyn.” He stared at the dates for a moment and then met Steve’s gaze.
Steve noodled on his response for a moment and decided to switch gears. “Do you collect weapons featured in gaming or fantasy and science fiction films?”
Jim’s eyebrows rose and his gaze jumped to the decorative sword mounted over the couch and he waved his hand in the same direction. “I own an extensive collection of swords, axes and sabers that date back to the fifteen century. Why?”
“Because we believe the weapon is a collector’s axe.” Steve waited for a reaction and all he got was a blink and the resounding clutter of static. “I’d like to take a look at the collection if you don’t mind.”
That received more of a reaction. Jim Britt shut down, his eyes narrowing a fraction and his back stiffening. “Do you have a warrant?”
“I was hoping you would grant me permission.”
The laugh that escaped from Jim took him by surprise and he focused, gathering his power of influence and directing it at the District Attorney. “Are you responsible for the murders of those girls?”
Jim shook his head. “No.”
“Is your wife?”
This time, Jim’s reaction was a lot less certain. “No…”
“So why don’t you want me searching your house?”
His lips tightened, but he couldn’t keep the truth from spilling out. “Because, I’ve got a certain fetish that I’d rather not become a matter of public record.”
Curiosity got the best of Steve and he raised an eyebrow. “And what exactly would that be?”
His face reddened. “I’m into light S&M.”
The answer threw Steve and he actually laughed. “Whips and chains?” he couldn’t help the comment, it just slipped out and the glare the D.A. gave him was enough to stifle the chuckle. “Well, now that the cat’s out of the bag, you shouldn’t have an issue with me taking a look around.”
Without Steve’s influence over him, he stood and headed for the door, holding it open for Steve to exit. “I do have an issue with you rifling through my personal effects, now if you wouldn’t mind, I’m late for court.”
Steve took the blatant hint and stopped next to Jim. “I’ll be back with a court order.”
“Good luck with that,” Jim said and turned, walking out of the office with purpose.
Steve watched him leave and turned to the stunned secretary in the outer office. “Where can I find Jason Anderson?”
“I believe he is in Beverly Sinclaire’s office,” she said and pointed in the direction of Carolyn’s old office.
Steve nodded and headed in that direction. He’d hit up Judge Henderson for search warrants when he was through with the next three interviews and hopefully by that point, Sarah would have sales records to give him probable cause.
His phone buzzed and he glanced at the caller, diverting his path to a quiet corner. “What do you have for me?”
“I haven’t gotten very far on the sales leads, but the backgrounds you requested came back,” Sarah began and he could hear paper shuffling. “Jason Anderson has a hell of a motive. Carolyn Hastings put his father away. The man was a teacher and she convicted him for molesting little girls in his elementary class. Jason changed his name and dropped off the radar after his father was killed in prison,” she said.
“What else can you tell me about him?”
“He’s in his second year of law school. Says here he also has a black belt in karate and has competed in weapons tournaments, so be careful.”
“I’m on it,” Steve said and hung up. With a deep breath, he crossed the office and knocked on the door to Carolyn’s old office.
“Come in.”
Steve expected to see a man on the other side of the door—instead he saw a woman who could only be categorized as an Amazonian mutant or a badly dressed drag queen. “I’m sorry, I was told Jason Anderson was in here.”
“I sent him to pick up lunch,” Beverly Sinclaire said and everything about her screamed man, except the eyeful of cleavage accented by the low cut shirt. The most concerning thing about this woman was the lack of thoughts or static that people usually transmit.
Steve’s intuition prickled and he stepped into the office, pulling his badge out of his pocket and flashing it in her direction. “I’m Special Agent Williams and I’m here regarding the Scarlet Psychopath case. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”
“What can I do for you, Agent Williams?”
“How long have you worked at the district attorney’s office?”
“A couple of months, why do you ask?”
“Did you work with Carolyn Hastings at all?”
“No, but I believe this was her office. Has something happened that I should know about?”
Steve skirted the question and asked, “What can you tell me about Jason Anderson?” Still fishing for something of a thought in the woman’s head, but he received nothing. Either this woman had peculiar thought patterns or she was a killer in disguise.
“He’s a bright law student. Why?”
Steve sent a smile her way. “I’m asking the questions if you don’t mind.”
Her head cocked to the side and her eyes narrowed. “What exactly are you fishing for Agent Williams?”
Before Steve could answer, the door behind him opened and a man in his early twenties, close to Steve’s height and build walked in with a take-out bag. His gaze landed on Steve and his gait faltered. He stopped in place and glanced between Steve and Beverly, his eyebrows raised in question.
“Jason, I presume?” Steve asked, flipping his badge open.
The blood ran out of Jason’s face, leaving it pale. His brown eyes widened. “Did something happen to Carolyn? I mean Ms. Hastings?”
“Is there somewhere we can talk in private?” Steve asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Jason said and handed the bag to Beverly without as much as a glance in her direction. He led Steve to an empty office overlooking the park and closed the door before turning to Steve. “Please, tell me Ms. Hastings is okay.”
Steve studied him for a moment, hearing broken thoughts that bordered on panic, but not in the realm of being caught, more along the lines of panic relating to Carolyn. “She’s fine, but I have some questions for you.”
Jason closed his eyes and sat on the nearest chair, the relief in his features said far more to Steve than anything else. When Jason looked back at Steve, he waived toward the chair next to him. “What can I do for you?”
“Tell me about your father.”
Jason blinked several times and his mouth opened in a shocked O and after a moment, he promptly shut it and the concern lacing his face transitioned to a hard stare. He shifted in the chair and an iron blanket draped over his thoughts, blocking Steve from obtaining any more information beyond the hint of feelings he received when they first entered the room.
“How did you find out?” he finally asked when he regained composure.
“I’m with the FBI. We have a way of uncovering the damndest details when we set our minds to it.” He sat back in the seat and crossed his arms.
“Should I have a lawyer
present?”
“Do you need one?”
“I’m not sure I like what you’re insinuating.”
Steve leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “I don’t give a rats ass whether you like it or not. Does Carolyn know who you are?”
Jason shifted and studied his hands, his thoughts debating on whether he should have a lawyer present or not. “No, she doesn’t know who I am,” Jason said after a full minute of silence. “And I’d prefer to keep it that way.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because, if she knew who I was, she might not want me in the same office.”
“Why?”
Jason raised his gaze. “You already know why, so stop playing games with me.”
Steve sat up and laughed. “You think I’m playing games?”
“I think you’re trying to pin something on me when you should be out looking for the real culprit.”
“What exactly am I trying to pin on you, Jason?” He cocked his head to the side and waited for the inevitable answer.
“You think I’m responsible…”
“For?” Steve asked.
Jason’s mind went blank again, his features hardening and his arms crossing in defiance. “I think I’d like a lawyer present before we continue this line of questioning.”
Steve stared him down and gave a nod, if he was in Jason’s shoes, he’d lawyer up too, especially with the damning motive he had in his pocket. “Go ahead.”
“Right now?” Jason’s eyes widened.
“Yes. Call your lawyer and have him meet us at the Federal Building. I think it’s time we have a long chat,” Steve stood and took Jason by the arm, helping him to his feet.
“Are you arresting me?”
“No.”
“What if I refuse?”
Steve leveled a serious gaze in his direction. “Then we’ll have a real problem.”
Jason yanked his arm from Steve’s grasp and took a step back. “I don’t need you carting me out of here like a common criminal.”
“Are you refusing to come with me?”
“No, I just don’t want to make a scene. You yanking me out of here by the arm will create a swirl and I’d rather keep under the radar, if you don’t mind.”
“I’m not sure that’s possible, anymore,” Steve said. “But I’ll let you walk with me if you promise to behave.”
