Code Name_Redemption

by Natasza Waters

  “Well, maybe she’s waiting for spring, or maybe you’re too busy. Being an admiral must take up a lot of time.”

  He turned a look across his shoulder at her as they entered the breezeway, a dark tunnel leading into the square. “I always have time for my family regardless of national security issues.”

  Mattie stopped herself from giving him a salute. Geez, this guy had Alpha with a big, intimidating ‘A’ across his mountainous chest. In some ways, he surprised her. She expected him to lumber along, but he had a lithe gate. She had to admit, he had an in-charge way of making a girl feel safe. Exactly like Lieutenant Commander LaPierre.

  They met a couple of teenage guys sporting their Snoop Dogg bling and bad boy ‘tudes exiting the breezeway, but both stepped aside seeing the Admiral approach. Six-foot-plus wasn’t extremely tall, Mattie thought, but the rest of him was kinda ginormous.

  They entered Market Square. She’d already shown him the Irish Times pub, located to the right of the entrance to Bastion Square. “It would only take Greg a minute or two to run over to this location from the Irish Times.”

  Sunday morning and nearing lunch, the square had a few people at the restaurants located inside the enclosed courtyard. Mattie noticed the tape had been cleared around the crime scene.

  “Here,” she said. The Admiral joined her.

  “Does anyone live in these buildings?”

  “No. It’s all commercial, but this is where I spoke with the homeless man.”

  Thane crouched down and lifted his head to survey the area again. She didn’t know what he was looking for, but if important, he’d share.

  “Do you think Kayla will come? She seemed very concerned about the Lieutenant Commander.”

  Without looking at her, he said, “No. She’s in San Diego, and that’s where she’ll stay.”

  “So, you’re doing this as a favor to her. I don’t get the warm and fuzzy feeling between you and Lieutenant Commander LaPierre.”

  He rose to his imposing stance. “Very astute.”

  “Why does Kayla think you can help?”

  “Because I caught a serial killer once before,” he said and rested his ice colored eyes on her.

  Hers popped open. “You did? Where?”

  “San Diego. Three years ago.”

  Her mouth worked like a guppy. “You caught the killer that terrorized San Diego? The Blood Shark? I researched the story. I remember reading he was caught near the Naval Amphibious base where they train the SEALs.”

  He nodded. “On the base, actually. He chose Kayla as one of his targets. His last target.”

  “I see. And…are you a Navy SEAL?”

  The Admiral inhaled a deep breath and it seemed to make his already wide shoulders even wider under his jacket. “I’m not active in the theater any longer.” He nodded. “When I met Kayla, I was the Commander of NAB Coronado and in charge of SEAL Team One.”

  “Did Greg, did he…know about the Blood Shark?”

  The Admiral nodded. “He came to visit during that time. He wanted to take Kayla home.”

  “You’re American, but Kayla—?”

  Taking a few steps, the Admiral circled the cement where Diana’s body had been found. “Canadian by birth. You’re very interested in my wife for some reason.”

  “I want all the pieces of the puzzle, even if some of them have no bearing on the murder.”

  “Then we’d better get lunch. It’s going to take a while.”

  She almost sighed audibly. Finally, someone would fill her in instead of having to pick her way through a maze of questions.

  “Excuse me,” she heard a call and saw a woman trotting toward them wearing jeans, a tie-dyed head band and matching blouse. Her big dangly earrings jumped and jingled as she sauntered toward them. She stopped and glanced at the murder scene. “Something told me to come out here.” She smiled. “I’m Lorna Galaxy.”

  Galaxy? Mattie saw the direction the woman had come from. Tucked in the corner of the square was a metaphysical gift store. “Hi, Lorna, I’m Mattie Bidault, New Times Colonist.”

  “I know, I recognize you from your articles on the serial killer.”

  Mattie waited for Lorna to pitch her story. She wasn’t a believer and had seen many proclaimed psychics try to advance their notoriety by embedding themselves in a murder investigation. A quick glance at the Admiral told her he felt somewhat the same.

  Lorna turned toward the bloodstained ground. “It doesn’t matter whether you believe I have the sight or not, but I’m going to tell you what Diana wants you to know.”

  “You’re a medium,” Mattie confirmed.

  Lorna nodded and took a deep breath. “Diana has been waiting here. She says she’s been waiting for someone.”

  “Who?”

  “This isn’t an exact science as I’m sure you’re well aware of, but his name starts with a ‘G’ Gerry, or Gregory or Gary…one of those.”

  Mattie darted a quick look at the Admiral, and he popped his brows but remained silent.

  “Go on, although I’ll add that Greg LaPierre has already been named as her ex-boyfriend.”

  “But he’s innocent. The men—”

  “Wait a minute,” Mattie interrupted. “Men?”

  “Diana says there were men, not a man who took her.”

  “How many?”

  “She doesn’t say. She keeps showing me pictures. Rooms. Dark wood panelling. It’s private.”

  “Private or secluded? Can you give me more details?”

  Lorna shook her head. “But I can tell you she wasn’t alone. She shows me other women. They’re like…” Lorna gestured with her hands. “They’re like slaves. ‘Against their will’, she keeps saying.”

  Mattie pulled out a notepad. “Can you describe them?”

  “I’m only getting flashes, but I’ve seen two of them dressed in, well, in leather. Half naked, straps on their hands and feet.”

  “Do you see any men?”

  “Just one.” Lorna’s brow wrinkled. “He’s very tall, but I can’t see his face and he’s…he’s the one who killed Diana. There.” She pointed. “Dark. Dangerous. Deception. The three D’s. He’s handsome, but it’s deceiving. There’s something unique about his eyes.”

  Mattie swallowed deeply. “As in, how unique?”

  Lorna curled a shoulder. “They’re intense. Brilliant. Unforgettable.”

  Mattie’s heart hitched with trepidation. “What…what color?”

  “I’m not sure, but they’re very unique. They stand out.”

  Mattie nodded, although a heavy lump formed in her stomach. Greg’s eyes were unique, too. “Go ahead.”

  “He fools them. His façade is all an act. He’s a monster. Seduces them and then he hurts them, then suddenly he’s warm and comforting to them. He apologizes to them. Always gentle with them as if he’s sorry after he hurts them. I can feel Diana’s emotions. She knew him. She knew him before he took her.”

  Mattie wrote everything Lorna described in her notepad. Her heart grew heavier because her physical description sounded like Greg. “Have you shared this with the police?”

  “No, Diana’s energy, it gets frightened when I think about calling them. So much so that I haven’t done it yet. I know you’re following this case. I was going to call you, but then I got this feeling you were close. I stepped out of the shop for a second and saw you.”

  Mattie pulled her card and offered it. “If you want to share anything else with me, please feel free to call. I might not be totally convinced, but I’m willing to listen.”

  Lorna gave her a thankful smile. “You’re going to catch him.” She nodded. “For certain.”

  “I am?”

  “Yes.” Lorna’s gaze zoned out. “It’s going to be hard. You’ll want to give up hope like the other women, but you won’t. You have a protector. A man in uniform.”

  Mattie’s brows rose, and she gave her a tight smile. Would Stuart finally join forces with her? Or was she guessing the Admiral who
stood beside her was military? “Are you saying I’m going to face the Ripper in his own den?”

  Lorna looked at her. “Yes.” She blinked. “Den?” she said and nodded her head. “Den is the right word. Den of iniquity. Pain. I think so. I don’t want to scare you. And the future can change, but right now, that’s what I see.”

  “Thank you, Lorna. Call me if you—see anything else.” Mattie edged her head for the Admiral to make an escape.

  * * * *

  Seated in one of her favorite Italian restaurants on Blanchard Street, Mattie thanked the server who brought her bowl of fettucine tossed in an orgasmic looking sauce. The Admiral had written off Lorna’s reading as horseshit after ordering. She wasn’t that quick to dispense with the information. Right now, she was mostly interested in what the Admiral had to say about San Diego’s serial killer called the Blood Shark. She’d listened to his tale for thirty minutes. An incredible story.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Kayla wants a happy ending for Greg. Aside from the fact that he’d love to see me under a headstone, we get along. He’s a good man and dedicated to his country. He’s highly intelligent. The fact is, I owe him a lot for bringing the authorities and taking his brother away from Kayla. That’s a sacrifice most men wouldn’t make. He loved Kayla too much to let his brother worm his way back into her life, and he also loved her enough to walk away to give her a life with me. When he brought Diana to our wedding, we both thought he’d finally moved on.”

  “So you have no doubts of his innocence?”

  “By nature, I know good men can turn bad, but LaPierre isn’t one of those men.”

  “That’s good enough for me,” she said, and she meant it.

  Austen chuckled.

  “What?”

  He quirked a brow. “You’re relieved.” He finished a mouthful of food. “Men like LaPierre.” He shrugged. “Men like me. The team guys. They can push a woman to the brink of sanity. For a bunch of highly trained, highly skilled, sharp thinking men, we’re fucking stupid when it comes to women. LaPierre is an adrenaline junky like the rest of us. He’s going to be a challenge.”

  She gazed at the Admiral, not knowing how to respond. “So, you’re telling me that he’s complex?”

  The Admiral sat back and swallowed a sip of beer. “What I’m saying is, don’t forget he’s human.”

  They talked over a second cup of coffee for her and a pint of beer for the Admiral. Before she was finished, she received a text from Stuart.

  Can’t wait to see you tonight.

  She inwardly grinned, but the Admiral must have seen something on her face.

  “LaPierre’s right. Going out with that cop tonight might be dangerous. You can’t show your hand. Not until you know who you can trust.”

  “They’re used to me asking questions. Especially, Stuart. He already knows I suspect there is more than one murderer.”

  “Even worse.” The Admiral washed down his food with a healthy gulp of beer. “Dark Matter,” he said, reading the label on the bottle. “Canadian beer is pretty damn good. Never had anything like this in the US. My wife’s been holding out on me.”

  She chuckled. “Your children will have dual citizenship. That will open up opportunities for them when they get older. They’re lucky.”

  “They’re lucky because they have an amazing mother. I’m lucky because she decided to love me even for all my faults, and when I met her, I had a lot.”

  Mattie cleared her throat. He always seemed so harsh and the scar running down the one side of his face made him look frightening, but his words and the gentle timbre he used when he talked about Kayla and his children kind of melted her heart. “So, Greg never married?”

  “No. He was Kayla’s second husband, but in heart only. How about you? Did LaPierre hit the target when he said you and this cop have something going on?”

  She shrugged and followed the handle on her coffee cup with one finger. “He asked me out once not that long ago, but I found out it was to make sure the Victoria PD weren’t going to show up in one of my articles as being negligent.”

  The Admiral gazed at her. “But there was more.”

  “Pretty sure it was one-sided. He said it wasn’t, but…” She didn’t finish the rest of her thought. The one that was self-deprecating and drove her to take a big swallow of coffee before she said it.

  “Where’s this constable taking you?”

  “Restaurant here, downtown.”

  “How well do you really know him?”

  “About a year. He transferred here from back east. During the last year, he’s been my source at the police station. We’ve both responded to every crime scene.”

  “Done any research on him?”

  She laughed. “No, why should I? He’s a police officer.”

  “Blind faith could get you killed. We would have never believed a Marine would turn out to be the Shark. What’s the name of the restaurant?”

  “Are you going to tail me?” she asked surprised.

  “Yes, to see if anyone is tailing you. Until then, I’m going to keep a low profile.”

  She laughed. “Seen yourself in the mirror before?”

  He chuckled and the rugged, almost frightening features of the career Navy SEAL morphed into handsome. Now, she saw what Kayla had been attracted to. He wasn’t so bad once he shed the Special Force’s trappings.

  “Had you been married before Kayla?”

  He shook his head. “Professional bachelor. She changed my life. And that isn’t just a tagline for some book. She changed me.” He stewed about it for a second. “Or maybe, I changed because of her.”

  The server cleared their plates and laid the folder with the bill on the table.

  “Can I ask you something?” Mattie reached in her purse for her wallet, but he shook his head.

  “Sure.” He dropped a few American bills on top of the check.

  “Why was Kayla different? I mean, obviously Greg loves her. Still loves her.”

  He ignored the first question. “They went through extreme emotional trauma together. That creates a lifetime bond. I kind of gave you the summarized version. There’s more. A lot more. He does love Kayla and she loves him. That will never end between them.”

  “So you’re saying that you think if something happened to you…”

  Thane stretched his neck and gave her a pointed look. “Probably, but it doesn’t change the fact that she married me. We have a family. I accepted LaPierre as part of our family to make my wife happy. There is no cutting the bond between those two.”

  “And you?”

  He shook his head and broke into a healthy chuckle. “I make sure I keep fit and eat right.”

  His story was so interesting. So many crazy moments and dramatic twists. “How is Kayla’s PTSD now?”

  “Better. It’s not something that disappears overnight, but she’s had professional help. Our children keep her on her feet all day, and I…” He grinned. “I do my part by making sure she knows she’s loved and safe.”

  Okay, call out the melt-your-panties moment. The look in the Admiral’s eyes when he spoke about Kayla was exactly the kind Mattie imagined love should reflect. Stuart made her pulse flutter a little, but that heart-clutching moment when you feel love, well—she’d never felt that before. The Admiral was totally over the top in love with his wife. No one else stood before her, and for him to accept Greg showed just how strong that love was.

  “Here’s my number,” she said, giving him her card.

  “Thanks.” He stuffed it into his chest pocket, then penned his on a napkin and offered it to her. “What’s your next lead?”

  “I’m going to the company who leases the parkade. I’d like to find those kids who the old man described at the scene of Diana’s murder, but I have no way of doing that.” A text came in and she shot a glance toward her phone. Her breath caught in her throat as she read it.

  “What is it?” the Admiral asked, back in business mode.<
br />
  She reread the text from Dominique, her photographer. “They just found another body.”

  “That’s good and bad news,” he said. “Greg will be released.”

  “Maybe, unless this woman was killed before Diana and they’re only finding her now.” She pushed to her feet. “You want to come?”

  “Not this time. Going to get some things for LaPierre and head back to the corrections facility, then I’m going to contact his team.”

  “You mean the JTF team?”

  He nodded. “We might need their help. Depends what happens next. Text me when you finish up at the scene.”

  “I will.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Butchart Gardens attracted millions of visitors each year. Originally, the gardens began their life as a quarry. Once the limestone had been mined, the wife of the owner saw more than a gutted pit and created what would become a world renowned tourist attraction. Acres and acres of lush green lawns with rose gardens, perennial and annual beds bloomed from early spring to late fall. A serene landscape of color and scent to tempt the eyes and the nose.

  Unfortunately, a dead body was not the kind of fertilizer the gardens liked to use.

  Mattie juggled for position near the front entrance lined with hanging baskets and the Christmas theme well underway. Little colored lights adorned bushes and buildings. The gardens had been closed for the investigation. The media in attendance muted their conversations as the coroner rolled out the body bag on a stretcher. Stuart stood with other police officers near the closed wrought iron gates. His sharp eyes scanned the crowd and stopped on her. There was no flinch of recognition.

  He lifted his hand to get the media’s attention. “The Coroner’s Office has concluded with an initial onsite investigation, the woman found here is the eighth victim of the Victoria Ripper. The police will not release any further details until the autopsy is completed.”

  As was par for the course, journalists and reporters started shouting. Stuart pointed at her. “Go ahead with your question, Ms. Bidault.”

  Before she spoke, a reporter with quaffed brunette hair and high heels grumbled to her cameraman. “Why the fuck does she always get to go first?”