Dirty Money

by Michelle Love

  STEELE

  “So tell me again how Arsen isn't doing anything wrong,” Steele said to Paul as he looked at her through the rear-view mirror.

  Her pulse had remained high since they left Arsen’s penthouse. It had been over eight hours since he’d gotten into that car with his old girlfriend, Beth, and Steele was uneasy about why whatever they were doing was taking so damn long.

  Thoughts of them making plans together kept racing through her mind. She saw them holding hands and talking about her leaving her husband and kids and going with Arsen somewhere far away. Then she saw them lying in a bed somewhere and laughing about how stupid she and Beth’s husband were.

  There just wasn’t any good scene she could come up with in her jealous mind.

  “He's not doing anything wrong, Steele,” Paul said. “Obviously this Beth girl must have something to tell him that's going to help him.”

  Steele sat back and threaded her fingers together back-and-forth. Her head was spinning with what she would find Arsen and Beth doing. Her stomach was tight and her insides on fire. The green-eyed monster was in full force inside her and she prayed she found her man in a situation which was not compromising.

  The ride to Anne Sinclair’s house was taking forever. Traffic was backed up worse than she’d ever seen. Steele asked Paul, “What’s going on with this crazy traffic?”

  His eyes caught hers through the rear-view mirror.

  “I heard on the radio a minute ago there's a car wreck about 2 miles up the road.”

  She leaned back on the soft leather seat and sighed for the hundredth time.

  “It could not happen at a worse time!”

  Paul chuckled. “Think the people involved in the accident share your feelings, Steele?” Paul’s cell phone rang. He looked at Steele through the rear-view mirror again. “It's Fontaine.” He answered the phone. “Hey baby what's up?”

  Steele’s eyes rolled with how quickly Paul was falling for the detective. The woman was a real bitch most of the time. Paul could do much better. Find someone sweet instead of so abrasive.

  Fontaine answered him.

  “There’s just been a 911 call from the house next door to Anne Sinclair’s. It's Gwen. Tell Steele, Gwen's okay.”

  Steele bolted upright in the back seat and wondered if she’d heard that right.

  Gwen’s okay?

  Paul said, “I have you on speakerphone, she just heard it. And man did relief just wash over her face. Thanks for letting us know that. You sure are a sweetheart. Miss me?”

  Fontaine’s shy laugh came over the phone.

  “Paul! I’m working here!”

  Steele sat up to listen to everything Fontaine had to say. Her heart was racing after finding out Gwen was alive.

  She’s okay! Everything is going to be fine! It has to be!

  Fontaine said, “Allen White is in Anne Sinclair's house. As we speak, he's got a loaded revolver with six shots. And it’s there, the blue Camaro. Safe to say Arsen and that Beth woman are there along with Anne. How you doing, Gannon?”

  Her stomach knotted as she now was positive Arsen was inside that house. And now so was Allen White. Along with Anne Sinclair and Beth. Allen White was the only one with any kind of weapon, most likely. Steele knew he would want to see Arsen dead rather than alive.

  “I’m holding on, Fontaine. How much longer until we get to them?”

  “Fifteen minutes. Just hold tight and stay on my ass, Paul. I’m about to turn on the lights and do a bit of off-roading to get out of this traffic jam. You follow me. I told all other officers to stand down and let me take care of this situation. They know you’re with me.” Fontaine’s lights went on and her siren blasted.

  Cars began to move out of her way, giving her just enough room to get past them and onto the median. Paul followed and in no time they were free from the traffic and on the side roads heading to Anne’s home.

  Steele moved up and kneeled down behind the window separating her and Paul. “Fontaine, can I go in too?”

  Fontaine let out a loud laugh.

  “Hell no! You stay in the car, Gannon. Paul don't let her out of the car. Okay?”

  “Yes, ma'am. You can count on me,” Paul said. He turned his head and looked at Steele. “You're not getting out of the car, Steele. No matter what. You're not getting out of the car.”

  Steele moved back to the seat at the back of the Suburban. “Brown noser!”

  She knew she was going to get out of the car the minute Fontaine got out of her way. Steele was going to get out of the car and she was going to go into that house to find her man and bring him back home. End of discussion!

  I hope he’s alright!

  ARSEN

  The sound of the doorbell ringing had Arsen taking a step back to make sure he was hidden from everyone’s view. Anne made her way to the door and Arsen could see her through the barely opened door.

  Beth and Anne had been talking for nearly an hour and Arsen had all he needed on the recording device Beth had given him to catch her mother’s words.

  Just as he knew he had all he needed and was about to spring his surprise on Anne, it seemed she was about to have some company and Arsen would have to wait to tell her how screwed she was.

  Light flooded the small entryway as she opened the door.

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “We need to talk,” he heard a man say, but he couldn’t see him.

  “Who has the girl?” Anne asked.

  “Never mind about her. Aren’t you going to ask me to come inside, Anne?” the man said.

  Anne shook her head. “Can’t you see I have company? I’ll come see you in a little while at your place. The place you should be so what happened last time doesn’t happen again. Or did you do as I suggested and end that little problem?”

  “If you must know, I have her hiding in the car. If you let me in I can tell you all about it. I took a little walk around your house. I overheard you talking and I know you only have one other person in here with you. So if you’ll let me in we can deal with this really quick then I’ll be out of your hair, Anne.”

  Anne hesitated and Arsen had a gut feeling the man was not there for anything good. “You walked around my house, Allen?” she asked and held the door tight in her hand, ready to slam it if need be.

  Arsen knew then it was none other than Allen White who was paying his old Dom a visit. He shook his head and leaned against the wall and hoped the woman would close the door. Arsen smelled danger and Allen’s scent was all over it.

  “Just let me in, Anne.” Allen’s voice had turned commanding.

  Arsen watched as Anne took a step back. “What the hell are you doing, Allen?”

  Arsen’s eyes caught Allen White as he walked in and Anne backed up. He was holding a gun out, pointing straight at her. Arsen’s breath caught in his chest and he had no idea what he was going to do to get the gun out of the man's hand.

  “Who are you?” Beth asked. “And why the gun?”

  “I'm the man who is about to kill this woman and then you, obviously,” Allen answered as he kept moving forward and Anne kept moving backwards.

  “Allen, why are you pointing a gun at me, you idiot? We’re on the same side. Or have you forgotten that?” The back of Anne’s legs hit the front of the sofa, stopping her retreat.

  “Are we on the same side?” he asked her. “Because I don’t feel like we are. I can see the writing on the wall, Anne. I’m your patsy. Always have been since the first time you came to see me while I was in prison.”

  Beth’s voice was shaky as she said, “Look mister, I don't even know who you are. I’m married with little kids please don’t kill me. Let me leave. I swear I’ll never tell a soul what I’ve seen.”

  Anne sounded stunned.

  “I’ve got things to live for too, Beth. Jesus! This little man isn’t about to really shoot us.” She looked back at Allen. “What are you doing, you idiot? Don't make me come over there and take that gun ou
t of your hand.”

  Allen laughed.

  “You think you're taking this gun away from me? You’re crazier than I thought you were!”

  Beth began to cry and Allen pointed the gun towards Beth who stood several steps away from Anne.

  “Maybe I'll take you out first as it seems like you're going to be kind of annoying,” he told her.

  Beth shook her head.

  “No. I’ll shut up. I'll shut up, I promise. Please let me go, sir. My kids need me!”

  Anne spoke up, drawing Allen’s attention back to her, “Allen you need to stop this. Put the gun down. What are you doing? Why are you here with that gun? What's going on with you? We have a deal. I’m not going to do anything but what we’ve agreed to.”

  He pointed the gun back Anne.

  “I've gotten wise to you. I know you're going to throw me under the bus. I know that you're going to tell everyone I killed all those women. I know what you're going to do.”

  “And who told you this? Someone put this into your head.” Anne tapped her temple with one long finger. “That dumb bitch! Gwen put this into your head, didn’t she?”

  “If you mean the love of my life, yes it was Gwen who talked to me about this,” he said. “Gwen showed me who you really are. She explained how I'm nothing but a patsy in your whole scheme.”

  Arson watched as Anne threw her hands up in the air. All he could see was her back and Beth’s back and he prayed Allen was so focused on them he wouldn't see his eyes peeking at him through the crack in the door

  Beth let out a big sob. She started crying uncontrollably and Allen pointed the gun at her again.

  “Shut up! Shut up! I can't take that! Shut up or I swear to God I’m going to put a bullet in you first!”

  Beth tried her best to shut up. She did everything she could to stop crying.

  Anne looked at him and said, “Can I go over there and put my arm around my daughter? Before you kill us, at least let me give my daughter one last hug, you piece of crap!”

  “Go ahead,” Allen said as he waved the gun, gesturing for Anne to move the few steps to her daughter. “Give her one last hug. Do whatever you want to do. Give her a kiss for all I care. I don't care what you do, but I'm going to kill you both.”

  Anne walked over to her daughter and put her arms around her.

  “It's okay Beth. It's okay. Don't worry, this man isn’t really going to kill us. He's kind of crazy, but he's not so crazy he would kill the person who is going to give him more than one million dollars.” Anne turned her head to look at Allen. “Have you forgotten how much money I'm going to give you, Allen? Have you forgotten that it's almost in my hands? It's almost in your hands, Allen!”

  “I don't believe you were ever going to give it to me anyway, so you shut your mouth,” he told her as he pulled the gun up and aimed it right at her head. “Pray to God or whoever it is you believe in, because I'm fixing to send you to wherever it is you're going to go. You’re an evil lady so you’ll probably go to hell.”

  “Evil!” Anne shouted.

  Beth was choking on her sobs and holding on tight to her mother.

  “Mom, I love you!”

  Anne shouted, “We are not about to die! Stop the damn bawling, Beth! Shit!”

  Arsen couldn’t believe that Anne was staring into the face of death and would tell her daughter to stop crying. She was a complete, heartless bitch.

  Allen’s hand was shaking as he pointed the gun at the women and Arsen knew the time had come. Allen took a couple of steps and pressed the gun to the side of Beth’s head.

  She was screaming and crying and begging for him to spare her life. Allen’s hand was shaking worse and Arsen knew he had to do something.

  He slammed the door back as hard as he could. The noise made Allen turn around. He only got two words out of his mouth, “What the…”

  Arsen was on him and had wrestled him to the floor. His hand touched the gun which was between them. He felt Allen’s finger on the trigger.

  Allen shouted, “Get off me! I’m going to kill you, Arsen! Then I’ll kill them!”

  Arsen wasn't about to let him go. He wasn't about to let him up. The pieces would just have to fall where they may.

  He tried to position the gun, trying to push the gun into Allen's gut. Allen's finger was still on the trigger as Arsen wrapped his hand around the gun.

  Arsen closed his eyes and prayed for the strength and the courage to do what he had to do. Then he squeezed Allen's hand until the sound of the gun going off rang out in the room.

  All Arsen could hear was the women screaming. Then a gurgling sound. He assumed it was the sound of blood coming out of someone's body, He knew someone had been shot, but he wasn't sure if it was him or Allen.

  His stomach burned and his heart was pounding. Arsen knew his adrenaline was so amped up, if he was shot, he wouldn’t feel it right away.

  He closed his eyes and pictured Steele and prayed he’d live to see her again.

  It can’t end like this!

  STEELE

  The afternoon sun made Detective Fontaine’s blonde locks glow as she walked up to the driver’s side window, Paul had rolled down. They had pulled up on the side of Anne Sinclair’s home, just her cruiser and the Suburban parked right behind it.

  Other officers were in the area, but all were waiting for Fontaine’s call for backup before moving in.

  “Okay, keep her here, Paul.” She drew her gun.

  Paul wiggled his finger for her to come closer. She leaned in the window as he said, “You be careful baby. We have a date later.”

  She smiled.

  “I know. I will, don't worry, I’ve never been shot yet.”

  Paul shook his head.

  “I hope you haven’t just jinxed yourself.”

  Fontaine gave him a smile, and he gave her a little kiss. Then she turned around and headed towards the house, staying close to the side of the outside wall. Steele’s eyes stayed glued to her as she ducked, going under the large set of windows she figured were in the living room.

  Just before Fontaine made it to the door the muffled sound of a gun blast was heard and she looked back over her shoulder at them and hurried into the house. Paul jumped out of the car and ran towards the house.

  Steele hauled ass out of the car and ran for the house as well. There was no way she could sit there not knowing who had been shot.

  “Steele, what the hell are you doing in here?” Fontaine asked with her jaw clenched.

  She was holstering her gun as Beth and Anne stood screaming and crying and holding on to each other. Paul stood between Fontaine and Steel as all looked at the two men on the floor.

  Paul said what all were thinking, “Fuck!”

  Blood had already stained the white carpet the men were lying on.

  “Arsen!” Steele shouted and ran fast to him. She fell on her knees next to him. Her hand on his back, her mouth near his ear. “Baby, please talk to me. Please.”

  Arsen’s head moved a little and his eyes opened slowly.

  “Hey, Baby. What are you doing here?”

  She laughed and tears ran down her cheeks.

  “Are you hurt?”

  “Not sure about that,” he said. “I feel odd, but not in any real pain. My stomach burns a little though.”

  Detective Fontaine kneeled on the other side of him and she took Allen’s hand and checked his pulse.

  “I think this one is dead.” She looked up at Paul who was right behind her. “Help me roll Arsen off this guy.”

  He nodded and did as she’d told him. They rolled him to his back and Steele stayed right by him. Her eyes went wide as she saw blood covering most of his shirt. “Oh, God!”

  Fontaine unbuttoned Arsen’s shirt as he lay perfectly still and kept his eyes focused on Steele.

  “I’m sorry I left without telling you where I was going. You must’ve been worried.”

  “Don’t worry about that now.” She ran her hand over his forehead, pushing ba
ck some damp strands of his dark hair.

  Fontaine let out a sigh of relief.

  “It’s all the other guy’s blood. No wounds on Arsen.” She gave Steele a wink. “What muscles this man has! Lucky girl.”

  Steele laughed and ran her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. With the information he wasn’t shot, Arsen sat up and Steele let him go and took a step back so Paul could help him up.

  Paul pulled Arsen into a hug.

  “You scared us all, you son of a bitch!”

  Steele was so busy starring at Arsen she almost missed seeing Anne slipping out of the living room. She moved quickly to get to the woman.

  “Stop!”

  Anne didn’t even look back. She took off running. Not nearly fast enough though as Steel caught up to her and had her down on the kitchen floor.

  “Stop! Let me go!” Anne screamed.

  Fontaine came into the kitchen and placed her knee in the woman’s back.

  “Thanks, Steele. I can take her from here.”

  “I didn’t do anything!” Anne shouted as she squirmed to get away.

  Arsen and Paul walked in and Arsen handed the recorder to Fontaine once she had Anne secured. “Here you go. This will exonerate me and condemn her. Seems Mistress Sinclair has been into some bad things. Revenge for leaving her had her thinking up new punishments for me. It’s an open and shut case with her words on this recording.”

  “How dare you, Arsen!” Anne yelled from her position on the floor. “That’s illegal! You can’t record someone who doesn’t know they’re being recorded!”

  Arsen let out a sigh.

  “I can’t listen to her speak anymore. I’ve had to listen to her voice for far too long as it is.”

  Beth’s voice came from behind them.

  “Arsen, can I talk to you?”

  Steele’s heart clenched, and she looked at Arsen who silently asked her to let him do what he needed to do. She gave him a nod and ran her hand over his cheek.

  “I love you, Baby.”

  “I love you,” he said them pressed his lips to her forehead.

  He walked towards Beth and took her by the hand, leading her away from the crowded kitchen. Steele watched as a pain filled her chest. But she knew Arsen needed this closure.