Love Loss Revenge

by Graysen Morgen

  "I agree. She wasn't standing straight at the ATM. She was half turned. That's why the other mall makes perfect sense."

  Rian got out of the car and looked across the highway with her binoculars. "There's a shoe store in the middle there directly across from us," she said when she got back in the car and gunned the engine.

  They pulled up in front of the shoe store and Leann was hanging up with the mall manager for that strip mall. "Are you scared of heights?" she asked.

  "No," Leann said. "He's going to meet us in a few minutes. He said no one has been on this part of the roof in months. He did say they had the air conditioner repaired at the jewelry store, but that's at the other end of the mall."

  "Make a note of that. This could be how he is gaining roof access. Maybe he's an a/c repair guy."

  The manager showed up and let them through the door in the next store over that had a slim staircase that led to the roof. Rian walked every inch of the space twice. There was nothing, not a single trace that anyone had been up there.

  "Look here," Leann said from a few feet away. Rian walked over to her.

  "Look towards that ATM," Leann said as she handed her the binoculars.

  "This is definitely where he was, within a few feet on either side," Rian said as she handed her back the binoculars. "There's nothing here. He's clean, well trained."

  When they got back in the car, Rian wrote some notes on a piece of paper and handed it to Leann. "Call the manager back and get the name of that a/c repair place and the technician's name. Then, call Quinn and have him put together a radius of buildings around each of the shootings that pertain to our case. Then, call all of those companies to see if they had any air conditioning or other roof repairs done during or before the times of each shooting. We may have a huge lead here."

  Chapter Fifteen

  Rian finally gathered all of her Intel on Canturri and boxed it up. On the way to the post office she stopped for coffee and then stopped for gas. That's when she noticed a plain, dark blue car. She saw the same car behind her when she left her apartment complex. She also saw the car in the coffee shop drive-thru line, and now it was at the gas station a few pumps over. Rian got back in her car when she finished pumping gas. She hadn't seen anyone enter or exit the car, but when she pulled away the blue car pulled away too. Rian quickly dialed a number.

  "Where are you?"

  "I'm on my way to the morgue. Where are you?" Leann said.

  "Do me a huge favor. Do you know the central post office on Fifth Street?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Meet me there. Go now. Call me when you get there."

  "Okay, I'm only a few blocks from there. Is everything okay?"

  "I think I have a tail and I need to take your car and you drive mine to the station so I can figure out who this is," Rian said.

  "What the hell have you gotten into now, Rian," Leann said. "I'm here."

  "Good, I'm pulling in too. There is a box in my back seat, take it in with you when you get to the station and lock it up," Rian said as she pulled up next to her.

  Leann was standing outside of her car. Rian pulled up and jumped out.

  "Okay, he's at the light and turning in now. Take my car and go. I'll follow in yours and see where he goes when he leaves you."

  Rian got into Leann's car and watched her pull away in Rian's unmarked car. The blue car circled around and followed her without even noticing the driver change. Rian pulled out into the traffic a few car lengths behind him.

  When her phone rang, she answered. "Do you see him?" Leann said.

  "Yeah, he's in that blue rental behind you."

  "Who is he?"

  "I have no idea, but he's in for a rude awakening when I find out. Just go in like nothing's different and don't forget my box. I'll get it from you later."

  "Okay."

  "Call me when you get to your desk. I need to run the tag. It's definitely a rental car, but I need to see what company it is."

  "Okay, I'm almost to the station," Leann said.

  Rian pulled up against the curb a block away and watched the blue car park close to the station. She watched Leann get the box out of the backseat and walk inside. The blue car sped off and Rian pulled back out into the traffic. Rian followed him back to a small hotel and watched him go into a room on the first floor.

  She quickly called the hotel and spoke in a high-pitched feminine voice. "Hi, I think my husband is in room one-twelve with some hussy. Can you tell me the name he checked in under?"

  "I'm sorry, ma'am. We can't give out that information."

  "If it was your wife with him wouldn't you want to know?" she pleaded.

  "I don't think that is your husband ma'am. He's from Washington, D.C. and here on business."

  Rian raised an eyebrow. What would a fed be doing following her? "Well, how long has that guy been staying in that room, because my husband is suppose to be gone on business to California and he left two days ago," she continued the crazy accent.

  "That room has been booked since yesterday ma'am."

  Rian hung up the phone and dialed Leann's number.

  "Hey, I'm sorry. I got bombarded when I walked in. Apparently, Quinn is looking for you. The captain said they may have found something."

  "That's fine, but right now I really don't give a flying fuck. Run this tag for me, Echo, Delta, Two, Bravo, One, Nine."

  Leann typed a few keys on her laptop. "It's registered to Hertz," she said.

  Rian hung up and called information to get the local branch phone number. She quickly dialed the number and waited for someone to pick up.

  "This is Officer Owen with the Portland Police Department. One of your vehicles was just in a hit a run and the driver took off. A witness got the tag number and it's registered to you. I need to know who that is rented to please so I can file the report."

  "Oh, yes ma'am," the guy said. Rian heard him typing keys after she read him the tag number.

  "Here it is, that is a blue, two-thousand and twelve Impala. That car is rented under a government contract and we usually don't put individual drivers on the policy," he said. "Wait, it looks like the person that checked out the car did put a driver on the contract, it was probably one of our new people. His name is Joel Robbins and he has a Washington, D.C. driver's license. Do you want that number?"

  "Thanks," Rian said as she wrote everything down. She hung up the phone and slammed her fist against the steering wheel. Why was Walsh having her followed? None of this made any sense. Hell, nothing made sense to her since the day he told her who Ari really was.

  ~

  The next day Rian is sitting at her desk reading all of the information Detective Quinn obtained from all of the crime scenes. Whether or not she liked it, she was working an active case. She printed maps of each crime scene and highlighted the buildings in a three block radius that were having repairs done during the time frame of each shooting. There were at least three having air conditioner work done prior to the crimes. She was sure this was how he was operating. The only problem was she got the names of three different air conditioner companies. If the guy was using an alias she'd never be able to connect everything.

  "Detective Casey, this came for you," a young officer handed her a brown envelope.

  "Did you see who delivered it?" she asked when she recognized the package.

  "A courier service, ma'am."

  Rian sighed and opened the envelope when he walked away. She pulled out a cipher letter very similar to the first once she received.

  QYHOLUKADRNEMDXATNVGPEWR.XYLOLUJKQNZOAW

  VTLODOUMDUECKH.TYGODUQWXEMRZEKWOAIRYNJEHD.

  JTLHEEOYVAXRJEDCGOBMEIJNWGAFQOLRVYXOZU.

  2.3326.3434.346.43633.

  Rian read the numbers on the bottom. They key looked similar to the last one so she began writing out every other letter. When she finished she read the message.

  YOU ARE IN DANGER. YOU KNOW TOO MUCH. YOU WERE WARNED. THEY ARE COMING FOR YOU.

  She put the letter
and scratch paper back into the envelope and set it inside her briefcase. She'd had enough of this cat and mouse game. The only way to get to the bottom of all of this was to go straight to the source. She booked a flight on her computer and told the captain she wasn't feeling well. He told her to take the next day off and he'd see her on Monday. He also told her he expected an update on this serial killer case Monday morning.

  Rian had just enough time to throw some clothes in a bag and speed to the airport. Her flight was already boarding when she arrived. There was already a woman sitting in the window seat next to the first class aisle seat she was booked in. Rian pushed her bag under the seat in front of her and sat down. She ignored the woman next to her and watched in the mirrored lens she pulled from her pocket. Her tail had followed her onto the plane. She blew out a short breath and wondered how he was able to get a ticket so fast. She watched as he sat down a few rows back.

  As the plane began to taxi the woman next to her moved closer. "You have bigger problems than Fiorino Canturri," she whispers. Rian stiffened. She knew that voice. It still shocked her when she saw Ari or heard her sweet voice. It was like a ghost from the grave appearing over and over.

  "What do you mean?" Rian said quietly without looking at her.

  "They've been after me for a while, now they're after you," Ari whispered.

  "Who?" Rian questioned, still watching the man in the lens.

  "The FBI."

  "That's crazy. They're only after you if you're connected to your father. Are you?" Rian finally looked at her. She was wearing brown contacts and her long blond hair was still dyed brown. The beautiful, vibrant, young woman she was in love with was buried somewhere under that disguise. Rian wondered if that woman died the night Ari supposedly died in her arms.

  "No, of course not. I'm connected to you. When my father threatened to kill you, I agreed to let him fake my death and went home to be the good little daughter the day after the funeral. About three months later Philip Walsh met with my father at his compound in Buenos Aires."

  "Walsh?" Rian paused. "How do you know this?"

  "I was there," Ari said as she turned towards the window to watch them fly through the clouds. "They're after me because I witnessed the exchange. I was on the grounds when Walsh was being escorted out. He didn't recognize me at first, but my father introduced me. I know he had only seen me once or twice with you, but he must have realized I was the same woman you buried," she said softly.

  "So you're telling me Philip Walsh is working with your father?"

  "Yes, and they are trying to kill you because I know and they think I will tell you. So, they are also after you. Now, you know. You can't meet Walsh."

  "Walsh said he has a plan to set your father up using U.S. Customs."

  Ari shook her head. "That's how they are working together, except it's not a set up. He told you that to see if you knew anything about it. He was setting you up. When you went to my father's compound that sent them all scurrying like rats. They had to figure out how much you knew."

  Rian sat back and stretched her legs out. "How long have you been following me," she asked.

  "Long enough to know that Medical Examiner's in love with you," Ari said.

  "Why come back if your father wants me dead? Why risk it?"

  "Because I love you, Rian. I never realized you were going to ask me to marry you. My father thinks you took me from him and I betrayed him by lying with one of the people trying to take him down. That was the ultimate betrayal in his eyes," she said quietly.

  Rian wanted to close her eyes and wake up again like the movie Groundhog Day, only start the year over instead of the day.

  "Do you love her?" Ari asked.

  "Losing you nearly killed me, Ari," Rian said without looking at her.

  Ari wiped the tears that fell from her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

  "You should have told me the truth."

  "Would you have dated me if you knew who I was?" Ari questioned knowing the answer.

  "Up until a few months ago, I only knew Canturri had a daughter. I didn't know a name, or even a real age. I barely knew anything about you during my investigation," she paused. "I guess if you had said Canturri was your last name I would've thrown you in an interrogation room until you told me everything about him," Rian said as she rolled her head towards the window. It was so weird hearing the voice and looking at the person next to her. It just didn't match.

  "I knew you were an agent. I tried to stay away from you, but I fell in love with you and that was it. I let my past go."

  Rian looked past Ari at the blue sky in the window. "No," she said.

  "No?" Ari questioned.

  "No, I don't love her," Rian looked at Ari's brown eyes briefly before turning away again.

  "What are you going to do?"

  "Get you the hell away from them, the FBI and your father. Then, I will figure a way out of this mess," Rian closed her eyes.

  "You haven't been sleeping have you?" Ari asked. "I can see in your eyes how tired you are."

  "I've been through nine months of hell, it's not exactly easy to sleep," Rian said with a yawn.

  Ari watched her body relax as lulling of the plane put her to sleep. She wanted to wrap her arms around her, but knew better. Rian hadn't touched her once since learning she was still alive. That hurt, but she understood. She couldn't really expect her to go running into her arms after everything she went through. She watched as Rian slept for over an hour. When she started to move and jerk in her sleep Ari grabbed her hand and held it in her own. Rian calmed immediately. Ari wiped a tear from her cheek with her other hand.

  Rian finally woke up and noticed their locked hands and quickly let go. She wasn't ready to have Ari back and this stranger next to her wasn't Ari. She stretched out and sat up.

  "When we land I am going to get off alone. I want you to go straight to the nearest ticket counter and book us on the next flight back to Portland. I have to get rid of this fed. I'll meet you at the gate when it's time to board," Rian said.

  "Be careful, Rian. These people want you dead."

  "I'll be fine," Rian reached over and squeezed her hand before letting go.

  As soon as the plane landed, Ari did as instructed. Rian led the guy straight past baggage claim where she got into a taxi. She paid the guy to drive around town and come back to the airport. She watched the fed wave a taxi over as they drove off. It took a few blocks, but eventually she no longer saw the cab behind them. When they pulled back up at the airport she tipped the driver and waited to see him show back up. After a few minutes, she went inside and checked the flight board. The next flight to Portland was leaving in two hours. She walked upstairs and sat behind a small planted tree where she could watch the entrance doors and path to the terminals. If Agent Joel Robbins came back looking for her she'd see him. She waited until it was the final boarding call for her flight. Thankfully, she hadn't seen him. She went through security and ran to the gate.

  "You have my ticket waiting for me," she told the attendant at the gate.

  "I have our tickets," she heard the sweet voice and turned around. "I wanted to make sure you didn't miss the flight," Ari said.

  Rian handed the attendant their tickets and they quickly boarded. "I didn't think you were coming back. I got worried," Ari said as she sat by the window in their first class row.

  "I had to make sure we weren't followed back," Rian said.

  When the plane left the ground, her mind began racing. She had to form a plan to stop all of this and keep Ari safe and she had to do it fast. Once the fed realized he'd definitely lost her and she didn't show up to meet Walsh he'd be out for blood himself. He'd know she knew the truth. She had no idea how high up the ladder this went and she was praying it started and stopped at Walsh.

  "What's the plan now," Ari asked.

  Rian looked at the brunette next to her and shook her head at the contrast. "We get them before they get us," she said.

  Chapter Sixteen


  After the plane landed, Rian used the nearest payphone to call Leann. She asked her to come pick her up at the airport and not tell anyone where she's going and what she's doing and watch for a tail. Leann was confused. She thought Rian was on her floor working in her closet sized office. She was even more confused when she pulled up at the airport and Rian was standing on the curb with a petite brunette.

  "What's going on, Rian?" Leann said as Rian and the woman both got into her car.

  "Drive," Rian said as she watched behind them to see if anyone was following.

  "Where are we going? What the hell?" Leann shook her head and drove off.

  "The less you know the better." Rian turned back around satisfied they hadn't picked up a tail.

  Leann glanced in the rearview mirror. The brunette in the backseat was staring out the side window. She wondered what Rian had gotten herself into and how it involved the mysterious woman. She had no idea where to go so she just kept driving.

  "Where going to the Governor," Rian said. When Leann looked at her with raised eyebrows Rian shook her head. "The hotel," she huffed. "The Governor Hotel."

  Leann laughed. "Downtown?"

  "Yeah."

  They rode the rest of the way in silence. Rian constantly kept watch on their surroundings. So far they were clear, but it wouldn't be long before the FBI was back on their trail. When they pulled up at the front of the hotel Rian got out.

  "I'll be right back," she said to both of the women in the car as she shut the door.

  Leann looked in the mirror again and the woman was watching Rian walk away. She wanted to speak to her, but she had no idea what to say so she sat quietly. Rian returned a few minutes later.

  "We're in room three-fifteen," she said as she opened Ari's door and waved for her to get out. "I really don't want to involve you, Leann, but I have no other choice."

  "Whatever you need, Rian, just tell me. I said I would always help you."