Darkest Night--A Romantic Thriller

by Tara Thomas

  “Sounds like an exciting offer.” She recalled he’d funded several grants dealing with the subject.

  “It is. I’m just not sure I’m so tired of South Carolina summers that I’m ready to trade them in for DC winters.”

  “Good point,” she conceded. “How long do you have to decide?”

  “A few months,” he said.

  She didn’t have months to solve this case. There were too many lives at stake. If they waited it out and the disappearances stopped, it wouldn’t be enough to say with absolute certainty that it wasn’t him. On the other hand, if DC started seeing similar disappearances, even though it would be circumstantial, it would still be telling.

  “Not much time to decide,” she said.

  “No, and I’m heading that way tomorrow to look at a few properties.”

  “Oh.” He was already looking at property? That meant he was strongly considering the move.

  They passed the rest of the meal in compatible conversation. Janie found herself thinking of him more as Brent than the Brent Taylor and was surprised to find him charming and down to earth. The more she talked with him, the more and more she wanted to believe he wasn’t the guy she was looking for. But she couldn’t rule him out, which meant she might be dining with a killer.

  The thought was enough to keep her focused on her objective: to get more information on Brent Taylor.

  After dinner, he asked if she’d like to walk around the Battery. Since the sun had gone down, the temperature had dropped to a more comfortable level, and she agreed. Besides, a casual walk might mean he’d lower his guard.

  Several couples and families had the same idea they’d had and the historic district, while not being crowded, definitely wasn’t empty. More than once, they had to sidestep a group of tourists who had stopped to take pictures.

  For a while they walked in silence.

  Janie’s senses were on high alert as they walked out of the heart of the historical district and into less occupied areas. Brent chatted about the neighborhoods he planned to look at in DC and how he feared they wouldn’t measure up to what he was used to characterwise, after living in Charleston. After a few minutes, the tourists were gone. A few more minutes and they were basically alone. Was this how he seduced the women? If she wasn’t a cop, would she have noticed how secluded they were?

  Either way, she was a cop and she couldn’t get out of her mind that he’d been out of town the night another woman went missing. She was an idiot to walk this far alone with him.

  “Are we going anywhere in particular?” she asked as they turned down another nearly deserted street.

  He looked around and cringed. “I’m sorry, I was so involved in talking, I didn’t even realize how far outside of town we were.” He held out his hand. “Let’s go back.”

  She tentatively took his hand. He seemed genuine enough, but could it be an act? His hand was warm and powerful. Yet, not the sort of power that terrorizes, but rather protects. Or was she only projecting what she wanted to feel?

  “Would you’d like to get coffee or something?”

  She wanted to. She wanted to badly. But it wouldn’t be wise right now, not when she was so uncertain. He ran his thumb over her knuckles and it felt so good. Why did he have to be so perfect?

  Focus, she told herself.

  She looked at her watch. “Can we do it another time? I have an appointment in the morning and I should go to bed soon.”

  Technically, she didn’t, but if she stretched it, Alyssa would call her in the morning to see how her date went. That could be a meeting in the loosest sense of the word.

  “Sure—”

  He was interrupted by his phone ringing.

  “Do you need to get that?” Janie asked. “I don’t mind.”

  “No. It’s my sister’s ringtone. I asked her to call me. I haven’t told her about the DC offer yet.” He sighed. “She won’t like it and it’s not a conversation I feel like having right now.”

  She was momentarily shocked speechless. He’d told her about DC before he told his sister? “Why … why won’t she like it?” she finally managed to get out.

  “No particular reason. Just being a typical younger sister. Not wanting me to be that far from her. I love her to pieces, but she has a tendency to worry and overthink things.”

  “Are you close?”

  He nodded, his expression lighthearted and filled with affection as he spoke of his sister. “We are. She’s one of my best friends and that’s another reason I didn’t want to pick up. She knew I had a date tonight and I’d hate for you to hear me babble on and on about what a great time I had.”

  They approached her car as she turned to look at him. “You did?”

  “Yes.” He lifted a hand to gently stroke her cheek. His touch felt so good, she closed her eyes to savor its feel. His thumb drifted lower to brush her upper lip. “In fact, I’d like to know if you want to do it again when I return from DC?”

  “Yes.” The reply fell from her lips without giving her brain a second to think.

  “I wish I was already back,” he whispered, and then he dropped his head and kissed her far more gently than she wanted.

  She hesitated only a second before putting her arms around him and pulling him closer. “Me, too.” And when he kissed her again, he wasn’t as gentle.

  Her brain shouted that this was wrong and she shouldn’t be kissing him, but her heart wanted him. She’d always prided herself on keeping emotional distance between her and her job. So what was she doing in the arms of a potential suspect?

  She remembered they were on a public street and forced herself to pull away before she did something she’d regret or that might be seen. “I need to go.”

  “Call you when I’m back?” The moonlight danced in his eyes and his smile filled her with anticipation of when he’d be home.

  “You better.”

  * * *

  The next night at the club, she was still reliving memories of the day before. Brent Taylor was nothing like she had imagined and he was nothing at all like the playboy philanthropist newspapers painted him out to be. He was so much more.

  For once, being hit on by intoxicated patrons didn’t bother her all that much. Of course, it probably helped that she couldn’t get Brent out of her mind.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile so much at one time,” Tilly said. “Word around the club is that you went out with Brent Taylor last night.”

  “For once, word around the club is right.” She couldn’t hide the big grin that she gave the petite server.

  “That’s it? I don’t get the details or anything?”

  “There’s not much to say. We went out to dinner.”

  Tilly crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Dinner put that smile on your face?”

  “Not just dinner. We went on a walk, too.”

  “I see.” Tilly smiled. “Now the truth comes out.”

  “What? There’s nothing else to tell. We didn’t do anything. He’s on his way to Washington.” Those were the last personal questions she was going to answer tonight. “What about you? Do you have a boyfriend?”

  She had asked it as a harmless question. Just something to break the ice and get the focus off her. Instead, Tilly’s face grew flushed.

  Janie thought she should apologize, but she wasn’t sure what for. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.”

  Tilly took a deep breath, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly. “It’s okay. You didn’t say anything wrong. It’s a common question.”

  Janie waited.

  “I don’t go out very often, but not for the reasons you might think. In my mind, there’s only been one man for me. I used to think we could actually happen, but I’m older now.” There was a sadness to Tilly’s voice that was very much at odds with her normal jovial personality. “I never talk about it, but I probably should.”

  Janie looked around. It was a slow night at the club, and the nor
mal manager wasn’t on duty. The one in charge tonight spent most of his time watching porn in his office. No one was paying any attention to her and Tilly. They could spend a few more minutes talking.

  “Tell me about him,” Janie said.

  “Goodness,” Tilly said. “I don’t even know where to start.”

  “Does he have a name?” Janie said with a laugh. “That’s normally a good place to start.”

  But Tilly wasn’t laughing. “The thing is, you’ve probably heard of him.”

  “Really? Okay, now I have to know.”

  Tilly bit her bottom lip and whispered, “Keaton. Keaton Benedict.”

  Janie only blinked. Surely she had not heard right. Tilly couldn’t have been talking about those Benedicts. That would be crazy. Even crazier than Brent Taylor taking her out to dinner. The Benedicts were Southern royalty. The epitome of blue bloods. And Tilly knew one of them? Not only knew one of them but, apparently, had a major crush on him.

  “You don’t have to say anything,” Tilly said. “I know it’s crazy. But believe it or not, Keaton and I grew up together. There was some bad business between our families, and then we weren’t friends anymore.”

  The Benedicts were notorious for their ruthlessness in business. She would not want to be on the bad end of a deal with them. She could only assume that’s what Tilly meant. “What happened?”

  Tilly shook her head. “It’s been so long I don’t remember.”

  But Janie didn’t believe her, Tilly just didn’t want to tell her right now. And that was fine, everybody deserved his or her secrets.

  “You ever talk to him?” Janie asked.

  “Not in years,” she said softly.

  Janie didn’t want to pry. It was obvious the woman was hurting. She had her head down, her long dark hair hiding her face. She sniffled and looked up with a smile.

  “When I first started working here, I had this fantasy he would come in one day and find me. Rescue me. Silly, right?”

  “I don’t think so,” Janie whispered.

  “But it’s silly of me to put my life on hold, waiting for him to reappear.”

  “I think if the right man came along, you should be open to the possibility of a relationship and not let Keaton Benedict hold you back.”

  Tilly’s gaze drifted to the clock. Her break was almost over. “Fortunately for me, between this job and school, I don’t have time for any relationships.”

  Before she could walk away, Janie reached for Tilly’s hand. “The right one’s out there. Just be patient.”

  “Listen to you,” Tilly said with a laugh, obviously deciding to bury the past for a bit longer. “One date with Mr. Taylor and you’re a relationship expert.” She wiggled a finger at her. “Be nice to that man; there aren’t a lot of good ones left.”

  Janie laughed back and shooed her away. “I hear you. Go on and get ready.”

  Brent was never far from her mind as she worked that night. Of course, that was to be expected since she had spent a good portion of her day researching him. From everything she’d discovered, there were no dark corners or hidden closets in his past or present. Heck, not only had his biological father left him a shit ton of money, but his stepfather was a well-respected minister.

  But in the back of her mind, was that lingering thought that he’d cancelled on a night someone disappeared.

  Her digging had also found some interesting facts, though. He hadn’t been lying about spending summers in Greece. After his father died and before his mother remarried, his paternal grandparents had him stay with them in Athens for three months.

  He’d graduated as valedictorian of his private high school and summa cum laude from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She couldn’t help but think the universe really hadn’t been fair to other men in bestowing so much on Brent.

  As she left the bar that night, she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d call tonight. She hoped he would. It was silly, but she missed him. How was that even possible? They hadn’t known each other that long.

  She’d parked on a side street and walked part of the way with Tilly. Tilly didn’t have a car. She took a bus, and Janie always felt bad about leaving her at the bus stop in the wee hours of the night, but Tilly just laughed it off and said she’d been doing it for years and the drivers all looked out for her.

  Janie reassured herself Tilly didn’t meet the profile of the kidnapped girls, but that only brought a small measure of comfort. The world didn’t always treat women well. Especially those sitting alone at a bus stop alone at two in the morning.

  Tilly was still on her mind when she turned the corner to get to the street she’d parked on. She sniffed the air. Odd. It was a man’s cologne or soap. She was certain she’d smelled it before, but she couldn’t remember where. Very distinctive, though, like minty cedar. Looking around, she didn’t see anyone. But it had rained earlier and the low-hanging fog drastically cut her visibility.

  A faint scuffle sounded as if it was coming from the location of her car. She patted her gun, safely concealed by the large tunic style shirt she wore, and hurried down the street.

  At first she thought it was just two guys talking. But as she drew closer, she heard the bigger one cursing at the other. The smaller man was Charlie, a homeless guy she recognized.

  He often hung outside the bar. Between her and Tilly, they managed to sneak him food on a regular basis. He was a gentle soul, though he always turned down any offers of shelter or job.

  When she first met Charlie, she’d hoped he either had or would soon come across something that related to her case. So far, though, he hadn’t seen anything.

  She approached carefully, keeping her hand on her weapon, but not drawing it. Who would be cursing at Charlie and why? He was harmless. The men still hadn’t noticed her.

  “Hey!” she called out.

  The stranger turned and saw her. There was a flash of something silver as his hands made their way to his pockets. He took a step back, shoved the older man into the brick wall of a nearby building, then turned and started running down the street.

  She could either go after him or check on Charlie, but she couldn’t do both. The other man was out of sight and Charlie was crumpled on the street. She hesitated for a second before turning to the more critical matter.

  She dropped to her knees beside Charlie. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes,” he said in what sounded like a wheeze. “Little punk ass didn’t have to throw me into the wall. I don’t think I broke anything, but it hurts like the devil.”

  “I bet. Do you need anything?” she asked.

  Charlie patted her hand. “You’re such a good girl. You and Tilly. Looking out for me.”

  “Tell me what happened,” she said, digging in her purse for a tissue to wipe up the blood from his forehead.

  “No need to worry about it, Miss Janie. It’s not a big deal.”

  Typical response and one she anticipated he’d use.

  “Do you know of those women who have gone missing?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Damn shame that whole situation.”

  She leaned closer as if she was going to tell him a secret. “You haven’t seen or heard anything, have you?”

  His eyes grew wide in understanding. “You think that was him?”

  “I think you probably see a lot more than you think you do. And yes, I think it’s possible. Why else would he be hanging out on this secluded street?”

  Charlie was visibly shaken. Though he always had a slight tremor in his hands, it became more pronounced as she spoke. He kept looking around the darkened street as if expecting the man to come back.

  * * *

  Was it possible she’d just let the man they were looking for slip through her fingers? But she’d made the call to attend to Charlie; second-guessing herself wouldn’t do any good.

  “Let me drive you to a shelter, okay?” She gently helped him to his feet, surprised when he didn’t protest about getting in her car.

/>   He looked uncomfortable and out of place in her sedan and was totally uninterested in the radio. She eventually turned it off.

  “Did he say anything to you?” she asked.

  “He just told me to move. Said it was his turf.” He scratched his arm. “Don’t see how a fancy man like that would want any part of that dirty street. Don’t make a lick of sense.”

  “Fancy man? Did you notice anything that would help identify him?” She couldn’t help but think this might be the break they were looking for. She debated taking Charlie straight to the station, but feared he might freak out thinking she was going to have him arrested.

  Charlie just chuckled. “You know I can’t see for shit. Everything’s a hazy blur. I said he was fancy ’cause he sounded fancy.” He chuckled again. “That’s right.”

  Of course. They had one potential eyewitness and he was blind as a bat. No need to think about a side trip to the station now.

  She pulled into the drive of the homeless shelter a few minutes later. “Let me know if you need anything.”

  “I’m good. And you know I’ll do anything to help you, Miss Janie.”

  “I know you will, Charlie. I know you will.”

  * * *

  She had just entered her apartment when her phone rang. She rummaged in her purse, finally pulling it out and smiled as she read the display.

  “Hiya, handsome,” she said.

  Brent chuckled. “You worked tonight, right? I didn’t wake you up?”

  “Just walked in the door. How’s DC?”

  He sighed. “It’s okay. The position is what I’ve been wanting to do and there are some really nice properties for sale, but I’m just not sold on it yet.”

  It was ridiculous that should make her happy, wasn’t it? Seriously, they hadn’t known each other that long. She couldn’t expect him to stay in Charleston for her. Shouldn’t she want him to be happy? Even if that meant he moved to Washington?

  “You’ll make the right decision,” she told him. “And when it’s right, you’ll know it.”

  “I know I thought about you all day.”

  His smooth, seductive voice stroked the embers that always threatened to ignite when he was around.