by Naomi West
They’d never found the killer and the murder had been deemed a gang incident. Alexa had never been happy with that as the official story, and she’d spoken out against it when she was still on the force. When she was told in no uncertain terms that she was to give up on the case, she’d left. For a case like that, one where she couldn’t stop thinking of everyone involved, couldn’t stop seeing the victim in her sleep, she couldn’t let it go. She had to find the real answer.
So, Alexa had become a private investigator. She could still do what she loved this way, still work with the police when it helped her, but she wouldn’t have a chief standing over her, telling her how to investigate. It was up to her how much time she spent on a case and when it was time to quit.
She had other clients, of course. The bills had to be paid and since her investigation into Hugh’s death was unofficial, she wouldn’t exactly be collecting a fee for it. And the brother, Hawk, had to have more information. She even suspected he might have something to do with the murder, or he might have even been the one to kill Hugh. With a past like Hawk’s, it would come as no surprise. Grand theft auto, breaking and entering, assault. The list of his charges went on and on. If he hadn’t been directly responsible, Hawk might have gotten his brother killed indirectly, just through the people he dealt with.
During the investigation, her assistant had been the one to interview Hawk. She remembered watching the video and thinking even then that he might be holding back information. But she had no way to prove it and hadn’t gotten the chance to interview him herself before the case was closed. Now she would do things differently. She would move in, get to know him slowly, and get him to trust her enough to give out the information she needed. Being close would just make it easier to do that. It gave her a way to make continuous contact with him that wouldn’t seem suspicious.
When he looked up at her, she waved. He held up a hand to wave back, unsmiling. His face was neutral. He was likely sizing her up, checking her out, scoping things out. That’s what criminals generally did with new people, especially people living so close by.
He didn’t come over, though, which was good. She hadn’t decided yet what the best way to introduce herself was. This had to be done just right. Nice and slow. Ease him into it and make it seem like it was on his terms, not hers. She also needed to decide on a fake name. If he searched for her, in due course he’d find out that she had been the lead detective on Hugh’s case. And that might make him clam up forever.
She’d been so excited at finding this house close to Hawk’s and being able to be so close to him that it hadn’t hit her until a week before moving that she’d be living right next door to someone who might have killed his own brother. But it was too late. She’d have to rely on her police training, her guns and pepper spray, and hope she managed to do this right.
When she had solved the case once and for all, she could sell the place and move. Once the case had been really solved and not just had an easy solution thrown at it. Hugh’s face had haunted her every day since she first saw it. And his whole case had quickly begun haunting her, too. It affected her sleep and her work. And once the case was closed, the haunting feeling grew even worse because then she also felt guilt. She hadn’t found his killer in time, and now, thanks to her slow work, he was walking free while another gang was blamed. Hugh deserved more than that, and she wasn’t going to stop until things had been set right.
Chapter 3
After dropping Damian off at daycare, Hawk headed to the address of his first repo of the day. This one was a brand-new Toyota Prius.
The house was huge. Nearly a mansion on this suburb street. There wasn’t a gate, though, which was good. The rare gated community was always a challenge. Sometimes you could get the cops or the people who ran the place to let you in, but other times you had to sit and wait for the car to move, for the owner to be at work. Or you took the chance and climbed the fence.
But the guy who owned this house and this car couldn’t afford the gate. Apparently, he couldn’t afford the car, either. Hawk wondered how behind on house payments he was. The house looked impeccable, the lawn like it had been trimmed by hand, bushes and flowers so immaculate they could been cut out of a magazine. The bank would have no problem reselling the property as a foreclosure.
The car was sitting just out front in the driveway. He wondered why it wasn’t in the garage. Maybe another car was in there? As long as the guy didn’t come out and throw a fit, this would be easy.
Hawk parked a block down from the house. Some guys used a tow truck to come up and get the car. There was a time or two when he’d thought it would be easier, but he preferred the hands-on approach. It was more of a challenge, but in a lot of ways it was also easier. A tow truck got a lot of attention. They were big and loud, and most of all expensive. But going up to a car and breaking in could be subtle and quiet. They wouldn’t even know the car was gone until it was too late.
He had already called the police and given them his list for the day. That way, if someone saw him breaking into the car, or when the owner found it missing and called to report it stolen, the police would know what the deal was. It kept him from getting arrested, and it also let the cops be the ones to tell the owner his car was gone for non-payment. He hated doing that part.
Life had been hard for him many times, and paying the bills hadn’t always been easy. He felt a pinch of sympathy for his customers as well, and he hated being the one to rub salt in their wounds. Another reason for avoiding the tow truck. Less attention from the neighbors meant it was less embarrassing for the person watching their car being taken away.
Hawk approached the car, looking around to see if anyone was watching him. He saw no indication of anyone in the house or outside, so he proceeded. He felt his tools tucked into his back pocket. For something like this - a car out in the open, no additional locking devices - he could likely get away with using his favorite tool, a slim jim.
He looked around one more time before sliding the thin metal stick from his pocket. He laid it flat against the window, slid it down and jiggled it. When it slipped into place, he pulled up and the door unlocked. He put his hand on the door lever and heard a shout.
“Get away from my car!”
Hawk took a deep breath and turned. He slipped his tool back in his pocket. “I’m here to repossess your car.”
“Oh, I don’t think so.” The man stormed off of his front porch, right over to Hawk. “Back away.”
“Your bank has hired me to come and take the vehicle for non-payment.”
The man was tall but incredibly skinny and he stepped closer to Hawk. Hawk made a quick assessment. This guy wasn’t big and didn’t look like he worked out. Probably had no training. Which meant he’d be easy to beat if it came to that.
“Then I guess you’re,” he stuck his finger into Hawk’s shoulder “just going to have to go back to them and tell them you couldn’t get it.”
Hawk flicked the man’s hand away and grabbed his wrist. He twisted it and the man crumbled under the pressure of the angle.
“Do not touch me,” Hawk said. “Now. Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to take your skinny ass back inside. I’m going to drive this car off. Does that sound good to you?”
“Screw you!” he half mumbled, trying to break free of Hawk’s grip and stand up straight.
“If that doesn’t work for you, I’m going to put my fist through your face. Then, I’ll put my foot through your ribs. Does that sound better?”
“You can’t threaten me! I’ll call the cops!”
Hawk laughed. “Great. I’ll tell Officer Stanley that you’re resisting the repo and that you physically assaulted me. It would actually help me out big time if you would. In fact, maybe I’ll call them myself. Maybe I even feel like pressing charges today.”
“You can’t do that!”
Hawk finally let the man go, and he stood up, brushing his shirt down and rubbing his wrist.
“I ca
n,” Hawk said. “And I will. It’s up to you. This can be easy, or you can end up with an assault charge on top of losing your car today.”
Hawk crossed his arms and spread his feet, glaring at the man.
“Asshole.” The man stepped back and returned his glare.
After a long minute, when the man did nothing more and said nothing more, Hawk took that as a sign that he was going to cooperate. That didn’t mean he was going to let his guard down, though.
Hawk kept his eye on the man as he opened the door and got inside. He used another tool to remove the lock housing from the ignition, then stuck in his screwdriver to start the car. The man’s eyes widened slightly. Had he been thinking Hawk wouldn’t be able to do it? He smiled at the man, revved the engine and waved, then took off. The man chased after him a few feet, yelling.
“Hey!” The man waved his arms. “No! Get out of my car! How will I get to work?”
Hawk pulled out of the driveway and sped down the road. He then took the car to the lot he rented where all the repossessed cars went until the bank or whoever owned them decided to sell them or do whatever with them.
He spent a moment filling out the paperwork for the completed repo, then used his phone to email the bank that the repo was done. He texted Jared who worked at the lot. Jared was also a repo man, but preferred the tow truck method. The one advantage the tow truck had was not having to figure out how to get back to the place he’d left his vehicle.
They had a good team. Both paid for the lot, they looked out for each other or rode along on a risky repo, sometimes they swapped jobs, especially when one was better for a tow truck or better for doing it by hand. They retained their own licenses, so neither was a boss and they weren’t partners. It was the perfect arrangement that gave them each a little help when needed, but still allowed them both to run their own businesses.
The next six repossessions went off without any major hitches. People got mad or upset when they saw him, one car was filthy on the inside and required him to drive with the windows down, one was tricky when it came to unlocking and took every tool he had to get it opened. He received several more threats and curses, and had a woman fall to her knees, begging him not to take her car. All in all, it was a typical day.
He waved goodbye to Jared and hopped into his own car. It felt strange after a day of hot wiring to use a key. It was rare to get a copy of the key from a bank, so hot wiring was usually what was needed. He turned on the radio and sat back in his very comfortable, very familiar car. It was always nice to be back in his own personal space.
Hawk pulled up to babysitter’s house, ready for a night of relaxing with Damian. He rang the bell and waited for Natalie to open the door. When she did, she gave him a huge smile.
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite client.” She put her hand on her hip and tilted her head.
Hawk smiled back. “Hey Natalie.”
“I know he’s not technically yours, but I think Damian got some of your genes,” she said. “He is every bit as adorable as you are.”
“Thank you. I’m sure he did. I always thought he looked a little like me. But so did my brother.”
“Is your whole family hot like you?” She pulled her lower lip into her mouth.
He shrugged. “I guess so.” He took a step inside, hoping to end this exchange quickly so he could get home.
“Come on in. I’ll get Damian ready.”
Hawk followed her and scooped Damian up from where he’d been playing on the floor. Damian cooed and clapped his hands together. He watched Natalie put his things into the diaper bag. Nice body, pretty face. But for some reason, he was never into her like that. She’d made her interest plainly known from the start.
Maybe it was something to do with the fact that she was watching his baby all day. They had business together and it was hard to find a good babysitter. The daycare she ran in her home was convenient, reasonably priced, and allowed for the times his schedule got a little nuts. If something happened with her and it didn’t work out, he would have to find someone else to watch Damian.
He tried his best to be nice to her, to flirt back where he could without leading her on. She was a single mother, too, and had a hard life. He didn’t want to make her feel bad by turning her down. He also didn’t want to insult or offend the person who was responsible for Damian all day.
“Thank you,” he said as she handed him the diaper bag. “You’re the best babysitter around.” He leaned in to whisper, “And the best looking one.”
She blushed and grinned. “One of these days, you’ll have to take me for a ride on that bike of yours.”
“If you think you can handle all that power.” He winked and slung the bag over his shoulder, then walked to the door.
“Have a good night,” she said.
“You too.” He waved and headed to the car.
On the drive home, Damian fell asleep. That didn’t usually happen. Natalie was good about getting him to take naps on time.
When they got home, he took the carrier out of the car. Damian awoke as the cool air hit him and started to cry. Hawk got them both inside and tried to get Damian settled. He rubbed his eyes and didn’t stop crying.
He put him in the car carrier and set it on the ground, then rocked it with his foot as he sat on the couch to do his paperwork for the night. Damian whined and kept up his crying, though it was somewhat subdued. Not his usual hungry or wet cry. Not even his usual tired cry. He wasn’t sure what was going on.
When the paperwork was complete, he decided to pick Damian up and take him outside. Usually, walking around outside in the back yard settled him down. The fresh air, the trees and scenery, all of it caught his attention and worked like a charm. He put a heavier sweatshirt on him and slid open the back door.
Damian was still crying when they stepped outside. He bounced him and walked him around, changing positions so the baby could see facing out, then cradled him against his chest. Nothing seemed to be helping.
Hawk heard a sliding door open and turned toward the neighbor’s house. The woman he’d seen earlier stepped out onto her deck. He nodded at her.
“Hey there,” he said. “Sorry for the noise. He doesn’t want to settle tonight.”
“Oh, it’s no problem. Need any help?”
“No, we’re okay. He’ll quiet down eventually.”
She walked to the end of her deck and down the steps, coming into his yard. “Nice to officially meet you.”
“You too.” He held out one hand to shake hers, then put it back on Damian’s back.
“I used to babysit for all the kids in by neighborhood when I was a teen. Can I hold him?”
“Sure.” Hawk handed the baby to her. She probably knew a lot more about babies than he did. Maybe she had some trick. “I’m Hawk, by the way.”
“Alexa. And this is?” She cooed Damian and rocked him gently side to side.
“Damian.”
“Aww, what a little cutie you are, Damian.” She rubbed her nose against his. He didn’t stop crying after several minutes and many attempts on her part. She pressed him against her chest, then made a concerned face. She put her wrist to his cheeks, then his forehead. “I think he’s got a fever.”
Hawk also put his wrist on the baby’s cheeks and forehead, feeling for himself. He felt warm, but he wasn’t sure what temperature he should be. He’d never dealt with a sick baby before, but he figured it wasn’t as simple as taking some cold pills and getting extra sleep. He felt the panic stir in his chest. Once again, he had no idea what he was doing. And now Damian was going to suffer for it.
Chapter 4
Alexa handed Damian back to Hawk. He looked scared and unsure as he took the baby back and cradled him against his chest.
“Do you have any baby medicine to give him?” she asked.
“I have something, but I think it’s only for adults. I can’t give him that, right?” He looked into the baby’s eyes, then back at her. “Should I call a doctor or something? I
don’t really know too much about babies, honestly.”
“I can take a look for you. I’m no doctor myself, but I’ve been around kids plenty.”
He nodded and she followed him into the house. This was perfect. He was distracted and wouldn’t be paying much attention to what she was doing. She could get a look around inside and maybe get a bit of information. And if nothing else, she was earning his trust and helping him out.
