by Andrew Hess
Claire’s eyes focused in on the video. She was ordering the new drink and saw the man lean in and drop something into her glass. He was so quick with it that no one noticed. Claire received the new drink and finished off the one that was apparently drugged. She walked away from the bar with Ron DeMarco staring at her. It was the same image as the photos.
The final clips showed Ron and Claire dancing intimately on the dance floor. His hands were all over her and she reciprocated. His lips caressing her neck as they made their way to her jaw and then her mouth. A few moments later, Claire was being helped from the bar with her arm draped around Ron’s neck. They exited through the front doors as the video came to an end.
Claire’s eyes welled up with tears. She couldn’t remember any of that happening. Everything after that drink was a blur and that was all thanks to her new boss. She read the note that was left for her one more time. Her eyes scanned the part about reading over everything before making her decision, and she did. Claire took everything back into her bedroom and pulled the box the mystery man sent her. She nodded in response to it.
“Time to give you a taste of your own medicine.”
Chapter 28-Ali
A night of partying does funny things to you. Sometimes you wake up refreshed and ready to take on the day. Most of the time you wake up with your head feeling like it’s trapped in a vice that’s being tightened. And other times you wake up in an awkward situation with no memory of how you wound up there. That’s how this morning turned out. The bed I woke up in wasn’t mine. It was softer and more comfortable than the one I was used to. I opened my eyes but didn’t have the heavy curtains blocking out the blinding sun, but I still enjoyed the soft fabric of the sheets against my bare skin.
My shirt, where was my shirt? I ignored the splitting headache that had the vein in my head thumping painfully against my temple and tried to push myself into a sitting position. Although, that was difficult to do with one of my arms handcuffed to the bed post.
“What the...” I tugged at the handcuffs, desperate to find my way out of the precarious situation. “Fuck, where are the keys?”
“Good morning to you too,” a voice said from the foot of the bed.
Oh god, tell me I didn’t go home with some random scumbag from the bar last night. I slowly turned my head to see the man sitting in a chair with his feet propped up on the bed. It was worse than I imagined. It was Detective Thornton.
“James, what are you...what am I...what happened last night?”
“You really don’t remember?”
“No,” I replied while pulling the covers up around my chest. He laughed at how uncomfortable I was. I jingled the cuffs against the wooden bed post. “Do you mind?”
James stood up and limped his way over to the bed. He took a set of keys from his pocket and pinched one between his thumb and forefinger. “Do you promise you won’t try to kick me again?”
“Again?” Damn, I couldn’t even remember the satisfaction of knocking the smug look off his face. “I promise I won’t kick you.” I put a fake smile on my face. “Unless you give me a reason to,” I whispered under my breath. He took the key and released me from the shackles that kept me at bay. I rubbed my wrist while trying to keep the sheet covering me. “Um, where’s my shirt?”
James’s lips curled as he prowled around the room. He bent down and picked up a dark blue blouse. He held it up with a finger. “I can’t believe you don’t remember our hot wild night.” He dropped the shirt on the bed close enough for me to reach it without moving too much.
My right hand cupped my face. I was mortified. I let things get too out of hand. I was too drunk to know what I was doing and slept with my partner. Worst of all, I couldn’t remember any of it.
“James, I-I don’t know what happened last night. I was...”
“Relax Ali, nothing happened between us.”
A huge weight lifted from my shoulders. “Then what did you mean about our hot wild night?”
“I found you at the bar last night. By the time I got there, you were trashed. I tried to get you to leave, but you refused to go.”
Part of me was thankful he showed up. The last time I went on a binge like that I almost hooked up with some creep. Amanda was there to put the brakes on that one. This time it was Thornton. “Wait, what the hell were you doing there in the first place?”
“You drunk texted me.” He took his phone out and showed me the message I apparently sent him last night.
Hey sexy; come to P&Gs so we can have a good time tonight.
“I guess this makes us even from the voicemail you left me?”
“Yeah, well at least my calls didn’t lead to me getting hurt.” I stared at him, apparently not understanding what he meant by that. “I tried to get you to leave and you tried to slap me. When I blocked it, you kissed me and then kneed me in the groin.”
I threw my shirt over my head and glanced back over the covers with my cheeks a light shade of pink. “James, I’m so sorry. Are you all right?”
“I’ll be fine. I got even by arresting you and carrying you out of the bar last night.” The smirk on his face told me he was telling the truth.
“You did what?”
“I had to get you out of there before you really did something stupid, and you wouldn’t listen to me.”
I shook off the pure humiliation of being arrested at the bar; my bar, the one where I knew half of the bouncers and some of the staff on a first name basis. I guess I was going back there anytime soon. “So how did I end up without a shirt? And how did I end up handcuffed to the bed?”
“You tried to come onto me again when we got here. You were came on strong again. Your hands were pulling me close to you and felt your lips on me.” He stared off into space for a minute, guessing he was thinking back to the kisses from last night. “I tried to put the brakes on again.” His gaze turned back to me. The fond memory of seeing me at my worst faded, and a look of annoyance took over. “Apparently the words no and stop don’t seem to apply to you. When I tried to stop you from doing something you’d regret, you started kicking me with your heels.” He rolled up his pant legs to show the cuts and bruises. “So I handcuffed you to the bed so you couldn’t do any more damage to me.”
“So we didn’t...”
“No, but it sure looked like you did.”
“James, that wasn’t me. That was just the alcohol.”
“I know. That’s why nothing happened between us other than a few moments of making out. By the way, you’re a great kisser.”
“You’re such an ass.” I didn’t mean it. He was actually a gentleman. And to think I thought he was someone who just used women for sex. “But thank you for being a good guy.”
“Ali, I like you. There’s no denying that. But I don’t want meaningless sex. I want something more.”
“James, I...” I didn’t know what to say. He was an attractive, and successful cop. He knew the kind of crap I faced on a daily basis. I would be a fool to turn him down, but I had to. “I just got out of a relationship. I loved him and...”
He held his hand up to silence me. “Ali, I get it.” His face had fallen with disappointment. “Let me take a quick shower and I’ll drive you back to your car.”
An hour later we drove back to New Paltz in silence. After a few minutes of driving around the block, we found my car and pulled up alongside it. “Thanks again for everything,” I said in a softer tone. I appreciated him being a gentleman and for stopping me from doing something I’d regret. But I couldn’t help but feel remorseful over rejecting him earlier.
“It’s no problem Ali. I guess I’ll see you around.”
I grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Yeah, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you...” I stared at the invisible watch on my left wrist. “In about two or three hours.”
He laughed at my ridiculous attempt at a joke. “Oh yeah, the case.”
I opened the passenger side door and scrounged around my purse for my keys
. As I got to my car, I noticed a small bouquet of flowers sitting on the back seat. “Hey James,” he swiveled in his seat to look at me. “Did you leave these flowers for me?”
“What flowers?”
I opened the door and pulled out the bouquet. “You mean you didn’t leave these for me to find?”
He looked just as befuddled as I did. “Nope, not me.”
There was a card attached. I plucked it from the wrapping and read it.
Good morning my sweet sexy detective,
Did you miss me? I know it’s been a while. I’ve been quite busy, but you have been on my mind every day since our last encounter. You felt so good in my arms. I can’t wait to see you again. But I know how much you love the chase. So come find me.
“This is some kind of joke right?” I showed James the card. He merely shrugged his shoulders in reply. “You really didn’t send these?”
“No, you sure it wasn’t your boyfriend?”
I didn’t want to call Matthew. It was too soon after the break up for me to talk to him. Thankfully I got his voicemail. “Hey, sorry to bother you. I found a bizarre bouquet of flowers in my car today and was just wondering if you dropped them off. I guess just let me know one way or the other.”
“Everything all right,” James asked.
“I got his voicemail. I guess I’ll deal with it later. Come on; we have work to do and I need to shower before meeting with Rodney.”
Chapter 29-Claire
Claire showed up to the hospital with one thing on her mind, vengeance. She spent her day avoiding Ron, Sheila and any of the hospital staff. The fewer people that knew where she was, the longer it would take for Ron DeMarco to find her. She needed time to process what happened during the last twenty-four hours, and she needed more time to devise a plan.
The office’s dim lighting made the perfect cover for Claire while she contemplated her next move. If I do this, there’s no coming back from it, Claire thought. I’ll need to leave town for a while, maybe forever. She started writing a letter to her bosses requesting time off for a family emergency. She turned on her computer and started looking up flights that left the country in the next few days.
The office door opened without Claire batting an eye. “There you are,” Sheila said. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“I stopped in just a little while ago. I’m-I’m just handling a few more things before I heading out. What’s up?”
Sheila marched over to the desk and sat on the corner. “Nothing really; Dr. DeMarco and a couple of the nurses were asking for you.” Claire rolled her eyes knowing why DeMarco was looking for her. He wanted to make sure she didn’t piece together what happened last night and didn’t talk to the police. “Is everything all right? You don’t seem like yourself.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just had a long night last night.”
Sheila perked up. “Oh that’s right; you had plans last night. You owe me a story. Tell me what happened; what did he look like?”
“I’m not in the mood to discuss my personal life with you at work.”
“Fine, than I’m coming over tonight with Becky and you can dish to us there. We’ll get some pizza, some wine, popcorn and movies.”
The idea sounded perfect to Claire. It would’ve been just like old times, and it wasn’t them pressuring her to go out and party. “I don’t know.”
“Come on Claire; you need a girl’s night.” Sheila glanced at the computer to see what Claire was working on and noticed the list of flights leaving from Newark to London. “You going somewhere?”
“Uh, yeah,” Claire replied with hesitation. “I thought some time away would be perfect for me.”
“Yeah, you seem a little more stressed out and high strung than you usually do.” Claire scowled at her but held her composure. “I just mean that it’ll do you some good.”
Claire cracked a smile. “Yeah, that’s why I decided to take some time to plan out everything.”
“Oh, okay. I’ll let you get back to it. And don’t worry, I’ll let everyone know you’re out for the day.”
“Thanks Sheila.”
Sheila got up from the desk and made her exit. As she opened the door, Ron DeMarco entered the office. “Hello, is Dr. Cain in?” He craned his neck and saw her inside the office. “Never mind, I see her.”
Sheila tried to stop him. “She’s busy at the...” It was too late. Dr. DeMarco had pushed past her and opened the door to Claire’s office. “Sorry Claire, I tried to stop him but...”
“It’s okay Sheila. Could you give us a few minutes?”
“Sure thing.”
Sheila departed from the office and closed the door behind her. Dr. DeMarco took a seat across from Claire and stared at her as he decided how to approach her.
“What happened to you last night?”
Claire barely acknowledged him. “What do you mean?”
“You said you were going to freshen up, but you never came back to the table. What happened to you? Where’d you go?”
“I uh didn’t feel well. I went to powder my nose and broke out in a heavy sweat.” Claire hated being this close to Ron and not be able to do something about it. She wanted to kick him, hit him, and kill him for what he did to her. Instead, she pretended to be uncomfortable as she continued with her story. She looked away from him. “I spent a few minutes in the stall.” She sighed heavily emphasizing her desire not to discuss the matter, but continued anyway. “I guess the wine got to me.”
“I had someone check the bathroom, but they said no one was in there.” He was looking to pluck holes in Claire’s story trying to find out how much he needed to cover his tracks.
“I couldn’t face you after that, so I called a cab to take me home.”
“Oh,” Ron’s face appeared disappointed. But Claire could see the smile lurking behind his façade. In his mind, he was close to getting her in his bed again. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Much better thank you.”
Dr. DeMarco decided to press his luck a little further. He wanted Claire and had to have her. “How about we try again? Let me cook you dinner.”
“I-I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Come on; we were having such a good time last night.”
“But what if I get sick again?”
He took Claire’s hand. “I’m a doctor. I can take care of you.”
She took the offer into consideration and responded with an affectionate smile. “I’m free tomorrow night.”
“Great,” Ron took a piece of paper from the desk and wrote down his address. “I’ll prepare something special for you.”
“I’m sure you will.” Claire placed her other hand on top of Ron’s. Touching him made Claire sick to her stomach, but she needed to sell it. “I have a feeling it’s a night neither of us will ever forget.”
Chapter 30-Ali
Being early has never been one of my strong suits, but today was an exception. The Lieutenant placed me in charge of the Ambrose case and the Lee case. It was believed both died at the hands of the same suspect. I was eager to find out what Rodney turned up. While Detective Thornton and I watched the videos, Rodney spent all day getting warrants to gain access to Highland Fitness’s customer records, to view the customer log and the security footage from the night of Tyson Lee’s murder.
The station was a buzz by the time I walked through the doors. The Lieutenant was in the middle of screaming at someone, probably one of the rookies. As long as it wasn’t me, I didn’t care. I’ve been the recipient of his wrath numerous times and didn’t plan on being caught in another one. I averted my eyes and kept my head low. It was the best way for me to avoid that whole situation until I reached my desk.
Rodney was already there hovering over a file. I clapped him on the back. “What’s the good word partner,” I asked.
He held up the folder for me to view. “We got the list of members from Highland Fitness, the log from the day Tyson Lee was murdered, and the
list of clients he met with that day.” The paper Rodney handed me highlighted the last eight hours leading up to the discovery of Lee’s body. “This is everyone that checked in from seven to nine. There were no reported check-ins after nine.”
I skimmed through the information and turned the page. This section detailed Tyson Lee’s personal training clients. It was a long list, but more than three quarters of it were women. Rodney already highlighted the ones that matched the check-in records for that day. “I guess he made a lot of money from these women.”
“From what we learned from management, Lee brought in a lot of money for the gym. Girls, especially older women, loved his body and paid for multiple sessions just to see him or get personal instructions from.”
“Personal instruction; what the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means he liked to give the hands on approach. You know; get a little more intimate with the clients.”
“And the management team allowed that shit?”
“They didn’t care. Most of the women enjoyed it. He got up close and personal with the women, made them feel special and wanted. They tipped him well and paid for more sessions. It brought the gym more people wanting personal training sessions, more clients and more money.”
“What else did the gym employees have to say about Mr. Lee?”
“He was well liked and respected. No one had a bad thing to say about him.” No one ever did, not when they knew the man was dead. The moment they say anything negative about the victim it put a spotlight on them and they became a suspect. No one likes answering our questions, not unless it means talking their way out of something we have on them.
I closed the folder, but held onto it to a more in depth look after Rodney brought me up to speed. “Where are we on the video?”
“We should be getting it later today.”
“Okay, I want to be notified the moment it comes in. In the meantime, let’s get to work on background checks on the names those lists.”
