FIRST ONE DOWN: A Paul Sutton Novel

by R. J. Belle

  CHAPTER 10

  Nate Warner paced back and forth in his office, holding his iPhone in his hand and waiting to receive a reply to the text he had sent. He had not contacted Kali in over a year and the last contact between them had been less than cordial. After repeated attempts at ordering her to put what she thought was going on between he and Olivia out of her mind and to come back to him, Kali had threatened to take out a protective order against him if he continued to contact her. Any other woman would have never heard from him again but, Kali wasn't just any other woman, she was special.

  Nate had fallen for Kali in a way that he couldn't explain, not even to himself. He treated her differently than the others who came before her and the others he had had during his time with her. And he viewed Kali as more than a body to be used for his pleasure. It was an entirely foreign feeling for him, and theirs had been what Nate considered a full relationship including all of the warm fuzzy emotions that he didn't understand, let alone feel. Not ever. Not with anyone. But he did with Kali, and that made him crazy.

  Looking down at his phone, he sent one more text knowing if she would respond to anything, it would be this. He typed in the message and hit send.

  Tell Me...

  His light green eyes opened wide when he saw the little dot, dot, dot circle that indicated the message recipient was typing a reply. He waited anxiously hoping that she would be a good girl, a compliant girl. He needed her to remember her place, to submit, and to allow him to own her once again. "You belong to me, Kali," Nate whispered at his phone as if it were her face and not the face of the phone he was speaking at.

  I...

  Love

  Want

  Need

  Miss...

  YOU

  Nate almost dropped his iPhone on the floor. His mouth fell open and a look of shock flashed across his face. Kali had responded, and she had responded exactly as she should. "What a good girl you are," he said out loud. He began typing another text.

  Come to me. You need me.

  I need you...

  He stared at the phone for several minutes. There was nothing, no reply from Kali. He sat down at his desk and picked up the office phone, put it to his ear, and began to dial her number then slammed the receiver down in the cradle before the call went through. Hastily, he stood up and made his way out of the office to his truck. He got in, started the truck up and began to drive off base. Here he was losing control, again, over her. Leaning back in the cab seat of his truck, he inhaled deeply, "Damn it! Why does she get under my skin like this - why do I give her this control! Get ahold of yourself Nate, you are going to blow it!" He yelled at himself.

  Attempting to calm his temper down, he closed his eyes tight and continued deep breathing exercises. It wasn't going to go down this way. Kali would come back, he would make sure that happened, but she would come willingly. Patient, he thought, I need to be patient. Plan, I need to plan.

  Having bugged Kali's new condo with audio surveillance equipment after he knew the sale of the condo was final, he had a whole week to assure it was working properly while the painters worked inside the unit before she moved in. It was incredibly easy to get into her building and even easier to get into her unit. If he wasn't able to monitor every move that happened in that unit, he would have advised her to get locks and a deadbolt that actually had the ability to keep thieves and perverts out.

  The night before, as he got into bed, he had turned on the remote receiver and lay listening to her movements. He listened in as she cooked herself dinner, showered and then her house became quiet. Nate was just about to tune out and his ears perked up, turning up the volume on the audio receiver, he heard a faint moaning. With the volume up as loud as it could go, he could clearly make out the seductive sound of her moans. He knew them by heart. Closing his eyes, he pushed every other sound out of his mind so he could focus solely on her. An erection began growing under his crisp, cotton bed sheet when he heard the slapping sound of her vibrator against her skin as she began moving it in and out, her pace erratic. He imagined being there in her room, standing over her and directing her on how deep she could sink the vibrator into herself. She was always such a good girl. On many occasions, Nate had stood over her as she had lain with her knees forced apart by an invention he had created, just for her, to keep her knees open wide and in place where she could not pull them in together. She was often blindfolded, and he would watch her clit grow with anticipation as she moved the vibrator in and out of herself on his command, doing exactly as he directed. She made no unsolicited requests. She never strayed from his explicit instruction. She did not ask questions and she never hesitated. Even when he could see fear overcome her, she would continue to do as she was told. It was the biggest turn on he had ever experienced; to have such a strong, emotionally healthy woman submit fully to his darkness. To give without expectation and to receive everything he gave, including the pain, and behave in a way that demonstrated sincere gratefulness for everything that she received from him.

  Kali's moaning was becoming louder through the receiver on Nate's nightstand. He could hear it now, she was getting close and then he heard a loud slapping sound and she let out a cry immediately followed by, "Nate...," and then the muffled sound of what he guessed to be her sobbing into her pillow. After a few minutes there was nothing, only silence.

  Nate had validation of what he already knew. Kali did want him, she did think of him when she touched herself. Most of all it let him know that he still had a chance to bring her back, back to him, back under his control. Just the thought of watching her before him, so beautiful, so broken by him and so willing to obey, so eager to please him made him feel a sense of peace within. Kali was what he wanted, and now he knew it would happen. She was the one woman who allowed him to have all he wanted. He was able to have her and continue to hunt other women. She knew, he was almost positive she knew. But she was completely taken by him and she never asked; she never drew a line in the sand. Not until the end - until that blonde bitch ruined it all with her disobedience. She was the one who had caused him to lose Kali and that was why she had to pay.

  When Kali had left him, she was making wild accusations about him being with Olivia. He couldn't spin a lie that would eliminate that possibility from her mind without opening up the Pandora's Box that might lead Kali to the real truth. And Nate couldn't risk that. Kali turning a blind eye to him fucking other women was one thing, but Kali would never turn a blind eye to him killing a woman. If she ever found out, he would lose her for sure and he would keep that secret at any cost.

  CHAPTER 11

  Colonel Andrew Carmichael drove out of the facility parking lot and made his way to the I5 towards the base at Camp Peterson. He was relieved the day was near its end, and he could shift gears. Although the Marine Corps had sent him to San Diego on official business, and it was made clear by his superiors that he was wanted here, the Corps was not the reason he was going to accept the transfer.

  After enduring almost two years of waiting for the SDPD to find his wife's murderer, with zero results, it was time Andrew did some investigating of his own. He would split his time between his military duties and finding out who had taken Laura from him. When he found the monster, Andrew would make sure that he suffered just as much as he imagined Laura had and more. Andrew intended to destroy him in every way a man could be destroyed.

  Once he made his way through base security, Andrew located his temporary housing and pulled into the parking lot of the small barracks style complex. He would need to find off base accommodations soon because the small, crowded complex would not allow him the freedom to come and go frequently without drawing attention. Andrew didn't want anyone to know what he was up to, or to raise suspicion; bored military wives were notorious for starting rumors. And he didn't need anyone getting in his way.

  He found the unit that he had been given the keys to and unlocked the door. Once inside he looked around at the dumpy little one-bedroom bachelor quar
ters. Thank God he was single he thought to himself; he couldn't imagine any proper lady finding this crap hole cozy enough to hang out in. Hell, being married to Laura for the past 15 years, he had no idea what it was like to be single. The mere thought of her brought back the familiar pain caused by losing her and that dull ache filled his chest.

  He turned the pain off by flashing back to earlier in the day when Kali Hanson had practically knocked him over rushing down the hallway of the medical facility's office, and afterward had taken off running in the other direction like a shy school girl. It felt good to know that he had that affect on a female. It had been such a long time since any of those types of feelings had stirred within him. So long that he had begun to wonder if those types of feelings would ever return. He wondered if experiencing the loss of Laura had permanently wiped out the possibility of being emotionally involved in a new relationship.

  Sinking back into the drab pull out couch, he tilted his head back and shut his eyes. Kali was a remarkably beautiful woman. She had an exotic look about her with that wild, long mane of dark, wavy hair. Her eyes were dark brown and mysterious and her full lips were the type that begged to be kissed, and kissed often. She had an energy that radiated from her and had captivated everyone in that conference room today, especially him. He found it difficult to take his eyes off of her. But, her beauty was only part of it. She played the tough girl role with pinpoint precision, and he was sure nobody in that room could see beyond that to the wounded and fragile woman underneath that tough exterior. Andrew saw it. He felt it, from that very first moment in the hallway. Perhaps it was something that one could only see if they too were wounded. Andrew hoped that Kali had not experienced the same level of loss and pain that he'd experienced, but he knew there was something dark haunting her. He had sensed it during the hallway crash. It was as if the energy radiating off of Kali enveloped him and drew him in to her. She had been on his mind all day.

  Andrew chuckled out loud and shook his head. What the hell was he thinking? He was here for one reason only, to find Laura's murderer, and he couldn't let a little chemistry with a woman he didn't even know get in the way of that. He had to snap out of it, he was going to be seeing a lot of Kali over the next few months while they transitioned military patients over to the facility's care for ortho surgery and rehab. He would be working alongside her on an almost daily basis, and he couldn't let his attraction towards her get in the way of his job any more than he could let it get in the way of his investigation.

  Shutting off the light, he laid his heavy, muscular body on the pull out couch and as he drifted off to sleep visions of Kali played in his mind like a video - hair flowing in the breeze, standing with her toes sunk into the warm sand on some beach with a beautiful California sunset on display behind her. That seductive smile aimed straight at Andrew's eyes as if she were calling him to her, pulling him in closer, making him want to go to her. Then, almost as if Laura had the remote control to his mind, his vision shifted to that same beautiful beach but in this vision the sky was ominous and grey, the water turbulent and angry and he could vaguely make out a woman's brutally battered body laying face down in the sand, matted blonde hair covering an unnamed face. He knew who it was. His mind took him to this vision often, too often. Tugging the scratchy, gray, military issue blanket up over his head, he willed his mind to stop and fell into a fitful sleep, but any sleep was welcome.

  CHAPTER 12

  Sutton spent the day and a better part of the night going over all of the reports and interview notes on the Carmichael case. He had a list of people he wanted to question. There was a possible connection between the victim and a man named Nate Warner, although he was uncertain as to how they were involved. All he had to go on was a statement given by Laura Carmichael's assistant, and the assistant had been quite hesitant to give out any information on Laura's after hours’ engagements. After hauling the assistant down to the station and using some light intimidation with her, she had reluctantly dropped Nate's name and admitted that Laura Carmichael had spent several evenings with him. The assistant hadn’t offered much in the way of details about Nate Warner except that she had needed to drop a report off to Laura, one night in mid December 2009. It had been an important project that Laura had needed to deal with immediately, so the assistant was privy to Nate's address. Nate was questioned on two previous occasions, and no red flags came up. The detective who took the case over after Sutton had retired had run Nate through the system and there were no hits. There was zero evidence that Laura had been with Nate the night of her murder. In fact there was zero evidence that Laura had seen Nate or had any contact with him that day. Nate was quoted in one report as saying that he last saw Laura two weeks prior to her murder, and that their relationship was strictly of a professional nature. That relationship was verified by the fact that Laura had a subcontract with the civilian contractor Nate was employed by.

  Laura Carmichael was not from San Diego. At the time of her murder, she had resided in Stafford, VA with her husband who was a Colonel in the Marine Corps and a huge pain in Sutton's ass. Sutton could certainly understand a husband wanting to know who murdered his wife but this guy, Andrew, came across as arrogant and demanding. The guy never missed a day to leave Sutton several voice mail messages and the week before Sutton officially retired, Andrew had paid an unannounced visit to Sutton at the station in San Diego. When Sutton had gone down to the main floor to meet with Andrew, he had been taken aback by the size of the man. Andrew Carmichael was a man of uncommonly large stature, with a square jaw and military haircut - he looked like a real life GI Joe. But, Sutton could see the pain in Andrew's eyes and the heaviness of the sorrow that surrounded the man, it was visceral.

  Sutton had gained a respect for Andrew when they had met that day. Almost two years had passed since then and there were no new leads, no suspects and Sutton wasn't sure that the case had been worked all that hard by the department after his retirement. He kept in contact with Andrew and the two spoke every three to four weeks. Usually their conversations ended with Sutton’s promise that one day Laura's murderer would be caught, that someday the monster would pay. The last time the two spoke, Sutton informed Andrew that he was coming out of retirement and going to lead a team at the Cold Case squad. He promised that once he was back at the department, he would officially look into the investigation of Laura's murder. He had asked Andrew to call him in a few weeks.

  The night of Laura's murder, San Diego had had an uncommonly heavy rain storm. It had washed away any footprint type evidence from the remote stretch of beach in the Point Loma area where her body was found. The coroner had confirmed what Sutton had known within minutes of viewing her body; there had been a sexual assault. At the crime scene, Sutton had noted severe bruising on Laura's wrists, ankles, legs and back, and ligature type markings around her fragile neck. Her face was almost unrecognizable and although she was not stabbed, there were numerous deep cut marks on her breasts and the upper portion of one of her legs. The cause of death had been deemed as strangulation. The coroner's report stated that all of the battering, bruising and ligature marks had been inflicted before Laura died. But, the cut marks to her breasts - they appeared to have been inflicted postmortem. The bruising around the ankles and wrists were presumed to have been caused by a large gauge metal chain. Unfortunately, there was nothing uncommon about the size; it was a standard chain link gauge size. In fact, there was nothing uncommon about any discoveries the coroner made. The only things that were uncommon were the manner in which she had died and the amount of damage done to her body which all pointed to a sexually motivated crime. The coroner's report indicated recent, massive tearing of the vaginal and anal walls. The morning that Sutton was called down to the crime scene, he knew right away a sexual assault had taken place, and that part of the coroner's report came as no surprise.

  Sutton sat back in his office chair and ran his hand through his unruly head of hair. He opened up the forensic profiler's report. This piece
was new to Sutton. The report hadn't been completed prior to his retirement and he was eager to read what the profiler had come up with. He opened up the folder, which contained the profiler's report, and read through it focusing on each point in the report.

  The offender is most likely a healthy white male, in his late twenties to late thirties. Offender has a large build, is in relatively good shape and strong. He has little to no experience with intimate male-female relationships on an emotional level, and he views women as things or possessions rather than partners. Offender is single and probably has never been married. He may have a background including witnessing violence towards women as a child. If the offender has a relationship with his mother or a mother figure, it is likely a strained one, at best. Offender lacks the ability to feel or show remorse or to relate to his victim on an emotional level. Due to the level of depravity shown to the victim in this case and the skill in which the crime was committed and covered up, I am almost certain that this was not the offender’s first crime of violence towards women although, this may be the first time it has escalated to this extreme. I do not believe the offender has a prior criminal record. He probably owns a truck, SUV or van or has access to one through his employment. I believe this offender possesses a high IQ and maintains complete control in every aspect of his life; he may be military or have a military background. After examining all of the evidence provided to me, I believe this offender is aggressive by nature and that this crime occurred because he lost control, not because he planned it. However, with this type of individual, and if this was his first murder, he may have found such a heightened sense of arousal and power that he will more than likely attempt to re-create those feelings with another victim.