FIRST ONE DOWN: A Paul Sutton Novel

by R. J. Belle

  "I'm not sure I'm comfortable disclosing the whole story or the details that have turned into years of tear stained journal pages. It was a tough time in my life. Lost is probably the easiest way to sum up the last two of the past four years," she said, her voice sounded shaky, even to her. But, she felt she owed Andrew some type of explanation, after all, she was the one who opened the door with her earlier statement.

  "I got involved with someone that was wrong for me. I knew he was wrong for me early on, but by the time it became apparent, I had already fallen in love with him and I stayed. I allowed him to do things, and I did things that I am not proud of. There are some doors that once you go through, there's just no going back, y'know?

  In the end, it came down to a question of loyalty. He was carrying on something inappropriate with a co-worker, a friend. I caught them on Christmas Eve in 2009. Really, the rest is history. I have spent my time trying to get over him, trying to get over us. I'm sure you can understand how difficult that can be when there is no resolution. You just wake up one day and your relationship is over. No planning, no choices to make. The decision is made for you and you are left to pick up the pieces and move on."

  Andrew felt a sharp pain in his stomach. December 24, 2009 was the same night that Laura was killed. He stuffed back the pain and looked at Kali, "I'm sorry to hear that. Your friend? A work colleague? How did you deal with that? I can't imagine having to have that in my face everyday at work."

  "Fortunately, I didn't have to deal with it at all. She emailed our manager right after the holiday and resigned. I never saw her again, I never heard from her again. She was just gone. She didn't even come back to the office to clean out her desk or gather up her personal belongings. My guess is that she didn't want to face me, and I don't blame her. I couldn't have looked at myself in the mirror if I had been on her end. In her defense, the guy was extremely manipulative. Good looking, confident, you know the type. He had a magnetic personality that drew women to him. I'm sure he could see where her weaknesses were and he no doubt exploited that. But, there are three million people in San Diego County, he could have had the decency to pick outside of my workplace - for that matter, she could have made a different pick too." Kali stopped talking abruptly, fighting back the lump in her throat and willing her eyes not to well up with tears.

  "He sounds like a man who was undeserving of the love you obviously had for him."

  "Undeserving, hmmm..." looking off into the direction opposite Andrew, she pondered that word for a minute. "yes, undeserving would sum him up accurately," Kali said, a pang of guilt hitting her hard for speaking ill of Nate. The roller coaster of emotions that washed over her anytime Nate was involved was overwhelming. He wasn't in her life anymore, but he still monopolized her thoughts, and now her date with Andrew.

  Kali took her iPhone out of her clutch and looked at the time. Setting her phone down on the stained glass table in front of them, she stood up and looked at Andrew, "this place is going to shut down in fifteen minutes, would you like another cappuccino, Colonel?" she asked, trying to move on to something more cheerful. She wanted to re-ignite the chemistry that had started at dinner.

  "No way! I'll be up until two in the morning from the one I am drinking now," he said, a smile returning to his face and the hard lines on his forehead, softening again.

  "I am going down to order myself another and use the ladies room. Don't run away, I know where you work, I will find you," she teased as she stood up and headed downstairs.

  Kali had been gone for five minutes when her iPhone began to vibrate wildly. Andrew ignored it the first few times but by the fourth time it went off, he picked it up and looked at the display.

  Tell me...

  You cannot ignore me Kali

  I own you

  I will always own you

  The shock on Andrew's face was not just from the content of what he saw displayed on Kali's phone, but also from the name of the sender...

  Nate Warner.

  As Kali came up the stairs, Andrew met her at the top of the staircase. He had her clutch, the iPhone and her jacket in his hands. Startled and confused she looked up at him, a puzzled look on her face.

  "We need to go, Kali," he said, sternly.

  "Go? What happened? What did I miss while I was gone?" she asked.

  He handed her the iPhone and said, "Nate Warner is the only suspect in my wife's murder case."

  Andrew walked past Kali and began walking down the stairs, she followed close behind trying to keep up, the heels she chose for the evening making that a chore. Once they were out of the coffee house and in the parking lot, she stopped and called out to him, "Andrew, stop. I don't understand what's going on. Please wait, talk to me, please."

  "You don't understand, Kali? It is I who should have a problem understanding right now. How could you not disclose that you used to date a guy who is somehow mixed up in my dead wife's homicide investigation?" he asked his face askew and his jaw clenched.

  "I have no idea what you are talking about, Andrew. I don't know anything about this and I can't believe that Nate would be mixed up at all in any homicide investigation," she said, finding it insane that she was now defending Nate to the man who just hours ago had made her melt inside.

  Standing outside the rental car, Andrew hit the unlock button with his thumb, and pulled Kali's door open. "Get in please."

  She got in and watched as he squeezed his large frame into the small driver's seat. "Andrew, please talk to me. I have nothing to do with any of this; I'm just as blown away as you are right now."

  "I don't know what to say, Kali. There is a monster out there who took my wife from me. The detectives think Nate Warner has something to do with it, with the case, with the murder - I don't know. What I do know is that I fall, fast and hard for this beautiful, amazing, precious woman, by accident, and then BAM - I find out her ex-boyfriend is Nate Warner. Forgive me if my head is spinning a little bit. That man, if he indeed hurt my wife, that monster will not take one more thing away from me. I'll kill him before I let that happen."

  Kali could feel his anger, his pain, it was thick; she could taste it. It made tears flow from her dark eyes, leaving a trail of mascara down both cheeks. She just looked at him, crying, silent. She didn't know what to say.

  "I am taking you to your house to pack a bag and then you are staying with me. I'm not letting you out of my sight until I know what's going on," he said, leaving no room for argument.

  He put the car into drive and asked her to plug her address into the rental's navigation system, and they hit the I5.

  CHAPTER 23

  A manila envelope was sitting on his desk when he arrived at the office that morning. It contained the phone records that had been subpoenaed the previous week, Nate Warner's phone records. Sutton sat down at his cluttered desk and unsealed the envelope with a pair of dull scissors. Unsure of what he was looking for, he would start with the phone number he had on file for Olivia Foster. It was disconnected now, but he wanted to see what the communication pattern, if any, was between the two of them over the timeframe surrounding Laura's murder.

  Scanning down the sheets of paper, three sheets deep, he came across Olivia Foster's old cell phone number. He continued to scan and mark every line that contained Olivia's number. When he had gone through all 143 sheets of call records, he went back and looked at the dates that corresponded to the marks he had made. In all, there were twelve points of contact.

  On December 18, 19 and 21st there were calls from Olivia's phone to Nate's phone. The first two were under a minute, most likely voicemail messages. On the 21st there was a call that lasted 7 minutes. Then, at 3:17 a.m. on the 25th, there was a call made from Nate's phone to Olivia's phone. The call lasted under a minute. These were followed by text messages from Nate's phone to Olivia's phone sent midday on the 25th, three text messages on the 26th, three more on the 28th, then two more on the 31st.

  Sutton cursed under his breath, angry with himself for
not including text message transcripts in the subpoena. He called Ryan's cell phone, not giving a second though to the fact that it was only six thirty in the morning. Ryan answered on the second ring.

  "Hey partner, when are you going to make it into the office?" Sutton asked.

  "Jesus, old man, this better be good."

  "It is, I need you down here. We need to draft another subpoena. Well, I need you to draft another subpoena. I'm too old to play the dotted i's and crossed t's game, I need the shit I need, and I need it now," Sutton said an urgency in his voice. He could sense a hint of frustration in Ryan's voice, but he knew that he would drop anything to help on a case. Ryan was a team player and didn't care that he seldom got credit for the role he played. He seemed to be okay with Sutton getting the lime-light and recognition. But, sometimes Sutton got on his nerves with his old school tactics and lack of wanting to learn how to play the game by the rules.

  "On my way," Ryan said, and hung up.

  Sutton sat back in his chair, ran his hand furiously through his mess of hair and cursed under his breath again. Maybe it was time to learn a new trick or two, he thought. Then he quickly dismissed that thought, got out of his chair and began pacing. As he paced back and forth past the case board, he moved the puzzle pieces in and out of the foundation he and Ryan had up on the board. One piece in, looking at every angle and finding no connection, then moving another imaginary piece in and going through the whole scenario over and over until he exhausted the limited pieces there were to work with. He had been on the job for so many years that he knew when to leave the puzzle alone and when the piece was there, in front of him, he just wasn't turning it at the right angle to make it fit snug completing the puzzle. Looking at the Carmichael case board, his gut told him he had the right pieces, he just needed to continue playing with them, manipulating them this way and that. He would find the right fit, eventually.

  Ryan arrived at the station twenty minutes later in a crumpled shirt, unshaven, and a scowl on his face.

  "Run it down for me, old man. I need to know what you're looking for so I can craft the appropriate verbiage for the subpoena this time."

  Sutton sat down at his desk, with Ryan looking over his shoulder and went through the phone records that he had and explained what else he wanted to see, adding that he wanted Olivia's records as well.

  "Did you look for the Orthopaedic Office number in those records? If there had been a relationship between Olivia Foster and Nate Warner, I would expect to see more communication than what you just showed me. Maybe she called him from her office."

  "Damn partner, your good. I didn't even think to look for a number from that office. Have someone run the office address and give me all the numbers associated with that location." Sutton said and got up from his desk again, "I'm going to get some coffee, you want a cup?"

  "Make it strong," Ryan said, nodding his head yes as he started up his desktop computer.

  As Sutton exited the elevator bank on the first floor, his cell phone rang.

  "Sutton here."

  "Good morning detective, it's Andrew Carmichael. Something has come up and I need to meet with you later today. Will you be at the station this afternoon?" Andrew asked.

  "Mr. Carmichael, I am working the case. I need you to stay out of it and let me do my job..."

  Cutting Sutton off, Andrew raised his voice slightly and spoke in the most authoritative tone he could without waking Kali, who was fast asleep on the pull out sofa bed, "I wasn't asking permission to meet with you Sutton. I was only asking if you would be at the station this afternoon. I will see you at three o'clock." Andrew hung up and looked across the room at Kali.

  Laying perfectly still, one long, slender leg had found its way outside of the drab colored blanket. It was noticeably muscular, no question that she was a runner. Walking the beach didn't produce legs like that. Her dark, wild hair was spread out over the top portion of the bed, long pieces rested across both pillows, as if they had been artistically positioned for a shampoo commercial. One side of her pale face was exposed, and even asleep, she was exquisite. Watching her body move with her breathing, in and out, was practically hypnotizing. It took everything he had to remain focused on the task at hand. Wanting nothing more than to walk to the pull out, and climb in next to her, Andrew had to force himself to look away and place the next call on his list.

  "LT! How have you been, man? It's been awhile."

  "Carmichael, is that you? Where the hell did you land, Colonel?"

  "I'm in San Diego, living the good life out at Camp Peterson. You still at Quantico?" Andrew asked.

  "Yes Sir, they are going to keep me here until I retire or die tryin'."

  "There are a lot worse places the Corps could stick you than Quantico, LT," Andrew said, and his voice shifted to a serious tone, "Hey, man I need a favor. A big one."

  "Anything Colonel, you ask, I do - period."

  "This is a big deal for me. It's hot and I need it as soon as humanly possible. I'm going to email you over a civilian channel. This isn't an official request, you sure you're okay with that, LT?"

  "You ask, I do - period."

  "You have no idea how much this helps, man. You still at the LThero yahoo account?"

  "Yes, still have that address active. I will be on the lookout for your email, Colonel. I will hit you up if I have any questions. And, hey Colonel, I'm real sorry about Laura. She was a good woman."

  "Thanks man. She was a good woman," Andrew said and ended the call.

  He pushed the power button on his laptop and walked the ten steps into the kitchen to get a pot of coffee brewing. Sure Kali would be awake soon, he hurried back to the small area he had converted into his makeshift office and began the email draft to LT. What he was about to request could get them both into serious trouble with the Corps. He didn't mind putting his own career at risk, for him this was very personal, but he wanted to make sure that LT understood the gravity of the request he was making of him, and the risk involved.

  This is an unofficial request. I think you know the seriousness of this request and the consequences that could be faced if found out. Act accordingly. Make sure you are comfortable with the risk.

  Subject: former Recon Marine - Nate Warner. His approximate dates of service as well as all of the statistical and current information I have on him is in a separate attachment.

  NEED all info available; including all personal, pre-military, post-military service, military records while in service including security/classified, combat, medal awards, medical, general, finance, administrative and anything else. Please include any available pictures.

  Most interested in: Pre-military personal history, combat and medical records.

  Return information via civilian overnight delivery as soon as possible.

  CC

  Just as Andrew hit the send button, Kali began to stir. He shut the laptop and watched intently as her body moved. Her legs started the private show, the covered leg kicking the covers off, and her right foot tapping lightly at the air. Next she raised her hands above her head and gathered up her wild locks of dark brown hair, and as she did her shirt raised, exposing her firm belly. There was a visible, jagged scar just below her navel that was raised and discolored bright pink against her pale skin. Her hands brushed over her face and with small, balled fists she rubbed her eyes. As soon as her hands moved away and her dark eyes opened, she jumped, startled. Andrew knew she wasn't expecting to wake up to his modest bachelor quarter decor. Sitting up straight, and pulling the cover up over her belly, she caught herself and realized where she was.

  "What time is it?" she asked.

  "You're not late for the ball, Cinderella," he answered, a big smile widening across his face.

  "Coffee?" she asked, as she stretched her arms up over her head, and let out a yawn.

  "Yes, I have coffee for you, it's almost ready," he answered as he got to his feet and walked over to the side of the pull out that she was on. "Tough night, huh?"
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  "Tough night, Colonel," she said, giving him a small, superficial smile.

  "Please don't do that, don't pretend with me. I owe you an apology. I should have asked first. I should have talked to you instead of heaving you over my shoulder like a caveman, claiming you as my own and ordering you to leave your familiar surroundings and come home with me. It was inappropriate and mean, and I'm sorry if I frightened you in any way. I had to know you were safe."

  "It's okay, Colonel. I know you were doing what you thought was right. I know you were trying to protect me. Next time though, protect my feelings first," she said, as a sadness came across her face.

  It wasn't a look he had seen on her before. But, it was a sadness he had felt in her energy that first day they met. "Kali, I promised I wouldn't do that to you. I promised I would never be the cause of your pain, and here we are less than twenty-four hours after I made that promise, with you feeling hurt because of something that I did."

  "It's not you. It's him. I wish I could erase him, everything about him from my memory, forever," she said, looking up in his eyes. "Can I please shower? I need to get to the office."

  "Of course. I laid a towel out for you and if you need anything else, let me know."

  She got out of the bed and went into the small bathroom, pulling the door closed behind her. Andrew shook his head, wishing he had kept his cool the night before. He never lost it, never lost control but when he saw that bastard's name and what he wrote on Kali's cell phone, he saw red. He intended to find out everything he could about Nate Warner, and he planned to visit him personally later that day. Being face to face with the man who may have taken Laura from him would take all the restraint he had. But, to play and win at this game, he would have to fight back the urge to take justice into his own hands. Taking his black leather briefcase out of the small closet next to the bed, he checked his weapon to make sure it was loaded, placed his laptop inside the briefcase and secured it with its coded latch locks.