Love's Protector: A Maverick's Shield Novel
Page 16
“Ah…Mrs. Pruitt.” He laughed. “She’s crazy. I wouldn’t listen to anything she says if I were you. There was no woman at Ms. Graciette’s home that day.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes I’m sure. She couldn’t remember anything about the woman and none of the people we questioned had seen her either.”
“Are you the one that talked to Carly’s husband about her possible murder?”
“Yes. Riley and I both did. When we arrived at the scene, he was in panic mode saying someone had killed her. We told our captain at the time, he sent some detectives to investigate and they came to the conclusion that the M.E. was right and dropped the case. It’s as simple as that. I don’t know what else to tell you. Now if you gentlemen would excuse me.” He motioned towards the door. “I need to shower and dress. I have a date tonight.”
Westfield’s version of what had happened that day is not the version Riley had told them few days ago, but Jason had decided to keep that to himself as well. He didn’t want to give him a chance to tip Riley off once he and Alex left. It was obvious Riley hadn’t done that after he and Amour had spoken to him which proved to be a very useful mistake on Riley’s part.
Jason rose from to his feet. “Alright. Thanks for talking with us captain. We’ll be in touch if we need those cops or anything else.”
Jason and Alex both shook Westfield’s hand and walked out of the condo onto the hallway. Once they’d gotten out of the building and into Jason’s car, it was clear to him that there was some kind of weird cover-up going on.
Alex looked straight ahead and spoke. “Do you smell dirty cops and murder?”
Alex had always been able to intuitively know what others were thinking as well as when things didn’t seem right even after having little information about it. That was one of the many things Jason admired about him. “Yep, I sure do and it smells pretty foul.”
CHAPTER 21
Amour stood in the middle of the bank lobby trembling and wondering if today would be her last. After showing her the gun in his waist band, the strange man took a couple of steps towards her before discreetly beckoning for her to turn around and go out of the door behind her. She had no choice but to do what he wanted, that is…if she wanted to stay alive. She supposed she could run or scream but that would be unwise because it could potentially put all the other people in the bank in danger so she decided to oblige. She slowly faced the door and walked towards it.
What the hell was she thinking? She knew this was a bad idea. No, it wasn’t a bad idea, it was a stupid idea. Why did she listen to Shyla? She didn’t even know her, let alone if she was a very smart woman or not. Shyla may be the type that gets off on danger as far as she was concerned. As she approached the door to open it, she could feel him getting closer to her and her stomach muscles clenched and her heart pounded. She’d never been this scared in her entire life. The ninety degree heat hit her like a fist when the door swung open. Standing next to her, he put his arm around her waist making her tremble even more.
He leaned in closer to her. “Act like you know me.”
“W…What?’
He quickly slid off his jacket and handed it to her making sure she continued to block him from view. “Put this on and do it with a smile on your face.”
“Why?” she whispered.
“Do it now or you’ll regret it.”
“Alright.” She paused to put her arms through the sleeves of the jacket.
“Keep walking,” he said in a menacing tone.
After fully getting the jacket on, she somehow managed to put a fake smile on her face as they started to walk. She felt his arm slowly slide underneath the jacket and wrap around her waist followed by what felt like the barrel of his shot gun digging into her side.
Her mouth suddenly became dry and she swallowed. “Who are you?”
“That’s not for you to worry about.”
“Then tell me where are you taking me?”
“You ask too many questions bitch! Now shut up and keep moving!”
He led her away from the bank as they walked down Olympic Boulevard. After they’d walked about a half of a block, they spotted an elderly couple heading straight towards them. Amour felt the barrel of his gun press even harder to her side so much it began to hurt.
His warm breath grazed her ear as he spoke. “Don’t attempt to grow a brain blondie or you’re dead.”
Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest she could hear it in her ears. As the couple got closer to them, she heard him let out a low chuckle in her ear. She took in a deep breath and before she could exhale, she suddenly felt his lips press hard onto hers.
He was kissing her. He was actually kissing her. When she tried to pull away, she felt the barrel his gun move from her side to her lower back pressing hard. It didn’t take rocket scientist to figure out what that meant. Her stomach became queasy as she felt his dry chapped lips cover hers. When the elderly couple passed them, they smiled and said a few pleasant words but she couldn’t make them out. All she could focus on was the fact that she was ten seconds from vomiting. When he stopped kissing her, he began to nudge her to walk faster.
She wiped her mouth. “Did you have to do that?”
“Of course. We wouldn’t want anyone getting suspicious would we?”
“You’re disgusting!”
He chuckled. “No that’s not nice Miss Graciette. But for the money I’m getting paid to do this job, I can live with it. Of course you wouldn’t have had to deal with me if you’d just done what you were told to do earlier this week. But you had to stay in L.A. and play Nancy Drew.”
After walking about ten blocks, he nudged her to turn right onto a small side street. Without raising her head, she used her eyes to look up to read the blue street sign above her that read Manning Avenue and memorized it just in case she was able to get away and tell Shyla or Jason exactly where she was. “Who’s paying you?” she asked.
“Now do you really think I’m gonna tell you that?”
No she didn’t, but she figured the more he was talking, the less he was thinking about shooting her. “At least tell me what they want from me.”
“I told you. They want you to stop snooping and leave. Boss is not happy about you sticking around or about your pretty boy bodyguard getting all up in the business either.”
She moistened her dry lips with her tongue. They tasted like sweat and stale booze…yuck! Boss? Who is he working for? As they walked further down the small street, she decided to keep talking hoping that maybe he’ll slip up and reveal something to her.
“Well whoever you work for is dammed coward.”
He snorted. “Now why would you say that Miss Graciette?”
After walking about seven more blocks, they cut in a fork in the small intersection and began to walk onto another small street. She looked up again with her eyes and memorized the street name Putney Road. “Because he’s sending you to do his dirty work instead of doing it himself. He can’t take out a girl?”
He laughed. “Oh yeah, but that wouldn’t be wise considering how high powered my boss is. So I get to have all the fun.” They stopped at a midsized black sedan with tinted windows and he pointed to the driver’s side door. “Get in.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “You want me to drive?”
He pressed the gun harder into her back. “Yes! Now do what I told you!”
“Okay!” She opened the car door and lowered herself inside. Blowing her plan of escaping as soon as he walked to the other side of the car to get in, he opted out of doing so and climbed over her to get to the passenger seat never taking his gun off of her.
“Start the car and drive!” he exclaimed.
She looked down and noticed that the keys were already in the ignition so she gave it a turn. When the car failed to start, she turned the key again this time hearing the roar of the engine. “Where do you want me to go?”
“I’ll let you know. Just drive!”
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nbsp; As she pulled out of the parking space onto the street, she heard the text message alert coming from her cell phone in her tote which still hung on her shoulder. Shit! Shyla! That probably was her wondering where she was. “I…” That was all she could get out before he interrupted her.
“Don’t think I don’t know about the broad you came here with. That’s why we went out the opposite door. I’m afraid she can’t help you now blondie. And don’t even think about reaching for that bag!”
As much as hated to admit it, he was right. Shyla was outside the bank when he’d taken her and she had no idea where she was or if she was anywhere at all. She was in deep shit but she had to stay calm if that was even possible. “I’m not.”
“Good. I wouldn’t want to start my little party with you early.”
“W…What do you mean by that? What do you plan to do with me?”
He slid his index finger down her cheek causing her to flinch. “Oh, you and I are gonna have a lot of fun. I was informed by boss that as long as I put a bullet in your head and got rid of your body when I’m done, I can do whatever I wanted with you and believe me sweetheart, I intend to.”
Her heart pounded even harder in her chest and she began to tremble at the thought of him touching her anywhere on her body. She was still nauseous from him kissing her. Her mouth became dry again. She swallowed and tried to concentrate on the area she was driving in. She’d noticed that they’d driven passed the Parks Recreation Center and was now passing the Sony Pictures Studios. “You know Jason is going to kill you for this.”
He snorted again. “He can try but he’ll have to find me first.”
“He will.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure sweetheart. No one knows where I’m taking you and by the time I’m done with you, your body will be buried some place no one will ever find it. Even if they do, you’ll be unrecognizable. That is…after I have a little fun with you.” He reached down and rubbed her thigh. “I have to keep you pretty for that part.”
She clenched her teeth tightly together hoping that it will keep the vomit that was eager to come up to stay down. She couldn’t let him touch her. She had to find a way out of this. “Are you the one that’s been calling me?”
“Yep!”
“How did you get my number?”
“Like I said, my boss has acquaintances in high places and can get access to anything. Believe me; getting someone’s cell phone number isn’t hard to do.” He pressed the gun to her stomach. “Turn down here.”
She’d driven for what seemed like about twenty minutes when they’d arrived at a small run down house in what looked like a not so good neighborhood. He told her to park in front of the house and then nudged her to get out of the car. She opened the door and began to step out with him climbing over the middle console behind her just as he did when they’d gotten in. Shutting the car door behind him, he slid his arm back under the jacket he’d given her and pushed her with his other hand signaling for her to start walking. They walked a couple of houses down from where they’d parked and he nudged her again to walk up the driveway of another run down house that had dead grass and chipping paint on the outside.
“Whose house is this?” she asked trembling. He legs were shaking so bad she could barely walk.
“Shut up and keep walking!” He led her through a narrow walkway on the side of the house that led to the backyard. It also had lots of dead grass and it was full of trash and old rusty cars. The stench was making her even more nauseated. He opened the small door of a large shed. “Get inside!” he yelled while pressing the gun deeper into her back, pushing her inside.
If she had her bag she’d have her pepper spray. Hell, she’d at least be able to swing it at him and make a run for it. But unfortunately it was in the car along with her cell phone so she was screwed. Once they were fully inside the dimly lit shed, he shoved her down onto a filthy mattress that sat in the middle of the floor surrounded by four large rusted poles that were imbedded into the ground.
When he lowered himself onto the mattress, she pleaded with him to stop. “Please don’t…” That was all she could get out before she suddenly felt hard knuckles hit her across the face making her head snap back and her vision temporarily go black. The pain was excruciating and gave her an instant headache.
“I said shut up!” he screamed.
Keeping the gun pointed at her face, he reached over to a small wooden table with his other hand and grabbed something off of it. Her head was spinning as well as pounding from the blow she’d suffered and because of her hazy vision coupled with the dimly lit room; she could barely see or concentrate on what he was doing to her. After a few seconds and what seemed like the sound of a tear, she felt her mouth being covered by what felt like duct tape. She tried to kick and scream but to no avail because he was holding her down with his large body. Tears began to rush down her cheeks as flashbacks of three years ago flooded her mind. Why was this happening to her? Why…again?
He lowered his head and whispered in her ear. “I love it when they fight me. It turns me on.”
He lifted her arms above her head and taped her wrists together. A few seconds later, she felt his hands grab her ankles. Closing her eyes tightly, she hoped for a miracle. If that didn’t happen, she hoped that whatever he had planned on doing to her, he would kill her first.
CHAPTER 22
Jason pulled up to find Abigail Pruitt tending to her garden in front of her home. He and Alex stepped out of the car and walked up the small driveway to approach her. She looked up at them with wide eyes and a huge grin.
“Hey there handsome!” She stuck the tiny shovel she was using into the dirt and slowly stood brushing the dirt off of her knees. “What brings you here? More cookies or did you realize how lucky little Amour was to be in the company of such a fine young gentleman so you’ve decided to bring me one as well?” She winked at Alex and he nervously grinned back at her. “And I do like ‘em blonde.” She turned to face Jason and gave him a quick wink as well. “I guess that’s one thing we have in common sugar.” She turned back to Alex. “Hello, I’m Abigail. What’s your name sweet cheeks? Are you single?”
“It’s nice to meet you Abigail, I’m Alex and yes ma’am, I am single.” He grabbed her hand when she held it out and kissed the back of it.
“The pleasures all mine, especially now that I get to stare into those big beautiful blue eyes of yours.” Alex smiled and looked at his feet as she turned to face her garden. “Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing the two of you?”
Jason stepped closer to her. “If you don’t mind ma’am…”
She turned to face him. “Hey now, I told you to call me Abigail didn’t I?”
Jason’s lips curved in a smile. “I’m sorry…Abigail.” She gave him a nod. “If you don’t mind, we’d like to ask you a few more questions about the day Carly Graciette died.”
“Sure sweetheart, but I’ve told you everything I know.”
“I know but there are a couple of things that we were just made light of that you may or may not have been aware of.”
She frowned. “Alright.”
“Captain Westfield said that he and Daniel Riley had spoken to a young Asian couple that lived in the area as well as a few kids that lived across the street from here. Do you happen to know anything about those people?”
She scratched her head and her forehead wrinkled. “Well there are the Okinawa’s about five houses down from here that way.” She pointed in the direction to the left of them. “As far as any kids are concerned, there weren’t many on this street besides the ones they had and little Rachel Monroe that lived in the house directly across from this one but she’s all grown up now and living in another state.”
“Do you know any of them? Do you think they’ll be willing to talk to us?”
“Honey, I know everybody in this neighborhood. Everyone’s so nice here. They’ll talk to you.”
“Thanks Abigail.” Jason leaned in and gave her a kiss on th
e cheek. “We’ll see you later.”
As he and Alex began to walk away, Abigail gently grabbed Alex’s arm. “What, I don’t get a kiss from you handsome?”
“Sorry Abigail.” As Alex leaned in to kiss her cheek, she quickly turned her head causing his lips to meet hers. Alex’s eyes widened.
She looked at him suggestively and said, “A kiss on the cheek is fine from him, he’s already taken. You get a special kiss.”
Alex chuckled. “Thanks ma’am.”
“Abigail.”
“Sorry…Abigail.”
All Jason could do was laugh at how unbelievably horny this old lady was and how incredibly delusional she was about he and Amour. “Thanks Mrs. Pruitt. We’ll see you later.”
“Alright. Don’t be strangers now.”
The Okinawa’s didn’t have much to say about that day so Jason and Alex decided to make a stop at the home of the little girl that was questioned. Even if she wasn’t living there anymore, Jason figured if her family was still there maybe they would have some sort of insight on what went on that day. After ringing the bell and knocking a few times, an older woman with shoulder length blonde hair answered the door.
“Hello, what can I do for you?” the woman asked.
“Hello ma’am. My name is Jason Kincaid and this is Alex DeMarco. We are private investigators and we’ve been hired to work on a case that a young woman who lived here once may have been a witness to when she was a child.”
The woman frowned. “How long ago was this? No one’s lived here but us in the last thirty-five years.”
“A young lady by the name of Rachel Monroe.”
She looked at the two of them in total surprise. “That’s my daughter but she hasn’t lived here in years. She’s in New York now. What’s this all about?”
“Ma’am do you recall the day that Carly Graciette died? She was one of your neighbors that lived across the street.”
The woman looked away briefly and then back up at them. “Yes, I knew her. She was a sweet girl. Very beautiful but also very weird.”