The Harbinger Collection: Hard-boiled Mysteries Not for the Faint of Heart (A McCray Crime Collection)

by Carolyn McCray

  “Nicole, I mean detective Usher, I mean…” Glick tried to find his footing. “Interesting look.”

  Nicole’s hand went to her hair, which right about now must have felt coarser than most straw. “Trust me, its temporary.”

  “Ah, are you sure?” Kent fake pleaded.

  “Yes,” Nicole snapped then turned to Glick who had managed to close his mouth. “You wanted to see us, Captain?”

  Glick nodded as he sat down. “But I just want the highlights,” he said tapping a huge pile of reports. “Not this tower of non-information.”

  “Sure,” Kent said. “We were staking out a biker bar, trolling for Lucky 37.”

  The captain interrupted him. “And why that bar?”

  Kent cocked his head. “I thought you wanted the highlights?”

  These middle management types always wanted what they just said they didn’t. Normally Kent wouldn’t even bother to show up at a meeting like this, however it involved both Lucky 37 and Buzz Kill. Any meeting involving those two had his attention.

  “Sorry,” Glick said, waving Nicole on.

  “A stake out that resulted in flushing a gang rape foursome,” Nicole continued.

  “Foursome?” Glick asked.

  Nicole jumped in. “The three attackers and the bartender who slipped me the GHB. It turns out if the women are still pliable enough when he got off shift, he got a shot at them too.”

  “Quite magnanimous of them,” Glick replied.

  * * *

  “Ya, they were quite the saints,” Nicole said as she gently probed the tissue around her nose. It was still tender. No great surprise there.

  “And while you were arresting these rapist, you heard the sound of a chainsaw?” Glick asked, turning his attention to Kent.

  Kent nodded. “Then Ruben and I went off in pursuit. I was able to catch a glimpse of the perp, but he was in black shoes, baggy sweat pant and hoodie.”

  “And nothing on the hundreds of hours of footage we subpoenaed around that area in prep for Lucky 37’s arrival?”

  “No, sir,” Nicole stated.

  Glick glanced to Kent then focused on Nicole. “So I’m supposed to sell how this was all a happy coincidence? We are running a sting on a bar and just so happened to be down the street from Buzz Kill?”

  Nicole shuffled in her seat, her eyes seeking Kent’s. He refused to meet her gaze though. Under her captain’s scrutiny, she couldn’t hold their secret in any longer. She hated lying to her captain, even if it was by omission.

  “Lucky 37 left a note the night before,” Nicole admitted. “‘Tomorrow Night.’”

  Glick leaned back in his chair. “There it is. I knew there was something going on. We just never get that lucky.”

  Kent snorted. “Luck has nothing to do with it. Ever.”

  Her captain frowned which he tended to do when Kent was around. “And this was the only communication between Lucky 37 and you?” Glick asked.

  When Kent didn’t answer, Nicole squirmed even more despite trying to stay still. Why couldn’t her fiancé just come clean? Why did he always put her in this position?

  “He also left a note last night on the Mustang,” Nicole felt compelled to admit. “‘It was never about me.’”

  Glick leaned further back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. “Am I catching this right? Lucky 37 knew that Buzz Kill was striking in that alley and led you to him?”

  “Pretty good for an impending AARP member,” Kent replied taking a dig at Glick’s age.

  The captain let the slight go. “Does Lucky 37’s involvement help us or hurt us?”

  Kent shrugged. “He helped us with those idiotic teenagers.”

  “But I thought you said that was because he had a teenage daughter,” Glick asked.

  Nicole had the same question. It was good to know she wasn’t stupid. Even her captain seemed confused.

  “I still do,” Kent explained. “But I think he got a taste of hunting other serial killers. He’s gone a little Dexter on us.”

  “So he’s going to help us catch Buzz Kill?” Glick asked.

  Kent turned his head away, looking through the window to the bullpen. That was the profiler. He only tuned in when he wanted to.

  “I don’t think he’s going to make it easy,” Nicole said filling in the awkward silence. “It’s still a sick game.”

  Glick breathed out heavily, shifting forward in his chair again. “So we might have to solve this the old fashioned way?” Off Nicole’s nod he asked. “And the girl, Lacey, has she been able to give us anything?” Nicole shook her head. “When will she be able to?”

  “Probably not until this afternoon at the earliest,” Nicole stated then her phone vibrated on her hip. It was a text from Ruben. Lacey had been rushed back into emergency surgery. It looked like a part of her bowel got nicked and they missed it in the first eight hour surgery. So now the girl didn’t just get ripped up, suffer catastrophic blood loss, but also had full blown peritonitis.

  Not good. “Sorry, it looks like if she survives another surgery it won’t be until late night or even tomorrow morning.”

  “And we have other leads you are following?” Glick asked.

  When Kent didn’t acknowledge the captain’s question, Nicole stepped in, although she had to give Glick credit that he had learned not to take Kent’s behavior personal. The profiler was an ass to everyone.

  “Yes, there was the necklace that Kent found in Tanya’s safety deposit box.”

  “And this had to do with murdering people with a chainsaw how?” Glick asked not unreasonably.

  Kent finally found his voice. “Not sure. I think he may have killed for the necklace and then figured out how much he liked killing and his signature evolved from there. He may have killed more people, we don’t know. If it weren’t for Nathan, we wouldn’t have known that Tanya was murdered.”

  “And we’ve confirmed that?”

  Since Kent was mute again, Nicole stated, “Yes, the biopsies of the tissue around the catheter site show high levels of heroin.”

  Glick squinted his eyes, glancing back and forth between Kent and Nicole. “Isn’t this unusual? A stealth killer turning into a chainsaw murderer seeking recognition?”

  “What can I say?” Kent said. “Serial killers are weird.”

  “And clearly, unpredictable,” Nicole added.

  Kent slapped his hands down on the chair. “Okay, I think we’re caught up here. Places to go. People to see and all that.”

  “And the necklace?” Glick asked.

  “That and other things,” Kent said about as cryptically as Lucky 37 would have.

  Glick looked like he might challenge Kent, but then the captain took a deep sigh first, holding out his hand. “Fine, but I need my phone back.”

  Kent looked offended, which usually guaranteed he was guilty of lifting something. Nicole watched as Kent and Glick had a little standoff. If Kent thought she was going to jump in and run interference for him on this, he was sadly mistaken.

  “Come on,” the captain said. “I knew it was you once my phone company contacted me questioning why I was calling North Korea.”

  “Fine,” Kent said, pulling the phone from his pocket and handing it over to the Captain.

  Nicole was glad to see Kent was actually cooperating. That happened ever so infrequently.

  “Am I now on some FBI and Homeland watch lists?”

  Kent shrugged. “Why do you think I used your phone?”

  What on God’s earth was Kent doing calling North Korea? Even to her Kent had a secret life. Sometimes he would get calls in the middle of the night and just be gone for days at a time. Just last year he’d gone and come back with a scar on his neck. He’d nearly been decapitated yet Nicole knew no more about that incident than she did the calls to North Korea.

  Supposedly Kent was part of a think tank. A think tank that he had been recruited out of to come back to field work, but Nicole found it odd that a member of a think tank could g
et nearly decapitated. There were times when she suspected he worked for the CIA as well, but wouldn’t he just use a CIA line to call North Korea?

  Was Kent sneaking around the spy agency as well? Was there a handler at Langley that was as frustrated with Kent as her captain was?

  The profiler turned to leave but Glick tsked. “And my pen.”

  Kent pulled out the writing instrument and gave it over. Nicole just shook her head. What else was there to do?

  “And my sand rake?”

  The captain, in an effort to avoid his fourth heart attack had taken to sand design to relieve his stress. Glick had gotten quite good at it. He had a very active Pinterest page. Kent hadn’t really taken his tiny rake had he?

  What in the hell would he use it for? But that really wasn’t the point of Kent’s sticky fingers. It was his dominance over his victim. Taking something precious then using it. The only person he didn’t do that to was Nicole.

  Well, except for the bra and panties that time, but the profiler insisted that he had borrowed these for research. And strangely, she believed him.

  Kent looking only mildly chagrined handed over the rake. So he had it. How could she not know he was carrying around a tiny sand rake in his pocket? They had just slept together, scrunched in a hospital bed all night. You’d think she would have noticed that.

  “Anything else?” Glick asked.

  “Like I’d tell you,” Kent said then headed out.

  Glick looked to Nicole. “You’ve got a live one there.”

  Didn’t Nicole know it?

  CHAPTER 10

  Kent paced behind Jimmi and Joshua as they studied their latest clue. They were oohing and ahhing over the necklace he’d found at Tanya’s safety deposit box.

  “Yes, yes, it is beautiful,” Kent admitted. “But what does it mean to the case?”

  “Well, it’s obvious isn’t it?” Joshua said as Jimmi nodded his head in agreement. You seriously couldn’t put two geeks in a room together before they fused into the same person. As much as these two competed against one another, they were like Siamese twins

  “How about you explain it to us, non-Big Bang groupies?” Kent asked. This time it was Nicole who nodded her head, but then frowned. She must still have a killer headache from the ruffie last night.

  “This necklace,” Joshua said in reverent tones, “Once belonged to Anne Boleyn, King Henry the 8th’s wife. That’s what the “B” stands for. Boleyn.”

  “Okay, so it is rare and therefore expensive I take it?” Kent suggested.

  “Expensive?” Jimmi spat as Joshua chuckled. “You mean priceless. I can’t even begin to imagine how many millions this would go for at auction.”

  “Just last year a Henry ring went for two hundred and eighty-five thousand pounds.”

  Kent frowned what was a glorified secretary doing with this infamous and super expensive antique?

  “No idea how it relates to the case,” Joshua said as if he could read Kent’s mind.

  “He’s getting good,” Nicole said, leaning against the counter. She kept insisting that she was fine, however her pale color and lack of balance said something else entirely. Kent would have loved to have help support her, but each time he moved over to her, she gave him that “I said I was fine” glare. She had way too much pride to admit the attack last night had taken it out of her.

  “So no idea, whatsoever why Tanya would have the necklace?” Kent asked.

  “Well, I didn’t say that,” Joshua said. “I just don’t know how it factors into Buzz Kill.”

  “So you know why Tanya had the necklace?” Nicole asked sounding far more irritated than she usually did with these two. She normally seemed to enjoy Mr. Toad’s Wild techno jargon ride.

  Both men nodded but neither said anything.

  “And you are going to share this?” Kent suggested trying to keep his temper in check, after all Nicole had a raging headache.

  “Oh, sorry,” Jimmi said. “We thought it was obvious.”

  “Well, it isn’t,” Kent stated keeping his fists clenched to keep him from grabbing the nearest techie’s throat. Normally Nicole would be laying a hand on his arm, begging for some form of restraint, but right now, she looked like she wanted to join him in the throttling.

  Joshua’s fingers flew over the keyboard as he brought up a painting of the Queen wearing the necklace. “Okay, so we all know what happened to her, the whole head detached from body thing, but what has been a scholarly mystery for centuries is where did all of her jewelry go?”

  Jimmi, appearing to not want to be overshadowed, jumped in. “Some suggested that Henry gave the jewels to his new wife.”

  “Yet, not a single mention or painting of the new queen with Anne’s jewelry showed up,” Joshua stated.

  “Others suggested that Henry melted all the jewelry down,” Jimmi countered. “And made new jewelry for his blushing new bride.”

  “But that doesn’t hold up since several other pieces of Anne’s have shown up to auction over the centuries,” Joshua explained.

  “And there is a theory about who took the jewels?” Nicole asked, obviously trying to prod this explanation along.

  Jimmi nodded. “There was a rumor that just before her unceremonious beheading, Anne entrusted her jewelry to her maid, Paisly Jasper who then passed them down to her descendants.”

  “Of which Tanya was one?” Kent asked trying to wrap this logic thread up.

  Both men nodded. “The last direct one as a matter of fact,” Joshua added.

  “And you got all of this from the necklace?” Nicole asked, squinting at the harsh fluorescent lighting.

  “No,” Joshua answered. “But I did go pretty deep back into her family tree when Kent told me to track down her closest relative. I noticed the Jasper connection and thought it was interesting, then wham, the necklace sealed the deal.”

  “So Tanya was in possession of a priceless heirloom that she could have sold at any time --”

  “Well, there’s the rub,” Jimmi said. “Not necessarily.”

  “What do you mean?” Nicole asked, pushing off the counter, coming over and sitting down in one of the chairs. Kent watched as his fiancée slowly rubbed her temples as Joshua answered.

  “Back then women couldn’t own any property so in theory that jewelry was King Henry’s. His descendants have gone after previous auctions, suing them for selling stolen goods. Tanya might have been worried what would happen if she tried to sell the necklace.”

  Jimmi jumped back in. “She might have even contacted auction houses and been refused.”

  He brought up a list of her calls. “Once she became ill, she contacted several of the large auction houses.” Jimmi held up his hand. “I’ve already got calls into them to see what their discussions were about.”

  Kent looked at the screen. For a serial case, the monitor was filled with such an odd assortment. Anne Boleyn, auction houses and necklace. This was more the stuff of Agatha Christie. He expected Miss Marple to walk in at any moment.

  “But this doesn’t indicate who would have wanted her dead,” Nicole said.

  “And there are no other heirs?” Kent asked.

  “No direct heirs,” Joshua corrected. “There are like a gazillion cousins and relatives via marriages.”

  “Then we need to track them down,” Kent instructed. “We need to figure out who wanted that necklace.”

  Joshua sighed but nodded. “I figured. It’s like over a thousand people, but I’ll try to see if there is anyone who pops.”

  Kent was about to wrap up the little pow wow when Bridget and her crew burst into the room.

  * * *

  Nicole shielded her eyes from the glare. Seriously why was everyone being so bright and loud today? She was never drinking again. Anything. Not even water, unless she poured it herself. That was final. She was never going through this again. Ever.

  Kent, Ruben, the Captain and her doctor had all encouraged her to take the day off and go home to sleep it o
ff, which right about now that option was looking pretty attractive. Why hadn’t she taken their advice? Oh ya, two serial killers were on the loose.

  “Our agreement states you are to call me if there are any advances in the case,” Bridget said with a flaming red pout.

  “Your agreement with the department, not our agreement,” Kent clarified for everyone in the room. “Our agreement only covers who pays for your funeral…which is you. Not me.”

  Bridget’s frown deepened. “You would think you would want us here. Documenting for the world how a first class profiler works.”

  “Yes, funny, I don’t,” Kent said with a tilt of his head. He could be such an ass sometimes. In this case though, it was completely justified.

  “And now are you going to try and stop us from filming this latest development?”

  “Oh heavens no,” Kent said, waving toward the two men and the monitors. “As a matter of fact I am going to have them go through the entire process, step by step with you.”

  Bridget grinned as if she had just won that exchange. Clearly she had not spent a lot of time with Jimmi or Joshua when they let their geek flag fly.

  “You aren’t going to be here?” the producer asked, clearly suspicious.

  “Got to run the little lady home, doctor’s orders,” Kent said. “These guys can fill you in on that too.”

  As they walked past the crew to the door, Nicole whispered, “Really?”

  “God, no,” Kent said, pushing the door opened. “But what a nice escape. They are going to be tied up for hours while we go have some lunch.”

  Nicole smiled. Food did sound good. They couldn’t stalk Lucky until after dark and they were going to have to wait for Joshua to produce any name to investigate.

  Hand-in-hand they walked out of the morgue.

  Even though the sun was too bright, this was turning out to be a pretty good day.

  * * *

  “No, no, no,” Kent said, digging in his heels. “I said lunch, just you and me, not brunch with Paggie and Ruben.”

  “Too bad,” Nicole said, seeming to be more herself. “We’ve been promising them a double date for weeks and voilà, today our schedules finally aligned.”