“Not her,” Mayfield said. “The deceased is a trainer, name’s Marla. You know her?”
“No.”
“I think she was a friend of Ms. Christy Nelson. I’m sure you know her.”
“Yes. Yes, I do.”
“Look, Mr. Lansdowne, I’ve spoken to Timmons. We’re all on the same team here, but I got people all over my ass. This is the fourth body to show up, and you are the prime suspect.”
Kyle took a big breath and then exhaled. He didn’t know what to say. Cooper and Fredo were still on alert.
“But I’m not buying it, son.” Mayfield continued.
Kyle was relieved. “Thank you, sir. So what’s your theory?”
“Rather feels like flushing a rabbit out of a briar patch. They’re trying to scare her, make her do something stupid. I think they’re hoping she’ll go find you.”
“Ain’t going to happen,” Kyle said.
“Come again?”
Kyle looked at his buds and then answered Mayfield. “They won’t find me through her. We broke it off.”
“You know that, Timmons knows that and told me the same. But they don’t.”
“I thought her condo at the Infinity was the safest place for her.”
“I’d normally agree. But these guys aren’t amateurs. And they don’t care how much publicity they stir up or who they hurt.”
“Why are you calling me?” Kyle wasn’t sure he could do anything to help. “You know I shouldn’t go near her. Even with the murder, I still think that building is the safest place for her.”
“Yeah. Except she isn’t here.”
Kyle swore under his breath. No one else said a word or made a sound.
“Where is she?”
“I’m not going to say. Not sure it’s safe. Besides, you just said you shouldn’t be anywhere near her. Let’s just keep it that way.”
“So what are you proposing?”
“You need to get yourself caught. You gotta be the bait.”
“No way.”
“They’re going to find you, Kyle.”
“Not unless I find them first.”
“Son, you are thinking with the wrong part of your anatomy. If they don’t find you, they’ll get her, and if that fails, they’ll kill her, and your buddy, too. She’s safe right now, but I’d say you’ve got about twenty-four hours. That’s it.”
“Where is she?”
“Not telling.”
“She in San Diego?”
“She’s not at her condo, if that’s what you mean. Someone has been, though. The place is a mess.”
Kyle looked at Fredo and Cooper. Both SEALs were watching his face. Ready for anything.
“Look, Kyle. You’ve got to stop thinking about rescue here. Leave that to us. That’s why I’m not telling you. You need to get yourself caught so we can track you. Can you do that, son?
“I’m not sure.”
“Well, get sure. Find a way. I got no other way to do it.”
Kyle knew he needed to find Christy. If they couldn’t find him, they’d go after Christy. Mayfield was wrong. Christy was the bait. And he wasn’t anywhere around her now.
That was going to have to change. Nothing he could do tonight. He’d go see Simms in the morning. If he couldn’t get Christy’s location from Mayfield, Christy might have told her employer.
Gunny’s lumpy couch was going to be home tonight. As he stretched out, he stood up and looked at the almost full moon, bathing everything in a chalky highlight that glowed. Blue-white flashes from the television inside Gunny’s added strobes of light to the outside porch. He knew she must have gone to San Francisco.
But where?
In the morning, Kyle woke up with a sore back. Gunny was sawing logs and had fallen asleep in the recliner with all his clothes on. They had stayed up to watch some wrestling show on late night TV since Kyle couldn’t sleep.
He left a note for Gunny and took the beater off the island into San Diego, pulling up to the Patterson Realty office at eight-thirty. In the parking lot across the street he sat and watched, noting Simms was the first to arrive and was checking his watch. Kyle slipped in behind the man, causing Simms to jump as Kyle addressed him.
“Hello, Mr. Simms. I’m looking for Christy.”
Simms scurried backward until he slammed himself up against the reception countertop.
“Look, I won’t tell a soul you were here. Please, I have a family…”
Kyle swore. “I’m not here to cause any problems for you. I want to protect Christy. She’s in danger.”
“That’s because of you.”
“No, that’s because some people are trying to mess with me. But I think they’ll go after her next.”
“Look, I don’t know anything.”
Kyle stepped closer to the man, who looked like he was going to pee in his pants. “I think you do. I think you know exactly where she is. She has no idea she’s in danger.”
“Well, why don’t you call her then, if…if she’ll take your call?”
“I’d like to do that from your phone, if I may.” He directed Mr. Simms to go down the hallway, following behind.
“My phone? Here?” Simms asked at the entrance to his office.
“Yes.”
“So she’ll think it’s me?”
“Yes.”
“She said you two had broken up. She wouldn’t be seeing you anymore.”
“That’s true.”
“You’d better leave all this to the police. They’re after you, you know. Came in here with questions.”
“I’ll bet.”
They could hear one of the secretaries arriving. She busied herself, humming a tune, and began brewing coffee and turning on lights. She stopped short when she saw Kyle’s hulking frame leaning against the doorway of the manager’s office.
“Morning, ma’am.”
She blushed, flustered and muttering something to herself, then headed in the opposite direction.
“I’m not here to hurt anybody,” Kyle repeated.
Simms pushed his phone across the desk so that the keypad faced Kyle. He had her cell number memorized. He dialed, heard the familiar ring. When he heard the recording of her voice, his throat became parched. He hung up right after the beep, not leaving a message.
“She’ll call you back. Ask her where she’s staying. I’m going to call you later and you’re going to give me that address, Simms.”
Simms frowned.
“For her own safety, you’ll give me her address. I swear to you I would never hurt her.”
Simms fell back into his chair, resigned. “Give me your number. I’ll call you the instant I hear from her.”
“Thank you.” Kyle wrote his published cell number on a slip of memo paper. “I don’t usually answer this, so leave me a message. If you get a call from me, it won’t look like any number you’re used to.”
“Got it.”
If he couldn’t get it from Simms, he’d have to try to convince Sergeant Mayfield. But he wanted to stay clear of the locals. Now the hard part was starting. The waiting.
Chapter 31
Simms was relieved the SEAL was out of his office. He waited until he saw the soldier exit the parking lot in an old green truck with red Forest Service logos. He locked the front door.
“Stacey, I’m calling the police. Let in only people you know.”
“And the police,” she quipped.
He didn’t have time for her backhanded challenge today, but made a note to talk to her about her attitude. He went straight to his office and picked up the phone. He fumbled a card from his middle desk drawer and dialed.
“Yeah?”
“This Deputy Hilber?”
“Who’s this?” The deputy said without confirming.
“This is Carl Simms. I’m manager at the Patterson Realty office in San Diego. You asked me to call you if I heard from Kyle Lansdowne.”
“Yes. So I take it you have?”
“He was just here.”
<
br /> “Where’s that exactly?”
“Here. In my office. I’m the manager at Patterson…”
“Yes, yes,” Hilber interrupted. “I got it now. Okay, what did he want?”
“He wanted to know where Christy was.”
There was silence on the other end of the line. Then Simms heard a woman’s voice in the background and the sound of what could be rustling sheets. He continued. “I’m sorry if I woke you up, sir. I get into the office early and…”
A hand muffled the phone, but Simms could hear the deputy swearing at someone, and a woman giggling in response.
Probably caught him having sex with his wife.
“No problem, Simms. I’m all ears now. So, he asked about…Ouch! God dammit. Fucking stop that.” Hilber lowered his voice and said, “Excuse me,” to Simms. “Having a little problem here on the home front, if you catch my drift.”
Simms got quiet. Maybe he shouldn’t have called. He’d never spoken to his wife like that. Ever.
“Officer Hilber, Lansdowne doesn’t know where Christy is. Neither do I, but I can find out, and he wants me to. Didn’t want to call from his own phone. Used mine here at the office. That sound fishy to you?”
“Absolutely. Do you have the number he called?”
Simms pushed down on the silver button at the middle of the headset. A phone number displayed in red digital numbers. He recognized it as Christy’s cell. He gave it to the deputy.
“Good. This helps. When you find out her location, let us know first, okay? We need to give her some protection before he gets to her. It also would be a great way to catch him.”
“You think he would harm her?”
“Look Simms, he’s already killed four. He has the taste of blood in his mouth. He’ll do it again.”
“But I think he cares about this woman.”
“I’d say more like he’s obsessed. And maybe he’s trying to cover his tracks. God only knows what info she has on him. Look, Simms, I don’t think I have to tell you that these men are trained dogs. They are trained not to care about anything or anyone in order to do their jobs. But this isn’t fucking Afghanistan.”
It was partially true, Simms thought. But he’d never seen a SEAL member hurt a civilian. There were some stories about it, though, especially among the haters in the San Diego community. There were always a few of those.
“Anything else?” Hilber sounded impatient.
“No, sir. Just trying to be a good citizen,” Simms answered. “What do I tell him when he calls?”
“Don’t give the address to him when you get it. Don’t call him back. Just call me.”
“Oh. What happens if he comes back over here?”
“Call the locals. Geez, Simms, use your fuckin’ head. Look, I gotta go. You got more questions than a schoolgirl on her first date.”
“Just trying to cooperate fully, as you asked.”
“Well, we thank you for that. Talk to you soon, then—oh, say, did you happen to notice what car he was driving?”
“Truck. Green truck with a red official logo on the door. Never seen it before today.”
Simms glanced over contracts he was supposed to review this morning. He couldn’t concentrate and had to read over everything twice. He’d wasted five minutes. He was seeing letters and numbers, but none of it was making any sense. Like this situation with Christy.
The secretary appeared at his doorway.
“There’s a crowd outside the front door. They’re wondering if we’re going out of business.”
“I told you to let in people you knew. Christ, I don’t want to lock out my own agents.”
Simms was irritated. He needed this little wrinkle like he needed the mumps. He made a mental note to fire Stacy at his first opportunity. After all this crap with Christy was over.
Stacey was still looking down at her shoes.
“Well, go ahead and let them in, or is there something else?”
“I want a word with you later, Mr. Simms.”
Fine. Leave me alone. He grinned. “I’d be happy to speak with you after I return a few phone calls and review these contracts.” He pointed to a stack about a foot high, all files he was supposed to review and sign off on.
He heard her heels clickity-clack down the tiled hallway and then heard the turn of the lock on the Patterson Realty front door.
Simms poured himself into the contracts again.
Christy was such a levelheaded lady, he thought. Not one to pick some loser rogue military guy. She seemed to be able to slice through people nicely without them knowing they’d been outmatched. Wayne Somerville had discovered that. Yet, she did it in such a way that Wayne was only too willing to come to her beck and call the instant she requested it. There was talent there, a strength of personality and something else sorely lacking in his profession: she cared about people.
The phone rang and it startled him.
“Mr. Simms, this is Christy. You called me this morning when I was in the shower. Your message didn’t record.”
Of course she would assume it was an error, not a trap. Her basic faith in human nature was key to who she was.
“Christy, I gotta have your address, since you’re not sure how long you’ll be gone. I could use the address of the shop, if you want.” Simms felt like a complete jerk.
“No. No, I don’t want Madame M to get mixed up in this, and somehow that will happen if I start giving her address out. I’m staying at 484 Stanyan Street. I think the zip is 94117.”
“Great. Thanks. I’ll keep it in my file here in case I need it. So how long do you think you’ll be, or do you know yet?” He asked this for his own sake of mind.
“Haven’t talked to Madame M this morning. She’s supposed to pick me up for breakfast.”
“Oh, great. So you are okay?”
“Yes.” She paused. Would she feel obligated to further explain? Something else was there, in the tone of her voice, as she continued. “I think the change of pace will be good for me right now.”
“Much as I wish you were back here, I have to agree with you,” Simms said. “You need any help on any of your work?”
“No. I gave Wayne my two buyer leads, but would you check on him? I’m thinking he won’t be the exact fit for those clients. He’s so different than I am, you know.”
Tell me about it. “Christy, why didn’t you call me? I could have helped.”
“Fact is, these two guys from the Sheriff’s Department, well one from the sheriff’s office and one Navy guy, surprised me. Just showed up on their own without announcing themselves. I just felt a little uncomfortable with them, being alone.”
“So you called Wayne? Not me?”
Christy gave a nervous laugh. “He called me.” Her voice faded on the other end of the line, then returned. “I asked Wayne to come over, sort of for protection. I knew he’d come right away. And I know how busy you are…”
“No problem Just call me instead, okay?”
“Thank you. It’s nice to know I have people around me I can trust.”
Simms had a sharp pain in his gut. Felt like a hot poker of regret. And shame. He didn’t want to tell her about Kyle, but felt he should.
“Christy, I haven’t been entirely honest with you. Your Navy guy made that call.”
“What?”
“He came by this morning, telling me you were in danger.”
“And?”
“He demanded to know where you were.”
Cold silence.
“Mr. Simms, I have to go. But please, please do not tell him where I’m staying.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t. You can count on that.”
“Don’t even tell him I’m in San Francisco, or he’d figure it out.”
“Right.”
“Thanks for telling me. Keep the address private. Tell no one.”
“I won’t,” he lied.
“Thanks for looking out for me. I appreciate it.” She hung up.
Simms tapped the pad
that had her address written on it. He had a choice to make and neither option facing him was good. One got him more involved and perhaps put Christy in danger. The other allowed someone he clearly didn’t trust to have information he wasn’t sure should be given out. He’d always believed in law enforcement. Maybe this sheriff was just a quirky guy with some unusual habits. Maybe that was what he was picking up from the man.
But one thing was for sure. He didn’t want to mess with the sheriff’s department. And the Navy should be taking care of their own. He dialed Warren Hilber.
“Got the address.” He gave it to Hilber and got a curt thank you. Before the phone went dead, Simms knew he’d made a big mistake.
Chapter 32
Christy dressed and waited. She’d decided to wear her new black stretch pants and a new pair of patent leather, four-inch spiked heels. When she used to work at the little shop, walking all day on tiptoes had made her top heavy and she had to press out her chest to keep her balance. By the end of the day her calves would ache, but she loved the way they felt.
She recalled what Madame M had said when she first told her of the shoes requirement. “I like the high heels because it simulates a woman’s legs in orgasm. It brings sexual tension, and sexual tension is good for lingerie sales.”
At first, it made Christy blush. But she eventually got comfortable with the look and feel of the shoes.
Madame was right about the impact it had on shop sales. The male customers didn’t seem to mind when she accidentally bumped her chest against them.
To complete today’s outfit, she wore a red stretch oversized top that showed off her soft ample bosom and matched the color of her flaming red lip color.
She observed Tom’s kitchen door was open, revealing a shiny inner screen door.
Inviting. Welcoming her to come into his house. She hadn’t taken him up on his offer of last night.
Her cell phone chirped.
“Hello?”
“Cheríe, are you up? Refreshed?”
“Yes ma’am. Been up for awhile now.”
Madame giggled. “I am so glad you are in town. You have spent some quality time with Mr. Bergeron?”
Accidental SEAL (SEAL Brotherhood #1) Page 24
