Blood Red Rage (LIttlemoon Investigations Book 1)

by Morgan Kelley

  He nodded. “I can’t explain it, but she matters to this somehow. I feel like there’s something connecting her to me here,” he added, touching his gut.

  Tori stood from her seat and kissed him on the top of his head. “Then let that lead the way, Justin. The rest will fall into place.”

  “Thanks, Army.”

  She stopped at the door and winked at him. “You know what they say. The Army always has your back, Marine. Take a few minutes to compose yourself, and then stop in Jules’s office for your assignment.”

  “Okay,” he answered, as he closed his eyes. Having Tori as his sister was a blessing. It helped that she could sympathize with him.

  Tori took a deep breath and headed for Julian’s door. Now came the hard part. Tori had to tell her husband that they couldn’t use their only viable connection to the local cops in nefarious ways, all because his brother had a tingle.

  Oh yeah.

  This was going to be interesting.

  In his office, he was whistling and smiling like the cat that swallowed the big, fat canary.

  Tori felt bad that she was going to be the one who broke his spirit on this one. “Hey, love of my life?” she called.

  He stopped like a deer in headlights. The tone in her voice said it all. “Oh no. What?”

  Tori closed the door and crossed to him to sit in his lap. “Have I told you lately that I love shacking up with the boss? There’s nothing better than having sex with the head honcho.”

  Julian stared at her and didn't dare move. He could smell the trap being set up a mile away. “We’re equal partners.”

  “Oh, well then…”

  “Just say it. It’s like ripping off a Band-Aid. It hurts less in the long run if it’s fast.”

  Tori kissed him on the cheek. “We can’t use Detective Graves to give us inside information.”

  Damn it!

  That really hurt.

  “Why not? She came to Justin. We have her right where we want her. Now we can get…” he stopped as his wife shook her head. “Justin?”

  “Yep. He’s all tied up in knots.”

  “Yeah, well when isn’t he all twitchy when it comes to babes? The man is a walking hormone and besides, he just met her.”

  She understood what her husband was saying, but she also knew where Justin was coming from. The man was trying to outrun the demons. Where she hid from life, he was trying to bury the pain in feelings that were the opposite of death. “Have you ever seen him not willing to sleep with a woman just because?”

  “Again, it’s day one of meeting her. It’s probably just some indigestion. Give him some Tums and let’s be grateful she came to us.”

  Tori stared at him. “As for that last part, I do believe you pursued me, and we slept together on day one. Think, Jules. Something’s up for him to not want to pump a beautiful woman for information.”

  Okay, his wife had a very valid point on that one. “Okay, I’ve never seen him like this. I’ll give you that.”

  This was a bad sign.

  “Do you think that he likes her? Are we talking a real relationship kind of thing and not a normal Justin thing? Maybe he’s getting them confused. I love my brother, but he’s a sex fiend.”

  Tori continued to cover for Justin, “He doesn’t know why yet, but his gut tells him that she matters. You and I can’t mess with that. What if she’s the one?”

  Julian laughed, and then realized that wasn’t meant to be a joke. “What if she’s not?”

  Which, in reality, was the more likely of the scenarios.

  Tori kissed him on the cheek. “Then you can blackmail her all you want,” she answered. “I’ll even let you tell me ‘I told you so’,” she offered.

  Julian closed his eyes and contemplated it. “Okay. Only because I love my brother and want him to find someone who makes him happy.”

  “You’re a good man, Jules.”

  “You’re the reason.”

  At the knock at the door, Julian called him in. “Enter.”

  “Am I interrupting something?” he asked, pointing at the couple.

  This was proof of how messed up the man was over all this. He didn't even make a snide comment. Someone was way off his game today.

  Tori hopped up from his lap. “No, we were just discussing the situation and Julian and I agree that we aren’t going to use the detective to our advantage. That’s not how we run our company.”

  Julian hated how his wife was right on this.

  Finally, the pressure abated from Justin’s shoulders. “What’s my assignment?”

  “You still have that friend that works at the hospital, right?” asked Julian.

  “Yeah, I do, why?”

  “Our missing girl worked there. Can you go down and root around for some details?”

  “Thanks, Jules. I know this makes it harder,” he stated, suddenly. They could have easily not cared about his feelings on this.

  “You’re my brother, Justin. I have your back. Work will never come before blood.”

  Justin hugged him. “Thank you, bro.”

  He watched the man hustle out. “This is getting even trickier,” Julian stated and noticed that Tori’s face stayed completely emotionless.

  Obviously, he wasn’t telling her anything she didn't already know.

  When Brock Edwards opened his door, he looked surprised to see anyone standing on his porch, especially two strangers.

  “Can I help you?” he asked, crossing his arms across his chest. The man was dressed for work in a paramedic’s uniform, and appeared to be heading out the door.

  Already, the hostility was noticeable. They just didn't know why it was there.

  “Yes, I’m Tori Littlemoon and this is my husband,” she began, “We’re from Littlemoon Investigations, and we need to ask you a few questions about an ex.”

  “Okay, who?”

  “Melissa Lagerfeld,” Julian replied.

  “Oh, what has she done now? Did she break the law by keying a car or a girl cat fight?”

  Tori took over, “No, she’s missing. We were hired by her father to try and find her.”

  “She’s missing? When did this all happen?”

  Both Littlemoons noticed that he looked genuinely surprised by the news.

  “Saturday night she went out with a few friends and never came home. They found her car alongside the road, not far from her house. The police are conducting an active investigation into it.”

  “Oh my God! That’s horrible!” he exclaimed. “What can I do to help you out?” He stepped back into his house and offered them entrance. “Will you come in?”

  They both followed him inside. Once there, they took a seat on his leather couch.

  “How long had you been dating Melissa?” Julian asked as his wife scanned the room for anything that may help them in the case.

  “We were together for about six months.”

  “Why did you break up?”

  He began to look uncomfortable.

  “Brock, anything you tell us might help us recover Melissa. It’s important and won’t go any further than the three of us. We’re very trustworthy.”

  He nodded. “It was all out of the blue. One day, I came home to a note on my door. She dumped me because she was seeing someone else.”

  “Who?” Tori asked.

  Now, he shrugged. “I have no damn clue, and we work together. Well, not together, but I see her all the time when we bring in patients.”

  “That had to make you angry,” Tori baited.

  “It did, but not enough to abduct or hurt her.”

  She looked around the room at his photos in frames. Most of them were of Melissa and a few other women. “Where were you Saturday night?”

  He thought about it. “I worked until ten at night, and then I headed back here. I had the morning shift to cover for one of my co-workers.”

  “And you came right back here?” Julian asked, implying that he may have had some other stops in-between.

&
nbsp; “Yes. Do you honestly believe that I took my ex and hid her somewhere?”

  Both of them stared at him.

  “Well, I didn't. Yes, it was an ugly break up. Granted, I didn't get the closure I needed, but I didn't abduct her. Only some lunatic would do something like that. I help people, not steal them away in the night.”

  Tori continued, ignoring his protests, “We saw from her social media page that she was going out with girlfriends. Who would that be?” If they could find a friend who was there, they may have inadvertently seen something.

  “Melissa has lots of friends, but Suzie Ortiz is her closest. She and Missy are like two peas in a pod. In fact, she may be the woman who talked Missy into dumping me. She has a job at the local gym as an instructor. When I say ‘work’, what I mean is that she stands around trying to look better than the other women.”

  Yeah, there were no bitter feelings there…

  “I meant what I said. If you need my help to look for her, just let me know. Even though we don’t date anymore, I still care about her.”

  “If you hear anything,” stated Julian, “keep your ears open and give us a call.” He pulled out his business card and handed it to him. “Just so you’re aware, the cops will most likely be asking you questions too.”

  “Great, this is just the mess that I need,” he muttered.

  Both Littlemoons stared at him.

  “Pardon?”

  “Nothing,” he muttered as he led them to the door. “I’ll keep my eyes open.”

  Outside, Tori took her husband’s hand in hers. “I have to say that I’m surprised that we beat the cops to him.”

  “I’d like to say that I’m shocked, but Detective Lester doesn’t seem really open minded. I somehow doubt that he has a clue as to what social media actually is. In fact, how do we know that he even has a computer at home in that cave dwelling of his?” Julian joked.

  Tori found that funny. “Oh well, let’s stay one step ahead. It might just get us to Melissa first.”

  “Yeah, while she’s alive.”

  Generally, Tori was the optimist.

  “Yeah, I hope.”

  Justin rolled up to the hospital in his truck. Hopping down, he stared around at the people watching him. Normally, he got stares because of his beast of a truck, but this time he could sense very familiar eyes focused on him.

  Turning, he noticed that Detective Vivian Graves and her partner weren’t far away from where he had parked. She was sitting on the hood of their work car as she sipped a coffee. There was something very alluring about the all black dress clothes with the splash of vivid purple shirt underneath. It almost matched her eyes.

  He wondered if she still smelled like cookies.

  Then, he fantasized about nibbling on her.

  Yeah, Justin was incredibly grateful that Tori had talked to his brother. For now, he needed to take it slow and find out more about the woman. He wasn’t going to use her for information or to get her into bed. This time everything felt different, and he was willing to let his instinct lead the way.

  When she continued to stare at him, his heart skipped in his chest.

  Oh yeah, there was something alluring about her, and he needed to get to the bottom of it. Everything in him wanted to dig beneath the detective garb and find the hidden prize.

  Then, he had an idea.

  Leaning into his truck, he ripped off a piece of paper and scribbled a note onto it. Carefully folding it, he hid it in his hand.

  It was now or never.

  Heading towards the two detectives, he immediately went on the offensive. “Hello there,” he stated, holding out his hand to shake the woman’s first.

  Justin could see when Vivian registered the paper being placed into her palm. A brief look of amusement passed across her features, and then it vanished just as quickly.

  “Oh hell,” muttered Detective Lester.

  “Fancy meeting you here,” stated Justin. “I hope you’re not having any chest pain or discomfort, Detective.”

  The man growled. “Yeah, well as a matter-of-fact, I seem to be having some in my posterior, and it’s all Littlemoon related.”

  Justin grinned wickedly. “That somehow makes my day a little brighter.”

  “What are you doing here, wise ass?” the detective snarled, as his blood pressure shot through the roof.

  Vivian was entertained by the man, and she was damn curious as to what was on the paper that he had slipped to her.

  “I have someone who I need to talk to,” he answered.

  “Who?”

  Justin shook his head. “Last time that I found something for you, Detective, you tossed us off the scene and wouldn’t let us keep the pictures.”

  Vivian held her breath. If he was going to feed her to the wolves, here’s where it would all go down.

  “So, I’m not telling you jack shit, anymore.”

  “Do you want to go down to the station to discuss it there and spend the night in a cell for obstruction of justice?” Lester stated, angrily.

  Yeah, he couldn’t make that stick. “You see that man over there smoking outside the building?”

  They both looked over.

  “He and I served together in the war, and I just wanted to check up on a fellow soldier. So, there goes your theory about me obstructing anything.”

  Lester literally growled, knowing that he couldn’t stop him from visiting a friend, even if he didn't buy it for one single second.

  “Sorry, Detective, but it’s a free country, and I can hang out in the ER if I want. In fact, I may talk to them about getting a rabies shot. You know, for that rabid detective, biting at our heels.”

  It took everything for Vivian not to laugh.

  Together, they watched him saunter away.

  “He’s a pain in my ass. I’m going to call into base and have them run all three Littlemoons. I’m going to shake their trees and find out what comes loose.”

  Vivian suspected that her partner wasn’t going to have much luck there.

  Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the paper and made sure she was all alone. When the coast was absolutely clear, she read it.

  Meet me at Tony’s tonight at nine.

  Vivian could feel her heart skipping in her chest. It looked like this evening, she had a date.

  In the back of her mind, she couldn’t tell if this was going to be a good thing, or dangerous one.

  Thinking back to the dream, she already knew that answer to that.

  There was definite danger ahead, and his name was Justin Littlemoon.

  When Lenny Walters saw him, he tossed down his cigarette and hugged his ex-war buddy. “How the hell are you doing, Littlemoon?” he asked, exuberantly patting his friend on the back.

  “I’m good, Len! How are you?”

  “Can’t complain,” he replied. “Why are you here?” he asked. “Are you sick?”

  Justin glanced back over his shoulder at the detectives watching him not far from where they stood. While he didn't mind if Vivian ogled him all day, he had an issue with Lester overhearing them.

  “Let’s go inside. I have to talk to you about someone who worked here.”

  “Ohhhh, it must be official PI related work then,” he teased, dropping his arm over his buddy’s shoulders like they always used to do. Lenny led him into a lounge not far from where he worked in the ER.

  “Do you know Melissa Lagerfeld?”

  He nodded as he dropped coins in the soda machine. “Prissy Missy? She’s a really sweet girl. I think she’s on duty tonight,” then he paused, as it finally sunk in. “Did she do something?”

  “She’s gone missing.”

  He glanced over at his friend. “Are you serious?”

  Justin nodded. “There are a few cops outside. I need information on the down low, and I need a head start. Can you help a Marine out?”

  Lenny was a Navy corpsman who had been imbedded with Justin’s Marine battalion. The men had helped keep him safe as he tended
to the wounded. “You know that I will. What do you need?”

  “Give me some dirt on Melissa. What was she like?”

  He thought about it. “She was a nice girl, but she was definitely high maintenance. She jumped from doctor to doctor bi-annually.”

  “So, she was easy?”

  He laughed sardonically. “No, there was nothing easy about her. She was dating a paramedic and dumped him to play naked twister with a neurologist. The woman liked to move up the medical food chain as often as possible, if you get what I mean.”

  “What’s his name?”

  Lenny had to think about it. “Doctor Stewart, but he left here about two weeks ago. He’s based out of Chicago now, I believe.”

  “Shit.”

  “Well, the paramedic who she was shacking up with grilled all the people she worked with to get a name. No one here in the ER would spill it. Missy found out and reamed him good, and in front of all of us. He left bright red and with his tail between his legs.”

  “When was this?”

  He had to pull out his phone and flip to the calendar. “Sorry, but the days blend together when you’re on a thirty-six hour rotation.”

  Justin patted him on the back. “I remember staying awake that long with a gun in my hand. You have my sympathy.”

  Lenny found what he was looking for in his phone. “It was exactly a week ago. Since then, he’s laid low. The guy is sticking to the transport and dropping the patient off. He has his partner do the talking. He wasn’t really happy when it all went down. It was a pretty tense situation, and brutal to watch. Picture a man being verbally neutered in front of a room full of co-workers.”

  “Oh man. That had to push him over the edge. Men don’t like when you humiliate them. Then again,” he thought about it before continuing, “neither do women when you cause shit in their workplace.”

  Lenny laughed. “Remember that blonde just outside the base?” he asked before being cut off.

  “Yeah. I’m still trying to forget.”

  His friend laughed even more. “I don’t know what else I can do to help you out.”

  “Can you ‘unofficially’ obtain a schedule of last Saturday night and the next day too?”