Before they could reach their own SUV, a man blocked their path, and he didn't look happy.
“Shouldn’t you be working on finding my daughter?” Mayor Lagerfeld demanded.
His body language spoke volumes.
Immediately, Julian put his frame protectively in front of Tori, just in case. “We are, so if you don’t mind,” he began and was cut off.
“This doesn’t look like a good use of my fee. I need an answer, and I want one by tonight,” he stated angrily. He pointed his finger into Julian’s chest.
The man didn't flinch. After grief, there was the anger, and unfortunately, it was now aimed at the most handy target. “It doesn’t work that way, Mayor.”
He didn't care. “Then return my fee, and I’ll find someone who will get the job done.”
Julian wasn’t backing down. “Listen, if you want your money back, then come get it. Right now, we’re trying to do what you asked. You have no idea what’s going on, and I’m only going to be nice because you’re trapped in the grief. Back up and don’t put your hands on me. I will knock you on your ass in front of everyone that’s here. Got it?”
The man stepped back.
“I’m following a lead that might be connected and trying to not be noticed. You’re making it damn hard to do that. If you want your cash back, so be it, but stay the hell out of my way. I have a job to do.”
The man looked shocked that he was being spoken to that way, but he said nothing.
Julian took Tori by the hand and hustled them to the SUV. They had bigger balls to bust than those of the mayor. Right now, they were losing valuable time.
In the car, he started it and pulled away. “Remind me that the next time someone says the FBI referred them, to decline that job.”
Tori started laughing.
“What?” he asked.
“You know you won’t do that.”
“How do you know?” he asked, as he drove them to Josh Devaul’s house.
“Because, we both know that you won’t ever turn your back on a friend or a favor.”
“Yeah, well I’m an idiot.”
Tori said nothing and just smiled out the window. The man she had married was simply a good man.
Inside the ER, they found Lenny.
True to form, he was sitting there smiling and trying to look like he wasn’t a mess. Unfortunately, Justin had seen through it and got a glimpse of all the evidence at his house.
“Can you take a break?” he asked.
“I sure can.” He motioned to a nurse at the desk and followed them outside.
Before he could begin to question him, he noticed that Lenny was occupied with checking out his wife.
“Hey beautiful, are you busy tonight?”
Vivian didn't even flinch. “Actually, I’m married and very busy.”
“Well hell, your husband is a lucky man. You’re easy to look at.”
Justin tried to not get worked up. What he wanted to do was claim ownership of his woman, and then bitch slap some sense into his friend. What he had to do was swallow it, and let it go.
When Lenny took a drag of his cigarette, they both noticed that his hand was really shaking.
“What’s going on?” he finally asked.
“We’re here for an official questioning,” she said, pulling out her badge.
“Oh boy, what happened?”
Vivian began by asking him about the call he made to report the abandoned car.
“I drive that way to get home and as I passed it, the whole thing looked off to me. The door was open and the dome light was still on. I stopped and looked around. When I saw a woman’s purse inside and keys in the ignition, I called the cops.”
“Do you realize how suspicious this looks?” Justin asked.
“No, I really don’t.”
“You’re in the middle of this, Lenny. Let me help you get clear of this mess,” Justin said, trying to rationalize with the man in front of him. In his heart, he still didn't believe that he had anything to do with this. It just couldn’t be possible. They had served in the shithole sandbox and trusted each other. Lenny was the healer, and he was the killer.
“I have nothing to say about any of this. I was doing my civic duty of contacting the police when I called. There’s nothing more behind it.”
“Lenny, you worked with a woman who went missing. You had contact with two of the suspects, and now you find the car of the recent victim,” he stated, lowering his voice. “This looks bad.”
“Hey! I didn't do shit! I go home, have a drink, and go to bed. The next day I do it all over again.”
“Yeah, we saw how much you’re drinking,” Vivian stated, calmly. “You’re doing more than having a relaxing drink. I’m betting that you’re drinking to the point of blacking out.”
He got angry really fast and began cursing and pointing at Vivian. “You mind your business. I don’t come to your place and tell you how to live your damn life! Stay out of mine!”
“I’m afraid that I can’t do that, since you’re officially a suspect in my investigation,” she stated.
He snapped and grabbed her by the front of the coat and lifted her up to her toes as she stared into her eyes. Before he could speak, he found himself slammed back against the side of the building.
“You will NOT put your hands on my wife ever again. Friendship or not, the lady is not going to be touched, are we clear?” he hissed angrily, spilling their relationship secret.
They remained face to face, and neither man seemed like he would back down.
“Yeah, I get it,” Lenny finally said.
Justin released him and stepped back.
“Mr. Walters, we’re going to start to dig into your life. If we find anything connecting you to this case, we will be pulling you in for an official interrogation.”
He stormed away. “Screw you!”
They watched him go.
“Wow, that was tense,” Vivian stated, as she took his hand in hers and led him back to his truck.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t have expected anything less.”
Chapter Twenty Five
When they arrived at the man’s house, they sat and momentarily observed. There weren’t any other cars with people in them around, and that was a good thing.
It meant that the cops weren’t staking the place out.
The last thing that they needed to do was get in the way of some sort of sting operation.
It would piss off the cops and possibly get them both injured, and Julian didn't want to see that happen.
As they crossed the street, they quietly crept onto the porch steps and just listened. From inside, there was female giggling, and there was no doubt what was going on behind closed doors.
Josh Devaul was healing more than his heart at that moment. For them, there could be no other perfect time. It looked like they were going to catch him with his pants down.
Literally!
Julian knocked on the door, and they waited.
It didn't take long, and when the door opened, there stood their suspect with lipstick all over his face and his shirt haphazardly buttoned.
Yeah, he was caught red handed, or maybe in this case that was red lipped.
“Wow, Josh,” stated Tori. “We come here, right after the memorial for your girlfriend of two years, expecting to see you weeping and instead we find you in the throes of some sex fest.”
“That doesn’t scream grieving to me,” Julian added, as he leaned against the frame. His boot was in the door in case the man decided to slam it.
“What do you two want?”
“We’ve been contracted by the police to investigate. So, I guess you can say we’re here looking for bullshit,” Tori answered.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied.
They both caught that little flicker of fear across his face.
Bingo!
He was busted.
“We can come in and discuss it, or we can talk loudly on your
porch and hope that your neighbors are listening,” Tori stated, as she suddenly raised her voice, considerably higher.
He stepped back. “Fine, but make it fast!”
Inside, they found the blonde from the memorial. She was fully dressed, but her hair was a riotous mess. It was just one more indicator of what they’d discovered.
When they sat down on the couch, the blonde tried to appear like she hadn’t been caught with her hand in his cookie jar.
That was going to be a stretch, since the lipstick on his face matched the smears on hers too.
“How long were you cheating on Tawny?” asked Tori. She knew that she didn't need to wait to see if Julian wanted to go first. Generally, he let her ask the questions. This was her area.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t been keeping track.”
The woman answered for him, “It’s been almost two years.”
Tori found that interesting. Apparently, one of the two was far more emotionally attached to this relationship, and it wasn’t the one with the dead girlfriend. Tori had her route of attack. Old FBI habits die hard, and she was going to utilize them.
“Why?” she asked.
“We fought all the time, and it became monotonous.”
Julian already suspected why he didn't ditch the first woman, but he asked anyway. “Why didn't you just break it off then?”
His gaze flickered over at the blonde, and then he searched for an answer before finally speaking, “I don’t know.”
Tori laughed. “Yeah you do. Because there’s a type of woman who you marry and one who you just bang as a way to get off,” she answered.
The blonde was offended. “He said he was going to leave her and marry me!”
Tori shook her head. “Well, since this went on for two years, I wouldn’t bet on that. No offense, but you aren’t the marrying kind,” she stated. “And he knows that.”
The blonde stared openmouthed. “Excuse me?”
Julian picked up the conversation, “We men have this one flaw. We like babes, but there are different kinds. There’s the one we bring home to meet our mothers, and there’s the one we meet at seedy hotels to get off. I’m betting you’re the second one. Has Josh introduced you to his family yet?”
She started sputtering, and that told them all that they needed to know.
“Yeah, and that’s why you didn't break it off. You wanted the outward appearances of having a decent life with a good girl, but you wanted some sex toy for when you’re in the mood for raunch,” stated Tori.
“We were discrete.”
She laughed, because he didn't even deny it. “Yeah, you were so discrete that I figured it out just by watching you at the memorial. Do you think your girlfriend didn't see it too?” She pointed at her husband. “If he came home smelling like another woman, I’d kick his balls into his throat. We women know when our men are getting some side action elsewhere.”
Suddenly, Julian was grateful that he had won on both counts. He got his good girl to bring home to his family, and his feisty wildcat in the sack. Yeah, it was a good life.
The blonde went to comment and Tori glared at her. “Shut it. You don’t have a right to speak here. I’m interviewing the cheating bastard, not the cheap woman he is using to get off.”
Julian was enthralled at the change in Tori’s demeanor. No woman liked men who cheated, but this had rubbed his wife the wrong way, big time.
Josh spoke up, “It wasn’t working between us. I didn't know how to not break her heart.”
Julian laughed. “Uh, cheating on her is the opposite of NOT breaking her heart, and it makes you look suspicious when your woman goes missing. Look at it from our perspective. You’re secretly dipping your stick in someone else’s well. What would you think if you were us?”
“He’s going to marry me!” the blonde blurted.
“Yeah, keep thinking that, honey. You’re not only easy, but oblivious.”
The woman jumped up and rushed Tori. She out maneuvered her and had her on the ground in under five seconds. It wasn’t even a challenge.
At first, Julian wanted to jump in and protect Tori, and then he noticed that she was probably handling it better than he would have. “We’re going to start digging into your life, Josh, and now your bed bunny’s too. If we find anything, you’re screwed and not in the way you’re accustomed to.”
Tori grinned as she bent back the woman’s thumb before finally releasing her. “Yeah, think prison and all those men.”
“Screw you,” he said. “You’re not cops.”
Tori loved when they played hardball. It made it all the more fun. “Josh, we’re worse than cops. We don’t have to abide by the same rules.” As if to prove a point, she pulled out her phone and dialed a number.
They all watched her, including her husband.
“Channel Six News?” she asked, and then waited. “I have a tip for you. Josh Devaul was cheating on Tawny James for two years before she was killed. The police think that he’s a suspect.”
There was a gasp in the room.
“The woman he was sleeping with is with him right now at his place,” she rattled off the address. “You should interview her. Gee, what if he killed Tawny,” she fawned, innocently. “Oh gosh, that poor woman may be in danger.”
Then, she hung up the phone.
Josh stared at her incredulously. “You can’t do that!”
She started laughing. “Yeah, we can. See, that’s the difference between us and cops. We can make your life hell and play with you. They have to follow rules. Welcome to the new game, Josh.” Tori glanced at her watch. “They’ll be here in ten minutes, max. You better start thinking fast.”
Josh grabbed the blonde and pushed her towards the door. “Get out! Don’t call me, I’ll call you.”
When he slammed the door, Julian nodded at the scared man. “You better hide upstairs in a closet. The media is tricky. They’re going to sit on this place for hours.”
They watched him run for it, as they headed out themselves. On the front porch was a wailing woman, and they moved around her as they headed to the SUV. Already, the neighbors were coming out to see what was causing the commotion.
Inside the vehicle, Julian looked over. “Did you really call the news station?”
“Hell no. I dialed our office line and left the information on our voicemail. Now, we can go back and be entertained over and over again.”
“God, I don’t know who turns me on more- my wife or my bad ass partner.”
“Luckily for you, those are the two women you’re allowed to freely have sex with any time you want.”
“Damn straight!”
* * *
Vivian kissed him goodbye as she dropped him off at the office. It was cute how he walked backwards, blowing her kisses. It was even sweeter that he waited for her to leave before he went inside.
Already, she could tell that marrying him was going to be the best thing that she ever did in her life. He was caring, kind, and gentle. Vivian was incredibly lucky.
Her day couldn’t get any better.
Walking into the morgue, she was smiling and in a damn good mood as she searched out a tech. What she needed now was the information on the syringe, and then she would be set to dig further into the case.
Once she got it, she was all set. Thanking the tech, she headed upstairs. She was ready to face the office and all the mounds of paper work that her partner was surely saving just for her.
Lead detective her ass.
All the way up, her mind was working on the new information. The drug that was found in the syringe wasn’t one that a cop could steal out of evidence lockup or find at a pharmacy. That little bit of information was making Officer Jersek look more and more innocent.
Oh well, at least they had more suspects.
Once at her desk, she didn't even have a chance to sit down, before her partner jerked his head towards their boss’s office. “The captain and commissioner want to see you,” he sta
ted, not even looking up at her.
“Oh, about what?”
He shrugged and still gave her no direct eye contact.
“Okay, see you in a bit,” she said, as she headed there. Knocking on the door, she waited until one of them asked her inside. Once there, the commissioner pointed at the chair.
“Have a seat, Detective Graves.”
She did what he asked.
“Something disturbing has been brought to our attention,” he said, staring at her.
“What?” she asked.
“That you’re fraternizing with someone who we interviewed as a suspect while leading the investigation.”
She stared at him openmouthed. Well shit! The cat was out of the bag. “Excuse me?”
He slid pictures of her kissing Justin across the table.
Well, there was no denying it now.
Vivian went into defense mode. “We cleared him as a suspect, and you personally received a call from the FBI stating that he worked for them.”
The man steepled his fingers as he listened to her words. “Detective, this is a slippery slope if the media gets their hands on it. We know that he’s not the one that’s doing this, but we’ll be judged in the court of public opinion. Luckily, this came to us first and not the media.”
“But…”
“I’m sorry, Detective. You’re fraternizing with someone who can be viewed as a suspect. Immediately, you should have recused yourself from this case. That’s why we’re in this predicament. Had you come to me and told me that you needed to be pulled, I would have swept this under the carpet. Now, I can’t.”
She stared at him.
“I’m sorry that you’re in this position. You’re on desk duty for a couple days. I suggest you cut off contact with your boyfriend until this is over.”
She had to make a fast decision. “Sir, I can’t do that. He’s not my boyfriend. Justin Littlemoon is my husband.”
Well, that caught both men off guard.
“What?” he stated, as he stood.
Blood Red Rage (LIttlemoon Investigations Book 1) Page 37
