Death Match

by Emma Rose Watts

  “Where is she anyway?”

  “Said something about having an appointment with her therapist.”

  Chapter 4

  It was starting to become routine, showing up once a week to speak with Dr. Ben Walker. It was of no concern to him if she had other pressing matters on her mind or wasn’t up to it. He was quite content to just sit there and listen — even if she said nothing. Skylar fidgeted on the white sofa staring around his tiny office inside his Mediterranean-style house. Although she could have stopped coming, and at times she didn’t like his stream of questions, there was something very relaxing about spending an hour with him, if only because she didn’t feel the pressure of her life crushing down on her.

  “So how long have you been divorced?” she asked.

  “Skylar. I’m the one asking the questions.”

  “I understand, I’m just curious. You know, about folks who give their lives to self-development and psychoanalyzing people. Who do they go to when they have problems?”

  “Someone just like me,” he replied.

  “But shouldn’t you be able to solve your own problems? Like being divorced and alone.”

  “Alone? I didn’t say I was alone.”

  “Well, you don’t have a steady girlfriend, do you?”

  “No.”

  “And beyond your job you don’t have any hobbies, right?”

  “I see, you’re projecting your situation onto me.”

  “I didn’t say that,” she replied.

  “So how are you coping with Valentine’s Day then?” he asked.

  She breathed in deeply and went back to scanning his room. With every visit she spotted something new. The moment the questions became too uncomfortable she would just point to one of the many office decor items. However, this time she decided to respond.

  “I’m not sleeping too well.”

  “I imagine the drink can’t be helping.”

  “Drink?”

  “I’ve seen you out, down at the bars and walking back to the marina.”

  “Ah, so you do have a hobby — stalking.” She pursed her lips and smiled.

  He avoided answering that and continued with his line of psychobabble.

  “How much do you have to drink?”

  “How often do you take a shower?” she shot back.

  His brow furrowed.

  “Okay, I’ll bite. What do you mean?” he asked.

  “Makes you feel fresh, relaxed and at ease, right?”

  “Is that why you drink? To feel at ease?”

  She groaned and leaned forward and cocked her head from side to side. She was beginning to feel tension in her neck. She cast her eyes back to an object on the table she was going to ask him about. It was a miniature skull. Out of all the items he had in the room it just didn’t seem to fit.

  “What’s the deal with the skull?”

  He turned his head towards it and his lip curled. “I’ll tell you if you answer my question.”

  She interlocked her fingers together and cracked them. “I see him in my dreams.”

  “Still?”

  She nodded.

  “How often?”

  “Most nights.”

  He nodded. “That’s normal.”

  “It is?”

  “Yeah, it’s the brain’s way of dealing with grief. Over time it will slowly go away.”

  “What if I don’t want it to go away?”

  He placed his tablet on the side table and leaned forward in his wicker chair.

  “What do you see?”

  “The past. Our past.”

  “And?”

  Skylar sighed feeling a heaviness creep over her. The truth was the dreams varied. Sometimes she saw them together, and all the good moments, but more often than not it was the last day before his life was taken in the explosion.

  “Okay, let me ask you this. Is there ever a night you go to sleep without alcohol?”

  Her eyes lifted and met his gaze. “Depends.”

  “On…”

  “No, I answered your question, now answer mine. What’s the skull for?” she asked.

  He glanced over at it. “It’s a reminder. That life is short and one day it will all be over.”

  She squinted at him. “And you think I’ve got problems?”

  He laughed just as the buzzer sounded. He tapped it. “That concludes our session. Same time next week.” She got up to leave and placed her hand on the door. “Your wife, did you love her?”

  “Excuse me?”

  She turned and looked at him. “Did you love her?”

  He bit down on his bottom lip and if she wasn’t mistaken, she could have sworn she’d touched a nerve. He might have been her therapist but that didn’t mean he was free of problems. Everyone had them. Some admitted it. Others hid them. Life was a fine balance between showing the world what they wanted to see and revealing what really made a person tick.

  “Enough to let her go,” he said then he opened the door for her and motioned. She got a sense that he didn’t want to discuss it any further, so she left and headed out to her vehicle. He stood at the door observing her as she got into the truck.

  She brought the window down, turned to him and said, “Only if I’m not alone.”

  “What?”

  “You asked me if there was ever a night I didn’t drink. Only if I’m not alone.”

  He gave a nod. “You alone tonight?”

  She smiled. “Actually. No.”

  She could have sworn she saw him smile.

  With that said she started her truck and pulled away leaving him to think about that.

  * * *

  Back at the department Baker was rocking the vending machine back and forth when Skylar entered the lunch room. It clattered and then he kicked the thing. “Steady on, Harv, I know it’s the day of love and all but that’s getting real desperate.”

  “Hilarious,” he replied. “The damn thing won’t give me my packet of chips. I even inserted money twice and selected two different items. Both ended up hanging just on the edge. I swear this is that damn curse.”

  “You and that curse.”

  His phone started ringing, and he glanced at it. “Oh great, it’s Elizabeth.” He put a finger up and a big smile formed on his face. Fake of course. “Darling, how nice.” There was silence for a few seconds. “Of course we’re on for dinner.” He eyed Skylar as Reznik came into the room and went over to the machine and inserted money. He pressed the button and it dropped a packet of chips without any problem. He cast them both a grin before walking out. As soon as Harvey hung up he sighed.

  “You know the chances of you being able to get off early are slim to none. You’d be better off telling her that you’ll take her out as soon as we have the case wrapped up.”

  “That’s like telling her that she’ll get her Christmas present in the middle of summer.”

  Skylar chuckled. “You do exaggerate. She leaned against the vending machine, gave it a sharp bang with the side of her fist and both packets of chips dropped. Harvey’s eyed widened.

  “Oh you have got to be kidding me.”

  “It just needed a bit of tender loving care,” she said patting the top like a pet before walking out. Harvey scooped up the bags and quickly fell in step.

  “Did you manage to get anything more out of LaSalle?”

  “Not so far, I was waiting for you to get back so we could go good cop, bad cop on him.”

  “Harv, you are kidding?”

  “Of course.” They continued on down the corridor heading for the interview room. “But just in case you change your mind, let me be the bad cop this time.”

  “Hang on, are you saying that I’m always the bad cop?”

  “Of course not. I…” Harv stopped speaking as he opened the door to find Hanson inside with a well-dressed individual, late fifties, who looked like he was sporting a premium suit, and a female, along with Ricardo, LaSalle’s partner.

  “Ah, Detective Baker. What a long time it
’s been,” the man said.

  Skylar’s eyes roamed the room. Hanson stepped forward. “He’s being released.”

  “What?”

  The older male stepped forward. “And this must be the lovely Skylar Reid. I’ve heard a lot about you. The work you did on the case with my family member, Lars Jackson, well that was spectacular.”

  He scrutinized her.

  “So you must be Callum?”

  He extended his hand, and she just looked down at it. Noticing that she wasn’t going to shake it he withdrew. “Well, let’s be on our way. I have a lot to get done today.”

  “Hold on a minute!” Harvey said. “We’re not done with our line of questioning.”

  “Actually detective, you are,” the woman said stepping forward.

  “And you are?”

  “This is my client. I’m his attorney. It appears that you entered his residence without a warrant.”

  “We were invited up.”

  “With the sole purpose of interrogating my client and planting coke on him.”

  “Planting coke?”

  Harvey glanced at LaSalle who had a smug look on his face. In that moment he lost it and reached out and tried to grab a hold of LaSalle.

  “Detective!”

  “Harv,” Skylar said getting between them and pushing him back before telling the rest to leave the room.

  “We’ll be in touch!” the attorney said before narrowing her gaze at him and leaving with LaSalle in tow. Hanson lingered at the door, but she told him to leave them alone.

  As soon as the door closed, she went off on him. “What was that all about?”

  “You know damn well what.”

  “But in front of his attorney? I thought I’m meant to be the bad cop,” Skylar said.

  He didn’t even crack a smile but shook his head. “You see the way Callum looked at me? Guy knows he killed my sister. I swear, Reid. I will bring him down.”

  “Yeah, but we need to do it the right way. Going off on a guy he’s in bed with isn’t going to work. Let’s find out what Reznik has managed to dig up on Tyron and pay him a visit. Okay?”

  It was clear he was fuming. He breathed in deeply, balled his fists and then nodded without saying a word. Outside in the corridor, Hanson was speaking with Davenport. He gave a look of disapproval before returning to his office.

  “Hanson, where’s Reznik?”

  “Out. What’s up?”

  “Did he manage to find out anything about our man, Tyron?”

  “Yeah, let me go get the paperwork.”

  As they headed back into the office area, Harvey went to cool off and headed outside.

  “Your partner is a little high strung,” Hanson remarked as he fished through a pile of folders and then pulled out some paperwork.

  “I think you would be if the man you believed killed your sister showed up and bailed out a potential suspect.”

  Hanson took a seat on the edge of his desk. He cast a glance around the room probably to check he was out of earshot of Harvey.

  “I know he blames me and Reznik and thinks there was a leak in the department but what he keeps overlooking when he tells people about his sister, is that his sister wasn’t the only one in danger. There were girls under the age of twenty being used as drug mules to transport money from Franklin County to Miami. Many of them were users themselves and were disposed of after they did a drop. By holding off until he could get more information we were placing the lives of other innocent women in danger. We couldn’t do that.”

  She nodded and stared out the window where she could see him on the phone outside, no doubt talking to his wife, Elizabeth.

  “Do you believe someone in the department tipped off Callum?”

  “How the hell should I know? We have all types working in here. I’d like to think that all of them are above that, but the fact is this department doesn’t pay much and Callum is a businessman. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has someone in his back pocket. Though who? That’s anyone’s guess. Anyway, let me know if you need anything else.”

  Hanson went back around his desk and logged on to his computer. He began pecking away at his keyboard while Skylar looked over the paperwork. There were two residences listed, an apartment in Carrabelle and his place of business in Eastpoint. She scanned the file and looked at the information on what he did for a living. Her eyes widened — a competing matchmaking service.

  Chapter 5

  The Perfect Match was operating out of a run-down warehouse just off US 98. It was a stark contrast to the extravagance of Elite Matchmaking. There wasn’t even a sign out front. If she didn’t have the address, she would have just blown past it thinking it was nothing more than a place to store boats. Harvey had been quiet for the entire journey. Skylar had tried to carry the conversation by asking about what restaurant he planned on taking his wife to and if he’d bought her a gift but all she got out of him was a grunt here and there.

  “I hope Reznik’s information was correct as this doesn’t look like the kind of company I would want to deal with unless they match you up with the homeless.” She chuckled and glanced at Harvey who said nothing. He pushed out of the vehicle and headed over to a large gate. There were two cameras pointing down at them and a large sign on the gate that said: BEWARE OF THE DOGS.

  Beyond the gate were several dilapidated boats raised up on trailers. Each one was in various states of disrepair. Paint was peeling from the building and there were black garbage bags piled up outside.

  Skylar scanned the gate for a buzzer. It was positioned on a wooden post hidden just behind an overhanging branch. Obviously having clients visit wasn’t their first priority. What kind of matchmaking service was this? She pressed it but didn’t hear anything besides a click. She headed over to the gate figuring that it would open, but nope. She gave it a shake and as it clattered, two large Doberman dogs shot out from underneath one of the boats barking furiously. They slammed into the gate and she took a step back. Harvey stood there expressionless.

  “Harvey, what the hell is the matter with you? Perhaps you should wait in the truck.”

  “I’m fine,” he snapped.

  “You know what. I’m not the enemy. Okay? We have a job to do. I know you’re pissed about how it went down back there but we need to focus. I can’t have you bailing on me when I need you.”

  He muttered something under his breath and she went over to the speaker and pressed it again, this time she held it in and spoke.

  “Hello? Mr. O’Brien. It’s the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. We need to speak with you about an urgent matter. Could you please pull your dogs back and open up?”

  She released the button and waited. A minute or two passed and then a voice came over the speaker.

  “Show me your badge?”

  She took it out and waved it around near the closest camera.

  “Hold it steady,” he yelled.

  There was a long delay before a large sliding door to the warehouse was opened and out stepped an African American. He wore a sleeveless plaid shirt with an American flag on the breast pocket. His wrists were bound in leather and he had a bandanna around his head like he was Bruce Springsteen.

  He let out a whistle and his dogs retreated from the gate and disappeared behind a boat. Tyron reached behind him and pressed a button on the door and the gates groaned open. As they entered and made their way over, he put his hand out. “That’s close enough. What do you want?”

  “Maybe we can step inside?”

  “No. Whatever you need to say, say it from there.”

  Skylar found the whole interaction a little odd. “Probably best we go inside.”

  He stared at her for a second. “Like I said, say it here or get the hell off my property.”

  “We’re here about Teresa.”

  He squinted.

  “He got to her, didn’t he?”

  “You want to tell us how you know her?”

  His eyes bounced between them. He kept sniff
ing like he had a bad cold.

  “She’s a friend of mine.”

  Skylar scanned the warehouse. “So you’re in the dating game?”

  “Was.”

  She cocked her head.

  “I had a thriving business until Elite Matchmaking showed up and swallowed up my clientele.”

  Well that explained the look of the place. Going out of business sucked.

  “So what do you now?”

  “A bit of this, a bit of that.”

  “I’m guessing you know about LaSalle,” Harvey said.

  “Yeah. The guy’s an asshole. Nothing more than a cheap ass pimp looking to find his next prey.”

  Skylar was intrigued by his choice of words. “You want to clarify?”

  “Let’s say that Elite Matchmaking caters to a very particular clientele. And he will do whatever he wants to ensure their needs are met. Think casual encounters, Ashley Madison style. Hooking up married men with women looking for something on the wild side. Of course his website won’t say that because it’s bad for business. He’s huge because he sweeps in and scoops up the pool of smaller based matchmaking services.”

  “But he’s only in three cities.”

  Tyron laughed. “Offline. You haven’t seen his online enterprise, have you? The man is everywhere and so are the freaks he has as clients. Teresa soon figured that out the hard way. She phoned me a week ago to say that she needed a place to stay. Somewhere safe and that if anything happened to her, it was LaSalle. I put her up at my place in Carrabelle, figuring that if she was out of Apalachicola, she’d be out of harm’s way. He’d think she’d headed to Miami because she’d always talked about moving back in with family.”

  “But he found her.”

  “She’s not the first, you know,” Tyron said.

  “What?”

  “There are others. But I’m guessing he’s had a little help in covering up those.”

  She shook her head, confused.

  “Why haven’t you been to see us?” Harvey asked.

  He laughed and reached into his pocket to pull out a thin cigar. He pushed it between his lips and lit it. “Because he’s untouchable.”

  “No one’s above the law,” Skylar said.