Locked in Temptation

by Brenda Jackson

  He didn’t respond at first. Then he asked, “And what about my tongue?”

  She released a deep breath as she thought...everything about your tongue.

  “I think it’s perfect. I love the way you use it to kiss me...in my mouth, on my breasts, all over my body and especially between my legs.” Saying the words made her body ache in all those places she’d mentioned, especially the last.

  It got quiet on his end of the phone. “Stonewall?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Was that too much?”

  “No, I was just thinking that I’d give anything to be back in Charlottesville with you right now. And I’d do everything with my tongue that you think I’m good at.”

  Lordy. There was no doubt in her mind that he would. They talked for another hour or so, enjoying phone sex, as lusty as it could get. “I didn’t know you were such a bad boy.”

  “Only a good girl would think that,” he said in a tone that thickened desire in her bloodstream. The man was walking and talking temptation. “Will you dream about me tonight, Joy?”

  Was he kidding? How could she not after all those erotic and explicit words he’d spoken to her? “Yes, I will definitely dream about you, Stonewall Courson. And just for the record, if I had been a good girl before this phone call, I am definitely not one now. However, you do know what they say, right?”

  “No, what do they say?”

  “Once a bad boy, always a bad boy.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  “ASK ME ANYTHING you want, Lieutenant, if you think it will help in finding my sister’s killers.”

  Sitting across the table from him, Joy could see the pain in Barron Driscoll’s eyes. There was no doubt in her mind he loved his sister and was taking her death hard. She’d read the interview he’d given with Acklin the day Driscoll had arrived back in the country. There was a ten-year difference between him and his older sister. Their parents had died over twenty years ago, and his and his sister’s relationship was a close one.

  “Thank you,” she said, turning on her digital voice recorder. Acklin pulled out his notepad, still preferring to use longhand. “Mr. Driscoll, when was the last time you spoke with your sister?”

  He drew in a deep breath. “Three weeks ago. Because of where I was working, she understood I couldn’t make frequent phone calls home. When I took the assignment, I knew I’d be gone a while. I was to return home at the end of the year.” He paused before continuing. “We talked about a welcome-back party. I would have liked that.”

  “I understand Dr. Langley was divorced. I need the name of—”

  “Wait,” Driscoll interrupted to say. “If you’re looking for thieves, why would you be interested in Kelly’s ex-husband?”

  “We’re pursuing all possible leads, Mr. Driscoll,” Acklin said. “We’re not ruling out anything or anyone at this point.”

  Driscoll nodded. “His name was Herbert Langley. They got a divorce years ago. He moved away and remarried.”

  “Moved where?”

  “Montana. The two met in med school.”

  “So, he was also a doctor?”

  “Yes. A neurologist. He has a successful medical practice in Helena.”

  “Do you know the name of the man your sister was currently seeing?”

  Driscoll frowned. “Kelly wasn’t seeing anyone.”

  Joy lifted a brow. “How can you be so sure of that? You were in Turkey.”

  “Because she would have told me.”

  “What about close friends? A BFF?”

  “No. Other than her colleagues at work, Kelly was pretty much a loner. She was into soaps. She would tape them during the day and spend her evenings watching them.”

  He chuckled. “A lot of the times I called when I would knew I’d interrupted her watching her soaps.”

  “Yes, but still, your sister was a beautiful woman.”

  “Yes, she was. If she was seeing someone I didn’t know about it.”

  A short while later, leaving Barron Driscoll’s home, Acklin turned to Joy as they got into the unmarked car. “I wonder what he’s going to think when he finds out his sister was involved with someone and they were using his place most Thursdays for their secret trysts.”

  Joy didn’t say anything as Acklin started the car. The review of the phone records as well as the signals picked up by the towers verified what Acklin had just said. Why did Dr. Langley keep her affair with Anderson Hopkins a secret? There was a twelve-year difference in their ages, but still. Was the age difference the reason or was there something else? She would not have been the first woman to date a younger man.

  “What I also find strange is that Hopkins just got back in town, which meant he didn’t attend Dr. Langely’s funeral. What kind of lover would not at least pay their last respects?” Acklin said.

  “I don’t know, but I intend to find out,” Joy said.

  * * *

  IT DIDN’T TAKE the federal agents but a few hours to scan the clothing that had been taken off Erickson and find the microdevice. But that was only after a high-tech scanner had been brought in. Now they were in the FBI crime lab waiting for the device to be analyzed.

  “This is amazing,” Dr. Woodrow McClendon, one of the Bureau’s top crime analysts, said after taking a look at the device under a microscope. “A drone that’s barely visible to the naked eye and contains a poison that works on your nervous system. The moment your body goes into sleep mode, it kills without a trace.”

  “In that case, how can it be proven that the device is what killed Erickson?” Felton asked.

  “By breaking down the code. I bet when we do, it will show Erickson’s DNA was programmed into it. It will take a while but our team should be able to do it.”

  “So you’ve encountered a similar device?” another one of the agents asked.

  McClendon nodded. “A similar killing device, the DHX211, was discovered being used last year. However, it was in the form of an insect. I can understand why the perpetrators switched from an insect to a piece of lint.”

  “Why?” Randi asked, taking a turn to look into the microscope. Under the lens all parts of the lint had been enhanced and its working body was revealed. Dr. McClendon was right. It was simply amazing how such a device had been created and used.

  “Mainly because if it was seen, on instinct most people would try to swat an insect away or kill it. However, a piece of lint would be seen as nonthreatening,” Dr. McClendon explained.

  “Is there any way we can trace where it came from?” Felton asked.

  “Yes, but doing so won’t be easy. This device only had a twenty-hour life span once it was released into the air to find the person whose DNA it was programmed to kill. This item served its purpose. Once it hit its intended target it became inoperable.”

  “Who would have the means to make something like this?” an agent asked.

  “You’ll be surprised to find out what’s being sold on the black market. An item like this in the wrong hands would make assassination simple and anonymous.”

  Felton nodded. “Yes, that’s true. If it hadn’t been for Dr. Fuller’s psychic powers, we might never have realized how Erickson died.”

  “It wasn’t just me,” Randi said, moving away from the microscope. “As much as I don’t want to give the man credit for anything, I have to say it was Erickson who told me what we needed to know.”

  Felton frowned. “After all the people he killed, don’t expect me to be grateful. I still want him to burn in hell.”

  “So what’s next?” one of the agents asked as he leaned against the lab door. “If we can’t trace where the device came from, how can we determine how it got into the jail?”

  “That should be easy enough, although time-consuming,” Randi said. “You’ll need to screen
security cam footage of everyone who visited the federal prison that day for any reason. Everyone’s a suspect even if they just walked through the door.”

  She moved away from the lab table to face Felton. “I’ll be glad to help out. Who knows? I might get lucky and Erickson will give me a clue again.”

  Felton released a deep sigh. “Any additional help you can provide will be appreciated, Dr. Fuller.”

  * * *

  ANDERSON GLANCED AT the files on his desk. The bad thing about being away from the office was returning to more work. He liked handling his own files. Besides, he wouldn’t want anyone nosing around and discovering anything they shouldn’t. Parkmoore Research was a reputable company, founded by Dr. Reliford Parkmoore and his wife years ago. The pay was good and the travel opportunities great. But he would admit it was greed that made him jump at the chance Post offered him.

  When Post had approached him one day, seemingly out the blue, he’d been intrigued at what the man had offered. It had seemed simple enough. All he had to do was work with several fertility specialists in the area to persuade them to send some of their patients to Beautiful Creations. The kickback had been more than he’d dreamed of. He wasn’t supposed to ask any questions, just do as he was told.

  That had worked for him for two years before he was approached again for a bigger role in the organization. It was then that he learned what was going on. At first he’d wanted no part of it. After all, he had a younger sister, and he couldn’t imagine something like that happening to her. But when Post had laid out the benefits, Anderson had put his conscience aside. Now he had a bigger role and men reported to him. He had a steady stream of clients for Beautiful Creations.

  He should not have gotten so deeply involved with Kelly. He’d intentionally put himself in her path at that seminar. Had deliberately wooed her, bedded her and convinced her to do whatever he wanted. Things had been going great. As lovers went she was okay and never demanding. And as long as she kept the clients coming, all was well. Until Mandy Clay had escaped.

  Anderson stood and walked over to the window and looked out. He refused to feel guilty about Kelly. Having her disposed of was proof he’d become a man without a conscience. A man who would stop at nothing to make sure everything ran smoothly for the boss man. Someone he had yet to meet.

  It didn’t matter. He had a nice amount of money in his Swiss bank account. And if anything happened to him, every cent would go to his sister and niece. No one would ever know that Mandy Clay was Chasta’s biological mother.

  He turned away from the window when the buzzer went off on his office phone. He frowned. Since he’d had a lot of work to catch up on after being gone for over a week, he’d asked the receptionist to hold his calls.

  Crossing the room he clicked on the line. “Wilma, I asked not to be disturbed.” He’d gotten back in town early that morning. The only reason he’d come into the office this afternoon was to start working the files on his desk.

  “I know, Mr. Hopkins, but they insisted upon seeing you.”

  His frown deepened. “Who?”

  “Detectives Ingram and Sanchez from the police department.”

  Anderson froze.

  Moments passed, and Wilma’s next words defrosted him. “Mr. Hopkins. Will you see the detectives or not?”

  Detectives? He rubbed a hand down his face. He had to get a grip. Stay calm and not give anything away. “Yes, please send them in.”

  * * *

  RANDI RUBBED THE back of her neck and adjusted in her chair. Like all the other federal agents in the room, she’d been watching footage for the last three hours. They watched and matched the log of those who’d entered the prison that day with those on the security feed. It didn’t matter if the person was an employee, someone making a delivery or a visitor. If they came through the door they got scrutinized.

  “Watch guy in blue shirt.”

  All of a sudden Randi sat up when Erickson’s words came out of nowhere. Everyone in the room noted her movement, and she stared at the screen and said what she’d been instructed to do. “Watch the guy in the blue shirt.”

  “Which one?” one of the agents asked. “There are four of them.”

  “Then let’s concentrate on each one.”

  They did and followed their every movement. One guy in particular was wearing a baseball cap, a blue shirt and a pair of jeans. He was a Caucasian male, was tall and appeared to be in his early thirties. From his actions he seemed somewhat nervous about something. Every so often he would glance at his watch as if something needed to be perfectly timed.

  “Magnify screen times ten,” Randi said, keeping an eye on that particular man when she felt a chill pass through her body.

  The screen magnified and in a move that would have been missed if you hadn’t been looking for it, the man reached into his pocket and took out what appeared to be a pack of breath mints. However, instead of popping one into his mouth, something that appeared to be a piece of lint was released into the air.

  “Magnify times five.” This time it was Agent Felton who gave the order.

  The viewing screen showed the lint floating in the air and then disappearing. It was noted that although there were a number of people in the prison’s lobby waiting to pass through the security checkpoint, the piece of lint didn’t attach itself to anyone. It continued to float through the air. Everyone in the room now knew it was on a mission to kill its target, namely Murphy Erickson.

  Randi’s gaze returned to the man in the blue shirt. Satisfied that his mission was accomplished, without waiting to go through security, he walked back out through the revolving doors. They would find no record of his identity in the logs.

  “Get stats on that guy,” Felton ordered. “See if his description fits anyone in the criminal activity database.”

  He then turned to Randi. “If I hadn’t been a witness to all of this for the past ten hours I would not have believed it.”

  At that moment Special Agent Felton’s phone rang, and he took the call. Moments after clicking it off, he said, “That was Dr. McClendon. His team of scientists have concluded that piece of lint is what killed Erickson. It was his DNA that was programmed into it like we thought. We need to identify that guy in the blue shirt. The last thing we want is for that killing device to be used again.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  AFTER INTRODUCTIONS WERE MADE, Anderson leaned back against his desk. “Detectives, I’m at a lost as to what this meeting is about.”

  Joy had begun studying the man the moment they’d walked into his office. Anderson Hopkins was tall and extremely handsome. Well, not as handsome as Stonewall, she immediately thought. And he had an air of coolness, like he was prepared to turn this into a game. Little did he know it would be a game that she had no problem playing.

  “Mr. Hopkins, did you know Dr. Kelly Langley?”

  She noted he hesitated in answering, as if he needed to decide how he would. “Did know her, Detective? Any reason you’re referring to Kelly in the past tense?”

  “Yes. Because Dr. Langley is dead.”

  Shock appeared on the man’s face. “Dead? Kelly is dead?” As if the impact of what he’d just found out disturbed him to the degree he couldn’t remain standing, he moved to sit in the chair behind his desk. He rubbed his hand down his face and looked over at them. “But how?”

  “She was murdered Friday night while working late,” Joy said. “She and a pharmacist. Appears robbery was the motive.”

  “So you admit to knowing Dr. Langley?” Acklin asked him.

  “Yes, although we were keeping our association a secret.”

  “Is that a fact? Why?” Joy asked.

  Anderson drew in a deep breath. “Our ages. I didn’t have a problem with it, but she did. She felt uncomfortable about anyone knowing the two of us were
seeing each other. Sorry if I seem out of it, but I just got into town early this morning, and what you’ve told me about Kelly has shocked the hell out of me.”

  Then, not waiting for them to ask, he added, “I’ve been in Seattle the past week attending a biochemical seminar.”

  Joy noted he’d smoothly established his alibi. “And you didn’t watch television or have contact with anyone back home who would have told you about Dr. Langley?”

  “No. I was tied up in meetings during most of the day, and at night I went straight to bed. And because no one knew of my affair with Kelly, there would not have been a reason for anyone to call and tell me of her death.” He shook his head. “It’s hard to believe she’s gone.”

  “When was the last time you talked to Dr. Langley?” Acklin asked.

  Joy noted he hesitated again before answering. “I talked to her last Friday, around noon, to let her know when I was returning and to see if she wanted to get together when I got back.”

  “And did she? Want the two of you to hook up when you got back?” Acklin asked.

  “Yes. I was to see her tomorrow night at our usual place.”

  “Which is where?”

  “Her brother’s home in the mountains. She never wanted to use our places or a hotel. Since her brother was out of the country and she would occasionally house-sit, it was convenient.”

  Yes, Joy thought, she just bet it was. “And you didn’t try contacting her since returning to town?”

  “No. I went home straight from the airport this morning, showered, grabbed breakfast and went to bed to get a few hours of sleep before coming into the office. I didn’t even turn on my television. No one here mentioned Dr. Langley’s death.”

  “Would they? Mention Dr. Langley’s death? Is she associated with this facility?”

  “No, but with something as tragic as a doctor being killed, I would think it would be part of the conversation today.”

  “The funeral was yesterday,” Acklin said. “It’s a shame you missed it.”

  Hopkins heaved massive shoulders. “I probably would not have gone even had I known. Kelly always wanted to keep our relationship a secret, and I would have honored her wishes until the end.”