Reddest Black_In the Shadows

by P. T. Michelle

  Chapter Seven

  Talia

  “We’re here!” Cass announces as she, Den, and I walk into BLACK Security. “And Talia is starving. Again.”

  As I laser-stare Cass and mutter, “I don’t think the people on the other side of New York heard you,” Calder pokes his head out the hall entrance that leads to the kitchen.

  “We’re back here with beer and pizza.”

  Cass does a little hop and makes a beeline for the doorway, calling out, “Better move over if you don’t want singe marks. Pregnant lady coming through.”

  “What’s so funny?” I say, frowning at the rare smile on Den’s handsome face.

  His light brown eyes shift to me, full of amusement. “Cass is going to be a hilarious pregnant woman when it’s her turn. We’ll be constantly entertained.”

  Den’s comment bursts my offended bubble, reminding me what’s important in life. I truly hope to see my best friend go through this experience. Her reactions to all the changes in her body will be endlessly entertaining. Returning his smile, I step forward to follow my friend. “I can’t wait to clear paths for her.”

  My mouth is watering by the time I make it back to the kitchen. Sebastian looks up, plate in hand as I walk in. He’d taken off his suit jacket and tie. In rolled up sleeves, the man just makes me melt. “One slice or two?”

  I quickly cut my gaze to Cass, then smirk that she’s too busy chowing down on a slice of pizza to crack another joke. Oh, the irony. “I’ll have a slice of cheese and some salad, thanks.”

  “Elijah’s queuing up Peeping Tom’s video on the big screen for us,” Calder says before he drops a kiss on the top of Cass’s head, then hands her a beer and takes a seat next to her.

  “If Elijah’s helping tonight, does that mean the integration is going well?” I try to suppress it, but I can’t help the tension rising inside me in the hopes that we’ll find something useful on the video. I step forward and take a seat near the head of the table where Sebastian’s standing.

  “I’m still at Blake Industries,” Elijah’s voice booms from the conference phone in the center of the table as a projector screen slides down in front of the built-in whiteboard on the far wall. “There are a couple reports that I want you to take a look at, Bash, but otherwise things are good here on my end. As for the video, I cleaned the grain up as best as I could. It’s ready when you are. Let me know if you need anything else.”

  Elijah hangs up and Sebastian sets a plate in front of me. He lifts the remote, but doesn’t hit the button, so I look at him expectantly.

  “Eat first.”

  I start to argue that I can do both, but he folds his arms, tucking the remote away under his thick biceps. “Eat, then we’ll watch.”

  With a grunt of frustration, I stab my fork into the salad and manage to chew it all down in record time. We eat quickly and once I’m near the end of the pizza slice, I point to the screen and mumble around the crust, “Hit Play.”

  Sebastian speaks to Den. “Can you get the lights?”

  The room darkens and as the clip rolls, I take a deep breath and set the crust down to watch the video Calder was able to retrieve.

  Several people pass by before a person in a thick coat, baggy jeans and a hoodie walks briskly toward the entrance of my aunt’s building. He takes the steps two at a time and punches the code to get in. As he pulls open the door, the light inside illuminates something in his hand before the door shuts closed behind him.

  “Did my aunt go in already? Did the guy not record that part?”

  “Just wait,” Calder says before taking a bite of his pizza.

  A few more people pass on the darkened street, and then I recognize my aunt’s brisk gait as she walks toward the entrance of her building. Climbing the stairs, she taps out the code but pauses when she pulls open the door.

  “It’s dark inside,” I whisper, my stomach churning. My heart races as I watch my aunt take out her cell phone to use as a flashlight before she walks inside and the door shuts behind her.

  “We were wrong,” Sebastian says grimly. “She wasn’t followed.”

  “She was targeted,” I say, my stomach knotting. My aunt was right…she was being stalked.

  “We can’t see the person’s face.” Calder gets up and points to the number plate on the wall outside the building. “But from the angle of the camera and the height of this plate, we’ve determined the person’s of slight-to-medium build and around five-nine, five-ten. This wasn’t a big guy who attacked Vanessa.”

  “Were there no other cameras on the street, Calder?” I ask, trying not to tear up.

  “The couple other camera feeds I could find were too far away, and it was too dark with that street light out to do us any good. The Peeping Tom guy lead was the best we were able to retrieve.” Folding his arms, Calder narrows his gaze. “And tonight, because the guy’s an idiot to think I wouldn’t rat his pervy ass out in exchange for the video, the police will catch him in the act.”

  Instead of celebrating that small victory, all I can think about is that this is my fault.

  Sebastian sits next to me, his hand sliding under my hair to massage the back of my neck. “We’ll find him.”

  Tears drip down my cheeks and I shake my head. “I didn’t listen to her. I should’ve gotten involved. I should’ve done…something.”

  Sebastian’s jaw sets and he looks at the group. “We’ll meet you in my office in a few.”

  The last person to leave turns the lights back on. I instantly squeeze my eyes shut against the sudden brightness, then let out a small yelp when my husband lifts me as if I weigh nothing and sets me on his lap.

  “Look at me, Talia,” he says in a low, even tone, his strong arm supporting my back.

  I lift my chin, my eyes finally opening. Sebastian spreads his hand over my belly and flattens his other hand along the center of my back. “Between my hands are the most precious things in the world to me. I will do everything I can to protect you both and that includes protecting your happiness. I promise you. We’ll find the person responsible, but I can’t do that without your help.”

  He takes my hand and curves it over my stomach, then rests his big hand over mine. “We made a promise to our baby the moment we created him to keep him safe from harm. If you start getting upset, he feels it. You’re a smart, talented, and sexy-as-hell woman who has an amazing investigative mind. Don’t let this bastard make you feel an ounce of guilt. Stay focused so we can get him and lock him away for what he did to Vanessa. If you feel the need to apologize to your aunt, which I think is utter bullshit considering her past actions, then finding the guy responsible will be the biggest apology you can make.”

  I exhale deeply, my breathing still a bit shaky. “Thank you for giving me your strength.”

  He chuckles, his gaze searching my face. “Thank you for being the source of it.”

  As we exchange a smile, the baby starts squirming under our hands. Unlike the kick in the ribs I got earlier today, this time the movements are slow and calm, like she’s settling in for the night. Taking a deep breath, I sniff back my tears and spread my fingers, locking them with his on my belly. “I think she likes the sound of your voice.” I kiss his jaw and whisper, “You’re going to be on nightly reading duty for oh…the next few years.”

  Sebastian nuzzles my neck with a lingering kiss, his voice a rough rasp against my skin. “If it guarantees an uninterrupted night with you, I’ll rock the shit out of story time.”

  Laughing at how serious he sounds, I wrap my arms around his neck. “I look forward to our nightly dates, Mister Black.”

  With a predatory smile, he stands, cradling me in his arms. “Let’s go comb through what we have and find this bastard.”

  “I can walk,” I say, squirming to get down.

  “Be still, Little Red.” I’m surprised by the sharpness in his voice, but then he starts walking and his tone softens. “You feel too damn good to let go just yet.”

  Sebastian has
just stepped out of the hallway into the cubicle bullpen area when we see Ben standing outside his office talking to Den. Cass and Calder are sitting at the table just inside waiting on us.

  “What’s Ben doing here?” my husband says in low voice.

  “It’s not like Calder invited him for a slice.” I sigh, wishing that weren’t true. “We need to do something to help Calder learn to tolerate his half-brother’s presence.”

  “Agreed.” He lowers my feet to the ground and releases me. “Let’s bring the rest of the pizza with us. He might want some.”

  “Hey, Ben,” I say as Sebastian and I approach with the pizza boxes. “Would you like a slice?”

  Ben smiles, his dark eyebrows elevating as he stares at the boxes in Sebastian’s hand. “I don’t mind if I do. My shift just ended.”

  Calder scowls as his half-brother follows Sebastian and me into his office. “Why are you here, Hemming?”

  Unperturbed by Calder’s comment, Ben waits for Sebastian to set the boxes down, then takes a slice. “Having pizza, bro,” he says around a big bite.

  Calder visibly stiffens, his hand on the table clenching into a fist. I turn to Ben and hold a napkin out. “What Calder meant to say is…what brings you by so late?”

  Taking another bite, Ben wipes his mouth with the napkin. “Actually, I need some help to locate whoever stole a script pad and my ID from my medical bag. I have to get that pad back before someone starts writing illegal scripts.”

  Calder leans back in his chair. “Sounds like a job the police can handle.”

  “If you want me to continue to legally take care of any wounds you acquire, then its best if this knowledge stays within BLACK Security,” Ben says to Calder. “I’ve replaced the ID already, but I could lose my license if we don’t get that pad back as soon as possible.”

  “Calder will help you,” Sebastian says.

  “No.” Calder folds his arms, punctuating his terse tone.

  Closing the pizza box lid, Sebastian turns to Calder. “He’s an employee in need of our help. Unless you plan to add medical school to your schedule any time soon, you will help him.”

  Sebastian and Calder stare each other down, and I’m thankful that Den steps in to ease the tension. “When was the last time you saw the script pad?”

  Ben nods his acknowledgment to Den for getting the ball rolling. “The last time I had it was before I came to the baby shower. After my hospital shift ended, I stopped off in the wing where I meet with the vets in my outreach program, and then I went to Sebastian and Talia’s apartment. Somewhere between meeting with the vets and the party, my ID and script pad disappeared.”

  “That’s right. I forgot you work with vets,” Cass pipes up. “Calder just recently started working with vets at the gym, teaching them MMA techniques as a way to relieve stress. Isn’t that right, Cald?” She keeps talking despite his scowl. “So that’s something you guys can talk about while you’re hunting down this missing script pad.”

  Sebastian pulls his phone out and taps on the screen. Looking at Calder, he says, “I just sent you the list of caterers and their contact information from our party. You can start there.

  “Ben, since you’re here, you can help Den, Calder and I scroll through the six video feeds of various places that Vanessa felt like she was followed.”

  Sebastian walks over to his desk and picks up a couple of folders, then hands them to me. “The first folder is everything the police have on your aunt’s case. From crime scene photos, to lab reports, to the police report itself.” He holds fast when I try to take it from him. “I had to pull some strings to get the data processed so fast. Let’s make it worth their time.”

  Taking the folders, I ask, “What’s in this second folder?”

  “While I was there, they handed me the lab report details you’d requested from the bombing.”

  Nodding, I immediately put that folder on the bottom, my priority completely on my aunt’s case. “Come on, Cass. Grab your beer and follow me into my office where we can spread the paperwork out on the table in there.”

  “You saw how useless I was as an investigator earlier today,” she grumbles as she trails behind me. “How can I possibly be of any help?”

  Pulling out a manila folder marked “crime scene photo documentation” from the main folder, I hand it to her. “By doing what you’re great at.”

  “You want me to look at the crime scene photos?” Cass flips it open, then gags at the smeared and splattered blood along the floor and walls from my aunt’s apartment entryway. “I’m so glad Sebastian hired a special crew to clean all this up once the police were done last night. I don’t think I could’ve walked through that this morning.”

  “Even though I knew it would be hard, I asked him to leave the scene, but he absolutely refused to. That was his one stipulation before I went to my aunt’s apartment.”

  Snapping the folder shut, Cass takes a deep breath and points to the table. “I’m just going to take this over there. Not that I’m sure what I’m looking for,” she mutters.

  As Cass spreads all the photos out on the table, I set the bombing folder on the edge of my desk, then sit down and open the folder related to my aunt’s case.

  The first thing I read through is the police report. And as I scan the details, my heart jerks with renewed anger and I have to close my eyes for a second to get my emotions under control. According to the report, my aunt was found with tape over her mouth, which explains why no one heard anything. She couldn’t scream past the tape. But the worst part was, based on her bruising, they believe she was beaten with some kind of weapon.

  I glance at Cass rubbing her hands down her face, clearly pale from staring at all the bloody pictures. She exhales, then takes a long swig of her beer, and I get it. I’d join her with a beer if I could. The last thing I want to do is look at those pictures, so I return my attention back to the report.

  No fingerprints were found at the crime scene or on my aunt. They believe the assailant was wearing gloves.

  I flip to the lab report, hoping to discover something of use there. A detailed description of the thick tape is listed, along with the adhesive on the back of the tape. The lab listed the potential name brands of the tape based on the chemical make up. Immediately following is a list of the small particles adhered to the tape. Dirt, food, pet hair and such are in the mix, but one particle in particular raises my eyebrow as an uncommon substance: recycled cotton textiles, very dense. The technician noted that the material was embedded along the entire edge of the tape, which means it wasn’t transfer from the floor of the hallway like the dirt, pet hair and such, but it was already on the tape, most likely from the attacker’s home or car where they stored it.

  Putting a sticky note beside this information on the report, I quickly search the Web for the term: dense recycled cotton. According to the Internet, one of the biggest uses of this type of fabric is for insulation. Does the person work in a factory that makes insulation? Or maybe they work for a builder?

  “Honestly, I’ve got nothing.” Cass glances up from the table, several photos in each hand. “Maybe if the photographer had moved at all, I might be able to get a different perspective.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask, walking over to stand next to her.

  Cass sets the photos she’s holding back down on the table, spreading them out among the others. “I keep thinking about something I learned early on in photography. ‘Don’t be afraid to turn around. Sometimes the best pictures are behind you.’”

  I stare at the photos and try not to think about the fact that all that blood is my aunt’s. Taking a calming breath, I scan the entryway. “It’s not that big an area. What’s behind the photographer anyway?”

  Cass moves two photos to the top of the stack, then picks up her beer bottle to take another sip. “These are the only ones of that area. My guess is that’s probably the place where the attacker stood, which would have the least amount of blood.”

  “Ah, the
re’s an old radiator in that space. That’s right.” We stare at the photos for a couple seconds when I remember I took some pictures on my way out. “I have a few shots of the whole entryway. Maybe I caught a better angle.” Pulling the photos up on my phone, I flip through them until I reach the one with the radiator in it.

  “What’s that light blue thing?” Cass says, pointing to the very bottom in one of the spaces inside the radiator

  Touching the screen to zoom in, I glance at Cass, eyes wide. “I recognize the case; that’s my aunt’s phone. You found it! And now I know why we couldn’t ping it. The heat from the radiator must’ve triggered the overheat safety mechanism and it powered down. Sebastian can send one of the guys to retrieve it for us.” Hugging her, I smile. “We’ll make an investigator out of you yet.”

  Just as I turn to my desk to look up the landlord’s number in my notepad, she laughs and sets her beer down. “I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

  “Not on the folder!”

  “Oops.” Jerking the damp bottle back up, she quickly swipes at the folder, sending the folder flying. “Oh, shit! I’m completely sober, I swear,” she says when I join her on the floor to retrieve the scattered paperwork.

  “It’s fine. The pages are labeled. We just need to put them back in order.” I pick up the lab report page and scan down for the page number. My eyes lock on the phrase recycled cotton and my whole body tenses. Grabbing the desk edge, I groan slightly and pull myself up, then set the bombing lab report page down beside the lab report about my aunt’s case. As my gaze pings between them, a low gasp escapes.

  “What is it? Are you okay?” Picking up the folder I left behind, Cass quickly stands and moves to my side.

  “I’m good,” I say as I pull a yellow marker from the pen holder, then start marking each report. After I’m done highlighting, I tap the yellow section on the paper on the left. “This is the lab report from the bombing that killed Isabel.” Pointing to the yellow paragraph on the paper on the right, I continue, “And this is the lab report about the tape the person used to keep Aunt Vanessa quiet.”