"Be back in a jiff." A lopsided smile tilted the right corner of Stone's mouth. It was good to note that he had the same effect on her that she had on him. Hopefully, she was enjoying the view of his backside as much as she liked the front.
Aiden returned a few minutes later in his jeans, a black polo shirt draped over his bare shoulder. "So, your fiancé gave you permission to help with our case." He said evilly.
She looked like he had just slapped her. "Permission?I don't need Gerard's permission to do anything. You know what? You're obviously so smart you don't need my help. I'm outta here."
She turned to leave, her hand on the doorknob. Realizing it wasn't right for him to take jabs at her when he had asked her for help; Stone crossed the room in three long strides and gently grabbed her wrist.
"I'm sorry. You're right." Her pulse beat rapidly against his grasp. "Forgive me. Sometimes I have the habit of behaving like a jackass. I apologize."
She seemed satisfied with his apology and turned back to him. "Fine."She gritted out.
She sat in a chair as far away from the bed as possible and looked very uncomfortable. She had buttoned her shirt so now no cleavage was showing. Obviously their minds were running on the same track. They had some type of animal attraction going on and neither of them liked it.
After pulling the shirt over his head, Aiden sat on the edge of his crumpled bed. He started going through the files and news articles she had bought with her. Just as she said, the crimes were identical to his case in Texas. If it wasn't the same killer, then he had a copycat committing the same crimes. Stone noticed that Danny hadn't moved from her spot and was nervously tapping her foot.
"You don't have to sit all the way over there." He said. "I'm not gonna bite you, unless you're into that sort of thing." He raised an eyebrow to her.
Rolling her eyes, she exhaled and sat beside him on the edge of the bed. The pleasant potion she called perfume wafted over Stone's nostrils, further intoxicating him. She pointed to one of the articles he was holding concerning one of the victims. "This woman was found about twenty miles from where your victim was discovered. No evidence, no DNA, nothing the cops can use."
"Shit, this is crazy." Stone said, running a hand over his head.
"In all these cases, the only common factor is that the women were prostitutes, or suspected prostitutes. Some of the other women were also of Hispanic or Haitian descent, and one was Filipino, possibly illegal’s."
He furrowed his brow. "How could you possibly know that? Most of the bodies had been buried for years. There's no way to be sure."
"Like I told you, they paid me a visit last night."
He stroked his goatee. "That explains why the victims were Jane Does. There aren't any records to tie them to this country. No dental records, no ID's, no family to even report them missing. Sherry must have been the first victim who was identifiable."
"Do you have any crime scene photos for your current case?"
He handed her the file which was in a manila folder. Bypassing the notes, she went right for the photographs.
"Good, I need to go back to my apartment and start working on this." With the photos she could start digging around for evidence in the spirit realm. Her efforts last night hadn't turned up any leads.
"So you're officially helping me with this case?" He asked.
"I'm 'consulting'. This doesn't mean I'm going to rejoin the ranks or anything. I can't sit idly by and let this animal keep murdering women. You owe me, Agent Stone."
"Whatever you need, the Bureau will cover it, Ms. Labulox."
Danny winced at the way he was butchering her name. "Ugh. Just Danielle or Danny will suffice. You're killing my name."
He smiled. "Anything you say, Danny."
After rousing Agent Ramirez from his slumber in his neighboring motel room, the three of them headed to Danny's studio apartment. Aiden and his weary-eyed partner were trailing behind her in the bucar, following the distinctive tail lights of her hot rod. He had been a bit taken aback to see her slide into the interior of the aggressive beast of a muscle car. He had imagined her driving something cute and eco-friendly, perhaps a Prius. But, as he was learning, there was more to this woman than met the eye.
"This is it. Welcome to the bat cave." Danny flicked on the light, illuminating her office.
The first impression Aiden got was that a woman occupied the space. Everything was warm, inviting, and unmistakably feminine. A distinct, tropical fragrance greeted them as they walked into the apartment.
"You two have a seat." She pointed to a small brown sofa, as she sat at her computer waiting for it to boot up.
Instead of following her request to sit down like Alejandro, Aiden was drawn to the dry erase board in the center of the room where she had posted a huge map of the United States. Multicolored circular magnets were clustered in several areas of the country. New Mexico, Texas, New York, Miami, and California near the Mexican border were highlighted on the map.
"After those popups appeared on my computer last night, I cross referenced those incident locations with any open cold cases in the areas that matched the killer or killer’s pattern. The ones I'm sure of are indicated with the orange magnets, while the maybes are purple. It looks like things started about seven years ago."
Aiden now knew why Lucius Johnson had recommended Danny for the job. The woman was extremely thorough with her investigations.
"Were you able to pull any information from the victims?" He asked.
She slowly shook her head in a negative. "Nothing we could use. From what I could gather, we're dealing with the same killer, but every time he killed he was in heavy disguise, a beard, wig, heavy clothing and gloves so you can't make out his physique. He's a very efficient killer. Cold and calculating, almost like a machine. Every time he kills he goes for the neck. He either punctures the aorta with his blade or slits the woman's throat. They bleed out in seconds. The only good thing is that they're not sexually assaulted, but it is still a horrible way to die. He picks them up as if he's a john and takes them to a secluded spot to kill them."
"Have you been able to find a motive?" Ramirez chimed in.
Frustrated, Danny exhaled, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Not yet. Maybe he has a thing against illegal immigrants and kills the prostitutes to deal with it, but that doesn't explain why he killed Sherry Cavender. Other than being strung out, she was the Girl Next Door USA. Then again, maybe he hates hookers and is out to get them. Who knows?"
She turned back to Alejandro. "I could use some coffee Agent Ramirez. We passed a pretty good coffee house on the way in, do you mind?"
"Sure. You want anything Stone?"
"Large black coffee for me." he said.
"I'll have the same." Danny said.
Agent Ramirez got up feeling a bit like a third wheel and was glad to be going on a coffee run. He closed the door behind him.
"You just couldn't wait to get me alone, could you?" Aiden said as soon as his partner was gone. He pointed to Danny's kitchen where a coffeemaker was sitting plain as day.
"Don't flatter yourself, Agent Stone. I just wanted some personal information from you."
"Like what?" He took a seat on her plush sofa.
"Does your partner know you're a psychic?" she asked smugly.
It was Aiden's turn to look like he had been slapped. "What am I wearing a sign on my back? How did you and Johnson figure it out? I haven't told anybody."
"People who visit the spirit realm have a certain aura about them. I figured you out the moment we met." Crossing her legs, she sat on one of the floor pillows, Sherry's crime scene photos in her hand.
He scratched the top of his head and leaned back on the sofa. "Yeah, yeah, I have some skills. I can touch objects belonging to a dead person and sometimes it will give me a push in the right direction. It doesn't work every time though."
"It takes practice and some training to be able to decipher your visions properly." She told him.
"How
were you able to learn how to use yours?" he asked.
"My grand mere taught me." She said, smiling wistfully. "The ability to communicate with the spirit realm is a family trait. After my parents died I lived with her down in New Orleans. I had the raw ability, but she was able to teach me how to properly use it."
"Lucius said you were some kind of psychic genius."
She nodded her head. "I don't know about that, but when I was a kid, I had a brush with death. It seemed to give me a stronger connection to the spirit realm than most people like us."
"So are all psychics, like us, able to talk to the dead and such?" Stone asked. He had been wondering about his newfound abilities for years. Now he had finally discovered someone who was full of answers.
She arched her shoulders. "It varies depending on the person. You can enter the spirit realm by touching an object belonging to someone who's passed. I can do it by looking at photos."
"So, you can access this spirit world through photos?" He inquired.
She nodded an affirmative. "When I was a kid, I would go through my parents' photo album and find myself visiting with relatives who had been dead for years. They weren't able to actually speak to me, but we were able to communicate. I use the same concept with crime scene photos. I can relive the last few hours of the victim's life. That's how I gather the evidence. It's the next best thing to witnessing the crime."
"Can't you use it while at an actual crime scene?"
Danny nodded her head. "I can, but it takes a lot of concentration to focus on that one crime scene without being distracted. So, I prefer to use the photos."
Aiden leaned forward, a devilish grin tilting the corner of his mouth. "I've got a personal question for you: does the good doctor know about your special skills?"
A shroud of darkness clouded her face. "No."
Aiden's eyebrows arched with amusement. "No?"
"No. He doesn't know that I'm psychic." She found herself explaining. "Gerard is all about science and technology. He doesn't believe in God or spirits or spirituality. If it can't be proved in a math equation or he can't see it with his own eyes, then it doesn't exist to him."
Stone's voice was quiet, like a distant roll of thunder. "What kind of man are you with that you can't tell him who you really are?"
It was a good question and one that Danny had been asking herselffor the past few months. Yet, it was a question she wasn't quite ready to answer, let alone to an FBI agent she didn't want to be working with in the first place.
"Let's just get this investigation over with OK?" she said hastily.
Aiden smirked. "Sure, whatever you say, Ms. Labouleaux."
Agent Ramirez returned shortly thereafter with their coffees and the three of them poured over papers and evidence for hours. Realizing that time had gotten away from her, Danny promised to try again to contact Sherry, hoping there would be more the dead girl could show her. She ushered the agents out and headed for home.
This was one of the nights when Gerard expected to be home pretty early, and she wanted a nice quiet evening alone with him to talk things out. Even though he was an infuriating jerk at times, Agent Stone was absolutely right, and it pained her to know so. She planned to have a long talk with Gerard about everything she was feeling, from the house to his friends. She even contemplated telling him about her gift and how she used it with the Bureau and with Body Hunters. It was totally wrong to build a marriage on an outright lie or a lie by omission as she felt she was doing. It wasn't fair to either of them, and if she couldn't be honest with the man she supposedly loved then there was something seriously wrong with their relationship.
As she drove home in the Camaro, Danny had soft music coming from the local country station playing on the radio. Barely paying attention to it, she found herself absentmindedly humming along to an old Randy Travis song, 'Digging up Bones', which happened to have been one of her grand mere’s favorites. Stopped at a red light, one particular line kept reverberating in her head over and over, "Exhuming things better left alone." Like a broken record it kept repeating over and over in her head.
Her ring finger was now shooting pain down its length and looking down for a moment she could have sworn the stone in the ring was glowing. There was the lightest tap on her shoulder. She found her eyes riveted to the rear view mirror right into a woman's azure eyes. She appeared to be in her mid-60's, with golden blonde hair draping her shoulders, a flowing white gown shrouding her body. The woman was classically beautiful with delicate facial features that most women would envy or pay a pretty penny to duplicate in an operating room.
By the tell-tale chill in the otherwise hot air, Danny knew right away that the woman was an apparition. She could see right through her. The ghost only shook her head side to side, putting her right index finger to her lips. Danny gasped aloud, her eyes riveted to the ghost in the mirror. She was so focused on the spirit that she failed to hear the honking cars behind her.
Startled back into reality, she looked forward and saw the green light. Looking back in the rear view mirror for her passenger in the back seat, all she saw now was the man in the gray Malibu behind her angrily saluting with his middle finger. Danny trembled before peeling off, leaving tire tracks on the asphalt.
This was the first time a ghost came through without her proactively searching for it. No picture was needed this time. Why this woman suddenly appeared to her boggled her mind. She didn't look like any of the victims she had been researching but yet seemed eerily familiar. She pulled into the drive of the mini-mansion and parked Lucille in her usual spot outside the garage. She ran inside the home and slammed the oak door behind her. Gerard had beaten her home.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you slam the door?" Gerard appeared from the kitchen looking rather peeved about the noise. "Geez, Danny take it easy that door cost a fortune!"
"Nice to see you too, Gerard! I'm fine thank you very much!" Danny glared at him, tossing her purse on the sofa.
"I'm sorry, come here." Gerard put his arms around her. "Where have you been darling? I've been home for a half hour already."
"I need to tell you something, Ger." Danny continued the embrace, soaking up the much needed attention from her fiancé.
A thin cloud of fog took shape in front of her. The blonde ghost woman appeared again, repeating the same motions as in the back seat of the Camaro and mouthing to her this time. "No!"
Gerard broke his grip, looking Danny eye to eye. "Sounds serious babe, what's up?"
Danny's brain stammered for a few seconds, before the ghostly vision vanished. "I've been thinking maybe we should get a hot tub." It was the first logical thing on her mind to say.
"Oh, God is that all? I thought the way you ran in here someone was chasing you! God, Danny you scared the shit out of me! If you want a hot tub, then milady gets a hot tub!"
"Ah, oh, good! I thought you'd be upset because I wanted to add something more to the house."
Gerard seemed pleased with her suggestion. "I'll call the contractor tomorrow if you like."
The idea that Danny finally suggested something for the house pleased him greatly. He hoped this was a sign she was finally settling in.
Danny took a deep breath, calming herself. She didn't know who the ghost was but was certain of what she was trying to tell her. Any talk with Gerard would have to wait until later. She had another mission to complete the next day and would hope that Sherry would make an appearance also.
Chapter 10
The next day began bright and early, and Danny was still musing over the previous night's events with her ghostly visitor. The woman's identity and her deciding to haunt Danny was at the forefront of her mind. Not one to believe in coincidence, she felt that the woman was somehow connected to the Sherry Cavender murder along with the dozen murder cases that had invaded her computer. For the umpteenth time she found herself wishing she could have at least one conversation with her grand mere. The old woman had been an expert at things concerning t
he spirit realm, and Danny would have loved to get her input on what was happening.
She was grateful that Gerard had left early for the clinic, not even taking the time to eat breakfast or have a decent morning conversation. He had let her know that he was going to have a long day and not to expect him home for dinner. She was so used to his nocturnal schedule that she had opted to sleep in one of the guest rooms so he wouldn't disturb her upon his return in the dead of night. They were practically living as roommates, and this totally unromantic existence was not what she had envisioned when he proposed. This was supposed to be the most exciting time of their lives, and it was turning out to be less than magical.
Gerard's absence gave her some time to go back over her research on Sherry's murder. Sitting in the ostentatious office Gerard had designed for her, she was going back through previous witness statements about the girl's disappearance. Danielle's cell phone vibrated on her desk. She instantly recognized the phone number as Agent Stone's. She had taken to leaving the device on vibrate not wanting Gerard to answer it and hear Agent Stone's deep voice on the other end. That definitely would be an awkward conversation that she did not want to have, given the recent tensions between the two of them.
"Agent Stone, what can I do for you today?" Danny asked, twisting side to side in her office chair.
"Aloha, Nani!"Aiden Stone returned in his husky voice.
Obviously the agent had dialed the wrong number. "What? Who's Nani? Sorry, you have the wrong number Agent Stone.!"
"It means 'Hello, beautiful!' in Hawaiian." He explained, letting Danny hear the smile in his voice.
"Um, hello back, but I'd appreciate it if you kept it professional Agent Stone." Danny couldn't believe he had the nerve to start being that informal. He was behaving like he had been up all night with a liquor bottle.
The Body Hunters Page 10
