“I know what you’re going to tell me,” Luke spoke before she even opened her mouth. He saw she was looking behind him at Priety with her arms wrapped around herself. He lowered his voice. “Lipstick kiss on the forehead, her eyes are on the kitchen table in a plate, the area was cleaned so no prints, no fibers, a whole lotta nothing.”
The CSI pulled her gloves off and rested a hand on a cocked hip. “You know it, stud.” She smiled and motioned to Priety. “Isn’t that…”
“Yeah…”
“What?”
“It’s kind of a long story.”
“You shouldn’t have brought her into a crime scene, Luke.”
“Don’t you think I know that? But she didn’t want to stay alone and she doesn’t seem to trust any face she doesn’t know at the moment and I can’t say I blame her.”
Luke stepped by the red haired woman and walked across the room. He stopped in the bedroom and looked over at the body and frowned. The same as the other woman; blond hair, perfect body and the eyes were missing.
The profile was starting to set in Luke's mind and even though he knew that a real profiler would say that the two women looking alike could be a coincidence, Luke knew better. This guy was killing blond, beautiful women and cutting their eyes out. So many questions popped into his mind, but the most prominent question was, why the eyes? Why not the tongue or fingers? The eyes are said to be the windows to the soul, but then again who really knows what goes on in the mind of a killer.
Sighing, he walked back out the door and stopped beside the CSI he spoke to earlier. “Fax over all the reports to me when you’re done.”
“You got it, partner.” She smiled and slipped her slender hands back into her gloves. Walking over to Priety, Luke took her elbow and led her out the door back to the car.
“Let me take you to my home so you can rest,” he said to her because he didn’t know what else to tell her.
His place.
That thought made him frown but he said nothing to her as she climbed into the vehicle again. As he drove, Luke tried to remember the last time he brought a woman to his place; for protection or otherwise. He never brought a woman home for protection before and it had been way too long since he had a woman. No matter how frustrated he got over the years, he would simply roll over and go to sleep. Losing his heart was not worth soothing his sexual ardor. Love to him had become over-rated and that was the saddest part to his pathetic existence on the planet.
It took longer than normal to get to his place because he stopped to get her something to eat.
“You know,” Priety said, “I never thought things could get worse. You know those days when you just wake up and you start having a bad day as soon as you open your eyes?”
“All too well,” Luke told her as he pulled into his drive way. “The days you wish you stayed in bed?”
She nodded, feeling a little relieved that he knew what she was talking about.
Priety let him show her the way into his house and she looked around at the size of the place. In the back of her mind she wanted to ask where he got the money to afford something so elegant on his cop’s salary but kept it to herself. He was saving her life and that was all she really needed to know at the moment. She followed him up the winding staircase as he rambled on about her taking a shower and he would try and find something that could fit her so she could change. She chuckled wondering how such a large man could find something to fit her until she thought he might be married. Her mind took her back to the ride over; she had glanced at his hands on the driver’s wheel and hadn’t seen a ring but that didn’t mean anything. He could have removed it. Sighing, Priety shook her head trying to pay attention to what he was saying and by that time he was standing in a door.
“You can sleep in here,” he said.
Priety tried to step past without touching him because his large body seemed to take up the whole area; but her arm brushed his chest and she shivered moving quickly into the room.
“Thanks,” she whispered and he nodded.
“I’ll go find you something to wear. The shower is the final door down the hall to the right.” He pointed toward the area.
When she was alone, Priety closed the door behind her and pressed her back against it. She wanted to cry again but something inside of her yelled for her to suck it up. She had been through worse—her parents’ death, fending for herself. So what if a nutcase was after her? She could handle it. She could!
If she could handle her parent’s death, she could do anything.
Taking a deep breath, she nodded trying to convince herself. Taking a shaky step further into the room, she walked over to the window and checked it. It was locked so she pulled the curtains in place. She glanced around the room before falling to the bed. The only thing she could do was to do as Luke said; try and get some rest after her shower.
When a soft knock came at the door, Priety jerked around to face it. She was twitching and her heart was trying to jump out of her chest. Her first thought was the killer had found her. Glancing around her for something to use as a weapon, she quickly discovered there was nothing. It dawned on her then, she was inside with Luke somewhere in the house. Why was she so jumpy with him around? Inhaling, she rubbed her sweaty palms against her thighs and made her way to the door. Pulling it open she found a small smile somewhere deep inside and placed it on her face when she saw him. “Hi.”
“I found these.” He handed her clothes. “They may be a little big but that’s all right.”
Priety took the clothes and held up the shirt first. It was a T-shirt with Edison Police Academy written across the back and a torch on the front. She smiled. “Thanks,” she said, holding up the jeans. He was right, it may be more than too big for her but she could do with it. She would simply transfer the belt she was wearing with her dirty clothes to the pants he had given her–simple enough. He handed over a loofa still in the plastic and a bottle of body wash.
“Sorry about the scent. I don’t have many women visitors.”
* * * *
Luke felt like an idiot. She was human, a woman, he should be able to talk to her without falling over his words or making small talk. When she opened the door and smiled at him, his insides heated up and curled and he wondered why that was happening. He had a file downstairs with her name on it and he had to get to the bottom of this murder investigation, and catch the killer before something else happened. But why was it he felt like a teenager with a crush?
“Ground rules,” he spoke deliberately. “Stay away from the windows. Stay inside and no phone calls unless I clear them. Got that?”
“I'm not a prisoner!” she fired.
“Tell that to the man trying to snuff you out.” Luke turned without an ounce of sympathy. Dealing with women was more of his brother’s thing. When it came to the softer sex, Luke was a complete idiot; not because he knew nothing about women, but because he had no patience for them most of the time. His brother, Keegan, knew what it took to calm a woman down and let her feel comfortable around him. Luke was completely oblivious to anything under the topic of ‘woman’ except for how to save their lives.
The clothes he brought her were from his academy days. He was a lanky kid to begin with and when he got to the academy, they packed the pounds on him and bulked him up. He remembered his drill master telling him – more like yelling at him-, “Boi! You need some flesh on them bones and ahm just da man to do it! Now drop and give me twenteh!”
The memory caused Luke to cringe, even after so many years. That man scared the crap out of Luke all the way up to his death. Luke attended the funeral. It was heart wrenching. Luke was the one to present the widow with the flag. It was a heart breaking thing to do; he never wanted to do again. He knew though, that one day, sadly, he would have to perform that task once more. The flag was supposed to be some consolation to the mourner that their loved one had died but his work for his country was appreciated. He was told the flag meant nothing–they would gladly give it
back to get their loved one back.
So why give it?
Damn tradition.
Stepping away from the door he turned again toward the stairs but stopped. “I’ll be downstairs when you’re finished,” he told her and proceeded down the stairs. He did a double check on the doors and windows on the ground level before sitting down in the dining room to the file. He flipped on the television and instantly greeted with news about the murders.
“The Ojo Killer has struck again. This time the victim is twenty seven year old Melinda Kensington of Edison City. Friends who remember the bubbly blond say she always had a kind word for others and always tried to help whenever she could…Police still have no suspect in mind…”
A growl left his throat. Why must the media give a name to all the jerk-offs who decided to snuff out an innocent person? His back further went up when Priety’s picture was splashed over the screen; being needed for questioning and wondered how the news got out already that there was a second murder. The idea of a leak came to him but he tried to shake it off because no one at the precinct would be that stupid.
He hoped.
Then again people have done much worse for money. That in itself was pathetic. No one wanted to get a job anymore – they all wanted easy money, a quick fix.
The telephone rang and he absentmindedly reached for it. “Yeah,” he answered and muted the television.
“Are you seeing this?” It was one of his best friends, Riyu Kotsuke. “One of yours?”
“One of mine.” Luke ran a hand over his bald head. “I think we have a leak down at the house. I don’t get how all this got out already.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. People will do anything for money. These reporters are something aren't they? They even gave this bastard a name!”
Luke nodded but remembered that Riyu couldn’t see him. “If you need a hand,” Riyu started but Luke interrupted.
“I know. You’ll be the first to know.”
“Guess a beer tonight is out.”
“Sorry, Bro, maybe next weekend.”
It was too bad because Luke could have used the beer. After hanging up, Luke dug into the file from the first crime scene. None of the evidence found pointed to Priety. The worse news was that none of the evidence pointed to a suspect period. That made him furious.
“There’s a car outside.”
He turned at her voice and swallowed the lump that formed in his throat at the sight of her. He never thought a woman would look sexy in his old clothing but she somehow managed it. Luke bit his tongue and wrapped his mind around what she just said and got up from his seat. He wanted to remind her of what he said about staying away from windows but couldn't get his mouth to co-operate with his brain.
Tearing his eyes from her he pressed an index finger to his lips motioning for her to be quiet before walking over to the light switch and flipped off the light, plunging the room into darkness. He heard her gasp but ignored it to walk over to the window that faced the front. He glanced out and sure enough there was a car there.
That was strange because for one, there shouldn’t be a car parked on that side of the road since it is a one way street. Perhaps that was why it caught her attention. Luke turned to head back to the light switch when a gentle shaking sound caught his ears. He walked over to where she was standing before the lights went off and stuck his hand out. He felt her shoulder. “Listen to me carefully,” he whispered. “Head up the stairs and lock yourself in your bedroom. Do not turn the light on.”
“Okay.” Her voice sounded tired and shaky and he felt her leave his grasp. When he heard her feet softly on the stairs, he pulled his gun from the holster on his shoulder and made his way toward the front door.
He could hear soft clicking sounds that someone was trying to pick the lock. Moving like a phantom he was about to pull the door open when a car whizzed by outside. The clicking was gone by the time the car’s engine faded and Luke took a deep breath before yanking the door open.
No one. Had he simply imagined the sound?
Checking the perimeter of the house, he went upstairs to find Priety. “We have to leave,” he said simply. “He knows you’re here.”
Chapter Six
Priety sat in the car beside the detective and bit down on her nails. She had bitten off every one of her carefully manicured nails so gave up and placed her hands in her lap. She couldn’t believe it. Not only had she messed up her life but she messed up his life too. His chief threatened to take his badge if he screwed up and she didn’t see how that could be avoided. Thanks to her inquisitive nature, she could be living out of a bag for years to come. He explained they would head out of Eddison, through Lipson and into Saudaa, a small town on the outskirts of Lipson and stay there. Saudaa was the cottage area–where rich people own vacation places. That way he could get work done on the case.
She opened her mouth to ask something when suddenly he glanced in the rear view mirror and swore. The car began moving faster through the smooth morning traffic. “What’s going on?”
“We have a tail,” he responded and ducked through several cars before pulling in front of them.
Not up on her police lingo, she arched a brow and widened her eyes. “A what?”
“We're being followed...”
Deep down she knew she shouldn’t look back but she couldn’t help it. She glanced back and the same car that had been parked out front of Luke’s house earlier was about three cars behind them. “Doesn’t this guy every give up?” she questioned rhetorically.
“Hang on.” Luke ignored her question and floored it.
Priety bit back a scream and grabbed a hold of the dash board as the car made a sharp turn off the highway and swerved around the bend on the ramp. Horns honked behind them but Luke didn’t pay the honkers any attention. He glanced in the rear-view mirror from time to time. Merging into traffic, Priety screamed. The car was heading right for a large eighteen wheeler that merged around the same time Luke did. She pressed her eyes shut, ground her teeth, trying desperately not to scream again. Tires screeched. She kept her eyes squeezed shut and waited for it all to be over. When she didn’t feel anything and the car kept going, she dared to open one eye. She didn’t see the truck and glanced behind her quickly to see it safely behind them.
“Slow down!” Priety shrieked.
“Do you want to die?”
“Okay...don't slow down!”
Luke was still speeding. Glancing behind them again she saw why. The car that had been following them was swerving from side to side trying desperately to pass the truck. If she hadn’t been so scared she would have been angry at the guy’s persistence. The car sped through the traffic with other vehicles honking at them.
“Damn.” Luke swore and she turned to look what he was swearing at. A traffic block was ahead of them forcing them to exit the highway if they wanted to get where they were going in one piece. Swerving around a bend on the ramp, she glanced back to see the car coming after them.
“This is ridiculous.” Luke frowned and after making a left turn onto a less crowded street, he slammed on the brakes while yanking the wheel violently to the left. The car spun sideways screeching to a stop.
“What are you doing?”
“Keep your head down and stay in the car,” he ordered, reaching for his gun. “If things get bad I want you to get into the driver’s side and drive!”
“But…”
“Just do it!”
Luke ducked a bullet.
Priety screamed but dove for cover.
* * * *
Luke was barely out of the car when a bullet whizzed by him. He sunk behind the car and listened to the bullet smash the window of his side of the car and Priety screaming. Rising cautiously, he lifted his gun to fire but ducked again as the assailant fired at him.
He aimed for the car and fired. He missed but fired two more and moved, being careful to keep his car between him and the killer’s gun.
He was about to duck again
when a bullet caught him in the shoulder. The force of it lifted him slightly off the ground and backward. He slammed into the ground and grunted as pain soared through his body causing him to grit his teeth. Dragging himself forward he moved to the opposite side of the car and lifted his gun but the car was already speeding away. It was too far to waste another bullet.
Leaning heavily to one side, he walked over to where the other car was and inspected the area; nothing but broken glass and annoyance caused him to want to throw his head back and howl. There were no casings which meant chances were the bullet in his shoulder would be from a revolver. The assailant had been careful—too careful to be a novice. The thought that perhaps this person knew the way cops operated and what evidence the cops would look for after a shoot-out crossed his mind. There were no shells, which meant they’d tied something around the gun to catch the shell casings or had used a revolver.
Another dead end.
Everything on his body hurt. Breathing pained him even though he took the hit in his arm. He walked back to his car and yanked the door open. Moaning he fell heavily into the driver’s seat and instantly Priety gasped.
“You were shot! We have to get you to a hospital!”
“And say what?” Luke wanted to know as he closed the door and with effort managed to start the ignition and drive off. “I’ll be fine…”
“You’re going to bleed to death….”
“If I go to the hospital they will call my chief, who will freak out and eventually it would make it to the media and back to this jerk that I’m hurt–which will give him added incentive to come after you.”
“You can’t just walk around with a bullet in your arm—”
“Let it go, Priety. Stop being overly dramatic, it’s only a flesh wound.”
See No Evil Page 6
