Killer Unleashed

by Beth Prentice

  * * *

  Our big night out wasn't quite as exciting as we'd hoped. For starters, the restaurant Isaac had chosen was quite small and a bit tacky, and I estimated the average age of the clientele to be around seventy. Not that there was anything wrong with seventy-year-olds, especially as I was quite popular with the men, but I was hoping for a night that would not only cheer me up, but give me a confidence boost too. I would be much more flattered if the men chatting me up didn't have cataracts.

  Neither Isaac nor I was in a partying mood, though I was already on my third Midori for the night. Now I don't normally drink very much, but tonight I needed to forget. My mistake was bringing Isaac with me. If I'd wanted a night of frivolity and laughter, I should have left him at home.

  "Oh, I have some gossip for you," said Isaac, his eyes lighting up for the first time tonight. "Dorothy White told me, Harold Nelson from down the street told her, Mr. Wilks was murdered." My stomach flipped at his words.

  "Murdered? Are they sure he didn't die of old age?" I asked. "I mean, Mr. Wilks was a grumpy old man, but who would want to kill him?"

  "Well, as you know, Harold's son is a policeman, and he said they suspected poisoning."

  "Really?"

  "His body is being autopsied, so I guess they'll know soon enough."

  I shivered thinking that a murderer had been on our street. "I think it was probably one of the cakes he had on sale. I checked the 'use by date' on them once, and they'd expired about a year before," I said thoughtfully.

  Isaac nodded in agreement. "Anyway, the police are investigating because, apparently, Mr. Wilks called them with some story about a murder that happened forty-something years ago. He believed he knew who the killer was."

  "Crap. Did he say who it was? Should we be worried?" I asked, my thoughts immediately jumping to the newspaper article I'd found.

  "I don't know. Give me some time and I'll find out though. But what do we have to be worried about? We didn't have anything to do with it."

  "Yes, but if there's a killer amongst us, don't you want to know who it is?"

  "Hmm…I've been thinking about that. Everything changed when Brody moved to the street. Do you think he's hiding something?"

  "Like what?"

  "I don't know, but it's a little suspicious, don't you think?"

  "No, not really. You said yourself Mr. Wilks had info on something that happened before any of us were born."

  "And now Mr. Wilks is dead."

  "I just don't think Brody had anything to do with it."

  "I hope not. He's too hot to go to jail."

  I watched as Isaac pondered Brody in jail. The only part of that scenario that interested me was the image of him in handcuffs. Of course, I wanted those handcuffs to be for a totally different reason.

  I fanned myself with my napkin and thought I should probably stop reading my latest book. All that reading about sex was causing interference with my usually stable hormones. I picked up my drink and drained my glass, hoping to extinguish my internal fire.

  "We're supposed to be having fun, remember?" said Isaac, taking his drink and downing it.

  "They seem to be having a good time," I said, pointing in the direction of a group of elderly men.

  "They're old and carefree."

  I stared at Isaac. "Isn't the saying young and carefree?" I asked, signaling the bartender for another drink.

  "Yes, the saying is young and carefree, but look at them. Do they look young to you?"

  I sighed. He was right.

  "What happened to us, Chloe?"

  "I don't know about you, but Jack had a bigger impact on me than I like people to believe. He really knocked my confidence."

  "What about Brody? You seem to really like him."

  I sighed again. "I'm not sure what's happening between him and Becky. According to her, they're an item. If they are, I should stay away from him."

  "Why don't you ask him what's happening with Becky?"

  "Because I'm chickenshit. I'm too afraid of his answer and telling him how I really feel."

  Isaac thought about this for a moment. "What is it about him that makes you feel different?"

  I picked up my fresh drink and allowed its sweetness to sit on my tongue, thoughts of Brody swimming around my mind. "I don't know. He's the first thing I think of in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. If I'm honest, I think about him most of the minutes in between."

  "Then why not give in and let yourself love him?"

  Tears welled in my eyes. I squeezed my eyelids tight, hoping I could force them back in. "I don't know." I opened my eyes and looked down into my glass, swirling the drink around as I did so. "Why would he like me? I mean, really like me? It's not like I'm a normal person, is it?" I whispered, feeling extremely sorry for myself. "I have a cup next to my bed that belongs to Theo so that if he wakes up thirsty during the night, he doesn't have to go downstairs. That's the sort of person I am. Weird. I sleep with a dog for Christ sakes!" Maybe the alcohol was having more of an effect than I thought.

  "Hush, sweetheart. You're not weird. Some of your behavior may be weird, but we can work on that."

  "Becky gets to sleep with gorgeous, sexy Brody, and I get Theo!" Actually that wasn't as bad as it sounded. Theo would never hurt me, and he was always warm and comforting. "I've thought about not being Brody's friend, but that caused a pain in my chest, so I've decided to work really hard on putting my feelings aside and be grateful for what I have." I looked at Isaac and gave him a weak smile. "What about you and Adam?" I asked, turning the heat around.

  He sighed and I watched his shoulders droop. "I don't know either. I really love him, but we can't agree on me working. He doesn't want me to take the job, and I just can't accept his answer as to why."

  "Maybe he's worried about losing you." I looked at Isaac and saw tears swimming in his eyes. I don't think he'd thought of it that way.

  "You're a very special person, Chloe McDermott," said Isaac, reaching out and taking my hand. I felt his fingers squeeze mine as he looked at me with a vulnerability I'd never seen before. "If Brody is smart, he'll see that too." My heart skipped a beat, but before I got to reply one of the elderly gentlemen bumped into our table, knocking our drinks over. He turned to us and apologized and then invited us to join them.

  Why not? Maybe they could teach us a thing or two about being carefree.

  * * *

  My head pounded as I tried to open my eyes. I knew it was late. The sun streamed through my open blinds, causing pain to shoot from my retina to my thumping brain. I sat up slowly and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, my wrist catching the sheet as I did so. I felt a sting and looked down to see the deep-red outline of my brand new tattoo.

  BF. Brody Foster. A clanging started in my ears, and the world swayed. What the hell had I done?

  I ran to the bathroom and put my wrist under the tap. Turning the water on, I lathered my wrist with as much soap as I could. I felt the pain as I rubbed my hardest, trying to erase the black, scrolled writing that sat about an inch tall. The pain told me it wasn't going to wash off.

  I stood for a moment looking at the toilet, trying to decide if I was going to throw up or not. Weak knees won out though, so I closed the lid, put my head between my legs, and tried to control the panic attack that had started to take over. Once I had the panic attack under control, I knew the coffee pot was the thing I needed most—well, that and aspirin.

  My head throbbed with every step, and my eyes stung as I squinted against the brightness. I looked at my wrist again. If the feeling of dread in my stomach hadn't been making me to want to vomit, I might have admired it.

  Even after I'd consumed as much coffee as my upset stomach would hold and swallowed several aspirin, my head still hurt. I shuffled back upstairs and stopped to look at my reflection in the mirror above my bathroom sink, trying to remember the events of last night. After several minutes of blankness, I knew a shower was the next thing I needed. I just
didn't have the stomach to look at my hair any longer.

  I drained the hot water system, wrapped myself in the most luxurious towel I owned, and looked for something to wear. I knew laundry was also something I had to do today when the only clean underwear I could find was a G-string Isaac had given me for my birthday last year. Now I wasn't really a G-string kind of girl, but today they had to do, and I felt much more human after I'd dressed in low-slung shorts and a tank top.

  I shuffled back downstairs. It was actually a beautiful day, and after I poured myself another coffee, I thought some fresh air might be good for my hangover. I needed to get Theo too, but even though I missed the little guy, I needed to get my hangover under control before I could face Brody. Well, that and I had to figure out a way to cover my wrist.

  I moved outside and looked at my sun lounger. It looked like the perfect place to have a lie down and allow my head to find some peace. I didn't care if my neighbor decided to watch me over the fence. If he could handle looking at my limp, wet hair and dark circles under my eyes, then good luck to him. He could knock himself out.

  I placed my coffee cup on the grass and lowered myself onto the lounge. It didn't take a genius to figure out I should have brought my sunglasses. The sun burned through my eyelids and sent a searing pain to my brain. Rolling onto my stomach, I buried my face in my arms, carefully avoiding my sore wrist, and closed my eyes.

  As the sun burned down on my back, warming me through, I drifted into much needed sleep.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  I didn't know how long I slept, but when I woke the sun had moved toward the horizon and sweat ran down my back. The house phone was ringing loudly, and my headache had eased to a dull thud. Walking inside the house, it felt cool and welcoming.

  "Hello," I said into the phone.

  "Hi, Chloe," said Brody, his voice deep and sexy through the phone.

  "Oh hi, Brody, you're probably wondering when I'm coming to get Theo." I looked at the clock on the wall and grimaced when I saw it was already three thirty.

  Brody chuckled. "I think it's more like Theo's wondering when you're coming to pick him up. He's been staring out the front window since seven this morning." My heart did a little trippy thing. I hoped it was because Theo had missed me, but I think it had more to do with Brody's sexy-as-hell chuckle. I looked back down at my wrist.

  "I'll be over in a few minutes," I said, hanging up the phone and panicking. What the hell had possessed me to get a tattoo? And why the hell hadn't Isaac stopped me?

  As I raced towards the medicine box, I made a mental note to slap Isaac silly for being such a bad friend. I mean, isn't it in the Friend's Handbook that when one friend gets drunk and wants a tattoo, it's the responsibility of the other friend to stop them from actually doing it?

  As I rummaged, the only thing I could find big enough to cover it was a gauze bandage. To be honest, the tattoo looked alarmingly red, so I smothered it in antiseptic cream and wound the bandage around my wrist until it was completely covered. Yes, it did look a bit excessive, but beggars can't be choosers, can they? I made another mental note to Google how to look after a tattoo. I was sure there should be some sort of first aid involved, but I couldn't even remember getting the tattoo, let alone if I'd received any care instructions.

  I walked across the road and realized Brody wasn't lying about Theo. There he was, standing nose to the glass in Brody's front window. I heard his whimpers as I stood waiting for Brody to answer the door.

  I froze as Brody opened it, and Theo ran out to me. My hungover brain couldn't cope with the sight that greeted me. There stood Brody wearing nothing, but a pair of jeans hanging low on his hips. No shirt, only glowing, hairless skin covering more muscles than I had ever seen this close. This friendship thing was going to be a hell of a lot harder than I thought!

  Fortunately, Theo's scratching on my leg brought my senses back, but as I bent down to pick him up, my eyes couldn't help but stray to Brody's beautifully defined stomach. Omg!

  "How was your night?" asked Brody, his voice betraying a bad mood.

  My brain did actually hear the question, but it was having a hard time forming an answer. My eyes kept straying back to his stomach. I also got my first real view of his tattoo. It was a set of angel wings with the name Grace and some dates. I probably should try to remember to ask him about it later.

  "What happened to your wrist?" he asked.

  "Oh! Umm…I umm…just scraped it." I smiled, shaking my head in an attempt to activate my brain. No need to worry though. The flush creeping up my neck and into my cheeks seemed to be doing the job quite nicely.

  "That's a big bandage for a scrape," he frowned. Great, now he probably thought I was a hypochondriac. "You're not depressed are you?"

  "Depressed? No. Why would you ask that?" I noted Brody staring at the bandage.

  "Well, it looks pretty serious, that's all. I just don't want you harming yourself." The concern in Brody's eyes was quite touching…until I realized what he was referring to.

  "I am not suicidal, if that's what you're thinking," I huffed. Geez, hypochondria was better than that.

  "Sorry," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know what I'm thinking," he whispered. He looked a little tired around the eyes and was a few hours past a five o'clock shadow. The vulnerability was mixed with another emotion I couldn't quite figure out—irritation maybe? No, probably closer to fatigue.

  "I'm sorry I'm so late picking Theo up. I hope he wasn't any problem."

  "No. He was no problem." Brody reached out and gently touched Theo's ears. For a few moments silence filled the air.

  "He smells like you," he whispered, breaking the silence. I looked up at Brody.

  "Wow, it's good to know I smell like a dog."

  "No," He smiled. "He smells of your perfume." His grin told me his bad mood was dissolving.

  "Oh. Sorry, I hope it didn't bother you," I said, sniffing Theo's head.

  "It kept me awake most of the night," he replied quietly, looking right into my eyes and into my soul. My heart stopped, and my breath came out in short, sharp spurts. Oh boy!

  I cleared my throat, hoping that when I spoke my voice would sound a lot steadier than I felt.

  "Well…then…umm, I think I should take Theo umm…home," I stuttered. Damn. Not quite as steady as I hoped for. Brody's grin got bigger.

  "I'm going to go back to the animal rescue tomorrow afternoon to see if I can talk to Lucy and ask why she was in my house. Would you like to come with me?" he asked, his grin firmly in place.

  "Sure, why not?"

  I hoped by then the image of Brody's tanned, toned torso would be erased from my retinas.

  * * *

  Monday morning came around all too quickly for my liking. My hangover had cleared, but my mood was not improved by the weather. It was hot and humid. Monday's were always busy when you were a parcel courier. Even though you stopped for the weekend, the trucks moving the parcels between cities didn't, which meant my van was overflowing. By the time the clock struck three, I was exhausted. I gladly picked up my last parcel and scanner, locked the van, and moved along the footpath.

  I lifted my scanner to the barcode on the parcel and was just scanning it as I stepped off the footpath and onto the pedestrian crossing. My concentration was on what I was doing and not really on my surroundings. When I heard the roar of a motor I turned just in time to see a little, silver car speeding towards me.

  Time stood still as I realized the car wasn't stopping and my feet were glued to the road, unable to move. Paralyzed, I watched as the car got closer and its noise got louder. Hearing the shouts and screams around me, I forced my feet to move. I felt the impact as the car grazed my hip, knocked me to the ground, and roared away.

  Shit that hurt! But how the hell did the car not see me? My high visibility shirt was visible from space! Hobbling to the side of the road, I assured my helpers I was fine, only embarrassed.

  "I really need to pay more attention to
where I'm going," I said. "It's obviously not a great idea to step out in front of a moving vehicle."

  "But you didn't," replied one lady, dressed in a business suit. "I saw you. That car was stopped on the side on the road until you stepped out onto the crossing." I looked at her with disbelief.

  "But…what?" I asked, incredulously.

  "It probably wasn't personal," said another lady, smoothing my hair down for me as she spoke. "I bet they weren't looking where they were going."

  "Oh, they were looking," said Business Suit. "They looked very intent on what they were doing. I tried to yell at you to get out of the way, but you didn't hear me."

  "Why? Why…why would they do that?" I was having a hard time wrapping my head around what happened. "What did the driver look like?"

  "Well, I think it was a woman because of the hat. It was quite big, and she was wearing sunglasses. Maybe she was elderly," said Business Suit.

  "We should call the police," replied the nice lady, now smoothing my shirt back into place. "Did anybody get the license plate number?"

  I looked around the gathered group and noticed that nobody spoke up. "I'm sure it was just an accident. No one would want to purposely run me over," I said, shaking my head.

  "Well, I'd be more careful if I was you, and I'd definitely be reassessing whom I'd pissed off." Business Suit turned on her heels and left.

  "I'll give you my phone number, in case you decide to report it," said the nice lady, handing me a business card that read Happy Homes Cleaning.

  "Thank you for helping me," I said, pushing the card into my pocket.

  "That's okay, my dear," said my new personal assistant. "I'd be extra vigilant when stepping off the curb from now on." She then handed me my parcel and scanner and wished me luck.

  Apparently I needed it.

  * * *

  Later that afternoon, I remembered I still had to go to the animal shelter with Brody. To be honest, I was rattled over my near miss with death—or, at least, broken bones—and I really wasn't looking forward to confronting Lucy. I didn't think she would tell us anything anyway, and I was afraid she'd be angry at me for what happened the first time I met her tied up at Brody's house. I mean, it's not like I came to her rescue or anything. Brody wanted answers, and he thought she might be connected to the strange things happening on our street lately. In my opinion, that was just another reason to stay away from her. But I sucked up my fear, hid behind Brody, and followed him into the shelter.