Killer Unleashed

by Beth Prentice

  We didn't find Lucy though. What we found was Clown Girl crying, and I don't mean quiet, lady-like tears. I mean big, loud sobs, mixed in with hiccups. We also found the police.

  Anxiety snaked its way through my stomach and into my chest. A police officer walked past us, nodded hello, and walked out the door, leaving us alone with Clown Girl. As a lump rose into my throat, I listened as Brody stepped over to her and asked what was happening.

  "Oh, I'm sorry," she said between sobs, her lipstick smudging as she blew her nose into a soggy tissue. "We're closed. I just haven't put the sign up or closed the door. Oh…I don't know what I'm supposed to do," she cried, once again burying her face into the tissue.

  "It's okay, I can do that for you," said Brody, his tone soothing and calming. Well, I felt calmer anyway. "You sit back down." He turned to me, indicating I should close the door.

  "I just need Lucy back," I heard her cry. Shutting the door and turning the sign to Closed, I walked back towards Brody, curious to see what was happening.

  "Where is Lucy?" he asked.

  "She's dead! I can't believe it, but that's what the policeman told me. He was asking all sorts of questions, like where I was last night," she cried, holding the soggy tissue to her eyes. I opened my bag and searched for a fresh one. "You don't think he thinks I had anything to do with it, do you?" she asked, looking up at Brody, a horrified expression on her face.

  "Why would they think that?" Brody asked.

  "How did she die?" I asked, passing her a clean tissue.

  "I don't really know. They told me they'd found her dead. They said she'd been murdered." The sobbing started again. Brody walked around the counter and put his arm around her shoulders, encouraging her to turn towards him. She obliged quite willingly. Not that I blamed her.

  "Take some deeps breaths," he soothed. "In and out. That's it, slow it down."

  "Why would anyone hurt her?" she asked. "She was such a lovely person."

  I didn't know Lucy well enough to answer that question, but I did know the anxiety I felt walking in here had just kicked up a notch. I looked at Brody and could tell he was thinking the same thing I was.

  The Westport morgue was getting pretty full.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Every week my brothers and I took it in turns to visit our grandpa who now resided in the Future Care Nursing Facility in the nearby town of Ackwood. My visit this month came around pretty quickly, and driving to Ackwood was never one of my favorite things to do. After Ravel's recent break down, the mechanic told me not to drive her too far. Luckily for me, I'd mentioned this when Brody was around.

  "I have to drive to Ackwood for a job tomorrow, if you want to get a lift with me?" he offered.

  Now let me think this through…hell yeah! "That would be great, thank you," I replied, trying my best to hide my smile.

  "Great. I have to leave here about seven, if that's okay? I'll drop you at your grandpa's and pick you up whenever you're done."

  "Fantastic! I'll make sure I'm ready."

  I got up bright and early the following morning, showered, straightened my hair to within an inch of its life, applied my makeup very carefully, and gave myself a good spritz of my favorite perfume. Did I want to look my best? Yes, I did. Next time Brody was snuggled up to Becky, I wanted him to think that maybe he was missing out on something.

  I dressed in my favorite white dress with the tight bodice and loose-fitting skirt, slipped on my thin, black belt and favorite black, strappy sandals. I added lots of bracelets to cover my wrist, picked up Grandpa's chocolate covered ginger he loved so much, and was sitting on the couch, tapping my foot, by six thirty.

  Theo was spending the day with Isaac, much to his delight.

  Brody knocked on my door at exactly seven. He wore navy-blue dress pants and a pale blue shirt and looked like sex walking. The fact that he was once again driving the black sports car just added to the effect.

  The trip to Ackwood was pretty slow, and as there was only one road going in and out, traffic was almost bumper-to-bumper.

  "Why is it so busy this morning?" I asked.

  "There's a music festival on in town," replied Brody, his eyes concentrating on the road. "That's why I'm going. We're responsible for getting the power to the site."

  "Wow, that's awesome. Must be good for business." I smiled, pulling my skirt down slightly. Standing up, this dress fell a few inches above my knee, but sitting it rode much higher than that.

  "Yeah, I have a good team, so my job today is more on a business level than a trade level. My meeting is with the coordinator to make sure they've covered everything and my guys are getting the job done," said Brody, his eyes straying to my thigh. I saw the corner of his mouth turn up ever so slightly.

  "What time do you think you'll be finished?"

  "Probably early afternoon. The weather forecast is for a storm, so I'm hoping to be home before it hits."

  "Okay. That gives me quite a bit of time with Grandpa, so he'll be happy. Just message me when you're finished, and I'll meet you outside."

  The last thing I needed was for Grandpa to meet Brody. I'd learned a long time ago to only introduce him to the man I intended to marry. Even then I thought I'd probably only allow the meeting after our tenth wedding anniversary.

  By the time we reached the nursing home my mood had changed dramatically. That was compliments of the beeping of Brody's phone signaling he'd received a text message. I looked at the phone in the center console and regretted it. Written in uppercase was the word Becky followed by three little Xs. Well, that would teach me not to be nosy.

  Brody's eyes had flicked to me as he picked up the phone and switched it off, throwing it back into the console. I watched as he then shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his eyes no longer straying to my skirt riding up my leg, but fixating on the road ahead. I could see the line of his mouth tighten.

  In silence, he turned the car off the road and onto the long, tree-lined drive that stopped outside the administration building of the nursing facility.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and thanked him for the lift. As he looked back at me, I saw a softness in his eyes and an emotion I thought was regret. Saying goodbye, I got out, closed the car door, and waited for him to leave, my heart a lot heavier as he did so. Only when he was out of sight did I turn away, swallowing the jealousy that caused the bitter taste in my mouth.

  * * *

  My visit with Grandpa went pretty much as normal. He cheated at cards, and I got chatted up by his friend Ernie Climpton. If only I had that much success with men my own age.

  After lunch, the weather changed and did exactly what the weatherman had predicted. By the time my visit ended and Brody had picked me up, a severe thunderstorm had whipped up. As we were heading out of town we found that the rain had caused the river to swell, and the bridge on the one and only road out of town was cut off by flooding. We sat in the queue of about forty cars and considered our options. They were limited. We had the radio on, getting updates on the weather and road conditions, and it appeared this storm was much bigger than any forecaster had anticipated. It was a massive cell, and we were sitting right in the middle of it.

  I rang Isaac to check how everything was at home. Apparently the storm wasn't quite as bad there, but he had checked that all my windows were closed and that everything was tied down. Theo was snuggled under a blanket on the couch, and Isaac had candles burning, waiting for the power to cut. It always did in a storm like this. I sighed.

  "I think we should try to find a hotel and buckle down for the night," said Brody, his voice loud over the noise of the rain pelting the car.

  I thought of my credit card bill and calculated the amount of credit I had. "Sure, it's probably better than sitting here," I commented.

  If I scrimped on groceries for the rest of the month, I could afford a hotel room for the night. I'd just have to wash my underwear in the shower and sleep naked. Brody pulled the car out of the traffic and did a U-turn, h
eading back the way we'd come.

  He pulled up to the first hotel we found. Making a run for the door, we entered the lobby and walked to the counter, only to find they were fully booked. No problem, we'd drive to the next one.

  Same thing, they were booked.

  By the time we'd pulled up outside the sixth hotel bed and breakfast, we were running out of options and soaking wet from all the times we'd left the car.

  "Hi, would you have any spare rooms?" asked Brody, smiling at the young lady behind the counter of the last hotel in town.

  "I'm sorry. We're pretty booked. Everyone's here for the music festival." She smiled, swooning slightly under Brody's gaze. "But I'll check."

  I stood back and said a silent prayer she would have something as I was now shivering with cold. When I left home this morning it was sunny and hot, so I hadn't even thought to pack a sweater. I looked down at my wet dress and could clearly see the outline of my lacy bra through the fabric, my nipples standing to attention. I crossed my arms over my chest, realizing Brody had noticed them too. Well, at least now I was warming up.

  "You're in luck," she said. "It's only a small room though. Definitely not our finest, but it's clean and does have a hot shower."

  "Perfect. We'll take it." Brody took the key from her, and we headed in silence towards our room.

  She wasn't lying when she said it was small. Compared to this, my bedroom at home was positively huge, and looking at the bed I could see it was only a double. I stood at the end of it and wondered how this was going to work.

  "It's okay. I don't snore," said Brody, reading my thoughts.

  It wasn't the snoring I was worried about.

  "Why don't you go and have a hot shower, and I'll see if I can find us something dry to wear," he suggested.

  I nodded, unable to form words.

  I was relieved that the wooden door put some distance between me, Brody, and that bed. And even though I was freezing, what I needed was a metaphorical cold shower. How the hell was I going to spend the night next to him?

  We're only friends. Yeah, tell my bloody hormones that.

  I pulled back the shower curtain and stepped under the hot water. It didn't take long for my limbs to warm up, and only when I heard Brody knock on the door, did I remember I had to share the hot water. Shit. That was not a good thought to have. Now I was thinking of Brody in the shower with me. Damn.

  "Yes?" I croaked, turning off the taps.

  "Chloe, I have a bathrobe for you," he called through the door. "If you pass your clothes out, the lady downstairs is going to dry them."

  "Okay." I stepped out of the shower and wrapped myself in the towel. It barely covered my ass. I pulled it as low as my cleavage would allow, picked up my wet clothing, ensuring my underwear was well and truly hidden in the middle of the pile, and opened the door. I passed it all to Brody as he passed the robe to me.

  "Thank you," I whispered.

  I closed the door and slipped the robe on. It was not what I'd expected. In fact, I think she'd pinched it from her grandmother. It was terry toweling, floral, and about three sizes too big for me. Well, at least it covered my ass, and it would definitely fix the sleeping arrangements. One look at me and Brody would be sleeping on the floor.

  But Brody didn't choose the floor, did he? No. He chose to lie right next to me. Well, next to the row of pillows I'd placed down the center of the bed.

  "Anybody would think you don't trust me," he chuckled.

  I looked at him, unable to speak. To bring you up to speed, the hotel had only had one spare robe. So Brody had to wrap himself in a towel. He did keep the towel wrapped around him once he got into bed, but I couldn't stop thinking that he was naked under that towel, and I was only a few feet away from him, also naked under this horrible robe.

  Actually, scratch that. This robe was awesome. Every time I had inappropriate feelings, all I had to do was look in the mirror and I felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over my head. Now all I needed was a mirror above the bed, I mumbled to myself.

  Brody looked over at me as I pulled the sheets back and crawled into bed.

  "Kinky. I like that in a woman!"

  "Did I say that out loud?" I asked.

  Brody looked at me, the laugh lines around his eyes crinkling as he did so.

  "That's not what I meant," I quickly added. "I just meant this robe is so ugly I need to look at it all night long," I explained.

  "I don't know. What I'm looking at is pretty incredible," said Brody, rolling onto his side to look closer at me.

  I looked back at him. He was so close I could see the lines in his eyes, making them appear darker than normal. I gulped.

  "Maybe I should sleep on the floor," I said, pulling the sheets back, ready to run for my life.

  Brody reached out and touched my arm, stopping me in my tracks.

  "It's okay—I can control myself," he laughed. Yeah, maybe he could.

  Brody was a gentleman. He kept to his side of the bed all night. I'd never had a worse sleep. I tossed and turned all night, and when I did doze off it was Becky's perfect, naked body that filled my nightmares.

  Movement stirred me awake, and I opened my eyes to see I was only inches away from Brody's nipples, my leg draped over his, and my arm across his chest. I groaned. Thankfully, the sheet still separated us, and I hadn't completely mauled him.

  "Good morning," he whispered.

  Goose bumps broke out all over me. I looked upwards and into his eyes. I could see the humor dance around the edges. I groaned again.

  "It's been a long time since I've heard a woman groan that much in my bed." My cheeks flamed so much it's a wonder I didn't set the sheets on fire.

  "Ha!" laughed Brody, his arms coming around me and pulling me in tight. Gratefully, he only squeezed me then rolled away. His towel had somehow moved to the floor during the night so he picked it and expertly wrapped it around himself without showing me even an inch more skin than necessary. Not that I was looking. Okay, of course I was bloody looking. For some stupid reason, my brain liked to torture me!

  I watched his glorious, muscled back walk away from me and into the bathroom. Only when the door closed, did I bury my head in my pillow and scream.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  It was Brody's idea to go to Lucy's funeral. He thought it would be useful to crowd watch, and maybe Betty would be there. I didn't know how close Betty and Lucy were, so I figured there was a small chance he could be right. I would've really liked the chance to have a chat with her, as I was still unsure as to why she had tried to steal Theo. She hadn't seemed all that upset about not owning him that day in my kitchen, so why the sudden change of heart?

  What I wasn't sure about was whether a funeral was the right place to confront her, but as she wasn't answering my phone calls, maybe I could arrange a coffee date with her.

  I had read in the local newspaper that Lucy's body had been found in her garbage bin after one of her neighbors had complained about a bad smell coming from Lucy's backyard. We still hadn't heard the exact cause of death, but the rumors suggested she had been given an overdose. To me that meant it was somebody she'd known who'd killed her.

  Anyway, as I stood looking through my wardrobe for something to wear, I heard the doorbell ring. I knew it was Isaac by the way Theo wagged his tail. I walked to the window and called down.

  "Let yourself in, Isaac. I'm just trying to find something to wear."

  Hearing the key in the lock, I resumed what I was doing. My choices were limited. The only black thing I owned was a really cute little cocktail dress, but that felt too dressy, so I settled on my navy pants, a pretty sleeveless top in deep red, and my patent, black strappy sandals with the three-inch heels. I added a bit of bling around my neck and lots of spangled bracelets in an attempt to cover my tattoo.

  Walking down the stairs, I found Isaac in the kitchen snuggling Theo. Isaac actually looked pretty cool. He'd chosen his dark-blue dress pants, matching long-sleeved, cotton shi
rt, and purple tie. I didn't see him dressed this formally very often, so it was a nice sight.

  But Isaac was nothing compared to Brody. Hearing him knock on my door, my breath whooshed out when I caught sight of him. He wore dark-grey pants, a crisp, white shirt, and a matching, grey vest. Wow…and I thought he looked good in jeans and a T-shirt. My throat constricted with emotion. Yes, that emotion was lust, but it was still an emotion, right? And maybe there was another emotion in there I wasn't ready to admit to.

  "Are you ready?" he asked, his smile brightening my day.

  I wasn't looking forward to this. I didn't know Lucy, but I always got really emotional at funerals. I just hoped I didn't embarrass myself too much.

  "Yes. I'll just lock the doors. Isaac, are you coming?" I yelled.

  "Give me a second to get you a box of tissues." I looked at Brody and felt the heat creep up my neck.

  "I don't need tissues!" I replied with a smile.

  "Are you kidding me?" scoffed Isaac, walking up behind me. "Don't you remember my Aunt May's funeral? You were crying harder than anybody there."

  "Pfft…as if, Isaac. Anyway, I hardly even knew Lucy."

  "You didn't know Aunt May either," stated Isaac, picking up my jumbo box of tissues.

  I turned to Brody, rolling my eyes at Isaac, only to find him smiling at me.

  * * *

  We only have one cemetery in town, and it's quite old and very large. It has a large, stone wall surrounding it and big, iron gates protecting the entrance. It was eerie because even though a major road ran past it, it was extremely quiet inside. We locked the car, ensuring we cracked enough windows for Theo to get plenty of air. Luckily, the day was cooler than usual. I still didn't like the idea of leaving him home alone, so I decided to set up a nice, comfy bed on the back seat of my car for him. Too bad he didn't use it. He thought under the driver's seat was a much better place to hide.