by Ross Homer
As Aato began counting the money, he was planning for the right moment to make a statement that could be used on anyone else who tried to pull what Roy Bob Miller pulled. There was a dark net for a reason, and he was going to make use of it.
<<<<<>>>>>
Lena opened the door when I rang her doorbell. She said, “Lt. Albertson just left. He was rough on me. Why do you let men like him on the police force?”
I replied, “Lena, I’m not a cop. If it were up to me, he wouldn’t be there at all. Was he rude?”
“He was worse. He called Paula an obvious whore and probably got what she deserved!” She wiped tears from her eyes with a lace handkerchief. “What kind of man says that to a grieving family?”
I watched her begin to twist the damp material as she took it away from her eyes.
“I can’t answer that,” I said gently, “but rest assured that I know his commander quite well and I will report this to her. I know him and have for a long time. One day he’ll go too far, and he’ll be off the force. Mrs. Bordlund, I hate to go over this again but it’s necessary for me to do what you’ve asked of me.”
Lena nodded and led us into her neat-as-a-pin atrium-style living room. It was brightly decorated with plenty of colors and almost too sunny from all the clean glass. She had a profusion of healthy-looking plants, too. Some were already blooming.
I said, “This is Elsa St. Germaine, my secretary. She’ll observe and take notes.”
“Coffee?” Lena offered as we sat on a firm, modern-style couch.
“No, thanks,” I said. “I’ve had all I can handle today. Elsa?”
She shook her head ‘no’ and took out her LittlePad and stylus for her notes.
Lena asked, “I don’t suppose you have located her yet? Or,” she sniffled into the handkerchief again, “found her body? The lieutenant wouldn’t say.”
“No,” I replied. “But I think you should be prepared for the worst. You know I have to ask questions while everything is still somewhat fresh in your mind.”
She nodded and then got back up and walked over to a liquor cabinet. “Look, I need a strong drink to continue. Can I offer you two anything?”
I shook my head as she took out a highball glass and filled it to the top with expensive scotch.
“I don’t drink in the afternoon but today is an exception.” She sipped, wrinkled her face and sipped again. Then she returned to the matching chair she’d been on. “Fire away, I guess.”
I got right to it. With that much scotch I think she’d be pretty well hammered by the time she finished it. “Did Paula have any enemies?”
“Her ex. Before you ask, I already checked. He was in San Francisco at a conference when she disappeared.”
Elsa made a note. I knew she was settling Lena probably quite a bit.
“Then did she have any lovers? A boyfriend or, I have to ask this, a girlfriend?” I smiled at Elsa.
“Neither as far as I know. Paula was straight so, no girlfriend.”
“You know this how? Many people will hide their sexual orientation or flat stay in the closet for fear of family and friends.”
She set the glass down and sobbed, “No, goddamnit! I’m the one who likes girls. Okay? I took her with me a few times on a club crawl when our husbands were out of town. She wasn’t having any. Trust me on this because I know several absolutely wonderful women. And…let’s not tell my husband. Okay? I love him and it would kill him to know that about me. He’d leave me and take the kids, too. I know I need to tell him at some time or other but now is definitely not it.”
A very good motive for murder just reared its ugly little head. Did Paula threaten to tell Lena’s husband about her sexual orientation and Lena killed her? Was she blackmailing Lena and it got out of hand? It was a thought and Lena stopped it dead.
She said, “I can already see what you’re thinking. I did not kill my sister! I loved her in spite of the idiot she married. She was so cool about me and what I like. Okay? She got a huge kick out of going out with me those times we did, and she really liked my friends. I know I sound just like a suspect on a crime drama but it’s the God’s honest truth. She wasn’t blackmailing me with my secret. I had no reason whatsoever to kill her. God! I miss her so much. Despite her childish temper, she was my best friend, too.” Now the tears came in earnest and Elsa looked over at me, unsure what to do.
I shook my head. This woman wasn’t acting. She truly missed her sister. So, let her cry.
After a couple of minutes, Elsa and I stood to leave.
Lena wadded up her handkerchief and dropped it on the coffee table. She said softly, “I’m sorry but if she’s dead, I hope to hell you catch whoever killed her and make him pay. I have no doubt it’ll be some guy.” She gulped down the rest of the scotch. Lena may not drink in the daytime, but she definitely had experience with it.
As she reached over to take my hand, she wobbled a tiny bit and I grabbed her left hand. Zing! Something she was wearing screamed Paula at me!
“Lena,” I asked, “are you wearing something of Paula’s?”
She shook her head. “No. I could never wear any of her clothes. I’m, ahh, bustier and heavier than she was. Why?”
I stepped back and looked her over. She wore charcoal slacks and a pale-yellow blouse. Black, flat shoes. There were turquoise earrings in her ears and a thin silver necklace. Those weren’t it.
Then I saw her left hand. She wore a better wristwatch and a wedding set.
I took her hand and touched the rings. There it was again. A strong connection to Paula.
“Lena, are these Paula’s wedding rings?”
“No, of course not. She has a matching set that our grandmother gave us when each of us got married. Gramma thought we should have the same things so we wouldn’t think that the other got a better deal.”
That was it! The rings. Trying to control my excitement, I said, “Lena, I think I can find Paula, but I will need your rings for a bit…a few days at most. This is on me. Okay? Actually, forget the contract. I’m damned curious about all this and it’s on the house. Can you do that?”
“Yes! Oh God I hope she’s alive somewhere but if not…then I’ll have closure. I have a box for these. I’ll be right back.”
She disappeared down the hall and in a moment, returned and handed me a small, blue velvet covered ring box. “Here,” she said and handed the box to me.
I opened it then lightly touched the wedding band. The ‘zing’ was there. I wondered what would happen when I could hold them for more than a second or two.
It was a false hope because I was sure that Paula was dead from my earlier feelings.
Oh yes! These rings and these sisters were as close as my first two fingers were to each other. Lena didn’t kill Paula, but I felt certain she could easily kill whoever did.
I couldn’t wait to get back to the office and see if I could locate the missing woman. “We’ll leave now, and I’ll let you know what I find.”
She hugged me then Elsa and we left.
Elsa sighed hugely and said quietly, “Baby, that was as tough as I’ve ever had it controlling someone’s emotions. Man, I ain’t kidding! They were strong and all over the place. I knew long before you did that she’s innocent of anything other than liking other women and hiding it from her husband. Well, I have to say that she does have her eye on a teenaged girl two doors down but knows to keep her hands off for another year. If losing Paula wasn’t tearing her apart, waiting for that girl is. She has unusually strong back to back emotions driving her about half crazy. She’s doing a damn good job of hiding it but she’s doing it with booze. And, of course, that adds to her stress.”
I laughed as I drove away. “You’re not telepathic so how do you know about the teenager?”
I caught a momentary glare from her. I should have paid a little more attention to my own girlfriend.
“See? There she is.” Elsa pointed at a lovely young woman jogging down the street. I pegged her at seventeen
. Her tone of voice was another warning sign I missed.
“Okay. I can see she’s pretty and all. But again, how did you know?”
“Because when she came past the front window a few minutes ago, I felt it in Lena’s emotions. It’s killing her to stay away and worse, she already knows the girl is a lesbian and has been watching her, too. That’s why she runs past Lena’s house instead of some other way. On the other hand, losing Paula is almost more than she can bear.” She stopped talking and stared at the young woman. “Jo, I rarely beg for anything as you well know, but I am begging you to do what you can to find Paula’s remains. The kind of love I was feeling from Lena for Paula was damned intense and like she said, it’ll give her closure.”
This was getting to be too much over the top which was highly unusual for Elsa. I had to say something to stop it. To bring her back down a little. So, I went to the lowest common denominator. I made a sex joke.
I chuckled, “Oh, Baby, I know how to make you beg.”
That was the wrong thing to say, especially when emotions were running as high as they were. It was stupid of me.
Elsa looked across at me and screamed, “Pull the fucking car over, Jocelyn! Now, goddamnit!”
She never once screamed about anything. She got loud in bed but this…I’d said the wrong thing. Maybe all of this had gotten to me too. “Elsa, I’m sorry. I was out of line.”
“Goddamn right you were. I…stop. I need to walk this off.” She speared me with angry blue eyes. They were not soft now. “I mean it, Jo. Stop now.”
I pulled over and tried again. “Elsa, please? I’m sorry. I was definitely out of line. This whole thing has made us too something. Tense? I don’t know. I’m sorry, though. Please don’t get out.”
“Fuck you Jocelyn Parker! I may talk to you later.” She got out and slammed the hell out of the door. People turned and looked and then went on about their business.
Now it was my turn to cry and by Gaia I did! I’d known that incredible woman for over six years and loved her every single day of it. I’d seen her angry before and yes, at me, too. But never once had she done this or gotten this angry at me. Relationships come apart over some of the most mundane things. That’s one of the reasons I’m in business in the first place.
As I watched my amazing pixie storm away, I prayed again that I hadn’t lost her over a silly wisecrack.
When it was obvious she wasn’t coming back, I drove on to the office, still crying. I’m a realist and felt that she would either come back to me or she wouldn’t. If she told me to go piss up a rope it would break the hell out of my heart. Shatter it into pieces. I hoped she wouldn’t. I prayed she wouldn’t. But my little lover could also be stubborn as hell when she wanted to. Just like everybody else, I guess.
Wiping tears, I parked my car and went up to the office. No Elsa. Well, unless she took a cab, I’d have beat her there anyway.
Taking a breath, I touched her desk and then went into my office. My curiosity had come roaring back and now I wanted to see what these rings had to tell me.
Before I could even get started, my phone rang. I grabbed it expecting to see Elsa’s caller ID. It wasn’t. Of all the people in the world I could have expected to hear from, my grandmother wasn’t one of them.
I answered, “Gran? Are you alright?”
She had a sparkle in her voice when she replied, “Why the hell wouldn’t I be? You damn kids think you have everything sewn up but I’m only seventy-three and having the time of my life.”
I heard a male voice in the background. So, Granny had a boyfriend, eh? Good for her. My grandfather had left this realm years ago.
“That’s good to hear. Then what’s up?”
“Let me tell you girl, I just had the best sex. Whoa! Who knew it could be this great? But that’s not why I called or what you need to hear about.” She had a muffled conversation for a moment and then came back. “I had to send him out of the room and get dressed. We’re going out for dinner in a little while. Anyway! Sorry. That man distracts the hell out of me. Where was I? Oh, yes. Why I called.”
She was all over the place and I knew it wasn’t dementia. This woman was in love. Like she said…who knew?
“Jo, I hate to sound all Star Wars-y and shit but…there’s something in the force that’s not good. Okay? I can feel it down here in Vegas. After we eat and, umm, have a rematch or ten, I’m going to do some work about figuring it out. I don’t see it as dangerous to you, per se, yet. Don’t forget the ‘yet’ part. But I feel it can.” More muffled conversation then, “Well, dinner’s gonna be late. He’s umm, not dressed and in fact waving that damn sword at me again. Honey, take care. I’ll get back to you. Now come here you studly man…”
She was gone. Or rather, I hung up. I definitely didn’t need to hear my grandmother having sex. It was majorly cringeworthy.
I knew she wasn’t talking to me there at the end. I guess I really am naïve about some things. For instance, I had no idea that women her age could have, much less enjoy, sex and it sure sounded like she was having a wonderful time. That told me I had something to look forward to.
And then the sun rose in my office. Elsa came in and straight over to me, climbed on my lap and kissed me forever.
When we came up for air, she was apologizing for being such a bitch. She put her fingers on my lips, stopping me from talking.
“Jo, let me speak. I am so, so sorry. If there is any excuse for my actions, it was that I was so utterly caught up in Lena’s emotions. The loss of her sister, the love for an untouchable young woman. Baby, that’s never happened to me before. I’m young too, and maybe it was just too much for me at this point in my development. But you didn’t know that going in. I was in it and couldn’t get out since you were still asking questions. No! I do not blame you for my reaction. I should have kept my mouth shut until I had the chance to digest it all. I love you and when I saw you drive away, I knew I was the one being stupid.”
She put her head on my shoulder and cried. “I love you, you big beautiful witch. Do you still love me? Even like me a little?”
I stroked her hair and whispered gently, “I will love you forever and ever, my tiny pixie.” We kissed again and I wondered about locking the door as we started to get a lot more serious. Neither of us had to have make up sex and we were well on the way.
Then Nissa walked in.
She gasped and said, “Oh! Well, mayhap I should return later?”
We laughed as Elsa got off my lap. I was happy that she was wearing jeans. She did have to rearrange her bra and blouse, though. Oh lord, if she’d been wearing a skirt like me…
“No,” we said in unison. “Please come in.” We were busted just like a couple of kids caught making out by their parents.
I said. “We were just, oh, never mind. It’s pretty damned obvious that we were kissing.”
Nissa laughed at our discomfort. “Bullshit. You were doing a lot more than that but that’s alright. I’ve been caught too.”
Then I remembered that she was also a telepath when she asked softly, “Are you two alright?”
Still adjusting herself, Elsa answered, “Damn right. Never better, in fact.” She grinned at Nissa then scowled at me. “Next time, just take the damn thing off, okay? Pushing it up like this just doesn’t work that well.” She took off her blouse, adjusted herself in her bra then rehooked it. We hadn’t gotten quite that far on me.
Nissa continued laughing at us, “Jolly good because you two are my favorite oddballs in all the world.”
I had to laugh at how silly this all was. “Nissa,” I said, drying my eyes, “what brings you over? And yes, I should have locked the stupid door.”
She sat on the couch as Elsa put her blouse back on. “There is nothing happening on the Sato case. Not a damn thing. Seven dead people and we, or rather, Sorcha and I, have no clue who sent the nightwalkers. None. She had some of the team interviewing survivors and they had no answers, either. A couple of people had heard about some
cowboy trying to move in over here but nothing in the last couple of weeks or so. There’s nothing on the street, either. The upshot is that no one’s made any moves to fill in when Sato died. Those guys from the bar are zero help. Our organized crime unit is watching everything and…nothing. Hell, Seattle hasn’t been this quiet in a very long time. And I’ll be honest…those organized crime guys are scared to death that there may be some kind of nasty gang war brewing.”
I could sense her frustration. Then I remembered something. “Nissa, this is left field stuff but a little bit ago my grandmother called me. She almost never calls me. Usually she calls my mom and if there’s information to pass on, then mom calls me. Not this time. She said that there’s something going on that we need to be aware of. But then, we knew that. The question is, how in the hell did Gran know about it? Especially down in Las Vegas.”
Nissa didn’t bat an eye. “She’s your grandmother? She’s been around a lot longer and no doubt has a lot more experience.”
“True.” I chuckled. “She was getting a lot more of it when she called, too. Hussy. She had a man with her. But,” I raised my hand to stop her from interrupting, “it must be damned important to interrupt what she was doing.”
“Then we’ll pay more attention to what’s going on around us. Damn this! Oh…did you and Albertson run into each other earlier today? Something about a missing woman?”
“Sadly, yes. In fact, before we got distracted,” Elsa stuck her tongue out at me as she finished buttoning her blouse, “I was about to see if I can find Paula Smithson’s body.”
“Here?”
“No, Nissa, she’s not here.” Her eyebrows shot up. “I’m sorry…it’s been a tense day.” I smiled at my girl. “And I’ve said some stupid things already. Yes, I can use my magic in here and do. I don’t need to be home for it. Sometimes I can pick up a strong location on some article or other of the missing person. In this case, it’s matching wedding rings.”
