Deceitful Moon

by Rick Murcer

  He wanted and needed to see the look on Manny’s face when he realized the body wasn’t his wife’s—which he’d do as soon as it was safe to tap into the camera feed coming from the Detective’s living room. They might find it before he got that opportunity, but he doubted it very much. And there was always the note to spice things up. The dead deputy had been useful, she’d even been pretty good in the sack, but all good things must come to an end . . . for her, at least.

  He rolled the window down and welcomed the warm, late-summer air that carried a hint of fall. It was good to be in control, to have the world, especially the law enforcement realm, dancing on a string. Several strings actually.

  What had they expected? Had they really thought that putting me away could be that easy, that I had been that sloppy? I’ve always been ahead of them. It was like taking candy from a first-grader.

  A sparkling, red convertible BMW Z4 pulled up alongside the Corvette and slowed to match his pace. The fortyish blonde smiled, raising her cup of coffee, toasting his choice in vehicles. He smiled and tipped his imaginary hat. She laughed, did the universal sign for call me, and then sped off, most likely expecting a chase.

  On another day, the pleasure would be his, not so much hers. But he had places to be and a few details to wrap up before he returned to Lansing to finish what he’d started.

  If only I had more time . . .

  Williams’s wife was only the first step on a stairway that went for forever. He knew the game, this chase, couldn’t last an eternity, but each moment, each hour he caused them to fear, to worry, hell, to hate, was like dope to a junkie. He’d relish every ounce of emotion he created. And no one could do it like the Good Doctor. No one.

  The time would come to end this and to move on to the next game. The question was, would anyone be ready for him—and when? He grinned.

  Not in this lifetime.

  Looking at the clock on the dash, he realized he was ahead of schedule. Maybe he did have time to play.

  “Lucky you, my fair maiden,” he sang, pressing the pedal to the floor. “Lucky you, indeed.”

  Chapter-65

  “What? Not Louise? I don’t get it. Who is it?” said Josh, mouth hanging open.

  Manny flipped open the note. “I’ll read this in a minute. The body belongs to a county deputy, who was also a former patient in Argyle’s practice. She was the one guarding the emergency door. He shot her in the head with her own weapon.”

  Manny sighed. “Since Argyle was employed by the State to work in the prisons, sometimes he would have law enforcement folks assigned to him who had traumatic situations come up in the line of duty. Apparently, this one was more than grateful for his counseling.”

  Chloe looked at Josh. “That confirms what we were just talking about. We felt like he had help.”

  Manny raised his hand. “I still don’t know where Louise is, but if the note is telling the truth, she’s not . . . well, she’s alive.”

  “Read it,” said Josh.

  “Okay.”

  DETECTIVE WILLIAMS,

  YOUR ATTEMPTS TO PLAY OUR GAME ARE PATHETIC. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN YOUR LOVELY WIFE, BUT I’VE DECIDED TO EXTEND THAT INDEFINABLE PLEASURE FOR ANOTHER TIME. NOT TO MENTION YOUR DAUGHTER AND YOUR PARTNER, AND OF COURSE, THE PRETTY AGENT FRANSON. WHEN I’VE FINISHED PLAYING WITH THE WOMEN, YOU’LL BE NEXT.

  P.S. CAN YOU GUESS WHERE LOUISE IS HIDING? I’D START IN LOW PLACES.

  “Just let the asshole try it,” said Sophie, “I’ll put his nuts in his nose with just one kick.”

  “Stay focused,” said Manny. “What do you think ‘low places’ means?”

  “Do you have a basement?” asked Josh.

  “Yeah. But she’s not there and not in the garage either.”

  The group grew silent, but the angst didn’t. Big Sampson came out and sat at Manny’s feet.

  The morning was warming, another hot one, and Manny felt the sweat breaking out on his lip like a sudden attack of hives. Hell, maybe it was hives. Stress did strange things to the body. Bad things.

  He searched the faces of his five friends hoping to see a spark that would help him figure out what Argyle had done with Louise. Nothing. The black Lab nudged him and started to whine. Manny put his hand on the dog’s head.

  If Louise were okay, if she’d been spared like he said (and psychopaths rarely lie; they are too narcissistic for something so trivial), they had to find her now. Just because she was alive at this moment didn’t mean that Argyle hadn’t added a twist to his game. She could still be in danger. Sampson grabbed Manny’s hand gently in his mouth and began to tug. He pulled his hand loose and started to scold Sampson, then the truth whispered in his ear.

  Start in low places.

  “Oh, man. He didn’t.”

  Manny turned, Sampson at his heels, and sprinted into the house, rushing to the spare bedroom across from his and Louise’s room. The black Lab rushed after Manny, never missing stride, barking excitedly.

  By then, the others had reached the room, but not in time to help him rip the large area rug from the floor. Sampson began scratching at the surface. Manny pushed him away and started feeling along the hardwood.

  “What are you doing?” asked Sophie.

  Manny spoke as he continued to feel along the floor. “When we bought this place, there was a part of the house, this room, that had a crawlspace because the basement didn’t come over this far. A design flaw. So they built this trapdoor with a little catch-spring latch that would—a”

  A small section of the hardwood floor popped up about an inch above the rest. Sampson barked even louder, as Manny flipped up the door.

  Louise lay in the dirty trench underneath the wood. She blinked up at Manny, then the others. She was bound and gagged, a purple bruise raised on her cheek, tears streaming from her eyes.

  But she was alive.

  Chapter-66

  Manny quietly closed the door to his bedroom and moved to the dining room where Sophie, Alex, and the three FBI special agents waited. The five friends had been patient. Good thing, because he wasn’t sure he ever wanted to let Louise out of his sight again. He held her until she fell asleep. The sedative from the EMT had helped, but he liked to think she felt safe because he was there for her, at least this time. Maybe it was just the opposite. Maybe she was stronger than he was. Maybe she wanted to make sure he was okay, and then she could sleep. That seemed right.

  It was hard to fight off the guilt-ridden feelings he thought he had mastered, even controlled. Not this time. They’d touched the right button and opened the door.

  He had always been able to justify his workaholic propensities as something he owed the people he’d sworn to protect. To explain away the fifteen-hour workdays, missing some of Jen’s school events, not all, but enough to send mixed messages to his family.

  He spent hours on end talking about family and how important it was, but then hid behind the Guardian of the Universe syndrome.

  What a hypocrite.

  He’d been blind to what Stella was going through, and to a great extent what was going on with Gavin. Now, one was dead, and the other could go any minute.

  Way to watch over your loved ones, asshole.

  Seeing Louise in that pit had done things to him in a split second that being a cop for seventeen years never had. He wasn’t going to go through that again. Ever.

  Sophie stepped close and grabbed his hand in both of hers. “How’s she doing, partner?”

  The emotion caused his throat to tighten, and he had to wait a few seconds to answer. “A hell of a lot better than me,” he croaked. “Especially after finding out that Stella’s dead, on top of this other junk.” Manny ran his hand through his hair. “She’s got a bruised cheek and her wrist hurts, but it could have been worse. If he’d had more time . . .”

  Sophie released his hand and then sat down in the oak kitchen chair.

  He’d never felt this tired in his life. It was more than the lack of sleep. It was this screwed-up c
op life. What good was he really doing? Shoveling shit against the tide was the pure definition of insanity. And he was nothing if not a dedicated shoveler.

  Josh sat down beside him, slapping a cup of vanilla cappuccino on the table. “I’ve seen that look a few times, and I don’t blame you for what you’re feeling. I’ve been there.”

  “Next, you’re going to tell me it’s going to pass, and I’ll be ready to hit it again in an hour or tomorrow or whenever, right?”

  “I won’t have to. You’ll do it yourself. It’s who you are.”

  “Did you see her in that freaking damned crawlspace?” Manny snapped.

  Josh was silent, but his gaze was steady.

  Manny looked away, staring at his hands, turning them over. “Maybe it’s time I redefine who I am.”

  “Maybe, but what happens when things settle down and you don’t like the new you?”

  “It has to be better than the old me.”

  Alex sat down on his other side, grabbing Manny’s coffee. “Will the new you be drinking this sissy coffee? If not, I could use some more caffeine because I’ve got a damned job to do.”

  Manny felt the blood burn through his veins as he stood. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “What? You need someone to explain it to you?”

  “I think you should slap the piss out him for that remark,” Sophie said.

  Alex ignored her. “No one ever said this would be an easy gig. There are only two people on earth that love your wife more than you and your daughter—that’s Sophie and me. If you don’t know that by now, then you’re thicker than I thought.”

  “Wait, you can’t talk to my partner like that,” Sophie, pointed a finger at Alex. “If you aren’t going to slap him, let me do it.” She took a step in Alex’s direction.

  Manny put his hand out and held his partner at arm’s length.

  Alex stared at the coffee. “It killed us to see her like that. I’ll never forget it either. I don’t have to tell you what Argyle’s doing, do I? You know how these guys work better than anyone I’ve ever met. He’s hoping he’s messed you up so much that he can do whatever he wants, that he’s already won. I think it’s part of the reason Louise is still alive. He wants you totally on the run. But if we don’t get up off the floor and stop this son of a bitch, who’s going to?”

  The silence in the room took on a life of its own. Manny scanned the faces of his friends and saw the same expression on each one of them. The look that said it’s your call. But this life had never been his call. God had made him this way, and everyone knows God doesn’t make mistakes. It didn’t mean he had to like it. And right now, he didn’t. In fact, the only thing he liked less was Argyle. He hated even the idea of Argyle’s type. Manny had never wanted to see someone pay more than the doctor. Hell was too good for Argyle. Maybe Alex was right: if not them, then who?

  Letting out the tense breath he’d been hoarding, he released his grip on Sophie’s shoulder. “Okay. Go ahead. You can slap him now.”

  Josh snickered. “That’s more like it.”

  “You’re right, Alex,” he said, turning to his good friend, “but when this is over, I’ve got some things to think about.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “Maybe you just need a vacation,” said Max.

  “Yeah, remember the last one we took?” said Manny.

  “Okay, no cruise vacations,” said Josh.

  “So what do we have?” asked Manny, running his hand through his hair.

  Chloe cleared her throat and flipped open her notepad.

  It dawned on him that she was feeling things a little deeper than the others, but he knew she’d get over it; they both would. They had to.

  “Argyle is probably gone. There was a Corvette hijacked and the owner beaten unconscious two streets over. Apparently, Argyle got him just as he was going to work. We have an APB out, but that was over two hours ago, so no telling where he is now,” said Chloe.

  “Not to mention he probably didn’t keep it all that long,” added Josh.

  “Good taste in cars though,” said Sophie. “So, Josh, do you own a sports car?”

  “Minivan.”

  “A sexy one, right?”

  “Anyway, he’s done this disappearing thing before. It looks like he wanted to get back to Michigan, throw it in our face, and then keep us guessing at what’s next,” continued Chloe.

  “Any more on the deputy he killed?” asked Manny.

  “Not really. Divorced. Kind of a loner. Definitely a former patient and probably a lover. She was in contact with him from time-to-time. According to her cell phone records, she got a couple of calls from that reporter’s phone, the one that Argyle skewered,” said Josh.

  Chloe gave Josh a sour look. “Skewered?” she asked.

  “Well, that’s pretty accurate,” said Max.

  “Then there was this.” Chloe held up a tiny surveillance camera with wires dangling like disjointed legs.

  “Where’d you find that?” asked Manny.

  “Just inside the rubber tree near your TV. It was pointed directly at the door leading to the living room.”

  Manny shook his head. “He wanted to watch my face when I found out the body wasn’t Louise?”

  “That’s what I think,” said Chloe.

  “I’m going to bury him.”

  “And we’d like to help,” said Josh.

  “Changing the subject,” said Sophie. “How’d he know about the crawlspace? Not a feature in every home.”

  Manny nodded. “Back when this subdivision went up, maybe twenty years ago, the builder built a ton of houses in different areas of town. The first couple hundred had this design flaw so they put in the trapdoors for free. It wouldn’t take much effort to find out if ours was one of them. Then he used it to his advantage. At least that’s how I think he knew.”

  “Makes sense,” said Josh.

  “Now what?” asked Manny.

  “We’ve got hundreds of officers and locals looking for him statewide. I think we’ve got a shot at nailing him.” Josh shifted his feet. “Did I just say that?”

  “Glad you woke up. The chances of finding him without his allowing it are thin, at best,” said Manny. “But at least he knows the heat is on.”

  The front door burst open and Jennifer Williams sprinted directly to her dad, latching on like she would never let go, sobbing the way teens do. “Is . . . mom doing . . . all right?” she asked in between heaves.

  Closing his eyes, he held her close. “Hey baby, Mom’s okay. She’s tough.”

  “Tha-that’s what the two officers said. Are you all right?”

  His heart broke that his daughter would think of Louise and him instead of how she was feeling. It made him think they’d done something right in raising her.

  “I’m fine. But the question is, how are you doing with all of this?”

  She let go of her death grip and wiped her eyes. “I wasn’t tied up by some lunatic, and I don’t make a living chasing psychos, so I’m good. Just scared a little, I guess. Can I go see her?”

  “She’s sleeping and Sampson is lying in front of the bed, but I can’t think of anything your mom would like better than for you to climb in there with her.”

  Giving him another hug, she left for the bedroom.

  Head down, he let his heart slow to a normal rhythm and captured his AWOL poise.

  “Definitely tougher than her old man,” said Josh.

  “A hell of lot cuter too,” said Alex.

  Manny grinned. “Right on both accounts.”

  One of the blues, Officer Wang, who had canvassed the neighborhood, poked his head into the room. “Sorry to bother you all, but they found a hit-and-run victim over on Washington. Real mess according to the first on the scene. Looks like she’d been backed over a few times.”

  “What’s that got to do with us, Wang?” said Sophie.

  “There was an APB out on her.”

  “Shit,” said Alex. “Let me guess, Evelyn Krol
l, right?”

  “Yes sir. They’re wondering what you want them to do.”

  “Call the lab and have them send out one of the FBI’s CSU crews, and let me know when the body is at the morgue.”

  “Oh yeah, almost forgot why we’re here,” breathed Chloe. “Almost.”

  The frustration of losing their best lead and top suspect in the Justice Club murders was palatable. They still had a serial killer running around Lansing, one who had turned on and killed her own club members, and Argyle was now free, like a fox in the hen house. Could things get any better?

  Finally, Manny spoke. “It’ll take them a few hours to get the site processed and Evelyn’s body transported, and it’ll take Buzzy some time to finish the phone tracing. I don’t see much sense in processing our house; we know all we need to about what happened here.”

  Manny unfastened his holster and put it on the table. “I’m going to go spend some time with my family and get some sleep. After that, if it’s okay with everyone, I’ll see you all in the office at four this afternoon. You should all get some rest too. We’re going to need it.”

  Chapter-67

  Manny and the others spent the next two days trying to decipher all of the forensic information gathered by Alex’s crew and the FBI’s loaner staff. All the while, they hoped the phone would ring to say that Argyle was back behind bars, or better yet, being measured for a casket.

  The mutilation slayings had stopped, but that didn’t mean the Justice Club was out of commission. Someone had flattened Evelyn Kroll, literally, and Manny knew it wasn’t a random incident. The cell phone records that Buzzy had subpoenaed tied Stella, Kathy, and Evelyn together. They each had purchased a pay-as-you-go, registering them with dummy e-mails and AKAs. The fact that they had all called each other from time to time solidified the assumption that they had all killed at least one victim, based on times and locations of the calls pinged at individual towers. But they had been unable to unwind the identity of the fourth number. The user had been very bright and only called from locations that were heavily used. The times of the calls helped some. However, there was nothing that linked the fourth number to any of the murders, with the exception of Stella’s last victim. The phone had been nearby that location at about the same time as the murder was committed. Manny suspected that the mysterious fourth member of the club had been following Stella and took her out in the conference room. The big question was why?