Lies in the Morgue

by Erosa Knowles

  “You were right,” the man sitting in the shadows in the back of the club said to the male sitting next to him.

  “Delgado went to the house. I heard the guys took care of him, messed him up pretty bad. That’s good. Heard someone beat the woman, too.” His tone hardened.

  The guy in the shadows nodded. “She only saw one face, and she’s blaming him for it all.”

  “Good. This guy goes down one way or the other, got that?”

  “Sure thing, Boss. And the woman?”

  “We leave her for now. If she’s a good girl, she’s home free.”

  “Got it.”

  “Another thing, this guy’s connections run deep, I don’t want this traced back to me. Not yet anyway.” He stood, turned and walked off.

  “Got it.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Max leaned heavily on the crutches as he entered Tamara’s house. This time he planned to have her in bed with him as he rested. The last time hadn’t ended as he planned. Vaguely, he recalled telling himself he would be a better man for her. That conversation seemed a long time ago. Quite a bit had happened since then, but she allowed him to come here to recuperate versus his small apartment, which meant she hadn’t given up on him yet.

  Silent and watchful, Brock walked behind him into the house. Last night Brock met with Skinny and Jace. Today, the men were investigating the Loils woman, but there was a lot to check. Seems Ms. Loils was divorced from a military man and had lived in quite a few places. Looking into her background would take a little more time and manpower than they'd thought. Max intended to use his connections to cut through some red tape to expedite a few things, but it would still take time.

  With outstretched arms, Tamara met him near the entry. “I’m glad to see you,” she murmured near his ear while holding him in a loose hug.

  Her unique scent filled every nook and cranny of his being. At this moment in time, he was where he needed to be, in her arms. There were so many things he needed to share with her, and yet, he found contentment standing in one place, wrapped in her embrace.

  “It’s good to be seen,” he murmured, and placed a kiss on her cheek.

  “Hi Brock,” Tamara said without releasing Max.

  “Hello Tamara. I’m going to leave him with you. If you need me, you have my number. Take care, Chief.” Brock nodded and left.

  Tamara leaned back, her gaze touched his face, and lowered in a slow perusal all the way down and then back again to his face. Her eyes were shiny when they met his.

  He cupped her cheek. “It’s okay. The worst is over, Doc was afraid I had a concussion, which kept me out of jail and in the hospital. Couple of broken ribs, some damage to my leg, and I have to stay off it if I want to keep it, so I’ll be working from here with my leg up for a while, if that’s okay with you.”

  She nodded and wiped her face. “It’s okay. I was so scared for you. Remember… it wasn’t too long ago Nick stood with me, different court and everything, but being charged with anything is scary.”

  Max kissed her forehead. “My brave woman. No one could tell you were scared, you held off the cops until Brock got here. You impressed him and Doc with your fast thinking. Smart and sexy, how’d I get so lucky?” He placed another kiss on her forehead. “I need to sit down so I can kiss you properly, I’m wobbly on these crutches.”

  She smiled and looked in the living room. “The sofa might be too soft and hard for you to get out of, try the love seat.” She pointed to the smaller sectional. He made his way to the seat and sat, it was okay. Tamara pushed a footstool toward him and then placed his leg on top. It felt a hundred times better.

  “Let me feed you first, and if you need a shower, we’ll take care of that, too. When we lay down, I’m not going to want to let you go,” she said as she walked out the room. Pleased with how things were going, he moved a bit to get comfortable.

  She returned and placed a wooden tray table near him and another on the other side. He hoped she planned to join him, they hadn’t shared a meal in a while. Eyes lifted, he sent a prayer of thanks for the gift of a good woman.

  “Thank you,” he called behind her.

  Tamara returned with two plates, utensils, and a wide smile. “I’ll be back,” she said, and left the room, only to quickly return with drinks. Max had already started eating, and accepted the glass of sweet tea.

  Together they ate in a comfortable silence. She finished first, sat back and sipped her drink.

  “Terri and Beth have been trying to reach you for money to move Carin’s stuff to their home. I think Terri plans to move into Carin’s house, so she’ll need money for that too. And Beth expects you to continue supplementing her income.”

  Max’s fork stopped halfway to his mouth. He’d forgotten they were in town. When had they gotten here? How long ago? He couldn’t recall. Then what she said registered. They’d talked to Tamara about needing money.

  “A friend of mine owns a packing company, he’ll do whatever they want done. I told them that.” As explanations went it was shaky.

  “I guess they just want to hear you say that then, or maybe they want something else, I don’t know. Terri asked me to ask you to call her. Consider yourself asked.” She stood with her plate and glass and headed toward the kitchen.

  Max watched her leave and wondered what had happened between her and Terri. He’d always had a decent relationship with Carin’s mom and sister. They were friends and would always be a part of Kevin’s life. After a few more bites, he’d almost cleaned his plate. He pulled out his phone and saw there were a lot of missed calls from Terri. No time like the present. He glanced toward the kitchen, then called Terri. She answered on the first ring.

  “Max? How are you? I heard you were in an accident, are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’ll be fine. Tamara told me you were concerned about shipping Carin’s things. Just tell the owner of the packing company where you want them shipped and he’ll take care of it. I already set that up.”

  “Oh, okay… thanks. So you and Tamara, she’s your girlfriend?”

  “Yes, she’s my lady. How’s Beth?” He liked Terri, but they weren’t close enough to discuss his private life.

  “Mom’s mom. I’m thinking about moving into Carin’s house, it’s paid for. What do you think?”

  Tamara returned with a cup of coffee for him and placed it on the table. “Thanks baby.”

  “What?” Terri asked.

  “I was talking to my lady. As far as you moving into Carin’s place, that’s on you and Beth. It’s a nice place. Even though it’s paid for, there’ll still be bills to be paid, like taxes and insurance.” Tamara took his plate and glass and returned with a slice of carrot cake. His mouth watered. He pulled her next to him and placed a kiss on her lips.

  “Max? Max?”

  He sighed and answered. “What Terri?”

  “Oh, sorry. I don’t mean to bother you, mom wanted to know if we’ll see you before we leave.”

  When had Terri started lying? Beth wouldn’t ask her to ask him that, she’d call and say she wanted to see him or something bold like that. “I’m staying with Tamara until the doctor says I can walk around again, so I doubt it. If you guys move up here, I may see you then.”

  “Okay, well I hope you get better soon. We’ll be leaving in the next day or so if you change your mind.”

  Change his mind? He looked at the phone and shook his head. “Take care of yourself and tell Beth I said hi.” He disconnected and nuzzled Tamara’s neck. “I missed you. Why didn’t you come see me in the hospital?”

  “I tried but you were under arrest.”

  That surprised him, he wouldn’t mention that they had allowed Brock to stay. “Okay, I wondered if you were mad or disappointed in me or something like that.” It hadn’t entered his mind they’d stop her from visiting.

  “Disappointed? I was arrested for murder remember that?”

  He nodded in remembrance.

  “What’s going on?” she asked wa
tching him eat the cake.

  “We pulled everyone in, well Jace and Skinny are the only two in town. Nick wants everything on Sasha Loils.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “The woman who’s pressing charges on me.” He refused to call her the victim, not until he knew more about how she set him up.

  “What does he mean everything?” She sat forward. Her fingernails tapped the cup in slow uncoordinated beats. He doubted she realized she did that when she got caught up in her thoughts.

  He explained everything Nick and Brock said about the case. The telling left him drained, his leg throbbed. He needed a pain pill.

  “Can’t you pull some vets from the club to check some of those leads? I’m sure someone lived on one of the bases and knows someone. They all want to help, no one wants the club to close.”

  “Maybe, we’ll see.” Brock canceled that idea because of the attack, and until they figured out how those bastards knew he’d be at Loils house, neither of them wanted to add more people unless they had no choice.

  “Crystal and Charlene said to call them if you need anything.”

  Max chuckled at the idea of Charlie dressed in female clothes interviewing someone on post or at work. Crystal might have a better shot, her bullshit meter stayed sharp as a bartender. He would mention it to Brock.

  “I’m grounded, can’t do much of anything except log information, but I’ll tell Brock. He may need to use them.” He yawned and then winced at the pain in his chest.

  “It’s time for you to lie down. Where’s your medication?” Tamara stood, picked up his crutches and handed them to him.

  “Thanks. The pills are in the bag Brock left at the door. If you hand it to me, I’ll take it to the back.” He stood with his crutches and started toward the hall.

  “I’ve got it, go ahead.” She held onto the duffle bag and waved him ahead.

  By the time he reached the bedroom, sweat was running down his face and dripping onto his shirt. His chest and leg were on fire, and pain radiated through his body. Tamara helped him undress and placed all the medicine bottles on the night table with a large glass of water.

  He took a few pills and waited for some relief. Tamara sat next to him and squeezed his hand. When the red haze of nauseating pain passed, he returned her squeeze.

  “Better?” she asked.

  “Yeah. It gets pretty bad. Guess I overdid things.” The doc hadn't wanted him to leave the hospital for another two days. But Max had convinced him to sign the release papers by promising to take it easy at Tamara’s.

  “Terri and Beth need financial help getting home.”

  That surprised him although it shouldn’t. “They said that?”

  “No, but they’re still here and probably counting on you to get them back home. I wouldn’t be surprised if Terri expects you to pay for her to move here, too.”

  “What? Why would you say that?” That surprised him. In the past he'd sent small amounts to help with a few emergencies, but he’d never been their bank. What had they told Tamara?

  “Because you’ve been taking care of them for a long time. Beth sees you as a son, and that’s what families do, they help each other.”

  “I never took care of them, and only helped every once in a while, that’s all. It’s always been about Kevin, she’s his grandmother, and Terri’s his aunt. The things I do, I do for him.”

  “At any rate, if you want, I’ll make sure they have money to get home. You can pay me back later. Charlene says they’re getting on her nerves so they must be hanging around the club a lot.”

  “I didn’t know that. You don’t have to give them money, I’ll write a check and you can give it to them. Could you find out how much they need, please?”

  Tamara wanted to scream he wasn’t responsible for these grown women. The reason she started this whole discussion was to hammer down the notion he shouldn’t be taking care of them. Her plan had backfired.

  “Yes, I’ll take care of it tomorrow or do you want me to check on it tonight?”

  “Tomorrow’s fine, she said they’d be leaving in the next day or so.” He yawned and she wanted to smack him.

  “I think you should accept Charlene’s help, she’s good at getting people to talk, she might find out things you couldn’t.”

  “I dunno. I said I’ll tell Brock.” He sounded out of it so she backed off. But an idea rattled in her mind.

  When Max fell asleep, she headed toward her office and logged onto her computer. “Sasha Loils…”

  Chapter Twelve

  Nick sat at his desk, where files rested on top of files. The case with Max had him baffled. In his gut he knew Max told the truth, it wasn’t in the man to lie about something like this. Which meant someone went to a lot of trouble to frame Max.

  The case with the death of Carin, Max’s ex-girlfriend, had taken an interesting twist. Several Federal agencies had been watching the young woman before she was murdered. Could that play some role in this case? Was someone retaliating for Carin? What about Elise Farrow? Could she be involved in some way? Granted, she remained in custody without bail, but she may have contacts on the outside. There were so many questions and few answers.

  His desk phone pinged. “Yes?”

  “There’s a Brock Sterling and two other gentlemen here to see you, Sir. They don’t have an appointment.”

  “Send them in.” Maybe they could make some headway through this muddle. The police weren’t looking for anyone else, weren’t searching for other clues or the men who attacked Max. The witness made their case solid. They needed to change that.

  “I hope you have something for me, because I’m stumped.” Nick sat back in his chair and met Brock’s gaze.

  “We’ve been working on motive. Why would Loils say Max assaulted her when he didn’t? She had to be blindfolded or in a position where she couldn’t see when she was assaulted. Nothing else makes sense.”

  Nick agreed. “She hasn’t said she was incapable of seeing him clearly. In fact, she described him to the police artist so well no one was surprised when she chose his picture.”

  “That means she either saw him when he was leaving, remember he was staggering around because of his leg, or someone coached her,” Brock said.

  “I think she saw him leaving and hid,” Skinny said. “I’ve watched her testimony, she sounded like she was reliving it. But she didn’t see who hit her.”

  “I need to prove that in court, preferably before court. How do we do that?” Nick asked.

  “There’s a reason she’s blaming Chief.” Jace handed Nick a file. “Records indicate her husband cheated on her for years before she finally divorced him. Maybe he beat her as well, she couldn’t get him, but she’ll get this military man.

  Nick sat up. “Do we know if she was abused by her military husband?”

  “There’s a paper trail hinting at that, I’m working on it. But my gut says Jace is on the right track,” Brock said.

  “You look more military than Max,” Nick pointed toward Brock’s buzz cut. “How did she know he was former military?”

  Jace and Skinny smiled but didn’t say anything.

  “What?” Nick pressed, wondering at their smirks.

  “Loils was a military wife for almost twenty years, it wouldn’t matter if Max’s hair touched the ground and he spoke in tongues, she’d pick up cues. We all do. SEALs always have an air about them, even if she didn’t know the branch of service, she’d know he was military. That’s just the way it is.” Brock shrugged and sat in one of the chairs in front of Nick's desk. “If she was victimized in the past by a military man, does that help our case?”

  Nick nodded slowly. “It might. But someone did hit her, there is a doctor’s report in the files from when she went to the emergency room. If our guy didn’t do it, someone did.”

  “Any chance she did it herself?” Jace asked Skinny.

  Skinny pursed his lips. “No. Didn’t look self-inflicted, but I can take another look at the pictures. To d
o that she’d have to think fast after seeing a strange man in her house, the time stamp when she was in the emergency room is near when Chief left.”

  “Good point, she would’ve been in pain and shock, not thinking to beat herself up to make him pay. What if this is some blowback on Carin and Farrow’s case? Is it possible somebody’s mad at Max over Carin’s death, could be blaming him and acting behind the scenes?” Nick asked.

  “Carin’s mom and sister are in town, got here the night before this all happened,” Jace said.

  Nick hadn’t known that. “Are they on good terms with Max?” he asked Brock.

  “I suppose. He doesn’t talk about them except in relation to Kevin’s relatives. I agree the timing for them coming to town is suspicious, but I don’t see a connection. However, after Carin, we can’t say what anyone will or won’t do. I’ll start a file on them,” Brock said, pulling out his phone.

  “Farrow’s still locked up. Do you think she’s after Max?” Nick asked.

  “With the two and a possible third Federal agency pressing charges against her, my bet is her energies are on trying to remain out of prison. She might go after her former partner for turning state witness, but I don’t see her coming after Max,” Skinny said.

  That eased Nick’s concern. “So the only possible motive we have for Loils is she may hate military men.”

  “Here’s the kicker,” Skinny said. “Chief went to the wrong house. He mixed up two numbers. Chances are he interrupted something, may even have saved her life and she’s ruining his.”

  Nick covered his mouth with his hand. “Unbelievable. Have you checked out the correct house? Is it possible you gave him the wrong address?”

  Skinny nodded. “Yeah, it’s possible. We checked a coupla houses that day, asked around, didn’t get anything.”

  “Someone could’ve followed him and called ahead. He said he was pushed into the house from behind. After beating him, they could’ve gotten her, or one of them could’ve gotten to her while the other worked him over,” Brock said.

  Nick nodded, it all sounded plausible. “Get me some facts, something to break her testimony. Be careful, she’s already been assaulted by a vet, in her eyes anyway, so don’t strong-arm her. It won’t help the case,” he warned.