Harlequin Intrigue April 2021--Box Set 2 of 2

by Carol Ericson

  “Sorry to disturb your dining, Spot.” She chuckled. “Dining spot, get it?”

  She shoved through the gate, careful not to allow it to clang behind her. The neighbors didn’t like that, either. She held open the lid on the dumpster with one hand and swung her trash bag in, letting it fall with a soft squish.

  As she turned, something on the ground caught her eye. A piece of trash must’ve found its way out of the bag. She crouched down and nearly toppled over as the queen of hearts stared back at her from a playing card.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Jake’s throat felt scratchy from his time in the inferno last night. He’d gargled with mouthwash this morning, which could’ve been a mistake. He popped his fifth throat lozenge of the day into his mouth and cruised into a conference room being set up for the task force.

  Brandon Nguyen, their tech guy, glanced up and tapped on the desk next to him. “This is yours, Detective. Phone and network lines are in, and your computer’s already been moved over.”

  “Thanks, Brandon. Did you account for a few visitors? The body last night was found in LA County Sheriff territory, not our division. Their homicide guys are gonna want to weigh in.”

  “Captain Castillo already informed me, and we’re getting it covered.”

  “Damn, you’re on top of things.” Jake crossed the room and hoisted his bag on top of his assigned desk. “Any news on that phone call last night?”

  “Our team’s on it. We expect something shortly.”

  Jake pivoted. “Are you telling me that call didn’t go right back to a prepaid cell phone?”

  “Doesn’t look like it, but we’ll know for sure within the hour, I’m thinking.” Brandon pointed to the desk next to Jake’s. “We’re putting Detective Crouch’s desk next to yours. Is that okay?”

  “He has to sit somewhere.” Jake winked and pulled up a chair. He flipped open the file from the body last night. No easy ID had been forthcoming. Preliminary info gave them a woman between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, Caucasian, five foot four inches, approximately 135 pounds, tattoo of a butterfly on her back, no fingerprints on file. He’d assign someone the task of going through missing persons reports to look for a match, if that person could wrestle them away from Billy. Ever since Billy’s youngest sister had gone missing, he’d taken a personal interest in the reports.

  Other officers had done a search of Kelsey’s car and the area around it for her diamond nose stud, and had come up empty so far. Another search of her body’s resting place hadn’t yielded anything, either.

  Had the copycat gotten greedy and taken two souvenirs? It was unusual, though not unheard-of. Better for them, more to tie him to the crimes once they nailed him.

  Billy sauntered into the room and perched on the corner of Jake’s desk. “How can you work with all this racket going on?”

  Jake reached over and tapped the desk next to his. “This is for you, Cool Breeze. I had Brandon over there set you up right next to me so I can keep an eye on you.”

  “Seems to me you’re the one who needs watching. We were interrupted last night, but I was going to tell you that Kyra Chase is too young to have worked with Quinn on a case. That’s not how she knows him, so if that’s what she told you—” he lifted his shoulders and his tailored shirt barely creased “—she lied. Thought you had your fill of lying women.”

  “Yeah, I misunderstood. That’s not what she told me. She knew Quinn’s wife, the mystery writer, Charlotte Quinn.” Jake rubbed his chin, not sure why he’d jumped to Kyra’s defense. Maybe it was a mystery he wanted to figure out for himself.

  “That makes more sense.” Billy rose from the desk and peeled off his suit jacket. “If you continue to hang out with Kyra, see if you can get me an introduction to Megan Wright. Just saw her on the morning news on KTOP and she’s fine.”

  “You’re married, Billy.” Jake dusted the spot on his desk where his partner had been sitting.

  “Technically, but we’re separated again. Simone deserves more in a husband, and the kids need more than a part-time dad.” Billy’s megawatt smile dimmed as he hung his jacket on the back of his chair.

  Jake opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. He was in no position to give marital advice. Maybe Billy was right. Simone deserved better than a stressed-out cop using bad behavior to curb his anxiety. Tess sure had.

  Brandon bolted from the room, calling over his shoulder. “They got it.”

  “What’s he talking about?” Billy raised his eyebrows.

  “The phone call. They traced the phone call.” Jake was out of his chair by the time Brandon rushed back into the room, waving a piece of paper.

  “I have it, Detective. We got the phone, and it’s not a burner.”

  Jake snapped his fingers. “Let me have it.”

  Brandon handed the paper to him, and Jake scanned to the pertinent information—the registered owner’s name. “Rachel Blackburn?”

  Billy leaned over his shoulder. “Could be a wife or a girlfriend.”

  “This guy hasn’t left one fingerprint or one sliver of DNA. Do you really believe he’s going to use his wife’s cell phone to call in a tip about a body?” Jake pinged the piece of paper with his fingertip.

  “Of course not. Hoping for anything on the guy.” Billy let out a long breath, and the edge of the paper fluttered. “He got that phone somehow, didn’t he?”

  “He sure did, Cool Breeze, and we’re gonna find out how.” Jake held out his fist for a bump from Brandon. “Hey, thanks to your team, Brandon. We give you something to do and you deliver every time.”

  The kid puffed out his chest a little. “Anything we can do to help. That’s why we’re here.”

  Billy asked, “I suppose you tried calling the number again after last night?”

  “Same thing as before.” Brandon shook his head. “The phone’s dead, doesn’t even go to voice mail.”

  Jake rolled up the paper and tapped Billy on the chest. “We’re going to track down this Rachel Blackburn and find out the location of her phone—if she knows.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Jake had talked to Rachel’s mother and gotten Rachel’s place of work. Mrs. Blackburn had informed Jake that her daughter lost her phone yesterday. If she wondered why an LAPD detective was interested in her daughter’s lost cell phone, she didn’t ask.

  Billy grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. “Where does Rachel work?”

  “Clothing shop on Melrose.” Jake draped his own jacket over his arm and logged out of his computer.

  “Right up my alley.” Billy laced his fingers and cracked his knuckles.

  “A women’s clothing store.”

  “It’s still on Melrose. Let’s go, partner.”

  As they reached the door, Jake dug into his pocket and tossed the car keys to Billy. “Start the car and get the AC going. I have to ask Brandon something.”

  He watched Billy cruise down the hallway and turned back into the room. “Brandon, did Captain Castillo ask you to set up a workstation for Kyra Chase? She’s our victims’ rights advocate.”

  “Yeah, he did.” Brandon leveled his finger at a desk in the corner. “That’s for Ms. Chase.”

  “Has she been here yet? You know who she is, right?”

  “Yeah, I know Kyra. She hasn’t been around today, but I’ll let her know which desk is hers when she shows up.” Brandon’s brow furrowed. “Do you want her somewhere else? I could move her station to the other side of the room.”

  “That’s all right. Leave it.” Jake stalked from the room. His distrust of therapists had even reached the tech department. He’d gotten a handle on his anger after the incident with Lizbeth Kruger when she’d used him and information about a case to get a lighter sentence for a killer, but if something similar happened with Kyra he didn’t know if he could trust all his deep breathing exercises to get him
through his rage.

  As he stepped into the parking lot, Billy cruised forward in the sedan. Jake got in, tossing his jacket in the back seat.

  Billy dialed up the AC and pulled away from the station. “Is Rachel expecting us?”

  “Her mom said she’d call the shop and let her know. I guess Mrs. Blackburn thinks the LAPD tracks down all lost cell phones because she didn’t seem all that curious.”

  “Really?” Billy slid him a look from the corner of his eye. “The way you come across sometimes, people are afraid to ask questions.”

  Jake lifted one corner of his mouth into a smile. “That’s why I bring you along. You’re the good cop, and I’m the very, very bad cop.”

  They battled the traffic into West Hollywood and nabbed a parking space at a meter a block away from Rachel’s store.

  They walked to the shop, conspicuous in their suits while dodging hipsters with hats and facial piercings. Jake let out a breath when he ducked into the cool, dark shop.

  The musky scent tinged with roses and lilacs enveloped him, and he gave himself over to its soothing qualities. Aromatherapy always made more sense to him than talking therapy.

  A young woman behind the counter glanced up at their entrance, her heavily lined eyes widening. She held up one finger to them and continued talking to her purple-haired customer at the counter.

  “Hey, look at this.” Billy elbowed him. “They do nipple piercing here.”

  “Knock yourself out, brother.” Jake leaned past Billy to read the sign. “They also do nose piercing. Maybe we found a connection to this shop.”

  The young woman with the purple hair left the store, and Rachel came from behind the counter, her black Doc Martens clumping on the wood floor. “Are you the detectives my mom called about?”

  “Yes, I’m Detective McAllister and this is Detective Crouch. You’re Rachel Blackburn?” Jake stuck out his hand, and she grabbed it, the tattoos on her arm marching from her wrist to her shoulder in a colorful sleeve.

  “Yes, sir.” She gave his hand a firm, professional squeeze and turned to Billy. “Nice to meet you, although I’m not sure why my missing cell phone is cause for the LAPD to pay me a visit.”

  At least she had more curiosity than her mother. “Is there someplace we can talk privately?”

  “Sure.” She cupped her hand around her red-lipsticked mouth. “Gustavo, can you come out front for a bit?”

  A beaded curtain in the back of the store clacked and stirred, and a young man with a shock of platinum hair growing out of the top of his head like the feathers of some exotic bird emerged. “What do you need, chica?”

  “I need to talk to these two detectives in private. Can you handle the customers while I’m busy?”

  “I sure can.” Gustavo strutted across the floor. “She didn’t do it, officers. I can vouch for her.”

  Rachel rolled her eyes. “Don’t mind him. You can follow me.”

  She sailed through the beaded curtain and held it open for them. Flinging her arm to the side, she said, “This is where we do our piercings, but everything’s sterile.”

  “We’re not from the health department.” Billy sat on the chair that looked like it belonged in a dentist’s office, and Rachel sat on the chair next to his. Jake remained standing.

  “I take it you haven’t found your cell phone yet?”

  “I haven’t. It’s dead because it doesn’t even roll to my voice mail, and when I texted it from my friend’s phone, the message wasn’t delivered.” She hunched forward, brushing wispy black bangs from her eyes. “Why are you interested in my phone?”

  “Whoever stole it or found it used your phone to make a call.” Jake loosened his tie. “And we’re very interested in the person who made that call.”

  Rachel nodded. “I get it.”

  Jake had no doubt she did. Despite her punk rock appearance, Rachel struck him as conscientious. “So, if you have any idea where you lost the phone, your last usage, if anyone seemed interested in your phone—that’s going to help us find that person.”

  Billy crossed his ankle over his knee. “We’re also getting your phone records, so knowing your last text or call before the phone went missing might help you pinpoint that time.”

  “I can tell you, it was somewhere on Melrose.” She gripped the arms of the chair. “I worked yesterday, almost all day. I got coffee, I got lunch, I stopped in another clothing store where my friend works.”

  “All on Melrose.” Jake had dipped into his pocket for his notebook. He liked taking notes the old-fashioned way, and a lot of people didn’t want to be recorded.

  “Yes, I can tell you which stores I entered. I must’ve lost it at one of those places because I had it when I came into work, and I noticed it missing when I left work around three o’clock in the afternoon. I never use my phone at work, so I suppose someone could’ve stolen it from my bag here.” She circled her finger in the air. “As you probably already know, there are a lot of cameras in this area.”

  Jake and Billy exchanged a look. Rachel was practically doing their job for them.

  “Can you tell us the names of the stores and the times?” Jake’s pen hovered over his notepad.

  “Uncommon Grounds at ten o’clock when I got in.” She raised her eyes to the ceiling. “Eat A Pita at around noon for lunch, and another stop at Uncommon Grounds for a frap to get through the rest of my workday, and a quick stop at Jenny’s, where my friend works.”

  “Did you use your phone to make any purchases?”

  “No, just my debit card.”

  Jake tapped his pen against his notebook. “That’s really helpful, Rachel. We can scan the CCTV footage near those places, around those times, and see if we can spot anyone in your vicinity.”

  “Glad I could help. My mom’s upset with me because she thinks I was careless with my phone, which my parents pay for, but I’ve never lost my phone before. I think someone definitely stole it, turned it off so it couldn’t be tracked from the time he stole it, and then turned it back on to make the...call. Can you tell me what the call was about?”

  “No, I’m sorry. We can’t.” Billy fished in his pocket and handed her his card as he struggled out of the piercing chair. “Give us a call if you find the phone, or if anything else out of the ordinary happens.”

  “Out of the ordinary?” The corner of her eye twitched. “Is this person dangerous?”

  “I don’t think you’re in any danger, Rachel.” Jake added his card to Billy’s. “One more thing. You do nose piercings here?”

  “We do.”

  “Do you keep records?”

  “My boss wouldn’t have it any other way.” She pushed to her feet and pulled back her shoulders. “What do you need?”

  Jake shoved his notebook into his pocket. “If we gave you a time period and a name, could your records tell us if that person got her nose pierced here?”

  “I’m sure we could.” She dove through the curtain, sending the beads into a frenzy. “Gustavo, I need to look up piercings from...” She twisted her head over her shoulder.

  Jake responded. “About two weeks ago, a nose piercing.”

  “Check the credit card receipts, chica. It’s all there.” Gustavo folded his hands with his black-painted fingernails on the counter. “Has she been giving you the third degree?”

  “I’m afraid it was the other way around.” Jake cocked his head. “What do you mean? Rachel’s been really helpful.”

  Gustavo lifted his narrow shoulders and spread his hands. “Rachel wants to be a cop.”

  “You do?” Jake studied Rachel behind the counter, rummaging through a drawer.

  A color the same hue as her lipstick rushed into her cheeks. “Maybe eventually. I have one more semester at Santa Monica College where I’ve been studying criminal justice before I get my AA degree. I’d like to get my BA under m
y belt before I think about being a cop.”

  “What about Dispatch?” Jake rubbed his chin. Dispatch could always use calm, professional, smart people. “I think you’d do great there.”

  “Really?” Her voice squeaked. “That would be like taking calls?”

  “Yeah.” He tapped his card, which she’d put on the glass counter. “Give me a call if you’re interested. Seriously, I could get you an interview.”

  Rachel’s dark eyes sparkled as she returned to her task.

  Jake asked, “What if she paid cash?”

  “The receipt wouldn’t be there for cash. We could print those from the register, but they wouldn’t tell you anything.” Gustavo flicked his fingers in the air. “Nobody pays cash anymore.”

  Rachel pulled out a stack of receipts between her long fingernails and waved them back and forth. “Okay, two weeks ago. We’re looking at the end of August into September for credit card purchases.”

  “Do those receipts cover those dates?” Jake held out his hand.

  Rachel’s fingers curled around the receipts, crumpling them at the edges, before she slapped them into his palm. “Yep. Nose is nose piercing and NP is nipple piercing to distinguish them.”

  Billy hovered over Jake’s shoulder. “Do you get a lot of requests for those nipple piercings?”

  “Why? You interested?” Rachel’s red lips spread into a wide smile.

  Jake smacked Billy on the back. “Yeah, you go in the back with Gustavo while I go through these receipts.”

  “I’m not asking for me.” Billy snatched half the receipts from Jake’s hand. “I’ll look at these.”

  Jake plucked out all the receipts for nose piercings, checked the dates and looked at the signatures as the receipt didn’t have the cardholder’s name printed on it.

  His pulse jumped as he squinted at a large K and a loopy L at the bottom of one of the receipts for a nose piercing.

  “Billy, I think I got it. I think she came here to get her nose pierced.”