Killer Spring

by Kay Bigelow

  “I guess so,” Lionel said.

  Amara and Jardain shook their heads.

  “Stacy, please bring two coffees.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Are you dating my daughter?” Lionel asked, almost as if he needed to fill the silence.

  Leah ignored the question. After Stacy brought them coffee and returned to her desk, Leah said, “I have an update on the investigation into the murder of Sarah.”

  “What is it?” Lionel asked.

  “Mr. Bensington, this will be difficult so I want you to hear all of what I have to say before you interrupt me again.”

  He nodded.

  Leah led them through the various stages of their investigation. She didn’t tell him everything they’d found about their daughter and sister.

  “We found an eyewitness who saw a man leaving your daughter’s apartment on the night she was murdered. We identified the man and yesterday we finally found him. We understand from the police he will be arrested shortly not for the murder of your daughter but for the murder of a businessman.”

  Leah stopped there. She let the information sink in.

  “Are you saying that the man who killed Sarah is being arrested for murder, but not for the murder of my daughter?” Amara said.

  “Yes.”

  “I want him arrested for the murder of my daughter,” Lionel said.

  “I have no control over how the police conduct their business.”

  “I demand you go to the police and give them the evidence that led you to this man.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

  “Why the phuc not?” Lionel demanded. He was getting angry.

  “Because, Mr. Bensington, I’d be putting many people’s lives at risk by doing so. I won’t do that.”

  “You have to.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Then I’ll go to the Chief and tell him what you’ve just told us.”

  “He won’t care, Lionel. He’ll have the man who gunned down a businessman in cold blood on a street in his city. The killer will be charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances. The Chief will know he’s got evidence of the murder. He’ll take the bird in hand instead of the bird in the bush. Justice will be done here, Lionel.”

  “But not for my daughter.”

  “Yes, for your daughter. The man who killed her will be convicted of murder, and will face a death sentence. If that’s not imposed, he’ll spend the rest of his life locked up in a cage.”

  “Well, I’m not paying you another credit. You didn’t accomplish what you said you would.”

  “Of course, I did. I agreed to find the killer of your daughter and I did.”

  “I don’t care. I won’t pay you.”

  “Yes, you will, Lionel,” Amara said. “Give her your credits card and pay the woman what you agreed to pay her. Now.”

  He did as he was told and tossed the card on the table in front of her, forcing her to reach for it. Leah wanted nothing more than to punch the man in the face.

  Leah called Stacy into her office. “Stacy, take this to Cots and tell him to run the card per the terms of our contract with Mr. Bensington, and bring it back to me.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  When Stacy returned, Leah took the card from her and tossed it back across the table to Bensington hard enough for him to have to grab for it before it slid onto the floor.

  “I won’t have you dating my daughter, Samuels.”

  Jardain snorted out a laugh.

  “Mr. Bensington, who I date is none of your business.”

  “She’s my daughter.”

  “Over whom you haven’t had control in nearly thirty years,” Amara said.

  The women in the room watched him sputter.

  “Our business is done here. Come with me, Lionel,” Amara said, and the tone of her voice said she’d brook no defiance.

  As they stood, Leah finally glanced at Jardain, who was looking at her.

  Amara shook her hand and said, “Thank you for finding Sarah’s killer, Leah.”

  After Amara elbowed him in the side, Lionel added, “Yeah, thanks.”

  After her parents left, Jardain said, “You were magnificent. I’ve never seen Lionel bested by any woman other than my mother.”

  “If you want to be with them this evening, I’ll understand,” Leah said.

  “There is no one in the world I’d rather be with than you.”

  “Would you like to have Rusty cook for us?”

  “I’d love that. See you at seven?”

  “Yes.”

  After Jardain left, Leah sat at her desk. The meeting with Bensington had gone much better than Leah had thought it would. Thank the Spirit Amara had been with him. She wanted so badly to let this case go. Just thinking about Daichi made her skin crawl. It wasn’t often she felt so negatively disconcerted by another human being, but Daichi was definitely one of them.

  There was a knock on her door and Cots entered, followed by Peony.

  “So are we still solvent?” Peony asked.

  “More than solvent. I can pay off the van and get started on the cyber center,” Cots said.

  “No, you can’t. You know the rules. You can’t arbitrarily spend that kind of money without a vote of the partners,” Peony said.

  Before Peony could get any more heated, Leah said, “He’s goading you, Peony. He knows he needs the approval of the two of us.”

  “Oh. Right.”

  “I trust you had the credits moved to the BOI accounts?” Leah asked.

  “Immediately after the transfer to our dummy account went through,” Cots said. He had been insistent that they have the two checking accounts. Any monies deposited into the dummy account could be traced depending on how it was paid into the account. Once it was there, however, the payee couldn’t trace it further because of the security Cots had installed. Leah had thought he was being paranoid, but now she understood why he’d done it. She would not have put it past Lionel to cancel the payment the minute he left their office.

  “Good.”

  “Did you get the evidence transferred to McGregor?” Leah asked.

  “She’s got the whole file,” Cots said.

  “There will probably be a press conference later today about Daichi’s arrest,” Peony said.

  “I am glad to put this case behind us,” Leah said.

  “You and me both,” Cots said.

  “You two and me, too,” Peony said with a grin. “Are we an awesome team or what?”

  “One more thing. Cots, is Rodrigo still holed up in your apartment?”

  “Yeah. I figured we’d need him if we had Daichi arrested for Sarah’s murder.”

  “I think it’s time to send him back to Lionel.”

  “I’ll take care of it today.”

  “Can we have a celebratory lunch or dinner?” Peony asked.

  “Not dinner. I have a date,” Leah said.

  “Jardain?” Cots asked.

  “Who else?” Leah smiled.

  “Good. I’m very pleased,” Cots said.

  “How about dinner tomorrow night? I’ll treat us to a dinner at Wildwood,” Leah said.

  “I’ve heard of that restaurant. I’m in,” Peony said.

  “Me, too,” Cots said.

  After they left her office, Leah called Wildwood and made their reservations.

  Leah prepared to leave the office even though it was only ten in the morning. She’d put everything else on hold in order to solve this murder so she had nothing to do but stare out her window and think about Jardain and the case she was determined to let go. She’d pick up her duties at the office on Monday. But today, she needed to be away from all of it.

  As she was driving out of the parking lot, she told Seraph to take her to Stanley Market. Stanley was a seaside town and was famous for its giant daily open-air market. Leah was more interested in the sea than the market on this day. While Seraph was driving, Leah changed into the more casual cloth
es she kept in a bag behind the driver’s seat, yet another advantage to having a self-driving car. By the time they reached Stanley, Leah was dressed casually and blended in with the other market-goers. She bypassed the market and headed for the beach. She found a deserted place in the dunes and sat down. She cleared her mind of everything and meditated for an hour. When she was finished, she felt centered and knew she’d made the right decision about turning Daichi over to the cops.

  She was less sure about Jardain. It seemed to her Jardain was the proverbial leopard who had painted over her spots with the pretty words she knew Leah wanted to hear. It was only a matter of time before the leopard’s spots would reappear. Jardain had gone from being a player to wanting a monogamous relationship seemingly overnight. While Leah didn’t always believe in miracles, she wanted to believe in the miracle that was Jardain not wanting to be a player anymore and wanted to be in a long-term monogamous relationship. Can I trust that overnight transformation? Why not give Jardain a chance and learn to trust her as I’m asking her to trust me? Because while I’m giving her a chance, I’ll be falling deeper in love with her and if she cheats on me, I’ll be more devastated by her than she would be devastated by doing the cheating. That, she knew, was the crux of the matter.

  As Leah headed back to her car, she couldn’t resist the siren call of the Stanley Market. She spent two hours moving from stall to stall. She picked up a few things, mostly clothes she’d wear when—if—she was on Wild with Jardain.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Jardain arrived at Leah’s condo promptly at seven. Leah had just finished showering and putting on a pair of tan slacks and a chocolate-brown silk T-shirt she’d picked up at the Stanley Market.

  As she moved down the hallway to the front door, she heard Rusty’s voice say, “Good evening, Jardain.”

  “Good evening, Rusty. What’s for dinner?”

  “I’ve prepared Mexican this evening. I hope you enjoy Mexican food.”

  “I love Mexican and look forward to savoring yours.”

  Jardain watched Leah come into the foyer.

  “It’s good to see you again,” Jardain said, sounding hesitant and unsure of herself. “You look stunning.”

  Leah crossed to Jardain and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m glad you came. I wondered if you would,” Leah said.

  “That was some bomb you dropped on my parents.”

  “Would you have preferred that I not tell them at all? At least this way, they have some closure.”

  “I don’t want to discuss anything about the matter you handled for my father. With Amara’s help, he’ll come to understand the way you handled it was best for all concerned.”

  “Excuse me, would you like a glass of wine while I put the finishing touches on dinner?” Rusty asked.

  “Yes,” Leah and Jardain said together, and both smiled.

  Leah led the way to the couch in the living room. Rusty was back with their wine almost immediately.

  “So what is your surprise?” Leah asked.

  “Can’t stand the suspense?”

  “Just curious.”

  “Before I tell you what my surprise is I have something else I wanted to tell you. It’s a tying up loose ends kind of thing. The book that I’ve co-authored with Hermione Juaarez is now in the hands of the publisher. It should be published next summer.”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  “I want you to know there’s nothing between Juaarez and me. We really were just writing the book together.”

  “I appreciate your telling me. Thanks. Now tell me about your surprise,” Leah said. She was surprised Jardain felt the need to tell her about the book and Juaarez, but thought it was kind of cute that she felt the need to clear the air about Juaarez even though she’d almost—but not quite—forgotten about the woman.

  “I want to take you to the pleasure planet called Wild. It’s a women’s-only planet. There are four resorts open to the public and two private areas. I want us to go for two weeks next month. We can walk on the beach, swim in the ocean, dance until dawn, and sleep late. There are tons of activities to choose from,” Jardain said, sounding more unsure of herself than Leah had ever heard before.

  “Sounds divine,” Leah said without asking Jardain if making love was on her list of things to do while on Wild.

  “Will you come with me then? I’ve spoken to the owner and reserved one of the private areas for us.”

  “I admit it sounds fun.”

  “So you’ll come with me?”

  “Of course.”

  “Dinner is served,” Rusty said, and left the room.

  When they stood, Jardain took Leah in her arms and held her tight. “Thank you for agreeing to go with me.”

  “I’m already getting excited about spending time with you,” Leah said.

  After a most delicious meal, they returned to the living room. Jardain told Leah more about Wild and its amenities.

  Jardain asked, “Is June twentieth still a good date for you to leave for Wild? Or is there a better date for you?”

  “No. Cots and Peony can take care of the firm while I’m gone.”

  “We’re all set then,” she said with a grin. “I need to get going. I’m guessing you didn’t sleep too well last night.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “I want nothing more than to climb into bed with you and hold you while you fall asleep.”

  “Sounds wonderful.”

  “But I’ve promised myself to get my shit together so you will love me for the rest of our lives.”

  Leah opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m not expecting a response. Good night. I’ll speak with you tomorrow.”

  Leah saw Jardain to the door.

  “Thanks for dinner. Please tell Rusty it was more than delicious.”

  “I will,” Leah said.

  Jardain walked out the door.

  Who is that woman? And what the hell just happened? Could she get out of the house any faster? It would have been so wonderful to fall asleep in her arms. Why didn’t I ask her to stay? Because she didn’t give me the chance to ask. That’s not fair, you could have asked her, but you didn’t. Well, phuc.

  Even though it was early, Leah was tired. It had been a tough couple of weeks between the ongoing drama with Jardain and the stress of finding Daichi, watching him kill a man in cold blood, then the decision to turn Daichi over to McGregor, to say nothing of knowing the meeting with Lionel might be acrimonious. She was more than tired, she was exhausted. She needed a vacation and Jardain had handed her one on a silver platter. She only had to wait another six weeks before she’d be walking on a beach on Wild.

  Cots called Leah at home late one evening a few days later. “Did I wake you?”

  “No. I’m in bed reading.”

  “Anyone with you?”

  “Just me and the book.”

  “Phuc, you lead such an exciting life.” Cots rarely teased, but it was clear when he did.

  “I’m guessing you didn’t call me to make fun of my personal life.”

  “Ah, no. I was just informed that Daichi Lei’s trial was expedited, leading him and his lawyer to enter a guilty plea which means there will be no trial. There’s no chance that our role in his arrest will even be hinted at. It will be all over the media tomorrow morning.”

  “Why would Daichi do that?”

  “Drude, Leah, the state has a tape of him killing that man. Talk about having the smoking gun.”

  “I guess.”

  “So what happens now?”

  “The judge accepted his guilty plea and said he’d sentence Daichi tomorrow. The speculation is that he’ll be sentenced to life without parole and serve out his life on Styx, that high-security prison planet for only the worse of the galaxy’s criminal elements. No one has ever escaped.”

  “I’m glad that’s over, then.”

  Cots had been right. The next day the judge sentenced Da
ichi Lei to life imprisonment on Styx. The judge ordered Daichi to be transported immediately. Leah, Cots, and Peony watched the proceedings on the vidnews at the office.

  As the heavily shackled Daichi came out of the courthouse wearing a bulletproof coverall, a single shot rang out and Daichi was killed with a bullet to the head much like the kill shot he’d used on the gun runner.

  “Thank God,” Peony whispered, saying what Leah felt. Cots nodded his agreement with the sentiment.

  “I wonder who hired the assassin?” Cots said.

  While Leah had been wondering the same thing, she didn’t want to open that can of worms, even with Cots. Leah was surprised at how relieved she was she wouldn’t be spending the rest of her life looking over her shoulder for friends of Daichi Lei. She wasn’t sure why she thought Daichi’s friends could find her, but the feeling was strong that they would have found out about her somehow.

  Leah knew she needed to cleanse the detritus from the Bensington case from her mind. She intended to do that in the weeks before she joined Jardain on Wild.

  Several days later, Leah and Jardain were sitting on the balcony enjoying the sun setting over the harbor and drinking their after-dinner coffees.

  “I need to talk about the sex elephant in the room,” Jardain said softly.

  “The sex elephant?”

  “You know, the subject we both want to talk about but which I’ve been avoiding like the plague. I appreciate your patience with me. Obviously, this subject is very difficult for me. I suspect every time we make love in the future, you’ll be wondering if I’ll stop you again. I don’t want that to happen. I’ve talked with my therapist about the reason why I stopped you, and I’ve been thinking long and hard about the whys.

  “As you know, much of my reputation revolves around being with a woman and leaving her before the sun rises the next morning. A lot of the time, I didn’t even know their names—or cared who they were. To let them fuck me and have me come was giving them too much power.

  “I didn’t want to, but I felt like I had to stop you. Not coming was becoming harder and harder as you made love to me, so I stopped you so I wouldn’t. I think it has something to do with giving you the power to make me vulnerable.”

  “What would have happened if you had come?” Leah asked.