Both men looked at each other. “Where does she work?” Detective Whitehurst asked. “And what’s her last name?”
“And I suggest you might want to think about moving out and hiring protection,” Ritzcheck said gravely. “These things never end well.”
Chapter Ten
“This guy is pretty much a decorated overachiever,” Zyra said looking up from the file on Darice’s tablet.
“Yeah, I know. Jo had no problems getting me his service and military records. She’s even got his prints. They’re on file with the PD and military, so is his DNA profile.”
“Is that normal?” Zyra asked.
“I don’t know, but I don’t expect to find anything on the car or the girl’s body the night she was killed.”
“He might have left something the night he raped her,” Zyra commented.
“Maybe, but if he did it might have vanished by now thanks to the coroner.”
She studied the picture of the attractive forty-five-year-old male. There was arrogance in his smile though he looked rather harmless. The brown eyes were compelling and the tiny lines at the corner of his eyes made him even more attractive.
“He’s a dog,” Zyra said putting the tablet on Darice’s desk.
“I’m getting that feeling, too, but I want that one last piece of evidence before I put him down,” she said.
Darice had never minded killing, but never had she killed without definitive proof of wrong doing. She wasn’t about to start now.
“The two cops have unremarkable records, though,” Zyra said. “They’re the wildcards in this mess. Both are beat cops with only a single commendation between them. Both have been cited for getting too friendly with women. Also, one of them, Elton, was suspended for getting rough with a woman. He said the sex games got out of hand.”
“He plays rough, but that doesn’t make him a killer,” Darice said with a sigh. She was glad Zyra had agreed to help her go through the file she’d received from Ace two hours ago. Otherwise she’d still be working on it.
“They’re being looked at for this thing according to Ace’s contact in the PD,” Zyra said. “Are they talking?”
“No, but if they aren’t behind it, they will be by this time tomorrow. The prospect of going to jail is something most cops can’t stomach.”
“I wonder why?” Darice mused. “They’re big tough guys. They should be able to kick ass with the best of them.”
“Some men,” she muttered, and her lips twitched in amusement.
“Ace probably already has someone following them, so all I can do is wait. I only have two more days until I have to kill this guy.” Darice’s phone buzzed, and she picked it up. “Yeah?”
“Cops are asking to see you.”
“Send them up, Angeline,” she told the receptionist. When she put the phone back in its cradle, Darice put her tablet along with the paper file away and closed the document on her computer.
“Cops? What’s up?”
“Probably the shooter at Sabrina’s this morning,” Darice told her. “He might have been one of the two people who attacked Chloe.”
“Do you know who the other one is? Did he talk?”
“He wouldn’t, but we do know who the woman is. Ace already has someone watching her.”
“If you need any help, let me know,” Zyra said. “Meantime, we’ll talk later.” Zyra stood and made her way out.
A few moments later, Darice was on her feet, smoothing her tie as she went to open her door. “Detectives,” she said and motioned them in. “What can I do for you?”
What indeed?
“Detective Whitehurst, and my partner Ritzcheck.”
Darice gave them each a nod noticing how their gazes took in her attire. She smirked as she walked back to her desk. “Have a seat? Coffee? Water?”
“Water. It’s a bit warm out today,” Ritzcheck said.
“Indeed.” She crossed to the mini bar at the side of her office and pulled out two bottles of water. “So, why are you here?”
Ritzcheck took the water and cracked the seal to take a long drink while his partner set his on her desk.
“We’d like to talk to you about your fiancée, Chloe Driver, and the two attempts on her life,” Whitehurst said coolly.
“Have you caught the people who attacked her?” Darice asked carefully.
“Not yet, but one of them could be dead. His name’s Paul Freeling, and he was killed in the parking lot of the building where Chloe works this morning.”
Darice fisted her hand on her lap as sparks of energy played on her fingertips. She should have just fried him. That bullet to the brain had been too good for him.
“Someone was shooting when I dropped her off, so I had her bodyguard get her inside. I didn’t go with them because Chloe’s boss showed up then, and I wanted to warn her.”
“Why not just call her?” Whitehurst quizzed.
Darice shrugged. “Sabrina is a friend of mine. I’d never just leave her in the line of fire.”
“Ride together, die together, eh?” Whitehurst said with a bit of humor.
“What?” Darice asked with a frown.
“Bad Boys, the movie.”
“I guess,” Darice replied giving him a curious look.
“What were you going to do? Did you have a gun? A permit?”
“I have both, but so does she. As we told the cops who responded, neither of us did any shooting. The supposed shooter went down, and I went to try and help him. Sabrina called for help, but he was already dead.”
“Why would you want to help him? If he had a gun, he might have killed you,” Detective Ritzcheck said in a deceptively calm tone. His stare was suspicion personified, but she’d lived her life by lies once and didn’t flinch.
“Call me crazy, but I wanted him to be punished.”
“Maybe you hired him to kill her,” Ritzcheck commented, studying her, and Darice laughed.
“Why? If I die, Chloe’s a wealthy woman. If she’s killed, I’m no better off, though I’d say life without her makes me worse off.” Because despite Chloe’s reticence about her past, Chloe meant everything to her.
Darice was sure with more time, Chloe would accept that she was never going to sit on her hands again and let someone threaten her life. She’d do whatever was necessary to protect her, including shed blood for her.
Both men studied her for a long moment as if assessing her statement, and then Ritzcheck spoke. “The economy has a way of playing havoc on a bank account.”
“Quite true,” she agreed. “That’s why I work every day to afford the lifestyle I’ve become accustomed to.”
“Does she know she’s in your will?” Detective Whitehurst asked.
“I don’t think so.”
“What about your family?” Detective Ritzcheck queried.
“I was an only child and my parents are deceased.” She did consider Sabrina a sister as well as Devin and Ace. Cattail was more like a stepsister while Blade was like a cousin.
“Did you see anything this morning?”
“No, but I hope you do your job and catch the person. Hell, for all we know his partner killed him. Whatever they were being paid is easier to split by one.”
Whitehurst grunted. “We’re going to do our best,” he said.
“Good. Now, I need to get back to work if I’m going to be able to get out of here on time.” She rose, giving them both a smile.
Darice knew they’d keep looking, but they were the least of her worries at the moment. She had three murders to plan. Two would be easy because she knew who they were, but she had no idea who’d hired the man who’d attempted to kill Chloe.
Maybe when she went after the woman, she’d have more to say.
Chapter Eleven
Chloe was home before Darice that evening. A box was on the front porch, and Slate retrieved it while Chloe went into the house. She was eager to know what was in the package, but she was afraid to even ask.
“I’ll take it out
back,” Slate told her. “In case it’s something dangerous.”
Chloe followed and waited as Slate removed the lid and a foul odor leaped out at her. The stems and petals of some of the flowers were red and what appeared to be black feathers were scattered through.
Tucked between the side of the box and the stems was a black envelope. Chloe plucked it free finding it stained with red.
“Chloe,” Slate said in a warning tone.
“Ugh,” she muttered rubbing her hands together, not wanting to stain her dress. “What is that nasty smell? Please tell me it isn’t the flowers because if it is, the florist should be run out of business.”
“Let me have that, Chloe,” Slate said.
“Slate, relax.” She opened it finding black feathers tucked inside. “What is with these feathers.” She flicked one off her sticky finger before reading the note.
Roses are red,
Crows are dead,
You will be too for the blood you shed.
Chloe let out a little gasp as she dropped the note onto the flowers. “Get them out of here,” she ordered. “Trash them.”
Slate nodded and hurried out with the box. Chloe rested a hand on her stomach and drew in a deep breath. She released it just as slowly, attempting to center herself. She repeated the process before washing her hands in the sink and going to her bedroom.
A hot bath was exactly what she needed to calm her nerves, but this wasn’t going to be over until the woman was caught.
She stepped into the bedroom and put her purse on the dresser and removed her cell phone before striding into the bathroom.
Chloe turned on the water and added a generous splash of bath oil before undressing. Her cell phone rang just as she started to step into the bath. With a sigh, Chloe went to get it.
“Hello?”
“I see you made it home,” the high-pitched voice said from the other end of the line. “Did you enjoy my gift?”
“Who is this?” she demanded, her heart stalling.
“The flowers are rites for the dead,” the voice sneered. “And you will be soon.”
She tightened her grip on her phone. “The police know who you are,” Chloe muttered. “They’ll get you soon.”
“Not on your life,” the high-pitched voice retorted. “I’ll have your woman’s floor red with your blood and black with feathers of destruction soon. Don’t look for me, but when you see me, it’ll be too late.”
“That’s what your partner thought, too, when he sent that bird out to distract us, but he wasn’t as clever as he thought, and you aren’t either, coward.” She ended the call with a trembling hand.
That bird, those feathers, that blood, and the smell played through her mind like a bad dream. Her breathing came quick and fast, heart beating hard as a chill slid down her spine.
Chloe set the phone on the dresser and wrapped her arms around herself. A shadow moved across the window, and she crept closer to jerk the curtain back. A crow stared back at her and a startled gasp escaped her as the curtain slipped from her fingers.
She pulled it open to stare out. The bird was still there just staring at her with those fathomless black eyes, then pecked at the window causing her to jump back.
“Kaw. Kaw.” The bird uttered the sound and took flight.
Her phone rang again, and Chloe let out a gasp. She crossed the room on rubbery legs and grabbed the sleek device.
“What do you want, bastard!” she screamed.
“Hello, honey. Is everything okay? Are you and your girlfriend fighting?”
“Mom. Hi,” she said in a too bright tone. Her hands shook on the device as she leaned heavily against the dresser. “No, uh, it was a crank caller.”
“If you two are having problems, maybe we shouldn’t come out,” Karen said carefully, but was unable to hide that hint of happiness in her voice.
She set the phone down and put it on speaker. “Darice and I aren’t having problems,” Chloe assured her as she reached for a tie to secure her hair. “You’ve made your reservations?” She grappled for anything to take her mind off what was going on.
“We’ll arrive next Friday and stay until the following Monday.”
“I’ll pick you up.” Hopefully, it wouldn’t be her and Slate. Chloe really wanted this mess to be over by then. She didn’t want her parents to get hurt because of her.
“I’ll text you the details, that way you don’t have to write them down,” Karen told her affectionately. “Or worry about losing it.”
She chuckled. “Okay, Mom. How is everyone?”
“Everyone’s fine. Justine is going to be out your way for business. She wants to meet for dinner tomorrow. She said she’d text you her information.”
“Oh. Uh, okay.” The last thing she needed was for her sister to be injured or harmed while she was here. She would never forgive herself, but Chloe couldn’t very well refuse to see Justine.
Her sister would demand all kinds of details that Chloe just didn’t want to go into.
“Are you okay for money? I mean with the wedding and all? Your father and I will help out.”
“No. Darice is paying for everything,” Chloe told her.
“Does this woman know you think you’re Cinderella?” her mother teased warmly.
Chloe laughed. “I told her this morning.”
“And she still wants to pay for it?” Karen demanded incredulously.
“Yes.” Chloe laughed.
“Well, just keep in mind that we’re here if you need us,” Karen said.
“I will.”
“I’ll let you go,” her mother said. “Your father says hello.”
“Tell dad hello from me,” she replied. “I’ll see you next week.”
“Talk to you later, honey.”
Chloe ended the call and set her phone down. She set up her Kindle reader with an audio book and popped her Bluetooth headphones in and started listening.
She took her soak and washed up after thirty minutes. Chloe moisturized and dressed before venturing to the kitchen. Slate was there having a drink with Cattail.
“What’s up, girl?” Cattail said with a smile.
She didn’t remember ever getting an actual name for the woman, but she was unnaturally attractive like Ace and Jasmia with a kittenish look about her.
“Hi. Is Darice okay?”
“As far as I know, she’s on a shoot, but she’ll be in soon,” Cattail replied. “I’m just giving Slate some backup tonight.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“I told Cattail about the note and flowers, but I’m taking them to the lab to check for prints and stuff,” Slate said. “Ace said to report it to the police, which I did while you were in the bath.”
“I didn’t know they came by.”
“It was brief, and I took samples first for our records,” Slate told her. “But the guy didn’t even take the flowers. He just took some prints and said call if you’re being attacked again.”
“Police. They say their job is to serve and protect, but they can’t do a damn thing until you’re dead,” Cattail muttered as Slate headed from the room.
“I guess there’s truth in that,” Chloe said.
“That’s why there’s us,” Cattail drawled. “You don’t have to die before we get involved. I’m going to walk the perimeter and check things out. Call if you need me.”
“I will,” she said. Why was she really there? Had they found something in those flowers?
****
Darice wasn’t surprised to find Cattail waiting outside for her. She was lounging on the porch swing, feet propped on the railing. She put them down and stood when Darice approached.
“Slate told me what was up,” Darice said. She knew about the blood coating the flowers, the feathers and the note.
“Did she tell you that was a warning from a group called the crows?” Cattail asked. “They’re pretty dangerous and killing their mate can be a death sentence.”
“Just like killing mine,” Darice m
uttered. “Who are these clowns?”
“We’ve never gone up against them because we move in different circles, but they’re out there. Ironically, they’re in the same business we are except they mostly do murder for hire. You want someone dead, and they’ll do it, no questions asked.”
Darice blinked, the ramifications slicing through her like a knife through butter. Shock turned to anger that coursed through her, burning like a flow of lava.
“Someone hired a hit team to take out Chloe?” she asked in cold calm. Marie had the money, but Darice didn’t think Marie would waste time on them when she had problems of her own.
“Looks like it,” Cattail told her. “The flowers, the blood, the feathers were a warning. It’s the kind they send when it’s personal.”
Darice nodded. “Okay. I—”
“Ace is already working it,” Cattail cut in. “I’m backing Slate up until we take the hitter. Nine times out of ten we’re going to have a few members of the flock. They always hunt in pairs or trios.”
She ran a hand over her hair. “Shifters exist,” Darice said plainly. She’d thought about it all day and compared that with what she’d known of her friends, her sisters in crime.
Cattail, Ace and Devin had strange eyes if the light hit them just right and so did Blade. Their sense of smell was acute, along with their hearing while their sight was better than average.
It was like they were superhuman in some moments. She’d seen something a time or two that she hadn’t been able to reconcile, let alone explain away. However, Darice had put her suppositions away without closing off her mind. After all, she was a freak, too.
“What makes you say that?”
“The guy wasn’t human,” Darice mused. “He felt different in that way that—I guess energetically is the best way to describe it.”
Cattail blew out a breath. “You’re not wrong about shifters, but what makes you think of that now after all these years?”
Darice shrugged. “I guess because you guys never tried to hurt me, but now I’m dealing with human animals who want my woman dead for two reasons. One, I killed one of their own, and the second one is a mystery.”
Blood for Her Page 6
