NY State Trooper- The Complete Box Set

by Jen Talty

  A thought he tried to keep at the forefront of his mind when he tilted her head and dropped his lips to hers. He let his body take over and slammed his tongue into her mouth on a search and destroy mission. Lost in the softness of her mouth, he forgot about the CSI unit and the two detectives waiting for them, until she had the presence of mind to pull away.

  Stunned, he rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry. I have no idea where that came from.”

  “It’s okay. This whole thing’s got us both on edge.” She wrapped her arms around her chest. “I feel violated. Someone may have been watching us.”

  The idea that someone had seen them infuriated Jared. He’d always been a private man and kept his affairs discreet. His life was no one’s business. “We’d better get over there.” He strapped his weapon belt on and took her by the elbow. “I’ll catch this guy, I promise.”

  And he meant it.

  Ryan’s stomach gurgled and pitched toward her throat as Jared walked her toward the carriage house. Two sheriff’s cars, a state trooper car, an unmarked car, and a sheriff’s van were parked in the driveway and on the street, lights flashing for the world to see. Some of her neighbors had come out to watch.

  Mr. Thompson scurried across the road. “If I can do anything? Help out in any way?”

  “Just keep your eye out and lock your doors,” Jared said with a polite smile. His hand firmly planted on the small of her back. “Are you ready?”

  A breeze kicked up off the lake and swished her hair across her face. She brushed it away and adjusted her long bangs as if looking her best would help the situation. The smell of rotten meat filled her nostrils when a police officer pushed back the screen door. Swallowing the horrible vomit taste in her mouth, she nodded.

  Jared kept his hand on her spine. Had he removed it, her knees would have buckled. Her kitchen floor had droplets of blood scattered about the black and white linoleum. She had to sidestep them to the sink where a folded piece of paper with the number six sat on the counter top like it would at a wedding reception.

  “Don’t touch anything, ma’am,” the cop said, the same cop who opened the door for them.

  Ryan glanced at Jared, then back to the note. It read: My sweet Ryan, not so sweet. I saw you betraying me, you whore. I will get you for what you and your cop friend have been doing. Don’t you worry, you will pay.

  “George accused Mom of cheating on him.” Memories of her stepfather ranting and raving in a drunken state flashed before her eyes. She blinked them away.

  “Isn’t this George character in prison?” said a man in plain clothes. She looked toward the voice and recognized the man, but couldn’t place him or remember his name.

  “Hey, Nick.” Jared thrust his hand forward. “Ryan, you remember Detective Jenkins from the rat incident?”

  A vision of the fanged little bugger hanging in her desk drawer popped into her head. “Yes.” She rubbed her shaking hands on her slacks.

  “I’m sorry to have to put you through this, but after you look around, I need to question you both.”

  “Question?” Ryan leaned closer to Jared.

  “Standard procedure. He just needs to find out where we were last night and rule us out before he goes forward with this investigation.”

  “Why would I do this to my own house?” The anger in her voice caught her off guard. Last night was supposed to be special. Something shared only between Jared and her, not on display for the whole world to judge.

  “He’s not implying anything. But he has to go by the book.”

  “The book sucks.” She shivered, crossing her arms across her chest as they made their way to her bedroom, following the trail of blood. Every piece of furniture in her home had been turned upside down and stabbed with some sharp object.

  Clicking noises sounded in her bedroom and flashes of light danced across the hallway, hitting the wall.

  “Take a deep breath,” Jared whispered in her ear.

  She swallowed, then peered around the corner. Her heart pulsed, before it stopped for a brief moment. She took in a deep calming breath as her pulse began to flutter in inconsistent beats. Both of her hands instinctively clamped down over her gaping mouth, muffling her scream.

  Blood was smeared across what remained of her bed. The mattress had been pulled to the side, half sitting on the floor with the insides exposed by each tear. Four men, all with gloves and masks on, stopped what they were doing and stared at her, then went back to taking samples and pictures.

  “Where did the blood…” she gagged, “blood come from?” Jared’s bicep didn’t even flinch when she grabbed it for support.

  “We don’t think it’s human,” someone said.

  “Little Jimmy Henderson said his dog didn’t come home last night.” Jared looped his arms around her, but it didn’t stop her body from trembling. “But we don’t know anything right now.”

  She turned her head, not wanting to look at the horrifying scene anymore. A bright redness on her wall caught her attention. “What is...” She blinked a few times to gain focus and realized she was looking at words. The letters were dripping like the title in the book Helter Skelter. “Oh, God.” She stared at the words “Die Bitch.” Her stomach lurched into her throat. “I’m going to be sick.”

  A thud followed by a few curses fell faint in her ears as she pushed aside everyone and anything that stood in her path. The bathroom seemed so far away. Not bothering to shut the door, she dropped to her knees and gagged. Then gagged again. But the only thing that came up was a foul taste.

  Her entire body broke out in a cold sweat. Shaking her hands out, she stood up, panic overriding her good judgment. Her pulse hurt as it pounded loudly in her head. She paced in the tiny bathroom, unaware of her surroundings. Unable to cope. “Damn it!” She swept her hand across the countertop, knocking everything to the floor. “I won’t be afraid!”

  “You have to be afraid.” Jared’s voice rang out strong and confident. He yanked her by the shoulders and heaved her to his chest with steady arms. “This guy, whoever he is, has snapped. We need to believe he’ll stop at nothing—”

  “To kill me?” She pounded on Jared’s chest. “Why me? What the hell did I ever do?” She’d spent her life making sure she treated people better than she’d been treated as a child. After her father had died, her mother slowly began to rot in a bottle of whiskey. Her brother up and married the first woman who could guarantee his freedom from the hell of poverty, only to get a good dose of hell in another form.

  Then her stepfather entered the picture, turning her already turbulent world upside down. He belittled her and her mother. He used his strength and power to keep them down. She swore when that man had been put behind bars that she’d never let another soul dictate her life.

  She’d make sure everyone in her world knew they were loved and cared for. Every chance she had, she found a way to praise the people around her. Things as simple as helping the elderly across the street, or bringing a neighbor you barely knew dinner when they’d broken their leg, were the rules she lived by. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

  That rule just bit her in the ass. She felt violated, and now distrusted the world. Everyone around her was suspect, even Jared, according to the cops. Although she could certainly vouch for his whereabouts last night.

  “If not you, it would be some other unsuspecting victim.”

  She glared at him, shoving from his embrace. “It’s got to be George. He’s the only one who makes sense. These are things he used to say.”

  Jared rubbed his unshaven jaw. “George is in jail, and he doesn’t have a lot of money.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Most criminals of this nature need a payoff of some kind. Either a personal one, like a vendetta, or money. If George was behind this, either someone owed him big or George gave him money. Money he doesn’t have.”

  Fear gripped her as she stared into Jared’s blue-green eyes. Eyes that tol
d her being afraid would be the smart thing to do. Doing everything she could to protect herself from some psycho would be her only possible chance at survival. “Eddy had a fetish for underwear.”

  “Excuse me?” Jared narrowed his eyes.

  “He bought me sexy underwear all the time. He had a weird thing going on with them.”

  “How weird? I mean, I like to see women in their underwear.”

  “Oh, how do I say this?”

  “Just say it,” Jared said impatiently.

  “Eddy seemed more interested in the underwear than me.”

  “I still don’t follow.” Jared smoothed a hand across his head. “Sexy underwear is something every guy likes to see on a woman.”

  She looked around and took in a deep breath. “I caught him once…well, the day we broke up…” How did she say this without making herself look like a fool? She closed her eyes, then said, “He started…masturbating. He’d rather do that than actually have sex.” She squeezed her eyes tighter.

  “Did you make fun of him?” Jared asked.

  She opened her eyes slowly. “I wouldn’t say I made fun of him. But it kind of wigged me out. Then he reminded me of the time I used the wrong name. He was jealous.”

  “Of me.” Jared shook his head. “Damn it.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her through the house while barking orders.

  Before she knew what hit her, she was sitting in front of Detective Jenkins, filling him in on the details of her short-lived relationship with Eddy Houser. All the while, Jared paced behind her, uttering numerous profanities. And giving her the evil eye.

  7

  Jared spent the morning in his office, even though he couldn’t concentrate or get much paperwork done. Nick had decided that it would be better if Jared kept a low profile. Basically, he’d been told to stay out of it. Nick Jenkins had even gone to Jared’s superior and asked him to make sure Jared didn’t fly off the handle.

  Jared didn’t care that Nick was a damn good cop; he wanted his hands wet on this one. He had less than two weeks to close this case. Less than two weeks to make sure Ryan was safe so he could move without any ties to her or Lake George.

  Nick had called around ten and gave Jared permission to come down and watch them question Eddy. Watch? If Eddy was the perp, Jared wanted to throttle the guy. But the cop in Jared had to consider all the possibilities. George did make more sense.

  Jared maneuvered his patrol car in and out of traffic, heading toward the sheriff’s office. It seemed that Eddy Houser had been picked up once before for downloading pornography of the illegal variety. This gave the cops a little more leeway in their questioning.

  The idea had been to scare the crap out of him and get him to confess to trashing Ryan’s place. Nick was good at confessions. He was good at playing the cop you could trust. Tell him what he wanted to know, and he’d make sure you got a good deal. He had that “I’m a nice guy” look that made the bad guys spill the beans and the girls fall at his feet.

  But Nick was taken. Married three years now, with a kid on the way. Jared took in a deep calming breath as he turned into the parking lot. A detective shouldn’t have a family. They didn’t mix well with police work. Jared had learned that firsthand. Not a mistake he ever planned on repeating.

  Jared rolled his car to a stop, barely turning the key before leaping out the door. He took long strides toward the station house.

  A few prisoners in orange suits sat against the wall, and a desk deputy held a phone to his ear. He pointed down the hall when he eyed Jared.

  “In here,” Jenkins said, waving him down. “Houser’s in there; you can watch from the two-way room.”

  “I want to talk to him.” Jared knew they wouldn’t let him. His property had been damaged. And since he and Ryan had admitted to spending the night together, they viewed him as the boyfriend. Not a very comfortable feeling for him.

  “You’re lucky I invited you.” Nick opened the door and waited. “This guy’s really nervous.”

  “Does he have an alibi for last night?” Jared asked.

  “We haven’t even gone down that road.” Nick pushed his suit coat back when he planted his hands on his hips and stared through the two-way mirror. “The college has some pretty strict rules regarding the use of the Internet. Eddy was marked by the FBI about a month ago when a few coeds who ran webcams got harassed. One girl was raped.”

  “Get to the point.” Jared stared into the interrogation room. Eddy sat at a metal table with three chairs. His knee bounced uncontrollably while he picked at his nail.

  “The feds brought him down because he had naked pictures on his computer of the girl who’d been raped.” Nick turned and made direct eye contact.

  Jared had known about the porn, but hadn’t heard this latest development. “You mean to tell me the FBI had already picked him up? And he’s been accused of rape?”

  “He was questioned and then released. The victim said she got a good look at the guy who raped her, and he wasn’t Eddy. But we know he goes to these girls’ websites and watches them parade around in their underwear.” Nick stepped across the room, then stopped at the door. “Let’s see what he’s got to say.”

  Jared stared through the glass. His pulse elevated. Nick and his partner Walter marched into the small room with freshly painted white walls. These rooms were always stripped bare, making sure there were no distractions.

  Nick began by repeating the Miranda rights to Eddy, asking him if he understood.

  “The FBI said if I cooperated, they wouldn’t press charges. Why am I here now? It’s not like the girls didn’t know what they were doing and who was watching.”

  “Some of them were underage.” Walter lifted a brow.

  “I didn’t know. Most girls on campus are over the age of eighteen.” Eddy dropped his gaze to his lap. “It’s not like I touched any of them. Just watched.”

  Jared slammed his hand against the table, rage coursing through his veins like a hotrod blazing down the racetrack. Eddy had touched Ryan. Now Jared wanted to wrap his fingers around Eddy’s slimy little neck and squeeze the breath out of him.

  “Eddy, would you mind letting us know where you spent last night? We’ve got this little problem, and we really want to just rule you out.” Nick sat down on the edge of the table and smiled.

  “Last night?” Eddy’s voice cracked. “Oh, God. I’m going to lose my job.”

  “Just answer the question,” Walter snapped.

  “What is it that you think I might have done?” Eddy looked up at Nick. Fear radiated from his eyes. “I don’t want to get the girls in trouble.”

  “What girls?” Walker asked.

  “The college girls I was with last night.” Eddy picked at the skin on his thumb.

  Jared narrowed his eyes, peering through the glass, and focused on Eddy’s facial features. Something told him while this guy was a bona fide pervert, he wasn’t the guy they were looking for. “Come on, Nick, mention her name.”

  “You were with college girls?” Nick asked. “Not spying on an ex-girlfriend?”

  “I wasn’t spying on anyone, why?” Eddy’s eyes widened.

  “You know Ryan O’Connor, right?”

  “Good job, Nick.” Jared shook his trembling hands.

  “Ry…Ryan? What the hell does she have to do with this?”

  “Were you with her last night?” Nick asked. His tone was still calm and considerate.

  Eddy shook his head vigorously. “I wouldn’t give that woman the time of day.”

  “Don’t like her much, huh?” Nick shifted to the side, putting his hand on his thigh. “She a bitch or something?”

  “Or something,” Eddy muttered. “But I don’t care what she’s doing these days. We broke up a while ago, and I haven’t seen her since.”

  “Okay, then where exactly were you last night?” Nick stood, staring down at Eddy.

  “There’s a group of girls on campus. They call themselves The Relievers. I was with them.”

&n
bsp; “Doing what?” Nick asked.

  “Watching. They do striptease, lap dances, stuff like that. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “We’ll need to verify this.”

  “I have the pictures on my PC. I can prove I was with them. They were all of age. We were consenting adults.” Eddy’s voice pitched up an octave. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Who’s Ryan seeing these days?” Walter asked.

  “I have no idea,” Eddy said, obviously shaken. “I honestly haven’t seen her or talked to her since we broke up.”

  “Why did you and Ryan break up?” Nick asked politely.

  “Same reason most girls dump me. I’ve got a little problem with watching.” Eddy drew his hands to his face. “Why must you people humiliate me like this?”

  “Not trying to humiliate you, but get to the bottom of a little situation I’ve got,” Nick said.

  “You prefer watching people get it on, do you?” Walter asked.

  Jared’s breath caught. He knew what they were doing, and he knew it was necessary, but he didn’t like them reducing Ryan to a woman who was just getting it on.

  “I think I’ll invoke my Miranda rights now.”

  Jared flipped open his phone and called Harmon. He’d put his own guys on this campus call girl stuff and do a little digging of his own. In the process, he’d find out if George had been bragging in prison, and what good old Rudy had been up to the last few days. Too many unknowns.

  Harmon didn’t pick up his cell phone, so Jared left a message. He could only hope Frank was onto something. The annoying kid was turning out to be one damn good cop. Jared pushed back the door and met Nick in the hallway.

  “He’ll be out by nightfall. The FBI has already ruled him out as a suspect in the college rape,” Nick said. “I’ll keep pressing for information, but my gut tells me this guy isn’t the man you’re looking for.”