Lullabies & Dead Bodies, page 26
“Of course. What about them?”
“Well, Gerri and I found a local place that recently sold small bulk orders to three different individuals, yeah?”
“I remember. Were you able to trace them?”
Their hope was that the paper coveralls would lead them to Jeffery Schiffer, thereby giving them their elusive physical evidence.
“All but one. The others were both dead ends. One led to an artist who does professional house painting on the side. The other to a lab technician that works with clean samples all day. We’ve picked their lives apart, and neither of them have any connection to our case.”
“And the third?”
“Well, that one leads to a PO box in Fairfax.”
“Who owns the PO box?”
“We don’t know. And, unfortunately, we’ll need a court order if we want to get that information from the post office,” Dorn said.
“Which is hitting another brick wall.”
“Exactly.”
“All right. I’ll give that info to the Lieutenant, see what he can do. Good work, Dorn.” He turned to Dorn’s partner. “Anything new on victim number four?”
“No, sir. Special Victims turned everything they had over to us, but it’s nothing we didn’t already know.”
“This is bullshit.” Isaac lowered his head and ran his hand over the back of his neck. What were they missing? Where was the evidence? It existed, it had to.
“Okay, once more from the top. Miller and Dorn, go over every single thing we know about this case. Pete, listen in with all those notes you made on the original case files. We are missing something somewhere. We need to find it! I’ll be back.”
He trudged off, not really knowing where he was going. He just knew that he needed to get out of there. He needed some air, or some space, or something. He needed this case to be over.
He needed the crushing weight of the guilt to be lifted from his shoulders.
He bounded down two flights of stairs and marched through the breezeway with a sudden single-minded focus. There was something he had to do.
He walked into the Medical Examiners office and looked around.
“Ike?”
He heard Hiroshi’s voice behind him, and he turned toward his friend.
“Do you need something?”
“Yeah. I-I need to…”
“Oh,” Hiroshi cut him off with a nod. “You’re here to see her, aren’t you? Victim number four.”
Isaac swallowed and thought about Adam telling him to preserve his own sanity. But Adam didn’t understand. No one could.
“Yeah. I am.”
Hiroshi nodded again and led him across the room to the table where the little girl with blonde, Cindy Brady curls lay waiting.
“It’s going to be tomorrow morning before I can get to her,” Hiroshi said.
Isaac nodded, still looking down at her. Then without any hesitating or or preamble, he reached out and placed his left hand on top of hers.
Zap! Zap! Zap!
The pain came like lightning bolts to his gut.
The flash like hits of power.
Her terror.
Her pain.
Her ragged last breath.
Isaac jerked his hand away and stumbled backward, slamming his back against the wall, and nearly knocking over a tray of instruments.
“Ike! Are you all right?”
Hiroshi sounded worried, and Isaac sucked deep gulps of air into his lungs. He held up a hand and nodded, not able to verbally respond.
“What the hell, man? Are you sure? I’ve never seen you react that strongly.”
“I’m good, Hiroshi,” Isaac mumbled, pulling himself together. “I’m fine.”
But he wasn’t fine.
The vicious imagery he’d just witnessed, coupled with what he now suspected about Jeffery Schiffer’s little sister, made him almost physically ill.
“I’ll talk to you later.”
“Ike?”
He turned on his heel and hurried for the door.
“Isaac?”
Isaac kept walking.
He had to get out of there.
He left the office and ran through the breezeway. Then he ran down another flight of steps, through the patrol section of the station and out the back door.
He kept running.
At the back of the lot, behind all the parked cruisers not in use, Isaac doubled over and vomited in the grass.
With deep breaths to try and steady himself, he pulled a faded grey bandana-style handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his mouth. Then he stood there for a few moments just breathing in and out.
Sweat beaded at his hairline and across the back of his neck.
He had to end this case. He had to find the sick psycho killing these babies and put an end to this madness. If he didn’t, he might go mad himself.
He fought to get his breathing under control. Then before he returned to the detectives pit, he stopped in the bathroom to rinse out his mouth and splash some cold water on his face. Once back at his desk, he found some cinnamon-flavored gum in the drawer, and popped a piece into his mouth just as the extension on his desk rang.
“This is Detective Sergeant Taylor,” he answered, still feeling shaky.
“Detective Sergeant Isaac Taylor?”
The voice was female and pushy, and Isaac was immediately on guard.
“That’s right. Who am I speaking with?”
“This is Janelle Mandrake with Channel 4 News.”
Great. The barracuda herself. Isaac’s already precarious stomach shuddered at the thought of verbally sparring with her.
“And what can I do for you, Ms. Mandrake?”
“You can grant me an exclusive interview, Detective. Gavin Hayes’ press conference briefings are informative, but there’s a lot he’s not saying. And our viewers are growing antsy the longer this murder spree drags on. We need answers.”
“I have no answers to give you, Ms. Mandrake. This is an ongoing investigation, and anything of substance I would say to you could potentially tip our hand to whatever suspect we might be looking at. Surely you can understand that.”
“So you do have a suspect in your sights?”
“I said might, Ms. Mandrake. Might have. And, by the way, everything I say during this unsolicited phone call is most definitely off the record. Do you understand me?”
She sighed. Very loudly, and very over exaggerated.
“Come on, Detective. You have to give me something!”
“No, actually I don’t. Because what you’re doing right now is harassing me. When we have something we want the press to know, we’ll come to you. And I’m not talking about whoever has been leaking information to you from this department. I’m talking about legitimate channels of communication. Until then, leave us alone to do our jobs. These interruptions aren’t helping.”
“Thanks for nothing, Detective.”
“You have a nice evening.”
Isaac hung up the phone nicely, fighting the urge to slam it down the way he wanted to. He glanced at his watch and then looked around and spotted his team still hard at work across the pit. He stood and made his way over to them.
“How we doing?”
They all looked up at him, and Isaac could tell from their faces, without them saying a word.
“We’ve got nothing, Ike,” Pete said, shaking his head.
“I’m sorry, Sarge,” Gerri echoed.
“All right. Go home.”
He walked away, not even giving them a chance to discuss it. He was tired. It had been a long frustrating day on too little sleep from the night before, and he just wanted to get as far away from this building as he could get. He grabbed his things and left without another word to anyone.
He remembered leaving work. He remembered pulling out of the lot and pointing the car toward home. What Isaac couldn’t fully recall was how exactly he’d ended up here. He glanced at his surroundings, seeing everything through a distorted fun-house mirror, as though he were in a dream.
Or a nightmare.
“Tennessee whiskey.”
The bartender set the glass down in front of him and proceeded to pour two fingers of Jack Daniels into it, and Isaac stared down at it with equal measures of longing and revulsion.
Had he ordered this?
Had he driven here, walked in, sat down at the bar, and ordered an actual drink?
What the hell was he doing here?
He closed his eyes and thought back over the day, remembering all the frustration — the department leak, the unsuccessful meeting with the DA, the disturbing flash when he’d touched the latest victim, and everything that’d happened after that.
He didn’t know what had made him pull his car into the bar’s parking lot, or what had prompted him to come inside. He didn’t go inside bars anymore. Not unless a case forced him to as part of his investigation. And what he was doing right now — staring into a glass of his favorite poison — was most definitely not part of his investigation.
The truth of the matter was that he’d walked in here on purpose. He’d sat down at the bar and ordered a drink because he couldn’t think of any other way to deal with the guilt, or the pressure, or the guilt.
He opened his eyes and stared at the drink in front of him, and his mouth watered.
He wanted it.
Hell, he needed it.
He would destroy almost eight years of sobriety if he took one tiny sip.
All the progress he’d made would vanish. He’d be back at square one. Chip one.
Again.
He should call his sponsor.
The flash he’d seen when he touched victim number four exploded through his mind, followed by the flashes from the other three victims.
Chip one.
He could live with that.
He reached out and ran a single finger over the glass before wrapping his whole hand around it and lifting it to his lips.
His cellphone rang.
Only it wasn’t the generic ringtone he used for everyone. This tone was special. “Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got)” by the Four Tops. It was the ringtone he used for Sidney’s number.
Isaac blinked, glass in hand, the song pulling him back from a very real edge.
He put the glass down and took the phone out of his pocket.
“Yeah?”
“Hey, baby. You still at work?”
Her voice was cheerful and sweet, and the sound of it sent a charge through his battered system.
“Um, no. I’m…” He paused and looked at his surroundings. “I’m on my way home.”
“Isaac? Are you okay? You sound sort of… beat up.”
“Guess I am. In a manner of speaking. It’s been a long, hard day.”
“Well come home to me so I can take care of you.”
His heart swelled at that idea, and the buoyancy of it lifted him up off the barstool. He eyed the still-full glass of whiskey and fished in his pocket for a ten dollar bill to cover it. Then he backed away slowly and turned around, heading for the door.
“I love you, Sidney.”
“I love you back. Get here quick so I can show you how much!”
“I’ll be there soon.”
He slid behind the wheel of his car and glanced back at the bar.
“Thank you,” he whispered out loud.
“For what?” Sidney asked.
Isaac was slightly startled. He hadn’t been talking to her. He hadn’t even realized he was still on the phone.
“Um, just… for calling when you did. I’ll be there soon, okay?”
“Okay.”
He ended the call. Then he sped through the streets like the alcohol might be chasing him. When he finally walked through the front door, he found Sidney setting the table for dinner. He didn’t wait for an invitation. He grabbed her and kissed her, fierce and deep, pouring every ounce of his frustration and fear into it.
He picked her up, and her legs locked around him as they devoured each other’s lips and tongues.
He carried her down the hall to the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothing behind like breadcrumbs.
They fell onto the bed in a tangle of arms and legs, hands groping, moving with urgency.
When he had her completely stripped and on the bed, his eyes locked with hers, and he sank deep into her.
She shuddered beneath him and Isaac began to move. Long, slow strokes as he watched the emotion play out in her eyes.
Fevered desire.
Blatant lust.
Euphoric passion.
And something else. Something truer. Something pure.
Love?
Unashamed, unapologetic, unadulterated love.
For him? She really loved him?
Sometimes he still couldn’t believe it. But God, how he loved her! Sidney was everything. She was everything, and he never wanted to let her go.
Their pace quickened. He felt her hand on the right cheek of his ass, squeezing as she lifted her pelvis to meet his every thrust.
She screamed, her body taking off like a rocket, and Isaac took flight along with her. They sailed through the stratosphere together, moaning loudly as their mutual release took them into orbit.
Just when he thought that sex with her couldn’t get any more intense than it already was, she blew his mind and rocked his world all over again.
He came to with his face buried in her mass of soft curls and his full body weight pressing down on her. He had to be crushing her, but he was powerless to move more than his head.
Still deep inside her, he raised up slowly and looked down at her.
“Marry me, Sidney.”
The words were a soft pant as he stared into her pretty gem-colored eyes. The same eyes that seemed to sparkle and dance the longer he stared.
“Isaac…”
“I love you, darlin’. And I know that a marriage proposal shouldn’t be blurted out after the throes of passion like this, but I have to say it. And I don’t want to wait for the right time, or the right words, or the right ring.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“I love you. So much, and I never ever thought that I would have the chance to love like this. And I don’t mean just the sex, or touching you. I mean loving you. I mean everything! And I never thought that I would need someone so much, but I do. I need you, Sidney. I… I need you.”
A droplet of moisture fell onto her cheek. God, was he crying? He couldn’t worry about that right now.
“You’ve saved my life in more ways than you will ever know, Sidney. You’ve saved me. You’ve given me the world, and I don’t want to be without you ever. So please, baby… say…”
“Yes.”
“Yes?”
“Yes! Of course I will marry you, Isaac. I love you so much.”
“You’re saying yes?”
“Yes!” she playfully yelled with tears spilling from her eyes and mingling with his own. “Yes, yes, yes.”
He laughed and pulled her into another heat searing kiss. She said yes. And that one little word made his hellhole of a day worth it.
21
Adam Taylor sat at the table in his spacious kitchen scarfing down his scrambled eggs and coffee cake.
“Mmm. This is delicious, babe.” He smiled at his beautiful wife.
“Really? How can you tell?” Bree smirked at him. “You’re eating so fast I didn’t think you could even taste it.”
“Very funny.”
“Well, slow down there.”
“I cant. I’ve got a busy day today with back-to-back surgeries. But, my scrub nurse knows to notify me immediately if I get a text from you saying it’s time.”
Bree rolled her eyes at him, but she couldn’t hide the smile.
“We don’t have to worry about that for another few weeks.”
“I know. I’m just saying.” He finished his coffee and smiled.
“So what’ve you got going on today, gorgeous?”
“Well, Sidney’s been telling me all about her new job at the Hope House, and the women who take refuge there. Some of them come with their children, and a lot of times all they have is the clothes on their backs because they left in a hurry. I just can’t imagine the things they’ve been through. I feel so bad for them.”
“Ike seems to be real proud of Sidney for wanting to do something to help other women who are in abusive relationships like she was.”
Bree nodded. “Yeah. She’s pretty amazing. The way she’s been making herself strong. Taking self-defense classes and learning how to handle a gun. Learning how to be brave. I admire that.”
Adam smiled at her. “I’m glad you two are getting close.”
“Me too. It’s been nice, the four of us hanging out.”
“Yeah it has.”
It had been a secret dream of Adam’s since they were in high school. His brother was his very best friend in the world, and Ike had spent so many years feeling like a third wheel whenever he and Bree were able to talk him into doing things with them. But now that Sidney had come into Ike’s life, Adam was loving the opportunity to finally be a proper foursome.
“Anyway,” Bree sighed. “I was thinking about taking a cheeseburger casserole over to the shelter today. Sid says there’s three children in residence right now, and that casserole is full of veggies, but kids love it because it’s so yummy. And I just thought it’s something I could do to help out, you know? Do my part.”
Adam frowned at the idea, an itch of anxiety tingling his nerve endings.
“I get wanting to help out, babe, but just don’t overdo it, okay? I mean, you are thirty-five weeks pregnant.”
Bree rolled her pretty blue eyes at him again, and Adam’s stomach fluttered.
“As if I could forget,” she said, patting her large belly. “Don’t worry, there’s no pressure. I’m just taking one of the casseroles I made and froze for us a few weeks ago out of the freezer. I’m going to grab it, and get some store-bought dinner rolls, and take it over to the shelter. Visit with Sidney for a little while and then come back home.”
“All right,” Adam said reluctantly. “You girls have fun.”
He stood and leaned over to kiss her lips.
“Gotta go. I love you.”
