Black Bird: A Murder Mystery Suspense Thriller, page 26
“Not a big deal,” said Monk. “We’ll sort out the Vera thing on Monday.”
Manetti opened the door. “I’m sure we will. Enjoy the rest of your Saturday.”
“You too, Manetti. Say ‘Hi’ to Annie.”
“Will do.” Manetti waved, opened the door and hurried away.
Monk closed his door and eyed Manetti through the peephole. His partner walked down the hall to the stairs and disappeared. “It’s clear,” he said out loud. “You can come out.”
Rhonda, wearing a skimpy negligee, walked out of the bedroom. “What are the odds? My first time here in months, and he shows up.”
Concerned, Monk turned away from the door. “He’s smarter than he looks. He knows about Vera. Or thinks he does.”
“Knows what?” She walked over to him.
“That I didn’t find her name in the file.” He snorted. “And he went through my desk.”
“Sounds like your partner is growing a pair. I thought you said he wasn’t a problem.”
“I didn’t think he was, but I underestimated him.”
“Since when do you do that?”
“Because he’s never lied to me…until now.” Monk recalled the sensation he’d felt the minute Manetti explained why he’d stopped by. “He came to say one thing but said another.” Monk eyed the desk. “And then, when he went through the drawer…” Monk stepped over to the desk and opened it. “Something got his attention.” He stopped cold when he saw the black feather. “Son-of-a-bitch.” He picked up the feather and held it up.
Rhonda’s eyes widened. “Is that what I think it is?” She sucked in a breath. “One of those feathers from the dolls? From Rook’s crazy lady?”
Monk glared at the feather. He’d wanted nothing to do with the stupid dolls and had told Rook to stop delivering them. But he’d been too caught up with his sorceress to deny her. Monk had put up with the supernatural stuff with D’Mato because it had its advantages and D’Mato understood its power, but Rook had taken it in a new direction when he’d hooked up with the Raven after D’Mato’s death.
“Why the hell is that in your drawer?”
Monk put two and two together. “Croft.”
Rhonda’s expression shifted. “He’s setting you up?”
Monk twirled the feather between his fingers. “Give the man some credit. I didn’t think he had it in him.”
“He’s trying to get you out to take your place? With Rook?” Rhonda cursed. “Slimy asshole.”
“He is, but doesn’t realize who he’s dealing with.” He eyed Rhonda. “Looks like we’re going to have to move up our timetable.”
Rhonda smiled. “I’m ready when you are. Just say when.” She put her arm around his waist.
Monk dropped the feather onto his desk. “You have another assignment first. One I’m disappointed about, but it was coming eventually.”
Her eyes lit up. “Manetti.”
“He’s become a problem. He knows too much, and now with the feather, he’s signed his death warrant.”
“What will Rook think? Are you going to go through him?”
Monk smirked. “Between Croft and Manetti, I think I’m going solo. Once we finish with them, we’ll deal with Rook.”
Rhonda moaned and pulled him closer. She ran her hands over his shoulders. “Where and when with Manetti?”
He thought about it. “Soon, so I don’t have to explain how I found Vera and before Manetti runs his mouth to Daniels and Remalla.” He paused. “And it’s better to do it at home when we’re not on duty. I don’t need any of this blowing back on me.” He considered his options. “Tomorrow. Annabelle is spending the day with her mom to shop for the nursery.” He wrapped his arms around Rhonda and pulled her against him. “How does a Sunday morning murder sound?”
She giggled when he nuzzled her neck. “Sunday funday,” she laughed, running her hands down his chest and under his robe. “You want me to use the star?” she whispered against his throat.
Eager for her, he slipped the straps of her negligee off and nibbled her shoulders. “Make it look like a robbery. Get in and get out. And we’ll meet at the cabin.” He picked her up, and she squealed. “And celebrate.” She kissed his neck hungrily as he carried her to the bedroom.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rem hurried into his house and shut the door behind him. “Mikey?” He tossed his keys onto the front table and went into the bedroom. “Mikey? Are you home?”
The room was empty. He jogged back to the front and looked up the stairs. “Mikey?”
No answer.
Disappointed, he went into his living room and sat on the couch, wondering what to do. After leaving Daniels’ house, he’d driven to Mason’s, but Mikey wasn’t there. Mason had told him that Mikey had called after dropping Marjorie off. She’d said little other than that she was going to drive around for a while. He’d tried to talk to her about Margaret, but she’d refused, saying she’d fill him in later.
Rem had explained to Mason about the party, his argument with Mikey afterward, and his need to apologize. Mason, thankfully, understood, but encouraged Rem to give Mikey some time. After seeing her sister, Mikey would need to decompress, but once she returned, he would talk to her and encourage her to contact Rem. Rem had left, hoping Mikey might have returned home, but he’d been wrong. The house was quiet, and there was no sign she’d been back since leaving the previous night.
Needing to do something, Rem stood and paced, trying to think about where she might go. Sitting and waiting had never been his strong suit. What he’d said to her made his heart ache, and he desperately needed to tell her he had meant none of it and to come home, but she wouldn’t give him the chance.
His phone rang, and he eagerly pulled it from his pocket, praying it was Mikey. The display read an unknown number, but thinking she could be calling from a different phone, he answered. “Mikey?”
A woman replied, “No, Rem. It’s not Mikey.”
The voice was familiar, and he tried to place it. “Who is this?”
The voice softened but dripped with false charm. “Don’t you know? Has it been that long?”
A stabbing pain shot through his chest. It couldn’t be. Not Margaret. Stunned, he couldn’t respond.
“Cat got your tongue?” She laughed, and his heart thudded. “Mikey came to visit me. She didn’t seem very thrilled with you.”
His fingers shook, and he tightened his hold on his cell. “How did you get a phone?”
“I’m very resourceful. I may be in a cage, but the bars are made of string. All I have to do is pull the right one.”
Rem found it hard to breathe. Feeling off balance, he sat on the couch. He wanted to hang up, but a small part of him told him to stay on the line. “What do you want?”
“I want to talk. I miss our conversations.”
“We’ve never had conversations. All you ever do is threaten.”
“Then maybe it’s time we changed that. You’ve got me on the line. Anything you want to discuss?”
He forced himself to talk. “What did you say to Mikey?”
“Do we have to talk about her?” She sighed. “How dull. But if you insist. I only told her the truth. You two can never be together. It was doomed from the start.”
He clenched his eyes shut.
“She knows you love Jennie. She just doesn’t realize how much, and that love can never be extended to her.”
Anger rippled through him. “That’s horseshit. You’re just angry that I want Mikey and not you. Well, let me state the obvious. I will never want you. I never did. I don’t even like to look at you, much less hear your voice.”
Her voice sharpened. “Is that what you said to Mikey last night when you argued?”
Shocked, Rem’s skin chilled as if he’d been doused in cold water.
“Yes. She told me she’d moved out. She told me a lot of things about you.”
Rem struggled to comprehend Margaret’s words.
“I’m so sorry about Cain.”
Hearing his cousin’s name, the knot in Rem’s stomach rose into his throat.
“And how you found him lying in a pool of his own blood? Such a jolt that must have been. And for him to die in your arms. I can imagine your anguish.” She let out a moan. “I wish I’d been there to see it.”
Rem’s disbelief almost eclipsed his devastation. Mikey had told Margaret about Cain?
“It still stings, doesn’t it?” she asked. “The pain of grief is almost as bad as the pain of guilt. And I know you. You blame yourself. You think you could have prevented it.” She paused. “Which means you probably could have.”
Rem wanted to hurl the phone across the room.
“Mikey also mentioned you were investigating the people with the bird tattoos. How’s that going? Any progress?”
That revelation snapped him back to reality. He tried to put Cain out of his mind and forced himself to use this call to his advantage. Margaret knew the man who killed Vera, and she knew Victor. That likely meant she knew Rook, too. Maybe even the Raven. “Mikey told you that?”
“She was a wealth of information.”
“What did you tell her in return?”
“I gave her what she needed to know. She’ll fill in the rest.”
“You know who killed Vera?”
“I do.”
“And you knew Allison.”
Her tone turned to disgust. “Never cared for her, although I know you did.”
Rem ignored her insinuation. If he didn’t take the offensive, he was going to end up curled up on his couch, drooling. “Her grandfather is Damien Rook, who was friends with D’Mato. Do you know Rook?”
She went quiet.
“Cat got your tongue?” he asked. “I heard Rook and someone called the Raven are close. You know anything about that?” He could hear her breathing and did his best to control his own.
“You’ve done your homework.”
“I’m good at what I do.”
“I bet you’re good at a lot of things. Too bad you waste those talents on Mikey.”
He didn’t let her change the subject. “Tell me about the Raven. What does Rook want with her?”
“If you take one piece of advice from me, take this one. Stay away from the Raven.”
“Why?”
For the first time, he heard hesitation in her voice. “Who do you think taught me how to curse the stone Victor sent to Daniels?”
An image of the creepy stone that had almost cost Daniels his sanity flashed in Rem’s brain. He wished he could forget it.
“Allison and Victor got caught up in something they never understood, and it cost Victor his life. My family is gifted, but there are things even I don’t mess with. Rook thinks he can control that power, but he will learn the truth, eventually.”
“What truth is that?”
“The Raven is using him, and when she’s done, she’ll discard him.”
“Using him for what?”
“For power. The more she takes, the more powerful she becomes. She’ll take from you, too.” She paused. “If you and Daniels are aware of her, then she’s aware of you.”
Rem didn’t know whether or not to believe her. “Rook and his little minions need to be stopped, and Daniels and I plan to do that. That includes your little buddy who killed Vera, doesn’t it?”
“He’s a dangerous man who, like Rook, can take care of himself. But if he’s caught up with Rook and the Raven’s games, he deserves what he gets.”
“Tell us who he is, and we’ll stop him.”
She laughed. “Winnie is good at playing his own game. You won’t stop him.”
“We stopped you, didn’t we?”
“Is that what you think?”
He told himself to stay strong and not let her get to him.
“You think that just because I’m in here, that I can’t get to you? I thought you were smarter than that, Aaron.” She lowered her voice. “I easily manipulated my sister into telling me all about you. I’m calling you from the facility where I’m considered mentally deranged. I can contact whoever I want. I know where you live. I know your friends. I know your past.”
Rem sucked in a wrenching breath. Her ability to get under his skin almost buckled him.
“I’m in your dreams and your nightmares, just like you’re in mine. The distance between us means nothing. Do not underestimate me.”
He fought back the urge to vomit but would not let this woman play with him. He sharpened his tone. “Are you done?”
She laughed with derision, and the sound transported him back to the stone where he’d been tied down. Margaret’s face had loomed over his while Allison waved the knife over him, and then he flashed to Margaret standing in his living room, where he was sitting now, threatening him and Mikey with a gun. “I’ve had my fun for now,” she said. “But know this. Everything I just said? It pales compared to the Raven. You choose to confront her, and well, I’ll have to find someone else to torment.”
“I’m sure you’d cry your eyes out.”
“I might shed a tear.”
“Isn’t it time for your feeding?” He was desperate to get her off the phone but determined not to give her the satisfaction of sensing his fear.
“You tell Mikey it was a pleasure. I wish you both the worst.”
“Go to hell.”
“You’ll get there first if you meet the Raven. If she gets her claws into you, just remember, there’s no shame in screaming.” She uttered another ugly laugh and hung up.
Rem slammed the phone down on the coffee table. He was so tense, it was hard to breathe. His fury growing, he clutched his chest. His heart raced faster, and on emotional overload, he stood and paced. Hearing Margaret’s words in his head, he kicked out at the end table, toppling it and the lamp on top of it. Then he grabbed the edge of the coffee table and flipped it onto its side. His phone fell to the floor, and he almost stomped on it, but at the last second he aimed his heel at the table instead. Still trying to catch his breath, he couldn’t grasp Mikey telling Margaret about him and Cain, Cain’s grisly death, and how Margaret had used that to pierce his defenses.
No matter what he’d said to Mikey, she’d had no right to tell Margaret about his cousin. Mikey understood how her sister would feed off that knowledge, but Mikey had done it anyway. That hurt Rem the most. She’d fed him to the wolves to identify Winnie, except she hadn’t succeeded. Margaret had used her sister like she used everyone. And Rem had paid the price.
The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. The room spun, and he leaned over and put his hands on his knees. His hair hung in his face, and he still couldn’t get a full breath. Everything swirled, sweat popped out on his skin, and his chest throbbed. Holding his stomach, he thought he might throw up when his phone rang. Thinking Margaret was calling back, white-hot rage shot through him. He picked up his phone and answered. “Stop calling me, you bitch.”
There was a moment of quiet. “Rem?” said Daniels. “Is this a bad time?”
Rem’s fury abated. “Daniels?” He wheezed into the phone. “Sorry. I thought…I…” Cursing at himself when his body betrayed him, he gripped the edge of the couch. “I can’t…can’t…breathe.”
“What’s wrong? What happened? Did you talk to Mikey?”
Dizzy, he sat on the couch. “No.” Stars appeared in his vision. “Marg…Margaret. Called me.” He gripped his temples.
“Margaret called you? Just now?”
Rem clutched his ribs. “I think…I think…” He tried to suck in some air. “…I’m having…a heart attack.”
“Take it easy. Take long, slow breaths. Listen to my voice.”
Rem couldn’t focus. Everything was spinning faster. “Call…911.”
“You’re not having a heart attack, Rem. You’re having a panic attack. Slow your breathing down. You have a paper bag?”
“No.”
“Talk to me. Focus on my voice. Calm down.”
Rem tried to listen and slow his breathing. “Everything is moving. My chest…hurts. I can’t…stop sweating.”
“Are you sitting down?”
“Yes.” It came out as a wheeze.
“Breathe with me. Can you do that?”
Rem heard Daniels take a slow, calm breath over the phone. Rem tried to mimic it, but wasn’t successful. “I…can’t.”
“Yes, you can. Try again.” Daniels took another long breath, and Rem attempted to do the same. He improved the second time.
“Better,” Rem whispered.
“Again.”
Daniels continued breathing as Rem tried to follow his tempo. After several minutes, the room stopped spinning.
“How do you feel?”
Rem pulled his shirt away from his damp skin. Sweat ran down his back, and his fingers shook. “Breathing better, but I’m losing it.”
“You think you are, but you’re not. You want me to come over?”
Rem finally took a normal breath, and his shoulders relaxed a little. “Nothing you can do. Stay with Marjorie and Erin.”
“Who’s staying with you?”
He eyed his damaged coffee table, toppled lamp and empty house. “No one.”
“Tell me what happened.”
Finally able to talk without fear of passing out, Rem filled his partner in on not finding Mikey and getting Margaret’s phone call. “I lost it after she hung up. You called at the perfect time.”
“Lucky me.”
“No. Lucky me. I would have been hauled out of here in a straitjacket if you hadn’t helped.”
“I would have found you and bailed you out.”
Exhausted from his mental overload, Rem hung his head. “At this point, a padded room might be nice.”
“Don’t let her get to you, Rem. I’m going to call that facility and the warden. They’ll toss Margaret’s room and find out who gave her that phone.”
Rem’s vision briefly swirled, and he blinked to clear it. “Until the next time she gets one. But that’s not even the worst. Mikey told her about me. I never thought she’d do that.”
Daniels went quiet. “Mikey’s not in the best state of mind right now.”
“It doesn’t excuse it. She knows her sister loves to pull this shit with me. I thought I could handle it better, but…” he sighed with defeat. “Hell.”
