Eye Candy (22 page)

“Actually, no, I’ve already left her a few messages.”

“If you’re one of her clients you may want to try her cell phone.”

“Yeah, I’ve done that too but been unsuccessful, he said twiddling his fingers on his desk. “Maybe I’ll just call back later.”

After he hung up the phone, he wondered where Tiffany could be. It had now been three days and she failed to return any of his calls. He thought about how uncharacteristic her behavior was. Something must definitely be wrong. He tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together but couldn’t find the solution. Before he knew it, time had elapsed and he needed to meet with Mr. Bradshaw.

CHAPTER 25

Dinner with the Carmichael’s went well yesterday despite the fact I had to listen to Shanna sarcastic mouth. It was clear she didn’t like Sebastian and now I was on her short list. Misery loves company and I guess in her case she didn’t want my marriage to succeed. The Carmichael’s, on the other hand, took a diplomatic stance during dinner.

My talk with Monica was amicable as we were able to sit down like two civil adults and listen to each other concerns. We decided in order for us to fully reconcile a round of marital counseling would be needed first. I didn’t argue about that just as long as I had the opportunity to get my marriage back on track. Monica also stated she would come back home but only when she felt more comfortable.

The only thing that kept me from remaining calm this morning was Sebastian. I had been calling the police department religiously for the last few days and still there wasn’t a signed warrant. I’d figured I would make good on my promise to myself if there were no result today. I planned to handle him by myself. Nevertheless, before I did, I placed a final call to the Atlanta Police Department. Surprisingly, my call was transferred to a detective who was now assigned to my case.

“Hey, Ron, pick your damn phone,” yelled out another detective in the crowded office of the police department. “There’s some guy on hold for you on line three.”

Ron, also known as Detective Tate, was now in charge of my case. He was the head of the homicide unit in the department and had been for the last ten years. As he walked through the open floor plan office, with rows of desk scattered about, he chewed on a glazed donut. When he strolled up to his desk and looked at his phone, he noticed the line I had been waiting on was still flashing. He picked up the receiver, pressed the number three line, and spoke.

“Detective Tate here,” he said real loud over all the noise in the office.

“Yes, Detective Tate, this is Aaron Malone. I was told my case had been transferred to you.”

“Ah, Mr. Malone, I’m glad you called,” he said as he gulped down his remaining glazed donut. “I was getting ready to contact you. The judge just signed off on the warrant this morning.”

“That’s great Detective Tate!” I said with excitement. “So where do we go from here?”

“Well, I’m the lead detective in charge and me and a few officers will be picking up Mr. Carter right away.”

“He should be working this morning at Donaldson and Bradshaw. It’s an architect firm right here in Atlanta.”

“Yeah, that’s the information we gathered from Officer Jackson already.”

“I’m actually off work today and can meet you at the firm.”

“Whoa, Mr. Malone,” he said quickly. “Just hold onto your horses for a moment. Let the professionals here at the Atlanta Police Department handle the situation.”

“But don’t you need somebody to help you identify him?”

“We already spoke to Ms. Towns this morning,” he said. “She gave us a good description of him and precisely where his office is located.”

“So, I’m forced to keep waiting again?”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Malone, we are going to get that bastard today, I promise. Nothing turns my stomach more than a child killer.”

“Well, that makes the both of us,” I said sternly.

“Mr. Malone, I have been doing this for a long time and I just need for you to really stay put while we handle our job,” he said in an authoritarian tone. “I’ll be sure to call you once I have personally placed the cuffs on him.”

“Okay, Detective Tate, whatever you say.”

After my conversation with the detective, I took a seat on the sofa and tried to watch the television. I didn’t pay any attention to the images or sounds coming from the flat screen in front of me. All I could do was think about Sebastian.

Across the city at Donaldson and Bradshaw, Sebastian had just placed on his jacket and was preparing to leave his office. He fixed his tie and buttoned up his jacket then moved forward. When he was just outside his office, he heard his phone on his desk ring. He turned around, and then paused, knowing he couldn’t be late. Afterwards, he continued on to Mr. Bradshaw’s office. He made a detour into the men’s restroom which was just a few feet from his destination. As he walked in, one of his colleagues was at the sink washing his hands.

“How’s it going, Sebastian?”

“Great Tom,” he said nonchalantly walking up to a urinal. There he unzipped his pants and began to relieve himself.

“Hey, I heard you were reassigned to the revitalization project,” Tom said pulling a few sheets of paper towel from the machine on the wall.

“Yeah, you heard right.”

“So, how is the project coming along?”

“I’m meeting with the boss as soon as I leave here to further discuss some issues,” Sebastian said as he flushed the urinal and zipped up his pants.

“Well, I’ll see you around Sebastian,” Tom said as he finished wiping his hands and tossed the paper towels into the trash can.

“See you later, Tom.”

Sebastian made his way over to the sink and turned the water on as Tom walked out the restroom. He quickly lathered his hands with liquid soap and rinsed them under the warm flowing water. Then he turned the water off and walked over to the same paper towel machine Tom was using. As he did, his phone rang which was in his front pocket of his slacks.

“Darn it,” I thought I put my cell phone on silent,” he said to himself wiping his hands with a few sheets of paper towels. “The last thing I need is for my phone to ring while I’m in a meeting with Mr. Bradshaw.” After his hands were dry, he retrieved the phone from his pocket and answered it.

“Hello,” he answered sounding frustrated.

“Sebastian, thank God I finally reached you!”

“Tiffany?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Where the hell have you been for the last three days?” he shouted through the phone. “I’ve been calling you left and right.”

“Thank goodness, they haven’t gotten to you yet.”

“Who are you talking about, Tiffany?”

“I’m talking about the police, Sebastian.”

There was a pause of silence as neither one of the two said a word for a few seconds. Sebastian knew his house of cards was beginning to crumble down.

“Where are you, Tiffany?”

“I’ve been at the Fulton County Jail for the last seventy-two hours,” she said sounding defeated. “They know everything.”

“You told them?”

“I didn’t have a choice, baby,” she said beginning to cry. “The Malone’s neighbor had evidence of our plan from a security camera. Where are you, now?”

“I’m at the office.”

“Get out of there, now!” she frantically said. “The police are on their way. I would have warned you sooner but they just allowed me to use the phone.”

“No, Tiffany, tell me it’s not true!”

“Listen to me, Sebastian,” she said still crying. “I really didn’t want it to turn out this way but I still love you.”

Crushed his plan had gone awry, Sebastian hung up the phone with Tiffany. He didn’t know if the police were listening in on the call or not. Slowly, he walked to the bathroom door and opened it to a slight crack. Through the crack, he looked towards his office and saw a few policemen standing in front of it. Then as he looked in the opposite direction, he saw Detective Tate talking with Mr. Bradshaw right outside his office door.

Sebastian knew he was screwed but had to think fast if he wanted to evade capture. He thought about the exit door near the bathroom which led to the stairwell. His best option was getting to the ground floor.

He closed the slightly cracked bathroom door. Then he took off his tie and jacket and ditched them into the bathroom trash can. He hyped himself up as if he was back on the football field at Florida State and prepared to run. Easily, he made his way down the hall walking fast to the exit door trying not to get noticed. Before he arrived at the stairwell door, a voice shouted out.

“There he is!” shouted Mr. Bradshaw pointing to Sebastian.

“Stop right there, Sebastian Carter!” yelled out Detective Tate as he ran towards the stairwell door. The officers near Sebastian’s office soon followed.

Luckily, Sebastian made it inside the stairwell. Then he noticed a fire extinguisher and axe inside a glass case next to the door. He kicked the glass in and grabbed the slender axe. The axe fitted perfectly wedging into the door’s handle. Now, the detective and officers on the other side couldn’t enter the stairwell.

“He’s in the stairwell on the thirty-second floor,” Detective Tate said into his walkie-talkie after he unsuccessfully tried to open the door. “Seal off the perimeter and send officers into the stairwell from the floor beneath us.”

As soon as Detective Tate barked out his command, a siege of officers came bolting up the stairs towards Sebastian. He only had a split second to think and knew right then his sole option was the roof which was two floors up. Before he moved, he took the fire extinguisher and sprayed the white powdery fog on the officers below. This camouflage gave him some extra time as the officers had to be cautious.

When he reached the door to the roof, it was jammed but he used his brute strength and powered it open. He looked behind him and saw the officers racing up the stairs. Wisely, he kicked off the inside door handle. By doing this, the door would lock and couldn’t be open. He smiled as he knew he was inches away from permanently disappearing.

Sebastian walked out on the enormous roof and quickly turned around and slammed the door behind him. It was just in the nick of time as an avalanche of officers, on the other side of the door, were kicking and pounding it with no results. He gathered himself, took a second to breathe, and then turned around facing the roof again. When he did there was a huge surprise waiting for him.

“Take that you son-of-a-bitch!” I exclaimed as I punched him in his nose. “There was no way I’d let the police get a hold of you before I did.”

Being the smart and savvy designer whom I was, I sat around all morning putting myself in Sebastian’s shoes. I figured the roof would be his only viable option once he knew the police were on to him. My ingenious plan had now paid off and it was time for payback.

“Aaron, you mother fucker!” he yelled back at me bending down holding his nose as blood poured onto his hands. “I think you just broke my nose.”

“That’s not all I’m going to break.”

Sebastian took his hands down from his face and wiped the blood on his expensive shirt. I could see the hate in his eyes as he charged me like a mad bull. When he reached me, our bodies interlocked like two wrestlers as we fell down on the roof. Still intertwined, we rolled around over each with each man trying to gain the better position. I was finally able to maneuver myself on top of him.

“You damn asshole, why did you do it?” I asked and then punched him repeatedly in the nose. I was trying to take his nose off his face as blood was going everywhere by now. “Why did you have to kill my twin boys?”

Before he could answer there was a loud thunderous sound approaching above us and the wind was picking up immensely. I looked up and there was a massive helicopter hovering on top of us.

“What the hell is this?” I said looking into the sky as I stopped pounding in Sebastian’s face.

“This is the Atlanta Police Department,” said an officer from the helicopter’s siren system. “You’re surrounded with nowhere to escape. Get faced down on the roof, now!”

Sebastian took this opportunity and sucker punched me. He caught me squarely on my chin and the blow knocked me backwards. Then he jumped on top of me and punched my right eye twice as my head bounced off the roof. He was too strong and powerful for me to overtake.

“You never would understand anyway, Aaron,” he said as he raised his fist again attempting to deliver another harsh blow. Suddenly, he paused, looked at me, and then spat in my face. “I never did like your geeky ass anyway.” Then instead of finishing me off, he rose to his feet and took off running on the roof.

“Subject, get down now!” ordered the officer from the helicopter.

Sebastian didn’t comply but kept running to the center of the roof. I figured he planned to take cover near the large air compressors. In front of the compressors was the even larger skylight. The pilot swooped down closer to Sebastian running as the wind kicked up more now. Then the officer in the helicopter let off a warning shot. It must have scared the heck out of Sebastian because he eventually slipped, lost his balance, and fell onto the skylight before he could reach the compressors. As he did, the glass shattered and I saw him disappear.

Still in shock from the blows he had given me with my right eye almost swollen shut, I picked myself up and rushed over to the skylight. There in front of me, I saw him hanging barley onto a piece of metal as his body dangled above the thirty-four floors beneath him. I could see the glass had already made it down to the lobby underneath him. The people below were amazed at what they were witnessing above them. He continued to dangle looking at me too prideful to ask for my help.

“I’m not going to let you get off that easy,” I said as I bent down and grabbed his forearm. “You’re going to rot in prison first and then hell.”

Instinctively, he attached his other hand to my assisting arm as I tried to pull him up. The wind from the helicopter’s blades wasn’t making the task any easier. Then I felt him purposely letting his grip go.

“No, Sebastian, don’t do it!”

“It’s better this way, Aaron.”

“Why did you have to do it?” I screamed over the helicopter’s noise still hovering above us.