Murder Stalks (28 page)

Relaxing in a yellow recliner, he let his
mind go over the Arisa operation. She had been good, but cheap. He
should have chosen better, someone more innocent. But a body like
hers couldn’t remain innocent for long.

His only regret was that she had begged him
to stop. He liked a bit of begging but from someone like Arisa, he
expected more. She was experienced, a professional. He’d expected
her to behave in a professional manner. Just thinking about her
large breasts displayed only for him made his muscles clench. He’d
wanted to bite off her nipples. It wasn’t in the plan so he
refrained. Discipline was the key in every operation and he was
very disciplined. Reckless killers got caught, and he wasn’t
reckless.

He would move on. His next victim would be
on his plan. He wouldn’t get sloppy.

****

The moisture on the grass, heated by the
sun, formed a layer of muggy haze that drenched both Tony and
Marissa in sweat. Marissa groaned and Tony echoed her sentiments as
they lowered their bodies into the oven hot car.

“
I want something cold for
lunch.”

“
Fine by me. Where
to?”

“
The Purple Patio. I want
their famous chicken salad.”

“
Sounds great.” Tony had
barely rolled out of the parking lot when they heard sirens
screaming down a side street. He reached for his police radio,
momentarily forgetting that he didn’t have it with him. “Damn it, I
need to be on the force. It’s my life. I can’t stop thinking about
this new set of murders. What if I missed something?” He shook his
head and stared down the street. “I want to know where those police
cars are going to. Something has to change.”

“
What can you
do?”

“
I don’t know, appeal
Chief Randall’s decision, I guess.” Tony parked in the lot for the
Purple Patio, and cut the engine. He sat for a moment, unable to
move from his spot behind the steering wheel. He couldn’t believe
he wasn’t a police officer anymore. Randall needed him. Oppressive
heat built in the car and he opened the door and stalked towards
the cool restaurant.

“
I know you love police
work, and maybe it’s your life. But right now could you stop for a
moment and let us be us for this meal?”

Tony hesitated before he stepped inside. He
didn’t want to be a jerk. He loved Marissa. “We’re both tied to
this set of murders. The quicker we find this killer and stop him,
the safer you’ll be.”

“
I know, but for a few
moments, I’d like to forget it all.”

He couldn’t keep pushing her. She needed a
break. “For this meal, I won’t think about the case. Let’s eat and
talk about us.”

Tony watched his wife order. He loved the
way she pointed to the menu as she talked to the waiter. She smiled
sweetly as she asked for the meat for her salad to be placed on a
separate plate. He knew she liked to eat the meat last, after
consuming the lettuce, carrots, red peppers and other vegetables
from her salad.

She was a meticulous eater. He had been
drawn to her unique ways from the moment they met. She could turn a
hamburger and fries into a gourmet meal just from the way she
approached her food.

Midway through the meal Tony realized that
it had taken a murder to get them back to this. They would have to
talk about Ashley later, after Sekorski came back with the
toxicology reports. Tony felt his mind being pulled back to work
and shifted gears. “Where are you working out?”

“
E Fitness, off of Fifth
Street. It’s a bit large, and I don’t like the crowds, but I really
like Ally. She’s not at all what I thought she would be like when I
first saw her.”

“
What do you mean?” Tony
asked.

“
Well, she’s kind of
intimidating. I think she has more muscles than you do.”

“
Hey, don’t bring me into
this. I’m fine with how I look.” Tony curled his arms to show his
biceps. Melissa laughed at his antics. The sound was music to his
ears. It had been too long since they had really enjoyed each
other’s company. He wanted this to last.

“
I want to start seeing
you again, but not like this.” Tony reached across the table and
touched Marissa’s hand. “Not where we’re forced together because
someone threatens you, but really dating.”

“
I don’t know. It’s been
nice, but I don’t want to be taken for granted again. I realize
some of our problems were my fault too.”

“
You know I didn’t do
anything, right?”

Marissa’s eyes narrowed as she pierced him
with her gaze. “The note?”

“
There was more than the
one you received. I should have tossed them all. I’m sorry, but I
kept one. I don’t know why I did. Maybe it was some ego trip that
let me think I was something hot. Then I just never got rid of that
one note. It sat at the bottom of my desk like a cancer. You know I
never would have acted on her promises.”

“
I don’t know what you
would have done. After Ashley, you were different. So you never met
up with Sally, even after I moved out, right?”

“
No. I never would,
either. I pulled away after Ashley died but it wasn’t because I
wanted someone else. I felt guilty that I hadn’t been there when
Ashley...”

“
Don’t blame yourself. It
wasn’t your fault.”

“
What if it was? Could you
ever forgive me?” Tony asked.

“
Even if some sicko is
targeting us, it wasn’t your fault.”

Tony’s stomach flipped, making him feel
uncomfortable. “There’s more.”

“
What?” Marissa dropped
her fork and put her napkin on top of her half eaten
salad.

“
Oh God, I’m embarrassed
to even talk about it.” Tony ducked his head as he felt his cheeks
flame. This was harder than he thought it would be. Marissa raised
her eyebrows and steepled her fingers under her chin.

“
I know I should have told
you sooner. Sally sent me a few photos of herself naked. Obviously,
someone else took them, but the photos she sent me were way out
there.”

“
I’m confused. I knew
about the one note, but photos? For how long?”

“
The notes were coming for
months. I thought I could ignore them and then the photos started
showing up. It was more than one picture. There were about a dozen
shots of her in various stages of...well, they were graphic. I
should have turned them into personnel and let them deal with her,
but I was in too deep. She said things in those notes, things that
had been left unsaid by both of us. It stroked my ego. I never
acted, but her words did something for me that had been missing for
a long time between us. I’m sorry, Marissa, I should have told you
everything earlier.”

“
So did you two have
sex?”

“
No. Like I said, I never
did anything.”

“
Did she ever approach
you?”

“
No, her demeanor towards
me never changed.”

“
You didn’t find that
odd?”

“
What?” Tony toyed with
the food on his plate. He had lost his appetite. Self-disgust and
loathing filled him.

“
She sends you naked
pictures, writes you love notes and then never takes it to the
physical level? That’s more than just odd, that’s bizarre. Maybe
you should talk to her about this and encourage her to get
counseling.”

“
I don’t know.”

“
Think about it. A note
was mailed to me. Why would she do that?” Marissa shook her head,
her eyes wide with disbelief.

“
I don’t know.”

“
Tony, someone is out to
get us. Ashley’s death may have not been accidental.” Marissa
paused and swiped at her eyes with her napkin. He moved to the seat
next to her and pulled her into his arms. Her body shook with a
sob. “I’m not going back there. I’m not going to let grief
overwhelm me again.”

“
Marissa, it’s okay. I’ve
been avoiding thinking about Ashley, too. It hurts to think someone
took our precious little girl’s life. You can cry all you want over
her.”

“
No, I’m better now. What
I was trying to say is, what if someone were trying to attack all
areas of your life? They got rid of your child, now your wife.
Maybe they were trying to get you fired. You really need to talk to
Sally. Do you still have the pictures and letters?”

“
I burned the pictures,
but I have one letter. I threw the first few away, and then she
started sending the pictures with them. I think one may be at the
bottom of my desk drawer.”

“
Then you have to go and
get it, confront her and figure out what’s up. Maybe she’s the
killer. Jackson Spade said this person could be male or
female.”

“
Sally Gerrig isn’t the
killer, but I’ll talk to her.”

“
Are you positive she
isn’t your suspect?”

Tony sighed in frustration. “No, I’m not
positive about anything anymore.”

Chapter 28

Tony moved the phone from one ear to the
other as he waited for Rex to answer. He didn’t want to do this.
Maybe he should sneak back into HQ and get the note himself.

“
Hague here.”

“
Rex, I need a
favor.”

“
What’s up?”

“
There’s a note in the
bottom drawer of my desk. I need you to bring it to me.”

“
Okay, how will I know I
have the right note?”

“
You’ll know.”

Tony flipped his phone closed. Anguish
squeezed his chest. How had he let it get this bad? He could have
prevented Marissa’s leaving if he had only talked to her the day
the first note showed up in his desk. Then again, if the killer had
gone so far as to murder his daughter, would he have stopped at
simple subterfuge?

Thirty minutes later, Rex’s car pulled into
the motel parking lot and from the look on his face Tony knew he
had glanced at the note.

“
Tony, what’s this about?”
Rex slapped the note on his palm. His eyebrows were drawn together,
creating lines across his forehead.

“
I’m not sure the note was
really from Sally,” Tony answered.

“
What do you mean? It’s
her handwriting.” Rex flipped the letter in front of
Tony.

“
That’s what I thought
too, but now I’m not so sure.”

“
So, did you do that to
her?” Rex’s face contorted in disgust.

“
What?”

“
It says here that she
wanted you to tie her up and fuck her until she passed
out.”

Tony sighed and ran his hand down his face.
He shook his head, thinking of some way to explain the note to Rex.
“No, I never touched her. I just didn’t throw away the note.”

“
You think she’s in on the
set up?”

“
I don’t know.” Tony’s
voice came out in a defeated whisper.

“
I don’t know if Sally’s
capable of murder. She loved Ashley, cried for days after her
death.” Rex leaned against his car, his face still drawn up in a
scowl.

“
I don’t remember.” Tony
held his head with both hands. The pounding at the base of his
skull made him want to puke. He couldn’t believe it was back to
this.

“
Maybe she was faking
it.”

“
It’s too much. I don’t
remember what happened in the days following Ashley’s death.” Tony
shook his head in desperation. Could Sally be so demented and
delusional she would go so far as to kill his daughter? But the
notes started after Ashley’s death, not before.

“
Tony, let me call her.
We’ll meet at my place. Maybe we can get to the bottom of
this.”

“
I’m going to have to
confront her. I seriously don’t want to do this.”

“
You won’t be confronting
her. I’ll do the talking. She’ll understand.”

“
How the hell is she going
to understand?” Tony yelled. He didn’t even understand what was
going on. Did Rex have some background knowledge he didn’t have?
Anger churned in Tony’s belly, he wanted to lash out at Rex.
Instead, he sucked in a deep breath, redirecting his thoughts to
Sally Gerrig.

“
You’re being set up. It
doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see this Gerrig thing isn’t on
the up and up.”

Tony nodded. “Call her.”

Tony walked to the other side of the parking
lot. Cars on the highway flew past, busy people on their way in
their normal, unadulterated lives. He was supposed to be out there,
helping people. Not stuck living in a cheap motel next to a noisy
highway, trying to clear his name of God only knew what.

Rex was still on the phone, talking
animatedly, using his free hand to emphasize his point. Tony
shouldn’t have agreed to talk to Sally. She would probably go to
personnel after their meeting. Escaping this unscathed would be a
miracle.

Tony was about to turn to join Rex when he
felt a familiar tickle run up his back. Again. He’d had the
sensation a lot lately and it had turned out to be nothing. Tony
pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and acted like he was
punching in numbers. Holding the phone to his ear, he turned and
studied the parking lot across the highway. His eyes caught
movement in a green Toyota. Was someone watching him? Sunlight
glinted on something through the windshield. Binoculars?