Succubus Tear (Triune promise) (28 page)

Stella was prepared for the next couple of weeks to be rough. She even entertained the notion of asking his love-struck friend to leave. But she decided against it; such an action would have completely closed Cain off to her inquiries.

Well, what did I expect?
Stella thought begrudgingly, noticing the way Charlie could be so bumbling and charming at the same time. A
fter all, I look like her.

Cain’s background check put him at an IQ of
135 on the Stanford scale, which was impossible, but his coworkers that were questioned all confirmed his exceptional knack and all said that he had a friend by the name of Charlie who was smarter by far.

Smarter, but they didn’t say even more handsome.

Indeed, Charlie was exactly her type. Stella always had a thing for the “hot Asian male” long hair, dark eyes, and a smooth light olive complexion. Charlie wore a close-fitting shirt that clung to his thin yet muscular frame that looked hard as steel.

The tensions that started off the evening did not abate much for anyone. It was obvious to Stella that Cain was highly distracted, perhaps even upset. Though the thermostat read eighty degrees, Cain kept shivering and crossing his arms across his body in a peculiar manner.

Charlie, on the other hand, enjoyed playing the various console games and laying his charm on Stella that (against all common sense) was working.

“Excuse me a moment,” Stella said as she noticed Cain went out the front door, and followed him.

“You cold?” she said, closing the door.

“Yes, and no,” Cain said, never turning around.

“You certainly looked like you were cold inside.”

Cain was silent for several moments and spoke at last. “I’m not going anywhere, I want to be alone.”

Stella felt like an ass.
He misses Al’bah
.

The last few hours were hard on Cain. His attention kept wandering from the various questions and issues she and Cain went over. He gave her a full description of Al’bah, and a copy of his financial records.

Stella was glad that at the very least, she could keep her patience with Cain, as he would often go to “that place,” as Charlie called it.

Nothing about this case makes sense,
Stella thought as she went back inside. Indeed, Cain allowed himself very few indulgences, and even those were cheap. He was very much a money-miser, buying almost everything he owned secondhand. And yet, he dropped nearly a thousand dollars in brand-new top-quality young women’s clothing for Al’bah in a single day.

Indeed, there was something completely off on how ignorant Cain was of Al’bah. He didn’t even know her last name. And his ignorance didn’t stop there. He didn’t know where she came from, who her parents were, her phone number, why she was in the city, or any other worthwhile detail of her past. Which was somewhat understandable, considering how he met her and was with her for barely three days.

It was an awkward situation. The more Stella asked, the more Cain seemed to realize how little he knew. It made him uncomfortable in a way that reminded Stella of how one feels when they are so completely deceived, or perhaps betrayed—no, deceived. Betrayal usually provoked anger. So that would only leave being deceived. But she didn’t know whether or not Cain felt deceived by Al’bah, or if he thought he deceived himself.

Her story, her hair, even her fingerprints are so strange,
Stella mused. Cain had almost refused when Stella asked to acquire her fingerprints, but relented when she reminded him that he didn’t have a choice. Al’bah’s fingerprints looked as though they were a form of ancient runes, with sharp, angular lines that intersected at strange angles with no other details. Even her palm prints didn’t have that classic “M” feature. Her handprints also reminded Stella of ancient writing.

Stella easily found Al’bah’s hair on the couch and found it to be extremely strong. It took considerable force to break even a single strand.
What has this girl been eating?
she wondered, bagging up the hair, along with the other forensic evidence.

“If you’ll excuse me, boys,” Stella said, taking the bags to her car. “I need a few moments to myself.”

“Case subject: Al’bah, no last name thus far. Female, age indeterminate. Possibly of Hispanic, Middle Eastern, or Indian ethnicity, early twenties if not late teens. The more I ask subject Cain Lamentson about Al’bah, the more I feel that Cain is innocent and this Al’bah is some sort of enforcer in the cartel. I get the feeling that Cain was being watched for some time, and selected to be a picture-perfect fall man for something big. No, Stella, you didn’t come up with that one by yourself.” She stopped for a moment and blew her nose that still ran from her dose of mace.

“How she managed to so completely seduce Cain Lamentson is beyond me. As far as I can tell, he and his friend Charlie Tsukada are more devoted to each other than most people would suspect. I get the feeling that neither I nor Mister Lamentson will be seeing her again, unless it is under very strange or unusual circumstances.”

Stella yawned and stretched. “No other significant details worth mentioning, aside from the unusual forensic data that will be submitted to the lab no later than three p.m. tomorrow.”

Self-Destiny Comes from a Mind Made-Up

“Life is big picture, and so is love. People who say either is unpredictable can’t visualize the big picture.”

—Walter Stratton

“If you’ll excuse me, boys. I need a few moments to myself.”

Once the door was closed, Cain turned toward Charlie. “So, whatcha think of Holly?”

“Dude, she’s great. I can’t believe that—” His words were interrupted as Cain threw a balled-up paper at Charlie’s head.
 

“
Holly is dead, remember?
” Cain shouted. “There, that’s all the proof I need to know that you’re confusing the past with the here and now.” 

“Hey, man,” Charlie said softly. “I know. Don’t, okay?”
 

Cain nodded. “I won’t, man. I mean, you just got done ragging me over Al’bah.”
 

Charlie nodded. “Thanks, man. I miss Holly, I do. It’s strange being around Stella. She makes it feel like…” His voice trailed off.
 

“I know what you mean,” Cain said, settling into his armchair and closing his eyes.
 

“Hey that reminds me, how did you meet Al’bah?”
 

Cain opened his eyes and stared at Charlie for a moment and closed them again. “Dude, even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”
 

“Strip club?”
 

A cross between a laugh and a sob bubbled up within him. “No, but she was naked when I first saw her. It’s funny; strip club is what I told the cop.”
 

“Was she in trouble when you first saw her?”
 

Cain nodded. “Yeah.”
 

“Dude, do you really think—”
 

“No!” Cain said, opening his eyes and leaning toward Charlie. “No, I don’t think that she is part of the cartel that the cops have such a hard-on for.” Cain lowered his head and thought hard for a moment. “Charlie?”
 

“Yeah?”
 

“If anything should happen in the next few days and I have to run, I want you to go where it all started, okay?”
 

“Sure. Hey, man, why won’t you tell me what’s going on?”
 

Cain was about to speak when Stella walked back in without knocking.
 “Was I interrupting?”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Stella shook her head. “I swear, you two are just like a couple.” Stella’s expression changed. “What, did I say something wrong?”
 

Cain shrugged. “Holly used to say that all the time. You coming in and saying things like that make it—”
 

“Cain, seriously, shut up,” Charlie said quietly.
 

Cain sighed and turned halfheartedly back to his game. He sensed a small chill from Charlie ever since he was about to give Stella a piece of his mind. It didn’t surprise him in the slightest that Charlie would eventually choose her over him.

It wouldn’t last long unless she chose him as well. It was highly unlikely though. Cain knew Stella’s type: the consummate professional. Stella was likely going to wind up as the chief of police somewhere, the director of the FBI, or some other high-ranking position within the law.

He knew this day would come, a day that he and Charlie would part ways. But as he watched the two of them, Charlie flirting and Stella resisting, he could only think of Al’bah.
 

I miss you, Al’bah. I should be out there getting you out. God, I wish I knew how.

“Hey, no fair! You can’t use the dump truck to smash my fortifications!” Charlie snickered at the computer enemy.

Cain looked at the chaos on the screen. Charlie’s building was partially fortified by a metal shutter, in which a dump truck was completely obliterated.

***

Around eleven thirty-five, Charlie yawned and got up. “Cain, I’m glad that you weren’t in the shitter for this night, and that you brought Stella along, even if she is your babysitter.” He winked at Stella.

Cain was now familiar enough with her “tells” to know that she was fighting like mad not to smile back.

Cain shrugged. “Don’t oversleep like last time. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“‘Kay, see ya.”

After the door closed, Cain watched her chest deflate a little, revealing another tell; she was holding her breath. “I know—great guy, isn’t he?” 

“Huh? Oh Charlie? Yes, I can see by the mess that you and he are quite the ‘pals.’”

“He is going to leave the country next fall.” Cain could barely hear her take a breath in, as if to ask a question. She held it for a moment, and let it go.

He watched Stella for a moment but didn’t say anything. His mind slowly turned back to Al’bah. She was under the building where that jackass Walter worked. Cain was sure her rescue would not be as easy as walking in there with a few tools or a few weapons, and a lot of hope.

He needed a plan. And although he needed help, Cain was sure he couldn’t ask Stella or even Charlie to help him do this. Shit, they probably wouldn’t even believe half the things he would need to explain in order to get them to agree to do so.

Cain needed an advantage. He needed some way to distract or incapacitate. He got up to relieve himself in the bathroom, and checked his voicemail.

Hello, Mister Lamentson, this is Walter Stratton. Sorry to have missed you. I will actually be able to receive you at any time tomorrow, Saturday, or next week, beginning Monday. The law office is open eight till six and closed Sundays. Excuse me, ten till six on Saturdays due to building maintenance, and waste removal.
 

He returned from the bathroom, Charlie’s building on the game had another dump truck mow down his metal shutter...

That’s it. That was the advantage he needed. It was likely there would be a security system in the office itself, but the garage might have a lower priority if there were no cars. All he needed…was a dump truck. 

“What are you doing?”
 

Cain looked up. “I’m packing my stuff and Al’bah’s stuff into these bags.”
 

“Plan on going somewhere?”
 

“Yes.”
 

“Where?”
 

Cain stood up. “I’m going to get Al’bah back tomorrow. Is that so bad?”

Stella lowered her gaze. “I-I guess not, Cain, but you do know that I will be following you. And, if you do find her, I’ll have a lot of questions to ask her.” 

Cain nodded. “I’m counting on it.”

Difference between Law and Good

“People die all the time; it’s best to get full use out of them.”

—Shane Harper

—Walter Stratton