Grace (8 page)

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"Right now, Jerry, I'm not believing a damn word you've told us. You're holding something back, and I want to know what it is. We know you're into drugs. Did you get Celina involved and maybe you owe someone?” Max eyed Jerry who sat in the interrogation room along with Max's partner, Tommy.

"I told you everything I know.” Jerry then ran his fingers through his hair. Max wasn't going easy on the kid. He didn't have any leads, any suspects and the fact the kid just appeared to be hiding something was enough to question him. Max didn't believe in wasting time. He was always thorough in his interrogation tactics and had a reputation for making the guilty confess.

"What did you do with Celina, Jerry? Where is she?” Max yelled into Jerry's ear as he shook the chair Jerry sat in.

"Do you know about the death penalty? Because if you're responsible for the murder of your girlfriend as well as the others, you're going to die,” Max added.

Jerry turned his head toward Max, eyes wide in disbelief.

"I didn't kill her. I didn't kill anyone.” He started to cry.

"Celina's friend Peggy said that Celina was having an affair. You found out about it and flipped out. Maybe you couldn't handle that? Maybe your jealousy took control and you took matters into your own hands?"

"No!"

"It's happened before, Jerry. The boyfriend finds out his precious, perfect little girlfriend is doing someone else and bam, he wants revenge, decides to slap her around a bit, and things get out of hand. You killed her, freaked out, got rid of the body then played the sad boyfriend who just happened to be the first one on the scene."

"I didn't kill Celina. I love her. I told Detective Martin all about it and the guy Celina was seeing."

Max paused a moment as the words sank in. Suddenly, he was angry as hell. Why hadn't Grace informed him? It didn't matter anyway because they had their suspicions after speaking with Peggy. Now Max would have to straighten out Grace Martin, let her know who was in charge of this case.

"Tell us everything, Jerry, and don't leave anything out,” Max demanded.

Grace couldn't shake the nervous feeling as she sat at the desk in her office going over everything she had on Celina's disappearance. The Cave and the real business being run behind closed doors only made matters worse. Any number of things could have happened to Celina. The police department felt Celina's case was somehow connected to the three other murder cases.

Her focus remained on the other cases and the condition of the bodies found, all indicating sexual assault and deviant behavior on the part of the suspect. She also relied on her training, her experience and the information she learned through numerous homicide courses. Geberth had emphasized the importance of ‘Victimology’ during a sex-related homicide investigation. Grace asked the questions, “Who was the victim? What was going on in Celina's life and the others during the time of the event?

She had interviewed Celina's parents, and they had a different view of their daughter's lifestyle. That wasn't so uncommon. The fact they didn't know their daughter was definitely hanging out with Mary Chloe made Grace wonder what Celina was into. Then Jerry of course was unaware of Celina's secret job and perhaps Mary was right and Celina preferred her secret rich guy over her current boyfriend. What a blow that was to Jerry. The more Grace spoke with him and investigated him, the more she came to realize he was just some poor sap caught in the middle.

Grace needed more evidence to point her in the right direction and the conversation she had with Celina's friend Megan indicated a small connection with the secret clubs. Megan wasn't exactly cooperative and had a chip on her shoulders from the time Grace walked into her place of employment. Grace didn't give a rat's ass whether Megan was annoyed or embarrassed. Her mission was to find out everything she could about the life of Celina Marquette with hope that some detail, even the smallest, would lead her closer to finding a motive and the suspect.

Grace wondered if Max Mathews followed the same trail. They could be working together, but here it was a week later and still he hadn't returned any of her calls.

Whether Grace liked it or not, she would have to straighten things out with Lieutenant Mathews. It was the professional thing to do. One final call after she looked over the notes she made from the interview, and then Max Mathews could take a hike.

Grace's thoughts were interrupted as someone came barging through her office door.

"Well, Detective Martin, I should knock you on your pretty little ass for interfering with this case and withholding possible evidence!” Lieutenant Mathews yelled, pointing his finger in Grace's face.

Grace stood up from behind the desk. “Won't you come in, Lieutenant? It's so nice to see you."

She tried to act unaffected by Max's abrupt entrance by walking past him and closing the computer office door. But not before she let Barry know everything was fine.

As Grace turned back toward Max, she found him standing very close and in her face talking down to her.

"You knew that Celina was seeing someone else and that she and Jerry were having problems. Jerry told you he lied about where Celina went the night she had gone missing. You paid a visit to her friend Mary, as well. Now I want you to tell me everything you know."

Grace brushed by him, hoping to put some distance between them and stay in control. Max was definitely intimidating, pushy and obviously used to people giving into his demands. She wouldn't reveal her nervousness.

Grace leaned against the front of her desk, crossing her arms in front of her. She eyed Max from head to toe just as he had done to her the other day at the courthouse. However, this time, she wound up affected by him.

He was handsome, mean and angry at the moment. The sparkling, flirtatious eyes she recalled from their last encounter now seemed to be emitting spears at her.

Max stared in return, just waiting for some sort of response. Grace refused to allow him to control the conversation, or her for that matter, despite his use of an incredibly mean look. After all, he was the one who abruptly entered her office yelling at her rudely.

The way he stared at her, remaining silent as if it were some quiet contest of who would back down first, angered and annoyed her. The heat reached her cheeks, and she prayed they weren't the same color red as the sweater she wore. As he continued to stare at her, she shifted her position against the desk and cleared her throat. “I have attempted to call you numerous times...."

"Bullshit. Ron said the cases you were investigating had nothing to do with mine.” Max placed his hands on his hips, giving Grace a clearer view of the black holster and revolver as well as his trim waist.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot. I'd like to resolve this, so we can move on with the case together,” Grace suggested.

Max gave a slight laugh. “Together, huh? I don't think so. You see, I'm the lead detective. You're going to be answering to me."

Grace stood up straight, also placing her hands on her hips, prepared to go round for round with the lieutenant.

"How is that, Lieutenant Mathews? The way I see it is we can find Celina together or we can continue this unnecessary battle between us. I'm willing to forget how you ignored my calls, pushed meeting me off to some idiot who had little knowledge of the case and was told to withhold info from me and ... about the sexist way you acted at the courthouse."

"Now hold on, Detective. It was you who ran into me and held on,” Max countered.

Grace huffed and tried to move away from the front of the desk, toward the door, when Max grabbed her arm to stop her. With his other hand, he stuck his finger in her face again.

"You tell me everything you know right now."

"You tell me everything you know and you have a deal,” Grace responded.

Max appeared furious. Grace thought he probably wondered,
Who the hell does this woman think she is? She's not intimidated by you, buddy.

Grace's cell phone rang, but she didn't move to answer it, and a moment later, Barry walked in concerned about the scene unfolding in the computer room.

Max took a step away from Grace as Barry entered the room.

"Sorry to interrupt, Grace, but that was a Mary Chloe on the phone. She wants to know if this Friday night at 9:00 p.m. is all right?"

Grace looked toward Max, who immediately gave her another dirty look, knowing she was up to something.

"Tell her that's fine. I'll call her back in a little while."

Then Barry left the room.

Max took a deep breath, leaning against the desk.

"Do you really want to do this the hard way?"

"Are you going to play fair or what?” Grace replied.

Max took another deep breath, eyeing Grace. She was stubborn and not easily intimidated. She had dealt with enough cops like Max Mathews in her career. There was no way she would start backing down now.

He reached out his hand. “Hi, I'm Lieutenant Mathews and you are...?"

Grace hesitated a moment, then smiled and shook his hand. “Detective Grace Martin. It's nice to meet you, Lieutenant."

Max still didn't smile, nor did he let go of her hand. The blood rushed to her cheeks, and she was instantly nervous.

Max appeared to feel a similar response as she noticed his cheeks turn a shade redder. It was an odd moment, an instant attraction entwined with annoyance and anger. He was an attractive man, in a rugged, no-nonsense type of way.

"I'm in charge and everything goes through me first. I'll share everything I have, and you will do the same. I'll clear it with the commander, got it?"

"Yes,” was all Grace could say. She didn't want to say too much out of fear her voice would sound as shaky as she felt.

Max let go of her hand then took a seat on the edge of her desk. His confident take-no-shit attitude was all street cop. She stood her ground even though her inner voice told her to run and cower behind her desk....
No way!

"So tell me what you have so far and what your meeting with Mary Chloe Friday night is all about.” Max crossed his arms in front of his chest, as if absorbing Grace's every feature and not out of habit. He didn't take his eyes off of her.

Grace moved around the desk to take a seat, so she would appear more at ease with the lieutenant's questioning tactics. His staring, however, was a different story.

She explained about Celina seeing some attorney and that she believed they may have met at her parents’ house during a party, and then later at some sort of underground club where the patrons engage in not-so-traditional sexual activities. Max's eyes widened.

"Did this information come from Mary Chloe?"

"Yes, and there's more."

"We spoke to her and she was unwilling to tell us anything,” Max added, appearing annoyed that Grace was able to get Chloe to talk.

"It's all about attitude and being engaging, Lieutenant. Haven't you ever heard the expression ‘You get more bees with honey?’ Mary is Celina's best friend and Jimmy had confided in me."

"I still don't trust that kid, and as far as the parents’ attitude toward Mary Chloe, I can understand that, as well.” Max focused on Grace.

"Well, Mary didn't want to talk to you guys because she didn't trust you. Apparently, she has to pay a few people off to keep her business in that neighborhood as well as the secret one she's running in the back."

"She mentioned something about a payoff for the month, but I just figured it was some kind of modern day organized crime racquet. I wasn't there about that. Now what's this about a secret business?” Max asked and Grace told him all about the 1-900 numbers and the kinky-sex-call business Mary ran.

"This opens the case up to even more suspects."

"It gets worse. You see, there are these underground clubs. Apparently, Celina went there often and had met this attorney guy she was seeing. It's a pretty intense place and according to Mary, by invitation only. They can spot a cop from a mile away. Mary also said you have to go to three separate locations to be checked first before you're given an address to the club's location."

"Sounds like you've done your homework ... wait a minute.” Max's eyes widened and he stared at Grace.

"You made plans with Mary to go to the club Celina was last seen at.” It was a statement not a question and Grace knew that. She had every right to follow her leads and she had already run it by the commander. Felix was organizing a small group of detectives to assist. Sometimes, cases put her in dangerous, or in this case, uncomfortable situations. It's not like she wasn't experienced.

"Yes, I did and yes, I am."

"No, you're not. You have no idea where this place is, if that Morticia Addams look-alike can be trusted, or the hundreds of different things that could go wrong. We have to run it by command, and I need to be sure you're experienced enough...."

"Excuse me, but you have no right to tell me what I can and can't do while I am investigating leads on a case I'm working on. This is part of my job and believe me, Lieutenant, I do have enough experience. My commander has already approved the small operation."

"You have no idea how deep this case runs and how the other victims suffered. I'm not going to stand by and let a young woman who looks like you do go into a place like that unprotected. I don't give a shit what experience you have."

"Believe me, Lieutenant, I'm well trained and do know a bit about what happened to the other victims. I have my own connections since you were so unwilling to share with me."

"I told you before, I wasn't avoiding you. Ron...."

"Ron's an asshole. and I'm trying to conduct an investigation of a murder. A young, innocent victim. Now this missing person definitely is connected to my case. The commander has given his okay and approval, Mathews, and this is how it's going down. We can work together or separate. Your choice."

Max inhaled deeply, once again eyeing Grace as if unsure how to read her, or perhaps he didn't trust her. Grace didn't care either way. This was her case, and she was working under direct orders from her commander.