Guilty Pleasure (12 page)

Nicole smiled at her.

“
So, when do you have to
come face to face with that killer?”

“
I don’t know. I know
Michael will be talking to that woman who got away from Johnny. I
think that might even be tomorrow. The prosecutor wants to hurry
this case along.”

“
That poor woman will have
to relive everything.”

“
I know. I don’t know if I
would have the strength to do something like that. I’m going to
turn in earlier I’m kind of drain from today.”

“
Okay. If you want to talk
you know where to find me.”

Monica watched Nicole head to her room. She
grabbed her cellphone and went into her bedroom. She turned on some
soft music to drown out her voice then she dialed her phone.

“
Hey Monica, what’s
up?”

“
Hey Adam. I just wanted to
let you know Nicole handled today well.”

“
I know. I just got done
talking to Michael. He said he kept Nicole from going into the room
with that killer.”

“
Michael called you? When
did he do that?”

“
I just got off the phone
with him. He wanted to make sure I was doing alright.”

“
That’s sweet of
him.”

“
Isn’t he in your apartment
with Nicole?”

“
No, he dropped her off and
went home. Did he say he was here?”

“
No, I just assumed that he
would be. I would be, just to make sure she was alright. Nicole was
probably shocked to see how innocent that killer
looked.”

“
Oh she was. She seemed
more rattled by what a detective Dane had to say.” Monica told Adam
what Tim had said.

“
Michael does come off a
bit chilly at times. But look at all the good he has done too. He
takes on cases pro bono. Look at what he has done for me and I’m
sure I’m not the only one who has benefited from his firm’s
foundation.”

“
Michael has done some
good. That saying, beware a wolf in sheep’s clothing, keeps popping
into my head.”

“
Nicole cares about him, so
there must be something there we don’t see.”

“
Yeah, maybe, but remember
Nicole just got out of a really emotionally abusive relationship. I
think she tries to see good where there is none, which is normally
a good thing…”

“
Look, I see what you are
saying, but I have known Michael for a couple of years now. Yeah,
he is a bit standoffish, but we don’t know what kind of shit he has
been through in his life.”

“
There is something not
right about him. I mean the guy is smoking hot, whew is he hot,
but…I don’t know maybe I’m just being overly protective of my new
BFF. Look at you, you are smoking hot and you give off a nice warm
vibe, so it’s not the intimidating hot thing.”

Adam chuckled. “Well, thank you for the
compliment. I think. The important thing here is that we be
supportive of little Nicole. Talk about being thrown into the deep
end of things. She barely got her feet wet in her new job and bam,
she has to deal with researching a serial killer. From what Michael
has told me that asshole Johnny will tell them every detail of each
kill.”

“
Oh man, I didn’t think
about that part. Maybe you can call Michael and tell him to keep
Nicole out of this one.”

“
He has tried to keep her
out of it, but she insist on helping him.”

“
You don’t worry about
this. I want you to lose yourself in your music, hell, bang some
groupies while you are at it. You need this. I will make sure
Nicole is alright.”

“
You call me if you need my
help.”

“
I will. Now go have some
fun. See you, hotness.” Monica hung up the phone then tossed it on
her bed. Adam was such a sweetheart. She couldn’t help but compare
him to Michael. She pictured them standing next to each other. They
were so similar in looks, but Adam was so much…more. Nicole would
be better off dating Adam. Oh well there was nothing she could do
about it, except be here for her friend.”

Chapter Eleven

Michael looked at Linda tied to the bed. He
called her after dropping Nicole off at her apartment. He arranged
a date. Thankfully he had already talked her into a date earlier
and had to cancel, so getting her to agree to this date was really
easy.

He picked her up from the coffee shop she
agreed to meet him in. No one in the shop was paying any attention
to them. He drove her to Adam’s apartment claiming that he forgot
his phone. He said he didn’t feel right leaving her in the car in
this neighborhood. She followed him into the apartment and now here
she was helpless and tied up. It amazed him how gullible people can
be.

“
Don’t scream or I will
make you regret it?” He took the gag off her mouth.

“
Please, please, let me
go.”

“
I have heard all of this
before.”

“
I have a daughter,
please.”

“
Well, now that is new. How
old is your daughter?”

“
She is two.”

“
Why the hell are you going
out with me then?”

“
What do you want? I will
do anything, but please let me go home to my daughter.”

“
Anything huh? You have no
idea what that might encompass. Why would you follow a stranger to
his apartment?”

“
Please let me go!” she
cried out.

Michael put the gag back into her mouth. He
grabbed the knife and stabbed it into her thigh. He closed his eyes
and listened to her muffled screams. “I told you not to
scream.”

Michael tortured Linda until she died. He
was pissed off that she didn’t last long. Hell, he didn’t even get
to the part where she begged him to kill her. Michael tossed the
knife on the ground out of frustration. After a moment, he picked
it back up and tossed it on the bed. Well, it was probably for the
best. He had no idea if Adam was going to stay out as long as he
said he was going to do. Adam might get overcome with emotion again
and come home.

Michael stuffed Linda’s body into the
suitcase and took her further down Leone Beach. No doubt the cops
would have stepped up their patrol of the area so he would have to
be careful. He always left two bodies in about the same location
and he planned to keep to that. It added a sense of danger to
things.

After he laid out her body he tossed the
suitcase back into the trunk of the rental car. He tossed the
suitcase in a dumpster on the Northside of town then he headed to
the car wash. After thoroughly cleaning the car he dropped the
rental car off at the airport then took a taxi home.

He went into his apartment. He was surprised
to find several houseplants and flowers set around the apartment.
He found a note from Nicole. She had a florist deliver the plants
to his maid service and asked them to set out the plants around the
house.

You said I could make your apartment homier.
If you don’t like the plants I chose please let me know. Fair
warning, I’m looking into some artwork as well. Let me know if I go
overboard. Love Nicole.

He set the note down on the kitchen counter.
He opened his refrigerator to grab the bottle of wine he had in
there and was surprised to find it full of food. There was a note
on the top shelf.

Your maid service is awesome. They grabbed
the groceries I asked them to. Now you will be able to make
yourself stuff to eat without having to call delivery. Love Nicole.
P.S. Most of the stuff you can just microwave or you can make
yourself a sandwich, quick and easy, like you like it.

He opened up a couple of the cupboards and
saw they were full too. He set the wine bottle down. He really
didn’t know what to think about Nicole’s kind gesture. He was still
disappointed that Linda didn’t last too long. His need wasn’t
completely squelched.

He grabbed his phone and dialed.

“
Michael?” Nicole said
sleepily.

“
I just found your
surprises. Thank you.”

“
You’re welcome,” she said
cheerfully.

“
Tomorrow you are coming
home with me. For now, go back to sleep.”

“
Okay.”

He hung up the phone. He couldn’t take her
saying she loved him right at this moment. He went and took a
shower then headed to his closet. He opened the small safe that was
in there and pulled out a book. Inside were three locks of hair.
One was from Joshua Lewis, his first kill and at one time his best
friend. He didn’t want to kill him but he couldn’t stop the impulse
to do so. Luckily, he made the kill look like an accident. He ran
his fingers over the lock of hair. This was the only kill he had a
modicum of remorse for. He turned the page and looked at the next
lock of hair. Jenny Thompson, his first real relationship. He
turned the page again and looked at the next lock of hair. Kim
Nichols, his next attempt at normalcy. He turned the page it was
blank. He grabbed the pen that was inside the box. He wrote Nicole
Fisher. He stared at her name written there for quite some time. He
slowly closed the book and put it back into his safe then he left
his bedroom and walked over to the balcony that was off the main
living area. He looked out across the city. He was going to let
himself feel something for Nicole. Maybe she would be the balance
of normalcy he needed. Not that he felt the need to be normal. Yet,
appearances had to be maintain. He couldn’t control his need to
kill, nor did he ever want to. He was made this way for a reason.
He needed no absolution or to have someone come to his rescue.
Nicole would give him a break from himself. If she couldn’t be that
for him then she would end up being another victim.

***

Nicole headed into Michael’s office. He was
putting some paperwork into his briefcase.

“
Are you ready for today,
Nicole?”

“
Yes. Are you alright from
yesterday?”

Michael looked at her. She was wearing a
very pretty yellow dress which suited her. “About the flowers and
stuff you put in my apartment. I told you that I didn’t mind that
you did that.”

“
Not that. You had to talk
to Johnny yesterday.”

“
Oh, yeah I’m alright. I
have dealt with a few killers in my career.”

She moved closer to his desk. “You have to
shut that stuff out so you can deal with your job right?”

Michael could see the hopeful look in her
eyes. She was expecting something from him, so he will play along.
The truth was nothing about his job was disturbing. Listening to
gruesome accounts of killings didn’t faze him in the least, in
fact, he enjoyed comparing himself to those other killers.

“
Yeah, I have learned to
shut my emotions off so I can handle what some of those scumbags
tell me.” When he saw her face light up he knew he said exactly
what she wanted to hear.

“
I knew it. That damn
detective was saying awful things about you. I told him you had to
shut off your emotions to deal with hearing all the gruesome
details.”

“
I’m assuming you are
talking about Tim Dane. That guy just doesn’t like me for some
reason. Don’t let what he said get to you.”

He was surprised when she rushed over and
hugged him tightly. He slowly put his arms around her.

“
If you ever need to talk
about anything I will listen.” She looked up at him. “You know that
right?”

“
I do now.”

Her smile was so warm and genuine.

“
Why do you care what some
detective said about me?”

“
It’s just not him…a couple
of other people said you were a bit chilly. None of this matters.”
She hugged him tighter.

“
A couple other people huh,
I’m guessing your roommate and Adam since they are the only other
people you talk to.”

“
Please don’t be mad at
them.”

He gently cupped her face in his hands.
“People are entitled to their opinions. I know I’m a bit
standoffish. It’s just who I am. Don’t worry about any of this. All
I care about is what you think of me.”

“
I love you,” she said
softly.

He smiled at her then stepped out of her
embrace.

“
Do you love
me?”

“
Nicole, we don’t have time
to…”

“
It’s a simple
question.”

“
I care about you, Nicole.
It takes time for me to say…”

“
I understand. We barely
know each other and here I am spouting words of love already. I
won’t say that again until you say it to me. I don’t want to make
you uncomfortable.”

“
You give in too easy,
woman. Your feelings are just as valid as mine.”

He was taken aback when she started to cry.
He was confused by this reaction. He went over to her and took her
into his arms. He didn’t know what to say so he just held her. He
felt her hold him tighter.

“
I’m sorry…no one has ever
said to me that my feelings are important.”

“
Not even your
parents?”

“
No. My dad left when I was
young and my mom…I think she blamed me for his leaving. Nathan was
my first real relationship and you know how that went. I will pull
myself together I promise.”