Loves Redemption (27 page)

“Great. What did the lieutenant have to say?”

“He barely waited until I’d made it in, before he hit me with a shit load of questions,”

Jordan laughed.

“He’s anxious to break this case. He’s still catching hell from the acting chief. This is one the best leads we’ve gotten so far,” Mark said.

“You’re right about that. He was anxious to hear what Ms. Wells had to say, and if there

was a possibility of her giving a good description or not.” Jordan said. “Besides what Dr.

Richardson has helped us with, we haven’t got a damn thing yet to tell us who our perp is. That reminds me. You got a call from Maya. She said she tried your cell but got your voice mail

instead. Sorry I forgot,” Jordan apologized.

“That’s okay. The battery ran out on my cell, and I haven’t charged it yet. How long ago

did she call?”

“Ten minutes before you walked in. She sounded kind of shook up.”

Without another word Mark picked up the phone to call her as Nicolai excused himself,

and headed toward the lieutenant’s office.

“Imani House may I help you?” Maya’s voice was subdued as she answered the phone.

“Hi sweetheart, I’m sorry you couldn’t reach me. Is everything okay?” The tone of her

voice made Mark’s heart start to beat faster with worry.

“Hi, Mark. I’m not sure. You didn’t send me any flowers by any chance?”

“No I didn’t. Why? Did you get flowers again? Who sent them?” Jealousy sprang

quickly, and Mark had to force it away.

“Yes I received them this morning. I didn’t think you’d sent them to me, and I’m not sure

who did. There was a card, but it wasn’t signed.”

“What did the card say?”

“That I wouldn’t be bothered by that cretin again. That was pretty much it.”

“Who’s guarding the House today, Rowan or Walter?”

“Neither one. It’s Miguel today,” she told him mentioning the third guard who worked

weekends and overnights.

“I’m on my way. I’ll be there as soon as I can, baby. And don’t let anyone else touch

those flowers okay?” He asked as he picked up his jacket and threw it over his shoulder.

“I won’t. They’re in my office.”

After Mark hung up, he turned to Jordan. “I’m going to go and take care of Maya. I’ll be

back as soon as I can.”

“What’s going on?”

“Maya received an anonymous gift again,” he told his partner and quickly left the squad

room.

“Where’s Mark on his way to?” Lieutenant Hernandez asked as he and Nicolai were

walking out of his office.

“He got a call from Maya and he’s on his way to Imani House. Said he’d be back as soon

as he takes care of the problem,” Jordan informed him as he went back to reviewing his notes from the earlier interview.

“Problem? What type of problem is Dr. Richardson having?” The Lieutenant asked with

a sudden worried frown.

“I didn’t hear the details but I think she got an unwanted package. Mark’s on his way to

Imani House to find out what’s going on.”

“What type of package was it?”

“I’m not sure. I try not to listen too carefully when he and Maya are on the phone just in

case it’s contagious.” Jordan laughed.

“What’s contagious?” Nicolai asked in curiosity.

“That
love
bug they caught,” Jordan said with a laugh, and Nicolai gave the barest hint of a smile in return.

“Dr. Richardson and Mark?” Lieutenant Hernandez voice had risen in his surprise.

“I thought you knew, boss.”

“I guess I didn’t know it was very serious. Well good for them. Good for them. Why

don’t we take a look at what we have so far? No use in being here all day. Agent Montgomery has briefed me on the findings at the sight so why don’t you brief the agent on your findings.”

Lieutenant Hernandez instructed.

Before he spoke, Jordan looked in Agent Montgomery’s direction, and caught the FBI

agent eerily observing Lieutenant Hernandez. His head was cocked to the side, as though he

were in deep concentration.

When he noticed Jordan’s look, Montgomery turned in his direction. The agent’s gray

eyes were opaque, and looked out of focus for a split second before they returned to normal, and Jordan felt the hair on the back of his neck rise before he forced his attention back to his notes.

Mark approached the small parking area at Imani House, and barely missed hitting the

small car barreling out of the lot. He honked his horn, and quickly maneuvered out of the way. If he hit the car with his oversized SUV, it wouldn’t be a pretty sight. As he parked, the incident swiftly left his mind as he ran up the stairs and entered the House. He was met at the door by the security guard Miguel.

“Hello Detective good to see you again.”

Mark swallowed the automatic grimace as the large man pumped his hand vigorously in

greeting. The guard was massive, and had aspirations of joining the police force. He’d asked Maya if she would put the good word in with Mark on his behalf.

“Hi Miguel good to see you. How’s everything going around here? Where’s Dr. Maya?”

Mark asked, as the guard released his hand.

“She’s in her office sir, waiting for you. I decided to hang out close to the door. Too

many odd things have been happening lately, and I want to make sure everyone is safe.”

“Thanks Miguel, keep up the good work. I’ll go and find her. By the way, I checked on

the status of your application and you should be hearing some good news soon.”

“Thanks sir, that’s great. Thanks a lot for your help.” The guard grabbed Mark’s hand

again, and nearly squeezed his fingers off in his exuberance.

“Miguel you didn’t need my good word. Your application was sound and you’ll make a

great addition to the force.” He clapped the big man on the back with his good hand, and

unobtrusively checked the other for damage, as he went in search of Maya.

“Maya are you in here?” He never walked into her office without knocking first, because

she often held her counseling session with either staff or residents inside.

“Come in, Mark, I’m here.”

He opened the door and walked inside. His eye zeroed in on the large bouquet of mixed

flowers perched on a side table. He walked directly over to the arrangement to get a closer look.

Maya came to stand beside him as he surveyed the flowers.

Turning away from the flowers, he leaned down to kiss her lightly on the lips.

“Everything okay? You sounded a little ‘off’ on the phone.”

“I don’t like getting anonymous flowers and this is the second one I’ve received in the

last two months,” she admitted with a worried look as she pulled at her lower lip with her top teeth.

Whenever she did that, Mark knew she was upset or worried and it didn’t sit well with

him. “Don’t stress, honey, it’s probably nothing to worry about.”

He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a pair of surgical gloves before he picked up

the card nestled between the flowers. After he’d read the card he returned it to its position and carefully pulled out a plastic bag from his pocket, and covered the entire bouquet within it.

“Maya, I want to take these in to have them dusted for fingerprints if that’s okay with

you.”

“Of course it’s fine with me, Mark. What are you thinking?” She asked as they both

walked to her desk.

When she would have sat down, he lifted her, and sat her down in his lap. She laughed

out loud, and he hoped it helped relieve her tension.

“Nothing particularly. I want to see if we can pick up any prints. I noticed the card was a generic one--it didn’t advertise the name of the florist. Did you catch the name?” Mark asked, as he lightly caressed the tops of her thighs through her dress.

“No, I didn’t accept delivery on the flowers.”

“Do you know who did?”

“One of the interns. He said the delivery man didn’t have a uniform on, and he didn’t

look to see if they had a company vehicle when he accepted the delivery.”

“That’s too bad. Maybe I can talk to him and see if he could give me a description of the

delivery person. Where’s the intern now?”

Maya glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. “He normally stays late

on the weekends, so he should either be in the lounge, or with one of the residents. Do you want to go and talk to him now?”

“I guess I’d better. Then I’m going to take these back to the precinct.” Mark pointed to

the flowers. “I’ll wrap things up at work, and come back by to pick you up as soon as I can, and we can go home. Before I go, I need to talk to the intern.”

The two walked throughout the house but couldn’t find James, and finally as they entered

the kitchen, Jorge solved the mystery of where the intern had gone.

“You are looking for, James? He came into the kitchen when Miss Dalia and I were

talking about the flowers. Miss Dalia said she was leaving to study with her group, and James asked her if it were okay if he left also, because he had a test to study for. Miss Dalia gave him permission to do so.”

“When he returns, I need to speak with him.” Mark glanced at his watch before he

continued, “I’d better go. I should be back in no time.” With that he kissed her, and said good-bye to Jorge.

“Okay. I’m sure I’ll be finished for the night by the time you return.”

As Mark was leaving, he nodded his head and smiled in passing to a resident who’d

walked into the kitchen before he picked up the bouquet and left.

“Jorge I’m going back to my office to finish paperwork so I can leave for the night when

Mark returns,” she told the small chef and turning her attention to the other occupant of the room offered her a smile.

“Ruby how has it gone for you this week? Are you settling in okay? No more problems?”

She asked in reference to Ruby’s ex-pimp’s visit.

“Dr. Maya, everyone has been wonderful to me thank you. I am so glad to be here. Thank

you for this opportunity. I won’t let you down,” she promised in a rush.

Maya laid her hand on the woman’s arm and lightly pat it, reassuring her, “we’re happy

you’re here with us Ruby. Take advantage of the program and never feel hesitant to approach me about anything. My door is always open.”

“Thank you, Dr. Maya. I will.”

After Maya left the kitchen, Ruby had a thoughtful look on her face as she turned to Jorge

who was busy stirring the contents in his trademark, black kettle. She’d felt an instant kinship with the small man from the moment they’d met. She had the feeling his personal tale was darker than her own.

“Jorge I wasn’t meaning to eavesdrop on their conversation, but did the detective say he

wanted a description of the delivery man?”

Jorge turned and picked up a nearby towel and wiped the light perspiration from his

eyebrow before answering. “Yes I think so. Why?”

“Because early this morning I was sittin’ on the porch in the corner swing and I saw

James walk into the House with a pretty bunch of flowers in his hand. Are those the same

flowers they’re talking about?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe you should tell Dr. Maya what you saw Ruby.”

“Do you think I should?’

“Yes Ruby. I think you should. It’s probably a misunderstanding or something, but

still…” Jorge frowned in concentration.

“Okay I’ll tell her Jorge, thanks,” she promised.

On her way toward Maya’s office, Ruby rethought the situation and decided she must

have been mistaken about the flowers, and if she weren’t, they probably weren’t the same ones Dr. Maya had delivered to her.

She didn’t want to stir any trouble by insinuating one of Dr. Maya’s people was lying to

her. No, she needed to mind her own damn business and try and get her life together.

As she bypassed Maya’s office, Ruby was unaware of the grave mistake she’d made by

minding her own damn business.

“Come in, the door’s open.”

James walked into the room, unsure what to expect. He rubbed his hands together in

anticipation. It was always exciting to see what treat was in store for him.

“Come on slowpoke, you know I’ve been waiting to hear all the details.” He was

chastened by a very high, very soft, voice.

He walked in and saw Jaime’s reflection in the mirror, and long brown silky strands of

hair were slowly brushed out. Jaime noticed his admiring look, and smiled seductively at him in the mirror. That was all it took for him to nearly cum on the spot, he was so excited by the heated look.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and quickly stood back up, when he was ‘tksed’ at.

He knew Jaime didn’t like it when he would sit on the bed in the clothes he’d worn all day. He removed all of his clothes, and self-consciously sat back on the bed. He looked into the mirror to see doe, brown eyes, heavy with mascara, glaring at him, waiting for his report.

“She received her gift.”

“And?” The strident voice demanded an elaboration.

“She wasn’t sure how to take it I don’t think,” he answered, afraid of the look in Jaime’s

eyes.

“What do you mean she didn’t know how to take it?”

“I … I … mean at first she umm, didn’t know who it was from, and … and … I think it

unnerved her a little,” he finally spit out the answer.

He wasn’t sure how to tell the truth, wasn’t sure how it would be taken. Jaime was so

unpredictable. That was one of the reasons he was couldn’t walk away, no matter how odd their relationship.

“But in the end?”

“She loved them,” he lied. He thought of the consequences if he got caught lying, and

amended his statement. “When I left she had them in her office.”

“You left before Dr. Richardson did? Why?’ A hard edge crept into Jaime’s voice,

making it lose all softness.