Murder Stalks (29 page)

Tony took off running towards the parking
lot. He couldn’t get a clear sight of the person behind the wheel.
A car buzzed past him, missing him by a foot. Watching for an
opening on the busy highway, he lost sight of the green four-door
sedan. An eighteen-wheeler’s air horn blasted as Tony dove into the
ditch beside the road. He had lost the car. He didn’t even have a
partial of the license plate.

At the far side of the parking lot, he saw
cars backed up at a light. Running with a final burst of speed,
Tony made it to the road just as the light was changing. The green
car turned left, moving further away from him. Before it
disappeared in a sea of cars, Tony saw the first three letters on
the Texas plate. JSR. He repeated the letters over and over in his
head. JSR. JSR.

Tires squealed behind him. Tony turned to
see Rex jumping out of his car. “Tony, what the hell are you doing
over here?”

“
JSR, green Toyota sedan.
Camry, I think.”

“
What are you talking
about?”

Tony pulled out his cell phone and punched
in the number for Spade.

“
I need a favor,” Tony
huffed into the phone as soon as Spade answered.

“
Santos? What’s
up?”

“
Run this through the
computer. Green Toyota, Texas plates with a partial of JSR. Maybe a
Camry.”

“
Will do. And I’ll have
some more info for you probably late today or early
tomorrow.”

“
Thanks,
Spade.”

“
Sure, and I’ll call you
when I get this back.”

Tony bent at the waist. He was out of shape.
Too many hamburgers and fries had taken the place of Marissa’s
homemade salads and fresh grilled fish. He would have to cut back
on the fast food.

“
Why did you call it into
Jackson Spade?” Rex asked.

“
He has resources, I
don’t.”

“
You know, the Juniper PD
didn’t abandon you. You could have asked and we would have pushed
through a search.”

“
Yeah, but the bureau has
more resources. Juniper has enough to do without trying to search
for some freak spying on me.”

“
Get in the car. I’ll
drive you back over to the motel.”

It hadn’t been fake. Instinct should have
told him before now. That feeling, the tickling sensation on the
back of his neck, the laughter at the pool, the sudden thought
someone was watching him, all of it had been real. He wasn’t going
crazy, his life was being taken over by a madman bent on destroying
everything he held dear.

“
Rex, when can we meet
with Sally?”

“
She didn’t want to do it
at first. I had to convince her. She wants to see you in thirty
minutes.”

“
Thirty minutes. What am I
going to tell Marissa? Oh God, Marissa. Where is she?”

“
At the motel. I’m sure
she’s fine.”

Tony jumped from the car. His sore shoulder
grazed the doorframe and pain shot through his body, causing his
knees to sag for a moment. He grunted through the pain and
continued forward, praying Marissa was okay.

“
Marissa,” Tony yelled as
he burst through the door.

“
What?” Marissa came out
of the bathroom, her hair wrapped in a towel and another towel
wrapped around her body.

“
I’m so glad you’re okay.”
Tony pulled her into a tight embrace and breathed in deeply. She
smelled like fresh peaches and clean soap. His hands ran up and
down her torso, trying to soak in her body. His head bent,
searching for her mouth. Desire for her spiked. He wanted her
now.

“
Excuse me,” Rex
interrupted from the doorway. “If you want to make our meeting with
Sally Gerrig, we need to leave now.”

“
Meeting with Sally?”
Marissa said. “When did this happen?”

“
Rex set up the
meeting.”

“
Tony?” Marissa raised her
eyebrows and held eye contact with him.

“
Trust me,
Marissa.”

Tony saw the doubt in her eyes, but she
relented, grabbing her clothes and closing the bathroom door behind
her. His body still burned for her. They hadn’t fixed everything in
their relationship, but hopefully the meeting with Sally would
help. Marissa had been thrown into living with him for these last
few days, but deep down, she still wasn’t ready to trust him. Tony
sucked in a breath, masking his hurt and desire before turning to
go.

Chapter 29

The rush to Rex’s house left Tony’s insides
knotted. Pacing didn’t make him feel any better. He checked his
watch again. Sally was late. How long should he put his wife and
himself through this torture? The weight of his mistake in not
going to personnel pressed down on him. He rubbed his damp hands on
his slacks. This was stupid. He shouldn’t have had Rex set this
meeting up.

Tires crunched on the pavement out front,
Tony’s blood turned to ice as a cold sweat enveloped him. He swung
around and stared at Marissa. She looked so calm and peaceful, but
something simmered under the surface, causing wariness to build in
his gut. Was she gearing up for a fight?

The door cracked open behind him. Sally was
here. He moved to his wife and sat down, grabbing Marissa’s
hand.

“
Let’s make this quick,”
Sally spat out as soon as Rex closed the door, blocking her path to
the exit.

“
Sally, I know this
doesn’t look good, but Tony needs to talk to you.”

“
This feels like an
ambush. I’m calling internal affairs.” Sally pulled out her cell
phone, ready to punch in the number.

“
Before you do, maybe you
need to read this.” Marissa jumped up, surprising Tony with the
pleasant tone in her voice when he knew she was seething inside.
She held the note tightly in her fist.

“
Marissa, I don’t know why
they drug you into this. I’m...I’m sorry. Rex said there was a
note, is this it?” Sally asked pointing to the paper in Marissa’s
hand.

“
Read it. I think it might
clear up some of the confusion.”

Sally grabbed the note from Marissa. Her
face turned pink then molted into a darker shade. “What is
this?”

“
That’s what we’d like to
know,” Rex said from behind her.

“
I didn’t write this,” she
yelled, turning on Rex.

“
It’s your signature and
from what I can tell, it’s your handwriting.”

Sally swung around, and moved towards
Marissa, “Oh God. I didn’t write this. Marissa, you have to believe
me. You don’t know me that well, but I did not write this trash.”
She shook her head, tears springing to her eyes. “You have to
believe me.”

“
What about the other
notes?” Tony asked.

“
Notes? This isn’t the
only one?”

“
No, it wasn’t,” Tony
said. Grief overwhelmed him. He should have gone to internal
affairs when he received the first one. He’d been stupid to think
he could handle it. Someone was playing him for a fool and he had
willingly followed.

“
Please don’t tell me it
got worse than this.” Sally sunk down into the armchair beside
Tony. She searched his face, looking for answers to questions that
should never have to be asked between colleagues.

Tony rubbed his brow. “There were
pictures.”

“
What kind of pictures?”
Sally asked.

“
You were in various
positions.”

“
Oh crap. Oh God, why
didn’t you go to internal affairs? Oh shit, if you had, I would
have been fired.”

“
I was stupid. I should
have confronted you. But my life was a wreck at the time and I let
myself be dragged into a situation I couldn’t handle.”

“
Was I...” she swallowed.
“...dressed in the pictures?”

“
No. Someone else probably
took them. Unless you have a really good camera setup.”

“
No one ever took pictures
of me...” Her eyes widened. “Do you think someone set me up and hid
a camera? Oh shit, this is so embarrassing.”

Tony watched tears cascade down Sally’s
cheeks, but he couldn’t respond. He had lost his wife, lost his own
self-respect and could have lost his job. Whoever was behind this
wanted him hurting and incapacitated. The death of his daughter,
his marriage on the rocks, and his job in jeopardy was all a setup.
How had he been so stupid, so self-absorbed he couldn’t see the
notes for what they were?

A sob escaped Sally’s lips, and he watched
Marissa go to her. The response was typical Marissa. She was so
kind and loving, always considering others when he knew she was
aching too. He couldn’t let Sally leave without finding out more.
Someone had used her. She had to have known the person who had
taken the snapshots. Her body had been fully exposed to the camera.
Heat rose to his face as Tony remembered the photographs.

“
Sally, I hate to bring
this up, but someone took those pictures. It had to have been
someone you were having an intimate relationship with.”

“
I don’t know who it could
have been.” She pulled a tissue from the box Marissa held, her eyes
downcast and her face red.

“
We need a list of all of
the men you’ve dated in the last year.”

“
There were no
men.”

“
Someone took these
pictures Sally. Don’t try to protect the guy. He’s a jerk and you
should be angry. Come on, give us his name.”

“
I don’t do men.” Sally’s
face turned up belligerently. “Look, Tony, it wasn’t a guy. It was
a girl.”

A hush settled over the room. Tony walked to
the window, looking out across the darkening neighborhood. He
gritted his teeth and drew in a deep breath through his nose. He
hadn’t had a clue that Sally was a lesbian. He had assumed that
with a body like hers, she could have any man she wanted. And she
probably could. But, apparently, she didn’t want them.

“
Sally, what was her
name?” Rex kept his voice calm and controlled.

“
I don’t know.”

“
Come on, think,” Tony
demanded.

“
I picked her up in a bar.
We had a few drinks and I found out she was clean, free of
diseases. I went to her hotel room and we had sex. She was leaving
town the next day so I never got her full name. Winter. That was
the name she used.”

“
Winter? Do you know
anything else about her?” Rex asked.

“
No, nothing.”

“
Which hotel was
it?”

“
I don’t remember. I was
drunk. I don’t normally hook up like that, but I was upset. My
girlfriend and I had just broken up. I just wanted a little fun to
help me forget.”

“
How many people know
you’re a lesbian?” Tony asked. If they could figure out who knew,
maybe they could find the person who requested the
pictures.

“
I never hid my sexuality
from anyone. But when I’m on the job, I’m on the job. I don’t hit
on women while I work. I’ve tried to not make it an
issue.”

“
I had no idea,” Tony
said.

“
You didn’t know?” When
Tony shook his head, she said, “But I thought that was why you had
a problem with me, why you treated me like I had a
disease.”

“
No. It was because of the
notes, the pictures. I was uncomfortable around you because of
those.”

Sally nodded. “That makes sense now that I
know what’s been going on.”

“
Do you remember anything
else about that night?” Rex interjected.

A deep blush reddened Sally’s face. She
ducked her head and cleared her throat. Tony wondered if he should
leave. He had no right to hear the intimate details of her love
life. Watching Marissa, Tony was relieved Sally was a lesbian. It
proved the notes were faked.

The air kicked on, blowing cool relief
through the heated room. He listened intently to the first part of
Sally’s description of that night, but his mind wandered. He needed
to think. He leaned over and whispered in Marissa’s ear, “I’m
taking a walk. I’ll be back in a minute.”

The heat of the day still hung in the air.
Rex lived only a few blocks from the beach and Tony could hear
waves lapping up onto the shore. He breathed in deep, taking in the
salty ocean air. A desire to feel the water on his skin consumed
him. His feet moved on their own accord, the Gulf’s waters drawing
him closer.

The pounding behind him startled him. He
turned and saw Marissa running down the street.

“
Marissa, why are you out
here?”

“
I needed to talk to
you.”

“
Couldn’t you have waited?
I was...never mind. I shouldn’t have gone this far from the house.”
Tony grabbed her hand and pulled her close. His arms wrapped around
her shoulders and nestled her head against his chest. She fit so
perfectly against him and a surge of desire spiked deep in his
belly, bringing with it a longing to possess his wife
again.

“
What are we going to
do?”

“
I don’t know. Tomorrow
we’ll figure out something.”

“
It’s going to get worse,
isn’t it?” Marissa’s voice shook when she spoke.

“
Yes. I don’t think this
psycho is going to let up.”

“
Tony?”

“
Yes baby.” He pushed her
away and searched her face.