Murder Stalks (7 page)

He watched as Tony wiped a tear from his
eye. That was great. Disappointment welled up inside of him. He’d
left the video camera behind. Should’ve thought about that earlier.
‘Playing at nine, the fall of the great Tony Santos.’ A laugh track
would be appropriate.

The first two hits had been easy. The taste
of power still clung to his tongue, giving him chills when he
thought of last night. Her cries for freedom echoed throughout the
bedroom. Her pleas for a quick death after he raped her twice gave
him power. All of it had been wonderful. Living on the edge brought
waves of euphoria crashing over him.

When he had made the first cut on Kelsey’s
beautiful bottom she had flinched. Then he told her. Told her why
she was being branded with the ‘S’. She cried then. That was when
she knew there would be no good end for her.

Keeping her alive long enough for her to
watch him clean up had been empowering. She had jerked each time
the comb had run over her pubic hair. ‘Fuck her again,’ sailed
through his mind. But discipline was the key.

He had to stick with the plan and the plan
didn’t allow for fucking Mrs. Ingles after he’d begun cleaning.
Next time, he would be ready. Ready to show his new target what
satisfaction was all about.

Now, it was time to play with Detective Tony
Santos. The detective may be bright, but he was oblivious to the
game. He would raise the stakes soon. Then Tony would know he was a
player.

****

Tony jumped at the touch on his shoulder. He
spun around, fear slicing through his body.

“
I figured you would be
out here.”

“
Rex, man, don’t sneak up
on me like that.” Tony clenched his fists, trying to relieve the
tension that curled through him.

“
A bit touchy today? No,
don’t answer that. We all are.”

“
Is something up?” Tony’s
irritation rose. He wanted to be alone.

Kelsey’s death was hard to deal with. Maybe
he should go see Marissa tonight, but work called, and he’d been
avoiding the grind of this investigation for too long. Now two
victims were dead, gone from Juniper forever. The citizens would
want answers, and they wanted results. He was the man to make
results happen and that meant working late. Tomorrow he would see
Marissa.

Tony relaxed his fists and rolled his neck.
Tension still held him in its grip, bunching his muscles into
knots. Marissa had always been good at massaging the stress away.
He rolled his shoulders, pushing away thoughts of his beautiful
wife as he followed Rex to the parking lot.

Rex stopped while they were still standing
in the sand. “I love this place. It’s the reason I moved here.”

Tony swung around and gazed over the beach
again. “Yeah, I would hate to have it ruined by some crazy
bastard.”

“
Me too. Hey, since we
have a meeting back at HQ in about an hour I was wondering if you
wanted to go back to the last scene before then.”

Tony studied Rex’s face. He looked tired. A
deep crease had formed between his partner’s brows, giving him a
sense of maturity that had been previously lacking. The case was
hard on them all. The wall was coming fast for Tony. How long would
Rex be able to handle working homicide before he hit that wall?

“
Thanks, I need to go back
but...”

“
Yeah, I know. I don’t
want to go alone either.”

Tony turned back to the beach and drew in a
deep breath. “Do you think we’ll ever feel the same about this
place?”

Rex sighed heavily, and cleared his throat.
“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“
I’ll meet you at the
murder scene.” Tony continued up the berm to his car. His gaze
shifted over the crowd of tourists. With a predatory killer on the
loose, could he keep these people safe?

Would the killer strike again or had
relieved his need? The public needed to know so they could stay
safe, but how could he balance the need to inform with the need to
keep everything quiet so they didn’t tip the guy off.

Chapter 7

Ally Underwood lugged her full gym bag to
the top of the hill in the pre-dawn hours. The need to get her car
fixed weighed heavily on her mind, maybe next week.

Her new client, Marissa Santos, already had
a great body, but she needed some help with upper arm strength and
cardio training. Working with Marissa would keep Ally close to
Tony. And being close to Tony was important for her plan. She
suppressed a shudder. There was time enough later for feelings. For
now, she’d focus on work, ignoring everything else.

Their meeting was set for six forty-five.
Early, but the challenge of working with new clients, especially
this one, was worth the lack of sleep. Checking her watch, she
picked up the pace and jogged the last two blocks. Sweat poured
down her face, ruining any chance of looking presentable for her
new client.

“
Ally, you look like
hell,” Steve quipped as she walked in the front door of the
gym.

“
Whatever. Why do I have
to wear this awful pink shirt?” Steve’s recent promotion from
assistant manager to manager had brought few changes to the place.
Ally hated changes.

“
People expect us to look
professional.”

“
What people?”

“
The rich women who come
in here to get a good workout.” Steve laughed.

She rolled her eyes. “I thought they
expected to lose weight.”

“
That too. Go fix your
face before your new client gets here.”

Ally came out of the locker room and saw
Marissa standing at the information kiosk. She froze, forcing a
smile to her lips. Marissa checked her watch and annoyance slid
through Ally. Already her new client was marking time.

Her feet moved towards the desk before she
knew exactly what she would say to Mrs. Tony Santos. For a moment
an awkward silence hung between them, then she stretched out her
hand, reminding herself that she could play nice when the need
arose. “Hi, I’m Ally, your personal trainer. On the questionnaire
you filled out you mentioned you wanted to be able to protect
yourself. Weight training won’t help you unless you are also taking
a self-defense class.”

“
I’ve already started
one,” Marissa said.

“
Any reason?” Ally
asked.

“
No reason, I just want to
be prepared.” Marissa moved her hands, twisting them together
before she let them drop to her sides.

“
Okay, it says here that
you think your arms are the weakest point.”

Marissa smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
“I don’t have much upper arm strength.”

“
We’ll start on the
equipment on the far left, then work our way around the room. But
either here or at home, you have to do some cardio.”

“
I have time, I can do
some here.”

“
Great, let’s get
started.”

Ally pushed Marissa hard. She didn’t dislike
Marissa, but she was Tony’s wife. Tony had no idea Ally was in
town, but eventually he would realize the impact he’d had on
her.

The early morning sunlight streamed through
the front glass windows, making the exercise room overly bright.
Ally watched Marissa finish her twenty minutes on the treadmill.
There’d be another appointment in two days, not enough time for
Marissa to recover fully.

Ally moved through the crowded cardio area
towards Marissa. She stepped over a pile of weights and her foot
caught the edge of a mat. She pitched forward, crashing solidly
into a muscled chest. The imprint of her makeup streaked the man’s
shirt.

“
I am so sorry.” She wiped
at his shirt with her open palm, smearing the mess
further.

A low chuckle took her by surprise. She
whipped her head up to focus on his face. Brilliant blue eyes
shocked her, sending a stab of heat between her legs. High-sculpted
cheeks and tanned skin, paired with his amazingly muscled body,
gave him the look of Adonis.

Why hadn’t she seen him earlier?

“
I’m sorry about your
shirt.” With her palm flat against his solid pectoral muscles, a
burning sensation tingled up her arm and through her body. Ally
pulled away. Wrapping her arms around herself. She wanted to hold
the tingly feeling inside of her and remember it
forever.

“
You’re blushing, I like
that.”

She smiled sheepishly. Few men approached
her, and fewer complimented her. The muscles intimidated them.
She’d had a few dates, but most of them just wanted to prove they
were more powerful than her. Few were.

“
So, do you come here
often?”

Ally giggled. The musical trill of her laugh
sounded strange to her ears. Unaccustomed to flirting, she ducked
her head, composing herself best she could.

“
Okay, that was a horrible
line.”

“
I work here.” Ally smiled
up at him.

“
That’s good to
know.”

Ally’s face grew warm, her heart raced and
her breath became shallow. She gulped in air, trying to clear the
fuzzy feeling that had taken over her brain. “I’m Ally.”

“
Ally, I’m Michael,
Michael Rains.”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Marissa
step off the treadmill. “Oh God, my client is done. I’ve gotta
run.”

“
Wait, when do you work
next?”

She stalled, mesmerized by Michael’s stare.
“Tomorrow and Saturday, about the same time.”

“
Maybe I’ll see you
then.”

Ally smiled and ducked her head. She rushed
over to Marissa and caught her reflection in the mirror. It was
frightful. Her hair was plastered to her skull and her face was
blotched with makeup. Had she dreamt her encounter with Michael
Rains? She turned and saw him walk out the door. No, she most
definitely didn’t dream that.

“
Ally, everything
okay?”

“
Yeah, I’m sorry. I was
just a bit distracted. You did great today. Come back day after
tomorrow. We’ll do more work on your arms. Go for a walk on the
beach tomorrow. It’ll be good for your calves.”

“
Thanks, Ally. I know I’m
going to like working with you.”

“
Same here.” She watched
as Marissa left the building. A year ago she wouldn’t have believed
that she’d be Marissa’s personal trainer. But stranger things had
happened.

****

The cool breeze blew through the curtains in
Tony’s kitchen, pushing a napkin to the ground. He bent and
snatched it from the floor. The breeze was a good sign, something
to cool the city off and bring in a hint of the sea breezes.

Lunch with Marissa would be just fine. He
could feel the change in the air and was hopeful she could too.
Whistling a bouncy tune, he poured coffee into his tall blue mug. A
great cup of coffee in the morning and lunch with the love of his
life. He had plenty of reasons to smile.

The drive into work was easy and relaxing.
Most of the tourists had vacated town, heading back to their
mundane lives after an exciting holiday at the beach. Life in
Juniper could get back to normal. At least it could for those
individuals who weren’t embroiled in a double homicide case.

Tony pulled his police issued Crown Victoria
into the parking lot and turned off the engine. He sat for a
moment, staring at the red brick and mortar building that housed
his office and the rest of the police station. Unease snaked its
way through him. He pushed it off. Taking a deep breath, he held it
for ten counts as he climbed out of his car. Once he walked through
those doors nothing would bring him down.

Kelsey and Angela demanded his best. They
deserved it too. Time was still on his side. Sekorski would provide
the results from the final tests he’d run on Angela Longfellow.
Maybe toxicology would find that she had been drugged before her
death. If that was the case, the killer could have met her at a bar
or local hangout. There would be a witness or two. It was a long
shot, maybe a pipe dream, but Tony needed the windfall.

Walking through the front door, he spotted
Chief Randall. Tony hesitated. The chief’s face was splotched red
and a ring of sweat marked his crisp blue Armani shirt.

Tony checked his attitude. Determined to
stay positive, he moved forward, away from the entry doors. Maybe
he should turn around and do some field work this morning. Drive
past the murder scenes to see if someone was hanging out who
shouldn’t be.

But that wasn’t his way. Running from
conflict had never gotten him far in the past, and he wouldn’t
start now. Regret twisted through him. He had run from Marissa.

Straightening his shoulders, he walked
towards the stations secured area, bringing him closer to the
chief.

“
Santos.” The chief’s
voice rang out, setting Tony’s nerves on edge. “You know who I got
a call from this morning?”

“
No sir.” The smile on
Tony’s face threatened to cave. This was not the type of day he had
in mind. This day was supposed to run smooth. No surprises, no
bodies popping up, and no early morning calls to the Chief of
Police.

“
Senator
Turner.”

The name sounded familiar. Tony racked his
memory, pulling the names of local officials. Damn politicians
trying to stick their fingers into police business only to stir up
a snake’s den of trouble. Or was he another bozo from Washington
who wanted all of the beaches cleared of people so the turtles
could do their thing? The giant Loggerheads needed the quiet
beaches to lay their eggs, but short of positioning armed guards,
people would always flock to the beaches.