The Advocate - 02 - The Advocate's Betrayal (32 page)

Sabre drove to the Coffee Bean in Mission Valley, ordered a cup of decaf coffee, and waited about fifteen minutes before she called Luke. She had a plan.

“You done already?” Luke asked.

“Yes, I got in right away, spoke with the young man, and left. I couldn’t get much out of him but enough to know he needs to be there.” Sabre’s lies were getting easier. “So, is dinner ready?”

“It will be shortly. I’m just throwing on a quick stir-fry. Come on over. It’ll be ready by the time you get here.”

Sabre sat and sipped her coffee, letting enough time pass to account for the drive from the hospital. She had to face Luke, and she had to get the key to his storage unit. She kept telling herself to breathe; she needed to be calm when she arrived at Luke’s. But in the midst of the warm evening air, Sabre felt a chill as she stepped into her car.

Luke greeted her with the same tenderness he always did. He pulled her close, wrapped his strong arms around her, and kissed her gently, lingering on her lips. She felt the sweet taste of love. She compelled her body to relax, her mind struggling with the truth. He felt so good. How could she question his intentions? She wanted to believe in him, to trust him, but her skeptical mind did not allow it. Right now she had to convince Luke there was nothing wrong with her, but what she really wanted was for him to convince her he was genuine. She kissed him back, maybe a little more passionately than she should have. He responded in kind. “Hmm…,” he said as he kissed her lightly on the forehead.

Sabre wondered if she would be able to get past all this if he were innocent. But if he weren’t, she was in as much danger as everyone else.
If he killed John, did he also kill Bob and JP?
The thought made her shudder just as their embrace ended. She tried to relax, but not in time. “Are you cold?”

“I got a chill outside, and it’s very warm. I hope I’m not getting sick.”

“It’s probably from all the trauma to your body,” Luke said, as he led her into the living room. “Sit down, relax; dinner’s almost ready.”

When Luke left the room, Sabre glanced at the shelf near the television where he sometimes left his keys. They weren’t there. Nor were they hanging on the hook by the kitchen door. Her first thought was that he knew why she was there and was hiding them. Then she realized that was crazy. How could he possibly know she wanted his keys? She continued to look around. No keys.

“Oo…!” She jumped when Luke came up behind her and touched her shoulder.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. You sure are jumpy. Is everything okay?”

Sabre turned and leaned on Luke. He embraced her and she let herself melt into him. “I just need your arms around me. It’s been a rough day. I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to help Betty, and my client in Alvarado tried to kill himself today. And I still feel weak and gun shy from the canyon debacle.”

Luke held her until she let go. “Come on. Let’s get some food in you and get you to bed.” They walked into the kitchen. “I’ll take care of you.”

Sabre felt another chill, and was glad she had already let go of Luke. Just as she sat down to eat, she spotted Luke’s keys on the kitchen counter partially hidden by a package of angel hair spaghetti. He must’ve set them down there when he brought in the groceries.

“Go ahead, sit down. I’ll fix your plate.”

“Thanks, but not too much. I’m not very hungry.”

Sabre picked at her food, trying to eat enough to allay suspicion. Her stomach growled. Apparently, she was hungrier than she thought. The stir-fry tasted good, but her stomach was in knots and she had a difficult time swallowing. She tried to breathe normally as she pondered how to get her hands on the keys.

Sabre stood up as Luke did and picked up her half empty plate from the table. Luke said, “Just sit. I can do this.”

“No, I’ll help. I’d like to help.”

Luke cleaned off the plates and put them in the dishwasher. Sabre retrieved a container from the cupboard above the keys for the extra stir-fry. Maybe she could slip them in her pocket. She looked at Luke. He smiled at her. She walked to the stove, filled the container, put it in the refrigerator, and brought the pan to the sink. Luke took the pan, washed it, and set it on the counter to dry.

Sabre picked up the package of spaghetti, intentionally catching Luke’s keys on her pinkie. She carried them to the pantry to put the package away.

“Wait,” Luke said.

Startled, Sabre turned around and the keys hit the tile floor. The sound they created could just as well have been a fire alarm. Sabre jumped. Blood flooded to her face. She looked at Luke to see his reaction, but he was smiling. A few hours earlier she would’ve interpreted that smile as empathizing with her embarrassment, but now she wondered if he knew what she was up to.

“I’ll never be able to find my keys if you put them in the cupboard,” he said. She wondered if he was teasing.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I had hold of them. They must have caught on the spaghetti package.”

Luke picked up the keys and took the package of spaghetti from Sabre’s hand. “No problem, but the spaghetti goes over here,” he said, as he placed the package in a drawer. “Come on; let’s go sit.” Luke put his arm around Sabre’s shoulder and guided her into the other room. He stopped just inside the doorway to hang his keys on the hook. Sabre could see the key to the storage unit. It had a round black rubber disc that slipped over the end of the key, making it easy to identify. She recognized it from when she went with Luke a few weeks earlier.

Luke sat down on the sofa, taking Sabre’s hand and gently pulling her down to him. Sabre leaned back. Luke reached his arm around her and pulled her close to him, her head falling onto his shoulder. She made her body relax. Luke picked up the remote, turned on the television, and found a movie channel with Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracey starring in
Adam’s Rib
. Sabre looked up at him quizzically. Luke smiled at her and said, “I know you’re a fan. You told me when we first met.”

Sabre felt weak. She forced a smile. How could he be perfect in so many ways? She had to be wrong about him. There must be some explanation. She considered confronting him, but she knew if she was wrong there was no turning back, and if she was right she may be putting Bob and JP at risk.

“You’re very sweet, you know,” Sabre said.

“I try,” he said, gently squeezing her tighter.

Sabre sat there, calculating how to get her hands on the key. Luke didn’t seem to be going anywhere as long as she was there. Sabre had just about given up when Luke untangled himself from her and stood up. “Excuse me for a moment.” He walked toward the bathroom.

It was now or never, she thought. As soon as she heard the bathroom door close, she stood up and walked over to the hook with the keys. She took them down and started to turn the storage key around the key ring to remove it. The tight key ring made it difficult to get the large rubber end through it. Sabre shook as she struggled with it. Just as she got it started, it slipped and the keys fell to the floor. That loud jingle on the tile floor sounded even louder than the first time she dropped them. She looked up as she reached down to pick them up. Luke was still in the other room. The key dislodged from inside the ring and she had to start over. Fumbling, she tried again. Her face felt hot and she shook. She told herself to breathe. When the key was about halfway around the circle, she heard the toilet flush. Sabre peeked around the corner as she continued to maneuver the key around the circle. She heard the water in the sink run.

Good boy, Luke. He never neglects to wash his hands.

The key was off. She stuck the key in her pocket and placed the key ring back on the hook as Luke walked in. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“Just getting some water.”

He stepped closer to her, felt her head, and took her hand in his. “Your face is red and you’re shaking.”

“I…I don’t feel very well. I think I’ll go home.”

“Do you want to see a doctor?”

“No, I’ll be fine. It must be the flu or something. I’m just going home.” Sabre picked up her bag and walked to the door. Luke followed her out and walked her to her car. When his lips approached hers to kiss her goodbye, Sabre turned her head.

“Don’t,” she said. “I don’t want to get you sick.”

Luke put one hand on either side of her head, turned it down, and kissed her on the forehead. “Call me when you get home.”

“Sure.”

Sabre was still shaking when she tried to put her key inside the ignition. After finally starting the car, she drove off wondering if Luke saw her put the keys back, if he suspected anything, and when he would discover the key was missing.

Approximately three blocks from Luke’s apartment, Sabre pulled into a Shell gas station. She took a drink of water, some deep breaths, and wondered if she had just made the biggest mistake of her life. If Luke were innocent, how would he ever forgive her for that kind of mistrust? She wanted to return and lose herself in his arms, but it was too late. What she had to do was prove he didn’t do anything and pray he’d forgive her.

Within ten minutes she pulled up to the storage facility. The gates were closed, and without the combination she would have to wait for someone else to open them so she could follow their car inside. She parked across the street and waited. It was nearly eight-thirty and there was no activity in or out of the facility. Every few minutes a car would drive by and Sabre would tense up, hoping it was someone who’d open the gate but concerned it might be Luke. About eight-forty a car pulled into the driveway. The gate opened. Sabre started her car and tried to follow, but cars approached from both directions and by the time she crossed the street the gate was closed.

Sabre drove around the block until she found a parking spot on the north side of the street so she wouldn’t have to cross traffic. Though farther from the driveway, she figured she still had time to make it before the gate closed. Every headlight coming from the east increased her anxiety, for fear it may be Luke.

A little after ten, just as Sabre was thinking she may be there all night, a red Ford truck pulling a boat appeared. The gate opened and Sabre was able to drive in behind it. Once on the grounds, Sabre tried to remember where the storage unit was. The truck went straight past the rows and rows of identical cubicles. Sabre tried to remember which way they’d gone when she was there with Luke. She remembered they had turned right just as they entered. She turned and drove all the way to the end of the units and made a left. That much she knew was correct. She knew it wasn’t an end unit on an end row, but she thought it wasn’t far from the end, perhaps five or six cubicles. That left a lot of ground to cover.

Sabre stopped her car in the dimly lit lot, took a flashlight from the trunk, and started her search. She started with the second row, the second unit, and worked her way down the row for about ten units with no success. She went back to her car, drove to the third row and started again. It was awkward holding her flashlight and testing the key, and since there was enough light, she left the flashlight in the car. At the sixth unit, she stopped when she saw lights from a vehicle coming up the back side of the facility. She started walking quickly back to her car. Before she reached it, the red Ford truck passed through the alleyway; it was no longer pulling the boat.

Sabre finished her lock checks on that row and moved to the fourth row, and then the fifth. Still nothing. On the sixth row she saw car lights at the other end. The car pulled in and stopped, but the driver left it running with its headlights on. She couldn’t see much, but she was able to see someone exit the car, open the unit, and within in a minute or two climb back in the car and drive away. Sabre continued down the row until she reached the fourth unit. The key fit. The lock opened. She removed the lock, set it down, and tried to open the roll-up door. It was heavy or stuck and would not budge. She yanked on it for a bit before she discovered that the lever where the lock was attached had to be shifted to the left. She still couldn’t get a good grip on the door to get it open. She reached all the way to the bottom of the door and saw a metal piece protruding. She stepped on it and pulled up from the handle. The door rolled up. It was too dark to see beyond a foot or so inside. She ran back to her car and retrieved her flashlight.

Amongst the neatly stacked boxes, tied to the metal beams running up the middle of the unit on either side sat JP and Bob. Each had his hands tied behind him, his feet tied together, and duct tape over his mouth. Neither was able to move or even struggle enough to make any noise.

“Oh my God,” she gasped.

JP turned his head toward her “mm…mm…”

“Hold on.” Sabre grabbed a hold of the tape and yanked it off his mouth

“Damn…that hurt.”

“Sorry.”

Sabre glanced around for something she could use to cut him loose. “Just a second,” she said, as she ran outside to her car. She opened her trunk and removed a pair of scissors from her briefcase, then ran back inside.

“What happened?” Sabre asked, as she leaned behind JP to sever the rope holding his hands.

“Luke…”

“Damn it, Sabre!” Luke’s voice cut through the air behind her sending a chill through her body. “Stand up and back up.”

Sabre didn’t have time to try and cut the rope, but quickly wedged the open scissors between the ropes on JP’s hands and placed the handle in his palm. She stood up, turned around, and faced the gun pointing directly at her.

38

“Sabre, Luke killed John,” JP yelled. “And he….”

Luke stepped around Sabre, placing himself between her and JP. Keeping the gun on Sabre, he kicked his foot backwards. JP jerked his head to the left, but caught the hard sole of a Ferragamo loafer on the side of his head just behind his ear.

“He’s not who you think he is,” JP continued, as he tried to cut through the rope. Luke swung around, his usual calmness gone, and slammed the butt of the gun into JP’s temple. The scissors fell from JP’s grip as he passed out.