The Chilling Spree (5 page)

Johnny glared, but released a man who looked
more like a wet pup than the perpetrator of more than a minor
annoyance.  I found it remarkable that Underwood still didn’t
back down.  Instead, he turned his attention – and nauseating
charm – on me again.  “Keep what I said in mind,
sweetheart.  You’re the exception to the blonde rule.”

Forsythe advanced into the charged
atmosphere.  “Helen, where’s this iffy evidence?”

I stepped away from Johnny and showed him
the blood pooled in the speaker assembly.  “From what I’ve
learned, the stack was found side lying.  We didn’t get far
enough into the interview before Orion arrived for me to ascertain
what made the tech responsible for this particular piece of
equipment to suspect something was wrong, but there’s no blood on
the floor.  From this, it’s apparent that nobody righted the
stack before taking off the front cover.”

Forsythe’s eyes roved to the metal assembly
lying on the floor beside the amplification speaker.  “Dark
red stain on the metal.  Maybe that clued him in that
something wasn’t kosher.”  He procured a swab, moistened it
and swiped the stain on the grill.  “It’s blood.  Give us
a few and we can let you know if it’s human or animal.”

He glanced back at Johnny.  “What’s he
doing here?”

I shrugged.  “Apparently Devlin called
Chris Darnell.  The tech was part of Dev’s unit in the
Marines.”

“And?”

“Let’s just say that even after all these
years, Devlin is still gloating over Mr. Underwood’s dishonorable
discharge.  Since Johnny showed up, I can only imagine that
Darnell is equally distrustful of our primary person of
interest.”

“Darnell’s unit?”

“Yeah,” I said.  “And there is no love
lost, it would seem.  Underwood already expressed similar
animosity toward Devlin.  I can only imagine how he’d flip out
at the sight of Chris and the knowledge of the power he wields in
this little corner of the world.”

“So?” Johnny thrust himself into the
conversation.  “Is this a crime scene or what?”

Forsythe hand gestured to one of his
men.  “It’s definitely blood, Johnny, but we’re not sure if
it’s human or otherwise yet.  I was just telling Helen that
we’ll need a few minutes to make that determination.”

I watched Benjamin Tate, CSD’s resident
blood expert, obtain a sample of wet blood from inside the black
wooden box and perform a quick test.  His eyes met mine a
moment later.  Nod.  “It’s human, and from the depth in
this container, I’d estimate massive, non-recoverable blood
loss.  We’re talking an injury to a major vessel.”

To see the small amount of blood on the
metal cover, I didn’t expect to find a victim with a surface injury
to an artery or vein.  There was no arterial spray.  Only
a small amount of blood had pooled on the surface of the
speaker.  The rest appeared to have drained through the metal
and into the device.

“I guess we should start looking for the
body,” I said.  “Dammit.”

“How much traffic has been through here
tonight?” Johnny asked.  “Somebody had to have seen
something.  Or are we talking about a giant blood clot because
it’s been in the box so long?”

“It looked pretty fresh to me,” I said, “but
then again, I’m not an expert in the clotting characteristics of a
large volume of blood contained in a relatively small space. 
Ken, would Tate be able to give us a window based on the viscosity
of blood?”

Forsythe grinned at me.  “I’m not sure
viscosity is the word you’re looking for, Helen, but yeah, he
should be able to give you a broad window on the time based on
clotting.”

I glanced at Orion, half expecting him to
slide right into his typical MO where Darkwater  police
investigations were concerned, and butting in, taking over. 
He stared hard at the glossy concrete at his feet. 

“What’s the plan, Commander Orion?” I
asked.

“Perhaps we should have a few words alone,”
Johnny said.

My heart leapt into the back of my
throat.  I was certain he could see the fist shaped organ
pounding to the beat of the hard rock coming from the stage. 
“All right.  Let me have a word with Tate and then –”

“I meant before you do anything else.”

Oh boy.  Here it comes.  He’s
going to march all over me with OSI’s territorial possession of all
things homicidal.  I can’t do this.  I can’t be civil and
play nice just because he doesn’t realize it’s not in my nature to
–

The internal diatribe was either written all
over my face (which I strongly suspected, since Forsythe stepped
back, like taking cover was suddenly a very good idea) or Orion had
another conversation I was eager to avoid having on his mind. 
His fingers manacled my right bicep and tugged me without much
effort out of earshot of the growing crowd.

My stomach had the misfortune of falling on
the floor, landing right where I’d been standing for a good ten
seconds before it had time to catch up with me.  I could
either hurl at Johnny’s feet, or pass out from the fluttering in my
chest.

Instead, a snarl tore from my throat. 
“Don’t manhandle me, Orion.”

He let go quickly.  Eyes were fixed
anywhere but on me, and for the first time tonight, I noticed the
hard line of his jaw, the rapid clench and release along the
notched joint that was a surefire sign of his irritation. 

Why?  He had no reason –

“I’m told,” terse words fell from barely
parted lips, “that my cover with OSI was blown because of you.”

Oh God.  I swallowed hard.  “That
was your choice.  Nobody made you –”

Bright blue impaled me.  Whatever
justification thought to follow died as surely as if someone had
ripped my vocal chords out of my throat. 

“I have also been informed that the nature
of our association was such that nothing would’ve prevented me from
entering that bar and protecting you, so don’t blame this on me,
detective.  In light of that, I shouldn’t be shocked that I
have very little memory of the past year because once again,
someone needed to pull your ass out of the fire.”

There are days when I wish I knew how to be
a meek and genteel woman.  This was one of them.  Maybe
it’s genetic.  Maybe all those years of Wendell subtly
teaching me how to stand up for myself had so warped my mind that
it’s impossible for me not to become combative when someone makes
me feel cornered.  Then again, sometimes being a bitch is
purely choice.

“I have a partner tonight, Commander
Orion.  Don’t worry.  Nobody asked you to be here
tonight, and frankly, we don’t need OSI butting in. 
Again.”

He ignored me.  “I have also been
informed that a number of people were… disappointed that you didn’t
bother showing up after I was injured to fill in a few of these
missing pieces of my life for me after I tried to rescue you once
again.”

“And that kind of information would’ve been
well received from a complete stranger,” no, I can’t leave well
enough alone.  Johnny’s eyes blazed down at me.  It still
wasn’t enough to shut me up.  “Perhaps you should consider
that little mental reset button that Mitch Southerby pressed a
blessing in disguise, Johnny.  I’m certain all these friends
who have so eagerly told you what an ungrateful bitch –”

“Shut up,” he snarled.  “I’m not
finished yet.”

My mouth shut immediately.  If it was
temper he wanted to see, the Orion I knew, the man who understood
more about me than anyone else in Darkwater Bay really didn’t want
unleash that side of my personality.  The urge to pull my
sidearm burned like acid through my veins.

“Who told you that I don’t remember
you?”  Johnny stared at the floor again.  His jaw relaxed
– marginally.  His voice was so low and soft, it curled my
belly into a tight knot.

“It was pretty clear, when you started
asking for Gwen Foster at the hospital,” I said.  “How could
you remember someone you met after she died if you thought she
–”

“I didn’t tell you I was finished.”

“Listen, I get how frustrating this is for
you, but I’ve got a case that needs my attention.  You don’t
know me anymore, and no matter how much Tony Briscoe wants to spoon
feed you every little tidbit of what he assumes happened between us
over the past six months, he can’t do it.  There were only two
people who knew that information, and only one of them knows
now.  Me.”

“And you’re not willing to help me, isn’t
that the message you’ve so quietly sent me?”

My heart cracked and splintered a little
bit.  “Johnny, if I were you, I wouldn’t believe someone who
is in every way a complete stranger.  Why should you?”

“Because losing events doesn’t mean I’ve
forgotten everything.”

“I don’t know what that means.  I’m
sorry you got hurt.  I’m sorry that my stupidity resulted in a
blown cover with OSI.  I’m sorry that –”

“Stop apologizing.”

“Fine.  Let me do my job.  Let
Downey Division investigate a case that clearly falls under its
jurisdiction.”

A cold smile stretched his lips. 
“Well, that’s where you’re wrong, Detective Eriksson.  It just
happens that this particular establishment receives state funds, so
it’s my jurisdiction too.  Either you play nice in the sandbox
this time, or I’ll be the one deciding who takes the case and who
doesn’t.  Since I can smell the alcohol on your breath, I’m
not particularly confident in your abilities right now.  Or
those of your
date
for the evening.”

“One beer.”  I felt punched in the
gut.  Paranoia swirled around me.  My homicidal urges
exploded in the direction of one Tony Briscoe.  He probably
told Orion that I was little more than a drunk who couldn’t be
trusted.

“I’m working this case with you, Helen, or
you’re not working it at all.  Is that clear?”

“Pulling rank,” the words, the truth of the
matter transformed to bitter bile on the tip of my tongue.

“Whatever you want to call it.  You’re
not ditching me.  You’re not making a single move on this case
unless I’m with you.”

“Devlin –”

“Can assist,” Orion interrupted.  His
grin took on a sinister quality, “But he won’t be spending a lot of
quality time alone with you.  Still up to working your case,
detective?”

I wanted to shove his face into the speaker
full of human blood for a hard dunk, but recognized the signs in
front of me.  Johnny’s behavior was the equivalent of a dog
pissing on its fence in the backyard.  I just wasn’t sure if
the fence was a person (me) or if it was his ability to function as
the head of the governor’s special police force. 

“We’ll cooperate with OSI,” I said
slowly.  No way was I cutting Dev out of the case that
should’ve been ours, no matter what Orion said or thought. 
Beside that, he would be the buffer that prevented further one on
one discussion that in no way related to the job.

“Then let’s direct the search for this dead
body.”

I yanked out my phone and called Shelly
Finkelstein.  “Hey, it’s Helen.”

“I’m so sorry that this ruined your date,
Helen.  Do you know if it was foul play or not?”

“Yeah,” I said, “it’s most certainly
something we have to investigate.  I need bodies down here to
search for a victim.  Forsythe estimates that we’ve got most
of his or her blood in a speaker box.  No sign of the body
yet.  How soon can you call in the troops?”

“I’ll call dispatch.  Helen, I feel
that there’s something you should know in advance.  Darnell
called me –”

“Too late, Shelly,” I muttered.

“Johnny’s there already?”

“Uh huh.  Listen, OSI is going to work
the case with us.  Something about state funding of the
arts.  Dev and I will keep you posted.”

“You know, it’s technically Briscoe and
Conall’s night on duty, Helen.  If you and Devlin would rather
bow out and let them take over, I can send them down.”

I gnawed the inside of my lower lip. 
On one hand, any reason to continue to avoid Johnny – at least
after his angry confrontation – looked pretty damned
appealing.  Add to that, Devlin had a personal history with
the guy I figured either knew the most information about how
someone could bleed out backstage at a concert or was the primary
suspect in the case.  Orion had given me the perfect out.

“Shelly, Devlin and I weren’t expecting to
be hauled out of the concert on a night off.  Honestly, I
wouldn’t mind if we hand this one off.  Did Darnell give you
any information that Dev related to him?”

“Yeah,” she said.  “I think I agree
with that decision.  I’ll send Crevan and Tony over
there.  You and Devlin should leave Johnny in charge until
they arrive.”

“He’s right here.  Why don’t you tell
him, Shelly?  I’m not sure he’d take my word for it at the
moment.”

I thrust my phone into Johnny’s hand and
watched the tension draw his face so taut, I half expected bones to
start shattering. 

“Fine,” he muttered.  “For the time
being at least.  God forbid she’s not comfortable.”

I glimpsed Devlin out of the corner of my
eye and left my phone with Johnny.  “Shelly’s giving the case
to Briscoe and Crevan.  They’ll work it with OSI.”

“What?  Why?  Helen, we were first
on the scene –”

My eyes begged.  “Please, Dev. 
Either way, Orion is butting into this case.  I can’t deal
with it.  If you want to stick around, fine.  I’ll call a
cab or something –”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”  One hand slid
up my arm.  “Did he say something to you?”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to talk about
it.  Shelly’s fine with us walking on this one.  Given
your history with Underwood, it’s probably not a bad idea. 
And working with… well, it’s a really bad idea at the moment.”

“Okay.”  His index finger curled and
tipped my chin upward.  “You wanna leave now, or do you want
to see if we can see the rest of the show?”

“I’d rather get out of here.” 
Antarctica seemed like a safer place at the moment, but I didn’t
share that information with Devlin.  “Would you do me a favor
and get my phone from Johnny?  I’m gonna find a
bathroom.  I’ll meet you at the west entrance and we can go to
my place.”