The Killings (An Olivia Miller Mystery Book 1) (8 page)

Just as they sat down to dig in to their meals, the intercom buzzer sounded. The young women gave each other a look.

“Now what?” Melissa groaned.

Olivia got up, walked to their apartment door, and pushed the intercom button. “Who is it?”

A voice crackled over the speaker. “It’s Luke Smithson. I was a friend of Christian.”

Melissa stood up from the table, her mouth open.

“Well, I guess we don’t need to spend any time tracking him down tonight,” Olivia told Melissa. She pressed the button to unlock the front door.

Chapter 11

With Melissa standing right behind her, Olivia opened the door before Luke even reached the sixth floor landing.

“Thanks for letting me in. I’m Luke.” He shook hands with the young women. “I wanted to talk to you.” Luke had dark brown hair and golden brown eyes. He stood just under six feet tall but because of his long legs, he gave the impression of being taller.

The girls introduced themselves.

“We’re just sitting down to dinner. Why don’t you join us? It’s veggie lasagna. There’s plenty,” Olivia said. She gestured to the table.

“Oh. Thanks. That’d be great. It smells really good.” Luke removed his jacket and hung it over the side chair.

“We were planning on getting in touch with you,” Melissa told him. “We were hoping to meet and talk.”

Luke looked surprised. “Really?”

Olivia said, “We heard Christian was going to move in with you. We wanted to talk to you about him.”

Melissa and Luke sat down at the table.

“How about some wine or a beer? There’s soda too. Or iced tea,” Olivia said.

“A beer would be great.”

Olivia went to the kitchen to get another plate, a napkin, and some silverware. She placed a square of lasagna and a slice of garlic bread on the plate, grabbed a beer from the fridge and returned to the living room.

“We’re sorry about Christian,” Olivia told him as she set the food and beer on the table in front of him.

Luke shook his head. “It was a shock. No one expects a young person to pass away. Let alone get murdered.” He coughed. Olivia could see tears welling in his eyes as he ate a few bites of the dinner. “The lasagna is really good.” He put his fork down and took a long swig of beer. “I heard the two of you found him, and Gary, too. Right after it happened?”

Melissa nodded.

“It was tough,” Olivia said. “When we saw them in the living room like that, I felt like I just spaced out. Like my mind was separate from my body. I know that sounds strange, but it was so unexpected and horrible that my brain just turned off.”

“I completely freaked out,” Melissa said. “I was no help at all. I just shut down. Liv ran down the hall trying to find Colleen.”

“It was a stupid thing to do,” Olivia said. “The killer could have still been in the apartment. Like I said, I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“It was a brave thing to do,” Luke said.

“I’m sure you would have done the same,” Olivia said.

Luke set his fork on his plate. He put his hands in his lap and looked down. “No. I wouldn’t have.” He shifted his gaze to the girls. “I didn’t. And I’m ashamed of myself.”

Olivia and Melissa didn’t say anything for several seconds wondering what he was talking about.

“What do you mean?” Melissa asked.

“I was there.”

“At the apartment?” Olivia asked. “Where? When?”

Luke took another long drink of his beer and let out a sigh. “I was at Christian’s. The night they were killed. When I got there, Christian and Gary were in the living room. We talked for a minute. I brought beer. I went to the kitchen and put it in the fridge. Then I used the bathroom. While I was in there, I heard a shout. A scream. It chilled me. I knew it wasn’t just the guys horsing around. I ran out of the bathroom. Ran to the living room.” Tears escaped from his eyes. “I … I…”

Olivia reached over and held his arm. “It’s okay. Don’t tell us if it’s too hard.”

Luke swallowed. “Christian was in the chair. His throat. The blood. Gary was standing. The killer had his back to me, he grabbed Gary, he stabbed him. I shouted, I took a step into the room. The killer turned around.” Luke ran his hands over his face. “He made a move towards me. He held the knife. He was going to kill me. Gary grabbed him from behind. The guy turned back to Gary and…” Luke stopped talking.

“What happened then?” Olivia asked. Her voice was just above a whisper.

“I ran away.”

The girls gaped at Luke.

“I ran away,” Luke said. “Like a coward. If I had stayed, if I had tried to take the guy down. Gary might still be alive.”

“If you stayed,” Olivia said, still holding his arm, “you’d be dead too.”

Luke lifted his wet eyes to Olivia. “I should have stayed.”

Melissa brushed tears from her eyes.

“It’s a natural reaction to protect ourselves. Self preservation is a powerful instinct,” Olivia said.

“It was a natural reaction for
you
to go looking for Colleen,” Luke said. “Not to run away.”

“There wasn’t a guy holding a knife standing two feet away from me,” Olivia said.

“And I was good for nothing,” Melissa told him. “Don’t be hard on yourself. It would have been stupid for you to stay there.”

Olivia leaned forward. “You saw the killer’s face?”

Luke shook his head. “He was wearing a mask.”

“Oh,” Olivia said deflated.

“A black ski mask,” Luke said.

“The ski mask. So, one of the people who left the apartment wearing a ski mask is definitely the killer.” Olivia and Melissa looked pointedly at each other.

Luke nodded. “Wait. What do you mean ‘one of the people’?”

Olivia said, “A witness saw two people wearing ski masks leave the apartment building that night. But they didn’t leave together.”

“Two people? But I only saw one killer.”

“Did you go to the police?” Melissa asked. “Did you tell them what you saw?”

“Yeah. I went there that night. I tried to downplay my cowardice. I saw you two there at the police station. I overheard that you found the bodies.”

“Why did you want to talk to us?” Melissa asked.

“Because, you were there. You found them. I wanted to know if you saw the killer, too. If you knew anything, anything at all.”

Olivia’s hands were sweaty. Anxiety pulsed through her body. Talking about the night of the killings was causing her heartbeat to speed up and her breathing to be quick and shallow.
Poor Luke. It must be worse for him. I didn’t even know the guys. Gary and Christian were his friends. He saw it happening.

“You okay, Liv?” Melissa could see her own distress mirrored in Olivia’s face.

“I’m okay. Talking about it … you know.” Olivia gulped from her water glass. She held the cool surface of the glass against her cheek for a few seconds. She turned to Luke. “Do you know Kayla?”

“Who?”

“Kayla. She’s a little taller than me, slim. Has spikey blonde hair. She told us she had been hooking up with Christian.”

Recognition flickered in Luke’s eyes. “Oh. The girl from the coffee shop. I never met her. Christian talked about her sometimes. Why?”

“She was at the apartment that night. She came in the back door. She heard the attack.”

Luke’s mouth opened in surprise. “She was there? When it was happening?”

Olivia nodded. “That’s what she said. I saw her, when I went down the hall to find Colleen. I didn’t know at the time that it was Kayla. I thought it was the killer. She said she was hiding in the bedroom. She stepped out of the last bedroom, she was dressed all in black, was wearing a ski mask. She saw me and took off.”

“She was there? She was wearing a ski mask?” Luke asked. “She says she heard the murders?”

“Yeah,” Melissa said.

“I didn’t know,” Luke said. “She must have come in when I was in the bathroom.”

“Probably,” Olivia said.

“She was wearing a ski mask?” Luke’s forehead was wrinkled in puzzlement.

“I saw her,” Olivia said.

“That’s a weird coincidence,” Luke said.

“That witness said two different people left the building wearing ski masks. They left at different times. You saw the killer with a ski mask and Kayla was wearing one. So that confirms two people with ski masks at the apartment,” Melissa said.

“Jeez.” Luke ran his hand through his hair. “I was there. Kayla was there. Colleen was there. And still, Christian and Gary are dead. I don’t know how I can live with this.”

“You can’t second guess,” Olivia told him. “The killer had a knife. Maybe, other weapons. You three wouldn’t stand a chance against an armed man. He had surprise on his side. You couldn’t fight him bare-handed. There would just have been more dead bodies there.”

“Why don’t you see a counselor? Talk about it with someone,” Melissa said. “It could help.”

“Maybe.” It didn’t seem like he would though.

“Colleen said Christian was moving in with you?” Olivia asked.

“Yeah. He had already brought some of his stuff over. We met at MIT. I’m a senior there.”

“Did he ever mention an enemy? Somebody he had a fight with?”

“No. No one. He never talked about anything like that. He wasn’t worried about anything. I suppose there could have been something but he never said a word to me that anything was wrong.”

“Do you think the attack on them was random?” Melissa asked.

Luke didn’t hesitate. “No. I don’t.”

“Why not?” Olivia asked.

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Just the feeling I have.”

“We thought we’d go to the coffee shop some day. Talk to Kayla again. See if she remembers anything else. You want to meet us there when we go?”

“Maybe. Okay. It might help to put our heads together,” Luke said.

Olivia glanced at Luke’s jacket hanging over the arm of the sofa and thought of something. She sat up straight. “Luke. Did you follow me home the other night?”

Luke’s eyebrows went up in surprise, and then he looked sheepish. “Yeah, I did. You saw me?”

Olivia nodded. “You scared me to death.”

“I’m sorry. I wanted to see where you lived. I wanted to talk to you. But I couldn’t get up the nerve to ring your apartment.”

“That’s why you sat in the park across from the building?”

“You saw me there?”

“No. But Kayla did.”

Luke’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“Kayla was following me that night too,” Olivia said. “She was behind you. She saw you tailing me.”

“God. I can’t even tail someone right.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Melissa said. “It’s probably not a skill you’ll ever need.”

The corners of Olivia’s mouth turned up at Melissa’s comment. “You want another beer?” she asked Luke.

“Yes. Please,” Luke said.

Olivia got up to go the kitchen, but pivoted abruptly. She stared back at Luke. “Are you living alone?”

“Yeah.”

Melissa’s face turned white.

“Why?” Luke asked.

“You know Jack is dead?”

“Jack who?”

“Jack Wilson. He came into the apartment right after us on the night of the killings. He was the witness who saw the two people in ski masks.”

Luke look confused.

“Jack was stabbed to death,” Olivia told him. “Just the other night.”

“It seems it’s the same person who killed Gary and Christian,” Melissa said.

“Really? That’s horrible,” Luke said. “Someone else was killed?”

“Didn’t you hear the news?” Olivia asked.

“I went home for a few days. To Chicago. I didn’t pay any attention to the news. I just got back a couple of hours ago.”

“Luke,” Olivia said. “Three guys who were at Christian’s apartment that night are dead.” She looked him square in the eyes. “You’re the fourth guy who was there that night. The killer saw you.”

Luke’s eyes widened in understanding. The blood drained out of his face. “Could you get me that beer now? I think I need it.”

Olivia brought two beers and a glass of iced tea back to the living room. They moved to the couches and sat sipping their drinks.

“Maybe you should move in with a friend,” Olivia suggested. “You shouldn’t be alone.”

“Who’s going to want me moving in with them?” Luke asked. “Hey guys, mind if I move in? Oh, and don’t mind that guy with a knife following me around.”

“You can move in here with us,” Melissa said.

Olivia smiled at Melissa. She was proud of her for offering Luke a place to stay so he wouldn’t be alone.

Luke looked surprised. “No. Thanks, but no. I’m not going to be driven out of my home. And I’m certainly not going to put you two at risk. Wait. You were at Christian’s. Why aren’t you worried about your own safety?”

“Well, sometimes we are,” Melissa said. She wasn’t going to admit that she was sleeping on the floor next to Olivia’s bed every night.

“It seems the killer is only after men,” Olivia said. “So far, anyway.”

“Only men?” Luke said. “But, why?”

“Who knows? Who knows anything about this mess?” Melissa said. Her voice was weary with exhaustion.

“I don’t know why,” Olivia said. “But there must be a way to find some shred of information that will answer ‘who.’”

Chapter 12

Olivia, Melissa, and Luke arranged to meet at the Kendall Square coffee shop where Kayla worked. Luke had a class and told them he would arrive later. Olivia and Melissa opened the door and saw Kayla working behind the counter mixing coffee drinks. A young man was taking orders and the girls got in line. Kayla glanced their way and did a double-take. She nodded a greeting to them, but she looked a bit flustered.

The young man taking orders was slim, average height, with short blonde hair, blue eyes, and a welcoming smile. He was so similar in coloring to Kayla that Olivia wondered if they were siblings. The guy chatted jovially with the customers. He even broke into song, singing several bars of a popular hit. The people in line loved it.

“Well, lovely ladies,” he beamed at Olivia and Melissa. “What will it be?”

They gave him their orders and bantered back and forth with the amusing employee, then moved further down the counter to wait for their drinks. Kayla made eye contact as she snapped a cover on a completed order.