After a block and a half, he
reached
the alley on the side of the street where Ross
had been
canvassing and stopped. The opaque shadows covered one side of the dirty half-street. The other basked in the late-night moon’s silver glow.
The all
e
y
is
a perfect
place to
. . .
His imagination ran wild, not something a man like Frank Wymer allowed to happen. But
t
his was different, like the night was speaking to him in a voice born of pure fear.
Taking out his phone
,
he called for backup, pulled his gun, and began to move into the alley. This was crazy, but what if she was hurt
?
He couldn’t wait.
“
Kathy
, you there?” he asked. Voice quiet, shaking.
He
moved
two
steps. “Ross?
Answer
me.”
Frank too
k
t
hree more steps before he remembered the small, powerful flashlight in his back pocket. Taking it out, he flipped it on and watched the shadow side of the passage come to life. His eyes darted to both sides of the alley
,
then fixed on rapid movement.
His skin started to crawl.
Huge brown rats scurried away from the light’s
accusing
aura
. He
jump
ed
back in someth
ing just less than panic.
Good God
.
I hate
th
ose
things . . .
in particular
,
the big ones
.
As he took another step back, the flashlight’s beam ran across a sheet of dirty cardboard that wasn’t just dirty. It was
the color of dark
blood.
He swallowed hard. There was something under the remnant, something stirring.
“Ross? Is that you?”
Inching closer, he watched
t
he cardboard slide away
in slow motion,
revealing
its hidden secret. Ross’s right arm materialize
d
from beneath the covering. Not hesitating, he t
ore the rest of the cover away.
T
he cheese twists
rose
up through his gorge,
stopping
just short of
splattering
on
to
the alley floor.
The siren from the LPD cruiser wound to a stop
,
and
two doors opened and closed in rapid succession
.
Wymer barely heard the two officers call his name
. H
e was far too busy kicking at the hungry rats gnawing on his dead partner’s face.
Chapter-56
“You’re sure she’s not there?
What time?
Got it
,
you’d better be right
.” Manny clicked off his phone.
“The security goon said Evelyn left for her supper break and never came back. He was all pissy because she was supposed to help him clean up and then lock up at 3:30. He said her car was still there, though.” Manny grabbed the safety
grip dangling above
the SUV’s
door, knowing what was coming next. “He said he’d wait for us.”
Sophie hit the gas screeching around the corner onto Cedar.
Alex pounded the door with a thud.
“Hey
,
the Feds are following us, take it easy,” complained Alex. “And now I’ll need surgery on my rotator cuff.”
“
Damn. You’re such a sissy.
Relax. I taught Josh a thing or two. And what did the guard mean by
‘
clean up
’
? Like in the theater?
”
“Yeah. I suppose so. Why?”
asked
Manny.
“
Ew
. I don’t think I want to know what that means.”
“Oh man. Me
n
either,” said Alex.
“Concentrate on driving. I still want to g
et
to the White Kitty in one piece.”
“Have I ever let you down?” Sophie glance
d
at Manny and smiled. “Don’t answer that.”
“Just get us there.
We
need to get a good l
oo
k at her car
.
”
“You think it may have been used in the first murder?”
asked
Alex.
“I believe there’s a chance. If she did what we think she did, she may not have known what would happen when someone bleeds out. She probably did her best to clean up.”
“One of my best friends will be able to tell,” said Alex.
“You gonna get more latex gloves out of your
pants
?
You seem to spend a lot of time in those pockets
.
”
“What? No
,
I don’t
. A
nd I meant
Lumin
o
l. It’s a CSI’s go
-
to
magic
potion. And why all the cracks about latex gloves?”
“Hey. You’ve been keeping them closer than your wife since the cruise. Never mind the conversation you and Max had in St. Thomas. I think you’re a closet latex groupie. You get off on how smooth it feels, don’t you?”
“You’re a sick wench, you know that?”
“Hell
,
yeah, but at least I admit it
.
”
“As much as I’d like to hear the rest of this conversation, we’re here,
” said Manny. “Whip in the back
. Should be empty this early in the morning.”
“A little creepy
with
Evelyn
being involved,” said Sophie.
“Yeah. I think so too.
But who sees more depraved men than someone like her?
” He thought about the day they interviewed her. She had played her rol
e
perfectly
, fooling
them both
in the process
. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of stressor she had experienced to send
her
down this path.
But he also knew people, if they really wanted to, could justify anything. Stella had. And it bothered him to think he almost understood how it could happen. Maybe
he understood too
well.
Sophie slammed on the brakes,
sliding sideways just enough to position the bright headlights in a perfect direction. The girl was scary, but good.
The
truck
’
s beams
basked the White Kitty’s security guard in
artificial
daylight as he stood between two vehicles. The security guard
was
even larger than Manny remembered.
Manny got out just as the second SUV arrived.
“Thanks for waiting.”
“I didn’t do it for you
.
I did it for her. I don’t like
cops
; and
I need to be here so you don’t
finger her
for something she didn’t do.”
Manny frowned and moved closer. “Why would you say that? I didn’t tell you
we
were investigating her for anything.”
The guard blinked and looked away. “W
hy
else would you be here?”
“You think she’s involved in something, don’t you?” asked Manny.
“You’re freakin’ nuts. Just do what you gotta do so I can get the hell out of here.”
Manny leaned in close and whispered. “If I find out you knew something, anything, you’re going to like me a hell of a lot less.”
The guard stepped away, his defiance replaced by an uneasiness Manny recognized
.
It had to do with
people hiding something.
“Which vehicle is Evelyn’s?” asked Alex.
Manny pointed to the Chevy
Blazer
.
Alex reached for the passenger handle and
looked
surprised that it was unlocked.
“I don’t think I’d leave it unlocked in this neighborhood
. . .
not in any neighborhood these days,” Max said.
“I had spare keys
,
so I unlocked it,” said the guard.
“Did you touch anything inside?”
asked
Manny.
“No. Just pushed the remote so you clowns could get inside. Do what you gotta do,
and then
you can leave her alone.”
Max went around to the driver’s side back door
,
and Alex opened his case
,
taking out a flashlight and two small glass spray bottles
.
Manny was always fascinated
at
how fast Alex could turn
on
the CSI thing. Max was a mirror image in concentration. If there was something there, it was as good as found.
Josh move
d
beside Manny. “Sophie said you think this could be the first murder scene.”
“Maybe. If she didn’t know how shooting someone played out in the physical, she may have messed up.”
“Got something here,” said Max, ducking out of the back seat. “These look familiar?” He was holding up two black
-
leather str
a
ps.
“
Same stuff used to tie the victims
?
”
asked
Manny.
“We’ll check them out at the lab, but I say yes to that.”
“That ain’t all
.
We’ve got
blood on the seat and carpet. Lots of it
,
” said Alex. “And th
ese
.”
Alex was holding a Blackberry PDA
and a DVD in a clear plastic case
. “I bet, when
Buzzy
tears this
PDA
apart, it’s the device used to jam the cameras at the White Kitty and at headquarters.
God knows what’s on the DVD, but I bet it’ll be interesting.”
“That’s enough for me
. L
et’s impound this
unit
,
and you and Max can tear it apart,” said Manny. “Make the call
,
Alex.”
Sophie walked up to the muscular guard, weapon drawn. “Time to start talking
,
or I’m going to kick the shit out of you. I’m Oriental
,
and you know what that means. I could Kung Fu your ass in about three seconds.”
“Easy there
,
Black Tiger,” urged Manny.
He turned to the guard. “Last chance. Here or at the station.”
The big man sighed. “Okay. I don’t know anything for sure. She’s been acting strange since we found the first body three mornings ago.”
“Like how?”
“Leaving for a few hours at a time, acting more
bitch
y
than usual. I figured PMS or whatever until
. . .
” His voice trailed away.
“Until?”
The guard shifted his feet and then looked directly into Manny’s eyes. “Until a couple of nights ago when she said something kind of scary.”
“Go on.”
“She said the world would be a better place without the pervs that come in here. I laughed, but she didn’t. I don’t think she was foolin’ around. I never saw that much hate in anyone’s face before.”
He met Manny’s gaze. “I don’t
like
you people
.
I suppose I even
loath
e
some of you
,
but not like that.”
Manny nodded. “Anything else?
”
His shoulders slumped
,
and Manny thought he looked like he’d just sold his mother to Satan
.
“
No. Can I go now?”
“Yes. Don’t leave town, though.”
“Good thing you cooperated. You would
’
ve had to eat from a straw for a month when I was through with you,” sneered Sophie.