The Mystery of Jessica Benson (21 page)

He had on gray sweat pants and no shirt and when he
took her into his arms, the hormone rush was suffocating. She
had waited all day for the release that came when his lips
touched hers, and groaned at the anticipation. He didn’t make her
wait long.

When they finally caught their breaths, the two of them
went to his living room where they sat on the sofa and she
cuddled into him. It was black outside, not even one star in the
sky.

Kyle stroked her hair. “Karen, what’s going on? You
sounded frantic on the phone. Am I doomed?”
She sat up and looked at him. “Doomed? Hell no. That’s
the
last
thing you are. Today was incredible, Kyle. Everything
was going so fast, I could hardly believe it was happening. I, I —
oh damn — it looks like Joe Fraga could be our man.”
“The doc? Where’d he come from?”
“Well, you know it was his gun that killed Feyzi Batan,
right?”
“It’s a long stretch from owning the stolen gun that
killed Feyzi to being Jessica’s murderer, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, but things changed today. We got the warrants to
search his home and his office, and beside his home being one of
the most bizarre residences I’ve ever seen, it was a veritable
warehouse of drugs.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. But it’s still a stretch from
drugs to murder, although, honestly, I’ve always been
uncomfortable with Fraga, and I don’t mean just since Jess’s
murder. He’s just too slick and smarmy. He practiced more P.R.
than he did medicine. Whenever I could, I used Karen, uh, Karen
Raben, his partner. Fraga was always too quick to shoot you up
with something to deaden the pain and send you back onto the
field. His theory was just like management’s, if it didn’t hurt,
then it must be okay. That’s the way owners and too many
coaches deal with players’ injuries. It’s good business for them
to patch you up and use you ‘til your done. Veterans are way too
expendable in professional sports because there’s always
someone younger, healthier, and more anxious to take your place
right behind you. Smooth Dr. Joe Fraga is any owner’s dream.
Jesus, how’d I get started on that? Oh, yeah. My thoughts on
why Fraga might be cold enough to be a killer.”
“Well, your feelings are right on the money here, Kyle. I
wish you could have seen him today. He wasn’t smooth at all.
He was a wreck and anxious to incriminate as many people as he
could. I mean, the guy even came up with a
mystery
man, who, if
he actually exists, is
still
a mystery. But he didn’t indict you.
Everyone
but
you. Kyle, he was supplying drugs to half of South
Florida.”
Kyle gave a short smile. “Everyone knew Fraga was
loose about handing out prescriptions, honey, you know, for pain
meds for the team and all, but so what? There isn’t a team in the
league that doesn’t have at least one drug pushing doctor. Most
of the guys wouldn’t be able to get through the season without
painkillers of one kind or another. Unfortunately, the only ones
that are worth a damn are the narcotics. The anti-inflammatory
pills and injections just don’t cut it for the beatings we take in
this game.”
“No, no. I’m not talking about
legitimate
medication, or
even just over-medicating players. He was
dealing
, Kyle. He
was supplying cocaine and I don’t know how much other stuff
he was peddling, to
anyone
who’d pay the price apparently. But
that’s not the best part. One of our guys spent some time up in
Quantico with the Feds. He still has ties with someone up there,
and he was able to get us bumped way ahead of the line to get
the prints we picked up from Fraga’s house run through
A.I.F.I.S....”
“Wait a minute? A.I.F.I.S? Who’s that?”
“Not who, what. It’s initials, A-I-F-I-S for the
Automated Integrated Fingerprint Identification System. It’s
more or less the FBI clearing house for prints. You usually have
at least a three-day wait for them to even look at what you have,
but we got lucky. Fraga had Jessica’s, Feyzi’s and, guess who,
Tyrell Utley’s prints all over his place. There were others, too.
He copped to feeding them drugs. Will thinks he might have
killed Feyzi and even Jessica, but we’re a little short on motive.
It fits though, you know. It was his gun that killed Batan, and
apparently he and Jessica had some kind of a weird sex thing
going, but we knew that, right?”
“We know she had a lot of sex things going on. The
question is which one killed her.”
“Well, this is the first break we’ve had, and for sure the
first time Will has wavered about you being the murderer.
Fraga’s looking better and better for it. He’s really a very sick
man. He’s so warped. You should have seen him today, Kyle. He
was crying like an infant. I’m not exaggerating. His attorney was
telling him to shut up, and then biting on us to back off. But the
doctor kept right on babbling so Kirschman, his lawyer, finally
just walked out on him. After he left, Fraga would have given up
his sainted grandmother if we’d asked, you know? What a hero.”
Kyle rubbed his chin and shook his head. “It’s hard to
picture him any way but in charge. He never even broke a sweat
when he came on to the field in a coat and tie. It just wasn’t
natural.”
“Well, my darling, you should have seen him sweating
today. I can’t remember when a suspect went to pieces that
completely. But it’s all good.”
“I want to let my breath out a little, but...”
“No buts. This is all going to be over soon. I just know
it!”
“Karen, uh, about when it’s over,” he stammered and
then locked his intense blue eyes with hers. “God! When it’s
over, well, I don’t want it to be over between us. I mean, what I
want is for us to be able to go out without sneaking; leave my
apartment without the fear of you losing your job, uh, and me
losing my life. I want to take you out to dinner and to shows.
And I want you to be with my family again and watch from the
stands with them when I’m playing ball.” He took a selfconscious breath, and asked, “Do I sound like a bad book, or
what?”
Karen laughed and threw her arms around his neck. She
kissed his forehead and then his lips. “You sound exactly like I
want you to. You’re using all the right words, and I’m loving it.
I’ve been so afraid that once you were off the hook you’d move
on, oh God, move on and leave me again. Like when I was a kid,
and Brett...”
He cut her off with a sharp “No!” He pulled back,
looking at her as though she’d smacked him. “I thought we were
on the same page about us. Did you really think I’d jeopardize
your career for some quick updates on what was happening
down at Homicide?” He rolled his head on his neck, which
cracked a couple of times, and continued.
“As for when Brett died, well, it was different then. I
tried to stay in touch with your family, but I was getting hustled
by a dozen colleges and the pressure to choose was unbelievable.
Everything was about my career—and there was such a hole in
my heart for Brett. Whenever I was around you and your mom
and dad, it was like reliving it all over again. I know I didn’t
handle it well, Karen, but I was young, and it was the biggest
wound of my life. It’s
still
the biggest wound of my life.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to come out that way. I know
you wouldn’t hurt me on purpose. But, don’t forget, it was the
greatest hurt in my life also. Then you going off, it was as
though I’d lost two brothers. And now the case from hell and I
fall for the murder suspect.”
He arched his brows, and said “Ah, what a symbiotic
team we are. The cop and the murder suspect.”
“Now you’re making fun. I’m serious, Kyle. I haven’t
had a guilt-free moment since the first time I walked out onto the
football field after the murder.”
“Yeah, well, that would be about the time I stopped
breathing myself. But, Karen, and I’m serious here, too, I’d go
through all this again if I knew I could end up with you.” He put
his arms around her shoulders, pulling her to him.
“I would have given up my job to save you. Did you
know...?”
His kiss stopped her from finishing the sentence. It was a
slow, deep kiss, and they savored one another’s taste. He pushed
her hair back from her face with his fingers and put his lips to
her bare forehead.
“I’m falling in love with you, Karen. You’re melting my
soul.”
They stood, not quite steady, and moved toward his
bedroom. She had just enough presence of mind to turn off her
pager and cell phone, then dropped them on the floor along with
her clothes.

They hadn’t bothered to close the shutters and light
poked through the window very early the next morning. The
sun’s rays beat brightly on Karen’s eyelids, so she disentangled
herself from Kyle, sat up and opened her eyes. She felt a rush
from the splendor of the shimmery cantaloupe that was the sun
rising over the teal Atlantic ocean. She looked down at his face
and thought it was the first time she had seen him at peace. She
bent down and kissed his eyes, and they immediately opened. He
broke into a smile but made no move to get up.

“Hey, you...where are you going? I don’t have practice
‘til ten today. Let’s get really reckless, stay in bed all morning,
and let me make love to you ‘til you can’t breathe. Then I’ll let
you rest for only a second and make you beg for more.”

“God, that’s tempting, but I’m going to need a rain
check. I expect to have a bitch of a day today. We have loose
ends all over the place. The narcs are in a feeding frenzy over the
leads Fraga gave us yesterday, and we’re going to be spending
some more time with him. He’s given us everything we’ve asked
about with regard to the drugs, but he’s holding tight on the
murder rap.”

“What if he
didn’t
kill her, Karen? You can’t make him
confess to something he didn’t do.”
“That’s why we have a court system. We give them what
we get and then it’s their problem. You know, like on
Law and
Order
. But of course, the best case scenario would be getting
him to confess to everything, although I think he’s pretty much
emptied himself out for now.
“They’ll put a public defender on him unless he finds
someone to replace Kirschman, and then maybe we can cut some
kind of a deal. I’ve never been more nuts about closing out a
case, but the sooner this is over...”
Kyle put his hand over her mouth and hushed her. “I
hear you. So how about we use our time wisely and take a quick
shower together.”
She cocked her head and touched her tongue to her
upper lip. “Mmm. We could do that. Just give me a second to
check my messages. I turned everything off last night so I could
keep my mind on getting good and solidly loved. I’ve never done
that before, cut myself off like that, but no question, it was worth
every delicious minute of freedom.”
She felt around on the floor beside the bed and pulled up
her phone. She hit a couple of buttons and crunched her teeth.
“Hmmm.... Frank Garcia called me. What’s with that, I
wonder. He usually goes straight to Will.” She noted that he’d
left a voicemail, and figured he must have something on the
prints from yesterday. “Whatever he has can wait until after we
take our shower, wouldn’t you think?”
In response, Kyle stood and headed for the bathroom,
beckoning for her to follow. His spectacular naked body supplied
plenty of incentive. He smiled and said, “C’mon, you. I’m going
to do my very best to make you feel how good and truly loved
you are.”
He disappeared, she followed and within seconds they
were in the shower.
About a half an hour later, in Kyle Sands kitchen:
“Hey Frank. It’s me, Karen. What’s up?”
“Karen, man, am I glad to hear from you. Plenty’s up.
Where are you?”
“I’m dressed and ready to go. Is that enough
information?”
“Yeah, yeah. That’s what I meant, anyway. I’m not
checking up on your personal life. Listen, though. I need to see
you right away. There’s been an unexpected development.”
“No problem. Want to meet me at the squad room, say in
half an hour, no make that forty-five minutes. I want to grab
some coffee on my way in.”
“Not at the station, no. I need to talk with you, uh, you
know, privately. Where are you going for coffee, Starbucks?”
“Nah, not today. Roasters ‘n Toasters. I’m going to have
a bagel too. Can you meet me there?” She asked.
“No, too close. Off the Beach. I don’t want us to be seen,
so off the Beach.
“What’s with you? What’s this about, Frank? Are you
with Will?”
“It’s some pretty serious shit, Karen. We have ourselves
a situation here, and I wanted to speak to you before I do
anything else with it. It’s no joke, Karen. I need to see you ten
minutes ago. Now where do you want to go? Close, but off the
damned Beach.”
She started to get panicky. “Is it the Benson case?
What’s going on?”
“Karen. Stop with the questions. Get off the phone. You
know where Bagels & Company is?”
“Where’s it at? Miami proper?” Karen asked, her mind
racing, her heart pounding.
“No, no. It’s north on Biscayne Boulevard. Up around a
hundred seventh or eighth street. East side, going north, blue
awning. You can’t miss it. Small lot in front, bigger one in back.
If you get there first, grab a back booth and order us coffee. I’ll
see you soon.”
“Frank, you’re scaring the shit outta me!”
“It’s bad, Karen. It’s real bad…”
“I’m leaving now.” She hung up the phone and turned to
Kyle who was putting up a pot of coffee.
He frowned and asked, “Are you okay? Trouble?”
“I’m not sure, to both of your questions. Frank Garcia
says he’s come up with something on the case, but wouldn’t tell
me anything over the phone. He was in a real hurry and doesn’t
want to talk at the station. It’s just not like him. He’s usually
very low key, but he sounded downright hyper. I guess Will’s
already with him.”
“Take it easy, baby. Don’t get ahead of yourself here.”
She felt as though the air in the room had gotten thick
and breathing was difficult for her. It occurred to her that she had
been found out, or worse, they had something on Kyle. “I gotta
go, Kyle. I told him I’d be there right away.”
He stepped closer and reached out to her. She flinched
and tried to push past him.
“Don’t do this, Karen. Please don’t shut me out.”
“I’m frightened. God, I’m scared like when I was a kid.
I’m afraid of what I know, what I don’t know, and more than
anything, I’m afraid of what I’m about to find out. Why couldn’t
he meet me at the station? Better still, why didn’t Will call me?
He wouldn’t even meet here on the Beach. It has to be off the
Beach! This damned case is one nightmare after another!”
She looked at Kyle. He moved forward, enveloping her
with his arms.
“I’m here. Whatever it is, you don’t have to be upset
thinking something’s going to happen to us. On my life and on
the lives of everyone dear to me, Karen, there is nothing they
could find out that would make this about me. I didn’t kill her.
Please don’t doubt that.
Please
.”
“Kyle, what if someone saw us together?”
“Like where? In my bedroom? I don’t think so. If
nothing else, we’ve been discreet.”
“I don’t know. The valet, or even the concierge, they’ve
all seen me and know I’m with you. Anyone could have noticed
me in the elevator or the hallway here. And another thing. There
was a tennis demonstration going on the other day when I got
here. I didn’t even think to say anything to you but the media
was all over the place. I was so stupid. I walked over to take a
look at it. What if someone were watching me? Maybe Will…”
“You’ve got to calm down. You’re making yourself
nuts, and you’re not helping my psyche either. Get your stuff
together. I’ll call down and have your car waiting for you on the
ramp. The coffee shop isn’t five minutes from here. It’s going to
be fine. I promise, okay?”
She had to smile. He was doing everything right. He had
so much strength of character, and she felt his eyes were fusing it
into her.
“Karen?” He pulled back and waved his hands to break
her trance.
“Wow. You’re good. Thank you.”
“Thank me?”
“Yes. Whatever it is that keeps you going, I think you
just gave it to me. I’m feeling better. Honest.”
“Well, whatever it was, I’m glad I did it. Stop thinking
so much about the things you can’t control, huh? We’re good
together. Really good.”
“You’re sweating out a murder charge and I’m using
you as a security blanket.” She leaned in for a kiss and told him
she’d call him as soon as she knew what was going on.
She felt his eyes on her back as she walked out the door.