Silent Crime Page 3

  Elliot fought hard to speak. “D.” As in dead. He hoped the next stick killed him, but when it came, it came just as quick and hard, hitting him in the other shoulder, rendering yet another arm useless.

  The Hangman gathered more blood and drew his line. He waited for another letter, and Elliot knew he only had one line left. He was done playing his fucking game. He had one more thing to say to the asshole, and then he was going to jump from the chair and end his misery. If he was going out, it would be on his terms. He looked up at the man. “You—”

  Hangman kicked the chair from under him, and Elliot’s thoughts went from what he’d been trying to say to the fact that he hadn’t meant to call out the letter U. The pressure in his face became too much as suddenly with a pop, he turned off like a machine.

  Chapter 4

  Jake

  After a long day of collecting evidence, Jake couldn’t wait to get back to the office so he could ditch Jo and go home for the day. He didn’t really have anything to do but sit in his chair and veg out in front of the tv, but that was better than sitting at the station and thinking about One-Eyed Elliot dangling from his rafters.

  He didn’t want any part of the case, and first, he had to tell O’Connor to pass it on. Considering the ritualistic nature of the murder, Jake was sure they were dealing with a serial killer. Jo wasn’t ready for something as complex as that. Hell, he still wondered what someone like her, with her tulip-yellow blouse and skinny jeans, was doing becoming a detective. She should be out somewhere shopping or having a spa day, not looking at dangling eyeballs or taking photos of bloodstained walls.

  She followed along, nipping at his heels like a yapping dog. “Isn’t this an exciting case?” she asked as they walked into the station.

  Jake beelined for the chief’s office, ignoring her enthusiasm. When he got to the door and knocked, O’Connor opened the door. “Well? Was it as bad as I heard it was?”

  “Yeah, probably worse. The Assistant District Attorney, Elliot Gaines, is the victim. I’m guessing it was a revenge scheme. And I don’t think this is a one-off. We’re talking serial-killer levels of fucked up.”

  “Wow, one last hoorah. Good for you.” O’Connor nodded and looked at Jo. “How did you do?”

  “I did fine. I have some photos on my phone if you want to take a look.” Jo took out her phone and began looking for the photographs.

  “Good work, and yes, let’s see them.” He took the phone when she finally offered it.

  “Damn, they weren’t lying. I would have joined you at the scene, but I’ve been talking to the mayor. He’s got his nose out of joint about reelections.” He looked at the photos in disgust. “What’s that? A game of Hangman?”

  “Does everyone know that game but me?” Jake asked.

  “It’s a classic. I used to play it with my wife. We turned it into a bedroom game.” The chief smiled, and his cheeks reddened.

  “Spare me the details, boss.” The last thing Jake needed was another gruesome image in his mind.

  “Aw,” said Jo with a sappy look on her face. “That’s so romantic. Unfortunately, our killer didn’t have romance on his mind. We’re certain that the game was designed for the victim to fail. This word was seventeen letters long, and the victim was playing the game under duress.”

  “Seventeen letters are hard enough when you’re not about to die.” O’Connor shook his head. “This one is a real sicko.”

  “Yeah, he also killed the man’s dog. Most likely when he broke in, of course.”

  “Of course,” said O’Connor, who looked up and gave her a long look. “You seem quite comfortable, Officer Calloway.”

  Jake could already see where this was headed. “Yeah, look, I don’t really want any part of this case, and I don’t think that Peaches here is ready for anything this in-depth.”

  Chief O’Connor swiped through the last of the photos. “I don’t know about that. She looks like she’s doing well to me.”

  “I don’t want to get too caught up in a stretched-out investigation, and I’d bet my pension this is a serial killer. If he keeps this up with his little games, I’m sure we’ll see a shit ton of evidence piling up. No thanks.”

  “Then, let’s catch him before he has a chance to do this again,” said Jo.

  Jake rolled his eyes. “I’m glad you’re feeling optimistic, sweetheart, but I don’t think you’re ready.”

  Jo stepped up, craning her neck to make herself as tall as possible. “Let’s get a few things straight, hard ass. First, I’m not your fucking sweetheart, and second, I want this case.”

  Jake was taken aback by her persistence and ability to put him in his place. He certainly didn’t think she had it in her. And he didn’t miss the big smile on O’Connor’s face either. “Sir,” he said to the man before he did something stupid like give Jo the case. “I’m against it.”

  “Too bad,” he said. “It’s hers, and you’re on it too until you leave or change your mind about leaving. You’re a good detective, Jake. I need you.”

  “I’m not going to change my mind.” He knew O’Connor had his reasons, and the sly bastard wasn’t going to get his way.

  “Consider this your last job then, but you’re in it, like it or not.” He looked over at Jo. “Keep up the good work. Now, the two of you, get out of my office. And close the close the door behind you.”

  Jake figured the old man was ready for his afternoon naptime, and he didn’t have to be told twice to leave. As Jake stormed out and Jo pulled the door to behind her, he mumbled under his breath. “Asshole.” He hurried down the hallway, not realizing until he hit the front door that Jo was still following him.

  “Hey, where are you going?” she asked with a scolding voice.

  “Home,” said Jake. “You should too.” He imagined she lived in a fancy apartment somewhere. A nice big place with matching everything that her daddy had bought for her.

  She shook her head. “But I don’t want to go home. We still have a few hours of the day left. You can’t just leave early. We have a lot of work to do. I want to go over those pictures and find out what the word on the wall is.”

  “That will have to wait until tomorrow. What are you in such a hurry for anyway? Go have your nails done, sip a bottle of wine, and celebrate you first big case. It will be here waiting tomorrow.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You know, I admit I might be a little awkward, but I’m a lot tougher than you give me credit for.”

  “Yeah, you look tough in those skinny jeans and heels. A strong wind could knock you over, Cupcake.”

  “Whatever. I wore a blazer this morning, but I spilled my coffee on it.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t miss your lack of grace falling into the door this morning. Is that your middle name? Grace?”

  “So what if it is?” She looked away, her anger growing. “It’s a family name.”

  “Do yourself a favor, Jo Grace, and wear flats. Unless you want to keep wearing those ‘fuck-me’ pumps. I’m sure you’ll win everyone’s respect in those.” He turned and nearly ran into a man as he walked into the station, and after holding the door for him, Jake hurried out to his car.

  All he wanted was to get away and clear his head, maybe have a beer and relax. The two weeks were not going to pass quickly enough, but with any luck, this woman wasn’t going to steal his sanity by then.

  “You know,” she said, following him out.

  He turned and sighed, throwing up a hand like he could give up. “Jesus, do you ever take a hint?”

  Jo persisted. “I had hoped that you’d at least be different. But I guess you’re just like all the other insecure men around here.”

  “Insecure?” He was not insecure, and she was way off. She didn’t know fuck all about him, and now, who was the one making assumptions?

  “Yeah, insecure in your masculinity. You think that by belittling me, it will take the attention off of your own flaws and failures.”

  Jake laughed. “I don’t have any flaws, and i
f you want to check into my record, you’ll see I’ve been doing a good job.”

  “Yeah, you always get your man, don’t you? I’ve read more about you than you think. But that’s not what I’m talking about. You’re a quitter. That’s your problem.”

  Jake resented her coming in like she knew everything about him and what his life as a detective had been like. Once she had a taste of what it was really like, she was going to have hard days too. “You’re way off base, Jo. I’m not quitting because I’m giving up on a dream. I’ve just done all I want with this job, and now I’m moving on to bigger, better, less repulsive things. Tell me, did you like the smell of blood and shit back at Elliot’s house? Because I can think of a thousand ways that I’d rather spend the rest of my goddamned life.” He walked up to his car, and she followed him all the way to the door.

  “Well, let’s hope that you never need help. A stubborn ass like you probably wouldn’t take it.”

  There were so many other things he wished to say to her, but it was all going to make the next two weeks even harder on the two of them. “On that note,” Jake said, opening his door. “Have fun starting the case without me.”

  “I will. And I’ll finish it without you.”

  “You’d get yourself killed.” The sad fact remained that he had two weeks to solve the stupid case so she didn’t. Besides, he wasn’t about to leave a case for her to finish and take all of the credit.

  “No, I’ll solve it,” she said. “Because there’s a lot more to me than you think, and you aren’t the first man to tell me I can’t. I proved him wrong too, in case you were wondering.”

  “Look, princess. You’ve already made it clear that you have daddy issues. I get it; you want to prove to him and everyone that you’re not just another dumb blonde. But you should really stop fooling yourself before you go and do something stupid. Oh, wait, you already did that when you took this case.”

  “My father had little to do with my life and my choices. And I earned my job and worked damned hard for it. I don’t have to do anything but my best, and I’m not letting you or any of the other good old boys in the office stop me.”

  She turned and stormed away, and he couldn’t help but watch her go. Until she stopped wearing those tight-ass jeans that fit her like a glove, no one was going to hear a word from her mouth. They’d be too busy thinking of all the ways they could get inside of her.

  She wasn’t like most women cops he’d seen. Most were built for the job, with hard-ass tendencies, and they could chew you up and spit you out.

  Jo was like a flower, too soft and delicate for her own good. Even flowers weather storms. The thought came from nowhere, but he was too prideful to hear it.

  She was gorgeous, but it took something entirely different to be a good cop and not get yourself killed. He just didn’t think she was cut out for it. As he watched her push the door open to the station, with enough force to send it into one of her fellow officers, knocking him out of her way, Jake hoped she proved him wrong.

  Chapter 5

  Judge Ray Mathews

  “Here is your coffee, Judge. Do you think you’ll be much longer?” Judge Ray Mathews’s secretary, Linda, handed him a hot mug.

  “I need a little more time, dear, thank you.” He wasn’t in any hurry. He had to at least make it look like he was deliberating on the case, even though he’d already made a deal on the outcome. It was a shame that some justice came at a price, but with his retirement coming in another two years and another failing relationship at home, he had to pocket every dime he could. Besides, it wasn’t like the victim was blameless.

  Rob Montgomery had been walking home from an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting when he was struck and killed by Gary Forester. It could have easily been the other way around for some other unsuspecting person. The fact that Montgomery had been killed came as an ironic twist, since it was his own fault for getting himself into trouble over drinking.

  If he had not lost his license, he would have been somewhere behind the wheel endangering others’ lives. Besides, he should have lost his license long before, but someone had shown leniency for his string of DUIs. Shouldn’t Gary Forester get the same courtesy? He sipped his coffee as he spun things in his mind.

  Sure, he knew right from wrong and that Gary Forester should do time for what he’d done. He even knew that it was really a case of revenge and not some accidental occurrence of manslaughter. But even though everyone knew it happened because Rob had messed around with Gary’s daughter, the judge would have to side with the defense. He’d been paid to.

  Finally, after another few minutes of taking his time, he got to his feet. “Linda, tell the bailiff I’m ready.”

  The woman hurried from the room like a whipped dog.

  As the courtroom was called to order and his name was announced, Judge Mathews took a deep breath. It wasn’t the way he’d started out his career, but being the good guy hadn’t gotten him where he was. Dirty money had.

  He walked out to the standing people in the courtroom, ready to pass sentence on the guilty man.

  “You may be seated,” he said. “Since I took a little bit of extra time before my decision, I will not waste any more with a long explanation of how I came to it.” He straightened the papers on his desk and looked out over the crowd. There in the front row was Montgomery’s wife and sister. Two women with records of their own. The little girl beside them, the victim’s daughter, had been in foster care once already because of the parents’ lack of ability to care for her properly, and he couldn’t help believe it would only be a matter of time before she was back there again.

  On the other side sat Gary Forester, the fortunate brother of one of Judge Mathews’s golf buddies and heir to a fortune from the big industry that his family owned a part of. Good, hard-earned money. That was what he’d paid.

  “This is a terrible situation for everyone involved. Not only was one life cut short unnecessarily, but I see no reason for that to be the case twice. I hereby give a sentence of time served and probation of three years.” He banged his gavel.

  The room went nuts with sounds of outrage and despair, and Montgomery’s wife threw herself onto the floor and banged her fists.

  Her sister stood up and screamed across the room at Forester. “Congratulations. Your money served you well. You bought your freedom!”

  Gary didn’t even look their way, and his lawyer stood between him and Montgomery’s family.

  Ray banged his gavel again. “Order! I will have order in my courtroom.”

  “You’re dirty, Judge,” said Montgomery’s sister. “If you think that no one sees it, then you’re a fool! Everyone can see it!” The bailiffs gathered around her, and one helped the other woman off of the floor as they tried to diffuse the situation.

  Ray would not stand for the disrespect. “Order, or I will have you all locked up for the night.” He banged his gavel one more time. “This court is adjourned.” He got up from his seat and headed to his office, hearing the sounds of disapproval from the room. It was clear that no one was happy about the verdict, except Gary Forester and his attorney.

  Linda couldn’t even look him in the eyes as he came in and shut the door, and he didn’t miss the fact that she was trying to keep busy. The woman had a dust rag out, cleaning her desk. She had the same routine when his girl Kami stopped by.

  Kami was only twenty-five. He’d met her at a club, and he hoped that as soon as he got things in place, he could retire, leave his crazy wife, and sweep Kami off her feet to some private island. Not that he was in love with her. But she was going to be a hell of a lot more fun than his wife Marlo, who had been a constant strain on his life.

  A knock sounded at the door near Linda’s desk, and Mathews watched as she welcomed someone who came into view a moment later. “Hello, may I help you?”

  Ray saw it was Christopher Benfer, Gary Forester’s attorney. The man wore a shit-eating grin. “Great job in there,” he said, walking in the door that separated Ray�
��s office from Linda’s.

  Ray hurried around his desk and shut the door behind him so Linda couldn’t eavesdrop. His eyes were wide with confusion as to why the man was there so soon after the shitstorm of a case. “You shouldn’t have come here right now. I told you that we’d be in touch.”

  “Yes, but my client wanted me to go ahead and deliver this now. He didn’t want this much cash lying around, and I can’t say I blame him. He was nearly knocked down by the media hounds, but I managed to get him to my office, and he’s currently waiting for the melee to die down.”

  “Which is why you should have waited. If one person had seen a transfer of money, if one person had questioned you coming back here, we’re all screwed.” He snatched the envelope from Benfer. “Is this the last of it?”

  “Yessir, paid in full for a job well done.” He glanced over at the high, stained glass window that Ray had put in his office. “I’d wait until this mess dies down before you try to leave the courthouse. They really hate you out there.”

  “If only I cared what they thought,” he said, stepping closer to the door to show the man out. “It’s a tough world out there, and they’d all be better off focusing on themselves than what I’m up to.” It wouldn’t be long before his goal was complete. Then he could go forward with his plans with Kami or whatever hot, young thing wanted a good time.

  Christopher chuckled and leaned in close, where prying ears in the next room could not hear. “Enjoy your money.”

  “Enjoy your small victory.” With that, Christopher returned to Linda’s office, and Ray shut the door between the two after giving the woman a hard look.

  He sat at his desk and called her phone so he wouldn’t have to look her in the eyes. “Linda, bring my car to the back entrance. I’m not staying here another minute.” He had to get his money home and lock it in the safe before his wife got back from picking their son up from school. She didn’t even know where he kept his stash, and with any luck, she’d be gone soon. He had plans to ask for a divorce as soon as it made sense.