He turned back to his mother, who hadn’t even noticed the woman had come and gone, and then he let loose a long breath. His memories of that night had always started in the same place, and the paralyzing fear of being caught stayed with him for days, even after Bay and the others had made up their cover story.
They’d taken his clothes, everything but his underwear, and weighed them down with some heavy rocks. Then they tossed them in the creek and hurried back to camp with a story. They’d tricked him into taking a swim and then stolen his clothes. It had been Bay’s idea, and even though it was humiliating for Darek, it had worked. If only he could remember what he’d done before that.
Maybe if he could, it would help him with the new case. Perhaps something would connect, and he’d solve the thing in a matter of weeks instead of months. Then he’d get that new job with the FBI. He could see him and Megan happy like they used to be. With any luck, they’d start a family, and he’d give Megan everything she’d dreamed of when she agreed to be his wife. She might even be pleasant again.
He couldn’t wait to be a father. He’d be much better than his own had been. That was for sure.
The thought of having children made him miss his own mother, and he knew the woman would never meet them.
Carla came back an hour later and prepared his mother for her trip down to the cafeteria. She had seemed excited at first about having a place to go, but then, she blanked out again. He couldn’t stand to see it. His father had gotten off easy, dying in his sleep, but his mother had to suffer a horrible disease. Life and death truly weren’t fair.
On his way home, he decided to turn and drive down to the station. He didn’t think Megan was done spending money, so he didn’t want to be home all alone. Lizzy had taken off out of town, and he couldn’t blame her for wanting to get away. He’d see if anything would be waiting for them when they came back on Monday, if not sooner.
He saw the envelope on his desk from across the room and hurried to it. Inside, he found the report on the security footage, and he stared at it again. His heart had sunk like a stone when he saw the name the day before. Lowe’s Security. Of all the security places in the city, the crime scene was under Alan Lowe’s watch? The guy was one of the twelve. The group’s Taurus. Fuck.
He tried to remember what he could about the guy and pictured the younger version, which was what he’d seen last. The guy was about two inches shorter than him, with dark hair and deep brown eyes. He’d heard the guy married years ago and had taken over the security company from his father. His gambling had nearly cost him everything, and Darek couldn’t help but worry about the coincidence of it all. Two names from his past have come up in evidence? Maybe he was overreacting? Maybe it was just coincidence. He’d seen stranger things happen in his time on the force.
He wondered if he should go ahead and call Bay, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to let the guy know there was another connection.
And if he wasn’t careful, his partner could figure it out as well.
12
Darek
The weekend had put Lizzy in a much better mood, and Darek was thankful for that, especially when the chief called them in for a briefing with Sam Reed. The last thing he needed was for them to be at each other’s throats or making snippy comments. He needed things to go well. His future career was on the line.
Sam Reed sat with his leg propped up on his knee, sipping coffee like the most casual man in the world, and Lizzy was next to him, leaning in like the two had some intimate past. Darek still wasn’t convinced they didn’t, but then, maybe she had a way with older men. She was a charmer.
Darek stood against the back wall, and when the chief came back into his office, it was time to get down to business. “My apologies,” he said, taking a seat behind his desk.
Sam cleared his throat. “Now that we’re all here. Tell me what you have. We’re not even going to discuss the recent media slip.” He cut his eyes over to the chief who had no doubt gotten an earful. “Just be careful who you talk to.”
“Well, the tattoo ink that was found at the scene and the fresh ink in her back are a match,” Lizzy said. “So, we know we’re on the right track with that lead. The escorts gave us nothing. Rounding them up was much harder than expected and a huge waste of time.”
Darek was surprised to hear her say so but wasn’t about to comment.
“Have you gotten anything from the tattoo artists?” Reed asked.
Darek thought it was time to speak up. “No, sir. Not yet. But we need to make another round. We have clearer images and hope that it helps people get a better look. Not to mention that we’re hoping to catch new artists on shift. The department has had several men on it.”
Sam turned and gave him a scolding look. “I want you and Lizzy on it. See if there were any shops the others think you should focus in on. Hit them again, and grill whoever you can. Someone knows something.”
“It’s a fairly tight community,” Lizzy said. “The shops are a bit competitive at times. They have competitions, and all of them want to be the top parlor or have the top artist. We’ll find something.” Lizzy told him everything he wanted to hear and earned the smile to prove it.
Sam clapped her on the back. “I’m sure you will. What’s with the security footage being missing?”
Darek cleared his throat. “It happens, sir. I’m going to check into it, though. Hopefully, the security company has something in their archives that might help. It’s a stretch, but you never know.”
“Good thinking, Blake.” Sam stood up and shook his hand. After wishing them well, he left them alone with the chief.
“Get out there and catch this bastard,” the chief said. Then he got up and headed to the coffee pot.
“So, you changed your mind about the escort?” Darek asked, referring to Tad.
“No, I still think he’s a creepy SOB, but, I want to wait and see if any of the other evidence points back at him. If not, then I’ll change my mind.”
They walked out of the chief’s office and continued down the hall side by side. They had a lot of stops for the day, and thanks to Max, they had a pretty good idea where to start.
Pinkie’s Ink was located in an old tobacco shop where Darek had bought a friend some cigars several years ago. He was surprised that the place still smelled the same, but the looks had changed. The walls were painted black, and there was a huge pink and black dragon hanging from the ceiling and lots of canvas art hanging on the walls. A large, pink leather sofa was in front of a black-lacquered coffee table where there was a stack of photo albums and books.
The lady behind the counter was bleached blonde with pink tips, and she had a silver stud in the space between her chin and bottom lip. She frowned when she saw them come in. “Can I help you?”
Her attitude was unnerving, and she seemed a bit hostile.
“Yeah, we’d like to talk to you about Alicia David,” Darek said.