Lin stopped and turned to him. She put a hand on his shoulder. “I'm really sorry, Dirk. She's a sweet girl from everything I can tell. Aside from being a vicious killer.” She pressed the button for the elevator.
Dirk thinned his lips and started to say something when one of the uniforms ran up them. Edgars, was the name.
“Hey,” said Edgars, “hold up. We got the prints back from the lab. We got a match.”
Dirk froze. “Which database?”
“Criminal,” Edgars said. “Here, see for yourself.”
Dirk took the file and opened it. The first thing that caught his eyes was the photograph. “The driver,” he said.
“Wait, what?” said Lin and snatched the file away.
“Thomas Kent,” said Edgars. “His prints were all over the place. I bet we'll find his DNA as well when it comes back. Guy had one prior, twelve years ago, beat a hooker and robbed her. Because he didn't use a gun and he didn't kill her, his sentence was reduced to seven years. Served five years, was paroled for good behavior.”
“Doesn't mean he's guilty,” said Lin.
“And why else do you think he didn't want to talk to the police?” Dirk snapped. “Has he worked for Bruce Madison for the past two years?” He turned to Edgars.
“According to his statement, yeah,” said Edgars. “His parole officer set him up as a driver for one Alex Treborn before that.”
“See what we can get on Treborn,” said Dirk. He looked at Lin. “Former alias?”
She nodded slowly. “If Madison is a serial killer, or was, how does the driver fit in?”
“He had to know what was going on,” said Dirk. “His finger prints were all over the room.”
Lin shrugged and frowned. “Someone had to set a swanky place like that up.”
“And Madison probably had a partner,” he said. “It's rare, but it happens. If Kent set up the room, he knew what went on there. You can't look at that room and not know. That's why that bastard wouldn't talk to me.”
Lin's eyes widened. “If you're right, then Miss Hunter is in danger. We need to find her, guilty or not, now.”
~~~~~
Adelaide had barely stopped to breathe since she ran down the fire escape. Rust and dirt caked her hands and her lungs burned. She could still taste the blood at the back of her throat. She needed answers.
She slowed, clutching a hand to her shirt and hailed a cab. When one finally stopped, she gave the driver Joshua's address, and pulled out her phone. His name was the top of her address book and she let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
Her cell rang through to Joshua's voice mail. She sucked in another breath. “Joshua, you were right. I need more answers. I'm headed to the apartment.”
She ended the call, her hands shaking around the phone. Her eyes burned and she choked back another sob. She was a real mess. She didn't normally consider herself a crybaby, but the day sort of called for it.
The cab driver peered into his rear view. “Lady, you okay?”
Adelaide nodded and wiped the tears from her face. “Just one of those days, you know?”
“Oh man, do I ever,” he said watching her from the rear view. “Yesterday, I leave the house, wife is naggin’ at me about some stupid thing, kids are bawlin’ about some toy, and my first fare is some lunatic slobbering on himself, smells like wet dog and a locker room. Couldn’t get that smell out all day. Lost three fares because of it, if you can believe it. Then, last fare of the night is some self-important limo driver, uniform and everything, says he has to be someplace downtown, can’t take any of the main roads and I had better not charge him extra. Like I gots a choice, right?”
She smiled a little. “No, I doubt you do.”
“Anyhoo,” says the driver, “this guy has me go down to this beat up lookin’ warehouse and makes me stay outside for like an hour. It’s his dime, ya know? Comes back with a big stain on his uniform and smellin’ like God knows what. I figure, that’s the end of my fares for the night, right? If I can’t get a wet dog smell in a dirty locker room out, what am I gonna do with a stinky limo driver?”
Adelaide perked up and her heart thudded in her chest. “Did you get a name of the driver?”
“Huh?” the cab driver said looking at her in the mirror again. “He paid in cash and he didn’t even tip.”
“What did he look like?” she said, growing suspicious.
The driver shrugged and rounded a corner in one fluid movement. “Hell if I know. A limo driver that prolly worked for some guy that makes more in a week than I do in a year. He was real full of himself, ya know?”
“Yeah, I know,” said Adelaide.
“Why so interested?” the cabbie said.
“I guess he sounds like the friend of an old boyfriend,” she said.
“You’re not keepin’ very good boyfriends,” he said. “Guy was a real class act. I can’t imagine anyone he’s friends with is much better.”
“No, he wasn’t,” she said.
“Ah,” said the cabbie “That explains a lot.”
“Explains what?” she said, suddenly afraid.
He smiled in the rear view. “Why you’re crying. Jerk boyfriend Looks to me it’s good riddance.”
She smiled back. “Oh yes, very much so.”
“No more tears then,” he said. “And you’ve arrived at your destination, my lady.”
She giggled and handed him the cab fare.
He winked at her. “Anytime you need a cab, ask for Rick. I’ll pick ya up, got it?”
“I won’t forget it,” she said and shut the door.
A hand was instantly on her elbow. It didn’t hurt her, but it was firm.
“Mr. Carpenter told me to expect you, miss,” said Reggie. “You’re safe here, you understand? No one will hurt you and no one will let any harm come to you.”
She turned and looked him in the eye. Somehow, she knew instantly what it was. She was frightened and delighted at the same time. Now she understood why he wasn’t afraid of Joshua. They were the same.
So was Adelaide, but Joshua still terrified her.
The whole thing was scary, but Joshua was her best bet.
She smiled at Reggie and nodded. “I know.”
“Mr. Carpenter won’t hurt you either,” he said. “He’s powerful, but he cares about the young ones, trust me. We’ve all been there.”
“But you knew it was coming, didn’t you?” she said.
He gave a sad little smile. “After a fashion, but you do as well, or you will. You just didn’t get a choice and we have no way of knowing if you can handle it.”
“And if I can’t?” she said.
His smile faltered. “Better that we don’t talk about that. Get upstairs. He’s already waiting for you.”
Of course he was. She left a message for him, hadn’t she?
Somehow she knew his presence in her new apartment had nothing to do with the voice mail she left him and everything to do with him looking after her.
Still, she hurried upstairs. Out of the cab, she felt as though she was being watched or followed by something not pleasant. She shook it off as just one of those feelings. She was tired and hungry. Last night was terrible and her dreams kept her from sleeping. For all she knew, she killed Bruce Madison. In fact, she was pretty sure of it, despite what the cabbie said. So she wrote off her feeling of dread as anxiety.
She fumbled for the keys and her hands shook as she tried to open the door. She wanted to badly to sleep, but every time she closed her eyes, she saw blood.
Finally, the key popped into place and she opened the door.
“I wondered how long it would take you, bitch,” an unsettling voice said. “Take a seat.”
~~~~~
“You don’t know anywhere Miss Hunter would have gone?” said Detective Lin, leaning over Mrs. Devais’ desk.
The woman crossed her arms and glared at Lin.
“No, I do not. I am not responsible for my employees when they are not working. If you do find her, tell her I need to speak to her.”
“Mrs. Devais,” said Dirk, stepping forward, “Miss Hunter could be in some serious trouble.”
She made a derisive sound and waved her hand, wafting her heavy perfume in Dirk’s face. “When is one of these girls not in trouble? They always come to me with some thing or another. Their rent is due, a client is stalking them, someone stole the money they owe me. I’ve heard it all, Detective. What is Adelaide saying happened this time?”
“We think Bruce Madison’s murderer may be after her,” said Dirk.
Lin frowned at him, but said nothing.
Mrs. Devais sniffed. “That’s not my concern.”
Dirk could only stare at her. She really didn’t care about these girls, just the money they brought in.
She gave him a dour look. “I know I seem cold, but I can’t afford to stop everything every time something happens with one of these girls. I encourage them to contact the police, hire a body guard, a private eye, whatever they need. If it got out my business was part of an investigation, I would lose clients.”
Dirk placed his hands on her desk and pushed so close his face was only inches from her. “Did it ever occur to you, your business might have better, more reliable clients if you didn’t encourage scum like Bruce Madison?”
“Bruce was a bit rough, but he always paid well,” she said, turning away from Dirk.
Lin let out an audible sigh, but Dirk found himself smiling. “He also cost you a lot more money than you think. Did you know he was killing your girls?”
Mrs. Devais jerked her head back and looked him in the eyes, narrowing her own. They were dark brown and yellowing at the corners. “I think I would notice something like that.”
Dirk snorted and pushed away from the desk. “Not with the turnover rate of this place. We’ve asked around. Most of the other girls think they quit and left town. How often do you think it is a girl leaves town like that?”
She pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest. “I would imagine all the time. Not everyone can make it in a big city.”
“And some people disappear,” said Dirk. “Come on, Detective Lin. We’re wasting our time here. Let us know if anyone comes looking for Miss Hunter, if he doesn’t kill you first.”
“What do you mean?” said Mrs. Devais. Dirk heard her push back her heavy chair.
He turned to look at her. “Miss Hunter witnessed a murder and that man is coming to finish her off. There’s a good chance he’ll come here. What do you think will happen when he doesn’t find her?”
Mrs. Devais paled and she sank into her chair. She sighed and dropped her head. “I don’t know where the girl is. If she’s not in her apartment with Emma, she could be anywhere.”
“Joshua Carpenter didn’t take her anywhere?” said Dirk. Lin gave him a sharp look.
Mrs. Devais lifted her head and stared at him. “I haven’t had to use Mr. Carpenter for some time. He takes care of it. I don’t ask how or where. The girl disappears for a while and comes back or I never see her again. I would imagine he hides her in one of his properties, though I couldn’t say for sure.”
“That’s eight very large properties to search,” said Lin.
“We’ll have uniforms canvass each property, show pictures of Miss Hunter and Thomas Kent,” he said, “see if anyone’s seen either.”
“And we’ll look for the most likely,” said Lin.
Dirk nodded. “Bank records, cell phone usage, anything that can tie him to a location.”
“And her cellphone,” said Lin. “Let’s just hope we find her before Kent does.”
~~~~~
The door shut behind her and Adelaide turned. He was out of his uniform, but she recognized the man. Bruce Madison’s limo driver. Of course it was him. They had to be connected.
Adelaide shut the door. “I didn’t see anything, if that’s what you’re wondering. I don't know what happened, I don't remember. If you killed him, that's fine. He was an ass. I really don’t care. Hell, there are days I want to kill my boss.”
“I didn’t kill him, you bitch,” he said, pointing a gun in her face. “You did. I saw what you did to him. I shoulda killed you right there and then.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t do a thing. I talked to the cab driver. He told me you drove out there and came back all bloody.” The man hadn’t said that exactly, but it was a bluff.
He stood, shaking the gun at her. “You did that.” Spittle sprayed from his mouth. “I came in right as you were murdering him.” He backed her into one of the couches and she fell over the arm. “I should have said something to the police earlier, but I wasn’t thinking straight. Bruce and I,” he ran a hand through his hair, “we go way back. We’ve worked together for, I dunno, seven years?”
“Mr. Madison’s only been in the city for two years,” she said, trying to stall. There was a gleam in his eyes that worried her. It wasn’t the same type of fear that Joshua gave her. Joshua’s was like a wild beast struggling to get out.
But this man, this was madness and anger and fury.
She backed away from him, sliding across the light gray leather. She wondered if she could get around him and to the door.
The limo driver laughed. “We go back farther than that. We met in prison, developed a sort of understanding, protected each other. Our release dates were the same damn day, can you believe that? It was fate.
“The first one sort of landed in our laps. He killed her while he was screwing her. Came all over her just as her lights went out. He was freaking out. That’s how he got put away, you know? He strangled a girlfriend during sex and she pressed charges.
“I told him to calm down. Man, he was wound up.” The driver chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. “I told him it wasn’t any big deal. I dropped my pants and stuck it in her. She was limp and dead and still warm. I’d never done anything like it before, but there was somethin’ about it, the way the body was still warm and she didn’t move. She just stared at me with those glassy eyes, all bugged out from suffocating. I’ve never cum so hard in my life.”
Adelaide ran out of couch and he stalked her as she moved. She needed some distance, something between them, anything.
“Bruce was stunned,” the driver said. “Man, he looked like somebody just slapped him. ‘What do we do now?’ he asked me. Clueless, this guy. I told him, we chop her up and dump her in the river and then we burn the house, nice and neat. No one finds us.”
“You’re insane,” said Adelaide.
“Yeah, maybe,’ he said, “but it felt good and it was fun. We kept it up. We didn’t do it all the time, obviously. It would draw too much attention, so just special occasions, birthdays, the anniversary of our release date, three times a year. We almost got caught a couple of times and Bruce had to change his name and we moved.”
“Why are you telling me all this?” said Adelaide, turning the knob.
“So you can know,” he said, taking aim, “after everything I’ve done and seen, I think you’re the bigger monster. Bruce was my friend and you tore him to pieces.”
“I was defending myself,” she said, raising her chin. “He would have killed me.”
“And maybe you deserve to die you dirty whore,” the man screamed. He charged at her with the gun and a shot fired.
It went wild and she used the opportunity to roll off the couch and scrabbled backwards behind it. She wasn’t sure he could actually kill her, given what Joshua said, but she didn’t want to find out.
She also didn’t want to meet that thing again.
“Hold still, bitch,” he said. “Animals like you need to be put down.”
A second shot fired and the round burst through the couch, sending a flare of white stuffing and slammed into her shoulder. The force knocked her backwards. She looked up to
see the limo driver staring down at her. She wished she knew his name so she could take it with her and haunt his sorry ass beyond the grave.
She wondered if vampires even had souls as he pulled the hammer down.
“So long, bitch,” he said.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There was an explosion of sound and she knew it was over.
~~~~~
Detective Lin slammed down the phone receiver. “Gun shots fired at the Eden Pinnacle building.”
“That’s one of Carpenter’s,” said Dirk.
She nodded. “Looks like we found your girlfriend.”
“Let’s just hope we’re not too late,” he said.
“Uniforms are on it,” she said. “And paramedics are on their way. He can’t get far.”
“And if he shot her?” said Dirk.
Lin frowned and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure she’s fine. She’s a tough girl, Dirk. She’s used to sleeze balls like Kent.”
Dirk grabbed his badge and gun. “I don’t think she’s the type of hooker who’s had a John fire a gun at her. But I hope you’re right.”
The drive from the precinct to Eden Pinnacle was the most agonizing twenty minutes of Dirk’s life. Adelaide wasn’t dead. He felt very strongly about that, but he didn’t know how much longer that would last.
Their car screeched to a halt in front of the building and Dirk and his partner darted inside.
Paramedics were already rushing into the building with a stretcher.
Dirk grabbed a nearby officer and pulled him aside. He looked at his badge.
“Officer Dennis, is it?”
The man nodded.
“What happened?”
Dennis shrugged. “We got reports of a gunshots about twenty minutes ago. I wasn’t the first here, but I took up position in case the perp came through the lobby. It wasn’t necessary, though. The building owner, Mr. Carpenter got a hold of the guy.”
“Was he injured?” said Dirk.
“Mr. Carpenter?” said Dennis. “He’s fine. The perp, though…” He smiled.
“Mr. Carpenter didn’t kill anyone, did he?” said Dirk.
Officer Dennis laughed. “No, no, nothing like that. I’ve worked this beat for a few years. Mr. Carpenter’s just very protective of his residents. He found this guy assaulting a lady up on the fortieth floor and tackled him. Dirtbag broke his arm.”