UNMASKED: Volume One

  “Come back tomorrow.” When I’ll be long gone.

  “Ma’am, this is quite urgent. If you don’t open up, I’ll be forced to secure a warrant to search your home. I don’t want to do that. I know you didn’t have anything to do with this crime or the other crime scene on Hope and 7th.”

  What the fuck? Now he’s threatening to pinch me?

  I glance at the window on the other side of the living room, covered in thick black-out curtains. I can’t jump from three stories up. Maybe I can climb down the side of the building with my bare hands if there are no other cops or detectives out there. But I’m already weak from the loss of blood. If I lose my grip….

  “My electricity got cut off. It’s very dark in here.”

  “That’s okay. I have a flashlight.”

  Of course you do.

  “Just a minute.”

  I grit my teeth against the pain as I walk into the tiny utility closet where the stackable washer and dryer, a tankless water heater, and the electrical panel are kept. I flip the main switch on the electrical panel, cutting off all electricity to the entire apartment.

  I shut the door to the utility closet and head to the door. Looking through the peephole, I’m not surprised to see a person in a black hoodie and dark jeans. His face is cloaked in shadow as he stares at the doorknob, waiting for me to answer.

  Detective Rousseau. I didn’t know detectives were in the business of killing people and witnesses these days.

  I plant my feet firmly as I stand to the side of the door. Then I tighten my grip around the handle of my knife and tuck it behind my back. I’ll pull this door open and the moment this guy makes a wrong move, he’s dead.

  I don’t like using my knife in a fight. My father trained me in Krav Maga, so I know that any weapon I carry can be used against my opponent and me.

  Disarm. Disable. Disengage. Those are the three steps my father taught me.

  First, you disarm your opponent. Then, you disable them. That could mean anything from stunning them, knocking them out, or killing them. Finally, you disengage. You get the fuck out of there.

  I turn the doorknob slowly, then I quickly swing the door inward while maintaining my cover behind the wall. The white beam of the flashlight pierces through the darkness, mostly diffused except for the small circle of light on the black armchair against the wall.

  “Turn off the flashlight.”

  “Pardon me?”

  He attempts to step inside and I jut my foot out to stop him. “Detective?”

  There’s a long pause. He knows I know he’s full of shit.

  A soft click and the beam of light recedes into the dimly lit corridor. “Better?”

  His voice sounds different with the door open. There’s a slight accent, but I can’t tell if it’s European or Canadian French. It doesn’t matter. He’s in my territory now. If he survives, he won’t have a voice left to speak.

  “Much better. Come in, Detective.”

  I keep my head bowed low so he can’t see my face, but he moves slowly. He’s trying not to provoke me. We’ll see how long that lasts.

  “I’m going to come in very slowly,” he assures me when his right foot is completely inside. “No need to be alarmed.”

  I’ll decide when it’s time to be alarmed.

  His body moves forward slowly and I finally glimpse the top half of him. He’s holding both his hands up on either side of his face. One hand still clutching his flashlight; a very deadly weapon in trained hands. But his hood is still pulled up. And from this side angle, with his hands up, I still can’t see his face.

  Maybe that’s a good thing.

  I step to the right, farther away from the doorway. “Close the door,” I order him.

  He takes another step forward so that now I can only see his back. Then he uses his foot to push the door closed. Total darkness.

  “Keep your hands in the air and tell me who you really are.”

  The silence that follows my command is complete. He knows I’ll be able to hear every move he makes in here. And he’s right.

  Since I was pulled out of public school at the age of six, my parents kept me locked away like a princess in a tower. Afraid that others would judge me the way the children and school staff had. They wanted to protect me. Or so they claimed.

  My father trained me in the basement of our craftsman style 1920s house in L.A. Houses like that are rare in Southern California. They’re worth a lot of money now. And my parents have sure mortgaged the shit out of that house. Hence, the reason I no longer live with them. They wanted me to start working for my dad’s agency without getting paid. Of course, I’d still have to live in their dingy basement. Then there’s also the whole thing with my mom being crazy and manipulative.

  I hold my breath as I stare at Detective Rousseau’s silhouette through the darkness. I don’t think he’s breathing. I wait another moment, thinking that if he doesn’t speak or move soon I’m going to stab him in the jugular. Then I hear a soft intake of breath.

  “I just need to know what you saw, so I can record your statement in my report.”

  He’s still going to pretend to be a detective. Fine. I can play that game.

  “I didn’t see anything. So if that’s the only reason you’re here, I suggest you leave.”

  He sniffs the air softly as he turns around to face me. “Are you okay, Miss…?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “I smell burned flesh.”

  “You know the scent of burned flesh?”

  “In my line of work, I’ve come to know the scents of many things.” He takes a step toward me. “Some pleasant and some not so pleasant.”

  I hold my ground. “Your line of work? They allow you to dress like that in your line of work?”

  “I’m a detective. I don’t wear a costume like those other clowns.”

  He’s no more than five feet away from me now, his hands still up in the air and his flashlight in hand. His black hoodie still pulled up over his head. Combined with his black pants, he does a good job of blending into the darkness. Still, I have two advantages here. My left eye and the fact that I know I have an advantage in the dark. Knowing you have an advantage is half the battle, because nothing is stronger than confidence.

  If I wanted to, I could close that five-foot gap between us, reach forward, and tear out his esophagus in one second flat. If I were operating at full power. But I’m not. And he can smell it.

  He can smell my burned flesh. He can smell my weakness from five feet away. And he wants me to know. But why? Why not just pounce on me and finish me off? Why not just pull out that fucking .44 and blast me between the eyes?

  Because he wants something. Everybody wants something. And whatever this guy wants, he needs me alive to get it.

  “You refer to your fellow officers as clowns?” I reply, trying to color my voice with some mock disgust.

  He chuckles and the sound sends a chill through me. “I’m not an officer. I’m a detective. I had to use my brain to get to this position, just like I had to use my brain to get your boss to tell me where you live.”

  I want to shout, “You killed that man!” but that would be very stupid of me. Instead, I maintain my composure as he takes another step toward me, closing the distance between us to no more than three feet.

  “Are you going to tell me what you saw? Or should I come back tomorrow after you’ve had some rest?”

  He’s giving me an out. Why?

  “You killed that man.” I speak these words calmly, almost conversationally.

  Through the darkness, I can see and feel his muscles tense. “That man was following you.”

  He’s not even going to deny it. I don’t know if I should be more frightened or impressed.

  “No, he wasn’t,” I reply.

  “Yes, he was. He is — was a known sexual predator. I’ve been following his case and waiting for him to strike. You were going to be his next victim.”

  “I don’t believe you.”
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  “Well, he’s been watching you for a few days. And he certainly didn’t appreciate me trailing you tonight. Which is why he pulled up next to me and attempted to shoot me. I shot him first.”

  I let out a puff of shrill laughter. “Oh, that’s a good story. I’m sure it will make headlines.”

  He gazes at me, completely silent and still. Though I know he can’t see me through the darkness, especially with my makeup and sunglasses and the hood over my head, I can’t help the nervous feeling building in the pit of my belly. Something tells me playtime is over.

  “I’ll come back to speak to you tomorrow.” He turns to head for the door. He stops as he places his hand on the doorknob. “Thank you for your time, Miss…?”

  “Alex. Just Alex.”

  “Thank you for your time, Alex.” He twists the doorknob and my body tenses as I await the soft glow of the lights in the corridor. But he doesn’t open the door. He looks over his shoulder and, even through the darkness, I can see the soft shadow of a smug grin on his face. “You should get that stab wound looked at by a physician.” He reaches into his back pocket and I brace myself for a gunshot. But all he pulls out is a business card. “This community clinic will take care of you free of charge. No questions asked. Just tell them Detective Rousseau sent you.”

  Chapter Three

  All week long, I lie on the sofa recuperating, staring at the door, waiting for someone to kick it down and arrest me for killing Shorty. Or turning him into a vegetable. But it never happens.

  So I’m left to wonder in silence about Detective Rousseau. Poring over every detail of our conversation in my apartment, and every detail of the doctor visit to Highland Medical Clinic on Wilshire Blvd. Though it was hard to maintain my usual level of alertness with my anxiety level skyrocketing.

  Highland seemed like a legit clinic on the outside. Inside, it looked like a typical doctor’s office: dingy industrial carpet, uncomfortable vinyl chairs, a few small tables displaying magazines from a time when the La Brea tar pits were free of mammoths.

  I approached the plexiglass window, my heart pulsing in every inch of my weakened body. My stab wound throbbing, reminding me that I couldn’t just turn around and walk out. For the first time since I left home, I needed help.

  I introduced myself to the receptionist, keeping my head down, hoping she couldn’t see the streaks of makeup that inevitably turn up on my collar. I whispered Rousseau’s name and it’s as if I just told them I was Princess Diana. They had a wheelchair waiting for me just inside the door leading to the back office area. The receptionist rolled it out into the waiting room for me. A medical assistant in purple scrubs held the door open while the receptionist rolled me into a corridor leading to an examination room.

  She tried to help me out of the wheelchair, but I held up my hand to stop her. “I can do it myself, thanks.”

  Moving carefully, I climbed up onto the examination table. Gritting my teeth and trying not to let the pain show in my face. By the time I looked up, the doctor was already in the room. They weren’t going to make me wait.

  “Good morning, Alex. I’m Dr. Grossman.” She holds her delicate hand out to me and I wince a little when I reach forward to shake. “Would you mind lying back so I can take a look at that injury?”

  I don’t ask how she knows I’m injured. I figure Rousseau probably called ahead to give her a heads up. Maybe threatened to put a bullet in her Ivy league brain if she didn’t treat me well.

  Dr. Grossman’s silver hair falls softly over her shoulder as she tips her head to the side. Watching me curiously as I painfully move backward on the table. Unlike the receptionist, she doesn’t attempt to help me or ask if I need assistance. She also doesn’t ask me to remove my hood or sunglasses. Rousseau must have been quite forthcoming with her.

  Once I’m supine on the vinyl examination table, she comes to my side and reaches for the bottom of my black hoodie. I feel vulnerable and my anxiety is multiplying. In this harsh lighting, at this close range, she’ll see the industrial makeup on my face and neck. With the overhead lights shining down on my sunglasses, she may even see through the lenses.

  “Alex, I’m going to ask you to please try to remain calm. Take a few slow, deep breaths. Can you do that for me?”

  My chest trembles as I draw in a long breath. Then I let it out and there’s the unmistakable whistling wheeze of an asthma attack. I haven’t had one in years. They only happen when I’m under duress.

  “A few more deep breaths,” Grossman encourages me.

  I do as she says and the wheezing subsides on the ninth breath. Then I close my eyes because I can’t bear looking at the harsh fluorescent lights above me. She gently lifts the bottom of my sweatshirt just enough to see the wound.

  “I’m going to have to put you under to clean this out.”

  “No!”

  “But —”

  “No!” I try to sit up and she gently grabs my shoulders.

  “Okay, okay. We won’t put you under. But this will need a lot of local anesthetic. Just lie down. I’ll be right back.”

  She shot me up with demerol, which made me feel really good. Then she injected some local anesthetic into my abdomen so she could cut me open even further and clean out the wound. I told her I couldn’t feel anything, but it was a complete lie. The demerol and the anesthetic had mostly worn off about two thirds of the way into the procedure.

  Grossman sent me on my way with seventeen stitches and a prescription for some antibiotics, anti-inflammatory steroids, and pain meds. But not before questioning me about my medical history. She was appalled to find I hadn’t been to a doctor in five years and that was only because I broke my shoulder while sparring with my father. I’ve never even been vaccinated.

  She took some blood tests and told me to come back in ten days to have the stitches removed and to get some vaccinations. Then she asked me when the first day of my last period was.

  “Why does that matter?”

  “It’s a standard question.”

  I glared at her from the examination table. “Eight days ago.”

  “Are you sexually active?” There’s a long pause, then she continued. “I’m not trying to pry, Alex. But I need to make sure there’s no possibility that you’re pregnant. And I need to know if we need to schedule a gynecological exam for your next visit.”

  “I don’t want an exam.”

  “Alex, it’s a normal part of being a woman. You should have been taught this in school. Once you turn eighteen, you should be getting a gynecological exam once a year. More often if you’re sexually active.”

  “I’m not sexually active.”

  “Have you ever been sexually active?”

  Her pen was poised over my medical file, ready to jot down whatever answer I gave her.

  “No.”

  She scribbled something in the file, then she handed me my prescription and shook my hand. Making me promise I’d be back in ten days to complete the treatment. She’d never see me again.

  I don’t care if she was extremely sensitive to my situation. Never asking why I wore this disguise. Never commenting on what she saw when she lifted my sweatshirt. Never asking how I got stabbed in the first place. She knew too much about me now. If Rousseau wanted to, he could use that information to take me down.

  I reach up and grab the back of the sofa to pull myself up. Time to change the dressing on my wound. I make my way into the kitchen and switch on the stove light. A small collection of first aid implements are lined up on the counter next to the stove: four-inch by four-inch gauze squares, a box of sterile cotton pads, medical tape, saline wound wash, and antibiotic ointment. This collection standing next to my stockpile of drugs.

  I haven’t taken any of the pain meds for fear that Rousseau or one of Shorty’s friends will show up at my door and I’ll be too drugged up to fight back. But it’s been six days since I visited Dr. Grossman and my stitches have been oozing and the pain is coming back. I don’t want to go back to Hig
hland, but I don’t want my tombstone to read: She refused to see a doctor.

  I’ve always imagined my tombstone saying something like, Head chopped off by Samurai master, or, A Samurai ripped out her heart with his bare hands.

  Yes, I’ve watched too many Tarantino films. My father was obsessed with them.

  He probably still is. But I may never know. I doubt I’ll ever go home to see my parents.

  I begin my nightly ritual of cleaning my wound and applying a new dressing by opening a box of gauze. I pull out a packet and set it aside, then I remove the caps from the wound wash and antibiotic ointment. I tear off a few strips of medical tape and hang them from the edge of the counter. Open a packet of sterile cotton, I then squeeze a little of the saline wound solution onto the cotton pad. Then begins the worst part.

  I grab a piece of the tape securing my dressing to my skin and begin to slowly peel it away. My skin is red and raw from changing my dressing twice daily; once in the morning and once before bed. Each time I peel away the tape, more skin comes away. So now I’m left with a screaming pink square of raw skin boxing in my knife wound.

  I peel away the top half of the dressing, but that’s as far as it will go. The gauze is stuck to the wound with crusted pus and blood. I pull a little harder and suck in a sharp breath at the searing pain. Tears stream down my face as I inch closer to the oven to get a better look at the wound under the stove light.

  Shit.

  I pulled out a stitch.

  Knock. Knock. Knock.

  Fuck!

  I stick the tape back onto my skin and turn off the light. Pulling down my sweatshirt, I walk toward the door, breathing in my usual composure. Trying to pretend I’m not at all broken.

  I peer through the peephole and I recognize the shape of the head under the black hoodie. Rousseau has his back to the door. A show of faith demonstrating he doesn’t expect me to open the door and attack him from behind. And also a friendly display of submission. He’s showing me that I can trust him. He’s not going to attack me either.