After the Evil – A Jake Roberts Novel (Book 1) (28 page)

Mika continues patting her chest to settle down,
while she waits patiently for the rest of my revelation.

“Jake, breathe, WHAT?” she says.

“Emily, a silver Lexus, the CD, Abrams the
psychiatrist, the abusive missing husband, and the daughter’s
suicide.”

I put it all together. I make sure it makes sense
before I tell them.

“WHAT, WHAT?” Harmon says.

Mika tugs at me. I reach out and take her hands. My
mind is racing trying to remember, to recall, and to separate the
days all at the same time.

“I KNOW WHO THE KILLER IS!”

I say it, but I can’t accept it. I feel an eerie
chill run my spine almost like I’m an accomplice somehow. I kissed
her, held her in my arms. I was falling in love with her. I wanted
to spend the rest of my life––

“Say it Jake, what?” Harmon says.

I regulate my breathing and focus. I can’t believe
what I am about to say to them.

“A daughter named Emily. The girl committed suicide
a few years ago for reasons she never said, but I think I know why
now.”

“Who,” Mika says.

“The killer drives a late-model, silver, foreign
car––a Lexus.”

Nobody is speaking now except me.

“When I was there, I found a CD, the exact same CD
in her collection.”

I shake my head because the initial exuberance of
the revelation is wearing off. The ex-husband abused her and
disappeared, that’s the reason why she was seeing a psychiatrist, a
Dr. Thaddeus Abrams.”

I can’t say the rest. I’m looking at Mika.

“LORI POWERS!” she says.

“Jake, are you sure?” Harmon says.

“It all fits. It’s as clear as glass now. She’s a
flight attendant.”

I turn toward Mika. The pieces fit.

“I bet if you track her flights, she was in every
town your victims turned up dead in.”

“Jesus, Jake,” Mika says.

“Where is she now?” Harmon says.

“Home, as far as I know. I went over to her place
for dinner last night and we started talking about Gates. She
started defending him––
defending
him. She said I needed to
try to understand why he did what he did. I told her she was wrong
because of Ed. She broke it off. I left pissed. That’s how I ended
up at Chipper’s.”

Mika gently makes an observation.

“She must have really loved you, Jake.”

“What?”

I’m not ready for female intuition right now.

“No, I mean she
really
must have loved you,
probably more than you will ever know,” Mika says.

“I don’t get it, what are you saying?”

Mika walks over and sits down beside me. She nods
toward Harmon who moves to stand in front of me. Her hand slides
across to take mine.

“Jake, if you’re right about her then I think she
must have really loved you, because you are a law enforcement
officer, a man in a position of authority.”

From my hand, hers slides up my arm and around my
shoulder. There was a gentle, sympathetic look on her face.

“You’re the perfect profile of her victims, and yet
she ‘spared’ you. She didn’t want to hurt you emotionally, or
physically.”

Mika’s statement starts to hurt, a sucker punch I
feel right below my ribs. If what Mika is saying is true, I’m lucky
to be alive.

Harmon shifts into overdrive. He punches a finger
into the intercom.

“Call them all in, now!”

Wendy on the other end of the intercom dials the
extension of the dispatchers downstairs. Within minutes, every
detective in the precinct is told to report to the house.

Mika watches me. She understands the conflict of
emotions going on inside of me.

“I’m sorry, Jake.”

* * *

Nick barely heard the knock on his door. Lori didn’t
want to draw attention from the other guests at the hotel, although
she was certain after Parker was found, she would be the prime
suspect. He tried to be as presentable as possible under the
circumstances. The sport shirt was new, and so were the khaki
slacks, but the navy blue blazer had some miles on it. His hair was
perfectly groomed after the shower. The captain was as GQ as he was
going to get. He opened the door with a gratuitous, charming
smile.

“Hey Lori, you look great!”

His brow crunched together and his mouth formed an
“O” as she twirled to provide a panoramic view. She carefully
accentuated her breasts with a deep breath, and pointed a toe at
the end of a long, shapely leg.

“Okay?” she said.

It was more of a purr. Not wanting to appear overly
aggressive, she nevertheless stepped inside his room quickly.

“So, where is this incredible, tantalizing
restaurant you’re tempting me with? You said it was within walking
distance. I hope it’s not too far for these heels.”

She watched his eyes travel down her legs.

“It’s not far at all, close actually. The specialty
is King Crab legs, mounds of them that will make you quiver.”

He was still admiring hers.

“I speak with authority.”

“Captain Parker, that sounds to me like you would
know exactly what to do if there were great legs right in front of
you.”

She raised her eyebrows and added a pouting mouth to
her suggestive exclamation.

Right then, Nick knew how the evening would end.
While he had originally planned to be the one doing the seducing,
he quickly realized that he was the one being seduced. He decided
to let her play it out.

“Nick, please.”

“Nick.”

She smiled.

While he saw her as just an easy flight attendant,
she was still an exceptionally beautiful woman with an awesome
body. He didn’t plan on a long affair with her anyway. He didn’t
know much about her, and wasn’t interested in her personal life. He
just wanted to play.

“Are you ready to go? I have a table reserved for
8:30. The place is usually packed by nine,” Nick said.

As he spoke, he pictured himself walking through the
front doors with her on his arm. The other men would be salivating
with envy. He liked that. It was part of his modus operandi to
wine, dine and be seen. It was mental foreplay for the master. She
surprised him and piqued his curiosity. He never anticipated she
would be spontaneous and unpredictable.

“We could, unless...”

She looked deeply into Nick’s eyes.

“Well pretty lady, what did you have in mind?”

“Why don’t we order up room service, something to
get the evening started, say champagne?

We still have plenty of time before the reservation,
and you said it was a short walk.”

He read the playful look on her face and it
intensified his expectations. If this went right, he thought for
the price of a bottle of champagne, he might save the price of an
expensive dinner, and still score. Pilots only thought about sex
and money. Cheap dates were a win-win. He smiled and reached for
the telephone.

“Yes, could you send up a bottle of your finest
champagne to Suite 753? Thank you.”

He dropped the handset down.

“I have always believed it is best to give the lady
what she wants.”

The grin on his face has a devilish twist to it.

* * *

Shouting orders faster than any of us can get them
done, Harmon believes that any further delay could cost another
life.

“Call Judge Thornton, he’ll write a search
warrant.”

Mika is on a conference call with Wellington in
Quantico. I can hear him trying to interrupt, but she tells him to
shut up. Wellington got spanked.

“Follow up with her airline. Call her supervisor.
Find out if her schedule coincides with the murder dates and
locations. Call me as soon as you have something.”

She slams the phone down and looks at us.

“There, that’ll get the ball rolling.”

Harmon asks me if Lori is still home.

“As far as I know she is. She’s not supposed to fly
until tomorrow afternoon. The only other place she might be is at
the cemetery. She visits her daughter regularly.”

I try to sound as if I have a clue about her life. I
wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, but I’m astounded by
how much I don’t know about her. The floor is filling up with
detectives. They keep looking at Harmon to see what’s up. They know
it has something to do with the “Who’s Your Daddy” killer, but he
was dead. Finally, Harmon addresses them.

“All right people, listen up. There has been some
new information that suggests Michael Gates was not, repeat not,
our serial killer. It appears now that he may very well have been a
copy cat killer. We now believe the perp to be a female named Lori
Powers. We have an address and we’ll head there right after this
briefing.”

Melissa interrupts him.

“Sir, the search warrant has been signed by the
judge and will be transported to the residence. It will be there by
the time you arrive.”

“Thanks detective. Okay, here’s how it’s going down.
Jake, I want you to make it look like you’re just visiting and draw
her out. The rest of you will take up positions out of sight, and
be ready to move on Jake’s signal.”

He gets my reassuring nod.

“Agent Scott is still tactically in charge of this
case. You will follow her commands to the letter. I will only be on
site as an official observer.”

He turns to Mika.

“Will you need the services of our fine SWAT team,
Agent Scott?”

“No sir, I’ve already requisitioned more agents from
the Bureau. They should be there when we arrive.”

“Be sure they wait outside the perimeter until we
get there. I don’t want a bunch of over-zealous Feds fouling things
up,” Harmon says.

“I agree, and they have been advised as such,
chief.”

Harmon looks at all the detectives.

“Any questions?”

After the detectives present exchange looks, one
asks about whether or not the use of lethal force is approved. That
hits me in an odd way.

“If need be,” Harmon says.

Harmon takes the lead and I’m right behind Mika. The
doors to CID close behind us. The rest of the troops follow with
determined looks on their faces. Outside, in front of the precinct,
car doors slam shut and the squeal of tires fills the otherwise
quiet and peaceful summer evening.

We are on our way to catch the real killer.

Parker knew Lori was a player. He thought about
dropping the sincerity, and dropping her to the floor instead.
Rough, raucous sex was probably the norm for her, he thought, as he
watched her move about the room.

Their conversation was provocative, suggestive and
salacious. He decided to restrain his perverted desires until after
the champagne was gone. The expected knock on his door from room
service came. Lori quickly excused herself to the bathroom. Parker
opened the door and watched the waiter push the cart with the white
tablecloth inside the room. Inside the ice bucket on the cart stood
the chilled champagne alongside two tall stem glasses, and a single
red rose in a vase. He tossed the waiter a five.

“Are you all right in there?”

From inside the bathroom, Lori answered while she
tugged at her skirt and straightened whatever she thought needed
it. She took a quick look in the mirror to check for smudges.

“Yes Nick, be there in a second,” she said.

I’m so proud of you, mommy. You know how bad he hurt
me. Don’t let him hurt me again, mommy.

She looked into the mirror.

“I won’t, baby.”

Before she opened the door, she checked her ring to
make sure that the sedative was still hidden inside. She was
ready––show time. The door swung open and Lori stepped out. She
gave Nick one of her special Lori Powers smiles.

“Sorry I took so long.”

She looked at the bottle of champagne.

“Oh, that looks inviting.”

Parker took the foil off and started working out the
cork. After the anticipated popping sound, he poured a glass and
handed it to her. Lori graciously accepted and he poured another
for himself. They raised their glasses high and toasted.

“To a night to remember,” he said.

To a nightmare to remember.

She held her glass against his.

“Nick, I want this to be a very special night, one
you won’t forget for the rest of your life.”

He felt his pulse rate jump, and a throbbing between
his thighs. He was an empty champagne bottle away from taking her.
A quick glance at the clock on the nightstand revealed that their
dinner reservation time had arrived.

“Uh-oh, we’ve got to go,” he said.

Lori sipped at the champagne. Their eyes met.

“Or, we can stay right here,” she said.

“That would be okay with you, pretty lady?”

“Nick, I really love champagne. It makes me lose my
inhibitions. I feel like I’m able to experience things otherwise
considered...improper.”

She was everything he had hoped for.

Thank God, I didn’t waste my time with Megan.

The thoughts that were running through his mind
would alone be considered illegal in many states. He reached for
the bottle, but Lori stepped forward and placed her hand lightly on
his chest.

“You captains are always so concerned about us. Why
don’t you let me take care of you tonight?”

Her hand dropped and lightly brushed against the
front of his khakis. He missed a breath.

Oh God, she’s good,

With a slight nudge, she made him sit on the edge of
the bed. He didn’t hesitate to accommodate her. Pivoting toward the
cart, she refilled his glass while he focused on the backside of
her dress. He followed the back of her legs down to her heels then
reversed course and went up, until he became lost in the flowing
curls of her flaxen hair.

Opening her ring, she let the contents fall into his
glass, and poured champagne over the drug. The bubbles provided the
perfect cover as the two ingredients mixed together. It would take
only a minute after the glass was empty for the drug to take effect
then she would be able to kill the rat.