DEAD SEXY (8 page)

“Why is he with Jason Dean?”

Blake knew that name but could not place it. He looked at the old photo, in it he was standing off to one side with a beer in his hand and a smile on his face. Kevin was standing next to a sandy haired man with a deep tan…who had he been? “I am not sure. I think he dropped by that day to… he was a stock guy or something and he was handling Kevin’s money.”

Laundering it, more likely. Kevin was standing next to a man who had gone to jail for embezzling from the very company Jenna worked for. Again that tingle hit. He was on the verge of something here, but how did the pieces fit together? Kevin…Kevin DEAN!

“They are related,” he said. “Holy fuck, that’s what it was.”

“What?”

“Kevin, the detective, he’s related to that guy.”

Jenna’s mouth fell open. “What?”

“Hold that thought.” Blake went to his cell and punched in a number. When the man on the other end answered he barked out, “I need some information Bernie and I need it right now. Jason Dean Junior, stocks guy that went to jail for embezzlement…”

“I remember that. The fucker swiped my mother-in-law’s pension fund, which is why she is now living with us. You ask me that little punk got what he deserved.”

“What did he get?” Blake was expecting Bernie to say a long prison sentence. “He got killed about two months ago, tossed right off the side of the wall up at Sing-Sing. I guess nobody ever told the rich little prick in the real world when you owe money people will take the debt out of your ass.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, I was waiting for the day he got out. I was gonna take my mom-in-law over there and dump her on his doorstep, now that would be justice.”

“Thanks Bernie, I got to go.” He hung up and placed another call, that one to a friend in the Coroner’s office. “Mike, what can you tell me about the Pitt murder?”

“Not much, except someone stepped on his stomach.”

Blake scratched his head, “What?”

“Whoever killed him wanted it to look like he was killed where he was found but he wasn’t. There is a giant bruise below the skin of his abdomen, shaped like a footprint. Now either someone kicked him before he was dead or they wanted there to be blood at the scene so they took him into that office and stepped on him until they got some out of him.

“There wasn’t quite enough blood in that office for it to have been the actual site, or at least those are my unofficial findings at the moment, but don’t quote me on that, old buddy.”

“I never do, Thank you.”

“Any time. Hey, one more thing—this guy had a weird fetish for women’s panties. He was holding a pair that had been torn up . Any ideas what I should tell the detectives about that?”

“No,” his eyes slid to Jenna, wondering if she knew that Tom had had her panties. He hung up and spoke. “You cannot go to the company right now, is there any way you could telecommute?”

“What? No, I have major meetings all week and what’s more I have work to do.”

He grabbed her by her shoulders. “I think someone is setting you up to get even.”

“What? Why would anyone do that now?”

“Because Jason Dean got killed in prison.”

Jenna’s world turned sideways. She was no fool, she knew enough of criminals and institutions to know what it was like inside. Jason had been soft, and he would have made a good target. There was any number of reasons he might have been killed while in prison, she didn’t want to dwell on the particulars.

But could Blake be right? Could someone be setting her up to get revenge for that death? It all seemed a bit far-fetched, until you factored in the current rash of embezzlement, the fact that Pitt was stabbed to death in her office and his cousin—a Homicide detective—had turned up on the scene.

“The surveillance video! Surely if Kevin came into the building to kill Tom the cameras would have seen him!”

Do you know where it’s kept?”

“Yes. I found out after…after I turned Jason in. I had to go down and watch a video, in the operations room. It’s on the 35
^th
floor.”

“Can you get into it?”

“Yes.”

“We need to go right now. If Kevin is the guilty party he’ll have that tape out of there and ‘lost’ before the day shift gets to work.”

“Only people with access cards can get into the floors above the 25
^th
. That is…”

“I know all of that. Somebody is helping him.”

“Who would do that?” Jenna asked. “I mean when Jason left the company nobody mourned. Except maybe his father, but he’s retired and has been almost since. I think Dunning gave him a large severance package to leave earlier.”

“Did Dean have any close friends, anyone who is still at the company that might want your job bad enough to help set you up?”

Jenna shook her head. “The company doesn’t encourage friendships between its employees, especially if you make over five figures yearly. They want competition; they want people willing to do whatever it takes to make it.”

“Apparently Dean took that to heart,” Blake observed.

Jenna knew the policies were wrong and bad. She knew that the company deliberately fostered ill will and hostility to keep its executives on their toes; after all, anyone could take your job at any moment. Was someone willing to do whatever it took to get hers, even if it meant helping someone commit murder?

She cast her mind about; trying to imagine which lower executive would be gunning, literally, for her. “There are a few outgoing executives whose jobs would be easier to get.”

“Yes, but this is not just about the job, this is about you, and Jason Dean. There has to be two people working on this—someone from inside and Kevin.”

“He’s a cop!” Jenna protested, “Surely he wouldn’t kill somebody!”

Blake knew he was risking everything but he had to, he had to trust her if only to save her life. He pointed to the picture she had asked about before, “He was seventeen. He was a criminal, make no mistake, but he was raised by a family not much different than yours.

“The difference was that he enjoyed being a criminal, he liked the cache and the money and the girls and everything else. He had a father that was one of the biggest players in their neighborhood and he wanted to keep that legacy alive, he wanted to be his father’s son.

“Kevin killed him. I saw it happen, and I did nothing to stop it or to bring Kevin to justice. At the time I just decided I owed him for saving my life in combat and I walked away. The force was full of cops on the take and job was usually spent between trying to undo the damage caused by them and trying to keep the peace between the two sides.

“His name was Darius and he was not at all willing to play the games that others were willing to pay. He refused to pay up, and he wound up dead one night. Kevin wanted me to plant a gun and I said no and walked away.

“If Kevin did kill Tom, I am responsible.” When he looked at her his eyes were bleak. “Kevin is a killer, cold and hard as can be. I know that and I do not want him anywhere near you.”

“You said someone has to be helping him.”

“Yes, it is the only thing that makes sense.”

“Then we have to find out who is helping him. And you’re right, we have to go get that tape because if he does have help, it’s someone who can get him up and down the elevators, and if they can do that, they can get access to everything.”

“Could they get access to all the files if they knew where they all were?”

“Yes, but…but nobody really knows who has what. We know who we work with, and who handles what, but there are five floors just like mine, and basically the accounts are scattered throughout.”

“To prevent embezzling.”

“Yes.”

“It doesn’t seem to be working so well.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Come on, as much as I hate to see you with clothes on we need to get dressed and go.”

Time was wasting and Blake had a feeling they had very little left.

The surveillance operations room was empty but for one sleepy-eyed man and a bank of computer consoles. “Not much to see this time of night,” he said laconically when Blake quizzed him as to why he was alone. “There are two other guys but they’re out on a smoke break.”

“How often do you guys get a smoke?”

The man was about forty, overweight and he began to look uncomfortable. “Listen, I don’t know what right you have to ask these questions. I mean I heard you say you are the guy Dunning said would be around to ask about things but still, I mean…”

“I’m not here to bust your chops. It’s an empty nest this time of night, no harm in having one guy in and a couple out smoking as far as I can see. I just need to know if there has ever been a time when more than two of you were out.”

“No, hell no. These people are hard to work for. They got cameras everywhere and you cannot erase the feeds. They even got them in here,” he indicated the cold eye of the camera above his head.

“I see. I need to see the video from last night.”

“You mean the floor that the guy got killed on? That’s already been taken.”

“By who?”

“By that cop. He came and got it almost before the day shift knew the guy was dead.”

Dammit! Kevin had had the right to take the film, as long as he took it before the lawyers could slap him with the need for a warrant. The day shift crew had probably handed it right over, too.

“Okay, let me ask you this—have you seen anyone, anyone at all, who is out on the floors late at night? Like someone who is always around?”

“Yeah, her.” He jerked his thumb at Jenna.

“Anyone else?”

“Most of the folks from the upper floors work late. We see them all the time.”

“Do you see them roaming around the hallways?”

“Of course.”

Blake was getting a bit frustrated. “Do any of them have a tendency to wander where they do not belong?”

“Not that I ever saw.”

“Great.” Blake doubted that the guy saw much. “The cleaning and maintenance staff, do you see any of them doing anything suspicious?”

“Yeah, working.” The sarcasm was heavy and Jenna winced. This was becoming a pissing contest and it was clear that the security guard was determined not to help them. “Thank you for your time,” she said softly. “We appreciate it. Listen, this is me—she handed him a business card from her purse, please call my cell if you think of anything at all.”

“Sure, but honestly, I can’t tell you much. They run this place like a prison you know, everyone has their own sections and halls and so on. Nobody on the cleaning staff is allowed to close a door while they work and there are a couple of guards that walk the halls all night, they have different shifts and routines so nobody ever knows when they might pop up.”

“Can you see them?” Blake asked.

The guard glared at him, “Yes, but we couldn’t communicate with a staff member except over the general intercom, if that is what you are getting at.”

The guy was quicker than he looked. “It was, and thank you for answering.”

“If you don’t mind I have to get back to work here.” He turned his back to them, a clear expression of how affronted he was then he swung back around, “The only people with access to everything are the top dogs, and I haven’t seen any of them out and about at night. Most of them head home about seven or so.”

“Is there any way to check to see whose keys have been used to open certain doors?”

“Yeah, but you have to talk to Ronnie down in the computer room. He’s the nerd that does all that stuff. He won’t be back in until morning.”

Dead end. The frustration crackled in his skin. Blake managed a polite nod and hustled Jenna out the door of the operations room, but his mind was churning along a few other possibilities. “The security guards, how do I find out who they are?”

“Human Resources, but nobody will be in for another five hours. I suggest we get some sleep, I have to work tomorrow and really the last thing I need is for anyone to get wind of the fact that I am running around the company at night asking questions.”

She was right, but not for the reason she had in mind. Just as they headed for the elevator the doors swung open and two other guards strolled out. From ten feet away Blake could smell cigarettes on them, and when he drew closer his eyes widened in recognition. The guard looked at him and his own face showed he knew who Blake was but neither spoke.

Blake’s hand had been resting on Jenna’s upper arm and she jerked when his fingers suddenly locked down on her flesh. Pain lanced through her and a small squeak popped out of her mouth as Blake almost tossed her into the elevator and hit the button for the parking garage. “We parked on the street,” she pointed out.

“I know.” His face was tight and his gut was screaming at him to get Jenna the hell out of there. “How do I get this fucker to stop?”

“You have to use a key.” She produced her own.

“Open the door on the next floor.”

The terseness of his words flummoxed her. “Why?”

“Jenna, do it.”

She did and as soon as the door opened he grabbed her and sprinted out, hitting the button to close the doors as he went. The elevator barely showed a pause, for which he was grateful but still, he headed for the door to the stairs, his mind searching through and discarding plans quickly.

“Blake, have you lost your mind?” Jenna panted as she struggled to keep up with his long legged stride.

“You can’t get into any of the offices, can you?’

“No, the main doors don’t open without a key. You can get into these hallways but that’s all.”

Blake cursed Dunning’s paranoia soundly and silently. “Where are the cameras?”

“Above us.”

“Shit.” He looked up, scanning the distance between the cameras and saw a small spot where there would be a bit of blindness. He ducked into it, pulling Jenna in with him and covering her body with his.

Jenna was beyond puzzled, his behavior was incomprehensible and she was beginning to feel a bit frightened. She asked, “What is it Blake?”

“That guard, he was Kevin’s partner in the shakedowns. We have to get out of here.”

“Then why did we get off the elevator?”

Blake knew that Yancey Jenkins, the guard who had once been a New York City cop, was a wily bastard. He would have already figured out a way to check to see where they had come in, and he would be waiting for them, probably right by the exits.

“We need another way out.”

“There is no other way out.”

Jenna would not have any reason to know about service exits or anything else. Damn, oddly enough his cock had gone stiff despite the circumstances. He could feel it pressing into her pelvis and he buried his face in her hair, breathing in her scent while he blanked out everything else and thought things through. “Can the operations guys get into your floor?”

“I don’t know.”

It didn’t matter. They needed a room with a lock and sturdy door if nothing else. “We’re going to your office.”

“Jenna opened her mouth to protest, for one thing she was not sure which office he was referring to—the one she had always used or her interim office—but he took her by the hand and ran for the express elevators. She had no choice but to follow.

Just as the doors slid open they heard the other elevator slide open and Yancey stepped out. Blake pulled Jenna behind him and breathed a sigh of relief when the car they were in slid upward. “Blake?” Her voice shook and her eyes were filled with tears. Jenna was no fool, she had been raised in a home where crime was king and she knew exactly what the score was. “He’s going to kill us, isn’t he?”

“Not if I can help it.”

“He’s in on it.”

“Yes. That would explain why it was so easy for Kevin to get the video. Yancey probably hung around after his shift to hand it off.”

They made it to her floor and Blake headed for her office. He knew that it was a bad choice for the reason that it was a crime scene but it had a clear view from the door to the hallway and he could lock them in tightly.

“Blake, Tom was killed in there so I doubt there is any protection to be had there.”

“No, he was killed somewhere else and taken into your office. Kevin knew what he was doing when he staged it; that is why there was a large bruise on Pitt’s abdomen, he needed there to be blood in your office and since Pitt was already dead there was none.”

Jenna’s emotions were at full tilt, nothing made sense and every thought flew across her brain like a darting silver fish, moving too quickly for her to really take anything in. They made it to her office and crossed quickly through the darkened outer office. The door to her office was unlocked and Jenna frowned.

“What is it?” Blake asked.

“The police left it unlocked.” The door opened under her hands and a dazzle of light hit her eyes. That light kept her from seeing the figure standing nearby until it was too late. The gun hit her in her temple, rocking her head backward and knocking her to the floor.

Everything went black…

* * * *

Jenna’s eyes fluttered open slowly, and an ache started in her temple and then grew more insistent. Her arms ached and her shoulders were stretched behind her, a ginger tug told her she was trapped, tied up with some kind of sticky substance. Tape, probably.

Her face was against the carpet, it was rough below her cheek and her eyes felt gummy and heavy. Her feet were also trapped, she tried to kick her way out of the tape but it was too tight. Blake? Where was Blake? Panic set in, she thrashed about on the floor and a heavy foot came down on her neck.

“Be quiet.” She did not recognize the voice but she was sure it belonged to the guard that Blake had been worried about.

Her eyes rolled to the right, she could see Blake lying limp not far from her. Blood trickled from a cut on his cheek and nose. Terror enveloped her and she fought, kicking and clawing at the tape that held her body while the man above her laughed.

“Shut up.” That voice froze Jenna in place. It couldn’t be! What was Denise doing there? She always left right on time. Her head ached and her mouth, covered by more of the tape, felt pulped and bruised, not to mention incredibly dry. “Untape her mouth.”

“What if she screams?”

Denise leaned close to Jenna, her dark eyes holding a warning. “Scream and I will kill him, nod if you understand.”

Jenna could not believe what was happening. Denise had never been a warm person but neither had she been so …evil, either. She nodded and tears swelled up in her eyes as Yancey yanked the tape away from her mouth in one brutal pull. She did not let those tears fall; she would never have given him the satisfaction.

Denise leaned close. “Give me the number of the file.”

Jenna blinked. “What file?”

Denise hit her, hard. Pain exploded in Jenna’s face, traveling from her cheekbone all the way to her jaw. She croaked out, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“The file, dammit! The one that has all of the bank account numbers, what is it?”

“No idea what you mean,” Jenna said thickly.

“You had it! It was right here in your office. I tried every way to get it and when I could not find it I started trying to track it down elsewhere. I figured you had to have given it to Pitt but he didn’t have it either.”