He jostled peanuts in his hand. “How do you remember that?”
“She has a photographic memory,” Angie said. “She could tell you what you wore two months ago. Or what you ate that day.”
“Garrison said something about you having a good memory. I didn’t realize it was that extreme.”
Eva shrugged. “Sometimes. Remembering isn’t always the best.” She punched his order into the computer.
“What do you remember about your father?” Malcolm asked.
She arched a brow. “Where did that come from?”
“I’ve been chewing on this Fay Willow case on and off all day. Has your sister told you about our visit to the women’s prison?”
Angie faced him. “I didn’t supply many details because she doesn’t need to know.”
He shrugged. “Back off, Mama Bear. I’m just asking.”
Eva refilled Angie’s water glass. “I’ve been after her to tell me, but she won’t. She and Garrison think I’m made of glass.”
He faced Angie. “She won’t break if I ask her questions about her father.”
“She doesn’t need the stress.”
Eva laughed. “She can talk for herself, Angie. And she does remember a little about her father.”
He shifted his gaze back to Eva. “What do you remember?”
“He was fun. He made me laugh. Always had a magic trick. But the more I dig back to the past, I remember that he and Mom were never really happy. He would be out a lot at night, and when he came back she’d argue with him. She cried often.”
“Why did he leave?”
“I don’t know. One day he was there, and then one day he was gone.”
“Louise said that Darius forced Frank to hire Blue.”
Eva shrugged. “I don’t know. It all went over my head.”
Garrison pushed through the front door of the bar. He came around the bar, took Eva in his arms, and kissed her. Several customers whooped and hollered, but he didn’t seem to care.
Color rose in Angie’s face as she watched the two embrace.
Malcolm’s phone rang, and he was relieved to answer it. “Kier.” He lifted his gaze, growing darker and slowly shifting to Angie. “Are you very sure?” He listened and then nodded. “Thanks.”
“What was that about?” Angie said.
Garrison picked up on her tone and shifted his gaze while keeping his arm around Eva.
“An undercover cop working the streets called in. Dixon is back on the prowl. He’s talking to hookers.”
“He’s not done that since his trial,” Garrison said.
“He understands that keeping his nose clean is part of staying out of jail,” Angie said.
“Yeah, but why now?” Kier said. “What has changed?”
“Maybe he was just biding his time,” Eva offered.
Angie shook her head. “He was interviewed by the cops only a week ago. He’d have to be a fool to solicit sex. It’s what got him into trouble in the first place.”
“He was so careful, and now he’s taking risks. Why?” Malcolm turned to Angie. “You need to be very careful.”
“Me? Why?”
“He has a thing for you. I could see it in the way he looked at you in the courtroom.”
“We had a strictly professional relationship.” She wasn’t sure why she needed to say that to Malcolm.
“I’m not saying you didn’t. But I’m not so sure about him. You said he’d came around last week.”
“He wanted legal advice.”
“And when you said no?”
“He wasn’t happy, but he dealt with it.”
Kier shook his head. “Be very, very careful, Counselor. If he’s taking small risks, he could be getting ready to take big risks.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I know you’re a big girl.” Sarcasm rattled around the words. “But you may have a lunatic that’s got you in his sights.”
Eva reached across the bar and laid her hand on Angie’s. “Be careful. I know firsthand how clever they can be.”
Dixon had tied the woman to the hotel bed. Tear streaks and mascara trailed down the side of her face. She wasn’t bleeding. He’d been careful not to make her bleed. And when the bruises darkened her pale skin, a shirt and pants would cover them easily. He’d only bitten her once on the underside of her breast.
He pulled up his pants, fastened the top button, and zipped up. He liked watching her twist at her bindings and try to hold off the tears. Given a little more time, she’d have been weeping and begging. But he didn’t dare risk it.
He pulled two hundred dollars from his pocket and tossed it on the nightstand. He sat on the edge of the bed, and the cheap mattress sunk under his weight. Humming, he reached for her bindings and slowly untied them.
The woman quickly sat up and rubbed the red raw bands around her wrists.
He grabbed her by the chin and held her face. “You and I are going to keep this little date private, aren’t we?”
Her agreement came quick and sure. “Yes.”
“Good. I don’t need trouble, and you don’t need trouble from me.” He pulled a small camera from his pocket and snapped several photos. “Got it?”
Her head bobbed up and down. “I get it. I get it.”
His desire satisfied, he was anxious to get rid of her. “Get your clothes and get out of here.”
She scrambled off the bed and quickly pulled on a short jean miniskirt and tank top. She grabbed her purse and snatched the money off the nightstand.
“Maybe I’ll call you again.”
“Yeah, sure.”
She hurried out of the room. Dixon sat on the bed for a moment, savoring the total sense of relaxation. His thoughts were clear now. He could plan his escape with Angie.
The motel door opened, but he didn’t bother a glance up. “What did you forget?”
A heavy silence hung in the room, sending a sting of fear through his limbs. He rose and turned, his fingers fisted.
The whore stood in the doorway, but she wasn’t alone. His partner was with her. The Other held the woman’s neck in his hands, squeezing so hard she couldn’t move.
His expression was as dark as Satan’s and made him seem all the more frightening and imposing.
“What are you doing?” he said in a cool, even voice as he pushed the door closed behind him.
“Just having a little fun.”
“I told you, no more fun. Not now.” He shoved hard, and the woman tumbled forward onto the carpeted floor. She wept and crawled toward Dixon as if he would somehow save her.
Dixon ran a shaky hand through his hair. “I just needed to release some tension.”
“That’s what you said when you picked up Lulu Sweet the first time. That led to one hell of a mess.”
“I kept quiet, just as we agreed. I never implicated you.”
“No, but you put a crimp in my fun. We had to lay low for a year because you couldn’t control yourself.”
“I didn’t get rough
with her like I did with Lulu the first time.”
“You’ve created a loose end who will talk to someone sooner or later.”
The woman glanced up at him. “I won’t talk. I swear.”
The man pulled a knife from his back pocket. The woman gasped and screamed. The customers who came to this motel heard screams often and didn’t call the cops unless it became really annoying. “No, you will not.”
“Shit!” Dixon gasped.
He held out the knife to Dixon. “Clean up your mess.”
Dixon held up his hands. “Me? I don’t like that part.”
“You made the mess—now you have to tidy it up.”
He shrank away as the woman wailed. “No.”
A smile twisted his partner’s face, and he stepped forward and in one smooth move grabbed the woman by the hair and sliced her neck. Instantly she collapsed to the floor. Her blood pooled around her head as the air gurgled from her lungs.
“Shit!” Dixon wailed. “What have you done? My fingerprints and DNA are all over this room.” He backed up a step so that the whore’s blood didn’t touch his shoes. “I’m not going to jail for this.”
“No, you won’t go to jail for this.”
Dixon wanted to run in the bathroom and vomit. “Then what the hell was the point of killing her?”
The Other shrugged as he tossed the knife on the floor beside the woman. “Fun. Entertainment. Boredom.”
“I can’t do this anymore with you. I can’t.”
“I understand.” His smile was warm and forgiving. “It’s too much.”
Dixon’s breathing slowed just a fraction. “You’ll let me go.”
“Of course. But I need you to do a favor for me.”
Dixon’s hands trembled, and it was all he could do not to piss on himself. “I’m going to be sick.”
“Suit yourself.”
Dixon dashed to the bathroom and threw up in the toilet. His eyes watered. The muscles in his stomach ached. Finally, he swiped his hand over his mouth and rose.
“Now about that favor.”
“What do you need from me?”
“The cops need someone to blame these murders on. I’ve got the perfect persontogive them. Let’sgotomycar.”