Betrayed (8 page)

Chapter Ten

Justin was able to persuade his father to wait until the funeral to see Amy. The family was told she had died of a knife wound to the throat, but the police didn’t want to be any more specific than that. Better to keep some information under wraps during a murder investigation.

Lily was allowed to look through Amy’s closet for a dress in which to bury her friend. The forensics team remained inside the home gathering evidence, but a policeman escorted her inside so she could choose the appropriate attire along with a few jewelry items that were special to Amy. Lily was instructed to either get a high neck dress or shirt or a scarf to hide Amy’s neck wound. She chose a silk scarf for her friend.

It was difficult for Lily to rummage through Amy’s possessions, especially remembering the last time they were together and the hurtful things that were said. She wished she could take it all back, but nothing could erase it now. There would be no making up, no watching each other’s kids during date night, or family vacations together.

Lily heaved a sigh as she gathered the items together. Before she could take them, forensics would look through the items ensuring there was no blood on the surface. Once cleared, Lily took the dress, scarf, and jewelry to the funeral home. The viewing was that night with the funeral tomorrow. She prayed Big Red could make it through. In just a few days it appeared he’d shrunk in size. Lily knew another funeral wasn’t far off in their future.

Big Red was a mess from the moment he entered the funeral home. Justin and Connor wanted to roll him up to his beloved daughter’s casket in a wheelchair, but Red would have none it. They compromised, and the two you men walked up with the grief-stricken father, one on each side of him, holding on tightly. Red even picked up a suit and tie for the occasion at the thrift store, and it was the first time anyone there could remember seeing him dressed up.

They were still two steps from the casket when Red broke down. Loud, pained wails came up from his soul, and the tears flowed.

“My little girl!” he cried out and went down on his knees, his two hands on the edge of the casket and his face bowed before it. His boys knelt beside him, unable to hold back their own tears, and soon there was not a dry eye left in the funeral chapel.

After a few silent prayers and tearful visitation, Justin and Connor turned Red around for the walk back to his seat. They hadn’t anticipated his threatening outburst for the person who had taken his daughter from him…but not a single person blamed him for his honest desire for justice.

*****

The day of the funeral was sunny and bright, unlike the mood of the people walking through the cemetery to the lone casket sitting under the green canopy. A minister said a few words and leaned over to give Big Red some words of encouragement. The club members, friends, and family walked past the casket to touch its surface as a goodbye gesture to Amy.

Big Red slumped in the chair provided by the funeral service. He slowly emerged from it, placing a hand on the casket and murmuring, “I’m so sorry, my baby girl. It’s all my fault. I wasn’t there when you needed me.”

Justin couldn’t make out what his father said, but he guided him away from the casket and back to the SUV. They all headed back to the clubhouse where the WWMC family had prepared a hearty meal. Justin got Big Red a plate of food, but he only looked at it. Aaron at least was eating, and he was glad of that.

After everyone finished, Justin walked to the front of the room and asked for everyone’s attention. He thanked everyone for their efforts during the time of Amy’s disappearance and the love and support they all gave them during this tragedy. As he looked towards Big Red, Justin told the crowd that they would continue to need that love and support until justice was rendered for Amy. The club members vowed to help. Someway, somehow, Amy’s murderer would be brought to justice, if not by the police then by the WWMC.

*****

Justin decided to have Aaron move in with him and Big Red. As soon as the police were finished with Amy’s home, Justin would sell the place. Police discovered so much blood on the kitchen floor and cabinets, despite the killer’s cleaning job. When they sprayed the Luminol and turned on the ultraviolet light, the place lit up like a movie screen, revealing the true horror and extreme loss of blood that Amy had suffered. No way would Justin allow Aaron to remain in the same home his mother was killed in. He and Ginger would remove Aaron’s personal items when the police released the home.

The days after the funeral were dark ones. Big Red could barely function, and Aaron just wanted to be left alone. Justin did all he could to help them, but he was suffering too. He spent his nights at Ginger’s condo, the only place he could find solace and some type of normalcy. The only emotion besides grief he could allow in was the love growing between him and Ginger. They say there is a time for everything, and Justin felt Ginger had come into his life right when he needed her most. He couldn’t imagine going through this without her.

If Ginger had met Justin during a different time or setting, she may not have fallen for the tattooed biker. Justin could come off very alpha to women, and for some that was okay. But Ginger had been on her own for many years. While she was willing to help those in need, she wasn’t a pushover either. No man was going to tell her what to do and when to do it. She’d made her own decisions far too long for that to happen.

She’d seen the tough Justin, but because of the timing of their meeting, during Amy’s disappearance and ultimately her death, Ginger had also seen the vulnerable side as well. If she had never seen this part of him, Ginger may have never fallen in love. Justin wasn’t the type to allow people to see him in what he thought were weak moments. But the situation with Amy was beyond anything he had ever lived through. Or so he thought.

A week after the funeral, Justin called for a church meeting. His grief by now had transferred to anger. He couldn’t sit around and wait for the police to do something. He called everyday to find out information, and what they told him was close to nothing. Either they were holding back or they really didn’t have any suspects. Hell, he didn’t even know if they were interviewing anyone. He told the police about MacGregor and Sam Pennington. They said they would look into it, but who really knew. It was time for the WWMC to take over.

“First things first,” Justin said, gaveling the meeting to order. “Today we’re initiating one of our prospects into the club as a full member. Cincinnati Joe, come on up here.”

Joe was 38 years old, average height, with a round waistline and long mutton chop sideburns. He stood up and walked to the front. The initiation was a public ceremony, so his family was there, and Ginger was also allowed to sit in and watch. She took a seat along the wall near the front.

“Joe has been a loyal and dedicated prospect for a year now. He has an artist’s eye in the body shop, and he has worked tirelessly to help us find my sister’s killer. Joe…” Justin motioned for the man to come closer.

The two dozen or more members in attendance arose from their chairs. Justin began.

“Joe, as a Wicked Warrior you must pledge your loyalty and your life to the members of this club and their families forever. Do you agree to live by the Warrior Code: You will risk or give up your life to help any other member in need, or their family, and the group will do the same for your and your family. You will never bring harm to a member or his family, and if you do you will have the same harm brought upon you by the group. There can be no mercy and no exceptions. Do you swear to uphold this oath and live by this code?”

“Yes, Sir, I do.”

Joe almost teared up as both men extended their palms and one of the members that Ginger hadn’t seen before, a small man, walked towards them and flipped open a switch blade pocket knife. He poured whiskey onto a handkerchief, sterilized the blade, and made a small slit in both men’s palms. Ginger watched with interest as Justin and Joe put their palms together.

“With this bloody handshake and the oath you have taken you are, from this day forward, a brother-in-arms and a full member of the Wicked Warriors Motorcycle Club.” Justin presented him with a large patch for the back of his jacket in the skull and crossbones and red wings on the sides, with “Wicked” Written above it and “Warriors” below.

The men gathered in a circle around him, each slitting his palm and sharing a bloody handshake with their new brother.

“Okay – time for friends and family to go now. This is a members-only meeting.”

Ginger was struck by how seriously everybody took the proceedings, just like binding wedding vows as they welcomed a new member to their family. She considered giving Justin a kiss on the cheek on her way out, but the time didn’t seem to be appropriate. She and the other non-members left the building.

“As you all know, the police haven’t made an arrest in Amy’s murder,” Justin told the club. “Fuck, I don’t know if they’re even doing anything to find the person. I know forensics finished with her house so I can put it up for sale, but that’s it.”

“Maybe we should have our own interview with MacGregor and Pennington,’ Trick said. “I bet we could get them to squeal.”

“I don’t want to go off half cocked,” Justin said leaning back in his chair. “I’m fucking angry, and it would be easy to go in guns blazing…but I really want to be smart about this.”

“So how do you want to handle this?” Connor asked.

“We’ve been watching both of them for the last week, right? Anything suspicious?”

“Pennington is a weird fucker,” Merlin admitted. “But honestly I don’t think it’s him. He goes to work during the day and then works on his house at night. Yesterday Trick and I decided to look around the house while he was at work. The kitchen is gutted, but the living room he’s remodeled. It still looks like a shit hole, though.”

“Yeah, he’s definitely no interior designer,” Trick agreed. “And I don’t think he’s a murderer either. Just fucking loco.”

“So what about MacGregor?” Justin asked, growing impatient with the answers he was getting.

“Trigger and I have been watching him along with some of the prospects,” Connor said motioning his head towards Trigger. “He seems twitchy to me. I’d like to get into his office, see if there’s anything on his computer that may indicate what his relationship was like with Amy.”

“Do you think he’d have anything at his house?” Merlin asked.

“No…if he’s trying to keep this from his kids why put anything incriminating in the house where they could run across it?” Connor told the group.

“Good point,” Justin agreed. “So how do we get in the office? They’ve got cameras everywhere, and the building is high security.”

“How about we hack into his computer?” Connor asked. Connor was known for his technological skills, not just with the computerized equipment used in the auto body shop, but also for hacking. He’d spent six months in jail when he was a teenager for hacking into the local bank system and siphoning off money. He wouldn’t have gotten caught either, but being a teenager he was sloppy and left a trail for investigators to find him. Since then he’d put his knowledge of computers to more legal endeavors. He became an IT consultant right out of high school and made good money for five years. But he hated the job and eventually came back to the club and the auto shop, talking them into upgrading to computerized equipment that he could run himself. But now he was offering to hack into MacGregor’s computer in an effort to find incriminating evidence.

“Wouldn’t the cops have gotten his computer by now? Hell, he probably wiped out the hard drive,” Trick said with disgust.

“You can never wipe everything from a hard drive,” Connor replied. “And the police may have taken his personal computer, which probably doesn’t have anything on it anyway. But they may have more trouble getting the work computer since it’s not his personal property. The police would have to get a warrant, and a company as big as Spectrum Inc. would likely put up a fight with their expensive lawyers because of their own proprietary data they have on it. This is a place with secretive automotive designs, and I doubt they want some two bit town officers combing through their computer files.”

“Well, that also means it’s going to be harder to hack into, right?” Trigger asked. “Hell, I don’t know a computer from a trash can, but from what I’m hearing it’s not going to be easy.”

“Oh, but you underestimate me, Trig.” Connor smiled. “I still have some tricks up my sleeve.”

“Okay,” Justin said. “I want to keep surveillance on both the fuckers, at least for a few more days. Connor, you get to work on the hacking shit. But do not get caught. I don’t want you going to jail for this.”

“It would be worth it to find Amy’s killer.”

Justin reached over and grabbed Connor by the shoulder. “I love you for that man, but you’ve got a wedding coming up and the rest of your life to live. I couldn’t stand it if you sacrificed yourself…not even to find Amy’s killer.”

“I’ll be careful, I promise.”

Justin adjourned the church meeting. If the police couldn’t find Amy’s killer, the Wicked Warriors would. Justin was glad to have such a dedicated club to help him through this time. Aaron had gone back to school, which took his mind off his mother, at least for part of the day. Lily was particularly helpful as well, especially with Aaron. Lily watched Aaron grow up so he felt close to her, especially now in his mother’s absence. Ginger would have helped with Aaron too, but he didn’t know her as well as he knew Lily, so it was natural for him to want to be with her.