Crime in the Club (The Bound Detective) (4 page)

“Goodbye
, Franklin!  I’ll miss you,” she said.

Jane rolled her eyes she walked the man out of there. 
The sounds from the club started to become apparent once again and now Jane could smell the stench of the sweat from people’s bodies while they partook in this activity.  Jane didn’t personally see the appeal of all of this, but she wasn’t going to get into that.  Right now, she wanted to get the hell out of there.

Jane grabbed
Franklin and walked him out.  The doorman looked at them with a giant grin as they exited the place.

“Have a good night,” he
said.

“Night,” Jane breathed.  They walked out and back to where the cars were, and when they got there
, Jane let the man have it.

“What the fuck were you thinking
, Franklin?  You’re not supposed to fuck the people we’re supposed to interrogate.  Jesus Christ!” Jane started.  She was seething, and Jane didn’t know if it was out of some weird and hidden jealousy or if she was mad that this rookie made her look like a fucking idiot.  Either way, she was fuming, but Franklin looked at her with wide eyes.

“Sorry.  I
got distracted and carried away.  I thought it might work to get her to talk to us a bit more,” he replied.

“It didn’t
.  You fucked up, and if you do that again, I’ll let Thomas know and I’ll make sure you never get that damn promotion.  You got that?” Jane said.

“Sure. 
I’ll listen to that.  But I do have to say you’re acting like you got a bad case of the jealousy bug.  I know what I did was pretty stupid, but you’re definitely taking it out of proportion.  I was just going to ask her about her job.  No need to get feisty,” Franklin said.

Jane flushed at the comment the man made.  Was she making this seem worse than it was?  She really
didn’t think so, but according to him, it was borderline crazy talk.  Jane didn’t know what to do but she couldn’t help the fact that she was angry.  She felt like he messed up and looked extremely unprofessional, and Jane could tell that was the reason she was angry and nothing else.

“No I
thought it looked extremely unprofessional that I had to barge in to get the ball rolling in there,” she replied.

“You didn’t have to, you barged in there.  I was in the process of talking to her about it so you
didn’t have to come in.  You just decided to on your own volition.  Maybe you should think about the other possibilities as well.  You may not think it’s jealousy, but to me it is, and it might be unbeknownst to you too.  Think about that for a second, honey, before you go off on me,” Franklin replied.

Jane wanted to beat the crap out of him for how rude he was.  He was
very annoying and she felt like she was working with a teenage boy instead of a man who was about her age.  However, there was no use in arguing with him and Jane wasn’t going to waste time she could be sleeping fighting with the idiot. 

“Whatever
, I’m heading home.  I guess I’ll see you tomorrow in the café or something.  We can meet there and talk about what to do next.  I just don’t want to see you right now,” Jane replied.

“Fine.
  See you then,” Franklin cooed.  Jane didn’t say anything else and got into her car.  She would solve the case herself if she had to in order to prevent this idiot from ruining everything.  Honestly, this wasn’t why she wanted a partner.  She would get some guy that was too busy thinking with his dick instead of his brain.

Jane started the car and was on her way home when the phone rang.  Jane r
olled her eyes and hoped it wasn’t Franklin trying to talk to her.  When she grabbed her phone, she looked at the caller ID and realized it was the station.  Jane pulled over to the side and picked up the phone.

“It’s late, I’m not coming in to turn in the report,”
Jane said.

“You don’t have to do that right now.  Get over to the club again, there’s been another killing!”

Jane thought Thomas was joking at this point.  There was no way that someone could have died within minutes of
them leaving the area.  Jane immediately froze as she heard the words, thinking about what to say next

“Did you hear me Jane?  Get the hell over there!” Thomas bellowed into the phone.

“But how…. all of the suspects from tonight were there and we would’ve seen them if they did commit the crime.  You’re kidding,” Jane replied.

“Turn on
the news and you’ll see that I’m not.  Believe me Jane I wish I were.  Now get over there and take a report.  Try to see if any of the clues match up,” Thomas replied.

“Fine,” she said. 
The phone clicked off and Jane sighed.  She thought that maybe she would get a break tonight, but that certainly wasn’t the case.  Tonight she would have to play a little game of find out who the killer was again, and she probably wouldn’t get any sleep just like when she had other cases.

There
was one thing however, that worried Jane as she started to drive again.  Was the victim Franklin?  He hasn’t called her yet and she didn’t see him leave when she did.  Of course, Jane was too furious at his insolence that she didn’t really give a shit about it at the time.  Now however Jane was worried.  She didn’t want to have the murder of her partner in her conscience, much less on her track record.  Even though they weren’t officially partners working together she did consider the idea of her teaching a rookie the ropes a sort of partnership even though she didn’t like the sound of it.

Jane drove all the way back and grabbed her gun for safety.  She grabbed her purse as well as her backup ID and got out of the car.  Jane forgot about the backup ID and
thankfully, she didn’t have to drive all the way back to get it.  When Jane got out, she ran over to the scene, which was already taped off, and the officers were roaming the area taking pictures and doing tests of different things at the scene.

Jane went over to the
head of the police department on this side of town.  She flashed her ID in front of the man’s face, a desperate look present in her eye.  “Jane meadows, detective,” she announced.

The man nodded and let her go past.  When she got
there, she looked at the body and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.  It wasn’t Franklin thankfully, but looked similar to one of the patrons that was nearby.  An officer came over and Jane turned to him.

“Do you know who the man is yet?” she asked.

“His name was Fred Reiner and apparently he came to the club frequently.  The last person to see him was his friend as he exited a room.  According to witnesses, he was with a girl but then she went away. When he walked out from the club he was murdered,” the officer said.

‘Shit. 
So no one saw this?”

“Nope.
  Not even the doorman.  When we got to the scene he was found asleep.  Guess their security isn’t that great these days,” the officer replied.

“Did they go into the club?”

‘Not yet.  I don’t think we should get in there yet.  I think we should send an investigator in there to check out the place and see there’s anything off about it,” the officer said.

“I agree.  Was there anything found at the crime scene besides the body?” Jane asked.  That might be a clue to the case and she definitely was more than willing to have that.

“Yes.  There was one thing that we found but I don’t know if it’ll help out with the case at all or if it’s just something extra that’s frivolous,” the officer replied.  He motioned for another guy with a bag to come over and the man did so, bringing the article and setting it in Jane’s hands.  She looked at it and realized what it was.  It was a red feather from a boa and as she studied it, her eyes widened.

“Do you know what this is?”
Jane asked.

“A feather from a boa.
  But I don’t know if this will help the case or not,” the officer replied.

“
To be honest, unless you’ve been inside I don’t think it’ll help at all.  However I’ve been in the place before and I think I know which girl had a red feather boa and I can bet that she’s probably at least part of the investigation and possibly the key suspect now,” Jane replied.  She remembered seeing a boa like this in the club but she couldn’t remember where.  Plus, there may be multiple boas and just going off of this might be stupid and a waste of time.  Still, it was worth a shot and Jane wanted at least give it a shot and figure out a solution to this problem. 

“Well if you want to go look around in the club be my guest.  I think if anything you might have an edge in there detective,” the officer said.

“I think so too,” Jane replied.  Just as she turned around she saw another car come barreling down the road and come to a screeching halt in front of them.  Franklin stepped out and looked at Jane and the others with a worried look on his face.

“
Where’s the crime scene?  Are you okay Jane?” he asked aloud.

Jane rolled her eyes as she looked
at Franklin.  He was such a newbie that it hurt her to look at him right now.  He totally didn’t know the ropes yet and he was definitely an embarrassment to her.  Still, it was nice of him to at least try to look out for her.

Jane walked over and stood in front of him
, her face communicating annoyance at Franklin’s tardiness.  “I’m fine.  Glad you could show up though.  I already got the evidence.  It was red feather boa.  Do you remember any of the women with a red feather boa?” Jane asked him.

“I don’t sorry. 
And yeah sorry about that.  I’m still a bit unfamiliar with this area so I took a couple of bad turns.  I’m glad you’re safe though; I wouldn’t want you to be in the hands of that murderer,” he said.

“I’m fine.  Thanks.  And it’s alright it happens,”
Jane replied.

“Thanks for understanding.  I’m trying not to be a burden to you and waste your time,” he explained.

“Don’t worry about it.  Let’s get the job done,” Jane replied blankly.  She wasn’t in the mood for the man’s shit, and right now she just wanted to get inside and ask questions.  She would worry about her own personal problems later. 

Jane and
Franklin walked inside the club to figure this out. The guard let them in again, not asking any questions as to why they came back.  Jane and Franklin walked over to where Scarlet was standing and looking around absentmindedly.  She was clothed now, and the minute she saw them she looked at the duo with wide eyes as they approached her and looked at her with a curious glance.

“I’m sorry but
we’re closed right now.  If you two want to play around you’re more than welcome to but the ladies are busy.  They have had a very long day and they’re probably getting ready to head home,” Scarlet said.

“Don’t give me that crap
, Scarlet. Where is Trisha?” Jane asked.  She wasn’t going to blow her cover, but she was ready to figure this whole thing out. It was an easy case but Jane didn’t want more murders to happen.  It was serial killing and Jane didn’t want that around the city. She wanted to simply get this case out of the way.

Scarlet
looked at her with wide eyes and then sighed.  She knew she wasn’t going to win this and Jane would be able to finally see what the hell is going on.

“She’s upstairs. 
But if she gets mad don’t tell her I sent you.  Just bust in there.  Good luck,” the woman said.

“Thanks,”
Jane replied.  She looked at Franklin who nodded as they ran upstairs to Trisha’s room.  They knocked on the door with no answer.  Jane tried to knob and the door was unlocked.  Franklin opened it and walked in.  Trisha was in a t-shirt and shorts and had a book in her hands.  She was on the bed reading it.  When she saw Jane and Franklin, she looked up and smiled at them.

“Hey there you two.
  I’m closed right now but if you want to see me you can surely come again tomorrow,” the woman said.

“
We’re not here for that.  We’re here for questions. There was a murder here not too long ago,” Jane explained.

“Oh really?
  I didn’t hear a thing about it,” the woman innocently replied.  Jane was getting very sick of this woman and Jane wanted nothing more than to simply smack her.

“
Don’t give me that crap Trisha.  There was a feather boa at the scene.  According to the police, witnesses saw him leave your place.  Do you have any data on this?” Jane asked.

The woman got up and looked at Jane with a fixed gaze. 
Franklin stood there looking blank, trying to figure out something to say to let them know he was there.

“Why do you ask?  Are you part of the police force?”
Trisha said.

“No I want to find out because I want to solve the damn murder.  You know this, so why
don’t you spit it out.  What the hell is going on with your place and do you know anything about the murders?” Jane stated.

The woman smiled and moved her hand to her head, resting it there. 
She looked so bored with the questions that she certainly didn’t feel like answering any more of them.

“No I don’t. 
Now could you please stop asking me such stupid questions?  I would like to have some peace and quiet,” the lady said.

“I’m not leaving until you answer me
Trisha.  Do you know anything?” Jane asked.  The woman took a second to answer and while she did that Franklin’s eyes immediately darted up to where the closet was.  Hanging in there right by the front was the same red leather boa that the feather came from. 

“Quit hiding it Trisha.  Just tell me the truth.  You know I know that
you’re lying to me right now.  You know something, and I bet it’s more than what you’ve told me,” Jane said.

“I told you I don’t! 
Now seriously leave me the hell alone before I go to the police with your obnoxious and bothersome questions.  Like what the hell?  You’re being completely meddlesome and invading my personal life,” Trisha replied.

“You’re being an idiot Trisha.  This is an investigation and right now you’re acting like a prime suspect,” Jane said.

“Uh Jane,” Franklin said.

“
I’m not being a pain honey.  I just don’t have any information.  Now can you please get out of here?  You’re being a pest and I’m about to leave,” the woman said.

“Hey uh Jane….”
Franklin said again.

“I’m serious.  Tell me or I will call the police over.”

“And what will you do then Jane?  Tell them how bad I’ve been?  Cry to them?” Trisha mocked.

“Jane!”
Franklin said.

Jane turned around, a frown on her face and a look of
irritation present in her eyes. 

“
What the hell do you want Franklin?  I’m trying to get answers out of her and you’re being annoying,” Jane replied.  Honestly, it was starting to get burdensome dealing with him.

“Why don’t you stop interrogating and look at the closet,” he said.

Jane rolled her eyes and did so, and right as she did her eyes widened.  She saw the red boa, and it was now a dead giveaway as to who really killed all those people.