Love's Protector: A Maverick's Shield Novel (14 page)

“Yeah, my mom’s why?”

“Well we can go check it out and be back before the guys get back here.”

As much as she wanted to do just that, Jason had told her to stay put and she didn’t want to anger him. She needed his help and didn’t want to jeopardize that. “I don’t think so Shyla. Jason wants me to stay here and I highly doubt Alex would want you involved in this either.”

“Oh come on! We’re just going to a bank. How dangerous could it be? We’ll walk in, get the stuff out of the box, walk out and leave. That’s it. It won’t take that long Amour.”

She knew this probably was a stupid idea but she really hated doing nothing. She guessed it would be okay. It
is
just a bank. It’s a public place…with cameras. No one would be stupid enough to go after her in such a place right? But then again, they did come to her hotel.  But this time she would have protection. Alex said there were guns in the house. They could take one with them and use it if need be. This would kill two birds with one stone and Jason wouldn’t have to worry about taking her. She would be careful. “Okay, let’s do it!”

“Hey!” Chandra said as she greeted Jason and Alex with a huge smile at the police station. “What brings you two here?”

“You’re working on Saturday?” Alex asked.

“Yeah, it sucks but I’ll manage. What’s up?”

“Is Westfield here today?” Jason asked.

“No, he’s off on Saturdays. What do you need with him?”

“He lied to Amour when she questioned him about the case.”

Chandra frowned. “What do you mean?”

“We spoke to the witness on the police report.”

Chandra placed her elbows on the desk and leaned in closer to them. “Let’s go outside and talk about this,” She whispered. “I’m due for a break anyway and there are way too many prying ears and eyes in here.”

“Fine,” Jason said.

Chandra turned to face the officer sitting at a desk to the right of her.
“Vargas can you cover for me? I’m going on break.” The officer nodded and Chandra then walked from behind the desk to join them.

Once outside, Jason suggested that they get into his car to talk so they did so. He lowered his window slightly and said, “I think your captain is dirty.”

A confused look came over Chandra’s face as she sat in the back seat. “I don’t understand.”

Jason turned towards her. “He told Amour he didn’t work the case but he did.”

“His name wasn’t on the police report.”

“I know but we talked to Mrs. Pruitt and she said that she distinctly remembers him being one of the officers on the scene the day Carly died. She even called him by his first name.”

She chuckled. “Mrs. Pruitt may not be telling the truth. As soon as I saw her name on the report I knew she was a long shot. She’s kind of old and senile.”

“No she’s not. She’s actually quite alert. She remembered other details about that day that also weren’t included in the police report along with Westfield’s involvement.”

“What details?” Chandra asked.

“Details like what the redheaded woman was wearing that day, hearing her arguing with Carly and the woman running out of the door.”

“Ok…well maybe she didn’t tell them that.”

“She said she did. She also said that she’d told them this woman camped out in front of Carly’s house on a regular basis.”

Chandra stayed silent for several seconds and then spoke. “That’s quite a bit of info to leave out of a police report.”

“Yes it is and you would think with that tidbit of information along with someone suspecting murder they would’ve taken her death a little more seriously. I also find it awfully strange that Westfield would want to be kept out of the report of a death that wasn’t even ruled a homicide.”

Alex snorted. “Yeah, that
is
rather strange.”

Chandra looked up at Jason. “What did Daniel Riley have to say?”

“Not much. He spoke about a partner but he didn’t give us a name. But he did say something weird though.”

“What was that?”

“He said that after Amour’s father had come to him with his accusations, that’s when his partner had spoken to Mrs. Pruitt. He said he wasn’t involved in the questioning.”

“That normally doesn’t happen.”

“I know. He’d said they questioned a few people in the neighborhood afterwards and searched a little for the mysterious redhead but they couldn’t find anyone matched her facial descriptions.”

Chandra’s eyes lowered. “That wasn’t in the report either. Mrs. Pruitt said she didn’t see her face.”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “Exactly.”

“Maybe it was a slip of the tongue,” Alex said.

“That’s what I think,” Jason said.

“Is Amour okay?” Chandra asked. “I heard about what happened. Our precinct didn’t handle the case but we’d been told to be on the lookout for someone in a black ski mask.”

“She’s fine, just a little shaken up.” Jason reached under his seat and pulled out the large white envelope containing the photos of him and Amour. He’d taken it out of her tote bag before he’d left her. “Can you do me a favor Chandra?”

“Sure.”

“This is going to be risky.”

“Hey, I’ve already stolen evidence for you. I might as well go the distance. I’m just a desk cop; no one ever notices what I do anyway. I was able to sneak that evidence bag back easily without being noticed. What do you need?”

He handed her the envelope. “I need you to have these and the envelope tested for prints and find out everything you can about Carly’s case.”

She opened the flap and slid out the contents. “Where did you get these?”

“They were on the maid’s body in Amour’s suite. I took them before the cops got there so I need this kept quiet.”

“Sure, no problem,” Chandra said sliding the photos back in the envelope. “This is creepy. You have no idea who took these?”

“No.”

“You should’ve given these to the cops. They would’ve done the prints. I’m sure they’re looking for this person already. If they find out you have these…”

“I know Chandra,” he interrupted. “That’s why I told you to keep it quiet. I’m pretty sure they are looking but the guy had on a ski mask and was long gone before they’d arrived. He didn’t leave any fingerprints in the suite since he had on gloves. I’m sure he didn’t leave any on those either but he may not have been the one who took them. They’ll never identify him you know that.”

“Maybe they will Jason. Don’t just assume they won’t do all they can to catch that woman’s killer.”

Jason snorted and then spoke in a sarcastic tone. “I’m sure they will Chandra but I really don’t want them involved too much because as you know, whoever these people are have been threatening Amour. I’ve come across people like this many times before. If they know the cops are involved, the
will
find her and they will do everything in their power to get rid of her.”

“But you’ll make sure that doesn’t happen right?”

“I’m gonna try my hardest.”

Chandra glanced down at the envelope in her lap. “I hear you.”

“Besides, the Ocean View most likely doesn’t want any more attention paid to this incident because of their solid reputation and high powered clients.  Since someone died as a result of what happened, I’m pretty sure they’ll just sweep it under the rug anyway.”

Alex chuckled. “Yeah, they also wouldn’t want to bring attention to the high class hookers the work out of there either.”

Chandra rolled her eyes at Alex and then stared at Jason. “Are you sure about that?”

Jason could tell she’d asked the question because it was obvious to her that he didn’t trust cops and rendered them useless. Being one of them, she must’ve been offended. He supposed she had every right to be because if those were her thoughts, she was absolutely right. “Yes. Now can you do that for me?”

“Yeah…ok.  I have a cousin that’s a forensic specialist. He does a lot of work for us.  I can have the results for you in a couple of days.”

“Thanks for everything Chandra. I know this isn’t exactly safe for you to be doing.”

“Don’t mention it. There’s nothing ever going on in this part of town anyway. Besides, it’ll give me something to do until Mack gets home next week.” She gave him a quick wink, kissed him and Alex on the cheek then got out of the car.

Alex turned to him. “I think we should pay old Captain Westfield a surprise visit.”

Jason’s lips curved in a smile. “You’re reading my mind man. Let’s do it.”

Amour felt nervous as she and Shyla drove down Olympic Boulevard in Mar Vista. Although she was a little leery of the idea of going on this mission while in Shyla’s home, she was content with it.
Now, not so much. “Are you sure we should be doing this Shyla?”

“Relax Amour. I know Jason told you to stay put but it’s not necessary in this case.”

“This could be dangerous, I’m sure that’s why he was cautious.”

“That’s because he didn’t want you go alone. I’m with you now. I have a gun and I know how to use it and I definitely can kick ass. Can you?”

Could she? She’s only being in one fight in her life and she’d lost that one. To her defense, she
was
fighting a man much bigger than her. She wasn’t weak by any means and her father had made sure she knew how to fire a gun for safety reasons so she was okay in that aspect. But growing up in a neighborhood that had little to no violence or any other crime, she’d never had any other occasion to fight. “Yes I can take care of myself if need be.”

Shyla gave her a quick glance and smiled. “Great!”

The parking lot of Shoreline Bank was relatively empty. Shyla had found a parking space right in front of the door and backed into it. Amour felt her stomach flutter with nervousness again. “Are you going in with me?” she asked.

“No. I think I should stay out here just in case I see someone suspicious.”

“But you don’t know who you’re looking for and neither do I. I think we should be together.”

“Trust me it’s better if I’m out here. Even if someone comes in after you, they most likely won’t try anything because of all the people inside and the constant surveillance. They would be stupid to do that at least. After everything that’s happened so far, they clearly are not so you should be fine for now.”

Amour opened the car door and placed her foot on the ground. “Alright.”

“Don’t worry girl, I’ve got your back.”

She turned back to Shyla and said, “Just for record, I’m very apprehensive of this. If I get killed, I’m gonna find some way to come back to life and take you back with me.”

Shyla smiled and put up the “OK” symbol with her hand.
“Got ya!”

The air conditioned bank was in huge contrast to the ninety-five degree heat outside. It felt good, but it did nothing to ease her anxiety. She took in a deep breath before heading to the end of the line to wait to see a teller. She was only the fourth person in line so her wait wouldn’t be too long. Many different thoughts were going through her mind as she waited to be seen. What could possibly be in the box? How important could it have been to her mother and why hadn’t she told her father about it?

She cautiously looked around for someone that looked suspicious. No one so far. In fact, outside of an elderly man that looked about eighty, there were no other men in the bank besides a couple of the tellers. She had nothing to worry about. She tried to reassure herself of that but her anxiety began to rise and the pizza she’d just eaten began to upset her stomach. What the hell was she doing here? This was not wise. Just as she was about to forget the whole thing and walk out the door, she heard a high pitched female voice.

“Next in line please!” the heavyset woman behind the window yelled out.

Amour walked up to the window and the woman greeted her with a smile. “H…hello,” she said removing the small key and wallet out of her bag.

“What can I do for you today?” the woman said as she adjusted her name badge that had slipped down the front of her blouse.

“Umm…I would like to retrieve the contents out of my mother’s safe deposit box please.”

“Do you have the key as well as the correct forms stating you are joint owner?”

“Yes…well I have the key but I don’t have any paperwork.”
Paperwork? Shit!
She hadn’t thought about that or even known about it.

The woman looked directly at Amour. Her brown eyes were
not
all that sympathetic. “I’m sorry ma’am, I’m afraid I can’t give you access to it without the written consent of the owner.”

This was not good. “How do I get that?” 

“Well, I would need you and your mother to fill out this consent form giving you permission to obtain the box.”

“My mother is deceased. My father should be on the account because he’s been making the payments on it but he’s in Nebraska so he won’t be able to do that.”

“Does he have access to a fax machine? They can be sent to him that way.”

Her father
was
in a care facility so they would definitely have one. It was only four o’clock in Nebraska so he should be awake. “Yes he does.”

After giving the teller the number to the care facility, her identification and her father’s contact information, she took one more look around her. Since walking in the bank, three more customers had come in. A young blonde woman wearing a USC t-shirt and sweats that couldn’t be any older than twenty, another woman that looked around Amour’s age with two young kids, and a man that had to be all of six feet tall wearing a black jacket, baseball cap and sunglasses. Why would he need a jacket in this weather?
And Sunglasses inside? That was strange.
You’re just being paranoid Amour. Stay calm.
She studied the man for about five minutes until she heard the teller call her name.

“Miss Graciette!”

“Yes…” she said directing her attention back to the woman.

“I got a hold of your father and faxed over the paper work. I’m just waiting for him to fax it back to me along with a copy of his identification. You can have a seat in one of the chairs in the waiting area. It shouldn’t be too long.”

“Alright, thank you.”

A chill went down her spine as she walked to the seating area. The strange man was there sitting and waiting as if he were there to conduct business. Maybe he was. She had no reason to doubt that. He hadn’t even looked in her direction. She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed in deeply trying to calm herself down. This whole thing had gotten her extremely paranoid. But she supposed her feelings were warranted, someone
was
trying to kill her. After halfway calming herself down, she pulled her phone out of her bag and texted Shyla to let her know what was going on.

After what seemed like an eternity, the teller finally summoned for her to come back up to the window. She couldn’t help be feel relieved. That man was still there sitting in the same spot and he hadn’t removed his hat and glasses. She approached the window as the teller was removing papers from the fax machine on the side of her.

“Alright Miss Graciette. I just need you to sign where it says “joint owner” on these three forms and you’re all set.

“Sure.”

She signed the papers and then handed them back to the woman. After typing on her keyboard for about five minutes, she stuffed the papers into a large envelope and placed them a huge file cabinet towards the back of the room she was in. She approached the window again and grabbed a small key out of her drawer. “Please wait for me to come through the door on your left and then you can follow me inside.”

Amour nodded as the woman disappeared towards the back of the room only to come out of a locked door into the lobby beckoning her to
follow. The woman led her to a drafty dimmed room that looked like if could’ve been a vault. Instead of money, it had hundreds if not thousands of small gold lockers that had two key holes in front of them.

“Do you have your key?” the woman asked as they further entered the room.

“Yes.” She handed the teller the key and she studied the small tag on the ring.

“5861…” the woman mumbled as she searched for the locker with that number. “Here we go.” She stopped in front of a group of lockers reaching up to slide the first key inside one of the holes of one of them before twisting it. She then slid Amour’s key inside the other hole before repeating the action. She opened the small door of the locker and then slid out a long and narrow black box and handed it to her. “Here’s your box.”

“Great!” Amour said taking the box from her.

“I’ll take you to another room so that you can have some privacy to go through it.”

The woman led her to a separate room that was very small and had a small desk and chair but nothing else. She thanked the teller and she left the room locking the door behind her. After placing the box on the small table, she sat in the chair in front of it staring at it for a few minutes before popping it open. Inside the box were about five long narrow white envelopes covered by a large yellow one that had a thick rubber band around them. Instead of opening them, she quickly dropped them into her tote bag before closing the box. Hurrying back to the locker, she slid the box back inside and locked it back. She’d look through everything when she got back to Jason’s place. Right now, she just wanted to get the hell out of there.

After leaving the locker room, she made her way to the door leading to the lobby thanking the teller on the way out. Looking around, she noticed that the creepy man was gone. Just like she’d suspected, she was just being paranoid. A warm breeze hit her as another customer entered the bank from the other door leading to the opposite side of the parking lot. She had noticed that the bank had two exits when she’d first walked inside. That made her feel more comfortable knowing she had two different escape routes just in case. Feeling confident their plan went off without a hitch, she started towards the door in which she entered. She wasn’t able to see Shyla or her car because the doorway was surrounded by a brick entryway that was impossible to see beyond from inside the bank. She was positive Shyla hadn’t gone anywhere though.  She walked about ten paces and then froze when she saw him walk through the door.

Sunglasses, baseball cap, expressionless face. Why wasn’t he gone? He leaned on the large podium that held the deposit slips and chained pens and then slowly and discreetly opened the front of his jacket just enough for her to see inside of it. The pistol in the waist band of his jeans told her everything she needed to know. Judging by the way he’d positioned himself, he was obviously mindful of the cameras around and even though he had sunglasses on, she could tell her was looking right at her. Her knees suddenly became weak. 
Shit!
What the hell was she going to do now?