Loves Redemption (34 page)

Mark.” Within seconds he was speaking with the private security officer.

“Listen Whitaker, I need you to go and do a check around the House. Make sure

everyone is accounted for. Make sure you have the resident and staff roster to verify against. I don’t want you to let anyone leave the House under
any
circumstances until I get there. Ms.

Draugulis has found a suspicious package and it’s imperative everyone in that house stay where they are,” he instructed.

Before he hung up the phone, Mark asked to speak to Dalia once more. “Dalia I’ll contact

the guards outside and one will be instructed to come into the house, while the other checks the perimeters. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

“Let’s go, I’m ready.” Maya was dressed and ready as she gazed at him expectantly.

“I don’t suppose there’s anyway I could convince you to stay home?” When she only

gave him a
look
, one brow arched, he didn’t bother arguing with her.

“Fine, but I insist you stay close to me. Dalia didn’t read the note, but I don’t like the

sounds of a dead flower arrangement being sent to you,” he told her grimly.

On the way to Imani House he made two calls. The first was to the security he’d hired for

her, alerting them to what had transpired and instructing them on what to do.

The second one was to Jordan. “Jordan, Maya has received an anonymous package at

Imani House, and it doesn’t look good,” he said without preamble as soon as his partner picked up the phone with a grumbled ‘Hello.’

Jordan’s voice lost all traces of sleep quickly. “Where are you?”

“I’m on my way to the House.” He looked over at Maya as she sat in the passenger seat

of his Expedition, and revised his statement, “we’re on our way. We should be there in fifteen, twenty minutes tops.”

“I’m on my way too. I’ll get there as soon as possible.”

“Okay partner thanks. I’ll see you there.” Mark ended their conversation as he and Maya

raced to Imani House.

“I’m sorry sir, but Detective Halstan says everyone needs to stay put until he arrives and

that means volunteers as well,” the security officer informed James.

“I don’t understand why I need to stay; I didn’t see anything so I won’t be of any help,”

he told the large guard. He was being forced to stay when he would rather be anywhere else but Imani House when the detective arrived.

“This is ridiculous. Dr. Richardson will not like that you’ve kept me here, when I really

need to
go
.” He frantically tried to think of anything would allow him to leave.

Dalia walked into the room as James was beginning to seriously start ranting. “What

seems to be the problem Mr. Smith? Officer Rodriguez?” She asked.

“Mr. Smith insists he needs to leave, after I’ve informed him that Detective Halstan has

given me strict instructions
no one
is cleared to go before he arrives.”

“I didn’t
insist,”
he insisted. “Something has come up unexpectedly and I would like to be able to leave to take care of it.”

“James I’m sure Detective Halstan and Maya are on their way. I called and they will soon

be here,” she told him, glancing at her watch as she said so.

“Why do
I
need to stay? As I was telling
this
man
here, I didn’t see anything. I’ve only been here for a couple of hours and in that time I’ve been in session with two of the residents. I don’t know what help I could be to anyone,” he nearly wailed in his agitation.

“Well that does not matter Mr. Smith,” Dalia told him, and turned her attention away

when the front door opened and Mark, Maya, and Jordan entered the house.

“Maya, Detectives, I am glad you are here.” She went to Maya’s side and gave her friend

a hug in greeting.

“I’m sorry it took so long to come inside, but Jordan and I received a report from the

guard who’s been surveying the perimeter,” Mark explained.

He turned his attention to Rodriguez; “I’m assuming everything is fine in here?”

“Yes sir.” The guard retrieved his notebook from his pocket and briefed Mark and

Jordan. After he’d briefed them, the officer turned to where the counselor had been standing, only to find him gone.

“There is only one counselor on duty sir, and he insists he needs to leave right away. He’s been instructed to wait until you’ve had the opportunity to question him before he’s cleared to go.”

Mark dismissed the guard and looked at Dalia as Maya asked, “James?”

“Yes. He says he didn’t see anything and he needs to leave in order to take care of some

important business. We told him he must wait,” Dalia told Maya with frown on her face.

“What’s wrong Dalia?”

“Nothing really. James didn’t seem to be himself. He seemed very anxious,” she told

them and then shook her head slightly. “I’m sure it is nothing. As he said, he has an emergency.”

“Let’s take a look at the package.” Mark led them out of the foyer and into the House.

“Why don’t I go and question this counselor and I’ll meet back up with you when I’m

done. I’ll keep him around if it’s necessary,” Jordan volunteered and left the trio in search of James Smith.

When they reached the office, Dalia unlocked the door and turned on the light. Mark

pulled the gloves on his hands before he picked up the boxed arrangement. He extracted the

small note inside and read the contents out loud.

“Dr. Richardson I admire you and what you do for our fallen sisters. I am also sorry

about your sister that was not supposed to happen; however it did bring us together.

Unfortunately she didn’t keep the best of company and sometimes--bad things happen when we
don’t keep good company. This is something you should be aware of. Be careful Maya, before
something unfortunate happens to you. That would be a total waste. An unfortunate total waste.”

“Damn it,” Mark cursed and glanced at Maya, the fear in her eyes made him curse again.

He placed the note back in the package and gathered her in his arms. “It’s going to be okay.

Really it is.” He was at a loss for words, as anger and frustration warred for dominance.

“You really are starting to sound like a broken record.” Her laugh sounded forced.

“How’s that?”

“You’ve said those exact words more times than I care to count. I’m fine, and I know it’s

going to be okay. I’ll just be glad when this is over,” she took a deep breath. “My question is how did it get here? And more importantly, are my residents as or staff at risk?” Maya frowned at him, as she asked the question.

“I don’t know how it got here Maya but we
will
find out. And as far as everyone’s safety, if I have to stay here myself until this case is solved, no one will be left unprotected. I promise you, baby.”

Jordan entered the office after a brief knock, and Mark showed him Maya’s package.

“Damn,” he said bluntly, echoing Mark’s earlier sentiment after he read the

accompanying note.

“Did you speak with the counselor?” Mark asked after Jordan looked over the note and

flowers.

“Yeah. He didn’t arrive until after seven in the evening. He says he was in session with

two of the residents immediately after his arrival.”

“Were you able to confirm that information with anyone?”

“Sure did. I spoke to the resident he was counseling, and she confirmed the time. Another

resident reported Ruby Vallejo accepted the package from the carrier.”

Mark sighed. He’d hoped Jordan could have found out more. He looked at Maya and

Dalia and asked, “why don’t the two of you follow us. Jordan and I need to question Ms. Vallejo, and I’d like to talk to your intern before he leaves.”

They questioned the residents and staff, trying to determine if anyone had any valuable

information, and were markedly disappointed when no one did.

Mark spoke with James as the counselor was leaving and agreed with Jordan that he

knew nothing that could help them. In the end they found the only one with any helpful

information was Ruby Vallejo.

Late that afternoon, Ruby had accepted the mail, and the small brown package was

among the varied pieces. She knew neither Dalia nor Maya were at the House, and so she left the package and mail in the basket outside Dalia’s locked office door.

“No postage, and of course no return of address. Damn.” Frustrated, Mark slammed his

hand against the wall.

“Shit’s heatin’ up for real man. What do you make of it?”

“Jordan I don’t know what to make of this crap. One thing I don’t like is the wording in

the note. It’s clearly a warning. Although covert, it’s still a warning. We need to tell the lieutenant, as well as Agent Montgomery as soon as possible.”

“Will Maya go into protective custody?”

“No. She agreed to work only during the day and do as much work as she can from home,

but other than that, I can’t make her go to a safe house. But at least she’s going to do most of her work from my house.”

“Where I’m assuming you’ll have the place guarded to the hilt?” Jordan asked, with a

knowing smile.

“Like Fort Knox. Man I hope I’m not making a mistake by not forcing the issue.” Mark

ran a nervous hand down his face. “I’ve got to catch this bitch before she sets her sights higher, and decides it time for Maya to be eliminated.” Mark told his partner grimly.

“Arlinda says Maya is disappointed over the decision to postpone the fundraiser,” Jordan

told Mark, around a mouthful of a massive ham sandwich. “Actually, what she
said
, is ‘Maya is pissed the hell off that she had to postpone the fundraiser,’” he amended.

Over the last few nights, they had stayed late into the night working on the investigation, and tonight both men had stayed even later, trying to find overlooked clues, or missing angles.

“Yeah I know it was really hard for her. This fundraiser one of her main sources of

revenue for her programs and you know how important Imani House is to her.”

“Man as loaded as your family is, you should be able to write a check that would carry

the tab for her programs. Don’t you have a trust fund or something?” Jordan laughed as he went over to the small refrigerator in the corner of the precinct, and withdrew two cold drinks, and tossed one to Mark.

“I’ve thought about it believe me, I’m not sure how to ask without offending her. Imani

House means everything to her. One of the main things she strives to teach the residents, is self-sufficiency, so I don’t know what she’d say if I offered her the proverbial blank check.” Wearily rubbing the back of his neck, Mark raised the drink to his mouth and took a long swallow.

“Imani House means so much to her, and all of her staff and residents are incredibly loyal

to her. That’s one of the main reasons I have
some
comfort in her working there, and not locked away somewhere in a safe house.”

“That and the small army you’ve hired to protect her,” Jordan reminded him.

“Well yeah that too,” he admitted sheepishly. “But seriously, they look out for each other

which is a rare quality. You know I’ve met all of her staff and they all seem to genuinely care about Maya’s vision for Imani House.”

As he thought back to her staff, the conversation he had with the new counselor surfaced

to the forefront of his brain. There was something that nagged him, something familiar about the man he couldn’t put his finger on.

“The only one I’m not too sure of is that new guy--what’s his name … James. James

Smith, shit shit shit!” Mark exclaimed, dropping his sandwich and throwing the empty soda in the trash.

“Man what is it? What is it?” Jordan asked as Mark picked up the phone and dialed his

home number.

“Damn it! She’s not fucking there.” Frantically he dialed another set of digits and waited

for Maya to answer, and felt himself nearly pass out with relief when she did.

“Imani House this is Dr. Richardson.”

“Maya what the
hell
are you doing at the House? You promised me you would stay the

hell away from that place at night. What in the hell are you doing?” He yelled into the phone.

“Why in the
‘hell’
are you yelling at me? I know what I promised you, but I need to go over the House budget and since we’re putting off the fundraiser. I have to see where we are fiscally in case I have to supplement some of our programs myself. And let me tell you

something, I don’t appreciate being cursed out, I…”

“Baby I’m sorry but this is really important that you do what I ask. Is James Smith

working tonight?” He impatiently cut in the middle of her tirade.

“No he’s taking the night off because of his job.” She took a deep breath into the phone,

and he tried to calm his racing heart.

“Where’s your personal guard-please tell me the man is there with you,” Mark both asked

and pleaded. He hoped she hadn’t somehow convinced the guard he didn’t have to go with her to Imani House.

“He’s right here. Well, actually he’s waiting in Dalia’s office for me.”

Mark let out a sigh. “Baby could you put him on the phone?” He asked and waited for the

guard to pick up the receiver before he spoke again.

“We think we have a suspect in the case. Under no circumstances are you to leave Maya

alone. And neither are you to allow James Smith to enter Imani House under any circumstances,”

his instructed the guard. “The police will be there shortly.” After he’d received the guard’s word, he asked to speak to Maya once again.

“Okay, Maya, this is really important. I want you to stay put. I need for you to basically

shut Imani House down until I send reinforcements.”

“You’re scaring me what’s going on?”