ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (125 page)

Liam pushed clothes back as far as he could.  He noticed there wasn’t much on the floor of the outer closet, giving easy access to the inner one.  He tried to turn the knob, but the door was locked.  He stuck his head back out. 

“Do you have a key?”

Mayor Wilkins eyes enlarged slightly.  “A key?  No…I never knew there was a need for one.” 

Liam clicked the flash light on again.  The door knob was newer than the door itself.

“Open it.”  He said to the officer.  She nodded and left the room.  Everyone waited in silence, the Mayor retreating to Lamar’s perfectly made bed.  He sat stiffly, looking at nothing in particular. 

The officer returned with a battering ram.  Liam took it from her hands, the door knob easily breaking free with one hit. 

Liam shone the flash light into the tiny space.  There was a slim cord hanging from the ceiling, and when pulled, illuminated the space with another dim light, just like the outer closet.  The only item within the space was an old chest used for storage.  Liam pulled on the cracked leather side straps, and drug the chest into the bedroom. 

“Do you recognize this?”

The Mayor glanced at it and nodded.  “That belonged to my Grandmother.”

“Has Lamar always had it?”

“I thought it was in the basement.” 

There wasn’t a lock of any kind on the front, and Liam simply opened the top.  The first layer of the chest was two shallow storage spots.  He pulled out a dozen magazines from one side.  All of them were underground publications for S&M pornography.  The other side held a journal and what looked like hand drawn diagrams.  Liam looked at them briefly and frowned.  Lamar was designing a carnival house.  From the looks of the drawings, it wouldn’t be a pleasant experience for any visitor. 

Lamar put the items back and began tugging to pull the first section loose.  It came out easily, and he set it to the side.  The room was still and silent as he began pulling the contents out.  It was a criminal’s tool kit.  There was duct tape, wire, latex gloves, and a kit for picking locks.  Neatly folded and placed in large plastic freezer bags were two items of clothing, both looked like women’s shirts.  One bag had an “L” written in black sharpie, and the other bag had an “M”.   

Liam stood from his crouched position, his eyes resting on Lieutenant Corey.  “Call in the CSIs.”  He leaned in close to his ear.  “I think we just found the Monkey Killer.” 

Liam entered the interrogation room just after 10 p.m.  He still hadn’t heard from Audrey, but he was trusting that Hank had taken care of her for him.  Right then he couldn’t do anything but the unpleasant job ahead of him. 

“This is an outrage!”  Mr.  Jackson said, and bolted his short body upright and out of the chair.  “You have nothing to hold my client on!  Nothing!” 

Liam ignored the lawyer and the wrathful stare coming from Lenore.  He focused on Lamar, and laid the two large freezer bags in front of him.  “Who do these belong to, Lamar?”

Lamar looked at the bags before lifting his eyes slowly.  His mouth twisted slightly and one eyebrow raised. 

“Don’t say a word Lamar!”  Mr. Jackson ordered. 

Liam straightened himself.  He felt a pang of sadness as he looked at the boy.  So young.  A life wasted.  “Lamar Wilkins you have the right to remain silent.”  Two officers entered as he was speaking and pulled Lamar to his feet, pulling his arms behind him, and placing handcuffs on his wrists.  He didn’t fight.  Lenore reached for him with tears streaking her face.  Liam continued.  “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.  You have the right to an attorney.  If you can’t afford an attorney one will be appointed to you.  These are your rights.  Do you understand?”

Lamar nodded and was led away.  Lenore was helped to her feet by the now livid Mr. Jackson. 

“I’ll have your badge before this is over, Detective!” 

Liam left the room and caught a glimpse of the Mayor putting his arm around his wife’s shoulder.  Liam knew she had helped Lamar in some way.  It was going to be hard for him if she were arrested too. 

Lieutenant Corey came quickly up the hall.  His shoes made an odd clicking noise on the linoleum that was more staccato, like he had broken part of the heel.  He pushed Liam back into the interrogation room. 

“Liam…”

“I don’t get it.  Neither girl had been sexually violated, yet the stuff in his trunk showed sexual perversion.”  Liam smiled.  “It shouldn’t be too hard to tie him to Crystal Reynolds too.” 

“Liam!”  Lieutenant Corey grabbed him by the shoulders, his eyes searching Liam’s.  “I need to tell you something.” 

“Ok.”  Liam stomach curled in on itself.  He didn’t want the Lieutenant to speak.  He didn’t want to hear it. 

“Hank called something in a while ago.  You sent him to check on your wife?”

“I couldn’t reach her…” 

“She wasn’t in the hotel room, Liam.  The door was broken in.” 

Liam pushed past him and began running.  Lieutenant Corey’s voice boomed after him.

“Lamb!  Wait!” 

Liam stopped at the precinct doors and turned, his body bouncing slightly.  “I have to go!”  He growled. 

Lieutenant Corey pulled him outside, his eyes taking in all the faces that were staring at them.  “There’s something else.”  He licked his lips, and tried to catch his breath.  “McIntyre hasn’t heard from Lydia.” 

“What?  What does that mean?”

Lieutenant Corey looked at him sadly.  “She stopped responding to the radio three hours ago.  She didn’t return from the beat.” 

Liam’s legs felt like water.  “Where’s her partner?” 

“Out sick.  She was alone today.”

“I have to go!”  He started down the short steps and turned back, his finger jammed the air.  “I should have been told!” 

Lieutenant Corey watched him race away, apprehension flooding through him. 

“Don’t you people watch the monitors?”  Hank shook his head as he stopped the playback just as Luke dressed as the maintenance worker kicked in the door. 

“We look but from time to time but we don’t sit there and stare!”  The woman replied indignantly. 

Hank maneuvered the cameras and watched the camera feed pointing from the right side of the office.  The man wouldn’t have risked parking too far from the stairs.  Hank looked at the woman hard. 

“Has anyone been in here on your shifts asking about Officer Liam Lamb or Audrey Lamb?” 

She shook her head, but the thin man that had come to relieve her spoke up.  He pushed himself away from the wall where he had been leaning.  “A policeman came in last night.” 

Hank narrowed his eyes.  “What did he look like?” 

The man shook his head and poked his glasses on the nose piece.  “I should have said policewoman.  It was a she.” 

Hank wanted to slap him.  “What did she look like?”  He hoped he sounded patient. 

“Umm…short, with dark hair.” 

“Did she show her badge?”

“No.”

“Did she look middle eastern?”

“Yes.” 

Hank’s patience evaporated.  “What did you tell her?”

The man poked at his glasses again.  “Nothing.  We can’t give information out like that.  If she would have showed her badge…showed a warrant…then I might have told her.” 

The bell on the door tinkled and a blast of cool air entered the room.  Hank turned and saw Liam standing in the doorway with an expression he had never seen before.

Liam held one hand out, palm upwards.  It was a pleading gesture.  His blotchy face and dark ringed red eyes gave him a haunted look.  “Please…please tell me you know where she’s at.”

Hank approached him slowly.  He pushed his outstretched arm downward.  “Not yet, buddy, but I’m working on it.” 

“The room?”

“Doesn’t look like much of a struggle happened.  The only thing really damaged is the door.” 

Gretchen Daniels came into the lobby and motioned for Hank to follow her outside.  Liam recognized her as one of the CSIs that were at his house after the break in.  He wasn’t about to let her tell Hank something but keep it a secret from him. 

Hank and Gretchen exchanged a glance as Liam followed them outside. 

“What?”  Liam demanded.  “She’s my wife!”  He thumped his chest so hard that Hank winced. 

“Go ahead.”  He said to Gretchen.  “What is it?”

“We did find a small patch of dried blood on the carpet.  It’s small.  Almost like it dripped from something.” 

Hank glanced at Liam and saw his face go white.

“Any clean up smears?  Any sign of clean up in the bathroom?”

She shook her head.  “We sprayed Luminol, but the only area to show anything was the one little patch.  My partner photographed it.” 

Hank nodded and gave Liam another worried glance.  “Lydia’s missing.” 

“I know.” 

Hank sighed.  “They’re sending a unit to her apartment.”  He cleared his throat.  “How did it go with the warrant?” 

“Lamar’s in custody.  Looks like he’s the killer.” 

Hank’s eyes bulged.  “Oh no…did you find a connection to Audrey?” 

“There’s no connection to Audrey.” 

“Why do you…” 

Liam ran both hands over his face.  “It was Lydia!”  He barked a mirthless laugh.  “Don’t you get it?  She only pretended to be the monkey killer!”  He leaned against the building breathing hard.  “Lamar Wilkins had nothing to do with the pictures…the vandalism…none of it!”

Audrey tried to sit up again.  Her head was hurting so bad, she immediately felt the nausea return. 

Oh God, I need a doctor.

She reached up and touched her head, wincing as her fingers brushed across a wound at the top of her forehead.  She probed it slightly.  She put her fingers in front of her face, and saw blood on three of her fingers.  She tried to lean against the wall and get an idea of where she was. 

The room was mostly dark, but there was moonlight seeping in from a window high in the wall.  Light filtered from under the door and she thought she heard voices and footsteps in the distance.  She hung her head and after a few moments the voices and footsteps were closer.  It was a man and a woman.  The door opened and the room flooded with light.  Audrey gasped and squinted.  She raised an arm to try and shield her face.

“I told you, she has a concussion!  Stop being a bitch!” 

Luke leaned down in front of Audrey as the light dimmed.  He touched her face, but she jerked away, sending jolting pain through her head.  The woman laughed. 

“She doesn’t want you, Luke.  You should have just killed her.”  The woman knelt in front of Audrey.  Her long black hair was pulled back in a severe pony tail.  Almond shaped eyes stared at Audrey with coldness, but her lips were curled in a smirk.  “Do you know who I am?”

“Lydia…Lydia Haddad.” 

“That’s right.”  She purred.  She ran a finger down the side of Audrey’s face.  “Do you know what I want?”

“My husband.”  Audrey tried to glare at her, but her face and eyes hurt too much.  Everything from her waist up hurt. 

“That’s right.  I need a mate.” 

“Too bad for you.”  Audrey murmured. 

Lydia stood and looked down at her.  “Aren’t you even curious how Luke came to be part of this?”

“Not really.”  Audrey lied. 

“He’s my brother.  Well…half-brother, but why split hairs?”

“I’m sorry, Audrey.”  Luke whispered. 

“Shut up!”  Lydia snapped.  “I formed a plan, once I found out Luke was in your class.”  She tilted her head to the side.  “The only problem was that I didn’t expect my baby brother to fall in love with you.”  She made a pouty face.  “It’s so sad.”

“Who…who took the pictures?”  Every word was hard for Audrey to speak. 

“Luke of course.  My goodness I had to spend a lot of time at O’Malley’s waiting for the right moment.” 

“The Monkey….Killer?”

Lydia smiled and touched her chest.  “Me?  You do flatter me!  No, that’s not me.  We just cashed in on the good timing.”  She lowered her hand, her grin pure evil.  “Now, your precious little house?  That was all me.  All Luke had to do was hold me up so I could go through the window.  I appreciate you not locking it properly.” 

“Liam won’t be with you.” 

Lydia’s laugh was delighted.  “Of course he will!  I’m going to make him an offer that he can’t refuse!”  She bent low and looked Audrey in the eye.  “Then I’m going to screw him like you never could.”  Lydia straightened, a smug look on her face, as she watched a tear slide down Audrey’s cheek.  Luke tried to push past her to get to Audrey, but she held her arm out stiffly to stop him. 

“You’re not like her, are you?”  Audrey breathed. 

“You mean a shifter?”  Lydia broke in.  “Hell no!  He can hardly be a human!”  

Audrey felt slightly sorry for Luke as his face turned red, and he hung his head.  It was painfully obvious that his sister had browbeaten him for a long time. 

Lydia pulled out her cell phone.  “Time to call Liam!”  She exclaimed happily.