Murder Stalks (18 page)

“
Marissa, you can’t see
him now.”

“
I need to talk to
him.”

“
Tomorrow, not today,” Rex
answered, his voice solid and firm.

“
Rex, why did he do it? I
need to see him and ask him why.”

“
Shhh, those reporters are
looking over here. Let me walk you back to your car. Go home and
take a long bath, drink some wine and relax. Tomorrow I’ll arrange
it to where you can talk to Tony.”

“
Rex, I have to know.”
Marissa stumbled over the curb as Rex pulled her to her car. He
popped open the door and helped her slide behind the wheel. Marissa
stared at him in amazement. He had told her nothing about her own
husband and successfully removed her from the station. She rolled
her shoulders forward, wondering how she had been so gullible as to
think that her being Tony’s wife would guarantee her time with
him.

“
Just go home and get some
sleep. Okay?”

“
Damn it, Rex.”

“
You need to relax.
Everything will be fine. Think about your health. You know you
don’t need to get too upset right now.”

“
I know. I
just...”

“
Go.”

“
Fine.” She whipped her
car into gear and sped out of the parking lot. She stopped at the
grocery on the way home and picked out three pints of Ben and
Jerry’s and two cooked chicken meals. It would be enough to last a
few days while she hibernated in her apartment and figured out what
to do about Tony. She would have to tell him soon.

Chapter 15

Fumbling with her keys, Marissa let herself
into the apartment. She hated this place. She wanted to be at home.
If Tony murdered the woman, as awful as that would be, at least she
could take control of their house.

“
Marissa.”

Tony’s voice called out from the darkened
corner of the den. Marissa screamed and dropped both bags of
groceries. She turned for the front door but was too slow. His
strong arms caught her around the middle, squashing her to him.
With legs and arms flailing, she squirmed. She heard a dull thud
followed by a low grunt. For a moment she stopped moving because
she’d hurt him.

She dropped onto the couch and prepared to
run, but he was quick. Fear ripped through her gut as her husband,
possibly a murderer, pinned her down. His eyes bore into hers. She
squirmed under his constant gaze. An icy calm gripped her. Would he
kill her next?

Marissa brought her leg
up, ready to kick him and run. He grabbed her leg and pushed it to
the couch. He was almost sitting on her as she struggled for
freedom.
‘No, not Tony
,’ still rang out in her mind.

****

Tony’s head pounded and his shoulder ached.
Struggling with his wife wasn’t helping matters. Anger marred her
features, squishing her brows together, making her appear older
than she was. How had it gotten this bad? When had he taken the
turn pushing them towards this? The anger and hate coupled with
fear and regret was evident on Marissa’s face.

“
They are exhuming
Ashley’s body.” Tony didn’t want to tell her this way.

“
Let me go.”

“
No, Marissa, you need to
listen to me.”

“
When did you switch to
killing?”

Hurt tweaked Tony’s heart and twisted his
insides. Marissa no longer believed in him. He wanted to lash out
and hurt her. But he didn’t. Using every ounce of restraint he
could, he spoke calmly, forcing his voice to stay even.

“
They are investigating
Ashley’s death. They need to exhume the body. I signed the papers
today.”

“
What? How could you?”
Marissa’s voice squeaked.

“
There is evidence she
didn’t die from the mountain lion attack”

“
Oh God, Tony. Do they
think you killed her, too?”

Her accusations flung in haste cut to the
quick. Marissa couldn’t believe he would ever hurt their precious
little Ashley, could she? “No. I didn’t kill anyone.”

“
But the news said you’d
been arrested.”

“
It’s a ruse. The chief
thinks my being arrested might draw the real suspect
out.”

“
But the body?” Marissa’s
chin shook. She was going to cry.

“
Baby, I’m sorry.” He
brushed Marissa’s hair out of her eyes and pulled her onto his lap.
Pain shot from his shoulder and down his back.

“
Tony, how bad is it?” Her
voice cracked, pulling at his heart.

“
It’s real
bad.”

“
What
happened?”

Tony swallowed hard. How could he tell
Marissa he’d been suspended? Would she understand or would she see
it as another failure on his part? Lying wasn’t in his blood. He
would tell her about his job. But he couldn’t tell her about the
body in their bed, not yet.

“
Marissa, I’ve been put on
leave.”

“
No,” Marissa breathed out
before she covered her mouth with her hand.

Tony didn’t want to continue. If Marissa
didn’t believe in him then he had nothing.

“
Why?”

“
Someone’s after
me.”

“
What do you
mean?”

Fear raced across her face. He’d never meant
for Marissa to have to deal with this fear. He wasn’t made to live
a normal life. With his real parents gone and his adoptive parent
drowned at sea, pain and anguish followed him. He was a disaster
and he never should have brought Marissa along with him to
suffer.

“
We believe it started
with Ashley.” Tony pulled his hand down his face, stretching the
skin until it hurt.

“
What does she have to do
with this woman they say you killed?”

“
I didn’t kill anyone and
no one outside of the investigative team knows the information I’m
about to tell you. You can’t tell anyone.”

“
Okay, I’ll keep it a
secret.” Marissa’s voice was quiet. Her head dipped towards Tony.
Her clean scent enveloped him.

“
The killer carved letters
on each of the victims.”

“
I don’t like
this.”

Tony watched as a tear slid down Marissa’s
cheek. He had to stop this. He had to find the killer before he
struck again.

“
Marissa, this morning I
found an ‘L’ carved on my back.”

“
Are you all right?”
Marissa jerked her arm around Tony and pain blossomed under her
touch. Worry clouded her eyes.

“
I’ve been stitched up,
and am on some medications. But baby, the other letters were ‘A’
then an ‘S’.”

“
A, S, L--I don’t get
it.”

“
There’s an ‘H’ out there
somewhere. She’s already dead and we--they--need to find
her.”

“
H? No, no, no, not my
baby!” Tears flowed freely from Marissa’s eyes. She pushed Tony
away and paced through the small room with her hands on either side
of her head, like she was trying to shut out the world.

“
They’ll check to see if
she was drugged, or maimed. Although, finding abuse marks will be
near impossible.”

“
Tony, tell me this isn’t
happening. I can’t do this again. My baby has been buried already.
I don’t want to do this again,” Marissa screamed, hysteria making
her voice high, almost unbearable.

Tony pulled her into a tight embrace. He
kissed the top of her head as she sobbed. Her body convulsed
against his as she screamed and cried, calling out to no one in
particular, yet begging the world for a solution. Tony stood solid,
his mind separating his grief with the need to act. Someone had to
stop this killer or others would die, maybe children, maybe adults.
Tony had no clue who would be targeted next. He needed to work, but
he was shut out. The information was stored in his brain, but
anything new on the case would be kept from him.

“
Marissa, I need you to
trust me.”

She jumped away from him in fear. Her eyes
darted to the door then back to Tony. She ran her fingers through
her hair. She wanted to run, he knew the signs. After Ashley had
died, he thought Marissa would strip her head bald with all the
finger combing. Then, the day she’d moved out, the hands dashed
through her hair over and over again. Now, Marissa made deep rows
in her hair with her fingers. Tony took a step back, letting
Marissa know he wasn’t a threat. She crossed her arms over her
chest, stopping the finger combing.

“
Trust? God, Tony, I saw
you on the news today. They said you killed a woman.”

“
I know.”

“
Where did this
happen?”

The air in the room stilled. Tony felt the
need to gasp for breath. Running for the door would be wrong.
Marissa deserved the truth. If it meant she hated him, then he
would deal with it in time.

“
When I woke up this
morning, she was in bed with me. Don’t jump to the wrong
conclusion, Marissa. It’s not what you’re thinking.”

“
You slept with her?” The
accusation in Marissa’s voice stung and her eyes went dark. His
being unfaithful was one of her worst fears. He’d never cheated on
her, but she wasn’t convinced of that fact. Now, he wondered how
far this would push Marissa. Could this incident be the proverbial
straw?

“
No. I mean, damn it, I
didn’t have sex with this woman. I woke up, not knowing what had
happened. I’d been drugged. Someone set me up.”

“
I’m trying to believe
you, but...”

“
I know. Even Rex had his
doubts. I’m telling you, if this damn letter weren’t etched on my
back, I would be in jail right now. As it is, I’ve been suspended.
He’s targeted me for some reason, but his plan of attack is
confusing. I’m lost.”

Marissa’s shoulders dropped and she ducked
her head. Her voice came out whisper quiet, leaving Tony straining
to hear. “My poor baby, she was only a little girl. How could
someone have killed her?”

Tony held his wife tight, kissing away her
tears. Losing Ashley had wrecked them both. Tony’s lips found
Marissa’s and she opened to him. Her tongue danced a heady rhythm,
filling his body with a familiar need.

Marissa’s hand moved over his back and to
his waistband. She toyed with it, giving him hope. Tonight, would
they come together again? It was painful to kiss her like this,
hold her in his arms, knowing she still hadn’t verbally consented
to him staying here. Assuming he could stay after they had sex
would be close to manipulation in Marissa’s eyes.

“
Marissa.” Tony pulled
back, away from her heat. Memories of her body had taunted his
dreams since she walked out. “I need to stay here and not just
tonight. I need to move in with you until this case is
over.”

“
What?” Confusion erased
the passion from her eyes. Damn it, he had been so close to having
her again.

“
I can’t go home. Please
let me live here until this case is over.”

“
No. Was this part of your
plan?” Marissa ran her hand down her body. Tony’s eyes followed,
appreciating the delicate curves and rounded juts. He wanted to
pull her into his arms again, but her deadpan look stopped him.
“You filthy pig. Did you make up that story? I won’t welcome you
back into my bed, not after this.”

“
No, I didn’t make
anything up. I was planning to sleep on the couch.”

“
You’re too tall. You
wouldn’t fit and you know it.”

“
Marissa, I can’t go home.
I need a place to stay. Also, you need me to protect
you.”

“
Need you? I don’t need
you anymore. And how the hell did you get into my
apartment?”

Anger seeped from every pore. He waited,
measured his response. He didn’t want to give up his key. Marissa
was in trouble, even if she didn’t want to admit it. “I used a
pick.”

“
Excuse me, you broke into
my apartment? Maybe I should call the police. What do you think of
that? Should I tell them their shining star and new suspect broke
into my home? Leave now.”

“
Marissa, I--”

“
No, don’t talk, just
leave.”

Damn, she couldn’t kick him out. He loved
her, wanted to be with her, but he couldn’t combat her anger. His
heart ached. They had both suffered enough, but Marissa didn’t want
to listen. She didn’t want to accept his love. He wanted only her,
nothing else.

At the door, Tony turned to face his wife.
He drew a long and ragged breath. “Marissa, I didn’t plan on
kissing you earlier. Wait, don’t say anything. I came here to ask
you if I could sleep on your couch or floor, not if I could stay in
your bed. I love you, and I’m not going to stop loving you. I’ll
leave for now, but I’m going to come by tomorrow so we can
talk.”

“
Don’t bother.”

“
I will bother, because I
love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with
you.”

He walked out of her apartment and into the
harsh light of day. The door shut behind him and an empty feeling
closed around him. He couldn’t afford to get depressed. He couldn’t
wallow in self-pity and lose the edge he would need to solve this
case. He may be on administrative leave, but he wasn’t totally off
the case.

****

The curtains had been drawn, blocking his
view. That was fine, because he knew Marissa wouldn’t take Tony
back. Manipulation and social engineering worked. Marissa was
through with Tony. The TV crews and news reports were too damning,
even for the most skeptical person.