business. Bleach kills the mold.”
“ Why is it at your
house?”
“ His apartment is small,
just an efficiency,” Janice answered. Confusion worked its way onto
her face, distorting her features. “Now it’s my turn to ask
questions.”
“ One more. Where was your
brother the night of the first and second murder?”
“ We had dinner at a bar on
the night of the first one, and during the second one, he was with
his wife. Why?”
“ Had to ask.”
“ Fair enough. Now it’s my
turn. Why do you care how much bleach I have?”
“ Sekorski said our suspect
cleaned the women with bleach,” Tony explained. He hadn’t broken
Rex’s confidence yet, but Janice was smart. He should have come up
with a better story.
“ Sick.”
“ There’s a meeting at
eight in the morning,” Tony said as he reached for the door. He
hesitated, not wanting to return to the heat so soon. The strain of
this investigation was getting to him. A swim at the pool was long
overdue.
“ So that’s all you
wanted?”
“ Yep.”
“ Are you going to search
Michael’s house for bleach next?”
“ Yeah.”
“ You think our guy is a
cop?” Janice asked.
“ I’m just looking,
covering all the bases.” Tony shrugged. Janice had always been cool
as ice, but he didn’t think she was cold enough to kill. He
shouldn’t have come, but the changes he’d seen in Rex warranted a
look.
“ Anything else you
need?”
“ Nope.”
“ Tony, I think we need to
discuss something.”
“ If it has something to do
with your personal life, I think it best if we leave it. If it’s
about the case then shoot.”
“ It’s
personal.”
“ Can it wait until this
case is over?”
“ Yeah.”
“ Then don’t ruffle any
feathers while work is so stressful.”
Tony opened the door and walked out without
another word. He wanted to tell her he approved of her relationship
with Rex, but his silence on the issue would have to do for now. As
the lead detective, it was his job to break up fraternization in
the department. Regulations called for him to report their conduct
to personnel, thus getting one of them fired. But Rex deserved a
great relationship, and Janice was a great woman.
****
The blue and red lane markers did little to
buffer the wake from the swimmer next to Ally’s lane. Annoyance
made her stroke choppy, sending splashes of water flying from her
hands and feet. She had been alone, enjoying a good swim when the
peace was broken by the newcomer’s dive.
Ally’s arms whipped through the air, pin
wheeling into the water as she plunged forward, eating up the
distance from wall to wall.
Kick, kick, kick, flip, and glide to the
surface.
Pausing, Ally took a look at the swimmer who
had interrupted her. He was large, in a muscular way, no love
handles on his trim waist. Ally ducked her head underwater and
continued stroking up the lane.
She had come for a swim so she could forget
men. She knew better than to think any man would be interested in
her. Heck, even she knew she was too weird for men. Her one pair of
women’s underwear was in her changing bag. She would throw it away
today. Ally preferred men’s briefs. Few knew she wore them, but
those who did called her a freak to her face. She was too strange
to play girly-girl now. Hell, sometimes in the dark of night or
when she was evil, she still thought of herself as a man. Her path
had been slated long ago. She wasn’t meant to be a woman.
Then Michael had blown her away when he
spoke to her, giving her a reason to hope for a normal
relationship. But normal wasn’t a term that had ever been used to
describe her.
The water muted Ally’s harsh laugh, keeping
her self-derision a secret. As she pushed her body through the
water her mind flashed back. Her memories before the fire were dim,
clouded with a desire to forget, but the days leading up to her six
months stay in the Philadelphia Boys’ Home for Displaced Children
had left an undeniable imprint.
Ally
“ Why is it at your
house?”
“ His apartment is small,
just an efficiency,” Janice answered. Confusion worked its way onto
her face, distorting her features. “Now it’s my turn to ask
questions.”
“ One more. Where was your
brother the night of the first and second murder?”
“ We had dinner at a bar on
the night of the first one, and during the second one, he was with
his wife. Why?”
“ Had to ask.”
“ Fair enough. Now it’s my
turn. Why do you care how much bleach I have?”
“ Sekorski said our suspect
cleaned the women with bleach,” Tony explained. He hadn’t broken
Rex’s confidence yet, but Janice was smart. He should have come up
with a better story.
“ Sick.”
“ There’s a meeting at
eight in the morning,” Tony said as he reached for the door. He
hesitated, not wanting to return to the heat so soon. The strain of
this investigation was getting to him. A swim at the pool was long
overdue.
“ So that’s all you
wanted?”
“ Yep.”
“ Are you going to search
Michael’s house for bleach next?”
“ Yeah.”
“ You think our guy is a
cop?” Janice asked.
“ I’m just looking,
covering all the bases.” Tony shrugged. Janice had always been cool
as ice, but he didn’t think she was cold enough to kill. He
shouldn’t have come, but the changes he’d seen in Rex warranted a
look.
“ Anything else you
need?”
“ Nope.”
“ Tony, I think we need to
discuss something.”
“ If it has something to do
with your personal life, I think it best if we leave it. If it’s
about the case then shoot.”
“ It’s
personal.”
“ Can it wait until this
case is over?”
“ Yeah.”
“ Then don’t ruffle any
feathers while work is so stressful.”
Tony opened the door and walked out without
another word. He wanted to tell her he approved of her relationship
with Rex, but his silence on the issue would have to do for now. As
the lead detective, it was his job to break up fraternization in
the department. Regulations called for him to report their conduct
to personnel, thus getting one of them fired. But Rex deserved a
great relationship, and Janice was a great woman.
****
The blue and red lane markers did little to
buffer the wake from the swimmer next to Ally’s lane. Annoyance
made her stroke choppy, sending splashes of water flying from her
hands and feet. She had been alone, enjoying a good swim when the
peace was broken by the newcomer’s dive.
Ally’s arms whipped through the air, pin
wheeling into the water as she plunged forward, eating up the
distance from wall to wall.
Kick, kick, kick, flip, and glide to the
surface.
Pausing, Ally took a look at the swimmer who
had interrupted her. He was large, in a muscular way, no love
handles on his trim waist. Ally ducked her head underwater and
continued stroking up the lane.
She had come for a swim so she could forget
men. She knew better than to think any man would be interested in
her. Heck, even she knew she was too weird for men. Her one pair of
women’s underwear was in her changing bag. She would throw it away
today. Ally preferred men’s briefs. Few knew she wore them, but
those who did called her a freak to her face. She was too strange
to play girly-girl now. Hell, sometimes in the dark of night or
when she was evil, she still thought of herself as a man. Her path
had been slated long ago. She wasn’t meant to be a woman.
Then Michael had blown her away when he
spoke to her, giving her a reason to hope for a normal
relationship. But normal wasn’t a term that had ever been used to
describe her.
The water muted Ally’s harsh laugh, keeping
her self-derision a secret. As she pushed her body through the
water her mind flashed back. Her memories before the fire were dim,
clouded with a desire to forget, but the days leading up to her six
months stay in the Philadelphia Boys’ Home for Displaced Children
had left an undeniable imprint.
Ally
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