Deadly Obsession Part 16

Cindy!" Laurie nearly choked on her food.

"Come now, Laurie. You don't expect to be celibate the rest of your life be cause Jeff dumped you."

"No, I don't." Laurie sat forward and placed the half-finished box on the cof fee table. "But I don't think offering myself to the first good-looking, dark -haired man I see is the answer."

"So you admit you find some of the band members attractive?"

"I do not. Though I will say, Damien Vincent is alluring in a dark sense."

"Sorry-he's mine." Laurie held her hands up in defense, grinning. "I wouldn't dream of approa ching the Dark Lord."

"What happened between you and Cole?"

"No, you first. What went on after I left the club last night?"

Cindy placed her box to the side, straightened her spine, and smiled at Laur ie. She looked like a child with a juicy secret about to spill from her lips . "After Dragonslayer was finished for the night, Damien had me follow him b ack to his apartment."

"You were at Damien's last night?"

"All night," Cindy grinned. "I didn't leave until around ten this morning."

"Did you run into-"

"Cole?" Cindy broke in, finis.h.i.+ng Laurie's question for her. "No. He was a lready home before we ever got there, but he never left his room, probably asleep. I heard him rustling about and leaving somewhere around seven-thirt y this morning, but then I snuggled against Damien's chest and fell back as leep."

Laurie giggled. "So you did it?"

"Boy, did we." Cindy leaned forward as not to allow anyone else to hear, th ough besides Zeke, they were completely alone. "Three times before we fell asleep and then again this morning in the shower before I left."

Laurie grinned, shaking her head. "The man has stamina."

"You wouldn't believe it," Cindy cooed. "G.o.d, the third time I thought he'd never finish. I'm surprised I can even walk."

A chuckle erupted as Laurie stood and headed for the kitchen. She had alway s known Cindy to be a little promiscuous but thought it had little bearing on her as a person. Regardless of how Cindy conducted her private life, she had become Laurie's best friend.

"Want a beer?" Laurie called from the kitchen.

"Sounds great."

She opened the refrigerator and withdrew two Bud Lites, uns.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the cap s. Damien Vincent was a man with lasting power; Laurie chuckled to herself , shaking her head as she returned to the room. Better Cindy than her, she supposed.

Cindy took a swig from her bottle, then glanced at Laurie. "Your turn," she urged.

"Not much to tell," Laurie said, unsure how much she really wanted to divul ge. Laurie had had very few close friends in the past several years and if she could not confide in Cindy, then whom could she trust?

"He didn't even come in?"

"Oh, he came in all right. I asked him if he wanted a gla.s.s of wine."

"Smooth. Real smooth."

"I'm not like you." Laurie playfully slapped Cindy's upper arm with the back of her hand. "I invited him in with no ulterior motive."

Cindy sat up, hanging on Laurie's every word. "Do tell me more."

"He seemed a little uncomfortable with my house-"

"What?" Cindy squealed. "You have to be kidding. Look at this place. Any man would die to live within the walls of your mansion."

"It's not a mansion and not all men are at ease when a woman has this much money." Laurie's gaze took in the vast room, looking around in disgust. For the first time since buying the place, she questioned her decision to live within its walls. Maybe she should have bought something a little more con servative.

"So what did he say?"

"The look on his face said it all. I convinced him to stay and we came in he re for a gla.s.s of wine. When I flipped on the television to help break the t ension, two bodies were engaged in..." Laurie shrugged, rolling her hands, a nd laughed, "...an illicit affair. Embarra.s.sed, I changed the channel. But, it was too late, Cole was uncomfortable and decided it wasn't a good idea th at he had come."

"So you didn't make out or anything?"

"For crying out loud, Cindy, the world does not revolve around s.e.x."

"Spend the night I had and you'd think so," Cindy sn.i.g.g.e.red. "So what? Then he left?"

"Not exactly. I asked him if we could see each other again. He said maybe, though for some reason I doubt he meant it, then I followed him to the door .".

"Exciting night, huh?" Sarcasm laced her words.

"Had it ended there."

Cindy's eyes rounded. "Don't stop now, girl. What happened?"

Laurie took a deep breath and looked away, tears welled in her eyes, feeling t he pain of his rejection all over again.

"What did he do?" Cindy gasped, looking concerned. The humor died from h er voice.

"He turned at the door...took a step toward me-the next thing I know, we're h aving s.e.x, right there in the foyer."

Cindy's eyes grew large as her mouth rounded. Laurie covered her face wit h her hands in shame. How could she have allowed him to use her in such a fas.h.i.+on?

"It's all right," Cindy said, tentatively touching Laurie's shoulder. "People have s.e.x all the time. It's nothing to be ashamed about."

Laurie took her hands from her face and looked at Cindy. "I wouldn't be as hamed had we made love. G.o.d, had he said, thank you...anything besides 'I'

m sorry' would have been nice. Instead, he just walked out the door."

Cindy's brow rose heavenward. "He apologized? " "That's it, not another word."

"G.o.d, I'm sorry."

"Because I was such an idiot?"

"No wonder you don't feel like going out tonight."

"No, I don't." Laurie glanced at the clock on the VCR. "And if you want to see Damien's opening set, you'd better get going."

Cindy plopped her feet onto the floor. "You're right, got to run." She trott ed off down the hallway and to the foyer where she replaced her shoes. "Sure you don't want to go? It will help take things off your mind."

"No, thanks. I think Zeke and I'll retire early." She scooped the small do g into her arms and opened the door. Cindy gave her a quick hug, earning h er a small growl from Zeke who had been sandwiched between the two, then w alked down the sidewalk. "Have a good time," Laurie called after her.

"I intend to." Cindy's grin filled her face.

As Laurie shut the door, she thought about how cheerful Cindy had seemed. F or the first time since meeting her, Laurie thought Cindy appeared at peace with herself, content. For once, she had not let her past get in the way o f happiness. Who knows, maybe Damien Vincent would be good for her. Well, i t was a nice thought anyway. She locked the door and set the alarm, turning out the downstairs lights. Heading for the sanct.i.ty of her bed, she hoped for a dreamless, sleep-filled night.

"What do you think, Cole?" John asked as they walked down the hall toward t he chief's office.

"I think the son of a b.i.t.c.h is telling the truth, but not all of it. I think he's hiding something from me."

They walked through the door and each took a seat on either side of the chi ef's desk. Cole dropped the evidence bag containing the black book on the t able surface.

"You feel the need to bring him back in, interrogate him?" John asked. He s lipped the book from the bag and began leafing through it.

"Not yet, but Nicholas Darby hasn't seen the last of me. I'm not through with him just yet."

"Christ," John mumbled. "Have you seen some of the names listed in here?"

"Yeah," Cole chuckled. "I know a lot of people who would probably love to get their hands on that book."

"Did you release this finding to the press?"

"h.e.l.l, no. They'd have a field day. d.a.m.n, nearly every man named in that boo k would be here, wanting to keep their dirty little secret from the press."

"Did you see the article by that Michaels woman in yesterday's paper?" "How could I not," Cole grumbled. One bad night and she felt the need to tak e a shot at him through her article.

John's grin widened, obviously humored by what he read. "At least she didn 't come out and call you incompetent."

"Might as well have. 'The detectives working this case have not got a clue o n what is happening here and the possibility of a serial killer at large in Fairview Park looms largely before us.' s.h.i.+t," Cole said as he shook his hea d and ran a palm down his freshly-shaven jaw. Three full days had pa.s.sed sin ce he walked out her door and she had yet to forgive him. h.e.l.l, if the chief ever found out he'd slept with Laurie, he would likely string him up by his b.a.l.l.s.

"She's got s.p.u.n.k. Besides, I liked the piece she did on the Darby case. When she's asked to, she abides by our rules. Maybe you ought to talk to her, Co le, give her a small exclusive to keep her off our backs." John rocked back in his chair and stared at Cole over his steepled fingers. "I don't want eve rything we have getting in the paper. It could blow our case."

"So what are you saying, John? I should wine and dine this woman?"

John let out a humph as though Cole had completely misunderstood his intent ions. Not likely.

"Not at all, Cole. All I'm saying is to find a way to keep her off our backs; give her only what we want her to print. She's already hinted to the fact th at these three women all died by the same hand and that a serial murderer is running loose in our city. We'll use the press to our advantage. We aren't li kely going to shake this thing very easily, so if we appear to be willing to speak with the press, the less likely they will be to do any investigating on their own."

"So what are you saying I give her?"

The last thing he wanted was to work with Laurie, professionally or not. Whe never in her presence, his desire had a way of getting in the way, and right now he could not afford to be distracted by a pretty face. And certainly no t to mention the way she seemed to tug at his heart. That part of his body l ay dead for years-now was not the time to be entertaining other emotions he thought himself incapable of.

"I think you need to give her something that seems big, but not something w hich would blow any chance we have at finding this piece of c.r.a.p. Something large enough to satisfy her urge to inform the people. Besides, it could w ork for us."

"What piece of information do you suggest I give her, John? Not the quote."

"Christ, that's one clue I intend to guard from the press at this point. Don'

t tell her about the shoe print or the fact we know the killer uses a serrate d knife. We don't want him changing weapons on us. We'll give her the bite wounds."

"You can't be serious." Cole nearly shot out of his chair. "That's the one clu e we have linking this son of a b.i.t.c.h to each case."

"We also know, because of that, he has a taste for blood, and that fact isn't l ikely to change."

"I won't give her the bite wounds, John."

"Tell her we have reason to believe this man is killing out of a pa.s.sion to d rink blood. We don't have to release the information as to how we know this, just that strong evidence points to it."

"Why?"

"Let's portray him as the monster he is."

"Then we'll never find him and if we do, he won't confess a thing, knowing we've already convicted him without a trial. I can see the papers now. Vamp ire of Fairview strikes yet again. We'll be the laughing stock of the commu nity."

"Listen to me, Cole." John leveled his gaze and tapped his finger on his des k. "This piece of c.r.a.p has already gotten bolder. He left you a taunt, for c rissake. He wants you to try and figure him out. And with each killing, he's going to get bolder. I wouldn't be surprised if he quit covering his d.a.m.n v ictims and left them in plain sight. I say we play his game, call his challe nge. He'll get sloppy, make more mistakes. That's when we nab him."

"And how many innocent women have to die before we catch him?" Cole's ire r ose. He didn't want any of this case publicized. He wanted to keep it out o f the media's hands, but the chief had just made it glaringly obvious, he t hought differently.

John inhaled deeply, then released the breath slowly as he stood and walked to his window, looking out at the parking lot. "I don't want more to die a ny more than you do, Cole. But if we sit back and do nothing, I'm afraid we 'll never catch him." He returned his attention to Cole. "He'll grow bored and disappear into the woodwork, move on to another city. But if you issue him a challenge, let him know you aren't taking this lying down; he's going to play a game with you. Only, we want to set the rules."

"So you want me to paint him as a monster-a sick son of a b.i.t.c.h who has a t wisted taste for blood, who m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.es in the privacy of his home? Am I ge tting this right?"

"You're calling the shots, Cole."

"Am I?"

"It's your case."

"A moment ago I would have thought it was yours."

John's face reddened as he returned to his chair and glared at Cole. "Every c ase in this office concerns me. I make the final decisions no matter what my detectives might think. Just this once, Cole, I'm going over your head. This piece will be written. As a matter of fact-"

Following the chief's gaze, Cole turned around. Laurie Michaels stood in th e opened doorway, pen, paper, and tape recorder in hand.

"I take it you already took the liberty of calling her," Cole grumbled as he turned his attention back to the chief. The smile on his face answered Cole's question.