The Sneak Peek Continues–RAGE Chapter Three!!!
We’re almost there–RAGE, book four in the Faces of Evil series, will be released in a mere 10 days! We have another chapter in the sneak peek and winners of the Street Team Challenge, so keep reading!
RAGE
By Debra Webb
Chapter Three
“Lieutenant Grayson saw his wife at eight last night when he stopped by to tuck his son into bed. When he left Mrs. Grayson was watching a movie.” Harper added the movie title to the timeline he had created on the white board in the SPU offices. “The DVD was lying on the coffee table at the scene this morning.”
“Can anyone else corroborate the times he gave for returning to work last night and leaving for home this morning?” Jess leaned against the front of her desk. According to Grayson, he and his partner, Sergeant Jack Riley, had been providing support to BPD’s Gang Task Force in their off-duty time. As head of the GTF, Captain Ted Allen was drawing as much manpower from the other divisions as he could in an attempt to get a handle on Birmingham’s escalating gang problem.
“Sergeant Riley and Lieutenant Prescott have confirmed that Grayson left for home just before eight last night and returned shortly before nine.” Harper noted the times on the board. “He pulled an all-nighter and didn’t return home until he got the call about the murder this morning.”
Prescott belonged to SPU but she, too, was on loan to the GTF. Considering she was not happy at all that an outsider like Jess had gotten the newest deputy chief position, she wasn’t likely in any hurry to be taken off that detail. Or to assist Jess in this case or any other. No matter that Birmingham was her hometown, Jess had spent more than two decades away. Most of that time she had worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. That made her an outsider to those who’d served locally for their entire careers.
That she’d been offered this position by her former fiancé, Chief of Police Daniel Burnett, ensured that most failed to consider her qualifications for the job before assuming the worst. Jess had a long, uphill journey when it came to fitting in and gaining the respect of her peers and subordinates.
No problem. She’d been climbing hills since the age of ten.
“Nothing from Dr. Leeds on the time of death?” she asked Officer Chad Cook, the youngest and least experienced member of their unit.
“Not yet, ma’am,” he piped up. “Dr. Leeds’s assistant expects they’ll have some preliminary information around two.”
Jess hoped so. She had to give Burnett something by five thirty. The BPD’s division chiefs and the mayor would likely be at the six o’clock briefing. All involved would want assurances that the investigation was well under way. Getting some estimate on time of death and narrowing down cause of death would be helpful.
Detective Wells turned in her chair to face Jess and the others, hopefully with an update on the Grayson family financials.
“Lieutenant Grayson’s finances have changed in the past year. He inherited a handsome sum from a rich uncle. In addition,” Lori went on, “to the home on Shady Creek Drive, and the pool guy, he recently purchased a beach house just outside Mobile along with a boat and two Jet Skis as well as a vintage Corvette. We’re not talking millions here, but a tidy sum nonetheless.”
“A vintage Corvette,” Cook noted. “Nice. We young guys can never afford that. It’s always the old geezers driving a sweet ride like that.”
“That’s what Trenton meant,” Jess rationalized, ignoring their youngest member, “when he said Gabrielle’s finances had changed this last year.” Tied up that loose end.
“Gabrielle Marquez Grayson came into the marriage with no savings or assets that I can find,” Lori added, “but she had a good job. Charge nurse at New Life Rehabilitation Center. She worked there for five years before leaving to become a full-time wife and mother about the same time the lieutenant got his inheritance.”
“What about the divorce from Sylvia, the senator’s daughter?” Jess ventured. “Did money change hands other than what went to the lawyers?” Probably wasn’t pertinent, but Jess wanted to know for her own selfish reasons. She wanted to know more about Sylvia and her sister.
“Not anything documented. But” —Lori shot her a look—“in case you wondered, Sylvia Baron was born very rich and her tax bracket doesn’t appear to have changed.”
Jess wasn’t surprised. “I take it she didn’t remarry?”
Wells shook her head. “No other spouses, no children.”
Jess pushed off her desk and walked to the case board. She scooted her glasses up her nose and viewed the photos of the Grayson family, the partner, and the pool guy that Harper had posted. The timeline started at eight last night, since Gabrielle was alive at that time according to the husband. There was more to this woman’s life than they knew, far more. And a whole lot more to her death.
“Add Sylvia Baron and MS-13 to the board,” she told Harper.
“You really think this is gang-related?” he asked as he complied with her request. “Seemed way too personal to me, and Captain Allen says no one is claiming responsibility or issuing warnings of more to come.”
Jess agreed with the way too personal part. “No, Sergeant, I do not believe this is gang related. But if anyone asks or drops by and looks at our case board”—she turned to the board, which would be impossible to conceal from anyone who popped into their office—“they won’t know that until I’m ready for them to know.”
Some things were better left unsaid, she had learned, until theories were proven. Like the scenario that the ugly words written in Gabrielle’s blood were nothing more than an attempt to mislead the investigation. To distract from the true evil.
“We have a gruesome murder in a bedroom neighborhood that hasn’t seen any criminal activity beyond the occasional robbery around the Christmas holidays in its forty-year history.” Jess paced the length of the case board as she thought out loud. “Working-class folks. Most have lived in the neighborhood for a decade or longer. They go to church on Sundays and take pride in their homes and yards. It’s picture perfect.”
“Until now,” Harper countered. “Last night’s murder put a black spot on their clean record.”
“Let’s consider the scenarios. All the scenarios.” Jess grabbed a dry erase marker and uncapped it. “If this is gang related, which I doubt, what’s our motive?”
Harper peeled off his jacket and hung it on the back of his chair. His and Lori’s desks were stationed face-to-face. Lori’s gaze followed Harper’s move to get comfortable before turning back to Jess. Lori’s hardcore independent woman attitude was slipping just a bit. Jess wondered if she realized how hard she was falling.
“If,” Harper suggested, “this was an MS-13 grudge or revenge killing, then the motive would be related to something Mrs. Grayson or Lieutenant Grayson had done, either on purpose or unknowingly.” Hands bracketed at his waist, the senior detective strode over to stand by Jess. “Since Grayson has been helping out with the GTF, we could assume he’s crossed someone or gotten his name on the wrong list. He doesn’t believe so, but he could be wrong. He may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time and not realized it. All white guys look alike to some people.” Harper smirked.
“Except,” Lori chimed in, “Gabrielle Grayson was decapitated, marking her as a traitor, in gang terms. We know she worked as a nurse at a rehab center for several years, maybe she provided medical care or drugs to the wrong people. And now it’s come back to haunt her.”
“And they waited more than a year to kill her?” Harper challenged.
“Unless,” Jess interjected, “she never stopped.” She listed the scenario on the case board. Medical/drug connection. “Maybe she liked having money of her own. She was a career woman before, earning a nice salary. Maybe motherhood and financial dependency wasn’t exactly how she’d seen her life playing out.” And maybe Jess was infusing a little too much of her own personal concerns into the scenario.
Lori got out of her chair and strode to the board. “What if she finally said no? After all, she was a mother. She had the child to think off. And there was always the worry that her husband would find out—assuming he had no idea about her extracurricular activities. Maybe she decided to do the right thing and refused to aid this unknown perp and he got pissed.”
Jess passed her the marker. Lori sent the two males in the room a cocky smile before adding motives to the medical/drug connection. Money and fear, then revenge.
Harper held out his hand. “If we’re tossing out fictional plot points,” he said flatly, “what if this make-believe person she provided with drugs and medical care is really the father of her child and threatened to take him. When she wouldn’t cooperate, he killed her.”
Lori harrumphed. “Did you get that from Lifetime’s movie of the week?” She passed him the marker and he added his scenario without acknowledging her jab. “Not to mention, if that were the motive, why didn’t he take the child?”
“Maybe someone interrupted him,” Harper argued. “He had no choice but to flee the scene without the child.”
Officer Cook joined them at the case board. “Other than the broken slider, there wasn’t the first sign of a struggle or an attempt to get away from her attacker inside the house. Don’t things usually get turned over or broken? Besides the glass and the blood where the victim was found, the place was neat as a pin. Did the intruder have a gun and that prevented her from fighting or”—he looked from Harper to Jess—“did she know her attacker? Maybe an old lover, like Sergeant Harper said. Did the broken slider have anything to do with the murder? Maybe that happened before the killer arrived or when he was leaving. Or maybe the killer just wanted it to look as if someone broke into the house.”
“You going for brownie points, Cook?” Lori teased.
“Valid scenario, Cook,” Jess said with a chastising glance at Lori.
Cook added his two cents’ worth to the board. Did vic know her assailant?
“The pool guy said the kid was driving her nuts,” Lori reminded them. “Maybe she was bored and lonely and had gotten involved with the wrong people. Could be a recent lifestyle change. Bored housewife and all that jazz. The reality TV industry is making a killing on what America’s housewives are up to.”
Jess nodded. Another credible scenario. “We need to know if Mrs. Grayson was suffering from depression or anxiety related to motherhood or to her marriage. Was her husband not paying attention to her needs and worries as her old pal Trenton suggested? And what had she done about that?”
Harper reached for the marker and added husband’s lack of attention to the growing list.
Jess turned to Lori. “Detective, track down Gabrielle’s girlfriends or coworkers from her nursing days. Find out who she was and what she did when she wasn’t busy being a wife and mother. See if anyone is aware of her ever skating on the dark side with a bad guy like Lopez.”
“I could also dig around to see if she’d joined any support groups,” Lori offered. “If there was anything going on from the new mother perspective, she may have felt more comfortable seeking advice from strangers.”
“That, too,” Jess agreed. “Officer Cook, spend some time with any academy buddies you have in the South Precinct or in the GTF. See if anyone’s talking about Lieutenant Grayson. We’ve been a little focused on the wife, but she may not have been the one living dangerously. This new money may have gone to his head. Maybe volunteering with Allen’s task force was about getting away from the house.” Jess pressed Cook with a warning look. “Tread carefully. We don’t want anyone thinking we’re trying to build a case against an innocent man, especially one who carries a shield.”
“Yes, ma’am, I’ll be very careful,” he promised.
Harper waited patiently for his orders. “Talk to your contacts in gangland and find out if one clique or the other is taking responsibility for this murder. Maybe Captain Allen isn’t sharing all he knows. Though I can’t imagine why, unless it would somehow put us at odds over jurisdiction again. We have to determine if someone had a grudge against Grayson or Gabrielle. Did she have friends in that world that her husband might not know about?”
“And you?” Harper inquired.
Jess’s gaze narrowed. “I’ll be following up with the crime scene techs and the ME. Translation,” she stated for emphasis, “I’ll be fine without a babysitter.” If Burnett didn’t stop whispering in her detectives’ ears she was going to give him what for. She was a grown woman, a highly trained one at that.
Of course that hadn’t protected her Saturday night. She’d gotten snatched right off the street like an unsuspecting child. Not her proudest moment.
“Yes, ma’am,” Harper acknowledged. “Just trying to keep the big boss happy.”
The big boss. Ha! Jess motioned for them to go. “Shoo…go find witnesses and motives.”
Harper grabbed his jacket. Wells got her purse and Cook just smiled and followed the crew. Jess watched them go and felt relieved. She felt good, actually. This, her new job and her new life, was going to work out better than she’d expected. There would be more bumps along the way but she could see a future here.
The door opened and Jess looked up to see who had forgotten what.
Sergeant Jack Riley, Grayson’s partner, wandered in. “Chief Harris.” He gave her a nod. “I made sure my LT got home okay. My wife, Sarah, is seeing after him and little Gary. I thought I’d check in with you. See what I can do to help.”
The reality that all their notes were in plain sight had Jess rushing across the room to meet him. “Thank you for stopping by, Sergeant.” She snagged him by the arm and directed him to the small conference table, which would put his back to the case board. He favored his right leg. Had a bit of a limp. There had been some mention of medical leave in his file. “I was hoping for the opportunity to speak with you today.”
“I want to help any way I can,” the younger man assured her.
Jess settled in the chair across the table from him and didn’t waste any time on idle chitchat. “How long have you worked with Lieutenant Grayson?”
Riley was considerably younger than his fifty-year-old partner. At thirty-three he was a ten-year veteran of the department. Married with two children. His wife was also a former nurse and now a stay-at-home mom.
“Five years. It was his guidance that got me promoted to sergeant a year ago. The LT is the best. You won’t find a better cop, friend, husband, father.” He turned his hands up. “He’s a model human being.”
“The two of you have never had any problems?” Two years ago, shortly after returning from his medical leave, Riley had requested a transfer out of his division but then he’d withdrawn the request.
He moved his head side to side. “I’ve had problems with Chief Waters, but never with my partner.”
“What sort of problems? Chief Waters has been your superior most of your career as a detective. What suddenly went wrong?”
His brow creased into a deep frown. “Am I a suspect, Chief?”
Jess laughed. “You know the answer to that, Sergeant. Until I clear them, everyone who was a part of Gabrielle Grayson’s life is a suspect. Including you and her husband.”
He jerked his head in acknowledgment. “Yeah.” He heaved a big breath. “I know the drill. It just feels weird being on this side of the table.”
She definitely understood. Not so long ago she had been on the wrong side of an interview. Eric Spears, the Player, had tried and succeeded in destroying her career at the bureau. But she had bounced back. Funny, she hadn’t expected a journey to her past to turn into her future.
“Chief Waters didn’t see me as up to the job after my accident,” Riley explained. “I was in an automobile accident. Left me with a limp, but I’m as good as I ever was.”
“So you had to prove yourself to Waters,” she suggested.
He nodded. “Ticked me off at first, but I got over it. Leaving the precinct wasn’t a problem but losing Larry Grayson as a partner was out of the question.”
“Did you and your wife spend a lot of time with the lieutenant and his wife?”
“Yes, ma’am. My Sarah and Gabrielle are…were best friends. We were just there for a cookout yesterday before Larry and I went on shift with the GTF.”
“You’ve been supporting the GTF longer than Lieutenant Grayson. Was that a financial decision, Sergeant?” The man didn’t have finances nearly as solid as his partner’s. Then again, he was younger and hadn’t inherited a tidy sum from his rich uncle either.
“At first it was purely a financial decision. I got two kids, Chief, and a wife who’s a stay-at-home mom. The extra money came in handy. But when I saw what an impact Captain Allen’s people are having on the gang situation I would’ve kept doing it regardless of the money.”
“Can you tell me if Lieutenant Grayson and his wife were having any sort of trouble? Sometimes parenthood throws a kink in the best marriages.”
Riley took some time before answering. “I’ve been a part of their lives since they met and married. They never fought, at least not publicly. And they seemed genuinely in love. But she was lonely, I guess, like most of the wives. And bored maybe. She had a high-octane career as a nurse before and I think she felt a little sad that she’d given it all up. Sarah went through the same thing after our first was born. Otherwise, Larry and Gabrielle were the perfect couple.”
Jess could sympathize. She couldn’t imagine her life without her career. That wasn’t necessarily a good thing, but it was what it was. “No marital issues at all, huh?”
“If there were any, I didn’t know about them and I probably spent more time with the family than any other person on the planet.”
“Did your wife know Gabrielle when she was a nurse?”
“Oh yeah. They worked together for a couple of years. They knew and respected each other. My wife introduced Gabrielle and Larry at a cookout at our house.”
“Wasn’t Grayson still married to Sylvia when he met Gabrielle?”
“That would be an affirmative.” Riley whistled a long, low sound. “Now that was hairy.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Sylvia Baron wanted a husband just so no one could call her an old maid. That Larry was a decorated cop—a hero—made him suitable, I guess. She was never home and she refused to have children.” He shrugged. “To be honest, she’s one of those women who’s self-sufficient. She doesn’t need a man for money or anything else.”
“You mean, she’s independent and ambitious?” Jess shouldn’t have taken offense, but she did.
Riley hesitated but then nodded. “Guess so. No offense intended to independent, ambitious women. She’s just a little cold-hearted. I guess you have to know her.”
“Maybe so.” That was the thing with Southern men. If a woman was ambitious and independent and had no desire to breed she was cold-hearted and probably a bitch. Jess supposed she was in real trouble. “Were there any problems between Sylvia and Gabrielle?” It was doubtful Sylvia would have set out to murder the other woman years after Gabrielle had stolen her husband, but stranger things happened.
Riley was shaking his head. “None to my knowledge. I never heard Larry or Gabrielle mention Sylvia. Not in the last year or so anyway. Like I said, things were a little sticky at first but everybody moved on.”
“No marital problems. No financial problems.” Jess tapped the file she had been reviewing earlier. “I guess if Gabrielle’s murder wasn’t related to their personal lives or Grayson’s work, it was a random act of violence.”
“Had to be.” Riley turned his palms up. “We know all the same people. Same friends—all cops, by the way. And Gabrielle was a saint. She had no enemies. Everyone who ever met her loved her.”
Unfortunately, most saints died as martyrs. “If you think of anything else that might prove useful, please call me immediately, Sergeant. You have my number already.” She’d given him a card at the scene.
“For sure.”
Jess showed him to the door, mostly to ensure he didn’t turn around and get a good look at her case board. The less he knew, the fewer questions Grayson would ask.
When he was gone, she marched over to the board and considered what she could do to protect the privacy of their timeline and notes. The board stood on legs but didn’t rotate as some did. Maybe this one was too long for that. It did have wheels though.
It took some finagling but she got it turned around so that the side with their timeline, photos, and notes faced the wall.
That worked. For now.
She grabbed her bag. A set of keys lying next to the phone on her desk snagged her attention. She picked up the keys and the note beneath them.
Jess, use this Taurus until your Audi is released. You’ll find it in the garage, 2nd level, slot 32. It belongs to the department so take it easy. DB.
PS: I took care of your parking ticket.
“God, I hope it’s not beige.” Department vehicles were purposely nondescript. At least she had transportation at her disposal without having to visit the department carpool. It annoyed her that her Audi was still in the print shed. They knew who had abducted her. Why did they still need her car? And that parking ticket was beyond ridiculous. If she hadn’t been distracted by that damned thing she might have noticed trouble was about to swoop in on her. Right now, all she wanted was her car.
Maybe she could give someone at the lab a nudge and get her car back by tomorrow. Jess dropped the Taurus keys into her bag and headed for the door, checking her watch as she went. Two fifteen. The coroner’s office had had better than four hours to have a look at the victim’s body. Under normal circumstances that would mean nothing. But Jess felt certain that Dr. Sylvia Baron would permit Dr. Leeds to waste no time doing a preliminary examination. Jess wanted to know what, if anything, they had found. She wished she hadn’t ticked off the woman at the scene, but Jess had done what she always did. She’d spoken her mind, putting herself at odds with the highbrow ME.
She’d have to find a way back into her good graces. In this line of work, good contacts were vital.
The door opened just as Jess reached it. A tall, undeniably handsome man blocked her path.
Wesley. Her ex. Supervisory Special Agent Wesley Duvall, who had come all the way from Southern California to help with a case…and to see that she was safe.
“Jess.” He smiled. She liked his smile. Always had. “I was about to go for a late lunch.” He chuckled. “I’m still on West Coast time it seems. Anyway, I thought maybe you’d like to join me. I remember how often you forget to eat, so I’m guessing you haven’t had lunch either.”
“That’s so sweet.” Her stomach sent a signal of its own confirming his conjecture. She hadn’t eaten. “I was just on my way to check on the progress at the coroner’s office.”
“I have nothing scheduled this afternoon.” He held up his hands. “We could have a quick lunch and then make your stop.”
She hadn’t heard from Leeds or Baron. There might very well be no news at this point. Why not take Wesley up on his offer? “That works. Sure.” She pushed a smile into place. “I’ll drive.” She could pick his brain about how the Lopez situation might relate to the Grayson case. Not that she really believed it did, but it was one of those avenues that had to be fully investigated.
They were barely out the door when Jess’s cell clanged. She dug in the bottom of her bag while ensuring she kept Wesley marching toward the elevator. What she really wanted to do was get out of the building before Burnett saw them together. He would drive her nuts about it.
…Drive her nuts.
People tossed that phrase around all the time. Had Gabrielle Grayson meant it literally or was she just using a common expression when she made the statement in front of the pool guy about her child?
Jess managed to get her cell to her ear and said, “Harris,” at the same time she paused at the elevator and hit the down button. Hurry. Hurry. Hurry.
“Chief Harris, this is Dr. Sylvia Baron.”
The elevator doors slid open but Jess ignored them. “You have news?” She couldn’t imagine any other reason for the call. The woman already disliked her immensely. She certainly wasn’t looking for a lunch partner.
“Before you get excited, Harris, understand that we’ve completed only a very preliminary exam, but we have narrowed time of death to a smaller window and we have a few other details confirmed.”
The elevator doors had closed with Jess too caught up in the conversation to act. She stabbed the button again. “I was actually just about to have a quick lunch and then drop by your office but, please, don’t keep me in suspense, Dr. Baron.”
Jess turned the phone away from her face and to Wesley whispered, “It’s the medical examiner about my case.”
Wesley made an “oh” face and gave her an understanding nod.
The elevator doors glided open once more and Jess started to step inside, determined not to let it get away this time. She stopped just in time to prevent running into Burnett on his way out.
As he looked from her to Wesley and back, Jess silently swore at her bad timing.
“Gabrielle died between nine and midnight,” Dr. Baron said, dragging Jess’s attention back to the phone conversation. “That’s as close as we can narrow the window with any real accuracy at this stage and considering the fact that she was lying on a cold tile floor. Be that as it may, I suspect what you’re going to find the most interesting, Chief Harris, is cause of death.”
One hand held up for Burnett to give her a second, Jess’s full attention zeroed in on the conversation. She tuned out the sound of the elevator doors trying to close with Burnett blocking their path. Every instinct warned that whatever Baron was about to tell her, it was pivotal to the case and finding Gabrielle Grayson’s killer.
“First, we found no evidence of sexual assault.”
Jess was thankful to hear that.
“The beheading, which I believe was accomplished with a saw, something with teeth, was done postmortem. The stab wounds were postmortem as well, but I’m sure you surmised that much already,” the associate coroner announced. “Ironically, cause of death was manual asphyxiation. Now, my question to you, Chief, is, unless the killer was trying out for a part in the next Saw movie, what was the point of all the theatrics?”
That was a damned good question with only one clear answer.
Distraction.
Next Friday I’ll post chapter four and we’ll be interviewing Dr. Sylvia Baron! Remember, you can preorder RAGE right now at all online bookstore locations! If you haven’t been able to find your copies of the first three books in the stores, you can get the paperbacks at Amazon and BN.com, all three for less than $10 total! If you prefer an ebook, OBSESSION is only $.99 at all online locations–but this great price is only for a few more days so hurry!
We have a new suspect, Nicole Duykers! Check her out of the Suspects page. Nicole has won a $30 gift card to the online bookstore of her choice! Congratulations, Nicole!
Now for the announcement you’ve all been waiting for…the street team winners! Since there was no way for me to do a $100 winner (the requirements were for purchase confirmations or if the books hit one of the big lists), I decided to choose four winners to receive a $50 gift cards to the online bookstores of their choice. Without further ado, the winners of a $50 gift card are: Marijane Diodati, Linda Hankins, Tracey Berthiaume, and Regan Black! The winners of the RAGE arcs are: Becky Brown Bergeski, Vicki Hancock and Maureen O’Neill Downey! Contact me via debraewebb at aol.com for details on your prizes!
Remember, starting April 30, the new Street Team challenge begins. Get the word out that RAGE is on the shelves! Tell everyone! And don’t forget to let me know where you’re posting and what you’re doing to promote RAGE. Not only will I be giving away those great gift cards again, this time one winner will be chosen to be a character in book 12! That winner will receive 12 autographed copies of the book to give to friends. That winner gets to choose whether he or she wants to be a good character or an evil one. Work hard, team! I’m counting on you!
Have a great weekend!
Deb
