Dirty Little Secret
1673 Words
Due to the circumstances, Mel and Capri were quickly settling in to being a new couple. They enjoyed making love until their bodies were numb with ecstasy and falling asleep in each other’s arms. When Mel’s alarm clock sounded off, they greeted the day with a refreshing shower together. He wasn’t used to eating breakfast before stepping out for work and she wasn’t accustomed to having help in the kitchen … but they easily adapted to the change. In no time at all, they were blessing their food and enjoying the savory meal.
“We make a good team,” he smiled. She hummed in agreement.
“This is pretty damn good. So, what’s the plan today?”
“What do you mean?”
“We got a list of people to contact, Franco ready and raring to get in the thick of it … there’s so much to do and so little time. Including today, we’ve got, what, three days before IA swoops in?”
“You don’t worry your pretty little head about that. As soon as we tell Cap, he’ll help us map out a plan to get it done … hopefully.”
“You know I can help too, right?”
He smirked and shook his head. I should have seen that coming, he thought to himself. “Yes, baby, I know you can.”
“So let me help.”
“I hope you’re not proposing to go out there and question people.”
“Why not?”
“Winters,” he said warningly, “it’s called protective custody for a reason. You are protected here.”
“Can we please not turn this into another debate? You know I’ll win anyway.”
“Haven’t you learned anything from those poems you deciphered? Arrogance is not attractive.”
“I’m not being arrogant; I’m being honest,” she told confidently. “Just let me help. It’ll save you a headache and allow you to get to work on time with a smile.”
“You know how you can help? Take all the bits and pieces we came up with last night and turn it into a story. That was the goal. The laptop’s all yours. Research whatever you need to and put it all together. I’ll compare notes with you when I get home.”
“And … I might just have a little surprise waiting for you,” she teased.
“Is that right?”
She shrugged playfully. “Give you a little motivation to hurry back.”
“Oh baby, trust me, you are motivation enough,” he assured before leaning in for a kiss to her delight.
§
The second Mel walked into the building he treated the day as any other, saluting his coworkers with smiles and nods. After setting some of his belongings on his desk, he caught sight of a handwritten note. His hand slapped against his forehead in upset. Tristeza wrote Nia’s funeral information for Capri when he escorted her out of the station the night before. He forgot to give it to Capri. Even though she wouldn’t be able to use it until after the case was solved, he thought it would bring her some peace of mind to have it on hand for future reference if she wanted to visit the gravesite.
“Perrin,” Captain Grayson yelled.
Mel jumped up and hustled to the sound of his name. He was surprised to see Franco and Ward in the captain’s office. “Ward? Here early? Did hell freeze over? What’s going on?”
“Captain called me at six this morning and told me to haul ass or look for another job; that’s what happened.”
“When I’m told we might be on the verge of resolving a ten-year mystery, I’m calling all cars. Detective Perrin, would you like to tell me how you went from wanting to raid a frat house to coming up with this list?”
“The frat house is still a good lead for the copycat. The list is for The Florist murders.”
“Fine. Then I want you to go and see what you can pull out of that kid in holding. Franco, what’s the strongest lead from this list y’all came up with?”
“We found a connection between two victims. One was the doctor of the other.”
“They’re both dead. What kind of a lead is that?” Ward argued.
“The doctor’s office is still up and running with the wife of the victim at the head of it.”
“Then, you go follow up at the doctor’s office. Anything worth finding should still be there. Ward, you head to the Eta Beta Zeta frat house. If Perrin’s right and there’s something there, you find it.”
§
Capri’s first thought was to spread the collection of lists out in front of her to see if anything stood out. The more she stared at them, the more they looked like a bunch of useless scribbles. She drew lines distinguishing the connections she could confirm, but it didn’t seem to be very helpful. A wail of frustration resonated from her mouth.
“Seriously? All this information and there’s still dead ends? Mel and Chief Paige are a link to Paige. I’m a link to mom, dad and Rocco. Mom is a link to this Alton guy. So what?” Capri hollered. “How in the hell am I supposed to turn this into a story when it’s still full of holes?”
She closed her eyes and threw her head back in disappointment. A fresh gulp of oxygen caused her mind to clear and when it did, one name projected from her subconscious: Alton Van Boerne. Her heartbeat quickened as she took another look at the lists.
“Wait a minute,” she mumbled before sitting up straighter in the chair. “Pride: Alton Van Boerne. Exploitation: Alton Van Boerne. Deceit: Alton Van Boerne. Why is his name repeated on so many lists? And who else’s name repeats?”
That question led to another discovery. With a focus on the mistakes The Florist accused the victims of, she found that not only did certain names repeat, but they repeated jointly. Her mouth agape, an additional inquiry rose in her mind.
“Why are Alton Van Boerne and Frances Rue Cowl on all the same lists?”
§
Mel followed behind Officer Moser to the interrogation room. As Vasu sat handcuffed to a table, excitement and curiosity shone on his face when the door opened. The sight of Mel surfacing from the shadows transformed that expression into a frozen look of shock.
He positioned himself in front of Vasu before crossing his arms. “I’m Detective Perrin.”
“I remember you. You’re that guy who’s got a lawsuit coming his way, because as soon as my brothers get word that I’m in here and I tell them what you did to me, you’ll wish you never messed with Eta Beta Zeta.”
A daring chuckle resounded from Mel’s chest. He calmly sat down and leaned to the side. “Your frat brothers never told you not to threaten a law enforcement officer?”
“It doesn’t matter who you are; it matters who we are, and nobody messes with Eta Beta Zeta!”
“What, are you a walking billboard? Look, man. It’s real simple. Just tell me what you know about the murders of Zinnia Woodruff and Augustine Velar and I’ll let you go free.”
“You have to let me go anyway because you ain’t got nothing on me.”
“Now, see, that’s where you’re wrong. As long as we have someone saying they can place you at the scene of those crimes and you don’t have a viable alibi to say otherwise, I can keep you in here for as long as I see fit. Come on, kid. We don’t have to do this the hard way.”
“Whatever, man. I’m not telling you nothing.”
Mel’s hmm was lightly heard throughout the room before he snatched Vasu across the table. “Listen to me, you little pseudo thug, you’re standing between me and my girl’s safety. If you don’t tell me what I want to know, your head is going to be intimately acquainted with every inch of this room …”
“Oww!” Vasu yelped as his head was smashed into the table.
“… and then I’ll throw you in jail for obstruction of justice.”
“Com – you can’t be slamming me around like this!”
“Start talking,” Mel growled.
“All right, man! Damn! I’ll tell you what you wanna know!”
§
Capri’s fingers moved like rapid fire across the keyboard of Mel’s laptop. A Google search displayed that Alton Van Boerne was once the lead doctor of a prominent medical facility. More research showed that his reputation wasn’t as upright as his place of business. Another click or two revealed that Frances Rue Cowl, George Flynn Wesson, and Akira Ellen Wormer were co-conspirators in a lot of his wrongdoings.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
- Writer
