Malicious Desires

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that being afraid would become part of my daily life. After all this time, I should be used to it, but I’m not. And I’m not all that comfortable with it, either, but this is my life now. Strangely, in some weird way, I actually like it. All the excitement makes me feel a little brave, which is something I’ve never felt before.

My name is Samantha Parker, and I’m a private investigator. Apparently, I don’t look much like a PI, which is why my boss says I’m good at it. It helps that I’m petite with shoulder length blonde hair and don’t look all that intimidating, but the reality is bad people just piss me off. I hate dressing up for anything and wearing heels feels like a form of torture. I am, however, a big believer in having something that helps me to feel like luck is on my side. For me, it’s my lucky undies, which I wear when I either need to feel brave or am hoping for some action. Either way, I’m pretty sure they help.

I work in a small office in Old Town Temecula with my boss, Frank Meeker. Frank is an ex-cop who looks tough and scary on the outside but is more like a teddy bear, at least to me. We worked on a few cases together when I was a paralegal and were a good team, so he asked if I’d be interested in coming aboard as a PI.

I knew he was tired of working some of the crappy domestic cases that required practically no skill and a lot of patience, so I figured he’d probably have me handle those, but I didn’t care. After doing all the divorce paperwork that kept food on my table for so long, I was eager for a change. What I hadn’t known at the time was that he also had a bit of a crush on me and when I discovered that lovely bit of information, I admit I took total advantage of it.

I’ve been working for Frank for several months, and I can honestly say this job is never boring. From spying on cheating spouses one minute to tackling swindlers in a parking lot the next, each day brings something new, and most of the time, I love it.

The ringing phone startled me awake. I glanced at the clock. 4:47 AM. Looking over my shoulder, I saw I was alone; Jake must have had an early shift. I snatched up the phone just before the machine picked up. “This is Sam.”

“Time to get up, sweetheart. We have to get to work.”

Getting a phone call from Frank this early in the morning was never good news. In my profession, I got my fair share of those calls which usually meant someone was in trouble, and that was if they were lucky. If not, someone was probably dead.

I rolled out of bed and went down for coffee, trying to remember if Jake had mentioned that he’d be heading in early. Jake is a detective with the Temecula Police Department. We’d met at a bon voyage party while I was desperately trying to make friends with anyone in the department so I could move forward with one of my cases. He’d just been promoted to detective, and thankfully, we hit it off nicely, spending most of the evening talking and flirting with each other.

Although I wasn’t sure if he’d remember me, I’d called him a few weeks later to set up a meeting, hoping to seal a business relationship so I’d have access to information I couldn’t get from anywhere but the department.

We’d been enjoying a cup of coffee when he’d received a call to head to a crime scene. I thought it might be related to the case I was working, so I asked if I could tag along. It had been against his better judgment, but he agreed, and it wasn’t long before things got hot and heavy between us. Of course, it could’ve been that we’d gone out for some drinks to blow off steam after a long day working a murder case, and he’d gotten very drunk. So, when he leaned in and kissed me… I mean, how could I resist? He was off-the-charts handsome and the way he gazed at me with those piercing hazel eyes, it was a lost cause to even try. And that body, with all those muscles… Like I said, how could I resist?

With coffee in hand, I hurried up to grab a shower, wondering what the day would bring. The fact that Frank had called me so early wasn’t a good sign. After a quick shower, I put on jeans, a cream-colored sweater and my black boots and headed out. As the sun moved into the sky behind me, I drove the empty streets, leading into Old Town. Frank’s big black truck was there when I arrived. As I moved up the stairs to the office, I realized how serene the world was before it woke up.

The bells on the office door jingled as I went inside.

“Sammy, you’re looking well rested this morning. Did the kid stay in his own bed last night?”

“Good morning to you, too, Frank. Why do you ask? Are you jealous?”

“You know I am.” He raised a brow.

“So, why the early call?”

“Want some coffee? I just made a fresh pot.” He handed me a cup.

“Thanks.”

“Have a seat. I’ll fill you in.” He moved behind his desk. “I received an early call from a frantic mother. It seems her teenage son is missing.”

“A teenage boy? He’s probably out partying with his friends. Most likely, he’ll be home in time for a bowl of Captain Crunch.”

“It doesn’t look that way, Sam.”

“Why did she call you instead of the cops? The kid is gone for a few hours, and she’s calling you?”

“Sam, how much coffee have you had this morning? You need to slow down.”

I knew he was right. I was feeling very cranky. I hated getting up early and didn’t even consider it morning before 7:00 AM. I decided it was better to just keep quiet and listen.

“The kid’s name is Michael Carson. He’s sixteen years old and from Van Horn, Texas. He’s been missing for about six weeks. A witness has just come forward and told the police that Michael had talked about heading to California. That information led them to Temecula. From what I understand, the Texas cops are working with our guys here to locate Michael.”

“So, why did the mom call you?”

“One of the cops recommended me. Apparently, she’s afraid that after six weeks, they may have given up. She doesn’t want him to slip through the cracks and end up on the back burner. Listen, we don’t want to step on any toes, so we need to be careful. We’ll have to fly under the radar on this.”

“What’s his story?”

“Here’s the file. I didn’t get many details, just preliminary stuff. You’ll have to follow up with the mom. Her name is Stacy. Phone number is in the file. And Sam…”

“I know. A missing kid means that time is of the essence.”

At my desk, opened the file to find a single sheet of paper with the name Stacy Carson, a phone number, the name Michael Carson, age sixteen, and a note that said, “missing kid.” I looked at Frank, expressionless.

“You’re the investigator. Go investigate,” he told me with a smile. “I’m heading over to the Swing Inn Café to get some breakfast. Want to join me?”

“No. Since I’m all hyped up on coffee, I’m going to get started on this.”

“Okay. See you later.”

I knew it was early, but I dialed Stacy Carson anyway, hoping to catch her before she went to work. As we talked, it became clear why she’d called Frank. Her son had had emotional issues and had attempted suicide a year ago. He was in counseling and seemed to be making progress. A junior in high school, he was involved in some school activities and even had a small group of friends. Since he’d been a loner most of his life and had been bullied throughout his teens, the turn of events was a positive step.

Nicole Ravago was a friend of Michael’s. She’d had many of the same issues growing up. She was also the one who had told the police about California. Michael had made her swear on her life that she wouldn’t tell, but after not hearing from him for far too long, she’d become afraid something had happened and had gone to his mother.

Starting my file, I took a fresh stack of index cards out of my desk and began adding notes.

Within a few minutes, Frank came back looking completely content.

“I called Stacy Carson.

“What’s the scoop?”

“Michael seems to be a ticking time bomb. He’s mostly a loner, has had a lot of emotional issues and he attempted suicide last year. He’s been in counseling and seemed to be doing much better, so she didn’t see this coming. She was completely blindsided.”

“Do you have an initial game plan?”

“Yeah. I asked her to send me a recent photo and any information that could help me to learn more about him. I also got his friend Nicole’s number. I thought I’d start by giving her a call.”

“Sounds good. Keep me in the loop.”

Nicole’s high-pitched voice made her sound like a little girl, but she said she’d just turned seventeen.

“Nicole, why do you think Michael would come to Temecula?”

“Well, he’d met this guy on f*******: who lives there, and he invited him. He said he didn’t think his mom would let him go, so he took off in the middle of the night. He was supposed to call me when he arrived, but he never did.”

“Who’s the friend?”

“Wally Mason.”

“Do you know him?”

“No. Michael said they’d met playing an online video game and then connected on f*******:. I’m not a gamer.”

“Did Michael tell you anything else about Wally? Anything you can remember could be helpful.”

“Michael wasn’t much of a talker. He just said he was going to Temecula to see Wally.”

Before hanging up, I gave her my number and told her to call me if she thought of anything else. Curious about Wally, I logged onto f*******: and did a search for Wally Mason. I only found one Wally Mason residing in Temecula, but when I saw his profile photo, I was confused; he looked much older than seventeen. He was nice looking, clean cut, and fit, from what I could see. I looked over his page to get additional information, but it was private. I’d have to be friends with him to get more, and until I could set up a dummy account, that wasn’t going to happen.

Trying a different approach, I logged on to the fee-based database Frank had made available to me and found plenty of information on old Wally. At twenty-nine years old, he’d seen his share of run-ins with the law. Originally from Las Vegas, he’d left town at twenty-one because he’d been accused of having s*x with a minor. Although no charges had been filed, he did have a restraining order out against him. His rap sheet also showed several theft-by-deception charges using a home improvement company, ripping off millions of dollars over the years and resulting in a stint behind bars.

I had to wonder if he’d come here to get a fresh start, but my gut told me not to be so naive. He’d befriended a sixteen-year-old kid and had somehow convinced him to leave his home and come to Temecula. Now, I had to find out why.