A Right to Remain Page 27

  “So, you never talked to Allan or Mike again?”

  She paused for a moment before speaking. “Mike came around right before the baby was born. He was at the hospital when I gave birth, spewing his same old tune that he had changed and wanted us to be a family…blah, blah, blah.” She shook her head and pursed her lips. “And stupid, stupid me fell for it, again! Even named my kid after that piece of garbage, only to have him go back to his old ways in less than a month.”

  “So, what about Adam? That stuff you said earlier about him trying to get you to sleep with Sullivan so his wife would find out…none of that was true?” I asked.

  “Oh, no…that was absolutely true! Of course he was high as a kite when he suggested it, but I know how he felt about her. Aaron was a good man, and I feel so bad about my part in deceiving him. I honestly thought that money would end up helping my child.”

  “Yeah, well, that money may have gotten a good man murdered and his poor wife raped,” Jim grumbled.

  “I’m so sorry.” She sobbed and covered her face in her hands.

  Jim abruptly stood up. “We’ll be in touch, Ms. Lancer.”

  She jumped up and hurriedly followed us to the door. “You’ll be in touch? What does that mean? I’m not in any trouble, am I?”

  “As of right now you’re not. Hopefully we won’t find out about any other lies you’ve told that would implicate you.”

  “Everything I just told you is the truth.” Her voice rose in panic. “I swear to God.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Jim said.

  “Well, you’re not gonna tell Al or Mike I ratted them out, are you?”

  “Ratted them out about what?” Jim narrowed his eyes, just waiting for her to slip up.

  “Just...just that I was even talking to you guys.”

  “I’ll make you a deal, sweetheart.” He leaned in closer to her ear and said in a loud whisper, “I won’t say anything if you don’t.”

  She nodded quickly, still a little uncertain.

  My adrenaline was pumping as we were getting closer and closer to figuring things out. No wonder why so many details were left out of this investigation because the detective doing the investigating had a major part in it. Of that I was certain.

  “Fuckin’ Wise!” Jim shouted once we stepped out of the apartment building. “I knew he was dirty, but a murderer and rapist.” He shook his head.

  “Hold up…do you think he was the one who raped Lacey?”

  “No, he’s too smart to get his hands dirty that way, but I’m sure he got one of his druggie flunkies to do it, which in my eyes is the same as if he committed the act himself.”

  “So, you think this was all over that money?”

  “Without it, they were gonna lose their bar, and then to add insult to injury, Sullivan was going to go to the police with everything he knew about their little side business. He had the emails, so he held all the cards.

  “But why the rape? It doesn’t fit the MO.”

  “Well, if I recall from the interview, Sullivan’s wife was supposed to be away the night this occurred. She wasn’t even part of the plan. I don’t think the rape was part of the deal. I think whoever did this saw her there and took advantage of her vulnerability and her state of mind after seeing her husband murdered right in front of her.”

  It was all making sense now. “So, Symons must’ve known that Lacey wasn’t going to be home that night and planned it that way. He may have wanted his best friend murdered, but I’m sure the last thing he wanted was for Lacey to be murdered or raped, being he was so obsessed with her.”

  “Bingo!” Jim smiled. “He was in love with Lacey, he didn’t want her involved, and I’m sure the last thing he wanted was to see her raped, but he knew he couldn’t go to the police after it happened because he would go down too.” He scratched his head, looking preoccupied.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked.

  “I need to pay the Wise brothers a little visit, and I’m just trying to figure out how I want to play this. I need to feel them out, but Al and I have a bad history together. I know he’ll know something’s up if I just show up at his bar to shoot the shit with him. I can’t even send any of my undercover guys in because I’m pretty sure he knows them all.”

  “I’ll do it. He doesn’t know who I am, and I’d be more than happy to get this motherfucker.”

  A huge smile spread across Jim’s face. “Why didn’t I think of that? You’re not gonna catch any shit from your chief, are you?”

  “Nah, I’m actually off for the next two days, so what I do on my time off isn’t his concern.”

  He smiled once again. “I like your way of thinking, kid. And if all goes well, I’m pretty sure this will get you out of the dog house with the Sullivan girl.”

  ***

  After a four-hour drive, three near accidents, and listening to Jim gripe about every driver that came in a ten-foot radius of him, I was finally entering Wise Guys Bar. After assuring Jim this wasn’t my first undercover rodeo and refusing to wear a wire or bring my gun inside, he agreed to park his car up the street and wait for me to text him. I looked around the run-down establishment, trying my best to figure out if any of the bartenders were who I was looking for.

  “What can I get you?” the tall gray-haired man asked as soon as I took a seat. Judging by the picture Jim had shown me of Detective Wise, I knew this was definitely him. “Umm…you pick, man. I’m in desperate need of some blow. So, if you got a drink that will cure that, then let me have it.”

  He stared at me questionably before turning around and pouring me a shot of bourbon. I chugged it down when he placed it in front of me. “Another?”

  “Yeah, why not?” I responded. He walked away, and another guy who looked to be a little younger, with shoulder-length hair pulled back in a ponytail and a deep scar under his right eye, came back with my shot.

  He looked around before moving closer. “My brother said you’re looking to score some blow?”

  “Yeah, man, you know where I can get some?”

  “I do.” He raised his eyebrow. “One hundred and fifty for an eight ball.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “Act like you’re going to the men’s room and go out the back exit. I’ll meet you out there in five minutes.” He stretched his arm across the bar to grab the empty glass sitting next to me and his shirt sleeve rose up, revealing a small owl tattoo on his right forearm, and suddenly Lacey’s words played over in my head. A small bird tattoo on his right forearm. All the pieces were starting to come together. Detective Wise kept his hands clean by having his brother, who was just as involved with the whole deal, do his dirty work. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind this was the guy who’d raped Lacey and killed her husband. It was taking everything in me to not reach over the bar and choke the son of a bitch into oblivion. I waited until he walked away and discreetly sent Jim a text, letting him know what was going down. I slammed down a beer while I waited the five minutes that seemed like eternity. As I stepped out the back door, I tried my hardest to get myself under control and not screw up this whole thing by blasting this son of a bitch in the face. He finally walked out, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. There I had it. All I needed was that cigarette to get his DNA and this scumbag, and he would never see the light of day again. He held up the pack to me, and I took one, trying my best to not blow this. After lighting up his, he handed me his lighter so I could light mine.

  “How do I know you’re not a cop?” he asked as he took a drag.

  “And how do I know you’re not one?” I replied back. “Search me if you don’t believe me. I’m just a guy in desperate need of a fix.”

  He looked me over as if he were trying to assess my sincerity. I discreetly handed him the money, and he slipped me the bag. I stood around, waiting for him to put out his cigarette, hoping he would go right back inside after. He took one last drag and threw it on the ground, and I did the same.

  “Thanks a lot, m
an,” I mumbled. It was killing me to even talk to this animal.

  “Yeah, well, hopefully you know where to come back for more. Just leave through the front door, in case anyone is watching.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Fuck, now how am I going to get that cigarette? We walked back inside, and I stopped at the men’s room. “If you don’t mind…I gotta get my fix.”

  “Nope, it’s all good,” he replied.

  I went into the bathroom and locked the door behind me, texting Jim and letting him know to go around the back and grab the cigarette from the ground. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and pulled it together before heading out. I just had to make it a few feet to the door without knocking someone out and we’d be good. I was desperate to get in touch with Lacey. It wasn’t safe for her to be alone, knowing this guy was so close by. I was almost out the door when the woman in front of me dropped her phone. I bent down to pick it up for her, and stood back up to find myself eye to eye with Adam Symons. Without saying a word, he continued to walk inside, but I knew the damage was done; he had recognized me and was no doubt telling that scumbag inside exactly who I was. I dialed Lacey’s number, wanting to throw my phone when it went right to voicemail. “Lacey, I know you’re pissed at me, but you need to call me back. It’s important.” I hung up, hoping she would listen to the message.

  Jim pulled up, and I hopped in his car. “Did you get it?” I asked.

  He held up two plastic baggies. “I got two.”

  “Oh, yeah, one of them was mine.”

  “I suppose you don’t remember which?”

  “Well, I remembered when they were on the ground, but not now.”

  “No worries, as long as you didn’t murder anyone, then you’re good,” Jim joked.

  “That’s him. That’s the guy who raped Lacey and murdered her husband. It’s all fitting together now. I need to get in touch with her. I walked right into Symons when I was leaving.”

  “Did he see you?”

  “Yeah, he did, and Lacey’s not answering her damn phone!”

  “She didn’t mention where she was staying?”

  “No…she didn’t even tell me—oh shit…I know how I could find out, but I don’t have his number.” I was searching through my scrambled thoughts for a way to get ahold of him, before finally calling the station to have them send an officer over to Neil’s house to have him call me. “Hey, I just thought of something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “He just sold me an eight-ball. Why can’t you go in there and arrest him for selling to an officer?”

  “Come on, Quinn, I know you want to get this guy as much as I do, but you know just as well as I do, you have no jurisdiction in this town. I do that and my ass is on the line, and so is yours.”

  I threw my head back on the seat, waiting for my phone to ring. It felt like eternity, and with each passing minute my nerves were going off the deep end a little more. If Adam knew where Lacey was staying and he had put the pieces together, then his fuckin’ dickhead partner in crime could be on his way to finish up the job. This so wasn’t me. I always knew how to remain calm in this type of situations. I had to stop letting my thoughts get the best of me, but it was hard not to where Lacey was concerned.

  “Quinn, I know you want to keep Lacey in the loop as much as possible, but you need to keep your little visit to Wise and everything we learned about this business deal under your hat for now. You can tell her we went to visit Megan Lancer today, but don’t tell her about Wise just yet. We don’t want to do anything to botch this up. I’m gonna place a rush on this DNA test and we should have an answer in the next twenty-four hours.”

  “Twenty-four hours? You mean this scumbag has a chance to take off between now and then? What if he finds out we’re on to him and decides to skip town or worse yet, go after Lacey because of it?”

  “I already have my guys watching him. He’s not even going to be able to go to the bathroom without us knowing. I promise you, Quinn, I want to see this guy hang as much as you do. I would never be able to live with myself if he got away with it because of something we screwed up, and I don’t think you’d be able to live with yourself if that happened either. It’s just a little bit of time, and if that DNA comes back as expected, then he’s going away for a very long time.”

  I scrambled to answer when a New York number I didn’t recognize flashed across my phone. “Neil?” I answered, hoping I was right in my assumption.

  “Yeah. Quinn, is everything okay? Is Lacey okay?”

  “Yeah, it’s fine. I just need to know where Lacey’s staying.”

  He rattled off the name of the hotel, and I repeated it to Jim. He slammed on the gas and we were on our way. I didn’t care if she was pissed at me. I didn’t care if she tried to slam the door in my face. There was no way in hell I was going to let her be alone tonight or ever again until that animal who did this to her was in jail where he belonged for the rest of his life.

  Chapter 40

  Lacey

  I pulled into the hotel parking lot after returning from dinner at one of my and Aaron’s favorite restaurants. At first I felt uncomfortable sitting there alone, but I just pretended Aaron was sitting across from me at the table, giving me his death stare for taking forever to pick out something from the menu. And after a while the awkwardness lifted, and I didn’t have to pretend he was sitting there anymore, I could feel his presence. I knew even though I couldn’t see him, he was there. Maybe I was going crazy, and if I was, I didn’t care. As long as I felt him close by, that was all that mattered to me.

  I was trying my hardest to halt my thoughts of Quinn, but was finding it more difficult than I thought. Every time I would tell myself I’d be okay without him, I would get a sick feeling in my stomach. My little altercation with Adam didn’t help much, making me feel lower than low for sleeping with a married man. The air was bitter cold as I stepped out of my car and headed into the hotel. A chill shot through my body, and I knew it wasn’t just from the temperature. I looked around the dimly lit parking lot, hoping it was my imagination, but I swore I heard footsteps behind me. My heart began to race, and I reached into my bag for my can of mace. My hands gripped the can, my finger poised on the trigger, ready to pull it from my purse at a moment’s notice. I picked up my pace with just a few more steps until I reached the doors to the hotel. The hair on my arms stood at attention and my body was breaking out in a cold sweat as I felt the presence getting stronger. Deep breaths of relief escaped my chest when a car pulled up to the front of the hotel just as I stepped onto the sidewalk.

  “Lacey!” I heard a familiar voice shout as I was almost to the door. I was overcome with emotion when I saw Quinn exiting the vehicle that had just pulled up. I stood there silently as he approached me after the car he had gotten out of drove away. I sucked my bottom lip in, trying to hold back my tears.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked when he finally reached me.

  “I’ve been trying to call you, Lacey.”

  “I turned off my phone.”

  “Can we go inside where it’s a little warmer and talk?”

  I nodded, and we walked into the lobby area, both taking a seat. “Lacey, there’s a lot I need to tell you, but before I do, I need to tell you this...I didn’t sleep with Sara that night.”

  I shook my head and held my hand up to stop him from talking. “Quinn, really. She’s your—”

  “My soon-to-be ex-wife, and you’re the girl I love and want to be with. I met up with her at the bar that night to sign some papers for the sale of the house. We talked and that was it. She asked me about you, and I told her I love you, Lacey. It was actually a relief. For the first time in a long time, we weren’t arguing. She’s gonna have a baby with her boyfriend, and she’s happy with her new life, and I want to be happy with mine with you.” He nervously jerked his head and examined the man and woman entering the hotel. I could tell he was on edge over something, but I didn’t want to ask why. I still had so many other que
stions about that night going through my mind.

  “Why’d you spend the night with her?” I asked, still uncomfortable questioning why he would spend the night with his wife.

  “I spent the night on the couch. I went back to the house to help her clear out Andrew’s room. I had way too much to drink and ended up passing out. I swear to God, Lacey, nothing happened.”

  Even though I wanted to be angry at him, I knew he wasn’t lying to me. He leaned in closer and placed a gentle kiss on my lips as the first teardrop streamed down my face.

  “Don’t cry, Lacey,” he whispered. Suddenly, all of the fear, all of the loneliness, and all of the pain I had been feeling instantly washed away.

  “It’s been a really emotional day.” I gazed up at him and couldn’t resist throwing my arms around him and hugging him tight. “I’m so sorry, Quinn. For keeping what I did from you,” I cried, burying my face deep into his shoulder.

  “It’s okay.” He hugged me back. Once I had calmed down a bit, he braced his hands on my shoulders. “I need to tell you something.”

  “About?”

  “What I thought about Adam initially, I was right. Stay away from him.” He looked around the lobby, and I picked up on his anxiousness once again.

  “Do you want to go up to my room?”

  He nodded. I stood up and grabbed his hand, pulling him off the chair. We took the elevator to the fourth floor, and he walked in ahead of me as we entered the room. I couldn’t help but notice his hand on the holster of his gun. I was a little surprised he even had it on him. As far as I knew, he never carried it when he was off duty.