Блейк Пирс - Before He Lapses

“Yes…I knew her rather well, actually. She was a friend of the woman I’m currently seeing.”

“So Jo Haley knew about the relationship?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think that Melissa—that’s my girlfriend—would tell her. We tried our best to remain very discreet.”

Mackenzie took a moment to think. The fact that his girlfriend had known one of the victims—and that the victim could have potentially known about the taboo relationship—certainly painted Holland in a worse light. It made her wonder why he would so voluntarily offer up all of this information without much of a fight.

“Forgive me for asking,” Mackenzie said, “but was this girlfriend of yours—this Melissa—the first student you’ve ever been involved with?”

A knot of frustration worked its way across Holland’s face and he got to his feet in a sudden flash of movement. “Hey, fuck you! I can’t…”

“Sit back down right now,” Ellington said, stepping directly into Holland’s path.

Holland appeared to realize his mistake right away, his expression going from one of resigned regret to anger, back and forth as he tried to settle on an emotion.

“Look, I’m sorry. But I’m sick and tired of being judged for this and I truly don’t appreciate being accused of screwing around with all students just because I happen to be involved in a current, responsible relationship with a consenting of-age woman.”

“How old are you, Mr. Holland?” Mackenzie asked.

“Forty-five.”

“And how old is Melissa?”

“Twenty-one.”

“Have you ever been married?” Ellington asked, taking a step back and relaxing his posture.

“Once. For eight years. It was miserable, if you must know.”

“And how did that marriage end?”

Holland shook his head and started making his way to the edge of the living room, where the foyer joined it. “Yeah, this conversation is over. Unless you plan on charging me with something, you can both get the hell out. I’m sure there are others at the college that can answer the rest of your questions.”

Slowly, Mackenzie made her way to the door. Ellington followed reluctantly behind. Mackenzie turned back to him, her gut telling her there was something here.

“Mr. Holland, you understand that by failing to cooperate, it makes it look much worse for you.”

“I’ve dealt with that for the last month or so of my life.”

“Where’s Melissa right now?” Ellington asked. “We’d like to speak with her as well.”

“She’s…” But Holland stopped here, again shaking his head. “She’s been dragged through the mud, too. I won’t have you bothering her over this.”

“So you aren’t answering any more of our questions,” Ellington said. “And you’re refusing to give us the location of someone else we need to speak with. Is that correct?”

“That’s absolutely correct.”

Mackenzie could tell that Ellington was getting riled up. She could see his shoulders going tense and his posture going as rigid as a stone slab. She reached out and gently touched his arm, anchoring him.

“We’ll take note of that,” Mackenzie said. “If we need to speak with you again in regards to this case and it’s discovered that you aren’t home, we’ll consider you a viable suspect and you will be arrested. Do you understand that?”

“Sure,” Holland said.

He crowded them into the foyer as he opened the door for them. The moment they were standing on the porch, Holland slammed the door.

Mackenzie started toward the porch stairs but Ellington held his ground. “You don’t think it’s worth pursuing?” he asked.

“Maybe. But I don’t think anyone that is guilty would willingly share some of those details. Besides…we know his girlfriend’s first name. If it’s really pressing, we can probably weed her full name out from his records. The last thing we need, though, is the hasty arrest of an academic advisor who is already on thin ice and in a bit of controversy.”

Ellington smiled and joined her heading down the stairs. “See…it’s things like this that are going to make you an amazing wife. Always keeping me from doing something stupid.”

“I suppose I have had ample practice these last few years.”

They got back into the car and when Mackenzie was in the seat, she again realized how tired she was. She would never admit it to Ellington, but maybe she did need to take it easy.

One or two more days, little one, she thought to the growing life inside of her. Just a few more days and you and I will be getting all the rest we want.

She knew she shouldn’t be doing this, but it was hard to resist. Besides…with a new semester on the way, this would be a good way to kick things off. One last fling. One last night of absolute craziness. And if it went the way it usually did, she’d leave feeling empowered—so empowered that it would easily override those quick little flashes of regret.

And it would be a great way to start the new semester.

Marie hadn’t even tried to talk herself out of it. The moment she’d parked her car in the garage, she knew this was where she would end up tonight. All she’d had to do was make the call, to let him know that she was back in town and wanted to see him. He had never denied her before and after three weeks apart, she highly doubted he would deny her now.

And of course, he hadn’t.

It was 11:05 when she walked to the back of the apartment building. It was in a sketchy part of town, but not so bad that she felt endangered by walking alone at night. Besides, it was only about eight miles away from campus and she knew that the crime rate anywhere near campus was incredibly small. Anyway, she was so excited about what the next few hours would bring that any sense of danger was long gone.

When she reached the door at the back of the building, Marie was not at all surprised that it was locked. She buzzed his apartment number and was rewarded with the sound of the lock disengaging right away. He said nothing to her through the speaker, just unlocked the door. That made her smile; he would probably be in a very serious mood. Dominant, even.

Cute, she thought. But we know who always ends up as the aggressor…

That thought made her even more excited as she stepped inside. She didn’t even bother with the elevator, wanting to get to his apartment on the second floor as quickly as possible. She took the steps two at a time, her heart rate spiking from the exertion as well as the anticipation of what was waiting for her. The expectancy of it, from her drive down from New York to right now, approaching the apartment, was its own delicious foreplay.

It had been a long drive. She was stressed out. Tense. Man oh man, she was going to wear him out…ride him right into the ground…

When she reached his apartment, she found the door unlocked. She opened it just a crack and saw that the lights were out. Still, there was some illumination coming from the back of the main area, maybe a candle or something.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice sultry. She closed the door behind her and locked it.

“Waiting for you,” came the answer.

“Good. But…you can’t have me unless you tell me exactly what you want.”

She heard him chuckle lightly somewhere in the darkness. As her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, she could see his shape in the living room, lying on the couch. She smiled and started to walk over to him.

The apartment smelled dusty and unused—mainly because that’s exactly what it was. She knew he had a better place, but she also knew that he did not like to have her there. He liked to keep his personal life private. From what she understood about him, he spent very little time at home. She’d only seen the outside of it, usually meeting with him here or, on a few occasions, the back seat of his car or a hotel. While she understood the need for privacy, she also wished she could just ravage him in a huge bed for once, maybe with some mood lighting and music.