Brenda Novak - The Perfect Murder

“And that includes killing me.”

“I’m not positive he even knows about you. You weren’t in the car with me when I came here. But he’ll watch this place, search for whatever he can find that might lead him to me.”

“Why isn’t he scared? Why doesn’t he run, get out of here before he’s arrested?”

She didn’t know Malcolm the way he did. “He beat the system once. I’m sure he believes he can do it again.”

“And you’re relieved instead of worried.”

“Like I said, I want to end this.”

She glanced around the parking lot as if their surroundings had somehow changed, but she’d felt safe here and didn’t want to let go of that. “How can you be so positive that’s what he wants?”

With a sigh, Sebastian pulled out the e-mail message he’d printed an hour ago and handed it to her.

Jane set her briefcase on the pavement and unfolded the paper. “It’s from M.T.”

He nodded. “Malcolm Turner.”

“‘It’s you or me, prick,’” she read, then glanced up at him. “He’s calling you out?”

“He’s telling me this won’t be over until one of us is dead.”

“Where did this come from? Can we have David trace it?”

“It would be a waste of time. I’ve already had the ones he sent to Mary traced. He’s using a remote server.”

She gave the paper back to him. “How is Mary?”

“Pretty shaken up, but I was able to convince her to take the boys and go to Phoenix for a week or two. They’re staying with her aunt.”

“He won’t try to follow her there…”

“Not if I draw his fire, make myself an easier target.”

“Target?” The blood drained from her face. “You don’t have to do that, Sebastian. The police will handle this.”

“Like they handled it before?” he asked.

“We’re talking about David this time. He’ll listen to us. As a matter of fact, I just talked to him. Someone else is going to finish the case that’s been taking up so much of his time. This is now his only priority. Forensic technicians are already processing your car. And Marcie’s body is scheduled to be autopsied tomorrow. Maybe they’ll find some sort of evidence.”

“They won’t find anything. He was a cop, Jane. He knows what they’ll be looking for.” He scratched his face. “Besides, this will come to a head long before any of that can help.”

She hugged herself against the cold. “So what do we do?”

“Tonight? Get some sleep. I think we might need it.”

“Where?” she asked.

“At my motel. Unless you want me to stay here. I’m not leaving you alone.”

Bowing her head, she nodded. “What do I tell her?”

“That I’m a coworker who’s down on his luck and needs a place to stay.”

“Just for tonight?”

“Until I feel comfortable that you’re safe on your own.”

“That could be a week or more!”

He grinned at her. “What’s the matter? Afraid you won’t be able to resist me for that long?” He was teasing, trying to cheer her up, but when she answered, he could tell she was absolutely serious.

“Yes.”

Why hadn’t he responded? Malcolm knew Sebastian had to have checked his e-mail, had to have received the message. He’d gone to the trouble of taking Latisha to that Internet café. The least Sebastian could do was acknowledge receipt. Malcolm wanted to know how it had affected him, what he’d felt when he found Marcie murdered in his backseat. The silence, not knowing, was driving him mad. He was tempted to cruise past Mary’s house or Sebastian’s condominium complex to see what was going on. But he couldn’t; he had to lie low, until he could devise a way to get close without getting caught.

He glanced at the clock on his computer. It was after midnight, but he couldn’t sleep. Not with his mind whirring away like this, and not after spending most of the day in bed, catching up on the sleep he’d missed last night.

Where was Sebastian? Did he live alone in that condo? How long had he been in Sacramento?

Malcolm had called Constance’s office. She was still in New York. So did that mean Sebastian was now with Mary? Was he making love to her this very minute?

The thought of them together made Malcolm clench his jaw. It was one thing to turn Mary against him, another to do it so completely that she became Sebastian’s lover. After what he’d done to her in high school-once a cheater, always a cheater-she probably saw it as the ultimate irony to take this sort of revenge. But he didn’t find it the least amusing.

Using a prepaid cell phone he’d picked up a few hours ago, he called Constance. It was three hours later in New York, which made it almost 3:25 a.m. She didn’t answer, but he left a message. “Your lover boy is sleeping with my old girlfriend. Just thought you might like to know,” he said and hung up. He enjoyed thinking that might hurt her, or get Sebastian in trouble if they were still together, but it wasn’t enough. A few seconds later, he considered calling Sebastian directly. Chances were Sebastian hadn’t changed his number. Why would he?

“Is something wrong?”

Latisha had come up behind him. He was allowing her as much freedom as possible tonight, partly to make up for what he’d done to her sister and partly to convince her how good it could be between them if he could trust her. Today he’d taken her to the mall, and bought her some clothes that actually fit and a ring. It wasn’t an expensive ring, but she kept staring at the little diamond as if it was the most beautiful gift she’d ever received.

He’d told her that he hoped to marry her someday. Women loved that shit. If he could get her to care about him, even a little bit, he wouldn’t have to worry about her trying to get away every second his back was turned. “Nothing’s wrong,” he said. “I just have a lot of nervous energy.”

“Do you want me to make you something to eat?”

He pulled her onto his knee so he could fondle her breast. “I’m not hungry.” He grinned at her. “Why don’t we get some cooking oil and go back to the bedroom?”

“Cooking oil?” she echoed.

“I think it’s time I gave you a massage.”

“I’ve never had a massage.”

“Then you’re in for a treat.”

She gazed at her ring. “Did you mean what you said earlier?”

“When I told you how I feel about you?”

She nodded.

“Of course.” Letting go of her breast, he took her hand instead. “I know what I did was wrong, Latisha. I know I shouldn’t have forced you and Marcie to come back here with me. And I’m sorry I didn’t treat you right once I got you out here.”

“So why’d you do it?” she murmured.

“I was lonely. Sometimes I get so…angry at the world. If you knew what’d happened to me, you’d understand.” He bowed his head as if the weight of the past was too heavy to bear.

“Tell me,” she said.

To give her the impression he could barely stand to talk about it, he pretended to choke up. “Someone killed my wife and kid when I was living back east.”

Sympathy brought her eyebrows together as she bent her head to see into his face. “How?”

“It was a guy I put in prison, a guy named Sebastian Costas. When he got out, he came for revenge. I’ve been hunting him ever since.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He rested his forehead on her shoulder. “So am I.”

“Then you’re not on the force anymore?”

“That’s why I quit-to chase him down.” He kissed the back of her hand. “And when I saw you and Marcie in that car, I guess I just…snapped. Other people are out there living normal lives, but here I am without the two people I loved more than anything. I decided to change my situation, to force it to be more like what I wanted.”