Chapter Fifteen

Olivia was showing Alex Ernie’s postcard and explaining about his epic adventure when the elevator doors opened.

“It’s a shame he didn’t get to travel with his wife,” Alex murmured.

“Well, he kind of is.” At his questioning look, she explained, “He had her cremated and placed her cremains in an urn. Technically, she’s riding shotgun.”

“I don’t know if that’s incredibly sweet…or a whole lot creepy.”

Olivia laughed. “Maybe a little of both?” She stopped in front of her door and faced him. She planted a hand on his chest and tried not to jolt from the contact. “Brace yourself. No telling what stage of dress—or undress—they’ll be in tonight. I once walked in on them having tantric sex surrounded by incense and burning candles. Instead of stopping, they asked if I wanted to join in.”

Alex was still chuckling when she inserted the key and pushed the door. Something was blocking it. She started to shove harder when Alex grabbed her arm to stop her. Before she could blink, he whipped out his gun and used his arm to thrust her behind his back.

“Alex?”

He put a finger against his lips and indicated the floor.

She glanced down and sucked in a breath. Blood. Lots and lots of blood. A river of red flowed beneath the door. Suddenly Olivia couldn’t breathe. Her knees were weak and she was afraid she was going to pass out.

“Go wait by the elevator,” Alex ordered with authority.

She shook her head vehemently and latched onto his belt loop. She wasn’t leaving his side.

His sigh was resigned. “Okay, but I go first and if I tell you to run, you make like Usain Bolt and you get the hell out of here.” His voice was a low rumble. “No questions asked.”

She nodded in agreement. He mouthed three, two, one and forced the door open.

She couldn’t stop the scream. Darla and Arlo were sprawled on the blood-soaked floor, their bodies riddled with bullet holes. Darla’s sightless eyes were wide in shock and Arlo’s hand was stretched out, as if he was reaching for Darla as he inhaled his last breath.

#

Olivia made a tortured sound in her throat and lunged for her roommate. Alex shot his arms out to stop her. “Babe, there’s nothing you can do for her.”

“But…” All the fight left her and she sagged in his grip. He lifted her into his arms. It said something about how upset she was that she didn’t protest. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. He headed down the hall as he dialed the police. He really wanted to go inside and clear the apartment but he’d been a cop too long to disrupt a crime scene. He’d settle for keeping an eye on the door and a finger on the trigger of his Sig Sauer.

After he called the police, he dialed Derek Benson. It was pretty clear that the person who took shots at them earlier today came to finish the job up close and personal. Darla and her boyfriend had the unfortunate luck to have been home at the time. Collateral damage.

Alex felt a pang of guilt. He knew Olivia staying here was a threat, but he’d never considered her roommate in danger. He should’ve encouraged them to stay at the boyfriend’s place, if he had one. Olivia and Darla looked nothing alike, so it wasn’t a matter of mistaken identity.

“Alex?”

He looked down into Olivia’s face. He was leaning against the wall with her tucked against him. He had one eye on her apartment door and the other on the elevator. “Hum?”

“It was my fault Darla was killed.”

His denial was instant. “It was absolutely not your fault.”

“But someone shot at me today. Then a few hours later, my roommate was ambushed.”

“The only fault lies with the person who pulled the trigger…and me.”

Olivia placed her hands against his chest and pushed back. Confusion colored her eyes. “How could it possibly be your fault?”

“I should’ve anticipated the danger. People were in and out of the building all day with the investigation and then crews fixing the shattered glass. Someone could’ve slipped inside pretty easily. I should’ve insisted Darla stay elsewhere.”

“You absolutely couldn’t know,” Olivia protested. “Just because we share an apartment, why would someone go after her? She has short, dark hair, I have long blonde. She’s about five inches taller than me. There’s no way they could confuse us.”

“Maybe it never was about you. Maybe it was about Darla. Or her boyfriend.”

“Like a drug deal gone bad?”

“Possibly. Did they deal?”

Olivia shook her head. “I don’t think so. They dabbled with pot occasionally, but that was it. I never saw Darla take drugs or Arlo bring them to the apartment. I’d have kicked her out instantly. Actually, the night you arrived was only the second time they’d smoked pot here. She promised me it wouldn’t happen again.” She was thoughtful for a moment. “I don’t even know what Arlo does,” she winced, “did for a living. He played guitar in a band, but they weren’t very successful.”

“So it could’ve been someone he pissed off.”

She shrugged, clearly unconvinced. “I don’t think so. Not after this morning. It was me.”

“Let’s not jump to any conclusions until the police can investigate.”

“Alex?”

“Hum?”

“Do you think she suffered?”

He ran the back of his knuckles across her cheek. “No, babe, I don’t think she suffered.”

Her voice waivered. “How can you be sure?”

He exhaled. “Judging from the position of the bodies, I’d say someone knocked on the door and as soon as Darla opened it, the person fired. She didn’t have time to react.”

The wail of approaching sirens grew louder and steps pounded in the stairwell. Alex moved Olivia behind him as the door burst open. Four uniformed cops poured out. One noticed Alex’s gun. “Freeze,” he ordered as he pointed his weapon at him. Alex tucked the gun away and pointed down the hall. “Alex Mylonas. COBRA Securities. We called it in.”

“Don’t move,” the man insisted, keeping his gun trained on them. Alex lifted his hands in the air and sighed.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open to reveal Detectives Benson and Kramer. “He’s okay, Swartz,” Benson told the cop. The man looked disappointed he hadn’t nabbed the suspect, but he nodded and loped down the hall to join the others.

“We’re going to take a look,” Kramer told them, indicating Olivia’s apartment with her head. The two detectives migrated down the hall with Alex and Olivia on their heels. No way was he letting Olivia see the bloody scene again, so he stopped just short of the door and waited.

Calls of “Clear” rang out as officers checked to make sure the perp was gone. Alex had no doubt he was. He just sprayed the bullets and took off.

Doors opened up and down the hall as people heard the commotion.

“Olivia?”

Alex turned to see an older woman with a cap of silver hair hurrying over. “Are you okay?”

Olivia nodded as tears filled her eyes. “I’m okay, Mrs. Copley. It’s Darla…”

“Oh my,” the woman said, pulling Olivia in for a hug. “What happened?”

Alex didn’t want Olivia to have to try to explain the murders. “Excuse me, ma’am?”

The woman looked up at him. “Yes?”

“You live across the hall?”

She nodded. “I do.”

“Were you home the last few hours?” When he first opened the door, he noted with a detective’s eye that the bodies hadn’t been in rigor yet and the blood was still wet, so the murders happened within the last couple of hours.

“I’ve been home all day,” she confirmed.”

“You didn’t hear any strange noises in the hall? Gunshots.”

Her hand flew to her chest. “Darla was shot? Was it that boyfriend of hers? I always thought he was up to no good.” She shook her head. “No, I didn’t hear a gunshot. I didn’t hear a thing.”

Judging from the holes in the bodies, it’d been quite a few gunshots.

“A silencer?” Olivia cut into his thoughts.

He nodded. “That many shots would’ve drawn attention.”

Detective Benson came out to talk to them. “My theory is that the perp knocked on the door and opened fire as soon as it was answered.”

“Mine, too,” Alex agreed.

“What’s a perp?” a man from the next apartment down asked, obviously eavesdropping.

“Perpetrator…the person who committed the crime,” Mrs. Copley answered. At the looks of surprise, she said, “What? I watched all of the CSI episodes. I could practically process that scene myself.”

Benson smiled and then asked her a few more questions. Other officers rounded up the neighbors and quizzed them on anything unusual they’d seen or heard, but no one could provide any insight into who committed the brutal murders.