“Only because three of the women turned up dead. The other one knew those women and was in fear of her life, so she dropped the charges.”
“If you had proof of that, Weiner would be in jail right now. You know what I think?”
“What do you think, Detective Belogio?” Investigator Pellot asked. He had no idea what shit this guy was going to spew, but as soon as this meeting was over, he was going to investigate him as well. Maybe a call to internal affairs was in order.
“Have you seen what this Porter chick looks like? She’s fucking hot and a body made for sin. She’s been trying to get a promotion for months. I think she did Weiner and he duffed out on the deal of promotion. Now she’s pissed and she wants revenge. The dude is loaded.”
Investigator Pellot was shocked. He knew a lot of really great detectives, and this asshole didn’t belong in the same category as the rest of them. He took a deep breath and tried to remain calm when all he wanted to do was rip Belogio a new one.
“Where is Miss Porter now?”
The detective looked at his fingernails then smirked.
“I think she left town. I haven’t heard a word from her since the last package was sent to her two weeks ago.”
“What was in that package?”
“Oh, she got real creative in her game she’s playing. She put handcuffs, duct tape, and some off-the-wall porn DVD in there, too. I think there were even pictures of her with her two hot girlfriends.”
Investigator Pellot couldn’t take it any longer. He’d had enough.
“Whatever evidence you have in your possession, I want it. You did follow procedure and had it checked for fingerprints and logged in to the evidence storage room?”
“I think I have it in a box. She was really reaching with that one.”
Pellot lost it just as the door to his office opened and his partner came walking in.
“I’ve had enough of this asshole. I already called his commander, and I have guys confiscating the evidence and anything else this piece of shit touched,” Investigator Morton declared as he pointed his finger at Belogio, indicating for him to follow him.
“Hey what did I do?” Belogio asked as he got up out of the chair and began walking toward Investigator Morton.
“Hopefully you didn’t just get another innocent victim murdered,” Pellot stated as he watched his partner escort the detective from the room.
He immediately picked up the phone. “Yeah, I need to locate a Stacy Porter. This was her last known address.”
* * * *
Stacy climbed the ladder leading up to the roof. She had already replaced the broken gutter on one side of the house and now was finishing, fixing the shingles on the other side of the house. How dare Eric threaten her? She had learned how to do construction work as a teenager as she accompanied her father on numerous jobsites. She had to hide when the bosses came around, but in between, her father taught her a lot of good stuff. God, she hadn’t thought about him in years. Once mom left them and took off, her father had changed. He tried to mold Stacy into the woman he thought she should be. Brad Porter was a hard-ass, and it was sad how he let alcohol and gambling ruin his life. If he had stayed straight and listened to her when she tried to talk him about his alcohol problem and overdrinking, maybe he would still be here. She hammered away at the shingles, gripping the roof with one hand and using her boots as leverage. Her hip was pressed against the shingles in an awkward position because of the eave hanging above the widow.
She reached for another sheet of shingle, feeling how difficult it was to carry up the shingles, remain balanced, then do the labor work. It had been years since she did it. Sitting behind a desk made her soft. She laughed at that possibility as she scooted closer to the windowsill and near a piece of shingle that was lifted up as if it were warped. It appeared as if something was wedged underneath it. She first tried to use her hands, which were covered in a pair of construction gloves. She pulled and yanked, but it wouldn’t come undone. Turning her hip, she adjusted her position to gain better leverage as she used the back of the hammer to try and pull the shingle off.
“I thought I told you not to climb up on that roof.”
She heard Eric’s voice and looked down to see him and Max staring at her from across the grass. They were a good ten yards or so away. She rolled her eyes then gave another yank on the shingle. In a matter of seconds, large black carpenter ants began flowing from the shingles. She screamed as they ran across her legs up and down the roof. Losing her footing she began to slide down the side of the house, nowhere near where the ladder was. In an instant she was hanging off the side of the house.
She gripped the gutter with her gloved hands and stilled her body. It wasn’t that high, and she figured she could drop right into the bushes but instead Max and Eric were yelling orders at her. One glance over her shoulder and she knew she was in big trouble.
* * * *
Max and his brother ran as fast as they could to get to Stacy. Max’s heart was pounding in his chest as he reached her. He was scared out of his mind.
“We’re right here, Stacy, just let go and I will catch you,” Max yelled to her.
“No you won’t,” she replied, and he could see the fear on her face.
“Yes, he will. He will catch you Stacy just let go of the gutter,” Eric ordered.
She shook her head, denying their order.