Did any of them do this? Or am I just being suspicious?
Filled with unease, I greeted and led them to the suite’s living room.
Stark sat down and scanned the area. He was a short guy, barely hit five feet. He had no muscle to speak of, but his strength lay in his head. He always came up with the best strategy and could find a solution out of any dilemma. He also could hack into any computer and take whatever he wanted.
Stark placed his glasses on his face as if he was about to read, and then continued to study the suite. “Why did you pick this place?”
“It’s nice,” I said. “Zola likes nice.”
Stark squinted at the piano. “She should be moved somewhere else. This is too flashy.”
She deserves flashy.
Agitated, I nodded. What was the point of arguing with his opinion, if I’d asked him to come and give it? There was no time to be stuck in my ways. The stalker shot Zola with red paint. There could be no more slipups or mistakes.
I held in my annoyance. “I’ll move her tonight.”
“Where to?” Baptiste asked.
“No.” Stark held up his hand. “Hunter should take her away to a location only he knows while we run around and do the rest.”
“And if he needs help?” Baptiste turned to Stark.
“Then we’ll run to them.”
I turned to Meridian. “Your thoughts?”
The man’s gruff voice came out of his rough face. “I don’t think. I kill. Tell me who to kill, when the time comes.”
I nodded.
Meridian always remained quiet. He had long black hair that covered the huge scar on his right cheek. He had a Native American woman tattooed on his arm who was supposed to be his great-grandmother. Other than that, I assumed he took his heritage seriously since he never really spoke or shared anything.
Baptiste ended my scrutiny. “I caught Stark and Meridian up on everything.”
“Good.” I checked their fingers as if paint would’ve been on the tips.
There was no reason to think they had anything to do with it, but at this point, I got what Stark was saying. No one could be trusted. Everyone had to be suspected, even the men I’d brought on to help.
“What do you want us to do?” Stark put up his glasses and rose.
“Anything more on the sperm bank robberies?” I asked Baptiste.
“Yes. You were right. Someone broke into a clinic the night before Zola’s place was ransacked. They stole 25% of the sperm bank’s specimens.”
I looked at Stark. “Why did he do it?”
Stark shook his head. “Confusion.”
Meridian chose that moment to speak. “Or he’s calling her a whore.”
I was sure my expression showed my thoughts on that because Meridian looked somewhere else. I went back to Stark. “Confusion? Explain.”
“This guy could’ve killed Zola. That’s the truth. He’s had plenty of opportunities.” Stark rose and walked over to the piano, slipping his fingers along the polished surface. “Why hasn’t he killed her all these times?”
“The goal may be something else,” Baptiste chimed in. “He needs something done, and Zola is just the tool to get that done.”
“Interesting point. The stalking doesn’t come off as love, even with the whole mine letters and Brokenhearted signature.” Stark headed to the balcony and examined the doorway. “The elements in each event have been dark, macabre symbolisms for love, but it is not love. The guy’s depressed, that’s for sure.”
I rose and followed Stark onto the balcony. The rest of the men came too.
Stark checked out the ground and sniffed the air. “You’re still smoking?”
“A little bit.” I spotted the tiny bit of ash near a plant and figured that must’ve been his reason for how he knew. “Tell me more about the stalker.”
Stark glanced at the table and then analyzed each chair. “Could I talk to Hunter alone?”
Baptiste rolled his eyes. “I need a break anyway. I’m going to cook up something. Anyone else hungry?”
Meridian nodded and they left.
The balcony door shut behind them.
I turned to Stark. “What’s up?”
Stark didn’t spare any time. “I haven’t been here long, but we need to start thinking of new angles to this situation.”
“Like what?”
“Could this deal with you?” he asked.
I didn’t even want to think of the possibility of my enemies going after Zola. “I’ve taken great care to hide my connection to Zola.”
“That’s true. I didn’t even know about her until this week. I had no idea you had a black sister.” He winked at me. “Not funny?”
“No.”
Stark switched back to serious. “Listen. Can you think of any of your enemies or maybe dissatisfied clients who would’ve known about Zola?”
“None.”
“Maybe they hacked into your communication—”
“I’ve barely talked to Zola in the past few years.”
“Hmmm.”
I sighed. “I’m not saying don’t look further down this path. I want to find this guy fast, so look into anybody who could despise me so much, they’d want to bother Zola. That’s fine. But do it fast, and if you hit a dead end, go back to checking her friends.”