Shadows and Grays: Chapter 19

 

The bus hissed to a stop and Emma stepped out onto the sidewalk.  The gym was just down the street, conveniently tucked downtown for the office workers in the nearby buildings.  She pushed open the door, then stepped up to the desk to sign in and get a locker key.  Once inside the locker room, she checked her phone; the Exchange’s Livewire hack showed her that Mikel Weber had signed in about ten minutes earlier.  Her backpack went into a locker, her workout clothes were on under her track suit.  From there she went out onto the floor and then to the elevated track that overlooked the workout areas.  It would give her a good view of the facility and an opportunity to spot her target.

She was on her second lap when she spotted him; an athletic, blonde, middle aged man in close fitting workout gear.  He was doing arm curls at one of the stations, a rather bland expression on his face.  It was time for her to make an appearance.

Emma went down to the floor level and stepped up to the leg press.  She knew she would be in Weber’s line of sight but she was careful to not acknowledge his presence.  She set her weight load, and wiped down the machine. Then she closed her eyes and took a breath, unzipped the top of her track suit and slipped it off her shoulders, leaving her in her black sports bra.  Immediately she felt the gaze of a dozen sets of eyes on her, but she ignored them as she adjusted the music in her earbuds.  As she glanced at one of the mirrors along the wall, Weber’s stare was almost palpable.  She steadied herself, sat down on the bench, and eased into her workout.

She moved efficiently from machine to machine, economic as well as graceful in her movements.  The exercises felt good and they were a pleasant change from her typical regimen.  As nice as the workout was though, Emma couldn’t lose track of the reason she was here.  She knew that Weber typically left at five o’clock, so she kept an eye on the clock.  Her timing had to be perfect.  She finished her circuit quickly, giving herself enough time for a quick shower.  From the doorway of the locker room, she watched for Weber and when she saw him walking toward the exit, she made her move.          

Emma made a mad dash for the door, careened into the edge and ricocheted into Mikel Weber.  “Ooof-” She lost her balance and her backpack slid off her shoulder onto the ground, spilling its contents.  “Oh, I’m so sorry.  I just have to catch my bus.  I didn’t mean to-” She stooped over to collect her things.  Of course, Mikel Weber was taking in the view.

            Weber smiled and bent over to help.  “Quite alright, no harm done, Miss…..?”

            “Lampert,” Emma replied, “Ginny Lampert.”  She looked up as the bus rumbled past.  “Dammit.”  She bit her lip.

            “Are you alright?” he asked.

            She sighed, “I’m fine, I mean...I was going to meet my friend at the library.  Now I’m going to be late.”

            “Oh, please,” Weber said gallantly, “let me have my driver drop you off.”

            “No, I couldn’t let you do that.”

            “I insist.” He flashed a smile.  “It’s not every day that I can help a very beautiful damsel in distress.”

            She smiled and laughed, “Thank you, kind sir.”

            “Call me Mikel, Mikel Weber.”

            “Well then, thank you, Mikel.”

            He gave a short nod of his head and said, “Give me a moment to summon my car, Ginny.  It will be just a minute.”

            Emma smiled, and then gestured at the Starbucks next door.  “I’m just going to dash over there and get an iced coffee.  Would you like anything?”  Weber shook his head and she walked quickly to the shop.  She smiled to herself as she watched Weber on his phone.  So far, so good, she thought to herself, I’ve got him hooked.  Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm and spun her around.

            “Emma! What’s going on here?”

            Dumbfounded, she stared at the face of Detective Donovan. “Shit!  Have you been following me?” She shook her arm loose from his grip and hissed, “Look, I’m busy here. Leave me alone!”

            Donovan shot back, “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing here, Emma.  But that guy is a very bad man.  I don’t think you should get mixed up with him.”

            “I’m fine, I know what I’m doing.” She glanced over her shoulder. Dammit, she thought, Weber’s car is coming.  “I gotta go.  You need to get out of here, Detective.” She spun around and walked quickly to the waiting car. 

            Weber was standing by the open door of the sedan.  He stared curiously at the detective standing on the sidewalk.  He turned his gaze toward Emma, “Is everything alright?”  She looked back at the detective and shook her head.

            “Some guy said he knew me and wouldn’t leave me alone,” she sighed heavily.  “I’ll be okay.”  She climbed in to the car and closed the door.  The car started rolling and she leaned back into the seat.  “Thank you so much, this is really nice.  I hate being late to meet my friend.”

            He patted her leg reassuringly, “We’ll be there in just a few minutes.”  Weber cocked his head to the side and said, “You’re a very lovely girl, you know.”  He lightly placed a finger on her chin and tilted her face in the sunlight.  “Has anyone told you that you should be a model?”

            “Me?? Nooo, I’m nowhere pretty enough…”  She blushed and self-consciously pushed some loose hairs back into place.

            He softly brushed her hair with his fingertips, “Oh, but you are, my dear.  You’re just glowing!  You’re so young and so very pretty!”  He paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.  Then he said, “I would love to take some portraits of you at my studio.  I could pick you up at your home; then at my studio, my assistant could give you a little make-up and help you pick out some nice outfits for you to wear, yes?”

            “Oh I don’t know…”

            The car was pulling up to the library.  “Here’s my name and number,” he said, pulling a business card from his jacket.  “I have to go out of town in a few days.  I’d love to see you before I go.  Please think it over and give me a call.”  He extended the card with a warm smile.

            As the car stopped, Emma reached over and took the card.  “I’ll think about it,” she smiled, “and thank you again for the ride.  It was very nice of you, especially since I crashed into you at the gym.”  The driver came around and opened the door for Emma.  She got out and turned to wave goodbye.

“Auf Wiedersehen,” Weber said and gave her a sly grin, “That means ‘until we meet again,’ Ginny.  I hope to hear from you soon.”  He leaned back and motioned for the driver to close the door.  Emma watched silently as the car pulled away.  She gave an involuntary shiver as she turned to go into the library. 

“God I need a shower.”

 

Shadows and Grays: Chapter 18

 

            Whenever a Certified Express Package was issued, Emma could be assured that the Exchange had done all the background research to validate the package.  She looked through the file and saw that Mikel Weber certainly deserved this request for termination.  He was using his position at the Consulate to conceal an immoral lifestyle, especially when it came to teenaged girls.  And apparently, Hannah Talbot had been furnishing him with a steady supply of product.

            Step one for delivering the CEP required Emma to make contact. The client had requested that Weber be exposed for his misdeeds, not simply terminated.  However, there was something about this package that gave her pause.  The Manager had mentioned that someone close to Hannah had figured out that Weber was a catalyst for her bad behavior.  Emma sat and thought that over.  There were only a couple of people that might have figured out that particular connection and the Manager had said it was a ‘he.’  Not that it mattered, but Emma had an uneasy feeling about it.

            She shook her head and returned to the problem at hand.  Mikel Weber appeared to thrive on consistency.  She noted that he had an apartment downtown, close to the Riverwalk.  He woke at 6:00am and would be out his door thirty minutes later for a run along the river.  He would make his way back to his apartment, where his driver would pick him up for the drive to the Consulate at 8:30.  After a stop at the nearby coffee shop, he would be at his office no later than 8:50.  At 4:00pm, he would be in his car which would make its way to his gym.  There, he would work out for an hour then leave to eat at one of several restaurants, depending on the day.  He kept a fairly regular schedule that would make it easy for her to drop into his life. 

 

Shadows and Grays: Chapter 17

 

            Donovan pulled up to the scene and slowly got out of his car.  There was debris scattered across the pavement and the scorched remains of a car wedged underneath the end of a tractor-trailer rig.  He spotted the medical examiner and made his way over. 

“Well, what brings you here detective?” asked Bradbury.  “This isn’t a homicide, just a rather unfortunate vehicle accident.  Not your usual setting.”

Donovan sighed and ran his hand through his hair.  “Yeah, I know.  But I heard that these were some kids from Lincoln, so I had to come over.”

“Oh?” Then it dawned on him.  “Ah, the Talbot case.”  He looked puzzled.  “I don’t see any connection, well, other than these boys being on the same lacrosse team as Mr. Davies. A rather unfortunate coincidence, I’m afraid.”

The detective muttered underneath his breath, “Too many damn coincidences if you ask me…”  He peered into the car, “So what happened here Doc?”

“It’s my guess these young men were drowning their sorrows over the demise of their teammate,” Bradbury gestured to the beer cans and liquor bottles strewn on the floorboards.  “I’ll have to do toxicology of course.”  He pointed at the roadway, “No skid marks.  A fairly severe impact and rather intense fire.  Thankfully, I doubt these boys suffered at all.”

Donovan nodded grimly, “Yeah that’s good.”  He rubbed his head, Was it too much of a coincidence that these three boys had been enforcers for Hannah Talbot?

 

Shadows and Grays: Chapter 16

 

            Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door.  Two men in black overalls were standing on her porch.  One of them was holding a computer tablet, “The Exchange sent us.”

            Emma nodded and said, “3-5-4.”

            He checked his tablet.  “Verified.”  He looked up at her and said, “What can we do for you?”

            She led him to the kitchen and the three bodies lying there.  His face registered a momentary look of surprise, “Impressive,” he murmured.  Then he asked, “Is it alright if we pull our van into your garage?  That way we won’t draw any attention.”

            “That’s fine,” she replied.  “It’s right through that door.”  He nodded and tossed his keys to his assistant.  He stepped over the bodies and went to open the garage door.

            “Is there any particular way you want this handled?” he asked.

            “It has to be a way that won’t be suspicious.  There’s a detective nosing around.”

            “It will be handled with the utmost discretion.  Engineering has an idea that should work perfectly for this.”  The assistant came in from the garage, set a box down on the counter, and lifted out a cup.  He handed it to Emma saying, “Samurai chai tea, courtesy of the Manager.”   

=

            The next day, as Emma was getting ready for school, the early morning news shows were all covering the untimely deaths of three Lincoln High students.  It appeared that alcohol and speed were factors as the car they were in crashed into the back of a semi and caught fire.

Shadows and Grays: Chapter 15

 

            It was midnight when Emma’s bedside light blinked on, then off, and then did it again.  She called out sleepily, “What is it, Cerberus?”

            Her smart speaker replied, “Intruder alert. Zone 2.”  That meant the back door.

            It couldn’t be the detective, could it? she thought to herself.  She shook herself awake, quickly slipped out of bed and pulled on the lounge pants that were on her chair.  Her twin knives were next, under her camisole and sheathed against the small of her back. The sound of glass breaking at the back door let her know she was out of time. She would take the fight to the trespasser.

            She made her way silently through the darkened house, down the stairs, then through the living room to the back of the house.  She had developed a habit of walking through her house without any lights on.  She liked to think it saved money on her electric bill as well as sharpened her senses in the dark.  There were small hints to give her a sense of distance; the glow from the DVR, the readout from the digital clock on the microwave, the ready light from the coffee maker…but something was blocking the light from the coffee maker.

            Something, or someone, was in her kitchen.

            Her breathing slowed as she checked for answers.  Was it a professional, or the detective, or someone else? Probably not a professional hit, since she was still alive. It didn’t feel like Donovan, it wasn’t like him, was it?  It probably wasn’t a hard target with body armor, no one with night vision either.  Probably someone not expecting a person as experienced as herself, but they probably thought she was just a young school girl fumbling in the dark.  Her hand slid to the small of her back, her fingertips resting on one of the blades sheathed against her skin.

            A shadow passed in front of the window.  She was relieved as she measured the silhouette of the intruder; too slender to be the detective.  Suddenly, a thin red beam of light danced through the dark.  “Seriously?” Emma muttered to herself.  “This guy watches way too many movies…”  She hugged the wall and melted into the shadow of a bookcase.  Footsteps slapped against the floor, the laser probed the dark.  She sprang from her hiding place and with the flat side of her knife, directed the beam back into the eyes of the gunman.

            “Shit!” He covered his eyes and in that moment, Emma was upon him, her knives crossing across his throat, killing him instantly.  His body thudded to the floor, the gun sliding across the tile.  A voice hissed from the dining room, “Bobby, is that you? Are you okay?”

            Dammit, she thought to herself, there’s someone else.  Her knives returned to their holders as she made her way to the counter to pull open a drawer.  She saw a figure dart behind the kitchen island across the room.

            A butter knife struck the wall and clattered to the floor, a fork soon followed.  A voice called out, “Emma, you think that throwing your silverware at me is gonna make me stop?”  He laughed and stood up.  A spoon bounced off his chest.

            “Cerberus,” she said calmly, “turn on the kitchen lights.” 

He saw her calm expression before he realized that was happening.  “Found you,” she said softly and whipped a knife from its hiding place on her back.  There was a short slip of air as the knife flew across the room and embedded itself in his throat.

            He blinked in surprise as his knees buckled, and his breath bubbled from the wound in his neck.  His body slid to the floor as she came to stand over him.

            “Gotcha.”

            Just then a red dot lit up her chest. “Well fuck Emma, you took out my two buddies here.  I had no idea you were going to be such a bad-ass bitch to kill.”  A figure emerged from the shadows of the dining room and Emma suddenly realized why she thought she had recognized the other two attackers.

            “Well hello, Skip…Tell me, just how many lacrosse players does it take to make the brains needed to break into my house?”

            “Fuck you Emma.  Bobby thought we could all take you and have some fun, but it looks like all it’s just gonna be me.”  Skip sneered and motioned with his gun, “Have a seat right there, baby.  I’d hate to have to mess up that hot little body of yours with a bunch of holes just because you don’t want to behave.”

            She made her way to the kitchen table and pulled out a chair.  She sat on the edge, and her feet were under her, ready to spring forward if she had the chance.  The gun never wavered though, but she wanted to be ready.  “Skip, what’s going on here?”  She allowed her voice to sound a little shaky.

            He glanced at the two bodies lying on the floor. “I can’t believe you fucking killed those two.  How’d you do that?”  He pulled out the chair next to Emma and sat down.  “Did you do Todd and Hannah too?  That damn Todd was a total pussy and he didn’t deserve Hannah. But I don’t think he had the balls to shoot himself or Hannah neither.  And Hannah, why the fuck did you have to do Hannah?  I mean, I know she could be a bitch sometimes, and she really hated you, but damn, a little catfight coulda solved that couldn’t it?”  Emma looked at him blankly, and Skip shook his head.       

            “She was a fine piece of ass though.”  He gave Emma a sideways glance.  “Not gonna lie, Emma, Imma hate to mess up a fine thing like you, but I gotta have my revenge.  So watcha say, baby? Wanna have some fun before I kill you?”

            Emma slowly shook her head.  “It isn’t going to be like that, Skip.”

“Oh?” he said, looking down at her chest and licking his lips.  “I got a gun.  What’s it gonna be like then?”

            “We both know that we each want to win here.”  She smiled thinly.  “But there is one difference.  You’re sitting there thinking about how you’re going to toy with me, hurt me a little maybe… before you…”  She leaned forward and spoke softly, “…before you rape me and kill me.”

            He leered at her, “Yah? So?”

            “See, I’m not thinking all that.  I’m just gonna fucking kill you right now.”

            His eyes blinked with surprise as she whipped her last remaining knife from its sheath and drove it into his neck.  He fell away from the table, staggering as he tore the knife from his neck, before he collapsed to the ground.

            “Oooooh, bad move.  You shoulda left that in to block the hole in your jugular. It would’ve given you a little more time. Not that it matters.”  She watched his body spasm as the blood pooled underneath his head.  Then she bent down to whisper in his ear, “Looks like I win.”

 

It was all over in a matter of minutes.

 

            Emma looked around at the bodies in the kitchen and shakily sat down at her table.  “Cerebus, call Exchange.”  A few moments later, a voice echoed from the speaker.

“Exchange.”

She responded, “3-5-4”

“Verified. Authenticate.”

“Zulu, Echo, November.”

“Verified,” the voice replied.  “What can I do for you?”

Emma’s voice was strained but calm. “I need a cleaner.”

There was a pause from the Exchange.  “That was quick work-”

She interrupted the voice, “No, not the package.  Something else.”

 “You’re not on the board for any other work,” said the voice.  “Unauthorized sanctions are not to be taken lightly.  You’re going to have to submit a report and your status will be reviewed.”

“I understand.”

The voice on the other side continued, “Can you give me the circumstances surrounding this incident?”

She fought off the post-adrenaline shakes, “I had a number of intruders in my home and I was forced to defend myself.”

“Are you injured?  Do you need medical attention?  Do you need an extraction?”

 “I’m good, uninjured, and my cover is intact.  The danger has passed and I can remain in place.”

“Affirmative.” There was the sound of clicking computer keys before the voice came back.  “The cleaner will be en route and should arrive shortly.  Good luck, and the Manager is looking forward to your report.  Is there anything else that you need?”

“I think a hot shower and a nice cup of tea would be nice.”

There was a dry laugh on the other end, “I don’t think hot showers are on the services list, Emma.”

“Of course.”  She smiled thinly to herself.  “3-5-4 out.”

“End call.”

 

Shadows and Grays: Chapter 14

 

            Later that day there was a knock on Emma’s door.  “Ms. Couteau? May I come in?”

“Detective Donovan!  What’s going on? I thought the case was closed.”  She held the door open for him to come in.

He wiped his feet and remained standing in the entry hall.  He cleared his throat.  “Officially, the case IS closed, but I’m trying to tie up some loose ends and I’m hoping that you can help me.”

She looked puzzled.  “I don’t see how…”

He looked her straight in the eye, “Tell me what you were doing at Hannah Talbot’s house the night she was killed.”

Emma blinked and then returned his stare. “What are you talking about?”

“There was a doorbell cam, Emma.  I saw you on video.  You rang the doorbell and went in.  A couple of minutes later, Todd showed up.”

She shook her head.  “That’s impossible.  I was at home.  I can’t have been in a video.”

He ran his hand through his hair, exasperated. “Look, I saw the video of you arriving at Hannah’s house the night she was killed, I know I did.  And now you’re not on it.”  She looked perplexed, so Donovan continued, “I watched the doorbell video, you were on it.  Then a minute later, when I showed it to my captain, you were gone.”

“That doesn’t make any sense…”

“I know what I saw, I just can’t explain it.”  Clearly frustrated, he jammed his hands into his pockets and started pacing back and forth in the hallway.  He stopped in front of her.  “Just who ARE you and what the hell is going on here, Emma?”

She backed away from him.  “Um, detective?  You’re kinda creeping me out here…”

“Oh good god, Emma.  I’m a cop, you don’t have to be afraid of me unless you did something wrong.”  He looked at her sharply, “You didn’t do anything wrong, did you?”

Her eyes grew wide.  “Of course not!  I don’t know why you keep thinking that I did something.”

He shook his head vigorously.  “I don’t know what you did, or even who you are.  I just know that something’s not right.”  He turned to leave, and then turned back around as he opened the door.  “I’m going to find out what this is all about, Emma.  I’ll be watching you.”  With that, Detective Donovan strode out the door.

She closed the door behind him and leaned against it.  “Oh great, that’s just great…”

 

Shadows and Grays: Part Four: Chapter 13

 

            Emma was into her weekend yoga set when her phone rang.  She gazed at her cell and inhaled sharply as she checked who the caller was.  She exhaled slowly, blowing her breath through her mouth, and then picked up the phone.

            “3-5-4,” she answered.

            “Verified,” a cheery voice responded.  “This is Operations.  Authenticate, please.”

            Emma smiled and wondered how the Exchange had this happy sounding woman handling assignments.  She recited the authorization code, “Romeo, Echo, Delta.”

            “Verified,” said the caller.  She continued, “I have a Certified Express Package for you.  Secure documentation with details will be sent to you directly.”  She paused for a moment.  “Please stand by for the Manager.”  Emma sat up a little straighter.  It was a little unusual for the Manager to speak directly to ANYONE.  The voice of Operations announced, “Go ahead, Sir.”

            “Good morning, Emma,” the Manager began.  “Let me get right into this.  We were approached with a contract request and as we were doing a background check into the package, we found a connection to you.  Not directly, but enough of a connection that it made us take a deeper dive into this one.”

            He cleared his throat.  “Hannah Talbot. One of your classmates.  Supposed good girl gone bad.  Someone blamed one of her acquaintances for her amoral behavior and subsequent death, so he wants that person to be taken care of.  The target has diplomatic immunity, so the client wants him removed with extreme prejudice.  Engineering has come up with a workable solution and it’s detailed in the documentation.  Any questions?”

As soon as Emma had heard it was a Certified Express Package, her mind began racing.  A CEP meant she had been selected specifically for the task and it had to be done quickly.  “Time frame?”  She reached over and powered up her laptop.

“Five days.  We can slow him down if he decides to run, but he seems complacent and unsuspecting.”

Emma began to look over the files.  “Okay, it’s good.”

“By the way,” the Manager added.  “When we did the deep dive on Hannah Talbot, we found some video of you on her porch cam.  We’ll amend that stream, but it might not be done before this afternoon.  If it comes up, stall for time and deny.”

“Always looking out for me, thank you, sir,” she replied.

“Of course.  I’m sending you back to Ops.  Manager out.”

The happy voice of Operations came back on the line.  “Righty-o!  Are you all good there? Do you have everything you need?”

“I’m good.  I have the files. I just need to finish my yoga.”

“Well, Namaste then,” the voice on the other end said.

Emma smiled, “Thank you.  3-5-4 out.”

“End call!”

Emma put her phone down and returned to her spot on her mat.  She closed her eyes, but before she resumed her routine, she reflected on the cheerful voice of Operations.  It was nice to start from a bright, happy place before the grim work of her assignment, she thought to herself.  She shook her head to clear her thoughts, and sought the calm before the storm.

 

Shadows and Grays: Chapter 12

A few hours later, Donovan sat in front of his computer monitor, dumfounded as he watched a replay of Emma Couteau arriving at the house of Hannah Talbot on the night she was murdered.  As much as she denied it, he now had the proof that she was more involved than just being an innocent victim of a teenage crush. 

Admittedly, it was almost anticlimactic to see Todd Davies appear in the video a few minutes afterwards.  Seeing him enter the house with a gun certainly added to the conclusion that had been made about the murder, but Emma’s presence in the video was a bit problematic.  Donovan was turning this information around in his head when the captain walked up to his desk.

“Donovan-” Captain Gonzalez began.

“Captain!  I want to show you something.  Look at this.”  The detective clicked on ‘play’ and turned his laptop around for the captain to see.

The captain stared at the screen and watched.  “We closed this case, Donovan,” he said as the video ended. “I wanted to talk to you about that.”

“But captain, what about the Couteau girl?” he spun the laptop around to replay the video.  He pointed at the screen, but all that played was Todd Davies showing up with his gun.  “No wait, before that.” Donovan went back a few more minutes in the video, and then looked uncomprehendingly at his computer. 

Emma wasn’t there.

Captain Gonzalez shook his head. “Yeah, about that Couteau family.  And the Talbots, too.  We’re done.” He raised his hand to quiet the detective’s protests.  “When someone above my paygrade says we’re done, Donovan, we’re done.  The investigation’s closed.”

“But captain,” Donovan began, “the Couteau girl is clearly involved some-.”

Gonzalez cut him off. “No.  I was ordered to stop looking into this, Donovan.  So now I’m ordering you. Stop it, shut it down.” He looked at his detective.  “Oh hell, Donovan.  Take the rest of day, you need a break. Come in tomorrow with a fresh head on your shoulders.”  He shook his head. “Seeing things on video that aren’t there.”  He turned and walked away.

Donovan sat back in his chair, sighed heavily, and stared at his computer.  He replayed the video, checking the time stamps to no avail.  He knew what he had seen, but somehow, from one moment to the next, Emma had disappeared.  He closed his laptop and left the office.  Despite what the captain had said, Donovan wasn’t ready to let things go.  He was determined to find out what was going on.

  

Shadows and Grays: Chapter 11

 

            Frustrated and confused, Donovan returned to the station to think things over.  Officially, the cases were closed, but he just wasn’t ready to put things to rest.  There was something unsettling about Emma Couteau.  He decided to start with Emma’s parents.  He dug around and uncovered that Émile and Marie Couteau had their own medical practice and traveled the world helping out in impoverished countries.  Donovan found all that very noble but it didn’t satisfy his interest in Emma’s involvement in the cases. 

A few more searches yielded little information.  Apparently they had purchased the house in Stone Oak back in December and had left for Nigeria in January.  There was a legal firm that oversaw the bills and upkeep of the house.  He assumed they would also take care of any of Emma’s needs as well.  He called the law office and left a message for them to contact him.  This seemed like a dead end.  Maybe Emma had nothing to do with this other than being the unknowing center of a lopsided love triangle.

            Was it really just a simple case (or not so simple case actually), of teenage jealousy and revenge?  He decided to look into Hannah next.  Digital forensics had uncovered all kinds of information on her cell phone.  “Damn,” he muttered to himself, “quite the busy girl…”

            Like most high school girls, Hannah was into her social media.  Her cell was packed with pictures and texts.  Not only was Emma’s picture there, but Hannah had left messages with Peter Joshua that unquestionably tied her to attempted murder.  Donovan shook his head.  This wasn’t just teenage jealousy; Hannah had been full of homicidal rage. As he dug further into the details from Hannah’s cell, he discovered just how much she wasn’t the perfect young woman that many people thought she was.

            First and foremost, she had hired Peter Joshua to murder Emma. That was definitely a bit overdramatic.  Not only that, but it appeared that she had been running Lincoln High much like a minor-league Mafia boss. Hannah was involved in an amazing web of actual criminal behavior.  Blackmail, extortion, pandering, and intimidation were used for money, power, and favors.  She had been using several of Lincoln’s athletes as soldiers, and several high school girls as, well, income in her enterprises.  Apparently, she recruited them by blackmail, intimidation, or handing out favors of her own.  Hannah seemed to have been a very efficient capo but had not been a very exclusive girlfriend.

Donovan sat back in his chair in amazement.  The extent of her criminal enterprise was staggering.  The report that forensics had compiled listed scores of victims and perpetrators; students, teachers, members of the business community. As he looked through the list, a few names began to stand out.  Forensics had crossed-referenced the names as much as possible, making analysis a bit easier.  Todd Davies was at the top of the list, of course.  Then there were the names of her friends from school. Next, there were the calls to Peter Joshua from the past few weeks.  But there was one other name that kept coming up, a Mikel Weber. The name didn’t ring a bell and after checking the cross reference, Donovan just became more puzzled.  Weber was a special envoy to the German consulate.  Why was there so much communication between the two of them?  The detective ran his hand through his hair.  The more he delved into this case, the more questions he seemed to come up with.

He sighed and moved on to study Hannah’s murder. Here again, the actions that were taken seemed rather extreme for the situation.  Donovan could see how Todd might want to break up with Hannah and date Emma instead, but murder was a bit harsh.  He looked over their texts; nothing gave an indication of the events to come.  He sat back, puzzled.  What lead up to that night?  He absentmindedly picked up the stack of crime scene photos and flipped through them.  The photographer had been very thorough, even including pictures where fingerprints had been taken.  He stopped at one picture and stared at it… he was missing something.  He looked closer and furrowed his brow; it was just an ordinary picture of the front doorbell.  Suddenly it hit him and he grabbed his phone.

“Hi, Katie? This is Kyle Donovan over at SAPD. I’m going to need a warrant to look at some video from a doorbell cam.”

 

Shadows and Grays: Part Three: Chapter 10

 

            “-and the picture that Joshua guy had?” Donovan exclaimed, “It came from Hannah Talbot’s phone.  I mean, what the hell is going on here Emma? What do you know about all this?”

            Emma looked at him blankly.  “Detective Donovan, I have no idea what’s going on.  I’m just feeling really creeped out about all this.  Some dead guy had my picture that Hannah Talbot gave him?  And Todd Davies had pics of me all over his closet?”  She tilted her head to one side.  “That’s some weird-ass shit, detective.”

            “Were you and Todd-” Donovan began.

            “Oh hell no,” she shook her head vigorously.  “Like never. One, not my type. Two, I’d never take another girl’s man.  Not that he was a man, but still. Like no.”

            Donovan raised his hands in defense, “Okay, okay, I got it.”  She looked skeptical, so he continued.  “Look, I’m just trying to make sense of this.  Hannah gave some guy your picture, and I don’t know why.  Private investigator or something?  Seems a little extreme. Maybe she knew about Todd’s little shrine to you in his closet and was pissed?  But then Todd killed that guy.  Did Todd know about Hannah’s plan with Joshua, whatever that plan was? And why did Todd kill Hannah?  Did he want to get her out of the way so he could date you?  That’s a bit over the top too.”  He ran his hand through his hair.  “There are just too many dots to connect and in the middle of all this is you.”

            “Do you think I-” she retorted.

            “I don’t know, Emma. That’s why I had to ask.”

            “I sure as hell don’t know what’s going on Detective, but as soon as you find out, let me know, would you?” she said angrily.

            He looked at her and sighed unhappily, “I sure will Emma, I sure will.”

 

Shadows and Grays: Chapter 9

 

            It was that picture from her first day of school that ended up in the hands of Detective Donovan, the picture that had been given to the hitman from RedList.  She had to wait till dark for the police and news crews to leave, and when they finally did, she slipped out of her house to make her way to the home of one Hannah Talbot.

            Emma rang the doorbell and when the door opened, she pushed her way in past Hannah’s shocked face.    “Emma!” she stammered, “What are you doing here?”

            “What the fuck, Hannah, there was a hitman in front of my house!”  She turned toward Hannah.  “He had my picture, the one you took the first day of school.  You gave a hitman my picture!  What the fuck did I ever do to you?”

            “It’s not like that…”

“Then what IS it? You put out a freakin’ contract out on me because you think I want to be Prom Queen or something?? For fuck’s sake Hannah, I don’t even LIKE prom!”

            “Nooo!  God, Emma.” Hannah was getting even more upset. “Todd said you were cute.”

            Emma threw her hands up into the air.  “You wanted me dead because your boyfriend thinks I’m cute??”

            “Dammit, Emma,” she screamed, stomping her way up the stairs to her bedroom.  “He called out your name when I was going down on him!”

            “WHAT??? No! - Ewwwww.”  Emma stormed up the stairs after her.  “For fuck’s sake, Hannah, you just need to get a hold of yourself.  Just because your boyfriend says a name doesn’t mean you have to kill someone!”

            Hannah whipped around, fury filled her face.  “You don’t understand, I-”

            There was a soft snap and a red bloom appeared in the middle of Hannah’s forehead.  She managed a small “Oh!” before collapsing to the floor. 

            Emma spun around and saw the muzzle of a pistol emerge from the hallway, followed by a hand and then the familiar face of a young man.  “Todd?? What are you doing?”

            “I… I was afraid she was going to hurt you. I wanted to protect you, like when I protected you from that guy in the car who was watching you in your window.”

            “That was you?” She watched Todd lower the gun to his side.  Emma slowly moved toward him and put her hand on his.

            “Mhm.” He lowered his eyes shyly.

            “Thank you Todd,” she said to him softly.  “That was sweet.  But I really don’t need your protection.” With that, she whipped his gun hand up and shot him under the chin.

 

Shadows and Grays: Part Two: Chapter 8

 

As soon as Detective Donovan had appeared on her doorstep that first day when that man had been killed across the street and mentioned the name Peter Joshua, Emma knew her life had just become much more complicated.  She took the policeman’s card, and as soon as he disappeared from view, Emma stepped inside and pulled out her phone. She quickly tapped in a number and waited.

“Exchange,” a voice said.

Emma responded, “3-5-4”

“Verified. Authenticate.”

“Zulu, Echo, November.”

“Verified,” the voice replied.  “What can I do for you?”

“Query.  Peter Joshua.”

“Context?”

Emma answered, “Contract.”

“Target?”

She hesitated.  “…Emma Couteau…”

The voice answered back, “I don’t understand.”

Emma paused, “I think someone put a contract out on me.”

A quick response, “Are you okay? Are you in any immediate danger?”

“I’m good,” she answered.  “I knew someone was watching me and I was going to investigate, but someone else neutralized the watcher before I could act.”

“I have information about your query. He’s RedList. And a contract was taken out on you. It will take some time to get particulars about the contract.”

“Damn! I had a feeling.”  Emma shook her head.  “RedList loves those movie aliases.  I had nothing to do with this.  I need to let the Manager know-“

The voice on the other end interrupted her, “The Manager has been made aware, and your movements were tracked and your alibi verified.”

“Ah…of course.”

“The Manager knows you won’t need backup at your location, but as a formality, offers all of the resources of the Exchange.  We will investigate at our end and let RedList know of this situation.  Is there anything else that you need?”

Emma smiled to herself.  The Exchange was so damn efficient. “Can someone write my English paper?” she asked.

There was a low chuckle, “We can’t protect you from your homework, Emma.” 

            She laughed.  “Of course.  3-5-4 out.”

            “End call.”

            She sat back in her chair and stared out the window.  An uneasy feeling came over her as she turned the information over in her head.  The Exchange had verified what she had suspected when she heard the victim’s name, that it was a RedList contract; but the picture that had been in his possession took her by complete surprise.  It gave her a clue as to who had initiated the contract.

=

            Emma recalled her first day at school.  It was her first lunch period at the new school and she was contemplating her lunch choices.  She was mentally counting the change in her purse when she sensed someone walking up to her.  It was the Cool Girl.

            “I’d definitely stay away from the pizza… but the chicken wrap is a good choice.”  She reached out and grabbed two wraps and put one on Emma’s tray.  “My name’s Hannah, by the way.” She waved off Emma’s attempts to pull money from her purse.  “Consider this a ‘Welcome-to-Lincoln-High’ present.”  She smiled, her blue eyes sparkling.  “You can pay me back later...”

            Emma managed a quick, “I’m Emma-” before Hannah continued to prattle on. Emma had noticed Hannah and her squad before the school day started.  It was apparent that they were the Cool Clique from the way the crowds parted as they walked in, Hannah at the front, her minions trailing behind.  Underclassmen averted their eyes and scurried out of their way. Girls seemed envious, the boys were desirous.  Emma, on the other hand, had rolled her eyes at the spectacle of slender long haired blondes all dressed alike in preppy skirts and tops.  But now, here was Hannah, the coolest of the Cool Girls, talking at her.

            “My boyfriend Todd noticed you this morning,” Hannah continued. “He’s right; you wouldn’t look half bad with a little makeover.”  Emma stared at her incredulously but she didn’t seem to notice.  “Anyway, since you’re new, if you need anything, let me know.”

            Emma decided to just smile politely.  “So you’re like the unofficial greeter here?”

            Hannah gave a little laugh and flipped her hair. “Well, no.  But you never know when you might want or need something here at Lincoln.  I’ll help you out, then maybe you can help me out with something later.”

            “A little quid quo pro?” Emma asked.

            Hannah looked confused for a moment, “Yeah, whatever.  Not like I was good in Spanish or anything…” Her expression brightened.  “I DID get an A though.” Her eyes sought out a teacher across the room.  She leaned over to Emma, “There’s Mr. Thompson, the Spanish teacher.” She tossed her hair back and gave a wave to the teacher and then laughed as he turned red and walked away.  “I did a little ‘extra credit work’ after school one day.”

            Emma’s stomach churned as she realized what Hannah was talking about.  Hannah read her expression and said, “Oh, don’t be so naïve.  Everyone can be bought,” she smirked.  She pulled out her phone and checked her makeup and hair.  “Because everyone WANTS something, or NEEDS something…and sometimes…it’s because I HAVE something…”  She turned her phone toward Emma and she heard the shutter click.  “There we go, Emma’s first day,” Hannah tapped on her phone and hit send.  Several people pulled out their phones and looked toward the two girls.  “Now maybe you can have some friends.”