“I did a search on you. In fact, I called Erie County in New York City to see if the records department had a copy of your birth certificate. The only Nick Anders that they knew of had died in 1944 from paralytic polio. He fit your description, though. A Russian immigrant with dark brown hair, about six feet tall. Strange isn’t it?”
“No,” I manage to answer evenly. I try to keep my responses short because Daisy has informed me my accent becomes more prominent when I am . . . tense. “Many immigrants from Russia can be found all around the States.”
“I checked out your girlfriend, Daisy Miller. Her mother was killed years ago by a junkie who was released on parole after only serving a few years. Her dad didn’t take it well. The folks in her town say he locked her away, afraid that he’d lose her as well. He became a recluse until the junkie is shot in the head. Then he up and moves out of his fortress and into the city, in this very building.” He ticks off each incriminating fact and watches me carefully for a response.
My desire is to drive the butt of my gun into his windpipe and wrench his head around until his spinal cord snaps. “My family moves from Russia so that they can live free of the intrusive police who look at everyone with suspicion. Are there so few crimes in this area that you are free to harass innocent citizens?”
Red splashes across his high cheekbones, and I know then that this is no authorized investigation. Regardless, he presses on. “I saw you at the shooting range. You’re very skilled. And afterward? You didn’t come here. You parked your bike outside another building and disappeared.”
“Again, I ask you why you are following me. Perhaps I submit a report to your superior and ask him the question you refuse to answer.”
“You do that and you’ll have more cops than me up your ass. Where’d you get the money to buy this building? How come you have no tenants? If I dig deeper, how many bodies will I find?”
None, because I am a careful man—or I was before Daisy.
The only person who has suffered at my hands since Daisy is Sergei Petrovich, and his body was disposed of in a land far from here, far from the reach of this detective.
“Be careful what holes you poke,” I warn. “There are hidden dangers everywhere.”
He stares while contemplating my threat and then holds up a hand. “I’m going to reach inside my jacket for a card, not a weapon.”
It is good that he has warned me. I accept the whisper-thin card and read the lettering that declares him to be Detective Oliver McFadden with the violent crimes unit. I tuck the card into my jacket pocket. Later I will find out everything there is to know about Detective McFadden, from the restaurants he frequents to the type of underwear he buys.
If he desires to watch me, then I will watch him even more closely.
“If any violent crimes occur that require your services, then I will contact you.”
“Yeah, you do that.”
As he turns away, I call to him softly, “Detective McFadden, I would not endanger a soul on that campus. My beloved attends classes there, and it is my greatest desire that she be safe and happy. There are many reasons why I am not the man you seek.”
He swings back quickly. “I don’t think you are the university shooter, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“I imply nothing. I am responding to your litany of complaints and questions about my existence. Your attention does not frighten me, but do not mistake this. If you endanger Daisy or her father in any way, there will not be enough pieces left of you for even your loved ones to identify.”
At my threat, he gives me a bemused smile. “But you don’t give a rat’s ass about yourself?”
“I can take care of myself, Detective, and anyone that I love.” The chill is seeping into my bones, and I need to go inside and warm myself in the sunshine of Daisy’s love. “Good evening to you.” I nod and open the front door of the building.
He calls out. “I knew it wasn’t you when the forensics reports came in. Not your bullets and—” He pauses until I turn back. “And I know you by now that you don’t miss what you are aiming at.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Remember that and we shall all be more content with our lives.”
Inside I find Daisy staring out the front window. No doubt she could see me and the detective arguing. As I hang up my jacket, I ponder what I should tell her.
When I first met her she was as innocent as a lamb, but her association with me has brought death and darkness into her life. She’s killed a man for me. I can hide nothing from her.
Striding across the room, I draw her into my arms and kiss her with all the passion and gratitude I have inside me. She responds instantly, her tongue chasing mine. The heady scent of her skin invades my senses. Sweeping her into my arms, I carry her to the sofa and lay her down on the soft cushions.