Cusp of Crazy: Nick Stryker Series, Book One, Shallow End Gals Read online

  Lacey spent five minutes scanning the parking lot before she felt safe enough to leave. Her drive home was uneventful, even pleasant. She caught herself singing along with the radio. She was still basking in the glow of Nick telling her that he loved her.

  She parked her car, walked up her stairs only to find Gary sitting on the floor outside of her door. Lacey stopped. She considered her choices to run back down the stairs or confront him.

  Gary decided for her.

  “Don’t leave. I know I’m not supposed to be here. I just want to tell you one thing.”

  Lacey stared in his eyes. He was bat crazy.

  Gary stood and held out his hands. “I want you to know I love you. I have always loved you. Since the first moment I saw you two years ago.”

  Lacey mind swirled. Two years? She thought they had just accidently met a couple of months ago at the Starbucks.

  Lacey firmly said, “Gary, listen to yourself. You don’t even know me. You need to find someone who will care for you the same way you care for them. You need to leave me alone. I am not interested.”

  Lacey had carefully chosen her words. How much clearer could she be?

  Gary took a step toward her, his arms outreached. “But you do love me. You just don’t realize it yet. You have to give us a chance, Lacey.” He took another step toward her.

  Lacey hoped she remembered the self-defense moves that Nick had taught her. She wasn’t really interested in learning them at the time. She enjoyed the wrestling matches that always followed. She dropped her purse on the hallway floor and took a defensive stance.

  “Gary, you are going to go to jail if you don’t leave right now. I am not interested in dating you. I don’t ever want to see you again.”

  Gary moved quicker toward her. “One kiss. One kiss and I will go.”

  Lacey grabbed one of his wrists and yanked him toward her as she aimed her other elbow at his nose. She heard the cartilage snap. She twisted his arm as she flipped him. Nick had said to use the momentum of the attacker and use every ounce of strength she had on this move. She did. Gary was on the floor of the hall screaming. Lacey sat on his back, still holding his now broken arm high above him. Her knees jabbed into his kidneys.

  Lacey tugged her purse closer, pulled out her phone and dialed 911. She never felt so powerful.

  Nick walked up the steps to Casey’s apartment building and saw Eric at the end of the hall. “Eric. Come here.”

  Eric looked like he was considering running. Nick immediately sensed Eric was hiding something. Eric slowly turned away.

  “Lieutenant, I gave you a direct order.”

  Eric froze and turned around. His facial expression was completely changed from just a moment before. Nick prepared himself for a confrontation. Eric was huge, trained and more than a little mentally unstable. Not a good mix.

  Eric and Nick slowly walked toward each other.

  Nick waited for Eric to salute him. Eric’s eyes finally rested on Nick’s and he reluctantly gave his salute. Nick returned the gesture. There was no way that Nick was going to transport Eric through Chicago traffic without cuffing him.

  Nick looked Eric in the eyes. “I have to transport you to headquarters. For your safety you will be cuffed. Do you understand?”

  Eric began to tremble. His shoulders slumped and rolled forward, his chin began to lower. He looked up with glazed eyes and said, “No, sir.”

  Nick answered, “The rule is that anyone in my car is cuffed. I have to follow the rules.”

  Eric gave Nick’s comment thought and began to straighten up in a more formal position. He put his wrists out in front of him.

  Nick said, “Turn around. We cuff in the back.”

  Eric spoke as he turned around. “We can’t be gone too long. I have to warm up pork chops for dinner.”

  “We’ll get this done as fast as possible, Eric.”

  Nick had to use two sets of cuffs. Eric’s arms were too muscular to pull tightly and Nick wanted him comfortable. Nick rested his hand on Eric’s shoulder as he turned him around. “Are you comfortable?”

  Eric smiled; he had just asked that of Casey.

  He had parked in an open lot nearly a block away. His binoculars brought the faces of Nick and Eric into his car. The heat blasting from his vents fueled his excitement. Nick was forceful, yet respectful, to his prisoner. His movements were precise and strategically efficient. He studied Nick’s face as Nick’s eyes darted from the prisoner, to the car, to the surrounding area. Suddenly Nick focused directly at him. He held his breath and slowly lowered the binoculars. Had Nick seen him? It had excited him to have had that moment. He and Nick, eye to eye. It was electrifying. His mind was swarming with dark shadows lunging forward. No! He wasn’t ready. The dark shadows slipped quietly back into the far crevices of his mind. They were angry, but obedient.

  Tanner debated calling Casey. If something had been wrong when she got home, she would have called him. Surely she was exhausted and needed some sleep, he knew he did. He decided to pick up a sub sandwich at Momma’s, go home and watch some television. He could stand an early night, too.

  Tanner’s phone rang, it was his insurance agent, George. “Well, you were right. The car is totaled. Go pick out a new one and call me when you’re ready to plate it.”

  Tanner asked, “Any chance I can get a Hummer? I hear they can tread water.”

  George chuckled, “No such luck, buddy. While we are on that topic, main office is a little concerned on that Key Man policy. They’re going to drag their feet on approving it.”

  Tanner had expected as much. Casey had insisted that George be made aware of what was going on.

  Tanner asked, “So, if our crazy author takes his time about killing us, we may have coverage, right?”

  “Right. Give it about three months or an arrest, whichever comes first.”

  Tanner exhaled, “Fine. I guess I can’t expect you to insure over ‘crazy’.”

  “Meteorites are more popular in insurance circles. We like low risks and high premiums. Crazy is far too common.”

  Tanner put the rental car in gear and pulled out of the parking garage. George’s words rested heavily on his thoughts. Tanner thought about the endless types of crazy he heard about every day. If crazy is common, doesn’t that make it normal?

  Wayne arrived at the squad room, sat at his desk and watched as Jen flipped through some book and moaned. Occasionally she wrote something down and then looked up to search her computer. Wayne studied the two murder boards.

  Finally, his curiosity got the better of him. “I notice my name is on your murder board as a victim.”

  Jen looked up and chuckled, “Yeah. Obviously premature.”

  “Obviously.” Wayne walked over and sat on the corner of Jen’s desk. He glanced at what was on her screen. Don and Carl’s old case logs had been printed off and sat stacked in front of her. Wayne glanced around the room. Only Sam was there, busily typing something. Wayne leaned down and whispered, “Don claimed to have proof that the author planted the knives in both of those cases.”

  Jen looked up. “Who did he tell?”

  “IA.” Wayne slid off from the desk and said, “I think he figured out who it was.”

  Jen was startled at what Wayne was saying and the fact that he was whispering.

  “Did he think it was someone here?”

  “I don’t know. He called me to meet him. He said he couldn’t come back to the squad room.”

  Jen frowned, “That sounds weird. What did he tell you?”

  “Nothing. When I got there he was dead. Just like it says in the report.”

  Jen wasn’t about to repeat anything that Nick had told her about the Chiefs talk with him or the U.S. District Attorney’s involvement. Wayne could be fishing for information for all she knew.

  Wayne nodded toward the board. “I think my name being up there may be closer to the truth than I want to think. Somebody thinks Don told me something. We have to find this author.”


  Jen glanced at the book. “Wayne, in this book the victims all had their throats cut. A homeless man was found in tunnel city with a knife that had the blood of the victims. Where did the lead come from to go to tunnel city?”

  Wayne asked, “What does the book say?”

  Jen flipped to a page that had a sticky note attached. She read, “Homicide Detective Nelson stood over the steam vent and felt an unnatural force beckon him from below. His instincts told him that his killer stood directly below him. He removed the iron grate and lowered himself down the ladder into the black hole.”

  Wayne chuckled, “Well, there’s your answer. An unnatural force. Go figure.”

  Jen caught a glimpse of Nick leading a cuffed man into an interrogation room. A moment later, Nick came out and walked over. He opened Wayne’s desk drawer and removed a small baggie that he put in his pocket.

  Nick asked, “Anything new from the book?”

  Jen shrugged, “Not much. Wayne has a couple of thoughts. Is that Eric?”

  “Yeah. There’s an observation window to that room if you want.”

  Jen nodded. She loved to watch Nick with people. Nick walked away and Wayne asked, “Mind if I watch, too?” Jen waved him to follow as she walked out of the room.

  After about ten minutes of listening to Nick talk to Eric about Afghanistan, Wayne looked at Jen. “Why isn’t he getting to the point?”

  Jen answered, “Oh, he is. He knows that Eric has some PTSD issues. Notice he brought Eric a 7-Up? No caffeine. Right now he is calculating Eric’s blink responses to different topics.”

  Wayne pulled his head back, “His what?”

  Jen chuckled, “Men average three blinks per minute as a normal rate. The blink response will quicken under stress and noticeably decline in a psychotic state.”

  Jen pointed, “Notice that every time Eric changes his body language that Nick matches it? He wants to form a trust. He’s quite good at this.”

  Wayne was impressed. The more he watched, he realized Nick was inching his chair closer to Eric and starting to tighten his questions. Jen looked at her watch, “Okay, it’s been twenty minutes, he’s going to throw out a punch question.

  Nick reached in his pocket and pulled out the baggie. He opened it and laid the tiny camera on the table. “What is this, Eric?”

  Eric’s blinking immediately increased. Wayne shook his head, “Go figure.”

  Eric looked up at Nick. “It’s a wireless camera.”

  Nick leaned back, “Not just any wireless camera. This camera is very special, because your fingerprint is on it.”

  Eric’s blinking increased and he laid both palms on the table.

  Jen looked at Wayne, “Eric is trying to find stability by holding onto the table. Next, he will lean back, cross his arms or change the subject.”

  Eric did all three.

  Eric asked Nick, “Did you stay in Afghanistan long?”

  Nick answered, “Five tours. The camera, Eric. Don’t you want to know where I found it?”

  Eric stared at Nick’s eyes. Jen noticed Eric’s blink rate had doubled.

  “In the basement where our police officer disappeared.” Nick raised his voice a little, “I have to ask myself, why did Eric lie to me?”

  Eric stopped blinking.

  Wayne’s eyes opened wide. “Uh oh.”

  Eric’s jaw set.

  Nick raised his voice a little more. “You told me that you didn’t know anything about that other building, Eric. You lied.” Nick stood and leaned over the table toward Eric. “If you are willing to lie to me, you’re willing to do worse. Like murder a cop. Did you know he was a cop, Eric?”

  Eric’s face had become elongated. His brows had moved forward and his chin had dropped to his chest. His eyes were unblinking and focused on Nick like lasers. Eric’s neck was beat red and his breathing began to slow.

  Jen felt someone come into the room behind her. It was Jessie.

  Jessie pointed and shouted, “Is that the son of a bitch that killed James? Is it?”

  Jen tried to grab Jessie’s arm as he tore away, left the room and burst through the door to Nick and Eric.

  Jessie pulled his gun, pointed it at Eric and screamed, “Did you do it? Did you kill him?”

  Nick’s chair flew backwards as Nick stepped between Jessie and Eric. In a split second Nick had taken the gun from Jessie and pushed him back against the door, his forearm on Jessie’s throat. Jessie was startled. Eric had rose from his seat and stepped back toward the corner. Wayne pulled open the door and yanked Jessie out. Jessie was screaming as the door slammed shut. “Where’s James? What did you do to him?”

  Nick kicked his chair back up, looked at Eric and said. “Sit.”

  Eric moved back to his chair and sat. He was still stunned at the skill it took for Nick to disarm Jessie so quickly. In all of Eric’s military experience he had never seen anything quite like that. Nick knocked on the window with Jessie’s gun. “Come get this, please.”

  Nick looked back to Eric. He had covered his face with his hands. Nick wouldn’t get anything more. Eric had hidden inside of his mind.

  CHAPTER 14

  Casey felt her body jerk. Her eyes flew open. She couldn’t believe she had actually fallen asleep. A large round clock on the wall read seven o’clock. The iron bars surrounding her now made shadows on the walls from the small light across the room. She couldn’t remember how long ago Eric had left. She had to pee. She quickly used the small camper toilet and crawled back on the cot. The thin blanket was at least long and she was able to wrap herself completely.

  She studied every detail of the room she could see. A brick on the wall had spots of daylight peeking through the surrounding mortar. That must be an outside wall of the building. There were no sounds from outside. Inside, the constant crackling noise from around the corner reminded her of Eric’s ‘army’. Casey did something she hadn’t done for a while. She prayed.

  Nick got a bottle of water from the vending machine before he went back to the squad room. He was angry with Jessie. Just as he reached for the door handle a CSU agent walked up and handed him a report. “That blood pool in your basement is your guy. DNA confirms the blood belongs to James. Sorry, man.”

  Nick took the paper, said thanks, and walked into the squad room. Jessie sat across from Wayne’s desk, elbows on his knees, with his head in his hands. Jen looked up and shook her head. Nick walked over and put his hand on Jessie’s shoulder. “CSU report just confirmed the blood was from James.”

  “Is that our guy?” Jessie’s voice choked with rage.

  Nick pulled a chair to sit across from him. Nick leaned forward and raised his eyebrows, “I have no idea, Jessie. I have next to nothing, just one clue. I can put Eric’s thumb on the camera we found. He could have touched it before it was installed. If there is something more, I’ll find it. You have to trust that I can do this. Stay out of my way.”

  Jessie leaned back and exhaled. He stared at Nick. “I’m sorry man. I haven’t slept, eaten, I’ve looked everywhere…..I’m losing it. I don’t know what to do next.”

  Nick stood. “If I get anything useful, I’ll call you, I promise. You have to be ready to help me when I do get something. Go home. Sleep.”

  Jessie paused for a moment and then stood. “Never been disarmed like that before. You’re going to teach me that!” Jessie turned and left the room.

  Wayne asked Nick, “Now what?”

  Sam volunteered from across the room, “He lets his whack job come back to earth and starts all over again.” Sam laughed and went back to his computer.

  Nick looked at Jen. “Normally, Sam would be right. I think I have pork chops on my side though.”

  Jen looked back at Wayne as she followed Nick from the room.

  Wayne quickly caught up. “Did he say pork chops?”

  Wayne and Jen returned to the observation room to watch Nick. Eric had moved to the corner on the floor. Nick held a seat out for Eric. “Let’s try this again. W
e won’t be bothered this time. We need to get this done, so you can have your pork chops.”

  At the mention of pork chops, Eric became alert, stood and took his seat at the table. Casey would be hungry by now. They had to finish here. Nick had to take him home.

  Eric looked Nick in the eyes. “A guy that used to rent an apartment in that building had me help him attach a camera like that to a nail head. He was afraid to solder it. I told him I knew how.” Eric turned his palms up and thumped the back of his hands on the table. He was done. That was his statement.

  Wayne glanced at Jen. “The guy starts spillin’ his guts when Nick mentions pork chops?”

  Nick asked, “How long ago was that Eric?”

  Eric rubbed his chin and rolled his eyes to the left. Nick could tell Eric was preparing to lie. “I guess it was a couple of years ago. Before the city took over that building.”

  Nick didn’t expect a truthful answer, but asked, “Have you seen people around that building lately?”

  Eric nodded. “That guy that just pulled a gun on me. I saw him there a couple of times unloading boxes through the coal chute. He yelled at me to get lost.” Eric smiled, “Same night that guy got in that cab you’re so interested in.”

  Now Eric was playing games. Nick didn’t appreciate it. “Are you saying that was the man who got in the cab?” Nick had a stern look on his face.

  Eric stammered. “No. It wasn’t him.”

  “Then why say that, Eric? Don’t you want to go home? Don’t you want your pork chops?”

  Eric looked exasperated, “What do you want from me?”

  “I want the truth. I’m disappointed, Eric. I thought I could trust a Lieutenant.”

  Eric hung his head. Nick decided to take him home. He needed more than a thumb print. Eric had provided the only reasonable explanation for his thumbprint to be on that camera. Jessie had given him time to think of it.

  Thursday 9:00 pm