The phone rang, waking both Howie and Kristina from what was turning out to be a fitful sleep. He was still upset by Sarah’s visit earlier in the day and by Kristina’s revelation that she was going back to work at Tabu. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her to work or do what she loved to do, but she had no idea that Stephen might be in town and that scared him beyond belief. He wasn’t ready to break the news about Sarah or Stephen just yet, either.

Kristina on the other hand was dreaming about her family and how she missed them. Groggily she answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Kris – its John. I need to speak to my brother."

"Who is it?" Howie asked as she handed him the phone.

"John. He sounds upset about something."

Howie took the phone from Kristina and watched as she climbed out of the bed and went to stand in the window, the moonlight casting a pale light across her face. She was so beautiful standing like that in her short baby doll nightgown that he almost forgot John was on the phone.

"John. What’s up?"

"Where’s Kristina now?" John asked.

Alarms went off inside Howie’s head as he glanced back at her. "Right here. Why?"

"Go to a different room so I can tell you what just happened here at the club. I don’t want her to catch on."

"Okay" Howie said as he got out of the bed and pulled on his gray sweats. Slipping out of the room he asked, "What’s going on?"

"I think Stephen was here tonight looking for you."

"Okay, John. Start from the beginning and tell me everything that happened."

Howie listened carefully as John explained all that had taken place, noticing that Kristina had slipped out of the house and toward the beach. When John was finished, Howie calmly said, "Tell Nick to take Fiona with him tonight. I don’t have any reason to believe that Stephen suspects Kris is still alive but as a precaution I would feel better if Fiona didn’t stay in that house. At least not until we figure this thing out."

"Okay, bro. I’ll tell him and I’m also going to hire extra security for the club. You should think about hiring some to keep an eye on the house as well. We don’t know just how much this psycho knows about you."

"I’ll talk to Sarah and see if she can produce a picture for us. We need to get it circulating so people will be on the lookout for him" Howie said as he realized he had lost sight of Kristina.

"Sarah? Who is Sarah?" John asked, baffled.

"Kristina’s best friend. She showed up at the club today."

"Why did she show up at the club after all of this time and why would she have a picture of Stephen?" John asked, now utterly confused.

Not really wanting to have to explain it all, Howie gave in and said, "She’s Stephen’s twin sister."

"You have got to be kidding me!"

"Unfortunately not" Howie said as he began to explain the visit he received from Sarah earlier in the day. As he finished, the doorbell rang, startling him. He looked at the clock on the microwave and said aloud, "Who the hell could that be at this hour?"

"What is it?" John asked.

"The doorbell just rang" Howie said as he looked through the peephole in the front door. "Shit! It’s the police, John. I’ll call you tomorrow."

Opening the door slowly, Howie asked, "May I help you?"

Two officers stood in front of him, both with extremely sober looks upon their face. The taller blonde replied, "Are you Mr. Dorough?"

"Yes" Howie answered.

"I’m Detective Bennett and this is my partner detective Rodgers. I apologize for the late hour but we just received a call from the homicide department in Los Angeles and we need to ask you a few questions."

Cautiously Howie asked, "May I see some identification?"

"Sure" they said in unison as each of them produced their badges and id’s for Howie’s viewing.

Satisfied they were legitimate cops; Howie opened the door a little wider and gestured for them to enter. "Please, come in."

Howie turned on the living room light and sat down on the sofa, anxiously waiting for one of them to tell him what was going on and why they wanted information from him regarding something that had taken place in Los Angeles.

Detective Rodgers pulled out a small notebook and began to flip through it. "Do you know a man by the name of Gerald Mercado?"

"Yes. He is a private investigator that I hired several months ago. Is he okay?"

"When was the last time that you talked to Mr. Mercado?" the detective asked.

Howie ran his hand through his curls, realizing that he had not even had the opportunity to tell Mr. Mercado that Kristina was still alive. "About three weeks ago. I’ve been meaning to call him but I just haven’t gotten around to doing so."

"What type of case was he working on for you, Mr. Dorough?"

"A private matter" Howie sighed, hoping that he would not have to disclose the true reason. "Why? What does all of this have to do with the homicide department and myself?"

"A fisherman found a badly decomposed body last week. DNA confirmed that it was your private investigator. He had been beaten severely and his throat had been cut from ear to ear almost decapitating him. The briefcase found in his car contained a file with your name in it along with some photos of you and a young woman believed to be deceased as well."

Howie’s heart was racing, his stomach turning and lurching at what he knew to be the truth behind Mr. Mercado’s death. "Do you have any suspects?"

"We were hoping that you could help us with that, Mr. Dorough."

Kristina opened the door, surprised to see that the police were sitting in the living room, obviously conducting an interview with Howie. The two detectives stood as she entered.

"What’s going on, ‘D’?" she asked, frightened by the severity of their facial expressions.

"Nothing, baby" Howie said as he made his way to where she was standing. "Go on back to bed and I’ll fill you in after the detectives have gone."

"But..." she started.

"Really, angel. It’s nothing. Just some club business. Go back to bed and I’ll be there soon" he said kissing her on the cheek and ushering her into the bedroom.

As he closed the door and once again joined the detectives, the shorter one asked, "Want to tell us what you really know?"

"Yeah. I guess I have no choice but to tell you everything."

Howie started with Kristina’s return home and explained all that he knew, reminding the officers to call Los Angeles and get them to verify his story. He finished with John’s phone call just minutes before they arrived.

"I love this woman deeply and she has been through hell and back. I’m sure you can understand why I don’t want her to know what is going on right now. It would only upset her," he said.

Both detectives nodded their head in sympathy for his predicament. "We do understand, Mr. Dorough. However, she may know things that could help us. We really do need to speak with her at some point."

Howie knew that Detective Bennett was right and he also knew that Stephen needed to be apprehended as soon as possible. He obviously knew Howie’s identity and that he owned ‘Tabu’. It was just a matter of time before he found out where he lived.

Looking around to make sure that Kristina hadn’t wandered back out into the living room, he leaned in and whispered, "I’m going to propose to her tomorrow night. Can you wait a day or two before questioning her? I promise to bring her to your office the day after tomorrow."

"Friday?"

"Yes. If that is okay with you guys."

Detective Bennett looked to detective Rodgers who nodded his head. "Okay. Friday it is. Here is my card, don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything or if you remember anything that might help in our investigation."

With that being said, the detectives stood and shook Howie’s hand.

"Thank you" Howie smiled.

"You’re welcome, Mr. Dorough. Good luck tomorrow night."

Shutting the door behind him, Howie leaned against the doorframe and ran his hands through his hair, tired and worried. Slowly he made his way to the bedroom, dreading yet another lie to Kristina. He opened the bedroom door expecting to find her awake and waiting for an explanation. Instead, he found her sound asleep beneath the covers. Careful not to wake her, he slipped into the bed and snuggled up against her, loving the way their bodies seem to fit.

Her hair smelled like the ocean and he soon found himself drifting effortlessly into a comfortable slumber, his arms wrapped securely around her.

Chapter 56       Index