Page 53 of Flame's Fight

DeSaul nods.

Flame looks at Harding. “You were there, but you had little to say.” He comments.

I see Harding redden, but he owns up. “You’re right. And I am sorry. I was handling a personal matter when Billings caught the case. He gave me a summary that skewed toward Younger being a victim. Primarily because he has no priors.”

“Neither do I.” I state, and he nods.

“I know. I didn’t know you were the victim until you entered the room.” Harding says. “I gave Billings the benefit of the doubt because I knew he interviewed Younger and looked into his background before our interview. There was nothing to show he was dangerous.”

“Except that’s not entirely true.” Evie speaks up, drawing the attention of both men. “As you can expect, since Brooke is one of ours, our guys did some digging. The police interviewed Younger in the disappearance of three other women in three separate cities. Each of these women were nurses at the hospitals where he worked. They didn’t find evidence linking him to the crimes, but in each case, other witnesses reported he showed an unhealthy interest in each of the women. He also left his position soon after they questioned him. In each case, he claimed that his ailing parents needed him. Younger grew up in the system after the death of both his parents. He aged out. So he lied about his ailing parents. Instead, he moved to a different city and found another job at another hospital.”

Harding and DeSaul share a look. DeSaul opens his mouth to speak, but Evie raises her hand to stop them so she can continue.

“Not done. The crime scene unit found four sets of unidentified fingerprints on his vessel. I spoke with the head of your lab and requested they compare those fingerprints to those of the missing girls. They matched. The fourth print matched those of another missing girl, one that no one tied to Younger. She was working in Newport at the same time Younger visited there on vacation. We found evidence that he sailed to Newport and docked there for several days, leaving the day of the girl’s disappearance.” Evie concludes.

Harding looks ill while DeSaul looks ready to tear someone’s head off. I’m assuming he’s angry at Evie for overstepping, but he surprises me.

“That son of a bitch.” DeSaul says, clenching his jaw. “There wasn’t a mention of this in Younger’s file. Billings will be on traffic duty, if he’s lucky. I take it you have proof?” He asks. Evie slides a USB drive over to him which he pockets.

DeSaul looks at me. “You could probably sue the department…” He starts, but I shake my head.

“I know not all cops are like Billings. My guess is he assumed I was lying. He screwed up. As long as you take some disciplinary action against him, I’m fine. I just want Younger found and imprisoned so he can’t hurt anyone else.” I swallow when I consider what my fate could have been.

Flame must sense my distress, because he rubs my back with one hand while taking my hand in his other.

“Is that all?” Dante asks them, shifting to rise.

Harding looks reluctant, but he speaks up. “I need Ms. Wagstaffe’s statement on what happened last night. I won’t take up too much more of her time.”

I nod and tell him about being on the phone with Gina when Younger arrived at my apartment. I explain about hiding on the balcony, intending to drop to the balcony below mine if he came outside, but he didn’t.

Harding nods as he writes. “That meshes with what Ms. Devery provided. I spoke with her since she was the one who called it in. Thank you.”

We all rise and return to the common room when Dante’s phone rings. He frowns as he answers.

“Mom?” He listens for a few minutes and I see a series of expressions cross his face. First fury, followed by disbelief, and ending in a smile and a chuckle. “I’ve got the Detective on the case here. I’ll let him know.” He’s still chuckling as he ends the call.

“My mother caught Younger trying to steal her yacht. Her bodyguard has him contained. He’s tied up and ready for pickup.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: FLAME

I bark out a laugh when Dante tells the cops that his mother caught Younger. Their shared looks of stunned disbelief is priceless. We watch Dante lead them out of the office so they can go pick up their prize.

“Let’s go for a ride.” I suggest to Brooke. “I think you could use some wind therapy. We can ride along the coast.”

Brooke beams at me. “Let’s go.” She says, grabbing my hand and dragging me out of Dante’s office. But when we reach the common room, she pauses. “Wait, can you ride?” She asks. “You haven’t ridden since the shooting.”

“You’re right. I feel great. But I don’t want to risk your safety.” I concede. Damn, I was really looking forward to being out on the road again, with my woman wrapped around me.

“We could all go. We can take a picnic.” Reaper suggests walking up with Ashlyn. Ghost and Tanya right behind them.

“Or Axel can take the girls in the SUV while we ride.” Ghost says. “If you have no problems riding and think she can ride back with you, he can bring the SUV back here.”

“I have an idea.” I say. “Let’s take the picnic, but how about we ride to the property behind the clubhouse? We can take the long way to get a quick ride in.” I look at Brooke, who smiles and nods.

“That’s a great idea. I think Carver’s team finished Caitlin’s park. We can also tour Dante and Tally’s home. Theirs is done. Whereas Evie and Chaos’s is close.”

“You’re building homes behind the clubhouse?” Tanya asks.

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