Page 19 of Broken Deeds MC: Second Generation #12

– PAX –

“No one has seen this? Just Della, Ganza, and Austin?” I ask Archer who is standing next to me.

Bee and Lyla are glancing around the room. They both took one glance at the dead body and decided it was enough. Basically, it should be enough, I mean, we do get pictures of the body and crime scene. Though, there’s something about taking in the scene as is.

At first glance the dead body in the closet with a tie wrapped around his neck, strapped to the clothes rod, gives the impression of a suicide. Second glance? Some details are way off.

The bloody scissors at his feet, the puncture wounds in his neck, defensive wounds on his hands, and smeared bloody prints on the floor, wall, and closet.

It could be explained as a tormented soul trying and struggling with different ways to end his life.

In my opinion? It was involuntarily and the man had a little help.

The evidence should point us in the right direction.

Fingerprints, footprints, hairs, fibers, direction of the blood spatter, whatever it might be.

With Della finding the body it’s harder to prove she’s involved because her lawyer would bring up the fact that anything could have caused and explained by her finding the body.

“Correct,” Archer states. “I have a forensic pathologist waiting outside. Austin already took pictures of the scene, and I’d like to talk to him. You?”

“Yeah, Ganza can watch the crime scene while the forensic pathologist comes in. Do we have people to watch Della?” I throw a glance at Samuel’s body. “I don’t want her out of our sight. If she did this? She’s planning an exit strategy and I don’t want anyone else getting hurt.”

Archer gives me a tight nod. “Agreed. A few of our brothers are heading this way, they’ll be here within twenty minutes. There are four police officers outside, two of them can watch her while we wait for the rest to show up.”

“I’ll go get the officers,” Bee says and walks in the direction of the door.

“Want us to come with you guys?” Lyla questions. “Or shall Bee and I check the hotel with the blueprint, starting with the lobby?”

Archer turns to Lyla. “Smart thinking. Take lead on that shit with my old lady while we focus on the murder. Have Bee text me once you have any info or if you two are ready to knock down the wall. We’re gonna knock it out either way but it’s good to have all the data beforehand, saves me the extra paperwork. ”

“You wanted to see me?” Austin asks with Bee standing behind him.

Lyla walks in Bee’s direction and the two of them leave while the forensic pathologist, along with his assistant, enters the room. Ganza gives us a chin lift when we walk out of the room and down the hall for some privacy.

“What do you think?” Archer asks Austin.

Austin is fully inked and muscled. The fucker even shaves his head to show off all of his ink, or maybe it’s a defense mechanism to keep people at a distance. Whatever, appearances mean shit. Those who know him appreciate his direct honesty and know he’s a good man.

“The woman is wearing a mask for the outside world to hide her intelligence. Everything I read about this case makes it very clear Della Hallett is the serial killer we’re looking for.

She tried to play the fucking innocent victim finding her dead employee.

” Austin snorts. “I could see straight through her bullshit. The woman wasn’t scared or shocked, she wants to know details about the case.

Fucking intrigued, that’s what she is, to see if we’re on to her and if she was able to throw us off with Samuel’s death. ”

“What about the crime scene?” Archer asks.

“Samuel Koba didn’t kill himself. He was strangled but the ligature marks don’t add up to the tie around his neck. I’m sure the forensic pathologist will come to the same conclusion. Which means Della will probably hightail out of here first chance she gets.”

Archer checks his phone. “We need more brothers here. Della needs to be transferred to a secure location. All the guests questioned and moved to another hotel so we can turn this place inside out. Fuck, the paperwork is going to be a pain in my ass, but this has to be done thoroughly.”

“Agreed,” Austin and I grunt in sync.

My phone chimes and I take it out to see a message from Lynn.

Glancing at Archer, I tell my prez, “I need a minute to arrange something for my old lady. Your mother is helping me.”

Archer lifts his chin. “We’re gonna head outside to meet the rest, come find us when you’re done.”

“Will do,” I rumble and glance down at my phone.

I shoot Lynn a message back, letting her know I don’t have full privacy but am able to look at pictures if she sends me some. It’s as if she’s fully prepared and the images come in with a steady flow. Leaning against the wall, I thumb through them all until I freeze on one image.

A rose gold band with a very pretty pink stone catches my attention. I read the line Lynn added underneath. The ring holds an intense pink diamond with natural diamonds surrounding it. It’s so damn perfect and captivating, I don’t want to look at any others.

Referring to the picture, I let Lynn know this is the one. Her reply lets me know I made the right choice. After I let Lyla know we were going to get married, I asked Lynn to help me with an engagement or wedding ring. If it was up to me, we’d skip the engagement and head straight for marriage.

I’m already wearing the patch with her name, but with Lyla being pregnant she needs to wait with hers. It’s why the idea of her wearing my ring feels like the best option for now. Lynn assures me she’ll have it ready when we get back to the clubhouse.

Once this is all set and arranged, I walk down the hallway to go outside until I find Archer, Austin, Luke, Louie, Wyatt, Veloz, Bee, and Lyla in the lobby. Veloz is holding a sledgehammer.

“Are we ready to take down the wall?” I guess.

“Yeah,” Archer rumbles. “I just received confirmation the meat pastries didn’t just contain meat from the last body. DNA from two other human sources was found and linked to the case.”

I’ve seen a lot of weird shit in the past while working cases for Broken Deeds, but a cannibal serial killer? A fucking female cannibal serial killer turning her hotel guests unknowingly into cannibals as well? That shit’s a whole new level of insanity.

Wyatt takes out a pair of handcuffs. “Veloz and I are going to give the nice lady a trip to the clubhouse and ask her a few questions.”

“We can switch if you want to question Della instead of knocking down the wall.” Veloz offers me the sledgehammer.

“I’m sure we’ll have more questions once we’re done tearing this place apart,” I tell him.

He nods and takes a step in the direction of the hallway when one of the police officers comes rushing our way.

“She’s gone,” the officer grits. “She was in there with us and then she wasn’t.”

“What the fuck?” I snap and run to the room Della was placed in.

“She was right here,” the other police officer states while he wildly looks around him. “The door was closed and we were talking to one another and she simply vanished.”

“Vanished,” I growl. “No person simply fucking vanishes.”

“There’s a latch in the floor,” Lyla states and strides into the room to point at the corner. “I saw it in the blueprints. There’s a crawlspace under each room leading to the basement.”

I rush to the corner and see the latch. Reaching for it, the trapdoor doesn’t make a sound and is damn easy to lift. No wonder she could easily sneak out of the room if the two officers were having a discussion.

Darkness greets me and I reach for my gun and flashlight.

Meeting Lyla’s gaze I tell her, “Stay with Bee and if Della comes anywhere near you? You fucking shoot her point-blank, okay?”

No hesitation, no fear, no bullshit. My old lady is steady as fuck when she gives me a tight nod.

“Right behind you, brother,” Archer tells me and is palming his own gun. “Stephan, along with Kray and North are making sure the guests stay inside. Depay, Lochlan, Arrow, and Rack are outside to make sure the hotel is on full lockdown. Let’s track this bitch down.”

I aimed the flashlight down and noticed how deep the crawlspace was. Keeping my arms beside my body, I jumped in and aimed my gun as soon as I crouched down. No one in sight. Moving to the side, Archer jumped down and we moved to the large opening on our right.

Lyla was right, the space under the room led to a large basement with multiple hallways.

A chill runs up my spine. “Maybe this is how she got around the hotel and took her victims by surprise at night?”

“Who the fuck knows,” Archer grits. “The bitch could be anywhere by now.”

My prez pulls his phone from his pocket. “No reception. We need more men down here ’cause we ain’t splitting up and going into any small hallway to track a serial killer. We’ll turn this place inside out the safest way possible.”

“Sounds good,” I grunt and head for the stairs.

Two hours later we still haven’t found Della and have turned the place inside out. The hotel guests have all been screened and taken to another hotel. Bee and Lyla have gone through the blueprints and haven’t discovered a secret chamber or anything.

I rub my neck. “She’s long gone by now.”

“Must have slipped out the window when she got to a different room in the back,” Austin pipes in.

“Probably,” Archer grumbles. “She’s not here that’s for fucking sure.”

“Now what?” Lyla questions. “Are we still going to knock down the wall?”

Bee turns to her. “I’ve sent Della’s picture along with a description to law enforcement.

She’s a wanted person and it won’t be easy to stay out of sight.

Not when everything she has is in this hotel.

I’ve done my research and there’s nothing else tied to her name.

I will get an alert if she tries to get money. ”