Page 6

Chapter 5

Eve

Located in the heart of Dublin’s city centre, the police building was a bustling hive, with officers mostly devoted to their daily tasks. On the ground floor sat the inspectors in the open space, some spending time playing cards, others looking at autopsy reports or statements, while others chatted around the room.

Eve let her eyes wander around the open space below her, sipping her coffee. She was at the end of the wooden staircase leading to the large glass window overlooking the waiting room of police Commander Erik Blondell. The building had seen better days, but Eve had rearranged her office with a feminine touch. That’s right, her office.

The young woman almost did a cheery dance while gulping another bit of her bitter drink, she was glad nobody looked too much into her past, or else her extracurricular activities could become a problem for her day job.

Psychopath by night, devoted personal assistant to the police Commander by day. Damn you’re good, girl.

Her and Erik met while she was in Australia just before the war, saving him and his wife during a storm in the open sea. They had gone their separate ways and after a few more years of travelling around the world, and her involvement during the war in France, Erik had contacted her again to propose a job so he could finish his position as the Commander surrounded by people he trusted, aka Miss Eve. She liked Erik, as far as men and bosses go, he was one of the good ones, and she knew he was taking his job seriously .

Eve almost jumped when she spotted Bonnie looking her way, and she waved quickly before retreating into her office, after all she didn’t want the entire station to think she wasn’t doing much all day while they were working their asses off.

Detectives Andy Murray and Bonnie Callen, The Dynamic Duo, were the top detectives in Dublin, and as far as Eve was concerned “good cops.” She almost felt bad for them though, with all the murders going around - more than half of them her artwork - the Duo was doing whatever they could to keep the gruesome details of the women murders under wraps. She had heard them earlier complaining about the damn journalists, the biggest chain of television had started a contest to find the best nickname for the 11’s killer. For now, Eve’s favourite was “the Saviour.” She thought it was a bit basic, but much better than “the Dick Slicer” like Andy had suggested.

One thing she wasn’t happy about though was that her 11 kills of last weekend, almost overshadowed the two murders of young women that had taken place in recent weeks. Thankfully she could count on the Duo to stay focused, and even though they had been pulled into the 11’s to give a hand to Mark, she could see the file on their desk of the young woman who had been found tortured and sliced last week.

Eve was not scared of Mark, he was fine as a Detective, but she didn’t consider him a big enough threat. But Andy and Bonnie? She’d very much rather not have them on her back.

Busy working on the final details for Erik's travel, a seminar on criminology taking place in London, he was fond of human psychology, Eve was caught off guard when Cyrus Fucking McRory showed up in the door frame.

Shitshitshitshitshit she quite elegantly thought while blaming herself for her inner vulgarity, imagining the disapproving look her mother would give her if she was still around. The man stopped at the threshold, his gaze becoming more piercing, going through her again.

“If that's not luck….” he whispered, a smile on his lips.

“I wouldn't have put it that way.” Eve boiled inside, wondering what he could be doing here. In her office. Hoping he didn’t think it was weird for a young lady to go for a jog at 10:30pm.

While stress mounted with her thoughts going wild about how bad a jail outfit would look on her, Cyrus's friend appeared behind him. The redhead looked like he couldn't believe it either, his eyebrows so high they almost reached the top of his forehead. He gave Cyrus a little push so they could enter the office.

“Ian Rocfield.” The redhead reached out to Eve with his hand, who looked at him with suspicion but appreciated the view. Long-haired, a soft blue-eye look and a lean figure, he was quite the opposite of Cyrus.

After a second of hesitation she held out her hand, remembering her good manners.

“Eve Vallon,” she answered, shaking his hand. Her name had always been a mouthful to say, and it was worse when trying to have an English speaker understand her. She glanced at Cyrus still holding Ian’s hand. “See? This is HOW you say hi to a young lady. Goujat”.

Cyrus scoffed, she kind of hoped he didn’t know the French word she loved to use.

“And this impolite man who shows up and thinks it's normal to harass young women on the street is Cyrus,” Ian added, slipping an unequivocal glance at his friend.

Cyrus simply shrugged and walked towards Erik's door, not even looking at Eve. “I’ll deal with you later, gorgeous.”

His attitude got under Eve’s skin, not only was he rude, but he also dared to disturb the Commander, her friend, in his office, without permission? This must be a crime for sure. But he called you gorgeous . She quickly stood up from behind her desk and rushed to block his path, her heels clicking on the wooden floor. Cyrus looked down at her from all his height with a smirk.

Cyrus

Ian sighed behind him.

“Do you have any idea who I am?” Cyrus asked, grabbing her chin, raising it so her eyes could only look at him. Two beautiful, hazel, angry eyes.

“No. And I don’t give a flying fuck.”

Cyrus, momentarily stunned, released his grip on her chin and she took the opportunity to give him a little slap on the wrist and slip away, making him rub his wrist in annoyance.

“This is the second time you've hit me. It better not become a habit.”

“This is the second time you've ruined my day, so I guess we're even!” The little minx dared to smile at those words.

Cyrus burst out laughing and tried to grab her again, but this time she stood her ground. “Touch me and I will scream, loud! And I can guarantee that your detention will be very, very long!”

He was about to retort—

“Cyrus,” Ian said firmly

“What?” Cyrus turned to him, exasperated.

“Sit. Now. I'm going home tonight and sleeping in my bed with my lovely blondie, and she's right, they won't let you through anyway, you saw the look Andy threw us when we arrived.”

Cyrus looked at him and sighed, he hated Ian's habit of always being right. He went to sit while Eve returned to her desk, looking like she was trying to refrain from sticking her tongue out.

He was trying hard to remember where he knew her from, besides their street adventure. Ian remained silent, turning the pages of an architecture magazine he had picked from the table. Cyrus found it strange and looked at Ian who gave him an innocent look that clearly meant “I know who she is, but I won’t tell you.” Cyrus scoffed at his friend, and returned to watch the assistant's long legs, shameless.

Eve

Erik came out shortly after his appointment with Ser Lois Cragnum, a man notorious among the police, and whom Eve, for her part, found to be more than disgusting. But he was one of Ireland's powers, and above all, much to Eve’s displeasure, Erik's replacement when he would retire in a few weeks. She knew Lois had been known in the past for unglamorous facts, which he had miraculously managed to erase.

Even more, he persisted in meddling in police affairs, he was the one insisting the two recent women murders be looked at separately, refusing to allow the team to notify this as a serial killer.

Refraining an air of disgust, Eve thought about the two murders. Two women between 20 and 30 years old, one light-eyed beautiful blonde, typically Irish, the second, another kind of beauty, her long brown hair and darker eyes. According to the Duo, with the similar sadistic methods applied or close enough, there was no doubt the killer was the same person. You had to be blind or stupid not to conclude it was the work of a serial killer. Lois was not blind, despite his big black bushy eyebrows, so Eve concluded he was just stupid. And those women found tortured and dropped in the garbage like they were meaningless had her blood boiling.

Lois and Erik froze when they saw Cyrus, Lois displaying an expression of hatred and disgust, while Erik’s had more an air of despair.

“Cyrus,” Lois said, simply nodding.

“Asshole,” Cyrus answered, not moving an inch.

Eve stifled a laugh, covering her mouth. Erik shot her one of his infamous disapproving looks, while Cyrus seemed rather proud, before she turned away, pretending to search through the closet behind her. Recovering she turned around as Lois scowled and bristled with discontent.

Cyrus stood, his threatening body towering over Lois, who just walked away, tail between his legs. Leaving Eve disgusted by his submission to the gang leader.

How did he ever make it to Commander?

Erik approached Cyrus. “You’ve got 10 minutes.”

“I wanna talk about the murders.”

Erik shook his head. “Which ones?”

Cyrus gave him a look that clearly meant “Do I look dumb to you?” his arms crossed over his chest; an eyebrow raised.

Erik sighed motioning them to his office.

Eve tried to listen as their voices grew louder, wondering if Cyrus was more interested in the psychopathic pervert killing young women, or her personal artwork? She sure wished it wasn’t the latter, she didn’t want to add the gang leader to her list of things to watch for. She heard Bonnie and Andy talking about his involvement in the investigation, and she was not happy about it.

The three men emerged from the office 10 minutes later, tension still high in the air. Erik ended the meeting whispering to Cyrus, trying to be discreet to avoid Eve’s spied ears, but the young woman had a lot of practice at gossiping and hearing stuff she shouldn’t.

“You know I can't take the risk Cyrus, not seven weeks away from my retirement for God's sake!”

“There will be more murders during those weeks,” Cyrus sighed. “I have more resources than any police station in Ireland to search for this guy, but I need your information! Come on Erik!”

Relief washed over Eve, he was into the psychopath killer, and she couldn’t stop a little cheerleader dance, wriggling on her chair.

Cyrus paused, walking towards Eve, glancing at her legs before slowly turning away. “Not to mention, why do you have different teams on it? It’s obvious that’s the start of a serial killer, even I know that without having all the details, and I’m not that smart.”

Erik sighed, exchanging a look with Eve, both very well aware Lois was the reason why.

“These murders don't concern you Cyrus, please.” Erik shook his head. “A lot of things will change with me leaving, and you should prepare to back off now.”

Cyrus smirked. “Do you think that fat pig scares me? He trembles like a woman in front of me.”

Eve pouted, that was not fair for women.

“And besides. I lied, I know very well why you people are not working that hard on it.” Cyrus gave a pressed look at Erik, who pulled his shoulders back, glancing at Cyrus and Ian.

“I’m not sure what you heard Cyrus, better not believe all the gossips running wild in the station, you know better.”

The giant sniggered, shaking his head, Eve was not that sure what they were talking about, maybe she needed to improve her spy-skills.

“When he’s in power, things will be different. And one of his first goals will be to bring you down, believe me, he’s not being silent about it.” Erik stood tall, trying to sound firm. “You have other things to focus on. Let us take charge of the murders. DON’T get involved in the investigation. Neither this one nor the case of the Saviour. “

Eve nodded in agreement, but Cyrus shook his head, clearly unconvinced. “We'll see.”

Erik quickly walked towards Eve, who was holding his travel documents and briefcase, and she gave him an encouraging smile. She really appreciated Erik, he and his wife were two of the most adorable people she’d ever met. “Ok Cyrus I have to go….”

Cyrus remained still.

“…Maybe I'll take you to the door?”

“No thank you, I have to take care of something with your adorable assistant first.”

“I….”

“It's okay Erik, you're going to miss the plane, I'll take care of it.” Eve smiled.

Her fears from the other night seemed to have vanished as she suddenly remembered her own ability to defend herself against perverts. Now, the only thing was to manage her own behaviour so she could convince Cyrus she was just a cute little fragile woman.

Erik didn’t seem very happy but checking the clock on the wall, he hastened his way towards the exit, throwing a last glance towards Eve before leaving.

Eve turned to Cyrus giving the meanest and firmest look possible. But it didn’t seem to impact the giant that much, as he advanced towards her with his annoying sneer. Ian let out a louder than necessary sigh of exasperation, but it didn’t stop his friend. The giant placed his enormous hands on Eve's desk, and she raised an eyebrow that was both questioning and disdainful. Still no reaction from the giant.

“Do you need something maybe?” she asked .

“Dinner with you would be the perfect way to end this wonderful day,” Cyrus replied, serious.

Seriously?

Ian didn't seem to believe it either, given his expression. “Ok Cyrus, I don't want to see your demise, I'm waiting for you outside!!” he laughed.

Cyrus turned towards his friend, scoffing. “I'm glad to see my best friend doesn't believe in my power of seduction!”

“He's right!” Eve started packing her belongings, hoping it would make it clear that she was leaving as well. “I'd rather go and eat with Lois than with you. At least he doesn't assault poor, single, perfectly innocent women in the street!” Okay girlfriend, slow down . That was a lie, Lois was disgusting, and she would rather fuck Cyrus 100 times over than give 10 seconds of her time to Lois, but still.

“Oh sweetie! I'm not the one here who hit the other,” Cyrus added with a half-dark, half-laughing look.

“You started it!” Eve replied, outraged.

Cyrus scoffed. “Indeed. I find it hard to resist legs like those, not to mention that irresistible little French accent you're trying to hide.” He paused his look darkening. “And believe me, you really don't want to be alone with your soon to be boss.”

What did he mean? Sure Lois didn’t have what could be called an excellent reputation, but it was mostly a cowardly one, though perhaps there was something even darker underneath it all. Which could become quite exciting for her if he turned out to be a rapist or something. Or maybe Cyrus was playing with her, she'd always tended to be too gullible. She sighed.

“All of this to say, no, I'm not going out with you. Not to mention that given YOUR reputation, it would be very bad if I show up in broad daylight on the arm of the big villain McRory.” She rose from her seat intending to gently but firmly redirect Cyrus towards the exit. But he grabbed her hips, drawing her closer to him.

How big are those hands?

Eve bite her lip, thinking about all the nice things they could do to her body.

“Soooo… you do know who I am,” he said with a victorious smile, making Eve's eyes widen in front of her own stupidity. She felt so small and fragile, her body moulded perfectly against his mighty body.

They exchanged a glance for a few seconds, his eyes were not black as she had first believed, but more of a deep blue, like a shade of an angry ocean. They seemed to penetrate her, reading deep within her. Cyrus's hand slipping along her back pulled her out of her stupor, and she tried to free herself. Which wasn't easy.

“Cyrus,” she murmured, looking him straight in the eye. “Let go of me.”

He merely smiled lowering his hand until he reached her buttocks. Shuddering, she tried to free herself in a more convincing manner, but Cyrus caught her firmly under both buttocks. She let out a little scream, as he lifted her, placing her on her desk. The situation was completely out of control, here she was, sitting on her own desk at the police station, being manhandled by one of Ireland's most feared men!

Wake up girlfriend! …Or maybe just close the office blinds and pull down his pants…

Her mind began to stray, imagining the wild love they could make on her desk, especially if his dick was proportional to his hands. But when she saw what Cyrus held in his hand, her favourite pendant, she looked at him angrily.

“How did you find this? It's mine! Give it back to me!!” Snarling, she tried to grab the necklace while pushing Cyrus away with her other hand; but it seemed to have no effect on the giant in front of her.

“Cyrus!!” Ian had his hands on his hips seeming furious, standing in the doorway. “Can I ask what you think you're doing ???”

“I'm negotiating!” Cyrus replied with a smile, continuing to escape Eve's swiping, which seemed to have no effect on him.

“Give it back to me Cyrus! “

“Cyrus for God's sake, just behave yourself!” Ian sighed.

“Tonight at 8:00?” Cyrus turned to Eve.

“You're dreaming!”

“Cyrus, don't force me to intervene,” Ian threatened.

“Oh please!!” Cyrus laughed .

“My necklace!!”

“8pm tonight.” Cyrus grabbed Eve's wrists, pulling them ferociously behind her back. “8pm and I give you back your necklace at the end of the meal in exchange for nothing else.”

She let her breath calm a little, tried to free herself without much conviction, and finally nodded, making a sulky face.

Fiiiine, I’ll go on a date with this sexy man of Neandertal.

“Perfect.”

“You don't have my address.” Eve pouted.

“Oh don't worry, I already have everything I need.”

Eve looked at him uncertain, where had he been able to find her address? She had only just moved in, and she couldn’t help but wonder what else he knew? She hoped he was only referring to silly stuff like her phone number and last name, and not her extracurricular activities.

Cyrus left the room with his eternal smile, joining an exasperated Ian, who glanced a sorry look at Eve before following his friend outside.

Eve shook her head, trying to regain her composure, this man sure knew how to turn her on. This was bad, this was SO bad. She couldn't decide if she hated him, admired him, or wanted him… all options being unreasonable. But he had her pendant hostage, and she wasn’t going to let it go without a fight.

She picked up her belongings, put on her green raincoat — she had thought wearing a green raincoat would make of her a real Irishwoman but she had forgotten that real Irish women never wear jackets, no matter the weather — and descended the stairs leading to the ground floor, where a few of her colleagues were still working, despite the incoming weekend. Eve quickly passed by Johnny Jefferson, nodding with a clenched smile, the minimum effort she could do while still looking natural. He always looked at her with a disgusting libido driven look. That guy’s a pig . She didn’t know where she drew this information from, she just knew it. Her killer instinct had to be useful sometimes.

Taller than average, a prominent belly due to the abuse of beer and the non-abuse of sport, a globular look, luscious lips like those of a woman and a colour far too pink for a man of this age. Jefferson reminded her of the groupers she had previously encountered during her many diving expeditions .

She stopped a little further away to chat with the Duo, greeting Andy and Bonnie, whom she particularly appreciated. They were quite the explosive duet, physically and personality wise. Andy was as blond as Bonnie was brown thanks to Mexican origins. Only her skin colour and her singing accent reminded you of it though. Andy stood at almost 1m90 while she was a mere 1m60, leading some of their colleagues to mock her at first - until she took them down in five seconds flat.

Andy had what people called a bad character, he liked to complain, and he didn’t hide his thoughts about other cops or politicians. The only person he would confide in without hesitation was his partner. Though he seemed to enjoy Eve’s company as well, and right now both seemed to be relieved to find a reason to look away from their file, where Eve caught a quick glimpse at the photos filled with blood.

A shudder took her, maybe she should take care of it herself… but investigating was really not her forte. Give her a name, an address, and a reason and they could talk.

“Hi sweetie,” said Bonnie with a smile, then she sighed closing the file.

“Your turn.” She threw the thin file on Andy’s desk, and without paying attention to the man’s grumbling she grabbed another one.

“Which one is this?” Eve asked, her head slightly tilted to read the information.

“That’s the Dick Slasher!”

Bonnie gave big eyes to Andy, while nodding imperceptibly towards Eve.

“Sorry,” Andy muttered, who didn’t seem that sorry.

“You mean the 11’s? That’s such a crazy story.” The good side of being a pretty little thing with a cute accent was that it was always quite easy to play dumb. And Andy fell right into her trap.

“That’s a fucking complicated one, those witnesses are all crazier than the others, and now freaking Cyrus McRory is looking into it.”

Bonnie sighed, interrupting her grumpy partner, whispering to Eve. “Mark told us as soon as he came back the other day that Cyrus was probably going to get involved… This boy can’t stop himself from meddling in police business.” Sh e stopped and looked at Andy. “That’s why this one here has been a pain in my neck all day, thinking I can’t hear him grumbling.”

Eve chuckled while Andy rolled his eyes.

“You’re grumbling too, you think I don’t hear you swearing in Spanish all fucking day long?”

“I’m grumbling because as usual, perverse politicians are more important to the public than unknown young women tortured and raped to death.”

Eve bit her lip, having the decency to feel bad for one second, she had not planned her killings to shadow the others.

“There’s also this new one,” Andy continued, “missing a dick too. I’m telling you, those are linked. Bonnie found out this morning that the man was known for his ambiguous role during the war, but more importantly he was a friend of at least half of the brothel customers.”

“Well,” Bonnie interrupted, “we can’t be certain that’s the same killer”

“Either that or someone out there thinks slicing dicks off is a great idea.” Andy sniggered avoiding the pen Bonnie threw his way, then came back to his serious self turning to Eve. “What did McRory want from the chief?” He was staring sharply at her, as if he were ready to use any answer to jump straight on Cyrus and finally handcuff him. Everyone at the station knew it was one of his dearest wishes.

Eve smiled faintly. “Nothing special I think… And why does this man have that much power in this country? In Dublin? And in the police station?” she asked gesturing towards the room. Her “what-the-fuck” face was on, eyes wide open and one eyebrow raised, but she didn’t care.

Andy sighed, exchanged a quick glance with Bonnie who shrugged, then looked at Eve with an inquisitive and mysterious air, as if to question if she deserved to be put in the confidence of the greats of this world.

“Because he has everything that can lead a world: money, power, and fear,” Andy explained. “He paid for some of the equipment in the precinct you know, like the gym, the swimming pool… brand-new computers… pay-checks…”

Eve's eyes widened, she knew there was some money story hiding, but a mafioso paying for the police equipment? That was almost sad to hear. No wonder he held power over Erik and Cragnum. Money! Money! Money!

“I heard he is the richest man in this damn country," Andy said, twirling a pen between his fingers. "and the worst part about it is that most of his money is not even illegal now,” he added with regret in his voice.

Eve wasn’t sure she would qualify this as the worst thing ever, but what did she know?

“And, even worse, a large part of the people here would give their lives for him. He knows how to put the poor in his pocket. He was a war hero, and people remember that. " Andy leaned back into his seat "Don't worry about it darling, stay away from him, he likes pretty women,” he added, stirring his pen in her direction. “And two of those pretty women are dead now.”

Cold invaded Eve’s chest, now that was a detail she was not aware of. Did I just agreed to go on a date with a freaking psychopath?

“Andy!” The look Bonnie sent her partner was that of a mother reprimanding her toddler. Andy shrugged his shoulders snickering as Bonnie turned back to Eve, her heart about to beat out of her chest.

“He is not the monster they say he is. And ANYONE with a bit of common sense—” she glanced at Andy who had the good measure to look at the file in front of him “—would know that Cyrus probably has nothing to do with those horrific murders.” She sighed. “Yes, Cyrus is certainly not a very recommendable boy, BUT,” she looked down at her colleague “he is one of the very few people of high influence in this city, whom you CAN trust.”

She turned back to Eve's astonished eyes. “No conspiracy, no political bribes, no human trafficking. Maybe a few police bribes here and there,” she added with a smile while Andy barked, still eyeing his files. “And I think all the cops appreciate the subsidies coming from Cyrus McRory. He also does have better behaviour than many drug dealers OR politicians. Do you know why we're nervous about him meddling in the investigations?”

Eve shook her head, not wanting to interrupt Bonnie while she was on a roll. She was fascinated by her sublime accent, already seeing herself on dream beaches sipping a Pina Colada.

“The neighbourhood where we found the girls, and also the 11's but that’s a different killer…” — You bet it is. — “that’s HIS neighbourhood. If you go there and you cause trouble, you may not last long. ”

“I live there,” Eve mumbled.

“Do you cause trouble?” Andy asked, raising his head from the file he was fake reading.

“Of course not.” We ll, you know, a murder here and there.

Bonnie waved her hand, bringing back Eve’s attention to her. “He’s bound to get involved in everything that happens, even if Erik said no.” She paused, showing a funny face, exchanging a look with Andy. “And that, on the other hand, will certainly not be done in a very legal way. Cyrus is very good at making people disappear. And no one can resist Cyrus McRory.” She blushed a bit but came back to her serious self quickly, giving a suspicious look to Eve, who felt the heavy gaze coming from Andy as well. “Well, it's still better not to hang out with him anyway. He might not be a bad guy, but he is for sure a bad boy.”

Eve no longer knew where to hide, could they read her face and the mixed feelings she had for this man? She always had a thing for bad boys. She hoped her tan would somewhat hide the redness she felt creeping on her cheeks, so she simply nodded, holding back “yes mommy.” They exchanged a few more words, and then she finally left.

She had a date to prepare for, and a reputation as a femme fatal French woman to uphold.

And I do love bad boys.