Page 21 of Long Way Down

“Oh. Maybe they use a bucket.”

Ivy scoffed. A cabinet stood beneath the rope, and she squatted down to pull the doors open.

“I don’t think we should mess with stuff,” Melissa said. Now that her curiosity was sated, worry was creeping back in.

“Shut up. Wait outside if you…whoa.”

“What?” Melissa hesitated, and when she didn’t get an answer, sidestepped over until she could see down over Ivy’s shoulder into the cabinet. She saw bottles. Lots and lots of bottles.

Ivy took one by the neck and pulled it out; turned it so light shone on the amber liquid within. It looked like the stuff Daddy poured into a plastic cup and drank in front of the Braves game on his days off, but there was no label.

“What is that?” Melissa asked.

There was a grin in Ivy’s voice when she said, “Fun.”

~*~

Lana’s ex-boyfriend, Jason, worked at a sporting goods store. Tall, with a swimmer’s build and large, square hands with long fingers, his too-cheerful greeting immediately set Melissa’s teeth on edge. He was clean-cut, and handsome, and his work polo had been carefully pressed and tucked in, but something about him triggered alarm bells in the back of her mind. As if he sensed it, Contreras tilted his head in offering, and took the lead.

“Whoa,” Jason said when they flashed their badges. “Whatever it is, I swear I didn’t do it.” His laugh was loud, his manner unworried. “What can I help you with, Detectives?”

When Contreras explained, as delicately as possible, that Lana had been attacked – and he used that word specifically, in case Jason needed to stumble ass-backward into incriminating himself – Jason burst into tears. Big, wet, noisy, gulping sobs that shook his shoulders, and led Contreras to put a hand on his shoulder and steer him toward the back of the store and away from the curious and concerned looks of customers.

“What’s going on?” a female employee asked, and Melissa showed her badge.

“It’s fine. Just some routine questions. You wanna watch the register for him?”

The girl frowned. “Is Jason in some kinda trouble? Did he do something?”

Hm. Melissa checked her tag – it read Heather – and said, “Are you expecting him to be in trouble?”

The girl’s eyes widened. “Uh…no. Uh…”

“What’s Jason like as a coworker? He polite? Respectful? Or is he kinda in your face?”

Heather darted a look over Melissa’s shoulder toward the back of the aisle where Contreras had taken him.

“Here.” Melissa offered one of her cards. “If you think of anything, or just wanna talk, give me a call.”

Heather pressed her lips together, nodded, and took the card.

Which didn’t bode well for Jason.

When Melissa joined them beneath a display of baseball gloves, Contreras had offered over a handkerchief and Jason was mopping his red face with it, hiccupping, broad shoulders heaving. Melissa caught Contreras’s gaze and earned a single arched brow. She nodded, equally suspicious, and said, “How you holding up, Jason?”

He sniffed and cleared his throat, eyes as red as his cheeks, shiny with tears. “I can’t believe it. Attacked?Lana?” He swabbed his face with the now-sodden handkerchief again. “How? When? Where?Whoattacked her?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out, bud,” Contreras said, and Melissa thought she was hearing his Dad Voice up close and personal.

Jason shook his head. “I knew it. Iknewsomething like this would happen. We argued about it, but she wouldn’t believe me.”

“You argued about it?” Melissa asked, and something in her tone caused his head to lift sharply. He blinked as he sought her face, and then some of the flush drained out of his. “I wanted her to be more careful. Taking night classes, catching the bus home after ten, by herself. Sometimes she’d cut through alleys on her way home. I begged her to let me meet her on campus and make sure she got home safely every night. But.” His lip trembled and he wiped his nose. “She said I was being too protective. That I was smothering her.”

“Lana was attacked at home,” Melissa said, deadpan, and watched him pale further. “He was already in her apartment, waiting for her.”

Jason sucked in a breath. “He – he was?”

“Yeah,” Contreras said, a little softer, like he hated having to tell him. “Got the drop on her.”