Our Little Nest - 28. Chapter 28

Adam disconnected his call to AJ and stared at the dead men. Jamie stood just behind him. Adam saw both men had bullet wounds in the forehead. Neither had their weapons drawn which meant someone caught them off guard.

“Adam,” Jamie said, his voice above a whisper. Adam turned and saw genuine horror on the young man’s face.

“Jamie,” Adam said, taking a step towards him only for Jamie to step back. “It’s okay,” continued Adam.

“Did you do this?” Jamie demanded.

“What, no.” Adam said, shocked by Jamie’s question.

“Adam, you weren’t yourself.”

“Why would you think I did this?”

“Who else could have?”

“It wasn’t me.”

“Adam, you’d came up in the elevator. You’re tracking blood, look at the floor.”

Adam scanned his surroundings and did see bloody tracks leading from the elevator up the staircase. “Why haven’t he noticed the tracks before?” he wondered.

“Jamie, I swear I didn’t shoot them.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Adam tried to think back to the beginning of his journey to his present position.

“Okay, I was at a party. I spent time with my boyfriend’s father.” Adam paused then continued. “You called me to come over. Patrick wasn’t happy about it.” The words burned into Adam’s chest, wishing he stayed with his lover rather than putting his duty before their relationship again. “I parked in the garage…” his mind went blank. “After that I can’t remember anything until I woke up on your bedroom floor.”

Tears welled in Adam’s eyes as Jamie walked to the stairs and sat down glancing up at Adam.

Adam rubbed his eyes, then comb his hair back with his fingers. He needed to clear his head. Then it hit him, glancing up in the corner of the ceiling he saw his answer.

“Security camera,” he pointed. “Jamie, where is the room the recordings go to?”

“In the office in the hall.”

“Do you want to come with me?”

“What for?”

“The camera will show my movements.”

“But I will have to go pass them.” Jamie meant the dead Lou brothers, causing him to feel sick.

Adam thought of closing the elevator door, but he didn’t want to tamper with the crime scene anymore.

“All right, stay here or go back to your room and lock the door if it’ll make you feel safe. I’ll be right back.”

“But what if it shows you killing them?” Jamie asked, in a panic.

“Then, I’ll call the police and allow them to do their job.”

“But, you weren’t in your right mind,” Jamie cried.

“Two men are dead Jamie, and someone needs to pay for the crime.”

“But…” Again, when Jamie tried to say who was really the cause he lost his voice and the words escaped him.

“It’ll be all right Jamie. I’ll find out the truth and we’ll take it from there.” Adam started to walk away when Jamie called to him.

“Wait, Adam.” Adam looked at him with concern. “I Changed my mind. I want to go with you, but—I don’t want to see them. Not like that.” Jamie wasn’t close to the brothers, but he did remember they were polite to him, and had invited him to play cards with them. Jamie refused, being a brat at the time. But he did remember Yuri going to a few of their games and had enjoyed them.

“I can put my arm around you and block your view with my body. So long as you don’t taser me again.”

“You remember me doing that?”

“I saw it in your hand when I came too.”

“Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be. You did the right thing. Come on, get close to me.”

Jamie allowed Adam’s broad arm to drape across his shoulder and as promised Adam use his upper body to block the sight of the grisly scene.

“Mind your step,” said Adam glancing to the floor where the bloody footprints were. Jamie stepped over the imprint and moved with Adam to the office.

When they enter the room, it was big enough for two people. One, wall length monitor showing several boxes on the screen of the different areas of the penthouse. Adam sat in one of the two chairs in the room while Jamie took the other. Studying the panel and the screen Adam was able to find what he was looking for.

“Was I unconscious long?”

“Only for a minute.”

“Okay, here we go. I took the video back just before you called me.” Adam pressed play and right away the Lou brothers were there talking to each other.

“I thought you said you were alone?”

“I was taking a nap at this time, when I woke up and came down they were gone.”

“Where was Penny?”

“Chen told me she was out with friends or a friend, I can’t remember.”

“If that was the case, why would they both leave you alone?”

“They could have seen something on the cameras where they both had to check it out.”

The picture became distorted and the time slipped forward showing the Lou brother’s gone.

“What the fuck,” said Adam, rewinding the footage.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Part of the recording is missing.” He played it again and the laps repeated. “Okay, that’s weird, let’s just keep watching.”

Adam forward to the time he arrived in the garage. The angle pointed at the elevator. The image of his jeep pulling up. They couldn’t see what he was doing, but he remained in his jeep.

“Why didn’t you get out?” asked Jamie.

“I don’t know. Wait, I remember I was reaching for my gun. Then—nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“I can’t remember. Let’s keep watching.”

After a moment they watched as Adam climb out of his jeep and walk to the elevator. He pulled out his keycard. The doors opened and there were the Lou Brothers already dead. Adam watched as he boarded the elevator oblivious of the heinous act at his feet and used the keycard to close the door.

The elevator door opened. Adam stepped out, walked through the hall towards the steps leaving the bloody footsteps. Jamie came down and hug him. Adam’s mouth fell opened, when he saw himself kissing Jamie, then lift him off his feet and carried him upstairs.

After stopping the recording, Adam sat back, stunned by what he saw.

“How the hell did I not react to that?” Adam turned to Jamie, who sat looking away from the screen but not looking at him. “Jamie, do you know something, anything that can explain what I just saw?”

Jamie shook his head wildly, unable to speak. Adam grabbed his shoulders and made Jamie look at him.

“Jamie, two men are dead, and I think it has to do with WillowMoss. Am I right?”

Jamie only shook his head. Adam shook him to make him lock eyes with him.

“Damnit Jamie, give me a straight answer.”

“I can’t,” Jamie shouted.

“You can’t or won’t?”

“Please Adam, I can’t. I just can’t.” he was near to tears when the lights went out. Out of habit they both looked up. “Adam, what’s going…” Adam cut Jamie short by covering his mouth with his palm and moving close to the man’s face.

“Shh.” Was all Adam said. He removed his palm and went to the door. Jamie started to follow, but Adam urged him with gesture to remain seated. When Adam couldn’t hear anything, he moved back to Jamie getting just close enough to speak softly. Where are the circuit breakers?”

“I, think in the kitchen,” Jamie whispered back. Adam grabbed the younger man’s hand and pulled him to his feet towards the door.

Adam cracked opened the door and peered out. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness and the area seemed to be clear. He turned to Jamie again.

“Hold my hand and stay with me. I’m going to get us to the emergency staircase,” Adam said.

“But why not the elevator to the hotel lobby?” Jamie asked.

“We can’t be sure if it wasn’t tampered with or turned off. The stairs are our safest bet.”

“Okay.” Jamie tightens his grip on Adam’s hand and even grabbed his forearm.

Adam opened the door and pulled Jamie close to his body as he darted for the fire exit. As they moved closer a bullet grazed Adam’s arm as it gets embedded into the door stopping them in their tracks. They turned and saw Penny moving towards them holding a gun.

Adam flinched at his wounded arm grabbing Jamie and moving him towards the elevator while shielding him with his own body.

“Penny,” Jamie shouted. “What are you doing? You shot Adam.”

“I think she knows that,” Adam said, boarding the elevator dragging Jamie who protested.

“What—no Adam, I don’t want to be in here,” Jamie said, seeing the two dead men at their feet. Adam pressed Jamie against the side wall out of gunshot.

“It’s either this or the woman holding a gun,” said Adam, relieved to see his key card still inserted into the control panel. He pressed the button to close the doors just as another shot came hitting the wall just above Chen’s head missing Adam’s leg.

“You’ve become a thorn in my side, detective,” Penny shouted just as the door shut.

“How did I manage to do that?” Adam asked himself.

Jamie waited as the elevator seems to creep downward to the garage. The metallic smell of the blood-filled Jamie’s nostrils.

The ring from the enclosed box didn’t come soon enough as he hid his face against Adam’s chest. When the door opened Adam prevented Jamie from leaving his spot until he was sure Penny or anyone else wasn’t waiting for them.

“Adam what are you doing, let me out,” Jamie cried.

Adam didn’t answer as he scanned the garage seeing no one. He then grabbed Jamie and rushed for his jeep. They managed to reach it just as Penny came through the staircase door. He got Jamie to the passenger side of the jeep and pushed him to the ground.

“Don’t move,” Adam ordered. He opened the door and retrieved his gun from the opened glove compartment. He took off the safety seeing Penny taking aim again. He shot through his window, hitting her in the shoulder, causing her to drop her gun and fall to the ground. Hearing her cries, he moved with caution around the jeep finding her on her back and her gun out of reach.

He moved to her and notice her condition was far worse than he expected. His bullet only grazed her shoulder, but her arm and leg appeared injured as well. Penny looked at him with anguish in her eyes.

“Sending your assistant to WillowMoss was a bad decision. We warned you,” she said through clenched teeth.

“My assistant?” Adam said. “No, Justin didn’t go to that town.”

“Doesn’t matter now. Consequence’s, and I never got to kill him.”

Jamie ran to her side and kneel beside her seeing her leg and arm out of joint.

“Penny,” Jamie said. “Adam do something, she’s in pain.

“I’ll call the EMT, stay with her.” Adam moved away, pulling out his cell phone making a call for an ambulance.

“Hang on Penny, they’ll be here soon,” Jamie said, shaking with worry.

“I never meant to shoot him,” Penny said, between heavy breaths.

“Adam won’t hold it against you Penny, I’ll talk to him.”

“I was trying to shoot you,” Penny said.

Jamie stopped and looked at her.

“What? I don’t…” Penny cut him off.

“You became a problem when you started showing feelings towards Yuri.”

“Yuri?”

“You don’t deserve him. You’re below his station.” Rapid coughing ensued as blood trickled from her mouth. When the coughing stopped, she gave Jamie a look of contempt. Her eyes went glassy and she passed on.

Adam came back and saw Penny’s eyes were frozen open. He leaned down and touched Jamie’s arm who looked at Adam with a look of shock as he rose to his feet.

“Jamie, do you want me to call Yuri?”

“You bitch,” Jamie snapped. “She pretended to like me, but really hated me. All those years and she hated me.”

Adam moved Jamie, who, once filled with worry was now fuming with anger, away from the now deceased Penny Bell.

“Jamie.,” Adam said.

“I bet it was her who tried to have me killed,” Jamie hissed.

“Jamie, you need to calm down.”

“Calm down, calm down? Why should I calm down? She just told me that she always hated me. That I was beneath Yuri’s station.”

“Yes, but she’s gone.”

“The word is dead Adam, she’s dead,” he said. “And far as I’m concerned good riddance.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“The hell I don’t.”

“Jamie, I know you’re mad now…”

“No Adam. I’m mad period.” His intense pause worried Adam, as tears rushed down his face. “How could she!” he shouted.

Adam reached out and stroked the side of the young man’s face, saying nothing.

“I thought… I thought…”

Adam hugged Jamie as he wept.