Case 537

  Continued from Case 16

  Case 537

  By

  Shiralyn J. Lee

  Case #4 in the Paige Bleu Series.

  All characters and names in the Paige Bleu Series are fictitious and any similarities to anyone living or dead are purely coincidental.

  Copyright 2013 Case 537 by Shiralyn J. Lee. Case 537 is the sole property of the author and under no circumstances is this work allowed to be reproduced or sold on any unsolicited site. Please be aware of the piracy laws and the consequences that can occur from committing such a crime.

  This book is written in the lesbian genre and contains lesbian sex and strong language.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter One

  “I love you, Kate,” I whispered as I climbed into bed and snuggled up behind her.

  She stirred from her sleep and in a soft voice she replied, “I love you too, babe.” Wrapping her legs around mine and shoving her backside deeper into the curve of my stomach, she pulled my hand over her body and set it over her breast. I kissed the top of her shoulder and the nape of her neck, just where she likes it.

  “Ooh, baby, you really know how to get my attention,” she murmured, turning over to face me. “What time is it anyway?”

  “Just after midnight.”

  “Where have you been, or should I not be asking you that?”

  I had purposely stayed behind at the bureau, hiding away in my office trying to conceal the truth about Rosa, so that Kate wouldn’t see the shame in my eyes.

  She kissed the top of my head and then brushed my hair away from my face. Tears were streaming down my cheeks and I tried my hardest to hold them back and control my snivelling.

  “Don’t ever leave me, Kate, promise me that you won’t.”

  “Hey, what’s brought this on? I’m not going anywhere, why would I? Come on silly, this isn’t like you. Where’s my brave Paige gone to?” she whispered.

  “I’m right here. I think I must be getting my period or something, fucking hormones.”

  I moved on top of her and began to kiss her soft lips, her warm breath brushed over my face every time that she exhaled. Her body rubbed against mine as my mouth found its way down over her breasts, her ribcage, her stomach, and finally between her thighs. She moved her hips in a rhythmic dance, writhing herself on my tongue. The palms of her hands had found their way to the wall behind her, enabling her to push herself down on me. My pendant dangled from the gold chain around my neck, touching her lightly in places that excited her.

  I put my hands beneath her butt cheeks and lifted her off the sheets a few inches. She buried her head into the pillow, closing her eyes and taking her imagination to a place where no one dares to challenge. She began to rock her body harder as I pleasured her, whilst her mind fulfilled her fantasy. Her breathing turned heavy and slow as she concentrated on me bringing her to orgasm.

  I love you, baby,” she whispered. She threw her hands down over her belly, almost clawing over her ribcage to grab her breasts. She played with her mounds, massaging and squeezing them until finally, she was ready to come.

  ♦♦♦

  Being sleep deprived had put me in a foul mood this morning. Although I could claim that my conscience was clear, I had come pretty close to losing everything that I had built with Kate, over an instant moment of weakness. The scene had replayed over and over again in my mind, punishing me with what ifs.

  I went for a run around my neighborhood. The sun was rising and so was the temperature, bringing with it, the morning commuters. I listened to my music on my iPod as I ran through the park and a small wooded area with a creek, before returning back to the cul-de-sac where I live. I stopped short of my driveway to catch my breath and stretch my limbs before going back into the house. Taking a sip of water from my hip flask, I felt as though someone was watching me. I looked over at Rachel’s house and noticed that she was standing at her window glaring at me with a look that was willing me to die.

  “Are you coming inside, Paige?” Kate called from the front door.

  I went inside the house and stood at my own lounge window, watching her, watching me. “Kate, make sure that you keep the security alarm on when I’m not here.”

  “Sure, babe, I usually do anyway,” she answered, oblivious to my concerns.

  “I think Rachel might be having a nervous breakdown. She constantly watches the house, or rather watches me. Just be careful, ok.”

  I carried on staring at her for a few more minutes.

  It was time to get ready for work, so I quickly showered, dried my hair, dressed, gave Kate our usual parting kiss and headed off to the office.

  Mike had a case waiting for us to investigate. A young woman living in Sunnyvale had fallen from a 5th floor balcony, landing in the street where many people witnessed the horror. It was an apparent suicide. A note explaining her wish to die had been hand written and left in an envelope on a table, for her parents. It expressed her deep depression and strong need to leave everything behind her. Her family and closest friends have all stated that she had never had suicidal tendencies and that her whole outlook on life was positive. She had everything to live for, which had cast suspicions with her death.

  Chapter Two

  We drove to Lawrence Station Road in Sunnyvale. The complex building was surrounded by a concrete wall edged with a flower border, and a gated entrance. Emily showed her ID to the security guard, asking him if he was on duty the day of Victoria Parker’s death. He said that he was on the grounds but wasn’t witness to her falling. He had been called away from his post to investigate a water leak on the other side of the building.

  We proceeded to drive to the underground car park.

  We spoke to the building manager, who was unable to enlighten us with any further information. He gave us a set of keys to gain access to the apartment that Victoria and her roommate Melanie Thomas had rented.

  “Looks like this lot all come from a background of wealth,” she said to me as we walked out into the grounds.

  “Well judging by the looks of this place, I’d say that the rent must be costing each set of parents around $3000 a month.”

  The building had three wings. It had been designed with an outdoor communal swimming pool in the center of the buildings and housed a gym in building one. This was on the ground floor overlooking the pool through a wall of floor to ceiling glass. If anyone had been using one of the three treadmills that faced toward the window, they would have possibly seen her fall from building three, to her death.

  “We need to check to see who was using the gym around the time and if anyone was in the pool area. The first responder was an ambulance driver, Clarke Stevens. He pronounced her dead at the scene and then secured the area until the police arrived,” Emily informed me as she read through the file.

  The spot where she had landed was still cautioned off and a few of the residents were hanging around and talking about it. This was a place where the rich sent their offspring to reside whilst taking their university courses. The average age group was between 19 and 23 in this particular compound, possibly because they were at an age where getting drunk and throwing parties would receive less noise complaints.

  We looked up at the balcony five floors above us. It made me shudder to think that less than 24 hours ago, a young girl with a career in front of her was deciding to end it all. She could have possibly felt overwhelmed by the intensity of the course that she was taking. According to her records, she was an A student, studying to become a lawyer. She was top in her class.

  We asked the group of students who had gathered ar
ound us if they had seen anything unusual. We needed to know about Victoria and why she would have come to the conclusion to kill herself. One of the girls, Kayla Hampton, came forward and told us that Victoria would never have thought to do this.

  “She was in love and she was happy. She was excelling in her studies and her sister had just got engaged. Everything in her life was showing reason for her not to make this decision,” she said.

  “Can you tell us the boyfriend’s name?” I asked her.

  “Yes. It’s Simon Young, he resides in building two. They’ve been together for just over three months. Victoria had had a crush on him ever since he helped her find her way around on her first day here.”

  “The relationship with Simon, were there ever any arguments, public displays to give anyone any cause for doubt about him?” Emily asked her.

  “If they did, then they did it very quietly. Simon didn’t have a bad word to say to her, not that I heard anyway.”

  “Thank you, Kayla. We’ll be in touch if we need any further assistance. Here’s my card, keep it safe. If anything, no matter how big or small it seems to you, please contact me.” I gave a card to each of her friends and told them to spread the word that we were here.

  We ventured up to the apartment taking the elevator to get there. Opening the door we found ourselves stepping into the kitchen. No expense had been spared with the décor. All of the appliances were chrome and fitted into the dark wood cabinetry. Oak flooring led throughout the 1035sq.Ft habitat and built in wall lights softly lit the space, giving it a feeling of elegance with the added romance from the white sheer drapes. The bedroom to the left was Melanie Thomas’s room, Victoria’s roommate, and the one to the right was Victoria’s. Her taste in furnishings was a simple one. A plain white duvet covered the bed, walk in closet, and a dressing table with minimalistic contents on show. Dove blue walls and a light brown fitted carpet came as standard requirements in the building décor rules. A 5x7 photo in a silver frame sat on the bedside table. It was a picture of Victoria and Simon. She had written his name in the bottom left of the picture and hers on the right with a heart drawn in between. They were on a beach. Victoria was sitting in the sand with Simon knelt next to her, looking very affectionate. They looked very much in love. Victoria was a beautiful girl. Her dirty blonde hair, full of curls, met at her waistline. Her lips were parted slightly as if they were just about to break out into a smile and her eyes had been made up with a smokey gray shadow and thick set black liner.

  “Very nice,” Emily commented as she searched through Victoria’s belongings. She picked out expensive undergarments from the dressing table drawer and examined them.

  “I’d like to buy the same set to get Richard excited, maybe even get a set in red lace,” she remarked.

  Although we are extremely serious about our work, being lighthearted makes it all seem easier to do. We had to distance ourselves from the potential victim the best way that we knew how to.

  “Hello, what’s this?” She opened the drawer further and pulled out a long box. It was a pregnancy test and hadn’t been used.

  “I’ll call the pathologist and get a confirmation on that,” I replied.

  “That could be the first possible reason for her taking her own life.” Just as she said that, she spotted a second pregnancy test kit. It was in the garbage bin below the table, stuck between a crumpled tissue and a chocolate bar wrapper. Emily put on a pair of latex gloves and picked it up. This one had been used. A barely visible pink line could be seen.

  “Chances are, this is hers.” I bagged and tagged it. “The first person we need to talk to is Simon Young and I also need a copy of the suicide note.”

  “I’m already on it.”

  Our first interview was with Melanie Thomas. She was now residing in building one with Stephanie Dickson, a fellow classmate. I questioned her in the apartment.

  “When was the last time that you saw Victoria?”

  “The day before she died. She seemed excited about something and was getting ready to meet with Simon.” She clasped her hands over her face, crying hard into her palms.

  “I know this is difficult for you, Melanie, but I must ask you, do you believe that Victoria had any intension of killing herself just hours after that?”

  “No, definitely not. She wouldn’t do such a terrible thing.” She sniffled. Stephanie fetched a box of tissues and offered it to her.

  “You say that she was excited about something, do you know what that was?”

  “She didn’t say. She came out from her bedroom and announced that she had some big news but wanted to talk to Simon first.”

  “And did she talk to Simon?”

  “I don’t know. That was the last conversation that I had with her. I left immediately afterwards to meet with some friends. If I knew that anything like this was going to happen, I would have stayed with her. I don’t believe for one minute that she took her own life, not Victoria.”

  “It seems as though Victoria was a popular, well liked girl around here.”

  “Yes, she has…had such a positive nature about her. She was a very helpful person who only ever had good things to say about others.”

  “What is your opinion on Simon Young, did you have any concerns about their relationship?”

  “They were good together. I know they hadn’t been seeing each other for long, but they seemed to be like old souls.”

  “One last question. Do you know of anyone who would want to harm Victoria?”

  “I’ve only known her for three months. If, and I mean a big if, if she had any enemies, I certainly hadn’t been made aware of them.”

  “Thank you, Melanie. We’ll be in touch if we need any further assistance from you.”

  ♦♦♦

  “Ok, I have a copy of the suicide note,” Emily informed me, reading her email from Richard. “I have come to a final decision in my life. As an unexpected incident has crossed my path, I feel as though I have no choice but to end it all now. Mom, dad, I’m so sorry if I have caused you pain. Please forgive me. Victoria.”

  “A little evasive, I’d say,” Emily commented.

  We managed to track down Simon outside. He was sat on a lounger by the pool. His head hung low and his shoulders dropped.

  “Guilty or innocent?” Emily asked as we approached him from behind.

  “Everything seems to point away from him. His reputation up until now has been flawless. If Victoria’s pregnancy test was positive and she’d told him that he was about to become a father…”

  “That’s if it was his,” she interrupted.

  “Well that could be a possible motive for him to have ended her life. I don’t buy the suicide note at all. When she left Melanie she was excited and happy. Even if Simon had told her that he wanted nothing to do with the baby…”

  “If there was one,” she corrected me again.

  “I just find it hard to believe that she would have made a decision that quickly to end her life.”

  We stood in front of him.

  “Simon Young? I’m agent Swanson and this is agent Bleu. We’re here to ask you a few questions.”

  He looked up at us. His eyes were red from crying, the corners of his mouth curled downwards and his chin quivering uncontrollably. “She didn’t kill herself,” he sobbed. He lowered his head back down and began to thump his forehead in disbelief.

  “We need to ask you some questions, Simon. Is there somewhere private that you’d prefer to go?” I asked him.

  “You can ask me here. This is where I last saw her. She looked beautiful in her cream lace dress, almost like a Greek goddess.”

  “Can you tell me what you talked about?” I asked him sympathetically and sat down beside him on another lounger.

  “She had something that she wanted to tell me. She texted me to meet her here. I can’t stop thinking about the smile on her face. I’m sorry, I just can’t believe that she’s gone. I’m not sure what it was that she wanted to talk to me about. Whe
n we sat here she saw someone that she recognized and told me that she needed to deal with something. I don’t who she was talking about, I couldn’t tell because the poolside was pretty packed with students.”

  “Didn’t she come back to you?”

  “No. I waited for over an hour, I must have sent her three or four text messages asking her when she was coming back but she didn’t respond to any of them.”

  “I have to ask you a very personal question, but was your relationship with Victoria a sexual one?”

  “What? I don’t see how that’s relevant to her death.”

  “Quite the opposite, in fact. The question still needs to be answered,” Emily told him.

  “Yes. But we made love. It wasn’t just sex with her. I loved her and she loved me. That’s why I can’t accept that she would do something like this.”

  “So she didn’t get to tell you anything important, nothing at all?” I asked him, looking directly into his eyes for any nervous twitches.

  “No, she didn’t. Do you know something that I don’t?” His eyes widened and the tears suddenly came to a halt. “Just exactly what are you saying?”

  “I think that will be all the questioning for now, Simon.” I handed him my card and told him that we would be in touch soon.

  “I suspect that you’re thinking he’s innocent,” Emily said whilst we walked back to the car.

  “He looked me directly in the eyes. He doesn’t know about her pregnancy, I’m sure of that. Now we need to pay a visit to her parents.”

  Chapter Three

  We took a jet down to Orange County, where Victoria’s parents lived. Park Avenue was an area where the wealthy congregated in real estate. The Parkers house was a typical 4 bedroom, 2 garage property. It was an extremely charming home. Painted pale blue and surrounded by a white picket fence, it was just a matter of minutes away from Dana Point harbor.

  Sympathetic neighbors and friends had left bouquets of flowers and letters offering their condolences, along the bottom of the fence.