First on Ray's to-do list was a cruise by Vanessa Allen's apartment. He suspected she'd hidden her car somewhere out of sight. He wanted to ask Vanessa about what it was Devlin had to blackmail her over. As long as he'd been investigating crime he still didn't understand why people did the things they did.
"Do you think Vanessa Allen is guilty, Ray?" Fraser asked out of the blue.
"I don't know but she's acting like she is." The detective answered. Rain had begun to drizzle just enough to make the windshield blurry.
"How did you get Peter to come down to the precinct, I thought the two of you still had a beef?" From the way Fraser turned to look out the window, Ray knew the fight wasn't over.
"I appealed to his good nature." That made the detective laugh out loud. "What's funny about that, Peter may be self-centered, vain, thoughtless, egotistical, and shallow, but he isn't heartless, Ray." The mountie laid out his cousin's faults without reservation.
"You wouldn't be the least bit bitter or jealous either." The detective quickly glanced at his friend, trying to judge his reaction.
"Jealous, that's preposterous, what does Peter have to be jealous of?" Fraser gestured as if to wave Ray's claim away.
"He's not Superman dressed as a Canadian Mountie for Halloween like you are, but he's certainly got a way with the ladies, he's good a parties. He likes to show himself off and for whatever reason, people like that sort of thing, that confidence I guess." Ray shrugged.
"Peter has always had a knack for striking up conversation with anyone." Ben had to admit he envied the way his cousin could find something to talk about with anyone, especially women. Speaking to an attractive woman on a professional basis was easy but when it got beyond the weather Benton was in over his head. Nothing seemed to ruffle Peter. He seemed to be at his best with a pretty girl nearby.
Fraser thought about the differences between him and his cousin as they took the elevator to Vanessa Allen's fourth floor apartment. Virginia Apartments had been a bright, new building after the baby boom. Most of the residents living in the red brick building were working class people or had retired.
"401, here we are." Ray referred to the gold numbering on the door. Not expecting anyone to answer, he knocked lazily. "Vanessa Allen, police, open up please." The detective almost fell over when the door opened abruptly. A wide eyed Vanessa looked from the Chicago detective to the Canadian mountie in confusion. When she'd thought of the police knocking on her door, coming to get her it never played out like this. The street clothes wearing detective fit but the big, red mountie threw the nightmare for a loop.
"Yes, what do you want?" She answered tersely.
"Ms. Allen, you boss, Mr. Anderson, seems to think you're being blackmailed." Ray started off in a rather loud voice. Vanessa's eyes darted back to the front room behind her.
"Quieten down, please, let's talk about this somewhere else." She whispered as she stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her.
"Mr. Anderson seems genuinely concerned about you, Ms. Allen." Fraser added, studying her reaction.
"He would be, stupid, old man's a softie." Vanessa leaned against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest. Even in a relaxed posture she stood taller than Ray.
"Who's blackmailing you, is it Anthony Devlin?" The detective tried to stare up at her menacingly but couldn't quite pull it off.
"Devlin," She sighed tiredly. "yes, he has pictures of a girl I played ball with dead. She started taunting me, she had a real hate on for me. I don't know why. Anyway, she told those girls from the opposing teams about me being a scholarship student and they gave me hell on the court. I had an attitude problem back then. Being the tallest girl in school isn't easy, all the boys are a head shorter and the girls can be catty. By the time I got to middle school I'd quit trying to fit in with the girls my age and began playing sports. A lot of the girls were jealous because I'd play basketball with their boyfriends. I didn't want their boyfriends, I just wanted someone to play a game of hoops with. With good grades and some luck, I got into UK. The teasing and bitchiness only got worse, I was good, better than a lot of the other girls 'cause they were afraid of getting really physical, of getting hurt. I got a reputation for being a brute. Well, the rest is history, you've read my arrest record." Vanessa looked beyond either cop, her memory playing before her on the opposite wall.
"When did Devlin approach you, Ms. Allen?" Ray didn't want to hear her troubles, he wanted to wrap this case up and send Peter back to where ever.
"Devlin Devlin tried to sell me some a three carat diamond ring about six or seven months ago. I knew immediately it wasn't genuine and I told him about it and called the cops. He said he'd get even with me, called me a few choice names and left the store. I didn't tell Mr. Anderson about it, I didn't want to cause trouble. About three months ago Devlin met me at my car. He showed me pictures of that girl and said he'd be in contact with me and that if I told anyone he'd call the cops on me and tell my fiance." Vanessa's hands began to shake as she spoke of Anthony Devlin.
"Why didn't you inform the authorities, Ms. Allen?" Fraser wondered, his hand moving round and round in his hands.
"I chicken out, I didn't want to tell my fiance, Marcus, he doesn't know about what happened in Kentucky." Tears fell from the woman's eyes.
"It would be best if he heard what happened from you, Ms. Allen." Fraser pulled a clean handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her.
"Thank you. You're right, I just thought I could put it all behind me and move on with Marcus." Vanessa dried her eyes and handed Fraser back his hanky. "If you'll come in, I guess now's as good a time as any to tell him, he's in my apartment." She took a deep, shuddering breath before straightening herself and walking down the hall.
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"Detective Huey, is this really necessary?" Peter asked as he sat drinking his third cup of coffee. Francesca had made sure he was comfortable. The vivacious, Civilian Aide passed by as much as she could muster without seeming obvious. Peter tried not to encourage her but it was difficult when Ray and Ben weren't there to keep an eye on him and she was so, entirely cute. Welsh took care of chaperoning Frannie, assigning her the task of reorganizing his files in the cabinet in his office. She could see Peter through the blinds but at least she wouldn't be underfoot.
"Detective Vecchio wanted your statement, Mr. Gloss." Huey responded noncommittally. Max whined, he'd been sitting on the cold, tile floor for two hours without a break.
"I have to take Max here for a walk if you don't mind, then I'll be back." Peter motioned for Randy to start toward the door. Huey thought nothing of the request.
Peter walked Max along the street, stopping as the shepherd wanted. Randy followed casually. He knew Peter well enough to know he was up to something but he couldn't put his finger one what exactly.
"Peter, I can see the wheel turning in that brain of yours and I'm afraid of what comes next." Randy finally spoke up. The actor turned and gave him an innocent smile.
"I'm just walking Max, that's all, we both needed to stretch our legs." Peter pulled Max short on his leash. Randy heard his words but smelled bullshit and tons of it.
"Nah, I'll believe it when I see it."
"Then believe it because you're seeing it, if Detective Vecchio wants something, he knows how to get in touch with me." The actor shrugged as he started walking off toward the Hilton, Max's head high as they trotted along the sidewalk. Randy stood stock still, considering whether or not to follow. In the end he decided not to, he could claim plausible deniability later.
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