Cujo III – Reloaded – This Time It's Personal
Chapter 15
Here's the next. Thank you all so very, very, much for your reviews on the previous chapter. As I'm sure you can tell; this story is proving incredibly difficult to write. Your comments and suggestions help so very much to keep it going when I become frustrated enough to make husband and ninja cats run for the hills.
Any errors are the fault of Imaginary Beta. I take no responsibility for them, it's all her doing.
Note: There are references to things and characters from previous Cujo outings but I think it's not really necessary to read them first.
Disclaimer: Making money from this is still only a dream as is the one about the tattoos, whipped cream and . . . uhh . . . never mind.
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Critical Mass
This was boring. His human hasn't come home much and there is no one to talk to. Even the tall female wasn't around to provide him with something to do.
He batted listlessly at the ball that made noise and, plopping onto his side, only his eyes moved as he watched it roll across the cool ground. There were no bugs or mice to chase here and he couldn't go outside to the big sandbox until his human came back. The box of wonderful things that he'd finally figured out how to open was gone. There'd be nothing more to add to his collection of toys unless he came across something his human left. His human didn't have sparkly things and he'd already taken and hidden the thing he wore on his paw.
He'd tried stealing and keeping the little round green squishy things that were sweet when he bit into them but they just sort of got squishier before they dried up and weren't pretty anymore and wouldn't roll across the ground anymore. They were disappointing.
This wasn't like the place his human took him to sometimes. The one with the many tables where there would be places to nap in the little boxes on top of them and where there were other strange boxes that clicked and whirred and spit out papers. There were wonderful places to nap in the sun there and juicy mice and lizards to catch and eat.
Of course, there were no little fish there. Right now he wished there was someone here to chase so that maybe his human would come and give him little fishes. He'd been rewarded with them when he'd trapped the tall female that one time and his human had come to untrap her. Actually, he didn't mind that she escaped because she was too big to eat anyway and he'd gotten little fishes instead. He wondered if he trapped her again would his human come to give him little fishes? It would be fun to chase her again because she ran really fast.
She'd been very angry when he'd stolen the sparkly things from her. First she'd chased him and then he'd chased her. He knew she wasn't really playing but he wasn't worried about being caught. The tall female was not fast enough to catch him and he could fit easily into smaller spaces that she. No one could fit into the small space where he kept the sparkly things. It was hard even for him to get to but it was where the humans would never find his treasures.
Standing and sauntering lazily to where the jingly ball had come to rest against the leg of a chair, he gave it one more half-hearted push and once again plopped onto his side to follow it across the floor with only his eyes; not bothering to chase it. He wished there was someone to play with.
…..
This was boring . . . and annoying. Without knowing who they were looking for, almost every and anyone could be a suspect. Personally, his candidate was the guy who wanted a soy, half-caf, latte with chocolate drizzles and an extra shot on the side. First off, that's just way too many specs for a damned cup of coffee and half-caf and an extra shot? Either you want your caffeine buzz or you don't. Man-up dammit!
Kono watched her harried boss try to comply with their one remaining customer's requests. The long line had finally dissipated; some of them actually giving up the wait and leaving the store. Steve wasn't the fastest barista.
She knew he'd tried really hard and she could tell his level of frustration was reaching critical mass. She'd give it another one or two demanding people standing impatiently and rolling their eyes and/or tapping their feet before he shot someone. It was actually kind of funny/scary to watch. A guy who'd mastered every lethal weapon known to man trying to conquer an espresso maker and pretty much failing was perversely entertaining. Steve was cut-out for this job about as much as she was cut-out for being June Cleaver.
There was a hiss and another curse as Steve tried to come up with a latte this time.
"Come on man, I have to get back to work before it's time to go home." growled the guy waiting for his drink. Steve threw down the spoon with a clank and whirled toward the counter, a menacing scowl on his face.
"I got this one boss." chirped Kono as she quickly stepped away from the register and went to rescue Steve or his impatient customer from committing or being victim of mayhem. She was surprised the tall man hadn't already gone for his gun. "Why don't you go wipe down some tables?" she said calmly as the redness of anger crept up Steve's neck toward his face.
"Uhh, yeah, okay." he said tightly and grabbing a clean rag stalked off to tidy up the many tables in the shop.
"Don't they train you guys before turning you loose on the public?" huffed the man who'd been waiting for his latte and the extra shot.
"He's just a little slow." smiled Kono as she pushed the two paper cups toward him.
"Slow! He's a moron!" snarled the annoyed customer.
"Yeah, but he's our eye candy." smirked Kono, "Keeps the ladies coming in for their mochas." She finished her statement with a suggestive wink.
"Whatever." said the now flustered man as he turned and stomped toward the door, giving Steve a final glare before pushing it open.
She heard Danny's snigger in her ear in reaction to her 'eye candy' comment. Steve is so gonna kill her when this is over. Oh well, you only die once. "Danny, you'd better get in here now before Steve shoots someone. I think he's ready to start hanging people off the roof until they confess to the murders."
"Anyone in particular?" asked Chin's voice in her ear.
"No, just the annoying ones . . . and right now, they're all pretty much annoying. Steve's pretty frustrated."
"With barista work? You're kidding." came Danny's voice, "Has he just risen to his own level of incompetence?"
"Yeah, who knew SuperSEAL would be stymied by a coffee machine?" laughed the Hawaiian detective
"Coffee making and customer service are apparently not included in his many skills." added Danny, "Actually; I already had suspicions about the customer service thing."
Kono almost winced in sympathy for her harried boss as she heard both Chin and Danny laughing into their mics.
"I heard that!" came Steve's voice
"Sorry babe, you're being fired for incompetence." came Danny's gleeful response
"About damn time!" said Steve into his own mic as he too vigorously scrubbed a table top on the other side of the store before defensively adding "Who in the hell can be so picky about coffee? These people are fuckin' nuts!"
"Babe, in case you're not aware, there's an entire industry based on people being overly particular about their caffeine jolt."
"Yeah, whatever, it's yours and Chin's turn in the barrel now. My shift is over. You'll be singing a different tune after the tenth idiot tells you that there isn't enough foam in their latte."
There was more laughter as both Chin and Danny entered the currently empty store. It was almost three p.m. now and Steve and Kono had completed the morning shift without seeing anyone or observing anything even remotely suspicious.
Steve ceremoniously removed his apron and handed it to Danny with a bow then strode out to the parking lot to sit in the surveillance van while muttering to himself all the way. Chin continued further into the shop and took Kono's place behind the register.
"Bring it on you beast." said Danny as he stood before the espresso machine squatting malevolently; at least Steve thought so, behind the counter.
….
He ducked into the shop as tentative splats of rain landed on and around him and the strangely appealing smell of the first drops of water on the warm concrete drifted up. He'd always liked that smell and it was one of Myra's favorites. The smell of cotton drying on an outdoor clothesline was one of his favorites too. It reminded him of his childhood but . . . that was another thing that went the way of so called progress and convenience. People didn't dry their newly washed sheets on outdoor lines anymore. Everybody had clothes dryers now. He sighed at the loss; just another thing to mourn.
He smiled as he walked toward the counter to order his drink. He was about fourth back in line of those waiting to place their orders. At this time of the early evening, business was just picking up as people got off work for the day.
There were no girls here. That was good. He really didn't like killing the girls. Some of them were so pretty it seemed a waste. There was a slender Hawaiian guy and a shorter, stockier blonde who was manning the espresso maker. Neither one fit the description Kiki had given him.
….
It was past ten p.m. and they were calling it a night. This wasn't, thank God, a twenty-four hour location. The four Five-0's had helped one another close-up for the day and the HPD team that had been covering their other potential target had come up with nothing and closed for the evening as well.
The trees wetly swayed in the wind that had picked up within the last half hour and the intermittent showers that had occurred since mid-day had become steadier and heavier. As always, the weather here changed by the minute and there were now hurricane warnings issued for the general area. If the forecasters were correct and, if Mother Nature was feeling benevolent, the worst of it would miss them.
As it stood right now, computer-generated imaging showed they would only catch the edge of the whirling mass but one slight jog to the south and it would pass directly over Oahu.
Now, storms certainly weren't anything new to the Jerseyan but snow storms were still preferable to island weather in his book.
"So" he asked as they hunched their shoulders, ducked their heads and blinked against the driving rain as they made for the van that was parked a little way from the entrance, "Anything we should be doing?"
"Doing?" asked McGarrett not quite understanding the question.
"You know, if this storm, hurricane, typhoon thing goes right over us?"
"Yeah, hold onto your ass."
Danny only rolled his eyes at his partner's answer but didn't have time to formulate a response of his own before Steve's cell rang.
"McGarrett" he answered. As usual, it sounded more like a challenge than a greeting to the detective.
After listening for a moment with the phone tucked against his ear as he fished the van's keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door the SEAL responded, "Yeah, okay, thanks a lot Max."
"What does our little Romeo have to say?" inquired Danny as he wiped water from his face with the back of an equally soggy arm before settling into the passenger seat and drawing the seatbelt across his body, "He's working pretty late tonight."
Shaking the rain from his hair like a big wet dog, which showered it around the interior of the cab and made Danny give him a mild reproving glare, he replied "I guess we aren't the only ones with Denning breathing down our necks. Anyway, he said the wounds were neat and precise as though the killer wanted to make sure they'd produce maximum blood loss. He made sure to sever the carotid every time with every vic."
"I thought the first ones were shot?" reminded Danny
"They were but then the murderer went back to some of them and did his cutting as though to make sure the job was extra messy."
"So, again, the killer wanted to horrify people as much as possible when the bodies were discovered." summed up Detective Williams.
"Looks that way." responded Steve, "The killer for sure wanted this on the news."
"Well, he's accomplished that goal and Kiki Kenworthy has made an entire career of covering it." said Danny, his face scrunched in disapproval.
"Didn't she make you an offer you almost couldn't refuse?" smirked his partner
"I have to admit it was tempting, she's pretty nice to look at, but rumor has it I wouldn't be the only cop on her 'to do' list."
"I was going to warn you about swimming in dirty water but I figured you're a big boy." smirked Steve
"Thank you for that, Aunt Martha, but I am a big boy. Besides, I'd already been warned by that cute little redhead Talia. She implied that Kiki's a little on the predatory side."
"Predatory? She did everything but knock you down and have her way with you." laughed Steve
"Pretty much." confirmed Danny with a lascivious smile, "But aren't we being a little restrained in describing the near miss? 'Have her way'? Normally you would have put it in another . . . uhh . . . less refined way. You going soft in your old age Commander?"
"Cath's been on my case to watch my mouth. Said someday I'm going to let fly with something that won't be proper for Gracie to hear and that you're going to kick my ass."
"Fuckin' A"
"So go on about Kiki?"
"Anyway, Talia told me that the islands are I quote, 'littered with the bodies of those who'd taken Kiki up on her offer'. I did consider it mind you but after I checked a little further I'm pretty sure that our mutual little friend, one Detective Michael Kilkenny, has taken a walk on the wild side with her already."
"Damn! I wondered how she got to the crime scenes ahead of everyone else. She must be getting tipped off by that bastard."
"Well, the woman's using the tools nature gave her."
"Yeah, nature and Dupont according to Cath." Steve just shook his head whether at what Kiki had done or that he hadn't caught on to it; Danny couldn't tell.
"You going to pursue that redhead?" asked the SEAL as he turned the ignition key and the engine cranked over a couple times before finally catching.
"Nah, but she gave me her number."
"That's not pursuing?"
"The number is for Angie to call her when she gets to town next week."
"I won't even ask how you managed to set-up your sister before she even gets here." laughed Steve as he released the parking brake on the van now that the engine had warmed sufficiently and smoothed out. The power company really needs to replace some of their fleet, was his brief thought.
"She seems like a nice girl and after the thing with Mary didn't work out, I thought it would be nice to have a distraction when she gets here."
"Yeah, I'm sorry it worked out that way for her. She didn't need another mess on top of that one with her ex." Steve ran a hand through his still sodden hair as he steered one-handed out the entrance to the parking lot. "I don't think that Mary even knows what she wants. I hear she's gone back to that musician from that country western band."
"You mean the guy she had arrested for smacking her around?" said Danny in astonishment
"Yeah, that guy. I tried to reason with her but she wouldn't listen. Mary is all kinds of screwed-up. I guess I have to get her back here to keep an eye on her but first she has to dump that asshole."
"It'll happen. It's a cycle with some people. You just have to wait for it to come around again." reassured Danny.
"I know but she's her own worst enemy."
"Runs in the family."
Steve just gave his partner 'the look' as they wheeled through dark, rain-swept, streets to H.Q. to drop off the van for the night. They'd be back again tomorrow.
…..
He watched them pull away in the power company labeled van. It wasn't the right time to make his move but Kiki had given him his target. Like the others, it had to be done right. He couldn't rush these things.
The big blue vehicle disappeared into the distance as he picked up the little leather tool kit and exited the car.
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