Fifty-Three

Garcia took Hunter’s advice and dropped by Markey’s, a small convenience store on North Rampant Boulevard. It stocked just about everything, from flowers to booze, and their meatball sandwich and freshly brewed coffee weren’t bad either. Garcia had stopped there plenty of times back when he used to be a detective for the LAPD. It was a small detour from his way home, but he was sure Anna would appreciate his effort.

The tall, very attractive blond behind the counter greeted Garcia with a wide smile showing beautifully formed teeth. Garcia smiled back and ran his hand through his hair in an attempt to look a little more presentable.

Garcia decided to take a nice bottle of red wine home as well as the flowers. It’d been some time since he and Anna shared a bottle and she loved a nice bottle of Rioja. The flowers were displayed right at the store entrance, but Garcia ignored them for the moment.

‘Excuse me, where do you keep your bottles of wine?’

‘Right at the back,’ the blond girl replied with a new smile.

Their selection wasn’t exactly impressive, but then again Garcia wasn’t exactly a connoisseur. He chose a bottle by price. The more it costs, the better it should taste, he thought. He went back to where the flowers were and chose a nicely arranged bouquet of red roses.

‘I guess this will be all,’ he said placing everything on the counter.

‘That will be 40.95 please!’

Garcia handed her three twenty-dollar bills.

‘She’s a very lucky lady,’ the blond girl said, handing back his change.

‘Excuse me!’

‘The lady those flowers are for . . . very lucky lady.’ She smiled again and Garcia noticed how young and pretty she was.

‘Oh! Thank you,’ he blushed.

‘Do you live around here?’

‘Umm . . . no, I just needed to get a few things. This is on my way home,’ he lied.

‘Oh . . . that’s a pity, but maybe you can stop back here again some time?’

Garcia had no reply but a timid smile.

Outside, as he approached his car, Garcia couldn’t believe the store attendant had come on to him. That hadn’t happened in a very long time.

Other than a brand-new-looking Chevy van there was no other car on the parking lot. He opened his passenger door and carefully placed the roses on the seat. His thoughts going back to the day’s developments. He still found it hard to come to terms with how alike Jenny Farnborough and Victoria Baker looked. Garcia didn’t believe in coincidences, but he also didn’t believe that both women going missing at the same time had been planned. This killer didn’t keep his victims for long. Once they were abducted, they would turn up tortured and dead within a few days. Vicki Baker had been the victim. Jenny Farnborough had probably just gone missing, he thought.

Suddenly Garcia remembered they still had a police tail on D-King. With the events of the past few hours happening so fast he’d completely forgotten about it. He’d have to call them off as there was no need for them now. He grabbed his cell phone and searched its address book for the correct number. He’d been so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the presence behind him. The reflection of the dark figure against his shiny car came too late. Before Garcia had a chance to turn around and face his attacker he felt a sharp prick against the right side of his neck.

The drug reacted almost instantly. Garcia’s vision blurred and he felt his knees buckle. He dropped his cell phone and heard it smash as it hit the ground. He tried holding on to the car door for balance but it was all too late, the stranger was already dragging him to the nearby van.