Skeletons in the Closet (Sue Thomas FBEye)

Chapter Fourteen

"I'm listening, sweetheart," he whispered in a husky voice.

"The neon sign. It depicts a man," she told him, feeling her cheeks burning at the memory.

"A man? Vixen?" he asked, arching his brow.

She wasn't making much sense this morning, or she was on purposely vague.

"His face wasn't really the... highlight."

She chided herself for her embarrassment. She was a grown-up woman. Married. Pregnant. Jack was her husband. And it wasn't like she had never seen a--

'Sue', he signed her name in front of her eyes. His eyes were twinkling and he was amused. "If his face wasn't the highlight, what exactly were you staring at?" That ought to be good, he thought, as he succeeded in flustering her completely.

"It's a stripper bar," she blurted out, her voice trailing down. "A male stripper bar."

"Male? How do you... you mean the sign is a naked man?" he said, unable to content his laughter. "And you were looking at his..."

"Jack!"

She was just too adorable for her own good.

"I love you, sweetheart," he said before capturing her lips.

He couldn't let her dream of other men, could he? So, he made sure she forgot everything about flashing Joe.

"You won't let me live that one down, will you?" Sue later asked over breakfast.

"A male stripper club?" He grinned widely. "You have to admit, it was funny. As long as it's Amelia's memories and not yours it's--"

"That's it!"

When she abruptly left the table, he followed her in the living room where she searched through the papers.

They had reviewed Vixen's life. Born from an addict mom, he ended up roaming the Chicago streets early on. He joined the skulls motorcycle gang in his teens. At that time, the gang controlled the city drug and prostitution ring. In his late teens and early twenties, Vixen was convicted for drug trafficking, armed robbery and assault, but got reduced sentencing on each occasion. Ten years ago, he left the gang. He opened a pawnshop in his old turf. Shortly after, he was arrested for money laundering but the charges didn't hold in court. Two years later, his girlfriend left Chicago for New Mexico. He chased her and disposed of her.

Now Jack wondered what they missed. The smile on her face told him she found what she was looking for. He went to sit beside her on the floor.

"I knew I remember reading about a stripper," she said, showing the article to Jack. "The man that Vixen assaulted was a male stripper."

"So you think you're seeing the bar where he was assaulted?"

"I don't think the bar is important, Jack," she said, pointing to a lower paragraph. "Five gang members were charged. Four men, including Vixen, were found guilty and got different sentences depending on their involvement."

"They couldn't prove Vixen hit or stabbed the victim, so he was convicted as an accessory and got away with three months. It's not fair but that's the law," remarked Jack.

"What about the fifth gang member?" Her finger traced the words written in black. "A white female in her teens was released."

He stared at her in disbelief. "Are you thinking Amelia?"

"What if she was a misguided teenager who associated with the wrong crowd for a while?" she speculated. "Jack, like you said, those are her memories, not mine. She was there that night at that bar. I can see her hand reaching for his shoulder. He turned at her touch. She--" Her eyes widened and she lost focus for an instant. "She has a tattoo just above her wrist on her right arm. I... I have never seen it before." She looked at Jack in confusion. "When she reaches for Krissa, she doesn't have a tattoo."