Calder swore as a car cut in front of him causing him to slam on the brakes. Shep’s heart raced as the minutes ticked by and his skin crawled with the need to do something or hit something or kill something. He felt trapped like a wild animal in a too-small cage.
“Why would Elijah choose to confront him now? Three weeks ago, he was ready to kill me for looking into this. What changed?” Calder’s expression told Shep he knew more than he was letting on. “What?” he snarled.
Calder heaved a sigh, twisting his hands around the steering wheel. “Lucifer said Elijah found out that Tobi is one of the man’s clients.”
That caged animal sensation amplified as Shep imagined what that information might do to Elijah. “I thought he didn’t coach kids anymore?”
Calder shrugged. “We were focusing on the money. We hadn’t started deep diving into the client list yet.”
Shep slammed his fist on the dashboard. “God dammit.”
“Hey, hey, hey. Leave Betsy alone. It’s not her fault your boy’s run off half-cocked. Elijah’s a big boy. He can handle himself.”
Shep wasn’t so sure. Just a few weeks ago, Elijah couldn’t even utter the man’s name. Now he was swooping down on him like some angel of vengeance. What if he killed him? There’d be no way to justify it all these years later. Elijah would end up in prison. What if Cane tried to hurt Elijah? If the man felt cornered, there’s no telling what he might do. “Get there faster.”
Twenty more minutes passed before they pulled up to a nondescript three-story stucco building with peeling white paint and brown trim. It seemed like such a seedy part of town to set up shop for a man with connections. But Shep supposed in this neighborhood people probably minded their own business, which Shep imagined was important to scum like David Cane.
Shep quickly went to the sign and found the suite number with David Cane’s name attached. There was a rickety looking elevator, but Calder and Shep took the three flights of stairs to the top floor, drawing their weapons before they approached the door. A man in a cheap tan suit walked out of an unmarked office, making a startled noise when he realized both men held firearms. Shep held a finger to his lips while Calder waved the stranger away, letting the man know to leave.
The office door stood open enough for Shep and Calder to hear Elijah’s voice. “Do you remember me?”
Elijah’s voice shook, but with rage more than fear. Good. Shep peeked inside, realizing the voices came from a deeper interior office. They opened the exterior door just enough to squeeze past, each of them creeping towards the door which sat open only enough for Shep to see who he assumed must be David Cane. He was slightly built and balding, pushing close to fifty years old if Shep had to guess.
The man’s high-pitched giggle raised the hairs on Shep’s arms. He knew a psychopath when he heard one. The man’s voice rang out, almost shrill in the silence. “Of course, I remember you. My star pupil. The great Elijah Dunne. Did you get my flowers? What about my phone calls?”
Elijah’s voice trembled as he said, “What?”
“My flowers. I’ve been sending them for months. You must have seen them. Your home, your trailer, your hotel room. I even called a few times, but I’ll admit, I was too… nervous… to talk. Still, I think you knew. Deep down I know you knew it was me.”
“You’re insane.”
“Oh, don’t be like that. I prefer the term devoted. And I am, Elijah. I really am. I will always be devoted to you. The one that got away.”
“Got away,” Elijah repeated. “I didn’t get away. You put me in the hospital.”
Shep lurched towards the door as the man rose from behind his desk, but Calder put a hand up and pulled out his phone, opening his recording app.
“I admit I may have been overzealous, but it was only because you were so beautiful. Your beautiful blue eyes still haunt me.”
Elijah made a disgusted noise, pacing into view. “You’re fucking sick. You won’t get away with this.”
Shep breathed a sigh of relief when he saw there was nothing in Elijah’s hands. He at least wasn’t there to kill him.
“Get away with what?” the man asked, leaning across the desk.
“Hurting other kids.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know what you mean?”
Elijah balled his hands into fists at his sides. “I won’t let you do to them what you did to me. We had an agreement.”
A look of genuine confusion fell across the older man’s face. “What agreement was that?”
Elijah took a cheap pewter statue that sat on the corner of the desk and flung it against the wall just behind the man’s head. “Don’t play dumb. You know what agreement. The non-disclosure agreement. The one that said we wouldn’t press charges if you didn’t coach any more kids.”
The man turned to look at the remnants of his award, his expression dismayed. “I promised no such thing. In fact, I work only with children. They have so much promise. So much potential. Look at everything I did for you.”
“You molested me. You raped me. Did you touch Tobi? Did you hurt him too?”
