Chapter Twelve
It was in Morikawa’s office in the real estate development company’s suite of offices that the senior project manager was located—staring out the window—and taken into custody without incident as a suspect in the murder of Neal Zapponi.
For Cooper, the obvious primary questions were why was Zapponi shot to death—prior to Cooper’s former CI revealing the latest info he had uncovered—and whether or not Morikawa was instrumental in the murder of Horace Eckhart.
As one of the carjackers or the person who was pulling the strings in the building inspector’s homicide.
Cooper also wondered how Lexi was holding up, having pointed out Morikawa as the person she saw leaving the scene of the crime. This was validated by a license plate reader that identified his car close to the construction site in the right time frame.
Taking the lead in the questioning, Cooper rested his arms on the table as he peered at the suspect and asked point-blank, “Did you kill Neal Zapponi?”
Morikawa gazed back at him and retorted, “No, I didn’t!”
“Your Lexus TX 350 was seen leaving the construction site where Zapponi was gunned down—shortly before the victim was discovered,” Cooper told him, locking eyes with the suspect.
Without naming Lexi as a witness, he added, “An automated license plate reader further places your SUV near the scene at approximately the same time. If that isn’t enough, Zapponi’s cell phone showed that he placed a call to your number just minutes before he was likely shot to death. ”
Morikawa sucked in a deep breath. “All right, all right… Yes, I was there and I spoke to Neal over the phone… But I didn’t kill him… I swear it—”
Hallie sneered. “That’s just not good enough.” She leaned forward and said with an edge in her voice, “Leaving the scene of a crime doesn’t exactly sound like an innocent man. But a guilty person…well, that’s exactly what you’d expect them to do!”
“I can explain…” Morikawa stammered, and shifted in the chair.
“I went to the construction site at Neal’s request. He said he was meeting with the architect for the development, Lexi De La Garza, and wanted us to go over a few things…
I agreed.” He narrowed his eyes. “When I got there, I saw Neal lying on the ground… I could see that he had been shot. Then I heard another car coming. I didn’t know if the shooter was returning or if it was someone else that might have been dangerous.
In any event, I guess—when thinking about Horace Eckhart being carjacked and killed and now this—I panicked. So I got in my car and drove off.”
Cooper felt this was somewhat plausible, but still not totally convincing. Had he recognized Lexi, having expected her to show up? Or was he only using her to try to cover his tracks after being spotted by her, before he could get away?
“Why didn’t you call for help?” Cooper questioned.
“I did,” Morikawa claimed, “once I got back to the office. I had a bad feeling that Neal was already dead, so I figured that it likely wouldn’t have made a difference if I waited a little longer—and at a safe distance—to call 911.”
Cooper was inclined to agree with his perception of Neal Zapponi’s state of being.
By Lexi’s account, he was likely deceased when she arrived—presumably just after Morikawa got there, if the senior project manager was being straight with them.
And there was the real possibility that if Morikawa wasn’t the shooter, the true culprit could have come back to make sure Zapponi was really dead.
Which would have placed Morikawa’s life in jeopardy.
“We’ll check out the 911 call you say you made,” Cooper told him.
Hallie followed with, “Do you own a gun?”
Morikawa answered equably, “No. Never felt I needed one.”
“Did you see any other vehicles when you were approaching the construction zone?” Cooper asked.
Morikawa rubbed his chin. “That’s the weird thing,” he stated.
“I did see a red Mazda CX-70 SUV whizz past me. My first thought was that it was the same type of vehicle Neal drove. But when I tried calling him, he wasn’t picking up, so I figured it wasn’t his car.
Then when I got to the construction site—well, you know the rest… ”
Cooper met Hallie’s gaze. Both were no doubt thinking the same thing.
That if Morikawa was only guilty of bad judgment, then Neal Zapponi might have been the victim of a carjacking.
Or possibly a staged carjacking to obfuscate the real intentions of his death: to prevent Zapponi from disclosing what he knew about Horace Eckhart.
And who was responsible for not one, but now two homicides surrounding commercial real estate projects in the city.
THAT EVENING, WITH PEPPER asleep by the Christmas tree, Lexi and Cooper shared a ham, feta cheese and pineapple pizza with red wine as they sat in her breakfast nook.
She was relieved to hear that Terry Morikawa was apparently innocent in Neal Zapponi’s murder, having left the crime scene out of panic and paranoia rather than guilt.
It was also comforting to Lexi as it related to Reese and the negative connotations this would have had on her firm had Terry used his position as a senior project manager to commit crimes—including bribery and murder—at Reese’s expense instead of benefit.
As it turns out, Terry felt as vulnerable as I did when confronted with Neal’s body and possible peril waiting in the shadows, Lexi told herself, as she bit into a slice of pizza. “So, if Terry didn’t kill Neal, who did—and for what purpose?” she asked as thoughts rolled around in her head.
Cooper washed down pizza with a sip of wine, then responded while contemplating this.
“Similar to Horace Eckhart’s death, it looks like a deliberate execution disguised as a carjacking.
Surveillance cameras picked up Zapponi’s red Mazda CX-70 SUV not far from the construction site.
There appeared to be two men in the front seat.
Both were wearing face masks reminiscent of those worn by the unsubs who shot to death Eckhart.
Considering that, as my former CI, Zapponi was prevented from divulging info pertinent to the investigation, I can only assume that someone was scared of being exposed and ordered a hit on Zapponi to forever maintain his silence. ”
Lexi frowned as she lifted up another slice of pizza.
“So who’s behind this?” she wondered unnervingly.
“Someone in the construction business who was able to bribe Horace, then kill him before he could talk about it? Followed by Neal? Or maybe it had nothing to do with developments and involved something else that Horace and/or Neal were caught up in.?”
Cooper sat back, dabbing the corners of his mouth with a napkin.
“Possibly,” he acknowledged. “But when two plus two equals four it usually means the symmetry is there in connecting the murders to Eckhart’s job as a building inspector—and the cash payments that have been documented in relation to his duties—and Zapponi, who had a front-row seat, and seemingly paid the ultimate price for it. ”
“Wow. I just hope you and Detective Flores can stop this before someone else has to die,” Lexi said, and sipped wine.
“I say this as an architect and a person who truly cares about new developments or remodeling existing structures in this county successfully—in a safe environment—and without public corruption to contend with.”
“I care, too,” Cooper promised her. “So does the entire Bureau and local law enforcement. We’ll do whatever we have to in getting to the root of it and seeking justice.”
Lexi nodded. “I know.” As usual, she felt comforted by his reassuring words, even while concerned that someone was still out there calling the shots—with paid killers and carjackers—that meant harm to those in her industry. And might not stop till things came to a head.
After they finished eating, Lexi and Cooper made their way to her bedroom. It was filled with mid-century modern furniture, including a bamboo platform bed with fluffy velvet throw pillows and an oversize green boho duvet cover.
Lexi began removing her clothes and watched as Cooper did the same. Both were becoming more comfortable in showing themselves unabashedly while exploring the expanse of the other in anticipation for what was to come.
Once Cooper had put on protection, they went to bed and began kissing and caressing each other, building the carnal need to be together.
This was certainly how Lexi saw it, as her libido was off the charts and when it became unbearable, she prompted Cooper to stem the tide rising within her through action.
He was more than accommodating, as he moved atop her and slowly but determinedly entered her.
She arched her body just enough to get the full measure of him while they made love like it was the first time.
Lexi came first, crying out, as the sensual waves of pleasure hit her like a bolt of lightning. Cooper reached his own potent climax shortly thereafter, his entire body quavering and carrying her along for the frenetic ride—till both were satiated and left to catch their breaths in the aftermath.
Neither said a word as they cuddled, content to be where they were with each other.
Lexi listened as Cooper snored lightly. She could feel the steady patter of his heart beating and wondered if he, too, was starting to fall in love. Or was she reading the signals all wrong?
She sighed and closed her eyes, while feeling protected in his muscular arms. Yet she still felt a vulnerability that could be a defense mechanism for not getting hurt. Or if it extended beyond their personal relationship to outside forces that threatened their very existence as a couple.