The Red Light Girls (Unsolved Mysteries Book 2) by Kim Knight (most romantic novels TXT) 📗

He turned in the other direction and made his way down the corridor, past his co-workers’ offices. The hum of phones as they rang, melded together, and papers shuffling across desks comforted him. Stopping outside of Welsh’s office, he rapped on the door with his knuckles.

“Sup, yeah it’s open.” Welsh called out.

“It’s me. Is the file ready?” Ruiz entered the office.

“Yep, here it is.” Welsh nudged a thick file on his desk.

“I wasn’t part of the Miami Department when Mariya’s case first come up.” Ruiz took a seat opposite Welsh, then pulled the file toward him. “What do you remember?”

Welsh dropped his fountain pen and looked at Ruiz.

“At the time, I was a young detective—wet behind the ear—just like you.” He leaned back in the chair and clasped his hands together over his slightly pop beer-belly.

“Yeah, that’s it.” Welsh glanced around his office, then back at Ruiz. “Twenty years back, I had just gotten to Miami. I moved over from London with my wife.”

Detective Welsh pointed to the picture on his desk of his wife and three daughters. Ruiz smiled as the older detective swelled with pride.

“This case, it was one of the first ones I ever took on. Wasn’t much older than you, Son.”

A dark cloud came over Welsh’s face. He ran a hand through his chocolate-coloured hair, slightly grey at the sides. Taking a deep breath, he leaned across his desk toward Ruiz with a serious face.

“I tell ya, something just didn’t sit right with me about this one. She totally disappeared on Valentine’s Day. Never made it home, according to the husband.”

Ruiz cocked his head to one side, taking in his mentor’s words. “What didn’t sit right?”

Welsh glanced at his wife’s smiling face—pretty as a picture in the photo frame.

“It was just off.” Welsh met Ruiz’s eye with an equally serious face. “she went to work, clocked off, then disappeared.”

“No one was able to verify her whereabouts once she clocked out. The CCTV showed her walking out of the hospital.”

“What’d she do there?”

“She was an ICU nurse.”

“And the husband?” Ruiz unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat back.

“Hmm, that was another thing all together. He maintained that she never made it home that day. Just disappeared off the face of the earth.”

Ruiz rubbed the stubble on his chin, then picked up the cold case file. “Okay, I guess I’ve got some digging to do.”

“Yep, I’d say so. There was a note the husband handed in to us. He claimed he found it at home when he arrived.”

“What do you mean, note?” Ruiz asked confused. “ I thought she never made it home that day. So, how could there be a note?”

Welsh threw his head back and chuckled. “Exactly. Go through the file and see what you find.”

Ruiz’s phone beeped in his pocket, signalling he had a message. He pulled it out and glanced at his cell. Detective Jones’ name scrolled across the screen

—How did it go?

—What did he say?

—I’m about to meet the victim’s sister.

Ruiz reread the message from his new partner in crime, Detective Davina Jones. He had never been paired with a woman before, well, not a beautiful one—and one his own age.

Keep it together. He couldn’t stop the grin that washed across his lips. Shit! First April, and now Davina.

Ruiz reined in his explicit thoughts over Davina. The truth was, he hadn’t had sex in months, and he was starting to wonder if he remembered how and what to do in the bedroom.

He had been focused on his promotion, and the change of pace the vibrant city would bring. Sex and women were the last two things on his mind. He hadn’t entertained a serious relationship for the best part of a year. And now, two females topped his chart, one more than the other.

“Hey, Ruiz,” said Welsh. “What’s her name?”

“Huh, what? Who?”

Welsh clapped his large hands together and let out a howl of laughter. He held his sides and turned to Ruiz.

“Never mind, just don’t let her distract you from the task at hand. This is your first official case. Consider yourself married to the job.”

“Yes sir,” Ruiz responded slightly embarrassed.

“Good, now, go nail it.” Welsh nudged the file across the desk again.

Ruiz rose to his feet, as well as to the challenge. He swallowed hard, let out a breath.

The cool air-conditioning floated to him, reminding him that on the exterior of the building, heat and humidity waited for him.

“All right, I’ll check in with you soon,” Ruiz said to his mentor.

“Attaboy. Go get ‘em.” Welsh turned his attention back to the computer screen.

Ruiz took that as his cue to exit and headed to the door, folder in hand. Once in the hallway, he made his way to his partner’s office.

Time to exchange info with Detective Jones. The same grin from earlier, tugged at his lips.

About the Author

Kim Knight was born in 1983 and from London in the UK. She’s a mother to a beautiful little boy, an award winning romantic suspense and thriller author, and the #1 best-selling author of : My Mum and Me, Messages From Beyond The Grave (a memoir),  365 Days of Writing Prompts for Romance Writers, also The Art of Self-Editing for Writers. She’s also a best-selling author of an Unsolved Mysteries Series.  Kim started her journey as a traditionally published author and later dived into self-publishing also. She also contributes as a writer to Aspiring Authors LLC Magazine.

As a reader she’s head over heels in love with romance, historical fiction, crime fiction, African- American, suspense and thriller genre books. As a writer, Kim enjoys creating steamy stories with a diverse and multi-cultural line up, within the romance, romantic suspense and general thriller and crime genres. Her other passions include learning about astrology, numerology, esoteric subjects, all things ‘witchy and strange’ and spirituality. When she’s not reading, or writing stories of her own fashion, make-up artistry, spending time at her sewing machine dressmaking, watching make –up and beauty tutorials on YouTube, and being a mum are things