Now You See Me

by Rachel Carrington

  “Brad Jericho.”

  “Brad, hi, it’s Kate.”

  There it went again, that tingling sensation in the pit of his stomach at the sound of her voice. It reminded him how long it had been since his last relationship, how he’d let the need for justice control his life. Now wasn’t any closer to being the time to get involved.

  “Hi.” He managed to locate the charger and quickly connected the USB to the phone before propping his elbow on the edge of the window to hold the cell against his ear. “Are you home?”

  “I just walked in my door.” She sounded so close, like he could reach out and touch her.

  Shoving that thought aside, he checked his watch. “Do you always work this late?”

  Her light laugh ripped a hole in his focus. “Eight-thirty isn’t that late, and unless I miss my guess, you’re in your car. So I gather I’m not the only one who worked past the normal five o’clock.”

  “Guilty.” If he tightened his grip around the cell any more, he’d snap it in half.

  “I wanted to thank you for this morning. I wasn’t sure that I had.”

  The breathless tone knotted his muscles. He could only imagine what she’d sound like in a more intimate setting. “You did, and the offer still stands.” He urged his libido into neutral, prayed it would stay there until he could finish the conversation.

  “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  Brad doubted her sincerity. He’d heard enough victims to recognize worry, and as much as Kate was trying to hide it, fear still clung to her. She didn’t want to be alone, though she’d probably never admit it.

  “I did try to call you earlier, though.” She interrupted his thoughts, the words holding no reproof, just light curiosity.

  “My battery was dying. I turned my phone off to preserve the last bar until I could get back out to my truck. Just turned it on a few minutes ago, but I haven’t had time to check voice mail yet. What was going on?”

  “Oh it was nothing. I was just on my way to a meeting, but it doesn’t matter now.”

  He heard rustling like she was changing clothes or getting comfortable. Both thoughts had him sweating. He didn’t need any mental clues to help him picture her slipping into a soft cotton T-shirt that barely skimmed the tops of her thighs.

  “Have you had dinner?” He slipped the question in quietly, offering more than just a meal. She needed company, someone to help her make it through the next few hours. And it so happened that his night was free.

  “No, I haven’t.” She responded without hesitation and just a slight amount of relief.

  While his inner voice told him this was a bad idea, that he should listen to David and not get personal, he forged ahead. “You like Chinese?”

  “Love it.”

  The smile in her voice soothed his conscience. She needed company. How wrong could it be to spend some time with her so she wouldn’t be alone? “How about I pick up some and bring it over?”

  “Should I even ask how you know where I live?”

  Brad grimaced. Clearly he hadn’t thought that one through. “Yeah, I guess I should tell you that. I caught a peek at O’Hara’s report. Well, it was more like a long look that included pen and a piece of paper.”

  Kate laughed. “At least you’re honest about it.”

  He liked he couldn’t hear the nervousness in her voice now. “Have to be. I was a detective for too long to be anything but.” He shifted the truck into reverse and backed up. “I’ll see you in twenty.”

  “I didn’t realize I lived that close to the prison.”

  “Okay, so make it thirty.” He wasn’t about to tell her he’d intended to push the speed limit a bit.

  “Still sounds like you’re gunning for a ticket, Warden.”

  “I’ll take my chances.” Brad didn’t question the stupid grin on his face once the call ended.

  Kate checked her reflection in the mirror again. How many times had it been now? She adjusted her hair, slid a finger under her eye to smooth away a lingering trace of mascara and considered touching up her lipstick before dismissing the idea. Don’t give him the impression you think this is a date, Kate. No, better to act casual, look the part. That didn’t stop her from fluffing her hair again.

  She settled on the sofa, pulling her laptop to the edge of the coffee table. The seventeen-inch widescreen splashed light across her denim-covered legs as she tapped out the letters for her password and pulled up the latest story she was writing.

  For now, she’d put John Ramsey’s interview on hold. Aaron had insisted she wait until this, whatever this was, played out. He didn’t want Kate to be one of the main actors in Ramsey’s macabre tale. In truth, it hadn’t been a hardship to put it aside. Two notes from the serial killer had been enough to make her want to keep her distance even though she’d never been easily frightened.

  Her childhood had been spent as a daredevil, following in the footsteps of her older brother. Whatever he did, she had to do better, much to her mother’s consternation. So if Jarod climbed a tree, she had to climb a taller one. If he swung out over the river with only a thin piece of rope between himself and a chilly bath, Kate just dove right in, braving the icy bite of the winter waters.

  Her refusal to allow fear to be a part of her life had propelled her to an award-winning career before she’d turned twenty-five. She’d met kings and dictators in war-torn lands, conducted interviews with mortar fire rattling the windows of the hotel room and been immersed in some of the world’s worst disasters. And had walked away unscathed.

  But somehow John Ramsey had managed to shake her foundation, possibly even crack it. She’d looked over her shoulder more than once since she’d left the prison, had hesitated before answering every call, and that evening she’d passed on the power walk she normally took after work with her next-door neighbor. She’d used a looming deadline as an excuse.

  In truth, she’d just wanted to shut herself inside and lock the doors, but then facing a night alone had left her feeling more than a little jittery, providing a grim reminder of her sad excuse for a social life. If she had a boyfriend… The thought trailed off. No use thinking about what couldn’t be fixed now.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t ever have the opportunity to date but her job came first. Every woman in her family had married and had children before they were eighteen but Kate had always wanted more out of life. A family might be nice one day, but she doubted she’d ever find anyone who was willing to be second in her life.

  A knock at the front door brought a smile to her face that she quickly dashed. Brad was only being friendly. He must have known how uneasy she was about being alone. Having been a detective, he would have picked up on her nerves even on the phone. That was the only reason for the dinner invitation.

  Still, she couldn’t be blamed if her steps were a little light as she walked to the front door of her home. She edged the lace panel to one side to peer out into the darkness. The sight of Brad’s broad shoulders made hers relax and she opened the door.

  “Hi.” She stepped back to let him inside.

  “Hi.” He walked past her, carrying a brown paper bag with two handles. “I didn’t take your order, so I just got a little of everything.”

  The scent of fried rice and egg rolls wafted up and her mouth watered. The hot dog she’d eaten for lunch seemed so far away now. “When it comes to Chinese, I like a little of everything. I’ll get some plates.” She led the way into the kitchen with the rectangular island, saw Brad sweep a glance around the room.

  “Nice place.” He set the bag on top of the granite countertop next to the stove.

  “Thanks. You should have seen it when I bought it.” Surprised at how relaxed she felt, she turned and handed him two china plates. “It was a fixer-upper.”

  Brad’s eyes crinkled when he smiled. “So you’re a handywoman too?”

  “Not hardly, but I can write checks to pay for contractors better than anyone you’ve ever met.” She liked the way his dark hair looked b
oth messy and casually stylish. So far, she hadn’t seen too much she didn’t like.

  He laughed. “Now, that I can believe.”

  Kate didn’t question why his laugh or gentle teasing made her insides gooey. It probably had a lot to do with her dismal dating life. Her career didn’t leave much time for social interaction that didn’t require a microphone and a notebook. Not that she’d really been on the lookout for Mr. Right. She wasn’t even sure he existed.

  “Beer?” She offered him a longneck from the refrigerator.

  He leaned over the island to accept it and twisted off the top. “You couldn’t have picked a better place to live.”

  She bumped the door to the refrigerator closed with her hip. “Like Summerville that much?”

  “My folks moved here after my brother and I left the nest. They loved it, and so did we whenever we could manage to tear ourselves away from our schedules long enough to visit.” A wistful look passed over his face before he blinked and brought himself back to the present.

  The way he spoke in past tense brought an automatic response. “I’m sorry.”

  He glanced at her. “What? Oh, no, I’m sorry. They’re not deceased.”

  “Oh.” Kate laughed. “Just the way you were talking…”

  “Yeah, I know. They travel a lot now that Dad’s retired. I don’t see them as often as I like but regardless of how much time passes, I can still hear my mom’s voice telling me to wipe my feet whenever I walk into my own house.” With a chuckle, he lobbed the bottle cap into the trash can before picking up both filled plates.

  They settled at the glass-topped café table in the corner of the kitchen. “What about your parents?”

  Kate didn’t mind the question. Her parents had always played a big part in her life, still did. No matter how much they disapproved of her career, they loved her unconditionally. That she never doubted. “They live in Goose Creek in the same house I grew up in. Dad wouldn’t move if you threatened him with a shotgun.”

  The conversation flowed easily, segueing into their siblings and the rest of their family members. Though it hadn’t seemed so at first, Kate found she had a lot in common with Brad.

  They each had only one brother as a sibling, were addicted to their careers, had never married and didn’t have “vacation” in their vocabulary. And they shared a love of baseball, action movies and old rock groups.

  Losing herself in Brad’s eyes, Kate propped her elbows on the table and listened to his tale of a lost attempt at getting away from it all—a doomed-from-the-start trip to the Yucatan that had resulted in his working with local law enforcement to apprehend a fugitive drug dealer.

  “So what you’re saying is you never leave your work behind.” She drained the last of her beer and grinned at him.

  “Yeah, well, when’s the last trip you took without a recorder?”

  She laughed in response. “I’ll have to plead the Fifth on that one.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Their gazes connected and they both grinned.

  “So what about a wife?” The question escaped her lips before she could stop it.

  Brad’s eyebrows lifted. “Do I have one, or have I ever had one?”

  “I’d like to think you don’t have a spouse waiting at home for you while you have dinner with another woman.” He didn’t strike her as the type of man to be so cavalier about his marriage.

  “You’d be right. No wife. Never had one. You? Husband, I mean.”

  Kate shook her head. “With my work, relationships are too complicated.”

  “Only if you make them that way.” He peeled the label off the beer. “I used to tell myself the same thing, but honestly, I just wasn’t ready to give part of myself to someone else.”

  There went that past tense again. She swallowed a lump in her throat, decided not to venture in through the door he opened. Some things were best left alone. “Want another beer?” The grandfather clock in the living room began to chime and she stopped, tilting her head to one side. “It can’t be midnight already.”

  Brad checked his watch. “Time has a way of flying when you least want it to.”

  His words had her turning around. She placed the bottle on the counter. “Thanks for coming. You must have known I didn’t want to be alone.”

  He lifted one shoulder, let it fall. “I guessed.”

  “You were probably one hell of a detective.”

  “I like to think so.” Brad stood, carried his plate to the sink. “Let me help you clean up.” He reached for a box of the remaining Kung Pao chicken but she captured his hand to stop him, then froze.

  Their gazes connected, their breaths stilling. A magnetic force pulled her closer to him. He leaned forward and she met him halfway.

  The kiss startled them both. They broke away quickly, both talking about the lateness of the hour and the early start to their workdays.

  She walked him to the front door, as nervous as a girl on her first date. He’d been as taken aback as she, and now neither seemed to know what to say. Despite Brad’s disagreement, they hadn’t liked each other from the beginning. So the sizzling attraction flaring made her both uncomfortable and defensive.

  A relationship was the last thing on her mind. Well, it had been…until tonight. Being with Brad had given her mind the opportunity to see what could be—one half of a couple. And she’d liked it too much.

  At the door, Brad spun around, and before she could react he caught her in his arms and kissed her, this time without hesitation, without pulling back. This wasn’t a kiss from a man unsure of himself but from one who knew what he wanted, suspected she wanted the same thing.

  Kate’s hands fluttered against his chest as she melted into the touch of his warm lips against hers. She’d forgotten what it felt like to be this close to a man, to feel this connection. The reminder sent her senses into overload.

  Then it was over, Brad lifting his head to trail his fingers down her cheek. “Good night, Kate.”

  Her tongue thick in her mouth, she barely managed a reply. She didn’t watch him walk to his car but listened to his retreating footsteps and the sound of the engine starting. It hummed in tune with her heart, and she resisted the urge to skip down the hallway.

  Brad hadn’t said he’d call her but after that kiss, she just might have to call him. Her face hot, she pressed her hands against her cheeks. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been kissed like that or any other way. And Brad’s touch had been an eye-opener, giving her a bird’s-eye view of what she was missing out on in life.

  A knock on the door wiped the smile from her face. Had Brad left something? She did a quick scan of the kitchen before retreating to the door to answer. Caution had her brushing the curtain aside again, and her blood iced. A scream built up in her throat before she released it at a deafening level.

  John Ramsey’s face stared back at her.

  Kate’s call came less than ten minutes after he left, and Brad sped through several red lights and curbed the truck too many times to count before he pulled into the driveway of her two-story plantation-style house. The sight of three police units propelled him out of the car and he raced up the concrete to her front door.

  Uniformed officers milled around the living room while one stood talking to Kate, who sat on a plush sofa with her hands clasped together and her face pale. Brad came to her side and she looked up, relief darkening her eyes.

  “What’s going on?” He sat down beside her, took her hand in his. She curled her fingers inward, squeezing his hand.

  “I saw him, Brad. Ramsey was at my front door. I know it sounds ridiculous but it was his face.”

  Shock twisted his insides. Nothing was ridiculous when it came to John Ramsey. Brad removed his phone he’d clipped to his belt, trying not to think of the potential nightmare if this one prisoner had somehow escaped maximum-security prison. The officer standing in front of them asked a question but Brad held up a finger to hold him off.

  “This is Jericho. Put
me through to Sergeant Honesly now.”

  The switchboard operator connected him immediately and the sergeant’s gruff voice answered. “Boss, what’s up?”

  “Ramsey. Is he in his cell?”

  “Where else would he be?” A chuckle accompanied the low growl.

  “It’s not a trivia question, Honesly. Check on him now.”

  Brad’s tone snapped the sergeant to attention. “Yes, sir. Hold the line.”

  “This is Brad Jericho,” Kate introduced Brad to the questioning officer. “He’s the warden at Marsden.”

  Static crackled over the line when Honesly released the hold button. “Sir, Ramsey is in his cell, playing solitaire.”

  “Thanks.” Brad ended the call before the sergeant could ask any questions. He returned his phone to the belt holder before shifting on the sofa to face Kate. “Ramsey’s still in his cell.”

  Kate shook her head, her lower lip caught between her teeth. “I saw him, Brad. I’m not imagining things.” She twisted one lock of hair around her finger. “He was standing right there when I pulled the curtain aside.”

  “Sir, if you wouldn’t mind answering some questions,” the police officer interrupted. “Do you have any reason to believe John Ramsey was, at any point during this evening, out of his cell?”

  Brad jerked his head up. “No. The guy’s on death row.” He gave Kate’s hand a reassuring squeeze. He didn’t doubt her for one second. Ramsey was more slippery than a snake on ice and he had, without a doubt, made connections on the inside. Most of those connections might not be willing to help him, but if they treasured their lives, they would.

  “Right. Ms. Elliott is aware of this but is adamant she saw him. We told her it’s an impossibility but she is insistent that we speak with Mr. Ramsey.”

  “Please don’t talk about me like I’m not here,” Kate snapped, yanking her hand out of Brad’s. “I know it’s impossible. It doesn’t change what I saw.”

  “It could have been the light—”