by Geri Krotow
When the bitch had started to walk around the perimeter of the building, he’d had to run and use the way he’d come in earlier. It had been so exciting, carrying the backpack with the explosives, he’d almost been unable to cut the fence his hands had been shaking so badly.
She’d gotten too close and he’d have lost a lot if he’d been caught by her or one of her bullets. Although he doubted the bitch could shoot. Women weren’t designed to fire guns. They were made by the Creator of earth to bear fruit in their wombs. That was what Brother Wise reminded them every night at their prayer gatherings.
But she hadn’t caught him—he’d caught her, on tape, and he’d taken a few stills of her, too. With any luck he’d have perfect profiles of her to share with Brother Wise so that she could be brought to real justice. Her ID had been clipped to her bulletproof vest, too, and he hoped it showed him what he really wanted. Her name. He wasn’t going to tell Brother Wise or anyone about that yet, though. Not until he had the real McCoy to bring to the New Thought founder.
* * *
“Have a seat, everyone.” Keith walked slowly into his townhome and nodded toward the living room as he, Abi and Rio entered. Abi took in her surroundings and immediately decided she’d underestimated Keith. While his place had a bachelor pad stamp on it, with a few obvious things like a Kegerator, Xbox game console with fancy remotes and the largest flat-screen she’d ever seen in a residential home, it was purposefully decorated. Contemporary hound dog with touches of genuine domesticity.
“Is that parsley on your sink windowsill?” Sprays of herbs grew from utilitarian terra-cotta pots.
“What, you don’t think Neanderthals can sprout seeds?” Keith was in pain, his back sore, but his humor was intact. Abi smiled.
“Enough. Abi, make us a pot of coffee. Or tea. Or water. Keith, sit your ass down and take a load off.” Rio was all cop, his orders in the form of barks. It was easy to forget that Rio had almost lost a friend today, too.
Abi tried to shove down her embarrassment. She felt every bit the fool she’d been since she’d met Keith. It was clear to Rio that she cared a little more than one usually did for a work partner. Offering comfort to Keith after his near-death event was one thing, but continuing to hold his hand through the next several minutes? Flirting with him just now? Probably a bit too much.
She filled the carafe with tap water and routed in the cupboards for a coffee filter and a bag of beans. Keith had a grinder on the counter and she made short work of the hand-roasted blend, purchased from a local gourmet coffee shop according to the label. She would have pegged Keith for more of a Folgers dude.
“Come on out, Abi.” Rio called her from the living room.
“Just a sec.” She set the pot on and brought out water glasses she’d filled for all of them. “Keith, this is most important for you, as the hospital was most adamant about your hydration.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
They all looked at one another, appreciating the quiet and calm after the deadly chaos.
Then they got to work.
Chapter 12
Abi spent the next few days completing her investigative work at the remaining arson sites. Her methods didn’t change but her overall comfort level was much less as she missed having Keith with her. He needed daily physical therapy to get his back right, and he had his own work to see to, especially after the warehouse fire.
Face it, you miss him.
She did miss Keith, but it wasn’t the time to muddy up the waters of the investigation with a relationship. Especially one that would risk her blowing her cover. Keith wasn’t the kind of man to take anything at half measure. Which made her imagine exactly what kind of measures he’d take with her body.
“Hey, Abi.” Rio’s voice startled her. He sat across from her in the small office the station had allocated her for the time she worked on the arson cases. “Figure out anything more?”
“No. Any word on the security tapes from Amoeba’s warehouse security?”
“That’s what I came in to tell you. We’re bringing in an employee who was caught using his forklift to load flammables into the explosives area of the warehouse. It’s all on tape. I’m going to handle that, but I want you to speak to Cassandra Hudson and get her take on this employee.”
“No problem. Do you want me to go to her?”
“No, have her come in here. She already gave a statement the day of the fire but now that she thinks she knows who was responsible she may have more light to shed on it.”
“Fine, but I’m a little confused, Rio. Wouldn’t there be several layers of management between her and a forklift driver?”
“The term in distribution circles is ‘put-away drivers.’” Rio grinned. “It sounds so basic, doesn’t it? But it’s a tough job and the local warehouses have a difficult time keeping qualified employees hired. It’s high burnout and requires a knack for depth and space perception.”
“How do you know this?”
“I worked at a warehouse the summer after college, before I got accepted into the police academy. Good pay, long hours and I’m grateful I’m a cop. Anyway, Cassie is infamous for her involvement in every aspect of her business, to include the warehouse. I guarantee you that she knows this operator by name and probably his family’s deal, too. She’s hands-on. It’s part of what made her so successful.”
“Good to know. She sounds like the perfect witness. I’ll call her.”
“Thanks, Abi.”
Rio stood. “By the way, Keith is back at work. In case you didn’t already know.” He left and she was glad he didn’t see her blush, as she was sure she was doing.
Keith hadn’t made contact with her and she felt a familiar squeeze of discomfort in her middle. She’d wrestled with her embarrassment for being so demonstrative when he’d been injured. Holding his hand at the scene, really?
She put the call into Cassandra Hudson and focused on preparing for the interview. It was better than beating herself up over something so trivial in the big picture.
And kept her from brooding over the fact that Keith hadn’t made an attempt to contact her since the warehouse fire. Not even for work. Not that she expected him to call her socially, but more to ask how the investigation was going.
Abi stared at her desk as her heart dropped. She was willing to let go of her past, start over in Silver Valley. Somehow that had become synonymous with having Keith in her life, and not just as a work colleague.
Was there any chance that Keith had come to the same conclusion about her?
* * *
Cassandra Hudson was tall, with long red hair that framed her intelligent eyes. Eyes that looked at Abi with a sense of purpose. Abi liked her immediately. In no way did Cassandra exude a diva attitude or give off the sense that she thought she was better than anyone else because she was one of the top CEOs in the world. If Abi didn’t know it, she’d think Cassandra Hudson was any other Silver Valley woman. She had a sense of complete ease as she sat in the chair Abi offered, and helped herself to a bottle of water set out on a tray with store-bought cookies.
“Please, call me Cassie. Everyone here does.” She downed half the bottle of water. “Sorry, but I’ve been working at the warehouse ’round the clock since the fire, trying to salvage what we can.”
“Were you able to salvage any of your inventory?” Abi watched Cassie as she answered questions. Body language revealed more about a person than their words.
“We’re not sure yet. The smoke damage has just about wiped our inventory out. To be honest, now that I’m over the shock of losing it all, it’s okay. I know it will be okay. We can always have more manufactured. Our customers are willing to wait for our products, and the wait won’t be that long. I consider my company, myself, very, very lucky that no one was hurt.”
“Except for two firefighters.”
“Oh, my gosh, yes, of course. I wasn’t forgetting that. They saved my employees who would have been stuck in that part of the warehouse. Keith and Tiger are great guys.”
“Yes, they are. So, you’ve had a chance to look at the security tapes?”
Cassie nodded. “Yes. It was clear to me that the person responsible for the fire was Ethan McSherry, but it sure surprised me. I mean, he’s been one of my most valuable employees at that level of operations. Never late, never missed work.”
“Why are you sure he’s responsible, Cassie?”
Cassie’s eyes widened. “For one, he was caught on tape loading dangerous materials—chemistry kits and such—alongside cleaning supplies. We don’t store cleaning supplies in the actual warehouse where we store merchandise. They’re kept in a separate part of the building. Second, he got the load of bleach and ammonia from separate trailers, which means he had to purposefully place them alongside the flammable kits we have for older children. This isn’t something that can be done by accident, even if you tried. The fact that he timed the placement of the cleaning supplies within hours of when the fire was started is pretty damning. I mean, I’m no police officer or detective like you, but I know my products, my warehouse.”
“Tell me what you know about Mr. McSherry.”
“Ethan came to work for us three years ago. He’s a high school graduate who wanted a better paying job than flipping burgers. With no specific skills, the warehouse was the perfect environment for him. He always seemed upbeat, happy to be at work, to have a job. He used to show me pictures of his kids on his phone during his breaks.” Cassie trailed off, her gaze looking over Abi’s shoulder as she thought. “You know, now I remember seeing his wife at the family picnic and fun day we have every August. They were newlyweds when he started with us but already she was pregnant, and it turned out to be twins. They’ve had two more kids since the twins—they were all at the last picnic.”
“Anything unusual about his wife? Have you met her?”
“Yes, and she was very shy but nice and friendly the first couple of times. This last time I remember in particular because she got into an altercation with another worker’s husband. It was about him being married to another man—she had strong feelings about that.” Cassie shuddered. “It was truly awful. My company is founded on equal opportunity and tolerance. It’s a toy company—we pride ourselves on diversity. Ethan’s wife was spewing some hateful stuff. Fortunately the other employee’s husband walked away and chalked it up to plain old ugly bigotry.” Cassie took another sip of water. “I was horrified and apologized to both the spouse and my employee.”
“Did you say anything to Ethan?”
“No, actually that time I let my general manager of the warehouse handle it. There wasn’t anything to say, really, because it wasn’t one employee going after another. If it had been Ethan, I would have fired him on the spot. He’d never given any indication of being anything more than a dedicated associate. None of the other workers have ever complained about him.”
“You seem to know your employees well.”
“It’s a small operation, all told. Amazing, isn’t it? With a global reach. Technology and the internet have made it globally successful. I’ve always believed that knowing my employees and treating them like family is key to a thriving business.” Cassie blinked, her eyes pooling with tears. “That’s what makes this so hard. Amoeba is a huge financial plus for Silver Valley and the entire region. It boosts the economy, and we contribute to many local charities. To have a local commit such an act of brutal violence, starting a fire...” She wiped her tears with her fingers. “All I can say is that you won’t catch the bastards soon enough for me.”
Abi liked Cassie. A lot. “We’re on it. Thank you for your time and for coming in again today. I know you’ve got your work cut out for you with rebuilding.”
Cassie shook her head. “It’s nothing, really. What the firefighters did, what you’re doing—you’ve got the tough job. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, but thank me after we close the loop on the folks who burned down your warehouse.”
* * *
Nothing new had crossed Abi’s desk in the week after she’d interviewed Cassandra Hudson. She used the time to secure a small business loan for her shop, after she’d made sure there were no similar businesses in the area. A plus to the case slowdown was that she found herself at home more in the evenings. Abi was grateful for the lull in the case the past week had offered as she sipped her jasmine tea and watched the sunset from the bay window the previous owners, the Pearsons, had installed in a back living room. It was more of a great room, an addition that added almost a thousand square feet of living space that was equally perfect for holiday gatherings and quiet alone times. She’d flipped the gas fireplace on to chase the cold chill the rain had brought, and ate her dinner in front of the warmth as the natural light faded. Finally the skies were clearing, allowing for spectacular shades of peach and violet to frame the mountain ridge. When she’d lived in DC, it had been a rare evening on which she’d caught the sun setting over the Potomac. Yes, Abi definitely liked it here.
Her phone buzzed and she contemplated ignoring it. They hadn’t had a break in the arson and cult case since the arrest of Ethan McSherry. The problem was that he wasn’t talking a whole hell of a lot. Not enough to incriminate the real source of the criminal activity: Leonard Wise. And they couldn’t prove either Ethan or his wife was involved in the cult, not yet anyhow.
She relented and looked at her caller ID. “Abi, here.”
“How are you?” She closed her eyes at Keith’s voice, wishing again she could replay those moments next to him while the EMTs tended to his injuries. Why did she have to go all girly?
“I’m fine, Keith. What can I do for you?”
“I was hoping we could get together. To talk. About the case.” He’d left a pause between his statements that was long enough to give her too much room to imagine.
“Right now? Can it wait until the morning?” As much as she’d love to see him, she couldn’t trust that she’d keep things professional. That her hands wouldn’t grab him, touch him, run her fingers through his hair.
“I’d rather clear the air now.” Keith’s voice convinced her to ignore her concerns.
She looked at her watch. “Where do you want to meet and when?”
“Are you home?”
“I am.”
“I’ll come to you.”
“Okay.” She spoke to the empty room as Keith had already disconnected. A quick glance at her empty plate and another empty mug from this morning motivated her to start a quick cleanup. Not that she cared if Keith thought she was a slob.
As she walked from the living room to the renovated kitchen, she heard a scraping noise and froze. Complete silence enveloped her and, after a few moments, she figured it had to be a critter, maybe an opossum in the basement or a groundhog against the house foundation. The yoga girls had told her that it was common to find all kinds of mammals in the crooks and crannies of an old farmhouse this time of year, when the temperatures could still dip uncomfortably low.
Stacking the dishes in the sink, she reached to turn on the hot water to rinse them and heard it again. Scratch, scratch, scratch. Followed by a click.
The back door.
Dropping to the floor, she crawled to the kitchen table where she’d dropped her purse and holster. Abi took out her weapon and held it in front of her, posing in a catlike crouch. She made out the outline of a tall man through the white, eyelet-trimmed curtains that obscured the window on the kitchen door, which had been opened a crack. A light flared and illuminated his profile more but before she could react he pushed the door all the way open and threw an object into the house.
Glass crashed and she smelled gasoline.
“Freeze!”
The man’s face reflected stunned surprise. Recognition dawned with a jolt. Mr. Taylor! Hadn’t he noticed her vehicle outside? He had a baseball bat in his hand and, after a quick meeting of their eyes, he turned and fled.
Abi began pursuit. She jumped over the back porch railing as his form headed for the fields surrounding her house. He was aiming for the cornfield that had just started its rapid growth. Once he reached it, she’d be hard-pressed to find him.
“Taylor, stop or I will shoot!” She forced the words out as she ran, full-bore, at the man. He showed no sign of wavering, no movement that indicated he was going to turn back or stop.
They were twenty yards from the cornfield.
Abi used her training to dig deep and call upon the sprinter she’d once been. She thanked God for all the hours at the track when she reached the suspect. Grabbing his shoulder, she forced him to spin around. Abi kicked his groin and shoved against his face, making him drop to his knees and then into a fetal position.
Her weapon trained on him, she watched the groaning man while slowly doing a visual sweep of the area. “Are you alone?”
He continued to groan.
“Answer me!”
“Yes. I’m alone.” This through clenched teeth.
She got close enough to make out his face for the second time. “Mr. Taylor, want to explain to me what the hell you’re doing?”
* * *
Keith pulled up to Abi’s house, ready to do battle with the toughest woman he’d ever met. Also the woman he’d been most attracted to in his lifetime. Which he had to admit said a lot; he’d never claimed he was a monk.
The front of the house was unassuming in the growing dusk but he anticipated the welcoming warmth inside. Heat that had nothing to do with Abi’s fireplace. He walked up to the front door and pressed the doorbell. As he waited, he looked around. He smelled the distinct odor of something burning. Was Abi grilling outside?
