Beholden

by Pat Warren

  Bob sat on the stool that the doctor had vacated and took over. “Terry, how well do you know the officers at Central Precinct, the men your father used to work under?”

  “Some I know fairly well because they used to come over often. My folks are Irish and they have this big old house off Central Avenue. Almost every weekend, there were family gatherings or some kind of holiday celebration. Mac, for instance, was there a lot. Even Captain Marino came for Dad’s retirement party.”

  “So if I described a couple of the men to you, you’d be able to put a name to the description?”

  “A physical description, you mean, or a psychological profile?”

  Jones thought that over a moment. “Let’s start with the physical.”

  “That one’s easier. Sure, if I know them, I probably could come up with a name.”

  “All right.” Jones had a thick file on every officer at Central and had spent time interviewing most of them. “This man’s in his fifties, tall, on the thin side, with very little hair that he can’t seem to stop stroking. He always looks a little rumpled. He gives the impression of being unsure of himself.”

  Halfway through the recitation, Terry began smiling. “That sounds like Earl Bates. I believe he’s a detective now.” A thought struck her and she frowned. “Don’t tell me Earl’s involved in all this?”

  “Don’t second-guess me. Let’s try another one. This man’s in his forties, good-looking, divorced with no children. He’s got sandy hair barely beginning to gray, but it’s styled and he never looks like he needs a haircut. His clothes are well tailored, conservative, spiffy enough to be on a magazine cover.”

  Terry nodded. “Stop right there. There’s only one man at Central that fits that description. Lieutenant Remington. The men always talk about how he looks like someone out of GQ, behind his back, of course.”

  “Did he ever come around to your father’s house?”

  She thought back a moment. “Not regularly. Probably at the retirement party, but I don’t remember seeing him much, except occasionally when I’d drop by the station to meet Dad.”

  “Can you tell me anything specific about Phil Remington, about his manner, his wardrobe?”

  “I’ve only had a couple of conversations with him over the years, though I’ve seen him at least a dozen times. His manner is very professional, very competent, but he’s not a warm man. You mentioned his clothes. He has excellent taste. His ex-wife’s family has pots of money and I guess Phil got used to buying quality things.” Something came to her and she smiled. “He gets kidded a lot about these imported Italian wing tip shoes he wears, but it doesn’t faze him. He keeps on wearing them.” She saw Bob raise his eyes to Luke. A knowing look passed between them. “What?” she asked, looking from one to the other. “What did I say?”

  Jones braced his elbows on his knees, his eyes on her. “When you were under hypnosis, you said you couldn’t remember much about the fourth man in the car except that he had a razor-sharp crease in his pants, wore wing tip shoes, and had a briefcase on the floor by his feet. The initials in gold were P.R.”

  Terry’s hand went to her mouth as she gasped. “Oh, no. Not the lieutenant, too.”

  Walking over to gaze into the smoldering fire, Jones looked lost in thought. This revelation of Terry’s had far-reaching ramifications as Remington had been acting chief since the captain was out on sick leave. If the man currently in charge was arrested for participating, or even being present, during a cold-blooded murder, subsequent cover-up, and endangerment of the only witness, there was a great deal more at stake here than they’d originally suspected.

  Stooping to shore up the fire, Luke glanced up at his superior officer. “Think her testimony under hypnosis is enough to arrest Remington?”

  Bob scrubbed a hand over his face. “Doubtful. But if we can verify that Remington was out that day at that hour, if he can’t prove his whereabouts, if we ask around and get lucky, finding someone who saw him returning or stepping out of that gray sedan. Then if we question the lieutenant and he sweats a lot or gives us vague answers, we’ll talk him into a lie detector test. If he flunks that, we’ll play the tape for a judge. We’re looking at more than one murder here and police corruption at a very high level. I think a judge will give us some leeway.”

  “More than one murder?” Terry questioned.

  Jones turned to her. “More like four, most probably. Lynn Hartley, certainly, since we have proof that your car was tampered with. And we strongly suspect that the deaths of Officer Jerry Foster and his partner, Neil Manning, are directly related. We just can’t prove it all yet.”

  Lynn’s smiling face floated into Terry’s mind, and she swallowed hard. “I hope you can prove the case, that you can put them all away.”

  Luke captured her gaze, saw the sadness in her eyes. “We will, Terry.”

  “Yes,” Bob agreed, “with your help, we will.” He checked his watch and saw that it was nearly three. He picked up the tape recorder and looked over at Dr. Ward. “I think we’d better get going, Rufus. We have a plane to catch and quite a drive to the airport ahead of us.”

  Luke went to get their coats. He returned wearing his shoes and jacket. “I’ll walk out with you,” he said, handing each man their outerwear.

  “It was good meeting you, Miss Ryan,” Dr. Ward said as he buttoned his coat and opened the front door.

  “The same here, Doctor.” She watched him step outside, then glanced at Luke, obviously waiting for Bob by the door.

  “I’ll join you in a minute,” Jones told Luke. He waited until the door closed behind both men, then turned to Terry. “Thank you for helping us, Terry.” He searched her face, searched for the right words. “Is there anything you need, anything you want to talk about?”

  She knew what he was getting at, but decided to let him ask. “Naturally, I’d like this to be over, to at least have a court date set soon. I don’t suppose you have any idea how much longer?”

  “Unfortunately, I can’t just waltz in with this new evidence and get an indictment. I have to build the case. This takes time.”

  “I understand. Otherwise, I can’t think of a thing, thank you. I have everything I need, under the circumstances.”

  Hands in his coat pockets, Bob studied her. She seemed to be handling things with a calmness that surprised him, considering all she’d been through. And it wasn’t over yet. If Luke had given her that sense of security, what would happen to her when he took it away, which Bob firmly believed he would?

  He glanced toward the master bedroom door pointedly, then back to meet her steady gaze. “You and Luke are… ”

  “Close friends, yes.” She saw no reason to fence with him. Her chin came up a notch. She had nothing to be ashamed of. They were both free, unmarried. “I take it you don’t approve.”

  “It’s not for me to approve or disapprove, except as it affects your safety and the resolution of this case.” His loyalty to his friend and his heartfelt duty to warn this young woman warred with one another. “Have you thought about what will happen when this is all over?”

  Folding her arms over her chest, Terry strolled to the fire, needing some distance. “At first, I took everything one day at a time, surviving being uppermost on my mind. But later, of course I’ve spent many hours wondering about the future.”

  Bob was well aware they weren’t discussing the case, and knew she was, too. “You’re in love with him,” he stated, wondering if she’d deny it.

  Terry turned back to face Chief Jones. “Yes, but I’m not naive or stupid. I’m not sure Luke’s ready to trust someone completely.” A sad smile came and went. “But you see, I can’t just turn off my feelings, even if I wanted to.”

  She’d made her point and Bob could see it cost her. She wasn’t the sort to talk about such deep feelings with veritable strangers. “I can see that he’s told you some about his background.” He drew in a thoughtful breath. “It isn’t that Luke’s incapable of caring or trusting. I happen to
feel that he’s got a great many emotions stored up inside. But, because of things that happened to him years ago, he’s unwilling to let himself care too much for fear that person will walk away, as others have in his past.”

  “I think you’re right.”

  “Under other circumstances, I’d urge you to bide your time, that eventually he’ll come around. But you two have been thrown together under stressful circumstances, and it may get worse. That has to play a part in all this. I worry about your safety if Luke’s concentration is impaired.”

  She knew that Jones had the power to replace Luke. She didn’t want that, couldn’t imagine adjusting to a new agent until the trial. And she didn’t want what little time she might have left with Luke to be shortened. “His concentration’s as keen as ever. We were outside in the snow before you came. He had me inside and safe in less than a minute after hearing the sound of your engine, long before your car came into sight. I trust him. I know he won’t let anything happen to me.”

  Love had definitely colored her judgment. However, she’d run once and if he replaced Luke now, she might take off again. Terry Ryan wasn’t your average frightened witness. She was spirited, stubborn, smart. He needed her cooperation in order to get her testimony. Then he could stand back and let her work out her problems with Luke. “All right, Terry. I’ll call as soon as we know something positive.”

  Outside, Luke was stewing. He doubted if he was going to get off scot-free without a lecture from Jones. Pulling up his collar against a chill wind, he squinted up at a cloudy gray sky. “Looks like we may get more snow,” he commented casually to the doctor, who was shivering by the Explorer.

  “Get in, Rufus,” Bob said, coming out and walking over to where Luke stood. “I’ll join you in a minute.” When he heard the car door close, he turned to Luke. “How’s Terry been acting since you found her? Any signs she may bolt again?”

  Luke thought he’d give a lot to know what had been said inside. “Not a one. As I mentioned, she took off because of the surgery suggestion.”

  “The two scars on her face aren’t as bad as I thought they’d be.”

  Luke scuffed the toe of his shoe at the hard-packed snow where they’d rolled the snowman’s body. “She says when this is all over, she’ll have those taken care of on her own.”

  Bob supposed there was no good way to say what was uppermost on his mind. No matter the approach, Luke was bound to get defensive. Since he’d heard Terry’s version, he wanted now to hear Luke’s. “Do you know what you’re doing?” he began.

  Luke wasn’t going to insult his old friend by pretending he didn’t understand. “I think so.”

  “I imagine you remember Jill?”

  A muscle in Luke’s jaw twitched. “This is different. I was young then, and inexperienced.”

  “True, but did you learn your lesson?”

  Luke turned away, his anger rising even though he knew Bob had every right to call him down. Jones missed nothing. Even if the bedroom arrangement hadn’t been obvious, the intimacy between him and Terry was something a green rookie could have spotted. The surprise visit had caught him off guard, with no time to brief her. “The cardinal rule, never fall for the witness you’re protecting,” he recited, then swiveled back, his expression inscrutable. “You’re wrong. I’m not in love with her.”

  “Maybe not, but she’s in love with you.” If ever a man needed a woman in his life who cared deeply, it was Luke Tanner. But not this woman, not at this time.

  “I’ve made her no promises, told her no lies. She looks young, but she’s a big girl. She knows this is a… an interlude. That when it ends, we’ll go our separate ways.”

  “Does she?” Bob Jones rarely lost his temper, seldom raised his voice. He was about to do both now. “Damn it, Luke, you can’t see the forest for the trees. What if this case gets messed up because our only witness is too emotionally involved with her protector? I don’t want to see that girl get hurt.”

  “That won’t happen. Terry’s stronger than she looks. She’ll testify and I’ll keep her in one piece until she does. Nothing else is relevant.”

  Jones decided to push just a little harder. “I can take you off the case, replace you.”

  Luke’s eyes were flinty as he looked at his chief. “Yeah, you can. But you won’t. You have my word. There’ll be no screwup. If something goes wrong, you won’t have to remove me. I’ll personally turn in my badge to you.”

  “By then, it may be too late.” Bob studied Luke’s stony silent reaction for another few seconds, then nodded. “All right. Don’t let me down. This is too important. We’ve got a great deal riding on this, several lives, hundreds of man-hours, lots of money.” He opened the driver’s door.

  “Don’t you think I know that?” Luke asked quietly.

  “When a woman becomes all-important to a man, very often his good judgment flies out the window. I’d hate to see you blow your career.” He got behind the wheel, then looked up before pulling the door closed. “You never should have touched her, Luke.”

  Clenching his jaw tightly, Luke watched Bob turn the Explorer around, then start down the snowy path. For long minutes afterward, he stood staring after them, his thoughts murky. Finally, he turned and slowly walked back to the cabin.

  Inside, Terry let the drape fall back into place on the window and walked over to the couch. She’d watched Luke and Bob argue for some time alongside the rented Explorer. Two tall, guarded, implacable men. The casual observor might not have thought from where she stood that they were arguing. But she knew the signs—the rigid stance, the subtle shifting of weight from one foot to the other, the intense eyes that could intimidate so easily.

  They’d been arguing about her, she was certain. Perhaps about the incident where she’d run away. Or maybe on how to handle her as their only witness, how to keep her from leaving again before that nebulous court date. But more likely, they’d been arguing about her relationship with Luke. She’d seen Luke’s back stiffen out there, seen his defensive look. Bob had probably been even more blunt with Luke than he’d been with her.

  Luke came in, stomping snow from his shoes, then stepping out of them. He tossed his jacket onto the chair and walked to the fire, rubbing his hands together. “Damn cold out there.” He turned and saw the speculative look on her face. “Are you all right?”

  “Fine.” She watched him sit down beside her, wondering if he’d tell her what he and Jones had talked about if she asked.

  Her cheeks were flushed from the heat of the fireplace. To his annoyance, Luke found himself wanting her desperately just that quickly. It had been hours since he’d held her in his arms out in the snow. Do you know what you’re doing? Bob had asked. Hell, no, came the answer, more truthfully now. He turned to scowl back at the fire.

  “I guess your conversation with Bob wasn’t too cheery,” Terry finally said, hating the sudden tension in the room. When his frown deepened, she decided she’d hit the nail on the head. Perhaps she could distract him, seduce him out of his mood. “Why don’t you kiss me?”

  “I’m all cold.”

  “I don’t care. Kiss me anyhow.”

  He knew he shouldn’t, yet he couldn’t resist her. He pulled her close, both pleased and frightened that she seemed to want him every bit as much as he wanted her.

  Long, breathless moments later, Terry pulled back to look at him. She saw a hunger in his eyes that was as deep as her own. Then he frowned again, and she saw caution overshadow his need. “Maybe we should talk,” she suggested, which wasn’t at all what she really wanted to do.

  “About what?” He bent to nibble on her neck. God, she smelled so good. He didn’t want to think, didn’t want to talk. He wanted to lose himself in her while he still could.

  “You got a lecture out there, didn’t you? From Jones. About me.”

  He’d caught her determined look and knew she wasn’t going to drop this. “He worries too much.” Luke sat back, thrusting his legs toward the fire. “He’s like
an old woman, always fretting.”

  “Please don’t joke about this. Am I a problem for you, Luke?”

  The biggest one he’d ever tackled. “What did he say to you? What did he ask you?”

  “He didn’t ask in so many words, but he guessed that we’re more than just friends.”

  Luke felt his temper rise. “I hope you told him to go to hell for prying.”

  “I told him the truth.”

  “Shit!”

  “Should I have lied? He’s worried that I’ll keep you from doing your job, that I’ll distract you and we’ll both be hurt.”

  Luke swallowed down his temper and tried to put things in perspective. Nothing had really changed. “If you knew Jones better, you’d realize he worries about everything from the ozone layer to the national debt to the escalating cost of orange juice. Don’t you know that most things we worry about never happen? It’s the things we never give much thought to that knock us for a loop.”

  “You can say that again, like leaving work and witnessing a friend’s killing that changes your entire life.” Terry sighed. Always, it came back to that.

  He hated that haunted look that took over her eyes. “That pretty much threw a monkey wrench in my plans, too. There I was, happily puttering around my ranch, fixing sagging porches, laying tile on the patio, talking to my faithful dog when along came Jones and begged me on bended knee to take on this case. To interrupt my vacation to watch over this beautiful damsel in distress.”

  Terry had to smile at that. “Oh, and wasn’t she beautiful? Battered, beaten, burned, and bald. No wonder you dropped your life for this knockout of a woman.”

  “Damn, there she goes, fishing again.” He scooted over, turning her into his arms. “I happen to like bald women. Would you shave your head if I asked you real nice?”

  Nearly nose to nose with him, she decided to let him elevate her mood. She slid her hands into his thick hair. “No, but I think if we don’t cut yours soon, we’ll have to put it in a ponytail. Or braid it. Something.”