Night Watch

by Susan Sleeman

  Obviously, she didn’t think his day was as hard as Kennedy’s, as she was allowing him to help. When his mom came back into the room, bringing with her the savory smell of her famous rosemary bread, Erik put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Thanks for coming, Mom. You’re the best mother a guy could ask for.”

  Her mouth fell open. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. Just thinking about Kennedy having lost both of her parents, and I’m still blessed with two wonderful ones. Figured it was time I said something.” He looked at his dad. “You’re great too, Dad.”

  “Well, sure. I knew that.” He blew on his fingers and rubbed them on his chest as he gave a deep belly laugh.

  Erik laughed with his dad and appreciated lightening up for a minute, just like Erik was sure his dad had planned. As a former detective, Erik’s dad had experienced many difficult situations, but Erik could only remember a few times when he’d brought any of the turmoil home with him. And the times he did, he’d sequestered himself in his bedroom.

  “We need to take Kennedy under our wing.” His mother’s gaze drifted to the hallway. “Give her the emotional support she needs. Maybe she should come stay with us.”

  “More secure here.”

  “But—”

  “No buts, Mom. Her life is in danger, and we have to do our best to protect her. That means remaining right here where security is top-notch.”

  “I could stay with her.”

  “She’s calling her sister to come over, and they’ll need time alone.”

  “You never mentioned why the two of you broke up.” His mom called the words over her shoulder as she went to the kitchen island to retrieve a large bowl.

  “Not something I can talk about.” He tipped the pitcher over the nearest glass and listened to the ice tinkling as it spilled out. Made him think of how his life had tumbled into uncertainty since he’d connected with Kennedy again.

  He lifted Kennedy up in prayer. To ask God to remind her of His faithfulness and enduring love. To remember His promises and the way He’d been there for her in the past.

  That would help to get her through this. Sure, his family could help, but when the big twists and turns of life assaulted a person, only God could provide the support needed to make it through to the other side. Hopefully, she would rely on Him and not try to walk this road alone. She didn’t need to have all of it figured out. God did. Every little detail. She just had to trust Him.

  His mother set the bowl on the table. “You can tell me anything, son.”

  “Not this,” he stated directly and maybe with too much force.

  She held up her hands. “Okay, but if that changes, just know I’m here for you and praying for you both.”

  “Thank you.” He gave her an earnest smile.

  She kissed his cheek and returned to the kitchen.

  Erik saw the sympathetic look on his father’s face. Each of the guys in the family had a special relationship with their dad, and they often confided things in him that they might not say to their mom. Their dad didn’t pry. Their mother hadn’t gotten that message yet.

  Erik finished pouring the water, and Kennedy returned to the room, shoving her new phone into her jeans pocket. The jeans fit her like a glove, and he had no idea how she even got the phone into the pocket.

  “Finley will come over after work tonight. I told her we could order pizza and talk. Is that okay?”

  “Sure. I’ll bring her up and then head to Drake’s condo.”

  “Thank you.” She squeezed his arm, firing off nerve endings.

  He had to swallow to hide his growing interest in her. Not only from Kennedy, but from his mom. If she caught sight of how he was feeling, he might never get her to leave the condo.

  “Uh-huh.” His mother looked at him with a twinkle in her eyes. “Just as I thought.”

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  “Oh, nothing.” She grinned, a Cheshire cat grin. “Lunch is ready. Let’s all sit down and get reacquainted.”

  That look. The one that came from Matchmakers R Us, a term they jokingly applied to their mom and claimed she was a card carrying member, flashed in her eyes. Erik swallowed a groan and sat next to Kennedy.

  He offered a quick prayer for his mom to behave. There was no point in talking about something that would never happen. It would just add anxiety to Kennedy’s already stressful life. Even if she had hurt him, he had no wish for her to suffer any more pain.

  9

  Kennedy sat on Erik’s sofa and listened to him say goodbye to his parents at the door, tears burning in her eyes. She swiped at them and took a few cleansing breaths. Pong was eyeing her from the end of the couch as if she might need his help. She’d take it. She was feeling very lonely right then.

  Seeing Peggy’s love for her family was so uplifting, and Kennedy missed her mom even more. The ache cut so deep that she could hardly get through the hours when she wasn’t busy working. Not only did she want to finish her mother’s project, but Kennedy needed to fill her time. With the anthrax scare, she couldn’t go back to the lab until the scene was decontaminated and released. What was she going to do with her days until then?

  Not sit here and brood, that was for sure. She wasn’t a brooder. She was a doer. She would ask to be involved in the investigation. No, demand it. She had to. For her own sanity. And to finish her quest to find her mother’s killer.

  Erik strode into the room, a pensive expression on his face. He’d had the same look off and on since he’d come back from her mom’s place. Was it what he’d found or because of his mom? Peggy had always been pretty aggressive, but not in a bad way. She just loved her children so much and wanted them to be happy. She’d hinted several times during lunch about Erik and Kennedy getting back together.

  “I’m so glad you survived the meal.” He rolled his eyes and sat between her and Pong, who immediately shifted to rest his head on Erik’s thigh. “My mom can be a handful.”

  “I’ve always liked her, but I can see where it might be tough for a guy to handle.”

  His expression sobered, and he sunk his fingers into Pong’s coat. “I shouldn’t complain about her. Right now, I’m sure you’d be glad to have any kind of mom, and I don’t want you to think I don’t know that.”

  “I would. I really would.” Those incessant tears wet her eyes again. She gave them an angry swat.

  He leaned forward and clasped her hand. “If you need to cry, then cry. Anytime. No one will judge you for it. We just want to offer any comfort we can.”

  She tried swallowing and changing her focus to stem the tears, but they came fast and furious, rolling down her cheeks.

  “Aw, honey. Come here.” Erik moved closer and drew her into his arms.

  She went willingly, giving Pong no choice but to move out of the way, and laid her head against that solid chest, which had once felt the imprint of her head day after day. His solid arms curling around her broke the final straw in her resolve, and she let go. Sobbing. Wetting his shirt.

  He gently ran his fingers over her back in rhythmic circles. “Tell me what to do, honey. How to help.”

  Don’t call me honey. I don’t deserve it after the way I left you.

  Exactly. She didn’t deserve this comfort and support from him, and that was all it took to stop her tears. She needed to push away and put some distance between them before she did something like kiss him.

  She pressed her hands against his chest, and he relaxed his arms. But before she could completely lean back, he ran his thumb over the tears lingering on her cheek. Her heart took a tumble into infinity, and she realized she could easily fall in love with this man again. If she wasn’t still in love with him. This wonderful, considerate man who’d always respected her, loved and cared for her. He’d treated her like a princess, and she’d left him like an ogre. Sure, she had to do it, but he hadn’t deserved the hurt and pain she’d caused.

  His hand slid into her hair, cupping the back of her head. He leaned
closer, as if he were going to kiss her.

  Oh, man, what should she do? Her heart longed for the kiss. Her brain warned her to push back. She should move away. Quickly. But her heart was winning, and she couldn’t budge even an inch.

  But more than anything, she knew even if she could move, she didn’t want to. Didn’t want to at all.

  What in the world was Erik doing? Kissing Kennedy. He had to be certifiably crazy. Completely and totally crazy. And yet…he couldn’t stop. Didn’t want to stop. Her lips were warm and insistent. She wanted the kiss as much as he did, fueling his passion even more.

  He drew her close. Closer. Remembered all the times he’d held her. The good times. When he’d been head-over-heels in love with her. And now? What now? Was he leading her on?

  He felt like an icy wind blew through his condo, chilling his desire. He jerked back before the cold wind froze him in place.

  “I’m sorry.” He ground out the words between deep breaths. “I shouldn’t have done that. It was wrong.”

  Pain constricted her eyes. “Why exactly?”

  “Because it can’t go anywhere. It’s wrong to make you think I’d changed my mind when I haven’t.”

  “About forgiving me?”

  “No. Not that. Not that at all. I’ve forgiven you, and I would never take that back.” He curled his fingers tight against his palms to keep from touching her. “But I’m not interested in a relationship with anyone.”

  “I see.” She crossed her arms.

  He pointed at her arms. “That’s exactly why it was wrong. Now you’re mad or your feelings are hurt, and I didn’t want that to happen. We agreed on professionalism, and we need to follow that agreement. I need to keep my hands and lips to myself.”

  “I’m not mad.” She let her arms fall. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t still attracted to you. I have feelings for you. But after the way I hurt you, I don’t blame you. Not at all.”

  She touched his arm, her soft skin setting a fire burning in his gut again, and he had to resist bolting away and hurting her even more. His best bet was to shift their conversation back to the investigation. That discussion would put a damper on their emotions.

  He jerked to his feet. “Why don’t we sit at the dining table and talk about what I found at your mother’s place. Then you can share it with Finley to see if she has any explanations.”

  “That sounds dire.”

  “It’s concerning.”

  She blinked a couple of times. “Now you’re scaring me.”

  “I don’t mean to. I’ll grab the information.” He all but ran to snatch up his bag, which he’d set on the floor near the kitchen island. Pong trailed him, but he didn’t want the distraction. He pointed at the dog’s crate. “Go to bed, boy.”

  Pong gave Erik a sad look but did as he was told.

  Erik felt Kennedy’s eyes tracking him, but he had to be strong. Just like he’d been raised. Set a goal. Focus on it. Achieve it. Yeah, that was it. Focus on the goals. He had three of them right now. Keep Kennedy safe—top priority. Then find her mother’s killer, if she was indeed murdered. And achieve the first two without causing either Kennedy or himself emotional distress. So, professional it was.

  He remembered his search, and the fire for Kennedy evaporated. He headed back to the table, where she was looking up at him expectantly.

  He set the folder on the table next to his phone, which he’d used to take pictures at her mother’s place. “Before we start, I wanted to tell you I got a call from Sarge. A detective is going to call us for statements about the break-in. Plus, they’re confiscating all the evidence, and they formed a multi-agency task force.”

  “All of this is because of the potential anthrax, right?”

  He nodded. “They also want to see what we’ve learned. Even though the sharing won’t go both ways, we’ll cooperate.”

  “Of course.”

  “Let’s start with your mom’s phone. I only glanced at the data after I imaged it, but her call history has been cleared. Not a single call listed. Same for the internet. Why would she clear it if she didn’t have anything to hide?”

  Kennedy held his gaze. “She wouldn’t. At least, I doubt she would. She hated technology. Well, except for work. Even then, she had her assistant do most of the data entry. And her phone?” Kennedy shook her head. “She didn’t know how to use it for more than making calls and had no desire to learn anything new. I doubt she’d have any idea how to clear the history. Is this a big set back?”

  “Pretty major. Besides seeing who she’d been communicating with recently, we could’ve compared the calls to the phone numbers on the Responsible Official’s list. If we get it.”

  Kennedy pursed her lips. “I could contact the phone company and get her information.”

  “They might give you access, but the problem is, it’s a lengthy process to get paper copies.”

  “I can just ask for access to her online account.”

  “I doubt the phone company will give you that. Even if your mom made you executer of her estate. As such, her will gives you rights to certain assets, but there’s been recent legislation regarding digital access.”

  “Why do you know about this?”

  “You know how I geek out over anything digital.” He flashed a quick smile. “Anyway, she doesn’t specify digital assets, like her online phone account, in her will. Digital assets are different and are subject to federal and state laws. In Oregon, if the will doesn’t specify them, it falls to each service providers’ terms of service agreements. I checked the company’s agreement, and it guarantees user confidentiality even after death.”

  “I’ve never heard of this. Are you sure?”

  “Positive,” he said. “And something people should really be thinking about when they draw up wills these days.”

  She crossed her arms. “So is there anything I can do?”

  “Our best bet is to search her computer and try to obtain passwords.” He settled back in his chair. “I haven’t done that yet as there are other priorities right now. Like this photo of what’s inside your mother’s safe.” He scrolled through the photos to the correct picture and displayed it for Kennedy. “You’re looking at roughly forty grand in cash.”

  Kennedy gaped at the screen. “But I…we…” She shook her head. “Why would my mom have that much cash?”

  “That’s what I was hoping you could tell me. There’s no evidence of any money being withdrawn from her checking account so I have to believe the cash was given to her.”

  “No. No.” She shook her head hard. “Maybe Finley will know where it came from.”

  He didn’t like what he needed to say next, but he had no choice if he wanted to figure out what was going on with the money. “Often when this much cash is found in relation to a murder, the money was gotten by illegal methods. I don’t really think your mom would do anything illegal, but we can’t rule it out.”

  Kennedy’s eyes flashed wide open. “But how can we know?”

  “I’ll review older bank records that I haven’t looked at yet. Maybe she cashed out proceeds from selling her home instead of leaving it in her bank.”

  “But why cash?”

  “Did she ever express concern about keeping money in banks?”

  “Never to me.” Kennedy grabbed a legal pad and pen he’d left on the table and scribbled a note. “I’ll ask Finley about that too. Maybe it’s from before. From when my dad broke the law.”

  “Can’t be. The bills are Series 2003 which are the current bills in circulation today. So too new. Have you given more thought to your dad working in something illegal or even hooking back up with the scammer from his past?”

  Kennedy shook her head so hard her hair slapped in her face. She swiped it away with a frustrated hand. “I can’t imagine him doing it the first time let alone another.”

  “I don’t think your dad would’ve done that either, but if I learned anything in my years on the police force, it’s that people often do un
predictable things.”

  “Yeah, but not my dad. He was solid. Loved his job. Loved my mom and their life. Why go back to the old life?”

  “That will be up to us to find out.”

  She sighed. “It seems like I knew very little about my mom’s everyday existence.”

  “You really can’t know anyone,” Erik said. “You think you do and then wham. They can pull the rug right out from under you.”

  Kennedy gasped. She’d gotten his underlying message. He shouldn’t have said it. Hated himself for needing to say it. Clearly, he wasn’t over the pain she’d caused. Another good reason to keep things professional with her.

  “I’m sorry.” Erik wished he could take his words back. “I know that hurt. I shouldn’t have said it.”

  “Feel free to say whatever you think. You always did, and I loved that about you.”

  “I thought you were the same way until that last day.” He swallowed away his pain. “I get that you had to do what you had to do. There’s nothing you could’ve done differently. But as I told you before. It still stings. Maybe by the time we wrap up this investigation, things will have changed.”

  “I hope so. I’d like us to be friends.”

  Friends. Not likely. He didn’t say that though. No point in hurting her more. He swiped to the next photo on his phone. “I took pictures of your parents’ wills. When your dad died, your mother inherited everything, and her will divided everything she had between you and your sister. And as I mentioned she named you executer. I don’t see anything odd in that, do you?”

  Kennedy shook her head. “She told us she was going to do that.”

  “I hate to ask, but does Finley have money issues?”

  She cocked her head and studied him. “Not that I know of. She has a great job. She’s a graphic designer and well paid. She lives in a modest one-bedroom apartment, so it seems unlikely. Why do you ask?”

  “I found this letter from your mother to you. It wasn’t sealed so I looked at it.” He handed Kennedy the phone and watched her expression as she read the letter he’d photographed. In it, her mother asked her to watch out for Finley so she wouldn’t blow her entire inheritance on frivolous items but instead put it to good use. Maybe buy a home or invest it.