Kat, Knight Watch (Iron Orchids Book 11)

by Danielle Norman

  “Quite the American dream.” And it was. So often, people came into the bank, looking for small business loans, and too many times, I’d witnessed the bank have to foreclose on that same business within a year. To talk to someone who had found such overwhelming success had pride welling in my gut. I had nothing to do with their situation, but I found that I was proud of them, nonetheless.

  “Are you seeing anyone, Mr. Boudreaux?” Monica asked.

  “I’m seeing someone.” I returned my focus to Christine.

  “You are handsome. You probably still have women throwing themselves at your feet. A different woman every night, right?”

  “Um, no.” My smile was tight; I had hoped that she’d gotten the hint that the topic of my personal life wasn’t up for discussion. “Why don’t we talk about the different options we have that might fit your business needs?”

  Christine smiled. “I think I have what I need.” She picked up the folder. “My husband and I will look over it tonight. Thank you for your time, Mr. Boudreaux.” She stood. “Come on, Monica.”

  “Tell me about your girl, is she lovely?” Monica asked, clearly unwilling to let her uncomfortable interrogation end.

  I turned to Christine again. “Thank you for coming in, if you have any questions, my number is on the card on the inside of the folder.”

  “I hope she’s a nice girl.”

  When I turned to her with another tight smile on my face, I paused, wondering why she was so unwilling to end the questions and half expecting her to try to set me up with her ogre of a daughter. Honestly, that was exactly what it seemed she was doing. My attention jumped from the woman’s eyes, which were brown; to the slope of her nose, which was soft; and to the delicate point to her chin, which was untouched by age. They were features that were familiar, and had I not been so worried about avoiding her interrogation earlier, I may have noticed that the girl she was asking about shared those characteristics. My smile changed from dismissive to warm. “She is, she’s very sweet,” I assured her. “But I have this strange feeling that you may know her and that was why you came in. Tell me if I’m getting warm?”

  Christine started laughing, and Monica opened her mouth and shut it . . . several times. Clearly, I’d stunned the hell out of her.

  “You must be Mrs. Lappis?”

  “I am. It’s nice to meet you, Jackson.”

  I liked that Kat had talked to her mom about me, but it could have been one of Kat’s wild sisters. Either way, the woman remembered my first name.

  “It’s my pleasure.” Her cheeks were tinted pink. She probably wasn’t used to being busted while she was trying to be sly, so I took pity on her and turned to Christine. “And since you’re her cohort, am I to assume you’re Kayson’s mother?”

  “You are a smart one, aren’t you?” Christine said with a wide smile. “I like you. You are just perfect for our Kat.”

  “He is, isn’t he?” Monica said. “Please don’t tell Kat that we stopped by. She thinks we invade her space too much as it is, and she tells me nothing. Alyssa and Thalia came home talking all about you. I wanted to meet you.”

  “This will be our little secret,” I assured her. Christine winked and lifted the folder she was still holding.

  “I’m going to give this to my husband. Our company really is looking at moving our accounts. He hates dealing with the big banks.”

  “If he has any questions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call. I can put him in contact with our lead business advisor who can manage the account.” I pulled out two business cards and jotted my cell phone down on the back of each one. “Here you go. That card in the folder doesn’t have my cell number listed, this one does. It was lovely meeting both of you.”

  “You too, Jackson, have a great day,” Christine said as she left my office.

  “Thank you for keeping this between us. You are a cutie.” Monica patted my cheek and left as well.

  I waited until the front doors to the bank closed behind them and then plopped back into my chair, completely dumbstruck by what just happened.

  Kat

  I headed up the ramp to the back entrance of the sheriff’s office. Passing around dispatch which was a glass walled off room and went straight for my lieutenant’s office. Since being hired, I had never been called into his office for a disciplinary reason.

  I knocked twice and waited.

  “Enter,” Kayson ordered.

  I moved into his office and looked around, Sergeant Carter Lang was standing near the windows, Kayson was sitting on one side of his desk, and a woman in a dress uniform was seated on the other.

  “Have a seat, Kat.” He directed me to the chair next to the woman. “Kat, this is Corporal Grace Wickham with Internal Affairs. She handles cases that may get sticky when they revolve around a deputy’s personal life.”

  I shook hands with Grace as my heart pounded furiously in my chest. In my six years with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, I had never had a reason to meet with IA before, and I couldn’t think of a single reason why I would be meeting with one today.

  “Hello. Lieutenant Christakos tells me that you prefer to go by Kat, but for the record, I need to clarify a few things before we begin.”

  “Okay.”

  “Your full name is Kallista Theresa Lappis?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “You’re okay with this conversation being witnessed by Lieutenant Kayson Christakos and Sergeant Carter Lang?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “You had an incident at your home two weeks ago, and then there was another incident this past weekend involving your sister, can you tell me about those?” Grace had a recorder going and a notebook on her lap for taking notes.

  “There are reports filed about both, and of course, I stepped back since they involved me. Lieutenant Christakos and Sergeant Lang both know about this.”

  “Great, but I don’t. Tell me.” I’d bet my next paycheck that she was just trying to see if my story changed in the slightest.

  I started at the beginning and ran through the whole ordeal of Galena waking me, the vandalism, and then I told her about what Jackson had said about Tammy and Julien.

  “And did anyone see her near either occurrence?”

  “Not that I’m aware of.”

  “Do you know if Jackson—would you mind giving me his full name?” Grace asked.

  “Mr. Jackson Henry Boudreaux.”

  “And what does Mr. Boudreaux do for a living?”

  Not seeing the relevance in her question, I answered cautiously, “He’s the branch manager for Southern Bank downtown.”

  “Thank you.” She made a note and then continued, “Do you know what court orders Mr. Boudreaux has against his ex-wife?”

  “There is a protection order for his son, Julien, which she has violated. Once again, that is in the report.”

  “You say that he actually saw her?”

  “Yes, she came to his house. He reminded her of the injunction and then threatened to call the cops, so she left. He thought that she was on house arrest and is trying to find out why he wasn’t informed she was released, but no one from Orleans Parish has called him back. I’m hoping our team finds out something.”

  “He probably didn’t know because she hasn’t been released. She put it around her cat’s neck. Orleans didn’t realize it until the battery died and she wouldn’t answer her phone.”

  Kayson’s phone buzzed, and he reached forward to silence it.

  Then my phone buzzed, but I ignored it.

  “Tell me about this past weekend, what happened to your sister?” Grace asked.

  “Well, it was her car. Someone slashed the tires and keyed it.”

  Kayson’s phone buzzed again, and then mine did too. A second later, Carter was silencing his.

  “Something’s wrong,” Kayson announced.

  “It’s your mom,” Carter said to Kayson as he looked at his caller ID.

  I glanced at my phone, saw my own mom�
�s number, and felt my stomach sink. “My mom’s calling me too.” Not bothering to find out if it was okay for me to stop the interview, I accepted the call. “Mana, what’s wrong?”

  “Kat, where are you?” My mother was hysterical.

  “I’m at the station. What’s wrong?”

  “Christine and I . . . we’re almost to the station.” I cut Kayson a sideways glance and put the call on speakerphone. “Mana, calm down, can you tell me why you and Christine are on your way here?”

  “Some woman assaulted me!” my mother yelled before Christine took over. “We were at lunch, and when we came out of the restaurant, some woman walked right into us. At first, I thought she didn’t see us, but then she just started screaming all sorts of nonsense.”

  My mother cut back in, “She told me that I better get my daughter under control. That my daughter was a homewrecker. She said that my daughter was carrying on an affair with her husband, and that they were expecting their first child. I have no clue what she’s talking about. Your sisters aren’t dating anyone, are they?”

  “No, Mana, not that I know of. But I need to know if either of you are hurt.”

  “Sore, but not hurt. We are pulling into the parking lot now.”

  I stood and raced for the door with Kayson, Carter, and Grace close on my heels. As soon as I saw my mom, I flung myself at her and hugged her as tightly as I could. She was okay, and all things considered, some crazy chick knocking her down and yelling at her was a small thing, but this was my mom. No one hurt my mom.

  “You’re okay. You’re okay. Let’s go inside.” I didn’t fully let go of her as we walked back inside and into one of the conference rooms. Kayson, Christine, and Grace followed us in, but Carter veered off down the hallway.

  I couldn’t remember ever seeing my mana so visibly shaken, and it unnerved me in a way nothing else could have. “Now, tell us, what did the woman look like?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. I was too shocked.”

  “Lily James. She looked like that girl from Downton Abbey. Very innocent, blonde hair, full eyebrows, and maybe a little older than you, Kat,” Christine replied.

  “She had a Southern accent and kept shouting about her husband and their baby. She was definitely pregnant,” Mana said.

  “I don’t know about that. It looked like one of those pillows to me,” Christine whispered.

  “Mana, listen, none of your daughters would mess around with a married man.” I glanced to Kayson for help, but he shrugged.

  “Mana, Mrs. Lappis,” Kayson said. “Where did you have lunch?”

  “Keke’s. We got there just before one,” Christine said.

  “And before that?”

  Christine glanced at Mana, who pressed her lips together tightly. “We stopped by the bank. I had an errand for George.”

  “What bank?” I asked.

  “Oh, just a new one that George is having me look into,” Christine dismissed.

  “What bank?” I asked, more determined to get an answer simply because she was avoiding giving one.

  “Southern City,” Christine whispered.

  “Which branch?” I asked.

  “Downtown.”

  Carter rejoined us, and Kayson’s eyes locked on his. Kayson nodded and mouthed, Tammy. Carter swept out again on silent feet.

  A few minutes later, Carter came back into the room carrying a laptop. He pulled up six images that were lined up in a row of three, stacked two columns.

  “Do you see the woman in this group?” Carter asked.

  “Maybe.” Christine studied the photos. “The woman today had blonde hair, that one has brown. But the face looks the same. Maybe she was wearing a wig.” Christine pointed to a photo of Tammy.

  “Monica, what do you think?” Kayson asked.

  “I don’t know. I was so startled that she was yelling at me and in my face, I didn’t really pay attention to her.”

  I patted my mother’s arm. “It’s okay, don’t worry too much about it. If Keke’s has cameras, we can get the footage. Why don’t we get you two some coffee and have you fill out some statements? Just remember what you can and that no detail about what happened is too small, okay?”

  They both nodded, and Carter escorted Mrs. Christakos to Kayson’s office. I stood and pulled my mom into another long hug.

  “I’m sorry this happened to you, Mana. I love you.”

  “Love you too.” She sounded dejected, and it crushed me.

  Once the door closed, I turned to Grace. “What do I do?” I implored.

  “For starters? You need to make sure you keep reporting everything,” Grace said. “My job is to see exactly what your involvement is in these cases and whether it presents a conflict of interest on your part.” Grace pulled out a packet of papers. “We are required by law to investigate and make sure that you show no prejudice.”

  “I know,” I assured her.

  “If we feel that the events are escalating and you’re in danger, you will be put on desk duty while we finish conducting the investigation, is this clear?”

  “Crystal.”

  Kat

  I pulled into the parking lot of Walmart and headed to the bakery. After grabbing a few packs of chocolate cupcakes with chocolate fudge icing, I made my way up front to check out.

  “Why in the hell are there twenty-five lanes and only two are open? Of course, none are ten items or less and none are self check-out. What the hell, people?”

  “Tell me about it,” a lady behind me agreed as she whipped her cart with what had to be fifty items around me and got in line.

  “Really? Was I not standing here?”

  “You were, but the line is up here,” the woman said sarcastically.

  “I hope that I pull you over someday.” She looked up and stared.

  Yeah, figure that one out, bitch. But sometimes you have to wait for karma, and sometimes you get to be karma. Today was my lucky day.

  “Oh, I forgot something,” asshole lady announced. “I’ll be just one second, hold my spot.”

  The cashier looked at me dumbfounded. “What the hell?” I asked.

  “No clue, I can’t wait for her,” the cashier named Cindy explained.

  “Oh, don’t you worry, Barbie the bitch deserves this.” I moved in front of her cart and then slid her items to the back and moved her cart out of the lane.

  I laid down my cupcakes and Cindy rang them up. “Anything else for you?”

  “Yes.” I moved and stood in front of the impulse-buys, you know, that section full of gum and mints plus silly travel-size gizmos. “I’ll take this.” I plucked a pack of Juicy Fruit gum and set it on the belt then waited until Cindy rolled it forward.

  I glanced back at Bitchy Barbie, who had returned with her item and was glaring at me. “Andddd…I’ll take this.” I picked up a pack of Mentos and slowly set it on the belt as well. I locked eyes with Cindy and saw that she too was enjoying this. I glanced around Barbie or whatever the bitch’s name was just to make sure that I wasn’t holding up anyone else. When I saw that I wasn’t and the bitch was furiously tapping her toe and had her arms crossed, while continuing to look down at the other lane to see if it was empty, I perused the tabloids and pretended to be trying to pick one. “Oh, don’t you think that Harry and Meghan are adorable?”

  “No, I don’t. What’s adorable is for you to stop goofing off and check out, I’ve got places to be,” Barbie snapped.

  “And I would have liked someone not to cut me off and then leave their cart blocking me so I still couldn’t check out while they went and hunted the item”—I glanced down at the two things she held—“sorry, items she had forgotten. Now that we understand each oother, I’m ready to check out.” I turned to Cindy. “So, Cindy, how was your day?”

  “Day sucked but my evening has been entertaining as all get out.” She smiled brightly.

  I grabbed my bag with cupcakes, gum, and mints and headed out. Sure, I was still in somewhat of a grumpy mood, but there was a lot
of shit going on. First, what was up with fucking Walmart not opening more lanes? Oh, and bitchy Barbie? She was just that cherry on top to a spiraling-out-of-control kind of day. Because let’s not forget, that just for shits and giggles my mother was accosted.

  Before I straddled my bike, I shoved an entire cupcake into my mouth. By the time I pulled into my parents’ driveway, I felt better. There were two fewer cupcakes, but my mood had been soothed.

  I pushed open the front door and was greeted by lots of people, the entire Christakos clan and mine.

  “Kat, I hope you didn’t pay full price for these cupcakes. They charged you for two empty wrappers.” Stella giggled as she opened the container and snagged one. I flipped her off.

  “Hey, Kat!” Alyssa shouted. “You’re here.” Alyssa jumped up and down. “Really, you have to give your opinion. Thalia decided on her dress but I haven’t. Please help me.”

  “Alyssa, I want to spend time with Mana.”

  Alyssa glanced over her shoulder. “Go ahead, scoot right up there.”

  I laughed; my sister was right. My pop was hovering over her. Galena was sitting on one side, Petra on the other, and Thalia was in her lap.

  “Fine.” I moved into the living room and sat between Ariel and Katy, two of Christine’s daughters-in-law. “Oh, wait.” I jumped up and ran to the kitchen, pulled open a drawer, and grabbed several sheets of paper and a black marker. I cut the paper into quarters and then wrote one through ten. I made a set for each of us. Glancing over at Mana, our eyes locked. She blew me a kiss. Acting like a kid again, I caught it because I felt a little better about the whole day’s ordeal. I returned to my seat. “Okay, let Project Promway begin.” Alyssa raced up to her bedroom and returned a few minutes later.

  “Ready?” Alyssa called out.

  We quieted as Alyssa walked out in an ombré, peaches-and-cream gown with gold accents. The bottom was a very flowy organza. I held up a seven then looked at Ariel, who had a six, and Katy, who held a seven.