“Julien, this is Jack, she is going to play with you on the ride,” Kayson introduced Detective Jack Elliott, a detective with our Special Victims Unit who had an incredible way with young children.
“Hey, Kat,” Jack said and gave me a chin nod.
“Hey.” I stared back at Julien.
“He’ll be fine,” she reassured me.
Jack slid in and immediately popped one earphone into her ear and the other into Julien’s and then started something on an iPad so they could watch.
“Let’s go.” Callum put the car in gear and drove to the edge of the property. Before pulling onto the road, he turned on a small recorder and had me tell him my side of the story from the very beginning.
Jackson
I sat in the interrogation room and waited. I wasn’t stupid; I knew this was part of the tactic to sweat you out. It was working. I hadn’t seen my son or Kat since they were hauled away from me. And I wanted nothing more than to find out that they were okay. Even if she never forgave me for doing what I did, if she was okay, then it was worth it. God, Julien must be so scared. But . . . Kat’s reaction when she saw Julien. She said she wasn’t a kid person, but oh, she so was.
The door opened, and a man with dark red hair walked in. He wasn’t what I’d imagined a detective to look like. I always thought they wore cheap suits and shiny shoes. He was in jeans and a Polo shirt.
I jumped up. “Please, just tell me that Julien and Kat are safe.”
“They’re fine. Relax. He is outside with Mindy and Kat’s family; they are doting on him.” Once I was seated again, the detective sat across from me. “Do I have your permission to record this interview?”
“Yeah. Sure.”
He pulled a small audio recorder from his pocket, pressed a button, then set it on the table between us. “This is Detective Callum McGuire, lead investigator for case number OC-204359. Please state your full name.”
“Jackson Henry Boudreaux.”
“Mr. Boudreaux, please understand I want to believe that you had honest motives, and based on what Deputy Lappis has said, I’m inclined to do so, but you are facing some serious charges, like endangering a minor, battery and kidnapping of an officer of the law, conspiracy to commit murder on a law enforcement officer. Deputy Lappis seems to believe you were a victim in all this and acting to protect her and your son.”
“I was. I’ll take a lie detector test, whatever you need. Check my phone, or ask Max. He’ll verify that I was the one who alerted you all to what was going on.”
“We have already collected a statement from Deputy Max Longoria. Why don’t you take me through what happened?” Detective McGuire asked.
“I already knew that Tammy was off her rocker, I had made Kat—Deputy Lappis aware as well as Deputy Longoria. She was saying some things that had me concerned—”
“What kind of things?”
“Just things that made me think she was living in her mind, like she thought we were still married and couldn’t understand why I was acting this way.”
“What way?” Detective McGuire asked.
“Not a devoted husband, rude, distant, I don’t know, just avoiding her and attempting to call the cops every time I saw her until she left.”
Callum held a pen in one hand and clicked it, the point extending and retracting with each and every click. In. Out. In. Out. It was worse than water torture, or I assumed it was; that little sound was slowly grating on my nerves. “This still doesn’t explain to me how you knew she was going to do something.”
“It was her words, she said that she would clean up my mess, she’d take care of it, then she mentioned that her brother Caleb was involved.”
Detective McGuire raised one brow, “You know him?”
“Know of him and that is enough to scare me.”
“It should. So she only came in to scare you, am I right?”
“I think so. She said she came in to open a bank account, but I refused. I just had this gnawing feeling, not to mention, there is no reason for her to be at my bank, at my branch—not when there is a restraining order to keep her from my son. As you probably know, by law I’m required to report anything that raises feelings of suspicion to FinCen.”
“Financial Crimes Enforcement?” Callum asked.
“Yes.”
“What sort of suspicion?”
“Just her, she was in there for a reason, she was up to something more than just me, I know it. Plus, I needed to report that I was pulling a copy of the surveillance video for the local authorities. But…there was something strange: when I logged into our account system to run some scans, I discovered an account under my son’s name. I wasn’t the one to open it, yet I’m his only legal custodian. His account had her birthdate connected to it. Plus, there were some unusual money transfers being moved to her brother, Caleb, who also had a fairly new account with our bank. But the last I knew he was in prison for some seriously demented things.”
“He got out on parole about a month ago and was under house arrest, but he skipped town much like Tamera did.” The detective filled in that missing piece for me. “Go on.”
“I called a hacker. Before you ask, I know nothing about him except that he goes by Seven, he is ethical, and our entire bank system uses him.”
“Do you know anything else about him?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“What did he do for you?”
“I had him access Tammy’s phone, I had a feeling that she was somehow tracking me and obviously communicating with her brother about me, my son Julien, and or Kat.”
“Did he find anything?”
“I don’t know, he was supposed to get back with me later with what he found. But, I needed to leave and get to my son at that point. Tammy’s words were on overdrive in my mind. But when I got home, he wasn’t there. Mindy, his babysitter, said she went to his preschool and they told her his parent picked him up, so she assumed I had.” I glanced up at Detective Callum McGuire and he was still staring at me just waiting for me to go on. “That’s when my phone rang. It was her, Tammy. She had Julien, she wanted me to meet her somewhere. But it was her parting comment, for me not to worry about Kat.”
“What did you take from that call?”
“I took it as I needed to get my son, she was using him as a pawn to get me, she wanted Kat out of my life. I needed to alert Kat; I had already called Max and had him working to help me.”
“We’ll come back to that, what did you do to get Kat?”
I took several deep breaths, cradled my head between my hands, and tried to process my thoughts for a second. My adrenaline had been going a million miles a minute, so it was hard to recall each little thing. “Before leaving my house, I quickly tossed off my suit and slid on jeans and sneakers, but not before grabbing a gun and some rope from my garage.”
“Why? What made you grab a gun and rope?”
“Honestly?”
“That is preferred.” Callum’s words were dry.
“I wasn’t sure what I was going to need, but I had watched enough movies to get an idea. I left and drove over to get Kat. I had one thing on my mind: get her before Caleb could. She was outside doing something. I got out, but that’s when I saw Caleb.”
“Why not call the cops?”
“I had, I called Max, he was on it. I didn’t want full guns blazing, she had my son, she had tried to kill him once. She was on the fragile scale, I needed to save both people that I loved before Tammy tilted too far to one side.” I grabbed the cup of water that was next to me and took a long drink before continuing to recount the events. “Caleb was walking toward us. I was trying to get Kat to come with me and I was panicking, but she wouldn’t. So, I pushed her into the car, but she hit her head on the doorframe. I didn’t have time to think, I just threw her into the back seat and pulled away. I drove a few miles before I pulled over and tied her hands and feet.”
“Why?” Detective McGuire asked.
“I’m not sure, s
omething about Tammy came to mind. She was in contact with her brother, so I figured she would hear about it. I needed her to believe I was on board with what she was doing so I could save my son. She called me as soon as she got word and demanded to be put on FaceTime. She wanted to see proof that I wasn’t destroying her plans. After that, she wouldn’t let me hang up.”
“What about your gun, what did you do with it?” He flipped through the arrest papers. “You didn’t have it on you when they brought you in.”
“No, when Tammy had me tie Kat up in the house, I slipped it into Kat’s jeans and made sure she knew it was loaded. I wanted to know that she had protection. I was worried about her. You have to believe me.” I slid my hands through my hair. “What about Caleb? Tammy?”
“We have Caleb in custody. Tammy is dead.” He said this matter-of-factly. “Are you willing to testify about what happened today in court?”
“Of course, I’ll do anything.” I let out a sigh of relief. Then a feeling of guilt washed over me because I wasn’t sure which I felt more guilty about—Tammy being dead or Caleb still being alive.
“Jackson, stay here, let me talk with my captain and the DA.” Detective McGuire stood, gathered his papers and the recorder, and then left the room.
Kat
“How are you feeling?” Captain Getty asked.
“Shaken, but okay.”
“You’re off for six weeks, you know that, right?”
“Yeah. I know. I think I’ll need it.”
“Smart girl. You aren’t playing all superhero.” His words made me want to grab hold of Julien and keep him tight to me. “Go see Doctor Nehr, he’ll have to sign off for you to return to work anyway, hear me?”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Okay, I’m glad you’re safe. Go on, your family and friends are waiting for you.”
I turned and started to leave my captain’s office, but then I paused. Holy shit, I had killed her. I had shot and killed Jackson’s ex and, more importantly, Julien’s biological mother. They were never going to forgive me.
My heart cringed. I never would have guessed that I’d fall in love with a man—let alone a kid—and want to be a part of their lives. But at the speed of a bullet, I had ended it all. Sure, I’d do it again if it meant I could save everyone, but I had tried not to kill her. I walked down the hall and rounded the corner to find my family and friends waiting for me.
But I had eyes for only one person, and he was staring at me. I lowered to his level, and when he ran toward me at full tilt, I braced myself for the impact, only rocking back slightly when we collided. “Oreo. Where’s Daddy?”
I glanced over at Mana and my pop, who were looking at me as if I had just grown a second head. “He’s explaining what happened to my friend Callum and then he’ll be out.” I kissed his head as he pulled me closer.
“Kat, are you okay?” my sisters, all four of them, practically shouted.
“Let me see my girl,” Pop said as he and Mana inched closer and wrapped Julien and me in their arms.
Over their shoulders, I could see my gang grinning. “Jackson is in the interrogation room now, want to go listen?” Piper asked.
Mindy, the young woman I had originally thought was Jackson’s wife, stepped forward, “Go, I’ve got him.” She grabbed hold of Julien’s waist, but she had to pry him off me. “Okay, Batman. Let’s go see if my brother is here, he’s a cop too.”
When he finally relented, it was as if a piece of me had been torn away.
I waited until Julien was out of hearing range before answering Piper. “Yeah, I want to hear him being interviewed by Callum.” I moved and the group followed, no one letting go of anyone as we huddled around the observation area, some just outside the small area, while others were able to squeeze onto the platform behind the one-way glass. We listened as Callum questioned Jackson.
“What do you think?” my pop asked.
“I think he did what he could to keep me and his son safe while waiting for the cops to show up.”
“But do you believe him?”
“That he tried to do what was right? Yeah, I believe him.”
“No, that he loves you,” Pop clarified.
“Oh.”
“I believe him,” Mana offered.
“Me too,” Galena added.
“What about you, how do you feel?” Petra asked me.
“I think I believe he feels like that. I want to talk with him.” Okay, I was lying, but I wasn’t ready to admit it to others. I needed to tell him first.
“You should come home and get some rest first,” Mana soothed, but I shook my head.
“I love you, but what I really need to do is figure out where Jackson and I stand. We need to talk.”
“I would say so.” Mana gave me hug. “What about Julien?”
“Jackson will want to keep Julien close for a while, and I can’t blame him. We’ll wait until he falls asleep.” I kissed my mother’s cheek. “Let me figure this out, please.” She nodded, finally acquiescing.
When Callum left the interrogation room, we moved to meet him in the hallway.
Callum stood outside the door, hand on his hips as he looked around for someone. When his eyes landed on me, they stopped.
“And?” I asked him.
“And I believe that he tried his best to protect everyone and do what was right, the only problem is that he broke about six laws while doing it.”
“I’m not willing to press charges against him, and you know that if I don’t, it makes the case much harder. DAs try to stay away from those.”
“Calm down, I’m not inclined to formally charge him because he’s being very cooperative.”
I relaxed a bit. It was almost shocking how quickly my anger rushed out of me and was replaced by something else, something totally different but just as consuming. Yeah, I could totally fall for this guy. Wait, who was I kidding? I had bungee jumped, fallen head over heels for him.
“What does that mean?” my pop asked.
“It means that I’m going to let him go. We have nothing to hold him on that would stick in court without a cooperating victim.” Callum shook his head.
I tried not to let my relief show since I knew as much as the next cop that Jackson could have easily been charged with, at the very least, kidnapping, assault on a police officer, and false imprisonment, no matter what the extenuating circumstances were. He had taken me against my will, I’d been injured in the act, and he’d restrained me without my consent.
“I need to go get some forms together so he can sign them then he’ll be ready to go.” Callum headed off to his office, and I turned back to my friends and family.
I turned back to the one-way window and just stared at the man on the other side. When he started speaking, my heart skipped a beat.
Jackson
My hands were cuffed as I sat at the steel table. To my left was a dark tinted window, the looking glass. I wondered who was on the other side; was Kat there, was one of her friends?
Figuring I had nothing to lose, I took a deep breath, pulled back my shoulders, and with every bit of confidence in me, I spoke to whoever was watching. “I love her. I’m in love with Kat. My only concern had been keeping Kat safe and happy. No matter what happens, I’d risk it all again to save her and Julien. Please, you have to believe me. I love her. She is my future.”
Kat
“You look tired, my Kat, let us take you home, you’ve been through so much,” Pop suggested.
“We can wait for Jackson and take him and Julien as well,” Galena offered.
I looked at all of them as if they were seriously fucked in the head. There was no way in hell I was leaving my boys, not tonight.
“I’m sure Kat wants to wait for Jackson, we can take them all. Why don’t you take all of your sisters to our house, we’ll be there in a little bit, we would like to spend some time with Kat, and this special man in her life.”
“Sure, Pop.” Galena leaned forward and gave him a hug
before hugging me. Petra and Thalia followed suit. It was Alyssa who was out of the norm, she squeezed me so tight it almost hurt.
“I love you, squirt,” I assured her.
“Love you too, Kitty Kat.” I smiled because she hadn’t called me that since she was little.
“We’re going to go ahead and go as well,” Piper said, then she and the rest of the gang jumped in with hugs before leaving.
“We’ll be right over there waiting for you.” Pop pointed to the chairs in our lobby area.
I went and found Mindy and told her she could head home since right now, I wanted Julien in my arms while we waited for Jackson.
When Callum headed back into the interrogation room, I held my breath for what felt like hours until the door opened and out walked Jackson. He stood there in the open doorway, staring at me. I wasn’t sure who should make the first move, him or me. Then he took a step toward me and I rushed toward him until he had me and Julien squeezed in his arms.
“You’re safe. God, you’re safe,” he whispered. “Julien, you’re okay?”
“Okay, Daddy,” Julien assured him as he crawled out of my arms and into his dad’s.
“You’re safe, you’re safe. I got you,” Jackson repeated over and over.
“I know, Daddy.”
“My pop is waiting to take us home,” I said as a gentle reminder, and because I was ready to get the hell out of there.
Callum came jogging down the hall holding something. “Hey, you two are going to need this.” He held out the booster seat, and we took it.
My pop couldn’t stay out of things. “Jackson? I’m Gus Lappis,” he interrupted.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Jackson stepped back but didn’t release his hold on Julien or me. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Lappis.”
“Call me Gus. I think you’ve earned it after saving my girl today.”
Kat, Knight Watch (Iron Orchids Book 11) Page 12
