The Negotiator

by Dee Henderson

  It took him four minutes to sweep her apartment, confirm it was empty, quiet, and nothing obvious waiting for her. “Okay. You can come in.”

  “Thanks,” she said sarcastically, brushing past him.

  “You’re welcome,” Dave replied, letting some of his own stress lash out at her.

  “Why are you here?”

  “Bobby Tersh has disappeared.”

  “So I heard.” She collapsed on the couch. “Lock the door on your way out.”

  He watched her, his anger fading away to sharp concern. “Where were you today? Debbie just said you were out on a call.”

  “I was backup for a case on the south side.”

  “The family of four.” He had heard about it on the radio. “An uncle barricaded himself with relatives. Shots were heard.”

  “The mother and two boys were dead before we arrived. He’s facing three counts of first-degree murder.”

  Dave squeezed her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

  “So am I. Go away, Dave.”

  He tossed his suit jacket over a chair, undid his cuff links as he disappeared into her kitchen. It was an organized place, if rather sparse. Given the few choices, it limited what he could make. He brought her a mug of decaf coffee. She hadn’t even stirred enough to kick off her shoes. “Don’t take the blame for something you couldn’t prevent.”

  She wearily sat up and took the mug. “I hate losing.”

  “I’ve figured that out.” He watched her sip the drink. “Want to talk about it?”

  “No.”

  “Feel like eating, or would you like to just go ahead and crash?” He asked, changing his plans. He had hoped to take her out to dinner, distract her, while he delivered the bad news about the details they had learned regarding Tersh.

  She finished the drink, pushed the cup onto the table, and sank back down into the thick cushions of the couch.“I had a sandwich on the way home.”

  “You ate in the car.”

  “It’s my car,” she muttered into the pillow.

  “Get to bed then.”

  “As soon as you’re out the door.”

  Her irritation amused him. “Good night, Kate.”

  He waited until he heard Kate turn all the locks on her door before he walked down to his car. He was relieved to have her home. He’d been right about one thing: She had too much on her mind to pay adequate attention to her own safety. Given the choice, he supposed he would rather have her relaxed and let others worry about it; she couldn’t be objective. Two days, three at the most, and they should have found Bobby Tersh.

  After a day reading the files, he had to agree it did look like Bobby Tersh was back. There were too many similarities in the type of gift, how it was left, when, for it to be an accident. Those details were in the public domain, someone willing to go through all the court filings and the newspaper accounts could put it together, but the obvious candidate was Tersh. How much had he changed in a year? That was the tough assessment. Was it going to be roses and phone calls spread out across weeks, or something more aggressive this time?

  Dave settled back in his car seat and reached for the thermos of coffee beside him. Kate’s bedroom light eventually went out. Watching out for danger was his business, and he was good at the job, even if he had to do it without her full cooperation. Until they had some idea where Bobby Tersh was, he didn’t mind killing a few hours outside her place.

  If Bobby Tersh broke his MO, it would probably be in the first twenty-four to forty-eight hours. No use taking chances. Nothing was going to bother Kate tonight. In this case it wasn’t even entirely personal, he always got ticked off when a cop was getting harassed. At least that’s what he tried to tell himself as the clock slipped past midnight.

  Five

  Kate figured whoever was persistently ringing her doorbell at ten o’clock on a Saturday morning could live with the consequences. It wouldn’t be an O’Malley. Family knew better. They would just let themselves in and make themselves at home. She flipped the locks and opened the door.

  Dave. Smiling. On her doorstep.

  “Here. Coffee. It looks like you need it.”

  She took the mug from his hand with a sigh. “I was asleep.”

  “I can tell.”

  He didn’t look repentant about it. She continued to stand in the doorway even when he raised one eyebrow. His irresistible smile could probably charm even her elderly neighbor out of a snit. “The morning is half over, and I’ve got news.” He tipped his head to one side. “Bad move?”

  “I was asleep,” she repeated, “and didn’t I just see you?”

  His instant grin was covered by a belated attempt to look sorry. He nudged the coffee mug up. “It’s really good coffee.”

  Her lips twitched. It was wonderful coffee, and he knew it. It guaranteed she would not be going back to sleep. “What’s your news?”

  “Bobby’s car was spotted at a rest stop in Indiana, but they didn’t manage to take him into custody.”

  “Graham woke me up to tell me hours ago,” she felt compelled to add. “Is that all?”

  “It’s a beautiful day.”

  She squinted at the sun. “It’s sunny, dry, and hot. It looks like every other day has this month.”

  “Exactly. So come spend part of it with me.”

  “Why?”

  He nudged the coffee mug up again. “Can we have this conversation inside?”

  “No.”

  His grin widened. “We’ll add ornery to that list. And cute. Your hair is a mess.”

  Kate ran a hand through it. It was going to be a mess to brush out. One foot idly went over the other as she let the doorpost take her weight. The coffee was helping, but not quickly enough. “I plan to spend today writing case notes.”

  “Let’s go walk the beach instead.”

  “The beach.”

  “Sand, water, relaxation. I need it, and I bet you do, too. You’ve got a great tan. It had to be acquired somewhere.”

  She smirked. “One-on-one basketball with Stephen. The games move outdoors in April. I don’t have enough free time to waste a day lazing around on a beach.”

  “I guess you don’t play HORSE.”

  “No.”

  “You had a bad dream last night, didn’t you?” The sudden change in subject threw her enough she wasn’t able to entirely hide the answer that flickered in her eyes. His hand tipped her chin up so she looked directly into his eyes. “Why didn’t you call me?”

  “It was 4 A.M.”

  “And you were just getting back to sleep when I rang the doorbell.”

  She would give the man points for connecting the dots.

  “I know what bad dreams are like, Kate. You should have called. It wasn’t just a polite offer. Talking about it would have made it easier to get back to sleep.”

  “You sound pretty certain about that.”

  He gave a ghost of a smile. “The voice of much experience. Come on, Kate, you’ll enjoy it. Shorts. Something loose and long sleeves you can slip on later so you won’t burn.”

  “I’m on call.”

  “So am I. It will be the day of dueling beepers. I’ll have my cellular phone with me, but bring yours along, too, if you’d like.”

  She gave in gracefully. Work was not exactly on par to spending a day outdoors. “Come in. I’ll get changed.”

  She found blue shorts, a red cotton T-shirt, and matching red socks. The canvas tote of Lisa’s was still in her closet. She slipped in a white shirt, tossed in the mystery Dave had given her, added suntan lotion, cash, her pager, and her phone.

  “Okay, I’m ready to travel.”

  Dave turned from looking at the pictures on the bookshelf. “That was fast.”

  “If you had said wear a dress, I would have made you wait just for spite.”

  His rich laughter rolled around the quiet apartment. He took the now empty coffee mug she offered and waited as she locked the front door.

  “The blue sedan.” Dave indicated. He
held open the passenger door for her. Kate slid inside with a murmured thanks. The O’Malley men had spoiled her. She had come to expect the old-fashioned courtesies.

  “Nice car.”

  Dave found his sunglasses and slid them on. “Thanks.”

  Kate glanced through his cassette tapes as he pulled out into traffic. “Do you have anything besides country western?”

  “Try the glove box.”

  She scanned his tapes until she found what she was looking for. This was more like it. She put in a Johnny Mathis tape.

  “I thought you said you liked jazz.”

  “I lied.”

  “About something trivial?”

  She chuckled. “Dave, I tell the bad guys I like them, too. If I don’t have common ground with someone, I make it up.”

  She saw him frown. He obviously didn’t like her lying. Why not? She considered it a necessary evil to doing her job. Common ground was critical, even if she had to invent it.

  “What else did you make up?”

  “In over four hours of small talk? Enough to keep the conversation going.”

  “You don’t have an Aunt Gladys.”

  “Good guess.”

  “Now that I think about it, she sounds a little too eccentric to be true.”

  Kate looked at the Saturday traffic around them. “It’s pretty early to be going to the beach.”

  Dave’s lips twitched. “I think I’ll feed you first.”

  “Smart man,” she murmured.

  “I gather making it a memorable breakfast might be in my best selfinterest?”

  “I’m hungry.”

  He glanced over at her and showed that wicked grin again. “That genteel Southern scold must have taken some practice.”

  The accent disappeared. “David.”

  He chuckled. “Sorry, it’s just Dave. There’s a great place in the north suburbs that makes everything from crepes to Belgian waffles. It’s worth the time.”

  She was slightly mollified. “Strawberries?”

  “And blueberries, probably even kiwi if you like.”

  Kate rested her head back and closed her eyes. “Sounds good. Wake me when we get there.”

  Dave let the waitress refill his coffee. They were lingering over breakfast. They had split a Dutch apple pancake and an order of strawberry crepes. He was full. Kate was still working on the strawberry crepes.

  It felt good to be able to relax with her. He took the threat that black rose represented more seriously than she did; the news Bobby’s car had been spotted in Indiana was a real relief. Hopefully by the time he took Kate home this afternoon they would have word that Bobby had been picked up. “Like a refill for the coffee?” the waitress asked.

  “Please.” Kate motioned to the last crepe. “Are you sure you don’t want to split this?”

  “Go ahead. I’m done.”

  “It’s really good. You didn’t answer my question.”

  “Which one?” The tongue-in-cheek answer earned him a look that made him laugh. “Okay. Why did I just show up on your doorstep this morning? It was a spur of the moment decision, and it’s harder to say no when you are asked in person.”

  “True. But I was annoyed enough I was going to say no.”

  He shook his head. “You never considered saying no. Slamming the door in my face, maybe. But you never considered saying no.”

  “What would you have done if I had?”

  “Walked back to my car and picked up my cellular phone. You would have had to eventually answer.”

  “So tell me again why you wanted to spend part of today with me?”

  “Besides the fact Bobby is loose and you need someone to watch your back?”

  “We’ll consider that unsaid,” she warned softly.

  “Prickly, huh?” He didn’t take it personally; he had already figured out she had an independent streak a mile wide. “Okay. You’re fascinating company.”

  “Fascinating…” She considered the word. “Challenging, maybe. Unusual. Annoying. Aggravating. Fun. Why fascinating?”

  The sparkle in her eyes made him smile. “Your humor.”

  His reply amused her. “That’s fascinating?”

  “It shows up in the midst of crisis. That’s unexpected, therefore, fascinating.”

  “I wouldn’t want to be predictable.”

  “That you will never be.”

  He watched her finish her coffee. “Ready to go?”

  “Yes.”

  He picked up the bill and left a generous tip on the table.

  He chose a stretch of beach near his home in Lake Forest. The wind off the lake made the sunny day comfortable. He dropped the blanket he had retrieved from the trunk at the beginning of the sand. “Come on; let’s walk for a while.”

  The waves broke into white caps about ten feet off shore, rolling in on the sandy beach. Kate tipped her head back to enjoy the sun. “This is rather nice.”

  “Yes.”

  They walked the length of the beach and back. Dave enjoyed every minute of it. She was entranced with the birds flying out of the water. She stopped frequently to retrieve shell fragments, gathering them like a child would.

  She rubbed the sand off her latest discovery. “Look at this one. It’s got a touch of blue in it. It’s pretty.”

  Dave took what she offered and turned it over in his hand. It was pretty. More so because she had noticed it. “Yes.”

  She took it back from him. “Odd souvenirs, I know.”

  “You’re going to keep them?”

  Her laugh was soft, indulgent. “Probably.”

  “In that case, let me help you look.”

  “No way. These are my memories. Collect your own.”

  Her protest amused him. “You like simple things.”

  She shrugged. “It’s the value I place on something that matters, not what it cost. I like collecting memories of good days.”

  Dave started to smile; then what she had revealed registered. She was reaching for another shell fragment and didn’t see his frown. When she stood, his hands settled lightly on her shoulders. “Have good days been rare?”

  He was afraid she was going to sidestep the question. She was slow to answer, and when she did, her tone was serious. “I think everyone has stretches where the good days are rare.” Her shoulders moved beneath his hands. “There was a bad stretch when I lost my first hostage, another very long one when I lost the first child.”

  “That’s work. What about otherwise?”

  She put her hand over his. Her smile was kind. “It’s too early for history.” She moved toward the water to wash off her shell collection.

  “Too early today, or too early in our friendship?”

  “Both.”

  “It doesn’t feel like I’ve only known you five days.”

  “Check your calendar.”

  He enjoyed her grin as she came walking back to him. “I’ll give you a week.”

  “To what?”

  “Tell me all about yourself.”

  “That’s generous of you.”

  “I thought so.”

  She stored her shells in the canvas bag. “I think I’ve said enough for today.”

  Dave smiled and changed the subject. “Where do you want the blanket spread out?”

  She looked around. “Over there looks pretty level.”

  He spread it out.

  Her laughter had him looking up. “I really don’t think we want to be by an anthill. Try it a few more yards that way.”

  He didn’t see what she was referring to, but picked up the blanket and moved it where she indicated.

  “No. It’s not level. Move it more to the left.”

  After the fourth move, Dave’s eyes narrowed. She was doing this intentionally. He flicked his wrists, watched the blanket settle, and collapsed on it, wrinkles and all. When she sat down beside him, he tweaked her chin. “That was underhanded.”

  “You were the one buying it.”

  He buried the answeri
ng grin. Not many ladies had the nerve to try a practical joke. It was a shame, too. He was already thinking about how to retaliate.

  She dug a book out of her canvas bag.

  “Kate?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Thanks for coming today.”

  She settled back on her elbows and looked at him. “You’re pretty good company.”

  “Better than good.”

  She laughed. “We’ll have to see.”

  The sun was warm, Kate was quiet, and it had been a long week. Dave felt himself drifting to sleep and didn’t fight it.

  The sun was overhead when he awoke. He stretched; every muscle in his body was relaxed. He turned to look at Kate. She was sprawled on the blanket beside him, soaking in the sun. The book was set aside, about half read. Her beauty hit him again like a blow. He felt shaky inside at the suddenness of the emotion. Why did she have to be an unbeliever? A cop? He would love to have the freedom to lean over and kiss her. He looked away, took a deep breath. Think cousin. Right. He should have a cousin as good-looking as Kate. He glanced at his watch. It was past 2 P.M.

  “We probably need to move into the shade.”

  “Later.”

  He chuckled. She was obviously quite comfortable where she was. “Come on, I’ll spring for the cold sodas.”

  She reluctantly opened her eyes and sighed. “You are waking me up again.”

  He winced. “Sorry.”

  “That’s okay.” She glanced at her watch and groaned. “Let’s find that cold drink; then I probably need to get home. Work is waiting.”

  “You’re disappointing me, Kate. I hoped I could at least talk you into lunch.”

  His smile was rewarded with an answering grin. “You must be losing your touch.”

  “Ouch.”

  She laughed. “Seriously, I’ve got an O’Malley family gathering tomorrow. I’ve got no choice but to at least get started on reviewing the negotiation tapes.”

  He watched as she got to her feet and stretched. She was moving easier today, the cuts from the bank holdup having finally healed.

  “Think you could find an ice-cream cone to go with that cold drink?”

  “Probably.” He was surprised at her choice and pleased that she had asked. “You’re sure you wouldn’t like something more exotic?”

  “Just an ice-cream cone.”