Justice

by Debra Webb

  He considered her question for a bit and yet his relaxed posture didn’ t change. He remained calm, collected. Irritatingly so. Her own rising tension had her pulse skipping, had her muscles flexing with tension.

  “ I’ ve checked up on you, Lieutenant Ryan,” he began.

  She restrained the need to demand an explanation of his simple, however complex, announcement. She’ d checked him out, too. He lived in Tucson, in a comfortable neighborhood. He dressed well, had an excellent reputation. Not a single mark against him professionally, or personally. Perfect credit record. No mistakes in his past, unlike hers. He was straight as an arrow, dependable… all the things she’ d failed to consider when she fell for Mike all those years ago. Somehow, Hadden’ s stellar record made her uneasy. He’ s too good to be true.

  Because not for a second did Hadden seem boring. Not at all. There was a mystique about him that his records couldn’ t reveal, something simmering beneath all that composure. A composure she kept wanting to ruffle.

  Hadden glanced at her, perhaps surprised that she hadn’ t responded. He continued, “ You’ re a good cop. Your superiors have recommended you for the position of investigator twice already and yet you’ ve chosen to remain in your current position.”

  “ I have my reasons.”

  He cast a knowing glance in her direction. “ Your daughter.”

  It wasn’ t as if the conclusion required a degree in rocket science. “ That’ s right.”

  “ You pride yourself in your work, go the extra mile without hesitation or question.” He flicked another analyzing but brief stare her way. “ Like following up on that tip about those bike thieves.”

  She’ d thought about Jim’ s hypothesis that the tip had been a distraction of some sort and was now certain it had been. Either someone on the team got scared or pissed off or someone wanted this particular ring of pirates off their beat. Whatever, the case belonged to the county investigator now. But she hadn’ t forgotten, nor would she pretend it didn’ t matter to her anymore. Athens was her community, and anything that affected those under her jurisdiction kept her attention.

  “ So you think I’ m onto something in Rainy’ s case?” she ventured, veering back to the original question.

  “ If you weren’ t you wouldn’ t be wasting your time.” His smile broadened into a grin. “ She was your friend, you miss her. But you’ re too smart and savvy to let your personal feelings invade your professional reason.”

  “ Then you believe she was murdered as well.”

  Another of those sidelong assessments sent heat rolling through her limbs. “ I believe you believe she was murdered. And that’ s good enough for me.”

  But was that his real motivation for staying on top of her, so to speak?

  “ It’ s about Marshall, isn’ t it?” However careful he thought he’ d been, Kayla understood, at least to some degree, where his motivation originated. If Rainy had been murdered, and Marshall was guilty of smuggling, chances were there was a connection. If you didn’ t know what Kayla knew. Fury mounted inside her. She didn’ t like being used.

  “ In part,” he allowed.

  Kayla nodded. She’ d thought as much. “ Let me clarify this for you,” she went on. “ Marshall Carrington is a good man. There is no way he’ s capable of what you’ re proposing. His wife, my friend,” she reiterated, “ was murdered. I’ m one hundred percent on that. And I’ m not going to let this go until I know who is responsible for her death.” She snapped her mouth shut on the and that almost popped out. The part about Rainy’ s possible child or children was off-limits. There were too many unanswered questions.

  Hadden nodded perceptively. “ That would mean you’ ve already established motive.”

  Kayla’ s tension ratcheted up a notch or two. “ I have a theory or two.”

  The detective chuckled. “ Don’ t tease me, Ryan. You have the why, it’ s only the who that’ s driving you nuts.”

  There were things she couldn’ t share with him no matter how perceptive the good detective proved. Her suspicions about Athena Academy were still that, suspicions. She needed cold hard facts before she marred the school’ s reputation more than Shannon Conner already had.

  “ I tell you what,” Hadden cut into her musings, “ you tell me why you think your friend was murdered and I’ ll tell you why I believe her husband is a smuggler.”

  Far too intrigued to ignore the offer, Kayla chose her words carefully. “ Rainy’ s autopsy showed her appendix was intact and her ovaries were badly scarred.”

  “ Is that why she was seeing Halburg?”

  “ Probably. About the scarred ovaries, I mean.”

  “ What’ s the big deal about her appendix being intact?”

  Kayla wet her lips and forged ahead. “ When she was a girl, she got appendicitis. At least, that’ s what she was told when she got sick and had to have an operation. Her medical records showed as much. But it was a mistake— or a lie.”

  Hadden considered that information a little too long for Kayla’ s comfort. “ And?”

  “ I believe her illness and surgery were staged so that someone could mine her eggs. I found evidence that she was researching egg mining. We— ” she glanced at him “ — Rainy’ s other friends and I, believe that she’ d learned the truth and was going to tell us about it the night she died. Someone wanted to keep her quiet.”

  That was about as revealing as she could be.

  “ This mysterious operation happened while she was a student at Athena Academy didn’ t it?”

  Apparently she hadn’ t been quite vague enough.

  Kayla knew without asking that he was drawing conclusions based on Shannon Conner’ s exposé that had cited hideous experiments having been conducted on Athena students.

  “ This is about Rainy, not about Athena,” she insisted. She prayed the conviction she didn’ t quite feel came across a little more strongly in her voice.

  He nodded. “ I see.”

  Time for a change of subject.

  “ Your turn,” she countered. “ What makes you think that Marshall would do anything even remotely illegal?”

  “ Maybe it’ s the false reports he files each time he returns from some trip related to his teaching.”

  “ False in what way?” The demand wasn’ t subtle but she didn’ t like hearing her friends accused of wrongdoing. Marshall Carrington was a good man.

  “ He lies about where he goes and to whom he speaks. All of it.”

  Kayla couldn’ t bring herself to believe Marshall would lie, much less steal anything. “ I’ ll need to see the proof for myself.” No way was she taking anyone’ s word on a matter this important.

  “ That’ s all I can give you right now,” Hadden said flatly. “ I guess you’ ll just have to trust me a while longer.”

  She choked out a laugh. The sound echoed in the cramped space of the vehicle as his gaze collided with hers.

  “ Who said I trusted you, Detective Hadden?”

  Lucky for her— or him— his cell rang just then and the conversation was shelved.

  But Kayla knew she wouldn’ t rest until she’ d talked to Marshall. Whatever he’ d done he would have a reasonable explanation for it. Of that she was certain.

  Rainy would never have married a liar or a thief.

  Never.

  Chapter 5

  D r. Deborah Halburg’ s office was located in downtown Tucson, in an upscale, fashionable building with its own underground parking garage. Even this close to the traditional closing hour the lot was still about half-full as Hadden parked his sedan a row or so back from the bank of elevators.

  They emerged simultaneously, the closing doors echoing ominously in the expansive, dimly lit cavern of parking slots. Neither spoke as they crossed to the elevators then waited for a car to arrive. The doors slid open to reveal an elegant marbled and mirrored cubicle that glided upward as smoothly as any luxury automobile. Upon reaching the lobby, they stepped into yet another expansive
space, only this one was brightly lit by towering glass walls and shiny marble floors. The art alone would likely have paid Kayla’ s salary for a couple years. Maybe Hadden’ s as well.

  Another bank of elevators waited across the seemingly boundless space of the ground-level lobby. Inside a waiting car Hadden selected the floor and another stretch of silence broken only by the chime announcing each floor accompanied their upward journey. Kayla studied the veined marble, mainly to keep her mind off just how great her companion smelled. The fragrance he wore was subtle, intensely masculine and wholly unsettling. Spending more than two hours closed up in the car with him had worn down some of her defenses.

  Kayla emerged from the elevator grateful to be in the open once more. Somehow she had to get her perspective back where Hadden was concerned.

  The seventh-floor reception area proved just as lavish as the one on the ground floor. A huge floral bouquet filled the air with pungently sweet scents, overwhelming the sensual aroma that still haunted her. Forcing herself back on task, she noted the suite numbers on the doors as she took the lead along the corridor. Her anticipation kicked into high gear. She hoped something Dr. Halburg remembered would somehow help her to put all the pieces together. For Marshall’ s sake… for the sakes of all those who had loved Rainy.

  For Rainy.

  “ How much do you know about Dr. Halburg?” Hadden asked as she hesitated outside the door of the suite belonging to the doctor she’ d waited so long to interview.

  Kayla considered the question a second, not really wanting to delay here. “ She’ s the best in her field.”

  “ The priciest as well, I’ d wager,” Hadden suggested.

  The fabulous surroundings left no doubts there. “ Probably. You get what you pay for, I guess.”

  Hadden hesitated before opening the door that would take them into Halburg’ s private clinic. “ There’ s one more thing,” he said ominously.

  Kayla arched an eyebrow in question.

  “ The doctor’ s father was said to have been in excellent health. Whatever got him came on suddenly, then took its time eating away at his existence.”

  “ Cancer?” Kayla suggested.

  He flared his hands in a your-guess-is-as-good-as-mine gesture. “ That’ s just it. They don’ t know. She had his body flown back here for an autopsy but found nothing. Things just slowed down and eventually ceased to function.”

  Kayla didn’ t respond. But her gut was tied in a thousand knots. All along she had felt as if someone were one step ahead of her in this investigation. How far were the powers that be in this ugly business willing to go to stop her— to stop all the Cassandras— from learning the truth? It seemed impossible that the cover-up could be so damned big.

  And yet, on some level, she knew it was.

  Deborah Halburg looked to be about forty. Tall, slim, hair more gray than blond, she had a pleasant face. One that spoke of deep concern for others… maybe too much. The lines etching the corners of her mouth and eyes proclaimed a weariness that likely had more to do with her father’ s death than with her profession.

  “ I was so sorry to hear of Rainy’ s death,” she said as they settled around the massive cherry desk in her office. The office was large, each wall lined with either book-filled shelves or sprawling windows. “ Such a waste. She was quite healthy and determined to have children.” She shook her head. “ I’ m sure she is missed in numerous circles.”

  Hadden took the lead in the conversation, seeming to sense Kayla’ s struggle to balance her emotions at the moment. “ You’ ve been seeing Ms. Carrington for some time?” He took out a pen and small notepad similar to the one Kayla carried for interviews.

  “ Almost two years.” Deborah Halburg frowned. “ I can’ t believe someone broke in here and took her records.” Her gaze shifted from Hadden to Kayla and back. “ Nothing like this has ever happened before.” Her gaze narrowed. “ Is there something about Rainy’ s accident that you’ re leaving out?”

  “ We don’ t know all the answers yet,” Kayla said, picking up on the doctor’ s developing uneasiness. “ That’ s why we’ re here. We need to know all we can about those last few weeks of Rainy’ s life.”

  Halburg nodded. “ I see. Well, I can tell you that Rainy Carrington was as fit as any woman her age can hope to be. A few months before her death I discovered some scarring on her ovaries that appeared to be the cause of her inability to conceive.”

  Kayla held her breath, hoping against hope that something would click here. She desperately needed answers.

  “ Was this scarring recent?” Hadden asked.

  Kayla didn’ t look at him but she knew he was attempting to tie the problem to Rainy’ s time at Athena. Apparently he wasn’ t willing to let go on the doubts Shannon Conner had cast over the school. She couldn’ t let him make that connection just yet. Not until she had proof of what really happened.

  The doctor shook her head. “ It looked like it developed over time, from when Rainy hit puberty. Ovaries are smooth until the onset of puberty. After that, they become atretic, or scarred and distorted from repeated ovulations. Sometimes the scarring is serious enough to cause fertility problems. It’ s not too common, but does happen in a certain percentage of women. At first I thought that Rainy was one of them. We did some ultrasounds, though, and I noticed that her scars looked as if they could have been caused by fertility treatments. But Rainy said she’ d never had any.”

  Halburg looked at them consideringly. “ Given the circumstances of her accident, I will tell you that the ultrasound also revealed something that was very upsetting to Rainy. She seemed shocked to learn that her appendix was still in place. I questioned her about it, but she didn’ t want to discuss the issue further.”

  “ Did you feel she was depressed or angry?”

  Kayla had to grit her teeth to hold back the words she wanted to hurl at Hadden. He hadn’ t known Rainy. How could he even hint that her mental state might be a factor in the accident?

  Her anger deflated when she considered that his not knowing Rainy was the very reason he asked. She was the one who needed to pull her objectivity back together here. Losing her focus wouldn’ t help Rainy.

  Dr. Halburg clasped her hands in her lap as she continued, “ I believe she was stunned and angry. Who wouldn’ t be? She wanted children. With the severity of the scarring, that most likely wasn’ t going to happen. At least, not naturally.”

  “ What can you tell us about the scarring? Your theories?” Hadden pressed.

  “ Clearly she’ d had a surgical procedure as a teenager. She had a scar on the abdomen that looked like a typical appendix scar. With the appendix intact I can only assume that it was an exploratory surgery of some sort. My first thought when I discovered the scarring was chronic infection. That happens with some women, but considering Rainy’ s insistence that she’ d never had any such infection, I would have to say that some sort of surgical procedure caused the damage.”

  “ Like egg mining,” Kayla suggested, seeing no point in avoiding the subject.

  Halburg didn’ t look startled by the suggestion. “ The usual term is harvesting. That’ s possible. However, the harvesting procedure is generally reserved for in vitro fertilization and the like. There just wouldn’ t be much reason to perform it on a teen. And in my opinion, no skilled surgeon would do the kind of damage I noted on Rainy’ s ovaries.” She heaved a sigh. “ But to be quite frank, I can’ t think of any other procedure that would have caused this particular damage.”

  “ You and Rainy discussed this possibility.” Kayla felt reasonably certain that the doctor’ s conclusions had led Rainy to research the egg mining. Harvesting.

  “ Of course. Two, possibly three months before her death. In fact I referred Rainy to a specialist who I hoped might be able to salvage any remaining eggs.”

  “ Do you know if she contacted that specialist?” This from Hadden.

  Halburg shook her head. “ She didn’ t. I touched base with him a
fter I returned and found out about her accident. It was a courtesy call since I’ d contacted him previously regarding her case and my referral. He said he’ d never heard from her.”

  Kayla stood. She’ d heard enough. She extended her hand. “ Thank you, Dr. Halburg. I hope you’ ll let us know if you think of anything else that might be useful.”

  Deborah Halburg reached for Kayla’ s hand and shook it, her movements slowed by uncertainty or distraction.

  Hadden pushed to his feet and offered his hand next since Kayla had left him no choice. “ I’ ll be in contact if we have additional questions.”

  Halburg’ s words haunted Kayla all the way back to Athens. Hadden had made up some lame excuse for their investigation but Kayla had a feeling Halburg wasn’ t buying it.

  Everything the doctor had said reinforced what Kayla, Alex, and the others already believed. Rainy had figured out what had been done to her all those years ago and she’ d delved into her own past to determine how and why. Her search for the truth had exposed her knowledge to the wrong person, setting off a chain reaction that resulted in her murder.

  Kayla’ s heart wrenched painfully.

  To her way of thinking that could mean only one thing— this was way, way bigger than mere egg mining. Someone had something enormous to hide. As much as she prayed it had nothing to do with Athena Academy, it looked more and more as if at least one member of the school’ s personnel was involved.

  Christine’ s admission about catching Dr. Carl Bradford looking through the files came immediately to mind. Bradford seemed likely to have been involved in some kind of wrongdoing. Betsy Stone might know for certain. After all, she’ d probably given him access. With Christine’ s confession, Kayla had the right kind of ammunition to go after the nurse the way she wanted to. Betsy Stone had better get her story straight damned fast because Kayla wasn’ t going to let her off the hook so easily anymore. Stone was about to find out just how dogged Kayla could be.