“Not like that, exactly. I think you have a lot of kids who can get the doctor to write just about anything. If one doctor won’t then another will. Vicodin, Ritalin, OxyContin, and of course let’s not forget Adderall.”
“So what exactly are you saying?”
“In some cases the drugs can be extremely beneficial. But I think all too often they’re not being used properly. I think there are extreme levels of abuse from both kids and their parents. I think that’s where the kids are getting their first taste.”
“Their parents give it to them?”
“They don’t have to. The kids just take a couple from the medicine cabinet, take them to a party, mix them with alcohol and they’re on their way to prescription drug dependence. It’s really breaking my heart, and making me sick at the same time. Something needs to be done.”
“Something definitely needs to be done!”
“Anyways, sorry to bore you with my problems.”
“Not at all. I want to help. Lunch soon?”
“I’d like that.”
“I’ll text you.”
“It’s a date.”
“Deal.”
“Here’s your meds.”
“Thanks.”
She made her way back to the street, still not being able to believe how long the line was. What ever happened to kids sneaking a beer or two and a couple ciggys? The thought stayed in her mind as she picked up her pace to make up for lost time at the drug store.
Kids these days.
CHAPTER 11
“Chief wants to see you,” the desk sergeant said. “Awfully long interrogation, by the way.”
The Chief saw Detective Davis approaching and motioned for her to come into his office.
“Did he have an alibi?”
“It’s not air tight, but he … it wasn’t him.”
“Please don’t tell me you’re going on instinct.”
“Not totally.”
“If there’s no alibi then it is totally. He needs an alibi or we bring him in. At the least.”
“He’s former military. His story makes sense. I’m going to run his info.”
“With just his name? Let me guess … John Doe?”
“Hardly.”
“And you’re going off what he told you his name was?”
“Copy of his passport.”
“That’s a start.”
“Let me know what it turns up. And keep hunting. The Indy, OC Register, and LA Times all want statements.”
“On it.”
“And let’s get something prepared before those L.A. TV crews start showing up around here.”
“Roger that.”
Donna shut the door and pulled the blinds to her office. She fired up her computer and typed in Cain O’Connor.
“Okay, computer … let’s see what you’ve got.”
She waited until … nothing. A clean record. Too clean in fact.
She opened her contacts file and typed in ‘Navy.’
The phone quickly returned a 773 prefix for a US Naval Recruiter in Chicago.
Donna stared at the number. She had left Chicago to try and put some distance between herself and her old wounds. She didn’t want to dial the number, but knew she needed more information about the mysterious military man.
She sat the phone back down on her desk. Did she really need more information on Cain? A woman’s instinct is rarely wrong, but the chief wasn’t going to take that as a reasonable alibi, nor should he. She thought for a minute, contemplating another way to clear him. Her first priority was to catch the killer, but she couldn’t do that if she was running around chasing leads she knew led nowhere.
Her detective instincts told her to call, even though she didn’t want to hear that voice again.
She looked down at the scan of Cain’s passport on her desk. “Who are you?” she quietly asked herself. She knew her instincts were right, but it was another emotion that guided her hands into her desk to unlock the drawer that contained a handful of unopened burner phones … curiosity.
“Petty Officer First Class Phillips, United States Navy.”
Hearing his voice felt like old wounds being ripped open.
“Phillips, it’s Brennan.”
“Brennan, it’s been awhile.”
“Yes, it has.”
“How have you adjusted?”
“I’m okay. I’m in a good place. People are good.”
“Getting used to the new name?”
Donna smiled. “Yeah, I haven’t slipped up yet.”
“Did you keep it bland or go exotic?”
“I aim for moderation.”
“No superhero fantasy names?”
“Well, I hardly feel like a superhero after what happened back in Chicago.”
“It’s too late to worry about that now. You did everything you could. Busted your tail. It was above our pay grade.”
“Yeah, I know, but—”
“But you’re not really one to accept something like that.”
“Not at all.”
“So … I’m guessing you called with something in mind other than discussing cool aliases?”
“I did.”
“Shoot.”
“I need some background on a guy, and I need it to stay off the grid.”
“For your sake or his?”
“Maybe both.”
“What do you have?”
“We’ve got a bit of a drifter here. Claims to be former Navy.”
“What do you mean we’ve?”
“I’m back at it. Took a position.”
Phillips laughed. “Not only did you turn down witness protection, but you’re already back to work? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I wish I was.”
“I knew you couldn’t stay away for long.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Okay, back to this mystery man. Any verifiables?”
“Yeah, I have a scanned copy of his passport.”
“Interesting.”
“Shows up in town just about the time of an unusual and brutal murder of a young girl.”
“Not looking good for our friend.”
“Not at all.”
“Did you get his side of the story?”
Donna’s mind wandered back to her afternoon with Cain. How he looked at her with those focused, beautiful eyes. How he made her feel like the only woman in the world. “Yeah, I got it alright.”
“And?”
“I believe him.”
“I sense a but in there somewhere.”
“But our chief wants more than just instinct.”
“As he should.”
“Right.”
“Okay, no problem. I owe you a solid. Are you on a secured line?”
“Burner.”
“Even better.”
“Name is Cain O’Connor. Tall, muscular, charming … you know the drill. These military men can be quite the charmers.”
“Well, I’ve never actually been charmed by a military man myself, or really found myself checking out their muscle density, but I’ve heard stories.”
Donna smiled. “Well, a few of us from the fairer sex have.”
“More than a few I’d venture to guess.”
“A girl can hope, right?”
“She sure can.”
“Okay, I’ll ask around. I’ve got some catching up to do anyways, so I should be able to segue into the information you’re after without raising any red flags.”
“Thanks, you’re the best Phillips.”
“Let’s see what I can come up with first, before you go heaping praise.”
“I’ve seen the magic you work. Call you back later today?”
“Tonight, Central Time.”
“Catch you then.”
Donna leaned back in her chair and wondered why Cain’s record would be blank. Mystery man was getting more mysterious by the minute. The deeper she dug, the less she found. She wanted to trust this guy, but trust wasn’t her fort
e. She needed something solid, and right now there was nothing to go by but his word, and a scanned copy of a passport. A passport which could easily be fake.
CHAPTER 12
“If you need anything, my number is on the fridge.”
“Thank you,” Cain said.
The property manager waved and was backing out of the drive twenty seconds later.
Cain had found a quiet place, tucked back away from the street, on Airbnb. It would allow him to remain low-key, but more importantly to keep an eye on the house where the girl was murdered. Being a stranger in town, he didn’t want to be seen too much, but from the windows he could generally make out what was going on. He wanted to be as involved as possible, and this was the spot.
But being involved in the case was one thing. Being involved with the woman who was leading it was another. The timing wasn’t right and his attraction to Donna could become compromising. He needed a clear head, but his thoughts continuously drifted back to her. The way she looked at him. The way she carried herself. She wore her tough exterior well, and he knew it was well earned, but he could see the feminine side underneath in those few moments when she dropped her emotional shield and allowed herself to be in the moment. Not Detective Davis, but Donna. He liked it and wanted to see it more. First he’d have to win her trust, and to do that, she’d first have to win his.
Most of Cain’s ops had been off the radar, just like he liked it. A few times he had been assigned to high profile missions, which required the Federal Witness Protection Program to get involved. Usually that was wrapped up much after his part of the assignment was done, but on a few occasions his team stayed onboard and got to know some of the other working parts of the Department of Justice and Marshals Service. California, where he now found himself, and Illinois, where he last was, had their own state-run programs.
Cain spent the next few hours calling in favors. Not only did he have to run searches on Donna’s old name, but her new name as well. Assuming what she gave him was true.
The tracker he had placed on her car hadn’t moved. He’d need to double-check. It didn’t make sense that the car was left by the hotel, but their meeting had been over for quite some time. Either she did the responsible thing and left the car, or something fishy was up.
After three hours, Cain’s body ached for a break. He stood up from his chair for the first time and stretched. Then his phone rang.
He took the call and scribbled down notes quickly.
It was the information he had hoped to receive. Donna checked out. Not only had she turned down the Federal Witness Protection Program’s offer, but she had turned down a similar offer from Illinois.
Cain smiled. She had guts. He admired her courage, and began to feel the relief that he might just be able to trust her. An ally in his fight to right these wrongs would go a long way, and she would be the perfect ally. And hopefully a whole lot more.
CHAPTER 13
Donna wasn’t exactly sure why she accepted his invitation on such short notice. She didn’t like the message it conveyed. But in the end, she disliked even more the messages he wasn’t conveying.
Donna stepped inside Carmelita’s Kitchen de Mexico on Broadway Street. It was just a block from the white sands of Main Beach. Upon entering she immediately walked to the woman’s room, keeping her eyes forward. She caught a glimpse of Cain in the corner, with his back to the wall. She wasn’t surprised at his tactical strategy.
She exited the woman’s room and made her way straight to his table. He stood, welcomed her, and ordered her a margarita from the passing waiter.
“Any new information on the cases?” Cain asked.
“I’m not really at liberty to discuss.”
“I understand.”
“Were you able to secure accommodation?”
“I was. I booked in for a couple of nights. At that point hopefully you’ll have more information and there won’t be any more suspicion pointed in my direction.”
Donna was a little surprised at the abruptness with which he started their meeting. He seemed almost a bit accusatory. She decided the best way to proceed was to fight fire with fire.
“Who’s to say there’s any suspicion now?”
“Well, I’m guessing you ran my details when you returned to the station.”
Donna didn’t reply.
“And when you did I’m guessing you were able to start building a profile which would help you determine I’m an unlikely suspect.”
Donna remained motionless, staring into his eyes.
“And once that information is accepted then we’ll both be good to go. Me on my way, and you on your way to catching the bad guys.”
“I only wish bad guys were that easy to catch.”
“Unfortunately even when they’re caught they’re good at breaking the line.” Cain took a drink.
The nuances of the comment didn’t go unnoticed by Donna. The timing made them seem as if they were less a coincidence and more of Cain sending her a subliminal message. A message that he might know more than she thought. That he might even have the upper hand.
“Well, fortunately I’ve been able to build strong cases more often than not. I’m happy with the conviction rate the prosecutors have secured on my cases that were brought to trial.”
“That’s good.” Cain took another drink. “What happens when a detective knows they’ve caught the bad guys, but the bad guys walk?”
“What do you mean?” Donna definitely felt the beginnings of Cain going down a path she wasn’t expecting.
“Well, let’s look at the big money criminals. The guys who can afford the best lawyers. The lawyers who can find and latch onto the littlest thing. That littlest thing that plants a seed of doubt into a juror’s mind. A lawyer like that, or one that can have a bad guy who’s dead to rights walking away scot-free on a technicality. Something like that.”
“Well, of course that does happen from time to time. More often in movies I think. But sure, it does happen.”
“How do you compartmentalize? How can you step away from something like that?”
“Well I guess it depends on the detective, and especially how involved they were in the case. Some of us get really mentally involved. We like the puzzle aspect of it. Some of us get more emotionally involved. Something about the case hits home. There are a number of reasons, of course. How much time we spent on it? Just how bad the bad guy was? A lot of factors to consider.”
“But of course none of them lead to a happy ending.”
“That goes without saying.”
“Are there common ways that these types of things are managed?”
Donna felt Cain pressing. She considered pressing back, but wanted to see where he was going with this. So far she, and her Naval contact in Chicago, had turned up nothing on this guy. The evening follow-up call she placed back to Phillips just before leaving hadn’t produced anything. He was a blank computer screen. But face-to-face he was anything but.
“There are various support systems, sure. Friends and family being the preferred method. Psychiatrists can help but are usually avoided.”
“What about you?”
“A bit personal, don’t you think?”
“We’re getting to know each other, right?”
“Wouldn’t that be nice.”
“Because you couldn’t find anything on me?”
“No, because you’re treating this like anything but a get-together to know each other. It’s more of an interrogation.”
“More guacamole?” the waiter asked.
“Yes, please,” Donna said.
She caught herself as soon as she said it. This would have been the perfect opportunity to ask for the check. She was the one used to doing the detective work, not the one being asked questions. More importantly why? What was the point of his questions?
CHAPTER 14
Donna and Cain struck a lighter cord and the get-together moved in a more friendly direction. Cain found some common ground in Don
na’s passion for basketball and sports in general. She mostly followed the Chicago teams, her reason being ‘just because,’ but Cain knew better.
SEAL's Secret: A Navy SEAL Romantic Suspense Novel (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 24) Page 4
