L.A.P.D. Special Investigations Series, Boxed Set: The Deceived, The Taken & The Silent

by Style, Linda

  She sighed. She couldn’t let him get to her. She couldn’t. No matter how convincing he was. But her resolve didn’t make her feel any better.

  Detective St. James wasn’t going to let it die. She knew it as well as she knew the twelve-step recovery program.

  If she didn’t stop him, life would never be the same.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Laura took Cait’s hand as they walked through the dry Bermuda grass toward the playground at Kenwood Park, a half mile from the shelter. The late afternoon sun shone through the ficus trees, casting dappled light on Caitlin’s face. A flutter of wind rustled the nearby palm fronds and feathered through Laura’s hair. Peaceful. A feeling she wished she had more often.

  “I could’ve come by myself,” Caitlin grumbled.

  Letting Cait walk home from school alone yesterday had been a big step. But there was no way she was ready to let her go to the park by herself.

  “I know you could. But I like to come along. It’s a chance for us to have some time alone.”

  “Yeah, but Jenny’s going to be here. I want to play with her. Can you wait somewhere where she can’t see you?”

  Oh, boy. “Yes, but I’m going to be where I can see you. Over there.” Laura pointed to a bench half hidden behind a gnarled tree not far away. “But you can’t play until I put sunscreen on your face and arms.”

  “Mo-om. It’s winter.”

  “Don’t complain. The sun can be as treacherous in winter as it is in the summer. This is the warmest part of the day, and with your fair skin, you’ll be a crispy critter without protection.”

  Caitlin skipped ahead, and as Laura walked closer, she saw a man sitting on the other end of the bench where she’d intended to sit. His bearing was familiar. The hair on the back of her neck prickled. What part of no did this guy not understand?

  He sat slouched sideways, his left arm resting on the back of the concrete-and-wood bench. Wearing a heavy black sweater and jeans, he could’ve been one of the fathers watching his child at play.

  Maybe he was. She shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Maybe he did have a child he was watching?

  As she and Caitlin came up behind him, he turned. His eyes lit with recognition and he scrambled to his feet. “Hi.”

  “Hello. What a surprise,” she said facetiously.

  “I remember you,” Caitlin broke in. “You’re Jordan. You came to our house yesterday.”

  He smiled. “You’ve got a good memory, Cait.”

  “I’m almost eight,” she said. “I remember lots of things.”

  “Sweetie, I see Jenny over there. Why don’t you go play with her on the swings for a while?”

  Caitlin crossed her arms and planted her feet apart. “I know what’s going on. You want to get rid of me so you guys can be alone.”

  Laura pulled back in surprise and heat shooting to her cheeks. Caitlin shrugged and ran off toward the swings. Too embarrassed to call her back for the sunscreen, Laura decided they weren’t going to be here for long, anyway.

  “I don’t know why she said such a thing. I think she’s been picking up a lot from the girls at the shelter.”

  He smiled, one eyebrow arched.

  Lately Caitlin had been asking all kinds of questions about the birds and the bees and why Laura never went out on dates. Jenny’s mother went out on dates all the time Caitlin had lamented more than once. And Jenny got presents from her mom’s friends.

  “What are you doing here?” Laura asked as they both sat. “Do you have a child over there? Or do you just like to hang out in parks watching children play?”

  He leaned back, keeping his eyes on Caitlin. “No, I don’t have any kids. I’m not married.” He was smiling now. “And if I hung around parks watching children, I might get into a whole lot of trouble.”

  His penetrating gaze caught hers. Steel. His eyes, a light steel-gray, were framed by long sooty lashes.

  “So…if it’s not that, why are you here?” As if she didn’t know. As if it didn’t annoy the hell out of her. She didn’t like being tracked down. She didn’t like that he made her feel like a quivery teenager.

  “I called the shelter and one of the girls said you were coming here. I decided it was a better place to talk, anyway. More private. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

  “Interrupt?”

  “If you’re meeting someone else or something.”

  “No. You’re not interrupting.” But she wished he was. She didn’t want to be alone with this man. Or did she? She couldn’t seem to quit staring at him, his full lips and silvery eyes.

  She pulled her gaze away and glanced across the playground to where Caitlin sat on a swing. God, she hoped he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. But then he was probably used to women staring at him with their tongues hanging out.

  “She’s a cute kid.”

  “Thank you. I think she’s pretty special.” She smiled, her love for Caitlin hard to disguise.

  “That’s good,” he said, his voice deepening. “I see too much of the dark side in my job. One of the drawbacks, I guess.”

  She nodded. “I know. But there’s always hope. Which is why I do what I do.” She settled back, more comfortable with the conversation. Probably his plan. Get her comfortable then go for the kill. Yeah, sometimes she was downright cynical. And most of those times she was right.

  “I saw your van on the Boulevard the other night.”

  Drawing back, she said, “Really.” But then, of course he would. They’d thought him a john…and he was scoping them out. Too funny. “We try to reach as many runaways as possible. Sometimes we’re successful, sometimes not.” She crossed her legs and rested her hands on her knees. Smirking, she said, “I saw you there, too, only at the time, I didn’t know you were a detective.”

  “Ha!” He let out a burst of a laugh, leaning forward, elbows on his thighs. “You thought I was looking for some action.”

  “It seemed that way. The car…”

  “Ah, the studmobile. Not mine,” he said, gesturing in the direction of a charcoal-gray SUV parked on the street. “I’m more conservative. I use the department’s impound vehicles when I’m on a job and don’t want to look like the fuzz.”

  Despite herself, she laughed. “Kind of ironic. You’re out there to arrest the same people I’m trying to save.”

  He lounged against the back of the bench again. “I wasn’t arresting anyone that night. I was asking questions. But sometimes an arrest does help. I know more than one kid who’s gone into treatment and went straight because he’d been arrested.”

  “But then he’d have a record. I try to catch them before that happens.”

  His brow furrowed. “Juvy records are expunged after eighteen, unless the child is tried as an adult.”

  “Their records are supposed to be expunged, but I think we both know that’s not always the case. Many times a kid’s juvy record comes back to haunt him.” She knew because she’d been turned down for a job during college for that very reason.

  He looked at her, surprise in his eyes. “Unfortunately it happens sometimes. But I think, ultimately, you and I want the same thing.”

  As she nodded her agreement, she saw a black sedan with dark tinted windows cruising slowly down the street opposite the park. She glanced to locate Caitlin. The two girls were laughing and playing tag with some other children who’d also come to play. When she looked back, the car was gone.

  She had an overwhelming urge to grab Caitlin and run. But that didn’t make sense. Shaking it off, she asked, “What’s so important that you had to track me down?”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “No, why?”

  “You seem edgy all of a sudden.”

  What could she say…that she was continually on watch in case someone discovered what Cait knew and came after her? She forced a smile. “I get nervous watching Caitlin go so high on the swings. I know I shouldn’t worry so much, but I do.”

  His expression was hard to read, but
he seemed to believe her.

  “She appears to be a very capable child. I doubt you have much to worry about.”

  “You’re probably right,” Laura said, relaxing against the bench. She liked being with him, which was silly because he was there on business. But at least she knew she was still capable of feeling something. “Okay. What questions didn’t you ask?”

  She thought he’d be happy she was willing to talk, but his expression turned serious and his gaze pierced right through her. Steady and searching, almost as if he could read her mind. Well, if he could, he’d know she was having thoughts that might embarrass both of them—thoughts that at once unnerved and excited her. Lord.

  “So far, you’re the only person I’ve talked to who knew Anna Kolnikov, or at least the only person willing to admit to it.”

  She tensed, clasped her hands tighter. If there was something she could tell him that would help him find Anna’s killer, she’d do it in a microsecond. But she didn’t know anything. Still, if she answered a few of his questions, maybe that would be the end of it.

  “Did you know Kolnikov was a prostitute?”

  Briefly, Laura closed her eyes. “I’d heard the rumor.”

  “From your husband?”

  She shook her head. “No. I’ve been on the streets for the shelter since before we married. I talk to people. Word gets around.”

  He nodded. “It’s a tough life out there for kids with no place to call home. Really tough.”

  “Even worse when they want help and can’t get it. At the shelter, far too many times we discover the parents want nothing to do with their own flesh and blood. I had one of those today. It was heartbreaking.”

  “Rejection stings. I don’t know why people have children when they don’t want them.” People like his biological mother, Jordan thought. But that was beside the point. He was here to get information.

  “Laura—” he purposely used her first name to set her at ease “—the girls you’ve taken in over the years…do you know if any of them ever worked for Kolnikov?”

  She frowned. “The shelter’s information is confidential.”

  “I know. You’ll find I ask a lot of questions I shouldn’t ask.” He smiled amiably. “But it never hurts to try.”

  She shifted her position on the bench, obviously uncomfortable now.

  “Okay, getting back to the case…you mentioned that while your husband was in college he’d worked for his uncle.”

  She nodded. “Before we were together.”

  “Do you know if he collected money from Kolnikov?”

  She wiped her hands on the thighs of her faded jeans—jeans he couldn’t help noticing showed off her soft curves. The red turtleneck sweater she wore complemented her fair skin and deep auburn hair. Luke was right. Stunning was the best word to describe her. And he was noticing too much for his own damned good.

  “He was in real estate when we met. I don’t know the details of what he did for his uncle.”

  “How did you meet?”

  She took a moment, as if weighing her response. Jordan had a knack for reading people, and Ms. Gianni wasn’t very good at hiding her reactions.

  “Is that important?”

  “Probably not. But when I’m piecing things together, sometimes the information that seems the least important makes everything fall into place.”

  “Eddie and I met at the university, but we didn’t date until after we graduated. I’d applied for some grants to run the shelter and had started looking for a piece of property. I discovered Eddie had gone into real estate. He helped me find Victory House. We got married a year later.”

  Her gaze shifted to her daughter several times during the conversation. She was still tense. She said she was concerned about her child on the gym equipment, but the look he saw in her eyes was more than concern. “When did you first meet Ms. Kolni—”

  Laura bolted to her feet and took off running toward the swings. He jumped up, scanning first the playground and then the peripheral area. The same black sedan was on the other side of the park now, the darkened windows rolled down just enough to see the top of someone’s blond hair. Or was it gray?

  As Laura sprinted toward her daughter, Jordan jogged toward the car, keeping a low profile as he moved. The guy could be a father looking for his kid, but he wasn’t going to take any chances. He’d get a plate number and call it in.

  But before he could make out the numbers, the car sped away. He strode across the grass to where Laura stood talking to her daughter. “I’m sorry, Detective,” Laura said. “We’re leaving now.”

  She held her daughter’s hand in a vise grip, but when she took a step to leave, the child didn’t budge.

  “Mo-om. We just got here. I don’t want to go yet. And you’re hurting my hand.”

  Laura released her hold. “I’m sorry, Caiti. I…I just think it’s best if we go now.”

  “Can’t I play for a few minutes more? Please, please, please.”

  Jordan glanced at Laura, then at the kid. “I was going to try out the swings, myself,” he said. “It’s been a long time.”

  “Pleeease, Mom.”

  Laura’s gaze darted to the street and back again. “Ten minutes. No more.”

  Jordan felt a small hand latch onto his. “C’mon, Jordan. Let’s go.”

  He caught Laura’s attention. “It’ll be okay.”

  She nodded.

  At that, Caitlin all but dragged him to the swings. “Can you push me way high?” She slipped onto a smooth canvas seat.

  “Sure, but you have to hold on tight.”

  “You’re really nice,” the child said, and the appreciative smile on her face warmed him. Just then, the other child, Jenny, asked to be pushed, too. But after only a few minutes, the girls jumped off and sprinted toward the monkey bars.

  “Hey, I’m too big for those,” he told Caitlin. “I’ll just watch.”

  As the girls played, Laura stood beside him, arms crossed. “Thank you for being so kind to Caitlin.”

  “She’s a great kid. And it was fun.” He couldn’t suppress a big grin.

  A half smile parted her lips, but he still read worry in her eyes. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. It…it’s just time to go.”

  He placed a hand on her arm to keep her there. “Laura, I saw the car. Is that what upset you?”

  She pulled her arm away.

  “I’m an officer of the law. Remember? I wouldn’t let anyone get near the kids. Have you seen the car before?”

  The fear he saw in her eyes made him feel like a jerk for pushing her, making her answer questions she didn’t want to answer. But he wasn’t much of a detective if he didn’t ask questions.

  And he couldn’t let this sudden sympathy for her affect what he had to do. “If you’ve seen the car here before, have you reported it? The department has a list of offenders in the area—”

  “It…it’s not that.”

  “What then? An old boyfriend? A pimp angry at you for taking one of his girls off the streets? I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on.” If he was too blunt, he couldn’t help that, either. She was terrified of something and he wanted to know what it was.

  “If you have any other questions you want to ask, do it now, because—” she looked at her watch “—because in two minutes I’m out of here, and I’ll be through answering questions.” She crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight.

  Damn, she was a stubborn woman. “Okay. When did you first meet Anna Kolnikov?”

  She frowned. “Detective, I fail to see how this can help your case.”

  “Everything anyone knows about a victim is important. Most violent deaths among women are perpetrated by someone they know. A family member, husband, a boyfriend. The more I know about the victim, the greater my chances of solving the crime.”

  With her eyes riveted on her daughter, Gianni flipped her long hair behind her shoulders. “I’m sorry. Working with the girls as I d
o, I’m very aware of the statistics. I—I just have a lot of things on my mind at the moment and I’m not thinking clearly. She came to the wedding with Eddie’s uncle.”

  Which meant DeMatta and Kolnikov still had a personal relationship at that time.

  “Eddie also sold her some real estate. He was a good salesman.”

  Real estate? For another whorehouse? Realizing he’d been remiss, he took out a notepad and, turning away from the playground so Caitlin didn’t see what he was doing, scribbled down what Laura had said. “What did you think of her as a person?”

  Her frown lines softened. “That’s an odd question.”

  “I don’t think so. Like I said—”

  “Yes, I know.” This time she really smiled as she said, “I liked her. She…was kind and friendly, easy to talk to. Nice.”

  Nice. Kind. She’d said that before, and the words lay like a rock in his gut. “Nice and kind hardly seems an apt description for someone who prostituted herself and pimped other women.”

  Laura stood straighter. “You asked my opinion and I gave it to you.”

  “Right.” And he had no business injecting his personal opinions into an investigation. “Maybe you can explain?” Because it also sounded as if Laura knew the woman better than she wanted to admit.

  “Eddie told me she had a tough time of it when she was young.”

  Jordan felt a muscle twitch in his cheek. “Your ex must’ve been close to her to know that.”

  “Like I said, Eddie was in real estate. It was his business to collect information about people. But I still don’t see how any of this is going to help you.”

  “It helps. One way or another. When you saw Kolnikov with DeMatta at your wedding, did they seem happy together?”

  Her expression instantly switched from helpful to annoyed. “For God’s sake, Detective. I didn’t take notes.”

  “Call me Jordan, please.” He smiled again, but it didn’t help.

  “I was getting married at the time. I was preoccupied with other things. I’m sure you can understand. I’m also sure you can understand it’s time for me to take my daughter home for dinner.”

  She called out, “Come on, Cait. We’re going now.” Walking over, she took the child’s hand and together they headed toward the parking area.