Hunt and Prey (Kelsey's Burden Series Book 8)

by Kaylie Hunter

  “Still can’t believe Gibson slammed his car door shut,” Uncle Hank said, shaking his head. “Stupid rookie move.”

  “Maybe you should take him under your wing for a while. Show him the ropes,” Charlie said to Uncle Hank.

  “No thanks. He’s all yours. I’ve got my own rookie issues.”

  “So now what?” Bones asked, turning the conversation back to the case. “How do you find the hitman?”

  “Quille has a team running down the email address and backtracking Dodd’s life while the rest of us sleep for a few hours.”

  “You said drugs and money were left at the drop site. What drugs?” I asked.

  “Liquid morphine,” Charlie answered while grinning. “The killer made it part of the payment.”

  “How did Dodd get ahold of liquid morphine?” Bones asked.

  “One of the truckers sells pharmaceuticals. According to Dodd, the trucker said his supplier would be happy to sell her more if she needed it. I let Maggie turn the drug side of the case over to the Feds. I have enough already on my plate.”

  “Are you sure the Remirez cartel isn’t the supplier?” I asked.

  “Pretty sure,” Charlie said. “According to Mickey’s contacts, the supply chain runs back and forth from Cuba, which is why I handed that side off to the Feds. How the hitman got the drugs was the only question I needed answered. Smart really. Why risk getting caught buying the drugs yourself if you can get your wanna-be client to do it for you.”

  “How’d she find the hitman?” I asked.

  “Oh, that part pissed me off,” Charlie said. “Dodd got the email address from Benny. I’d sure like to have a chat with him when he’s back from his fishing trip. He’s got some explaining to do.”

  “Too bad Dodd’s fingering him as the middleman isn’t enough to lock his ass up,” Uncle Hank grumbled.

  “A prison sentence is the least of his worries when I catch up to him,” Charlie mumbled.

  “I’m impressed,” Bones said, grinning behind a cup of coffee at Charlie.

  “With the hitman? Or Benny?” Charlie asked.

  “Neither,” Bones answered. “I’m impressed with you. How you put the pieces together.”

  “I agree,” I said. “You’re a hell of a detective, Kid.”

  “I’ve been telling you that for years. About time you finally get it,” Charlie said, winking at me as she stretched her arms over her head. “What about you guys? How did the gig at the dentist office go?”

  “We made it work,” Bones said. “But it’ll be a few days before the dentist office is reopened. Not much to do until then.”

  “Except track down the whereabouts of Miguel and Santiago Remirez,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “I still can’t believe the trafficking case is linked to the cartel. It seems too big of a coincidence.”

  “Maybe,” Charlie said, pausing to swallow her food before continuing. “But Maggie’s theory of the cartel faking Sebrina’s kidnapping to plant her at Aces makes a lot of sense. They were trying to stop your investigation. Tech likely alerted them you were on their trail when he was running background searches. It all fits, when you look at it from that direction.”

  “I agree,” Bones said. “Sebrina knew if word got back to Grady that she was in danger, he’d come running. And from there, she knew she could manipulate Grady into doing just about anything.”

  “I didn’t help the situation by having them drugged and flown to Michigan,” I said.

  “No,” Grady said from the veranda doorway. “That didn’t help.” He walked over and sat next to me. He seemed calmer than he’d been in weeks. “But that’s on me. I should’ve told you, or Bones, or Donovan, that something was off. That Sebrina was playing one of her games. As much as I didn’t want to believe it, I knew she’d faked the kidnapping. And until I knew why, I wanted to keep her away from the family.”

  “So why didn’t you at least warn one of us when you got to Michigan?” Bones asked.

  “Kelsey and Tech were already monitoring Sebrina. I figured my best option was to go deeper undercover as Sebrina’s boy toy. Play along with her game.” Grady glanced over at me. “It was a mistake.”

  “Boy,” Charlie said, chuckling. “You really know how to dig yourself a hole.”

  “Yeah,” Grady said, shaking his head and lightly laughing. “Wasn’t one of my better plans.”

  “You seem…” I said started to say but couldn’t figure out the words.

  “Resolved?” Grady said. “Like I’m done fighting?”

  I looked down at the table.

  “I haven’t given up on fixing this mess between us, but you’re right. I did have feelings for Sebrina. I still have feelings for her. I’m not going to keep lying to you or myself about that.”

  “And what about Wild Card?” Bones asked. “At some point, do you think maybe, you could back off just a smidge?”

  Grady’s shoulders and facial features tensed. “I’ll try. No promises.”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  CHARLIE

  Wednesday, 6:30 a.m.

  I was in the outdoor lounge, reading the files and notes from the multiple boxes that Gibson had gathered, when Nicholas came over and leaned his head on my shoulder, wrapping his arms around me.

  “Morning, champ,” I said, dropping the papers to the side table and pulling him onto my lap. “Why so glum this morning?”

  “I’m bored,” Nick whined.

  “It’s barely even morning. How can you possibly be bored already?” I asked while tickling him.

  His squeals of laughter were enough to finish distracting me from the case as I looked down at him with a smile.

  “Okay, so I’m not bored—yet,” he said, looking up at me. “But I know I will be.”

  “And how is that even possible? Look at this place. There’s an arcade, a pool, an ocean…”

  “But you and Mom are always busy. Even Wild Card says he’s too busy to play. It’s no fun without you guys.”

  “You’re telling me you haven’t been having fun swimming?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

  He smirked, leaning his head against me. “It would be more fun if you and Mom were with me.”

  “Your mom’s here. She’s staying here while I do all the running around.”

  “She’s only sort-of here. Like she gets when she’s working. She’s not really here.”

  “We should fix that,” Kelsey said from a few feet away. Sara was standing next to her, holding her hand. Kelsey unhooked her shoulder holster, handing it to Wild Card who stood behind her. “Come on, Aunt Charlie,” Kelsey said to me before grabbing Sara and making a run for the pool. “The kids want us to go swimming!”

  I cradled Nick close to my body as I jogged after Kelsey. We were both laughing as I struggled to carry his weight. He was a lot heavier than he used to be.

  “We’re still in our pajamas, Aunt Kelsey!” Sara yelled.

  “Too bad!” Kelsey jumped into the pool with Sara.

  I followed right after them with Nick, deciding at the last moment to cross my legs under me for a bigger splash. When I surfaced, a wave of water smacked me in the face as Wild Card cannonballed. Bridget and both dogs were next to jump into the pool. By then, a water war had ensued, including so much dunking that I had to swim underwater to escape everyone for a reprieve. I stood in the shallow end, watching the kids and Kelsey play. It was her. The old her. The one who morphed from cop into super-fun-mom without warning. For the first time in a long time, I knew Kelsey was going to be okay.

  Turning toward the ladder, I spotted Grady standing on the veranda, watching everyone. Grady’s expression was sad as he walked inside. I didn’t have to look to know what he saw. I could hear it. Laughter. And Wild Card was part of that equation.

  “Oh, man,” Anne said, handing me a towel when I climbed out. “You really did get your ass kicked.” She was studying the bruises on my face.

  “Damn. I didn’t think about the chlorinated water washing of
f the makeup. I need to shower and get ready for work, anyway.”

  “Aren’t you going to bed?” Anne asked. “You’ve been up all night.”

  “I took a nap at the club last night. I’m good for a few hours. I’m more of a catnap person when I’m working a case.”

  “You’re leaving?” Nicholas pouted from the edge of the pool.

  “Sorry, champ,” I said, walking over to squat. “I’ll do what I can to wrap this case up, though. Promise.”

  Kelsey swam over and pulled herself out of the pool, but stayed sitting on the edge with her legs in the water. “How about we make a deal?” she asked Nick, but glanced over at me. “I’ll stay and hang out with you this morning, if you don’t give me crap about working this afternoon. Then Charlie will do the same tomorrow. Deal?”

  Nick glanced at her, then at me, waiting to hear my answer first.

  “Agreed,” I said holding out my hand between us with my palm facing down.

  Kelsey laid her hand on mine.

  Nicholas looked at our hands and slapped his on top. “Deal.”

  “Now that that’s settled,” Kelsey said. “You and Sara better go get ready.”

  “Ready for what?” Nicholas asked.

  “Well, the beach, of course,” Kelsey said. “You didn’t think we’d come to Florida and not spend at least one morning at the beach, did you?”

  “Really?” Nicholas asked.

  “Really.” She reached over and tousled his hair. “Jackson and Tyler found a secure beach for us. And there’s enough bodyguards tagging along that I can focus on beating you in a sandcastle building contest.”

  Nicholas scrambled up the side of the pool and started yelling for Sara. “Hurry, Sara. Before Mom changes her mind! We’re going to the beach!”

  After the kids ran toward the house, followed by two sopping wet dogs, I looked at Kelsey. “What’s come over you? Two days ago, you were terrified of bringing Nick to Florida. But now you’re taking him to the beach?”

  “I can’t stay frozen anymore, waiting for the moment my world will shatter again. It’s not fair to Nick. And it’s not what I want my future to look like. I need to live. Really live.”

  I nodded, rubbing her shoulder. “So… A trip to the beach, then?”

  “A trip to the beach,” Kelsey said, nodding.

  “Sounds about perfect,” Wild Card said, pulling himself out of the pool. “Only one problem.”

  Kelsey looked over at him, smirking. “What’s that?”

  “I’m going to kick your ass at making sandcastles,” he said before shoving her off the concrete and back into the water. Wild Card jumped up and ran toward the house, laughing.

  ~*~*~

  On my way out the door, I woke Chambers and Gibson. Gibson so he could follow me to the precinct. Chambers so he could head out to the prison to visit Terrance Haines. Bones had already loaded the boxes of files into Wild Card’s rental for me while I dried off Beast. Between Hattie and Aunt Suzanne, I wasn’t sure which one was madder that the dogs and the kids had left puddles of water throughout the house.

  As I walked toward the SUV with Beast at my side, Bones opened the driver’s door for me. “You sure you don’t want me to ride along? Mr. Tricky is still out there somewhere.”

  “I’m sure. Beast will be with me. Besides, I’ll be surrounded by cops most of the day.”

  “What about Spence?” Bones asked as he opened the back door for Beast to do his leap into the seat.

  “He’s following me to the station. Then he’s off to do his PI thing.”

  “All right. But call me if you leave the station. We should only be at the beach until around noon. Then both Wild Card and I will be free.”

  “I’ll call if I need you,” I said as I climbed into the SUV.

  Beast leaned forward with one paw on the center console, panting next to my ear. I raised a hand and shoved him gently backward by the snout. He whined, but then hopped over to the open window, sticking his head out. I pulled out of the driveway, turning left onto the street. Spence pulled out behind me.

  Arriving at the precinct, I took the last parking spot on the street side. Spence stopped in the middle of traffic, ignoring the blasting of car horns as he waited for me to jog to the precinct doors. I waved a hand over my shoulder as Beast and I entered.

  The desk officer buzzed us through the next set of doors. “Quille wanted me to tell you to check in with him.”

  “He’s here already?” I hadn’t expected him to be in the office until at least noon after the late night we’d had.

  “He’s here. But you might wish he wasn’t. He’s cranky.”

  I sighed as Beast and I made our way through the main room to the stairs. Beast paused at the bottom, swinging his head over to look at me. “I’m too tired to race up the stairs today.”

  “I will,” Gibson said, walking over and looking down at Beast. “One,” Gibson said, leaning over and positioning himself in a running stance. “Two.”

  Beast barked.

  “Three!”

  And they were off. Beast was ahead by three steps before they even reached the corner landing. I felt exhausted just watching them. I walked over and pushed the button for the elevator.

  Detective Ford laughed behind me. “This was for Quille,” he said, handing me a cup of coffee. “But I think you need it more.”

  “Have you been upstairs yet?” I asked as we stepped inside the elevator.

  “Yeah. Quille gave me the two-minute run down on your tobacco bust last night. Nice job, by the way. Then Quille started barking orders to everyone about getting their paperwork done. He’s on a rampage. Everyone’s hiding from him.”

  I grinned as I drank my coffee.

  “What? Did you piss him off again?”

  I shook my head. “No. But Quille pretends sometimes to be mad so everyone avoids him. Without interruptions he can catch up on his own paperwork. He’s going away with Miranda this weekend.”

  “He’s leaving while your double-homicide is still open?” Ford asked as we stepped off the elevator.

  Gibson and Beast were waiting for me in the hallway. I patted Beast’s head. “I sort-of promised Quille I’d try to solve the case before this weekend. You got time to help?”

  “I’ll make time. I owe you for helping me with that drive by shooting.”

  “Splendid. Let’s set up in the conference room.” I turned to Gibson. “After Gibson unloads the boxes from my car.”

  Gibson placed fisted hands on his hips. “You could’ve told me that before I ran up the stairs.”

  I looked at him, tilting my head to the side and narrowing my eyes.

  “Uh, never mind.” Gibson grabbed the keys out of my hand. “I’d be happy to get the boxes.”

  Ford laughed as we walked into the main room. “Another week, and you just might have him trained.”

  “Hardly. He’s moved up from lost cause status to barely acceptable.”

  I stopped at Quille’s door, sticking my head inside. “You wanted to see me?”

  “At any point in your career do you think I’ll manage to get your timesheets without asking for them?”

  “Doubt it. Anything else?”

  “Whether you need the money or not, HR still requires me to play the payroll game. You’ve got five minutes to send me your hours.”

  “Whatever.” I turned to walk away.

  “Hey!” Quille barked. “Are you drinking my coffee?”

  I turned back to grin and take a sip before answering. “Ford thought I needed it more than you.”

  “One of these days…” he grumbled as I walked away.

  At my desk, I leaned over my keyboard long enough to enter my electronic timesheet before I started sorting the stacks of files that had accumulated. Anything related to the double homicide went in boxes to be moved to the conference room. Everything else was either left sitting on top of my desk or doled out to someone else to work. I wasn’t ranked any higher than the other detectives,
but we functioned on a I helped you, so now you help me program. And almost everyone owed me at least one favor.

  Two hours into our research, Chambers walked through the conference room doors. I introduced him to Ford as well as two of the homicide researchers, Natalie and Abe.

  “Weren’t you driving to the prison to interview Terrance Haines?” I asked Chambers as I looked up at the clock.

  “Mission complete,” Chambers said as he pulled out a chair. “The blond woman at the mansion heard me whining about being too tired to drive that many hours.” Chambers smiled a full set of teeth. “She rented me a chopper! Can you believe that?”

  “I’ve never been in a helicopter,” Gibson said, sounding jealous.

  Ford looked at me and shook his head. Only a handful of the cops knew I was loaded. Katie would’ve paid for the chopper out of either my account or Kelsey’s.

  I refrained from asking about the helicopter and inquired about the interview instead. “Did Terrance Haines have anything enlightening to say?”

  “Other than confirming that he didn’t take a flashlight when he jogged the park that night, nothing new. Said he didn’t think of it because the park is so well lit, which was the reason Terri felt safe jogging there at night. And for what it’s worth, I believe him. I think he’s innocent. Which means if that post light near the bench was really out of order—”

  “Already confirmed,” Gibson said, holding up a piece of paper. “Recreation department serviced the light two days after the murder.”

  I looked back at Chambers. “Then Terrance couldn’t have seen Terri lying in the grass until the next morning.” I wondered if Terrance could’ve saved her if he’d taken a flashlight with him to search. Probably not, based on the autopsy report. “Did you record the conversation with Terrance?” I asked Chambers.

  “Yeah. I logged it as evidence already.”

  I looked down the table. “Where are we at on the death certificates?” I asked Natalie and Abe.

  Natalie glanced up from her computer. “We found four possible matches to the DOA the nurse described. I sent the names to the ME’s office, requesting they pull the records.”