Without Justice

by Carsen Taite

  “Yes, and how about you? Did you always want to be a prosecutor?”

  Emily pretended not to notice the poor segue. Cade seemed determined to avoid all things personal, but maybe she had a good reason. They’d only just met after all, or maybe Cade was shy. The memory of Cade, on the patio, striding toward her to make the first move rushed her thoughts, and she wrote off putting Cade and shy in the same sentence again. No, something else was the cause of the barrier. If they were going to go any further with whatever was happening between them, she was going to find out what it was, but right now she had no desire to spoil the easygoing mood of this evening.

  A loud buzzing cut into her thoughts, and Emily instinctively reached for her cell phone that was sitting on the kitchen counter. She turned it over, but nothing showed up on the screen, yet the buzzing persisted. “Weird.”

  “It’s me.”

  She looked over at Cade who was frowning at her phone. “Do you need to get that?”

  “Sorry, I do.” Cade raised the phone to her ear and started walking toward the patio. Before she made it out the door, Emily heard her say. “I’m in the middle of something.”

  Well, that was one way to describe a date. Whoever it was must’ve been important for Cade to have even answered, and whatever they wanted was enough to merit a private conversation. She watched through the big bay windows as Cade paced the outdoor deck, but she couldn’t hear any other portions of the conversation. In less than five minutes, Cade was back at her side.

  “I had a great time tonight.”

  Emily heard the unspoken good-bye, but she had to ask. “Are you leaving? Is something wrong?”

  Cade smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Nothing’s wrong, but I have to go. Can I see you again? Are you busy this weekend?”

  Emily paused. She could let herself be distracted by the promise of seeing Cade again soon, or she could let tiny seeds of doubt cloud the anticipation. Who had called? What had they said that caused Cade to abort their date? Why didn’t Cade just tell her why she was leaving?

  Funny, less than an hour ago, she’d been worried about what the neighbors would say if Cade stayed too late, and now she was second-guessing Cade’s decision to leave. Her reaction might not make sense, but she was certain there was more to Cade’s sudden departure than she was letting on, and her certainty led her to say, “I’m pretty busy this weekend. We’re finishing up our presentation to the grand jury on the Miller case on Monday, and I’ve got lots of prep work to do.”

  “Well, damn.” Cade frowned. Either she was an excellent actor or she was legitimately disappointed. Emily wasn’t sure which, but her instincts told her it might be a little of both. Despite not knowing, she couldn’t resist making an overture. “We should be done Monday night. I’ll call you.”

  “Perfect,” Cade said as she leaned in for a kiss.

  Emily hesitated for a second, but arousal beat out caution. She touched Cade under the chin and drew her closer until their lips met in a soft and lingering kiss. She had no clue exactly how long they’d been standing there when a voice inside her said, “Don’t get used to this.” The voice broke the spell. She raised her head and took a step back, determined to put distance between them, certain it was the only thing that would keep her sane. “Good night.”

  Chapter Twelve

  As Cade turned onto her street, she spotted Kennedy’s Jeep sitting in front of her house. Damn. She’d figured she’d have a little time to regroup from her date with Emily before she’d have to deal with whatever Kennedy wanted, but it looked like she was ready to plunge right in.

  All Kennedy would tell her was that they needed to meet tonight and she was headed to Cade’s house. Cade had no idea what would merit an impromptu meeting on a Friday night, but she didn’t think it could be anything good. If Kennedy had interrupted her date with Emily for nothing, Cade was going to be really pissed.

  Cade pulled into the garage, entered the house through the side door, and strode toward the front certain Kennedy would be waiting on the other side, but as she walked by the living room, a voice called out, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin.

  “I’m in here.”

  She flicked the switch on the wall. “Holy shit, Kennedy. You ever heard of knocking?”

  “You took long enough to get here. Where were you?”

  “Normal people don’t break and enter.” Cade walked over to the window and peered through the blind. “I bet Mavis called the cops the minute she saw you.”

  “Mavis?”

  “Nosy neighbor. She sees everything that happens in this neighborhood. You probably should’ve checked that out before you moved me in here, especially if you were planning to bust in at all hours.”

  “I didn’t bust in. I used a key. We’ve got some work to do. Can I get something to drink?”

  Cade shook her head, knowing she didn’t have a choice. She’d been happy to agree to assist in the prosecution of anyone involved in the shooting of Biermann and his guards in exchange for protection. Hell, she’d spent her life trying to put bad guys away so this was just more of the same.

  Except it wasn’t. Heading up a prosecution was vastly different from being the witness, and she was quickly developing empathy for the witnesses she’d worked with over the years. She’d always assumed their willingness to help gave her carte blanche to make demands on their time, ask intrusive questions about their personal life, and risk their safety for the greater good. In the scheme of things, having her date interrupted was a small thing, but after she’d given up her home, her friends, her family and, above all, her identity, to help strangers prosecute a man she didn’t know who had killed a man she barely knew, tonight felt like a massive intrusion.

  “You want a drink, make it yourself—you know, since you’re making yourself at home and all. What’s so important you had to come over on a Friday night?”

  “The FBI arrested Officer Martel.”

  Cade sank onto the couch. Martel was the guy who’d lured her out to the van where Fontana had been waiting. “When?”

  “Earlier today. He was hiding out near Bloomington.”

  “Okay.” Cade’s mind whirred with the information. If Martel was in custody, the feds were one step closer to finding Fontana. All they had to do was get him to talk, and they were well on their way to closing this case. If Martel did flip, then it was more likely Fontana wouldn’t force them to go to trial, which meant her involvement would end. She’d remain under protection because the possibility always existed the Oliveris would come for her out of revenge, but it was more likely they would wash their hands of the enforcer who’d almost put them out of business by leaving a witness behind. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Waverly wants to go over your grand jury testimony before she meets with Martel and his lawyer. She’s flying out in the morning and she’ll meet us in Dallas. I think it would be better for us to leave tonight. We’ll be there for a couple of days.”

  Kennedy didn’t need to say more. Cade got it. Kennedy must have some reason to believe there might be some danger if she was spotted leaving for the weekend. She wanted to know more, but knew Kennedy well enough to know that it wasn’t worth arguing about. She left the room to pack a bag, figuring she could get her answer during the road trip. Good thing Emily hadn’t taken her up on her request for another date this weekend. It would be hard enough explaining why she’d cut tonight short, but she had no clue what excuse she’d offer for leaving town without any notice. It was probably best. A woman like Emily would ask too many questions, and lies were a pretty sorry foundation for any kind of relationship, even a casual one. Time to hole back up and keep to herself.

  *

  Emily looked up at the knock on her door to find Seth filling the frame. “I’m on my way.” She’d been finishing up a list of questions for the medical examiner who they were about to prep for his testimony. He would be their last witness before the grand jurors when they resumed hearing testimony t
omorrow morning.

  “You look tired.”

  “You are the master of the obvious.” She yawned and stretched her arms. She’d come directly to the office after church, skipping the family brunch to get back to work on the Miller case. “First big case. I just want to make sure we get it right.”

  Seth walked in and took a seat. “We will. To tell you the truth, I think it’s going to be a slam dunk. Brody doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing, and Miller seems good for it.”

  Emily practically growled. “Dammit, Seth. Take it back. Light some candles, do something to erase the bad mojo you just stirred up. We don’t take anything for granted. If Miller’s good for it, I want to lock this up tight and get him to plead guilty. No sense dragging Wade’s family through a trial.” She pushed back from her seat. “Let’s go talk to Dr. Narey. We’ll put him on in the morning, and then get our indictment. I don’t want Miller getting out on bond tomorrow afternoon. With any luck, we can get him to take a plea by the end of the week.”

  She led the way to the conference room down the hall from her office where the ME was waiting. As she walked, she did a bit of mental math. It was three o’clock and they’d probably spend an hour or two, three tops, prepping Narey. She was as ready as she could be for tomorrow, so she’d head home, have an early dinner, and try to get a good night’s sleep. When she thought about relaxing, one name came to mind. She’d told Cade she would be too busy to see her this weekend, but the closer she got to being done working on the case for the weekend, seeing Cade again was all she could think about. The memory of Cade’s abrupt exit had faded, and now she wondered if she was being overly sensitive. Seeing Cade again, looking into those deep brown eyes would tell her all she needed to know. She was going to eat dinner anyway. Why not with someone she’d enjoy spending time with?

  She stepped aside and motioned for Seth to go on into the conference room. “I’ll be right there.” She waited until he crossed the threshold and pulled out her phone, pausing before taking the plunge. Wrapping up early. Dinner tonight? She pressed send before she could second-guess the overture. Determined not to stare at the phone, waiting for an answer, she reached to tuck it into her briefcase. Before she released it, the phone buzzed to signal a new text.

  Can’t make it tonight. Sorry.

  Emily stared at the screen for a few seconds, trying to read between the lines. Can’t make it because I have other plans? Can’t make it because I don’t want to? Sorry on a personal level or sorry because it seemed like the right thing to say?

  As the questions raced through her mind, she grew more and more annoyed with her reaction. She can’t make it. It’s as simple as that. Quit overanalyzing. She tossed the phone into her bag without replying. They’d had the one date. On a scale of one to ten, the attraction level had been off the charts, but now she wasn’t convinced Cade was really interested, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to risk her own heart discovering the truth. She faced the door to the conference room. She had a job to do, and it was time to focus on that. When this case was over, she’d refocus on her personal goals, without Cade Kelly, but until then she was all business.

  *

  Cade shoved her phone back in her pocket and stared at the women seated across from her.

  “If you need to take a break to make a phone call,” Kennedy said, “That’s okay.”

  “No, I’m fine.” She wasn’t fine, but the sooner they got through this, the better off she’d be. She tensed, waiting for a buzz in her pocket to tell her Emily had responded to her text, but it didn’t come. What did she expect? She’d dashed out of Emily’s house on Friday night without explanation, and now when Emily reached out in spite of it, she was blowing her off. No doubt Emily had nothing left to say to her.

  She’d spent the better part of the last two days answering the same questions over and over again. AUSA Waverly had described how they’d found former Chicago police officer Mike Martel hiding out near Bloomington, a couple of hours south of Chicago. He’d been running a deli. In the mob’s own version of witness protection, they’d set him up with a new life, and if a fellow officer hadn’t been visiting relatives in Bloomington, there was no telling how long he would have remained undetected.

  So far he wasn’t talking, but Waverly was confident an indictment would loosen his tongue. Cade had listened to her bluster over the past couple of days while she was forced to repeat her story over and over again. She wondered if Waverly remembered she was talking to a fellow prosecutor, and not just any other potential witness. “I don’t know that it will be as easy as you think.”

  “Pardon me?”

  “If Martel talks, he dies, unless you’re going to offer him protection, and even then it’s probably going to be a hard sell. Whatever the Oliveris gave him or threatened him with to get him to give up his badge and his retirement was probably more persuasive than anything you have to offer.”

  Waverly shook her head. “I can’t talk about the specifics of his case.”

  “I get it. Look, I don’t care what you do as long as you catch Fontana and make him pay for what he did.” She watched as Waverly exchanged glances with Kennedy. Something was at play here, but she wasn’t sure what. Whatever it was, apparently, they didn’t plan to share it with her, which pissed her off after the last two days of endless repetition. “Are we done? I have a fake life to get back to.”

  The first hour of the car ride back to Bodark felt like six, most likely because of the silence. Kennedy pointed out a giant billboard advertising one of those megaplex travel centers. “You want to stop and stretch your legs?”

  “I’d rather keep driving if it’s all the same to you.”

  “I need a Coke. You can wait in the car if you want.”

  “Fine.”

  “Look, I know you’re mad, but catching these guys is a slow process. They’ll eventually get Fontana, and whether Waverly said it or not, your help is invaluable.”

  “If she really wanted my help, she might ask my opinion. She’s either got to threaten Martel with something worse than the mob could do to him, or convince him she can keep him safe.”

  “I think she knows that, but I also think she has her sights set on bigger fish.”

  Cade took a moment to process what Kennedy was saying before she realized the implication. “Wait a minute. It’s Fontana she’s going to protect, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but that’s my bet. If she can get Martel to flip on him, then she can use him to get to the family.”

  “He’ll never turn on Vincente Oliveri. The man practically raised him. I spent years working on these cases. I should know.”

  “You might be right, but I’m sure you know she has to try.”

  Kennedy’s words lingered after she left the car. After watching her fade into the crowd of people entering the building, Cade closed her eyes and played back the gruesome crime scene outside of the Cook County courthouse. Blood spray, bullet holes, tangled bodies. She shuddered at the memory of the red-hot pain of Fontana’s bullet searing through her skin. The idea he might get a new name, a new identity, and be permitted to live out his days under the protection of the federal government was inconceivable. She wanted justice. Real justice.

  Kennedy returned to the car and they drove in silence for a while. Cade nearly fell asleep with the slow and steady rhythm of the ride.

  “So, where were you Friday night?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Well, you weren’t at home and you weren’t at work. I’m curious, that’s all.”

  Cade opened her mouth to say she’d been at Emily’s, but she clamped it shut before the words came out, uncertain about the reason behind her reluctance to share anything personal with Kennedy once again.

  “You don’t have to tell me, but if you’re making new friends, it would be a good idea for me to check them out.”

  “You can’t possibly check out everyone I come into contact with.”

  “Not everyone, true, bu
t we do a pretty good job of vetting the people you spend any significant amount of time with. We did a pretty deep background on everyone who works at the library, and, frankly, you don’t hang out with anyone you don’t work with, so you’re fairly low maintenance.”

  “Okay.”

  “So, were you with someone from the library?”

  “I could’ve been at the grocery store.”

  “Then you probably would’ve had groceries when you came home.”

  Cade sighed. “I was with someone, but I don’t think you need to check this one out.”

  “Oh, so now you’re the expert. Why don’t you stick to your job and I’ll stick to mine?”

  “Right. I’ll stick to my fake job as a librarian and you can help Waverly put a criminal back on the street in exchange for her pie in the sky dreams of taking down the Oliveri family.” Cade was tired and frustrated, and she didn’t bother to hide her anger. “You want to know who I was with? I was with the district attorney, Emily Sinclair.”

  Kennedy’s face scrunched into a frown. “What were you doing with her?”

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but we were on a date. You’ve been after me to acclimate? Well, I tried, but it’s kind of hard to fit in when you get mysterious phone calls in the middle of a date and you can’t offer a reasonable explanation to the person you’re with.”

  “Slow down for a sec.” Kennedy pulled over into a cutout by the side of the highway. She left the car running but turned in her seat to face Cade. “You’re dating Emily Sinclair? The DA? Senator Sinclair’s daughter?”

  “Yes,” Cade said. “I mean, we had one date. I’m not sure I’ll get a chance at another.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s a good thing.”

  Cade felt the slow burn of anger course through her veins. “What’s that supposed to mean?”