Resolved Memories (Sycamore P.D. Series Book 3)

by T. E. Killian

  He held up his other hand. “I guess I should have told you already, but I’ve been trying to be very careful what I say to you. I don’t want to even sound like I’m pushing you.”

  He could tell that she was trying to figure out where he was going with this, so he’d better just say it.

  “As you know, my grandfather is the CEO of the whole company. Well, this past Monday, he called Kelly and me into his office and told us he was retiring and placing her and me equally in charge of the company.”

  Her expression didn’t change as if she realized he wasn’t finished, so he kept going.

  “You’ve been in his office. Well, he’s having that end of the upstairs offices remodeled so that there will be another office exactly like his next to it. That’s why I was in Kelly’s office yesterday. Mine is being torn apart to make up the new offices.”

  Her expression still worried him and she wouldn’t look at him. “I guess congratulations are in order.”

  “Thank you.”

  He knew he had to say something. Her expression made him think he was losing her, but what could he say? He decided he’d try the direct approach. He thought that might be best with her.

  “Sonia, look at me.” When she did, he said, “I don’t know what I just said that bothered you, but please give me a chance to correct it.”

  She still didn’t speak. He was really worried now. He was about to try another approach when she finally spoke.

  “Oh Wayne, I should have known this would never work.”

  She pulled her napkin out of her lap, folded it, and placed it next to her plate.

  “We’re from two different worlds. I’m just a cop from a family of cops. Kelly told me once that your grandmother’s father was once governor. You’ve even been to China. And now you’re CEO of a big regional company. We’re just too different.”

  He couldn’t help it, he laughed. Then he sobered up quickly when he realized she was scowling at him.

  “Sonia. Stop and think about what you just said . . . then think of Kelly and Grant.”

  He let that sink in for a moment. “They’re exactly like us. She’s a CEO and he’s a cop. If they can make it then why can’t we?”

  He could tell she was thinking about that, but she rose and said, “I’m going to the restroom. I’ll be right back.”

  He watched her walk away. Were her eyes damp again? He wasn’t sure it was a good sign, but the tough cop he’d first met was turning into a woman with very feminine emotions.

  When she came back, she calmly sat across from him and with a firm set to her jaw said, “I think we need to back off a little, Wayne.”

  He wanted to protest but she kept going. “It’s not just about our differences. As you said, I can see that if Grant and Kelly can make it then so can we.”

  She gave him a pleading look as though asking him to understand.

  “It’s just that I’m being distracted too much from my job. I’m forgetting to do things I’ve been doing for years. I’m missing little clues that I shouldn’t.”

  She looked into his eyes now. “I’m not saying it’s totally bad, but right now you’re just too much of a distraction for me. I need to get focused on my job again. I was just promoted and I have to show that I deserved that promotion.”

  She must have recognized the crushed look that he was sure was on his face. “I’m not saying that I want to end whatever relationship we have here, Wayne. I’m just saying that it’s going a little too fast for me. I’m working on probably the biggest case of my career right now and I can’t afford to devote less than my full time and attention to it.”

  Wayne felt like he’d been punched in the stomach. “Is there still hope for us?”

  She reached both hands across the table and placed them on top of his. “It’s not your fault Wayne, it’s totally mine. I’m the one who has neglected my job.”

  She squeezed his hands. “Yes, Wayne, there is hope for us. This past week, I’ve gotten to know the real Wayne Newcomb as Kelly called it.”

  She smiled for the first time in many minutes. “And I like him.”

  He felt a little encouraged now, enough so to ask, “Are we still going to see each other?”

  She seemed to think for a moment. “Yes, but not quite so often. I think today having lunch and dinner with you was a little more than I can handle in one day.”

  They left the restaurant and as he was driving toward her condo, she broke the prolonged silence. “I would like for you to go to church with me Sunday morning.”

  Now, he was feeling a little better. This was a good sign that she wasn’t breaking it off entirely.

  He thought quickly. “Sure, I’ll go to church with you if you’ll go with me to my grandparents’ house for dinner afterward.”

  Wayne knew when the seriousness left Sonia’s face. “Okay. You can always entice me with Maria’s cooking. Besides, I wanted to tell her how much I enjoyed her son’s restaurant.”

  “Great!” Everything was almost back to where it had been.

  Chapter Seven

  Friday morning Sonia was looking at the new list of names that Wayne had just sent over to her. There were a few new names on the list, but none that stood out in any way. They all seemed to be normal car shoppers.

  Her phone rang and when she looked at the screen and saw dispatch, she had another one of those feelings.

  When she hung up the phone, she was sure that this was going to be significant. She stepped out of her office and caught the attention of both Grant and Stan then motioned them to come to her.

  She was sitting at her conference table when they walked in and took seats. She sure liked having a table in her office.

  She studied each man’s face. They still looked a little rough around the edges but they both seemed a little more rested.

  “Okay, here’s what we’ve got now. It looks like we may have a break. There were two break-ins last night. One was at Tasha Tilton’s office and the other at Hogan Construction Company. The burglaries weren’t discovered until the offices opened this morning. And, most important of all, nothing was disturbed in either office except in the private offices of Hogan and Tilton.”

  Both Grant and Stan started talking at once. Then Stan pointed at Grant.

  “Are you both thinking what I’m thinking?”

  Sonia nodded. “Yes, I think I am. Someone wants something and they think ether Hogan or Tilton had it.” She leaned back and crossed her legs. “The question is, did they find it?”

  They were all thinking the same thing, so there was no comment as they stood to leave.

  “Well, let’s go over to Hogan’s office first. I have a feeling his was the first one they hit and if it was then they didn’t find what they were looking for and went on to Tilton’s office.”

  After they had followed the lab in each of the offices, all three of the detectives were convinced that Sonia had been right. They were all sure that someone was looking for something and Sonia’s intuition told her that they hadn’t found it yet.

  Back in her office, she looked at Grant and Stan. “I think there was too much destruction in those offices especially in Tilton’s office. They didn’t find what they were looking for.”

  They all thought about that for a moment then Sonia slammed her open palm down gently on the table. “What would you do next if you were the perp?”

  Grant looked up first. “Are we assuming that whoever did this also killed Hogan and Tilton?”

  Stan said, “I am.”

  Sonia looked from one to the other and said, “I think that at this point we almost have to assume that.”

  “Okay then, if I were the perp, I’d be hitting their homes next.”

  Sonia felt like kicking herself. “You’re right Grant and I hope we’re not too late.” She finished writing some notes and then looked back up. “Let’s get their home addresses and get out there. You two take Tilton’s and I’ll take Hogan’s.”

  When Sonia pulled up in
front of Hogan’s large house in Mountainside Estates, a man about her age with sandy hair and wearing jeans and a white t-shirt was coming out the front door. He climbed into a truck that had Hogan Construction written on the door.

  She rushed up to him before he could back out. He had his arm resting on the open window.

  “Hello, I’m Lieutenant Nordstrom with Sycamore P. D. are you Bill Hogan?”

  He looked at her wallet badge as she showed it to him, then looked down at her belt badge and gun.

  “Yeah, what can I do for you Lieutenant?”

  She tried to put on a sympathetic face and said, “I’m sorry about your father and I wouldn’t be bothering you but something has happened that we have to follow up on. I’m investigating your father’s murder. I guess you know that his office was broken into last night.”

  “Yeah, I was the one who called it in but I came home to break it to my mother.”

  She wasn’t sure how to proceed but took a stab at it. “You do want us to catch whoever did this to your father don’t you?”

  “Sure.” Then he chuckled dryly. “Wayne told me you were good at your job and a nice person too.”

  When she gave him a puzzled look, he said, “Wayne and I have been best friends since our first year of high school. We tell each other almost everything.”

  When she paled a little, he rushed on. “But we do leave some things out . . . to protect the innocent of course.”

  Sonia recovered her composure and went on. “We think that whoever killed your father killed his attorney, Tasha Tilton too. We also think that whoever did that broke into your father’s office especially since someone broke into Ms. Tilton’s office last night too.”

  Hogan groaned. “Whoa, this is getting mighty complicated. Sounds to me like they were looking for something. Do you think they found it?”

  She wasn’t sure how much to tell him, but took a chance on him. “No, I don’t think so. Especially by the fact that they tore things apart in both offices but more so in Ms. Tilton’s office. It looks like that was a result of frustration at not finding what they were looking for.”

  “Okay, Lieutenant, what can I do to help you?”

  “Thank you for your cooperation Mr. Hogan.”

  “Please call me Bill. Any friend of Wayne’s is a friend of mine.”

  “Okay, Bill. We think that if they didn’t find what they were looking for at the offices, they’ll hit their homes next.”

  Hogan had a dark tan from working outdoors but he paled when she said that.

  “We have to protect my mother.”

  “Yes sir, that’s why I’m here right now. We need to work up a plan to be able to catch these people when they act again.”

  He winced. “I heard you say ‘when’ not ‘if.’ You sound like you’re sure they’ll come here.”

  “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid that is exactly what I think will happen next.”

  “Okay, back to a plan. I assume you have something in mind.”

  “Yes, I do. My detectives and I all agree that they hit your father’s office first and when they didn’t find what they were looking for they went on to Ms. Tilton’s office. Therefore, we think they’ll hit this house first too.”

  Sonia was getting warm standing in the sun and Hogan noticed.

  “I would take you inside but I’d rather my mother not be involved in this discussion. Why don’t you get in the truck and I’ll turn up the AC.”

  Once she was situated in the passenger seat of his pickup, she said, “What I would like to propose is that we take your mother out of the house without her being seen and I take her place here tonight.”

  “I think that’ll work. I was going to say that I didn’t want my mother in any danger at all. Your plan sounds good to me.”

  They talked a little longer about how to get his mother out and how to get Sonia in without the switch being noticed, then Sonia left.

  * * *

  Wayne was still confused about his date with Sonia the night before. Even though he usually liked Fridays, he was in a hurry for this one to be over. He was anxious for Sunday to come since he was supposed to be spending most of the day with Sonia. He sure hoped she wouldn’t back out. She had nixed any suggestions that he had made about getting together before Sunday. He would just have to wait until then.

  Sonia had been sending him all sorts of mixed signals last night. Sometimes it seemed like she wanted to break things off between them. Then at other times, it sounded like she didn’t. In fact, it seemed almost like she was beginning to like him too much and it was bothering her.

  He liked the last of those possibilities the best. Well he’d have to think more about those things later. Right now, he was entering his grandfather’s office to discuss some of the details concerning the transition of company leadership to him and Kelly.

  They talked about the many duties of the position of CEO, some of which he would assume and some that Kelly would take over. Mainly anything to do with sales was his exclusively and the same with anything financial which would be Kelly’s. Anything else they would handle together including all major decisions.

  Wayne felt good about the distribution of duties. Both he and Kelly would be doing all the things they enjoyed individually and the rest would be joint decisions. He was sure it would work perfectly.

  Grandfather tossed the folder he held in his hand to the low table between them and stared into Wayne’s eyes for so long that he started to squirm in his seat.

  “That’s enough about business for now.” He paused and moved over to sit on the same sofa with Wayne. “Something is troubling you Wayne. Would you like to talk about it?”

  Wayne just looked at him. His grandfather had always stayed out of Wayne’s life but had always seemed to know when his grandchildren needed his wisdom and advice and was there waiting.

  “I would like to help.” He rested a hand on Wayne’s shoulder and squeezed slightly. “Is this about Sonia Nordstrom?”

  Wayne swung his head around so fast that he was afraid that he might have pulled a muscle in his neck. “How . . . ?”

  Harold leaned back and laughed his booming laugh. Then he leaned toward Wayne again. “I may be seventy-five years old, but I still have good eyesight Wayne. I can see how you don’t look at anyone else whenever the two of you are in the same room. Also, a little birdie tells me that you’ve been out with her a couple of times this week.”

  Wayne grinned at his grandfather. “I guess you could say that my problem is what to do about Sonia.” He rubbed his chin. “I just don’t ever know what to say to her. So much of what I do say seems to blow up in my face.”

  There was that laugh again. “She’s a woman. It comes with the territory.”

  “Yes, I’m sure that’s part of it, but there’s more to it than that and it’s more than the fact that she’s a cop. I think she’s getting hung up on our differences. You see, her dad and all three of her brothers are cops down in Phoenix. She thinks there’s too much difference between her background and mine. I even tried to use Kelly and Grant’s relationship as an example. That seemed to work for a little while, but now she’s back on the same thing again.”

  Harold smiled at him and shook his head. “You know that your grandmother was way out of my league when I met her don’t you?”

  Wayne grinned. “Sure, her dad was the governor.”

  “Right and I was just a poor kid in college on a scholarship. I couldn’t go near her without having to deal with the state police who were assigned to guard her. One was with her at all times. They even went to her classes. Whenever we went out, one was always right there. In fact, I never drove her anywhere. They always drove us.”

  “I can see how difficult that must have been, but how does that apply to the situation between Sonia and me?”

  “I’m coming to that son.” He looked at his wristwatch. “Sonia thinks we’re too high society for her, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. All
we need to do is get her together with your grandmother for a little talk.”

  Wayne was beginning to see where his grandfather was going now. “That should be easy enough. She asked me to go to church with her Sunday so I asked her to come to dinner with us afterward.”

  Harold clapped his hands. “That will work perfectly. All I have to do is talk to your grandmother and she’ll make sure she pulls Sonia aside for a little private talk Sunday. I would talk to her myself, but this sort of thing usually works best from woman to woman. You know. . . the language barrier.”

  Wayne laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes. His grandfather always had a way of taking the biggest problems Wayne had and cutting them down to a manageable size.

  He left his grandfather’s office so high that he wasn’t sure his feet were even touching the floor.

  Now, as long as Sonia didn’t call off for Sunday, he should be okay. He didn’t think she would. She’d agreed after all. Not only that, but she wanted to get him to church with her.

  He wondered what she was up to with that. Why was it so important to her that he go to church with her? Sure, he didn’t have a problem with that. It would, after all get him some more time with her. And church . . . he’d gone every Sunday while he lived with his grandparents and he’d always been able to totally tune it out. They hadn’t been able to get to him like they did Kelly. No sir, he had come away unscathed and he would stay that way too.

  He just thought of another good reason to go to church with Sonia. Now that he was going to be heading the company, with Kelly of course, he would need to put on a good front for the community so their sales wouldn’t suffer. All the other car dealers in the valley were strong churchgoers, so he would need to be one now too.

  He felt better about the whole situation now too.

  * * *

  Sonia was slightly nervous about the stakeout she had planned for tonight. She had never done anything quite like this before. She and Bill Hogan had made arrangements with his mother, Marilyn, for them to trade places so Sonia could spend the night in her house.