by Kaylea Cross
Patel opened the door for her, helped her into the backseat, and then they whisked her away to the police station.
* * *
A frenzy of news reporters and TV cameras were waiting for them as they pulled up to the station. Parking in clear view of the cameras, Detective Patel pulled Suki out of the car. Both detectives escorted her at a snail’s pace through the flurry of cameras and microphones and the volley of questions being thrown their way.
“Is this woman under arrest?” one reporter called out.
“Did she kidnap Whitney McAllister?” another shouted.
“Have you found Whitney’s body?”
“Did this woman kill Whitney?”
The questions came in rapid fire, one building upon the other. As they approached the front door, the detectives turned and lingered for a few moments, letting the press get plenty of video and photos of Suki.
Once inside, Porter and Patel ushered her into one of the interrogation rooms and left her there alone, telling her they needed to go and gather the case file.
“Just cool your jets here and I’ll be right back,” Porter said, as he shut the door.
Sitting in the bare room, she nervously scratched her head, crossed her arms momentarily, then uncrossed them, spreading them out on the table. What could they possibly have on me? And why did they need to bring me to the police station to ask me questions? They always came to the apartment before. Why the police station now.
The fluorescent lights were glaring, putting a strain on Suki’s eyes. The air in the room was warm and stuffy. She put her elbows on the table, propped her head on her hands, and closed her eyes to think.
Her thoughts went to Whitney, lying asleep on the filthy bed in total darkness. Without more sleeping pills, she’d eventually wake up. With her hands and feet tied to the bed and duct tape over her mouth, maybe she wouldn’t be able to make much noise, Suki hoped. But, if she started jerking the brass bed around, she could make enough racket to possibly draw the attention of a tour passing by.
Oh, why did I let Ethan talk me into this? She leaned forward, stretched her hands straight out on the table, and laid her head down on them. The police know something. They have to, or I wouldn’t be here. And if I can’t get back to the underground city to check on Whitney, she might give us away.
And what’s with all the press? They were snapping pictures and screaming out questions like I was being arrested or something. Oh, no! She sat up and buried her face in her hands. What if I am arrested and I can’t get out of here?
Scenario after scenario flashed through Suki’s mind and panic began to set in. For just an instant, she wanted to spill her guts and tell the cops everything—to save Whitney and save herself—but she soon pulled that thought back. She’d have to betray her brother, and there was no way she would do that. He wasn’t much, but he was all she had left.
Taking a slow and deep calming breath, she glanced around the room, wondering when the detective would be back. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes to give them relief from the glare. I’ll wait, she decided, until I know what the police have. Maybe I’m making more of this than I need to.
The door swung open and Detective Porter walked in. He dropped a manila folder down on the table with a thud and took a seat across the table from her.
“Sorry to take so long,” he said, opening the folder and leafing through the papers. She watched him with interest but did not reply.
“Miss Gorman, I need to know where you were the night Whitney McAllister went missing.”
“Me? Why, I was at home. I came home from work and Whitney wasn’t there. I told you all of this before. It should be in that report.”
“I want you to tell me again,” Detective Porter said, “from the beginning.”
“Whitney wasn’t there when I got home from work Saturday evening, so I assumed she went out with friends or had a date. When I woke up the next morning, she still was not home. I waited all day for her to come home, but she didn’t. I was worried. It wasn’t like her to stay out all night. And then to stay out all the next day without letting me know, that really wasn’t like her.”
“Go on,” Porter said.
“That’s when I called her sister in L.A., you know, Kate. She said she would call the police to report Whitney missing, but then she didn’t. She was told she couldn’t file a report yet because she hadn’t been missing for twenty-four hours. That’s what she told me, anyway. It’s all there in the report,” she said, pointing at the folder.
Porter folded his hands on top of the file.
“Did I do something wrong?” Suki asked, shifting in her seat and crossing her arms in front of her. “You don’t think I had anything to do with her disappearance, do you?”
“It’s just routine, Miss Gorman. We have to ask everyone these questions, check everything out,” Porter said, appearing to make a note on a page in the file.
Then, he pulled out the photo he had shown her the night before and spun it around with a couple of fingers so it faced her.
“And, I want to ask you to take another look at the photo I showed you last night,” he said. “I thought maybe after you’d had some time to think about it something might have jogged your memory, and you could tell us who these people are.” He paused and studied her face as if trying to read her reaction.
“Well, let me see.” Suki picked up the photo and pretended to examine it, relieved that this was why they had brought her in. “No,” she shook her head slightly, “I still don’t know who these people are.”
“Really?” Porter questioned, arching his eyebrows.
“I don’t.” Suki insisted.
“You, Miss Gorman, are a liar.”
Suki’s eyes widened at his accusation.
“Or should I say Miss Henderson?”
Her mouth dropped open.
“Isn’t this you and your brother, Ethan?” he pressed.
“I’m not saying another word,” she said as she crossed her arms again and looked toward the door, wishing she could get up and run out.
“Why would you lie about it if you didn’t have anything to hide?”
Suki shook her head and looked down, refusing to answer.
“Tell me, did you or your brother have anything to do with the disappearance of Whitney McAllister?” he demanded.
Suki looked the detective in the eye and pressed her lips together hard. Bringing her right hand up to her mouth, she defiantly made a gesture like she was turning a key and locking her lips. Then she crossed her arms once more, sat back in her chair, and glared at him, unwilling to give up herself or her brother.
Porter continued to pepper her with more questions over the next hour, but she refused to answer any of them.
Finally, she spoke. “Are you arresting me?”
“Not just yet, however, we are going to hold you for a bit.”
“You can’t do that!”
“Actually, I could arrest you for lying to a police officer and obstructing our investigation, and I still might, but not yet. For now, I’m going to hold you for a few hours while we check out your story. Now, if you’d rather I arrest you and put you in the general prison population, I can do that.”
Suki’s pulse began to race and her face became flush. What do I do? What do I do?
Detective Porter crossed his arms and glared at her.
“Okay, you can hold me for a while, but I’m not answering any more questions. And I want a lawyer.”
“Sure, I understand, but you need to know, Miss Henderson, if we find any evidence to indicate you had anything to do with Whitney McAllister’s disappearance, you’ll be charged with kidnapping. And if she’s dead, you will be charged with first-degree murder. You might want to think about that while you’re sitting in your cell.” Detective Porter slammed the folder shut and motioned toward the mirror.
Patel came in, took hold of Suki’s arm, and escorted her out of the room. He handed her over to an officer with inst
ructions to park her in a holding cell and call for a court-appointed attorney as soon as he could get around to it.
* * *
Suki sat alone in the jail cell wondering where her brother could be and how she was going to get out of police custody. Their plans appeared to be in real jeopardy.
Now, she only had two options, she thought. She could let Ethan carry out his plan and leave Seattle without her, or she could give her brother up to the police and both of them would end up in prison. Either way, she couldn’t see any way that she was going to be set free once it all hit the fan. Maybe this is the price I have to pay to avenge my parents’ deaths.
Before the police officer put her in the holding cell, he had confiscated all her possessions. Without her cell phone, she had no way to warn her brother that the police were onto them. Maybe they’ll find him, but it won’t be because of me.
Chapter Thirteen
While the detectives were picking up Suki and questioning her, Ryan did his best to keep Kate distracted and out of harm’s way. On the flight back to Seattle, she had mentioned to him that she hadn’t been down to the Waterfront for quite awhile, so he suggested they go down there as a pleasant diversion. They grabbed a cup of clam chowder at Ivar’s and sat out on the deck overlooking Puget Sound.
“The breeze coming off the water is a little chilly,” Kate commented as she zipped up her jacket, “but the salty ocean air is refreshing. It’s so nice not to have the rain for a change.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Ryan said.
“And this hot soup feels warm and comforting going down. It brings back memories of growing up here.” She took another spoonful of her steaming chowder.
“Good memories, I hope.”
“Yes, good memories,” she replied, nodding. “I appreciate you keeping me company this afternoon,” she told him, patting his knee. “You probably have work you should be doing, though.”
“I’m happy to be here with you. My partner and my assistant are taking care of things.” Ryan smiled at her, watching her long golden hair waving in the breeze. “I’ll check in with my assistant later.”
“Mmmm…I’d forgotten how good Ivar’s clam chowder is. It’s been years since I’ve been to this place.”
“Me, too. Even though I live here, I’m so busy working that I don’t take the time to come down here and just enjoy the Waterfront.”
“I miss it,” Kate said, with a tinge of sadness in her voice.
“Have you ever thought of moving back?” he asked, with something that resembled hope in his eyes.
“No,” she replied, shaking her head and looking out over the water. “I left after my parents were killed. Since then, my sister has always come to Los Angeles to visit me. I never wanted to come back here to visit her. It was too hard.”
Kate’s countenance fell and her eyes began to water. “Maybe if I had stayed in Seattle my sister wouldn’t be missing.”
“You can’t blame yourself for this. And you can’t live your life based on what ifs.” Ryan’s attempt at comforting her fell on deaf ears.
“I should have stayed and been the big sister she needed.”
“Don’t do that to yourself. You don’t know that.”
Kate looked down at her watch again. “I wonder what’s happening at the police station. I think I should call the detectives and see if they found anything out yet,” she said, as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.
“Kate,” Ryan placed his hand on top of hers as it held her phone. “It’s only been about an hour since we left the station. Give them some time. They’ll call you when they know something. They promised.”
“I know, I know—but I can’t stand the waiting. Where is my sister? I need to know if she’s okay, Ryan.” A couple of tears trickled down her cheeks, and the sea breeze turned them cold. She wiped them away with her hand, pulled her collar tighter around her neck, and crossed her arms against the chill.
Ryan scooted his chair closer to hers and put his arm around her. She leaned her head against his chest, relaxing in the strength and comfort it offered.
“It’s going to be okay, Kate. Will Porter is a good detective. He’s had a lot of years doing this. They’ll find her,” Ryan said. He kissed her temple and she snuggled closer.
“What about Raj? Isn’t he a good one, too?” she asked.
“He’s new to it, but Will is teaching him all he knows. Between the two of them, they’ll figure it out.”
“Look at me, blubbering like a baby,” she said as she blotted a few stray tears with her napkin. “I like to pride myself on being a strong woman, but I’ve never had to deal with anything like this before. The not knowing is excruciating.” She was glad they were alone out on the deck, for she would be embarrassed if anyone else was around to see her cry.
“It’s okay, Kate, you’re in a safe place. You don’t always have to be so tough.”
“Oh, but I do. Even though it was horrible for me losing my mom and dad, I had to be strong for Whitney,” she went on. “It wasn’t until I felt she was back on her feet that I took care of my needs and moved away. But now, if I lose Whitney, I’ve got no family left.”
Ryan gave her shoulders a light squeeze and kissed her temple again.
“I’ve had to take care of myself in L.A.—support myself, protect myself, do everything for myself.”
“Maybe this isn’t the right time to ask, but, I’ve been wondering—”
“Wondering about what?” Kate asked.
“Well, we started to talk about it the other night at Kerry Park.”
“What?”
“I’ve been wondering why you’re alone in L.A., why no lucky man has swept you off your feet and married you yet.”
A nervous laugh escaped her lips.
“Or is there someone back home waiting for you? You told me the other night you didn’t want to talk about it, but …”
“No, Ryan, there’s no one waiting in L.A. for me.”
“Why not?” he asked. “You’re so, well, wonderful.”
She chuckled again. “I appreciate you saying that, it’s so sweet. I guess it’s because I haven’t had very good luck with men.”
“At Kerry Park, you said there was someone. Care to elaborate?”
“All right, if you must know. I was dating a man for a couple of years. We even talked about getting married.”
“What happened? Why didn’t you marry him?”
Her tone turned somber. “I found out he was cheating on me, and not just once. Apparently, he thought that by marrying me, he could have a stable relationship with someone who would warm his bed and share his life, and he could have a little extra on the side too whenever he felt like it. He broke my heart, and I haven’t been in another serious relationship since.”
“Oh, man. What a fool! Well, it was his loss. That’s all I can say.”
“Thank you. That was what my friends said at the time, too.”
An awkward silence hung in the air for a moment, his arm still around her shoulders.
“Hey, what do you say we get out of this place?” he offered, lightening the mood.
“Well, okay. What do you suggest?” Kate lifted her head and wiped her nose.
“Let’s see, over there are the antique shops,” he said as he pointed toward the shops across the street, nestled below an elevated roadway, “or there’s the aquarium just down the street. I’ve heard good things about it. Or we could walk up the hill to Pike’s Market and watch them sling the big fish around.”
“Any of those sound fine,” Kate replied. “You pick.”
Just then, they heard the ferry’s horn blow in Puget Sound and they both turned to look. “Or we could take the ferry over to Bainbridge Island,” Ryan suggested. “I know a—”
“No, not Bainbridge Island,” she said with an edgy sharpness in her voice. She sat up straight in her chair, and pulled away from him. “Remember? That’s where I told you my folks died.”
“I reme
mber, but I thought maybe it would bring you some solace, like visiting a loved one’s grave site.”
“No, it wouldn’t,” she balked.
“Have you ever gone to the site of the accident?”
“Once, right after it happened, but I never want to go back.”
“Maybe you need to. Sometimes it brings closure, visiting the place where their lives ended.”
“It won’t bring closure. It’ll just reopen old wounds. Why are you pushing this?” Kate was getting agitated, and the refreshing cool breeze was now biting at her cheeks.
“Because it sounds like you’ve just been putting band-aids over a wound that’s never fully healed, Kate. Maybe seeing where the accident happened again will help you heal.”
Kate didn’t want to go. How many times did she have to say it? She didn’t want to dredge up the pain she had tried so hard to bury. However, several times she had told Ryan what a strong woman she was, so now she’d have to step up and prove it.
“All right, all right,” she said, raising both hands in surrender. “Maybe it will help. I’ll go, but if it gets to be too much for me, and I tell you we have to go, I need you to respect that and get us out of there. Will you do that for me?”
“Yes, I’ll do that for you. I promise,” Ryan said, crossing his heart with his finger.
She slipped her hand through Ryan’s arm as they walked back to the parking lot. They climbed into his Land Rover and drove to the nearby ferry entrance. The ferry crewmen directed the long line of vehicles onto the ferry and the Land Rover came to a stop. Once parked, Kate and Ryan got out and climbed to the upper deck as the ferry travelled across the Sound to Bainbridge Island.
Among the other passengers on the deck, they found a place at the railing to watch the island draw closer. The nippy air coming off the water chilled them both. Ryan put his arms around Kate, and she slid her arms inside his coat, around his waist, and they clung to each other to keep warm. They could have gone inside and experienced the ferry ride from the comfort of the cushioned seating or from the inside of the Land Rover, but the unspoken intimacy of their warm embrace kept them on the cold deck.
