by Levi Fuller
“I think Rosa Kay knows a lot more than she’s saying. I think you’re right to test that out. Especially if it means not sending an innocent man to jail for murder.”
“And if it works, I will hopefully have earned Rosa Kay’s trust.”
Gaby snorted, and he winced, the sound abrasive in his ear. “I wouldn’t get my hopes up on that score, partner.”
“Come on. She’ll at least be willing to maybe try to tell me things again if she thinks I can act on them.”
“Maybe. I think it unlikely Rosa Kay will open up to you willingly. You’ve seen how everyone in this town treats us. We’re the enemy, the fabled, faceless FBI.” There was a long pause, then Gaby spoke again. “But there is one thing that makes me more willing to believe her words and leave her secrets alone for now.”
“What’s that?” Reis asked, hoping his partner had been driven by something more tangible than a gut feeling and a personality shift.
“She has every reason to hate Frank Connor. He’s slandered her mother for years, makes snide comments and gossips every time something bad happens, and always makes it out to be the Kays.”
“How’d you learn all that?”
Gaby laughed. “It is amazing what you will pick up just sitting in a diner.”
Reis shook his head. “So you believe her attempts to save him have to be because she knows something real, even if she isn’t sharing?”
“Yes. Why else would she keep him from getting a little karmic repayment?”
Reis frowned in thought. “Her mentioning Grey made me think that maybe she believes that it is the same killer.”
“Believes, or knows?”
Gaby’s words filled his blood with chips of ice. They reminded him that his own people were at a loss as to what was going on in this town and that whatever it was had already cost two FBI agents their lives.
When she spoke again, her voice was back to the sharp bark of an agent.
“I can see your cars. Get ready.”
“Copy that, Agent Boone. Stay out of this unless it gets messy.”
“Affirmative.”
Reis pulled up beside the Sheriff’s car and got out, hearing the crunch of gravel as Dr. Fell parked too.
“You stay here,” he said, turning to Mark as he approached, field kit in hand. “Until we’re sure everything is safe.”
Mark’s blue eyes widened slightly, but he nodded.
Reis turned to the Sheriff. “You want to do the honors?”
Sheriff Hardy threw him a dirty look, ordered his officers to fan out and cover the exits, and marched up to the door, hitting it twice with his fist.
“You got some reason you trying to break down my door, Earl?” said an elderly woman, looking thoroughly irritated.
“Sorry to bother you, Mrs. Connor, but I’m here on official business,” said Hardy, pointing at his badge as if trying to remind her of his standing as Sheriff.
“We have a warrant to search the premises,” Reis interjected as Hardy seemed to be waiting for some kind of invitation.
Old Mrs. Connor snorted, casting a stony glare in his direction, then sighed. “My Frankie’s been telling me you’ve been hounding him. Now you’ve come to tear up our house?”
“We’re just going to look around.”
She snorted again but stepped aside.
The house was a large farmhouse, but it was surprisingly desolate as if the usual clutter of things and memories in a family home had been cleared away.
“Found something!” Hardy called twenty minutes in. “Someone call the doc.”
Reis arrived just behind Dr. Fell and watched him prepare to bag the hunting knife Hardy held in a gloved hand.
“Is that blood?” asked an officer next to the Sheriff.
Reis resisted the urge to narrow his eyes. Neither the Sheriff nor this officer looked surprised. “You’re Cormick right?”
The officer looked up, startled, then nodded. “Yessir.”
Reis thought back on Gaby’s report. On a man matching Cormick’s description sneaking into the house when no one was home. Rosa’s warning of planted evidence seemed to be coming true.
“Arrest Frank Connor,” Hardy said.
A moment later, there was a shout from the back of the house. “He’s doing a runner!”
Reis acted on pure instinct, darting out the open bedroom window and racing around the corner of the house just in time to take Frank down and cuff him.
“Frank Connor, you are under arrest, but I’ll let your Sheriff read you your rights,” Reis said, hauling the man to his feet and handing him over to a puffing Hardy who came around from the front of the house.
“Why didn’t you let him escape?” Boone’s voice asked. “Or do you think Rosa was wrong after all?”
Reis followed them to the cars and got into his own before answering. “No, I think she was spot on, but little toerags like that deserve at least a little comeuppance, right?”
Gaby chuckled. “You’ll find no arguments here.”
They pulled up to the station a few minutes later, and Reis pulled Dr. Fell aside as the sheriff and his men made a deal of parading Frank Connor into the building.
“I want you to check every inch of that blade for a match,” Reis began.
“What did you think I was going to do with it,” asked Mark, sounding irritated.
Reis ignored him. “But I want it off books. The official stuff needs to take a while.”
Mark’s eyebrows had nearly vanished into his sandy hair. “Excuse me?”
Reis gave him a level look. “I need to know if that is the murder weapon or not before anyone else does.”
“You don’t think it is, do you?” Dr. Fell asked, searching his face.
“Never mind what I think or why. Just do it, Dr. Fell.”
Mark gave a small nod. “How long do you need? For my official progress?”
Reis gave a short laugh. “You know, I like you, Dr. Fell, even if you are giving out confidential information to your girlfriend.”
Mark flinched, backing half a step away before he could resume his usual expression. Reis smiled in a way that let the other man know that his reaction had neatly proven his guilt.
He watched Mark Fell slowly raise his eyes, his whole body seeming tensed for a physical blow, rather than a verbal one. But to his credit, his gaze was steady, a testament to the fact that he knew he had broken the law and was willing to take the corresponding punishment.
“Let me tell you two other observations I have made,” Reis said, watching the apprehension grow in the blue eyes. “You are excellent at your job. You have a quick mind and don’t slack. Your work is speedy and accurate, two things hardly ever found together in this line of work.” The eyes holding his had turned confused but kept a touch of hope too. “My second observation is that you love your job, but you love Rosa Kay more.”
Mark flinched again and looked away. “Do I resign after giving you the information on the knife or after the official report?”
Reis finally relented. “Oh, you’re not resigning, Dr. Fell. If I lost you, my team would have no hope.”
Mark’s eyes snapped back up to his own. “You’re not firing me?”
“Or arresting you?” Reis asked, earning a brave nod. “Not today, Dr. Fell. But from now on, you can only tell Rosa Kay what I let you. Understood?”
Mark grimaced but nodded.
“You’re also going to help me break through her walls.”
At this, the other man uttered a despairing chuckle. “I’m afraid you’ll need a miracle there, Agent Reis. Ever since her father was murdered, no one gets beyond her walls, not even her own sisters.”
10
“You came.”
Rosa looked up as her newfound uncle descended the staircase, looking even more like a hippie today as three beaded necklaces clinked against each other.
He was wearing his contacts again, his eyes that strange turquoise blue once more.
“You expected me not to?” she
asked, aware of the two maids moving around just beyond the entry hall.
He seemed to read her mind and glanced at them, then smiled at Rosa. “They’re not going to snitch.”
She tilted her head to the side, silently asking how he could be so sure.
“Do you ever think that Pedro or Joanna will rat you out if they’re discovered?”
Rosa flinched but conceded the point. “Okay then. It looks as if Agent Reis took me at my word.”
Charles raised his eyebrows, then his eyes narrowed. “While I am glad that whoever is steering this ship isn’t going to manage to be shot of the FBI, I want to know exactly what you told him.”
Rosa sighed,” Sure Di…Charles,” then followed him into the kitchen, her mind still having trouble calling him Charles, not Diego.
Once they sat, he propped his head on a fist. “It is probably better that you don’t break the habit of calling me Diego or Mr. Melbourne. At least for now.”
Rosa squirmed in her seat but nodded. Part of her was happy to stop trying to reconcile the stranger before her with some long lost relative. Sill, at the same time, she felt a little more secure knowing that her unexpected ally was also a Kay.
Slowly she went over her nighttime visit and conversation with Agents Reis and Boone.
“I don’t know what he did afterward, but he’s keeping the police in the dark. He already knows that the knife they found at Frank’s place is not the murder weapon.”
Her uncle nodded, his face set in thought. “Your Dr. Fell is proving to be a useful contact, but he will be in danger if he is discovered.”
Rosa sighed. “He knows what’s on the line. If he is willing to risk his job, then...”
“His job? Christ Rosa, you’re supposed to be the smart one. What do you think your father’s enemy will do once they discover his involvement?”
Rosa looked up, equal parts fear and defiance in her gaze. “How can I tell him that his life is on the line without saying why?”
“I’m not sure he’d ask for an explanation from you.” Charles Kay rose and took a few steps away, then came back. “I don’t like involving others, but your father proved that going it alone was no good either. So my compromise was simple, to use only people already in the crosshairs.” His eyes flashed to hers, and she felt a chill run up her spine. “But now, with the FBI already drawn in, that’s no longer possible. So I have made a new compromise, one I hope you will share. That we only bring in exactly those that are necessary, and that they know that they are risking their lives, even if we can’t tell them why.”
Rosa swallowed hard but nodded. “Okay. I will warn Mark tomorrow.”
He nodded, retook his seat, a big grin flashing across his face and his voice coming out in a tone that made him sound like a door-to-door salesman. “So tell me, Rosa Kay, can I interest you in a job?”
Rosa remained mute, unsure whether he was joking, mad, or both.
Charles sobered. “I’m serious. As we get into the thick of things, we’re going to need to see each other more often. It will arouse suspicion rather quickly if I break the trend and start passing through town or if your constant nighttime excursions are noted. Of course, the latter could simply be passed off as an affair, but I’d rather not draw that kind of attention either, besides which, it may well make Mark Fell less willing to risk everything for you.”
Rosa shot him a glare. “I have a job. How do I justify quitting it to work for you?”
He smiled, flicking back a wave of hair. “Four of my staff members have middle school-aged children. They all get homeschooled, and I have put out an advert for a tutor. It is about double your current salary, with less pressure and more time off to deal with your family’s bookstore.”
She laughed. “I suppose that’s believable.”
He gave her another smile. “So, can I count you in? Interviews are this Friday.”
Rosa nodded even as a wave of sadness swept through her for the secrets and lies in which the Kay family seemed mired. She had guessed at much of it when she was younger, but now, without her father or Lucia to act as a buffer, she was shouldering the stark reality alone.
Charles rose and patted her hand. “I’ll bid you good night then.”
She gave him a tiny smile, looking at his eyes, remembering them without the contacts that shielded his identity. Not alone.
“Where have you been?” Camelia asked as Rosa stepped inside.
She swept her jade eyes over her younger sister. The latter had her arms wrapped so tightly around herself that she seemed in danger of dislocating her shoulders. “What happened?”
“They’ve been here for almost an hour,” Cam hissed, sounding close to tears now. “Where were you?”
Rosa didn’t need to ask who ‘they’ were because Agent Reis had just appeared in the doorway to the sitting room. “Good evening, Ms. Kay. Busy day?”
Rosa met his eyes calmly. “Yes. There was a new order of books to deal with,” she said, hoping fervently that they hadn’t gone there first.
“I see. Well, if you have a moment, we’d like to talk. Alone.”
Rosa felt Cam stiffen beside her and turned to face her sister. “It’s okay, Cam. Why don’t you go up to bed? Didn’t you say Mrs. Goodwin wanted you there by seven?”
“You sure?” Camelia asked, casting a suspicious glance at Reis. Rosa nodded firmly, and Camelia went up the stairs, leaving her to follow Reis back into the sitting room.
Boone was there, once again perched on the ottoman. Rosa greeted her and sat, waiting as Reis lowered himself into the armchair.
“I am here to inform you that your warnings the other night have proved true.”
She forced a look of surprise onto her face. “Really?”
Something flickered in the caramel eyes watching her. “Yes. We’re keeping it on the down-low, for now, so keep this to yourself.”
She tilted her head to the side, not needing to fake her confusion. “Why tell me then?”
Again something flickered in his gaze, but his lips tilted in a small smile. “While I do not know the reasons you would help someone so verbosely against your family, I can see that if your involvement is discovered, whoever was trying to pin the blame may take it out on you.”
“Ah,” said Rose, understanding at last. “So you’re just returning the favor. Giving me a heads up.”
“In a way,” Reis said, still watching her closely. “I imagine, seeing as you never believed in Grey’s guilt, you have always felt under threat. I’m just making it clear that this will go public in a few days, and someone is going to be angry.”
“Good,” she said before she could stop herself. She caught his questioning look and shrugged. “Angry people make mistakes. Mistakes will help you to catch them.”
Reis’s eyebrows rose, and he glanced back at his partner. Boone’s lips twitched as if she were trying not to laugh.
“Why did you help Frank? He would never have done the same after all.”
Rosa gave him a level stare. “You’re right. But I don’t think about it that way. I think about it more as thwarting my father’s killer.”
His eyes sharpened, and he nodded. “I see. You think the killer is still here?”
“Yes.”
“Why? Just this new murder? The similarities could be deliberate to make us chase the wrong man.”
“Then why the false evidence?”
“Touché. Why then?”
Rosa looked away, “I don’t see how that concerns you or this investigation.” She looked back, jade eyes hard. “Now that I know you can be trusted to follow through, I will confide in you if I feel it is relevant.”
Reis looked at her long and hard, then reached over to the ottoman and scooped up a piece of paper. “Very well. Will you also offer your opinion if asked?”
“Sure,” she said, intending to move on and tell him it was late, that if he wanted her opinion on anything, he could come back at a more decent hour, but he preempted her, flipping t
he page to face her.
“Do you recognize this symbol?”
Rosa felt her face muscles go stiff as she took in the carefully drawn lines making up the sealed scroll, inkpot, and quill.
“No,” she lied.
Dear reader,
That was a suspenseful scene, wasn’t it? Why Rosa had to lie about the symbol?
I bet you want to find out. The next story is even more exciting, so dive into The Kay Sister, Book 3.
Your friend,
Levi Fuller
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OTHER BOOKS BY LEVI FULLER
ALMA NOVELS
Sound of Fear
Eye of Fear
Vision of Fear
Taste of Fear
Game of Fear
ISLE OF BUTE NOVELLAS
The Scent of Bones
The Secret of Bones
The Unburied Bones
The Missing Bone
Hide The Bones
LUKE PENBER NOVELLAS
Bend The Law 1
Bend The Law 2
Bend The Law 3
Bend The Law 4
Bend The Law 5
NANTAHALA RIVER
The Reticence 1
The Reticence 2
The Reticence 3
The Reticence 4
The Reticence 5
TURQUOISE VALLEY
The Kay Sister 1
The Kay Sister 2
The Kay Sister 3
The Kay Sister 4
The Kay Sister 5
AUDIO BOOK
Sound of Fear
Eye of Fear
About the Author
Levi Fuller is an international bestselling author.
