My Private Detective

by Rebecca Winters

  “Come on, Pokey. Let’s get you home. You’ve been cooped up long enough.”

  HEIDI’S PARENTS wouldn’t let her wallow in disappointment because Gideon hadn’t been able to tell her he would take Dana’s case. Her father assured her there were other detectives they could hire. He would make inquiries at work the next day.

  As he was vice president of AmerOil for Southern California, he would call in their company attorneys, who handled litigation problems, and get their suggestions. He felt sure someone would know a criminal investigator and make a referral they could follow up on.

  She thanked him with a hug, then left for her apartment. But despite her father’s promise, she had no peace.

  Gideon wasn’t the kind of man to lead her on when he knew he couldn’t help Dana. She might not know him well, but she recognized that fundamental integrity in him. Furthermore, the last thing he’d want to do was discuss Dana in front of Kevin. The fact that he’d brought his son on the drive meant Kevin’s state of mind was fragile.

  Emotionally exhausted from trying to figure out the whole confusing mess, she decided it would be best to drop the night class. As long as her father was going to find another detective, there was no longer any point in attending.

  To continue seeing Gideon would only increase her attraction to him and cause Kevin grief. The man might be unforgettable, but there were far too many complications. Some relationships just weren’t meant to be.

  After pulling into her carport, she hurried up the back stairs and let herself into the kitchen. Before she got ready for bed, she checked her messages.

  Michael Ray had phoned to ask her out and wanted her to call him back at the first opportunity. He was a graduate student who’d been hired three weeks ago to work part-time at the furniture warehouse run by her mother’s family. Heidi’s first impression had been that he was a nice guy and not bad-looking. But she wasn’t interested.

  Since meeting Gideon Poletti, she couldn’t entertain the thought of any other man in her life. Maybe she never would again. All she knew was that it would take a long time to work him out of her system.

  As if thinking about him had conjured him up, the next voice message was from him. And the one after that.

  Good heavens—he was outside? Now?

  Heart pounding wildly, she swung around and ran through her apartment. Turning on the front porch light, she opened the door and saw him coming up the walk.

  “Gideon!” She gasped. “I just heard your messages. I can’t believe I didn’t notice your car when I drove in.”

  He took the stairs two at a time. “You must’ve had other things on your mind.”

  You. You were on my mind. Everything else was a blur.

  “May I come in?”

  “Of course.”

  He moved inside and shut the door. “Why don’t we go into your kitchen?”

  “A-All right.” Her stomach was in knots. She led him through the living room to the kitchen, urging him to take a place at the table. “How long have you been waiting out there?”

  “Not long.”

  “I’m sorry.” She rubbed the palms of her hands on her hips. “How was Kevin when you took him home?”

  He eyed her intently. “He’s not planning to come to class on Wednesday night.”

  It was worse than she’d thought. “I’m so sorry.” She inhaled deeply, trying to quell her anxiety. “Can I get you something to eat or drink?”

  “Not right now, thanks.” His unrelenting gaze forced her to look at him. “Where did you go when I dropped you off?”

  “My parents’.”

  He nodded. “Heidi…after talking to Dana, I’m convinced she didn’t kill her sister.”

  Her world stood still for a moment. “You’re not just telling me that because you know it’s what I want to hear?”

  “Not at all. I came to that conclusion while she was giving me her version of events. However, certain things didn’t add up,” he said cryptically. “At this point it’s no longer a question of what anyone else wants. I believe the wrong person is behind bars. Therefore, I’m going to begin my own investigation.”

  “Oh, thank God!” she cried, clasping her hands. Overjoyed by his words, she reached for her purse on the counter to get her checkbook. “I’ll pay you a retainer and—”

  “Put everything away, Heidi. I’m not interested in receiving a fee and couldn’t accept one, anyway.”

  “But—”

  “Listen,” he said, cutting her off. “I thought I’d made it clear that I’m doing this to satisfy my own sense of justice as much as anything.”

  Her hand stilled on the purse.

  “I know it’s getting late and we both have work in the morning, but before I leave, I’d like to ask you a few questions about Dana’s case.”

  There was a ring of steel in his voice that was slightly intimidating. “Of course.”

  “Why don’t you sit down.”

  “All right.” She sank onto the opposite chair.

  “The other day you mentioned that Dana had an apartment.”

  She blinked. “Yes. Before she went to prison, she had a beautiful place. After she was sentenced, her parents stored her things and gave up the apartment.”

  “Where was it located?”

  “Pasadena.”

  “Why there?”

  “Dana was in graduate school at Caltech.”

  “What department?”

  “She didn’t tell you?”

  “There wasn’t time to get into a lot of background questions. What I wanted from her was an account of what she did the night of the murder. Now that I have her testimony, I’d like some answers from you.”

  Heidi let out a sigh. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be difficult.” She pushed a stray curl off her forehead. “Dana was studying physics and astronomy.”

  “That’s impressive.”

  “She’s the only reason I passed the one physics class I had to take at UCSD to get my teaching degree. She inherited her father’s brain.”

  “Tell me about him.”

  “Dr. Turner’s been one of the head astronomers at the Mount Palomar Observatory for quite a few years now.”

  He nodded. “Do you have any idea why Dana was at her parents’ home the night of Amy’s murder?”

  Again Heidi started to ask him the reason for these questions when he’d already heard all this from Dana, but she caught herself.

  “My school had just let out, so my parents asked me to keep an eye on their house while they went to New York for a week of furniture-buying. Dana had just finished her exams at Caltech, but she still had a paper to work on.

  “I was anxious to see her, so I urged her to drive down and do it at her parents’ house. We had a lot of catching up to do because she’d just been through a stormy relationship that didn’t work out and she wanted to talk about it.

  “Also, we were planning a trip to Mexico as soon as my parents got back. There were decisions we needed to make before finalizing our itinerary.”

  “Did you see Dana on the day Amy was killed?”

  “You know I did!” she blurted. “You’ve already discussed it with Dana.” Her eyes slid away. “Forgive me. That’s the second time I’ve been rude to you.”

  “It’s all right,” he said in a quiet voice. “Just bear with me a little longer.”

  She nodded. “I’m sure Dana told you we both wanted to get started on a tan before leaving for Mexico, so we took my dad’s rowboat out on the bay to picnic and sunbathe. We didn’t go back to the pier until much later in the day.”

  “Is that your parents’ pier?”

  “It’s a pier shared by the Turners and my parents. They have an inboard ski boat.”

  “I see. What did you do then?”

  “Dana went inside to work on her paper. I had to go back to my apartment to get ready for a blind date. It’d been arranged by a teacher friend who’d been trying to talk me into it for the better part of a year. But at
the last minute I couldn’t go through with it and called the guy to break it. I figured he probably didn’t want to go, either.”

  “Instead, you found out that wasn’t how he felt at all. He’d been looking forward to it, correct?”

  She lifted her head to discover him studying her features. Her face went hot. “Yes.”

  “What happened then?”

  “I should’ve just gone on that date with my friend’s brother. By backing out of it, I turned everything into a huge mess. She called me up and told me exactly what she thought of me.

  “I felt awful because she was right. It was a cruel thing to do.” Heidi shrugged weakly. “I had no excuse except that I guess a blind date just isn’t for me. Anyway, I couldn’t stand my own company, so I drove over to Dana’s to see if she’d go out for a drive with me, even though I knew she was working on her paper.”

  “What time was that?”

  “Around six-thirty. But when I got there and saw how much she still had to do, I realized I was just being selfish. So I went alone and told her I’d call her in the morning.”

  Barely holding on to her self-control, she added, “If only Dana had come with me that night, she wouldn’t be in prison now.”

  “Not necessarily.”

  His comment made her shiver.

  “Tell me about your drive. Where did you go?”

  “I headed for the hills like I usually do.”

  “Where, precisely?”

  “There’s a monastery near the Mount Palomar Observatory. Over the years I’ve often driven up that way because it’s so quiet and beautiful.”

  “Did you go alone?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you stop anywhere?”

  “No.”

  “No one saw you?”

  She frowned. “Not that I know of. By the time I got that far, I was tired, so I turned around and drove back to my apartment. Gideon…why does it matter where I went?”

  “I’m attempting to get a sense of the circumstances that night. When did you find out what had happened at the Turner house?”

  “The next morning I phoned Dana so we could go down to the travel agency. I was planning to drive over to my parents’ house, take the mail and newspaper inside, then pick her up.”

  “Where were you?”

  “You mean when I phoned?”

  “Yes.”

  “At my apartment.”

  “Go on.”

  “Dr. Turner answered and told me the awful news.” Hot tears sprang to her eyes. “When I heard that Dana had been arrested for Amy’s murder, my world fell apart. I didn’t see her until she’d been released on bail. None of our lives have been the same since.”

  “It must’ve been very difficult for you on the witness stand.”

  She stared hard at him, not understanding. “I didn’t attend her trial.”

  He rubbed his thumb across his bottom lip. “While I was at the prison, Dana and I didn’t have time to discuss what happened in court. I didn’t realize you weren’t called to testify.”

  “I begged her to let me and my family be character witnesses for her, but she wouldn’t allow it. Dana said she didn’t want to drag us into her problems.”

  “John Cobb should’ve insisted that you take the stand.”

  Heidi tried in vain to swallow the lump in her throat. “I felt so helpless. That’s why I came to your class. I couldn’t stand by any longer and do nothing!

  “Please let me pay you for investigating her case. I won’t feel right about it otherwise. Neither will my parents.”

  He shook his head. “Whatever I do for Dana will be on my own time. And as I told you, my most compelling reason for taking it on is a desire to see justice done.”

  Pushing himself away from the table, he got to his feet. “When I’ve found evidence that could result in this case being reopened, I’ll meet with Dana’s attorney. Until then, everything is still unofficial.”

  Before she could take another breath, he’d walked into the living room. She caught up with him at the front door. “Gideon, I don’t expect you to spend your precious time off working for free!”

  His mouth curved into a slow smile. “I said I wouldn’t take money, but that doesn’t mean I won’t expect payment.”

  If he was saying what she suspected he was saying…

  “Your thoughts are transparent, Ms. Ellis.”

  Heat scorched her cheeks.

  “I’m talking about time,” he said. “Your time, spent with me.” He reached out to caress her throat with one finger. “I’m making you my assistant. That means we get together as often as possible to gather evidence and collaborate. I’ll pick you up for dinner at five-thirty tomorrow evening. Shall we try that Mexican place again?”

  Heidi was trembling so hard she couldn’t speak.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  The brush of his lips against hers burned like fire long after he’d left.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  GIDEON RODE the elevator to the subbasement of headquarters. When he entered the reception area, Ben, a retired street cop, waved him over to the counter.

  “It’s been a while, Gideon.”

  “Yeah, Ben. How are you?”

  “Couldn’t be better.”

  I feel the same way.

  Gideon had barely touched Heidi at the door last night, but it was enough for him to know the strong chemistry between them hadn’t been a figment of his imagination. He’d be seeing her tonight, but at seven in the morning, that still seemed a long time off.

  “The boss told me you were on your way down. What case do you need?”

  “The Amy Turner murder brief.”

  “Do you remember the trial date?”

  “Sometime last August. Ron Jenke prosecuted it. The attorney for the defendant was John Cobb.”

  Ben looked it up on the computer, then glanced at Gideon. “What all do you want?”

  “Read me the list.”

  “Besides the official records and court transcript, there’s a set of six diaries and an envelope containing items from the deceased’s handbag.”

  “Let me see everything.”

  “Okay. Back in a minute.

  While Gideon waited, he made a call to the county coroner’s office to finalize plans for Wednesday night’s class. Given that it was a couple of days away, he could only hope that Kevin would change his mind and agree to come.

  Being on the outs with his son was a painful experience. One sure way to remedy the situation was to stop seeing Heidi altogether, but for too many reasons, personal and otherwise, Gideon wasn’t prepared to do that. Already he recognized that she was someone of vital importance in his life.

  In any event, ending things with her wouldn’t solve Kevin’s deeper problem. The truth was that any woman Gideon cared about would threaten his son’s emotional security. Only time would reveal if Kevin needed more therapy.

  Fay hated it that a few years ago Gideon had insisted on getting their son professional help to deal with his fears. She claimed not to believe in psychotherapy—no doubt because some of her own actions didn’t bear much scrutiny.

  Gideon suspected that she was petrified of a psychologist working with Kevin at this point. It might change the fragile balance between mother and son. Now that Kevin was a teenager making noises about wanting to live with his father, Fay was terrified of where therapy might lead. Gideon knew she wanted to maintain the status quo at all costs; losing control of her son would undermine her carefully constructed sense of self.

  “Here you are.”

  Brought back to the present, Gideon turned toward the older man.

  “Just sign this slip, then you can use room A.”

  “Thanks.” After putting his signature on the line, Gideon gathered the material and carried it to the first empty cubicle beyond the door Ben had unlocked for him.

  He set everything on the table. The heavy folder contained the legal documents, which had been separated into alp
habetized sections.

  Gideon had only intended to scan the materials before he went on duty in an hour, but by the time he’d finished reading the incident report, he was too engrossed to stop.

  Pulling out his cell phone, he called Rich Taggert, the detective working with him on the murder case assigned to them last week. He explained that he’d gotten tied up with unfinished business and would be late meeting him at their rendezvous point.

  Rich was fine about it. They agreed to catch up with each other later in the morning. Relieved to be given a few more hours, Gideon thanked his partner, then got to work.

  When he’d gone through the envelope, he became immersed in the various documents and lost track of time.

  “Good Lord,” he muttered at the end of the court transcript. If ever a case looked airtight, this was it.

  Stunned by what he’d read, he reached for the cream-colored diaries with gold scrollwork borders and began reading in chronological order.

  When he’d finished the last volume, he shoved away from the table and picked everything up. Arms full, he hurried into the reception area.

  “Thanks for the materials, Ben.”

  The older man checked them off. “You bet.”

  Too impatient to wait for the elevator outside the doors, Gideon ran up the stairs to Lieutenant Rodman’s office on the third floor. He still found it hard to walk in there and not find Daniel sitting at the desk.

  The lieutenant raised his head when he saw Gideon enter the room. “Did you get what you needed from Ben?”

  “I did. Thanks.”

  “Daniel said it was important.”

  “It is.” Gideon paused for a moment. “Do you have a minute to talk?”

  “Of course. Take a seat.”

  Gideon hooked his leg over a chair and sat down.

  “I’ll get straight to the point.”

  “You always do,” the other man said with a smile.

  “What’s on your mind?”

  “I’d like to be taken off the Simonds murder case.”

  Lieutenant Rodman cocked his head. “You and Rich don’t get along?”

  “That’s not the problem. I have a lot of respect for Rich. There’s no better man.” Gideon sat forward.