“Okay.” He wrote up a short note, offered to take her to dinner on Saturday. She immediately responded with a yes.
“There you go. It’s all set up,” he said. She said nothing, so he turned his head and looked at her. She did not look too happy.
“Is something wrong?”
She shook her head. “No. Nothing. Listen, I gotta go. We’ll do background checks on all the other women so you can contact them next week.”
“Okay. Sure.”
She stood and headed toward the door.
“Did I do something wrong?”
She shook her head, her pony tail swaying with the motion. “No. All good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Before he could say anything else, she was out the door and hurrying down the hall. Frowning, he closed the door and stood there for a long time.
There was no way he was ever going to understand women.
Cat was almost to her car when her mother texted again. She wanted to ignore it, but her mother wasn’t going to allow for that. Plus, Del might not be so understanding this time around if she called him.
She dialed her mother’s number and, of course, she picked up on the first ring. “Finally. Have you talked to Marie?”
She should have known that was what her mother was calling about. “No. I’ve been just a little busy.”
“Busy doing what? Are you not at home?”
“No. I just got done with work. I’m about to go home.”
“So, you can call her now.”
She sighed. “No. I will try to do it tomorrow.”
“Why not tonight?’
She sighed, even knowing it would irritate her mother. When her mother was in this state of mind, everything irritated her. “Because I’m busy.”
“What could you do that is more important than helping your family?”
“Well, I don’t know. Maybe it’s the fact that I haven’t eaten since lunch. Or maybe it’s that I’m chasing a serial killer on my first ever lead on a case. But you didn’t ask about that, Mom.”
There was a beat of silence from her mother, and from a few people in the parking garage who were now staring at her. Great. That was professional.
“Listen, I promise I will talk to her as soon as I can. But, you know, Marie. She’s got a mind of her own. The more you push, the more she will cling to that loser more.”
“So you agree. He’s a loser.”
She couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’ve met him once, so I will reserve judgement. But I will talk to her.”
“You have a lead on the case?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“That’s…good.”
That was high praise coming from her mother. “I have to start driving and I don’t like being on the phone.”
“Okay, Catherine, I will talk to you tomorrow.”
Not if she could avoid it.
“And, call your sister tomorrow.”
“Bye, Mom.”
She clicked her phone off and got into the SUV. As she started up the vehicle, she pushed thoughts of her mother and sister aside. Of course, that just caused her to think about her time with Drew tonight. This wasn’t going to be easy. It was bad enough she wanted to smack that stupid Autumn for smiling at him, but now she had to listen in on his dates.
She closed her eyes. God, this was going to be horrible. He had smiled at her tonight—like he had before he’d been shot—and she’d wanted to do nothing more than kiss him. To feel that powerful rush like she’d had before…to lose herself in pleasure.
She could still remember the way it felt when he kissed her. Her knees had gone weak, and she’d felt slightly off balanced every time he did it. It had been the most amazing feeling in the world. And tonight, when he had leaned closer, she had been pushed back into those heady memories of their one night.
Opening her eyes, she brought herself back from that insanity. She wasn’t made for relationships. She had proven that by walking out on him when he was hurt, then ignoring him during his recovery. He was a man who deserved someone who could be there for him, and she had proven to herself and everyone else she didn’t have it in her.
With that thought, she backed out of the parking space and headed home. She had some background checks to perform, and she still had a killer to catch.
9
The next morning came too early for Cat. She had spent another night working and woke up with her face on her laptop keyboard. She was sure if someone looked close enough, they would be able to see the impressions of the keys on her cheek. Add in the insanely hot dreams she’d had all featuring Drew, and she was just a little bit more than cranky.
Now she had to talk to the Andersons. The idea of talking to a grieving family left her irritated and just a little guilty. Which made her even crankier. It was self-centered to think about herself and her feelings while these people had lost someone they loved.
She scrubbed her hand over her face, trying to force herself to wake up. Anderson’s sons would arrive any minute. Walking over to the coffeemaker, she smiled at a scowling Graeme. She poured herself a cup of Kona, and made her way over to Graeme’s doorway.
“What’s wrong?”
“I married a shrew.”
She chuckled. “No, you didn’t.”
“I want her to use some of her maternity leave before the baby comes.”
“Please tell me you didn’t call her old again.”
“I never called her old. I said that for the safety of our child, she might just want to rest before the birth.”
“Oh, Graeme,” she said chuckling. “If I didn’t know you loved her so much, I’d want to slap you. Take my advice and just lay off it for a while.”
“I’m just worried about the bairn.”
“Bairn means baby, right?”
He nodded and she smiled.
“I know you are, and Elle knows, too. But, do you think she would do anything that would jeopardize the baby? I know she lost a baby before, but she has made it to the third trimester this time. She’s going to be fine. If you just give her a little space, she might calm down and stop calling you a goat.”
He sighed. “Thanks.”
She saw two men walk in, side-by-side. There was no mistaking they were Branson Anderson’s sons. Tall, tanned, with his thick wavy hair and steel blue eyes, the men didn’t fall far from the tree. Both had the good looks and amazing stature of athletes.
“I’ll see you later,” she said as she watched Anderson’s sons walk toward her.
She stepped out of the office.
“Hello,” she said.
“We’re John and Harry Anderson. We’re looking for Detective Kalakau.”
“That would be me. We can talk in my office.”
They followed her, then she stepped aside so they could both enter ahead of her. Once they were seated, she asked, “Would you like something to drink?”
They both shook their heads. She looked at the one that spoke. He had black hair and was just slightly taller than the other son. “I guess you’re John and,” she said looking at the other man, “you’re Harry.”
They nodded.
“I’m sure you have talked to Commander Delano about all the particulars, but we wanted to talk with you further.”
“I’m not sure what we can give you. We’ve both been on the mainland for work,” Harry said.
“You worked with your father, right?”
They both nodded.
“We handled most of the PR for the company, so we were on the mainland talking to some athletes about sponsorship.”
She nodded. “How long were you off the island?”
“The last three weeks,” John said. “We can give you dates and locations.”
“That would help. We need to eliminate everyone. Can you tell me if there was anything strange lately about your father?”
“No,” John said. “In fact, he was just getting out and dating again.”
“Yeah,” Harry said. “We were both rea
lly happy about it. Mom’s death hit him hard, and he hadn’t really showed any interest. We’d joke that he was going to turn into the weird old dude who lives on the hill.”
“About that, did he tell you anything about those dates? Anything weird or off about any of the women?”
They looked at each other, then looked back at Cat.
“What do you mean?” John asked.
“Just anything off about any of the women he dated. Did any of them seem a little too interested in your father?”
“You think a woman did this? One of the ones he went out with?” the younger brother asked.
She shook he head. “I can’t say anything more than that. We’re still looking at everyone in his life, but usually, when there is a murder, there is some incident that causes a ripple effect. Something that puts them in contact with the killer.”
“I can’t think of anything,” John said.
“The flowers,” his brother murmured.
“What?” Cat said.
“He got flowers the other day,” Harry said. “I was talking to him on the phone and they arrived at the house.”
“Did he say who they were from or what kind?”
“Roses. They were red roses,” Harry said. “He laughed it off, but even over the phone, it made me think that he was uneasy with the idea. I thought it was just because it’s odd for a guy to get flowers, you know?”
“Do you think that might be a clue?” John asked.
“I can’t say until we check it out. Do you know when they were delivered?”
“He had several deliveries over the last few weeks, but I know the last one arrived two days before he was…before he died. He might have thrown them out, but they would still be in the trash. We can check it out,” Harry offered.
Cat shook her head. “No, don’t worry about that. We have the trash and will look for flowers. Do you have any other questions or any information that you think might help?”
“I can’t think of anything,” John said. “This is just so surreal. When Mom died, we were ready for it. Or at least prepared, this…Dad was in such good shape, so you don’t get expect something like this to happen.”
She had grown up without her father, so she knew that could be tough. But in such a short span of time to lose both parents, it was unimaginable.
“Thank you both for coming in. I promise that I will keep you up to date as much as possible.”
The men nodded as they stood. As he was walking out, John stopped. “Just promise me you will find that bastard who did this.”
“I am going to do everything in my power to find justice for your father.”
He nodded, then headed out the door behind his brother.
She sat behind her desk and started to think over the case. The notes and flowers were a link between this case and the last. Since Anderson had just died, there was a good chance that there might be a trail for them to follow. She pulled up the report and located the note about garbage. There was nothing there, but it didn’t mean that whoever sent them didn’t take them after the murder. The fact that it wasn’t listed with the other crime scene reports certainly made it a possibility.
Cat grabbed her phone and clicked on Charity’s number. It was better to be safe than sorry.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Cat. Did you need something?”
“I was looking over the crime scene report. There were no flowers or notes, right?”
“Right, and I double checked the list again after Adam and Marcus found that link. Was there a reason you are asking now?”
“Anderson’s sons said they had the same issue.”
“And that makes it a link. I checked all the crime scene reports from the other murders. No flowers.”
“Thanks.”
“I hear that Drew has a date tomorrow night.”
She ground her teeth together, and tried not to growl. “Yeah. And thanks for helping him set up his account.”
“That boy doesn’t know how to make the most of what he has. I filled out just about everything. Or, I should say, I told him what to put down. And I forced him to use that picture. He didn’t think it was a good idea.”
“Yeah, again, thanks for that and for the info.”
“You got it.”
After she clicked off the phone, she pulled up the smart screen and looked at the info they had on each man. Unfortunately, her focus was now shot. Dammit.
All she could think about was that stupid date Drew had scheduled for tomorrow night. She decided she needed another cup of coffee to get her head screwed on straight, but she wanted a treat. She needed a sugar rush.
As she was walking to the door, she caught a glimpse of Del in his office with Tamilya Lowe. The former FBI agent was well versed in terrorism, especially of the homegrown types. From their body language, it looked like an interview.
“Yeah, I saw her show up when you were talking to the Anderson brothers,” Graeme said.
“I take it she wants to work on TFH?”
“Yeah. Or, more likely, Del went after her. The woman has contacts within the security industry, both civilian and government, that are a goldmine for information.”
“This could make life really interesting around here,” she said.
“How did the interview go?”
“Good, got a little bit more information. I was going to go out and get a frozen coffee, then come back and work it out.”
“Mind if I join you? I was scheduled for testimony today for the Henderson case, but they made a deal. We can chat it over.”
She smiled. “That would be great. I just needed to get out of the office.”
“Great, and I’ll even buy.”
“You win the day,” she said with a laugh, as she followed him out the door and into the stuffy hallway and then outside into the warm sunlight.
“Did they give you any more insight to what was going on with their father?” Graeme asked as the walked side by side.
“Not really, but he did get flowers and notes. They didn’t see them, and their father tried to laugh it off. They both think he was a little freaked out by it.”
“So, that is one connection with all of them.”
She nodded. “I need you to run a check on flower deliveries. We’ll need to start small and expand.”
“Let’s start with anyone who delivers to Kailua. Since he’s the last one, it would be easier to get receipts.”
She nodded. “Roses. They all probably got the same thing, but one of the sons said it was roses. Those are a pretty penny so make sure to use that as a reference.”
Graeme nodded as they approached the line for the coffee cart. As they stood there, she saw the Anderson brothers drive down the street that led to Ala Moana Boulevard. Having lost a parent herself, she knew what was probably going through their minds. The pain of losing their only parent would be first. The grief would be overwhelming. But soon, anger would take over.
She vowed that they would have answers for them. No one should have to go through this and at least not know who murdered their father.
Drew was heading out the door when he noticed that Cat’s light was still on in her office. He should leave, but something lured him over to her. There was no reason he should stop in, but he couldn’t seem to keep himself from going. Mainly because he was an idiot.
She was sitting at her desk, her back to the door as she looked things over on her computer. She must have noticed him in the reflection of her computer screen.
“Hey,” she said, turning around. “Did you need something?”
He shook his head. “Just noticed your light. I stayed late and finished up some reports for Elle.”
“Yeah, she didn’t look good today.”
“She hasn’t been sleeping well.”
Cat nodded. “Talked to Branson Anderson’s sons today. They both said nothing was odd, but someone was sending him flowers.”
“Flowers?”
“Yeah, like bouquets. Like on the other repor
t we had. But I went through the inventory, and there is nothing in the house or trash about flowers. According to one of the sons, he got them right before he was murdered. Trash hadn’t been picked up. They should be somewhere, but they aren’t.”
“Odd.”
“Yeah, so that is definitely something to consider further. We have yet to hear back from the others with any information. I’ve got a call in to Rome about it.” Rome Carino was a detective for the HPD and their liaison.
He glanced at her computer and saw his date for Saturday night. He felt an itch between his shoulder blades. It shouldn’t bother him that Cat knew he had a date, or that she would be listening in on it. It was just a bit creepy. And it made him feel guilty. He had no idea why, but it did.
“Yeah, I was checking out your girl.”
“She’s not my girl.” He studied Cat trying to discern her mood, but he couldn’t. “And?”
She shrugged. “Seems normal enough. Thirty, works as a phlebotomist for some clinic over in Aiea.”
“Is she from Oahu?”
“No. She’s from Maui. And that is another thing. The other four women all came from other islands or the mainland.”
“Odd. That’s why we didn’t recognize any of them.”
“Yeah. Very odd. But Cho has a long history in Maui, well known. Family has deep roots. She dated all four victims, but she went out with Branson three times, from what we can tell.”
“Hmm, wasn’t he a little old for her?”
Cat chuckled. “No. All of his dates were in their late twenties or early thirties. Not that many years’ difference, although, I think one of them was the same age as his sons.”
“I don’t understand that.”
“You haven’t had a midlife crisis. Maybe you will.”
He shook his head. “Well, if there’s nothing else?”
“Not really. The warrant came through for the surveillance. I doubt anything will result in an arrest, but it could give us leads, so we covered our asses. Do you want to be here or at your place to get wired up for your date tomorrow night?”
Tangled Passions (Task Force Hawaii Book 4) Page 9
