“I just heard,” Tara said. “How is he? Is he going to be all right?”
“He’s going to be fine, Tara,” Dawn assured her. “Don’t worry. Look, I’m sorry that I didn’t call you. It sort of slipped my mind, the fact that you were back in town and staying with Rafe for a while.”
“That’s okay. One of the nurses here is a friend of mine. She recognized Rafe and called me on my cell phone. I’m here now, and I’m staying. I’m family, after all.”
Another person entered the waiting area just then, a tall man who bore a strong resemblance to Rafe. Dawn had only met him once, when he and his family had flown out to attend Rafe’s wedding to Tara’s sister, but she recognized him immediately.
“Gabe!” Dawn rushed over and took his hand. “I’m so glad that you’re here,” she said.
“I got here as quickly as I could,” Gabe Melbourne responded. “How is he?”
“He’s out of surgery,” Dawn answered. “The doctor said that the appendix was perforated and had started leaking a little, but it hadn’t yet burst. Rafe will be in the hospital a while, and it will take him some time to recuperate, but he’s going to be fine.”
“That’s a relief. I don’t often worry about my brother, but I have to confess that I was worried about this one – big time.” He broke off when he recognized Tara, a confused look on his face.
“Hello, Tara,” he said, a hint of hesitation in his voice. Gabe looked around surreptitiously. “Uh – is Cynthia here?” His tone indicated, I hope not.
“No,” Tara answered in response to his question. “I don’t think she even knows that Rafe is in the hospital. I didn’t call her to tell her, and I don’t plan to. I’m only here because I’ve always remained on friendly terms with Rafe, and he’s letting me stay with him right now – for a little while, at least.”
Realizing that Gabe had never met Ty or his family, Dawn smoothed over the awkward moment by introducing her husband and his parents to Gabe. Rafe’s brother shook hands all around and chatted pleasantly with them for a few minutes.
Shortly after that, the doctor returned, and Dawn introduced him to Gabe. Addressing them both, he said, “He’s awake now. He’s in Room 312. You can see him for a few minutes, but please don’t stay long. He shouldn’t do anything tiring, and talking can be tiring.”
Dawn and Gabe took the elevator to the third floor and made their way to Room 312. They entered the room and walked over to stand by Rafe’s bed. He eyed them both a little groggily, but he knew them.
“Gabe?” he said. “I don’t believe it. You flew out from Pittsburgh over this?”
Gabe took his hand. “You’re my kid brother. Of course I came. At times like this, it’s family first.”
“I appreciate it. But I’m going to be fine, really.”
“I believe you. I still needed to come.”
All the time he’d been talking to Gabe, Rafe had been eying Dawn. Gabe looked at the two of them knowingly. “The two of you in the middle of a case?”
“Yes, a big one,” Rafe said.
“And you want an update from your partner. Okay, I’ll just go for a little stroll so that you two can talk privately.”
After Rafe had departed, the first words out of Dawn’s mouth were, “You scared me there, Melbourne. Don’t do it again.”
“I’ll try not to. But come on now, give. What’s the latest on the case?”
Dawn filled him in on what Prentiss had told her. After she had finished, Rafe frowned and said, “Zoe Ballentine’s parents are on the way?”
“Yes. They should be here soon,” Dawn responded.
“You need to be the one to interview them.”
“Uh-uh. I’m staying here.”
“I appreciate it, but that’s not necessary, Dawn. Especially not when Gabe is here. I don’t want this case taken away from us, and it will be, if you insist on hanging around here for the next few days. Go on, get back to headquarters . I want you to take over as the lead on this case. You can check back in with me occasionally to update me.”
“If you’re sure…”
“I’m sure,” Rafe said. “Go on now, get out of here.”
Gabe poked his head back into the room just then, and Dawn motioned him to rejoin them. After hearing what Rafe was recommending Dawn should do, Gabe said, “He’s right, Dawn. Go ahead and do what he suggested.”
Dawn yielded to the persuasion and said goodbye to both of them. Returning to the Surgical Waiting Room, she told the others what Rafe had said. Tara responded by announcing that she planned to relocate herself to the third floor waiting area and then pester Gabe to get her in to see Rafe herself. Sloan and Maeve, now that the crisis was over, bade them all goodbye and left, both of them planning to return to their respective businesses. Ty, however, once again pressed Dawn to go down to the hospital cafeteria with him and eat something before returning to work. Dawn agreed, and the two of them headed for the cafeteria.
On their way to the elevators, Detective Ralph Sokoto arrived with news. Turning to Ty, Dawn said, “Look, why don’t you go on ahead? I’ll be down in just a few minutes.”
Ty looked at Sokoto and then at his wife. He nodded and said, “I’ll meet you in the cafeteria. See you in a few.”
He headed off to the elevators, and Dawn turned to Sokoto. Before giving Dawn his own news, Sokoto wanted news about Rafe.
“How is he?” Sokoto inquired.
“He’s going to be fine,” Dawn replied. “They removed his appendix, but he came through with flying colors. Now give. What’s the latest news on the case?”
“Zoe Ballentine’s parents just landed at the Denver airport. They should be here in about an hour. Look, do you want somebody else to do the interview?”
“No. I just spoke to Rafe. He’s insisting that I do it myself. You want to fill in for him, join me in interview?”
“You bet.”
“Okay, then. I’m going to grab a quick bite to eat down in the cafeteria. I’ll be back to headquarters in about forty-five minutes.”
“Okay. See you then.”
The food choices offered in the hospital cafeteria weren’t that bad, Ty decided. He’d wait for Dawn before making his dinner selection, but he needed something to munch on until she arrived. Snagging a bag of potato chips, he paid for it at the register and found an empty table. Ripping the bag open, he sampled a chip and looked around him. A woman seated at a nearby table caught his eye. She was hot, he decided. Smoking hot.
Noticing that she had attracted some male attention, the woman at the other table ran her finger around the rim of her glass and gave Ty an inviting look. He pulled another potato chip out of the bag, bit it, and met her eyes again. She responded by running her tongue around her lips, and Ty acknowledged the gesture by flashing his best smile at her.
A prickling sensation between his shoulder blades made Ty turn his head and look around him. There, standing only a few feet away, Dawn was watching the two of them, fire smoldering in her eyes.
Uh-oh, he thought. He pushed back his seat and rose to go to her, the other woman completely forgotten. But before he reached her, Dawn turned on her heel and walked away. He caught up with her in the hospital corridor, grabbing her elbow.
“Dawn, wait!”
She shook his hand off. “Don’t touch me,” she said.
“I can explain.”
“Explain what? That you were flirting with another woman?”
“Stuff like that doesn’t mean anything, Dawn.”
“The hell it doesn’t, Ty. The hell it doesn’t.”
He reached out to touch her again, but she stepped back. His hand dropped to his side again. They stared at each other for a moment. Then Dawn said, “I don’t have time for this right now. I’m going back to work.” She turned her back on him and stomped away.
Had she been wearing high heels instead of her comfortable work shoes, the floor would have been peppered with holes in her wake as she retreated.
She wasn�
�t going to think about it, Dawn decided, as she headed back into the bullpen at Homicide. She couldn’t afford to – not in the middle of a major case. She needed to shake it off, get the sight of her husband making eyes at a trashy-looking, over-endowed blonde in the hospital cafeteria out of her mind.
Prentiss and Noritaki were both working the phones as she entered the bullpen, and each waved a hand at her as she passed. Ralph Sokoto was not at his desk, she noted as she made her way farther into the bullpen, but his partner, Detective Vettakor, hailed her as she reached his desk. Vettakor had sprained his ankle two days earlier, and now he had it propped up on a chair, a cold pack resting on the affected ankle, and a pair of crutches leaning against the wall beside him.
“How’s the ankle?” Dawn inquired, gesturing toward it.
Vettakor shrugged. “I’ll live,” he said. “What about Rafe? What’s the latest news on him?”
Dawn gave him a quick update on Rafe’s condition and then made her way past Vettakor’s desk to Lt. Westbrooke’s office. She needed to apprise the lieutenant on Rafe’s condition, get a rundown from the lieutenant on the latest developments in the case, and relay Rafe’s request that she, Dawn, take over the lead on the case.
Lt. Westbrooke listened intently as Dawn briefed her on Rafe’s condition and status. After updating Dawn regarding the latest developments in the case, the lieutenant said, “Ordinarily, I’d appoint a more senior detective to step in for Melbourne on a case as important as this one. However, I’ve decided to approve your partner’s request to have you take over as lead detective, because I have confidence in your abilities, Cimarron,” Lieutenant Westbrooke said. “Don’t let me down.”
“I won’t, LT. Thank you for the opportunity,” Dawn responded.
“Get back on the job, Detective. Dismissed.”
Dawn exited the lieutenant’s office and returned to the bullpen. Sokoto was back now, accompanied by two men and a woman. As he caught sight of Dawn, Sokoto looked up and motioned her over.
“This is Detective Cimarron,” Sokoto said to the others. Turning to Dawn, he said, “These are Zoe’s parents, Serge and Marjeta Ballentine, and a friend of theirs, Redmond Yandell, who’s a close relation to Kit Ballentine.”
The woman was a petite brunette, and her soft green eyes were red-rimmed with weeping. She stood between the two men. The man Sokoto had indicated as her husband was tall and gangling, with salt and pepper hair. The other was a massive man with a bull neck and hard, shrewd eyes.
Dawn shook hands all around, then said, “Why don’t we go into the break room? It’s a little more comfortable in there.” She turned and led the way. Ralph Sokoto followed her.
Once they had seated themselves, Dawn asked, “Would anyone like something to drink? Some coffee, perhaps, or maybe some tea?”
Zoe’s mother stared at her with red-rimmed eyes. “No – nothing,” she responded. “I can’t. I think my throat would close up if I tried to eat or drink anything.”
“I understand,” Dawn responded gently. She turned to the two men, but both of them just shook their heads. “I’m sorry for your loss, Mr. and Mrs. Ballentine,” she began. “Thank you for coming up here and being willing to answer some questions.”
It was Serge Ballentine who answered. “Anything. Anything to find the man who hurt our daughter. And to find Kit as well.”
“Is there any news about Kit?” interjected the man with the bull neck.
“Before I answer that, would you mind telling me what your connection to the case is?”
“Red is sort of Kit’s stepfather,” Serge Ballentine explained.
“Sort of?”
“Her mother and I were together for a long time,” Red responded. “So, yeah, I’m sort of like a step-father to Kit.”
“Then I’m sorry to have to tell you that we have no news about Kit. We are pursuing multiple leads on the case, however. Hopefully, one of them will lead us to Kit.”
“What kind of leads?” Red inquired.
“I can’t disclose that information. Not on an open case. But if and when one of our lines of inquiry helps us to zero in on Kit’s whereabouts, rest assured that you will be the first to know. Now, can you tell me a little about this trip Kit and Zoe were taking? For example, what route were they planning to follow?”
Red Yandell leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, so it was Zoe’s father who responded. “Where do you want me to start?” he said.
“Start with the day the two of them left Des Moines,” Dawn suggested.
“Okay. Kit had arranged to pick Zoe up at eight o’clock in the morning. They were going to drive to Lexington, Nebraska, that day. They arrived there with no problem at all. Zoe texted us the whole way and then called us from the motel that night. The next day, they made it as far as Colorado City, just south of Pueblo. Again, Zoe texted us throughout the day and called that night.
Dawn turned to Red Yandell. “What about Kit? Did she keep in touch?”
“She called me every night, but no texts. I’m not much of a one for texting,” Red admitted.
“What about the next day, the day they disappeared?”
“Zoe called me that morning, as soon as she was up and dressed,” Serge Ballentine responded. “She was so excited.”
“What were their plans that day?”
“I’m not sure about the exact details. They were heading south, then west, into the San Juan Mountains. There were all sorts of sights they wanted to see there, but I can’t remember all the names.”
“I can,” Red Yandell said. He pulled a folded sheet of paper out of his pocket. “I insisted that Kit write down their itinerary and give it to me before they left.” Unfolding the paper, he glanced at it and said, “Their plans that day were to head south on I-25, and pick up Route 160 West at Walsenburg. They planned on stopping and spending some time at Pagosa Springs and Chimney Rock along the way, and then head for Durango, where they were going to spend the night. The next day, they planned to drive the length of the San Juan Skyway and see the sights in Silverton and Telluride. Then they were heading back south and planning to spend the night at Cortez.”
“I was worried about that part of the trip,” Marjeta Ballentine interjected. “Up until then, they stayed on major highways, with good cell phone coverage. But the route they planned to take west into the mountains – I was a little concerned that they might run into dead zones as far as cell phone coverage was concerned. I tried to talk them out of it. I wanted them to take a more direct route and stay on Interstate 70 the whole way through Colorado, but Zoe dismissed my concerns. They were really looking forward to seeing the sights along the route they planned. She said they’d be fine, and besides, Kit had a rifle and knew how to use it.”
“Kit had a rifle?”
“Yes, she did. I gave it to her and taught her how to use it,” Red responded. “I thought they’d be fine, as long as they were armed. And Kit was really careful, really sensible. She wasn’t the type to fall for any cons. Or so I thought.”
“All right. What happened next?”
“Like Serge told you, Zoe texted us from Colorado City that morning,” Marjeta Ballentine said. “And then – nothing. We weren’t too worried at first. We figured the girls had just entered an area with poor cell phone reception. But that night, when we still hadn’t heard from them, we began to get alarmed. They were scheduled to be in Durango by then. They shouldn’t have had any problems with cell phone coverage there. We called, we texted, we tried everything. Then we called Red and asked him to try Kit’s cell phone.”
“When I couldn’t get ahold of Kit, I actually broke down and texted her,” Red acknowledged. “I hate texting, but I knew something was wrong. So I tried to track her cell phone signal. I had the ‘family tracking’ option activated when I originally bought her the phone a couple of years ago, so I used it to try to remotely locate the phone. But I got no response.”
“Red called us and asked us to try to ping Zoe’s phone next,”
Serge Ballentine said. “We’d never attempted it before, so Red had to walk us through it. But it didn’t work. We got nothing.”
“We didn’t sleep a wink that night,” Marj Ballentine said. “When we hadn’t heard from them by the next morning, we decided that since twenty-four hours had passed, it was time to file a missing person’s report. We couldn’t find any information on a police department in Colorado City, so we called the Pueblo Police Department. They didn’t want to take the report at first, until we told them about being unable to ping the cell phones. They said that the only way that could have happened was for someone to have taken the batteries out of both phones, which was unlikely, given the circumstances. After that, they listened to us and agreed to take the report. We were afraid that something terrible had happened. And we were right. We were right.”
She turned eyes full of pain upon Dawn. “Who would have done that? Who would have wanted to hurt my Zoe? And why? Why?”
“I don’t have the answers for you right now, Mrs. Ballentine. But my team and I won’t stop. We’ll keep looking for answers, pursuing all viable leads until we find the man who hurt your daughter. At the same time, unless we find evidence to the contrary, we’re going to act on the assumption that Kit is still alive. Finding her and restoring her to her friends and family is now our primary goal. In order to achieve that goal, we need to know as much as possible about her.”
Turning to Red, she said, “You said that you consider Kit to be your step-daughter?”
Red leaned forward, rubbing his neck as he responded, “Yes. Kit’s mother and I were together for years. We may never have gotten married, but that never mattered when it came to my relationship with Kit. I couldn’t love her more if she were actually my own daughter.”
“Why didn’t you ever marry Kit’s mother?” Dawn inquired.
“Mainly not to muddy up the child-support waters. She’d had the devil of a time getting Kit’s father to pay up. Had to take him to court, garnish his wages and everything. If she got married again, it might have given him an edge in court to re-open the child support issue. She didn’t want that, so I gave up asking her to marry me. Would have done it in a second, though. I really loved that woman. She passed away last year, right after Kit graduated from high school. Throat cancer.”
When the Wolf Prowls Page 9
