“Leslie, I—”
“Just go. Go to work and leave us alone. Stay out of our lives.” Leslie wasn’t screaming anymore. She sounded defeated, as if she’d just lost her best friend…or her brother. And that cut Jack deeper than any weapon could have.
He was accomplishing nothing but making his relationship with his sister and his niece worse. They weren’t going to listen, no matter what he told them. So he did the only thing he could do. He left them. Leslie moving furniture away from a wall painted with death threats, and Lisa in her room doing who knows what. And that worried him.
He had to do something before either one of them got hurt.
THIRTY
The precinct was quiet. Most of the morning shift officers were out doing their jobs. Only a few were seated at desks here and there, doing paperwork or making phone calls. Jack went to his desk wishing he could count on Kate to be there, but when he looked up it wasn’t Kate he saw.
Dana sat at his desk.
“How did you get in here?” He glared at her. The nerve of the woman. Helping his sister screw up her life, and then sneaking in here. And the last thing he wanted was her digging around in his head.
“The desk sergeant let me in. I told him you said you would meet me here, and that I was a little early.” Dana stood up from his desk chair and moved toward him.
Jack made a note to chew on the desk sergeant’s ample rear-end when Dana left. He moved away as she tried to put her hand on his shoulder.
“Come on, Jack. I did not do this between you and Leslie. Tim did this. You can’t be mad at me.” Leslie moved closer again.
“I can be mad at you, Dana. You should have called me. And because you didn’t, Leslie hasn’t filed a police report. Then you told her this was probably nothing to worry about?” Jack held his ground, but he didn’t want to be close to her right now. “What if this idiot hurts her? Did you ever think you might be putting her in danger?”
“I don’t think it’s a threat, Jack. It’s just vandalism. And I could have pushed her. I should have, but it would have done no good, Jack, and you know that. I made sure Leslie and Lisa were okay. If they hadn’t been, then I would have called you.”
Frustration overwhelmed Jack. He got aggravated with Leslie when she called him for nonsense. But this time she really needed him, and she wouldn’t let him be there for her.
Dana put her arms around him, and Jack didn’t resist. He allowed himself to soak in the warmth of Dana next to him. It helped to ease his frustration. He put his arms around her, and felt her body melt into his. Suddenly, he wanted her more than he’d wanted anyone in a long time.
He stepped back and took her hand. “Let’s get out of here.” His voice was deep with longing.
She stepped back, leaving emptiness in the space near him. “I can’t, Jack. I have appointments.”
“Oh. Yeah. Of course. I guess it is a work day.” He ran his fingers through his dark hair.
“Maybe tonight?” Her green eyes mesmerized him.
“Tonight would be great.”
*~*~*
Kate had parked the car more than a block down the street in a lot where she could blend in with the other cars. She glanced at her watch. Dana should be finishing up for the day any time now. And when she came out, Kate was going to follow her and see what she could learn.
Why hadn’t she heard back from Conner? She was surprised. Conner was efficient and she could usually find information quickly. That she’d been quiet for more than two days made Kate wonder what kind of difficulties she’d run into.
Kate picked up the phone to call Conner just as Dana walked out of her office. Setting the phone aside, Kate followed Dana, curious about what she did when she left the office.
A few minutes later, Kate realized they were just a few blocks from Jack’s condo. Dana pulled into a small alley between two houses and as Kate rolled by, she saw Dana getting out of the car. She navigated a block over and parked her own car then jogged toward where she’d seen Dana park.
She was nowhere to be seen. Kate slipped behind some bushes and inched closer to Dana’s car. She wasn’t inside. Kate blocked out the street noise and listened for something, anything from the house closest to Dana’s car. All she heard was silence.
She glanced around. There was no one in sight, so she dashed across the alley and slipped between the hedge and the wall of the second house. She listened. Nothing. Waited. Still nothing. She risked a peek inside through a window situated just above where she hid.
A large black head and two equally black eyes greeted her. She nearly screamed, but managed to cut it off before it was more than an “eep.” The dog on the other side of the pane wasn’t as quiet. He started barking and charging the window. Kate slunk low against the house and pulled as far into the bushes as she could manage.
She sat like that for a long time waiting for the dog to calm down. Once it finally did, she risked peaking around the bush into the alley again. No one. She hoped no one was home at either house.
On second thought, that might not be a good thing. Dana was lurking somewhere and, if she saw Kate, things could get ugly fast. She touched the butt of her gun, which had been wedged into her rib cage when she ducked out of the dog’s line of sight. Could she use it if it became necessary?
After a few more minutes, Kate crept out from behind the bushes. She glanced left and right, making sure no one was around, then she walked confidently back to her car. She didn’t feel the confidence, but she didn’t want to alarm anyone who might be home this time of day.
Even though the trip was short, Kate found herself jumping at every sound. Dana was here somewhere. And Kate didn’t like not knowing where.
Kate reached her car and looked up the street. A familiar street, one that she’d driven before because it was less than two blocks from Jack’s condo. Is that where Dana went? Why would she go there? She mulled over that question as she made the short drive to Jack’s condo. She parked on the outer edge of the parking lot, in a spot that was partially obscured by trees and landscaping bushes.
She edged out of the car, looking back in the direction of the alley where Dana had parked. She left the door slightly ajar, and crept between cars toward the building.
No sign of Dana.
And no sign of Jack’s car. He wasn’t home, so he wasn’t expecting her.
Jack’s building was one of the few condos that actually had a front desk area. It also had two side doors, neither of which was locked during the day. Dana would probably not go through the front door. If she felt the need to park two blocks away, she probably wasn’t here for a social visit.
Kate walked through the door closest to where Dana had parked and, after checking the hallways to make sure Dana wasn’t headed for the front desk, she started up the stairwell. She jogged up the steps, wishing she had been able to take the elevator. As she reached the first landing, she heard the door to the stairwell open on a floor somewhere above.
*~*~*
Dana twisted the keys she’d taken from Jack a few nights ago back onto the key ring, and she repositioned the ring on the hook by the front door. Jack would never know he’d given her what she needed to get into his and Leslie’s houses. Slipping back in here when Jack wasn’t home was simple.
She turned and looked around the darkened apartment. Even if she’d never been here, she would have guessed this might be Jack’s place. The furniture was made of solid, dark wood. And all of the colors were dark, masculine colors. Only a few pictures were placed carefully on shelves and surfaces. No other knick-knacks took up space.
The first picture Dana came to was one of a beautiful blonde woman holding a toddler. She guessed those were his wife and daughter. Most of the other pictures in the room were of the same two people at different ages. Only one was a picture of someone else.
The picture was framed in black wood, and showed Jack and Leslie, with Lisa between them. In the background, it looked like there might be a picnic or party
going on. Everyone in the picture was laughing, as if someone snapped a picture when the little group wasn’t expecting it.
How sweet. Jack had a soft spot for his dead wife and kid. And he still loved the sister that had gotten them killed. To Dana, that made no sense. Why did Jack hold on? His sister had been responsible for the party that led to the crash in which his daughter was killed. His sister had given his wife the drugs that she used to overdose. He should have walked away a long time ago.
Dana needed nothing else from the apartment, so she let herself back out, locking the door as she went. Looking both ways down the hall, she headed for the stairwell door, but when she pulled it open she came face to face with Kate.
She stepped back, surprised. “Kate. I’m sorry. I didn’t expect anyone else to be coming out of the stairwell.”
“Why aren’t you using the elevator?” Kate’s eyes were hard and she didn’t move to allow Dana to pass.
“I try to use the stairs as often as possible. It’s hard to keep up an exercise routine you know.” She took another step backward. “Do you know where Jack is? I thought I might stop by and surprise him.”
“Really? I didn’t see your car in the parking lot. Let me guess, you parked a couple of blocks away, in an alley that would conceal your car so you could walk the extra couple of blocks. For exercise.” Kate raised one eyebrow.
Dana felt the blood pounding at her temples. “You need to keep your nose out of my business. Snooping around where you don’t belong could get you killed.”
“Are you threatening me?” Kate’s stance shifted subtly but Dana recognized the move. She was grounding her center, making ready for a fight.
“Why would I threaten you? I’m just saying that maybe your accident was a warning and you would do well to pay attention. You never know when an accident might turn deadly.”
Dana didn’t wait for a reaction. She turned and walked back down the hallway to the elevator, which opened just as she pushed the button. She glanced back over her shoulder as she stepped through the door. Kate remained in the doorway, watching her, but by the pasty color of her skin, Dana could tell she understood perfectly.
THIRTY-ONE
Kate sat at the bottom of the stairs trying to catch her breath. Did that really just happen? Did Dana admit to being the person that ran her off the road?
The screeching of metal and crashing of glass echoed through Kate’s mind as she pictured the car wreck. The image almost paralyzed her, but she fought to roll the mental movie back in her mind. Back to when she’d seen the black car, with the driver whose face she couldn’t make out. Could that have been Dana?
As she mulled over the question, fear turned to anger and then to determination. She had to find a way to make Jack understand what was happening. And she had to figure out if Dana was murdering these women or if she was just one part of a team.
With a clear plan of action, Kate pushed out of the rear door to the condo and ran right into a wall of blue. She stepped back, and looked up. The wall was Jack’s chest.
“Oh. Hi.” She fumbled for words as she tried to regain her balance.
“What are you doing here?” Jack’s tone was accusatory and it took Kate a couple of seconds to remember they were avoiding each other, and why.
Great. Under the circumstances, this was going to go over well.
“I…” Kate wasn’t even sure how to tell him about what had happened to her.
“You what?” Jack stared at her with a dull expression. “I don’t want to hear your apologies, Kate.”
She had to tell him. He needed to know.
“I’m not here to apologize.” She’d done that already, for all it mattered. “I followed Dana today. Here.”
“You what? Why?” Anger creased Jack’s brow.
“You know why, Jack. I still think she’s involved in this case somehow. I’m trying to find out how.”
“Have you lost your mind, Kate? You—”
“Jack, she was snooping around your apartment. She parked two blocks over where her car couldn’t be seen. And she walked over here.”
Kate took a deep breath and continued in a rush. “I followed her here, but by the time I got here she was leaving.”
“Is there a law against her coming to see me?” Jack stepped off the sidewalk and turned his back on Kate. “You really need to let this go. We need to focus our energy on finding whoever is killing these women, and your crazy idea that Dana is involved isn’t helping. As soon as this case is closed…”
What? You’ll request another partner? Kate would deal with that when it happened. Right now, she needed to make Jack understand that her instinct about Dana was more than just jealousy or whatever he thought it was.
“Jack, there’s more.” She stuck her thumbs into her front pockets and pulled her elbows in to her sides. Then she inhaled sharply and just let the words fall out of her mouth. “She as much as told me she’s the person that ran me off the road.”
Jack froze. Kate held her breath trying to read his body language. He was still so long Kate began to wonder if he would respond at all. When he did, his words pummeled her as effectively as physical blows.
“I’m done. I can’t believe you. You’ve kept secrets from me. And now you’re making things up to try to keep Dana and me apart. She told you she ran you off the road? You forget, Kate. I know what kind of car she drives. It’s not the same kind of car you described. And I saw hers. Today. It was completely undamaged.”
Jack was pacing now, his hands moving fast in front of him as he continued his tirade. Kate wanted to step in front of him. To stop him. To make him listen to her. But she felt like her feet had become part of the walkway.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with you, Kate. And honestly, I don’t really care anymore. Why can’t you just see that Dana is one of the good guys? You’re so…I don’t know what you are. Whatever it is, you feel the need to lie to me and I can’t work with someone like that.”
“I’m not the only one in this partnership that lied.” Kate’s voice was cold as steel in the winter. Hurt bubbled up her throat, threatening to make her cry. “You lied to me, too, Jack. I know about Susan and Lilly. And I’m not lying.”
She pushed back tears. She’d expected shock. Or anger. But she hadn’t expected him to attack, and the look on Jack’s face scared her more than anything ever had.
“You don’t know anything.” He pushed past her and pulled the door open. “Tomorrow I’m going to the chief. I’m requesting a new partner or a transfer. I don’t care which.” He disappeared up the stairs as the door closed quietly behind him. Too quietly. To Kate, it felt like it should have slammed with enough force to rock the building. The violence of it should have matched her emotions.
She stood on the sidewalk in the approaching darkness feeling more beaten and bruised than she had the day Dana had run her off the road. She had nearly lost her life as her car spun out of control. That same feeling of helplessness washed over her now as darkness stole the last vestiges of the day.
*~*~*
Jack sat on the deck, elbows on his knees and head in his hands. If ever there were a time he wished he was a serious drinker, it was now. He imagined a good stiff drink would calm his nerves.
But he didn’t drink. Oh, occasionally he might drink part of a beer, but he hadn’t had a single mixed drink since long before Susan and Lilly died. Besides, drinking wouldn’t solve this problem.
He didn’t want a transfer, but he couldn’t work with Kate. He mourned their partnership. He liked her. Had trusted her. But a partner that would lie to take the attention off her own mistakes wasn’t a partner you could trust with your life.
A knock at the door pulled his thoughts free from the replay of the confrontation with Kate.
He glanced through the peep hole. Dana. She smiled broadly as he pulled the door open. He didn’t return the smile. He simply turned and walked back to his spot on the deck.
A few seconds later, he felt Dan
a’s hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong, Jack?”
Where to begin? Did he tell her about the whole confrontation with Kate? How would she react to knowing that Kate suspected she was involved in these murders? And what if Kate wasn’t wrong?
Jack pushed the last thought out of his mind. Of course she was wrong. She was jealous. Or something. Kate didn’t seem like the jealous type. But she also didn’t seem like the type that would get her previous partner killed and not share that little fact with him.
“Rough day. Kate and I got into it. Again. I’m requesting a new partner. Or a transfer. Or something.”
“Wow.” Dana pulled a chair around to face him. “What brought all of this on?”
Jack ran his hands through his hair. “She said she saw you here earlier today?”
Kate’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah?” She drug the word out to three syllables. “Why?”
“So you were here?”
“Yes, Jack. I came by to see you. Was that a problem?”
“What’d you say to Kate?”
“What? I didn’t even see Kate. I stopped by to see if you were here. You weren’t. So I went and ran some errands, and stopped back by. Now you’re here. That’s all. What’s going on here, Jack?”
Jack chewed on his words, trying to get them in the right order. “She said she saw you. That you parked a couple of streets over, and that you told her you were responsible for the accident that she had.”
Dana’s mouth opened into a small O and her eyes grew wide.
Jack could tell she was as shocked by the story as he was.
“I don’t even know what to say, Jack. None of that is true. I was here, but I never saw her.”
“I figured as much. And I told her that.” Jack took one of Dana’s hands. “I’m sorry she pulled your name into this…I don’t even know what to call it. Fight, I guess. I’m sorry she felt the need to make you part of it.”
Biloxi Sunrise (The Biloxi Series Book 1) Page 18
