Athena Force: Books 1-6

by Justine Davis, Amy J. Fetzer, Katherine Garbera, Meredith Fletcher, Catherine Mann

  Her partner, Jim Harkey, had never bothered with anything beyond the sergeant’s exam. He liked being a sergeant and wanted no part of the political crap, as he called it, of obtaining a higher rank than his current one. He had no interest whatsoever in becoming a part of the brass. No offense to her, he would always tack on to the statement. Kayla took no offense. To each his own, she told him.

  This morning after she dropped Jazz off at school she had follow-up work on yesterday’s larceny bust. On her lunch break she intended to drop by the Academy to talk to Betsy Stone once more. Kayla had no idea how much good it would do since she’d already talked to the nurse on two occasions and gotten zip, but she had to try again. Try being the operative word, since the nurse almost always managed to be gone when Kayla popped in. Every instinct told her Betsy knew a hell of a lot more than she was telling. And Christine was hiding something as well. Maybe nothing significant…but something.

  Dr. Reagan was the key to this. She knew it with every fiber of her being. Reagan had overseen the surrogates.

  Too bad he was dead.

  Kayla’s gut told her that there was something mighty suspicious about his sudden death four years ago. No one seemed to know where he was buried. Hopefully, his files would hold some answers. All she had to do was find them. The storage facility that housed retired files from numerous physicians in the Tucson and Phoenix area and that had Reagan’s files listed in their inventory could not explain the missing files. They were simply gone. Another dead end.

  “I’m taking your backpack to the car,” Kayla called to Jazz. That was her official ten-minute warning. Once the backpack was in the Jeep the clock was ticking down. 7:15. Kayla liked being on her way no later than 7:30. That gave her time to drop off her daughter and get to the office before eight.

  “I’m brushing my teeth!” Jazz shouted from down the hall.

  It was the same routine every morning. Jazz took her time with breakfast, which was okay with Kayla, then finally decided upon one of the three outfits they’d gone round and round about the night before. Narrowing it down to three without an all-out war was the best the two headstrong ladies could do before bedtime.

  Just something else Jazz had inherited from Kayla’s side of the family, a stubborn streak a mile wide.

  By ten-minute warning time her daughter was generally ready to roll with the exception of brushing her teeth and one final check to see that she had everything she would need for the day.

  Outside, the sun had peeked over the hills and chased away the lingering dusk. A few shadows still hung around, mostly from the neighbor’s two-story house and the scattering of trees between the two homes. Kayla breathed in the crisp morning air. She loved it here. Felt safe in a way big-city living could never offer. Alex and Tory might like the faster pace of the city. Rainy’s career and marriage had taken her to Tucson. Josie lived wherever the Air Force assigned her. Darcy had moved to a small town to escape her abusive husband but Kayla suspected she would move to a bigger city and expand her P.I. business now that he’d been arrested. Kayla would take her small-town home over anything else.

  She tossed the backpack into the front passenger seat but hesitated before closing the door. Chill bumps whispered over her skin. She frowned. Shook herself. What the hell?

  Kayla couldn’t say what it was for sure, but she had the almost overwhelming sensation that someone was watching her. She resisted the urge to whip around and survey the neighbors’ yard.

  She shook herself again. Had to be her imagination running away with her. But then, this wasn’t the first time she’d felt someone watching her. Each time she’d rationalized the episode away. Now she wondered if Hadden was lurking out here in her yard somewhere. If so, she might just have to kick his fine-looking backside.

  Slowly she closed the door and turned back toward the house. Nothing moved. As she headed in that direction she covertly scanned the yard, hers as well as the neighbors’. Nothing.

  Still, that insistent internal alarm wouldn’t let go.

  The front door slammed.

  Kayla jerked at the sound, her eyes instantly going to the small covered porch.

  “I locked the door!” Jazz flew down the steps. “Don’t forget I have choir practice after school.”

  Kayla let go the breath she’d been holding. “Got it.”

  Forcing the disturbing feeling from her mind, she dropped her daughter off at school and drove to the office.

  The satellite station that served Athens wasn’t very large. Just a couple of small rooms that shared an even smaller lobby and bathroom and a sort of conference room designated so merely by virtue of the long table and mismatched chairs sitting about. A coffeepot and soft drink machine occupied one corner of the lobby. Shirley, who served as a receptionist and a liaison to the community, kept a tidy desk in the center of the lobby. Five upholstered chairs and a couple of large plants took up the rest of the space.

  Kayla shared one of the offices with her partner while a second office served as a workroom for files.

  “Good morning, Shirley.” Kayla offered her usual smile and saluted the middle-age lady with her takeout coffee cup. It wasn’t that Shirley didn’t make good coffee, it was just that Jim usually beat Shirley into the office and his coffee made paint thinner smell good. Kayla’d never worked up the nerve to try it.

  “Morning, L.T.” Shirley said this with nothing more than a cursory glance over her morning newspaper. “Heard about the excitement yesterday. Thought you had the day off.”

  “L.T.” was Shirley’s way of showing off that she’d spent twenty-plus years as a military wife. She referred to Kayla as her husband had the lieutenants in the Army. Her remarks about yesterday’s little bust were nothing more than roundabout inquiries as to what Kayla had been doing working on her day off without her partner. Which also meant that Jim and Shirley had talked. The two considered her their errant cub that needed guidance as well as protection.

  “You know how it goes,” Kayla offered nonchalantly, but there was nothing casual about the way she braced herself for facing her partner. He’d already said plenty on the phone. He’d no doubt saved his best disciplinary remarks for this morning when they would be face-to-face.

  In reality Kayla outranked Jim, but he’d been in this business twenty years longer than her so to his way of thinking, he was senior.

  Couldn’t argue that. Most of the time, anyway.

  “Good morning, Jim,” she said, all smiles and as chipper as hell as she strode into their office. If he wanted a fight he’d have to start it.

  He growled something that resembled “morning”, then folded his newspaper into a wadlike mass and tossed it aside.

  “So tell me again how you got this anonymous tip.”

  Kayla sat down at the desk that faced her partner’s. She propped her feet on the edge and crossed them at the ankles, then took a long swallow from her coffee. Might as well let him stew another few seconds. She swallowed and made a contented sound in her throat. Jim’s left eyebrow arched, indicating his patience had reached an end.

  Eventually she shrugged. “I was at home minding my own business and the phone rang. End of story.” The statement sounded like a truly bad lie but it was the God’s truth. She understood that it was unusual. But a good cop took tips anywhere she could get them. They didn’t always pan out but this one had.

  His elbows propped on the arms of his chair, Jim steepled his fingers. “It didn’t cross your mind that the whole scenario went down a little too smoothly?”

  “Sure it did.” She sipped her designer coffee blend. “I figure the snitch was someone the perp had pissed off. Somebody who wanted revenge.”

  “Or maybe someone who wanted to throw the cops off his own scent.”

  That had entered her mind as well. “It’s possible.”

  “Investigator Devon says one of the guys is trying to cop a plea. He wants immunity for what he knows.”

  Kayla sat up, her county-issue shoes slapp
ing against the tile floor. “Does he have anything that important?”

  Jim kept his expression closed but Kayla didn’t miss the flicker of a smile around one corner of his mouth. “He says he can give us the number one player, who deals not only in bikes but cars.”

  Now that would be a major coup. “We should go down and see what he has to say.” Anticipation bubbled like an uncorked bottle of champagne.

  Jim shook his head and held up one hand. “Can’t do that. Devon doesn’t want us anywhere near this guy. Apparently the perp’s still a little ticked off that you shot him. Even threatened to sue for excessive force.”

  Kayla swore. “It wasn’t like I was aiming for his artery. I was just trying to keep him from running. If I’d wanted him dead I would have aimed a few feet higher.”

  “He could walk,” Jim said, his tone as well as his expression solemn. “If he rolls over on a player that big, he could walk.” His gaze leveled on hers. “There’s always the possibility that he’ll want to get even.”

  Kayla absorbed the implications of that statement. In this line of work there was always that possibility. But it didn’t make the prospect any easier to deal with, especially not with a young daughter at home. “Is Devon going to keep us informed?” Investigator Steve Devon was generally very good about keeping the cops who made the collars up to speed, but this time could prove different.

  “I’m sure he will.” Jim leaned forward, braced his arms on his desk. “Tell me how your friend Detective Hadden got involved.”

  She’d known that one was coming. Even an old dog like Harkey could get jealous when someone invaded his territory. Kayla would need to tread carefully here. Yesterday she’d done what she had to do, and today she had to smooth her partner’s ruffled feathers. Jim would have done the same thing if the situation had been reversed. For that she felt no guilt.

  The big difference between the two of them was that Jim would have found her yesterday. He wouldn’t have given up until he did. Maybe she hadn’t tried as hard as she should have to locate him. She’d wanted those guys. Wanted them bad. Had the fire burning in her belly to finally bring them down adversely affected her judgment?

  Maybe she had stayed in this job too long. Gotten too cocky. Too self-assured. It happened to the best.

  Just something else she’d have to consider. Her years at Athena Academy had planted the yearning for growth, for advancement, deep inside her. Maybe she was fooling herself by thinking she could be happy staying at this level any longer. When she considered the high-profile careers of her fellow Cassandras she had to admit that even Darcy’s self-made private investigations business and covert support of abused women took a big leap out of the box.

  Was complacency Kayla’s real problem? Professionally as well as personally? She didn’t want to believe there was any truth to that theory, but could she risk being wrong? One glance at Jim’s expectant expression and she knew she’d better get him placated first.

  The infirmary at Athena Academy looked deserted. Giving Nurse Betsy Stone grace, it was lunchtime. Still, Kayla had called and left a message. It seemed that Betsy Stone either never got her messages or chose to ignore them.

  The latter fit more conveniently into Kayla’s profile of the woman. She was avoiding further questioning.

  Kayla shuffled around the room and considered reviewing more of the files, but it felt like a monumental waste of time. For three months she had been using every opportunity to look into the files.

  It wasn’t always easy. Not that Christine or the school hadn’t cooperated. To the contrary, Christine had pretty much given Kayla carte blanche. But it took time to go through decades of files. Thousands of young women had passed through these walls. There were only so many chances within a given week. Kayla did have a job and a daughter, both of which had to come first.

  Still, she had spent several hours each week during the past three months reviewing and analyzing data. And what had she learned? Not much.

  Rainy had been an outstanding student. Physically, she had been an excellent candidate, if one were looking for a good specimen on which to experiment. But why here? Who was responsible for allowing it to happen?

  The first question was a no-brainer. Here, because attendees of Athena Academy were the cream of the cream of the crop. The second question needed answering.

  The invitation Jazz had received in the mail flashed through her mind. Definitely she would not rest until she had solved this puzzle.

  According to Cleo Patra, the one surrogate they had located alive in the investigation, she had been under Dr. Reagan’s care in Phoenix. According to what Kayla had learned so far, Reagan was indeed dead. His files were who knows where. Kayla desperately wanted to find those files. She had a feeling that answers lay within those medical notes.

  And what of this Lab 33? Did Josie or her sister, Diana, who was in Army Intelligence, dare look more deeply into that aspect? That kind of digging could get them killed. There were elements, government-sponsored ones, that were never supposed to be exposed. Shadow and black-bag operations.

  Kayla huffed out a breath and admitted defeat. She had no alternative except to go to the files room and take up where she’d left off. It was all she had at this point. Somewhere in those files there had to be something. All she needed was one little lead and maybe it would take her the distance. Rainy couldn’t have been the only one taken advantage of.

  The hour she’d given herself to devote to the case had flown by when a sound jerked Kayla’s attention from the mound of manila folders. Someone had entered the infirmary.

  She hoped Nurse Stone had returned from lunch or some errand. She could let Jim know she needed a few more minutes if she got the chance to grill Stone again. The idea that Betsy Stone could have left for vacation since Athena was closed for December pinged her thoughts.

  “Kayla, here you are.”

  Christine Evans. Principal and friend. A friend with secrets, however.

  Kayla relaxed from her alert status. “Looking through a few more files.”

  Christine nodded but didn’t meet Kayla’s gaze. “Have you spoken with Betsy?”

  It was more the way she asked the question than the question itself. Like Betsy Stone, Christine was hiding something. Kayla narrowed her gaze and scrutinized the woman. She had known Christine for many years. No one could ask for a better school principal. As headmistress of Athena Academy since its inception more than twenty years ago, Christine had devoted herself completely to the school and its students.

  What could she possibly be hiding?

  “No,” Kayla said in answer to her question. “She always seems to be out of pocket when I come looking for her.”

  Christine’s gaze did meet hers then. “Kayla, you must know how busy Nurse Stone is when the students are on campus. One nurse with two hundred adolescent girls. Surely you remember.”

  Kayla nodded, acknowledging the point. “But what about now?” The girls were gone for winter break. “Why is it I can never nail her down now?”

  Christine shrugged, her gaze scooting away once more. “There’s a lot of catching up to do at the end of a session. Just ask any of the teachers or other staff members.”

  “She hasn’t left town as far as you know?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. Why don’t I make it a point to have her call you?” The smile that made an appearance didn’t reach the principal’s eyes.

  “Sure, why not?” Kayla started to leave the issue at that but the need to learn the truth wouldn’t let her. “Christine, do you think what happened to Rainy had anything to do with Dr. Bradford?”

  Christine paled as she usually did whenever the subject of Rainy came up.

  “I don’t see how it could.”

  Kayla drew in a deep breath and released it as she settled onto the edge of Nurse Stone’s cluttered desk. “You told me that the two of you had parted ways on a sour note.” Kayla’s brow furrowed as if she’d lapsed into deep concentration. “I bel
ieve you said that he was harassing Nurse Stone and that you recommended he not be called back as a guest lecturer.” Athena Academy searched far and wide for ways to broaden the student learning experience. Guest lecturers from around the world were a regular feature of the curriculum.

  “That’s correct,” Christine allowed, her tone, her entire demeanor closed, guarded. “When Nurse Stone reported to me that Dr. Bradford had behaved inappropriately toward her, I immediately sought action to see that he never returned.”

  “If he behaved inappropriately toward a staff member, how can you be certain he didn’t do the same with students?” The notion made Kayla shiver with revulsion.

  “Of course he didn’t harass any of the students!”

  There was the reaction. Christine was incensed. Offended even.

  “But his behavior wasn’t above reproach,” Kayla cut in. “Why else would you have asked that he not be allowed to return?”

  For several seconds they stared at each other. Silent. Kayla was certain there was more. Then Christine broke. Vulnerability flashed in her good eye.

  “All right.”

  Christine turned away, clearly unable to look at Kayla as she uttered whatever confession she was about to make. “I wasn’t completely honest with you before, Kayla.” She spread her hands in defeat. “I didn’t want to tell you.”

  Kayla pushed off the desk and went to her. Whatever she had to say it wasn’t going to be easy. She needed to know that Kayla was only trying to help.

  “Just tell me the truth, Christine,” she said gently as she placed one hand on her arm. “I know you. Whatever it is it couldn’t have been your fault.”

  Christine’s head came up, her suspiciously bright gaze collided with Kayla’s. “Well…yes it was. What happened to Rainy may have been entirely due to my foolishness.”