No Escape

by Heather Lowell

  “She said the restaurant she works at gave her the envelope to give to her cousin, the one she’s staying with. She had no idea of what was inside the envelope, but thought about it and came up with an explanation. Apparently her cousin had some friends in a private room at the restaurant, and they must have left the cards that night. The cash is part of the regular deposit.”

  “I suppose that could be a logical explanation. But until you investigate further I’d reserve judgment.”

  “That’s one of the reasons I’m glad you and Ed were assigned to the case,” Tessa admitted. “I want Ed to look into the credit card thing, so we can decide if Kelly can be trusted. But everything else about the hospital exam and interview with a rape counselor checked out,” she added.

  “What happened after the medical exam?” Veronica asked.

  “I took Kelly and the hospital records to the police station nearest where the attack occurred, so she could make a statement. The officers said they’d question Aiken, but every time I follow up I’m told they haven’t done it yet. And really, what’s this guy going to say? ‘Yeah, I’m the knuckle-dragging son of a bitch who raped an eighteen-year-old girl with stars in her eyes, go ahead and lock me up?’ ” Tessa shook her head, causing her shoulder-length blond hair to fall forward across her face again.

  “You know he won’t. He’s going to say that whatever happened between him and Kelly was consensual, and she’s a trashy, gold-digging wannabe starlet,” Ronnie said bluntly.

  “Exactly. I don’t want to put Kelly through that, but…” Tessa knew there was no choice, given the constraints of the legal system.

  “What is Kelly doing now?” Veronica asked.

  “She’s staying in LA at her cousin’s house. The rest of her family is still in Colorado, I guess. Anyway, Kelly said she needed a few days to get herself together before she decides whether to press charges.”

  “Wait a minute,” Veronica leaned forward. “Why the hell am I coming off maternity leave a week early to take this case if Kelly hasn’t agreed to testify yet?”

  Tessa shifted in her chair. “She will.”

  “Well, shit. Tessa, you can’t blame the other officers for dragging their feet if even the victim isn’t sure she wants to pursue the case.”

  “It’s a common reaction among rape victims. She will press charges, she just needs a few days to deal with what happened to her before she can cooperate fully with the investigation.”

  “She needs a few days? Or you need a few days to talk her into prosecuting?” Veronica asked as she arched a dark brow.

  Tessa met Veronica’s brown eyes. “I did have to push pretty hard to get Kelly to go to the hospital,” she admitted. “I see that now. So I want to give her time to learn to trust me—and to trust the system. In the meantime, it’s up to me to fill in the gaps in Kelly’s story. That’s where you guys come in. It means a lot to me to have two officers who deal with major crimes against persons assigned to the case.”

  “Has Ed been much help to you yet?” Veronica asked.

  Ed Flynn had been Veronica’s partner on the police force before she went on maternity leave six months ago.

  Tessa nodded. “He told me he’d look into a few things yesterday. Background stuff. I guess he found something, since he wanted to meet us here for lunch today.”

  “He must have a light caseload while I’m out on leave,” Ronnie said with a wicked grin. “Normally he gives all the chicken-shit background stuff to me.”

  Tessa laughed at the common complaint of a rookie partner. “I know. He grumbled about doing the grunt work.” Her smile faded. “Seriously, though, it is a big imposition on him. That’s why I was thinking about bringing in a local private investigation firm to work on some aspects of the case. Especially the credit card thing. I, um, kind of didn’t mention that to the police when we filed the rape report.”

  “I’m not hearing this,” Veronica said.

  “I even toyed with not telling you guys,” Tessa confessed. “But I can’t hold back information like that. So I need to contract a little help to look into the credit cards and get that whole thing out of the way. I don’t want you and Ed to have to spend any time on anything beyond what Sledge Aiken did to Kelly.”

  Ronnie blew out a long breath. “It’s a tough call, but I guess I’d go to a private investigator if I were you. Because if we have to look at the possibility of credit card fraud, that will become the focus instead of the alleged rape. We’d have to bring in another department that deals with white-collar crime, and if they hear that Ed is poking around their territory…well, let’s just say that police turf wars can get ugly. Going with a P.I. is probably safest.”

  Tessa rolled her eyes. “Please don’t tell me the police would turn a rape investigation into a pissing contest because Ed stepped on their toes.”

  “ ’Fraid so. Who were you thinking of farming the investigation out to?” Ronnie asked.

  “I don’t know. None of the investigators I’ve used previously with the D.A.’s Office have the qualifications to take on a case like this.”

  “Most of the banks and major creditors have private investigators on retainer for this kind of thing.”

  “I suppose I could ask around and see which firm my banks use.”

  Veronica thought for a moment. “What about Novak International? It’s run by Lucas Novak, who is a former deputy with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. He’s got good investigative experience in the major crimes division, plus he did a stint with the SWAT team before going private. If he’s not on retainer with some of the local banks, he’d certainly be able to point you in the right direction.”

  “Does he have experience with cases like Kelly’s?” Tessa asked. She got out her black notebook to write down the investigator’s name.

  “He should. Most of his business now centers on family issues, custody cases, kidnappings, ransoms in Mexico, runaways. He also has a division that provides corporate security and bodyguard services, as well as fraud detection and prevention. He’s a bit of a renegade, but a damned good investigator.”

  Tessa nodded and closed her notebook. “Thanks. I’ll talk to the owner. Hopefully he can help me take some of the pressure off Ed. And you, when you get back on duty.”

  “I’m counting the days—five more. I love my baby girl, but being stuck with her at home all day”—she shook her head—“there are times when I spend twenty minutes on the phone with telemarketers just to have an adult conversation.”

  “Wow, that’s pretty bad.” Tessa laughed. “Still, you’re lucky to have a healthy daughter and a husband willing to share baby duty.”

  “I think Mike is freaked at the idea of a six-month leave of absence from the force. But he loves Jordan and agrees with me that she’s too young to go to day care for sixty or seventy hours a week. It’s going to be a big hit financially, and probably for Mike’s career, but…” Veronica shrugged.

  She hadn’t planned things this way, but she hadn’t planned on dating a coworker and getting pregnant, either. Still, they were making the best of the situation, and building a stronger relationship each day. And despite the sacrifices, having Jordan was a joy she’d never dreamed of before.

  Tessa saw the dreamy look come over Veronica’s face and sighed. Another good friend lost to the baby bug. She felt like she was the only thirty-three-year-old in L.A. who wasn’t married with at least one munchkin hanging on her business skirts.

  “There she goes, off to babyland. Go ahead and call Mike if you want to check on her,” Tessa said.

  “Just wait. One day you’ll be responsible for a perfect, tiny little person. Then you’ll understand. I can’t wait for that to happen.”

  “You know the Plan—career until I’m thirty-six, then focused dating, then marriage, then babies. I’m just not capable of dividing my attention like you are. I’m either focused on my career or on my private life. Not both,” Tessa assured her.

  “Famous last words.” Veronica
smiled knowingly. “Kids are remarkably resilient. The notion that you can’t be a great parent and a fully productive employee is a thing of the past.”

  Tessa thought of her own father, how his career had taken over every aspect of his life and caused him to leave his young daughter to fend for herself after her mother had died.

  “Not everyone is capable of multitasking like that,” Tessa said. “Besides, I’m not even going out with anyone. Too busy trying to expand my caseload to something beyond small-time felonies and misdemeanors. I want some cases where I can make a difference.”

  “You’d have them, too, if you’d only accept the promotion that’s been offered. Twice,” Veronica said.

  “I don’t want anyone to think that I’ve cashed in on my name. I want to be promoted on my own merits, not because my father used to run the FBI.”

  “Tessa, you graduated cum laude from the University of Virginia. You set up a Legal Aid clinic here that serves thousands of people every year. You’ve been working piddly shit cases for the last two district attorneys for almost five years. In fact, you make it possible for the D.A. to focus on the big political cases by taking care of the meat-and-potatoes stuff. I think you’ve more than earned your stripes.”

  “I hope you’re right. Because I’m going to ask to keep Kelly Martin’s rape case. If this isn’t big and political, I don’t know what is. But I know I can do it.”

  “Because you’re emotionally involved? I wouldn’t use that tack with the D.A. if I were you,” Veronica said.

  “I won’t. I’m going to hire an investigator, light a fire under Ed’s feet, and schedule an interview with Sledge Aiken to get his side of the story. And then I’m going to close this case by using due diligence and letting the system work.”

  “Don’t forget me. I’m with you on this one,” Veronica said.

  Even if something doesn’t feel right about your victim’s story.

  Chapter 3

  Los Angeles, California

  Tuesday, February 23

  Detective Ed Flynn pushed through the doors of Felipe’s Shrimp Shack, looking for the two women he was meeting for lunch. He didn’t see his girls inside, so they must be on the patio, enjoying the winter sunshine.

  His girls.

  That’s how he thought of them, as the daughters he’d never had. And right now, he was very much afraid one of his girls was in over her head.

  He sought out Tessa’s familiar compact frame and blond hair at one of the tables on the edge of the patio. She always sat in that spot if possible, because his Tessa was a creature of habit. Ed smiled slightly at the thought. Those habits had turned her from a green law school graduate into an indispensable junior prosecutor for the District Attorney’s Office in a record period of time.

  He switched his gaze to Ronnie, his other girl, the young officer from Minnesota he’d helped mold from meter maid to an officer on the major crimes squad. Another of his works in progress, and he couldn’t be prouder of either one.

  But right now, something was wrong with the case they were about to embark on, and he needed answers to make sure his girls didn’t get burned.

  “Over here, Ed.” Tessa jumped up to kiss his cheek when he reached the table, an act which never failed to make him turn red with pleasure and embarrassment. It was such fun that Ronnie stood up to do the same thing.

  “You been surfing without sunscreen again?” Ronnie asked wickedly, watching the color rise higher in his face.

  “Every day of my life,” Ed replied.

  Waking up at five in the morning for several hours of surfing before work was a ritual from his teenage years. The four decades of sun and salt water since then had turned his thinning, light brown hair almost white and given his face a weathered, ruddy appearance. His eyes were surrounded by pale wrinkles, a legacy of squinting into the sun while waiting for the perfect wave.

  Right now, those serious brown eyes settled on Tessa’s upturned face.

  She stilled when she picked up on his tension. “Do you have something on Kelly’s case? Were you able to talk to Sledge Aiken?”

  “You’d better sit down for this one, Tessie,” Ed said, taking a seat himself and pulling her half-empty plate to his side of the table.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I spent the better part of yesterday on the phone with the CBI. That’s the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. They’re in charge of processing civil and criminal identification files and records, among other things,” Ed began.

  “And?” Ronnie and Tessa asked together.

  “And they have no record of young Kelly Martin existing in the state of Colorado. No birth certificate for a Kelly Martin that matches the date of birth you supplied, no driver’s license that matches the Polaroid photo of her you gave me.”

  “What does that mean? Is it some bureaucratic mix-up?” Tessa asked.

  “What it means is that there is no Kelly Martin, date of birth 12 January, blond hair, blue eyes, five-foot-two and 105 pounds,” Ed read the information off a notepad he’d pulled out. “Said Kelly Martin does not exist, according to the state of Colorado.”

  “How can that be?” Tessa asked.

  “It can’t—unless your victim isn’t telling the truth about something.”

  “Wait. At the hospital she didn’t have any ID. She said her wallet had been stolen shortly after she arrived in LA,” Tessa said. “Maybe there’s some kind of identity theft thing going on—you know, someone creating a whole new identity using Kelly’s name and social security number?”

  Ed shook his head. “Could be, but there are hundreds of Kelly Martins registered with social security. It’s a common name. Maybe too common.”

  Tessa sat back as she tried to take in the information. If it had come from anyone but Ed, she would argue that there was a mistake. But Ed was a thirty-year veteran of the force, and he simply didn’t make this kind of error.

  “What about the credit card data I gave you? Did anything pop with it?” she asked.

  “The cardholders all have accounts in good standing. The cards weren’t reported stolen,” Ed replied.

  “Thank God for that,” Tessa said. “So maybe Kelly really was giving them to her cousin so they could be returned to their owners.”

  “Don’t be too relieved. The owners may simply not be aware that their cards are missing yet.”

  Tessa bit her lip. “I’ll have to contact the issuers and see if there’s any recent activity on those cards.”

  “Good. I’d be especially interested in any activity since Kelly left the hospital. Looking to see if she’s charged a bunch of high-ticket items since then would be a good start.”

  “Once you meet her, you’ll see that she’s not like that.”

  Ed hesitated, then spoke. “Tessie, there are several very strange aspects to Kelly’s story. We need to talk to her about them. Where is she right now?” Ed asked.

  “She’s staying with her cousin. I don’t know where—she wouldn’t let me drive her home, wouldn’t even tell me his name. She said she didn’t want to make waves, you know, because her cousin is letting her stay in his house as long as she wants for free.”

  “How are you supposed to get in touch with her?” Ronnie asked.

  “Kelly gave me a pager number where I can reach her. I’m going to leave a message for her right now.” Tessa got her cell phone out and left the patio so she wouldn’t disturb the other diners.

  “You really think there’s something screwy with Kelly Martin and her story?” Ronnie asked Ed.

  “Yeah. She’s not telling the truth—or at least not all of it. The credit card issue is a red flag for me, even though Tessie is trying to explain it away. I hope she doesn’t get her teeth kicked in on this one. The case is too big and the suspect too rich for her to take him on with what she’s got now.”

  “She can handle it. You’ve seen to that yourself by teaching her the ropes.”

  “I know. But something is going on beneath the sur
face here. Otherwise, Kelly’s supposedly quiet, middle-class up-bringing in Denver would be documented by the state of Colorado.”

  “So you’ll talk to Kelly and straighten things out.”

  “I think the big problem is going to be convincing Tessa not to go balls out on this case,” Ed said.

  “Yeah. She told me she’s going to ask the D.A. to be assigned first chair on this case. She said she wants to make a difference, to work on a case that has substance for once.”

  Ed shook his head.

  Ronnie leaned forward, her voice low. “You think we’ll be able to prosecute?”

  “I don’t know. Tessie understands the system inside and out by now—probably better than anyone because she started at the very bottom and learned every one of the rules the hard way. But…”

  “But not everyone plays by the rules,” Ronnie finished for Ed.

  “Yeah. I wonder how she’ll react when she encounters someone who doesn’t give a shit about playing fair and will do anything to win.”

  Chapter 4

  Santa Monica, California

  Thursday, February 25

  Tessa verified the address of Novak International, Inc. a third time. Apparently, Lucas Novak had rented space in a small medical and insurance business mall on the edge of a residential neighborhood, rather than going for the exclusive and chic real estate in Hollywood or Beverly Hills. It was a sound business decision that would keep overhead down, even if it wasn’t the best marketing approach.

  She rang the bell and was greeted by an efficient receptionist who showed her to Mr. Novak’s office. Though he was on the phone, he waved Tessa in and offered her a seat. It was clear he was wrapping up the discussion, so she took a moment to study him while he typed an entry onto his small laptop.

  He was big enough not to be dwarfed by the large executive desk he sat behind—a desk that was notable for its lack of decoration and clutter. Tessa thought of her own work surface with its overflowing piles of files, sticky notes, and memos jotted on the back of used copier paper. While the rest of her life was quite organized, her desk was a disaster. She liked it that way.