TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Lieutenant Dani Castello lost her partner, lover, and almost fiancé.
Detective Jake Santos lost a twin brother he only recently met.
Katie Granta lost her father two minutes after she met him for the first time.
Dani was told to take a vacation to get her head back in the game after her loss. But there is no way she can do that. Not with the killer still on the loose. Her life gets more complicated when Jake shows up. A man that looks exactly like the man she lost. A man she had never met or heard anything about.
If that wasn’t enough, someone is killing teenagers, and the only clue they have is they all have the same tattoo—a tattoo that was designed over forty years ago.
Jake transferred across the country to find the person responsible for taking his brother away from him. While he was only just getting to know his brother, he felt the bond that was missing all his life. Dani came up in more than one conversation as they were trying to get to know each other.
Now that Jake has met her, he is seeing firsthand why his brother fell head over heels in love with her. All he has to do now is find the killer before he falls for his brother’s woman, and if that wasn’t enough, he has to find the niece he didn’t even know he had before something happens to her.
Katie ran away from home to protect her mother. She was alone until she met a boy that helped her learn how to survive on the streets. Just as the loneliness was starting to subside, her new friend was killed. If that wasn’t enough, it turns out that running away was all for nothing. She thought if she wasn’t around her mother, she would be safe. But she was wrong.
Three people who have never met before are now fatally linked with a single goal in mind—finding the person responsible for their loss. All they have to do is work through all the emotional turmoil that brought them together to reach their goal.
All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, and places, incidents and events portrayed in this novel either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishment, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Also by Juliann Vatalaro
Nikki and Kenny Series
The Pact
Partners in Life
Till The Day We Die
Old Stories Never Told
Above all else…Survive!
For my Family
Cheating on you…With you
Linked Together
Destiny Fulfilled
Other Books
Runaway Haven
Copyright © 2015 Juliann Vatalaro
All rights reserved.
Published by Juliann Vatalaro
ISBN: 1546671811
ISBN-13: 978-1546671817
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015908223
This book may not be reproduced in whole or part, by mimeograph or any other means without permission. Making or distributing electronic copies of this book constitutes copyright infringement and could subject the infringer to criminal and civil liability.
For information address all inquiries to: [email protected]
To my godmother, Aunt Terry. You are loved and missed everyday.
Fatally Linked
Written by: Juliann Vatalaro
CHAPTER 1
DANI WALKED THROUGH THE SQUAD room without saying a word. She headed straight to her office and closed the door. Coming back so soon was not going to be easy, but she couldn’t sit at home anymore. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared. The funeral was just yesterday. No one expected her back for weeks. Her captain had ordered her to take a long vacation.
The phone rang before she could sit down.
“Dani. My office, now,” came though the receiver. She wiped her face with her hands and headed for the captain’s office.
“Before you say anything, I couldn’t stay at home anymore,” she told the captain before the door was closed.
“You buried your partner yesterday. You need to take some time.”
“I need to find out who killed him.”
“Close the door and sit down.”
She stared at the captain, turned, and did as she was ordered.
“I think it’s best for you to take some time. Zach’s death is hard for all of us to take. You were his partner. We all know it is harder for you. We will find out who killed him. Take a vacation. Go down to the beach and relax.”
“My partner was killed. I am not going to sit around on some beach and let the killer get away with it. I need to find out who killed him. I have to do my job.”
The captain stared at her. He knew what it was like to lose a partner in the line of duty. It took a long time to get over. Some never did.
“Dani, it’s hard for anyone to lose a partner, but you lost more than a partner. You need to get away for a while.”
Dani looked at her captain in disbelief. Did he know? She was sure they had hid it from everyone. How could he have found out?
Why didn’t he transfer one of us? It’s procedure. Partners are not allowed to get personally involved. It distracts them from doing their job. So they say, anyway. It never distracted us.
She could deny it, but what would be the point?
“You knew?”
“Yes, I figured it out about six months ago.”
“Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you transfer one of us?”
“You two are my best. I figured I would wait until I saw if it was affecting your job. It never did.” He shrugged. “How long was it going on?”
“Thirteen, fourteen months.”
“How serious was it?”
She slowly reached into her pocket and pulled out the ring. “He asked me to marry him the night before he was killed.” She stared at the ring. “I told him I had to think about it. I loved him, and I couldn’t give him an answer because I was afraid it would affect how I did my job. He died thinking I didn’t love him enough to marry him. He’ll never know I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.”
She held back the tears and looked back at the captain. “I have to find who killed him.”
There was a knock at the door before it opened. “Captain Felton?” the man at the door asked.
“Yes?” the captain said as he looked up. “Can I… help… you?”
“Yes, sir, Jake Santos. I transferred here from California. I was told to report to you.”
He handed a file to the captain.
Dani and the captain were
silent as they stared at him.
“Is something wrong?”
“Ah, sorry. Come in. Sit down. This is Lieutenant Dani Castello.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said, extending his hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“You were at the funeral yesterday,” Dani whispered. She thought she was seeing a ghost yesterday. She missed Zach. She figured she was just seeing things because of that.
When she didn’t shake his hand, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes, I was.”
“What do you mean you’ve heard a lot about me? Captain, what is going on here? Is this some kind of fucking joke?”
“No joke. Zach was my brother.”
“Sorry, but I was his partner for three years. I would have known if he had a brother, let alone an identical twin.”
“He didn’t know he had a brother until four months ago.”
“Even if that’s true, he would have told me. Why are you lying? Who are you?”
She jumped out of her chair and pushed him into the wall. Her arm was on his throat as she stared into his eyes.
“Dani, calm down,” the captain said as he pulled her off Jake. “Give us a minute.”
Dani slowly walked to the door without taking her eyes off Jake. She turned and walked out. The squad room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. She walked past everyone without saying a word and went to her office, slamming the door. She sat at her desk and took the ring out of her pocket. “What the hell just happened? Who is that guy?”
She turned her computer on, put the ring back in her pocket and typed “Jake Santos” at the prompt.
“I think you’d better tell me the story,” the captain demanded.
Jake lightly rubbed his throat as he spoke. “I was in on a big drug bust four months ago. You might have heard about it. It was all over the news.”
“Can’t say that I have.” The captain was sitting with his hands clasped together over his stomach and leaning back in his chair. He stared at Jake as he spoke.
“Well, Zach saw it. He got in touch with me. Turns out we are twins. Separated at birth. When our parents walked out of the hospital, our mother took me and went to California. Our father took Zach and stayed in New York. We never met until four months ago.”
“And it’s just a coincidence that you both turned out to be cops?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to find out who killed him.”
“You can’t stay. My squad is having a hard enough time dealing with Zach’s death. He was one of my best men. He was also Castello’s partner. Your being here is going to complicate things. We will find out who killed Zach. Transferred denied. Please leave and don’t come back.”
Jake stood straighter, squaring his shoulders. “I can’t do that, sir. I didn’t realize they were putting me right into his squad. I would not have come. Since I am here, I’m going to stay. All my life I had a brother and I didn’t even know about it. My parents took him away from me. Now someone else has. I’m going to find out who killed him. I’m not leaving until I do.”
Dani read as the trace came over her computer.
Jake Santos. Born Brooklyn, New York; August 1, 1981. Divorced. Detective first grade; San Diego, California. One commendation.
“I’m going to need more information than that,” she said to the computer and hit some more keys.
No additional information available.
“Damn it.” She hit the computer.
“Are you ignoring a direct order, Detective?”
“Look, sir, I’m a good detective. Since you’re down a man around here, you could use me. I’ll help you out until you can get someone or until I find out who killed my brother. I promise you won’t be disappointed in my performance.”
“What about them?” the captain asked as he looked at the squad room.
“I understand what they are going through. I know seeing me is a shock, but they will get over it. I need to find his killer. Our parents are dead so I can’t do anything about what they did to us. His killer is still out there. I will not rest until I find him. This is the best place to do that. You can use me while I do what I have to do or you can kick me out. Either way, I am not leaving this city.”
The captain thought about it for a long minute. “Okay, you can stay until I check out your story, but know that I’m keeping my eyes on you. If what you said doesn’t check out, you are going to wish you left.”
“I assure you, sir, this is no joke. You’ll find what I have told you is the truth.”
The captain got up and opened the door. “May I have your attention?” he yelled into the squad room. “This is Jake Santos. He will be joining us for a while. We all see the resemblance. Get over it and welcome him. That’s an order.”
He turned back to his office slamming the door behind him.
A maintenance man came in with a picture, hammer, and nail. He stood at the wall and stared. He hated this part of his job, but it had to be done. The wall reminded everyone to be careful out there. The room got quiet while he did his job. He picked a spot and carefully hung the picture. Dani stood by her door and watched. There were tears in her eyes, but she held them back.
The phone ringing broke the silence in the room. Dani walked back into her office, closing the door. A few minutes later, there was a knock and a detective entered.
“We have another one, Lieutenant.”
She didn’t answer.
“Lieutenant?”
“Yeah, what?”
“They found another one. Fifth and Main. Behind the pizza joint.”
“Thanks. I’ll be there in a minute.”
She stared at the computer again. Zach, why didn’t you tell me? You wanted to marry me, but you didn’t think I should know you had a long lost brother. Why? There has to be a reason. You know I’m not going to rest until I find out.
She left her office and headed back to the captains. “Captain, they found another one,” she said as she put her jacket on.
“He says they are brothers. Separated at birth.”
“You believe him?”
“The resemblance is uncanny, but I’ll check it out.”
“Why is he here?”
“He wants to find Zach’s killer.”
“You told him we’ll handle it, right?”
“I told him he could stay until I check out his story.”
“Captain, I don’t need him around here.”
“I understand your problem, but he needs to be watched until we find out what’s going on. I can see no one better to do that than you. If you can’t handle it maybe you should take that vacation.”
“No, sir. I can handle it. It just sucks that I have to. Find out what’s going on,” she said and started out the door.
“Take Santos. Might as well see what he’s got.”
Dani stared at him for a moment before walking out.
Jake was staring at the picture as she walked over.
“You’re with me. Let’s go.” She ran her hand across Zach’s picture and headed out. Jake was right behind her.
Dani drove in silence, but her mind was not on the road. Who was this person sitting next to her? Zach would have told her if he had a brother. Wouldn’t he?
Jake started to get out of the car once she parked. Dani held him back and looked straight in his eyes. “If this is a joke or a set-up for some reason, I will kill you. Understand?”
Jake chuckled. “Zach said you were a feisty one.”
He got out of the car.
All the officers stared as Jake and Dani walked up to the scene.
“What have we got?” Dani asked the officer.
He didn’t answer. He kept staring at Jake.
“Jake Santos,” he said to him, extending his hand.
The officer hesitated before giving Jake’s hand a quick shake. He turned to Dani. “Ah, yeah. Male, fifteen to eighteen. Needle still in his arm,” the officer said to Dani,
but continued to stare at Jake.
“Who found him?”
“The owner of the pizza place. A Mr. Alberto Ranko. My partner is with him in the restaurant.”
“Get a grip, officer,” she said and walked away.
She stood five feet away from the body. He was young and good-looking, even with what the drugs had caused to his face. He was leaning up against the dumpster with the needle still in his left arm. His eyes were closed and there was a peaceful look on his face. Top three buttons of his shirt were open and he didn’t have any shoes.
“Any ID on him?” she asked the morgue technician.
“Hi, Lieutenant. I wasn’t expecting you back so soon,” Peter Glander said as he rose to meet her.
Peter was young. He has been in the morgue for about six months, but he knows his stuff. He’s six feet four with blond hair and blue eyes. He had a boy next-door look and probably only had to shave once a week.
“You know how it is. I couldn’t stay away. What have you got?”
“No ID. I would say around sixteen. The needle tells me it’s a drug overdose, but I’ll run a tox screening when I get him to the morgue.”
“Time of death?”
“Around one a.m..”
“Anything else?”
“Not yet. I’ll call you after I run him.”
“Thanks,” Dani said, and walked into the restaurant. Jake was already in there talking to the witness.
“Around one,” Mr. Ranko was saying, in answer to Jake’s question.
“Did you take a trip to the dumpster when you closed?”
“Yes, sir. You don’t want to keep garbage around any longer than you have to. Creates rats, ya’ know.”
“Yeah, I suppose it would. Did you notice anything while you were taking out the garbage? Anyone hanging around that shouldn’t be?”
“We get a lot of homeless around here. Using the bathroom and stuff. I usually give them the items we can’t sell anymore. You know, stuff that has been sitting around. After a while they all look the same to me.”
“So nobody you haven’t seen before hanging out last night?”
“No, sir.”
“We’ll need a list of all the other employees that were on last night. Phone numbers and addresses. Give it to the officer.”
Fatally Linked Page 1
