He fell back into his chair and looked a Jake. “You think Daren killed her?”
“Actually we’re looking for him for a different murder,” Jake answered. “You remember that cop that was killed a few weeks back?”
Becket shook his head. “You think Daren killed a cop? No way. You’re wrong. No way would he kill anyone let alone a cop.”
Jake slammed his hand down on the desk and stared into Becket’s eyes. “Not just a cop. A detective with the NYPD and my brother.”
Becket slid his chair back away from Jake. “I’m sorry for your loss, but Daren didn’t do it.”
Dani stepped closer. “Are you sure about that? Are you sure you even know who or what your son is, Mr. Becket.”
“Are you sure you never saw Ms. Granta again after she pulled a gun on you?” Jeremy stepped closer.
The three of them were leaning over Becket’s desk staring at him. He slid his chair back, but hit the wall. He had nowhere else to go. “You’re wrong. Daren had nothing to do with any of this.”
“What about you?” Jeremy yelled. “Did you kill Jennifer?”
“No, no, I had nothing to do with her death. I haven’t seen her in over three weeks.”
Seeing the sweat form on Becket’s forehead and neck didn’t convince them of his innocence, but it gave them a reason to back off a little. He was scared and nervous. If he was involved he would be arrogant and defensive.
Dani asked, “How did Daren know Katie? You said you only dated for a month or two. From what I’ve learned, most couples with kids make sure it’s the real thing before involving the kids.”
“I agree with that. Daren never met any of the women I dated after his mother died. But Jennifer didn’t believe in that strategy. She said Katie was her life. If Katie didn’t approve of the man she dated she didn’t think it was worth continuing with the relationship. After five dates she would introduce Katie to whomever she was dating. So after a month we had dinner. I took them to a fancy restaurant. We had a good time. I got Katie’s approval and we moved on.”
“What did Daren think of Katie and Jennifer?”
Becket shrugged. “You know how twenty-year-olds are. Not quite a man yet, but not a boy anymore. They only care about themselves and having a good time. He never said anything about Jennifer, but Katie impressed him. He talked about her a few times. Said she was hot and asked if I thought it was okay to ask her out.”
When the three of them stared at him without a response he added. “I said it was probably not a good idea. She’s only sixteen. Too young for him.”
“How long has Daren been working here?” Jake asked.
“Since he was fourteen. Part-time after school in the warehouse. After he graduated he came on full time. I moved him into the office.”
“He’s not in college?”
“He asked if he could take a year break from school. He said he would like to work full time. He said he needed a break. He wanted to get to know the business better.”
“How’s it working out?”
Becket sighed. “Not great. He’s in that ‘all I want to do is have fun’ phase and has ignored some of his responsibilities here.”
“Where can we find him?”
“I don’t know.”
“Would you tell us if you did?”
“Look, I’m not his keeper. He graduated high school. He’s sowing his oats. Going out with a different girl every night. He’s irresponsible, but he is not a bad kid. He did not try to rape Katie and he did not kill that cop.”
“For your sake, I hope that’s true,” Dani said as she looked out the window again.
“I’m going to need your travel itinerary,” Jeremy told him. “If I check up on you and you’re not where you are supposed to be, I’ll come looking for you. You will move to the top of my list of suspects for Jennifer Granta’s murder. Do you understand?”
“I had nothing to do with what happened to Jennifer.” He wiped his face with his hands. “How’s Katie? Is there anything I can do for her?”
“Keeping Daren away from her would be a good start,” Jake answered as he dropped his card on Becket’s desk. “Let me know if you find him.”
“He didn’t do anything. He’s a good kid.”
“Then you won’t mind if we talk to him.” Jake motioned to the card. “Make everyone’s life easier and call if you find out where he is.”
Becket turned to Jeremy. “It’s a quick trip. Evie will get you my schedule. I’ll be back on Saturday.” He handed him a card. “Call me if there’s anything else I can help you with.” He sighed. “Until she pulled a gun on me, I thought we had a good chance. She was a nice lady. I regret losing my temper with her. It never happened before. I surprised myself that it happened at all.”
“Have you ever had to defend your son before?”
“No.”
Jake stepped back into the office. “Not even when he was arrested as a juvenile?”
“I left that to the lawyers.”
“Why was he arrested?”
Becket looked around the room. “You know what? His record was sealed. I think I’ll let you get the warrant to find out why?”
“Awful protective of your son, aren’t you, Mr. Becket?”
“He’s all I have, Detective.”
“Yeah, well, my brother was all I had.” Jake walked out without looking back.
Jeremy caught Dani’s eye. She wanted a minute alone with Becket.
“I’ll go get your schedule from Evie.” He dropped a card next to Jake’s on Becket’s desk. “I’ll be in touch.”
He followed Jake out.
“What’s Daren’s cell phone number?” Dani asked.
“I think I’ll keep that information to myself.”
“Do you think we can’t find out what it is?”
“If you could, you would have already.”
Dani smiled. “You don’t know it, do you? When was the last time you spoke to Daren, Mr. Becket?”
When he hesitated, Dani stepped toe-to-toe with him.
“That detective was my partner, Mr. Becket. We have reason to believe he has information or is involved in his murder. I will do anything…” She leaned into his face. “Anything to find out who killed him.”
She leaned back, but stayed in his face.
“When was the last time you saw or spoke to your son?”
Becket stepped back. “Two weeks ago. We had dinner. Before you ask, he seemed fine. Normal. We spoke about the business. I came down on him a little for his most recent screw up with a client. We said good night and he walked away. I haven’t seen or talked to him since.”
“But you expected him in the meeting today?”
“He knew how important this meeting was. I thought for sure he would honor his comment to me and this company.”
“After everything you’ve said, after all we’ve told you, do you still think your son has nothing to do with these murders?”
He smiled for the first time, but you could tell he wasn’t so sure anymore. “Yes, Detective. I know my son. He had nothing to do with either of these deaths.”
“I advise you to get him to come talk to us. The longer it takes to find him, the harder it will be on him when we do.”
She dropped her card on his desk before following Jake and Jeremy out.
CHAPTER 21
“SO WHAT’S THE TATTOO, AND where is it?” Jake was asking Jeremy when Dani walked up to them.
“You’ll never find out, so give it a rest already.” She took out her phone to call Michaels back at the office. “We need Daren Becket’s juvenile record opened. Find out what it’s for.”
She hung up before Michaels could respond.
“What do you think?” she asked Jake and Jeremy.
“He didn’t kill Jennifer. We need to start looking elsewhere.” Jeremy leaned back against the car.
“Did CSI find anything?”
“They have a good palm print with one finger on the banister and the
side of a hand on the front door. They haven’t gotten a match yet.”
“Have them pull Daren’s prints and run it. I bet it matches.”
“You think Daren killed Jennifer?”
“He’s looking for Katie. I have no doubts he went to her house more than once to see if she turned up. Send a unit over to check that alley across the street.”
“You think he staked out her house?”
Dani shrugged. “Maybe. It’s worth looking into.”
“Do you have anything else on Zach’s death? Any other leads?”
“No. We’ll talk to Katie again when we get back to the squad room. Maybe she’ll remember something else from that night.”
Jeremy stood up and took out his keys. “If there’s anything I can help with, give me a call.”
He walked away.
“Are you okay?” Dani asked as she held her hand out for the car keys.
“No.” He handed her the keys and headed to the passenger side.
“Katie was pretty sure that Daren did not pull the trigger that killed Zach.”
“I know, but now I’m convinced he knows who did and we can’t find him. His father doesn’t even know where he is.”
“We’ll find him.” Dani started the car and pulled away.
They picked up Katie and Wilson at Mrs. Welmington’s apartment twenty minutes later. They took the time to thank her for helping Katie. Mrs. Welmington gave them both a hug, expressing her sorrow for their loss of Zach. It seems Katie used the time they were together to fill her in on everything that has been going on the last few days. Whereas Dani would have loved to pick them up and go, Mrs. Welmington had other ideas. For a person that Katie described as old, she far from acted like it. She must be at least eighty years old, but she was running around her apartment like the energizer bunny. They stayed long enough for coffee and pastries and thanked her again.
They barely had the car doors closed when Katie asked, “Did Mr. Becket kill my mom?”
Jake turned to her. “No, we don’t think so.”
Katie sat back and sighed. “Did he give you any idea of who did?”
Jake and Dani looked at each other. Dani shook her head slightly. She didn’t think telling Katie Daren may be involved was a good thing at the moment. Katie already feels guilty because she ran away. Knowing that Daren was involved in Zach’s murder is tough enough. She may never get over her guilt if she knows Daren may be involved in her mothers also.
“No. Detective Vanella is going to start looking at other evidence. We’ll keep in close touch and help wherever needed.”
They were quiet for the rest of the trip back to the precinct. As they headed for the door, Jake’s phone rang.
“I have to take this. I’ll be a minute.” When the others headed in, he answered. “Hey, Nancy. Are we set?”
“Jake, are you sure Katie is Zach’s daughter?”
“Well, there’s no blood test, but her mother told us she is. Why do you ask?”
“Because she’s too smart to be related to you.” Nancy laughed.
“She’s never far from her laptop so we figured she was.”
“Sweetie, listen. She’s not just smart. She’s a genius.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Katie is in her second year at Columbia University. She could have graduated college already, but from what the Dean tells me, her mom wouldn’t let her take a full load of classes. She wanted her to enjoy being a kid.”
“Nancy, are you serious? She’s a genius?”
“Very serious. She’s majoring in computer science, minoring in criminal science.”
“Damn. Who’da thought?” Jake laughed. “Did you get the guardianship stuff worked out?”
“She doesn’t need a guardian. She’s an emancipated minor. Her mother’s lawyer insisted on it so they wouldn’t take Jennifer’s income into account when she applied for scholarships. Not that it mattered. From what the Dean told me they would have given her a full ride either way.”
“So she can live on her own.”
“According to the law, yes. But she is still only sixteen and she did just lose her mother and father. Though she didn’t know her father, she saw it happen. She needs someone to watch over her. She needs someone to take care of her until she’s comfortable doing it herself.”
Jake sighed as he leaned against the building. “You’ve spent the morning on the phone, haven’t you?”
“Yes, but it was very interesting, so I didn’t mind. Plus you know I’d do anything for you.”
“Right back atcha’, babe.”
Nancy was quiet for a moment. Why couldn’t she get past his job? Why had she let it destroy them? She knew that if something happened to him, she would die. Maybe not physically, but emotionally, she’d be done. If they had kids it would be worse.
No, she had made the right decision. She still had him. She always would; she just didn’t have the thought of losing him thrown in her face on a daily basis.
“So how are things with your new partner?” she finally broke the silence and asked.
“Okay, I guess.”
“Okay, you guess?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Nanc. She’s a lot like you. Strong, smart, independent.”
“Attractive?”
“Yeah, she’s attractive. Not beautiful, but cute in a ‘don’t mess with me’ kind of way.”
“Are you falling for her?” Nancy hesitatingly asked. At his silence she sighed. “Jake, are you falling for her?”
“Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this. I appreciate everything you did today…”
“Jake, don’t shut me out. I know you love me. I know you’ll always love me. I love you, too. But I can’t have you. I wish I could, but I can’t. I want you to be happy. You deserve someone you can be with without them worrying constantly. I know you were distracted when you got shot because we had a fight over your job the night before. If you think you can be happy and safe with Dani, you should go for it.”
“Are you sure you want to talk about this?”
“Yes. I get the feeling you need to talk. I want to be here for you.”
Jake looked up to the sky. “It’s only been a few days that I know her.”
“A few days? You’ve been there over a week.”
“I know. I was about to introduce myself the day after I got here, but she looked like she was in a fog or lost. I decided to watch her for a few days before checking in with the captain. I didn’t think hitting her with the same face as the man she just lost was a good idea.”
“That was probably a good decision.”
“Anyway, I can already tell she doesn’t let anyone get close. I’m surprised Zach could penetrate the wall she puts up.”
“And?”
“And for some reason I want to tear the wall down. But Zach was my brother. It’s only been a couple of weeks since his death. She’s not even close to thinking about someone else. On top of that, you can see the sadness hit her every time she looks at me. Which isn’t often.”
“It is way too soon for her… and for you.”
“Yeah, it is. I just don’t know what to do.”
“How about you just be her partner and her friend? Give it time. Maybe down the road she’ll surprise you. Maybe down the road you’ll realize it’s just the situation that’s making you feel something for her.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Jake pushed away from the wall and headed for the door. “How are things with Joe?”
“Good. Real good.”
“It’s been about six months, so I guess I should ask. Is he second best?”
Nancy laughed. “Second best, huh? Yes, Jake, since I can’t have you, he’s second best. I love him.”
“You know I’m happy for you. He’s a good guy.”
“Thanks. It means a lot to me that you like him.”
“You do realize how weird this conversation is, don’t you?”
“Yes.” She laughed.
“Have
you told him about us yet?”
“Not yet, but I will soon. We’re talking about moving in together.”
“Not marriage?”
“No. Neither one of us is ready for that again.”
“Let me know if you need me to talk to him.”
“It will be okay. Look, I need to get back to work. Take care of Katie. She may be smart, but she needs you. Don’t rush things with Dani. If it’s meant to be, it will be.”
“Thanks for all your help… and the talk. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Bye.” Nancy hung up and sighed.
Jake hung up and stared at his phone. “Definitely a weird conversation.”
He shook his head and headed inside.
When Jake walked into the squad room Katie was sitting at his desk. Well, she was sitting at the desk he’s been using since he got here. Zach’s desk.
He shook his head and slowly walked toward Dani’s office. He took one last look around before entering without knocking, closing the door behind him.
“Don’t you ever knock?” Dani growled without looking up from the file she was reviewing.
“Sure, just not on your office door.” He sat across from her. “That was Nancy on the phone.”
“How is she?” Dani asked, only there was sarcasm in her voice that she didn’t mean.
Jake smiled. “She’s fine.”
“Did she get the guardianship worked out?”
“Turns out that won’t be necessary.”
Dani finally looked up, put her pen down and sat back. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”
“There’s not really anything to like or dislike. She doesn’t need a guardian.”
“Last I checked anyone under eighteen needs a guardian.”
“Not when you are an emancipated minor.”
“Katie’s emancipated?”
“Yup.” Jake leaned forward, clasping his hands together. “She’s also a genius in her second year at Columbia University.”
Dani sat up straight. “Okay, I’m listening.”
Jake repeated everything that Nancy told him.
“Wow,” Dani sighed when he was done.
“Yeah, wow.”
“So what do we do?”
“I guess it’s not really up to us,” Jake answered. “But as Nancy said she is only sixteen and has been through hell this past month.”
Fatally Linked Page 17
