Groaning, she reached up to massage the back of her neck with her right hand, then finished of her coffee. She set the mug in the sink and looked back at the man in the car.
She did know one thing, though. No matter how conflicting her feelings, she cared for the guy. Maybe even loved him. Probably did. Okay, definitely did. Always had. Always would.
Pouring the rest of the ten-cup pot of caffeine into a thermos, she grabbed her lightweight police jacket and headed out the door and over to the car.
A light tap on the window roused him. He opened one eye and glared at her. She smiled and remembered the times he’d fallen asleep at his parents’ home after a large family meal. His mom or dad would try to wake him and Catelyn, Marianna and Gina, two of his sisters, would watch and giggle about how grumpy he would be. Nothing had changed in all those years.
The window slid down. “Go away.”
“You’re an idiot,” she said, hearing the affection in her voice.
“I know, but I couldn’t just leave. I was…”
“Worried?”
“Huh. Maybe. I know you can take care of yourself pretty well, but…” He shrugged and opened the other eye. “Is that coffee?”
She laughed at the pleading tone in his voice.
Opening the door, she settled in the passenger seat. “You drive and I’ll pour.”
“Deal.” Cranking the car, he pulled away from the curb and rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Guess I’ll clean up when we get to the station.”
“What’s the plan today?”
“I want to talk to Billy Franklin about his backpack and that flip-flop showing up in the storage shed.”
She handed him the brew. “We probably should have pulled him out of bed last night and demanded some answers.”
“I think we had enough to deal with last night. So, we grabbed a couple hours of sleep. We have to watch out for ourselves, too.”
She rubbed her eyes. “I know you’re right, it’s just that Kelly’s missing and we’ve still got a killer out there. It feels wrong to sleep even for a minute.”
Joseph placed his coffee cup in the holder and reached over to squeeze her hand. “I know. We’ll find her, though. Right now, I want to find Billy Franklin. I haven’t been able to track him down all day.”
She smiled at him, remembering his tender gentleness only a few hours earlier. Her dad never would have…
Her smile slipped and she said, “Have you called Coach Dillard?”
“Yeah. He said he hadn’t heard from Billy and didn’t have any idea where the kid might have gotten to. He did mention that Billy wouldn’t miss the big game.”
“How’s his dad doing?”
“Better. It wasn’t his heart. He had an anxiety attack.”
“No wonder. I can’t say I’m surprised.”
Joseph reached for his coffee once more as he drove and Catelyn considered her feelings for the man. She wanted things to work out between them more than she’d thought possible.
Especially after last night…
But could she lay it all on the line like that? Trust him with her heart? Fully open herself up to someone else. A cop? One who wanted a traditional stay-at-home wife? Could she get past her own fears of what marrying another cop would entail?
She shuddered at the thought, but couldn’t help the yearning desire to answer each question with a resounding yes. But the truth was, she just didn’t know.
“Give me fifteen minutes, then we’ll head over to the Dillard house. I want to talk to Stacy Dillard about that text message she sent Zachary.”
She nodded. “She may be at church. Let me call and see if anyone is home.”
He disappeared into the building and Catelyn got on the phone.
Mrs. Dillard let them in, albeit reluctantly. Joseph stepped through the door, taking in his surroundings—and the fading bruise on the woman’s left cheekbone.
“What’s this about, Detective? I have a sick child upstairs.”
Joseph raised a brow. Were they going to do this in the foyer?
As if reading his mind, Stacy motioned for them to precede her into the den area. Catelyn sat on the edge of the nearest recliner. Joseph chose the love seat.
Stacy stood in the doorway, arms crossed. Joseph cleared his throat. “Mrs. Dillard, why don’t you have a seat?”
She did.
Catelyn intervened. “I’m sorry Alan Jr. is sick. We won’t take much of your time, but we need to ask you about Zachary.”
“That’s what you said on the phone.”
“When we saw you at the funeral, you said you didn’t understand why we thought Dylan would be a suspect in Kelly’s disappearance. You thought we should be looking more at Zachary.”
The woman took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes. Yes, I did say that.”
“Then Zachary ends up shot and we find a text message on his phone from you.”
Stacy paled, her right eye twitched. “I see.”
Catelyn looked at Joseph. He nodded. He’d noticed she didn’t ask which text message they were asking about.
“You threatened him.”
She grimaced. “I wondered when that would come back to haunt me.”
Joseph got up and wandered over to the glass gun rack. “That’s a nice set of rifles you have there.”
“They’re my husband’s.” She twisted her fingers.
“Did you shoot Zachary?”
The woman let out a laugh. “What? You’ve got to be kidding. I was standing there in line with you when Zachary took off with you guys right behind him. When would I have been able to shoot him?” She waved a hand. “And I didn’t want to shoot him anyway, I just wanted him to keep his mouth shut.”
The woman had a point. She didn’t shoot Zachary and she had two police officers who could give her an alibi. But did she know who shot him or did she hire someone to do it? He made a note to pull her financial records. “What was the text about?”
“Zachary knew Alan and I were having problems. I…met with a…friend. Zachary saw me meeting with…this friend. I was desperate—and stupid. I thought if I took a tough stance, Zachary would back off.”
“Did he?”
“No, he wanted money to keep quiet.”
“Blackmail?”
“Yes.” She swallowed hard. “I asked him for some time to get the money together.”
“So you were going to pay him?”
“Yes.”
And that was as much as she was going to say, Joseph could tell. He wondered if her reticence to talk had anything to do with the bruise on her cheek. “I’m going to need the name of your…friend.”
His phone rang. “Excuse me.” He left Catelyn talking to Stacy while he took the call from one of the dispatchers. “Hello?”
“Billy Franklin was spotted at the church where he attends. The one on North Spring Street.”
“Thanks.”
Joseph hurried back into the den. “Come on, Catelyn. “We’ve got to go pick up Billy.” He turned to Stacy. “We’re not done yet.”
She shrugged. “I’m not going anywhere.” Then she bit her lip. “Just don’t tell Alan, please.”
Joseph didn’t make any promises, just followed Catelyn’s brisk jog to the car.
FOURTEEN
Catelyn threw herself into the seat and slammed her door. “She didn’t shoot Zachary.”
“Nope. I think she’s got some major marital problems, but I don’t think she shot the kid to keep him quiet.”
“What do all of these boys have in common?”
“They’re all in high school. And they all play baseball.”
“Right. That’s what I’ve come up with. But there’s something else tying them together, too. I just can’t figure out what it is.” She gritted her teeth as he took another turn. “Sandy said she’d put a rush on the DNA, to see if the evidence they got out from under my fingernails matches anything in the system.”
“Okay, so what else? Somehow these guys wi
th the baseball team are involved.”
Joseph rounded a corner then took a sharp left.
Catelyn’s breath whistled between her teeth as the scenery zipped past her window. “And Billy knows more than he’s telling.”
“You think someone’s got his sister and is threatening to kill her if he tells what he knows?”
“It’s possible, but what does Billy have that’s of use to someone else? He’s just a kid.”
“He saw who did it and they’re using Kelly to keep him quiet.”
“But why not kill him, too? Kill both of them?”
“I don’t know.”
Catelyn’s phone rang. “Hello?”
“Hey. This is Sandy.”
“Sandy, do you ever sleep?”
“Not when I’ve got a case this big going on. The tests finally came back on that wood chip you found. It’s the kind of wood that baseball bats are made of. It’s ash wood and yes, ash is used for a lot of other things, but after studying that piece more, my guess is it came from a baseball bat.”
“Was any blood or anything on it?”
“I found a piece of hair, no blood. Tracy never bled on the outside of her skull, just the inside. The hair matches up with Tracy’s. I believe if you find a baseball bat with a missing chip, you’ll find your murder weapon.”
“You’re worth your weight in gold, my friend. Thank you so much.”
“Okay, now I’m going home to sleep for a few hours.”
Catelyn saw they were getting close to the church. “You’ve more than earned it. If you hadn’t stayed on top of things in the lab like you’ve done, we wouldn’t be anywhere near solving this thing.”
“This one kind of hits close to home. I’m friends with Dylan’s mom, too.”
“Thanks again, Sandy. Catch you later.”
Catelyn hung up and relayed the information to Joseph. She finished up just as they pulled into the church parking lot.
Both hopped out of the car and entered the church. The service was over, people spilling from the auditorium.
Keeping her eyes open, she looked for any familiar faces milling around. Seeing none, she nodded for Joseph to take the opposite end of the lobby to watch those exiting the sanctuary.
She signed to him, “Do you see anyone?”
“No,” he signed back.
She pulled back into the lobby and finally spotted a group of deaf kids signing near the exit.
Joseph caught her eye and followed her over to them. “Excuse me,” she signed. “Would you guys mind talking to us outside?”
The boys stilled, eyes on the two cops who’d just interrupted their conversation. “This way, please, all of you.”
Eyes darting back and forth to one another, they followed her outside where Joseph thanked them for their attention. Catelyn got down to business. “All right guys, have any of you seen Billy?”
“None of your business, Cop.”
Catelyn honed in on the smart mouth. “Excuse me?”
“Bobby, shut up.”
Joseph turned to the young black boy who’d just spoken. “And you are?”
“R.J., Ricky James, but I go by R.J. Yo, Coach and Billy left a while ago. Billy said he had to make a phone call and went to the lobby. Coach Dillard asked me what was up and I told him. He took after Billy like a streak of lightning.”
Catelyn met Joseph’s eyes. That didn’t sound good. “Do you know where they went?”
“Nope. When Coach Dillard asked me where Billy went I told him and he said for us to catch a ride with one of the youth workers who would help get us home.”
“Do you guys come to church every Sunday with Coach Dillard?”
The boy shrugged. “Most Sundays. Coach is real religious and likes us to come with him. He says we’re his future and he’s watching over his investment. Or something like that. We like Coach and think he’s cool. Church is all right, too.”
“All right. Thanks, R.J.”
“I hope you can help Billy out. He’s been real depressed lately what with his sister missing and all.”
“You wouldn’t happen to have any idea what happened that night she went missing would you?”
“No, man. I wish I did. I like Kelly, she’s a good kid.”
Joseph turned to the rest of the crew, signing and voicing at the same time. “Do any of you know where Coach Dillard and Billy might have gone?”
Bobby, Mr. Smartmouth, spoke up. “They had business and went to take care of it, obviously.”
Catelyn lasered him with her eyes. “What kind of business? Gang business?”
A flush crept up into his cheeks. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Joseph wanted to pop the kid in the mouth—or at least arrest him for something. Catelyn looked like she felt the same way. He ignored the kid and turned to the one who seemed willing to help. “R.J.?”
“That, I don’t know. Coach Dillard just said he had to take care of something and it wouldn’t wait.”
“Where would they go to take care of this business? Someplace special?”
“Probably at his house. That’s where he does everything. But I don’t think Billy would go there. He’s been mighty weird about Coach Dillard lately. Maybe at the high school? Coach’s got an office there and spends a lot of time in it, studying teams, videos of different players and stuff.”
Catelyn looked at Joseph. “You think?”
He shrugged. “I think that would be way too easy. But let’s give it a shot. We just came from his house so I doubt he’d take his business there with his wife and kid.”
“Right. Let’s head for the school.”
They thanked the boys and headed over to the high school.
The place looked deserted. Knocking on the door brought no response. Joseph peered in another window. “So do you think Tracy’s death is related to the gang situation with Zachary wanting out or something else?”
“That’s been in the back of my head ever since Dylan told us about it. But I’m thinking it’s connected to something different. Tracy’s death doesn’t seem like a gang killing. She was cracked in the head with a blunt object—probably a baseball bat—and that sounds more like an impulse killing, spur of the moment, she made someone mad kind of thing.”
“Yeah, that’s what I think, too. The evidence isn’t there for a gang killing.”
“I sure wish Zachary would wake up so we could talk to him.”
“I’m worried about the person who doesn’t want him to wake up.”
“That’s why we’ve got a guard on him.”
Fifteen minutes later, they pulled in the parking lot of Esterman High. Two cars sat in the parking lot. Joseph recognized the red Bronco from their visit to Coach Dillard’s house. The blue Toyota looked familiar, too.
Joseph draped his wrists over the steering wheel, his brow creased in thought. “You know how we were brainstorming what all these guys had in common?”
“Yes.”
“What about a coach?”
He nodded. “But why kill Tracy?”
“I have no idea. Let’s go ask.”
He blew out a breath and pulled his phone from the cup holder. “All right, let me call for backup, then let’s see what we’ve got.”
“Go for it.”
He had the first six digits punched in when a shot rang out.
FIFTEEN
Weapons in hand, Joseph and Catelyn headed to the gymnasium where the shot had come from. Nerves bouncing with every step, she visualized various scenarios. Had the bullet found its target?
Catelyn got on her radio and called for an ambulance. “Shots fired.”
“Backup’s on the way,” the dispatcher reassured her.
“Tell them to keep their sirens off. I don’t want to alert anyone we’re here yet.”
“Ten-four.”
Joseph found a window and looked in. Catelyn approached the door, and standing off to the side, reached over to turn the knob. It twisted easily beneath her palm.
<
br /> The door swung inward.
She nodded to Joseph and, leading with his gun, stepped through the opening. Catelyn followed then moved ahead of Joseph.
Moving slowly, feeling Joseph at her back, she kept her ears trained for any warning sound. Her eyes took in every detail of the building. They’d come in the side door that opened directly into a hallway lined with closed doors on either side.
Catelyn tried the first one she came to.
Locked.
Joseph tried the next three.
All locked and no sound coming from behind them.
The door she and Joseph had entered just moments before cracked open. Catelyn swung her weapon around to train it on the opening. Joseph did the same.
Heart pounding, she waited. A gun came around the edge.
And Joseph stepped in front of her.
She snapped her gun so the muzzle pointed to the ceiling and stepped to the side so she could watch the door.
What was he doing?
She had to push aside the anger thrumming through her. She’d have to deal with that—and Joseph—later.
A uniformed officer slid inside followed by three more.
Catelyn released a whispered breath of relief. Joseph motioned for the officers to hang back. They nodded.
She shot Joseph a we’ll-talk-later look and turned back, trying door knobs as she went.
Then she heard voices.
Catching Joseph’s eye, she motioned him over.
Silently, he joined her.
“Where is she?!” Another shot and a bullet pierced the door. They both jumped.
Billy. Catelyn raised a brow and Joseph moved in, twisted the knob and pushed the door open, yelling, “Freeze! Police! Put the weapon down.”
They stayed in a safe zone on opposite sides of the open door. Catelyn sneaked a look around the door frame.
Three pair of startled eyes focused in on the sudden intrusion. Billy held a gun in his right hand.
“Hands in the air, now!” Catelyn ordered.
“Billy,” Joseph said, “put the gun on the floor.”
The boy, tears streaking his face, shook his head. “No way. He knows where Kelly is but won’t tell me. I’m out of time!”
“We’re here now, Billy, just put the gun down so we can sit down and figure it all out.”
A Silent Fury Page 14
