Elusive Justice (Kensington-Gerard Detective series Book 2)

by K. T. Roberts

  “Alex,” he said extending his hand. He looked around the gallery. “Browse a little. I need to take care of those customers over there,” he pointed.

  “That’s fine. Don’t let us hold you up. We would appreciate hearing more about the area when you have time though.”

  “How long are you planning to be here in Santa Fe?”

  “Until Sunday.”

  “Oh, that gives me plenty of time to tell you the attributes of this little treasure.”

  “Good.” Jess could see he was getting antsy “Please feel free to tend to your customers. We’ll keep ourselves busy.”

  After Alex walked away, Zach leaned toward her. “Sounds like he’s lonely for New York, doesn’t it?”

  “Hmm. Do you believe he doesn’t have family with him?”

  “I don’t know what to believe, but I think we should stake out his home. Maybe what he’s saying is true, but I’m not going to base it on his answers. I want to see it for myself.”

  “It’s almost quitting time right now. Why don’t we make up some excuse and tell him we’ll come back tomorrow and head over to his home address?”

  “Okay. I’ll go over to tell him now.”

  She watched Zach walk away, and felt a rush of emotion wave through her. Jessie busied herself looking at the handcrafted Native American items until Zach returned.

  “We’re ready to rock-n-roll,” he said reaching for her hand. “Let’s blow this pop joint.”

  “Here,” Jessie said, returning to the car after picking up coffee from the shop two blocks from Cavanaugh’s house where they’d been staked out for the past two hours. Jessie handed Zach the container of coffee through the opened window. “Did you find anything in his trash can?” she asked.

  “The usual crap. Catalogs, trash, nothing personal except his bills, and nothing that would tell me he had a kid living with him.” He reached out for the container, “I see car lights in the rear view mirror. C’mon get inside the car.” When the car zoomed past without stopping, he popped the lid from his container and took a sip. “Okay, I guess we wait.”

  “I really like what I see of Santa Fe so far. I really think I could live here.”

  “It is a beautiful place.” He stopped talking when he saw a car pull into Alex’s driveway. He sat up a little straighter. “We’re on, Jess.”

  Together they watched Alex lift the garage door and pull the car inside. “Looks like he lives a frugal lifestyle. No garage door opener.”

  “I’m sure he could afford one with the prices he charges in his gallery,” Jess said. “He’s probably a cheapskate.” She focused the binoculars on the front seat of the car, the headlights illuminating off the wall and providing a clearer picture. “I don’t see anyone else in his car. Do you?”

  “That doesn’t necessarily mean anything. I think we let him settle in a little and then do a ‘Peeping Tom’ search to see if there are any signs of a kid living there. It’s not like we can go to the door without a warrant.” He turned to face her, “For now, that’s the best we can do.”

  “I agree.” Her stomach growled, a reminder she hadn’t eaten. “There’s a small restaurant down the street, do you want me to get something for us to eat?”

  “How about the coffee shop? Do they have little munchies we can eat to tide us over?”

  “They have donuts and pastries. Is that what you mean?”

  “Yeah. I’d like to take you out for a nice dinner our first night here.”

  “Oh, in that case, I’ll get the biggest pastry I can find and we’ll share it so we don’t mess up dinner. I never turn down a free meal.” She grinned.

  “Yeah, I remember how you operate. Eat a lot when someone else is buying, order small when you’re paying.”

  She gave him a playful punch in the arm. He ducked, apparently expecting it. “That’s not true. I take you to nice places and foot the bill.”

  “I’m kidding,” he said, grabbing her fist and kissing it. “Go get the pastry. As soon as I see the lights dim, I’ll be checking things out, so if you come back and I’m not here, that’s where I’ll be.”

  “I’ll rush.” She exited the car, jogged down the street, returning shortly after with a huge piece of crumb cake, a favorite of Zach’s. She was surprised he was still sitting behind the wheel. “What’s happening?” she asked, while breaking the cake in half and handing him his portion.

  He bit into it, moaning with ecstasy. “Not much. The place is lit up like an amusement park. Unless he’s one of those who leaves every light on in the house,” he shrugged. “But that doesn’t fit with frugality.”

  “Maybe he’s afraid of the dark.” She laughed.

  “Yeah, right.” He leaned in closer, apparently seeing something. “I think he entered the living room. I guess he does leave all the lights on.”

  Noticing the darkness surrounding the house, Jess was the first to comment about it. “It looks like these surrounding houses are vacant. That’s surprising since summer is the best time of year to visit.”

  “It might be the economy, or maybe we struck it lucky.”

  “Alright. Then why don’t you start and I’ll keep an eye on him to see which room he’s in.” She pulled the walkie-talkies out from the glove compartment, turned on the power and handed him one. “Go, I’ll keep you posted.”

  Zach exited the car and scooted for the darkened backyard. His black attire camouflaged him and unless face-to-face, he was pretty much non-existent.

  Jess heard his voice coming through the radio. “Where are you?”

  “By the living room. Nothing here. Hang with me while I walk to the bedrooms.” Jess could hear Zach’s breathing and music in the background that must have been coming from the residence. “I don’t like his choice of music,” he said, his breath coming in short spurts from walking so quickly. “Almost there,” he said.

  The background sound of katydids channeled through the speaker and reminded Jess of a time in her childhood when things weren’t so complicated.

  “Okay,” Zach whispered. “There’s only one bedroom and no kid stuff. He’s sitting in a room reading a book. The room is filled with lots of books—I guess it’s his library.”

  “Since he’s in that room, why don’t you keep an eye on him and I’ll check the front rooms.” Seeing the lights from an oncoming car, Jess ducked down under a bush and waited until it passed.

  Standing upright, Jess began to walk again. “Alright, hotshot, the car passed.” Walking gingerly, she carefully crossed the lawn and peered into the kitchen. “Nothing in the kitchen, and nothing in the room next to it, either. A few lounge chairs and a television,” she whispered. Excitement spiraled through her. She didn’t know why doing something she wasn’t supposed to do was so much fun, but it was. “I don’t see any game remotes anywhere in the room or on any tables, so I guess it’s safe to say there’s no kid living with him.” Jess released a breath. “I don’t know if I’m happy or sad about that.” She crossed the street. “Okay, I’m headed back to the car.”

  It wasn’t long after that Zach entered the car. “Phew. I’m roasting in this hoodie,” he said pulling at the sleeves to remove it. “That’s it for tonight. Let’s go eat.”

  “I like that idea. I’m starved.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  ZACH STOOD in shock staring at Jessie. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

  “I think I might have. Ziggy called,” he said, the tears forming in his eyes. “The DNA doesn’t match Harold Thomas/Stanley Bingham’s, but it does match Abby’s.”

  She released a gasp. “Oh my God. Is he sure?”

  “I asked the same thing. He said he checked it twice to be sure and it’s a match.” Zach sat down on the edge of the bed feeling slightly overwhelmed. His heart was pounding so fast he could feel the pulsation in his hands.

  “I’m so thrilled for Abby,” she said wrapping her arms around Zach’s waist. “If it hadn’t been for your pers
istence, we never would have stumbled upon the truth. Congratulations.”

  “But now, I’m trying to figure out why Jake loved the man he thought was his father.” Zach’s head shook..

  “Because it was the only father he knew. Abductors don’t always kidnap for money or to hurt a child, there are other reasons too. Maybe Thomas always wanted a child and couldn’t have one and when he saw Jake, he was the child he’d pictured in his life. The family is going to be elated, but this kid was abducted when he was only three years old. He doesn’t know anything about his real family.”

  “That’s true, Jess, but he’s with Irene now. Maybe when they meet for the first time, Abby will be able to help him remember things that were big in his life at the time.”

  “Geez, I don’t remember anything from my early years. Do you?” he said.

  “No. I don’t, but some people do.” She blew out air. “I think we’re rushing here. Let’s take a deep breath. We need to talk to the right people. You don’t even know where Jake is right now.”

  “I wonder if they’ll even reunite the family?” Zach asked.

  Jessie made a face, “Of course they will. I can’t see the Marshals keeping them apart. Even bad parents get their kids back so long as they have a roof over their heads and a job to support the kid.”

  “I’m thinking of the psychological effect this will have on all of them, especially since Justin only knows Harold as his father. No matter who comes into his life, Harold will always be his father.”

  “You’re assuming Alex wants to go back to his old life. He may be perfectly content to stay right where he is. We can’t assume he’ll want anything different, especially after walking out on his daughter. It was one thing to leave his wife, but a twelve-year old child knowing the mother wouldn’t be able to take care of her? You’d better believe Abby has deep scars.”

  “Hey,” Zach said, “Abby may not even want him in her life regardless. That’s a lot of pain to handle. Either way though, I’m sure the Marshal Service will enlist the aid of a child psychologist for the best way to handle this. They’ll also offer counseling for the family to help them deal with the change.”

  “You know, I’m not sure we tell Alex anything at this point. I’m going to want our lab to run the DNA again to be sure,” Zach said. “We’ve used Ziggy plenty of times, but he’s never been as busy as he is now. What if he screwed up?” Zach’s expression was taut with strain.

  “Exactly,” she agreed. “Good call. Besides, we still have a vacation to enjoy.”

  “We almost forgot about that, didn’t we?” she said.

  “Not for long,” he said pulling her back under the covers.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  “HOW WAS YOUR vacation?” Lieutenant Webster asked after Jess closed the door to his office and sat down. “Are you feeling more refreshed?”

  “I am. Thank you. But I wasn’t really vacationing. I found Abby’s father in New Mexico.”

  “Why were you looking for him after he left his family?”

  “Because I wanted to be sure he wasn’t the one to kidnap his son.”

  “Okay,” he nodded, “I’ll buy that, but there’s something you’re not telling me. I can see it in your eyes. What gives? You look like you’re going to bust if you don’t tell me soon.”

  “I think I might have solved the Cavanaugh case. I’d like to run two samples of DNA . . . Abby’s and a young boy who’s involved in another case.”

  “Tell me why I should approve it.”

  “Two teddy bears.”

  The Lieutenant laughed. “Teddy Bears, Jess, really? Are you out of your freakin’ mind?”

  “No sir, I’m not. Have you heard about the Thomas case? The father fell victim to a stray bullet that came through his window—the young son watched his father die?”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard about it. Your ex-partner was handling the case when ATF took control of it after they found out one of the smuggler’s bullets killed the guy.” With a sigh, his mouth dropped into a deeper frown. “I know I’m going to hate myself in the morning for asking this,” he said, “but what does any of this have to do with a teddy bear? Don’t all kids have teddy bears?”

  “I’m sure, but,” she said with confidence. “Abby told me that knowing her brother had his bear with him when he was abducted gave her comfort.” He began to interrupt, but she held her hand up to stop him. “Zach showed me a picture of the Thomas boy’s bear, and once during a conversation with Abby, she described her brother’s bear, and I think they’re the same.”

  “Did you show Abby the photograph of the teddy bear? Did she confirm that it looked like the same bear?”

  “No, I didn’t, Lieutenant. I didn’t want to get her hopes up if it wasn’t the same bear. I mean, he could have changed the way the bear looked.” Jessie shrugged. “I thought having solid information to give her was the appropriate thing to do . . . and that’s why I was hoping you’d let me have the two samples tested.” She crunched her face up. “So what do you say?”

  “Tell me how you got Abby’s sample?”

  “Uh . . . well . . . I swiped a straw from her soda when we were out to lunch.”

  “Without her permission?”

  “Well, Lieutenant, I didn’t want to get the poor girl’s hopes up after she’s had so many disappointments. I’ll march right over to her desk and get her permission for a sample if asking her will convince you to approve the expenditure.”

  “You’re adding to my graying hair, Jess, you know that?” He shook his head. “Okay,” he huffed, “send them to the lab, but I hear they’re backed up with requests, so be patient. Hopefully the trial they’ve been talking about doing on a field DNA tester will get approved and the department can afford the equipment.” He stopped talking, “and don’t bug them!”

  “Thank you, Lieutenant,” she said, standing to leave.

  “Jessie,” he said firmly, “you heard what I said about bugging them. Right?”

  “Right. I did.” She left the room and practically ran down to the lab to drop off the samples Ziggy had returned to them. She already knew the results, or at least she hoped Ziggy was correct, but knowing the Lieutenant wasn’t about to take the word of a street tech, she had to get his approval. She wondered what he was talking about being trialed. She passed it off in her mind assuming it was another piece of equipment, and the lab would have to hire another technician to speed up production. Somehow, she didn’t think that was the answer. The more tech’s they had, the heavier the workload when word got out they’d hired someone else. Ziggy’s results came to mind again. There was no question the Lieutenant would want official confirmation before she would be allowed to tell Abby they’d found her brother.

  Sitting down at her desk, Jessie felt a strong sense of satisfaction knowing that it was she and Zach who’d solved both cases. They really did work well together.

  She stopped the Lieutenant as he was walking past her desk. “Lieutenant, have you heard from Bud this morning?”

  “Didn’t he tell you he’d be out for the next two days?”

  “No. Is something wrong with him?”

  “He must have forgotten to mention it. He gets like that every once in a while. You need to give him a good swift kick to remind him there are two of you. He’s out training for that trial I mentioned before. It’s on a new portable DNA analyzer. It’s a neat little gadget,” he said holding his hands apart, “about the size of a small laser printer that delivers results in an hour.” He grinned. “How about that?”

  “Wow. Is this something we’ll all be trained on how to use?”

  “Yes. Like I said, it’s a trial right now, but I sure hope it’s approved. Although the cost of this little baby is expensive, in the long run, we’ll save over four hundred dollars on each sample.” His lips parted into a contented smile. “Do you have something that’s pressing? Do you need help with a case?”

  “No, no. I’m good. Other than database research, I have nothing pre
ssing at the moment. Thank God,” she blew out a breath of air. “That means no abductions, and the kids in New York are safe for another day. Thanks for telling me.” He waved and continued down the short hallway. Now that Bud wasn’t coming in, she could call the department’s child psychologist to ask for some guidance on exactly how she should tell Abby. Even though things between her and Bud seemed to be good, she wasn’t sure she could share that she’d had the DNA tested by Ziggy with him. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer hoping the results were the same, then called the psychologist, Margo Barnett and scheduled an appointment.

  Jessie watched Margo Barnett emerge from her office when the last patient left. Melanie, a woman in her late forties had black and gray corkscrew curly hair. Her skin tone was drab giving off a washed out look. For a professional, Jessie was surprised the doctor wore no makeup, not even a swipe of mascara on her lashes to improve her features. The clothing she wore was dowdy but neat. Aside from those flaws, she was a sharp doctor who was well known in her field and had a wonderful reputation.

  “Thanks for seeing me on such short notice. I need some guidance from you on how to handle the return of a child to his family. This is a family he doesn’t know because he was abducted when he was three.”

  She smiled. “Now this sounds like a story I’d like to hear about. It sounds like we’re going to have a happy ending. Make sure you schedule an appointment for the family with me.”

  “I definitely will when I’m one hundred percent certain as to the identity of the child.”

  “Okay. Tell me more about the situation.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms against her chest.

  “The child was abducted from a mall during a game he was playing with his sister who was angry she had to watch him instead of being with her friends. She was twelve years old at the time. He’s been missing for seven years. Needless to say, she suffers from extreme guilt because she verbally mistreated him that day. Her parents blamed her for the loss of the child. The mother turned to drinking, the father abandoned them, and the mother ultimately committed suicide on the daughter’s bed leaving a note saying she wished it was the daughter who’d been abducted instead of her son.”