Into the Dark (The Cincinnati Series Book 5) (Cincinnati 5)

by Karen Rose

  Because that heart belonged to her now. He’d made it so the moment he’d told her he loved her. She wanted to shout it to whoever would listen, but remained content to be quietly happy as she walked alongside Diesel’s wheelchair.

  When they got outside, he drew a deep breath, immediately and visibly calmer.

  Dani nodded to the nurse who’d pushed the chair. ‘We’ll take it from here.’

  ‘I’ll go get the car,’ Marcus said. ‘Sit tight.’

  ‘Wait,’ Diesel said, and Marcus turned to him, concerned.

  ‘Are you okay?’ he demanded. ‘Do you need to go back in there?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Diesel said. ‘But not like you think.’ He looked up at Dani. ‘I want to see him.’

  Scarlett frowned. ‘Why?’

  But Dani understood. ‘Nothing against law enforcement, Scar. But I think we need to see him with our own eyes. I went in the ambulance with Jenny, and Adam went with Diesel. We didn’t see Kaiser delivered to the hospital. We need to see him here.’ She squeezed Diesel’s shoulder. ‘Because we’re going to pick up Joshua and Michael from the condo and take them home. I want to look them in the eye and say, “Yes, Kaiser is handcuffed to a hospital bed and he can’t ever hurt you again.”’

  Diesel nodded, gratitude in his eyes. ‘What she said.’

  ‘Then let’s go,’ Scarlett said. ‘I can flash my badge if they give us any trouble.’

  Cincinnati, Ohio

  Wednesday, 20 March, 2.00 A.M.

  ‘Good evening, Father,’ the nurse said in greeting. ‘How can I help you?’

  Grant nodded once, acknowledging her. ‘I’m Father Emerson. I’ve come to see Mr Kaiser.’

  The nurse’s smile fell away. ‘He’s not allowed visitors.’

  ‘I’m not here on a social call, ma’am. I’m here to see if Mr Kaiser would like to offer a last confession.’

  The nurse looked uncertain. ‘He’s conscious and aware. Mostly. I suppose he can say no.’

  ‘And if he does, I’ll leave. I promise.’ But he hoped that Kaiser would want to talk, though he wasn’t entirely certain what he wanted the man to say.

  Perhaps give an apology, he thought, then had yet another moment of self-doubt. This was stupid. Maybe even illegal. But not dangerous. The man was no threat to anyone now. He’d paced outside the hospital for hours before forcing himself to come in. Now he was here, and he was going to talk to the bastard. He at least needed to know why.

  Although he knew why. At least he knew what Diesel, Dani, and the cops believed to be true. That Kaiser had thought Wesley was a pedophile and eliminated him along with John Brewer.

  But deep down, Grant could admit that he wished Wesley’s death had been an accident. That maybe, just maybe, he’d been killed because he’d tried to protect one of Kaiser’s other victims. That he’d died heroically.

  Not because Wes had been blinded by his need for revenge and gone into a sting completely vulnerable, without backup. Without caring if he survived or not.

  That would be a waste of a life, and Wesley deserved better than that. Laurel deserved better than that. Hell, I deserve better, too.

  ‘This way, Father,’ the nurse said, leading him to the ICU room that housed the man who’d killed his brother. A police officer stood outside the door, feet planted firmly. ‘This is Father Emerson,’ she said to the cop, and he gave Grant a nod.

  Damn, that was easy. If he’d wanted to kill the guy, he could. Nobody had frisked him. Nobody had even double-checked his ID.

  He paused inside Kaiser’s room, his own thought penetrating the numbness in his mind. If I wanted to kill the guy, I could.

  Do I want to?

  Yes. But there were hostages. Innocent people. A woman and her baby. Grant had read the articles online. Kaiser had used the woman to escape, then killed another young man after hiring him to buy supplies. He was keeping the woman and baby alive to buy his escape.

  Except now, he couldn’t escape. Cade Kaiser lay in the hospital bed, cuffed to the side rails. Machines beeped quietly as the man’s chest rose and fell.

  He was still alive. But barely, according to Dani Novak.

  ‘Hello,’ Grant said softly.

  Kaiser’s eyes opened, but they weren’t sharp. He was probably on some heavy painkillers. Too bad. Grant wanted him to suffer. This man had been responsible for hurting so many people. Though he had tried to protect John Brewer’s stepson, Joshua.

  Then tried to kill the other stepson, Michael. Kaiser was insane.

  ‘Go to hell, Father,’ Kaiser rasped.

  Well, then, Grant thought. Gloves are off. The man wasn’t going to simply confess. ‘Maybe I will,’ he said, abandoning his priest persona. ‘If I do, I’m sure to see you there.’

  Kaiser blinked slowly. Then laughed, a broken, rusty sound. ‘We can get a beer. Maybe a few hookers.’

  Grant pulled up the chair beside Kaiser’s bed and leaned in close. ‘Maybe the beer. I’m married.’

  ‘Then you’re a . . .’ Kaiser drew a labored breath. ‘Shitty priest.’ But then something flickered in his eyes, and he blanched, pressing his head into the thin pillow. ‘Fucking hell,’ he whispered.

  Grant studied the man, who looked like he’d seen a ghost. And maybe he had. Because he killed my brother. ‘Something wrong, Mr Kaiser?’

  Kaiser squinted, then shook his head. ‘Thought you looked . . . familiar.’

  ‘I have that kind of face. Just one of the crowd.’

  Kaiser swallowed hard. ‘Why . . . are you here?’

  I’m not sure. ‘I wanted to meet you.’ True enough. ‘I wanted to find out why.’ Truer still. ‘Maybe I wanted to get your autograph,’ he added.

  Kaiser looked at him, clearly uncertain. ‘You’re crazy.’

  ‘Probably.’ He made a split-second decision, one of so many since Wesley’s partner had visited his office. ‘I’m a writer. I’ve interviewed a lot of killers. I like to know why. But you’re different. You killed to protect people.’

  ‘You’re a cop,’ Kaiser said flatly. ‘You’re trying to . . . trick me.’

  ‘No, I’m not a cop. I promise you that.’ Grant leaned a little closer. ‘You’re going to die, Mr Kaiser. It’s just a matter of time. It might be here. Or it might be in prison. If you do survive, you’re standing trial for a lot of murders.’

  Kaiser’s lip curled. ‘Fuck off, Father.’

  ‘You will stand trial,’ Grant continued as if Kaiser hadn’t spoken. ‘Wouldn’t you like the jury to know why you killed all those people? And if you do die, don’t you want to be remembered for the good you did?’

  Kaiser’s eyes narrowed. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I mean that you’ll be tried in a courtroom, but if the public knows the real you, you might even get a humanitarian award. John Brewer was trash. Killing him was a public service.’

  ‘Him and all the others,’ Kaiser mumbled.

  ‘So you’ll tell me?’ Grant asked.

  ‘What’s in it for you?’

  ‘I write a book and make money. And my curiosity is satisfied.’

  ‘I can . . . understand that. You think . . . it’ll help? With a jury?’

  Grant made himself shrug nonchalantly. ‘Can’t hurt. If you die, you’re a hero. If you live, the jury might see the truth. Who was the first person you killed?’

  Kaiser’s smile was eerily beatific. ‘The first was an old pedo. Name was Leigh Gladwin.’

  ‘When was that?’

  ‘Four years ago.’

  ‘And the next?’

  ‘Henry Lindquist. A guy who’d beaten his wife to death in front of his kid.’

  Grant reached into the pocket of the black suit coat for the small Bible he’d taken from the hotel’s nightstand drawer. He’d had to give Wesley’s cassock to the cops, but he’d manage
d to find a black suit and a detachable collar in a Brooks Brothers store at the mall. He looked like every priest he’d ever known.

  The Bible had been a last-minute addition, intended to be part of the costume, but now he was happy he’d brought it. He found a blank page, pulled out a pen, and wrote down the first two names.

  Then he looked up at Kaiser, who wore a wistful expression, like he was enjoying this walk down memory lane. ‘And then, Mr Kaiser? Who was next?’

  Cincinnati, Ohio

  Wednesday, 20 March, 2.05 A.M.

  There was a different dynamic entering the hospital as a visitor, Diesel thought. Even in a hospital wheelchair.

  Marcus skillfully navigated the hallways, getting them to the ICU. Diesel didn’t even mind the curious looks they got in the elevator, or the smug smirks on Marcus and Scarlett’s faces.

  Because Dani had finally said it. She loves me, too. His chest felt tight, like his happiness was too big to fit.

  Until they rolled out of the elevator into the ICU and the reason for his being there crashed through his mind. Cade Kaiser.

  Who was still alive.

  They stopped at the desk and asked to see Kaiser. The nurse directed them to the waiting room, telling them that ‘Mr Kaiser’ had another visitor at the moment, but that they should be done soon.

  They sat in silence, Dani holding Diesel’s hand tightly, but after a few minutes, her cell phone buzzed with an incoming call.

  ‘It’s a Cleveland area code,’ she murmured, then hit ACCEPT. ‘Hello?’ She blinked in surprise. ‘Mrs Masterson, hello. How can I help you?’ She listened for a moment, then turned to Scarlett. ‘Do you know where Grant is? His wife is here in Cincinnati and he’s not at his hotel.’

  ‘Put her on speaker,’ Scarlett said, then greeted Grant’s wife. ‘I haven’t talked to your husband since yesterday evening. I have tried calling him several times, though. I think he forgot to give us something last night.’

  ‘What was that?’ Mrs Masterson asked warily.

  ‘His brother’s cell phone. He mentioned that it was in the safe in Wesley’s apartment here in town, but it wasn’t there when we inventoried the evidence.’

  ‘I don’t know anything about that,’ the woman said. ‘But I’m worried. I drove down this afternoon so that I could be with him while he made the funeral arrangements. I got to the hotel after eight, and fell asleep. When I woke up, he still wasn’t back.’

  ‘I talked to him around eight,’ Dani said. ‘He was leaving the funeral home.’ She opened her mouth, then closed it again. ‘Can I call you right back?’ she asked.

  ‘Of course. Please hurry, though. I’m worried sick.’

  ‘I will,’ Dani assured her and ended the call.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Diesel asked her.

  ‘I don’t know. Hold on.’ She walked quickly to the nurses’ station and spoke for less than a minute before returning to them, her face abruptly drawn. ‘Kaiser’s visitor is Father Emerson. He’s giving him last rites.’

  ‘Holy shit,’ Scarlett muttered. She drew her badge from her pocket and motioned them to follow her. She spoke with the same nurse, who led them through the double doors into the unit.

  Quietly they crossed to Kaiser’s room, Marcus pushing Diesel’s chair. Sure enough, there was Grant Masterson standing by Kaiser’s bed. Holding a folded blanket in his hands and looking down at the killer with absolutely no expression at all.

  ‘Get me in there,’ Diesel said to Marcus.

  Scarlett flashed her badge to the cop on guard duty, who frowned at her but let Marcus push Diesel into the room. Diesel caught the last part of what Grant was saying.

  ‘. . . my brother, you sonofabitch. An undercover cop. You killed him.’

  Kaiser’s eyes were wide. And scared. ‘You’re . . .’ He gasped. ‘Lying.’

  ‘No, but you’re right about one thing,’ Grant said, so very quietly that Diesel had to strain to hear. ‘We will meet each other in hell.’

  ‘Father Emerson,’ Diesel said softly. ‘Grant,’ he snapped when the man didn’t move.

  Grant turned, his eyes flickering with something like horror. And maybe relief? His gaze focused on Diesel, swung to take in the group at the door, then back. ‘Mr Kennedy. We meet again.’

  ‘And not in hell.’ Diesel made himself smile, even though part of him wanted to tell Grant to do it, to smother the bastard. But that would make Grant a murderer and they might never find Evelyn Keys and her baby. ‘Cora is here. Waiting for you.’

  Grant faltered. ‘What?’

  ‘She’s here,’ Diesel repeated. ‘Waiting for you at your hotel. She loves you, Grant, and you’ve worried her today.’

  Grant’s eyes filled with tears and he looked at the blanket he held. ‘Oh God,’ he whispered and put the blanket down. ‘Oh my God.’ Picking up a Bible from the chair at Kaiser’s bedside, he walked toward Diesel, his gait stiff, like he’d woken from a long sleep. He glanced at Marcus, then at Scarlett, who stood in the doorway. ‘I thought I could listen to him and I’d be okay. But I couldn’t. I just got so mad.’ He blinked and the tears fell. ‘I’m just so damned angry.’

  ‘I know,’ Diesel murmured. ‘So am I. Come on, Grant. Let’s get out of here. The bastard’s not worth any more of your energy. Save it for your wife and kids.’

  That was what Diesel was doing – channeling his anger into the focus he needed to get through the pain so that he could get somewhere safe. With Dani.

  She was his safe place.

  He heard her, always thoughtful, telling the nurse that ‘Father Emerson’ needed just a moment to collect himself. She too understood the rage that came with loss. Understood how it could drag you under if you allowed it.

  Diesel held his breath as Marcus pulled the wheelchair from the room and Grant followed. The officer on duty resumed his post, seemingly unaware of what had nearly transpired.

  When they were clear of the room, Scarlett took Grant’s arm and led him from the ICU into the hall by the elevator. Then, thankfully, let him go.

  Diesel hadn’t been sure that she would. He thought he’d have to intervene on behalf of the man who’d learned in one day that he’d lost both his siblings. But Diesel saw nothing but compassion in Scarlett’s eyes. And Dani’s. He couldn’t see Marcus, but he assumed the same.

  ‘What did you mean?’ Diesel asked. ‘You thought you could listen to him?’

  Grant’s shoulders sagged. ‘I wanted to know why. He told himself he was protecting people. He might have even believed it. But he fed on their pain. He . . .’ He swallowed. ‘He cut them up while they were still alive. He did that to Wesley. He told me how my brother suffered. He . . . got off on it. I think I just lost it.’

  Dani rubbed Grant’s back comfortingly. ‘That had to be hard to hear.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Grant shuddered, then looked Scarlett in the eye. ‘Here.’ He dug in his pocket and Scarlett stiffened, going for the gun holstered at her hip, then relaxed when Grant handed her Wesley’s cell phone.

  ‘You “forgot” to give it to me last night?’ Scarlett said wryly.

  ‘That’s right,’ Grant said with a nod. ‘Password is Laurel’s birthday.’ Then he handed Diesel the Bible he’d picked up from Kaiser’s room. ‘For you, with my thanks. I hope you mend quickly. Give my best to Stone. I’m going to find my wife.’

  Cincinnati, Ohio

  Wednesday, 20 March, 3.00 A.M.

  ‘Where to?’ Marcus asked when they were all in his Subaru.

  Dani grabbed Diesel’s hand. She’d just finished a quick call to Grant’s wife, telling her he was on his way. ‘The condo for a few hours so Diesel can sleep. Deacon and Faith are there with the boys, and they’re asleep, too. We can go back to my house when everyone’s woken up.’

  Scarlett twisted around from the front passenger seat to look at them. ‘The
kids must have been so scared. But Troy said they were so good in the van. They did everything he told them while he was getting them back to the condo.’

  ‘We called them as soon as we got to the hospital,’ Dani told her. ‘FaceTimed them so that we could talk to Michael, too.’ The relief on their faces still made her eyes sting. ‘We promised them that I’d at least be there when they woke up in the morning.’

  ‘Actually,’ Diesel said, his head leaned back, his eyes closed, his jaw clenched tight against what had to be incredible pain. ‘I’d like to go to my house. Just to grab a few things,’ he added when Dani jolted in surprise.

  ‘You need to rest,’ she said. ‘Take your pain meds and rest.’

  ‘I can pack you a bag and bring it to you,’ Scarlett said warily. ‘If you’re okay with me going through your things.’

  Diesel’s mouth quirked up, even though his eyes remained closed. ‘I do trust you, Scar, if that’s what you’re asking. I don’t trust all the cops who swarmed my place when Stone got shot. I promise I’ll obey doctor’s orders when we get to the condo, but I’d sleep better knowing that nobody touched my stuff.’

  His ‘stuff’, Dani thought, was all the computers in his office. He’d brought only one laptop with him when they’d raced from his house to the condo. ‘Can we load some of his hardware into the back?’ she asked, thumbing at the cargo hold.

  ‘Of course.’ Marcus set a course, and for a while, nobody spoke. Diesel’s breathing had softened, slowing, and Dani hoped he would be able to sleep for the twenty minutes it would take to get there.

  A thump got her attention, and Dani realized she’d dozed as well. The thump was the Bible that Grant had given Diesel falling from his finally relaxed hand to the floorboard at his feet. Taking care not to jostle him, she leaned over to pick it up, then gave it a hard look.

  Grant had hidden his brother’s journal in the last Bible. She wondered if he’d hidden anything in this one. She opened it, a little disappointed to see that no hole had been carved inside. Idly she turned the first few pages.