Detective on Call

by Regan Black

  She couldn’t suppress her smile. “You really are a talented detective and a good cop.”

  “Don’t tell me you just figured that out?” he asked, his grin full of pride. “None of the discipline was my idea. I would have thrown the book at the two rowdy friends. Maria, though, she’s all about second chances.”

  They finished eating, chatting about kids and neighborhoods and memories, but that only kept Elizabeth at the front of her mind.

  “Pippa, you didn’t come by for tacos.” Emmanuel crumpled his napkin and dropped it into his empty basket.

  She hated to ruin such a nice break. What she had in mind was sure to take the smile off his handsome face. “Elizabeth called again,” she began. His smile disappeared just as predicted. “I need to make tangible progress for Anna.”

  “I understand that,” he said.

  “You do?”

  “I may not like the woman, but she shouldn’t be doing the time if she isn’t the killer.”

  They were well past ifs in Pippa’s opinion. It was pointless to drag this out when they were both busy, and she wasn’t here to ask permission. “I’m going to set up a meeting with Sergeant McRath.”

  He paled. “You what?” He shook his head. “No way.”

  “I’m not dumb enough to accuse him of murder,” she said defensively, keeping her voice too low to be overheard.

  “Well, do share your plan.” Emmanuel folded his arms over his chest.

  “I’ll approach him as the lead detective and ask if he’ll help me review the initial persons of interest in the case.”

  “Uh-huh.” His nostrils flared. “You take that route and you’re playing with fire. He’ll see through that so fast. It’s too dangerous.”

  “To reiterate, I won’t accuse him of anything.”

  “He won’t see it that way.” Emmanuel tucked in close to her. “If he is responsible for any wrongdoing then or more recently, he’ll be on the defensive. It’s too dangerous,” he said again.

  “Need I remind you we have a lead on Capital X only because I was willing to do the dangerous thing?”

  “Yeah, and that’s working out so well.”

  She bristled. She didn’t expect him to roll over and cooperate, but she also didn’t expect this much resistance.

  “How many times can you do the dangerous thing without consequences?” he demanded. “You’re an attorney. Stay in your lane.”

  She wanted to yell at him, but it would draw too much attention. “Fine. I’ll stay in my lane. As an attorney, tenacious comes with the territory. And risk, as well.” She had to stop; she was too close to making a scene that would wreck everything. “When I set up the meeting, I’ll let you know.”

  He cut her off with a shake of his head. “There is no chance I’m letting you do this alone. Not after the attacks and harassment.”

  “Stay in your lane,” she suggested.

  He rolled his eyes and shifted to block her view. All she could see was him. “You are my lane.”

  Though her heart broke into a happy dance, she folded her arms and stared him down. This was about her case.

  “I can’t talk you out of it?” he asked.

  She shook her head.

  “Will you wait long enough for me to arrange backup?”

  She’d learned to read his expressions, and though he tried to hide it, she felt like she had an inside track now. “If I don’t wait, what happens?”

  He blanched again, and then color slowly crept into his face. He was angry, and it surprised her that she mattered so much. They were friends, on some level, and lovers. For now. Thinking beyond the present moment was foolish. She couldn’t let blurry thoughts of a future push her off course now.

  “I’ll have you followed,” he vowed. “If necessary, I’ll take personal time and follow you myself,” he said.

  His deliberate tone unnerved her. Thrilled her. “As long as I’m not blamed for the crime spree that follows if you are off duty trailing me.”

  “Then we’re going to go talk with Lieutenant McKellar and do this the right way.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We’re both convinced McRath is guilty.”

  “Hold on,” she said. “I’m convinced he railroaded Anna. It would be nice to know why. Nicer if he’d come clean.”

  Emmanuel snorted. “Because that’s what all good criminals do.”

  Now she did smack him lightly in the shoulder, but it counted and it made her point. “I won’t accuse him of murder without proof. The Hicks case went that way once already.”

  “Fair enough. Give me a second.”

  * * *

  After sending a text to his lieutenant as fair warning, Emmanuel led her into the station. “Let me do the talking,” he said at McKellar’s office door.

  “By all means,” she agreed. “Though this might go better if I had something to show my reasoning.”

  She had a point, but he wasn’t taking chances. There was no way he was letting her put herself out there as a target. Although she didn’t agree with his assessment, that was exactly what she was proposing.

  It was one thing to use a fake ID and a laptop that couldn’t easily be traced to her. A meeting with McRath was akin to being front and center on a shooting range. Especially if he was the man who’d trashed her condo and tried to strangle her. A detective like McRath would chew her up and spit her out before he admitted any wrongdoing.

  Why couldn’t she see what that kind of risk did to him? Why couldn’t he tell her?

  Probably because telling her now wouldn’t make any difference on this particular issue. When Pippa made up her mind, he didn’t think anything could knock her off track.

  The lieutenant glowered as Emmanuel ushered Pippa into the office. Fortunately Joe had left for the day, so that was one hurdle they could avoid for the moment. Emmanuel started the introductions, but McKellar cut him off.

  “I know who she is,” he barked. “You have five minutes, out of courtesy to your sister, Sadie.”

  “Thank you.”

  She started to speak, but Emmanuel spoke over her. “We have reason to believe Anna Wentworth is innocent.”

  McKellar gave a derisive snort. “Well, allow me to clear my schedule. I’m not in the mood for Mystery Theater right now.”

  “You said five minutes,” Emmanuel reminded him.

  “Use it wisely,” McKellar warned.

  Emmanuel quickly reminded him about the missing evidence box and informed him it was still gone. He listed the trouble Pippa had endured from the red tape at the prison to the garbage in her parking space. “In every instance, McRath had means and access.”

  “Any proof? Eye witness, surveillance, anything?” He didn’t give them a chance to answer. “Even if you’re right, what do you want me to do? Other than free your client,” he said with a glare for Pippa.

  “Not you, sir. Me,” she said. “I would like to set up a meeting with McRath to discuss the case.”

  “To accuse him of what?”

  “I suspect he tampered with evidence, particularly the brooch found under the body,” she said. “But I have no intention of making any accusations. My approach would be as an attorney convinced my client is innocent and interviewing the lead detective simply to gain insight and information.”

  “Back it up,” McKellar said, wagging a finger. “The brooch?”

  “Yes, sir. Based on my review of the case files, Sergeant McRath is the only person at the scene who went into the house, particularly Anna’s suite. He is the only person who had time to remove the item and plant it under the body.”

  “Good grief, you believe that.” McKellar rubbed his temples. “If you approach a decorated detective, he’ll see it as a personal attack, an attempt to undo his hard work.”

  “Detective Iglesias has warned me o
f the same thing.”

  “You haven’t given me a reason to agree to this interview.”

  “Lieutenant, I’ve known Anna Wentworth for most of my life. As a friend of the family, I can give you a host of reasons why she didn’t kill Hicks, but the most compelling is her passion for her jewelry. There is no way she would’ve left that piece behind.”

  “And you?” McKellar turned on him. “Why are you suddenly so cooperative with the enemy of your hard work?”

  He winced at the choice of words, but answered quickly. “If an innocent woman is in jail because I misread the scene, that’s a mistake that needs to be rectified.” He took a deep breath. “I have documentation of Joe’s presence in the evidence room between Pippa’s review of the Wentworth case and the day I discovered the case was missing. In addition, I suspect Joe was the man who attacked Pippa in her bed a few nights ago.”

  McKellar swore. “I was told there wasn’t any conclusive evidence of the intruder’s identity.”

  “I’ve trained with him for too many years not to know how he moves in a fight,” Emmanuel said. He hated to implicate a partner and friend. A mentor he’d admired and learned from. “I wanted to come to you with more, especially a motive, but Pippa is concerned that Anna is at risk in prison.”

  The lieutenant swore again.

  “My primary goal is to wrangle a confession that he tampered with evidence,” Pippa said. “That should help me overturn the conviction.”

  “And if he does, I’m up against, it and the entire department will be overrun as we review every case he ever handled.”

  “I’m not minimizing what this could do,” she said. “But an innocent woman is in prison for a crime she did not commit. Love or hate Anna Wentworth, she’s not a killer.”

  McKellar rocked back in his chair. It didn’t escape Emmanuel’s notice that they had been granted an extra five minutes. “How is Wentworth at risk?”

  “She’s managed to start taking RevitaYou,” Emmanuel said.

  “How in the hell?” McKellar waved his hand. “Never mind. Prison reform isn’t my priority today. You,” he pinned Pippa with a hard look. “You cannot do this without backup.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Emmanuel was a little jealous that she acquiesced to the lieutenant so easily.

  “On top of that,” McKellar continued. “I’ll lead the backup team. If one of my detectives confesses to any kind of crime, I want to hear it firsthand. You’ll wear a wire, provided by my technicians. Go set your meeting,” he said.

  “And if he chooses somewhere private,” Emmanuel asked.

  “Then he’s a fool,” the lieutenant replied. “He’ll want somewhere public if we’re lucky. Somewhere remote if we’re really lucky.”

  Seeing she was about to ask more questions, Emmanuel stood. “Thank you for your time, Lieutenant.” He let Pippa add her thanks, and then he hustled her out of the office and straight out of the building. His heart was pounding. “Success,” he said at her ear.

  She stopped at the bottom of the steps. “You expected him to shoot me down.”

  He sighed; there was no easy way to do this, not with her. “No. I expected him to do the right thing.”

  “And he did,” she said.

  “Looks that way.” He wanted to kiss her more than he wanted his next breath. “You need to get home.” Wanting her to get there safely, he walked her to her car. “Sorry if I got a little tense about this.”

  “I understand.” She flipped her car keys around her finger. “We can’t leave an innocent woman in prison.”

  “No, we can’t.” He shoved his hand into his pocket, for fear that he would handcuff her and hide her away until he could get McRath on his terms. “I just want you safe.”

  “I don’t want you taking chances either,” she said. “But this is necessary.”

  She was right—they had exhausted all other options. “Together we’ll get through it.”

  “I like the sound of that,” she said.

  He wished he didn’t care so much. His life was simpler before she’d turned him inside out. Now she was rooted deep in his soul. It was uncomfortable. He always thought falling in love was supposed to be a beautiful, nurturing thing. He should just tell her. He would, when he knew how to give her the words without her believing it was a way to manipulate her.

  He didn’t want the truest feelings he’d ever had to be mixed up in a case he’d already botched. “Drive safe,” he said. “I won’t be far behind you.”

  She smiled, giving his hand a warm squeeze. In the past he might have appreciated her reluctance to confirm their physical relationship. Now that discretion cast a glaring light, making everything between them feel all wrong.

  “I want to kiss you,” he said when she settled behind the wheel of her car.

  “I want that too.” A sassy grin transformed her face from serious attorney to sexy girlfriend. “I’ll keep you posted.”

  He knew she would. Pippa was a woman of her word.

  “How does Italian sound for dinner?” she asked.

  “Sounds great. I’ll pick it up when I’m done here.”

  “Oh.” She toyed with her keys again. “I thought I would cook.”

  “Seriously? Can’t wait.” That gave him something wonderful to look forward to. If she wanted to cook for him, chances were good she wasn’t about to dump him for being overprotective. “Let me bring dessert.”

  “Éclairs?”

  “We’ll see.”

  Returning to his desk wasn’t easy when he wanted to follow her and shield her from every threat, seen or unseen. That wasn’t how things got done in his world. She was strong and smart, and he trusted her even if he didn’t trust her enemies.

  Throwing himself into the last few things on his to-do list, he picked up the phone to return a call from FBI agent Cooper Winston. “Give me some good news,” he said when Winston answered. “Have you heard anything more on Wes Matthews?”

  Brody had told them that Matthews had been the banker taking cash transfers from the RevitaYou investors. But the man had seemingly disappeared into thin air, like the Toxic Scientist, and all law enforcement agencies were trying to track him down.

  “No such luck,” Winston said. “I was letting you know he hasn’t turned up in or around Grand Rapids. For that matter, he hasn’t been spotted anywhere in Michigan. We did get a couple of reported sightings in the Caribbean. I have local law enforcement down there checking out those tips.”

  “Offshore banking must be good work if you can get it,” Emmanuel said.

  “No kidding,” Winston agreed. “Don’t worry. We’re not letting this one fall through the cracks.”

  “Then we’re all on the same page.” Emmanuel updated his case notes after the call. He figured it would take a real team effort to reel in all of the moving pieces in the sprawling RevitaYou scam.

  Finally he was leaving the station, and he sent a text to Pippa to let her know. He got a quick reply, which put a smile on his face. He stopped at the restaurant and picked up the tiramisu he’d ordered to round out the Italian meal she had planned to make. And after dinner, he could hardly wait to stay over again.

  That served his purposes on two levels, loving her and protecting her.

  He was only a few blocks from her condo when his cell phone rang, and the connection in his car announced the district attorney’s phone number. Would this day never end? He answered with the hands-free option. “Detective Iglesias.”

  “You at a point where you can talk?” the DA asked.

  “It’s just you and me on this end.”

  “I just got the word that Gunther Johnson is willing to make a deal.”

  “No kidding?” That was phenomenal news. And a huge break for the case. “What’s he demanding?” Emmanuel asked.

  “He’ll give a sworn statem
ent about the name of the Capital X kingpin in exchange for a new identity and specific privileges that include a personal television and a down pillow.”

  Emmanuel was impressed. He’d underestimated Johnson. “He’s thought it through. A new name means no one can call him a snitch in prison. That’s one way to stay alive.”

  “Can’t fault his logic,” the DA agreed. “I guarantee, when this information gets out, it will set Grand Rapids on its ear.”

  Emmanuel couldn’t wait to hear, but he couldn’t ask. If the district attorney wasn’t sharing details, it was because he didn’t have it in writing yet. “Thanks for the call.” He couldn’t wait to tell Pippa that there was good news and positive momentum on the Capital X case.

  Parking in front of her building, it was second nature to look around, scanning the area for any threat. So far all clear, which made him wonder if she’d set the meeting yet. At her door, he entered his code and walked in, announcing himself.

  The rich scent of tomato sauce and spicy sausage brought his appetite to the fore.

  Pippa came out of the kitchen and slipped into his arms, greeting him with a kiss that set his blood humming. It reminded him of his parents returning to each other at the end of a day and, in that one moment, forgetting everything but each other.

  “I could get used to this,” he teased, his free hand gliding over her waist.

  “Careful.” She smiled. “Dinner on the table every night when you walk in isn’t something you can count on from me.”

  “Well, to be fair, having me home at the same time every night isn’t something you should count on either.” But he wanted to come home to her, whatever time, and walk into the heat of her kisses and the quiet peace of a place they shared.

  He really should tell her how he felt.

  Instead, he settled in to enjoy the wonder of a normal night with an amazing woman. If she got a confession out of Joe, she might not need Emmanuel around for protection anymore. As much as he wanted to close this case, to get the right person behind bars for the death of Hicks, he felt a twinge deep in his chest. What if the closed case meant the end of his time with Pippa?