"You make peace with your old man?"
He glanced up at the dark night sky. A few stars twinkled—the rest hidden by the light of the house and the strobe lights. "Trying."
"Worth the effort. Keep your ass down."
"You keep telling me that. Awful worried about my ass, aren't you?" Mal waited for a moment and then looked at the face of his phone. The fucker had hung up on him. He chuckled and shoved the phone into his pocket. He glanced at his watch. Where was the sheriff?
Chapter 13
Poet dropped Maliki off at his hotel as the sun was coming up. The crime scene had been processed and taped off. Doc Giles' kid was staying with friends and the doctor's body was safely transported to the hospital.
She headed to the office and trudged up the steps into the waiting area. "Hey, Faye. The sheriff make it in yet?"
Faye shook her head. "No, but Carter Hopson came in this morning—said the sheriff was taking some days off due to an emergency. Carter said the County Commissioner called him and told him he was in charge until Jim got back."
"Well that makes sense. Even though he works the other side of the county, Carter is the most senior deputy we have.” Poet leaned against the counter. "I'll go brief him."
Poet waited for Faye to hit the release button on the hall door and then ambled down the hallway. She stopped at the break room and grabbed a cup of coffee, doctoring it liberally with French Vanilla creamer. The sugar and the caffeine might help her stay awake. With the adrenaline of last night waning, she prayed they would give her a boost.
She made her way to the sheriff's office and found Carter under a pile of paperwork. "Hey."
"Hey, Poet come in, have a seat. Faye briefed me on the suicide last night. I swear this county is going crazy."
"Seems like it." She sat and took a sip of her coffee.
"I'm trying to make heads or tails out of Jim's schedule and the cases we have open."
"I looked at the rosters, they're good to go. They just need a signature." She pointed to a folder that had almost tipped off his desk.
"Good. Damn, payroll needs to be submitted. It was due three days ago and the commissioner asked me to send him the budget requests for next quarter Jim owed him last week." Carter sighed heavily.
"What the hell has he been doing?" She looked at the mess Carter was dealing with and cringed.
"I don't know, but he's going to be gone for an indefinite period of time. He couldn't give the commissioner a return date, so I'm digging in for a while." Carter held up a file. "Who is Doctor Maliki Blue? Jim has a file on him and the only thing I can understand is that the man works for Guardian."
Poet drew a deep breath and leaned forward. "Jim has been acting strangely for a long time, but lately it's gotten worse. May I shut the door and talk with you?"
Carter narrowed his eyes at her and angled his head. "I'm not going to like what I'm going to hear, am I?" Poet shook her head. "Well, shit. Shut the door and let's talk."
Poet presented the events of the last year and then detailed Maliki's involvement with Shauna's shooting and told him Maliki was the Boswells’ son.
He rubbed his face and dropped his elbows on the desktop. "Why does Jim have a file on this guy?"
"Why would Jim order me not to make contact with Doctor Blue? Why would Jim go to the Boswell estate and threaten his mother? Maliki is having Guardian upgrade the security system on the estate with armed guards."
"That's not unusual for the estates around here."
"True, but the reason they are upgrading isn't usual. Doctor Blue accompanied me to Doc Giles' house last night. He pronounced death and according to him, the physical indications contradict suicide."
Carter blinked and sat back in his chair. "This Doctor Blue believes someone killed Doc and then what, strung him up?"
"Yeah." She drank the rest of her tepid coffee.
"We need to call in the BCI, for both this case and Shauna's. I've been looking for the referral to BCI, and I can't find it. Do you know when Jim sent it in?"
"Jim refused to call BCI, but we don't need to call. Guardian is sending an investigator down today. They've been called in by the AG. They've taken over the investigation of the murders and now Doc Giles' case."
Carter lifted forward and searched the stacks of paper on Jim's desk. "I don't see any indication of that."
She put her hand on Carter's. "I did it behind Jim's back. I requested Doctor Blue's help. He briefed his superiors, and as things started to get more and more weird, they agreed to take over the investigation."
"Weird?"
"Yeah, it started back at the first murder when Jim turned in the snuff films to the BCI."
"The what?"
"He turned over a phone with links to four separate snuff films to BCI. It was found near the crime scene, but not close enough to say it belonged to the scene, you know?"
"No. I didn't know." Carter dropped back in his chair and closed his eyes. "What a fucking mess. Why didn't Jim let BCI do the investigation on the murders?"
"I wish I knew."
"When will this investigator be here?"
"Today. We were going to meet with him at the inn or at my apartment."
"Nonsense. We have the conference room here. He can set up and run his inquiries from here. If Jim comes back while the guy is here, you and I will take the ass whipping, but we're doing this the right way." Carter groaned and pointed at her. "I've got three weeks’ worth of paperwork to plow through, and you're already armpits deep in this investigation. I'm putting this on your shoulders, but I want to know what's happening. You keep me briefed, and I'll check with the investigator daily. I'm going to make a call to the AG to assure him we will fully cooperate with the Guardian investigation and let him know you're our liaison."
"That would be a good start." She yawned and shuddered. "Damn, I need more coffee, maybe an energy drink."
"Get your statement done and then get some sleep."
"Granger is bringing in the evidence. I'll help him with it, do my statement, and be around for him if he needs assistance. It's his and Dobson's case. I was there in a supervisory position. Dobson took Doc's boy to a friend's house. His ex-wife has been contacted. She's making arrangements to come pick up her son. He was here for the summer." She stood up and stretched.
"Did he leave a note?" Carter stood up, too. The man was as big as Maliki, but his sandy brown hair, slightly crooked nose, and permanent five o'clock shadow put him in the 'bad boy' category compared to Maliki's 'too sexy not to notice' classification.
"Generic. ‘Sorry and I love you.’ Not signed and found in the printer tray."
"Damn, that right there is fishy as hell."
She stopped and looked at Carter. "You know what? You'd make one hell of a sheriff."
He gave a humorless laugh. "I'm not sure the headaches would be worth the promotion. Now get out of here and take care of the night crew then all of you get some sleep. I want to meet that Guardian investigator and that doctor. Let's plan for later this afternoon after you get some shut eye."
She yawned again and grabbed her coffee cup. "You got it. I'll call and set up the meeting."
She headed down the hall, but Carter's voice halted her. "Hey, in case you haven't been told lately, damn good work, Deputy."
"Thanks, Carter. I needed that."
"Figured. Let's find out what's going down around here and clean house while we have the keys and can get the job done." Carter tapped the side of the door frame twice. A boyish grin flashed before he stepped back into Jim's office. “And while we're still gainfully employed.”
She grabbed her phone from her pocket and called Maliki.
"lo..."
"Did I wake you?"
"Ummm… I was shutting down. Still awake, but barely. What's up?"
"Jim took vacation. Some emergency. Carter Hopson is standing in for him. I told him everything, and he wants to meet you and the guy Guardian is sending down. He wanted to call in the Bureau
of Criminal Investigations about Doc Giles' case and was pretty upset that the BCI hadn't been contacted about Shauna or the other cases. He said he'd rather the Guardian guy work from our office, and he wanted to be kept apprised of the situation. He made me the department's liaison to Guardian." She chuckled. "I'm the liaison to the liaison."
Mal hummed a laugh. It was low and sleepy. "Come over and liaison with me."
God, what she wouldn't give to be in bed with him now. Not just for the sexy stuff, but sleeping next to that warm, strong body was so damn comforting, and the feeling of peace that overcame her when she was with him... perfect. "Oh, don't tempt me. I've got to do my statement and help with evidence."
"I sent you my statement already. Emailed it to you."
"Doctor Blue, you are far too efficient."
"Learned it in medical school. If you don't do your notes and charts, that shit will bury you. I do the paperwork, so I don't get smothered with it." He yawned over the last words.
She lowered her voice, "Get some sleep."
"Going to catch three or four hours then head to my parents’. I want to check on the security team and catch my dad before he starts to degrade. He's best in the morning."
She sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm keeping you away from spending time with your parents."
"Not at all. I've been gone a long time. There is some rough water between us, but we're building a bridge a little at a time. I'm being deliberate about repairing our relationship. It may never be perfect, hell for that matter, it may never be good, but we will find a way to create a peace we can all live with. Spending time with you is a respite from that turbulence."
"I get that. You're pretty cool to hang out with, too." She smiled so wide it hurt.
He yawned and softly said, "I told you, better watch it, you could fall in love with me."
Boy howdy, she could see how easily it could happen. "I can see that. Call when the investigator gets a hold of you. We'll meet here."
"Will do. You get some sleep, too."
"That's the plan. Talk to you later." She waited until he hung up and spun around smiling.
Granger stood not more than five feet behind her. "Man, I knew it. You're banging the doctor." Her coworker's shit eating grin challenged her to deny it.
"I'll be denting your head if you make a comment like that again." She nodded to the box with Doctor Giles' computer, printer, day planner, cell phone and wallet. "Ready to start logging that into evidence?"
Granger slid the box onto the large table in the corner of the office space they shared. "Coffee first, yeah?" He rolled his shoulders. "Dobson is stopping at the diner. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
"Please tell me he's getting donuts." Poet reached for a pair of latex gloves.
"A dozen, plus sausage biscuits, and jelly. I told him I'd make a fresh pot of coffee." He nodded toward the break room.
"Go, make coffee. I'll start logging this into the system. What about prints?"
"I wore gloves, so did Dobson. We got the kid’s prints to exclude and the Doc Giles’ should be on file." Granger's voice rose as he went into the break room. "Can we get the BCI's mobile crime scene techs down here to lift prints?"
"The AG has given the case to Guardian." She flipped through the day planner looking for anything obvious to snag her attention.
"Say what?" Granger was beside her, a coffee pot full of water in his hand.
"I asked Doctor Blue to look into a few things when he first showed up. Guardian has coordinated with the AG to take over a couple of the homicides and now Doc Giles' case."
Granger narrowed his eyes at her. "Why?"
"Because Doctor Blue noticed a few things that didn't add up at the crime scene." She placed the day planner back in the box with the rest of the evidence.
Granger put down the pot. "Thank God." He scrubbed his face with one hand. "Dobson and I have been talking. There was something off with those deaths. We couldn't pinpoint what the hell it was."
She snapped her mouth shut. "You didn't say anything."
"What were we going to say? Wait, did you find a tie-in? Is that why you called in Guardian?"
She shook her head and pointed to the pot of water. "Suspicions and questions only. Go make coffee. When Dobson shows up, we'll talk."
"Damn, Poet, we were sure you and the sheriff were in agreement. You didn't let on." He picked up the water and headed back into the break room.
She slid out a chair and dropped into it. No, she hadn't let on, that would have been subversive. She only had suspicions, gut feelings, no evidence. But she had questions. So many questions and with Jim acting strange, those questions had come to a head about the same time he seemed to go over the edge. She wasn't going to tell Granger or Dobson that. She'd told Maliki, but casting Jim in a bad light to his employees without solid evidence? No, she wasn't going there. Not yet. She glanced at her watch. The Guardian investigator couldn't get here soon enough.
Maliki smiled. His mother stood beside him watching the technicians Jared had sent. Old monitors were removed, new ones installed. A wireless camera system was installed at key points around the perimeter of the house. The alarm system for the house was being rewired. A portable gate shack was being unloaded at the gate and the codes for the gate had been cleared. New codes were established and given to only those in the family. The employees were listed on an entry authority listing and would be allowed entrance when they were scheduled to work. The men manning the gate would remain for a month so the security agency could recruit and train from the local area or move volunteers from other locations to Virginia.
His mother leaned toward him and whispered, "They're very industrious. Is your company always so efficient?"
"Always."
"Were you able to talk with your father? He wasn't sharp this morning when we had breakfast." She glanced at him and gave a small smile.
"He wasn't comfortable today when we spoke. Agitated and confused, but I turned on the television, and we talked about the old programs. It seemed to settle him down." Maliki watched as a technician removed an old control panel.
"Have you been able to talk with him about... that time?" She looked up at him, worry evident in her creased brow.
"We've touched on it." He didn't know how much longer his father would have even momentary clarity. The disease was relentless and even with meds pushing it back, the end was inevitable. His father was a trained physician. He knew his prognosis. Perhaps that was why his old man was trying to repair the past. Knowledge of impending death had a way of leveling pride, tearing down differences, and balancing regrets against actions. The more he sat with his father, the more he realized that the great man, the surgeon, a titan in his profession, was just a scared human.
"He's trying." She slipped her hand through his arm.
"I know. He wants to make amends, but in reality, there are none to make. Changing anything in my life would change where I am today. And yes, I'd give anything to repair my relationship with him––"or save the men of Foxtrot company "–– but changing my past would change who I am today. The man I have become is who I want to be even though I'm not quite sure about a path forward."
"Path forward?" His mom smiled at him. "Are you considering staying, going into the practice?"
He covered her hand with his. "No, I can't see myself working in the practice, but Guardian has presented me with a few opportunities over the last year or so. I may take a chance and try something new." He'd been offered The Rose as a place to hide and heal. The massive training facility didn't really need him, and now that he'd healed and licked his wounds, what was next? He sighed. The Rose wasn't for him anymore. He could go back and complete the training to become a part of a team of operatives, but during the time he'd been here, he'd rediscovered his true purpose and first love was in fact medicine, not the teams.
His phone vibrated. He retrieved it and glanced at the screen. "Excuse me, I should take this."
"Of cours
e, dear. I'll stay and watch the activity. It's rather exciting." Her gaze bounced from person to person.
He chuckled and headed into the library, shutting the door behind him. "Blue."
"Doctor Blue? Asher Hudson. I'm about an hour outside of town. I need to check into my hotel and call in to Guardian before we get together. There are several loose ends to tie up on the case I left yesterday. Can we meet, perhaps, for dinner?"
"I'd suggest we meet at five at the sheriff’s office."
There was a pause. "I thought we were persona non grata at the sheriff's office."
"Did Jared brief you on the ME's apparent suicide?"
"The one you don't believe is a suicide, yes."
"Well, the sheriff never showed up at the crime scene. This morning, the deputy who reported all these anomalies was told the sheriff went on vacation. Some kind of emergency. The deputy acting as interim sheriff wants us there and wants to be involved."
"That will help. The body should have been picked up this morning from the hospital. Guardian's ME is doing the autopsy. We should have preliminary information by tonight. I've got Cyber doing background checks, and we're pulling electronic footprints for all the decedents. I have an associate coming down in a couple days’ time, and we'll re-interview everyone on each case, get the new medical data and run the backgrounds the way they should have been run. Is the crime scene from last night protected?"
"Yes. It's locked up." He'd watched Poet and Granger secure the home and seal all the doors with crime scene tape.
"I'll want to go there before the meeting with the sheriff. Not doubting your intuition, but I want to immerse myself in the middle of the case, see what you saw. I'll need to talk to the deputies and the person who found him. That was the son, right?"
"Yes. The kid was broken up. He's staying with friends."
"Evidence collected?"
"The deputies on scene did the best they could. None of them are investigators. Normally, the BCI is contacted and responds."
"But the sheriff has muzzled his deputies, and now we have jurisdiction."
Maliki (Guardian Defenders Book 2) Page 18