Hit and Run
Page 15
Chapter 33
TEE PULLED INTO THE parking lot at the emergency entrance, surprised there weren’t more vehicles. In Chicago a snowstorm meant more fender benders and worse, so the ER filled up fast and she’d been at her share of roadside tragedies. Maybe South Bend drivers played it smarter, rather than taking inclement weather for a macho dare.
In the back seat, Karma sat up straight and arched her neck. She offered a happy grumble-growl, wriggling in the seat, probably hoping to go inside, too. Tee met the dog’s expressive brown eyes in the mirror, and shook her head. Immediately, Karma whined and stood up, pawing at the door in argument.
“You’re still wet, honey-girl. And I don’t think the hospital staff would appreciate paw-tracks muddying up the place. Next time, okay?” She’d like to take the dog with her. As a K9 officer, Karma would be accepted in many parts of the hospital. But Tee wanted staff to willingly cooperate and grant access, not antagonize them with an unwelcome dog, especially since the Rottie’s protection skills weren’t needed. Karma couldn’t bite a virus, or guard against infection, after all.
Her knees protested as she left the car. Tee hurried to the entrance carrying the accordion file. At the information desk, Tee presented her credentials and asked for directions to Charlie’s room. Prepared to argue, Tee had to bite back the sharp words ready on her tongue when she instead received directions. She punched the floor button, then leaned against the elevator wall, surprised the movement prompted the small space to spin. For a long moment after the doors opened, Tee stood with her eyes closed, willing herself to hang on. She hadn’t eaten in a while. Just low blood sugar. She headed out of the elevator with purpose, but her steps faltered at Detective Steele’s expression.
He met her at the ward desk. “What’re you doing here? I got a call from your superior. You’re supposed to be on your way back to Chicago.”
Her headache flared, probably in response to a spike in blood pressure, but she kept her tone even. “First train in the morning. Detective Redford said I should give you these, first.” She set the accordion file on the counter, then grabbed the edge to steady her balance. She nodded down the hallway. “Have you talked to her yet?” She leaned against the wall, surprised she needed the support.
“No, still waiting for them to bring Charlie back from X-rays for her head and arm. Hoping she’s not too doped up to answer some questions.” He stared at her flushed face. “You don’t look so hot yourself.”
She pushed away from the wall, determined to push through the dizzy spell. She couldn’t appear weak, not in front of Steele. “I’m fine. Just need to eat something.”
“What’s that?” He eyed the file but didn’t touch it.
“Records from Sissie Turpin’s house. Your team left it behind, didn’t think it pertained. But there’s a connection.” She filled him in.
He shook his head. “I don’t get it. So what, Turpin sold a bunch of cats, and one happened to belong to your dog trainer friend. But that’s from years ago, right?” His smile was condescending. “Sometimes a coincidence is just that.” His phone rang, and he turned his back to answer.
Tee seethed, but tamped down her impulse to respond. She’d learned the hard way to choose her battles. She got it. Steele didn’t care about decades-old history when he had two recent deaths to investigate. She comforted herself with the fact he believed—or at least wanted to hear more from—Charlie. Even without the coincidental cat placement, the connection begged a deeper look.
Down the hall, an orderly in a mask and a nurse wheeled a gurney into view. Tee straightened, bracing herself against the counter when the room threatened to spin. Damn, maybe she picked up a bug. “Hey, Detective Steele, that’s Charlie back from X-ray.” She saw the small figure stir and raise one hand in feeble greeting before being wheeled into the distant room.
Steele turned back to her, still deep in conversation on the phone, but quickly disconnected. “I’ve got to go. Explosion and fire, looks like arson, over at a Judge Southgate’s house.” He scowled as the nurse and orderly exited Charlie’s room. “I still need to talk to the girl, dammit.” He gestured with the phone. “I got no choice, it’s a command performance. The victims are friends of the mayor.”
“I already have a rapport with Charlie. I can question her now and fill you in by phone. Or when you have the time.” She bounced on her toes, then added quickly, “Sir.” And waited
The nurse approached and looked up from her electronic tablet. She nodded to Detective Steele. “She’s been sedated, so keep it short. She’s got a concussion, bloody nose we cauterized, and a dislocated shoulder we reset. She needs rest.”
Steele took off and polished his glasses, staring at Tee as the nurse walked away. “You want in on the investigation that bad?”
“That’s why I’m here. Yes sir, absolutely.” She smiled and leaned forward, but then killed the expression, not wanting him to think badly of her eagerness.
He checked his phone again and with a muffled curse stuck it back in his pocket. “Okay, Teves. I’ll smooth things over with Redford for the delay, but then you’re done. Find out what this girl knows, get a description of the guy, record anything she heard, and call me. Immediately. Got it?”
She nodded, but he’d already grabbed the accordion file and was quickly striding to the elevators. Tee almost ran to the room and knocked. Without waiting for an answer, Tee pushed into the room. “Charlie, feel like talking? I’m Officer Teves, the one who found you in the car.”
The man in scrubs startled and backed slowly away from the girl’s bed. The IV lines swayed when he released them and he adjusted his mask, but turned away before he spoke, voice gravelly. “She needs rest. Go away.” He scribbled notes on the wipe-off board on the wall.
“The nurse down the hall said she could talk.” Tee glanced at Charlie and raised one eyebrow.
Charlie blinked slowly, still groggy from sedation. A large purpling bruise colored her brow. They’d cleaned up most of her bloody nose and stitched up the laceration in her shoulder, but crusty rust marks trailed down her neck. “I can talk. I want to talk.” Charlie twisted to answer the tall gowned figure, but he stood just out of her field of vision. “My arm doesn’t hurt now. They gave me some good drugs before the X-ray, then popped it back into place. Really good drugs.” She giggled. Her loopy smile and slurred words surely stemmed from the medication.
He didn’t turn around, but nodded agreement. He continued to make notes.
“Excuse us, please. This is a police investigation.” Tee straightened, surreptitiously bracing herself against the door frame when another dizzy spell threatened to take her to the floor. Her head pounded. “Any chance I could get some aspirin?”
He didn’t pause on his way across the room, but she recoiled at his bright red complexion. She must have really gotten under his skin—literally. Maybe she’d ask at the nurse’s station for aspirin before she left. Or coffee. Maybe both. Tee waited until he’d left the room before she pulled a small rolling chair to Charlie’s bedside. “How’re you feeling? Is there someone I can call?”
Charlie grinned again, but her eyes welled and lips trembled. “Like I said, the pain’s not too bad. There’s nobody to call. Not since Sissie’s gone.” She hiccupped before taking a steadying breath. “She treated me nice. Was going to help me with...with stuff.”
The comment spoke volumes. Grabbing a tissue, Tee offered it to the girl. Charlie took it with her good hand. “I need to ask about what happened. Take your time, okay? I’m going to take some notes and also record your statement so there’s no misunderstanding.” When Charlie nodded, Tee set her phone on the nearby rolling tray and set it to record. “This is Officer Tee Teves, taking a statement from Charlie Cider...” She raised her eyebrows, prompting a response.
“Well, it’s Charlotte, but nobody calls me that.” She dabbed her eyes again.
“Okay, Charlie. What’s your relationship to Sissie Turpin?”
Licking her lips, Charlie’s eyes dart
ed around before meeting Tee’s. “I met her at a cat show. Sissie gave me a place to stay and I helped her out with the cats. That’s all.”
“So you’re not related?”
“Heck, no.” Charlie jutted her chin, defiant. “We helped each other, that’s all. There’s no law against that.”
Tee smiled. “No law against friends helping each other.” She guessed that Charlie’s relatives, if any, didn’t rate highly on the “nice” scale. They’d figure that out later. The traumatized girl witnessed a murder, survived an attack and wreck, and needed some space. Even so, Charlie seemed remarkably steady after all she’d been through. “So what happened last night? Tell me in your own words.”
Charlie shrugged, then winced and clutched her injured shoulder with her good hand. “Like always, I cleaned out the cat area before going to bed. You know, scooped poop, picked up toys, swept up litter, and dished out food. They get special canned food at night. The cats love that. Anyway, I heard the doorbell ring. Sissie went to answer. At first I didn’t pay any attention.”
“When did you notice something was wrong?
“Sissie yelled. An argument of some kind.” Charlie wrinkled her nose. “I couldn’t make out the words at first, but then she yelled again, told him to leave.”
“What was the argument about?” Tee spoke softly, the way she’d talk to a spooked horse. Charlie seemed reluctant to share any details, either hiding information from fear or something else. “You’re safe here, you know.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before.” Charlie muttered, then looked away before she continued. “Look, the argument made no sense. Something about computer records he wanted. She ran a bookkeeping business, did taxes, too. Personal and private information. So it wasn’t hers to share, ya know?” She glared at Tee as though expecting an argument. “Sissie was a good person. She wanted to protect her clients. That’s all. But he wouldn’t listen.” Her lip trembled again, and she cleared her throat.
“What happened? Charlie, you’re not in any trouble.” Tee leaned closer. “You wanted to help Sissie, right?”
Charlie nodded, and gulped back tears. “He slapped her around, but nothing serious. I couldn’t see him, but I could tell, even through the door.”
Tee’s throat tightened. Getting slapped around wasn’t serious in Charlie’s world. Degrees of abuse. Yeah, she could relate.
Tee slammed shut the door on her own memories, suddenly wishing she’d brought Karma along. The dog kept the demons at bay. She stuck one hand in her pocket to finger the ever-present seashells. “You heard the guy pressuring Sissie to give up computer records?” Tee pressed her fingernails into her clenched fist, wishing she had something sharper to break the skin. Just a little, that’s all.
“Yeah. Sissie’s tough, though. She had a hard life, too, and knew how to survive. She wouldn’t let a few slaps risk ruining her business.” She hesitated, then added, “I mean, I don’t know her clients, or anything. But word gets around. She gives up one customer and everyone else cuts her lose. Right?”
“Charlie, are you sure you don’t know anything specific about Sissie’s clients?” Tee yanked her hand out of her pocket to clutch the blanket on the edge of the bed, feeling dizzy again. “It’s important.”
The girl looked everywhere but at Tee. “It’s my fault she’s dead. All my fault. I didn’t mean it.” She whispered, “My family always said I was poison. Now look what happened.”
Squaring her shoulders, Tee straightened in the chair. “I can’t help you without knowing what happened, Charlie. But you didn’t kill Sissie. And you couldn’t stop it. You’re not in trouble for that. I promise.” She grasped the girl’s hand. “Why do you think it’s your fault?”
“Because I took the computer files, the thumb drive. Sissie finally told him about the backups so he’d stop hurting her. But I already took them, figured I’d hide them away and she’d thank me later. I didn’t know he’d kill her!” She sobbed. “And then he came after me, and I had to run, and oh God poor Sherlock, he’ll hate me now...”
Sherlock? “Charlie, slow down, I don’t understand. You have the computer drives with the files?” Redford would be over the moon.
“One of Sissie’s cats, that’s Sherlock. He’s kind of my special boy, my favorite, like a big white teddy bear.” She blinked, pulling her hand away to wipe her eyes. “I hope he’s okay. He’s got the thumb drive.” She wiped her eyes. “What’ll happen to the cats? You’ve got to find Sherlock, he’s not used to being outside, especially in all this snow.”
“Wait. A cat has the computer files?” Tee stood so quickly, the wheeled chair spun across the floor and bounced off the wall. She remembered luring all the cats into their labeled spaces in the cattery, but didn’t recall a white one—and Sherlock’s kennel was empty.
“He grabbed onto my shoulders so I looped the string around his neck to keep it safe. But then Sherlock got scared and bolted out of my car.” Charlie’s sobs increased. “He saved me, he fought him off, maybe even bit him.” She smiled through her tears at that, then blubbered. “I had to leave Sherlock behind.”
“Calm down. Calm down, Charlie. Hey, it’s okay.” She looked around, wondering what to do. “Wait, I’ll call for help.” Tee hurried to open the door, just in time to see the flush-faced nurse striding away down the hall. Perfect, just when you need ‘em, they leave.
“Can you find him?” Charlie’s sobs increased. “He trusted me, and I r-r-ran out on him.” Her final words escalated into near hysterics, perhaps the shock finally registering.
Tee rushed back to Charlie’s bedside and pressed the call button. She made soothing noises until someone came, before grabbing her phone and leaving the room. She rode the elevator back to the lobby and called Steele as she walked to the car.
“Cats again? Just shoot me already.” Steele’s disgust easily carried over the phone. “I’m tied up here for the foreseeable future. Southgate’s daughter, Sharon, survived the fire, the rest are dead. It’s a mess, and the mayor’s calling for an all-hands investigation. I don’t have the time or the resources to care about a stray cat.”
Tee waited for him to breathe and spoke quickly into the breach. “I can find the cat.” She lifted her face to the icy night air. It felt good against her pounding head.
“Right, you’ve got a K9 with you. Okay, good. Find the cat, recover the files. And check in with Redford, I’ve not had a chance to brief him. If he gives you grief, he can call me.” He paused, then added gruffly, “You got a place to stay?”
“Yeah, no worries. Redford knows the trains won’t run before morning anyway.”
“Okay, call it a night. Then start early tomorrow. Once you find that cat, go home, back to Chicago. No argument.” Steele disconnected without saying goodbye.
Tee smiled as she rejoined Karma in the car. The big Rottie hadn’t been trained to track cats, but Steele didn’t specify how to do it, just authorized her to find the thumb drive. Eyes glowing, she drove to the hotel to meet September and her pet-tracking dog.
BECAUSE OF HIS SCRUBS, the clueless cop questioning the girl in the hospital room never questioned Mr. Bleak’s presence. She had prevented him taking care of the girl. Time enough to eliminate her later. She couldn’t tell them anything that could hurt him, and only knew one of his aliases, easily ditched for his next incarnation. He’d always been lucky that way.
This assignment was beginning to threaten his reputation. In his line of work, a misstep could be terminal. He’d mitigated his failure to clean up Angela’s death by terminating the judge’s family. Pleased at the outcome, his employer offered him the chance to recover the computer drive once he reported its existence, dangling a hefty bonus for delivery by morning, to sweeten the deal.
Failure wasn’t an option. He didn’t want to be on the wrong end of a clean-up operation. How long would it take to find the cat? He needed a few hours to rest, and let the plows get the roads cleared, before heading back to the bookkeeper’s house.
He’d never had a cat, but remembered reading somewhere they could see in the dark. Mr. Bleak smiled at the thought, then winced when the tugged flesh lit his scorched cheeks aflame. From his go-bag, he donned thermal-image goggles. Unlike night vision goggles that amplified existing light, these tracked anything giving off heat, and should easily flag the presence of the cat. He also readied his gun. The cat bite in the fleshy part of his left palm had swollen so much, he’d have to shoot with his other hand. Not a problem.
Until today Mr. Bleak hadn’t particularly cared one way or another for cats, or dogs for that matter. Too unpredictable. But, after being threatened, bitten on both hands, and clawed, his ambivalence toward the creatures had become active dislike. Weak minded individuals relied on pets as an emotional crutch. He had no need of emotion, or crutches of any kind. Once located, a single shot would solve all his cat problems. Not out of vengeance. Nothing so petty as that. But simply expedience. Nothing personal.
Chapter 34
“SHADOW, CHILL!” SEPTEMBER knew by his flagged tail and happy expression that the visitor at the hotel room door posed no threat. She checked the view first anyway, then opened the door.
Karma raced into the room, Tee following more slowly. September closed the door behind the smaller woman, concerned. She really didn’t look well. Practicing yoga earlier had helped her own physical and mental discomfort. “I already showered. Fresh towels on the vanity. Maybe that’ll make you feel better.”
Tee nodded. “Feeling rocky. I’ve fought a headache ever since Chicago.” She sharpened her tone to address Karma when the big Rottie discovered Macy. The cat leaped to the top of the television cabinet and stared back, perfectly poised and probably enjoying the opportunity to tease a new dog. “Settle! No roughhousing. I don’t want the department to pay for damages after they waived the pet deposit for us.”