by W L Knightly
“Oh, I don’t want you to have to leave,” said Leigh.
Jo waved it off with a nervous laugh. “It’s no big deal. Trust me. I’ll just go and check on things up front.” She ran out like her ass was on fire, and Jake was left feeling like he was on a chopping block. A lamb to the slaughter. He wasn’t sure what Leigh wanted, but by the looks of her, it was possibly a different kind of session.
She gave him a pouty look, and her chest stuck out farther than usual as she swayed her hips and closed the distance between them. “I’m sorry I came down. I guess I could have just called.”
“It’s okay. What did you need?” He hoped she wasn’t going to try and get in his brain right there and then, but when she shut the door and stepped closer still, he had a feeling it was more than his head she wanted to get into.
“I just wanted to make sure you’re holding up okay. I know losing the chief has to be tough on you. I just thought that maybe you’d need someone. I’m here for you, Jake.” She smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. “You know, to talk to? I’d like to ease you if I could be of help.”
She ended up close enough to kiss, and he was a bit confused as to why she didn’t bother calling, especially if she wanted to fuck. “Nah, I’m okay, really. I mean, yeah, it’s tough, but I don’t blame myself or anything. Chief O’Connor was buried deep in this mess. His past caught up to him before I could stop it.”
She raked her hand through his hair. “I know that he would like for you to have continued to see me, Jake.”
“The case is heating up, Leigh. I—”
She put her finger on his lips. “I’ve been thinking,” she said as she let her finger glide across his lips. “Maybe we should just do dinner or something informal? Since you don’t like my usual sessions.”
“Are you asking me out on a date?”
“Maybe, or just for a bit of fun. It doesn’t have to lead to anything or be serious. Unless I wasn’t as off-base as you made me feel about your feelings for your partner.” She gestured over her shoulder toward the door as if Jo was still standing there. Jake hoped she wasn’t.
The truth was, he didn’t know if he would be wasting his time refusing Leigh Meadows. She was a very attractive woman who seemed ambitious enough to get what she wanted, while Jo had made it clear there wasn’t going to be anything between them. “You weren’t, but that doesn’t mean there’s anything there to act on.”
She put her arms around his neck. “What about here? There’s plenty to act on right here. Don’t you think?”
“I’m afraid that’s all it would be for me, Leigh. An act.” He wanted her to tell him that was okay with her. He was fine having nothing special and a lot of release with Leigh. It was better than nothing at all. And maybe it would help him. So, when her shoulder came up and she gave him a look like she didn’t care, he leaned in and brought his lips to hers.
They kissed much deeper, and soon, he took her in his arms and put her against the wall as she lifted her leg up around his waist. He closed his eyes, and his hips ground against her as she threw her head back and smiled.
“I can’t tell you how badly I’ve wanted this,” she said. “I just thought O’Connor would kill me if I made a serious move.”
“He can’t do anything about it now, can he?” Jake wasn’t trying to be insensitive, but he was caught up in the moment. He dipped his head and kissed the top of her breasts, cupping them through her shirt. His hard cock pressed against her hip, and he pulled away reluctantly knowing he couldn’t go too far. “Shit. We need to stop before I spread you across the table.” He looked into her eyes, which were smoldering with passion. “Later?”
She smirked. “I agree, though I wouldn’t be opposed. Call me.” She started to kiss him again, but he pulled away.
“I can’t do this, Leigh. I mean, I want to, but my heart’s not in it. I’m fucked up enough without fucking my shrink.”
She looked down between them. “I think it might be just the kind of therapy you need, Jake.”
He felt a sinking feeling inside. It would be the easy way to just fuck the first woman who showed him some attention after Jo’s rejection, but it didn’t feel right being with Leigh. Not only did he have to work close to her, but he had to work with Jo when it all fell apart. He’d rather not make things difficult for a fleeting fuck.
“The office is open until five, and if you change your mind and decide you want to hook up, you can call me. We could make arrangements for the night. Maybe you’d sleep better in my bed?” Her hand went down and cupped his hard cock. “It’s so hard for me. I so want to get a hold of it.”
He looked down into her eyes. “You really don’t want this. You think you do, but you don’t.” He didn’t want anything to get crazy or romantic, and he had a feeling the woman wouldn’t settle for less once she got him in her grips.
“I do, and don’t go trying to talk me out of it. You know you want it. You might say one thing, Jake, but your body is saying another.” She leaned in and captured his mouth for another long kiss, which he didn’t protest. After a moment, she pulled away and then wiped her finger across his lips. With a wink, she turned and opened the door.
Jake walked her out and found Jo in the hallway with Sam. Both of them wore a look of surprise when Leigh walked out. Meadows walked down the hall and disappeared.
Jo’s expression turned pale, and Jake’s cock went limp, knowing he’d upset her.
He wished Sam had understood what was going on a little better. “Damn, old boy. You sure look flustered. You should wipe that lipstick off your face before Milner sees it.”
Jo cleared her throat as Jake went pale and wiped his mouth. “Sam was just telling me about the stakeout on the house,” she said. “Madden hasn’t been back home.”
“Yeah, they finally cut me loose from out there. Dang, man. I didn’t know you and Dr. Meadows were into each other.”
“Let it go, Sam. There’s nothing between us.” Way to think with your dick, asshole. He suddenly felt like an ass, like what he had wanted five seconds ago in his office with Meadows was not only wrong but a big mistake. He shouldn’t have let it go as far as it did.
“If that were true, you wouldn’t have the lipstick on your face,” said Jo. She waved her hand like she didn’t want to go down that road with him. “But back to business.” She gave Sam a hard look. “He was just telling me that they went down into the basement.”
Jake looked at him like he’d lost his mind.
Sam held up his hand in a defensive way. “Don’t get pissed off at me. It’s that fucking Lang. He found out there was a way in and decided to go plundering. I had to go in after him. I thought I’d mention it in case you wanted to do something about it. I told him to stay out, and I went ahead and secured the door.”
“We have to have an official warrant. All I need him to do is keep his eyes on the fucking house in the meantime.” He let out a breath and couldn’t believe Lang, but then, he’d done the same thing. “Well? Did you find anything?”
“Yeah, there’s a broken beam down in the basement. And get this. There was a child’s drawing of the Hangman game. The word was ‘Cat’.”
“His little girl probably played the game with him.” Jake thought about the broken beam. “Maybe that’s where he hung Clay White.”
“Maybe,” said Jo. Her tone was clipped, and she wouldn’t look at him. “But we have to go find Preston. He’s finally back in town, and unless another body shows up, he’s the next on our list of suspected victims.”
Sam winced. “Wow, I’ve known that man for years. I haven’t ever known him to be a bad person.”
“It only takes one act against the Hangman to sign his death warrant, I guess.” So far, that was the only thing that had worked against O’Connor. One tiny indiscretion. He hoped the Hangman regretted it in some way. His last letter made him seem almost apologetic.
“I guess.” Sam got another goofy grin on his face as he stepped away. “I’ll see you l
ater, buddy. Oh, hey, did you want to go down to the bar tonight? There’s a tournament happening at eight, and I could use you on my team.”
“Darts or billiards?” He had played both but not a tournament in some time.
“Darts.” He tossed an imaginary dart as Jake made a face. “At least come see me?”
“I might come out. I don’t know.” It would sure keep him out of trouble with Jo when it came to Leigh.
Jo stood looking bored and seemed relieved when Sam finally walked away. “Now, could we please check on Preston? While you’re making plans for your social life, a man’s life is in danger.”
“Unless the Hangman nabbed him as soon as he and his wife got off the plane, I highly doubt it.”
He could tell the day was going to be long, and it got even longer when the chief stuck her head out of her office down the hall and waved them in. “Come on in, detectives,” she said. “It’s time you catch me up to speed.”
Jake and Jo exchanged a look and headed into the office.
Chapter 15
Jake
He held his breath as they walked into Chief Milner’s office and hoped to hell he’d wiped off all of the lipstick on his face. He didn’t want the woman to think any of it belonged to Jo, and he knew Jo would appreciate that too.
Chief Milner walked around her desk and welcomed them in. “Have a seat, you two. I know things have been developing with the Hangman case, and I wanted to talk to you about that. I’m afraid with Patrick’s death, I’ve been a little bit distracted and in my head.” She waited for them to sit and then sat down.
Jake thought of how she’d all but confessed that she and the chief had an affair, and he’d even done her job by calling Callie O’Connor to tell her of the chief’s death. “Well, we have our murderer’s name. We’re looking for him, but there seems to be a bit of problem finding him in our system.”
Jo cleared her throat. “We think that Judge Mathews might have had most of the records hidden or destroyed pertaining to the man.”
“Why would he do that?” Milner seemed confused with her brows pinched together.
“It will all be in our case file,” said Jake, not wanting to give out too much for fear they’d be there all day. “But just know that we’re seeking a warrant for a search on the farmhouse residence of Kellen Madden. I have men watching it, and I need to get in there right away. It’s the known location belonging to our man.”
“I’ll see what I can do to expedite that. There’s a new judge taking Mathews’s place. His name is Tate Bodin. He’s just transferred in. I used to work with him a few years ago, and I’m sure he’ll get right on this.” Jake caught the implication that he’d get right on it because he was new and eager to impress everyone, which was fine with Jake.
“We’re also going to talk to Preston.” Jo glanced at Jake as if he might have something to say.
“Did you finally reach him?”
Jo shook her head. “No, he won’t call us. But we’re going in regardless. I don’t want to sit on our hands and have him end up dead.”
“I agree. Who else is on the list?” Milner glanced between the two of them as if it were a contest of who would speak next.
Jake knew it was time to step in. “I’ll get that list to you later, too.”
Jo gave him a strange look not understanding why he was leaving Milner out of the loop. “Could you call about that warrant?” she asked. “I’d like to get there before the end of the day.”
“I’ll call him now.” She picked up the phone, and after a few seconds, she sat up in her chair and greeted the person on the other side. “Hello, this is Chief Carla Milner. I’d like to speak with Judge Bodin please?” She waited as the person on the other end of the line said their piece. “He’s not? When will he be back in?” She let out a long breath. “I see. Thank you.” She hung up the phone and turned her attention back to them. “Well, he’s out of the office. He is supposed to be back from his swearing-in ceremony, and then I can reach him. Looks like it could be later this evening with all of the festivities. I promise I’ll keep on it, and you’ll for sure have it first thing in the morning.”
Jo sank in her seat. “Okay. We’ll have to keep an officer on the site. I don’t want it to be left unattended. He’s probably waiting for someone to leave.”
“Have our man back off a bit,” said Jake. “Let’s see if he or anyone else surfaces. Maybe park the unit down the street or have someone drop the officer off.”
“I like that idea,” said the chief. “Put two men on it. I don’t want just one man. Especially overnight.” Jake had already had one man there overnight, but he wasn’t sure why she didn’t know that. She seemed lost, and while it wasn’t uncommon to have a frazzled chief, he couldn’t help but think it had more to do with her missing O’Connor than anything else.
“We should go try to get with Preston before it gets too late,” said Jo. She was trying her hardest to lead the investigation, and Jake felt like throwing her a bone.
“Fine, let’s go to the man’s house. Then we’ll know for sure if he’s back in town.”
“Keep me posted. If I need to put someone on his tail, let me know. I can do that too.”
“I’m thinking I need to be the one to do that, but let me talk to him first.” He had a pretty good idea the old man was not going to be happy and wouldn’t want him tailing him anywhere.
As they left the office, Jo stepped up beside Jake and gave him a nudge. “What the hell was that all about?” They went to the office, and she grabbed her purse from her bottom drawer, which he could tell had been cleaned out.
“That was me not showing all of our cards. I don’t want her to know everything because as soon as she does, she’ll try to take control of what we do and when we do it. Trust me. I know how this game is played.”
“Yeah, I believe it. You keep reminding me of how experienced you are.” She rolled her eyes and followed him out of the office and down the hall.
Once they got back out front, he saw Dannie talking to Sam. The two looked like they were lost deep in each other’s eyes, but the passion between them looked more like anger. “Sam,” called Jake, hoping to get his friend out of a tense situation. “I need to talk to you.”
“What is it?” he asked.
“They’re going to need two on the overnight. You might want to warn the boys and give them the heads-up.”
“Shit, most of the guys are going to be at the tournament.” Sam’s shoulders slumped with disappointment.
“I know. That’s why I’m warning you. You should figure out who you don’t need off the reserve schedule, and don’t let Milner go choosing or it might be you.”
“Fuck, glad you said something.” He started away and spun around to walk backward. “Hey man, thanks. I’ll see you tonight.”
“No problem.” He walked toward the door, and Jo, who had stopped to wait while he made his exchange with Sam, followed him out.
“What was that about?” asked Jo, looking back toward Sam as he ducked into the lounge.
Jake continued out to the parking lot. “Always give the guys a heads-up when the chief might call in an extra hand. They have families, personal lives, and plans that they don’t want ruined. This gives them a chance to ask around and get someone to step up. They’ll thank you for it later.”
“I didn’t think you cared about helping any of them. You act like you don’t like them half of the time.”
While he could see why she might think that, he did care a lot about the other officers. “Just because I don’t kiss their asses doesn’t mean I don’t love the assholes. It’s just that I don’t have to get warm and fuzzy with them for them to know it. It’s little things like this, watching their backs and helping them out that matters most.”
“Noted.” She stopped at the car while he unlocked the door and then slid into the seat. He reached to shut the door, but she had already done it. He could tell that she had acted more clipped with him since Leigh’
s arrival, and when he got into the car, she had her phone out and was staring down at the screen.
The silence continued as they drove out of the parking lot. “I know just where Preston lives. We’ll have to do a drive by and see if he’s even made it home.”
“The secretary said he’d be back today. Do you want to call her?”
“She’s not giving us straight answers, so no. I love Gloria’s candy-making skills, but she’s quick to do favors that aren’t necessarily in favor of the department, but in Preston’s. She didn’t keep her job all of these years for nothing.”
“Well, a loyal employee is hard to find these days,” said Jo.
They headed across town where the neighborhoods were interwoven with the golf course. “Let’s see if he’s at the club, and then we’ll head out to his house.”
“Does he live close to the course?”
“No, it’s just on the way. He didn’t get in early, or he’d be here.” He could hear her sigh, and then she sank down in her seat as he pulled out of the lot and headed down the road they’d turned off of to continue toward his house.
As they approached the neighborhood, he had to show his badge to the gatekeeper. The old-timer didn’t bother looking at his badge, and he had a feeling it wasn’t as secure as the tenants thought it was, which wasn’t good for Preston.
They drove around the large houses with their perfectly sculpted landscapes until they came to the judge’s house and pulled into his driveway.
“I love this neighborhood,” she said as Jake put the car in park. “I just don’t know if I could live here.”
“I’ll go to the door and see if we just drove out here for nothing.”
“I’ll sit here and cross my fingers and toes,” she said with a sarcastic tone.
“I’m surprised you don’t want to go with me.” He opened his door, and when he got out, he could hear her mumble.
“Knock yourself out.”
He went to the door, but after three knocks, no one answered. He took a deep breath and headed to the car. “Maybe we should put someone here as well.”