She laughed out loud.
Luke got to his feet and held out a hand. “Don’t change too much.”
“You’d rather be with a raging alcoholic?”
He shrugged. “How do I know if you’re any fun sober?”
“How much fun would it be if I punched you in the nose?” She said.
He grabbed her in a bear hug. His lips came down hard on hers and she leaned in. Luke bent and swung her up into his arms. Once again, he found himself carrying her into the bedroom. Only this time he was smiling.
Once she fell asleep, he could slip away and do what needed done.
THIRTY-ONE
It was half-past eleven when Luke let himself through the front door by Susie’s desk. He’d left a note on the pillow telling Tully that he would be back before breakfast, and to pack a bag. It didn’t matter where they went, but they were leaving.
He came to type up two documents. The first was his final report officially closing the case due to insufficient evidence. The second was his resignation letter. He would email it tonight, call Steve in the morning, and move on with his life. Then he would pack up whatever personal possessions he had in the broom closet and never come back. With any luck, he could do it before Greg or Thad made it to the office.
As he passed the break room, Luke saw light coming from the broom closet. Thad must be in. Either that or Greg was rifling through their office. Greg didn’t give a whit about this case unless he could use it to damage Luke. Luke wasn’t going to give him that chance.
Before he barged in, Luke peeked around the corner. He saw Thad sitting in the office pouring over a stack of papers and a spreadsheet.
He would have to face Thad. The kid deserved that at least. Luke swallowed hard and rounded the corner.
Thad swung around to see who it was. “What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean? I work here.” Luke tried to joke but it fell flat.
Thad didn’t smile. “Boss, I think he’s gonna press charges.”
“I’m not worried about that.”
“You’re not?”
Luke shrugged and turned the conversation away from him. “Why are you here?”
Thad shrugged trying to look like he wasn’t completely stressed out. “Gotta work at some point. I stayed out of the office all day to let things cool down. Might as well work while it's quiet. Not like I’m gonna be able to sleep.”
Luke leaned against his desk. “What are you working on?”
“Are you gonna tell me about Cade?” Thad slapped the spreadsheet down on the desktop and whirled in his chair, telegraphing irritation.
“I didn’t find him.” Luke spoke in a clipped voice.
Thad’s eyes narrowed. “Nowhere? You checked his house? The country club?”
Luke nodded toward the stack of paper. “What is that?”
“What do you think? The same thing I’ve been working on for the last two months. All these reports trickling in from all the little podunk agencies.” He gestured out the door to the other side of the T that branched off the main hall. There was no broom closet on that side. It was a dead end. The fax machine was rarely used these days, so it got banished to the dead end. “There’s one or two every few days. Hell, I think I heard it beep since I’ve been sitting here. And don’t change the subject.” Thad eyed him with suspicion.
Luke took a moment before he went on, then decided to rip it off. “You can stop. We're finished. I’m closing the investigation.”
“What?” Thad’s eyes went from slits to wide orbs.
“I’m shutting it down. No more chasing ghosts.”
Thad’s surprise quickly mutated to anger. He jumped up from his chair and threw his hands in the air. “Are you serious? Just like that we’re quitting?”
“We’ve exhausted our leads. And our suspect is dead. What do you want me to do?”
Thad muttered something as he elbowed past his chair and walked to the window.
“You want to say that again.” Luke squared off to him.
“I said,” Thad exaggerated the words as he slowly turned back to face Luke, “I hope your girlfriend is happy.”
Luke’s lip curled into a snarl, but Thad wasn’t done. “You’ve been muscling this investigation whichever way you wanted it to go this whole time. Why stop now?”
With great effort Luke kept his voice low. “We don’t have a case. You agreed that we have nothing more than circumstantial evidence.”
Thad bristled. “I fucking said that in Atlanta. This belligerent expedition to swamp town was your idea. We are here because you insisted we would find something. You said we were staying until we did. But now all of a sudden, you’re listening to me. Now that you’ve got something to lose, you’re ready to listen to reason.”
Luke pushed off his desk and took a step closer to get in Thad’s space. The kid didn’t even have the good grace to be nervous about talking to him like that. “If you have something to say, say it,” he growled.
Thad didn’t back down. “Okay. How ‘bout this? First, you never leave the office, then you start coming in late. You sleep with a witness but keep investigating her partner. You punch out Greg for tampering with your investigation, then close the case twelve hours later. You’re all over the place. Nothing I’ve heard about the great Luke Marshall has been true since we got here. Nothing. Except maybe your tendency to drop cases whenever it suits you.”
Thad’s barb hit its mark. Luke clenched his jaw and he bumped Thad’s chest with his. “You think you know everything about me?”
“Obviously I don't. But I do know Cade walked through that door this morning to see you. I’m pretty sure he didn’t want to have a beer and talk baseball. He’s always been the missing link in this case. You’ve waited for this moment for months, and now you wanna quit because your girlfriend might get her feelings hurt.”
Luke spoke through gritted teeth. “I’m closing the case because we have nothing to move forward on.”
“Please,” scoffed Thad. “You don’t even believe that bullshit, and it’s certainly not going to convince anyone higher up the food chain. Did you even try to find Cade, or were you with her all afternoon?”
“You done?” Luke wasn’t going to answer Thad’s questions. He wasn’t after answers from Luke anyway. Thad had clearly thought up a slew of comments since finding out about Tully that morning, but she was just the straw that broke him. He had wanted to vent for a long time now.
Luke let him talk. Thad could get it off his chest then he could move on too.
“No, actually. I’m not done. I want to know one more thing.” Thad sounded calmer.
Luke backed away to de-escalate but said nothing.
Thad turned his back to Luke and headed to his chair. “I sat in here every day, next to you, sifting through a haystack for this needle. And the whole time I thought we were on the same page. But all this time you were out canoodling the pretty witness.” He eased himself into his chair with a sigh. “I get it, you don’t care how it compromises you. But did you ever once think about how it would compromise me?”
Luke felt himself deflate. Thad was right. “No. And for that I’m sorry.”
Thad put his hands up to his forehead and leaned back. “You left me hanging. You don’t trust me?”
“I do trust you.”
“Then what the hell, man?” Thad thew his hands in the air again.
“I didn’t tell you because I knew it was wrong. I didn’t,” Luke paused and studied his hands, “I didn’t think it would last this long.” He walked to his chair realizing how exhausted he was and fell into it.
Thad’s anger subsided. “But it has lasted this long. You’re walking away from this case for her. Don't bother denying it.”
Luke hunched forward in his chair, unable to keep the pain out of his face.
His expression threw Thad off balance. He’d never seen his partner like this. “What is going on with you?” Thad's voice softened.
�
�You ever had something you couldn’t win at? Something you couldn’t beat?”
“Yeah, but probably not what you’re talking about.”
“I can’t explain it, Thaddeus. I’ve put you and Steve in a bad position, and I know that. I can say I’m sorry, but I would do it again. And I could lie and say I’m trying to save her, but the truth is it’s not her I’m trying to rescue.”
Thad looked at him, gauging his words. He said nothing, but Luke saw compassion dueling with the anger in his face.
“I’m done, Thad. Maybe I won’t find the answers with her, but I can’t throw away the chance to try.”
Thad pursed his lips and bounced his fist off the armrest a few times. “You really did it, didn’t you, old man? You went and fell in love.”
“I don’t know about that. I only know that I have to give up something.”
“You’ll be giving up your reputation. That’s what you’ll be giving up.”
“My reputation has never brought me a second of peace. She has. But I can’t be here and with her. It won’t work.”
Thad gave a grunt of amusement. “Finally, something we agree on,” he said. Then he grew serious. “Luke, you know I’ve got your back, right? I didn’t mean…I’m not gonna…,” he trailed off. “This does explain a few things. I know this can’t be an easy decision for you. Okay, now I’m done.”
Luke felt a surge of concern toward his young partner. Thad stood to lose something in this mess too. He hadn’t considered it until now. Thad’s fate would be on his shoulders as much as Tully.
“Let’s clean up the office and get out of here. I don’t want you to submit a report until I’ve had a chance to talk to Steve and send him mine. I’d rather your name not be on any paperwork associated with this case. I’m not taking you down with me.”
“Psssht. I don’t care about that.” Thad waved him off.
“You should, kid. You’ve got a bright future here. Don’t let the Gregs of this agency tell you otherwise.”
“They’ll probably send me to the mailroom after this,” Thad said eyeing Luke for a reaction. He saw Luke smile. “Alright, Boss. It’s done. Let’s pack it up.” Thad hoisted himself out of his chair and grabbed an empty box in the corner. He started throwing in everything he could reach.
Luke had no box, so he looked around for something to hold the small number of possessions he’d accumulated over two months. He spied an empty trashcan in the hallway and went for it when he heard a loud buzzing in the office.
Hurrying back so he wouldn’t miss Tully calling him, he saw Thad pull his phone out of his pocket and study the caller ID. Thad pressed the answer button and put it to his ear. Luke glanced at his own phone sitting next to the computer. It was dark.
“Hey, girl. What’s up?… Yeah…”
Luke watched Thad’s face twist with surprise and horror. Thad looked up at Luke, his eye wide.
“Are you kidding?…When?…Okay. We’re on our way. You got somebody responding?… Okay, tell them not to shoot us…No, we know where he lives…Thanks.” Thad’s phone hand fell to his side, his face a mask of shock.
Luke dropped the trash can and took a step toward him. “Thaddeus?”
“SPD communications just got a 911 call from Cade’s house. The nanny was screaming hysterically that someone had a gun. That’s all they could get out of her. They’re sending their people out now. What’s happening, Luke?”
A sick feeling welled up in Luke’s gut. “Let’s go.”
THIRTY-TWO
The city lights faded as they sped over the Talmadge Bridge, the Savannah River below them. The moonlight reflected off the smooth black surface sending spikes of light shooting off the surface. Thad watched the river through the window as Luke pushed the car to its limit.
The knot in Luke’s stomach tightened. John Cade’s house was ten miles outside of town. A quick drive at the speed he was demanding from the car, but would it be fast enough?
The timing was all wrong, and he’d bet his last dollar it had something to do with Cade’s visit this morning. He had himself convinced it was nothing until Thad got that call.
Cade had his finger in the dike, and now he was waving a gun around. If Cade broke down, everything did.
“Luke,” yelled Thad pointing through the windshield.
Luke squinted and, sure enough, outside the cone of the headlights a figure frantically waved them down.
A plump woman of about fifty ran up to the car before Luke could stop. Her short graying black hair was wild, and she wore an old fashioned nightgown with a ruffled collar. Her eyes were wide with fear, and she clutched a portable phone handset to her chest. Thad hopped out of his seat as the car rolled to a stop. Breathless, the woman began yelling in rapid Spanish.
“Calm down, ma’am. No, no, ma’am, I need you to take a deep breath.” Thad put his hands on her shoulders and spoke firmly. Luke made his way to the car hood and leaned against it with his head bowed, listening. The woman took a jagged breath then started babbling again.
“Deep breath, ma’am,” Thad coached.
She took another breath and gained enough composure to remember her English. “Meester Cade, he is crazy. I don’t know what ....” She started sobbing.
“What happened?” Thad prompted her.
“They came home late from party and ever…everything seem alright, but then I hear shouting from the leeving room…”
“And?” Thad shook her gently.
“I went into the leeving room and he had a gun and he was shouting and the gun was so loud. And I left and ran away. I was so scared. I left poor Mees Helen.” The woman dissolved completely and slumped to the ground. Thad made no attempt to catch her.
At her words, Luke sprang off the hood and jumped into the car. Thad slid in beside him, pulling out his phone to tell his dispatcher friend what they heard. Luke hit the gas and sped the three hundred yards to stone pillars marking 504 Riverside Lane. A rooster tail of gravel spewed up as Luke gunned it down the long tree-lined driveway.
Moments later, the driveway split, circled an elaborate water fountain, and joined itself again in front of the house. Tall pine trees rose up on all sides except in the back yard where a gentle grassy slope led down to the river.
The massive white home rose two stories with Grecian columns supporting a double veranda that wrapped around the house. In the center of the antebellum facade hung heavy wooden double doors. One of them stood open.
Before they reached the circle, Luke pulled the car off the driveway. The men slid out into the hot night. It was quiet except for a humming air conditioner and chirping crickets, but light blazed in every window on the ground floor.
Luke left his door open and knelt beside it. Metal scraped on Kydex as he drew his gun. A scrape on the other side of the car told him Thad had done the same. Luke sprinted to the corner of the house with Thad on his heels. Moving fast, they hugged the railing on the way to the porch stairs. Once they were safely on the veranda, they pressed themselves against the wall beside the doors.
Luke turned and questioned Thad with a thumbs-up and received one in answer. Luke inched up to the open door and stopped, listening.
Nothing.
Pushing his Glock out in front, Luke pivoted and stepped through the door into an imposing foyer. It was empty.
Dueling staircases curved up each side of the two-story foyer. They met on a second story landing lined with a hand-carved banister. The first-floor hallway cut under each staircase and ran the width of the house. Straight ahead was a wide door less arch into a great room. Luke could see an imposing stone fireplace on the far side, and a large oriental rug covering the heart pine floor.
Luke froze, unsure of where Cade was. There was precious little cover out here if the bullets started flying. He felt the cold grip of his gun warm in his sweating hand.
Then he heard the muffled crying of a woman coming from the room ahead. That must be where they were, but he didn’t hear Cade. Luke edged close
r to the great room, every muscle in his body coiled to act. He tiptoed to the archway and pressed his shoulder against the wall. He felt as much as saw Thad do the same beside him.
On the far right side of the room, Luke could see Cade rocking on the edge of an overstuffed leather chair. His shoulders were hunched, and he clutch a large silver pistol in his right hand. It rested on the fat leather armrest, but it twitched violently in Cade’s hand. Luke couldn't see the wife, but it looked as though Cade had her hunkered in the corner.
Luke turned to Thaddeus and pointed toward the whimpering. Then he pointed in Cade’s direction while miming a gun with his thumb and index fingers pointed. Thad nodded and readjusted his hands around his weapon.
Luke leaned out from the doorway. “John. It’s Luke Marshall.”
He got no answer, but Luke saw Cade’s head turn and bleary eyes flick toward him then back to the corner. Cade’s designer tuxedo was rumpled and an untied bow tie hung limp from his collar. Cade’s shoulders heaved with every breath.
“What are you doing, John?”
Cade shifted the gun on the armrest and kept rocking. He said nothing.
“I know things seem a little out of control right now, but this isn’t going to fix anything,” said Luke.
Finally, Cade spoke. “There is no fixing anything.” He sounded defeated.
“John, you need to let Helen go. Don’t drag her into this.”
At Luke’s words, the distraught man leaped out of his chair and began pacing back and forth, alternately sobbing and screaming. A crystal tumbler of brown liquid in Cade’s left hand sloshed everywhere. His gun came up, pointed at the corner. It was a chrome plated Desert Eagle .50 caliber. A canon of a pistol and Cade handled it like novice.
Luke tensed. His finger flicked from the rail of his own gun down to the trigger.
Cade sobbed and dropped his weapon to his side. Luke didn’t relax. Cade had a twitchy finger wrapped around the trigger of a gun he couldn’t handle.
“I’m taking the fall,” whined Cade. “This wasn’t my idea. Do you hear me? This isn’t fair.” He sniffed and pointed his gun at the corner again. He seemed to talk to his wife more than to Luke.
The Last Innocent Page 25