It was dark outside and cold—very cold. That didn’t stop the nightlife from springing up all around us. Groups of people moved like schools of fish, headed from one bar to another. A musician played guitar and sang for change near the fountain. A horse and carriage rode past, the people inside laughing a little too hard.
“What are we looking for?” Jamie whispered while staring at the crossword section.
I refused to let my teeth chatter, even though they wanted to. “I have no idea. My best guess? Maybe it’s some kind of drug deal that’s going down.”
I reviewed Bo’s possible connection with this. There were two possibilities in my mind. Either Gage was tracking down a story lead and had come across Bo, or Bo had gone to Gage with a story idea.
Whatever that idea was had possibly gotten Bo killed—if someone had set up his murder to look like a suicide.
I remembered the facts Violet had shared with me. After beating cancer, Bo’s personality changed. He’d become more reclusive and secretive; he’d begun to hang around some unsavory characters; and he’d come into some money.
What had he gotten mixed up in? Why had it killed him?
Drugs or weapons were the only things I kept coming back to. What if he’d gotten involved in some illegal dealings of that sort? It would have brought in some money. If it had been drugs, that would explain the changes in his personality.
The one thing Violet had remembered about her brother was that whatever was going down happened Thursday night at 5th and Vine. At least, according to his calendar.
“How long are we going to wait? I’m freezing,” Jamie’s newspaper practically vibrated as she shivered.
My heart thudded. I couldn’t give up. Jonah’s life depended on me finding some answers.
But what would I do if someone did show up? I wasn’t exactly equipped to take anyone down myself. Maybe I’d hit my head a little too hard.
I straightened as someone caught my eye across the street. “Jamie, do you see that?”
Jamie peered around the newspaper. “Do I see what?”
“There’s a woman over there. Alone. Does she look like Katie?”
“Katie?” She stared in the distance.
Was that Katie? It was so dark outside, and she was far away. I just couldn’t tell. “I don’t know, Holly. It could be. It might not be.”
“Let’s move closer.”
We put the newspaper down and tried to look casual as we crossed the street toward the square. The woman remained near a bench on the edge of the area. She glanced at her watch.
I squinted again, going back and forth as to whether or not it was Katie. I just couldn’t tell. Same size. Same hair. But . . .
“Should we approach her?” Jamie asked.
My heart rate spiked, but the choice was clear. “This is no time to be a wallflower. This is a time to be bold. Let’s do it.”
We started toward her. My mind raced with what I would say. I’m sorry about Jonah. Why did you leave him? Do you have any idea who would have taken him?
I cleared my throat, about to make my move, when a guy appeared.
The woman’s face lit, and she threw her arms around the man. “Gregory!”
“Nina! I’m sorry I’m late. You ready for dinner?”
It wasn’t Katie. This woman’s profile was wrong, her forehead too wide, and her lips too full.
It looked like our evening here was all for nothing.
As sirens sounded in the distance, I wondered if this miscalculation had caused us to miss what we were really looking for.
Morbid curiosity led me in the direction of the sirens. Jamie and I had picked up my car. However, a police car had blocked the exit to the parking garage, and a cop there was dealing with some drunken twenty-somethings. By the time we were able to get out and navigate the streets, at least thirty minutes had passed.
Then we ran into a crew that was repaving some of the downtown streets. Whatever had happened would most likely be over by the time Jamie and I arrived. Still, I wanted to see.
I thought the sound of the emergency vehicles had come from a section of the city called Over the Rhine. The neighborhood had once been one of the worst in Cincinnati, but people had worked to restore it in recent years. Ralph’s office—where I worked—wasn’t far from that area.
When I saw an ambulance blocking the road ahead, I slowed. As we came closer, I spotted two police cars also, as well as a fire truck. I probably shouldn’t have done it, but I pulled over to the curb.
“What are you doing?” Jamie asked.
“I just want to make sure everything is all right. My brother’s office is close to here. Sometimes people work late.” Before Jamie could argue, I jumped out of the car and approached the scene.
Cops milled around. Tension filled the air. I didn’t see anyone in handcuffs, but crime scene techs worked diligently, and numbered markers were on the ground near what I presumed were bullets.
My gaze fluttered around, but I didn’t see any familiar faces. No coworkers. No Chase. No Ralph.
Then I came to Evan.
He spotted me at the same time I saw him. His expression looked grim, serious, and the normal sparkle was gone from his eyes. Was it because of our awkward conversation at the hospital?
He paced over to the police line and narrowed his eyes. “What are you doing here?”
I shrugged, not willing to give up too much information. “My office isn’t too far away, and Jamie and I were out for the evening. When I heard sirens, I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
“I’m surprised they let you go from the hospital.”
“I bounce back quickly. What’s going on?”
His jaw tightened, and his radio crackled at his belt. “Homicide.”
My heart pounded in my ears. Another one. There’d been too many lately. One was too many. Ever. “Who?”
“Can’t say.” He shrugged stiffly.
“How?” I continued.
“Gunshot.”
“Suspect?”
“Long gone.”
My gaze skittered around, stopping at a body in the distance, covered completely in a cloth. Was this even connected? Probably not. But it was all my mind could think about.
I looked up at the street sign.
15th and Vine.
Realization pounded with my heartbeat.
Violet had been wrong. It hadn’t been 5th and Vine. There was a “1” missing from the address Bo had wrote on his calendar.
Whatever had gone down, it had gone down here tonight.
My gaze went back to the cloth-draped body. Two officials lifted it on a gurney and wheeled it toward a van. As they did so, the sheet slipped.
A face peered out.
It wasn’t Katie.
No, it was the woman I’d seen walking into the drugstore. The one Evan had taken a picture of with Chase.
She’d been killed.
Chapter 21
I remained at the crime scene, but I paced away from the heart of the investigation in order to let everything sink in. Chase wasn’t here, but another detective had shown up. Larson, if I remembered correctly. Several patrol officers lingered. Even Captain Abbott had come.
Murders of those encased in the drug and gang culture were relatively normal in this area. Normal seemed to be an insensitive way to put it. At the very least, most would say that those kinds of deaths weren’t surprising here.
I didn’t approve of the sentiment, but it was the truth.
This woman looked too ordinary and white-collar to be involved in either of those activities—though she could have been. What was her connection? Why had Chase met with her? Was she working with Katie and Heathcliff? Were they killing off anyone who got in their way? Or was Katie also a victim here?
“It just doesn’t make sense, Jamie.” I crossed my arms and leaned against the building behind me—a corner store and deli that had seen better days—no longer caring about the cold. “That was the woman who was f
ollowing us that day. Evan showed me a picture of her meeting with Chase. I’m having trouble piecing it all together.”
Jamie massaged her temples and opened her eyes. She’d been muttering prayers since she saw the dead body.
“I wish I could tell you. Somehow Gage and Katie are connected with all of this. The more I think about it, the more of a headache I get. I just can’t wrap my mind around everything. Girl Genius’s brain is starting to hurt.”
“I have to figure out why these people are connected and figure out how to separate the good guys from the bad guys.” I bit down, wishing that finding answers was as easy as making cookies.
“The problem is figuring out that connection. We’re missing something.”
I tapped my foot, disliking being in this state of confusion. “Exactly. The connections are coming slower than I would like. And time is ticking away. With every minute that passes, I wonder about Jonah and how he’s doing.” My voice cracked.
Jamie squeezed my arm. “What Chase said is true. If they’d wanted to hurt Jonah, that man would have done it right then and there. This guy wants Jonah alive for a reason.”
I thought about the dead body in the Ohio. If that was Katie, then who were these guys trying to smoke out? Heathcliff, maybe? What if he really was Jonah’s father?
“Let’s assume Katie isn’t dead.” I inhaled before continuing. “To smoke her out, this guy would have to have a way to contact her and flaunt the facts in front of her. As far as we know, Katie is off the grid. Unless she’s the one who left the note on my car. Maybe she’s been hiding in plain sight.”
I looked around. Was she here now? Or was she dead? Had that been her body in the Ohio?
Uncertainty plagued me. Gage was dead. Bo was dead. Katie could be dead. That was a lot of dead.
My list of suspects was short. Maybe Heathcliff. If not him, then who? Whom was I missing?
“I need answers, Jamie. I’ll do whatever is needed to find them.” First thing tomorrow, I was going to finish calling the rest of the babysitters on GregsList. I was going to track down Katie’s old friends from church youth group. I would talk to Heathcliff myself.
Whatever it took.
“I’m sure you will,” Jamie said. “You’re the most polite investigator I know, but you’ve proven that please and thank you can lead to answers.”
“I need to find Jonah—even if that means abandoning my manners.”
Chase called first thing in the morning. As his voice rolled over the line, I remembered the blonde on the gurney. I recalled the picture Evan had shown me of her speaking with Chase. I pictured her dead, lifeless face.
And I felt more confused than ever.
Not only that, but my body ached from my encounter with the fake social worker. My shoulder had limited range of motion; I had a bump on the back of my head; and I’d probably need to see a chiropractor sometime soon. In the meantime, maybe I’d find some of my leftover prescription painkillers from my last hospital visit. They should get me through in the meantime.
Probably the most dominant emotion I was feeling, though, was loss. Loss of Jonah. Guilt that he’d been taken when I was supposed to be his protector. Worry that he wasn’t being taken care of.
In an instant, I remembered that social worker coming to the door. I remembered the flash of fear when he’d shoved his way inside. I remembered the pain right before I blacked out.
The memories froze me a moment.
“Holly?”
I came back to the present and pushed myself up in bed, holding the phone to my ear. I’d been awake for a while, but I couldn’t make myself get up. This wasn’t normal for me. I was an early riser. A breakfast lover. A start-my-day-in-the-Word-of-God believer.
But I was off my game this morning.
“You were pretty beaten-up yesterday,” Chase continued.
“I’m still sore, but I’ll manage,” I finally told him. Sore was really an understatement. Every muscle ached.
“I’m sorry, Holly.” Compassion softened his voice. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Just find out what happened to Jonah.”
“Of course.”
I waited, wondering if he would tell me about the woman from last night. I’d said I trusted him. And trusting him meant waiting on his timing, in this case. If he could tell me about the blonde woman, he would.
That didn’t stop me from holding my breath and waiting. When he offered no information, I asked, “Anything new on the search for Jonah?”
“I talked to the detective on this case this morning. They have a couple of leads, but nothing solid yet. We’re collaborating to figure out who killed Jonah’s father, as well. I promise you we’re working around the clock.”
“I know you are.” I had no doubt he was doing just that. He’d probably worked all night. If I saw him now, he’d probably have circles under his eyes and his shirt would be wrinkled. He probably hadn’t eaten but instead had downed six cups of coffee.
He was dedicated, and that made him good at his job.
“Sorry I’ve been so busy lately. I wanted to stop by last night, but I couldn’t.”
Little did he know I’d been busy last night also. He wouldn’t approve.
“I was working a homicide downtown,” he continued.
My heart pounded. But he hadn’t been there. Was he lying to me?
I cleared my throat as I quickly weighed my options. “I see.”
I wasn’t going to address this now. I couldn’t handle but so many tragedies at a time.
“Anyway, I wanted to let you know that body in the Ohio has been identified.”
I held my breath. “And?”
“It’s not Katie.”
I released my breath. I still felt a sense of mourning for the woman who had died. For her family who would soon learn the news. For whatever had happened to her.
But at least I had an answer.
We hung up a few minutes later. My shoulder ached, each movement causing crippling pain to shoot through me. I walked into the bathroom and opened my medicine cabinet, looking for my prescription. I moved aside some Tylenol, some allergy medicine, and two bottles of vitamins.
No old pain medicine, though. What had I done with it?
I wondered if my mom had thrown it away. That would be my luck.
I downed some extra-strength Tylenol instead and rubbed my eyes.
I looked in the mirror and frowned. Circles lined my eyes; my hair was frizzy; and my skin looked dull. At the moment, I didn’t even care. The only thing that concerned me was that precious baby boy who needed a guardian.
At that thought, I padded down the hallway and into Jonah’s room.
He’d only been here for a few days, but I still thought of this room as his.
I picked up one of the blankets and pulled it to my nose. It still smelled like him. Just the scent of baby lotion brought tears to my eyes.
Dear Lord, please protect him.
An ache reverberated in my chest, topped with an unseen weight that pressed on my shoulders. You can’t stand here all day and cry, I chided myself.
I dragged myself downstairs. Maybe I would bake. Baking always made me feel better. But as I wandered over to the kitchen counter, the first thing I saw was a note my mom had left.
Alex wants us all over for dinner tonight. I already texted Chase about it. 6:30. Make a cake, please.
I inwardly groaned. The last thing I wanted to do was have a family dinner after everything that had happened. But if Alex was calling for a last-minute meeting, something must be up. She knew about Jonah, and it wasn’t like her to be insensitive in the midst of tragedy.
The next thing I spotted was my old fifth-grade project my mom had found.
I picked it up and flipped to the first page.
Kids by twenty-five. That didn’t happen. I wouldn’t have any kids by thirty either. I’d be lucky to have them by thirty-five.
I remembered Samantha’s words about Gage.
He’s not the marrying type. You know how some guys are just like that? They’ll lead a woman on for years but have no intentions of settling down.
I remembered what Evan said about Chase.
He’s the type that likes to conquer. He likes the thrill of the hunt. He likes winning, and then moving on.
Were they right? Was I living in some kind of fantasy world thinking that Chase was going to change and marry me? What if he never got over his issues?
As icing on the cake, Truman’s words came back to me about marriage and law enforcement.
I’m sure you’ve heard about the divorce rate among cops. It’s high. Among homicide detectives? It’s even higher.
Three different people. The same basic message. Was God trying to tell me something?
My phone rang again. I halfway expected it to be Chase. Instead, a woman’s voice came on the line.
“You’ve got to help me.”
I froze. “Who is this?”
“It’s Katie Edwards. Listen closely.”
Chapter 22
“Katie!” I muttered, dropping into the kitchen chair. “You’re alive.”
“How’s Jonah?”
My heart leapt into my throat as the truth hit me. She didn’t know. I had to break the news. “Katie, someone came by yesterday—”
She gasped, and I knew that I didn’t have to finish. She intrinsically knew what I was going to say. “They took him, didn’t they? I knew it. I could feel it in my gut.”
“I’m sorry, Katie. I did my best. I fought with everything I had. I’m so, so sorry.” My voice cracked, and a sob tried to escape.
“You’ve got to find him, Holly.”
I did. Maybe she could offer information that would help me. I had so many questions for her. “Where are you?”
“I can’t tell you. I can’t come out of hiding. They’ll kill me.”
Kill her? Like they’d killed Gage? And she’d said “they.” How many people were involved with this?
“Who’s ‘they’?” I finally asked.
Random Acts of Greed: Holly Anna Paladin Mysteries, Book 4 Page 14