by Laura Scott
“Sinclair! Wait up!”
Noah made a frustrated sound but turned to look at the officer who’d flagged them down. “What is it?”
“The call just came in about an explosion. The address is a building housing several condos.” The officer glanced at her. “ADA Callahan’s building.”
Maddy gasped, blood draining from her face as the news hit hard. Her building? She gripped Noah’s arm tightly. “We need to go over there right away.”
“No way, Maddy. It’s too dangerous.”
She gave his arm a little shake. “I don’t care! I need to know that Gretchen is okay.”
He reluctantly nodded and escorted her outside toward the truck.
She curled her fingers into fists, hoping and praying that Gretchen was all right. That it hadn’t been her roommate returning home from her job as a flight assistant that had somehow triggered the blast.
A bomb potentially meant for Maddy.
TWELVE
The last thing Noah wanted was to take Maddy to her condo, but he didn’t know how to talk her out of it. He understood being afraid that her roommate might have been in the building, but going there wouldn’t change anything. With the firefighters working the scene, it would be hours before they’d get any specific information.
Days, even.
He helped her into the truck, then slid in behind the wheel. After he pulled into traffic, he handed his disposable phone to Maddy. “Do you know Gretchen’s number?”
She thought for a moment, then nodded, punching in the numbers. Her expression was full of hope at first, but as the ringing continued without an answer, it drained from her face.
“Gretchen? It’s Maddy. Please call me at this number as soon as possible. It’s urgent. You might be in danger.” She disconnected from the call but kept the phone clutched in her hand.
“Do you remember her schedule?”
She shook her head, staring grimly out the passenger-side window. “No. It’s always changing. At first she used to call me when flights were running late, but not anymore.”
He sensed her despair. “This isn’t your fault,” he reminded her.
“Isn’t it? I should have anticipated something like this. I should have tried to get in touch with Gretchen to warn her about the danger!” Maddy’s voice was low and full of anguish.
“Then blame me. You didn’t even remember you had a roommate after your head injury.”
She shook her head, then rested her forehead against the foggy glass. “My memory has been back since late yesterday afternoon.”
“And I could have warned her before that,” he reiterated.
She turned and reached for his hand. Then she bowed her head. “Dear Lord, please keep Gretchen safe in Your care.”
“Amen,” Noah added. He continued to hold her hand, hating feeling so helpless. He wished he had thought about calling Gretchen, but his priority had been keeping Maddy safe.
And he’d be lying if he didn’t admit it still was.
It was no surprise to find the roads leading to Maddy’s building were closed off. He pulled over to the side of the street, then shut off the engine. “We’ll have to walk from here.”
“I know.” Maddy didn’t wait for his help but pushed open the door and jumped down. He swept his gaze over the area as he came around to join her. Placing a protective arm around her shoulders, he kept himself positioned between her and the street.
It probably wasn’t a trap, but he refused to let his guard down just in case. They’d taken only a few steps before they were approached by two officers.
“I’m sorry, but we can’t let you through,” the female officer said. Noah didn’t know her name, but her name badge identified her last name as Rapine. “This area is a crime scene.”
“I’m Officer Sinclair and this is ADA Callahan. She lives here. What can you tell us about what happened?”
The two patrol officers glanced at each other, then Rapine shrugged. “All I know is the call about an explosion came in around zero eight hundred hours. The smoke eaters are working on dousing the blaze now.”
“What about the occupants of the building?” Maddy asked. “Did everyone get out safe?”
The two officers exchanged another uneasy glance. “Several people were evacuated. I can’t tell you anything more than that.”
Maddy made a soft sound of distress so he tightened his grip around her shoulders. “You must have some idea which unit was the source of the blast?”
“Somewhere on the third floor.” The male officer, last name of Otto, spoke up for the first time. “But we don’t have any information related to possible casualties. The scene is still too hot for that, and besides, you know that it will take time to investigate exactly what happened and to reach everyone living there.”
Maddy shivered, and Noah didn’t think it was from the freezing cold temperatures. “Thank you,” she said to the officers.
“Not a problem,” Rapine said. “We’ll note for the record that you weren’t home when this occurred.”
“Will you please continue to try to reach Gretchen Herald? She’s my roommate. I own the condo, but she lives there with me.”
Otto nodded and took out his notebook. “Sure.”
“I’d like to get closer,” Maddy added.
Rapine shook her head. “I’m sorry, but we can’t allow that. There’s really nothing to see other than the firefighters working the blaze.”
“Come on, Maddy. There’s nothing more we can do here.” Noah agreed with the officers that seeing the condo building on fire wasn’t going to help her cope.
The only thing that would make her feel better was to hear from Gretchen.
Maddy reluctantly nodded, allowing him to escort her back to the truck he’d accidentally left illegally parked in front of a fire hydrant.
“Please take me to my office,” Maddy begged, once they were settled inside the vehicle. “I need to work this case.”
He swallowed a sigh. “Okay, but I don’t want to take you in the main entrance. Is there another way to get in that’s more private? Less risk of being seen?”
“Yes. We can go in the back way. Park in the courthouse parking lot and I’ll show you where to go.”
Parking for the Milwaukee County courthouse was in an underground structure, not ideal by any means, but there would also be plenty of other cars down there so they could easily blend in. Still, Noah felt as if they were a bit vulnerable as he pulled in and headed down the long concrete driveway, winding down and around until he found open parking spaces.
“Try to find a spot over toward the stairwell in the corner,” Maddy instructed.
He did as she requested, getting as close as he could. The stairwell was also lined in concrete walls and had steel railings. Even at ten fifteen in the morning, there were still plenty of people, many of whom were lawyers, heading toward the elevator adjacent to the stairway.
Maddy led the way, which was okay with him since he preferred covering her back. He’d feel better if she was armed or wearing the vest, but as she mentioned before, the courthouse and DA’s office building should be safe.
But even though there were sheriff’s deputies manning the entrances and exits of the courthouse, there wasn’t nearly that level of security for the DA’s offices.
When Maddy reached the top of the stairs, she turned right, heading in the opposite direction of the courthouse. The cold air nipped the tips of his ears but he followed Maddy along the narrow walkway to an inconspicuous doorway at the side of the Milwaukee County Government building.
“Isn’t it locked?” he asked as Maddy approached.
She nodded. “Good thing this wasn’t in my purse, either.” She drew her badge from the depths of her coat pocket and pressed it against a black square e
lectronic reader. The door buzzed and he quickly pulled it open.
The offices here were small and cramped, not that the ADA offices were much bigger. He assumed these were lower level government staff members working in this area.
When Maddy turned a corner, the main corridor for the ADA offices came into view. As they walked past, most of the people nodded or greeted Maddy by name. He was surprised that so far, no one acted as if they knew she hadn’t been there in well over twenty-four hours.
Maddy opened a door and entered a large office area, with several smaller offices on the left and the most senior ADA’s office, belonging to Jarrod Fine, on the right. His door was open and the minute he caught sight of Maddy, he bellowed, “Callahan! Where have you been?”
“Hi, Jarrod, what’s wrong? Did you miss me?” Maddy moved toward her office, but Fine leaped to his feet, nearly displacing his badly fitting toupee.
“In my office, now!”
“Okay.” Maddy didn’t look at all flustered as she opened her door, took off her coat and draped it over a chair. “Have a seat, Noah. This could take a while.”
He stood watching, feeling awkward as she disappeared into Fine’s office, the door closing softly behind her.
Dropping into the chair next to her desk, he stared at the closed door, not liking the fact that she was out of his line of sight. In fact, he didn’t like being this far away from her, period.
What if Fine was the man who’d tried to hurt her? His stomach knotted, but then he shook his head. Doing something like that didn’t seem to be Jarrod Fine’s style.
He drew in a deep breath and scrubbed his hands over his face. Frankly, none of this sat well with him. This was going to be a long, tedious day of playing bodyguard.
Especially considering what he really wanted to do was to investigate Jackson’s murder, as well as continue digging into the attempts on Maddy’s life.
The trial was five days away not counting today. Five days seemed like an eternity when it came to keeping Maddy safe.
* * *
Maddy kept her face an emotionless mask as Jarrod glared at her, every muscle in his body quivering, as did the hairpiece he insisted on wearing. “You know how important the Pietro case is, don’t you? Disappearing like that without notice, not even a single phone call, was incredibly unprofessional.”
“I can provide a doctor’s excuse if necessary,” Maddy said calmly. “And, oh, by the way, Pietro’s men have tried to kill me several times and have threatened my family.”
He reared back in his seat, as if shocked by the news. “What? When?”
Maddy filled him in on her attack outside the courthouse and the subsequent attempts on her life and Noah’s. For once Jarrod didn’t say anything but actually listened intently as she described how they’d managed to escape, not just once, but several times. She finished her story by describing the new lead they’d uncovered about Lance Arvani, the Chicago police officer with property in Wisconsin.
“We need more on Arvani,” Jarrod said as if he hadn’t taken her to task for being unprofessional. And of course he hadn’t bothered to follow up on her offer of a doctor’s excuse, either. Jarrod didn’t care as much about his employees as he did about their work. She was obligated to fill him in on where she was on the case.
“The blood we found in Arvani’s driveway has been sent to the lab. We’re hoping to at least get a basic blood type match to Jackson Dellis because DNA will take weeks.”
Fine scowled. “I’ll call in some favors, see if I can get the DNA fast-tracked. We need those results.”
“I’d appreciate that.” This was why she put up with Fine’s overbearing personality. When he wanted something done, he didn’t let anything get in his way. “My plan is to continue with witness preparation, unless you have something else you need.”
Her boss waved his hand. “Get to work. But next time, let me know what’s going on.”
“Of course.” She rose to her feet. “I almost forgot to mention that there was an explosion in my condo building earlier this morning.” She swallowed hard, the image of Gretchen’s face with her shiny blond hair and hazel eyes making her feel sick to her stomach. Still, she forced herself to remain professional. “Number of casualties still unknown.”
“Explosion?” For the first time since she’d entered his office, Jarrod actually looked upset. “Related to Pietro?”
She shrugged. “That’s the working theory at the moment. The coincidence on the heels of everything that’s happened over the past few days is difficult to ignore.”
“Be careful, Maddy.” Jarrod must have been concerned because he never, ever called her by her first name. “Alexander Pietro may be one of the most dangerous men you’ve ever faced across the courtroom.”
“Yes, I know.” She had the concussion and the bullet fragment in Noah’s vest, not to mention Jackson’s murder, to prove it. “Officer Sinclair is on duty to protect me.” When Jarrod opened his mouth to argue, she held up a hand. “I know he’s on the witness list and I’ll do everything possible to minimize his exposure to the others, but frankly, it’s already too late for that. He’s been with me since I was first attacked and is a key witness to the attempts to harm us and to his partner’s murder. So we’ll just need to find a way to deal with that while maintaining the integrity of the case.”
Jarrod drummed his fingers on his desk. “Yeah, okay. We’ll find a way to make it work.”
“Good. I’ll keep you posted on how the rest of the trial prep goes.” Maddy opened the door and left her boss’s office without looking back.
Noah immediately leaped to his feet, his gaze questioning. “Everything okay?”
“Of course. He’s more bluster than not.” She gave him a rueful smile. “I didn’t mention the temporary memory loss. Figured there was no point. But he’s up to speed on everything else, including Jackson’s murder and our suspicions about Arvani. He’s going to use his clout to get a rush on the DNA.”
Noah’s eyes brightened. “That would be great. I’d like nothing more than to prove the blood belongs to Jackson.”
“I know.” She brushed past him to reach her desk. His woodsy scent reminded her of their last kiss but she did her best to stay focused on why they were there. To prep her witnesses.
Not to think about how she might find a way to convince him to see her again on a personal level, just the two of them alone, once the trial was over.
“Who’s up first?” Noah asked.
His deep voice made her want to smile. “I was supposed to meet with Rachel Graber, Pietro’s former girlfriend, but since it’s already past ten, it’s probably better to focus on Robby Stanford.”
“Stanford, Stanford,” Noah muttered under his breath. “Why does that name sound familiar?”
She hesitated. “The less you know, the better. Suffice it to say that Robby is currently in jail and is testifying against Pietro in exchange for a reduced sentence.”
“Figures,” Noah said in a glum voice. “As fast as we get these guys arrested, someone is letting them out on the street again.”
Maddy felt her cheeks flush, but bit back a retort. She couldn’t deny he was partially right. It wasn’t like she enjoyed that part of her job, making deals with low-level criminals to turn against the guys who happened to be higher up in the criminal food chain. But it wasn’t as if there was always a better option.
Getting the higher crime bosses off the streets had to be more important. Otherwise it really was all for nothing.
She picked up her phone to call the assistant she shared with the other ADAs. Jarrod Fine was the only one who had his own dedicated assistant.
“Jennifer? I need you to make arrangements for Robby Stanford to be brought to my office at 12:30. I’ll call Rachel Graber to schedule her prep for either later this afternoon or first t
hing in the morning.”
“Will do.” Thankfully, Jennifer was cool under pressure; nothing seemed to ruffle the woman’s feathers.
“Rachel Graber?” Noah raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised she’s willing to testify against her former boyfriend.”
Maddy grimaced. “It hasn’t been easy. She’s definitely skittish about the whole thing.” She thought about the last time she’d seen the young woman, barely legal at twenty-two with eyes that were far older than her years. “Rachel is scared to death of Pietro and so far, our offer of protection is the only thing we have working in our favor.”
Noah didn’t say anything more as she made the call to Rachel’s cell number. She frowned as the call went immediately to voice mail.
“Rachel, it’s Maddy. Please call me as soon as possible.” She rattled off her office number and then added Noah’s disposable cell phone number as an afterthought.
“That’s strange,” she said. “Rachel normally answers right away.”
Noah straightened and leaned forward. “Where is she being held? You need to call her protection detail to make sure everything is okay.”
She opened a file on her desk and ran her finger down the list of information, seeking the number of the motel, trying to ignore the ripple of unease. “I’m sure they would have called me if there was a problem.”
Noah didn’t say anything, waiting until she’d found the number of the detective in charge of the case. She dialed Detective Lowenbaum’s number, glancing down at the name of the place she knew Rachel was being held, Greenland Motel.
The detective’s phone rang several times, then went to voice mail. She left a message, requesting a call back, then quickly dialed the motel number.
“Greenland Motel, may I help you?”
Finally a person! “Yes, this is ADA Madison Callahan, I’m calling to check on the status of Renee Greer in room 104,” she said, using the alias they’d given Rachel.
“Greer. Greer...” The woman’s voice trailed off. There was a long silence before she returned to the line. “Would you like me to connect you to the room?”