Always Watching

by LS Sygnet

  I had friends, people who regularly congregated in my home to discuss life, not just the grisly and macabre events that initially brought us together. On my way home from OSI, one such friend called.

  “Hola, Señorita.”

  “How was Mexico?” I grinned at the sound of my oldest friend’s voice. Maya and Ken just returned from a romantic getaway to Puerto Vallarta. “Did you bring me a piñata?”

  “Stuffed with the most decadent and fattening candy known to man. You got plans for dinner tonight, Helen? I’ve got about three billion pictures I’d love to show you. We can send the boys out to smoke cigars or something and catch up on what I’ve missed last week.”

  “You know you’re welcome to come over any time, Maya, but Johnny’s on his way to Montgomery on official business for our beloved governor.” I cast a sidelong glance at Devlin as he navigated back to Beach Cliffs. “Johnny says he can’t tell me what’s going on, and his minions are mum on the subject as well.”

  “Oh shoot,” she said. “I was hoping we could all get together tonight.”

  “Does that mean you’re not coming?”

  “We’ll be there, but I suppose there’s no point in asking someone to be on call for either one of us. You’d think we were gone a month the way everyone acted this morning when we showed up to work.”

  “It’s nice to be missed,” I said. A little of my early morning melancholy returned. Nobody missed me when I left the department. Life marched forward. It was as if they forgot all about me. Well, except for my core supporters who were now working for Johnny. “So what time do you want to come over?”

  “Six-ish?”

  “Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”

  Devlin smirked. “So it looks like I don’t have to worry about your dinner plans for one night. Johnny will be bummed that he missed the reunion.”

  “Not so bummed that he didn’t assign this case to Chris,” I said. “Which I find incredibly interesting, don’t you? What could Collangelo possibly have Johnny doing that he can’t trust his second in command with?”

  “You, my dear, for having worked for the federal government, managed to remain unbelievably sheltered from the political process,” he said. “When I was out in Montgomery, these sort of hush-hush investigations happened all the time. To be fair, I hated it at first too, but after awhile, you get used to it.”

  “Do I strike you in any way as the kind of person that accepts being cut out of the line of communication?”

  Devlin laughed softly. “No, you strike me as the type who’s most efficient at cutting everybody else out of the loop. It hasn’t been that long since we worked a case together, Helen. I know all your little tricks. That far off gaze you get when you figure something out is typically followed by claims that you don’t know anything the rest of us don’t know.”

  “Suspecting something is different than knowing it. So I wasn’t eager to throw out all of my wild theories until I had something concrete to back them up. Is that a crime?”

  “No, but God help the state if you ever decide to run for office.”

  I lapsed into silence. If law enforcement tempted me to kill those who were guilty and getting away with their crimes, politics would push me over the edge in no time at all. Of course, Devlin wouldn’t know that. Johnny realized the tightrope I walked and had the wisdom to intervene, even though I know he worries about my boredom.

  “You’re very quiet all of a sudden.”

  “Mmm. Wondering how Celeste Datello is faring in the hospital. At least that was one mistake I never made,” I said. “Just the thought of perpetuating that gene pool about makes my skin crawl right off my body.”

  “It’s not the child’s fault, Helen. She can’t help who her parents are.”

  True enough. Even though my father ranked right up there with the worst criminals in the world, he was a fabulous parent. “I know. It’s just a link between the parents that nothing ever really severs,” I said. “Think about her life now. What is she? Twenty four?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Her husband will probably go to prison for the rest of his life, and she’s going to raise this child alone, with a family that would just as soon kill her and that baby to punish her husband as lift a finger to help her like a normal family would. How can she stand by him through all of this? Why would she want to live that way? Surely she knows the danger in her future. For the rest of her life, she’s going to need eyes in the back of her head. Is it youth and naiveté that makes her think it’s a good idea?”

  “Maybe it’s love,” Devlin said. “It’s something that we can’t explain by rational thought. A lot of times, it doesn’t make any sense at all.”

  “All of the time,” I muttered. My own irrationality was never far from my thoughts. I don’t doubt that I love Johnny. On the contrary, there are times that I curse the emotion, because it puts both of us at risk. There is no statute of limitations on murder. My beautiful castle of cards could come tumbling down at any time, and it would hurt Johnny. Then again, I doubt he’d stand by me if he ever found out what a liar I am.

  “You don’t mean that,” Devlin said. “You’d do anything for Johnny and never regret it. I’ve seen the way you guys are together.”

  “I would do anything for him. And that’s the problem.”

  Those were the thoughts swirling through my head as I drifted off to sleep early that afternoon, that and my conversation with the man in question after I got home. I hated the fact that he left with me feeling bitter and petulant. So I apologized.

  “I shouldn’t have been such a bitch this morning when you left.”

  “What’re you talking about? Do you honestly believe I’d have been pleased if you were happy to see me go?”

  I laughed. “Well when you put it that way, I guess not.”

  “I know you, Doc. You get mad and you pout and you try to connive to get your way, but at the end of the day, I knew you understand that this isn’t what I wanted any more than you did.”

  “Then why can’t I be with you in Montgomery?”

  “Because it’ll be too tempting for you to figure out what’s going on, and I can’t risk that, sweetheart. This is a potentially volatile situation. You don’t take kindly to me being in the middle of anything you don’t like.”

  “It’s political, isn’t it?”

  “Helen –”

  “I promise I won’t butt into whatever you’re doing, Johnny.”

  “In part it’s political. But at the same time, it’s still an official police investigation. Trust me. I can handle this.”

  “I know you can.”

  Strange dreams commenced. The ringing phone woke me an hour later. Or perhaps it was the fact that my stomach rejected that cup of tea and slice of dry toast I choked down.

  Chapter 4

  I wiped the bile from my lips with a tissue off the bathroom counter. The ringing phone stopped. My watch revealed that it was only three o’clock. Plenty of time to fix dinner and be ready for Maya and Ken’s visit tonight.

  I crawled up the counter and rinsed my mouth at the sink. If this nonsense didn’t stop, I’d have to see a doctor. It was probably nerves on top of a touch of the flu. What would a doctor say? Drink plenty of fluids. Get more sleep. Don’t push yourself too hard. I could do all of that on my own.

  Voicemail from Crevan. “Hey, if Ken and Maya are coming over tonight, would you mind if Devlin and I tag along? Give me a call.”

  I smiled despite the bitter taste that persisted on my tongue. The more the merrier. It would help immensely to fill the hole in my life left by Johnny’s absence. I dialed Crevan’s number.

  “Hey, sorry I missed your call. I heard the phone, just couldn’t get there in time.”

  “Would you mind if Dev and I crash the party tonight?”

  “You know my door is always open, Crevan.” Honestly, he was probably feeling more lost and alienated than I’d ever felt, since the last perp I arrested outed his sexual
orientation. To my knowledge, the ever narrow-minded Tony Briscoe still hadn’t uttered a single word to his former partner and friend.

  I stretched out another olive branch. “If you guys would like to bring someone along, I wouldn’t mind that either.”

  Crevan’s pause was uncomfortable.

  “Or isn’t Devlin dating anybody?”

  “Helen –”

  “Crevan, I love you. I don’t care if you’re slowly beginning to come out of your shell. In fact, I’d love to meet him, whenever you’re comfortable with that,” I said.

  “You already have,” he said softly.

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah …”

  “Don’t keep me hanging. Who is he?”

  “Alex Waters.”

  “My, my,” I grinned. “Good choice, my friend. If you’re not comfortable dragging him to dinner with a bunch of friends, I understand. Maybe the three of us could have dinner alone some night this week.”

  “Helen, some days I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “Thanks to your best friend, I doubt you’ll have to find out.”

  Everyone knew Johnny was the tether that kept me from disappearing into the mist that shrouded Darkwater Bay.

  “There’s another reason I called,” he said. “We thought you’d like to know that the judge appreciated our quick response to the situation with Celeste Datello and the threats. In light of her new protective custody detail, she’s decided that the trial can commence on Monday after all. Old Stefano was fit to be tied, but it’s a done deal now.”

  “Do we know how she’s doing?”

  “Delivered their baby about an hour ago at Saint Mary’s Hospital. A little girl, just like she said.”

  “Aww. Well I hope she recovers quickly,” I said. “If I’m gonna have a houseful for dinner, I should probably get busy cooking, Crevan. We eat at six. You can show up anytime before that.”

  “We could pick something up so you don’t have to cook. You sound tired.”

  Temptation tickled my tongue. “What did you have in mind?”

  “I don’t know. Sushi maybe?”

  I swallowed the bile before it burned the back of my tongue. “I’d rather cook. Please tell me your new friend isn’t a vegetarian.” Part of me hoped he was. The idea of raw meat touching my hands made my stomach revolt again.

  “Nope, anything you make, he’ll eat. Alex is very diverse.”

  More than I was for sure, if he ate sushi.

  “Hey, my call waiting is beeping at me. It might be Johnny,” I said. “See you later, my friend.”

  I clicked the receiver on the phone. “Johnny?”

  “I called this line because I thought you would’ve shut the ringers off on the phone. Weren’t you planning to take a nap?”

  “I did. Crevan called.” I filled him in on the trial news and Celeste Datello. “Why are you calling me back so soon?”

  “Eh, I’ve got to go to some stupid thing at the governor’s mansion tonight,” Johnny said. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that it probably won’t wrap up until late. Do you want me to call when it’s done?”

  “I’m having people over tonight anyway,” I said. “Maya wants me to see her pictures from Mexico, and of course, Devlin and Crevan invited themselves over too. The troops are rallying around exactly as you ordered.”

  “Hey, don’t be upset with me. I can’t stand the thought of you holed up alone while I’m gone, sweetheart. I wish you were here with me for this thing tonight.”

  “No you don’t. You know I hate formal parties. This is you in your element. I’d just be in the way.”

  “Never,” he said softly. “I miss you already.”

  “Now we’re really being ridiculous. I spend plenty of nights home alone when you’re right here in Darkwater Bay, Johnny. Focus on this job. Get it done quickly, and come home where you belong.”

  “Deal. I love you.”

  I rifled through a kitchen drawer for a box of gloves I lifted from the morgue. “Mm-hmm. Me too. Talk to you later.”

  Gloves solved the problem of touching raw meet with my bare hands. Sadly, it had become my priority, instead of letting Johnny segue into what he really wanted to tell me. Instead, I took my own advice and focused on the problem at hand.

  Two seconds before I could reach the pot roast in the oven, the doorbell rang. Since there was no call from the gate, I expected Devlin on the other side of the door. “Come in, Dev, it’s open,” I pulled the roaster out and ignored the second chime.

  “Oh for heaven’s sake.” I yanked the front door open moments later. “Didn’t you hear me?”

  Devlin looked far too serious. “I called everyone and cancelled dinner, not that I really needed to with Crevan. We’ve got a situation in Darkwater proper. I need your help.”

  “I just took the pot roast out of the oven. Can I at least cover it up? Geez, what’s with you tonight? Have you forgotten that this isn’t my job anymore?”

  “Celeste Datello’s infant was abducted from the hospital.”

  “Oh no.”

  Devlin followed me into the house. “Get dressed. I’ll take care of dinner.”

  “I am dressed.”

  “In something practical,” he waved his hand at the soft cashmere pantsuit. “You can’t show up looking like you’re there for a Vogue photo shoot.”

  “If that’s your way of telling me I look nice, it leaves a bit to be desired,” I called over one shoulder. “Why am I going with you again?”

  “Because Celeste Datello is refusing to speak to anybody else,” he yelled from the kitchen. “Time is our enemy here, Helen. You know that. Tick tock.”

  “I’ll meet you at the hospital,” hopping out of my closet while I tugged on one boot. “I need to eat something first, Devlin. I’ll be ten minutes behind you, tops.”

  “I’ll follow you if you want to take your own car,” he said, “but I’m not leaving you alone tonight. I don’t trust what’s happened today.”

  “Now you’re suspicious?”

  “Not of Mrs. Datello. Her husband on the other hand, is a different story. Think about it, Helen. Out of the blue, the wife gets some cryptic message that she takes as a threat toward her daughter.”

  “All right.”

  “So her scumbag husband tries to use it to postpone the speedy trial he demanded in the first place.”

  “I follow you.”

  “It works – at least until OSI jumps on board and tells the judge that we think the threat is credible, if not a little thin. We’d rather err on the side of caution.”

  “Which rather begs the question, Dev. How did this child get snatched right out from under our noses?”

  “I’m getting there. So the judge is satisfied by our due diligence, and the dog and pony show is back on schedule to begin Monday. Three hours after her ruling, the newborn baby disappears from the hospital. Now, your buddies from central have been all over this hospital, Helen. Nobody came into or out of Celeste Datello’s room who wasn’t authorized to do so.”

  “So where was the baby snatched?”

  “Out of the nursery apparently, while our new mother was in the shower. Her nurse took the baby back to the nursery, checked the kid in, and when she went back thirty minutes later, poof. It’s like she never existed.”

  “You think Datello is angling for another continuance. But why? As you pointed out, it was his side that was pushing for the speedy trial to begin with,” I said.

  “I have no idea what he’s up to, but what a better way to elicit sympathy no matter how you look at it. Meanwhile, we look like incompetent buffoons because his kid got snatched on our watch.”

  “I take it that means OSI specifically had people guarding her room.”

  “State police, but same difference.”

  “I hate that expression,” I said. “But I agree. Something stinks, and when I get this particular bouquet, it certainly conjures images of the Marcos clan.”

  “You d
on’t think Datello is behind this?”

  “We won’t know until we talk to him, will we?”

  Devlin blew out a deep breath. “Get your snack. We need to get over to the hospital and start interrogating suspects.”

  I sliced off enough roast to make two sandwiches. “You drive,” I offered one to him. “I need to focus on eating something without getting sick.”

  “You’re looking a little pale.”

  Juicy beef melted on my tongue. So far, so good. “Probably just a bug. Or nerves. Who’s in charge from Central Division on the scene?”

  “Didn’t I make that clear? It’s your old buddy Charlie Haverston.”

  I grinned. “Fantastic. He’s a hell of a detective, Dev. You’re gonna love him. I should call him and get a status update on what’s going on over there.”

  “That isn’t all you should know before we arrive, Helen,” he said slowly. “Infant abduction is a big deal. Every cop in the city is on this one.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Briscoe,” he said. “Still giving Crevan the cold shoulder. I told him he should be the one to come pick you up, but you know how he can be sometimes.”

  “Stubborn to the bitter end. Good for him not letting that over aged troll chase him away from our case. Thank God Haverston is in charge for the city’s effort.”

  “Well, they issued an Amber Alert. Word is that the local FBI field office is sending someone from Montgomery.”

  That pulled a groan from deep in my gut. “Do you know who it is?”

  “I think Crevan said his name is Preston.”

  “Hmm. Never heard of him.”

  “There’s a whole lot of field offices filled with even more field agents, Helen. This is standard operating procedure for a child abduction. The feds always wrest jurisdiction from the local and state police.”

  “It’s supposed to be a cooperative effort. I get your meaning, though. I was never comfortable with our tendency to swoop in at the eleventh hour and take control. How much time do we have before this guy shows up?”