“What?”
“That’s right, you’re not a morning person,” he whispered into her ear.
“Who are you and why are you disturbing my sleep?” Jake watched her open one eye to peer at him.
Snickering. “It can’t be that bad?”
“I’ll forgive you this time because you’re cute, but never again. Not before seven. Got it, cutie?”
“Got it, grumpy.” Jake’s phone rang.
“I hope you don’t have to go into work this early.”
*
Kyra watched while Jake hunted up his phone. She caught the frown on his face before he blanked out his expression. Not cop blank, but guy blank. Like why is she calling me now?
“A problem?” she asked.
“It’s Mia,” he said.
Shit, he’s being honest. “Why don’t you take it in the other room?”
Silence. She hated silence. The phone stopped ringing…more silence. Awkward, awkward, awkward, she thought. What do you say to a guy when you’re naked in bed with him and the love of his life calls? Another round, or I’ll kill her for you? Let me see. What was the proper etiquette?
“I don’t know what to say, Kyra.”
“Me either.” She shrugged, rolling away from him.
Grabbing her, he rolled her back to him, then on top of him. Kyra was torn. Jake never lied to her, but how was she supposed to handle this—Mia intruding in her bedroom?
“Does she normally call this early?”
“No.”
“I see.” Kyra’s temper flashed. She tried rolling off him again, but he tightened his hold on her.
“You see what, Kyra?”
“Calling this early is a way to find out if you slept alone last night.” Jesus, I hope I don’t sound jealous.
“Maybe she just wanted to talk.”
“Right,” Kyra said, more annoyed with Jake than with Mia. How stupid could he be?
What right did she have to be annoyed? God, I’m going to blow this. We’d made no commitments to each other.
“Jake—it seems strange she wants to talk all of a sudden, after seeing you out with another woman.”
Silence.
“Any comment?”
He stroked her back. Kyra waited. “I think you’re right.”
Oh, good. Now what? Kyra tried to roll off Jake again and again he tightened his arms around her.
“Kyra, I’m going to call her back later to see what she wants. I want you to know I’m going to call her. I really like you. I enjoy your company. One way or another I need to hash things out with Mia. Do you understand?”
Wow! Ball’s in my park now. “Yes and no.”
“I love a straight answer.”
“I know you have to talk to her, but I’m afraid it means the end of me.” The tears in her eyes surprised her.
“It doesn’t mean anything right now, unless you’re walking away.”
“I’m not. I like you too and I haven’t had this much fun in years.” Kyra smiled into his chest as tears ran down her face.
Jake rolled them over so he was now on top of her. Pushing up on one elbow, he reached down and wiped her tears with his thumb. She loved the way his fingers gently brushed over her cheeks, and the confused look in his eyes warmed her heart, causing her mind to scream, choose me.
“I care for you, Kyra, but I’m confused about Mia. Sorry, I don’t have a better answer for you.”
“I know.”
How sick was she? With the threat of losing him looming over her, she wanted him even more. It just seemed stupid. Kyra pulled him down, started kissing him, running her hands over his arms. The arm he was leaning on bulged, veins straining, muscles roped to support his weight. Lust built in her thighs as she ground her hips into him.
“Kyra…” he choked out, pushing back.
“What?” she asked, frustrated.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Jake, if you stop now, I swear I’ll kill you.”
“You shouldn’t threaten a cop.”
“I’d get away with it…justifiable homicide,” she snarled.
“Kyra, you know what I mean.”
“How did we go from playful teasing to…I don’t know…dread, pain, rejection?”
“I should go.”
“If you leave now, don’t bother to come back.” She pushed him off her and jumped out of bed, pacing naked around the room. Her body burned from head to toe—was it anger or jealousy?
“Kyra, come back here. Please.”
“Why? You’re not thinking of me. Since you received that damn phone call, your mind’s only been on Mia.”
“It’s been on both of you.” His honesty killed her. He got off the bed, walked to her, and took her in his arms. “I told you in the beginning there were issues.”
“You did, but I didn’t expect you to leave me hanging in the middle of making love.”
“I wasn’t leaving. I thought you wanted me to go.”
“When someone says ‘I should go,’ I get the impression they’re leaving.”
“I was giving you the opportunity to kick me out, but you didn’t take it.”
Now she was silent.
“Kyra?”
“You’re right, I didn’t.”
How did she say what was on her mind without scaring him away?
“Jake, I’ve come to care for you deeply. I didn’t plan to, but I have. And I’m saying this, knowing I could be pushing you away. Last night I saw something in your eyes when you looked at Mia, something you don’t have when you look at me. It hurt, but I understood the rules coming into this relationship. That said, I need to know when you’re with me—you’re with me.”
“I’ve always been with you. Last night, running into her blindsided me.”
Jake reached for her, but Kyra wasn’t ready to settle, and turned away. She’d probably regret what she was about to do for the rest of her life. What choice did she have? Kyra couldn’t think through her red haze of anger, the hurt taking away her ability to think rationally. Now wasn’t the time for decisions. Hadn’t past experience taught her not to make life-changing decisions in the heat of anger?
“I think, Jake, you should leave. Go talk to Mia and take a couple of days to think things over. When you have your head on straight give me a call.” Kyra reached for her robe, started putting it on. Jake was on her in an instant, backing her up against the wall. Her robe fell open as he put his hands around her waist. Not knowing what to feel, she looked up into his eyes. Amazed when she saw hurt, not anger, in them.
“Don’t push me away, Kyra. I couldn’t take it—not now.”
“I’m angry and confused, Jake. You were supposed to be a temporary distraction and now…”
“And now…where do we go from here?” Jake’s phone rang. He checked the number. “I have to take this. It’s dispatch.”
Kyra carefully watched Jake as he stepped away. She listened as he repeated a description and an address, and wrote them down on his note pad. She wondered who had gone missing or worse, who was dead.
“Okay, I’ll check it out.” He hung up, turning to Kyra. “I need to get going, but I’ll call this afternoon. We’ll finish this conversation tonight, okay?”
Why am I complicating my life? This would be the perfect opportunity to let Jake go—but I can’t.
He gently raised her chin so she was looking him in the eye. “Kyra?”
“Okay, but I don’t know what else there is to be said. Talk to Mia first, before you call.”
“I will.”
He kissed her long and hard, curling her toes. Why did life have to be so cruel? After Jake dressed and left, Kyra climbed back into bed, pulled the covers over her head and cried. Last night Mia seemed just as shocked and hurt as Jake did. This wasn’t her fault either. Why did she have to be so pretty? How can I feel pity for her?
Alone for the first time since she got her first look at Mia, Kyra’s thoughts ran rampant; it was a shock to learn
the woman with the body of a lingerie model was Mia. She was a tall leggy woman with a great body, dark hair, and the most vivid blue eyes Kyra’d ever seen. For some reason she always pictured her as a blonde.
Well, at least Jake didn’t go for a certain stereo type. Kyra now knew she wasn’t a replica or a replacement. At five feet four inches in height, with her full hips and breasts, she couldn’t have been any further from looking like Mia than Lady Gaga. Kyra, with her red hair and green eyes, would never be mistaken for Mia.
*
Jake left Kyra’s condo and picked Louie up on the way to an address on the east side of town dispatch had given him. The woman purportedly had information about Saul Church, the man who’d disappeared a few days ago.
“What does she know?” Louie asked.
“Dispatch didn’t say.”
Jake sipped his coffee as he drove into the condo complex where Saul Church lived. Chances of finding Church alive were getting slimmer as each day passed. Jake’s gut told him Church was dead, but he needed to follow the leads. He chugged the rest of his coffee before climbing out of the car.
“Which unit?” Louie asked.
“8E.”
“Not much for conversation this morning, Jake?”
“No.”
“Alrighty then,” Louie said, knocking on the door.
“Mrs. Standish?” Jake asked when it opened.
“Yes.”
“I’m Lieutenant Carrington. This is my partner, Sergeant Romanelli.”
“Can I see some ID please?”
They showed their badges and she opened the door wider and motioned them in. “Sorry for getting you up so early, but I wanted to talk to you before everyone else in the complex got up. I don’t want to be tagged as nosy,” said Mrs. Standish.
“I understand,” Jake said, and he did. If you wanted to know anything in this neighborhood, she was the go-to person. “What do you have for us, Mrs. Standish?”
“You don’t want coffee or anything?”
“No ma’am, but thank you for asking.” Jake made a show of taking out his notebook and pen to move her along.
“Do you, Sergeant?”
“No, ma’am,” Louie answered.
“Okay. You don’t mind if I have one, do you?”
“No. Mrs. Standish…” Jake said.
“Sorry, Lieutenant, but I need my coffee before we start.” She walked into what Jake assumed was the kitchen. Once she came back out, they took seats in her living room. She started right in on her story.
“I mind my own business, but that day something made me get up from my soaps to look outside. I can’t say it was a noise or anything…”
Jake figured this was going to be a long story and tried to push her along. “Mrs. Standish, what did you see?”
“I’ll tell this my own way, Lieutenant. So anyway, I see these three guys banging on Mr. Church’s door. When he didn’t answer, they kept on banging. Obviously he wasn’t home or he would’ve answered his door. I was just about to go out there to tell them that when his door opened. I didn’t see who opened it, but they all walked in. I went back to my soaps at that point.” She stopped talking, Jake stared at her.
“Is that all you saw? Can you describe the men?”
“I’m not blind, son. Of course I can describe them. It’s why I called the station.” Jake watched her get up and walk back into her kitchen. He was about to go after her when she returned with a note pad.
“Here we are. I wrote down everything because it didn’t sit right with me, especially after they left with Mr. Church between them. Let me tell you, he looked scared.”
Frustrated and ready to beat her with a stick, he asked, “You saw Saul Church leave with them? Are you sure?”
“I heard another commotion so I went to the window again. That’s when I saw them. And yes, I’m sure.” It took an effort for Jake to hold his temper.
“And you never saw Mr. Church again, after that day?”
“No. You know Lieutenant, I did call the station that day, but the officer who answered asked if I saw a weapon. I didn’t. I could tell from his tone he was putting me down as a crank,” she said smugly.
“I’m sorry for that. Why did you call back?”
“I saw his name in the paper this morning and thought I should try again.”
“I’m glad you did, Mrs. Standish. For your safety, I’m not going to put your name in my report…”
“You think I’m in danger?”
“I can’t say, but take precautions, okay?”
“What kind of people are they?”
“I don’t know.”
He could tell her he thought it was the mob, but she would repeat it to anyone who would listen and then she’d be dead. No, he wasn’t going to tell her. He looked over at Louie. Louie nodded.
“Mrs. Standish, please don’t talk to anyone about what you saw.”
“I’m not stupid, Lieutenant.”
Jake and Louie questioned her some more. When he was satisfied she’d nothing else to give them, they stood up. She walked them to the door.
“Thanks for your time.”
Once inside the car, Jake turned to Louie. “What do you think?”
“I think she already told anyone who would listen.”
“Me too.”
“What else is bothering you Jake? You almost lost your temper back there. That’s not like you,” Louie pushed.
“Kyra and I ran into Mia last night.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Something must have, because you’re in a foul mood today.”
“Mia cornered me when I went to the men’s room—even followed me in, if you can believe that.”
“So what happened?”
“Nothing, I told her it wasn’t the time or the place and then we left.”
“That’s it?”
“No, Louie. She called me this morning at six o’clock. I didn’t answer her call because I was with Kyra. Kyra guessed who it was and got a little pissed.”
“What are you going to do about the both of them?”
“I’ll be damned if I know,” Jake said, frustrated. They drove the rest of the way to the station in silence.
*
Back at the station, Jake requested the dispatcher’s call sheets from the day Mr. Church went missing, and from today, to see if Mrs. Standish’s name appeared anywhere. It did. Which was unfortunate, but Mrs. Standish was right—the dispatcher put down her call as unfounded, no action needed. Was the dispatcher an idiot, or working with Stack? Maybe they could have found Church alive if he’d sent a patrol car out to investigate. Jake walked into his captain’s office, shutting the door behind him.
“Problem, Jake?”
Jake nodded. “Yes. There’s a missing persons case I’m working to cover the overload. A woman called in when she saw the man being escorted from his home. The dispatcher put her down as a crank.” Jake handed McGuire the printed dispatcher’s sheet.
McGuire studied it, took off his glasses, and pinched his nose. “How do you want to handle this?”
“I want to question the dispatcher, but I don’t want to call attention to the caller. She’s in her seventies. She doesn’t need any trouble.”
“Trouble from the dispatcher?”
“No, the mob.” Jake watched McGuire’s forehead wrinkle as he frowned.
“You think this was a hit?”
“Most definitely.”
“Why?”
“This guy Church had a big-time gambling problem. He owes everyone and their mothers.”
“Do we need to offer protection to the witness?”
“I think it’s wise, but I’m not sure she’ll take it. She’s a tough old bird.”
“What’s your next move on this?”
“Well, this is actually Detective Stack’s case.”
“I know you’re overseeing the department, Jake, but why are you working this one?”
“Somet
hing’s off here, Shamus. Stack hasn’t given it more than five minutes of his time. When you asked me to handle the department until a new lieutenant’s assigned, I reviewed everyone’s cases—this one stood out. The other cases follow procedure, and you can connect the dots. Their last lieutenant must have set the guidelines. The investigation into Church’s disappearance doesn’t follow the established procedure. In fact, there are no follow-ups on the case.”
“Have you questioned Stack?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Can’t say—just a feeling I have.”
“You think he’s dirty?”
“I wouldn’t go that far, Shamus. I need time to investigate the crime and see where it leads me.”
“Keep me informed, Jake. When you’re ready to question Stack, let me know. How’s your department getting along?”
“It’s going. Burke and Kraus are still looking for Spike Jones. Lanoue and Brown closed the hit-and-run. They’re still working the school shooting. So far, I have no conflicts running both departments.”
“Things are going to heat up on you if you’re right about Stack and the mob.”
Jake didn’t doubt it—every cop’s nightmare—turning in one of their own. He didn’t believe in the blue wall. Jake hoped he could stand the heat, yet again.
Chapter Twenty-Two
His normally clean desk, now covered in stacks of files and paperwork, frustrated Jake. He stared at it for a few minutes, cursing the boatload of paperwork he’d acquired by having to head two departments. He needed to get his fives done and handed in, especially for Missing Persons. Knowing he put Stack in McGuire’s line of sight bothered Jake, but he knew McGuire would withhold judgment until all evidence was presented. If proven guilty, Jake knew McGuire would throw Stack to Internal Affairs for a full investigation. Jake’s gut told him Stack was guilty. Why else would an experienced investigator ignore a case? A decision made, Jake pulled all of Stack’s case files for the last six months. Making sure he pulled the physical files himself, not wanting to get any talk started by requesting them through proper channels. Tonight, over a beer, he’d look at them.
He didn’t leave the office until eight o’clock. Suddenly, he realized he hadn’t called Kyra all day. What she must be thinking? He dialed her while he drove home. She didn’t answer. Her phone went immediately to voice mail, so he left a message.
Burn in Hell_A Jake Carrington Mystery Page 16