by Jill S. Behe
“You really, really, really, need to talk to Levi about your suspicions, your questions. I know you know he’s more than a partner. He’s been like a conjoined twin to you. You relied on each other while in the Marines—even before that. You wouldn’t have hesitated then. Why are you now?”
He nodded, slowly. “You’re right. We had the perfect opportunity out at the house the other day. I should have just laid it all out then, but something held me back. Now, I don’t have a choice.” He gave a laugh. “I let myself get distracted.”
“You will work all this out, too.”
“So the story goes.” He shrugged at the question on her face. “I can still hear Liz’s voice in my head, telling me that when this all plays out, the final curtain, so to speak, will be hard to accept. I wish I could figure out what she meant.”
Hmm. Teal gave his knee a pat, and stood. “Let me go get you some water.”
“Sounds good, sweetheart. Thanks.”
She left him deep in thought, absently petting Bella. Sighing, concern for him almost overwhelming her, she went to the kitchen.
At times like these, her gift seemed so useless. That might be a good thing. And, he still hadn’t told her the real reason he’d shown up.
She grabbed a couple bottles of water, and hurried back to the living room, handing one to Decker.
He held it, but didn’t open it.
Teal unscrewed the cap on hers and took a sip, waiting, watching him wrestle with his thoughts. “Just ask, Decker. I’ll decide the yes or no.”
He settled on the sofa. Was he doing the right thing? There was very little evidence, but his speculation of the case, everything that had transpired, the killings, the close calls, all fit into the puzzle. In his mind, there could only be one person responsible. He was convinced. He couldn’t prove it, nor could he tell anyone how he’d come to his conclusion.
But was he right?
“First I want to thank you for being here. For always being welcoming. For never complaining about me showing up without being invited, or the lateness of the hour. I’m grateful, and so so lucky you’re in my life.”
“That’s a lovely compliment. Thank you.” She wondered at his motivation. “I’m just as lucky that you’re in mine. Now, what’s on your mind? What’s got you so tied up in knots?”
“I’ll get right to the point.” He took a breath and let it out slow. “I need the expertise of a research librarian. One who can be discreet, and though it’s not totally illegal, needs to be aware that it could potentially get her fired.”
She set the bottle down, and leaned forward. “What do you need found?”
“I feel— This has to be done stealthily. And, I don’t want to get you into trouble.”
“Decker, just ask. I need to decide for myself if it’s worth the risk.”
He said nothing, just stared at the coffee table, contemplating.
Teal laid a hand on his arm. “Again, it’s my decision. If you don’t give me the choice, you’ve robbed me of the opportunity, and ultimately you don’t get any answers.”
He cleared his throat. “Okay. I need you to research a name. As much information as you can get from every available source. I could call my bud from the agency I worked for, but he’d just get them all involved, and I can’t do that to Levi.”
“Why not tag Levi?”
“Because—”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re trying to—”
“Stop. Wait.” A pause. “I want an outside source—you—because my suspicions may be unfounded, and Levi…could look like an idiot.”
Hands went to hips. “Oh, but it’s okay for me to look like an unemployed one?”
“No. No. Yours is more private. I could, and will, do my own search, but you have more resources available through the library system, whereas a personal—at home—internet search, would not. Well, as I’m not a hacker, mine wouldn’t.”
“I beg to differ, but—” Teal sat back, arms folded, bottom lip slightly pooched. “Okay. Who do you want the dirt on?”
“Got a pen? A piece of paper?”
“Seriously? Cloak and dagger?”
A nod. “Just an extra precaution.”
Teal opened her mouth, then closed it and frowned. “Okay.”
“Seriously, just cautious.”
Teal stood. “Be right back.”
Decker watched her leave the room, not sure of her mood, and already second-guessing his decision to involve her. He certainly wasn’t going to tell her the reason he was being cautious.
There was a word for that. Paranoid.
Paranoia? Not that he’d ever admit. Over-thinking? Maybe. Psycho-analyzing a killer wasn’t his strong suit. His skillset was eliminating the objective. Hard to do when you don’t know who, or where he/she is, or the true agenda.
Was Teal the real target?
Was he?
Teal returned with a pen, and a single sheet of paper.
He raised his eyebrows as he took them from her.
“Hey, I’ve seen too many mysteries where the bad guy figures out things he’s not supposed to know because the dummy victim wrote on a pad of paper, and the information got imprinted on the sheet beneath. Even though I’m sure no one’s gotten in here.”
He smiled. “Clever, Mrs. Fletcher.”
She shrugged, a grin tugging at her mouth at the reference to the TV character. “Can’t be too careful.”
“Hmm. Something like that.”
He clicked the pen, wrote two words, and passed the paper.
She pulled in her lips, eyeing him.
He nodded, deadly serious.
“Holy moly,” she breathed. “This is going to get tricky.”
“Tell me about it.”
She went to the mantel, struck a match and lit the paper, waiting until it was mostly ash and before it burned her fingers, then dropped it in the fireplace where it finished burning itself out.
Decker laughed.
Chapter 38
Monday afternoon….
* * *
The landline was ringing as he came in from a walk with Bella. He ran to catch it before it went to voicemail.
“Brogan.”
“Hey, Deck. Gavin Bishop. How’ve you been?”
Huh. Now why would his former partner be calling after all this time? “I’m fine. Haven’t heard your sorry voice for a good three years, or more. What’s going on? Still in Philly?”
A cynical cackle. “Hell yeah. They’d need the jaws of life to pry me out of here.”
“So, what’s up? You wouldn’t call on a whim.”
“Uh. Odd stuff, Deck. I’m just gonna jump in. You remember when your wife started calling and giving us her…insights, sometimes?”
Damn. “I do, but—”
“It’s the craziest thing.” The man paused. “This is going to sound like I’m from Jupiter.”
Shaking his head, Decker smiled. Just like old times. “Hit me, kid. I’m game.”
“You always were. Okay. So, we’ve been working this weird as shit case for about a year. Just closed it up nice and tight last night. Really bizarre. I shouldn’t think so after all the freaky stuff we used to deal with, but—”
“Don’t have time to dillydally, Gav.”
“Ha. Dillydally. A word my grandmother might have used, but, um, yeah. Okay. We wrapped it up last night, like I said. After the requisite paperwork was done, I went home and crashed. Middle of the night, I get this weird ass dream. Your wife—may she rest in peace—is standing at the foot of my bed, telling me to send you a copy of all our files from the case we just closed. Is that off the wall enough, or what? She says, just like she’s really there, that it might benefit you to see those files because of some kind of thing going on out there in your neck of the woods.”
Damn. Damn.
“So I go in to work today, and against company policy, gather up everything I could about this case, and shoot you off an email. I don’t know what you’ve got going on,
but man, if it’s anything as bad as what we just finished up with, you need to stay safe, dude. And, if you need any help, just say the word, and I’m there.”
“Liz visited you?”
Another cackle. This one sounded borderline nervous hysteria. “That’s the only pertinent thing you focused on? Shit, man. You can’t tell the boss. He’ll have me in the psych ward in two seconds flat.”
“Bishop, I’m not telling Craven about this. I’m asking a question.”
The man was silent for several seconds. “Man, I know what it sounds like. But, I swear, there was never anything between your Liz and me.”
“I know that.”
“You know. Of course you know. When I saw her, I figured I was just trashed from the case, ya know? But she convinced me it was really her. So, you got the file. Hope it helps you out. And no hard feelings?”
Decker chuckled. “None. And thanks, I’ll look over your files. Usual encrypted email?”
“Of course.”
“Good.”
“Decker?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you tell me what’s going on out there? You okay? Need any help? I could take leave. Be just like old times. You and me, dude.”
“Appreciate the offer, bro. All I can tell you at this point is that we got a serial. Mostly local, as far as we can determine.”
“Shit man, that’s some bad news.”
“Yes, it is.”
“As I mentioned earlier, you need help with containment? Shoot. You need…anything, just call.”
“Thanks for the backup. If I need to, I’ll call.”
“Roger that. Take care, Deck.”
“You too, Gavin.”
“Later.”
Decker sat in silence for several minutes, rehashing the conversation, then climbed the stairs and fired up his computer. Logging into the highly secure agency website, he maneuvered to his private email account, and began to read the only entry in his inbox.
The more attachments he opened, the harder his heart worked. “Good god. It’s almost identical.” His voice a whisper. “Possible. Probable, even. But if it’s who I think it might be, how do I prove it?”
You know who, my love. And the how? It’s there, and not all that deep in your brain, anymore. You just have to give yourself permission to think it out loud.
“Liz?”
His phone rang. He answered it absently. “Brogan.”
“Are you all right?”
“Teal?” He frowned. “I’m fine. Are you?”
“I got the strangest, strongest, feeling that you were in trouble.”
“No. Not as far as I know.” Maybe a little wigged out.
“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”
“Never, Teal.”
So why aren’t you telling her how you really feel?
“Okay. I’m sorry I bothered you.”
“You’re never a bother, Teal. And, I’m not in trouble, but I just received some troubling information—that I need to share with you and Levi—but I’m okay.”
There was no sound from the other end.
“Stop biting your lip, Teal. When do you get off work?”
“At four.”
“You did tell me that, didn’t you. I’ll come by and pick you up. We’ll go over to the station and talk to Levi. Sound good?”
“Um. Okay.”
He heard hesitation.
“Or, we could…?”
“Well, I could drive home, and you could pick me up there. It would save the back and forth to pick up my car later.”
“Let’s do that.”
“Decker—”
“No second guessing. I’ll see you a little after four. At your house.”
“Okay. Be safe.”
“You, too. Please.”
They hung up, and Decker hit the print button.
Teal had taken a chance, leaving the desk and ducking into the restroom to call him, but the sense of dread had been too strong to ignore.
The door handle jiggled, and someone knocked.
“Just a moment.” She turned on the water to rinse her hands, and grabbed a paper towel to dry them before unlocking the door.
Jacqueline stood on the other side, one black eyebrow cocked. “Are you all right? Clarice said you left your station like you were going to be sick.”
Teal gave a shaky smile. “Oh, no. Ha. I just waited a little too long, if you know what I mean. Almost didn’t make it.”
The children’s librarian rolled her eyes, and strolled towards the front. “Thought maybe you had a case of morning sickness.”
A fit of giggles threatened to burst out, Teal fought them down. “Seriously? Morning sickness?”
“Don’t try to be cute. You know what it looks like.” The other woman turned, a sly look on her face. “Could be true.”
Teal shrugged. “If I was sick, maybe I caught it from Bea.”
Jacqueline resumed her lazy saunter down the hall. “Oh no. What she had is contagious, but it wasn’t the flu. Believe me.”
Wondering at the woman’s cryptic comment, but relieved she was gone, Teal sighed, long and deep. That was too close.
Sierra appeared from around the corner in Jacqueline’s aromatic wake, and grinned at Teal. “Wow. She’s smelling potent today. What is she wearing? Can’t be Chanel, can it?”
“Good Lord, Sierra!” Palm on her chest, Teal leaned against the wall trying to catch her breath. “You nearly gave me heart failure. What are you doing here? And at this hour? You should be at school.”
“Are you kidding? You’ve got more chops than that.” Sierra laughed. “Yes, and no. I had a dentist appointment.”
“Okay. Then why come here instead of returning to class?”
“Two reasons. First, because the only two classes left today are a study hall, and gym class. My face is too numb—Can’t you tell by the way I’m slurring my words?—to play volleyball.”
Teal gave the girl a sharp look. “Uh huh.”
“It’s true. Sure, the tongue is thawing out, but still feels weird. Most of my jaw is still dead.”
“What’s the second reason for scaring my hair white?”
The teen got fidgety. “Not sure how to explain it.”
“I’m pretty open.”
“Actually, I was on my way back to school, but I got this creepy feeling that something was going on with you and Miss Thing. It was scary weird. And after seeing…well, this is heading into the area of why I’ve been wanting to talk to you in private.”
“Ah. Well, I had a weird feeling myself. Only mine involved Decker. I was so overwhelmed I grabbed my cell and ran into the restroom to call him.”
Sierra’s eyes went wide at the mention of her uncle. “Is he okay? Is Uncle Deck in trouble?”
“No. No, he’s fine.”
The girl leaned against the wall next to Teal. “Huh. I sensed your anxiety, and you sensed his. Cool. Everything’s kosher now, right?”
“Relatively. Jacqueline tried getting into the restroom. I hope she didn’t overhear anything. She did say Clarice thought I was sick because I left the desk so quickly. Speaking of, I need to get back before they both come looking for me.”
“Yeah. You’re so overrun with patrons today.”
“Smart aleck. And not the point. I do need to get back.” She ran her hand down Sierra’s arm. “Thanks for checking up on me.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Can you stick around until four? I could drop you off at the police station.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Do you need to let your mom know?”
“Nah, I already called her from the dentist’s office.”
“All right then. Come on, you can help me on the desk.”
As they made their way to the front of the library, Teal’s brain took a sharp right turn. Oh, crap. I was supposed to meet Decker at home, after work. Guess I’ll have to make another phone call.
Chapter 39
&nbs
p; Teal was on the phone with Decker as she and Sierra left the library. “I know I said I’d meet you at the house, but there’s been an unexpected glitch. I’m dropping Sierra off at the police station, so I’ll just stay there. Sorry for the runaround.”
“No, that’s fine. I’m glad you let me know.” He paused. “How did you—? I didn’t realize Sierra worked during the day.”
“She doesn’t. It’s a longer story than I have time for right now. I’ll explain it when I see you. Okay?”
“Yeah. Sure. Be there in a few.”
Teal unlocked the car and they got in.
“You know,” Sierra began as she buckled her seatbelt, “We don’t really have to finish our talk. I can tell you’re aware of what’s going on.”
Teal decided to play dumb. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, come on. You saw how she acted. There’s no supposition. You know exactly who, and what, or you should by now. She watches you all the time.”
And that was disturbing in so many ways.
Teal gave the girl a sidelong glance. “Which means you watch her, all the time.”
A teenage shrug. “Not so much, but you just have to glance over and you know who she’s staring at. And it isn’t a good stare, if you know what I mean.”
“I do know who you’re talking about. But there are a couple others at work that could potentially be a problem. What about them?”
“Get real. We both know there is only one person we work with who has a hard on when it comes to you.”
Teal bit her lip, wondering how much to say…to admit. “I do think you need to be careful, too. Any of them could retaliate.”
“Nah. There is no any. I’m non-existent to her, and no threat. You, on the other hand, are worrisome.”
“Worrisome?”
“I repeat. Get real.” A short laugh. “You know what I mean. You snagged him.”
“I snagged— Wait, what?” As if she didn’t know.
“Uncle Decker, dope. Um, oops. Sorry, no offense intended. But, she drools—okay, exaggerating, but not by much—whenever he steps foot in the library. I see it whenever I happen to be there at the same time.”
“I didn’t do any snagging, he—” Her mind was re-connecting dots, re-linking fragments. Yes, she’d been aware of the threat, and fairly certain of the why, even the who. But hadn’t allowed the reality of it to sink all the way in before. “Oh my god.”