In the Arms of the Law

by Peggy Moreland

  “You knew that when you spoke to Prater, yet you recommended me anyway, knowing it would mean the end of our relationship.”

  “Is there a point to this conversation? If so, I wish you’d hurry up and make it. I’ve got things to do.”

  He stared at her a long time, then slowly released her. His hand on the doorknob, he glanced back. “For what’s it worth, you’re the first woman who’s ever dumped me, and the only one I’ve ever regretted losing.”

  Andi had known going in that when a relationship ended between co-workers it could make things awkward on the job. She’d even warned Gabe of that danger.

  What she hadn’t known—or had chosen to ignore—was how much it would hurt.

  With Gabe now officially a detective, he was assigned a desk opposite hers, in the area of the squad room the detectives referred to as the pit. The move made it impossible for Andi to avoid seeing him or escape the sound of his voice.

  Though she felt his gaze on her several times that morning, she kept her eyes down and focused on her work. She was trying so hard to block Gabe’s nearness, she was startled when Reynolds stopped at her desk.

  “We just got a call from a female. Says her ex kidnapped her kid. An officer is en route. Thought you’d want to know.”

  “Who’s the responding officer?”

  “Jarrod. The rookie.”

  Andi glanced over at Gabe and found him watching her.

  With his gaze on hers, he scraped his keys from his desk and stood. “I’ll take it. You’d probably end up killing poor Jarrod.”

  Nine

  Lenny was a thirty-six-year-old man with the mind of an eight-year-old and a dream to become a policeman some day. He was actually already on the payroll of the Red Rock police department, though his job title was janitor, not officer. He’d worked for the department for six years and did everything from sweeping out the jail cells to running errands.

  It was an errand that brought him to Andi’s desk shortly after Gabe’s departure. He had a tendency to sneak up on people, which was why Andi nearly jumped out of her chair when he touched her shoulder.

  She pressed a hand against her heart. “Lenny,” she said, laughing weakly. “You scared the life out of me.”

  He leaned close to whisper. “I’m on a mission.” He tapped the papers. “Top-secret delivery for Gabe.”

  She bit back a smile. “He’s out on a call.” She pointed her pen at the edge of her desk. “You can put it there. I’ll see that he gets it.”

  He set the documents on her desk, as if they were a bomb that might go off if not handled with care. “You won’t forget, will you?”

  Smiling, she shook her head. “You have my word, Lenny. I’ll give them to him the minute he returns.”

  “Okay, then. Bye.”

  “Bye, Lenny.” Chuckling, she returned her attention to the file she was updating. After a moment, her curiosity got the better of her and she glanced at the papers Lenny had left and noticed the cover sheet had FAX printed on it in bold type. Wondering what information Gabe might have requested, she stretched to pick up the papers and flipped to the second page.

  “Phone records?” she asked herself with a frown, then glanced at the top of the page to see whose records he had requested. She clamped her jaw when she saw her own name and cell number listed.

  “That jerk,” she muttered, then scanned the page, noting the report only showed calls received and placed during the month of August. The same month in which her so-called stalker had started hassling her.

  Rising, she circled her desk, sat down behind his and began to dig through his drawers. She didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty for prying. After all, he had pried first by requesting her records.

  She’d about given up on finding anything else when she noticed a file marked “Aerdna,” which was Andrea spelled backward. “Really, Gabe,” she muttered as she pulled out the file. “You’re going to have to quit watching those detective shows on television.”

  She quickly thumbed through the contents, finding phone records for her house phone and a profile on her neighbor Richard. Curious—and a little more than irritated—she settled back to read Richard’s profile. Married and divorced three times. No surprise there. Five years at current address. No outstanding warrants listed, but a shiver chased down her spine when she saw that he’d been arrested once for assault on a woman.

  She flipped the pages back to examine the records for her house phone. The list was short, as she would’ve expected, since very few people had her home number. She recognized her dentist’s number and zeroed in on the numbers following it, remembering that she’d received a hang-up call immediately following the call from her dentist. 210-555-3889. She frowned, not recognizing the number, then followed the line Gabe had drawn to the bottom of the page and the handwritten note: “Pay phone in parking lot of grocery store at 8th and Lee streets.”

  Obviously, he’d traced each number to its source. But he hadn’t had a chance to trace those on her cell yet, she realized. She quickly slid the file back into the drawer, then returned to her desk and picked up the fax Lenny had delivered. She quickly flipped the pages, looking for the date that she and Gabe had returned from their dead-end trip to New Orleans. Finding it, she scanned the time of the calls until she located the approximate time she’d received the welcome-home text message. When she did, she stared, unable to believe what she was seeing.

  Deirdre had left her the message? But…why?

  There was only one way to find out, she told herself and pushed to her feet.

  She’d confront Deirdre.

  Deirdre stretched her toes to the footboard and her fingers to the headboard, purring like a cat fat on cream. She’d never imagined that sex could be this good. Not just good, she mentally corrected. Fantastic!

  Smiling, she rolled to her stomach and propped her chin on her hands. And it was all due to blind luck. Who would’ve thought that slapping a guy with a traffic ticket for running a red light would lead to three weeks of glorious, spine-tingling sex? She shivered deliciously. And not just any guy. A hunky, handsome guy with brains, no less.

  The doorbell rang and she rolled to her side, to frown in the direction of the living room. Who in the world would be ringing her door at this time of day? Everybody she knew was aware she worked nights and slept during the day. With a shrug, she rolled off the bed and pulled on her robe. Probably the paperboy, she told herself as she headed for the door. She’d been so busy, she’d failed to mail her payment.

  But when she opened the door, she was startled to find Andi standing on her stoop.

  “Well, hey,” she said in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  “I need to talk to you.”

  Puzzled by the angry set of Andi’s jaw, she glanced over her shoulder. “This really isn’t a good time,” she said hesitantly, then looked back at Andi and squinched her nose and grinned. “I’ve got a man in my shower.”

  “This won’t take long,” Andi assured her and pushed her way inside.

  “What’s going on?” Deirdre said with concern. “You’re scaring me.”

  Andi whirled and thrust a paper in front of Deirdre’s face. “Why’ve you been hassling me, Deirdre? Is it because of Gabe?”

  Stunned, Deirdre drew back, pushing Andi’s hand from her face. “What are you talking about? I haven’t done anything to you.”

  “Haven’t you?” Andi cried angrily, then thrust the paper in Deirdre’s face again. “Look at the number underlined in red. That’s your number, Deirdre. The number of the cell phone you were issued by the department.”

  “So?” Deirdre said defensively. “Everybody uses their cells to make personal calls. As long as it isn’t long distance, what difference does it make?”

  “A hell of a lot when they’re using their cells to make harassing phone calls.”

  Deirdre’s mouth dropped open. “I beg your pardon, but I’ve never made a harassing phone call in my life.”

  “
Gabe might argue that with you. He says you’ve called him at all hours of the day and night.”

  She clamped her lips together. “So that’s what this is all about. The mighty Gabe Thunderhawk.” She tossed up a hand. “Okay. So I called him a few times. Where’s the harm in that?”

  “And you called me. A text message that could easily be considered a threat.”

  “I did no such thing!”

  “And you also spray painted the word whore on my garage door.”

  Deirdre gasped. “Have you lost your mind? I’d never do a thing like that.”

  “I would.”

  Andi snapped up her head, then froze, her gaze fixed on the man who stood in the doorway of Deirdre’s bedroom. He had a little more gray at the temples, but he looked virtually the same as he had fifteen years ago. “Wesley?”

  A slight smile curved his lips. “Hello, Andrea.”

  Deirdre looked back and forth between the two in confusion. “You know each other?”

  He stepped into the living room, never once moving his gaze from Andi’s. “Oh, yes. Andrea and I go way back.”

  Deirdre stared. “But…how?”

  “We met when Andrea was in college. I was one of her professors. Her favorite, as I recall,” he added.

  “Why?” Andi breathed. “Why have you been stalking me?”

  “Stalking?” he repeated, then clucked his tongue. “Stalking is such an ugly term. I prefer to think of it as evening the score. You destroyed my life, ruined my career. Why should you be allowed to continue on, unaffected, while I paid the price for our indiscretions?”

  Deirdre gaped at Andi. “You had an affair with Wesley? You slept with him?”

  “Oh, yes,” Wesley said before Andi could respond. “Our little Andrea is quite the harlot. She wore me down with her insistence, seduced me with her youth and her charms.”

  Her face ravaged with tears, Deirdre lunged at Andi, clawing at her face and her eyes. “He’s mine,” she cried hysterically. “Mine!”

  Andi threw up her hands to protect her face, but managed to hook a foot behind Deirdre’s leg. She jerked hard and Deirdre fell back against the floor, then curled into a ball, weeping, her robe open, exposing a bare hip.

  Shifting her gaze to Wesley, Andi dragged a hand over her cheek, smearing the blood Deirdre had drawn with her nails. “You sick bastard,” she grated out. “You used her, didn’t you? You used her to get information about me.”

  “Oh, I used her all right. But not just for the information.” He pushed a foot against Deirdre’s hip, forcing her onto her back. “She has an insatiable appetite for sex. And, unlike you, she enjoys experimenting with the darker pleasures to be gained from sex.”

  “Why, you—” Her eyes wild, Deirdre scrambled up, her fingers curled to attack him.

  Laughing, he planted a foot against her chest and shoved her roughly back. She stumbled, fighting for balance, then fell, her head striking the coffee table with a sickening crack. She moaned pitifully, then her eyes shuttered closed and her body went limp. A pool of blood slowly formed beneath her head.

  Andi had to fight the urge to go to her, knowing that if she did she would only make herself vulnerable to similar treatment from Wesley. In order to help Deirdre, she had to remain focused. Alert. She had to think.

  And she had to keep Wesley talking.

  “I didn’t destroy your life,” she said. “You did that to yourself. You knew the university’s rules and you chose to ignore them.”

  “Rules,” he repeated with a weary shake of his head. “And why should the punishment meted out for infractions only affect the faculty and not the students involved? Why should you be allowed to walk away unscathed, while I was stripped of my job, my tenure?”

  She lifted a shoulder, feigning unconcern. “You were aware of the chance you were taking, as well as the consequences if you were caught.”

  “How was I to know that your roommate would hold such a grudge?”

  Genuinely puzzled, Andi frowned. “Marcy didn’t hold a grudge against me. We were friends.”

  “Not against you, dear. Against me. Marcy and I were lovers before you and I became involved.”

  Marcy? she thought in dismay. Marcy had warned her against getting involved with Wesley, but it had never occurred to Andi that her roommate’s misgivings were learned firsthand.

  He laughed in delight, obviously aware of her shock. “How naive you were. I soon grew bored with her, though. A pretty face, but very little upstairs,” he said, pointing to his head. “You, on the other hand, stimulated me both sexually and intellectually. Or would have for a while, anyway. Thanks to Marcy, we’ll never know, will we?” He smiled smugly. “She paid for tattling, though. Just as you’ll pay for destroying my life.”

  Oh, God, Andi thought. He’d killed Marcy. He’d destroyed their friendship, then killed her. But…when?

  Deirdre moaned, but Andi didn’t dare look her way. She had to keep Wesley talking until she could think of a way to overpower him. Her gun was in her shoulder holster and hidden by her blazer. But she didn’t dare reach for it. He was too close. One false move, and she’d be looking down the barrel of her own gun. He was fast and he was strong, evidenced by the muscles that corded on his bare chest and arms.

  “I’m curious,” she said. “How did you persuade Deirdre to help you? She’s a cop, as well as my friend. I wouldn’t think you’d be able to persuade her to do anything illegal or harmful.”

  He sputtered a laugh. “You forgot to mention ‘dumb.’ She never even realized I was using her. Milking her for information was a piece of cake. Stroke her in the right places and she babbles like a brook.”

  “What about the text message I received? Did you send that?”

  “Of course I did. Deirdre is rather careless with her equipment. Leaves it lying around all the time. While she was in the shower, I borrowed her cell phone. The bitch was never the wiser.”

  “And the day you embellished my garage door with your unique artwork. How did you know I was at Gabe’s?”

  “I followed you.” He wagged his head, as if disappointed in her. “Really, Andrea. Did you never pay attention in class? Always remain cognizant of your surroundings. I preached that day after day after day.” He chuckled, as if at some private joke. “Of course, you were a bit distracted that day, weren’t you? All you could think of was getting to that Indian’s house and screwing his brains out.”

  His hand arced out so fast, Andi didn’t have time to dodge the blow. It struck her full on the cheek and sent her reeling back.

  “Bitch,” he muttered and grabbed her by the hair, yanking hard. “Nothing but a whoring bitch.”

  The second blow hit her opposite cheek and rattled her teeth. Knowing she had only herself to depend on for survival, she grabbed his arm with both hands and lifted her knee, ramming it against his crotch.

  Gabe dropped his keys on his desk and glanced over at Reynolds. “Where’s Andi?”

  “Beats me. I went to the restroom and when I came back she was gone. Maybe she took an early lunch.”

  Gabe glanced at his watch. “A little early for that.” With a shrug, he sat down at his desk and reopened the file he’d been working on earlier.

  “Heard you made detective.”

  Gabe glanced up and sputtered a laugh when he saw Lenny standing less than three feet away. “I’m going to get bells for your shoes, Lenny.”

  Lenny edged closer. “I’m practicing sneaking up on criminals.”

  “Well, you’re doing a good job. I never even knew you were there.”

  “Did you get the papers?”

  Gabe flipped a page to make a notation. “What papers?”

  “The ones I gave Detective Andi to give you.” He laid a hand on the edge of Andi’s desk. “I put ’em right here.”

  Gabe shook his head. “Didn’t see any papers.”

  “But she promised. She said she would give ’em to you when you got back.”

  Quickly losing h
is patience, Gabe set aside his pen. “I’m sure she’ll give them to me when she returns.”

  Lenny wrung his hands, clearly upset. “But I promised Marge I would give them to you personally. It was my mission.”

  Frowning, Gabe asked, “What kind of papers were they?”

  “A fax. Marge said they were for your eyes only.”

  Gabe shot to his feet. “And you gave the papers to Andi?”

  His eyes wide in fear, Lenny backed up. “You weren’t here. Detective Andi said she’d give them to you.”

  Realizing that he was scaring the man, Gabe forced himself to calm down. “It’s okay, Lenny. It’s not your fault. Where’s Marge?”

  “In her office. I just saw her. She’s in a bad mood. She yelled at me.”

  Gabe ran for the hallway, praying Andi hadn’t found something on the fax that identified her stalker and decided to confront the person on her own. He ducked into Marge’s office. “The fax you asked Lenny to give me,” he said breathlessly. “Can you get me a copy of it?”

  “Get in line,” she said sourly. “I’ve got about forty requests ahead of yours.”

  He slapped his hands down on her desk and shoved his face up in hers. “I am the line.”

  She drew back, eyeing him warily. “Well sure, Gabe. I’ll get right on it.”

  Deirdre.

  Gabe had told Andi all along that he suspected Deirdre was the one behind her trouble. But even with the evidence lying on the seat beside him he was having a hard time believing it. She was definitely strange. And possessive. Maybe even a bit vindictive. But he’d never thought her stupid. And only a stupid person would use her own police-issued phone to place a threatening call.

  And that made him wonder if there was someone else behind all this. Someone else pushing the buttons and setting Deirdre up to take the fall.

  With that in mind, he approached the door to Deirdre’s apartment with caution. Standing with his back against the wall, he drew his gun from his holster and listened. At first he heard nothing beyond the sound of traffic on the street behind him. Then he heard it. The muffled sound of voices. One female. One male. He was too far away to be sure, but believed the voices were coming from the bedroom and not the living room.