“You rang, Detective Carlisle? Something about a phone you need me to dissect.”
Vince spun and glared at the younger man. “I got it.”
Brandon raised an eyebrow. “Whatever you say, Boss. I got the impression my mad skills were needed for this one.”
Katie was pleased to see the look of frustration that passed over Vince’s face. He was a seasoned law-enforcement officer and possessed mad skills of his own, just not the kind they needed to reveal the secrets within the cell phone. Even Vince knew it; she could see it on his face.
For a moment no one said a word, and then Vince slapped the phone into Brandon’s hand and said, “Fine. Get it done.” He paused before leaving, and she sensed he was waiting for her to react. He left, apparently satisfied that she was going to play nice and not make any snide remarks.
Katie turned back to Thea and hoped her irritation didn’t show. But Thea wasn’t looking at her; she was staring at the open door Vince just walked through. “Is he always like that?” Thea asked.
Katie almost laughed. “Afraid so.”
“Oh yeah, man,” Brandon said. “He can be so shitty.”
She raised an eyebrow as she ever-so-slightly shook her head. Brandon had the good sense to look sheepish.
Thea was still staring at the doorway Vince had just disappeared through. “I sure hope he’s good.”
Vince pissed her off on a regular basis, and today was just one in a string of those days. Another thing her dad had taught her was to see things as they really were, and that included Vince. So, even as irritated as she was by him, she had to be honest. “Yes, he is, and trust me, Thea, he’ll help us figure this out.”
“Dude didn’t want to give it up though, did he?” Brandon was looking at the phone through the clear plastic evidence bag he held up to the light.
Katie agreed. For whatever reason, Vince seemed intent on inserting himself in every aspect of this investigation and the small phone his personal piece of evidence. “You know how he is, Brandon.”
Nodding his head enthusiastically, he backed her up. “Yup. Guy’s got a serious control-freak thing going on. Not cool, if you know what I mean. Hey, I’m Brandon.” He held his hand out to Thea. “You’re the sister.”
Thea nodded and accepted his outstretched hand. “Yes, I’m Thea.”
Brandon’s head bobbed and his eyes searched her face. “Freaky how much you look like her. Well, not exactly like her.” His head tilted. “Your eyes are different, and she had that little scar right here.” He touched a spot on his chin.
Thea’s eyes narrowed, and she seemed to put a little more distance between her and Brandon. “How would you know that?”
The tone in Thea’s voice mirrored her own reaction to Brandon’s breezy statement. His words were light and quick, yet they had a level of detail that didn’t make sense.
Brandon shrugged. “Easy, the pictures.” He tapped a finger to his chest. “I’m the go-to guy for all things techy around here, and I put together the digital file. Takes hours to really do those files right, and by the time it’s done, I’m real familiar with the faces I work with, like your sis. Then I see you sitting here and it’s whoa, twin city. Hits me how freaky alike you are until you look real close. Then you see the differences. You’re both real pretty though.”
The lines around Thea’s eyes eased, and Katie sensed she was appraising him as the character everyone in the department knew him to be. Brandon was the kind of guy who was true to his own individuality.
Thea bit her lip, then said, “Thanks, I think.”
With a slight nod, he turned to leave. “I’ll get this thing picked apart, and you’ll get the goods as soon as I know.”
“Thanks, Brandon. Call me when you know something.”
“Copy that,” he said with a wave as he walked through the door.
Katie turned her eyes to Thea. “Brandon’s good, Thea. This phone gives us another avenue to follow, and he’ll make sure we get anything and everything we can from it. Don’t let his quirky personality fool you.”
A shadow crossed Thea’s face, and she could tell Brandon’s earlier words about how much she and Alida looked alike bothered her. Sometimes crap just rolled out of his mouth years before his brain engaged. There was a very good reason he wasn’t a field guy. His room full of computers was the perfect place for a guy whose interpersonal skills constantly required tutoring.
“That’s good, and if you’re comfortable with him, I am too.”
“He’ll pull whatever there is to find out of the phone.”
“Even so, we still don’t know who she was seeing. What his name is. Where he’s from. Even with that phone we have nothing, and she’s still as lost as before.” Despair colored her words.
Katie wanted to tell her she was wrong, except she wasn’t. The best thing she could do, however, was try to keep things on a positive note. “Someone will know something. We just have to dig a little harder to find what we need. There’s a trail somewhere and we’ll discover it. It could very well start with this phone.”
Abruptly, Thea stood up from the table. “You want to get a drink?”
Katie cocked her head. The question was pretty random. “A drink?”
“Yeah, you know, ice in a glass, booze over the ice, nice and relaxing.” Then she stopped and looked a little sheepish. “Oh, wait, you’re probably on duty for a while, and this was a very inappropriate invitation. I’m sorry.”
Katie shrugged. Why not? Random could be good. “Actually, I’m off duty. I was just about to head home when you guys got here. So, sure, a drink would be nice. Where would you like to go?”
“My place.”
*
Lorna was surprised to find the front door locked. Or maybe not. A woman who lived alone really shouldn’t leave her front door unlocked, even if she did have a guest staying with her. She walked around the house and tried the back door. It was open, though once inside she realized pretty quickly that she was alone. Back in the empty kitchen she wondered where Thea might have gone. Could they have found Alida? Only then did she think to check her messages, and sure as the world, there was a text from Thea saying she was heading downtown to talk with Katie again.
One mystery solved and a new one created. Why did she need to go back down to the sheriff’s department? What hadn’t they covered this morning that was so urgent now it required a second trip? Or had something happened while Lorna was downtown wandering around like a nomad? The latter made her angry at herself for being so selfish she’d left Thea to handle potentially bad news alone. As a so-called good friend she sucked.
She punched in Thea’s number, surprised to hear the ring right outside the back door. A second later Thea walked in, and Lorna’s calm demeanor put her worst fears to rest. Whatever had taken her back to Katie’s office, it wasn’t worst-case scenario.
“You rang?” Thea said as she put her bag on the kitchen counter.
“Freaked me out when you weren’t here. What’s up? Did they find her?”
A frown shadowed Thea’s face and she shook her head. “No, nothing like that.”
“Then why go back down to the sheriff’s department? Your text scared the crap out of me.”
Thea sighed. “Grant found a cell phone between the mattress and box springs.”
“A cell phone?” She was so entrenched in thoughts of bad news, it took a second for Thea’s explanation to sink in.
“It was Alida’s, and she’d taken some pains to conceal it from Grant.”
“But…” And then it hit her. “Oh.”
“We think she used it to call him.”
“Why didn’t you wait for me? I would really like to have held it to see if I could pick anything up.”
Thea gave her a long look. “How many missed calls do you have on your phone?”
“What?” Lorna fumbled with her phone and hit the button showing the missed calls. “Crap.”
“I tried you over and over.” She looked up and
met Thea’s eyes. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“I would have waited, but I thought we needed to get the phone to the police as soon as possible to try and figure out who she was calling.”
“Do we know who he is yet? Were they able to track any of the calls to the secret guy?”
Thea shook her head again. “Not yet. They’re checking it now. As soon as Katie knows, we’ll know.”
That the police had a possible new lead was good. She only wished she’d had a chance to handle it before they took it in. Tactile contact sometimes triggered knowledge, and missing the chance to give it a shot made her sad. Not that she blamed Thea. If she’d given Thea a call to come get her like she said she would, she wouldn’t have blown her chance to hold the phone first. The fault rested squarely on her own shoulders. “I hope it helps.”
“So do I.” Thea walked over and patted her on the back. “Now, did your walk help?”
Kind of hard to say whether her detour this afternoon did much good. The interlude with Addy certainly didn’t. Still, she did feel a little clearer and more focused. Her sixth sense wasn’t quite up to the same speed she’d experienced back at her house, but this was all new. Maybe she wasn’t giving herself enough time to let it all jell. Or, and right now she hoped it wasn’t so, maybe what had happened with Catherine and Tiana was a fluke. Perhaps she wasn’t some kind of psychic after all and she wasn’t going to be able to do a damn thing to help Alida.
Actually she was feeling a little different. Her body sort of buzzed, and the sharpness she felt couldn’t be a coincidence. Despite her doubts, she really didn’t think her powers were a fluke. If there was a veil between the worlds of seen and unseen, it was parted for her. All she needed to do was figure out how to part it when she needed to. “Yeah, I actually think it did.”
Now Thea hugged her with one arm. “I’m glad, though I’m a little less glad my cell didn’t ring with a call from my dear friend saying she was ready for a ride home.”
Lorna put an arm around Thea’s waist and hugged her back. “About that.”
“Yes, indeed, about that.”
She told her about running into Addy and how she’d jumped on a bus to get away from her. “It was a chicken-shit move, but it worked. I should have called you. Should have been here when you needed me. I’m so sorry.”
“Oh, Lorna, I’m the one who’s sorry. If not for me and Alida, you wouldn’t even be here to have to deal with uncomfortable situations with so-called old friends. I call myself one of your friends, and yet I impose on you. On so many levels it’s not right.”
That Thea was apologizing to her under these circumstances made her feel ashamed of herself for all the self-pity. Big fucking deal if she was uncomfortable because of a chance meeting. In the big picture it didn’t mean a damn thing. “I’m a tough bitch,” she said as she placed a kiss on the side of Thea’s head. “And nobody, not even Addy, can keep me from being here with you.”
*
Earlier, Katie had sent Thea on ahead with the promise to be there shortly. She wanted to take the high road and leave the cell phone with Brandon while keeping Vince in the loop. Screw the high road. It was her case, she was lead, and he was butting in. It seemed like every time she turned around, there he was. He didn’t need to be in the loop at all.
Downstairs, her bad luck held. Vince was leaning over Brandon’s shoulder. The phone was connected to one of Brandon’s computers with a cable. On the screen were half a dozen numbers.
Brandon looked up and smiled. “Hey, Katie. Just in time to take a little look-see.”
“Anything?” she asked, her gaze on Brandon while at the same time she pretended Vince’s continued presence didn’t piss her off.
Vince glanced over at her and shook his head. “Nothing helpful.”
“Dude, I’ve pulled up more helpful information than you have.” Brandon rolled his eyes.
“But all the calls?” It was obvious by what was up on the monitor that Alida had made a lot of calls, and the string of numbers was identical. Surely there was something in that.
Brandon leaned back in his chair. “She was a chatty thing.”
“Maybe so. Still doesn’t give us squat since they all went to the same burner phone. Canwell and her squeeze were apparently very careful.” Vince sounded disgusted.
Damn it, another dead end. She hadn’t realized how much she was hoping the phone would be the key to finding Alida. When were they going to get a break on this case? “There’s nothing we can use?”
Vince stood and stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. “No prints from any unidentified person, no calls other than to the untraceable burner phone. I’d say we’re in exactly the same place we were before the hubby brought this in.”
“I was really hoping it’d tell us something.”
“Typical nothing. You’re chasing ghosts here, Carlisle. It’s the husband. It’s always the husband.”
She took a deep breath and let it out before answering. “So you’ve already solved the case, is that it, Vince?”
He shrugged. “Don’t let a pretty face sidetrack your good sense. I’ve seen the way you look at the sister. You and I both know the perp is most likely someone very close to her, like her husband. So just because the sister doesn’t think it’s the husband doesn’t mean it isn’t.”
Fury roiled inside and she wanted to snap back at Vince. One more lesson from Dad…don’t react, even when you’re sure you’re right. “I know my job, Vince, and I’ll grant there’s merit to your position. I also know that if we focus only on the husband, we could very likely miss the real killer. Sometimes these things aren’t cut-and-dried.”
“And most times they are.”
She studied him for a long moment. Why he was so intent on laying the blame at the feet of Alida’s husband? Despite how she felt about Vince, he really was a good cop, and good cops didn’t get fixated on a single person before ruling out all possibilities. They hadn’t even come close to ruling out everyone close to Alida.
“Just let me do my job, Vince, and if it turns out you were right all along, I’ll bow to your expertise.”
Again he shrugged and turned to walk away. “Whatever you think you need to do, Carlisle. It is your case.”
“Man, that guy is such a dick,” Brandon said after Vince was out of earshot.
“Be careful, Brandon. I swear he has our offices wired.”
His head tipped up and his gaze moved over the ceiling. “Naw, I sweep the place for bugs every day.”
Good old Brandon. He had a way of making her smile regardless of how pissed off she was. Helped, too, at least until she got in her car. As soon as she was inside with the door shut, the quiet settled over her and her mind zoomed back to Vince and the way he pushed to take the cell phone. It would be so much easier if he’d just butt out and leave her to work her case the way she always did.
In the end, she fumed all the way to Thea’s house. At least until the moment she opened the door, and then all her distress fled. Just seeing Thea’s face took the sting out of everything that happened before she got here. She stepped through the doorway feeling suddenly better. Inside, the house was comfortable and inviting. Thea still looked tired, but at least here she seemed calm.
“What’s your poison?” Thea asked, pointing to an array of bottles inside a glass-fronted cabinet.
She swept her gaze over the bottles until it settled on a familiar label. “Scotch.”
“Rocks?”
The woman caught on quick. “Yes indeed.” Good liquor. Good instincts. Good company. Didn’t get much better than that.
Thea smiled, and for a moment, the sadness fled from her face. The effect was dazzling and breathtaking. “A girl after my own heart.”
She watched as Thea pulled the bottle from the cabinet and poured the golden liquid into two crystal glasses. After Thea handed her one of the drinks they walked out to the paver-brick patio. Outside, Thea built a fire in the raised pit.
The fragrant wood crackled and popped as the fire took hold. Warmth and the scent of tamarack floated through the night air. It was beautiful and peaceful and, if not for the reason that had brought them together in the first place, romantic.
“Tell me about you and your sister,” Katie said as they settled next to each other on the padded patio sofa.
She softly tapped her fingers against the ice-filled glass with the expensive scotch. Thea knew how to buy her booze, and, after the exchange with Vince down in the lab, it was very much appreciated. She leaned back against the cushions and looked around. This was space designed for comfortable entertaining. The back of the house opened onto a large deck created from the kind of decking material designed to last for decades. A glass-topped patio table surrounded by six matching chairs was perfect for outdoor dining. Five steps down and an expansive brick patio spread out below the deck. In the center was the custom-built fire pit they sat around now. The yard was obviously designed for privacy, with trees, flowering bushes, and flowers planted along the six-foot perimeter fence. It was clear Thea spent a fair amount of time and money creating her own private oasis.
Out here on the attractive and comfortable patio, sitting on the wicker sofa with its deep, comfortable cushions, it was nice. Despite that, she could barely sit still. It had nothing to do with the location and everything to do with the woman seated next to her sipping from her own glass of scotch.
Funny how she could go along with her life, as her grandmother liked to say, fat, dumb, and happy, and then boom, one woman walks into it and stirs things up. That’s how she felt right now: stirred up. Her mind whirled with the possibilities that Grant’s discovery of the secret cell phone brought up and the web of lies he and his wife had been spinning for everyone around them. She’d follow those threads and hope something in there would lead her to Alida, even if at the moment the cell-phone lead appeared to be a bust.
Twisted Whispers Page 15