“When I’m asleep I remember something, but when I wake up I don’t. Something is going on, right?”
“Yeah. Warwick’s case has been reopened.”
“Did you do that?”
“No.” Steed dragged his hands over his face and sat back. “I don’t know how to tell you this.”
Uneasiness settled in Darci’s stomach. Steed was more serious than usual, and that put her more on edge. “Tell me what?” she asked.
“You were right. Warwick didn’t kill himself.”
Darci stared at him in disbelief, hearing the words, but not believing she’d heard them. Steed had said Kenny didn’t kill himself. Was she dreaming?
“Are you going to say something, Darci?”
“How…”
“We’re still trying to figure out the details, but we know for a fact he didn’t kill himself. You said he didn’t die, and you were right.”
“Whoa!” She held up her hand. “I said what?”
“Darci…” he began.
“Don’t Darci me!” Her body trembled with rage. “What did I tell you?”
Steed remained silent.
“Answer me!” she demanded.
“Right before your accident, you called and told me Warwick didn’t die and you had proof. You mentioned the letter.”
“The letter? The one I found at the house?”
“I imagine so. You were—you were fixated on that letter. Insistent there was something about it. Do you have any idea what it could have been? How you managed to know what the authorities didn’t have a clue about?”
“If I was on my way to see you, the letter must be in my purse. Jackie told me she put it up in the closet.” Darci grabbed her crutches. “I’ll get it.”
“I can do that for you.”
She held out a crutch, halting his movement. “No, you stay here. I need a minute to calm down, and you need to prepare to answer more questions.”
The time away did little to calm Darci, and the sheepish look on Steed’s face when she returned didn’t help.
He stood as she approached. “Is the letter in there?”
“I haven’t looked.” Against her better judgment, Darci accepted his assistance back to the couch. She grimaced as the weight of falling back aggravated the pain in her foot and side.
“Do you need to take your meds?” he asked.
“No. They make me groggy, and I want to keep my focus.” She plundered inside the purse and pulled out two folded sheets of paper.
“What’s the other sheet?”
“Gimme a second and I’ll tell you!”
Steed recoiled.
Darci hated being abrupt, but was too angry to apologize. She looked from one sheet to the next and then read the words aloud. “Not dead. With Eva cop Fritz—”
“Fritz?”
“That’s the one you didn’t like, right?”
“Yeah. Go on.”
“With Eva cop Fritz in cabin. Help.” She handed Steed the page. “A hidden message was in the letter. I used our code.”
“Code?”
“Something we did as kids.” Darci rubbed her temples, staving off the growing ache behind her eyes. It was as if her head was in a vise and the squeeze was on. She groaned.
“You sure you’re all right?”
“It’s just a headache.” She continued massaging her temples. “Miss Sophie reminded me of the code when I was there with Jacob.” She dropped her hands and met Steed’s concerned eyes. His worry made her angrier, and intensified her pain. “Jacob. He told me the case had been reopened and you didn’t. Your promotion was more important than me.”
“Darci, I can explain…”
“You always have an explanation, but I don’t want to hear anymore.” Darci closed her eyes as memories came flooding back. “We had a fight. We broke up.”
“We were angry. You definitely had reason to be upset with me, but I want—I need you to see things from my point of view.”
“Why should I?”
“Because I love you. Darci, I was trying to protect you. You were so…”
“Right! I was right, Steed.”
“If you want to be technical, Darci, I was right, too.”
“How do you figure?”
Steed reached for her hands, but she pulled away. The last thing she needed was his touch adding unwanted influence to whatever he was about to say.
“You insisted your friend couldn’t kill himself,” he said.
“And he didn’t.”
“But the person in the house, Jason Hyde, did. I had the body exhumed and a positive identification was made. The guy looked like Warwick. Warwick’s parents thought it was him, you even thought it was him, so Eva’s false identification didn’t raise any flags. A lot of strings were pulled to make this happen. Kenny’s message said a cop named Fritz helped Eva. If he’s in cahoots with Eva…”
“You think she’ll hurt Kenny?”
“You know her better than I do, but she allowed her parents and the whole world to think he was dead. What would she have to lose if she actually killed him? There’s no telling what Fritz will do. He quit the force soon after Kenny’s ‘death’ when Rogers wouldn’t consider making him a detective.”
Tension knotted the muscles in Darci’s neck and the ache in her head grew stronger. As crazy as she thought Eva was, she didn’t think she’d gone this far off the deep end, and Steed made this Fritz sound even worse. “You have to find Kenny.”
Steed stood. “I’m going to do everything I can, Darci.”
“I’m going with you.” Steed opened his mouth but Darci shushed his words. “I’m going! If you had listened to me and believed in me sooner, this situation wouldn’t be as dangerous as I fear it’s already gotten.” She grabbed her crutches and stood. “If we don’t find Kenny before it’s too late, it will be your fault, and I will never forgive you.”
* * *
Fritz paced the room. Kenny had never seen him so out of sorts. If the man left, maybe he’d slip up on the outside and someone, anyone, would rescue him. He didn’t know what was going on with Darci. The news report said she was conscious, but he would worry until he saw for himself she was okay.
“Damn!” Fritz smashed a glass against the wall and began an expletive-laced diatribe about Darci and what could happen to him if she talked. At the end of the final curse, his angry eyes met Kenny’s. “This is your fault!” he screamed.
Kenny’s gaze never wavered. He felt anger that eclipsed Fritz’s a thousand times over. This man was upset about getting caught for something he did wrong, while Kenny sat locked away as his hostage.
“How do you figure this is my fault?” Kenny fired back. “I don’t recall asking to be kidnapped and presumed dead, and I’m equally certain Darci didn’t want to be hit by a car.” He made his way to the bars, wanting to get closer to Fritz as he taunted him. “I’m glad she’s okay and I hope she talks. I hope like hell the cops come looking for your rotten ass and they find out what you and my junkie sister have done.”
Fritz charged over and slammed his closed fist against Kenny’s mouth, rattling his teeth. The rancid taste of blood erupted on Kenny’s tongue.
Fritz grabbed a handful of Kenny’s hair and smashed his face to the bars. “Not another word out of you!” Fritz warned, tightening his grip on Kenny’s hair. “Do you hear me?”
“Kinda hard not to with you screaming in my ear.”
Fritz released the hair and shoved Kenny away. A new curse-laced tirade began.
Even with a busted lip and what felt like a patch of hair ripped from his scalp, Kenny found reason to smile. The more agitated Fritz became, the more certain he was his rescue would soon be at hand.
* * *
The station bustled with activity. Uniformed officers streamed from the detectives’ office to the main computer in the communications room and back again. “You really should have stayed at your place, Darci,” Steed said, pausing in his barking of orders long enough to ca
st concerned eyes on her. “It’s been hours, and we’re still gathering information. You need to be at home resting.”
“I can feel just as miserable here as I can there. At least here I’ll see what’s going on for myself. You’ve proven time and again you can’t be trusted to tell me the truth.”
“How many times do I have to say I’m sorry? I didn’t do any of this to be malicious. I was…”
“Looking out for me,” Darci finished in a huff. “Don’t remind me.” The headache was gone, but her foot hurt like nobody’s business. She rubbed her throbbing ankle. Maybe she should have popped one of those pain pills after all.
“You need anything?”
“No.”
“Darci?”
She grunted and held up her hand, keeping him behind the desk before he approached. “Don’t try to be helpful now. It’s not winning you any points with me.”
“Fine! Forgive me for caring.” Steed swiped up a file and stormed out of the room.
Part of Darci wanted to call him back and apologize, but the proud part of her wouldn’t allow it. She had every right to be angry, and it was his fault. She didn’t owe him anything.
Minutes later, Malena entered the office.
“Are you all right?” Malena asked, settling on the edge of Steed’s desk.
“I don’t know what I am,” she answered.
“Malena!” Steed approached with Rogers and whispered something to Malena.
Darci sat up. “What’s going on?” Steed met her gaze but said nothing. “You might as well tell me,” she said.
“We’ve tracked down a location for a small fishing cabin between here and Crider that Fritz had mentioned to a couple of officers. We’re headed there now.”
Darci reached for her crutches and pulled herself up. “Okay, let’s go.”
“What let’s?”
“I’m not staying here, Steed.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I am not being kept out of this again.”
“This could be dangerous, Darci. You’ll only be in the way, and you could be hurt more than you already are. So, sit down!”
The determination in Steed’s eyes proved arguing with him would be futile and a waste of valuable time. “Fine.” She sat.
“Be careful,” Rogers said.
“Will do.” Steed looked in Darci’s direction as Malena left for her car. “Chief, keep your eye on her.” Steed grabbed his leather jacket. “Come on, Jackson, you’re driving.”
CHAPTER 21
“Dim the lights and slow down,” Steed instructed Jackson and the officers following them as they approached to within a mile of the cabin. He returned the radio to the dash. With the twists and turns this case and day had taken, he had to have both end on a good note, and finding Warwick alive was the only way to do that. Steed wasn’t sure if Fritz and Eva were in the cabin, but he had enough back-up to be prepared for anything. He didn’t want any more slip-ups.
“I appreciate you having enough faith in me to bring me along,” said Jackson, never once averting his gaze from the dark road straight ahead. “I know how important this case is.”
“I trust you, Jackson,” Steed said. “Yeah, you’re green, but you’re eager, and you’re not cocky.” A trait Steed had in abundance when he was a rookie, and to his detriment, held on to way too long.
“Ms. Clarke seemed pretty upset with you.”
“She is beyond upset. I didn’t tell her the case got reopened, and she’s not happy. I don’t really blame her, but the person in that house committed suicide, and the body and the prints on the gun were identified as Warwick’s. I thought I was protecting her from being hurt.” I thought. His thinking had gotten him into this mess. Darci didn’t need him to think for her. She’d said that countless times. “I should have told her.”
“You kept quiet because you love her. Ms. Clarke knows that, and in time she’ll forgive you. My Krista and I have been together for six years, and in my experience with women and love, a little time for cooling off works wonders.”
Steed blinked. “Your Krista?”
“Yes, sir, my wife.”
“Wife? You’re married, Jackson?”
“Yes, sir. Almost one year to my high school sweetheart.”
“How come you never told me before now?”
“You never asked, sir,” Jackson answered, still looking straight ahead. “I didn’t have a reason to bring it up before, but now seemed to be a good time.” Jackson pulled out a necklace tucked inside his shirt. “I keep her ring next to my heart, as she does mine. So even apart, we’re close. Being away from Krista while I get settled here has been hard, but she’ll be moving to Sterling before Christmas. That’s going to make this the best holiday ever.”
“That’s good for you, Jackson.” Steed smiled but couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. Jackson wanted to learn detective work more than anything, and all Steed wanted was to have Darci in his life. “I doubt I’ll ever have a Christmas like that to look forward to.”
“I’m sure you will.”
“I appreciate your optimism, but if we don’t get Warwick out of that cabin in one piece, it won’t happen.” Steed picked up the radio. “Pull over, everybody. It’s time to take position.”
* * *
“You’re really uptight, Fritz.” Kenny tilted his head, grinning at the frazzled man. His mouth hurt like hell, but he couldn’t give up the opportunity to twist the knife. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were scared.”
Fritz’s eye twitched. “Shut the hell up!”
“Or what? You’re gonna kill me?” Kenny nudged his head at Eva. Her hands swept up and down her arms and her feet tapped an erratic beat on the floor. “Eva’s about to jump out of her skin. I think she needs one of your power drinks.”
“Kenny, stop it!” Eva shouted, raking shaky fingers through her dark hair. “I didn’t want this.”
“No, you just wanted my money.”
“You should have helped me.”
“I tried to help you, but you didn’t want my help.” Kenny glanced at Fritz. Now was the time to get Eva to help him. To get her to see what a true lowlife her new love was. “You see how scared he is. What do you think is going to happen when the cops get him? You do know the cops are going to get him, right?”
Eva covered her ears. “I can’t listen to this.”
“You’re gonna listen! When the cops nab Fritz, he’s going to do any and everything he can to save himself. The authorities don’t have a clue about me, but he’ll give them one, and he’ll make sure you take the full blame for this.”
Kenny shifted on the cot as Eva dropped her hands and approached Fritz. His planted seed had taken root, and he wanted a good angle to see the fruits of his labor.
“Is what he’s saying true? Are you going to sell me out?”
“No,” Fritz answered in a huff. “He’s playing you.”
“Why would he do that?”
“So you’ll turn on me.”
“You ran over Darci, Fritz! She’s been dating that detective, Steed McGraw. He’s not going to drop this.”
Kenny stared at his sister. Steed McGraw? He remembered meeting Steed once about a year ago when he came to record a spot on holiday safety for the evening news, and he seemed way too serious. Darci was serious, but…How did she get hooked up with that guy? She liked the suit-and-tie business type, not small-town-detective-in-denim type.
“What’s this about Darci and Steed McGraw?” he asked.
His question went unanswered as the exchange between Eva and Fritz intensified.
“You’re worried about nothing,” Fritz said. “McGraw can’t trace this back to me, so I won’t have a chance to blame you.”
“Which means if you got the opportunity, you’d jump on it!” Eva shot back. “I knew this suicide thing was a bad idea, but I went along with it. I let my parents think my brother was dead. I can’t believe this. What have I done?” Eva turned to Kenny, and for the fi
rst time since his capture, he saw more than a flicker of remorse in her eyes. “Oh, Kenny, what have I done?”
Renewed hope filled Kenny’s spirit. Eva wasn’t too far gone. He could get her to let him go. He just had to be alone with her again, and he knew he could make it happen.
“Eva, don’t fall for that.” Fritz approached her, his hands closed around her face. “Listen to Fritz, don’t I always take care of you. Don’t I give you everything you need?” He kissed her. “Don’t I?”
“I guess, yeah,” she said softly, nodding.
“Don’t guess. Trust me. I’ll be back soon.”
“Where are you going?” Kenny and Eva asked in unison.
“To the station. I’m going to find out just what McGraw knows about me running over Darci Clarke, if anything.”
Fritz pulled open the door to find guns drawn and pointed. “I know quite a lot, Fritzano. Thanks to you,” Steed said.
Fritz moved back. “McGraw.”
Relief pumped through Kenny’s body. Thank you, God!
“Take another step and it will be your last. Trust me, you don’t want to give me more reason than I already have to rip your head off.” Steed turned Fritz around and slapped on the cuffs. “You are under arrest!” Kenny couldn’t hear what more Steed said to Fritz after reading the man his rights, but the look on Steed’s face and Fritz’s reaction confirmed the words weren’t of a cordial nature.
Steed patted Fritz down while a young blonde officer handcuffed and arrested Eva. An attractive black woman in plain clothes and the eight uniformed officers who helped make up the rescue team escorted Fritz and Eva outside while Steed made his way to Kenny with the ring of keys he’d found in Fritz’s pocket.
“You look pretty good for a dead guy, Warwick,” Steed said, opening the door to the prison after trying the third key.
“How’s Darci?” Kenny asked.
“She’ll be doing a whole lot better once she sees you.”
* * *
“Thank you for driving me out here, Martin. I don’t think I could have stayed at that police station another minute.” Darci nibbled anxiously on her thumbnail as Chief Rogers drove down the long, dark country road. “Shouldn’t we know something?”
Not Quite Right (Indigo Love Spectrum) Page 18