THIRTY
“Look, Frankie. I appreciate what you've been doing for us, but this has to end. Roe and Giveans being involved in this was too close to home. And Giveans got shot. We need to take a step back and let things calm down for a while.”
“Darnow,” Frankie gritted his teeth as he spoke. “I'm as upset as you are about the woman. It wasn't supposed to be her, but it’s handled now. As far as anyone is concerned the case is closed. I'll be back in March. That's enough cooling off time.” Sarcasm dripped off the last three words.
“What does that mean, it wasn't supposed to be her?” Darnow's voice was deadly calm. “What did you do, Frankie?”
“Nothing.” Except save Kate’s life. If he could have gotten a clear shot, he would have killed Roe, too.
He didn’t, and now he had to figure out how to get Jack Roe out of the picture thanks to that stupid criminal. “Just don't get all soft now. You started this. Now,” Frankie lightened the tone of his voice, “you have to deal with the consequences.”
“That's what I'm trying to do, Frankie. I'm trying to keep us all out of prison.” Darnow took a deep breath then continued. “Look, your mother -.”
“Don't you bring Momma into this. You will not sully my mother's name by making her a part of your cowardice.” Spittle showered the face of the phone. “You may be a coward, Darnow, but I am not. The others are not. And you need to remember that what we're doing is right! These people - these criminals - have found a way around the system. It's a broken system. And WE are the people who are going to fix it.”
Without listening for a response, Frankie disconnected the call and shoved the phone in his shirt pocket. Then he collected his carry-on bag and boarded the plan. First class offered less privacy than a quiet corner in the bustling New Orleans airport, but once he settled into his seat, he pulled his phone out again.
This call needed to happen now.
Bubba picked up on the third ring. “Man, I thought you'd be on your way back to North Dakota by now.”
“I'm on the plane.” Frankie jumped straight to business. “Listen, we have a problem. Your uncle is turning into a coward. I need you to fix that before I get back.”
“Fix it?” Bubba’s voice grew quieter and Frankie could hear him moving around. A door shut, and then, “What do you mean by fix it?”
“Are you a moron, Bubba? Do whatever you have to do, but when I get back in March, things need to move forward, as planned. Got it? The old man doesn't run things anymore. We can’t afford to let him go soft.”
The implications drew a long moment of silence from Bubba. “Yeah,” his answer was slow. “I got it. I'll make it happen, Frankie.”
“Sooner rather than later, Bubba. You know how important this is to me.”
“I do. Consider it handled.”
“I knew I could trust you, man. You're true family. You have our family courage. We don't need a coward running the show.”
“I hear you, Frankie. Man, I always got your back.”
THIRTY-ONE
Darnow re-read the letter he'd been working on, then closed the file and shut down his computer. He sat back in his chair and rubbed his temples. Did he really want to do this? It would end his career. He'd probably end up in jail. As would half of his extended family if Internal Affairs started looking into past cases. His group had been working for several years. The justice they dished out was well deserved, but the law was not in their favor.
In the beginning, it seemed like a good idea. So many of these damn criminals managed to get around the law. He'd only meant to make sure that the worst of them could no longer hurt their victims. Murderers, rapists - especially child rapists. They had no place in society. As Chief of Police, it was his job to make sure that the people in Biloxi remained safe. He was just doing his job.
Frankie was the problem. He'd grown increasingly more dangerous over time. And this business with Kate getting shot? Darnow wondered if Frankie had arranged that. I wouldn't put it past him. Women held a low spot in the human hierarchy for Frankie.
Darnow's sister-in-law, Frankie's half-sister, had the daughter of a cruel man who believed women were objects to be possessed. Darnow wondered if he hadn't created the same belief in Frankie. He was flawed. And dangerous. That much Darnow knew.
Maybe Frankie was involved in Kate’s shooting. What had he meant when he said, “it wasn't supposed to be her?” Was he targeting Jack?
This who situation was spinning out of his control and he needed to end it. Now. Before any more damage was done.
A knock sounded on his door frame, making Darnow jump. “Bubba,” he said, trying not to sound too surprised. “I didn’t realize anyone had come in.”
Bubba grinned. “Hey Unc. I wanted to bring this to you,” he held out a bottle of scotch. “I took it by your house, but you weren't there, so I figured you'd still be here.”
The news had been running spots about the shooting all day. By now, Darnow figured the whole state had heard.
Darnow stood and accepted the bottle. Johnny Walker Blue Label. Expensive stuff. Also his favorite. “What's the occasion?”
“I thought you might like to celebrate getting Juarez off the streets today. One less miscreant trying to take over our city.” Bubba dropped into a chair across from the chief's desk.
“Right.” Darnow tried not to think about the letter he'd written, exposing his part in the vigilante justice that was happening in his precinct. A lot of people were going to get caught in the middle. Some good. Some, like Frankie, not so good. They all knew the risks, though. They all knew they were taking the law into their own hands and that it could turn on them.
Darnow couldn’t think about that now. He had to do what was right before an innocent person got hurt. Too late. Okay, before a civilian got hurt. Cops knew they were putting their lives at risk every day. Still, Darnow thought he would be able to control this. He was wrong. The only right thing to do was end it and absorb as much of the blame as he could. He still had a family to protect.
He pulled two glasses from the desk and started to pour.
“None for me, Unc.” Bubba waved him off. “If I go home with whiskey on my breath, I'll have an angry wife to handle.”
“Your loss,” Darnow said and slid the second glass back into his desk drawer. He knocked back the first shot of whiskey and then poured another. The liquid burned a path to his stomach. He would pay for it later, but right now, it was exactly what he needed.
Maybe if he got drunk enough, he wouldn’t even care when he hit send and ruined his life and many of the lives of the men in the group. The men in his family. Maybe he could even drink enough that he could find the courage to pull that gun from his bottom drawer and put a bullet in his brain.
He didn’t mention names in the letter, but eventually it could be traced to all of them. Especially if someone knew what they were looking for. He might as well be dead, because it was only a matter of time.
“I'm not sure if we can call today a win,” Darnow broached a subject that he knew wouldn’t be well-received.
“Why's that?” Bubba asked. “Giveans getting shot? Please. Maybe this will get her out of Homicide. We both know she doesn't belong here.”
“Bubba,” Darnow tossed back a second shot of the whiskey, coughed several times and continued, his voice tight. “It's never good -.” More coughing. He gasped for air.
Bubba sat across the desk, watching with interest.
Darnow sucked at the air, each breath sounding like it was drawn through a small straw. Realization widened his eyes. “You,” he croaked, but couldn't get anything more out. He grabbed his chest, eyes pleading with Bubba to help him.
Bubba walked around the chief's desk and calmly wiped his glass dry and put it back in the drawer. Then he tucked the bottle of whiskey he'd laced with Aconite, a poison derived from the roots of the Wolfsbane plant, back into his jacket.
“Damned old fool,” he said as his uncle struggled to breathe. “Yo
u should have left well enough alone.”
THIRTY-TWO
Kate watched from the couch as Jack put the finishing touches on the Christmas tree. That had been her one request for staying with him, that he finished the decorating they had started before the boat parade. She wanted to celebrate with them, to have a real family Christmas. Even if I didn’t get to see Lisa’s pageant.
That had upset Kate. She knew she couldn’t have done anything to prevent the circumstances that kept her away, but guilt gnawed at her. She had promised Lisa she would be there.
Of course, Lisa understood. She’d even made arrangements to have the whole pageant recorded. Then she’d come to the hospital afterward with ice cream and chocolate so they could watch it together.
Kate cried and laughed and cried some more. Then she showered Lisa with praise and told her a dozen times how awesome she was and how much Kate loved her.
Now, Kate wanted to help Jack with the decorating, but she discovered quickly that she was still in far too much pain to be that active. She'd been in hospital for almost two weeks, and even now, she still felt like she just got shot yesterday. It didn't help that today was the first day of her physical therapy. She had cried like a child as she tried to perform the tasks the therapist demanded. Now, she was sore, and would have been cranky if she wasn't having so much fun bossing Jack around.
“Thank you,” she said, as he stacked the last of the boxes from the decorations and came to sit beside her on the couch.
“Anything for you, Kate.” Jack kissed her lightly and then slipped from the couch to the floor.
Kate giggled, thinking he was being silly. She was taking up a lot of space, all stretched out with her blankets and pillows.
Then Jack twisted from his butt to his knees and held a hand up to her.
“You know I can't -.” The rest of the sentence died in her throat. The hand Jack held up wasn't for help. He was holding a black velvet box out toward her.
“Kate,” his voice shook, “I've known for a while that I love you. With everything that's happened this month, I decided it was time to quit being a coward. You're the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, Kate. Will you marry me?”
Kate looked from Jack to the box he held up. Was he seriously asking her this question? Please don't let this be a dream. Or if it is a dream, don't let me wake up. He's asking me to marry him. He wants to marry me. He loves me.”
Jack cleared his throat. “Hey, you in there?” He asked gently.
Kate giggled and realized that she was crying. “Yes. I mean YES. I'm here. I'll marry you. Yes. Yes. Yes.” She wanted to kiss him, but she couldn't reach him.
“You don't want to see the ring first?” Jack popped open the lid of the box and Kate couldn't help but draw a deep breath. Nestled in the velvet sat a white gold ring with two large diamonds, hugged by a diamond studded band.
“Jack, this is...” Kate couldn't find the words.
Jack lifted the ring from the box and placed it on her hand. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Kate.” He leaned in and kissed her with a heat that promised to stand the test of time.
When he pulled away, Kate was breathless, but she managed a light tone. “You're stuck with me now, buddy.”
Worry ate at her. She wondered if what she’d learned about Jack during this case would continue to bother her. They hadn’t talked about it since the fight before she got shot, but Kate still wondered what might have happened if she hadn’t killed Juarez. Would Jack have focused on solving the homicide, or would he have focused on the kidnapping and trafficking cases at all costs?
THIRTY-THREE
“Don't forget the garlic,” Kate said as Jack rummaged in the refrigerator for the ingredients to make dinner.
“I got it,” he stood up and shot Kate a look. She sat in a chair he'd dragged in from the living room, watching him cook. Neither of them had wanted to be apart, but Lisa would be home any minute, and they all needed to eat.
They chatted like school kids as he prepped the vegetables for a salad and spiced the steaks up. It was chilly out, but he was still determined to put them on the grill.
He heard Lisa come in the front door, her keys jangling. She was talking on the phone. “Come to the kitchen,” he called out.
A few seconds later, she came through the doorway, saying goodbye to the person on the other end of the line. She leaned down to hug Kate, and Jack watched as Kate subtly flashed the ring in Lisa's face.
He laughed when Lisa said, “Oh. My. God. He finally got brave!” She hugged Kate fiercely.
“Ow!” Pain marred the happiness on Kate's face.
“Oh, sorry. Sorry.” Lisa looked like she was about to cry, but after a moment, the pain passed and Kate beamed up at her.
“I said yes,” Kate said, and tears gathered in the corner of her eyes, too.
“Oh man,” Jack said in mock frustration. “Now I'm going to have two crying women in the house.”
Kate laughed and Lisa punched him in the arm. “That's right, mister. You're outnumbered now.” She hugged him tightly and whispered in his ear, “It's about time.”
When she let him go, she looked at the disarray in the kitchen. “Uncle Jack, I better help you out, or we may never eat.” She picked up a knife and started slicing mushrooms, which she dropped into a skillet with some garlic and butter. “It's a shame he has to ask you to marry him for us to have steaks around here.”
Jack started to spit out a comeback when his phone rang, cutting him off. He looked at the screen.
Scott. He answered the phone with a quick hello as he was trying to situate it against his shoulder.
“Hey man.” Scott sounded subdued, a stark contrast to the jovial atmosphere in the kitchen.
“I’m guessing you called to tell me what you found out?”
“Nothing, Jack. I’m sorry. There were no prints and nothing I could use to track down the creeper that was in Kate’s apartment.” Scott sounded truly regretful.
“I’m not surprised,” Jack dropped minced garlic into the skillet with the mushrooms Lisa was cooking. “I knew it was a long shot.”
Jack’s phone beeped in his ear and he glanced at the screen. James Tradewell. Mayor James Tradewell. What now?
Tradewell had been Jack’s commanding officer when he was in the military. Jack respected him, and respected the fact that Tradewell always looked out for his men.
When Tradewell retired from the military and came back to Mississippi, he had looked Jack up. They didn’t spend a lot of time together, but they had a bond that only fighting in a war together could create. Jack’s gut said that if Tradewell was calling him, something must be wrong.
Jack ended the call with Scott and switched to the incoming call.
Jack placed a hand over the phone. “I’m going to take this in the other room,” he whispered to Kate before he said hello.
He started to the living room, but not before he noticed the concern on Kate's face. He squeezed her hand as he walked past her.
“Jack, it's James Tradewell.”
“Yes, sir.” What do you say to that? Evidently the mayor didn't realize that cell phones had caller ID.
“We have a problem.”
“I gathered that, since you're calling, sir. What's wrong?”
“It's Darnow. Jack, he's dead.”
“What?” Score one for gut instinct. Why are you calling to tell me? Better yet, why didn't someone from the department call me? He had taken a few days off to help Kate get settled, but someone would have, should have called him. “What happened?”
“We're trying to keep it quiet. Officially, we're reporting that he died sometime last night from a heart attack, Jack. Someone worked hard to make it look like one.” Jack could hear other people in the background. It sounded like the mayor covered the phone and spoke to someone else briefly.
When he came back on the line the mayor said, “He didn't die of a heart attack. He was poisoned, but the only reas
on we knew to look for the poison was a letter that was found on his computer.”
“What was in the letter?” Jack listened to Kate and Lisa chatting in the kitchen.
“Evidently, the chief was involved in some kind of vigilante ring,” The Mayor sounded tired. “There aren't any names in the letter, Jack, but it sounds like there were others in the department involved. That's why I'm calling you.”
Jack's hackles went up. “Sir, if you think -.”
“Don't get all self-righteous with me, Jack. You and I go back a long ways. I know you're not involved. That's why I need your help. I'm going to push for you to be replacement as Chief. I want you to work with someone from Internal Affairs to help me figure out what the hell is going on.”
“You want me to be Chief? Isn't that an elected position?” Jack was having trouble absorbing what Tradewell said.
“I can make sure you get in,” Tradewell said. “But Jack, I need secrecy on this. You can't tell anyone. Including that partner of yours.”
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AVAILABLE MARCH 2016
They can’t connect.
When Jack Roe is promoted to Chief of the Biloxi Police Department, his partner and fiancé Kate Giveans is left behind to take on a new partner. Caleb Castille, an Abercrombie & Fitch model look-alike with a gun, is more than willing to pay attention to Kate while Jack’s focused on other things.
And the race is on.
Kate and her new partner have little to go on when they begin investing a murder at a local logistics company. Worse, their suspects keep turning up dead. When the killer’s sights land on Kate, the two detectives must rush to find the murderer before Kate becomes the next victim.
A Biloxi Christmas: A Novella (The Biloxi Series) Page 10