by H. P. Bayne
School would be letting out in a couple of minutes. Dez had called Eva on the way here. She’d left Mara at the cabin and was at home now, picking up Mara’s suitcase and packing bags for herself, Dez and Kayleigh. Sully’s belongings were still in the hatch, next to Lachlan’s. Dez and Lachlan had come up with as much of a plan as they could manage. They would pick up Kayleigh and take her to Eva, who would return with her to the cabin. Dez and Lachlan would then turn their attention to finding Sully.
Dez had initially intended to just go in and get Kayleigh, but decided he could use a couple more minutes alone with Lachlan first. There were things they wouldn’t be able to discuss in front of her—namely the fact her uncle was in major trouble.
“I’m not sure where to start looking,” Dez told Lachlan. “The Dules could be anywhere.”
“Maybe we don’t start with them. There aren’t a lot of people in KR on the call list as hitmen, even fewer who work in teams. I don’t have a lot of inroads into that arena anymore, but given Sullivan’s description of these men, they sound to be over thirty, maybe even forty. That suggests to me they’ve been at this a while. I put a file together at one point, trying to keep tabs on people who took on hit jobs. Might be one of them jumps out at us as a possibility.”
“Chances are they didn’t stick around at the same address for long.”
“Give me some credit, Braddock,” Lachlan grumbled. “I do know how to find people, you know. That’s why I get paid the big bucks.”
Nagging dread swelled inside him, the kind that told him that even if they found the men, it would likely be too late to change anything. Hired killers didn’t doddle on paid jobs. This wasn’t a kidnapping with a ransom demand at the other end. Sully was supposed to die, end of story. Dez swore, raking his hand through his hair.
With less than a minute to go before the bell rang, Dez’s dark thoughts were interrupted by his cellphone ringing. Forbes.
Just as well. Dez had a bone to pick with him. He hadn’t shown up at Lachlan’s, and he hadn’t bothered to pick up when Dez had tried him.
“About bloody time,” Dez said. “Where the hell were you?”
“Braddock, listen.”
Dez’s shoulders tightened, as did his grip on the phone. This wasn’t Forbes’s usual brusque tone.
This was pain.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ve been shot.”
Dez put Forbes onto speaker for Lachlan’s benefit, turning wide eyes on him. “He said he’s been shot.”
Despite the fact the phone was on speaker, Lachlan snatched it from Dez’s hand. “Where are you? Is help coming?”
“I called 9-1-1. Hung up to call Sullivan but couldn’t reach him. Haven’t got much time. Another cop did this. Amber Lisoway. Talked her way onto the Thackeray Schuster murder.”
Dez cut in. “Maybe you should save your strength. You sound like hell.”
Forbes wasn’t having it. “I’m supposed to be dead. Might end up there anyway. Turn on a recorder. Need to provide a statement.”
Lachlan handed back Dez’s phone, then pulled out his own. He located his notes app, opened it and hit record. “Got it. Go ahead.”
“Amber Lisoway was my partner on the Montague investigation. Had been on past cases too. Trusted her. Told her I was looking into Lowell Braddock, and about his possible connection to the Montague homicide. I put Oliver’s statement about Montague onto a thumb drive, said it was the original. Wanted to play it for her, but didn’t want anyone to know about the copy on my phone. She wanted to listen to it, and we were supposed to go to her place. She drove me to the old warehouse area instead. Made me get out of the car at gunpoint and walk into one of the buildings. She didn’t say anything other than demanding the thumb drive. I handed it over. She shot me twice and ran out. She didn’t use her service weapon; she had a secondary one. You need to protect yourselves. Turn off your recording.”
Lachlan clicked the button on his phone. “It’s off.”
Forbes’s voice, when it came again, sounded mumbled and groggy. “Didn’t give her Sullivan’s name, but once she plays it for Lowell, he’ll recognize it. She’s trying to eliminate all connections between the murders and Lowell. I’m sure of it. Where’s Sullivan?”
Dez ignored the question for now. “Why do you think this is about Lowell?”
“She’s involved with the Circle. Mentioned it to her and she reacted.”
The school bell rang, drawing Dez’s eyes there. As he watched for Kayleigh, he heard distant sirens coming through his handset. “How bad you hurt, Forbes?”
“Don’t know. One in the chest, one to the head. Hurts like a bitch but could be worse. Think I’m in shock.”
“The head?” Dez asked.
“Just sliced through my scalp and kept going. Bleeding bad. Hit my head on the way down, knocked myself out. Probably thought I was dead.”
The sirens sounded closer. “Listen, Forbes,” Dez said. “We’re going to try to find out which police officers are Circle members. It will help us figure out who to avoid. Once I track Sully down, I’ll check in on you.”
Forbes didn’t answer.
“Forbes? Forbes, come on. Answer me, man. Forbes!”
Nothing.
“Shit,” Dez said. He could hear movement now, someone approaching Forbes. Meanwhile, in front of him, the school was emptying of kids.
“Watch for Kayleigh,” Dez told Lachlan. “You remember what she looks like, right?”
Lachlan shot him a withering glance, but didn’t otherwise respond.
Someone picked up the phone and Dez held his breath, hoping.
“Who is this?” came a voice on the line.
Dez breathed a sigh of relief, recognizing the voice of his former colleague, Clark Davies. Clark was a good, solid cop, as incorruptible as they came. What was more, he had earned his stripes the good, old-fashioned way—with solid police work.
“Clark, thank God. It’s Dez Braddock. Listen, Forbes just filled Lachlan Fields and me in on what happened. Amber Lisoway shot him. You need to make sure Forbes is under twenty-four-hour guard, you hear me? I’m going to get a list of names and forward them to you. Those names will be police officers you can’t trust. And I’ll have Lachlan forward you a verbal statement Forbes just provided to us, detailing what happened to him.”
It seemed to take Clark a moment to compute. “Jesus, Dez. You’re not fucking serious.”
“Wish I wasn’t.” Dez watched the front doors of the school as Lachlan tapped the share function on the recording.
Still no Kayleigh.
“Need your number, Davies,” Lachlan said. “I’m going to send one to the chief’s office as well, hit up as many of the brass as possible.”
Clark provided his own number and Lachlan sent off a copy of the recording.
“Sure sending it to the brass is a good idea?” Dez asked. “Odds are at least one of them is a Circle member.”
“One thing I know about the power-hungry,” Lachlan said. “They don’t suffer fools. They’ll push their own mothers off a sinking life raft if it means keeping themselves afloat longer. Might be we win this by separating them from each other. But you raise a good point. I’ll call our source first about those names.”
Dez took his own phone off speaker while Lachlan made his call to Paul.
“Listen, Clark, stay alert, all right?” Dez said. “Until we get you that list, you can’t trust anyone.”
“You’re freaking me out, man.”
“Welcome to my world.” Dez disconnected and redialled Sully’s number. As before, the call ended in a message the person he was trying to reach was away from the phone.
Dez clicked off just as Lachlan finished with his conversation with Paul.
“Still nothing from Sullivan?” Lachlan asked.
Dez shook his head, fighting back another bout of cold dread.
Lachlan dropped a hand onto his shoulder. “Listen—he’s smart, capable and tougher than he
looks. He won’t go down easy on this, all right?”
Dez nodded, but left it at that.
So did Lachlan. “Paul’s going to send me a list, not just of the police members, but everyone he can think of in the Circle. I don’t know why I didn’t think of asking him sooner. I’m an idiot.”
“With a concussion,” Dez reminded him. “Anyway, I didn’t think of it either.”
“Yeah, well, I’m usually smarter than you,” Lachlan quipped.
“I won’t disagree.” Dez’s eyes remained locked on the school doors, and his heart gave a thud as a final group of stragglers left the schoolyard. Kayleigh hadn’t been among them. “You’re sure you didn’t see my daughter?” Dez glanced at Lachlan, found his eyes fixed on him.
“I’m sure.” His voice was tight. “I think you’d better go and ask.”
Dez didn’t need to be told twice. He was out of the car and inside the school in less than ten seconds, taking it at a sprint. The office was right there, on the left, and Dez went up to the window, shouting to get the attention of the school secretary.
He knew how he must look by the alarm that passed across the woman’s face as she headed over.
“My daughter, Kayleigh,” he said. “She didn’t come out of school. Do you know if she’s still here somewhere?”
The woman paled. “You don’t know?”
It was Dez’s turn to pale. “Know what?”
“She was taken out of school about an hour ago. They’re family. I recognized them both and Kayleigh seemed happy to go along with them. I thought you must have known.”
Dez didn’t have to ask. He did anyway.
“Who picked her up?”
Though he knew what she would say, the woman’s answer nonetheless made his stomach drop.
“Lowell and Kindra Braddock.”
12
Dez raced back to the SUV, where he’d left his cellphone.
His brain, as much as it was capable of forming a coherent thought, flipped between calling 9-1-1 or Eva first.
Lachlan, standing outside the vehicle, Dez’s phone in hand, provided an answer—though not one of the options Dez had considered.
Lachlan’s hand covered the phone’s mouthpiece. “It’s Lowell. I’ve put him on speaker so I can—”
Dez didn’t have the luxury of time to think, nor was he capable of it at the moment. He snatched the phone from Lachlan’s waiting hand.
“Where is she?” he snapped, his tone the embodiment of all the terror and rage coursing through him.
“Relax, Dez. She’s fine.”
“Where. Is. She?” Each word a clipped sentence of its own, spoken through gritted teeth.
“As I said, she’s safe. We need to talk.”
“Where and when?”
“Right now, right where you are is just fine. I understand you tried to convince Kindra to go to the police with the collection of lies you levelled at her. I don’t know what’s gotten into you, boy, but it ends now, do you hear me? Whatever you think you’ve got on me, it’s wrong. It’s all wrong. I didn’t hurt Aiden, and I didn’t hurt your dad. And I didn’t do anything to the Schusters or Sullivan or anyone else. Now, you’ve been through a lot the past couple of years and—”
“Shut up! Shut the fuck up! I’m not discussing this with you. Tell me where my daughter is, right now!”
“She’s with us, and she’s safe. A lot safer than I am, apparently. How can you accuse me of these things, Dez? You’ve known me your whole life. Whoever’s been telling you these things, they’re obviously out to get me. You have to see that.”
“What I see is that you took my little girl and won’t tell me where she is.”
“You make it sound like a kidnapping.”
“What the fuck would you call it?”
“She’s my great-niece. I used to see her all the time. That all changed a couple of years ago when you started to slide. Kindra and I just wanted to spend some time with her again. There was a time you wouldn’t have minded if we took her with us for a visit.”
“Those days are long gone. Stop trying to sell your bullshit and tell me where you’ve got her.”
“She’s with us, and she’ll be just fine. I need you to call off this ridiculous witch hunt you’ve got going for me. I know you blame me for the deaths of your father and your brothers, but it’s crazy. Your dad had a heart attack. He and I had a big blowup, and his heart couldn’t take it. Aiden’s death was nothing but a terrible accident. And Sullivan died as a result of a misadventure because he chose to run from the psychiatric help he so desperately needed. Don’t you see how bizarre it sounds for you to try to pin all of that on me? And the Schusters yet? Come on, kid. You make me sound like a bloody sociopath.”
Dez glared down at his handset as if it was the embodiment of Lowell himself. “If the diagnosis fits.”
“Hear me on this, Dez. You and Lachlan, the two of you are off your rockers. Lachlan Fields was always just this side of crazy, always one to fall for whatever conspiracy theory he thought would make a great case. But you—Dez, you’re better than that. Or you used to be. Whatever Lachlan’s been feeding you, it’s a lie. You’re imagining wrongs where none have been committed. Not by me, anyway. I knew you’d gone badly downhill given all the tragedy you’ve had to cope with recently, but I was truly convinced you’d gotten your life back together. At the very least, I thought your wife and your mom would have been able to get through to you. But they’re not, are they? Because you’ve managed to convince them too. All of you, you’re out of your collective mind. Kayleigh isn’t safe with you anymore, not with any of you. You’re unstable, kid, and Eva and Mara, they’re unstable because of you.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I love Kayleigh very much, and I only want the best for her. I can’t allow her to remain in an unsafe environment.”
Dez’s words came through grinding teeth. “You goddamn son of a bitch.”
“I need you to prove to me you’re still capable of stability and responsibility. Once you do, I’ll know Kayleigh is safe with you. Now, I don’t know who you’ve shared your lies with, but I want you to go to each and every one of them and tell them you made it up. And, for God’s sake, don’t even think about going to the police and adding to your insane story by accusing me of abduction. It won’t work. I know people there, Dez. They’ll tell me if you decide to press ahead with these disgusting allegations. I’ll know then that you’ve put your ill-based vendetta against me before your own daughter. If, after a few weeks, I’m certain you and Lachlan haven’t pressed forward with this investigation against me, I’ll know you’re fit to go back to raising your daughter.”
As Lowell’s words began to fully settle in, desperation—of a dizzying level Dez had never before truly known—hammered him in the ribs. It stole his breath, drove his heart to a pounding drumbeat against his chest and drew tears to his eyes. The strength from his voice was sucked away, leaving a tone fraught with gut-wrenching emotion.
“You son of a bitch. You son of a bitch.”
“I’ll call you with updates,” Lowell said. “I promise you, Kayleigh’s perfectly safe, and she’s happy. Kindra is wonderful with children. You know that. We’ll make sure she has a happy Christmas. And we’ll let you talk to her on the phone so you can hear for yourself she’s all right.”
“I need to talk to her now.”
“Now’s not a good time,” Lowell said. “You’re upset, Dez. She’ll hear it in your voice. Get ahold of yourself, and I’ll make sure you can all connect.”
“I swear to God, Lowell, you hurt one hair on my girl’s head, and I will fucking kill you. You hear me?”
“You aren’t helping your position any by saying things like that. I’ll be in touch. Oh, and Dez? Don’t try to call me on this line. I’ve decided I’ll have to ditch my current phone for the time being. I’m well aware Lachlan might have ways of tracing me by using cellphone signals. I’ve got a series of burners I’ll
be using for the next few weeks to contact you and Eva. And we’ll be on the move, so no point trying to hone in on us.” Lowell sighed, the sound burdened with fake torment. “I hate that I have to do this. I really do. I know how badly this is going to hurt all of you, especially at Christmas. But it’s necessary. You’ve made it necessary. You need to come back down to earth, kid, and I guess I need to provide you with a little incentive to get there. Just do what I say, and all of this ends well, all right? One day, you might even thank me.”
Dez had a response on the tip of his tongue, one heavily laden with swear words and threats. He didn’t get the chance to voice it before Lowell hung up.
Fingers shaking so badly he could barely control them, Dez punched his recent calls list and dialled Lowell’s number. It rang just once before he received a message the person he was trying to reach was unavailable. Lowell had already turned off his phone. He wouldn’t turn it on again until it suited him.
Dez released agony and terror through a wail, one loud enough and filled with sufficient rage to get the whole block racing for their windows to see who was getting murdered. Just as well for Lowell he wasn’t standing here; he’d make for a very welcome murder victim.
His phone—the one through which Lowell’s voice had sounded moments ago—was still in Dez’s hand, and he drew back an arm, prepared to fling it as far as he could away from him. Lachlan stopped him, daring to step into Dez’s personal space and place a hand on his chest.
“Don’t. I know you’re going through hell, and all you want to do right now is smash everything in sight, but that phone is Lowell’s means of reaching you.”
Dez, breath heaving, glared down into Lachlan’s face a long few seconds. He knew how he looked when in a rage, knew he made for one hell of an intimidating presence. But Lachlan didn’t flinch, didn’t back down.
“Come on, son. I need you to take a deep breath for me.”
“Don’t you fucking try to manage me. Not now.”
“I’m not trying to manage you. I’m trying to help. That’s all. Please, Braddock. Take a deep breath, and give me the phone until you’re calmer. All right?”