Deadly Obsessions (Kensington-Gerard Detective series Book 3)

by K. T. Roberts

  “We should probably call Charlene and see how she’s doing,” she said in rapid-fire succession.

  “Jessie, please…let them do their jobs. We’ve got more than enough on our plate.”

  “I know, Zach, but we should have sent one of our guys out to pick her up. I mean, it’s bad enough Charlene lost her sister, and now, maybe her niece.”

  “Listen, we can only save the world one person at a time. Stop acting like this is your fault.”

  “I have regrets. The shrink is bringing out lots of things that are uncomfortable.”

  “Well, I’m delighted to hear you’re going.”

  She heaved a heavy sigh. “Okay, why don’t you go in and tell the captain what’s going on…I still have calls to make and I want to visit the lab to see what the techs found on the Hawkins’ computers.” She started to head in that direction when she heard Zach’s phone ring.

  “Wait a minute,” he said, “it’s Guardino.” A few minutes later, he disconnected and blew out a deep breath of frustration. “Mike just received a call from the Department of Public Safety. They’ve just found body parts in various places along the Hutch, and a severed head in Tameric State Park. The state police think it matches the description of Keenan.”

  “Goddammit. Go talk to Reamer. After all this work, I want to make sure we’re the ones to take this bastard down.” Jessie headed in the direction of the lab while Zach continued down the hall.

  Walking back to her desk from the lab, she was surprised to learn that Carly Hawkins’ computer had more than a story to tell. She had been right after all. Selfies of Carly and Morton were in a separate folder named ‘legal’, probably so Harlan would not check the file. They had never ended their romance and communicated on a regular basis the entire two years. And according to the emails sent between them, he was encouraging her to leave Harlan for him, but then she’d backed out telling him she didn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore and told him to stop emailing her. When Jessie found the last email exchange, it was obvious Morton was angry when he threatened Carly that this would be the last time she was ever going to refuse him.

  It was now obvious, Morton was angry at the world and everyone was going to pay for Carly’s refusal. Jessie keyed in Morton’s mother’s number and waited for the woman to pick up, tapping her fingers on the desk until she heard the woman’s voice. “Mrs. Morton.”

  “I’m not a Morton anymore,” she said. “Who is this?”

  “I’m sorry, ma’am. This is Detective Jessie Kensington calling from the NYPD in New York,” she announced.

  “Yes, I remember who you are. What can I do for you?”

  “Please give me your correct name so I know how to address you properly.”

  “Webster. What’s wrong, Detective?” she said.

  “Your son, Ralph.”

  “Oh no. What happened to him?”

  “Nothing, Mrs. Webster, but we really need to talk to him.”

  “How many damn times are you people going to call?”

  “Mrs. Webster, I left you a message but you never called me back.”

  “Well, I received several calls yesterday from someone in the NYPD.”

  “What was the detective’s name?”

  “He said it was Warren…something or other. I don’t know, but he asked a lot of questions, and quite honestly, he was pretty damn insulting.”

  “First of all, there is no one other than my partner, Zach Gerard and I working this case.”

  “Oh, so it’s a case now?” her voice was thick with sarcasm. “Who did he kill this time?”

  “Mrs. Webster, please tell me what this man said to you.”

  “He told me Ralph killed three people and I was next as soon as he got here to my house and I shouldn’t let him in.”

  “We do know he’s on his way to your house.”

  “How would you know that?”

  “Mrs. Webster. We’ve been tracking your son on suspicion of murder and kidnapping.”

  “Oh stop! You’re as bad as that Warren guy.” She grunted. “That’s absurd. Ralph is no killer.”

  “Mrs. Webster. We found a list of names in Ralph’s home. On that list, two women he had previous relationships with were crossed off…and they’re both dead.”

  “Detective, that doesn’t mean my Ralphie killed them. You’re being ridiculous.”

  “Do you have any place where you can go?”

  “Absolutely not. I have a sick husband here on hospice and there’s no way I would move him.”

  “Will you please call us the minute he arrives so we can question him?”

  “Sure.” The tone of her voice was less than convincing.

  “Boy do I have a lot to tell you, hot shot,” she said when Zach returned. He gestured for her to tell him. “Well, Morton’s mother received a call from the mystery man, only this time, he’s using Warren as his name.” Jessie told him the rest. “Now, here’s another newsflash. The Hawkins woman wasn’t leaving Harlan for Morton.”

  “My faith is restored.”

  “Read these,” she said putting copies of the emails down on his desk. “And, there’s no mistaking that he was the one to kill her. In that pile is an email where she tells him to leave her alone. She’s had enough of him following her and she’ll go to the police if he doesn’t stop.” Jessie put her hand on her chin. “There is something interesting that the mother said though. She claims this Warren guy told her Ralph killed three people. Who’s the third? And more importantly, how the hell is this guy getting proprietary information?”

  Zach was shaking his head. “I don’t know, Jessie, but we’d better find him soon. He’s up to something and it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be good.” Zach continued to flip through the email, stopped and pulled one out of the pile. “What’s this?” Jessie moved closer and read it with him. “This is a note from a Grief Counseling Center asking Carly for a donation. Did Harlan ever mention anything about her belonging to something like this?”

  Jessie checked her notes. “No. What’s the date on that note?”

  “It’s from 2006. That’s a year before she married Harlan. Hmm, I wonder if he knows anything about it.”

  “I’m going to call him right now.” She raised her shoulders in excitement. “I think we’re closing in on something big here. I can feel it in my bones.”

  He laughed at her. “I love it when you get excited about your job. It makes it nice for me too.”

  She held her finger up when she heard Harlan’s voice. “Detective Kensington here. The Grief Counseling Center? What do you know about it?” Zach watched as she nodded and took notes. “Okay, and who did you say is handling that now?” She paused while he was talking to her. “Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. You’ve been a big help. Once I have the list, I’d like to call you back and ask what you remember about them. Would that be okay?” She gave Zach a toothy grin. “Hopefully, I’ll have all the information late this afternoon.”

  “Okay,” Zach said, “don’t keep me in suspense. What did he say?”

  “First tell me what the captain said. Are we going to Connecticut?”

  “He needs to get it approved from the higher ups first.” He shrugged. “Okay, tell me.”

  “He and Carly met at the GCC. He was a counselor. He told me the name of the current guy and I’m going to call to see if they have a list of past members, and then get headshots from the DMV. And now, I need a warrant,” she said practically skipping away. “This is big, hotshot, this is really, really big,” she said over her shoulder as she headed to the DA’s office.

  Jessie answered the ringing phone on her desk, had a fast conversation and disconnected. “I’m going to pick my warrant up, then head over to the GCC to talk to the head honcho and get my list of members.”

  “Okay, see you later,” he said waving.

  “You do know we’re going to be the king and queen of the Policeman’s Ball after we find this guy, don’t you?” she said with a glint in her e
ye.

  “Yeah, right. I’d settle for a bigger check. Fax the names to me and I’ll get started.”

  “Who exactly are you hoping to find?”

  “Our mystery man. Then I’ll get Jackie, and the two Arco women who’ve seen him to come to the precinct and check out the photos.”

  “Oh yeah? And what about his disguises?”

  “No matter how many disguises this dude has, the eyes don’t lie. Then I’ll have the artist make the changes and let them see. That ought to help.”

  “You have this all figured out, don’t you?”

  “I do. Now let’s hope I’m right. Those groups are set up to spill their guts to everyone in the room. That would be one way for him to know as much as our guy seems to know.” She headed for the door when Zach called out to her.

  “Your trip to the GCC will have to wait until we get back from Connecticut. The captain just approved our trip…and also mentioned your house was cleared by the investigators,” Zach said when she returned. “I’m sorry to tell you, they found no prints, except yours.”

  “Nothing?” her voice rose a few decibels.

  “Nothing. Maybe I was wrong about the coat. You wear it most of the time, and maybe I got confused. Did you check the lost and found?”

  “No, but I will.”

  “How about the subway? Do you think that’s where you left it?” he asked. “Maybe Morgan noticed,” he suggested.

  “Are you kidding? She’s so fixated on you, what I wear or don’t wear wouldn’t even register with her.”

  “Oh stop. She’s a kid. I’m not into late twenty-somethings. I’m into strong women like you.” He flexed his arm. “You know, strong like bull,” he said in a Russian accent. “Now, let’s get out of here. We’ll discuss this in the car. Since your house is closer, we’ll stop at your place first so you can pack a bag, then head over to mine. We’ve got a long ride with this traffic. Guardino is meeting us there.” Jessie grabbed her purse and files and headed down the hall past Morgan’s desk on their way out to the parking lot.

  “Hello,” Morgan said with a bright smile directing her voice toward Gerard.

  Jessie responded. “How’s it going with you?”

  “Good. I’ve cuffed my first person as a detective this morning.”

  “Yeah? Feels good, doesn’t it?” Morgan beamed. Zach acknowledged with a nod. “Well, it’s downhill from here, kiddo. Keep up the good work.” Zach nudged her along. “Well, I hate to cut this party short,” Jessie said, “but my partner here is anxious to get on the road. We’re in pursuit of a suspect.”

  Morgan waved. “Ooh, I’ll bet that’s a cool feeling. Okay, see you guys when you return.” She winked at Zach and Jessie’s stomach turned over. Jessie gave a half-smile to Gerard and continued walking out to the parking lot.

  Entering her house gave her a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach knowing someone stole her coat right out of her home, yet there were no prints. She turned to Zach who was following her inside the house. “I’m really certain I hung that coat in my closet. I don’t need to ask anyone. I can visualize it clearly. That means whoever is doing this is pretty damn good.” Zach picked up her bag and carried it outside. “Come back in for a minute. I want to make us coffee to take.” She looked at him cautiously. “Are you ever going to tell me what happened with your father?”

  “Maybe later,” he said. “On the coffee front…thanks, t let’s stop somewhere.” He reached for her overnight bag and headed for the door. “We’re probably not going to get there until very late,” he said before shutting the door. “The traffic is horrendous on the Hutch this late at night.”

  “I guess that means we won’t be able to interview the father or the mother until tomorrow morning,” Jessie said.

  “I’m sure tomorrow will be fine. “Did you want to drive?” he asked

  “No. You go ahead. I need a nap.”

  “Ha. Not on your life.”

  “Just kidding, just kidding.”

  “I’m glad to see your humor is back.”

  “Yeah, and I’m glad to see your stiff exterior is slowly melting away.”

  “Touché.”

  As suspected, the traffic was congested, but it was more than just the usual rush hour gridlock. Jessie called the local dispatcher to find out what had happened. When she clicked off the call, she sat dazed for a few minutes.

  “What’s up, Jessie?”

  “You’re not going to believe this,” she groaned.

  “At this point, I’d believe anything. Tell me.”

  “It’s a four-car pile-up ahead. It seems someone left their stalled car in the middle lane, no lights, no emergency flashers. Then the first driver came along, didn’t see the car until it was too late. He plowed right into it, then three others plowed into him. Three people were DOA. So it looks like the “rubber necking” will keep us here for a while.

  “Are you hungry?” Gerard asked.

  “I’m starving. Did we ever have lunch?”

  He laughed. “We always ask each other that question. To tell you the truth, I don’t remember if I had breakfast. I’ll get off at the next exit. In the meantime, why don’t you look for a place to eat?”

  “What do you feel like eating?”

  “I’d prefer to have something decent for a change. No fast food. It would be nice to have a quiet place where we could have a drink and a steak. How does that sound to you?” he asked.

  “That sounds wonderful. Okay, I’ll keep my hawk eyes glued to finding the perfect restaurant.”

  “Or, you could do a search on your phone.”

  “Oh,” she released an embarrassed laugh. “I’d say that’s a very good idea.”

  Being in the car with him in the evening hours was like déjà vu. That was one of the things she missed most about their relationship—that feeling of complete contentment, and things hadn’t been the same since she left. Jessie found herself staring at his profile, courtesy of the oncoming traffic that highlighted his most handsome features. She loved his strong jaw and high cheekbones that accented the strength of his personality. When her eyes focused on his short chin and full lips, it brought back some wonderful memories of their time together and she smiled.

  He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips and kissed it. “I see you peeking at me.”

  She laughed. “Guilty as charged.”

  “And you had that smile you always get when you’re thinking naughty thoughts.”

  She sighed again. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, but being in the car at night reminds me of the good times we’ve had together.” He tilted his head to the side and stared at her with raised brows. Her hand went up. “I know, Zach, I know.” And she did.

  “Have you gone back to see your shrink?”

  “Only the one time so far. I had another appointment for today, but as you can see, I’ve been a little preoccupied.”

  “Ah Hon, you should have said something. I would have covered for you.”

  “I know you would have, but everyone had their hands full. I couldn’t just up and leave.”

  “You rescheduled though, right?”

  “Zach,” she said in a frustrated voice.

  His head jerked back. “You can’t blame me for making sure. We’ve been down this Promiseland road before and you don’t have a very good track record.”

  “You’re right. I don’t, but I might just surprise you this time.”

  “Music to my ears, baby. If it helps you make your decision faster, I’m ready.”

  “But let’s not jump to conclusions,” she said.

  “There you go again. You’re always raining on my parade.”

  “I’m sorry, but I just don’t want to give you false hope.”

  “Nope. I don’t have any delusions. I know you better than you know yourself.”

  “So you do.”

  “If you want to forget going to the shrink and just talk to me about your problems, I’d be happy to listen…and I
promise not to judge.”

  She laughed. “Nice try, hotshot.”

  “Hey, I’m only here to please you.”

  “There’s The Seafood Bistro?” she pointed. “Want to go there?”

  “Sure.” Zach took the exit and followed the signs until he saw the parking lot and pulled in. “Have you ever been to this place before?”

  “No, I’ve never been here.” She chuckled. “Why do you always ask me that?”

  “Because I want everything in our relationship to be special without any reminders of others.”

  “That’s fair enough. I’ll keep that in mind the next time I select a place to eat. Now, let’s hurry. I’m really starving,” she said, unsnapping her seatbelt. When Zach appeared on her side of the car, opened the door and reached for her hand to help her out, her surprised expression made him smile.

  “We’re off duty right now,” he said.

  “I haven’t had anyone open a door for me since…since the last time you did.”

  “I’m sure. There are so few of us left.” He winked.

  Jessie gave him a playful tap on the arm just before entering the restaurant. When a waitress walked past them with a dish of crusted scallops served over a bed of spinach surrounded by a dark broth in one hand, and a steak with mashed potatoes in the other, they both inhaled deeply to capture the mingling of smells. Jessie swore she could actually taste those scallops. The expression on her face had Zach smiling.

  “Yeah, right?” he clutched his stomach.

  “I may just have one of everything,” she quipped.

  “Good thing we’re on the boss’s dime,” he winked. “So…I took your advice and called my father back.”

  “Great, Zach! I’d love to hear what happened.” She listened intently, watching his facial expressions and felt his demeanor change as he spoke. He seemed less tense than any other time he discussed his father. “And how do you feel about seeing him?” He gave a slight shrug. “If what I’m seeing in you is any indication, I think deep down you’re happy he called.” She waited for him to respond but he seemed to be having difficulty saying the words. “Are you?”

  “Yeah, I guess I am, but it’ll be a long road to recovery to what we once had. I don’t know if that’s even possible.”