by Jordan Dane
“It sounds like you’re conceding.” Ray teased her. “I didn’t figure you for a quitter.”
Despite a grin on his face, she saw the concern in his dark eyes, a charming contradiction.
“I’m not a quitter, but I’m leaving it up to you. If I have to wave a white flag, I’ll do it.” She sighed. “This thing with Harper has gotten worse, and with him being in the wind, I think we should work together, that’s all. Our bet makes this seem like a game when it’s anything but that. He’s a cop’s son, Ray. We owe it to his old man.”
He thought about what she’d said for a moment, then began, “You don’t have to throw in the towel, Coop. I think we can keep a scorecard and give credit where it’s due.”
“Glad to hear you say that,” she said with a smile. “I’ve got something to share on Jason Burke, Mandy’s ex. That guy’s a piece of work.”
Sam kept Jessie’s activities to herself. Not because of their bet, but secondhand hearsay obtained by an outsider to the investigation would have little bearing on the case. Anything Jessie had acquired would not be admissible in court unless CPD’s investigation had uncovered the same findings legally.
“Yeah? What do you have?” Ray asked.
“I didn’t buy Burke’s I-PASS alibi, so I did some checking on my own. Jessie doesn’t even know about this. I didn’t want to get her hopes up if it turned out to be a dead end.” She had spent most of her morning chasing down her hunch.
“Checking on what?” he asked.
“I pulled his cell-phone records.” She raised an eyebrow. “And it would appear our man Burke is something of a superhero.”
“Yeah? How so?”
“Tracing his movements by cell-phone tower on the night Mandy was murdered, the guy used his phone in South Chicago at the same time he was supposed to be on the West Side in Lombard. Now if we search his apartment and find he’s got spandex and a cape in his closet, then I might change my mind, but I think he lied to us about being in the burbs, and I’d like to know why.”
“Yeah, so would I. I’d say Jason Burke has a solid spot on our suspect list. Culver’s lead on this. I’ll tell him and make sure he knows the tip came from you. He’ll bring Burke in for questioning.” He shrugged. “But you had that morsel in your hip pocket all along. Did you set me up about calling off our bet?”
“I wouldn’t exactly call it a setup. I had faith that you’d do the right thing.” She smiled.
“Thanks…I think.”
“You’re a good man, Raymundo.”
“I’d appreciate it if you’d keep that to yourself. I’ve got a reputation to think about.”
She took a sip of her coffee, and asked, “So what’s your news?”
His face turned grim. “I’m glad you’re sitting down.”
South Chicago
Off Cicero Avenue
Why did morning have to come so damned early?
Feeling every ache in her body, Jess glanced at the clock to see morning had actually come and gone. It was past noon when she rolled to her side and pulled a pillow over her head to block the daylight that filtered its fingers through her bedroom blinds like a rude poke in the eye.
Sleep had not been her friend. And despite the repair job on her face with butterfly stitches over her eye, she’d messed up her bed linens with smears of blood. When she caught a glimpse of smudged red on the pillow, she had enough and tossed it aside.
Nice, real nice. She stumbled out of bed and trudged down the hall, grabbing a change of clothes as she went. After getting a look at her face in the mirror—the bruise on her cheek, the busted lip, and the new cut on her brow next to her old scar—she winced and shook her head.
“Harper…only for you, pal.”
As she got dressed, she replayed the events of last night, the ones she remembered. After her run-in with Nadir Beladi, Jess had way more to think about than her latest bruises that made her body look like a shrink’s Rorschach test.
Something Beladi had said bothered her.
…you came to my turf…my place of business…setting off grenades at my feet…
Sure, a grenade could be construed in a negative light, but the man had taken the whole thing personally. At first she thought he’d taken exception to her treading on his turf, but having the crap beat out of her had triggered an epiphany—and there was nothing like head trauma to render clarity.
“‘My place of business’?” she muttered.
Jess headed for her kitchen to make coffee, the caffeine-laden ambrosia of the gods, pretending it was still morning…somewhere. But a look into her living room stopped her. Looking cramped and bent, Alexa lay asleep on her short sofa. Fully clothed, the woman still wore her black Matrix gear and had a small comforter over her.
“Hey, Goldilocks. Rise and shine.” She waited until the woman opened her eyes. “I thought you left after you patched me up last night.”
“Last night? Try this morning.” Alexa yawned and was slow to sit up. She ran fingers through her hair when she was upright. “And yeah, I was going to, but you might have had a concussion. You don’t remember me waking you? I thought you’d slug me the last time.”
“Sorry I missed the opportunity. Normally, I don’t pass up a free poke.” Jess rounded the corner into her kitchen and checked her fridge.
“You hungry?” Jess turned toward her houseguest and grinned. “I’ve got Malt-O-Meal.”
“Oh no, not on your life,” the blonde objected. “We’re going out to eat, and you’re buying.”
Alexa stood and stretched, but a knock on the door saved Jess’s pocketbook. She peeked out the window and grimaced when she saw who it was.
“This can’t be good,” she muttered.
She opened the door to find Ray Garza and Sam on her doorstep. But before she said a word, Ray got in a quick jab.
“I always thought you were tougher than a three-dollar T-bone.” He shook his head and gazed at her cuts and bruises. “But maybe I should check out the other guy.”
“Yeah, you do that. He’ll be the one with the new corn shoot.”
Ray tried not to laugh, but he lost his fight with a smile.
“What happened, Jessie?” Sam rushed through the door, but when she saw Alexa smile and wave, she narrowed her eyes. “Actually, maybe I don’t want to know.”
“Good idea.” Jess shut the door behind them and quickly introduced Ray to Alexa. “I’d get you guys some coffee, but I get the feeling this isn’t a social call. What’s up?”
She looked at Sam, but when her friend kept quiet and shifted her gaze to Ray, Jess knew something was terribly wrong.
“Someone start talking…please,” she pleaded.
“Sam told me she called you about Jade filing charges against your friend Harper,” he said.
“Yeah, what about her?” Jess didn’t dare look at Alexa.
Her confrontation with Jade and her head-on collision with Beladi last night weren’t up for discussion until she knew more. Sam was her friend, but Ray was the cop who’d nearly gotten her arrested for the murder of Lucas Baker a few months ago. Just because Sam had the hots for the guy didn’t mean he deserved her complete trust.
He’d have to earn that.
“She was killed early this morning,” he said. “Butchered with a knife, same as Desiree—right down to a series of distinctive puncture wounds. If the DA wants to proceed with charging Harper for Desiree’s murder, those shallow wounds will tie him to Jade’s killing even if the link is only circumstantial. And Jade’s assault charges against him don’t help his case. We’ve got an APB on Harper.”
“And I suppose you want me to magically produce him, like I know where he is.” She turned on him, walking into her living room to slump onto her couch. Things had gone from bad to worse in seconds flat. And she had a headache brewing at the base of her skull.
“Actually, we’re here to update you on other developments. Then we can talk about what’s best for Seth.” Sam sat next to her on the sofa, w
ith Ray taking a spot on the armrest near her friend. Alexa remained standing, her face stern.
“This morning I put a hole through Jason Burke’s I-PASS alibi,” Sam began.
“She’s being modest,” Ray said. “She annihilated it.”
Sam touched a hand to his thigh and smiled. Jess hadn’t missed the gesture. And neither had Alexa.
“Talk to me, Sammie. What’s going on?” Jess didn’t want to get her hopes up, but this was the first bright spot she’d heard in Harper’s case.
“I had a hunch about Burke. Remember, the guy claimed to be in Lombard at a club and he used his I-PASS for an alibi?” After she nodded, Sam went on, “Well I ran his cell-phone bill and checked it against the night of the killing. He lied to us about being in the burbs.”
Sam explained about triangulating cell-phone towers and how she had determined Burke’s location and exposed his lie.
“That’s good news, right?”
“Yeah, I’d say so. Detective Culver is bringing Burke in for questioning. We’ll have him for forty-eight hours if he doesn’t lawyer up. It’ll give us time to check him out.”
“And we should have Harper’s drug test soon,” Ray said.
“That should help with reasonable doubt,” Sam nodded.
“Yeah, but we still have to find out who killed these women,” he said. “With Burke being Desiree’s ex and having a history of violence toward women, he’s a likely candidate. But Jade is another story. Her killing may have similarities, but my gut tells me this doesn’t add up. Something else is at work.”
Jess clenched her teeth. Ray’s hunch was spot on. Beladi and Pinzolo had seen her with Jade in front of Phat Jack’s. If the woman were perceived to be a loose end, Pinzolo would have no problem with cutting her out of the picture, literally.
Had she gotten Jade killed? Her stomach turned at the thought. It was one thing to put her life on the line, but taking Jade with her made her sick.
“So Harper might—and I stress the word ‘might’—have reasonable doubt in his favor for Desiree, but for Jade he’s got nothing. If anything, that killing might strengthen the DA’s case.” Alexa jumped in with the harsh reality of Seth’s situation and locked her gaze on Jess. “They turn up any of his prints at the scene?”
“No, but they’re still working evidence,” Ray admitted.
Jess knew Alexa was making a point to be careful and not expect too much—at least not until they had a chance to talk one-on-one. Beladi was a viable suspect, but she had nothing to go on except gut instinct. Although Alexa had promised a thorough background check on the man, all Jess had were theories and the bruises to go along with them.
But Ray was not happy with Alexa’s take on Harper’s predicament. She could see it on his face.
“It’s time for a little tough love, Jessie,” he said. “That’s why we both came, to plead our case.”
Sam reached for her hand and held it. She was straddling the line between being a friend and a cop, a familiar place.
“You gotta bring in your friend for his own good.” Ray’s usually somber expression softened, and he lowered his voice. “If you care for him, you gotta bring him in whether he wants to come or not. With him on the loose, whoever is framing him is racking up the charges and making it look easy. And the killing may not stop with Jade. Other lives could be at stake.”
Jess knew this was difficult for Ray, too. The guy was pretty cut-and-dried where the law was concerned. But for Sam, he was making an effort.
“I know this will be hard.” He fixed his gaze on her. “But the way I see it, it’s up to you now. Do what’s right, even if your friend can’t see it.”
Jessie gritted her teeth, fighting back nausea. Her loyalty to Seth Harper clashed with the sickening guilt over playing a part in Jade’s death. Her path and Seth’s had crossed when they were both kids, and it was happening again. And all the darkness lurking under her skin and wedged deep in her memory had been stirred awake. She’d have to deal whether she wanted to or not.
But in the end it might come down to one thing.
Could she track down a friend to stop a killer? She hoped Seth would understand.
After Ray and Sam left, Jess sat with Alexa in silence on her living-room sofa. Her appetite had bitten the dust. And to her credit, her new companion gave her plenty of time to think—an intuitive gesture she appreciated.
Finally, she spoke. “Did I get Jade killed?”
Jess stared across the room, unable to look the woman in the eye. She had only thought about finding Mandy’s killer so Harper would walk on the charges. Her sole focus had been on her friend. Had she known someone else would have been murdered, would she have acted differently? The fact that she had to think about the answer scared her.
“Jessie, look at me.” The blonde waited until she did. “You had nothing to do with that woman’s death. My theory is that she got picked because she knew her killer. Whoever did this knew she’d file charges against Harper and probably beat her up to make it look good. You can’t take credit for all the bad choices Jade made in her life. She became a loose end, and someone felt the need to eliminate the threat. You had nothing to do with that.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say I had nothing to do with it.” She shook her head and pulled a pillow to her chest. “My gut tells me Harper would be safer in police custody, like Ray said. But I’m not sure I can be the one who takes him in.”
Duping Harper and betraying his trust felt so wrong. Even though Ray and Sam made a good point that it was time for tough love, she found herself flogging her brain for another option.
“I can do it, if you want,” Alexa offered.
“No, that would only be a cheap shot. He’d know I had something to do with it anyway. No, I gotta do this or find another option.” She took a deep breath. “But I could still use your help. Get me those financials. Maybe we can find something to chase while I’m looking for Harper. Can you put a rush on that?”
“Yeah, I’m on it.” Alexa stood and headed for the door, but turned to add, “You’re not alone in this, Jessie. And neither is Harper. We’re gonna find the bastard who’s really to blame.”
“Thanks, Alexa.” She forced a smile until the woman shut the door, then her smile faded.
Before she devised a scheme to track down Harper, she had a stop to make that was long overdue. Thinking about it brought on a rush of nausea. And her heart ramped up to the rhythm of her shallow breaths, the start of a panic attack she’d experienced far too many times whenever her past threatened to erode the makeshift foundation of her present.
But she had a feeling that facing Detective Max Jenkins alone would be important, an ordeal that fate had set in her path to try out her courage, taking it for a test drive. Confronting the demons of her childhood had always been her destiny—her way of dealing with it. In the back of her mind, she had always known that. Surviving her ordeal and being rescued had only been the beginning.
The real test was yet to come.
CHAPTER 19
Golden Palms Villa
Late afternoon
In the back of her mind, Jess always suspected this day would come—and with it, a flood of mixed emotions gripped her. Driving up to the nursing home gave her a sense that her life was about to come full circle. And even though the prospect of that scared the hell out of her, she felt on the verge of change.
“Max Jenkins.”
She said his name aloud, a mantra that grounded her in the reality she’d soon be looking into the man’s eyes—the detective who had saved her life, taking her from darkness into the light. Seth’s father. She knew that seeing Max again would dredge up the ugliness of her childhood, but in order to confront her fears, she had to see him—to make him real and fix his face in her memory.
She owed him that much and more.
And for the first time, she felt strong enough to do it. This wasn’t about locating Seth. It was more about confronting her demons. Jess didn’t want to beli
eve in fate. The concept was not only depressing, but she couldn’t fathom living in a world that had condemned her to the fate she had experienced as a once-innocent child. Yet how Seth’s life had crossed hers then and now had haunted her thoughts ever since she’d first learned of his connection to her past.
“Another puzzler from Harperworld.” She tried to smile but couldn’t summon one.
She parked her vehicle on the street facing the property, choosing to walk the rest of the way and work out the kinks in her sore muscles. The sunny afternoon carried a nice breeze, downright cheery. But she had serious doubts the good cheer would rub off.
“It’s now or never, Beckett.” She headed for the front door.
Located at the end of a street, the nursing home was set off the road, with a well-manicured front lawn and a wide, curved drive that led to the main entrance. A four-story building of red brick with a white column portico. Toward the back, a wall gave the residents privacy when they ventured outdoors onto the grounds. And a mix of commercial properties and older residences lined the street. The setting was modest but real homey. She’d seen fancier places. And if Anthony Salvatore had had more say in where Max lived, his accommodations might have been different. But she got the distinct impression that Seth had picked this place for his father.
Double glass doors listed the hours the facility would be open for guests. She had called ahead to make sure when she arrived that visiting hours would be under way. Stepping inside, she was greeted by a friendly face behind a reception desk. The young woman chose to ignore the bruises and cuts on her face, treating them as if they were invisible, a gesture Jess appreciated.
“Can I help you?”
“Yeah, I’m looking for Max Jenkins. Can you tell me which room he’s in?”
“I’ll need you to sign in please.” While the woman hit a few keystrokes to pull up the information on her computer, Jess signed in under a fake name, not wanting to leave a trace she’d been to the place. But she took her time discreetly looking for Seth on the roster of guests. It didn’t take long to find his name, and she recognized his handwriting. He’d last visited late on a Friday—the week before his life went into the crapper—nearly two weeks ago.