by Talty, Jen
They’d been friends for years, and to find out Rutherford went back on his word with the Reverend and his church did seem out of the ordinary. As did their friendship. Rutherford wasn’t a church-going man. The Catholics would call him a C and E or Christmas and Easter kind of worshiper. Blaine got the distinct impression that Mrs. Hicks didn’t really like Rutherford all that much, but tolerated him.
Blaine looked around the snowy yard and the manicured home. Linda had always been the kind of woman who demanded perfection. Rachael used to say that her mother told her “You must always look good on the outside, because that is what people will see.” Blaine couldn’t wait to find out what skeletons lurked in their closets.
He made his way up the snowy porch, rang the doorbell, and waited. He could hear faint voices, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. A creak from the door told him someone was answering.
“Why, hello, Blaine.” Reverend Hicks waved him in. “What brings you out here on a snowy day like today?”
“Official business.”
A shocked look followed by a nervous smile appeared on Jack’s face. Blaine got the impression he was hiding something. Then again, Dave had always accused him of being suspicious of everybody and everything.
“I’d like to speak with Mrs. Hicks, if you don’t mind, sir.” Blaine looked around the foyer. The smell of something sweet lingered in the air.
“She’s a little under the weather right now.”
“What’s wrong?” Blaine asked.
“Nothing serious, just a touch of the flu. Maybe you could come back another day.”
“You understand I don’t like doing this to you, but we have reason to believe she might have seen Rutherford Mead the night he died.” Blaine tried to look as sympathetic as possible. “You understand.”
Jack nodded. “I saw him the day before.”
“Did the two of you have some kind of fight?” Blaine rested a hand on Jack’s shoulder.
“Rumors. But I did know about the change in his will. I wasn’t happy about it, but it’s his house and she is his daughter. I’m glad he wanted to reconcile with her.”
“We know Rutherford couldn’t have been Kaylee’s biological father.” Blaine studied Jack’s face, which twitched and contorted at the mention of Kaylee. “Any idea who it could be?”
“I hate to point the finger at anyone, but Hadley Danks would be my guess. However, that would be pure speculation on my part.”
Well, nothing like putting the blame on someone else. “But you knew them pretty well.”
“Roberta came to church often. She wasn’t a happy soul and sought solace in God.”
Blaine wondered what else she sought at the church. “Would you mind asking Mrs. Hicks if I could just have a moment of her time and then I’ll be on my way?”
“Let him in,” a gruff female voice barked.
Blaine wondered if she had a touch of the flu or a few too many martinis. “Thank you.”
Blaine was ushered into the family room where the first thing he noticed was the sweet smell had gotten stronger. The second thing was Mrs. Hicks was hiding something under the blanket she’d just thrown around herself.
She coughed. “What do you need, young man?”
“Have you been at the Meads’ house in the last few weeks?”
“I have.”
“And what were you doing there?” Blaine asked.
“Delivering an antique piece he’d bought from my daughter. I’m working for her part-time now.”
“Did you notice anything odd, or out of the ordinary.” Blaine scanned the clutter-free room. Not a speck of dust anywhere.
“Rutherford had been acting odd ever since he’d decided to try and get that wayward daughter of his to come home, ungrateful young lady that she is.”
“Linda— ”
“Well, it’s true, but then again, you understand all about that little operator, don’t you, Officer Walker?” She hiccupped.
“Is there anything else you could tell me that might help us find out who did this?” Blaine asked, knowing this interview was going nowhere fast. He’d need to do a little digging and come back when he had a better handle on the situation.
“Just that he went back on his word. We could have done so much for the community with that house. We’d planned on turning it into a retreat for our youth, maybe even a summer camp.”
“That sounds very nice, Mrs. Hicks. If you think of anything else that might help, don’t hesitate to call me. I can see myself out.” He held his hand toward the Reverend who’d been sitting down in a chair near the window, never looking at his wife.
During the ride to the Mead house Blaine couldn’t remember a time when he’d seen Mrs. Hicks drunk, or even having anything other than a glass of wine here or there. She’d always seemed so prim and proper. Blaine pounded at the steering wheel. Too many questions, not enough answers.
Rachael had once told him she thought her parents might get a divorce because all they ever did was fight. She mentioned something about her mother being upset that the good Reverend had spent too much time with the problems of other people instead of with his own family. At the time, Blaine had brushed it off because he figured it was the Reverend’s job, but maybe Rachael had a point. He flipped open his cell and hit star one, calling his mother.
“Hi, honey,” his mother answered. “Mrs. Tillman called and said you helped her grandson find his dog.”
“It was one of those days. Where are you?”
“I’m at the farm.”
“You planning on spending the night there?” Blaine didn’t really want to know, but under the circumstances, he wanted to know his mother would be safe.
“I am a grown woman.”
“It’s just that I have a feeling I’ll be staying at the Mead house, and I don’t want you home alone.”
“I love you, too.”
“You haven’t answered my question.” Blaine pulled into the long, unplowed gravel drive to the Mead residence, hoping his patrol car would make it without getting stuck.
“This is an awkward conversation,” she said.
“Does he make you happy?” Blaine asked, frustrated.
“He does.”
“Then I’m happy.”
“Then I’m spending the night.”
Blaine laughed. His mother not only giggled, but she sounded like she was alive again. He covered his heart, knowing his father was looking down at them, and smiled. His father had always told them that the dead wanted the living to not only continue breathing, but to truly be happy. His mother was doing just that. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Blaine?”
“What?” He rolled the patrol car to a stop behind his pickup and Toby’s rusty old Jeep.
“I can feel your confusion. Follow your heart this time.”
Blaine blinked. His heart had lied to him before. “Right now I’m tracking a killer; my heart has nothing to do with it. Goodnight, Mother.” He flipped off his phone. His heart had everything to do with it, but he couldn’t afford to let it get in the way. Even if Kaylee still felt something for him, he couldn’t deal with the lies.
Chapter Ten
Kaylee stood alone in her father’s room, not knowing where to begin her search. The room hadn’t changed at all since she’d left. The light brown walls looked freshly painted, but they were the same color. The comforter was still green, and the furniture the same dark cherry her parents had always had. Her father wasn’t too keen on change.
She took a deep breath and noticed a faint rosy smell. Wrinkling her nose, she tried to figure out why the aroma was so familiar to her. Unable to place it, she lifted the bed ruffle, finding a bunch of shoeboxes. She figured they were his old slippers, but she pulled them all out anyway and placed them on the bed.
“Hey,” a voice called from behind her.
She jumped, letting out a gasp as she turned. “Damn, Emma, you scared me.”
“Sorry.” Emma glided acros
s the large room, the hardwood floors rattling. She plopped herself down on the edge of the bed. “I can’t believe you grew up here. It must have been so cool.” She swiped her hand over the lush bedspread.
Kaylee let out a dry laugh and looked at Emma. Kaylee had spent most of the last ten years not letting too many people in. She didn’t trust easily, and when she did, it was always the wrong person. Something about Emma made Kaylee feel more comfortable than she was use to.
“Not so much when your mother’s schizophrenic and your father’s busy making his millions. He didn’t even have time for a goodnight kiss.” Kaylee studied the soft expression on Emma’s usually stern face. She could be so professional and unapproachable at times, but when they were just hanging out, she was a completely different person.
“Was it really that bad?” Emma’s smile dropped a little.
“I was expected to cover up my mother’s illness and many indiscretions. My father demanded that I be the best and be friends with a certain class of people. I was told to be nice and considerate, but dating Blaine sent my father on a rampage. He accused me of using Blaine just to get attention.”
“Did you?”
Kaylee narrowed her eyes, mentally shooting daggers at Emma. “I hid my relationship with Blaine for months until Rachael spilled the beans.”
“Toby really doesn’t like her much.”
“She’s not so bad. And Toby can be judgmental.” Kaylee opened the first box, trying to ignore Emma. Part of her wanted to hate Emma, but she had somehow wormed her way under Kaylee’s skin. “My father had way too many slippers.” She examined them before putting them back in the box.
“Is Rachael a good friend of yours?”
“We were best friends in high school, but when I went to Europe, she thought I was nuts. We got in a huge fight, and until the other day, I hadn’t spoken to her in years. I missed her.” Kaylee plopped herself down on the bed next to Emma. “Ya know, you’re very beautiful when you’re not acting like a total bitch.”
Emma laughed. “Toby says I look uptight when I’m working.”
“No offense, but I thought you were an ice princess.” No matter what Kaylee did, she couldn’t seem to offend the woman.
Emma’s smile illuminated the room when she laughed. “When I presented my first case, I came into court all warm and bubbly. No one took me seriously. My boss kept trying to tell me to act tougher--to be a bitch--but I didn’t get it. Then the judge told me if I was going to be successful, I needed to learn to leave the niceness at the door.”
That explained the Gemini personality, but didn’t give Kaylee the reason she needed to hate Emma. “I guess you took their advice,” she paused and then said, “I don’t want to like you.”
“Yeah, well, that feeling was mutual.”
Kaylee laughed. “I have no right to be jealous; I’m the one who left and filed for divorce.”
“You’re an only child?” Emma asked, taking Kaylee’s hand in hers.
The closeness Emma offered made Kaylee uncomfortable, and she slid her hand away. “I’ve always wished I had a sister.”
“I have an older sister. When we were young I hated her, but now we’re very close. She lives in St. Paul, so I don’t get to see her much.”
Kaylee blinked. It had been a long time since she had a friend she could just sit and hang out with. It felt good and that scared Kaylee. “Any other siblings?”
“A younger brother who works on Dave’s farm. He’s still trying to find himself or some such nonsense. My parents live in Grand Forks, and they love Toby. Go figure.”
“So do you.” Kaylee turned and smiled. “I never thought I’d see the day Toby would fall in love.”
“From what I hear, he never lasted more than two nights with a woman. That made him more appealing.”
Kaylee lifted a brow.
“No other woman for me to live up to.”
“Blaine got over me years ago.”
“Yeah, right. That’s why he scooped you up last night and carried you off to his bed.”
“He felt guilty because of these.” Kaylee lifted her T-shirt to show her scars. “Nino De Luca hired someone to do this to me.” Kaylee heard a gasp escape Emma’s lips, and yanked her shirt down in shame. “He’ll stop at nothing to make sure I don’t tell the truth, so Romano will walk.”
“Sam Romano? But they just arrested him. I’ve heard the D.A. in Chicago is trying to get a bunch of people who work for De… oh, shit.”
“You got it. Before I got stabbed, I’d been collecting information on a different case I thought was being mishandled. They were setting up an innocent man so their guy would walk. I even talked with an FBI agent.”
“What did you do with the things you were collecting?” Emma’s eyes were wide.
“I hid them in my apartment, but the asshole who stabbed me found them and gave them to Nino.”
“Why’d you go back?”
“No one believed me, or at least I didn’t think anyone would. I didn’t think I had a choice. Nino paid for my hospital stay and all my physical therapy. He also threatened me on a daily basis. I was scared, but I wanted out.”
“Jesus.” Emma took Kaylee by the hand. “I greatly misjudged you.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You’re a very brave woman to go up against those guys.”
“Brave?” Kaylee said dryly. “Scared shitless is more like it. I went back because I didn’t want to die. Then in order for me ‘live,’ I had to take my old job back and I had to testify on Sam’s behalf, becoming his alibi. So I did.”
“Did you give a sworn statement?”
“Yes.”
“Whoa, wait. Do you know for sure Sam murdered those guys?”
“No, but I wasn’t with him. I left a note for the FBI guy who had been hounding me. He said he could protect me, but at the time, I didn’t think anyone could and wanted to come home to see my dad. I left the agent some materials I stole from Niño’s office that are incriminating, and took off.”
Emma blinked, then said, “Does Blaine know any of this?”
“No.”
“Thank God. If he knew, he’d have to call the FBI, and they’d get a federal marshal over here and haul your ass back to Chicago. Did you know Niño tried to report you missing?” Emma rolled her hair into a ponytail and her face turned serious.
“Why would he do that?”
“If the cops find you first, he’ll say you took stuff. He’ll claim you stole it or doctored it. If he finds you first… ”
Kaylee’s body trembled from the inside out. How could things be so complicated? “How do you know so much?”
“I’m a criminal lawyer. I’m always interested in high profile cases, and I have a morbid curiosity for the mob, being Italian and all.”
“I’m in pretty deep, huh?”
Emma nodded. “Does this FBI agent know you left him this stuff?”
“I don’t know…probably.”
“Oh, Kaylee, you’re going to have to go back at some point.”
“Like hell.” Kaylee had believed she could run off into the night and disappear. She wasn’t all that important so they’d forget about her. “I can’t go back. You don’t know what kind of man Nino is.”
“I don’t mean back to him.” Emma stood. “You have to testify. We’re going to have to call that agent…soon.”
“You’re totally insane. Nino will kill me.”
“He’s going to kill you if you keep running. Come on. I’m on your side.”
“Yeah, right,” Kaylee muttered. She hadn’t thought about turning against him, just running from him and making sure she stayed alive. She figured her father would’ve known what to do, but now her father was gone, and she was left with Emma and Blaine.
“Look.” Emma glared at Kaylee. “I can help you with the FBI, get them to offer you a deal for your testimony. I can make sure no charges are brought against you for lying. They do this shit all the time.”
&
nbsp; “What about Blaine?”
“We have to keep this from him for now, at least until I get a chance to call the feds and figure out our next move.”
“Why should I trust you?” Kaylee paced at the edge of the bed.
“Because I’m all you’ve got.”
Kaylee nodded in acceptance. Working with Emma was better than trying to take off and hide, waiting for someone to kill her.
“I need to do some digging. I’ve got some contacts in Chicago, but understand that this will be happening pretty quickly once I call that agent.”
Kaylee plunked down on the bed. “I’ve really screwed up.”
“Get over it,” Emma snapped. “You have the opportunity to right a bunch of wrongs and I’m going to hold you to it.”
Oddly, Kaylee felt safe with Emma and trusted her. “I hid some files in my father’s safe,” Kaylee said. “Along with the agent’s business card.
“Damn it.” Emma yanked Kaylee by the arm. “You told Blaine you didn’t touch anything.”
“I was scared. How would you like it if your ex-husband thought you were capable of murder?”
Emma blinked and then yanked Kaylee harder. “Let’s go get them before Blaine gets back. Next time Blaine leaves this house, you and I are going to have a little pow-wow.”
Kaylee had always been afraid of basements in any house, but her childhood basement just seemed movie set creepy. The walls were cemented and had weird water stains that in the dark would come alive. Heck, they came alive when the basement was all lit up.
“Why are we doing this?” she asked Blaine.
“Because if there is a secret room, I’d bet my paycheck it would be down here.”
She continued to knock on the walls trying to hear something that sounded different from her last knock. At least that’s what Blaine said to listen for. “This is nuts.”
“’Nuts’ would be doing nothing.” He took out the tape measure and then bent over pulling it across the floor. His hair fell in his face, getting in his eyes, and it was darned distracting. He kept flipping his head or using his hand to brush it from his beautiful face.