by Blake Pierce
very long, serious talk. And there might be yelling. And as distant as he’s
been lately, he and I both agree that we’re never going to yell at each other
while there’s a child in the house.”
“Is he…is he mistreating you?”
“No, nothing like that.”
Kate looked down at the car seat, slowly taking Michelle out. “Lissa, you
should have called. Given me a heads-up.”
“I did. I tried, about an hour ago. But it rang a few times and went to
voicemail.”
“Ah hell. I left it on silent after I went to the dentist today. I’m so sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry. I hate to ask you for this favor so last minute when you
clearly already have plans. But…I don’t know what else to do. I’m sorry if it
feels like I’m taking advantage of you, but you’re…you’re all I have, Mom.
But lately, it feels like you’re moving on. You have Alan and your sort-of job
with the bureau now. I feel like you’re forgetting about me…that Michelle
and I are more of a nuisance than anything else.”
It broke Kate’s heart to hear those words. She sat Michelle on her lap, holding her little hands and bouncing her lightly.
“I have not forgotten about you,” Kate said. “If anything, I think I’ve been
trying to rediscover myself. Through work, through Alan…through you and
Michelle. You’ve never been a nuisance.”
I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come over after you didn’t answer your phone.
We can do this some other time, maybe a few days from now…does that
sound good?”
“No,” Kate said. “Tonight. Take tonight.”
“But your date…”
“Alan will understand. He’s grown pretty fond of Michelle, you know.”
“Mom…are you sure?”
“I’m positive.”
She leaned over and wrapped Melissa up in a hug. Michelle squirmed in
her lap, reaching up with a free hand to clutch her grandma’s hair. “I was
scared when Michelle was going through all of that hospital mess, too,” she
said as they embraced. “Maybe Terry just never processed it. Give him a
chance to explain. And if he gives you a hard time, remind him that your
mother carries a gun.”
Melissa laughed as they broke the hug. Michelle laughed too, clapping her
chubby little hands together.
“Tell Alan I said I’m sorry,” Melissa said.
“I will. And if things get weird tonight, let me know. You’re always
welcome to stay here if you need a break from it all.”
Melissa nodded and kissed Michelle on the head. “You be good for
Grandma, okay?”
Michelle had no response to this, as she was currently slapping at one of
the buttons on Kate’s shirt. Kate watched Melissa leave and could clearly see
just how torn she was. It made Kate wonder if things were worse at home
than she was letting on.
Once the door was closed, Kate looked down at Michelle and gave her a
smile. Michelle happily returned it as she reached up for her grandmother’s
nose.
“Is Mommy happy at home?” Kate asked. “Are Mommy and Daddy doing
okay?”
Michelle grabbed her nose and squeezed, as if reminding her of her duties.
Kate grinned and stuck her tongue out, realizing that maybe watching Michelle could be a date in its own right.
***
When Kate answered the door for Alan fifteen minutes later, he looked
both happy and confused. His eyes were alight and sparkling as they usually
were when they took in the sight of Kate. He then saw the ten-month-old
baby in her arms, causing his eyes to narrow into confusion. He smiled
regardless, as Kate had told Melissa the truth less than half an hour ago; Alan
loved Michelle almost as much as Kate did.
“I think she’s a little young to be serving as a third wheel,” Alan said.
“I know. Look, Alan, I’m sorry. But there’s been a change of plans…like
in the past half an hour. Melissa and Terry are going through a hard time.
Terry is being really distant and weird. They have to work through some
stuff…”
Alan shrugged nonchalantly. “Am I still invited in?”
“Of course.”
He kissed them both—first Kate on the lips and then Michelle on the
forehead—before stepping inside. Kate’s heart warmed toward him at once.
First of all, he looked handsome as always. He’d dressed nicely for their date,
but not too nice. He managed to always dress in a way that made it look like he could fit in at a cocktail patio on the beach or a swanky downtown
restaurant.
“You think they’ll be okay?” Alan asked.
“I think so. I think Michelle’s health scare rocked Terry more than he
knew. It’s just now starting to catch up with him and I think it might be
affecting their marriage.”
“That’s rough,” Alan said. He opened his hands to Michelle and she
instantly reached for him. As he snuggled her close and she slapped at his
cheek, Alan regarded Kate with what wasn’t quite concern, but something
close.
“Did she not even call?” he asked.
“She tried and… damn. I still forgot to take it off silent. Went to the dentist for a checkup.”
She took her phone out of her purse and switched the ringer back on. She
saw at once where Melissa had indeed tried to call her an hour and twenty minutes ago.
“Well, you know, we can have the date here,” he said. “We can call up
some Thai food and watch a movie. And the ending part of it all could be the
same.”
Kate nodded and smiled, but her attention was still on her phone. She had
missed another call as well. And the number had tried calling twice, having
left a message the last time.
It was a call from DC—from Director Duran.
“Kate?”
She blinked and looked away from the phone. She hated that she felt like
she had been caught doing something bad.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. It’s just…work called, too. About three hours ago.”
“Return the call then,” Alan said. He was pretending to dance with
Michelle and although he wore a happy face, Kate could sense some irritation
lurking beneath. But she also knew that he’d only press her harder to go
ahead and make the call if she refused.
“One second,” she said, walking into the kitchen and returning Duran’s
call.
The phone rang only twice before it was answered. Even in something as
simple as “hello,” Duran sounded pissed.
“Kate, there you are. Where have you been?”
“My phone was on silent. Sorry. Is everything okay?”
“Well, when you didn’t answer the last time, I’ve sort of been scrambling
around.”
“Over what?”
“There’s a case out in Illinois—two murders that seem related but there’s
no hard link. It’s pretty much stumped the local PD, and the field office out
of Chicago pointed out that you were familiar with the area…the Fielding
case you cracked in 2002. They said they’re glad to put their own agents on
it, but were asking if you’d rather take it. They’re kind of excited about the
idea of getting you back out there.”
“When
?”
“I’d like to get you on a plane tonight. Get you and DeMarco out there
nice and early in the morning.”
“What are the details?”
“I can send you what I have, but there’s still some stuff coming in. Police
reports, forensics, all of that. Can I count on you?”
Kate looked back over at Alan, still dancing with Michelle. She was
bopping him on the nose and on the mouth while he sang a Bob Dylan song
to her. If she took the case, she’d have to call Melissa back and tell her she
couldn’t keep Michelle. Not tonight. And she’d also have to cancel plans
with Alan.
“What happens if I can’t?” she asked Duran.
“Then I’m going to pass it over to the field office in Chicago. But I really
think you’re the perfect match for this. All I need you to do is find some leads
and get it rolling. After that, local agents can roll with it.”
“Let me think about it?”
“Kate, I need to know now. I have to let the local PD and the Chicago
field office know what’s going down.”
In her heart, she knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to take it. She
wanted to take it very badly. And if that made her selfish, then…then so
what? There was a huge difference between putting family first and denying
herself the opportunities and the chance to live her own life. She knew if she
turned this opportunity down just because she had stepped in to watch
Michelle for Melissa at the last minute, she’d feel resentful toward them both.
It hurt to admit it, but there it was, the honest and raw truth.
“Okay, yes, count me in. Are there flight details yet?”
“DeMarco is taking care of all of that,” Duran said. “She’ll be contacting
you soon.”
Kate ended the call, her eyes again traveling over to Alan and Michelle.
The strained look on Alan’s face told her that he had heard the conversation.
“When are you leaving?” he asked.
“I don’t know. DeMarco is in charge of the itinerary. Sometime tonight.
Alan…I’m sorry.”
He said nothing, looking away as he sat down on the couch with Michelle.
“It is what it is,” he finally said. “And don’t feel too bad…I still have a pretty hot date here.”
“Don’t be silly, Alan. I’ll call Melissa and explain things to her.”
“No. If they need the respite, let them have it. As you might know, I am
fully capable of watching after this little one.”
“Alan, I couldn’t possibly ask you to do that!”
“And you never would. Which is why I am volunteering it.”
Kate came over to the couch and sat next to him. She rested her head on
his shoulder. “Do you know how incredible you are?”
He shrugged. “Do you?”
“What do you mean?” she asked, sensing some resentment in his tone.
“I mean, this thing with you and your work. It was supposed to be an
every now and then thing, right? And honestly, to be fair, it has been. But
when it’s on, it’s on. They want you to drop everything and come running
when they call.”
“It’s part of the job, though.”
“A job you retired from two years ago. Did you really miss it that much?”
“Alan…that’s not fair.”
“Maybe not. I won’t pretend to know what kind of lure that job holds over
you. But I’m on the same sidelines as Melissa and Michelle. There’s only so
much more of this I’m going to be able to take.”
“If you feel so strongly, I won’t take this one. I’ll call Duran back and—”
“No. You need to take it. I don’t want you taking it out on me or your
daughter if you let it pass you by. So, go. Take it. But coming from someone
who is rapidly falling more and more in love with you, I feel I should tell you
that you need to have some hard conversations when you come back. With
me, your daughter, and maybe even yourself.”
Kate’s first reaction was one of anger and resentment. But maybe he was
right. After all, hadn’t she realized her decision was borderline selfish just
several moments ago? She’d be fifty-six in three weeks. Maybe it was time
she finally drew up some boundaries in terms of her work. And if it meant
that her special little set-up with Duran and the bureau came to an end, so be
it.
“Alan…I need you to be honest. If me taking this is going to strain us…”
“It won’t. Not this time. But I don’t know how much longer it can go on
into the future.”
She opened her mouth to respond but her phone rang, interrupting her. She
checked the display and saw that it was Jo DeMarco, the young woman who
had been serving as her partner for the last year, riding along on this little
experiment between her and the FBI.
“It’s DeMarco,” she said. “I need to get travel details.”
“It’s okay,” he said. “You don’t have to clear it with me.”
What she didn’t say but felt deep in her heart was: Then why do I feel like
I have to?
It was a question she did not feel like wrestling with at the moment. And,
as she had been doing when presented with questions like this over the last
few months, she turned her attention to work. With a sting of guilt, she
answered the call.
“Hey, DeMarco. What’s up?”
CHAPTER TWO
Both Kate and DeMarco had managed to grab a bit of sleep on the red-eye
flight from
DC to Chicago. But in Kate’s case, it had been a very broken nap at best.
When she stirred awake during descent into Chicago at 6:15, she didn’t feel
very rested. Her thoughts instantly turned to Melissa, Michelle, and Alan.
The guilt slammed into her like a brick as she had watched Chicago appear in
the soft light of dawn through the plane window.
She spent that first moment in Chicago hating herself. It got better as she
and DeMarco made their way through the airport and to the rental car desk.
Now, as they drove into the small town of Frankfield, Illinois, the guilt
was still there but little more than a ghost in her head, rattling chains and
creaking floorboards.
DeMarco was behind the wheel, sipping on Starbucks she had picked up
in O’Hare. She glanced over at Kate, who was looking out the window, and
nudged her.
“Okay, Wise,” DeMarco said. “There’s a big fat elephant in the room and
it stinks. What’s going on? You look miserable.”
“We at the let’s-go-deep level yet?”
“Weren’t we always?”
Kate sat up and sighed. “I was babysitting Michelle when I realized I
missed a call from Duran. I had to bail. Worse than that, I left her with Alan
because Melissa and her husband are going through some stuff. It’s kind of
eating me up.”
“I’m glad you’re here with me,” DeMarco said. “But you could have just
told him no. You’re not under a strict contract or anything, right?”
“Right. But saying no isn’t as easy as you’d think. I fear I’m putting too
much into this. I think it’s how I’m finding my purpose.”
“Being a grandmother isn’t enough purpose?” DeMarco asked.
“Oh, it is. I just…I don’t know.”
She tra
iled off here and DeMarco let her have her silence…for a moment.
“So, this case,” DeMarco said. “Looks pretty plain, right? You read the
files?”
“I did. And it does seem pretty cut and dry. But with no leads or clues or
even the slightest suggestion from local law enforcement, it’s going to be a challenge.”
“So…the latest victim was a fifty-four-year-old woman. At home alone
two afternoons ago. No signs of forced entry. Discovered by the husband
when he arrived home from work. Looks like it was brutal strangulation that
cut deep into her neck.”
“And that might be the smoking gun right there,” Kate said. “What the
hell do you strangle someone with that has the ability to also saw into your
neck?”
“Barbed wire?”
“There would have been more blood,” Kate commented. “The scene
would have been beyond gruesome.”
“And the reports say this place was pretty clean.”
“So that explains why the local PD is having such problems. But there has
to be some starting place, right?”
“Well, let’s find out,” DeMarco said, slowing the car to a crawl and
nodding ahead and to the right. “We’re here.”
***
There was a single policeman waiting for them when they pulled into the
U-shaped driveway. He was sitting in his patrol car, sipping on a cup of
coffee. He gave Kate and DeMarco a polite nod when they approached his
car. He was dressed in uniform, and the star-shaped badge indicated he was
the sheriff. If Kate had to guess, he would not be holding that position for
much longer. He was easily pushing sixty; it showed the most in his brow and
the almost completely gray sheen on his hair.
“Agents Wise and DeMarco,” Kate said, showing him her badge.
“Sheriff Bannerman,” the aging policeman said. “Glad you could make it
up here. This case has us baffled as hell.”
“Care to walk us inside and give us the details?” Kate asked.
“Of course.”
Bannerman led them up the wide stairs onto the minimally decorated
porch. Inside, the house was equally minimalist, making the already huge
house look even larger. The front door opened onto a tiled foyer that gave
way to a wide hall and a set of curved stairs leading to the second floor.
Bannerman led them down the hallway and to the right. They entered a spacious den, the far wall occupied by a single enormous built-in bookcase.