Off the Record: An Avery Rich Mystery (Avery Rich Mysteries Book 1)

by Sara Gauldin

  “Motive. Officer Luke Henry is here because he's being charged with interfering in a criminal investigation. I also have reason to believe he's directly responsible for the bombing deaths of John Calbert and Ryan Kain.”

  Robert laughed. “Motive? You need proof.”

  “William Collins is on trial for being an accessory in the murder of Douglas White. His killer, Jim Maple was found dead in the same clearing as your colleague, Mr. Lenard. Your sister and her husband are being charged in conjunction to the murders. Now, we have young Officer Henry, who has been caught interfering in the investigations. We have witnesses who will testify that he made threats and attempted to take out hits on witnesses in this trial, using threats and blackmail. We caught Luke destroying evidence, and now two witnesses are dead. Do you think we won't trace the bombing back to him? We already have warrants being served to search his home, which is also your home, and his vehicle. Now’s the time that you both need to look at the web you’re in and make a deal to find your way out. Because we both know that while you're in the web, neither of you is immune from the fallout of this.”

  “You think I’m involved?” Robert Henry sputtered.

  “The evidence paints a picture of a crime, and you are in it. I suggest you recuse yourself and cut your own losses. As for your son, he'll need another attorney because I see this going to trial. Murdering a fellow police officer and a consultant won't just be overlooked.”

  Robert opened and closed his mouth, but he seemed to think better of what he wanted to say. “Very well, I’ll arrange new council for Luke.”

  “What? You can’t just leave me in jail.” Luke stammered.

  “Say nothing. I’ll send you someone.” Robert gave Luke a stern look. “Am I free to leave?”

  “For now,” I said.

  “I mean it, Luke: say nothing,” Robert warned his son as he shuffled back through the door.

  “That's plenty for this session, Officer Henry. We'll chat again soon. I want to see what the search warrants discover. In the meantime, why don’t you make this easy for both of us, and write down your statement?" I pushed the notebook across the table to Luke, who looked at it as if it were a snake about to strike. “You can knock on the glass when you’re ready to return to your cell, but you knew that already.”

  Chapter 35

  The cab smelled like old tacos. My stomach grumbled in queasy objection as I realized I hadn’t taken time to eat since I'd left the hospital.

  “Where to?” asked the driver.

  I grasped the key in my pocket, and I gave him Kain’s address. I couldn’t go home--I was the hunted. Nevertheless, I couldn’t stay at the station forever. The key could be to anything, but why would Ryan Kain leave it to me? It had to go to a place I knew of.

  As I made my way through the maze of businesses and courtyards to Kain’s door, I paused and looked up at the camera. I could still picture Kain’s face. How could he be gone? How could it be possible that I would never see him again? One quick blast and he was erased.

  I chewed my lip and put the key in the lock. It slid in without any resistance. I paused. I was afraid to turn it. What if it didn’t work, or worse yet, what if it did? I wasn’t sure I could deal with the memories of our time here, or anywhere else. I took a deep breath. I had to go somewhere.

  As I started to turn the key, the door swung open, and I felt arms wrapping around me as I stumbled forward into the darkened room.

  “Let me go!” I reached for my gun.

  “Whoa, Avery, don’t shoot! It’s me."

  I stumbled backward as I pointed my gun at the man who dared to wait for me in the darkness. The lights came on and in an instant, everything I thought I knew was wrong. Ryan Kain stood in his foyer looking very much alive, if a little beat up. “How?” The words came out in a gasp of air that I hadn’t realized I was holding until then.

  “Please put the gun down first, and then I’ll explain,” he said.

  I paused for another moment, the gun shaking slightly as I tried to process what I was seeing.

  “Avery, it’s really me. You're safe now.” Ryan reached over and carefully pointed the gun away from him.

  I finally dropped my arm and returned the pistol to its holster. “I don’t understand. You were dead. I was investigating your murder.”

  “Come in and sit down, you look exhausted.”

  I nodded and let him lead me to his couch.

  “I wanted to let you know before I left the hospital, but there were just too many eyes, and I had to make things seamless.”

  “Left the hospital? You went to the morgue! I talked to Dr. Cleary!”

  “It wasn’t a very pleasant trip; I don’t recommend traveling by body bag. The good doctor never had a chance to examine me before I was removed from his morgue.”

  “And the key?”

  “I couldn’t very well send you a note with directions, but I knew you'd be too smart to go home, and I never doubted you'd need to investigate what the key went to.”

  “So you knew I would show up here?”

  “I was pretty sure of it. I have to leave here in the morning. I only came to gather a few personal items that I can’t leave behind. I have twenty-four hours.”

  “Then what? What are you talking about?”

  “You know I'm being hunted. So are you, but you're harder to eliminate because of your police affiliation.”

  “It sure didn’t help John Calbert.”

  “No, but the bomb was meant for me.”

  “Your car, I get it.” I leaned back in the cushions of the sofa and let the cool leather support my aching body.

  “Until the bomber is caught, nowhere can be safe for long. I was only able to come back here tonight because of some special security enhancements I had already added.”

  I laughed nervously.

  “Avery, are you all right?”

  “The bomber is already in custody. It was Luke Henry, the rookie officer who searched the black SUV.”

  Ryan Kain coughed in surprise. “Him? He's a kid. I should have noticed it. I should have been able to identify him.”

  “He had everybody fooled. You shouldn’t blame yourself.”

  “Are you certain it was him?”

  “He tried to convince Lou Johnson to kill us both. I have her statement. His lawyer-daddy was in business with the murdered Mr. Lenard, and his aunt is Caroline George. He's laced into this pretty tight.”

  Ryan’s forehead creased. “His family is. I'll bet he's been trained for these situations his entire life.”

  “Well, it looks like he may need to retire early,” I said.

  “You're amazing. You've found all of this out since the explosion. How are you even out of the hospital?” Kain gently pulled me into his arms.

  I could hear his steady heartbeat as I snuggled against him. He was so warm and alive. I had thought I'd never see his face again. I inhaled the scent of him, but the tears of grief I had been beating back suddenly returned as tears of relief and contentment.

  “Avery? Are you all right?” Kain wiped away a single tear as it slid down my cheek.

  “I’m all right, now. It's been a tough day. I thought I'd lost you. I thought I let Lou Johnson murder you as she stood guard. I almost killed her. I was going to shoot her in the hospital.”

  “Oh Avery, I’m so sorry. Did they really assign Officer Johnson to be my guard?”

  “They did. I was on my way to stop her. I couldn’t get to you, and then it was too late.”

  “What happened?” Ryan asked. He was being very kind, considering I'd left a damp section on his shirt from my tears.

  “I blacked out, and when I came to, she told me you were dead, that a lady had come for you, and you slipped away.” The memory of the lady suddenly made me uncomfortable. I sat up and scooted back onto my own cushion.

  “It’s a form of witness protection, Avery. They came to help me, not to kill me.”

  I nodded, but there was too much of this st
ory he wasn't telling me. “So I held Lou at gunpoint and made her take me back to the station.”

  “That would explain this interesting outfit.” Kain gestured to my department issued uniform pants, and the gray men’s shirt, issued for training.

  I blushed. “It was better than questioning people in a hospital gown that opened in the back.”

  Kain laughed. The sound was a welcome break in a day that had seemed like a nightmare. “Let me show you the bathroom. I’m sure you want to have a nice hot bath and relax.” Kain pulled a shred of grass from my hair and held it out for me to see.

  “I must look like a wreck.”

  “You look beautiful. You can hardly help it if you have a few bumps and bruises.”

  Kain led me into the master bedroom of his home. The huge California king bed was downplayed by the natural color scheme and lack of any personal items in the room. He showed me the master bathroom, with its oversized soaker tub. “I never use it, but you may enjoy it.” He turned on the faucet.

  I nodded and waited for him to leave to undress. I took off the ridiculous outfit and looked at myself in the mirror while I waited for the tub to fill up. My front had scratches and puncture marks from the shrapnel. A few places had required a stitch or two to close. I turned and looked over my shoulder. I could just make out the red and purple splotches that covered my rib cage and back side. My shoulder had a long abrasion where I had slid along the ground. I chewed my lip and wondered how Kain was as mobile as he was when he'd been closer to the blast than I was.

  I stepped into the tub and carefully sank into the water. It stung my wounds and scratches at first, but after a minute or two, the heat only served to help relax the aches away.

  After my bath, I emerged no less tattered, but less bedraggled. My dark hair hung in rivulets down my shoulders as I carefully patted dry my body. I wrapped the oversized towel around myself as I hunted for a blow-dryer. There was none to be found, so I pulled the towel off to wrap it around my dripping hair. I spotted a robe hanging from the back of the door, and put it on. The large, soft robe was dark gray and smelled seductively of Ryan Kain’s aftershave. I tied the belt and walked out with my clothes in hand.

  Ryan lay on his bed reading a book that looked as though it should have been in a museum. He smiled when he saw me. “The robe looks better on you than on me.”

  I laughed. “Is there somewhere I can wash these clothes?”

  “Sure, but I’ll take care of it.” Kain grabbed the clothes from my hands and took them somewhere into the hall. I stood in the empty room wondering where to go and what to do in my half-dressed state. My body demanded that I rest. I sat on the bed, a little awkwardly. Then I leaned back. The soft mattress and pillow were all my beat-up body had been waiting for and I fell fast asleep.

  ***

  I felt Ryan Kain gently kiss my cheek as I slept. “I will get you out of this. When you're asked, agree. You were raised for this, Avery. It's where you belong.”

  My half-asleep brain couldn’t make sense of his words. “Where I belong?”

  “I wish I could stay. Maybe next time things will be different,” he said.

  “Stay? Next time?” I looked up into his beautiful eyes. Sincerity had replaced the mischievous twinkle.

  “I have to go now, Avery. I'll be in touch. Please take the opportunity I send your way. It may be the best option for everyone."

  I sat up and wrapped my arm around Ryan’s neck. “Just like that? You just walk away and disappear?”

  He held me against him. “It's never that simple. Arrangements have been made. I have to do my part when it’s time if I want help offered to me when I need it. This case is closed. Wrap up the loose ends and walk away.”

  “How can I?”

  “You can, and you will.” Ryan lifted my chin and we kissed good-bye. “Breakfast is on the island. I'll be in touch.” He walked to the bedroom door where he paused and looked back at me for a moment. “It’s going to all work out, Avery. Trust me.”

  “I don’t understand,” I said.

  “You will.” He turned and walked away, as though he was going to some suburban job, and not saying his good-byes forever.

  “Ryan? Thank you for helping me,” I called out. I don’t know if he heard me, but he never replied.

  I looked around the empty room. On the bed next to me was a stack of clothes from my apartment, my department phone, fully charged, and a second phone. There was also a paper that seemed to be instructions for the security system in Ryan’s apartment.

  I picked up my department phone. There were several messages waiting for me.

  The warrants came through for the Henry residence. The search turned up bomb making equipment.

  Robert Henry is in custody; his prints were also found on the bomb supplies.

  The guard found Luke Henry hanging from his sheets in his cell, dead. Apparent suicide.

  Dead? Just like that? How? I couldn’t begin to wrap my brain around any of this. Things were happening too fast.

  I got myself dressed and headed to the kitchen for breakfast.

  Chapter 36

  My chair squeaked and groaned as I shifted my weight. I clicked on the file for a list of suspects in a series of muggings. The mug shots staring back at me were my only company that day. I looked around the station. Officers came and went like nothing had changed. Maybe, for them, nothing had. Now I looked at each of my coworkers as a possible threat, rather than a valued member of the team.

  The bankers' case was closed, but I still felt hunted. I kept Kain's apartment locked down for security, whenever I left the station.

  I sighed and glanced at the empty chair. Kain had not contacted me since he left his apartment weeks ago. Was he safe? Had he forgotten me? A shiver went through me. It was time for a change in vantage point. I gathered up a few files and my keys, and headed to the elevator.

  The smell of coffee greeted me as I walked into the coffee shop down the street from the station. I placed my order, then stood back to watch the busy barista as she scrambled to fill orders and take new ones from the mid-morning rush crowd. I admired how the lady managed perpetual motion without panicking or dropping anything.

  A tap on my shoulder made me jump. I turned to see a petite woman with dark hair, looking back at me with a bemused smirk.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” she said.

  “It’s no trouble,” I said.

  The lady looked at me, as though she was examining my face. After an awkward moment, her eyes lit up like she'd made a crucial discovery. “You must be Avery Rich. I've been waiting for you.”

  My hand went to the gun strapped beneath my blazer at my waist.

  The woman smiled in response. Her expression was vaguely familiar.

  “Whoa, you're quick. He told me you'd think I was looking for trouble,” she said.

  “And are you?” I asked. I could feel a new surge of adrenaline coursing through my body, urging me not to wait to react. I took a deep breath and looked the smiling woman in the eye. My hand remained at my gun.

  The brunette’s sweet, calm composure radiated from her smile. “No, actually I came to make you an offer.”

  “An offer? Who did you say sent you?” I asked.

  “Avery, your coffee is ready,” the barista called out, scanning the room for a response to the name as she slid my steaming cup across the counter.

  “I’ll get a table,” the woman said.

  I crossed the room in two steps, keeping the woman in my peripheral vision. I grabbed the cup and snatched a few napkins from the dispenser. I glanced back, looking for her, but she had disappeared in the moment it took me to claim my coffee. I scanned the busy coffee shop and found her sitting at a table in the corner. She had chosen the seat facing outward toward the crown of patrons. Part of me wanted to leave her sitting there. I didn’t need any more bad news. Even so, my sense of curiosity was too strong. I had to find out what this stranger, who never game me her name, wa
nted from me, and who had sent her to find me. I sighed, and headed to her table, scanning for any signs of trouble from her or the other customers as I approached.

  I slid onto the stool across from her. “You said that someone had sent you here. I don’t recall you even mentioning your name. You seem to know mine.” I took a sip of the scalding hot coffee.

  “I apologize for my rudeness. You may call me Tori. I feel as though I already know you, I've heard so much about you.”

  The hair on the back of my neck stood up. What was she talking about? “I’m sorry, Tori. I have no idea what you are talking about.”

  “We have a mutual…friend, who suggested that you may be just the person I've been looking for to fill a position within my division.”

  “Division? You're with the police?”

  “I suppose you could call it that. I'm part of an agency known as the CCA.”

  “Do you mean the CIA?”

  “No, the CCA, Central Cleanup Agency. We're responsible for putting certain situations to rest before they cause upset in the general populace.” Her eyes sparkled.

  “Why have I never heard of it?”

  “That's exactly the point. Most people cannot handle the knowledge of next level corruption and conspiracy that goes on at all layers of the infrastructure. People need to believe the charade or chaos would take over, but there has to be a balance. That's where we come in. We keep the inner layers of corruption from bubbling over and causing major troubles for society. We police the next level, without drawing the attention of the media.” She fidgeted with a napkin left on the table. I noticed old, faded scars, interlacing across the back of her hand.

  “This again? You sound like somebody else I...knew.” The painful reminder of Ryan Kain’s absence pricked in my consciousness.

  She smiled, exposing her perfect row of white teeth. “I used to hear that a lot. Few people know both my brother and I.”

  “Your brother?” I asked. My stomach flip-flopped as I waited for the answer I already knew.