Fatally Linked

by Juliann Vatalaro

  She pulled away from him, pushed one of the old women into Jake and took off. Dani was half way in the car. She jumped out and followed first.

  “Damn it, come back here!” she yelled as she chased after her.

  Katie ran against the foot traffic, pushing people out of the way as she went. She ran through stores and alleys. She crossed the street in the middle of traffic causing more than one horn to blow. That’s when Katie gained a good lead. She ran down into the subway and onto the next train. She didn’t care where it was going. The door closed as Dani and Jake ran through the gate.

  “Son of a bitch,” Jake yelled, as he looked at her smiling at them.

  Dani leaned over to catch her breath. “Now I’m convinced she knows something. Put out an APB.”

  “We don’t have her name.”

  Dani stood up. “Let’s go back to the café. Maybe someone there can enlighten us.”

  Katie ran all the way to Mrs. Welmington’s apartment. She had just sat next to a ghost. She saw him get shot in the head. She saw him fall to the ground. Yet she was just sitting next to him. He put his hand on her shoulder. He walked next to her.

  She stayed with Mrs. Welmington about three times a week. She had met her when she saw that she needed some help getting her groceries home from the market. Now she did the shopping for her, some cleaning, and keeps her company. Mrs. Welmington was eighty years old and has no one around to help her. Katie figured it was a good deal for a place to stay and a few good meals.

  She walked in and sat on the couch shaking. Mrs. Welmington was in her chair sleeping. Katie took some deep breaths and wiped the tears from her eyes. He couldn’t possibly have lived through a bullet to the head. But he did. Now he was going to be looking for her. She was going to have to go away. The only problem was that she’d have to dip into her bank account, and they may be able to find her through that.

  Mrs. Welmington woke up. She looked over and saw Katie crying. Like any mother would do, she went over and hugged Katie.

  “What’s wrong, honey? You looked like you just saw a ghost.”

  “I did,” Katie mumbled into her shoulder.

  CHAPTER 6

  “I’LL GO BACK TO THE café to see if I can get anything. I’ll meet you back at the precinct.”

  Dani gave him a sideway glance. “I do believe I’m the Lieutenant. I’ll decide who does what.”

  Jake grabbed her arm to stop her. “Look, I know who’s boss. I just really need a minute away from you. Let me go back. I’ll catch up with you later.”

  “What’s the matter? You getting the urge to move in on your brother’s territory?” Dani laughed.

  “Yes, I am.” Jake walked toward the café, leaving Dani staring at his back.

  She ran her fingers through her hair. “Keep dreaming,” she said to his back and headed to the car. “Take all the minutes you want.”

  She took her time getting back to the squad room. She could try to blow off what Jake said, but she knew that was not going to happen. There was no way that after only two days he could have feelings for her.

  Whether it is love or lust, hate or apathy, he doesn’t know me well enough to feel any of it.

  On one hand, he seemed genuine. On the other, he seemed like he is up to something. Why would he say something like that to her? He said that he knew everything about her. He had to know how much she was hurting over losing Zach. He knew just looking at him was killing her because she had told him. He had to know that if he tried to make a move, she would kill him.

  Dani ran her hand over Zach’s picture as she entered the squad room. She walked to her office without saying a word. She sat down, opened Jakes file and picked up the phone. It was time to find out everything she could about Jake Santos. First on the list was his old partner.

  “Lieutenant Dani Castello from New York. I’d like to speak to Detective Jose Morales.”

  “Hold, please.”

  Dani punched in “Fallen Angels” at the prompt while she waited. She was reading an interesting article when Detective Morales came on the line.

  “Detective Morales.”

  “Hi, Detective. I’m Lieutenant Castello. I’d like some background information on your former partner, Detective Jake Santos.”

  “If you’re calling me to dig up some dirt, you’re out of luck, Lieutenant.”

  “Why would you think I’m looking for dirt?”

  “I know Jake. The way I figure it, you drew him as a partner. He did something stupid to piss you off. Now you want to find a way to get him out of your life.”

  “Is he the type to piss people off?”

  “No, not really. Well, maybe. Sometimes Jake gets into a situation where he thinks he is losing control. When that happens, he does what it takes to get the control back. It pisses people off.”

  “Did he piss you off?”

  “Sure he did, but I’m sure I pissed him off, too.” He laughed. “Look, Jake was the best partner I ever had. He saved my life more than once. He is smart and thorough. When he gets on something, the only way to get him off it is to find the culprit. It didn’t hurt having him around when we were out on the town either. The man is a chick magnet.”

  “How did he save your life?”

  “He did it twice. The first time we were chasing this guy through an auto graveyard. The perp jumped up on a stack of cars. I was about to follow the guy up. The pile started to come down. Jake pulled me out of the way just before I would have been crushed to death. Then he went after and caught the perp.”

  “What about the second time?”

  “Hostage situation in a bank. They went in guns raised. We were able to take down three of them without anyone being shot. Unfortunately, there was a fourth guy. Also unfortunately, I didn’t see him. He would have shot me in the back. Instead, Jake dove on me and took the bullet in his leg. He rolled off me and shot the guy before I even knew what happened.”

  “What about off the job?”

  “Off the job he was a little bit of a loner. The guys and I would have to embarrass him into going out with us, but once he did, he had a good time. He volunteered with Big Brothers. Every weekend he would pick up a kid to bring to a game. He was helping three before he left. A couple of the other guys and I are going to fill in for him until he gets back. When he wasn’t doing that he was home watching a game.”

  “I know he’s divorced. Any girlfriends?”

  “Not really. He’s no saint, but if anything was going to get serious, he backed out quickly. The divorce sort of made him gun-shy in that area.”

  “Do you know how I can get in touch with his ex?”

  “Name’s Nancy Flint. She works as a paralegal for the DA office in Fresno.”

  “Thanks for your input. I do have one more question, though. Please tell me straight. Would you take him back as your partner?”

  “In a heartbeat. I hated to see him go, but I understand how important finding his bother’s killer is to him.”

  “He told you about his brother?”

  “Yes, ma’am. The whole situation threw him for a loop. He took some time off to work it all out. He was getting a kick out of having a brother. He said Zach gave him some perspective he never thought about. On the job and off. The second he found out about his death, he was on a plane. I’m not sure he even took the time to pack a bag.”

  Dani hesitated. “Thanks again. I’ll try to get him back to you quickly.”

  “One more thing, Lieutenant. If you drew Jake as a partner, consider yourself lucky.”

  She hung up and pinched the bridge of her nose. Another headache was starting even though she did eat her sandwich. A few minutes later she looked up the ex-wife’s number and dialed.

  “Nancy Flint, make it quick.”

  “Miss Flint, I’m Lieutenant Dani Castello with the NYPD. I’d like to speak to you about Jake Santos.”

  “What did he do now?”

  “What makes you think he did something?”

  “Expe
rience.”

  Dani smiled. You would probably get the same answer if you were talking about Zach.

  “I’ve already talked to his partner, Detective Morales,” Dani said. “He gave me a background on how he works. I would like a little information on what he is like off the job.”

  “Besides telling you he’s the best man I know, I’m not sure what else you need to know.”

  “If he’s the best man you know, why are you divorced?”

  “What did he tell you?”

  “Just that it didn’t work out. I know it’s a little personal, but I would like to know why.”

  “You’re not a new girlfriend, are you?”

  Dani laughed. “No, not a girlfriend. Actually, I was Zach’s girlfriend.”

  Almost fiancée, she thought, but Nancy didn’t need to know that. She was just fishing to see if Jake talked to her about Zach.

  “Oh, I’m sorry for you loss. From what Jake told me about Zach, he was a great guy.”

  “Jake told you about Zach?”

  “Sure. Jake and I talk about everything. He came to see me as soon as he heard the news. He wanted to tell me he was going to New York so he could find his killer.”

  Jake knocked on the door before he walked in without waiting for Dani to tell him it was okay. Dani gave him a look as she held her hand up to him. “Miss Flint, I’m having a hard time understanding why you and Jake are no longer married. You sound like you are still in love with him.”

  She smiled at Jake when he stood there with his mouth open, surprised by the conversation he was overhearing.

  “Look, Lieutenant, I’m kind of busy here, so I’ll cut to the chase. I fell in love with Jake the second I saw him. I will love him until the day I die. I just couldn’t live with him—or should I say I just couldn’t live with his job. I want children. The thought of having them with him and then him not being there to watch them grow up was unbearable.”

  “Believe it or not, I understand exactly what you’re talking about. If you can just spare one more minute to tell me what makes you love him so much, I’ll let you get back to work.”

  She blew out a breath. “Jake has the kindest heart I’ve ever seen. He works with Big Brothers. I believe that last he told me he was working with three kids. He plays with the kids in the neighborhood on his day off. Whether it’s playing baseball, basketball, or football, he is out there with them. I once caught him sitting under a tree with a seven-year-old boy reading a book. The kid told him his reading was not that great and his mother was mad. He’s the sweetest guy when he can be and the meanest son of a bitch when he has to be. Does that answer your question?”

  Dani stared at Jake. “Yes. It does. Thanks for your time.”

  “Tell Jake I hope he gets his man.”

  “I will. Thanks again.”

  Dani stared at Jake as she hung up. “Do you still love her as much as she loves you?”

  “Yes. I always will. But the divorce was the right thing to do. She needs a family. I need this job. She would never be happy if we stayed together. Isn’t that what love is? Wanting each other to be happy.”

  Dani thought about that. Did she want Zach to be happy over her own happiness? Would she have given him up for the job? She reached down to touch the ring in her pocket. She wiped the tears away from her eyes. The answer was no. She was going to tell him yes as soon as she saw him again. The hell with what the job thought about it. But she had never gotten the chance.

  “Yeah. I suppose it is.”

  “So do you realize now that I didn’t kill Zach? Do you realize that this is not some sort of set up?”

  Dani looked at her case board. “I’m ninety percent there.”

  “When do I get the other ten percent?”

  “When I find out why Zach didn’t tell me about you and when I find another suspect.”

  Jake put his hands on his head, pacing to the door. He turned back around, dropping his hands. “I’ll take what I can get for now.”

  “I guess I should tell you I also talked to your partner. He wants his chick magnet back.”

  Jake laughed. “Trust me, he doesn’t need me.” Jake sat down, resting his elbows on his knees. “Look, about what I said before…”

  “Forget it. I realize you’re upset about Zach. You’re probably just using me as your outlet.”

  “Yeah, maybe. Anyway, I am sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Even if I’m feeling something for you…” He held up his hand to stop her. “Even if I’m feeling something for you, I had no right to lay it on you now. You’re hurting. I shouldn’t have dumped anything else on you that would confuse you more than you already are. I’m sorry.”

  Dani looked away. After a minute, she turned back. “I loved Zach more than I love my own life. You look exactly like him. That’s what confuses me. Looking at you is what hurts me. Now I find out that you seem to be a lot like him. Both your ex-wife and your partner spoke highly of you. If you went out there and ask any one of those detectives or even the uniform cops about what type of man Zach was, you would get the same response I just got. I’m afraid the longer you’re around I am going to start to feel something for you. You want to know what really is confusing the hell out of me. That I will never know if those feelings are for you or for Zach in your body….”

  Now Dani held up her hand to stop Jake.

  “To top all this crap off, it is way too soon for me to even be thinking about another man. I look at you and see Zach. I want to fall into your arms and hold tight. Yes, you lost a brother. I get that. However, I lost my best friend. I lost my lover. I lost the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with. Only now, I am looking at him every time I turn around. Add to that I have to figure out why that man would hold back something as important as finding a long lost brother from me when it seems he told that brother everything there is to know about me. So yes, I am confused. Yes, I am hurting. Do you get that? Do you understand that?”

  “More than you think. I was pissed at Nancy when she told me she was seeing someone else only two weeks after we broke up.”

  Jake got to his feet.

  “I need to be involved in finding Zach’s killer. I still believe it would go a lot quicker if we worked together. If you feel you can’t, I’ll get out of your life. I can work it alone.”

  “No. You’re right. It will go faster if we work together. There is one condition though. No more talk about feelings for each other. No more having feelings for each other. We work and only work.”

  “I can’t agree to that. I agree to not talking about any feelings I may have. I promise you will never know if I happen to have any for you. However, I will not stop asking you questions about you. I will not stop asking questions about Zach. I need to get to know you both.”

  Dani hesitated. “We’ll give it a shot, but if I say back off, you back off.”

  “Deal. Thank you.”

  Dani sat back down. “So did you find out anything?”

  “Her name is Katie. No last name. The guy I talked to thinks she is a runaway.”

  “Great. Just great.” She turned to her computer and punched “Katie” into the missing person’s database. “Database is updating. It could be awhile.”

  “So we move on. Did you find anything on the Fallen Angels?”

  “I was reading something while I was on hold waiting for your partner. It seems they are not your typical biker gang. They did a lot of charity work. Mostly with the St. Jude foundation.”

  “Maybe that’s what they mean by Fallen Angels.”

  “I guess. Why don’t you see what Wilson came up with while we wait for the search to come back on Katie? See what else you can come up with. I’ll start going through the yearbooks from the schools in this area. Maybe I can come up with a name.”

  “You don’t think she goes to school around here, do you?”

  “No. I also don’t believe we are going to find her in the database. At least it’s a place to look.”

  At six
p.m. Dani called a meeting to fill in everyone on where they stood. She also needed to be filled in on the other cases that were going on in her department. Besides the teen murders, there was a murder of a bodega owner and beating of a senior citizen couple. The woman was going to be okay, but the man was in critical condition… and all because they would not give up their car. The car was stolen and used in a drive-by shooting.

  As the meeting ended, Dani held everyone up. Since she had yelled at Wilson for talking to Jake, he would not tell Jake what he found on the Fallen Angels.

  “As you probably know by now, Jake is Zach’s brother. They only recently found each other. Zach didn’t tell me about him, so if you have questions, you’re going to have to ask Jake. He’s here to help find Zach’s killer. The captain and I have checked him out.”

  She smiled at Jake.

  “He will only be here until we find the person responsible. Until then, he will be my partner. Trust me when I say that it is not easy for me to have to deal with him, but it‘s how it is. If I happen to go off on you, you will understand why. You have my permission to go to him with any information that has to do with Zach or these teenage murders. As far as any of the other cases that run through this department are concerned, use your own judgment to whether you want to involve him or not. For what it’s worth, my personal observation and research tells me he’s good.”

  Dani turned to the door and headed out. As usual, she ran her hand over Zach’s picture as she left. Jake caught up to her halfway down the steps to the basement.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To prepare myself for what I’m going to find on Zach’s computer tonight.”

  “You do that in the basement?”

  “Yes.”

  Dani used her badge to enter the shooting range. She grabbed earplugs and a box of ammo. She headed to the last lane on the left. Jake did the same. He watched her shoot the first two clips before he turned to his target and squeezed his trigger. He had a smile on his face as he went through his clip. Zach didn’t tell him that besides being good at just about everything she does, except computers, that she is a first-rate marksman.