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Fatally Linked

Page 12

by Juliann Vatalaro


  “What did Ms. Granta tell you?”

  Jake told Jeremy about their conversation this morning. When he was done Jeremy closed his eyes as he thought for a moment.

  “We need to find this Daren character?”

  “That would be the first place I would look. One other thing—Katie saw Zach get killed.”

  “Great. Just great.” He sighed. “Where is she now?”

  “Dani was going to take her back to her place. We need to tell her about Zach.”

  “Is there any other family?”

  “Not that we know of. As far as we can tell, Jennifer was an only child. Her parents are dead.”

  “So are you going to step up and be her uncle?”

  “If she’ll let me. Right now she thinks she’s seeing Zach’s ghost.” Jake smiled. “It seems everyone is seeing me as Zach’s ghost.”

  “Zach was a good man. He’ll be missed.”

  “You can say that even though he took Dani away from you?”

  Now Jeremy smiled. “Ask Dani.”

  They stared each other down for a moment before Jake asked, “So are we going to work together on this?”

  “You’ll know whatever I find out. I’ll expect the same from you.”

  “I didn’t know Zach that well, but what I did know I loved. He was my brother. I’ll do whatever it takes to find his killer. If that means working with you, you can be damn straight that’s what I’m going to do.”

  Jeremy grinned. “I can see by that attitude she got to you, too. How long have you known her?”

  Jake shook his head. “About seventy-two hours.” He handed Jeremy a card. “That’s my number. I’m sure you know Dani’s. We’ll be in touch.”

  He walked away. You are not jealous, you are not jealous, he repeated to himself as he headed for the car.

  Dani kept her hand lightly on Katie’s shoulder as they slowly walked to the train station. She had Katie, Zach’s daughter, and there was no way she was going to get away again. They stopped quickly in a convenience store to clean some of the mud off their face and hands. There was nothing they could do about their clothes. Even though there were plenty of stares from the other passengers on the train, neither one of them said a word.

  She knew she needed to keep Katie engaged in conversation somehow to avoid shock, but she just couldn’t figure out what to say to her. In the last two weeks she’s lost her father, though she doesn’t know it was her father, and her mother.

  How do you make someone feel better after that?

  She hadn’t been lying when she had told Katie she wasn’t good with the comfort stuff.

  Dani decided getting Katie comfortable with her and her apartment was the best place to do that. So, when they walked into her apartment, she acted as she always did. She took off her jacket and threw it on the chair by the door. She took her keys and threw them in the bowl on the counter. When she turned back to Katie she was standing two feet inside the door.

  Dani moved behind her, closing and locking the door. She lightly rested her hand on her shoulder, motioning her further into the room. “It’s not much, but cops can’t afford much on the salary they pay us.”

  When there was no response, she continued, “Why don’t you take a shower first? The bathroom is right through here.”

  She motioned with her hand to the door.

  She grabbed her robe from the back of the door. “This will be a little big, but at least it’s clean.”

  Again, no response.

  “Come on, Katie, I know you’re having a bad day, but I need you to talk to me. I can’t have you going into shock. If you do I’ll have to take you to the hospital. I know you don’t want that. Please tell me you’re okay.”

  “But what if I’m not okay?” Katie whispered. “What if I’m never okay again?”

  Dani hesitated before pulling her in for a hug. “Ah, honey, you’re going to be fine. I promise I will be here for you. You’re not alone.”

  Katie slowly moved her hands around Dani and held on. For the next five minutes she cried on Dani’s shoulder before she quickly pulled back and wiped her eyes.

  “Why?” She stepped back away from Dani.

  “Why what?”

  “Why are you going to be here for me? Why are you helping me? If you think I can help you find Willy’s killer, I already told you everything I know. I can’t help you!”

  “No, Katie. I don’t want anything from you. Please trust me. Go take a shower. I’ll order us a pizza. We can talk over dinner.”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “That’s okay. I’m not either. I’ll just get it in case we change our mind.” She held the robe out to her.

  Slowly she took the robe and went into the bathroom. Dani stood outside the door until she heard the shower go on. She finally let out the breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding. Walking to the kitchen she took out her phone to order the pizza. She took out a beer from the refrigerator and drank it down.

  She hadn’t had a day like today in a long time. Last time Zach had been there to help her through it. This time he wasn’t. He would never help her through another bad day again.

  She grabbed another beer and threw a blanket down on the couch to protect it from the mud she was covered in. She dropped down on the couch, put her feet up on the table, and closed her eyes.

  Less then a minute later, Jake came through the opening in the wall. Dani smiled to herself. Somehow she knew he couldn’t resist using that way into her apartment.

  “How’s she doing?” he asked as he dropped Katie’s backpack next to the couch and headed to the refrigerator. “You’re out of beer?”

  “I suppose with all the other crap I have going on, I should have found the time to get to the grocery store.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to take an attitude. How about something stronger?”

  Dani sighed as she got up and walked into the kitchen. She reached up over the counter to the cabinet, but was just a little to short to reach the top shelf. Jake came up behind her, reaching for the bottle. As they brought it down together their eyes met. For a second Dani thought he was going to lean in and kiss her. For that same second, Jake thought about leaning in and kissing her. They both stepped back quickly.

  “Ah, all I have is the whiskey,” Dani stated as she picked up her beer bottle and took a long sip.

  Why did I think he was going to kiss me? Why did I want him to?

  He cleared his throat as he took another step back. “That’s fine. I’ll take anything hard at this point.”

  Why did I almost kiss her? Why did it look like she wanted me to?

  “How’s she doing?”

  “Not good. She’s barely talking. I’m afraid she’s going to go into shock.”

  Jake swallowed his shot and poured another one. “Did you tell her who I am?”

  “I didn’t even tell her who I am. Besides confirming I’m a cop looking into Willy’s death.” Dani sighed. “I don’t know what to say to her. I’m not very good at comforting people and she’s going to need a lot of it.”

  “Huh?”

  “Huh, what?”

  Jake sat next to her on the couch. “Zach said you were a very compassionate woman. From what I’ve seen, you are. I’m surprised you don’t see it in yourself.”

  She gave him a sideways glare, but didn’t have the opportunity to respond, because Katie came out of the bathroom.

  CHAPTER 15

  KATIE TOOK ONE LOOK AT Jake and sucked in a long breath. When Dani and Jake looked up, she was clutching her dirty clothes to her chest as she backed up slowly.

  “He’s not real,” she mumbled. “He’s dead. I don’t see him. He’s not real.”

  She backed herself into the wall and closed her eyes.

  Dani and Jake both jumped up and headed for Katie. Dani pushed him back down on the couch. When she got to Katie she still had her eyes closed and was mumbling. Dani took her by the shoulders.

  “Katie, look at me.” />
  There was no response. Dani moved her hands to Katie’s cheeks.

  “Katie, it’s Dani. Listen to me. He is not dead. You are not seeing a ghost. Please open your eyes. I can’t tell you the next part unless I see your eyes.”

  Katie kept her eyes closed as she shook her head.

  “He is not a ghost. He’s Detective Jake Santos. Now open your eyes or I will not tell you anything else.”

  When she didn’t respond, Dani used her back-up card. “Okay, you stand there ‘til you’re ready to hear why you are important to us and why we want to help you,” she said.

  She let go of Katie and took a step back.

  “We have all night to wait, but by the morning we’ll have to get back to finding Willy’s killer.”

  Dani turned at the knock at the door. “That’s the pizza. Do you mind getting that, Jake?”

  “No problem.”

  At the sound of his voice, Katie finally opened her eyes. Slowly she moved her head to look around Dani at Jake. He opened the door, spoke with the delivery guy, handed him some money, and took the pizza from him.

  “Thanks. We’re staving here. Have a good night.”

  He closed the door and returned to the couch with the box.

  “Oh, good,” he said. “I was hoping for peperoni.”

  Katie slowly moved her eyes from Jake to Dani and whispered, “He’s not a ghost?”

  Dani laughed to lighten the mood. “Nope, not a ghost. A pain in the ass sometimes, but not a ghost.”

  Dani slowly took her dirty clothes from her and put them on the washing machine in the closet across from the bathroom. Taking her hand she lightly pulled Katie toward the couch and sat her next to Jake.

  When Dani headed to the kitchen, Jake knew it was his turn to talk to Katie. He didn’t want to get into the heavy stuff just yet, so small talk would have to do. “Rough day, huh?”

  Katie jumped up. “Are you kidding me? A few hours ago I saw my mother laying in a pool of blood on our living room floor and you want to know if I’ve had a rough day?”

  Slowly a smile came to Jake’s lips. “No, honey. I know you’ve had a horrible few weeks. The way you were standing over there scared the crap out of me. I made that comment to get a reaction out of you. I have to know that you are alive. We can’t have you going into shock. Your reaction is just what I wanted to see. It will be rough but we’ll get through all of this.”

  Dani came back with plates and drinks. “Why don’t we eat before we talk more?”

  “I’m not hungry. Tell me why or I’m leaving.” She looked at her backpack on the floor. “Is that mine?”

  “Yes. I found it on your neighbor’s steps as I was heading for the car.”

  She picked it up and ran to the bathroom.

  “Just the small window in there, right?

  “Yes.” Dani took a slice of pizza. She put it on her plate and looked at her clothes. “I can’t eat like this. She’ll be in there awhile. You good if I go take a shower?”

  “As long as it’s quick. I’m not sure she trusts I’m not a ghost yet.”

  Dani smiled. “Five minutes. Don’t say anything to make her run if she comes out before I get back.”

  Katie was just coming out of the bathroom as Dani stepped through the opening in the wall at the bookcase from Zach’s apartment.

  “You’re his twin brother, aren’t you?” Katie asked as she slowly sat next to Jake.

  “Yes.”

  She took a picture out of the front pocket of her backpack and stared at it. “And you’re his girlfriend?”

  She was holding the little picture of Dani and Zach that Dani kept on the mirror in the bathroom. Dani sighed. That was the only picture she had of them together. They had taken it in a photo booth at a game room a few blocks from the apartment. Unfortunately, if Katie wanted it, she would have to give it to her.

  She took out the ring.

  “He was my partner at work, boyfriend… and almost fiancé.” She showed Katie the ring.

  “You were in love with him?”

  “Yes, very much so.”

  “He was a cop, too?”

  “Yes.”

  “He was in that building looking for me?”

  Dani and Jake looked at each other in hopes of figuring out a way to deal with that question and the one that was sure to follow. Jake nodded to Dani to answer.

  “Yes.”

  Katie slowly ran a finger over Zach’s face. “Was he my father?”

  Dani figured it was best to not hold anything back. She answered as fast as if she was pulling off a Band-Aid. “Yes, he was.”

  She turned to Jake. “So that makes you my uncle. That’s why I’m important to you? Both of you?”

  Jake took her hand. They were both surprised when she didn’t pull away. “Yes. You’re important to both of us. We are not going to let anything happen to you. You are not alone. I promise you are not alone.”

  Katie threw her arms around Jake and started to cry. “I’m sorry he was killed because of me. Even if he hated me, I’m sorry he was killed.”

  Jake moved her back so he could look into her eyes. “Why do you think he hated you?”

  She wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “He wasn’t with me. My mother said he lived far away and didn’t have time for me.”

  Jake looked at Dani for help with that answer, but all she could do was shrug. He blew out a breath and took Katie’s hand. “There are a lot of things we need to tell you about him that will take time we don’t have right now, but I will tell you this. Zach, that was his name, Zach did not know about you until three days before he was killed. Your mother never told him she was pregnant.”

  Katie asked Dani, “Why not? Did she think he wouldn’t want me?”

  “From what we found out this morning, at first she loved him so much she didn’t want to ruin his life...”

  Jake finished. “Then, as time went by, she was afraid he would try to take you away from her.”

  Dani walked over, knelt in front of Katie, and took her other hand in hers. “She loved you so much she couldn’t take the chance of losing you. When you ran away and she couldn’t find you she called Zach and told him. He tore the city apart looking for you.”

  Katie pulled her hands from theirs and covered her eyes. “And died as soon as he found me.” Tears ran down her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have ran away, but I had to get away from him.”

  Dani pulled her hands from her face. “You have nothing to be sorry about. You had no idea he would be killed when he walked into that building. You had nothing to do with his death. If I knew anything about Zach it was that he would die to protect the ones he loved. The second he found out you existed he loved you. Nothing would have stopped him from looking for you. He gave his life for you. I know in my heart that he would never regret that for even a second.”

  Jake pulled her in for a hug. “I didn’t know him all that long myself, but what I do know is that what Dani just said is one hundred percent the way he felt about you.”

  Jake rubbed her back while they waited for this round of tears to subside. A few minutes later she pulled back from him and asked.

  “What do you mean you didn’t know him all that long? You’re twins.”

  “It’s a long story, but we were separated at birth. We only just found each other a few months ago.”

  Katie sat back trying to absorb what Jake just said. Dani broke the few minutes of silence.

  “Katie, do you know who killed Zach?”

  She shook her head but didn’t answer.

  “You didn’t see who did it?”

  Again, she only responded with a shake of her head.

  “You know we can protect you, so don’t be afraid to tell us.”

  Katie whispered. “I don’t know. I didn’t see who it was.”

  Jake patted her leg. “It’s okay. Why don’t we take a break from this day? We can enjoy this pizza. Then we can all get some rest and talk in the mor
ning.”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “Please try to eat,” Jake pleaded. “Your parents wouldn’t want you to get sick over this. For them, you need to stay strong.”

  Katie took a piece out of the box. “Okay, but if I get sick, you’re cleaning it up.”

  Slowly she took a bite and sat back.

  CHAPTER 16

  FOR THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES they ate in silence. Dani and Katie watched as Jake practically inhaled four slices of pizza. While Dani ate one and a half, Katie barely finished half of her slice.

  Jake sat back and patted his stomach. “That hit the spot.”

  Katie looked at him with a little smile. “You can have mine if you want.”

  She got up. “No, I’m good.”

  Dani pushed her plate aside and sat back. “Do you think you can answer a few more questions, Katie? Or would you rather try to get some rest?”

  She hesitated before wiping the tears from her eyes again. “I’d like to go see my mom.”

  Jake sat up. “Maybe we can do that in the morning. Let the people at the morgue do what they have to do to clean her up for you.”

  Katie sucked in a breath. “What happened to her? Please give it to me straight. I’m upset and hurting, but I’m not a child. Please don’t treat me like one.”

  Now Dani sat up. “Her neck was slashed with a knife. She most likely bled out quickly and without any pain.”

  Katie walked over to the balcony doors and rested her head against the glass. “Both of my parents are dead because of me,” she whispered.

  Dani jumped up. She stormed over to Katie and grabbed her arm spinning her around. “Don’t ever let me hear you say that again. They are not dead because of you. They are dead because of some psycho that has no regard for a human life. You were trying to protect yourself and your mother by running away. If you didn’t you may very well be dead yourself.”

  Dani stepped back from her.

  “Do not blame yourself,” she said. “Do not feel sorry for yourself. You did what you had to do to save yourself. Your parents are proud of you. They loved you and would do anything to keep you safe. Even give their life for you.”

  Jake walked over to them. He rested his hand on Katie’s shoulder. “We know you are hurting, honey. We’re hurting, too. We lost Zach just as you did. As cops it pisses us off to lose anyone, so in a way we lost your mom, just as you did. If we thought it was your fault in any way, shape, or form, you wouldn’t be with us right now. You would be sitting in lock-up. We can all sit here and cry our eyes out over our loss, but that will not find the person responsible for taking them away from us. We have to stay strong for them. We have to work together to find whoever is responsible for their deaths.”

 

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