Fatally Linked
Page 14
“Would you ever be afraid to tell Nancy anything?”
Jake thought he should probably lie here, but he couldn’t. The second she saw him and Nancy together she would realize it was a lie. There is no way to hide what he and Nancy have. They may not have been able to live together. They may have wanted two different things, but they have a love not many ever find. If what he is feeling for Dani ever turned into love he couldn’t live with knowing he lied to her.
“No,” he answered truthfully. “There is nothing I would hold back from her.”
“Because she is your soulmate?”
“No, if she was my soulmate we would still be married. She’s someone I was in love with. Now she’s someone I just love.”
He turned to leave again.
“Wait, just one more question and then I’ll drop it.”
He took a deep breath and turned back.
“In the kitchen before, were you wishing I was her?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose while debating with himself whether truth or a lie would be in order here. Again, his growing feeling for Dani prevented the lie.
“No, Dani. I haven’t wanted to kiss Nancy in a long time. As I said, I love her. But I’m not in love with her anymore. If I kiss you, which you’ve told me would be over your dead body, I would be kissing you and only you.”
He turned back to the hole in the wall. This time he made it through.
CHAPTER 18
DANI WOKE UP TO THE sounds of the refrigerator and cabinets opening and closing. As usual, of late a good night’s sleep had eluded her. It had nothing to do with sleeping on the couch. She’s been doing that since Zach’s death. No, this sleepless night was due to her late night conversation with Jake.
She knew he was being honest with her when he answered her questions. She also knew he debated about lying or not. What kept her up all night was knowing with every fiber of her being, that if Zach loved her as he said he did, he should and would have told her what he was going through. After lying awake all night, she still didn’t know what to do about it. She still didn’t know how she was supposed to feel about that.
“What are you looking for?” she asked without moving from her position on the couch with her arm over her eyes.
Katie stopped her search and answered in a low voice. “All this crying has given me a headache. I was looking for an aspirin.”
Dani slowly got up to get her jacket. She pulled out the bottle and handed it to her. “I’ve had a lot of headaches lately. It’s just easier to carry them with me.”
She grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and handed it to Katie.
“Thanks.” She wiped tears from her eyes.
“Would you like something to eat? It might help.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat again.” More tears ran down her cheeks.
“Oh, of course you will.” Dani pulled her in for a hug. “It will get better. I promise it will get better.”
After a minute Katie pulled away. “I know you’re mad at my… Zach. It’s okay if you don’t want to help me. I’ll figure it out.”
Dani started the coffee before turning back to Katie. “What makes you think I’m mad at Zach?”
“I heard you and Jake—oh, I guess I should call him Uncle Jake… anyway, I heard you talking last night. Zach didn’t tell you about us, did he?”
Dani smirked. “No, he didn’t.”
“And you think he should have?”
“Yes, I do.”
Dani didn’t know how much she should say about Zach to Katie, but she didn’t want to be treated like a child. If she talked to her as a friend it may help keep her from running.
“I loved Zach with all my heart. But I guess I didn’t show or tell him enough because for some reason he didn’t trust me with knowing about you and Jake.”
Dani shrugged.
“It hurts. I’m not sure how to handle it at the moment, but I’ll figure it out.”
She poured her coffee and sat at the counter. “Your father was a very special man. He gave and gave of himself to help anyone in need. He was one of the best detectives I’ve known. No, not one of the best, he was the best. When we figure all this out I’d like to tell you about him. That is if you want to know.”
Katie spun her water bottle a few times before looking at Dani. “If he was so good at being a detective, how come he came into that building without backup? How come he let himself get killed?”
“That’s easy to answer. His daughter was in trouble. Knowing that distracted him. Getting you back was the only thing important and he lost his focus.”
“You’re guessing?”
“Yes, but knowing Zach, it’s a damn good guess.”
“I’m going to be sorry I never got to know him, aren’t I?”
“Sorry to have to tell you this, but yes, you are. He was a great man.”
“If you can say that even though you’re mad at him, I believe you.” A small smile came to her lips. “What do you know about Jake?”
“Not as much as I’d like. As soon as he found out about Zach he was on a plane. It was hard even looking at him at first. I did check him out. I called his old partner and his ex-wife. They both gave him rave reviews. From what I’ve seen, he’s good at the job. He’s determined to find Zach’s killer. I think you should give him a chance to be your uncle. I think it will be good for both of you.”
She moved in close to make sure Jake didn’t overhear the next question. “Do I have to call him Uncle Jake?”
“Not if you don’t feel comfortable.”
“What do I call you?”
“My friends call me Dani.”
A slow smile came to her lips. “You’re wrong about one thing. You are good at this comfort stuff. Thanks.”
“You’re very welcome.” Dani checked her watch. “Let’s go out for breakfast. Then if you still want to, we can go see your mom.”
She walked over to the hole in the wall and yelled, “Jake, time to get up. We have work to do.”
Turning back to Katie, she smiled before heading for the bathroom.
The drive to the morgue was quiet. The walk from the car to the doors was slow and quiet. As they walked through the doors Katie grabbed one of Jake’s hands and one of Dani’s.
Jeremy was on the phone, pacing in front of the receptionist desk. As they walked up he hung up his phone.
“Lieutenant.”
“Detective.”
Jeremy nodded to Jake and extended his hand to Katie. “You must be Katie.”
Dani made the introduction. “Katie, this is Detective Jeremy Vanella. He’s in charge of the case.”
Katie let go of Dani’s hand to shake Jeremy’s. “I’m sorry about your loss. I promise I will do everything in my power to find the person that took your mother away from you.”
“Thank you.”
“Are you sure you want to do this,” Jeremy asked.
She nodded her answer.
Dani turned to her. “You know you don’t have to, right? It may be better if you don’t.”
Katie stood up a little straighter and held her head a little higher. “Did you see Zach when he was in that room?”
When Dani nodded, Katie asked, “If you didn’t, would you have regretted it?”
Dani still couldn’t lie to her. She knew she should, but she couldn’t do it. “Yes.”
“Then I have to do it. I’m not going to be able to go on if I don’t say goodbye.”
“Okay. But there will be no shame in backing out once you’re in there. Promise me you won’t push yourself if you can’t do it.”
Katie nodded and slowly took a step toward the inner doors.
Dani looked at Jake, motioning with her head for him to go with her. She would fill Jeremy in on what they found out while they waited.
When Katie and Jake disappeared through the doors, Jeremy took Dani’s hand. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m fine. I’m worried ab
out her, but I’m fine.” She released his hand and moved over to the bench against the far wall. “You don’t happen to know anything about sixteen-year-old girls, do you?”
He shook his head. “Nope, I haven’t been around any since I was sixteen.” He sat next to her. “Weren’t you a sixteen-year-old girl once?”
Dani shrugged. “Sure. Just not one going through the hell she’s going through. I don’t know what to do for her. She says she doesn’t want to be treated like a child. She keeps asking questions. I don’t want to lie to her, but sometimes I think it’s best if I do. I don’t want to permanently damage that kid. Zach’s kid.”
She turned to him.
“You know giving comfort is not one of my strong suits. What am I supposed to do?”
“Technically you should be turning her over to Child Protective Services.” He held up his hand to stop her from interrupting. “But I know you can’t do that. I guess you’re just going to have to take it one day at a time, one question at a time. Hopefully she’ll help you make the right decisions.”
Dani blew out a breath and put her head back against the wall. “I guess you’re right. It sucks, though. This whole thing sucks.”
“That is does.”
After a moment of silence, Jeremy asked, “How’s it going with Jake?”
Dani laughed. “Well, I can barely look at him, but other than that it just great,” she answered sarcastically.
“Is he going to be an uncle to her?”
“He wants to be, but I guess it’s up to Katie.”
“Did she tell you anything that will help?”
Dani sat up and opened her eyes. “She didn’t see who killed Zach. She says she was kidnapped and brought to that warehouse. Daren Becket was the only one she knew out of the thirty or so that were partying that night.”
“She knows for a fact he didn’t do it?”
“No. She says Zach stormed in. Found her fighting for Daren to let go of her. He grabbed her and was pulling her to the door when he was shot from behind. He fell, pulling her down. She saw the blood and took off out of there with everyone else.”
“So finding Daren Becket is on top of the list of things to do today.”
“Yeah, it is. I had Jake put an APB out on him last night. I’m going to go talk to his father after Katie is done here and I go fill in my captain.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“We have no proof the two murders are linked. Maybe you should work Jennifer’s murder from a different angle. We’ll meet up tonight to compare notes.”
“Trying to get rid of me?” Jeremy gave her a light elbow to the ribs to show he was kidding.
Dani glared at him. “Okay, you’re not in a joking mood yet. We’ll work on that.” He pulled out his phone. “I do have a few questions for Katie, though.”
“I know, but maybe you can wait until tonight to ask. She’s going to be upset when she comes out of there.”
“You know every minute counts. I need to know everything there is to know.”
Dani stared in his eyes. “I’m not trying to sabotage your investigation. I’m trying to protect a scared sixteen-year-old girl. I’m working blind here, so give me a break.”
Jeremy sighed in sympathy. “What are you going to do with her while you’re out there working it all day?”
“I’m hoping my captain will have an idea. He has a girl her age. He might be able to fill me in on how to handle her.”
Jeremy ran his fingers through his hair. “I need to go with you to talk to Daren’s father. It’s the best lead we have.”
Dani paced to the door and back. “No. I have a better idea. We’ll go see him first. Our reason will be that we are looking for Daren.” She looked at the inner doors to make sure Katie was not in earshot. “When we talked with Jennifer yesterday morning, she said that Matt had slapped her when she told him that Daren tried to rape Katie. She got him out of the house by pulling her gun on him. Did you find the gun?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Your reason to talk with him will be because you heard about their confrontation. You want to know if he came back yesterday morning and killed her.”
“Okay. That should work. Tell me everything Jennifer said to you yesterday morning.”
Dani knew Jake had already went through it with Jeremy, but decided to tell him her take on the conversation with Jennifer. Maybe he could figure out something Dani and Jake might have missed. Just as she finished, Katie came running out of the morgue crying. Jake wasn’t far behind. She headed outside without a word. Jake followed without a word.
“I have to go,” Dani told Jeremy.
He grabbed her arm before she took two steps. “I’ll go along with your plan, but I want to be there within five minutes of you leaving. I don’t want to give him anytime to think between conversations. So call me as soon as you leave.”
Dani nodded and ran after Katie.
CHAPTER 19
DANI HOPED WHAT SHE WAS about to do was the best way to handle this situation. After she sat with Zach for over two hours all she wanted to do was get to work on finding his killer. Only she was ordered to take time off, so all she could do was go home and wallow in her sorrow over losing him. She’s hoping to be able to stop Katie from the same fate.
She walked up to Katie and gave her a quick hug. “Okay. Time to go to work. You ready?”
Katie wiped the tears away. “What work?”
“We have to find out who did this to your mom and Zach. Jake and I also need to work on Willy’s murder. You said you were good with computers. I was hoping you could run down some leads for us.”
“Really? You’re going to let me help?”
“You said you’re not a kid and want to be kept informed. What better way than if you’re working the case with us?” Dani looked at Jake and gave a slight shrug. “What do you think, Jake?”
“I’m sure we can find something she can help with.” He opened the car door for Katie.
After only a few minutes on the road back to the precinct, Katie spoke, “You’re letting me help so I don’t cry myself to death, aren’t you?”
Dani looked at her in the rearview mirror and smiled. “Crying never killed anyone, but I’m sure you have a nice headache about now. It’s better if you get your mind off your mother for a little bit. Working will help. It helped me.”
“I’m not sure I can stop thinking about my mom. I’m not sure I should try.”
Jake turned around to face her. “Your mom wouldn’t want you to stop living because she’s gone. She loved you very much. She’d want you to be happy. Dani and I know that it’s not going to happen over night, but you have to try to move on. There will be rough times for a while. Times when you’re working on something and your mom will pop into your mind. Those times will get less frequent as time goes on, but they’ll probably never stop. I still think of my mom on occasion and it’s been fifteen years since I lost her.”
Dani pulled into her spot in the parking deck and turned to Katie. “We’ll all get through this, Katie. It’s going to take time, but we’ll get through this. Okay?”
Katie blew her bangs away from her eyes. “Yeah, okay. I’ll try.”
“That’s all we ask,” Jake told her. “Just remember we’re here when the sadness tries to overtake you. You’re not alone.”
She nodded and got out of the car.
When they walked into the squad room, Katie stopped and stared at the action. At one desk a detective was arguing with a prostitute. On the other side three detectives were consulting their case board and on the other side three other detectives were on the phone.
Dani sighed. She’s the lieutenant of this department. She needs to be involved in all their cases. She needs to make sure they’re on the right track. She needs to help them find the leads they need to follow. She hasn’t been around the last few days. She hasn’t been doing her job.
She pulled Jake to the side. “Take Katie to my office. I have to fill the capta
in in on what’s going on.”
“No.”
Dani glared at him. “No?”
“No. You kept me out of the rundown with Vanella. I’m not sitting back while you fill in the captain. I’m not going to let you only fill me in on what you think I should know. I’m part of this whether you want it or not.”
“I’m not trying to hide anything from you. I’m not keeping you in the dark. I’m trying to pull all this together without losing my mind. Cut me some slack here. Take her to my office.”
“I’m trying to help you. You don’t think I know how hard it is to be you at the moment? For the time being, I’m your partner. As your partner, I’m here to help you make the right decisions and steer you away from the wrong ones. Like bringing Katie to your office. Do you think she needs to see your case board at the moment?”
Dani wiped her face with her hands. He’s right, she thought. Maybe in a few hours she can handle the board.
Once her mind was off her mother, she could probably handle it. Boy, did she need some help with how to deal with her. “What do we do with her while we’re catching up?”
“Let her come in with us. It might help her to know what exactly we’re doing to find her mothers killer.”
“Fine, but I’m going to need some time alone with the captain.” She held her hand up to stop him from breaking in. “I told you he has a daughter Katie’s age. I need some ideas on how to handle her.”
Jake scratched an itch on his head that wasn’t there. “Okay, that’s probably a good idea.”
“Let’s go.”
As they turned toward the captain’s office, they found Katie standing behind the detectives at their case board. She looked awed at what was going on.
“Maybe we should leave her with them,” Dani stated.
“No, she needs to hear what we have so far.”
Dani nodded and yelled over as she continued to the captain’s office. “Katie, you’re with us.”