Fatally Linked

by Juliann Vatalaro

Katie smiled as she jogged over to meet them. Dani knocked and opened the door when the captain answered.

  “You got a minute, Captain?”

  “Nice of you guys to join us. I’m pretty sure it’s still protocol to keep the captain informed of your progress.” He stopped his rant when he noticed Katie. “Who the hell are you? I don’t remember a memo about bringing a kid to work day.”

  “Captain, this is Katie Granta. She’s Zach’s daughter.”

  Slowly he stood up, extending his hand to Katie, but raised an eyebrow to Dani and Jake. “Ah, nice to meet you. Sorry about the rant.”

  “That’s okay.” She shook his hand.

  Dani answered his silent question. “It was a recent discovery for Zach.”

  “Sort of like me,” Jake interrupted.

  “We found out about Katie a few nights ago.”

  The captain motioned for Katie to take a seat and sat back down himself. “Okay, tell me what’s been going on.”

  A half hour later Jake took Katie for a soda and Dani fell into the chair opposite the captain.

  “How are you holding up?”

  “Me? I’m wonderful.”

  The captain laughed. “Sorry, stupid question.”

  “No, it’s fine. I’m fine. I’m just a little confused about what to do with her. She’s been through so much, I don’t want to hurt her more.”

  “As your captain, I have to say this. You need to bring her to Child Protective Services.”

  “Not going to happen, sir. I’m not throwing her into the system. Zach would never forgive me. Besides, Jake’s her uncle. Technically she’s his responsibility. More important, whoever killed her parents is still out there. I have to protect her. If she’s in the system I won’t be able to do that.”

  “I knew you would say that.” He twisted his pen around. “You want to know how to handle her, don’t you?”

  “Anything you can tell me about sixteen-year-old girls would be great.”

  “It still saddens me that my daughter had to go though what she did when my wife was killed. Katie seems like a smart kid. I think you just need to be honest with her. Just keep an eye on her. If you see her retreating into her own mind, pull her out.”

  “She says she’s good with computers. We were thinking of maybe letting her run some things down on the teen murder cases. She was friends with one of the victims. It might help her to get her mind off her mother.” Dani shrugged. “What do you think?”

  “There’s nothing graphic about those murders. I don’t think it will give her nightmares.”

  “We’re also not sure she won’t run again. Any ideas on what we can do with her during the day?”

  Captain Malloy sighed. “Leave her here. I’ll make sure someone is watching her at all times. I’ll give you the rest of the week, but then she’ll have to get back to school. I’ll have Trisha come by after school. Being around someone her own age might help.”

  “Thanks for your help.” Dani headed for the door.

  “Dani, on Monday she’s back in school. And make sure Jake does the paperwork to become her guardian.”

  Dani opened the door. “Today, Dani. I want a copy of the papers on my desk by five.”

  “Yes, sir.” She left the office quickly.

  Dani sighed as she closed the captain’s door behind her. She looked at her watch. Ten minutes to ten. She wanted to be at Matt Becket’s office by ten. No way they were going to make it. They still had to take Katie to see Jennifer’s friend Lizza and to check on Mrs. Welmington. She was dialing Jeremy’s number when a woman came into the office. She looked around like she was lost.

  Dani walked over to her. “Can I help you?”

  “I’m looking for Lieutenant Castello.”

  “I’m Lieutenant Castello. What can I do for you?”

  “I’m Lizza Quinton. I need to talk to you about my friends daughter.”

  Just then Katie and Jake walked in. Katie took one look at Lizza and fell into her arms.

  “She’s dead. Someone killed my mom,” she cried on Lizza’s shoulder.

  “I know.” She rubbed her back slowly. “I’m here for you.”

  She gave Katie a light kiss on her head.

  Dani and Jake let them comfort each other for a few minutes. Ms. Quinton is a small woman. Not more than five-two, about a hundred and ten pounds. Her hair was dark; her eyes were light. Since Katie seemed to know her, Dani didn’t think anything was wrong with them comforting each other.

  Jake put his hand on Katie’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s give Ms. Quinton some air.”

  He lightly moved Katie back.

  Dani asked, “Ms. Quinton, how did you know to look for Katie here?”

  “I didn’t know she was here. I was coming to talk to you about helping me find her.”

  “Why don’t we find a place to talk? Come with me.”

  Dani started toward her office, but stopped short when Jake cleared his throat. Right. The case board. Katie shouldn’t see it yet. She turned to the right to head for the break room. Using an interview room wouldn’t work. They were made to keep people uncomfortable. She wanted Ms. Quinton relaxed.

  As the others settled at the table, she stood back so she could call Jeremy. “We’re running a little behind.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Lizza Quinton showed up. Have you had a chance to talk with her?”

  “No. She’s on my list. I missed her at home. I was working on getting her work schedule.”

  “I’ll fill you in when I see you later. We’ll try Becket at his office after lunch.”

  “I don’t want to wait that long. I’ll go now. You can hit him after lunch.”

  “I’d rather go with the plan we laid out this morning. It will still work after lunch.”

  “Is that an order, Lieutenant?”

  “Does it have to be?”

  Jeremy laughed. “No, just seeing if you’d pull rank. I have enough to keep me busy till lunch. Let me know when you’re on your way over.”

  Dani disconnected the call and sat at the table. “Sorry about that. Just filling in another detective on the case. Actually you’ll need to talk with him. He’s the lead detective on Jennifer’s case. I’ll give you his number.”

  Dani took out a card and wrote Jeremy’s number on the back before handing it to Lizza.

  “Lizza was just filling me in on how she talked to Jennifer an hour before it happened,” Jake told Dani.

  Dani nodded to Lizza. “Why were you looking for me?”

  “Jennifer said you were there yesterday morning asking about Zach and Katie. I thought you could help me find her.” She squeezed Katie’s hand. “Thank God you already found her.”

  Dani nodded at Jake to take the lead. It wasn’t that she couldn’t do it, but after what he had said before, she wanted to make sure he knew he wasn’t being left out.

  “What else did Jennifer tell you?” he asked.

  “Just how the meeting with you went and how you were going to help her find Katie.”

  “Did she tell you what happened with Matt Becket?”

  “That scumbag. I told her she should have shot him.”

  “You don’t like him?”

  “I only met him once when he picked her up after her shift. He seemed nice enough, but there was something about him that had me concerned. I couldn’t tell you what, but something about him made me hope she would break it off quickly.”

  “Did you talk to Jennifer about it?”

  She shook her head. “Like I said, I couldn’t put words to my feeling. I didn’t want to upset her.” She sat up straighter. “Do you think he’s the one that killed her?”

  “We have no idea. We are going to talk to him though. What time did you talk to her?”

  “The first time around eight-thirty. We were on the phone when you arrived. She called me back as soon as you left. She filled me in on your conversation and asked me to cover for her until she got in. When she was over an hour late I
tried to call her. She didn’t answer. Then I got too busy. I didn’t have a chance to try again.”

  Jake asked the next question for Katie’s sake. He wanted her to know how much her mother missed her. “Do you know what she was doing to find Katie?”

  “Everything possible.”

  When they didn’t respond, she elaborated. “She took vacation time for the first week. She practically tore the neighborhood apart looking for her. She went to the police, but they were no help.”

  Lizza sighed.

  “I helped her as much as I could, but we both couldn’t be out of work. It throws everyone off when two nurses are out at once. After the week she had to get back to work. She was a single mom. She had bills to pay. I don’t think she slept more than two or three hours a night. When she wasn’t working she was on the streets looking.”

  “Did she look in the city?”

  “Not that I know of. She was convinced that Katie wouldn’t go that far from home.”

  “Did she mention any problems she was having with anyone? Did she say anything that you think might help us find who did this to her?”

  She looked at Katie. “I’m sorry, honey. She didn’t. She was so worried about you. Nothing or no one else mattered.”

  Tears started in Katie’s eyes again. She put her face in her hands and mumbled to herself. “It’s all my fault.”

  Lizza pulled them away from her face. “It’s not your fault. The person at fault is the killer. I’m sure her last thought was how she was glad you were not around. She would have been glad you were safe from them.”

  “But they killed her because of me.”

  Dani jumped in. “We have no idea why she was killed. It could have been anything. A random robbery. Someone she pissed off. Anything. No matter what happened, and we will find out, I can guarantee that it was not your fault.”

  Lizza held Katie’s hand and looked at Jake and Dani. “So what happens to Katie now? Are you turning her over to CPS? I’d rather keep her out of the system if we can. I’d be happy to take Katie in. I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep her safe.”

  Jake sat back. It would be easier to let Katie stay with Lizza. Too much was going on at the moment. Neither he nor Dani had any idea how to help her.

  Unfortunately, he couldn’t do it. He was her uncle. He couldn’t let Zach down. They didn’t know each other long, but Jake knew if he ever needed Zach he would be there. He has to be there for Zach now.

  “No, she will not be going into the system. Did Jennifer tell you that I’m her uncle?”

  When Lizza nodded, he continued. “I’ve already started the paperwork to make me her guardian. Until then we’ll call it protective custody so she can stay with us.”

  Lizza looked at Katie. “Is that okay with you? You know you can stay with me. I have plenty of room and wouldn’t mind one bit having you with me.”

  Katie looked at Jake and Dani with a small smile. “I’d like to try it with them. I never got to know my father. I’d like to get to know my uncle.” Her smile grew a little. “Besides, they have no idea how to handle me. I’d like to see if they can figure it out.”

  Jake and Dani shook their head.

  “Okay, if that’s what you want. But you know where to find me if you need me.”

  Katie gave Lizza a hug. “So it’s okay if I keep in touch with you?”

  “You better.” Lizza kissed Katie on the forehead before turning back to Jake.

  “Is there anything else I can do?” she asked him.

  “We’ll let you know.” He got up. “Thanks for coming in.”

  “I’ll walk you out.” Dani motioned to the door.

  When they were outside Dani held her arm to hold her up, and asked, “Did Jennifer have a will?”

  “Yes. I’m not sure who her lawyer is, but I know she had one. She wanted to be prepared if Zach ever found out about Katie and tried to take her away.”

  “Do you happen to know if she had any last wishes?”

  “She did mention once that she wanted to be cremated. She didn’t think she could spend eternity in a box in the ground.”

  “Yeah, I get that. Thanks for your help. We’ll be in touch.” Dani shook her hand. “Please call Detective Vanella. He’ll need whatever information you can give him as soon as possible.”

  “You look a lot like Jennifer. Were you and Zach more than partners?”

  Dani patted the ring in her pocket. “We were engaged.”

  “So I shouldn’t worry that Katie wants to stay with you?”

  Dani reached for the card that was still in Lizza’s hand. She wrote her personal number below her office number and handed it back. “No. I promise I’ll take care of her. If things don’t work out with Jake, she’ll stay with me. Or you, if that’s what she wants. Call that number anytime if you want to check up on her…” Dani smiled. “Or us.”

  Lizza nodded and walked away.

  CHAPTER 20

  WHEN DANI WALKED BACK INTO the squad room, Jake was on the phone and Katie was talking with some of the detectives by their case board. Jake started to follow Dani to her office, but she held up a finger to hold him off. She quickly shut the monitor off and closed the files on her desk. After swallowing two aspirin to hold off her headache, she called them into her office.

  “I need a few minutes more to get a rundown on everyone’s cases. Jake, you can listen in if you want. Katie, you can hang out here. When I’m done, we’ll take you over to see your friend that you were staying with. What was her name?”

  “Mrs. Wilmington.”

  “I’d like you to stay with her for an hour or so while Jake and I go talk to Matt Becket. Is that okay?”

  Katie shrugged. “I guess.”

  “If Daren didn’t find you there, he probably doesn’t know about her. I’ll have a uniform walk the street while you’re there just to be safe.”

  When Katie lowered her head Jake asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s just that I thought you were going to let me help find Willy’s killer.” She shrugged again. “I was kinda looking forward to that. And I guess I need to make arrangements for my mother.”

  She wiped the tears from her eyes. “There’s no one else to do it,” she said.

  Jake took her hand. “We won’t be able to release her body for a few days. Tonight we’ll help you make the arrangements. For now, I think it’s best you try to take your mind off all of this. It’s going to be impossible, but you have to try. When we get back you can do some research for us on Willy’s case.”

  She frustratingly wiped away a new run of tears. “Okay, I’ll try. Thanks.”

  “Good. Give me ten minutes and we’ll get out of here.” Dani left her office. “Everyone gather around. Let talk about what’s going on.”

  “It’s okay, Lieutenant. We got it covered,” one of the detectives called out.

  “I’m sure you do, but I’d like to hear what’s going on.”

  They all gathered around Zach’s old desk. “There was another bodega shooting. We have a lead on a fifteen-year-old that’s trying to break into the Devil’s gang. We don’t think it was him, but a witness from each shooting saw him near each store.”

  “Why don’t you think it’s him?”

  “According to his mother he would never do something like that,” the detective laughed. “But more important, the daughter of one of the victims is going out with him. She said her father liked him. He even gave him a job even though he is too young to be working legally.”

  “Where is he?”

  “He wasn’t in school today, but we’re tracking him down. Should have him in a few hours.”

  Dani thought a moment before speaking, “I want him in a room. He’s only fifteen. Make sure he has a lawyer and go at him hard. If he’s not involved I bet he knows who is.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “What else?”

  “The old man whose car was stolen lost his battle with his injuries. His wife is too distraught to
give us a good description. We’re going to give her today and tomorrow before we see if she’ll work with a sketch artist.”

  “Still don’t have any witnesses to the shooting?”

  “Nope. No one’s come forward. We’re going to head over to the basketball courts across the street from the crime scene this afternoon. Maybe we can jog someone’s memory.”

  Jake looked at Dani’s office and saw Katie staring at the blank monitor. He went back to her, but kept one ear on what was being discussed in the squad room. “Are you okay, Katie?”

  “If I turned on that monitor I would see Willy’s picture, wouldn’t I?”

  “Yes.”

  “I want to see it.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea at the moment. Let’s wait ‘tll this afternoon. You’ll be able to handle it better.”

  She turned to Jake. “He helped me. I had no idea how I was going to survive on the streets. He helped me figure it out. Even though I had money, I was still scared. He protected me. He made sure I didn’t go into places that weren’t safe. He made sure I had a place to sleep and food to eat. I have to help find out who killed him. Please, Jake. I have to help him now.”

  Jake walked over and gave her a hug. “I promise we will let you help.”

  “I know, but I can’t wait ‘til later.” She stepped back. “Please, can I look at what you have now?”

  “Are you sure?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  Jake was hesitant about letting her get involved in this, but after a moment he resigned to the fact she needed this now. He reached up and turned the monitor on. He went to Dani’s desk, pulled the case folder and handed it to her. “If it’s too much, promise me you’ll back away.”

  “I will, I promise.”

  When Jake stepped back into the squad room, Dani was asking, “Where’s Wilson?”

  “He’s running down a lead he got this morning.”

  “What lead?”

  “He didn’t say much. Just that some guy named Manark called and gave him a name of someone that might know about the teen murders. He’s trying to find the guy.”

  “Shouldn’t you be helping him? You are his partner, and he is still a rookie detective.”

  “He asked if he could run it down himself. He’s a little upset that you yelled at him yesterday. He figured if he could find the guy it would give him some brownie points.”