Jake and Dani looked at each other. Dani answered, “It seems that way, but we need more information before we come to any conclusions.”
“Do you think Willy and Kim were also conceived that way?”
“If they were, Dr. Oberman has a lot of explaining to do.”
“But if they were, it’s not just a coincidence that they’re all dead now, is it?”
“No, it’s not. We’ll figure it out tomorrow.”
“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to get you the information on the clinic and doctor tonight.”
Dani looked at Wilson. “Do you have a problem with that?”
He shook his head. “No, ma’am. I’ll stick with running down the club members. I still think the tattoo has something to do with this.”
“It does. Keep at it. Katie, see what you can find, but tomorrow is soon enough. I think we need to take a break for the night. Clear our heads. Process what we know and go at it fresh in the morning.”
“Is that what you would be doing if I wasn’t around?” Katie smiled.
Dani shook her head. Trisha’s words jumped into her head. Don’t lie to her. She needs to be in the loop.
“No, I’d probably fall asleep at my desk trying to find answers. But that’s how we are going to do it tonight.”
CHAPTER 25
THEY DROPPED WILSON OFF AT the precinct so he could log out before heading home. Since it was close to ten o’clock and they missed dinner, Dani suggested they pick up Chinese food on their way home. As much as Dani wouldn’t have minded having pizza again tonight, she figured a little variety may be in order now that she had Katie to think about.
As Dani cleared off the coffee table and set the food out, Jake headed for the kitchen for a beer. He popped the top and took a long swig before grabbing one for Dani and a soda for Katie. Katie had pulled out her laptop and turned it on.
“Put that away,” Dani said as Jake came back with the drinks. “You need to eat before you look into the clinic.”
“I’m not hungry.”
Dani and Jake looked at each other. Jake took lead and walked over to Katie. He closed the laptop and pulled it way from her.
“Hey!”
“Eat first, then work. Besides, we have to talk to you about something.”
Katie looked at each of them and sat back. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”
Jake sat next to her. “Sorry, you’re not, but we have to take care of it.” He puffed out his cheeks and slowly blew out the air. “Your mother’s body is being released tomorrow. We need to know what you would like to do.”
Katie’s eyes immediately filled with tears. She closed them in an effort to hold them back. “We didn’t have time to find out if she had a will or a lawyer.”
“I spoke with Lizza. I hope you don’t mind, but I asked her to go into the house and look through your mother’s papers. She found a card for a lawyer. She called him and your mother does have a will. The two of you are named in the will, so you both have to go see him.”
Katie was quiet for a moment. “Did it say what Mom wanted done with her body?”
“The lawyer wouldn’t tell Lizza anything. You both have to be together for the will to be read.”
Dani handed her a plate of food. “Please try to eat something.” Katie hesitantly took a small scoop of rice. “Do you have any idea of what you would like to do if she didn’t specify it in her will?”
“It doesn’t matter if it’s in the will or not. I know what she wanted.” She took another small bite. “She wanted to be cremated and have her ashes spread over a cliff.”
“Any specific cliff?” Jake asked to keep her engaged and hopefully eating.
“Yeah. It’s upstate, in Albany. Her parents used to take her camping there a few times a year. It’s where we spread their ashes when they passed.” She put her plate on the table and took a sip of her soda.
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Jake agreed. “Would you like me to take care of the body for you? Do you want to see her again before anything happens? How about some sort of memorial service?”
Katie grabbed a tissue from the box on the end table and dried her eyes. “Maybe we should talk to Lizza about all this.” She looked up at them. “Is that okay?”
“That’s more than okay. Katie, we are here to help and advise you. But what you do is totally up to you,” Jake replied. “Why don’t you eat a few more bites? Then you can call Lizza to see what she thinks about all this.”
“I’m not hungry. I do know I don’t want to see her again. I don’t think I can handle it and I know she’d understand.”
Dani said, “I’m sure she will. The food will be in the refrigerator when you get hungry.”
“It’s been a long day. Why don’t you call Lizza before you get some rest? We’ll take care of this tomorrow.”
“I have to look up the clinic.” Katie picked up her laptop. “But I’ll call Lizza first.” She turned toward the bedroom, but turned back. “Do you want your room back?” she asked Dani. “I don’t mind sleeping on the couch.”
“No, you take the bed. I usually sleep on the couch anyway.”
She nodded and left the room.
Dani downed half of her beer before saying, “I think if she wasn’t helping with these teen murders, she’d be falling apart.”
“I agree. What did Trisha say?”
“Just to keep her in the loop. Don’t lie to her. She needs to help us find Zach’s murderer.”
Jake scoffed down some food before stating, “You didn’t bring up the hypnotizing.”
“I know, but she’ll be back in about twenty minutes with the information on the clinic. I’ll talk to her about it then.”
They finished their dinner in silence, each of them thinking about all that had to be done. It may be time to split things up a bit, Dani thought. Working the teen murders is putting a major dent in the time they have to spend on Zach’s murder. They are just as important though. Where the hell could Daren be hiding? He didn’t kill Zach, but he knows who did. Damn she couldn’t wait to get him in an interrogation room.
“I’d like to go to the building tomorrow,” Jake said to break the silence.
Dani didn’t need to ask which building he was talking about. She finished off her beer.
“I didn’t not bring you there on purpose,” she said defensively. “We’ve just been a little tied up these last few days.”
“I didn’t say you did. But we have to find this little prick. Maybe we can find a clue to where he’s hiding.”
Dani knew she searched that building up, down, and up again. She couldn’t see how she would miss something, but then again, she didn’t know what she was looking for at the time.
“What do you think about Katie being hypnotized there?”
Jake finished his beer, got up for another one and sat again. “Why do you ask?”
“The doctor thinks it might go quicker if she’s there, but I said no. I think it will be too much for her.”
Jake shrugged. “Maybe.”
“I see a ‘but’ on your face.”
“But she’s strong. She wants to help anyway she can. She needs to help anyway she can.”
Dani didn’t have time to respond because Katie came out of the bedroom. She went to the desk and hooked her laptop up to the ancient printer that was sitting on the desk. A few minutes later she handed Dani five sheets of paper—two on Dr. Oberman, three on the clinic.
“Let me know if you need more tonight. Otherwise I’ll dig deeper tomorrow.”
“I thought you were going to call Lizza,” Dani stated as she scanned the papers.
“I did. She’s working a double tomorrow. She said she’d find the time to call the lawyer to see if we can go on Monday.”
“What about a memorial service?” Jake asked.
“She thinks something small in the hospital chapel would be possible. She was going to talk to the priest.”
“Are you okay with that?”
“I guess. All Mom’s friends work at the hospital. It’s not like there’s a bunch of family that will be coming anyway.”
“So it’s okay with you if I keep Lizza in the loop when it comes to your mom,” Jake asked.
“Yes. Please, but I want to know everything. Even if it’s going to upset me. Which it will. I need to know what’s going on.”
“Of course.”
Dani cleared her throat. “This is good work. Thanks. By the way, how would you feel about being hypnotized?”
“What?” Katie asked confused.
Dani sat up, took another sip of beer, and looked Katie straight in the eyes. “Look, we need to find out who killed Zach. We know it’s not Daren. Or at least you’re pretty sure it wasn’t him. But he probably knows who did. Unfortunately we can’t find him. I thought maybe if you were hypnotized you might remember something that would give us another lead to run with. But if you don’t like the idea, we can figure something else out.”
Katie was quiet a moment before she smiled. “Did Trisha suggest that after our conversation this afternoon?”
“No. Why?”
“She suggested it to me. She told me it worked when she went through it a few years ago.”
“Yes, she did and it did. We found her mother’s killer with thirty-six hours.”
“To be honest, I never believed people could be hypnotized, but if you think it will help I’ll give it a shot.”
“I was hoping you’d agree. I set it up for nine tomorrow morning.” Dani took another sip. “Do you think you can do it in the building where it happened?”
Katie sucked in a breath. “You need me to go back there?”
“We don’t need you to do it there, but the doctor thinks he’ll be able to get more out of you from there. It’s up to you. If you don’t think you can do it, we’ll go to his office.”
Katie got up and went into the bathroom. Going back to that building would be just as bad as seeing her mother on the floor in their living room. Before she hadn’t known the man that saved her that night… not that she knew much about him now. She only knew that he was her father.
Dani and Jake thought the same person had killed both her parents. How could she not do everything in her power to help find the guy?
“I’ll do it in the building,” she said as she reached for the drink she left behind.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Whatever you think will help, I’ll do. Even if it hurts, I have to do it.”
Dani leaned forward. “Okay, good. We’ll leave about seven in the morning. We’ll check in with Wilson on the teen murders, then head over to the building. I think it would be a good idea for you to try to get some rest. Tomorrow’s going to be another long day.”
Katie finished her drink. “Yeah, sure. See you in the morning.”
She headed for the bedroom.
Jake leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Dani got up to clean the table and put the leftover food in the refrigerator. She would like Jake to leave for the night, but somehow she knew he wouldn’t. When she went back to the living room she thought for sure he had fallen asleep. She fell on the couch and closed her eyes with a sigh.
Too much to do. Not enough time in the day to get it done.
Jake opened his eyes. “Are you okay?”
Dani shrugged. “Do you think Michaels was right?”
“Michaels?”
“Detective Michaels. She said that Zach got himself killed because he was distracted. Do you think that’s true?”
“You knew him better than I did, but from what I do know about him, it’s possible.”
Dani jumped up. “Well, that just pisses me off more.”
Jake couldn’t help but smile. “Why does that piss you off?”
“Because he wouldn’t have been distracted if he talked to me. If he brought me in on what was going on with him.” She paced back and forth in front of Jake. “God, am I that much of a hardass that I would have blown off his problems or concerns? He must have thought I was an unfeeling bitch if he thought I wouldn’t be with him every step of his plight.”
Jake stood up, grabbing her arm to stop her. “We both know he didn’t think you were either a hardass or a bitch. He would have never asked you to marry him if that was the case.”
“Then why didn’t he talk to me? Why didn’t he let me help him?”
Jake figured what he did next was going to hurt, because she was most likely going to hit him. But he pulled her into a hug anyway. “I’m sorry to say we may never know the answer to that.”
Slowly he ran his hands up and down her back.
Dani let Jake hold her for about a minute before she realized what he was doing. As good as it felt, no way was she going to let him in. It’s too soon. He’s Zach’s brother. She does not feel anything for him.
She stepped back and pushed him away. “Sorry. I can’t do this.”
“Do what? I was just trying to give you a little comfort.”
“Really? That was all you were doing?”
Jake shrugged. “From what you said, I know it’s all you’ll accept. So that’s all I’m going to give.”
Dani stared at him a moment before nodding. “Okay, in that case, thanks. I guess I miss Zach’s arms around me more than I thought. It helped.”
She grabbed the papers that Katie gave her on the doctor and clinic and fell onto the couch. “Now please leave so I can do some work.”
As tired as he was, Jake didn’t want to leave yet. “Maybe we should discuss tomorrow’s strategy.”
“Yeah, probably, but I need some time to think things through alone. We’ll get with each other in the morning.”
Her tone had Jake conceding. She’s being pulled in all directions. The last thing she needed was to be pulled in another.
“Okay.” Jake walked over and hit the switch to open the bookcase. “You know where I’ll be if you need me.”
He walked through, hitting the switch to close it as he passed.
CHAPTER 26
DANI SHOOK HER HEAD TO clear the cobwebs. She hadn’t planned on falling asleep yet. There was too much research to be done. She reached for the papers that Katie had printed out on the clinic and doctor. It didn’t take long for her to realize the stack was bigger. Five pages were now more than twenty. She couldn’t help but smile.
A low creaking sound and a bright light had her turning toward the kitchen. Looks like Katie finally got hungry.
She wasn’t sure she should let her know she was awake, afraid that she might stop eating if someone was watching her. The problem was she couldn’t read the papers in the dark and she would make noise going to her desk to get her laptop.
Katie cleared up the dilemma when she spoke. “That’s all your going to find on the doctor. There’s a lot written about him and his research, but I only printed what would really tell you what kind of man he is. I did read everything so if there’s something you need more information on, I should be able to find it quickly.”
Dani sighed wondering if maybe they were making a mistake letting Katie be involved in these cases. “Just out of curiosity, do you have trouble sleeping?”
“Until a few weeks ago, I’d say no. But lately closing my eyes is a scary thing.”
Dani ran her hand from Katie’s head to her back. “Yeah, I imagine it is. But to be honest, the last thing I need right now is for you to get sick. So please try to put all this away and get some rest. We have a lot to do tomorrow. I’m going to need you awake and on your game.”
“I will if you will.” She turned to Dani with a small smile.
Dani gave her a one-armed hug and headed back to the couch. “After I read about the doctor.”
She turned on the light by the couch, picked up the papers and began to read.
As Katie walked past Dani, she hesitated. “Can I ask a question?”
“Sure, but I can’t promise I can answer it.”
She went around the couch and sat i
n the chair across from Dani. “What was Zach like?”
Dani sucked in a breath. She knew that question was coming, but she didn’t think it would be this soon. “The short answer is a handsome devil, which you can tell from looking at your uncle Jake. He was generous, meaning if someone needed his help he was there. He was determined, meaning if something came across his desk that needed figuring out, he wouldn’t stop until he figured it out. He was strong; I don’t think I ever saw him lose a fight. He loved to laugh and was not above pulling a practical joke on anyone in the squad. He even got the captain a time or two. All in good fun. Most important in my book is when he put his arms around me I felt safe. I knew nothing would happen to me with him on my side.”
Katie sat back and thought about what Dani just said. “Wow.”
“Yeah, wow. I’m going to miss him for the rest of my life.” Dani wiped a tear from her eye.
“I’m sorry I never got to know him.” Slowly Katie got up.
“I know he’s sorry he never got to know you.”
Katie turned back to the bedroom. Dani called behind her. “Anytime you want to know about Zach, just ask.”
She nodded and walked away.
Jake was waiting by the car at seven in the morning. This time he had three cups of coffee. Dani grabbed hers from the tray without a word and jumped in behind the wheel.
Jake laughed as he handed Katie her coffee. “Have you noticed she’s not a morning person?”
Katie laughed and got in the back. Twenty minutes later they walked into the squad room. Wilson was there, already punching away at keys and staring at his monitor.
“Getting an early start, Wilson?”
“Yes, sir. I have some interviews set up this morning and I want to make sure I have everything in place.”
“Where’s Fleming?”
“He usually gets in by eight.”
Dani stepped up to him. “I want him with you today. Make sure you fill him in on everything we’ve learned.”
She turned toward her office.
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered in a low defeated tone.
“Not that I don’t think you can’t handle the questioning. It’s just an experience thing. You’ll need the back up, but I’ll make sure he knows you are lead.”
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