Val tried to relax and let it go. In the past she had been to places that most definitely qualified as hell, and she survived. One little brown-eyed computer geek was not going to get the best of her. Several teeny tiny bottles of Tanqueray gin later, she found herself dialing Stevie Calloway’s number. Her last working brain cell pleaded for her to hang up. The advice came too late. Before she could disconnect, Stevie answered the call.
“Hey, Val.”
“Oh, crap,” Val said, realizing what she was doing. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be calling.”
“Ah, someone has the drunken dailies. Does this mean you’ll be sporting a new tattoo in the morning?”
“Christ, I hope not.” Val’s head suddenly throbbed. “I should be safe. The only mate I have in town is next door making time with your baby’s daddy.”
“Uh-huh.” Stevie sounded tired.
“Did I wake you?”
“No. I’m still keyed up from having Emma home. She kept me running around most of the night. Then she wanted to wait up for Caitlin and Jamie. She got a bit cranky when she found out Jamie wasn’t coming home tonight. I’m exhausted, but I’ve never been so happy to have her home. How are you doing besides a little on the buzzy side?”
“A little?” Val barked with laughter. “Me? I’m just trying to wrap things up. Once your buddy Shark is arraigned, I’ll be on my way. A quick stop in Connecticut, then it’s straight down to DC.”
“And possibly a vacation?”
“Don’t really care anymore.”
“Val, I’m sorry.” Even with the gin clouding her senses, Val could hear the sincerity in Stevie’s voice. “I never meant to hurt you, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see where things might go from here, but…”
“But my job isn’t what you’d hope for.”
“You’re doing something you love. It’s just so dangerous. I can’t. Which sucks, because you are sexy as hell.”
“That is not fair.” Val muttered. “You tell me this now, when I’m way across town and drunk so I can’t drive over there and ravish you.”
“I tried to tell you before.” Stevie’s tone turned timid. “I should stop now. I don’t think either of us should be stringing the other along.”
Val couldn’t think, much less speak, at that moment.
“You still there?”
“Yes,” Val reluctantly admitted. “I get it, Stevie. As much as I would love to spend every free moment with you until I leave, it would make leaving that much harder. I guess there’s nothing left to say.”
“Val?”
“Just promise me you’ll take care of yourself and the munchkin.”
“I promise, if you promise to do the same.”
“I don’t have any munchkins.”
“Cute.” Stevie’s throaty chuckle sent a jolt down Val’s spine.
“Promise that you’ll be careful.”
“I promise.”
Val hung up, accepting that it was the end. She found it funny that they never really had a beginning, yet there was most definitely an ending. She packed up her files, dumped the last of her drink down the drain, and crawled into bed. She wanted nothing more than to get as far away from Boston as she could.
* * *
A familiar touch caressed CC’s stomach. “You better stop that. My wife could be home any moment now.” She didn’t bother to open her eyes.
“Will she now?” Jamie purred into her ear. “Then we better hurry.”
“Have you no shame, woman?” CC chuckled and finally blinked her eyes open. Much to her delight, Jamie stole a lingering kiss. Instinctively she wrapped her arms around Jamie’s waist. Eagerly she began to remove the pale blue scrubs Jamie was wearing. By the way they smelled, Jamie had been wearing them all night.
“No time,” Jamie gasped as the kiss came to a reluctant end.
“Tease.”
“Sorry, gorgeous. I need a real shower and to change. After a quick, and I do mean quick, nap, I have to head back in.”
“What about that dufus Nolan? I thought he was there to help.”
“He was there and no help.” Jamie climbed off of CC. “I finally told him to help or get out of the way. He chose to get out of the way. Not before he pissed off everyone in the ER. You’re going to love this. I called Peterson, Jack’s boss, to let him know what had happened. He already knew because Nolan called him about the accident and to inform him that he was running the ER.”
“Snake.”
“No kidding.” Jamie yawned. “I wouldn’t mind if Nolan had stepped up to the plate. I certainly didn’t appreciate him lying to the powers that be.”
“Why would he do that?”
“He wants Jack’s job.” Jamie removed her underwear. “Which he can have.”
“You don’t want it?”
“Would you be happy sitting behind a desk?”
“No.” CC watched Jamie move around the room without a stitch of clothing. “Need help in the shower?”
“Normally, I’d be all over that, lover. If I let you in the bathroom, I might not make it back to work.”
“Spoilsport.”
CC had fallen back to sleep before Jamie finished her shower. The next thing she was aware of was the alarm clock chiming and Jamie cursing. She promised to make coffee and allow Jamie another few moments of sleep. She threw on a pair of boxers and a Red Sox T-shirt and made her way downstairs. She fought against the barrage of yawns while she waited for the coffee to brew. The constant thumping and giggling next door alerted her that Emma was wide awake.
“I’ve missed that,” she said and opened the adjoining door. “Good morning, peanut.” She gave Emma a squeeze.
“Mama said I can have a puppy,” Emma said with a squeal of delight just as Jamie entered the kitchen wearing a fresh pair of pale blue scrubs. “Auntie Jamie!”
It melted CC’s heart to see Jamie bend over and hug Emma tightly. “Can we play today?”
“I’m sorry, kiddo. I have to work. There are a lot of sick people today. Did I hear someone say something about a puppy?”
“Mommy said I can have a real one.”
“Really? Hooray!”
“Yes, I did,” Stevie said. She looked at CC. “By any chance are you free today, sis? I could use some help when I go to the shelter.”
“I need to stop by the station.” CC handed Jamie a cup of coffee. Then she poured a very large one for herself. “If I get out early enough, I’d love to go. Why not take just Emma?”
“Because then instead of getting one puppy, we’d end up with twelve.”
“Mommy.” Emma giggled.
“Hmm.” CC hummed in agreement and studied the chessboard. “Well, my certain victory doesn’t seem so certain.”
“You taught me that move.” Emma grinned at CC.
“Yes, I did.” CC scrunched up her face, disconcerted at being outwitted by a seven-year-old. “I need to get back up to speed with my cases. Max and Leigh agreed to meet with me. Hopefully it won’t take too long.”
“Good.” Stevie pulled CC aside. “Is it true what Val told me? Mom found Jesus?” she asked in an amused tone.
“Apparently.”
“Did you ask her if he was behind the sofa?”
“I wanted to.” CC couldn’t help laughing. She loved that she and her kid sister shared the same twisted sense of humor. “She was already being snotty about my marriage. I let it slide. A little faith might be what she needs right now.”
“I got the call this morning from the Department of Corrections.”
“About Bert’s remains?” CC glanced over at Emma who was chatting Jamie’s ear off. She smiled and returned her attention to Stevie. “I’ll support whatever you decide to do. If you want to just let the state handle it, that’s fine by me. If you want a funeral or to have him cremated, I’ll help you.”
“What would we do with the ashes?”
CC shivered at the thought of Bert lying around in a drawer somewhere in the house.
> Jamie broke free of Emma. “I have to go, sweetie,” she said. She walked to CC and kissed her on the cheek. “Stevie, I caught a little bit of the conversation. You might want to consider donating his body to science.”
“Excuse me?”
“Med schools and labs are always looking for healthy bodies. It’s too late to harvest his organs for transplant. Still, if you donate his body, it can be used for training med students or medical research. You’re not responsible for a grave or what to do with his ashes, but you can still give him dignity. I can handle the paperwork and fax it over to you. That way you don’t have to do anything. You can say goodbye if you want.”
“I don’t want.” Stevie shook her head with disgust. “But I don’t want to just dispose of him. This sounds perfect.”
“I married a very smart woman,” CC said before stealing a kiss.
“Yes, you did,” Stevie agreed. “Thanks, Jamie.”
“Auntie Caitlin.” Emma disrupted the discussion. “The pumpkins are rotted. We need to make more.”
“And we will.”
Jamie made her departure, and CC settled into a relaxing morning. She played with Emma as they made plans for the new, improved pumpkins. It felt good. Normalcy was slipping back into place. If it weren’t for the lingering feeling that just below the surface all hell was planning on breaking loose, CC would have truly enjoyed her day. After she dressed and said her goodbyes, she went to the station.
“Both of you here on Sunday, how sad is that?” She handed coffee to Leigh and Max.
They set about going over the files. With the late Billy Ryan, they had nothing. The motel room, like the ones Bert had stayed in, had been booked with a prepaid credit card, then paid off with a money order. The money orders were purchased in small stores, and the tapes of the purchaser were long gone. CC had nothing to go on but a creepy feeling.
The Stern case was much easier. Both the DA and her lawyer tried to convince the soccer mom to take a plea. Still feeling she had done nothing wrong, she refused. CC was grateful for her arrogance. Now that Mr. Stern had filed for divorce, the court case was ready to move forward as quickly as the wheels of justice would allow.
“That’s it,” Leigh announced with a loud sigh. “We still don’t know where the drugs came from.”
Mills chose that moment to show up. CC waved her over.
“Okay, I’m off,” Max said. “I’m going to look at a boat.”
“A boat?” CC blinked with surprise. “Shouldn’t you wait until you get to Florida to buy one of those? I mean you don’t even know how to drive one.”
“I’m going to wait. Or not. Someone on Facebook is selling a beauty, dirt cheap. I’m just going to look.” He was off before CC could say anything more.
“Shirley’s going to kill him,” CC said as she offered Mills a cup of coffee. “I need some information. I don’t want to jam you up, but I’d like to see everything you’ve got on Beaumont. Most importantly, the phone records, texts, tower locations, the whole nine yards.”
“Calloway, you know I can’t do that,” Mills said with a soft smile. CC really enjoyed her easygoing, country attitude. There was something refreshing about Mills that put her at ease. “Hey, can I see that fancy phone of yours?”
CC unclipped it from her belt and handed it over without question. She was becoming accustomed to people being fascinated by the new gadget. “Good thing you’re so tall,” Mills said. She punched the buttons on both her phone and CC’s. “You can video an entire crime scene without taking it off your belt. Here you go.” Mills returned the phone.
“Thanks.” Confused, she thanked Mills for her time and Mills made her departure. “Okay, that was helpful.” She pursed her lips.
“May I?” Leigh held out her hand for the cell phone.
“Sure, why not? Everyone else plays with it.” CC handed the phone over before draining the last drop of coffee from her cup. “I need more caffeine.”
“You need to look at this.” Leigh handed the phone back.
CC looked at the screen. She blinked with surprise. Clearly displayed on the screen was all of the information she had requested from Mills, plus a few added goodies she hadn’t been brave enough to ask for. “Just as I suspected. Everything lines up. How is he doing this?”
“How is who doing what?”
“Every tip on Beaumont was made right before someone made Brooks’ death list, and all the people on that list only have one thing in common.”
“Which is?”
“Simon Fisher. There was Fisher’s father, his next-door neighbor, the woman who stole his girlfriend, an English professor who gave him a bad grade, and now Jack Temple who bumped him to a different shift when he started stalking his supervisor. They’re all dead due to very explainable circumstances. They only share two connections. Simon Fisher, and right before they died, the Feds got a tip where Beaumont was lurking around. I need information that is out of my reach, and thanks to Mills, I have something to start with.”
“Know any Feds who might owe you a favor?”
“I think my credit isn’t as good as it used to be. Feel like some real coffee? I’ll pay if you hit Dunkies.” CC curled her lip in distaste and turned her attention to her computer. There was another little matter she wanted to look into. Leigh agreed to do another coffee run, while CC toiled away.
“And who is Dr. Nolan?” Leigh asked after she returned with fresh java.
“Schmuck who is making my wife’s life a living hell. He wants Dr. Temple’s job and Jamie out.”
“Didn’t the guy just die?” Mulligan was clearly disgusted. “Got anything on him? Not that it’s right to use the department for personal use,” she added with a sly grin.
“I was hoping for parking tickets or something,” CC said. “Damn MD plates, they can park anywhere. All I got is the guy lost a fortune in his divorce. Probably because he bought his second wife a new rack.”
“Wait, how did that cost him in the divorce?”
“He bought them before he and the first wife broke up.”
“That would do it. Are they nice?”
“Her tits?” CC laughed. “Nolan definitely got his money’s worth. The guy is clean other than living beyond his means. Two Mercedes cars, expensive home in Chestnut Hill, and I’ve seen his young bride wearing very garish dead animals everywhere.”
“Fur? In this day and age?” Mulligan huffed. “Okay, so they live on credit and are not even close to being politically correct. That gives you nothing. Bummer.”
“The bills seem up-to-date as far as I can tell,” CC said. “It’s not like I can tap into his bank records. Bummer is right. I was hoping for something that would ruin his day.”
“Not that I want to encourage your bad behavior, but I’ve got an idea.” Leigh dialed her phone. “Danson? It’s Detective Leigh Mulligan from Boylston PD, we met at the MS fund-raiser. I’m calling because I came across something that might interest you. The guy isn’t in any trouble or anything, but something looks hinky.”
CC leaned back and listened to Leigh give out Nolan’s information. “Do I want to know what you just did?” she asked when Leigh wrapped up the call.
“Loreen Danson is an agent for the IRS.”
“Geezus.” CC gaped at her, completely amazed. “You’re having him audited? Remind me never to piss you off.”
“You said it yourself. The guy took a bath in the divorce, but his bills are up-to-date even though he lives beyond his means. I feel it is our civic duty to report this suspicious activity.”
“Again, remind me never to piss you off.” CC grinned, fully appreciating Leigh’s creativeness. The ringing of her telephone disrupted what she was about to say. “Calloway,” she said to her caller. She listened carefully. “Hey, Shirley, no he’s not. He just stepped out to look at a—” Leigh’s frantic waving of her arms alerted her that she was about to make a mistake that was going to make her partner very unhappy. “A file. He needed to look at a file. I am not l
ying. Max has a Facebook page? Really, why?” Shirley didn’t offer an explanation she simply and firmly instructed CC to tell her husband to get his butt home without a boat in tow.
“You don’t have a Facebook page?” Mulligan looked bewildered.
“Why would I want one?”
“To keep in touch with people.”
“Trust me, if I want to talk to someone, I’ll find them. I need to let Max know he’s in deep doo-doo.”
“Doo-doo?”
“My wife is always on me for talking like a cop.” CC dialed Max’s cell number. “Like some of the crap I’ve heard come out of her mouth is dainty. Come on, pick up.” She could feel her irritation growing when she was kicked to voice mail. “Max, turn around. Shirley is on to you.”
Leigh and CC decided that Max had fair warning. If he didn’t listen to their warning, then he deserved Shirley’s wrath. They called it a day. Despite wanting to pursue her hunch, CC was eager to take Emma to the shelter to find a puppy. When she returned home, both she and Emma were disappointed that they had missed the shelter’s closing time.
“I honestly don’t know which one of you is pouting more,” Stevie said after they had finished cleaning up after dinner. “You or my daughter.”
“I was looking forward to it for Emma.” CC’s cell phone rang. “No fun ring tone?” She snatched her phone off of her belt. “Oh, no.” She grimaced when she saw that the number was Max and Shirley’s home number. “He must be in the doghouse if he’s calling me this late. Hey, Max?”
“CC, it’s Shirley.”
“Oh?”
“Max isn’t back yet. I’ve been calling him, and he hasn’t called me back. I was hoping he was hiding out with you.”
“No.” CC felt a tightness in her chest. “He’s probably hiding at the track.” She tried joking. “Did it say on that Facebook thing where he was going?”
“Yes, it was in his messages.” Shirley’s tension seemed to be growing. “He wasn’t very clever when it came to picking out a password. Someone by the name of Bunny said to meet him at the old Ballard Restaurant to look at a boat docked at the Fox Hill Yacht Club.”
Checkmate (Caitlin Calloway Mystery Book 2) Page 30