“Not well enough. Couldn’t trace the call. Just short enough to be useless. We’ve got nothing except your uncanny ability to come up with a well-placed hunch. I’m still not convinced the call was legit. It could have been anyone trying to throw me off track.”
“What can I do to help?”
“Tell me what’s going on?” He seemed to be pleading. “Given the circumstances I don’t think it is too much to ask for.”
“You’ve got it. I need help, not just from you. I’ll set up a little chat with my boss and the Feds. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this.”
“I want in on this,” he said gruffly. “If this is something bigger than a dirty cop, I don’t want to be left out in the cold. If it’s a dirty cop, that suits me just fine.”
“Need a check in the win column?”
“Who doesn’t these days?” He exclaimed. “Max got a sweet retirement package. Not because he was thinking of leaving. He got the offer because they need to make space. Turns out they didn’t need to. Your buddy Andy got an OUI over the weekend.”
“Crap.”
“It’s not like the old days,” Palmucci said. “You hit your lights, and the dashboard camera lights up. You can’t just call a buddy and make it go away. That makes two openings in your department.”
“You job hunting?”
“I might have to be if the budget cuts come down.” He sounded desperate, which made CC nervous. “But if I have a front-page bust before the next city council meeting, I could just sit back and do my job.”
“I need a couple of days. I promise you’ll be in on this.” CC was troubled by his attitude. Sitting back and doing your job just didn’t jive with her. Palmucci needed to close this case. The truth didn’t seem to be an important piece of the puzzle.
He agreed to go along for the moment, yet he stressed that he was still following all leads in the case, which included the possibility that Max had gotten his hands dirty. CC told him she understood. She excused herself and headed back upstairs. She was halfway to the elevators when her cell rang.
“Now what?” She stepped away from the crowded area and found a quiet spot as she answered the call.
“Calloway,” she briskly answered the unknown number.
She slumped down in a chair by the vending area after she finished the unsettling call. She buried her face in her hands, trying to catch her breath. Once she felt somewhat steady, she made a call.
“Hey, it’s me. Any chance I can convince you into coming back to Boston?” CC yanked the phone from her ear when the tirade began. “Before you say ‘screw you’ again,” she interrupted the cursing, “there’s something you should know. Someone tried to kill my partner, and now Brooks is dead.”
Chapter 37
Val’s head was pounding, and she momentarily hated her life. She missed the days when all she had to worry about was some scumbag shooting at her.
“Ready to drop me off at the airport?” Ricky merrily exited his room.
“Change of plans. I’m dropping both of us off at the airport. I need to go to California. Care to join me?”
“What in the hell did you get yourself into this time, Brownie?”
“Damned if I know.”
* * *
Jamie finished her rounds with her students and headed back upstairs. She ran into her wife just as she entered Max’s room. Her heart sank the moment she caught the troubled look in CC’s eyes.
“Honey? Did you do something nasty to Detective Hiller’s athletic supporter?” Jamie felt slightly better when Max and CC burst out laughing.
“He had it coming,” CC said wryly. “How did you know about that?”
“He was here earlier, on official business.”
“Oh?” CC looked confused before she smiled. “Yeah, that.”
“What?” Jamie didn’t like the tone in CC’s voice.
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“They can lie to kingpins in the mafia, but they can’t lie to us,” Shirley said with delight.
“Out with it, Calloway. She’ll find out,” Max added his two cents.
“Just something I heard.” CC tried to avoid answering the question, but Jamie wasn’t going to let her off the hook. She just glared at her wife until she cracked. “About Nolan.”
“Tell me you didn’t have him investigated!”
“Technically, no.”
“What does that mean?”
“I was looking for something. I didn’t find anything, except what I had already learned from the hospital gossip. Nolan’s first marriage broke up when he bought his girlfriend new boobs. He married the girlfriend after the wife cleaned him out. He lives way beyond his means. The nurses here are a wealth of information.”
“I know,” Jamie said.
“Leigh thought his income, or lack of income, was interesting. She called a friend from the IRS.”
“You had one of my coworkers audited?”
“No.” CC drew the word out. “Leigh merely suggested that the IRS take a look at his finances. They started to, but the discovered he was already being investigated by the Newton cops. See, I didn’t do anything.”
“Oh, no.” Jamie rolled her eyes. “Look, the guy is an idiot. That doesn’t mean you can investigate him.”
“Someone else already was.”
“What department does Hiller work for?”
“Narcotics. He’s working with the IRS on the case. I don’t know the details. But I can guess.”
“So can I,” Jamie said grimly. “Hiller had a list of people who have never been treated at this hospital. Nolan doesn’t have privileges anywhere else.”
“Privileges? Oh, that’s where you’re allowed to treat patients at other hospitals,” CC answered before Jamie could. “You can do that just about anywhere in the state.”
“In the medical field, I’m higher up the food chain,” Jamie said. “That’s one of the reasons he hates me. It’s still no excuse for you investigating him. Just because someone is rude to me doesn’t give you the right to have them audited.”
“I disagree, and again, it wasn’t me. It was Leigh.”
“Uh-huh.” Jamie narrowed her gaze. There was a time when the look would frighten CC. Jamie was disheartened to discover that was no longer the case. “Well, at least he won’t be my boss. Sounds like he’s supplying his neighbors. Suburban junkies are the worst. They pay more for drugs and are downright stupid about it. They don’t think that they’re addicts or doing anything wrong just because they have a prescription. The brass is going to be pissed when this gets out.” Jamie was disgusted by what Nolan might be involved in. “Max, nice to see you doing better.”
“Thanks.” He sighed, and his eyes drifted shut. Jamie paused for a moment. She needed to be certain he had only fallen asleep.
“I need to get back downstairs.” The long hours and stress were draining her.
“I’ll walk you out,” CC said.
The stroll out of the unit and to the elevators was a quiet one. “Sorry, about Nolan,” CC finally said before Jamie had a chance to call for the elevator.
“Not your fault he’s a jackass.”
“Yeah, but you don’t need any more crap right now.” CC wrapped her arms around Jamie’s waist. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too, baby.” Jamie leaned her head against CC’s chest. “When this is all over, we need to take a long vacation.”
She lifted her head and sighed at the worried look in her wife’s eyes. She reached up and laced her fingers in CC’s long hair and drew her down for a lingering kiss. “I’m afraid that will have to hold you until I can break out of here.”
“Is Max going to be okay?”
“He should be, but there’s no guarantee at the moment. You saw his injuries and all the blood.”
“Earlier when he started slurring his words, I thought he was going to stroke out.”
“I won’t lie to you. It could happen. He’s getting the best c
are possible. We just need to have a little faith.”
“What are you going to do when they offer you Jack’s job?” CC brushed her fingers against Jamie’s cheek.
“If they do, I’ll say no and hope for the best. Chances are they’ll just combine my job with his. Which means I not only get to deal with all the bureaucratic crap and insurance companies, but I’ll have to bump someone to nights and move to mornings. I’ll never see you.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. What can I do to make this better?”
“Just take care of yourself. Promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I promise.”
* * *
Val was oddly calm only because of the years of training she had endured. From the moment she drove across the Massachusetts border, her life had begun a downward spiral.
“She is a crazy person,” Val grumbled. Ricky squirmed in his seat as she hit the gas exiting the hotel parking garage.
“What if Calloway is right and this is an inside job? We need to find a place where we can do a little research without leaving a trail. The public library is too iffy.”
“I think I know where we can access a terminal. What do you want to look at?”
“Start at the beginning.” He grinned. “If Calloway isn’t insane, then whoever is doing this has to be paying some heavy debts to make this scheme happen. I say we follow the money. Where are we going?”
“We need to find a safe computer,” Val answered as she parked her sedan in front of the familiar house.
“I hate to bother you,” Val said in a haggard tone. She was standing in the last place she wanted to be. Thankfully, she had Ricky there for backup. “I need a favor.”
“Okay?”
Val was encouraged when Stevie stepped aside and allowed Ricky and her to enter her home.
“We’re in a bit of a hurry, and I need to use your computer.”
“And you can’t use yours because—”
“Keystroke program,” Val said while she avoided looking at Stevie. “Oddly enough, the government likes to keep tabs on what we’re doing with the toys they let us play with.”
“My computer can’t help you. I installed a similar program.”
“Why?”
“I have a seven-year-old daughter who is very curious about everything. I can’t watch her every second she’s on the computer. With the program, I can keep track of what she’s looking at and typing in. It’s a big bad world out there. I have no desire to let the bad guys into my home.”
“What about your sister’s computer?” Ricky asked.
“Caitlin’s? It’s an antique. It was all I could do to get to stop using dial up.” Stevie quickly explained. “She suffers from a phobia when it comes to technology.”
“Do you think she’d mind if we use it?”
“I don’t see why she would.” Despite her reassurances, Stevie sounded leery.
“Please? This is very important.” The sense of dread that had been consuming Val since her arrival dissipated slightly when Stevie ushered them to the other side of the house and up to her sister’s office.
Val didn’t waste any time, she just plopped down in CC’s chair and powered up her computer. “Sorry about this. This is the only place where we felt safe.” Her skin prickled as Stevie watched over her shoulder.
“Here, it’s for Emma.” Ricky handed Stevie a small package.
“Thank you. Where are you off to?”
“Airport. I have to see someone.” Val typed furiously.
Stevie gasped. “Oh, my God.”
Trying to ignore Stevie’s shock, Val kept typing and plugged a flash stick in the drive. “Got it.” She started to download the information.
“Can’t use it in court,” Ricky said. “But Calloway was right. It’s a setup.”
“I know, but it gives us the upper hand.” Val erased her steps from the World Wide Web.
“Not to be nosy,” Stevie said, “but what is it you did in the navy? And don’t tell me nothing much. I just watched you bounce off of two dozen IPO addresses, some in countries I’ve never heard of. Then you accessed information from a numbered bank account.”
“A good way to track a crime is to follow the money,” Val tersely explained. Her body still tingled from the feel of Stevie leaning dangerously close to her. “The money I just tracked led us to Max Sampson’s bank account.”
“Max?”
“Everything’s going to be fine,” Val told the frightened woman. “It isn’t where the money ended up, it’s where it started, and this pile of cash started just where your sister thought it would.”
“Don’t worry, no one will be able to track what we did,” Ricky added as Val typed in another code and the screen went blank. Stevie gasped when the computer rebooted.
“How did you?”
“Simple program. The closest anyone will get to the trail is Budapest, possibly Myanmar.” Val innocently quipped.
“What the hell did you do in the navy? Should I be worried that the men in black are going to show up on my doorstep?”
Val rubbed her fingers through her short, dark hair. “I drove a truck.” She offered her standard answer.
“You drove a truck? Of course you did. After graduating from Annapolis, you drove a truck.” Stevie scoffed at the ridiculous answer.
“I worked for the government. Who knows why they do what they do?” Val tried to shrug it off.
“And how about you, Ricky? Did you drive a truck as well?”
“No. I was a glorified office clerk.”
“Nice try.” Stevie groaned with disgust. “Sure, that explains everything.”
“We have to go.” Val looked at her watch. “Tell your sister I’ll be in touch and to watch her back.”
“What is going on?”
“Hopefully, nothing.”
* * *
CC pulled Jamie closer and stole another kiss. She needed the feel of Jamie’s body pressed against her own. The simple comfort of holding her wife in her arms made her feel centered.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Jamie murmured against her chest.
CC hadn’t planned on telling Jamie just yet. Her feisty wife was already on edge. CC took a step back; the determined look in Jamie’s eyes informed her there was no way to dodge the question.
“Brooks died.”
“When?”
“Last night. Heart attack.”
“You believe that?”
“The guy chain-smoked for over thirty years.”
“But he quit smoking and drinking and started working out months ago.”
“Yeah, but the damage could have already been done, right?”
“Caitlin, keep your promise.” Jamie struggled with her words. “Watch your back. There’s no way I can make it without you.”
“I promise.” CC tried to reassure her by explaining that it was probably a coincidence. Explaining to her wife, the doctor, that someone just up and had a heart attack didn’t fly. “Okay.” She finally just gave up. “But you promise me that you’ll be careful as well. I need you by my side more than you know.”
They shared a quick kiss before finally getting on the elevator. CC took small comfort by holding Jamie’s hand during the ride down to the first floor. They exchanged a quick goodbye in the lobby, and CC headed out to the parking lot. Surprisingly, she spotted Shirley running after her.
“CC!” Shirley huffed, clearly out of breath. “There’s something you should know.”
CC’s stomach flipped. She felt uncertain if she wanted to hear what Shirley was going to say. “I could explain it better if we had a computer,” Shirley said. “There must be a café nearby where we can go online.”
“Will this do?” CC nervously handed Shirley her cell.
“Oh, this is nice.” Shirley touched the screen, and the phone came to life. “This is the new model isn’t it?”
“You know that fancy gizmo shop on Newbury? Stevie took them on as a client. Now I ha
ve a fancy new phone that I have no idea how to work.” CC watched in wonderment as the older woman confidently pressed images on the screen. Then Shirley smiled and handed the phone back to her.
“Shirley, what is this?” CC was convinced she couldn’t be reading the numbers correctly.
“My bank statement. We’ve been keeping it quiet. If that Detective Palmucci dug a little deeper, he would have found that we didn’t need the money. Remember last year when my father passed away?”
“Yeah, I thought he and Max didn’t get along.”
“My dear father mistakenly assumed that a lowly cop was below his daughter’s standards.” Shirley snorted with disgust. “In the end, Dad admitted that Max was the best thing that ever happened to me. We weren’t expecting anything from his estate. That came as quite a surprise. Between my retirement package and Max’s, we would have gotten by. Still, each of us would have had to put in a few more years. With this, we had no reason to keep working. That’s why we can afford the move and Max finally gets the boat of his dreams. I’ve saved it in your files. You just need to download it and print it out. Think it will help?”
“This most definitely helps.”
On the way to the station, CC made several phone calls. Each with the same message, “I need your help.” There was only one way to get to the bottom of things. She was smart enough to know that she couldn’t do it alone. There were resources that needed to be tapped, doors opened that she had no way of entering. She doubted that anyone was going to be happy about working together. She also doubted that anyone would believe her. She couldn’t blame them for their skepticism. She doubted Brooks when he had first called her. Now he was dead, and Max was lying in a hospital bed, with an uncertain future.
* * *
“I can’t believe I let Calloway suck us into this,” Val said. “I’m seriously beginning to hate that wench.”
Ricky just nodded. They had flown commercial, something they rarely did, only to spend a few chilly hours in Wisconsin.
“What brings the Feds into my backyard?” the surly sheriff asked.
“Just looking into a case that might be connected to an aiding and abetting job,” Val said. “About Professor Harding. I understand he met with an unfortunate accident.”
Checkmate (Caitlin Calloway Mystery Book 2) Page 35