“That’s funny I don’t remember seeing any black hobbits.”
“Well, I’ve never seen any good-looking GBI agents, but it doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”
Caldwell rolled his eyes up in his head as he followed behind them.
In any other situation, he would be glad for the input from the GBI, but he didn’t want Scott’s nose in the Moore family business. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t be objective. He had been so relieved to see Lily Moore alive last night, but then the guilt kicked in. He should have told Lake about her visit, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Caldwell didn’t want to believe that she had hurt anyone. Had she? His thoughts continued to circle back to the sight of her strange feet and his stomach churned.
He grabbed a Coke from the machine in the breakroom. Katie Quinn would be arriving shortly for questioning. He needed to have a clear head.
Chapter 44
Katie Quinn
Caldwell felt clammy under the lieutenant’s intense scrutiny. The lieutenant could read him like his mother could. “What happened to your chin?” he asked, scowling.
“Tree branch got me when I was jogging,” Caldwell said. He was working hard to keep up with Lake who was plowing down the hall. Lake stopped in his tracks and narrowed his eyes.
“What?”
“Don’t lie to me, Simms. I know all your tells,” Lake said. He shook his head then continued to the observation room to look through the glass. Caldwell came up next to him. He couldn’t tell Lake that he caught a toe nail/claw in the chin.
They studied Katie Quinn, Seth Moore’s girlfriend. She was in a different interview room than the one they had used to question Mr. Moore five days ago. Maintenance still needed to patch the wall from the Seth Moore incident. The thought made Caldwell’s stitches itch.
A jeweled clip secured Miss Quinn’s swept-up golden blonde hair. Her pink blouse clung to ample breasts. Her amber eyes looked worried and she bit her plump bottom lip as she fidgeted with an amethyst pendant. It didn’t surprise Caldwell that Seth’s girl was a looker.
Lake wrinkled his nose as he studied the pretty woman on the other side of the glass. “You think she’s involved in this shit?”
Caldwell just sighed. “Let’s find out.”
“Hi, Miss Quinn, I’m Detective Simms and this is Lieutenant Lake. We’ve spoken over the phone, but it’s nice to meet in person.”
She nodded.
After they recorded the preliminary identifying information, Caldwell leaned across the table toward her in a conspiratorial fashion, “I know this is difficult. Lily Moore is your best friend and you were close to her brother as well. We are just reviewing details; trying to find any gaps in the info we have so far.”
Lake pulled his chair in closer, drawing Quinn’s attention to him. “So have you heard anything from the Moores since Seth’s stunt the other day?” Caldwell glanced at him sideways. So much for easing into things.
“I don’t know what you mean by stunt—”
“This,” Lake said, pointing to Caldwell’s head.
Quinn’s mouth hung open.
“Assaulting an officer, Miss Quinn.”
She swallowed.
“Your boyfriend assaulted my detective, so you might want to reconsider protecting him in any way,” Lake said.
Okay not the approach I was going for, but you’re the boss.
“I spoke to Seth on the phone the day before his meeting with you,” she said, looking back down at the table.
“How would you describe your relationship with Seth?” Caldwell asked.
Quinn began to smile then seemed to catch herself. “We’ve been dating for a couple of months.”
Caldwell scanned her face. There wasn’t a glint of doubt in her eyes that Seth Moore was innocent.
“You see any changes in his behavior recently?” asked Lake.
“Of course.”
Caldwell leaned in.
“He’s sick about his sister, as am I,” she said.
Lake nodded. “Was Seth taking any particular medications that you were aware of?”
“No.”
“Do you know if he used any medications or drugs in the past?” asked Caldwell.
She manipulated her pendant. “Seth was not a drug user. I hardly ever saw him drink.”
“No anti-depressants after his father’s death?” Lake asked.
“Oh, now he did mention that he took something for a while to address panic attacks.”
“Inderal?” Caldwell asked.
“I don’t remember the name of the medication. I’m sorry.” Her brow furrowed like something just struck home.
Caldwell nodded. “Do you know a woman by the name of Tashi?”
“Tashi?”
“Seth’s been exchanging emails and phone calls with a woman named Tashi,” Caldwell explained. They knew from Larry Jones that the Shih Tzu’s name was Tashi, but he wanted to see Quinn’s reaction.
Katie’s eyes narrowed. “He’s never mentioned anyone by that name.” He could see by her confused expression that they had blind-sided her.
“I know you care about Seth,” Lake said. “But sometimes people have several sides to them. There may be a side that you don’t know. Think very carefully about any emotional outbursts or odd behavior you may have noted in him.”
“I don’t understand. Seth was a pussy cat.”
Caldwell snuck a glance at the lieutenant.
“What do you mean by pussy cat?” Lake asked.
She looked at him, curiously. “Gentle.”
“You ever see a big, white cat hanging around?” Lake asked.
“What?”
“White cat, two different colored ears, bobbed tail,” barked Lake, his own ears red.
Quinn’s brows drew down in confusion.
Lake continued to stare at her.
“Seth rescues a lot of cats. I’ve seen black ones, grey ones, white ones. In fact, he spoke with me the day after Mr. Liu went missing. He had been up late at the vet rescuing a pregnant cat.”
“Which vet?” Caldwell asked. He started to feel light-headed again and he knew it wasn’t the pea green walls of the eight by ten foot room.
She hesitated. “Some vet up in Marietta.”
“A name would be helpful,” Caldwell said, softening his voice, attempting to calm her.
She looked at her hands in her lap and worried her bottom lip again. “Dr. Gladwell? Something like that.”
“He mention that he had been in contact with his sister?”
“No. He mentioned how worried he was about her.”
Lake tapped his pen in a staccato rhythm on the table while staring at her. “How long have you known the Moores?”
“Since grade school.” She lifted her chin as if to challenge Lake. “I’ve been praying that Lily’s alive. We’ve lost touch a bit since Pete’s death, but we’ve been best friends. She spent a lot of time with my family during the summers, especially after her parent’s divorce.”
“You haven’t heard a thing from either of them?”
“No. Seth hasn’t answered any phone calls, texts, or emails. I even tried calling his mom, but she’s been in China—something about her mother being ill.” A tear escaped the corner of her eye. She brushed it away with her hand.
“We’ve talked about Dr. Hitomi—”
“Yeah, she’s crazy.”
Caldwell held his tongue. “What about Li Liu. Did either of them talk about him?”
“Neither of them had talked about him for some time. But then Seth mentioned that he had contacted him to sort some things out about his father’s death.”
Lake shut the folder in front of him. Quinn sat up in her chair, “Are we finished?”
“For now,” Lake grumbled. “You need to notify us if either of them makes contact with you. They’re in great danger. Keep in mind that aiding and abetting is a major criminal offense,” he added as he escorted her out.
Her face flushed red and her lips pre
ssed tight, but she didn’t respond.
When the elevator doors closed, Caldwell turned to Lake. “That GBI agent making you cranky?”
“Quinn’s gotta have some inkling of where they may hole up. Check back with her later and see if you can pick her brain.” Caldwell followed behind him.
“You all right?” Caldwell asked.
“No, Simms, I’m edgy,” he said glaring. “Too many secrets. People protecting people because they have feelings for them.”
“Okay—”
“I don’t want to find another dead body. I’m worried it’s gonna be Li or one of the Moores.”
Caldwell burped up his breakfast burrito.
“I’ll see if I can track down the vet. You follow up on our other leads,” Lake said. His gray shirt was already wrinkled. “I gotta go see what the hell Tiny told Agent Scott. I feel like I just left Red Riding Hood with the wolf.”
Caldwell chuckled. He was pretty sure he meant Scott was the wolf, which left Tiny as Red Riding Hood.
Chapter 45
Renegade
Caldwell had left early around 4:00 p.m. after putting a call in to Sax Ad Agency where Quinn worked. He had planned to catch Katie Quinn off-guard at her condo in Buckhead. She wasn’t home, but her retired neighbor was. They spoke for a while about the Quinn family. She let him know that they went to Sedona every year at this time and she mentioned a cabin in Helen.
That was the spark Caldwell needed. He searched properties under the Quinn name. He hadn’t turned up anything. Then he looked at the marriage certificate and found the stepmother’s maiden name, Hughes.
Several hours later, he paced back and forth in his small living room thinking about the paper work that he found on the Hughes’s cabin. At 8:30 p.m. he dressed in all black, climbed into his blue Ford Explorer and headed north on Highway 19. His Journey CD blared from the speakers as he drove fifteen miles over the speed limit. He worked his Juicy Fruit gum until his jaw ached and caught himself singing off-key to “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
He sweet-talked his GPS, but she still got him lost in the dark. One and a half hours later, he stopped at a Shell gas station to confirm with a local the country road that he needed. On Alternate 75, he passed Hootenany Hills Drive.
After going back and forth several times, he eventually figured out Horton Creek was the road with the sign that read “Pat’s Place.”
He turned off his radio and drove with his parking lights on, attempting to read the addresses. Several times, he caught himself singing the banjo music from Deliverance, particularly when he flashed his lights and they illuminated ancient dilapidated school buses stranded in an overgrown lot.
When he came to a fork of two driveways, he stopped while the engine idled. He needed to do the rest on foot. Backing up about five houses, he drove on to the side of a grassy strip next to a high, chain-link fence. It looked like people had parked here before. Once he was satisfied he was far enough off the road, he turned off the engine.
His heart pounded rapidly as the all too familiar rush of adrenaline hit him. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead. It was pitch black out his window. He pulled on his hat before exiting the vehicle.
He switched on his small Mag flashlight as his Timberland boots crunched on the gravel road. Night creatures scurried through the foliage on both sides of him. An owl hooted in the distance. It was a muggy eighty-degree night. Sweat ran down the sides of his face. He’d take city noise to this woodsy quietness any day. Drawing his gun, Caldwell slowly made his way to the two driveways. There was no indication which one was 349, but he followed his instincts, heading left.
The house wasn’t visible from the road. He headed up the gravel driveway without the help of his light. Covered in pine needles, the side of the driveway offered quieter terrain. Three hundred feet in, he got his first view of the A-frame cedar cabin. To the side was a garage fronted by an old jeep Wrangler. Gun drawn, he approached the side of the cabin. Lights were on upstairs and down.
Caldwell stood still for several minutes while he scanned the upstairs, then the downstairs, detecting no movement. No prosaic household noise broke the silence of the night as he crept closer. He crouched beneath the window. The sharp cedar scent mixed with pine, and he barely stifled a sneeze. Caldwell couldn’t find anything to stand on. He’d have to go around back or walk right up on the front porch to peer inside.
Hugging the foundation of the cabin, Caldwell made his way to the backyard. Light spilled from sliding glass doors on to the deck, revealing a hot tub. He slowly made his way up each step until his head cleared the top of the banister. Overhead track lighting revealed the great room and kitchen of a cozy cabin. The main floor appeared unoccupied. So much for a hideout. The damn place was a fish bowl. For the hell of it, he tried the back door before the front door and windows. He flipped over the plaque by the front door. “The Quinns.”
Caldwell returned to the rear deck, settling into a dark corner with his back against the hot tub. It provided the perfect vantage point for seeing anyone who came into the great room or kitchen. It was 10:00 p.m. Surely they hadn’t gone to sleep yet. As he listened and waited, he thought back to the day he had walked into Larry Jones’s house to discover Lily Moore as a Shih Tzu. His thoughts drifted to her face at the Liu property after she had been beaten and shot. Seth Moore popped into his head, causing him to grit his teeth. His stitches itched under his solid black cap.
He was used to stakeouts. Hunkering down, he prepared to wait until the wee hours of the morning.
* * *
“This is a very bad idea. This is the worst plan you’ve ever had. This ranks up there with your ‘let’s put a roman candle in dad’s grill’ scheme.”
Lily rolled her eyes.
“Just so you know that membrane comes across your eyes when you do that,” Seth said.
She stopped. The avian eyes disturbed her. In all her shapeshifting forms, she had a third eyelid.
“When it comes to this guy, you’re not rational. Just because he didn’t shoot you once, doesn’t mean he won’t shoot you, given a second chance,” Seth said.
“You make a valid point. Let’s send you in. You’re the one that gave the poor man a concussion and made him the laughing stock of his department. I’m up for some entertainment. Go on kitty. See if he’s a cat lover.”
They sat twenty feet up in a pine tree where they had watched Detective Simms’s surveillance of the cabin. Thankfully, Lily’s animal instincts had overridden her human fear of heights. She could fly and jump from high places without a problem now.
It was just after midnight. Caldwell Simms had been propped against the hot tub waiting on them for over two hours. Seth thought they should run because he assumed that Simms wanted to “put a cap in his ass.” Lily argued Detective Simms was there to help them. Why else would he be there without back-up?
Seth was convinced he was up to some nefarious act, possibly one in conjunction with the masked Watcher. Neither of them could be sure, but Lily was not running or hiding any more. She wanted it all to be over. In her mind, she flirted with the idea that her trip the previous night may have been the impetus for this visit. No way in hell was she telling Seth that she teleported to Atlanta.
“Again, Lily. How did he find us? And, if he’s a good guy, why the hell is he sneaking around with his gun in the dark?”
“Zzzzzzzzzzzz.” With their heightened senses, they heard Detective Simms’s snores. They looked at each other.
“Since when do bad guys fall asleep on a stakeout?” Lily asked. “Evil people are too crazy to sleep. Now an overworked, underpaid civil servant would be more likely to succumb in this weather and at this time of night.”
“This isn’t going to work.” Seth started to move toward their backpacks, which hung from a nearby branch. Lily glared at him. He knew she was stronger than he was otherwise he would have already tackled her.
“You need to trust me.” Before he could argue, she grabbed her bac
kpack and flew down to the ground, landing in a crouch. She had Mr. Quinn’s Glock 36 in the back of her pink cut-off sweatpants. She felt the warm breeze on her bare chest. Sprouting wings had shredded her tank top, but she managed to keep her bottoms on so she considered this progress. She would have needed to transform fully to Bird Light for the soft down to cover her body.
“Not looking,” Seth hissed from his perch.
She grabbed the backpack while retracting her wings. After throwing another tank top over her head, she took off running before Seth tried to catch her.
Her plan was for him to stay in the trees since his presence could be incendiary. She leapt over the railing to land precisely in front of the sleeping detective. She was shocked to find his eyes open, gun drawn. That’s when she jumped on his lap in a panicked bird state, pinning his arms to the hot tub with her claws. The gunshot exploded in her ear.
The loud report had her ears ringing. Simms had rolled his hips and started to flip her off his lap when the gun discharged. Lily’s head throbbed where she had bashed it on the hot tub.
Feathers rained down, coming to rest on every wet surface. Detective Simms was on his side, her legs wrapped around his waist. They stared into each other’s eyes. Everything was in slow motion. His lips moved, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying to her.
The hot tub gushed water all over the deck. Her left hip hurt where he had slammed her down. Her hearing returned suddenly.
“You bird brain! Mary Mother of...Lily. What did you do?” Seth stood on the railing. His now dyed black hair stood completely on end. Lily watched as his eyes followed the flowing water. She knew his feline side didn’t like getting his feet wet.
Her cheek rested against the side of the hot tub. Detective Simms slouched low, the top of his head touching the fiberglass.
“Lily?” Simms asked.
Looking down, she noted that she was naked from the waist up and there was blood in the water.
Seth pulled his shirt off in order to cover her. Then he ran inside to turn on the back floodlights. He returned within three seconds.
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