Cold as Ice

by Allison Brennan

  Except Elise didn’t age out until three weeks ago.

  “Thank you, Mr. Anderson,” Garrett said before Lucy could pump him for more information.

  Back in the car, Lucy said, “I wasn’t done.”

  “You were treading into dangerous territory. This isn’t your investigation. Just because Erica’s ex-husband mentioned her name doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Like hell it doesn’t!” Lucy forced herself to calm down. “It’s not enough, but it’s one small thread and we are going to pursue it.”

  She was about to drive away when Bill Anderson came running up to her car. She rolled down the window. “Is there something else?”

  “I just told the kids I had to run an errand. I’m really worried about Erica—I have the keys to her house. Like I said, we’re on good terms. Would you follow me over there and … well … if she’s there and something’s wrong, I would just feel more comfortable with you there, if that’s okay.”

  Lucy nodded. “Absolutely, Mr. Anderson.”

  * * *

  Ten minutes later, they were back at Erica’s house. Bill walked up to the door and knocked. “Her car’s not here,” he said to Lucy and Garrett, who were standing behind him, “but … well, just in case.” Through the door he called out, “Erica? It’s Bill. You there?”

  Silence.

  Bill opened the door and walked in. Lucy motioned for Garrett to stay back—he might have been a cop before, but he wasn’t one now, and they didn’t know what to expect.

  “Would you mind if I did a quick search?” Lucy asked Bill.

  “Please.”

  Lucy looked at Garrett to make sure he heard that Bill had authorized her. He didn’t react. He was probably thinking that just because Bill had the key didn’t mean he had a lawful reason to enter, but at this point, Lucy was concerned about Erica’s safety—and possible involvement with Elise Hunt.

  Elise had blackmailed, threatened, and manipulated dozens of people into helping her. She could have done the same to Erica.

  Lucy walked quickly through the small, meticulously organized house. The kids’ rooms had the most personality and clutter, but the master bedroom and the living area were immaculate. Nothing looked out of place, and she didn’t find a body or sign of a struggle.

  She came back to the living room where Bill stood. Garrett came into the room and closed the door.

  “Can you tell if anything is missing?” Lucy asked Bill. “Did she have luggage, could she have gone on a trip?”

  “Three months ago, I would have said she’d never leave without telling me. But now? Hell if I know.”

  He walked down the hall to her bedroom and Lucy walked over to a small desk in the kitchen. Mail was organized in a small wooden box. She opened a desk calendar, which appeared to be sparingly used. Physicals for the kids were scheduled in June. She had her “annual” in August. Last October was a week vacation “Disneyland w/Bill, Paula, George.” She had birthdays listed, and her work schedule until she quit.

  There was nothing on her calendar after she quit the first week of February except a birthday of a friend, but the calendar had all birthdays for the year marked in the same red pen.

  Bill said, “Her suitcase is in her closet, but she has a matching overnight bag that I can’t find anywhere. I just don’t understand any of this.”

  Lucy knew she shouldn’t, but she would argue that a welfare check meant that this was a lawful search. They didn’t know where Erica had gone, why she wasn’t talking to her kids, why she’d quit her job, what she was doing.

  She opened the desk drawer. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Garrett frown, but then Bill walked over and started going through Erica’s things.

  The drawer was also organized, with pencils in one tray and pens in another. Notepads and extra phone chargers and keys without rings. Suddenly Bill turned and walked briskly down to the bedroom.

  Lucy didn’t see anything in the drawer that might help. Then Bill said, “Well, shit.”

  She went down the hall. “What?”

  He was in her closet. A small gun safe was open. “Her guns are gone. She owns a .357 revolver and a .45 semiauto.”

  “Did you open the safe?”

  “Yes, it used to be in our house, both of our thumbprints can unlock it.”

  “Those were the only two guns she owned?”

  “Yes. At least that I know of.”

  Mona Hill had been shot with a .45 caliber.

  “Did she regularly carry her firearms with her?” Lucy asked.

  “No. I need to call her.”

  Lucy didn’t stop him, but it was clear he didn’t reach her when he left a message. “Erica, it’s Bill. I need to talk to you tonight. Call me.”

  He frowned. “I don’t know what else to do.”

  Lucy looked around the small closet. It, like the rest of the house, was well-organized. She had three uniforms all hanging in dry cleaning bags. She hung her T-shirts and pants. She owned only a few dresses, several pairs of comfortable work shoes, sneakers, and two pairs of heels.

  Garrett spoke up. “Bill, you should file a missing person’s report. That you haven’t heard from your ex-wife since whatever day she canceled her weekend with the kids.”

  “Should I?”

  Lucy glanced at Garrett. Erica wasn’t missing, she was working on something—and likely for Elise. Lucy didn’t know why—but there was always a reason. A threat? Money? She didn’t have a good read on Erica. Her ex-husband seemed to get along with her, but she didn’t have custody of her kids. That seemed odd.

  But missing? Nope.

  Bill nodded. “I’m going home, I’m going to try calling her again. If she doesn’t get back to me tonight, I’ll call the police. Thank you.”

  Bill locked up the house and they left.

  Lucy got behind the wheel of her car. There was something very odd about Erica Anderson’s behavior. She needed to find her, sooner rather than later.

  “You shouldn’t have gone in there,” Garrett said.

  “I had permission.”

  “He’s her ex-husband. He may have permission, but that doesn’t give him the right to bring law enforcement inside for a warrantless search.”

  “I didn’t search. She’s missing a .45. That’s according to Bill, not my search.”

  “The police have the weapon they believe was used. They found it in Sean’s plane.”

  “And it’s not Sean’s!”

  “You can’t possibly think that a corrections officer with no ties to the victim or your husband killed a woman in cold blood to frame him.”

  “I’m not saying or thinking anything. I’m letting the evidence speak for itself.” And right now, the evidence was quiet. Because Garrett was right: why? Why would Erica kill anyone? Even if Elise had something on her, something that could hurt her or damage her career or her custody agreement, would Erica actually kill anyone for her?

  Maybe. If Elise threatened her family. Or for money.

  Lucy needed to find Erica, talk to her, convince her that Lucy was the only person who could help her against Elise.

  She called Kathy Pine, who answered on the second ring. “Kathy, it’s Lucy Kincaid. I was doing a welfare check on Erica Anderson, and talked to her ex-husband—”

  The warden interrupted her. “Agent Kincaid, did you think I wouldn’t find out that your husband was arrested for murder?”

  Lucy didn’t know what to say.

  “That’s not—”

  “Are you doing an end-run around Houston PD? I don’t like being lied to.”

  “I didn’t lie to you, Warden.”

  “I just got a call to send over Elise’s files to Houston PD. I asked why, and learned that your husband claimed that she’d threatened the woman he’s accused of murdering. And you didn’t think that was important to tell me?”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “It’s not complicated. You used your badge to get information from me not in your capacity a
s an FBI agent, but because your husband is in jail.”

  “Elise Hunt is dangerous and I think that Erica Anderson is in trouble because of her.”

  “I want nothing to do with this, Agent Kincaid. You crossed a line. If you want anything from my office, you’ll go through the proper channels. Good-bye.”

  She ended the call.

  Garrett had heard everything—Kathy had not been quiet.

  “You have to back off,” he said.

  “No!” Lucy wasn’t going to be deterred. She was onto something, she knew it, and the police weren’t going to follow up on Erica Anderson’s odd behavior or Elise Hunt.

  “You could lose your badge, Lucy.”

  “I didn’t do anything wrong or unethical.” Borderline, maybe.

  “That’s not my call, nor is it yours.”

  But Lucy was only half listening to Garrett.

  “We’re being followed,” she said.

  Garrett looked in the side view mirror. “The dark Honda?”

  “Yes.”

  It was dusk, and visibility was poor.

  “Erica’s neighborhood. They weren’t parked on her street, but when I turned out of the neighborhood onto the highway, they were behind me.” She hadn’t been suspicious at first but she’d intentionally slowed down and they hadn’t passed her.

  Lucy had been followed before, and last year she and Jesse had been run off the road. She wasn’t going to let that happen now—though a Honda that was the same basic size and shape as her car wasn’t going to be much of a threat, unless they were armed.

  She wasn’t going to lead them home.

  Who is following you? How did they know you were going to be at Erica’s?

  Maybe they weren’t following her because they knew who she was, but had been watching Erica’s house and were suspicious.

  Lucy exited the highway and turned immediately into a gas station. She parked near the doors that led to the mini-mart and said, “Keep your eye on the car, it pulled in at the pump, but the driver isn’t getting out. The windows are tinted and at this angle I can’t see the occupants.”

  Lucy got out and went inside. She grabbed a water bottle and energy bar, then stood at the counter and waited for the lone person ahead of her while keeping an eye on the driver outside. The driver was partly visible, male. Young. She could see that there was someone in the passenger seat, but she couldn’t make out any distinguishing characteristics.

  As soon as she reached the clerk, she put her items down and showed her badge. “I need the license number on that vehicle,” she said and gestured to the black Honda on the security screen behind him.

  Without commenting, he enlarged the image, but didn’t say anything. She wrote down the number, paid for her items, and was about to go back to her car when she saw the passenger door open.

  Elise Hunt stepped out.

  Lucy froze for a second. As she watched on the security screen, Elise stretched as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

  Lucy ran out of the mini-mart, her water and energy bar forgotten. She walked right past her car, straight for Elise.

  “Why are you following me?” Lucy demanded.

  Elise stared at her.

  “Answer the question.”

  Elise frowned, looked around as if she were trapped. It was an act. Lucy had gone through this with her many times.

  A guy filling his truck up was watching them. “Is there a problem?” he asked.

  Lucy pulled her badge and flashed it at him, but didn’t take her eyes off Elise.

  “Driver,” she called, “get out of the car.”

  “Wh-what do you want?” Elise said, sounding like a scared child.

  Elise Hunt was no child. But right now, she looked and acted younger than her eighteen years.

  “I know exactly what you’re up to, Elise. It’s not going to work.”

  “You’re scaring me. I haven’t done anything.”

  “Driver of the black Honda! Get out of the vehicle now.”

  Even as Lucy spoke, she realized she was escalating this situation when she should have called for backup.

  Backup? Who would back her up? She wasn’t supposed to be investigating Mona Hill’s murder. She didn’t have any active cases. But she wasn’t officially suspended, she was simply told to take time off.

  Garrett Lee had emerged from Lucy’s car. “Garrett, call SAPD.” To Elise she said, “It’s a crime to follow a federal agent.” Not exactly.

  “I wasn’t following you! I wasn’t! I-I—stop, please stop, I served my time, why are you harassing me?”

  The Honda’s driver emerged. Lucy diverted her attention to him. Male, Caucasian, under six feet tall. Mid-twenties. “Keep your hands where I can see them.”

  “What did I do?” he asked, but kept his hands on the roof of his car.

  Garrett walked over and said, “Lucy, you need to let them go.”

  “Did you call SAPD?”

  “No, you don’t want to do that.”

  “They were following us.”

  “We weren’t!” Elise said.

  “Your innocent act may fool your shrink, but it has never fooled me.”

  The guy with the truck finished fueling, but he didn’t leave.

  The driver said, “Are you arresting us?”

  Lucy said, “I’m going to prove you killed Mona Hill. You’re not as smart as you think, Elise.”

  “Kill? You’re going to kill me?” Elise acted hysterical.

  “That’s not what I said, and you damn well know it,” Lucy snapped.

  “If you’re not arresting us, we’re leaving,” the driver said. “Get in the car, Elise.”

  “Do not move,” Lucy said.

  But now she was stuck. She couldn’t arrest them. She had no cause. And she couldn’t prove that they’d followed her from Erica Anderson’s house. She had noticed the vehicle as she emerged from the neighborhood … but that was the most likely route to take from Erica’s house back to the highway. Elise was supposed to be in Los Angeles, but there was nothing keeping her in L.A. She wasn’t even on probation.

  “You hate me, I haven’t done anything to you, but you hate me.” Elise was crying. She’d forced herself to cry on cue in the court, what did Lucy expect? That Elise was going to confess to her?

  “Elise, now,” the driver said. “That cop is crazy.”

  “Don’t shoot me!” Elise cried.

  Lucy didn’t even have her gun out, but she’d had her hand on the butt of her gun during the conversation.

  Elise jumped in the car, and the driver got back in and left.

  “She’s a piece of work,” Lucy said.

  The customer who had been watching them gave Lucy a look, then he went into the mini-mart.

  Garrett said, “We need to go, Lucy, now.”

  Lucy didn’t have a choice. But Elise was not going to get away with this. “You heard her. She made a scene, she did not respond to what I said, but only said what she wanted others to think I said!”

  “You’re not making sense.”

  “It’s how she operates!”

  “I agree, she wasn’t making sense, but you intimidated her—that’s what the witness observed. You intimidated a young girl and she was scared.”

  “She was faking!” Lucy slammed her door shut and hit her hand on the dashboard. “You weren’t here two years ago, Garrett. You don’t know what she did—how she manipulated people, including her shrink. And the courts! The judge was Eleanor Axelrod. She was in the pocket of the cartels, and we couldn’t prove it!”

  “You need to watch what you say. Judge Axelrod is still on the bench.”

  Maybe Lucy handled it wrong. But Elise was here in San Antonio and had followed her. Whatever game she was playing wasn’t going to work. She was going to slip up. She had before. She was impulsive and would make a major mistake. But could Lucy be there to catch her at it?

  Elise killed Mona Hill—or ordered Mona’s death. She framed Sean for it. Lu
cy had to prove it.

  Lucy should report this to her office, but now she was stuck. She wasn’t exactly sure what she should do, so she called JT Caruso as she drove home. JT had resources, he could track Elise. While she talked to him, she made sure that no one—the black Honda or another vehicle—followed her.

  She told him that Elise Hunt was in the vehicle, and another male that wasn’t in the photos he’d sent to her earlier.

  “You confronted her?”

  “She got out of her car thirty feet from me. What was I supposed to do?”

  “And?”

  “And she made a scene, then left. She’s up to something—I know she’s behind this. She followed me out of Erica Anderson’s neighborhood, JT.”

  “You need to back away from this investigation. Let things settle down—”

  “No one else is investigating,” she said. “Houston PD thinks Sean is guilty and they’re not going to pursue other possibilities.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I do. Look at everything that happened today.” She didn’t want to argue with JT and she had a headache. She’d left her food in the mini-mart, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to see Sean and figure out what was going on.

  “Give me the license number.”

  She did.

  “I’ll look into this, see what I can do. I know standing down isn’t in the Kincaid genes—but right now, that’s all you can do. This whole situation is volatile right now.”

  Then she thought of Jack.

  “Do you know something about Jack and Kane? Are they in trouble?”

  “Jack has a lead on Kane, that’s all I know. I’ll call you later.”

  JT ended the call and Lucy forced herself to breathe. JT was right. Hell, Garrett was right. She shouldn’t have pushed so hard, but she couldn’t stand knowing Elise was behind this and not being able to stop her.

  What was Elise’s endgame? To mess with her? Revenge for the SWAT action that claimed her sister’s life? Kane had killed Elise’s brother—is that why Kane was now missing? Could Elise have had something to do with Kane’s disappearance?

  If so, she had more people under her thumb than they could even imagine.