by KJ Dahlen
Dallas frowned. “How the fuck did you know that?”
“Because that was Trace’s blood type.” Skeeter growled. “I should know, I was his partner for the last five years of his life. He drilled it into my head, if he was ever out for the count and we were hospitalized I had to tell them about his blood type. B negative is rare and he couldn’t accept anything with a positive RH factor. It would poison his own blood and probably kill him.”
“Well then, it’s a good thing he’s already dead then isn’t it?” Dallas swore. “His record reads O positive.”
Skeeter raised his head and glared at the other man. “Why would someone switch our blood reports?”
Dallas glared at him. “Because Calista Jones wanted to frame you for child rape.”
Skeeter frowned and shook his head. “But why? I never worked with her on a case. Hell, I don’t even know the damn woman.”
“That’s what we have to figure out before we confront her,” Dallas told him.
“Lead me to your vampire. I want this straightened out like yesterday.” Skeeter growled.
Dallas led him down the Infirmary and watched as the nurse took his blood. When he was finished, Dallas looked at the nurse and made sure she knew her orders. “These results and the first ones are to be released to no one but me, Is that clear? Calista Jones doesn’t get a damn copy of these until after I’ve given the approval.”
“Yes sir,” the nurse assured him.
“I hope you can get both blood tests done by tomorrow,” Dallas told her.
“Shouldn’t be a problem sir.” The nurse nodded. “Testing nowadays is so much quicker and easier than it used to be.”
Dallas paused then asked, “How long do you keep the results of old blood tests?”
“After we put the results in the officer’s file, we keep a copy in our own files,” the nurse told him.
“Can you pull Franklin Howard’s file right now?” Dallas asked.
“I’m Franklin Howard,” Skeeter spoke now.
The nurse disappeared for a moment and when she returned, she had a file in her hand. Dallas didn’t take it when she handed it to him but instead he asked, “Is there a blood test in that file?”
The nurse looked and nodded, “Yes there is.”
“According to that test what is his blood type?” Dallas asked.
“O Positive.”
Dallas nodded. “You keep that file and I’ll call on you tomorrow. I need you to put it somewhere safe because I’ll need it tomorrow. I also need the file of Trace Coulier. He died seventeen years ago, so I’m hoping you still have his file.”
“Let me go check.” The nurse disappeared in the back. She came back ten minutes later with another file. “We keep the officers lost in the line of duty in a separate place. Do you want his blood type as well?”
Dallas nodded.
She opened the file and after a moment she read it out loud, “His blood type was B negative.”
“Save that file out as well,” Dallas stated.
“May I ask why sir?” the nurse frowned.
“Someone switched the blood tests in their files upstairs.” Dallas looked over at Skeeter and said, “This confirms it and I want to bust her for it. She’s not only playing games to ruin a good man’s record but she’s playing games with a young woman’s life.”
The nurse hesitated then admitted, “If this woman is who I think she is, there might be something else you need to know about this.” She disappeared into the other room for the third time and when she returned, she handed Dallas a file.
He opened it and the only thing that was in it was another blood test. There was no name on the top but the blood test claimed the donor had a 99.9 percent chance of being a match to an officer already on file. He looked at the date and saw the test was seven years old.
“Who brought the blood in for testing?” Dallas wanted to know.
“Calista Jones,” the nurse replied. “She didn’t tell me whose blood it was though.”
He nodded. That would have been a year after she started in this office. Her own child would have been ten years old at the time. This was all curious and he had his own suspicions as to what was going on here.
Skeeter went back to the interrogation room to collect Mercy and Janice.
Dallas watched them leave and told Skeeter, “Let me know where you are when you get settled.”
Skeeter nodded. “I’ll need Zoey’s address to pick her up. And bring her here with us tomorrow.”
Dallas rolled his eyes, “That’s going to go over like a lead balloon. I can feel it already.” He paused then had to ask, “What are we going to do if Mercy really is Trace’s daughter?”
Skeeter shrugged looking over at the girl. “We’ll have to let his parents know. If they don’t want her, then I’ll take her home with me. She won’t be just another kid on the street with nothing to look forward to. Trace might not have been a good dad but he would have wanted her to have a better life, or maybe I want that for her. Hell, who am I kidding here?” He shook his head. “Trace never gave a damn about anybody but himself and both of us know it. He wasn’t any kind of father material. He was a selfish bastard who in the end, got what he deserved.”
Dallas frowned. “What aren’t you telling me here?”
Skeeter shrugged. “Only that it might not have been the cartel who shot him that night.” Skeeter looked at his boss. “I know I would have shot him myself if I would have been her and he did to me what he did to her.”
Dallas turned his head to observe Mercy. “Do you think she knows?”
“I doubt it.” He shook his head. “I don’t think she would have come all the way here if she had any idea of what happened.”
“Well she came here for a reason, all we have to do is figure out that reason.” Dallas shrugged.
“We’ll be back in the morning,” Skeeter told him.
Dallas slapped him on the back, “Good luck man, I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”
Skeeter snorted, “Yeah I will, sharing a hotel room with three females is not my idea of fun.”
“I hear ya but I get the joy of trying to talk to Jones tonight.” Dallas snarled. “I get to ask her why she switched the blood tests and why she’s going after you.” He paused and stared at the other man. “Any ideas why she would do all this shit to you?”
“Hell no.” Skeeter growled. “I may not have liked her but I never did anything to her. I don’t even know her all that well.”
“Well, we’ll see then huh?” Dallas turned to walk one way while Skeeter turned to go the other way.
Dallas paused in front of the door of the room that housed the holding cells and Calista Jones. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and walked inside. He nodded at the officer in the room and then he looked over at a truly pissed off Calista. “How about you and I have a little chat?”
“I’m not saying a word without an attorney present.” Calista snarled bitterly. “I demand to have an attorney assigned to me. And as one can’t be assigned until tomorrow, I demand that you release me as I have a daughter I need to get back too.”
Dallas shook his head. “We’ve made arrangements for your daughter and you aren’t going anywhere. It's fine that you don’t want to talk to us without an attorney but you aren’t leaving this holding cell either.”
“You can’t hold me here.” Calista sneered at him.
“Sure I can.” Dallas grinned. “You set up a federal agent for a crime he didn’t commit, then you disobeyed a direct order and held a witness in seclusion for no reason. You aren’t going anywhere until I get some answers and as you refuse to answer them, I don’t have a choice. Now, I can offer you a different kind of choice, you can stay in this holding cell under lock and key or I can put you in a jail cell under lock and key but lady, you aren’t going anywhere.”
Calista crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the man on the other side of the table. The tiny room was quiet for a long time
before she finally broke the tension. “I’ll stay here but I need to know where my daughter is and what arrangements you made for her.”
“She’s staying with Frank, Janice and Mercy tonight. They will be here in the morning and will bring both the girls back at that time.”
Calista paled and began to shake. “No, I don’t want her with them, especially not with Mercy. They can’t be together. I demand you let me go home.”
Dallas raised a brow at her venomous statement. There was definitely something more going on here than she was willing to say. He just had to figure out what it was. “Sorry, but no deal. Zoey will be all right tonight and you’ll still be here in the morning to answer some questions.”
“You lousy fucking bastard!” Calista swore.
Dallas got up and walked to the door. He turned to look at the guard and motioned for him to leave with him.
The guard looked almost relieved and they walked out, leaving Calista alone.
When they closed the door, Dallas turned the lock and made sure the door was secure. He turned to the guard and told him, “I want someone on this door until tomorrow morning. She is not to leave this room without a double escort. Not even to the bathroom. She is to never be alone. I don’t want to allow her any chance to escape.”
“Yes sir.” The guard went to stand by the door.
Dallas walked back to his office.
Skeeter stared at the modest house. It was a small house but well kept. He looked over at Janice and nodded. “Well now, we see if she’ll come with us.”
He walked up to the front door and knocked. He waited a few minutes then the door opened and Skeeter gasped in surprise when a familiar pair of blue eyes looked back at him. “Son of a bitch,” he swore under his breath.
“Can I help you?” The young girl asked.
Chapter Six
Skeeter stared at the young girl a moment longer before he asked, “Are you Zoey Jones?”
The girl nodded and looked curious.
“Your mom is being held at the station and we need you to come with us,” he told her.
The girl snorted. “My mother is a woman named Charity Jones, Calista is my aunt. I live with her because my mother walked out after she gave birth to me. Calista didn’t really want me either but she wouldn’t let me go into the system for reasons of her own.”
“You aren’t Calista’s daughter?” Skeeter asked.
“No thank god. Calista doesn’t have any children of her own, which if you ask me is a good thing cuz mother material she is not,” Zoey told him. “Who are you anyway?”
“Franklin Howard.” He held out his hand.
“Franklin Howard huh?” Zoey shook her head. “She don’t like you at all, you know that?”
“I’m getting that idea.” He raised an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t happen to know why would you?”
Zoey nodded. “She thought you should have been the one not to come back from Mexico not Trace Coulier. Whoever he is. When she heard through the grapevine he was dead, she was more than a little pissed. She told me the whole time I was growing up that I was going to be her meal ticket, once I came of age.”
“Do you know why?” he asked her.
“Not really.” Zoey shrugged.
“Why don’t you pack a bag for tonight and we can talk about this at the hotel,” Skeeter suggested.
“Will this piss off Calista?” She leaned against the door jam and crossed her arms over her chest.
Skeeter grinned. “Probably.”
Zoey grinned bigger. “Alrighty then, let me pack a bag then we’re outta here.” She disappeared into the house and returned a few minutes later. She had a smirk on her face as she locked up the house. “Let’s go. Are you sure she won’t be home tonight?”
Skeeter nodded. “Pretty sure, Dallas is keeping her in custody tonight at least. We’re waiting on blood tests, kinda hoping they come through tomorrow.”
“Good, there’s something I think you should see and I know she never would have shown it to you.”
Skeeter nodded and escorted her to the car.
When Zoey saw Mercy sitting in the backseat, she frowned but didn’t say anything. It wasn’t until they reached the hotel and everyone got out that Zoey finally looked at her and said, “There is something so familiar about you.”
Mercy nodded. “I think you look like me, how is that possible?”
Zoey took a deep breath and said, “I think we’re about to find out.”
When they got to their suite, Skeeter and Janice sat them down.
Skeeter just stared at Zoey for a moment then shook his head. “How old are you?” he asked her.
“Almost eighteen.”
He looked over at Mercy. “And I know you're almost seventeen, right?”
Mercy nodded.
Skeeter just shook his head. “Trace, you are a really lousy bastard,” he mumbled under his breath. “Ok.” He exhaled loudly. “We have a bit of a dilemma here girls.”
“What might that be?” Zoey asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
She might not know it but Skeeter knew she got that from her dad. Trace always did that as well. “You said Calista is your aunt right?” he repeated her earlier statement so Janice would know as well.
“Your aunt?” Janice frowned.
Zoey nodded. “Yeah, my real mom was her younger sister. She was only sixteen when I was born. Right after she brought me home from the hospital, she disappeared and she never came back for me.” Zoey shook her head. “I’ve been stuck with Calista ever since.”
“Stuck with her?’ Janice frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Let’s just say Calista isn’t mother material and leave it at that.” Zoey shook her head. “She is not a good woman and I think she’s blackmailing someone. She’s been getting payments from someone for years.” Zoey snorted, “She thinks I don’t know what she’s doing, but I’m not a dummy. She likes to live above her means and someday the money is going to run out.”
“What happened to your mother?” Janice wanted to know.
Zoey shrugged and looked away. “I’m not sure but I have a feeling something bad happened to her. Calista knows but she wouldn't tell me.” She looked back at Skeeter. “I think she did something to my mom.”
Skeeter stared at her then glanced at Janice before going back to Zoey. “Why do you think that?”
Zoey looked bleak for a moment then admitted, “Calista would always get drunk one night a year and last year, she said some things about my mom... and a man I think he must have been my dad. Things I never knew before.” Zoey had tears in her eyes. “Things I never forgot but never had the courage to talk to her about.”
“What kind of things?” Skeeter wanted to know.
“She was so pissed at a man named Trace, in her drunk state she was yelling about how he got with my mom instead of her and the fact that she loved him more than her sister ever did and she would have made him happy, if he only would have given her a chance. Then she said she took care of my mom and some other bitch took care of my dad but she said no one would ever stop her from getting everything she was due. She said she took care of his damn baby all these years and she would get what she had coming.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m not sure what she meant but... I know it couldn’t be anything good.”
Skeeter shook his head. “I think that she was finally going to let your grandparents know about you.”
Zoey frowned. “I have grandparents?”
Skeeter nodded. “You look just like your dad, did you know that?”
Mercy paused and looked at Skeeter as if she had figured it out. She nodded and dug through her bag for the picture she brought so far with her. She ran her hands over it to straighten out the wrinkles and then handed it to Zoey. “This man is Trace. He’s my papa as well.”
Zoey snapped her head around to look at Mercy. Her eyes looked familiar and she had the same hair coloring as she did. “We’re sisters aren’t we?”
�
�I think so.” Mercy nodded.
Zoey turned back to Skeeter. She hadn’t looked at the picture yet but her hands were shaking as she stared at him. “What kind of man was he? This Trace.”
Skeeter took a deep breath and exhaled, “He could have been a good man, I think.”
“He could have been?” Zoey asked as she studied his face. “What does that mean, exactly?”
Skeeter shook his head. “He could have been but he would have had to grow up before that could happen. He never did and that was his downfall.”
“My mom was only sixteen when she had me,” Zoey admitted. “I know that much. Calista was only nineteen when I was born.”
“My mama was only sixteen when I was born,” Mercy added. “I think our papa liked his women young.”
Skeeter nodded as he felt extremely uncomfortable in this moment. “Too young. What he did was illegal in many states.”
“What exactly does that mean for us?” Zoey asked as she reached over and took Mercy’s hand.
“Not a damn thing,” Janice spoke up. “You and Mercy are innocent of any of his irresponsible behavior. If he were still alive, you could both go after him and get what is your due. But as he is not alive anymore, there is nothing you can do about it.”
“Well, I don’t want Calista to get what she considers her due either,” Zoey grumbled as she glared.
“About that...” Skeeter ran his hands over his head. “I think she was going to tell your grandparents about you and get them to pay her for raising you all these years.”
Zoey got up, went to her bag and grabbed something inside. She came back and handed some paperwork to Skeeter. “She’s been getting paid from the government for raising me. She tapped into Trace’s social security and has been collecting it on my behalf.” She paused then admitted, “And she knows that runs out when I reach legal age which is in a few weeks.”
“We need to locate your mom,” Janice stated. “We need to prove one way or another what happened to her.”
Zoey shook her head. “Only Calista knows what happened to her. At this point, I don’t even know if she’s dead or alive. For all my life, I’ve only had Calista taking care of me. She wouldn’t even let me have any friends or go out with anyone.”