Baby Daddy (18 page)

“$4,000?”
I echoed.

“
Yeah, entry fee for their annual golf tournament.” Christopher continued to speed through the streets.  “Do you play?”

“Sure do,
” I told him.  “I’m on that team, too, unless it conflicts with my softball schedule.”

“Good.  Maybe we won’t suck this year.  Roger was all about the networking.  Golf wasn’t his game.”

“What’s ACC…and who is Maria?”

“Austin Children’s
Center and Maria is Antonio’s drop-dead beautiful wife of two years…I was his best man.  I tried to talk her out of marrying him. I mean, why mess up your life marrying a cop when you could have a superstar P.I.?  No comparison.”

“Didn’t work
, huh?”  I smiled.

“Not even tempted.”  Christopher shook his head as his eyes continually scanned the road and intersections ahead.

“Is it true that cops don’t like private investigators?”

“Hmm
…generally not true.  Oh, there’s one or two cops that wish we weren’t around because we make them look bad.  But the smart ones are okay with it.  We each have our roles.  We don’t arrest people, and they don’t sit up all night outside the No-Tell Motel pissing in their coffee cups waiting for a cheating spouse to do the nasty.”

“I can’t piss in a cup.”

“You’ll learn.”

“Not a sk
ill I had ever expected to need,” I admitted.

He flashed a quick grin at me.  “Just remember to get a large.”

“Thanks for the tip.”

“
Oh…and always let the cops get all the glory today and they’ll work with us tomorrow.”  Christopher added, “The trick is to cooperate with them while not telling them anything that gets in the way of you doing your job.”

We
made our way downtown to a medical center near the campus. I looked around with interest.  “UT is huge.”

“T
his is only a piece of it.  There are satellite campuses all over Austin.  The softball fields are around 51
st
.  If you stay, maybe we’ll all be there watching you play next season.”

Not likely
, I thought, but aloud I said, “That’s sounds like fun.”

We turned into the parking lot and entered a large
medical building.  Christopher looked down the list of names on an electronic directory.  “Room 203.”

I followed him to the elevator
and we got out on the second floor.

“Do you think they’ll talk to us?” I asked.

“Oh yeah, they’ll talk.  I just don’t know if anything they have to say will be useful.”  We found room 203 and walked into a waiting room.  I noticed the sign Austin Women’s Care Center, OB/GYN on the wall.  It reminded me that I hadn’t made my appointment yet.  Maybe later I would give them a call…when Christopher wasn’t around, of course.

The carpet was a plush royal blue and there was a
n eight-foot long salt-water aquarium built into the far wall.  To our right a nurse sat behind the reception window.  She looked up with a distracted smile that warmed considerably when she saw Christopher.

“May I help you, sir?” she asked, obviously flirting with him.  “
…and ma’am,” she added without a glance in my direction.

“Yes
…is either Janet or Stephanie available?” Christopher asked as he handed the woman a business card.

“Let me see
Mr. Tate…may I ask what this is in regards to?”

“She’ll know.”  Christopher smiled.

The nurse scooted out of her chair and disappeared.  In a moment she returned.  “Stephanie is at the hospital today, but Janet will see you now.” She nodded toward the door leading to the back.  “Through the door and to the left…first office on the right.”

Soft music played throughout the office space as we stopped outside Janet’s door. 
A very pretty redhead with big green eyes was talking on the phone.  She looked up, smiled and waved us in as she finished her call.  After hanging up the phone she walked out from behind her desk and gave him a big hug.  “Christopher!  It’s so good to see you!”

“Janet…th
is is Killeen Ames, one of Roger’s kids.  Killeen, this is Janet Ward.”

We all shook hands and Janet invited us to sit in
an informal area by a window that was outfitted with a couch and side chairs.  On the coffee table in front of us was a plastic model of a pregnant lady with a cutaway showing the baby upside down in her uterus.  To my untrained eyes, the baby looked huge, much too large to actually make it out of any natural orifices.  There was definitely going to be some pain involved.

“Would you
like something to drink?” she offered.  “Water, coffee, soft drinks?”

“Not for me
, thanks,” I said and a similar response came from Christopher.

“So how have you been?”
the pretty doctor asked Christopher.

“Outside of Roger’s death…
pretty good.”

“I still can’t get over that
.  I thought he had given all that up.”

“Well
, that’s why we’re here.  We don’t think it was an accident.”  Christopher leaned back in his chair, but I could see he was watching her reactions.  “You might not have heard, but our building got bombed a few days ago.  I’m thinking the killer is close.”

“Bombed?”

“Our warehouse…KABOOM!” Christopher spread his hands apart in an exploding pattern.  “One of Roger’s other kids, Liberty, was in the hospital for three days…almost killed her.”

“I had no idea.  Wow!  Any idea who might have done this?”

“We have a few suspects.”

Janet interrupted.  “
Is that why you’re here?  On business?”  She smiled and crossed her legs, letting her skirt slide up her thighs.  “I was hoping it was because you missed me.”

I suddenly felt like they had forgotten I was in the room.
  And it kind of pissed me off.

“
I thought you were engaged,” Christopher said.

She held up her left hand so he…and I…could clearly see there was no ring on
that
finger.  “I realized he wasn’t the one.  So, I’m back on the market.”

Subtle.  Real subtle.  She was definitely not going to get my business.

“Good to know,” Christopher commented.  “But today, I need to find your father.  Do you have any idea where he is?”

Janet’s body language changed a
nd she crossed her arms across her chest as if she had suddenly felt a chill.  “You mean the man who screwed my mother, then walked away?”

That sounded familiar.  Completely against my will, I had a hint of empathy for her.

“Have you talked to him recently?”

“Recently?” 
Janet thought for a moment before speaking.  “The Thanksgiving after the election Stephanie and I still hadn’t heard from him, so we hired Murray to track him down and see if he wanted to come home…you know extend him an olive branch kind of thing.”

“You hired Murray the fro
g!” Christopher exclaimed.

“
He creeps me out too, but he fits in with the homeless scene,” Janet said with a little half-shrug.  “Anyway, Murray came back the week after Thanksgiving with a present from our dad but no contact information.”

“A
present…?”

“It was a beat
-up old shoebox with dog shit wrapped in newspapers.  That’s the last we’ve heard from or about him.”

I could see that in spite of her tough-girl attitude, she had tears in her eyes.  I tried to lighten the mood. 
“And I thought my Thanksgivings were weird.”

Neither Christopher nor Janet so much as glanced my way.

“So, no idea where he might be?”

Janet
shook her head.  “Anywhere where there’s free food or a bar, I’d guess.  If we could do it over again…we wouldn’t.  When Steph and I were growing up we fantasized about who our father could be.  We were better off not knowing.”

After a prolonged awkward moment of silence Christopher spoke
, “He’s an asshole.”  Christopher stood.  “Well, it’s been great seeing you again Janet…say hi to your equally gorgeous sister for me, would you?  We need to double date some time, maybe tear it up on Sixth?”

“
I’d love that…you have my number.”

Fuck, even I had her number
, I thought with a snort.  I must have actually snorted because both of them turned to look at me.

She held her arms out, and he gave her a hug.  A
professional yet personal lip-on-lip kiss happened, and I could see Janet’s arms pull him closer to her.

“It was nice to meet you Janet,”
I spoke up in order to shorten Christopher’s time in her grip.

Janet
looked over and smiled as she released him.  “Yes...of course. It was great to meet you, Kiley.”

“It’s Killeen,” I corrected her with an equally insincere smile.

“Thanks, Janet. I’ll let you know what we find out…”  Christopher waved as we headed out the door.

Once in the car
, I couldn’t get the body language and familiarity between Christopher and Janet out of mind.  It wasn’t any of my business, but I just had to ask as Christopher sped along the interstate heading back to the office.  “How long did you and Janet date?  I mean, was it serious?”

Christopher’s eyes darted toward me
, then back on the road as he cleared his throat. “Date?  We went out a couple of times…”

“
After the case was over?”

He hesitated.  “Technically, no. 
I know…I know...conflict of interest.  She was hot…I was young.  Okay?”

What else could I say without seeming like I was jealous?  Which, I was surprised to realize, I was.

“Today was the first time I’ve seen her in years…she still looks the same, though.”

“
So, are you going to call her?” 
Oh God, had I said that out loud?  I need to re-adjust my filters.

The car quickly sped up as we exited the interstate and Christopher
took the U-turn lane to reverse direction on the interstate.  He looked in the mirror and exhaled deeply.

“What the fuck
?  It was just a question,” I said defensively.

“What?  O
h, the question?  No, I’m not.”

“Then what?”

“Some guy in a white Ford F-150 has been following us since we left Janet’s.  Silly shit couldn’t keep up.  Damn.”

We slowed and pulled
into a gas station on the service road and parked behind a row of crepe myrtles.

“So, what’s next…?” I asked, but before he could answer,
my head was slammed against the head rest as Christopher slammed the car into gear and took off.

“I’d rather be the cat than the mouse any day.”  Christopher focused on the road as we
raced to catch up to the white pickup that had just driven past without seeing us.

I watched for cross traffic
that was ahead of the white pickup and us as we barreled south on the I-35 service road.  The Erwin Center flew past us on our right, then East 15
th
street.  The pickup dodged two motorcyclists that entered on our left from the interstate ramp.

“T
he light has already turned!” I yelled.

I watched in horror as t
he pickup swerved to the right lane and ran the light at Twelfth but was t-boned by a cement truck that pushed it through the intersection.  A shower of broken glass and twisted metal exploded outward.  The pickup’s tires squealed as the rubber bumped against the pavement and its engine roared, trying to get traction, but was helpless against the much heavier vehicle.  Even though the cement truck had slammed on its brakes, the momentum shoved the captive pickup through the rail of the overpass.  It teetered for a moment, then toppled over and landed with a crash onto the southbound lanes of the interstate below.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“What do you see down there?” Christopher asked as he slowly drove through the intersection.
  He tried to look, but the traffic was funneling around the cement truck and he had to stay focused on his driving.

“
I think they landed upside down.  I’m not sure if they hit anyone down there, but it’s not going to help rush hour traffic.”

“Did you happen to get a good look at either of the guys?”

“Not really.  Why do you think they were following us?”

“
I think we should find out.”  Christopher turned right on East Tenth Avenue and pulled into the Sheraton parking lot.  “Let’s run over there and see who those assholes are.”

We
jumped out of the car, dodged through a break in the cars and ran back down the service road to the break in the guardrail on the overpass.  We stood as close to the edge as we dared and looked down at the pickup truck below.

“Do you see anyone in the tr
uck?” Christopher gasped, trying to catch his breath.

“No,
the roof collapsed,” I answered, not quite as winded as he was.  My coach would be so proud.  “There’s not even a license plate on the truck!”

“Figures…
,” Christopher muttered.  “There’s less of a hassle not having a plate than getting stopped in a vehicle that has been reported stolen.”

We continued sta
ring down, searching the area.  A fire truck was driving down the emergency lane and a police car was threading through the traffic.  There was already a cop on top where we were, talking to the cement truck driver and another one trying to control the traffic buildup in the intersection.

“I don’t see
how anyone could survive that,” I commented to Christopher.  “Unless they’re terminators.”

“
I wish we could go down there and find some ID before the cops take over.”

“
Yuck, I don’t want to look inside that wreck,” I grimaced.

Christopher admitted,
“Neither do I really.  That’s why I’m not a firefighter or a cop.  I would like to know who was chasing us.  Clearly we’re on to something here, but we’re screwed for now.  Let’s get back to the office and see if anyone else got lucky.”

We crossed at the light and walked back to the Mustang.
Christopher reached for my door handle, and I thought he was going to open it for me.  I stepped closer, and realized he was actually holding my door shut.  I looked up in surprise and found him staring at me.

“
For a friend who just wants the benefits, you sure ask a lot of questions about my private life,” he said, an amused twinkle sparkling in his dark eyes.

I opened my mouth to protest, but gave up. 
I wanted to tell him it didn’t matter.  I really did.  I couldn’t pretend that my interest in how serious he had been with Janet was purely business-related.  My mind whirled as I tried to think of a way to spin my answer so it wouldn’t sound like I was jealous…when I clearly was.

As much as I wa
nted to be cool and not act on my attraction to Christopher, I couldn’t ignore the way he made my heart flutter every time he looked at me or smiled at me or the way my knees got weak when he kissed me or touched me or…  God, I had it bad.  Forget about Janet, Stephanie, their father and the psycho who was trying to blow us up.  All I wanted was to hang out with Christopher…to laugh and love and get naked with him.

The play of emotions on my face must have given me away because I saw the humor in his eyes soften and change to desire.

“No one knows better than I do that anything that happens between us is completely inappropriate,” he said.

“I know,” I agreed.  “It’s impossible.”

“And unacceptable,” he added.

“Not to mention, complicated.”  I could think of a couple more reasons, too, but I just couldn’t bring myself to tell him.  Not yet.  There was plenty of time
for confessions.

He shook his head.  “All my life I’ve been logical and responsible…and then I met you.”

With every word, I inched toward him.  It was probably worse because I knew how it felt to have his lips on my breasts and his body inside mine.  I wanted to feel that again.  I ached to have him make love to me over and over.

I was beginning to understand how my mother must have felt when she met Roger.  All common sense and even sanity was out the window when sexual attraction this strong was involved.

“Okay, I admit it,” I finally blurted out.  “I don’t sleep around.  I’ve been with only one other guy
ever
…and it was nothing compared to that night with you.  I’ve spent my whole life playing sports.  I know how to read a batter or steal a base.  I don’t know how to deal with this…”  My words trailed off.

He
sighed.  “Neither do I,” he admitted.

H
is arms wrapped around me and I moved into their protective circle.  I melted against him and we stood there, not speaking.  We didn’t kiss or caress, but it was one of the most intimate moments of my life.  His breath was warm against my ear.  My face was buried in the curve of his neck and I sucked in the sexy male scent of his skin.

Finally, he stepped back but kept his hands on my shoulders.  “I can’t say where this will go or what will happen…,” he spoke slowly as if trying to choose his words carefully.  “
I’ve tried, but I can’t stop thinking about you…or wanting you.”

That admission made me crazy happy and I smiled.  “I’m okay with that.”

His expression softened.  He bent his head forward and kissed me gently but possessively.  An alarm went off, and he reluctantly pulled away and took his phone out of his pocket.

“I’ve got to
go by the title company and sign my closing papers.  Do you mind if we stop there on the way to the office?”

“Of course not,” I answered, just glad for any excuse to spend more time with him.

He dropped a quick kiss on my lips, then opened the door and waited until I was settled inside before jogging around to the driver’s side and getting in.

“Did you see anything suspicious on the security tapes?” Christopher asked Tulsa and Liberty when we were back in the office and sitting with everyone else in the conference room.

“We examined all the footage in a forty-eight hour window before and after the bombing, looking for anything out of the ordinary,” Tulsa told him.  “Hundreds of vehicles passed by, as you can imagine, but other than employees and a couple of clients that we cross-referenced and verified with our own security backups, there was only one that seemed odd.”

“Remember that guy in the coveralls that left the bomb?” Liberty interrupted.  “He got out of a truck that was parked down the street, walked down here, went through the gate, then walked back to the truck.”

“That same truck was parked across the street off and on all weekend, probably watching to see if the package got taken inside, then it or one very similar drove by really slowly just before the bomb blew, then again several minutes after the bombing,” Tulsa continued.  “They came within ten feet of us that day.”

“Don’t tell me,” Christopher told her, “a white Ford F150 pickup, no
plates, right?”

Tulsa’s eyes widened in surprise.  “How did you know?”

“Wow!  You are good,” Liberty breathed her appreciation.

Christopher and I exchanged knowing glances.

“Yeah, it was following us earlier today,” I told them.

“Who was it?” Reno asked.

“Don’t know.  But they won’t do it again.”  Christopher went on to describe the accident.

“
Maybe they didn’t think anyone was here the day they set the bomb off, but that didn’t stop them from trying to hit us today,” I pointed out.

“
One good thing,” Tulsa went on.  “We found out there are some really bad security systems in the area.  You told us that most of the cameras weren’t working, but they also weren’t focused, were pointing in the wrong direction or their DVRs weren’t working because they were broke or not set up properly.  We could do a booming business adding security assessment and solutions to our business plan.  Maybe even monitoring.”

“Good idea, Tulsa,” Christopher told her.  “Let’s look into that as soon as we get the Roger case resolved.”

Tulsa and Liberty did a little thumbs-up sign to each other.  They had clearly found a place to fit into the organization.

Christopher turned to Reno and Dallas.  “What did you guys find out?”

The two boys looked nervous.

“Well, first we tracked down M
ary Simpson’s ex-husband, Trent,” Dallas began.

“He lives in a really fancy gated neighborhood.  Apparently, h
e never goes into his office any more.  He had a few union issues over the last few years.”

“Good job getting through the gates,” Christopher told them.

“Yeah, we told him we needed to get a second opinion on Roger’s will,” Reno explained.

“He
had seen the article in the newspaper.  He also said he’d heard about the bombing, but of course he claimed he had no idea who did it,” Dallas told them.  “He also said he hadn’t heard from his brother or Mary in years.”

“Which wasn’t true,” Reno snorted.

Dallas looked at Reno with new respect.  “Yeah, Reno happened to notice an outgoing letter on a tray by the door with the brother’s address on it.”

Christopher nodded and smiled.

Reno held up his new phone with a photograph of the letter on its screen.  “We looked it up on our GPS and found out it was up north in the middle of nowhere.  So we went there and ended up on a rutted, rocky road that dead-ended into a gate with a shitload of
No Trespassing
signs all over it,” Dallas said.

“So, of course we did,” Reno added with a cocky grin.

“And almost got eaten by a pack of pit bulls.”

“I didn’t realize Dallas could run that fast.”

“Hey, just because I’m pre-law doesn’t mean I’m out of shape,” Dallas protested.  “Anyway, we thought we’d be safe once we got on the other side of the gate…”

“But one of those freaking pit
bulls tried to jump it and got his chain caught, so even though he’s just swinging there, twisting and snarling, he’s trying to get to us.”

Dallas picked up the story.  “Then a woman with a shotgun…Mary, I assume…steps out of the house and tells us to go away.  We told her we were there about Roger’s death and she shot at us.”

That got Christopher’s attention.

“
She said that the next one wouldn’t be a warning shot,” Dallas said.

“And she said she was sorry she didn’t
get to his funeral just so she could dance on…and I quote...that fucker’s grave because he ruined her fucking life.”  Reno looked exasperated.  “We told her that her dog was choking to death, and she said she had more than she needed and to get off her property.”

“I guess we hesitated a few seconds too long because she peppered the side of the Range Rover with a round of buckshot,” Dallas told
us.

“Yeah, that got us moving.”

“Are you both okay?” Christopher asked, his forehead furrowed into a worried frown.  “Roger would freakin’ haunt me if I let anything happen to any of you.”

“We’re fine,” Reno shrugged it off.  “But we’re not any closer to knowing who was after Roger…or why.”

“And you?” Christopher turned to Dallas.

I halfway expected Dallas to stand up, turn in his key fob and walk out.  Surely, dodging bullets was not something he had in mind when he came to meet us.

Instead, I was shocked when he responded with enthusiasm, “I’m great!  Dude, it was the most exciting day of my life!”

Okay, so there were two more of Roger’s kids who were settling into the agency comfortably.  I still hadn’t found my place, and my confusion about Christopher wasn’
t helping.

Liberty p
ulled one of the boxes of Roger’s possessions closer to her.  “While Tulsa was doing her cross-referencing, I was able to go through the boxes.”