Chills & Thrills: Three Novel Box Set (68 page)

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

They must have found her through the cell phone. But god dammit, who were they? Jeanine tried to keep the tears from coming again. Last night, she’d been stunned by what happened. It had been just after eight when they had driven back to Melanie’s and her poor friend had been brutally murdered.

Jeanine knew they were all in serious trouble. She didn’t know who to turn to or trust, and she definitely didn’t trust herself at the moment.

She’d taken the kids back into Manhattan and ditched the car near Grand Central where she bought train tickets using cash she had found the purse her friend left on the front seat when she’d gone back into the house. They’d boarded a train to Port Jervis, a city bordering New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and it happened to be the last stop on the commuter line. She rented them a room for the night at a Days Inn and tried to plan her next move.

But all she could think about was Melanie? Oh God. They’d killed her. Jeanine was sure of that. Those men had killed her best friend. Jeanine had tried to shake the image from her mind—Melanie stumbling out the door, covered in blood.

The kids had all slept through the night and now they were awake and wanting to know what they were doing. “Mommy, why are we here?” Chloe tugged on her pant leg.

“Remember our train ride? Now we are going on another adventure.”

“I don’t want to,” Taylor whined.

Jeanine got on her knees and forced a smile for the girls. Baby Oliver was on the floor lying on the blanket Jeanine had laid down for him. He had his feet and hands in the air and was watching them with curiosity. Thank God he was a mellow baby. “I know you’re tired of the adventure, girls, but when we are done, Mommy is going to buy you something wonderful.”

Chloe’s jaw dropped. “Barbie Dream House?”

Taylor clapped her hands.

“Yes! Barbie Dream House it is. So, we are going to be really good today, right? And we are going to go get on a bus and go to Auntie Camille’s cabin.”

“We are?”’

“Yep.”

“Is Oliver’s mommy going?” Chloe asked.

“No sweetie.” Jeanine fought back the tears. “She needs us to watch him for a few days and take good care of him.”

“Okay. He is a good baby,” Taylor added.

“He is.” Jeanine laughed. “Now let’s get ready to go.”

“Hey, Mommy?” Chloe asked. “Will Daddy be at the cabin?”

Again, she had to fight tears. “I hope so, baby. I hope so.” She pulled both of her daughters in close and hugged them tightly, tears sliding down her face.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Stevie T stared at Kelly with disgust. He was lying on her chest when she opened her eyes. The cat meowed discontentedly as she inhaled the warm, pungent scent of fresh coffee. Last night came rushing back. What had she been thinking, sleeping with the detective! Stevie T was obviously wondering the same thing. Kelly did not sleep around. Ever. So what in the hell happened?!

As she stretched and sat up, she heard Tony’s voice coming from the kitchen. She started down the hall and stopped as she heard him say, “She has no idea. I’ve got this covered. You have nothing to worry about, boss. I am telling you, she’s clueless. I have it all taken care of.” He paused. “Yes. Lunch time. I will meet you. It’s all good. But we have to be quick.”

Kelly thought the conversation was odd. What did he have to take care of and who was the she he kept referring to? Well, one night with him certainly didn’t give her the right to start asking him questions about work. He’d obviously been speaking with his boss. But it still made her uneasy. Until she reminded herself Tony had a life outside of whatever was going on between them.

She rounded the corner into the kitchen. “Oh, hey,” he said. “I made some coffee.”

“Thank you.”

As he was pouring her a cup, the doorbell rang. “Simmons.”

“What time is it?”

“Almost seven. He’s a few minutes early,” he said. “Sorry. I was hoping we could spend some time together, but you were sleeping, and I know you must be tired.”

“Yes, I am,” she said.

The doorbell rang again. “I better get that,” he said.

“And I need to get ready for work.”

“Let’s…um, well, I will call you, okay?” Tony said as he walked to the front door.

“Sure. Absolutely.” She ran her hands through her hair. God this was awkward. Before she said something stupid, she turned and walked to the shower, hoping he really would call. She turned the shower water to cold and berated herself for sounding like a school girl and also acting like a woman who falls in bed with every Tom, Dick, and Harry. How stupid had she been? But she didn’t think she could help it. Detective Tony Pazzini had gotten under her skin.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Tony stared at the report on his screen. He was not happy. Apparently Gem Michaels’ fingerprints were found on the sliding glass door at Chad Wentworth’s place. On top of that, his crew had found wire and phone taps—all of it with Michaels’ prints on them. Damn her. She’d denied having any direct contact with the man. He sighed. All he’d wanted to do was write this thing off for what it appeared to be—a straightforward suicide. But clearly there was more to Wentworth’s death than that. Gem had not been careful. The funny thing was, her prints were in the database for perfectly legit reasons: she’d been fingerprinted in order to act as a driver/chaperone for her sons’ private school.

Dammit. He really did not want to deal with this today. It seemed from the moment he walked into the station it had been one thing after another. He hadn’t even had a chance to check on Luke—or call Kelly. Speaking of which, he had definitely thought about her. A lot. Last night had been pretty damn incredible and as much as he wanted a repeat, he knew he’d made a mistake. So much for his ethics. He needed to ground himself again. Maybe when this thing was over, he could pursue something with her. Damn! Where had his brain been? The moment had been primal and passionate and if he admitted it, the best sex of his life.

He picked up the phone to call someone else in to cover for him that evening. But then set it back down. What would one more night hurt? No. He could not go there. But before he made the call, he needed to deal with Gem Michaels.

He grabbed his keys and headed out to The L.A. Times.

Once at the newspaper’s offices, he flashed his badge and asked for Gem. A nervous receptionist led him down the narrow hall of a large, cubicle-filled room. No one seemed to notice him…apparently police officers were a common sight around here. The receptionist stopped at the door of a tiny office at the end of the hall. Gem was typing furiously at her keyboard.

“Hey, Michaels. We need to talk.”

Gem looked up from her computer and studied him for a second. He was pretty sure he caught a glimpse of “oh shit, caught red-handed,” in her eyes. But she covered her emotions swiftly and smiled cordially up at him. “Detective? To what do I owe this pleasure?” She gestured to a chair across from her desk. “Please, have a seat.”

He shut the door behind him with a soft push of his heel and sat down across from her. “Chad Wentworth. Your neighbor.”

“Yes? I thought we covered everything this morning.”

“Me, too. Here’s the thing. My boss wants this case sewn up nice and neat. But I have a small problem.”

She leaned back in her chair and eyed him. “What’s that?”

“Let’s start with the fact that you lied to me.”

“Excuse me?”

“Earlier you said you’d never been to Chad Wentworth’s place. That you’d never been inside his home, or had any conversations with him, other than to say an occasional hello in passing.”

She nodded hesitantly.

“So can you explain why your fingerprints were found all over his sliding glass door and also on a bed rail in the loft upstairs? Oh and while you’re at it, you might want to let me know why in the hell you were bugging the guy’s place. I assume that was you as well. I’ve met your ex. Decent P.I. by the way. He taught you well.”

Gem sighed. She paused a few seconds before responding. “Not well enough obviously. Okay, so yes, I was in the guy’s place and I bugged his phone, but I don’t think you’re going to like my answer as to why I did it. It certainly won’t help you close this thing up nice and neat like you hoped.”

“I figured. But for your sake, I think you better lay it on me.”

“Right. Just so you know, I only kept this from you because I think there’s big story here, and I want to be the one to break it without any, you know, interference or complications.”

“Obstruction of justice would be a pretty severe complication for you, I imagine.”

“Are you threatening me, Detective?”

“Nah. I’m just stating a fact.”

“I do have certain rights as a journalist in a free country.”

He nodded. “You do. I can arrest you and then you’ll have all the freedom in the world not to talk.”

“Arrest me for what?” she asked incredulously.

Tony slammed his palms down on her desk. She jumped back, startled. “Look, Gem, don’t fuck with me. You said you would tell me what was going on. If you have some kind of hot story here, I will do what I can to make sure you keep on rolling with it. But I think I may have a murder case on my hands now, and I need to know what you know about Chad Wentworth. And as far as coming up with a reason to arrest you, breaking and entering is a crime. One I can prove you committed. And there are a few other charges involving privacy laws and such.”

She studied him for a few seconds, then started to tell him what she knew from the moment she received the e-mail from Chemmadderhorn to sneaking in and out of Wentworth’s place and hearing his racist rant. She told him there was a chance the grisly Petersen murders had not been orchestrated by the Mexican cartel.

Tony sucked in a deep breath. “Do you still have the e-mail?”

“Yes. I was going through my inbox when you walked in. I’m behind.”

“I would say, what with tailing a senator’s nephew and all.”

She didn’t respond but pulled up the e-mail and printed it for him.

He took it. Read it a couple of times and although it didn’t prove much, it did make him suspicious Wentworth had been murdered. “How would this guy, or whoever sent you this e-mail, even know who you are or where you live, or who the hell your neighbors are?”

She eyed him knowingly. “I guess it must be someone who knows me.”

“Yeah. Or someone who knew Wentworth, and who also might have a connection to you.”

“I wouldn’t know anyone that guy was connected to. We run in very different circles, my being part-Jewish and all.”

“Well, Gem, you are a journalist and Wentworth had powerful connections. He was attending law school, so I am sure he had political aspirations, maybe wanted to follow in his uncle’s footsteps. Have you ever written a story about the Wentworth family?”

“God no. I do homicide stuff, Detective. You know that.”

He nodded. “I need to find out where this e-mail came from. I’m going to have a tech guy pay you a visit.”

“Not here.” She sighed. “Please. I mean can’t you trace IP addresses just by logging into my e-mail account?” She didn’t want Stuart to get upset that the cops were sniffing around. If he’d known the extent she’d gone to in order to get the story, he wouldn’t have approved.

“Yeah. We can. Want to give me the password info?”

“I suppose I’ll have to.”

“Good guess.”

“You’re not going to arrest me, then?” she asked.

He smiled. “Nah. You didn’t kill anyone, and you told me what you know. I think we can keep this conversation between us. I’m a detective. I did some detecting and I learned some things. Now I have work to do. But I will be in touch. I’d also like to make a suggestion.”

“Okay. What’s that?”

“Lay low, Gem. I don’t like the sound of any of this. You’re an excellent reporter. You seem like a good lady.” He winked. “I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

“Oh Detective, you care!”

He rolled his eyes. “Stay close, Ms. Michaels. I may need to talk with you some more. Don’t change your password info until I give you the okay.”

“You got it.”

Tony left Gem’s office with a pit in his stomach. He now had two very strange cases on his hands, and if Kelly was correct in her theory about Lupe Salazar, it was possible he had three.

CHAPTER FIFTY

Kelly had finished her morning rounds, but even her little patients couldn’t stop her from thinking about last night. The heat rose to her face again. Things between her and Tony had certainly gotten out of hand. It never should have happened, but damn his touch was amazing and sent her nerves and emotions to a place she had not been in a very long time—if ever.

Tony said he would call some time during the day. So far, he hadn’t, and it was already lunch time. He was busy. That was all.

She headed to the parent waiting room where she was sure she’d find Simmons. She felt like leaving the hospital and heading over to her favorite taco shop around the corner. But she needed an escort.

Kelly reached the waiting room and peeked in to see a mother reading a paperback, a father speaking softly on his cell phone, and another older woman, probably a grandmother. But no Simmons. “Excuse me,” she said.

The mother and grandmother looked up. “Hi. Sorry to disturb you, but there was another gentleman here, and…uh, he had jeans on…and a plaid shirt.”

“Goatee?” the young mom asked.

“Yes.” Kelly nodded.

“He had to leave for a few minutes and said if a doctor came for him, to wait because he’d be back shortly.”

“Oh. Okay.” She frowned, hoping everything was all right.

Damn. She really wanted a carne asada burrito. The food at the hospital left a lot to be desired. She thanked the woman and decided the hell with it. It was broad daylight outside and the hospital was located in a busy area. She doubted she’d need to worry much about crazed lunatics lurking nearby.

Before heading out, though, she checked in with Eric to see if he wanted to go with her.

“No. I brought my lunch today and I have another hour before I take my break,” he said.

“We can get some chipotle fries,” she said trying to tempt him.

He rubbed his stomach. “You can’t run a sleek machine like this on chipotle fries.”

“Ah, you back on the workout program?”

“You know it.” He winked at her. “Never know who I might need to impress.”

Kelly took a quick look at Baby S. who was sleeping peacefully. The withdrawal symptoms she’d had seemed to be dissipating, and there were good indications her internal bleeding had stopped. “She is precious, isn’t she?” Kelly said.

“Completely,” Eric agreed. “And, I think she is getting stronger.

“She is.”

“She’s a special baby. Don’t get me wrong…all our little guys are special, but I feel really bonded with this little sweetheart. I’ve been wondering…with her being placed in social services, there might be an opportunity to adopt her. When she’s on the other side of all this, of course.” He gestured towards the tubes and incubator where she slept.

Kelly peered at her friend. “Wow Eric! I think that would be wonderful! Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.” She felt herself choking up, which was so not like her.

“If I get that far, I would just need someone to vouch for me. A referral or something like that. You know, some people might not think my lifestyle is conducive to raising a child. But they’ve done a few big studies over the last few decades that show kids raised in same-sex households do just as well, if not more so, than many of their heterosexual family peers.”

Kelly nodded. “You don’t have to prove anything to me, Eric. Especially considering we see ALL sorts of families here. “ She looked down at Baby S. and smiled. “Fact is, any child would be lucky to have you for a dad. I only wish there were more people out there like you to provide loving homes to the thousands of children in need.”

He leaned his head on her shoulder. “You’re a good friend, Kelly.”

“Goes both ways. Now, are you sure I can’t entice you with a taco or maybe a carnita platter?”

“No. Now stop! If I am ever going to find someone to spend my life with, it will be a lot easier to manage without this damn muffin top hanging over my jeans.” He gestured at the virtually non-existent bit of flesh on either side of his narrow hips. Kelly rolled her eyes and laughed.

“Whatever, Eric. I’ll see you in an hour, okay?”

As she walked to Cotija’s, Kelly couldn’t help but look over her shoulder a couple of times. God, she had become so paranoid lately. She planned on calling Tamara when she had some time alone after lunch. The vet might be able to help her make some sense out of the lab findings. In any case, Kelly owed it to her to let her know why she’d asked her to run the labs in the first place.

The early May afternoon was warm, bright, and blue with only a few clouds dotting the sky. The typical Los Angeles smog seemed to have been cleared away by a nice easterly breeze. Perfection.

Kelly sighed in relief as she sat down at the small table after ordering lunch. She decided to call Tamara now. To her dismay, the call went immediately to voice mail. This almost always meant the vet was on some kind of emergency call. Kelly checked her texts and voicemail to see if Tony had tried to contact her. Nothing. She wondered if she should call him. But what if he hadn’t called because he felt like last night was a mistake? Kelly didn’t have the best luck with men. She always seemed to pick emotionally unavailable guys—or flakes—and had eventually decided she might be better off alone.

Her craving for carne asada satiated and lunch almost over, it was time to head back to work.

As she neared the hospital, she made a rash decision. She would call Tony. If he seemed uninterested, she’d act like she called to check on the evening’s schedule. Damn. She felt like a school girl. Just as Kelly pulled her phone from her pocket, someone called her name.

“Dr. Morales? Dr. Morales!”

She turned and watched as a fair-haired man dressed in a polo and jeans jogged up to her. As he came closer, she was certain she’d met him before. “Yes?” She responded, “Do I know you?”

“No. Not yet anyway. I’m, um, well I am a soon-to-be parent.”

She gave him an odd look and nodded. “Okay. How can I help you?”

“I’m sorry to bother you, but a friend of mine said you’re the best neo-natal doctor on the West Coast. I think you know him, Tony Pazzini. Detective Pazzini?”

Kelly stared at him for a minute, still trying to place his familiar face. “I’m sorry, but how did you know who I was? I was just coming from lunch.”

“Oh.” He laughed. “Tony described you to me. I was right over there at Starbucks.” He pointed across the street. “And I hadn’t even planned to meet you today. I was simply hoping to schedule an appointment to discuss the birth of our twins. We, uh, we live up in Big Bear and my wife’s doctor recommended she be seen in the city because he’s worried about complications.”

Kelly started walking again. His story didn’t jibe. And Tony had never mentioned this guy. Then again, he hadn’t called her all day. “You know, um, Mister…”

“Oh, call me Mark. Mark Pritchett.”

“Sure. As I was saying, Mr. Pritchett, Detective Pazzini didn’t mention you to me.”

“I’m sure he didn’t have time. I was lucky to get a hold of him. His son, Lucas, was born over at Cedar’s, so I thought maybe he would know a great doctor. I actually spoke with him like an hour ago. He’s on some case. It’s just a coincidence that I needed to come into L.A. for personal business. I thought I’d call him, see if he thought his doctor would work for us. He said you might be a better bet, because of the pregnancy complications.”

The man obviously knew Tony. But something still didn’t feel right, plus she needed to get back to the unit.

“Right. Well, I hate to cut this short but I need to get back to the hospital. Your doctor should have placed a call to me. What did you say your doctor’s name is?”

“I didn’t.”

Before Kelly had a chance to think, the man grabbed her by the arm and forcefully twirled her around so her backside pressed up against him. She felt something hard in her back. “Listen, Doc, be a good girl and no one will get hurt. If you scream or do anything stupid, I will shoot you.”

She didn’t respond and the man pushed her slightly. “See that grey sedan over there? That’s where we’re walking. Nice and easy. Your friend, Tony, is waiting for you there. He wants to talk to you.”

“Oh my God!” she gasped. “Did you hurt him?”

The man laughed. “Of course not. He’s working with me.”

Kelly’s stomach dropped. She didn’t believe him. How could that be?

She walked slowly towards the car and watched as someone stepped out of the passenger seat and opened the back door. Before her mind could actually process what was happening, her protective instincts took over. Years ago, in college, Kelly had taken a self-defense class at her father’s insistence. She’d never been more grateful for that class than at this very moment. She jabbed the man sharply in the ribs with her left elbow, catching him off guard. He dropped the gun and it skittered across the pavement. She forcefully hit his face with the palm of her hand, causing him to stumble back and bring his hand up protectively to his eyes. In her peripheral vision, she saw the other man in the car start after her. Kelly didn’t hesitate. She took off running as fast as she could.

She ran into the street, darting in and out of traffic in an attempt to get away without being run over. Kelly heard the squeal of tires nearby and saw the grey sedan speed toward her. She turned sharply down another street and nearly collided with a car. There was a bang and the sound of crumpling metal behind her. She glanced back to see the sedan and another car smash together. For a moment, she thought she could stop to catch her breath. But then Kelly spotted two large men running after her.

It was then, with a sharp, sinking feeling, she realized one of her pursuers was Simmons. What the hell?! But she couldn’t stop running now, because one of the guys was closing in on her. She needed to get away, fast.

Directly in front of her, beside one of the medical buildings, was a large parking structure. Kelly dashed inside, figuring it would be her best bet at this point.

She darted another look behind her, but didn’t see any of the men. However she did spot a white Mercedes pulling out of a parking space. Without the slightest hesitation, Kelly pulled open one of the passenger doors and jumped in.

The fortiesh looking blonde woman behind the wheel stared at her incredulously.

“I’m a doctor,” Kelly breathlessly panted as she flashed her I.D. badge. “Sorry about this but there’s an emergency. My car won’t start. Can you drive me to the—oh, God, where was it? The train station. A woman just delivered a baby there. I need to get to her as quickly as possible.” Kelly knew her story sounded ridiculous but she was desperate.

The woman popped a piece of pink bubble-gum into her mouth and said, “Sure, hon, no problem. Want a piece of gum?”

“No thank you. Um, but I kind of need to hurry.” Kelly hunched down in the seat as they eased out of the garage.

“Would you look at that?” the driver remarked, shaking her head.

Kelly peeked carefully over the passenger-side window at a crowd gathering around a body on the ground. Then she saw Simmons looking up and down the street. She dropped back down. Not even the police had been able to protect her, and if what that man said was true, then the police were behind this—whatever this was. Maybe even Tony was behind this.

Could that be true?

Could Tony and Simmons somehow be involved? Could Tony have been in that car? Is that what he’d meant earlier today when she’d overheard him talking to his boss on the phone? Her mind was racing, along with her heart.

Simmons had disappeared and Tony had not been in contact all day. And that phone call he’d been on that morning. Oh God. Had he been talking about her? Kelly was beginning to wonder who she could trust.

“Hey, hon, I hate to be a busy body, but you sure you’re heading out to take care of some woman who just had a baby? I wasn’t born yesterday, and if truth be told, you look like someone on the run.”

Ah, so she hadn’t bought her story. She sighed heavily.

The woman glanced back at her. “Listen, I’ve had my own share of problems and I really don’t want to pry. If you need to get out of town quickly, I wouldn’t travel via Amtrak or even LAX. Trust me. I can drop you at the Burbank airport. Hardly anyone goes there these days.”

Kelly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You know, I think that is a good idea. Thank you.”

The woman laughed. “My horoscope said today would be full of surprises. “ She blew another large, pink bubble and merged smoothly into traffic.