Hell or High Water (2 page)

“I was on a mission. Chief Compton sent me to convince her to testify against Hank Walsh.” A blast of guilt hit her chest.
 

“What?”
 

“She didn’t want to testify. I pushed her too hard.”
 

“You did your job.” Tomas moved to stand beside her bed. His hand gripped her arm reassuringly.

“Leann was lucid and showed no signs of depression. She didn’t want to testify. All she wanted was to move on.”
 

Tomas continued. “What happened when you left Leann’s room?”

Kay took a deep breath, pushed her guilt aside, and described how she’d been attacked from behind. She presented the facts not as a victim but an outside, unaffected party, exactly like her previous police work had trained her to do.

Victim? She recoiled at the word. As an investigator, she worked with victims. Comforted them. Protected them. Hell, she’d transferred from Dallas Police Department to work with children. Her two years spent on patrol had given her a taste of what some of these kids went through. She’d never been through the trauma they had.
 

“The two incidents must be related.” She tried to remember more, anything to help.

“Not necessarily,” Wayne interjected. “Anybody you can think of who’d hate you bad enough to snatch you?”

Kay didn’t hesitate with her answer. “You both know who. Hank Walsh. And that makes Leann’s death and my kidnapping related.” Damn, sometimes Tomas and Wayne were thickheaded.

“You need to take a break?” Tomas patted her wrist.
 

“No, thank you.” Kay withdrew her trembling hand. “Let’s get this over with.”
 

“We’re almost finished,” Wayne chimed in his support.

Tomas leaned forward. “If I show you an aerial shot of the industrial park where you were found, could you point out the building where you were held?”
 

“I doubt it.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “I’m sorry, Tomas. I can’t remember anything else. I can’t tell you whether the moon was out or not.”

“Está bien.” He glanced at her mother. “It’s all good. We’ll figure it out.”

“Drive me around the area and let me look. Maybe something will come back.”

“When you’re better. Anything else?” Wayne asked.

“No.” A memory of the gravelly voice flashed. “One of the voices said I was too old.”

“What if they snatched the wrong person?” Holly piped up. She stood and approached Kay’s bed. Her long blond ponytail swished from side to side.
 

“Shh.” Kay’s mother cast a stern glance at Holly.

“Actually, that’s a good question.” Wayne gave Holly a don’t-worry-about-it headshake. “Maybe after they got a better look at you, they realized you were older than their intended target.” He shut off the recorder. “Get some rest. Call us if you remember anything.”

“Who’s gonna stay with you?” Tomas pocketed the recorder.

“That would be me.” Tyrell Castillo’s tone left no room for dispute. His broad shoulders and hulking frame filled the doorway.

“Come in.” Kay held her hand out for him to take.

Wayne and Tomas got to their feet. Tyrell crossed to her bed without cracking a smile. Kay introduced him to Tomas and Wayne, puzzling at the rigidity of their body language as they shook hands. Tyrell leaned down and dropped a kiss on Kay’s forehead before turning to face her mother.
 

“Mrs. Taylor you’re looking well.”

“Liar.” Kay’s mother stood for a hug.

“Holly.” Tyrell ruffled her hair as if she were a kid.

 
Standing next to the detectives, Tyrell’s six-foot-two-inch linebacker frame dwarfed both of them. His caramel-colored skin, a gift from his black father and Hispanic mother, stood out against the white shirt he wore.
 

Kay almost laughed at the sparks shooting from the three men. They looked like dogs circling each other to see which one backed down first.

Her money was on her longtime friend. His black eyes and bald head gave him a menacing aura. Tyrell wouldn’t blink.
 

Tomas rolled his eyes and cast a glance at Wayne. “Let’s ride, hillbilly.”

Chapter 2

“The doctor said take it easy. He didn’t say I had to stay at home.” Kay defended her decision for the third time. “Besides, it’s important I get to the morgue.”
 

Holly’s sea-blue gaze narrowed. “This isn’t a good idea. Tyrell will be mad when he finds out you left the apartment alone.”

“I’m not. You’re with me. Besides, the cops will never find my purse. It would be naïve of me to hope it turns up intact.”

“I still don’t think he’ll like it.”

“He’s not the one without a cell, a license or credit cards. And his opinion isn’t as important to me as it is to you.”

 
“Maybe we should take his advice and get away. Use our two-week vacation and go somewhere nobody knows us. Then you’ll be safe.”

“I’m not stupid. I intend to be careful.” Kay kept her old Camaro’s speed level. Getting a traffic ticket wasn’t on the agenda. She’d take care of her personal stuff first, but her main reason for this little outing was the trip to the morgue.
 

“I like Tyrell’s idea of us spending a week on Padre Island. A butt crack full of sand, half-naked men and an order of hot sex on the side sounds good to me. Our vacations always fall victim to you chasing a case.”
 

“Damn it, Holly. Leann Vaughn is dead.” Speaking the words started a tremor deep inside that spread until Kay’s hands vibrated on the steering wheel.
 

“Excuse me for trying to cheer you up.” Holly’s gaze shifted. She stared out the window.

“I’m sorry,” Kay quickly said, applying a mental slap to her head. “I’m upset at the system and myself. We’re why the girl is dead.”

“Don’t start that crap.” Holly’s wounded tone had vanished. “You’re an investigator. You did your job.”
 

“My job was to protect her.” She pressed harder on the gas pedal. The surge of power from her car mirrored the flood of anger pumping through her system. “I don’t buy into this crap she committed suicide. The entire thing bugs me. Leann’s state of mind was good. Nothing she said makes me believe she’d take her own life.”

“Believing somebody killed her might be your way of easing this unreasonable guilt you’re feeling.”

“Think what you want. I’m not convinced it’s a suicide.” Kay exhaled a shuddering breath. “Leann outsmarted the bastards who kidnapped her, raped her and sold her to be a sex slave. She wanted to live. Something’s not right, and I need to figure it out.”
 

 
“Then maybe you should slow down. I’ve never fancied myself in a pileup on Interstate 75.”

Kay lowered her speed. Holly, with her eclectic looks and humor usually lightened a somber mood. Not today. She simply didn’t get it. Regardless of how Leann died, Kay was at fault.
 

“You worry me,” Holly announced.

“Why? Because I care?”

“No. Because you get too close.” Holly emitted an audible sigh. “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

“You can help by dropping me off at the morgue’s side door. Run by work and bring me Leann’s file. I’ll call you when I’m ready to leave.” Kay laughed at Holly’s raised eyebrow. “Sheesh, we’re talking ten blocks. You’ll be back before I’m ready to leave.”
 

 
****

Kay signed in and made her way down the stark white halls of the medical examiner’s building. She paused for one last breath before pushing her way through the double doors to where the air was frigid, dank and produced a sweetish scent.
 

Her grandfather sat at a small, weathered metal desk. A bronze name plate that read Doctor Wendell Taylor had been shoved to the side. His half-glasses were perched on the end of his nose, and he was staring at a computer screen as if any second it would speak. His disheveled silver hair and a pocket protector full of odd items, which caused down one side of his white smock to sag, gave him an absentminded professor appearance. He spoke with the assurance of a man who’d been medical examiner for thirty-plus years. If anyone had doubts about his qualifications, their questions quickly vanished. The morgue was his domain.

The urge to run into his arms for comfort gripped her heart and squeezed. She’d made her mother promise not to mention the kidnapping to him. No need to worry him. She cleared her throat to avoid startling him.

He swiveled his chair in her direction. A smile lit his face. “Kaycie.”
 

“Hey, Papa.” Hearing her full name had her reaching for the small medallion hanging around her neck. Papa, her seventy-two-year-old grandfather, and Nathan Wolfe, the ass who’d broken her heart, were the only men who’d always called her by her given name. She jerked her hand away from the reminder of Nate and pushed him from her thoughts.
 

“It’s been awhile since you dropped by.” His grin broadened and deepened the wrinkles around his warm, brown eyes. He rose to his feet and dragged her in for a hug.

“Sorry. I’ll do better.” She kissed his forehead before pulling a roll-around stool over to sit next to him.
 

“Not to worry. I know you’re busy.” He shoved his glasses to the top of his head, forming a makeshift headband. The move left his hair standing on end. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m looking for information on Leann Vaughn. She probably came in last night or this morning.”

“She’s here.” He waved a hand in the general direction of the back of the building. “Not one I’m scheduled to work.” His gaze zeroed in on Kay. “Is she one of your cases?”

“Yes, sir. Will you personally do the autopsy? Please. I’m not slamming the other MEs. This girl needs your expertise, deserves your knowledge. I don’t believe she killed herself.” Kay counted on him believing in her instincts.

“She’s important to you?”
 

“Very.” Kay trusted him beyond questioning. If the truth would help Holly, he’d find it.
 

His bushy, silver eyebrows rose high on his forehead. “And if I rule suicide?”
 

“I will never question one of your decisions.” And she wouldn’t. When others his age were parked in their La-z- Boy rockers watching TV or out playing golf, Papa had stayed on the job. His mind was sharper than most of his younger peers’.
 

“Then I’ll move her to the top of the waiting list. Do the autopsy myself.” He lowered his glasses, one-fingered them in place, and then turned to his computer. His thin fingers raced across the keys, pulling up what Kay assumed to be Leann’s preliminary information.
 

Kay didn’t speak. He’d slipped into his world of analysis. She gave him a minute then asked, “When can I ...”

A frown deepened the wrinkles on his forehead, ending her question. “I’ll call in a few markers and get the tox results moved along. You’ll hear as soon as I know something.”
 

“You’re the best.”
 

“For a while longer.” His words fell hard and sharp, a direct result of forced retirement at the end of the year. He’d yet to complain to her, but his tone spoke volumes.
 

“I’ll bet when the word gets around you’re available for consultation, you’ll be busier than you are now.” Kay stood and returned the stool to where it belonged before he reminded her everything in his morgue had a place. “I hate to beg and run. I’m a phone call away.”
 

She’d removed her cell from its holder and had made it to the double doors when his booming voice delivered the message she’d dreaded since entering his domain.
 

“Stop by and say hello to your folks.”

“Sure thing. Love you.” Getting more than a hello from her father would require a miracle, but Papa never gave up hope. She stopped and called Holly. “I’ll meet you at the door.”

“See you in ten.” Holly’s summery lilt made Kay wonder if she ever really got angry.

Kay started pacing at fifteen minutes. At twenty, she hit redial and got Holly’s voice mail. After thirty minutes, Kay was getting uneasy.
 

Had Holly misunderstood? Was she waiting outside in the heat? Kay walked to the side exit, opened the door, and cautiously stepped outside. An hour ago, the side parking had been jammed full. Now the place looked like a barren oasis. Friday afternoon in Dallas meant almost everybody was at happy hour.
 

She looked both ways and then stepped a few feet down the drive.

A man wearing a ski mask came out of nowhere. He grabbed her just as a white van drove up and stopped. Kay twisted out of his grip and ran back to the door. Her heart dropped to her feet. It had locked behind her. The man in the vehicle had jumped out and was bearing down on her.
 

Adrenaline spiked, and her mind scrambled. She screamed long and loud while banging on the door. Strong hands gripped her arms, shoving her knees onto the hot pavement. She twisted free, and sprang to her feet, ready to defend herself, but the largest one blocked her punch while the other grabbed her, dragging her as if she weighed nothing.