Open Wounds (15 page)

As much as he wanted a future with Kellie, he couldn’t force her to feel something. She’d made it clear last night that she wanted nothing more than one night of passion. It was he who’d pushed the issue. Maybe he was a convenient lay. Could he simply step aside and allow her to walk away from him
—
even if it meant towards Nick?

He liked to think so but he wasn’t sure. Despite his feelings, he wouldn’t fantasise over a future only he wanted. He had his dignity. He had no issues fighting for what he wanted but he wasn’t about to fight for someone who didn’t want him.

Amelia roughly cleared her throat, bringing him back to the present. He frowned at her before his gaze drifted once more to Kellie and Nick. They all stared at him strangely and he wondered what they’d been talking about while he’d been busy contemplating.

“What?”

Nick grinned. “Did you seriously just growl at me?”

Kellie blushed and dropped her head to study her fingernail.

Fuck. Had he?

He ran his fingers through his short hair. There was no coming back from where he was headed. If the possessive growl at Nick for being too close to
his
woman slipped out without him being aware, how would he be able to let her go if she chose to walk?

Kellie glanced up from beneath her lashes and her gaze caught his. He felt the air in the room get sucked out. His stomach dropped at the sensual heat he saw there. His body reacted instantly.

“No,” he croaked.

Nick appeared unconvinced but let the matter drop.

He seriously had to get a grip on himself. He sank down into his chair and pretended to be busy while he gathered his thoughts.

Amelia’s desk phone rang and she reached over and plucked the handset from its cradle and answered with a perfunctory, “Donovan.”

Darryl’s gaze drifted to Kellie again but she was completely focused on his partner. She was so beautiful it hurt to look at her. Kellie could’ve easily been a model or a movie star. Her blonde hair was pulled off her face and secured in a tight chignon. She wore little makeup. No foundation, just blush and mascara. He would be more than happy to wake up next to her every morning for the rest of his life. She must’ve sensed his stare as her head turned towards him and an elegant eyebrow rose. He winked at her and she smiled, memories of what they’d done together clear on her face.

He was so screwed.

“Dispatch just got a call. A DB was found in the harbour this morning,” Donovan said, interrupting his thoughts. “The floater’s Michael Lambert.”

Chapter 24

The body of Michael Lambert was fished out of the water and carried over to the tarp lying on the ground away from the water. First glance told her that he’d been in the water for hours, making any evidence he might have had on him unusable if not completely destroyed.

Doctor Eric Stone, Harbour Bay’s Coroner, stood in gumboots down by the water’s edge as he examined the decedent. The doctor was in his late fifties to early sixties and was almost a twin to Colonel Sanders of the KFC franchise.

Kellie had often heard him being referred to the white haired man behind his back, but he was well respected. He had worked for the city as coroner for over thirty years. His expertise in the medical field and as coroner had helped solve many cases, and he often went above and beyond his job description, taking the initiative to dig deep when nothing made sense. Nothing seemed to shock him, even in the small city of Harbour Bay.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Amelia demanded as Kellie slipped on a pair of baby blue shoe protectors which looked like upturned shower caps over her boots. She had dressed casually today since there was a possibility they would be out of the office and she hadn’t wanted to endanger Amelia or Darryl by dressing inappropriately. She was glad she had. There was no way she would’ve made it this far down the jagged rocks of the shoreline in a tight skirt.

Although she hadn’t exactly been anticipating a dead body when she had chosen her outfit today, jeans were always a solid choice. Unable to bear losing the height she had grown accustomed to, had fished around the back of her closet for a pair of heeled black boots in order to have the best of both worlds.

Appropriately protected, Kellie straightened and followed her friend as she began walking toward Doctor Stone. She studied Amelia.

“Care to give me a hint as to why you’re so pissed?” she countered. She hadn’t been expecting such anger. She'd thought they were getting past that.

She concentrated on the uneven ground beneath her feet. The last thing she wanted was to fall on her arse or twist an ankle. As usual, Amelia steamrolled ahead, never mindful of the hazards. As far as she was concerned, the world could move for her rather than the other way around. If anyone else tried the Donovan way, they’d be screwed.

“You slept with Darryl.”

Kellie lost purchase for a moment at the charge. Her heart raced at the near fall and she glared at her friend’s back before moving quickly to catch up to her. Above her the sun shined hotly, her blouse sticking to her skin from the heat. A pelican circled overhead, unperturbed by the human remains.

“So what if I did? Unless you
—
”

“He’s my partner. When I want sex, I look outside the LAC for it.”

“Well, I won’t apologise for it.”

Her back was ramrod straight. Last night had been perfect. She’d
felt.

For years she’d gone through the motions, working harder at trying to experience what came naturally for others than actually enjoying the carnal act. Darryl was a special guy. One who saw through her flaws and still wanted her. A man who could make her smile with just one look, and turn her on so completely that she became more than ready for him.

What was it about him that made her cautious attitude go out the window?

She wasn’t a loose woman by any means, but the idea of lying beneath him had been too much. She certainly never slept with anyone she worked with. Until now. She didn’t regret it
—
couldn’t. It had been too wonderful. Too perfect. And she’d opened up to him. She’d never done that with any of her previous partners.

Not that she’d had many.

Only a handful and they had never lasted long. They fooled around a bit, then she’d walked away. Sex but no entanglements. Just the way she liked it. Until Darryl. It both scared and excited her.

Amelia glared at her. “You’re being reckless.”

“This…from you?”

“You work with him. Office romances never work out. I don’t want to see you hurt again.”

Tears burned in her eyes at the inflection in Amelia’s voice. Deep, unresolved pain sat beneath her cool façade. Would Amelia ever forgive herself for the past she couldn’t control? She'd thought explaining her actions would help but maybe she'd only made matters worse.

“He makes me happy.”

“You barely know him.”

Kellie shrugged. “I’m falling for him,” she confided softly, the sound of her voice almost getting swallowed by the sound of the harbour washing against the rocks.

Amelia swore. “You make it really hard for me to protect you.”

“I don’t need protecting. Not by you, not by Darryl. One event does not define me. I’m stronger than ever, physically and mentally. It may fail. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, and he’s worth the effort.”

“Even if it gets you hurt?”

“If it wasn’t for pain how would we know we’re living? I haven’t in a long time, Mia. I’ve existed and the world tasted like ash. Now there’re vibrant colours surrounding me and flavours bursting on my tongue. Darryl awakened a part of me that’s been dormant. I’ll ride the wave wherever it takes me.”

She broke away from Amelia, knowing her friend didn’t understand. She hadn’t been lying when she’d said she hadn’t lived and merely existed. Kellie couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt anything, even when it came to training with Nick. At first, she’d fought as if her attacker was before her. Passion and anger had ridden her hard. Then, it had all died away leaving her hollow.

In one night, Darryl had pushed past her defences and looked into her soul. She was frightened of what she felt for him, but feeling too much
—
enough to shatter her
—
was better than feeling nothing at all. She trusted Darryl. It hadn’t been anything he’d done. It was instinctual and since that night twelve years ago she’d learned to trust herself.

Kellie turned her mind away from thoughts of him. There would be plenty of time for reliving those sweet memories when there wasn’t a dead body demanding her attention. She knelt down beside Michael Lambert.

She allowed a moment of grief before pushing it aside.

If only he’d been smart enough and turned himself in. He could’ve been sitting in jail right now, not on his way to the morgue.

Kellie studied the still form and suppressed a shiver. It was the first dead body she’d seen in person. All the others had been photographs inside a case file. It felt different in real life, not as she had suspected. He was pale and lifeless, but he looked normal—other than the hole in his forehead.

Even her non-medical training had provided her with the cause of death. A gunshot wound to the head, blowing his brains onto the plastic he’d been wrapped in.

Had the murderer understood the rudimentary basics of how tide flow worked, he would’ve known dumping a body into the water at the end of high tide was not the best time to relieve yourself of evidence without weighing it down first. But his mistake was in their favour. When tide had gone out, the body had remained, easily spotted by an early morning fisherman who’d caught sight of something other than a fish.

Kellie watched as Doctor Stone did a preliminary examination of the body, checking his pockets for possible evidence. The plastic wrap was removed and placed into an evidence bag.

“Tell me, Doctor Stone, is there any evidence of torture or bruises of any kind that would suggest he suffered prior to death?”

Stone shook his head. “No, the boy was lucky. I doubt he even saw it coming.”

Kellie let out a deep breath. He may have been a double murderer, but the thought of anyone being tortured sickened her.

“His killer was a good shot. Quick, efficient,” she said, remembering how inadequate her would-be killer had been.

In comparison, Michael Lambert had truly been lucky. He had been saved from the fears and psychological issues she’d dealt with. To be so close to death, to relive the fear, the helplessness, whenever she let down her guard.

Doctor Stone raised an eyebrow at her somewhat callous statement.

“I just mean it could’ve been worse,” she explained. “More painful if he hadn’t died. Efficient is more humane.”

She caught Amelia’s gaze, knowing her friend understood where her mind had been. She turned away from her perceptive stare, still stinging from their previous conversation, and watched as Doctor Stone zipped the black body bag shut and prepared to have it lifted onto the stretcher nearby.

***

Twenty minutes later, they were back at the LAC. Kellie was fuming. Once again Coleani would get away with murder. She had a horrible taste in her mouth she couldn’t get rid of. She was sick of being unable to get him off the streets. He was a parasite feeding off the unfortunates, roaming the city free. Anger made her stomach clench painfully.

She paced in front of Darryl and Amelia’s desks, agitated. The ten desks were divided into two rows that faced each other with a small aisle between them. At the desks on either side of them, Nick and Dean had their heads down, engrossed in their individual tasks.

“I can’t take this any longer,” she said, turning to Amelia. “I want you to crawl so far up Coleani’s arse it makes the Taxation Office look good.” Amelia raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Darryl as Kellie continued. “One of his lieutenants would have made the kill shot, and we need to find that man and put pressure on him.”

“What makes you think we can get him to open up when we couldn’t with Lambert? And he was nothing compared to Coleani’s inner circle,” Amelia stated.

Kellie wrapped her arms about her stomach in an effort to ease the pain. “I’m not thinking about getting them to roll over but about connecting his crimes to Coleani. We may not be able to get him on murder, but an accessory is just as good. At least for the first part.”

Amelia smiled. “You mean we get Coleani here on any charge we can find and we’ll be able to obtain warrants to go through his properties. It could work if we find something. He isn’t as smart as he thinks he is. Only manipulative. It’s a sound plan.”

She nodded. “You almost sound surprised. Let’s access the records from the youth centre and cross reference the names with those working for a Coleani establishment, and see who also checks out with the Department of Corrective Services.”

Her blood sang inside her body. For the first time since she’d been handed the case, elation filled her, the possibility of finally nailing Coleani’s arse to the wall giving her a high. “He always found the ones with a shitty home life, which makes what he’s offering look like nirvana. The Department of Community Services will no doubt have a record of these kids. Domestic disputes and neglect are high on the list. At some point an officer would’ve been appointed and the child placed in a foster home.”

Darryl spoke up. “Well, Coleani’s enterprises are spread right around his territory and that’s quite the large area to cover. Anything south of Broad and north of Colander is his. That’s about…what? A twenty, twenty-five block radius? How many business deeds are in his name?”

Amelia went to her computer and typed his name into a database. Within a minute, the many results appeared on her monitor. Kellie peered over her shoulder.

“Okay, he has fifteen businesses, including the youth centre, strip club, and restaurant. The rest are low yielders, probably nothing more than a way to launder his money,” Amelia informed them.

Darryl joined Kellie, and she felt the heat of his body, yearned for him to wrap his strong arms around her and chase away the chill. She savoured his scent as it unfurled in her lungs, subtle, yet it still unhinged her. She would never forget that smell for as long as she lived.

“That’s not even mentioning the businesses he shakes down once a week,” Nick added, jarring Kellie from her distracting thoughts. “There’s no doubt Coleani feels they belong to him simply because of their locations.”

“A man’s got to be able to pay his minions some way. Why not employ them in his businesses? That way you get the hired gun and the free labour,” Dean said.

“You’ve thought way too much about that,” Amelia commented.

He shrugged, continuing to type up his report, while Nick studied the large map of Harbour Bay pinned to the wall. Amelia had marked Coleani’s territory with a red marker.

“I never realised just how much of this city is under Coleani’s control,” he stated.

She nodded. “I know…and seeing it outlined like that. How can one man exert so much influence?”

“Easy when you start moulding children into doing your dirty work. Kids are so susceptible. Especially when they come from broken homes,” Dean said. “He obviously tests the kids, has them commit a crime just so there’s no out. No place to turn should something go wrong like having second thoughts. It’s a hold on them that gets them to move further into Coleani’s lies.”

“Start small and progress onto bigger and better things,” Darryl finished.