Stuck On You (20 page)

But Kate did.

"That's nice shooting, but it isn't a person, Kate. Could you shoot a person?"

Kate looked at Crowley, and the man's eyes got as big as dish plates.

"Sure, especially if that person was endangering the life of someone I care about. And I care about you, Mack," she said, staring intently at him. She could have sworn that he blushed, the big, tough cop.

Crowley grunted. “Ain’t this touching?”

“I’ll show you just how good I am, Mack,” Kate said, picking up a tiny piece of driftwood. "I'll put this on
Chief
Crowley’s head, or maybe between his teeth and he can turn sideways and–"

"No...wait...what do you want from me? A confession?" Crowley sputtered, backing away. "Okay. I'll confess."

"Of course you will. Later." Mack said. "But first, I have to find Nash."

"Oh, Nash isn't going anywhere,” Kate said. “We have time to take Crowley's confession. I just so happen to have my cell phone. It has a microphone. Kate put her gun back into her shoulder holster. "Shall we adjourn to the picnic table and you can interview the captain?"

Mack raised an eyebrow. "But where's Nash, Kate?"

She smiled. "Sleeping off that chuck of firewood that hit him on the back of the head."

Damn! He sure had underestimated Kate. "But how did you know? How did–"

Kate held up her hand. "Because he knew we were
shot at
when we were at my father's cabin, and I never mentioned that when I called him." She took him aside and whispered, "But right now we need to get Crowley's confession. Then we can play one against the other and get Nash's confession, too. That way maybe someone would believe
you
over a
judge
and a
chief
."

"You are brilliant!" He went to hug her, but she stepped back.

"I told you that I could help you, but you didn't believe me."

He had some fence mending to do and he knew it.

After Mack read Crowley his rights into the tape, and Crowley spewed enough into the tape recorder to suit Mack, they drove up to the cabin with Crowley handcuffed and sitting in the back seat.

When they arrived at the clearing, Mack leaned over the seat. "I'm leaving you in the car, Marty. Don't say a word. Hear me? I want Pete to confess, too. If you blow this, you're going to take the fall alone. If you help me, I'll help you out. Understand?"

"Yeah, Mack. I know how it works."

Mack's heart sank. His captain, a man who he had worked with and respected throughout the years, was nothing but a dirty cop–the one who was responsible for shooting Tom. He looked deep into the man's eyes, and was disgusted by what he saw: a lack of remorse. Hell, Crowley seemed sorry enough for getting caught, but not sorry for what he had done and for the damage he had caused. It was all for money–the almighty buck.

Eager to get away from him, Mack got out of the car and walked to Pete Nash who was struggling to get up from the ground. Kate was already there, sitting on the steps, not making a move to help Pete.

Mack noticed the cell phone behind Kate's back on the step. Clever. Very clever.

When Nash finally stood, he winced, swaying on his feet. His hands were handcuffed and Mack could tell that the man had one hell of a headache.

"Now what?" was all Pete said.

"We know everything, judge." The word left a bitter taste in Mack's mouth. "Crowley already confessed. It's your turn."

"I'm not going to confess. It's your word against mine," Pete said, closing his eyes.

"It's my word, Kate's word, and Crowley's confession against yours," Mack said, taking Kate's hand in his. She didn't pull it away, so he took that as a good sign.

"Go to hell," Nash sputtered.

"That's where you're going, Pete. For about twenty-five-to-life, give or take, depending on how many Attempted Murder of a Police Officer charges they convict you of, along with a few dozen charges of selling drugs. I think another name for your hell is the New York State Correctional Facility at Attica." Mack pointed a finger at him. "And don't forget to bring a toothbrush."

Nash spit into the dirt at Mack’s feet.

Mack sprung up. "You know, I ought to unlock those cuffs and you and I can go at it right now and settle this thing. What do ya' say?"

"Let's do it!" Nash pushed at the dirt with his feet, like a raging bull. "Get these cuffs off me."

Mack felt Kate's grip on his arm, holding him back. Grounding him just like she did before.

"No," she said. "No more."

"Okay, Kate. We'll do it your way. I'll read him his rights, or maybe you'd like to recite them yourself for old time sake. What do you say, Pete?"

"Unlock me, Mack. Give me a head start out of here."

"Just like you gave me?"

"I released you to Kate's program, didn't I?" Nash asked.

"Yeah, Pete, why
did
you do that?" Kate asked. "Because you believed in my program?"

He looked at her as if she had just landed from another planet. "I didn't give a damn about your stupid program. I wanted to get him out of jail, so Crowley could do a good hit on him, but he never was in his house, dammit! Not even when Marty blew it up."

Mack snickered. “Who tried the hit on me at the cabin?”

“That was Marty, too. He’s rusty, I guess.”

“You two are pathetic.” He said to Nash, then turned to Kate. "Did you get it?"

She turned and retrieved the cell phone from behind her back. "Got it!"

Kate played it back, and Pete's face showed his angst when he heard his own voice.

Head down and running, Pete lunged at Mack, but Mack side stepped and Nash tripped and fell, gulping dirt, 
“What happened Pete? Why do you hate me? I want to know.”

“I always envied you, Mack. All I ever wanted to do was to be an auto mechanic and marry Darlene. But my father pushed me to join his law firm. When you passed on the scholarship, it sealed my fate. Dar married someone else, and then my father pushed me into running for judge, and I freakin’ won.”

“Gee, you’re breakin’ my heart,” Mack looked away, disgusted.

“But you went against your father and did what you wanted. I never did. And I’m stuck in a miserable job I hate.”

Mack clapped his hands. “And won’t Daddy Nash be proud of you now?”

The woods suddenly came alive with sirens and lights flashing. Mack looked at Kate in surprise and amazement.

"It's the cavalry to the rescue." Kate shrugged. "The birthday party must be over."

“You are totally wonderful!” He grabbed her around the waist, lifted her and swung her around. “I’m cleared, and I owe it all to you.” He owed Kate his freedom, his life.

She chuckled. “You’re welcome.”

He stopped twirling her, and let her slide down the length of his body. Cupping her face in his hands, he said. “I love you, Kate. I’ve always loved you.”

There they were. The words that he’d been wanting to say since he found her crying beside Rose Lake.

“I’ve always loved you, too, John.” There were tears in her eyes, and he wiped them away with his thumbs.

They kissed and he knew that he’d be happy with her forever.

“Let’s take out the trash, Kate.”

#

 After Nash and Crowley both gave full confessions to the New York State Troopers, the first thing Mack did when his prisoners were locked in the small cell at the Reedville Sheriff's Office was to ask to use the phone. He called Tom Murray and found that he had been moved from intensive care to one of the floors. Mack breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's over, partner," Mack said, holding on to Kate’s hand. "We got 'em. Kate and I got 'em. Who? It was none other than the newly promoted Chief Crowley and the less than Honorable Peter Nash."

His next call was to the head of the regional office of the FBI and a Supreme Court Judge to start the ball rolling to get Plato Corlett out of jail.

EPILOGUE

It was a wild couple of days–paperwork, reporters, affidavits, interviews, more paperwork.

Kate was just as busy. The Acting County Court Judge and the City Court Judge had released a total of six people to “Your Home Is Your Jail”.

He hardly had time to see her.

Checking his watch, Mack saw that it was almost time to meet Kate.

As he slipped into his rental car, he thought of the invitation he had sent her by special courier:

"OPEN HOUSE. 314 LAKESHORE ROAD, ROSE LAKE. ONE O'CLOCK TODAY. PLEASE BE PROMPT. REFRESHMENTS. PRIZES."

As planned, he got there before Kate and opened the doors of the house to let in the summer breeze. It was a beautiful day. A day he'd remember the rest of his life, sink or swim.

Standing in the doorway, he waited for Kate to drive up. Everything was ready. The champagne was chilling, the roses were in water, and the ring was in his pocket.

He waved to her as she pulled into the driveway.

Getting out of her car, she paused. "Mack, what are you doing here?"

"I got an invitation for an open house. And you?"

"I received one, too. Strange, isn't it?"

He held out his hand to her, and she slipped hers into his. "Well, then let's check it out."

Just before she climbed the stairs to where he was standing, she stopped. "You know, this is just like my dream. I walk up to this house and you are standing in the door.”

 "Welcome, Kate."

He kissed her on the steps. He never wanted to let her go. This was where she belonged. This is what made the yellow Victorian complete.

But he did let her go, and she entered with mouth agape. "This is just how I pictured it. It's perfect. It's beautiful." She just about ran from room-to-room. "Look at the view! Mack, did you see the size of the kitchen? Ooh, a butler's pantry! I want to see the turrets. It's absolutely perfect. Just perfect." She looked around. "Where's the real estate person?"

"There isn't one."

"Well, isn't it for sale? This is an open house right?"

"No. It's not for sale."

She looked like she was ready to crumble.

Mack smiled. "It's my house."

"Yeah, right. Yours."

"I'm the JFM Rooster Company. John Francis Mackowitz. The Roosters was the name of our high school football team, remember?"

#

Kate had a hard time believing all this. She took a chair at the magnificent oak dining room table so she wouldn't fall over. "You never said a word."

"The time wasn't right. Besides, I wanted to surprise you."

"You sure did."

"The house on Pine was just a decoy. I didn't want anyone knowing where I really live. This is really my house. I set it up under a phony company. You see, I've loved this house forever, too."

She looked around at the magazine-perfect decor. She couldn't have done any better. "You have good taste."

"Yes, I do have good taste. That's why I love you and I'm asking you to marry me, Kate." He slipped a beautiful antique ring on her finger. A challenging feat, since her hand was shaking, and so were his.

"This was my Aunt Bert's ring. She was very special to me. I'd like you to wear it, unless you'd rather have a new one. This was her house. I bought it from her when she moved to Florida."

She raised an eyebrow. "You were able to afford two houses? Now I'm ready to believe you were selling drugs after all."

"I got the family discount for this one." Mack grinned. "Aunt Bert is pretty wealthy, and she wanted to keep the house in the family, so she offered it to me at a deal I couldn't refuse. I jumped at it."

Tears rushed to her eyes. "I love the house. I love Aunt Bert already, and I'd be honored to wear her ring." She kissed him.

"Then you'll marry me?"

"Of course I'll marry you. I love you." They kissed, but Kate broke it off in mid-pucker. "Let me get this straight. If I marry you, I get this house, too?"

"Yes. I figure I'd throw in the house to make sure you'd accept."

"Good thinking." She chuckled. "So you didn't think that I'd marry you just because I loved you."

"Maybe you would have. I'm pretty irresistible, you know." He winked. "But I wanted to up the odds since you were pretty mad at me when I split that morning."

"Yes, I was."

“It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you. I didn’t want you hurt.” He looked deep into her eyes and saw love shining there–shining for him. "You know, Kate. We'd make a pretty good team. What do you think about having me as a partner with you in Your Home is Your Jail? You do the computer work, and I'll do the surveillance and bounty hunting."

"Nope. Equal partners. You have to learn the computer work, too."

He made a face, and Kate laughed.

"I'll throw in some shooting lessons," she said, as Mack hugged her close to him, his hands traveling up and down her back.

"You know, I just might take you up on that. You're one heck of a shot."

Kate ran her fingers through his hair. "But what about the sheriff's department?"

"They asked me to be Captain, but I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet. Anyway, I'm going to take a leave of absence for a while–an extended honeymoon." He kissed the palm of her hand. "I told them to give the job to Tom Murray. He's more the desk jockey. I still like the streets."

Arm in arm, they both watched the sun sparkle on Rose Lake. "You know, you'll never be sure if I married you just for this house, or not," Kate said.

"I'm sure. I trust you. I trust you even though I've never trusted another person in my life."

Coming from John Francis Mackowitz, those were powerful words indeed.

As Mack kissed her and the years dissolved behind them, Kate closed her eyes and pictured Mack in his Roosters football uniform. Kate realized that deep inside, she'd known that someday she and Mack would marry. It was just a matter of time.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself being studied by her future husband. The man that could drive her crazy. The man who'd protect her with his own life. The man who looked magnificent in a shower.

Speaking of which...

"How many showers in this house, John?" Kate asked.

Mack threw back his head and laughed. Then smiling, he traced her cheek with his finger. "Three. Four, if you count the one outside."