Chapter 6
Badger’s arm came around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. Without his support she was sure she’d have crumpled to the ground. Her mind kept reeling, searching for an answer. But her heart already knew.
It was her brother. A brother she hadn’t seen or heard from in a long time. But there was no mistaking the way he spoke. He had a weird slur, something to do with his tooth alignment. He’d always had it.
But it didn’t make any sense that he’d try to kill her. Or try to have her killed.
Badger just held her close. She wanted to hear the rest of the conversation. She twisted to look at Paul. “Did he say anything else?”
Slowly Paul shook his head. “No. He didn’t give me a chance to speak either.”
She glanced at Erick and Cade. But their laptops were open on the kitchen table, and they pounded the keys furiously. “What are they doing?” she asked Badger.
“They’re tracing the call.”
“He wasn’t on long enough, was he?”
Badger slid her a sideways glance. “What do you know about tracing calls?”
“Only what I’ve seen on TV shows. About the caller having to be on the line long enough for somebody to trace it.” She frowned. “It was an unidentified caller number.”
“Sure, but we can get that number. There are ways to get almost anything now.” He turned toward Erick. “You did get a number, didn’t you?”
Erick nodded. “I did. Which is pretty stupid on his part. So he’s either about to toss the phone, or he’s really cocky and doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing. I’ll lock in on his location now per his phone.”
“If it’s who I think it is,” Kat said, “then he might know more than we think. My brother has been in and out of jail. I think he went in the last time three years ago.”
“Your brother?” the small wiry man asked. “Holy shit, this is getting ugly.”
“If it’s him, it’s always been ugly. I come from a split family—two mothers, one father, one child from each mother.”
“And I gather the two of you never got along.”
“He was older than me. He was smarter than me. He was my father’s favorite because he was a male and had the same attitude toward women that my father did,” Kat said in a cool tone. “Which meant there were two locations for a woman, and that was the bedroom or the kitchen, preferably with a chain attached.”
The two men working at the table raised their heads.
“In this day and age?” Cade shook his head. “Hell, I’d like to give him a good beating myself.”
She stepped out of Badger’s arms and started to pace. “What I don’t know is why he would want me killed.”
“Well, that’s obvious,” Paul said. “He’s after those precious coins.”
“How would he have known about them?”
“Was he not mentioned in the will?”
She shook her head. “No, we’ve had very little to do with him. He got out of jail a couple months ago. I honestly don’t know where he’s living or what he’s doing.”
“Blackmailing people,” said the smaller man. “I know you guys want to keep us tied up so we can’t attack you or something, and I understand all that, but I really got to take a leak bad.”
She glanced at him in surprise, then at Badger, who was already untying him.
When the skinny kidnapper stood, he rubbed his wrists and said in a quiet voice, “I know you don’t believe me, but I’m sorry for all the trouble.”
Kat nodded. “Thanks. I just wish you hadn’t kidnapped me in the first place. I’ll have nightmares for the rest of my life now.”
Badger led him away to the bathroom, keeping a steady hand on him.
She focused on Paul. “Do you know anybody name Teddy?”
He frowned, his thick bushy eyebrows almost meeting in the center as they furrowed. Then he shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. Why?”
“That’s my brother. His real name is Theodore, but he went by Teddy when he was a teen.”
Erick spoke up. “We need to consider the fact that, if Teddy’s an ex-con, and our guy here, his brother is an ex-con, it’s quite possible the two met in prison.” Erick got up from the table and walked over to Paul. “What’s your friend’s name?” He nodded with his head toward the bathroom.
“Bud. He goes by Bud.”
“Okay, Paul, what’s the relationship between you and your brother?”
Paul stared at him, a hint of anger rippling across his face as he understood where the questioning was going. “Well, I would have called the authorities if I thought he’d set me up like this.”
“When did you see him last?”
“Eight years maybe. He’s been in jail since.”
“What’s his name?”
“Jonesy. Same last name. He went away for aggravated assault. I’m not expecting him out any time soon, but I haven’t been keeping track.”
Kat shook her head. “You said he changed when he came out the first time.”
“He went in for armed robbery, and, when he got out, he wasn’t the same man. He was uglier inside. The next time he committed a crime, he killed a man. He figured it was better to kill than to leave anyone alive to tell tales. But he got caught, and now he’s in for murder.”
“Wow, nice guy.”
Just then Badger returned with Bud and sat him back down on the chair, tying his legs again. When Bud put his arms back to be tied up, Badger shook his head. “You can leave them free for the moment.”
Bud’s face lit up with a small murmur of “Thanks.”
Badger stood in front of Paul. “Do you need a turn?”
Paul shook his head. “No, not yet.”
“Found your brother,” Erick said. “He’s back East. I’m trying to get a history of any of the prison systems he may have been in, so we can match it with Kat’s brother’s prison history. If we can place them in the same penitentiary, I’ll say we have a connection.”
“I never would’ve thought my brother would do something like this.” Kat shook her head. “I still can’t believe it.”
“How sure are you it was his voice on the phone?”
She winced. “Pretty damn sure. It’s recognizable.”
“Well, I hope you’re also wrong about my brother,” Paul said. “It’s hard enough to deal with the things I’ve done, but, if my brother is gunning for me, that’s a whole different story.”
“Can you call him?” Badger asked.
“That’s a good idea,” Kat said in surprise. “Would he tell you what you want to know, or would he just laugh in your face?”
Paul stared at them and frowned. “I have no idea. I’ve never tried.”
“He’s allowed visitors, but he’s a good three hours away, and that’s flying time,” Erick said, looking up from his laptop. “But you might be able to have a long-distance phone conversation.”
Paul seemed to consider for a long moment and then shrugged. “What the hell. Why not? I need to get to the bottom of this somehow.”
“Thank you,” Kat said sincerely.
Badger looked at her and wondered at this switch—from being kidnapped to thanking her kidnappers. “Don’t thank him yet. It doesn’t mean we’re getting anywhere.”
“I’d say we’ve made progress very quickly,” she said sharply. “Sure, it may not pan out to anything, but it could also end up getting us a whole lot further very quickly. We also now know Teddy’s involved.”
“What’s his last name?”
“Same as mine,” she said. “Greenwald. G-R-E-E-N-W-A-L-D.”
“Theodore Greenwald was released on probation, living in a halfway house here in Santa Fe, New Mexico.”
Beside her, Badger said, “Bingo.”
She pulled out a chair and sat down, her legs suddenly too weak to hold her up. “That’s just shitty.”
“Yeah, I’d say so. Sorry. Your family apparently sucks.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Isn’t that the truth?” She glanced around. “I need coffee and food.”
Cade put up a hand. “Count me in for coffee. A whole pot just for myself, please.”
That startled a laugh out of her. She hopped to her feet again, happy to have something to do. She put on a pot of coffee and looked in her fridge. There wasn’t a hell of a lot to work with. Especially if she were to feed this many people.
Cade glanced at her. “Unless you’ve got something against pizza, it’s about the only way to feed us.”
She peered around the fridge door at him. “Not exactly the healthiest food.”
“Your stomach must be dying right now,” he said in a droll tone. “Do you really want to go out with a spinach salad in your stomach?”
At that she really laughed. “Okay, you win.”
“But what to put on the pizza? That’s likely to cause an all-out fight,” Cade said with a big grin.
She glanced at him. “Why?”
“Because Badger is a connoisseur of every take-out pizza around. He’s got a very peculiar palate.”
She grinned. “Badger, what do you want on your pizza?”
His eyes lit up. “I want a large just for myself, and I want it covered in bacon and olives.”
She stared at him. “Anything else on it?”
His face went blank. “You mean other stuff goes on a pizza?”
She rolled her eyes and said to the guys, “You have the laptops. I don’t know who to call.”
Badger called out, “Pizza Palace. And you better get at least five large.”
She stared at him. “What the hell? Who’ll eat that much?”
He just stared back at her.
She groaned. When Erick read off the phone number, she dialed and ordered five large pizzas. She hung up and turned to the men. “Delivery in twenty-five.”
They nodded absentmindedly.
The coffee had finished dripping. She poured herself a cup, then pulled out several other mugs. What about the two men tied up? Somehow she’d gone from being terrified to feeling sorry for them. She wasn’t sure there was a happy ending for either of them. Particularly if they’d been blackmailed into doing this by her brother. That would really suck. On the other hand, if Paul had actually killed somebody, then how could she not want him to pay for his crime?
As she poured five more cups of coffee, not wanting to look too closely at why she was pouring coffee for the two kidnappers, she glanced out the window. “Badger?” she called out in a harsh whisper.
“What’s up?” He came to her side.
She pointed out the window. “Somebody’s skulking around my backyard.”
Instantly the two men at the table got up and spread throughout the lower floor, slyly peering through windows. “What does your brother look like?”
“Small. Thin. He’s about five nine. Always had a frail look. Women seemed to love it. I never quite understood the attraction myself.”
“When you say frail, what do you mean? Slim, lean, pretty boy?”
“That wouldn’t have been fun in prison,” Cade said quietly from her right.
She stared at him. “I never considered that,” she said in a low tone. “Maybe he took that time to bulk up. I don’t know. I haven’t seen him in forever.”
“The guy skulking around out there didn’t look familiar?”
“I didn’t have a chance to look that closely. He’s dressed in black pants, a dark sweater, and I think he had something over his head, but I don’t know for sure. He disappeared into the bushes on the left side of the property.”
Cade and Erick slipped outside via the garage door.
Badger spoke as he pushed her from the window. “Stay away from where you can be seen. Go sit down at the kitchen table.”
She pulled a chair around in front of the two kidnappers, then placed two cups of coffee there for them.
Bud picked up a cup and smiled. “I really thank you for this. My hands are freezing after being tied up.”
She glanced over at Badger and then back at Paul. “Do we let his hands loose?”
Badger walked over to stare down at Paul. “That’s a good question. With his hands loose, he can cause a lot of damage.” Badger opened his jacket so Paul could see the weapon in his shoulder holster.
Paul’s face went ghostly white. He shook his head. “I’m no threat to you.” He turned to Kat. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your brother in the first place.”
“Maybe her brother,” Badger said. “We have to keep an open mind here.”
Paul shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. But, if I get a chance, I will disappear, because the last thing I want to do is time for murder.”
Kat could understand that.
“Let him have a cup of coffee while we see what the hell’s going on outside. The man skulking around has the benefit of the encroaching darkness.”
She turned to Badger. “We have to watch out for the pizza delivery guy. That’ll add another element here that I don’t really want to go sour.”
“Nobody’ll touch my pizza. Don’t you worry about that.”
She knew he was joking. But, at the same time, she wasn’t sure just how effective a joke it really was. If something went wrong, it could just as easily be an innocent delivery guy who ended up dead.
Badger did a quick sweep through the house. He didn’t want to leave the kidnappers alone, even tied they could have tricks up their sleeve. And once free it was just too easy for them to overpower Kat. That was the last thing that would happen on his watch. Every time he moved, he kept a close eye on Paul. His story sounded feasible, but Badger had heard more sob stories in his life than he’d believed were possible to exist. Everybody had an excuse; everybody had a reason for what they’d done. The fact was, they’d still done wrong. And that wasn’t something he ever wanted to pit against Kat.
She sat across from the two men, the look on her face sad, as if contemplating what had brought her brother to this point. Their uncle had been murdered. And the brother was after the coins—potentially. At least that was a viable motive. As Badger swept through the kitchen and came back on the other side of the living room, he asked Kat in a low voice, “Any chance your brother killed your uncle?”
She stiffened. Then, as she understood the ramifications of the question, she winced and said, “I don’t know. It’s possible. Like Paul’s brother, Jackson, they start off with a certain crime, but it seems like jail changes them. The next crime is a little bit worse, and the next one is worse again. Just like Paul himself.”
Instead of getting mad, Paul just nodded. He glanced at the coffee in front of him. “I know this probably isn’t a great time, but I’d really like some of that coffee.”
She went to stand up, but Badger said, “Don’t move.”
She shot him a look of resentment that made him smile.
Badger motioned at Bud.
He’d been sitting quite happily, sipping from his mug. At Badger’s nod, he lifted Paul’s cup and held it to his lips.
Paul took several big sips and then sat back, more on the happy side. “You make a mean cup of coffee, ma’am.”
“I do indeed. Lots of late nights, studying. Lots of late nights, working.”
Paul looked over at her. “What is it you do?”
“I guess you didn’t feel the need to research your victims?”
At that he looked shame-faced and focused on the floor.
She shrugged. “I’m a prosthetic designer. I build arms and legs and hands for the men and women who have lost them, usually in war, but often in car accidents. Sometimes limbs wasted away from disease. Diabetes patients being a prime example.”
The two men stared at her in surprise.
“And the three men helping me today all have prosthetics I’ve built. So they have a vested interest in keeping me alive.”
Paul and Bud shared a glance and looked over at her. “I’m sorry. You do offer valuable services for people. I can’t imagine the kind of work you do.”
“I did twelve years of schooling to get this far. It’s a little hard to imagine it all just being snuffed out because my brother is a piece of shit.”
“Are you a doctor?”
She nodded. “Yes, and I’m an engineer. I was one of those smart teens.” At the look on their faces she laughed. “Yeah, I was the one always in the library when everybody was out partying. Every time everybody took off from class to go smoke in the bathroom, I was the one studying and listening to the prof so I could get through the exams in half the time. I graduated at fifteen. Had my engineering degree before twenty, and I was a doctor before I hit twenty-six.”
All the men just stared, their jaws slowly dropping.
She chuckled. “I do what I love because it gives me a chance to help these people. All the men here had their body parts blown off while they were in service to our country. It’s a little hard for them to stomach guys who just break in and kidnap people for no reason.”
“I know it’s not much of a defense,” Paul said, “but I was being blackmailed.”
“Because you committed murder.”
Badger winced. He’d been listening to the conversation, keeping track of everybody’s facial expressions, looking for any sign of deceit, betrayal, something that would nudge him to a decision one way or another. But, so far, the men looked sincerely interested and possibly completely abashed at what they had done. Badger chuckled. “Yeah, when you picked a victim, you probably didn’t realize how many people were here to support her. It’s because of her I get to walk the way I do.”
Both men glanced down at his legs. Bud said, “There’s no way I would have known.”
“That’s because she does good work.”
She rolled her eyes. “In many ways the men are better than they were originally. Their new legs have titanium and special gears to make the joints work properly. They are a cutting-edge design,” she said with pride. “I’m really proud of the work I’ve been doing for them.”
Badger could tell the kidnappers were desperate to see his leg. But he wasn’t about to do a show-and-tell.
Paul spoke up. “Is that why Cade wears a glove?”
Badger nodded absentmindedly. “And you might think it’s weaker. But I’ve got to tell you, it comes with a bionic punch.”
Both of the men looked at each other again. Bud said, “Wow. That’s really cool.”
“It’s really cool, but it takes a ton of work.” Kat smiled. “Still, it’s what I like to do.”
“Then I’m really sorry we caused you any trouble,” Paul said. “I’d like to get my hands on your brother, if he’s the asshole yanking my chain.”
“You might just get that chance.”
The two kidnappers looked at Badger, but his gaze was caught on somebody skulking against the hedge. As he watched, Cade came up behind the intruder, threw a choke hold on him and dragged him back onto the property. “Cade just picked up our stalker.”
Badger opened the garage door to let them in. Within seconds they had the struggling slim form of another male slammed down onto a chair, shifted to sit against the living room wall. Paul and his buddy were moved over to join him. Badger pulled the hood off his head. “Kat, come and take a look at this guy.”
She gasped. “Teddy, what the hell are you doing?”
He glared at her and, in a hissing voice, said, “Hey, sis. Too bad you didn’t die like you were supposed to.”
“And why’s that?”
“Because of course you inherited that shit from Uncle. He always told me that I would get them.”
“I didn’t even know he had them much less that I was getting them,” she snapped. “How the hell did you know he had them?”
“Because Marge showed me. When she first married him. She’s been telling me about them ever since.” His tone was sarcastic, as if she already knew.
She stared at him. “They were married for what, three, four years?”
He shrugged. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? Marge was Ethel’s nurse. The whole time Aunt Ethel was dying, Marge was on the scene. As soon as Aunt Ethel died, Marge was right there. She learned about the coins a long time ago.”
“How did you know her?”
“Because I was there at the hospital a lot more than you were. You were always at school or at a seminar or too damn busy.”
“Are you telling me that you sat at the hospital with Marge?”
He shrugged. “I knew Marge’s son. He’s a druggie. And he talks a lot. So I knew who made decisions in the hospital. When she married Uncle, I figured we would all do much better if he was dead.”
She stared at him.
Badger could see how difficult this was for her. He walked over and sat beside her, his hand on her shoulder.
She swallowed hard and said, “Did you kill Uncle? Are you the one who broke into the house and shot him?”
Her brother sneered. “Why should I tell you anything?”
“Well, you’re already up on charges for extortion and blackmail and perpetrating a murder for hire,” Badger said calmly. “You might as well tell us the rest of it.”
Instead the punk ass—who looked more like a kid who never grew up—turned and glared at Badger. “I don’t have to tell you jack shit. I don’t know who the hell you are. You’re obviously trying to get cozy with my sister. Would figure she’d pick somebody like you. Big and brawny but no brains. She never could handle any competition in that area.”
Beside Badger, Kat straightened in outrage. He squeezed her shoulder. “Sounds like your sister is one of those smart brainiacs, and maybe you’re the one who couldn’t handle the competition.”
“I’m just as smart as she is. I just didn’t care enough.” He sneered and glanced around at the two men tied up. “What a bunch of losers.”
“How is their situation any better than yours?” Kat asked. “You’re my prisoner now too.”
Just then a shot rang out, and the kitchen window right in front of Kat’s head exploded.