Cincinnati, Ohio,
Saturday 19 December, 10.05 P.M.
Meredith’s scent still filling his head, Adam met Trip in Candace Voss’s driveway. He was grateful for the cold air tonight, a needed smack in the face to help him to focus on his job and not the kiss that he’d relived over and over as he’d driven across town.
To interview Candace Voss. Because her husband was their best suspect. So focus.
The house at the top of the driveway belonged to Mrs Voss’s sister, with whom she and her daughter had been staying for the past few months. It was a normal-sized house in a normal neighborhood. Nothing fancy. Certainly nothing like the house Candace had called home with Broderick Voss.
‘Did Faith tell you why Mrs Voss left her husband?’ Trip murmured.
Adam had called Deacon’s fiancée on his way over. ‘Infidelity was the only thing the wife told them when she sought Meredith for counseling. The little girl’s name is Penny.’
Trip’s brows shot up. ‘As in money?’
‘As in Penelope. The sister is Dianne Glenn. She’s single and has lived here for ten years. Works for one of the law firms downtown.’
‘Any trouble or reports from either the sister or the wife?’
‘Nope. At this point, I’d be happy knowing why his wife left him. I don’t expect her to spill her guts about any abuse – if it happened – on this first visit.’
‘But,’ Trip said with a frown, ‘if she left him because of infidelity, it means she knows about the infidelity, so it’s unlikely that it’s connected to the blackmail.’
‘Maybe. If he’s contemplating politics, the blackmail might be to keep other people from finding out. Or it could be something darker than garden-variety cheating.’
‘It was enough for the wife to take the child,’ Trip noted.
‘And enough for the husband not to file for joint custody, even. We’re not going to find out anything by standing here, that’s for damn sure. Let’s go.’
Trip followed him up the walk that was only wide enough for them to walk single file. Adam knocked and waited. A porch light came on above them and he could see shadows moving in the hallway through the filmy curtains that covered the slim windows on either side of the front door. Adam held out his badge and beside him, Trip did the same.
The door opened a crack, the chain still attached. ‘Yes?’ a woman asked.
‘I’m sorry to bother you at this hour, ma’am. My name is Detective Kimble. I’m with the Cincinnati Police Department. This is my partner, Special Agent Triplett, with the FBI.’
‘Ma’am,’ Trip said politely.
The eye visible through the crack in the doorway widened. ‘Police? FBI? Why?’
‘We’d like to speak to Mrs Voss. We understand she lives here.’
‘I’m her sister. What do you want with her?’
Adam made his stance as non-threatening as possible. ‘Just to ask her a few questions. I’m happy to give you our badge numbers so that you can check us out before letting us into your home.’
The woman nodded, still wary, but her sudden relief was unmistakable. ‘Yes, please. Do you have a card?’
Adam passed one through the opening and the woman closed the door with an abrupt snap. Adam looked over at Trip. ‘We rattled her,’ he said, and was surprised to see the other man’s forehead bunch in a frown.
‘We or me?’ Trip asked quietly, his jaw going taut.
It was Adam’s turn to frown until he realized what Trip was really asking. Adam blew out a breath. ‘Shit, man. I didn’t mean what you think I meant. It’s not because you’re big or black or a cop or whatever. I meant we. Because we’re here. She opened that door expecting us to be someone else. She was relieved that we were cops.’
Trip visibly relaxed. ‘I wonder if Broderick has sent anyone else over to harass them. He’s stalked the doc, after all. I wouldn’t put it past him.’
‘Yeah. Me, either.’ He studied Trip’s profile. ‘We good?’
‘Yeah.’ Trip’s sigh was brooding and almost bitter. ‘But I do scare people. Sometimes that comes in handy. But sometimes it really sucks.’
Adam hesitated, then decided to speak, since they were apparently sharing. ‘When Isenberg told me that you were my partner, I was happy to hear it. Number one, having you watching my back is one less stress. But mostly . . .’ He shrugged uncomfortably. ‘You’ve always been decent to me. Not all the cops are. Feds either.’ Some had been great, like Deacon and Isenberg and Wyatt. Some had not. The cops who’d served with his dad? They really had not. He deliberately lightened his tone. ‘I mean, a guy takes one mental health break and never hears the end of it.’
Trip huffed. ‘I knew about the leave,’ he said gruffly. ‘But you came back, y’know? And you’re still here. Still on the job. Still doing for others. So that’s the important thing.’
Having spoken their piece, they fell silent, the only sounds the stomping of their feet as they kept warm. Finally, the door opened and Mrs Voss’s sister gestured them in.
‘I’m sorry you had to stand in the cold for so long.’
‘It’s quite all right. The last thing we want is to frighten anyone.’ Adam smiled. ‘Our records show that you are Dianne Glenn. Is that correct?’
The woman looked startled. ‘I have no criminal record.’
‘Property records, ma’am,’ Trip clarified with a smile that seemed to put the woman at ease. ‘That’s all. Is your sister here?’
‘She’s getting dressed.’ Dianne directed them to a sunken living room, decorated in modern, sleek lines. Which equaled fucking uncomfortable in Adam’s experience. ‘Please have a seat. Can I get you some coffee?’
‘Only if it’s no trouble,’ Adam said. Dianne disappeared into the kitchen, while he and Trip chose two chairs that looked sturdy enough to hold them. Trip winced when the chair he’d chosen let out an ominous creak.
‘Did you break it?’ The concerned voice came from a tiny girl who’d slipped down the stairs undetected. Her little face stared at them through the balusters, fascinated.
Trip looked taken aback. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘Are you cops?’ the girl asked.
‘Yes,’ Adam told her. ‘Are you Penny?’
Her face scrunched up in displeasure. ‘How did you know that?’
A woman came down the stairs then, wearing a silk dress. Her jewelry was classy and understated, her face made up, but subtly so. ‘I’d like to know that too. Go on back to bed, sweetheart. I’ll be up soon to tuck you back in.’
‘Do I have to say my prayers again?’
The woman smiled at her daughter, but the smile was strained. ‘No, baby. I think God heard them just fine the first time.’ She waited, staring up to the second floor until a door closed. Then she walked toward them, her gait runway-model smooth.
He and Trip stood when she descended the two stairs into the living room. ‘I’m Detective Kimble. This is Agent Triplett.’
‘Yes, I heard. Please sit down.’
They did, Trip’s chair creaking ominously once again. Mrs Voss smiled wanly. ‘Don’t worry, Agent Triplett. It’s just a chair. If you break it, I’ll buy my sister another one and we’ll have a great story to tell someday.’
Trip didn’t look terribly pleased with that, but he nodded anyway.
Adam cleared his throat. ‘We’re here to talk to you about your husband, Mrs Voss.’
Her brows lifted. ‘What has he done?’
‘You don’t seem surprised,’ Adam said.
‘I’m not. Now, anyway. My husband has . . . predilections that were unknown to me up until three months ago. I wouldn’t have believed you if you’d come to me before then.’
‘What kind of predilections, Mrs Voss?’ Trip asked.
She looked away, a flush spreading across her face. ‘He cheated on me.’
That is not a predilection, Adam thought. Not the way she’d said the word, as if it tasted foul. ‘Is that why you left him and took Penny with you?’
Candace inclined her head in a single nod.
Adam leaned forward, lowering his voice, conscious of the child upstairs. ‘With all due respect, ma’am, cheating on its own isn’t something that would make a visit from law enforcement unsurprising. Was there something specific that he did?’ He caught the tightening of her jaw and his stomach gave a lurch. ‘Or perhaps who he did it with?’
God. Please don’t let it be the little girl. Please.
She gasped. ‘No. Not . . .’ She leaned closer. ‘Not Penny. Thank God she was a little older than my six-year-old.’
Adam steeled his spine. ‘How old, ma’am?’
‘Eighteen, or so the one I talked to claimed. I had my doubts. She looked twenty-five, but some of the others looked fifteen. They were college students, though, so . . .’ She trailed off with a shrug.
Adam drew a breath that was slightly easier. ‘All right. So you’re saying that your husband had an affair with a college student?’
Her lips twisted bitterly. ‘If by “affair”’ – she used air quotes – ‘you mean “orgy” and by “college student” you mean “prostitutes,” then yes.’
Okay. That might explain the blackmail, but the attempted murder of a restaurant full of people? No, that didn’t fit. And Adam still wondered how Penny fit into the equation. The child was in therapy. It might be simply because her parents had split up. He hoped so, but he didn’t think so. Were that the case, Broderick Voss wouldn’t be trying to intimidate Meredith away from treating his daughter.
Unless . . . unless the daughter knew something and he thought she’d told Meredith. ‘How is your daughter handling the separation?’
‘Not terribly well.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘Why? Why are you asking questions about my daughter?’
Adam shrugged slightly. ‘She’s a sweet-looking kid. I was hoping she didn’t know what her father had done.’
Her eyes narrowed further to slits. ‘Bullshit,’ she said flatly, startling him. He hadn’t expected her vocabulary to include that word for some reason. ‘What’s this got to do with my daughter?’
Adam met Trip’s gaze, his own brows lifted, and the younger man nodded.
Adam hoped he was not ruining Meredith’s career. ‘Okay, we’re going to tell you how we got to this point, okay? Because we need you to understand how we came to be here, both here in our investigation and here in your living room.’
Candace leaned back in her chair. ‘All right,’ she said slowly.
‘Have you seen the news today?’
She shook her head. ‘No. I have made it a point not to watch the news. Why?’
‘There was a shooting in a restaurant on Fountain Square this afternoon. One man was killed, another wounded. An explosive device was disabled.’
‘What does this have to do with my husband?’ Candace demanded. ‘And my child?’
Adam held up his hand, hoping to calm her. ‘I promise I’ll tell you.’ Everything but the hacked bank records. ‘The target of the attack was shot at, but not hit. I believe you know her. Dr Meredith Fallon.’
Candace’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘What? But . . . You think Broderick was responsible? He’s a pervert, but he’s not violent.’
‘Um, not true, Candy.’ The sister came out of the kitchen, her arms folded tightly over her chest. ‘He’s hit you.’
Candace flinched. ‘But . . . he wouldn’t shoot . . .’
Dianne was angry. ‘Fallon told you to come here? She promised us confidentiality.’
Adam held up his hand again. ‘That’s just it. She did not tell us to come here. That’s why I was leading you up to this moment. She wouldn’t tell us who had threatened her.’
‘She outright refused,’ Trip added quietly, his voice a deep soothing rumble. The two women seemed to settle. Hell, Adam even felt calmer.
‘Then why are you here?’ Dianne demanded.
‘Wait,’ Candace interrupted when Trip attempted to answer. ‘Are you saying Broderick threatened Dr Fallon?’
Trip held up a finger, wordlessly asking for their patience. ‘She would not tell us the names of any of the parents who’d threatened her because it violated her clients’ privacy,’ he continued, ‘but she did tell us where she’d been.’
‘Dr Fallon gave us a detailed account of her activities over the last three weeks,’ Adam said. ‘We obtained footage from surveillance cameras and studied her movements.’ He pulled the photographs from his pocket and unfolded them, handing them to Candace.
Her sister stood behind her, viewing the photos over her shoulder.
‘Oh my God,’ Candace whispered. ‘How long has this been going on?’
‘About three weeks,’ Adam answered. ‘Your husband will show up and just smile at her. There is no overt threat, which is why she hasn’t reported it.’
‘That’s why the other two . . .’ Dianne murmured, and Candace nodded numbly.
‘The other two what?’ Trip prompted.
‘Penny saw two therapists before Dr Fallon,’ Candace murmured. ‘Both told us that they were cutting back their hours and would no longer have the available slots for Penny. Do you think he threatened them too?’
‘If you give us their names,’ Trip said, ‘we’ll ask them.’
Candace nodded, still looking stunned. ‘Of course. Whatever will help.’
‘This still doesn’t answer why you were asking about Penny,’ Dianne said.
Trip’s smile was mildly apologetic. ‘We figured a child entered into this somehow, because Dr Fallon’s clientele is exclusively pediatric and adolescent. We found photos of you, Mrs Voss, with your husband and your daughter online with very little trouble.’
‘Because Broderick is a fucking attention whore,’ Dianne muttered.
‘But . . .’ Candace shook her head helplessly. ‘It doesn’t make sense that he’d have Dr Fallon shot. Or that he’d kill a lot of other innocent people. And with a bomb?’
Adam had to admit that was true, if only to himself. ‘Does he plan to go into politics?’
Candace nodded. ‘That’s why he got so angry when I walked out.’
Trip lowered his voice again. ‘Does he know that you know about the multiple prostitutes?’
‘No.’ Candace shook her head firmly. ‘He believes that I believe it was “only an affair.”’ Again she used air quotes. ‘I didn’t want to voice it aloud with him. He’d just find a way to wriggle out of it. Nothing is ever his fault. I decided to cut my losses and get out while I still could.’
Adam studied her. ‘Do you believe he would have resorted to violence to stop you?’
‘He did,’ Dianne insisted. She pulled her phone from her pocket, batting Candace’s hands away when she reached for it. ‘I’m going to show them. I wanted to report the fucking bastard three months ago. I took pictures the night Candy got here.’ She handed her phone to Trip, whose chair was closer.
Trip frowned, then passed the phone to Adam, who had to bite back a wince. Candace Voss sported a dark shiner in the photo, the bruise covering her eye and most of her cheek.
‘Were there any other injuries?’ Adam managed to ask levelly.
‘No.’ Candace looked away again. ‘Penny saw my face. I told her that I’d fallen down, but she didn’t believe me. She told me that she knew it was her daddy who’d done it. I couldn’t bear that she knew. That she was so certain. I was so ashamed that I let him hurt me like that. And scared he’d do it again. Or hurt Penny.’
‘Is that why she’s in therapy?’ Trip asked gently.
‘No. Well, yes, that too,’ she amended. ‘Also because I found out about the party because Penny heard it going on and saw . . . something.’
Adam couldn’t control his blink of shock. ‘He had prostitutes in your home with your daughter present?’
Candace shrugged, her shoulders rigid. ‘He thought she was asleep.’
‘Fucker,’ Dianne added under her breath.
Adam fully agreed with that statement. Poor kid. ‘What exactly did she see?’
‘We’re not sure,’ Dianne said. ‘She won’t talk about it, but she did tell Candy that there was a naked lady with pink hair in the bathroom when she got up to pee that night.’
‘Pink hair?’ Adam asked.
‘Pink hair and ponytails.’ Dianne shrugged. ‘That’s all we could get out of her.’
‘I was away for the evening,’ Candace said, her feelings of guilt still apparent. ‘I’d gone to a bachelorette party and we were all staying the night so that we could have wine. I was stunned when I got home the next day. Penny said she’d asked her daddy who the lady was once she was gone, but Broderick wouldn’t wake up. He was in a drunken stupor.’
And the mental picture of that was enough to banish any of Adam’s own need for a drink. For now, at least. One day at a time. One moment at a time.
Adam took his notebook from his pocket. ‘When was this?’
‘September thirteenth,’ Dianne said without hesitation. ‘Not a day I’ll ever forget.’
Candace sighed. ‘Me, either. Nor will Penny. I grabbed her and ran from the house. Came straight here because—’ Her voice cracked. ‘I didn’t know where else to go.’
Dianne leaned over Candace’s chair to wrap her arms around her sister. ‘It’s okay. You are always welcome here. You know that. Whatever stupid things we argue about, I love you. Like a sister,’ she added teasingly, but both women were close to tears.
Trip cleared his throat. ‘You said that you talked to one of the prostitutes, who said she was eighteen,’ he said, bringing the women back to the reason for the interview. ‘How did you know who to talk to and where to find her?’
Candace’s lips curved in a mirthless smile. ‘After I brought Penny here, I went back to the house. My plan was to get our things, but as I was coming up to the gate, I saw a bunch of cars going in and realized he was having another party. So I pulled out of security camera range and waited. Just before dawn, three cars emerged. One of the drivers had pink hair. I followed them back to the college campus, but could only follow one of the three cars when they split up to park. I picked Pink Hair. I . . . Well, I may have been a little threatening myself. I told the girl that I’d report her to the university police if she didn’t tell me what I wanted to know.’
‘Which was?’ Adam prompted.
‘First, how old were they? Second, how much had he paid them? Third, had he used condoms and, fourth, were they disease free? She swore they were all over eighteen, all students. He’d been hosting a party with some friends and the girls were the “entertainment.”’ More air quotes. ‘She said the men were all pretty high.’ Her mouth twisted. ‘There had been drugs in my home. She swore they hadn’t had drugs the night before, but I didn’t believe her. My baby was exposed to that.’ Her voice hoarsened, then broke. She blinked and tears ran down her cheeks.
‘How much had he paid them?’ Adam asked quietly.
‘A thousand each for the night. He’s been a regular big-time spender since Buzz Boys went IPO. He was always a prick, but once he got really rich? It was hell. So I left.’
‘Did you get this young woman’s name?’ Trip’s voice soothed once more.
Candace laughed bitterly. ‘She said it was Kandy – with a K. Kandy Kane.’
‘For God’s sake,’ Dianne muttered.
Again, Adam fully agreed. ‘Do you remember what kind of car she drove?’
Candace’s lips curved, this time with satisfaction. ‘I’ll do you one better. I got photos of the license plates for all three hooker-mobiles. I can email you the photos. Some are better quality than others.’ Her satisfied smile faded. ‘My hands were shaking.’
‘When did he hit you?’ Trip asked.
‘Later that morning. When I’d finished talking to the prostitute, I went back to the house to get our things, mine and Penny’s. It was almost dawn and all the cars were gone, so I figured the party was over. I was quiet, because he was drunk and wasted. Again. I just wanted to get our things before he woke up, because he could be vile when he was drunk.’
Yeah. I know all about that. His own father had been that way. Adam was working so hard to ensure he never became like his father. ‘But he woke up?’
Candace nodded. ‘I was loading the car when he caught me. He did that to my face.’ She gestured at her sister’s phone. ‘He was hauling back to hit me again, so I hit him. I just grabbed a bottle and hit him upside the head. He staggered enough for me to run. I got in the car and he was right behind me.’ She shuddered out a breath, shaken. ‘I barely got the door closed and got out of there.’
‘It was a good thing I unloaded her car as soon as she got here,’ her sister said, trembling with fury. ‘Because he had it taken away the next day. Towed right out of my driveway. Said it was his car and she wasn’t keeping it.’
‘But that was okay. Dianne’s leased a car for me.’ Candace rubbed her forehead fitfully. ‘I’m going to have to find a new therapist for Penny. I can’t imagine Dr Fallon will keep seeing her after this.’
‘I can’t imagine she’d turn Penny away,’ Adam said firmly. ‘That’s not who she is. Have you considered filing charges against your husband?’
Dianne arched her brows in an I-told-you-so look and Candace sighed.
‘Only a million times, but I’m afraid of him. And before you ask, I’ve also considered a restraining order, but that would be pointless. He’d just have one of his flunkies do his dirty work. I have consulted with a divorce attorney. We’re almost ready to file.’
‘And then?’ Adam tempered his tone because she seemed to grow more fragile with every word she spoke.
‘I haven’t thought that far out,’ she admitted. ‘I need to find a job first. But I’m afraid to leave the house without Dianne. I’ve been homeschooling Penny because I’m afraid to let her go to school.’ She looked up, her expression bleak. ‘We’re trapped.’
Adam leaned forward. ‘Okay, one thing at a time. Even if you feel a restraining order is pointless, you should still file one so that the situation can be documented.’ And her old house was under surveillance, so if her husband attempted to leave, he’d be followed. But he wasn’t going to tell her that on the off chance that she wasn’t as innocent as she claimed. Broderick Voss likely knew he was being watched, but Adam didn’t want to spell it out in the event he was unaware. ‘We can’t provide full-time security, but I can ask for drive-bys. In the meantime, if he does send a flunky, do you have an alarm system?’
‘Yes, we do,’ Dianne said.
Trip rose, giving the creaky chair a backward glance of relief. ‘I’d like to check it before we leave.’
‘Please come with me,’ Dianne said. ‘I’ll show you.’
Candace exhaled wearily as Trip left the room with her sister. ‘We’ve been talking about getting a dog. Penny loves that idea, as you might imagine.’
‘That was my next recommendation. I have the perfect place for you to go for a dog.’ Adam wrote Delores’s contact information on the back of his card. ‘This woman is a dog whisperer. Many of my friends have adopted dogs from her shelter. Give her a call.’
Candace smiled back, the first true smile she’d shown since he and Trip had arrived. ‘I just might do that.’
‘Good. My cell’s on there too. And my email. If you could send me the photos you took of those license plates, we’d appreciate it.’
‘I will. Please, tell Dr Fallon how sorry I am next time you see her.’
‘Absolutely.’ He hoped his expression remained professional because, inside, the memory of those few minutes against her refrigerator were hitting him hard. ‘I’ll make sure she knows.’ Because he planned to see Dr Fallon very, very soon.
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Saturday 19 December, 10.15 P.M.
‘Meredith? You okay in there?’
Meredith sighed at the bathroom door and sank a little deeper into the tub. She’d had twenty minutes of quiet privacy, the most she’d had all day long. This time it was her friend FBI Special Agent Kate Coppola, who was likely armed with several guns and at least one pair of knitting needles. ‘I’m fine. Really.’
‘I thought I heard you talking to yourself.’
Meredith rolled her eyes. ‘If you wanted to know who I was talking to on the phone, you could have just asked.’
‘Sorry,’ Kate said sheepishly. ‘I didn’t want to seem nosy.’
‘That train’s already left the station.’ It was nice to have people worried about her, but it was exhausting too. ‘I was talking to my cousin Alex in Atlanta. Bailey called her and got her all twitterpated. Alex and her husband were going to drop everything and drive here tonight, but I told her that I had plenty of bodyguards and they should leave on Monday like they’d planned.’ Because, like Papa, Alex never let her spend Christmas alone. It was Meredith’s trigger holiday and her family knew it passed more easily when she was surrounded by their support.
‘Yeah . . .’ More sheepishness. ‘It was pretty crowded downstairs. I can go.’
‘Oh, stop,’ Meredith said fondly. ‘You know I don’t want you to go. But I am surprised. I thought you had plans with Decker. I didn’t think you were coming today.’
‘I wasn’t supposed to, but . . .’ Kate’s self-conscious laugh came through the door. ‘I needed to be sure you were all right. I’ve stayed away for hours, but I couldn’t sleep and . . .’
Meredith had to smile. For all her badassery, Kate was a softie who mothered almost as much as Meredith did. ‘I’ll be out in a few minutes. I’ve got to rinse my hair.’ Because she’d washed it again. It had smelled like the shampoo at the hotel where she’d washed away the remnants of . . . She swallowed, pushing the memory away. She had to stop remembering the shot that had destroyed the young man’s head. She’d drive herself crazy.
She’d had to take her anti-anxiety meds twice today. They’d helped, but she didn’t want to take any more. Shampooing her hair would let her smell familiar scents. Calming scents. She hoped.
A few minutes later she found Kate sitting in the armchair in the corner of her bedroom, knitting needles clacking rhythmically as a big old dog rested at her feet. ‘Hey, Cap,’ Meredith crooned, stooping to pet the dog’s white muzzle. ‘How’s he doing?’
‘Really well.’ Kate gave the dog a fond look. ‘We had a scare last week, but it was just a little infection. A round of antibiotics and he seems good as new. The vet says he’s got a few years left. Decker and I want to make them good years.’ She and her fiancé had adopted the oldest dog in Delores’s shelter because the dog had been passed over so many times. ‘He’s a good dog and he hasn’t eaten a single shoe.’ She pretended to scowl. ‘Unlike Loki. I swear . . .’
Chuckling, Meredith sat on the floor and petted Cap’s head when he put it in her lap with a huff of pleasure. ‘Puppies are hard work. Delores told you that.’
‘I know. Decker’s doing most of the training and he’s loving it. Don’t get him started talking about obedience class. You’d think Loki had just graduated from Harvard or something.’ But she was smiling. And then she wasn’t, sobering abruptly. ‘I stopped by Mariposa before I came here.’
Meredith sighed. ‘How is Mallory?’
Kate shrugged. ‘Sitting and staring straight ahead. I don’t know what to do for her.’
‘For now, we just love her.’
‘I know, but I don’t know how to do that. I was going to stand guard there, but between Colby and Stone, they have things sorted. Nobody needed me. Mallory wouldn’t even say hi to me.’
‘She had a horrible shock today. Try not to take it personally. She loves you, you know that.’ Because the monster who’d held Mallory captive for six long years had tried to kill her when she’d finally escaped, putting her in the hospital with a concussion and a badly broken leg. Meredith and Kate had held her hand in the hospital and had been her first protectors as she’d transitioned into the real world. ‘She may just need space.’
Kate winced guiltily. ‘Like you do. Like I’m not giving you. Decker told me not to come. That you’d be overrun with people.’
Meredith patted her friend’s knee. ‘I was earlier, but I think everyone’s planning on going home soon except for Kendra and maybe Diesel. And my grandfather, of course.’
‘I met him. He’s pretty . . . well, like no grandpa I’ve ever met.’
Meredith chuckled. ‘That’s the truth. How long can you stay?’
‘Depends. How much ice cream you got in your freezer?’ She smiled proudly when Meredith laughed. ‘Seriously, how long do you need me to stay?’
‘Depends. You think you can convince Kendra to go home?’
Kate put down her knitting. ‘Why? What did she do?’
‘Nothing yet.’ Meredith focused on petting Cap’s soft coat. ‘Adam may come by later and I don’t want Kenny to make things awkward.’
‘Oh. Well.’ The clacking resumed. ‘Why is Adam coming by?’
Meredith fought the urge to press her fingers to her lips. They still tingled from that kiss. Hell, her entire body still tingled from that kiss. ‘He’s going to explain some things.’
Kate grunted. ‘That sounds ominous.’
‘No, I don’t think so.’
‘Oh?’ Kate’s voice became slyly smug. ‘Tell me. Tell me everything.’
Meredith laughed again. ‘Now I feel like we’re at one of Hope’s slumber parties.’
‘I’ll paint your toenails if you tell me everything.’
Cap rolled to his back and Meredith scratched his belly. ‘Not yet, okay?’
Again the clacking stopped, but this time Kate gently lifted Meredith’s chin. ‘I’m just teasing you. You tell me when you’re good and ready. I’ll always be here to listen. Hell, you listen to me spout off often enough. Somebody needs to be your confidante.’
Meredith’s eyes pricked with tears. ‘I’m not sure what’s happening, but I am a little scared to hear what he has to say.’ She swallowed, uncomfortable with sharing what little she knew of Adam’s secrets, but needing to talk to someone. ‘He’s stayed away from me for months.’
‘I know.’ Kate’s thumb stroked her cheek just like Meredith’s mother used to do. ‘We all know. None of us knows why, though.’
‘Something’s wrong.’ Meredith drew a breath, straightened her spine. ‘Did you know he’s been sneaking into Delores’s shelter to clean cages?’
Kate blinked. ‘Really? No, I didn’t know that. Huh. But I don’t really know him that well. We’ve only worked together a few times. I know he’s a good cop and I know he’s had some issues in the past.’
‘He also spends hours at Mariposa every week. But never when I’m there. He goes out of his way not to be in any space where I am.’
Kate winced. ‘That’s . . . not promising, hon. Gotta say.’
‘Maybe? That’s just it. That’s what I thought, but tonight he said I thought wrong. So I stepped back and tried to look at it from another direction. I made a few calls and found out he not only volunteers at Mariposa and Delores’s, but he routinely works at Dani’s clinic and does repairs at Father Trace’s shelter. He even assistant coaches a pee wee team that has deaf kids from all over the county. I got that from Faith. Adam spends every free minute helping other people. Plus his actual job.’
‘Huh,’ Kate said again. ‘It’s almost like he’s trying to atone for something.’
‘I thought the same thing.’
‘Did Dani have any insight? They grew up together, right?’
‘Yeah. Dani said she knew he was fighting demons, but she’d never been able to get him to tell her specifics. I even called Deacon.’
‘He’d know better than anyone. They’re besties, right?’
‘Well, if he knows, he’s not saying. Which I can respect. But I don’t think he knew either.’ Meredith suspected she might be the only one who knew the particular nightmare that haunted Adam, the devastating murder of a child that he’d been unable to stop. But even Meredith didn’t know all the details. She only knew that there had been a lot of blood. And that he’d witnessed it happen.
So much blood. He’d said it over and over the night he’d fallen apart in her arms, more than a year ago now. She’d expected him to cry, but he hadn’t shed a single tear.
She wondered if he’d managed to do so since.
She glanced at her bed. They’d ended up there that night. Nothing had ever been the same after that. Not for me.
She’d assumed it hadn’t meant anything to him, but now . . . She gave in to the urge and pressed her fingertips to her lips. That . . . in the kitchen tonight? That was not a pity kiss. She’d had pity kisses before and that was definitely not one.
‘Mer?’ Kate said softly.
Meredith looked up with a jerk. ‘Um . . . sorry. Did you say something?’
‘Just your name. Have the two of you . . . Is there anything you want to tell me?’
Meredith smiled ruefully. ‘Not particularly. But . . .’ She sighed. ‘Yes. Once. A year ago. I thought we had something. But he’s shut me out ever since.’
‘And he’s coming by tonight to let you in?’
And if you want me to leave afterward, I will, he’d said. What the hell did that mean?
‘Maybe. Sounded like it.’
‘Then I’ll ensure Kendra is properly occupied because she doesn’t trust him at all.’
No, Kendra didn’t. ‘Thanks, Kate.’
‘My pleasure.’ She gathered her knitting and shoved it in a bag with kittens printed on the side. ‘Now, we were discussing ice cream earlier.’
‘It’s freezing outside,’ Meredith said. ‘You really want ice cream?’
‘Kenny said she brought you some. Are you holding out on me, Dr Fallon?’
‘Never.’ Meredith gave the dog a final pat, then rose. ‘Let’s go eat ice cream. And gingerbread men. And I think there’s some pumpkin pie left. We can find a movie and open a bottle of red.’
‘Now you’re talking. Come on, Cap.’
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Saturday 19 December, 11.15 P.M.
He turned onto the street where Andy Gold had rented a basement apartment, pleased that most of the houses were already dark. It was a Saturday night, but this neighborhood was mostly populated with either old people or families with small kids who had bedtimes. There was nobody out to notice – and importantly – to remember him.
He was actually shocked that no one had identified Andy Gold yet. The kid’s picture had been online for hours, clear as day. Gold had a job and went to classes, so somebody was going to know who he was.
He’d planned to have Butch eliminate all trace of Andy Gold, including photos or notes or anything that would lead the cops to Linnea Holmes, but nothing had gone right today. Butch was in Chicago tracking Shane Baird, and this couldn’t wait until he got back.
So I’m going to have to deal with Andy Gold’s belongings myself.
At least he had the cover of darkness. He wouldn’t dream of conducting an op like this in the daylight. He parked on the next street over from Andy’s basement apartment and checked the contents of his backpack.
Glass cutters, a fuse, matches, and two jars of a jellied mix of gasoline and soap powder – easy to make and very flammable. He grabbed the large gas can from the back seat, made sure his ski mask was completely covering his face, and made his way into the shadows, moving from the house nearest his SUV, through the backyard, over the four-foot chain-link fence, and up to the rear of Andy’s house.
Cutting the glass from the window of Andy’s basement apartment, he removed the lids from the jars of homemade napalm and tossed the jars through the window. He then threw one end of the fuse through the window, landing it in the sticky mess and dragging it through until the fuse became submerged. He poured the contents of the gas can on the ground along the back of the house, then lit the fuse and hightailed it out of there.
By the time he reached his car, he could already see the blaze flickering through the basement windows. He’d be safely away before the smoke detectors in the house went off.
Hopefully the residents of the home’s upper floors were light sleepers. They’d still be able to get out in plenty of time to call the fire department and most of their house would be saved. He didn’t need to burn the whole house down, just Andy’s portion of it. By the time the first fire truck arrived, the basement apartment would be no more.
Once he’d left the neighborhood, he pulled into an alleyway, once again changing the plates on the SUV. Just in case one of the neighbors had a security camera. He removed the ski mask and bagged it and the coat he was wearing.
He’d made it to his driveway when his business cell rang with a number that was vaguely familiar. ‘Yeah?’ he barked, pitching his voice lower than normal.
‘You sonofabitch,’ a man snarled.
So it would be one of those calls. He activated the voice-changing app he’d installed on his phone, his voice instantly gravelly and unidentifiable as his own. ‘Who is this?’
‘It’s Voss, and you’re a fucking asshole. I paid you what you asked.’
Voss. He wanted to sigh. The last thing he needed tonight was the pathetic whining of an arrogant prick. ‘Yes, you did. And I’ve honored my end of the agreement.’
‘No, you didn’t because the cops were at my bitch sister-in-law’s house tonight, talking to my wife.’
He blinked, caught unaware. ‘Why would they be talking to your wife at your sister-in-law’s house?’
‘That’s what I’m asking you! And now there are unmarked cars sitting outside my front gate! Cops outside my house!’
‘Okay, calm down. We have not told a soul. Let’s figure this out. Okay?’
‘I’ll drag you down with me. I’ll bury you. I swear it.’
‘Calm down. First, how do you know cops talked to your wife?’
‘Because I have someone watching the bitch’s house. I know when she arrives and when she leaves and I know where my kid is. All the time. My man saw them. One was black and big as a tank. Easily six-six. The other guy was six-two, black hair, wore a black wool coat. They showed badges to my sister-in-law. They stayed for over thirty minutes.’
Voss’s wife had left him, then. It made no difference financially because it wasn’t his wife that Voss was afraid of. It was his potential electorate. That his wife has left him might look bad. Depending on the reason she’d left. But first things first.
‘What would your wife be able to tell them?’ A long silence followed that started to piss him off. ‘Voss? What would your wife know that would be damaging to you?’
‘That my kid saw one of the girls at the house.’ It was a grudging admission.
And a detail that had never come up in their negotiations. You had hookers in your house when your kid was home? Voss had no fucking sense.
‘So your wife has left you?’ And taken your child? Good for her. He’d never let his own kids see the underbelly of his business. Voss’s kid was six, for Christ’s sake. ‘When?’
‘Three months ago, but she’ll be back,’ Voss said, sounding like a petulant child. ‘She’ll beg me to take her back when her money runs out.’
It was possible, of course. It was also possible the wife was holding out for a settlement of her own. He needed to know what exactly Mrs Voss knew. ‘If your wife was aware of your indiscretions, why did you continue paying me to keep your secret?’ he asked mildly.
‘She doesn’t know about the parties. She thinks it was just one hooker, one time. And she doesn’t have pictures,’ Voss added bitterly.
It was a fair point. He had more than just pictures of Voss with more than just one slightly underage hooker. He had video and photos that Voss knew nothing about, video and photos that he’d reveal to Voss when the man announced a bid for the state senate seat he’d been not-so-surreptitiously ogling. Keeping those images from the media would be worth far more to Voss – and to me – than the comparatively tame party photos he was paying to keep secret now.
‘Mr Voss, I did not tell anyone about our agreement. Tell me more about the cops that visited your wife tonight. Did they have any distinguishing marks? Scars?’
‘The black guy was bald, drove a Chevy SUV. The white guy drove a Jeep. My guy got the license plate numbers. He has a buddy on the force who ran them. The Jeep belongs to a detective named Kimble. First name Adam. The SUV is registered to the FBI.’
His gut clenched. Kimble? With a big black guy built like a tank? Oh, fuck. Just . . . fuck. Goddammit. He fought to maintain a tone of mild confusion. ‘I think I know the officers you mean.’ Because the reporters had tried to get statements from both men while they processed the Buon Cibo crime scene earlier that afternoon. Detective Adam Kimble and Special Agent Jefferson Triplett. Goddammit. ‘If I’m right,’ which he knew he was, ‘they’re the ones who are investigating the shooting that happened downtown today.’
‘But . . . what could they possibly want with Candace?’ Voss asked, echoing his own thoughts. ‘That shooting today was a college kid who tried to shoot some woman. Give me a minute.’ A keyboard clacked in the background, then momentary silence. ‘Oh shit,’ Voss whispered. ‘That’s insane. Fallon? She was the target?’
His gut clenched even harder. ‘How do you know Meredith Fallon?’
‘She’s my kid’s shrink. Do they think I’m involved? Am I a suspect?’ His voice became shrill. ‘I had nothing to do with that.’
‘Obviously they think you do. Have you had contact with the target?’
Another long silence. ‘No,’ he said.
But he was lying. I can always tell. ‘Why does your kid need a shrink? Because she saw a hooker?’
‘Yeah.’
‘And?’ He inserted a harsh edge into the question. ‘What else did she see?’
‘I don’t know.’ And that sounded like the truth. If the child was in the house at the time of one of Voss’s parties . . . well, there was no telling what the kid had seen.
‘Voss, don’t push my patience. Have you had contact with Meredith Fallon?’ he asked again, much more sharply. ‘I’ll find out. I have resources in CPD.’
‘You have resources everywhere,’ Voss said with disgust.
Yes, I do, he thought with a satisfied smile. ‘So? Fallon?’
‘I might have seen her around. A few times.’
‘You mean you stalked her,’ he said flatly.
‘No. I just showed up in places where I knew she’d be. I just wanted to scare her, make it so that she’d stop badgering my kid.’
And how’d that work out for you? he wanted to ask. ‘I have not disclosed to anyone the terms of our agreement, but the cops sticking their nose in your business could cause a major problem for you.’ And for me, but I won’t let it get that far.
‘I have an alibi. I was speaking in front of a hundred people at a luncheon.’
‘Of course. Then you have nothing to worry about. Except . . .’
‘Except what?’
‘Well, you’re rich. You wouldn’t actually take care of something like that yourself.’
‘Oh my God,’ Voss whispered. ‘This is a nightmare.’
Indeed. ‘What are you going to do about it?’
‘I don’t know.’ He sounded defiant now, but it was a farce. ‘I’ll think of something.’
Too late. I already have. That the cops were sitting outside his house made it slightly more difficult and a good bit riskier, but if Voss was pressed by the police and spilled the beans about his being blackmailed . . .
That cannot happen. Especially with both CPD and the FBI involved in the investigation. Voss had to be silenced.
‘You do that. And when you’ve thought of something, let me know what you’ve got planned. We’ll coordinate,’ he lied and ended the call.
He immediately dialed his uncle Mike, rolling his eyes at the curses that spewed from his uncle’s mouth. ‘Shut it, Mike. I need you.’
Bedclothes rustled in the background. ‘For what?’ Mike snarled. ‘I was asleep.’
‘I need you to take care of Broderick Voss.’
‘Why?’ Mike yawned. ‘He stop paying? That could have waited till morning, kid.’
‘He’s a suspect in this afternoon’s shooting.’
A beat of silence. ‘Huh. How’d that happen?’
He explained Voss’s stalking of Meredith Fallon and Mike snorted.
‘Little shit. He was an idiot before he made a zillion bucks. Still an idiot. Okay, so how do you want it to go down?’
He considered the options. ‘I think by his own hand, partying a little too hard.’
‘Okay, so take some quality H with me. No problemo.’
‘A little problemo. He’s got cops outside his front gate. He’s under surveillance.’
Mike chuckled. ‘Just makes it more fun, kid. What’s my timeline on this?’
‘You have a few hours. Kimble and his Fed partner are about to become very busy with a house fire.’
‘Wait. Kimble’s investigating?’ He laughed. ‘We don’t have to worry then. The guy is fragile as a little snowflake. He’ll fold under the pressure.’
‘I’m not so sure. It’s been a while since his breakdown. I’m not going to underestimate him, that’s for damn sure. Plus, this is bigger than one fragile snowflake. If Kimble folds, there are plenty of cops to take his place. And Feds.’
A pause. ‘Are you afraid of Kimble?’ Mike asked mockingly.
He frowned. ‘Of course not. If he gets too close, we’ll take him out. For now, focus on taking care of Voss.’
‘Okay. I’ll let you know when it’s done.’
‘Thanks.’