Checkmate (Caitlin Calloway Mystery Book 2) (27 page)

“Lucky me.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Stevie said. “My father isn’t—”

“Stevie.” CC tried to argue.

“I’m staying.”

“Then at least send Brad and Emma,” CC said. “These people
are pros.”

“We all live together in DC,” Val said before Stevie could
argue. “We also own a cabin in the middle of nowhere that is
extremely secure. With our professions, we know a lot places you
can hide without feeling like a prisoner.”

CC picked up the argument. “You were already talking about
sending Emma off with Brad to his family’s place. The Feds are
going to be covering this place. Mills is going to be fixing the roof,
and—“

“And we have people posing as landscapers,” Val said. “I’ll be
here.”

“You can’t come into my home and tell me to ship my child
off!” Stevie was furious.

“Stevie, this is bad,” CC said.

“I get that.” Stevie fought against crying. “You trust her?”

“I have no choice.” CC sounded defeated. “I’ll be here. I’ve
taken a leave of absence.”

“What?” Stevie sat down when she felt her knees buckle. “You
never…”

“He’s coming, Stevie,” CC said in a strangled voice. “He’s
back, and the only way to bag him is to set a trap. It’s too dangerous
to let Emma stay. I hate this just as much as you do.”

“Fine. Brad, can you go?”

“Yes. I’ll call the restaurant and the club and tell them I have a
family emergency.”

“Jamie?” Stevie looked toward her.

“I don’t like it either.” Jamie also sounded defeated. “But there
doesn’t seem to be another way. It’s up to you and Brad.”

“Stevie,” Val said slowly, “right now, we can do this. We have
the people. If he’s on the run for much longer, they’ll cut back. I’ll
be sent back to DC. You’ll be left with this dufus named Finn.”

“Cathy Finn? I thought she retired?”

“No,” CC said. “Her ex-husband.”

“Oh, the one who caught you with Cathy.” Stevie almost
laughed until she realized how bad things really were. “That
wouldn’t be good. The guy hates you.”

“Who is Cathy?” Jamie asked.

“I kind of dated her.” CC squirmed.

“Really?” Jamie bristled.

“Focus, please,” CC said. “Stevie, the long weekend is coming
up. We can do this now, and Emma will be safe. She’ll be able to go
on with her life without him ever getting near her.”

“Stevie, we should do this,” Brad firmly stated. “We can’t
risk—”

“Okay!” Stevie caved in. “When?”

“Now.” CC reached over and held her hand. “Start packing her
things and wake her up. Tell her that she’s going on a trip with
Daddy.”

“Here.” Val held out her phone and pushed a couple of buttons.
Stevie almost laughed when CC jumped at the sound of her phone
beeping. “It’s copies so we haven’t broken the chain of evidence,”
Val explained, snatching CC’s phone. “Press here for Play and here
to Delete. I got to say I love the phones you guys are sporting.”

“I hate that everyone knows how to use my phone but me.” CC
snatched her phone back. She and Stevie watched in horror as the
grainy black-and-white image played before them.

“My God, it’s him.” Stevie trembled. “That’s my father. A
little older, a lot pudgier, but that’s him. Where was this?”

“Green Line.” Val’s stoic veneer cracked ever so slightly. “He
got off at the Boylston Village stop.”

“That’s three blocks from here.”

“That video is from the other day.”

“I’ll get Emma.”

Stevie hated everything that was happening. She hated Val for
coming up with a plan that would either make her run or be
separated from her daughter. She hated that Emma was being fussy
and she couldn’t tell her what was going on. How do you tell a child
that her grandfather was lurking around and that he’s a bad man?
She silently brooded while she tried to convince Emma that she
couldn’t pack her entire bedroom and that missing a couple of
school days wasn’t that big a deal. She hated feeling helpless,
almost as much as she hated seeing her older sister, who had always
been her protector, become helpless.

“I don’t want to go,” the still half-asleep Emma wailed as she
stomped downstairs.

“It’s only for a couple of days,” Stevie said. “You’ll be with
Daddy and his new friend.”

“There’s a chess set there,” Val said once Emma stomped into
the living room and expressed her displeasure by tossing her
backpack onto the floor.

“Daddy doesn’t know how to play chess.”

“It’s true.” Brad looked completely embarrassed.

“I do.”

Stevie had been so caught up with dealing with Emma’s tirade
that she missed the three strangers standing in her living room. He
wasn’t tall, but he was a well-built, dark-haired Latino man with
warm brown eyes.
Brad is going to be in heaven
,
she mused.

“I’m Ricky,” he said with a firm handshake. “And I love
playing chess,” he added, bending down to greet Emma.

Stevie only felt a small sense of comfort from his demeanor,
and the fact that he was clad in a powder blue polo with an HRC
logo embroidered on the breast. Just because he was family didn’t
mean she could trust him with her kid. She said, “See, Emma, it will
be fun.”

“Don’t want to go,” Emma screeched.

Stevie was at her wit’s end when Caitlin stood and crossed the
room. “Emma.” CC knelt to meet Emma’s eye level. “Stitch has a
glitch.” Stevie’s heart broke as she watched her daughter’s eyes
widen with fear.

“Do you understand?” CC tenderly clasped Emma’s shoulders.

“Yes.” Emma jutted out her chin, doing her best to appear
brave.

“You can talk to us every day,” Stevie said. “Even send videos
on Daddy’s phone. It’ll be fun.”

“Auntie Caitlin doesn’t know how to use her phone.”

“I’ll learn, so you and I can talk every day,” CC promised.
“Everything is going to be all right. But your mommy and I need
you to be brave.”

“I will.” Emma plopped her Orioles hat on her head and picked
up her stuffed puppy.

“Don’t forget to walk Dory,” Stevie said while scooping Emma
up in her arms.

“Dory?” Ricky asked.

“My practice puppy.” Emma held up the stuffed animal. “If I
do good with Dory, I get a real puppy.”

“These nice people are going to take you on a very special
plane ride,” Stevie tearfully explained. “You be good for Daddy.”

“I will,” Emma said, breaking Stevie’s heart when she clung
tighter to her.

Brenda softly broke the moment. “We have to go. Sorry,
ma’am.”

After a brief flurry of activity, they were gone. Stevie’s nerves
were frazzled. She had just sent her daughter off to parts unknown
with complete strangers.

“Jamie, do you still have that bottle of Disaronno?”

“I’ll be right back.” Jamie moved quickly, seemingly relieved
to have something to do. “How many glasses?”

“I’ll join you.” CC slumped down on the sofa.

“I’m on duty,” Val somberly added.

“As?” Stevie asked while Jamie retreated to grab the bottle of
liquor.

“Oh, right,” Val stammered slightly while CC glared at her.
“I’m going to be posing as your new girlfriend. That way, no one
will question why I’m hanging around or sleeping over. Unless,
there’s someone…”

“No.” Stevie couldn’t help notice that Val was sporting a slight
blush. “Considering what happened earlier, did you think there was
someone?”

“No, I just didn’t want to assume.”

“You failed to mention that your cover was going to be as my
sister’s lover,” CC said with a snarl. “You could just as easily pose
as a visiting cousin.”

“It’s a perfect cover.” Stevie joined her sister on the sofa. A
stifling silence descended over the room. Thankfully, Jamie
returned with a bucket of ice, three glasses, and a large bottle of
amaretto.

“Don’t be shy with that pour,” Stevie said. It wasn’t her style to
drink during a crisis. The past few days had just been too much for
her to deal with. Jamie heeded her instructions and poured the
drinks while Val lurked by the front window.

“Stitch has a glitch?” Val said, breaking the uncomfortable
silence.

“It’s a code,” CC explained. “We have a bunch of codes to
relate emergencies or to let Emma know that she’s safe. Stitch has a
glitch means there’s danger and she needs to just do as we say. Or
she can use it to alert us she’s in danger without having to say it.”

“Good idea, given the state of the world.” Val moved slightly
closer to the trio. “So, it works?”

“Up until tonight it was just a theory,” Jamie said bitterly.

“Who’s Stitch?”

“A Disney character,” Stevie answered, fully aware that Val
was simply trying to distract them. “I hate this day. At least I can
track Emma with the family locator on her phone.”

“The cabin is in Virginia,” Val said. Once again, her voice
sounded tense. “There’s a lake and lots of stuff for her to do. They’ll
have a blast. That’s where I was heading before my vacation plans
fell apart.”

“Deputy?” CC’s strained voice interrupted. Stevie braced
herself for the tirade her sister was certain to release. “Can I have
my gun back now?”

Stevie’s jaw dropped as she watched Val extract her sister’s
nine-millimeter pistol from inside her blazer.

CC held out her hand and impatiently snapped her fingers.
“The magazine? I don’t keep fifteen-round clips lying around the
house.”

“Fine.” Val tossed the magazine at the grumpy detective. “It’s
not like you don’t have a bug strapped to your ankle. I’m guessing a
forty-caliber Smith and Wesson.”

Stevie watched as her sister simply nodded and reloaded her
gun. She was stunned to see CC holster her weapon as if it were no
big deal.

“Yeah, this is making me feel better,” Stevie said sarcastically.
“You’re drinking, which you almost never do, and you’re carrying
guns around the house. Care to tell me just how Val came into
possession of your gun in the first place?”

“I had to be sure I could trust her.”

“Speaking of which.” Val stepped closer to CC. “The next time
you aim your weapon at me, be ready to use it.” The coldness in
Val’s voice sent a shiver down Stevie’s spine.

“I’ll remember that, for the next time you put your hands on
my sister.”

“Isn’t this fun?” Jamie gave a snort and swirled the ice in her
glass. “They’re trying to out-butch each other. Another round,
Stevie?”

“God, yes.”

“Stevie?” CC started as Jamie handed her a fresh drink. “Not to
add more stress to your evening…”

“Crap, there’s more?”

“No.” Caitlin pushed her drink aside. “I just wanted to tell you
that in the morning I’m taking a trip to Waltham. I didn’t know if
you wanted to go.”

“Visiting our mother?”

“Yes. I need to be sure she isn’t involved with this.”

“I’ll pass.” Stevie felt anger trying to spill over. “You go and
do what you need to do. I have nothing to say to her.”

“You’re sure you’re up for that, sweetie?” Jamie asked.

“Don’t have a choice.”

“You need sleep.” Jamie stood and offered her hand to her
wife. “It’s almost dawn, and I don’t know about the rest of you, but
I feel like hell. Try to get some sleep, Stevie.”

“I’ll try. Don’t forget to close the connecting door.”

“I thought we might leave it open.” CC seemed flustered while
she glared at Val. “You know, to be on the safe side.”

“Close the door,” Stevie said. “The last thing I need is to hear
the two of you. I swear you’re worse than a couple of horny
teenagers.”

Stevie smiled when Jamie winked at her before closing, but not
locking, the door that connected the two homes. She turned her
attention to the brunette who was still stalking around her living
room.

“So, Deputy Val. Now that we’re dating, mind telling me
where you’re planning on sleeping?”

The question hung in the air as Val stood in the middle of the
living room with her jaw hanging open. “I’m… I’m…” she
stammered before she shook her head and managed to speak like a
normal person. “I’m not.”

“Oh?” Stevie poured herself another drink.

“I’m on duty,” Val reminded her charge. In her heart, she was
also reminding herself. “I won’t be sleeping tonight. I’m here to
ensure your safety.”

“Thank you.”

Val checked that the house was indeed secure. She told herself
she was performing her duty and not trying to avoid the attractive
woman who was watching her every move. When she had checked
and rechecked every nook and cranny of the modest home, she
finally sat down. Stevie’s brow furrowed when Val chose to sit as
far away from her as possible without being in another room.

“So,” Val absently said. Her mind turned completely blank.

“Yes?”

“Uh…” Val hesitated, still unable to conjure up anything
remotely intelligent to say. “Uh,” she repeated, feeling the heat of
Stevie’s gaze. “Were your parents Fleetwood Mac fans?”

The chuckle Stevie released informed Val it wasn’t the first
time someone had asked her that question. Val rubbed her hands
along her slacks while Stevie just sat there looking at her.

“Yes,” Stevie finally answered. “My mother is or was. I have
no idea how her taste in music runs these days.”

“Aren’t you curious?” If Val were given the chance to see her
mother again, she would jump at it.

“No.” Stevie’s head fell slightly back. She blew out an
exasperated breath before continuing. “A long time ago, my sister
was wounded. You probably already know that, since you’ve been
checking us out.”

“She was shot.”

“At the time, I was living in Rhode Island with my parents. The
department contacted them. I had no idea what had happened. They
never said anything about it. The department called again. Caitlin
wasn’t doing well, and the doctors feared the worst. This time I
answered the call. I told my mother, unaware that she already knew.
She didn’t care. I hitchhiked all the way up to Boston. I sat by
Caitlin’s bedside, praying for her. All through the ordeal, I tried
repeatedly to get my mother to come and see her. She refused. The
last time I tried, she hung up on me. I accepted something that day.
Something that I had long suspected. It really was Caitlin and me
against the world. So, no, I think I’ll pass on seeing her. I don’t
really have anything to say to her. Are you planning on sitting way
over there all night?”