Checkmate (Caitlin Calloway Mystery Book 2) (37 page)

“I can’t believe Shark did it. Did he say why?”

“Uh…” Val hesitated, quickly catching on to the fact that Calloway omitted that part of the story. “He said he didn’t like him. With inmates, sometimes that’s all it takes. What sucks is that he was able to get to him while Beaumont was in federal custody. I have some explaining to do.”

“That’s what Caitlin said. She also said there was a good chance that the state was going to contact me regarding arrangements. Is that possible?”

“Yes.” Val’s heart sank. “You were Beaumont’s only living relative that we know of. His mother is still alive, but we couldn’t trace her. After Beaumont went to jail, she fell off the radar.”

“His mother? I thought she was dead.” Stevie grimaced. “I guess I’ll wait to see if anyone calls. I thought this would fall on my mother.”

“They’re divorced.”

“Lucky Mom,” Stevie said with a lingering hint of disgust.

“You must be anxious to start your vacation.”

“It’s still on hold for the moment.”

“Oh?”

Not the enthusiastic response Val was hoping for. “I have to stick around until Mr. Chagrin…”

“Shark.”

“Shark is arraigned.” Val was still fighting against the tightness that had been building up in her chest since the moment she decided to drive over to see Stevie. “When I get back to DC, I’ll throw myself on the mercy of my boss. I might still get that vacation. Chances are I won’t.”

“Oh?”

Again with the monosyllabic response that could be interpreted a thousand different ways. Val had never found herself at such a disadvantage in her entire life.

“If by some miracle I do, I was thinking of heading to the cabin or…”

“Or?”

“Or,” Val said, feeling slightly encouraged. “I’ve been thinking of taking my car out of storage for a little road trip. It’s a nineteen sixty-seven Corvette Roadster.”

“Nice ride.”

“Thanks.” Val was embarrassed by the blush she felt creeping up on her. “I restored it myself. I had hoped maybe you could join me, then I realized it’s a sports car and there’s no backseat.”

“Emma.” Stevie nodded.

“Not something I’ve had to consider in the past.”

“Half the women I meet run because I have a daughter,” Stevie said quietly. “The other half are far too into me because they think I’m offering an instant family. One woman I went out to dinner with was planning Emma’s future before the appetizers arrived. She hadn’t even met my daughter. Another one, who I swear all I did was join her for a cup of coffee, showed up the next day with a gift for Emma. I love my daughter, and we are a package deal, but I want someone who loves me and my kid.”

“Look, I know I’m uneasy around Emma,” Val said. “The simple truth is, I haven’t spent a lot of time around kids since I was one.”

“I know.” Stevie smiled and brushed Val’s arm tenderly. Val couldn’t suppress the shiver that ran through her. “You’re the right mix. You want to get to know me and Emma.”

“There’s a but coming.” Val’s body was quivering from Stevie’s innocent caress.

“But—”

“You see I knew that was coming,” Val said, half-joking in an attempt to lighten the mood. “But this was just casual for you. I get it.”

“No, you don’t.” Stevie’s dark brown eyes misted up. The sight tugged at Val’s heart. “I need to keep this casual.”

“Because?”

“Your job.” Stevie looked embarrassed. “If it wasn’t for what you do for a living, I’d be looking at this moment completely differently.”

“My job?” Val didn’t believe it, despite the look of sincerity in Stevie’s eyes.

“I already pace the floor at night,” Stevie blurted out, her voice trembling. “I’m very proud of my sister and what she does, but it scares me to death on a daily basis. I’ve already sat by a hospital bed once, wondering if she was ever going to wake up. What you do is even more dangerous. Which sucks because you are an amazingly sexy woman. But…”

“But you have enough excitement in your life.” Val wondered if Stevie was just letting her down easy. The look in Stevie’s eyes and her demeanor screamed that she was telling the truth. Val strode across the room and grabbed her bag. She paused for a moment, kissed Stevie on the cheek, and walked out the door. She tossed her bag in the car. She felt like an idiot for letting her guard down. Never again, she promised herself and sped off.

Chapter 34

CC sat in the living room, flipping through the more than six hundred TV stations. She could see the light was still on next door. She wondered if Stevie was seducing Deputy Brown or breaking the poor woman’s heart.

Deep down, CC was hopeful that things would work out. Stevie had been alone for far too long. Before Jamie had reentered her life, CC had lived in a similar manner, content to drift from one woman to the next. All of that changed with one feisty little blonde doctor. She smiled at the memory and made her way upstairs to her office. She might as well get work done since sleep was still eluding her. She flipped the boards over.

The Stern case was done. It was time to just wait for the trial and the circus to begin.

On the other two boards were Bert’s movements and the mysterious deaths. With Jack’s accident, she couldn’t help feeling there was a connection. She tried to study the boards, but her mind kept wandering. Frustrated, she flipped over the board for the Stern case, which only seemed to be a distraction. She sat back down and then she saw it. For the first time, everything was perfectly clear.

“My God, Brooks was right the whole time. This is bad, a mad man who has nothing but time on his hands thinking of ways to get even with the people who have wronged him. How in the name of God is he pulling this off?” She shuddered at the possibilities and was frustrated by not knowing how things had been set in motion. She made a list of the information she needed but might not be able to obtain: the phone logs from Bert’s phone, all of the autopsy reports, and the official police reports.

Thinking of the one person who might be willing to help her, she phoned Brooks.

“I know what’s going on, and you’re right. Now tell me how we can prove it?” She blurted out the words before he could properly answer the phone. “I need to see the files, and we don’t have jurisdiction.”

“I know,” Brooks said. “It’s been like spitting in the wind. Everyone thinks I’m crazy. But I can feel it. There’s no way this many people who have a connection to that little weasel just dropped dead.”

“Maybe we should just let him out, have them declare him sane. Texas still has the two bodies found on I-20. Don’t forget about the one in Ft. Lauderdale, before he got savvy with forensic evidence. Maybe we should just let them have him now.”

“Smartest thing you ever did was run his DNA after he was locked up.”

“I just made sure it was entered into the data bank.” She sighed. The need for sleep was finally catching up with her.

“Wouldn’t you hate to be his lawyer? Can’t say he was crazy at the time, because then the prosecutor can mention the other victims. Juries hate it when rich little whiners get away with hurting women. Leave out the crazy defense, and we have the pubic hairs that match his DNA.”

“Good plan, except he isn’t due for another competency hearing for a good while.”

“Yeah, I know.”

CC promised to keep him up-to-date and finally called it a night. She climbed under the covers, and the bed felt cold without Jamie there. Thankfully she was so exhausted, she was able to fall asleep.

*   *  *

Feeling utterly miserable, Val dragged herself to her hotel room. The only upside was, she had managed to get Ricky booked in the room next to hers. She needed him. After everything they had been through together, Ricky was the only one who would understand. Her heart sank when she spied the Do Not Disturb sign on the door. She chose to ignore it, lying to herself that he just needed a good night’s sleep. She knocked on the door with a loud pounding. She was surprised when it took a few moments for him to answer the door. Given their background, both were light sleepers. When he appeared in the doorway wearing nothing but a sheet, she understood. She almost laughed at the way he covered the doorway to prevent her from seeing inside the room.

“What’s up, Brownie? I thought you’d be packing so you can head back to Connecticut.”

“My prisoner had the bad manners to get shanked.”

“Who did it?” He was suddenly all professional, seeming to forget that he was standing in the middle of a hallway wearing nothing but a sheet.

“Another inmate who had good reason.”

“Then you’re all wrapped up.” Ricky gave her a curious look. “So why are you here and not shacked up with Stevie?”

“Wasn’t in the cards. I can’t wait to get out of this town.” Val didn’t know if she should feel dread or envy. “Ever since I’ve been here, I feel like people are pissing on my boots and telling me that it’s raining.”

“I understand,” Ricky said.

“Doesn’t matter anyway. The doer is being arraigned on Tuesday morning. He said that he’s pleading guilty. I’ll be heading back to DC right after that.”

“They always say they’re going to come clean,” Ricky said.

“Never do. All of a sudden they’re recanting, and their lawyer is screaming police brutality.”

“I don’t know.” Val wanted to agree. She had seen it time and time again. Still there was something about Shark that told her Calloway’s assessment of the situation was spot on. “It’s late. Go back to doing whatever it was you were doing. I’m raiding the mini- bar and looking forward to a gin-induced coma.”

“Good night,” Ricky called after her.

When she got to her room, she flung off her shoes and snapped open the honor bar. She poured herself a healthy dose of gin with a splash of tonic. While she sipped the potent cocktail, she decided to flip through her notes. In two days, her work on this case would be put to rest. Whoever was aiding and abetting Albert Beaumont would fall on someone else’s shoulders. Normally, that would be fine by her, but someone had been yanking her chain, and she didn’t like being played.

“I need answers,” she muttered. She sprawled the file out on the bed. “I need to know who did this.” She took a healthy swig of her drink. “I need ice and lime,” she added with a grimace and a cold stare at her beverage. Without venturing down to the bar, which was closed anyway, lime was out of the question. She grabbed the ice bucket and set off in search of the ice machine. The giggling she heard coming from Ricky’s room irked her. She was jealous. If things had gone differently, right at that moment instead of roaming the hallways of a strange hotel searching for the ice machine, she’d be wrapped up in Stevie’s arms.

Val tried to relax and let it go. In the past she had been to places that most definitely qualified as hell, and she survived. One little brown-eyed computer geek was not going to get the best of her. Several teeny tiny bottles of Tanqueray gin later, she found herself dialing Stevie Calloway’s number. Her last working brain cell pleaded for her to hang up. The advice came too late. Before she could disconnect, Stevie answered the call.

“Hey, Val.”

“Oh, crap,” Val said, realizing what she was doing. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be calling.”

“Ah, someone has the drunken dailies. Does this mean you’ll be sporting a new tattoo in the morning?”

“Christ, I hope not.” Val’s head suddenly throbbed. “I should be safe. The only mate I have in town is next door making time with your baby’s daddy.”

“Uh-huh.” Stevie sounded tired.

“Did I wake you?”

“No. I’m still keyed up from having Emma home. She kept me running around most of the night. Then she wanted to wait up for Caitlin and Jamie. She got a bit cranky when she found out Jamie wasn’t coming home tonight. I’m exhausted, but I’ve never been so happy to have her home. How are you doing besides a little on the buzzy side?”

“A little?” Val barked with laughter. “Me? I’m just trying to wrap things up. Once your buddy Shark is arraigned, I’ll be on my way. A quick stop in Connecticut, then it’s straight down to DC.”

“And possibly a vacation?”

“Don’t really care anymore.”

“Val, I’m sorry.” Even with the gin clouding her senses, Val could hear the sincerity in Stevie’s voice. “I never meant to hurt you, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see where things might go from here, but…”

“But my job isn’t what you’d hope for.”

“You’re doing something you love. It’s just so dangerous. I can’t. Which sucks, because you are sexy as hell.”

“That is not fair.” Val muttered. “You tell me this now, when I’m way across town and drunk so I can’t drive over there and ravish you.”

“I tried to tell you before.” Stevie’s tone turned timid. “I should stop now. I don’t think either of us should be stringing the other along.”

Val couldn’t think, much less speak, at that moment.

“You still there?”

“Yes,” Val reluctantly admitted. “I get it, Stevie. As much as I would love to spend every free moment with you until I leave, it would make leaving that much harder. I guess there’s nothing left to say.”

“Val?”

“Just promise me you’ll take care of yourself and the munchkin.”

“I promise, if you promise to do the same.”

“I don’t have any munchkins.”

“Cute.” Stevie’s throaty chuckle sent a jolt down Val’s spine.

“Promise that you’ll be careful.”

“I promise.”

Val hung up, accepting that it was the end. She found it funny that they never really had a beginning, yet there was most definitely an ending. She packed up her files, dumped the last of her drink down the drain, and crawled into bed. She wanted nothing more than to get as far away from Boston as she could.

*   *  *

A familiar touch caressed CC’s stomach. “You better stop that. My wife could be home any moment now.” She didn’t bother to open her eyes.

“Will she now?” Jamie purred into her ear. “Then we better hurry.”

“Have you no shame, woman?” CC chuckled and finally blinked her eyes open. Much to her delight, Jamie stole a lingering kiss. Instinctively she wrapped her arms around Jamie’s waist. Eagerly she began to remove the pale blue scrubs Jamie was wearing. By the way they smelled, Jamie had been wearing them all night.