Checkmate (Caitlin Calloway Mystery Book 2) (9 page)

“How many times was he…” She paused, searching for the correct words.

“Twice that we know of. Probably more.”

“Any particular reason why Mrs. Stern chose this course of action?” Her question had nothing to do with the man’s health; Jamie was simply curious. Still, she knew everyone in the room couldn’t wait to hear the answer as to why a man’s wife would try to fry his vital parts.

“She thought he was having an affair with the nanny.”

“That would do it,” Jamie said wryly before returning her attention to her students. Mr. Stern howled in pain throughout the entire event. “Do you know how many volts he got zapped with, Detective…”

“Mulligan. We’re guessing it was the standard fifty thousand volts. The taser, along with Mrs. Stern, are downtown with Detective Calloway.”

“CC?” Stella asked and grinned when Mulligan nodded. “She must be loving this.”

“Would you like me to contact my partner to confirm how many volts?”

“Not necessary. I can find Detective Calloway if I need her. Thank you, Detective Mulligan. If you don’t mind, we have to help Mr. Stern. I’ll come get you.”

“CC has a new partner?” Stella questioned as they continued their work.

“News to me.” Jamie sighed while her patient pleaded for his momma.

Jamie and her team did what little they could to alleviate Mr. Stern’s pain before arranging to admit him. Once she felt confident enough to leave the fledgling doctors alone, she sought out Detective Mulligan. It wasn’t hard to find the attractive woman, who was easily chatting with the nurses.

“Detective?” Jamie was curious about the woman who was suddenly working with her wife.

“Any news?”

“Not much to tell you.” Jamie kept her tone even. “Mr. Stern suffered from a severe electrical shock.”

“No kidding. Got to see it firsthand.”

“Poor bastard.” Jamie cringed. “We’re admitting him. He’s heavily sedated at the moment. He didn’t say anything useful during his treatment. Mostly he just wailed, cried, and generally begged for mercy.”

“Hey, I don’t have the same equipment, and I felt for the guy.”

“Me, too,” Jamie couldn’t help but agree. “Then again, you mess with your kid’s nanny…”

“We don’t think he did,” Mulligan said. “We think the wife is a bit off. Right now, your wife sorry, I recognized you from the picture on Calloway’s desk, she’s questioning Mrs. Stern.”

“I bet she’s enjoying that.” Jamie gave a laugh. “Are you all right?” She noticed a slight bruising on Mulligan’s jaw.

“His wife punched me,” Leigh grumbled. “One of your people already checked it out. Not that I needed it.”

“You needed it for the arrest report.” Jamie smiled. “I’m familiar with the need for paperwork.”

“Being married to CC, you must be well versed in police procedures.”

She was pleased that Mulligan had acknowledged her relationship with CC. It was a small thing, but it gave her comfort that this woman understood that CC was spoken for. She trusted CC; it was just nice to have all the cards on the table. In their early days, CC and Jamie had more than their fair share of misunderstandings.

“Are you new to homicide?” she asked.

“No,” Mulligan said with a charming smile. “I’m with missing persons. This case turned into a kind of a crossover.”

“I get it.” Jamie nodded. “Can’t talk about an ongoing investigation.”

“An ER doc married to a cop. It must get interesting at times.”

“To say the least. I need to get back to it.” Jamie offered her hand, pleased when Mulligan returned the gesture with a firm handshake. “It takes a long time to find a bed for a new patient. Why don’t you keep Mr. Stern company?”

“Thank you, Dr. Jameson. I’ll have a uniform stay with him. I need to go.” Mulligan’s voice turned grim as she checked her cell phone.

Jamie turned to resume her duties when she heard her name being paged. “Ah, that would be my wife calling to tell me know she’s working late.”

Chapter 7

CC had spent the better part of an hour with Mrs. Natalie Stern listening to her grouse about being held captive and calling her husband the most unflattering names. Then she expanded her vocabulary to some very nasty words regarding teenage girls.

“Again, Mrs. Stern, I advise you that you do have the right to remain silent.” CC prayed that the nasty woman would heed her advice.

“Why are you keeping me here?” Mrs. Stern screeched. “I need to be with my children.”

“Your in-laws are with the boys,” CC said. “And you’re here because you’ve broken the law.”

“Please.”

CC cringed at the way the woman tried to dismiss her. “Again, possession of a taser gun is illegal.”

“I need to protect myself.”

“Shooting your husband with a taser gun is considered assault, not self-defense.”

“Bastard deserved it.”

“Shooting him twice and refusing to stop is, again, assault and then there is resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. You struck my partner when she tried to put the handcuffs on you.”

“You people broke into my home and put me in handcuffs like I’m some sort of criminal. The nerve of you people!”

“We entered your residence because you were tasering your husband.” CC was stunned by the woman’s insolence. “You could have killed him.”

“Serves him right, the lying, cheating, son of a bitch.”

“Who do you think he was having an affair with?”

“That British slut,” she bellowed, as if it was obvious.

“Where is she?”

CC leaned forward when Mrs. Stern parted her lips. She was going to say it. CC could feel it in her bones. Then just as suddenly, Natalie Stern said, “I’d like to speak to my attorney” and turned mute.

“Okay.” CC shrugged. “Have it your way. There will be an officer by to take you to booking. I hope you enjoy waiting for your attorney while sitting in a jail cell. Oh and I hope you know a good lawyer. Somehow I don’t think your tax guy is going to be up for this.”

Natalie Stern didn’t even flinch. She still possessed the same annoyed look of boredom she had displayed since CC placed her in the back of a squad car. Unable to resist the urge to irk the woman, CC made a production out of snapping shut the folder in front of her and storming out of the room. She unclipped her cell phone from her belt and dialed the familiar number.

“Dr. Jameson, please.” She rolled her shoulders in an effort to relieve the tension that had been building. “Hey, honey, I’m going to be late. Oh you did, did you?” She laughed when Jamie explained how she already met Mr. Stern. “I’ve got another call. I’ll see you when I get in tonight. Love you.”

“Love you, too. Stay safe,” Jamie said and ended the call.

“Calloway,” CC said to her other caller. She patiently listened as Mulligan explained the situation. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” CC disconnected the call. She wanted to burst back into the interrogation room and throttle Natalie Stern. Instead, she entered the room adjacent to the one Mrs. Stern now occupied.

“Dennis, stop the tape. She asked for a lawyer,” she told the tech who had been watching and taping the interview.

“Enjoying the show?” she asked Max, who was lurking in the corner.

“She didn’t even blink.” Max grunted. “The only thing she’s done since you left is yawn.”

“What can I say? She’s a douche bag,” CC said with a snarl. “Mulligan’s on her way to the park. They found a body in the woods. I’m going there. Would you mind printing and booking Mrs. Stern?”

“I’ll enjoy it.”

“Are you interested now?”

“Now we have a body. That makes it homicide. Want me to sit on the Queen Mother while she waits for her lawyer? Or shall I just shove her into the disgusting, most crowded cell we have available? You know, the one where we park the working girls and junkies.”

“It’s like you read my mind.”

Chapter 8

CC felt her stomach churn when she approached Mulligan, who was standing over the body. The woman was smaller than CC thought she would be. CC fought to keep her mind on the clinical.

“Female, late teens, early twenties,” Marissa Vergas, the medical examiner, explained. “You taking over, Calloway?”

“We’re sharing with missing persons.”

“You know how to share?”

“Time of death?” CC ignored the jab. Marissa was an excellent medical examiner and a sore loser. A dozen or so years ago, they had dated. It had been brief. CC had moved on and mistakenly assumed that Marissa had done the same.

“The decomp has progressed, but the cold snap we’ve had the last couple of weeks makes it hard to pin down. I’d say at least a week. I’ll know more when we get her back to the lab.”

“We’ll be in touch.”

“What? You don’t want to know cause of death?”

“I figured that expensive designer belt wrapped around her throat might have something to do with it.” CC couldn’t resist pushing the ME’s buttons. She turned to Mulligan. “Armani?”

“Yes.”

“Mrs. Stern lawyered up,” CC said as they walked around the small mound of dirt that had become Annie Fuller’s final resting place. “Max is booking her on the assault and weapons charges. Sticking her in a cell while she waits for her suit. Don’t know who she’ll call. I doubt a lady like that has a criminal defense mouthpiece on speed dial.” She wasn’t certain if Leigh had heard her. The detective just stood there staring down at poor Annie’s body. “You okay?”

“No,” Mulligan answered grimly. “I knew it. I knew it the first time I talked to Natalie Stern. Hell, I even knew why. I could just feel it.”

“Now, we need to use that, so she doesn’t get away it.”

“Wish I could just beat the snot out of her. I’ve already called for the warrant. Should be ready before we get to the Stern’s residence.”

“You’re way ahead of me.” CC nodded with approval. “You go, and I’ll meet you back at the station. I want to stop off at the hospital. I’ve got a couple of questions for Mr. Stern. Marissa, is there any way you can put a rush on this?” She hated asking the surly doctor for favors but the stakes were high.

“Strangled teenage girl dumped in a shallow grave? Calloway, you didn’t even need to ask. Swing by the lab before you head back to the station.”

“Thanks. Mulligan, if Mrs. Stern’s mouthpiece shows up, why don’t you start without me?”

“She hates me,” Mulligan said. “Unless taking a swing at someone is the way she shows her endearment.”

“Could be,” CC tried to joke, feeling concerned by Mulligan’s lack of confidence. “Look, you know what to do. If you’re worried that she’s going to get the best of you, take Max into the box. We don’t have a lot of time. She’ll be arraigned on the assault charges first thing in the morning.”

“I’m not letting her walk.”

“Good.”

Chapter 9

Val was upset by the way things had turned out. “I should be on vacation,” she muttered as she circled the quiet neighborhood. She had planned on checking out the house hours ago. For some reason, the GPS in her government issued sedan decided to take her on a tour of the entire state of Massachusetts.

She slowed the car and peered through the darkness as she caught a glimpse of a light. She calmed her breathing and studied the scene as best she could. She could see clearly through a window. A woman and a young girl sat watching television. The scene was peaceful.

“Let’s hope it stays that way.” She caught sight of a curtain move two doors down. “Good neighbors to boot.” She smiled, assuming someone had noticed her car. She put the car in gear and went on her way.

*   *  *

CC grinned when she spied Jamie leaning against the nurses’ station with her back to her. She crept up behind her, signaling for Stella not to give her away. She nuzzled Jamie’s neck and purred when she felt her wife shivering against her touch. Things might have evolved in a different direction if they weren’t in the middle of the hospital emergency room.

“Exciting night?” CC playfully whispered in Jamie’s ear. “Could be. But my wife is working late,” Jamie teased turning to find her wife smiling down at her.

“Sorry about that.”

“No, you’re not.” Jamie reached over and squeezed her arm. “I haven’t seen you this happy for a while.”

“How are your new recruits? Give them the ‘do your job or people die’ speech, yet?”

“Am I that predictable?”

“You, predictable? Never. You can tell me all about the new goofballs tonight. In the meantime, I need to see a man about his nuts.”

“Ah, Mr. Stern.” Jamie nodded. “He’s in bay three, crying like a baby. There’s a uniform sitting outside. How crazy is his wife?”

“Just enough to be dangerous,” CC said. “If you’re sleeping when I get in, should I wake you?”

“You better.” Jamie gave CC’s backside a quick pat.

Bolstered with a sudden sense of urgency, CC quickly maneuvered her way around the treatment areas until she found Charles Stern. She paused for a moment to have a word with the officer who was standing guard.

“Door open, ears open,” she told the bored looking patrolman.

“Anything you say, Detective.”

“Thank you, Rodney.” She blew into the treatment room. J.M. Charles Stern was curled up and still whimpering. CC couldn’t fault the man.

“Which was more painful, the way your wife behaved or having your nuts toasted?”

“Get out of here,” he said and groaned.

“I know it’s been a long day.” CC couldn’t help feeling smug. “I just need to take care of a couple of things first. J.M. Charles Stern, you have the right to remain silent; you have the right to an attorney,”

“What!” he screeched, sounding like a little girl. “I’m the one who was assaulted.”

“And you refuse to press charges. Good thing here in the Commonwealth we can do it for you. Domestic violence is a very serious issue.”