Find My Baby (14 page)

“Absolutely; stay with her. Find the sons-of-bitches behind this. Do everything you can to blow this case open.”

“What about Wagner?”

Fire shot from Captain Jensen’s dark eyes. He was madder than a disturbed hornet. “I’ll tell her the truth. We’re off the case.”

“And Maguire?” Luke asked. Just as well take advantage of all that temper. “He’s been on this thing from the beginning. Can I keep him in the loop?”

Jensen swiped a hand through thinning hair. “Why the hell not? I’d love to get to the bottom of this, just to show that prick Richards what we can do.”

Luke nodded. “Thanks.”

“I’ll have a copy of the files ready in an hour. Want to wait?”

Kayla was out there alone with a killer on the loose. He shook his head. “There are things I need to check on. Maguire or I will pick them up later.”

“Fine. Just stay out of Richards’ way. I don’t want any complaints.”

Luke thanked the captain and left. He’d spent more time here than he’d wanted. He needed to find Kayla. Now.

Chapter Twelve

“Where are you?” Terry asked.

“Heading to Howard’s to keep an eye on Kayla,” Luke answered, as he swerved around a slow-moving truck. He’d save the good news till later. He was being facetious. But he was upset that HPD had been pulled from the investigation. At least the captain was angry enough to keep him on the case.

It was good to know he was free to keep Kayla safe. At least that’s what he told himself. The truth was, he just wanted to be with her.

“I’ll meet you there in an hour or so.”

When Luke pulled into the parking lot, the first thing he saw was Kayla’s rental. His relief was instant.

When she walked in front of the window, the sight of her slim figure made his heart beat faster. Damn. What was it about her?

He sat. Watched and waited. Every time she came in sight, his blood heated up. He wanted to hold her. More, he wanted to put her smack dab in the middle of his future.

Did he really want to go there again? His ex had dumped him the minute things didn’t go her way. His real mother had given him away. His adoptive mother had lied by omission when she didn’t tell him he’d been adopted. Could he trust another woman? Kayla passed in front of the window again. Luke leaned closer for a better look. Everything in him wanted to believe she was different.

She smiled at a customer. In that split second he fell for her. Hard.

Terry opened the car door and slid in beside him. “How long have you been sitting out here? What’s the deal?”

“You’re going to be best man at my wedding.”

Terry choked. “Wedding? What the hell are you talking about?” His glance flew toward the grill, then back to Luke. “Have you lost your mind?”

“Probably.”

Kayla had her back to them when they entered the grill. So they took a booth and waited. In minutes, she approached, dropped menus on the table. “Can I help...?” She stopped in mid-sentence, her smile turning to a frown. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re hungry.”

“Do you have news?” she asked, hope leaping in her eyes.

“Nothing that will help.”

She winced.

“The big news is; the FBI has taken over. HPD is out.” Luke didn’t know who was more surprised. Terry or Kayla. “Don’t worry. The captain gave us the go ahead to stay on the case.”

“I don’t understand,” Kayla began.

“The FBI had their eye on an attorney by the name of Graham who we think is linked to a case we’re working on. He turned up dead. There’s a possibility that your case, our case, and the attorney’s death could be linked. So the FBI took control.” He wasn’t going to tell her that everyone, including the FBI, thought the child was out of state, maybe even out of the country. “The captain was so angry, he gave us a thumbs-up to stay on.”

She turned several shades paler. “Someone else has died?”

“We’re trying to find the connection. We’ll talk about it later.”

More customers entered. “Are you going to order? I’m getting busy.”

“How about a couple of burgers, fries and two large sodas?”

“Glad to see you boys eating so healthy,” she mumbled walking away.

Luke watched as she waited on the next table. “She could wait on the killer and not even know it.” He looked over at Terry. “I’ve tried to get her to quit. She won’t.”

“Women can be stubborn,” Terry offered.

“Voice of experience?”

Terry chuckled.

Kayla brought their drinks over, hurried to the next customer as Jackie came out from the back.

“Pretty,” Terry said.

Luke didn’t know if Terry was talking about Jackie or Kayla. “There’s a lot more to Kayla Hunter than beauty.” She had an inner strength that belied her vulnerable look, and a determination to find her child that astounded him.

Terry gave Luke a scathing look. “You’re kidding about the marriage thing, aren’t you? You don’t know the woman. Right now she’s traumatized by the loss of her child, and you don’t know if she’ll recover.”

Jackie saw them and gave a finger wave. Terry did the same back at her.

“Then we’ll have to find him.”

“Jeez, Luke. You could at least wait until the case is closed.”

Luke’s mouth spread into a big, goofy grin. Then sobered. “Don’t sweat it. Kayla’s so absorbed in her search for Sam, she wouldn’t give me a look if I fell on my face at her feet.”

Terry shook his head. “The odds are we won’t find the kid. Then what?”

“I’m going to take a leaf from Kayla’s book. I’m not going to think along those lines. Instead I’m going to focus on a miracle.”

Terry changed the subject. “So what really went down at headquarters?”

“Not a lot to add. With the FBI in charge, we’re more or less on our own. I’d like a look at the lawyer’s phone records. They might tell us what we need to know.” Luke leaned across the table. “Do you still have a friend at the phone company? Maybe we can get a jump on the FBI. They won’t give us the time of day now.”

“Done.”

Terry took an envelope out of his pocket. “Take a look at these. I think I finally stumbled onto something.”

Luke grabbed the envelope, his eyes widening as a stack of photos spilled out. “What’s this?”

Terry leaned back, a satisfied look on his face. “I followed Marcie today like we planned. Only instead of going to the mall, she went to the McDonald’s on Post Oak.”

“So?”

“She met this guy. And he wasn’t her insurance man.”

“Tell me about it.”

“I grabbed my camera before I followed her inside. Once there, she made a beeline to a back booth where this guy waited. I found one close by where I took pictures and listened in on their conversation. I’d bet my last dime they’re lovers.” He paused to look around. “Then I went to Walgreen’s and had them print these out.”

“Good thinking. So what did you hear?” Luke asked as he spread the pictures over the tabletop.

“Enough to convince me we’ve been right all along.”

Luke looked up. “You’re kidding?”

“Nope,” Terry took a sip of his drink. “The guy chided her for demanding the meeting. She said she couldn’t stay away. He told her they had to be careful, that this couldn’t happen again. Though reluctant, she agreed. They’re in this together.”

Reaching across the table, Luke gave Terry a knuckle shake. “Good work. They hired a hit-man.”

“Now they’re biding their time.”

“We’ll get this to the captain,” Luke said. Then realized it was the FBI who would follow up. Not HPD. “I think we’ve got her, Ter. If the guy turns out to be her lover and the box the courier took to the jewelers contains the jewels she claimed were stolen, Marcie’s a goner.”

“Something’s finally going right.”

Luke’s gaze swung once more to Kayla. “What do you think about getting together tonight to go over everything? We need to work together now more than ever.” It would be a good excuse to be close to Kayla, to make sure she was safe.

Terry looked over at Jackie who was laughing with a customer. “Does that include Jackie?”

Luke watched his partner, who couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the blonde. “Why not? She and Kayla seem tight.”

“She’s a pain-in-the-ass.”

Luke gave his friend a long look. “She is cute.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“It’s what I heard. Besides, I don’t blame you. She’s not just pretty, she’s smart.” But she didn’t hold a candle to Kayla.

Kayla set their order on the table. “Do you recognize this guy? Or the woman?” Luke asked pointing to the dozen pictures on the table.

She shook her head. “I’ve never seen either one of them.” She waved Jackie over.

“Sorry,” Jackie said, after looking at the pictures.

“Another dead-end.” He turned to the women. “We’d like to get with you later. All of us, including you, Jackie.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll call Aunt Nester and see if she’ll cook dinner. We can talk after.”

They finished their lunch, Luke put a generous tip on the table, and the men started to leave.

Kayla saw them and came over. “I talked to Aunt Nester. She said to be there at seven.”

Terry looked at his watch.

“Not that long,” Luke said with a chuckle.

Terry’s face flushed.

Something was going on between Terry and Jackie whether Terry wanted to admit it or not. “Can you stop at headquarters and pick up the case files on your way?” Luke asked.

Terry nodded his agreement and left.

Luke spent the afternoon either pacing in front of the grill or sitting in his car. Mind numbing, but necessary. Kayla came out more than once to tell him it was okay to leave. He refused. There was a killer out there who had Kayla’s name on a bullet. Luke vowed to keep her as far from it as humanly possible.

When his cell phone rang, it was an appreciated interruption. “Garrett,” he said.

Marilyn Cummings, the head of the CSI team came on the line. “I found something you might be interested in.”

“About?”

“The lawyer.”

Luke sat up straighter. “Tell me.”

“Taking the sketches as fact, the two victims in the apartment on Chimney Rock appear to be the kidnappers of Kayla Hunter and her son. We brought the files from Graham’s office in, and guess who the attorney of record was for the adoption of a baby boy the day Ms. Hunter reported her baby missing?”

Luke thought his heart would stop. Was this the connection? What if Graham knew who had Kayla’s son? Maybe that’s why he was killed. “Is the name of the adoptive parents in the file?”

Wouldn’t that be a colossal break?

Papers shuffled at the other end of the line. “Gives the name of the adoptive parents and the name of the mother who gave up the baby.”

“Could be a fake name.”

“Could be.”

“Worth checking out.”

“You’d better hurry. Some guy from the FBI is going to pick up copies later today.”

“See if you can stall him,” Luke said as he wrote down the information. “And thanks. I owe you one.”

“You bet your sweet ass you do.”

Quickly, Luke dialed his partner. When Terry picked up, Luke filled him in. “We have a jump on the FBI. Cummings just gave me a heads-up on an adoption the day after Kayla’s baby was kidnapped. Guess who the attorney of record was?”

“Graham,” Terry answered. “Do you have an address?”

“I do. Are you tied up?”

“I am. The FBI just went into the Jeweler’s with their search warrant. They don’t know me from a hole-in-the-wall, so I’m hanging out to see if I can get some info.”

“Stick with them. I’ll grab Kayla and check out the adoptive parents.”

“Careful. If you’re right, they’re guilty of murder and kidnapping.”

“Surprise is on our side.”

“I can stop snooping if you need me.”

“Stay put. This could be one gigantic goose chase.”

He hung up, raced into the grill. The noon crowd had cleared out, leaving only a couple of booths occupied.

“Come with me,” he told Kayla when she came over to see what he wanted.

“Has something happened?” she asked, her eyes full of questions.

“Maybe.”

Luke followed her to the office.

“I have to leave,” she told her boss.

“Your baby?”

“I hope.”

“If you need anything, anything at all, just let me know.”

Kayla walked into the older man’s arms and he gave her a hug.

Though the man was old enough to be her father, an unexpected streak of jealousy whipped through Luke.

“What about the customers?” Kayla asked.

“Don’t worry about it. Jackie can handle them. Carol will be here for the evening shift, and I’ll help out if necessary. Not like it’ll be the first time I’ve waited tables. Go,” he said as both Jackie and her uncle shooed the two of them out the door.

“Be sure and call us,” Jackie called out.

“What’s up?” Kayla asked a few minutes later when they were in Luke’s SUV.

“Has your boss always been so…friendly?” he asked.

“Friendly? He’s a nice man. A good thing or he’d fire me for doing this.”

“Gotta watch those older guys,” he grunted.

“I want to know where we’re going. And why.”

“We have a lead.” And they had to get there before the FBI. Kayla had to check out that baby and see if he was her Sam.

For a moment Kayla was silent. “Sam?”

He nodded.

“What kind of lead?” she asked.

“We found a baby boy adopted the same day Sam was taken. The attorney was the one shot and killed yesterday. It’s nothing certain, just something we should check out.”

Kayla broke into a huge smile. For the first time, Luke realized he’d never seen her really smile before. The smile completely transformed her, made her a different person. A flare of hope made her eyes shine. There was nothing he wanted more than to bring that hope to fruition.

“Can you tell me about it?” Kayla asked as they headed toward the West Loop.

“There’s not much more to tell. It’s just one of those coincidences that needs to be checked.”

“Can you drive faster?”

Westheimer was busy. But when wasn’t it? “Calm down, Kayla, we’ll be there soon,” he said. “You can’t get your hopes up. It’ll make it that much worse if the baby isn’t Sam.”