Hide From Evil (18 page)

Between that and the fact that Cole loved his sister as much as it was possible for a man to love a woman and was almost single-handedly responsible for putting Megan’s smile back on her face negated any mistakes of the past, even a whopper like arresting Sean for murder.

After everything he’d already put her through, it pained Sean to think of Megan wasting a single extra calorie worrying about him. He knew her, knew she had to be going out of her mind with worry, and he hoped Ibarra could help him make contact. He not only needed to reassure her; he had to convince her not to go off half cocked and put herself in danger. After what had happened with Nate, Sean knew there were no limits to how far his sister would go to help him.

As he dialed, he hoped this time Megan would keep herself well away from Sean’s mess.

“Williams,” Cole answered.

“Cole, it’s Sean.”

“Hold on. Let me get someplace private.” There were a few seconds of silence on the other end. “What the hell is going on?”

Sean gave him a recap of everything that had happened. Cole, to his credit, listened silently and took it all in without interrupting.

“Where are you?” Cole asked when Sean had wrapped up.

“I can’t tell you that. But for now, we’re safe.”

Cole bit out a curse. “You have every cop west of the Mississippi looking for you. They think you killed one of their own and took Krista hostage. Anyone finds you, they’re going to shoot first and ask questions later. I can help you. There are people you can trust—”

Sean didn’t let him get any further. “No fucking way. I don’t want you getting any closer to this.”

“I’m already ass deep in it, or did you forget I’m the one who let Talia Vega slip through our net after she admitted she knew more about what was going on at Club One than she let on. I’ve been trying to work on it behind the scenes, but I’ve had to be really careful not to let anyone in on it. Missing person or not, there’s a lot of pressure to keep this thing nailed shut.”

Shit
. He should have known Cole wouldn’t have let it go, and even if he’d wanted to, Megan would be on him like white on rice to keep digging. “Please tell me Megan hasn’t been moonlighting as a detective again.”

“Only because I promised her I’d stay on top of it. But she’s been out of her mind since she saw the news. She’s telling anyone who will listen that it’s all a horrible mistake, that she knows Nate Brewster was working with someone else, and that it’s all connected.”

Sean’s stomach dropped to his knees. “Listen to me, Cole, whatever kind of hornet’s nest Krista kicked over, these fuckers mean business. I don’t want Megan anywhere close to this. I know you’re a good cop and you want to get to the truth of this—”

“Nothing takes priority over Megan’s safety,” Cole said with the kind of conviction that could take down an empire. “I’ll get her someplace safe. And keep her there,” he said after a minute.

Sean smiled at that. Knowing his sister, Cole was going to be busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest. “Good luck with that.”

“Did Krista discuss the case with anyone else?”

“She’s right here. You can ask her yourself.” She was hovering off his left elbow, arms wrapped around her waist as she shamelessly listened to Sean’s side of the conversation.

She greeted Cole and then explained how she’d started her own outside investigation. “I know. It doesn’t make any sense. No one wanted me to look into it either, even though—from what you told me anyway—Talia knew there were other people in on it.” A few seconds of silence as Cole responded. “Yeah, I should have called you sooner. But I was getting flack, and I knew you’d already gotten in enough trouble over this case.” More silence. “Anyone who cares to look knows I was on site at Caparulo’s suicide. I had to tell them it was related to an investigation. I suppose anyone can put two and two together…No, just Benson, because I was trying to convince him to officially reopen the investigation. And of course the investigator I’ve been working with…Stew Kowalski? You may know him because he’s worked for us in an official—”

She broke off with a gasp and lifted her hand to her mouth. “Oh my God. When? Are they sure?”

“What?” Sean said in a harsh whisper.

Her face was so pale it was almost gray as she turned to him. “Cole said Stew Kowalski was found a few hours ago. He was stabbed to death in the parking garage of his office building.”

Chapter 10

K
rista struggled to keep the phone from slipping through her suddenly numb fingers. Her whole body went cold as all of the blood seemed to drain to her feet. She put the phone back to her ear and forced herself to put her emotions aside for the moment and get as much information from Cole as she could. “What happened?”

“It’s not my case, but since Stew is friendly with the department, the details got around. You’ve heard about the knifepoint muggings going on in that neighborhood?”

“Several people have been wounded but no one’s been killed.”

“They’re looking at Stew as the first fatality.”

Krista sank down into a chair as her knees threatened to give out under her. “Do you buy that?”

Cole was silent a few seconds, torn between loyalty to his fellow officers and his deeply ingrained streak of skepticism. “All the other victims were stabbed from the front.”

“Stew wasn’t?”

“They haven’t done the autopsy, but the initial report indicates that Stew appeared to have been surprised from behind. He had his gun on him and it was partially out of its holster when he was found, but otherwise there were no signs of struggle. The knife went up under his ribcage, straight through his diaphragm, and into his heart.”

Krista swallowed back a surge of nausea. “That sounds like a professional hit.”

“If I wasn’t suspicious before, I sure as shit am now. Who knew he was working with you?”

Krista pressed the heel of her hand into her head. “I didn’t tell anyone, but we weren’t careful. If whoever’s doing this can buy off a dirty cop miles outside of the city, they’re probably capable of hacking into phone and e-mail records.”

Cole bit out a curse.

Krista hesitated before asking the next question. She didn’t want Cole—and by extension Megan—getting pulled into another mess stemming from Sean’s case, but without Stew, Cole was her only reliable source of information. “Stew was following up on Jimmy Caparulo’s death,” she said. “Is there any way you can get me an update on that without putting yourself at risk?” For the most part, the Seattle Police Department kept close track of evidence and case files. It wasn’t impossible, but it might be difficult for Cole to do any nosing around without attracting notice.

Cole’s mirthless laugh crackled through the phone line. “Funny you should ask that. I just got an update yesterday morning. I was curious, for obvious reasons.”

Krista’s stomach knotted and she wondered if Cole had already inadvertently put himself and his fiancée in danger. What Cole said next made her jaw drop.

“The case has already been ruled a suicide and the body has been released for cremation.”

Krista shot to her feet. “After less than three days? That’s ludicrous. They can’t have even performed an autopsy.”

“They didn’t.”

“Who’s in charge of the investigation?”

“Jorgensen.”

Cole’s former partner, who had been with him the night they’d arrested Sean. “I guess we know who we can’t trust.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Cole said. “Nick was beyond pissed when he found out, and if he wasn’t, he gave an Academy Award–worthy performance. It came from the chief himself—he wants this case and anything remotely related to it closed up tight. Says the department’s reputation has suffered enough and we don’t need to give the press any more blood.”

Krista rubbed at the back of her neck. “The PA’s office is the same way. Benson considered the case closed and refused to reopen it. They just want it all to go away. I thought if Stew found something I could convince him otherwise.”

“I’ll get you whatever information I can on Caparulo. And if they’re looking at Stew’s death as a mugging, there’s no reason to take anything from Stew’s office as evidence. I could get in there, see if there’s anything in his files—”

“Absolutely not,” she said, though she knew it would mean nothing if Cole was determined to launch his own investigation. “I know you want the truth—hell, right now you’re the only one besides me who wants to get to the bottom of this—but Sean’s right. You’ve already been through hell, and I’ve seen what these people are capable of. They won’t hesitate to come after you and Megan. You have to get her someplace safe.”

“I don’t like the idea of checking my balls and slinking away with my tail between my legs.”

Krista looked at Sean and caught him staring at her with a thoughtful expression on his face. “I imagine you’d like it even less if something happened to the woman you love. Nate Brewster almost killed Megan once. Don’t let the assholes he worked with finish what he started.”

“Right,” Cole bit out. “Now how do I get you whatever information I do have?”

Krista handed the phone to Ibarra, who went over a series of convoluted steps for Cole to follow to ensure he transferred the information in a way that would leave no digital footprints.

Krista moved in front of the glass wall and stared out over the mountains. Pink and purple streaked the sky as the sun fell behind the peaks, and she could see the first blinks of stars as the sky darkened.

As she took in the harsh beauty, the vast wilderness empty of humans, it seemed impossible to believe that there were people out there who were searching for her at this very second. Plotting to find her so they could silence her forever.

“Thank you,” Sean said beside her.

“I can’t imagine what for.”

“Reminding Cole to keep his nose out of this and remember what’s important.”

“I don’t want anyone else to get hurt. Especially not your sister.”

“We’re set,” Ibarra said, coming to stand between them. “Your friend should have the files to me in a few hours, and I shouldn’t have a problem tapping into the Seattle PD’s network. And if Stew’s computer is still in his office like Detective Williams thinks, as long as it’s still connected to the Internet I’ll be able to get in there and see if he knows anything the cops don’t.”

“Tapping into the PD’s network?” Krista asked uneasily. “That sounds an awful lot like hacking into a law enforcement network, which is definitely a felony.”

“So is stealing cars,” Sean pointed out.

“That was necessary,” Krista said through gritted teeth. And even knowing that didn’t chase away the guilt clawing at her stomach.

“So is this,” Sean said. “We need to know everything the police know, and since the only cop we can trust better be packing his bags as we speak and getting my sister somewhere safe, we have to be a little more creative about how we get it.”

“Don’t worry,” Ibarra said. “I won’t get caught. No one will ever know I was in there.”

“Getting away with it isn’t the point! The point is that you’ll be breaking the law and we’ll be accessories.”

“And no one will ever know unless we tell them,” Sean pointed out.

Ibarra settled in behind his computer and got to work. Krista slumped down on a chair and wrapped her arms around the rapidly growing lump in her stomach.

“I don’t like this any more than you do,” Sean said. Ibarra shot him a glare and made a
shushing
sound. Sean rolled his eyes, and when he spoke again his voice was pitched lower. “If you remember, I was minding my own business and being a law-abiding citizen before you showed up.”

Like she needed that point hammered home again.

“Whatever these people started, Krista, we have to end it. Even if that means breaking the rules.”

“My whole life is the rules. Don’t you get it? I work hard. I try to do the right thing—I’ve never stolen so much as a pack of gum! I follow the letter of the law and work the system to put the bad guys in jail. I don’t like having to be the bad guy!”

“Sometimes the system fails. And sometimes you have to break the rules to get what you want.”

Sean watched Krista as she sat across the table picking listlessly at the sandwich she’d assembled from Ibarra’s impressively stocked kitchen. The man might live in the middle of nowhere, but that didn’t mean he subsisted on what was available at the local Stop & Shop.

But Krista had taken about half a bite before she put the sandwich down. Sean knew exactly what she was feeling. No amount of gourmet deli meats and artisanal bread could get past the lump that had no doubt formed in her gut or keep any morsel of food from turning into dust before she could choke it in.

He’d felt it, too, the first time he’d been in heavy combat. Felt that sick pit in his stomach that came from the knowledge that death was all around. He’d quickly learned, like everyone else in the battalion, to compartmentalize and not let the horror of whatever he’d been through interfere with attending to basic bodily needs like sleep and eating.

Despite the stress, Sean had no trouble polishing off two sandwich rolls piled high with real roast turkey, roasted red peppers, provolone, and some kind of fancy mustard and chased them down with a bottle of beer from a microbrewery in nearby Coeur D’Alene.

As he looked at Krista, her face pale, eyes shadowed with grief and regret, he felt another surge of unwanted sympathy. She liked to think her line of work had given her a tough hide, but right now she looked like she’d fall over if he so much as touched her.

“Why don’t you go get some rest?” Sean said. “You look like you’re about to collapse.”

“There’s one guest room, down the hall, first door on your left. Nothing fancy but the sheets are clean,” Ibarra said around the last bite of his sandwich as he keyed something into his laptop. He shot a look at Sean. “You can take the couch, unless you want to share.”

A hint of color rushed to Krista’s cheeks. “Couch is fine,” Sean said.

“Williams sent the police reports on Caparulo,” Ibarra said as he turned the laptop around so they could see the screen. Sean uttered a silent prayer that Ibarra’s subterfuge worked and Cole wouldn’t get busted for sending electronic copies of the files.