MULTIPLE MOTIVES (The Kate Huntington mystery series Book 1) (15 page)

After a short break, they were halfway into the next case when Kate’s cell phone rang. It was Pete. They were home. Mary was exhausted but otherwise fine.

“Wow, you made good time the last couple days,” Kate said.

“Yeah, we’d been taking it slow but once we were close to home, Mary insisted we keep pushing on. Hey, your dad wants to talk to you.”

“Sure… Hi, Dad, everything’s okay here.”

Rob wiggled his fingers in a gimme gesture. “Let me talk to him, Kate.”

She ignored him. “We have police protection now,” she said into the phone, “until they catch whoever attacked Mary.” She was trying to avoid flat out lying to her father, but she wasn’t above stretching the truth in order to convince him she was safe. She wanted him to stay in California or go back to Florida–any place far, far away from her.

“Kate! Give me the phone.”

“Hold on, Dad. I’m at Rob and Liz’s, and Rob is trying to ask me something.” She put her thumb carefully over the tiny mouthpiece of her cell and glared at Rob.

Rob glared right back. “I thought we’d settled this.”

Her stomach clenched. She gritted her teeth. “My father, my decision.”

“No, Kate. Your father is an adult. His life,
his
decision. And we could use his help.”

“You still there, Katie girl?” her father’s gruff voice came from the phone.

“Yeah, Dad, hold on.” Emotions collided inside her head. Her chest tightened. She hated fighting with Rob, and maybe he was right. But the thought of her father coming back, getting hurt, or worse, because of her….

Rob again gestured for her to give him the phone.

“Hang on, Dad. Rob wants to talk to you,” she managed to get past the fear clogging her throat.

“You smirk and you’re dead meat,” she muttered as she handed Rob the phone.

“Not a smirking matter…Hi, Dan.” Rob paused, listening. “Good, great to hear Mary’s doing okay. We’ve got things under control here, for now. But the police aren’t doing much as far as we can tell, other than providing some protection.”

A faint rumble emanated from the cell phone.

“They’ve got two officers with her all the time, and I’ve hired private bodyguards as well. But we could use your help, if you’re still inclined to come back here.”

More rumbling.

“Monday’s soon enough if you can’t get a flight tomorrow, and I promise to do everything humanly possible, and then some, to keep her safe.” Rob handed the phone back to her, muttering under his breath, “Even if she is the most stubborn, annoying woman sometimes.”

She ignored him as she said goodbye to her father. “Okay, see you soon. I love you too, Daddy.” She disconnected and turned to Rob. “I hope you know what you’re doing. If anything happens to him….” Her throat closed completely. Tears sprang into her eyes.

“Damn!” She threw back her head. “I
hate
being so weepy!” she yelled at the ceiling. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Rob was around the table in a second, kneeling next to her chair. He tried to wrap his arms around her but she fended him off. He put a big hand on either side of her face and made her look at him. “Kate, I’m sorry. But we do need him, and it
is
his decision.”

The worry and pain in his eyes were her undoing. “Oh, Rob, I’m just so scared!” she sobbed as she let him gather her into his arms.

~~~~~~~~

Kate’s yelling had brought Rose to the doorway to investigate. She stopped at the sight of these supposed friends holding each other, then took a couple steps into the room. A second later, she was nearly bowled over by Mrs. Franklin flailing around the table on her crutches, headed toward Kate and her husband.

Thinking she was about to referee a catfight, Rose took another step closer.

But apparently that wasn’t the wife’s agenda. Mrs. Franklin awkwardly lowered herself onto her knees on the other side of Kate’s chair. She wrapped her arms around the woman Phillips was so convinced was the
other
woman.

Kate dropped her head onto the wife’s shoulder and sobbed harder. Mr. Franklin leaned back on his heels but kept one big hand on Kate, rubbing little circles in the middle of her shaking back. He swiped at his own eyes with his other hand.

Rose stood still, taking in the scene.

As Kate’s crying shifted to exhausted whimpers, Mrs. Franklin snapped her fingers in her husband’s direction.

He produced his handkerchief and handed it to Kate. “You’re going to owe me a crate of these, dear, before we’re done.” Then he leaned over and kissed her gently on the temple.

Rose nodded her head. She stepped up to the table. “May I join you?”

All three of them looked as if a Martian had suddenly appeared before them.

“Not the hug fest,” Rose clarified, with a slight smile at their comical expressions. “May I join the war council?”

The uncomprehending stares continued.

“Look, I know you all don’t know me, so you’ve got no reason to trust me. But I don’t lie… Well, sometimes I don’t tell the whole truth to Detective Phillips,” she felt compelled to add, thus proving her point. “I want to help. It’s my
duty
to help you. I joined the police force to pursue justice, not do whatever the hell Phillips is doing and
calling
it police work.”

She heard the derision in her voice and wondered if she was giving away too much to these strangers. But the righteous indignation, that had been building for months, would no longer be silenced. “We’re supposed to
protect and serve
people like you, not force you to track down killers on your own!”

They all stared at her for several more seconds. Again she stifled a smile at their expressions. They seemed to be having difficulty digesting the idea that a police officer believed their version of reality and shared their poor opinion of her superior.

Then a grin slowly spread across Kate’s face. “Wow, not only complete sentences but complex ones.”

Rose gave her a small smile back. “I mostly tend to do the clipped sentences when I’m in police mode. They prefer rookies like me to be seen, but heard as little as possible. So am I in?”

Kate held her hand up in a stop gesture, then glanced at the Franklins.

“Sounds sincere to me,” the wife said, as she struggled to get up off her knees while encumbered by leg brace and walking cast. Her husband quickly moved around the table to help her.

“Rob?” Kate asked.

Franklin put his hands under his wife’s arms and lifted her to her feet, but his eyes were on Rose. His face was a neutral mask. “Up to you, Kate,” he finally said.

Kate broke into a grin again and gestured to an empty chair. “You’re in, Rosie.”

Rose raised her own hand in the stop gesture. “Let’s add
Rosie
to the list of things we do
not
call Rose. Only
mi padre
gets away with calling me that.”

She sat down, her holster clunking against the chair, and the Franklins resumed their seats.

Kate looked at the gooey wad of cloth in her hand, then dropped it into her purse. “One of these days when I actually have time to do laundry again, I’ll get that back to you,” she said to Franklin.

He smiled at her, then turned to Rose. “What have you and Phillips found out in your investigation?”

Rose wasn’t sure if he was testing her or not, but it didn’t matter. If she was in, she was in all the way. Her actions weren’t as impulsive as they might seem to these folks. She’d been seriously considering requesting a transfer for some time, had even contemplated resigning from the force.

“Wait, I have another question first,” Kate said.

Rose cocked an eyebrow at her. Kate snickered. “You don’t even realize you do that, do you?”

“Do what?”

“Never mind. My question is are you married, and with or without benefit of matrimony, do you have any children?”

Franklin frowned at Kate.

“Objection overruled, Counselor,” she said. “The witness may answer the question.”

“No and no,” Rose said.

“Good, so if we get you killed, we’re not leaving anyone widowed or orphaned.”

“Well, I’ve got parents and siblings who’d probably be a little upset. But I don’t think I’m at any more risk than I am as your police protection.”

“Kate!” Franklin’s voice had a hint of exasperation in it again. “She’s an autonomous adult. As is your father and everyone else involved in this.”

“Okay, okay, just assessing the risk of collateral damage. Back to Rob’s question, Rose. What does Phillips know that we don’t?”

“Actually he probably knows a lot less. He’s been so convinced you two are the perps, he hasn’t really pursued anything else. Just done the standard stuff, canvassing for witnesses around the crime scenes, analyzing the physical evidence. We don’t have any other leads that I know of, other than your client idea. Conflicting descriptions of the vehicle that hit Mrs. Franklin. A wood splinter from your sister’s head wound.”

Kate winced.

“And a partial footprint in the yard across the street yesterday morning. Sneaker. Could be either a man’s or woman’s, but too small to be Mr. Franklin’s.”

“For cryin’ out loud, they’re Rob and Liz,” Kate said. “If we’re gonna get you killed or fired, we should all definitely be on a first-name basis.”

“Okay, okay. Anyway,” Rose gave an exaggerated sweep of her eyes around the table, “Kate, Rob and Liz, none of that does us any good until we have a suspect.”

Franklin shook his head. “I can’t believe Phillips is still hung up on his Kate-and-I-are-lovers theory. He can’t be that dumb. You don’t get promoted to detective by being stupid.”

“Overblown ego unwilling to admit he’s wrong,” Kate speculated.

“And he’s lazy,” Rose said. “I’ve seen him do this before. Jumps on the most likely explanation. Either so the case will be ruled an accident and go away, or he goes after whatever suspect will give him a quick solve.” She had other reservations about his ethics as well, that she wasn’t willing to voice since she had no proof.

“Thanks, Rose,” Franklin said. “And I do appreciate what you’re risking by throwing in with us.”

“Thank you, Mr. Franklin.”

“‘No, Rob’… ‘Yes, Rob’… ‘Please pass the salt, Rob,’” Kate said.

Rose grinned at her.

Franklin…Rob was staring at her, his mouth hanging open. Why did men always act weird when she smiled?

He saw her watching him and snapped his mouth shut. “Welcome aboard, Rose.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Sunday morning dawned hot and sunny. It was only early June but Maryland’s oppressive summer humidity was already settling in.

Kate had suffered another restless night. She’d finally fallen soundly asleep just as the sun was rising. At nine-thirty, she was still in her bathrobe when the phone rang. Checking caller ID, she answered it and said, “Hey there, when are we going to work on the files today?”

“Uh, a little later,” Rob said, hesitation in his voice. “I got a call from your father. He managed to get a flight early this morning. I’m heading over to pick him up at BWI.”

Kate fought down nausea, not sure how much was morning sickness and how much fear. Her mind scrambled for more arguments, but she knew it was too late. Her father was here, and he wasn’t going to leave until the killer was behind bars.

Maybe one more tactic. “I thought we might send Dad to help Mac investigate our suspects.”

A couple beats of silence, then Rob said in a gentle voice, “He wouldn’t necessarily be any safer, sweetheart, just because he’s not around you.”

Kate didn’t respond, even though she knew he was right.

“Let’s sort out assignments once we’re all together,” he continued. “Liz has been complaining about being cooped up in the house so much. I’ll swing by and get her and we’ll come to your house. Be about one, okay?”

“Okay. See you then.” Kate disconnected. She took in a deep breath to loosen the tightness in her chest. It came out on a shudder as a horrible thought struck her.

If anything did happen to her father, she’d probably lose her best friends in the process. The relationship might not survive Rob’s guilt and her anger.

Rose was off duty, but she’d said she wanted in on today’s war council. She arrived early.

When Kate answered the door, she tried not to stare. The “civvies” Rose was wearing today showed off her figure to much better advantage than her uniform did. Sturdy had morphed into voluptuous. Her peach-colored knit top exposed a touch of cleavage and complemented her light beige skin tone. Despite the heat, she was wearing jeans. Kate detected a slight bulge at her right ankle. The young woman was armed.

Rose stepped inside the door and looked over at her replacement for the day. The young man was standing at parade rest in the middle of the living room. She turned back to Kate, her eyebrow doing its Mr. Spock imitation.

“I’m working on it,” Kate whispered. “Have a seat.” Rose nodded and headed for an armchair.

Kate motioned Officer Trudow over and resumed their discussion. It took considerable persuasion to finally convince him to stay out on the porch while her company was there. She clinched the argument by pointing out that two of her visitors, her father and her friend Rob Franklin, were big men. “Officer, nobody’s getting past them.”

She refrained from mentioning that the young woman who’d just arrived was an off duty police officer. Trudow didn’t seem to recognize Rose and it might not be good for her career if he figured out who she was.

Unfortunately, Kate failed to restrain her mouth sufficiently in other areas. “Besides, I can’t live in a fish bowl all the time, having every conversation overheard by strangers.”

It was a perfectly reasonable statement, but the officer narrowed his eyes at her.

Kate realized she’d said too much. Mentally, she acknowledged that her brother Jack was right; she did sometimes suffer from foot
in
mouth disease.

Officer Trudow, his boyish face making him look younger than he probably was, finally nodded. He went out the front door and stood at parade rest on the porch.

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. Peering through the peephole, Kate saw a reddish gold aura as the afternoon sun backlit the top of Liz’s head. Rob was climbing the porch steps, carrying a plastic grocery bag. Her father and Lou trailed behind him.