MULTIPLE MOTIVES (The Kate Huntington mystery series Book 1) (33 page)

Aha! The mean lady doctor scared Detective Obnoxious so he went running to his boss.

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him I was only denying one particular detective access because he’s an ass. And I had every reason to believe said ass would upset my patient and delay his recovery.”

Her father snickered behind her.

Kate grinned at the doctor. “Wow! You said that?”

“Most definitely. I informed the lieutenant that I would be happy to let
him
interview my patient, but I would need to be present. He’ll be here soon.”

“Uh, excuse me, Doctor. I need to talk to Rob and Liz before he gets here.”

Kate caught the frown on the doctor’s face and realized she’d once again said too much. That had sounded like she wanted to be sure all their stories were straight.

But she’d have to deal with that later. Right now, she needed to ask Rob a question before the lieutenant arrived. She dashed back down the hall, her father following in her wake.

When Kate entered Rob’s room, he was sitting up in bed, propped up against several pillows. He and Liz were laughing at some shared joke.

When he turned his smiling face toward Kate, she literally felt her heart swelling in her chest.

Another moment to savor later.

She quickly filled them in on her conversation with Dr. Walters, then told Rob about John Bennett’s meeting with Cody to complain about Phillips. “Is this our chance to tell the lieutenant what Phillips has been doing, and not doing, and get him yanked off the case?”

“Absolutely not,” Rob said. “At least not yet.”

“Why not?” she and Liz said in unison.

“Because we’ll likely run up against resistance if we directly criticize his man. Let’s get a feel for this guy first. For now, we just answer the lieutenant’s questions with the facts.”

“Okay, glad I asked instead of just plunging in.”

Liz was in the bedside chair, her crutch propped against the wall, and Kate was standing on the other side of Rob’s bed when Lieutenant Cody entered the room. Dr. Walters followed him in and introduced him to Rob and Liz.

Kate took a step forward and extended her hand. “I’m Kate Huntington, Lieutenant.”

Cody wrapped both of his hands around hers. “You have my deepest condolences, ma’am.”

Disconcerted by the sympathy in his tone, Kate felt her eyes pooling with tears. She blinked them away, then whispered, “Thank you.”

The lieutenant took out a small notepad and asked Rob to start at Tuesday evening, when he was working late.

Kate tried to hide her anxiety as she listened to him describe his captivity again. The lieutenant stopped him several times and asked for more details. She hoped the policeman realized that Rob’s flat tone was his way of defending against his emotions.

His mind had apparently cleared enough to realize they still had no concrete evidence against Cheryl. He didn’t mention her. But whenever he talked about the peephole or his captor coming into the room while he was drugged or sleeping, he would clench his jaw and close his eyes for a moment.

The second time this happened, she noticed he was also tightening his grip on his wife’s hand. Liz was struggling not to react to these subtle signs of distress.

Kate’s heart ached for both of them.

To hell with how it looks!

Stepping closer to the bed, she placed her hand on Rob’s shoulder and squeezed gently, then left her hand resting there.

The next time Rob got to a rough spot in his story, she squeezed again. The pause was shorter and his grip on his wife’s hand not quite so tight. Liz flashed her a small smile.

Lieutenant Cody was wearing his cop mask, but Kate suspected he was taking it all in. What would he make of the supposed
other
woman showing affection and support in front of the wife?

When Rob finished his story, the policeman said, “Mr. Franklin, we may have some more questions for you later. Thank you for your cooperation. Mrs. Huntington, may I speak with you for a moment outside?”

Rob became agitated. He tried to push himself more upright in the bed. “No, you may not. I’m her attorney and you cannot question her without me present.”

Kate squeezed his shoulder more firmly as Dr. Walters stepped forward to intervene.

The lieutenant held up a hand. “No problem. I’ll ask her my question here. Mrs. Huntington, what exactly is your relationship with Mr. Franklin?”

“
I
will answer that question, sir.” Liz struggled to her feet, fire in her eyes. “Kate is my husband’s
friend!
Kate is
my
friend! Her husband was my husband’s friend, and my friend. Since when did they pass a law against friendship? Stop harassing us, and go find this madman!”

“Mrs. Franklin, I apologize for upsetting you. Actually friendship was the answer I was expecting, but I had to ask. Again, thank you all for your cooperation.”

Dr. Walters said, “I’ll see you out, Lieutenant.”

Once the door had closed behind them, Liz sank back into her chair and covered her face with her hands. “Oh, hon, I’m sorry! I did exactly what you told us not to do.”

“Actually, Lizzie,” came Rob’s tired voice from the bed. “You were perfect. Come here, hon.” Liz moved into his arms and he somehow made room for her to stretch out next to him on the bed–leg brace, blue boot and all.

As Kate slipped quietly out of the room, her cell phone vibrated in her pocket.

She’d cheated today and left it on, anxious for the safety of the troops. Hurrying to the lounge area, where at least there were no signs actively prohibiting cell phones, she answered it.

She was relieved to hear the voice of the person she was most concerned about. “Senile old lady lives there. Wouldn’t let us in the basement. Tell you more when we get back. Gotta get Skip to a men’s room. Save my upholstery.”

Then a snicker from Rose, Skip growled something in the background and Rose disconnected.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Kate sat down in the lounge area to get her thoughts organized. She’d called Pauline earlier to have her reschedule her Monday and Tuesday clients. She was hoping they could get Rob settled at home this afternoon, then make some decisions about how to proceed. Maybe she could have a day of relative normalcy tomorrow, before facing clients again on Wednesday.

When her neglected stomach rumbled, Kate selected a bag of peanuts from the vending machine. She crammed a handful into her mouth just as her cell phone vibrated again.

“Found the pervert,” Mac said, with his usual lack of greeting.

Kate winced at the use of that word. She actually felt sorry in a way for this particular pervert. Ten months into therapy, Peter Lennox had admitted to Kate that he had sexually abused his niece in the past. When it came to child abuse, therapists were not only allowed to breach confidentiality, they were required to do so by law. Kate had no choice but to report him. Rob had tried to get him probation, since he was already in therapy trying to get himself straightened out. But a tough judge had given him the maximum sentence. Lennox had then turned nasty toward Kate for reporting him.

Liz had discovered he’d been paroled four months ago.

“He’s in jail again,” Mac said. “Been there since Friday. Violated parole. Cops caught him hangin’ round a daycare center.”

“Good job, Mac” came out as “Goo ja, Muc” as Kate tried to talk and chew at the same time. She swallowed, then said, “I’m going to ask the doctor to release Rob today. After we get him home, I’ll see if Rose can get in to question Lennox.”

“See ya in a bit, sweet pea.”

It was not hard to convince Dr. Walters to release Rob sooner than she normally would. It had also occurred to her that the killer would now know where to find his escaped victim.

After the obligatory paperwork and wheelchair ride to the hospital’s front door, they settled Rob and Liz in the backseat of Skip’s Explorer. Kate and Rose followed in her cruiser, with the second officer bringing up the rear.

As they turned off Hillen Road onto Willow Way, they found a short row of stopped cars blocking their way. It took a moment to register that the emergency vehicles clogging the street further down the block were in front of the Franklin home.

Heart in her throat, Kate jumped out of the cruiser and ran up the sidewalk. She’d sent her father and Lou on ahead to check the house.

Rose caught up with her, then took the lead. As they reached the crowd of onlookers gathered at the police barrier, she used elbows and the power of her uniform to forge a path.

Kate was relieved to see Lou standing inside the barrier with a uniformed officer. She looked frantically around for her father. All she saw was yellow police tape strung along the sides of the yard and more officers urging people to stay back. Rose grabbed Kate’s arm and lifted the tape, growling, “She’s with me,” at the officer who stepped into their path.

Heart pounding, Kate raced toward Lou. “Where’s my father?”

“In there, Miss Kate.”

Lou pointed in the direction of an ambulance, parked between two police cars. She willed her knees not to buckle, then ran toward it, and collided with her father as he stepped out of one of the police cars to intercept her.

“Tis okay, Katie girl.” He caught her by the arms, keeping her from tumbling to the ground. “Settle down, lass.”

“What happened?” she asked breathlessly.

But before her father could answer, a man in a suit stepped forward. “And you are, ma’am?”

“Tis me daughter,” Dan answered him. “This here is Detective O’Brien, Katie. Fine young Irish lad.”

Her father beamed at the forty-something detective, whose mouth twitched. But he managed to maintain his serious demeanor.

“Lou and me, we found somethin’ out back.”

“Bomb squad should be here soon, ma’am,” the detective said.

Kate’s mind reeled at the words
bomb squad
. Again, her knees wobbled. Suddenly remembering Rob and Liz, she whirled around. She didn’t see them anywhere.

Guessing her thoughts, Rose whispered, “Skip probably made them stay in his truck.”

Kate let out a pent-up breath and turned back to her father. “What did you find?”

“Lou found a rucksack under a bush. He was startin’ to open it when I came ’round the corner. Told ’im to wait for the coppers.”

A bomb squad van pulled up to the barricade, followed by two TV station vans.

Damn!

Last thing they needed now was another media frenzy and the press dogging their every move. Kate turned back to the detective. “Sir, can I ask a big favor? The owner of this house, Mr. Franklin, we were just bringing him home from the hospital. He’s not up to dealing with the press. Could you downplay this as a suspected kids’ prank?” She knew that would only delay the inevitable. They would connect the dots soon enough.

“And if you don’t mind, I’m going to send him and his wife to my house until this all gets resolved. I’ll give you my address so you can come by if you have any questions. My father and I are friends of the family. We’ll stay here until the bomb squad’s finished.”

That must have sounded reasonable to the detective because he didn’t hesitate. He gave her a slight nod, then turned to talk to the bomb squad.

Kate called Skip’s cell phone to fill him in, asking him to take Rob and Liz to her house. “I’ll send Lou back to you with the key. Rose checked the house quickly earlier but you and the other officer need to go over–”

“Don’t worry, Kate. I’ll take care of it,” Skip said.

“Thank you.”

A few tense minutes later, there was a rustling in the crowd. The bomb squad was coming around the corner of the house–four men covered in protective gear and carrying a large black metal box attached to two long poles. Each man was on the end of a pole, transporting the box as if it were a pharaoh on a royal litter.

As they loaded it carefully into the back of their van, the detective came back over to Kate and her father. “Box is just a precaution,” he said in a low voice. “They’ve already disarmed it. My people are checking the rest of the property. With the owner’s permission, I’d like to check inside.”

Kate’s mind flashed to the files and suspect lists lying around the family room. She glanced at her father.

“Me and Lou already searched inside, Katie.”

She turned back to the detective. “Thank you for the offer but I don’t think that will be necessary.”

He gave her a suspicious look.

No wonder. Normal people don’t
search
their friends’ houses.

Her adrenaline dissipated, she was suddenly exhausted.

Rose stepped forward. “Let me fill you in, sir.” She turned to Lou, who’d just returned from delivering Kate’s keys. “Please take Mrs. Huntington and her father back to my car.”

It was all Kate could do to keep from hugging her. “Thank you, uh…Officer Hernandez.”

Thank God I don’t have to tell the whole sorry story to yet another skeptical person.

It was almost six o’clock by the time Rose pulled the cruiser into the curb at Kate’s house. They had gone through a fast food drive-thru to get burgers, since all the lovely groceries Liz had bought that morning were now at the house where they were not.

Liz had already settled Rob into bed in the master bedroom. Kate sent her father in to guard the napping patient. Even with two police cruisers sitting outside and Skip on the porch, she wasn’t taking any chances.

“Gonna check in. See what I can find out about the bomb.” Rose walked away from them to make the call.

“We left Lou guarding the house,” Kate told Liz. “The bomb squad disarmed the bomb he found. I called Mac. He’s on his way here. Do you think Rob will be up to having a war council later?”

“Maybe, after he’s rested a bit.” Her voice sounded worried.

Kate joined her on the sofa. “What’s the matter?”

“I don’t know. I’m probably being hypersensitive. After all, he’s been through hell and he’s still exhausted…”

“But?”

“He seems a little off, not really himself. But maybe I’m over-analyzing things.”