Out For Justice (7 page)

“You think he knew the Hunts?”

“We need to figure that out. And we should run a more intense background check on him. Map out any affiliations he might have that might coincide with the Hunts.”

Karen made hurried notes as she kept up with Sam as he talked. They agreed to get started on the background search first thing in the morning.

Chapter Twelve

Karen stood just inside the door of the restaurant. She’d been to Miguel’s before and knew they had good food. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other then shifted back again. Every time the heavy wooden door opened she turned her head to see who came through. Each time she was a little disappointed that it wasn’t Mike. However, she also breathed a sigh of relief. She needed another minute to prepare herself.

Susan did tell her that Mike would meet her at seven thirty. And seven thirty it was, on the dot. She had hoped that when she arrived he would be waiting for her, not the other way around. One finger in her mouth, she gnawed absently at a ragged cuticle.

The door opened again. This time the man walking through the door was blonde and handsome. And very sure of himself as he said, “Been waiting very long?”

Quickly removing her finger, Karen hid it behind her as she responded, “No, not long. I actually just got here myself.” She threw the hostess a quick look that dared her to contradict her statement.

“Great. This place always smells good. Let’s get a table.”

Karen walked first, behind the hostess as they were led to their table. They ordered drinks and then sat looking at each other. A busboy arrived with a basket of warm tortilla chips and two small bowls of salsa. He placed the items on the table between the two of them and left.

Giving the man across the table a good once over, Karen decided he passed on appearance. He wore a pair of black casual trousers, probably Dockers, and a soft, pastel colored polo shirt. Over the shirt, he filled out and into a black jacket, sports style. Wide at the shoulders and narrow at the hips. Definitely, he passed on appearance.

Unsure of how to start a conversation, Karen spoke first. “So, this is a little awkward.”

“Yeah. I guess so.”

Each of them looked at anything but each other.

Karen tried again. “How are you?”

“Fine.” Mike nodded his head. “Fine.”

Karen grappled for something. G
reat we’re up to two fines already and we haven’t even had drinks.
She decided the direct approach might work. “What are you doing here, Mike?” Karen asked as bluntly as possible. She had nothing to lose. She grabbed a chip out of the basket and nervously nibbled on it while she waited for Mike to respond.

****

Mike blinked. He gave Karen a long look before he answered. “I—”

The waitress returned with their margaritas. She put a large glass of the frozen concoction in front of each of them. Karen smiled her thanks. Mike remained silent.

After the waitress took their dinner orders, Karen started the conversation again. “You were going to tell me why you’re here.”

“Yeah.” Mike bit his lip then folded his hands together in front of him on the table. “I’m not real crazy about being here, actually, if you want the truth. I’m mostly doing this for Susan. I trust her. She says to give you a second look, so here I am.”

“Don’t go out of your way or anything.” Karen tossed the chip aside.

“I’m serious. Susan usually has good instincts in the field. I figured she had good instincts about this too.”

Thanks, I think.”

“Relax. I’m not going to bite. Besides, it’s just one dinner.”

Karen picked up her glass and took a sip. “Right. Just one dinner.”

Mike took a deep breath. In an effort to match Karen for bluntness, he went on. “Well, since I’m being so truthful, I guess I better let you know what else.” He played absently with the knife and fork in front of him on the table. Looking up, he caught Karen watching him warily. Taking another deep breath, he let it out and said, “I saw something in you. Something that made me think you might be worth a second look.”

Karen nearly choked on the chip she’d been nibbling. “You did?”

“Yeah.” Mike took a long drink of his frozen margarita. He smiled for the first time that evening. He knew he caught her off guard. “You had a way about you that said, ‘look at me, world’ and I liked that. You weren’t careless at the site and that ranks high in my book.”

Karen sipped her drink while Mike talked. He watched her lips purse together from the tang of the lime mixed with the salt on the rim of the glass. Her mouth twitched as if she was biting the inside of her cheek. She said, “I didn’t want you to think that I didn’t know what I was doing around a crime scene. I have been trained.” She sounded almost defensive. Mike watched her search for the right words and try again. “I thought you were kind of a jerk for yelling at me.”

“A jerk?” The chip that Mike had dunked into the salsa stopped in mid air.

“Yeah. But I would have probably done the same thing if I were you.”

“You think?” Mike placed the salsa-laden chip into his mouth and crunched.

They laughed and a heavy weight fell from Mike’s shoulders. She wasn’t so bad after all. But he was only doing this for Susan.

“Yeah, that’s why I was…” Karen lowered her eyes and studied the table.

Mike wondered if besides the burritos and tacos, more honesty would be on the menu tonight.

“I don’t know. I guess I was intrigued by you,” she blurted out.

 “You were?” He wasn’t ready for that much honesty.

“Yeah, but then Susan said you don’t date women you work with and I thought that was that.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t usually. I mean I haven’t since…” He looked at Karen’s face, studied her eyes and decided she was sincere. “Oh, what the hell. I had a bad break up with someone I used to work with and it got kind of messy. Since then I’ve kind of had this policy of not dating co-workers. But—”

****

“But? Then you met me.” Karen laughed at Mike. “And you couldn’t live without me.” She played up the dramatics by placing her hand to her forehead and pretending to swoon. It was her small but inept attempt at trying to flirt.

Mike laughed with her. “Yeah. Something like that.”

Raising his glass, Mike said, “To Susan.”

Definitely
. She raised her glass. “To Susan.”

They settled into a comfortable discussion of the day’s current events as they drank their margaritas and munched happily on chips and salsa.

It wasn’t long until the waitress arrived with their steaming plates of food.

“Listen to that sizzle.” Karen wiggled in her chair in anticipation. She caught Mike’s bemused expression. “I love fajitas. I don’t make them for myself.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling. Cooking for one sucks.”

Their appetites sated with fajitas, enchiladas, beans, and rice, and comfortable conversation they sat back and sighed.

“Their food is good every time I come here,” said Mike as he patted his stomach.

“I don’t come here often, but when I do, I always go overboard.” Karen sighed again. “I always feel like such a pig.” She looked down at the empty dishes. “I can’t believe I ate it all.”

“Neither can I. Most women just pick at their food.”

“God, I’m gonna have to run an extra five miles in the morning just to work this dinner off.”

“You run?”

Karen looked at Mike to see what was behind his question. Would he make some smart-ass comment? “Yeah, ten miles every morning. Why?”

“I don’t know.” He paused. “I run too. I was thinking maybe I’d run with you.” Mike rushed on. “If that’s all right with you.”

Karen thought for a moment. Mike wanted to go running with her. He didn’t look like he was making fun of her. Did she miss something? This was more than just pleasing his partner. Then again, it was only a run. Not like a second date or anything. “Yeah, sure. I mean, if you want.” She gave him a sideways look. “Do you think you can keep up with me?”

“Well, we’ll just have to find out, won’t we?”

Karen laughed while she wrote her address down on the back of her business card. She handed it to Mike.

Mike looked down at it and said, “Okay. I know where that is. It’s not too far from me actually. What time shall I meet you?”

“Say five thirty?” She wouldn’t give in and give him a later time. He started when she did. But he didn’t even blanch at the early time. She had to give him a little credit.

“Sure.”

The waitress returned and placed the check in front of Mike. Karen reached out a hand to grab it. She was too late. Mike already held it in his hand.

“Please, let me—”

“No, this one is on—”

“Let’s be reasonable, Mike. Can we split it?”

“Why don’t I get this one and you get the next one?”

Karen thought for a second or two. She liked the sound of that. “Okay. That works for me. I’ll get the next one.” Running together tomorrow. A hint of a second date. This was going better than she could have ever expected. Maybe Auntie Susan really did have a magic wand and some fairy dust up her sleeve.

Karen slid sideways in her seat and stretched. She crossed her legs and dangled one sandal off the top of her big toe.

“Great.” Mike got out his wallet, laid a credit card on top of the check for the meal, and waited for the waitress to return.

“It was a wonderful meal, and I had a great time, Mike. Thanks.”

“Me too.”

Karen watched Mike glance around the room at the rest of the tables. He mumbled, “I’m glad I did this.” He didn’t look Karen in the eye; instead he looked above her head. Probably at the decorations on the wall. “You know. Took Susan’s advice.” He coughed once then started fiddling with his credit card while they waited for the waitress to pick it up.

“Yeah, me too.” Karen wondered where the relaxed Mike went. He sounded like he was trying to force the conversation. What would he be nervous about now? The evening worked out fine.

The waitress arrived, picked up the credit card and the check, then returned with a slip of paper for Mike to sign and the receipt. Karen watched him think for a second, apply the tip, and then add the numbers. He signed his name with a flourish. “There, that’s it. Are we done here?”

“Sure. I’m ready to go.”

“Great, let’s go find our cars.”

Karen frowned. What was the matter with Mike? Here he was, practically pushing her out the door. “I parked near the back. The parking lot was kind of full when I got here.”

“Yeah, me too. And I got here later than you.”

They walked through the front parking lot and around the building to the back. Karen spotted her car first and headed for it. Mike walked along side her.

She only fumbled once, looking for her keys and then in hand she pushed the unlock button on her key fob. “So, this is me.”

“Nice car.”

Karen looked over her dark SUV as it shined in the street light overhead. It was a nice car and she was proud of it. It rode like a luxury car but had enough room for all the extra things she felt necessary to carry with her like running gear, plastic gloves, paper bags, and other items she might need on an impromptu case. “Thanks. I like it. It meets my needs.”

“Yeah. We have similar tastes in cars.” Mike pointed his key fob and pushed a button. A few cars down and over, a dark SUV’s lights flickered and the horn sounded.

“Nice.”

Mike slapped at a mosquito buzzing around his ear. “Look. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to become dinner for these pests. You feel like having a drink somewhere or are you ready to go home?”

Now this was better. Mike was Mike again. For a second, Karen thought about not inviting him back to her place, but forged ahead and said, “Well, I’m ready to go home, but if you don’t mind, we can have a drink there?”

“Sure.” Mike smiled.

“Why don’t you follow me?”

“Okay.”

Mike helped Karen with her door then closed it for her when she was safe inside her car. She waved at him as he crossed the parking lot to his vehicle.

Was she doing the right thing? Was it too soon to be asking him to her house? She argued with herself. It’s only for a drink. One drink won’t hurt. And, besides, he has to go home. He was coming back in the morning to go running.

As Karen drove toward home all the while keeping an eye on the headlights behind her, she pondered the choice of drinks and whether making coffee was an option at this late hour.

Chapter Thirteen

“If you don’t mind, I’m just gonna get out of these clothes into something a bit more comfortable.”

“Don’t change on my account.” Mike looked her up and down, thinking there wasn’t anything he’d change about her at all. In her short, body-hugging dress made from some type of soft cotton t-shirt material that he wanted to reach out and touch, it was all Mike could do to keep his eyes on his plate during dinner. He found it hard to concentrate on eating and was sure he’d made a fool of himself while talking to her. When she stretched and crossed her legs, he had to force himself to look anywhere but at her. Her body curved in all the right places and he struggled with himself to stop from following the curve not with his eyes but with his hands. He blinked twice and pulled himself back together when he realized that Karen was talking.

“I’m doing it for me, I don’t mind dressing up, but when I’m home, I need to be comfortable. I need to be me…in my own space.”

“Makes sense.” Mike nodded his head. “I understand. Go for it.” He admonished himself for thinking sexy thoughts about Karen’s body. He had to push those thoughts away at dinner and he swore he wouldn’t think of them again. He could feel attraction for someone. He was a man, after all. But he liked Karen the person too, he found out at dinner.

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

Karen motioned Mike toward the living room and told him that the drink cart was set up in a corner. Mike listened as she told him to mix what he wanted and she’d be right in.

Not wanting to be so bold and unsure whether alcohol would be a good choice at this late hour, Mike instead wandered around the tastefully decorated living room of Karen’s townhouse. He looked at pictures of her as a child with another girl he assumed was her sister and her parents. Everyone looked happy and carefree. More pictures of Karen as she grew up, along with a set of parents that grew older in each picture. Older and more somber. He noticed there were no more pictures of the other sister. A possible death in the family, he wondered as his crime tech intuition kicked in.

He looked at but didn’t touch the collection of hand blown glass fish on the shelves in the corner of the room. Instead, he spent his time waiting for Karen to return by staring out the sliding glass doors to her balcony. Her three-story townhouse stood among a row of others just like it.

He liked her quiet neighborhood and felt that it suited her. If he had the kind of job she did, he’d have chosen a quiet place just like this to settle into.

Nervous, he wondered what Karen might change into to get more comfortable. He wasn’t sure what she had in mind for the rest of the evening, but he wasn’t planning on taking it any further than they’d already gone. He didn’t think adding any more alcohol to the evening would help matters. Hearing a door close behind him, he turned away from the sliding glass doors and toward the living room. He breathed a sigh of relief to see Karen in casual clothes and not in something shorter and sexier.

“Did you find everything okay?”

“Yeah. But I waited for you.”

“That wasn’t necessary, but thanks.” Karen smoothed down the front of the t-shirt she’d changed into along with a pair of lightweight sweatpants. In her bare feet, she moved silently along the tiled floor.

“You look great, by the way.”

“Thanks. I like to be comfortable when I’m home, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.”

“Let me get that drink—”

Mike stopped her before she could reach the small bar. “Do you mind if we make it coffee?” He asked. He wanted to keep his wits about him. Especially around this woman who not only intrigued but aroused him. She was beginning to get under his skin and he didn’t want to do or say anything wrong. For some reason, he wanted to make a good impression. It was important to him.

“No, I don’t mind at all. That’s a great idea. I’ll join you in a cup.” Karen busied herself in the kitchen filling the coffee pot and getting down cups. She turned her head to find Mike standing at the breakfast bar watching her.

“Do you need something?”

“No.”

“Why are you standing there watching me?”

“I want to.”

“Well, stop it, you’re making me nervous.”

“I’ve never seen anyone move with such efficiency before. The layout of your kitchen and they way you move from place to place is like watching live art. Did you design the kitchen yourself?”

“Mostly. I had a lot of input when they built it.”

“Well, it suits you. It’s like it was made for you.”

Karen laughed. “It kinda was.” She stopped at the refrigerator. “Do you take milk?”

“No, thanks.”

“Sugar?”

“Nope. Just give it to me black. It’s how I learned to drink it while working in the lab. We barely had time to pour ourselves a cup let alone bother with extras.”

“Well, I like creamer,” Karen said as she pulled out a small container from the refrigerator. “It gives the coffee a little more flavor. The hazelnut is good, but I like the French vanilla best.”

Mike thought that creamer in her coffee suited her. Tough outside but a little soft around the edges. They moved into the living room where he chose a chair while Karen sat on the sofa.

Mentally shaking his head, Mike contemplated his current situation. Here he was, sitting in a co-worker’s home, sipping coffee after a great dinner and not twenty-four hours before he’d been protesting this very action. He looked over at the woman who helped change his mind. She sat with one leg curled under her. Comfortable. It made him glad to see that she was at ease around him.

He watched her over the rim of his cup as she took a sip of coffee. She smiled and breathed deep of the aroma. Mike smiled as well. It pleased him that she took pleasure in such a small thing. “The coffee’s good.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Karen gently put her cup down onto a coaster. “I get the beans ground fresh from a local store nearby. I can’t compete with Starbucks when it comes to a latte, but at least I can serve a good cup of coffee.”

“Here, here.” Mike raised his cup. “To a good cup of coffee.”

“Thanks.”

Mike sat quietly for a moment enjoying his coffee, then said, “Have you always been a runner?”

“No, I started running during training and I liked it, so I kept up with it even after I graduated.” Karen sat up a little straighter on the sofa and turned so she faced Mike. “But I think running is a great motivator for children, especially girls, and can really help their self-esteem.”

“How so?”

“Well, I volunteer for a group called Girls on the Run. We use running-themed activities to help girls focus on their emotional, mental, and character development.” Karen sat her cup down on the coffee table. “It’s a great way to help girls move through that awkward transition of going from little girl to young woman.”

“Sounds awesome. I bet you get an immense sense of satisfaction from spending your time with these girls.”

“I do, I really do.” Karen’s face lit up with a wide smile. Animated and using her hands to express herself, she said, “Being given the opportunity to affect a young person’s life. To teach them how to be healthy. To develop their emotional character.” Karen sighed. “I can’t think of a greater use of my services.”

“You really enjoy it.” Mike smiled back at Karen. He could tell by the way Karen spoke about this program she felt strongly about it. It was another thing to like about her. The way she spoke about the girls, he wondered if she had any young nieces of nephews. Someone with that much energy and enthusiasm should be able to share it with others. “I was looking at your pictures earlier. You have a nice family. Do they live nearby?”

“My parents live in Venice, just south of here, you know, past the Sunshine Skyway. They’ve retired down there. I try to visit them as often as I can.”

“What about your sister? I noticed there weren’t any older pictures of her.” As soon as Mike said the words he regretted them. Karen tensed up and seemed to withdraw into herself.

“My sister died.” Karen’s voice was soft and low as she whispered almost to herself.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up sad memories.”

“It’s okay. I mean, it was a long time ago.” Karen stiffened her shoulders. She hesitated, then looked at Mike as if making a decision.

“She was six years old. I was a couple years older. We were playing in the park. I was supposed to keep an eye on her. You know how annoying younger siblings can be.”

Mike nodded, not talking.

“I just wanted to play with my friends.” Karen pulled both legs up so that she could hug her knees. “I ignored Sarah and eventually she went away. I didn’t think about her again until it was time to go home. I looked everywhere but couldn’t find her.”

Mike sat still, not knowing what to say.

 “We only lived a few blocks from the park, but that afternoon it felt like a million miles. I ran as fast as I could back home when I couldn’t find Sarah anywhere. In my own little eight-year-old heart, I wanted to believe that she went home without me. But, deep inside I knew she wasn’t there.”

Watching Karen’s eyes, Mike knew that she wasn’t seeing him anymore but was reliving that long ago scene. He wished he could do something to comfort her. “Karen, you don’t have to—”

She looked at him briefly, and then shook her head slowly. “No, I’m okay. For some reason, I want to tell you this.” She let her chin rest on the top of her knees. “My mother raced back to the park with me, but we couldn’t find Sarah. She called the police immediately, but this was before we had the Amber Alert.” Karen sighed. “She was already dead before they even got the word out. Her little body was discovered two days later by some kids walking in the woods.” Karen shifted slightly. “It was awful. I’d never seen my dad cry before. Sarah was all they could talk about for years.”

“Did they ever catch the person who did it?” Mike asked quietly.

“No.” Karen lifted her chin, balled her hand into a fist, and tapped it on her knee. “The police didn’t even have a suspect. The case went on for years. My parents practically put their life on hold while they waited for the police to find the person who killed Sarah.” A single tear slipped unchecked down her cheek. “It was my fault. If I had taken better care of my little sister, she’d be here now. I messed up.”

Mike couldn’t stand it anymore. He slipped out of his chair and slid next to Karen on the sofa. Gently, he placed one hand on her arm and gave it a soft squeeze. “You were only a child, Karen. You can’t blame yourself.”

“Why not? My parents did.”

“You don’t really believe that?”

“Sure.” Karen swiped at her face. “It was my fault that Sarah was killed. I didn’t watch her like I was told. It was my fault we had to move away from our home.” One single sob broke loose. “To move to Florida. To get away from the memories.” Then another sob broke free. “To get away from all the people who knew. It was my fault…”

Mike slowly drew Karen into his embrace. He let her head lay on his shoulder. He felt her body shake. Making soft shushing sounds, he soothingly patted her back. “You were only a child.”

Inside, Mike’s heart ached for the little girl who held onto so much pain and responsibility. He held her close as she wept into his shoulder. The tears she cried were good, cleansing tears. He ran his hand over her short, soft hair and curled a section around her ear, so he could see her face.

Her sobs turned to sniffles.

Mike looked around and saw a box of tissues on the table behind the sofa. Stretching out an arm, he touched it with his fingertips. Inching forward, he hooked it with a finger and dragged it closer. Grabbing a few tissues, he lightly pressed them into Karen’s hand.

She sniffled a ‘thanks’ then wiped at her face and nose. “What a way to end a great dinner.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry I brought it up.”

“No, don’t be.” Karen shifted her body so that she was sitting upright and next to Mike. She laid a hand on his arm. “It means a lot to me that you were here. You’re a great listener. I…I haven’t cried in a long time.”

“Great. I make you cry on our first date.”

Karen smiled. She took another tissue and blew her nose. “You didn’t make me cry. I imagine it has a lot to do with this new case I’ve been working on. It brought back a lot of old memories for me.”

“You mean the little boy?”

“Yeah.” Karen sat up straighter. Her tone grew stronger. “Those parents deserve to know who did this to their son. And I’m going to make sure that I do everything in my power to help them.”

“Do you have any suspects?”

“Actually, we do. Remember, we got a match on the fingerprint found on the little boy’s overalls snap. And we think we found a match to the footprint found at the scene.”

“Speaking of finding footprints, Susan and I were working a scene today that had a similar boot print. FDLE’s lab is backed up right now. We won’t know anything for a few days or more. We don’t even have an ID on the victim. Right now, he’s another John Doe.”

“Will you let me know as soon as you find out?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

“Thanks.”

Mike glanced at his watch. Startled to see how much time had gone by, he said, “If we’re planning on running at five thirty, we better get some sleep.”

Karen laughed. “We?”

“You know what I mean.” Mike laughed back, happy to see the smile return to Karen’s face. “I better get home and you better get to bed.” He pointed a finger at Karen. “If you think you’re gonna sabotage my run by keeping me up all night, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“Sabotage? Ha! I can beat you fair and square. Just show up at five thirty. If you dare.”

‘Oh, I dare, darlin’, I dare. Just don’t give me any lame-ass excuse about being too tired in the morning.” He lightly poked at Karen’s shoulder with the finger he’d used for pointing.

 Pushing his hand away, Karen said, “We’ll just see who’s tired.”

Mike used that moment while Karen was off balance to draw her into his arms. He gave her a hug and then said, “Thanks for a great time tonight.”

Karen hugged him back. “Thank you.” She paused. “For everything.”