Second Chances: A PAVAD Duet (11 page)

“
Yes, it’s the same
bastard,” Dr. Compton said harshly. Ally’s eyes jumped to his face.
His jaw was clenched, his hands fisted.

“
Then we catch him,” Dan
said. Ally turned back to him, not missing the slightly worried
expression he sent the younger man’s way.

“
Yes,” Compton said, moving
so Kelly could stand. She shot a look Ally’s way, puzzlement in her
green eyes. “Before he does this again.”

Ally oversaw Cody and Kelly
loading the vehicle with the evidence they’d collected. Dr. Bellows
and her team would process the bodies, while the forensic lab would
handle everything else. The CCU would put the rest of the pieces
together.

Cody drove. Kelly rode in
the back, but popped her head between the seats to discuss what
they’d seen. “This one bothers Compton bad.”

“
Mmm. Yeah.” Cody said.
“Agent Norton told me that one of the previous victims was a close
friend of Compton’s. Don’t know if they were together, but Compton
wouldn’t have minded. Found her body in Benton Park.”

“
That’s horrible!” Ally
said, her heart feeling for the man.

“
Yeah. I guess she was one
of the first cops on the scene after the previous victim’s body was
found. When they realized it was the Ghost the CCU was called in.
That’s how Compton found out his friend was dead,” Cody
continued.

“
Shit,” Kelly said. She
leaned back in her seat. “No wonder he was so...”

“
Intense,” Ally said when
Kelly didn’t finish. “And why your father was worried.”

“
He was worried?” Kelly
asked.

“
Yes. He spent half his
time watching the area where we were, and watching Dr. Compton as
if he thought the man would implode,” Ally said. “It
wasn’t...normal. Agent Compton seems like an easy-going guy. And he
wasn’t that way today. I thought it was just because he was
working, but...Dan was worried.”

“
And you know this how?”
Cody sent a teasing look in Ally’s direction. “What do you think,
Kel? I think Al has a crush on your dad!”

“
I do not!” Ally could feel
her cheeks heating.

Kelly snorted. “I think you
do. I saw you kiss him the other day.”

“
She kissed him?” Cody
asked.

“
Not like that,” Ally
said.

“
Stretched up and kissed
him on his cheek. It was sweet. Relax, Al, I know you weren’t
trying to get your groove on with my father. He’s too old for you!”
Kelly laughed before turning the conversation back to the evidence
they’d recovered and what it meant.

Ally thought over Cody’s
teasing comments for the rest of the drive. Was she right? Was she
doing something so juvenile as crushing on Dan? And what about the
age difference? Ally was thirty-six years old and Dan was at least
fifty-two or three. Sixteen years―that was quite a gap, but not one
that was completely out of the question. If she were inclined in
that direction, that was. Which she wasn’t. She’d only been
divorced for six months! She wasn’t ready for anything―even if he’d
be interested.

She wasn’t crushing. She
wasn’t.

Georgia browbeat Dan into
joining the rest of the team, plus most of the others from the
division at Smokey’s for drinks. No one on the team was much of a
drinker, but Smokey’s Bar & Grill was a good place to unwind.
Smokey was a tiny pixie of a woman in her late twenties and
daughter of the infamous biker-turned-businessman Smokey Bill
Schraeder.

While back in the day
Smokey Bill had his fingers in random not-so-legal pies, his
daughter ran a clean establishment. She had to―the place was
usually packed with off-duty cops and feds.

Dan’s two younger girls
were out somewhere―Gracie to a movie with the Glendower twins and
Emma out doing God only knew what―so Dan hadn’t protested too much
when Georgia had turned those big dark eyes in his
direction.

 
He was one of the
last to arrive, having somehow been designated chauffeur for Gracie
and her friends. He hadn’t minded at all. Gracie’s Thanks, Dad! had
been more than worth it.

The team plus more than
half of the PAVAD crew waited in the usual spot near Smokey’s
stage. The daughter had added the stage a few years back and Dan
thought it had been a wise move on her part. Had helped to change
the clientele considerably, moving from the original Smokey’s not
so savory cronies to a younger, more professional and more
lucrative client base.

Some of the younger PAVAD
agents were known to hop up on stage for impromptu karaoke battles
that were both entertaining and amusing to watch. Paige and her
partner Alessandra Brockman were bouncing around singing something
with a head-splitting beat when Dan approached the
table.

Georgia was the first to
spot him. “Hi Dan, we saved you a seat!”

Right next to little Doc
Brewster. She smiled at him and he felt his own smile widen. She
looked especially nice in a soft blue sweater and jeans. She’d
pulled her blond hair up and several strands were starting to
escape. Dan wanted to touch, to see if her sweater was as soft as
it looked. To see if she was as soft as she looked. He reined
himself in.

“
Hello, Dan.” She smiled at
him with just a touch of shyness as he settled in his seat. His
knee bumped hers.

“
Doc.” He leaned in closer
to hear her.

“
They’re pretty good,
aren’t they?” She nodded toward the stage. “You got here just in
time. Agent Lorcan’s challenged Cody into singing after Paige. Cody
is dragging Kelly up there with her.”

“
Kelly always did love
being on stage.” Dan laughed as he remembered how many hours he’d
worked with Kelly when he’d first taught her to play the guitar.
She’d been six and very determined. “She played Annie in the play
when she was eight. Standing ovation. The kid could
sing!”

“
She still can. Amazingly
well.”

“
So can Dan.” Georgia
popped into the conversation from just at Dan’s left.

“
You sing?” the doc
asked.

“
Plays guitar, too.”
Compton picked up on the conversation. “Says it helps him
relax.” 

“
And you play piano
because?” K.D. asked him, smirking, one hand resting on her baby
belly.

“
Because chicks dig piano
players?” J.T. said.

“
Computer-boy here plays
the drums. We get together with Paige, Al, and Carrie―who also play
various instruments. Every once in a blue moon we can browbeat Dan
into sitting in on a set or two.”

“
Kelly, Cody, Sam and
Payton do the same,” Eric said from his place beside the small
short-haired blonde Dan had learned was Sam, his
ex-wife.

Dan missed the rest of the
conversation as Paige and Al came off the stage and the music
changed. His oldest took the stage along with Agent Cody and a slim
blonde Dan had seen but never been introduced to.

His daughter’s voice was
clear, throaty, and powerful. He doubted she even needed the cheap
microphone to reach the back recesses of the bar.

The crowd of regulars
hushed, as they often did when unfamiliar talent was presented for
the first time. Kelly sang of lost love, of pain, and of renewed
hope, joined by her two friends. Dan didn’t focus on the other
girls.

While on stage, his oldest
daughter lost the skittish nerves and shyness she always displayed;
as she sang, Kelly was confident and vivacious. And Dan felt the
rush of pride that only a parent could claim.

“
She’s good, isn’t she?”
Dan asked, a proud grin on his handsome face. Ally smiled in
return. She leaned in closer so that he could hear her
words.

“
She’s phenomenal. But so
are Agent Daviess and Agent Brockman.” Ally felt his arm go behind
her, resting on the top of her chair, as he scooted his chair
closer. The music changed once again and Cody sang lead. “They were
part of a band in Indianapolis, but things went sour just before we
were asked to transfer.”

His face turned serious.
“She’s not warming up to me at all, Doc.”

“
It takes her a while to
warm up to anyone. It was six months before she opened up to me.”
Ally understood his frustration and his impatience. Ryan was doing
a pretty good job of shutting her out lately. “How are Gracie and
Emma doing?”

“
Gracie’s quiet. Took me a
few days to realize that. First thought she was just shy and
insecure. But it’s not that―she’s just introverted. Extremely
bright, though. Interested in science, just like her older sister.
Emma’s fiery, quick. Secretive. Can’t quite put my finger on her,
doc. Either she’s plotting a total governmental overthrow
or...well, I’m not sure.”

Ally laughed softly. He
looked so bewildered. Children could do that to you, no matter what
their ages.

“
They are so different.
Even from what I imagined. And Kelly...” He frowned, his expression
darkening.

“
Kelly is different. And
very, very vulnerable. But she’ll adjust. She’ll warm up to you in
time. How could she not?” 

Ally felt the pink hit her
cheeks when he smiled. She was saved from anymore embarrassment
when several of their tablemates stood and moved toward the dance
floor. Cody stood center stage, her voice higher and softer―but no
less beautiful―than Kelly’s as she moved into a romantic
ballad.

Soon it was just Ally and
Dan as Agents Brockman and Daviess pulled Compton and Tompkins onto
the small floor.

Dan looked around, an
awkward look on his face that had Ally puzzled. He looked back at
her and smiled softly. “It’s been at least a decade since I’ve done
it, but would you care to dance, doc?” 

Ally felt even more heat
bloom in her cheeks, but to her own surprise she found herself
nodding.

He took her left hand and
they stood. He guided her to the dance floor where the Hellbrooks
and several other couples were wrapped around each other as they
swayed slowly to Cody’s song.

He put one hand on her
back, just above her waist and guided her against him, the other
hand captured hers and held it close. He was just the right height
for her to dance with, no threat of his chin bumping her head. He
smelled nice, of mint and wood and Ally closed her eyes, just
breathing him in. He guided her gently through the song, and then
through the next and the next. The voices of the singers changed,
but Ally was barely aware of it. When the third song ended she
looked up at him as he stopped dancing.

His eyes were trained on
Kelly, who stood staring at the two of them with a confused
expression on her face. Ally suddenly felt awkward and ashamed, but
that faded when she saw the puzzlement and hurt in Dan’s eyes when
Kelly turned away and stepped out through the back door of the bar.
To get to the table, Kelly would have had to pass her father.
Apparently, she hadn’t wanted to do that.

Ally loved Kelly, and
understood she was going through a rough time. But so was Dan. Ally
made a quick decision. Her hand tightened on his and she pulled him
closer. “She’ll be ok. Just needs time. And space.”

He nodded, but his
attention wasn’t on Ally and she knew it. She sighed and let him
lead her back to the table. He wasn’t as talkative, instead sitting
with a contemplative expression on his face. The same expression
she’d seen on Kelly’s face numerous times.

Kelly eventually returned,
taking her seat across the table. Ally could have strangled her for
the way she withdrew, but since the girl’s father was doing the
exact same thing, it partially amused her. They were so alike. She
wondered if either of them realized that.

Eventually she grew
irritated at the both of them, and accepted Dr. Aitcheson’s offer
to dance gladly. Richison may have been a bit of an ass to Sam, but
he was perfectly polite with Ally. Still, dancing with him did not
evoke half the feelings that dancing with Dan had.

When she returned to the
table, Kelly was gone, as was Agent Compton. Dan sat beside
Hellbrook and his wife, nursing the same beer he’d had earlier.
Ally’s knee bumped his when she sat and he stiffened, his eyes
turning toward her as if he’d forgotten she was there. They stared
at each other for a long moment before the buzzing of Hellbrook’s
cell phone jerked their attention in Hellbrook’s
direction.

Hellbrook read the text,
then jumped to his feet. “Reynolds, shots fired outside! Georgia,
stay here!”

Dan
jerked. “Here? Dammit, Kelly and Josh just went
outside!”

Dan’s nightmare was
realized as soon as Hellbrook threw open the steel fire doors
leading to the alley.

Josh was leaning over
Kelly, his hands pressed to her side. Dan gave a cursory check to
ensure no threats remained before dropping to his knees beside his
daughter. “Baby?”

Her hand wrapped around
his. He vaguely heard Hellbrook calling for an ambulance, followed
by a round of cursing.

Hellbrook moved to Dan’s
side. “Nearest ambulances are at least twenty minutes out. Dealing
with a pile-up on the interstate.”