Secrets Among the Cedars (Intertwined Book 2) (4 page)

“About five years, not counting law school internships.”

He licked his fingers. “What’s been your most interesting or memorable case to date?”

“Besides the one I’m working on now?” Kathryn sipped on her drink and followed a boat from the yacht club pier until it disappeared behind the buildings on Dock Street. “I guess I’d have to say the Clark Buchanan case out of South Carolina. He was in exports but made most of his money exporting drugs. He was arrested in Georgia and let out on bail until his trial. He went home to his wife, Cora, but took off one night and was never seen again. Until he turned up dead, that is.”

Phil’s eyes widened. “Dead?”

“Yes, someone he owed a chunk of money to came after him and shot him down.”

“How long ago was this?”

“Just last year. I spoke with his wife, and she’d left town just before he was killed. I was afraid that whoever killed him would come after her.”

“Did they?”

“No, she ended up at a ranch in South Georgia and later married the owner’s son. They own a B&B. I’ve often thought about stopping by sometime and meeting her. In fact, I might do that on my way home.”

“Sounds like an interesting case.” Phil tossed his sack in a nearby trash can. “So do you talk to Maria much?"

Kathryn choked on her drink. This man was going to be the death of her. If he wanted to know about Maria, why didn't he just call her himself? "No, I haven't spoken with her since she moved back to New York. She sort of erased Georgia from her mind."

"I guess it's easy to do when there are bigger and better things waiting on you. I'm glad I missed that train wreck. Lucky for me, I moved to Savannah right before she returned to New York."

"I'm sorry she did that to you."

He removed the cap from his water bottle and gulped the drink down. "Don't be. I dodged a big bullet."

"Really?"

"Yes, definitely! If we'd married, we'd probably be divorced by now. Or she'd still be cheating on me."

"I wish I'd known it was going on. I would've said something. You didn't deserve that."

"Water under the bridge. Life goes on. And all those other clichés people say. Right?"

Kathryn shrugged. "I suppose so. It still had to hurt a lot. Rejection stinks."

"Yeah." He steepled his fingers on top of the table and drummed their tips against each other. "If I remember correctly, forgive me if I'm wrong, you had a boyfriend at the time."

Kathryn didn't want to talk about Zeke. Not with Phil anyway. It had taken her a year to recover from their break-up. She blew out a big breath. "Yes, I did. That was a long time ago though." She stood. "So…I need to let Sadie take a walk before I head back to the condo."

"I'll walk with you, if you'd like. There's a path along the water's edge."

Kathryn pulled her keys out of her front pocket as they approached her car parked in front of the city park. "Well, I had better get back before the sun goes down."

"Oh yeah, you want to see the sunset." Phil cut his eyes sideways at her.

"Right. And I don't want to be out after dark." She brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face.

"Maybe you should give me your number."

"In case you need me to come rescue you?"

"Ha!" He stepped back.

"I'll call you if I need anything. Thanks." After Sadie jumped into the car, Kathryn climbed in after her and shut her car door. She looked up into those caramel eyes for what she hoped was the last time. Her heart couldn't handle all the fluttering this man caused. What did it matter though? He was Maria's ex, which made him off limits.

So why couldn't she stop thinking about him now?

Chapter Four

Kathryn parked in the side lot of the grocery store and left Sadie in the car. A grilled steak for dinner and a swim in the pool afterward might cheer her up since she hadn't solved the case yet. She walked along the mural-covered wall of the store, stepping around the front of a beat up yellow pickup truck.

Kathryn tugged the glass door open and stepped up into what looked more like a convenience store instead of a full-fledged grocery store. The prices were probably sky high. She grabbed a battered blue plastic basket and found the produce section to her right. She chose a large potato to bake and a bagged salad then headed for the meat department all the way in the back. After she picked out a t-bone the size of Texas, she strolled up and down the rest of the aisles and let her thoughts drift back to the case.

How would the charges against Louie Ezzo stick if his gun couldn't be located? Maybe she could stay here a few more days. She'd be cutting it close if she remained any longer since the trial was in two weeks, but she needed more time here to find the gun. If only Ezzo’s defense attorney hadn’t asked for an immediate trial based off the fact that the weapon hadn’t been found and Ezzo was sure there’d be no conviction, she’d have years to work on this case. But everyone was entitled to a speedy trial, and that clock had already begun to tick.

Kathryn found her way to the front of the store to check out. Three men stood near the register, encircled by the odor of cigarettes, and stalked her with their eyes. The one with greasy brown hair lifted his chin and gave her an arrogant smile. Another winked at her with beady dark eyes. The third man studied the floor. Could one of these suspicious looking guys be behind the threats?

Kathryn hurried to the register and placed her basket on the counter. "Hi. How are you?"

"Good." The skinny man behind the counter with tattoo sleeves running down both arms took her items out of the basket and scanned them with the barcode wand. He didn't seem too eager to make her feel welcome at all.

"This seems to be a place a lot of people in town would visit. And I’m guessing a lot of vacationers come here too. Have you heard anyone talking around town about a Cedar Key connection to a murder in Georgia?"

He shook his head and placed her salad and potato in a bag.

"How about anyone trying to unload a gun?"

"No." His voice sounded like sandpaper scratching across glass.

"What about a man by the name of Ezzo?"

He stopped with the steak in his hand, half in the grocery bag and half out, and looked at her with bloodshot amber eyes. The three men, now huddled in the corner by the bread, scurried out of the store like cockroaches when the lights come on in the middle of the night.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No." He shifted his attention from her face to outside the store and back. "Look lady, you don't want to go sticking your nose in places it don't belong."

She put her hand high on her hip. "What do you mean?"

"You're new here, right?"

Kathryn nodded. He didn't have to know she was only here for the weekend.

"There’re a lot of things you don't know about the way things are done in this town."

"Like what?" She challenged him with an arched eyebrow.

"We're kind of like the edge of the world. Ya know? If the world was flat. People come here with their secrets, and they leave 'em here. Those secrets are better left buried."

"If you know something, you had better tell me."

The man placed the steak in the plastic bag with trembling hands and glared at her. "Mind your business." Obvious fear hid behind his boldness.

"What would you think if I subpoenaed you for the Superior Court in Georgia?"

He gulped and his Adam's apple bulged. "You're a lawyer?"

"You bet I am. Now what do you know?"

"You'll have to subpoena me." He shoved the bag of groceries at Kathryn. "It's on the house."

"Oh no, it's not!" She tossed thirty dollars at him. "Keep the change. And consider yourself subpoenaed." He didn’t have to know that she couldn’t subpoena him without having his name. Kathryn flung open the door and rushed out onto the sidewalk. She bolted around the side of the building to the parking lot, and the three suspicious men darted behind the building. She unlocked her car and found Sadie awaiting her return unharmed. Kathryn pressed the pedal to the floorboard. She had to get to the condo without someone following her.

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Fifty feet out in the water at the end of the covered dock, Kathryn sat with Sadie by her side basking in the orange sunset. Katydids chirped in the grasses and fish splashed to the surface of the water feeding on bugs. Kathryn sipped coffee from a seashell-adorned mug, her mind drifting back to her run-in with the store clerk. He knew something. That gun was here in Cedar Key, and she had to find it. But what if she didn’t?

She needed to call the D.A. and let him know she’d had no success yet. Why had she thought she could find the gun? Her investigators and the detectives hadn't been able to.
Way to go, Kathryn.

She'd made it look like the people who worked so hard for her didn't know what they were doing, and here she’d failed too. Daddy would be ashamed of her. But then again dear old Dad might not be. Hadn't he always told her that the way to get to the top was to use others as steppingstones? Taking others down for your own gain was always okay in Daddy’s eyes.

That's what he'd done to Mom. She'd paid his way through medical school by working every job she could find. And what did he do to thank her? He cheated on her. Now he was married with a new family. The only way Kathryn felt she could get his attention and make Daddy happy would be to push her way to D.A. then to judge and then onto Supreme Court Justice. Then maybe he’d be proud of her? Maybe he might love her?

Could she do it? There had to be something else she could do with her life. Something that really mattered. Putting away criminals mattered, yes, but there was so much hard work and no time for Kathryn to enjoy anything else. That's one of the reasons Zeke left her. Her job wasn't family-friendly. So he moved on.

Kathryn
brought her cup to her lips again with care
and played with Sadie's ears. Dolphins glided across Daughtry Bayou. If only she could go with them. They seemed so carefree. Would she ever do something with her life that would bring joy?

The fishing line pulled inside her reel, and the end of her rod bent toward the water. Kathryn set her mug on the dock and grabbed her rod. Something big had to be on the other end. As long as it wasn't a shark, she’d be okay. The last thing she needed was to go over the edge of the dock into the dark brine.

She pulled back on the rod, and it bent nearly in half. She reeled until her wrist felt like it would break. What was on the other end of that line?

When she finally got her line reeled in, a small ray flipped and flopped at the end of it. A beautiful creature, but not anything to brag about. Kathryn stepped on the barbed tail, removed the hook with her pliers, careful not to get nailed with the barb, and flipped the ray back into the water. She put a fresh piece of squid on the end of her line and sent it out as far as she could. She reeled in the slack and returned her thoughts to the case.

In the file, a statement from a witness continued to badger her. Something about a honeymooning couple? What would a honeymooning couple have to do with a murder weapon? If the gun was out there, where was it? Phil wanted to help her find it, but could she put aside her attraction to him and work to solve this case?

Kathryn’s hands ached from holding the rod, and her shoulders begged for a respite from reeling, so she reeled in the line. She cleaned up her fishing supplies, scooped up her mug, and grabbed Sadie's leash. "Come on, girl. We're not going to solve this case sitting out here on the dock."

As they stepped with care down the narrow walkway in need of repair, the hairs on the back of her neck and on her arms stood to attention. The Gulf breeze blew the palm trees and the bushes surrounding the condo. Could someone be hiding in them? She ran across the patio around the swimming pool and shoved the back door open. Sadie followed her inside. Kathryn locked the door.

Although no one pursued her and she had once again let her imagination take over all sanity, a scene from a horror film played in her mind. Why was it that the girl always ran upstairs to get away from the bad guy leaving her only option for freedom the bedroom window, where she’d have to jump to her death to escape? Or worse, lay on the ground with broken ankles unable to get away from the perp, who always ended up back outside by the time she jumped? Kathryn was smarter than that.

Or was she? Hadn’t she just locked the back door, making it more difficult for her to escape if someone was inside with her? She scurried throughout the condo checking for an intruder. Sadie stayed right at her feet but didn’t seem to be on alert. After a thorough check in every closet, underneath every bed, and in each shower, Kathryn relaxed her shoulders.

Mom always said that God watched out for her. It didn't often feel like He cared about her life or protected her, but if anybody could protect her, He could. Or He'd send someone to do it. Kathryn refused to be intimidated or let the Ezzo case ruin the splendor of Cedar Key.

#

At 7:00 a.m., beams of sunlight streamed in through the skylight and peeled Kathryn's eyes open one by one. She stretched and yawned then her hand landed on Sadie's head. Sadie was sprawled out on the other side of the bed with her head on the pillow next to hers. Kathryn slipped out of the covers, careful not to wake her companion. Maybe she could have a cup of coffee before Sadie's morning walk.

She glided through the hallway, feeling as carefree as a feather, toward the kitchen and started a cup of coffee. She pulled up her email on her phone and composed a message to D.A. Schwartz.

I need to run a few things by you before I leave Cedar Key. Give me a call at your earliest convenience. I'm checking out at 11:00 a.m. Thanks.

She poured her coffee into the seashell mug she'd used last night, and Sadie clicked into the living room. Kathryn grabbed the leash off the bar. "How about you do a quick walk out here in the back this morning?"

While in the backyard, Kathryn's phone rang. "Hello."

"Good morning."

"You didn't have to call me so early, Mr. Schwartz. I know you're getting ready for church."

"It's okay. What's up? Any new evidence?"

Kathryn told the D.A. about the note, the call, and the grocery store incident. She straightened her shoulders, gathering the courage to ask for more time. She couldn't fail at this case. If she were ever going to meet Daddy's expectations, she'd have to win against Ezzo. "Would it be all right if I stayed a few more days?"

"Why?"

"There are a lot of tourists here. Most of them should head home today. With mostly locals here tomorrow, I should be able to get some answers. I haven’t even been able to talk to the police yet."

"Okay, I'll get someone to handle your cases. Be back Wednesday morning."

"Thanks, I will."

"Be careful."

Kathryn walked Sadie, then called the property management company and worked it out to stay until Wednesday. That would give her three full days to do her investigating. Surely she could find that murder weapon in that amount of time.

While she ate breakfast, she reviewed the evidence. Again. All four victims were shot in their hands and feet with a gunshot wound to the center of their foreheads at close range. What victim would stand still long enough to be shot in four separate places before allowing someone to get close enough to shoot him in the head? The killer was sending a message. But was that message sent before or after their murders?

What if the victims were killed first and then shot in their hands and feet afterward to drive a point home? What better way to say that they’d failed at their jobs than to take their hands and feet away from them? What better way to send all future drug traffickers who worked for them a message that if their hands tainted the goods in anyway, they’d be lost, and if their feet wandered too far off track, they’d never walk again?

Kathryn wasn’t here to ponder motive though. She was here to find the gun, a gun which hopefully held the fingerprints of the killer. It seemed unlikely that Ezzo pulled the trigger on those four men. He wouldn’t waste his time killing two guys who cheated him out of some cocaine and two who were too ignorant to know they’d been cheated.

After thirty minutes, she was about as close to finding the weapon as she was when she arrived on Friday evening. Just like everything else in her life, this case was going nowhere fast. There had to be a way to find out where that gun was. Somebody had to know something.

If history had told her anything, the place to find out the juicy details and secrets of a town was church. Cedar Key had to be no different.
There was little she could do this morning anyway. She might as well head toward town and find a place to go. She searched the Internet for churches, and the first one that popped up was the Baptist church. That'd be as good a place as any to go. Maybe she could find some answers there.

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