Veiled Intentions (13 page)

It was a good task to eliminate any residual effects of that kiss, and the events of the night before. They were Fiona's files, and they were sizable. Twelve of twenty-three pages. Of course, she was a frequent customer so the high volume wasn't that surprising.

Katelyn skimmed through the names to see if anything popped out at her. One did. “Raul Hernandez,” she read aloud. “But we already knew about him.”

And he was very much dead.

“Kirk Masterson,” Joe announced. “The second groom. Fiona's high on his list. Third, in fact.”

Pleased that the pieces might be falling into place, Katelyn turned another page, and her attention immediately landed on a name near the middle. “Bingo. She was a match with Brad Garcia, our latest victim.”

Finally!

But her
finally
wasn't much of a celebration. Joe checked his watch. “There was no answer when I called that number Fiona gave me so I passed it on to the tech guys so they could check it out. If it holds, I'll try to set up a meeting with her this afternoon. Maybe we can finish this today so we won't even need the ceremony.”

“Yes, maybe.” And then she remembered Joe's
other
appointment. “After your meeting with the chief, of course.”

“Of course.”

As if it were the most natural thing in the world, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze and walked out, leaving her with a thousands questions and not many answers. Too bad a lot of those questions centered around Joe and the fact that he was setting a scenario to put himself in danger.

Which was his job, she reminded herself.

And hers.

A job she needed to focus on if she wanted them both to walk away from this alive. Suddenly, that focus seemed a lot more critical than it ever had.

Katelyn sat down, cleared her mind and began to study Fiona Shipley's file. Maybe somewhere in all those names and information, there would be clues to bring down a killer.

Apparently, right away meant something different to the chief than it did to Joe. He checked his watch—he'd been waiting in the hallway for the man for nearly a half hour. Either something unexpected had come up or else this was some sort of power play to remind Joe who was in charge.

As if he could forget that.

He owed a lot to Chief Mark Ryland. After all, the man had made Joe's transfer to Homicide possible. Ryland had also put tremendous trust in him by asking him to look into allegations regarding a fellow officer.

Well, maybe it was trust.

And maybe it was just something as simple as Ryland not wanting to make the investigation official unless he knew for certain there were improprieties. Or maybe he thought Joe would be relentless in getting to the truth. In doing so, however, Ryland had pitted him against not just Brayden but the entire O'Malley clan—including Katelyn.

Yet, it hadn't kept them apart.

Of course, probably nothing short of critical injury or death could have done that. There were times, like now, when Joe felt as if he were in the path of a speeding train, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Nothing he
wanted
to do to stop it.

Talk about confusing. They had a killer to catch, and his every other thought was of the redhead he'd left in the conference room. She deserved better than that and so did the victims.

“Bad morning?” he heard someone ask.

Not the chief. Brayden. He was coming down the hall directly toward Joe. And he wasn't alone. He had a big white box in one arm and a little boy squirming under the other. An O'Malley clone. He looked to be two or three and was a miniature version of Brayden.

“I've had easier,” Joe answered. Something told him this one wasn't going to get much better. “Is this your son?”

“Yes. My mother came by to drop off something for Katelyn so she brought him with her. Colton, this is Sergeant Rico.”

The child gave a little wave, but he was obviously far more interested in the fake police badge he was playing with than meeting Joe.

“I just heard the latest victims pulled through,” Brayden commented, putting the boy down. Colton didn't waste any time exploring the fake moss in an equally fake plant. “Good news.”

“Definitely. Maybe we'll be able to get something from them when they're out of recovery.”

“Too bad though we haven't been able to locate Fiona Shipley. She hasn't returned to her apartment or the mental health facility, and that number she gave you was a fake. It's for some shop down on Commerce Street.”

Well, so much for the woman hitting on him. Katelyn had been wrong about that. Fiona had probably been trying to make Merrick jealous. Or else maybe she was suspicious and had just wanted to get Joe off her back.

“We'll keep looking for her,” Brayden continued. “But if you're still able to meet with Merrick this afternoon, maybe you can talk him into giving you info about where to contact her.”

Joe nodded, not really hopeful about that. “We're definitely meeting with Merrick. In fact, we'll leave just as soon as I'm done here.” Merrick probably wouldn't give up the information voluntarily, but maybe they could get it some other way. His mind kept going back to that Rolodex he'd spotted on Merrick's desk. If Merrick and Fiona had had an affair, then her number was probably in there.

It seemed more than a little awkward standing outside the chief's office and having such a civil conversation with the man he was supposed to be investigating. Brayden had to know why Joe was waiting to see Chief Ryland, but he didn't show it. No dark emotion simmering just below the surface. No pon
dering look. Just shop talk and an occasional fatherly glance in his son's direction.

“How badly was Katelyn hurt in the shooting?” Brayden asked.

Okay. So maybe not totally shop talk. That question threw Joe off balance. “Hardly more than a scratch on her arm. She's fine. How'd you know?”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “Lucky guess.”

Right. The man had probably never relied on luck or guesses in his entire life.

Brayden did a no-no motion with his index finger when his son started to remove a flyer from the bulletin board. The child promptly obeyed and moved on to a hands-on examination of the carpet.

“If you're waiting for my permission to discipline Katelyn for not following procedure about an injury,” Brayden told him, “the wait's unnecessary. You're her boss.”

“Believe me, I haven't forgotten that.” Well, maybe he had while they were in that bathroom. Joe shook his head. “No disciplinary action will be required. Not unless you want to aim it at me. I didn't report her injury even after she…informed me of it.”

“Then you must have believed it wouldn't have an impact on this assignment.”

“She convinced me that it wouldn't,” Joe said, rather than lie to the man.

Brayden grunted. Not an ordinary grunt. But one to indicate he was deep in thought about something. “That day in my office, you said something about Katelyn coloring outside the lines.”

Joe winced, recalling the words in perfect detail. “I meant—”

“She does. So does Garrett. It drives me nuts, but I swear they can sort through things that look like a junk pile to me. Like zooming in on Perfect Match after only one shooting. You managed to do that, too, but you used department resources. Katelyn didn't, because she worked on it while off-duty. Added to that, she was also dealing with the grief from her friend's murder. Yet, I believe she got to the right place about the same time you did?”

“She did.” Joe smiled, but he made sure it didn't stay on his face too long. In this case being proud of her probably wasn't a good thing to display. “Is there advice somewhere in that?”

“There is. If it comes down to a situation where someone negates the rules, trust Katelyn.”

Joe met him eye-to-eye and nodded. “With my life.”

And it wasn't something he had to think about.

Nor was it a question.

Brayden gave him a pat on the back and turned to leave.

“What—no veiled threats about not hurting her?” Joe asked, certain that he deserved such threats. Heck, they might even make him feel less guilty.

Joe felt Colton tugging on his pant leg, looked down, and the boy flashed the fake badge at him. “Know what a frisk is?” Except instead of frisk, it was
fisk.
Joe winked at the kid, ruffled his hair and assured him that he did.

“That's something my brother taught him,” Brayden explained, obviously not too pleased about it. He passed the box to Joe so he could scoop up his son in his arms. “And as for your relationship with my sister, Katelyn can take care of herself. I'm more concerned about you than her.”

“Me?”

“Katelyn feels she has to work twice as hard and twice as long to prove herself. Added to that, she's not just married to the badge, she's in love with it. And she won't give that up for you or any other man.”

Not exactly a newsflash. Joe had known and admired that about her from day one. “I wouldn't even think of asking her to give it up.”

Brayden stared at him a moment, and Joe felt as if the man were sizing him up. Probably was. “It'll be interesting to watch.”

“Know what interrogation is?” That from Colton. Except it was
terrogation.

“I know.” In fact, Joe thought he might be in the middle of one. A subtle one, where the lieutenant was getting him to ask the questions and then provide the answers, as well.

“What'll be interesting to watch?” Joe directed at Brayden.

“How Katelyn deals with you.”

Joe got the feeling Brayden left off a portion of that observation. The flip side to that coin was how the heck was he going to deal with her?

“Wait,” Joe said when Brayden started to walk away. “You forgot your box.”

“It's for Katelyn. Make sure she gets it.”

There it was again. That almost smug look that Brayden aimed his way. Or maybe it was a look of sympathy. If so, Joe needed it.

The door to the chief's office swung open. “Come in, Rico.”

Definitely not a polite suggestion, and judging from the way the man gruffly gestured for him to sit down, this wouldn't be a long meeting.

“You're closing in on this sniper case?” Ryland asked, which was probably the only semblance of a greeting Joe would get.

“I hope. Detective O'Malley and I have been undercover on it all week.”

“I heard. I'm not sure why Brayden paired you with her for this.”

“She was the right person for the assignment,” Joe calmly insisted.

Best to leave out the part of
how
she'd become the right person. Besides, it no longer mattered. She was the right person, and that had nothing to do with all the sexual stuff going on between them.

The chief put his elbows on the desk and steepled his fingers. “So what about these allegations?”

Now this was the part where Joe wouldn't leave anything out. “I haven't seen a single incident of favoritism, and I've been in contact with all three of the O'Malleys on this sniper case.”

The fingers unsteepled, and the man made a huffing
sound. “Did Katelyn O'Malley have anything to do with helping you out with that conclusion?”

Joe pondered that a moment. Not because he needed time to think about it, but he wanted to put a chokehold on the anger he felt over that question. “No,” he said honestly.

“No,” the chief repeated. “You sure you're not thinking below the belt on this, Rico?”

Joe tightened that chokehold a little more. “If you're questioning my objectivity—”

“I am. And don't look so damn riled about it. It wouldn't be the first time.”

“It would be for me.” If that didn't thoroughly tick off the chief, the next thing he had to say probably would. “I'm attracted to Katelyn O'Malley, but I wouldn't lie about allegations because of my feelings for her. And if you think I'm the kind of man who'd do that, then you need to get someone else to do this investigation.”

The chief studied him. Scowled. “I don't want anyone else. You've got a fresh eye since you haven't been here that long. Keep looking. If there's something to find, I want to know about it.”

Ryland gave him a dismissal wave, which Joe ignored. Joe got to his feet, but instead of leaving, he stared down at the chief. “Have there even been any legitimate complaints against Lieutenant O'Malley?”

Ryland had already reached for his brown-bag lunch, but that stopped him. “A rumor or two.”

“Rumors?” Joe couldn't help it. He cursed, and he
didn't keep it under his breath. “And you're willing to put his career at risk for rumors?”

With his scowl tightening, Ryland snatched his lunch bag and dumped out the contents. He rifled through, found a Snickers bar, and ripped off the wrapper. “I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make sure morale stays high.”

“That's the wrong way to go about it, sir.” Joe's hands went on his hips. “I'll give you my final report when I'm finished with the sniper case, but there won't be anything in it that I haven't already said to you right here, right now.”

And with that, Joe walked out, no doubt leaving any chance of his promotion behind in the chief's office.

Katelyn had braced herself for just about anything to happen during their meeting with Addison Merrick. But what she hadn't anticipated was that things would get
interesting
before they even reached Perfect Match.

She stared in the side mirror, her heart rate automatically kicking up a few notches.

“You see it?” she asked Joe.

“Yes.” He continued to drive, but like her, he was keeping an eye on the rearview mirror. “A black BMW.”

“That's the one.” At the moment it was three cars back, but it'd stayed close enough behind them since they left the parking lot of the apartment. “Did you happen to notice it when we got back from headquarters?”

“No. You?”

She shook her head. And if it'd been there, Katelyn almost certainly would have seen it. That's exactly the sort of flag that she'd been looking for. If the
sniper was truly suspicious, then in all likelihood he or she would try to follow them.

And perhaps even try to kill them again.

“I can't read the license,” Katelyn informed him. “How about you.”

“Not yet, but it's Texas plates.” Joe took the last turn toward Perfect Match.

So did the other car.

“Maybe it's Merrick?” she suggested.

“It's possible.”

After all, Joe had called the man an hour ago and had asked him to meet them at Perfect Match, so it wasn't so much of a coincidence that they'd arrive at the same time.

But this just didn't feel like a coincidence.

She squinted against the sun and tried to get a glimpse of the driver of the BMW. However, in this case, the late morning sun was a serious hindrance. It glinted off the other car's windshield, making it impossible for Katelyn to see who was following them.

“The windows are bullet resistant,” Joe reminded her. “We'll park and stay put to see what our visitor does.”

It was a good plan, if the sit and wait didn't take too long. They still needed to work on contacting Fiona Shipley, and that wouldn't happen if they had to play games with the driver of that BMW.

Joe pulled into a parking space directly in front of the agency. The spots normally filled with cars were practically empty. The closed sign on the door likely
had a lot to do with that, and the fact that there'd been a recent shooting in the area.

The BMW passed them and parked behind one of the few vehicles at the far end of the block.

Katelyn tried to see through the sunny glare, but she could only make out a shadowy figure. She slid her hand over her weapon. And waited.

Mercy, the waiting was the hardest part.

A stir of movement to her right caused her to glance in that direction. Merrick opened the front door and motioned for them to come in.

“Well, whoever's watching us, it's not Merrick,” she mumbled. That left Fiona, Donovan or even Dr. Kent. Of course, it also left any other sicko they might not have considered. Some other client or rejected lover with an attitude problem. Still, Katelyn didn't think they were off the mark with their short list of suspects. It was more than likely one of those four. She just didn't know how to go about proving which one.

Merrick motioned again. This time, it wasn't so friendly. It was definitely a hurry-up signal. But Katelyn was fairly sure that no matter how frantic the man's signals got, Joe wouldn't let either of them step out of the car with that BMW still lurking about.

With a squeal of tires, the BMW backed up just enough so it could circle around to a side street, and it sped away.

“Should we pursue?” she asked Joe.

“No. Let's stick with the plan. If it follows us
when we come out, we'll try to run the plates to see who's interested in what we're doing.”

She smiled at Merrick and held up her index finger in a one-minute gesture. The man ducked back inside. That didn't mean, however, that he wouldn't be spying on them from the window.

“This'll be a quick in and out,” Joe said, going over the rules. “We tell Merrick about the wedding being set for tomorrow and see if he'll give us Fiona's number under the guise of us inviting her to the ceremony. And that's it. Those two things, and we get out of there.”

While he checked his weapon, Katelyn stared at the building that housed Perfect Match. But not just the building. The alley up the street where someone had tried to gun them down. Yes. She definitely understood Joe's insistence of a quick in and out. Looking at that spot made her arm ache, and it didn't do much for the rest of her, either.

“What if Merrick won't tell us how to get in touch with Fiona?” she asked.

He shrugged. “The rules still apply here.”

Not exactly the answer she wanted to hear. “I swear I'm going to needlepoint that on a pillow.”

“No detours, Katelyn. No shortcuts.” That was as much of an order as it was a warning, and void of sarcasm or humor. “This isn't the time to try to bring down a killer. We've got a plan set in motion to do that.”

“Okay, okay. It just makes me crazy to think of this piece of slime walking around free while we've
got two people dead and two more seriously wounded.”

“I know, and we'll get the person responsible.”

That soothed her a little, but not nearly enough. Even though her brain told her the shootings weren't her fault, there was still the sickening feeling that she should have been able to stop it. People were hurt because she'd failed. No words, even those coming from Joe, could ease that.

Worse, that dread had spread to other areas.

She caught his arm when he started to open the door. Unfortunately, she hadn't really thought beyond that. Well, she had, but Katelyn hadn't quite figured out how to convey the things she was feeling. “Let me just blurt this out because I don't think I can make it sound palatable. You won't take any unnecessary risks, right?”

He angled his head to stare at her. “What's this all about?”

“I've already said it won't make sense. There's just this…fear. There, I've said it. I'm afraid. Not for me, but for you. And that's so stupid because you're a cop.”

Joe did something with his mouth. Not really a gape but his version of it. “You're worried about me?”

Disgusted with herself, she nodded. She would never believe anyone who told her that sex didn't change things between a man and a woman. Except she'd had sex with other men, and it
hadn't
changed things. Not like this, anyway.

Nothing had ever changed things like this.

He slid his arm around her and pulled her to him. “I can take care of myself, Katelyn. You can take care of yourself. And when all else fails, we both make great backups.”

“It's that fail part that's giving me some trouble here. It can't happen, okay?”

He nodded. “Anything else before we go in there?”

Oh, she knew what he was getting at. His meeting with the chief. It was a bit of unfinished business that would have to remain unfinished a little longer. “Nothing else.” Katelyn took a deep breath. “Let's do this.”

She made yet another mental check of her weapons and communicator as they stepped from the car. Joe had parked close enough so they only had a few steps before they made it to the door. Moving straight into their lovers' pose, they latched on to each other.

“Kate, Joe,” Merrick greeted, opening the door and motioning for them to come in. “I was surprised to get your call. I figured all our clients had been scared off by the latest shooting.”

“Oh?” And that was all Joe said. All in all, it was a good leading question.

“You haven't heard?” Merrick shook his head. “It's been all over the news. There was another couple injured last night by this so-called Veiled Sniper. Unfortunately, they were former clients.”

Joe nodded. Katelyn mumbled something about
how horrible it all was. She certainly didn't have to fake that part.

Merrick went to the cooler tucked away in the corner and helped himself to not one but two cups of water. While he was there, he pressed some buttons on a wall pad, and music began to play. A heavy, sensual sax that didn't exactly mesh with the adrenaline surging through her.

“If you don't mind, I'd like to make this visit quick,” Merrick continued. “The security guard that I hired part-time couldn't come in today. He's sick. So I'd rather not stay around here too long.”

“We won't keep you. We just wanted to invite you to the wedding.” Joe produced a mock invitation from his pocket. “It's tomorrow. That's short notice, we know, but we'd love for you to be there to celebrate with us.”

“And not just you,” Katelyn added, making sure she sounded happy and not suspicious. “We want Bruce Donovan and all the other nice people we've met here to come, as well.” She snapped her fingers. “Including Fiona Shipley. I'm not sure if you know her, but Joe and she chatted.”

Merrick's smile faded, and he gripped the invitation with far more force than necessary.

“Fiona was so friendly,” Joe added when Merrick didn't say anything. “But I don't know how to get in touch with her. I thought maybe you'd have her number so we could call her?”

“Sorry. I'm not allowed to give out that kind of information. Tell you what though—if I see Fiona,
I'll tell her. And I'll make sure Bruce gets the word, too. This might be just what we need to lighten the mood around here.” He studied the invitation. “You're not worried though? I mean, because of these other shootings.”

It was on the tip of Katelyn's tongue to lie, but the door behind them flew open. Only because she saw Joe reach for his gun, she forced herself not to go for hers. Not immediately anyway. That way, if it were some legitimate visitor, it wouldn't totally blow their cover for both of them to draw. One gun they could justify. Maybe.

Instead, Katelyn kept her attention firmly on Merrick in case he planned to use this as some kind of diversion to try to kill them. Merrick's eyes widened when he caught sight of Joe's weapon.

Dr. Allen Kent stepped in.

No widening of his eyes. But he did stop. He glanced at the gun. Joe. Her. And then at Merrick.

“What's going on here?” Kent demanded. “Is this some kind of robbery?”

Joe didn't exactly relax. Nor did he lower his gun. “No robbery.”

It was obviously time for damage control. “We're a little shaken.” Katelyn's voice quivered slightly, which although unplanned contributed to the proof that the
shaken
part wasn't all facade. She caught Joe's wrist and lowered his hand, and his weapon, to his side. “It's the shootings.”

Kent nodded. “I heard. In fact, the cops came by to see me this morning.” He fired a glare at Merrick.
“They asked for an alibi. Can you believe that? They wanted me to provide an alibi. I live alone for Christ's sake. Am I supposed to have friends sleep over just so I won't be accused of some crime?”

“I think they're questioning anyone associated with Perfect Match,” Katelyn provided. “Joe and I had to go in this morning, as well.”

Kent glanced at her again, but this time it didn't stay a glance. He combed his gaze over her from head to toe. “Don't I know you?”

Oh, mercy.

That was not what she wanted to hear right now. Beside her, she felt Joe's arm stiffen. He was no doubt thinking the same thing she was. That maybe Kent had somehow connected her to Gail after all. If so, they were in trouble.

Forcing herself to remain calm, Katelyn pretended to study his face. “Maybe we've met. I've been here a couple of times. In fact, my fiancé and I met right here at Perfect Match.” For good measure she thrust out her hand so he could see the engagement ring.

“Very nice,” he said without even looking at it.

“We're here to invite Addison to the wedding,” Joe explained. “And Fiona Shipley.”

At first, she was surprised that Joe had included the woman's name, but she soon realized it was a smart thing to do.

Kent's mouth eased into a sarcastic smile. “Trust me, you don't want to invite Fiona. She's not exactly wedding guest material.”

“You know her?” Joe asked.

But the answer didn't come from Kent, but from Merrick after he had shared a glance with Kent. “We both know her. I'm afraid Fiona sometimes has trouble distinguishing reality from fantasy. She's no longer a client here. That's the main reason I had security here the night of the icebreaker. Fiona has a tendency to show up uninvited.”

“She seemed nice enough when I spoke to her,” Joe insisted. “And I told her I'd invite her to the wedding. I'd really like to get in touch with her.”

There was a long silence, and Katelyn didn't even try to fill it in with useless chitchat. Something unspoken passed between Kent and Merrick.

“I'll get the number for you,” Merrick announced.

He turned and went down the hall, presumably to his office. Katelyn didn't take any chances. She positioned herself so that Joe would be able to return fire if the man came back not with an address but with a gun.

Kent picked up a pen and a sheet of note paper from the receptionist's desk. He wrote something down and then handed the paper to Joe. “That's Fiona's cell phone number. I doubt Addison has it. And don't worry. I'm not violating any doctor-patient confidentiality since I've never seen Fiona professionally. The truth is, we met here one evening and exchanged numbers. It didn't work out between us, but she continues to call dozens of times each day.”

Joe stuffed the piece of paper into his pocket. “Thanks.”

“I'm not doing you any favors,” Kent insisted.
“The truth is I'm hoping that if the two of you offer Fiona friendship, it'll be a more positive direction for her.”

“And maybe she'll stop calling you?” Joe tossed back.

A little flash of anger danced through Kent's eyes before he smiled. “That, too.”