You Can't Hide (46 page)

[Suspense 5]

You Can't Hide

Tess glanced at Spinnel i before returning her attention to the woman she thought she’d known. “Lila Timmons was one of our patients. She died last year. Was that the best name she could come up with?”

“Unlike you, some people fold under pressure, Tess,” Spinnelli said. Aidan was writing the name on his notepad. “We’l check her out.” He sat and stared at her, saying nothing more. Tess remembered when he’d used the same tactic on her and despite her contempt for what Denise had done, she felt a tug of pity. After a minute of bearing Aidan’s stare, Denise dropped her eyes. “Can I go now?”

“You’re not under arrest, Miss Masterson. But I do have one question before you do.” Aidan put a picture on the table and Tess cringed. It was Gwen Seward’s autopsy photo. Denise’s hand came up to cover her mouth, muffling a horrified whimper.

“Miss Masterson, I just wanted you to see what was happening to Gwen Seward while you were on the phone to the
National Eye
. She won’t have an open casket. There’s not enough of her head left.”

Denise gagged and threw up in the trash can Murphy had set next to her foot. Aidan pushed harder. “Gwen Seward might still be alive if you’d called 911 the way Dr. Ciccotelli asked you to do.”

Denise covered her face with her hands. “I didn’t kill her. Her husband did.”

Aidan pul ed her hands from her face and held the picture in front of her eyes. “Because you didn’t call 911. Why did you wait ten minutes, Denise?”

Denise clenched her eyes closed. “Take it away. Please don’t make me look at it.”

“Tell me why you waited ten minutes.”

“All the others were already dead. I didn’t think there was a rush.”

Aidan shook his head as if to clear it. “Are you telling us that you called the tabloid first because you thought Malcolm Seward was already dead?”

Denise nodded, trembling. “They called me that morning and told me they’d pay me ten thousand dollars for a scoop.”

Tess frowned. “The
Eye
didn’t get the scoop, Marc. There were twenty reporters outside Seward’s on Tuesday, so they shouldn’t have paid her anything at all.” Her gut clenched. “Oh my God. She was there when the courier brought the CD.” She clutched Spinnelli’s arm. “Find out if that’s the scoop she sold them.”

Spinnelli patted her arm. “Give Aidan and Murphy another few minutes with her.”

“So you sold Dr. Ciccotelli out,” Aidan was saying.

Denise lifted her chin. “I did nothing illegal. My lawyer told me so.”

“Who is your lawyer, Miss Masterson?” Murphy asked, his tone stil mild despite the contempt Tess could see in his eyes. “He may have given you bad information.”

“Can I go now?”

“In a minute.” Aidan drew another photo from the folder.

“Who is that man?” Tess asked.

“He’s the one we saw going into Seward’s apartment,” Spinnelli murmured.

“I know him,” Tess said and watched Denise’s eyes flicker. “And so does she.”

Spinnelli’s head whipped around. “Who is he?”

“I don’t remember,” Tess said. “Not yet.”

Denise was shaking her head. “I don’t know him. I’ve never seen him before.”

“Oh, come on, Denise,” Aidan said, his tone mocking. “Did he pay you, too?”

Denise’s eyes narrowed. “No.”

“Ask her about the CD,” Tess said.
And if she’s told anyone, I’ll kill her myself.
Spinnelli leaned his head in and motioned for Murphy to come, then whispered in his ear. Murphy nodded and returned to Denise. “We’re curious, Miss Masterson. First of all, I want to reestablish where that ill-gotten money came from. Did it come from Lila Timmons who has been dead for a year or from the
National Eye
?”

Denise clenched her teeth. “I told you it was the
Eye
. And not illegal.”

173

Karen Rose

[Suspense 5]

You Can't Hide

“Okay. Just crossing my ‘t’s.” Murphy smiled. “Now tell me why they paid you ten grand for a story that was yesterday’s news just an hour later? Seward was no scoop.”

Denise swallowed hard. “I’m going home.”

Murphy and Aidan exchanged a glance and Tess could see that Aidan had quickly picked up the ball. “You told them about the videos of Dr. Ciccotelli, didn’t you?” Aidan demanded, standing up, his hands on his hips.

Denise paused, her hand on the doorknob and Tess’s stomach pul ed inside out. “And if I did?

That wasn’t illegal, either.”

“No, just despicable,” Aidan spat out. “How could you?”

Denise turned, her face twisted and angry. “Because I needed the money. Because she pays me next to nothing. Because she has a fancy apartment and a Mercedes while I drive a ten-yearold bucket of rust. Eleanor picked her up out of the gutter and made her. Did she do the same?

Did she ask me if I wanted to be part of the practice?”

“I don’t recall seeing a medical degree on your rйsumй, Miss Masterson,” Aidan asked coldly.

“Or a PhD. So what purpose could you have served?”

Denise was trembling, her cheeks mottled red. “I have a degree. If they’d wanted to bad enough, they could have done something. I’ve been waiting for her and the old man to do the decent thing for years, but they treat me like some kind of
secretary
.”

“You
are
a secretary, Miss Masterson,” Murphy said mildly. Aidan walked over to her, his expression one of disdain. “If I were your employer I’d fire your ass. But if you choose not to show up for work tomorrow, that’s fine by me. You, too, Murphy?”

Murphy pushed his lips into a lazy pout. “Fine with me. I’l escort you out.”

When they’d gone, Aidan came into the back room where Tess stood shaking her head in disbelief. “Harrison and I paid her twenty percent more than the city average for receptionists with her experience. And we paid her health benefits, too. I even offered to help her go back to school.”

“So what did she mean, Eleanor pul ed you up?” Spinnelli asked. Tess sighed. “I met Eleanor when I was in col ege. Amy and I were temping to earn money for school and the agency sent me to Eleanor and Harrison. They liked me and offered me a job. I couldn’t work all the time because I was in school, but I worked whenever I could. I did all the filing after hours and on weekends.”

“That doesn’t sound terribly significant,” Aidan said with a frown. Tess drew a breath. “And… Eleanor put me through medical school.”

Aidan blinked. “Wow.”

“Not for free. It was a loan and I worked to pay it off at bank interest rates, after I graduated. It let me focus on med school. I didn’t have to work long hours to pay tuition. I’d paid off eighty percent of the loan when she died. Her will forgave the rest.”

“Why would Eleanor give you such a loan?” Spinnelli asked.

“Eleanor used a walker. I helped her get around. Did errands for her. I didn’t do it for the money. I did it because she was a kind person and I liked her. And I learned so much from her…”

Her throat thickened. “And from Harrison. They brought me into the practice when I got my license. When Eleanor died, I thought Harrison would bring in somebody else, but he’d become attached to me, too, he said, and asked me to stay.” She lifted her chin. “But they didn’t make me. They helped me make myself.”

Aidan frowned. “How did Denise know that story? Was it common knowledge?”

“I don’t know. My friends at the time knew. Phillip knew, because I told him. Why?”

“Because it’s a little seed that has made your receptionist hate you.”

“I still can’t see Denise planning all those suicides. Frankly, she’s not that bright.”

“But she knew the guy in the picture,” Spinnelli said. “The one who installed cameras in Seward’s place. Maybe he put them in your place, too.”

174

Karen Rose

[Suspense 5]

You Can't Hide

She thought about it rationally. “You’re right. She must have been the one to let him in, even if she didn’t know what he was doing. I hate to believe she did know.” Tess rubbed her temples and peered up at Aidan. “You think Phillip was involved.”

Aidan met her gaze steadily. “Haven’t you thought so?”

“I guess so. Again, I can’t see him doing this, but I didn’t see Denise being so angry either. I didn’t exactly like her, but I didn’t
not
trust her, if that makes sense.”

Aidan’s cell phone rang. “Murphy?… She did? Good. Call me when she stops.” He closed his phone. “Murphy’s fol owing her. She made a phone call from a public phone across the street. I’l have the number traced.”

Tess studied the picture Aidan had shown Denise. “I’ve seen this guy before, but I don’t remember where. Can you make me a copy? Maybe it wil jar my memory.”

Aidan led her toward the door. “I will. Listen, I have one more stop to make before I come home. If I’m late, wait for me. Don’t go out alone. How are you getting home?”

“Vito’s waiting downstairs. Aidan, I need to warn the people that know me.”

“You can warn your friends to be a little more careful. Just don’t mention the note.”

“‘Be judged by the company you keep,’” Tess said bitterly. “I won’t.”

Chapter 19

Thursday, March 16, 7:15 P.M.

Aidan slid his arm around her as she hesitated at the funeral home door. “Ready?”

Tess nodded, fast and hard. “Yeah, I think so.” But she trembled.

“Let’s get it over with. Then we’l go home and let your father poke me with sticks.”

She chuckled, his intention. “He will not poke you with sticks. I hope.”

A man in black pointed toward a room filled with men in suits and women in tasteful dresses.
A veritable who’s who of Chicago society,
Aidan thought, recognizing a number of them from the black-tie affairs Shelley’s stepfather used to host. A stillness fell throughout the room when they entered, conversations stalling until finally the only sound was the classical music piped in through the speakers. A frail-looking woman stood to one side of the mahogany casket, flanked by Harrison’s children.

“You want me to go up there with you?” Aidan murmured.

“No, stay here. I have something to tell her but I won’t be long.” She hugged Flo, whispering in her ear and Flo went still, tears rol ing down her face even as her mouth trembled in a smile. Tess came back to where he was standing, her own eyes wet.

“What did you tell her?” Aidan asked, slipping his hand under her hair.

“I told her Harrison’s last words were that he loved her. She knew it, but she needed to hear it.” “I’m glad then.” Looking over her head he scanned the room. “Do you see anyone you know here?”

She looked around. “I see lots of people I know, but nobody who hates me.”

“Let’s stay a little longer,” he murmured in her ear. “I want to see who shows up. I’l stay back here and watch. You mingle.”

Who showed up first was Murphy, his wrinkled suit making him look like Columbo at a country club. “Did you trace Denise’s call?”

Aidan glanced over to where Tess stood, talking with the mayor. The mayor. Hell. Shades of Shelley. Just being around all these bigwigs was making him nervous. He focused on Murphy’s question. “Yeah. She called a company named Brewer, Inc. It’s listed as a beer importer.”

175

Karen Rose

[Suspense 5]

You Can't Hide

“Interesting, because after she made the call, Denise went straight to an apartment that wasn’t hers, but nobody was home. I talked to the landlady and she says it belongs to some guy named Lawe. She says he’s a PI and identified his picture.”

“Why would Denise go to see a PI? A lawyer maybe, but a PI?”

“Don’t know. The landlady said she saw Lawe yesterday morning, but he hadn’t been back since then. She has a package for him and he hasn’t come to claim it.”

“Maybe he went away for a few days.”

“Maybe. Except I got an itchy feeling so I called the morgue. They just brought in one man, same size and general shape as the PI. Except he’s charbroiled.”

Aidan flinched. “Ouch. Nasty.”

“Yeah, the stolen car he was in caught on fire, but the locals have real fast emergency response, so they put it out before it turned him to ash. Arson found remnants of a small pipe bomb hooked up to a manual timer. His chest was ful of lead, same caliber as the gun that shot Bacon. Julia wasn’t in the morgue, but Johnson said they’d rush a dental match to prove the charbroiled guy is Lawe.”

“Tess has seen him before. She can’t remember where.”

“Maybe with Denise. The landlady thought Lawe and Masterson were an item.”

“Let’s talk to Blaine Connell first thing in the morning and see if this yanks any more out of him. I found out what Bacon and Nicole Rivera had in common.”

Murphy’s brows went up. “Dish, boy,” he said and Aidan chuckled.

“Nicole’s brother is in jail, waiting trial. Nicole’s roommate said she was saving every penny for a lawyer for him instead of the putz they sent from Legal Aid.”

“So both Bacon and Rivera were acquainted with the legal system,” Murphy said thoughtful y. “And speaking of the legal system, look who’s here.”

“Jon Carter and Amy Mil er.” With a second man Aidan didn’t know. “Let’s mingle.”

“Detective Reagan.” Jon Carter shook his hand soberly.

“Dr. Carter. This is my partner, Detective Murphy.”

“I remember you,” Jon said. “You visited Tess in the hospital last year.”

Murphy shook his hand. “That’s right. Did you know Dr. Ernst?”

“We all did. Poor Flo. I can’t imagine what she’s going through. But mostly we’re here for Tess.” His jaw tightened, his face growing dark. “It’s a unified ‘fuck you’ to whoever’s doing this. They think that we’d leave her? That’s not going to happen.”

“Jon,” the other man murmured. “Not here. It’s not the place.”

Jon gave himself a shake, visibly forcing himself to calm. “I’m sorry. It’s just that this whole thing has me so damn mad. You do remember Amy, don’t you, Detective?”

“Of course,” Aidan said, noting the way Jon’s cheeks had grown red and the vein throbbed at his temple. The man was furious and control ing it well. “It’s nice that you all came for Tess. This has been a hard day for her.”

“A hard week,” Amy corrected sadly. “It’s nice to see you again, Detectives. Thanks for taking such good care of Tess. She’s not an easy person to care for.”