ZERO HERO (The Kate Huntington Mystery series) (8 page)

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            Rob looked across the cafeteria table at the fire in two sets of female eyes, one pair chocolate brown, the other blue. The sight was a little scary, even though that fire wasn’t aimed at him. He swallowed hard. How could this happen? Mac was the invincible one. They
never
worried about Mac.

            A wave of guilt washed over him. He’d started all this, dragged the others into it. Because he felt bad for Pete Jamieson. Kate was right. He’d lost his perspective. Worse than that. He wasn’t sure what he was doing anymore, or why the hell he was doing it.

            Liz slipped her hand onto his thigh under the table. He wrapped his own hand around hers and squeezed gently. She squeezed back.

            A second wave of guilt, not quite as strong.
Get a grip, Franklin!
Instead of worrying about his own angst he should be trying to help the others decide what to do.

            “How do we get this bastard?” Rose said through clenched teeth.

            “I don’t think any of Frederico’s people pulled that trigger,” Kate said. She tapped her pen against the small note pad she had pulled out of her purse.

            Rob tugged on the pad. She relinquished it and he pulled several blank sheets out of the back of it. Maybe if he took his own notes, he’d be able to focus better.

            “I’m inclined to agree, darlin’,” Skip said. Dolph nodded.

            “Tell us again,” Kate said. “Every detail.”

            Rose growled under her breath.

            “Bear with me, Rose. There’s something haywire about all this.”

            “Maybe a couple a somethings,” Dolph muttered.

            Rob started making a rough diagram of the scene, as Skip and Dolph took turns telling the story again.

~~~~~~~~

            They repeated Judith’s and Tyrell Cooper’s comments about Frederico, then described the man’s physical appearance and went through the encounter at the café again.

            Kate didn’t hear anything that disproved her theory. She sat back in her chair. “I’d bet money that Frederico is dyslexic, or he never learned to read.”

            “So?” Rose’s tone was belligerent.

            The others seemed to be digesting that piece of information.

            “So we’ve got a butt-ugly man, who lost his mother at a young age, was raised in foster homes as a black kid, and is now trying to reclaim his Hispanic roots. Plus he can’t read. We’re talking major insecurity here. Yet he’s smart enough to become the alpha wolf in his pack...”

           
Dumb like a fox,
Mac’s voice echoed in the back of Kate’s head. Her eyes stung. She blinked hard.

            “He’s done a credible job, he thinks, of convincing you that he’s got no motive to kill Jimmy Matthews, and you are leaving. As Detective Cooper pointed out, he’s savvy enough to know not to mess with you all, but every minute you’re there it’s a delicate balance for him. He has to maintain his stature and authority with his men, but he doesn’t want a major confrontation with you. So why would he raise your suspicions again by taking pot shots at you?”

            “Pot shots?” Rose said angrily.

            But Skip was nodding. “Those shots weren’t meant to hit us. The first kicked up dirt near our feet. If that guy hadn’t yelled, Mac wouldn’t have started weaving, to make it harder to hit him. He veered
into
the line of fire.”

            “Then no more shots until you’re all in the truck,” Kate said. “And then it hits the door, not the window, which is a pretty good sized target on your truck. And the more logical place for the shooter to aim, if he’d actually wanted to hit you.”

            “Not that it would’ve done any good. The glass is bulletproof,” Skip reminded her.

            She barely nodded, not seeking reassurances this time. Something had shifted inside, she wasn’t sure what. Now was not the time to sort it out, however. The detachment normally reserved for therapy sessions had kicked in, but she knew her emotions would break through it eventually. She wanted to make use of the detachment for as long as it lasted.

            She tapped her pen on her pad again. “Question number one, who shouted ‘watch out’? Question two, who was the shooter and what was his motivation?”

            “To scare us off,” Skip answered the last part of question two.

            “Maybe you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Rob said without looking up from his diagram. It happened often enough in Baltimore City. Innocent bystanders got caught in the crossfire of drive-bys and drug deals that went awry.

            “Unh-uh,” Dolph said, “Gun had a silencer on it. Not the norm in drive-bys. And one or two shots might be strays. Four, unlikely. The guy shouted, ‘
Amigos
.’ Makes me think it was one of Frederico’s men. A total stranger would more likely just shout, ‘Watch out.’”

            “What are we going to do, guys?” Rose was gripping the edge of the table, her knuckles white.

            They all stared at her. They’d never known Rose to lose control, not once. But then again, no one had ever shot her man before.

            “We investigate.” Skip’s words were matter-of-fact but his tone was gentle. “Tomorrow we go downtown and try to figure out the answers to those questions.”

            “I feel obligated as an officer of the court,” Rob said, “to point out that the city police might not appreciate that.”

            “I’ll clear it with Cooper in the morning,” Skip said. “I doubt he’ll object as long as we don’t get in the way of his people.”

            “Once Mac is stable, I’m going undercover, in Frederico’s operation,” Rose said.

            Not
if
he’s stable, but
once
he’s stable, Kate noted. Rose wasn’t brooking any other possibilities.

            She was a beat slower than her husband registering the other implication of what Rose had just said. His mouth had fallen open.

            “There’s only one job he’d hire you for,” Skip said. “And you know what the interview would involve. Are you willing to do
that
?”

            Rose dropped her gaze to the table top. Kate realized she was staring at her ring finger. At the ruby, surrounded by small diamonds, that Mac had given her when they’d gotten engaged, and the gold band that now sat beside it.

            Kate’s detachment slipped. She fought down the sobs threatening to erupt. Her first impulse was to reach out to pat her friend’s arm. She stopped the hand halfway there. Rose would resent comforting right now.

            “No,” Rose finally said with a shudder. “And I’d probably strangle the bastard if I was in the same room with him.”

            Then she looked up, excitement now mixed with anger on her face. “But I can pretend to be a hooker, new to town, hang out on the street corners with the ladies. It’d be totally natural for me to ask questions about the local pimps.”

            “And nobody knows a pimp’s business quite like his girls,” Dolph said.

            “You and I are her back-up,” Skip said to him.

            Rose stood up. “I’m going up to the ICU.”

            Kate started to say she’d go with her, but it occurred to her that Rose might prefer to be alone. She made it a question instead. “You want me to sit with you?”

            Rose shook her head. “I’ll call if there’s any change.”

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            When they got home, Maria had just finished supervising the kids’ baths. Kate helped her get them ready for bed, then Skip took over for story time. Outside Billy’s door, Maria said in a soft voice, “You two no eat. I warm dinner up now.”

            “That’s okay,” Kate replied. “I’m not all that hungry. We’ve imposed on you enough tonight.”

            Maria looked up at her, eyes narrowed and lips pursed. She headed down the stairs to the kitchen instead of upstairs to her third-floor apartment.

            Kate sighed and followed her down. At the bottom of stairs, Maria turned. Tears were pooled in her dark eyes. “Iz not impozing! Mac iz
mi
cousin. He iz
familia
. You all...
mi familia
.” The last word came out on a choked sob.

            Kate once again fought to shove her own emotions down as she gathered the weeping woman into her arms. In all the chaos, she
had
forgotten Mac was related by marriage to Maria. Despite her best efforts, Kate felt tears trickling down her cheeks.

            After a moment, Maria pulled away. She took a tissue from the pocket of her brightly patterned house dress and swiped at her eyes. “You catch who did dis. Not worry ’bout de children. I watch de children, day
and
night.”

            “Thank you, Maria,” Kate said, squeezing her hand.

            “I warm food now. Skip come down, you two eat!”

            “
Si, Mama.
”

            Maria gave her a mock glare, then headed for the kitchen.

            When Kate and Skip were settled at the kitchen table, Maria stood over them until they picked up their forks and started eating. Then she went up the stairs to her rooms.

            As soon as she was out of sight, Kate put her fork down again. The food was sticking in her throat.

            Skip gave her a concerned look. “I know you’re worried about me pursuing this, but–“

            “You have to pursue it now. They shot Mac!” She shocked herself with the vehemence in her voice.

            “Mac’s tough. He’ll pull through.”

            Kate stared at her barely-touched food without responding. She was trying to capture the half-formed insight she’d pushed aside earlier in the evening. “I think I had some kind of epiphany tonight,” she finally said.

            Skip paused with his iced tea glass halfway to his mouth. “About what, darlin’?”

            “Mac is as dear to me as my own brothers, and yet I’ve never worried about his safety. His sanity, yes, several times, especially right after his parents died, but never his safety.” Kate paused to take a sip of her own iced tea. “I worry about you and even Rose and Dolph sometimes. But never about Mac.”

            “And yet he’s the one who got hurt,” Skip said.

            Kate nodded. “I don’t need to say it all again. We have nothing to fear but fear itself; life is too short, yada, yada. We’ve had the conversation a dozen times before. And some things did shift for me last year. But this feels deeper, more solid. I refuse to live in fear anymore.”

            Skip gave her a lopsided grin. “Does this mean my sweet Kate is about to morph into kickass Kate?”

            “Actually, yeah. And I think part of the shift is because of the aikido. It’s pretty empowering to know you’ve got a good chance of being able to defend yourself, if someone attacks you.”

            Skip nodded.

            She knew he’d be able to relate. He’d no doubt felt something similar when a late growth spurt had taken him from the short scrawny teenager the bullies loved to pick on to the biggest, strongest kid in his high school.

            “Just remember, discretion is still the better part of valor,” he said.

            “Oh, don’t worry.” Kate gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m not going to go looking for trouble. I’m just not going to waste my emotional energy worrying about what hasn’t happened yet.” Her smile faded as she thought about Mac.

            “We got enough to worry about with what’s already happened,” Skip spoke her thoughts, his own expression grim.

            Tears sprang into her eyes for the umpteenth time. This time, she didn’t bother to suppress them. “Dear God, let him be okay,” she whispered.

            “Amen.” Skip picked up her hand and trapped it against his chest under his own.

            Despite her brave words, she found the strong beating of his heart reassuring.

CHAPTER SIX

            Kate wasn’t too surprised that she hadn’t slept well. By unspoken agreement, they hadn’t made love. Skip had rubbed her back instead, until she’d drifted off into a fitful sleep. She’d jolted awake several times. The bad dreams and the tears were all just a blur this morning.

            She went to the hospital before work rather than going to aikido class.

            Rose was sitting next to Mac’s bed. “No change,” she said, barely glancing up before returning her gaze to her husband’s face.

            Mac lay so still, his tanned leathery skin tinged with gray. Kate could hardly bear to look at him.

            Focusing on Rose, she said, “Liz called this morning. She took a personal day so she could do whatever she could to help. I suggested she put together a hooker outfit for you.”

            Rose looked up a second longer this time, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “Perfect job for her.” Liz loved to shop, Kate had mixed emotions about the task and Rose loathed it.

            “She said she’d go for things a bit long on her and a little loose. Should then be appropriately too short and snug on you.” Liz was one of the few people shorter than Rose, and she was much more slender than Rose’s solid and somewhat voluptuous build.

            Rose just nodded without looking up.

            “I gotta get to work.” Kate started toward the door, then turned back around. She’d never questioned Rose’s ability to look out for herself before, but the woman wasn’t thinking entirely straight right now. “If...
Once
Mac’s stable, if you go downtown, please be careful. These people are ruthless.”

            Rose turned dark hollow eyes on her.

            “If you get hurt...”
Or worse!
Kate banished that thought. “Mac’s gonna feel just as bad as you do right now.”

            Rose opened her mouth, then closed it again. She nodded. “Pray for him,” she whispered.

            “Of course.”

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