Читать книгу Kissing the Key Witness - Jenna Ryan - Страница 10

He took her to a diner out on a disused two-lane highway that wound inland from the coast. Maya was so preoccupied, she barely noticed the beautiful sunrise, let alone the fifties-style Airstream structure.

Orlando Perine’s stepfather-in-law was the deputy police chief. If the situation hadn’t been so absurd, she would have laughed. She almost did, anyway, but that was either borderline hysteria or a brain so tired, it could no longer function. Since her eyes felt gritty and unfocused, she went with the latter.

A bell above the diner door jingled when Tal opened it. She smelled pancakes and, thank God, coffee as she preceded him inside.

“Okay, I’ll accept that I’m not dreaming, though I was really hoping that would be the case here. Adam’s gone, I’m in danger and Orlando Perine’s not entirely straight. I know that sounds clinical, Tal, but this really doesn’t want to sink in for me.”

“Breathe deep enough, long enough, and it will,” he replied.

“So you, what, infuse your resistant right hemisphere with so much oxygen that the vaguely surreal mutates into harsh reality? And we wonder why some people turn to drugs.”

“Good thing you’re not some people.”

“Always the flatterer. But I wouldn’t say no to a hit of caffeine.”

As she spoke, Maya finally noticed the retro booths, the long counter with its row of red swivel stools and the scattering of pink flamingo napkin holders.

Tal steered her toward a table in the back.

The counterman came over, filled two coffee cups without asking and winked at Tal. “Better than your usual companion, Lieutenant. This one’s a pinup.” He took an appreciative sniff. “Smells like tropical spice.”

After a hectic night in the E.R., Maya embraced the compliment. With her chin propped on her fist, she arched a brow at Tal. “Okay, what’s the story, Lieutenant? You didn’t bring me here so we could eat a healthy breakfast, and you’ve already dropped your bombshell. What’s left that falls within the parameters of cop facts a civilian can be told?”

“Not a bad question for someone who’s been up more than twenty-four hours.”

“Adrenaline’ll do that.” She scanned the diner, her eyes straying to the counterman, who was holding court by the stools. “What did your friend over there mean by ‘better than your usual companion’?”

A smile grazed Tal’s lips. “Caught that, huh? He meant Nate Hammond. You’ve met him. Grizzled, crusty, cantankerous. Short on words, long on experience. He worked vice and fraud in his day. Captain in both departments. He was offered a promotion but decided he’d rather retire. Überstress versus a fishing pole. We do coffee stops and poker when we can.”

A picture formed in Maya’s head of a no-nonsense cop with a whiskey-and-cigarette voice and the occasional, if you looked really close, twinkle in his eyes.

“He used to come to blackjack nights when Adam and I lived in North Miami. Carried a battered red thermos of whiskey masquerading as iced tea.”

“Only when he was off duty, and there was no masquerade. He just didn’t want to spring for a flask.”

Leaning forward on her arms, she said, “Talk to me, Tal. Tell me what’s going on, what happened and why. If that guy in the parking lot attacked me because of Adam, I deserve an answer, and screw your cop rules.”

Under scrutiny from Tal’s gray eyes, she had to work to keep her features composed and her body language unrevealing. If she let her gaze stray to his mouth, even for a moment, she’d want to grab him and kiss him. After all these years, she’d have thought the urge would be gone, but surprisingly it wasn’t. She wanted him as much now as she had back, well, back in another time.

“Sure you’re up for this?” Tal asked.

“I have to be, don’t I?” She drew circles on the table. “I don’t want Adam to be dead, Tal. At my angriest, I never wanted that. I’m not sure…or, well, maybe I am. We shouldn’t have gotten married. But we did. Things happened, and we split. I figure better our mistake than my parents’.”

Something flickered in Tal’s eyes. Understanding? Empathy? Desire?

He studied her, half-lidded. “Do you remember your father?”

This wasn’t exactly how she’d envisioned their conversation going. But then, life was all about twists and turns and faded lines. “He left when I was three. In the summer, I think. I only have a vague memory of his face. My mother tossed all his pictures. Actually, she burned them, but that’s the Latin temperament for you. Exorcise the mad any way you can.” She selected a peach muffin from the basket the counterman had placed on their table, and spooned fresh marmalade on top. “I didn’t really know him, so it wasn’t as sad as it could have been.”

“You’ve never heard from him?”

She shook her head. “Maybe he’s dead. Maybe he isn’t. I don’t imagine I’ll ever know.”

Tal drank his coffee, continued to unsettle her with his cool gray stare. “Life tends to surprise, Maya. He could show up at that charity volleyball game you’re playing on Sunday.”

“Heard about that, huh?” Why wasn’t she surprised? “Eden Bay vs. General. Jamie’s our coach, but the smart money’s on General. Do you know Jamie?”

“Tall woman, buzz-cut hair, has a wild kid going through a rebellious biker phase. I’ve seen them at the station.”

“Renita’s a handful.”

“Unlike you at that age.”

Maya laughed and felt better. “I was two handfuls, because I happened to be crazy about the high school bad boy.”

“You liked the bad boy, and yet you married Adam. Not sure what that says about you, Maya.”

“I think it says I’ve changed. Kids grow up. In fact, my bad boy’s a loan officer now. Drives a Volvo. And Adam…” Her eyes locked on his. “Tal, why is Adam dead?”

She knew he was weighing his answer. “Adam made a deal, with one of Perine’s men,” he finally said.

“What kind of deal?”

“For information, facts and figures, incriminating evidence.”

“Pertaining to?”

“Real estate fraud, investment fraud, development fraud, counterfeiting.”

“Okay, I get the fraud part, that’s why Adam was after him. But you must have known or at least suspected he might also be a murderer.”

“Homicide and fraud were cooperating on the investigation.”

“Big fish, small pond,” Maya recalled. At Tal’s arched brow, she opened her mind to the full horrible memory. “Adam said that just before he died. I forgot about it, or maybe I buried it.”

“Reverse the adjectives and you’ve got McGraw.” Tal stroked her inner wrist. “I know this is hard for you, Maya, but you’ll have to go through it when you give your statement anyway.”

“I know. He said I shouldn’t trust anyone, anywhere.” A smile stole across her lips. “Considering the deputy chief connection, he was probably right. He didn’t say much else, really, just told me to tell you to seal the deal. Guess that means you’re the only person I can trust, huh?”

“Guess so.”

She wanted him to touch her again. When he didn’t, she asked, “What was McGraw’s status relative to Adam’s?”

“Adam was in charge.”

“And now?”

“It’s a homicide. Pushes McGraw even farther down the authority ladder.”

“I can’t see that sitting well. Who’s heading the investigation now?”

“Drake’s still pulling files, juggling.”

“Do you have any idea who Perine’s triggerman is?”

He glanced at the surrounding tables, all occupied by diners.

“It can wait,” Maya said when Tal brought his gaze back. “Going back to the father thing, I know you have some issues there yourself.” Her eyes danced. “I love that word, don’t you? No one has problems anymore. It’s all about issues.” She fingered her long pendant. “It’s about memories, too, isn’t it? Not the best for either of us, it seems.”

“Makes us simpatico,” he said, with an odd tone in his voice. Sarcasm? Bitterness? Regret? “Could be that’s what triggered Adam’s jealousy.”

“Oh, good. Guilt.” Maya smiled. “Rewind to Orlando Perine.” Cognizant of the people beside them, she lowered her voice. “I talked to the M.E. last night, during a lull. He extracted two bullets from Adam’s body. Will those bullets tell you anything about the killer?”

Tal ran a finger along her arm, from her wrist to her elbow, and drew a shiver. “They already have.”

Okay. She should withdraw. Now. Ignore the shiver in her belly and send him a message. Instead, she arched a brow. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

“Could be.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t like being the bearer of bad news.”

“And that is?”

“The gun used to murder Adam was also used to murder two other people. One of them was an investment broker named Gund.”

Despite the chill that feathered down her spine, Maya managed a calm, “And the other?”

“Was the person who found him. Apparently, Gund wasn’t quite dead when the finder got there.”

“I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“It’s why I came back to the hospital, Maya.” Now he trapped her fingers in his hands. “Fraud wasn’t as cooperative about the Perine investigation as we were led to believe. We weren’t given the connection.”

“Nice of them to finally share. Ah, about this person who found Gund not quite dead—?”

“Her name was Ellen Latimer. She’d been driving taxis for twenty years. No work-related assaults, only a handful of minor accidents, no injuries. According to the file Captain Drake managed to access last night, she was killed in her taxi less than three hours after Gund was pronounced dead. Someone shot her in the back of the head.”

A FULL TWELVE HOURS AFTER driving Maya to her South Miami home, Tal continued to curse himself.

He should have waited in the hospital lounge, but the autopsy report had been rushed through and the results e-mailed to his captain. Drake had insisted he return to the station to examine the report and go over the file he’d strong-armed away from fraud. One look inside, and Tal had floored it back to Eden Bay.

He’d tried to call Maya en route, but with the E.R. in an uproar, getting through had been impossible.

He’d missed her by five minutes. Five. And in those minutes, one of Perine’s men, possibly the one who’d killed Adam, had jumped her. Good thing for her, she knew how to knee a man.

Now Tal was in his captain’s office, filling him in on the file.

“Did McGraw know about the taxi driver?” he asked.

“Don’t know how much anyone other than Adam was really in the loop.”

Though he was rereading the report, Tal’s mind remained on Maya. “You’ve got guys on her, right?”

Drake jabbed his computer keyboard. “She’s safe. I didn’t send rookies to guard her. I’m sorry, but I can’t spare you for protection detail. Besides, you’re the one who told me she wouldn’t want a cop camping out in her living room.”

She wouldn’t want to stop living her life, either, and that, Tal reflected, was where the real problem resided.

“She a good doctor?” Drake asked.

Tal half smiled. “Top of her class.”

“Florida State?”

“With a premed at Yale.”

“Impressive.” Drake leaned back in his chair. “Is she as pretty as I’ve heard?”

“Depends what you’ve heard.”

“The word stunning has come up. Knockout. Killer body.” At Tal’s slanted look, he let out a heavy breath. “I know, we’ve got an unholy mess on our hands with the deputy chief, with Tyler, with Perine.”

“We’ve also got two victims we didn’t know about until last night.”

“Those homicides occurred outside our jurisdiction. Outside fraud’s as well, but we’ll assume they had some kind of deal going there.”

Tal drained the coffee he’d poured earlier. For the moment, he had no choice. He had to trust the men Drake had put on Maya. She lived in a secure condominium complex. Good alarm, decent neighbors, solid cops. She’d be safe. He hoped.

His cell phone beeped as he was going through the report for a third time. He regarded the screen, smiled faintly at the name.

“Hey, Nate. What’s up?”

The older cop’s voice sounded more gravelly than usual. “Heard you boys have a problem.”

“You could say that.”

“You back in Miami for good?”

“Until the investigation’s done.”

In the background, Drake made a rough sound. “Tell Hammond to haul his ass down to central and see what he can shake loose from his old comrades. My gut says they’re still withholding.”

“Heard that,” Nate remarked. “My advice would be to lean on McGraw. Let him think he’s got a shot at moving up to homicide.”

“Way ahead of you there.” Tal started for the door. “McGraw’s on his way over. Means I’m out of here. Anything useful for us in terms of Perine?”

“For the moment, only a keen ear and a full thermos. Come on over when you get a chance. We’ll compare notes. Off the record, of course.”

Another beep on Tal’s cell phone indicated a second incoming call. This one from Maya.

“Hang on, Nate.” He switched lines. “Thought you’d be sleeping, Doc.”

“I was. It came to me at the end of a dream.”

“What did?”

“The guy’s face.”

Tal angled away from the surrounding noise. “The one who jumped you?”

“No. He was wearing a balaclava. The man I’m talking about was with Adam. I think. He disappeared so fast, I almost didn’t notice him. Look, can you come over? I’d come to you, except I seem to have left my car in the hospital parking lot.”

The wall clock read 6:30 p.m. “Give me twenty minutes,” he said. “I’ll use the siren.”

“Boys with toys. I’ll do a sketch while I wait. Uh, Tal, should I feed the dynamic duo in the bushes outside?”

“They’re fine. Keep your doors locked, Maya.”

“Yes, Mommy.”

He switched back to Nate as he shouldered the fire door open. “Gotta go, Nate. We’ll unload that thermos another time when I’m off duty.”

“You’re too pure, Lieutenant.”

“Only when it counts.”

“Hang on, Tal. I didn’t call to find myself a drinking partner. I was around that department for a lot of years. I saw stuff that’d make Drake’s fringe of hair knot up. Perine’s got people inside. That’s how he does it. Forget the deputy chief connection for now. I’m talking long-term, longtime snitches, on Perine’s payroll as well as the city’s.”

The suggestion didn’t surprise Tal so much as the whip of contempt in Nate’s voice.

“I take it you never found any specific evidence.”

“Got within an inch some days, but no, I never could pin the greaseball turncoats down. Like Perine, they always managed to ooze through the cracks at the last second. Look for those cracks, Tal. Get to them before the ooze does. Do that, and you’ll have your blue line to Perine. Won’t be a straight one, but crooked’s no problem for you.”

Tal shoved through the outer door and put on his sunglasses to cut the low glare. He tossed his jacket inside his truck. “How many do you figure and what divisions?”

“No idea. Fraud for sure, probably homicide. Vice? Hard to say. Internal affairs? Unlikely, but you never know. I’d count on a handful of uniforms, maybe more.”

Tal revved the engine, switched on the flashing lights. “I’m using the siren, Nate. It’s gonna get loud. Have you talked to Drake about this?”

“Talked to Tyler a couple times, and his captain once, but Drake, no.”

“Why?”

Nate made a rusty sound. “Don’t get me wrong. I like the guy. We squared off a time or two as captains, but that’s how it is. I trusted him when it mattered, and he came through.”

With a look in both directions and the siren blaring, Tal maneuvered through an intersection. “You might want to get to the point here.”

“Captains make decent money, but yours has five kids, and one of ’em’s autistic.”

“Nate…”

“Sneak a peek in his garage, Tal. Drive out to his place and take a good long look at Don Drake’s brand-new, fully loaded flatbed truck.”