Checkmate (Caitlin Calloway Mystery Book 2) (22 page)

Val took a calming breath before answering. “I just don’t want her to go off halfcocked. I’d rather know what happened before we talk to her. Ten to one, she’s going to beat us there. She’ll have little or no answers. If you were in her shoes, wouldn’t you freak out? I’m not used to having a family member working this close.”

“This piece of garbage isn’t her family.”

“I get that, but still there is a connection,” Val said wearily. “Here we are. Finally.” Her stress level was topping the charts. She had barely rolled to a stop before she jumped out. Silently, she prayed that a miracle had occurred and CC hadn’t beaten her there. When she spied the taller woman pacing in front of the emergency room doors, her stomach churned. “This is not going to be fun.”

*   *  *

To her credit, CC had not blown a gasket when Terrell explained the situation. She maintained her poise when she spoke to the State Troopers. Thankfully, Terrell did everything by the book, alerting the Feds the moment he spotted Beaumont. Then he kept a close eye on him, only approaching when he saw him trying to engage a little girl in conversation. That was something he couldn’t risk. It broke CC’s heart when he apologized for allowing Beaumont to escape.

“Terrell, this isn’t your fault,” she said. “You did everything by the book. The guy sucker punched you.”

“What about the video?” Max demanded of the unfortunate State Trooper who was standing near him.

“We’re waiting on the Feds.”

“We’re here,” Val waved her badge hoping against hope it would calm Detective Sampson down. “Someone needs to bring us up to speed. Detective Calloway?”

“Terrell here can fill you in,” CC said. “Then he’s going inside to have his face looked at. No arguments, Terrell. My wife is already pissed that you haven’t been looked at. I don’t want to hear it when I get home.”

“Okay, Terrell.” Val blew out a terse breath. “Just tell me what happened.”

She listened intently, gathering all the details, while Max made a fuss. She should have been relieved by Calloway’s levelheaded attitude, but she didn’t like the way the woman was clenching her jaw and pacing. Val felt the tempest brewing. She thanked the weary-looking man and sent him inside for treatment. By the way his face looked, she guessed his nose was broken.

“That’s what happens when you trap a caged animal,” she noted while carefully making her way over to Calloway. “I can’t believe he used the name Mary Shelley. What an idiot.”

“Which begs the question,” Max bellowed, “of why can’t you catch this rocket scientist?”

“My fault. I should have assumed he knew about Detective Calloway’s personal life and had the hospital watched.”

“He shouldn’t have known,” CC said angrily. “We kept it quiet for just this reason. My job is what it is. I don’t want my wife’s well-being put in jeopardy because of it.”

“Is that why neither of you changed your names?”

“No, that was more personal. Moving on. I had asked Jamie to alert hospital security, just in case. Now tell me what you know and what you’re planning to do about this situation.” She spoke in a slow, direct manner that informed Val that she was expecting her to get moving and wrap this up.

*   *  *

Billy Ryan felt like hell. But he always felt that way. Lately, life seemed even more unbearable. He had known Bitsy since they were just kids. Attending her funeral had done a number on him. As soon as he shuffled in, the smell of lilies assaulted him. He wanted to gag. He didn’t miss the accusing looks in people’s eyes. They were always looking at him as if he was some sort of villain. So he dropped out of college! Big deal.

He hadn’t exactly dropped out. He left before the university asked him to. His GPA had been circling the bowl for most of his academic career. Unable to keep his grades up to standard led to his frat asking him to leave. That and the trouble Simon Fisher had dragged him into. Accused of manufacturing GHB and being placed on academic probation, he had no option but to leave. It hadn’t been his idea to cook up a date rape drug. In his convoluted mind, it was Simon’s idea. Billy also had been Simon’s alibi when his girlfriend disappeared. He still found it hard to believe that Simon dumped the body during their trip up to Tahoe. Granted, Billy had been wasted for most of the trip.

Hell, he had been wasted for most of his life. After Bitsy’s funeral, he wanted to get in touch with a guy who could set him up. All he needed was a little cash, but the quaint area wasn’t giving him any hope of finding someplace to hit. Then an angel appeared and offered him everything he desired and a place to crash. True, it was a grungy hotel in the city, but it came with treats.

Billy loved nothing more in life than doing speedballs, an injection of cocaine mixed with heroin. He couldn’t wait to be alone and shoot up. His angel not only provided him with a stash of drugs, but was kind enough to provide a great big spoon and a pack of disposable lighters. All he needed to do was to cook up his concoction.

For the briefest of moments, he felt good. Just preparing the needle made him elated. He spread his toes, and his hand trembled as he placed the needle between them. With a smile on his face, he prepared for the euphoric feeling to encompass him.

He injected the drugs and the euphoria did indeed come. Then all too quickly, he felt a burning sensation. Not the normal burning that lit him up; this was an inferno. When he reached for his throat he was surprised to find it swollen.

He might have collapsed. He couldn’t be sure. He was still in pain and pissed off that his high wasn’t what he had been aching for. Again he mixed up another batch of drugs on the bent spoon and carefully lit a fire beneath it. He watched as it melted together.

“This time, it will bring me peace,” he promised himself. He would repeat this plan two more times, unaware of how little time had passed since he first shot up. He had a slow, wretched death befitting his misspent life.

*   *  *

A short time after the maid found the body of the strange man in Room 313, the local police were called.

“Calloway, we’re up. We got a body.” Max slammed down the phone and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. They had just returned from the hospital, and neither was up for a case. Still, there was a part of CC that relished the distraction.

“Geez, you don’t have to sound so happy about it.”

“Come on, Calloway, let’s log out a car and get this over with.”

“Okay, Mr. Grumpy Pants,” she said in a teasing voice.

“What about Halloween?” Max asked once they were
en route
.

“I need to find out what Stevie wants to do. None of this makes sense, Max. I feel like we’re missing something. Something big. Tell me about the call.”

“Dead guy over at the Edison. Looks like an overdose.”

They pulled into the parking lot of the modest motel, waved their badges, and entered Room 313. CC flinched when she saw Marissa examining the body.

“Dr. Vergas, what do we have?” She tried to keep her voice professional. Marissa had been polite enough over the past couple of months. CC knew she was on edge, and lately almost anything could set her off.

“Looks like an overdose. Won’t know for sure until I get him on the table and do a tox screen.”

“We got a name, Roger?” she asked the patrol officer while she took a look around the room.

“William Wayne Ryan.”

CC froze, and her heart stopped for a brief moment. Finally she looked over at the corpse. “Billy Ryan?” She almost gagged.

“What is it?” Max asked.

“Could be a coincidence,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I mean if it’s the same guy. Billy Ryan was Fisher’s alibi back when Janie Jensen disappeared. He was the reason why the cops never looked at Fisher back when everything started.”

“No kidding? Well, let’s have a look around and see what we can find. Maybe we can get a line on the dealer then turn this over to narcotics.”

*   *  *

On the way back to the station, CC filled Max in on Brooks’ phone call. She was irked when he failed to seem interested.

“It was an overdose.”

“Yeah, still that makes four bodies all tied to Fisher.”

“Four different causes of death, all explainable.”

“I don’t know,” CC said. “I’m still calling Brooks.”

“Wait until we get the tox screen back,” Max told her. “In the meantime, why don’t we swing by Government Center and visit Deputy Brown. I’m more worried about Beaumont than some junkie who didn’t know when to stop shooting up.”

“Good point. But I have a better idea.” CC blew out the exhaustion catching up with her. “How about you head back to the station, and I go check on my wife? I just need to see her again, you know?”

“I get it.”

*   *  *

Val was reviewing everything on the tape for the one hundredth time. Her head was throbbing, her back ached, and she felt like she had missed something. She followed a shadowy figure through the miles of tape. The only thing she knew for certain was Beaumont might have jumped on the subway, and if he did, he wasn’t far from the Calloway sisters’ backyard. That is if the grainy image she followed from Copley to Boylston Village Hills was in fact Beaumont. It looked like it could be him, and if so, then he was way too close for comfort.

She pored over a map of the area before requesting Mills’ assistance. “Help me out here? This is the stop where I think he got off.”

“Okay.”

“What’s that near? Are there any hotels?”

“A couple down this way.” Mills pointed at the map. “There’s a lot of shops and overpriced coffee joints along the main drag.”

“And where is the hospital in relation to this?”

“Over this way, bit of a hike. Most people would drive or take the T.”

“And how far is that from where the Calloway sisters live?”

“They’re on the opposite end.” Mills pointed out the route. “It’s more of a suburban area. Walkable, but for the hospital, you’d have to travel by car or train.”

“But you can walk it if you had to?”

“Why would you?”

“The police are chasing you,” Val said. “I figure our guy bolted. He did his little run around the subway station and just hoofed it back to some motel. Or he hailed a cab.”

“Already checked that out. No one picked up a fare matching our guy.” Mills grimaced. “I can’t figure this guy out. There’s nothing here for him but a bunch of people gunning for him and he just keeps moving closer to trouble. Sound like any runner you’ve ever tracked?”

“No.”

*   *  *

CC paced around the waiting room, her stomach tied up in knots. Even after Jamie emerged, she failed to feel a sense of ease. Before she had been called away, she only had a few moments with her wife. She needed to feel more of a connection. If she had her way, she’d grab Jamie and the rest of the family and run as far away as humanly possible.

“I’m fine,” Jamie said.

“I don’t like that he got that close to you.”

“He doesn’t even know I exist.”

“If that was true, he wouldn’t have been here.”

“I’m safe,” Jamie insisted, still not bringing any comfort to CC.

“Because of you, I’m safe.” CC gave her a doubtful look. “You were the one who insisted I alert hospital security. Terrell was on it. If that guy hadn’t hit him, they would have caught him. Thanks to you, the security is a lot better than it used to be. Because of you, Dietrich was sacked and a new system was put in place.”

“That wasn’t me, that was the hospital being embarrassed by hiring a serial killer.” Bile rose in CC’s throat. “You don’t know him like I do. He can be very convincing. I told every adult I knew what he was trying to do, and he’d spin some tale and they believed him. Hell, half the time I’d believe him, and I knew he was lying.”

“He’s a sick man.”

“Why is he here?” CC almost wailed. “The only thing that makes sense is he’s out to hurt people I love. I can’t let him do that.”

“And he won’t.”

CC felt like a child again. Helpless against the man who made her life a living nightmare. Everything was going to hell, and despite Jamie’s reassurances, she knew she had only herself to blame.

*   *  *

Val felt like an idiot. She had been pacing in front of the Calloway residence for a good twenty minutes, trying to calm her nerves. She needed to talk to CC. She hoped that the intuitive detective could help. She had stopped by the station and was frustrated to learn that CC decided to leave early. Not that she blamed her after having Beaumont strike so close to home.
Why
didn’t I have someone watching the hospital?
She silently berated herself. She knew the answer. She assumed that Beaumont didn’t know about his stepdaughter’s marriage.

“Are you going to be doing this all day?” Stevie Calloway’s voice disrupted her pacing. Val stood there feeling extremely silly.

“Your sister isn’t around, is she?”

Stevie laughed at the flustered deputy. “What did she do?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to compare some notes.” Val couldn’t understand why she was suddenly feeling nervous. “Her partner said she left early today.”

“Come on. She said she gave it to you good. Something about Uncle Mac’s bar. What did she do?”

“Almost got me killed,” Val said. “I paid your uncle a visit, and next thing I know, there’s a whole bunch of cops looking to hurt me over the Yankees.”

“You’re a Yankees fan?”

“Uh…” Val hesitated. Normally she’d shout her love for the Boys from the Bronx from the rooftops. Seeing the disappointed look in Stevie’s dark brown eyes made her want to curse. “Maybe?” She was trying to act cool and aloof, but the sight of Stevie Calloway standing before her in a simple floral print dress was more than a little distracting. “The point is…”