Checkmate (Caitlin Calloway Mystery Book 2) (23 page)

“She got to you.” Stevie stepped inside her home. “Come in.” Val stood on the stoop for a moment, weighing her options. There really wasn’t a valid reason for her visit, she just ended up there. “I said come in,” Stevie repeated. “And wipe your feet.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Emma, this is Deputy Brown.”

“Hello,” the small child who was sulking at the dinner table mumbled without looking up.

“Emma.”

“Sorry.” Emma sighed dramatically. “Nice to meet you, Deputy Brown.” She finally looked up from her homework.

“Better,” Stevie said. “You’ll have to forgive Emma. She’s a little cranky today.”

“Am not.”

“Right. I’m sorry about Halloween.”

“Why?”

“It’s complicated.”

“I hate when things are complicated.”

“Me, too.” Val couldn’t help but agree with the impertinent child.

“Not helping.” Stevie groaned.

“Well, I do.”

“Can I at least—”

“No.” Stevie quickly cut her daughter off. “Not until your homework is done.”

“Fine.” Emma sighed again.

“Let me guess,” Val said with a chuckle. “She wants to watch television?”

“No, play chess. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

Chapter 26

Val sat in the cozy breakfast nook and sipped her coffee while peering out at Emma who was dutifully doing her homework. Internally, she was searching for something to say. She had never been shy. Today she was completely flummoxed by her sudden inability to string together a simple sentence. The long list of women who faded in and of her life never saw her looking like a nervous, sweaty schoolgirl.

“Nice place,” she finally managed to say.

“Thank you.”

“Must be nice to be so close to your sister.”

“Yes, it is.”

“So, Emma plays chess?”

“Caitlin is teaching her.” Stevie snickered, which only served to irritate Val. “Her father taught her when she was very young, and later she taught me when I was about Emma’s age. And so on. Is that what you needed to talk about?”

“No.”

Val could have kicked herself. She felt completely lame. All she wanted to do was catch the bad guy and go on her way. She turned to Stevie. One look in those soft brown eyes and she knew that catching the bad guy wasn’t the only thing she wanted to do. She took a hard swallow, knowing that Stevie was waiting for her to say something.

“You heard about today?”

“Yes.”

“I fucked up.”

“Could you not do that,” Stevie said quietly, yet sternly. “Jamie and I have a rule. No talking like a cop around the house. It isn’t good for Emma. And quite frankly, I don’t find foul language attractive. When Caitlin gets wrapped up in a case she forgets. It’s eff this and eff that. She needs to be reminded that she isn’t around the boys.”

“Sorry.” Val glanced quickly to ensure Emma hadn’t heard her bad language. “It’s like that, being a woman in law enforcement. You need to be one of the guys, and the talk gets randy to say the least.”

“I understand,” Stevie said politely. “After living with my sister for so long, I’m well acquainted with the way cops abuse the English language. I’m just asking that you not talk like a cop in my home.”

“Sorry,” Val apologized again. “I just… I’m not used to being on the short end. Guys like your father…”

“Please don’t call him that,” Stevie said in a hushed tone. “I hate him, and I don’t want to have to explain things to Emma. Not yet anyway. I’m hoping a few more decades pass before I have to tell her that her grandparents are bad people.”

“Can’t say that I blame you.” Val took another sip of her coffee. “I just wish I knew why he’s here. It isn’t because of your mother.”

“How is she?”

Val cringed when she caught the distant tone in Stevie’s voice. “All right, I guess. Remorseful, if that means anything.”

“It should.” Stevie seemed lost. “Did Caitlin tell you about the card I got just before all this started happening?”

“Yes, I picked it up at the crime lab.” Val was relieved that the conversation turned to business. Discussing the criminal element was a subject she felt confident talking about. “Not much to go on. The card itself is very generic. Except it was sent three months late, and it was sent to a woman. Everything points to someone wanting us to know that he’s here.”

“Why? It doesn’t make sense.”

“I wish I knew,” Val grumbled. “I guess it’s time to track down your sister.”

“She’s home. Probably up in her office,” Stevie said. “One of the good things about living in a great big house is each side has home offices and guest rooms. Emma has a bedroom on each side. Jamie and Caitlin have their own work space, which is good, because when either of them brings work home, it really isn’t something I want to see. Much less have Emma stumble across. Let’s go see my sister.”

Val felt completely off kilter. While Stevie was talking, all Val could do was allow her mind to wander to some very salacious places.
I’m working!
She kept reminding herself. Ogling a runner’s daughter was not allowed. Val wasn’t blind, still she had never allowed herself to become this distracted before.

“What?”

Once again, Stevie’s voice drew her back. She was about to say something when Stevie’s hand came to rest on her thigh. She bit back a whimper from the warm feeling that was coursing through her body.

“Deputy?”

“Call me Val,” she managed to say before forcing herself to stand.

Stevie moved to join her. “Emma, we’re going next door. Finish your homework. No sneaking off to check out the chessboard. She got all cocky because she managed to get Caitlin in check.” Stevie unlocked the door that joined the two homes. “Now she’s on the ropes and kind of cranky about it. She’s so much like my sister, it’s a little scary at times.”

“She’s what, seven? And she got that far in a chess match with an adult? Is your sister letting her win?”

“No. It seems that Emma is a natural. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of her. I’m just worried that she’ll be running circles around me by the time she’s a teenager. Caitlin! You have company!” She guided Val up the staircase. “Promise to play nice,” she added with a wink to the deputy.

*   *  *

CC heard her sister call up to her and didn’t pay much attention to it. She assumed it was Emma. She had three white storyboards set up. She flipped each of the boards around so Emma wouldn’t see what she had been working on. She liked the boards. She could tape crime scene photos to them and make notes with erasable markers. They were the same as the white boards with aluminum frames they used back at the station. It meant breaking the rules and copying the official files, but if anyone noticed the transgression, they never said anything.

“Hey, peanut,” she said, still assuming it was her niece.

“Hey there, cashew.”

CC jumped, startled by Val’s voice. She gritted her teet when she turned to find the deputy smirking at her.

“I thought Stevie was sending Emma up.” She turned away from the cocky woman to flip her boards back over.

“Nice setup.”

“Helps me think.”

“Three different cases,” Val wryly said, irking CC by taking a seat at her desk. “The nanny case, Beaumont, and what’s that last one?”

“Something Brooks is interested in.” CC glared at the woman who appeared to be making herself comfortable. “Malcolm Fisher died from anaphylaxis, more commonly known as anaphylactic shock. Basically, he was stung by a bee while golfing. Sadly he’s allergic to bee stings. Elizabeth Pryce’s death is still listed as undetermined. The San Francisco medical examiner is leaning towards a viral infection. Bitsy Marsden went jogging and had her throat slashed in what appears to be a rape attempt or a robbery. Cops already have two upstanding citizens in custody. Then we have Billy Ryan, junkie from the tender age of fifteen. He died from, surprise, a drug overdose. Malcolm and Bitsy died in San Diego, Elizabeth died in her home in San Francisco, and Billy died here.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Neither do I.” CC almost laughed. “Bee sting, stomach infection, random act of violence, and a drug overdose. Brooks thinks they’re connected. More so, since I called him about Billy Ryan.”

“What’s the connection?”

“Simon Fisher.”

“Ah, Brooks’ favorite villain.”

“Malcolm was Fisher’s father.” CC glared down at Val. “Elizabeth was the girl who the love of Simon’s life dumped him for. Bitsy grew up next door to the Fishers. And Billy was Simon’s frat brother, who was also his alibi at the time his girlfriend disappeared. Other than happenstance and crossing paths with Simon Fisher, these people have nothing in common. Much as I would love to pin more stuff on the weasel, I don’t see a connection. It’s just… I don’t have time for this. Maybe after we lock up Bert.” She turned back to the board that featured her elusive stepfather.

“Let’s focus on that,” Val said, moving out of CC’s chair. “We finally got the information from the cell phone.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a notepad. “Damn subpoena took forever. Text messages only. The first ones instructed Beaumont to catch the train up here, empty a locker at the train station, and check into the Marriott under the name Gilbert Osborne.” She grabbed a marker and wrote dates next to the messages. “Next, he received a message to take a walk around the mall. Another informed him to do the same. There was one reminding him to remember what would happen to him if he screwed up. Then another told him to check out of the hotel and trash the phone. Details to follow. His mistake was to throw the cell phone in the trash can in his room. I doubt that’s what his friend had in mind. Here’s the rub, the cell phone that sent these messages is the same number we got all of our anonymous tips from. We traced it to another burner phone purchased from a mini mart in Culver City, California. Cell towers put the calls coming in from LA, San Francisco, San Diego, Madison, Wisconsin, and right here in Boston. The number has since been disconnected. Here’s my theory—”

CC cut her off. “Someone wants us looking for him. They’ve switched to a new burner phone. They’re paying with prepaid credit cards and cash, so we can’t trace anything. Why?”

“Don’t know. Maybe this other case? It seems to be the only thing you’re working on.”

“The soccer mom who strangled her nanny? No way. As well educated as Natalie Stern is, she isn’t as smart as she thinks she is. She has herself convinced that she didn’t do anything wrong. I just love people like that.”

“Me, too. It keeps me in business.”

“Do you like what you do?”

“Yes, I do. I miss the navy, but this is exciting work,” Val said. CC could feel the truth behind the words. “I get to catch the bad guys.”

“I hear you.” CC understood completely. “Answer me something. Why are you so keen to know about my high school years? It has nothing to do with the case.”

CC felt uneasy when Val turned quiet. “When I came out,” Val said slowly, “my loving parents told me never to come home again. I was already at Annapolis, so I didn’t end up on my own. The navy was my family from that moment on. What happened to you could have just as easily been my fate.”

“My parents told me to hit the bricks because they found out I had a crush on my gym teacher,” CC said. “Or because I wasn’t cutting my pervert of a stepfather any slack. I was already planning on running away. I just needed to find a way to take Stevie with me. I thought it was possible. What can I say? I was a kid. I found a place to live that didn’t ask too many questions. I was already working a couple of jobs. When I said I was a sophomore, I was tall for my age and everyone assumed I was referring to college not high school. Right before I turned eighteen, a friend of my uncle’s found out I was working the overnight shift at a self-serve gas station. They told Uncle Mac, and he was pissed. He took me in, made me quit my jobs and focus on my last year of high school. That’s the whole sorry story. I understand why you wanted to know. What I don’t like is being kept in the dark while you watch me and my family. I also don’t like the way you’re looking at my sister.”

“I, um…”

“Save it. Let’s forget motive for a moment. I’m referring to Bert’s, not yours. Someone wants us chasing him. We want to catch him. Any ideas?”

“Just one.” Val seemed nervous. “Someone wants him to keep playing peek-a-boo with us. We know that, so why not use it and set a trap?”

“Okay, but how?”

“Why is your niece upset about Halloween?”

“No way! You’re not using my family as bait.”

“Someone already is. The only hope we have is they don’t know that we know.”

“The only thing that means anything to me in this world is my family.” CC tried to take a swing at Val. Before she knew what was happening, she was on her knees with her arm pinned behind her back.

“I told you to play nice!” Stevie’s voice cut through the room.

***

Her head was throbbing as she broke up whatever was happening between Deputy Brown and her sister. Then she shuffled them to her place before sending Emma over to Caitlin’s under the guise of allowing her to study the chessboard.

“Take your time, Emma,” she called out. “Your Auntie Caitlin can be very crafty.”

“Crafty?”

“A lot nicer than what I was thinking.” Stevie said. “Okay, you two chuckleheads, does someone want to explain what is going on? Deputy Brown, is there a reason why you were beating up on my sister?”

“I wasn’t.”

“She wasn’t.” CC plopped down on the sofa. “I took a swing at her, that’s all.”

“I’m not used to seeing someone get the drop on you.”

“Kind of a new experience, sis.” CC sighed wearily. “I must be losing my touch.”

“Or I’m good at what I do,” Val said. “I spend a lot of time trying to arrest crackheads and other unsavory characters. I’m more than a little accustomed to folks trying to clean my clock. I didn’t mean to hurt her.”

“It didn’t hurt.”

Stevie covered her mouth in order to suppress a giggle. “Uh, why did you try to hit the nice deputy, Caitlin?”